Love, Lies & Red Eyes | ONC 2023 (Complete)

Arturo Banderas is a cadejo on the run. Framed for crimes he didn't commit, he has to escape his home for the human world, but in order to hide, he'll need to learn their culture, not just their physical form.

Doctora Lidia Gutierrez wants to be the first person to understand the culture of the mysterious cadejos. No one has ever found them in the daylight, and those who survived their encounters at night weren't sober enough to explain anything.

At least, none who were willing to talk to Lidia.

When Arturo discovers Lidia's research he proposes a trade. If she'll teach him how to blend in, he'll tell her everything he knows about the cadejos. And it works just fine until a monster in the forest pushes them closer together.

Working together is the only choice they have, but every moment spent together makes it harder to imagine a time when they'll be forced apart. And they will be, unless there's a way to stop the past from catching up with them.

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This is one of the novellas I'm writing for ONC 2023. You can find the rest on my profile!

For this story, I've selected prompt #52.
"There is someone you dream about every night, but you never imagine meeting them in real life."