[ ngl, the next few chapters are kinda anti-addison. so, sorry to my addy stans but she's like my lead favorite. i understand the appeal tho ]

☽︎

YOU DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO BE CHEER CAPTAIN UNTIL I SAID I WANTED IT.

Carson shut her locker softly, which revealed one of Zed's new campaign posters. She narrowed her eyes, taking in how he now had a slight tan and hair that was more black than green. He looked human, and Carson hated it, knowing he wasn't going about this election the right way. Perhaps she could speak with him about it after the day's cheer practice, which Carson had to go change for.

But as she went down the hall, she spotted a particular alpha without any of her pack mates near, which was odd. Carson approached Willa, figuring now was as good a time as ever to discuss the moonstone with her.

"Hey, Willa," she greeted. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"I can't imagine what I'd ever need to discuss with you," she said stiffly. Willa wished she had her fellow wolves with her to make her more comfortable, but she'd already ordered them to spy on Addison at cheer practice.

Carson sighed, knowing she'd never make progress with Wyatt's sister. "Look, it's about the moonstone," she said.

Willa perked right up at her words. "You've found it?" she asked desperately. "Where?"

"I've not found it," she said quickly. "But I have found a spell. I'll have to wait and perform it at night, but I think it'll at least narrow its location down to a few miles. It'll give your pack a place to start looking."

"Oh," Willa said, both disappointed they didn't have to stone but also surprised Carson was being helpful. "Well, thank you. I'm tired of waiting for the Great Alpha to show up — we can find it ourselves with you."

Carson tilted her head, alarm bells sounding in her head. "Great Alpha?" she questioned. She'd heard the term before but hardly remembered the final details in her father's bedtime story. "Aren't you the alpha?"

Willa stiffened, not particularly wanting to share with Carson. But she also knew if Carson went to Wyatt, her mate, for answers, she'd get them anyway. "There's a prophecy. Our pack has been waiting since I was born for some Great Alpha to appear and lead us to safety and unity. And she's supposed to lead us to the moonstone."

"But where does that leave you?" she couldn't help but ask, concerned about Willa's position. "I mean, you're the alpha."

"For now," she replied. "And if the Great Alpha comes, I will gladly hand my status over."

It felt like a lie, and they both knew it. "Well, Great Alpha or not," Carson said, "you're the one saving your pack. You've led them and kept them alive. You brought them to Seabrook to get the moonstone. Even if she does show up, don't let her ignore all the work you've done or take credit. It's your pack, Willa, and always will be."

Willa's eyes widened. So many wolves were waiting for the Great Alpha, and she knew her pack didn't truly want her in the position all because of some bogus prophecy on a cave wall written by a long-since-dead Elder.

"You know," Willa said slowly, fiddling with her claws behind her back. "You're not half bad, Buchanan."

Carson grinned, unable to believe she got Willa to admit something like that. "Neither are you. And it's Lupin-Buchanan," she said. "I hyphenated after being adopted."

"Lupin?" Willa questioned, her eyes going wide. She'd heard that last name many times from her father when he'd discuss his old best friend and ex-alpha. But that certainly had to be a coincidence.

"Yeah," Carson said cluelessly. "Dad's last name. I've got to get changed for cheer practice. Can't be late since I'm helping lead it with Addy. But I'll find you as soon as I know anything from the location spell."

Then she was gone, spinning on her heel and taking off for the locker rooms, leaving Willa with many questions she didn't want to be asking herself.

☽

When Carson left the locker room, now in her cheerleading uniform, she headed to the gym. At the entrance, Bucky was waiting for her and had a clipboard in hand to take notes on both her and Addison's leadership styles.

"I see you've arrived early and Addison hasn't," he noted while scribbling that down. Carson rolled her eyes, knowing he'd get bored halfway through and start doodling pictures of himself later on.

"I don't know how you're gonna cope with not bossing everyone around today," she joked while fixing her ponytail.

"It'll be hard, but at least I can channel you as you boss them around," he said, sighing heavily and placing a hand to his chest. Then he smiled. "So, you ready?"

"Born ready, obviously."

"Hey, before we go in," he said, gently taking her hand. Carson looked up at her brother expectantly. "I'm really proud of you, Sis. And it's big of you to also give Addison a chance at this. But I want this for you — not just because I'm your brother. You'd be an amazing captain who would care about the team in all the ways that matter."

Carson moved to hug him tightly. "Thanks, Buck," she said softly. "I didn't really care as much when this started — it was more about competing for the spot. But I want to be captain too, and I know I deserve it."

"And we both know you get what you want," he said, smirking. "Alright. Tighten that ponytail and get out there. Make someone cry."

"My money's on JC," Carson said, knowing some of the warmups she had picked out were less than easy and he was still a newbie.

With that, Carson entered the gym. Most of the squad had arrived and they weren't the only ones in there either. Carson was surprised to see almost the entire pack of werewolves sitting on the bleachers. Wyatt was sitting next to Wynter, and his eyes fell on her instantly. She quickly looked away, pretending not to notice how his eyes scanned her form, taking in the short skirt and exposed skin.

With Addison not there yet, Carson instructed the squad to do some warmup stretches. Any time any of them quit to stare nervously at the wolves, she snapped at them to focus. They performed in front of audiences all the time, so they shouldn't have been so bothered.

Addison didn't arrive until right at four thirty, and she didn't even look around as she blew her whistle excitedly, coming to stand by Carson. "I am so fired up to be running cheer practice with Carson. Together, we can do anything."

Finally, she noticed how nervous and scared many of the cheerleaders looked, who weren't paying attention. They were looking at the bleachers, so Addison finally turned around, noticing the wolves.

"Sorry, but this practice space is for cheerleaders only," Addison said, stepping closer. Carson widened her eyes, wondering if she was really going to ask them to leave.

"Ha!" Wynter said, standing threateningly. "Just try and get us to leave."

"Wynter," Wyatt said, standing as well to subdue her. "Some respect."

"No, I don't want you to leave," Addison said, shaking her head. "I want you to stay. Show us what you can do. The cheer team is for everyone."

"We're werewolves, not cheerleaders," Wynter told her, scoffing. Several of the other wolves nodded in agreement. "We're not joining you. Like we told your zombie boyfriend — our pack is all we need."

"Don't think of it as joining," Carson said, smiling. "Think of it as your pack hanging out with mine."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Wyatt said with an easy smile. He looked back at his pack and nodded his head. Then they all got up and joined the squad on the floor.

Carson wasn't a person to get jealous, but fuck, if her blood didn't boil a little when Wyatt instantly walked over to Addison to be partners. Sure, she liked Wynter a lot and knew they'd work well together. But why didn't Wyatt come to her first?

Of course, she had no idea Willa ordered him to stay near Addison and observe her leadership qualities for the day, wanting to see what kind of Great Alpha she might be. Wyatt would've much rather been with his mate, getting to touch her and lift her over his shoulders.

With everyone partnered up, the music began and the cheerleaders showed the werewolves the steps. Once they felt they were confident enough, they joined in too. It wasn't long at all before everyone was cheering perfectly. Carson and Wynter moved in sync for most of it but separated when it came time for the flyers to branch off. She was lifted up into the air and held one leg in the air as she posed. As the music came to an end, she was boosted up and did a turn before falling into a pair of arms.

Strong arms that sent a warm, electric feeling through her, telling her just who it was. Carson stared at his broad chest for a moment, noticing his moonstone necklace before looking up at him. Wyatt's arms tightened around her, pulling her even closer to him, thumb rubbing slow circles on her thigh with the arm that was under her legs.

"So, how'd we do?" he asked her as everyone else started celebrating.

"You're perfect," she managed to say, really only able to focus on his fingers on her thigh. When Carson realized she called him perfect instead of his performance, her cheeks heated up. She then cleared her throat. "You can, uh, put me down now."

Wyatt smirked down at her. "Sure you really want me to?"

Carson rolled her eyes at him before moving to get down. Once her feet were on the floor, she moved to compliment the rest of the wolves on how well they did.

"That was so amazing," Addison said, moving toward Wyatt. "You are all natural cheerleaders."

"We wolves work well together," he said, smiling at her.

Addison tilted her head. "But I'm not a wolf."

At that, Wyatt simply hummed and continued to stare at her, which confused Carson. She bit the inside of her cheek and kept complimenting the other wolves, telling herself she didn't care how Wyatt was taking interest in Addison. She was great at attracting friends and always had been.

Suddenly, Wynter began coughing loudly as her eyes glowed. Carson rushed to her side and let the wolf lean on her, slowly sinking to the ground with her as her legs got shaky. Wynter's necklace was glowing blue as well, a sign that her depleting moonstone was the cause of this.

"It's gonna be okay," Carson told her, keeping her steady. She also caught Bree's eye and nodded her head toward a water bottle, getting her to bring it over so Wynter could drink some of it. Once she caught her breath, she smiled thankfully at Carson.

Bucky, who hardly took notice of Wynter's coughing fit, came over with the intent of talking to Addison and Carson. "Well done, Sis, Addison. With werewolves on cheer, this election is so in the bag," he told them with a grin. His plan of letting them approach the cheer squad themselves worked, especially after Zed's nightmare attempt at talking to them yesterday.

Addison sighed at her cousin's attitude. "Bucky, this is not about politics. I always just felt like cheer could unite. I mean, we could move beyond trophies and start an outreach program."

"Whoa," Bucky said, shaking his head. "Cheer is what I say cheer's about. And it's about winning — I don't get why that's so hard for you to grasp. Which is why the candidate who helped unite the cheerleaders and werewolves and knows what needs to be done to win is going to be our new cheer captain. Carson."

"I'm gonna be cheer captain!" Carson exclaimed, jumping up and down a little bit.

"That's amazing," Wynter said, grinning at her. The other cheerleaders clapped, and the Aceys came over to give Carson hugs.

By the time Carson was finished accepting all her congratulations, she sought out Addison to see how she was doing with the loss — certainly not to rub it in. Well, Addison was doing completely fine, it seemed, as Wyatt was holding her hand and staring deeply into her eyes.

"You are a leader, Addison, but of something a lot greater than cheer," Wyatt was saying softly. Addison's cheeks flushed as she looked down at their hands and back up at his eyes, not letting go or putting space in between them.

Okay, Carson thought. Yeah, she was fucking jealous, especially when Addison was supposed to only look at Zed like that and knew for a fact Carson had feelings, no matter how confusing, for the werewolf.

The excitement of getting captain washed away, and she found herself stomping out of the gym, not looking back at them. Something surprisingly close to a growl left her lips. And Carson wasn't the only one that was jealous. Zed had been watching practice from the door and saw the moment Wyatt was having with his girlfriend. He was right behind Carson, not wanting to see anymore.

"Zed!" they heard Addison calling while running after them. "Carson!"

"Carson?" Wyatt questioned cluelessly. He tried to follow too, but Wynter grabbed his shoulder and held him back, shaking her head.

When Zed stopped in the hallway, he also grabbed Carson's hand to keep her from running away. If he had to hear Addison out, he didn't want to be alone.

"Zed, Carson, what's wrong?" Addison asked them as they turned around.

"Werewolves. They're not interested in fitting in," Zed told her, voicing his own issues.

"They're into cheer," she said brightly.

"No, they're into you, and you're into him — them," he said, quickly correcting himself.

"What?" she asked, confused. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Do you know how hard it was for zombies? Now everything is just being handed to the werewolves on a silver platter," he said, scoffing.

"Actually, they hate silver," Carson said under her breath. Obviously, Zed was making this about something it wasn't. Carson didn't care how much easier it was — she was glad they weren't facing the same discrimination as the zombies. That was the whole point. That the future would be better for everyone because of all the hard work Zed and the others did.

"I'm trying to win an election for my people, for you. So we can go to Prawn, so we can be accepted," Zed went on.

Addison pointed to one of Zed's posters where he looked more human. "That's not being accepted," she said, earning a nod from Carson. "That's being afraid to show who you really are."

"She is right about that, Zed," Carson spoke up softly.

Zed scoffed at that. "Says the girls who wore a wig her whole life and hid her powers."

Carson rolled her eyes at his reasoning, unaffected. But Addison's eyes watered. "Yeah. I did because I always felt like an outsider. I still am. I didn't even get cheer captain! I don't have a place here!"

"Hey, you can't blame you not liking yourself on me," Carson said, narrowing her eyes at her cousin. "And I wasn't going to throw my chance just to pacify you like everyone else in your life does."

"Neither of you know what it's like," Addison spat, glaring at them both. "I don't have a zombie crew. I don't know what I am! So excuse me for respecting a pack of werewolves who are proud of who they are!"

"I don't know what it's like?" Carson asked, raising her voice. She didn't care as a few people peeked through the windows in the doors of the gym, obviously listening in. "I'm the only witch left alive in Seabrook with two dead parents, but you don't see me acting like this. Addison, you have a place. You have friends and family that love you. And you will never face the kind of hardships that Zed has, so you can't get mad at him when he makes a mistake or gets jealous when another group has it easier than he did!"

"Of course, you take his side. You never take my side," she cried.

"Because I'd have to consider you the center of the whole universe in order to take your side," she shot back. Then Carson groaned, watching Addison shed more tears.

"You're the selfish one, not me," she said, her chin wobbling. "You didn't even want to be cheer captain until I said I wanted it. You're just as horrible as your brother!"

"Yeah, that's true," she admitted, crossing her arms. "And I got it, not you, despite every single friend we share voicing how they wanted you to get it — again, center of their universe."

"Maybe that's because I'm more likable," Addison said sharply. "That would explain why Wyatt came to comfort me instead of congratulating you after the announcement."

Carson's fingernails dug into her palms as red magic swirled around her fist angrily. Even Zed took a step back, hurt by Addison's comment. She basically confirmed that she didn't mind how he was staring at her and holding her hand. Carson took a deep breath and shut her eyes, trying to calm down before her magic acted out rashly.

A flash of a memory danced through her brain, one of her throwing some boy across a playground when she was young. It was gone in a second, but she didn't want that happening to Addison. When she opened her eyes again, Carson glared at her cousin.

"I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow for the assembly being held to choose the president. When we make the human pyramid, you're demoted to the bottom."

"But you can't do that," Addison said, knowing it was the worst, most uncomfortable position, having to shoulder all the weight of everyone else.

"But I can," she said, smiling. "I'm the new captain if Bucky wins. And if Zed wins, well, Bucky's listening with all the others in the gym, and I'm sure he's not too happy with you either. Now, excuse me as I'd quite literally like to be anywhere else right now."

☽

Carson was at home, using her time away from everyone to relax and calm down. After a celebratory dinner for her and Bucky at a hibachi restaurant, even her family gave her some alone time. Bucky did a dramatic retelling of the fight between her and their cousin, and they could tell she was still annoyed. So, when they got home, they went their separate ways.

The rest of Carson's night was spent in the backyard where she did little tricks with her magic. She'd made random things float or create images with the red whisps, managing to finally calm down. Every few minutes, a flash of red would illuminate Bucky's window, letting him know she was still at it.

Suddenly, a lone howl cut through the night, startling her. Carson sat up and was surprised to see Willa's pack at the edge of her backyard. Addison was also there, looking confused as she hugged herself tightly.

"What's this?" Carson asked defensively. She wouldn't look at Wyatt or her cousin — only Willa.

"Have you done the spell?" Willa questioned, referring to their earlier conversation.

"Yeah," she told him, getting off the back porch swing. She'd done it as soon as the sun went down. "Zombietown, but that's still way too big to pinpoint its exact location."

"It's something," she said, the corners of her lips turning up gratefully. Then she nodded towards the trees, wanting her to join them. Wanting her there had nothing to do with Carson's magic, though. Willa had been repeating the girl's last name in her mind for hours and was following a hunch. "Come on."

"Where?" she asked.

"They won't tell me either," Addison said, deciding to speak up. "Just said it's important, but they didn't say we were stopping for you."

"Please, Carson," Wyatt said, his eyes glued to her as they always were. Well, they hadn't been at practice. He held out a hand to her. "Come with us."

With a sigh, Carson got off her porch and joined the pack. But she brushed past Wyatt, not taking his hand. He could hold Addison's hand if he wanted to so badly. Instead, she walked up front, beside Willa while Addison stayed in the back with Wyatt and Willa. The pack took them all the way into the Forbidden Forest. While Addison struggled with the terrain, unable to see, Carson didn't seem to have any trouble.

"Where are we going?" Addison asked, not liking being in the woods at night. It didn't matter that the wolves were there and would obviously keep them safe. The forest was too rough for her.

"It's a wolf secret," Wynter said lowly, getting in her face threateningly. "If we told you, we'd have to kill you." While Addison looked at her in alarm, and Wynter received scolding looks from the Lykensens, Carson had to bite back a smile. "Too much, too much, I knew it. Sorry," she said, chastising herself. "Welcome! But not too welcome!"

Before Carson could laugh, Wynter let out a growl, which triggered another coughing fit. Addison put a hand on her shoulder, not having noticed it happen at cheer practice. "Are you okay?"

Once Wynter caught her breath, she touched her moonstone necklace. "My necklace is losing its charge."

"Every day, more and more of our pack becomes sick because their moonstones lose their power," Wyatt explained. "All of our elders are too sick to travel, which leaves—"

"—Which leaves taking care of the pack to us. To me," Willa interrupted firmly. Then she moved to Wynter's side. "You'll be fine, Wynter. I promise." Willa glanced at her brother. "You'd better be right about this. We need to find the moonstone soon. That's why I brought Carson — so it's not a total waste if you are wrong, brother."

Then Willa marched further into the forest, the others following after her. When Addison was reluctant to go along, Wyatt gave her a gentle push. "Follow us, Addison. Please."

Carson sighed under her breath and picked up the pace, leaving the two alone. Unfortunately, Wyatt was just as fast as her, the landscaping not deterring him since he'd grown up in the forest. He was frustrated when she hardly acknowledged his presence, wondering what he'd done wrong — Wynter wouldn't explain it, though Wynter obviously knew what it was based on the way she'd shake her head or sigh heavily.

"Congratulations on getting captain," he said, trying to get her to open up. "You're gonna be amazing."

"Not as amazing as Addison would've been as captain, I'm sure," she said bitterly, making sure she wasn't loud enough for her cousin to hear. They didn't need to fight in front of the wolves.

"No," Wyatt said, shaking his head. "Carson, you're an amazing leader and just what the cheer team needs. But with Addison, it's different. She's what I need to—"

"What you need?" she asked, scoffing. "Foolish of me to get the wrong impression. But you're gonna have to fight off a very jealous zombie to get to her."

"What? No!" Wyatt said quickly, his eyes wide. "No, Carson. That's not what I meant. I don't want — not like that, with Addison. It - shit," he muttered, knowing he was messing things up. "Just give me until the end of the night. We're gonna explain things once we're at the den. Then you'll know why we brought Addison into all of this. But it's nothing to do with me having feelings — for her, at least."

Carson looked down, believing him for some reason. Maybe she just liked him so much that she was desperate to believe he wasn't interested in more than one girl. "The den?" she questioned, deciding to focus on that instead. "Like, you pack's den?"

"Yeah. It's just up ahead," he said, nodding forward.

"But I - I can't go to your den. I'm a witch, Wyatt. Wouldn't it be, like, forbidden or something to let a witch in?" she asked, not wanting to offend anyone with her presence.

Wyatt's chest felt warm as she cared so openly about his pack's traditions and safeguards. "Trust me," Wyatt said softly. He reached for her hand again, and she didn't pull away this time. "You will always be welcome where we're taking you."

Carson smiled down at their hands, her skin tingling at the contact. She squeezed comfortingly. "Then take me to the den, wolfy."

He smirked, pulling her closer by her hand. "I'll take you everywhere, Princess."

That didn't sound so bad.