fangs²[wyatt lykensen]

.4

FRO-YO AND STRANGERS

I FELT WYATT'S fingers brush against my arm lightly, causing me to turn and face him. His eyes studied me carefully, a comfortable smile on his lips as I leaned further against his chest, letting his arms wrap around my frame.

"Good morning," he says, the sleepiness in him making his voice deeper than it would normally be. I brush a piece of hair away from his face, the side of my mouth turning up into a smile as I do so.

"Morning," I replied, turning out of his grip so I could stretch. "What time is it?"

"Eleven," he answers calmly, but the reply makes me sit up straight and cover my torso with the blanket. I give him an incredulous look, but he furrowed his brows in return.

"We have to get back to the den. The wolves—" Wyatt cuts off my frantic words, gently pulling me back into his embrace.

"Relax," he said. "Wynter and Willa got it. I asked them to be in charge until we got back." He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. "I figured when you got up, we could go into town, get some fro-yo, and talk to Addison and her mom about any records they might've kept about something that would draw supernatural creatures here." I let out a sigh and rest my head on my hands as he continued to play with my hair softly.

I silently agreed to do as he planned, inwardly hoping that we would find something that would help us.

☽

"That was a bust," I complained, growing more frustrated with each dead end we'd come to. "There has to be something—anything. Every frickin' lead we've had has given us a dead end with nothing. Eliza called earlier, and guess what? Nothing." I ran a hand through my hair as Wyatt listened to me vent, knowing I needed to get it out. I sighed deeply after a few moments, kicking a small pebble in front of me down the street.

He wrapped his arm around my smaller frame, tugging me into his side before pressing a kiss to my head. "It's gonna be okay, Cora." He gestured to the fro-yo cart that sat at the end of the block. "C'mon. Getting fro-yo always cheers you up." He stepped ahead of me enthusiastically and went ahead to order the frozen treats. I leaned against a stop sign, my eyes trailing over the town surrounding me. My gaze landed on a blond boy standing down the opposite street. He seemed to be about my age and he stared directly at me, making my brows furrow. I stood up straight, knowing that he was trying to be intimidating.

"Hey, Wyatt," I said, turning to see the boy walking over with the two fro-yo cups. "Do you know who—" I cut myself off as my eyes landed back on the spot where the blond was standing, only to find him completely gone. "What?" I whispered out of confusion.

"What is it?"

"There was a guy—he was standing right over there a second ago, just staring at me." At my words, Wyatt passed my cup to me and took my empty hand in his. His brows furrowed as he looked around, shaking his head after a moment.

"You sure?" I nodded in response, making him shrug. "He must've ran off somewhere or went inside. I don't see anyone." With that, we began walking home and turned the corner.

As we did so, my eyes caught a glimpse of a head of blond hair at the fro-yo stand. I didn't see him for long, but in the time I did, he saw me as well and winked. It was as if he knew that I was perplexed at his presence. How did he get there so quickly? I didn't even see him move, I thought.

I turned back to face where we were walking, deciding to keep my mouth shut for the time being. I had never seen that guy around town before, so a small part of me wondered if he had anything to do with the threat that was coming. I took a bite of my food and sighed, choosing to take a small break and think more on it later.

☽

I shifted into my wolf form, leaving my clothes behind a larger tree that I would return to later. Wynter waited for me a few feet away, anxious to get started on patrol for tonight. "Meet back in an hour?" she requested. I gave her a nod, letting out a small howl she returned before both of us went in opposite directions.

I did my usual route of patrol, going all the way from the den to the cliff, then to the edge of town. Most wolves stayed closer to the den when they patrolled, but I tended to go further just as a precaution. I wanted to make sure the forest was safe, especially for when the younger wolves and pups went out and played; we didn't need them getting hurt.

After a while, I sat down near a tree and took a small break, making sure to be as quiet as possible once I did so. I could hear the squirrels and a few owls flying around, nothing out of the normal. But then a sudden snap of a twig alerted me to stand. I bared my fangs, the fur raising along my back as I stalked around the tree slowly, careful not to make my presence known yet.

My eyes focused on a human figure a few yards away and I inwardly growled at the sight. It was the same blond guy from town, sauntering around in the woods and stepping over fallen trees. I crept closer quickly, my paws barely making a noise as I precariously avoided the leaves. It was more than suspicious for someone to show up in town and then walk through the woods like they owned the place, so I knew I needed to find out more.

Sadly, a howl broke me out of my trained glare on the mystery boy and caused me to glance upwards, trying to locate where it came from. I could tell it was Wynter, meaning that the hour was already up and I needed to head back. I loosened up my muscles and let my fur lower back down. He got lucky, I thought.

I let out a strong howl, telling her I'd be back soon, causing the boy to stop in his tracks, look around and run away. I let out a huff. Next time he wouldn't be so lucky. There was something going on and I wasn't planning on staying in the dark for much longer.