I avoided Sol.
Ever since I caught him making out with Gwen at her door, I've felt resentful.
It's more of a disappointment and anger that has no clear end. I know I have no right to be angry with Sol.
But I still felt extremely angry. Of all the girls at school, why did he have to be with Gwen?
As if I wasn't annoyed enough, Sol suddenly became aggressive with me. Unfortunately, we had a lot of the same classes.
I tried to keep away from him. Every free period I hid in the school library, the only place where excessive conversation was not allowed.
Oh, don't think Sol didn't try to talk to me. He did, but I always found a seat near the librarian. Whenever Sol spoke, the librarian's stern hiss could be heard immediately, telling the boy to shut up.
"Lei, do you want to walk home together?"
I slung my backpack over my shoulder. My look was cold.
"No, I don't. I'm going home with mom."
"I'll ask your mom for permission to bring you home often. We're on the same side." Sol was still adamant.
I shook my head. Ignoring Sol, I walked past him.
At the door of the classroom, I bumped into Gwen. I had a real disgusted look on my face. Fortunately, Gwen was too busy with Sol. So the coquette ignored me.
"Lei!"
I stopped walking. Sol's call was loud enough for the whole corridor to hear.
"This weekend's group project is at my place! Don't be a no-show!"
I groaned.
Oh God, why does it have to be this weekend? It's the time of the full moon.
Without saying a word, I walked out of the classroom. Without even turning around, I could feel Gwen's piercing gaze piercing through my back.
It wasn't just Gwen, by the way. There must be a lot of girls in the school who are mad at me because the most popular guy this week has become a partner in group work.
"Hi, Honey. Bad day?"
I throw my backpack in the backseat of the car. I quickly untangled my hair. My eyes were fixed on the road ahead as Mom slowly drove away from the school grounds.
"Lei?"
"Very bad, Mom." I let out a long breath.
"I have a group project on the full moon."
Mom strangely didn't comment. Usually she'd be chatty about how I turned into a full wolf every full moon.
"Mom?"
Now it's my turn to be curious. Mom seemed very quiet this afternoon. Her gaze is also half dreamy, which makes me wary. Because Mom is driving.
"Should I take over driving?" I gently touch Mom's arm.
Mom gasped. When she turned her head, a look of concern was clearly on her face, as youthful as if she'd had dozens of Botox injections.
"There's a problem, Lei."
I blinked my eyes.
"Hummer died this morning."
My heart almost dropped into my stomach. My heart sank.
Hummer was one of the strongest warriors in the Moon Clan. You could say that Hummer was Sergey's right hand.
And Hummer was also Mom and Dad's best friend. They rarely saw each other, but always communicated intensively by cell phone.
"He was hit by a silver bullet."
My eyeballs instantly rounded. I unconsciously grabbed the seatbelt.
"Three silver bullets in his head and chest. My God, Hummer is so powerful. How did he get shot?"
I paused.
There were many scientific explanations for Mom's question. Among them was that the technological sophistication called a rifle actually has a much more lethal force than a werewolf's hoof splinter.
The speed at which a rifle spits out bullets cannot be matched by even the fastest werewolf. Even rifles now have the ability to shoot from a distance. The hunter can hide in a safe place and simply point the gun at the werewolf.
But Mom doesn't need a scientific explanation. What Mom needed was comfort.
"Where was he killed, Mom?"
"Alabama."
My stomach twisted in horror. I reflexively put a hand over my mouth.
"Nobody knows Sergey's whereabouts yet. He went to Alabama with a Hummer escort. But Hummer was killed."
"Hunters managed to find them." I said quietly.
Mom sighed loudly. "The French Convention clearly stated that there would be no more bloodshed between werewolves and humans. The Moon Clan is a party to that treaty."
I almost burst out laughing. How could these stupid humans tell us werewolves not to attack them?
While the humans themselves still hunt us on the grounds that werewolves are horrible creatures that threaten the safety of mankind. The hunter who killed Hummer must not have remembered the contents of the Peace Articles of the French Convention.
"We have to leave this country, Lei."
This time, my smile disappeared completely. "Move again?"
"You're Sergey's future wife. The hunters are after Sergey and you. We have to save ourselves."
"Mom, wait a minute. There's no proof that those hunters are after me either."
Mom hit the wheel. Her voice was frustrated.
"When are you going to come to your senses, Lei? The whole clan knows that you're the mate of the strongest werewolf, Sergey. Everyone assumes that you have the same strength as Sergey. If the Alpha dies, his Luna can temporarily lead the clan until a new leader is appointed."
I was silent. This was not what we had planned when we moved to Malibu.
"Mom, calm down. We'll find a solution with Dad later."
"But those hunters..."
"They're way out in Alabama, Mom. Two thousand miles from here. We're safe." I reassured my mother.
"They have an incredible network. While we-"
"We have an incredible network as well. Werewolves will never lose to these human hunters." I stressed.
We returned home with restless hearts and angry minds. In the midst of the uneasy atmosphere, I was washing dishes in the kitchen when I had the misfortune to see Gwen driving Sol.
Gwen had a nice, expensive little car. But that wasn't the point. I've never been interested in cars, no matter how cool they are.
But the fact that Sol, the new boy, was so easily tempted by the luxury Gwen was giving him pissed me off. Would Sol even want to go out with me if I kept bothering him with aggression and excessive wealth?
Make no mistake. We are not poor werewolves. Dad's savings are more than enough to buy a hundred luxury apartments at once. Mom was rich long before she married Dad.
But the rules of our clan strictly forbid us to be conspicuous in public. Humans should not be suspicious when we werewolves blend in with them in our daily lives.
I dried my hands, my eyes still on the front yard of Sol's house. The Barbie girl had gone home. Sol was still standing in the yard, looking in the direction Gwen had gone.
Then he turned his head.
My heart was beating fast. My current position should be invisible because it is covered by the curtain slats. In fact, Sol's gaze stopped right where I was standing.
Did he know that he was being watched?
I quickly stopped and hid behind a thick wall. Damn it. I should have been more dominant. I'm half werewolf. I'm stronger than Sol.
But why am I so afraid? Why am I so weak in front of Sol?