Chapter 4

Home... it was a funny word. My house wasn't a home. It was just a building with four walls, from which I took shelter. It wasn't a large apartment. We weren't rich, but mum basically worked her butt off, and being an only child meant I could basically have whatever I wanted. Laying on my bed, I felt like a piece of decoration in my own house.

Esme called later that evening to tell me she had my clothes from last night and she'd cleaned them up for me.

"Oh, thank you, I'll come get them myself tomorrow,"

"I don't think you need to stress yourself, I'll just bring them with me on monday,"

"Oh no, it's fine, I'll actually be passing through there tomorrow. I... have a date."

"How am I just hearing about this? Who's the guy?" Esme bubbled over the phone

"Yeah, this is why I didn't tell you. It's not a big deal. He just had an extra ticket and happened to bump into me in town."

"Who is it?"

"James"

"Ooh, he's not too bad on the eyes,"

"Oh my God, goodbye, Esme." I heard her giggle as I hung up. That girl was a hopeless romantic. I found it hard to believe that she hadn't been with a single guy in all the time I'd known her, and she had lots of them lined up.

I lay in bed all night, scrolling through my phone, laughing at cat videos, and watching teenagers my age have a life. Slowly, my eyes began to feel heavier, and my mind drifted till I finally fell asleep, snuggled up in my sheets.

I woke up feeling refreshed, no doubt in anticipation of my date with James. Sunday evening drew in pretty slow. It was probably a result of my lack of occupation at home or that I just couldn't wait to get some much needed answers. I'd spent the whole day doing nothing, till I had an hour left, I couldn't decide what to wear.

I went into the bathroom to freshen up and eventually decided on a short flowery dress paired with a denim jacket and brown sandals. I'd put zero thought into my outfit. It wasn't a real date, plus we'd be in a dark movie theatre half the time. I sprayed on some perfume and brushed out my hair with a special brush that helped keep my curls in.

I only had to wait a few minutes before James's Honda Civic pulled up in front of my house. I grabbed a small handbag to fit my phone and keys, then went out. He came out of the car in a pair of faded blue jeans and a blue shirt. He had on a sleeveless cardigan over the shirt. He sported blue slip ons for

footwear, and his blonde curls were gelled back into a sleek ponytail.

He looked good, and I started to feel very inadequate.

"Good evening, you look lovely, Eva." James complimented as he held the door for me.

Liar. "Thanks, you too," I tried being polite. "Can we stop at the Lightwood mansion? I need to pick something up."

"Yeah, sure,"

When we reached Esme's place, all the lights inside seemed to be turned off. I was worried she wasn't home.

"Wait here, I'll be back," I said before leaving the car.

The front door was unlocked, so I proceeded inside. I'd left my purse in the car so I couldn't use my phone's torch. I managed to get around with the illumination from the night sky.

Just when I thought I'd almost reached Esme's room, I bumped into the wall.

"Ah!" I groaned, rubbing my forehead. I reached out again, feeling for the wall. It was hard for sure, but why did it feel so warm? I inched closer, realising too late that it wasn't a wall.

"What do you want?" His cold voice spoke to me in the dark. I could picture him staring at me with those disdainful eyes.

"Where's Esme?" I questioned back, I wasn't going to let him intimidate me this time.

"I asked you a question." he sounded angry, nothing new there.

I heard a door open down the passage, and then the lights came on.

"Oh Esme, you're here, so sorry. I was in the home theatre, and you know how I like to intensify my horror movie experience by creating the perfect ambience"

I nodded and casually moved away from Kieran. Esme pulled me into her room to gush over my 'date'

"And next time, I'm picking your outfit,"

I winced. "Is it that bad?"

"No... It's just, umm, really simple."

"Well, I told you it wasn't a date,"

"Sureeee"

Esme handed me a small bag. "Your clothes are in there. You can return the bag whenever"

"Thanks, now if you'll excuse me, I mustn't keep my date waiting," I said in a mock tone as Esme and I laughed.

She accompanied me downstairs, where Kieran was, staring right at James with a weird expression on his face. I ignored him and got back in the car with James.

We made it to the cinema on time. The movie lasted about two hours, and I couldn't wait till after to talk to James. He'd brushed off every attempt I'd made on our way, but I wasn't going to give up just yet.

Above, the night sky had blessed us with thousands of stars glistening above. It was the perfect night to just sit and wonder at the beauty of the cosmos. I waited till we had almost reached the border between the two towns, then I asked James to pull over.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Just look around. It's a beautiful night. Too beautiful to just end with you taking me straight home. Let's appreciate nature. No one is going to be driving around here anytime soon anyways"

I got out of the car and sat on the hood.

"Come on, James. What are you waiting for?"

He soon joined me on the hood as I relaxed, looking up at the starry night.

"Aren't they beautiful?"

He looked at me before answering.

"Yes, they are."

"I've always felt a connection to the night sky, you know, like something pulling me in. Sometimes, I think the night is even lovelier around here. You can see the moon at its apex, feel its glow... that's why I really couldn't resist going into the woods the other day." I chuckled lightly.

"You know the woods aren't safe, especially around the Lightwood mansion,"

"Why? Is it because of the wolves?"

He stilled, fixing his gaze in front of him. "You saw them?"

"Of course not. I just heard them howling, like really far away. I don't think there's anything to be worried about. I'd love to go back there again to just lay on the ground and gaze at the stars,"

"You really don't know anything about town myths, do you?"

"Well, only two people could possibly tell me things like that, and one of them is dead. The other is hardly ever around." I felt some of my inner frustration seep out. James looked at me with eyes filled with sympathy.

"It's a good thing, you know, so I won't be the only kid that doesn't know about the town's folklore," I humoured, trying to lighten the mood again.

"You know about the fire down at the Lightwood mansion?" He started.

"Yes, I do. It was all charred and smoked till the Lightwoods came into town and decided to take up residence there."

"Do you know what caused the fire?"

"Umm, no"

"It happened 15 years ago, back when the Lightwood mansion was called the Crescent Manor. It was home to lots of people who had lost their homes or were orphaned. It was owned by a wealthy couple. The strange thing about the people that stayed there is they all had similar stories. Claws, sharp teeth, and howling in the night. There were several reports of animal attacks during that time, and the cops kept trying to hunt down the wolves that were terrorising the locals."

"So you think the wolves never really left, and they're still lurking around the woods?" I asked, already getting lost in the story myself.

"No, well yes, but the thing is they weren't just animals. The people believed they were demons, shapeshifters that fed on human flesh. The attacks happened at the strangest times and places. It's hard to believe that wolves would just leave all the prey in the forests and go out to hunt humans. The townsfolk grew suspicious of those at the crescent Manor. They were different and often isolated themselves,"

"The last straw was when a cop went missing around those parts, the people led a mob to the Crescent Manor. It was on a full moon that night. The townsfolk discovered some of its inhabitants in transition, while some were still fully human. They killed as many of them as they could and burnt the place to the ground."

"If any had survived, they were not seen after that night. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that wolf presence was detected close by. No alarm has been raised yet. People believe they could be normal wolves."

As he finished, I wasn't sure what to say. I had been expecting a normal human occurrence, but werewolves? How was I supposed to react to that?

"So, you're telling me that the Lightwood mansion used to be home to... werewolves," I said quietly as though saying the word out loud would summon the creatures. It was probably just a myth, nothing more.

"Yes. And if the wolves really are back, we are all doomed."