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.

joint, and on whose authority?!” Granny’s demand for respect echoes through the walls, her frailty

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

tighter against the 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

murmur from the other side of the wall reverberating through my bones. Silence hangs for a moment, then Nathan’s voice slices through it, brusque and accusing. “Aubrey, your granddaughter. She is a wanted fugitive for

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

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Chapter 10

of my breathing might betray me. The space is

force, pressing against the flimsy barrier. “No mistake ma’am, she even attacked me when

fists, the memory of that encounter flashing hot and vivid. It was self–defense, a necessary act to protect myself from a fate worse than any prison they could throw me into. It makes it

her since she was a kid; her mother forbade

space and I have the sudden urge to sneeze. The scent of mothballs and

my ear against the cool wood of the false door, straining to hear the muffled voices outside. My heart thumps a frantic rhythm, each beat echoing the fear that courses through me like an electric current as

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Nathan sighs

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

all these years, relying on her protection, hiding away like a frightened animal while outside, Rhett’s men

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