13

11. Hunter's Moon

After a very long, awkward, silent time on the road, I was glad to be free from the black jeep. We passed two states, no cursed cities, and stopped at a town around 11 at night. Just like last night, we decided to stay at a motel and share rooms. Though this time, we got lucky with two beds at each room.

"Same set up as last night then? Myself with - "

"It's okay. I'll share a room with Rami." Drew interrupts Idris, taking one key from his hand and leaving without another word. I pursed my lips as I exchanged looks with Idris, who shook his head vigorously, silently begging me not to let him share a room with the werewolf. I took a brief glance at Lysander, who looks like a child getting told that Christmas is cancelled.

"Sorry." I said to no one in particular before running after Drew. I caught up just as she opened the door to room 96. The bedroom is much nicer than the previous motel, and the TV is bigger. And there's a microwave! I jumped on the bed close to the bathroom and smiled at Drew, who looks worn out. "You wanna go get popcorn and watch Fantastic Beasts? I think it's on HBO tonight."

Drew shook her head. "Do you think he's right? Lysander? That we shouldn't go to hunters?"

Sighing, I brushed a hand through my hair and sat next to her on her bed. "Honestly, I don't know. You're right, hunters know more about witches than we do, but it's not like they're willing to actually help us, like Lysander said. Besides, we don't even know what the hunters are doing. They all disappeared and suddenly one pops out of nowhere, dead. We wouldn't want to get tangled in whatever mess they're in."

Drew kept her gaze on the ground for a moment, then she threw her head back and groaned. "Damn it. I have to apologize to Lysander. I was being stupid."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "You weren't. Now come on, let's go get food. Screw the popcorn. I say take out Chinese food. I am craving for some dumplings."

Drew smiled and parted her lips as if she was speaking, but instead of hearing her voice, I heard someone else. A roar, followed by a thud. It sounded close, but not exactly next door, so Drew cannot hear what I'm hearing. At first, I didn't think much of it, assuming it's just people arguing or doing some kinky shit. But then I remembered, Lysander and Idris' room is not next to ours this time. They are a few doors away from us. And the sounds could very much come from their room.

"Stay here, okay? I'm going to go get popcorn."

I excused before rushing out of the room. Room 100. As soon as I entered the room, I found Idris cornered against the cream wall by none other than a growling Lysander, who has a tight grip on Idris' blazer. "Whoa! Hey! What's going on?!"Just then, Idris used his hands to push Lysander off of him. I took the chance to jump in the middle of the two men before someone loses a head. "What the fuck are you two - Holy fucking shit." My heart paced at the sight of Lysander's red eyes. "How - " Lysander roared angrily as he tries to push me away, but he wasn't strong enough to actually do so. As he opened his mouth, I saw that his teeth did not sharpen as they normally would when he shifts to his wolf form. His nails did not grow, either. It was only his eyes that gave me a sign that his wolf wants to come out.

Once again, Lysander moved to push me out of his way, and this time, he succeeded. Though, he didn't attack Idris. He went straight for the door and bolted out of the room.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I've no idea." Idris breathes heavily. "I was only suggesting that he speaks to his mate and apologize since she seemed quite upset earlier. Then he just exploded."

Drew appeared at the doorway, her eyes wide and full of confusion and worry. "What's going on?! I just saw Lysander leaving." She focused on Idris, scanning him up and down, probably checking for injury. "What happened?"