Escaping from the wolf

The moment I was about to turn away, Clark's harsh, gravelly voice made my skin crawl. He had heard me. It was obvious. "It's not good to eavesdrop, little Anne."

He used the nickname Thomas had given me with mockery, and that, that made me a bit angry. They both turned to me. Kenzie looked at me with a mix of shock and embarrassment. I had seen her kissing someone else, seen her betray Connor. It was horrible and hard to believe.

How could she? And since when does she know Clark? What does he have to do with her? Does she know what he is?

"K-Kenzie..." I stammered, nervous about what might happen.

She made a move to come toward me, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. She didn't turn to him, only kept her gaze on me. A look of pleading.

"Let her go. She won't say anything," Clark's voice made me look at him.

"Excuse me?" I took a step forward. "Why wouldn't I say anything? Connor is my friend, I've known him for years... I have to."

Clark laughed sarcastically.

I hated him.

"You won't, little girl, do you know why?" He took a few steps toward me. "Because if you do, your beloved Thomas will suffer the consequences."

I narrowed my eyes, not taking my gaze off him. And is Thomas supposed to be his friend? But what is Clark's goal here? For Kenzie? For Thomas? Or... For me.

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"You will. You'll wonder why Kenzie knows me, why we kissed. Well, that's something you'll figure out slowly. Since you and your friend are experts at watching people, I guess you'll know the truth sooner or later." I gritted my teeth.

"I don't know what you're planning, Clark, or why you're here, but I'll assure you of one thing, whatever it is, you won't get away with it. I guarantee that." It almost sounded like a threat, but I wanted it to sound that way. I suppose it's because I had never threatened anyone before.

He smiled crookedly, not taking my words seriously. He gave a quick glance at Kenzie and left the classroom. Now only she and I were left. The truth was I was angry because maybe Kenzie was lying to us. Maybe she was even part of his team. "Anne, I can explain."

"I don't think there's an explanation for betraying Connor."

I walked and sat next to Carolina's seat, the one facing the parking lot. I placed my backpack on the floor and began taking out my books. It was almost time for the bell to ring. She approached quietly and sat in Carolina's place. I gave her a disapproving look.

"That seat is taken." I mocked.

She pressed her lips into a straight line and stood up slowly.

"Anne, maybe you don't know my whole truth. But I'm with you. It will always be that way."

"I guess it's not the first time you've betrayed him, is it?" I flipped through the pages of my science book, searching for the previous topic. I looked at her. "I mean, Clark has been here for almost a month, and it's not the first time you've talked to him. When are you going to tell Connor? He doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

She looked at her hands, somewhat embarrassed, and I remembered that the vampire had mentioned a ring.

"What did Clark mean about the ring?" I was a bit scared for Connor about what she might answer.

"Anne, I can't tell you anything right now. I'm sorry."

And without saying more, she ran out of the classroom. I think she left crying.

"Hey, did something happen to Kenzie?" Alejandra entered the classroom, confused.

I cleared my throat.

"She's just a bit sensitive. You know, that time of the month." I downplayed it.

She nodded.

It was strange to see Ale here.

"Anyway, I just came to give you this." She approached and handed me an invitation. I took it. "It's Will's birthday, and we're celebrating at the house we have outside the country. We're all going." She smiled. "Thanks. And where's Will?" I asked because we hadn't seen him these days.

"Oh, he went to visit his mom, but he'll be back this afternoon. He doesn't know yet, so please don't tell him anything, okay? It's a surprise."

"Of course. Thanks again."

"You're welcome. Well, I'm off to class. See you."

I waved goodbye until she left. I looked at the invitation. It was a cream-colored envelope with a ribbon around it. I put the invitation in my bag just as the bell rang. Seconds later, students began to enter the classroom, and Carolina came among them. When she saw me, she smiled and sat in her place.

"Always first, huh?" She took off her backpack and placed it on the floor.

I didn't know if I should tell her about Kenzie. I didn't know if I should keep the secret. I shouldn't.

"Carolina, how long have you known Kenzie?"

The question made her hesitate, but she answered:

"Hmm... Since forever. We used to live in the same neighborhood, but one day she just left, and I only saw her again when she got here. Why?"

I took a deep breath, determined to tell her, but the teacher's voice announcing that she would review the work stopped me.

"We'll talk later."

She just nodded.

***

After classes, we headed to the cafeteria, but on the way, I was surprised to see Connor, Apolo, Kayler, and Dante blocking our path. They were crossing their arms, serious. Carolina and I looked at each other, confused. "Is something wrong?" we asked in unison.

"Come with us, we have something to show you," Kayler said, approaching his girlfriend and taking her by the arm, then grabbed me by the arm as well, pushing us toward the exit.

"What's going on? I don't understand anything," Carolina protested.

"When we get there, we'll explain."

As we passed by the cafeteria, everyone present looked at us with strange and confused expressions. I spotted Thomas at his usual table with Kara and the others. But he seemed off, barely meeting my gaze. I also noticed he looked serious. What's going on?

We went outside, heading to the parking lot, and got into Kayler's car in the back seat, while the others went to their cars. The moment Kayler got into the driver's seat, he drove off with great speed.

"So, are you going to tell us what's going on?" Carolina asked.

"In the early morning, the pack found something while on their daily patrol. Maybe you can tell us who it is because we don't know. Maybe he's from the school, maybe just someone from the town, but we don't know him." "What exactly happened?" she asked again.

"Calm down, we're not far. You'll see it with your own eyes."

We stayed silent as we swallowed hard. Something bad had happened. I could feel it. After a few minutes of driving, Kayler took a small detour and drove a little further until he stopped in the middle of the forest. He got out.

We also got out with great caution.

The others got out and moved ahead, where I saw a group of people around something. They were the rest of Kayler's pack.

We approached, and they moved aside so we could see.

And then we saw it.

It was a boy, lying on the ground, dirty, covered in blood, scratches, and bites everywhere. I put my hand to my mouth upon seeing such a thing. They had killed that boy, but what did we have to do with this? "Do you know this boy?" Kayler's father asked us.

We shook our heads.

"And can you explain why this kid had a folder full of photos of you, in every place you went, with everyone you talked to, and even with the wolves?"

Kayler's father showed a blue folder, and the others just looked at us.

What happened to him, and why was he following us?