The street's a liar
I'm gonna lure you into the dark
My cold desire
To hear the boom, boom, boom of your heart
The danger is I'm dangerous
And I might just tear you apart
I'm gonna catch ya
I'm gonna get ya
I wanna taste the way that you bleed
You're my kill of the night
Kill of the Night – Gin Wigmore
Now that I was, essentially, soulless, school was nothing more than a swarm of snacks and playthings. My skin itched and my gums ached as I walked it's halls, people staring at me, taking in my intimidating getup, and all I wanted to do was rip open their throats and feast on their blood.
I avoided the gang for as long as I could. Void had said he'd needed me there, but not to let anyone know I was so...unhinged. It sounded simple in theory, but it wasn't such an easy thing to do.
Much easier to act soulless with a soul, than to act like you had a soul when you were soulless.
I managed to get a while without stumbling across the pack, but eventually a familiar voice rang out, "Jules?"
I paused, knowing I couldn't pretend I hadn't heard her – that would be ridiculous and incredibly transparent. "What?" I asked the banshee with a snap, and Lydia blinked in surprise at my harsh tone.
"What's wrong with you?" she demanded once she'd gathered her wits.
"Would you like me to list the answers alphabetically or in order of severity?"
She didn't look amused by my response. The bell rang and the gawking students began to race away. Lydia didn't move, and neither did I.
"You should go to class," I said, the words coming out as more of a warning than a suggestion.
"It's happened, hasn't it?" she asked, eyes sparkling as she stared at me. "It's gone."
We both knew what she meant, but fuck if I was going to acknowledge it. I allowed my lips to twitch up into a smirk, neither confirming nor denying her assumption, turning away and taking off steadily down the hall, the heels of my expensive (but stolen) boots clicking against the linoleum.
I desperately craved a cigarette, and I made my way towards the exit, only to pause when I heard familiar voices echoing through the empty halls.
"Kitsune are tricksters, they're mischievous. They don't really get caught up in right or wrong – or even understand it."
It was Kira's voice saying the words, and though it wasn't anything I didn't already know, it made me reassess Void's actions over the last few days. She was right, he really didn't have any concept of right or wrong, finding pleasure in things people wouldn't consider at all funny.
I probably shouldn't have liked that so much.
"What's that mean? It's just doing this for the hell of it?" Scott's voice followed, a rare note of bitterness in his tone.
"No, there was something else I found." Kira spoke warningly, a wince in her voice. "If you somehow offend a Nogitsune, they can react pretty badly."
"How do you offend a Nogitsune?"
"I don't know, but if it's doing something this bad, then someone really, really offended it."
I decided to make my presence known, materialising in the corner of the hall, making Kira gasp loudly at my sudden, unexpected appearance. "This 'Nogitsune' sounds like a real hoot," I commented idly, a goading smirk set like cement on my lips.
Scott whipped around to fix me with a narrow-eyed stare. "I didn't know you were back in school," the alpha murmured after a a beat of heavy silence. "...how are you?"
The question was transparent at best, I could easily see exactly what he was fishing for. I opened my mouth to respond snidely, but Void's instructions echoed in my head. I had to act normal, or at least relatively so. "I'm fine," I assured him flatly. He shot me a skeptical look. "Do I not look fine?"
"You're not acting fine," he retorted, and Kira's heart raced in her chest, the sound of it pumping was gluggy and wet and completely appetising, making me salivate.
I pointedly ignored the girl, focusing instead on Scott. "I'm acting like a vampire, Scott," I corrected him snidely. "What's wrong with that?" the question was asked dangerously, I was daring him to respond.
He looked like he wanted to say more, but the bell rang from overhead. Kira grasped Scott's arm in her dainty little hands, gently attempting to pull him away. "Do you know where Stiles is?" the werewolf asked, puppy-brown eyes meeting mine, something like pain and desperation in their depths.
I carefully considered my answer. "Why would I know where he is?" I asked, knowing full well that my lengthy silence was all the answer they needed.
"If anyone is going to know, it'll be you," he said, voice calmer than I expected.
There was a tiny little part of me that whispered to say yes, to tell him that I did know where Stiles was. But my nature was to lie, and I was sick of rejecting my nature. "No," I lied with perfect ease, no heartbeat to give me away, not even so much as a twitch of my expression.
"No, you don't know; or no, you won't tell me?"
I smirked, his words amusing. "No."
He looked frustrated by my answer, but kept his cool as he was so very good at doing. "Come on, Scott," Kira urged him, tugging at his arm once again, heart racing.
Finally he looked away, defeat causing his shoulders to drop. "Scott," I murmured under my breath as they paused before ducking around a corner, the wolf turning to look at me once more. "He may be closer than you think," I said enigmatically, and he frowned before disappearing from sight.
Not a full hour later, I heard the sound of the emitter radiating throughout the entire school.
It was starting.
Void was adamant that I wait in the wings. He had the whole day planned – he knew everyone's moves before the day had even started. I just hoped he was better at acting like Stiles than I was at pretending to have humanity.
I had enough of the charade by lunch, and I decided – to hell with him, I was going to do as I pleased.
I left the school without a semblance of guilt, sticking a cigarette between my teeth and digging in my pocket for a lighter. I was only a street away from the school when my phone buzzed. I fished it out, checking the screen to see an incoming text from 'Stiles'.
Get yourself arrested. No murder. Yet.
I wondered how the fuck he found the time to text me without anybody noticing, but I decided not to question it, instead considering the request.
He wanted me to get arrested? I had to admit, as far as assignments went, I'd been given worse.
As I puffed on my smoke, I thought over my options. I wanted a front-row seat to whatever the hell was going on today, and if that meant having to be stuck in a police station, then so be it. It'd been a while since I'd willingly gotten in trouble with the law anyway, who knew? It could be fun.
Then all I needed to figure out was how to get arrested.
My first thought was murder, as Void obviously knew it would be, but he'd been quick to stop that idea before it could fully form. Another option was vandalism, but I swiftly decided that was far too tame for my tastes. So, instead, I made my way to the nearest dive bar, slipping inside and propping myself up at the bar, ordering a simple drink and downing it right away before cracking my neck and knuckles in preparation.
I scanned the room, coming up with three solid candidates for my devious plan. The first looked too scrawny to last even a minute, the next wearing a suit expensive enough to mean he'd definitely press charges – a hassle I didn't need – and the last was an older guy with his face in a glass and cocaine burns on his nose.
Perfect.
I strode up to him, my high heels tapping again, the sound familiarly empowering, then in one smooth move I tapped him on the shoulder, he looked up in confusion and I decked him clean across the face, sending him careening off the barstool and sprawled out on the dirty floor.
"Way to take a punch, you little pussy," I yelled down at him as he blinked dazedly up at the ceiling, trying to process exactly what had just happened. "Well? What're you gonna do about it, fuck-tard?"
The scent of blood filled the room as his nose bled, but still he clamoured to his feet, struggling a great deal as the bar went completely silent, everyone waiting to see what would happen with tasteless anticipation.
He swung, the move sloppy and uncoordinated. I didn't bother dodging the punch, instead letting it hit me in the face. As soon as the kid hit me – a girl – two men from the corner hurried over, dying to play the knight in shining armour. The bartender, a young woman probably too young to be working there in the first place, was already dialling the phone, speaking in hushed words to the dispatcher on the other end.
"I think you've both had enough-" one of my heroes was saying.
"You can't hit a fucking girl, you idiot-" the other one murmured, pulling the sweaty guy away from me.
I didn't give them an opportunity to break things up, deciding, what the hell, why not make it an all-out brawl?
I kicked the guy on the right between the legs, setting him out for the count, before turning my attention to the remaining players. Their eyes were wide, realising I wasn't backing down, and now they had no choice but to fight a woman, one who was clearly going to kick their asses.
The blonde one swung, and I let it hit my cheek. It was barely hard enough to bruise. "My mother hits harder than that, and she's been in the ground for two hundred years," I quipped with a sly grin, and he barely had time to send me a look of pure confusion before I slammed the heel of my hand into his nose.
My palm came away smeared with blood, and I took a moment to lick it, smirking wickedly at the bartender who gagged when she saw my action.
The fight didn't last long, and the police got there surprisingly quickly considering the other messes in town they were no doubt being stretched for.
It was two deputies I barely recognised, a man and a woman, and I considered continuing to fight, letting them end up taser me into submission, but ultimately I knew it would just weaken me, so I allowed them to cuff me, grinning in my own personal knowledge that I could snap the restraints at any time.
They read me my rights, and I huffed as they gently forced me into the back of the cruiser.
The trip was a silent one. There was blood on my shirt and hands, and I was hungry, longing to lick it off – but I was a good girl, merely watching the officers through narrowed eyes that quite clearly made them uneasy. They led me into the station, which was abuzz with activity, fires needing putting out all over town.
"Fancy seeing you two here," I chirped cheerily as I spotted Argent and Derek sitting on the bench, each cuffed to the rail, both with scowls on their faces.
"Could say the same about you," Derek murmured with a snarl. "And look, you're covered in blood, what a surprise," he drawled sarcastically, but I did no more than smile wickedly. The deputy cuffed me to a spot a few feet away from the pair, giving me a stern glare before turning away and disappearing out the door. "What's he up to?" the werewolf asked the moment prying human ears were out of range.
"Whatever do you mean?" I asked with faux innocence, blinking my wide green eyes sweetly.
"Your boyfriend," he snapped back, grinding his jaw irritatedly.
Argent rolled his eyes. "He's the reason we're in here," he elaborated softly, glancing out over the room of bustling officers.
"Oh, I'm well aware of why you're in here," I responded smoothly, an impish grin on my face.
They paused, taking in the information. "What do you know?" the hunter demanded, clearly struggling to keep his volume under control.
I said nothing. "Where have you been?" Derek tried to make me talk. "Stiles is possessed by a Nogitsune and you're nowhere to be found?"
I couldn't have stopped my giggle if I'd tried. It bubbled from my lips, the sound as deranged and unhinged as I felt inside. The two men were silent, watching me cackle with varying degrees of confusion and concern.
I cut the sound off as quickly as I could, knowing I was meant to be acting at least slightly more put-together. I turned away from them, the laughter remaining in my eyes as I faced the opposite wall, bringing my feet up to fold them underneath me, lapsing back into silence as I waited for things to unfold.
The hunter clearly wanted to ask the wolf what the fuck was wrong with me, but couldn't with me right there, so he stayed quiet, all of us silent until Derek finally spoke up. "I could easily get out of these, you know," he murmured, tugging gently at his cuffs.
"So could I," Argent replied under his breath. "But I'm not interested in being a fugitive from the law."
"Well," Derek countered snippily. "I'm not interested in being a victim to a seventeen year old possessed by a psychotic fox."
"Just give me a few more minutes." The werewolf ignored him, cuffs clinking loudly. "Derek!"
"Fine, but if something happens, don't expect me to risk my life to save yours," he snapped with a growl. I chuckled again, but thankfully this time it was silent, nothing more than the slight shake of my shoulders to give me away. They had no idea what was coming, and there was something so incredibly satisfying about being the one with the knowledge.
Seemingly all at once there was a shift in the mood of the office, deputies desperately rushing around the room, a sense of frenzied panic filling the air. I grinned, the expression all teeth as I leaned back against the wall behind me, watching the chaos unfold.
An officer ran up to the three of us, hastily unlocking Argent's cuffs with shaky hands. "What's happening?" the hunter demanded, but the deputy didn't answer.
Another peal of uncontrollable laughter bubbled from my lips. I tipped my head back, giggles escaping me as I tapped the floor with my heels, the amusement all consuming. The sounds of the bomb in the office behind us grew louder and louder, and Derek's head whipped around so his eyes could meet mine.
I smirked wickedly, pausing to wink at him teasingly as I easily snapped the chain of the cuffs holding me to the bench, diving down under the desk in front of me just as the bomb exploded.
The blast wouldn't hurt me either way, but I didn't want to have to pull the debris from my hair afterwards.
I waited a long moment, my ears ringing from the explosion, slight cuts littering my exposed skin from where the shrapnel of nails had bitten into my flesh. By the time the small cuts had closed, I slipped out from under the desk, climbing to my feet and staring around the room, surveying the damage.
I sucked in a deep breath, enjoying the flavour of blood that clung to the air, making my mouth water.
I stepped over a collapsed beam, heading in a perfect circle around the room, my eyes sliding over bodies of injured people filling the space as I waited for the cavalry to arrive. Finally that got boring, so I sat back on the bench and pulled out a cigarette, cupping my hand around the end as I lit it, breathing deeply and waiting for time to pass.
The Sheriff and the rescue crews staggered into the building, all yelling at the top of their lungs. I glanced down at myself, seeing not only blood but also now ash and dirt staining my clothes. I pouted, brushing a gathering of dust from my shoulder.
Scott and Stiles slipped past me, the former paying me absolutely no attention while the latter met my gaze, taking the time to send me a victorious smirk through the shadows of the destroyed station. I grinned back for a brief second, then allowed my face to slip into it's usual emotional mask, puffing at my smoke as I waited impatiently for things to get moving.
Kira appeared in the doorway as the two boys were leaving. "The Oni, they're coming."
"Stiles, we've gotta get you out of here!" Scott stressed, panic creeping into his voice.
"Not without Juliet," Void yelled back, ripping his arm away from the wolf to gesture at me where I stood a few paces back, head tilted as I observed their movements.
"Stiles, that's not a good idea-" Scott attempted to argue.
"Not without Juliet!" he repeated firmly, heartbeat steady, something that should have alerted Scott to the fact he wasn't who he was pretending to be.
I didn't wait for Scott's answer, instead winding my arm through Void's and nodding for Scott to lead the way out of the station. The jeep was parked haphazardly outside the building, spread over two spaces, though nobody cared. We walked quickly through the shadows, the rain wetting our clothes before we climbed into the vehicle, Void driving and Scott in the passenger seat while I situated myself in the back with Kira, much to both of our displeasure.
"You've got some blood..." the girl trailed off, pointing to a spot on my cheek where I must have been cut and the wound had healed, leaving the red stain behind. I tilted my head at her, reaching up to wipe the blood away, meeting her eyes as I sucked the finger into my mouth, eagerly licking the blood away. Kira looked like she wanted to gag, much like the bartender had done not a full hour ago during the brawl.
"We need to get to the animal clinic," Scott spoke up once we were driving,
"The animal clinic?" Kira asked, heart racing as she forced her eyes away from me. I smirked at her obvious discomfort.
"The place is lined with mountain ash – it's like my house. It'll buy us some time."
"But they can get through it?" Void asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah – eventually."
"Nobody's got any better ideas?" The car was silent. "Okay, sure, animal clinic."
I knew Scott wanted to breach the topic of my attitude, but I think he was smart enough to realise that, whatever the reason behind it, now was the worst possible time to do so. The wheels screeched as Void parked sloppily in the parking lot, and I stepped out into the rain, tipping my face up to the sky and gently scrubbing the remaining dirt and blood from my skin.
Finally I followed the others around to the doors, only to freeze when I realised we weren't the only ones in the parking lot.
"Stiles, get inside!" Scott shouted over the storm, claws extended as he glared warningly at the waiting Oni, eyes glowing red.
There was no need for me to fight, and I sure as hell wasn't going to waste my time doing so. I suppressed the urge to yawn, strolling through the rain and into the clinic, past a smirking Void and into the dry room. He said nothing, knowing we'd be overheard by Scott anyway.
"Get him inside!" he shouted, darting back out into the downpour and dragging the wolf back into the building, the door groaning shut behind them.
As I glanced over him, my eyes were drawn to the hilt of a sword poking from his gut, the scent of his blood filling the room like a perfume.
"Okay, okay," Kira whispered in Scott's direction, though we all knew it was more for herself. Her small hands wrapped around the giant sword puncturing his abdomen, preparing to pull it out. I glanced at Void, who inclined his head, his eyes suddenly completely and utterly dead, any trace of Stiles long, long gone.
I yanked the young girl away from Scott, who stared in confusion. She yelped in shock as I wrapped my fingers around her throat, holding her against me and leaning down to gently rub my nose against her shoulder. I closed my eyes and my lip curled back, fangs exposed and prepared to sink into her flesh.
"Uh, uh, uh," Void tutted sternly, and I pried my eyes open, glaring at him with bloodied eyes through the dark. "What did I say about murder?"
I pouted, but did as I was told and used the hand on Kira's throat to slam her head into the corner of the table, quickly and efficiently knocking her unconscious. I dropped her deadweight to the ground, purring at the sound of her head colliding with the floor.
Void sighed, as though my methods weren't to his liking, before he strolled back over to Scott, who was staring over at us with horror in his puppy-dog eyes. He let his fingers danced over the hilt of the sword protruding from his body, and I waited in breathless anticipation for what would happen next.
He grasped the hilt, and with a gluggy sound twisted the sword inside Scott's body. The wolf cried out in pure agony and shock, tears appearing in his eyes as he sat helpless against the table, barely able to move, let alone breathe.
I let another peal of laughter leave my lips, the sound haunting, coming from a place of sick amusement. Scott glanced over at me, betrayal and confusion in his eyes, only making me giggle louder as I stared over Void's shoulder, eagerly looking down at the wolf's bleeding wound.
"Does it hurt?" he asked the gasping werewolf. "Look at me," he ordered calmly. "You should have done your reading Scott. See, the Nogitsune feeds off chaos and strife and pain," he murmured, a beautiful pleasure in his expression, beads of rain water dripping down his face. "This morning you took it from Isaac, then you took it from Coach, and then from a dying deputy." Void shuddered, like just talking about it got him off. "All that pain, you took it all...now...give it to me."
He pressed his hand against his face, doing something only a Nogitsune could and absorbing it all. It gave him pure, unadulterated pleasure, if the look on his face was anything to go by. It made my lower body ache with need as I pressed against his back, breathing in his scent and wishing I could feel it too.
Not a full minute later it was over, though I was still left with a burning need for him in the best way possible. I tuned everything out, listening to his steady heart as my nails clutched at his skin, desperate to climb inside him, to consume him entirely.
"Scott, you really have to learn not to trust a fox," he sneered, amusement flickering in his cold, dead eyes. "'Cause they're tricksters...they'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."
The teen wolf opened his mouth, clearly trying to say something, though the words got stuck in his throat.
In the corner of my mind, I registered the sounds of feather light footsteps on the floor, and in an instant I leapt away from Void, snarling into the shadows at Deaton, who had his arm raised to strike. I caught it with ease, twisting the appendage at the wrist until the doctor was forced to drop whatever pitiful weapon he held in his hand.
"Ah, ah, ah," I tutted in disapproval, gripping his wrist tighter, the bones groaning under the pressure, ready to give way any second.
"I've taken precautions, you see," Void said to Deaton casually, one hand still on the katana sticking out from Scott's abdomen, head turned to smirk victoriously at the veterinarian. "Do you like my shiny new toy?"
"Do you like mine?" the voice was familiar, and it shocked me to my core – how hadn't I heard her coming? That shouldn't have been possible. Ms Morrell held a gun in my direction, and I tilted my head challengingly, wondering what exactly she planned to do with it. Before I could voice my question, the loud bang of the gun echoed through the room.
There was a searing pain in my forehead, and I realised exactly what she'd been planning to do with the weapon. "Fucking hell," I groaned as my legs gave way, my body quickly shutting down, all my energy being used on slowly healing the wooden bullet to the brain that I'd just received.
Bloody emissaries.
A/N: Pretty small chapter, but the next one's a bigger one with much more interaction between our favourite pair. Also, there are a few conversations to be had, ones that might require tissues :'(
By the way, I'm utterly obsessed with Harry Potter – Draco/OC stories at the moment. I'm currently reading 'Green Eyed Monster' by sphinxs-legend. It's long and completely amazing – but I'll be finished eventually, and I know I'll want more to read. If you guys have any recommendations, that would be awesome!
Love to each and every one of you ~ xoxo
