warning

The next day, Scarlett was in the classroom reviewing her notes when the door burst open. A group of boys walked in with confident steps, led by the same boy who clearly seemed to be their leader. Everyone—including Scarlett—looked up, sensing the shift in the atmosphere; it was as if the intensity of their gazes and the force of their presence filled the room with a heavy energy.

The leader walked straight up to Alex and, without bothering to hide his authoritative tone, said:

“We need to talk during the break.”

Alex nodded slightly without looking away, but his expression was different. Scarlett couldn’t help noticing the tension between them—an intensity that seemed ready to explode at any moment. Something about the scene made her uneasy; the leader’s gaze, fixed on Alex, felt like a silent challenge.

Does Alex have problems with this guy? she thought, though she quickly dismissed the idea. She didn’t want to meddle in his affairs, especially after last night’s dinner, which had been anything but comfortable. She could still feel the echo of the stares and the unspoken warnings from some members of Alex’s group, as if she were an intruder in marked territory.

She decided to focus on her own things, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something dark and unknown was about to be unleashed.

When the bell rang for the break, Alex stood up and rushed out of the classroom, heading toward his friends and the leader of his pack. Scarlett followed him with her eyes, noticing the urgency in his steps, but she held back from asking anything. Besides, her friend Leslie was already waiting to leave together.

They walked toward the lockers, chatting about trivial things, when Scarlett suddenly stopped in front of hers. What she saw left her speechless. Her locker was destroyed. There was a huge dent in it, as if someone had punched it with a fist.

“That’s impossible!” Scarlett said.

“What the hell?! What happened to my locker?” she exclaimed, staring at Leslie with wide eyes, unable to understand how or why this could have happened.

Leslie let out a nervous laugh and crossed her arms.

“I have no idea, but… we should talk to the principal. This is way too strange, don’t you think?”

Scarlett nodded, still confused.

As they walked away, Leslie turned to her with a curious expression.

“By the way, what happened last night? You didn’t tell me where you were, and that dinner scene… wow. It was pretty intense, don’t you think?”

Scarlett sighed, once again feeling the weight of the stares and the tension from the night before. She looked at her friend, trying to put into words what she had felt, but even for her it was hard to explain.

In a discreet corner near the trees at the edge of campus, Alex was surrounded by the members of his pack, with the leader standing in front of him, staring at him with a mix of frustration and anger. The others watched in silence, aware that this was a conversation that could change many things within the group.

The leader confronted him, his dark eyes hard as steel.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the book, Alex?” he said firmly, crossing his arms. The tension in his jaw was unmistakable. “I asked you what was going on with that girl, and you… you told me nothing. Did you lie to me?”

Alex held his gaze, his posture firm, though his breathing betrayed the agitation he was trying to control.

“It’s not what you think,” he replied, his tone attempting calm but carrying a spark of defiance that didn’t go unnoticed.

The leader stepped closer, closing the distance between them, his eyes burning with restrained fury.

“Then if it’s not what I think, why don’t you hand over the book?” he demanded. “Or better yet, hand her over too. I won’t allow someone like her to put our existence at risk. If you don’t do it, I will. I’ll go after her and the book—I’ll make sure both disappear.”

The words fell heavily in the air, tightening the atmosphere around them. Alex clenched his fists and stepped toward the leader.

“I warn you—no one touches her,” he said in a low voice, loaded with threat. “Not you. Not anyone.”

The leader looked at him in disbelief, his lips curling into a scornful smirk.

“Are you challenging me, Alex?” he asked, stepping even closer.

Alex didn’t back down.

“Take it however you want, but you’ve been warned. Scarlett is under my protection, and no one will lay a hand on her while I’m here.”

The leader stared at him for a long moment that felt eternal, then finally stepped back, his eyes still locked on Alex.

“Be careful, Alex. You’re playing a dangerous game,” he said, his voice cold and sharp as a blade.

Still glaring at him with fury and disdain, the leader seemed to weigh the challenge in Alex’s eyes. The warning was clear, but Alex didn’t look intimidated. He held his ground and, with a faintly defiant smile, replied:

“It doesn’t matter. I’m capable of anything for her—even facing you.”

The leader’s eyes flashed with contained rage, his fists clenched. The tension between them was palpable, and the other members of the pack exchanged nervous glances, fully aware that Alex had crossed a dangerous line.

“Don’t get too confident, Alex,” the leader said, his tone suggesting this was far from over. “Soon we’ll see if your resistance is as strong as you think.”

Without another word, the leader turned away and signaled for the others to follow, leaving Alex alone, determination burning in his gaze.

After an exhausting day at school, filled with exams and the constant tension of keeping an eye on Scarlett, classes finally ended. Alex let out a sigh of relief as he walked out of the last classroom. At last, he would have a moment of peace—or so he thought.

As he moved through the crowded hallways, his thoughts kept returning to Scarlett and the book she carried. Ethan’s warning was impossible to ignore, and the weight of the threat loomed over him like a shadow. Just when he thought he might escape the chaos and catch his breath, he heard firm footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw two members of his pack approaching quickly, their expressions serious and urgent.

“Alex, we need to talk,” one of them said, making it clear that the “peace” he was hoping for was far from arriving.

He stepped closer and whispered, making sure no one else could hear.

“Ethan is waiting for you in the forest—now,” he said, locking eyes with him. “And he says don’t be late.”

A jolt of tension ran down Alex’s spine. His last conversation with Ethan had been enough to put him on edge, but now things seemed to be taking a more serious turn. He nodded, appearing calm on the surface, though inside he knew this meeting didn’t bode well.

“I’ll be there,” he replied firmly, trying not to reveal the unease consuming him.

As the others walked away, Alex once again felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders.

He watched Scarlett walk away, making sure she was out of sight before heading toward the forest, where his leader, Ethan, was waiting. The trees formed a natural barrier that nearly isolated the place from the rest of the world, and the atmosphere grew heavier with every step he took. When he arrived, he found Ethan’s imposing figure waiting for him, his frown promising nothing good.

“You know this is serious, Alex,” Ethan said, crossing his arms. His voice was low, but there was a force in his words that left no room for argument. “The book is in her hands. We can’t take that risk.”

“She doesn’t know what she has,” Alex replied, trying to stay calm, though his pulse quickened. He looked at Ethan with determination, fully aware that he was playing with fire. “It’s not fair to condemn her for something she doesn’t understand.”

Ethan let out a humorless laugh and stepped closer until only inches separated them.

“Since when are we fair to humans? That book is ours, and she’s a danger as long as she has it. If you don’t do something about it, we’ll intervene ourselves.”

Alex clenched his fists, struggling to contain the fury burning in his chest. He didn’t want to betray his pack, but he wasn’t willing to hand Scarlett over either—not while she was in danger.

“I’ll take care of it,” he finally said, his voice firm but tense. “Give me time. She can’t know what we are or why we want that book. But I promise you, I’ll make sure it ends up in our hands.”

Ethan studied him in silence, then nodded, though his eyes showed little trust.

“You have until the next full moon. If you don’t recover it, you know what will happen,” Ethan said before turning and disappearing into the shadows of the forest, leaving Alex standing in the dim light, the weight of the decision pressing heavily on his shoulders.

Alex remained still in the forest, staring at the place where his companions had vanished. Ethan’s order was clear, but despite the pressure from his leader and his responsibility to the pack, his mind focused on only one thing: Scarlett.

There was something about her that went beyond curiosity—a connection he couldn’t understand but that drove him to protect her at all costs. The attraction he felt was deep, unexpected, and increasingly impossible to ignore. He wasn’t willing to let anything or anyone harm her, even if it meant defying his own kind.

Yet as he stood there, wondering how he could keep her safe without exposing himself or betraying his pack, the weight of the situation became undeniable. He was trapped between two worlds—and both seemed destined to collide.