Noah carried two bags of groceries, trying — and failing — not to think about Micah. He sighed as he unlocked the door, expecting to see Micah rushing over to help him like always.

  Instead, he saw a small child.

  A small child with werewolf ears.

  And a tail.

  Dark hair. Green eyes instead of hazel.

  “EH?! Who the heck are you?!” Noah shrieked, nearly dropping the bags.

  Oh no.

  No. No. No. Don’t tell me—

  “Oh! Hi, human. You must be Noah.”

  “Ummm… who are you?? How do you know my name?!”

  “I’m Nico! Micah’s little brother. Micah told me all about you.”

  He casually took the grocery bags from Noah like this was normal.

  “So… um… where’s Micah?”

  “Oh, he’s right here!” Nico chirped.

  He grabbed Micah’s arm and dragged him into the living room.

  Micah.

  Tied to a chair.

  Noah blinked.

  Nope. This was a dream.

  A nightmare.

  This child was a demon.

  But then Micah smiled at him — soft, relieved, warm — and Noah’s breath caught.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Nico! Why did you bring the evil human into the house?!” a voice boomed.

  “Dad! The human is not evil. I can smell it. He’s big brother’s mate! He has his scent on him. Big brother is also happy to see him.”

  Nico tugged on Micah’s tail.

  “Ow!”

  “M?Micah? What is happening?” Noah asked, voice cracking.

  Kael stepped out of the shadows and began sniffing Noah like a bloodhound.

  Noah turned bright red.

  “Noah.”

  He spun around.

  “Can you untie me?”

  Noah quickly did.

  “Why were you tied up in the first place?”

  “It’s… a long story.”

  “Are you okay though?”

  Micah beamed at him. “Now that you’re here, I am.”

  “Boy!” the chief barked. “How are you supposed to carry my bloodline if you love a boy?! And a human boy! Unacceptable!”

  Micah stood, stretching stiff muscles from being tied up all morning.

  “Dad. I don’t want to carry the bloodline anymore. I want to stay here. Please. I lo—”

  He swallowed.

  “I care about this human. I can’t leave him behind.”

  Noah’s heart stopped.

  “You two should kiss already,” Nico giggled.

  “Nico…” Micah muttered, ears flattening as he avoided Noah’s gaze.

  Noah’s phone dinged.

  He opened it — and froze.

  A breaking news alert played:

  “Attention, citizens. A restaurant was vandalized last evening and burned down by these three individuals. If you see these men, please report them to the police — they are wanted.”

  Pictures of the chief, Kael, and Nico flashed across the screen.

  The reporter continued:

  “Now, let’s hear from Jacob Matthews, mythbuster. Jacob?”

  Jacob appeared on screen, looking exhausted but triumphant.

  ‘The werewolves are in town. Yes, people — werewolves. And I’m not just saying that. I have proof. The reason they’ve remained undiscovered is because they’ve been living in the Bermuda Triangle for hundreds of years. We must explore that world and begin a new era of discovery, because the werewolves live among us.’”

  Noah slowly lowered the phone.

  Oh.

  They were so doomed.