Riley
William and I walk into the school hand-in-hand, but William steps forward once Josh blocks our road.
Fear seizes my legs, and I freeze. I don't have to be a genius to figure out this is bad. Perhaps we shouldn't have come here? Josh seems stronger, probably because the Crescent pack has grown in numbers.
William might have trouble fighting him now, especially since his powers have been unreliable lately.
"You're brave coming here," Josh crosses his arms over his muscular chest, looking us up and down with Teagan, Linda, and Alex standing behind him. "Where did you run off to? We have been looking everywhere for you two."
"These are natural grounds, right?" William asks, glaring at the other group of werewolves.
"For now," Josh is grinning. "But there might be changes in the upcoming future. Werewolf reign is here."
"Pfft!"
I turn around when Isabella walks up to us. Her pink hair is curled to perfection, and her eyes are determined, filled with fire. She doesn't seem happy about the changes to the human world.
"As if we would let you take over the entire human world," Isabella narrows her eyes. "All werewolves aren't on your side in this, and a war is coming, Josh. One that I don't believe that you will win."
Josh snorts; the other werewolves are laughing with him. They are all wearing smirks that I desperately want to wash away from their smug little faces. It irks me.
"Your pack isn't big enough to stand a chance against ours, but if you have a death wish, go ahead, challenge us."
Isabella doesn't back down. "I don't imagine the vampires are on your side in this war. You wish to exterminate all the humans, but the vampires need them to have something to drink."
Josh's smile falters, and he snarls. "You wouldn't dare ask the bloodsuckers for help. Everyone knows they are our enemies! A werewolf would be stupid to trust a vampire!"
William breathes a laugh. "If the vampires have the same enemy as us, I wouldn't mind a collaboration."
"Do you mean that?"
Once again, a new person enters the corridor. This time, it's Diana. She is a student, pale and beautiful and...
I pause.
She smells like a vampire. I've never noticed that before. Did she hide her scent in the past?
"I do," William tells her. "How about joining forces, vampire princess?"
Diana doesn't say anything but walks toward us. She joins our side and faces Josh with a smirk on her lips.
"Fate has chosen Josh as my mate, but I'm not interested in being with a werewolf who plans to remove my source of food off this planet. I don't like humans, but I need them to survive."
Josh growls at her. "So you are joining the Eternal pack?!"
"Yes," Diana says, eyeing us with curiosity washing over her delicate features. "For now, we share the same common enemy—you and your pack members."
I wet my parched lips. "I would also like to join the Eternal pack," my eyes land on William's surprised ones. "Please accept me as an official member, alpha William."
He studies my face for one minute before smiling. "With pleasure."
Isabella claps her hands and winks at the other werewolves. "Looks like you better leave with your tail between your legs, Josh."
Linda steps forward, holding up her hand. "I would also like to join the Eternal pack. My parents are humans, and my pack's values go against everything I believe in."
Teagan snarls. "Linda, how could you?!"
Alex is growling too. "If they don't accept you, you will be punished, girl. How can you openly betray us like this?!"
William turns to face me. I realize he is letting me decide whether to accept Linda or not.
The choice is an easy one to make.
Linda broke my heart. She has been a terrible friend, but she doesn't deserve to die, even if we might never be friends again.
"You may join us," I tell her in an ice-cold tone. "As your future luna, I accept you as a pack member. But if you ever betray us, I will kill you with my own teeth."
Linda's eyes widen, but she nods. "Understood."
I force a smile. "You might join our side."
Linda walks to stand next to Diana, and Isabella laughs. This whole situation seems to amuse her.
"Alright, Josh. Now you've even lost a member, so what are you planning on doing now?" Isabella sticks out her tongue. "You're three werewolves against five of us. Do you really wish to keep blocking the corridor?"
Josh grits his teeth but turns on his heel. "You've won this round, but our numbers are growing every day. Soon this school won't be considered natural grounds anymore."
"Oh," Diana snorts. "The other vampires and I will keep this school on safe grounds, mutt. School is the only highlight of our day and the only place where we have friends. Vampires aren't treated like dirt here, and even when we revealed our identity to the humans, they accepted us."
"Because you're not killing them," Josh says dryly. "And let's not forget that you remove their memories after drinking their blood. They don't have a reason to hate you, but things would definitely change if they knew your eating habits."
"Maybe," Diana says. "But luckily for me, we have our compulsion to take care of bothersome human memories. And once your pack is defeated, I plan on brainwashing the humans. They don't need to remember the werewolves."
Teagan scoffs. "Will you compel the entire world to forget about supernaturals then? Because we aren't the only city wanting a werewolf reign. Other packs are taking over their cities and countries too."
"I'm not sure what the future will bring," Diana says. "But I don't believe that supernaturals should rule this world."
"Why not?" Alex asks, shrugging. "We are far more powerful than humans, and we would make better leaders."
Diana snorts. "Most werewolves are power-hungry and never happy with their numbers. I believe a world led by werewolves would be a disaster," she faces William. "No offense."
"None was taken," William says. "I also don't believe werewolves should rule the world. What is happening right now is absolute madness. What year is this? Human executions on the street? Have I stepped into the middle ages by accident?"
The Crescent pack doesn't reply. They simply glare at us before following Josh down the corridor.
Once they are gone, I can finally breathe. I turn around to face the others with wide eyes.
"What the heck is happening in our world?" I ask.
"I don't know," William replies. "But I think it's time to gather all of our pack members and start training. A war is coming."