A/N: Hello all! If you have followed me for a while, or somehow landed on this story and it seems familiar, it is because I wrote this series six or seven whole years ago. I took those stories off the site because they were just…so poorly written. I was fifteen and it was my first-time writing fan fics. Looking at them in my twenties made me cringe so hard. I still have the chapters on my computer, and I read them sometimes for nostalgia and decided why not? Quarantine made me fall back into my old fandoms and I really wanted to rewrite these stories with one of my first ever OCs. So, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing these stories again.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and original ideas; everything else belongs to MTV and their rightful owners!

Nothing made time stand still more than a good old-fashioned college literature class with a professor who loved to hear themselves talk. Currently, Jessica Cadwell endured this situation in her Asian American literature class, a course that she entered with a ton of enthusiasm, but her professor, Dr. Ono, and fellow classmates took the fun out of it. The whole first day consisted of Dr. Ono dragging out the syllabus and Jessica realizing that a majority of the other students only took the class to meet their general education requirements meaning no one but Jessica, an English Literature major, would care about the class and what it would offer. She began to zone out as the professor rambled about attendance requirements, something that she did not concern herself with on account of her rarely missing a day of school since elementary school. She began to mindlessly draw in her notebook and felt the time continue to drag on as she anxiously awaited the clock to turn to two-fifty; the time the class ended.

When the clock finally signaled the end of class, Jessica wasted no time gathering her things and putting them into her bag to leave for the afternoon. The professor wrapped up the class meeting, reminding the students about the reading homework and to make the necessary discussion posts on the class page by Friday. Jessica pulled on her jacket as she walked out the door ahead of the other students and wasted no time walking down the hall towards the exit to avoid the impending crowd. She immediately began heading to the library, her place of employment, as she slipped her headphones in. However, just as she hit play on her phone to start her music, a familiar person suddenly all but ran into her and knocked her onto the concrete. Luckily, she caught herself and only dropped her tote of books onto the sidewalk. She watched as When the Emperor Was Divine and Rolling the R's along with several pens and notebooks spilled out onto the ground. Once she regained her balance and looked up, her face fell in disbelief.

"Stiles?!" she let out with a sigh. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hey, Jess, what's up? He asked as he collected himself.

Jess motioned to the ground where all of her belongings landed. Stiles made quick work of bending down and picking up her books and other supplies as Jess asked him again why he was on campus. In theory, he should still be at school; his high school let out at three. Considering her college campus, a branch campus of California State, took at least twenty minutes to get to from the high school, that meant Stiles ditched his last class.

"Stiles, remember how I advised you to maybe not ditch classes to keep up with the workload to avoid needing to do all your assignments at once?" Jess questioned as he gathered her belongings together.

"Yes, Jess, I do, but this is a rather urgent manner," Stiles explained as he stood up and extended her things out to her.

She took the books and shoved them back into her tote bag, securing the buttons to keep them closed. Once her books were safe, she looked back at Stiles. Aside from the basic jeans and white shirt, Stiles wore a semi-concerned expression on his face. Her expression fell, as Stiles usually never got overly concerned about anything, and if he did, he masked it with sarcasm.

"What's wrong, Stiles?" she asked, her feelings of annoyance shifting to worry.

"I need a favor," Stiles explained.

"Which is?"

"I need you to get me access to the library's archives for some books I need to borrow."

"Stiles, archives stay in the library for a reason. They are old and some of them are either priceless, need to stay at a specific temperature, or in every case, are just irreplaceable. I can't just loan them out to you."

"Come on, no one is going to even see that these are gone. It isn't like I need some Shakespearean limited edition."

Jess let out an annoyed breath and looked at some of the people passing by before back at Stiles. He looked desperate, and Stiles never acted desperately; unless it concerned girls or trying to get the details on a police case.

"Okay, fine," Jess gave in. "As long as you bring them back within a day."

She watched as relief spread across Stiles's face as she led him off to the library.

As the two began walking off towards the library, Jess tried to further press Stiles on what constituted leaving school early and more than usual erratic behavior. Considering that Jess knew Stiles since childhood on account of their moms being high school friends, his Adderall-infused personality rarely took Jess by surprise. However, it seemed something troubled him. When she saw him last week for a family dinner with his Dad and her parents, he seemed his usual self. Somehow in the course of a few days, something drastic changed.

"Wanna tell me what is going on, Stiles?" Jess questioned. "and what books do you need exactly and why?"

"School project?" Stiles replied, the intonation in his voice immediately alerting Jess that he lied coupled with his general discombobulated state.

"Wrong, try again."

"No really, a school project."

"Stiles, you've not once ever requested that I steal from the archives here since you started high school and I started college here three years ago," Jess pointed out. "So, when you say it's for a school project, I don't believe you, and when I ask you if you're fine and you say yes, I won't believe that either. So, what books do you need and why?"

Jess stopped in her tracks and looked at Stiles with a raised eyebrow. "And I am not getting you any books until you tell the real reason why."

Stiles looked at Jess in disbelief and began to try to formulate something to tell her. However, he saw the concern fill Jess's blue eyes that she tried to mask for his sake. Part of him knew that he could trust her with the truth, but the other part knew that the truth was not his to tell and that truth, also came as unbelievable.

"I need to borrow some books on lycanthropy," Stiles explained. "because…personal interest."

Jess's heart dropped from her chest to her feet at the word lycanthropy. She could feel her heartbeat begin to raise from the shock but did her best to not let the emotion show on her face. Taking a deep, Jess pressed her painted red lips together and offered her best smile. She took a few steps over to him and met his eyes, doing her best unofficial older sister glare. She knew there was still something he kept from her, but if he was not going to budge, she did not see a point in exhausting the subject.

"Okay, I'll get you the books, but whatever you aren't telling me, Stiles, I'm not letting it go," she told him before leading the rest of the way to the library.

OOOOO

Later that day, Jess found herself still thinking about Stiles as she went on her evening run. It bothered her that he did not tell her what his true motives were to need the books and of all topics, he needed texts on lycanthropy. Lycanthropy meaning werewolves. The one topic she hoped Stiles would never cross into that or any other type of folklore for that matter. She felt her head begin to cloud and her focus begin to falter, forcing her to hit the brakes and collect herself. She came to a halt as she rested her hands on her hips and squeezed her eyes tight.

"What does he want with those books?" she asked herself out loud as she picked her head up to assess her surroundings.

The woods of Beacon Hills, while full of trails for runners, bikers, and other outside activities, carried a certain level of mystery and uncertainty in the later hours of the day. After the sun sank behind the horizon, the forest became downright eerie. So, when a chill went down Jess's spine, her head whipped around in fear. She peered through the tree branches and tried to hear for someone beyond them, suddenly feeling overly exposed. When she did not see anyone, she made quick work of high tailing it back to her car parked at the entrance.

Upon getting back to her car, she unzipped her jacket pocket to pull her keys out when a voice from behind made her heart stop.

"Bet you are wondering why your spaz of a friend is asking about werewolves," the familiar voice sounded.

Jess dropped her keys as she let out a sound of fear, before whipping around and shooting a threatening glare at the person before her as she realized who the speaker was.

"Why can't you try to act normal and announce your presence rather than creeping in the woods and scaring me at my car?" she demanded angrily. "It's like you want people to think you're a creep, Derek."

Derek let out an amused chuckle, as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. Jess bent down to pick up her keys and continued to glare at him in annoyance as she let out a frustrated breath.

"Why is Stiles asking about werewolves, Derek?" she asked, genuinely wanting an answer as she knew Stiles might not give her a straight answer. He probably already came up with a half‑cocked excuse to throw her off from the real reason. Stiles asking about werewolves put him in danger for his curiosity alone, and Jess would not allow Stiles to get hurt if she could help it.

"His buddy Scott got himself in quite the predicament the other night," Derek explained as he approached her, his tone serious. "One that left him bitten by an Alpha."

The latter part of his statement caused all the blood to drain from Jess's head, making her lean against her car as a faint feeling came over her. She felt her mouth go dry, realizing that throwing up was not off the table to go along with the fainting. Realizing the shock, Derek took a few steps closer in case she fell on her face, but she stuck her hand out, silently telling him to stay back.

"Derek," she began, her voice desperate. "Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke at my expense."

"You and I both know I don't joke, Jess. Let alone about something like this."

Jess stood up straight the shock melted into sadness and anger. Burning tears of frustration stung her eyes as she met Derek's eyes. She only knew about his return to Beacon Hills for a few days, him always dropping her a hint somehow whether it was as discreet as a text from an unknown number or dropping in and almost killing her with a heart attack. His return to town rarely came as a good thing, with bad connotations circling him almost always. Hearing that someone, and of all people a good friend, suffered an Alpha bite came as one of the last things she ever wanted to hear.

"You get back into town and my close friend gets bit?" she questioned. "Please tell me you had nothing to do with this because if you did, you and I are done. You will never get my help again."

"Jess, why would I have anything to do with this? I came here in hopes that you would know something."

"And how or why the hell would I know anything, Derek?" she demanded.

"Because the Argents are back in town, and they are here to stay."

A real one-two for Jess; and for Derek for that matter. First, Scott and now the Argents. It meant another werewolf would be on the streets of Beacon Hills, a new one no less with zero control, while one of the most notorious werewolf hunting families settled in. She let out a breath as she turned to lean her back against the car, an uncomfortable laugh escaping her lips when she realized what one of their to-dos would be while in town.

"This can't be happening," she commented as Derek walked over, leaning against the car with her. "Every single time they come around my Dad they try to persuade him to join their hunting parties again. He is running out of valid excuses to give them now that I am no longer a kid. You know how persistent they are; especially now that there is an Alpha and a new beta thrown into the mix."

Derek could not help but feel sympathy for Jess. Her Dad, Alastair, came from a long line of Scottish werewolf hunters. For a long time, he followed in his family's footsteps, doing what they expected of him. He forfeited that life right before he married his wife and Jess's mother, Layla, refusing to put her or his future daughter in harm's way that came with the hunter's code. In doing so, Alastair's family viewed him as the black sheep for turning his back on his family and the ancestors before him. Several hunting families made efforts to bring him back into life, going as far as offering to break the code when it came to Layla and Jess. Neither of them was involved in hunter life unlike those in hunter families brought in through marriage or as children, but Alastair still refused. The Argents remained the most insistent, and Jess knew they would prod again now that they returned to Beacon Hills.

"Things are different now, Derek," Jess told him. "Now that Scott is in this world, he needs to have someone to help him, and you know more than anyone that there is only so I can do with my Dad not fully being in the loop."

"What are you saying, Jess?" Derek questioned.

"I am going to tell my Dad to be a hunter again."

The moment Jess said it out loud, she felt her veins run cold with fear.

OOOOO

The moment Jess opened her front door, she could feel the tension in the air as the sounds of hauntingly familiar voices floated through the air. Cautiously, she made her way down the front hallway to the kitchen. She passed the display of her family photos that depicted photos of herself and her parents at different stages of life, smiles in all of them. From Jess's first steps to her first middle school dance and up to her high school graduation and the first day of college, Jess walked by her life in pictures. All memories of a life of living and love. Her heart sank as she feared what her life would soon become with the continuous developments.

As Jess entered the kitchen, she found her father facing someone with their back to her. She already knew who it was, as only a few years passed since she last saw an Argent. Alastair's eyes immediately landed on his daughter and caused him to stiffen, making the familiar person turn around, revealing the familiar face of Chris Argent. Despite an occasional soft smile or sincere expression from him, he remained menacing as ever. Jess kept herself standing straight, refusing to show any sign of weakness to the hunter.

"Mr. Argent," she greeted with a smile. "What a surprise."

Chris offered Jess one of his soft smiles as he stepped closer to her. "Jessica, you know you can call me Chris."

He approached her with open arms, offering up a hug that Jess accepted. She looked at her father over Chris's shoulder, and she could not help but feel taken aback at his hopeless expression. Her heart bled for her father as he did everything in his power to keep her and her mother shielded from his world but now, he was cornered.

"The more you grow up, the more you look like your Dad over here," Chris commented as the two separated.

Jess chuckled at the truthful statement. While her other dawned hair shared a shade of color with the richest milk chocolate and soft hazel eyes, Jess inherited her father's deep Scottish red locks and curious sage eyes. The features matched both in color and shape, as anyone could tell that Jess and Alastair were father and daughter without knowing it. Rounder eyes, defined jaws, and a slightly hooked nose.

"I will take that as a compliment," Jess replied, offering her father a smile to ease his nerves. "I would ask what brings you by, but there is only one thing that takes you somewhere, Chris."

Chris took a step back from Jess and looked back at Alastair. "And per usual, I am here trying to convince your Dad to get back in the game."

Alastair let out a breath and ran a hand through his thick long hair, pushing the strand out of his face. He began to calculate his next excuse for not joining the hunting party once more, but all of his previous excuses held no weight now. His daughter was grown, and both she and his wife were null from a clause from the hunter's code, leaving Alastair with no opposition to rejoining without good reason. Jess recognized her father's internal fight and came to his aide; just not in a way he would expect.

"I think you should do it, Dad," Jess told him, earning her a look of shock from her father and surprise from Chris. "If it is who you want to be, you do not have to worry about my safety anymore with how little I am around with school. Plus, I will be out of the house soon enough anyway. As for Mom, you kept that part of your life away from her before and you can do it again with the courtesy extended to you. I think you should help them, Dad."

Alastair was speechless at his daughter's interjection while Chris remained surprised yet suspicious.

"Where is this coming from, Jess?" Alastair questioned, still stunned that his daughter came to an Argent's support.

Jess held her stance, refusing to let her half-truth show in her face, body, or tone while also mentally hating herself for what else she would reveal to the Argents. "I saw Derek Hale today," she admitted. "I went for a run in the woods and ended up by the old Hale house. I may not know a lot about what goes on in your world, but good things don't tend to follow the Hales from what I understand. Now that I am older, I understand what your role can do for our family and others."

Chris looked back at Alastair. "Looks like your girl pays more attention than you think." He commented with a smirk. "Whaddaya say, Al? It can be like the good ole days."

Alastair's eyes remained locked on his daughter as she tried to silently communicate to him that she spoke up for the right reasons and he attempted to comprehend her actions. She prayed that her Dad could see that she would not suggest something as crazy as him rejoining the supernatural world without good cause. Seeing Chris remain turned away from her, Jess silently mouthed to her father, "trust me". When Jess saw her father's shoulders relax and a fake smile appear on his face, she realized he understood.

"I am going to have something to explain to my wife when she gets home, I guess." He half-joked, earning a satisfied grin from Chris as he enveloped him in a hug.

Jess rejoiced in the small victory if you could call it that, but she could not miss the fear that she saw in her father's eyes as he looked at her over Chris's shoulder.

((OO))

And that is chapter one! Be sure to favorite, follow, and review!