"ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS! MONSTER LAWS ARE NOW REINSTATED! ALL CURFEWS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED!" An announcement was going out all throughout town, carried by members of the Z-Patrol. They were already lined up at the Unification Gate as both humans and Zombies rushed to their proper sides in a panic. Chaos and fear were all around as everyone was worried about the imminent threat posed by the vicious werewolves.

A blue-suited worker from the powerplant demolition site was looking around, confused at all the hysteria, he even stopped to try to buy a bowl of Froyo, but the vendor quickly refused, proclaiming he was closed.

"No no no, we're closed. For good. My dreams of froyo success melted away. With monsters everywhere, look I like zombies, they like froyo, but werewolves like human flesh, its better with sprinkles. Everybody likes sprinkles. Just run. High knees! Run!" The vendor pushed his cart away, joining the panic and heading back over the Seabrook side.

That's highly exaggerated. The worker thought to himself as he continued on his way. He kept up his steady pace through Zombietown, avoiding the panicking people surrounding him until he found a little zombie girl nailing up a homemade sign that he stopped to look at.

"Have you seen a werewolf? I'm looking for a werefriend." She asked when she noticed him behind her.

"Silly kid there's no such thing as werewolves." He said confidently.

"But we heard it howl."

"Maybe it was a hiker saying hooow's it going?" He suggested.

"It was a werewolf." She insisted, before taking a closer look up at him. "My what big eyes you have."

"Zoey!" An older zombie who must have been her father called out, interrupting her train of thought. "Come on inside, it's not safe with all these werewolves creeping around."

As she ran into her house, the worker ripped her sign off the post and stuffed it in his pocket. He shook his head and whispered to himself. "That was close."

The worker continued on his way until he left the edge of Zombietown through a different exit of the barrier, fortunately, this one didn't have as many people stampeding through it but it was still guarded by Z-Patrol that thankfully didn't stop or question him. But instead of heading home to Seabrook he continued to the outskirts of the town and walked through a hole in the rusted chain-link fence on the edge of the forest. Right underneath a red sign proclaiming. FORBIDDEN FOREST KEEP OUT! Turning his head to make sure no one was watching him as he did so.

As he walked deeper into the woods he started to relax. Even with his dampened senses he could smell the border marks and felt immediately felt safer. This was his territory, much better than that loud and smelly city. His scouting mission was a success. No one had caught him, even if that Zoey girl had come close, and he had learned what the humans seemed to be planning. Absolute panic and pandemonium mostly. Maybe they would have a chance to succeed after all.

As sunset approached, he finally returned home to a large cave beneath a towering gray cliff. An echoing howl signaled his return and the rest of the pack revealed themselves as he started pulling the hat, glasses, and stuffy uniform off, revealing his darker leather and fur-lined clothing, and his brown hair with a streak of white.

"He's back! Wolves!" He heard Wynter call out in anticipation.

The pack soon surrounded him as he drew closer and Windee draped his moonstone necklace over his head, then he turned around and Wilson carefully reapplied the markings he had to wipe away for his stealth mission.

Wyatt turned around and took in a deep breath as his moonstone sparked with life. He could feel his senses sharpen, fangs lengthen, and his natural strength and speed return as he felt alive again and let out a growl as the power flowed through his body. The forest was suddenly alive with smells and sounds, and the growing shadows no longer dampened his vision.

"What did you find out?" Willa asked him.

"They saw you howling Willa."

"So?" She shook her head slightly, not the least concerned.

"We're exposed." he revealed the drawing he had taken from the young zombie.

"Ha ha, looks nothing like us Wyatt." Willa scoffed, "We have way better hair than that. Stop being such a worrywolf brother. I only said Aawwwooooo! Like saying Ciao or Aloha. Or I'll rip your throat out. Anyway who cares what they think? It's a terrible town."

"We have to find the Great Alpha." Wyatt insisted. They had had this conversation before.

"If there even is a Great Alpha." Willa rolled her eyes.

"Willa! We saw her in the forest. She had the white hair-"

"Probably just the light."

"She's real. And she's going to lead us to the Moonstone. And you know we don't have much time. More and more of our pack are getting sick. Our necklaces are almost out of power. We need to find the Moonstone."

"And when we do, we can recharge our necklaces and stay wolf strong for another hundred years." Wynter joined in the conversation, the rest of the pack nodding their agreement.

"OK. Even if the girl is the Great Alpha…how do we find her?" Willa asked.

Wyatt pulled something else out of his pocket. It was a pink and green patch ripped off the mysterious girl's jacket. "I found this in the woods. It's hers."

"Ah." Wynter gasped in excitement. "We'll track her down with our keen sense of smell."

"It says Seabrook High on it…So I thought we'd just look there." Wyatt interrupted Wynter's excitement with a better suggestion of his own.

"Ugh. OK fine. We find the girl and if she's the Great Alpha…she'll tell us where the Moonstone is hidden."

"We go in the morning!" Wyatt announced.

"We go tonight!" Willa corrected him.

"Or tonight works." Wyatt agreed.

"Aaawoooooo!" The whole pack howled.

The wolves returned to the den to prepare as best they could. Willa decided they would take about two dozen of the remaining healthy wolves with them, and leave about ten to continue to care for their sick. Before leaving, she put Weston, the only healthy adult remaining, in charge of the den until their return.

Outside the den again, Willa gave a short speech to the rest of the pack. "We don't have any choice left, we've searched everywhere, the Moonstone must be in the city somewhere, and if my brother's right, the Great Alpha will lead us to it. Our freedom isn't up to them, it's only up to us. I'm the alpha, I'm the leader, I'm the one to trust. Together we do whatever it takes, we're in this pack for life! Wolves!"

"Awooo!" The pack answered

"We Own The Night!" Willa shouted as she turned around, leading the way into the forest.

It was now nearly midnight, and the pack was on the move. None of the wolves were bothered, with the full moon in the sky and their night vision, they owned the night. They all ran confidently through the trees but weren't afraid to have fun. They howled and danced through the shadows as they traveled. For most of the wolves, they were excited to leave the forest for the first time ever. Willa and Wyatt led them confidently through the same route Wyatt had returned from earlier. Even as they entered Seabrook, they still let out their howls of delight, excitement, and determination. But they were still on high alert for any danger or witnesses. Every wolf knew how high the stakes were.

Wyatt took the lead as they traveled through the streets towards the school. "I'm picking up the scent it seems we're on the right track. The moonlight's on the rooftops, the wind is at our backs. We're living in the shadows, we're living for the chase, our legacy is in our sights so let's pick up the pace." He encouraged and reassured the wolves, many of them nervous in this brand new environment.

"We're on a quest to find the power that's inside of us. She's the alpha she's the leader she's the one to trust. Together we'll do whatever it takes we're in this pack for life." Wyatt promised his sister.

"Wolves!" Willa called out again.

"Awooo!" They answered.

At one point they all ducked down to avoid a couple walking their dog, and Wyatt saw Willa pull Wynter back from chasing after them.

Finally, they broke into the school, and surprisingly the doors were completely unlocked so entering it was no issue, they wandered the halls for a bit looking for a place to hide. Wynter found a room located under the stairs, that Willa vetoed after she gagged from the noxious smell of hairspray, saying it was obviously too well-used and out in the open.

"We'll hide here," Willa said, pulling off a vent cover from an air conditioning duct in the hallway a few feet away from the Cheer Room. "We'll find the girl, get our Moonstone, and leave this awful place."

"I wouldn't call it awful. They've got something called froyo." Wyatt smiled at her while Willa rolled her eyes in annoyance at her brother. "Nah you're right, this town's the worst." Wyatt was the last one to enter the vent and pulled it closed behind him.

As the wolves all settled in for a cramped night in the vent, Wyatt remained vigilant at his self-appointed guard post. Although for most of the night the school was completely quiet so he let his mind wander as the hours drew on. The wolves were naturally mostly nocturnal, so everyone was fidgeting in the cramped space, but Willa advised everyone to try to get some sleep so they would be ready to act when the school began in the morning. Wyatt could see through the darkness that Willa wasn't following her own advice. She had moved farther along the ventilation system to stand guard at another vent. Wyatt knew neither of them would allow themselves to sleep tonight. This was dangerous, and mostly unknown territory for them.

Ever since the original Seabrook settlers had invaded their territory and stole the Moonstone, the pack had just tried to stay away from the rapidly growing city. They had kept themselves mostly hidden all this time. They occasionally stole some things from campers and hikers, but never let anyone see them. When the Zombie Outbreak happened 50 years ago, they were largely unaffected. The gas cloud never entered their forest, so they were safe from it, and other than having to kill a few zombies that had shambled into the woods looking for brains, they remained untouched. But after the outbreak, the wolves had kept a closer eye on the town and were even more disgusted with how the humans acted. Even after the Z-bands were made, the zombies were still treated like prisoners and second-class citizens. With all the Zombie Laws that the town created, it was the past Alphas' decision to not go anywhere near the city ever again. With the town's population growing every year, the relatively small pack of wolves wouldn't stand a chance in a fight.

About two months ago, Willa and Wyatt had entered their parent's cave to check on them. Both were lying prone in their beds made of animal pelts, but they managed to slowly pull themselves up when their children entered the cave.

"Hello Mother, Father, are you feeling any better?" Wyatt asked hopefully.

"No Wyatt, we aren't and we've decided it's time for us to make a decision." His mother sighed.

"Willa, we're so sorry about this." His father continued. "But we are too weak to continue to lead the pack. You must take on the burden of leading us."

"What? No. Don't say that, you and everyone else can get better, I'm not ready to lead." Willa placed her hands over her father's.

"Don't worry Willa. We don't make this decision lightly. We know we are facing the most dangerous threat to our pack in living memory. But we know you can keep us safe." Their father reassured her.

"But why me?"

"Willa, you are our eldest, and we've prepared you as much as we can. We know you didn't expect this to happen so soon, but we don't have any choice." Their mother broke off into a fit of coughing, so Wyatt brought her a bowl of water to drink.

"Thank you Wyatt. You must promise to support Willa however you can. Do what she says, but don't be afraid to speak your mind. Willa, you will be the next Alpha, but you are not alone. You will have Wyatt to be at your side to support you, but also question you to make sure are making a sound decision. Do you promise to protect the pack with your life?"

"I do." They both said.

"Do you promise to lead to the best of your ability?"

"I do." They both said.

"Willa, will you always put the needs of the pack above your own?"

"I will."

"Then I declare you, Willa Lykenson, my daughter, Alpha of the Wolfpack. Awoo." Their father let out a short howl before he too broke off into a fit of coughing. Wyatt attended to him while Willa extended her arm so that her mother could shakily paint the marks of the Alpha on her skin in the middle of her forearms. A crescent moon shape with three diamonds in the shape of an A.

"I know you can save us, both of you. Look for the Great Alpha. It may be our only hope." Their mother told them one last time before both of their parents drifted back into an uneasy sleep.

Wyatt and Willa then walked back out to the main cave and looked out over the remaining wolves. Their pack was normally about a hundred strong, but by now there were only about three dozen still strong enough to move around the den. Willa put on her fiercest face and revealed the news to a chorus of howls of congratulations. But Wyatt could tell she was terrified.

The weeks that followed were busy for everyone, but Willa most of all. Wyatt often wondered if she ever let herself sleep. Willa went on every hunt, every patrol of the forest, doing whatever she could to keep the pack alive, and always projected confidence. But from the many conversations he had in private with her, he knew how terrified she really was of not just failing, but of them losing everything.

Wyatt worked himself just as hard, doing whatever Willa asked him to do. But he knew wherever the Moonstone was, it wasn't in the Forbidden Forest. It must be somewhere in Seabrook. It took some convincing but Willa finally allowed him to start searching the town by himself a few weeks ago, apparently right when the school had their Spring Break, but that had all been a dead end so far. Nothing he could find in either Zombietown or Seabrook gave any hint of the Moonstone's location. So instead he began to look for the final advice his parents had given him. He talked to them some more and learned that a prophecy had been spoken hundreds of years ago, long before the people of Seabrook ever invaded.

The prophecy was pretty simple. The moonstone will be lost, and only the Great Alpha will be able to lead the pack to its location. The Great Alpha will be marked by their mane of pure snow-white hair. And it will take the entire pack working together to save the Moonstone from its prison.

Wyatt had thought about the prophecy for many days and nights. All the wolves had a streak of white hair, but nothing like the prophecy described. Then out of nowhere, they may have found her.

Wyatt and the other wolves had been in the middle of their evening hunt, they had all woken up just before sunset and were looking for breakfast. Then out of nowhere, something loud was crashing through the forest. Willa gave the order to find whatever it was so they all ran towards it.

But before they did, they found her. Willa gave the signal to surround her just in case she was dangerous, but Wyatt froze in his tracks, thankfully still hidden in shadows among the trees.

It was her. It had to be, she had the snow-white hair. This was the Great Alpha, the pack could be saved. And he had to admit to himself, that she was beautiful. Her long hair sparkled in the fading light, and even in the darkness, he could see her eyes, as blue as the moonstone around his neck. That had to be a sign. Wyatt studied her face, she looked cute even, for a human. There was something about her, Wyatt felt immediately drawn to her. "She must be the Great Alpha." he whispered to himself.

He could see Willa step into a beam of moonlight in front of her, and let out a long howl of greeting/warning. Indeed she had said, "Hello stranger, don't move or I'll rip your throat out."

But then Wyatt heard someone else rapidly approaching through the trees. Wynter heard it too and let out a howl of warning, and with Willa's silent signal, the wolves melted into the shadows around them and met up about a mile away. They then cautiously returned to the crashed bus and watched while all the cheerleaders waited for their new ride, and they were all freaking out about werewolves.

It was there Wyatt had insisted he go scout to find out what the humans were planning and Willa reluctantly agreed. The humans had never actually threatened the pack since the initial battle for the land and the Moonstone. So Willa didn't believe they were a credible threat. But she told him to be careful. Before he left, he returned to the site where they found the girl and found the patch he had shown Willa. He had tried to track the scent, but without his necklace to provide his powers, he couldn't track anything.

Wyatt snuck in near Zombietown and stole the uniform he found, but unfortunately, he didn't discover any more signs of the Great Alpha or the Moonstone.

Back in the vent, Wyatt pulled out the patch and smelled it again. It definitely smelled like this place, but the entire town was filled with way too many unknown scents he could hardly separate any of them. He was hopeful they could find the Great Alpha tomorrow and convince her to help. Maybe she would join the pack and Wyatt could get to know her better. She looked nothing like the other humans, While they were waiting for the bus, Wyatt could tell she was already a natural leader for the zombies and humans around her, just another sign she could be the Great Alpha. But he already knew she really belonged with them. And maybe, she could even belong with him.

After several hours, as daylight returned, the school grew alive with the sounds of students starting their days. Wyatt tried to keep a lookout through the vent, but he saw no sign of the Great Alpha. After the first bell of the day started ringing, he crawled through the vent and around his packmates, putting Wynter on guard at his vent, and made his way over to Willa.

"Have you seen her yet?" Willa asked him.

"No I haven't, but I heard a lot of the students talking about an assembly in the gym starting soon. We should go look there."

"Do you have a plan?"

"I was thinking I could go alone, so no one will be too suspicious, I'll steal something pink from a locker to blend in. I'll look for the Great Alpha in the crowd, and try to get her alone. I explain what's going on and I'll tell her to meet us outside the Forbidden Forest."

"Too risky, I can't lose you. We all go together."

"Willa I'll be fine."

"No Wyatt, it sounds like everyone is terrified of us. Which they should be. Even the brain eaters are acting freaked out. No one gets left behind, and I'm the Alpha. We go together."

"Fine so what is your plan?"

"We find the girl, take her with us, and get out of here. Make her tell us where the Moonstone is hidden and take it back."

"Shouldn't we try to be diplomatic to get her on our side so she wants to help us?"

"We don't have time. We won't attack unless absolutely necessary, but we will show the strength we have left. Or the stupid Z-Patrol will trap us here before we can even howl. And brother stay focused on the mission."

"Of course, I am why would you say that, sister?"

"I know you Wyatt. You look as moonstruck as Wayde whenever he even smelled Wynter coming before he got sick. This is for the pack, and we don't even know if you're right."

"I know I am. I know she'll be a great leader for the pack."

Willa snarled at him, her eyes flashing yellow.

"I'm sorry, you know I trust you to lead us through this, but remember what Mother and Father said, you're the Alpha, but you don't need to lead alone."

"I accept your apology," Willa's eyes returned to their normal brown. "I hope you're right, for all our sakes, because if this doesn't work, we're doomed."

Wyatt and Willa returned to the rest of the wolves to explain the plan to them. Be fast, be fierce, and find the Great Alpha. Don't stop for anything, and listen to Willa's orders without question.

"The Great Alpha's near." Wyatt whispered to Willa as they led the rest of the wolves out of the vent and into the abandoned hallway.

"Focus." Willa reminded them all. "We're fierce, we're savage, we're-"

"Werewolves!"

"That's right Wynter."

"We're scared of nothing."

"Except silver." Wyatt corrected.

"And ticks, rabies…" Wynter continued.

"Quiet." Willa cautioned, and turning around she could see Wilson examining one of Seabrook's countless trophies. "Wilson, put it back before you get hurt." Willa hissed at him.

Wilson carefully returned the silver trophy to the shelf without any damage to the trophy or himself.

"Come on if we're quiet we can be in and out of here before they even know we're here." Wyatt said as he and Willa led the way toward the sounds of cheering coming from the gym.