On the walk back to the werechipmunk den, Sophie made three decisions.
She was going to take up Krav Maga. Cora seemed to like it (and more time with Cora was always a good thing) and it seemed practical. The next time a werewolf tried to eat her neck, she would be ready!
She was going to write a story on Wattpad about werechipmunks. She'd come up with a pen name, then use the platform to send a message of peace and love and chipmunks. It would be wonderful.
She was going to figure out how to transform into a wolf. Wasn't that the whole point of being a werewolf?
By the time she got back (roughly four hours after she'd said she would be back), Sophie was grinning widely. She'd put her life together! She was a strong, independent woman. She was ready for anything the world threw at her, from college applications to flying weresquirrels to full moons that rearranged her insides (in a fun way!). She was...
Absolutely terrified. Absolutely terrified and staring straight at Nicole's severed head.
"Wh—How? What's going on? Why is Nicole dead? I thought we said no killing!" Sophie jumped backwards. Nicole—or what remained of her—was staring back at her, her eyes a brilliant blue even six hundred and seventy-one feet underground with only a rapidly dying flashlight for light. Her head was fixed onto a wooden stake, blood still leaking from her neck.
"Oh my god," Sophie whispered. Nicole was dead. Dead dead. As in, incapable of reapplying her makeup, wearing any more scanty outfits, or doing whatever else Nicole did in her spare time. They were going to have to have a funeral; what if they couldn't find a coffin in the werechipmunk den? What about a gravestone? What were they supposed to do?
Maybe it wasn't actually Nicole. Hunter had faked his death, so maybe it was a common thing in the supernatural world. It was fine. Well, it was probably fine. Right?
She heard the crunch of feet on gravel. A long shadow moved along the tunnel wall. Sophie dropped into a crouch, fists clenched, arms raised. She started to scream.
"Sophie, hey. You okay? I told them to move the spiked head away from the entryway." Cora jogged up to her. "I probably shouldn't be surprised that Jaxon didn't listen to me."
Suddenly, Sophie was nervous for an entirely different reason.
Cora was wearing a dress.
It was a rich green, the skirts flowing all the way to her ankles, the neckline decorated with small silk flowers, and she wore a necklace of silvery pearls. Her hair was curled, hanging in ringlets around her face. She wore tennis shoes, which seemed an odd choice, but Sophie would've sworn upon Wattpad itself that it worked. The dress hugged every curve and dip of her body like it had been built to make Sophie's eyes bug out of their sockets.
"Are you—Are you okay?" Cora pulled Sophie into a hug. "I know that you knew her. I'm really sorry. They were supposed to put the body out of sight and—Jaxon's an idiot."
Sophie melted into Cora's arms. She even smelled good. Like cinnamon. Her hands were warm against Sophie's back and just a little hesitant. Her lips were right there.
And Nicole's dead eyes were watching them.
Sophie pulled back. "It's um... I mean, obviously I freaked out a little. What happened?"
"It arrived via weremail. It sounds really fancy, but it's actually a big hole that they just drop things into to get them to where they want them to go." Cora shuddered, eying Nicole's dead body.
It was almost like she could see them.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else?" Sophie asked.
"Yes. Definitely. One hundred percent." Cora grabbed her hand and pulled her into the den.
The werechipmunk den was organized by rank. Jaxon, as the Alpha of the pack, slept by (or with? Cora and Sophie were still debating) the Beta of the pack, who guarded him at all times. Cora, Sophie, and Irienna, as low-ranking advisors/potentially dinner if they got annoying, got to sleep right at the entrance of the den. That way, Jaxon had informed them cheerily, their screams of pain and agony could alert the rest of the pack if they were attacked.
"Why are you wearing a dress?" Sophie asked, trying not to look straight at Cora. At least it was dark enough that she doubted Cora could see her blush. "Where did you even get a dress?"
"Irienna leant it to me. Apparently, she takes something expensive with her everywhere, just in case she stumbles into her mate."
Sophie gasped. She pressed a hand against her chest. "You used the word mate!"
"Oh, shut up."
"You're basically a Wattpad addict already."
"Wh—No! That's not the same thing at all." Cora nudged her with her shoulder. "Although... I have been thinking about this Wattpad thing..."
"You're kidding. You want a Wattpad account. You're ready for your life to change." Sophie grinned. "This is fantastic."
"I'm not totally sure! But, since these werewolves and werechipmunks seem to occasionally follow Wattpad rules, it might be... useful. Like research." Cora grimaced. "I'm not actually doing it for fun."
Sophie nodded. She patted Cora on the back. Once upon a time, she'd been in Cora's place. She'd downloaded the app as a joke and then, two hours in, realized that she'd stumbled into her latest addiction. "That's what you say now."
"Oh, shut up. It's really not a big deal."
"It's totally a big deal. Now tell me about the dress."
"It's for the peace meeting. So, while you were on your walk, which went on way too long, I was getting worried you got eaten by something—Anyways. While you were on your walk, Nicole's head arrived via weremail. It came with a note that said that Zach-Xavier-Xane knew about the death button and that he's hoping to come to an arrangement. They're meeting in the math classroom tonight. Jaxon wants me to come and Irienna seemed to think I should wear something nice."
"It is nice."
"Sorry?"
"I mean—You look nice." Sophie nodded. "Very nice. Pretty."
Cora blushed. "Right. Well. Don't I always?"
Yes! Always! Silver howled happily. They'd spent the four hour walk back debating the possibility of a relationship with Cora. According to Silver, Cora was now officially her soulmate.
"Uh huh," Sophie said, nodding. She wasn't totally sure she could talk. Her mouth seemed to have stopped functioning. She winced. This was not good. Where were the lines about comets? Why weren't the words coming to her?
Cora stood, brushing the dirt from her dress. "I should probably get going. We don't want to be late to this peace treaty."
Sophie jumped up.
Cora shook her head. "No. You're not coming."
"Why not? This is important! Of course I'm coming."
Cora stared down at the ground. Her hands were clasped, her fingers tapping against the back of her palms. "Sophie... I really don't know what I'd do without you. And I'm just—You don't need to be there. You need to be safe."
"I'm safe with you." Okay, that wasn't strictly true. But she hadn't died yet, and it wasn't like she'd be much safer in a cave with a horde of hungry werechipmunks. "Besides, I'm the one who got turned into a werewolf. It'll be fun."
"Sophie..." Cora said. "It's going to be the exact opposite of fun."
Sophie grinned. "We're going to explode Zach-Xavier-Xane. What's not fun about that?"
Guys... We're getting there! I'm thinking two more chapters. We'll see; I might fiddle with it, but I'm pretty sure how I know how it's going to end. It's simultaneously very scary and very exciting!
Word Count: 17556... ish
Question of the chapter! Are you better at flirting than Sophie?
Thank you for reading!!
-Harley