Chapter 80: The Lodge


    The next week went by in a blur. I was so busy with midterms and catching up on sswork that I


    hardly even noticed that the leaves had almost entirely disappeared from the trees, and the days had


    already gotten shorter. By the time midterms were over, it was cold enough outside to have to wear a


    thick jacket and a beanie everywhere I went.


    Enzo and I didn’t see each other at all, which thankfully ended the rumors floating around campus


    about our ‘ rtionship’ even though it hurt to not see him after our fateful kiss in the rain. It also


    seemed as though Enzo must have started telling people that we weren’t together, which helped the


    situation. It felt nice to not be stared at and talked about everywhere we went, although there were still


    those who shot me angry res –such as Lisa and her friends.


    Soon, it was time for the Half-Moon Tournament to begin. The campus began to stir with excitement at


    the prospect of a new tournament to fawn over, and the first match was set to be yed a few towns


    over. I didn’t intend on going after everything that happened, just wanting to focus on school, but I was


    unfortunately forced to go after Tiffany conveniently fell ‘ill’ just one day before the match.


    “I’m so sorry,” she said over the phone, her voice sounding nasally and congested. “I would go if I


    wasn’t so sick.”


    “It’s fine,” I replied as cheerfully as I could while simultaneously holding in a deep, heavy sigh. “I’ll go


    and make sure that no one gets hurt.”


    As we filed onto the bus that would take us to the match, I could feel the mixture of tension and


    excitement in the air Enzo’s teammates had no idea that they were participating in something so


    important, to them, it was just a new tournament to rece the old one. They were confused about the


    sudden switch, but didn’t seem to ask too many questions.


    As the team bus pulled away from the campus and began to make its way to our destination, however,


    it seemed that there were tensions throughout the team regarding something that had nothing to do


    with the Half-Moon Tournament


    “I wish Justin was here,” someone said suddenly, about an hour into the trip, taking the rest of us by


    surprise. I felt my face get hot as I pretended to be too absorbed in my book at the back of the bus to


    listen


    “Me, too,” someone else said. “Our team feels unbnced without him ”


    Does anyone even know where ne went?” Matt chimed in. “He was just here one day, then gone the


    next…”


    “He went home to stay with his parents,” Enzo spoke up in a stern tone of voice. He was seated at the


    front of the bus, as far away from me as he could get. It admittedly hurt for him to be so distant when


    we were supposed to be friends, but maybe it would be better this way. If he was supposed to marry


    someone else, I didn’t me him for wanting to give himself time to sort out his feelings.


    One of the yers who I had rarely ever spoken to, seeing as how he was the quietest one his name


    was Bryce — suddenly spoke up for the first time on that trip, not even turning to face Enzo or anyone


    else from his seat.


    “Convenient timing,” he said. There was a hint of resentment in his voice


    “Oh?” Enzo said curiously “How so?” Bryce shrugged, slowly turning his head to face Enzo and I. “I just


    think it’s funny that Justin gets kicked off the team and disappears, and then all of a sudden you’re


    kissing his ex girlfriend at a huge hockey game,” he said.


    I subconsciously dropped my book into myp, not caring that I just lost my ce where I was reading.


    There was a palpable silence on the bus as Bryce’s words sunk in. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I


    stared out the window.


    “That’s bullshit and you know it,” Enzo snarled, standing from his seat and walking over to where Bryce


    sat. Those two things have nothing to do with one another ”


    Bryce merely shrugged again. “I’m just saying,” he replied. “It’s an interesting coincidence But hey.


    What do I know?”


    Enzo red down at Bryce for several long moments before suddenly whirling around to face the rest


    of the team. I could see the anger written across his face. “Does anyone else have anything they want


    to say?” he said.


    He was met with silence.


    “Good,” he growled. “Whatever has happened between Nina and I is between us. If anyone else has a


    problem with it, you cane to me. I’ll set you straight and teach you not to gossip.”


    Without another word, Enzo sat back down in his seat. I watched over the top of the seat in front of me


    as he turned his head to look out the window. No one brought up Justin or my past rtionship with


    Enzo for the remainder of the bus trip.


    We finally arrived at the ce we would be staying for the duration of the match. As we got off the team


    bus, all of us were equally as surprised at the state of the ce.


    It was located out in the woods, which would have beenpletely fine if not for the fact that it was an


    old, run- down lodge that appeared as though it hadn’t been used or cleaned in years. The windows


    were caked with dust and Enzo had to use his body weight to force open the decrepit old door to reveal


    an equally dusty, dingy interior. Cobwebs lined the vaulted ceilings of the once-beautiful old lodge while


    the furniture sat covered in dirty white sheets that exploded with plumes of dust when we pulled them


    away.


    “This is gross,” Matt said, walking over to the built-in bar at the back wall and running his fingers along


    the dusty surface “I thought you said this team was known for their money, Enzo.”


    “They were,” Enzo replied darkly as he flicked the light switches to find that there was no electricity


    “You don’t think they did this on purpose to throw us off our game, did you?” someone else chimed in.


    I flicked on my phone shlight to illuminate the area in front of me as I climbed the curved stairway,


    imagining how beautiful this ce probably once was. It was possible that the team was trying to throw


    them off their game the sake of the Half-Moon for


    Tournament, but something about the state of disarray of the ce led me to believe otherwise. If this


    team was known for their funding, why would their lodge appear as though it hadn’t been kept up


    properly in years?


    The team’s voices faded as I slowly walked along the narrow hallway upstairs, opening each door that I


    passed to reveal bedrooms that were all equally dusty with their furniture covered with those same dirty


    white sheets. At the end of the hallway, there was a set of double doors — and when I opened them,


    sunlight came streaming into the hallway, practically blinding me after standing in the darkness


    I walked out onto a small balcony, my mouth dropping open as I looked out at the stunning view below.


    All around us, there was nothing but a wide expanse of tall pine trees. There was a smallke below


    with a rowboat pulled up onto the shore and a dock that looked like it would be perfect to jump off of if


    the weather was warmer


    Just as I was about to turn to call for everyone toe and look at the view, however, something


    caught my eye


    N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.


    It was faint, but the way that my body instantly broke out in goosebumps told me all I needed to know


    Way out in the forest staring at me Way out in the forest, staring at me from the shadows, was the


    outline of a massive wolf’s head. At the center of it, two glowing yellow eyes peered out at me.


    This was no ordinary wolf.


    it was a werewolf.