Voiceless - M. Sinclair Page 0,4

difficult call because some were fantastic and others were trying to prove themselves to humans. As a result abused female shifters.

It was a mess, and you really had to run your luck in most cases. I hoped one day the treatment of shifters and the supernatural community as a whole could improve, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

It had been around ten years since we first announced our presence, necessary after a vampire incident in Texas that included ten dead sorority girls. Probably not a fantastic way of coming out into the open but he started telling on everyone so we had to. He ended up dead anyway from his own Vampire King because of his betrayal, but the news was out. The monsters under the bed were very, very real.

Five years later, a wolf alpha was elected as a senator out in California. It caused a wave of race wars and hate crimes by humans against the supernatural community. Apparently, all of their issues could be set aside when they realized they had a common enemy. Anything that they didn’t deem as ‘normal’ and human was instantly a target. Fun, right?

The problems had only grown worse. I had seen my own classmates and neighbors commit horrible acts of violence against our kind as I was forced to stay silent about it.

Always voiceless.

So yeah, I was glad I’d left Maine; it was one of the worst states. I just hoped for Willowdale Village to be better, even slightly.

I suppose, worst case, I could always leave if it didn’t work out. Right?

Panic rolled over me as a shiver broke across my skin, a feeling of overwhelming anxiety flooding my system. I wasn’t good with change, and all at once the situation was hitting me. My heart began to beat a million miles an hour, and I gripped the seat, trying to center myself.

Movement had me snapping my eyes up to find a pair of gold, almost glowing, eyes watching me. I felt caught and ensnared by them as I felt tension seep from my body. A single look and I could feel my concern lessen. That was just messed up. A weird happiness filtered through me, a feeling of safety and contentment had my chest unclenching.

I wasn’t normally cautious or fearful, but I had been all day. I knew it was because I was exhausted and had been on the road without sleep, afraid of someone taking my belongings or doing something far worse. Yet, faced with a stranger staring at me in a dark bus, I felt oddly calm.

Thunder cracked causing me to jump, the spell broke and my emotions flooded forward. I tried to straighten myself up despite the anxiety. I was not prey. I may appear that way in both human and shifted form, but I wasn’t.

I looked back, hoping to be sneaky, but found the large man still staring at me, his features completely hidden in shadow. I had the odd urge to see his expression and trace his features with my fingertips.

Shit, man. I was clearly losing it. Weren’t you considered mentally unstable if you didn’t sleep for 72 hours or something? That was where I was currently at in life. I just needed to accept that.

The bus rolled to a stop, my eyes moving from him to a group of five guys stumbling drunkenly onto the vehicle. They were loud, but not loud enough that I couldn’t hear the threatening sound that came from the stranger’s chest. I narrowed my eyes at him, confused.

Was I crazy or had the man all but growled? I got the odd feeling that he was upset I’d looked away from him, but that seemed unlikely.

As the men moved closer, their conversation became audible to me, I realized they were around my age. Maybe a bit older. Maker! They were beyond drunk. I could literally smell it wafting off them. I cringed as they moved past the stranger towards the back, their laughter obnoxious as they bumped into one another. I sunk further into my seat, wishing I had a neat invisibility cloak like in Harry Potter.

What? Like you've never fantasized about that before!

“It’s ten fucking minutes.” One of the larger men chuckled, throwing himself into the back row. “Just sit the fuck down.”

I let out a small sigh of relief as they passed me. Well, most of them did. One obviously heard my premature sigh and wavered on his feet, frowning. “Oh, hey there! I didn’t see you hiding--”

“I’m