‘I'm a horrible friend’ thought Sofia as she ran with Kas through the streets of El Cerro. That afternoon she had planned to meet Sara, and she was late for a change. Yes, she had a good excuse, but that didn't make her feel any less guilty.

When she reached the town hall square she stopped and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She had to use all her self-control not to end up panting like Kas, who had his tongue hanging out between his jaws, although he seemed to be having the time of his life. After resting for a couple of minutes, Sofia raised her eyes and looked around for her friend. The weather was pleasant so many people had decided to go out for a walk, but it didn't take her long to spot her nonetheless.

Sara was standing by the curb chatting with someone, probably killing time while she waited for her, as usual. Sofia bit her lip. She really was a horrible friend.

“Let's go, Kas,” she said to her dog.

As she approached her friend, her heart skipped a beat and a whimper rose to her throat. The person she was talking to was the boy she'd been introduced to a few days earlier. Dave was sitting astride his motorcycle, which was one of those low-horsepower ones that looked like a racing bike. Besides his black jacket, he was wearing a white sweater, white trainers and a pair of jeans that fit him quiet well. The afternoon sun brought out the color of his blond hair and the brightness of his blue eyes, and based on his smile, he seemed to be enjoying the conversation. No wonder, Sara was very easy to like.

Sofia bit her lip. She could not deny that he was a very handsome boy.

“No need, don't worry. I still have to get settled and see where everything is. At least I've managed to get my photos for the school papers taken,” the boy told Sara, and as he looked at Sofia the smile faded a little.

“Sorry I'm late, Sara. I got caught up with some exercises for the Stuck-up and I lost track of time,” said Sofia when she reached her friend.

“It's always the same with you, mate. You get busy with your studies and forget about the world,” Sara exclaimed, and let out one of her thunderous laughs.

However, Sofia barely paid attention to her words as her eyes met that boy’s gaze, who was watching her with his head slightly tilted to one side. They were close enough that she was able to perceive his scent in detail, and she felt like crying again. He smelled of forest, of earth, of vegetation and motorcycle fuel. There was no cologne on him and he didn’t need it either. His own body odor was pleasant enough that he didn’t need to mask it under artificial aromas.

“Hi...” Sofia said in a quiet voice, and looked away.

“Hi...” replied the boy, looking away too. Out of the corner of her eye, Sofía saw him run his tongue over his lips.

Kas, who didn't know about awkward situations, approached Dave and used his thigh to get on two legs so he could lick his face. Laughing, the boy stroked the dog's back and looked at him with a gleam of enthusiasm in his gaze. Though his smile was still controlled, it seemed more natural than when she first met him. Blushing, Sofia had to admit that it was pretty, and it matched his handsome boyish face. Something caught her eye, though, a small shadow of sadness that seemed to cloud his eyes.

“His name is Kas,” Sofia murmured, feeling worse and worse.

“Oh... Hi, Kas. How are you?” said Dave as he stroked the animal. A quiet sigh escaped his lips.

“We’re going to walk the dog, man, come along,” said Sara.

“Thanks Sara, but no. I'd better go home and let you two have fun. You were meeting her, not me. I only ran into you by chance.”

Something broke inside Sofia. The fleeting glance he had given her had not gone unnoticed, and neither had the sigh of resignation. Yes, she preferred it that way, because she didn't want to have her heart broken again, but it seemed so unfair. There was something about him that had struck her more than his kindness, his handsome boyish looks, and his appealing scent, and she knew very well what it was. the way he behaved with her huge Dobermann.

When she saw him drop to the ground without fear or shame, when she saw him grin like a child as he stroked the dog who was licking his face, she knew she wanted to get to know him better. She clenched her jaw and swallowed the growl that rose to her throat. She couldn't, and it wasn't fair. Why couldn't she just get to know this boy? Why couldn't she be an ordinary girl her age? ¿Why did she have to inherit her father’s blood?

“You can come, man. She doesn’t care, right?" Sara insisted, giving her friend a warning look.

“I don't care,” Sofia said, letting her eyes meet the boy’s.

“Thanks, but I'd rather leave. I don't want to cause any trouble between you two,” he said, and twisted his lips into a weak, almost forced smile.

Sofia licked her lips and looked away. A pang of guilt shook her and, for a moment, she considered turning around to go home. Anyway, the moon was going to be full that night, and she should get ready just in case.

“Take care, man, especially on a night like this, you know that in El Cerro there might be witches doing their thing,” said Sara, and the boy chuckled a little.

“I will,” said Dave, and nodded a farewell to Sofia.

After giving Kas one last caress, he put on his helmet and left. Sofia bit her lip as she let her eyes follow him. Even when she had treated him with hostility, he was still kind.

“Okay, buddy, you and I are going to talk about this, because I don't understand shit right now,” said Sara when the sound of the engine was no more than a distant murmur.

“Sara...” said Sofia, and started to walk towards the park behind the town hall.

“I've seen the way you look at him, and you don't fool me, you like him,” insisted Sara as she followed her.

“He's cute, but that's no secret. He knows it himself. That doesn't mean I like him,” Sofia commented, aware of the soft blush that was appearing on her cheeks.

“Come on, man, you wanted to talk to him and you've been fighting back the urge,” said Sara.

“You know well enough that thing’s are not that easy...” Sofia muttered, grimacing.

The two girls reached the park, an expanse full of large-leafed trees with numerous paths through which to stroll. There was quiet a lot of people, mostly parents with children and a few teenagers who, like them, were out for a walk to take advantage of the nice weather that had settled in after the rain. It was cold, especially at night, but under the sunlight the temperature was pleasant. Once in the park, Sofia let Kas loose so he could go to sniff the bushes.

“Yeah, I know you don’t want people to approach you because you’re not human, but mate, I’m worried about you. He's a really great guy and it seems like you're afraid that you'll become friends.”

Sofia bit her lip.

“It's... complicated... but I don't want to talk about it.”

An uncontrollable sob shook her chest. Sofia looked away and began to blink in an attempt to hold back the tears that were threatening to well up. A few meters away from her Kas was sniffing among the plants that lined the path. A little further on, sitting on the grass, a group of girls giggled and blushed as they talked in whispers about the boys they liked. She had never had that. She had always been a guild huntress and a cinanthrope, and that had influenced her entire childhood. The only time in her life she ever had anything like that, the only time she ever got her hopes up for a boy and started to have anything resembling a normal life, he broke her heart in the worst way possible.

“Sofi, girl, what happened to you?”

Sofia felt a hand on her shoulder and raised her eyes at her friend. Sara was looking at her with concern, or so she thought, because she was barely able to see her face through the blurred veil of her tears. She hadn't even realized at what point she had started crying. Annoyed by her lack of control, Sofia rubbed her face with the sleeve of her jumper harder than she really needed to. A growl of anger rose to her throat but she restrained it between her fangs.

“He found out,” the word escaped her lips in a murmur and she raised her hand to show her the white scar on her wrist.

“He found out?” Sara raised her eyebrows and looked at her confused.

“Yes, he found out! Angel found out I’m a she-wolf!”

Without waiting for an answer, Sofia started walking with furious steps. She needed to move, give vent to all those emotions that were welling up inside her. In her throat she felt a growl of frustration, anger and pain, but she held it back despite how much she desired to show her natural behavior. The energy in her chest awoke, fueled by her emotions, and began to shake between her ribs wanting to come out. Trembling, Sofia clenched her fists and started breathing in long, deep breaths just so she wouldn't start panting like the dog she was.

“Wait, Sofi, who is Angel? Was he your boy?” asked Sara as she fell into step with her.

“Yes, he was my boyfriend…” A high-pitched whine echoed in her throat before she could stifle it.

“How did he know? Was he like you?”

“No, he was a hunter, like my mother, like all my friends.” A growl seeped into her voice and she brusquely turned her head away.

“Fuck, Sofi. Your mother is a hunter?” Sara paled.

Sofia bit her lip and nodded. A shiver ran through her body and she barely managed to suppress the urge to shake. Tears threatened to run down her cheeks again and she looked away, not only to try to control herself, but also because she couldn't bear to look into those brown eyes so full of worry after the confession she had made. Hunter. Her mother was a huntress, which meant she was also part of the guild. There was no more despicable creature in all the supernatural world than a hunter. Sara was her only friend and the last thing she wanted was to lose her too.

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“I was born into the guild. My mother knew I wasn't human but she kept it a secret. Angel was my friend, and when we were fifteen we started flirting and ended up dating.” Again she looked at the scar on her wrist, and she had to take several deep breaths to keep from bursting into tears. Even so, her voice sounded high-pitched, infused with the whimper she felt in her throat. “You don't know how he looked at me. He was my friend since forever, and when the silver burned my skin, he looked at me like I was something despicable... like I wasn't me anymore....”

“Fuck, Sofi...”

“That’s why I don’t let people to get close to me, but…”

“This is not what you want, is it?” Sara guessed.

“No...”

Sofia hugged herself to hold back the shudder that shook her back and let her gaze wander around the park. Her dog was scampering through the bushes, looking for interesting scents to amuse himself with, and some people avoided him when he walked too close to them. Kas was an imposing Dobermann, with a huge chest and a soldier look that was scary to many. The poor thing was a gentle goof who loved to be petted and would run for cover behind her legs when he got scared, and she had seen him get scared of graffiti. That boy didn't seem to care what he looked like and that frightened her because, as she watched him play with Kas, she felt a warmth in her stomach that she hadn't felt in a long time.

“I want to have friends once more, but I'm afraid of loving people and losing them again. I'm afraid of being rejected again because I'm not human,” she said quietly.

“Tell me something, Sofi, do you hate yourself for what you are?” asked Sara, and when Sofia looked up, she saw that her expression was much more serious than usual.

“I don't hate myself, but I know my life would be a lot easier if I were human. Fuck! I've spent my life being afraid that my friends would find out that I'm not human. I repress my instincts and my behavior all the time because I'm terrified of hunters, and now I'm not even able to make friends because I don't want to be rejected again. I just want to have a normal life for once!”

“Then go get that normal life,” Sara commented, shrugging, but there was a mischievous spark in her eyes that made it clear to Sofia that she was already scheming something.

“Sara...” Sofia let out a long sigh and licked her lips.

“Sofia, it's normal to be afraid, but you can't give up being happy because of what that cretin did to you. David is a great guy, and I'm sure he would never hurt you. Wouldn't you like to see Kas play with him more often? Because Kas seems to like him a lot.” Sara wrapped an arm around her shoulders in one of her invasive hugs.

“You're a fucking blackmailer,” Sofia grumbled, feeling the shadow of a smile appear on her lips.

“But I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?” she said with a triumphant smile.

Sofia nodded and looked at her dog, at that fierce-looking buffoon who was staring at her with those innocent brown eyes. Dave had that same innocence in his gaze.

“I'm not telling you to marry him, buddy, just give yourself a chance to be his friend.”

“I'll think about it, but no promises,” she said, though her lips began to open in a smile.

“That's my Sofi!” Sara ruffled her hair and managed to make her laugh. “I'm off, I have to help my sisters with the rituals to recharge our batteries, like every full moon. Take care, and don't forget you're my pal. If you're upset about something, call me, and if I can, I'll come over. I'm not just here for laughs and burgers, I'm also here to make you laugh when you feel like shit.”

“Thank you, Sara,” she said, and the smile that broke across her lips was the broadest she had shown in a long, long time.

During her walk home Sofia could not stop thinking about those words. Yes, she couldn't deny that she wanted to get to know him better, but things were still too complicated. However, Sara had once again sown the seed of doubt in her because there was already fertile ground on which to settle. For a moment she had imagined the three of them sitting on the grass at the park, just chatting about mundane things like classes or some series or other, and that image had made her feel a certain warmth.

Throughout her life a desire had been growing in her, something as simple as being able to have a normal life, a life without hunters, without cinanthropes, without the full moon and without everything that the world of shadows entailed. A life where she could go for a walk under the moonlight without fear of changing, without fear of being rejected for not being human and without fear of being hunted. A life where she could sit on the grass to talk about the boy she liked and blush at the sight of his smile. A simple, mundane human life.

It had only been a wish Sofia hadn't paid much attention to, because she was a huntress and her whole life would be tied to the world of shadows. However, maybe it wasn’t such an impossible dream. Yes, she still had the blood of the children of the moon running through her veins but she had not changed yet, and there was a chance that she never would. If she was that lucky, she could then stay away from the world of shadows forever. Perhaps she would be able to lead the normal, quiet life she longed for, like so many other humans.

“A normal life, without cinanthropes, without hunters and without being afraid of being rejected for not being human. Can you imagine that?” she asked Kas with a wide smile on her lips. The dog wagged his tail.

When she got home, the fantasy that had accompanied her on the way there was confronted with harsh reality. Her mother was standing in front of the hall mirror, getting ready to go out. A shiver ran down her spine and she had to stifle the whimper of fear that rose to her throat. She knew that outfit of tight black tracksuit, trainers and a balaclava that she had not yet put on. It was the typical uniform that hunters wore when, on nights like this, they went out to find their prey at its most vulnerable moment; when the full moon forced them to change, whether they wanted to or not.

“Stay, Kas, I'll be back soon.”

Sofia removed the dog's leash and hung it on a hook on the wall before preparing to leave again. There was a tense silence in the house, broken only by the clinking of the tools that Helena was checking. Out of the corner of her eye Sofia saw that she was holding the crossbow in her hands, and again she felt a sharp shiver run down her spine. It was the weapon of choice for many hunters due to its ease of use and lethality, but her mother was an expert marksman, as well as utterly ruthless. Helena didn't use silver except on the dagger she always carried with her. She didn't need it to bring down a weredog.

“The moon will be full tonight,” said the woman, her voice as icy as an ice floe, as she hanged her weapon from her belt.

“Yes, it will be full.” Sofia looked at her warily as she grabbed a coat from the wardrobe.

“I'm going to be in the area around La Pedriza. The pine forest to the north of the village is my private hunting ground. No other hunter will roam that area,” she commented as she put on her balaclava.

An icy chill ran through Sofia’s veins and the hair on the back of her neck bristled. Those were the things she didn't understand about her mother. She was a hunter, and not only was she good at what she did, but she was an absolute psychopath. Sofia had seen her hunt down weredogs dozens of times, and she enjoyed every single one of them as if it was a party. There was no reason to think she wouldn’t do the same to her own daughter, and yet she seemed to accept the fact that she wasn't human as an everyday, immutable thing.

“I haven't changed yet,” she muttered, struggling not to let the slight tremor of fear in her voice show.

“Hmmm? Interesting, so you go out every full moon just in case?” said the woman, fixing her cold gray eyes on her daughter.

“Does it surprise you? Angel rejected me when he discovered what I am, and since that day the impulses are getting stronger and stronger. Do you think I don't know that I inherited my father's blood?” She raised her hand to show the white scar on her wrist.

“Only you could think of letting someone put a silver bracelet on you knowing what your father is.” Helena turned her attention to the mirror and began to tuck her hair under the balaclava.

“I didn’t know it was silver!”

“Angel is a hunter and you are a werewolf’s daughter. You should have had more sense.”

Sofia looked away and ran her tongue over her lips. Yes, she had known since she was a little girl that the blood of the children of the moon ran through her veins. Letting Angel put that bracelet on her without checking whether it was silver hadn't been her brightest idea. The worst thing was what she felt when Angel saw that burn on her skin and the expression on his face went from surprise to disbelief and then to disgust.

In an instant her whole fragile reality was reduced to a handful of shards. It didn't matter that they had been friends since they were kids, it didn't matter that she had imagined her whole life by his side. In just a few seconds she went from being Sofia Bregan to being ‘one of them’, as he spat with a disdain that broke her heart. Had it not been for her friend Ana, who threatened him quite explicitly if he even thought of telling the guild, her life could have been in serious danger.

Ana was her childhood best friend, and the only other person who was aware of her secret. She always protected her like a lioness, and to Sofia she was less like a friend and more like a sister. Even so, when her mother realized that she was starting to show symptoms compatible with the first change, she decided to take her to that small mountain village. Sofia didn't know if it was to protect her from the guild, or if she was giving her a chance to escape before she hunted her down when she changed. Helena was a very cryptic person to her. She was a cold and ruthless huntress, but she had always known that her daughter was a wolf like her father, and she seemed to have some sort of affection for her. Sofia didn't know what to think of her.

“One of the shepherds says a huge dog killed one of his lambs. If it's not you, I'll have to go take a look.”

“A huge dog...” gasped Sofia.

When she looked at her mother, she saw her checking her weapons one last time before going out. It looked as if she were a simple carpenter making sure of the good condition of her tools before undertaking an assignment, not as the executioner she really was. After what happened with Angel, Sofia outright refused to continue hunting. They were not monsters, they were people who had not chosen to be born with those abilities and did not deserve to be persecuted, rejected and hunted for something that was not their fault.

A dull rage fueled the energy in her chest and activated it. She couldn't make her mother stop hunting but she wouldn't let her do it in front of her. This close to town, that cinanthrope could well be one of her classmates, and if he had killed a lamb there was a good chance he was just a pup with little control over his natural impulses. To die for not being human seemed an injustice to her.

“I'll look for him. I won’t let you kill him.” Sofia locked her eyes on her mother and raised lifted her shoulders.

“Hum...” Helena tapped her balaclava at her lip with a finger and looked at her daughter with an amused expression. “All right. You keep him from causing any more trouble and I'll leave him alone. But if he keeps attacking cattle I'll hunt him down myself, understood?”