Didn't get much of a response last chapter. Are you guys still with me? This chapter marks the halfway point for arc one, so if you want me to write arc two them show me some love. This is possibly my favorite chapter, so I'm excited to see what you guys think of it.
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"Jade?" Cat calls down the stairs, peering down into the darkness. It's just after six and she needs to start getting ready for school, but she needs to check on her friend first. She hadn't slept well last night, and judging by the howls that drifted up from the basement throughout the night, Jade hadn't either.
Jade moans slightly, her eyes flickering open and quickly taking in her surroundings. For a split second she starts to panic, but then the facts come back to her. She's at Cat's house; she'd Changed last night. She pulls herself up into a sitting position, but she's leaning against the wall because she doesn't yet have the strength to keep herself upright. "I'm here," Jade calls back, lifting one of her hands up in a slow wave – as much as she can given the chains around her wrists.
From her place in the corner Jade watches as Cat comes down the stairs, a spring in her step and a smile on her face. "Morning," Cat says brightly, but there's a note of concern in her voice, almost like a question; she's giving Jade the chance to open up, but she's not pushing her. Jade decides to ignore it. "How are you feeling?"
Cat crouches down in front of Jade, handing her a cup of coffee. Jade gulps it down, knowing that the caffeine will help to clear the cobwebs in her mind. Changing back is always hard, even after the physical changes have finished. It takes a while for her senses to shift entirely back to human, and the intervening time is disconcerting to say the least. While Jade drinks her coffee, Cat removes the chains from around her wrists.
When she's finished, Cat rocks back on her heels, giving Jade a sympathetic smile. Only when Jade's consumed the entire cup of coffee does she feel safe to talk.
"I'm fine," she says, placing the cup on the ground and ignoring the way her hand shakes as she does so. She's not fine, and she knows it, but she's not ready to talk about it yet. Cat has enough on her mind without Jade telling her how bad this Change was, or how much pain she's still in, or how she's not sure how the hell she's going to handle tonight if it's going to get worse.
"We should get ready for school," Cat announces, jumping to her feet and reaching out to pull Jade up too.
Jade winces as she puts all her weight on her feet. She's not usually in this much pain after a Change, or this unsteady on her feet. She leans on Cat more than she normally does as they make their way out of the basement, and Jade reminds herself that at least she gets to keep her clothes when she Changes.
The girls have been in this routine for so long that it's familiar now, and they fall into a rhythm as they get ready for school. While Cat makes breakfast for the two of them, Jade goes to get the spare clothes she keeps in Cat's room. Her body aches as she switches out yesterday's old black dress for today's dark jeans, black off-the-shoulder shirt, and high-heeled boots. It's the last item that causes her the most trouble, and as she laces them up she has to bite back a groan.
"Jade," Cat's voice drifts up the stairs, "breakfast's ready. Come and get it!"
"Coming," Jade calls, finally giving up on the boots and opting for yesterday's ballet flats instead. They don't exactly go with the outfit, but the thought of traipsing around all day in heels is unbearable. She quickly does her makeup, settling for not hideous rather than her usual actually pretty, and goes downstairs.
Over mugs of coffee and plates of pancakes, Jade and Cat talk about trivial things like class projects and school gossip and upcoming sales at the mall. But there's something playing on Jade's mind, and as they're in the car on the way to school – Jade driving Cat's brother's car, since he's in the 'special hospital' again and Cat doesn't have a licence – Cat brings it up.
"Talk to me," she says gently.
If it were anyone else, Jade would answer with a curt Bite me or even just a flat-out No, but she can't do that with Cat. She sighs, tightening her grip on the steering wheel, and glances over at her friend. "Last night, while I was… you know," she mumbles, still unable to get over the weirdness of saying the word werewolf out in the open like this, "I think I figured something out."
Cat twirls a strand of hair around her finger, looking at Jade curiously. "Like what?"
"You know how I said that Tori's scent was kind of weird?" Jade says, and even as the words leave her mouth she's wishing she could take them back. If she's right about this, she doesn't even want to think about what it will mean. And even though Cat's already involved, Jade still wants to keep her out of it as much as possible.
"Mhm," Cat says, encouraging her to go on.
"I think I know what it is." Jade hesitates, knowing that once she says the next few words she won't be able to keep Cat out of this. But Cat's looking at her expectantly, and finally Jade says, "It was…" This is harder than it had seemed, and Jade finds herself at a loss as to how to go on. "I think it was a hunter's scent."
A beat of silence passes, Cat's curiosity giving way to confusion. "A hunter?" she repeats, her eyebrows furrowing. "You mean like deer?" She frowns in response to Jade's raised eyebrows and then mumbles, "You don't mean deer."
"No, not deer." Jade grits her teeth. "Werewolves."
Cat doesn't respond right away. She falls silent, staring out the window for so long that Jade thinks she may not have heard or understand. Then she turns back to her friend. "You think Tori's a werewolf hunter," she says, but it's more of a question than a statement. And as soon as Cat says it, Jade realizes how ridiculous it sounds.
"I said I think she smells like a werewolf hunter," Jade clarifies, but that doesn't really make it any better. Before she can say anything else they reach the school, and she focuses on parking the car. When they get out they're greeted by Robbie and Andre, and Jade shoots Cat a look that clearly says don't say a word about werewolves or I will strangle you. Cat makes a zipping-her-lips motion with her hand and then turns her attention to the boys, diving into a conversation about an upcoming play that Sikowitz is going to put on.
Jade trails behind as they make their way into the building, and she comes to a stop when she sees Tori standing in front of her Make It Shine locker. The rest of the group has gone straight to Cat's locker, still talking about Sikowitz's play and entirely oblivious to Tori's presence. For a moment Jade considers following them, but then Tori glances up and meets her eyes, and Jade realizes that her friend is actually crying.
"God help me," she murmurs, branching off from the group and going over to Tori, who looks up at her in surprise.
"Hi Jade," Tori says, swiping under her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater like she doesn't want Jade to know she'd been crying.
For once, Jade plays along. "Hey Vega," she says. She may be here to comfort her friend, but she doesn't want to make it seem like she actually likes her. "Something on your mind?"
Tori frowns, trying to figure out if she's serious. Then she shrugs, pulling a textbook out of her locker and then nudging the door closed with her shoulder, still dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. "I guess," she says, aiming for nonchalance but falling far short. "Sort of."
Jade stops just short of saying Talk to me, but she feels a sudden surge of sympathy for her friend. For a second all thoughts of Tori being a hunter fade from her mind. "Come on," Jade says instead, jerking her head to indicate the cafeteria area. "Let's go get a cup of coffee."
Tori blinks. "So you can pour it on my head again?"
Jade scowls. "I haven't done that since your first day," she says defensively, and then wonders why she feels the need to defend herself anyway. She reminds herself that because she's in the middle of the Change cycle her emotions are going to be heightened, so of course she's feeling so sympathetic toward Tori. That's all it is. "Now quit being a baby and come have a coffee with me, Vega."
This prompts a startled laugh from Tori, who dabs at her eyes one final time, returns her textbook to her locker, and then nods. "You got it, West," she says, mimicking Jade's curt tone. For some reason, Jade doesn't really mind.
By the time they're both sitting down in the courtyard with their coffees, Tori seems to be feeling better. Jade knows her moment to ask what's wrong has passed, but something in her doesn't want to leave Tori. Hunter or not, Tori is her friend. (Another thing she'll never say out loud.) As they sit there in silence, Jade tries to get in touch with her wolf side, attempting to catch Tori's scent. But it hadn't been that strong as a wolf, and it's indiscernible as a human.
"Did you suck on a lemon before you came to school today?" Tori questions, stirring a third packet of sugar into her coffee.
Jade jerks out of her thoughts, trying to focus on her friend. "What?" She's pleased by the harshness of her voice, even though it doesn't match how she actually feels.
"You're making a weird face." Tori pouts, imitating Jade's face, and Jade throws another packet of sugar at her. "Thanks," Tori says cheerfully, emptying the packet into her cup and stirring it again. "So what's up?"
"Nothing." Jade has to work hard to school her face into an apathetic expression. "I'm just thinking."
"Penny for your thoughts?" Tori prompts, and Jade is very aware of the role reversal. She'd approached Tori earlier because she'd been upset, and now here Tori is, trying to make her feel better.
"Just drink your coffee," Jade mutters, focusing on her own cup. They both fall silent for a while, deep in thought. Every now and then the wind shifts and Jade thinks she gets the faintest hint of that metallic scent, but it's not enough to be sure. Just as she's about to ask Tori some innocuous question about her night or a school project, Jade catches the scent – it's strong, it's close, and it's… moving?
With a jolt Jade spins around, searching for the source of the scent. It doesn't take long to find it, but it takes longer to process. Beck approaches the table, his friendly smile fading as Jade glares at him.
"Morning girls," he says, slightly uncertain. He looks from Jade to Tori and back again, obviously trying to work out what's going on.
"Hey Beck," Tori says, shifting aside so that there's room on the seat beside her. Beck doesn't move.
"Can we help you?" Jade asks, putting particular emphasis on the word we. Something about Beck's manner is putting her off; he's quiet, determined, like he's on a mission. Like he's up to something, and that's supposed to be her job.
"No," he says with a smile, "you can't help." Then he turns to Tori, his smile widening. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"
Tori looks back at Jade, startled. "I mean, we're kind of in the middle of something," Tori says cautiously.
"It's important," Beck stresses.
"Go on, Tori," Jade says, although she feels a twinge of unease. "I'll be fine without you."
Even without her wolf senses, Jade can tell that Tori doesn't want to go with Beck. But – and here's the strange part – she also does. She's ambivalent, torn in two, and Jade doesn't know why. She watches as Beck helps Tori to her feet, trying to get a feel for what's going on between them.
"Well, see you later," Tori says weakly to Jade. She pauses, even as Beck's trying to pull her away. "Thanks for the coffee."
"Any time," Jade says absently, watching as the two disappear around the corner of the building. Then she slumps forward, resting her head in her hands. Tori's scent the other night was a fainter version of Beck's scent today – something she hadn't noticed before. Had he always smelled like that? Why can't she smell that metallic tang on Tori today? What is going on?
And in answer to her questions is one thought that she can't shake, something that unsettles her – and, if she's perfectly honest, it even scares her.
Because if she's right about this, then Tori is a werewolf hunter.
And so is Beck.
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Don't forget to review, and I'll see you next time!