I N S T I N C T | Jackson Whittemore

25: close, but not enough

Close, but not Enough
Chapter Twenty Five

Annie smiled down at Miss Morrell, her black hair straight as a pencil as she examined the writing Annie had handed her. When Annie first moved to town, she had to consult with Miss Morrell, and during that time, Annie learned Miss Morrell know more than 16 languages.

"Do you mind me asking where you got this? A book?" Miss Morrell asked, looking up at Annie and Allison.

Allison froze and turned to Annie, but Annie didn't phase at all. She was used to this kind of pressure. "Oh, just a family heirloom," Annie continued with a fake smile still plastered along her lips.

"Interesting family," Miss Morrell scoffed a laugh. "I'm pretty familiar with most romance languages, but this is a little out of my reach."

"Can you give it a shot?" Allison spoke up, shrugging.

"Alright," Miss Morrell nodded, "Kanima, do I have that right?"

Annie nodded, "Yeah."

"Like the wolf, it's power is greatest at the moon's peak," she read slowly, deciphering the words from the page. "Huh," she laughed, "sounds like a werewolf." Allison shifted and looked over at Annie, but Annie stayed still, smiling. "Oh, there's some words here I don't recognize."

"Just try," Annie pushed, "... please," she brought her smile back.

Miss Morrell shrugged, "Could I hold onto it for a little bit?"

"Now is better, please," Annie said, her smile falling flat.

Miss Morrell raised her eyebrows, clearing her throat, "Alright, um... Okay. Like the wolf, the Kanima is a social creature, but where the wolf seeks a pack, the Kanima seeks..." Miss Morrell picked up the printed sheet, and handed it back to Annie, "a friend."

"A friend," Annie took the paper from Miss Morrell's hand, and turned to Allison. "What does that mean?"

"Maybe it's lonely?" Miss Morrell commented, crossing her legs under her desk.

Annie's eyes went wide, looking at her cousin, "Like a teenager..." she paused, turning to Miss Morrell and plastering another fake smile along her lips, "Thank you for your help, Miss Morrell."

The guidance counselor nodded, "You're welcome, have a nice day, Annie. You too, Allison."

Annie grabbed Allison's arm and dragged her into the hallway, looking up and down the narrow strip for Scott. Allison shook her head, "Who are you looking for?"

Annie sighed, running her hands through her hair and shaking her head, "... Lydia..." she turned to Allison, "We have to go with Plan B."

* * *

Scott looked at Derek across the lacrosse field. He just looked evil. The whole "I'm a badass" look only stretched so far. After that... just the plain old "I'm a stalker, murder, and/or serial killer" look came into play.

As Derek watched Scott, he couldn't understand why the teenager was willing to die for these people... these so-called "friends." Derek sighed, "She failed the test, Scott."

Scott scoffed, continuing to walk towards the Alpha, but not his Alpha, "Yeah, which doesn't prove anything. Lydia's different."

Derek laughed, "I know. At night she turns into a homicidal, walking snake."

Scott shook his head, "I'm not going to let you kill her!"

"Who said I was going to do it!" Derek shouted, closing the swelling gap between he and McCall. "I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Scott, but even so, Lydia has killed people and she's gonna do it again," he paused, throwing his hands in the air, "and next time, it's gonna be one of us."