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Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Howling

"What was it? Did you see?" Willa asked as soon as Wyatt stepped into the clearing where most of their pack had already gathered.

"It was a bus. It crashed off the road and right into our territory." Wyatt answered as the other wolves moved closer to hear him better.

"A bus? Here? Who would come all the way out here?" Willa followed up, looking over in the direction where the pack had all heard the loud crash.

"Some weird humans in pink outfits… They had a giant shrimp ride their bus… But listen, that's not the most important part!" Wyatt continued, making the urgency clear in his voice.

"Did you just say 'a giant shrimp'?" Wynter inquired, her eyebrows raised.

"Yes, but…" Wyatt replied before he was interrupted.

"How did they teach a shrimp to drive a bus?" Wynter went on.

"It wasn't a real shrimp!" Wyatt clarified, nearly shouting. "Listen, this is huge!"

"What is it?" Willa asked, crossing her arms.

"I saw her… I saw the great alpha…" Wyatt spoke, a wide smile appearing on his face.

Immediately, excited chatter erupted among the wolves, who all whispered to each other with wide eyes.

"You what?" Willa questioned, her face turning cold.

"I saw the great alpha! No doubt about it!" Wyatt excitedly answered.

"Impossible… Where?" Willa followed up.

"She was with them! She was with the humans!" Wyatt continued.

"A human? You believe the great alpha is a human!?" Willa growled, obviously not happy with the implication.

"She had white hair, as light as snow!" Wyatt told the pack.

"Could have just been a trick of the light…" Willa sneered.

"I know what I saw!" Wyatt retorted.

"Alright, so where is she now?" Willa challenged.

"Back with her people… I wanted to walk up to her, but some guy intervened… Some weird looking green-haired guy…" Wyatt recounted.

"Did she see you?" Willa questioned.

"Uh, she might have… I hid as soon as the other guy showed up… I'm not sure…" Wyatt shrugged.

"That's bad." Willa mumbled, rubbing her neck. "If she saw you… What if she tells the others… What if they come look for us? We kept our pack hidden for hundreds of years, and now you've led them straight to us!"

"Hey! Hey! Woah!" Wyatt challenged, raising his hands protectively. "We can't know for sure… The humans haven't come looking for us in ages, why would they do so now? What's more important is that we find the great alpha and get her on our side!"

"If there even is a great alpha!" Willa retorted.

Wyatt looked over at the other wolves, who all followed his and Willa's argument in interest. "The prophecy has been in our pack for generations, you just want to throw all that away? The only hope our pack has left?"

"Of course not!" Willa growled. "But still, how do we know if the girl you saw is the great alpha?"

"We can find her, bring her back!" Wyatt urged. "If she is the great alpha, she can lead us to the moonstone!"

More excited whispering broke out among the wolves, who all stared up at the barely visible moon above them.

Willa bit her lip, seemingly contemplating Wyatt's proposal. "What if she can't? What if she's not the alpha and we will have wasted our hopes for nothing?"

"There's no harm in trying, right?" Wyatt offered. "Willa, we don't have much time left. More and more of the pack are getting sick… Our necklaces are almost out of power… If there's even the slightest chance that that girl is the alpha, then we should take it…"

Willa looked around, all the other wolves seeming both hopeful and eager. Wyatt also looked on with a growing sense of tension. Willa had always been a strong and capable leader, but she had a deep distrust for anything relating to the humans and their town. Wyatt had at one time believed that Willa might have thought of herself as the great alpha, even though she herself had no idea where the moonstone was. Wyatt just hoped that for this once, Willa could put her personal vendetta aside and do what was best for the pack.

"How would we even find her?" Willa asked.

Wyatt cheered a little on the inside as Willa appeared to be partially agreeing with his plan.

"I found this!" Wyatt hastily said, grabbing a tiny piece of fabric out of one of his pockets.

"What is it?" Wynter asked, squinting her eyes to examine it.

"A piece of her uniform, it got ripped off on a branch…" Wyatt explained.

"You plan on tracking her down? What, you're gonna sniff her out?" Willa asked in a skeptical tone.

"It says Seabrook High…" Wyatt replied as he showed her the label. "I figured that we'd start there…"

"Going into the town… It's still dangerous…" Willa contemplated.

"So is staying here and doing nothing!" Wyatt retorted. "And even if we do get discovered, are you saying that you're scared of the humans?"

"I am not scared of anything!" Willa snarled, her eyes flaring up in bright yellow.

"Good to see that we agree on that…" Wyatt sighed.

"You're out of line." Willa went on, standing up straight. "I still lead this pack!"

"I meant no disrespect…" Wyatt apologized, though with a skeptical undertone. "I simply believe that this is a lead we have to follow… I mean, would you call it a coincidence that she just happened to crash into this exact part of the woods?"

"The white-haired girl? The supposed great alpha?" Willa cynically replied.

"Let me find her… Bring her back… You'll all see for yourself!" Wyatt stated, first just to Willa and then to the other wolves.

"You want to what? Invite her over for tea?" Willa sneered.

"I'll talk to her… Take her back and she will tell us where the moonstone is…" Wyatt said.

"You think she'll just come along? No way! We're wolves, they're humans! They fear us!" Willa fired back.

"As they should…" Wynter added.

"Then I'll take her!" Wyatt retorted. "I bring her here and we'll explain the situation then!"

"Kidnapping… Great start…" Willa teased. "You think that she'll help us then?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Wyatt snapped, silencing Willa. "At least I'm actively trying to do something here!"

"And unlike you, I try to consider what is best for the pack!" Willa sneered.

Wyatt was breathing heavily, his hands balled into fists. He and Willa were nearly nose to nose and had both bared their teeth.

"Guys?" Wynter softly spoke up. "We shouldn't fight… We're still a pack…"

Both Wyatt and Willa looked up and examined the rest of the pack, who all looked on somewhat anxiously.

Wyatt took a step back and bowed his head. "I truly meant no disrespect…"

Willa sighed. "I know that… I just want to look out for everyone, including you…"

Wyatt nodded, uncomfortably shuffling on his feet.

"Guys…" Wynter spoke up again.

"Yeah?" Willa answered.

"Would you actually like to know what we all think?" Wynter inquired. "Normally we hold votes in times like these."

"You're right… You're right…" Willa nodded, looking over at the other wolves. "We should not forget who we are… What we are… Especially in the hardest of times…"

"You want to vote?" Wyatt offered.

"Yes." Willa answered. "The pack decides… I will not stand against their decision."

"Thank you. I can live with that…" Wyatt sighed.

"Okay… Wolves, do you agree with Wyatt that we should pursue this possible great alpha?" Willa stated to the pack.

"It's her! I'm certain!" Wyatt exclaimed.

"Let them decide!" Willa snapped. "Who here thinks that Wyatt should be allowed to track down this girl? If you believe that he should, raise your hand…"

All the wolves sort of looked around, carefully checking what their comrades were doing before casting their vote. A lot of them then put their hands up, including Wynter. They were with far more than half, and Wyatt himself eventually also put his hand up.

"Really?" Willa asked with a slight grin.

"I want to do this." Wyatt replied.

Willa looked at the number of raised hands and sighed as she seemingly accepted the inevitable outcome.

"Fine… The pack has decided… I will not oppose an honest decision." Willa stated.

"Thank you." Wyatt said, the gratitude dripping off his voice.

"You get into their little town, find that girl and bring her back. If she truly is the great alpha, then maybe we can finally reclaim what's rightfully ours…" Willa went on.

"We own the night!" Wyatt cheered, raising his arms.

"Awoo!" All the wolves howled in a manner of celebration.

"I will not let you down!" Wyatt promised. "I will not let this pack down! I will infiltrate that sickening town and I will return with the great alpha! She will lead us to the moonstone and we will rule the night for a hundred years to come!"

The wolves cheered again, with some of them wolving out completely and howling even more enthusiastically. Even Willa joined in eventually, her necklace glowing as she raised up her head.

Wynter was the first one to fall into a coughing fit, alerting the rest of the wolves.

"Wynter! Are you alright?" Willa asked, kneeling down next to her friend.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Wynter protested, trying in vain to mask her coughing.

"You're not fine! None of us are!" Wyatt objected. "We have no time to spare!"

"Go then…" Willa told him, still kneeling next to Wynter. "Just don't get yourself hurt!"

"I won't… You know me…" Wyatt grinned.

"Good luck. And don't you dare not come back!" Willa threatened, though she did crack a smile.

Wyatt nodded yet again, looked over his pack one more time and then headed off into the direction of Seabrook, quickly leaving the clearing behind. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he ran through the forest. He felt elated and energetic now that he finally had a real purpose.

All those years, he and the pack had struggled to survive in the woods, neither able nor willing to venture out into Seabrook for supplies or better living conditions. The numbers of the wolves had dwindled dramatically over the past years, with most of the elders falling sick due to their uncharged necklaces. Things were only growing worse, with even younglings like Wynter already falling victim. No one knew what to do… With their meager numbers, they did not dare wage any sort of war against the humans. They had no idea where they could find the moonstone, nor were they able to think of any way of finding it. They were completely stuck… Now things all seemed to suddenly move so much faster…

He had found the great alpha! He had found her!

The prophecy of the great alpha was the most sacred and cherished out of all the werewolf legends. After the moonstone had disappeared when it had been taken by the settlers, a prophecy had been made that one day a wolf with manes as white as snow would lead the pack to the moonstone and restore their old ways.

That girl in the woods… That girl was the absolute spitting image of how the great alpha had always been described. Her hair… As white as snow… Even if she was human, that did not mean contact with a moonstone necklace would not cause her to wolf out…

Wyatt believed in fate. And it could just not be a coincidence that this girl just showed up in the woods at this time. Now the pack had something to believe in again, just when they had reached their lowest point. And now he was charged with arguably the most important mission in the pack's history.

Step one would be finding that girl, and he did not know how difficult that was going to be… He had never been to the town called Seabrook, simply because it had always been strictly forbidden for anyone of the pack to leave the forest. Werewolf rule number one for survival was to stay hidden. If the humans did not know where they were, they would have no chance of hurting them. This did complicate things, because even though Wyatt knew where he needed to go, he did not know how to get there. However, he would deal with that later…

Step two would be trying to take her back to the den. He truly wished that she would come along voluntarily, but he also knew that he would not hesitate to use physical force if push would possibly come to shove… The survival of the pack was at stake, and he would do anything in his power to make sure that they would endure. If that meant having to use a more direct or violent approach, then so be it…

This was a really weird town. That's what Wyatt thought to himself as he carefully snuck through the back alleys of Seabrook. It was nighttime at the moment, and the streets were basically abandoned, but he was not one to take any risks for now.

As he moved towards the center of the town, he was more and more perplexed by what he saw. The first part of the town he had walked through consisted purely of identical houses in boring beige colors. The lawns there had been perfectly trimmed and contained a plethora of colorful flowers, but Wyatt was still disgusted by it. As someone who had spent his entire life in the woods, he couldn't imagine living like this.

Further into the town, he suddenly felt as though he had stepped into another world. The houses here were smaller and more packed together. Besides that, these house almost looked run-down, but lively… Wyatt didn't know who lived here, but they had done their best to decorate their houses and give a sense of community to the place. He had to admit that he didn't really mind it…

"Hello." A voice suddenly said.

Wyatt nearly jumped up in alarm and he felt his eyes glow yellow as he turned to face whoever had manages to sneak up on him. To his astonishment, he only saw a little girl with pale skin and green hair looking up at him. At first, her eyes widened in shock when she undoubtedly noticed his eyes, but then she suddenly started smiling broadly.

"Wow! Your eyes are so cool!" The girl squealed, looking up at him.

Wyatt was still somewhat bewildered and was unsure of what to do. The girl had seen him, but she had not screamed or called out for help. He could not let himself get discovered before he'd have a chance to locate the alpha, but he also wasn't particularly enthusiastic about having to maybe hurt a little girl.

"What are you?" The girl continued, taking a step in his direction. "You don't look like a human… But you're also not a zombie…"

"Shh!" Wyatt shushed the girl, crouching down to be more on level with her. "Keep it down! Go away!"

"What are you?" The girl repeated, not scared or intimidated at all. "My name is Zoey, I live here…"

"Great!" Wyatt replied with a feigned smile. "Now scram!"

"Your teeth are so big!" Zoey said, still with such a big smile. "What's your name?"

Wyatt sighed and carefully looked around, but it seemed as though no one else had spotted him yet. "My name is Wyatt…"

"Nice to meet you, Wyatt. What are you?" Zoey asked again.

"You don't want to know kid…" Wyatt answered. "Now go back to your home!"

"I do want to know!" Zoey persisted, growing louder. "Tell me! Please tell me!"

Wyatt was almost ready to start pulling the hair out of his head. This girl didn't know when to quit. "Okay! Okay! Just… Will you just be quiet then?"

Zoey nodded, still smiling.

"I… I am a werewolf…" Wyatt told her, expecting her smile to turn into a wide-eyed look of terror at any second.

"A werewolf!? That's so cool!" Zoey squealed. "My dad has read me stories about werewolves! I didn't know they were real! I've always wanted to meet a werewolf!"

"Shh! Quiet!" Wyatt urged her, having to refrain himself from putting a hand over her mouth.

"I've never seen anyone like you before… What are you doing in Seabrook?" Zoey continued, still not thrown off.

"None of your business!" Wyatt sneered. "It's… It's, uh… It's secret…"

"Cool…" Zoey smiled. "Are you a spy?"

Wyatt sighed again, but did get an idea. The fastest way he would probably be able to continue his mission was if he would play along. "I am…" He told Zoey. "And I am on a very important mission, so I need you to be very quiet… And you can't tell anyone, okay?"

Zoey nodded enthusiastically, her smile growing even wider.

"Now, could you maybe tell me where Seabrook High is?" Wyatt inquired, figuring he might as well try to take advantage of the situation.

"That way…" Zoey whispered, pointing to Wyatt's right.

"Thank you." Wyatt said, showing his toothy grin. "Now scram!"

Now Zoey did do as she was told, running off and waving to him one more time before she disappeared around a corner.

Wyatt carefully breathed in and out, taking a moment to regain his composure before moving on. That had been too close. How could he have let a little girl sneak up on him like that? All he could do now was hope that she wouldn't tell anyone about him, or that if she did, that no one would believe her. He was also somewhat perplexed that she hadn't seemed scared or at all surprised to see him. She had just seemed, ehm, cheerful…

She had helped in a way though, as Wyatt now new to a certain extend where Seabrook High was. He ran through more streets, leaving the somewhat run-down part of the town to enter yet another way too neat and basic part of town. Again, he saw identical houses and perfect lawns, but ignored those as he kept himself hidden in the shadows.

There was another tricky moment when two people walked by, but this time Wyatt did manage to keep himself out of sight.

Eventually, he spotted a large building on the other side of a small park. After scanning the area for any possible onlookers, he quickly moved across and reached the building. Wyatt grinned as he read the large letters on the front of the building.

'Seabrook High'

He had found it… The building looked abandoned though. There weren't any lights, nor were there people. Wyatt walked around the building, trying a few doors but finding them all locked. Peering through a few windows, he saw empty classrooms and hallways. He looked around again, but saw nothing of any help. The wolves were creatures of the night, but these people were most likely active during the day.

He then reached into his pocket and took out the label that the girl in the woods had lost. The letters on the label and those on the school were the exact same, so he knew that he was at the right place. The right place… But maybe not the right time… He brought the label to his nose and sniffed it.

The wolves and him all had a good sense of smell, but not so good that they could track animals or people from miles away. If the girl was close however, Wyatt should at least get some kind of clue as to where…

He didn't get anything though… There were hundreds of scents in the air, so it was difficult for him to distinguish any specific trail. Annoyed and a little disappointed, Wyatt realized that he would probably have to hide somewhere until the humans would come out.

He looked around, but there wasn't really any proper hiding place around as far as he could see. The doors of the school were all closed, but Wyatt did spot a slightly opened window above him. Luckily for him, werewolves were excellent climbers and he had little trouble getting in. Once inside, the empty school almost eerily silent, he would just have to wait… Wait for the alpha to show up…