Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 10

Granny’s eyes lock with mine, and there’s an unspoken understanding between us. She points at the linen cupboard and I nod, rushing towards it as she whispers urgently, “It has a false wall, and pass me the air freshener.”

I grab the canister next to the old box TV and hand it to her before diving into the cupboard. Behind me, the knocking grows more aggressive. I shut the door quietly, the darkness enveloping me like a cloak. My hands fumble along the wall until they find the outline of the concealed panel.

“Hold on, hold on! My knees aren’t what they used to be!” Granny’s voice carries through the door, tinged with a hint of exasperation. I hear the hiss of the air freshener as she sprays, perhaps to mask any scent of mine that lingers in the air.

“Ma’am, you need to open this door!”

I pull the panel shut behind me, enveloping myself in near- total darkness. My breath comes in shallow gasps, but I force calm upon myself. As my eyes adjust, shapes begin to form from the shadows, and I see the faint glow of light seeping through from Granny’s room.

My heart pounds against my ribcage, each beat a reminder of the danger just beyond these walls if they catch me.

Granny’s indignant voice pierces the tense silence, a sharp contrast to the muffled thuds of boots on her worn carpet. “Geez, waking an old lady up in the middle of the night, what is this about?” Her tone is layered with annoyance and the

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Chapter 10

kind of feisty spirit that not even age can diminish.

From my cramped hiding place, I can’t see, but I imagine her standing there, clad in her nightgown, wielding nothing but righteous anger against intruders. The footsteps grow louder, more purposeful, as they step into Granny’s living room.

the joint, and on whose authority?!” Granny’s

her words.

missing, and his mother–in–law said she never went home and that she probably came here,” comes Nathan’s reply, tinged with a patience that doesn’t quite reach the edge in his

wall, willing my racing heart to be silent as the search continues. Granny doesn’t falter, her voice steady as she challenges the intrusion. “Sir, please clarify exactly who

shuffle and murmur from the other side of the wall reverberating through my bones. Silence hangs for a moment, then Nathan’s voice slices through

if the words themselves have woven into a net ensnaring me. I can hear the disbelief in Granny’s voice, a note of confusion that she plays perfectly. “Aubrey, my granddaughter Aubrey? You must be

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Chapter 10

the air, thick and desperate. I press my hand. against my mouth, scared that even the sound of my breathing might

the flimsy barrier. “No mistake

vivid. It was self–defense, a necessary act to protect myself from a fate worse than any prison they could throw me

“Well, you must have deserved it. However, I haven’t seen her since she was a kid; her mother forbade it. My daughter and I are estranged; I doubt she even remembers I exist,” Granny asserts, her voice laced with a hint of defiance and a sadness I wish I could take away from her.

and I have

press my ear against the cool wood of the false door, straining to hear the muffled voices

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Chapter 10

a knife. I barely manage to stifle the gasp that threatens to escape my lips. Nathan sighs heavily, and my chest tightens with the sound, the weight of his resignation as palpable as if he were beside me in this cramped

eyes, battling the surge of emotions that threaten to overwhelm me. Guilt gnaws at me, sharp and insistent. I think of Granny, her face lined with the years and hardships. she’s endured, and my love for her swells alongside my regret. Why didn’t I come to see her before? Why didn’t I at least try? But deep down, I know the answer. After the fallout between her and my mother–visiting Granny became

here I am now, back in her house after all these years, relying on her protection, hiding away like a frightened animal while outside,

my house before I call the police,” Granny snaps, her voice a sharp crack in the tense night air. The fierceness