Nightfall

one

Bzz. Bzz.

   Bennett barely glanced at his phone's notifications.

Bzz. Bzz.

   Two messages on Bennett's phone only meant that one person had just messaged him. And that would be Aurelia.

'Demetri is up to his old schemes again.'

'Good luck for tonight's full moon.'

   Bennett pulled his curtain closed as he started to feel the moon's effect on him as the evening closed in and night fell.

   Since the age he was able to turn, the moon's effect on Bennett was never easy to control. He couldn't understand why, and he tried everything that his mother advised. No matter what, he had to resort to the chained-up-in-the-basement method to avoid terrorizing the town at night.

   Well into his second year of high school, Bennett came no closer to mastering this. For every regular werewolf, it varies for how they learn to control the wild animal instincts. Yet, Rosalyn kept worrying about her son's ability to transform willingly. Letting the secret out was the last thing she wanted because he wasn't able to control it.

   While at school, Bennett found it easier to avoid conflict. To help his case, Aurelia would induce the change in any rapid emotion that would cause a fight to break out between him and some unfortunate mortal. They had things under control, at least, Aurelia did to ease Rosalyn's motherly worries.

   "Morning Bennett, any luck this time?" Aurelia simply greeted him while she pulled the books from her locker. Benjamin stood beside her as always.

   "Nada. Every full moon is just the same, no control, and nothing helps." He leaned against the neighboring locker, thinking only that something was wrong with him. "I feel so pathetic not being able to transform easily. My sister could turn if she wanted to."

   "You know she isn't old enough yet for you to say something like that." Aurelia gave him a soft glare at his melancholy disposition.

   "Are you sure you're not the big L so you can transform into a wolf?" Benjamin's inquiry earned him two unenthused looks from his friends. The lore on lycanthropes was often mixed up among humans that it was hard to keep track of what was true.

   "There's so much wrong with what you said. A Lycan doesn't change into a wolf. It's rare when a werewolf does. I think it's usually hybrids that do. Last I checked, both of my parents are a werewolf and a Lycan." Rosalyn being the common werewolf and his father, Renaldo, was the Lycan. Bennett and his sister were both born as average werewolves.

   "Oh... right. Sorry."

   "And you wonder why you're failing history. Everything gets scrambled in that brain of yours, doesn't it?" Aurelia jabbed him with her elbow as the three started walking to their respective homeroom classes.

   "It's not my fault every battle sounds the same!"

   Bennett was immediately distracted by a blur of long, rich, strawberry-blonde hair rushing down the hall. Not too long before she disappeared behind his homeroom's door. This girl seemed in such a hurry when there was still ten minutes before the bell rang for school to begin.

   The banter between Aurelia and Benjamin wasn't enough to distract the peculiar scent that Bennett caught in the air. The sweet scent of cinnamon was covered by something strong, but it went away before he could figure out where it came from.

   Once the bell rang, the three of them parted ways. Bennett did snap out of his curiosity only to find that smell again during homeroom. He glanced around, wondering if some girl had put on way too much perfume, but no one else seemed bothered by it. When he came home again, the scent had disappeared.