AN~: Hey guys I don't have much to say this time other than the usual thanks and what not. Oh also who is watching Season 3?
Every episode I'm practically having a heart attack! I love everyone in Teen Wolf too much I can't bear to see them hurt!
Well now on to Chapter 7!
Callie held her breath as the cold water rushed over her head. A waterfall of red filled her vision.
She held on to the air in her lungs for a few more seconds before shutting off the water. She never liked this part of dying her hair.
Squeezing out the remaining water, she prepared to go under one last time. She laughed to herself.
Remembering how she had joked with Derek she was going blue next. Well she had decided on candy apple red.
Not that much of a difference from maroon, but she still hoped he would like it. If not, then he was out of luck.
Callie to a huge breath and ducked under the bathtub faucet. Through the roar of the water she could just make out her ringtone.
It went to voicemail. Seconds later it rang again. And again. And again.
Callie groaned and turned off the water. She quickly dried her hair as best as she could and grabbed the seizuring phone.
"This better be good Stiles." she snarled.
"Get to the movie rental now."
"Why? It's like ten on a Saturday night. Derek is gonna be here any time now."
"Callie could you just be away from Derek for like maybe twenty minutes. Lydia and Jackson were attacked!"
"You're kidding right?" her heart stopped for a split second.
"Just get over here now."
Stiles's voice was grave and serious. Callie wrapped her hair up in a towel and put on a pullover sweater.
She awkwardly put on her shoes as she went down the stairs. Jamming her phone in her jeans pocket, Callie ran out the door.
When she drove up to the movie store there was already a small crowd gathering. She parked her car in a secluded corn.
She pulled off the towel on her head and got out. A quick scan around the area told her that the cops had been there for some time.
Yellow caution tape kept the scene of the crime blocked off and an ambulance was near the entrance.
Callie found Stiles close to his father's sheriff car.
"What the hell happened?" Callie avoided stepping on broken glass from the shattered window.
"No idea. Dad's still trying to get it out of Jackson."
The two of them looked over to where Sheriff Stilinski was talking to Jackson.
"What part of I'm fine are you having trouble grasping? Ok, I want to go home." Jackson's voice was growing louder.
"I understand." Sheriff Stilinski tried to calm him down.
"No you don't understand! What blows my mind, since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum wage
rent-a-cop like you! Ok, now I want to go home!"
Stiles lurched forward but Callie's grip pulled him back. He gave her a look, clearly wanting to go stand up for his dad.
"Jackson is just scared. Dad has dealt with worse." she whispered in his ear.
His shoulders slumped forward and he kicked at the ground in frustration.
A pair of paramedics stepped out of the store, wheeling a gurney covered in a white cloth.
Callie instantly got chills up her spine and goosebumps. She hated being around death.
Somehow her abilities amplified all of the emotions and energy that came with it. It made her stomach churn in horrible ways.
"Is that a dead body?" Stiles said too loudly.
Callie slapped that back of his head. The sheriff also turned to face his son, shaking his head in disapproval.
Stiles looked at him apologetically. Jackson took this moment to storm off towards his car.
He had left Lydia alone with the EMT who wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.
She looked like she had seen the devil. Callie felt nothing but sympathy for her.
"You think this was another wild animal attack?" Stiles asked.
"Nope. An animal couldn't have done that to Lydia. And if it was just an animal Scott and Derek wouldn't be here."
"They're here?" Stiles looked around wildly.
Callie grabbed the top of his head and pointed him in the right direction. Two dark shadows stood on top of the building.
"Come on get in my car. We'll go meet them around the back." Callie pulled Stiles away.
"I'll take Stiles home. Don't worry about him tonight!" she called back to Sheriff Stilinski.
He nodded quickly and headed into the store himself.
By time Callie and Stiles had gotten around the building Scott was standing alone. Callie waved to him to get in.
"Where's Derek?" she asked.
"He said he had stuff to do at his house." Scott said, he was distracted.
Callie was a little disappointed but her worry for Scott was more important.
"What's up?"
Scott was silent. He covered his mouth with his hand and leaned his head back on the seat.
"Scott tell us what's going on." she said sternly.
"It's the alpha. There's a bigger, stronger, scarier werewolf out there killing people. And Derek wants me to kill him."
"Why do you have to do it? Can't Derek just fight him on his own?" Stiles was fully turned in his seat.
"It's because the alpha bit me. He wants me in his pack. The alpha pretty much owns me."
"And the only way for you to be free is if you kill it right?" Callie muttered.
"How did you know that?" Scott was surprised.
"Ever since you became a werewolf we've been doing research on all things lycan. I came across it a while back."
"So what are we going to do about Lydia and Jackson?" Stiles changed the subject.
"We don't even know if they saw anything." Scott replied.
"They sure as hell didn't see the freakin' Easter Bunny. Did you see Lydia? She looks like a ghost.
They saw him. But if we're going to find out anything about the alpha its going to be from them."
"Well I can't exactly help. I have to train with Derek."
"For what? Scott I thought you didn't trust him!" Stiles sounded hurt.
"Well I kind of need him. Another full moon is coming and I still don't know how to control my shifts."
"Scott don't worry about it. Leave it to me and Stiles."
"What exactly are we going to do?"
"Stiles when have I ever given you reason to doubt me? Now get out of my car we're at your house.
I'll tell you the plan on Monday."
Stiles hung his head dramatically and got out of the car. He saluted Callie in a farewell before disappearing behind the door.
Scott climbed over the center divider and sat down in the passenger seat. He was oddly quiet and tense.
"Hey it's ok to be scared. We're gonna get through this." Callie tried to encourage him.
"How can you be so sure? All I want to do is be normal. Go out on normal dates with the girl I like.
Be able to even go out without worrying I'll shift in front of everyone or worrying about someone else dying!"
Callie reached over and held his hand. She knew what he was going through. With all of the sudden supernatural changes in Beacon Hills
she also wondered if things would ever be normal again.
"Scott, this is the new normal. But you can do something about it. Get help from Derek and learn how to control yourself better.
Once you do that dealing with the alpha will be a lot easier. You aren't alone. You have us."
She smiled at him reassuringly. Scott appeared to be taking in everything she had just said. Finally he nodded, his doubt lifted for the time being.
"Rest up. Derek isn't going to go easy on you. I'll see you at school."
"Thanks Callie... for everything."
"That's my job. Big sister over here."
The entire house was dark except for the glow of the tv. Callie quietly closed and locked the door behind her.
She went into the kitchen to grab a drink.
"Did you get me any cigarettes?" a tired voice called from the living room.
Callie went over to her mom who was watching a strange movie and lounging on the couch. A liquor bottle dangling from her hand lazily.
"Can't get those for you yet. I'm not eighteen." Callie took the bottle and set it on the table.
Her mom snatched it back and drank down a large gulp. They shared the same hair color but that was about it.
"Damn, that explains why you're still here. Not eighteen, pssssh. We should just kick you out now. I had to live on my own when I was seventeen."
Callie could feel hot tears pooling in her eyes. No matter how much she did for her parents they never appreciated her.
She always gave them the benefit of a doubt, hoping they would show a change of heart. But that would only work if they actually had hearts.
Callie trudged up to her room and slammed the door. She could hear her mom yell something derogatory at her in response.
She was so upset she didn't bother turning on the light. All she wanted to do was sleep way into the next day.
Her room was empty. No familiar blue eyes there to greet her. No warm hug to make her feel whole.
This was the first time Derek hadn't been with her at night. He always showed up when the moon replaced the sun in the sky.
Forgetting her own problems, she wondered if he was all right. Callie slipped out of her jeans and brushed her hair.
She'd have to see in the morning how red it turned out. Before settling into bed, Callie brought out her phone.
"Good night. Love you." She sent the text to Derek.
Callie curled herself into a tight ball. She felt like she was about to explode into pieces.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Derek's arms were the only thing that usually kept her feeling together.
She had never needed someone in that way and it almost scared her how much of an impact Derek made on her in such a short time.
The bond they had wasn't normal. This wasn't just the honeymoon phase of relationships. Callie was certain there was something much different.
Callie munched on her poptart and walked down the hall into the quad. Students were busily chatting and going their own ways around her.
She had no idea if Lydia or Jackson were even at school today. It was break so she was using the time to scope them out.
Suddenly someone collided into her back and her snack went flying to the ground.
"What the hell? I was eating that!" she screamed. She whipped around ready to punch who ever it was.
Stiles threw up his arms around his head defensively before she could land a fist in him.
"Stiles why does it look like you're bugging out of your skin?"
"Have you seen Scott?" he asked frantically.
"No. I haven't seen anyone all day. I was looking for either Jackson or Lydia right now."
"Jackson's here. He looks like he's going to fall over and die."
"Oh. Well look's like we're gonna have a change in plans. After school go to Lydia's house and check in on her. I'll deal with Jackson."
"Lydia's house? Me, go to Lydia's house?" Stiles stammered.
"Yes you! Be her knight in shining armor. I already know there's no way Jackson's gone to visit her."
Another face caught Callie's attention. It was Danny, Jackson's best friend and one of their new tablemates.
"Come on. We're gonna go talk to Danny." Callie led Stiles by the arm over to him.
Danny was sitting on a bench alone. He was nervously bouncing his leg up and down, looking like he didn't want to be bothered.
"Hey Danny. What's up?" Stiles tried to act cool.
"No."
"You don't even know what we're gonna ask." he pouted.
"Everyone has been asking me the same thing. I don't know what is going on with Jackson." he snapped.
"Jackson hasn't told you anything?" Callie raised an eyebrow.
"No."
"Did Lydia tell you anything?" Stiles tried again.
"No."
"Are you sure."
"Leave me alone."
"Fine one last question. Do you find me attractive?"
Callie rolled her eyes and dragged Stiles away. He had tortured Danny enough. She could easily see he truly didn't know anything and was just as scared for his friends as everyone else was.
"Stiles you are not gay. And even if you were you'd still have a hard time of being attractive."
Callie didn't actually mean the harsh words. She was just messing with Stiles. In reality she thought he was rather cute in his own way.
He was just in love with the wrong type of girl. Just then Jackson crossed their path. They watched him eyes wide.
Jackson didn't appear to be all there. He was pale and his eyes shifted from side to side fearfully.
"So what's the plan with him?" Stiles said leaning on her shoulder.
"The attack is most likely the only thing he is thinking about so I'll find his class during my free period. Then i'll just meditate or something, try to get into his mind. It'll be easy."
"Ok. So you get into Jackson's brain. I go to Lydia's. Now what about Scott who is currently MIA?"
"Dude, stop freaking out. I'll figure out where he is. If we find out anything important then we'll just call him."
"Right. Ok good plan. I gotta stop freaking out."
Callie patted his back comfortingly and laughed. She was surprised at how calm she felt considering a monstrous beast was out killing people and nearly killed someone she actually knew.
During her free period the halls were empty. Derek had been waiting for her but she told him she needed to focus on this.
No distractions if she wanted to do this quick. Callie silently went up to what seemed like every classroom door, peeking in through the small window part to see if Jackson was inside. She finally found him in a history class. Making sure she was alone, Callie sat next to the lockers closest to the room.
She pulled on her hood and popped in her ear buds. Maybe if she made it look like she was studying no one would question her.
Callie spread open a book and set it on her lap. Then she closed her eyes and tried to find Jackson in the midst of all the other students.
Just as she had predicted he was the jitteriest. It was easy to spot his energy and even easier to enter his vulnerable subconscious.
Callie flinched at the pure terror she was experiencing. These were Jackson's emotions and he was obviously traumatized by the attack.
Luckily it was the only thing he was thinking about. Callie could literally follow his every move that night.
He walked into the store looking for the movie Lydia wanted rather annoyed. No one responded to his request for help. He walked farther in.
His heart started to pound as he came up to a pool of red. There lay a dead man, bloody slashes up and down his body.
Jackson turned to run out of the store but a loud bang made him stop. All the lights began to turn off and he hid behind a shelf of movies.
There was something in there with him. The sounds of it running through the aisles showed that it was getting closer.
A shelf fell over causing all the other ones to domino with it. Jackson tried to dash out but was caught under a fallen shelf, his legs trapped.
Then there was heavy, animal-like breathing in his ears. Whatever it was, was on his back. It's hot breath making his skin crawl.
Pain cut into his neck as he could only assume that it was scratching him. Suddenly it was gone and Jackson lay there scared to death.
Callie coughed violently as she came out of the trance. Her hands were shaking as Jackson's emotions were still coursing through her.
He hadn't seen it at all. There was no proof that it had been the alpha or any other werewolf. It could have been some crazy serial killer.
She sighed deeply and held her head in her hands. Hopefully Stiles would be able to uncover more.
Callie found Stiles at lunch. He immediately noticed the solemn expression she wore.
"Didn't like what you saw huh?" he pulled out a chair for her at their strangely empty table.
"More like what I didn't see. Jackson couldn't move when he was attacked. Whatever it was, was on his back. He couldn't see."
"So the alpha is smarter than we thought."
"We don't even know if it's the alpha. That's the problem."
"Ugh where is Scott? He needs to be here." Stiles groaned in frustration.
"Right I figured that out somewhat. He's not at home and he's not here. Neither is Allison."
"Meaning?" Stiles looked utterly lost.
"Really Stiles? Allison and Scott are both not at school. They're ditching together!"
"Well that's great! Scott probably forgot that today is parent teacher meetings tonight and everyone with a C has to go.
And he happens to fit that category!" Stiles put his hands on his head.
"That's it we're going into desperation mode. Text him nonstop in all your classes whenever you get the chance. I'll do the same."
Stiles nodded quickly and they went off to their next classes.
The rest of the day seemed to get worse. No response from Scott yet. It seemed like he had dropped off the face of the earth.
Callie bounced her leg nervously. She was beginning to wonder if Stiles's anxiety was contagious.
There was only a few minutes left of class and Callie wasn't about to start paying attention to the lesson now.
She flipped her long bangs over her eyes, enjoying the new redness of it. The color came out brighter than she thought.
If anything it would fade nicely over the next month. The bell rang and she absent-mindedly walked out of class.
She was distracted by thoughts of Scott and Derek and what she was going to eat for dinner.
She crashed into someone's chest and immediately jumped back.
"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking." She apologized and swallowed down a lump of surprise.
"What are you looking to interrogate me too?" Jackson practically screamed at her.
"Jackson what are you-"
"Well too late! Your freaking psycho boyfriend already did!"
"Derek was here? Jackson I don't want to ask you anything. This was an accident I swear."
"I'm scared all right! I've never been this afraid in my entire life! I can't eat. I can't sleep. I'm supposed to be the best. The strongest.
And what's the worst part is that your stupid friend is stealing everything I have. Do you know what it's like to feel like you're losing everything?"
He stood there panting. Callie felt like he had just let off a lot of things he was holding in. Definitely unintentional.
She couldn't hide the confused look on her face. Realizing what he did, Jackson took a step away from her and wiped his face.
"Jackson it's ok to be scared. Just because everyone expects you to be something doesn't mean you have to give in to it.
You're only human. Look if you need to talk about it find me."
Callie couldn't believe she was offering Jackson therapy. He had never done anything for her except make her life miserable.
But he was in so much inner turmoil. She felt bad for him. No one should have to go through so much pain.
"Thanks... Callie." he said slowly before turning the other way.
Callie quickly went out the door and to her car. Even though she was feeling pretty sympathetic towards him there was another emotion raging.
Why did Derek go and intimidate him like that. She didn't know why but it made her furious.
"You better be home." she texted him.
Callie drove down the forest road until she came to the turn off for the Hale house. She parked her car on the side of the road.
Her car wasn't exactly the best for unpaved terrain so she'd have to walk the rest. As she came closer to the house she could see Derek waiting on the porch for her.
"Why are you even mad?" he called out to her.
"Why did you threaten Jackson at school? Why would you do that? He's already traumatized enough!" she shouted back.
Derek was a little taken back by the fury in her eyes. He didn't do anything wrong. So he shook up Jackson a bit. He had it coming for him anyway.
"If you had come out like you should have you would have known what I was planning." Derek got up in her face.
Callie rolled her eyes at his tone. "If you would have waited then you would of found out I had everything under control."
"You had everything under control?" Derek scoffed. "Callie what makes you think you have a clue about what's going on?"
"What are you getting at? I don't have all the answers so that's why I'm trying to find them!"
"Callie there isn't anything you can do. You're just a girl. This is something that doesn't involve you." he growled.
Callie felt like she had just been stabbed. He thought she was just a kid. She was useless.
Since the killings had started and Scott became a werewolf Callie feared becoming helpless. She had told herself early on that she wouldn't become weak, that she would be there every step of the way for anything. But Derek thought she couldn't do anything. And that hurt.
All those nights she had spent staying up researching with Stiles weren't for nothing.
"This doesn't involve me? My friends are being attacked! Scott is being targeted by the alpha. So I'm sorry if I'm getting in the way of your plans but
I'm trying to help my friends and maybe even save them!"
Callie turned back towards the road and stormed off with her fists clenched tight.
"Where are you going?" Derek started toward her.
She whipped around to glare at him. He really had the nerve to keep her here after he made her feel so pathetic.
"Somewhere you aren't. Good bye Derek." Callie snapped at him and ran away from him.
She wiped the tears before they could fall and charged through the trees.
Callie slammed her car door and sped off to the only place she could think of - Stiles's house.
When Callie got to the front door she met the sheriff on his way out.
"Oh Callie! Haven't seen you in a while." he greeted her.
"Yeah been kinda busy at work." she lied.
"I'm just heading off to Stiles's meeting thing. Do I need to sit in on your's too?"
Callie smiled at his protectiveness. He knew exactly what her home life was like and just like Scott's mom, he had become her surrogate father.
"No need. I have all straight A's. Don't worry about it though. My parents have never gone to one and their not about to start now."
He nodded and went over to his car.
"I like the red by the way. Makes your skin look nicer." he called back to her.
She smirked at his compliment. It was clear him and Stiles needed a woman presence in the house again.
Callie slipped in through the open door and climbed up the stairs to Stiles's room.
Without knocking she entered the cluttered space. Stiles's was pacing around angrily.
"Scott I swear to God if you don't call me back I am going to kill you. Jackson literally looks like he has a time bomb inserted in his face.
Lydia is freaking out of her mind. I just... I need to show you something in person. Call back or I will kill you. I don't know how yet but I will.
Where are you? Call me. Ugh!"
Callie hovered in the doorway awkwardly. She coughed loudly to announce her presence.
"Hey I was just about to call you! Guess your psychic-ness really comes in handy."
Callie exhaled and flopped onto his bed. Stiles frowned and put his elbows on his knees, leaning in.
"What happened?"
"Derek went to school to ask Jackson what he saw. Scared him out of his mind. I even felt bad for Jackson.
It made me really mad so I went to Derek's house. We fought. He pretty much told me that I'm useless and can't do anything."
"You fought? Wow first time huh."
"Yeah well put it in the history books." Callie groaned and covered her face with a pillow.
"Ok well onto some serious stuff. Look at this."
Callie removed the pillow and reached her hand to Stiles's. He placed a phone in her hand.
"Isn't this Lydia's phone?"
"Yeah." Stiles said looking off into the corner of the ceiling.
"Did you steal this? Stiles what if someone calls her?"
"I'll give it back tomorrow ok. Just look at what I found on it!"
Callie pressed the menu button and the screen lit up. She nearly dropped the phone as a loud gasp tore out from her lips.
On the screen was a picture of the movie store the night her and Jackson were attacked.
Towards the side was a large black figure that was clearly a werewolf. It's red eyes seared into Callie's.
This was what the alpha looked like. What scared Callie the most was that it looked just like her painting.
She looked at Stiles with wide eyes. He was covering his mouth and looking at her intently.
"This is..."
"The alpha. Yeah."
"So it really is him... killing people." she whispered.
"I've been looking at my dad's case details about all of the murders. So far nothing shows that their connected.
Why is the alpha killing random people?"
Callie thought back to her painting. There was something in it that she was forgetting. The day she painted it, she knew it was trying to tell her something more than just the alpha was here. Suddenly it hit her.
"Stiles get up. Let me use your computer."
They switched places and Callie flipped up the laptop screen. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
"Lycan symbols? What does this have to do with random people being murdered?"
"I had a sort of vision. A while ago I painted the alpha carving a spiral into a tree. It meant something."
Callie scoured over dozen of sites. All of them gave her vague information and kept pointing her towards books.
She searched up the most popular one. Clicking on a link she found that it was currently at the Pagan bookstore she had seen before.
"What's that? An address?" Stiles peered over her shoulder.
"Mhmm. I've seen this book store come up a lot on my searches. Couldn't hurt to give this place a try."
"Seems shady."
"Everything seems shady to you Stiles." she joked.
His phone started to ring and Stiles fumbled to get it out of his pocket. His face dropped when he saw it wasn't from Scott.
"Hello? Is he ok? All right. I'll be there. Thanks."
He hung up and grabbed his car keys. Callie followed him out the door and tugged on his sleeve.
"Where are you going?"
"Dad got hurt at school. A car side swipped him. I gotta go pick him up from the hospital."
"Stiles let me drive. You're all over the place right now. Plus I can just go home afterwards."
He looked like he was about to protest but gave him. They climbed in her car and drove towards the city hospital.
Stiles walked up to the front desk to ask where his dad was. Callie hovered behind him, picking at her jacket sleeve anxiously.
It was too bright in hospitals. And too white. This much white was never good.
"He's over there. The nurse says he has a few more forms to sign and then we can take him home."
Stiles's voice broke through her frantic thoughts. The two of them went down a hallway and made a left into a small examination room.
"I told them it was nothing. Just a tap. But they made me come here anyways." the sheriff muttered to the doctor.
"It's not just a tap. You're going to need to stay off the knee that was hit for about two and a half weeks. I'll send a note over to the department."
Sheriff Stilinski groaned. The last thing he wanted to be was stuck behind a desk doing paper work when he should be out keeping the city safe.
"Hey Dad." Stiles waved from the doorway.
"Oh good I can finally go home!"
"One last thing Mr. Stilinski. Take this prescription for some pain medication. Follow the instructions."
"Great thanks Doc." He stood up and shook the doctor's hand.
Callie smiled at him and gave him her arm as he limped over to them.
"You want a wheel chair Dad? That limp looks pretty bad." Stiles said walking next to him.
"I'm fine. I just need to sleep it off."
"Glad to see that you're not following the doctor's orders. Means you're perfectly healthy." Callie joke.
"See someone knows me." the sheriff smiled and all three of them passed through the hospital doors.
Callie navigated through the dimly lit streets back to the Stilinski residence.
She was relieved to see that the sheriff wasn't to badly hurt and in his usual spirits.
"So what caused all of the panic at school?" Stiles asked.
"There was a mountain lion in the parking lot. People got scared off course. A lot of running around and screaming.
Probably freaked out the animal even more."
"Wait. There was seriously a mountain lion?" Callie glanced at him in the passenger seat.
"Yup. I was a little surprised myself. With all these reports about mountain lion attacks it was about time one finally shows up."
"What was it doing there?" Stiles pulled himself between them to get closer.
"I don't know Stiles. Maybe it was lost or something. The main attraction of the night was when Chris Argent shot the thing.
Man he's really good with a gun. Too good if you ask me."
Callie bit her lip. There was something not right about this. Mountain lions were just the scape goat for recent murders but she knew that wasn't true.
Why would one show up now? Especially around so many people. Mountain lions were solitary creatures and they only hunted lone prey.
"Well thanks for the ride Callie. Drive safe you hear?" Sheriff Stilinski patted her on the shoulder.
"No problem. Have a good night." She was obviously distracted.
"If you find anything out call me." she whispered to Stiles.
He nodded and helped his dad into the house. When the door closed Callie started to drive back home.
As soon as she stepped foot in her room her phone went off. She looked down at it to see Derek's name on the screen.
Just seeing his name brought back the emotions from their fight earlier. She had been distracted from them for a while but now they were bubbling up.
She pressed the ignore button and kicked off her shoes. Her phone rang again. She ignored it again. This happened three more times before she gave in and answered. Callie walked over to her window to see Derek sitting in his Camaro across the street.
"We need to talk." he started.
"No we don't."
"Callie I'm sorry about what I said-"
"Derek I don't want to talk to you right now. I'm mad and hurt beyond words. If I talk to you now I'll say something I'll regret.
I don't exactly have the best hold on my emotions anymore. So I'm actually trying to save you before I somehow turn this into a bigger mess."
He was quiet for a few moments. "I'm only trying to protect you. You know that right?"
"Yeah. But I don't always need it. Derek I'm tired and a lot of stuff just sort of fell into my lap. I just want to sleep."
"Ok. Fine."
Derek hung up quickly and drove back to his house. Callie watched at his headlights disappeared into the distance.
He didn't sound very happy with her answers. But she was too exhausted to care. There other things that were taking up more space in her mind.
Like figuring out what a spiral could possibly mean as a symbol. Maybe if she could find that out it would bring them one step closer to
learning about the alpha and why he was killing now.
"Scott you can't keep going all wolf during practice. It makes me look bad!" Stiles complained.
"Dude I can't help it. Maybe if you practiced with me all summer you wouldn't suck as much."
Callie hid her face in her locker as she silently laughed at the two boys bickering.
"What is Derek even teaching you? Aren't you supposed to be learning to control your wolfiness?"
"He hasn't really gone over that stuff. The full moon isn't for a while so it's not important." Scott replied sounding like it was more of a question.
"So what are you doing?" Callie closed her locker slightly so she could see him.
"He doesn't tell you?"
"Do you tell Allison what I teach you when I tutor you?" she shot.
"Their fighting Scott. So Derek is in the dog house." Stiles held up his hand for a high five.
Callie glared at him for making such a stupid joke.
"What? I thought it was pretty good." he shrugged.
"He makes me run for miles and climb trees and do a million push up with rocks on my back." Scott changed the subject.
"Sounds like werewolf boot camp." Callie said.
"Yeah I feel like it's pointless. Coach pretty much makes us do the same thing." His voice trailed off.
Both Scott's and Stiles's eye were plastered on something behind her. She turned around to find Jackson standing there.
A sheepish expression on his face as he rubbed his neck awkwardly.
"Hey Callie..."
"Hi Jackson. How are you feeling?"
"A little better. I... I just wanted to say good morning... I'll go now."
"See you at lunch." She waved at him as he walked away.
"What the hell was that?" Scott demanded.
Stiles stood next to her his mouth wide open in shock.
"I don't know! The other day I ran into Jackson by accident. He kind of exploded on me. I just gave him some advice.
Told him he could talk to me if he needed it. I guess he really took it to heart."
Scott just glared at Callie.
"Hey this could be good for you! I could end up finding some dirt on Jackson and that'll be something you could use in the little rivalry you got going on with him."
"We don't have a rivalry."
"Ha! Yeah sure. Even a blind guy can tell you two are after each other." Callie pushed herself off the lockers.
"Look go to class. I don't want to be late for art."
With that the bell for third period to start went off and the three friends parted.
Callie hadn't even sat in her chair when her phone vibrated.
"Ready to talk?"
"Can't. Falling behind on a project. Wait a little longer."
"You say that a lot."
"What?"
"Wait."
"Sorry. But I need to finish this up. Please just wait."
Callie sighed and looked out the window instantly finding Derek by a tree. He looked emotionless as ever.
It was true though. Mr. Finch had assigned the class to paint or sculpt a piece of work that represented one of their fondest memories.
She had all week to do it but it was already Wednesday and she still didn't have an idea of what to paint.
There weren't any really amazing memories from her childhood and fighting with Derek wasn't exactly helping her pick a recent memory either.
"Having trouble Callie?" her teacher's voice came from her right.
"I can't really get into this project. Sorry Mr. Finch." she sighed.
"You're just thinking about it too much. Go for a walk. Get some inspiration."
"Really? Oh ok. I'll be back soon."
"No need to rush. Take as long as you need. But still finish the project." He added.
Callie hoped out of her seat and left the room. She walked over to the gate she used to meet Derek at before they ever got so close.
He was there and she hesitated for a moment. It was like he knew to meet her there without her even telling him.
"How did you...?"
"I just felt like going over here." he said quietly. "Why are you mad at me for scaring Jackson?"
"I'm not mad at you for that. I'm mad at you for what you said to me."
"Callie I told you I'm trying to-"
"Protect me. Yeah I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to pretend nothing is happening. I can help Derek.
You and Scott are out there risking your lives and I'm not going to sit around and watch."
"You're right. I don't know why but I thought you were going to try and do something stupid."
Callie smirked and stepped closer to him. She looked into his eyes trying to guess what shade of blue they were exactly.
"That's Scott and Stiles. Don't get me confused with them."
He tugged on her hand and pulled her into a hug. Their arms looped around each other through the bars.
It wasn't much of an apology but it was at least the start of one. Callie had missed this. Feeling his arms around her.
Hearing his heat beat deep in his chest.
"I got to get back to class."
Derek didn't want to let go of her but he let her pull away. He wasn't any good at this sort of thing. Apologizing and trying to make amends.
She seemed less mad at him and at least she didn't run away when he hugged her. Secretly he was disappointed that she didn't ask if she would see him tonight. But then again maybe they weren't back to that just yet. Either way he would wait for her to tell him.
Callie walked back into class feeling better than she had been in the last few days. There were a few minutes till the class was over.
The other students were already cleaning up their areas and putting back paints.
"Did you find the inspiration you needed?" Mr. Finch asked her.
"Yup. I'm not ready to commit to it just yet though. I'll get it going tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan."
Callie went over to her usual corner and closed down her easel. She sighed at the sight of the blank white canvas.
It should be covered with colors or at least the beginning outlines of something. There was a lot riding on this project.
Not only would it be for a grade but Callie hoped it would bring her and Derek closer and finally end this fight.
After school Callie had made the decision to find the mysterious bookstore. It seemed like the only place that would lead her to any information.
Callie carefully typed in the address she had written down nights before into her phone navigation.
The bookstore was in the next town over and it wasn't to far. Callie drove on the outskirts of town, the city on one side and the forest on the other.
Just when she was starting to believe that the navigation was trying to get her lost she came up to a turn off.
It took her up a tiny dirt road. Then ahead of her sat a large building covered in vines and ivy.
A sign near the door way read, "Wycca: Book Store and Witchcraft Shop".
Callie stepped into the building and was instantly amazed. There were shelves upon shelves of books.
Some were leather bound and others looked more modern. Gothic chandeliers light the room and there were candles on black iron holders throughout the aisles. She wandered toward the front desk, still in awe of the decor and space.
"Can I help you dear?" a small old woman asked her from behind the counter.
A black cat sat next to her, licking its paw to clean its face. The woman looked just like a woodland witch.
Pale skin, frizzy white hair pulled into a long braid, talon like fingernails, and cloudy green eyes.
"I was wondering if you had this book here." Callie gave her a scrap of paper where she wrote down the name of the book.
"Oh yes! That'll be right over here in the lycan section." The woman took Callie's hand and dragged her to a part of the store.
"Ah, there it is. Giddeon's Anthropology of the Lycan Race."
Somehow the tiny woman managed to pull off the large book from the shelf and drop it into Callie's hands.
Callie staggered, nearly falling over from the sheer weight of the old book. The old witch grabbed her arm and whirled her around into an armchair.
Callie fell into the seat and a puff of dust rose up around her. This place must've not seen that many customers in a while.
"Anything else you need dear? A cup of tea? Some more light?"
"No I'm fine thank you very much." Callie said out of breath.
"May I ask you why you were looking for this book in particular?"
"I'm writing a story about werewolves. I want it to be really authentic. The internet suggested this book to me."
"Well that book definitely has all the information about werewolves you would ever want. It doesn't go into detail about a lot of things.
It's more of a guide book that generalizes things. I'll bring other books for you to look at."
Before Callie could say anything the woman zipped away down a row of books. It took her a moment to take in everything that just happened.
The black cat from the counter sauntered over to Callie and rubbed up against her legs. It jumped up onto the chair and wrapped itself around her shoulders purring contently. Callie had never had any pets so she didn't know what to do. She was actually surprised the cat wanted to be near her.
Shouldn't she smell like dog or werewolf from being around Derek and Scott? Maybe things didn't work that way.
As Callie skimmed over the chapters leading up to the one about lycan symbols the old woman continuously brought her books.
Turning a final page Callie came to the one she had been waiting to read.
"Lycan Symbols and Their Meanings." the large script said at the top of the page.
"Symbols can represent a number of things." Callie mumbled out loud. "Many families adopt their own in order to mark their territory.
Mates often time mark their partners to symbolize their bonds through scarring. However there are a few universal symbols in the lycan world."
Callie tried to skim over the flowery sentences. This book sounded like it had been written in Shakespeare's time. She didn't have time to translate ye olde English into something she could better understand.
"Clover for spring. Maple leaf for autumn. The sun for summer. Wow that's creative. Mountain for winter. Odd.
Crossing rings for love. That's romantic. Blah blah blah. Vertical lines for family members. Blah blah blah. Lightning for enemies.
Spirals for revenge."
Callie had to re-read that last sentence.
Spirals for revenge.
The alpha was killing for revenge. So far the only ones who had been killed were Laura Hale, the old bus driver, and a movie store worker.
And then Jackson and Lydia had been attacked. Nothing seemed to connect any of these people together.
Callie rubbed her temples in annoyance. She had taken a huge step forward only to have to take another one back.
Her phone rang out loudly interrupting her thoughts and the cat's nap.
"Derek?"
"Come home now."
He hung up on her without saying anything else. Callie was instantly worried. This wasn't Derek's normal rudeness.
His voice had wavered ever so slightly. Like he was on the verge of crying. Callie didn't even think he was capable of crying.
She got up quickly and grabbed the stack of books the woman had gathered for her. As she ran up to the counter the witch was peering into a
crystal ball intently.
"Thank you so much for the books. How much will all of this be?"
"Don't worry about it dear. I can tell you will be back here a lot. There your's to keep. But if you find you don't want them just trade them for something else."
"No I couldn't." Callie protested.
"Please dear take them. Trust me."
The old woman gave her a knowing look, her eyes flashing with magic. Callie nodded her thanks and rushed out to her car.
The books jostled in her arms uncomfortably. She groaned at how heavy they were even though there were only five of them.
Callie balanced them on her thigh as she opened the trunk. The books spilled into the space and Callie slammed down the door.
She jumped into the driver seat, twisting the keys in the ignition. Her heart raced as worry for Derek ran through her being.
She had this feeling that he needed her this time, not just him trying to watch out for her.
The sun was already setting as Callie drove out of the town. It would be dark when she finally got home.
She hoped that it wouldn't be too late.
