Chapter 3: The Scent of Something Wrong
921 Words
Raine could still feel the cold in her bones.
It had been hours since school ended, but the unease from earlier hadn't left her. Even walking home with Lia didn’t settle her nerves. Something about Mr. Halden’s face after that call, the way he rushed back into the classroom like he'd seen a ghost ,left her unsettled.
By evening, the fog was thicker than usual. Ridgeway Hollow always felt quiet, but tonight the quiet had weight. Like the trees were listening.
She stared out the window as Lia sat curled up on the couch behind her, earbuds in, watching some cartoon. Raine hadn’t said much since they got home. She couldn’t. Not with the way her chest tightened every time she thought about Elijah’s words.
“Whatever it is… I’m not going anywhere.”
People said that. Right before they vanished.
Her phone buzzed again.
Elijah: I think we need to talk.
Elijah: Not at school. Somewhere else. Somewhere quiet.
She hesitated. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then:
Raine: Where?
Elijah: The clearing. By the old firepit. You remember?
She remembered.
It was the place they used to sneak off to as kids. Hidden deep past the main trail, over a broken fence and through thick brush. Nobody went there anymore. Nobody except them.
Raine left just after sunset. She told Lia she was going to the corner store for something sweet. She promised she’d be back soon.
She followed the trail past the back of the neighborhood, her boots crunching on gravel. The air was cold enough to bite, and the mist only made it worse.
When she reached the clearing, Elijah was already there.
He looked up from where he sat on a mossy log, his breath curling in the air.
“You came,” he said.
“I said I would.”
They stood in silence for a few seconds. The wind shifted, and something in it made her pulse quicken.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” Elijah asked.
She looked at him. “Feel what?”
He pointed at the woods. “That. Like we’re being watched.”
Raine didn’t answer, but she felt it. The prickle at the back of her neck. The invisible pressure in the air.
“Elijah… what are you doing out here?”
He hesitated. “There’s something I didn’t tell you.”
Her heart dropped a little.
He stood, brushing his hands on his jeans. “Before we left town, I started changing. Just little things at first. Nightmares. Strength. Anger I couldn’t explain. Then I blacked out. Woke up in the woods.”
She blinked. “When?”
“Almost a year ago. Then again a few weeks back. My dad got scared. He said we had to move. Said Ridgeway wasn’t safe.”
Raine’s stomach twisted. “Why come back then?”
“Because it started again. And I think this town has something to do with it. I think... we were born into this.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled something out, a torn piece of paper, yellowed and old.
It was a map.
There were marks in red circles, names, and strange symbols.
“My grandfather was Alpha once,” Elijah said quietly. My dad tried to keep it quiet. Said the bloodline was cursed.”
Raine stepped back. “You’re saying you’re…”
He nodded. “I think I’m supposed to take the Alpha title. But something’s wrong. Something’s keeping me from fully turning.”
Raine shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does,” Elijah said. “Because I think you’re the one connected to it.”
She froze.
“What?”
Elijah looked at her with something close to fear and awe. “You’re not just one of us. You’re something more. Something the packs haven’t seen in generations.”
She laughed once, bitter and sharp. “That’s crazy.”
“Is it?” he asked. Because I’ve felt it. When I’m near you , something inside me pulls. Like instinct. Like submission.”
Raine turned away. “Stop.”
“You’re not just a werewolf, Raine. You’re something stronger.”
She spun around. “You don’t know what I am.”
“I think you’re the lost Luna.”
The words hit her like a slap. “No. No, I’m not”
A sound stopped her. A low growl, deep in the trees.
Elijah tensed. “Did you hear that?”
The growl came again, closer this time.
And then, a shape stepped out of the dark. Huge. Hulking. Yellow eyes gleaming like fire.
Not a wolf.
Not quite human.
Something in between.
Raine stepped in front of Elijah.
“Run,” she whispered.
But her eyes were glowing too.
- Writer
