** I am so close to finishing the story and i'm so excited about that. So i'm just posting as i finish chapters now instead of waiting until wednesday or saturday to do so. the end is so close i can smell it. anyway, here's another chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy. **
I was stopped as I headed to lunch. I know the others were waiting for me, but Danny had a serious look on his face when he stopped me. I wonder if it were finally time to have that talk, I could feel coming.
"Scott, do you have a minute?" he asked, grabbing my arm. I nodded.
"Yeah sure. What's up?" I asked, pulling out my phone and sending a quick text to Stiles letting him know what's going on.
He pulled me over to the side out of the flow of traffic then thought better of it and pulled me into an empty class room closing the door behind us. My phone dinged and I looked to see a text from Stiles.
STILES – DO YOU NEED ME?
SCOTT – I DON'T THINK SO. I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF I DO.
I put my phone away and looked to see Danny studying me.
"What's going on? Everything okay?" I asked. he was silent for a while longer before huffing out a huge breath and leaning back against the teachers desk, crossing his arms.
"Look, I don't want to beat around the bush on this, so I'll just ask straight. Is there a reason a werewolf decided to chase after my car on Saturday night?"
I choked on air as I stared at him. even though I knew he knew something already, I wasn't expecting that question.
"What do you mean a wolf chased you? where was this? What did you see?"
He pulled out his phone talking as he swiped across it.
"I was coming home from a date on Saturday, I was actually running late so I wasn't really paying attention to anything. but I happen to look out my window as I was passing the preserve and saw this." He said handing me his phone. The image was dark and grainy, and I had to zoom in to make sure, but the outline was clear enough to see something big, black hair with red eyes.
"Fucking hell." I groaned.
"Yeah, at first I wasn't sure what I was seeing. Its why I stopped to get a picture. Then as soon as I did, it came out of the trees, and I freaked out. I sped off and that started chasing me. it only stopped and veered off when there was a gunshot. I made it home fine and locked myself in, but I was still a bit rattled seeing something like that chase after me."
"Damn it Peter, what the hell are you doing?" I muttered.
"Peter, is that its, his name? Do you know why he was chasing after me?" Danny asked again. I sighed.
"Because he lives to make my life harder. I am so sorry about this, Danny. I have no clue why he would go after you. he shouldn't even be roaming the woods right now. But I'll get to the bottom of it, and I'll give you something so you can have some kind of protection against this, just in case."
"That's fine and it's not your fault. I just wasn't sure if you would have an idea or not." He said.
"No, I have no idea, but I'll find out." I told him then really looked at him. "So, you know I'm a wolf. How long have you known?"
"I suspected after you laid Jackson out at practice. Then I started watching you more and saw how your skill level changed from barely adequate to a freaking rock star. But it was the game that sealed it."
"the game?"
"Yeah when you got hurt. Jackson slammed into you, and you went down. I know that you were seriously hurt. I could see it on your face. But when we helped you stand up you went from not putting any weight on your leg, to limping to being totally fine in a matter of minutes. That's not normal."
"No, it's not. I had hoped nobody noticed that."
"I don't think anyone else really did but I had already been watching you, so I did." He shrugged. I nodded, running a hand through my hair. "Look Scott, I'm not planning to cause trouble. I get why you are keeping this a secret. You don't have to tell me anything, I don't really need to know. I just wanted answers why this happened." He said waving his phone at me.
"I get it and you deserve answers. if it helps I don't think it was you specifically he was after. Peter… tends to act on impulse. I think he saw an opportunity and was just going to take it."
"Opportunity? Opportunity for what? " he asked, a bit wide-eyed.
"Breathe, I don't think he was going to kill you. He has no reason to. He may do a lot of questionable things but killing for no reason isn't one of them. I think he was planning to change you."
"What, into a werewolf. How does that even work? Never mind, I don't want to know. But why me?"
"honestly, I don't know but Peter being Peter wouldn't really have a logical reason to do so. It's how I was changed. I was out in the woods one night and was attacked by him."
"Is he stable?" he asked, head tilted with crinkled brow.
"No, he's not but that's not important right now. But I do think that was his plan. The bullets would have driven him off." I told him. he nodded.
"Do you think he'll come after me again?"
I was already shaking my head before he finished the question. "No, he won't. I'll make sure of it."
"Okay. Thanks."
"I should thank you actually. I appreciate you coming to me privately and not telling anyone else about it. You're right, this all has to be kept secret. Not just for your safety but for ours as well. Not to mention the town. if you ever do want to know or talk about what's going on then let me know. I'll answer any question and I won't lie to you. And if you happen to come across something else that looks… weird or suspicious then come me or Stiles. We'll handle it."
"I can't say I am not curious about all of this, but I don't know if I want to know anything at all. There may come a point when that changes but for right now I'm okay just knowing this little that I do. And I appreciate the fact that I can call if I come across something else."
"No problem. Do me one favor though, delete that picture off your phone. I know you wouldn't go showing it to anyone but its better safe than sorry."
"Sure, I had plan to anyway, after I showed you." He said as he started deleting it then flashed it at me to show me it was gone.
"Thanks. Let's get to lunch. I'm sure Stiles is on the verge of a nervous breakdown right now, wondering what's going on." I told him, heading for the door. He snorted and followed.
"You would think the morning workouts would make him less manic."
"Yeah, not so much. It just comes out in other ways." I said as we made our way to the cafeteria. We separated once inside. He headed to the table with Jackson, who glared as he watched us walk in together, and I grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the table holding all my friends. They all looked up when I approached.
"Hey guys." I greeted taking my seat next to Isaac and unwrapping my lunch. I was starving and wasted no time taking a bite of my sandwich before having to explain what happened. But Stiles, who can be just as impatient as Peter sometimes, didn't want to wait.
"Hey guys? That's it? you cant send me text saying that Danny finally cornered you and then just say 'hey guys.' what happened?" Stiles asked, his hand gesturing wildly. Cora caught his hand and pulled it down before it hit her in the face. I didn't miss the fact that when she pulled it down, she actually pulled it under the table and kept hold of it. I chose to ignore it, even while sharing a knowing grin with Lydia. I would be questioning him about that later.
"relax Stiles, I'm going to tell you." I chuckled as he gave me a look telling me to hurry and explain. "So, Danny knows. Not everything but he knows enough."
"How did he find out?" Isaac asked.
"he says he's always suspected about wolves, but my getting hurt in the game two weeks ago confirmed it for him that I was one. Its why he came to me about something that happened on Saturday."
"Okay and what happened on Saturday?" Stiles asked.
"Peter happened." I sighed.
"Peter? What the hell did he do now?" Cora asked in annoyance.
"Apparently he was out as a wolf Saturday night and Danny caught sight of him, even took a picture of him. Peter chased his car but ended up being scared off when hunters started shooting at him." I explained. Allison winced.
"Sorry, that would be Kate. She went out Saturday night and didn't return until late. I heard her and dad arguing because she wasn't supposed to be hunting." She explained.
"Its fine. He shouldn't have been out. that was one of the main reasons I told him to lay low. But I need to get confirmation on why he was out there from Derek."
"You don't need Derek. I'll be right back." Cora said standing and pulling out her phone, dialing as she walked quickly out of the cafeteria. We all watched her leave wondering how that conversation was going to play out.
"She's going to rip him a new one." Stiles said with a laugh.
"As long as she doesn't kill him, I don't care. He's really not good at following directions." I said, shaking my head.
"is that really surprising?" Isaac asked.
"Not really but I had hoped that knowing what was at stake he would this time. I guess that was wishful thinking."
"You of all people know not to underestimate Peter. But never mind that, what else happened with Danny? You said he knows but not everything. What does that mean?"
"He really just knows about wolves. He said that he's not planning to cause trouble, he just wanted answers to why he was being chased. He promises to keep it a secret. he's curious about all if it but isn't sure he wants to know anymore. So right now, he's okay with knowing the little he does and plans to keep it that way unless things change." I told them. They all relaxed and nodded. "I did tell him that if he asks anything I wont lie to him and that if he ever did want to know more then come to me or Stiles, or if he sees something else weird that he cant explain. But I do want to safe guard him. Do we have any more of those mace canisters?" I asked, looking at Lydia and Stiles who were the main ones working on getting those together.
"Yeah, Stiles and I made extra's just in case. I have some in my bag in my locker." Lydia answered.
"Good, can you get one to Danny after lunch?"
"Sure, I have last period with him anyway. I'll give it to him."
"Thanks." I said.
"Why do you think Peter was going after Danny? I thought you had an agreement with him to not go after anyone you know?" Stiles asked.
"I do and thinking about it, I don't really hang out with Danny all that much so he may not know we are kind of friends. My theory is that he was going after him to change him. Peter's bored and he doesn't do well with boredom, and he did want a second beta, or a first now I guess since I'm no longer one. But that's just my thought. We'll see what Cora gets out of him." I told him just as Cora came stalking back into the room. Her face set to frustration. "What happened? What did Peter say?"
"He said that he's a moron that can't follow simple directions." She bit out. we all stared at her.
"Okay… and what did he really say?" I asked. she sighed.
"He said… that he was starting stage two of the plan, showing himself."
"Wait, did you tell him to do that? Did anyone tell him to start that now?" Stiles asked me. I shook my head.
"No, we hadn't discussed putting that part into action yet. For one Allison is still just getting started with training and second, we really should have someone keep track of him while he's doing that just in case. I know most of us wouldn't mind if he got shot again but its not ideal. And I seriously doubt my mother would be to happy if he showed up at our house again, naked and bleeding."
"All true things. So, what do we do now? I mean he's already shown himself. Thank God it was just to Danny but apparently the hunters were chasing him last night." Stiles said. I thought it over and wearily settled on a decision.
"We let him continue to show himself. He's already started, putting the genie back in the bottle now would just cause more issues. But we need to be smart about this. We have to find a way to keep track of him so he doesn't get caught and so he doesn't do something stupid that will just cause more problems. Allison, how is training going?" I asked her.
"It's going well. Once I picked up the bow and arrow it was almost like coming home."
"That's right, you use to compete in archery. I forgot about that. So, you're picking it back up easily then?" I asked. She gave me a funny look.
"It's really weird that you know these things without having someone actually tell you."
Stiles and Isaac snorted and nodded.
"Well technically you guys did tell me, just not in this reality." I grinned making everyone roll their eyes. "But back on topic."
"Right. My aim is getting better, and Kate seems to be relishing in showing me things and telling me her skewed version of things. Right now, I'm just pretending to hang on to Kate's every word. I think it's working. She doesn't seem suspicious of me or anything."
"That's good. Just be careful. She's apparently a really good actress so try not to give anything away, if you can. And if you think you have slipped up tell your dad." I told her and she nodded.
"But you are telling your dad everything anyway, right?" Lydia asked.
"Yeah, usually when he picks me up from school we talk about everything."
"Do you think you are ready to start going hunting with her?" I asked.
"Funny you should ask that. She actually said she wanted to take me out on a test run on Friday. But she says there something else I have to do for my training before then. I don't know what though. She's being really sneaky. But I have heard her talk to one of the hunters she brought with her, it's all kind of hush hush though."
"Something for your hunter training?" I thought about that, trying to remember all she had told me previously that might apply to this. It took me a minute, but I do remember one conversation we had when she didn't show up for one of our scheduled meetings. She had explained what happened the next day.
"Maybe… you might want to confirm this with your dad, but I think you're going to be kidnapped." I said, not really paying attention to how I said that judging by the outrage at the table.
"What?" everyone shouted at once, drawing attention from nearby tables and another narrow-eyed stare from Jackson. Leaning in a kept my voice low.
"Sorry, I said that wrong. Well, no I didn't but it's not what you think. So, part of training to be a hunter is learning to escape from being tied down. It's something they teach all children born into hunter families. Usually it involves being 'kidnapped' and tied to a chair and you have to find a way to escape from the confines."
"Wait, they tie their kids to chairs and make them escape?" Isaac said, his hand automatically reaching for Allison's and gripping tightly. Her face pinked up as she smiled at him but his eyes were on me and the protectiveness in them almost made me smile.
"yeah, sounds messed up right. In a way it is. But hunters sometimes are put in situations that they have to escape from, this is more to make sure they have the ability to get out if nothing else."
"You really seem to know a lot about hunter practices." Cora said, eyeing me. I shrugged.
"Argent and I grew close over time, previously. We talked. He didn't tell me everything but enough. But that bit of info I got from Allison back then."
"So, we were friends then." Allison asked, and I could see the many questions she had still, and I knew that conversation with me, her and Argent would have to happen soon.
"Yes we were. And I know you have questions. I promise to answer them. But I think that needs to be saved for the conversation with your father." I told her, hinting at the information I still need to give her and Argent about past events. She sighed but nodded.
"Fine. But what do I do about this? I've never had to do something like this before. How do I even do it? Is there like a time limit?"
"No time limit. It takes as long as it takes. I think you said that it took you two hours before to do it. I would say ask your dad for tips, but I don't know if he would actually give you any. This is really how they train so he's had to do it to, and it's supposed to be a solo thing. I would say try to look up methods online of how to escape being bound to a chair and see what comes up. And you might want to do that sooner rather than later. It's usually a surprise thing so you don't know when it's going to happen."
"I'll help you research it. Maybe we can look in Chem if Harris is still out." Isaac offered. She smiled gratefully at him and nodded making him blush.
"Actually, that could work. I doubt Harris is back. In fact, I am pretty sure of it. I knew something would happen once he and Kate caught sight of each other. What, I don't know but I don't think he will be back, not for a while if at all. You partnering with Allison during class leaves Lydia to partner with Erica." I said turning to the girl in question.
"Erica? Didn't you mention her when you were explaining things?" She asked.
"I know Derek mentioned her a couple of times. She was a wolf right?" Cora asked.
"Yes to both. She was actually one of Derek's betas when he was an alpha. It was her, Boyd, and Isaac previously. Erica was a bit controversial to me. She went from this shy, introverted girl to basically a vixen almost overnight once she was turned. She had her reasons and I kind of get it. But right now, I don't know if she would be trustworthy to turn or not. I hate the idea of leaving her to suffer with what she's dealing with, but I don't know if I trust her to have my back or stab me in it."
"So, you want me to feel her out. See where her head is at?" Lydia asked.
"yes and no. Feel her out yes. But I think the reason she changed her whole personality is because she lacked the confidence to be who she wanted to be. She wants to be seen and have a place where she belongs. You are one of the most confident people I know, maybe it will rub off on her. More than anything she needs a friend."
"Okay, I can talk to her. I can't promise anything about friendship though. I mean I can try but…"
"That's fine. If it happens great, if not then that's that. But back to topic. I got us off track. You have the bug attached to your necklace, right?" I asked. She showed me the back of the necklace, which looked the same with just a slight raise in the center.
"Lydia helped me figure out how to hide it so in case my neck flips around it wouldn't be noticeable. So far it hasn't been."
"That's good. And the tracker is up and running?"
"Yeah, me and dad tested it this weekend. It's working just fine. Once this is all over I have to remember to remove that app." She huffed, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure we'll be in the same boat soon. My dad is adamant about putting that thing on my phone. I have to hide it in order for him to not do it." Stiles said.
"At least you could hide yours. Mom already bot both mine and Isaac's phones." I told him.
"I still don't know how I got roped into this." Isaac said.
"Get used to it. When mom goes into protective mode, no one is safe." I told him. He snorted but I could scent the happiness he was feeling because she cared enough to want to protect him.
"We also tested the microphone on the bug, it's working." Stiles said, getting us back on topic, again. How do we keep going off track?
"Okay, and you and Lydia are monitoring it, right?"
"We are but I think maybe it should be Stiles and Isaac monitoring. I mean if he's her point of contact for all this then shouldn't he be the one that monitors it? It could be preemptive." Lydia suggested.
"I don't mind doing that. Especially since Scott will be right there if something does happen anyway. Cuts out the middle many of us playing messenger if something happens." He said.
"Make sense. I'll bring it over after practice and we'll get it set up." Stiles told him.
"That works. Okay." I sighed. "so that's settled. Is there anything else we need to do?" I asked looking around.
"What's the plan for Gerard?" Stiles asked. and of course he would ask that. stress was starting to creep up again and Gerard was part of it.
"To be honest, I have no clue at this point. I was hoping to have him here before we capture Kate, but I don't think that's plausible. She moved up the timeline coming in early like this and previously he only showed after she was already dead, or we thought she was. He might end up being his own problem we need to deal with after this. I can't think of a reason for him to come in early now. if things go right, Kate won't die."
"So right now he's on the back burner." Stiles nodded.
"More like the middle burner. There's no guarantee of this but we might be able to get him here if Kate is jailed. He won't take kindly to that. Especially since we'll hopefully have evidence, so she won't be able to just get off on the charges. I'll talk to Argent at some point and see if we can come up with something. I wonder…" I said thinking some more on the issue. Wondering if this idea was plausible.
"Wonder what?" Allison asked.
"I wonder if I can do some variation of what I did before." I mused.
"and what did you do before?" Cora asked.
"Well, when Gerard threatened my mother I went to Deaton for help. We switched out his pills for ones filled with mountain ash. They looked exactly the same, so he wasn't suspicious. But that's will only work if he comes with the same agenda he did before."
"You mean when he tried to force you to get Derek to bite him." Allison said. I nodded.
"Yes, if his goal is still to cheat death then he might still have that planned at some point. But I doubt it will happen the same way it did before. This time it wouldn't be Derek he would try to force; it would be Peter or me."
"Okay, so how do we combat that?" Stiles asked. I sighed.
"I don't know. Not yet. Not until we know what his plan is."
"So, we'll leave that on the middle burner for now." Stiles said.
"The bell is about to ring so let's forget about all of this and finish classes for the day." Lydia said.
"Sounds like a good idea." I said just as the bell did ring. We all got up, tossing trash as we headed out the door. Heading to class we passed by Danny and Jackson at Danny's locker. Danny was talking at Jackson, but he was busy watching us as we passed, and I could see the scrutiny in his eyes. Still going to be a pain in the ass I see. That's something else I would have to think about. The list is never ending.
We all took our seats, and I could hear Lydia greet Erica, explaining she was going to be her new partner. Erica, too shy to do anything but nod, didn't question it but I could see her hunch in on herself a bit. I grimaced seeing that.
"Afternoon class, I'm back. Harris is going to be gone a bit longer, but he already has a lesson plan for the rest of the semester, so we are all set. Let's get started." Mr. Brant greeting coming into the room.
Not surprised at all.
**So Danny knows and Allison is gearing up for more training. Oh and we still have no clue what to do with Gerard. Scott will figure it out. Hopefully soon. Hope you guys enjoyed. **