by Holly Hook
Mr. Bright gets us going, sweeping into the room and having us gather the decorations into neat stacks. Marion and I grab the cobwebs and green lights our group planned on, and I look for Chaz, but he's absent.
"That's weird," I mutter.
"What?" Marion asks.
"Chaz is missing. And now that I think of it, Gavin's not here either."
"Well, Gavin had to help his father with a broken fryer at the restaurant," Marion says with a frown. "He wanted me to tell you. He's disappointed that he doesn't get to help out today."
I feel like a jerk for not thinking of him first, but as we carry the decorations to the cafeteria, I soon forget. Of course. Gavin is probably indebted to his dad after the incident with the truck. Disappointing, because we've all been getting along better.
"Well, he'll get to see how cool this is when it's done," I say.
Mr. Bright holds the door open to the cafeteria building, which is empty except for the lingering food smells from lunch. It's chilly inside, thanks to the heat being cut after school, and we go to work lugging out ladders, hanging ghosts from the ceiling, and installing spooky lighting around the perimeter of the room. I soon get so lost in hanging the lights around the door that I don't notice Chaz walking into the room until he's right behind me.
"Beckah," he says, loud enough for others in the cafeteria to hear.
I whirl and drop the string lights I'm trying to hold to the top of the door, and Marion's eyes widen as she realizes who's there. All around us, people stare and then quickly look away again.
I swallow. Now everyone knows the Rose Pack is talking to me. And why is Chaz talking to me out in the open?
This must be serious.
"It's okay," I whisper to Marion, and she nods and lets me follow Chaz out of the cafeteria building. He doesn't speak the whole time we're walking out, and it's obvious he's suppressing his normally quick pace as we exit. I don't like that. My nerves rise to a new level with each step, and the longer he doesn't speak, the more my stomach churns.
"Chaz?" I ask.
Once we're outside, he closes the door, makes sure it clicks, and gets right to it. "Beckah, you need to leave town right away. Alan saw you and Tyler kissing the other night."
A scream sounds in the back of my mind.
The missing spark plugs. The stranding of me and Gavin.
It was all a trap. Alan knew that Tyler wouldn't resist helping me.
That after seeing me and Gavin eat together, he wouldn't resist kissing me.
"Shit," I mutter.
Chaz doesn't miss a beat. "I'm sorry and I hate to see you go since you make Tyler happy, but he wouldn't want you to get killed."
"Huh?" I ask, a hollow feeling filling my chest.
"Alan. He's finally making a move," Chaz says, eyeing the woods for a moment. But nothing is coming out, and if it is, I'm sure Chaz will know before I do.
"What's he doing now?" I ask, hating that my voice his climbed several pitches.
But Chaz doesn't laugh at my squeaky tone. His brown eyes are totally serious. "Alan's challenging Tyler."
"But Alan was banished!"
"It wasn't done properly. An alpha has to defeat his opponent without help," Chaz says, giving me a knowing look. "And that didn't happen."
My heart leaps into my throat. The bear spray. Now I know why Valerie is so angry at me.
Chaz doesn't give me a chance to respond. "Alan took over a new pack, and any wolf can challenge an alpha at any time so long as he's not banished from that territory." Chaz looks at the woods again, but this time he faces the direction of the vacation house. "Alan's at the vacation house now. He's going to force Tyler to fight to the death."
"Then we need to help him," I say, pulling away. My mind spins. We can get out there in no time. I still have some bear spray. "Chaz. Come on." I run towards the road.
But Chaz appears in front of me in a flash, blocking the way. "Beckah. You don't understand. You have to get away no matter what. If Tyler fights, he'll probably die. If he doesn't...you still need to get away. I'll take you out of Tower, or as far as I can get without the curse turning me into a monster."
"What?" I burst. Chaz wants me to leave Tyler to his demise? "I can't do that. We can help Tyler. Go and give him backup."
"Valerie and Cammie are doing the best they can, trying to keep Tyler away from the vacation house, but during a challenge, no one else can jump in. It must be fought alone. Alan...he's waiting for Tyler. And I think he'll try something horrible if he waits too long. This town is doomed. You have to get out. At least you can get out." Chaz's eyes narrow.
I ball my fists. "What is going on here?"
"I told you. Are you going to stand there or not?"
Then I move off my spot and storm towards the woods. "We can't leave Tyler. He saved my life twice. I saved his once. I've got to even the score."
Chaz takes a sharp breath. "You aren't scared enough. If this new pack takes over Tower, the Roses will be the least of everyone's problems. And they have no respect for girls. Female werewolves in most packs...they aren't treated well."
I whirl despite the horror in Chaz's words. Alan still wants to infect me. "You need all the help you can get! And I'm not leaving my friends here to their mercy."
He sighs, defeated. Chaz must see the determination in my eyes. "We can't do this without help, and no one wants to help us."
An idea hatches in my mind. "Are you sure about that?"
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I one hundred percent feel scummy about doing this, but if there's anyone willing to help me get rid of Alan, it's Gavin.
But will he be brave enough?
He's a hunter from a family of hunters. Used to the woods. And he knows how to use his hunting rifles if he supplies his parents' restaurant. It's not as if we have silver bullets laying around unless he's secretly a werewolf hunter. And judging from his reaction at the restaurant when Alan and his new pack came in, probably not, unless his fear was a ruse.
"Beckah. Gavin is like everyone else in this town," Chaz pleads as he carries me through the grass behind Rose Ranch. It slaps at me as he runs through it, me slung over his shoulder and his arm tight around the back of my knees. It's not a fun ride and I sense the regret in every one of Chaz's steps.
"I know he is, but he can help," I say. I'm not sure about that. "I don't know where he lives, so if you can smell him—"
"Yeah, he can help, but it's not safe for him," Chaz huffs. He's not quite as strong as Tyler, though still capable of running full speed with me. "It's not safe for anyone. No one should be getting involved."
"Alan wants Tyler alone," I grit out as we enter the woods. "If Tyler loses, then you said this whole town is doomed."
I have to hope that Chaz knows where he's going. He seems to. We dive into the darkness and the chill of the woods. The wind blows through the trees and makes them creak, and the birds chirp as if nothing is wrong.
"Yes. It is. If they take over, they'll take whatever they want, when they want," Chaz says.
I think of the murder and shudder. Yes. They will. The death of Ed was just a warning. And then they'll do worse.
"That's why we have to stop Alan and the others." I shout over the crashing of underbrush.
Chaz glares at me but he says nothing. He knows it's true. Tower may not be my home, but it's Gia's, and Tyler's, and Gavin's, and Marion's.
He leaps over a boulder and then another. We pass a crude tree stand. A cabin tucked back in the woods. And then finally, when I think we're going to leave Tower altogether and that Chaz has lied to me, he slows down near another cabin.
It's better built than the ones I've seen in the woods but not by much, and it's decorated in the same fashion as Gavin's truck. Deer antlers are everywhere and so are a few stuffed black bear heads, hanging right off the front of the house. I shudder. The cabin has a wraparound deck which seems to protect all the trophies from rain, and a single not-too-bad truck out front. A fire pit st
ill smokes in the backyard and I smell the charred wood.
"This is Gavin's place?" I ask as Chaz sets me down.
"It is," he says. Then he adds, "His scent is all over. Him, and his parents."
"He's home?" I ask. From what I understood, Gavin was at the restaurant, helping his dad with a broken fryer.
"No, but he will be soon," Chaz says. "His truck's approaching."
We wait right there in the yard, and I eye the overgrown driveway that leads into the woods. Eventually I hear the backfire of Gavin's truck in the distance.
"We can still leave," Chaz says. "Gavin could get hurt during this."
"He's going to get hurt if Tyler loses this fight," I say, anger rising in me again.
Chaz shifts leg to leg, lips tight, like he wants to lash out. But no growl emerges from his throat. For being a werewolf for a shorter time than Tyler, he's got good control. Maybe that's why Tyler brought him into the pack.
Gavin's truck finally pulls into visibility. The deer antlers point his way forward and he parks at the front of the cabin, next to the newer pickup, and gets out. His shoulders are slumped forward like he's in a bad mood, and Chaz stays quiet as Gavin saunters towards the house. This is a huge ask. I can't bear to drag him into this, but I also can't stand to leave Tyler to eventually face Alan by himself.
"We can go," Chaz hisses, seizing my arm.
"Gavin!" I call.
He freezes and faces the two of us. I stand there with Chaz, his hand still tight around my arm, and his jaw drops.
"It's okay," I say. "Chaz is a friend. We came to tell you that Tyler is in trouble." I hope that Gavin's weirdness prevents him from getting angry at me during this time when I need him the most. Gavin is my friend, regardless of how he feels about me, and I hate to do this to him, but if we don't stop Alan, we're all doomed. "Alan wants to challenge him to a fight at his old vacation house, and we need a ride out there to stop it from happening."
I swallow, hating myself.
"Just a ride," Chaz says. "I'll stay in the back of the truck."
"How did you two get way out here?" Gavin runs his hand through his hair.
"We walked for a long time. Gavin, we just need a ride. I'll tell you where to go."
"Nobody has vacation houses out here," he protests, confused.
I swallow. There's still time to let Gavin get away from this unscathed. No. There isn't. No matter what I do, I'm going to put someone in danger. There are no good choices. Reaching for my backpack, I feel my can of bear spray. I still have that and Gavin has his weapons. I eye his truck, knowing his unease has stopped him from parting with his rifles.
A sick feeling blooms inside. "There is a vacation house. I'll tell you where to go. Tyler needs us."
"But he's—" Gavin starts, eyeing Chaz.
Chaz backs off.
"He's fine," I shout. "Please."
Gavin hesitates. "Okay. I don't know what's going on but I'll trust you, Beckah."
I remember Tyler's words about fear, about what people will do when they're scared. Will Gavin lose it if he sees anything supernatural?
He has to go in knowing the truth. And willingly. I can't throw him under the train.
"We'll explain everything to you on the way there," I force out.
Chaz swallows next to me. "Yes. Everything."
* * * * *
"Are you kidding?" Gavin explodes as we make a right turn back towards town. He forgets to turn off his clicker, which makes it look like we're about to pull into the tiny police station. But we're not.
They won't help us.
They can't help us.
"There is a curse on the Rose Gang and this town," I insist, hating that Chaz can hear everything from the back of the truck. And I haven't gotten to the scary part yet: the fact that Tyler and I are sort of dating. That we've kissed, and that what Gavin and I have isn't even real. In minutes I'll reveal that I'm dirt, and that's the thought out of everything that scares me the most. Not the curse. Not wolves. "And yes, they're wolf shifters. That's why everyone's scared of them and doesn't know why."
"Curses aren't real," he says, almost angry. Gavin's putting a defensive wall up.
I wish he would hurry. That he'd get us to the vacation house faster.
"My shifts are real," Chaz says. "Just trust us. You'll see the truth in a few minutes."
"Whatever." Gavin stomps on the brakes when the Tower Market comes into view. The lights are on behind the dusty windows and I know that Gia is inside, working, oblivious to the danger taking place maybe a mile behind her store. What if Alan...what if he...does he know Gia is my cousin? "This is stupid and a waste of time." He turns down the barely-visible road. "And did I mention this is the part of the woods that creeps people out? There's a reason we shouldn't go back here."
"It's not a prank," I say, shocked that Gavin is this angry. If anything, he should be laughing. I look at Chaz, and Chaz shrugs at me, but the hurt in his eyes is obvious. Guilt rages in my chest, making me want to lash out at something. "We're not wasting your time. If Alan wins this fight, his new pack will take over town. You and everyone else know that something is really wrong with them." I'm doing this to him. Of course no sane person wants to chase a werewolf battle.
"Keep going," Chaz says, standing in the truck and pointing down the overgrown road. Weeds slap at the wheel wells. Other than us, it's the only sound in the woods.
An ominous stillness has settled over the place, the same stillness I felt the day I arrived here in Tower. Terror strikes me and I want to beg Gavin to turn around. His glower drops off and he slows. He must be feeling it, too.
"It's Alan and his new friends. They're dangerous. They're wolves, too," I say, because Gavin deserves the truth.
He sighs, but his anger is melting. His wall of denial is coming down.
"I don't know about this." His gaze inches to the guns behind the seats, which still have the old blanket resting over them. "I've shot plenty of deer, but never a predator."
I gulp. I'd been half-hoping that the bear trophies were Gavin's.
"You said...you said you would," I say.
Gavin sighs. "I'm not that good yet."
He's scared. I eye Chaz. Gavin knows something is wrong with this town. And maybe the curse is making him accept the truth. The sorceress would want everyone to know Tyler is a beast. To shun the Roses. To take revenge on them through the people of Tower.
And at last, as the silence turns from creepy to oppressive, the vacation house comes into view. Gavin stomps the brakes again, but this time out of shock.
"There's a house back here?" he asks.
"It's the Roses' old vacation home. And Alan is here. So are those other two disgusting wolves," Chaz says, ducking down behind us. "They know we're coming. Stay in the truck. Arm yourself. You'll have a chance, and for hell's sake, don't turn off the ignition. Werewolves are fast, but not as fast as a vehicle with four wheel drive."
We stop completely, and the crunching sounds end too. We're about a hundred feet back from the house, which looks like a gloomy castle under the cloudy, heavy sky. I see no one. But I trust Chaz's judgment.
"Is Tyler nearby?" I ask.
"Why are you asking about Tyler?" Gavin lifts his eyebrow at me, curious.
"Because...because we've been studying together and we're friends," I say, which is true. "We have to get closer."
Gavin's very still now. If he's jealous, he's not showing it. "I don't want to go over there. This whole area...people just avoid it."
My parents didn't, I think.
But they're outsiders, like me.
"It's fine. Well, it was," I say. "Arm yourself. I wouldn't know what I'm doing."
"Huh?" Gavin asks, but he's already reaching behind his seat.
"Only shoot who I tell you," Chaz says. "Your bullets won't kill them unless they're silver, but they'll help Tyler and Valerie and Cammie."
Gavin's eyes widen. "You want me to shoot people?"
"No. Not
people. The wolves who killed the guy at the bar," Chaz says. "There are two nasty brown wolves and...and a big tan one. Don't shoot the dark one with red highlights or the two blondes. They're good."
"What?" Gavin reaches for the gearshift with his free hand to reverse it out of there.
I place my hand over his. I'm shaking. I know what I have to do. "I know this is weird, but we need your help. If the bad wolves win today, they'll terrorize this town. There will be more deaths and more curses. And one of those people will be me."
"They're after you, Beckah?"
"You remember Alan." I nod. My chin's wobbling.
Gavin nods. "Okay."
Outside, Chaz jumps out of the truck bed and runs towards the vacation house. He's fast. Faster than any human should be.
"Whoa," Gavin breathes.
He removes a long hunting rifle from behind us, letting the blanket fall away. His hands shake as he loads the shells and he keeps his gaze on the vacation house.
As Chaz runs towards it, he hunches. Black fur sprouts over his body and popping sounds fill the air. In just a couple of seconds, a dark wolf emerges from Chaz's ripped clothes as they fall to the ground, and he charges into the former yard of the Roses' home.
"Oh my god," Gavin breathes, looking down at the floorboards. "Oh my god. It's real. I'm seeing this. Beckah, slap me on the back or something!"
I do. "Gavin, breathe. We trust you. The Rose Pack won't hurt us. They're not like other werewolves."
"Thanks." Gavin, gun in his lap, straightens and takes a breath.
I know what I need to say. "You don't have to do this."
Then he glares at me. "They're threatening you and that's not okay. And I still hate Alan for treating you the way he did." And with that, he pushes open the driver side door. "Stay here."
"I can help." I reach into my backpack and remove the bear spray, shaking the can. "This worked once and it can help again."
We have to try.
Even if we forfeit an alpha challenge again, we have to buy time.
"Fine, Beckah," Gavin says, raising his rifle at the house as he creeps forward. "Stay behind me. I don't know what I can do against supernatural terrors."