DARRYLI leaned back against my bedroom door and smiled. Hazel’s scent was still here, and the memory of our shared embrace, the feeling of her tears against my shoulder, warmed me from the inside out. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I felt hope for the first time in what felt like forever, a feeling I'd almost forgotten.I ran a hand through my hair, replaying our conversation in my mind and chuckled softly. I’d even managed to keep Shadow relatively calm during our close moments. It felt like we had finally turned a corner.“She believes me,” I murmured.My smile faded as the image of Alpha Darius’s face flashed through my mind. The Alpha’s words echoed in my ears: “A human mate? It’s impossible, Darryl. Dangerous.” Luna’s disappointed gaze followed. They’d already chosen Katrina for me. The thought sent a surge of anger through me. I balled my fist, the joy of the past hour dissolving into a bitter anger.I slammed my fist into the wall and growled. The impact sent pain throu
HAZELThe library would be my sanctuary today. It was quiet, and felt far away from the chaos swirling around me. I needed to distract myself. Badly. Darryl wasn’t answering my calls. It made my stomach twist into knots. Then there was my dad. I was so angry with him. He was keeping secrets, controlling me, and now… now he was going after Darryl. It felt like my world was crumbling.I wandered through the tall bookshelves, pulling out random books. Nothing seemed to hold my attention. Finally, I found myself in the paranormal section. I picked out a thick book with a dark cover. It was about werewolves. I settled into a quiet corner, hoping to lose myself in the story.The book started like any other werewolf novel, talking about full moons and shifting. But then, I turned the page and my breath caught. There was a picture. Not the usual handsome man turning into a wolf, this was different. This wolf was massive with glowing red eyes and thick, dark fur. The caption underneath read, “
HAZEL "Third complaint this month, Hazel. Third!" Bob slammed his hands on his desk. "And this time you actually hit a customer?" I sank into the chair opposite him and smiled as I recalled the satisfying moment of slapping that creep who wouldn’t keep his hands to himself. It felt good to fight back, even if I knew it only added to my troubles. But I should have known better by now. Standing up for myself never ended well - it just gave everyone another excuse to remind me how different I was, how I didn't fit in. These reminders came daily. In the stares of strangers, in the whispered conversations they thought I couldn't hear, in the way people either avoided me entirely or got too close for comfort. My crime? Being born with hair and eyes of pure Gold. Not the fake bottle blonde or amber that you might assume, but actual metallic gold. The doctors called it a genetic anomaly. The kids at school called me a freak. I just called it my curse. And tonight, that curse had cos
HAZELThe "Welcome to Ravenville" sign emerged from the darkness, it's faded letters shone by the taxi's headlights. Eight years of running and here I was, crawling back to the one place my dad swore I never to return to.The cab driver hadn't said a word since I boarded, and I was grateful for the silence. No awkward questions about why a teenager was traveling alone at night, No suspicious glances at my strange golden eyes in his rearview mirror. Just the quiet sound of the engine and my thoughts for company.Until my phone buzzed, again.I sighed and glanced at the screen. Aunt Jenna's name flashed for what felt like the hundredth time."Hazel, this is insane! Answer me!""Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?""What about your father? Did you even tell him you're coming?"I switched the phone to silent and dropped it into my bag. She wasn't wrong about Dad – I hadn't told him I was coming. The plan was simple. find a motel, get settled, then figure out how to break the news
DARRYL "Darryl, you're gonna snap the steering wheel in half if you grip it any tighter." Katrina’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked and eased my hands off the wheel slightly realizing how tightly I’d been holding it. I muttered, “Sorry,” but didn’t look at her. My mind was somewhere else—no, on someone else. The girl we just ran into. I didn’t want to think about her, I didn’t want to drag up memories I’d buried years ago. But the past always had a way of creeping up when you least expected it. Especially when the past stares you in the face. Hazel. The girl who left everything in ruins on a day that should’ve been perfect. My tenth birthday—one that turned my entire life upside down. It was supposed to be a day filled with laughter, plans, and promises. Hazel and I had spent weeks planning it. We were going to spend the whole day together, just like we used to. She had promised it would be unforgettable. And it was… just not in the way I expected.
HAZEL "You don't need to walk me in, Dad. I'm not eight anymore." I stood in the school parking lot, shifting my backpack on my shoulders while he gave me that worried look I'd seen a thousand times since coming back to Ravenville. Dad's hand went to the silver pendant around my neck, adjusting it for the tenth time this morning. "Just... promise me you'll keep this on. No matter what." "Yeah, yeah, your magic necklace. Got it." I rolled my eyes but touched the pendant anyway. It felt weirdly warm against my skin, like it always did. "Are you ever going to tell me why it's so important?" His face did that thing where it shut down completely. "Just keep it on. And Hazel? “ "What?" "Remember - two weeks. Two weeks is all you get. If thing's don't work out—-" "You'll ship me back to Aunt Jenna. Yeah, I got it." I didn't look back as I walked away, afraid he'd see how much that thought terrified me. Two weeks. Fourteen days to prove I belonged here, to make Darryl remember me
HAZELI stood there, my feet refusing to move even as my mind screamed at me to just get the hell out of there. Darryl's words kept echoing in my head. "You disgust me." Three words shouldn't have the power to destroy someone, but these did. My hands wouldn't stop shaking no matter how hard I tried to steady them, and the worst part was knowing I probably deserved every bit of this pain. After all, I was the one who had abandoned him all those years ago. I was the one who had broken our promise of an unforgettable birthday. My gaze drifted to the deep scratches in the wall where his hand had struck, and I tried to convince myself that they had been there before. There was no way a normal teenager could have left marks that deep in a solid wall. Not unless they had some kind of unnatural strength. As I stared at the marks, my feet finally started to cooperate, slowly carrying me away from this hallway. But the further I got, the more I realized just how silent everything was. I co
HAZEL"Your secret is safe with me." I turned around so fast I nearly lost my balance. "What secret?" I managed to get that out, while my mind raced through everything that had just happened in that hallway. Did he see what really happened? Did the memory wipe or whatever it was not work on him?Lucian smiled. "About how you stood Darryl up on his birthday. He told me everything."The relief that flooded through me was so intense I almost laughed. Of course that's what he meant. What else could he have been talking about? Maybe I really had imagined everything in that hallway. "Oh. Right. That.""Were you expecting something else?" He raised an eyebrow.I shook my head quickly. "No, just... it's been a weird day. Look you're Darryl's friend, which means we probably shouldn't be having this conversation.""Actually, that's exactly why we should be talking." He stepped beside me, and I noticed he had to slow down his long strides to match my pace. "I want to help you fix things with h
HAZELThe library would be my sanctuary today. It was quiet, and felt far away from the chaos swirling around me. I needed to distract myself. Badly. Darryl wasn’t answering my calls. It made my stomach twist into knots. Then there was my dad. I was so angry with him. He was keeping secrets, controlling me, and now… now he was going after Darryl. It felt like my world was crumbling.I wandered through the tall bookshelves, pulling out random books. Nothing seemed to hold my attention. Finally, I found myself in the paranormal section. I picked out a thick book with a dark cover. It was about werewolves. I settled into a quiet corner, hoping to lose myself in the story.The book started like any other werewolf novel, talking about full moons and shifting. But then, I turned the page and my breath caught. There was a picture. Not the usual handsome man turning into a wolf, this was different. This wolf was massive with glowing red eyes and thick, dark fur. The caption underneath read, “
DARRYLI leaned back against my bedroom door and smiled. Hazel’s scent was still here, and the memory of our shared embrace, the feeling of her tears against my shoulder, warmed me from the inside out. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I felt hope for the first time in what felt like forever, a feeling I'd almost forgotten.I ran a hand through my hair, replaying our conversation in my mind and chuckled softly. I’d even managed to keep Shadow relatively calm during our close moments. It felt like we had finally turned a corner.“She believes me,” I murmured.My smile faded as the image of Alpha Darius’s face flashed through my mind. The Alpha’s words echoed in my ears: “A human mate? It’s impossible, Darryl. Dangerous.” Luna’s disappointed gaze followed. They’d already chosen Katrina for me. The thought sent a surge of anger through me. I balled my fist, the joy of the past hour dissolving into a bitter anger.I slammed my fist into the wall and growled. The impact sent pain throu
HAZELMy heart sank as I heard my father’s voice. I barely had time to process the shock of seeing my broken bicycle in front of the house, let alone figure out how it had ended up here. I turned slowly to face him, the storm in his eyes was unmistakable. His face was tense as if he were holding back a fury that could snap at any moment. "Why did you disobey me?" “Dad... I—” I stuttered, not knowing how to explain myself, not knowing what he wanted to hear. I wanted to tell him everything, to say that I hadn’t meant to disobey him, that I had only gone out to clear my head, to escape the storm that was raging inside me. But the words wouldn’t come. He was looking at me like he expected me to have a solid reason. “I wasn’t planning to meet him or anything.,” I finally managed to say. “I just… I just needed some space, that’s all. I went out to clear my head and I happened to meet him in the woods.”He shook his head slowly, as if the answer was too obvious for me to see. “I know eve
HAZELThe silence around the table was almost suffocating, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being scrutinized, even though no one was speaking. They had been unusually quiet after the question about the silver necklace. I could tell they were waiting for an answer, but I was struggling to put together the right words. Why did he ask about the necklace? What did it mean to him? What was going on in their minds?I looked at Darryl for a moment, but he was staring at his plate, not acknowledging me. I felt a tight knot form in my stomach, unsure of how to answer and I couldn’t shake off the discomfort that was settling in me. “It’s from someone who meant a lot to me,” I finally managed to say. I wasn’t sure if that was enough of an explanation, but it was all I could offer.Darryl’s father gave me a nod, as if my answer was sufficient. But before the conversation could continue, Darryl cut in firmly. “Enough, father. Enough, mother.”His parents fell silent. “Hazel ju
HAZELThe shower’s warmth still lingered on my skin as I stepped out of Darryl’s bathroom, wrapped in a towel. My hair hung in wet strands as it clung to my shoulders. After dressing quickly, I stared at my reflection. The girl in the mirror looked tired, her eyes dull despite the rest she’d gotten. Pull it together, Hazel, I told myself. Today was Saturday, and while I should feel relieved not to rush home for school, a pit formed in my stomach.Dad.Last night, he'd bombarded me with calls, the incessant ringing drilling into my mind. But this morning? Nothing. No texts. No calls. The silence was too loud. It felt wrong—off, even. It was all suspicious, but I pushed it away. There was no time to dwell on it now.I stepped out of the room and the door clicked softly behind me. The house was quiet. For the first time, I noticed how large it was. The ceilings stretched high above me, and the halls seemed to go on forever. I remembered being on Darryl’s back last night, clinging to him
HazelThe room felt colder than it should have been. My fingers trembled as I clutched Darryl’s shirt, the scent of blood still thick in my nose. The silence between us was deafening and stretching longer than I could bear. Darryl didn’t say a word but his eyes was still locked onto mine. Finally, he spoke in a very low and calm voice.“Why do you think it’s me?”I swallowed hard, before raising his shirt up. “This shirt,” I whispered, holding up the evidence between us. “It smells like blood.” My voice faltered, and I looked away. “And also…” I couldn’t finish that.Darryl’s gaze didn’t even move from mine. “Also what?” he pressed. I bit my lips and let the shirt fall beside me. “I saw you, Darryl. I saw you running away from the scene… when Jake was lying on the floor.” My eyes met his, searching for something or anything that could make this feel less like betrayal. “You were shirtless, Darryl. I saw you running away.” I wanted to take them back, to erase the doubt they plant
HAZELThe room was silent, but my heart wasn’t. It was loud like it wanted to burst out and chase after him. The way he had looked at me… I couldn’t stop thinking about it.When he carried me into his room, I thought I’d feel awkward or embarrassed. Instead, I felt safe. But when he placed me on the bed and leaned in, everything changed.His eyes had locked onto mine, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t fear at all. It was something else entirely. The kind of intensity that made me feel seen, like every thought and emotion I had was written across my face and he was reading it.And then there was the way he leaned in. I thought he was going to kiss me. His gaze fell to my lips and I felt a jolt in my stomach.But he didn’t.Instead, he stepped back and then he left.Now I was alone, sitting on his bed like some forgotten thing, replaying everything that had just happened.I touched my lips, my fingertips grazing them softly. Did he want to kiss me? Or was it all in my hea
Darryl’s POV I was still leaning over her, my arms on either side of her, trapping her in place. Her eyes were wide anf her lips was slightly parted. My gaze dropped to those lips, soft and inviting. A dangerous heat surged through me, and all I wanted to do was close the distance, to press my mouth to hers and kiss her deeply. The urge was so strong that my heart raced, my hands almost shaking as I fought the need to touch her.But I couldn’t. I quickly stepped back, shaking my head, muttering under my breath, “Fuck.” What was wrong with me?I clenched my teeth and forced myself to pull back. My hands shook as I stepped away.The silence between us was thick and awkward. Hazel looked down at her hands, her cheeks flushed. I didn’t know where to look. My thoughts were a tangled mess. The room felt too small, the air too hot. I cleared my throat, trying to sound normal. “I—I’ll sleep outside.” She looked up quickly. “You’re not sleeping here?” Her voice was small. I shook my h
DARRYLThe woods were quiet tonight. I liked coming here when I needed space. It was my place to think and to breathe. Tonight was no different. I walked through the trees and inhaled the air which was filled with the faint scent of ashes left behind by the fire. The moon was high and casted light on the branches.Everything was quiet, except for the whisper of leaves and the distant hoot of an owl. My wolf and I shared this calm, this sense of being home. I took a deep breath and let it settle in my lungs. This was normal. This was right.Then, I heard it.Footsteps.These footsteps were light and hesitant. Definitely Human. What would a human be doing out here? This place had been off-limits since the fire. No one from town dared to come here anymore. It was too dangerous and too haunted by memories. Only we, the werewolves came here now, to hunt or during full moons. I crept forward and took every step cautiously. The scent of ashes was still there, but there was something else