#13

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Derek is now working with the alpha?" Elie asked Scott, as she leaned front from the back seat of the Jeep.

"Uh huh…" Scott seemed distracted as he answered her.

"And they want you to join their pack…"

"Uh huh…."

"You know that killing us before joining their pack thing? Is that still on? Are they gonna try to make you kill us again?"

"I don't know!"

Scott seemed frustrated so she decided to give him a break and leaned back and slouched in the back seat. Elie's thoughts began to drift back towards Derek, which seemed to be happening too frequently these days. The news that Derek was siding with the alpha hit her hard. Did that mean that if they were in a similar situation as last time at the hospital corridor the other night, when the alpha tried to kill her, Derek wouldn't save her anymore? Next time, he'd be helping the alpha?

She was yanked away from her thoughts when the Jeep suddenly stopped. When she looked out the window and saw Jackson and some…guy standing around Jackson's car.

"Yo,"

"What's uuuup?!"

"Is everything okay?"

The boys greeted Jackson awkwardly. Elie wondered why they stopped for Jackson. They hated each other. Jackson looked as confused as she was, but the man looked relaxed and answered the boys instead of Jackson.

"Hey Scott, your friend was having a car trouble. We were just taking a look."

"There's a shop right down the street. I'm sure they have a tow truck." Scott seemed desperate to get Jackson away from that man. Who the hell was he? Elie wondered but kept her mouth shut as she sensed the tension.

"Yeah, you wanna ride?" Stiles asked and Scott opened the door but Jackson didn't budge so Stiles added,

"Hey Jackson you're too pretty to be out here all by yourself."

It seemed like a weird thing to say but without a word, Jackson started to walk over to them. Perhaps he sensed something too. As he got closer, Elie noticed that he seemed nervous and tense as the boys. What was happening? Is that guy a werewolf? What's going on?

Just as Jackson was about to get in the Jeep, the man called out to them and started Jackson's car.

"Hey boys….told you I knew a few things about cars." Then, he just drove off. As soon as he drove away, Jackson and Scott were on each other's throats and Stiles quickly got out of the car to intervene. Elie followed him and as she did so, she pulled her brother's shirt and as if he had read her mind, he turned around and said,

"Allison's dad."

"The hunter?"

"Yup…dude!? My Jeep!" Stiles rushed over when Scott slammed the Jeep in frustration.

"I can hear your heart beating from mile away, literally! Now he thinks there's something wrong, and now I have to keep my eye on you so he doesn't kill you too! Argghhhhh!" As Scott screamed, he rushed at the Jeep again.

"Okayokayokay…how about we step away from Stiles' Jeep." Stiles gentle pulled Scott away from his precious Jeep.

Ignoring the twins, Jackson kept barking at Scott.

"This is your problem not mine. Okay? I didn't say anything which means you're the one that gets ME killed. Okay!? This is YOUR fault!" Jackson screamed and pushed Scott against the Jeep.

"Can we stop hitting my Jeep? Guys, stop…alright?"

"When they come after you, I won't be able to protect you. I can't protect anyone." He looked helplessly at Elie and then at Stiles.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You know, know you have to do it. Give me what I want! And I'll be fine protecting myself."

"No you won't! Just trust me! All it does is, make things worse!"

As Elie listened to Scott trying to convince Jackson that becoming a werewolf was not the answer, and how it made everything worse, she began to feel guilty because all this time, she never once thought about how this was affecting Scott. He was burdened with the responsibility of keeping everyone safe, as if he was some kind of a superhero. Even when Jackson was being a total jerk, Scott was trying to do what was right. If it was up to Elie, it would have been so tempting just to give him a bite and a taste of what Scott was going through. JERK, Elie thought as Jackson drove away in his Porsche.

#

After the unpleasant encounter with Jackson, the boys dropped Elie off at the diner. It was one of those quiet days at the diner and there were only a handful of customers that she was told to go home after only three hour shift. She was wondering whether to call Stiles when a car pulled up.

When the window rolled down and Elie saw who was in the car, her heart skipped a beat.

"Need a ride?" Derek asked.

For a moment, Elie hesitated because she knew that he was now working with the alpha, but she got in anyway. She wondered whether he wanted to talk to her or something.

"Thanks," said Elie as she got into his car.

However, when he didn't say anything as they drove towards her place, she figured he just happened to pass by and decided to give her a lift.

There were millions of questions she wanted to ask him like, Are you going to try and kill us? What do you want from Scott? Can't you leave us alone? Why are you working with the alpha? Why are you giving me a ride home? But she couldn't. She just stared at the passing scenery, trying to calm her heartbeat as she remembered Scott telling Jackson how he could hear a heart beating from mile away.

Elie jumped a little when Derek suddenly asked if she was okay. Not understanding what he meant by that, she vaguely said,

"Um…yes?"

"I mean from the other night at the hospital."

"Um…yes. I'm fine…thanks for asking."

That was the end of it and for the rest of the drive, Derek didn't say anything. For a moment she wondered whether he drove by to check up on her but then again, why would he?

"Here we are,"

"Um…thanks for the ride." When Elie got out of the car, and awkwardly waved goodbye at Derek, he leaned over and stared into Elie's eyes that for a brief moment she thought he was going to tell her something. But, all he said was,

"Good night, Elie."

As Elie stood in the driveway, watching him drive away, she wondered whether he was trying to tell her that he wasn't a threat to her. But then again, why would he do that? She was probably a nobody to him. To him, she was just Scott's best friend, and nothing more. So she should spare herself the embarrassment and heartache and stop thinking about him because this is just a stupid teenage crush. And a stupid time to be having a crush at that, since Elie and the boys were facing a life-and-death situation with the unpredictable alpha on the loose.

#

When Elie walked in through the front door, she noticed a light in the kitchen. She knew Stiles was out since his Jeep wasn't in the driveway. So she figured it was her dad and call out as she walked towards the kitchen.

"I'm home! Dad?"

The Sheriff waved at her as she entered the kitchen but he kept his eyes, which was barely open, on the pieces of paper that was strewn all over the table. She walked over to give him a hug and caught a whiff of alcohol, and saw the empty bottle of whiskey. She'd seen him like this before and she realised that her father wasn't thinking about work right now. That's when the Sheriff whispered,

"I miss her,"

When Elie heard those words, she froze and had to fight back her tears. She gave him a tight hug around the neck and a peck on the cheek as she whispered back.

"I miss her too."

They never really talked about her mother because it still hurt too much, and seeing her father like this hurt more because she knew there was nothing she could do to make him feel better. People said time will heal. But it never did. They just learned to shut it out and get on day by day. You miss her every day, every hour, every minute, but you just push those thoughts into back of your mind, so you can pretend that you're okay. She pretended that she was okay for the sake of her father and her brother who were also hurting. So occasionally when Elie got a glimpse of her father's grief and pain, she never knew what else to say. When her father pushed his chair back, she sat down on his lap and gave him a hug to let him know that she was here for him. It's okay, we're okay. She thought over and over in her head, hoping that if she thought hard enough, everything would actually be okay.

After a while, Elie urged the Sheriff to go to bed. As she ushered him to his bedroom, the Sheriff gave his daughter another hug and whispered,

"Thanks, I love you, princess."

"Love you too, dad. Good night."

"Good night."

Just as Elie walked downstairs to clean up the kitchen, she heard Stiles' Jeep pull into the driveway.

"Where have you been?" she asked when he walked into the kitchen.

"Long story," said Stiles as he opened the fridge to grab a drink.

"Dad was drunk."

"Oh?"

"He…um….nothing. Never mind. Were you with Scott?"

Elie was about to tell Stiles about the Sheriff but stopped, knowing how the topic of their mother would affect Stiles. Meanwhile, Stiles, quickly began to explain that he had just saved Melissa from the alpha, as he did not want to get into how the Sheriff got drunk. He was feeling terrible about it as it is and the last thing he needed was his sister getting angry at him.

"What? Melissa is dating the alpha? How? Why?"

"He's probably using her as bait or hostage… to get Scott to agree to join the pack."

"Jesus…we have to warn her!"

"How? Tell her that he's a homicidal werewolf?"

"…but, but we can't let her date him!"

"I know, I know."

The fact that the alpha had made contact with Melissa scared Elie because it made her fear, of her own father getting involved and getting hurt, more real. What can we do? How are we going to protect our parents from the alpha? How are we going to keep ourselves safe? She felt so helpless. She wished Derek was still with them. Knowing that he was supporting Scott had been so reassuring. But now the boys and Elie were on their own.

A/N: Sorry for taking ages with the update but my Nana passed away, and for a long time, I really didn't feel like doing anything. But now I'm back and I'll try and update regularly from now on. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for waiting patiently. :)