Chapter three- New villain in town.
1533 Words
The following day at school, my already tumultuous world took another turn. Still trying to process the shocking revelation that my family were werewolf hunters, I was immediately confronted with a new wave of chaos.
With an unintended sharpness in my voice, I questioned, "Emma's missing?"
Brenda, her face etched with worry, quickly confirmed that Emma had been gone since the previous day. “And where did you keep your phone? We've been trying to reach you.”
“I don’t have my phone..." I said, searching my bag. Maybe I lost it at the game yesterday.
Brenda didn’t press, only nodded grimly. "You attended the game yesterday, right, did you by any chance see her?" She asked.
"No, yes… I mean no" I said, but the tone of my voice was not convincing. I was not sure if she was at the game when I wasn't even there to start with.
“We created a search party. Are you in?”
“Of course,” I said, forcing steadiness into my voice. “She’s my best friend too.”
That was when I caught the Ashbourne brothers watching me from across the hallway. Their eyes were unreadable, unblinking, they were actually seeing to their promise of not letting me out of their sight, but for how long? A cold unease wrapped around my chest.
Brenda followed my gaze. “What’s up with you three?” she asked, suspicion dripping from her tone.
“Nothing.” I slammed my locker shut with more force than necessary, eager to escape their glare.
After school hours, we joined the search party, moving through the woods as the evening stretched long. The wind carried the scent of damp earth and something else. My pulse quickened. The two brothers were walking side by side with me. I felt uneasy.
“Are you guys seriously going to follow me?”
“We were not following you. "We are also looking for… for Emma.” His words were tangled.
I gave a suspicious stir and turned back. I paused for a moment.
“How did you guys find me yesterday, if I may ask?” I asked.
“You know, you left details, torn clothes, broken wrist…” Lynn tried to sway away from the question.
“You know I know you're a werewolf ,right?” I cut him. “And you told me something about supernatural abilities?” I pressed further.
“Okay, so where are you going with these?”
“She wants us to find her by scent, dummy.” Cole cut through. “Smart girl, but how do we sniff someone's scent we aren't familiar with?”
“We can sniff out something odd, right?” Lynn asked, pacing in a circle with his jaw tightened.
“Yes we can, but we're in the woods, guys. "Sniffing out odd things is like finding a small tuna among… bigger tuna.” His voice was laced with call sarcasm.
“Then let's split up,” I suggested.
“No way.” They growled at me.
“I agree on splitting, but I'll go with Aria.” Lynn's eyes were lit with suspicion. Cole paused. “Your sense of smell is heightened since you're the alpha and walking in the same direction won't get us farther than we already are.”
After a little hesitation, Lynn agreed and we continued our search separately.
It was awkward walking with Cole because we haven't always had smooth conversations since I met him.
“Thank you for rescuing me yesterday,” I said, breaking the silence.
“Thank Lynn," he suggested I help. "I was only helping out a brother,” he said, but his voice betrayed him. His voice was poised with protection and care.
“But you still helped, thank you,” I insisted. The three of us arrived at a spot. All efforts proved abortive. As we were about to turn back, I tripped and fell. Lynn grabbed my shoulders, helping me up. I saw a familiar figure from a distance.
“Wait, hold up,” I said, swaying my hands away from his grip. The boys and I ran in that direction.
We found Emma.
She was crouched against a tree, trembling, her clothes torn. Moonlight bathed her face, and in her eyes was a wild gleam that wasn’t human. My breath caught when I saw the mark on her shoulder, two deep punctures, already healing.
“Emma,” I whispered, stepping forward.
But Lynn’s hand shot out, holding me back. His face was grave, his jaw tight. Beside him, Cole’s expression was unreadable, though guilt flashed briefly in his eyes. My chest sank with realization.
“You…” I looked at him, in horror, threading my voice. “You did this?”
Cole didn’t deny it. He simply lowered his gaze, the truth heavy between us.
The full moon glared down, cruel and brilliant. Emma’s body convulsed as she fought the change, her cries raw and broken. She was lost, confused, a newborn wolf in the throes of her first transformation.
“It's the full moon today. She can’t stay here,” Lynn said, his voice firm but not unkind. “It’s not safe. Not for her. Not for anyone.”
Before I could protest, they lifted Emma between them. She thrashed, her eyes flashing with that unnatural glow, teeth bared in panic. My heart broke at the sight, but I followed because where else could I go?
They carried her to their house, shadows swallowing us whole as the night deepened. That house, I realized, wasn’t just a home. It was a fortress for secrets, secrets that now tangled me, Emma, and the Ashbournes together in a web I wasn’t sure we could ever escape.
That same day, after Emma was taken to the Ashbourne house, I tried to clear my head. I had called Brenda to meet up at the Haven, the café where half the town seemed to go after a stressful day.
I was trying to explain what was going on to Brenda when I noticed him.
He was a stranger sitting by the window, untouched coffee beside him, eyes locked on me in a way that felt deliberate. His smile was faint, almost polite, but it pressed unease deep into my chest.
“Do you know him?” Brenda whispered.
I shook my head quickly, though something in my blood stirred as if in recognition.
We decided to leave as we were not comfortable. Brenda took a split that led to her house. I walked home alone. I cut down the stairway behind the major road. The streetlamps hummed faintly, shadows spilling across the steps.
I wasn’t alone.
The same man stepped into view at the top of the stairs, his presence too calm, too intentional.
“Funny running into you again,” he said smoothly.
Before I could answer, his hand clamped around my neck, dragging me into the shadows of the stairwell. His face was close now, stripped of its earlier mask of politeness.
“I killed you once,” he hissed, eyes burning with certainty. “So why are you still breathing?”
My breath hitched. Fear roared through me, but beneath it something else stirred heat spreading through my chest, rising like a second heartbeat.
And then I heard it. A whisper. Soft, firm, undeniably female.
You are not alone. My fight is yours now.
I stumbled back, Lucien’s grip loosening as I wrenched free. My pulse raced, but it wasn’t just fear anymore. It was something older, deeper, whispering inside me.
Stumbling down the steps, but he didn’t follow me. He just stood there, watching me, his expression sharpened by something I couldn’t read. For a moment, it was as if he recognized me, like he had seen me before.
Then his gaze flicked past me, up the walkway.
I turned just as Cole’s figure appeared in the distance, moving toward us. The sight of him sent a new wave of tension through me, but to Lucien it only brought a smile, faint, amused, deliberate.
He leaned back into the shadows, loosening his grip on the moment.
“Not today,” he murmured, almost to himself. His eyes returned to me, glinting with promise. “But I’ll be watching.”
And then he was gone.
Cole reached me seconds later, concern flashing in his eyes. “You’re pale. Did something happen?”
I shook my head quickly, the lie sour on my tongue. “No. Just… tired.”
But inside, my chest still burned, the whisper coiling through me like smoke. "He knows. He remembers. And he will come again."
- Writer
