A Wild Ride

Chapter 10: Bad Moon Rising

The next morning I woke up early. My nerves still on edge from the weirdness of last night. Everything was going alright with the dinner and the twin's parents were awesome. Then that Isaac guy came in to tell John something. They left to talk in private and when they came back, suddenly I was practically being kicked out. 

They ushered me out of the house along with Penny and Joey who went with their mother and some other strange men. Maybe enforcers? Or just guards in general. Derek and Michael wouldn't even tell me what the hell was going on. Derek drove me home dodging every question I threw his way while Michael stayed behind and left somewhere beyond the house with his father. On the drive back to school, I hear howls in the distance and Derek picked up record speed.

As he dropped me off, Derek promised to tell me what was going on later. I nodded half-heartedly and went inside. He didn't get back in his car and leave until I was in the door with it shut behind me. The automatic lock clicking in place.

Now here I am sitting on my bed looking up at the ceiling wondering what the hell was going on still. I mean of course a million possibilities were running through my frantic mind, but I couldn't be too sure. I didn't want to assume the worst, that'd be silly and just worry me more. But I was fearful and paranoid. Definitely paranoid.

'What if there was some kind of danger?' I thought. I mean just because they seemed peaceful, I'm sure they had enemies. Hell everyone has an enemy of some kind. And if any of the books or shows I watched taught me anything, it's that there's always some kind of threat to the fragile peace in this world.

'Even if it's just themselves'.

I sighed and rolled over in my bed. I looked over at my alarm clock on my desk and save it was around seven. The cafeteria closes in an hour. I reluctantly got up and went to eat. I frequently checked my phone for any messages throughout the day. Still none. After catching up on some old assignments, I went for a swim at the gym's pool. Since there was some sporting event the other part of the gym was open. I did a few laps and exercises and left. When I got back to my dorm room I detoured into the longue. It's usually deserted this early on a Sunday anyway. I had my backpack with my laptop so I plopped down in a chair and started watching YouTube videos to take my mind off things.

It was around ten when I checked my phone and didn't have any messages still from either Derek or Michael. I tried calling them both but it went straight to voicemail. I sent them messages but I didn't think it'd do much. Eventually I burned through my entire playlist of videos I would've watched later. And now I couldn't help but worry if something bad happened to them. Especially the little ones. But of course I could also be wildly overreacting. Besides, it wasn't like I needed a play-by-play of their entire life. I need to clear my mind so I went for a short walk around campus after dropping my bag off in my room. It's a good thing I tend to do work when I'm nervous or I'd probably have never done my homework. It was fall so it wasn't too hot or cold outside and perfect for a good walk. I walked around the old building surrounding the campus. The pathways illuminated by the street lamps that hung above. I did my normal route of starting by the campus center over the science building then swooping back to the mathematics building then back to my dorm. There was a slight breeze for which I'm glad I remembered to bring a light jacket with me.

The walk did wonders to ease my thoughts but on the way back I heard a snap of a branch behind him. I quickly turned around to see nothing. There were some frat guys above me on the next level. There was a big field between the science and English buildings. But other than them I saw no one. I decided to ignore and continue back to my dorm. Unknown to me, in the distance a pair of yellow eyes were staring me.

When I got back I checked my phone and saw a missed call from Michael. I mentally cursed and check the voicemail.

"Hey..uh Zephyr?" The playback greeted. "Sorry we've been MIA. It's just there's some trouble here and we don't want to involve you. It's not safe for you right now being..well a human and all. And I know I sound hella cryptic but I promise we'll explain everything when this is over." The message ended there.

Well I was right about my assumption that there might have been danger. From my limited knowledge of werewolves, I assumed maybe a rival wolf pack or maybe hunters might have been a threat. However, it is also true that anything is possible at this point.

At night the full moon was out and looking at it I couldn't help but think about Derek and Michael. I hoped they were okay and no one was harmed. Again I heard wolves howling in the distance but somehow this time, it was more comforting. The sound of it didn't seem...ominous. But like all comfort for me, it doesn't last long.