Chapter Five

"So, how do you feel about a horror movie night? I'm in the mood for Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween." Lina said into her phone as she entered the movie store, smiling at the employee who greeted her from where he was fixing the lights in the ceiling.

"You're always in the mood for Nightmare on Elm Street. I still remember the look on dad's face when you said Freddy was your idol." Stiles snorted.

"Hey, Freddy is awesome." Lina retorted, browsing the horror section. "Can you imagine being a demon that haunts people's dream? Then makes them reality? That's is so fucking cool."

"I worry about you, Li, I really do."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll meet you at home, kay?" she said before hanging up.

"Can somebody help me find The Notebook?" she heard a familiar male voice call out.

Lina peered over the aisle. "Jackson?"

"Lina!" said teen exclaimed in shock and horror. "Um, oh shit. I didn't mean...uh, I meant," he tried to come up with an excuse as to why he was looking for The Notebook.

"Relax, dude. I know it's Lydia's favorite movie." Lina smiled at him, eyes glittering with amusement.

The jock visibly sagged with relief.

The store phone suddenly started to ring and Lina noticed that the employee from earlier was gone.

"Is anyone working here?" Jackson asked as he started to approach her, when he suddenly froze in shock.

"Jackson?" Lina called softly, foreboding creeping down her spine. Following his line of vision, she saw a pair of shoes poking out of an aisle. "Oh fuck." she whispered and dashed to Jackson's side.

"Lina, stay right beside me." Jackson told her, taking wary steps.

Lina nodded and got out her phone, unlocking it as they approached the feet. Cautiously peeking around the aisle, Lina swallowed thickly when she saw the employee from earlier, eyes wide in shock and fear with his throat ripped out. Blood was everywhere. Jackson stumbled back in shock and knocked the ladder over, which caused the lights to flicker. Lina had just clicked on Derek's name when she heard the growl and stiffened. She turned slowly, amber brown meeting piercing red. Jackson roughly grabbed Lina and pulled her behind an aisle shelf.

"Lina? Lina, you there?" she suddenly heard Derek's voice come from her phone.

"Derek!" Lina gasped, jumping when a heavy thud echoed through the store, followed by another. It was obvious the Alpha had knocked over the shelves. Lina cursed and ducked, falling to the ground. She hissed when she felt a shelf hit and dig into her upper back, pinning her down. Unlike Jackson, she was completely under the shelves. And holy fuck they were heavy.

She tensed when a clawed paw reached down and peeled back Jackson's jacket, growling lowly as it leaned down. It suddenly jumped away and she heard a crash and glass shattering in the distance.

"Lina! Where the hell are you?!" she heard Derek yell from her phone.

"Video store. Video 2*C. Der, someone was killed." Lina said into her phone after she got an arm free from where it was trapped against her.

"I'll be right there." he told her before hanging up.

Lina took in a deep breath. "Jackson? You okay?" she asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." the blonde stuttered out. "Do you think you can get through?"

Lina tried to move, only to hiss in pain as the shelf dug into her back more. "Shit. No, I can't. Here," she slide her phone up to him. "Call the police." she told him, wincing.

She saw him grab her phone and dial the police. She tuned the conversation out as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Once Jackson finished talking to the police, he got himself out from underneath the shelves and, with some trouble, lifted it enough for Lina to crawl out from underneath it. She flinched as she stood, her back aching up a storm. Jackson frowned, concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, stepping toward her.

"My back hurts like a son of a bitch." she gritted out, taking off her jacket, clenching her jaw as a wave of pain lit up her upper back, leaving her in her tank top.

Jackson moved so he was behind her and winced when he saw the bruise covering her shoulder blades. "Shit, that looks painful."

She nodded and let out a sigh.

Jackson grabbed her wrist gently and led her outside. Lydia was panicking and near hysterical in her car, so Jackson let go of her to run to his girlfriend. Hearing sirens in the distance, Lina relaxed a bit, the adrenaline wearing off.

The paramedics addressed her first. After examining her, the guy deemed her fine, despite the bruise, which would take a little while to heal fully. Seconds later, Derek showed up in his Camaro and Lina all but ran into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, growling lowly when he caught sight of the bruise on her back.

"Li, what happened?" he asked her.

"The Alpha." she whispered to him, tears in her eyes. "Der, it could have been me. The Alpha could've killed me."

Derek's arms tightened around her in response.

"Lina!" both suddenly heard Stiles yell.

Lina pulled away from Derek and turned to see her brother running to her. He threw his arms around her and embraced her firmly. She hissed when he accidently put pressure on her bruise. Stiles immediately released her and moved around her to see her back, a deep frown on his face.

"Holy shit. What the hell happened?"

"The Alpha came and killed the employee, then knocked the shelves over. One landed on me and Jackson, me more so than him." she told them.

"When we get home, you're to soak in a hot bath while I try to find a spell or something that'll help you, got it?" Stiles told, or ordered, her.

She nodded. "Got it, dear brother of mine." she smiled at him, pulling him into a hug, which he returned gently.

"Hey kids." Sheriff Stilinski said as he walked up to them. "You okay, Lina?"

"I'll be fine, dad. And it was the Alpha." she told him.

He nodded and turned to Derek. "Get them home, please?"

Derek nodded and led the twins to the Camaro. Stiles got in first, climbing into the backseat, while Lina sat in the passenger's seat. The drive was silent and it wasn't long until they were pulling up to the house. Derek parked and the trio climbed out of the car, Lina going straight inside and heading to her room. Grabbing a change of clothes, she went to the bathroom and shut the door. Starting the bath, she poured vanilla and lavender bath salts into the tub, the scents filling the room. Quickly undressing, she stepped into the hot water, relaxing into the water. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh, sinking into the heat.

She was in there for almost an hour, and only got out because she didn't want to start looking like a prune. After getting dressed, she headed downstairs, the scent of chocolate chip cookies drawing her to the kitchen. She beamed when she saw a plate filled with the treat and she immediately snatched one, munching on it happily.

"You're like a little kid, Li." Stiles chuckled as he entered the kitchen with Derek.

"Shut it, Sti. You love cookies more than I do."

Stiles didn't deny it, just grabbed a cookie himself.

"So, how would you two feel about sleeping with me tonight? I don't want to be alone and am in a serious mood for cuddles."

Derek arched an eyebrow at her. "I don't cuddle."

Lina rolled her eyes while Stiles snorted. "That is such a lie." they retorted.

Derek sighed. "Fine." he said as if it physically pained him.

Lina grinned and pushed both males towards Derek's room, where she jumped on to his bed, wrapping up in the comforter. Stiles climbed in on her right and Derek on her left. Smiling, she curled into the blanket, sighing in content. She was out in seconds.

/

Lina awoke to knocking on the door. Yawning, she opened her eyes and looked at the door just as her father entered the room. She smiled drowsily at him, stretching her limbs like a cat.

"Mornin', Papa." she said.

Her smiled softly at her. "Hey sweetie. You up for school today? You can stay home if you want."

Lina thought for a moment before rolled her shoulders, wincing when she felt a sharp pain run through her upper back. "I think I'll stay home. At least for today."

Her father nodded and glanced at her brother. "Wake your brother for me, kay?"

She grinned at him before he left and turned her gaze to her brother. Smirking, she shoved him off the bed, snickering when he awoke with a jolt and groaned with pain.

"Lina!" he whined. "That hurt!"

"Boo hoo. Dad told me to wake you up. you gotta go get ready for school." Lina told him.

Stiles eyed her with concern. "You're staying home?"

"Yeah, but just for today." she answered and laid down, curling into Derek. "Get my work for me?"

"'Course. Just get some rest, alright?" Stiles told her, kissing her forehead.

She nodded. "M'kay." she yawned, eyes drifting closed. She barely heard her twin leave the room as she fell asleep.

When she awoke again, it was near one o'clock and Derek had long since left. She crawled off the bed and left the room to the kitchen, her goal at the moment being make a sandwich. A minute or two later, she headed upstairs to her room, a turkey sandwich in hand. Grabbing her phone off her desk, she collapsed on her bed, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Opening her contacts, she clicked on Allison's name to send a text.

'Hey Ally, what're you up to?'- L

While she waited for an answer, she munched happily on her lunch. Her phone started to sing 'Bring Me to Life' by Evanescence a couple minutes later.

'I'm with Scott. We ditched school to hang out'- A

Lina raised an eyebrow. 'Was this a random decision?'- L

'It's my birthday...' - A

Lina almost choked and glared at her phone. Today was Allison's birthday and the brunette hadn't told her?! 'Why didn't you tell me?! Whatever, we'll have to schedule a day to hang out at the mall'

'Sounds fun:) I'm free tomorrow.' - A

'I am too, so tomorrow it is. Will Lydia be coming?' - L

"Most likely. She'll kill me if she found out I went to the mall without her' -A

Lina chuckled as she read the brunette's response, knowing it was true. Lydia loved to go shopping. Before she could type a response, she got another text from the Argent.

'My aunt can come too, right?' - A

Lina swallowed thickly and and braced herself, knowing that Derek and Stiles were going to kill her once they found out. 'Yeah, she can come'

'Awesome. I gotta go, but I'll see you later' - A

'Bye' - L

Lina put her phone down and ran a hand through her hair, sighing. How was she going to explain this to her brothers?