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Staring off into the distance, I could slightly make out my home. My eyes followed the relative path that would lead me there, one different from Huxley and Gretta’s. I nodded in their direction, and they nodded in mine. An acknowledgment. A goodbye. And as the sun dipped behind the horizon, we parted ways.
It was easy running through the streets without being seen. As the day neared its end and stars teased the sky, no one would worry about a passing streak of white on the road or the sidewalk.
Using a makeshift staircase of boxes, I snuck into my messy bedroom on the second floor, shifted back into my human form, and practically collapsed in the black-tiled bathroom, naked.
The best part about being a werewolf was the freedom and the worst part was the aftermath—naked and covered in grime and whatever else my fur collected from the forest and the ground.
I let the hot water trickle over my body, breathing in the warmth and letting every muscle relax as the shower melted me from the outside. I didn’t know how long I was in there, only that when I emerged, a thick cloud of steam followed me.
With little to no effort, I slipped on a large orange shirt and baggy pants, lazily drying my hair with a towel and tracing my almost-but-not-quite well-defined jawline.
It dawned on me that maybe Aera didn’t notice me because I wasn’t born with a chiseled jawline like my cousin Cole, a half werewolf. I might have overheard Aera complimenting his jaw a few times, like he was a god or something. More than our physical differences, it was impossible for her to notice me because she and Cole were too alike, practically soulmates. Being the only two introverts in a class full of extroverts sparked a rather unique romance between them—one I didn’t quite understand.
When we were younger, while playing in sandboxes at the park, their unintentional glares scared every other child away. I had no choice but shatter the intolerable atmosphere before it could permanently destroy other innocent kids’ childhoods—including mine.
“If you two can’t look at others properly, then please close your eyes. The other kids don’t even want to play with us anymore because you two keep staring them down,” I’d once said at only six years old.
When Cole started dating Aera, all I could do was support them. I watched them hug and kiss, pretending to be happy for them as I mended my own heart in the shadows.
Nevertheless, I found many ways to tease Aera. I nicknamed hersmall bean, told her Cole would never marry her, and made random excuses just to be with her. I didn’t know how else to communicate my feelings.
All I knew was that despite our differences, I still admired her.
Her smile was my rainbow, even if it was meant for someone else.
Grabbing my phone, I pulled up my Instagram account. Despite Aera not following me back, I messaged her in hopes of starting a heartfelt conversation.
Seenzoned?I sighed in defeat.
After tossing my towel and phone on the side of my bed, I withdrew the book Aera had forgotten and attempted to read it.
The book was calledLet Dai—whatever the hell that meant. Woon Soo-yeon, the author, better explain it to me.
Lying on my bed, I stared at the front book cover, undeterred by the image of two boys seemingly in love. I flipped through it at least three times. After going over the first three pages, I fell asleep for a second but already had drool all over my face.
After pinching myself awake, I skimmed through hundreds of pages and only read the last few. The story had wrapped up with a bittersweet ending that I neither liked nor disliked. Maybe Dai and his leading man, Jaehee, ended up together, maybe they never did. I considered telling Aera all about the book to show off and give her a reason to converse with me, but that would make me a fraud. I skipped through the dialogue and only looked at the drawings so how could I fully understand the story or the ending? I basically made up my own theory based on the drawings.
The heavy tread of boots heading toward my bedroom door instantly snapped me back to reality. With one last yawn, I stuffed the book under my pillow and opened the door to meet Cole just as his hand was poised to knock.
“You look excited,” he said matter-of-factly.
I snorted. “Who doesn’t love the smell of your mother’s cooking?” Even with my door closed, I caught a whiff of the tantalizing aroma of dry-aged ribeye steaks with thyme-garlic butter.It was my favorite.
I walked past Cole, down the stairs, to the kitchen where his mother, Aunt Suzy, was waiting for us to grab our seats.
Our scrawny neighbor Keith was also seated at the table. Being the son of the local sheriff, it made perfect sense that Keith had quickly fallen in with the hunters when they moved here. He was the reason Cole had to live a double life, and quite frankly, I did not like him. If Aunt Suzy knew about his other occupation, she wouldn’t like him either. But maybe she wouldn’t care considering the huge crush she had on the sheriff.
“Gray, come sit next to Keith. His father had to work overtime again, so I asked him to join us,” Aunt Suzy said, motioning to my chair. She was older than most mothers of teenagers, but her ivory skin remained flawless and wrinkle-free. She was only human, so her sweetness and kindness must have helped with her aging backward.
In spite of her angelic personality, she was not very fondof the Yoo family. Aunt Suzy had always been ashamed of being one of us since her now ex-husband, an original Yoo, let his absolute power corrupt him. It eventually led to a rampage that killed at least seven cops several years ago.
The media was quick in covering it up, and we never questioned it.
Afraid Cole would turn out to be just like his father, she changed their last names to Kimbrough—as if that would help—wanting nothing to do with the Yoo family, and assuming demons ran in our blood.
I was an exception. When my parents passed away, Aunt Suzy took pity on me and brought me home. Not everyone knew about what happened. It wasn’t a secret, though. We just stopped talking about them.
“You don’t mind if Keith eats the other steak, right, Gray?” Aunt Suzy asked.
