Addison stared at the page of the history book, the words blurring into nothing. Instead, her mind imagined those perfect brown eyes, that sweet smile. It was crazy, really. She'd noticed Zed before, remembered seeing him in the woods and scaring him shitless, and again when they first went to the school and he stood back to back with his friend. She wasn't blind to how cute he was. But she didn't expect to be crushing so hard so fast.

She inwardly sighed, his slick little smile coming to mind. She was lost in Zed-land, and didn't want to ever leave. Was this what love was like? There wasn't much romantic love in the pack, save between the Elder wolves who were all growing sick and weak, most of whom had already died from the moonstone sickness. Addison hadn't even seen her own parents together; she was only a few years old when her father had been captured and killed by hunters and her mother had gone mad from depression, becoming one of the first to succumb to the illness.

All these feelings were so foreign to her. It wasn't like there was anyone she could talk to about them either; she was supposed to be finding the moonstone, not daydreaming about Zed.

Willa slammed her own book closed, startling Addison out of her daydream. "Useless," Willa grumbled. Addison raised an eyebrow at her. "None of these history books say where the moonstone is hidden." She huffed, blowing a loose curl out of her face and slouching back in her chair.

Wyatt leaned over his sister. "Seems like we've hit a dead end," he said, looking at her. Willa nodded in agreement and both heads turned to look at Addison expectantly.

Oh right, that was her job.

"What now?" Wyatt grumbled.

Addison pursed her lips. There wasn't really a plan past doing research. Maybe if they read through again, looked for anything obscure? Of course, anything could be obscure in Seabrook.

Her pack watched her, but before she had to lie and make up some random plan, Zed walked up to their table, his friend Eliza and a little zombie girl with him. She grinned, both relieved that he had unknowingly saved her, and to see him.

"Hello wolves," he greeted. Addison covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "Allow me to introduce myself," he held out a hand toward their table, "I'm Zed, zombie, football star, presidential hopeful."

The wolves glared at his outstretched hand. If she were closer, Addison would've shaken it, but his gesture was more towards Willa than anything. Still, when Zed awkwardly smiled and muttered, "Okay," she wanted nothing more than to get up and give him a hug. He clenched his hand into a fist and nodded, straightening up.

His friend, Eliza, stepped forward and smiled. "Hi," she greeted. "I'm Eliza. And that's Zed's little sister, Zoey."

The little girl with the French braids bounced on her heels, giving them an excited wave. Addison smiled, moving to wave but being stopped by Wyatt's hand on her shoulder. So she stayed put.

"When zombies first came to Seabrook, we were outsiders, too," Eliza said. "Which is why you need a great president like Zed to represent you. We'd be honored if you guys joined our campaign."

Addison glanced at Willa, hoping she'd consider the offer. But before she can even say anything, Wynter stood, clearly upset.

"Our pack is our pack," she said. "We don't need anyone else, so." She shrugged, giving them an annoyed smile.

"Who doesn't want more friends?" Zoey asked. She tilted her head at Wynter and added, "Underneath all that fluffy hair, I bet you're a real softie."

The kid was pretty adorable. And she wasn't wrong either. Addison had seen her pack on normal days, when they'd be running around and playing and laughing. She wasn't allowed to play with them, sure, but she still knew that they were capable of being nice. Especially Wynter.

Yet, she crouched down to Zoey's level and growled, "I am a mean, mean werewolf, kid. I am tough and rough."

Zoey giggled and Addison blinked in surprise. There was a wolf, inches from her face, who was threatening her, and she laughed? Kid was brave.

"Aww, you said 'ruff!' Like a sweet little puppy dog." Zoey gushed. "I love dogs, and puppies! Sometimes Zed pretends to be my dog 'cause zombies aren't allowed to have pets." Addison tilted her head toward Zed, who had a pained smile on his face.

"I'm looking for a werefriend," Zoey went on.

Wynter lowered her head, growling again, "We are beasts of the forest, we will never be tamed." Zoey giggled and reached up, scratching Wynter behind her ear. Wynter melted into the gesture.

Willa huffed and stood, startling everyone to the point that Zed was pulling his little sister away from Wynter.

"We're nothing like you zombies," Willa snarled.

Zed nudged his sister and she nodded, running off to a store past them.

Eliza squinted a little and said, "You sort of are. Your necklace is powered, right? Kind of like an organic Z-band."

Willa hummed, eyes scrutinizing Eliza before saying, "You're smarter than he looks."

Addison rolled her eyes and slid out of her chair, slipping away from the group. She caught sight of Zoey entering some shop and decided on a whim to follow her, barely glancing at the name. There wasn't any plan or reason she was following Zoey other than pure instinct. And her gut wasn't often wrong.

Addison followed the young zombie around the dimly lit grocery store for a full minute before Zoey stopped and turned around, dropping her hold of the wagon behind her, giving Addison a curious smile. She was a lot like Zed, really. Inquisitive eyes, casual mannerisms.

"You're Addison, right?" Zoey asked. "Zed's been talking about you all day."

Another thing Zoey has in common with Zed: making her blush.

"Oh? Well, yeah, I'm Addison." Addison stuttered. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Zoey said. "Why were you following me?"

"Oh." For the first time, Addison couldn't come up with an excuse on the spot. She usually did okay under pressure, yet she was blanking.

Zoey giggled though. "You can help me buy groceries, if you're not busy," she said. "Daddy left us forty dollars, and Zed won't help. He's too busy…well, he was trying to talk to you and win over the wolves. But now you're here with me!"

Addison laughed. "Well I'll be glad to help you," she said.

"Yay!" Zoey cheered. "Come on. We need bread and veggies and eggs—I can't believe I get to buy groceries with a real life werewolf!" She paused, tilting her head at Addison again. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, rocking on the balls of her feet, clearly debating something. How old was this kid?

"Can I hold your hand?" Zoey asked.

"Sure!"

Zoey smiled and took Addison's hand, taking a moment to admire the claws, then began leading her down the aisle. It was just bread, lots of different breads, all dark brown, growing lighter the closer they got to the top of the shelf. Zoey stopped in the middle and explained, "The cheap bread is on the bottom—close to the ground. Daddy got a promotion so we had middle bread last week. But Zed took some money for his campaign." Addison blinked in surprise. Zoey bent down and grabbed a loaf off the third shelf from the bottom. "It's not moldy, but it'll expire in two days. And it's only two bucks."

She smiled and placed it in her wagon, then started down the aisle. "Zed was right, you know," Zoey said.

"About what?"

"That you're very, very pretty," Zoey said. "He said that he probably shouldn't even think a werewolf was so pretty and nice and great to be around, 'cause werewolves didn't like zombies and zombies shouldn't like werewolves. And that Eliza would kill him if she found out he was crushing on the prettiest wolf out there."

"He…he said that?"

Zoey nodded. "You wanna know what else he said?" She didn't really want to, but Zoey didn't give her much time to answer. "Zeddy says he wants to ask you to Prawn, but he doesn't think werewolves go to school dances. And also that it'd probably be a little weird since you guys only just met."

They stopped at the end of the aisle and Zoey picked out a large jar of peanut butter and placed it in the wagon.

"Zoey? Are you sure you should be telling me this?"

"Well…" Zoey smiled up at Addison, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Zed didn't tell me to keep it a secret."

"But!" Zoey skipped for a second then stopped. "If you don't want to hear more juicy stuff about my brother and his oh-so-adorable crush on you—did you know you're the only girl he's ever talked about? It's so weird! But, I can stop if you want."

"Yeah," Addison agreed. "It just feels like…maybe he didn't want me to know all that?"

Zoey stared at her, eyes narrowed, clearly not comprehending. "Don't you know he likes you?"

"Well…" Yes, of course she knew. If the singular conversation that had started out with teasing and ended with him making her absolutely swoon hadn't been enough of a hint, then Zoey spilling everything he'd told her was. "Yes, Zoey. But I don't think he would want you telling me all this."

"Why not? How else are you gonna get together and live happily ever after?"

Zoey glanced around, then walked to the end of the aisle, making a sharp turn. Addison ran and caught up with her, finding Zoey staring at the wall of produce. There were a lot of bugs. Like if a hunter had left their kill outside, and the dead animal was overtaken by ants and insects and flying critters. Then, of course, someone had to take care of getting the carcass away from the den. It always ended up being Addison, as "training" for finding the moonstone or some bullshit.

Zoey looked up at Addison. "I can't reach the top shelf. Let's split up the work."

Addison fixed Zoey with a confused look, but the little zombie had already walked away, going to grab a bag.

They spent five more minutes in the grocery store, talking about nothing in particular. The cashier ignored Addison completely, giving her nothing more than a frightened look. Addison didn't care, standing silently beside Zoey. She wouldn't look for problems, knowing humans and zombies were terrified of werewolves and it would be easier to avoid conflict than try and change their minds.

Zoey checked out, shoving her change in her pocket. She grabbed her wagon with one hand and Addison's hand with the other, the two of them walking out of the store and back into the sunlight. They left the store and found the pack, Zed and Eliza not where they had once been. They both looked around the street, Zoey spotting the group first and running down the sidewalk to them. Addison followed, laughing a little.

They're only a few feet away, though, when Zed called to someone across the street, who threw him a football. "See guys! Easy stuff!" Zed said, spinning the ball on his finger.

Zoey groaned, slowing to a walk to say to Addison, "He can be such a show off sometimes."

Addison laughed, wrapping an arm around Zoey's shoulder. "He is, isn't he?" she said. "He's lucky he's such an awesome big brother."

"I wouldn't say awesome…" Zoey trailed off, giving Addison a semi-serious that made her laugh even more. After a second, Zoey dropped the look and laughed, shaking her head.

Then, of course, they heard two loud grunts that startled them out of their jubilee. They both froze and looked over to the ground, where Wynter had just tackled Zed to the ground. Zoey tensed and Addison glanced down at her, her stomach twisted at the fear in Zoey's eyes. Wynter popped up but Zed stayed on the ground, his face twisted and a groan leaving his mouth again.

Addison's blood ran cold. What could have possibly happened in the ten minutes she was gone? Her pack laughed at the subdued zombie on the ground and Addison shot them a glare. It wasn't funny, it wasn't any sort of amusing. Wolves didn't hurt others, especially not someone as nice as Zed, who was just trying to help them.

Zoey dropped her hold of her groceries, ducked out from under Addison's arm, and ran. "Zed!" Zoey cried, sliding on the concrete until she was kneeling beside her brother.

Addison directed her attention to her pack and glared. Her moonstone warmed against her skin and she growled, drawing their attention. The majority had the decency to stop laughing and look towards the ground in shame. Except Willa, never Willa. No, Willa flicked her hair over her shoulder, stalking over to Addison, her brother and closest comrade (Wynter) flanking her sides.

Willa looked her up and down and asked, "And where have you been?" Willa asked.

Addison narrowed her eyes. Willa really had the audacity to be pissed at her, her.

She was shorter, a million times shorter than Willa, and in no way intimidating. But her moonstone hummed, glowing as emotions overcame her, torn between what she wanted and what she was supposed to be doing. She wanted to go and check on Zed, place a hand on his shoulder, make sure he was okay, even bring some comfort to Zoey. She wanted to stand up to Willa, with her fangs bared and finally put her in her place and remind her that she was the Great Alpha, not her.

She was torn between two very different endings, and she didn't know which one was the right choice. Her moonstone rumbled again against the skin of her neck, reminding her of her place, reminding her that she was supposed to be a leader.

Her pack came first.

The pack always had to come first.

Her eyes flashed yellow and she growled Willa's way, showing her fangs. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zed grab Zoey by the elbow and gently shove her behind him, so that his body was in front of her.

Her heart, or what's left of it, sank.

Eyes returning to normal, Willa watching her carefully, her lips screw into a firm line. "Where I've been is none of your business," Addison said evenly, getting her point across firmly, making sure Willa knew not to question her whereabouts again. It went against the pack mentality really, because it was in their nature to wonder where a packmate had gone, their absence a gaping hole until they returned. But Addison was her own person, and she would not be told what she could and couldn't do.

She's the Great Alpha.

She did what she wanted.

Willa's confidence wavered, her eyebrows scrunching together. That was good, that was really good. Finally, Addison was getting some respect.

"Let's go," Addison growled.

Her eyes land on Zed, slowly sitting up from the ground. He looked hurt. Not physically, more like he was, emotionally, mentally. Something in him was hurting, and she couldn't help but feel slightly responsible. Then his friend—Eliza, or something—grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

Addison returned her attention to Willa—to her pack. "We have a moonstone to find," she added. She turned around, forcing back thoughts of Zed. He would be okay. They'd see each other at school the next day.

Addison kicked the dry parchment roll, letting it spread itself out on the floor of her chambers. It wasn't more than two feet long, but she'd been using it for years to guide her investigation towards the moonstone.

It was mostly empty. There was a drawing of the moonstone from what the Elder's told her, an abridged version of how they'd lost it, and one lead: ZOMBIES? It was less of a lead and more of an inquiry.

The first time she'd heard about zombies had been when she was in year four. There wasn't much to hear. There were zombies in Seabrook. No one was quite sure what they were or where they came from. Whatever it was, they were locked in one half of the town, which turned out to be the wolves' access point into Seabrook. No one ever monitored Zombietown for things other than zombies, which meant the wolves could come and go as they please, so long as they were sneaky about it.

The books they had taken from the library had given her a deeper insight to the zombie "race." She spread them out on her floor, pages bookmarked and ready for her to scour again. What was relevant—or seemed relevant—was all she was going to take. Her father had told her to look for the unusual in the perfect town, and zombies were just that. They had to be the key to finding the moonstone.

The cover of her chamber yanked back violently and Addison paused. No one ever came to visit her, not when she was in her private chambers with her curtain down, especially not after what happened that afternoon with the zombies.

Addison turned, mildly surprised to see Willa and Wyatt standing in her doorway. Addison got to her feet. Something had to be wrong. There wasn't any other reason for them both to visit her unless something seriously dangerous was lurking.

"What's wrong?" Addison asked.

"What's wrong?" Willa scoffed. She crossed her arms, stepping toward Addison with her brother hot on her tail. "What's wrong is you, Addison."

"Wh-what?"

"You aren't helping anything," Willa seethed, her voice nearly a growl. Addison flinched. "Flirting with some zombie isn't going to lead us to the moonstone."

Zed? Willa came bursting into her room because of some lanky zombie. The same zombie who was probably afraid of Addison now, who didn't matter. Addison put her blossoming feelings for Zed aside for the good of her pack, so she could find the moonstone. All for this bullshit?

"So what if it won't?" Addison exploded, anger from the past few days building and building and building. She wasn't even thinking about Zed, but Willa even bringing it up infuriated her beyond belief. "I will find our moonstone. I'm the Great Alpha, it's my destiny. If I want to use that zombie to get closer to my goals, then I will!"

Willa took a step forward, baring her teeth. Wyatt jumped in between them, holding both his arms out, making sure their claws can't reach one another.

Willa glared at her brother but didn't move, returning her attention to Addison. "You should be focusing on nothing but the mission."

Addison narrowed her eyes, her moonstone humming from where it sat on her chest. "I am focused on the mission," she whispered harshly.

"Bullshit."

"Willa," Wyatt whispered.

Addison stared Willa down, her words coming out in a cold, harsh whisper. "I never forgot the quest. And it seems like I'm the only one in this pack who actually cares about finding the moonstone, while you're out there parading about and rejecting everyone who might be able to help us."

"If you were truly the great alpha, you wouldn't need help."

"I am—"

"You are nothing like us. Nothing." Willa spat. Addison flinched, taking a step back. "You can dress like us, pretend to be like us, but face it. You've always been different, Addison. You're not like our pack, and you never will be. If you ever find the moonstone, then we'll be done with you. You'll be nothing but an outsider."

Willa looked her up and down, scoffing, shaking her head. She turned and left. The air in the cavern was thick and silent, her words lingering, bouncing around in Addison's skull.

She was nothing to them. They just kept her around because she was supposed to lead them to the moonstone.

"Addy," Wyatt said. Her eyes snapped to his face, cold, bitterness spreading within her. She was nothing to them. "She doesn't mean that. We're all just a little stressed about this, that's it."

"Get out," she growled.

Wyatt reached out for her still. "Addison—"

"Get out!" she roared, raising her claws at him.

He frowned and stumbled backwards, brows drawn together. He didn't say anything but set his jaw, walking out of her chambers, letting the cover fall as he left.

She would never be like them.

None of them wanted her around, they just needed her. Just barely, too. Willa barely believed she was the great alpha.

If she didn't find the moonstone, then Willa would be right. The pack would die. And it'd be her fault. But if she did find it…she'd have served her purpose. They'd be fine without her. There wasn't any room in the pack for some white haired freak, not once they had the moonstone.

She was nothing to them.