"Gross, Abby! Besides, I love Jake."
"Duh. I know that, but if not."
"Ooh," she said. "Not going there."
"C'mon, Ivy!" Abby said. "You have to pick one."
"Well, I guess I'd choose the redhead. I thought he was cute. I mean, no, I don't!"
"You do!" Abby squealed.
"Now you, Celeste."
"Yes, we've both done it," Ivy said, looking in the rearview mirror.
"Who would you choose?" Abby pressed.
I couldn't bear to think about anyone besides Brandon. "Brandon is the only guy for me," I said.
Ivy pulled into Abby's driveway and turned off the engine.
"But if he didn't exist," Abby said.
"I don't know-"
"You have to say. We did," Ivy insisted. "I'm not letting you out until you do." She pressed the locks on the car.
Ryder was different. He was unlike any guy in town-or that I'd ever seen. He was edgy and had piercings and tattoos. I was intrigued by his style and brazen attitude, though put off by his rude behavior. Now that my friends put me on the spot, I couldn't help but wonder what I'd think of him if I hadn't met Brandon. I thought long and hard. The three guys were each hot in their own right. But there was one who looked a lot like the guy I was already in love with. "Ryder," I said.
"I knew it!" Abby said. "There's a connection there."
"There is not."
"I could feel it," she went on. "He is so hot for you!"
"No he's not. Don't say that. I love Brandon."
"Leave her alone," Ivy told Abby.
"He doesn't even know me," I said.
"He doesn't have to. It's your beauty and aura," Abby teased.
Ivy unlocked the doors and we all got out. We went into Abby's house, and Pumpkin and Champ played around as we ate pizza. I continued to be distracted by our new situation. I think we had just come in contact with three more handsome, but freaky, werewolves.
When I got home, I had a hard time shaking Ryder from my thoughts. The way he stared at me was no longer creepy-it was intense. It was as if he knew me-or wanted to know me. The part that bothered me was that it was slightly thrilling. He was so intense and confident, it was attractive.
I'd also never been exposed to someone like him. Was he a hood or a thug or just a misunderstood teen? He was the opposite of anyone I'd ever been attracted to in my life. He lived on the edge, and though this usually turned me off, I found in this case I was battling myself because this time it didn't.
I'd had a crush on Nash for a few years before we dated. He was handsome. Popular. A basketball star.
And I was so in love with Brandon, sometimes I couldn't see straight. I loved everything about him: the way he was compassionate toward animals, the times he helped his grandmother with groceries, how he wasn't afraid to put his life in harm's way. He really was the most courageous guy I'd ever known.
Ryder was also something out of the ordinary. I wasn't sure why he was so interested in me. I might not give him a second thought, since I was already in love with someone else, but there was this magnetic pull I had toward him that I couldn't shake. His edgy personality and intensity stuck with me; I was having a hard time getting him out of my mind.
I wondered what it would be like if I'd never met Brandon or Nash-that I'd met Ryder instead. Would I be the kind of girl who would be pulled to someone who was so unlike myself? And live on the wild side with a dangerous and daring guy with spiky hair, tattoos, and more earrings than I wore?
But I was in love with someone-and it wasn't him. It was Brandon. A handsome, rugged gentleman in his own right, with integrity and a zest for life and nature that appealed to me way more than a reckless, back-talking, attractive punk. I reminisced about being held in Brandon's powerful embrace and being lost when our lips touched and melted together. It wasn't long before I forgot all about a guy named Ryder.
NINE
wicked werewolves
I wasn't able to see Brandon until the following day at school, and I was so hungry to tell him the latest details.
"Remember those weird guys that I saw at the convenience store and the mall? They showed up near my house." We sat on the school's front steps as I told Brandon all about what had transpired.
"I wish I had known what was going on at the mall," he said. "I would have jumped out of the doctor's office and come right away."
"You had a good reason to be somewhere else. Is your grandmother all right?" I asked.
"I should be asking if you are okay."
"Yes, I'm okay." I smiled sweetly. "What did the doctor say about her?"
"To beware of the full moon."
I was stunned. But then he grinned, and we both laughed.
"It was just her annual checkup," Brandon went on. "I can't believe I wasn't there for you," he lamented.
"It's okay. I'm fine. Just a bit shaken up."
"Who are these guys?" he wondered. "Why have they come to town? And why are they bothering you?"
"One of them said that they've come for the Legend's Run Werewolf Fest."
"But that's a week away."
"I know. But I might know why. I think they are werewolves."
"You do?" he asked with concern. "Why?"
"The way one of them eyed Champ. Champ was barking and growling. Then Ryder stared at him, and Champ lay down as if he were ready for a nap. It's the same skill you've had since you transformed. Nash did it to Apollo, too, remember?"
Brandon turned away from me as if he was really hit by this news. "There are more werewolves than just me and Nash?"
I nodded. "I think so."
"This can't have happened," Brandon said. "How?"
"I don't know. But I am convinced that they are werewolves."
"This can't be happening," Brandon reiterated.
"I'm freaking out, too," I conceded. "And what if they aren't like you and Nash? You saw it-Nash isn't the same kind of werewolf you are. He's mean. These guys are rude by day-imagine what they'd be like if they turn at night?"
"We have enough to deal with already." Brandon was clearly worried. "This isn't fair. How can we handle everything at once?"
I was overwhelmed, too. "We'll have to think of something. They said they were looking for new friends. I think I know what they mean."
He turned to me. "You?"
I nodded again. "I'm afraid."
"I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I know that. But what if they want all of us? You can't be everywhere!"
"Nash will be taking the serum soon. Then at least he will hopefully be normal. But now you think there are more? I haven't got a cure for all of us."
"I don't know if that is what they're after. They seem like a gang. I think they might be searching for more members."
"More werewolves?"
"I know … . They seemed so interested in me-and Ivy and Abby. I can't have my friends in jeopardy."
"What do we do?" he wondered, frustrated.
"Maybe we should ask Nash to wait to take the cure in case we need help with these new werewolves."
"I can't ask him that."
"I know. I will," I said.
"We can handle this alone. I can handle this alone."
"I'm not sure we have that choice. Dr. Meadows warned me-so if it isn't you or Nash … it might be-"
"One of them?" he asked.
I was truly frightened. My eyes filled with tears. My whole life was so far out of hand.
"We need to find them before the full moon," Brandon said just as first bell rang. After class, I caught up to Nash at his locker.
"I need to talk to you," I said hurriedly.
"Me first," he said. "I want to tell you and Brandon thank you. I've been acting so strangely lately. I know it's the full moon approaching. But the only thing that is saving me from going crazy is knowing that I'll be able to take that serum."
"That's what I want to talk to you about."
He paused. "He doesn't have it?"
"No, he does."
Nash was relieved. But then his bright expression darkened. "He's not going to let me have it?"
"Can you just listen?"
"Fine. Go ahead," he said impatiently. "But I do want to say this: When I am normal, things can be right again between us. He'll still be a werewolf-with all the unpredictable events that go along with it. But you should be with someone you can count on. You deserve that, Celeste."
"I appreciate your looking out for me," I said as sweetly as I could. "But this isn't about us. You understand I am with Brandon-whether he is a werewolf or not."
He rolled his eyes. "A guy can try."
"I need you to understand that." I wanted Nash to know where we stood-for now and the future-and do it in a kind and sympathetic way.
"Yes. Yes," he said. "I do."
"But I need your help this time. For me."
"Okay. Just tell me."
"There is something that happened in the last few days."
"What happened?"
"These guys that came to town-you might have heard about them from Ivy and Abby. They are here for the Werewolf Festival."
"Are they the creepers?"
"Yes. That's them."
"Did they bother you?"
"Yes. And I'm afraid of them."