Chapter 4 One Down, Three to Go
Tuesday morning the team filtered out of the locker room into the cool morning air. I had been on the track since six. By the time the first wolves appeared at the gate I was already loose, breath even, and ready.
The wolves clustered together as they spread across the field. Their attention settled on me like a weight.
Coach Miller strode out and clapped once. “Warm-up laps. Let’s move.”
The wolves set a hard pace from the start, daring me to keep up. I matched them easily. It did not take long for the games to begin. A shoulder drifted into my space. A girl cut across my path. Another slowed just enough to box me in. Small, deliberate shit.
My cat stirred, irritated. I ignored it and kept running. When the pace sharpened, I passed them one by one, slipping through the gaps they tried to close.
By the cooldown lap someone finally gave up on the silent treatment and fell into step beside me. She was human, cheeks flushed, ponytail bouncing.
“Wow,” she panted. “They’re extra petty today.”
I glanced over. “Today?”
“Oh yeah. Usually I’m the one they haze. Now they’ve got a new target, so… lucky me.” She gave a tired laugh. “I’m Cassidy. Second year. You’re the transfer, right?”
I nodded.
“Everyone on this team is freakishly fast. Except me.” She grinned at herself. “You’re fast too. Like, built-different fast.”
She had no idea.
“So where’d you transfer from? Somewhere cool? I’ve only ever been to Ashford and that doesn’t count.”
“Out of state.”
“Vague. Mysterious. I like it.” Her grin widened, completely unbothered by my short answers. “If you ever want to run with someone who won’t elbow you in the ribs, I’m your girl.”
I did not promise anything. She took my silence as an agreement anyway.
Behind us Naomi watched with narrowed eyes, her pack tight around her. Cassidy did not notice.
Coach’s sharp clap cut through the air. “Bring it in.”
We circled up. He scanned the group. “Some of you need to fix your stride. Naomi, you’re overstriding. Lena, chest up.” His gaze flicked over me briefly before returning to the team. “Timed four miles. No excuses. Show me where you stand.”
A few groans rose.
We lined up. I took the outside lane.
“Go.”
The wolves surged hard, frantic and territorial. I let them burn ahead for the first quarter mile, then settled in. My breathing stayed even. Theirs did not.
By the second mile they started to crack. I passed them one by one. Naomi held on longest, jaw locked, form breaking. I pulled up beside her, matched her stride for a few steps, then moved ahead.
Her quiet growl followed me.
I crossed the line well ahead of the pack and slowed to a walk. Coach checked his stopwatch, eyebrows lifting.
“New team record. By forty seconds.” He made a note. “That’s the standard now.”
Cassidy stumbled across the line a full minute behind the wolves, bent over gasping. When she straightened she shot me a tired grin. “Okay. You’re officially terrifying.”
I did not answer. Behind her the wolves regrouped, whispering.
Cassidy leaned closer. “Told you. Extra petty today.”
Day two of classes ran like I expected. I sat in the back of each room, clocked the exits, and took notes.
By the time lunch rolled around, the cafeteria was packed.
I grabbed a roasted chicken salad and a sandwich, then headed for an empty table near the back.
I had just set my tray down when someone slid into the seat beside me.
Cassidy dropped her own tray and smiled like she had been invited.
I gave her a look that said, Really?
She only smiled wider.
Across the cafeteria, the wolves sat together. I happened to catch Naomi’s eyes and watched her expression sour. The girls around her followed her lead, their glares sharp and synchronized.
Cassidy did not seem bothered. She took a bite of her sandwich, chewing happily.
I tipped my head toward the wolves' table. “Have they always been like this?”
If she wanted to sit here, she might as well give me something useful.
She nodded, still chewing. “Naomi has been like this since forever. All the way back to middle school. She decides who’s in and who’s out.”
I took a sip of water, letting her talk.
“She’s got this whole thing about Jackson,” she added, lowering her voice. “Most popular guy on campus. Star athlete, rich family, the whole package. She’s been obsessed with him for years.”
“Mm,” I said.
“They had something for a while, or almost did. It was never entirely clear. Now Naomi takes it out on anyone who gets within ten feet of him.” She paused, picking at the edge of her sandwich. “Also I’m fairly certain they’re in a cult.”
I looked up. “What?”
“A cult,” she said, with the calm certainty of someone who had thought about this extensively. “You know that gated community on the east side of town? With the high fence and the guardhouse?”
“I’ve seen it.”
“That’s where a lot of them live. Jackson’s family, Naomi’s family, a bunch of the others.
” She gestured vaguely toward the wolves’ table.
“They have their own grocery store inside the gates. Their own gym. Their own school for the younger kids.” She lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Cult behavior. Jackson’s dad runs the whole place.
Thomas Black, the developer. You’ve probably seen his name on signs around town.
Loaded. And Naomi’s family’s been tight with his since forever, so she’s spent her whole life acting like she’s going to marry Jackson and run things one day. Nobody ever tells her differently.”
I kept my expression neutral. What Cassidy was describing was a pack compound.
The alpha’s territory. Naomi’s father was the beta, second only to Thomas.
That explained the entitlement. Some wolves chose to live inside the gates, others kept their distance.
Colt and Richard lived outside the compound.
John and Thomas lived inside. Colt was already handled. The others would have to wait.
“Anyway,” Cassidy said, moving on. “Jackson’s family is very much inside the fence. Senior members of whatever the whole operation is. Which probably explains the disappearing at the start of every school year.”
“Every year?”
“Every year. Like clockwork. Shows up around day four, never explains it, nobody asks.” She shook her head. “Cult behavior.”
I already knew. The son of an alpha disappeared every year for training. It was not public knowledge, but it left enough traces for someone willing to look. Jackson Black was a branch from a rotten tree.
But whatever Jackson was, he was not my concern. Not yet.
His father was.
The rest of the day passed without incident, and by ten I was already in bed, exhaustion settling into my bones. I scrolled through the news one last time before turning off the light.
A headline stopped me.
They found him.
Body discovered at residential property on Elmwood Drive. Cause of death under investigation. Identity of victim withheld pending notification of next of kin.
I read the short article twice, committing the details to memory. When I finished, I placed my phone on the nightstand and let my head sink into the pillow.
Ten years I had been carrying this. Ten years of building toward something most people would call monstrous, and I had long since made my peace with that. Colt was the first. There were three more, each one a debt that had been outstanding far too long, and I intended to collect every single one.
One down. Three to go.