The local police officers continued patrolling the streets and developments of Legend's Run, watching for appearances of wild animals. After the wolf incident at the high school, the town was still on alert. But so far there hadn't been any more wolves spotted at school.
However, there was a rumor spreading of another unusual sighting.
Abby and I were heading to the library to meet Ivy when we passed Heidi Rosen talking excitedly to her friend outside the auditorium. Abby loathed being the last person with the inside scoop. She stopped and we pretended we needed to check out the announcements on the bulletin board. Abby leaned in toward the gossiping girls.
"I swear!" Heidi said.
"Did it touch you?" her friend asked.
"No. But I thought it might."
"It?" Abby said in a hushed tone. "I wonder what it is."
"It had gray eyes," Heidi said. "And fangs."
"I think they are talking about a wolf," Abby whispered to me.
"It stood on two legs," Heidi went on.
"Maybe it's a circus wolf," I said to Abby.
"It was a werewolf, I swear!" Heidi said to her friend. "But don't tell anyone. I know people will think I'm crazy, but I had to tell you since you're my best friend."
I was stunned. Someone had spotted Brandon. But I was confused since it wasn't a full moon. Abby and I found Ivy down by her locker.
"You will never believe what I'm going to tell you," Abby declared.
"What? Heidi Rosen said she saw a werewolf?" Ivy asked nonchalantly.
"How did you know?" Abby asked.
"Jake just told me," Ivy replied.
"Who did he hear it from?" Abby questioned her.
"Nash."
"This is so bizarre," Abby said, lost in thought.
"I know. She's really lost her mind," Ivy said. "Or maybe it's that Wolfman, Brandon Maddox," she teased.
I wasn't thrilled by my friend alluding to Brandon being a werewolf. But the reality was she was right.
"Well, maybe if Heidi stayed away from Nash, then she wouldn't be seeing things," I said.
"She's been texting him," Ivy said, defending my ex, "but he refuses to see her."
"She isn't spending any time with him," Abby said. "We've made sure of that."
"Yes, he's all about you," Ivy said.
"I've told you," I assured them. "It's okay. Nash and I are over."
Ivy tried her best to hide her frustration. "If you need time to forgive him," she said, softening, "that's okay. But please, don't take too long."
By lunchtime, rumor of Heidi's werewolf spotting had made its way around the entire school. But what was worse was the other gossip I overheard later that day. I was passing the biology lab when I heard a few tech guys talking by the door.
"I was coming back from computer club when this thing jumped out from behind a tree. I tried to get it on tape, but when I downloaded it, it was so fuzzy all you could see were trees. Here - look." He showed his friend his iPhone.
"There's nothing here," he said. "Seems you need to get glasses for your glasses."
"I saw something weird last night, too," the tech guy insisted as his friends entered the classroom. "I swear on my iPod. I saw fangs."
The next few days, the werewolf-spotting stories escalated. Everyone swore they'd had an encounter with some creature of the night, and I hadn't been able to even speak about it with Brandon. I knew he must be fraught with confusion. But the person closest to him and the situation was the one he was suddenly keeping away. He hadn't returned my calls lately, and I was worried.
Nash cornered me just as I opened the main door to exit the campus after a particularly nerve-racking day at school. "Have you seen the werewolf yet?" Nash asked.
"Not unless he's standing in front of me."
"Well, I don't believe it, either. How could anyone really see a werewolf? Besides, it's not even a full moon," he said.
"I know, that's what I thought," I said.
Nash raised an eyebrow at my serious tone but then shrugged it off.
"Although, who's to say..." he continued. "Maybe any moon can turn them. Wolves come out every night. Why wouldn't a werewolf? Why would he wait for only a full moon to claim his next victim?"
I shuddered at his suggestion. Wasn't it enough for Brandon to change under the full moon? Now we'd have to deal with all moons?
"I have to get home," I said. I was hoping to catch Brandon before he left so I could see how he was doing. And I missed him.
"I don't want you walking home, Celeste. Or anywhere, for that matter. I think it's best that you are always around someone. And I think that someone should be me." Nash didn't speak with his usual confidence but rather with a soft, genuine quality.
"Please, I insist," he said. "I'll drive you." He even took my backpack from me and started walking toward his car.
"I thought you hated wolves," I said.
"I do - but I'd hate for you to be involved with one even more."
I hesitated in the doorway. "Just as friends," I called after him.
"Just as friends," he confirmed.
It was hard, knowing Nash as long as I had, to completely sever all ties with him. And I had been so busy with Brandon, I hadn't had the chance to miss Nash's friendship.
Brandon's Jeep was already gone. I'd have to seek him out as soon as possible.
I decided to work on my research that evening. I checked my notes and my calendar. The moon was waning, still weeks away from being full again. I reviewed my observations on our romantic date with the wolves, the time I saw Brandon in the woods by the gymnasium, and watching him turn. I included these new werewolf sightings in my calendar.
Unfortunately, my efforts to make contact with Brandon weren't going well. Brandon wasn't returning my calls or texts. I felt so awful for him, truly isolated from me, the other students, and now from the town. I wouldn't even be able to get to Dr. Meadows, who I knew was desperate to meet Brandon. Everything was getting so out of hand. I felt the world was caving in on us.
"It has to be wolves," my dad said at dinner about the werewolf sightings. I was like my father - skeptical about anything unfamiliar or not scientifically proven. But now I knew that a werewolf did exist and that he was being spotted by the local community.
"People don't have anything better to do than gossip," my mom said, referring to the town's rumors.
"After those wolves showed up at your school," my dad said, "I'm sure it put thoughts in people's minds."
"Everyone is talking about it," my mom chimed in.
"Make sure you don't walk home. Get a ride or I'll pick you up," my dad told me. "Call me anytime."
"I have to admit a few girls at work said they saw one, too," my mom added.
"I want you on a curfew," my dad said to me.
"What?"
"Just for the time being," he continued. "You've already had a run-in with a pack of wolves, and then they showed up at school. I don't want it to happen again."
"Dad!" I said.
"I don't want to be the bad guy here, but I have to put my foot down."
A curfew wasn't really something I needed, as I was always back home well in advance of any grounding possibilities. But I didn't like that the once-peaceful town was suddenly overridden with fear. It seemed full moons, folklore, and strange events were affecting not only me and Brandon but the entire town of Legend's Run.