It all started as another day at Ninjago High. The bell rang and everyone ran to class. The pack couldn't have predicted how things would spiral in a day. By some stroke of luck, that day the whole pack was in the same science class for the day. Unfortunately, the fact that they were all in the same class didn't lift their mood. It was a long, fun weekend and now they were all mentally fried.
Not the best way to start school on Monday morning.
Cole sighed as drummed his fingers against his desk in boredom. Class had started a few minutes ago but the teacher had yet to arrive. That seemed to be the free pass for the rest of the class to talk with their friends, mess with their phones, and just goof around. The large teen sighed loudly again and looked at his friends. Harumi and Kai looked like they were seconds away from falling asleep.
Jay was playing a game on his phone, ignoring the world.
Lloyd was texting on his phone, probably messaging Misako. Morro was busy doodling little drawings in his notebook, but Cole couldn't see what he was drawing. Seven was staring out at the window, in her head. Nya, Pixal, and Zane looked like they were the only ones looking forward to the class. Cole smiled as he watched Zane talk with Pixal about what they might be learning today.
Zane had been in therapy for a couple of weeks now and, although not a hundred percent, he was getting better.
He still jumped slightly at loud bangs and any mention of pouching and hunting. Kai was the same after his leg got caught in that trap. Suddenly the teacher walked in and like flicking a switch the entire class fell silent and everyone scurried to their seats.
"Alright class, we have a special guest today." The teacher smiled and opened the door to let the guest in. The werewolves were shocked when a familiar face walked in. "This is Seliel Katana from the White Wolf Corporation; welcome Miss Katana." He greeted as he and Seliel shook hands. She looked over the class, making a point to make eye contact with the werewolf teens.
The last time they saw her was when she was at the Careers Day.
None of them had told Pixal or Harumi about it because they didn't think it was important.
"Thank you, sir, a few students here already know me from the Careers Day and it's a pleasure to meet you all." She said kindly. "I'm here to educate you all on the White Wolf Corporation and our work in developing cures in science and medicine." She added and set up a PowerPoint about her workplace. The rest of the lesson went without incident as Seliel did most of the talking.
Only a few students, mainly Pixal, asked her any questions.
Probably because she was one of the few who understood what she was talking about. Soon the bell rang and class was dismissed. The pack all but ran from the class, with only Pixal remaining to ask Seliel some more questions. She met up with the others, Kai, Nya, Seven, and Jay, and went to their next classes. The rest of them had the next period free so they could talk.
As Pixal approached them, she saw how they all, besides Harumi, looked nervous.
When the two humans questioned what was going on, they told them everything. To say they were pleasantly surprised was an understatement.
"Werewolf Incorporated?! That's so cool!" Harumi exclaimed as her mind was suddenly flooded with images of private jets, sharp suits, and spy movies.
"And they have a big science division? Imagine the research they are doing!" Pixal all but squealed in delight. "This is amazing! It's perfect for me!"
"Er, they're probably not recruiting anyone, let alone a teenager." Cole pointed out.
"We will!" Pixal huffed and marched back into the school. Everyone shared a nervous look and followed her. They followed her until she found Seliel alone in the staff parking lot. Before anyone could say anything, Pixal thrust her hand into her face. "Hi there, Pixal Borg."
"OK, um... do you want to fill this application in and just bring it back?" Seliel asked awkwardly as she held out a sheet of paper, thinking that was what she wanted.
"Listen, I was just telling my friends that combining the White Wolf Corporation with Borg Industries would be a great chemistry and we could discover many special studies together; or 'Specie-al' study." Pixal grinned but the others, Zane included, winced at her terrible pun. When Seliel realized what she was saying and what she knew, she turned her attention to the rest of the group.
"They know?!" She exclaimed, pointing at Harumi and Pixal, and the werewolves reluctantly nodded. Pixal was completely unaware of the tension, however.
"I can not believe it! Humans and werewolves working side by side, in science!"
"Would you please keep your voice down?" Seliel hissed. While they were alone in the parking lot, she didn't want to take any risks. You never know who was listening.
"She's a bit keen," Harumi said as Zane carefully led Pixal away. "So, er... what exactly do you do in the White Wolf Corporation?"
"Human resources."
"Don't you mean werewolf resources?" She grinned and Morro had to stop himself from face-palming at his girlfriend's stupidity.
"Right, that's it, over here." Seliel snapped and she and the werewolf teens stepped to the side. "You trusted those people with our secret?!"
"We trust them with our lives." Zane glared.
"Not the same thing, they're acting like children."
"We know, but, just... you'd do the same in their position." Lloyd tried to reason. "They didn't know about any of this until a few months ago so cut them some slack."
"Hey, wait, what do you mean our secret? I thought you were human." Cole frowned in confusion and it was true. She had the scent of a human, not a werewolf. Seliel rolled her eyes and pulled out a perfume spray bottle from her purse.
"Scent dampeners; you can never be too careful as not many werewolves are happy to find another on their territory." She explained as she put the bottle away, visibly pleased with this perk of the job. "I'll be nice, just... get them to calm down, would you?" She asked and the boys nodded. Suddenly her phone buzzed and Seliel said her goodbyes and got into her car and drove off back to work.
She did promise to meet them in the privacy of the woods after school to answer all of their questions, however.
A couple of hours passed and lunch rolled in. The cafeteria was filled to the brim when they got there, however, so they went outside to eat. But even as they were eating lunch, Pixal refused to drop the subject of the White Wolf Corporation.
"They probably know everything; why exactly you are like you are, how it all works..." She went off before her gaze suddenly zeroed in on the Smith siblings. "You will put in a good word for me, right? I have to work there, even if it's after university and all that."
"Why would they listen to us?" Kai frowned.
"She only came here because the principal asked for her." Nya reminded.
"She went out of her way to let you know what they were about; trust me, they want you guys or at least Nya," Morro replied and the others had to agree.
"Yes, and we are a pack, so you make sure we all work there," Pixal told them and they both nodded. Pixal freaked everyone out when she got this way and it was easier to just go along with her. "Good, it will be brilliant."
"Oh, hey look! It's your friend, Dr. Werewolf!" Chad suddenly shouted with a cruel laugh, pointing at something behind them. The group turned around and was horrified to see Dr. Terri Kiken standing by the school gates, staring directly at them.
"Go inside." Kai suddenly whispered. Cole made to argue but Kai raised a hand to stop him. "No, you're not on her radar, we are."
"I will deal with her," Pixal said, not wanting to risk her friends. She calmly stood up and approached the scientist as the others headed inside. They hid by the door and listened in with their advanced hearing. "Dr. Kiken, shall I go get Miss Koko?" Pixal asked, trying to look as normal as possible.
"I'm fine here; call it scientific research," Kiken replied calmly as she kept staring at the door the group left through.
"On what? Football and gossip?"
"I'm expecting things to get more interesting soon."
"Why? What's happening?" Pixal challenged and Kiken fixed her cold gaze on her.
"I'm disappointed in you, Pixal." She glared. "You say you want to be a scientist, and yet here you are, concealing the truth, denying the evidence." She all but hissed as she took a step toward the teen, causing Pixal to take a step back. The last thing she wanted was to get too close to the mad doctor. Zane seemed to sense this and his wolf yearned to be unleashed and protect his mate.
Before he could, however, Cole suddenly clapped a hand on his shoulder, startling him back to reality.
"Take it easy, OK? Pixal's got this."
"You were the one who told everyone you had found werewolves, but when it came to providing evidence, you couldn't give any." She fired back, not wanting to let on how scared she was.
"Because you and your werewolf friends took it and deleted my data! You could have cleared my name any time and chose not to!" Kiken shouted, now getting into Pixal's face. But her rage vanished as she gave Pixal a searching look. "Why? Was it just to protect them? Or are you and your other friends werewolves too?"
"Dr. Kiken, what a surprise." Koko suddenly said as she appeared like magic. One of the other students must have alerted her. "Let's take this elsewhere, shall we?" She suggested and started leading Kiken towards the school.
"You can't hide forever!" Kiken shouted at Pixal but suddenly found herself being dragged by the teacher. They walked in silence until they reached the teacher's lounge which was thankfully empty. The pack followed not too far behind and listened from behind the door.
"You can't just walk into a school like this!" Koko shouted as the doctor started pacing around. She knew she should have reported this as soon as Kiken came onto the premises, but Koko didn't want to give the woman a criminal record when she was going through some kind of mental break. At least that was what Koko thought was happening. She believed that Kiken needed help, not more bad press.
"You're right! I might lose my job! Oh, no, wait, I've already lost that, along with my friends, my reputation, so, remind me, Koko, what exactly have I got to lose?!"
"Terri, you can't go on like this."
"I had evidence, and it was stolen."
"Yeah, right." Koko snorted, harsher than she meant to, but she was sick of hearing this ridiculous story.
"Those bones we excavated didn't steal themselves either; you were there, you know something happened!" She insisted. "That skeleton, Pixal and Harumi's claims, the photos; how much more evidence do you need before you see a pattern?" She snapped, but then her eyes narrowed. "Or maybe you don't want to see it, maybe you have a reason not to!"
"OK, you're right! I'm in on it! I'm a werewolf!" Koko shouted in a mocking tone, throwing in a fake animal growl in her rage. As soon as she did that her eyes widened in shock. "I'm... I'm... sorry... look, I didn't mean that..." She tried to apologize but Kiken had had enough. With one last glare, she stormed out of the office, luckily not noticing the teens rushing away and leaving the school...
"I feel bad, she's getting more and more desperate," Pixal admitted, much to her friends' shock and horror. They were all gathered around in the tea shop helping out Lloyd's uncle. It was unusually busy today after school. The only ones not helping out at the tea shop were Cole, Jay, Morro, and surprisingly Lloyd. Seliel had messaged them, asking for a tour of their territory.
Usually, they would refuse, but they knew the kind of power her employers possessed.
It would be wise not to piss them off. Lloyd decided to meet with her as he was the de facto leader of the pack. Cole, Jay, and Morro chose to go as some muscle and support. The others wanted to go too. But with how Seliel felt about the humans and with the mad doctor back skulking around they thought it would be best to stay in populated areas. Zane didn't want to be here.
He wanted to go home and do his homework with peace.
Unfortunately, they had a pest problem and Dr. Julien had to call the exterminator. The house was off-limits until the exterminator gave the all-clear. Helping out at the tea shop was the next best thing he could think of as relaxing. Better than walking around in the forest in the dark with a stranger. Lloyd's uncle appreciated the help and wasn't upset that Lloyd couldn't make it after it was explained to him.
When the teens finally arrived, Sensei Wu gave they each a job.
Harumi was working the counter. Kai and Zane were acting as the waiters. Nya and Pixal were in the back brewing the teas. Thankfully, it was quiet for a moment so they could talk about recent events.
"You're sorry for Kiken?" Harumi frowned at her fellow human.
"This is our chance to get rid of her," Kai said. "She thinks either we're werewolves, or we'll lead her to some but we'll be at the tea shop, all evening, and if she doesn't see anything she'll think our wolves are gone and leave us alone!"
"Exactly!" Nya agreed, as did Zane. Pixal could only sigh and returned to the back to finish brewing some tea. The others continued talking, but she tuned them out. While she hated Terri Kiken and what she was trying to do to her friends, she couldn't help but feel bad. Not too long ago, she was just like Dr. Kiken. She would try and get people to believe her about a monster in the forest.
She vividly remembered all the ridicule and pain her beliefs caused her.
It was just like what was happening with Kiken and the world. Except, while Pixal was a teenager, Kiken was a doctor who had spent years of her life getting to where she was and now that was all gone. Pixal sighed as she checked her phone, wondering if she could text her other friends for help. She knew it was pointless as they probably had no signal. Meanwhile, out in the forest, the others were walking with Seliel.
They had shown her the entrance to Zane's den and were now showing her where they spent full moons.
Seliel was enjoying this, taking a deep breath and smiling at the fresh air. She had missed this so much. She just didn't understand how any werewolf could live in the city with all the cars, the noise, and the people.
"We belong out here, as long as you're now alone." She smiled at the boys.
"But we're not alone; we're a pack with Pixal and Harumi." Jay grinned, but Seliel frowned at that.
"Not really; you can trust them all you like, and stay friends forever, but they'll never be one of us."
"Hey! Those two humans have had our backs since they found out and most of us have humans in our families!" Cole snapped, causing her to jump back. "My Dad's human, and so are Jay's parents; Morro's foster parents are human, and although they don't know the secret they treat him like their own."
"Look... I'm sorry." She stammered, realizing she had made a mistake, and turned to Morro. "I can't imagine what it's like living in foster care with humans."
"Yeah, well, I have a pack now; a family." He shrugged, ignoring the way his friends smiled at him. "Lloyd and the others have been a big help and teaching me everything; I even lived with his Dad for a bit, but living wild isn't exactly my thing."
"Your Dad's a wild werewolf?" She gaped and turned her attention to Lloyd. "I've never met a wild one before."
"Neither had I, till he showed up one day." He admitted and tension filled the space. Seliel sensed it was a touchy subject and quickly moved on and looked to Jay.
"How do you have two human parents and still be a werewolf?"
"My birth Mom gave me up to Edna and Ed." He explained. "I was pretty young but I think about her sometimes." He admitted quietly as if he was ashamed to think that. He knew that it was stupid, but sometimes he felt guilty for thinking about his birth mother when he already had two amazing parents who would do anything for him. Sometimes he felt like he was betraying them when he wondered about his biological family.
"Do you ever think about your Dad? Wonder where he is?" She asked but quickly regretted it when Jay gave her an icy glare.
"No."...
As the night progressed, Wu's tea shop was almost packed to the rafters with customers. Wu was ecstatic by all this business, but the teens were struggling to keep up with all the customers and their crazy orders. Seriously, who orders a quad grande non-fat caramel macchiato, upside-down? That was why when people started heading towards the coffee shop across the road the teens were relieved.
Even if Lloyd's uncle wasn't so thrilled about that.
The pack, Harumi especially, were also grateful when they saw the popular kids from school heading into the coffee shop. The last thing they wanted was those assholes coming in here and forcing the teens to serve them for the rest of their shifts. While they were all busy with the ever-growing number of customers none of them even noticed when Dr. Kiken walked into the coffee shop.
When the scientist entered she saw that it was filled with mostly teenagers.
Her eyes scanned the area until she found who she was looking for. Dareth sat with Antonia and Nelson in a booth by a window looking out towards the tea shop. Eyes narrowing, she approached the table. Dareth paled when he saw her and Antonia just raised an eyebrow. She had heard about this person on the news. Nelson looked between all three of them, wondering why Dareth looked so uncomfortable.
"Hello, Dareth." The scientist smirked while Dareth tried to look anywhere but at her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Simpling enjoying the wildlife." She replied, staring out the window at the tea shop where she could see the werewolves serving customers. Antonia was about to say something when Chad and his squad suddenly made himself known.
"Hey, Dr. Kiken, I saw some zombies in the park on the way here! You'd better go deal with them!" Chad mocked and his friends started laughing like hyenas.
"Real zombies only eat brains, so they won't bother attacking you." She snarked back at the group and turned her attention back to Dareth, not bothering to watch as Chad and his posse sulked away. "The day those bones disappeared, did anything unusual happen?"
"Yeah, the bones disappeared."
"They didn't just get up and walk away on their own, someone took them and I think it was those strange kids over there." Kiken insisted as she pointed to the tea shop.
"Look, I know that they're a little strange, especially Zane, but that's it; they're as human as you and me," Dareth replied, getting more and more uncomfortable with the looks they were getting from the other patrons.
"Zane?"
"Pixal's boyfriend? He's the tall, pale, and blond one." Antonia huffed as she glared daggers at the older woman. Kiken's eyes widened when she heard that. If Zane is Pixal's boyfriend, then he must know her secrets. Couples share many things. Pixal must have confided with Zane something about the werewolves and if not, he might know where she keeps her information.
It wouldn't be too hard to convince a simple teenager to help her out.
"Is he here?" She asked desperately looking around the coffee shop for Zane. "Where does he live?"
"None of your business." Antonia snarled.
"Why not? Has he got something to hide? Have you?" Kiken glared down at the young girl.
"I'm getting an adult." Nelson squeaked as he crawled out of the booth and ran off to look for a manager. Antonia shot the crazy scientist another glare before running after her foster brother. After the kids disappeared Dareth sighed heavily and turned to Kiken.
"He lives out in the forest." He confessed. He didn't want to hurt his friends, but he thought if he helped Kiken out then maybe she might snap out of it. "Over the bridge, turn left, it's the huge house about three miles down that road, by a big oak tree." He explained and she was out the door as soon as he finished that sentence. Dareth sighed and sent a text to Zane, giving him a heads-up.
He hoped that this didn't end up backfiring on him.
When Zane got that message he dropped the tray he was holding, causing the cups of tea to shatter on the floor.
"Zane? What's going on?" Pixal asked as she rushed to his side. He couldn't find the words. All he could do was show her the text he got from Dareth. Pixal gasped as she read it and the other approached them. Kiken was going over to his house right now. If she got his DNA it was all over. Zane suddenly ran from the tea shop. He had to get to his house and stop Dr. Kiken somehow.
Pixal showed the others the text and they got to work.
After a rushed explanation to Wu, they dropped what they were doing and headed off to help Zane. Kai shot a text into their group chat, letting the others out with Seliel know what was going down. Lloyd's eyes widened when he realized what was happening. He looked at the others and they nodded.
"We have got to go," Lloyd told their guest as they started heading to Cole's truck.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Just... stay here, OK?" Jay asked, not having the time to explain. "We'll be back as soon as we can." He promised and they disappeared into the dark. Seliel frowned as she watched them leave to save their friend...
Kiken growled in frustration as she treaded up to Zane's home. As she had been driving up she reached the gates only to find a large van blocking the entrance. There was no way to get her car in there so she had to abandon it and walk the rest of the way up in the dark. It wasn't a long walk, but still. She couldn't understand why any normal person would live this far away from civilization.
She was amazed that she even had cell service out here.
Soon she approached the front door and was about to knock when it suddenly opened. She quickly jumped back slightly and was faced with a giant man holding a device that looked like the one she used to kill weeds in her garden. The large man looked down at her and she gulped. He looked like he could snap her like a toothpick with little to no effort.
"Dr. Julien?" She asked nervously.
"Sorry hun, I'm just the exterminator; the doctor's out." The man replied as he dropped his gear and pulled out the keys Dr. Julien had left.
"Oh, that's fine I'll just wait for them then." She smiled and tried to walk around the giant man, only for him to put his arm out to stop her.
"I can't just let you in darling; how do I know you're not some serial killer?" He frowned and quickly locked the front door and pushed the keys through the letterbox before she could respond. Kiken gritted her teeth as she glared up at him.
"I've just come to see Zane."
"Well, the doc didn't say to expect any visitors and besides, Zane's not even here; his Dad said he's staying over at his friends." The man glared back. Kiken threw her hands up in frustration and started walking back to the car when he started chuckling nonsense. "I hope they have a lot of patients; I can't even handle one dog, never mind how many the kid probably took with him."
That made her freeze in her tracks.
"What?"
"In the basement, I found tons of dog toys, beds, chewed-up furniture, and some large food bowls; either they have a couple of giant dogs or they've got some kind of puppy breeding thing going on down there." He shrugged casually since this kind of thing was a normal part of his job. A home's exterior is just the image of ourselves that we project to the rest of the world.
But the more you venture inside, the closer you come to seeing what kind of person lives there.
If you want the raw, unfiltered truth you always head for the basement. This guy hated basements. He had seen walls that looked like giant, static-filled TV screens until I realized it was roaches scurrying across a white background. Cobwebs so thick and dusty that it looked like a cotton candy machine exploded at the fair. He had seen rats, snakes, feces, weapons, neglected children, abused pets, homeless squatters, massive hoards, bizarre sexual items, a makeshift meth lab, and even a coffin.
There are rational explanations for all of these things.
Well, maybe not the coffin. The point he was making was that people had all kinds of secrets, but none of that was his business. His job was to kill vermin and that was it. If someone was running a puppy farm business then he didn't want to know. He was completely oblivious to the thoughts whirling around the scientist's mind. She knew from her background checks and surveillance that the Julien family had never owned a dog.
So why would they own all that dog stuff?
Unless this was where the werewolves came to transform. Her eyes widened as all the pieces clicked in her mind. It was a large property and was far from the nearest neighbors. It was the perfect place for the full moon. That meant that Zane and his father knew the werewolf's secret. No, this meant that Zane and her father WERE werewolves as well. That must be the way Pixal was keeping it all a secret.
No friendship was strong enough to keep such a discovery quiet, but love, especially in someone that young, was a powerful force.
"Hey lady, you good?" The man suddenly asked, snapping out of her mind.
"Yes, sorry, just lost in thought." She admitted before fixing him with her best fake smile. "I'll just come back another time, then." She said and started walking back to her car. The man watched her leave, not planning on going until he knew she was gone. As she walked back to her car and was getting ready to drive off, she was shocked to see a figure running towards her in the darkness.
Thinking quickly, she grabbed something from the car and put it in her pocket.
A sick smile grew on her face, however, when she was it was Zane rushing at her. He was a little out of breath from his run but otherwise fine.
"What are you doing here?"
"I've come to see you." She grinned and before he could react, she suddenly pulled the thing out of her pocket and stabbed it into his side. Zane grunted in pain and stared down at the large needle Kiken was pulling out of his side. Immediately he felt dizzy and lightheaded as he stumbled into her arms. He tried to call out for help as his vision started to dim, but nothing came out.
All he could do was feel as if she dragged him somewhere.
Thankfully, his enhanced body was quick to filter whatever Kiken had given him out of his body and he regained his senses.
"What did you...?" He slurred as his vision slowly returned to normal. He quickly wished it hadn't when he realized that he was now locked in a cage in the back of her car and they were speeding down the road away from his house.
"Mild sedative, but don't worry, it'll wear off in a few minutes." She dismissed, but internally she was cheering. If Zane was human he would still be unconscious. It had only been five minutes. No human being could recover that quickly. "There seems to be a party at that coffee place tonight; half your school will be there, so I thought we'd say hello."
"You... can't do this!" He cried out and started shaking the cage, but his strength hadn't come back yet.
"It's the only way to get my life back! Having everyone see you for what you are!"
"No!" He roared as his wolf started emerging due to his overwhelming terror. His eyes were now yellow and glowing as his fingernails became claws and his teeth grew into fangs. He growled louder as he shook, banged, and clawed at the bars of the cage, but it wouldn't give. Kiken saw all this from her rearview mirror and it terrified her. She didn't want to think what that creature would do to her if it escaped.
Yet, for as scared as she was, it was too late to turn back now.
"They have to see you change." She muttered, more to herself than him. Zane bared his teeth and growled, not sure what he was going to do. That was when he felt it in his pocket. His eyes widened as he pulled out his cell phone. She hadn't searched him when she bundled him up in here. Without thinking Zane unlocked the device and called the first person who came up in his contacts.
Meanwhile, back at his house, Cole, Lloyd, Jay, and Morro had pulled up outside.
The exterminator was already gone. Jay quickly pulled out his set of keys and they all ran inside, fearing the worst. They all searched the entire house but aside from the power smell of pesticides there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just then they all heard another car pulling up outside and the four of them rushed out, thinking it was the mad scientist. They were all relieved, however, when they saw it was the others in Pixal's car.
"Where's Zane?!" Kai asked as they all got out and regrouped.
"No clue! We searched everywhere but no one here." Jay exclaimed. They all started brainstorming what might have happened when Pixal's phone started ringing. She pulled it out and sighed in relief when she saw the caller ID was Zane's and answered on speaker.
"Zane? Where are you?"
"I'm locked in Kiken's car! She's taking me to the city! Everyone is going to see!" He cried out and they could all hear the fear in his voice. Suddenly there was a screeching of tires and a clatter like Zane had dropped the phone.
"Your friends can't help you now, Zane!" They heard Kiken shout before starting the car back up, but Zane didn't return to the phone. All they could hear was the car speeding and Zane's growls. Steeling herself, Pixal hung up and pulled up the tracking feature, showing her where Zane was. He was a quarter of the way back to Ninjago City and at that speed, Kiken should get there within fifteen minutes.
She showed this to the others and told them her plan.
They were going to drive down the dirt trail as a shortcut and cut her off. The others agreed and they got back into the cars and drove off down the dirt trail. After flooring it through the forest they made it back to the main road in record time. Pixal checked her phone and smiled when she saw that Kiken's car was still at least ten minutes away from their current location.
She and Cole quickly parked their cars to act as some sort of blockade.
This was the only road Kiken could take. If she wanted to get back to Ninjago City was going to have to get past them. Simultaneously, back in her car, Kiken was fearfully glancing in her rearview mirror and at the cage. Zane was more wolf than human now. He was snarling and biting at the bars while those gold eyes bore right into her very soul. She was so focused on the monster in the back that she almost missed the figure in the road.
Kiken cried out in panic as she slammed on brakes and the car screeched to a halt.
She groaned in pain at the whiplash she sustained from the sudden stop and looked to see what she had almost hit. Her blood ran cold, however, when she saw a maroon-brown wolf standing in front of her car, staring right at her. Suddenly, the creature jumped up on the hood and bared its teeth at her; a plain of glass being the only thing separating them. Kiken was frozen in her seat, too scared to move.
All of a sudden, the wolf jumped up and disappeared on the roof of her car.
Thinking they were trying to free Zane, she quickly turned around and stared. A few seconds passed but nothing happened. There was no sight or sound from the beast. Even Zane had gotten eerily quiet.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Kiken suddenly screamed out in horror as the window to the driver's side door was smashed in and she found herself face to face with a woman with a pair of glowing yellow eyes. It was Seliel and she was pissed.
"GET US OFF THE ROAD, NOW!" She roared so loud it almost shook the whole car.
"Why should I?!" Kiken challenged but quickly regretted it when Seliel bared her teeth and lunged forward. Kiken's screams were drowned out by Zane's desperate howls...
Pixal was growing more anxious as the minutes flew by. It had been over ten minutes now and there was no sign of Kiken's car. They should have been here by now. This was the only way to Zane's house from Ninjago City. She was expecting to be saving Zane by now. She glanced at her phone and saw that Zane's phone was still up the road a ways ahead of them, but it wasn't moving.
It was just standing there like the car was stuck or something.
Suddenly, the signal was moving. It moved off the road and into the forest before stopping again. Pixal was getting scared now. What if Kiken had figured out their plan and had tried to drive around them? What if she had crashed in a ditch and Zane was hurt? Cole saw the fear in her face and decided he had had enough. Without saying a word he got into his car and drove up the road.
The others shared a look before all seven of them somehow managed to fit into Pixal's car and follow.
They drove until they got to the spot where Pixal's phone showed Zane's was. They got out of the cars and headed into the forest. It didn't take them long to find Kiken's car. Her lights were still on. As they approached, they saw that the driver's side door was almost ripped off and the window was smashed. The back of the car was open as was the cage inside, but there was no Zane.
They were about to go and search for their missing friend when they spotted her.
Terri Kiken was standing a bit further in the forest. Her back was to them and she was lit up by the car's headlights. Cautiously, they approached her. As they got closer, they were all relieved to see Zane and Seliel, the latter surprised them with her presence. It looked like Seliel had just finished putting her clothes back on after her transformation and Zane appeared to be unharmed.
Kiken said nothing as she stared at the pair in front of her with wide eyes.
In the end, it was Nya who decided to end the silence.
"Um... Dr. Kiken?"
"Extraordinary..." She finally said, still staring at them. "Just extraordinary."
"What happened?" Morro glared.
"She made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
"What, money?" Kai asked and Kiken finally turned to face them.
"A job with the White Wolf Corporation and the answers to all my questions." She replied. The others all looked to Seliel, who nodded, though she didn't look happy about it. Lloyd frowned as he stepped forward.
"So what does that mean for us, and our friends?"
"It means you've nothing to fear from me now." She said before turning to glare at Seliel. "Not if they keep their word." She warned and the other woman growled lowly.
"Our lawyers will call you in the money to work out a contract, along with arranging payments for any repairs to your car." She replied and Kiken nodded in satisfaction. Without another word, she got back in her car and drove off back to the city. Once she was gone, Seliel smiled at the pack. "You kids take care now." She grinned before she too disappeared back into the forest.
After the two women were gone, it was a solid minute of silence.
The teen pack was trying to wrap their minds around what just happened. In an hour Dr. Kiken had gone from being their greatest threat to suddenly having a job with the White Wolf Corporation. They would never know how she and Seliel worked that agreement out, but maybe it was best they didn't. It was Pixal who got over it first and she rushed to hug her boyfriend tightly.
"Are you OK?" She whispered as he hugged back. She could have lost him tonight for the second time in a month.
"I should be, now that Dr. Kiken is no longer a threat." He replied and suddenly found himself in the middle of a massive group hug as the others quickly joined it. They all just sat there hugging each other and being thankful that they were all together and safe until the sun rose...
NEXT CHAPTER: Lloyd's leadership skills are put to the test in a matter of life and death...