Deafening Silence

12 // A Close Call

 Following the inevitable ruining of Peter's plan, we decided that we could no longer regroup at Derek's house. There was too big of a chance of Peter closing in on us, although I highly doubted that he was strong enough to attack us. In addition to his 'weakened' state, he was also an Alpha without a pack.

We had decided, very reluctantly, to meet up at Scott's house. His mom was on a late shift, so there was no rush. I, on the other hand, was in absolutely no mood to deal with what had just happened two nights ago. It was the weekend, and I was determined to take Saturday all to myself.

I ran back to Derek's apartment, getting my running gear from Allison's bag of charity clothes. As I put in my headphones, I drowned out every single chirping bird when I began my run.

Nature was...nice. I never realized how much I missed it until now. The trees were littering the floor with decaying leaves, a fallen log here or there that I had to jump over. The sky was a perfect view through the parting of the nimble tree branches. I was running towards the sun, literally, until it grew dark. I slowed down to a walk, equipped with my canines and claws in case anybody gave me a friendly visit.

The river shimmered like a million diamonds in the moonlight, and as I reached down to dip a hand in, I decided it wasn't too cold. I just needed a dip to cool myself off. Not bothering to shrug off my clothes, I slipped into the murky water.

What an idiot I was.

As I dunked my head beneath the surface, I opened my eyes. It took me a few moments to get adjusted to both the water and the lighting, but once I did, I saw some sort of a glimmer in the water. It looked like a shining yellow stone. I swam towards it, mesmerized, until another one appeared. I suddenly realized that this was no beautiful stone.

Then they blinked.

I swam back as it disappeared completely, my long hair blowing in front of me like a curtain as it shined against the water. I felt two hands rest on my hips, and shrieked like—well, like a girl—as I kicked and pulled away. Billions of bubbles filled with my screams rose to the surface, and once I clambered from the water I saw my attacker—smiling?

"Jackson!" I growled.

"Hey there, princess." he gave an evil grin.

"It's nighttime, y-you shouldn't be here." I stuttered. At any moment, he could turn into the Kanima, and I would be dead meat.

"What are you doing here then? Isn't it dangerous for you, too?" he continued on with his grin.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please, I'd know that you were a werewolf any day. You, Hale, McCall, your squeamish little pack."

He took a step back in the water, as if he had been punched in the gut. I saw the scales crawl over his delicate skin, and I bolted. I ran like the world was crumbling beneath me, until I knew for a fact that I was around people. Sure, I was drenched and getting some really worried looks, but I was around people nonetheless. Gerard couldn't possibly plan an attack on us, not in a place this public.

Checking both ways, I continued dashing down the street, out of breath, until I reached Scott's house. I burst through the front door into Isaac's arms. Standing upright, I blushed a bit as I recollected our conversations in the graveyard, the kiss that ruined everything. I still hadn't faced him about that yet, but I wasn't willing to anytime soon. Derek ran over, shooting Isaac a look as he took me into his arms. He carried me bridal style to the couch, making Erica get up as he set me down. He swallowed nervously, sitting beside me as I regained my breath.