Secrets Beneath the Surface
1131 Words
Morning in Bayou Falls didn’t feel like morning.
It felt like something holding its breath.
Remington Hayes stood on the porch of the house the hospital had arranged for her, coffee untouched in her hands, watching the mist curl low over the trees.
Aspen stood at her side, unusually still.
Too still.
His ears were angled forward, body tight in a way that made her skin itch with unease.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” she murmured.
Aspen didn’t look at her.
That was answer enough.
Behind her, Rae’s voice carried through the open door.
“If this place has surveillance blind spots in 2026, I’m going to personally file a complaint with reality.”
Del leaned against the counter, scrolling her phone. “Is reality accepting complaints today?”
Rae shot her a look. “It will after I break its firewall.”
Remi would’ve smiled if the feeling in her chest wasn’t so wrong.
Last night’s gathering still sat under her skin like a bruise.
Will’s hand on her wrist.
That reaction—whatever it was—she refused to name.
She wasn’t here for that.
She was here because her father needed her.
Because she had a job to do.
Because this town was no longer her problem.
And yet—
Something was off.
Not just emotionally.
Physically.
Like the air itself was misaligned.
⸻
By midmorning, Rae had taken over the kitchen table, multiple screens open, lines of code scrolling faster than most people could read.
Del watched over her shoulder. “You’re hacking their pack systems again, aren’t you?”
“I prefer the term ‘ethically auditing outdated infrastructure,’” Rae said.
“You’re literally breaking into a werewolf hierarchy.”
“They should’ve updated their cybersecurity.”
Remi leaned over the table, rubbing her temples. “Please tell me you’re not doing this on the pack network.”
Rae didn’t look up. “I would never be that reckless.”
A pause.
Then—
“…I’m on three separate sub-networks and a backup server they forgot existed.”
Del whistled. “That sounds worse.”
Rae frowned. “It is worse. Their system architecture is criminally negligent.”
Remi sighed.
“Rae.”
“What?”
“Why are you in their system at all?”
Rae finally looked up.
“Because I keep noticing something.”
That got Del’s attention immediately.
Remi’s posture tightened. “What kind of something?”
Rae turned the laptop slightly.
A map of Bayou Falls infrastructure filled the screen.
Security nodes.
Communication lines.
Pack surveillance points.
Or what should’ve been surveillance points.
Large sections were… missing.
Not offline.
Not broken.
Just gone.
Del frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t,” Rae said quietly. “There are intentional blind spots. Like someone carved holes in their system and made sure they stayed hidden.”
Remi studied the screen.
A slow unease crawled up her spine.
“That’s not incompetence,” she said.
“No,” Rae agreed. “That’s design.”
Aspen suddenly growled low.
All three women turned toward the window.
Nothing.
Just trees.
But Aspen didn’t relax.
Del crossed her arms. “Okay, I’m officially uncomfortable.”
Remi stared out at the bayou.
Something was watching.
She could feel it now.
Not just instinct.
Not just memory.
Something real.
⸻
By afternoon, Rae and Del had somehow ended up at the edge of the pack grounds.
Remi hadn’t asked how.
She’d stopped trying to control them years ago.
Now she just survived them.
Trey found them first.
Of course he did.
“You’re the hacker,” he said, pointing at Rae.
Rae didn’t look up from her phone. “And you’re the guy who still uses default passwords. We all have flaws.”
Trey blinked.
Then laughed.
Elijah arrived moments later, leaning against a post like he’d been there the entire time.
“You’re not what I expected,” he said to Del.
Del smiled sweetly. “And you’re less terrifying than advertised.”
Elijah raised a brow. “That’s supposed to be a compliment?”
“It is if you knew my past expectations.”
Remi watched from a distance, arms crossed.
Against her better judgment… they were blending.
Too easily.
Too fast.
And that bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Because pack dynamics weren’t supposed to accept outsiders this quickly.
Not in Bayou Falls.
Not like this.
Aspen stayed glued to her side, eyes tracking movement through the trees.
Always alert.
Always watching.
“Something’s wrong,” she murmured.
Aspen bumped her leg lightly.
Agreement.
Not comfort.
Warning.
⸻
That night came too quietly.
Too still.
Remi stepped outside alone just to breathe.
Aspen followed instantly.
The porch light flickered once.
Then again.
She frowned.
“Okay… that’s new.”
The air shifted.
Pressure dropping.
Like the world was preparing for impact.
Aspen growled again—sharper this time.
And then—
She felt it.
Presence.
Behind her.
Remi turned slowly.
A man stood at the edge of the yard.
Not pack.
Not familiar.
Not human, either.
His eyes didn’t reflect light right.
His stance was wrong—too controlled, too still.
Del stepped onto the porch behind her.
“What the hell is that?”
Rae appeared seconds later, already unlocking her phone. “If that’s a rogue wolf, I swear I—”
“Leave,” the man said.
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it carried.
The kind of sound that made instinct go cold.
Remi didn’t move.
“Excuse me?”
The man’s gaze locked on her.
“You don’t belong here.”
Aspen stepped forward immediately.
Protective.
Low growl vibrating through his chest.
Del moved closer to Remi.
Rae’s fingers hovered over her phone.
The man tilted his head slightly.
“You and your friends should leave Bayou Falls. Tonight.”
Remi’s pulse slowed.
Danger didn’t scare her.
But this—
This wasn’t pack politics.
This was something else.
“Or what?” she asked quietly.
A pause.
Then—
“Or you won’t be given another warning.”
The temperature dropped again.
Aspen barked once—sharp, warning.
And from the shadows beyond the trees—
Something moved.
Not seen.
But felt.
The man’s eyes shifted briefly to the dark.
As if listening.
Then back to Remi.
“Last chance.”
Rae stepped forward. “Hey, creepy forest guy—”
But he was already gone.
No sound.
No movement.
Just… absence.
Del exhaled sharply. “I hate this place.”
Remi didn’t answer.
Because she was still staring at where he’d stood.
And for the first time since returning—
She realized something very important.
This wasn’t just about coming home.
Someone had been waiting for her to do exactly that.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD