WEREWOLVES vs VAMPIRES

I hate watch duty.It is freezing. My breath making clouds in the air. I am stuck at the edge of our woods, staring at the creepy trees where they live. The vampires.My dad, the Alpha, says they are monsters. Leeches. I have believed that my whole life.Something moved in the dark over there. I went still. I could feel someone watching me. Their sentry. We never see each other, but we both know we are here. It has been like this for weeks.Then, a loud crack.A huge stag stumbled out between the trees, right in the middle of the no-go zone. It was hurt bad, bleeding. This was trouble. If it died there, it could start a fight. My pack would blame them. Their coven would blame us.I did not think. I just ran toward it to help.A blur of black moved faster than I could. Suddenly, a vampire was there, right by the dying animal.I skidded to a stop. My hands curled into fists.She looked up.And I froze.She was not a monster. She was a girl. Maybe my age. Pale, with dark hair and these c

A wild, desperate hope flashed in me. I could say yes. A forbidden meeting with a girl from a rival wolf pack would be trouble, but it was a normal kind of trouble. It was a lie he might believe.But I could not make myself say it. I just stared at the swirling water.My silence was the answer. Rylan leaned back, his face closing off. “Fine. Keep your secrets. But whatever it is, it is making you weak. And a weak Alpha gets us all killed.”He got out and left me there. His words were worse than my father’s. They were true.The week dragged. The secret was a rock in my gut. I was failing my pack, lying to my best friend, and for what? An hour of conversation with a vampire who was probably just gathering information. The doubt was a poison.By the time the next meeting night came, I was half-convinced I should not go. This was suicide. For both of us.I went anyway.I was angry when I got to the tower. At her, at me, at the whole stupid world. She was waiting.“You are late again,” she

The ice in my veins spread to my stomach. Rylan’s eyes were dark, not angry yet, but searching. He knew I was lying.My mind spun. I could say I took a different path. I could say I saw a mountain lion and went tracking. But Rylan had known me since we were pups. He would hear the lie in my heartbeat.So I did the only thing I could. I told him a piece of the truth.“I was at the old tower,” I said, making my voice tired. “The broken one.”“The Dead Zone? Why?” Rylan’s suspicion sharpened. “That is neutral ground. Dangerous.”“I know.” I rubbed the back of my neck, looking past him. “I just… I needed to think. Away from everyone. The south ridge was just an excuse.”I braced myself for more questions. Why think there? What was so heavy you had to go to a ruin?But Rylan’s shoulders loosened just a little. “It is about your dad, is it not?”I blinked. “What?”“The pressure,” Rylan said, his voice dropping. “The whole ‘future Alpha’ thing. The lectures. I get it, Kaelen. It is a lot.” H

The morning of the attack dawned silent and still, a pale, cold sun bleeding into a steel-grey sky. The quiet felt wrong. It felt like the world was holding its breath. I stood in the center of the camp, my chosen nine wolves around me. Rylan, Jax, Fenna, Bor, and the others. They were checking straps, testing bowstrings, their breath fogging in the freezing air. They looked at me, waiting for the order to move out. They saw their future Alpha, ready for his first command. I saw the trust I was about to break. My father emerged from his lodge, fully armored in engraved leather and fur. He looked like a mountain carved into a man. He strode over, his gaze sweeping over my small force. “A lean group,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “But you chose for speed, not strength. A clever tactic for bait.” He put a heavy hand on my shoulder. “You hold the line, Kaelen. You make them believe the fight is on the bridge. Lure them in. Do not break. Do not pursue. Hold.” His eyes bore into mi