The Beta's Warning

Chapter Two – The Scratch

The night pressed down on the Carter household with a weight that felt almost unnatural. It was the kind of night where silence wasn’t peace, but pressure thick, heavy, and full of things left unsaid. Vee drew the sleeves of her thin sweater over her hands, trying to hide the sting that still burned along her arm. The pain from earlier hadn’t faded; if anything, it seemed to pulse with her heartbeat. She closed her bedroom door softly, the click of the latch loud in the quiet, and turned on her lamp. Its yellow glow spilled across the walls, and for a brief, unsettling second, she thought she saw shadows ripple there.

Her foster mother’s words replayed in her mind like a poison she couldn’t spit out.

Too pretty for your own good.

The phrase was never a compliment, always a warning laced with venom. To Mrs. Carter, beauty wasn’t a gift; it was something dangerous, a flaw to be punished.

Vee pushed the fabric of her sleeve back, bracing herself. Three thin marks stretched down her forearm, raised and red, too precise to be anything accidental. They looked like scratches carved by claws, as though something wild had reached for her. She ran her fingertip gently along the lines, shivering at the heat radiating from them. Under the lamplight, they almost seemed to glow, faint but undeniable.

A knock broke the silence. Soft, hesitant.

“Vee?” Ethan’s voice drifted through the door.

Startled, she tugged her sleeve down quickly, as if hiding evidence. “What is it?”

The door creaked open, and Ethan leaned against the frame. His hair stuck up in messy tufts, his shirt hanging loose, as though he’d run here without thinking. His eyes, always so steady, scanned her face with quiet worry. He rarely spoke his concerns aloud, but Vee had learned to read the way his gaze lingered.

“I heard you scream earlier,” he said, his voice low. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t scream.” The words came automatically, but as soon as she said them, doubt flickered. Had she? She remembered the woods, the way the darkness seemed to breathe, and the low growl that had frozen her blood. Maybe she had let out a sound without realizing. She shook her head. “I just… thought I saw something.”

Ethan stepped further inside, lowering his voice. “You shouldn’t go into the woods at night. There’ve been… animals around.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Animals? You mean wolves?”

Something in his expression slipped before he caught it. His lips pressed together, then stretched into a smile too practiced, too thin. “Yeah. Wolves.”

The word sent a strange ache through her chest, spreading like fire through her ribs. She folded her arms, trying to smother the sensation. “I’ll be fine. Don’t tell your mom.”

He gave a quiet laugh, though his eyes stayed serious. “You think I’d ever tell her anything? Just… promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise,” she whispered, though the word felt hollow.

Morning came, but the air in the Carter house was no lighter. The sharp clatter of pans in the kitchen sounded like weapons being drawn. Vee tried to slip past unnoticed, her bag slung over her shoulder, but Mrs. Carter’s glare found her instantly.

“Late again,” the woman snapped, thrusting a scorched frying pan toward her. “Do you think this house runs on its own?”

Vee forced down the retort bubbling on her tongue. “Sorry. I’ll get breakfast.”

“You’ll get nothing.” Mrs. Carter’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t think I don’t notice the way the boys look at you. Flirting in my house? Under my roof?”

“I don’t.” Vee’s protest died. Nothing she said ever mattered.

Melissa swept into the room then, perfectly polished in her school uniform, her smile sharp as glass. “Mom, don’t bother. Vee’s too busy being tragic and mysterious to care about chores.”

Their laughter filled the kitchen, loud and cruel. Vee’s cheeks burned hotter than the scratches hidden beneath her sleeve. Without a word, she turned on her heel, snatched her bag, and walked out the door. The cold air outside bit at her face, but it was still easier to breathe than in that house.

The school offered no safety either. Whispers followed her through the hallways, carried by eager mouths. At first, she thought it was the usual gossip Melissa spread about her, but today the murmurs had a darker edge.

“Did you hear? Something mauled a deer near the woods last night.”

“Claw marks everywhere.”

“They say it wasn’t an animal at all.”

Vee clutched her books tighter. The scratch on her arm throbbed in answer, as if it knew the rumors were about her. She kept her head down, counting the hours until the final bell.

But when she stepped outside, her steps faltered. Across the street, leaning casually against a tree, stood a boy she had never seen before. He was tall, dark-haired, and his presence was magnetic and unsettling. His eyes, deep and ember-like, locked on hers. The world around her hushed, the usual noise of students spilling from the building fading into silence.

Rio.

He didn’t smile. Didn’t wave. He just stared, unflinching. And when Melissa appeared beside Vee, linking their arms with false sweetness, his expression shifted almost imperceptibly. Then, as though he’d never been there at all, he pushed away from the tree and melted into the crowd.

The name whispered through her mind, though she had never spoken it aloud.

That night, Vee sat at her desk, homework spread across the pages before her. The words blurred and tangled, refusing to stay still. Every nerve in her body felt raw, strung too tight. The mark on her arm pulsed hotter, faint light shimmering beneath her skin when the lamp caught it just right. She pressed a cold cloth against it, desperate for relief, but the ache only grew.

A creak outside her window made her breath catch. Slowly, she turned her head. At first, she thought it was just the wind stirring the branches. But then she saw them, two eyes in the dark.

Golden. Unblinking.

They hovered just beyond the glass, steady and impossible. Her heart hammered against her ribs. The eyes did not blink, did not move closer. They only stared, piercing through her as if they could see everything she tried to hide.

The lamp on her desk flickered once, casting the room into momentary shadow. When the light steadied, the eyes were gone, leaving behind only her own pale reflection in the glass.

Her whisper broke the silence.

“What are you?”