It was morning, and Trevor was running along a trail in the forest. For the past few days, he had been exploring the trails around Beacon Hills, but he hadn't found anything yet. From what little he remembered, the coyote had a den somewhere near one of the paths, though he didn't know which one. That left him with only one option: search them all.
The day was beautiful. There was something almost therapeutic about moving through the trees while the sun rose overhead, the cool forest air refreshing against his skin. To be honest, moments like this made the otherwise fruitless search feel worthwhile.
But at that very moment, crouched behind a bush among the trees, someone was watching him.
Trevor had noticed it a few minutes earlier, but he didn't make any sudden movements. Instead, he kept walking as if nothing had happened, silently calling himself an idiot. He hadn't brought the Vampire Killer with him—only a dagger hidden beneath his clothes. All he had on him was a water bottle, a phone, and a pair of headphones.
Still, he didn't panic.
He pretended to be tired and stopped for a moment to take a sip of water. While drinking, he glanced sideways toward the spot where he had sensed something. That was when he saw it: a coyote. Its fur was grayish-brown, its snout short, and its long ears twitched at the slightest sound. Its eyes, however, were brown.
That didn't discourage Trevor. Even though the eyes were brown, he knew that shapeshifters—like werewolves and werecoyotes—could control when their eyes glowed.
Instead of reacting immediately, Trevor found a rock and sat down, lowering his head as if he were catching his breath after an intense workout. What he wanted was to create an opening, to tempt the coyote into attacking so he could confirm whether it was the one he was looking for.
But after several minutes, the coyote didn't move. It simply stayed there, watching him without taking its eyes off him. So Trevor came up with another idea.
He "accidentally" dropped his phone on the ground and continued walking. After putting some distance between himself and the spot, he realized he was no longer being watched.
With a small smile, he retraced his steps to where he had left the phone. It was gone.
Strangely pleased about having "lost" it, he hurried home and went straight to his computer. Using a tracking website, he searched for the phone's location. Within moments, a signal appeared. It was deep in the forest, farther from the trail he had been on—but that didn't matter. He finally had a location.
Trevor had realized that the coyote hadn't wanted to attack him. It had simply been curious. That made sense. The coyote probably just wanted to observe what it had lost and was curious about other humans. If it attacked every human it saw, it would likely already be dead.
Recognizing that curiosity, Trevor had deliberately dropped the phone to lure it in. He had used the coyote's greed to obtain its location. Satisfied with the progress he'd made that day, he took a shower and headed to school with Allison.
On the way, he received some surprising news.
"So today's your birthday?"
"Yeah, but don't tell anyone. I don't want them to know I'm seventeen."
"Pff, what's wrong with being seventeen?"
"Because I had to switch schools so many times, I ended up repeating a year. And people always come up with crazy stories about why."
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Scout's honor."
"You were a scout?"
"No," she laughed.
After sharing a laugh, they arrived at school. During class, Trevor received a message from Allison.
"Trevor, I need your help."
He quickly replied, "Did something happen?"
"I need you to cover for me today. I'm going to celebrate my birthday with Scott."
He chuckled. "So you're skipping class?"
"Yeah."
"Don't worry, I've got you covered. Just remember to show up early for the parent-teacher meeting."
"Okay. I owe you."
"I know. I'll collect later," he replied with a grin.
The rest of the day dragged on. Without Allison to talk to, things felt dull. Stiles and Scott started drifting away whenever he approached, avoiding conversations with him. Lydia was absent, and Jackson was acting strange—stranger than usual—which Trevor soon discovered was because of a supposed "mountain lion" attack.
Trevor knew the truth. It was the Alpha's doing, and the time to act was getting closer.
Before he realized it, night had fallen and the parent-teacher meeting had begun. Since his grandfather was in another country, Trevor would attend in his place, and his academic report would be sent by email.
Well, there was little that money and a few contacts couldn't solve.
Trevor made his way to Coach Finstock's classroom. A pile of files covered the desk. When Trevor opened the door, the coach looked up from the stack, extended his hand, and said, "Hey, come in, come in. Uh, what's your name again?"
Trevor shook his hand firmly. "Trevor Belmont, Coach."
"That's some handshake, kid. Let's see here…"
The coach shuffled through the piles until he found the right file.
"Ah, here we go. Trevor, your grades are excellent—the best in the class, actually. Though in chemistry, you're just average."
He looked up at Trevor.
"But I see here you're not involved in any extracurricular activities. No sports?"
"I'm new here. When I arrived, the lacrosse team tryouts had already finished."
"Well, that's no problem, kid. If you can hold a stick as strong as that handshake, you'll go far. How about you try out tomorrow?"
Trevor hesitated. He needed more intense training, and it would be good to make more friends and meet new people.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Coach."
"That's what I like to hear. I've got high expectations for you, kid."
Just then, Trevor heard shouting outside—followed by two gunshots in quick succession.
"Oh my God!"
Coach Finstock ducked under his desk.
"What the hell is going on?"
Without hesitation, Trevor ran outside. He saw Chris standing there, gun aimed at a mountain lion that was already lying dead on the ground.
This time, thanks to Trevor's help, Scott and Allison had arrived earlier and avoided punishment from their parents. Because Scott had been there sooner and hadn't been grounded, he was able to stop the sheriff from being pushed by one of the cars.
Everyone was fine. The only casualty was the mountain lion—used by the Alpha as a distraction to mislead the search efforts.
But Trevor knew the Alpha was still lurking in the shadows.
And this wouldn't end so easily.