Chapter 3

Celine stayed awake after drinking her second glass of espresso. She checked her watch and nodded, "Already past midnight. It's time."

She grabbed her bag and left the motel room, walking past the reception desk but didn't see Thomas there.

However, not seeing him there didn't concern her, as it was midnight, and he was likely asleep.

'I should've paid him upfront. Who knows what'll happen to me after this?' she thought.

With that in mind, Celine put fifty dollars and a ten dollar bill as tip on the counter with her room key stacked on top, and left the motel.

The drizzle had stopped, and the full moon bathed the town in its silvery glow. Since Helen's Creek had no tall buildings except the church she saw at the corner of the street, she had an unobstructed view of the mesmerizing full moon while driving through the quiet road. 

"Okay, I see the sign now," Celine said as she approached the Calhoun Manor gate.

Before her lay nothing but a one-way road, shrouded in darkness and looming, dense woods.

She nervously gulped and firmly gripped the steering wheel, mustering her courage, "Get yourself together, Celine! You have to find your sister!"

And so, Celine drove her car into the woods, following a long road illuminated solely by her car's headlights. 

Her palms began to sweat out of nervousness, but she endured until she saw rows of lampposts leading to a luxurious villa in the middle of the woods.

Celine was in awe of the villa, and her instincts told her to drive straight towards it as a source of safety.

But then, she remembered what Thomas had said.

-

'If you want to know more about Calhoun, you must enter the deep woods near his manor.'

-

Celine tightened her grip on the steering wheel and shifted the gear into reverse.

She backed up her car until she was far enough from the first lampposts, then parked her car at the side of the road.

She grabbed her bag and yanked the hood of her hoodie over her head to shield herself from the biting wind.

Celine held the door handle and stared at the creepy, deep woods that seemed to have no end.

She gritted her teeth and pushed herself, whispering, "Wait for me, sister."

Celine left her car and began to walk into the dark woods. She was wearing a jean and hoodie, which might not have been the most suitable attire for a trip into the deep woods, but she had never expected herself to be exploring the dark woods in the middle of the night.

But at least she had a flashlight on and had a stun gun tucked away in her hoodie pocket.

She had never received formal training in firearms, but she knew how to use a stun gun as a means of self-defense against any wild animals.

'Or wild men… I think humans are more dangerous in this place,' Celine thought.

She continued to aim her flashlight to the front. She had no particular direction in mind, but Thomas' words had somehow taken root in her mind, and she kept telling herself to continue venturing deeper into the woods. 

As she wandered aimlessly, she suddenly heard a groan not far from her position.

Celine turned her head immediately and quickly turned off the flashlight to avoid being discovered.

She heard another groan and followed the sound. It led her to an open meadow area of the woods, and she quickly hid behind a tree to avoid any confrontation. 

Bathed in the moonlight, she saw two men in the middle of the meadow. They were shirtless, and their well-defined muscles suggested that they were fighters—or at least, they must've hit the gym every day.

The shorter man with red hair groaned again while removing his jeans, saying, "Man, do we really need to patrol every night? I wanted to go with Jess to the club near campus."

"Shut it, you know it's our job to patrol," his partner said. He was a tall and handsome black man with a military cut and a scar on his back. He also removed his jeans and put them on a stone slab beside him. "Calhoun will get mad if we're slacking off."

"Tsk, he's the Alpha, after all," the redhead said helplessly. He threw his jeans on the same stone slab. Then, they bent forward, taking on a posture resembling that of a dog, which Celine found provocative. 

Celine's cheeks reddened when she saw their bare butt. She couldn't help but comment in her heart, 'Wait, am I interrupting something? Are these guys going to do that here? I mean, I guess I really can't kink shame—'

Celine's thoughts were cut short, and her eyes widened as she watched the two naked men suddenly shapeshifted into white and red wolves, each twice the size of a regular wolf. 

They howled in unison before leaping into the dark woods and disappearing from sight. 

Celine was too shocked to respond, but once it registered in her mind that she had witnessed a real-life werewolf transformation, her strength seemed to drain from her body.

Celine slumped to the ground, resting her head on the trunk. Her heartbeat accelerated as she didn't expect to see something that shattered her logic. "H—How could that be? Werewolves? I thought those were just fairytales!"

Now she understood why Thomas told her to go deep into the woods if she wanted to uncover Calhoun's secret and find her sister.

One of those wolves mentioned Calhoun, so Celine was convinced that Jaime Calhoun must be one of them!

"Then, does that mean my sister has been…" Celine felt that her world had collapsed with the realization that her sister might've been killed and devoured by these ravenous werewolves. 

Celine's gaze began to blur as tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped her eyes, trying her best to calm herself, but the mere thought of her sister's own demise was enough to send her into a frenzy.

"Monica, no, this can't be…" Celine murmured, her voice quivering. "How could you leave me alone? How am I supposed to live knowing my sister is gone…"

"Oh, don't worry about her, Celine. She is not dead," a familiar voice cut through the darkness.

Celine lifted her head and saw the pale and lanky figure of Thomas suddenly appearing in front of her.

Even in the middle of nowhere, she could clearly make out his features, especially his pupils that had inexplicably turned blood-red, which sent a shiver down her spine.

Thomas smirked and repeated his statement, "Monica is not dead. I know where she is."

Celine hesitated, her mind reeling. "T—That can't be, she—"

"Because I saved her," Thomas interjected, his blood red pupils gleaming with an otherworldly intensity. Again, Celine felt a strange calm wash over her, as if she had taken an antidepressant that muted her thoughts, making her oddly complacent. 

"I saved her from those beasts and hid her deep in the woods. If you want to know where she is, you need to follow me."

"Follow… you?" Celine muttered, her gaze blankly fixed on Thomas as she got up.

"Yes, follow me, and I will reunite you with your sister," he insisted

Celine's instinct screamed at her to not trust this man, but her mind was so muddled that she couldn't think clearly at all.

When Thomas mentioned her sister, Celine's guard crumbled, and she simply nodded, her hope overriding her fear.

"Good," Thomas grinned, but his grin soon turned sinister as his fangs protruded, his hunger becoming apparent. He pinched her chin with his cold fingers and leaned closer. "You will meet your sister soon."

Thomas was prepared to lead Celine deeper into the woods where it would be safer to feast on her blood without being discovered by the werewolves living in this place.

But before he could lead her, a deafening howl pierced through the dark woods, and Celine snapped out of her daze. 

"What the—" 

"Damn it!" Thomas's eyes glinted again, ready to hypnotize his feast, but the howl grew even louder, shattering the spell immediately.

Celine shook her head, and her gaze gradually cleared. She saw Thomas, his fangs exposed, and she instantly recognized his kind.

"You are—?!"

"Tsk, there is no more time. Guess I have to do it here," Thomas said, his tone turning menacing "Stay still, bitch. You're going to be my dinner!"

He grabbed her long hair, forcing her to tilt her head, and baring her neck to him.

Her neck looked delicate, soft, and filled with fresh blood..

Thomas licked his fangs and aimed it at Celine's neck, ready for a bite.