A few moments later, Danny stiffened, but not from the kiss. His senses sharpened. That low hum in the air. That shift in energy.
Someone....or something was in the room watching.
He knew exactly who it was. And what they wanted.
To protect Alisha, he reacted fast. He winced, and gently placed a hand over his ribs, acting like she had accidentally brushed his injury.
"Ow ah," he said, pulling away with a grimace. Alisha immediately withdrew from his lap, concern overtaking every inch of her face. "Oh my God. I'm sorry....did I hurt you?"
He nodded, holding his side. "My ribs… still a little sore. That's on me. I got too comfortable."
"You don't have to apologize," she said, frowning. "I'm the one who basically body slammed you knowing you're injured. God, I'm such a terrible person…"
"Hey…" he whispered, reaching for her face with one hand. He gently pulled her closer, then pressed a kiss to her forehead slowly and reassuring.
"You're not a bad person. Trust me, you're the least 'bad' person I know."
The warmth of his words made her cheeks flush again....but this time, she didn't look away. She let herself feel it.
Pure, undiluted affection.
Danny exhaled slowly. "I should go… I'll see you at school tomorrow?"
Alisha nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."
She walked him to the door, her heart still fluttering from everything that just happened. She stood on the porch, arms folded as the night wind brushed past her, watching as he slid into his car and started the engine.
He smiled one last time before driving off into the dark.
As she closed the door behind her, her fingers gently traced her lips, remembering the feel of his. A thrill ran down her spine....equal parts joy and awkward panic. Kissing a guy with broken ribs? Definitely not her proudest move.
But he wasn't complaining.
And if he wasn't… maybe she shouldn't either.
Danny kept his eyes on the road, the car in autopilot mode, his arm resting stiffly in the sling. He didn't need to turn around to sense the presence in the back seat....he already knew who it was.
"Alan," he said, voice cold and low.
"Asher sent me," Alan replied calmly and immediately. "He wants to know how she is."
Danny's jaw tightened. "Tell your Alpha my girlfriend is fine. And next time? Don't ever get in my car without my permission."
"Your girlfriend?" Alan scoffed, his voice rising. But he quickly caught himself. He wasn't here to challenge Danny, his only job was to keep the girl safe, as ordered. Who she dated was none of his business.
"You know," Alan muttered after a while, "you can throw that sling away. I can smell it....you've already healed."
"Not fully," Danny replied. "There's still a sting sometimes. But… the wounds cleared up this morning."
His voice dropped near the end, he was distracted because the memory came rushing back.
The fight with the silver werewolf with impossible strength.
The moment he almost died. It had taken him six days to feel like himself again.
No doubt about it, that wolf had been powerful. And if Asher hadn't shown up when he did, Danny, Alan, and Micha would've been torn apart. That much was clear.
But what wasn't clear....what haunted Danny most was the 'why'.
Why was that creature with Alisha that night?
Why was she the target?
Things were beginning to spiral. First, Asher the notoriously ruthless Alpha suddenly becomes protective over a girl he barely knows. Then, out of nowhere, a rogue Alpha with no pack, no memory, and enough raw power to challenge maybe two or more Alphas… attacks her.
There had to be something going on with Alisha. Something she hadn't told anyone. Maybe she was something supernatural.
Did she know what she was?
Was she hiding it on purpose?
Or worse… did Asher know the truth, and just wasn't saying?
Danny's grip tightened on the steering wheel as his mind drifted to the fight, the brutal battle that followed when they finally caught up to the silver wolf. It had been devastating. The kind of fight that rewired your instincts and left scars on the soul.
He had never fought like that before.
It took both him and Asher, almost pushing their limits, just to kill the beast. And even then, they barely made it out. Asher had managed to heal right there on the field, another perk of being Alpha. Danny… not so lucky.
He almost didn't survive.
When Danny returned to his senses, Alan was already gone, vanished from the moving car without a sound. Typical. But at least now, he could finally drive home in peace.
*******
Next day, in school.
It was blackness. A void, cold, and familiar.
Alisha opened her eyes...or at least she thought she did, but there was no light, no color, no direction. Just emptiness. A formless abyss that seemed to stretch forever. And yet... something about it felt like she'd been here before.
Then it began to change.
Bit by bit, the darkness peeled away, shapes bleeding into place like a memory forcing itself into focus. Desks. A chalkboard. Sunlight through windows. Slowly, the classroom formed around her until she was no longer in the void, but back at her desk in the classroom.
"Earth to Alisha…"
The voice snapped her back.
Mr. Miles stood at the front of the class, arms crossed. "If you wanted to sleep, you could've stayed home. You had at least eight hours to do that."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Miles. It won't happen again," she replied quickly.
"Better," he muttered, turning back to the board and continuing the lesson.
But something was off.
As Alisha listened, the rest of the world seemed to fade. Every other sound, her classmates' chatter, the scrape of pens on paper, the tick of the classroom clock disappeared. All she could hear was the teacher's voice. It filled the space like he was the only one in the room, as if he were speaking to her alone.
Then… it changed again.
Suddenly, she could hear everything, the sound of feet tapping against the floor, a heart thudding too loudly in someone's chest, the faint rustle of clothing… and something else. Something deeper. A vibration rising from her own core.
Her breathing hitched.
That heavy feeling had returned. Like pressure building in her chest. A scream. A cry trying to force its way out. Her lips trembled.
By now, she'd begun to piece it together. Every time something unexplainable happened, it followed her scream. It was like a trigger she didn't understand.
She didn't think, immediately she ran.
Chair screeching backward, her legs moving before her mind could catch up, Alisha burst out of the classroom. The door slammed behind her, leaving stunned silence in her wake.
Mr. Miles blinked, stunned for a second. Then, with a sigh, turned back to the class.
"Everyone stay seated," he said dryly.
Alisha bolted into the bathroom, her heart racing, throat tightening with pressure she couldn't wait to release. She rushed to the sink, turned the tap, and splashed cold water on her face. Again. And again.
But something was wrong.
The water felt... off. Icy, yet burning. It left goosebumps on her skin and a sting in her nerves. The air around her thickened with dread, chilling her bones as the fluorescent lights above began to hum louder.
Then, she felt it. A presence.
Her breath hitched.
Slowly....so slowly, she lifted her head to face the mirror.
There it was.
Towering behind her, reflected in the glass, was a skeletal creature cloaked in swirling shadows. Its empty eyes glowed faintly beneath the hood of a tattered robe. One bony hand gripped a tall, ancient staff blackened metal and twisted bone...the unmistakable symbol of a Reaper.
Her soul nearly left her body in that instant.
A silent scream climbed her throat as her eyes widened in pure, unfiltered horror. Her knees gave out beneath her, and just as she opened her mouth to scream... A cold, dead hand clamped over her lips from behind. Its hand was cold as ice, yet heavy with some unearthly force, silencing her before she could cry out.
And then, chaos began.
The school began to shake. Violently. Like an earthquake of great magnitude had hit.
The school tiled walls cracked. Lights flickered wildly and burst, one after the other, sending sparks across the ceiling. Windows shattered, raining glass in classrooms. Screams echoed in the halls as students dove beneath desks, panic sweeping through the building like wildfire.
No one knew what was happening. No warning. No explanation.
After a while she stopped, her eyes rolled back and the pressure in her head became too much to bear, she slipped, collapsing to the ground.
Everything went black again.
The void welcomed her like an old friend.