Rudi liked toying with us like a mouse who enjoyed taunting a cat. Though, the longer it went on, the more I wondered if we really were the cat. One such morning, I walked out my front door to head to my favorite coffee shop, Pages & Pie.

Blissfully unaware, I stepped out and promptly heard (and felt) a squish as my boot came down. I had to choke down the bile rising into my throat as I stared down at a slab of fresh meat with "Kota" cut into it... and a bite missing. My head swung from one direction to the other and, because I wasn't stupid, I looked up as well. Nothing and no one.

It hadn't been out long. The flesh was still a fresh bright red. I forced my froze body move again, making sure my parents had gone to work before picking up the welcome mat and bringing it inside. What-do-I-do, what-do-I-do, what-do-I-do? I got out my phone to call Connelly, but stopped. Alister's words echoed inside, Ultimately, they (humans) get used as bait.

Connelly: Good morning, beautiful :)

Me: Hey

I hesitated, at war with myself. I don't want to be bait, I thought, but does it really matter? Rudi is already using me like it because somehow, he knows how involved I am with the Peters. If I don't say anything, maybe he'll just eat me to justify wasting his time baiting Connelly. If I do tell them, maybe they can catch him before he kills me, or them, or anyone else... ugghhh.

Connelly: You okay?

Me: Uhh, I need you to come over here

Me: And the others might want to see this too

Connelly: What is it?

Me: Rudi was here just now

Connelly: WHAT!!! You saw him!? I'm on my way

Me: No, but he left me a message and it's still fresh

Connelly: Be there in 5

They all lived about 30 minutes or more out of town, so I assumed they were speeding, but when they arrived they hadn't used a car. They spread out to search the area while Mathias, Mira and Connelly came to where the meat was lying.

"He can't be far." Mira squatted beside it and seemed to be sniffing it.

"Go with the others and look," Mathias said and she disappeared. "Why would he do this to you, Kota?"

"How does he even know about you?" Connelly added.

"Uhh, well I'm the one who saw him the night he got here, remember? Then the other day, I was driving home and this elk ran right out in front of me and died in the middle of the road. It looked like it had been running a long time, and there were huge gashes in its sides."

"How does that have anything to do with-"

"Hey, Kota!" Sue was stepping off her porch and heading this way, waving merrily and blissfully unaware of the tension residing on my porch. "What's going on? Hello, Mr. Peters."

Luckily, Ivan showed up just in time to steer her away, and Connelly adjusted himself so her craning to see around Ivan was pointless. Connelly sighed in frustration, then waited for me to continue. "Rudi was the one chasing the Elk," I said, "The gashes in the sides, looked exactly like my scars." I gulped and lowered my gaze a second, embarrassed.

Poor Mathias. He seemed to always be rubbing his eyes when I saw him lately. He lowered nearer to the raw flesh, analyzing. "It sends a clear message, a warning. But why you?" Rising to his feet, he motioned toward the door ajar and I nodded for them to enter.

He stepped inside, gazing at everything as he walked around. "Are you looking for something?" I asked.

"He's looking for signs that he was in the house. Have you noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary lately?" Connelly asked as we ascended the stairs to my room, my hand in his.

Besides things moving around on me and feeling like I'm falling into my bed every morning now? "No," I said, "Not really. Well, except that there's a raven who likes to come to my window and peck at the window."

"What?" He went to the window.

"Can you guys, uh, change into ravens too?" My gut tightened.

"Yes, we can. How long has it been happening?"

"For a while now. Like, a month or two?" I shrugged unsure.

"Okay, then it's fine." He relaxed and resumed examining the room.

I sat on the bed. "Don't you think, if he'd come into my room, that he would have just finished me instead of leaving that warning? Or taken me to bargain with you?"

"Don't give him any ideas." Connelly said, as if Rudi might be listening. "Rudi likes to play with his food before he kills it."

"Oh."

"It's not abnormal for others who have been cursed like us, but he seems to enjoy it a bit more. Really likes to drag it out and make it dramatic."

"How do you know him so well? It sounds like you've known him a long time."

"Since childhood," His voice hinting at nostalgic memories. "Our families were close before the curse started. He and Mira were actually a thing for a while, but the curse... What confuses me is why he's focusing on you?"

He opened the door to the bathroom and my stomach clenched, but I tried to stay relaxed. I'm not guilty of anything but helping save us all, I thought, and calmed my nerves. "Maybe Alister was right. Maybe humans always end up as bait in the end."

"Don't tell him that," he echoed from the bathroom and I smiled. "Or maybe... you've meddling where humans shouldn't be meddling." Ruffling sounds made my stomach contort like a criminal being caught in the act. I'd been caught red-handed. Why hadn't I washed my hunting clothes as soon as I got back home? Why do I feel guilty?!

He came out of the bathroom, holding my hunting clothes and a frustratedly disappointed expression. He waited, and I tried, but nothing came out. Mathias called for us to come down, and when we did, he was holding my hunting gear. His expression was so angry, and so disappointed, it felt like a father scolding his daughter in the worst way. He motioned for me to sit on the bench next to the under-stairs closet

"Look—"

"How could you do this!" Connelly exclaimed. "I told you not to go hunting. Didn't I? I told you not to let your friends go hunting either. Did they just talk you into it? You could have died." Mathias put a hand on his shoulder and he stopped but he had to turn and walk away a few steps, breathing deeply.

"Explain."

"This is not just some stupid hunt, which I know is what you're thinking. This was a serious thing, and it is a yearly tradition that a lot of people in this area still do. It's called Tribute Night, and it's for The Great White Wolf. The spirit of the valley who protects the wolves and —"

"And you," Connelly said with narrowed eyes. "He attacked us twice now."

Narrowing my eyes in response, I continued, "He protected me from you and Alister. What I'm trying to say is that it's not like I was alone. The forest was full of people. We hunt, then give the best cut of meat as tribute at the edge of the forest for The Great White Wolf, and call his name, all in respect for what he's done and in hope he'll come back. This is the first time he's been seen in almost a hundred years. I thought if I could make him really come back, and come to me, then he could help us against Rudi."

"Did anything happen?" Mathias asked.

The ravenous growl from that night reverberated in my mind, images of stampeding deer, and then the howl signaling the White Wolf's return...then the elk who died in the road right in front of me on my way home, with the same gashes as the ones Connally had given me. "Yes," I finally said. I told them everything from that night, even about Louis getting more suspicious.

Mathias sighed. "Kota, not only did you just foolishly put yourself and your friends in danger, but you lied to us. We let you into our family — let you know all our secrets — and still you feel the need to keep things from us?"

"All your secrets?" I arched a brow. "I seriously doubt you've told me everything there is to know about what's going on here. I've only been getting bits and pieces, but Connelly himself said I only know as much as I need to. What I don't understand is how he knew I was involved with you. There were a lot of people in the forest that night, and I was with my friends when I saw him the first time, so why is he tormenting me?"

"Maybe he senses something different about you," Mathias murmurs, in thought.

"Now don't go making her feel all special, Mathias," Alister says as he and Mira walked in. "The simple fact is that she probably just smells like us, and mostly Connelly." He glanced at Connelly. "He couldn't resist tormenting you."

"He's gone back into the trees and veered west, but that's all we know. He covered his tracks pretty well."

"Things are going to be different now. You will no longer come to the house, or be around us except for when school and dance practice dictates. You will have to stay very close to your human friends, Kota. Very close. We need to minimize our scent on you and make him think you're not involved or aware of anything... but if anything else happens, call us immediately, understand?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry. I just thought it would be the best way I could help." I followed them out onto the porch.

"I understand," Mathias said, taking my hand in his. "Trust me, I do understand your reasons. I just hope your risks weren't in vain." Then he and the others were gone.

Connelly wouldn't even look at me.

I sighed and grabbed my things before heading to school.

~*~