Into the Flames → Liam Dunbar [2]

Chapter Eight

Addison walked through the front doors with Malia and Lydia at her side. They both commented about the mark on her neck. Lydia promised to help her cover it with makeup later. It was embarrassing. Although Liam had thought it was hot, she hated it and was mad that it didn't heal like her other wounds.

She had stayed over at his house the night before. He didn't want to leave her by herself after those guys in the masks made an appearance. When they finally gotten to the school, she convinced Liam that she was fine, and he only agreed to leave her alone as long as she was with someone else in the pack.

Lydia and Malia just happened to be closest. The banshee had gotten out of the hospital and was up and at 'em, just like always. Addy promised to meet Liam during lunch and after school. She was freaked out more than anything, but she kept her emotions in check so the pack wouldn't get too suspicious of her. She didn't want the endless amount of questions or the constant worry.

She got enough of that from Brayden.

Addy gave him a call last night and left out the details about what happened at the club. She kept it simple and promised that she was safe at Liam's. Her arm had healed mostly. It still hurt. She could still feel the poison, but it was basically a dull ache that wouldn't go away.

"The Dread Doctors, by T.R. McCammon," Lydia read the title of the book. Malia had gone back to Tracy's last night and found it. She stayed up the whole night to read it, and none of it made sense. Lydia tilted her head to the side as she inspected the cover.

"What?"

"I don't know. There's something about it. Has anybody actually read it yet?" Lydia asked. They continued walking down the hall until they reached Malia's locker. The cover was creepy enough to begin with, she couldn't even imagine what the story is like.

"Just me. And I didn't understand any of it," Malia sighed. It was just a bunch of stories that didn't make any sense. It was pointless to her. However, the pack still needed to know about it, there had to be something in that book that would lead to an answer.

"We should probably all read it," Addy pointed out. She readjusted the backpack on her shoulders. The guys on the cover looked exactly the guys from last night. Exactly: almost every little detail was the same. It was terrifying, and even more so that someone had wrote about it.

"Kira's working on that." Malia opened her locker and searched for the books she needed. "Stiles says he can't find anything on the author. He thinks it's a pen name."

Addy grabbed the small book from Lydia's hand and flipped it over. "In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night and buried alive," Addy hesitated as she read off the back. "Days later they emerge transformed, wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the Dread Doctors." 

"Sounds vaguely familiar. How does it end?" The banshee asked, taking the book back. With her heels on she managed to be the same height as Addy, while Malia towered over them both. Her hair was styled to perfection as always, unlike the other two who let their hair down naturally.

"It doesn't. This is supposed to be volume one."

"Let me guess; there is no volume two. That's great, really," Addy said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. A pointless book with no ending and no author, everything led to a dead end.

"I think we're living volume two," Malia offered. What was going on in Beacon Hills was the same as what happened in the book. It only made sense. There was little to no understanding of the book, but she could perceive was that the exact same thing was happening again.