Chapter 170: A New Beginning
Nina
Enzo and I pulled away from each other, looking into one another’s wide eyes with disbelief. Somehow, our plan had worked; all of the rogues had been turned back into our classmates! I couldn’t help but let out an incredulous laugh and throw my arms around Enzo’s neck, grinning as he picked me up off my feet and spun me around. When he sat me back down, I saw that he was grinning and laughing, too.
“Hello?” a frightened voice called out from the supply closet, followed by a knocking sound on the door and the lab table scraping on the floor slightly as the students tried pushing the door open. “Is anyone there?”
Enzo and I quickly ran over to the door, moving the table out of the way. Almost as soon as we did, the door swung open and out poured a steady stream of confused, groggy-looking students who clearly had no recollection of anything that happened. As they filed out of the supply closet and filled the infirmary, they all looked around with the same baffled expression on their faces while Enzo and I could only stand by in a state of utter shock that our plan had somehow worked.
As the students slowly began to realize that not only the infirmary, but the entire campus was completely destroyed, the realization seemed to come to them.
“What happened?” one girl said. Another boy who looked like a freshman rubbed his head and frowned, furrowing his brow. “I remember… There was an attack…”
“We’ll explain everything,” I said as I ushered more frightened students out of the tunnels. “Everyone, just stay calm. Sit down if you need to.”
Finally, as I frantically searched the growing crowd for familiar faces, I spotted both Justin and dean Cynthia at the back of the group. Justin looked completely confused, but Cynthia seemed to have her wits about her. They both rushed forward as they saw me.
“What happened?” Cynthia asked, looking around in shock as she quickly pulled me to the side, keeping her voice low so the students wouldn’t overhear and become even more panicked.
“Tiffany’s antidote,” I said, unable to contain my grin. “It worked.” Cynthia’s eyes widened and she began to look around. “That’s amazing. Where is she?”
It was then that my face fell, as did Enzo’s. The dean looked back and forth between the two of us, her eyes slowly widening as she started to read our sad faces and understand what happened.
“No,” she said, shaking her head vehemently as tears began to form in her eyes. “She’s dead?”
I slowly nodded. Without a word, Cynthia stifled a sob. I quickly pulled her in for a tight hug, ignoring the confused looks that nearby students were giving us as they wondered why their dean was beginning to break down.
When she finally pulled away, she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. I could tell that she was trying to put on a brave face despite the fact that one of her closest friends and comrades from college was gone. “Where is her body?” she asked quietly.
I shook my head, blinking away the tears in my own eyes. My throat became too choked to speak, and I couldn’t get a word out. The dean, seeing this, looked up at Enzo. His face was grim.
“We’ll find it,” he whispered. “I promise.”
She nodded, wiping away more tears.” Alright…” She cleared her throat then and stepped around me to address the frightened students. “Everyone, please go to the hockey arena and wait there until we tell you that it’s safe to go home. It could be a long time that you’ll be in there, but I promise we’ll send food and water as soon as possible.”
The students, too groggy and confused to resist, simply muttered amongst themselves and slowly flooded into the arena.
Once Enzo, Cynthia and I were alone, Enzo and I began to explain what exactly happened. As we explained that
the entire town had been overrun, there were still no Fullmoons anywhere, and that we eventually took matters into our own hands, Cynthia’s eyes slowly widened.
“I… I don’t know how to even begin to thank you,” Cynthia said when we were finished. “If it wasn’t for you kids, our campus would be gone forever.”
Before Enzo or I could answer, there was suddenly a knock on the door. We all looked up to see Matt and the rest of the hockey team standing there, along with some men who I didn’t.
immediately recognize; judging from their matching black uniforms with a full moon logo on the chests, I could tell that they were Fullmoons.
“We drove off those Crescents,” Matt said, coming in and looking around. “I take it that it worked?”
Enzo and I nodded, and the dean spoke up. “Yes,” she said with a smile. “You guys… I’m so proud of you.” Her eyes slid over to the Fullmoons who were standing there then, and her smile faded. “What took you so long?”
One of the Fullmoons stepped out from the group. I didn’t notice it at first, but I quickly realized that it was Lewis, Enzo’s father’s Beta. I had met him that time that I went to Enzo’s house, the night we caught Ronan for the first time.
“I’m really sorry, Cynthia,” Lewis said, looking a little ashamed but not nearly as much as I felt he should be. “We were waiting for backup, but it didn’t come in time.”
It was then that I glanced up at Enzo. At the mention of the backup, his jaw became clenched hard; I couldn’t help but wonder if the Alpha King decided not to send aid after all, since he ran away. Then, I began to wonder if something happened to his father so he couldn’t even tell the Alpha King about me, and it made a lump form in my throat.
“Well,” the dean said, passing a hand over her tired face, “thank goodness these kids were here. And thank goodness for Tiffany’s antidote. I wish I could thank her…” A pall of silence fell over the room. Even the Fullmoons must have known Tiffany, because even they fell silent. No one spoke for a few minutes, and it seemed that we had all made an unspoken agreement to pay our respects to our illustrious school doctor at that moment.
Finally, the dean spoke again, taking in a sharp breath before she did. “I’ve got students to take care of,” she said. “We need to bring food and water to everyone before we think about
anything else. Lewis, I’d like you and your men patrolling the campus while we get everyone settled.”
“Sure thing,” Lewis replied with a nod.
“Tomorrow, I’d like to call a meeting with all of the Fullmoons to discuss our next plans. Where is Richard?”
Lewis shook his head. “He’s with the Alpha King, I believe,” he replied. “I’ll go to the meeting as his Beta.”
“Oh.” The dean turned to look at Enzo. “You’re a Fullmoon as well. I’d like you there.”
But, much to my surprise, Enzo said something unexpected. “I’m no longer a Fullmoon,” he replied, then gestured to me and the rest of the hockey team.” We’ve decided to break off and start our own pack.”
Lewis’ jaw dropped. The dean furrowed her brow, and the other Fullmoons shifted uncomfortably in their spots.
“Well… What do you call yourselves, then?” the Dean asked. Enzo looked at me, clearly not having thought about it – but I had. From the beginning, I knew what we were.
“We’re the New Peacekeepers,” I said, taking Enzo’s hand.
