Chapter 2 Red eyes on the mountain

"No. It wasn't you, Ralph," Elera said as she took another tray. "You know how he was, I broke up with him because he was being a jerk.” She walked away with another tray of customers' orders.

Ralph exhaled dramatically. “It's not me. I didn't cause this,” he mumbled to himself. He took his tray and served as well. Chattering and laughter filled the air, as customers were engaged in their conversations.

After everyone had left in the late evening, Ralph was done cleaning up, and he noticed Elera dialing a number repeatedly on her phone. It went straight to voicemail each time. He could see how stressed she was. He walked toward her and sat. “I'm sorry about your breakup.”

"It's fine,” Elera said quietly, then dialed the number again. Ralph saw the name and it was Elera’s best friend – Lucia. Then Elera sighed deeply. “I just hope she's fine,” she muttered almost to herself.

“What happened?" Ralph asked curiously.

“Lucia had not been picking up my calls," Elera said, her voice heavy with worry.

"When was the last time you talked?” Ralph asked.

"Two days ago,” Elera said. "We had a fight, but our fight usually didn't last a day. So I was worried about why she hadn't called yet. But I was really angry so I did not call her. When I didn't see her call, I tried to call her number, and it wasn't reachable. I just hope she is okay and safe,” Elera explained.

Ralph could see the worry on her face. Lucia was her friend and they attended Ridgehaven Academy together and they were both betas. “Of course. She'll be fine,” Ralph muttered. But he could see Elera's claws dipping into her palm, she was bleeding. Even though she would heal, he was still worried. She just broke up with her boyfriend and her best friend was not reachable. “Take it easy, Elera,” Ralph said. “You know there will be a full moon in three days.”

He just hoped her friend was found before then, otherwise, if she went berserk the Vanguards – human warriors that protect the humans from supernaturals – may shoot her down if she tries to hurt anyone.

Thinking of how helpless he was – almost everyone around him had claws, fangs, gifts, even good in combat. That forced him to think about how pathetic his life was and how long he was going to last if the supernaturals were going missing. It wasn't like he had any power to defend himself.

“Conan made you late today too?" Elera asked.

“Huh?" Ralph shook his head. “It wasn't like that."

Elera scoffed. “How long are you going to defend him? You should learn to reject people sometimes, after all, he wasn't the one who adopted you. His father did.”

Without another word, Elera stood up and stormed out. Ralph watched her walk out and sighed. He checked the time on the wall, it was after seven. He hurried to close the cafe and go find Conan. Now he was curious to know more about the missing kids

He took his backpack and jacket, turned off the lights. He was about to close the door when Conan's car pulled up in front of the Cafe. He blinked in surprise, then got inside the car.

“I thought you said eight o'clock."

Conan ignited and drove. "My informant said those people took another student and they are going to the mountain now."

Ralph exhaled. "I think they had taken my co-worker's friend too.”

“Elera's friend?" Conan frowned. "I saw her two days ago. That night I wanted to trail them, but it was unsuccessful. But I don't know if she got out.”

Ralph's body went still. That day, Conan had told him he was knocked out and found himself inside his car the next morning. But that wouldn't make him stop anyway. But Elera's friend, he wondered what she was doing in school late at night.

His throat tightened at the thought that kept coming to him. “Does that mean she's dead?"

Ralph and Conan had walked through the woods into the mountains, for the past fifteen minutes. They had already lost the people they wanted to follow – they were wandering. Later Conan let his wolf take control and he had been directing him, and Ralph was just following. Until they heard the waves of the ocean.

They were by the rock, looking at the shoreside from afar. Some men were at the shoreside, dragging someone – a mermaid. She had already transformed, her tail thrashing as she tried to break free.

Ralph heard Conan's low growl. “That's Mira." Conan gritted his teeth. “We attended history class together this afternoon.”

Before Ralph could say another word, they heard a loud howl cutting through the night. A werewolf howl. Loud enough for the whole town to hear and also different. Something about it made the air feel heavier. Wrong somehow, even to Ralph's untrained ears. He could see Conan's body tense, his growl was getting louder, as if his wolf was threatened. Conan turned and ran toward the sound.

Ralph glanced back at the shore. The men were already fleeing, scattered by the howl. The mermaid seized her moment – crawling back to the ocean, her tail cutting through the water, until she disappeared into the deep.

Ralph followed Conan panting hard as he ran, he finally left the mountainside and back in the woods. Conan was no longer in sight. He kept running between the trees until he found him. Conan was already in his werewolf form, and standing right in front of a red-eyed, giant werewolf on all fours – an Alpha.

Ralph heard Conan's soft whine before he saw it – the way Conan's body shifted. Ralph could see clearly that Conan felt threatened as he stepped back slowly. His amber eyes met Ralph’s for just a second before he retreated into the woods. Ralph took a deep breath, knowing this time, he was dead.

His mind was already fleeing, yet his limbs refused to move. Then he felt another presence in the woods. Leaves crunched as it moved closer behind him. He desperately wanted to know what it was – but not with another predator in front of him. His heart pounded so hard against his chest that he could hear his own heartbeat. His knee weakened and he fell to the ground.

The Alpha growled, then lunged.