Awakening of the Wolf
Chapter 1
Starting Anew
It had been 3 months since the werewolf attacks ceased in Beacon Hills. In that span of time subtle changes had occurred to the not so sleepy town. The local police had beefed up security by having faster responses, monitoring public events, and adding more dogs to the force. They had also taken to patrolling the streets frequently, but more often than not, it was a waste of time and resources. All of the local business installed security cameras to catch unsuspecting criminals in the act, but only the occasional purse snatcher appeared and they were immediately apprehended. However, the attitudes of the people had not changed; in fact they had brightened considerably since the attacks ended. Relief had swept the town since Kate Argent was discovered to be the mastermind behind the Hale Estate Fire. The police was so proud to have finally solved the case that they organized a fundraiser that successfully managed to remodel the Hale home as repayment for helping to close the case. Meanwhile the teens involved in taking down the Alpha had settled back into life as it was before the nightmare….except one.
Jackson slowly walked down the halls of Beacon Hills High toward his locker. The boy was contemplating his position with the other teenagers around him, more specifically Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Stiles. His relationship with the two boys was non-existent at best, so it was no surprise that they avoided him like the plague after his betrayal at the Formal. It was the deterioration of his friendship with Allison and his relationship with Lydia that caused him the most pain. Allison had trusted him with her secrets, worries, and insecurities after the Alpha had attacked them at the school. When she learned of his knowing that Scott was a werewolf and him betraying said wolf to her hunter family, she threatened to kill if he even so much as glanced at Scott the wrong way. But that was nothing compared to Lydia breaking up with him. She had taken him to a secluded area of a park and calmly broke up with him.
"Jackson, I wanted to say that I thought you were the one I was meant to be with for the rest of my life. But after you dumped me I realized that being with you only held me back from being the best. I'm tired of being with you if it means I have to lie to myself…" she stopped as Jackson held up his hand.
He breathed a sigh and said, "Lydia, you don't have to say anymore. You've done more for me than I can ever thank you for. That night while you lay in that hospital bed unable to move or speak with your eyes closed, I realized that I was the reason you were in there. You deserve better than that…better than me. I don't deserve you, Lydia that was one among many things I learned that night." Jackson turned his gaze onto Lydia, and she gasped at the sincerity that she saw there. It was more emotion than she had ever seen Jackson express and his next action shocked her even more. He took her hands in his and kissed her. She was too shocked to respond, and he pulled back with sad but grateful eyes. "Thank you." With that he got up and walked away, only glancing back once at the beautiful girl. He smiled and whispered, "Good luck."
Jackson felt tears well up in his eyes and flow down his cheeks. He hastily wiped them away and hoisted his bag higher onto his back. The wounds on his neck twinged in pain at the action. He reached back and carefully rubbed them. The pain brought the memory of Derek rejecting to bite him to the forefront of his mind. The boy shuddered as Derek's red eyes bored into his behind his closed eyelids. An involuntary whimper left him and he jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and groaned when he discovered that the intruding appendage belonged to Stiles. He tried to put on his most intimidating, but knew that it fell flat when he saw amusement on the other teen's face. "What do you want, Stilinski?"
"Awww, we're back to formalities now, Jackson? I thought we were on a first name basis after our exploits to slay the Alpha together." Jackson only stared at Stiles until the other sighed and said, "Ok, I wanted to say that I'm happy for you and Lydia. I mean it couldn't have gone any better than that." Stiles stopped talking as the blonde leveled him with hard glare. The blue-eyed boy growled, "You were eavesdropping on us?"
"No! I just happened to be nearby and…." Jackson looked carefully at Stiles and a sudden but plausible thought occurred to him. "You're a werewolf." It wasn't a question, Stiles looked at him surprised. "How did you know?"
"McCall has this wild feel to him. It was the same with the Alpha, and Derek has it too. Now you have it. I may be ignorant of feelings, Stiles, but I know a werewolf when I see one. Afterall, I have been attacked by two. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going home." Jackson shoved past Stiles and hurried to his car. Stiles watched and said, "Derek was right! We should watch him. What do you think?"
"We just have to watch him closely and report anything to Derek." Scott advised as he walked to brunette's side. "He's the only one besides Allison who knows that we're werewolves. We have to be careful and make sure that he doesn't tell anyone. Allison told me that hunters are aware of Kate's death and might be coming down here to monitor our movements."
Stiles smiled at his best friend and laughed, "It's awesome that you have a girlfriend that is a hunter. Anything else she said?"
Scott turned to his friend and relayed, "She also said that another Alpha has been sighted in the area." Stiles raised his brows in surprise and stated, "Things are about to heat up again in Beacon Hills."
In a warehouse five miles outside the city of Beacon Hills, a group of people stood around a map, old newspaper clippings, and various calendars. A woman examined the newspaper articles and sneered at the couple featured in it. A smiling black-haired woman with ice blue eyes sat in the arms of a blond-haired man with hazel eyes. He was grinning at the camera while helping his wife hold a small blond boy with ice blue eyes. The boy had a timid smile on his face while he tried to bury his head into his mother's shoulder. She frowned at the caption below the picture. Lowell couple was two casualties of the Hale Estate Fire that claimed 11 lives. Their son Connor was placed in the local Beacon Hills orphanage. She smirked as the thought of killing the last of her target filled her mine. 'As soon as he is dead my vengeance will be complete.' She pinned a stand-alone picture of Connor on top of the other clippings and gathered her belongings. It was time to pay a second visit to Beacon Hills.
Jackson parked his car into the driveway of his home and strolled to the front door. He had been at the gym for a couple of hours to work off his frustration with his life. He took out his keys and opened the door. He paused on his way in as he felt the hairs on the back of his rise; he was being watched. He looked to the street to see if anyone was looking, but the only things he spotted were the parked cars on the street. He shrugged, went into his house, and locked the door behind him. If Jackson had been a werewolf he would've have caught the scent of another wolf nearby. The silver beast tracked the boy through his home as he greeted his parents and went to his room. It waited a few more minutes to ensure that he was asleep and galloped into the night. In his home, Derek Hale growled as he scented another Alpha in the area. Allison's information had only been partially right. There was not only one new Alpha in the area, but two. It seems that Beacon Hills was becoming a hotspot for werewolf activity.