The evening air felt thick, humid, and carrying a stillness that made every crackle and rustle echo in the silence. Bellatrix wrapped her hoodie tighter around her, weaving through thick underbrush and sidestepping branches that clawed at her face. She kept her phone in the air, a beacon of hope that might catch a single bar of reception—though she wasn’t holding her breath.

“Come on, work with me here,” she muttered, glancing at the blinking ‘No Service’ icon. She could practically hear Addison’s hopeful pep talk about “positive thinking,” but Bella just sighed. “Positivity doesn’t give you cell towers.”

After Zed’s less-than-stellar “surprise” stunt and their little scenic detour into the forbidden woods, Bella had been counting the seconds until they’d be rescued. But as time dragged on, she got tired of waiting, and the stale air of the bus didn’t help. So, she’d slipped out into the woods for a breath of fresh air—and to escape the cheerleaders’ increasingly anxious chatter.

She wasn’t planning to go far, just far enough for some silence, maybe even a spot with service if she was lucky. But as her steps took her deeper, the trees seemed to thicken, their branches intertwining like grasping fingers. Bella shivered. Despite her outwardly defiant attitude, even she had heard the stories about the forbidden woods. Seabrook wasn’t a normal town, and these woods weren’t exactly safe.

A snap of a twig behind her made her freeze, her eyes darting through the shadows. “Hello?” she called, her voice steady but low. Nothing answered. Just the eerie silence of the forest and her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

“Great, Bella. Just great,” she muttered, starting to walk faster, her phone still held high. “First, stranded on a bus with no service, and now, lost in the creepy woods.”

After a few more paces, she suddenly stepped into a small clearing, her footsteps halting at the edge. The moonlight filtered through the branches, casting an ethereal glow across the scene. She took a cautious step forward, glancing around, and felt an odd sense of being watched.

Then, her eyes landed on something that made her heart skip a beat.

A figure sat perched on a large rock in the center of the clearing, staring straight at her with piercing golden eyes that glinted even in the dim light. It was a girl, maybe a year or two older than Bella, with curly black hair streaked with a stark white strip that framed her face in contrast. Her posture was relaxed but alert, every inch of her radiating a predatory grace.

Bella swallowed, suddenly acutely aware of the silence around her. And then, as her eyes adjusted, she saw that it wasn’t just the girl who was watching her. Shadows shifted around the edges of the clearing—she was surrounded. Figures moved silently, their eyes reflecting moonlight. The pack. Wolves.

“Oh… perfect,” Bella muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She could feel her pulse quicken, but she forced herself to keep her face impassive. She was surrounded by wolves, and something told her these weren’t the friendly kind.

The girl on the rock tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she assessed Bella with an intensity that made her feel like she was under a microscope. Bella tried to play it cool, crossing her arms and fixing the girl with her own stare.

“So… are you going to tell your pets to back off, or are you just planning on staring all night?” Bella’s voice was defiant, but there was a quiver to it she couldn’t quite hide.

The girl’s lips curled into a half-smile. She shifted, leaning forward slightly, and Bella caught the faintest glimmer of amusement in those golden eyes.

“You’re in our woods,” the girl said, her voice low and soft but carrying a quiet strength that echoed in the clearing. “And I don’t recall giving you permission to be here.”

Bella scoffed, rolling her eyes even as her nerves tingled with alarm. “Right, because you’re the official welcoming committee or something? Look, I’m just trying to get some signal so I can call a ride out of this place.”

The girl’s gaze didn’t waver. “If you’re smart, you’d turn around now and head back the way you came.” She raised a brow. “But something tells me you’re not exactly the cautious type.”

Bella let out a humorless laugh, feeling a spark of defiance rise within her. “Oh, and you think cornering me with your pack is going to scare me? Hate to break it to you, but I’ve seen worse.”

The girl studied her, the amusement growing slightly. “Maybe you’re not as helpless as you look. But there are things in this forest that would make you think twice about straying in again.” Her gaze softened just a fraction. “This place isn’t safe. Especially for someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” Bella echoed, her tone laced with challenge. “Please, enlighten me.”

The girl just smiled, but there was something unsettling in it—like she knew something Bella didn’t. “The name’s Willa,” she said simply, and as if on cue, she tilted her head back and let out a long, haunting howl that sent shivers down Bella’s spine.

The pack responded instantly, their voices rising in a chilling harmony. Bella froze, watching Willa, who was now silhouetted against the moonlight, her eyes catching Bella’s in one final, wordless exchange.

Without another word, Willa leaped from the rock, and the pack followed, their movements swift and soundless. Within moments, they disappeared into the trees, leaving Bella alone in the eerie silence of the clearing.

She stood there, her heart pounding as her mind replayed the encounter. Willa, that haunting howl, and those wolves surrounding her like a silent, watchful audience. A surge of emotions flooded through her—fear, adrenaline, and a strange, grudging admiration.

“Okay, note to self,” Bella whispered, glancing over her shoulder as she began to retrace her steps, “maybe the pep squad’s got a point about not wandering off alone.”

As she walked, she kept glancing back, half-expecting to see those golden eyes watching her again. The forest seemed darker now, and every sound felt amplified, the shadows closing in with an intensity she hadn’t noticed before.

By the time she made it back to the bus, and immediately noticed Addison and the others noticed she was gone and had heard willa's howl and was even more freaked out

"Bella....was that a wolf howl?" Bree asked nervously sounding like a scared mouse

Well yeah it's the wolves territory bella said remembering what Willa told her

"So...We're not alone. We're surrounded by...werewolves." Addison said shocked as the aceys freaked out

"What? Wolves? What wolves Here wolves? Were-wolves?" The aceys said completely freaked

"Nobody's gonna believe this." Zed said

Boy was his zombie ass wrong.