Lee’s POV  

People would think winter in Winnipeg would be magical, right? Christmas still lingers in the air from last month’s holidays. The holiday lights illuminate the city streets because our city hall only gives the okay to take them down around mid-January despite the townsfolk protesting against it. Honestly, if it were for most of us, the lights would stay up for the entire year. It is still a big city, but it has a whimsical feeling about it. So, one would expect winter around here to be something right out of the fantasy books. Some sort of Harry Potter shit. Jolly people, smiling and with bright energy.  

Well, they are thoroughly wrong.  

The weather, already crappy on a good day, gets horrible during the long month of January. Like horror movie bad. We shouldn’t even be allowed to leave the house on days like these. How has no one come up with a law about it baffles me? I am pretty sure they close schools in other countries when it snows, like it is snowing tonight. But then again, the boss wants me to go into the office for an emergency that came in. I tried to tell him to fuck off, but my brother just ordered me to get my ass in my car and drive or he would do it himself. As tempted as the idea was, I realized it wouldn’t be the best of solutions since he doesn’t know neither the patient nor the person who brought him in. He doesn’t know Mrs. Lait has anxiety and worries over the smallest things whenever her dog has to be examined.  

Which is how I came to step foot out of my cozy one-bedroom apartment into the worst storm Canada has ever seen in a decade. Okay, maybe not the worst one. But definitely the worst storm that I was out of my house to drive into. I swear if I didn’t love my job, nor wasn’t I scared to death of my brother, I would not be doing this. But the other twenty-four-hour vet hospital is all the way across town, and I don’t think the dog waiting for me in my office will do the trip well with the amount of pain he must be into.  

The streets are grey and besides my car and a few others, no one seems to be outside this evening. When the phone rings, I glance at the notification on the car console and frown. Shit. It slipped out of my mind. “Hi,” I say and clear my throat when my voice comes out too pitched. “I am so sorry I forgot to tell you, Jimin. I am not home. I got a call to go to the hospital.”  

“Well, that would explain it. I have been ringing for like ten minutes.”  

I forgot. I forgot I had plans with Jimin tonight. He mumbles something about the cold and I sigh internally. It’s not like he is cold. The man’s blood runs almost as hot as mine. It’s impossible for him to get cold even if he were to be naked in the snow.   

“Sorry,” I try again.  

I narrow my eyes as I try to make sense of the road. It’s too tight, and with the storm gathering, everything is either blurred or a blanket of massive white. I honestly should have told Seok-Jin I couldn’t go to the hospital. Not in this weather. There are other vets on call. But I also know he wouldn’t ask me if he wasn’t in a serious need of my opinion.  

“Why are you outside in this weather?” Jimin asks.  

“Seok-Jin called. Mrs. Laits’ dog had another seizure. I think he is in pain.” The humming coming on the line does not help. Jimin is one of the most loyal hunters to my brother. He is third in command, since I am second. So, he knows if Seok-Jin told me I should go, then it’s important. “I am really sorry, Jimin. I was going to text, but then with the storm...”  

“It’s fine,” he sighs, and it’s as if I can see him. Standing in the hallway in front of my apartment’s door, blonde hair covering his eyes while he looks down, figuring out what to say. Jimin is not the best with words, and unfortunately neither am I. “I had dinner for us, and I wanted to watch a new show on Netflix with you... but it’s fine”  

Ah. Right. It was a date night, not just a normal night. I should really put these down on paper so I can remember. They are important to him, so I want to make them special. “Sorry,” I say again, sweeter this time. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow?”  

“You better,” he chuckles. “Text me when you’re back home so I know you’re safe, okay?”  

“Okay.”  

“Love you, Lee.”  

Against my better judgement, I bite down on my lower lip and wait for the words to easily come to me. But they don’t. They never do. I like Jimin. He is one of my closest friends, and we grew up together. He is also my boyfriend and the man I am promised to. Like archaic times. There are some traditions despite the year we live in, that we can’t shake off. The Legion accepted the union, and as the second, and the right hand to my brother, I should wed the right person.  

The men in power think I need a hunter to keep me safe. Hunters are their own species. We are not like the werewolves and their pack. Those are the more primordial cousins from what we are. Hunters are the sons and daughters of the Moon Goddess. We establish control and ensure peace. Imagine explaining that to a human. Or even better, the Frankenstein, mermaids and vampires are also real.  

The first one is extinct, though, thank the goddess. The second one I only had to deal with once when a siren decided to try her magic on land. But the third kind is a pain in my ass. It’s why I was trying to stay in my apartment tonight. I was out earlier when one of the elders told me to check the warehouses close to the border. Apparently, someone saw a creature there, and they feared it could be a vampire. So I got stuck stalking the creature in the rain. If I could shift into some sort of animal, it would make my life so much easier. But we don’t shift. Our bodies do not change. It’s something till this day Jungkook hates. My best friend thinks it would be a great Halloween costume if he could shift into a wolf skin, or some sort of ferocious animal. According to him, the jaguar would be the most badass.  

But since we are stuck in what others would call human bodies, although we are far from human, sometimes it takes a toll. My stamina and resilience are better than this. As a descendent of the goddess herself, both Seok-Jin and I heal faster than the rest of the group. If I did not have powers and I was a human, the rain and cold I faced would have killed me. Instead, I stepped into my shower, put the water on the highest temperature, and I was as good as new when I came out.  

“Me too,” I say when the silence stretches for too long. “I will make it up to you, okay? I’ll cook whatever you want.”  

“If you keep pulling that up, you will end up with a ring on your finger sooner than expected,” he laughs and my stomach twists. “Okay, I got to go. Don’t forget to text me when you get home safe.”  

And again, I don’t understand why nausea comes after me. I have known Jimin for years. We have been together as a couple for a while. It started innocently, but people kept pushing, so we gave in. Then my brother and the elders began with their talks about the next generation and I gave up fighting his ideas entirely. Seok-Jin is the one in charge of us Hunters. He took the place of my father after his tragic death. So I understand it is important for him that I help to raise the ones who will one day replace us.

But it’s not like we are running out of time. My sons and daughters will help their cousins when the time comes. But I would love if they could be children before that. I would love if they could live without the worry of having to protect our city and everything around it.

The ideas and notions from the ones who make the decisions sometimes make me question things. Kids need to be kids. I remember my brother growing up way too fast, worrying about how he could protect us all. It’s probably the reason he is so serious. The weight of responsibility is heavy on him and the man barely smiles.

It’s like a mantra I have been listening to my entire life. We must protect our kind. We must secure the next generation. I don’t like the wording the elders use, nor do I enjoy these dated ideas. They are old, and do not fit into the times we are in. Most of the traditions focus on the male only and completely obliterate the female. As per usual. Hunters, especially the ones that are in power like my family, tend to think men are more important than women. Women are good for breading and taking care of the house and their family. I may have broken a lot of old rules when I forced my brother to accept me to join his legion and hunt monsters.  

He put me through so many tests just because I was a woman, and worse, his little sister, that I made myself ace each and every single thing he threw at me. Other members of the Legion did not have to endure three days out in the rain and fight monsters before joining. But I had. 

I was also the first woman born into our bloodline, but everyone seems to forget it. All the other women came into our family by wedding one of the men. I am the first female born hunter, so I think I have a say if I should join the Legion or not. My father used to think I did, and it is what got me through so many hardships.

The car slips on the road, and I hiss. “Shit.”

We hope you enjoyed 🖤