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10: Running into Jump Scares (Lucky's POV)

The next day started out almost like any other, and I found myself sighing with relief. I had some trouble sleeping, but no nightmares. I would toss and turn for a while, then get up and waltz to the bathroom. No amount of either of these things made sleep grace me with its presence. When I finally looked at the clock and it read 2 AM, I decided a run couldn’t hurt anything. So I got my running gear on and donned my new AirPods. I started playing some upbeat music and did some stretches so that I wouldn't pull anything.

As I left the room, the nagging feeling that someone was still watching me returned. I locked the door carefully behind me and looked around. The street was barely illuminated by the lamps lining it, and it was surrounded by pitch-black forest in every direction. There wasn't a specific place while I was looking around that made me feel more uneasy than another, but something was there. Still, going down Main St. didn't seem like like that bad of a plan. There were businesses and apartments that lined either side of the street, which provided me some sense of comfort. At least on Main St, if someone was following me, I could always just scream and be heard.

But I could still sense a set of eyes following my every move. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. There were no suspicious shadows or people nearby. I listened carefully, silently cursing that I no longer had my wolf hearing. After a few moments of only hearing cicadas, I started down the stairs. At the last step, a car passed by on the main street. It jolted me slightly and got my heartbeat up, which had me laughing at myself.

“Come on, wimp,” I muttered to myself and started to jog down Main St.

My pace was pretty slow, and a bit uneven compared to my usual. I didn’t want to exert myself or go too far from Main St since it was so late, but I felt off-kilter. Something was wrong and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Yet, with each step, I started to feel myself get a little less uneasy. The feeling of being watched lessened with each street I passed, and so I kept pushing on. I started pacing myself to the rhythm of each passing song in order to keep an even gait and found myself losing track of time. The unfortunate thing was I also lost track of how far I was running. I ran far passed Main St, where there were no street lamps and I was surrounded by nothing but the forest. As I slowed to a stop, I took an Airpod out and gave another listen. Cicadas, an owl hoot... and something else. Something bigger. For me to hear it without my wolf, it had to be close.

I didn't want to stick around to find out what was growing nearer. After only a small pause, I put the Airpod back in. The music started again and I gave my body a physical shake to try and loosen the newly found tension I was carrying. I took a deep breath and started to turn around. Something leaped out of the forest and blocked my path.

A stark screech escaped from between my lips as the hairs on my arms stood on end, and suddenly all of my recent dreams flashed before my eyes at lightning speed. This was it. This was the thing I had been dreading for the last week: death.

There was a deep growl from the figure in front of me, and I saw eyes flash gold. My scream stopped in my throat. I'd seen that before. Recently. Really recently.

When I leaned in, I made out a familiar shape. I yanked my phone from my bra and pulled out an Airpod. As I turned the flashlight on, I yelped, “Wyatt? What the hell are you doing?”

His eyes flashed that spectacular gold again. He bared his teeth at me and snarled, “Mate.”

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