The wolves were walking back to their Den in the middle of the forest after watching to make sure all the cheerleaders had left their territory and were back on their way home to Seabrook. They had watched silently, but now Wyatt had the beginnings of a plan in his head, but he would have to convince his sister it would work. And that would be a challenge.
"We have to go to Seabrook." Wyatt started.
"Why? It's a terrible town." Willa scoffed.
"What other choice do we have Willa? 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, nodding her agreement.
"What makes you think we'll find it there?"
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.
"You think they have the Moonstone hidden in their school?" Willa mockingly laughed. "Be serious."
"It obviously isn't in our forest or we would have found it years ago. We don't have any other options left. And for the record I mean we find Zed and Addison again and make them our allies to help us find the Moonstone."
"I don't know. It's too dangerous. We can't trust humans."
"Maybe not, there were plenty of zombies on that bus, maybe the town has changed like that zombie said. That Addison girl obviously didn't have a problem with Zed, and lots of the other humans acted completely fine with the zombies with them."
"So if you're right and the humans have accepted zombies, what makes you think they won't panic in the streets when we show up? Or throw us in their zombie containment and give us bands to keep us on a leash?"
"Willa I know you're scared, I am too. But I really think this is our only option."
"I'm not scared." Willa growled. "But we can't make any mistakes with the lives of our entire pack on the line."
Wyatt continued his argument. "Zed and Addison didn't run away screaming, or any of the rest of the cheerleaders, maybe they'll even help us. Maybe all it will take is asking where the Moonstone is hidden, and we can take it back."
"I doubt that. They tried to destroy our pack, and they stole our Moonstone to make sure they finished the job. We can't trust humans. What reason do they have to help us?"
"We'll just have to convince them. If we just explain ourselves, I'm sure at least some of them will help us." Wyatt tried to be positive.
"I doubt it."
"Willa, come on. What do we have to lose?"
"Everything."
"OK, Wynter what do you think?" Wyatt turned to the third member of their party.
"I think we should try it, Zed and Addison were scared of us sure, but the zombie didn't try to fight us or anything. We know they have powers just like we do."
"He would be brainless if he tried." Willa laughed before she sighed in acceptance. "Fine we'll go look in Seabrook and search for allies to help us, but no one mentions anything about the Moonstone or how sick the pack is until I say so. Got it?"
"Yes. Willa." Wyatt and Wynter both promised.
"We go in the morning." Wyatt said.
"We go tonight!" Willa corrected him.
"Or tonight works." Wyatt agreed.
"Let's check on everyone before we go." Willa led the way into the Wolf Den, filled with coughing and sneezes as nearly everyone was sick and huddled under blankets. There were only about ten healthy wolves remaining that spent nearly all their time caring for their packmates, as Willa looked around, she knew they couldn't spare anyone, it would have to be just the three of them heading to Seabrook to find the Moonstone.
She walked up to Weston, one of the only adults remaining in good health.
"Good evening Willa. What is it?"
"We may have found a lead on the Moonstone, or a guess at least. Wyatt and Wynter think we should look in Seabrook. We met a human and a zombie in the woods today, and they claim the town has changed a lot. I don't believe it, but it may just be safe enough for us to go. Do you think it's the right decision?"
"I can't tell you what's right. You're the Alpha, it's your decision, but as long as you're careful I see no harm. We can keep going on our own for a little bit longer. I agree that we don't have very many options left before we all join the Cave of Souls."
"Don't say that, I won't let that happen."
"I know you won't." We all know you will succeed Willa, your parents wouldn't put you in charge if they didn't have faith."
"Have you checked on my parents tonight?"
"Yes, I just saw them and they were both resting, they still have some fight left, but don't worry. Willa. Everyone may be sick, but I think we all have a few more weeks left."
"Alright then, you're in charge of the pack while we're gone, and if things get worse…"
"I'll let you know. You focus on your mission. I know you will succeed." Weston reassured her.
"Alright then, good luck."
"Good luck, Alpha."
"Thank you, Weston. But especially, if…if my parents…"
"I'll let you know, but you go get ready. I'll keep everything fine here. I promise."
Willa walked down to her parents' cave and was surprised for a moment to see Wyatt already standing over them, both were peacefully sleeping for now, but Willa could hear their tired wheezing and felt her own chest tighten in empathy and fear.
Wyatt turned to face her as she walked in. "I know I'm right, I know we can do this. We can save them."
"You better be." Willa quietly responded, she knelt down and gently caressed her mother's cheek, despite the cold rag placed on her forehead, her skin was incredibly feverish, even for the wolves' higher body temp. Willa replaced the rag with a fresh one beside the bed and softly took her mother's hand in her own.
"Mother, we're leaving the forest to look for the Moonstone in Seabrook, I don't want to leave you, but we have to."
On her other side, beside their father, Wyatt spoke up. "I really think we have a chance to succeed."
Willa felt a gentle squeeze and she quickly turned to her mother with a look of hope on her face, and met her mother's strong, fierce, but kind eyes looking back.
She spoke softly, barely more than a whisper. "You're the Alpha Willa, I trust you will succeed, but remember, you aren't alone. We are a pack…for….a…reason. I…love…you…both." Her mother's eyes slowly closed and her grip lessened as she drifted back into sleep.
Willa turned to Wyatt to see determination steeling his features, Willa had her doubts, but she knew she and her brother were united in their goal. They had to succeed.
Willa stood up and led the way back to the main cavern with Wyatt following behind her, they met up with Wynter and they walked out of the den and into the forest.
"Are you ready Wynter?"
"Yeah. I have everything taken care of."
"How's Wayde?" Wyatt asked.
"He's still acting like himself for the most part. His necklace started to run out three days ago and he's already gotten sick. But he still claims he's strong enough to help everyone else out. I had to force him to go take a nap, and when he did he was out before he could even make three circles on his bed. He's so cute when he's sleeping." Wynter sighed in exasperation before her smile turned into a worried frown.
"We will save him Wynter. Just like we'll save everyone else." Wyatt reassured her.
"We Own The Night!" Wila howled as she turned around, leading the way into the forest.
It was now nearly midnight, and they were 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 some fun. For the wolves running was always fun, and lately, fun had been in short supply so they had to take every opportunity they got. They howled and danced through the shadows as they traveled. Willa led them confidently through the woods, and 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. They all 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 his packmates.
"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.
"We own the night!"
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. Wyatt 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.
As they were walking through the school Wynter suddenly froze. "Wait a minute. Wyatt give me that patch you found."
Wyatt handed it over and Wynter took a deep breath in to inhale the scent. She closed her eyes in concentration and when they opened they were glowing yellow in the dim light of the hallways as she used her powers to their fullest.
"I've got something."
"What is it?"
"I don't know, follow me." Wynter led the way for about more fifty feet through the school until she stopped at a silver door.
"Zombie safe room?" Willa asked incredulously.
"Guys the trail leads in there. I'm sure of it."
"OK then." Wyatt opened the door and they walked in, unbothered by the near-darkness only softly broken by dim red emergency lights, they could all see just fine. They found a room filled with rows of beds and shelves of emergency supplies.
"Yep, this place definitely smells like that girl." Wynter said, handing the patch back to Wyatt.
"Maybe they come here a lot, so we'll be able to meet them here. Plus it's a safe room, so we'll be safe for the time being." Wyatt added.
"We'll hide here." Willa decided. "We'll find Addison and Zed, 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."
They all chose beds to relax on and wait for school to start the next morning. After a while, Willa started reading some of the emergency guides, or more accurately growling about how dumb most of the advice was about what to do if a zombie attacked. And using them as proof they couldn't trust the humans no matter what Zed had claimed about things changing.
Wynter though was never one to sit still so after a few hours she and Willa started playing a game involving pushing a lamp back and forth to each other.
For most of the night, the school was completely quiet so Wyatt let his mind wander as the hours drew on. He knew none 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.
The wolves had never stopped searching for the Moonstone, though they never took the risk of searching the city before. The loss of it had always been slowly weakening them. Wyatt knew from the history the elders taught them before the humans invaded, they had had monthly festivals on the night of the full moon to recharge their necklaces and they had ruled their territory in safety and peace.
But over the past century since the Moonstone was stolen, they were fine for the first 90 years or so, but right around the time of the outbreak was when certain pack members would start to get sick as their necklaces ran out of power, and they eventually died, especially the older wolves. There was nothing anyone could do to save them. When their necklace lost its light, it was time for their lochin to join the Cave of Souls.
Since midwinter suddenly everyone started getting sick. At first, the healers worried a plague had sprung on the pack, but it wasn't so simple. It seemed the time limit was 100 years. Nearly all the remaining elders had already climbed the star ladder to the Cave of Souls and now if they couldn't find the Moonstone, it was only a time until the entire pack would join them.
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 in 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, you are 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 even 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.
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.
Before they got to the source of the noise, they found her, a human, wandering around in the woods looking terrified, but Willa, now more than ever wasn't willing to take any chances. She sent Wyatt and Wynter to circle around behind her so they did, silently stalking between the trees. The silly human was obviously way out of her element, she had no idea they were there.
Willa decided to reveal herself, she stepped into a beam of moonlight and howled a greeting that Wyatt instinctively joined in harmony. But then his sharp ears heard hurried footsteps running through the trees from the opposite direction and Wynter let out a howl of warning.
Wyatt stiffened slightly when he saw it was a zombie. The wolves knew about the Z-bands, but they also knew monsters were always unpredictable, the way this one was running he must be a rogue or something, looking completely panicked, but slowing down as he got closer to the girl. Wyatt and Wynter had turned instinctively to the possible threat.
Then when the zombie put his hand on the girl's shoulder, and she punched him right in the face and let out a terrified scream, Wyatt had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud, and he could hear Wynter chuckling beside him as the zombie groaned in pain.
"Zed!" Addison had shouted in delight and they wrapped each other in a hug, and Wyatt realized he had assessed the situation entirely wrong. With everything the wolves had heard about the city of Seabrook, he'd never thought he'd see a human and a zombie hugging.
And it was immediately obvious to the three wolves. The way they both instantly relaxed with the other and completely forgot their surroundings. Wyatt knew they obviously belonged together. Then when they finally noticed the wolves again, the zombie was instantly protective, as if he could take on a pack of werewolves.
But Wyatt started to get an idea, if they could exist together in Seabrook, maybe the town had changed since the humans stole the Moonstone a hundred years ago. Willa unfortunately was acting way too aggressive, so he tried his best to keep the peace. And they even invited them to see the town sometime. They had an invitation and possible guides that could lead them. What could go so wrong with a girl and a zombie, and a trio of werewolves?
Then they ran off through the woods as they heard the crowd of more people coming from the deeper in the woods. But Wyatt convinced Willa and Wynter to circle around and see what was happening. That was where he found the patch from Addison's jacket hanging from a tree branch. He sniffed it experimentally and could tell it was definitely hers. And Wyatt became even more convinced, the crowd of cheerleaders, made up of both humans and zombies were working together without any issues, and he saw several couples were holding each other close in nervousness, but thankfully most of them seemed none the wiser of the wolves presence. Wyatt was confident they could probably trust Zed and Addison if he could get them to trust him. Seabrook appears to have accepted the zombies after 50 years, maybe they would accept the wolves after 100.
Back in the safe room, 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 Zed and Addison tomorrow and convince them to help. Or they could convince Willa to let them help.
He knew his sister was stubborn, she was the Alpha for a reason. And she took her responsibility seriously, but Wyatt knew in his heart that their only hope may lie with their greatest enemies, and if they could make them their friends.
After several hours of waiting, the wolves perked up as all of them had ended up drifting off into sleep as they began to hear muffled voices outside the door.
Wyatt jumped up from his bed and stretched himself out to ease the stiffness in his shoulders. He turned back to Willa also shaking herself awake.
"Shall we go?" Wyatt asked.
"No. It's still too risky. We'll wait here for today to see if those two show up. If they don't, we'll try to track them down tonight." Willa ordered.
"Fine then. Whatever you say." Wyatt finally picked up one of the emergency guides since he had literally nothing better to do as Wynter once again started her lamp game with herself, and Willa curiously tried one of the packs of emergency rations. Surprisingly she found it tasted good so the wolves all shared some sort of freeze-dried meat.
Finally, about halfway through the afternoon, all the wolves perked their ears as they heard the click as the door began to open. Willa silently signaled Wyatt and Wynter to go hide in the farthest dark corner of the room and all quickly ran over and hid behind some shelves of supplies just in case it wasn't who they wanted it to be.