CHAPTER EIGHT

VOLTS

"Just a friendly reminder – Parent/Teacher conferences are tonight. Students below a "C" average are required to attend. I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment," Mr. Harris told us, walking from the back of the classroom, "Has anyone seen Scott McCall?"

Stiles distractedly glanced up from his excessive highlighting before going back to whatever he thought he was doing. I sat in front of his table next to Danny.

Mr. Harris leaned around Danny to look at me with a worries expression, "Jessie – if you need to leave early or step out for any reason, let me know, okay?"

I nodded shakily, "Thank you, Mr. Harris."

Just then Jackson stumbled in, frustrated, and took his own seat. I saw Mr. Harris go and talk to him too.

"Are you really okay?" Danny asked me in concern.

I shrugged, "Just a little shaken. I'd be a lot worse off if Jackson hadn't been there."

"Really?" Danny asked dubiously, "What did he do?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly, "Jackson didn't tell you about what happened last night?"

Danny shook his head, obviously put off by this news that his best friend wouldn't talk to him.

So I tried to put his mind at ease, "We were both there getting some movies and then we found the... store clerk..." I paused, remembering the sight of his slashed throat and blood splattered on his face and the floor. I shook my head to clear it, "And something made a noise so we hid but whoever it was knocked over the display cases and Jackson got trapped under them because he pulled me out of the way. Then we called the police."

"What about Lydia?" Stiles hissed from behind us.

Danny and I both turned to look at him, annoyed, "She was outside. I don't know what she saw but she seemed scared too. She must have seen them escape out the window."

I went to the locker room later to check on Jackson. He didn't look so good in chemistry. "Jackson?"

"What was it, hmm?" I heard Derek's menacing voice, "An animal? A mountain lion?"

"I didn't see anything," Jackson's scared and wavering voice answered back, "I swear. I'm—I'm not lying."

"Then calm down and say it again."

I walked in and found Derek cornering Jackson against some lockers, "Derek!"

His head snapped over to look at me, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Jackson," I told him, "And I can tell you what happened last night. Jackson didn't see anything because he got pinned saving me. Leave him alone."

Derek stared me down before huffing and nodding, but not before grabbing Jackson's neck and I saw healing claw marks on the back of his neck, "You should really get that checked out." He stalked off.

I walked up to Jackson and put a hand on his shoulder, "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"You know that guy?" Jackson asked in disbelief and a little accusation.

I shrugged, "I read to his Uncle in the home and we've met there and I've seen him around. Can I see your neck?"

"One of those girls?" He asked teasingly.

I playfully glared and stood myself on a locker room bench, looking at the claw marks there, lightly fingering them, "Did the... thing do this last night?"

"No..." Jackson's voice trailed off, "No, I already had them."

"The thing that attacked us," I started, "It was looking at your neck – at – at these. Who gave you these?"

"No one," Jackson answered gruffly, yanking away from my touch and putting his hands on my waist, lifting me off the bench and putting me on the ground, "Don't get into whatever this is, Jessie. I don't want you to get hurt."

I looked up at him and saw that his concern for my safety was genuine – obviously since he was so worried about my safety rather than his own last night when he was being attacked by the Alpha. But he didn't know what he was up against – I did. "I don't want you to get hurt either, Jackson."

I found Stiles talking frantically into his phone, "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

I yanked the phone out of his hand, "Hey Scott, disregard Stiles for now. I'll fill him in on what happened last night."

"Okay but you might have to explain to you-know-who too," He insisted reluctantly.

I nodded before catching myself, "I'll go talk to him after school. Bye."

"So what happened?" Stiles nearly shouted as we walked down the hall.

"It was the Alpha," I revealed quietly, "It tried to kill us but then it had Jackson trapped and us right in front of him for the taking and it didn't do anything."

"That's so freaky," Stiles sighed.

"That's not even the freakiest part," I told him, now starting to worry myself.

Stiles gave me a look like he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway, "What is it?"

I sighed, thinking of a way to say it, "When it was in front of us... I saw it's eyes and... I don't know. It seemed... familiar? Like I knew it – like it was a friend or something."

"So you know who it is?" He asked hopefully.

I shook my head, "I just recognized them but I can't put the pieces together."

After school Stiles went to see what Lydia saw and I went to tell Derek. When I got to the Hale house I found Derek doing pull ups, shirtless. Now I am one hundred percent committed to Isaac, but Derek Hale was hot without a shirt on and the tattoo just helped.

"Derek," I greeted, grabbing his attention.

He dropped to the floor and faced me stoically, "You again."

"Yes, me again," I rolled my eyes, "It was the Alpha last night. Jackson didn't get a clear look at it. But it seemed really familiar to me."

"You know who it is?" Derek asked immediately, shock and hope in his voice.

I shook my head, "No he just seemed familiar, like we knew each other. But I just can't... think of who it could be. But it has to be someone I know – I can feel it."

"Well..." Derek trailed off, "That definitely narrows it down," He allowed, "You just moved here and don't know a lot of people, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah – I could make a list."

"Do that and-" Derek cut off short, looking toward the front of the house. He grabbed my arm, "Hide now."

I didn't question him and ran up the stairs, hiding behind a bedroom door, crouched on the floor and carefully kept my breathing under control.

I heard the front door get kicked in and some people walk in. A man's voice announced, "No one's home."

A woman's voice tsked, "Oh, he's here. He's just not feeling particularly hospitable."

A different male voice attempted a joke, "Maybe he's out – burying a bone in the backyard."

There were no laughs as the woman asked dubiously, "Really? A dog joke? We're going there, and that's the best you got?" She trailed off and I heard footsteps, "If you wanna provoke him, say something like, too bad your sister 'bit it' before she had her first litter." I hoped Derek didn't take the bait. But that hope went out the window when she said, "Too bad she howled like a bitch – when we CUT HER IN HALF!"

I heard Derek roar and hit something, and peeked out down the stairs to see a man hit the floor unconscious. Derek growled loudly again. I heard crackling of something and then I heard a thud. The woman's voice teased, "Wow, this one grew up in all the right places. I don't know whether to kill it or – lick it."

It took all my self control not to come out and beat the shit out of her. But instead I got out my phone and turned on the recorder. I pulled my hair into a low pony tail and pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up as I inched out to the banister of the second floor. I could hear Derek grunt in pain in the room below me.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard Derek try to crawl away, but the woman just shocked him again. My suspicion was confirmed when I heard her say, "900,000 volts. You never were good with electricity, were you? Or fire," While Derek laid on the floor I was in his view. He shook his head, knowing I wanted to do something but telling me to stay put. The woman didn't notice, "Which is why I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. And, well, maybe we can help each other out. Yes, your sister was severed into pieces and used as bait to try to catch you. Unpleasant, and frankly, a little too Texas chainsaw massacre for my taste, but quite true. Now, here's the part that might really kick you in the balls – we didn't kill her." She paused, "You think I'm lying?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Derek gasped angrily.

"Tsk, sweetie – well – why don't you just listen to my heart and tell me if I am. Okay? We – didn't – kill – your – sister," she paused again, "Do you hear that? There's no blips or upticks. Just the steady beat of the cold, hard truth. Found bite marks on your sister's body, Derek. What do you think did that? A mountain lion?" She laughed sardonically, "You might as well admit what you've been guessing all along, which is that the Alpha killed your sister. And all you have to do is tell us who he is, and we'll take care of it for you. Problem solved, everybody goes home happy." She was waiting for some kind of response. But from what I could see of Derek, he wasn't budging.

"Unless... you don't know who he is either," she tsked again, "Wow. Guess who just became totally useless?"

I heard gun fire and gasped quietly shooting into standing position just as Derek arrived in front of me and picked me up, swinging me onto his back and jumping out a back window from the second floor, breaking into a sprint. I held on tightly until he stopped in the middle of the woods. He set me down gently and brushed my hair away from my face, "Are you alright?"

I held up my phone, "I recorded it. I know they have a code or something. Every hunting family does. She's not following it."

"How do you know all this?" Derek asked, impressed.

"Like I've said, I don't know how I know this stuff – I just do," I said helplessly, "There's a lot that I don't know about myself or my real family."

"Well," Derek said, "You help me – I'll help you."

I smiled at him thankfully.

I didn't have to go to the parent teacher conference night but my parents wanted to go and talk to my teachers to see how I was coping in the new town and with all that's been happening lately – i.e last night.

I was in my room sketching a profile of Isaac when I felt my cell phone vibrate, "Hello?"

"Hey," I heard Isaac's voice gasp into the phone. I could hear some screaming and tires squealing in the background, "Are you at school?"

"No, I didn't have to go," I answered slowly, becoming worried, "What's going on?"

"There's something attacking!" He sound panicked.

"What?" I shouted down the phone, causing Bethany to burst into my room. I ignored her looks, "Get out of there, Isaac!"

"What's going on?" Beth asked.

But I ignored her when I heard two gun shots ring down the phone, "Isaac!?"

"I'm fine," He breathed, "Mr. Argent shot it."

"What is it?" I asked, wondering in everyone was staring down at a giant Alpha wolf right now.

"It's a mountain lion," He answered.

"What?" I said to myself, "Are you sure?"

"Of course," He said confusedly, "I'm looking right at it."

"Can you please just get out of there and call me when you get home safe?" I pleaded, "Please, I don't like this."

"If it'll make you feel better," He allowed, "I think my dad and I are leaving now anyway."

I sighed in relief, "Okay good. I'll talk to you soon."

He told me 'goodnight' and we hung up.

I was dialing my mom's cell as Beth repeated her question. I listened to the phone ring as I answered, "The mountain lion attacked the school. Allison's dad shot it down."

"Hey Jessie," Mom answered.

"Are you okay?" I rose my voice, really worried, "Isaac just called about the mountain lion."

Mom tutted, "Of course we're okay, it didn't come near us. Why did Isaac call?"

I ran a hand through my hair, "To see if I was at the school and in any danger."

"Awww," My mom cooed, "That boy is so sweet."

I rolled my eyes, "He really is. I'll see you when you get home, okay?"

"Ok, sweetie, love you."

There it is. Was the whole mountain lion attack too anti-climactic from Jessie's POV? Is the story too deviated from the original plot? Let me know.

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RegalGirl94