Morro bit back a frustrated growl as he shivered through his coat and Zane smiled at his expression. It was the middle of the night as the pair took a quick shortcut through a field to Lloyd's house to visit Skylor. It had been over a week since she and Garmaddon had turned up and were still recovering at Lloyd's. Misako was not happy to have her ex-husband living under her roof again. Still, thankfully her compassion overpowered her anger and allowed Skylor to stay until she fully recovered, under the condition that there would be no trouble while they were living there. She allowed Skylor to sleep in the guest room but made Garmaddon stay in the basement. It was either that or outside. Luckily Garmaddon didn't care either way. As far as he was concerned it was temporary and they would be gone soon. Unfortunately, after Dr. Julien examined her injuries he concluded that it would take three weeks for her to heal up, four at most fully.

Misako and Garmaddon seemed to be the only ones upset by that news.

The kids were happy to have their friends back and visited regularly, usually with gifts. Cole loaned her tons of music CDs. Harumi offered to cover any expenses she needed. Skylor was put off by Harumi's knowing their secret and sent Morro a glare. Yet she eventually decided that if the pack trusted the former bully, she would also. As soon as she heard what had happened, Edna baked any cakes, pies, and pastry recipes she knew and made Jay deliver them. Kai and Nya couldn't give her much so they offered their company and told her about everything that was going on at school since she had left. Like Harumi, Pixal offered to cover Skylor financially, but the wild teen turned it down. They wouldn't be staying long, so they did not need money.

"Why does Lloyd live so far away? Why did I let you talk me into this?" Morro groaned loudly and Zane laughed lightly. He would have driven them to Lloyd's but his car was having work done. Morro wanted to wait until morning to visit but Zane managed to talk him into a night walk instead of driving. He didn't know what Morro was complaining about. It wasn't that cold, or maybe it was. The cold never bothered him anyway.

Suddenly bright lights shined from the right of them, blinding the pair.

When their eyes adjusted they realized that it was a pair of headlights. They were confused about why a car was in a field in the middle of the night. Before they could do anything, something suddenly rammed into the side of them and knocked them down into the grass. They looked up and were shocked to see Lloyd standing over them with his hood over his head.

"Come on! Run!" He shouted as the driver revved their engine. He quickly hauled his friends back up to their feet and they ran for it towards the forest with the car chasing close behind. Thankfully they made it to the trees before the car hit them and the vehicle had to stop before it crashed. The three of them ran deeper into the forest until Lloyd suddenly dragged them down behind a tree where they were shocked to find Garmaddon also hiding there. He was holding a small brown sack that smelled awful and Zane noticed something dark dripping from the bottom. They then heard someone running down the slope, waving a bright flashlight around, looking for them. The four of them ducked down more and stayed quiet as the person stepped closer and closer. The light passed by them a few more times. Every time it shined over them, Zane felt his heart skip a beat, but thankfully they weren't found. None of them could see who it was.

After a few minutes of searching, the person ran back up the slope and they heard the car speeding off into the distance.

They waited a few minutes in case the person returned before taking off to Lloyd's house. While running, Morro looked at the sack Garmaddon was carrying he could make out the dark liquid was blood and picked up the scent of sheep. He quickly realized what had happened back there and he was pissed.

"What could have happened if you'd been caught?!" He shouted when they finally made it back to the house.

"Real werewolves know how to hunt unseen," Garmaddon growled as he dropped the sack on the kitchen table.

"That wasn't hunting! That was stealing!" Zane accused them and a crack in the floor made them all turn around. Misako and Wu were coming down the stairs and Skylor was hobbling into the kitchen with the crutches Dr. Julien had loaned her. "They were poaching."

"What?!" Wu shouted.

"Skylor needs red meat! She won't heal on scraps and human food." Garmaddon hissed but this didn't please his former pack.

"So you just stole it?" Misako snapped. "I knew letting you stay here was a bad idea; it's only a matter of time before you get my son killed!"

"He's OUR son and you have no right to judge me! We weren't the ones who were seen!"

"And they would have got caught if I didn't go back for him," Lloyd added before turning to his friends. "What were you doing out there anyway?!"

"I was coming to drop off these for Skylor." Zane frowned and pulled out some bottles of pain relief.

"And I was bringing this for her." Morro glared and pulled out a laptop from his backpack. It was an old one the Dobsons had collecting dust in the study room. As far as his foster parents knew, he was dropping it off at a donation bin. Silence fell upon them as they processed the night's events. Garmaddon and Misako were glaring daggers at each other and Wu was standing off to the side, not saying anything. Lloyd was staring at his feet, refusing to look at anyone. Zane and Morro were still upset but refrained from saying anything.

"Misako's right; we're guests here." Skylor suddenly said as she sat at the kitchen table. "We can't just go breaking rules that don't suit us; we don't steal, not from anyone."

"Your recovery could take months." Lloyd pointed out. "What about your pack? You've left them long enough."

"We'll get by on what we can find in the woods." She insisted and that was the end of it. Misako sent Lloyd and Skylor to bed and Wu drove Morro and Zane home. Garmaddon headed towards the basement but Misako suddenly grabbed his arm and slammed him into the wall.

"Don't you EVER drag Lloyd into your sick little games again, do you hear me?" She snarled and stormed off back to her room without waiting for an answer...

"And then Mr. Panton said I needed to get a teacher or I'll fail! Talk about a lack of faith!" Harumi tried not to sigh as she listened to Maggie whine once again about how a teacher was 'bullying' her in their class when in reality her fellow cheerleader was too lazy to do any real work. It was the first class of the day and everyone was hanging out and gossiping as they waited for the teacher to arrive. Harumi rolled her eyes as the rest of the cheer squad reassured Maggie and assured her that she was in the right and that Mr. Panton was a jerk. When the conversation moved on to how they could make Mr. Panton pay for upsetting Maggie, Harumi rolled her eyes. To think she used to have the same mindset as these girls. She's not even sure how they were once friends since now they seemed to have nothing in common besides the cheer team. Maybe they never had anything in common. Maybe they had changed? Or maybe she was the one who had changed.

She turned to the pack on the other side of the classroom.

She knew that they were talking about what happened last night. When she woke up that morning she saw it all in the group chat. Cole, Jay, Kai, and Nya were angry at Garmaddon and Lloyd for stealing livestock from local farmers and attracting unwanted attention. Lloyd tried to defend himself, but Pixal and Harumi kept pointing out that they had both offered several times to buy anything Skylor needed. If they needed red meat that badly they should have just asked. Lloyd went quiet after that and even now in class, he wasn't talking much. Zane and Morro felt like Lloyd thought the whole thing was their fault, but the others felt like they were taking this a bit personally.

"-to make matters worse I still haven't found a new dance partner!" Maggie bawled and Harumi winced at the volume. For the last week, Maggie had been complaining about finding a partner for her dance number in the upcoming school play since her original partner broke his wrist.

"Is there really no one who can help you?" Another cheerleader asked but Maggie shook her head.

"No, and now I have to get a stupid tutor?! This is the worst week EVER!"

"What's so bad about getting a tutor?" Harumi suddenly asked and the others looked at her like she suddenly turned into some kind of abomination.

"Nerd is so not the hot accessory this year." One of the cheerleaders sniped and the rest started laughing like a bunch of braying hyenas.

"Look, why don't you ask one of those guys to help you?" She suggested and pointed to the pack, who were completely unaware of this conversation. "They're pretty smart and nice people, right? Maybe one of them could tutor you?"

"Quality time with the freakshow? I'd rather fail." Maggie gagged loudly. "Besides, there's no way those guys would be willing to tutor me; couldn't one of you tutor me instead?" She pleaded to her friends. Harumi rolled her eyes and tuned out the rest of the conversation, not sure if Maggie understood that the teachers wanted her grade to go up. She stared at her boyfriend's back and he must have felt her gaze because he eventually turned around and met her eyes. They shared a short, sweet smile before looking away in case anyone noticed. When Morro turned back to his friends he realized that he hadn't checked his school planner for his next class so he went to pull it out. As he reached around the bag, his stomach turned to ice when he realized that it wasn't in there.

"What're you doing?

"I can't find my school planner." He replied when all of a sudden Chad and his gang barged their way into the classroom. Saying nothing, they closed in on the pack and Chad slammed a book on the table. "My planner! Where do you find that?" Morro smiled as he went to grab it.

"In my dad's field, where you left it when you, Zane, and Lloyd after you stole our lambs!" Chad suddenly grabbed Morro's wrist with bruising force and dragged the pale teen out of his chair and to his feet. Morro cried out in pain and everyone was stunned in shock except Cole, who lunged forward and forced Chad to let his friend go. Being the largest person in the class, Cole acted as a protective wall between the jock and his friends.

"I have not been in your dad's field, Chad." He whined as he rubbed his sore wrist.

"Then how did it get there?!"

"Someone probably stole it," Jay suggested before Nya shushed him.

"Do you assholes think I'm that stupid?!" Chad snapped and Nya had to shush Kai before he said anything. "My Dad saw three people last night and they looked just like you three! I saw the dash cam footage!" He shouted and showed everyone the video on his phone. It was bad quality and in night vision but you could still see the three figures. Although you couldn't properly make out their faces, the pack knew it was Lloyd, Morro, and Zane. To everyone else, although they couldn't make out the faces, Morro's planner plus the green in his hair, Zane's pale skin, and Lloyd's blonde hair and green clothes connected the dots for the others.

The trio denied it and this set off a shouting match throughout the entire classroom.

When Koko finally entered the classroom she was met with absolute chaos. Cole and Kai were holding off Chad and his gang. Jay and Nya were stopping Lloyd and Morro from charging at the jocks. Pixal was standing by her boyfriend while he was trying to move her away from the growing fight. Harumi, Seven, and the others were either cheering them on or just watching the struggle.

"Whoa... What's going on?" She asked and immediately the class descended on her, talking over themselves and getting right up in her personal space. "ONE AT A TIME!" She shouted and they all backed off, knowing better than to test her patience.

"My dad caught them poaching in our field last night!"

"It wasn't us!" Morro lied but Chad scoffed.

"My dad saw them." He exclaimed and lifted the planner. "He found this! And the people in the dashcam video look like them!" He insisted and showed her the video. After she watched it play out, her eyes narrowed and she stared at them.

"Where were you three last night?" She asked and they froze as everyone turned to them. It felt like they were on trial. What were they supposed to do now? Lloyd wanted to curse but held his tongue. He felt so guilty. It was him and his dad who were poaching that night, not Zane and Morro. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. But obviously, he couldn't say that unless he wanted to get arrested. He got vivid images of the police raiding his house and finding the wild werewolves and it all spiraled from there. They were staying quiet for too long, growing more suspicious by the second. The hushed whispers of the class spread and Chad had a smug grin grow on his face, knowing that he had them now.

Just when everything seemed over, Seven suddenly stood from her desk.

"Lloyd was with me last night; I was trying to get him to give me a job at his uncle's tea shop." She said, stunning everyone, especially Lloyd. The two shared a look and Lloyd's eyes asked the question. Why was she lying for him? But Seven's look told him to shut up and play along. When Koko asked if that was true, Lloyd quickly agreed. Koko took his word for it, but that still left Zane and Morro. What would their alibis be? As if to answer their prayers, Maggie also stood up to get everyone's attention.

"Well, Zane was helping me out with school work; Mr. Panton said I needed to get a tutor." She said and reluctantly Zane agreed. She seemed less convinced with this, but Koko chose to believe them. When Maggie sat down she noticed her friends' confused looks but she shrugged. She didn't understand what the problem was. People were always saying that she needed a tutor so she got the best.

That left only one suspect and they all turned to him.

Morro gulped nervously as he felt everyone's eyes on him. All of them, except the pack, were judging him for a crime he didn't commit. But what did that matter? He knew what all these strangers thought of him. He was just a troubled kid who spent his whole life in the system, being passed from pillar to post, who had a history of runaway, theft, and other kinds of anti-social behavior. No one was stupid. What rational person would hear all those things about him and then hear about how his planner was found at the scene of the crime and not connect him to the poaching? The only evidence against the other two was a grainy video, but Morro was against his planner and his green streak that could be faintly seen in the video. He could see Koko slowly reaching around to pick up her phone. He knew that she was getting ready to call the police.

He was going to prison for this.

"Morro was with me!" Harumi suddenly exclaimed, louder than she meant to. "We went for a walk and went through Chad's field; he must have dropped his planner." She explained and almost immediately the whisper started. She gritted her teeth as they rattled in her head. Why were they walking together? Is she lying? What were they doing? Do you think she was buying drugs from him or something? Harumi saw red and she turned to address the class. "Look, we're dating alright?!" She shouted and it echoed like a gunshot. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had done, but it was too late.

There were different reactions to the news.

Most were shocked. Others thought that it was a joke at first, but they soon realized that it wasn't. Harumi's friends in the cheer squad and the popular clique were staring at her in a mixture of shock, horror, and... pity. What pissed her off the most, however, was the few 'friends' who were looking at Morro in absolute disgust. Before another shouting match could erupt, Koko suddenly slammed her hand on her desk like a judge calling order in the court.

"That's quite enough melodrama for one day, wouldn't you say?" She said in a sweet, but tired voice. The day had only just started and she had already wanted to go home. Chad wanted to argue, but she raised her hand to shut him up. "That's enough out of you, Chad; sit down and be quiet." She ordered and he angrily returned to his seat. Now all the drama seemed over, Koko got on with the lesson. As she continued talking, Chad looked over at Lloyd and glared when their eyes met.

This was far from over...

Zane sighed in frustration as he listened to Maggie go on and on about how much she was a nice person, how the teachers had it out for her, and how lucky he was that she wanted to help him out of such a dire situation. All Zane wanted was to flee as fast as he could, but unfortunately, she had cornered him in the library and was blocking the exit. What he wouldn't give for some kind of divine intervention right now. Just something small, like a fire drill or something. Sadly no one was answering his prayers this time and he was stuck with the bland diva until he could think of a valid excuse.

Hopefully, he came up with one before he lost his sanity.

"So when can you do it?" She suddenly asked and Zane realized he had zoned out halfway through her patting herself on the back.

"Sorry, do what?"

"Come to rehearsal! I need you to be my dance partner at my big show; nobody else wants to do it with me." She pouted and Zane sighed.

"I thought I was helping you with tutoring?"

"Can't you just do the work for me? The teacher has it out for me."

"I'm sorry Maggie, but I can't do all the work for you, or else you won't learn anything." He replied and made to leave, but she stopped him.

"Well, YOU won't have an albi so do my work for me and dance with me!" She shouted. "If you don't I'll have you and your friends tossed in prison and I'll get Harumi to dump that gold-digging street rat; I am her best friend after all."

"No!" Zane frowned and tried to walk around her. He almost managed to until Maggie's hand suddenly shot out and gripped the scarf around his neck. She pulled, intending to drag him back towards her but in doing so she caused the scarf to tighten considerably against in skin. In the blink of an eye, Zane was transported back to that night. The thin wire of the snare was cutting into his skin, the air was leaving his body and his body was growing colder as the ground around was growing warmer with his blood and he was powerless to stop it.

With no warning, Zane suddenly released the loudest, biggest, most hysterical shriek ever heard in the halls of Ninjago High.

It shattered the silence of the library and the sound left after was deafening.

As soon as she heard it, Maggie let go of the scarf and jumped back as if she had been burned. As quickly as it happened it was over and Zane regained his senses. As soon as Zane was brought back to reality, however, he was filled with a deep, burning anger. It was an anger that he had never felt before. It was anger at Maggie for trying to blackmail him. Anger at the monster who left that damn snare trap. Lloyd and Garmaddon for poaching. Anger at Morro for dropping his planner. Anger at the human who shot Skylor. Anger at Chad for causing a scene in class. Anger at the universe for putting him in this situation.

But he also felt sad.

He was sad every time he looked in the mirror and saw the scar around his neck. Sad that he was now too scared to go too far into the woods alone in case he accidentally set off another trap and had no one there to help him. Sad that they couldn't even report the trap so the bastard who set it managed to get away with it without knowing how close he came to killing an innocent teenager. That was why he was so against Lloyd and the others' poaching. A poacher had set that trap and it had nearly killed him.

His eyes suddenly locked onto Maggie and he snarled.

The cheerleader was growing more terrified by the second. She had never seen Zane act like this before and for the first time, she started to fear for her life. That fear only grew as Zane started stalking her, backing her up until she was corned with no escape. She desperately looked around for an escape or someone to save her. There was no escape and all the onlookers looked as scared and confused as she was.

"How fucking dare you!" Zane suddenly roared. "You call yourself Harumi's best friend?! If that were true why didn't she tell you about her relationship with Morro?! They've been dating for months! The truth, Maggie, is that you have no real friends and the only reason anyone talks to you is because you are rich and can buy their companionship! If you did have a single friend in this whole world they would have tried to help you, or offered to dance with you, or anything else but no one has! Because you are a spoiled, self-obsessed brat with no respect, no manners, and no self-worth; hell, you had to try and blackmail somebody to help you when if you had just come up to me and just asked like a normal person, I would have helped you with you're schooling. I wouldn't have done the work for you, I believe in taking responsibility, but I still would have tried."

"Y-Y-You c-can't t-talk to m-me like t-that!" Maggie sobbed, shaking in the corner as tears poured down her face and Zane just shook his head.

"Maggie, I pity you because I know after high school that you will accomplish nothing with your life; you don't have the brains to pass your grades, you don't have any true friends to help you through the tough times, and your daddy's money can only last so long. You're wasting your potential and you don't even know it, and that's what's depressing about you." He sighed as the anger faded from his body and he grabbed his stuff. "Come find me when you are ready to step up and make something of yourself."

With that being said, he slung his bag over his shoulder and left Maggie curled up on the library floor, sobbing her eyes out...

"So you really want a job at my uncle's tea shop?" Lloyd as he and Seven walked down together. School had let out not too long ago and everyone was heading to their homes to process the day's events. It was clear that no one believed their alibis. All day Lloyd could feel the judging stares from the student body and the teachers whenever he passed. He could only imagine what it was like for the others. Morro was used to people staring at him and judging him, but Harumi might be having a hard time, and everyone was talking about Zane lashing out at Maggie in the library. Lloyd wished people could find better things to talk about. But between Morro and Harumi's relationship bombshell and Zane's meltdown, they were all going to be the talk of the town until long after graduation, and Chad was doing a good job at spreading the rumors and gossip.

Why did it have to be his farm?

There were tons of animals in the forest near his house. They could have been hunting deer, ducks, rabbits, and all kinds of animals or bought some red meat from the butchers. Why did he agree to go poaching with his dad? He didn't know the answer to that, but he couldn't worry about that right now. Lloyd wanted to check in with his friends as soon as possible, but he needed to talk to Seven. He wanted to ask her why she lied to save him. What could she possibly have to gain from stopping him from getting arrested?

"Not really." She shrugged.

"Then why did you lie?"

"Because I figured I owed you and Pixal." She replied before he gave her a confused look. "I owe you for helping me out with my old job and I owed Pixal more because she helped me when we were stranded thanks to that train; I couldn't let you or her boyfriend get arrested after all that."

"I suppose." Lloyd sighed and Seven felt an uncomfortable chill settling in her guts. She wasn't telling him the whole truth. A part of her was paying off the debt she owed them, but the rest was her assignment for Iron Baron. He had ordered her to keep the werewolves under surveillance in Ninjago City and to not let them out of her sight for any reason. That included stopping them from getting arrested and sent to prison. She wanted those beasts arrested for raiding Chad's family's farm but Iron Baron had plans for them and he insisted that they had to remain in Ninjago City. That didn't mean she liked lying though.

"You know, if you do need a job my uncle wouldn't mind the help." Lloyd offered, knocking Seven out of her thoughts.

"I already have a job." She glared, suddenly wanting nothing more than to get as far away from him as humanly possible. "Just consider this as payment for your help, and NEVER talk about this stuff again; got it?" She snapped and all but ran in the opposite direction. Lloyd was left standing in the streets, wondering what the hell was going on...

Harumi sighed loudly in frustration as the texts kept flooding in. News of her and Morro's relationship had spread through the school like wildfire and it was now talked about more than the poaching at Chad's farm. The texts ranged from people thinking this was a joke to shock and disgust. The ones that pissed her off the most, however, were the ones from her so-called former 'friends'. They all kept going on about how Morro was manipulating her for her money, that he was using her, and soon he would dump her. One of the other cheerleaders had the gall to suggest that she should break up with Morro because he was just a sad little orphaned nobody who would grow up to be nothing and she would be better off dating someone like Chad who had a bright sports career ahead of him. Eventually, she got so fed up that she wanted to smash her phone against the wall until it was nothing but shards.

But instead, she turned off notifications and switched to her real friends' group chat.

Sadly things weren't looking much better over there. Cole was writing whole paragraphs of rants against Chad and all the lies and poison he had been spitting all day. Jay was worried about all the police attention the poachings were bringing down on them. Kai tried to make a joke about how they should have invited him out on their little hunt, but he was quickly told off by Nya and Cole and pretty much the entire pack. Even the brunette had to admit that the joke was in poor taste; he was just trying to lighten the mood. Nya was pissed at Lloyd for being so careless and had been chewing him out all day, both in person and over the phone. Lloyd promised that he would never do that again and they could only hope he meant it. Pixal had already sent pounds of red meat to Lloyd's for Skylor and made him promise that if she needed anything they would call first. Zane and Morro were staying unusually quiet. Harumi had tried to call and talk to her boyfriend since this morning, but he had avoided her all day, and as soon as the bell rang he had fled the building.

Harumi could only hope he was doing alright.

She soon found that it wasn't Morro that she had to worry about. As soon as she stepped off the elevator she found herself in a new kind of hell.

"HARUMI SARA JADE! GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!" Her father roared from his office and Harumi sighed heavily. Using the full name. She knew it was the end for her. There was no point in avoiding it now though. Might as well get it over with. Maybe it would be quick, but knowing how horrible her father could be he would probably make it slow and painful just to be spiteful. Reluctantly, Harumi walked towards the office and when she entered she saw her father fuming in his chair. Her mother was standing off to the side, looking both angry and worried at the same time.

"What's wrong now Dad?"

"That's all you have to say?! You're dating a worthless street rat and you think you can try to ignore the problem?!"

"What problem?" She glared, gritting her teeth. "Yes, Morro and I are dating! Yes, it's been going on for months! Yes, I know what people are going to say and I don't give a crap!"

"Don't talk to your father like that!" Her mother shouted, but he raised his hand.

"Go wait outside dear, I will take care of this." He ordered and, though at first reluctant, she obeyed and left her daughter and husband alone. As soon as he was sure she was gone, Richard turned his attention to Harumi. "What the hell do you think you're doing with that thing? Have you forgotten what he is?" He demaned and Harumi mentally sighed. Of course, he had to send her mother out of the room for this. After Dr. Kiken was publicly shamed and humiliated for her werewolf claims, Richard chose to keep his involvement secret, even from his wife, to avoid the same fate.

"You mean what he WAS, no thanks to you and that psycho." She glared and he gave her an unimpressed look.

"Harumi, come on, I'm insulted that you think I'm not smart enough to figure out that their powers have returned?" He huffed and Harumi felt her insides freeze.

"H-How do you know?"

"I suspected, but thank you for confirming it." He smirked and she cursed under her breath.

"So much for making an effort huh?" She spat angrily. "I honestly thought that after that whole mess with Kiken, you started to care about me as a person but I should have known, that your public image and wealth will always come first before my happiness."

"You stupid ungrateful brat!" He shouted. "You're just a stupid kid who has no clue what the real world has to offer! Do you think this is some kind of epic love story? The pretty high school student and the lonesome bad boy with a big bad secret?" He laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry Harumi but this is the real world and you need to wake up! He's just going to use you and will hurt you in ways you can't possibly imagine and then what? You'll end up with nothing!"

"I know more about the real world than you possibly could; you think that all your money and influence can save you from your sad, empty life and then you think you can call me a delusional fool?" She mocked and he felt his blood boil. "One day you'll lose everything and you'll have no one to blame but yourself whereas whether I have no career, no money, or no team of servants bowing to my every whim I will always have Morro and I know he and I will love each other forever."

"Things change little girl; he's the first boy you've ever been out with really."

"You were Mom's first, and just because she made a mistake doesn't mean I'm going to." She smirked and Richard seriously wanted to smack her. He managed to control himself, however, and allowed her to leave the office. Once she was gone Richard felt his body heating up with rage. He wanted to march down to Morro's home and shoot the little freak as soon as he opened the for daring to mess with his family. A creature like that couldn't possibly understand love. Morro was some kind of half-beast and a beast like that couldn't control his lowest, dirtiest instincts. He couldn't let his daughter fall for it.

His mind clear, Richard pulled out his phone and made the call...

When school started the next day, Chad was seething. None of their livestock were taken last night but that just solidified in his mind that Lloyd, Morro, and Zane were the ones who were doing the poaching. Why else would it suddenly stop when he brought the pressure onto them? His dad told him to wait for the traps to set off and the cameras to catch something, saying that the book and a grainy video wouldn't stand in court, especially with the lawyers Zane's family could buy. They had to be patient, but Chad didn't want to be.

He was out for blood and was after Morro.

There was no way in hell he was going to let that loser steal HIS girl. True he didn't ask Harumi out but did that matter? She was the lead cheerleader, and he was captain of the football and soccer teams, both of them were rich, and their the most popular kids in high school. It was like a law of the universe that they were destined to be together. Yet despite that, she chose Morro and he didn't understand why. What did Morro have that he didn't?

He had the money, the status, and the looks, but all Morro had was a sad past. Maybe she was just dating her out of pity? That didn't make him happy though. Morro was going to ruin her and Chad couldn't allow that. He had to save her before Morro dragged her down to his level.

It seemed he might get his chance too.

As the day went on he kept a laser focus on Harumi and Morro, disgusted by how overly affectionate they were being now that they didn't have to hide their relationship; it was like they were mocking Chad, like Morro was making sure everyone thought that he had won, but Chad wouldn't let him. The jock waited until Harumi split from Morro and walked off. Chad followed after her. He was going to talk some sense into her. What he failed to notice was Lloyd following him.

Chad chased down Harumi to the gymnasium where he lost her as soon as he entered the building.

It was packed to the brim and she disappeared into the crowd. Trusting his gut, he ducked into a room, hoping that Harumi would be in there. Instead of finding Harumi, he found himself inside a large locker room. Lloyd didn't follow him in there and chose to wait by the half-opened door. Chad muttered a curse to himself and pulled out his phone. He was going to call Harumi and meet him in the mall to sort this out. Because he could, however, three half-dressed girls stepped out from behind the corner. They all screamed when they saw him.

"Were you spying on us you fucking freak?! Are you gonna film us?!" One girl shrieked as she snatched his phone and held it out of reach. Chad's face lit up bright red in embarrassment as the three girls cornered him.

"N-No! I w-wasn't! I was... I was..." He stammered and trailed off, knowing that there was nothing he could say to make this situation better. "Look, just give it back!"

"What are the magic words?" The first girl glared, dangling his phone in front of him.

"Please?"

"Not quite; now repeat after me." The second girl smirked as she pulled out her phone and, to Chad's horror, started recording him. Sensing something amazing was about to happen, Lloyd followed suit and pulled out his phone to record what was about to happen next. "I, Chad Tudabone, promise never to spy in the girls' locker rooms again like a massive, creepy weirdo."

"I wasn't spying!"

"Those weren't the magic words." The third girl was chastised with a large smirk and Lloyd had to suppress a laugh unless he wanted to be caught too. Chad growled in irritation but seeing no way out of it, he sighed in defeat and complied.

"I, Chad Tudabone promise never to spy in the girls' locker rooms again like a massive creepy weirdo." He repeated through gritted teeth, making sure to keep his eyes on her shoes.

"That's the one." The first girl grinned and they stopped recording. Lloyd also stopped recording and quietly made his exit, luckily without being noticed. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." She mocked as she tossed Chad his phone back and the jock ran from the locker room...

Skylor tried not to show signs of pain as she stumbled back and forth around the kitchen under the watchful eyes of Wu, Dr. Julien, and Garmaddon. Zane's father called around to check on how her injuries were healing and he seemed satisfied. They figured they would do this examination when there were few people in the house. The kids were at school, and Misako refused to be in the house for now. She was still very mad at Garmaddon for the poaching and dragging Lloyd into it. She was working on a new exhibit at the museum and she wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

Wu didn't know how he was going to explain that to Lloyd but he supposed his nephew had other things on his mind, like the poaching incident for one.

Right after Lloyd left for school that morning, Chad's father called round and he was not happy. He kept ranting and raving about how he knew that Lloyd and his friends were poaching his livestock and how he wanted to be reimbursed for his lost property or else he would call the police. Wu wasn't a fool though. He knew what blackmail was, so he told Mr. Tudabone that he didn't know about any poaching and that if he was so convinced that Lloyd was involved then go to the police. That was hours ago and no police had come knocking on their door, so he supposed that was something.

"It's getting better," Skylor grunted as she sat back down and Garmaddon nodded in satisfaction.

"Then we move on tomorrow."

"She can't travel yet." The doctor argued.

"She will get better in the wild and the pack can hunt for her."

"You forget yourself." Skylor hissed as she was given back her crutch.

"No, you forget." He glared at the alpha, a glare she returned. They both knew what this place did, what happened to werewolves who stayed too long.

"Then go! If you're so afraid of this place then leave! NOW!" Skylor suddenly shouted, surprising everyone. "You think I want to keep us here! You've been fighting to leave ever since we arrived!"

"If I don't, you'll never get better and you'll never go back!" He argued and Skylor's glare narrowed.

"I stay until I am healed, you can do what you want." She dismissed and thanked Dr. Julien for his help before he left.

"I didn't risk my life to bring you here to watch you grow tame!" He shouted and that struck a nerve. Without warning, Skylor lunged across the room and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him up against the wall. Her eyes were burning brought yellow and she looked seconds away from tearing his throat out with her fangs. The adrenaline started to fade, however, and the pain quickly returned. Skylor had no choice but to let him go and hobble back to the nearest chair. Garmaddon stared at her before storming out, slamming the door as he went.

Wu sighed as he boiled a fresh pot of tea and poured them both a cup.

"Garmaddon is afraid, not disloyal; but he doesn't trust me." She grumbled, more to herself, as she gripped the cup so tight that Wu feared it would crack.

"And are his fears unfounded?" Wu asked as they drank.

"I don't know." She groaned and gripped her hair in frustration. Her head was swirling with thoughts, feelings, and nightmares, and Garmaddon's constant pesterings weren't helping.

"You cannot expect Garmaddon to know where your heart lies if you do not know yourself."

"I'll not betray the pack." She stated, wincing when she felt her voice breaking more than hearing it.

"You adapt, you accept, and you embrace two worlds Skylor, but where some might see open-mindedness, others only see vulnerability and danger; prove to him you know your mind, and he will trust it." He told her and took the empty cups away before he had to sweep up their shards. Skylor said nothing and headed out to the garden to get some fresh air. Wu sighed as he watched her leave and headed off to drag Garmaddon back to the house...

Garmaddon wanted to scream and shout as he stalked through the woods lining the local farms. He hated all of this. He hated having to come back here. He hated having to put up with Misako's snide remarks and withering scowls. He hated putting his son's life on the line, whether they were close or not. He hated having to poach farm animals rather than doing some real hunting, seeing as the forests around Ninjago City didn't support enough wild animals close enough for his comfort. All he wanted was for Skylor to heal up and then they could return to their rightful place with their real pack.

A wild pack needed a wild leader, and that's what scared Garmaddon.

The longer they stayed here the more tame she would become. He could already tell she was changing. Just this morning he caught her watching an 80s action movie on the laptop Morro brought. It was full of fiery explosions that would send any werewolf running for the hills, fiction or not. It did freak him out. Skylor only scoffed at his 'performance' as she called it, and told him to leave her only to get comfortable. That just angered and scared Garmaddon even more.

How can any true werewolf find comfort in a cage like that house?

Garmaddon's mental rant was suddenly cut off when he found himself being shot up into the air. It took him a few moments to realize that he was caught in a trap. It took him only slightly longer to realize that he was on the outskirts of the farm where he and Lloyd were poaching last night. The farmer must have set this trap in case they came back. Garmaddon tossed and turned and struggled against the net, but he couldn't escape.

He had no choice but to scream.

His scream echoed across the forest and soon reached Wu, who was tracking his brother's scent. The scream spread out passed the forest and it wasn't long until it reached the high school where the kids were getting out for the day. It was too distant to register to human ears, but Lloyd and Jay picked it up as they were the first of their group outside. The pair shared a look before taking off into the forest. They soon found Garmaddon dangling down in a thick net from a tree and Lloyd's uncle was already there and trying to get him down.

"Dad! What happened?!" He cried as he, his uncle, and Jay tried to pull him down.

"I don't know!" He shouted as all their tugging finally managed to break the branch the net was attached to and it dropped. Wu quickly pulled out his emergency pocket knife and cut an opening out of the net and they pulled him out. "I'm all right." He shoved them off as they fretted over him for any injuries and they took off back to the house before the trappers returned. They ran and ran until Wu had to stop to catch his breath. He wasn't a young werewolf after all.

"What are you even doing out here?" Lloyd glared at his father. "Poaching again? Have you learnt nothing?!"

"I wasn't out poaching, boy! Show some respect! I just needed to get out of that house and he came to find me." Garmaddon argued, angrily pointing at his bother, and started pacing around. He couldn't understand why they were all acting like he was the bad guy. He had every right to a say when they should leave. He risked everything for their pack and this is the thanks he got for all his hard work?

No one said anything and just let him get all his frustrations out. Eventually, Garmaddon ran out of steam and begrudgingly followed the others back to the house.

Unfortunately, in the chaos back at the trap, all of them failed to notice the small, dim, flashing light of the camera hidden in the grass and it wasn't long before Chad Tudabone came running around. The jock growled in irritation when he found the torn-up net dangling in the branches. Luckily for him, the net wasn't the only thing he set up. He grabbed the camera and played the footage back. A giant, wicked grin split across his face when he saw and heard Lloyd, his uncle, Jay, and some homeless-looking guy he had never seen before dealing with his little trap.

He had them now...

Skylor felt like her insides were twisting up inside as she waited on the bench in the garden for Garmaddon to return. She had heard that scream too and it was killing her that she couldn't do anything but sit and wait. She had tried to go into the woods to find him, but she didn't even make it to the gate before her legs almost gave out. She could only hope that Garmaddon's brother got to him in time before any harm was done. She couldn't lose her only support now. Yes, she had Lloyd and his pack to help, but it wasn't the same thing. She had known Garmaddon since she was little and he had always watched out for her, even when she became alpha. She knew it was her fault that he had run off and if something happened to him she would never forgive herself. Skylor understood why he was angry about staying here. She wanted to return to their pack too, but she couldn't yet in this condition. It was in the wild pack's nature to follow a strong leader, not a cripple hobbling on a crutch.

If she did go back to the pack it would be only a matter of time before one of them, probably one of the twins, would challenge her for leadership, and in this state, she wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, she also knew that if she left them too long someone, again, probably one of the twins, would seize leadership for themselves. It was like a double-edged sword. They had to return to the wild but they needed to wait until she was fully healed, but if they stayed here much longer it was only a matter of time before the pack abandoned them.

Skylor knew that she had to plan this carefully. She planned to wait until she could successfully walk up the stairs unaided and then they would leave. She might not be fully healed by then but she would at least be able to stand her ground.

As the wait was starting to grow torturous, Skylor's body was suddenly filled with relief when she smelled and heard Garmaddon and the others approaching, and soon they walked out of the forest and she got up to meet them halfway.

"You're all right?" She asked, her eyes scanned him for any injuries.

"My brother came to my aid." He replied and they all headed inside to talk things out. They all gathered in the dining room and sat in silence as Wu steeped some tea. None of them knew what to say anymore. Seeing that she would have to take the first step Skylor cleared her throat and leaned forward.

"I know what scares you, Garmaddon, it scared me too, once, but tame... isn't something that just happens; it's something we choose." She explained, allowing the warmth from the teacup to warm up her hands. "I chose our pack, and I chose you to get us home, but if we don't trust each other, we won't make it." She added and Garmaddon reluctantly nodded. Jay, Lloyd, and his uncle all smiled in relief, thinking that it was all over.

Their relief was short however when their senses suddenly picked up someone approaching the house.

"I know you fuckers are in there! Get the fuck out here now or I'll kick the fucking door down!" It was Chad and he was almost trying to break the door down with the way he was ramming into it. Everyone quickly got down low to avoid being seen through the windows, figuring that he would eventually assume that no one was home and would go away. Chad might have been mad, but he wasn't going to break in. Skylor wasn't going to be threatened by this bully, however. Much to the others' shock and horror, Skylor used her crutch to stand up and open the door. When he saw the front door opening, Chad was geared up for a fight; but his anger changed to confusion when he saw his former classmate.

"Skylor? What happened to you?" He asked, staring more at the crutch than at her.

"Come inside." She said and, although slightly freaked out, Chad followed her into the house and into the dining room where the others were waiting. As soon as he saw Garmaddon, his anger quickly returned and he pulled out his camera.

"It was you that was in the trap! I got it on camera! It's you freaks taking our lambs, isn't it?!"

"It was me," Lloyd said, standing up to be beside Skylor. "They didn't ask me to do it, and no one else is going to take the fall for me; you can't blame them."

"Yes, I can, I'm calling the police." He spat and pulled out his phone.

"Our traveler's camp got raided and that's where I got this; we came here with nothing and Lloyd was only trying to help us," Skylor explained, her eyes pleading with him but the jock ignored her.

"You can keep your sob story." He hissed and was about to dial the police when Lloyd suddenly lifted his phone. Chad looked up, wondering what he was doing, only to pale when he saw the video of him in the girls' locker room. "You were spying on me?!"

"You were spying on them." Lloyd countered. "Delete your evidence and this stays between us."

Chad glared when he heard this. "That's blackmail."

"Yeah, it is." He nodded and held out his hand. "Give me the card, don't tell anyone they're here and this won't go online." Chad gritted his teeth but he knew he had no choice but to hand over the memory card. Before he left he made sure to look each one of them in the eyes and gave them a clear warning. If his dad ever caught any of them on their land again he will shoot them...

Lloyd took a deep breath of the fresh air on his route back home. He had just completed another school day and was eager to go home and relax. Chad had made a conscious effort to avoid the pack, not that they cared. Lloyd kept his promise. He had no intention of releasing the video as long as Chad kept his. When the rest of his friends found out what had happened they had different reactions. Cole and Kai thought it was hilarious and constantly wanted to watch the video of Chad begging the girls. Jay just wanted to forget this ever happened. Nya was also glad that this was over and was proud of those young girls for teaching Chad a lesson. Pixal was happy that Zane was finally off Chad's radar and she hoped her boyfriend would start to relax more. Skylor was more apologetic to him and the others for getting caught up in this whole mess.

Harumi and Morro were more happy that they were no longer the talk of the school. Don't get confused though. Students were still talking about their relationship, but they were talking more about Zane's outburst against Maggie in the library.

Zane himself was ashamed of this and wanted to apologize to Maggie but Harumi told him not to. In her opinion, Maggie was a spoiled brat who needed to be knocked down or two. Regardless Zane still felt he owed her an apology. Unfortunately, every time he tried to approach the cheerleader she, much like Chad, would go out of her way to avoid him. Lloyd hoped Zane would realize that she wasn't worth it, but it wasn't a problem. He was just happy that no one was going to jail.

After much internal debate, he deleted the video of Chad in the locker room. He knew that was his insurance, but he felt bad enough. Chad may be an asshole but he and his dad were trying to protect their property. Lloyd was also upset that his friends got caught up in this whole situation. They always stuck their necks out for him and he let them down. But the others argued back against that. He should have just trusted them and told them what was going on. They were a pack after all. He didn't want them getting caught up in something he did, but they got caught up anyway and would do it again in a heartbeat. They made sure Lloyd knew that he didn't get to pick when they got involved.

As Lloyd approached his house, he could suddenly hear shouting coming from inside.

Fearing the worst, he ran the rest of the way home and barged in without even thinking, only to be greeted by the sight of his mother shouting at his father and Skylor as she tossed what few things they brought with them into a box.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"They are NOT staying in this house anymore." Misako shrieked before suddenly grabbing Garmaddon and dragging him out of the house with Skylor hobbling close behind. "I don't care where you go from here, but neither of you is welcome back in my home, especially you!" She shouted before throwing the box to her ex-husband and slamming the door in their faces before anyone could protest...

NEXT CHAPTER: Skylor and Garmaddon have to find a new place to live while she recovers, sooner rather than later...