All Chapters of Beneath The Moon: A Dawnblood Prophecy: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Axel. When Lucas and I head out for school that morning, we're already running ridiculously late. So late, in fact, that we miss the bus and end up walking the entire way to school. Panting from exhaustion as we walk down the school halls on arrival, Lucas suddenly stops in his tracks. “Oh, shit. Today’s the pop quiz. Remember?” Between stressing over tryouts and bracing for a full moon, I’d completely forgotten. “You studied, right?” I ask, giving him a look. “Dude, I played video games all night. I mean, until I realized you had... you know…” His voice trails off in a hushed tone. “But hey,” he says quickly, “you had Hayley tutor you, right? So we’re good?” As my mind drifts back to that evening, I realize that most of our time was spent reminiscing, catching up, and… kissing, and I can barely remember a thing that I was taught. Still, I shrug and mutter, “Yeah, sure.” As we step into class, the first thing we notice is the absence of our class teacher, Mr Mi

WARNING: This chapter contains graphic mentions of murder & violence. Reader discretion is advised. Hayley. Nudging the events from the cafeteria aside, I step into class. I glance around the room for a vacant seat to occupy, but there's only one—right next to Axel. I stiffen at the thought of being close to him as I stand at the door awkwardly for a little too long. Mrs. Cooper’s eyes lock onto me, clearly annoyed by the distraction. “Sorry, ma’am,” I whisper, conceding defeat as I weave through the desks and drop down next to him. As lecture resumes, I dig through my bag in search of a pen but I find nothing. When I look up, Axel is holding out one to me. I hesitate, wanting to refuse, but I have no choice. I take the pen, barely meeting his eyes. “Thanks.” He looks like he's about to say something, but a sudden knock at the door interrupts. A police officer with a heavy mustache and and a cowboy hat perched on his head steps inside. It’s the same officer who showed up

Axel. I sense the tackle coming before it even happens, but for some reason, I’m slow to react. Almost like my instincts are delayed. BAM. The opposing defender crashes into me headfirst, knocking me flat and snatching the ball mid-play. As I lie on my back the stadium's headlights sting my eyes, blurring my sight. I force myself upright and wave at the referee, hoping for a foul. He doesn’t call it—and he’s right. It wasn’t a foul. But I’m seething now. Not just from the hit. It’s everything. The whole situation with Hayley and Shane; it has me on edge much more than I know and my anger is bubbling over now. In a split second, I do something reckless. I rise to my feet and stride straight toward the player who just tackled me. Without thinking, I ram my shoulder hard into his face and he stumbles back, clutching his nose as blood begins to trickle down. The referee’s whistle cuts through the noise in the stands. He motions for a stoppage and rushes over to the downed

Hayley. “What? Not again,” I say to Corey, half-laughing. “I’m serious,” she grumbles, throwing the last piece of popcorn into her mouth before tossing the empty bucket into a nearby trash bin. “The movie had a terrible ending.” I shake my head, smiling. “The good guy ended up with the good girl, Corey. I don't see how that's bad.” “Yeah—except the good guy’s kind of a dummy,” she replies with a shrug. I can't help but laugh at her words. Classic Corey. Every movie has a “terrible” ending in her book. Sometimes I think she'd make a great career of being a movie critic. Night has fully settled now as we stroll down the street, surrounded by only a handful of other moviegoers drifting away from the theater. As we reach Corey’s street, I glance at her. “You think your mom’s going to be mad you stayed out this late?” She checks her phone. “Well, it’s only thirty minutes past curfew, but yeah—she’ll probably flip,” she says with a small grin. I stop to hug her goodbye. “

Hayley. I try to calm the quiver in my belly as I pull my gaze away from the wall. Trudging back into the hallway, my senses struggle to make meaning of what I've just seen. It seems unbelievable, and yet... I'm certain of what I saw. Something is deeply, impossibly wrong. I know that much now. From the creature in the woods that moved like it was part of the night itself, and now to this—this show of inhuman strength... There’s more to all of it. And I need answers. I reach the classroom door and I'm just about to walk in when someone steps out, colliding into me. The books in my arms tumble to the floor. “Sorry—” I start to apologize, already bending down to gather them. Just then, I glance up and my eyes meet the figure I've just bumped into: ginger hair and a square jaw. Theo doesn’t say a word and we just stare at each other for a few seconds. When a familiar flutter stirs inside me from simply staring at his face, I blurt out a quick, “sorry,” and move to head ins