After that day in the forest, Addison never had the opportunity to return to her grandmother's house, and therefore to play with her new friends. No matter how much she cried and screamed and made scenes at her mother's social gatherings for her elections, all she had collected was days of punishment, until her parents reckoned that she was going to stop shaming them.

But if Addison had stopped her fits, that didn't mean she wasn't protesting otherwise. She wore the moon hair clip all the time, and when her grandmother Wynona came by to see them, she discreetly handed her letters and notes, along with gifts for her friends on their birthday. In return, she received more jewelry, and some soft animal pelts that she bundled up against when it got cold, or wherever she felt that all the pressure on her would end up eating her raw. She also received replies to her letters, which she carefully kept in a locked box, to prevent her parents from snooping in. And for good measure, she had hidden the box in a little hollow in the floor.

Her grandmother never asked her any questions, just smiling tenderly every time she gave her a letter or a gift. She would ruffle her hair, promising her that her letter would be delivered, before telling her a new story about the werewolves.

Except that her grandmother started to get sick when Addison turned ten, and she could play the postman less and less. So Addison wrote one last letter, explaining to her friends that her grandmother was ill, and that she could no longer deliver her letters for her. She begged them to understand, promised them that even if she no longer wrote to them, she would think of them every day, and that she would wait for the day when they would meet impatiently, that she loves them very much, and that she couldn't wait to see them again.

She especially didn't want there to be any misunderstanding with her precious friends, and she was considerate by nature. Her grandmother needed to rest, and she couldn't afford to walk in the forest when she was so weak.

Their response came very quickly. They assured her that they understood, and that they would never forget her either. They also couldn't wait to see her again, and they give her the most precious gift they could, so that even if she changed over the next few years, they would always recognize her. They promised her that the next time they saw each other, they would take her to their den.

Addison smiled, tears streaming down her eyes, and dug her fingers into the envelope to retrieve the gift. She brought out a necklace made of leather, with a shiny white stone. Her eyes widened, because she knew exactly what it was, and couldn't believe they had given her such a precious item.

A few weeks later, Grandma Wynona died, leaving a void in Addison's heart. She cried all the tears in her body, and if she focused enough, she could hear the howl of a grieving wolf.

She immersed herself in her cheerleading workouts to get out of her parents' control, and built a mask of the perfect little girl, which made her parents proud of her. But on her sad days, she wore her moonstone, and lay down in her fur skin, observing the moon and wondering what would have happened if she had been born a wolf…

In the year of her fifteenth birthday, she didn't have much time to think about her wolf friends, except for the rainy days. The zombies had been accepted at her school, and it was a great first, even though they remained separate from each other. On top of that, it was the cheerleading qualifying day led by her cousin, Bucky, and she wanted to be on the team.

She met Bree, who smelled of ginger and apple, with a touch of gingerbread, and instantly became friends with her, even though she found her fear of zombies irrational. Then she met the incredibly sweet, death-smelling kind Zed in the survival room, and began to dream with him of a world where zombies and humans could walk side by side without fear of judgment. She met Eliza and Bonzo, and attended her very first zombie party.

Zed was also in the football team, and took advantage of a deal with the principal to improve the study conditions of zombies at school. Until one day Bucky's assistants, whom Zed had affectionately nicknamed the Aceys, hacked into Eliza's computer, bringing out the zombie as Zed.

It all fell apart that day, and Addison couldn't bear to live in a lie anymore. She could no longer be a part of this injustice when her friends suffered in this way.

So that day, she took off her wig, and showed the whole world her true appearance, her true self. The shock was obvious, and she was booed, but for the first time in five years, she felt good. Despite the disappointment of her parents, and despite the fact that she had just lost a good part of her friends. She saw Bree smiling at her in the distance, proud of her. She saw Eliza and Bonzo with their mouths open, and a new spark of respect in their eyes. She saw Zed, about to be taken away by her father's patrol, with a big smile on his face at her courage. And she knew it was worth it.

The cheerleading competition with the zombies was just the cherry at the top of the cake, and the party a few days after to celebrate the abolition of the zombie laws was the whipped cream.

That evening, like every evening since her grandmother's death, she brought the moonstone necklace to her lips, and wrote a new letter about the day. She hoped that one day her wolf friends would have the opportunity to read them.

In the meantime, she continued to proudly wear her hair clip on her white hair.

And she didn't have to wait too long either.

During summer break, she went to the cheerleading camp run by her intolerant cousin, found herself captain of Team Z, and led them to victory, despite Bucky's ploys and cheating. She had a very good week despite everything, getting to know the zombies she didn't necessarily know, where the members were still a little shy to cheer.

Zara was adorable and always had a sweet drink for anyone feeling nauseous in the camp because of the sun. Taylor wanted to be a doctor later, because doctors saved his life when he was younger, and he wanted to give back the chance he was given to life. Flora was tiny and petite, but didn't hold back her thoughts. Izobel loved calligraphy and promised to help her learn the zombie language when they go back to town.

Addison was happy with all these new friends, and she knew they would be there when she needed them, as they knew she would be there for them.

They were all on the return bus, chatting, until Liza yelled yes, and Mathew hugged her.

"Oh… They are so cute."

The cheerleaders applauded the new couple, Addison with a small smile on her face.

"I would like to also be asked to go to the Prawn…" said Bree, glancing towards the back of the bus.

Addison followed her gaze, to see Bonzo focused on something she couldn't gasp. Bree turned to her, a pout on her lips.

"I'm sure he's going to ask you, you're meant to be," Addison comforted her, taking her hand.

Bree smiled back at her and squeezed her hand, giving Bonzo one last look. Her smile turned carnivorous when she turned back at her. "And you ? Do you think Zed is going to ask you to go with him?"

Addison turned to her, her eyes wide. "Why would he ask me?"

It was Bree's turn to widen her eyes, as if she couldn't believe the words that had just come out of her mouth. "Addison, you're not serious, are you? The poor zombie has a huge crush on you!"

The girl widened her eyes, and felt close to fainting. Zed was her friend, nothing more. She really didn't feel anything more for him, and she didn't want to spoil their friendship over a misunderstanding.

"Oh my god, you really didn't know…"

"Bree, what am I going to do ?!" Before she could even open her mouth, Bonzo screamed from the back of the bus, pointing to the window. Outside, wooden signs had been installed, and formed words…

"Addison… will you… come to…"

Everyone was reading the words at the same time, becoming more and more excited as the words formed meaning in their mind. Addison's eyes were wide in horror. She really didn't know how to get out of this situation. She hadn't even intended to go to the Prawn if Bree hadn't convinced her!

"Oh sweet mother," she muttered as she saw the word 'Prawn' being unfold.

She wanted to close her eyes and hoped it was just a nightmare, that she wasn't going through this. But a distant figure caught her eye, and she cried out.

"ZED!"

The team members looked at her like she was mad, until she pointed to the figure in front of them on a gigantic ladder. Everyone screamed as the bus spat into the ladder, and Zed fell to the roof.

The bus began to swerve, and zigzag, which made Addison a little sick, but she was far too worried that her friend had been knocked off a ladder to really care.

Zed eventually fell to the side, but it was too late, they were heading straight for the forest. Everyone was screaming, and Bree clung to her scared to death. They passed through the barrier that led to the Forbidden Forest, and distractedly, Addison remembered that her grandmother Wynona's house was also on the edge of this forest.

They ended up crashing in a bush.

Addison shook her head, trying to get her thoughts together, but Bucky continued to scream. He eventually comes out, and passes out just outside the vehicle. She got up from her seat to make sure everyone saw her.

"Everyone stay calm! We mustn't panic, everything is fine!"

Addison glanced around. Everyone was still shaken, she had to give them something to do to be sure that they did not do anything dangerous for themselves or for the others.

"The Aceys, take care of Bucky. Leave him lying down, and turn his head to the side. If he ever threw up because of this little adventure, we wouldn't want him to choke. Bonzo and Bree, see if we still have bottled water and some food. It will calm the nausea that some may feel."

The Aceys rushed outside, trying to wake Bucky. Bonzo and Bree smiled shyly at each other and went out to look in the luggage stored on the bus for what Addison had asked for.

"Rhoan, go check that the bus driver is okay, and give him some water too. It must have been even scarier for him. Does anyone know a bit about mechanics?"

Yza raised a shy hand, while Brady was a little more confident.

"Ok, Yza, Brady, check that the wheels are intact and that the motor was not damaged when we entered into the barrier."

"Ay', captain," smiles Brady, before accompanying Yza outside.

"The others, slowly get off the bus, we never know if it could explode… I'll take care of going to look for Zed, hoping that he is a good explanation for all that," she mumbled at the end.

She made sure everyone was out before going out herself, and ran towards the forest.

When she gets her hands on that zombie…

A branch clung to her clothes, tearing one end off, and forcing her out of her thoughts. She looked around; she found herself in a small clearing with a rock in the shape of a claw. The trees were really tall, and dense.

She had sunk into the forest instead of going out onto the road, but she wasn't afraid.

A noise around her made her jump. She turned around abruptly, looking for the source of the noise. Another noise behind her worried her, and she remembered her grandmother's recommendations. She stepped back, slowly, until her back was glued to a huge tree. She finally saw figures in the shadow of the forest, and understood.

She was in wolf territory.

A noise near her made her jump, and instinctively she brought her fist to the person's face.

"OW!"

"Zed ?!"

"Hey, Addison," he growled, rubbing his nose.

Addison opened her mouth to say something, when her eyes were drawn to a figure on the rock. Crazy curls with a white wick were flying with the little wind that had just risen. Her necklace glowed with a blue light, as her eyes turned amber. Addison instinctively put a hand through her hair, over the barrette her friend had given her a long time ago.

The wolf howled at the moon, and met her gaze, her eyes widening a little before stepping back, and running further into the forest.

Noises around them made her realize that the wolves were all gone. She could still hear them running for a moment, before they completely disappeared from her senses.

She let out a small sigh of relief and smiled slightly. Even though the conditions were not the most ideal, she was happy to have a chance to see her childhood friends again. Now it was to be hoped that Zed kept his mouth shut, and that he didn't reveal the secret.

She turned around at the sound of footsteps, and saw the cheerleading team running up.

I told them to stay near the bus!

"We mustn't stay here!" Zed cried before Addison could open her mouth. "There are werewolves surrounding us!"

Addison wanted to break something. The secret was no longer a secret. She just hoped it would end well in the end.

F1 Lover 2004 : Thank you for your comment ! Yes, there's more to come. I have already written 12 chapters, I'm just posting them one by one to give me time to write more ️

I hope you liked this chapter ! It's was so hard to wait until today to publish it, and it's midnight !

I know it's more a recap chapter, but it necessary for the rest of story. Stay tuned for the chapter 3 !

Love and Kiss

Enamis