Izzy

I know people always talk about how you'll one day find your dream guy, but this is just downright ridiculous. The guy who was in the woods was the guy from my dream. But how? How can that even be possible? Apparently, it was possible in some messed up way. He was standing right in front of me after all. With his pale skin and long black hair that still covered his eyes, there was no doubt in my mind that this was the guy from my dream.

"Who are you?" I asked quickly when I realized that I'd been staring at him. Liam and Austin were probably wondering the answer to that question as well.

He hesitated, debating whether or not he should say. We wouldn't let him leave until he told us, we'd know his name sooner or later. He must've realized that because he finally replied.

"Chris," he answered, not bothering to ask for our names in return.

"I don't recognize him as any Hunter," Liam whispered to me. "You think he's new?"

I nodded in reply. I honestly didn't know if Chris was part of the Hunters or not. Based on my dream, I didn't think he was, but it was only a dream after all. I can't put all my faith in something as foolish as that.

"I'm guessing you're a new Hunter," Liam said cautiously.

Chris gave us all a wary look before nodding his head slightly. "I suppose so."

Even though he basically admitted to being a hunter, I somehow still had doubts about it. Even so, better be safe than sorry. On Liam's cue, we all pulled out our daggers, ready to protect ourselves if Chris dared to pose any threat.

"If you give us any trouble, it will be your last."

Chris mockingly raised his eyebrows as if to challenge us. He crossed his arms and gave us an amused smile. Was he seriously amused by all of this? Even if I didn't have the guts to, Liam and Austin would surely do anything to protect us, even if it meant harming Chris. He's either really brave or really stupid. Or just downright cocky.

"Look, I'm not here to cause any trouble so put your weapons away," he told us, his voice lacking the amusement that was previously shown in his smile. When our weapons remained in our grasps, his smile faded and he looked pissed.

"We know you're after us. Go back to Jack and tell him that he's out of luck."

I was really glad that Liam was doing all the talking because I was starting to get scared. The Hunters have always been threats to us, but none of them were like Chris, not even Jack. He was outnumbered and we had weapons yet he still continued to challenge us. If Chris did anything suspicious, Liam and Austin wouldn't hesitate to harm him. Even after everything that was said, I still had a feeling that Chris wasn't bad. It was just that stupid dream bugging me.

"Jack?" Chris asked, obviously confused. "I'm not sure what kind of crazy shit you guys got yourself into, but leave me the hell out of it."

"You're kidding, right?" Liam asked, obviously annoyed by this. It's possible that Chris really wasn't part of the Hunters, but that doesn't explain why he's walking in the middle of the woods this early in the morning.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Chris challenged.

"I'm Izzy Stoll. That's Liam and Austin Stone over there," I said as I pointed at each of us, hoping to maybe jog a memory of his.

"Doesn't ring a bell," he replied, an annoyed tinge in his voice.

"He really is new," Austin muttered. All of us were getting frustrated with this, especially Chris. We weren't getting anywhere with this conversation, we only succeeded in wasting precious time. We could've already found the werewolf by now....

"This is really starting to piss me off," Liam said. "I don't care about what you know and what you don't, all that matters is that we're not going to let you harm the werewolf."

Chris broke into a fit of laughter that only managed to piss the three of us off. "Are you serious right now? Maybe if the three of you stopped waving your weapons around as if you owned the goddamn forest, you'd actually notice that I am a werewolf."

Austin snorted. "That's low, even for you guys."

"Whatever you say," he said cockily with a shrug. He held his right hand up for us to see a ring that resided on his finger. Before I could realize what exactly the ring meant, he lifted his other hand and touched the center of the ring with his finger. In a blink of the eye, a menacing looking wolf stood in Chris' place.

"Oh my god," we all said in unison. How could we all be so stupid? Chris really was a werewolf and we wasted precious time arguing with him about it. After realizing we all finally believed him, he touched his ring once again and turned back to his normal self- if you could even call him that. This time, I was finally able to see his eyes and sure enough, they were black; one of the many ways to be able to distinguish a werewolf from a human.

"See?" he asked smugly, obviously pleased that he was able to prove us wrong.

"We're really sorry," Austin said, still shocked that Chris actually is a werewolf. It was a shock for all of us, but we needed to snap out of it and stop wasting time.

"It's whatever. I've already wasted enough time here so I'll take my leave now-"

"No!" I shouted, cutting him off. "You can't leave."

"Who's stopping me?" he asked, his anger clearly starting to grow. He could get angry all he wants but if it meant saving his life, I'd deal with it.

"I am. You're in danger."

Together, the three of us explained to Chris about the Hunters and how they kill werewolves like himself. I foolishly thought that he'd believe us and willingly allow us to take him to safety. So much for that idea.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're really trying to tell me that humans have been killing my kind? Vampires I could believe, but this is just bullshit," he said angrily.

I knew he really did believe us, his only problem was that he just didn't want to believe it. I guess for him it really is a big shock, but one that he needs to get over quickly. We didn't have much time. He didn't have much time.

"You've got to believe us. Please, your life depends on it," I pleaded. He didn't exactly come off as a friendly guy, but that didn't mean I wanted to see his life end. I had the chance to save him and I would do so no matter what it took.

He looked at me and sighed, perhaps realizing that I truly was being sincere. "Fine. But if what you say is true, why do the three of you put your lives on the line just to save my kind?"

"Because we know that werewolves aren't as bad as our people make them out to be," Liam replied, taking the words right from my mouth.

"And besides, our lives are never really in trouble. Sure, the Hunters like to rough us up a bit, but they'd never actually try to kill us," Austin said carefree. Nothing ever seems to phase him.

"You guys don't have to help me," Chris told us, not liking the idea of him putting his life in our hands.

"But we want to," I replied, making sure he knew we wouldn't change our minds.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" he groaned, still not pleased with the idea.

"Yes," the three of us answered in unison, not wasting a second to reply. Chris sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this. Without saying a word, he began to follow us as we started to make our way through the forest, hoping to get far enough away from the Hunters. We didn't even walk ten feet before we heard slow, mocking clapping from behind us. Chris immediately spun around trying to find the culprit, but the others and I didn't need to see them to know who was there. The Hunters finally found us.

"I must say, I appreciate you delivering the werewolf to me, Izzy. Even if it was unintentional," Jack said, appearing from behind the foliage with four other Hunters right behind him, one of them being David. Getting out of this mess wouldn't be easy.

"Those are the Hunters?" Chris asked, looking tense. I couldn't blame him, his life was more at risk right now than any of ours. It would be a miracle if he could get out of this alive.

I nodded in reply, my gaze never leaving Jack in fear of what he would do. It wasn't until then did I realize that I was still holding my dagger, gripping it tighter and tighter with each passing second.

"They don't look like much," Chris muttered even though he was still obviously worried about the current situation at hand.

"Guys," Austin whispered to us, his body just as tense as Chris'. He knew just as well as I did that this would be a difficult situation to get out of if we didn't make a move. "Run."

At Austin's command, the four of us bolted away, only staying long enough to hear the Hunter's curses. I had no hope of outrunning the Hunters and Liam probably didn't as well, but with Austin being our fastest runner and Chris being a werewolf, just maybe they could get away.

It wasn't long before I felt a strong hand grab my arm and pull me back away from the others. All I could do was hope that Austin and Chris could outrun the Hunters. A few moments later, I watched as another Hunter grabbed Liam, having to wrestle him to the ground in order to get him to stop. I couldn't take my eyes off of Austin as I watched helplessly as he grew slower and slower, falling further behind Chris' unnatural speed. Jack and David were catching up with him by the second, it wouldn't be long until they reached him.

"Austin, keep running!" I shouted as loud as I could, wanting nothing more than for him to get Chris to safety so we could end all this.

"Shut the hell up!" the Hunter holding me hissed, pulling me back.

Austin kept on running as fast as he could, but even he was running out of steam. It didn't surprise me at all when David finally caught up to Austin and grabbed him. But what did surprise me and scared the living hell out of me was the dagger that he pressed firmly against my friend's neck.

"Take one more step and we kill him," Jack threatened Chris, causing him to stop right where he was. Austin breathed heavily as he did his best to look down at the sharp weapon that threatened to take away his life. Even he wasn't foolish enough to try to make any attempts of escape in the position he was in.

"Austin!" I screamed in a panic. I tried to move toward him but the Hunter holding me pulled me back again more forcefully. Liam tried rushing to his brother's aid as well only to be pushed back to the ground with the Hunter's foot pressed firmly to his chest, keeping him in his spot.

Chris looked warily at his definite escape in front of him before sighing and turning back to face the rest of us. "Fine," he said, raising his hands in the air. "Take me."

Jack and the remaining Hunter hesitantly made their way over to Chris, expecting some sort of resistance to come their way. Hell, even I expected some resistance. I somewhat hoped for it so he could get out of here alive. Instead, he freely allowed Jack and the other Hunter to grab him, causing the rest of the Hunters to relax. The Hunter holding me relaxed his grip a lot more while the Hunter holding Liam pulled him up from the ground, taking the both of us closer to where Austin and Chris were being held. David still didn't let up on his grip of Austin, but at least he put his dagger away.

I stared at Chris worriedly trying to think of a quick plan to get all of us out of here alive. Jack loved taunting the werewolves, but it still wouldn't be long before he drove his dagger through Chris' chest. I needed to do something- anything.

Before I could think of an idea, Liam suddenly started fighting the Hunter holding him, turning it into a full-out brawl. Why the hell would he do that? The Hunters obviously had the advantage here, he wouldn't succeed in doing anything besides getting the shit beat out of him I looked around desperately towards Austin who also seemed just as lost as you. Everyone had their eyes on Liam in shock of his stupidity. Wait, that's it!

I easily broke out of the weak grip the Hunter had on me and swung my fist at him only for it to be caught mid-air. I swung my other hand just for that one to be caught as well.

"I don't think so, sweetheart," the Hunter said smugly. I brought my leg up and kneed him where it hurt, causing him to drop to the ground moaning in pain.

"Oh, but I think so, sweetheart," I said mockingly.

By that point, even Austin caught on to our small diversion plan and was trying his best to fight off David who didn't make things easy for him. I glanced over at Chris to see that he was still staring at us in shock. I nodded my head at him, motioning for him to run away. He still seemed hesitant to do so, even after we all went along with such a dumbass plan like this.

"Take her out," Jack ordered the other Hunter holding Chris. "Kill her, knock her out, I really don't care. Just make sure she doesn't interfere in this any longer."

I froze knowing full-well that I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against that Hunter. Before he could make his way towards me, Chris finally agreed to the plan, slamming his elbows into both Jacks and the Hunters chest causing the both of them to fly backward a few feet. Remind me never to get on his bad side.

"Get him!" Jack shouted hoarsely, the air knocked out of him from that hit.

Liam managed to get a clean hit onto the Hunter fighting with him, knocking him to the ground. He quickly made his way over to Chris before any of the other Hunters could react.

"Izzy, I'm going to bring Chris somewhere safe. I'm counting on you and Austin to take care of the Hunters," he told you quickly.

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" I asked dubiously. He was obviously overestimating Austin and me, we couldn't possibly fight them all on our own and win.

"You'll find a way, you always do."

Without waiting for my reply, he ran deeper into the forest with Chris right on his heels. Before I could make my way over to Austin, rough hands pushed me down onto the ground. I looked up, half expecting that same Hunter from before to be there, just asking for more pain. My anger was replaced with fear when I saw David standing above me.

"They're mine now," he said with a nasty grin before running off after Liam and Chris. Sure, they had a big head start, but David would surely catch up soon enough.

"Liam! David's right behind you!" I screamed as loud as I could.

It was too late, though. He was too far away. The only thought going through my mind was, he's going to die.