Chapter 27: Cole

In a flash of light, Peter and Damien crashed intoMaya's house, the room was filled with silence.

Maya jumped from the couch,her eyes went wide with shock. Lyra and Jack were right behind her, standing quickly as the two figures landed hard on the floor.

“Damien?” Maya gasped.

Damien groaned, pushing himself up. “It’s me,” he said, breathing heavily. “We don’t have much time.”

Peter lay beside him, bleeding from his side. A dark red stain spread across his shirt.

“Is that… Peter?” Jack asked, stepping forward cautiously.

“He’s been stabbed,” Damien said, turning to Maya. “With a wolfsbane knife. He’s weak, but still dangerous. Don’t go near him.”

Lyra looked confused. “Why would you bring him here?”

Damien stood up straight, wincing. “We were fighting, he helped me but something went wrong, he got stabbed. He grabbed me and teleported me here. “

Peter coughed, eyes opening slightly. “You think this is over?” he growled, voice low and full of hate.

“Shut up,” Damien snapped, stepping between him and the others.

Lyra walked closer to Damien, worry on her face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “But we need to keep Peter here, locked up. He can’t be allowed to escape.”

Jack nodded. “We’ll handle it, even though he saved you that dosen't mean he isn't a threat.”

Peter laughed weakly from the floor. “You think locking me up will stop what’s coming?”

Damien didn’t answer, his eyes were already on the others. “We need to prepare, the triplets are after us and we have to have out what they want. ”

The room was filled with silence.

The next morning, school was buzzing as usual. Students crowded the halls, laughing, chatting, and rushing to their lockers but Damien felt on edge. He hadn’t slept much. His body still ached from the fight, and Peter’s words echoed in his head.

Jack walked beside him, talking about hockey tryouts, but Damien wasn’t really listening, then Cole appeared.

He stepped in front of them near the locker hallway, arms crossed and a smug look on his face. “Well, well… if it isn’t the school hero,” Cole said, eyes locked on Damien.

Jack frowned. “What do you want, Cole?”

“I want to talk,” Cole said, ignoring Jack. He stepped closer to Damien. “Last night, I saw something weird near the woods.”

Damien tensed. “What kind of ‘something’?”

“You,” Cole said, lowering his voice. “I saw you fighting… with someone or something, It looked like a shadow. You were glowing like some freaky supernatural crap.”

Damien’s jaw tightened. “You must’ve imagined it.”

Cole laughed. “Nah. I don’t imagine things, you’re hiding something, and I’m going to find out what.”

“Back off,” Jack warned, stepping between them. “You’re seeing things you don’t understand.

“Oh, I understand just fine,” Cole said, narrowing his eyes. “One minute, you’re just some hockey kid. Next, you’re the big hero with weird friends, disappearing at night and fighting invisible monsters.”

Damien met his eyes. “Whatever you think you saw, keep it to yourself.”

“Or what?” Cole asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’ll bring your little pack on me?”

Jack stepped forward again, but Damien stopped him with a hand.

“Stay out of things you don’t belong in, Cole,” Damien said, his voice calm but firm. “It’s better for you.”

“Why are you always speaking for him Jack, you a supernatural too or are you the leader." He tilted his head.

" I'm not exchanging words with you Jack, anything you say." Jack muttered.

Cole smirked. “I don’t take orders from anyone, especially not someone with secrets. I’ll figure out the truth… and when I do, everyone will know who you really are.”

Then he walked off, leaving the tension behind him.

Jack looked at Damien. “He saw too much.”

“I know,” Damien said quietly. “And if he keeps digging… it won’t be safe for him.”

Jack nodded. “Then we better get ahead of this before Peter does.”

“Peter's getting on my nerves, I can't take any of this anymore and the Alpha trio, it's getting a scary." He turned to Jack.

Later that evening, Jack and Damien arrived at Maya’s house. They needed to act fast with Peter and keep the trio Alpha In check. What are they hiding? Why are they here? Are they connected to peter?

Maya opened the door before they could knock. “You’re back,” she said. “Peter’s still unconscious, he hasn’t moved.”

“Good,” Damien muttered as they stepped inside. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Lyra and Lydia leaned beside the window, they gaze fell on them but the tension in the air was thick. Jack followed Damien into the kitchen, where Maya poured them each a glass of water.

“We have a problem,” Jack said, leaning against the counter. “Cole saw the fight last night. He’s suspicious, really suspicious and he won't give up.”

Maya frowned. “Does he know about werewolves?”

“Not yet,” Damien said. “But he’s digging. He saw me fighting Peter or what Peter became, he said it looked like a shadow.”

“That’s bad,” Maya said. “Cole’s loud, if he finds out the truth…”

“He’ll tell everyone,” Jack finished." And if he tells everyone,it's going to mean trouble."

They fell into a heavy silence. Then Maya looked toward the hallway. “And Peter?”

“Still out,” Lyra called. “But for how long?”

Damien rubbed his temples. “He’s not done. Even stabbed with wolfsbane, he’s planning something. I can feel it.”

As if on cue, a low rumble shook the walls.

Everyone went silent, they turned to where the noise was coming from.

“What was that?” Lydia whispered.

Then they heard a deep, guttural growl, it wasn't as wolf growl… .neither was the smell. It came from just outside the house, vibrating through the floorboards as it howl echoed through the room.

Maya grabbed a knife from the counter. “That’s not Peter.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed, and his claws slid out instinctively. “No. That’s something else.”

They all turned toward the front door as the growl grew louder… and closer.