Haven
Bloodcurdling cries echoed throughout the manor.
Wearing only his birthday suit, wandered down a long corridor that led to the front exit. An explosive migraine rocked him, his forehead pulsating as a blinding light momentarily consumed his vision. What’s happening to me? he thought to himself as he leaned against the door of a small storage closet.
“Bah! Stay back!” The panicked voice of Quinn brought back to reality. The blonde werewolf tumbled back as the closet door swung open with great force, revealing a disheveled group of familiar faces and strangers alike.
“Ha-?” asked Magnus, pushing through the group and grabbing his friend by the shoulders. “It’s okay, folks. He’s a good guy like us. This is our friend, .”
Quinn, Kale, Julian, and Fen filed out of the closet, their eyes studying the hallway carefully for signs of life.
“I-I think we should leave, Maggie baby,” Fen whispered as he pushed between Magnus and . “ looks ill.”
“I feel ill,” replied . “Dr. Dark Moon is— she’s inside my head.”
“Let’s go this way, then,” urged Julian, pushing past the trio of werewolves.
“No!” commanded Fen, his voice stern. “I know what happens if you go that way, and it’s not pretty.”
“What do you mean, you know? ” asked Quinn.
Magnus put his hand on Quinn’s shoulder. “It’s a long story.”
“Try us,” Kale interjected, puffing his chest and pushing it against Magnus as he spoke.
“I have visions,” began Fen. “And in them, the one you call Silver Wolf kills all of you.”
“Pruitt Mondamin?” Quinn scoffed. “He’s on our side.”
Fen shook his head, a solemn look on his face.
“Turns out we’re some of the only werewolves not under Luna’s control,” added Magnus, his attention turning from back to his boyfriend. “According to what Fen has seen, she has some kind of control over anyone she bites or scratches. Anyone they infect, too. Just like your friend, it appears.”
On cue, a gagged, bound, and blindfolded Darcy tumbled out of the closet.
“And like yours, too?” Julian asked, knocking his shoulder into .
“So this can affect non-werewolves, too?” Quinn asked, looking Darcy up and down. “Or are you guys saying that he’s…”
Fen and Magnus shrugged.
fumbled, stepping back and using his hands to cover his exposed private parts. “I-It’s not my fault,” he muttered. “Very big day coming. Big game. Big reveal. Darcy knows this, too.”
Quinn furrowed a brow. “Big game, huh?”
“What’s this evil doctor lady want, anyway?” Kale asked, turning to Fen.
Fen simply pointed at Kale with one hand, using the other to slide a finger across his neck.
“My god,” Quinn thought aloud as he put his hand to his forehead. “It’s one thing to command this horde of rowdy college boys, but a rogue werewolf controlling the First Werewolf!?”
“Shh!” Magnus replied. “Wait a second. Your friend is?—”
Fen instinctively covered Magnus's mouth, gesturing for the men to duck back inside of the closet as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the hall. The vampires grabbed up Darcy while the werewolves took hold of , the entire group jamming themselves back into their original hiding spot and quickly closing the door behind them.
The footsteps were replaced by the sound of men talking. “They can’t have gone far. Check all the bedrooms.”
“Let’s just bite a couple of these guys,” Julian whispered as soon as the sound of footsteps disappeared. “That’ll stop ‘em. No offense to you wolves. ”
Magnus shook his head no. “It’s not their fault. They’re controlled.”
“Him, too, huh?” Kale asked, looking to . “Why aren’t we tying him up like Darcy?”
“Hold on,” Fen interrupted. “Did you say something earlier about the First Werewolf?” he asked, grabbing at the collar of Quinn’s shirt.
“Wait a second,” Quinn whispered in response. “This isn’t about what I think it is, is it?”
Fen and Magnus looked at one another, then back to the professor.
“King of Wolves?” Quinn asked, his voice low.
Fen nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay, wow.” Quinn’s eyes widened. “We need to get out of here and regroup.”
“No kidding,” said Kale. “But what about our little spies?”
“How do you stop the mind control thing?” Julian chimed in. Fen leaned in to whisper in the vampire’s ear. “Makes sense.”
leaned back against the farthest wall of the space, his face covered in sweat. Can’t let her back in. Can’t let her see, he thought to himself.
Quinn studied ’s features before speaking again. “Look, I think we need to…” The vibration of a cell phone caught everyone’s attention and cut Quinn off. The sound came from Darcy. Quinn looked from Kale to Julian, then from Magnus to Fen and finally before reaching over and fishing through Darcy’s pockets. He pulled out Darcy’s phone and tapped at the screen.
“What!?” asked Julian as Quinn’s jaw dropped. “What’d you find, Quinn?”
“Just surprised he doesn’t have a lock code,” said Quinn before scrolling through Darcy’s text messages. “Oh, that— and Griff texted saying that he and Uriah are safely out of town.”
nudged Magnus. “How about the underground tunnels?”
“No,” Magnus shook his head. “We’d never reach the access point.”
I can’t let my friends get hurt, reminded himself. Can’t let Griff’s friends get hurt. Taking a random coat hanging in the closet and wrapping its arms around his waist, he stepped forward. “I think I know what we have to do then,” whispered .
“What’s that?” Kale asked, his voice low.
hesitated before speaking up again. “Go out the front door.”
As quietly as he could, opened the closet door and peered down the long hallway. The coast was clear, so he gestured to the group to follow. Kale tossed Darcy over his right shoulder as they moved silently. Fen followed closely behind and signaled the men to head into the great hall, now a wreckage of the party it once was.
A familiar chirp stopped Quinn in his tracks. He smiled as his familiar perched on his shoulder. “There you are,” the vampire witch whispered. “Stay close.”
Windsling lifted a wing up to his mouth to indicate silence, and Quinn nodded.
“Not so fast!” a stern voice from behind surprised the group. “I can’t have my guests leaving empty-handed.”
, Fen, and Magnus spun around to see Gaius and Strix.
“Strix,” Magnus bared his fists. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s this woman…” Strix stepped forward, feigning a shy composure. “I know, I know. They say you shouldn’t let love control you, but…”
“ But? ” Fen asked.
Strix’s voice changed, now mimicking Luna’s. “But what can I say? Love’s a bitch.”
“And so are you,” hissed , his pupils flashing as his werewolf eyes shined through.
“Maggie,” Fen trembled, grabbing at his boyfriend’s arm. “This. This was in my vision.”
“Fen, show our guests the door while I have a chat with our house father,” Magnus said through clenched teeth. “, you stay with me.”
Fen backed up, surveying his surroundings before he grabbed hold of Quinn and whispered into his ear.
“Magnus, it’s a shame Gaius and I have to excommunicate you from Dark Moon Manor in such a—well, how should I say it— bloody way,” Strix said.
Gaius revealed a bat with sharp metal spikes protruding from it. “Don’t forget, boss,” he chuckled, pointing his weapon at Magnus. “This one’s a screamer.”
“There is one alternative, I suppose,” Strix said with a cackle. “We could always ask here to give you a quick bite.”
“No way,” rebuffed.
“Now, hold on a second,” interrupted Quinn as he stepped forward. “As a member of the Mystic Hollow University faculty caucus, I have to say this is no way for a school employee like yourself, Mr. Strix, to treat students just looking for an education.”
“Don’t worry,” replied Gaius. “You’re next, dirty vamp.”
“And you?” Quinn prodded, gently pulling back behind him. “Who are you?”
“He’s the president of our fraternity,” said through gritted teeth. Fen comforted him, putting his hands on the taller werewolf’s shoulders and pulling him back toward the exit.
“To think, a leader in the student community condoning such violence.” Quinn shook his head. “Then all I have to say is this: Magnus, duck.”
Magnus turned his head back to the professor. “Huh?”
“Duck,” the professor repeated before tackling Magnus to the ground. With the flick of his wrist, Quinn sent the long metal ladder Magnus had used earlier in the day flying past them, spinning in circles as it went.
Gaius’s eyes grew wide. Dropping the bat, he turned to run just as the ladder impaled his head. Strix had little time to react, the ladder smashing him in the back and sending him flying.
Quinn quickly jumped to his feet, cueing Windsling to follow.
“What did I tell you about leaving the ladder just sitting around like that?” Fen teased as he and helped up a startled Magnus.
With Darcy in tow, Kale and Julian made it out the front door unharmed as Quinn, Magnus, , and Fen rounded the corner to enter the front foyer. “Everything okay?” asked as Fen froze.
“I’ve seen this before, too,” Fen thought aloud.
“Just tell me what to do,” Quinn replied. Windsling chirped as though he were in on the conversation, as well.
“I’ll tell you what to do.” Quinn didn’t recognize who the voice belonged to, but the werewolves with him did. Rolf appeared from the adjoining hallway, flanked by Devon, Nik, and Dachre.
Quinn vamped out as Rolf ran a flag pole through his chest. “You son of a bitch!” the professor cursed, snapping the pole in half and pulling it out of the wound. “You missed.”
Quinn nailed Rolf upside the head with the broken pole, knocking him out. Devon and Nik hurried to pull off their clothes, Dachre opting to let his rip apart as he transformed into wolf form. “Don’t worry. I won’t,” growled the latter.
“Let me handle them,” hissed, his wolf claws ripping through the flesh of his hands. I can’t let her control me like she controls them, he thought to himself. No one controls me.
Magnus grabbed for him, but the blonde werewolf shrugged him off. “, no! Let’s go, now.”
Fen pushed Magnus out the front door, turning back to grab Quinn’s hand. “The carpet,” he whispered into the injured vampire’s ear.
Quinn looked back to see his three adversaries charging at him in one long, straight line. “Good call,” he said with a wink, rolling up the long runner—and all those standing on it—with a flick of his wrist.
“Fuck!” cursed Devon.
“C’mon, kid,” Quinn said as he nudged . “That’s our cue to ditch the frat party from hell.”
“I knew that rug was a safety hazard, but nobody believed me,” Fen said with a shrug, closing the manor’s front door behind him once and Quinn joined him outside.
Quinn and the werewolves were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the Five Fangs band van, the Fang Mobile, driven by an anxious Kale. “Let’s go!” he shouted.
Can’t go, thought to himself as his werewolf comrades climbed into the vehicle. Can’t risk hurting them—hurting Griff. “You all go. I’ve gotta stay here.”
“Yes,” Fen nodded, a knowing look in his eyes as he studied his troubled friend’s face. “You most certainly do.”
The van took off without , leaving him behind to face what would come next.