Belle’s POV

“Belle, it’s lunchtime already; come down here!” I closed my eyes tightly when I heard my father’s loud shout that almost made me stutter.

Because of the strength of his voice, my world seemed to shake, “Dad, I’m coming down!” I shouted back, picking up my glasses off the table.

“How are you feeling?” my father immediately asked when I entered the kitchen, frowning.

“Dad, I’m okay. Why did you ask?” I replied, smiling at him while pouring juice into our glasses.

My father started but did not speak.

We had already started eating before he remembered something.

“We have a new neighbor, and I want you to welcome them and give them an apple pie.” he commanded with a smile and proceeded with a fast bite.

“Why do you seem to be in a hurry? You might choke,” I said worriedly to him as I poured the juice into his empty glass.

“There was a rumor last night that a wild beast was roaming the town, and it was generating dread among the people.” He said as he got up and put his dish in the sink.

I was stunned when I remembered the wild animal last night, and the fear returned to me.

It had frightening blue eyes and exposed huge, pointed fangs that seemed to yearn for flesh as drool seeped into its mouth.

“What’s wrong, Belle?”

My thoughts returned to the present when my father asked me a question.

I shook my head and smiled at him.

“Okay, but be careful and take your partner on patrol,” I instructed him with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am!” my father answers. He then walks over to me and kisses me on the forehead.

“Remember the apple pie you will give to our neighbor.” He reminded me before finally leaving the house.

I sighed and tucked my meal away. Before I took the newly baked apple pie, I began washing the dishes in the sink.

I realized that I still wore my pajamas and hadn’t changed as I was ready to leave the kitchen.

I put the apple pie down on the table again and quickly went to my room to fix myself.

I started off with my favorite song.

I simply went to the bathroom to take a shower when the song began.

I was undressing when I remembered the wound on my leg.

“All the misery I suffered last night, and I’m sure the students will laugh at me in a month.” I grumbled to myself as I took a shower.

I quickly showered to avoid getting water on the wound on my leg.

One of my favorite songs, “Black Parade” by Beyoncé, started playing as soon as I exited the toilet, and as I put on my underwear I withdrew the covered towel from my body and wiped it through my damp hair.

I was in such a state when I saw that my window was open, and only then did I remember that we had a neighbor. I sped up and pulled the window curtain closed. I quickly exhaled in relief after peeking again and discovering that nobody was in the room next to mine.

I turned off the music and quickly got dressed. I decided to dress in a pair of denim shorts and an extra-large T-shirt. I gasped when I saw the bandage on my leg, “How else can I be a cheerleader if my leg is already wounded?” I murmured sadly before coming down.

I left the home holding with both hands the apple pie my father had given to our new neighbor.

I caught up with two men lifting boxes into the place.

“Good day, I’m Belle Stone. I live in the other house,” I greeted the two men with a smile.

Immediately one of the men approached, “Hello, Belle, I’m Vance Hunter, and he’s Zoren Hunter. It appears like my brother didn’t make a mistake in choosing a new town to go to because the neighbors are kind,” he said as one of the men walked up.

I couldn’t stop blushing, “Mr. Stone, my father wishes to give this. Welcome to the neighborhood,” I said and shy hurriedly walked away.***Third-Person POV

Zoren yelled at Vance, “We just moved, yet you’re targeting a female straight immediately! And that girl is so young!” Zoren warned as he lifted a trunk.

Vance came over and assisted Zoren in lifting the heavy trunk. Vance peered up the stairs and exclaimed, “Where’s your son? He’s been up earlier and still hasn’t come down to help.”

“If you don’t know, Zeke lifted half the truck’s contents, and you’re only lifting a few boxes, but you’re already complaining!” Zoren sat down while shaking and took the apple pie their new neighbor had given them.

“How come I didn’t see?” Vance asked as he grabbed a slice of pie before entering the kitchen and getting a drink for them.

“How can you see when you wake up at twelve o’clock in the morning? You should call him to eat,” Zoren remarked as he cracked open the coca cola can that Vance had left on the table.

“My God, Zoren, what I experienced yesterday when you were with me didn’t put me to sleep. Until now I still remember Reuben’s face as he threw me!” Vance reasoned as he quickly devoured the pie he was holding.

“Vance, you are a hunter, and an Alpha can’t do anything if he doesn’t have a pack.” Zoren said to Vance, “Now, call Zeke to eat.”

***

Zeke grabbed the two boxes carrying his personal items and exclaimed, “Dad, half of the boxes are already here in the living room. You take care of the rest!”

“Okay, son, thank you for the help, and can you please wake up Vance to help me with the lifting?” Zoren pleaded as he organized the contents of the refrigerator,

Zeke rolled his eyes and proceeded to the second floor. He first walked past Vance’s room, and he immediately knocked on the door before opening it, “Vance, Dad wants you down,” Zeke said as he kicked Vance’s foot that was still dangling from the bed.

Vance groaned as the pillow covered his face and he fell back to sleep, “Tell your dad I’m still tired! I almost died last night, so maybe he can give me a break now.”

“You know him. After five minutes and you haven’t come down yet, he will come up here, and you will not like his technique of waking you up.” Zeke reminds him before turning around and leaving the room.

Hearing what Zeke stated caused Vance to open his eyes. They were used to Zoren’s way of waking up, so he swiftly dressed before leaving out of his room.

And that’s how terrified Vance was when he met Zoren, who was carrying a crossbow.

“Where are you going to use that?” Vance panicked and hurriedly took the brother back to the living room.

***

[Zeke’s room]

Zeke cheerfully placed the box on his bed and started to organize his room.

He had already spent some time getting dressed when he heard music coming from the neighboring house. He grinned when he caught sight of the person in the room at the other house.

Zeke was astounded to see a woman wiping her hair and turning while only wearing black underwear.

As the girl’s shouting became louder, he grinned and murmured, “Looks like our stay here won’t be boring,” while he waited for the woman to turn toward the window.

And as she swiftly turned around and walked up to the window to draw the curtain, she appeared to have heard him. “That’s the girl from last night,” Ezekiel mumbled as if in astonishment, running away and hiding himself against the wall as if the woman could hear even the tiniest movement from him. He waited a few seconds in that sequence before deciding to take another look to make sure the woman was gone.

He moved away from the wall when the music stopped and continued tidying up in the room while the woman who was his neighbor was still in mind.

Before the event last night. He had already seen the girl at school, who seemed to be the butt of everyone’s body because of its way of dressing and its thick glass.

“If they see you without your glasses and your old fashion dress, everyone who mocks and makes fun of you will surely regret it. Especially the man Carl.” Zeke whispered while smiling.

***

“Zeke, let’s eat! Our neighbor gave us a pie, and it’s delicious. If you don’t come down in a minute, I’ll eat it all!” Vance shouted as he went up the stairs.

Zeke smiled and hurried out of the room, “Looks like we’re lucky with the neighbor,” he says as he stands in the hallway and looks at his father, who is in the living room.

“Our neighbor is cute, but she’s too young for me; hopefully, she has a sister who’s a little older,” Vance commented as he walked into his bedroom.

“That girl is my schoolmate, and I saw her last night at the event.” Zeke said as he gracefully jumped the hallway down to the living room.

Vance just shook his head when he saw Zeke jump and enter his room to continue his sleep deprivation.

“How was the event last night?” Zoren asked his son as he handed him the pie and drink. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I don’t have to appreciate it because we won’t be here long and we’ll move on like before.” Zeke replied to his father as he started to eat the pie.

Zoren sighed, “Reuben lives here, so when I capture him, we won’t have to leave,” he explained and again started to enter the remaining box in the room.

“You’ve been hunting him for ten years, when are you going to give up?” Zeke states.

“Reuben killed your mother, and I won’t stop until I kill that wolf!” Zoren replied emphatically then left the room and didn’t return.

Zeke was left gasping for breath.

He can’t blame his father because he was with his mother when Reuben killed her. But except for Reuben and his father, nobody knows what happened that evening.

He asked this several times as well, but his father never responded, telling him only that Reuben was to blame for his mother’s death.

Zeke returned to his room after his meal and peered out the window. He was just as surprised when he noticed the neighbor staring at him seemed even more stunned

“Hi, and thanks for the pie,” Zeke shouted while smiling broadly.

Zeke frowned and lost his smile after the woman quickly closed the curtain after appearing to see a ghost.

“What’s her problem? Didn’t she know me, or was she just ashamed from what happened last night?” Ezekiel asked himself as he walked away from the window to take a shower

***

Meanwhile, in the other room, where Belle is still in a daze, leaning against the wall, seems to faint due to the events, “Oh God, why are my new neighbors so hot?!” she whispered to herself.

She took up the phone and instantly called her best friend Audrey, who answered right away.

“Belle!!! I’m so sorry for what happened last night. I called you, but you didn’t answer! What happened to you? How did you get home?” Audrey asked repeatedly.

“Last night? I—” Belle unable to finish her sentence when she saw in her memory the terrifying experience.

“Belle? What’s going on? Wait for me, and I’ll go there.” Audrey said over the phone before hung up and hurried out of the house.