[ heehee here we go ! zombies 2 has begun. they aren't five year olds anymore so i get to have actual tension and romance and shit i love it

also, it's gonna be v interesting to see what y'all comment throughout this chapter ]

☽︎

TELL ME HOW I MAKE YOU FEEL.

NOW

Cheer Camp — one week in the middle of the woods at a luxury cabin with an insane obstacle course challenge. It was a week of straight competition, pitting cheerleader against cheerleader while also cutting off their communication to the rest of the world, including shredding any letters they sent out or received.

It was brutal. Carson loved it.

The competition season was still a few months away, and after losing Nationals the year before, Carson was desperate to win something and rub it in another's face. She'd even joined the volleyball team since it didn't interfere with cheerleading. And yes, they had an undefeated season just like the football team, landing another trophy on Carson's trophy shelf at home. To make it worse — mainly for her friends — she was making most things into a competition. Who had the best grades? Who could build the biggest sand castle at the beach? Who could recruit the most new members for the squad? Who had the highest tolerance for spicy food?

The answer to all of those was Carson, though Bonzo had her sweating on that last one.

"I can't believe we're finally at cheer camp," Addison said from her spot next to her cousin. They were approaching the large cabin that would house them for the next week. "It's a place where everyone belongs! We're a unified squad and—"

"Split up!" Bucky ordered, cutting Addison's gushing off.

Carson snickered, seeing how Addison's face fell. Surely, she'd heard all the stories about the different ways to compete at camp. "Usually unified," she said under her breath in a slightly mocking tone.

With all of the cheerleading squad gathered, Bucky addressed them with a smirk on his face. "You've all heard the stories of bloodthirsty monsters who roam these woods, feasting on innocent cheerleaders," Bucky said, trying to scare everyone.

"Boo!" the Aceys suddenly shouted, jumping up behind Bree and Bonzo. It spooked them enough to hold onto each other, which had Carson grinning slyly.

Bucky chuckled at their fear. "Well, those stories are just silly make-believe." For a moment, Carson looked out at the Forbidden Forest, a part of her not so sure, though she wasn't aware as to why. "But you'd better believe we're gonna break you down and build you back up into peppy little cheer machines like... Lacey!"

The blonde Acey stepped forward, doing a toe-touch as everyone clapped.

"Stacey!" She threw her arms up and grinned brightly for the crowd.

"And our most recent Acey, JC."

Gone was Tracey and replaced with a different boy. He did a quick backflip for the crowd before turning to face Bucky. "I'm Kevin." Carson covered her mouth, watching how her brother's eyes widened. She was there the night at her house when Kevin was renamed to fit in with the Aceys. "...Right," he mumbled nervously. "We changed my name to JC, which I love by the way."

"Long live the Aceys!" Bucky said, clapping for his friends. "You three lead the veterans. You're the A-team." Then Bucky looked at his sister. "Carson, Addison, Bree, you take the newbies. You're the, uh, you're the Z-team."

Carson rolled her eyes at the dig aimed at the new zombies on the team. They were tossed green jerseys to identify them as the other team. She threw it on over her t-shirt and stared at her brother determinedly. "Bring it on."

"No magic," he said, pointing a finger in her face. Carson stuck her tongue out childishly at her brother, thinking he was no fun. "Zombies, this is obviously your first cheer camp. Now, I'm not anti-change, I'm just pro-keeping things the way they are because you don't mess with success."

Carson shook her head, both agreeing and disagreeing. She definitely didn't want to mess with success. Like Tinkerbell, the Buchanans lived off applause. But so long as the zombies had the talent, she was happy to have them on the team.

"This week, the veterans and the newbies will compete for the Cheer Camp Cup to see who is more cheer-tastic!" Bucky went on, explaining their agenda. "The veterans have always won the Cheer Camp Cup, right Aceys?"

"Right!" they said in sync.

"We'll see about that," Addison said, smiling at them. Carson, however, was shooting them a steely glare, hoping to make them nervous.

"To the cheer course!" Bucky ordered, leading them — along with Shrimpy the mascot, who'd be present all week — to the course.

As the Aceys passed, Lacey gave Addison a pointed look. "Watch and learn, snowball."

"Ah yes, my hair," Addison muttered, sharing a look with Carson and Bree. "Still white, still well-conditioned, and still drawing fire from the Aceys."

"At least you fixed that horrible choppy haircut," Carson said, thinking the new, longer style was much more flattering to her cousin. Carson was also proud to sport her bit of white hair, but the problem was that it was kind of hard to show off given that it was at the back of her head. For instance, she had her hair in two French braids, and it still only peeked out a little on the left braid.

"Addison!" Bucky snapped when he saw the Z-team hadn't followed. "Get those pom-poms pumping!"

Addison looked at their team and grinned excitedly. "Let's show 'em that we got this."

"Yeah!" Bree said excitedly. "Let's go!"

Before they could pass, Carson put up a hand. "If we don't win, I will throw a tantrum and then never speak to any of you ever again," she threatened. "And I'll have Bucky make you do extra burpees at practice."

Bonzo grumbled while putting a hand to his abdomen, knowing how much he hated Burpees. "Ze gin, Bargozn!"

"Yeah," Bree said, nodding quickly out of fear. "What he said. We win, Carson!"

To keep up with the competition, there was a giant scoreboard keeping up with how many events each team won. Carson couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun as each day was spent on a new and more difficult challenge. Her favorite was the day they practiced tumbling, and Bucky blasted them all with a water gun called the 'Buck-Zooka,' which he let her have a turn on when it was the A-team's round.

The competition kept them too tired to do pretty much anything else, though Carson didn't mind. After all, she was there with almost all her friends except for Zed and Eliza. The week actually flew by fairly quickly, and Carson found herself wishing it could've lasted longer.

"The last day of Cheer Camp, and our final challenge!" Bucky announced while showing off a huge obstacle course that included a rock wall and mud pit to get past. "Zombies, your unique squad would have to crush the course record to win. So not happening."

The comment made Carson's skin itch. Okay, so they were a little behind pointwise compared to the A-team. But there was a chance, so she wasn't giving up hope yet.

"Yeah, we are different, Bucky, but that's what makes us stronger," Addison said to her cousin determinedly.

"Za!" Bonzo agreed excitedly before lifting Addison onto his shoulders easily.

"Way stronger!" she said as they all made a v-formation with their hands.

Then Bucky blew his whistle and the competition began. They had to complete a complex floor routine before climbing the rock wall to get to the top, making sure to help everyone make it before continuing on a zipline to get to the other side. The A-team chose to not climb the rock wall and instead tried to get across tightropes over a mud pit, which was ending with them covered in mud. The Z-team quickly started forming a pyramid, and Bonzo helped Carson up to the top of it so that she could ring the bell, signaling that they finished the obstacle course.

They all cheered and Carson laughed at the victory while dropping down into the arms of her spotters.

"Ugh, Z-team wins," Bucky announced, unable to believe it. Then again, they did have Carson and Addison, who were immaculate cheerleaders. The A-team came over, all of them covered head to toe in mud. "Aceys, disappointing. You can't be scared to get those jazz hands dirty."

Carson snickered as they looked down at their mud-covered hands, which were plenty dirty. Then Bucky grabbed the giant trophy and held it out to Addison. "The Cheer Camp Cup is yours."

"Whoa," Addison muttered, feeling how heavy it was.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Bucky said, quickly taking it back and placing it on the pedestal. To satisfy herself, Carson stood next to it to make sure she could have a hand on the trophy that was a third of the size of her body. "Now let's make this victory about me." Knowing what Bucky was going to announce, Carson grinned happily for her brother. "I've decided to be school president this year. Now technically, there's an election, but come on. Which means we'll need a new cheer captain while I rule the school. Who's worthy to lead?"

As soon as the words left Bucky's mouth, the Aceys began arguing amongst themselves. It was understandable given that they were all assistant captains.

"Me!"

"What do you mean? It's me!"

"Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me!"

"No!" Bree suddenly exclaimed loudly, cutting them off. "No, no, no, no. We - we need a captain that's going to build a united squad. Someone like Addison."

Addison smiled warmly at her friend. "Thanks, Bree. Being cheer captain has always been my dream," she admitted.

"Ugh," Lacey scoffed. "We also need a captain that can lead us to victory."

"And we all know who that is," Stacey said, putting an arm over Carson's shoulder. She cringed, feeling the mud on her skin. "Carson should be captain."

"Yes!" JC said, gasping. "Carry on Bucky's legacy!"

"Addison!" Bree said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Carson!" the Aceys said, glaring at her.

"Hmm," Bucky said, a pleased smirk on his face. "Seems we're gonna have a Cheer Captain-Off on our hands."

Carson had never thought about being captain, figuring that Bucky did a fine enough job. Admittedly, she didn't love the idea of Addison taking over, worried she'd ruin what little of a reputation their squad had left after last year. So, she stepped forward and smirked at Addison, whose smile faltered. "Bring it on, cuz."

☽

The following day, all the cheerleaders packed up and got on the bus to go home. Not caring how tight of a fit it was, Carson sat on the back row with Bonzo, the Cheer Camp Cup in her lap as she hugged it. Bonzo had smiled at her actions, just glad that she was happy — and he didn't have to do burpees.

"Yes!" a boy at the front of the bus suddenly exclaimed, standing up a bit. "I got invited to Prawn!"

"No way!" Carson said as everyone clapped. "Was it Jackson that asked?"

"Yes!" he squealed back before looking back at his phone, rereading the text again.

"Nice," Carson said quieter, relaxing back into her seat. Prawn was basically the Prom of Seabrook, but shrimp-themed. It was the biggest dance of the year. While Carson didn't have a date — or anyone she was even interested in going with — she would still have a fun time putting on a fancy dress and dancing with her friends.

Then Carson looked to the side and noticed Bonzo carving expertly into the apple he'd been holding the entire ride. He'd perfectly carved Bree's face into it and was smiling warmly at the image.

"Girt zaret, Bonz," Carson said, telling him that it was great. Bonzo smiled and turned it over, showing where he'd carved 'I ♡ Bree' as well. "You know, she'd love to go to Prawn with you, Bonzo."

"Gur bintk?"

"Totally," she confirmed. "I'll help you plan a big ask if you want."

Bonzo grinned and managed to hug her even with the giant trophy in the way. But then he looked out a window and spotted a sign, making him grin. Bonzo stood and pointed, getting everyone's attention. "Zurugula!"

Outside the window was a hand-painted wooden sign, which Bree read aloud. "Addison, will you..."

The bus, which was driven by Shrimpy for some reason, slowed down so they could all be on the lookout for more signs. Soon, more appeared after the bus hit some kind of tripwire. "Go to The Prawn!" they all read.

"With—"

"Zed!" Addison shouted, looking out the windshield of the bus.

Clearly behind on his timing, the zombie was still in the middle of the road on a ladder, fixing the lights on an arrow sign that was meant to point at him once he was safe on the side of the road. Everyone screamed as the bus rammed into him with no time to stop, as they'd all been distracted by the previous signs.

Shrimpy lost control of the vehicle and began swerving left and right uncontrollably. Carson and Bonzo held onto each other while screaming, and she spotted little Zoey running after the bus, who thankfully, hadn't been hit as well. As for Zed, he was hanging onto the side of the bus, trying not to fall off.

"Zed!" Addison screamed, seeing him hanging by her window.

"Hi!" he said a bit awkwardly.

Then the bus hit a bump, knocking him off. Zed landed fairly unscathed and watched as the bus went off the road and barreled into the Forbidden Forest. While everyone was screaming and bracing themselves to not be thrown around as much, Carson managed to stand while gripping Bonzo's shoulders.

Red magic surrounded the bus, and it slowly began to lose momentum. Carson shut her eyes and focused on bringing the bus to a safe and slow stop, and the screams finally died down, realizing Carson wasn't going to let them end up dead in a ravine. Everyone was silent for a moment, patting themselves down to make sure they had all their limbs still attached.

"Is everybody okay?" Carson asked, taking a deep breath as she looked around.

Bucky then screamed and ran down the aisle of the bus. "Nothing can happen to me — I'm way too important!" he shouted, still terrified. Then he ran out the back of the bus, as the door was ripped completely off its hinges.

"Bucky," Carson said with a deep sigh.

"Everyone, stay calm," Addison said loudly.

"Great leadership, Addie," Bree complimented with a sly smile. "Very future cheer captain of you."

"Very future captain of Carson to stop the bus and make sure no one's hurt," JC said, crossing his arms. Carson decided she liked this new addition to the Aceys far more than the last one.

Addison ignored him and her eyes went wide, remembering how this happened in the first place. "Zed!" she shouted before running off the bus, passing Bucky, who'd passed out.

"We should not be splitting up!" Carson called after her cousin. Then she looked back at the squad. "I'm gonna go find Addison. No one else break off from the group."

"Why do you get to leave?" Stacey asked, eyes wide with fear.

"Um, she's a witch," one of the new zombies reminded her. "I think she can take care of herself.

Carson pointed at the zombie and nodded. "Yeah, what she said. Like I said, stick together. Bree, you're in charge."

"What?" she asked, eyes wide. "I can't be in charge. Not on my own."

"Fine," Carson said, smirking. "Bree and Bonzo are in charge. Better?"

Bonzo nodded happily. "Bagter," he agreed.

☽

The Lykensen pack moved carefully through the forest, having heard the annoying ruckus caused by a bus tearing through their territory and crashing, the screams of the cheerleaders on board echoing amongst the trees. Willa kept her people in a tight formation, wanting to watch anyone that came from the bus. It was a good thing they had an eye out, because a girl with white hair darted out and ran deep into the woods, calling for someone named Zed.

"Follow her," Willa ordered quietly, narrowing her eyes at the human girl trespassing.

The second in command to the alpha — and her brother — nodded while following orders, beginning to lead the others after the girl. His mind was already racing with thoughts of the prophecy. No doubt, Willa would get annoyed as soon as he brought it up, but they couldn't deny her resemblance to the prophecy on their cave wall.

But then a new scent hit Wyatt's nose. Well, not a new one, but one he thought he'd never smell again. The hairs on his arm stood on end as he stopped and whipped his head around, realizing it was coming from a different direction. Hope shined in his eyes as he stepped away from his pack.

Willa snatched his wrist quickly, not letting him wander off. "Brother, focus."

Wyatt ripped his arm from her hold, shaking his head. "It's her," he breathed out, his heart already beating quicker. "I can't — I have to find her."

Before Willa could protest, Wyatt took off into the trees, not explaining himself any further. But he shouldn't have been expected to wait. Not when it'd been eleven years since he'd seen his mate. He ran so fast that he couldn't even make out the trees that he passed, only one thing on his mind — the scent of strawberries and mint torturing his nose and senses so much that he couldn't help but let out a longing growl.

The scent took him almost two hundred yards away from where the rest of the wolves were watching Addison. It was there that Carson was calling not only for Addison, but Zed and Zoey as well. They definitely didn't need to lose the youngest zombie in the middle of the woods.

Carson didn't care how her shouting interrupted the calm forest, sending birds flying off while chirping at her interruption. Though there was no one in sight, Carson didn't feel like she was alone, causing her a lot of unease.

There was, after all, a werewolf not ten feet away from her. Wyatt had to grab a tree and brace himself to keep from running out too soon, claws digging into the wood. His eyes flashed a bright gold and his fangs bared for a moment as he laid eyes on her, even if from only the back. Because there was his mate, beautiful red hair falling down her back and a voice that sent chills down his spine calling out for some boy.

Wyatt took a single step forward, his entire head spinning in a fuzzy way where the girl in front of him was the only thing he could think about. He was too distracted to avoid the stick he stepped on, sending a quiet snapping noise straight to her ears.

Carson spun on her heel and looked around with narrowed eyes, not seeing anyone around. And if it were Addison or Zed that came across her, they wouldn't hide in the trees.

"Who's there?" Carson called out, turning in a small circle. When she got no response but still felt as if she was being watched, her eyes burned red and her magic glowed around her hands protectively.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Princess?"

Again, Carson turned in a circle. The unfamiliar and deep voice made her feel odd — but not like she should run. Both she and her magic felt warm for whatever reason. Carson was in a daze for a moment, her eyes glowing even brighter as that voice echoed in her head.

"Yeah, I would like to know," she said, finally snapping out of it. "It's why I asked."

Instead of stepping into the light like he probably should've, Wyatt couldn't help but toy with her like they did when they were kids. "What's a pretty thing like you doing all the way out here?" he asked, making sure to move any time she got too close.

Carson found herself blushing, though she didn't know why the husky voice could get such a reaction from her. "I think it's pretty clear I can take care of myself," she said, sending out a wave of magic in a circle around her, trying to feel the stranger with it.

"Still, there's no telling what could be waiting for you out here."

"Or who, it would seem," she said dryly. Carson continued to search the trees, unable to find the owner of the voice. "What are you?"

"Don't you mean who?" he asked, studying her carefully. This Carson was a little different, seeming somehow more fearless than when they were five. And she had no problem freely using her magic out in the open.

Where had she gone after that last night?

"No, I mean what," she informed him, frowning a little. "You don't feel how everyone else does. My magic... it doesn't feel the same."

"Does it feel bad?" Wyatt asked, getting closer. He was dying to know what she meant. "Do I feel wrong?"

Carson found herself shaking her head, focusing on her magic that was running through her veins. It was like her powers had emotions of their own, and they were excited about the boy that was circling her. "No, you feel righ—" Again, she shook her head to try and clear it. "Why won't you show yourself?"

Wyatt chuckled lowly, and when the deep sound hit Carson's ears, she let out a shaky breath, wanting to hear it again. "Maybe I don't want to yet," he said, anticipation building up inside him, knowing he was getting under her skin. "Maybe because of what I am, I can hear your heart, almost feel it. It's beating fast, did you know? Is that because of me?"

"Maybe because you're making me nervous," Carson said, swallowing thickly.

"A bad kind of nervous?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Wyatt still hadn't gotten a good look at her face, having to settle for side views, watching how the wind blew her hair to the side, the breeze spreading her scent even more and driving him crazy.

"No," she admitted, looking down. "But I mean it. What are you? You're not a human or a zombie."

"You'd think a witch would know what a werewolf felt like," he said teasingly. Didn't she remember what her magic felt like around him and his sister all those years ago?

At that, Carson scoffed. "Werewolves aren't real," she said, rolling her eyes. "Did Bucky set this up? To make us believe his camp stories?"

Wyatt froze, holding his breath unnecessarily for a moment. She didn't believe in werewolves despite having met two of them, having spent a year with him. If she didn't remember what he was, how could he be sure she'd remember him at all?

"I can assure you, I'm not a camp story," he said, his voice deepening. A low growl rumbled through his chest, echoing around them. Carson's eyes went wide, knowing it didn't sound human.

"You're not gonna come out of hiding, are you?" she asked, knowing that he was still circling her. Though he may have actually been a werewolf, she still didn't feel scared, which made no sense. His silence was an answer in itself. "I wanna know what happens to my magic when you're closer. Why won't you let me see you?"

"Maybe we're not supposed to be spotted," he said, his mood dampened by the fact she didn't seem to remember him. Now, Wyatt didn't know if this was how he wanted to be reintroduced to her — minutes after a bus crash while she was busy trying to track down missing friends.

Though it was a risk, she asked, "What if I close my eyes?"

"How do I know you won't open them?" he asked. As a kid, Carson certainly would've peeked.

"I don't care what you look like, dog boy," she said, some of her regular attitude returning. Though that was a lie. After hearing his soothing voice and the way her magic lit up around him, Carson was dying to have a face and name to match. "But I've only just started using my powers more. I need to know why you're making them feel this way."

Wyatt smiled to himself. Maybe she didn't remember him, but her magic knew the feeling of a soulmate that was near. "Close your eyes, Princess," he instructed quietly.

After a moment, Carson did as told. And right away, she could tell when the mysterious boy came closer. Her magic was sent into a frenzy inside of her, reaching out and surrounding him. Wyatt smiled as wisps of red magic flew around him, gently brushing past and feeling him, a sign that he was affecting her just as much.

"Promise to keep 'em closed?" As he spoke, Carson felt a few fingers slowly trail over her arm, electricity surging through them at the contact. The sensation of hot fire left behind caused her to take in a sharp breath that had Wyatt chuckling. The sound came from just behind her and near her ear. She found herself leaning back and closer to him while nodding to answer him.

Carson could feel his claws dancing across the inside of her wrist, careful not to scratch her. Then he gently reached for her hand, slowly lacing their fingers together. Carson didn't know why she wasn't pulling away. She didn't know why she didn't find this uncomfortable. She didn't know why her heart picked up even more as he stepped closer, pressing his chest to her back.

"How does your magic feel now?" Wyatt asked quietly, lips daring to brush the top of her ear.

Carson swallowed thickly, hardly able to form a coherent thought. It should've been an easy question, but the weight of his hand around hers and the other that was hovering at her waist was far too distracting. This was wrong. God, it was so wrong to be doing, well, whatever this was with a stranger in the middle of the woods when Zed could potentially be hurt after being hit by the bus. But she couldn't find the motivation to pull away and open her eyes, worried the boy might flee if she did.

At her lack of answer, he let out an impatient growl. "Tell me how I make you feel." It's the least she could do after daring to forget about him.

But Carson shook her head, not wanting to say, almost embarrassed by the answer. "What's your name?" she instead asked, needing to know.

"How foolish of me to forget to tell you," he said, squeezing her hand. "Didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?"

"My parents are dead," the words slipped out on instinct.

Wyatt looked at her in shock, taking note of how her calm expression never even slipped at the mention of their death. How long had it been since she lost them? "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Make it up to me by telling me your name."

"Wyatt," he whispered, lips once again brushing her ear.

"Wyatt," she repeated, leaning further back into him, her head resting on his chest. Her lips turned up into a smile, loving how natural it felt to say his name. Then as she tilted her head and exposed her throat, which could only be seen as submission to a werewolf, he let out a low and wanting growl that she hardly heard but felt rumble in his chest.

"There you go — not strangers anymore," he said, moving down to brush his nose against her neck and take in her calming scent. When she didn't flinch away from the additional contact, he smiled happily. "You're mine, Carson."

His words cut through her hazy thoughts, striking something inside of her. For whatever reason, her instincts didn't want to deny the possessive claim, though her eyes fluttered on the brink of opening as she shook her head. "'M not yours," Carson murmured. Then she frowned, another cohesive thought breaking through. "I never told you my name—"

Several deafeningly loud howls echoed through the forest, startling Carson. Her eyes flew open and she looked ahead in the direction it came from. Before she knew it, the hand intertwined with hers was gone, as was the heat from Wyatt's body. By the time she spun around to try and look at him, the werewolf was long gone, off to report back to his howling pack.

It took a moment for Carson to shake all thoughts of the strange boy from her head, knowing she could scold herself over her absurd behavior later. She took off through the forest toward the howls, hoping that none of her friends had run into the wolves or gotten hurt.

Carson found Addison just as she was whirling around and punching Zed in the nose, thinking that he was one of the wolves that she'd seen moments ago. Zed groaned and held his nose while Carson winced.

"Zed!" Addison exclaimed, realizing that it was her boyfriend and not a threat. She quickly threw her arms around him.

"I missed you too," he said, moving past the pain to hug her.

"Nice right hook," Carson noted, standing next to Zoey and grinning.

A moment later, they were joined by the rest of the cheer squad, who left the bus despite Carson's instruction. "There they are!" Bucky said, running up to his sister.

"Zoey, we're not alone," Addison said, looking at the youngest girl. They had to keep her safe. "We're surrounded by werewolves."

"Cool!" Zoey exclaimed brightly.

"What?" Stacey asked in alarm. "Wolves?"

"What wolves?" Lacey asked.

"Here wolves?" JC questioned, looking around.

"Werewolves!" the trio exclaimed in fright before pulling out their phones to begin calling people.

"Nobody's gonna believe this," Zed stated, shaking his head.

☽

"Werewolves are real!" Bucky exclaimed as they waited in the crowd for the emergency town hall meeting to start. He and Carson had been glued to each other's sides since reuniting after the crash. "I always, always said the stories of monsters in the forest were real. And no one believed me except Carson. And that's because of her dad's bedtime stories."

"I thought werewolves were just myths," Stacey said nervously.

"Yeah, like cavities," JC told them. That received concerned looks from the four of them, upsetting him even more. "Those are real too?"

"Werewolves, ew," Lacey muttered, rubbing her arm. "I really hope my allergies don't act up."

"Please, can I have one?" Carson overheard Zoey asking her father. She'd been raving about werewolves the whole trip back to Seabrook. "I'm the only zombie in my class. A werewolf friend would be great. I'll feed him and walk him."

"Werewolves ain't class pets, Zoey," Zevon said gruffly, just glad his kids were okay. "And they certainly ain't friendly."

As Addison's parents arrived, Bucky jumped from the stands and dragged Carson along with him. "Aunt Missy, Uncle Dale, the crash was horrible, but I protected Addison and Carson," he said, clearly lying. Carson grinned while rolling her eyes. "Anyone as courageous as me would've done the same."

"But not really," Carson said. Bucky frowned, thinking she was going to expose him. "He is super brave." At that, Bucky hugged her, happy she went along with his lie.

"Mom, Dad, everything is fine," Addison told her parents.

Dale shook his head. "It's not fine. There are werewolves circling us right now, waiting to attack."

"I mean, probably not right now," Carson said doubtfully.

"Yeah, and I'm way too tasty," Bucky said, talking over his sister. "I'm always looking like a snack. Somebody has to do something."

"And someone will. Hold my purse," Missy said while shoving her purse into her husband's arm. Then she stomped over to the Mayor's podium to address the concerned crowd. "By order of city council, effective immediately, all anti-monster laws are reinstated."

As half the crowd clapped, Carson gasped in disbelief, knowing this would only hurt the zombies, who'd made so much progress in society. And would the laws now affect her since they knew she was a witch?

"Mom, that is unfair!" Addison exclaimed, getting shushed by her mother. Then she rushed from the stands and went to Zed's side. "Zed, we need to talk."

"We do," he said, nodding. "Even though you didn't write, or answer any of my letters—"

"No, I wrote. A lot," she interrupted while holding up pom poms made of shredded letters. "The Aceys shredded all of our letters."

Zed smiled in relief, realizing she hadn't forgotten about him or was ignoring her. Then he got down on one knee in front of her. "Will you make me the luckiest zombie and be my date to Prawn?"

"No."

"Great!" he said, grinning. Then his face fell. "No?"

Addison shook her head. "Everyone's freaking out about werewolves, so the anti-monster laws are in effect again, which means—"

Bucky suddenly got in Zed's face to brag. "Zombies can't go to Prawn. Ouch," he teased. Carson sighed and pinched his arm.

"But we're going to fight this, Zed," Addison said determinedly.

"Okay, so that's why you said no?" Zed questioned. Bucky was nodding along.

"Yeah," she assured him, noticing his improved mood. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because when you said no, I thought you didn't like me anymore," he explained. "But the only problem here is a bunch of blood-thirsty werewolves. We can so fix that."

"Yeah," Carson said with a smirk. She raised a hand and let red wisps of magic dance between her fingers playfully. "No way are the wolves setting foot in Seabrook without a fight."