I had already reached the school, but the gate was still locked. I was just about to give up when I heard the sharp clatter of a padlock hitting the ground. Slowly, the gate creaked open on its own. I scanned the surroundings, searching for whoever had opened it, but there was no one in sight.
Heart thudding, I made my way toward the school's fountain.
"Hello?" I called out, my voice unsteady as I tightened my grip on the crossbow. I stood there for a long moment, the silence growing heavier around me, until a cold realization settled in my chest.. I had made a terrible mistake coming here alone. As I turned to leave, a sudden movement froze me in place. A wolf stood directly in front of me, massive, silent, its eyes glowing like molten gold. For a moment, it felt as though my soul slipped out of my body.
It can't be… a werewolf!
My hands trembled as the thought echoed in my mind. They aren't allowed to cross the boundary… they know that. I kept repeating the words to myself, as if they could undo what stood before me.I tightened my grip on the crossbow and leveled it at the creature's face. The werewolf snarled, low and vicious, baring its teeth. I steadied my breath and was just about to release the bolt when a powerful hand seized the weapon. Before I could react, the crossbow was ripped from my grasp and snapped cleanly in two.
I gasped, spinning around.
Towering over me was a tall, broad-shouldered man with tousled blond hair and the bluest eyes I had ever seen. For a heartbeat, the world seemed to tilt. He looked familiar, achingly familiar, yet I couldn't place where I had seen him before.
I held his gaze for several seconds before the reality of the moment finally sank in. Instinctively, I stepped back. He was shirtless, his skin marked with faint scrapes, and the only clothing he wore was a torn pair of trousers, as if he had only just shifted back into human form.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," he said, his voice deep enough to vibrate through the air.
"You… you were the one who sent the letter?" I stammered. My hands were still trembling. He didn't answer immediately, just offered a small, weary smile.
From behind him, another voice roared, equally deep but edged with fury. "I told you we shouldn't have brought her here! If anyone finds out, we're done for!"
A second figure stormed toward us, tugging at the waistband of his own torn trousers. My heart lurched. It was the same wolf I had aimed my crossbow at.
He had the same piercing blue eyes as the first man, but with dark hair and a sharper intensity. They looked alike, so alike that for a moment I wondered if they were brothers.
Compelled by something I couldn't name, I stepped closer to the dark-haired man. And then, all at once, the pieces snapped into place.
It was him.
The man from my nightmares.
I tried to scream, but the dark-haired man moved faster than thought. He pulled me against his chest and clamped a hand over my mouth.
"Shut up," he hissed. "You'll alert them."
"Let her go, Zane! You're hurting her," the blond one snapped, yanking me free from the iron grip.
I stumbled back as he steadied me, his blue eyes locking onto mine with unsettling intensity.
"I'm Xander," he said, voice steady and unyielding. "And you don't know this yet… but you are destined to lead our people."
My breath caught. I jerked away from him as if the words themselves were a flame.
No.
No, this wasn't real. I wasn't some chosen leader. I wasn't supernatural. I was just a girl, a normal girl, who had no business ruling a werewolf kingdom.
Panic surged through me. I turned and ran, sprinting blindly through the trees. I hadn't made it fifty meters before a blur swept past me. Xander appeared in front of me as if he had materialized from thin air, cutting off my escape.
"Please," I begged, my voice trembling, "let me go. I don't want to lead anyone's pack. I have my own kingdom to look after."
"But you made a choice," Zane said behind me, amusement curling at the edges of his lips as he approached. "You came here on your own. Looking for answers."
I couldn't respond. My mind was spinning, my pulse hammering.
Then,
A crow shrieked overhead, its cry slicing through the night. A cold wind rose, sweeping the clearing as a thick fog curled across the ground like living smoke.
"They're here," Xander said sharply. His body moved in front of mine, shielding me. "Quest, get behind me."
My heart lurched. "Why? Who's here? And how do you even know my name?!"
"Argh, you're only making it worse!" Zane snapped, frustration cracking through his voice.
"I don't think you boys are supposed to be here," a chilling, singsong voice drifted out from within the fog.
"I could say the same for you, Ravik!" Zane shouted, moving instinctively closer to shield Xander and me.
The voice's owner stepped forward, emerging from the mist with a slow, deliberate grace. He was impossibly tall, with skin so pale it resembled something long dead. A sweeping black coat wrapped him from neck to heel, and as he moved, I noticed the glint of his nails, long, curved, and growing sharper with every step.
He fixed his gaze on me and smiled, revealing two dagger-like fangs.
My breath hitched. It couldn't be…
"A vampire?" I whispered under my breath.
"Yes indeed, princess," Ravik purred, his voice slicing through the air like a blade. My shock deepened, he had heard me, even from that distance.
He drew closer, each step darkening the atmosphere around us, his nails lengthening, his eyes narrowing with predatory hunger.
"Zane," Xander murmured urgently, "get her back to the kingdom."
Then he lunged at Ravik.
But the vampire moved with effortless savagery. In a blur, Ravik seized Xander by the throat and hurled him across the courtyard. Xander's body struck the fountain with such force that stone shattered around him.
I screamed.
Zane didn't hesitate. He wrapped an arm around my waist and tore through the trees at supernatural speed. But Ravik was faster, within seconds, he materialized in front of us, blocking the path.
"Quest, stay back!" Zane barked.
I stumbled behind him just as his body began to contort. Bones cracked. Muscles swelled. His ocean-blue eyes flared into a blazing, blood-red glow. Before I could even process it, he had shifted, standing before me as a massive, snarling werewolf.
His howl split the air, resonating through the forest.
Almost immediately, other howls answered. One after another. Echo upon echo.
Within minutes, shadows slipped between the trees, shaggy forms emerging from every direction. A dozen werewolves surrounded us, forming a protective, growling circle as the fog thickened and Ravik's smile widened.
"You call yourself an Alpha, yet you can't even face me alone? Hm, Zane?"
Ravik's taunting voice slithered through the trees like poison.
Zane snarled in response, lips curling back over razor-sharp fangs. Without breaking eye contact, he gave a swift signal to the pack and chaos erupted. Wolves lunged at the vampire from every direction. Then he jerked his head at me.
Get on.
I scrambled onto his back, gripping his fur tightly as he bolted through the forest, faster than any wind. Branches whipped past us, the cold night air stinging my face. By the time we reached the gates of my kingdom, my heart was still pounding from the terror and the speed.
He crouched, allowing me to slide off. I steadied myself and looked at him.
"Is Xander going to be okay?" I whispered, dread curling in my stomach.
Zane didn't answer. He just stared at me for a long, unreadable moment… then turned and sprinted back into the night.
Minutes later, my father burst out of the palace with a cluster of bodyguards.
"Oh my God, Quest! Are you hurt? What on earth are you doing out here?"
I couldn't speak, not a single word. Everything that had happened pressed down on me like a weight I couldn't lift. Dad, furious and terrified, dragged me inside, lectured me the entire way, grounded me, and sent me straight to my room.
But the moment I stepped inside, I froze.
Xander and Zane were already there, fully clothed, completely unharmed.
How… how did they get here so fast?
I didn't know whether to feel relieved they were alive or horrified that two werewolves were standing in my bedroom.
Xander stood beside my bed, calm and composed, while Zane lurked near the balcony as though he'd rather be anywhere else.
"How are you here? And what about Ravik?" I whispered.
"He's gone," Xander replied quietly. "The pack overwhelmed him. But listen" his voice hardened, "you cannot tell anyone what happened tonight. Not your father, not your friends. No one. Do you understand? Promise me."
I nodded, still shaken.
For a moment, we simply stared at each other, something unspoken hanging between us. Then Zane cleared his throat sharply.
"Xander, we should go."
I turned toward him, frustration boiling over. "Why do you hate me so much?" I asked firmly.
His jaw clenched. "Because you ruined everything," he snapped, voice thick with anger.
The words stung. I didn't even know what he meant.
Before I could ask, a noise sounded in the hall. My father burst into the room.
"Quest, what's going" He stopped. The room was empty. Xander and Zane were gone, as though they had never been there at all.
Dad gave me a suspicious look. "Get some sleep."
But sleep was impossible. I lay awake the rest of the night, replaying everything
Ravik's fangs, Xander's eyes, Zane's anger
and the haunting certainty that my life would never be normal again.