Brother || Teen Wolf

Chapter 30 - Family History

Jamie and Lydia didn't join Stiles and Scott on the parking lot, where Stiles had told them he wanted to put their theory of Allison representing Scott's human side to the test. They both felt too sore to walk any further. Plus, Allison had requested their presence in the library and they had promised to help her out with a history project.

When they found Allison, she was sitting alone at a table, reading a large book. Jamie and Lydia sat across from her, both reflexively trying to read what was written on the page. Their heads collided as they were trying to get a closer look.

"Ouch," Jamie complained while Lydia chuckled.

This got Allison's attention, the girl finally noticing she was no longer sitting alone. She put her strand of hair behind her ear and thanked them for showing up to help her.

"So, I have to come up with a report that has some relevance to my own family history," she explained her homework. She was confused when she saw them both tense, had she said anything wrong? Thinking she was just being paranoid, Allison resumed her explanation, "I was talking to my aunt Kate yesterday and she told me about this myth. The Beast of Gévaudan."

Unbeknownst to Allison, Lydia and Jamie exchanged a look. Having done quite a bit of research on the history of lycanthropy, they both knew exactly what this myth was about and how it was dangerously close to the truth. Lydia raised her eyebrows at Jamie, silently instructing him to play dumb.

"Okay, sure, why not," Jamie told Allison in an unusually high pitched voice. The raven haired girl looked at him weirdly before she started reading from the massive book open on the table.

"Listen. 'A quadruped wolf-like monster, prowling the Auvergne and south Dordogne areas of France during the year 1764 to 1767. La Bête killed over a hundred people, becoming so infamous that the King Louis the 15th sent one of his best hunters to try and kill it'," Allison read out loud.

"Boring," Lydia said in a flat tone. It wasn't enough to stop Allison from reading any further.

"Even the church eventually declared the monster a messenger of Satan. Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of hoofed predator, possibly a mesonychid, while others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a man-eating monster."

This time, Allison caught the look the couple in front of her exchanged. She could feel something about her story disturbed them both, but she had no idea what it was.

"And how is this connected to your family?" Jamie asked after clearing his throat.

"Like this," Allison perked up. She read, "'It is believed that la Bête was finally trapped and killed by a renown hunter who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature'. His name was Argent."

Jamie ran a hand through his hair, frowning. Lydia had a look of boredom so convincing it was deserving of an Oscar.

"Your ancestors killed a big wolf. So what?"

"Not just a big wolf," Allison insisted, "Take a look at this picture. What does it look like to you?"

Allison showed them an old drawing of the Beast of Gévaudan. It looked strongly like Scott and Derek when they transformed, except the beast was standing on all four and looked far more dangerous than their puppy-eyed friend. However, it reminded Lydia of something else -- the necklace Allison had been wearing lately.

"It looks like the wolf on your pendant," she remarked before reaching for the silver necklace around Allison's neck. She grabbed the pendant and brought it closer to her eyes, examining the crouched figure it depicted. Jamie got a look at it as well and there was no doubt in his mind it represented the Beast of Gévaudan. The necklace had to be an Argent family heirloom.

"Oh, you're right," Allison replied with wide eyes, not having made the connection before. "Kate gave it to me as a birthday present."

"For your birthday? When was it?" Lydia, hurt and surprise lacing her voice in equal measures. She couldn't believe Allison hadn't told her about her birthday.

"Hum, yesterday," the girl answered, looking guilty.

Both her friends started stuttering at the same time, making her laugh. They didn't understand why she had kept her own birthday a secret but it all made sense when she told them she was turning seventeen. People always assumed she had to repeat a year because she had a baby or made fun of her because she was older.

"Oh yeah, I get that sometimes too," Jamie chuckled. "Well, minus the pregnancy rumors."

"You're seventeen as well?" Allison whispered and leaned over the book. They now looked like they were plotting something in the library, the three of them hunched over an old book and talking in hushed tones.

"Not until November," Jamie explained, "But I had to repeat a year after the accident so I get it."

Allison made a face in understanding. Lydia smiled, glad to see them bonding. She and Allison had been friends at first sight and she could only hope the new girl and Jamie would get along. The three of them resumed discussing Allison's history project and gathering various documents. Lydia took a moment to share her suspicions with Jamie and dragged him in a deserted corner of the library when Allison wasn't looking.

"I think Kate wants Allison to find out about the supernatural," she started.

"Yeah, first she gave her the necklace and now clues about werewolves," Jamie agreed. "She's also the one who shot Derek with a wolfsbane bullet, and my guess is, she'll turn Allison against us."

"What are you doing?"

Allison's voice interrupted their secret meeting before Lydia could reply, scaring them half to death in the process. Jamie held a hand against his heart and looked at the girl, shaking his head.

"Allison, I thought we were friends! And now you want to give us a heart attack?" he pouted.

Allison chuckled and Lydia slapped his chest lightly, smiling. They bid Allison goodbye and left her confused in the library. They really didn't want to answer her questions so fleeing had looked like the only reasonable option. Plus, it was late already and they were probably the last students still on school grounds.

Lydia led the way to her car but before she could get inside, she felt two hands snake around her waist. She turned to see Jamie looking at her, his usual half-smile on his face. She raised her eyebrows at him, silently asking what he was doing. The spark of mischief in his eyes was all the answer she needed.

She smiled and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer until their lips met. The smell of wood and coffee, how his hands fit perfectly around her waist and the feeling of his lips against her own, those were familiar sensations she always loved to experience. They had been together long enough for her to know exactly the way he moved and although at first, she had been afraid her feelings would dull, she now found comfort in knowing what to expect. The experience was similar to listening to her favorite song -- she knew it by heart but always discovered something new, small details to fall in love with.

She felt him smile and pulled away, pushing a strand of hair away from her face. She wrapped her hands behind his neck and took in every detail of his face, from the blue eyes that had first attracted her attention to the small mole on his jaw she had discovered on their first date. He didn't like it and if he stopped shaving for a few days, it disappeared, but she thought it fit his face perfectly. In her eyes, Jamie was honest, sometimes brutally so, often said completely random things, was about as clever as she was, never failed to make her laugh -- intentionally or not -- and would treat some of the tiny things she cared about like they were of the utmost importance.

Those were some of the reasons that made her pull him closer again, pressing her body against his. A loud screech startled her and brought them both back to reality. It sounded like the whimpers of a dog writhing in agony and broadcast over the school's speakers. 

"Was that... Scott?"

A few seconds of silence followed before they heard something again. This time, it was a loud and powerful howl. Somehow, the animalistic cry carried a meaning they immediately understood.

Scott was calling and they came running.