IN BETWEEN

Chapter One

Friday night was chaos. The good kind.

Music thumped through the house — heavy bass, low lights, laughter spilling from every room. Red cups in hands, bodies dancing in the living room, the smell of cheap pizza and even cheaper beer floating in the air.

Bella O’Briane stood near the kitchen counter, nursing a soda, not really dancing — but not not dancing either.

“Come on, B,” Fred called, already two cups in and grinning like an i***t. “Just one dance! For the vibes!”

Bella laughed, shaking her head. “That’s your third ‘last dance,’ Freddie.”

“I’m building up momentum,” he said, tossing a chip into his mouth and completely missing. “It’s a process.”

Claire rolled her eyes beside her, dark curls bouncing as she leaned on the counter. “Don’t encourage him. He’s one bad joke away from breaking his hip.”

“Wow. Ageist and cruel,” Fred gasped. “You wound me.”

Josh chuckled from behind his phone, filming the moment for his story. “He’ll be t****k-famous by midnight. Clown college will finally accept him.”

Fred struck a ridiculous pose. “Been preparing my whole life.”

Bella smiled, looking around the room — this was her circle. Loud, chaotic, strange… but safe.

Then Luka walked in.

He wasn’t late, for once. Black hoodie, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the room like he always did — quiet, observant. Not antisocial, just… controlled.

His gaze met Bella’s for half a second, and that was all it took. Her stomach did that thing again.

“Girl, if you don’t go talk to him,” Claire whispered, nudging her.

“I literally talk to him every day.”

“Yeah, but not like that.”

Bella rolled her eyes, but her cheeks warmed anyway.

Luka walked over, hands still deep in his hoodie pockets. “Hey,” he said, voice calm, smooth.

Bella turned toward him, heart already picking up. “Hey.”

Fred raised his brows dramatically at Josh behind her, mouthing, “It’s happening.”

Claire smirked instantly.

She took one look at Bella’s flushed face, then glanced sideways — just in time to catch Fred mouthing something ridiculous to Josh.

She rolled her eyes, grabbed Fred by the sleeve. “Let’s go, Romeo,” she muttered, dragging him toward the other side of the room.

“Wait, I haven’t—” Fred started, but Claire shot him a look.

Josh followed, still filming, whispering, “This is gold.”

And just like that, it was just the two of them.

Bella looked back at Luka, who was now much closer. She hadn’t realized he’d stepped in.

He nodded toward the noise. “It’s loud in here.”

“Yeah,” she said. “But it’s… fun, I guess. Nice to see everyone unwind.”

He nodded, eyes scanning the crowd before returning to her. “You don’t look like you’re unwinding.”

Bella laughed. “I’m too sober for that.”

That earned a faint smile from him — the kind she secretly liked. Rare. Quiet. Honest.

There was a pause, the kind that should’ve felt awkward but didn’t. Just… charged.

He tilted his head. “You okay?”

She blinked. “Yeah. Why?”

“You’re staring.”

“Oh.” Her face flushed. “Just… spacing out.”

He nodded slowly. “At me?”

Bella opened her mouth — then closed it. “You’re annoying,” she muttered.

“I know.”

Another beat. The music shifted — slower, smoother.

Luka’s eyes drifted toward the dancing bodies, then back to her. He hesitated. “You wanna dance?”

Bella’s heart skipped — then she smiled, setting her cup down.

“Yeah. I do.”

The music slowed, the lights dimmed just enough to blur the edges of the crowd. Luka reached for her hand, tentative but certain, and Bella stepped into him, one hand on his shoulder, the other in his.

They moved quietly in sync — neither saying much, but everything unspoken filling the space between them.

His hand was warm.

He smelled like pine and something faintly smoky.

She glanced up at him. “You’re early.”

He raised a brow. “What?”

“For the party,” she said. “This is, like, the first time I’ve seen you show up before ten. I think you beat Fred, which is saying something.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Yeah. So firstly, I didn't beat Fred — he was here before me. And I guess I had a reason to be early tonight.”

Bella stared at him for a second, her breath catching slightly. “…You never just answer questions, do you?”

“I did answer it.”

“You didn’t.”

“But you understood.”

She was about to argue — maybe tease him — when the front door slammed open.

A guy stumbled in, panting hard. “FIRE!”

The music cut.

Everyone turned.

“Kitchen hallway!” he shouted, panicked. “Something’s—the walls are literally burning!”

And just like that, he was gone again — disappearing out the back.

Seconds later, screams erupted as thick black smoke poured in from the hallway behind the kitchen. Flames flickered against the walls.

Bella froze, her fingers tightening in Luka’s.

“Go!” someone shouted. “GET OUT!”

The party turned into chaos.

And somewhere inside all that noise, Luka pulled Bella closer.

“Stay with me,” he said.

She nodded, eyes wide, heart racing — and together, they ran into the smoke.

As Luka and Bella rushed toward the exit, the smoke thickened — too fast for a normal fire.

Then came the sound.

Not flames crackling.

But boots. Heavy, coordinated.

Shouts followed — not screams from partygoers, but sharp, trained commands.

“Left wing secure!”

“Target may still be inside!”

“Neutralize on sight!”

Luka froze mid-step.

Bella looked at him. “Luka?”

He didn’t answer. His body was tense, jaw clenched, eyes darting.

Suddenly, the living room windows shattered inward.

Men in tactical gear stormed the house, masks on, silver weapons drawn — not to rescue.

To hunt.

People screamed. Some ran. Others dropped to the floor.

Bella pulled Luka. “What the hell is happening?!”

He didn’t move. Just stared at the hunters — then grabbed her hand. “We need to go. Now.”

One of the hunters turned toward them — rifle raised.

Luka threw his arm around Bella, yanking her behind the overturned couch as a shot fired — a silver bolt whizzing past her cheek and embedding into the wall.

“They’re shooting! Luka—why—what is this?!”

He looked at her, eyes burning with something unreadable.

“Bella… I need you to trust me.”

He didn’t wait for her response. Luka gripped her hand tightly and darted toward the back hallway, weaving through smoke and screaming students. Bella’s heart pounded — not just from fear, but confusion.

Hunters. Guns. Silver.

Why did Luka know exactly what to do?

Behind them, more gunfire echoed. People were being dragged out — some cuffed, some screaming. It wasn’t a fire. It was a raid.

And they weren’t after just anyone.

They were looking for something.

Or someone.

They reached the back door, Luka yanked it open — only to find two hunters right outside.

“Stop right there!” one shouted, raising his weapon.

Luka didn’t hesitate. He shoved Bella to the side just as a silver dart fired, grazing his arm. He hissed, stumbling slightly, then grabbed a trash bin and hurled it into the hunter’s face. The man collapsed instantly.

Bella gasped. No one should have been able to do that. Not like that.

Maybe adrenaline? Maybe the chaos? But the way he moved — too fast, too strong, too controlled.

Her breath caught. The glow from the flames reflected in his eyes, but it wasn’t just that — something in them shone.

“…What are you?” she whispered under her breath, barely hearing her own voice. “Why were werewolf hunters even here?”

She hadn’t meant to say it aloud. It was more to herself than him.

But Luka’s head turned — sharp, sudden — like he’d heard every word.

His expression shifted, something raw flickering beneath the calm.

“How do you know about them?” he asked, low, almost a growl.

Bella froze.

His eyes — the faint light in them — looked almost inhuman in the smoke.

She took a step back, pulse hammering. “I… I didn’t—”

Before she could finish, Fred’s voice rang out again.

“There you guys are!” he said, rushing up with Claire and Josh behind him.

Luka looked away instantly, the tension in his shoulders loosening as Fred skidded to a stop.

Claire’s eyes swept over them both suspiciously. “Everything okay?”

Fred glanced between them, then raised an eyebrow at Luka — a quick, almost imperceptible don’t mess this up kind of look.

Luka avoided his eyes.

Fred, back in full form, huffed dramatically. “Next time someone says ‘just one quick party’, I’m staying home with Netflix and no chances of being shot!”

Claire crossed her arms. “What was that anyway?”

“Cops, maybe?” Josh offered weakly.

Bella didn’t say a word.

Her mind was spinning. Luka’s reaction. The way he fought. The way he heard her whisper. The glow in his eyes.

And now — the fact that he knew about the hunters.

Something had shifted.

And it wasn’t over.