Revamped!

[This is the last chapter in Wolf's arc.]

The Big Bad Wolf: Part Ten

Cress exits the freeway and drives back to Scarlet's farm. She parks in the driveway and Scarlet and Wolf are the first ones out of the car. After they shared that kiss in the backseat, the car ride was silent. Scarlet and Wolf sat on the floor of the backseat, nestled in each other as if they've been dating for a while. Cress couldn't find any nerve in her to turn on the car radio and ruin that moment for them. She was still in shock from everything that happened. She's unsure which event left her the most speechless: Wolf's driving, her driving, Scarlet's jump from one car to another or their kiss.

"Cress."

Cress jumps a little at the sound of her name, unaware that she zoned out. She looks to her left and sees Scarlet standing beside her with the driver's door open and Wolf standing behind her. Little did Cress know that her hands feel glued to the steering wheel. Scarlet pries Cress off of the wheel. Cress is still jittery on her feet but eases up when Scarlet wraps her arms around her shoulders in a hug, rocking them both side-to-side.

"Thank you, Cress, for telling Wolf and being with him throughout this whole thing," Scarlet says to her.

"Oh, yeah," Cress mumbles back. For a moment, she forgot that she told Wolf about this. "You're welcome."

Cress feels something hit her shoulder. She jumps and realizes it's Wolf's hand gently clapping on her shoulder. If that was his gentle then his rough would've killed her.

"You did great, Cress," Wolf tells her. "You're not what I expected you to be. You're a secret force to be reckoned with and I'm impressed."

Cress smiles timidly. She impressed Wolf Kesley, who would've thought? Never in her life did she think she would get some approval from Wolf let alone this entire night. Getting praise from him feels nice. Maybe because he is or was a gang leader so getting recognition makes her feel validated.

Scarlet parts from Cress. "I'll grab some sodas and, Cress, I'll give you a ride home."

Wolf laughs a little. "Yeah, you better be the one driving. She's had enough of me behind the wheel."

Scarlet looks at Cress who's nodding rapidly like a bobblehead. A more accurate saying would be that Cress is done with Wolf's driving for a lifetime.

-o-

As Scarlet drives off, Cress walks into her house. It isn't until she locks the door behind her that she exhales all the breath she's been holding this whole night. For the first time, she finally understands what she went through and feels incredibly safe. She turns around and sees her distraught father, Dr. Sage Darnel, standing at the top of the staircase.

"Crescent Moon Darnel, I've been worried sick about you," he says, coming down to the mudroom where she currently stands.

Cress is silent at the sound of her full name. She doesn't want to tell her father about the drive with Wolf but she doesn't want to lie to him. She's quickly trying to think of a grey area to tell him.

"I stopped by Scarlet's house for a bit and my phone died," Cress says to him. It's not technically a lie, it's just not the whole truth. "She gave me a ride home. I'm sorry."

Cress's dad softens up and takes off his glasses. He looks at her carefully and Cress tries her best not to give off any bad vibes since her dad studies people and their behaviours for a living.

"Are you okay?" Sage asks her.

"It was a weird car ride," she replies. "Very, very weird. We looped around the interstate a few times."

Before her dad could say anymore, Cress drops the groceries at her feet and goes to hug her dad tightly. Sage is taken aback before wrapping one arm around Cress's back and rubbing her hair with the other.

-o-

After returning home, Scarlet and Wolf sit in her living room right on the sofa, keeping an entire couch cushion separating them. They haven't spoken about the kidnapping or the kiss ever since it happened. Even when they were alone in the car after dropping Cress off, it was silent. Neither of them knew how to start a conversation, especially after Wolf professed his feelings for her and Scarlet didn't even respond to his monologue since he was already kissing her. It isn't until Wolf scoots over into the middle seat that the words start coming out. He even asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend.

"You don't care about the danger I just put you in," Wolf says to her. Scarlet looks at him. "And it'll take a while to be free from this mess but I promise to try."

"You don't have to change for me," Scarlet says. "I never asked you to."

"I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend if I stayed in that life. I'm not getting in deeper or bringing you with me. So what do you say? Alpha Female?"

"Oh, please," Scarlet responds. "We don't have time for this. You have always been dangerous. But if you're my Alpha and I'm yours then nothing's going to change because of a little car chase."

Wolf raises a brow. "I'm your Alpha?"

Scarlet grins. "Well, with your Wolf Pack on a permanent hibernation, who else are you going to be loyal to?"

Wolf grins as he puts his arm around Scarlet's shoulders and pulls her closer. She rests her head on his shoulder, freeing her curls and putting a hand on his chest. Despite only becoming each other's Alphas a moment ago, being this close and intimate feels like second nature for them. It's only a knock on the door that causes them to separate.

"I'll get it," Scarlet says, hopping off the couch and walking over to the door.

Scarlet opens the door and is faced with a policeman. Her eyes widen as her jaw slightly drops open and all the colour leaves her body. She begs that he doesn't have a warrant to search the house because Wolf's sitting in the living room and he likely has an outstanding record.

"Good evening, ma'am," the cop says to Scarlet. "Sorry to disturb you at this late hour but your vehicle was involved in a high-speed chase on the freeway this evening. I have reasons to believe that you were the driver. I'll have to place you under arrest and take you in."

Scarlet can't think of a response without throwing Wolf under the bus. She's still a minor so is this even legal? She hears Wolf getting up from the living room, probably to beat up this policeman or turn himself in (especially for Cress too). Scarlet feels a presence approach her from behind. She looks over her shoulder and is surprised to see her Grandmère, Michelle Benoit, standing behind her since she didn't think she was home. The cop greets her as well and Michelle smiles nicely.

"That won't be necessary," Michelle says, stepping between Scarlet and the cop. "I'm Retired Officer Michelle Benoit of the European Federation's Air Force and I was the driver of that car."

"You were?" The cop asks in shock. Even Scarlet is stunned to hear her Grandmère say those lies to protect her although she remains neutral to look innocent.

"I was. You know how it is when getting the early bird specials, gotta beat traffic to get the good things." She winks at him. "Besides, I was harmlessly putting my former piloting skills in my car. Sometimes I confuse the two vehicles. It was a success considering your men couldn't stop me, don't you think?"

The cop is stunned before apologizing and wishing them a good night. As he walks off, giving Michelle a respectful salute and thanking her for her service, she escorts Scarlet back in the house after closing the door. Michelle's smile turns into a frown as she faces Scarlet. Scarlet didn't even realize that her Grandmère was home (she probably got here during all the chaos).

"Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ?" Grandmère asks her. "Et ce garçon là, est-il son petit ami ?"

"Oui," Scarlet responds. When her Grandmère raises a brow, that's when Scarlet realizes her mistranslation. "Non, Grandmère. Il est mon petit… ami. Pas petit ami."

Grandmère doesn't buy her spaces, especially since Scarlet's cheeks are turning as red as her hair.

Wolf slowly walks up to Scarlet and her Grandmère, not sure of what they were just saying. He knew it had something to do with him since they were looking at him and Scarlet seemed mortified. At least the old lady wasn't here when Scarlet pointed a gun at him and he was bleeding in their kitchen.

"Hi, I'm Wolf," he introduces. "You must be Scarlet's grandmother. I'm sorry for the odd time to meet but I'm Scarlet's boyfriend."

Michelle looks at Scarlet who's nodding. She then looks back at Wolf and raises her head a little as if she was about to start interrogating him.

"Petit ami," Grandmère says sharply to Scarlet. She looks at Wolf again. "I assume you were the one driving my car."

"I was," Wolf admits. "I was looking for some former friends and paying back some money I owed."

To his surprise and Scarlet's, Michelle smiles.

"I was watching the car chase on the news," Michelle says excitedly. "I didn't think my old car still had so much life in her. Good for you, handsome boy, good for you!"

Michelle pats his shoulder. Wolf grins at the compliment and Scarlet continues blushing, completely embarrassment. Her Grandmère is calling Wolf handsome and patting his shoulder as if they were friends. This is weird.

"Anyways," Michelle says, "I'm all tuckered out. I wish you both goodnight."

As she dismisses herself, Scarlet waits until she hears the bedroom door close before moaning in agony for what happened. Wolf doesn't seem to mind only because he got called handsome and got to call himself her boyfriend. But now the two of them are alone again.

"Can I ask you something?" Scarlet asks him. Wolf looks at her expectant. "Why me?"

"You're not afraid to call me out on my spades and you're not afraid to hit or point your gun at me," Wolf replies. "You're stubborn as the stars and sometimes a real pain in the ace. You're also hot."

Scarlet smirks.

"Be my Alpha," Wolf tells her.

"I thought I already said yes," Scarlet replies. "I'll be your Alpha but know that I'm not a thousand percent in love with you."

"I'll change that."

"Paying me back the 500 univs I gave your ex-cronies could help."

Wolf snickers. "I'll pay you back in kisses."

"Fair play." Scarlet steps closer. "You want to start repaying now?"

-o-

Cress lies flat on her bed, staring right up at the ceiling with the thoughts in her head running a mile a minute. She couldn't sleep that night. Maybe it was the anxiety. Maybe it was the discomfort. Maybe it was her phone going off. Cress reaches for it on her night table and sees that it's a phone call.

Scarlet: I see you're still awake.

"Yes, I am," Cress admits.

Scarlet: Are you okay?

"I'm rattled."

Scarlet: Besides the danger, it was all good for you.

"How so?"

Scarlet: If you can still pull off the "innocent girl" look after all that, then you're stronger than you think.

Cress smiles at the thought of that. She never pictured herself as strong. Then again, she did survive a car chase and even plowed through the freeway like a boss. Wolf praised her! Maybe she could still be innocent after being in danger.

Scarlet: Now, repeat after me - I'm Cress Darnel and I'm an innocent badass.

Cress laughs a little. "I'm Cress Darnel and I'm an innocent badass."

Scarlet: Good. Now I'll hang up and you better get some sleep.

Scarlet hangs up. Cress sends a quick sleeping selfie with the flash to her to prove that she's asleep or will be sleeping. Scarlet does the same in return, hers with a peace sign and a little caption "here's to our new friendship."

[And that concludes the second arc. I have the third arc fully planned but I will be slower when it comes to writing it because of school. Feel free to guess who the next arc will be named after.]

[2020: I recently learned that petit ami is boyfriend in French although it literally translates to "small friend" so I needed to play with that here.]