Chapter 136

I stared into a pair of red eyes, my body frozen in place.

Something in my head screamed at me to run, but I couldn't get my limbs to move. The rogue stared at me through the trees, nothing but its eyes and its faint outline visible. A shiver ran down my spine. What if it attacked me? There was nothing I could do to protect myself.

The rogue growled, the sound making goosebumps rise across my skin.

The rogue moved forward, and I stumbled back, landing hard on my ass in the dirt. The wolf shifted even closer, the long lines of its pelt coming into view as I scrambled back. My hands fought for purchase in the mud as it took another step. I pulled myself to my feet and sprinted for the house, my heart drumming a relentless rhythm in my ears. I couldn’t think, and I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even scream.

I scrambled to get the back door open with shaking fingers. To my luck, the door swung open, and I fell into the dark basement. I closed the door behind me and locked it. When I looked out at the backyard, nothing was there. The rogue hasn’t followed me.

I let out a heavy breath and took a step away from the door.

The first word that came back to me was his name–Matt. I didn’t know where he was, but I had to find him. Now more than ever. He’d know what to do.

I climbed the stairs out of the basement and found myself in a hallway near the kitchen. A few people gave me curious looks when I emerged from the door, but I just closed it behind me. When I tried the door again, I found that it was locked.

The kitchen was as packed as before, and I inched my way through, trying to peer over the crowd.

“Oh my God, what happened to you?” someone laughed.

I turned to the side. A group of Sabrina’s friends were standing near the counter. The girl at the front eyed my dirty jeans. I was too worried to really care. The fact that I had mud all over me didn’t make a difference.

“Did you roll around in the mud?” another one asked. A few of them giggled, but I barely heard them. There were too many people here. I needed to find Matt before something terrible happened.

“She’s so weird,” one of them whispered to the other.

“Sabrina’s right.”

“Have you seen Matt?” I asked, ignoring them. For the first time, their words didn’t reach me. They didn’t hurt me. More important things were going on, and this petty drama didn’t rank on the scale. This was life or death. If I wasn’t so freaked out, I would have felt proud.

“What?”

I leveled her with a hard stare. “Do you know where Matt is or not?”

She rolled her eyes. “Living room, I think.”

I didn’t even bother to thank her before I pushed my way toward the room. “Watch it,” a girl snapped when I stepped on her foot, but I ignored her. God, where was he? I need him. Someone reached out and grabbed my arm, and I squealed.

“It’s just me,” Matt said, his eyes wide. A few people gave me weird looks, and I couldn’t really blame them. I was a frantic mess.

“I saw one.” I clutched onto his arm, and he leaned down to hear me. “I saw a rogue in the woods. It had red eyes, and it was huge.”

His jaw tightened. “Why were you in the woods?”

“Does that really matter right now? It’s near the house. What if someone goes out there?”

“Fuck.” He stood up to his full height and pulled me along by the hand. He stopped at the front entrance and put his phone to his ear. I heard the dial tone, then the sound of someone’s deep voice on the other end. “Enzo, you need to get over to Seth’s. Now! Yeah, Celeste saw one in the woods. I don’t know why. Just get here. No, I’m not waiting.”

He hung up the phone. “I need you to stay here.”

“No, you don’t know where it is.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Matt, I’m coming with you. If you try to stop me, I’ll just follow you.”

He sighed but didn’t argue further. He and I both knew we didn’t have time for an argument. What if someone else from the party decided to go outside? It was a miracle someone else hadn’t happened on the rogue already.

I led him around the side of the house and over to the woods. I stopped at the edge of the forest. “It was there,” I said, pointing through the trees.

He narrowed his eyes and followed my gaze. “I don’t see anything.”

I took a few steps into the woods. “I swear…”

He followed me, grabbing onto my arm with a frantic expression. “Celeste–”

Before he could finish, the rogue appeared between the trees. The sight of its glowing red eyes and gaping maw sent a shiver of dread through me. Saliva dripped from its bared teeth. Matt immediately moved me behind him.

“Get back to the house, Celeste. Get Seth.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Celeste, I’ll be fine.” When I looked up at him, his eyes were more gold than blue. He was going to shift. “Go get Seth.”

I nodded and broke into a run, heading for the back door. Behind me, I heard growling, then the heavy pad of footsteps as the rogue broke into a run. Something chased after it, a deep howl splitting the night. Matt must have shifted.

I tried the back door but realized at the last minute that I’d locked it earlier. “Fuck,” I said, my hands shaking. Frantic tears pooled in my eyes.

“Celeste?” a voice called. Seth came running around the corner, his phone in his hands. “I got an alert. Where’s Matt?”

I pointed a shaking finger at the woods. “It was in there. I think he’s chasing it.”

Seth swore under his breath. “Get inside,” he said, then he took off for the woods at a full sprint.

I did as I was told. Enzo was pulling into the driveway just as I reached the front of the house. He parked his car at an odd angle, then jumped out. The minute he saw me, he ran over. “What happened?” he asked, his eyes roving over me.

“There’s a rogue in the woods. Matt’s chasing it. I think Seth went after them.”

Enzo swore under his breath.

“Enzo, it was huge,” I said, thinking of Matt’s injuries that last time he had to deal with one. “What if something happens?”

He gave my arm a reassuring squeeze. “He’ll be alright. Let’s go in. I have to make sure no one goes in the backyard.”

I nodded and followed Enzo into the house. At least I could help Enzo keep everyone at the party safe. I couldn’t help Matt, and the thought of it killed me a little.

“He’s going to be fine,” Enzo repeated when he noticed the look on my face.

“You’re right.”

Still, I couldn’t get the image of him bruised and battered out of my head. What if something really terrible happened?