She woke with a start, the memory of the hospital coming back. The man who died, his sorrow, the message he asked her to deliver to his wife. It clung to her like fog. But there was no time to dwell on it now.
The surface beneath her was soft. Maybe a couch.
A blanket wrapped around her.
"Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked gently.
She turned her head toward the doorway.
Danny.
"Danny? What happened? Why am I here? Where is here?"
"This is my house," he replied calmly. "My room, to be exact. After the... whatever that earthquake was... I found you passed out in the bathroom. I didn't want to take you back to class, so I brought you here."
She tried to sit up but wobbled, gripping her head as dizziness washed over her. In the blink of an eye, Danny was already at her side, crouching next to her with a worried look.
"Are you okay?" he asked again.
She met his eyes, her eyes searching for answers.
"No… I'm not okay," she said, her voice cracking. "Ever since the night in the woods, I've felt this... thing building inside me. Like a scream stuck in my chest. And when I let it out, I black out. I lose time. I see the dead. I talk to them. What the hell is happening to me, Danny? Am I...am I going crazy?"
Danny's voice softened. "You're not crazy, Alisha. Not even close. There's a lot of strange things in this town, things you don't read about in books. Whatever's happening to you, we'll figure it out. But I need you to be honest with me."
Alisha swallowed hard and nodded.
"Okay," she began, her voice trembling as she laid everything bare. She told him everything, how it started, the recording from the night she first saw the werewolf, the nightmares, the woods, the hospital, the dead man and his ghost. Every detail and every scream.
Danny listened silently, his expression unreadable. Just... focused.
Like he already knew.
Finally, he spoke.
"Alisha, the werewolves you saw...they're real. There are more of them in this town than you'd think. When you came back from therapy the first time, I wondered... I thought maybe what you were going through was the beginning of a transformation. But you didn't show signs, not at first. You acted normal, except for the blackouts. But that changed the night we found you in the woods. With Alexander."
Her breath caught.
That name.....Alexander.
It surged back into her mind like a tidal wave. But she hadn't told anyone about him. She'd just remembered. So...
She stepped back slowly.
"How do you know that name?"
Danny's gaze didn't waver.
"I was there."
Alisha froze.
"What… what do you mean, there?"
"I was tracking Alexander," Danny explained. "He was dangerous. I needed to know who he was. That's when I picked up your scent....your blood. I thought he'd hurt you. But when I got there, he was already fighting those other guys."
Her heart thundered. "I didn't see you…"
Danny took a breath. "You did, Alisha. You just didn't see me. You saw... my wolf."
The room tilted. Her knees weakened. She stumbled backward until her spine hit the wall.
"You're one of them, aren't you?" Alisha said, her voice trembling. "Were you the one who attacked me in the woods?"
Danny stood up, hands raised slightly in surrender. He took a careful step toward her, but she immediately threw out her hand, stopping him in his tracks.
He felt her fear. It radiated from her like a warning.
"No. Alisha, it wasn't me. I would never hurt you," he said firmly. "But I was afraid you'd react like this. That's why I didn't tell you sooner. We don't share our secrets with humans."
His voice lowered, more certain now.
"And it's becoming clear… that you're not one."
Her breath hitched. "What do you mean?"
"Alisha, seeing the dead, blacking out, this scream that causes destruction… that's not something humans do. I thought maybe you were a witch, but your kind was exiled from this town long ago. Whatever you are… if you let me, I can help you figure it out."
"I'm not a what!" Alisha snapped, cutting him off. "My name is Alisha Montes. I'm a human. Maybe a little crazy right now, but I'll get better!"
Danny shook his head. "You're not crazy. You've seen the supernatural. You've lived it. You're just in denial."
He paused, then said softly, "Hold on."
Without warning, his body shifted.
Fangs extended.
Hair bristled over his arms and face.
His golden eyes glowed like fire. He was in a half human, half wolf state.
Alisha screamed....a loud, piercing cry that shattered the air around them.
A wave of energy burst from her mouth, slamming Danny across the room like a rag doll.
He hit the wall hard. A web of fractures splitting through the drywall before everything on the shelf above him crashed down.
Dust filled the air. Silence followed.
Alisha stood frozen, wide-eyed, staring at her trembling hands.
She hadn't passed out neither had she lost control.
Danny groaned under the rubble but slowly pulled himself out, fully human now.
And that was when it truly hit her.
Danny wasn't lying. He was a werewolf.
And she…..She wasn't a normal human being at all.
Alisha stood frozen in the room, her chest rising and falling like a storm had settled there. God… what was she? Why her? She didn't ask for this. She didn't want it.
Danny slowly approached, cautious, still brushing dust off his arms.
"You see what I'm saying now?" he said softly. "You're definitely not human. I don't know what you are… but if you let me, we'll figure it out. Together."
Alisha blinked, her face hardening. "I'm going home."
And just like that, she turned and ran. Didn't look back.
She got home with a heart that felt like it had caved in on itself. The questions never stopped. What the hell am I? Why me? The things she'd seen weren't a gift...they were torture. Spirits. Endless voids. A Grim Reaper that kissed her like it was marking her for Hell.
That night, she called her friends over. They needed to hear it. She couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I screamed," she began, pacing the room. "He was standing just a few feet away, and the next thing I knew, boom, he hit the wall like he got hit by a truck."
"Serves that jerk right," Jake said.
Diana and Alisha turned to him.
Jake exhaled. "Look… I know I've been weird around Danny. Avoiding him. It's because of what I saw that night after we found you."
He paused, making sure they were really listening.
"Diana and I were staying at the hospital. I couldn't sleep, so I got up to get water. That's when I saw him....Danny. He was sneaking into your hospital room. His clothes were torn, covered in dirt and claw marks. Like he'd been in a fight."
Alisha's breath caught, remembering the fight in the woods the other night. How Alexander took on three wolves at once. It was hard to believe that Danny was one of them.
Jake continued. "I didn't want to go in, so I just… watched through the window. He placed his hands on your head. Closed his eyes and ocused hard. It wasn't nothing, Alisha. He was doing something."
"So what are you getting at?" Alisha asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I started doing research later, supernatural forums, books, anything. Apparently, some werewolves have the ability to suppress or erase memories. It's not common, but… it's possible. And maybe that's what he did to you."
Alisha sat down slowly. "I did forget everything about the woods when I woke up. You really think Danny wiped my memory?"
Jake nodded. "I don't want to believe it, but… it fits."
"I mean, it's not that crazy," Diana chimed in, folding her arms. She looked like she was arguing with herself more than anyone else. "After everything we've seen? A little mind-wiping doesn't sound so far-fetched."
The room fell into silence.
Everything Alisha just admitted was terrifying. Seeing a man die and pass on. Watching a Grim Reaper come twice. That wasn't just weird, it was unnatura and scary unrealistic. But so was a town filled with werewolves, and they'd already seen the supernatural with their own eyes.
Who knows what else was out there?
And more importantly…
What else was waiting for her?