Chapter 225: Long Shadows


    My friends and I sat around the fire, listening quietly to the crackling of the logs and the sounds of the


    forest around us. It was so pitch ck that we couldn’t see anything beyond the dim orange glow cast


    by the first. Everything else beyond that was nothing but inky ckness, despite the fact that the moon


    was full in the sky. It made no sense; there had to have been some sort of spell on this forest, as


    though someone was trying to slow us down or get us lost.


    We were all exhausted, but none of us felt safe enough to sleep. Every so often, we would hear some


    sort of strange sound in the forest and we would all leap up out of fear, shining our shlights frantically


    into the darkness only to find that nothing was there. It felt like tricks were being yed on us. Maybe, if


    we got tricked enough times into thinking that the sounds we heard were all in our head, someone


    would ambush us from the shadows. It was like the boy who cried wolf.


    “Um… Maybe we should try to sleep in shifts,” Lori finally said, breaking the silence. “I don’t think it’s


    super helpful if we’re all sleep deprived. I think we’re starting to see things.”


    “There’s no way I’m sleeping out here,” Jessica grumbled as she pulled her jacket closer around her


    shoulders. “It’s too creepy.”


    “I think we should just keep moving,” Matt finally said, standing. “The longer we sit out here, the easier


    of a target we are to anyone who might want to hurt us.”


    Luke shot me a nce over the fire. I shook my head; we needed to stay put. I couldn’t quite exin


    why, but I somehow felt safer staying in one spot. Not only would we just get even more lost in the


    darkness, but it would be too easy to lose each other if we were moving. Someone could have easily


    gotten snatched away if we walked through the dark forest and we would never know until it was too


    late.


    “We’ll stay here,” I said, gesturing for Matt to sit back down. “And if anyone needs to sleep, then sleep.


    I think we’re safe as long as we stay put and keep someone on guard.”


    My friends fell silent. I knew then that none of them were going to rest — not even me. I was more on


    guard than ever, because I had a sinking feeling that Selena might suddenly show up. Of course I told


    my friends that we were safer here, but I didn’t think that we were really safe anywhere. I felt as though


    we were being watched already. There was no knowing exactly how many minions Selena had in this


    world. For all we knew, she had an entire army all to herself.


    Finally, I felt too exhausted to sit up any longer. I didn’t know how long we had been sitting there, but it


    felt like we were sitting there for an eternity, and even my back started to hurt from being so tense. Still


    staying next to the fire, I decided toy back and stretch out a bit. I let out a bit of a sigh as I felt my


    back align on the hard ground, and I stared up at the full moon above us.


    If only the full moon’s light could have illuminated the forest; then, I would have felt confident continuing


    on our journey. But I knew that Selena knew we were here. I could sense it. As twins, we were more


    connected than I had previously realized. I was funny, because I had never once thought that I had a


    twin, and I had never felt connected to anyone like that. Somehow, I thought that returning to the


    werewolf realm after spending more time with Selena made our bond stronger, because I felt a strange


    connection to her after passing through the portal.


    And, not to mention the fact that I had that foreboding premonition when I passed through the portal. It


    was only for a split second, but I felt an unmistakable feeling of dread. In my mind, a single image


    shed for that brief moment: an image of Selena’s bodyying next to mine. We were both dead. But I


    knew that it didn’t have to end up that way. If I could stop her without killing her, then neither of us


    would die; and yet, if I did have to kill her, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to survive. The bond between


    us was too strong, and if one of us died, then so would the other. It was fate, and there was no


    escaping it.


    I didn’t want to have to kill Selena. And of course, I didn’t want to die, either. I knew that I would try


    everything I could to not have anyone die, but if Selena simply couldn’t be stopped either way… Then it


    had to be done. The fate of the world rested on it. I didn’t know if she was working with the Crescents


    or not, but I did know for sure that she had sinister intentions. She hated my existence, not only


    because I was a threat to her chances of finding love, but also because I was a threat to her power. I


    knew that she already had the Alpha King wrapped around her little finger, and there was no telling


    exactly what she would use him to aplish. All I knew was that she nned on using him for


    something bigger and darker than anything the Crescents or the Fullmoons could fathom. Whatever


    she had nned… would make the war between the Crescents and the Fullmoons seem like child’s


    y.


    Suddenly, my train of thought was broken by another sound in the woods. I instantly shot up, my eyes


    wide. My friends stared back, their eyes equally as wide as mine. This sound was far louder than the


    sounds we had heard before, and it lingered even longer.


    It was the sound of twigs crunching underfoot.


    Someone wasing, and they weren’t stopping.


    Without a word, I jumped up to my feet, and so did my friends. Our fight or flight instincts kicked in then,


    and because we couldn’t flee due to the overwhelming darkness, we had to fight. I just hoped that


    whoever this was didn’t outnumber us, but for all we knew, there were multiple people. Maybe Selena


    finally came, and maybe she brought friends.


    The footsteps approached even closer, slow and steady. A low, thunderous growl rumbled in Matt’s


    throat as he put himself in front of us, between the rest of us and the intruder. Jessica slowly reached


    down and grabbed her big, heavy bat shlight, and Luke and Lori put their fists up instinctively,


    prepared to fight.


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    But when the unexpected intruder stepped into the light and showed his familiar face, all of our bodies


    froze and a chorus of gasps escaped our throats as we saw who it was.


    It wasn’t Selena or anyone else. I felt my heart leap into my throat when I saw him, and all of my


    worries suddenly melted away.


    It was Enzo, and his face looked just as surprised and confused as ours.