I’d known that this tryout was going to be hard, but I had no idea it would be impossible. I mean, basically impossible. I’d spent all summer training, focusing on my reaction speeds just like EJ warned, only to show up and find out that everything had changed. Like, CHANGED. Overnight.
My big competition for goalkeeper, Taylor, got bit this summer, the night of the Fourth of July. She and her brothers were lighting illegal fireworks out on the basketball court, late, after everyone had gone home from the city-sponsored show, and when the cops showed up she ran blindly into the woods toward the park, and that’s where it happened. I didn’t find out until I showed up at tryouts, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have come, or I would have went out, maybe, for volleyball instead. Because if you’ve seen Teen Wolf (and who hasn’t) you know that no one can beat a werewolf on a court or a field. No one. I looked like an idiot out there.
You’re up @vancityfya
I lifted myself from the field, my cheeks burning. From the center of a varsity team huddle, Taylor nodded at me as I left the field. I lifted my chin in response, even though I was daydreaming about charging across the dry grass and launching myself at her position-stealing face. In the daydream, I win, but in real life, she’d slaughter me. Quite possibly literally now. It was clear I’d be spending another season on the bench.
I decided to walk home to let the sweat my dry on my skin and the humiliation mellow. The sidewalks were dotted with fellow classmates shouldering backpacks and making their own disappointed ways home: the wannabe jock parade. I turned the corner onto my street and found myself on the heels of a blonde girl with her head bent down, looking at her phone, probably. Her wavy hair was twisted up and she wore a leather jacket over denim shorts, a slouchy bag bouncing at her side. An art kid maybe?
At the other end of the street, a car engine roared and we both looked up. I didn’t even see the other thing approach us until it had barreled into her, knocking her through Mrs. Thompson’s honeysuckle bushes. I raced through the break in the sweet-smelling flowers and greenery to find the girl on her knees, straddling the thing, with what looked like a silver letter opener at its throat. Â
What’s that all about, @fyaorlandonorth
The girl pushes the letter opener deeper into the, well, what I can only describe as a wolf-man’s neck, and asks with murder in her voice, “Why are you following me, kibble-breath?”
“You know why,” he growls, his eyes fixed on her hand. “She’s getting tired of waiting for you to bring her what is hers.”
“Well, she can wait until she drops dead,” the girl retorts. “I’m not giving it up until I get my brother back.”
“Just give her the—” the wolf starts, but she cuts him off.
“This is how this is going to go. I’m going to give you a nice little reminder of our time together—” She traces a line in his skin with the blade and a well of red follows. “—then you’re going to crawl back to your den and tell your master that she can meet me tomorrow night outside the school gym at halftime, with my brother, or I’m going to take her precious and bury it in the deepest, darkest hole in the farthest part of the wood I can find and she’ll never see it again.”
“You’re such a b—”
She knees him in the stomach, cutting off his air supply and sentence and waves the letter opener menacingly. “You really wanna go there, fur-brain?”
He scrambles back as she jumps off him and makes a rude gesture as he sprints around the side of the house. I swear he looks a little like one of my classmates but I can’t get a positive ID before I notice those sharp green eyes focus in on me.
I suck in a breath as she darts towards me with the blade still in her hand. “Whoa, whoa, don’t stick me!” I throw my hands up.
“How much did you hear?” she demands.
I weigh my options: should I lie or tell the truth?
@lrfya, it’s all yours!
My eyes flit down to the sharp blade in her hand, then back up to those green eyes shining with fire and intensity. The truth’s a lot less dangerous than lying. “All of it,” I say in a rush. “I’m sorry, please don’t stab me, I didn’t mean to, and I promise I’ll forget everything! I just—I saw you get attacked. I wanted to make sure you were okay.“ I’m flustered, and I’m having trouble forming sentences. “Was that…is he…does that werewolf go to Hamilton High School?” The blonde girl eyes me appraisingly. At her gaze, my skin flushes and my heart quickens. This makes me furious – it’s not like I’m some damsel in distress swooning over a mysterious hero. Yes, she is stunning, all legs and eyes and hair, but I know how to take care of myself! I was on my way to save her. Not that I’ve killed a werewolf before, but at least I have on my silver necklaces. Plus, I’ve got a tonic of wolfsbane oil mixed with holy water in my backpack for the direst of circumstances. Until I saw that letter opener, I was charging in like the cavalry to save the day. I stand a bit straighter, pushing my shoulders back and raising my chin. “Can I put my hands down now at least?” She nods and drops the letter opener. Apparently, I’ve passed whatever test she’s silently given me. “He’s a junior there. You know about werewolves?” she asks. “I just lost my varsity spot to one,” I say glumly. She rolls her eyes. “Your varsity spot? Really? How terrible for you,” she spits at me. “I lost my brother to an entire den, or weren’t you listening?” Oof. Open mouth, insert foot. Maybe two feet. “I’m an idiot. I apologize. His name’s Matt, right? He’s in my French class. Who’s his master, that you were talking about? You said you took something of hers?” Her mouth sets in a grim line. “You ask too many questions. Forget that you saw me here, or else.” She turns on her heel, grabs her bag, and starts to head back toward the road. I jog after her, coming up beside her and matching her stride. I’m not letting her get away that easily. “Why would a werewolf take your brother? It doesn’t make any sense.” I’m nervous as I say it. My response to our town having become a werewolf home base has thus far been defensive as opposed to offensive. The werewolves I’ve encountered up to this point have been mostly harmless, at least off the soccer field. I know in theory they’re dangerous, but here they’ve kept to themselves. I’d heard the girls in the locker room discussing that Taylor’s family had added a secure cell with chains in their rec room for the few nights of the month she changed. The girl sighed. “Because I stole something of hers. Now she’s taken my little brother hostage and she’ll turn him into one of them if I don’t give it back.”
What it do @lonfya?
This seems like a no brainer, and I’m sure there’s gotta be more to it, but I want to keep her talking so I go ahead and open my big mouth. “Give it back.” She rolls her eyes so hard I feel it in my retinas. “That guy –er –wolf? Whatever, he said she’d release your brother if you give it back. So…give it back. Problem solved.” “Because the last thing La Lupine is going to do is keep her word.” “La Lupine?” “That’s what she calls herself now. Her real name’s Stacey. Or Macey, or Casey. Something like that anyway. She was some big Queen Bee before she got turned and she used her popularity to make half this stupid town think werewolves aren’t dangerous.” I let out a little laugh. This girl’s obviously taken a knock to the head. “Dacey Jacobson isn’t a werewolf.” “You know her?” The girl stops walking to focus all her attention on me. It’s a little scary. “Of course I do. Her sister Emily is my best friend.” The girl smiles. “I think we got off on the wrong foot,” she holds out a hand for me to shake. “I’m Diana. I think we’re going to be great friends.”Â
Take it away, @kcmofya!
“Haven.” I answer, taking her hand. It’s surprisingly soft for someone who apparently spends her days looting and attacking werewolves.
“So, Haven, now that we’re BFFs, I’m going to need you to tell me everything you know about Dacey Jacobson.”
I hesitate for a minute. I do want to help her find her brother, but it almost feels like a betrayal of Emily. I’d never want to do something that could put her at risk. On the other hand, there’s no love lost between me and Dacey. She’s been tormenting Emily, and me by extension, since we were 8 years old. I guess it’s not that much of a stretch to think she’d be some kind of evil werewolf queen. La Lupine. That ridiculous faux French name sounds exactly like something Dacey would give herself. She could never allow herself to be just a common wolf. Besides, I really wanted to know more about Diana. She was fascinating and beautiful and could wield a letter opener like a switch blade.Â
“How do you feel about coffee?” I asked. “Let me buy you a cup and we’ll talk.”
@kcfya It’s all you!
There was nothing quite like the sting of fresh coffee permeating through the air. It was the only solace I could find as I stirred on my steaming cup of triple expresso while Diana downed hers like the fire hot coffee didn’t burn her throat in the slightest.Â
I told her as much of Dacey as I could manage on the walk over to the only half way decent cafe in town. She was the quintessential “IT” girl who peaked way too soon. After failing out her freshman year and calling it a sabbatical, she’d returned home to torment Emily and by proxy me too. Apparently looks could only get a person so far, and not showing up for class for months on end didn’t bode well with GPA. Only one of the Jacobsen girls had both beauty and brains, and I knew it killed Dacey to see Emily succeed where she had always failed.Â
“She’s insecure,” Emily had said after one of her infamous rants. “She doesn’t mean half of what comes out of her mouth.” “That doesn’t mean we have to take it,” I countered. “Why don’t you lure her outside and I’ll accidentally kick a ball into her face.” Emily snorted. “You’d have to make the shot first.” “Touche.”Â
Was that only yesterday? I wondered. I shook my head. Time was moving at the speed of a bullet. I hadn’t even called Emily yet to tell her the results of the tryouts. Though by my lack of response, I was sure she had figured it out. My information on Dacey was apparently not as enticing as Diana had expected. That, or the scowl on her face was permanently etched there. The two of us stared at each other in silence, sizing each other up. I knew couldn’t take the girl if she decided she wanted to fight. I mean, I could leave a good mark, but I saw the way she took down that wolf-man, and was no looking for a repeat performance.
“Sooooo,” I drawled out. “I’ve told you all I know. How about you tell me why my home is now infested with a bunch of slobbering dogs and how your family is in the middle of it?”
@fyadallas go for it!
Diana looked surprised - like maybe she hadn’t expected me to have that kind of backbone. “I don’t think you really need to know anything more than you do.”
“Oh really?” I replied, crossing my arms. The espresso was zinging through my veins like a firetruck on fire.  “I don’t think you’re in a position to make that case. Especially since I can offer you a way in to Dacey’s house - I mean, her den.”
“You can?”
“Yeah,” I said, hoping the plan that was starting to form in my brain wasn’t just the caffeine talking. Emily hated her sister enough that I knew she would help me bring her down. “So spill it. Why is our town crawling with furpeople?”
Diana pushed her empty coffee mug away and sighed. “From what I’ve gathered, Dacey was turned right around the time that she failed out of school. And she spent a year or two just, I don’t know, dealing with it. That’s probably why she was extra bitchy to you, with this secret bottled up inside just festering there. So she bit this mechanic dude.”
“I remember her banging some tattooed guy who worked on cars."
“He’s like her second in command now,” Diana says. “She started calling herself La Lupine, and they’re just terrorizing the town now, trying to turn as many people as they can.”
“What a bitch,” I said. “Not surprised, though.”
“So my little brother, he’s this uber-nerd who thinks he’s like Sherlock Holmes or something. He started sniffing around, trying to figure out how to stop her, and he discovered this thing she had, the source of all of her so-called power. And he took it. So she took him.”
“What was it?” I asked.Â
Diana cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “You’re never gonna believe this shit.”
What’s the precious object, @cltfya?? How will our heroes stop the werewolves?
