Chapter 33: Debate

“You think I don’t know about your little secret,” Cole scoffed, his fingers tightening around the strap of his bag. His voice was low but laced with venom.

Jack blinked, caught off guard. “What… secret?”

Damien turned sharply, his eyes narrowing. “What are you talking about, Cole?”

Cole tilted his head, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. “Don’t act clueless. I know all about your pretty little wolf games.” He leaned in, voice barely above a whisper, and added, “Wolves in Oakland… sneaky.”

Jack’s heart skipped, his jaw clenched. “Wolves in Oakland? What the hell are you talking about?”

Cole just smiled wider. “It’s fine, don’t tell me but you better find a new way to kill that hybrid, right?” He bit his bottom lip, gave Jack a wink, and casually walked away like nothing had happened.

Jack stared after him, stunned. “Did he just…”

“Yes, Jack,” he interrupted. “He just said hybrid.”

Jack exhaled slowly, tension building in his shoulders. “There’s something he knows… something we don’t.”

“Who knows something?” Nate asked, stepping into the hallway with Bryce and Neo close behind.

“Cole,” Jack said, his voice strained. “He knows about the hybrid.”

“What?” Bryce shouted, stepping forward. “How?”

Damien raised a hand. “Calm down, it’s still a maybe. He might’ve overheard us, we can’t be sure yet.”

Neo folded his arms, brows furrowed. “We need to figure this out, fast.”

Damien ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. “There’s somewhere we need to take you guys, now.”

The door to Maya’s house creaked open, the sound dragging across the silence like a warning.

“Took you long enough,” Maya muttered, not bothering to look up as she sank into the worn armchair near the fireplace. Her tone was sharp, but fatigue clung to the edges of her voice.

“We have a lot to talk about,” Damien said, stepping into the living room, his boots thudding lightly against the wooden floor.

“Guys, this is Maya,” Jack said, gesturing toward her. “Maya this is Neo, Bryce, and Nate.”

The three boys nodded politely, though their eyes scanned the place with cautious curiosity.

Damien glanced around. “Where’s Peter?”

Before Maya could answer, a familiar voice echoed from the top of the stairs. “Did you miss me that much?” Peter drawled, descending with a half-eaten apple in hand.

Damien gave a dry smile. “Ahh… hilarious as always.”

Peter winked and took another bite.

“Uhmm… where’s Lydia?” Bryce asked suddenly, his voice breaking the casual air like glass.

The room went silent, the warmth from the fireplace didn’t touch the cold silence that fell. Everyone glanced at one another, but no one said a word. The weight of grief was thick, almost suffocating.

Bryce’s brows pulled together. “Guys… where is Lydia?” he asked again, this time slower, more cautious.

Peter was the one to speak, his voice low. “She’s dead.”

The apple slipped from his hand, forgotten.

Bryce’s head snapped toward him. “What?” His voice cracked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Neo stepped back slightly, stunned. Nate clenched his jaw, fists curling by his side.

“Dead?” Bryce repeated, louder now. “No. No, no, what are you saying?”

Jack finally stepped forward, his eyes red rimmed but dry. “The hybrid killed her,” he said, voice tight. “We were out… on a date, everything was normal until it found us. I tried…” He stopped, swallowing hard. “I tried to protect her but it was too fast.”

Bryce’s chest heaved as he turned away, hands gripping the edge of the bookshelf like he needed something to hold him up. Neo looked like he’d been punched, and Nate was frozen in place, his breathing shallow.

“She screamed,” Jack continued, barely above a whisper. “She was right there, and I..I couldn’t do anything.”

Damien placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, grounding him.

“No one’s blaming you,” Maya said quietly from the chair. “The hybrid’s getting bolder. Lydia won’t be the last unless we do something.”

Bryce turned back around, eyes fierce and wet. “Then we kill it,” he said. “We kill that bastard for what it did.”

Peter nodded solemnly. “That’s the plan.”

Maya stood slowly. “Then we better get to work because whatever that thing is, it’s not finished yet.”

The house fell into silence again, but this time, it was the kind that comes before war.

"About the hybrid, there's a prime suspect," Damien said, his voice low.

"Who?" Maya asked, leaning forward, tension rising in her tone.

"Cole," Jack added grimly.

"Wait… you mean the jockey guy?" Neo blinked.

"Jockey?" Jack raised a brow.

"Yeah, I nicknamed him that," Neo shrugged. "What happened to him?"

Jack exchanged a look with Damien. "He knows about the hybrid and not just that… I think he knows we're werewolves, and he might even know what happened to Lydia."

Everyone froze.

"What?" They all shouted in unison, except Jack, who simply nodded.

"How the hell would he know that?" Maya demanded.

"You kids are always running your mouths at school," she snapped.

"As if," Damien muttered, rolling his eyes" Nate said slowly. "He sounds dangerous. Like… really dangerous."

Peter leaned forward, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips. "I have an idea."

"That’s never good," Jack muttered.

Peter ignored him. "Why don’t we kidnap him… and torture him until he spills everything?"

Jack groaned. "I knew you were crazy, so this doesn’t surprise me.”

"He’s actually not wrong," Bryce said, crossing his arms. "It could work."

"I hate to agree with him," Maya sighed, "but he’s got a point."

"Maya, you too?" Damien shook his head and stormed out of the house.

"Guess who’s back?" Peter grinned as he walked in, cole slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You actually brought him here?" Damien’s voice shot up an octave.

"Where did you think I was going?" Peter smirked as he dropped Cole to the ground, he tied his wrists roughly with a thick rope. "Get some water," he told Maya.

She hurried off and returned moments later.

"Pour it on him?" Jack asked.

"No need for that," a voice rasped.

Everyone turned sharply.

Cole's eyes fluttered open, glowing faintly with something… unnatural.

Fear rippled through the room, then he smiled.

He flexed his wrists and the ropes snapped off like paper.

"You just brought trouble to your house," Cole whispered darkly.