Chapter 14: Moonstruck

Monday arrived with cop cars dotting the parking lot to ensure that nothing would happen as the students returned to school that gray skied morning. They stood around in the parking lot, talking to each other or into walkie talkies attached to their uniforms. Teachers hung around the front doors, standing guard as the students trickled inside.

Whispers flowed between students about the events that had gone on over the course of the "long weekend." Reporters had shown up at the doors of those involved, trying to get a soundbite, but they wouldn't talk so the rest was up to speculation. Rumors and stories were spun from the destroyed window of Mr. Harris's chemistry classroom and the new tiles in the ceiling and the newly painted and cleaned door in the locker room.

Melanie tried to fall back into the normal routine but it was hard. Her mind kept jumping back to that night. It kept going back to the Alpha attacking them and Scott locking them in the classroom and the realization that it didn't want Scott to have his own pack. What did that mean? Would Scott lose control and attack them all one night? What if he couldn't fight against his werewolf impulses?

And what happened to Derek? He was gone when they all managed to get outside and the police department went looking for him. So he wasn't as dead as they all thought he was but where was he now? And more importantly, was he safe?

The story of that night spread like wildfire but by the time a few periods had gone by the break in and attack was old news and it was like nothing ever happened. Part of that was due to Greenberg splitting his pants in the middle of the cafeteria and part of that was due in part to the word going around about the Valentine's flower sale that Melanie was putting together. She was elated to see that her plan was working. They'd be making a lot of money in no time.

Members of the Student Life Committee swapped out table-sitting throughout the day during their free periods. Melanie had Isaac's and Erica's help for one of them but it was the last one for her, near lunch, where she table-sat by herself. She didn't mind, she needed the time to process what she and the others had gone through, not having the "long weekend" to do it since her mother filled it with activities for her.

She moved on autopilot as she pointed out the directions to fill out the forms, her mind going at light speed as she tried to figure out who the Alpha was. It couldn't be Dr. Deaton; he was too nice to be the Alpha. He was too caring to be the Alpha. He wouldn't just go around killing people. Yeah, once the werewolf sense took over it was hard to control but Scott could do it and he didn't run around killing people. It just couldn't be him. Deep down she knew it wasn't. But that didn't narrow down who it was either. Not that the list was particularly long in the first place.

Melanie sighed and tapped her pen against her notebook. Or her Wolf Notebook. Everything written in it was werewolf related starting from facts that she learned from her books to facts that Scott, Derek, and the Alpha confirmed for her, to wild theories that she had. She even put a list of known werewolves around the area down, which was only Scott and Derek that she knew for sure. But then some others in his family had to be werewolves too, right? If he was born one? Or so Scott said. Even so, she added Mr. Harris to the list as well. If he wasn't a vampire that didn't mean he wasn't a werewolf, she reasoned. But then what was the connection to the murderers?

"Hey, asshat, wipe the vacant expression off your face…if you can," Jackson commented. Melanie blinked, looked up at him, and then slammed her notebook shut, hastily putting it away. A smirk curled upon his lips. "Writing smutty fanfiction in your free time? Hmm? Gotta find a way to get your rocks off, right? Since no one's lining up at your door."

"Yeah, that may be the case but should someone show up there's no wait time," Melanie said evenly. She blinked, thought her words over for a moment, and then shrugged. She may have implied that she would jump into bed with someone but as long as Jackson didn't come to that conclusion everything would be fine. And it was Jackson, he wasn't dumb but he wasn't the brightest bulb in the lamp compared to others. Clearing her throat, she sat up straighter in her chair. "So, what'll it be? Carnations? Daisies? Roses?"

"Roses, duh," Jackson replied. "A dozen of them."

"What color?" she asked and then caught the look that she shot his way. "Red, okay, stupid question."

"The fact that you can recognize when you ask a stupid question should stop you from asking them," Jackson said with a roll of his eyes.

Melanie ignored his comment and pushed the form in front of him. "Okay, fill out your name, recipient, flower choice, and locker number of recipient. Leave a message if you want to."

"I can read," he snapped, pausing in his writing.

"What's gotten up your butt today?" she grumbled. "Your mattress not soft enough? Can you feel a pea through it, Princess?"

"That's so funny I forgot to laugh," he said, slapping his pen down and slid the paper back.

Melanie started to take it but something made her pause. Eyebrows crinkling, she turned it around so she could read it properly. "Uh…I think you spelled Lydia wrong," she stated, pointing at where he wrote Allison in the recipient blank.

"I think you need to mind your own business," Jackson shot back. "God, don't you ever stop talking?"

"No, can't say I do, I like the sound of my own voice a bit too much," she replied, taking the form and set it aside with the others. She made sure to put it in the stack in the right place, sorted by flower arrangement type. "That'll be $15."

Melanie accepted the money and counted it. Ignoring his jab that he was "good for the money" she made sure it was the right amount and set it away in the lockbox. As she glanced up at him it was then she noticed how pale he appeared. Gaunt, event. There appeared to be dark circles beneath his eyes. "Hey, are you…are you okay?" she asked, and then immediately regretted asking. It was Jackson Whittemore of all people, even if he wasn't she doubted he'd want to talk to her. "It's just…you look as if you haven't been sleeping," she continued hastily. "Not-not because of that pea thing. But…maybe…because of what happened?"

Jackson paused. His eyes narrowed and they shifted ever so slightly as he studied her. She twisted her fingers together and bit her lip as she waited, waited for him to turn away or laugh at her or something. But he just stared at her and her heart began to race. Did he know she was involved? Did he know what happened? Did he know what was going on? It was only a matter of time until he connected the scratch on the back of his neck to Derek Hale and everything that was happening. The dots weren't that hard to connect if she could do it. And Jackson could be surprising.

Like now.

"Okay," he said, resting his palms on the table top and shifted his weight on it. "The thing is…I saw something that…that just doesn't make sense."

"In an entire night that doesn't make sense, that's not that hard to believe," she said slowly, watching him.

"No, I know. It's just…I saw this…this thing. It…" he paused, as if checking to see if he was making a mistake by entrusting her with what he was about to say, but continued. "It was tall and…and had these eyes. They were…piercing. And…it was weird. At one point…I thought it was a man. It stood tall but… but then…"

Melanie gulped, hoping it was inaudible. "Then what?" she pressed, now fidgeting with her pen.

"Then…it got on all fours and hurried away." Jackson's eyebrows furrowed, a faraway look appearing in his eye as he thought of the events. "Like…like an animal. Like—"

"A mountain lion?" Melanie offered, somewhat dryly.

Jackson blinked and studied her. "Something like that," he replied. "It was just…weird. Too weird." He rubbed the back of his neck. Melanie's eyes flickered down to his hand. He blinked and his eyes narrowed as he caught the movement, dropping his arm. "Did you see anything?"

"I was a little bit too busy trying to run for my life than to pay attention to whatever that thing was," Melanie replied, doing her best to keep her voice steady.

He stared at her, scoffed, and then rolled his eyes. "Figures you wouldn't be of any help." He turned away, still muttering under his breath, "Don't know why I even bothered to try."

"Because you had someone to talk to who didn't brush you off," Melanie yelled at his back. His gait slowed for a brief moment but he continued his stride down the hall. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She watched him disappear around the corner and then pulled out her notebook. Flipping past a couple of pages she landed on one that she had written about the scratch on the back of Jackson's neck. She remembered that he had cried out in pain after hearing the Alpha howl and then he was fine afterwards. She clicked her tongue. She had only read of transformation through bites…but maybe they could be turned through other means as well. Maybe they would need t keep a closer eye on him than they thought.

# # #

Melanie had just changed into her practice clothes when Coach Finstock asked her to join the boys in the locker room, promising that they were decent and that he had an announcement to make. She gathered up her stuff and followed him into the locker room, squeezing past Jackson and Danny to take up an unoccupied space by the lockers. She leaned against it and crossed her arms, waiting to see what coach had to say that was so important.

It felt weird standing in the boy's locker room after what happened. It felt weird knowing what had gone on and that the janitor wasn't with them anymore because of a failed plan to draw him out. She sighed. It smelled the same, the boys were the same, the space was the same, but it all felt different. Kinda like the feeling when you borrow someone else's clothes, you know it's not the same. It's not the right fit.

She glanced over at Scott and Stiles and felt her eyebrows lowering. Scott seemed tense or apprehensive about something. Whatever it was, it bothered him all day; he even skipped out on a Chemistry test earlier that day. Not that she blamed him. It was tough, even if it was multiple choice. But she didn't think it had anything to do with Allison, he was a bit more tense and high strung. Heck, she caught the aftermath of him slamming his head against the wall in his frustration and had to drag him away before anyone got suspicious or told a teacher. For all they knew it was just more repairs they needed to get through.

"—The following people have made first line on a probationary basis, emphasis on the word probationary," Coach Finstock announced.

Melanie blinked and stood up straighter. First line? But then she stopped herself from getting too excited over the news. She felt bad for those who got pink eye but even in that event she didn't expect Coach to move her up. Her suspicions were quickly confirmed when he put Rodriguez, Taylor, and Stiles on first line. As bummed out as she was she was still excited for Stiles—well, Biles—to get the chance to play in his first game. Her excitement then increased when Scott was named co=captain of the team, partially because he was brought up a level and partially because Jackson was visibly brought down a level.

"Did you see Jackson's face?" Isaac asked as the two filed out of the locker room to follow Coach's orders to get their asses on the field. "I thought his brain was about to explode due to lack of comprehension."

"I'm just glad it's not me or else he'd find a way to make me incapacitated," Melanie replied, resting her stick on her shoulder. She scratched at her fringe. "I don't get what his problem is. He's still one of the best on the team. People still worship the ground he walks on. He has more money than he knows what to do with. What's so important about this?"

"Maybe…I dunno, he's just trying to prove himself," Isaac mused aloud. Melanie gave him a look. "I've lived across the street from him my whole life. He's always been a bit into wanting the best because that's how he's raised. But then he found out he was adopted and that kinda went to the extreme." He paused and then added, "With Scott around and now you on the team he probably feels as if the attention's being taken away from him, attention that he worked hard for."

"Oh, I get it, you're saying we're to blame for him being a maniac," Melanie said, lightly elbowing him in the side.

"Just a little bit," Isaac teased, chuckling at her cry of indignation, "the rest is his own fault."

"Maybe he's the one on steroids," she muttered. Isaac shrugged his shoulders. "It's just…stupid. I love lacrosse. I don't get why people are making such a big deal about it. What does it matter if I'm playing on a boy's team?" She huffed. "And all that's being discredited and shit upon with the stupid rumor and Jackson being a…Jackson and Coach not taking me seriously and—"

"Hey." Isaac swung out his stick to stop her from walking. "Who cares? You're a good player. Your evasiveness and agility are leagues above some of the other guys. It helps that you're small. And, yeah, sometimes your aim is off and you can get knocked over like a leaf in the wind—"

Melanie stuck out her tongue. "I thought this was supposed to be a pep talk."

"It is. I'm just warming you up. Can't let you get a big head, it won't fit in your helmet." He chuckled at the look she threw his way. "Anyway, what I'm saying is don't let the opinions and sore egos of the others make you stop loving something."

The two smiled at each other and then split off to separate groups to begin their warmup drills which consisted of tossing the ball back and forth to one another as they shuffled down the field. After that the coach ordered the team to jog around the field which was then followed by sets of jumping jacks, leg, arm, and ankle stretches. After that they were spread out across the field to practice rushing on goal against two defenders. Rodriguez made it past with little trouble as did Taylor. It appeared that Jackson barely had to try to get past the defenders and score a goal on Danny. Isaac made it through easily and then it was Scott's turn.

Melanie stood two people behind Stiles and had to lean over to watch as Scott picked up the ball. She rested the end of her lacrosse stick on the ground and laid her arms atop of it as she watched. She winced with the rest of the group when Scott was bulldozed by the defenders and he lay flat on the ground. She frowned. That wasn't like him. Surely he could just bash his way through with his wolf powers and make the shot, couldn't he? Her frown deepened when Coach Finstock burst out laughing and started comparing him to his dead grandmother.

"Dude, that's harsh," she muttered.

"That's coach," one of her teammates muttered back, but he was shaking his head all the while.

Shaking her own head, she geared up for her own turn as Stiles started forward but Scott pushed him back and picked up the ball again. "Oh no," she muttered under her breath. His stance was a bit hunched and his shoulders heaved. His wolf powers were coming out. This was not going to end well. She flinched and made faces as she watched Scott plow into the two defenders and then ram into Danny before scoring a shot on goal.

Danny lay on the field, in obvious pain. The rest of the group rushed over to check on him. Jackson got there first, turning his best friend over for them to assess the damage. He had a bloody nose and that was his only visible injury. They quickly deduced that it wasn't broken but it had to be a hard hit to give him a bloody nose. The paramedic rushed to the field to officially look him over and Melanie took the time to approach Stiles while everyone was occupied.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

"Apparently Scott's wolf senses were tingling," Stiles replied. A blank expression rested on her face. "Read a comic book, please. For the love of…" his words trailed off as he shook his head, his disgust and frustration cutting him off.

"But he has control over his anger now."

"He usually does," Stiles said. "Except for—"

Melanie cut him off as she snapped her fingers. "The full moon!" she hissed. "God, I completely forgot! That's why he's been so out of it today! Good thing he doesn't fully transform until the moon comes out, right?"

"Not unless he can fight his urges," Stiles replied. "Which was what Derek was trying to teach him to do before we turned him into a felon."

"So he's momentarily out of the picture then. What do you do to prepare?" Melanie asked.

"Uh…the last time was…let's say a learning experience. I was going to chain him up this time."

"Do you need me to come over and help out? I can bring my books."

Her question went unanswered. Stiles wasn't listening to her anymore. Lydia had rushed to the field and, as always, his attention jumped to her. But he wasn't smiling as he always did whenever he spotted the girl. No, he appeared shocked by something. Or suspicious.

"No," Stiles finally replied as he turned around, his words firm. He licked his lips and shook his head. "No, I don't need any help. I can handle it."

Melanie's shoulders shrunk. She wanted to see it for herself, see what the full moon did to him. But Stiles had dealt with the situation longer than she had and if he said he could handle it, maybe he could. "Alright," she replied. "But text me if anything comes up, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled, walking past her. She huffed. Now he was acting weird. If he suddenly came out and claimed he was a werewolf too it wouldn't surprise her. Shaking her head, she rejoined the other boys in line as Danny was taken off the field.

Coach ordered them to continue their practice for the day, but he put Scott in goal. That made a lot of the boys blanch. Melanie audibly gulped. It was one thing going against Jackson but going against Scott McCall? On a full moon of all days? They may as well sign their wills at that moment, he would kill them. Not that Coach cared; he seemed to love carnage as much as he loved winning.

Scott knocked aside anyone that tried to score on him. Melanie bet that Jackson was secretly glad he was acting as a defender now so he didn't have to face Scott. No one was able to score a goal on Scott by the time Melanie stepped up to the line. She stared at Scott through the gate on her helmet. In the goal his shoulders heaved with deep breaths. She could almost see his eyes glowing across the way.

Coach blew into his whistle. Melanie ran forward and scooped up the ball. She cradled the ball in the net as her feet worked to start and stop her momentum to dodge the defenders ahead of her. She managed to squeeze past them and rush the goal. Her excitement for making it through was short lived as Scott charged ahead like a bull. Melanie made a desperate shot at goal before she felt the blow of Scott's hit.

Her feet left the ground and she was sent flying until she landed hard on her back. She cried out at the pain that shot through her back. She dug her heels into the ground to try and lift herself off the ground, bring relief to her aching back, but it didn't work. Every slight movement caused more pain. She resorted to breathing sharply through her clenched teeth and squeezing her eyes shut to try and relieve the pain in any way she could think of.

"Crowe? Crowe, are you crying on my field?" Coach demanded as he hovered above her.

"I'm trying not to," Melanie replied her voice tight as she lay still on the ground.

"Suck it up and quit being such a girl," Jackson commented from above her.

"Dude! Scott just pummeled her! We're not all built like a brick wall of muscles," Stiles shot at him.

The medic ran back onto the field, this time to check Melanie over. After asking questions and putting pressure around her lower back and spine the medic deduced that the damage wasn't extensive, it was most likely coupled with the blow which had knocked the wind out of her previously. A few days with ice on her back and she would be fine. But she had to sit out the rest of the practice to ensure she didn't injure herself any further so she lay on one of the benches with a bag of ice on her back, watching the rest of the boys finish up.

It was infuriating, being so close and yet being so far away from the action. Every time she got the chance to play something got in her way, something messed up. And Scott never even apologized for hurting her! Stiles at least tried to cheer her up. It didn't work too well since he was clearly bothered by something himself but full moon or not, Scott had a lot of groveling to do if he wanted to get back into her good graces.

"This is starting to get ridiculous," Melanie mumbled under her breath as she walked slowly to her truck once practice ended. She looked up when Isaac rung the bell on his bike and waved as he took off. "At this rate, by next week, I won't be able to set foot on the field at all. Then Coach and Jackson and my mom will all be happy."

She could already imagine how her mom was going to fuss once she got home. How she would use that as an excuse to try and get her off the team and make her injury sound worse than it really was. And then her dad would tell her that she was overreacting and then they would start fighting again. It was getting to the point that she didn't want to go home anymore. The only thing about today was that she had an excuse to take her time in getting home.

# # #

Melanie was thankful that the night brought on silence in the Crowe house, aside from Nova's snoring in the corner of her room. After she somehow managed to get in through the front door she had a few hours to herself to lie on the couch, watching mindless TV with a bag of ice on her back. Her mother was the first to come home and worried over her as she predicted. But then when her father came home no fight followed the announcement of her injury, which took her by complete surprise.

"We're working out our differences," Arabella said.

"We're learning to listen to each other," Laurence agreed.

And the two went around with tight smiles and light words for the rest of the night. They weren't real smiles but they were smiles nonetheless and at least they were trying. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if her parents had been replaced with pod people for how hard they were trying to get along with one another. She almost missed the fighting, it was much less creepy.

After a quiet dinner of polite conversation, Melanie managed to drag herself up the stairs and to her room. Lying down, she tried to concentrate on her homework but the dull ache in her back kept her focus at bay. She had taken painkillers but they didn't seem to be working. The pain had shrunk from her entire back to just around the top of her back. It made sudden movements that much more painful.

Abandoning her homework, she watched videos on YouTube and scrolled through blogs on her tumblr. She chatted with Erica for a while before she glanced at the clock and saw that it was getting late so she tried to crack open her homework again. She had her Econ textbook out and tried to focus on the chapters that they were assigned but her tired, burning eyes made the words jump along the page. Still she powered through and finished the reading, although she wasn't sure she had a grasp on what the topic was. Even so, her homework was done and she could get to bed.

Rolling over until she swung her feet over the edge of the bed, she stood and shuffled over to her window where shafts of moonlight filtered in. She gripped the edges of her blinds and was about to pull them shut but the bright light of the moon stopped her. She stood still, staring at the silvery sphere in the ink black sky. Her gaze didn't waver, she didn't blink; she just stood and stared.

Finally her eyes tore away and she turned to her bedroom door, walking steadily to it. She opened the door, crossed the threshold, and made her way to the stairs. She carefully took one at a time until she was at the bottom and made a beeline for the front door. She easily made it out the front door and down the porch steps. Once she got to the road she began running.

Her shoes slapped against the ground in a rhythmic beat and her breaths came out short bursts. The moonlight above lit her way. Her running pace stayed even the longer she ran, until she got closer to her destination. A line of trees. She picked up speed, her legs moving faster to carry her into the woods and then deeper inside. Shafts of moonlight poked through the thick canopy above. Dried leaves crunched beneath her shoes. Her breaths were now short gasps, forming small clouds as they hit the air as she ran. She jumped over a fallen log, jogged down a slope, and came to a stop near the lip of a small creek in the woods.

She fell to her knees, gasping for air as she looked into the creek. Water trickled down at the bottom. The moonlight wavered and shook in the reflective surface. Melanie stared down at it and then screamed at the pain shooting through her back, ripping her apart. Her fingers dug into the hard earth as she ducked her head, still screaming in pain.

Her anguished yells echoed in the dark woods. Tears rimmed her eyelids as she squeezed them shut and clenched her teeth. Her body seized with the force of the next scream that ripped through her throat as the pain on her back intensified. It was on fire. She felt her skin tear.

Blood soaked through her shirt; it felt heavy on her back. Something poked out of her skin and pushed against her shirt. Tears streamed down her face, freezing her skin. She clawed desperately at the ground, her throat burned from her continued screams.

Reaching behind her head, she grabbed a section of her shirt and started to tug it up. The cold air made goosebumps erupt over her skin. She tugged harder. Her shirt got stuck on something on her back. She tugged even harder. The shifting object in her pain caused more pain as she tried to dislodge her shirt. Finally it came free over her head. Her back arched and a loud crack! pierced the air.

Everything stopped. The pain in her back went away, the tears running down her face slowed, the screams bursting out of her throat silenced. Everything in the woods stood still. Gasping, Melanie brushed her hands across her eyes to rid them of her tears. She froze when she heard it. A flapping sound. Surely there wouldn't be any birds around, not with her screaming. Yet there it was again.

Melanie twisted her body to the side to look over her shoulder but her sight was blocked by a very large, black wing. Her eyes widened so far she was surprised they didn't pop out of her head. Turning her head the other way granted her the sight of seeing another wing. They spread out behind her back, blotting out the moonlight. She reached behind herself to touch her back. Her fingers grazed the quickly cooling, sticky blood that dripped down. Then they brushed against the slits in her back, the ones that stung underneath the shower head days ago. Now they housed the thick ends of black wings.

Her black wings.

Melanie dropped her hands – blood stained her fingers - and screamed a loud, long, anguished scream. But it wasn't human, not entirely. Laced within the scream was an animalistic scream. A piercing bird scream.


a/n - And we're finally to the good part! Ever since I wrote this chapter I couldn't wait for you all to read the end of it. I'm bouncing on my toes in excitement to see what you all think so please leave a review! or PM me, that works too! Also, thanks to those new people who are faving and alerting! I'd like to know what you all think as well!