The woods of Beacon Hills had always been restless, but tonight, they felt alive. The air hummed with the kind of tension you could taste—wild, electric, and dangerous.

You and Erica Reyes stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the broken moonlight, your flashlights cutting through the fog. Every branch that cracked, every whisper of wind set your nerves on edge.

“Tell me again why we’re the ones doing this?” you muttered, brushing leaves off your jacket.

Erica smirked, eyes flashing gold for a split second. “Because we’re the only ones who can handle it.”

“Right,” you said. “The rest of the pack just conveniently disappeared when the lost Alpha showed up.”

She laughed under her breath. “Scott’s babysitting Liam. Derek’s brooding somewhere, as usual. So that leaves us.”

You tried to roll your eyes, but your heart was pounding too fast for sarcasm to land. The rumors were bad enough — a rogue Alpha wandering the woods, tearing through territory boundaries, killing animals, maybe people.

No one knew who they were. Or what they wanted.

Erica crouched, brushing her fingers over a patch of dirt. “Tracks,” she whispered. “Fresh.”

You leaned closer. Large paw prints, deeper than a Beta’s. Definitely an Alpha’s.

“Guess we’re close,” you said.

She stood, golden eyes glinting. “You scared?”

You met her gaze. “A little.”

“Good,” she said, smirking. “Keeps you alive.”

You followed the trail deeper into the woods until the fog thickened around you like a wall. Then you smelled it—blood.

Erica stiffened beside you. “Stay behind me.”

“Like hell,” you whispered.

Before either of you could react, something blurred through the trees—a growl, sharp movement, and then impact. You hit the ground, air ripped from your lungs. The world spun, but then Erica was there, moving faster than you’d ever seen her.

Her claws slashed through the air, catching the creature’s shoulder. It stumbled, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes and a snarl that sent chills down your spine.

“Alpha,” Erica hissed.

The rogue turned, feral and broken. You could see it in their movements—no control, no anchor, just chaos.

“Wait,” you said quickly. “They’re not attacking—”

But before you could finish, the Alpha lunged again, this time collapsing halfway through the motion, clutching their chest, panting like an animal in pain.

Erica froze. “What the hell…?”

You crouched beside the trembling figure. “They’re… losing control. They’re not evil, they’re sick.”

Erica’s eyes softened, the hunter’s edge in her posture fading. “Can you help them?”