Right after Eric left I laid my fork down onto the plate gently as I resolved to get up and move. Sitting here alone at a kitchen island wouldn't do anything to brighten my mood, I knew, and everyone knows what happens when you sit alone in a quiet place; your mind wanders. It stretches over time and space to places you wanted so dearly to forget. After months and years of conditioning yourself to veer away from the thoughts, they still came back to you if you aren't careful-for example, my father's and Haley's death. I knew that no matter how long time passes, that no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to sit alone and remain calm and serene, simply enjoying the silence.

Souring my attitude wouldn't help anybody, so flattening my hands on the countertop I raised myself from the chair and turned around, examining the room I hadn't paid much attention to until now. The countertops and Island surface was a polished dark granite while the walls, drawers, ceiling, and floor was all real wood. A window lay over the sink, casting a pleasant, natural light into the kitchen and also giving a breathtaking view of the outdoors.

Appreciating the master woodwork, my eyes led me to a closed door in the hallway. Nothing about it stood out amongst the other doors-the same faded wood patters on the face, the same worn golden handle yearning to be dusted off and turned once more. But all the less, my attention was entirely focused on that door while my feet moved on their own.

Before I knew it my hand was resting ontop of the doorknob, my fingers wrapping around the cold metal methodically. In the back of my mind I knew I shouldn't be snooping around other people's things, let alone in their own house, but a burning curiosity and an underlying feeling of importance won out. Pushing the hesitation from my mind, I cast one last look down both ways of the hallway before turning the handle and swinging open the creaking door.

The first thing that hit me was the baby blue colors and the sudden change of atmosphere in the room compared to the hallway. The air in this room seemed..lighter, more hopeful and calm and youthful than outside. This is the kind of place you would want to go in if you were having an extremely stressful, overbearing day and you needed to relax..or to lay a child down for a nap.

Snapping my eyes to the walls, the bed, and floors, I quickly realized the room I was in was once a young boy's room.

A blue and brown child-sized bed was on the left side of the room with the head touching the far wall. Beside the headboard to the right was a window with glistening sheer white curtains limply covering the glass, the bottom brushing against a large white furry rug taking up most of the floor. On the walls were framed pictures of Sonograms and the boy as he grew, his hair always a messy pile of golden brown and eyes sparkling with wonder and excitement. He would've been my first cousin.

Beside a picture of Stephen playing in a pile of leaves, I noticed, was a cute wooden board hung on the wall, words swooping and curving gracefully in a pastel blue paint spelling one simple sentence.

Before I felt them come, warm tears rolled down my cheeks in a rain. Choking back a sob, I quickly spun out of the room and clicked the door shut beside me, sliding down the doorframe to the floor in sorrow.

**Flashback~

Sitting on the bottom step of the front porch with my elbows on my knees and hands holding up my chin, I sighed impatiently.

'When will he be here, Nikita?' I whined for the millionth time that day. Practically hearing her sigh first, she answered.

'Soon, baby. I promise he's close-I can feel him.'

'How? Can you hear him? Is he talking to you? Do you se-' I cut myself off after a faint outline of a man came into view. Waiting for a few seconds and getting excited, I squealed merrily.

"Daddy!" I called out, ecstatic that he was finally home from his 4 day hunting trip.

"Ellie!" he yelled out with just as much enthusiasm, dropping down to one knee and opening his arms while shifting his backpack to the other shoulder. Running as fast as my little legs could take me through the tall foxtails and crabgrass, I leapt into his body with glee as he groaned dramatically, successful in making me giggle.

"Ooh!" he rocked back onto his butt, causing me to laugh harder. "Where's your bother and Mama, huh? I have a surprise for all of you!"

Smiling greatly, I quickly shot up and pulled him with me, keeping my right hand and his left interlocked.

"They're in the backyard playing with the flowers! Kinda sounds boring, if you ask me," I whispered, leaning in towards my father and using my left hand to cover the side of my mouth. Chuckling with a bright grin on his face, he suddenly looked down to me and our laced fingers with the smile still present.

"I got some good meat on that trip, Ellie! You like Deer, don't 'cha?"

Nodding vigorously, my mouth started to water. "And how do you know how to kill a Deer?"

Letting go of his hand, I let my nails grow to Wolf-Pup size and my canines elongate to their full length. Feeling Nikita hold me back from fully shifting, I snarled viciously and curled my claws, baring my teeth and making myself seem more fierce. Growling dangerously like a grown Wolf would when hunting their prey, I kept my eyes trained on my father.

"Good! Good!" he praised happily and picked me up from under the armpits. "That was amazing! You're going to be such a great Wolf one day!"

Allowing myself to relax with the help of Nikita and changing back into my Human form, I giggled. "I'm gonna be so big and scary!"

"You bet you are! You know what you're gonna be?

You're gonna be Daddy's little hunter."