When Sofia arrived at the town hall square where she had arranged to meet her friend Sara, she saw her chatting with the guy she had been introduced to four days earlier. The boy was sitting astride his motorbike, which was one of those small ones that looked like a racing bike, and he was chatting animatedly with Sara. No wonder, her friend was very easy to like. The rain of the previous days had given them a break and the afternoon sun brought out the color of his blond hair and the brightness of his blue eyes. He was wearing a shirt under a black jacket, and jeans that suited him perfectly. Sofia bit her lip as she approached, there was no denying that he was a 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. “Hi...” she said to Dave in a slightly quieter voice, and looked away.

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

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

Kas, who didn't understand awkward situations, walked over to Dave and placed his front paws on his thigh so he could lick his face. Laughing, the boy stroked the dog's back and looked at him with that gleam of enthusiasm in his eye. Though his smile was still controlled, it seemed wider, 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 talk 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 it was too dangerous to be friends with her, 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. Kas. The way he behaved with her huge black Dobermann. When, on the forest path, he dropped to the ground without fear, without shame, and grinned like a child as he stroked the dog licking his face, she immediately 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 his age?

“You can come, man. She doesn’t care, right?" the girl insisted, looking at her friend.

“I don't care,” Sofia said, letting her gaze 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 abruptly. 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, I've seen the way you look at him, and don't deny it. You like him.”

“He's cute, but that's no secret. He knows it himself. That doesn't mean I like him,” Sofia said, as sje started to walk.

“But you'd like to get to know him better, and don't tell me you don't, because I can see it,” Sara commented as they walked across the square towards the park just behind the town hall.

“What makes you think that?” Sofia asked, though the way she dodged her friend's eyes gave her away.

“You didn't try to bite him today,” said the girl, crossing her arms.

“It's not because of that...” she said in a weak voice, as the memories piled up in her head.

The two girls reached the park, an expanse full of large-leafed trees with numerous paths through which to stroll. There were quite a few people, mostly parents with children, and a few teenagers who, like them, were out for a walk, taking 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. He didn't usually stray far from her, and when he felt he hadn't seen her for too long, he would look for her with his gaze, or go to her side.

“Then?”

“I ran into him, on the forest path,” she said, for she was too ashamed to admit that she had crashed into him. “He was nice to me, even after the way I treated him, and he played with Kas, like he did now. He hasn't really done anything to me, and he didn't deserve to be treated like that.”

“Then apologize to him. David doesn't hold grudges. As soon as you talk to him, he'll forgive you and forget all about it,” said Sara.

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

Sofia looked away abruptly 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, on the grassy lawns, some guys were playing with a ball, and 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, it was taken away from her.

“Sofi, girl, what happened to you?”

Sofia felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up 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. With her jumper sleeve, she wiped her face furiously and looked away.

“He died,” the word escaped her lips in a murmur.

“What?” Sara suddenly turned pale.

“He died! Angel died!”

With furious steps, she started walking down the road without any real direction, just because she needed to move and 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 the desire to show her natural behaviour. The energy in her chest awoke, fuelled 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.

“Sofi...” said Sara, falling into step with her.

“I'm sorry. I'm going home. I shouldn't talk about this...”

“Wait, buddy. Is that why you're being like this with him?” Sara grabbed her arm to stop her.

Sofia looked away from Kas. The dog, having realised that his owner was leaving, had stopped sniffing around the bushes and now stood beside her, looking at her expectantly and just as worried as her friend. Kas was an imposing Dobermann, with a huge chest and a military dog look that frightened a lot of people. 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.

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“This is why I don't let people get close. I'm afraid of loving people and losing them again. I shouldn't even have let you be my friend. You don't... you don't know what they did to him...” She squeezed her eyelids shut and fought back the tears that threatened to flow. Abruptly she pulled away from her friend and took several deep breaths until she managed to calm down a little. “It's better for him to stay away from me.”

Then she took her time putting Kas's leash on, because she couldn't bear to look into those brown eyes so full of worry, and not be able to tell her the whole truth, but it was better this way. The less they knew about their mother and the supernatural world, the better for them, for both of them. Sofia had allowed her to get close because Sara was more stubborn than she was, and because she needed a friend, but she didn't want to involve them in her life more than necessary.

“And for you?” asked Sara.

“I'm not important,” Sofia replied in a plaintive voice.

“Yes, you are, mate. I understand that you're in a lot of pain because of what happened, and that's normal, but you can't give up being happy because you once got fucked up like that,” said Sara.

“Fuck, Sara, it's more than just getting fucked up!” Sofia exclaimed, unintentionally raising her shoulders.

“Yes, it's more than being fucked up. It's some shitty luck right there, but you can't stop living because of it. Besides, I'm not telling you to marry him, just to get to know him a bit. As buddies, that's all.”

“I'll think about it, but I'm not promising anything,” she said, looking down at her dog again. “I'm going home. I need to be alone for a while,” she lied.

“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 here to make you laugh when you feel like shit,” she said, putting her arm around Sofia's shoulders in a gesture that Sofia found a little uncomfortable.

“Thank you,” she said, and the smile that found its way onto her lips was genuine.

After saying goodbye she went home, and all the way there, she couldn't 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. 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 all that the world of shadows entailed. A life where she could go for a walk in the moonlight without fear of change, without fear of being rejected for not being human, and without fear of being hunted. A life where she could sit on the grass and talk about boys, and where she could blush when she saw the boy she liked walk by. 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. After Angel's death, however, that idea became much stronger, and she set out to pursue that life. Yes, she still had the blood of the children of the moon running through her veins, but she had not yet changed, and it was possible that she never would. If she was that lucky, she could then be away from the world of shadows forever, and perhaps, for once, she would be able to lead the normal, quiet life she longed for, like so many other humans.

When she got home, Sofia found her mother 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 took the leash off the dog and gave him a kiss on the head. Kas went to the kitchen while she put down the leash and prepared to leave again. There was a tense silence in the house, broken only by the dobermann drinking noisily, and by the clinking of the tools that Helena was checking before she left. 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, for its ease of use and lethality, but her mother was absolutely expert using it, as well as completely ruthless. She didn't use silver, except in the dagger she always carried with her, she didn't need it to bring down a cinanthrope.

“The moon will be full tonight,” said the woman in a voice as icy as an ice floe.

“Yes, it will be full,” Sofia replied dryly 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,” said her mother with a distracted gesture as she put on her balaclava.

An icy chill ran through Sofia’s veins. 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 kill 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 said dryly, 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, looking at her daughter with those cold gray eyes as if trying to penetrate her mind to see if what she was saying was true.

“Does it surprise you? You killed Angel in front of me, 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 exclaimed, raising her hand to show the white scar on her wrist.

“Only you could think of wearing a silver bracelet knowing what your father is,” Helena said absentmindedly, tucking her hair neatly under her balaclava so it wouldn't get in the way during the hunt.

“I was thirteen!” Sofia exclaimed, rising to her feet.

“You are a weredog’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. Putting on that bracelet without checking if it was silver, and without confirming whether or not silver hurt her, certainly hadn't been her brightest idea. The worst thing was what she felt when she saw that burn on her skin, because it was the confirmation that her father's genes had been stronger than her mother's. In an instant her whole fragile reality was reduced to a handful of shards that were difficult to put back together. Her mother had been training her to be a hunter, to hunt down her own people. Not knowing how to handle the cognitive dissonance, she simply ignored it and tried to convince herself that, just because silver hurt her it didn't mean she wasn't human. Naturally, things didn't work that way, but she didn't know what else to do.

“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 Angel's death, Sofia flatly refused to continue hunting. Angel was a good man and did not deserve to die, not for something as arbitrary as not being human. A dull rage fueled the energy in her chest, activating 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 he was surely a pup with little control over his instinctual 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 said, looking at her mother straight in the eye and instinctively raising her shoulders. A hoarse growl rumbled in her throat. She was not going to take no for an answer.

“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?”