Sorry for the longer wait, it's been quite a crazy few days. I am planning on finishing the story though, so stay tuned.

A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.

A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.

Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.

Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Fitting in

"These sheep just let us in?" Willa commented as she and Wyatt led the rest of the pack through the school. "Baaaad idea…"

"We agreed to play nice…" Wyatt sighed, though he had to admit that he enjoyed the way everyone cowered when he and the other werewolves came near.

"This is me playing nice." Willa sneered.

"You almost bared your claws to the principal…" Wyatt countered. "Not to mention barely saying a word to Addison."

"I truly can't believe that that girl is supposed to be the great alpha." Willa snarled.

"She has the white hair." Wyatt retorted.

"Yeah, but she is also a human and a cheerleader!" Willa scoffed. "She may be able to lead us to the moonstone, but there's no way she is able to lead the pack!"

"The prophecy…" Wyatt began.

"Is just a prophecy!" Willa interrupted him. "Instead of relying on myths and legends, we could go out and try to fix our own problems…"

"Without the moonstone!?" Wyatt protested. "We have no way of finding it without her…"

"Except we do now…" Willa smirked. "This place… There must be a piece of information somewhere about where the moonstone is hidden… If it's here, then we'll find it…"

Wyatt bit his lip, but did eventually admit that Willa's plan made some sense. "Okay, where do we start?"

"The library…" Willa answered. "Apparently we have unrestricted access…"

And so, the werewolves spent the larger part of their first day at Seabrook High in the library instead of going to class. Soon after they arrived, all human students present in the library quickly cleared out, leaving plenty of space for the pack to gather information.

Wyatt and his pack kept on scanning through book after book, hoping to find any sign or mention of the location of the moonstone. It was incredibly repetitive and boring work, especially the way in which Seabrook like to pet itself on the back in its own history books. Willa, along with some of the other wolves, had all called out in anger how the real history of the town, in which the Seabrook settlers had forced the werewolves out of their own territory and had stolen the moonstone, was kept under wraps. Instead, these books glorified the settlers and the werewolves were simply painted off as savage beasts with an appetite for human flesh.

Aside from the incorrect history though, they didn't manage to find anything useful on the moonstone yet. This visibly annoyed most of the wolves, who then vented their anger by taking it out on the human students who entered the library.

It was all playful though, as some wolves jumped out to scare the students while others simply bared their teeth or their nails. Wyatt laughed along, growing more and more relaxed as he realized how little these humans actually dared to oppose them. The elders had always pressured them to stay away from the town, saying how dangerous the humans were. But now that Wyatt was actually here, he found it hard to believe that he was in any real danger.

Willa was the only one who didn't partake in these hijinks, as she kept a stern face while reading through most of the history books they had been able to find.

"This is all complete nonsense…" She mumbled when Wyatt joined her.

"What did you expect?" Wyatt replied, putting his feet up on the table.

"Not only do they not speak a word about the moonstone, but they also lie about our entire history!" Willa sneered.

"Again, what did you expect?" Wyatt added. "Finding the moonstone was never supposed to be easy… That's why we need the alpha! We need Addison!"

"Tell me that you actually believe that that little cheerleader is the alpha." Willa said. "Tell me you're not going on about this because you're totally smitten with her."

Wyatt blushed a little and turned away. "She's the spitting image of the prophecy." He protested. "I want what's best for the pack."

"Keep it that way." Willa snapped before going back to her book.

Wyatt rolled his eyes, but did immediately perk up when he saw Addison walk into the library and head in his direction.

"Hey guys." She happily greeted. "Studying already?"

"Research…" Willa mumbled, not looking up.

"We don't really have a lot of books where we're from…" Wyatt shrugged.

"I see…" Addison murmured. "Did you, ehm, did you go to any classes today?"

"No." Willa curtly answered.

Addison's smile disappeared. "Why not? Is that not why you came here?"

"We came to learn, yes, but I don't think there's anything useful you humans can teach us…" Willa snapped.

Addison looked a little offended and crossed her arms. "I-I'm sorry you think that way… Why would you think that, actually?"

"Because all you do is lie!" Willa scoffed. "This… This book is full of lies!"

Addison's expression turned into a wide-eyed one of shock, but she did not reply.

"These books… They claim that werewolves attacked the Seabrook settlers, but they were the ones who struck first! They drove us from our lands! Our home! And they stole our moonstone!" Willa went on.

Wyatt tensed up in his seat. Willa had just mentioned the moonstone! All of Wyatt's efforts to take it slow with Addison and not scare her off could have just been for nothing, all because Willa could not contain her emotions.

"I-I…" Addison stammered, obviously uncomfortable. "I'm sorry… I never knew…"

"There's a lot you don't know…" Willa snapped.

"B-but I want to learn…" Addison pleaded. "I want to help…"

"Then help…" Willa retorted. "Help us… By getting off our backs!"

Addison once again looked shocked, and Wyatt rolled his eyes at Willa's attitude. Wyatt had his plans regarding Addison and the prophecy of the great alpha, and Willa had even agreed to let him do what he thought necessary. Now it appeared as though Willa had never taken him or his thoughts seriously.

"Willa…" Wyatt hissed, but she did not pay him any mind.

"Why are you like this?" Addison asked. She sounded calm, but had a clear undertone of annoyance and anger.

"Because we survived for hundreds of years without humans." Willa answered as she closed her book and stood up. "And we don't suddenly need you now."

Addison wanted to protest, but Willa just walked past her and towards the exit.

"T-the alarm's gonna go off if you don't check out your book…" Addison shouted, but a little timidly.

Without stopping, Willa simply removed her moon necklace, tossed it against the electrical gate at the library's exit and headed on. There was no alarm.

"H-how did she…" Addison stammered, turning to Wyatt.

"Our necklaces have a way with electronics." Wyatt explained. "Whenever we come too close to one of your devices, it stops working."

"That's, ehm, interesting…" Addison spoke, sitting down next to Wyatt.

"We don't know how or why it happens…" Wyatt shrugged. "It's just another one of our things, and Willa loves exploiting them."

"She doesn't like me." Addison said in a bit of a sad tone.

"She doesn't like humans." Wyatt corrected. "It's nothing against you in particular. Give her some time."

"I mean…" Addison began. "I get why she would be a bit mistrustful, but it really feels like she hates me… Not like you…"

Wyatt grinned broadly, seeing as how Addison really seemed to trust him. "I have faith… I really appreciate all you've been doing for us. Give Willa some time, she'll come around…"

Addison smiled again, and Wyatt even believed that he saw her blush a little.

"Wyatt!" Someone spoke up from behind him.

"Hmm?" Wyatt responded, looking back to see Wynter and a few of the other wolves.

"We're off. There's nothing for us here." Wynter said.

"Sure…" Wyatt replied, his eyes quickly flashing back towards Addison. "Go find Willa and head into town. I'll find you there…"

Wynter's eyes also quickly flashed towards Addison before she spoke again. "Don't be late…" She simply told him before she and the others left as well.

"What are you going to do?" Addison asked.

"Just, ehm, discuss things a little…" Wyatt answered. "It's our first day at Seabrook, and we have to consider what we'll do from now on."

"You have to go to school." Addison said somewhat accusingly. "Otherwise I'm not sure if you can all stay here…"

"We're at school, aren't we?" Wyatt retorted.

"But you also have to go to class." Addison sighed. "Interact with people, join the cheer squad or the football team… Show everyone that you're not bloodthirsty monsters."

Wyatt stroked his chin, his eyes not leaving Addison's worried face. "I'll try to convince the others…" He then said.

"Thank you." Addison smiled, putting her hand on top of Wyatt's and squeezing it softly. "And try to not get into any trouble."

"Do I ever?" Wyatt smirked as he stood up, waved to Addison and headed for the exit. He carefully breathed out and tried to get his heartbeat back under control. He could only hope that Addison had not noticed the blush on his cheeks.

"These books are useless!" Willa spat, roughly closing her book with a thud. "No moonstone… Nothing…"

Wyatt snorted as he simply admired his fingernails, causing Willa to look up at him. The werewolves were all crowded on a small terrace in Zombietown, being eyed suspiciously by both zombies and humans alike.

"Now do you finally believe me?" Wyatt asked. "Do we turn to Addison or are we going to read through every book in this town?"

"As if that girl knows anything!" Willa snapped.

"We haven't given her a chance yet." Wyatt retorted. "We haven't even asked her if she knows where the moonstone is."

"Because she wouldn't know!" Willa added.

"You're insufferable at times, you know that?" Wyatt grinned.

"I just want to get this over with…" Willa groaned. "The sooner we get out of this awful town, the better."

"I wouldn't call it awful…" Wyatt shrugged. "They have this thing called froyo…"

Willa shot him a glare, and Wyatt raised his hands defensively.

"Alright, I do agree." Wyatt gave in. "The pack needs us, and we should return to the den sooner rather than later."

"Good that you feel that way." Willa acknowledged. "Now we need ideas! How do we find the moonstone?"

"We need Addison!" Wyatt once again proposed. "I know you want to leave as soon as possible, but getting her on our side might take a few days."

Willa bit her lip. "And what if she knows nothing?"

"Then at the least we will have gained an ally." Wyatt replied. "But she has the white hair… She could very well be a wolf…"

"Then why was she here, and not in the woods with us?" Willa retorted.

"Who knows?" Wyatt sneered. "But there's a very simple test for us to find out…"

"That moon necklace is for the great alpha!" Willa sneered.

"She is the great alpha!" Wyatt countered. "I have a plan… We, or I, befriend her. We then take her out to the den and have her join us…"

"And she will come along voluntarily? Not that I'm opposed to using some force…" Willa asked.

"If you would just let me get close to her, I'll get her to come along…" Wyatt sighed. "So, do you agree to this plan?"

Willa quickly looked over the other wolves, who had all followed the conversation in earnest. "Fine… You get three days."

"More than enough." Wyatt grinned. "But this also means that we need to stay in this town for that long. Which means not getting kicked out before that…"

"Which means playing by the rules…" Willa sighed, rolling her eyes. "These terrible, terrible rules…"

"Three days. You can suck it up." Wyatt smirked.

"You just get close to that cheerleader in the meantime." Willa snorted.

"Guys!" Wynter warned, just as Wyatt wanted to reply.

Both Wyatt and Willa looked back, and they saw Zed and Eliza confidently strut in their direction.

"What do they want?" Wyatt mumbled, getting a little more comfortable in his seat.

"Let's hear them out…" Willa replied, putting a hand under her chin.

"Hello wolves!" Zed greeted with a raised hand and a broad grin. "Allow me to introduce myself again… I'm Zed. Zombie, football star and presidential hopeful…"

"Okay…" Willa replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to welcome you to Zombietown…" Zed continued, gesturing to the buildings around him. "Our home… And we are so happy to have you here…"

Neither Wyatt, Willa or any of the other werewolves responded, still simply looking over both Zed and Eliza a little suspiciously.

Zed's hopeful smile faltered somewhat, but he talked on anyway. "Well, I just wanted to let you all know that you don't have to be scared or intimidated or anything… We accept anyone who comes here…"

"We're not scared of anything!" Willa snapped.

"That's also cool…" Zed nodded. "I meant no offense… It's just that… That, ehm…"

"When zombies first came to Seabrook we were outsiders too…" Eliza piped in. "We just wanted to let you know that you're welcome…"

"Okay…" Willa replied, looking over Eliza. "Fine…"

"But things can still improve!" Eliza went on, suddenly more enthusiastic. "Which is why we need a great president like Zed to represent us…"

"Represent?" Willa inquired.

"The school president represents all students." Zed explained. "If I get elected, I will listen to all students to try to make life better and easier for everyone. And, as president, I will be able to make certain changes…"

Again, none of the werewolves responded.

"We'd, ehm… We'd be honored if you guys joined us…" Eliza added.

"Our pack is our pack!" Wynter spoke up. "We don't need anyone else…"

"Zed! Zed!" Someone suddenly shouted from behind Wyatt. Looking back, he saw to his astonishment how the little zombie girl he had met on his first night in Seabrook came running up to them.

"What's up, Zo?" Zed asked with a smile as he crouched down a little.

"I'm all out of flyers, can I get-" Zoey began, before she suddenly spotted the werewolves and Wyatt. "Hey, Wyatt!" She greeted, waving happily.

Wyatt felt himself blush as the other werewolves stared at him somewhat accusingly.

"Y-you know him?" Zed asked, looking between Wyatt and Zoey.

"Of course! Wyatt is my werewolf friend!" Zoey squealed.

"Y-you… How?" Zed inquired.

"I met him a few days ago…" Zoey explained. "Wyatt told me that he was a spy, and that I could tell nobody that he was here…"

Now Zed stared at Wyatt somewhat shocked, but Willa looked absolutely furious.

"D-did he hurt you?" Zed asked.

"No!" Wyatt snarled. "Of course not!"

"No, Wyatt is a sweetheart!" Zoey giggled, only causing Wyatt to blush more.

"Wyatt!" Willa hissed from behind him, but Wyatt ignored her.

"How, ehm… How do you know each other?" Wyatt asked, gesturing at Zed and Zoey.

"She's my sister." Zed answered, pulling Zoey close to him.

"Ah…" Wyatt mumbled.

"What the hell, Wyatt!?" Willa snarled.

"I met her when I got into town." Wyatt explained. "It's no big deal…"

"Why is that little girl calling you a sweetheart?" Willa added.

"Because he is!" Zoey piped up. "He's my friend!"

Willa and the other wolves looked shocked, while Wyatt felt like disappearing in his seat.

"Are you gonna vote for Zed?" Zoey then asked, not noticing the discomfort among the werewolves. "A vote for Zed is a vote for acceptance!"

"We don't need him!" Willa spat, obviously not caring about Zoey's age. "We already have our pack!"

"Who doesn't want more friends?" Zoey smiled. "We could be friends!"

"Sometimes us monsters have to stick together…" Eliza opted.

"We're nothing like you zombies!" Willa snapped, standing up.

"You sort of are…" Eliza countered. "You necklaces… They're powered, right? Kinda like an organic Z-band?"

Willa squinted at Eliza, seemingly checking her out a little more. "You're smarter than he looks…" She told her, causing Zed to frown a little.

"Thanks." Eliza smiled, shuffling on her feet a little.

"Your necklace… It keeps you from wolfing out?" Zed questioned.

"The opposite!" Willa retorted. "Our moonstones make us our true werewolf selves…"

"So, without it you'd be human?" Zed inquired in a disbelieving tone.

"Without it we'd die!" Willa scoffed. "We'd be nothing…"

Both Zed and Eliza looked down a little embarrassed.

"Imagine how alive you'd feel if you didn't have to tamp things down… Hold back your true selves…" Wyatt added, standing up beside Willa.

"Actually, I have this theory that zombies might have evolved beyond their need for Z-bands…" Eliza spoke up before Zed interrupted her.

"Hey! Hey! No, Z-bands are great… They help us fit in! And I think that you would all have a much better time at Seabrook if you just followed in our footsteps…" Zed advised.

Wyatt and Willa both pulled up their eyebrows, looking skeptically at Zed.

"What do you mean with that?" Willa asked.

"You know… Join a club! Play football! Join the cheer squad!" Zed proposed. "Lighten up a little! Be more like us…"

"What? Be more like you zombies?" Willa questioned.

"Yes!" Zed smirked.

"Fat chance!" Willa spat. "It's like Wynter said. Our pack is our pack and we neither need or want humans or zombies to befriend us."

"Then why come to Seabrook in the first place?" Zed retorted, obviously annoyed. "You come here to look for Addison, who offers to help you, but then you don't put in any effort!"

"Zed!" Eliza hissed somewhat accusingly, pulling Zoey close to her.

"Why are you here anyway, if not to fit in?" Zed went on.

Wyatt glared at Willa, who had started blushing uncomfortably. "W-we… We want to help the pack…" She eventually answered. "We're not planning on staying here…"

"But why not make the most out of your time at Seabrook?" Zed offered. "Look, you have your pack… And that's cool… But if you need help, you need friends you can count on…"

"But you can't help us." Wyatt snapped.

"How do you know?" Zed replied, his steely gaze resting on Wyatt.

"Because only Addison can." Wyatt answered, practically feeling Willa's eyes bore into him from behind.

Zed balled his fists and carefully breathed in and out a few times. "Look… I get that you think she can help you, because she's amazing… But Addison can only do so much. Why don't you tell us your problem and we can help you with it?"

"No." Willa said before Wyatt could reply.

"Why not?" Eliza spoke up. "How do you know if we can help or not if you don't tell us what you need help for?"

"Your feisty mouth could get you in trouble!" Willa told Eliza, squaring up to her.

"Woah! Woah!" Both Zed and Wyatt intervened before the two girls took things further.

"Come on now… I mean, Eliza has a point… If I become school president, I could actually do much more for you." Zed argued.

"I still don't get why we should care about who becomes president." Wyatt sneered.

"Because the school president can make life easier for you, in school at least." Zed explained. "And who knows how I could maybe help you if I become school president."

"This entire talk, was that just a sales pitch?" Wyatt asked. "Do you actually want to help us? Do you actually want us to fit in? Or do you just want some spare votes for your presidential campaign?"

Zed bit his lip and hastily looked over at Eliza, who just shrugged.

"That's what I thought." Wyatt scoffed as he stood up. "We'll probably meet again. After all, Addison is actually planning on helping us." He added as he condescendingly patted Zed on the shoulder before walking past him and Eliza.

"The nerves on that guy…" Willa sneered as she joined him. "Telling us what to do… Telling us how to behave…"

"He did give me an idea though." Wyatt grinned.

"What?" Willa questioned.

"He told us to join a club, right? Like football or cheerleading? Well, now there might just be a way for me to get closer to Addison…" Wyatt smiled, rubbing his hands.