CHAPTER 3:
1140 Words
Brooke's POV
I didn't sleep that night.
How could I? Alan's words kept replaying in my head like a broken record. Tell her to step away or she'd risk being silenced. Forever.
Poppy Sarla. The bubbly, conspiracy-obsessed girl who sat next to me in Organic Chemistry. The one who showed me blurry photos of "evidence" on her phone while Professor Martinez droned on about carbon bonds.
I thought she was harmless. Eccentric, sure. But harmless.
Now she was in danger because she was getting too close to the truth.
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. 3:47 AM. Ivy was snoring softly in her bed across the room, one arm dangling off the side. She'd come back from the party smelling like cheap beer and expensive perfume, giggling about some guy named Trevor.
Normal college problems. Normal college life.
I pulled up Poppy's i********:. Her latest post was from six hours ago—a photo of the woods behind campus with the caption: "Tonight's the night! Finally getting the proof I need. #MoonlightTruth #WerewolvesAreReal"
My stomach dropped.
She was going into the woods tonight. Looking for werewolves.
Looking for Alan's pack.
Oh God!
I threw off my covers and grabbed my hoodie. I had to stop her before she did something stupid, before the pack did something permanent.
*******
The next morning, I was a zombie in Chemistry class.
I'd spent hours searching the woods last night but found nothing. No Poppy. No pack. Just darkness and my own paranoia eating me alive.
Now I sat at our usual lab table, staring at the periodic table on the wall like it held all the answers to my life.
"Brooke!"
I jumped. Poppy slid into the seat next to me, her wild curls barely contained by a scrunchie. She was buzzing with energy, practically vibrating.
"You look terrible," she said, pulling out her notebook. "Rough night?"
"You could say that." I tried to sound casual. "How was your... investigation thing?"
Her eyes lit up. "Oh my God, Brooke, you won't believe what I found!"
My heart stopped beating.
She pulled out her phone and swiped through photos. Blurry images of the forest, dark shapes that could be anything. And then—
Golden eyes, clear as day. Staring directly at the camera.
"Holy crap," I whispered.
"Right?!" Poppy was practically bouncing. "I posted it on my blog this morning. It's already getting traction. People are finally taking me seriously!"
I grabbed her wrist. "Poppy, you need to take it down."
She blinked at me. "What? Why?"
"It's... It's dangerous. The woods at night. What if something happened to you?"
"You sound like my mom." She laughed and pulled her hand away. "I'm fine, Brooke. I can handle myself."
"No, you don't understand—"
"Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Sarla." Professor Martinez's sharp voice cut through our conversation. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"
"No, sir," we said in unison.
He gave us a warning look before turning back to his lecture on organic compounds.
Poppy leaned over, whispering. "I'm going back tonight. Better equipment this time. I'm gonna get video footage."
My blood ran cold.
"Poppy, don't—"
"You should come with me!" She said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Seriously, Brooke. You're always cooped up in the library. Live a little!"
"I can't—"
"Class dismissed," Professor Martinez announced.
Poppy gathered her things, still chattering. "Think about it, okay? We could document this together. It'll be epic!"
She bounced out of the classroom before I could respond.
I sat frozen in my seat.
She was going back. Tonight. With better cameras and better evidence.
The pack would know. They'd stop her.
Permanently.
********
I found myself walking toward the football field.
I didn't plan it. My feet just carried me there, like my wolf knew what I needed to do even if I didn't.
The team was running drills. Alan was in the center, calling plays, commanding the field like he commanded everything else. His teammates moved around him like some well-oiled machine.
He saw me immediately.
His eyes locked onto mine across the field. Something passed between us—that pull, that bond, that thing I was desperately trying to ignore.
He broke away from the huddle and jogged toward me.
His teammates whistled and made obnoxious kissing noises. Someone yelled, "Aye, Captain's got a girl!"
Alan ignored them.
He stopped a few feet away, sweaty and gorgeous and completely aware of the effect he had on me.
"You came," he said.
"Don't flatter yourself." I crossed my arms. "I need to talk to you. About Poppy."
His expression hardened. "What about her?"
"She's going back tonight. To the woods. She has photos, really good ones. And she's planning to get a video."
Alan cursed under his breath.
"Your pack can't hurt her," I said quickly. "Please. She's just a human who doesn't know any better."
"She's a threat."
"She's my friend."
"You barely know her."
"I know her enough not to want her dead!" My voice rose. A few of his teammates glanced over.
Alan grabbed my elbow and pulled me away from the field, toward the equipment shed. Once we were out of sight, he turned on me.
"You don't understand how this works, Brooke. If she exposes us—"
"Then scare her. Do whatever you have to do. But don't kill her."
"I don't kill humans." His jaw tightened. "But my pack has rules. And outsiders who threaten us—"
"I'll handle it," I interrupted. "Just... give me tonight. Let me talk to her. I'll make her understand."
Alan studied me for a long moment.
"You care about her."
"I care about not having blood on my conscience."
He stepped closer. That scent of his surrounded me, and my wolf purred.
"Fine," he said quietly. "You have until midnight. After that, my pack handles it their way."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." His hand came up, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The touch sent shivers down my spine. "And Brooke? Stay out of the woods tonight. I don't want you caught in the middle of this."
Before I could respond, his phone buzzed.
He pulled it out, read the message, and his face went pale.
"What?" I asked.
He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw something like fear in his eyes.
"She's already in the woods. Right now. And she's not alone."
My heart stopped.
"What do you mean she's not alone?"
Alan was already moving, breaking into a run back toward the field. He shouted orders to his teammates.
I chased after him. "Alan, what's happening?"
He didn't slow down. "There's a rogue in the territory. Feral and quite unpredictable. And your friend just walked right into its hunting ground.”
- Writer
