New Beginnings

Chapter 7

Isabelle's P.O.V.

It's been a couple of days since the scent of that shifter caught my attention. In that time I have been tense and extremely paranoid, it's driving Mark and Josh insane. But nothing has happened and I haven't smelt or seen any clues of this mysterious person since. I'm beginning to think it was just a coincidence, a rogue passing through maybe. It's my day off today and I’m on my own in the flat. Drake's words pass through my mind again:

“Everyone is looking for you and when I say everyone I mean everyone.” Damn that boy has made me crazy!

But just to make sure I peer out of the window onto the street, there are always odd things going on in this part of town, just the other day a man walked down the road with a wheelie chair balanced on the top of his head. Today, however, all is calm, it's cloudy and it's forecast to rain but even so there are children playing and couples walking hand in hand. Satisfied I go back to cleaning up, I’m like a proper little housewife, cleaning and cooking I can do it all now. Without sounding like a brat, before I left the pack house I had never done any of these things before and I was finding that I was even enjoying doing them.

Creating a new life for myself at first was really scary, but this human life really suits me. Granted it's not that much different from my old life, considering I can't shift anyway, but here there aren't as many restrictions and I love it.

 I find myself staring out of the window again; it's become a bad habit that I can't seem to shake. I scan the area around me; left up the street is clear and so is right, I stare into the park across the way scanning the trees along the edge that lead into the woods. For a second I think I see a pair of blue eyes staring at me from a gap in the leaves and my breath catches in my throat, but as quickly as they appear they disappear again.

I can't tare my eyes away from that spot and it must be at least  five minuets later, yet I am sitll staring at that one spot, I try to dismiss it as my imagination playing cruel tricks on me but it doesn't work, my whole body is on high alert. Grabbing my keys and my coat I leave the house and make my way across the road and into the park. I've never liked this park there is rubbish everywhere, sweet wrappers, beer cans and some other even more undesirable items, which make me stare at the floor as I pick my way towards the woods. I now can't remember exactly where I thought I saw those eyes, but right now I don't care, I just walk straight into the tree line and turn from side to side looking for any clue that someone has been here. I take a right and walk only a few steps when I smell it. It's the same smell from the other day and it definitely belongs to a shifter, it's also a fresh trail.

I crouch down and examine the forest floor, leaves are crushed and branches have been snapped, yep, someone's been here. Looking up I can see my lounge window, this is the spot. The pitter patter of rain drops on leaves has me looking up towards the tree tops, and subsequently into the blue eyes of an unknown shifter.

Jumping to my feet and taking a step back at the same time, I fight the urge to scream. My brain is telling me to put as much distance between me and this guy as possible and I’m not going to argue with it. He's tall and I have to crane my neck upwards just to see his face. He has a shaved head and looks like he hasn't bathed for weeks. If I had to guess I would say he was in his late thirties, as he has wrinkles around his eyes and across his forehead. He smiles at me and shows off his disgustingly yellow teeth. The only thing he is wearing is a dirty pair of khaki coloured shorts, which are far past the days of their prime, as they are covered in dirt and are full of holes.

"What 'ave we 'ere?" he says, his eyes roaming over my body and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "A pretty girl like yourself shouldn't be strolling' in the woods on her own."