Beneath the Surface

By now, Max had stopped expecting normal. Because Brianna wasn’t normal. She wasn’t just a new girl at school. She wasn’t just good at disappearing. She wasn’t just a liar. She was something else.

“She’s at the Statue of Liberty?” Jason muttered, incredulous, as he, Max, and the others leaned against the railing of the ferry.

Josh exhaled. “Yeah. Because that’s where all mysterious girls go to reflect.”

“She’s not being careful anymore,” Keira observed. “She wants to be seen.”

Max wasn’t so sure. Something about this felt… off. She had been so good at avoiding them before. And now she was out in the open? Why? They found her easily. Brianna sat near the base of the statue, Avalis curled beside her. The strange silver-furred creature rested on her paws, her nine shimmering tails flicking lazily in the sunlight.

The wind was strong up here, but Brianna sat perfectly still, unbothered. Like she was carved from stone. Like she belonged there. Max and his friends kept their distance, watching. Waiting. They had been watching her for hours.

And yet she barely moved. Not like someone simply enjoying the view. Like someone who was somewhere else entirely. Her presence felt thin. Not in body. Not in weight. But like she existed between moments. As if the more they stared, the harder it was to convince themselves that she was really here at all.

The air around her was too still. She just sat there, staring out at the city, Avalis curled at her side. And Max couldn’t stop watching her. Not because she was doing anything suspicious. But because she looked… different. Not different in the way that made her a mystery.

Different in the way that made her something else entirely. Like she was seeing something they couldn’t. Like she was looking past the skyline, past the ocean, past the very world itself.

Emma was the first to whisper it. “She looks… lonely.”

Max didn’t respond. Because she was right. And that? That bothered him. Because why? Why would someone like her someone so impossibly composed, someone who commanded attention with just a look. Look so… Alone?

They watched her for hours. She never checked her phone. She never looked impatient. She never did anything suspicious. She just… existed. And then, finally, she stood. Avalis stretched beside her, yawning, her violet eyes flickering with something knowing. And just like that Brianna turned and left.

Max signaled his group immediately. “Let’s go.” Then Max’s wolf stiffened.

Not just with frustration. Not just with anger. But with something deeper. Something unnatural.The moment Brianna stepped off the ferry and into the city, something changed. The air around them felt thinner. Like the space she occupied was slipping away. Like the world itself was about to let go of her.

His heartbeat slammed against his ribs. “No.”

“Don’t let her go.” But the moment he took a step—

She was gone. And Max? His wolf let out a low, furious snarl inside his chest. Because this wasn’t just disappearing. This was something else.

No turn. No car. No alley. No subway. She had been right there. And then she wasn’t.

Jason swore under his breath. “Not again.”

Josh ran a hand down his face. “This is getting ridiculous.”

Tyler sighed dramatically. “At this point, I think she’s just doing this to piss us off.”

Keira clenched her jaw. “No. She’s doing it because she can.”

Max’s wolf bristled. He exhaled sharply, forcing his frustration down.

“She’s not human,” Keira muttered, her green eyes burning with certainty. “We all saw it. That wasn’t just being sneaky. That wasn’t just good timing. That was—”

“Something else,” Josh finished.

Jason growled. “We need to trap her. Somewhere she can’t disappear.”

Max didn’t argue. Because now, it was clearer than ever. Brianna wasn’t just hiding. She was untouchable. And that? That wasn’t going to work for him.

The next day found Calista at the gym’s training center. She had been careful for four days.

She had watched. Measured her responses. Ensured she was just skilled enough to blend in, but not enough to draw attention. But today? Today, she was expected to fight. And that was something she had been trained to do since birth.

Coach Ramirez stood in the middle of the gym, his muscular frame relaxed but commanding.

“Alright, listen up,” he barked. “Today’s sparring drills are about control.”

Calista kept her face carefully neutral. Control was not an issue for her. Blending in? That was the challenge.

“Combat training today,” he announced. “Pairing up for sparring matches. Supernaturals, you know the drill no shifting, no enhanced speed or strength. This is about control.”

Calista exhaled slowly. Good. No one would expect too much from her. She could hold back, move just fast enough to be competent but not enough to stand out. At least that was the plan. Then—

“Brianna, you’re up,” Coach Ramirez called. And her opponent? Max. Of course.

The students murmured as they stepped onto the mat. Max was undefeated. No one had ever lasted more than a few minutes against him. And Brianna? She was an unknown.

Jason leaned toward Keira. “This is gonna be over in seconds.”

Calista tilted her head slightly. Max rolled his shoulders, giving her a slow, deliberate once-over.

“You sure you want to do this, Heart?” he asked casually.

She smiled small, unreadable. “Are you?”

His red eyes flickered. Something about the way she said it made his wolf bristle. Like she wasn’t just confident. Like she was in control. And Max didn’t like that. Not one bit.

Coach Ramirez raised his hand. “Ready?”

Max settled into position, his stance easy, but prepared. Calista mirrored him, her posture fluid, controlled. Max felt it immediately. Something about the way she stood it was too precise. Like she had done this before.

“Go!”

Max moved first. Fast. Strong. Controlled. A simple opening strike testing her. And for a fraction of a second, Calista almost reacted instinctively. Almost countered too fast. Almost revealed herself. But instead—

She dodged. Not with supernatural speed. Not with panic. Just enough. Like she had already seen it coming. Max’s red eyes sharpened. Now, she had his full attention.

He threw a strike at her left side, the kind that made most opponents flinch right. She didn’t flinch anywhere. She was just no longer where he had aimed. He pushed harder, varying his rhythm, mixing combinations he had spent years building into something unpredictable. She moved through them the way water moves around a stone. Not fast. Not showy. Just never quite there. He caught himself recalibrating after every exchange, the way he only ever did against Jason, against Tyler. Against people who had been doing this for a very long time.

“Where’d you learn to fight?” he asked between movements.

Calista smiled slightly. “A good education covers a lot of things.”

Max narrowed his eyes. She wasn’t answering. Which meant she was hiding something.

He pushed off his back foot and came in fast, a feint left before driving hard right the kind of combination that made even Jason stumble. Calista’s weight shifted. One step, unhurried, like she was simply making room for something that had already passed. The sound of the gym sneakers, breathing, the low murmur of the class dropped away. Max’s wolf went rigid in his chest.

Now, he knew. She wasn’t just lucky. She wasn’t just coordinated. She had been trained. And not just by anyone. By someone who knew how to fight Lycans. And that? That was a problem. Max pulled back, rolling his shoulders as Coach Ramirez blew the whistle.

“Not bad,” the coach said, eyeing Calista with curiosity. “You’ve had some training.”

Calista just gave a polite nod. “A little.”

Max’s eyes stayed on her. She had evaded him. He had never lost a sparring match not really. But for the first time, it felt like he hadn’t won, either.

She turned to walk away, but before she could, he spoke. “You’re not normal.”

She paused. Slowly turned her head. And then she smiled. “Neither are you.” Then, just like that. She walked away. And Max? Max had never been so frustrated in his life.