A/N: I am so sorry! I made a mistake last chapter, but don't worry! I fixed it. Okay last chapter was really short and this one is longer. So here goes nothing! Just so you know, the italics in this chapter are a dream.
Present Day
I opened my eyes suddenly, to find someone standing in front of me. As the figure approached, I got up as quickly as possible, eyeing the person warily. I growled, backing up as he got closer. "It's okay," he said, "I'm not here to hurt you."
I looked at him, still not able to see anything clearly, before glancing at Rocket. I trotted over to her, not losing eye contact with the guy. I nudged her as softly as possible. She didn't stir. The guy took a step forward, which somehow made me less able to see him. I growled to remind him to stay away.
"Come on," He argued, "just let me help."
I stared at him for a minute, before bowing my head in submission. He walked over and picked up Rocket. Due to his closer range, I could finally see him clearly. He was tall, with light curly hair and blue eyes.
I led him a couple trees away from the treehouse. I looked at him then pointed my head down, to indicate to put her down. He obliged, still looking at me. I sat down rather promptly, still meeting his gaze. Then he left, disappearing into the tree line. I waited until I couldn't see him at all before shifting and climbing up the ladder.
I got dressed and grabbed my backpack before jumping down. Rocket still lay unmoving; there were deep cuts down her side. I picked her up and carried her into town, where the vet's office was. By the time I got there the sun was already rising and the sign was now flipped to "Open". I brought her into the office. Dr. Deaton looks up from his paperwork; he glances at Rocket and then tells me to bring her back.
"She was attacked by something in the woods last night," I said quietly, "it was too dark to see it clearly."
He nods saying, "You should probably get to school, and come back in a couple days."
"Okay," I reply, heading towards the door. I glanced back before leaving. I wonder what the day has in store.
…
First period I grabbed my backpack to look for my notebook after the teacher had instructed me to. I shuffled through it to find that it wasn't there. The guy behind me tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to find him holding my notebook out for me.
"You left this in class the other day," The guy, who's name I think is Jacob, told me.
"Thanks," I practically whispered, "I really appreciate it."
The rest of the day was quite uneventful. I found the rest of my classes that I couldn't concentrate at all. I stayed after school and did my homework once I'd finished it I headed out of the school library. I walked through the corridors a bit before stopping. Someone was watching me.
I inhaled deeply. In the air there was the scent of another werewolf, close by. I turned around in all directions but found that no one was in sight. Huh, I know I didn't imagine that. I walked out of the school to find that Jacob was waiting for a ride.
"Hi," I greeted him.
He turned around, "Oh, hi Elsie." He replied with a smile on his face.
"You're Jacob, right?"
"Yeah,"
"Thanks for earlier,"
"Don't mention it," He said casually, "Do you want to hang out sometime?"
"Sure," I replied with a smile on my face, "I'd love to."
Someone in a black truck pulled up to the curb. "I have to go," he rushed," I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Bye,"
…
The next day went moderately better. I talked to Jacob and we we're going to meet at the burger place on Sunday. I was still worried about Rocket though. Was she going to be okay? I sure hope so. Now that I think about it I think I saw the guy from that night in the hallway yesterday, when this kid, who also happened to be a werewolf, got a suspension for riding his motorcycle through the halls.
Today was Friday and even though I was still excited to get out of school, I went to the library to finish my homework. On my way back home, I walked slowly through the abandoned section of town. I got that weird feeling again, like I was being watched. I peered around me again to find red eyes glowering at me. I inhaled the scent again to make sure it was no one I knew. I didn't recognize it at all. It still smelled like the one yesterday though.
"Why are you here?" I asked the Alpha. The Alpha gave me a look before disappearing into the shadows.
I kept walking, though a bit unnerved I was mostly curious. The sun had set long ago making this place look super creepy. When I got to the old mall, I heard something. Well, I didn't hear just anything, I'd heard fighting. I ditched my backpack and my clothes behind an old dumpster and shifted. I walked through the old mall through the shadows. I mean, in the shadows, you know stealthily.
When I'd got to the scene of the fight, Cora was being pinned by some weird Alpha lady, who, just an observation, wasn't wearing any shoes. Two other werewolves, one from the other night, were being held by the back of their necks. I saw their alpha being put in a bad position. I growled from the safety of the shadows, my eyes illuminating. To my surprise, they turned to where I had been standing. That's right; I was smart enough to move. I emerged from where I had moved to, my lip curled upwards to reveal my K9's, my body in a bowing position. I made my eyes not glow and peered around. I got up in a normal position and walked around still growling.
I faked a lunge to put them on edge. I circled around as quickly and silently as possible. I lunged, for real this time, towards the bald guys shoulder. That was when the girl, who I'd spotted earlier, found it was the perfect time to unleash her distraction. I shut my eyes in preparation as I grabbed on to the dudes shoulder with my teeth.
The alpha tried to get me off but happened not to succeed in doing so. That is until he used his claws to cut my chest. Man that hurt. I took off my jaw right as he threw me into a cement pillar. Through my hazy vision I managed to see them take over the fight before I, unfortunately, passed out.
…
I woke up on someone's couch in early morning. "Who's couch?" You might be asking. I don't know, why are you asking me? If I had known, I probably would've told you.
As I tried to sit up to find out who's couch this, white hot pain seared through my body. Thankfully, I was still a wolf.
"Easy," A feminine voice above me warned, "You found her last night?"
"Yeah," the guy from that night in the woods replied, "I also saw her a couple nights ago in the woods."
"Isaac, I'm not sure about this. Whoever she is, she's probably scared out of her mind."
Thank you person I do not know, for correctly identifying how I feel.
"Are you even sure she is a she?" the female voice asked.
"Yeah," Isaac said, "I can smell it on her. Like I can smell that she's a werewolf."
Well, I guess that was bound to happen sooner or later. I tried to get up again, this time I growled to signal my discomfort. This time only the Isaac dude tried to stop me. When he tried to do so I whimpered and shrunk down as small as I could become. Looking between the two, I slowly tried to get off the couch. But I was so wobbly I actually fell. Great. Thankfully the guy just helped me get back up and opened the door for me. I took my time to leave, but before doing so lowered my head in thanks. I went into trees and circled around town to get to the abandoned mall. I found the dumpster, sat down behind it and shifted. This had no pain in it, to my surprise. I put on my clothes and grabbed my backpack. As soon as I was finished with that, I hightailed it out of there. I dropped my backpack off at the treehouse and headed in to town. Once I arrived at the parking lot I headed for the door, only to be grabbed behind a car by the one and only Peter Hale.
"Are you crazy?" He asked me.
I responded, "Well, I'm considering it, but-"
"The Alpha pack is in there."
"Maybe I should come back later," I pondered, only to be stared at by Peter and Cora, "Oh and I was never here."
I disappeared into the shadows before hearing, "What was that?"
"To be truthful," Peter responded, "I have no idea."
…
I spent the remaining part of the day in town, getting groceries and checking the P.O. box I had at the, you guessed it, post office. Before I knew it, there was an hour before the veterinarians office was due to close. By now I figured that either the alpha had died, or they all went home, because, you know, he was going to be fine.
Entering the office, I was careful to look around to make sure that there were no alphas hiding in the corners or something. When Dr. Deaton saw me he smiled and led me back to where Rocket was laying down in a cage. He let her out of the cage. I kneeled down and let her rub against my side. Dr. Deaton smiled and said, "She is a wolf correct? I was quite surprised with how mellow she was towards me. Anyway, she may walk but no running, jumping or physical exertion of any kind."
I thanked Dr. Deaton and left the office towards home with Rocket behind me. Arriving home, I slipped into my pajamas and crawled into bed. I thought about the alpha of the pack from that night at the mall. He kind of looked familiar. Whatever Elsie, just go to sleep, part of me was definitely thinking. But the other part of me was like, "I KNOW HIM". But I didn't have any more time to think about it quite yet because sleep consumed me.
…
I was in a dark room when my mother appeared behind me. She gave me a harsh glare. Quietly she growled, "Why can't you remember? You're such a disappointment, I expected more from you."
"I-I I'm sorry," I say to what I think is the ground, "I'm trying."
"Well, try harder!" she roared.
My mother faded from the dream, but I could still hear the echo of her voice. Cora walked into the room.
"Oh, Cora," I said, surprised, "you've got to help me remember him!"
"You," Cora spat, "You want me to help you? You abandoned me for some hunters."
"I'm sorry, but-"
"No. You can't even recognize your own family and you want me to help you? You should be ashamed in yourself."
"Just-"
"Goodbye, Elise. Have a nice dream."
…
"It's Derek," I gasped, "It has to be."
I looked at Rocket in partial sadness. I knew Derek had been back for a while after Laura's death, but I'd thought he had left again. Well, I guess I was wrong. A part of me kind of knew he was here all along but I mostly refused to listen to that part of me. Maybe I should have done something. I know why I hadn't. It's because I'm a coward. I couldn't bring myself to talk to my own brother. Maybe I was afraid he wouldn't recognize me, after all it took me awhile to realize it was him. I know what you're thinking, "What about yesterday Elsie?" They approached me, it's completely different. Either way, for all I know, they could've thought they were hallucinating. It's completely possible. I'm not willing to cancel a possibility out because it is very improbable.
I dressed as quickly as I could, leaving my hair down this time. I stuffed twenty dollars in my jeans pocket. I tied my high tops and assessed myself in the mirror. My dark brown, almost black, curly hair cascaded down my shoulders. "You'll be fine," I told mirror-me.
I hoped I was right.
…
As I walked towards the burger place the reality of my situation hit me. I'm a werewolf, in high school, who is the complete opposite of social and I'm going to meet a guy I liked. I barely know him. He barely knows me. There is something following me, which freaks me out. Breathe, just breathe. You will be absolutely fine. It's not like this is a date.
Is it? What did you get yourself in to?
I arrived at the burger place, which has absolutely wonderful burgers, to see Jacob already in a booth. He waved at me, I blushed.
"I hope you like bacon cheese burgers," he says, "because I already ordered."
"Am I late?" I ask, a bit panicked, "I'm so sorry."
"You don't have to apologize. Either way, I'm early."
"Oh, that's a bit of a relief," I say laughing.
He and I talk until the food comes. He's into a lot of the same stuff as I am. He tells me about his family. He has two older sisters, Lucy and Anna, both of which are in college right now. His parents are divorced. He lives with his mom and dog. An Alaskan malamute named Indiana. I told him about Rocket and her shyness. He told me about his fascination with wolves. Cool, I'd thought, you already know one. We chatted a bit more after we'd finished eating.
"Maybe we should do this again sometime," I acknowledged.
"Yeah," He agreed, "definitely."
"Goodbye,"
"Bye"
…
On my way to my locker after second period on Monday, I couldn't help but wonder what other people thought of me. That's when I realized, I don't really know anyone, besides Jacob and my teammates, at school. So I guess they really don't think anything about me, which is good? That's when I ran into someone.
"Great Elsie," I murmured, "just great."
That's when the person I ran in to turned around.
"Elsie?" she asked, "As in Elise?"
I laughed nervously, "Hi Cora."
"What are you doing here?"
"I might or might not go to school here. Please don't tell Derek."
"You're ridiculous," She sighed turning around.
I ran after her, "Look, someone's following me. I don't know who yet, but I'm getting closer to figuring that part out. Just give me some time."
"Someone's following you, Elsie you can't seriously expect me not to tell Derek."
I gave her a look before saying, "I just don't want anyone else getting hurt,"
"Fine," she backs out, "I'll give you two days."
"Bye" I said before running to my locker. I opened it and grabbed my American History textbook. You'll never guess what happened next. The fire alarm blared causing students to grab their ears. I however did no such thing. Instead, I listened around for the alarm puller. I heard Cora arguing in the coach's office with a couple other kids. Oh, Cora. I expected more from you.
I headed out of the building because if I hadn't done so people might've thought I was the one who pulled said fire alarm. My antisocial self, headed over to the area with less people, naturally. I had a bad feeling about everything that was going on. I felt like something was going to happen tonight. With seeing Cora and hearing her arguing, I knew this had something to do with the alpha pack being here. That and all the murders that have been going on. Nothing good will come out of it. Everything was related, whether distant or close.
The rest of the day I was antsy. Walking home, I got that feeling again, not the antsy one, the "I'm being watched" one. I looked to my right to see red eyes staring back at me. I asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm your worst nightmare," the alpha rasped.
"I highly doubt that," I turned my head and began to walk away. I stopped and turned around, "Why are you here?"
"I'm here for you,"
That's when I backed up and walked away. At least I still have two days.
