CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CROSSBOWS AND NAIL FILES
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There was something completely offsetting about the idea of Lydia being the kanima.
I had absolutely no proof whatsoever to say that she wasn't though. Every time we saw the kanima, she wasn't around. She had been bit by Peter but had neither died nor become a werewolf. We knew she was turning into something else, but a murderous shape shifting lizard didn't seem like the right option. But it was truly just my word against theirs. The test had been handed out and Lydia had failed miserably. It was basic biology that snakes couldn't be poisoned by their own venom; but did that really mean Lydia was the snake currently slithering through our garden?
Either way, we weren't going to let anyone touch her. Once Erica and Isaac got the message back to Derek that Lydia didn't become paralyzed, we all knew what he planned to do. He would take her out, violently and sadistically. I couldn't let that happen. Sure, Lydia could be abrasive and controlling and a total bitch, but she was my friend. And friends don't let friends get murdered by annoying leather sporting werewolves.
So, between Scott, Allison, Stiles and I, we had to protect her. There was only a little more time before the day ended and Derek could swoop in and take his shot. We needed a surefire way to get her as far away from the trio of newbie werewolves and their leader. Meaning we needed to somehow babysit her without her figuring out what the hell was going on. But we were dealing with Lydia Martin, so I was positive this would end badly.
I nodded at Allison from across the hall. She had her arm linked with Lydia's, dragging them to their history class. As far as I knew, there weren't any pesky little werewolves in there so she should be fine for now. I pushed a strand of hair out of my face and sighed. I had class on the other side of the building. And it was geometry. I rolled my eyes as the bell rang, walking into the bathroom. Hopefully Stiles will be able to make up some lie about why I was going to be late. I mean, I probably should be getting to class, but I had to pee. Sue me.
Five minutes later, I was finishing washing my hands. I shook my hands dry, considering the janitors were clearly incapable of restocking the paper towels. I momentarily remembered that one of the janitors had been killed by Peter and shook my head. Nope, not thinking about him today. It was already crazy as it could get. No need to involve the nut job uncle of the guy who has my friend on his hit list.
The bathroom door swung open and in the mirror, I could see my least favorite person saunter into the room. Erica was in another one of her outfits, tight and revealing. Red lipstick was slathered on her mouth which was currently upturned into a smirk. I rolled my eyes, digging through my bag.
"Well, look who we have here, little miss perfect," she sneered.
"Werewolves are technically dogs right? I'm sure there's a bitch joke you haven't heard yet," I muttered, brushing out my hair.
"Funny," she snapped. She stood beside me, pulling a tube of lipstick from her cleavage. She uncapped it and began reapplying the already vibrant shade. The side said Devil Red. More like evil werewolf trying to kill my best friend red. That was probably too long of a name, though.
"Actually, what's funny is that you think you can break up Allison and Scott," I laughed. "That whole hand up his thigh thing? Adorable tactic but unfortunately, Scott doesn't do people who are, y'know, trying to kill people."
She turned to me, a sympathetic look on her face. "You know, I've always thought I was a little psychic. And they're not going to last. They're like the Titanic. A beautiful thing destined for destruction."
"Let me guess? You're willing to be the iceberg in that situation."
"No, but I'd be willing to do it for you and Stiles," she smirked.
I raised an eyebrow. "What?" I snapped, my voice sharp as a knife.
"You know it's bound to happen at some point right? Your little picture perfect life has to crack eventually," Erica said simply, stuffing the lipstick back in her bra.
"Stiles and I are stronger than that," I muttered in annoyance. Who the hell does this bitch think she is?
"You don't get it do you? And why would you? You and Allison are everyone's first choice. Just a couple of pretty faced bitches who think they can use that to their advantage. That the real world can't hurt them."
What was she even going on about? It's not like I had ever done anything to her. To be honest, the only time we came in contact is when she fell of the fake rocks in gym and started seizing. I know she walked off, but I wasn't one of the ones who had laughed at her.
"Honestly, I think the only one being a bitch here is you," I snapped. She growled at me, eyes flashing gold. "Oh quit it with the dramatics and go howl at a moon or something."
I turned to leave, but she clamped her hand down on my wrist. Her claws were out and they were practically puncturing my wrist.
"Bitch," I hissed. The pressure increased. "Let me go."
"Come on, Bradley? Girl fight in the bathroom? It'll be hot," she sneered. "And while I'm at it maybe my next target is Stiles. Or Scott. I'll be sure to show them a great time. And then I'll show them how their picturesque girlfriends are coldhearted bitches just hiding behind a façade."
I sighed, digging through my bag with my free hand. My fingers curled around what they were looking for and I gave Erica a fake grin. "Oh, sweetie. Stiles already knows that I can be a bitch."
With that said, I pulled my hand out of my bag, jamming the sharp end of the nail file into Erica's wrist. She immediately let go, her other hand curling around her wounded limb. The file dropped to the ground with a minimal ding and I grinned at her.
"Ta-ta, beeyotch," I snapped, hiking my hag on my shoulder and exiting the bathroom.
My eyes were narrowed as I angrily headed down the hall. My heels clicked loudly and you could hear the angry sighs leaving my mouth. If that bitch actually thought that she was even going to lay one hand on Stiles, she had another thing coming. I was never generally possessive with anything, but I refused to let some bitchy ass werewolf near my boyfriend. Any sympathy I had for her because of her human life was gone. First she lets Derek make her into one of his brain dead minions (not counting Boyd—I had seen that boys geometry grades and he was anything but stupid) and now she's trying to kill Lydia and take Scott and Stiles from me and Allison. I didn't know what screwed up make believe world she thought she was living in but that kind of stuff just wasn't going to fly.
From beside me, a door was flung open and I let out a string of profanities as someone pulled me in. "What the actual hell?"
My eyes scanned my captors and I sighed as Stiles' pulled me into Coach's office. Allison and Scott were already there.
"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered. I looked at Allison. "Why aren't you with Lydia?"
"None of them are in our class and she's working with Danny," Allison shrugged. "She'll be fine for now."
I nodded before my eyes wandered over to Stiles. "Why the hell aren't you in math?"
"Why aren't you?" he asked.
I rolled my eyes. "Don't you think Mr. Foster will be a little suspicious that both of us are out at the same time?"
His eyes widened a little and Scott stifled a laugh before shaking his head. "We have a problem."
"Like an 'I don't know what to have for dinner' kind of problem or a werewolf problem?" I asked. All I got in response was three pairs of eyes glaring at me. "Geez, sorry. From now on, if I get yanked in a closet, I'll assume the worst okay?"
"Derek's outside waiting for Lydia," Scott sighed.
Allison groaned. "Waiting to kill her?"
"If he thinks she's the kanima, yes," Scott replied with another sigh. "Especially after what happened at the pool..."
"It's not her," I snapped. "I've known her almost as long as I've known you Scott. If she somehow started becoming a lizard in the night, I think I would have caught on by now."
"I doubt that," Scott muttered.
"Stiles and I managed to figure out you were a werewolf before you did, so there's that," I snapped.
"Car, she passed the test."
"It's not her," I grumbled.
Allison cut in. "It doesn't matter. Because Derek thinks it's her. So we either figure out how to convince him that he's wrong or we have to protect her."
"I don't think he's going to do anything here, not at school."
"What about after school?" Allison and I said.
Scott groaned and Allison let her head tilt back in annoyance. "Okay what if we can prove that Derek's wrong?"
"By three o'clock?" Stiles asked, sounding far too skeptical.
"There could be something in the bestiary," she said adamantly.
Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Oh you mean the nine hundred page book written in archaic Latin that none of us can read. Good luck with that!"
"Actually," Allison started, furrowing her brow. "I think Carson and I know someone who might be able to translate it."
"We do?" I asked incredulously. She shot me a look. "Apparently we do."
Another sigh from the teen wolf. "Uh, I can talk to Derek...convince him that it's not her. But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it."
"What does that mean?" his girlfriend asked, clearly confused.
"You can't heal like I do. I just don't want you guys getting hurt," Scott answered.
Allison gave him a look before getting up and reaching for her bag. She dug around as the rest of us looked on curiously. Seconds later, she whipped out some contraption which elongated as she snapped it down. Pulling it up, I saw that it was a miniature crossbow.
"Remind me to never piss you off," I laughed.
She smirked, happy that at least one person was on her side. "I can protect myself."
Scott just gave her a look. It wasn't a snarky one, but the kind of look someone gives you when they worried. Scott was scared for Allison. It was clearly written all over his face. I knew that he didn't want to let her out of his sight when someone could hurt her. When someone could be able to take her away from him.
Scott pulled her off to the side and they became subdued in their little moment.
"Why weren't you in math?" Stiles asked, pulling me towards him as the couple had their time.
"I had to pee. And then I got manhandled," I said gesturing to my wrist which had five tiny pricks dotting it. They were red but luckily, Erica hadn't broken the skin.
"What the hell happened?" Stiles exclaimed. "Are you okay?" he asked, grabbing my wrist and flipping it over as if that would tell him the answer.
"Erica happened," I grumbled. "But I'm fine. And I may or may not have stabbed her with my nail file."
He looked at me curiously before breaking out in a grin. "That's my girl."
My heart fluttered as he pressed a kiss to the side of my face, before walking over to the desk. He picked up the crossbow Allison had placed there and flipped it around in his hands. He held it like you were supposed to and I cringed.
"Stiles, I don't really think you should—"
It was too late. One of the bows was already shooting out of it, the metal point whizzing towards Scott's head. His werewolf senses must have picked up on it because he spun around at the last second, nimbly catching the tip between his thumb and forefinger. He looked horrified as his girlfriend glared at my boyfriend.
"Yeah, uh," Stiles fumbled, putting the weapon in Allison's open hand. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Real uh, sensitive trigger on that."
I grinned. He may be a goofball but that was my guy.
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"If we're having a study group, why didn't we just meet in the library?" Lydia asked as we briskly escorted her down the hallway.
The day had finally ended, meaning that Derek's window of opportunity was now wide open. We had to get her out of here. We needed to get her somewhere that we could protect her and stand our ground. Apparently, that happened to be at Scott's house. Scott wasn't with us however, currently stalling Derek. I was just praying it was going to work.
I kept one hand on her elbow as my eyes shifted around the area. "Uh, we're meeting with someone."
"Then why didn't they meet us at the library?" she sassed.
"Oh, great idea," Stiles spoke from behind us. "Maybe next time!"
All her questions were slowing us down. We needed to get her out of the vicinity of the high school before Derek and his cronies realized she was gone. We needed all the time we could get because let's face it: Stiles's jeep was fast, but not that fast.
"Wait, why didn't—"
"Lydia," Jackson snarled. "Just shut up and walk."
He tugged her from my grasp and yanked her ahead of us. Stiles looked at Allison and me with a shrug.
Picking up my pace, I said, "I have no clue why Jackass is tagging along but I'm kind of happy he did."
Allison and Stiles only nodded in agreement. Our plan was set into action as we safely made it out of the building and into the jeep. I was wedged in the passenger seat with Allison considering Jackass and the potential kanima were in the back. As I tried to keep most of myself off Allison's lap, I sighed.
It was show time.
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Stiles made quite a show of locking every possible lock on the McCall's front door and looking out the window. Lydia looked at him curiously.
"Uh, there's been a few break in's in the neighborhood," he lied. She sighed but seemed to take it.
And then Stiles made it worse by wedging a chair under the door knob. Lydia pursed her lips and looked at me expectantly. Apparently it was my job to explain my boyfriend's idiocy.
"There was also, uh, a murder," I cringed. "Real bad. Blood everywhere. Like an episode of CSI."
Allison sighed, before looking at Jackson. She shifted her eyes towards the stairs and he clenched his jaw. If he was going to tag along, he was going to have to play along.
"Lydia, follow me," he sighed. "I have to talk to you for a minute."
"Seriously?" she groaned, the idea of being alone with her ex definitely not satisfying her. As she followed after him, she added, "What is going on with everyone?"
Over an hour of the three of us just standing in the McCall's foyer passed. Every so often, one of would look out the window. Nothing had happened so far and I was praying it would stay that way. I wasn't really in the mood for using another nail file if some dumbass werewolf tried assaulting me again.
Jackson and Lydia still hadn't come downstairs which was kind of concerning. If anything, I hoped for Mrs. McCall's sake they weren't in her room doing anything.
I sighed. "Next time we have a stake out type mission, someone needs to bring candy."
They looked at me oddly and I pulled the curtain back, figuring it was time for another check. My eyes widened at the sight. Across the street, staring up at the house was Derek Hale. And he brought his friends. I quickly drew the curtain back into place. Crap.
"I don't think this classifies as—"
"Allison," I said seriously, cutting off Stiles. "Get Scott on the phone now."
"What? Why?" she asked.
"Because Derek's here. With blondie, creepy, and Boyd."
Her eyes widened and she pulled her phone from her pocket. As she dialed Scott's number, Stiles looked at me.
"Why is Boyd just Boyd?" he asked.
"Considering he's the only one out there who hasn't man handled me or tried get me to break up with you, Boyd is pretty cool guy."
"Your logic never ceases to amaze me," he said with a roll of his eyes.
I poked his side. "Shut up."
"Scott said he's on his way," Allison interrupted, her crossbow at her side. It looked like the next arrow was all set up, ready for her to shoot. At least we had something that actually classified as a weapon for once.
"Well that's good," I muttered, taking another look out the window. Derek's eyes bore back at mine. "Okay it's not great but it's better than nothing at this point."
Allison sighed and tapped at her phone.
"What are you doing?" Stiles asked.
"I...I think, I think I have to call my dad."
"Allison, it's already bad enough that we have four werewolves waiting to rip Lydia's head from her shoulders," I said. "And if your dad finds you here, you and Scott—"
"I know," she sniffed. "But what are we supposed to do Carson? They're not here to scare us, they're here to kill Lydia."
I pursed my lips and clenched my eyes shut for a moment. My eyes flashed down at her crossbow, then back outside. They saw us as weak humans. What they didn't know was that we were kind of packing heat with that tiny thing. "I think I might have an idea. And they've been known to be better than Stiles's so that's probably a plus."
"Hey!" Stiles cried as Allison asked, "What?"
"We shoot one of them, okay? We told Scott that we can protect ourselves. They're not expecting us to anything so why don't we fight back? Make the first move," I whispered.
"Are you serious?" they questioned.
"Guys, we don't have a lot of options," I replied. "It's either we shoot them or they kill Lydia."
With that, Allison pulled back the curtain again. I knew that she and Lydia were closer than Lydia and I would ever be. She didn't want to see her get killed. Because we both knew that there was no way that Lydia was the kanima. For all we know it could be Jackson.
"Fine," she sighed. "Which one?"
"Derek, shoot him," Stiles breathed. "Preferably in the head."
I smacked his arm. "Scott was able to catch an arrow, so I'm pretty sure Derek can." Allison nodded in agreement.
"Uh, then shoot one of the other three then," Stiles said.
Allison was still looking out the window. "You mean two."
"No, I'm pretty sure he means three," I said, pulling the curtain back. Allison was right. There was Derek, Boyd, Erica...but no Isaac. He was there like five seconds ago. Where was that creep?
"Where the hell is Isaac?" Stiles panicked.
I did not have a good feeling about this. I turned around, ready to tell Lydia and Jackson to stay the hell upstairs when I was thrown to the ground. I hit the McCall's rug with a loud thud and I groaned. I looked up to see Isaac had entered the house somehow. He grabbed Allison's arm and shoved her and the crossbow down.
Stiles glared at him. "Hey! Don't touch them!"
He ran at Isaac, who shoved him into the next room. Stiles fell to the floor, knocking over a lamp in the process. He scrambled back as Isaac sauntered into the room.
I got to my feet but Allison pulled me back.
"We have to get Lydia," she reminded me. "They won't kill Stiles, they want Lydia."
I knew it was true. I highly doubt Derek would want another person's blood on his hands, the son of the sheriffs no less. And he also knew there would be hell to pay if something happened to him. Lydia was supposed to be our main focus right now. She was the one who was going to get hurt and I was pretty sure Jackson wasn't the most reliable person to keep her with right now.
But I couldn't just leave Stiles who was still scrambling away from Isaac. I know that if the roles were reversed he do something.
"Carson! Come on!" Allison said, tugging on my arm.
I bit my lip and sighed. "Fine let's go."
I sent a fleeting look at Stiles before clambering up the stairs after Allison. Isaac didn't follow us, so I had a feeling he didn't realize we left the room. Dumbass.
We rounded the corner coming face to face with Lydia. She looked like she had been crying and was utterly confused. She probably heard the lamp fall. Jackson was nowhere to be seen.
"Go hide," I hissed at Lydia. "Someone's trying to break in."
She stared at me, looking terrified.
"Go," Allison urged her. "Lydia go!"
She ran off and Allison grabbed my wrist, dragging me down the hall with her. She yanked me into a room, locking the door behind her. As she dragged the chain in place, I spun around to face the window. It was propped open, the curtains blowing around. And there was clear ooze dripping from the sill. Just like back at the auto shop.
"Crap," I muttered. In a loud tone I added, "Stiles, it's here!"
"This isn't good," Allison whispered.
I nodded in agreement. "We are so screwed," I mumbled to Allison.
Suddenly, eyes locked on something, Allison shook her head and walked towards the window. "Actually...I think I have an idea."
I watched on quietly as she removed the arrow from the crossbow. Ever so gently, she dipped the head into the ooze ad swirled it around to it was totally covered. She placed it back in the bow and grinned.
"Carson, meet our secret weapon," she smiled.
Suddenly with a bang, the door was forced open, the chain ripping from it screws. Erica stood on the other side and grinned manically. Allison pointed her crossbow at her and a little red dot was illuminated on Erica's shirt. I felt like I was in an action movie with a sniper. Lovely.
Erica laughed. "Cute. This might make me sound like a bitch, but I've always wondered what it would be like to steal somebody's boyfriend. I bet it's a pretty sick rush of power. And you know what Carson? I've thought a lot about our last talk. Maybe I'll skip Stiles and try it with Scott. Honestly, I don't think it's going to be that hard. Because why would he wait for little Alli when he can have me anytime he wants."
That clearly pissed Allison off and she pulled the trigger. The familiar whoosh filled the air as the arrow raced towards Erica. She bent back and caught it in her hand. She smirked like she had won a prize, but she had made the wrong move.
"You didn't really think that would have worked, did you?" she sneered.
"Actually, we did," Allison said.
Erica frowned, before looking at her hand. It was covered in the kanima venom. Her hand started shaking and Allison and I smirked. Within seconds, she let out a gasp, her knees buckling under her. She fell to the ground with a thud.
Allison grinned bending down next to her. "I thought you were psychic, bitch."
I smirked, looking to Allison as she stood back up. "Clearly no one told her you can't unseat the queens."
She let out a laugh. "Come on, we have another werewolf downstairs."
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"I think I know why you keep refusing me Scott," Derek said as we stood on the porch.
Scott had arrived just in time to take out Isaac before throwing both him and Erica onto the lawn by Boyd's feet. The rest of us humans stood behind Scott.
"You're not an omega," Derek continued. "You're already an Alpha, of your own pack. But you know you can't beat me."
"I'm pretty sure we just did, but okay," I muttered, causing Derek to glare at me. I shrugged. "What? I'm just saying."
"Besides, we can hold you off until the cops get here."
Off in the distance, if I strained my ears enough, I could hear the faint tinkling of police sirens. Lydia must have called them. Looks like a certain werewolf might get his ass tossed back in jail.
Derek's face fell and looked to the side. He quickly looked back towards us, but he wasn't looking at us. He was looking above us. At the roof.
We all backed up at the sound of footsteps above. We leaned slightly, just making out a figure on Scott's roof. I looked up, seeing the kanima crawling around up there. It bared its teeth and let out another giant screech, making me lean back into Stiles's who wrapped his arm around my waist tightly. It stared for another second before scrambling off into the darkness.
Derek looked to the roof then at his two fallen betas and then to Boyd. "Get them out of here."
Boyd stared back at his Alpha, not moving. Because someone else decided to make an appearance. Looking completely disheveled and in a state of panic, Lydia stomped out of the house.
"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" she all but screamed.
She was human. The kanima had just gone by. It wasn't her. She passed the test but it wasn't her. She was immune to that too as it would seem. So if it wasn't her and it wasn't one of us, it had to be someone who wasn't here. It had to be—
"Jackson," Scott breathed the answer, more to himself than us.
Well, what do you know. It was Jackass. So now we had an immune girl, three teenage werewolves, a Miguel, a teenage lizard, and a family of hunters on our asses. Perfect, just freaking perfect.
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Casually posting like five chapters like a boss