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 11: Great Alpha

Zed sighed deeply as he leaned over his desk. After Addison had returned from cheer camp, she had given him all of the letters she had meant to send him before they got shredded by the Aceys. Ever since that moment, Zed had painstakingly tried to glue all the letters back together again, both because he really wanted to know what Addison had written him and because he wanted to show her how much he cared.

At the moment it felt more like a sad coping mechanism though.

He and Addison had had a terrible fight earlier in the day, and Zed kept groaning in misery whenever he thought back on all the terrible things he had said to her. Zed had been so preoccupied with trying to win the election, all so he could take Addison to prawn, that he had actually started paying less attention to their relationship.

He'd had no idea that Addison was unhappy, let alone to the extent that she had described. Aside from that, Zed had not realized how jealous he'd actually gotten of the werewolves, and Wyatt in particular.

Was he really that pathetic of a person that he didn't trust his girlfriend in the company of another guy, or was it just some hatred against Wyatt in particular. Zed was still certain that Wyatt had some sort of secret intentions with Addison aside from her helping the werewolf pack. The way he kept hanging around her, giving her compliments and making excuses to touch her… Zed wasn't a romantic expert, but he knew what flirting looked like…

Zed crumpled one of his own letters in his hand as he thought about the werewolves again. God, why couldn't they have stayed in their forest and left Addison and him alone?

And there it was again…

That anger… That annoyance that Zed rarely if ever felt again crept up in the back of his mind. Addison had gotten mad at him for how he treated and talked about the werewolves, and Zed couldn't really blame her. Maybe Zed's initial dislike of Wyatt somehow jumped over to the rest of the werewolves, which in hindsight made him no better than all the zombie-haters he had always complained about. And now here he was, totally miserable because Addison had accurately pointed out how much of a hypocrite he actually was.

On the other hand, it wasn't like the werewolves had actively tried as well, with Wyatt especially mostly acting negative towards him. Still, Zed had promised Addison that he would try his best, and he had to admit that that hadn't been the case.

Zed reached for a couple of shreds of pink paper, which were all Addison's letters, and carefully tried to arrange them correctly. It was infuriating work, but Zed persisted. Eventually he managed to put together the bottom part of a letter.

'Zed, always know this…' The letter read. "We belong together! 3 Addison'

Zed felt a burning pain spread through his chest. A deep regret, which was soon accompanied by fiery determination. This was not the end! He would not let him and Addison end this way! He loved Addison! He really did!

Zed took one more look at the motivational piece of paper before resolutely standing up and sprinting out of his room.

"Hey, where are you going?" His father yelled after him.

"To Addison!" Zed replied.

"Go get her, son!" His father shouted.

Zed ran through the dark streets of Zombietown, which was still on lockdown, looking for two zombies in particular. He soon found both Eliza and Bonzo standing on the sidewalk.

"You guys!" Zed exclaimed as he almost ran into them. "I have to go apologize to Addison right now!"

"Gruzah!" Bonzo smiled, pulling Zed into a tight hug that almost broke his ribs.

"So, you finally came to your senses?" Eliza smirked as Bonzo lowered Zed to the ground again.

"I've been so stupid!" Zed admitted. "I spent all this time trying to get us to prawn that I forgot to even pay attention to her! I need to get to her and apologize right now!"

"Gruzah!" Bonzo repeated, seemingly very enthusiastic.

"I know, I want to see it too." Eliza grinned. "Ever since football ended I've so missed watching you get pummeled."

"Then let's go, no time to waste!" Zed cheered.

At that moment though, a large patrol car drove by behind them, its speakers blaring. "Attention citizens, all curfews will be strictly enforced! No one is allowed to cross the border! Violations of these restrictions will be punished!"

Zed felt his heart sink in his chest. "Damn, with the curfew in effect it will be nearly impossible to get past the Z-patrol…"

"Guys! Guys!" Someone suddenly shouted from behind Zed.

Turning around, Zed saw Bree running in their direction, visibly panicked.

"And yet somehow Bree just came here…" Eliza mumbled, looking very surprised.

"Have you… Have you seen Addison? S-she texted me for help, but she's not answering her phone! A-and she's not home either…" Bree panted. "Oh, hey Bonzo…" She then added once she noticed Bonzo.

"Ah, agreza…" Bonzo replied with a small smirk.

"You guys, focus!" Zed exclaimed, causing both Bree and Bonzo to get back to reality. "Bree, what did Addison text exactly?"

"Ehm, just 'help'…" Bree answered, pulling out her phone.

"Why would she need help? And you said that she's not home?" Zed went on.

"Yes, no one was home!" Bree stated. "Not even her parents…"

"Then where could she be?" Zed pondered.

"If her phone is on I might be able to track her." Eliza offered, pulling out her laptop.

"You can do that?" Zed questioned, both genuinely shocked and impressed.

"I can do all kinds of things…" Eliza mumbled as she typed away. A few seconds later her laptop made a beeping sound and Eliza's eyes widened in shock. "S-she's in the forbidden forest…"

"The forbidden forest!?" Both Zed and Bree exclaimed.

"That's where her phone is." Eliza replied, showing Zed the screen.

"Oh my god…" Zed muttered, the fear spreading through his chest. "The wolves must have kidnapped her!"

Bree gasped and pressed her hands against her mouth.

"Really?" Eliza questioned a little indignantly. "The werewolves kidnapped her?"

"They must have! I knew we couldn't trust them!" Zed ranted.

"Zed…" Eliza sighed. "Maybe you're just a little paranoid, but the werewolves aren't that bad…"

"How can you say that!? They just kidnapped Addison! That Wyatt has been after her from day one!" Zed went on.

"That Wynter literally ate my homework one." Bree added.

"That doesn't mean they're all bad…" Eliza shrugged. "I've talked to Willa a couple of times, she seems chill…"

"Still, Addison is out there with them! You guys, we have to help her! Come on!" Zed went on, immediately sprinting for the exit of Zombietown.

"Zed! Zed!" Eliza shouted, running after him with Bree and Bonzo in tow.

"We have no time to waste!" Zed urged them, only to abruptly be stopped in his tracks when Bonzo grabbed him by his collar.

"Zed, calm down!" Eliza demanded as Zed struggled in Bonzo's grasp.

"Calm down!? Calm down!? I have to help Addison!" Zed yelled, still trying to pull himself loose.

"Okay, but we need a plan!" Eliza stated. "First to get past the Z-patrol, and then what to do to get Addison back."

Zed futilely struggled for one more second, and then relaxed. "Okay… Okay! Fine! Did you have anything in mind?"

"We can have Bree distract the guards." Eliza immediately proposed.

"Me!?" Bree squealed.

"Who else? None of us are allowed out." Eliza replied. "While Bree distracts the guards, we can slip past them and head into the forbidden forest to look for Addison."

"I'm coming too!" Bree immediately protested.

"Into the woods?" Eliza questioned.

"Addie is my best friend, I'm not gonna let anything happen to her!" Bree stated.

"Gruzah! Agreza Adski!" Bonzo said.

"Ugh, fine, she can come…" Eliza groaned.

"The whole town can come for all I care!" Zed ranted. "But we need to go now! Who knows what those monsters will do to her!?"

"Stay calm, Zed." Eliza said to him. "First we need to get past the guards, and I can't imagine that that'll be easy."

"Hmm, that was easy…" Eliza smirked once she, Zed and Bonzo had slipped past the guards, met up with Bree, and had entered the forbidden forest.

"Now we need to find Addison. Do you still have her signal?" Zed asked.

"Yep." Eliza mumbled, looking on her laptop. "They're still moving. They're heading really deep into the forest."

"Then we need to hurry." Zed muttered as he fastened his pace. "Come on…"

Zed basically ran through the dense forest, with his friends lagging behind a little. Every once in a while he asked Eliza for directions, but otherwise he did not stop.

"Zed… Hold up for a second…" Eliza panted, with Zed several yards in front.

"We have to keep up the pace!" Zed retorted.

"Zed, Addison has stopped moving." Eliza told him, again pulling out her laptop.

"What?" Zed exclaimed, looking back.

"She has stopped moving." Eliza repeated.

"What does that mean?" Zed asked, walking over to Eliza.

"Maybe they got to where they were meant to go?" Eliza offered. "It's east, and pretty far as well…"

"What if they hurt her?" Bree groaned.

"She's fine!" Zed barked as he again set off. "But we need to get to her!"

"We're right behind you!" He heard Eliza say, but Zed didn't look back.

Zed soon started panting, his lungs burning as he ran through the forest at top speed, but he didn't stop. He felt as though he was fueled by pure determination, which currently even suppressed the fear he felt. Eliza, Bonzo and Bree followed him, but none of them exchanged any words for now.

It took what felt like an hour, but eventually the small group reached the location where Addison supposedly was according to Eliza's laptop.

"It should be around here…" Eliza pondered, first looking at her screen and then at her surroundings.

"I don't like this at all…" Zed mumbled as he examined where they were. In front of him was the entrance of a large cave, barely illuminated by the faint moonlight.

"Scrazara…" Bonzo said with a shiver.

"I am slightly afraid too…" Bree added.

"We need to find her." Zed stated, taking a deep breath before heading into the cave.

"Zed!" Eliza hissed, hastily going after him. "Zed, shouldn't we think this through?"

"I really don't care." Zed grunted.

"Zedski!" Bonzo also muttered, a little further back.

"Are you trying to get yourself hurt!?" Eliza went on, looking around anxiously.

"I'm trying to save Addison!" Zed retorted.

"By getting yourself killed?" Eliza spat.

"W-well… No…" Zed admitted.

"Then we need to take things careful!" Eliza warned. "Let's not blindly rush into a fight!"

"They took Addison!" Zed raged. "They started it!"

"I'm just saying that we shouldn't do anything stupid! So when you see her, don't act impulsively!" Eliza advised.

"When do I ever act impulsively?" Zed inquired.

"Altaza." Bonzo said.

"That's right, always." Eliza smirked.

"Fine…" Zed muttered, feeling his annoyance level rise. "We'll take it slow… Let's try to stay hidden…"

At that moment, loud howling emerged from the end of the cave, startling Bree and Bonzo into each other's arms.

"They're here…" Zed whispered, slowly sneaking further into the cave.

It was dark, very dark, but faint moonlight somewhat illuminated the cave from behind them, while another faint light shone at the end of the cave.

"Zed, slowly…" Eliza advised, but Zed hurried off anyway.

The cave split up into two directions, and without consulting the others Zed opted to go right.

"Zed!" Eliza again hissed, but Zed crouched further along the cave's walls and kept listening carefully.

More howling emerged from further in the cave, and Zed tried his best to see if he could hear Addison, whether she'd be screaming, yelling or crying. The howling of the werewolves gave Zed goosebumps, and he wondered what those furballs were celebrating.

The faint light at the end of the cave became a little brighter, allowing Zed to more closely examine his surroundings. There were what looked like small packages on the cave's floor, which mostly consisted of fur and branches. There were strange symbols and drawings on the cave walls, which Zed could not decipher.

A little further down the cave there was what appeared to be an entrance to a larger, more open space. Zed crouched down right next to the entrance, hiding behind some rocks. Eliza, Bree and Bonzo soon joined him, all of them trying to make as little sound as possible. Peering over his hiding place, Zed saw what had to be the entire pack of wolves in a large open area, with pale moonlight shining in from the partly open roof. The wolves seemed ecstatic about something, and they all stared at the people in the middle. Zed immediately recognized Wyatt and Willa, taking in the applause from the other werewolves.

"We own the night!" Wyatt cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

"We own the night!" All the other werewolves repeated, raising their arms in a celebratory manner.

"We own the night!" One final werewolf cheered, and Zed felt a shock go through his body. He knew that voice…

"Zed! It's Addison!" Eliza hissed, pulling at his sleeve.

Zed had seen it as well, but he had trouble believing his own eyes. There was Addison, standing in the middle of the pack with Wyatt and Willa at her sides. She looked different… She was wearing usual werewolf colors, brown and purple, there were new bracelets and drawings on her arms, and her white hair had been braided back over her head and cascaded down her back in messy strands. Despite having to get used to this new look a little, Zed had to admit that Addison was still unbelievably beautiful to him.

"What is she doing?" Bree whispered from behind Zed.

"She's smiling…" Eliza mumbled, obviously surprised with their discovery as well.

Zed couldn't take his eyes off of Addison, and he had to admit that she indeed seemed happier than he had seen her in a while. But this couldn't really be true, could it?

"They turned her into one of them…" Zed muttered, feeling his hands shaking in controlled anger.

"Zed, maybe we should just ask her…" Eliza proposed.

"We have to get her out of here!" Zed insisted, not listening.

"Zed!" Eliza persisted, tightly grabbing onto his sleeve.

Zed simply shrugged her off, jumped over the rock he had been hiding behind, and stormed at the werewolves. The first ones he ran past didn't even notice him, but some started yelling and pointing as he sprinted towards Addison.

"Addison!" He shouted when he reached her.

"Zed!?" Addison exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"Come on, let's go!" Zed urged, tightly grabbing onto her wrist.

"Zed! What…" Addison stammered, not budging.

"Let's get out of here!" Zed went on, not paying the werewolves any mind yet.

Those werewolves had in the meantime gotten closer to Addison and him, surrounding them. Most had bared their claws or fangs, and did not appear to appreciate Zed's presence one bit.

"What's the greenhair doing here?" Willa spat, getting closer in a threatening manner.

"You are not welcome!" Wyatt added, taking a step in Zed's direction.

"Stay back!" Zed warned as he pushed Addison behind him and put a hand around his Z-band. "Don't make me take this off! You don't want to see me zombie out!"

"Wolves!" Willa raised her voice and her hand, which was obviously a sign for the wolves to get closer.

"Stay back!" Zed repeated, trying to keep Addison out of a possible scuffle.

"Get him!" Willa snapped, and the wolves jumped into action.

At that same moment, Zed tore off his Z-band and tossed it away. Zed felt the somewhat familiar feeling of rage and power spread through his body. He started shaking from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers, dark veins suddenly standing out against his otherwise pale skin. Trying in vain to control his trembling, Zed nearly doubled over as he took heaving breaths in between growls and grunts.

The first wolf reached him and tightly grabbed onto his arm, but Zed effortlessly pulled himself loose, took a hold of the wolf's arm and threw him nearly to the other side of the cave.

The other wolves were visibly shaken by this, and none of the others dared come any closer, though they did not stop showing their claws and baring their teeth.

"Stay back!" Zed repeated, taking a threatening step towards the werewolves, who then actually stepped back a little. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"No! No stop!" A voice yelled, and Zed felt someone pulling on his left arm.

Zed threw back his arm instinctively, and he felt that he hit something. Then the pain and unease suddenly left his body as he stopped trembling and saw his skin turn back to its regular pale. Zed looked around in surprise and saw his Z-band reattached to his wrist, causing him to quickly calm down.

"W-what?" Zed mumbled, looking back. His eyes widened in fear immediately when he saw Addison laying on the ground, grimacing in pain. "Addison!" Zed instantly exclaimed as he ran over to her and pulled her up straight. "Addison… I-I'm so sorry… "A-are you hurt?"

"I'm fine…" Addison groaned as she rubbed her arm and got back to her feet.

"Get out!" Wyatt snapped, still looking incredibly angry.

"He can't be here!" Willa added, also glaring at Zed.

"Guys, please!" Addison pleaded. "D-don't hurt each other…"

Wyatt and Willa quickly glanced at each other, before retracting their claws. Their eyes were still flaring though, and most of the other werewolves kept their fangs bared.

"Zed, what are you doing here?" Addison asked once everyone regained their cool.

"I-I came to save you…" Zed answered, still suspiciously eyeing the werewolves.

"S-save me!? What? How did you even find me?" Addison ranted.

"W-we tracked you…" Zed muttered.

"We?" Addison inquired.

At that moment, Eliza, Bree and Bonzo left their hiding place.

"Hey Addie…" Bree greeted with a timid wave.

"What the-" Addison exclaimed, before turning back to Zed. "Why are you here?" She repeated in a steely tone.

"T-to save you…" Zed mumbled, looking anxiously at the still dangerous looking werewolves.

"Guys…" Addison said, turning to Willa and Wyatt.

"Wolves, stand down." Willa ordered.

"Zed, I want to be here." Addison told Zed once the wolves lowered their claws.

"You… What?" Zed muttered.

"B-but you texted 'help'…" Bree spoke up, pulling out her phone.

"What?" Addison replied, taking out her own phone. "Crap, it didn't send… I, ehm, I wanted to talk to you earlier today… Before all this… But I sent a follow-up text that said I didn't need help anymore…"

Bree again looked at her phone, and her eyes widened. "Ooh, I see… By the way, love the new look…"

"They shouldn't have come here." Willa stated as she walked up to Addison. "How did they even find this place?"

"Yeah, how did you?" Addison followed up.

"We tracked you…" Zed answered, feeling more and more stupid with every passing second.

"How?" Addison asked.

"You had your phone on you…" Eliza spoke up, approaching Zed, Addison and Willa. "I was able to track it with my laptop, but I only did it because Zed thought you were in danger."

"You tracked us here using that thing?" Willa asked, pointing at the laptop.

"Yeah, sadly us zombies lack your keen sense of smell." Eliza replied a little snarkily.

Willa did not respond, but Zed could swear that he saw the corners of her mouth twitch.

"Why would you think I was in danger?" Addison inquired, making Zed focus on her again.

"B-because… Because…" Zed stammered. "Because I wanted to apologize, but you wouldn't pick up your phone, a-and then Bree came by and showed your text… And then Eliza tracked you, and it said that you were in the forbidden forest. I thought the werewolves kidnapped you…"

Addison's expression turned cold. "You thought they kidnapped me?"

"Well, yeah…" Zed murmured.

"How very trusting of you…" Wyatt sneered as he also joined the group.

Zed had to keep himself from openly glaring at Wyatt, and so he just turned back to Addison. "If they didn't kidnap you, then why are you here? A-and what's with the… The, ehm…" He added, pointing at Addison's new clothes and hair.

Addison briefly looked over at Willa and Wyatt, who both still suspiciously stared at the new arrivals. "I'm here because I want to be…" Addison then said. "I'm here because the werewolves asked me to… They think I might be a werewolf as well…"

This statement made Zed raise his eyebrows in both shock and indignance. "Y-you… What? How?"

"W-well… I-I…" Addison stammered, a small smile appearing on her face. "I mean, who knows? Maybe one of my ancestors was a werewolf… But my hair… My hair means something here, look…" She went on, gesturing at a drawing on the cave wall.

Zed looked, and saw a figure with long, white hair, just like Addison's. "What is that?" Zed asked.

"That's the great alpha…" Wyatt answered. "Our pack's most sacred prophecy. The great alpha was foretold to one day lead our pack back to glory."

"So?" Zed inquired. "What does Addison have to do with that?"

"Addison is our great alpha." Wyatt retorted. "She is meant to lead us."

Zed instantly turned back to Addison, who shrugged a little sheepishly. "You believe this?" He asked her.

"Why shouldn't I?" Addison replied in a rebellious tone. "I have the white hair, and I want to help them! You know that I'm not a zombie, and I don't fit in with the humans… Maybe this could be my pack…"

Zed didn't know what to say. At the moment, he was mainly processing what Addison had told him. "Do you… Do you really want this?"

"I do." Addison resolutely answered. "What if this is where I belong? I can't just pass up this opportunity…"

"But… But…" Zed stammered. This was really something to wrap his head around. He wanted Addison to be happy, of course he did, but how would their relationship change if she turned out to be a werewolf? Would she still actually want to hang out with him, or would her new pack take up all of her time? Would she still feel the same way about him? Would they still be able to be together?

"Why would he have a say in your decisions?" Wyatt spoke up, angering Zed.

"Wyatt…" Addison groaned. "Zed is important to me… I want to listen to him…"

"I'm not sure about this, Addie." Zed immediately said, causing Addison to raise her eyebrows.

"What?" She snapped.

"This… I mean, it all seems a bit random… Wait, did you only come to Seabrook because you thought Addison was a wolf?" Zed then asked, mainly directing himself towards Wyatt.

"She's the great alpha!" Wyatt retorted. "She's far more important than you realize!"

"Addison, I was right!" Zed then enthusiastically said. "I told you that the wolves didn't care about fitting it! They didn't care about Seabrook, they only cared about you!" He went on, talking as if he'd made some big breakthrough.

"Because they needed help!" Addison shouted, apparently not caring about this for Zed crucial piece of information. "They're getting sick! They need the moonstone to get better, and I will lead them to it!"

"You will?" Wyatt asked with an admiring smile.

"I will!" Addison resolutely answered. "I promised that I would help, and I want to be in your pack. I want to be your great alpha!"

Zed looked on hopelessly as the wolves all nodded or mumbled approvingly. Really, he had no idea what to say… He was still distraught from all this new information, and felt like he had a lot more processing to do.

"We want Addison to lead us." Wyatt then said, mostly to Zed. "And we couldn't have asked for a better leader…"

Zed looked back at Addison, who just looked so proud. He naturally couldn't deny that Addison was an amazing person, and a great leader, so he couldn't really go against Wyatt's claims without possibly upsetting Addison.

"Even you?" He eventually asked, looking at Willa. "Even you accept Addison?"

Willa's eyes quickly flashed towards Addison, but it was almost unnoticeable. "I do…" She then answered. "She's one of us…"

"She could officially become one of us…" Wyatt said in a sort of proposing tone.

Willa looked at him for a second, and then turned to one of the other wolves. "Get the necklace." She ordered, and the other wolf immediately ran off.

"Addie, I'm sorry!" Zed then suddenly blurted out. "I'm sorry for everything! I should have paid more attention to you… There's no real excuse for what I did… Please forgive me… Come home…"

Zed saw Addison's expression turn somewhat sad, but also compassionate. "What if this is my home?" She then asked.

"Then I'll stay!" Zed answered.

"Not gonna happen!" Wyatt interjected.

"I just want to be with you…" Zed practically pleaded.

Addison sighed, her eyes watering slightly, but right at that moment the werewolf returned and handed Willa a small, but richly decorated box.

"For centuries…" Willa began, approaching Addison with the box. "This had been set aside for the great alpha." She stated, opening the box to reveal a necklace just like the once all the werewolves were wearing, with a brightly shining stone in the middle.

"A fully charged moonstone is priceless to us, Addison." Wyatt said. "If you're truly one of us, you'll be transformed into a werewolf when you put it on… You'll be part of our pack… Forever…"

"What? No!" Zed exclaimed as Addison took the box and stared at the necklace with wide eyes.

"She has to make her own decision!" Wyatt snapped.

"Addie, please…" Zed was now begging, feeling his heart thumping in his chest.

Addison looked back at him, seeming unsure and almost scared.

"Well, are you gonna put it on?" Wyatt asked in a both hopeful and impatient tone.

"I, ehm…" Addison mumbled. "C-can I think about it?" She then asked, making Zed breath a sigh of relief.

Wyatt and Willa exchanged a quick look. "For a day…" Willa then said. "Only once you've joined us, you can lead us to the moonstone."

"Willa!" Wyatt hissed, but she ignored him.

"You can help us when you're one of us, until then I still lead this pack." Willa stated.

Addison nodded, and closed the box.

Zed was relieved, but still apprehensive.

"Right…" Eliza suddenly spoke up as she appeared next to Zed. "Look, it's getting kind of late… So, maybe we should head home?"

"Yes." Zed immediately complied. "Come on, Addie, we'll drop you off…"

Addison looked distracted, which was only understandable. She eventually just nodded as she put the small box into one of her pockets. Behind Zed, Bree and Bonzo slowly approached the exit, trying to not make any eye contact with the werewolves.

Zed gently grabbed Addison by her wrist, and slightly pulled her along. Eliza joined up with him, but did not come between them.

"Thank you, Addison." Wyatt then said, just as Zed was about to leave. "We'll see you tomorrow."