ENTRY NUMBER FOUR : MADDOX
" He's back"

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Maddox stood in the hallway, one hand braced against the locker, the other in his pocket. His gaze was focused, sharp, narrowed in a way that didn't suit his usual light-hearted smirk. He wasn't even aware of how long he'd been standing there—eyes fixed ahead, but thoughts racing all over the damn place.

Delphine.

She was laughing . Radiant, vibrant, like something had bloomed inside her overnight. Something... weird.

And he knew weird. He lived weird.

Then—
"Boo!"

"JESUS CHRIST—" Maddox flinched so hard he nearly cracked his skull on the locker behind him.

Soirée burst out laughing, holding her stomach. "Oh my god, Madds, you actually jumped. That was so satisfying."

He pressed a hand to his chest. "I hope your next latte tastes like regret."

"I don't even drink lattes." She smirked. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you were staring."

Maddox blinked, caught off guard. "What?"

She leaned against the locker beside him, faux casual. "You're staring, Madds. But hey—I don't blame you. Delphine's a total babe."

Maddox opened his mouth, only for Soirée to lift a finger and cut him off—

"Although," she said with a sly smile, "her best friend is also very gorgeous. That Claudia girl? Mmm." She gave a dramatic chef's kiss.

"Wow," Maddox said dryly. "I love how we're objectifying two girls before homeroom. Real spiritual of us."

Soirée rolled her eyes. "Don't be a nerd. You've been weird lately. Like... anxious. "

Maddox licked his lips, eyes drifting back toward where Delphine had just disappeared around a corner. "Maybe I'm just... observant."

Soirée narrowed her eyes. "Or maybe you know something."

"I always know something," he said with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

She elbowed him. "Madds. Spill. You've been acting like you saw a ghost or something."

He shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I'm not saying I saw her eat a squirrel behind the gym or anything, but—"

"Shut up." She smacked his arm. "You're being dramatic."

He grinned. "Wouldn't be me if I wasn't."

Still, Soirée could see the edge of real worry behind his sarcasm. She quieted a little. "Seriously. You okay?"

Maddox sighed and leaned back against the lockers, eyes briefly fluttering shut. "I just... got a weird feeling.  Something's off. And not like 'skipped breakfast' off. Like... cosmic wrongness off."

Soirée tilted her head, thoughtful. "Should we talk to Logan?"

Maddox cracked a grin. "Only if you want three hours of conspiracy theories and him asking if he can borrow your crystals."

"Ugh." She snorted. "Fine. Keep watching your little horror movie girl from afar. But if you start writing 'Mrs. Delphine Kane' in your notebook, I'm telling everyone."

Maddox rolled his eyes. "You wish I'd be that predictable."

Soirée grinned and winked. "You are that predictable."

As she walked off, Maddox let his smile fade, just a little.

His eyes drifted again—back to where Delphine had vanished. Something wasn't right. He didn't know what. But it was only a matter of time before the others noticed too.

The classroom was dead silent—one of those rare, almost sacred moments when even the annoying desk-scratchers weren't tapping, and the air felt like it was holding its breath. Maddox sat in the back row, slouched in his chair beside Logan, who was scribbling something incomprehensible in his notebook. Probably some hidden language only he understood.

Maddox was chewing on the end of his pen when—

BZZZT.
His phone vibrated violently in his pocket.

His eyes widened slightly. He pulled it out, subtly. Unknown Caller.
He declined the call instantly.

Ms. Haven glanced up from her notes at the front of the class, her eyes narrowing behind her thin wire-rimmed glasses. Maddox flashed a crooked smile as if to say Oops. She looked unimpressed.

He tucked the phone back into his hoodie pocket.

BZZZT.

Again.

" Christ," Maddox whispered under his breath. He raised his hand and murmured, "Bathroom?"
Ms. Haven stared. Then nodded, slowly.

He rushed out the door, pulled the phone from his pocket, and answered with a sharp whisper.

"Stop fucking calling me! I'm at school!"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and then a voice, low and taunting, slithered through the speaker:
"Don't talk to me like that, scrawny boy."

Maddox winced. "Morgan... I can't respond to you all the time. You're the one who said to lay low. So why the hell are you calling me now?"

"Because I think he's back."

That stopped him cold.

He stood in the corridor, heart knocking against his ribs. "What do you mean 'he's back'?"

Click.

The line went dead.

Maddox stared at the screen like it might grow a mouth and explain itself. "Son of a—" he muttered, shoving the phone into his hoodie and turning toward the hallway wall, exhaling sharply.

"Okay..." a voice said behind him, full of playful suspicion.

Maddox jumped, again. "Holy sh— Ren! Jesus, are you all trying to kill me today?"

Ren was leaning lazily against the tiled wall, arms crossed, his smile amused and borderline too charming for a normal person.

"hi there," Maddox said, voice warbling with awkwardness as he tried to recover.

Ren blinked at him. "You good? You were whisper-screaming. To your phone. In the middle of third period. Real subtle."

Maddox opened his mouth. Closed it. Then forced a laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, uh... my... cousin. He's got this whole... crypto obsession. Thinks he saw Bigfoot. Again. Keeps calling me about it."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Right. Bigfoot. Totally plausible."

"I know, right?" Maddox scratched the back of his neck, trying to laugh it off.

Ren just gave him a long look. And then, casually, "Tell Bigfoot I said hi."

Before Maddox could answer, Ren turned and disappeared back into the classroom, hands in his pockets, whistling some weird tune under his breath.

Maddox stood there, staring after him.

He hated how perceptive Ren could be when he wasn't busy flirting with the world.

Still gripping his phone, he muttered, "I really don't have time for this shit."

And deep in his stomach, where the truth always sat too loud and too heavy, something told him that Morgan wasn't wrong.

09
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By the time Maddox got back to the lunch table, Soiree and Logan were already sitting with their trays, mid-banter about something stupid.

Soiree had a lollipop in her mouth as usual, her elbow on the table, and Logan had his headphones around his neck, scrolling through his phone like he was allergic to conversation.

"Finally," Soiree drawled when she spotted Maddox, pulling her lollipop out with a dramatic pop. "Thought you got kidnapped or something."

"Nah," Maddox muttered, trying not to sound too shaken as he plopped down beside them. "Just... Bigfoot problems."

Logan didn't even look up. "Cool. Tell him to return my hoodie."

Soiree narrowed her eyes. "You okay though? You look like someone told you your skincare routine was a lie."

Maddox tried to smile. "I'm good. Just tired."

"Tired," she echoed with a smirk. "Okay, broody boy. I'll pretend I buy that."

Logan looked up now, finally catching something in Maddox's voice. "Wait. Are you seriously not gonna tell us what's going on?"

"There's nothing going on," Maddox said quickly, too quickly, reaching for a fry from Logan's tray. Logan slapped his hand.

Soiree leaned back, watching him. "You're jumpy. Like, more than usual. Is this about that girl again?"

"What girl?" Maddox asked, half-distracted, glancing toward the far end of the cafeteria.

"Delphine." Soiree waggled her eyebrows. "You were looking like a Victorian ghost in the hallway staring at her."

Logan's head tilted. "Oh, is this a crush thing?"

"No," Maddox scoffed, laughing hollowly. "It's a... weird vibe thing. That girl—she's... off."

"She's hot," Soiree corrected. "Like, something's going on with her skin, it's literally glowing."

"Exactly," Maddox said under his breath.

"What?" Logan asked.

"Nothing," Maddox shook his head. "Just... forget it."

Soiree was still looking at him funny. Her stare was sharper than usual, like she was trying to see through him. "You're hiding something."

"I'm always hiding something," he grinned, trying to return to his usual snark. "It's part of my mysterious appeal."

But Soiree wasn't smiling anymore. "This isn't your usual 'I stole the test answers' energy, Madds. This is something different."

Logan added, "Yeah. And don't think I didn't notice you ditched class earlier. Twice."

Maddox's hands tensed under the table. He glanced out the window. The sky was darkening already, clouds hanging low like a threat. The moon would be full again soon.

Too soon.

He cracked a grin anyway. "Guys, please. I know I'm dramatic, but if there was something seriously wrong, don't you think I'd tell my favorite chaotic duo?"

Soiree blinked slowly. "No. I think you'd lie until it punched you in the face."

"That's fair."

Logan nodded. "Agreed."

Maddox leaned back in his chair, letting out a long breath. His foot tapped anxiously against the tile floor. He knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. The call from Morgan, the vibe Delphine was giving off, the way his senses were acting up around her—it was all too much.

And he wasn't ready.

But worse... he wasn't sure if he'd be able to protect anyone else when it got here.

So he just forced a smile and said, "Let's just say... if anything weird does happen, you'll be the first to know."

Soiree and Logan exchanged a glance.

"Promise?" she asked.

Maddox hesitated.

Then nodded.

"Promise."

After school, Maddox did what he did best—vanish.

He slipped out of the side lot, dodging Logan's lingering glance and ignoring Soiree's shouted "Hey, where the hell are you going?!" He'd text her later.

Maybe.

Right now, there were bigger problems than skipping post-school milkshakes.

His tires crunched along the gravel road that led deep into the woods—off the map, off the grid. He parked by a rundown old house with vines crawling up the brick and boarded windows that hadn't seen daylight in years. Morgan's place.

He stepped out of the car, every hair on the back of his neck standing on edge. He could already feel the forest watching him—breath cold, heartbeat loud.

"Let's get this over with."

The door creaked open with a low groan. He stepped inside.

"Morgan?" Maddox called, voice echoing through the hollow rooms.

Silence.

Then—

BAM!

A blur shot out from behind the staircase, grabbing Maddox by the collar and shoving him against the wall.

"JESUS—Morgan!" Maddox gasped, heart lurching.

Morgan's cold eyes stared into his, dark and unblinking. "You really need to stop sneaking in here like you're welcome."

"You need to stop pulling the 'haunted house jumpscare' act," Maddox panted, swatting Morgan's hands off him. "God."

Morgan finally let go, stepping back with a smirk. "I don't play, Maddox. Especially not now."

Maddox straightened his jacket, rolling his shoulders. "You called me, remember?"

Morgan's expression hardened. "Where were you last full moon?"

"What?" Maddox blinked. "I—I was locked up in my room. As always. You said it'd get better."

Morgan folded his arms. "Did it?"

"No!" Maddox snapped, frustration leaking through. "This full moon was awful. The handcuffs barely held. I thought I was going to rip through them—and the walls too."

Morgan's brow furrowed, genuine concern slipping past his usual stoic look. "Strange. It's been over a year since you turned. You should have more control now. Why this full moon?"

Maddox threw his hands up. "I don't know! You tell me! You're the freakin' werewolf Yoda here."

Morgan's eyes narrowed. "Something's changing. The air's thick with it. The animals are restless. And there's talk... about something old waking up."

Maddox scoffed, but there was a tremor in his voice. "Yeah? Well, great. Maybe add that to my list of things to freak out about."

Morgan stepped closer again. "Maddox—if you lost control last full moon, we can't risk you around the others."

"You think I don't know that?!" Maddox snapped, pacing now. "But I'm trying! I can't exactly shout 'Hey world, I'm a werewolf, mind the claws!'"

Morgan's jaw tightened. "Speaking of... have you told anyone?"

"No." Maddox exhaled. "No one. Not Logan. Not—"

"You're what?"

A voice cut through the room, sharp and horrified.

Maddox froze, blood turning to ice.

Slowly—too slowly—he turned toward the doorway.

There, standing with wide, shocked eyes, was Soiree.

Her lollipop had fallen from her hand, rolling across the floor.

Maddox's mouth opened, but no words came out.

Shit.

010
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EJONA SPEAKS !

New chapter after some time!!

Who exactly is back??