The full moon was only days away, and Trevor could see it clearly in the way Scott was acting. Slowly, bit by bit, Scott was becoming more unstable. At their last practice, even though Scott had decent control over his shift, the approach of the full moon was already getting to him.
The whistle blew.
The sound yanked Trevor out of his thoughts. The coach had signaled the end of lacrosse practice.
"Move it, marshmallows! I've got something to say in the locker room."
Everyone filed in and waited for the coach to speak.
"As you all know, we've had some seriously talented freshmen this year — Belmont, McCall. It would be a damn shame not to put both of them on the team. I was talking with the history teacher, and he gave me an interesting idea I think is worth a shot. We're not gonna have just one captain anymore — we're going with three. A triumvirate."
Danny, still sitting, raised his hand.
"But, Coach, didn't the triumvirate kind of fail in Rome?"
The coach stopped and gave him a long look.
"Are we in Rome, Danny? Relax. It's gonna work fine. Now, here are your three leaders: McCall, Belmont, and Jackson. That's it. Get changed, and we'll talk more next practice."
He turned and headed for the exit. Jackson, who had been hit hard by the announcement, snapped out of his daze and went after him.
"Coach, this isn't right. It's not fair."
"Next practice, Jackson. We'll talk then."
And just like that, the coach was gone. Jackson spun around, fuming.
"Ugh. You've gotta be kidding me. He takes captain away and lumps me together with those two?"
He shot a venomous glare at Scott and Trevor. Scott stayed where he was, a small proud smile on his face at being named one of the captains. Trevor didn't care much either way. He just grabbed his things and got ready to leave. Unfortunately for him, Jackson came looking for a fight.
Jackson stepped right up and jabbed a finger at Trevor's chest.
"Listen here, just because the coach picked you doesn't mean—"
Trevor didn't let him finish. He swatted Jackson's hand aside with one sharp, deliberate motion.
"First, I couldn't care less. Second, don't come at me with that scowl — a scowl just tells me you're hungry. Now get out of my way."
He walked straight past him, one thought cutting through his mind:
I've got bigger things to deal with than scrapping with some teenager.
Trevor caught a ride with Alisson again.
"Hey! I heard you're one of the lacrosse captains now. That's awesome!"
"Thanks. Definitely wasn't expecting it."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do great. So, um, changing the subject… I was doing research for that history paper and I found out something really cool about my family."
She grabbed a book from the glove compartment as she spoke.
"Here, open it to the bookmark."
Trevor did, and the first thing he saw was the image of an enormous werewolf lurking in the shadows, two blood-red eyes burning through the page. Beneath it, the inscription read:
La Bête du Gévaudan.
"The Beast of Gévaudan," Trevor murmured.
"You know it?"
"I've heard of it."
"Well, if you know the story, you know the beast was killed by a hunter. And the hunter's last name? Argent. Can you believe it? One of my ancestors is part of an old legend."
Trevor wasn't sure how to react. He just said, "That's really cool. How did you even find this out? I mean, it doesn't seem like something you just stumble across on the internet."
Alisson looked over at him.
"My aunt Kate told me about it. She even gave me this necklace — said it's a family heirloom."
Trevor's voice turned careful. "That's great, Alisson. I'm happy for you."
After that, silence filled the car. Trevor's mind wasn't on the conversation. Alisson was starting to uncover the supernatural, and he knew exactly what that could lead to. A quiet war raged inside him as he tried to figure out what to do. One thing, however, he was dead certain about: Kate had her own plans, and she meant to pull Alisson into the supernatural world.
In the middle of the heavy silence, Alisson tried to break the ice.
"What about you, Trevor? Did you find out anything interesting about your family?"
That just made everything worse.
"Nothing much. Turns out my family comes from some old bloodline in Romania."
"Really? Kate mentioned your family might be just as ancient as mine, if not more."
Trevor dodged with a small, forced laugh. "My family isn't anything special. Just old. Nothing as cool as yours."
"Okay."
They didn't say much else until they got home. Trevor practically bolted for his house, desperate to escape the situation. But before he could slip away, Alisson called out.
"Oh! I almost forgot. Dad wants you to come over for dinner tonight."
Trevor didn't have much of a choice, so he accepted and said he'd be there.
"See you tonight, then, Alisson."
"See you."
Trevor walked fast, reached his door, and stepped inside. Everything was just as he'd left it. He dropped his bag and headed to make a sandwich. Then — a sudden knock at the sliding glass door in the living room. His body tensed, but one glance told him exactly who it was.
The coyote.
"What a surprise. What are you doing here?"
He slid the door open. The coyote looked at him, then fixed its eyes on the sandwich on the counter.
"You little bottomless pit. Didn't I already bring you food today?"
He was already grabbing the sandwich and handing it over. The coyote devoured it in seconds. Trevor pulled out a chair, sat down right next to the animal, and tried something new — he reached out and gently ran his hand over the coyote's head. The reaction caught him completely off guard. No bite. No growl. The coyote accepted the touch as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Trevor smiled at the breakthrough and stayed beside the coyote while it finished eating. When the sandwich was gone, they remained close for a quiet moment, and Trevor knew it was time to say what needed to be said.
"The full moon's coming in a few days. Be careful out in the woods. I'll try to keep visiting your den every day, but I might not show up. Just don't worry about me."
The coyote looked straight at Trevor, its eyes holding an understanding that went far beyond a wild animal's — and gave a small, deliberate nod.
They stayed together a little longer. As dusk deepened, the coyote slipped away into the shadows, and Trevor got ready for dinner at the Argents'.