The crisp autumn air clung to Scarlet's skin as she stepped out of her Jeep, the sound of laughter and pulsing bass spilling from deeper in the woods. The annual Halloween party was well underway-hidden just far enough from campus to avoid faculty interference, but close enough for the student body to swarm it.
Bonfires crackled under a canopy of orange and gold leaves. Paper lanterns floated in the branches above, flickering with warm light, while costumed students crowded around kegs and snack tables. Music thudded from Bluetooth speakers propped against tree trunks. Someone had even strung fairy lights between the trees, casting a warm, glowing path into the clearing. Magic shimmered subtly in the background-mostly from Ana, who had already whispered a charm over their group to keep drunk humans from noticing anything... unnatural.
Scarlet adjusted her black lace mask and scanned the crowd. Her vampire side savored the pulse of energy in the air-the scent of alcohol, blood, and breathless anticipation. But her werewolf instincts prickled with unease. Something about tonight felt off. Not dangerous-yet-but restless. Like something was waiting to go wrong.
"Remind me why we said yes to this again?" Ana murmured beside her, pushing her shoulder-length curls off her face as a tipsy skeleton bumped past them.
"Because it was this or stay home and pretend we're normal," Scarlet replied. "At least here, we can be something else."
Ana smirked. "And by something else, you mean dramatic in fishnets and heels."
Scarlet's boots crunched against the fallen leaves as she gave a mock bow. "Exactly."
Ahead, Zeb clapped his hands, standing on a tree stump like a self-proclaimed ringmaster. "Hide and seek in ten! And I mean real hide and seek, people. None of that flashlight tag crap. If I catch anyone using magic to cheat, you're getting dunked in the lake!"
The crowd erupted in cheers and groans.
Brett leaned in beside Scarlet, his black mask pushed up onto his forehead. He wore a fitted, blood-stained band tee, combat boots, and black jeans ripped in all the right places. The faint scent of pine, fire, and something dark clung to him. His grin was lazy and confident. "You hiding with me?"
She arched a brow. "Think I need protection?"
"No," he said, lowering his voice. "I just like the idea of finding you in the dark."
Ana groaned. "Can we not with the flirting for like five minutes?"
Zack jogged up beside Zeb and announced, "Everyone pair up or go solo-we're counting down!"
"I'll take my chances," Scarlet murmured, ignoring Brett's offered hand. She turned toward the woods, her pulse already rising. "See you in the shadows."
⸻
Ten minutes later, Scarlet crouched behind a thick veil of ivy-covered bark, deeper in the forest than most dared go. The music had faded into a distant throb, replaced by the hush of leaves and the whisper of wind through branches. Shadows flickered between the trees, the party's glow lost behind her. The scent of damp earth and moss filled her nose, but underneath it all was a whisper of adrenaline-hers and someone else's.
She stilled. A footstep. The faint rustle of fabric.
"I know you're here," Brett's voice drawled from the darkness. "Your heartbeat gave you away."
Scarlet didn't move as he emerged into a shaft of moonlight, all confidence and quiet power.
"Is that so?" she murmured, tilting her head.
He crouched beside her, his breath warm near her ear. "You've been avoiding me."
"Have I?" she asked lightly.
"You have." His gaze dropped to her lips. "Ever since the festival."
Scarlet didn't respond.
"I meant what I said, Scarlet. About how I feel." His fingers brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. "But you never answered me."
She pressed a hand to his chest. His heartbeat was steady beneath her palm, strong and warm. "I didn't know what to say."
"But you're here," he said softly, "with me now."
Her lips parted. "I don't know what that means either."
He leaned in, brushing his mouth against hers. "Then let's find out."
His kiss was warm and slow-smoldering, curious, intense. Her hands found his shoulders. His jacket. She let herself lean into it, into him-
Then a scream ripped through the night.
⸻
The crash of bodies and wood echoed toward the bonfires.
Scarlet bolted upright, instincts flaring like a whip. She and Brett exchanged a glance, then took off through the trees, feet pounding against the forest floor.
By the time they reached the clearing, chaos had erupted. The bonfires were still burning, but the mood had changed.
A student stood in the middle of the party, shirt shredded and eyes glowing amber-yellow. His body trembled, muscles taut, teeth too sharp. Sweat and blood soaked his collar.
He was turning.
"Shit," Ana hissed beside her, appearing from the crowd. "He's not in control."
Another scream rang out as the rogue lunged toward a group near the drink table.
"Shield them!" Ana shouted, raising both hands. "Zeb-now!"
Zeb stepped forward, casting a quick pulse of violet energy that shimmered through the crowd. The spell dulled human perception-dazed the witnesses, kept them from truly seeing. Students blinked, confused, suddenly turning toward the snack table like nothing had happened.
Scarlet didn't hesitate.
She charged toward the rogue, tackling him just before he could reach a terrified girl in a devil costume. "Reenie!"
Reenie, already half-shifted with wild golden eyes, darted forward from behind a tree. "On it!"
The rogue growled, flinging Scarlet off with brutal force. She rolled, caught herself, then ducked a swipe of claws. He was strong-newly bitten, untrained, dangerous.
"We don't want to hurt you!" she called out, but he barely heard.
They circled. Reenie lunged. He threw her aside, then caught Scarlet by the waist and slammed her into a table, wood splintering beneath her back. Pain cracked through her ribs.
She gasped, stunned.
"Scarlet!" Reenie snarled, getting back to her feet.
And then Brett appeared-half-shifted, golden eyes burning, claws gleaming in the firelight.
He didn't hesitate.
He tackled the rogue with a roar, both of them going down in a tangle of limbs and fangs. They rolled across the clearing, a blur of fury and blood and snarls. Scarlet scrambled to her feet, watching helplessly as Brett finally overpowered the rogue-pinning him with a snarl, claws at his throat.
It was over.
The boy beneath him whimpered, fully shifted now, unconscious.
Brett rose, panting. His shirt was torn, blood streaked down his arm. He looked at Scarlet, chest heaving.
"You okay?" he asked, voice hoarse.
"Yeah." She nodded, brushing splinters off her skirt. "Just bruised."
Zack and Zeb stepped forward, exchanging tight glances.
Scarlet narrowed her eyes. "Do you know him?"
Zack hesitated. "Never seen him before."
"Probably just some poor kid who got bit at the wrong time," Zeb added quickly.
Scarlet didn't buy it. Something wasn't right. The rogue had looked terrified, not malicious. Desperate.
Behind them, the crowd began to stir again-charmed humans resuming conversations like nothing had happened.
But Scarlet could still feel eyes on her.
In the shadows beyond the trees, Alec stood in silence. His gaze met hers across the firelight-black and gold, unreadable.
He had seen everything.
And still, he hadn't stepped in.
⸻
Later, after the humans had filtered out, students returned to dorms or stumbled away in groups, and the fire had burned low, Scarlet sat alone on a fallen log near the embers. The air had cooled, scented with ash and damp earth.
Ana returned from the woods, brushing dirt off her leggings. "Zeb and Zack took the kid back to the old field house. Reenie's calming down. She's pretty shaken."
Scarlet nodded absently. "Thanks."
"You okay?"
Scarlet didn't answer immediately. She stared into the coals, where sparks flared and faded like dying stars. "That kid was scared out of his mind. He didn't want to hurt anyone."
"I know," Ana said gently. "But if Brett hadn't been there-"
Scarlet shook her head. "Zack lied. He knew something. Zeb too."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Ana sat beside her. "Then we dig. Quietly. Carefully."
Scarlet nodded, but her chest ached-not just from the impact earlier, but from the feeling that things were unraveling faster than she could catch them.
She looked up-instinct pulling her again.
Alec was gone.
But the burn of his gaze lingered like a phantom kiss.