Running with the Wolves

chapter 12: the waves and the starry sky

He sets me down.

His hands are on my waist now. My hands rest on his shoulders. I'm close to him. So close to him that I can feel his breath on my skin again. And I get that same feeling I did when he caught me after I feel off the ladder.

He begins to lean in. I do the same.

There are no interruptions this time. Just the waves around us and the starry sky above us.

And our lips meet.

He kisses me softly.

His arms tighten around my waist and he pulls me even closer.

My  hands move up and I run my fingers through his hair.

He pulls away with a smile on his face, his eyes glowing yellow.

He touches his forehead to mine and we stand there, holding each other.

"I really like you." He says.

"I really like you too."

"Like, really, really like you."

"I do too." I say.

"You make me feel like I belong. You look past all the problems I carry, all the faults I have."

"Liam...you don't need to worry about that with me. We all have our imperfections, our faults. I'll always look past yours and see the real Liam Dunbar."

I kiss him lightly on the lips.

"I'm getting cold." I say, as a wave hits us.

"Yeah, we should get out of the water."

We are on the sand again, picking up our shoes and socks as we make our way over to our things.

Suddenly Liam stops. I stop too.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Do you see that?"

I follow his gaze, and there in the dark I see two glowing eyes.

Two red glowing eyes.

An Alpha.

"It's not Scott. I know Scott's scent."

Scott has been teaching him how to pick up scents and how to identify certain ones.

It must be her. Aria. 

The Alpha has started walking towards us.

Liam takes my hand.

"Run!" he says.

And we run.

He picks up my things as we make our way back towards the carnival.

Maybe this isn't such a good idea. What if we are leading a murderous Alpha to a carnival filled with families?

We are almost there. I turn to see if she's behind us. But I see no sign of her.

We reach the carnival, almost crashing into people.

Liam hands me my things.

"Thanks." I say.

We put on our shoes and begin walking through the crowd.

"I don't think we should walk home." I tell Liam.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Someone grabs my arm roughly and I try to pull away but I can't. I hear Liam growl.

"It's ok." the stranger says, and she lets go.

"Who are you?" Liam asks angrily.

"I'm Becca."

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"I'm doing this as a favor to Derek. He wanted to make sure you were both ok."

"How did Derek know about this?" Liam asks.

"Stiles and Scott must've told him." I say.

"You shouldn't be out like this. It exposes you. Let me take you home. "

Liam and I look at each other.

I pull out my phone and call Derek.

"Veronica." he answers.

"Did you send Becca to look after Liam and I?" I ask, wanting to make sure that the woman standing in front of me, who I've never met, is saying the truth.

"Yes. And the fact that you're calling me means something did happen. So I'm glad I did. Let her take you home."

"Ok, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

He hangs up.

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in beccas car

Liam and I sit together in the backseat.

"You should call Scott. Make sure everything is ok." Becca suggests.

Liam calls Scott. No answer.

Again. No answer.

Again. No answer.

I call Stiles. Nothing.

Again. Nothing.

Again. Nothing.

I start to worry. Something isn't right.

They were hanging out together.

"Becca, I think we should go to Scott's house to see if he's ok."

"I think that's a good idea."

"But first, I need to stop by my house. It's on the way there."

"Ok." she says.

A few minutes later Becca pulls up to my house and Stiles' Jeep is parked in the driveway. Dad's car isn't here, he's not home yet.

I let out a sigh of relief.

stiles is home. i'm seriously going to hurt him for not answering my calls.

I open the door.

"What are you doing?" Liam asks.

"You and Becca go to Scott's. Stiles and I will meet you there."

"Sounds good." Becca replies.

I kiss Liam. "I'll see you soon."

He nods.

I walk to the door as Becca takes off towards Scott's.

I unlock the door and open it.

I step inside and call out my brothers name: "Stiles!"

I look into the kitchen. Lights are off.

I turn to look at the living room. The coffee table is knocked over and so are some pictures.

"Stiles?" I call out again.

Something is definitely wrong. I walk towards the stairs. As I'm about to rush up them the sight of something smudged along the wall stops me.

It's blood.

I take a step back and cover my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

But someone else screams.

Upstairs.

It's Scott.