A/N: This is my first real attempt at Teen-Wolf based fanfiction. All characters are OC, but reflect traits of Teen Wolf characters. Events happen similarly to the original Teen Wolf show for bits and pieces of the story while otherwise being different. Also, a different, bigger location than the show. Sorry to keep you, please enjoy, and drop a review of how you think I did.
Prologue
The Bite
Meteor Heights, California, June 15th, 2014…
Seventeen year old Nick Negron ran a hand through his jet black hair as the water from the shower beat down on his body. He sighed, releasing half of a yawn and stretched his lean body, reaching his hands into his hair. Rinsing off the last of the shampoo, Nick reached out and turned the handle to turn the shower off. Opening the door to the shower, he grabbed the nearby towel and began drying himself off.
Minutes later, he walked into the kitchen of his family's house, now dressed in a dark blue Doctor Who graphic tee and a pair of denim cargo jeans. His mother, Carly, had already left for work at the police station, being the sheriff of their city, Meteor Heights. He opened a box of Honey Bunches of Oats and, pouring himself a bowl, sat down at the table and turned the news on. As the screen lit up, Nick could see that the television was already set to channel 15, the channel that hosted Meteor News Network, the news network that covered every borough of Meteor Heights, also including the outlying surroundings that made up Meteor County. On the screen, there was a reporter standing with a bigger guy dressed in hunting fatigues who had a pretty freaked out look on his face.
"Mr. Johansen, what did you see last night as you were camping in the Meteor Heights Preserve?" Asked the reporter.
"Well, I don't really know for sure. It was pretty dark, you understand, being in the denser part of the forest. What I do know is that it was huge, much bigger than a dog, and it had searing red eyes that just seemed to glow. From what I could make out from its shape, it looked a lot like a wolf. But that's crazy, right? Wolves haven't been in this part of California for years. It moved so fast I couldn't keep up with it so I just went back into my tent and stayed there.
"Then, come the morning I went out looking for tracks, and found them. I followed the tracks up to a half-eaten deer carcass a bit less than a mile away. That was when I called the wildlife department and from there this all happened. I just want to go home and relax where no giant wolf-thing is going to terrorize me." Said the witness, his whole body shaking in fear.
Nick drummed the tabletop. That's the fifth wolf sighting this month. I'm starting to wonder if there really are wolves now back in California. Maybe I'll go to the preserve tonight and see if I can't see this thing myself. He thought, getting up to grab his backpack for the last day of school, his first class starting in just under an hour.
Meteor Heights High School, an Hour Later…
Nick took his seat next to a girl his age with long dark brown, almost black hair and dark green eyes behind a pair of stylish glasses. He leaned close and kissed her cheek. "Good morning, sexy."
Seventeen year old Melissa Montero smiled as she turned towards Nick. "Hey, yourself, handsome. Did you hear about that guy on the news this morning?" She asked.
"Yeah, I did. I wanna go out to the preserve tonight, maybe drag Elliot along. I know you wouldn't want to come along, you get scared out in the preserve after dark." He stuck his tongue out at her, warranting her to give him the are-you-serious look.
"Oh, no. I'm coming too. Someone has to keep you two troublemakers out of trouble." She smirked. "I remember what you did on Halloween last year to Coach."
Nick put his hands up in defense. "That was not my idea. That was all Elliot's, I just supplied the string to trigger it. But, come on, everyone is still talking about when he opened the door and everything on the wall just fell off at once. Elliot sure did though, since he got the full punishment."
"And I still find it hard to believe that you got nothing." Said Elliot Tate, entering the classroom and sitting on the other side of Nick. "But that was great, and even Coach said it was a great prank. So, lovebirds, how are you guys on this glorious day, the last Friday, and day in general of our junior year in high school?"
"We're good. So, tonight instead of partying wanna come out to the preserve and try to see that huge wolf thing?" Nick asked his best friend.
"Really? You two are going after that thing?" Melissa and Nick both nodded, making Elliot sigh. "Well, count me in. But, I'm bringing my uncle's pistol. Just in case."
"Fine. I was bringing mom's spare anyway. You got anything to bring with you, Mels?"
Melissa looked thoughtful. "I'll think of something. So, when do you want to meet up for this excursion?" I just hope that whatever is in those woods isn't what I think it is. Mom didn't train me how to hunt them since there weren't any to worry about. Dad might know something if I ask though.
It was Nick's turn to look thoughtful. "How about eight? That should be good and my mom is pulling a late shift so she won't be back home until at least midnight, so she can't ask me where I'm going."
"That works for me. My dad is doing an overnight at the hospital tonight. So, we'll meet up at the preserve at eight tonight. Hold on, where's Coach? He's usually here by now." The three friends exchanged a look before looking at the teacher's desk, where the man was indeed nowhere to be seen.
Then, all of a sudden, Coach Martin Jax burst into the room and ran to his desk, huffing in an attempt to catch his breath. "Sorry I'm late, guys. My car decided to stop halfway here and I didn't want to call a tow truck so I just ran all the way here from the highway. Not my smartest idea, but still not my worst." He paused to survey the room, making sure the students were all listening to him. But there's always one kid. "Johnson! Shut the hell up and take your damn book out for class."
The kid, Kyle Johnson, flipped him the bird, laughing as he usually did. "Love you, Coach."
"Go to hell, Johnson. God, I can't wait until next year for you to graduate and I never have to see your face again. Anyway, onto today's subject: Pompeii…" And thus school had officially begun for the last day of the school year for the three juniors. Before class was over, there had been Grimm reference and even a comparison to the recently released movie that every student at the high school had gone to see.
Meanwhile, Meteor Heights Preserve, Old Miller House…
The old, decrepit shell of a house sat as a testament to the supposedly long-gone Miller family, one of the few families that originally settled in the area and stayed around instead of moving. Around ten years before, the whole family had a disaster strike the house, killing all but a few of the younger members. Those survivors had then moved away and hadn't been heard from since. A figure, however, moved about the shadows in the ghost of what used to be a quiet family home.
Standing at about six-foot-three with broad, muscular shoulders, the man sniffed his way through the home, obviously looking for something he knew should still be in the house. The man knew his younger brother would eventually come back home, especially after he found their sister's dead body at her house in Kentucky. Young Zeke Miller would come running back to his ancestral home as he felt the tug of his older brother, the now Alpha werewolf Samuel. Zeke would realize that Samuel had killed Serena and would most likely be vying for revenge, even knowing he was no match for Samuel, being only a Beta, and an Omega at that.
Sam finally sniffed out what he was after, a small box about the size of a box of cereal. Opening it, he found the item in question he was looking for: a small but thick moleskine journal, along with a few vials of a bluish-purple liquid and one of a golden yellow liquid Samuel did not recognize. Opening the journal, his mouth twisted into a feral grin, his fangs baring themselves. "Soon, I will have all that I need to become the most powerful Alpha alive." He cackled before his face twisted even more into what could only be defined as wolfish. Lifting his face up towards the morning sky, he let loose a howl louder than any a hunter had ever heard before.
Elsewhere…
Twenty-three year old Zeke Miller heard the howl before he began experiencing a ferocious headache. Even being an Omega, a Wolf without a Pack, Zeke still heard and felt his brother's pull. He had reached the old house before him, and most likely had found the first of their mothers' ten journal collection of the supernatural. He was running out of time but, not being even a True Alpha who hadn't come into his powers as of yet, he was mostly powerless to stop Samuel as he began collecting a Pack. Zeke just hoped he could reach Meteor Heights in time before the new Pack began tearing up the town.
Putting his foot all the way on the gas, Zeke's turbocharged Dodge Challenger roared down the deserted highway, making the shortest trip home possible.
Back at the School…
Nick felt an odd sensation run through his body as he heard, faintly but clearly in his mind, what sounded like a wolf howling. Suddenly, his hands went to his forehead as a splitting headache began forming. Asking to be excused from class, he rushed out towards the bathroom where he stood over the sink, cold water pouring from the faucet. Nick splashed himself with the water, not sure what else he could do for the headache. Then, as quickly as the pain had descended upon him, it stopped.
Nick looked into the mirror and his eyes widened as he backed away. Everything was normal about his reflection. That is, everything but his eyes. Normally a light chocolate brown, they were now glowing a striking yellow-gold before flickering to a fierce crimson red and back to the yellow. Nick blinked and his eyes retained their natural brown color. What the fuck was that? He asked himself, taking a deep breath and, putting it out of his thoughts for the moment, made his way back to class.
Later, High School Parking Lot…
"Are you sure you're okay, hon?" Melissa asked Nick as the trio left the school building for their cars.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It was only a little headache. Just in case, I'll take a couple aspirin when I get home. So, I'll see you two tonight at the preserve?" Nodding, the three separated to their own vehicles; Melissa to her dark green Chevrolet Trailblazer, Elliot to his dark red Mitsubishi Galant and Nick to his purple, borderline black Scion FR-S. Starting the engine, Nick made for his house. I really wish I knew what that was all about earlier. Maybe I should have told Mels or Elliot about it.
As he arrived home, Nick decided to call Melissa. After a few rings, the receiver picked up. "Hey, Nick. Everything alright?" She asked over the phone.
"I'm not entirely sure. Remember earlier when I left to go to the bathroom because of that random headache? Well, something happened to cause it, and then something else happened when I was in the bathroom." Nick replied.
"Oh no," Nick could hear the worry in her voice. "What happened?"
"Well, right before I left class, I could swear I heard a faint noise that, oddly, sounded like a wolf howling. Right after that was when the headache started. When I went to the bathroom, I started splashing water on my face to try to help the headache go away. Suddenly, and definitely not because of the water, my headache was gone. Then, as I looked into the mirror, my eyes were glowing! First gold, then red and back to gold. When I blinked after noticing that, my eyes were normal. Since then, nothing unusual has happened so maybe it was just my head playing tricks on me, right?"
"Yeah, that's probably it. Just relax and I'll see you tonight, alright? Love you."
"Love you too, Melissa. See you then." He said and hung up.
Melissa's House…
Melissa was biting her thumbnail, nervous about what Nick had just told her. She had to ask her father about it, him being the only parent she still had after her mothers' tragic accident while the family had been on vacation. Entering her fathers' study, she knocked on the already open door. "Dad, can I ask you something?"
Javier Montero turned to face his daughter. "Of course, honey. What's wrong?"
"It's about Nick… He had a migraine show up out of nowhere and he rushed out of class to the bathroom. He said it was nothing at the time, but he just called me and explained what really happened," Melissa explained to the Hunter what her boyfriend said had happened, almost going into tears by the end of the story. "Please, dad, tell me he isn't one of them," She said, her voice full of venom. "I love him too much."
Javier thought about what had been described to him. "He can't be one of them, dear. You two have gone out on full moons before. If he hadn't changed then he wouldn't be one. Not to mention, his family is completely human, I did a check when you both started dating. Not that every one of them is bad, but out of concern. You said his eyes flashed from gold to red?" Melissa nodded. "That's very strange. Not being a werewolf, Nick's eyes shouldn't be any of the three, but shifting between those two while still human is practically unheard of. And he heard the howl from this morning?" Melissa nodded, her eyes full of confusion as was her expression. "The parabolic dish picked it up earlier. I suspect the howl was from an Alpha, being so loud because the dish said it came from the Miller house up in the deep woods of the preserve. Most likely, one of the Millers came back from their exodus.
"I do however have a theory about what's happening with Nick. I've heard about people that are human but have potential to become a werewolf. Some say this is how Alphas determine candidates for the Bite. The stories say these people can hear an Alpha's call, and sometimes even exhibit signs of the change. If these individuals are then bitten, they are known to be able to control themselves almost, if not fully, while in their transformed state. If they are able to make the change on their own accord, then they are known to be protectors of the innocent. Either way, we Hunters tend to kill them as is our job of making sure the innocent population stays away from things they can't control. That's why I've told you about Raven House's supernatural wing, where we put all the dangers to the psychologically sane." He noticed the look of sadness and distress on his daughters' face and sighed.
"Melissa, I know how deeply you and Nick care for each other. If, somehow, he gets bitten or he winds up turning on his own, no matter what, I promise to not kill him unless he gives me no other choice. There's only one thing that bothers me, however," Melissa looked at her father and hugged him in thanks as he continued. "His eyes went from Beta gold to Alpha red. You remember the three colors and what they mean for a werewolf's status, correct?" When Melissa nodded again, he finished. "What do they mean?"
Melissa took a breath. "Beta and Omega werewolves have two different distinguishing eye colors. The yellow or gold means they were turned regularly, the Ice blue color means that after they turned, they killed someone precious to them. Red is the only color only associated with… Alphas…" Her eyes widened in realization. "And it represents their superiority to the rest of the Pack. But, if Nick's eyes changed from gold to red, then doesn't that mean that Nick would be considered a potential True Alpha? And could then not be forced to kill whoever this Alpha in town is?" Javier nodded, smiling at his daughters' knowledge retention. "There may be a hitch in waiting to see if he just comes into his powers, though, and I'm going with him anyway. Nick wants to go looking for whatever is scaring the local hunters away from the preserve tonight.
I, he and Elliot are all going, all bringing protection. Nick and Elliot are bringing along their family's Beretta pistols, and I was thinking about bringing the crossbow. Can I have magazines for the pistols so if we do find the Alpha we can do some actual damage?"
Javier shook his head at his daughters' plans. "Teenagers. Yeah, I'll give you a few for the boys. Just watch out for Nick. He's a good kid, and I don't want him to become a monster. I know how devastating that would be to you." Nodding, Melissa was handed the pistol clips and went back to her room to prepare for the night.
Later That Night, Meteor Heights Biological Preserve and State Park…
Nick pulled his Scion into the next space behind his friends' cars. Getting out, he checked for the sixth time that his moms' spare pistol was loaded and ready, the safety being on for the moment of course. Walking up to the entrance fence, he found Melissa handing Elliot a pistol magazine and was holding another out towards him.
"My father told me to bring these, just in case. The bullets have silver-tipped hollow points filled with concentrated monkshood, otherwise known as asphodel or-"
"Wolfsbane?" Nick finished. "What are we looking to protect ourselves from? Werewolves?" He arched his eyebrow but took the clip, substituting it for the one already inside the pistol.
"You never know what's out there, Nick. And, the reports say man-sized or bigger wolf, so I'd rather not take chances." Elliot said, usually the ultimate skeptic about the supernatural.
"True enough. Alright then, let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Nodding, the trio made their way deeper into the forested area.
Before too long, they came upon what they all knew were the ruins of the Miller House, said to be home to a bunch of cannibalistic psychopaths. The teens knew better, for they had met the Miller siblings that had survived the freak accident that had led to their house collapsing, Samuel, Zeke and Serena. They had been volunteers for just about every charity in town until they had also left town. "Man, this place looks like shit. Even with the rumors of them being psychos you would think a family as old as the Millers' would be part of the historical society and the house fixed up." Nick stated quietly.
A twig snapped loudly to the teen's right, and all three of them had their weapons drawn in that direction, turning to make sure there was nothing around them. Nick led the trio in the direction of the noise slowly, as to try to see whatever had made the noise in the first place before it was either spooked or decided to hide from them.
Nick stopped not too long after they had started moving. He motioned at the ground, where the twig they had heard lay broken in several pieces, a large animal track present as well. He pulled out his mini flashlight and saw that the tracks were definitely not that of a man, the toes spaced out further than a human's with sharp points that seemed to resemble claws. Getting back up, Nick flicked the safety on his pistol off and began following the tracks south, the direction the creature was moving. Soon, Nick noticed that the tracks curved in their travels, somewhat circling the Miller House.
Another noise sounded, this time coming from what seemed like three different directions. "I think we should fan out, see if we can't catch this thing by having a wider search radius."
"Stop fucking quoting shit from Destination Truth, you're actually starting to freak me out a bit." Elliot said, moving in one direction.
Melissa pouted as she looked at Nick, worry evident in her eyes. Nick moved closer and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "It'll be fine, baby. If anything comes at me, I'll get it before it's close enough to get me. If none of us find anything in a half hour, we regroup back at the White Oak, alright?" Nodding, Melissa kissed him back.
"For luck." She smiled and moved in another direction, leaving Nick to travel alone, moving towards the deepest part of the forest in the northern woods.
The first ten or fifteen minutes went by without incident. Nick took out his phone and put the volume low enough where he would hear it but not alert anything to his presence. "Anybody got anything yet?" He asked over the walkie-talkie app all three of them had.
Elliot was first to report. "Other than an owl, nada. What about you, Mels?"
"I have more tracks but they look more like deer. Thinking of seeing if whatever we're looking for is possibly out to hunt… Hold on, I have more of the big tracks, they're definitely headed north from me... Nick, be careful, I think it may be coming towards you. Do you have anything where you are yet, Nick?"
"No, nothing…" He stopped, hearing soft footsteps somewhere behind him, followed by a growl. "I have growling. I think you were right, Melissa. Both of you start coming towards me, I'm going to see if I can't get this thing. Radio silence." He turned the phone off and rotated on the spot, looking around in the deep shadows of the woods around him.
At first he wasn't getting anything, but then he saw the eyes, glowing with the natural reaction of eyeshine. But, they didn't glow green like most nocturnal creatures, but with a fiery red that unnerved Nick. Nick took a step back as he recognized the red from his own eyes earlier that day. He raised the gun towards the creature and made sure it stayed in his sights. The creature, testing Nick, growled even louder than before and moved to the left, almost too fast for Nick to keep up due to its almost supernatural speed.
With a loud half bark half snarl, the creature wound back on its hind legs and jumped straight at Nick. Nick ran backwards several steps before firing upon the creature. The first shot just missed the hulking figures' shoulder as it came towards him. Firing off two more shots, Nick nicked the unknown in the chest, but it didn't stop as it got close enough to bite Nick's left arm, the arm he held the flashlight in. Screaming at the incredible pain shooting up his arm, Nick managed to get another shot off, this one getting whatever it was in the right forearm, making it yelp. As it let go of Nick's arm, the creature ran off as Nick descended into the darkness of unconsciousness.
With Melissa and Elliot…
Melissa and Elliot, hearing the first shot, had begun making their way towards the sound. Then, hearing Nick fire off two more shots, Melissa had basically zoomed past Elliot trying to hurry to her boyfriend. They arrived as whatever it was bit Nick and they saw him fight it off and ran to him as he collapsed. Melissa saw the bite mark on his arm and starting crying, picking Nick's head up. "Nick, wake up! Please, baby, wake up! Are you alright?!"
Groaning, Nick's eyes opened, flashing ever so slightly yellow before going back to his normal brown. "Yeah, I'm alright. My arm hurts likes a bitch though. Motherfucker bit me," He lifted his arm, wincing. "But it's not bleeding. Odd. I think we should get home, but I need a rabies shot first, just in case whatever that thing was had something." Nodding, Melissa motioned for Elliot to pick Nick up, being a bull. Effortlessly, Nick went into the back of Melissa's truck and Elliot got into his car, the trio leaving for the hospital.
In the woods, a reverted Samuel touched the bullet wound in his arm from one of the three Wolfsbane-laced silver bullet and winced at the pain. He saw the blue veins that meant the poison was in his system and hurried back to the old house, needing to grab one of the vials left with his mother's journal.
Meteor Heights County Memorial Hospital, Twenty Minutes Later…
Elliot carried Nick into the emergency room and saw his dad. "Dad, we need a bed for Nick. And a rabies shot. We went out for a Friday night party in the woods and something bit him. I think it's that wolf thing people have been seeing. He's also in a lot of pain, so he needs a sedative so he can sleep." Nodding, the even bigger man took Nick from Elliot's arms.
Randall Tate spoke with a deep, almost booming voice. "He'll be fine, El, I take it you both came here with Melissa also?" Elliot nodded. "Did you guys take two cars or all three of them?" Elliot held up three fingers. "Then I suggest you and Melissa go grab whoever's car is left out by the woods and come back." That was the great thing Elliot loved about his dad being the head nurse, an emergency like this was always taken care of first.
"Thanks, dad. We'll be back soon. I think Melissa's just calling her dad letting him know what's going on." Nodding, Randall took Nick away and Elliot left the hospital to go get Nick's car, seeing Melissa crying while talking on the phone.
"He's been bitten, papa… Yeah, we're at the hospital right now but me and Elliot are going to have to go get Nick's car from the preserve… Yeah, Nick shot it a few times, I saw three slight blood trails, but I don't think it's just gonna die so easily… Yeah, I'm going to stay the night here with him, he needs me… I hope so too, dad. I'll see you tomorrow… Alright, love you too, bye." Melissa hung up, her words having been choked up several times with sobs as she saw Elliot walk up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, you okay? Mel, he's gonna be fine, we both know that. Nick's a fighter, and God be damned if he doesn't survive as animal attack like that."
Smiling at her friend's words, Melissa nodded. "I know. Thanks, Elliot. Now, let's go get Nick's car. If that's not here when he wakes up, he'll flip. We both know that car is like his baby." I just hope he'll be okay, being bitten. I hope dad was right about people like him. Because when he turns on the next full moon, he's gonna need all the control he can get. With that, the two friends made their way to Melissa's truck.
City Limits…
Zeke Miller pulled over and looked at the many lights of the multi-borough city. "I'll find you, Sam, and I'll stop you. Before you destroy this town." Putting the Challenger back into drive, he sped down the winding turns of Mateo Canyon, the city of Meteor Heights speeding toward his car quickly.
The Hospital, the Next Day…
Nick woke up feeling a little off. Looking around, he found that he was lying in a hospital bed, obviously because of the animal that had attacked him the night before. He saw Elliot standing by the door, looking out into the hallway and, feeling a weight on the bed next to him, he turned and saw Melissa sleeping soundly. Remembering that he had been bitten, he lifted his arm and looked at the mark only to find a faint scar left, not even a scab.
Elliot turned and saw Nick was awake. Coming over, he spoke quietly as to not wake Melissa. "Yeah, I noticed that, too. Melissa said it would do that, but she wouldn't tell me how she knew. She cried herself to sleep last night, saying it was her fault for letting us go through with the idea of going after that thing, whether it was a werewolf, a normal wolf, whatever. I just stayed by the door and gave my dad updates every while."
Nick nodded, lightly squeezing the hand of Melissa's he could reach without disturbing her. He looked at Elliot. "What did you tell my mom about us being out? And where are the weapons?"
"I told her that we went out and you got into a fight which resulted in you getting bitten," Nick looked at him with a deadpan expression. "I know, it's not the best excuse but it worked. She just told me to make sure you get home safe. And the weapons are in my trunk. So, everything is taken care of. Now, get some rest and wear the drugs off. You can't leave the hospital still drugged. My dad should be around in a bit with the discharge papers and after you wake up again we'll all get out of here, alright?" Nodding, Nick turned toward Melissa and closed his eyes.
