1. Nightcall
She laid back in the tub, resting her head and shutting her eyes. The warm water surrounding her made her feel relaxed and safe. She was stressed about school starting in the morning, another year to get by and keep her secrets… secrets. She had a couple of friends but she was a bit of a loner; not because she was unappealing to be around but because it was her choice. She just had that personality; used to taking care of herself and not having to explain anything to anyone. She was friendly and even outgoing at times but there were things she had to keep to herself, she didn't want to have to explain herself to anyone; especially her sometimes strange and unusual behavior.
Without a care in the world at the moment she was drifting off to sleep, warm and content. It wasn't particularly cold outside; it's just that a warm bath is soothing. Her phone buzzed on the bathroom sink counter; signaling a text message had come in. She considered getting up to check the message but she was too comfortable. So she closed her eyes and let herself drift off again, if only the moment wasn't so short lived. Her phoned buzzed again and then once more about thirty seconds later. She sighed and sat up, she was fairly certain it was her friend Stiles and she knew he wouldn't stop until she finally responded to him.
She unplugged the drain to the tub and stood up. Before she stepped out she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. She signed once more and went to her phone; sure enough there were three text messages from Stiles. All of them said to meet him and Scott at their special spot; they were going on an adventure. She chuckled to herself and dried off, her mind going wild with all the possibilities of what those two could have up their sleeves.
After the short walk to her room she went to her closet and pulled out a worn pair of dark blue jeans and a grey long sleeve thermal shirt. She dropped the towel to the floor and started dressing quickly. Once fully clothed she brushed her long sandy blonde hair out and then grabbed her much used boots out of the bottom of the closet and went to sit on her bed. She pulled the boots on mindlessly and tied them after lacing them just past the ankle. Standing up she looked at her reflection in her full length mirror, "I look like a boy" she said with a chuckle and then smiled at herself, "time to go get in trouble".
She made her way downstairs, passing her parents in the living room watching TV. It must have been something interesting because they didn't even turn to see her leave; but then again they never really minded much. Once she was in her truck and backing out of the driveway, she turned the music to her rolling stones playlist. A huge grin appeared on her face when Beast of Burden started playing; one of her all-time favorite songs. She sang along with ease to the song as she made her way to the spot and smiled when she saw her two friends leaning up against Stiles old Jeep.
"This better be good guys" she said after opening the door to her truck, "I was actually planning on getting some sleep tonight."
The boys looked at each other and smiled and then looked at her, Stiles had excitement written all over his face; he could barely contain himself. "I overheard my dad's scanner and they've found a body in the woods!" Stiles said eagerly, "we're going to go looking around and see if we can find anything."
She rolled her dark blue eyes and shook her head slightly, "really Stiles? We're going to look for a body in the woods when the police, including your dad, are already out here?" She questioned in a disappointed tone at the really stupid idea.
Scott started laughing, "Oh come on Jax! It'll be fun!" He and Stiles exchanged excited looks and then looked at Jax.
"Alright, let's go." She said shaking her head in disbelief that she was actually going to tag along to this stupidity. She really didn't want to go traipsing around the woods, especially to find the other half of the severed body of a young woman. Stiles was going on and on with all of the information he knew or had overheard; Jax tuned most of it out.
They had been walking around for a little while, chit chatting and surveying their surroundings with the flashlights the boys had. Jax didn't really need one, she had excellent night vision. Plus the moon was bright enough; even through the trees it illuminated enough of the forest for her to see just fine. She started to hear some sounds off into the distance, she looked in the direction they were coming from and she couldn't see anything.
Jax started wandering off in the direction of the sounds she had heard while the boys panicked when they saw the police search team up ahead with their flashlights. They ducked low into hiding and tried to call after Jax but she waved them off and motioned for them to stay low and quiet. She moved through the forest super quietly and she could hear Stiles talking to his father in the distance. She contemplated heading back and helping the boys out; Stiles was in trouble with his father it sounded like and Scott was still in hiding. Stiles ended up leaving with his father while Scott ran off in another direction.
She was too focused on the sound she heard earlier; she had a peculiar feeling about it. It sounded like it was purposefully stalking and watching; she really didn't like that someone might have been creeping on them. She suspected that it may have been the killer watching the police's progress over the hunt for the body but she wasn't entirely convinced. She knew she shouldn't be out here and getting herself mixed up in the middle of it but it was upsetting to her that some young woman, not much older than her most likely, had been savagely murdered. She figured if she could assist in any way in catching the psycho that committed that murder; then it was worth the risk. She laughed to herself softly at the idea of her being at risk.
She suddenly looked straight ahead, the sound of something or a group of something running had caught her attention. The herd of deer, frantically running for their lives came into view and they were headed right towards her. She didn't panic; she just waited calmly and somewhat angrily for whatever was chasing them to come into view. The deer ran past her and she saw a large imposing figure coming towards her, in pursuit of the deer, but it slid to a stop about 10 feet away from her. It was growling and snarling and smelt of dog; its glowing red eyes were fixed on her and she just started right back.
She knew what was in front of her and she was disappointed that there is now a werewolf in her town; a werewolf that seems to have brutally murdered someone. The werewolf slammed a paw to the ground and growled at her; next thing she knew the thing was running straight for her. She braced herself for impact but the thing veered at the last second and ran past her. She turned, following the gigantic creature with her eyes as it ran off into the night. She scowled knowing that it wasn't any ordinary werewolf, it was an alpha. An alpha werewolf that seemed hell bent on hurting people and Jax didn't like that one bit.
In the distance, somewhere out in the forest she heard a faint sound of a howl. She grunted and started walking in the direction she heard the sound come from. "Oh hell no buddy, this is my town." She said gruffly into the dark still night. She walked around for about a half hour and cursed herself when she checked the time on her phone and the many missed calls and texts from Stiles. One of the texts concerned her though… Have you seen Scott? Is he with you?
She called Stiles when she got back to their spot and into her truck; she told him she had no idea where Scott went since they all got split up. She decided she would check Scott's house on her way home to see if he made it back. When she got to his house, she climbed up to the second story and looked into his open bedroom window; there was Scott, sound asleep on his bed. She sighed and sent Stiles a text that Scott was home asleep. She turned and walked off the second story, landing easily on her feet and went home so she could get some sleep for the first day of a new school year.
When Jax woke the next morning she groaned, she was really not looking forward to school. Summer break had been so refreshing for her; she didn't have to worry about keeping up appearances. She reluctantly rolled out of bed and went to shower and get ready for school. An hour later she pulled up in the school parking lot and parked her truck. Before getting out she took a quick look in the rear view mirror at her appearance, "Not bad" she said to herself quickly with a little chuckle, "Wow I'm a loser" she added.
She decided to start wearing makeup this year; her girly side starting to kick in. It was nothing crazy, just some eyeliner and mascara and a light gloss on the lips. Checking to make sure the makeup and hair still looked decent one last time, "Here goes nothing" she said to herself before stepping out of her truck as Jackson pulled up next to her in his silver Porsche. "Ugh the douchebag has arrived" she muttered as she looked at him getting out of his car and rolled her eyes as she walked away. Jackson was about to retort but he didn't get his chance, she didn't leave him one.
Jax found her friends quickly and upon approach she heard Stiles and Scott talking about a bite and being bitten. "What? Who got bit? And by what?" she asked wondering what the hell was going on. She already had an odd and funny feeling when she got near Scott, something was wrong. Different. Off.
"Uhh… ummm…" Stiles stammered as he looked to Scott, scratching his head, not sure if they should say anything to Jax. Scott looked like he was pondering the same thought… to tell Jax or not to tell Jax.
Jax narrowed her eyes at the boys, "I can always beat it out of you guys. It's your choice, but I suggest if one of you is gonna talk, that you start doing it soon."
"Well… geez… okay no need for a beating and its scary how freakishly strong you are by the way…" Stiles said quickly and moving away from Jax, to the other side of Scott.
"Stiles…" Jax said interrupting him and widened her eyes at him as a signal to continue, on topic.
"I got bit by something last night" Scott said after moving a little closer to her. He looked around suspiciously, like he was worried of anyone overhearing the conversation they were having.
"Yeah and get this! He said he thinks it's a wolf" Stiles added and Scott nodded looking at Stiles and then back at Jax.
"A wolf…" Jax started but was interrupted.
"Yeah, I know, I tried to tell him that there haven't been any wolves in California for like 60 years" Stiles said looking at his friend like he was an idiot.
"I think I saw it too" Jax said looking into Scott's eyes intensely.
"What?!" both Stiles and Scott exclaimed at the same time. They were slowly starting to make their way up to the school, since they had only a couple of minutes to get to their first class.
"Yeah it ran past me really quickly, it was kind of a blur it moved so fast but it was huge and scary looking and it was chasing a heard of deer" said Jax trying to sound meek and scared, she hoped it came across sincere.
"That's when I had my encounter with it!" exclaimed Scott. "It was after a heard of deer passed me" he added while looking like he was deep in thought.
"Dude… show us the bite" suggested Stiles and Jax nodded at Scott in agreement. Scott looked around unsure but he reluctantly started to lift the back of his shirt. Jax immediately tensed up as she saw the bloody bandage that was covering where the bite was. She had to control herself as she looked at Scott; she was already feeling a little weird around him, unnaturally hostile towards one of her best friends. She knew upon approaching him a few minutes ago that something was off, he even smelled a little differently to her.
Scott pulled down the bandage and there was nothing there, no bite, not blood, no nothing. Jax was staring at the place of the bite and was completely unaware of her lip turning up in a slight snarl. She was breathing somewhat deeper as she listened to Scott and Stiles talk about how the bite had completely healed itself.
"Whoa we should get to class!" Stiles exclaimed suddenly, it snapped Jax out of the zone she was in and she nodded as they all walked briskly into the school and to their classes.
Jax sat in class with her head spinning from all the thoughts and feelings and reactions she was having towards Scott. Part of her felt this hate towards him and wanted to kill him but she didn't understand why she felt that way all of the sudden. She loves Scott; he's been one of her best friends for years.
She spent most of her day avoiding being around Scott as much as possible; she didn't trust herself around him right now. Stiles filled her in on the new girl and how Scott already seemed pretty smitten with her. Stiles also went on and on about his theories and ideas of what happened to Scott but she just mindlessly nodded along not paying much attention to anything he was saying. She already knew what was happening with Scott, her best friend was turning into a werewolf and she instinctively either wanted to kill him or put him in his place. She didn't really understand why though but she couldn't think about it anymore, it was too disturbing, even for her.
Jax sat down in her last class of the day when she saw whom she assumed to be the new girl walk into the room and shyly take the empty seat next to her. Jax politely smiled and nodded at her as she sat down, the pretty brunette smiled back.
"Hi, you aren't expecting a friend or anything are you?" the new girl asked Jax.
Jax shook her head and replied, "Nah it's all yours girl."
The brunette smiled and said, "Thanks, I'm Allison" and stretched out her arm for Jax to shake her hand.
Jax laughed softly and took her hand, shaking it she said, "Wow so formal" and smiled.
"So what's your name?" Allison asked still a little shy.
"Jax" was all she said in response with a slight smirk at the corner of her mouth as she eyed Jackson walking into the classroom.
"Take a picture it'll last longer" Jackson said snottily at Jax and she just laughed at his lame comment.
"Ya know Jackson… I can take two minutes out of my day to kick your ass…" Jax said practically glaring at the young man with the model like face. She couldn't stand him, while most people worshiped him, she just wanted to hit his punk face and hard. He treated people, including her friends, like crap which was very unacceptable to her.
Allison eyed Jax up and down quickly, surprised that this girl would talk so harshly to what looked like an extremely athletic guy. Allison hoped for the girl's sake that she could back up her trash talk because the girl didn't look imposing at all. Allison guessed Jax to be about 5'4'' and maybe 110 pounds on a heavy day and she was extremely pretty even though she didn't come across girly at all. Their hair was about the same length but where Allison's hair was a dark brown, Jax's hair was a golden blonde and she had beautiful sun kissed skin.
Jax turned to look at Allison after she and Jackson had talked enough shit to each other, she could see that Allison had been sizing her up, "I'm tougher than I look but don't worry I don't go around fighting people. I just make threats" Jax said with a small laugh. Allison stared into Jax's deep blue eyes but then looked away quickly when Jax stopped laughing and just quietly looked back at her.
"You can change seats if you want, I won't be offended" Jax said to Allison and added "I'm not a bad person but I guess I can be an asshole from time to time, I just really don't like Jackson" Jax said as she looked past Allison and at Jackson.
"Oh no, it's okay, I actually kind of like you so far. You've just caught me off guard, there's this air confidence that radiates off of you and it's kind of intimidating" Allison admitted and laughed a little feeling stupid for saying that to Jax.
"Nah don't be intimidated" Jax responded reassuringly and patted Allison's shoulder lightly. "No one has ever told me I'm intimidating before" Jax said with a chuckle. "I'm not exactly intimidating in stature."
"Actually it's not your size, it's just that… you seem completely unafraid" Allison admitted and added "Of anything."
Jax shrugged and turned to the front as the teacher got under way with class. Allison gave Jax one last look before turning her attention to the teacher. Class went by fairly quickly and painlessly, as soon as the bell rang the room cleared pretty quickly.
Allison decided to try talking to Jax one more time as they were gathering their stuff, "Jax is kind of a weird name for a girl, so I'm assuming it's a nickname…"
Jax looked at Allison and gave her a soft smile, "My last name is Jackson" she stated simply and added "my two closest friends are dudes so I got the nickname Jax back in middle school and it's stuck, everyone calls me that now, including teachers" Jax said with a laugh.
"Well I've only just met you and I don't know… it fits you well." Allison smiled real big hoping that Jax took that as the compliment she meant it to. They walked out of class and into the hallway, heading towards Jax's locker.
"Thanks" was all Jax said in response to Allison. Jax opened her locker and exchanged books and notebooks, taking what she needed home by putting it in her backpack. She looked at Allison standing by, "Are you gonna go watch the lacrosse practice? It's a pretty big deal around these parts" Jax said with a suggestive grin.
"Yeah actually Lydia invited me to go watch earlier today" Allison responded happily and pointing at Lydia as she approached the two of them.
Jax nodded but didn't say anything as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked her messages. She listened to Lydia and Allison chit chat a bit before interrupting them to say her see-ya-laters. Allison watched her leave and then looked back at Lydia, "She seems really interesting."
Lydia rolled her eyes a little, "Yeah Jax is a bit of a charmer without even trying to be, I don't get her" she shook her head. "Maybe it's because she doesn't try at all, she just does whatever she wants for the most part" Lydia added before shrugging and grabbing Allison's hand, dragging her off to the lacrosse practice field.
Allison and Lydia took their seats on the bleachers and Allison quickly spotted Jax, on the sidelines talking with some urgency to a boy with a long buzz cut. Lydia interrupted Allison by pointing out her boyfriend Jackson proudly. Allison found lacrosse practice to be quite interesting, along with anyone else that was watching. Scott was pretty much plowing through people and was making some incredible moves on the field; it excited Allison a bit since he was the boy that she had met earlier today. He was the one that gave her a pen when she didn't have one and he was so cute and sweet.
Jax on the other hand didn't think Scott was cute and sweet right at the moment; she and Stiles kept exchanging worried and uncomfortable glances. Jax knew for sure that her best friend was a werewolf indeed, there's no other way he could have become such a superstar lacrosse player overnight. He and Stiles were ritual benchwarmers and they were great at that. She felt mixed emotions, it must be awesome to Scott to be this good now but he's showing no control and it all looks too unnatural.
Soon Scott stormed off the field and to the locker room with Stiles in hot pursuit. Jax followed and before Stiles could enter the locker room she grabbed his arm stopping him, "Be careful" she warned.
Stiles nodded and entered the locker room and Jax moved close to listen in, she'd rush in if she had to but she really didn't want to go into the boy's locker room unless it was really necessary. When she heard nothing bad she moved away; she moved all the way to the parking lot when the rest of the team started passing by and going in.
Jax was leaning up against her truck waiting for the boys when Allison came by and shyly waved goodbye and said she'd see her tomorrow. Jax just smiled and nodded and hoped that Allison wouldn't turn into her little puppy dog. After about ten more minutes the boys finally joined her in the parking lot; they were all heading back out into the woods. Scott lost his inhaler last night and they were going to help him find it, plus he was going to show them where the other half of the body was.
Jax followed the boys in her truck as they pulled up their usual spot and began their trek into the woods. It wasn't long before they all reached the spot where Scott said he was sure he lost his inhaler. During the walk, Stiles joked that Scott was sick with Lycanthropy but the joke stopped when Jax didn't laugh along with Stiles. She simply agreed and said she's pretty sure that's what happening to Scott and Scott panicked briefly but he seemed more disturbed that he couldn't his inhaler. Plus the body wasn't there either.
"Are you sure this is the spot, Scott?" Jax asked a little annoyed. She still couldn't quite put her finger on why all of the sudden Scott's presence really bothered her. They all bickered a little but immediately stopped when a dark figure caught their attention behind them. The hair on the back of Jax's neck was standing up.
"What are you doing here? " Asked the young man in a stern and demanding voice. Jax turned around to face him; she wanted to get a good look at the owner of that voice.
The boys stammered a little bit trying to think of something to say. The young man looked at Jax as she faced him; she was looking at him strangely. "We were looking for something that was lost in this spot last night" she replied to the stranger coldly. She started breathing a little heavier; something about his presence was making her feel heated.
"This is private property, you're trespassing" he replied just as coldly but watched the girl closely, she looked angry at him.
"We're sorry we're leaving, we were just looking for my inhaler" Scott said while grabbing Jax's sleeve and pulling her back with him as he took a step back.
"Yeah man we're sorry" Stiles added sounding a little spooked.
The stranger pulled something out of his pocket and threw it to Scott, it was his inhaler, and walked away. "Dude do you know that was?" Stiles asked Scott and Jax slightly shocked.
"No. Who was it?" Scott asked
"That was Derek Hale! Remember what happened to his family like six years ago?" Scott shook his head in response so Stiles continued as Jax continued to stare in the direction that Derek went. "The Hale house burned down in a fire, like eleven people died, burned to death in the fire. There were a few survivors and I guess… I guess Derek was one of them" Stiles paused. "Neither of you remember? Derek is only a few years older than us!"
Stiles continued talking as they walked back to their vehicles while Scott listened; Jax was lost in her head, in her own thoughts. She kept thinking about her reaction to Derek and how it's somewhat similar to the way she feels around Scott. She knew he must be like Scott, maybe he was the one that bit him and turned him. The boys said their goodbyes as they left together in Stiles Jeep, Jax sat in her truck for a few minutes thinking and then said "fuck it" as she hopped out of her truck and walked right back into the woods.
She went back to the spot they had been at and then followed the direction that Derek had walked off. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going or what she was looking for but she kept walking; she was determined to find something. Soon she came upon a clearing and could make out the appearance of a house in burnt shambles. She walked all the way up to the house, eyeing the sleek black Camaro parked in front as she passed it. "Well somebody's home" she said quietly to herself.
She stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the front door. There was no answer so she kicked it open, a little frustrated that her knock was ignored. It was obvious someone was here but they were going to ignore the knock on the door, she didn't like that. She walked in slowly, checking her surroundings and being careful where she stepped in case the damaged floor collapsed underneath her.
A figure standing next to the staircase caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, she turned to face it and it was Derek. He didn't look happy to see her. "You're going to fix that" he said stoically as he pointed at the door that Jax had kicked open.
"If you had answered the door then that wouldn't have happened" Jax replied plainly.
"You're not supposed to be here" Derek said taking a step towards her. The moonlight shining on him finally gave her a good look at the young man. He was definitely more than a few years older than them; she guessed he was around twenty-two. He had a chiseled face with light stubble, black hair and brilliant pale green eyes. His shoulders were broad and he was tall, he towered over her petite 5'5'' frame. She guessed that he was 6 feet tall, maybe give an inch, but he was extremely well built. From what she could make out of his physique it looked like he had been carved out of marble.
"Neither are you" she replied as she continued to size him up and she felt even further confliction wash over her. She was attracted to him but she wanted to kill him or… rule him.
He took another step towards her and was a little surprised; this little girl didn't back away from him. "This is my house" he said narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously. He could see she was looking him over but he was unclear in what way, her heart didn't speed up like most girls would upon checking him out.
"Not anymore Hale, the county owns this place of ruin now but don't worry… I won't tell anyone you're squatting here" she said with her voice slightly lowered.
Derek took another step towards her, they were now only three and a half feet apart and she didn't even twitch a muscle. Most men found him imposing; even the ones bigger than him but this little girl had no fear towards him whatsoever. "Then what are you doing here?" He asked.
She took a step towards him casually and looked up at him, "I was going to ask if you bit Scott last night but you're not the Alpha… are you?" She raised an eyebrow at him and took in his surprised expression.
"I didn't bite your friend…" Derek said looking down at her with his eyes narrowed, "who are you? What's your name?" He asked or rather demanded.
Jax chuckled lightly and replied with "Jax".
"That's not a name" Derek responded with a slight growl.
Her features softened as she placed a hand on his chest, moving it slowly from the left to the right, stopping over his heart. "You're so warm" she said softly and looking back up into Derek's eyes. His brow was furrowed and he grabbed her wrist, as soon as he did he felt her tense up in his grip but he removed her hand.
"Don't touch me, Jax" his toned was nearly a growl when he said her name. "What's your actual name?"
"Lena Jackson" she said plainly as she turned away from him and walked a few steps towards the family room. "So if you're not the Alpha then who is? Where is he?" She questioned with her back towards him.
She heard his steps coming quickly but she chose not to react just yet. He grabbed her shoulder and tried to turn her around, she didn't budge. He tried again and with much more force she spun around to face him, "you need to get your hand off of me Derek" she said calmly and he was beyond confused.
He waited one second too long and with incredible speed and force the palm of her hand collided with his chest, sending him across the room and crashing into the wall. He grumbled and growled as he started making his way back to his feet.
She looked at him blankly as she walked out of his house.