KALI KEDUA

 “Your Honor, we are not here to argue whether my client was attacked. We are here to question why Mr. Marco Kent, an unregistered citizen, used a knife to leave a seventeen-year-old girl in a coma.” Serena said to the judge as she stood spine straight and with a voice loud and clear.

The courtroom was quiet. Too quiet.

Serena Vale adjusted her glasses, her brown eyes scanning the man sitting in the defendant’s chair—hands cuffed, eyes golden, fangs twitching beneath a forced human disguise.

Another rogue.

Whispers could be heard across the benches. Most people in this city still didn’t know creatures like him existed. But Serena did.

He was a powerful and dangerous man who always found a way to evade court decisions, so most lawyers avoided cases like that. But this was Serena's specialty.

Because she hunted them. Legally, at least.

Outside the courthouse, the city pulsed like a heartbeat—bright lights, honking taxis, caffeine-soaked students crossing campus grounds. 

Serena blended in like a shadow among them, clutching case files instead of textbooks. Her life was a balancing act between final-year law classes and secret investigations that no one dared talk about. Not even her best friend, Rose, who worked in the FBI’s division.

Serena was the girl who didn’t sleep. The girl who believed coexistence between humans and werewolves was possible—if the monsters who abused their power were stopped.

But what no one, not even Serena herself, knew was this:

She wasn’t human.

That night, after winning the case, Serena returned to the Vale Pack estate—a hidden sanctuary nestled in the city's overgrown outskirts. A full moon hung low, veiled behind storm clouds. 

Her parents were super excited to see her. 

“Oh my trophy. Come here baby.” Her mother welcomed her with a warm hug.

Serena leaned into her mother’s hug for only a second before stepping back, already slipping out of her heels.

“You’ve barely eaten,” her father noted, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wooden archway of the kitchen. “You look like you fought the case and ran five miles back.”

“I won,” she replied, smirking as she tossed her jacket on the couch. “Again.”

Her father grunted, unimpressed but proud in the way only Alpha fathers could be. His salt-and-pepper beard and commanding build still struck fear into many, but Serena only saw the man who once taught her how to throw a punch and tie her first tie.

She only saw the man who taught her to fight using the law since she could fight like other werewolves did. The man who did everything to send her to school even though the pack suffered financially.

“Marco Kent is going away,” she added, slipping off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Minimum of ten years, maybe more. No loopholes. No supernatural interference. I worked with my bones for this one.”

Her mother clapped her hands. “That’s my girl. You’re doing the Moon’s work, sweetheart.”

Serena gave a half-laugh, though something heavy still sat beneath her ribs. The golden-eyed rogue had smirked as the verdict was read. Like he knew something she didn’t. That unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

She turned toward the kitchen, drawn by the smell of chicken and garlic bread. Her mother always cooked on nights like this—when Serena came back from the city worn thin, when justice was served but her soul still felt raw.

As Serena sat at the long wooden table, her father placed a worn leather file in front of her.

“Dad,” she said with narrowed eyes. “I just got home.”

“Read it,” he said, voice serious. “This one might be linked to the attacks from last spring.”

She opened the folder slowly, skimming over the first page. A fifteen-year-old girl, Clara Myles, missing. Found barely breathing near the West trail, her neck torn, but healing unnaturally fast—signs of transformation. A transformation she didn’t choose.

Serena’s stomach twisted. The council had strict laws about getting involved with minors, especially without consent. Biting a child was a violation of both human law and pack code.

“I’ll look into it tomorrow,” she said, closing the file. “I have lectures in the morning, but I can go after.”

“No,” her mother interjected gently. “Tonight you rest. You haven’t stopped for weeks, Serena. Just eat. Breathe.”

Serena hesitated. Then gave a tired nod.

For now, she could pause. Just for a few hours.

Later that night, she stood on the balcony outside her childhood room, the wind tugging strands of her dark curls from their bun. The estate was still, the pack settled in for the night, lights low, the woods whispering in the distance.

She had changed into soft joggers and a hoodie, though her mind still wore a suit and heels. She could never fully shut off the other life. Too much rode on her balance.

A shadow moved below.

Serena froze, her eyes sharpening.

Then a voice floated up. “You’re getting slower, Vale.”

Serena exhaled. “Aeron.”

Her childhood friend stepped into the moonlight, his easy grin visible even from where she stood. “You didn’t notice me till I was ten feet from the oak. Tsk.”

“You were downwind,” she replied, leaning on the rail. “Try harder next time.”

He chuckled. “You’re going soft in that courtroom.”

“Says the guy who nearly passed out after sparring with me last week.”

Aeron gave her a mock salute. “Touché.”

Then his tone shifted. “I watched the trial online. You were incredible, you know.”

Serena shrugged. “I just did my job.”

“You did more than that.” He paused. “It’s not just about court wins with you. You’re actually making a difference. Even the Alpha's impressed—and that man rarely smiles.”

Serena smiled faintly, the praise landing somewhere fragile inside her. “It’s not enough yet. There are more like Marco Kent. Too many. Also I'm my dad's baby. Of course he’ll smile if it involves me.”

Aeron’s face sobered. “I know.”

They stood in silence, letting the night wrap around them like an old friend.

Then Aeron asked, “Do you think we’ll ever tell them?”

Serena knew what he meant. The humans. The world. The people she walked beside every day, who didn’t know that monsters and guardians moved in their midst.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe someday. But not until we’re sure they’re safe from those who abuse the gift. From the ones who turn children and rip out hearts without remorse.”

“And from the ones who hide behind courtrooms and technicalities,” he added.

Serena nodded.

Suddenly, a howl echoed in the distance—long, low, and mournful.

Both the friends stiffened.

“My wolf feels tight and wants to take a run. Care to join? Oops there's no wolf there.” Aeron said laughing.

“I see what you did there asshole.” She replied with a smirk.

Serena watched him transform and vanish into the shadows again, his presence dissolving like smoke.

She turned back to the sky.

The moon was full now, no longer hidden behind clouds.

Her fingers curled around the balcony rail, and beneath her skin, something old stirred.

She didn't know what tomorrow kept for her but she knew tomorrow had more corrupted werewolves to be taken down.

It was a new day and Serena went out to fetch some water, when Lily and her friend were passing by and

saw her so they decided to stop. 

“If it's not the adopted human and her annoying scent, who else do we have here.” Lily said.