Hunted

Chapter 8: Being Watched

"Aren't you looking particularly gorgeous today?" I cooed as I watered my plant, running my fingers along the leaves.

The watering can ran out for the third time and I sighed, going back into the bathroom and filling it up again. I had a shit ton of plants. Watering them took a lot of time.

I walked back in the room and squealed when I saw a spider come out from under one of the shelves. I quickly moved away and set the watering can down, picking up one of the many cups I kept in this room for this very reason. Damn bugs seemed to always find their way into the house.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to just..." I approached slowly, trying to be brave. Spiders gave me the creepy crawlies. "Stay," I tried, screaming when it started towards me.

I dropped the cup over it and jumped up on a chair, setting my hand on my chest and reminding myself how to breathe. Stupid fucking spiders. My phone started ringing and I knew it was Les from the ringtone. Thank God.

"Leslie," I greeted, bringing the phone up to my ear. "My savior, my goddess, my wonderful amazing beautiful guardian angel."

Silence. Complete silence until finally she slowly released a long sigh. "You've got a spider under a cup again, don't you?"

"Yes," I admitted, biting my lip.

"I'll be right there," she said. I could practically hear the eyeroll.

Les had a key to the house and was in the room pretty fast, shaking her head when she saw me on the chair. "Really?" She said, setting her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes before approaching the cup caging in the spider.

"Don't kill it," I said quickly. "I don't want it to die, I just don't want it to exist in my space."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," she said, grabbing the piece of paper I always kept in here for this exact purpose.

I watched from a safe distance as she carefully slipped the paper under the cup then picked it all up together, flipping the cup upside down and keeping the paper over the top. I followed her outside where she released the spider in the park across the street.

"You're an angel," I beamed.

"Sure, doll," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean it. You always save me from bugs. I feel like they're out to get me," I grumbled, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Nature is always out to get you," she laughed, giving me a side-glance. "Has been since we were kids. Animals, bugs, everything is drawn to you, Kora. Pretty sure you're a descendant of mother nature herself."

"Yeah, that's what it is," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Let's go," she said, inclining her head to the car. "We're already running late."

I nodded and took the bug-trapping supplies back in the house before hurrying back out to her car, running my hand over my pony tail as I went down the steps of the porch to Les's car. She reached over and opened the door, pushing it open.

"Ready to hike?" She asked with fake enthusiasm.

"Your mom making you?" I guessed.

"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes and pulling out of the driveway before heading towards the forest. "How's the Fiona situation?"

"It's shitty and depressing," I sighed. "I've been texting her more this week. We're going to see her Sunday."

"And the Evan situation?"

"Still acting like cooking meals and following me around the house like a puppy is going to change anything," I said, rolling my eyes.

"You should just knee him in the balls," he shrugged. "God knows he deserves that and much worse."

"I've thought about it," I admitted.

"You know, you can always stay with me until the end of the month," she offered. It wasn't the first time she offered and I appreciated that.

"I'll be all right. It's only three more weeks," I sighed. "After two years, three weeks will be nothing."

That wasn't true. I desperately wanted out of there but Les didn't need me moping as a distraction while she was buried in her studies and her apartment was full as it is.

"Besides, you have a very pregnant roommate," I added.

"I do," she nodded. "But they're going to be moving out soon. They want to get a place before the baby is born."

"How are they?"

"Fine," she laughed, turning up the AC.

"What?" I asked. I knew that smile.

"So Amy was complaining Harry wouldn't fuck her. Like he was afraid he'd hurt her or the baby or something and you know, pregnancy hormones, she's horny as fuck," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I got tired of hearing her complain about it so I gave her some advice and let's just say, I think I should've gone to school for sex counseling."

"What did you say?" I laughed.

"I told her to pull his pants down, get on her knees, and suck him off. That kind of thing gets guys wild, girls doing spontaneous shit like that. I think it fulfills some kind of fantasy. Anyways, I'd rather have to put in headphones to drown out their moaning than listen to her complain about how horny she is but it's hard to touch herself with her big old belly in the way," she laughed.

Interesting advice. I wondered if it'd work on my dream man. The thought had me feeling flush. I was so pathetic I was thinking about seducing a non-existent person. Probably a non-existent person. This had to be rock bottom, hoping a dream person was real.

Les parked the car next to a couple vans and we got out just in time to hear her mother naming people responsible for certain girls. I only had three to watch which didn't seem like much. They weren't babies, after all, and they were supposed to be following a guide through the trail, learning about the different plants growing and some basic survival skills.

During the lecture I saw Leo waving at me. Leo was Les's cousin. I smiled and waved at him before leaning over to Les. "Why is Leo here? Isn't this supposed to be a girl's thing?" I whispered.

"It is but all the mothers backed out and we needed another person. He's a middle school teacher so she figured he'd be good enough," Les shrugged.

I nodded and tried to listen to the rest of the instructions but a strange sensation overtook me. Like someone was watching me. I glanced around, peering through the trees and around the parking lot but saw no one looking at me. My anxiety must just be high because I'd been thinking about this stupid forest so much. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to focus on what Les's mom was saying but it was too late, she was wrapping up.

Oh well. I wasn't teaching I was just watching. It couldn't be too hard.

We started the hike and I walked a little behind the girls I was responsible for paying attention to. I tried to listen to all the lessons being taught as we walked but I really couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched. I tried to do the techniques Cynthia showed me. Ground myself. Something I could see, something I could hear, something I could touch. It didn't help. The feeling didn't leave.

I glanced around again but there was nothing. Frowning, I wrapped my arms around myself tighter. I hated when I had feelings like that I couldn't explain. They happened way more than I liked. Usually being out in nature made me calm but I wasn't very calm feeling like I was being watched.

We'd been walking a while when Leo's group of girls got closer to mine and he ended up walking next to me. "Hey Kora," he greeted cheerily.

"Hey Leo," I said, offering a smile.

"How've you been?" He asked.

"Fine. You?"

"Ah, you know, school year just started. I thought I was organized and the kids proved me wrong," he chuckled.

"The teacher life," I nodded.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Exactly."

I glanced around again, still feeling it, feeling it even more than I was before. Still nothing. It didn't feel like nothing.

"So... I heard you're planning to leave Evan soon," Leo said.

His comment caught me off guard. Way to beat around the bush, Leo.

"Uh, yeah," I nodded. "Soon."

"Good for you."

"Good for me my marriage is failing?" I snorted.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly. "I just mean like... I'm glad you're not going to stay with him. You deserve better. So... Good for you in that way, I mean," he said, scratching the back of his head.

I nodded and bit back the smile. "It's a weird thing to say, Leo."

"Yeah, I know. It came out wrong," he admitted, chuckling. "Sorry."

"It's all right," I shrugged. "I'm not that sensitive about it anymore. It's been over for me for a while."

"Yeah..."

I glanced over because his tone suddenly changed. It was nervous now. Probably because he felt bad for what he said.

"Hey, it's fine," I assured. "Really. You're right, it is good for me. It was unexpected but I'm not mad or anything."

"Oh, I know. You never get mad," he laughed.

The scouts stopped and Les's mom roped Les into a demonstration. We stood off to the side as they talked about some survival skills. I couldn't listen because I still had that feeling. I was being watched. I had to be. I glanced around again and thought I saw movement in the trees. Either something was out there, or I was legitimately going insane.

At this point, both options were equally plausible.

"Who can tell me what kind of animals live in the forest?" Les's mom asked the girls.

There were several girls shouting out answers but one in particular stood out to me. Wolves. My eyes darted to the place I thought I'd seen movement. Wolves. Carson Forest.

God, I was losing it. It was just a dream. Werewolves weren't real. Rykan wasn't real. Probably. I needed to get ahold of myself. I should probably ask Cynthia about sleeping aids to stop the dreams. The thought made my heart sink because I liked going to sleep knowing I'd be in Rykan's arms soon after. He was keeping me sane. Keeping me sane and at the same time making me depressed my real life wasn't that good.

I continued staring at the spot and just as I was about to look away I saw something. A pair of glowing, coppery eyes through the bushes, staring at me. My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't look away. I should be scared but I wasn't. Those eyes. Just like...

"Kora? You there?"

Leo's hand waved in front of my face, breaking me out of the spell.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head and rubbing my eyes.

"I was asking if you'd want to grab drinks in a few weeks. You know, after..."

The eyes were still there. Still staring. Leo was saying something. He was...

Wait.

"What?" I repeated, looking over at him.

"Drinks," he said, furrowing his brows.

Was he actually asking me out before Evan and I were even separated officially?

"Uh, it's a little soon for that," I said, crossing my arms.

"Sorry. You said it's been over for you for a while so I thought maybe it would be good for you to get out," he said, smiling sheepishly. "You know, get back on the saddle."

"Yeah, I don't think so," I said, shaking my head.

"Is it because you're nervous to enter the dating scene? I know it's probably daunting."

"That's not-"

"But I'm here for you, if you..." he set his hand on my arm and just as I backed away, a growl sounded from the bushes.

A very familiar growl. A growl I'd been listening to for two weeks.

No. It couldn't be. That was insane.

"What the..." Leo said, backing away.

"Was that a growl?" One of the girls asked nervously.

"Cool! Let's see what it was!" Another girl said.

"No, no, no," Les's mom said quickly. "It's best to leave an animal that feels threatened alone. We should head back to the cars anyway."

Everyone started moving but I couldn't look away from the bushes. The eyes reappeared and I felt a strange compulsion to walk towards them. The others walked past but I took a step toward the bushes.

"Kora," Les said, grabbing my hand. "Did my stupid cousin seriously just hit on you?"

I shook my head and tried to focus on what Les said, letting her question process.

"Uh, yeah," I said, glancing back to the bushes. The eyes were gone.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what the hell he was thinking," she said in annoyance, pulling me along with her down the trail.

She continued speaking but I could hardly hear her. I could feel its eyes on me still. I looked around but I couldn't find the eyes again. Still, I somehow knew it was there. Watching me. Why was it watching me?

Rykan's face came to mind and I shut it out. That was crazy. I was crazy. This week had just been too much of everything. That explained my weird thinking and dreams. It had to... Didn't it?

We reached the parking lot and I waved goodbye to the girls I was watching. They loaded into the vans and I stood to the side as Les helped her mom make sure everyone was accounted for and had all their things.

The feeling of being watched intensified and I don't know why, but I could feel where it was coming from. My head snapped to the side and the eyes were back. Staring at me. Compelling me. I took one step towards it. The another. And another. Something grabbed my arm and I looked up, finding Les looking at me with a frown.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" She asked, following my gaze into the forest.

The eyes were gone again.

"Nothing. No. I'm fine," I said, shaking my head.

"Are you sure?" She asked skeptically.

"Yeah. Just a lot on my mind," I muttered.

"Okay," she said, looking uncertain. "Come on. Let's head out."

Nodding, I followed her to her car and got in, looking back at the spot I'd seen the eyes. Les pulled out of the parking lot and as she was driving away, a huge wolf stepped out from behind the bushes. Dark brown fur like Rykan's dark brown hair. Copper eyes like Rykan's. A look that could chill you to the bone.

Just like Rykan.

A/N:

Heyyy awesome readers! Well it's not Friday but the thing is, Hunted already hit 10K reads!!! I just can't believe how fast the reads are going up on this one! Not only that but I also hit 4k followers here on Wattpad AND 100 patrons on Patreon! Thank you so so so much! Here is a bonus chapter as my thanks to you awesome people ❤

Oooo Kora saw something in the forest 👀 AND heard a growl. Do you think we might be getting a meeting of these two soon??

Oop, Les might be closer to the truth than she even realizes 👀 Theories?

Ugh, why are men like Leo so stupid? 🙄

See you Friday, loves!!