LYCANTHROPY 》𝒮𝓉𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒮𝓉𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓀𝒾

Prologue

Prologue

I couldn't fall asleep.

I've always stayed up way past midnight, and I don't usually fall asleep until around 2.00 AM. I lay in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I sighed, feeling terrible already. Tomorrow—or should I say, later, is the first day of high school, and I have massive anxiety over it.

My heart beats widely in my chest. This happens every time the school holidays end, and I wouldn't say I like it. But that's my life. A fresh teen who doesn't really have any friends and spends their time with her nose in books—supernatural books, specifically. I have a reputation for holding.

As for my family, I have an older sister who has become a lawyer; she's always got it right. Yes, she's smart. She got A's in all her tests, even A+. Not once has she failed or had to face our parents' disappointment in you. But that's Lucy for you. She's got a perfect life. She lives in New York now with her fiance, Sam.

Then there's me—Paige Madden, who's trying to aspire to be Lucy Madden. My parents have high expectations of me. I have to get everything right, just like Lucy did. I have to be the mini Lucy, but personally, I don't want to. That's only too much work.

My family grew up in a small town called Beacon Hills, just out of California. My parents wanted to go to California, but once upon a time ended up falling in love with this small town. Now, I'm convinced they hate it. They complain just about everything in this town, and I know that soon, we're going to move. And right now, I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

My Dad works for the police. He's a deputy, one day he wants to become something bigger, like Sheriff Stilinski. And my Mom's a Doctor at the hospital. We're a pretty wealthy family, well-known around the town. The residents in this town respect this family. And that's something I don't like about our family, we have too much money, and because we have too much money, my parents are only friends with the wealthier side of this town. They're huge snobs about it, as well.

I still can't fall asleep.

It has been half an hour since midnight occurred, and my eyes aren't even close to drifting off to sleep. When will this end? When will I be able to not worry about anything? Would people even care if I ran away?

Runaway.

I've considered it multiple times. I've done it once. I managed to get to the woods with a backpack of various needs. That caused the town to go into a panic. Dad sent out a search party for me the minute they realised I hadn't been at home in hours or picked up my phone.

And the sad thing is, earlier this month I'd been planning to run away again, to do it better this time. But I couldn't pull through with it. Even running away is an effort.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard my parent's bedroom door shut. My door is wide open because my parents don't allow me to close my door at night. They hate it when I do, and if I do, I'll get grounded for a week.

I saw my Dad come out of his room, in his police uniform. I got out of bed and walked over to my door, and stood in the frame. "Dad?" I asked quietly. He was startled for a moment and turned around to face me.

"Paige." He breathes out. "You scared me. Why aren't you asleep? It's the first day of school tomorrow."

"I can't sleep," I admit, shrugging slightly. "What are you doing? Is everything okay?"

"Er... Everything's fine, sweetie." Dad kissed my forehead. "Just go to sleep." I didn't move as I watched him leave the hallway and down the stairs. I rushed to my window to catch him pulling out of the driveway in his police car. I knew one thing, everything was not okay.