I was sitting next to Derek doing my best not to get into another argument with my brother, which seemed that it was all we could do lately. Get into arguments. But, I couldn't ignore what was happening, not anymore. If there was another kind of monster in Beacon Hill we had to know who or what it was.
"What are you going to do to him if he is the Kanima?" I questioned slowly although I already knew the answer to that question, but a part of me was hoping that I was a wrong. That my brother would claim that he would find a way to fix what he had done, a way that wouldn't involve killing Jackson. No matter how much of a horrible person he could be.
"We kill him."
Looking away from Derek I looked straight ahead at the dusty warehouse. "I can't let you do that. And I especially can't be a part of that."
"I know that you're linked to him, but if he is the Kanima we have to kill him. Or he'll continue to kill people." My brother argued, and although he had a point killing couldn't be the only answer. "It's the only way to make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone else."
I shook my head as I looked down at my hands. A part of me couldn't believe that I was actually defending Jackson. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't. I have to do this." He said and that's when it all came together. Derek wasn't doing this to make sure that Jackson didn't kill again. Sure that could be a part of it, but it wasn't the main driving factor. The driving factor being his own guilt, for his mistake. He gave Jackson the the bite, a bite that possibly turned him into a murderous monster. Derek only wanted to clean up the mess he made.
"All of this could have been prevented if you didn't give him the bite."
"We still don't know if it is Jackson. For all we know it could be Lydia." I froze as I thought of his statement. I knew Lydia was suspicious, she had also gotten bitten and never turned. It was something that had never been heard. Immunity. As far as the history books told there was no such thing as immunity. The bite either turned or killed. There was no other option. Not until Lydia Martin. But a part of me didn't want to accept that it could be Lydia.
The thought of Lydia as that terrible monster was impossible and I simply couldn't believe it.
Before I even had a chance to reply the sound of someone struggling from outside the metal doors to the warehouse was heard. Meaning that Erica and Issac had been successful in getting Jackson. Boyd, who had been silently sitting in the corner of the room stood up and opened the door for them to enter.
Erica and Issac stepped inside a look of pride on their faces as they dragged a terrified Jackson into the room. I didn't even have to listen to Jackson's heartbeat to know he was more than terrified, the look on his face said it all. Because as much as Jackson wanted to act like a tough jock he was also a coward.
"What happened to you on the night of the full moon?" Derek immediately questioned when Issac and Erica came to a stop in front of us, their grip on Jackson's arm tightening slightly.
"What?" Jackson asked the confusion on his face quickly twisting into anger. "Nothing. Nothing happened."
"You're lying."
"No, wait. No, wait, I can I can prove it." Jackson eagerly told us as he visibly swallowed in either fear or embarrassment. "I taped myself."
We all remained silent for a moment as we processed his words. I almost wanted to laugh at the thought of Jackson filming himself turn into a werewolf.
Issac chuckled in disbelief as he looked down at Jackson, the fact that he was now physically superior to the jock bringing him an extra sense of sense. I couldn't blame him for feeling the way he did. I had no doubt that Jackson had probably tormented him in the past and now that the roles were reversed I was sure that Issac was enjoying every moment. "You taped yourself?"
"Yes. It was the full moon. And maybe while you were curled in the corner having an existential crisis about turning into a monster, I was preparing for the so-called gift your big, bad Alpha promised me, and what did I get? Nothing." Jackson explained bitterly, and I couldn't help but be glad that he didn't turn into one of us because it would have boosted his already large ego. However, the fact that the bite didn't turn him could have possible turned him into a complete monster. "You want proof? Let me get the video."
"No." My brother stated firmly as he picked up the broken shard of glass at his side, careful not to touch the Kanima venom at the tip. "No, I have a better idea."
"What is that?" Jackson asked nervously as he struggled against Issac and Erica's tight grip.
"You know, Jackson, you've always been kind of a snake." My brother stated with a chuckle as Issac and Erica forced Jackson to his knees and forced his mouth open. "And everyone knows a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom."
Derek held up the broken piece of glass allowing a small drop of the Kanima's venom to fall into Jackson's mouth. It didn't take long for the venom to take effect as Jackson fell limp to the floor, paralyzed from the neck down. Breathing heavily and understandably terrified of what we had done to him.Jackson's eyes were darting back and forth waiting for whatever we had planned next. "You're still a snake, Jackson, just not the one we're looking for."
"You're still gonna have to do one more thing for us." Issac stated as he bent down beside Jackson who was breathing heavily. "Well, actually, for me."
Issac had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He needed him name cleared if he wanted to live a normal life. And Jackson was the only one who could do it as he testified that Issac might have killed his own father that night. Luckily Jackson was in no position to refuse.
"So Derek wants this done during chemistry?" Issac questioned as we stopped in the middle of the hallway the next morning to discuss what our plan was going to be. I didn't agree with Issac returning to school, I was well aware that his return could potentially bring more problems, yet it was better than him being a fugitive for the rest of his life.
"Yeah, and if it's Lydia, I'm gonna kill that bitch, all right?" Erica stated bitterly a look of satisfaction on her face at the thought of her being the one to kill Lydia. Although I didn't grow up in this town like Erica and Issac, I knew that Lydia had to have tormented them growing up. But I also knew that Lydia has started to change. She wasn't the same girl that she was before.
"Don't be an idiot Erica." I snapped annoyed with her comment, especially because I knew it was coming purely from jealousy. Although Erica and I had learned to tolerate each other, I could only ignore her comments for so long. I was especially irritable today, when we were only moments away from confirming something that I still refused to believe. "We have to test her first."
"You have it right?" Issac questioned referring to the Kanima venom that I had in my backpack.
"Of course I have it." I told him before the bell rang, signaling that it was time for us to go to out next class. Sensing that someone was listening in to our conversation I turned around to find Jackson a couple feet away looking at us. There was no way that he could have heard us at this distance, but from the look on his face he knew we were planning something.
As the day went on I couldn't stop thinking about whether or not Lydia would pass Derek's test. And when the time for Chemistry came around and I walked into the class with Erica and Issac by my side I couldn't help but feel even more nervous, but of course that was something that I couldn't show knowing that the two at my side would definitely tell Derek if they knew I was having second thoughts.
Just as the three of us walked in so did Scott and Stiles who with one look at us rushed over at Lydia's side preventing any of us from taking that place. Not that it really mattered. I could only imagine that Jackson told them about the little experiment on him and they figured that Lydia was next. But pushing those thoughts from my mind I took a seat in the row behind Lydia, as Issac and Erica took the seats beside me.
As everyone else in the class finally settled in before the bell rang and Mr. Harris began his lecture.
"Einstein once said, 'Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity,' and I'm not sure about the universe. I myself have encountered infinite stupidity." Harris stated as he patted Stiles on the shoulder before continuing down the row. "So to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments. Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or in Mr. Stilinski's case, less than one."
Chuckles were heard througout the class as Harris continued to humiliate Stiles before our chemistry teacher went on with the instuctions. "Erica, you take the first station. You'll start with..." Suddenly all the guys hands shot up with excitment clearly hopeful that they would get a chance to be paired up with her. "I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down. Start with Mr. McCall."
As Issac stood up I handed him the vile that contained the Kanima venom knowing that he had to be the one to do it. When Issac walked off taking a seat next to Allison I felt someone take the seat beside me. Knowing perfectly well who it was I ignored them as I began to follow the instructions to the experiment.
"What are you doing?" Stiles asked the irritation clear in his voice.
"The experiment. What does it look like?"
Stiles sighed as I finally turned to face him, and I realized that this is the first actual conversation that I had with either Scott or Stiles in days. And for the first time I realized that maybe I missed them. That they had unknowingly become an important part of my life and now I didn't have their friendship. "You know what I mean."
"What I have to do. People could get hurt Stiles don't you get that?" I questioned, but I knew that whatever I said wouldn't change Stiles' mind about this. He was in love with Lydia, and he wouldn't accept it. "If she really is the Kanima we have to kill her. It's the only way."
"Are those your words? Or Derek's?" He asked, and I could see that he was angry. But even through that anger he placed his hand on top of mine as if that would change anything. "This isn't you."
"You don't know me Stiles." I replied as I slipped my hand away from his.
"Alex..." He began and at that moment the bell ran signaling it was time to switch tables. I didn't even have time to fully process any of our conversation as I picked up my book bag and walked over to the next station which was with Lydia.
She was currently looking down at her perfectly manicured nails until I sat down beside her. Lydia looked over at me and smiled before she continued working on the experiment, not even looking at the instructions for guidance.
"So, what's been up with you?" Lydia suddenly asked, as I simply watched her work knowing that I would only get in the way if I intervened.
"What are you talking about?" I questioned as I started to play around with the pen in my hand. "I'm fine."
"Really? So care to explain why you suddenly started hanging out with that blonde snake and loser turned pretty boy?" She stated not looking up from what she was doing. "I know somethings wrong. Everyone's been acting strange. It's not just you."
The worry in her voice was clear. It was something I had never seen from Lydia before, and I was suddenly flooded with a wave of guilt. But, what we were going to do wasn't going to hurt her. Not really. We had to know. We had to be sure, and this was the only way. But one thing was for sure, I wasn't going to let Derek hurt her even if she did turn out to be the Kanima.
"I'm fine Lydia. You shouldn't worry about me."
"And switch." Harris said with his usual tone of annoyance as the bell rang once again. Lydia pursed her lips in a tight smile before she gathered her belongings and moved on to her next station. I stood up with the intention to join Erica, when I felt two hands wrap around both my arms forcing me down to my seat. Those two hands belonging to Scott and Stiles who took the seats on my sides.
I sighed not not seeing any point in arguing as I looked up to find Issac sitting beside Lydia just as planned. Just like I knew that Scott and Stiles would pull this move and have me be away from Lydia.
Scott started finishing the experiment as we sat in a tense silence until the bell in the front of the class room ran again. "Time. If you've catalyzed the reaction correctly, you should now be looking at a crystal. Now for the part of that last experiment I'm sure you'll all enjoy, you can eat it."
"Guess your little plan failed." Stiles muttered as he looked down at our failed experiment with a look of satisfaction.
"Are you sure about that?" I questioned as I looked over at Stiles who's expression turned serious with what I was suggesting. "Because I wasn't the one who was going to do the test."
Scott and Stiles looked at each other for a moment before looking up at the front row where Issac was sitting beside Lydia. Unlike our experiment theirs was a success as Issac held up the crystal for Lydia to try.
As Lydia brought the Kanima coated crystal to her lips, Scott abruptly stood up from his chair. "Lydia!"
"What?" She questioned in annoyance as she looked behind her shoulder.
"Nothing." Scott replied slowly as he sat back down, and I saw the realization on Scott's face. The realization that Derek was right even if he was going around everything the wrong way. We had to know who the Kanima truly was, and this was the only safe way to test if Lydia was what we were looking for.
I watched nervously as Lydia once again brought the crystal towards her lips. Although I didn't show it I was scared that she would fail the test because that would mean that Derek would now be after her. Lydia could be many things but she didn't deserve to be hunted down, especially when the reason that she was going through all of this was my family. And I had a responsibility to protect her because of it.
I knew Scott and Stiles were watching Lydia closely as well, because when she bit into the crystal and nothing happened a couple seconds later they stiffened beside me. Now there was not doubt Lydia was the Kanima.
And I felt my heart sink at the realization. This greatly complicated everything. Turning towards the window I looked at my brother who was watching from the other side of the lacrosse field with a look of determination in his eyes. A look that told me that he would stop at nothing until Lydia Martin was dead.
A/N: We are reaching the end of the chapters that I have prewritten meaning that after I finish editing the last five chapters that I have yet to publish the last ten remaining chapters will take a little longer to be published. So just be patient with me. August and September are going to be very busy months for me so updating will be a little slow. But I am very excited to be almost down with book one and hopefully get started on book 2 soon.