It's Just a Trick of the Moonlight

Chapter Nine – In My Time of Dying

(Derek's point of view)

After dropping Scott off at his house, I was headed home myself. Not entirely sure why I was even bothering with him, when he'd saw my uncle's burned and scarred face it had shock value for sure.

But once we left and I asked him if that was a good enough reason to not trust Allison and her parents he wouldn't answer me.

I drove down Aubrie's street, making sure there wasn't any sign of the alpha anywhere but I came to a stop when I saw she was sitting in one of the chairs on her family's big front porch.

It was the middle of the night, I had explained to her how dangerous the alpha was and that for some reason it had been watching her house –and she was sitting outside in the dead of the night.

When I got out and shut the car door behind me, I saw her jump and she looked like she was going to take off for the door but then relaxed when she saw it was me.

Which I have to admit, is a nice change from her thinking I was some serial killer and she was my next target.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice soft as I saw the screen darken on her phone before she slid it into her pocket.

My eyes traveled over to where she was lounging on the chair, her lean body stretched out but eyes alert –strangely enough the way she moved and watched things so intently was almost cat-like.

Without giving her an answer I came to a stop on the porch and asked her, "Why are you outside in the middle of the night?"

I was met by a confused expression as she glanced around and questioned, "Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"

"I can think of about a million… starting with the alpha." I harshly replied, without intending on snapping at her; it just happened.

Swinging her legs around from where she'd been sitting she stood up and my eyes involuntarily traveled over her body, before I managed to look away.

Even if everything about her drew me in, I'd been keeping my distance for several reasons.

Not only was she younger than me, but she was human and there was one thing I'd learned time and time again, that my world got people killed and she didn't need to be involved any more than she already was.

"I've been trying not to think about that." Her voice cut through my thoughts and made me aware of how close she was standing now as she leaned over the railing next to me and looked out into the front yard.

"Why?" I asked, turning sideways and watching her closely.

Without looking back she let out a heavy sigh, her voice was barely above a whisper as she admitted, "Because thinking about it just makes it real and I have enough on my plate."

"Scary or not… you can't just pretend it doesn't exist. Knowing your enemies is what keeps you alive." I said, believing it whole-heartedly.

If someone or something was after me, I'd want to know so I could watch my back. But she seemed to almost wish I'd never told her what the red eyes were in the first place.

My own eyes were glued to her as she stretched, again her movements still reminding me of a cat before she started to walk past me without an explanation, I was going to stop her but before I could she spun around and with an almost frantic sounding laugh she loudly yelled, "Knowing my enemies keeps me alive? Derek, I'm a 16 -almost 17… I shouldn't have enemies! I get up and I go to school and I come home like a normal person –there shouldn't be some red-eyed monster watching my house. And honestly, so what if there is? If that thing wants me dead, then I'm a goner. It's as simple as that."

I watched her, my eyes moving back and forth taking in her expression under the warm glow of the porch lights. That thought was completely unacceptable. "It's not as simple as that. If Scott can get me to the alpha then I can kill-"

"Oh yeah, because Scott's just so trustworthy these days. He and Stiles both have been hiding everything they can and honestly, it's starting to feel like if it doesn't directly involve Allison –Scott doesn't care." She said, loud enough I glanced up waiting for lights in the otherwise dark house to click on, but they didn't.

"They're supposed to be my best friends and some days I feel like I hardly even know them anymore. And then you…" Her voice trailed off and I saw her run her tongue over her bottom lip before she shook her head and started towards the door.

"I, what?"

She didn't answer and started to reach for the handle, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her as I repeated, "What about me?"

"You went and got yourself shot! You almost died, I almost watched you die." She verbally shot at me; as she jerked her arm away and stared at me with her eyebrows furrowed together, clearly mad at me.

"You're mad at me because I got shot with a poisoned bullet?" I asked, watching as her jaw tensed and she refused to answer me.

Did she think the ordeal was any less taxing to me? The one who was actually shot and poisoned? It wasn't like I planned for it to happen.

Finally, she dropped her arms to her sides and breathed, "Yes I'm mad at you. I'm mad at you for dragging Scott even further into this, and for threatening Stiles earlier today… I'm mad at you for always being so rude to me that I start to wonder if I've done something to deserve it. And yeah, I'm mad at you for almost dying."

Her emotions were thick in the air, not to mention her scent strong as her heart rate picked up.

What was it about her this girl… the way she drew me in she had to be something not human, but there was no evidence to prove otherwise.

"Good night, Derek." She breathed, clearly still irritated and mad at me.

I should have just let her go, the smart thing would have been to just make sure she got back in the house safely and then leave.

But I wasn't ready to let her go, not just yet.

I grabbed onto her arm again and she tried to shrug me away, but this time I didn't let her and I pulled her back to me –probably a little rougher than I should have but I just couldn't let her walk away.

She faced me, the formerly angry expression was gone replaced by a look of shock and uncertainty that graced her beautiful features in the dim lighting, and just when I thought she couldn't get any more irresistible, she ran her tongue over her lips –drawing my attention to her mouth as she continued to peer up at me from under her lashes.

Without a second thought, I gave in and leaned down capturing her lips so quickly that if she'd have been even a few inches taller I think our teeth would have collided.

She went from being completely unsure about the situation to nervously stiffening up, even her lips just remained still –it was an entirely one-sided affair until just before I started to pull back.

Her hands landed on my arms, her fingertips digging painfully into my arms even through my leather jacket as she melted into the kiss.

Her grip loosened on and I slid one around her, my palm laying flat against her lower back as I pulled her against me.

A move she fully submitted to as she slid her arms up and around the back of my neck, pressing her body against mine; I couldn't get enough of her.

I thought her scent was alluring, but it didn't begin to compare to the taste of her mouth.

I could hear her heart racing wildly in her chest and feel the desire in the air around us, smell the excitement on her.

And I wanted more, so much more from her.

Without even thinking I'd pinned her against the brick side of the house near the front door –which she didn't seem to mind as she moaned into my mouth.

A sound that drove me crazy and now it was my fingertips digging into her sides from the effect she had on me.

I felt her shiver in my arms as I moved my hands up her sides the next thing I knew, my fingers were tangled in her soft hair as I forced her head to the side to expose her neck, where I worked my mouth down to the tender spot where her shoulder and neck met.

She made a small noise and her hands were back on my arms, seeming unsure again as my mouth was now entirely focused on that one spot I kept being drawn to. It wasn't until she gasped and tried to pull away that I was even aware my fangs had slid out.

I quickly stepped back and regained control, my fangs retracting, I could see the red marks forming from how hungrily I'd been kissing and sucking on her skin –to the point I'd almost bitten her apparently.

"I… I'm human, remember?" She asked, her voice breathless with a nervous laugh as she reached up and rubbed her neck.

I saw where she was holding onto and realized what happened, I'd almost marked her, the way werewolves mark their mates.

Only she was human…

My eyes widened and I stared at her as she looked back at me confused from my sudden behavior change.

It would make sense –the way I cannot stay away from her no matter how hard I try. Her scent, her taste… everything about her is just faultless to me. Some mates are created after someone is turned, but sometimes it's different and it's almost like a pair was meant to be.

I knew something was different about her from the moment I caught her scent and laid my eyes on her… but I've never heard of anyone having a human mate.

Hell, up until a few moments ago I didn't even believe in mates.

"It's okay… I'm not bleeding or anything." She finally spoke up as she shifted uncomfortably and seemed to be growing self-conscious with the longer I stayed quiet.

She took a step closer and it took every bit of restraint I had to keep her at arm's length, but that was where she was going to have to stay.

It was her only shot at staying alive because everyone around me –everyone I've ever cared about has ended up dead because of me.

To begin with, the way everything about her drew me in like a sirens song I thought she was going to be the death of me, but I think it's the other way around.

"Derek?" Her voice had a slight tremble to it, and I knew I needed to say something.

Closing my eyes, I blew out a heavy breath before I locked eyes with her and stressed, "That can never happen again."

She looked shocked, but I doubt she was anywhere as shocked as I was when I turned and left her standing on the porch with flushed cheeks and a racing heart.

But I had to get away from her, I'd almost bitten her –I'd almost marked her, a human.

I don't even know what that would have done to her other than she'd have had some explaining to do with the E.R visit because it wouldn't have healed right up like it should on a werewolf.

I needed to keep her at a safe distance to save her life.

(Aubrie's point of view)

I sat with my eyes glued to the alarm clock on my nightstand, internally counting down the seconds until its buzzer would go off.

3…2…1

Right on cue, the annoying sound played loudly for half a second before I reached out and shut it off.

I had been awake all night, the first few hours I tossed and turned, followed by another couple hours of staring at my phone wondering if Derek was going to call or text or anything after he kissed me and then stormed off for God only know what reason; finally for the past hour I'd been sitting on my bed staring at the unforgiving glowing numbers reminding me that I'd eventually have to leave my room for the day.

My legs were painfully stiff when I finally left the comfort of my bed to make my way over the closet, but it wasn't until I'd gotten out of the shower and dried my hair and saw the red marks were still on my neck from where Derek almost bit me that I started to realize how much of a mess my life was.

It was bad enough having one of my best friends turned into a werewolf, but now Derek had kissed me and I'd kissed him back.

The redness on the curve between my neck and shoulder caught my attention yet again when I passed by my vanity on the way out of the room.

Leaning in closer to the mirror I examined the spot as close as I could.

Is this what a hickey looks like?

Oh, Jesus Christ. It is. It most definitely is.

My heart sank after doing a quick online search to see how long I'd be marked like this.

Common consensuses seems to be anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks.

2 freaking weeks?!

Perfect. Just great.

I mean all I want to do is forget about what happened and now I'm going to have a reminder every single time I look in the mirror.

And of course, I ran out of concealer a couple of days ago.

I wasn't even sure that would help in this situation considering if I hadn't pushed him away when I did, I think he might have actually broken skin.

I closed my eyes, the scene playing on repeat in my head yet again.

The look of shock on his face coupled with the way he'd darted off, you'd have thought I was the one who branded him and not the other way around.

Pulling my hair out of the hair-tie I'd thrown it up in, I smoothed it all over to the one side to hide the spot on my skin.

I'd wanted to talk to Sheila before she left for work, tell her what happened –minus the werewolf part and ask what I should do.

Unfortunately, she must have had some paperwork to catch up on or something because she was nowhere to be found.

But at least with Dan out of town on another business trip, I get to use his car.

It was over an hour later that I was sitting in the cafeteria at school staring down at the fast-food breakfast I'd picked up on my way, only the longer I sat there the more I thought about Derek and the less I wanted food.

I wanted an explanation.

"Are you going to eat that?"

Blinking rapidly to clear my blurry eyes I realized Stiles was sitting across from me, I'm not sure how long he'd been there but I gave a small shrug in response, "I guess not."

He made a pleased noise as he grabbed the container of hash browns and popped some into his mouth before complaining, "They're cold!" A fact that clearly didn't matter to him much as he shoved a small handful of them into his mouth and then asked in a muffled voice, "Why aren't you eating?"

"Because my life is a mess." I groaned, sliding the unwrapped biscuit sandwich across the table to him, and resting my head in my hands.

"Welcome to the club."

If I hadn't been friends with him for years and entirely used to him talking with a mouthful of food, I'd have had no idea what he said.

"I blame Scott, if he hadn't gotten bit… none of this would have happened," I said, my own voice muffled behind my hands.

"Well, come on. It's not technically his fault that he's asthmatic and couldn't outrun a werewolf."

Moving my hands from my face I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot to hear that.

God knows everyone in school thinks we're already losers.

"You're right, it's not Scott's fault. It's yours! If you hadn't dragged him out into the woods that night-"

"No, you were right the first time… totally Scott's fault, all of it."

When I wasn't even able to crack a smile at his words, his face fell and he asked, "What's going on."

"I'm… confused."

"About?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"I… I can't really say." I admitted then sighed, "Well, I guess more like I don't want to tell you."

His jaw dropped revealing a half-chewed bite of food and causing me to groan as I looked away with my nose wrinkled in disgust.

I have got to branch out and make some new friends.

"You don't wanna tell me? You tell me everything." He protested, sounding genuinely offended by the idea.

"I do not tell you everything," I argued, with a slight eye-roll.

"I tell you everything." He added. And I shook my head, this was true.

He often told me more than I ever wanted to know.

"It's just…" I breathed, "Something happened and at the time it seemed right and I was surprised but not worried. Only now, after the other thing that happened I'm worried and stressed and I don't know if I did something wrong or what the hell is going on and I sat up all night staring at the alarm clock trying to figure my life out and I've gotten nowhere."

My lungs hurt as I pulled in a deep breath after my ramblings which only left Stiles more confused than he was in the beginning.

"Normally, when you ramble… I follow. But not this time." He apologized as he took a drink from my cup and then started to chew on the straw until I pulled it away from him.

"Just forget it… I just need to start making some new friends, preferably of the female gender."

"Brie, come on. You can tell me anything." He pushed. Only now I'm getting the feeling he's only wanting to know because I won't tell him and not because he actually intends to help me.

Either way, he's about my only option here…

"You have to promise you won't tell Scott, okay?" My eyes scanned his face, "You can't tell anyone."

"Done," He agreed without taking a moment to think that over.

Here goes nothing.

"Derek kissed me."

I cringed as the words left my mouth.

Stiles stopped in the middle of chewing his food and stared at me in silence like he was waiting for me to laugh and say I was joking.

Only now the flood gates had opened and whether or not he wanted more details from me, he was getting them.

"And it was… just wow, like… I mean he really kissed me, but then he yelled at me and told me it could never happen again. Then he just left and I have no idea what happened!"

"Uh, well…" He groaned, before almost seeming to choke slightly on the food as his eyebrows furrowed and he continued, "No, you know what? You should probably just talk to someone else and never tell me anything like that again."

My eyes narrowed in anger, "You said I could tell you anything."

"Brie!" He exclaimed, choking the bite of food down and grabbing for my drink again, "I'm trying to eat here."

"And I'm having a midlife crisis or something!" I blurted out loud enough to earn some judgemental stares from nearby classmates.

"You're planning to die at 32?" He asked with raised eyebrows as he fought back a laugh.

Standing up I grabbed my bag and said, "Just forget I said anything."

"Already forgotten!" His voice followed me out of the cafeteria as I headed to my locker before first period.

~()~

I'd barely gotten the car shifted into park when I reached for my phone again to see if Derek had called or even sent me a text.

Maybe, just maybe I'd accidentally silenced my phone.

After all, how can you just kiss someone like that and then walk away?

Not even walk -but rush off!

It was still playing on repeat in my head.

The look in his eyes, his taste, the feeling of his hands on me…

My body was starting to heat up from memory alone.

Ugh!

Shaking my head as if I could rattle every single memory of the night before loose and send them tumbling in pieces out of my ears, I shut the car off and got out.

I certainly wasn't going to spend my time thinking about Derek Hale.

Nope, I was going to move on with my life and pretend he'd never kissed me.

Yep.

I nodded to myself as I reached out to pull the door open to the video rental store.

Determination in my every step as I walked under the little bell that chimed to alert staff of customers.

I was on a mission for a distraction.

Scott didn't have time for me anymore. His every waking thought was about Allison.

Though, maybe I could casually ask if he'd ever felt the urge to bite Allison when they were making out.

I mean maybe it's just a werewolf thing and I'm way overthinking things as usual.

Hmm, on second thought, no clue how I'd slide that into a casual conversation…

And with the way Stiles was acting after I'd confided in him, he'd be lucky if I said another word to him before our Senior year.

Have I mentioned I have the worst friends?

I'd been so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize anyone else was in the store too, that was until Jackson Whittemore seemed to appear out of nowhere and asked with utter annoyance in his tone, "Where. Is. The. Notebook?"

"What?"

The word escaped me without the jolt of attitude I'd wanted to add for good measure.

Staring up at the ceiling in annoyance, he snapped, "Seriously? What do they pay you for? The Notebook, the movie! Where is it?"

My eyes dropped to where the aisle directly behind him had the movie he was searching for.

Maybe if he wasn't a complete jackass to me every time we crossed paths I might have pointed out the obvious.

"I don't work here!"

My voice finally came back to me.

His face twisted as he looked me over. Like he had no idea who I was.

"We're in like 4 of the same classes." I reminded him.

"Whatever." Jackson muttered under his breath apparently deciding I was no longer worth his time as he then belted out to the rest of the store, "Hello?"

"Is anybody working here?" He yelled louder.

"You gotta be kidding me." He continued on his rant then looked at me asked, "Can you believe this?"

My brows raised at him and I was getting ready to walk away and leave this entitled idiot on his own to search for a movie I had a hard time imagining him wanting to see in the first place -when I caught a glimpse of some healing wounds on the back of his neck.

Throwing the concept of personal space out the window, I rushed forward and pulled down the collar of the jacket he had on.

"What the hell?" He angrily snapped as he slapped my hand away from him.

Literally, smacked my arm away.

I looked down to where my skin was still stinging from the impact.

There were so many things I wanted to yell at him at that moment.

There might have also been a part of me that wanted to slap him across the face for touching me like that.

Just like a scene from one of the soap operas that my aunt always lets clog up space on the DVR, yet never seems to find the time to watch.

Mustering a great deal of restraint, I asked, "What happened to your neck?"

His eyes narrowed and I saw the muscles tense in the side of his jaw.

I took a step back, thinking for sure he was going to let me have it but then he let out a bitter-sounding laugh and shook his head.

Hell, with the way he'd slapped me, I wouldn't put it past him to punch me.

"You should know-" He accused, "I saw you helping McCall's drug dealer out of the school after he cut me."

What the hell was he talking about?

"What?" My voice raised.

He took a step closer, now it was my personal space being invaded.

"I saw you leading McCall's drug dealer out of the school."

He repeated the exact same sentence.

As if that would make a difference and I'd suddenly grasp what he was saying.

"Scott isn't on drugs…" I came to my best friend's defense even though we hadn't seen eye to eye in a while now.

"Ha!" Jackson all but barked in my face.

That's when it dawned on me what had happened.

Derek.

He was talking about Derek Hale.

When he'd been shot and came to the school, he must have crossed paths with Jackson before finding me in the crowd.

Clearly, it didn't so well for Jackson as the realization hit that the wounds were claw marks.

Guess I'm not the only Beacon Hills High School student walking around with physical marks from the werewolf.

My hand instinctively went to the side of my neck where the skin was still tender from Derek had grazed me with his teeth.

Nope.

Not going there again.

I've already decided to not think about Derek.

I have to admit I was curious as to why Jackson had come to the conclusion that he was a drug dealer.

Brushing past him without another word, I started my own movie search.

I didn't have anything in particular in mind, more like a list of no's.

Definitely nothing romantic.

Nothing about the supernatural.

I didn't want to see anything about friendships either.

Nothing with kissing… nothing romantic -wait, did I already say that?

As I came out from one side of an aisle, I saw Jackson looking at me again.

I swear to god if this boy asks me where The Notebook is one more time, I'm going to pluck the case off the shelf and hit him upside the head with it.

"Aubrie…"

His voice shook.

My head cocked to the side, so Mr. Perfect does know who I am after all.

That's great. Really good to know he just chooses to be a complete dick.

Following his line of sight, I saw what had startled him.

A few rows down a pair of men's shoes were laying on the floor, those shoes connected to feet from someone who wasn't moving at all.

As Jackson slowly started to advance towards the legs, I followed in suit.

Matching step by step as I walked beside him.

Not sure when we went from mortal enemies to investigating a possible dead body together, but I couldn't deny I was glad someone else was there and I hadn't stumbled across this by myself.

My stomach churned. Suddenly not a single snack I'd picked up from the corner store in preparation for my move night sounded remotely appetizing.

Oh god, this was bad. I shouldn't be doing this.

I knew I didn't want to see what was waiting for us when we reached the aisle.

But I looked anyway.

My eyes falling on the body of the dead store clerk, his throat had been torn wide open. Clothes were soaked in blood.

His eyes were wide open. His expression was forever frozen in time. Frozen in terror.

I gagged, cupping a hand over my mouth when I couldn't stop staring at his splayed open neck.

Jackson reacted worse than me, he didn't throw up at the sight, but he stumbled backward.

Knocking into a ladder under an open ceiling panel where it looked like the worker had been replacing some lights.

The fixture fell out of the ceiling, exposed wires sparking and crackling until the power went off in the store and started flickering.

I heard Jackson's labored breathing as he stumbled around in the now darkened store.

I, on the other hand, couldn't seem to get any air into my lungs.

Like passing a bad car accident, I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the man -the body on the floor.

I have to call the police.

Logically, I knew I knew I needed to do something but my shoes were super-glued to the floor.

Pull it together Aubrie, this isn't the first time you've seen a dead body.

The last one was severed in half.

Laura Hale -sister to Derek Hale, who I have sworn off thinking about more times than I can count.

What is it about that guy that has him front and center of my thoughts even when I'm standing next to someone who's been brutally murdered?

A low growl echoed through the store as the lights kept flickering.

The reeling feeling inside of me was growing. I could feel it swallowing me whole and I knew I shouldn't have looked towards the sound but I've been doing a lot of things I shouldn't lately and apparently have no intention of stopping.

I peered around the side of the display shelf just in time to see two red eyes cut through the dark as the lights went off again; like laser pointers.

Somehow, in an incredibly heroic manner, I got the signal from my brain to my legs and was able to grab Jackson's arm and pull him out of plain sight from the alpha.

We both ducked down, exchanging panic-filled expressions.

The look on his face was practically screaming the question of it I saw it too.

The horrendous, monstrous thing with glowing red eyes that had raised up on 2 legs like a man but looked nothing near human.

Slowly I nodded.

Yeah, Jackson.

I saw that thing too and I'm pretty sure it's going to kill us.

I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing but it was useless.

If Scott could smell a single piece of gum in Stiles' pocket out in the woods, this thing most certainly could smell us and hear us.

Ever since finding out that werewolves were real, I had felt a sense of my own mortality nipping at my heels.

Creeping around and hovering over me.

But this definitely wasn't how I thought things would end for me; on the floor of a video rental store next to Jackson freaking Whittemore of all people.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the star athlete of our lacrosse team gather enough courage to peek around the display we were hiding behind.

When he jerked his head back; I felt the thunder through the floor as the alpha ran from one side of the store to the other.

This son of a bitch was toying with us.

We were defenseless. It knew exactly where we were and instead of going in for the kill, it was having some fun first.

Maybe humans taste better after stewing in fear?

Another thunder from the movement of the large beast shook everything in the store.

I looked over, my eyes locking with Jackson's as he stared at me with wide eyes and I knew he knew it too.

He might not have known the nitty-gritty details of this all like I did.

But he knew he was going to die.

That we were going to be killed within a matter of minutes.

And in that moment I felt an odd sense of camaraderie with him.

A connection forged from sharing your final moments on earth with someone else.

I internally groaned, why the hell did it have to be with Jackson?

Yet another reason to hate this alpha werewolf.

Putting me in a situation where I actually felt bad for someone who couldn't be bothered to acknowledge me until we ended up in a life or death situation.

Terrified doesn't even begin to cover how I felt in those moments.

I could feel my heart beating. Literally every single pump of the muscle that kept my body going.

I couldn't get air in and what air did manage to make into my lungs had been sucked dry of any oxygen.

Yet somehow, the teenage boy beside me appeared to be even more scared than I was.

How is that even possible?

DVD cases rained down on us from above as the alpha made another lap around the outskirts of the video store.

I swear to god the very foundation of the building was quaking.

Pulling my eyes away from his, I looked over at the exit sign flickering above the back door to the store.

I was getting ready to nudge Jackson, point out what I saw, and suggest we just make a break for it.

Maybe one or both of us might even survive the night.

Probably not, but staying here we're sitting ducks anyways and I'd rather die running for my life.

Just as I'd started to nudge his side, there was a loud thud at the front of the store as the alpha knocked over the first free-standing movie shelf.

Like dominoes, they started to fall and we were surely going to be crushed or at the very least trapped even worse than we already were.

I ran for one end of the aisle in an attempt to escape, Jackson ran for the other side.

I'd just manage to scramble away before the shelf we'd been hiding behind was knocked down. Just narrowly avoiding getting my legs pinned.

Jackson wasn't so lucky.

For the captain of the lacrosse team, he didn't move near fast enough and ended up stuck with his lower body under the fallen shelving.

He was pinned; helpless.

As was I.

Well, I wasn't pinned -but I was just as helpless.

I couldn't do a damn thing other than duck down behind the limited shelter the fallen shelves provided as the alpha closed in on Jackson.

I wanted to scream but no sound would come out.

I didn't realize how huge the alpha looked until it was hovering over where Jackson was stuck.

It looked to be several times his size. Could have crushed him with a single step.

Trying to crouch even further to the floor, tears burnt my eyes.

Moments ago when we were in hiding together, the thought hadn't crossed my mind that one of us would die first.

But someone always has to die first; meaning someone else dies last.

I was not only going to be ripped to shreds by the alpha but first I was going to witness the death of my classmate first.

That had to be worse, I thought, to see the pain that I'd be going through next.

I'd rather it just have it hit me out of nowhere and be gone.

Curling into myself on the floor, I knew it wasn't going to provide any protection, my tears felt like hot acid running across my face and soaking into my hairline.

Waiting.

Waiting to hear Jackson scream. Waiting to die.

Just helplessly waiting and it was the worst goddamn feeling in the entire world.

I heard the boom of broken glass shattering and a scream.

I didn't even realize I was the one screaming until the store fell into otherwise silence.

I raised my head and somehow managed to get my shaking legs to support me.

The large window in the front of the store was completely shattered.

Frantically, I looked around. Half expecting to see a torn-up body with entrails strewn around like garland at Christmas.

But Jackson was alive.

Gasping for air and struggling to get free from the shelf.

"Jackson!"

Another scream erupted from my core and I scrambled over another fallen shelf to get to him.

With a hell of a struggle and a good dose of adrenaline coursing through me, I managed to lift the shelf enough that he could crawl to freedom.

My limbs gave way and I dropped to the floor.

Jackson raised up into a sitting position from where he'd crawled, he faced me.

Neither of us seemed to be able to say anything.

I'm not sure there are words in the English language strong enough to remotely cover what we'd just gone through.

I didn't even realize there were tears streaming down my face until they started to soak into my shirt.

I raised my hands trying to wipe my eyes but I couldn't wipe the water up fast enough.

It just kept flowing out of me like a dam had broken.

My throat started to close up causing me to gasp for air and I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and trying to fold back into myself.

Feeling something on my arm, I raised my head to see it was Jackson's hand.

He looked to be on the verge of a total break down too but was holding it together a hell of a lot better than me.

"What," He sputtered, "What was that?"

He didn't get an answer from me.

Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Jackson.

I'd take everything I knew back right now if I could.

Shit just got way too real.

I screamed again when the door chimed to the store but when I looked up I saw it was just Lydia.

"I… I…" She looked between where Jackson and I were sitting as she started to sob herself, "I saw… I saw…."

Tears were pouring down her face.

"It… I…"

Lydia's attempt at describing what she'd just seen came out in broken fragments and syllables.

"Oh my god!"

Lydia screamed out, starting to come back to her senses from the shock.

I watched as she held her phone in her trembling hands and tried to call for help.

A/N - *nervously waves*
I know it's been years since I updated this story but I recently got a boost of inspiration again and decided I'd go ahead and post the chapter to see if anyone was still interested in seeing Aubrie's story continue.

If you're seeing this, thank you for reading the chapter and I really hope you enjoyed it!

Please leave a review to let me know your thoughts and to let me know if there is still any interest in this story after so long?
If there is I'll make an effort to keep the updates coming.

You can always reach me on tumblr at: twofacedharveydent

Hope you're all doing well!

xx