97

Hunter, Don't Shoot My Friend

Chapter 97: The Message

"A nearby town will face the consequences of your actions, fox demon of the Winchester family."

That was the message. Ethan searched through his thoughts—who outside the family could know about his supernatural abilities? The only reasonable answer he had pointed to a human, though he couldn’t quite remember him.

When he was fifteen, he had gone on a mission to eliminate a vampire. He killed the woman who had recently been turned, only to discover she lived with her human husband.

Can you imagine the surprise?

At that time, Ethan didn’t attack the human; he simply let him suffer the loss of his wife, as if he didn’t care.

He wanted to kill him, to make him silently suffer with his monstrous wife. But he didn’t, because he was being supervised by the Light Association after scandals in the investigations regarding his work.

If that man was here now, it meant he had planned a special revenge for Ethan.

But ten years had passed since then. How likely was something like that to happen?

He didn’t know, but he needed to keep his agents on alert.

“There’s nothing that can hurt me. What do you think you’re going to do?” Ethan wondered aloud, a bitter taste lingering in his mouth.

"Zz… Sir, the girl you've been looking for has appeared."

Stiles, who had been sleeping, jolted awake. He grabbed the radio and asked, “Where is she?”

“In the only hospital in Beacon Hills, where else would she be?”

“That makes sense; we’re on our way,” said Stiles, slightly embarrassed by the response.

Ethan drove in silence, a heavy feeling of loneliness slowly creeping over him. The weight of his past actions was starting to condemn him in the present.

“You shouldn’t follow her. She’s not your girlfriend. Just check that she’s okay and let her know you’ll always be there if she needs company.” Ethan wanted his student to stop chasing after a girl who wasn’t interested in love-struck Stiles.

Patience is the best ally in this situation. Ethan knew that if Stiles waited, he might eventually fall for another woman, one who would appreciate his worth.

This wasn’t to say Ethan blamed Lydia—quite the opposite. No one is obligated to love someone just because that person loves them.

The world doesn’t work that way.

His sister had given him good advice by suggesting he come to this town. The wounds Ethan hadn’t been able to heal were slowly mending, surrounded by the people he least expected to meet.

Who would have thought he had a werewolf sitting in the back seat?

“Scott, how’s your training going?” Ethan asked, needing to know about his student’s progress.

“Everything’s fine. Although I still can’t do some things because I might lose control, I’m getting better at handling it,” said Stiles, slightly interested in talking to his teacher.

“How many werewolves does Derek have under his command?” Ethan asked. Scott was like his source of information since he saw him at least five times a week.

Scott thought carefully and said, “There are fifteen, not counting me, Derek’s sister, or Derek himself.”

“Eighteen. A good number, but still not enough,” Ethan murmured, knowing time was running out.

Stiles was surprised and asked, “Are you trying to turn the whole town into werewolves? Are you going after Dracula?”

“No, I killed him two years ago. A variant with the same title, I think.” Ethan wasn’t sure if he had killed Dracula, but he had definitely taken down a strong vampire.

Stiles and Scott looked at each other. It seemed they still didn’t know much about their history teacher, who now served as their driver.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Ethan shook his head and said, “I rarely have serious relationships. I just use sex to relieve stress, nothing romantic.”

“Too much information...” Stiles muttered as they suddenly saw that they were nearing the hospital.