Chapter 12
I was dressed up for dinner, as mom wanted me too. Really I wanted to just wear a pair of jeans and a shirt, so I can call it a day, but she insisted on dressing up. Now, I was wearing a floral shirt and a white blouse. My hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and my face was covered with a little bit of makeup.
"I feel like she's setting me up!" I exclaimed toward my computer screen.
I had been skyping with Lydia as she was helping me pick out my outfit for the night. I was more about darker colors, but mom didn't want that. So I had to enlist the help of my best fashionista best friend, Lydia Martin.
"You look great," she laughed, "So tell me about this Samuel guy."
"Don't have anything besides saying he's tall, with dark hair, and that he has bright hazel eyes," I answered.
Lydia pondered at the thought of Samuel as she hummed in approval, "He sounds really hot..."
"Ew, Lyds, he's the same age as your father," I told her.
Lydia rolled her eyes before turning her attention to something else, "Sorry for liking older guys, well mature guys, really. Ask your mom if you can come over. We'll have a movie night."
"Does it involve Jackson?" I asked her.
"Yes, but it would be a good distraction if it goes bad," she laughed.
I sighed, "I'll see what she thinks, but don't get your hopes up is it turns out horrible."
"Alright," Lydia smiled, "Text me what she says. I'll pick you up if she says yes."
"Okay, Lyds," I smiled back, "I'll text you."
"Bye Babe!"
We hung up the Skype call. I was about to head downstairs to help with dinner when a call came in. It was Stiles. I smiled before accepting the call.
"Hey," he quickly said.
I laughed, "Hey, what's up?"
"Wow you look good," he spoke with awe.
I laughed as I got up from my seat. I made a twirl once I was far enough to show my outfit. He whistled in a playful way, but it didn't help by making me blush at the compliment.
I took my seat again, "I wish you were here with me... but mom would kill us if you do."
He laughed, "I wish you luck."
I smiled, "Thanks, I think I'll need it. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sounds good."
I ended the call along with closing my laptop. With a sigh, I slipped on my heels and headed downstairs. The doorbell rang once I got to the first floor. I called out to my mother that I had it, and made my way over to open the door. My smile almost fell when I was met with Samuel.
"Hi," I greeted, "Come on in. Dinner should be ready in a bit."
"You look nice, Juliette," Samuel commented.
I offered a kind smile as thanks before motioning him inside the house. He entered like they have been here before, then again it's true. I am not sure how many times that is, but it didn't help my wolf to calm down. No, it only added to its anxious feelings about the stranger in our home.
"Oh, you're here early!" I heard my mother call out.
I rolled my eyes as I sent a text to Lydia
5:32pm - Juliette: The invader has arrived.
5:33pm - Lydia: Invader? Rlly?
I placed my phone back in my pocket as I entered the open entertaining area of our home. My mother was already talking to Samuel, which was as expected. She was laughing and smiling with him. What they were talking about was quickly filtered out as I got a hint of what they were talking about.
I took my seat at the dining table, which I had set up before heading upstairs to change. I pulled out my phone out once more to text someone, but I was interrupted when I heard Samuel take his seat diagonal from my seat.
"So," I placed my phone on the table, turning my attention to him instead, "Tell me about yourself, Samuel. How long have you and my mother been dating?"
"We've been together officially for two months now. But we have been talking for five before I asked your mother on a date," he answered.
I hummed in curiosity, but really I was trying to play nice, "What do you like to do?"
"Well when I have time for myself," he replied with a laugh, "I like to enjoy a long weekend at my lake house and read."
That got me to genuinely smile.
"No sports?" I asked with a grin.
He laughed, "Too trivial, but I do enjoy Lacrosse and rugby from time to time."
I smiled, "My best friend and my boyfriend are apart of the Lacrosse team at my school."
"Your mother told me as much last night," he recalled, "Are they good?"
"Well," I deflated a bit, "My friend is amazing, but my boyfriend hasn't been on the field, but I know he will be amazing!"
My mother sat beside me. My mother and Samuel were enjoying a nice chat as I tried not to bother them. So far, I was actually liking the guy, but that was how many tried to win my mother over. Play nice with the daughter, but as the night went on, I was actually enjoying it.
"So tell me, Juliette," I was pulled away from my thoughts when Samuel asked, "Do you like your school?"
The question only lit-up warning lights in my head. These kinds of questions only lead to the moving idea. That was what Scott and Lydia have told me. That truly scared me to the core.
"Love it," I made my voice sweet, "I have my friends and it's never a dull day with them. Why do you ask?"
"Samuel has been thinking about moving to Beacon Hills after the school year," my mother answered.
"Oh?" I looked over to Samuel, "Why until then?"
"Leaves room for you to settle with the idea of me dating your mother," he answered, "She commented that you are very protective of her."
"I am," I answered dryly, "She's my everything outside of my friends."
Samuel asked again, "Any of them closer than the other?"
"Lydia is like my sister. She loves my mom," I smiled genuinely, "Well Scott and Stiles, I have known since we were babies. Scott is like Lydia, as I see him as a brother. Then there's Allison, Scott's girlfriend, she's new, but she's very nice."
"What about this Stiles?" he pushed.
"Oh, Stiles is my boyfriend," I grinned, "He's the one that makes sure I am doing alright. Always has."
My mother giggled, causing me to go redder.
---
The rest of the dinner was spent talking about small things. When I excused myself to change before Lydia came around to pick me up along with Jackson, my mother and Samuel moved over to the living room where I predicted they would spend a quiet night together. Besides, I was planning to stick around with Lydia after we watch her movie of choice to gossip about what had happened during dinner.
Lydia had driven Jackson and myself to the only video store near us. She was very into texting whoever she was talking to as Jackson and I tried to convince her to pick another movie besides her usual Notebook choice. We have always ended up watching it and if anyone asked me to do it, I would be able to perform the movie myself from how many times I have seen it. I was more of a hero movie kind of gal so romances weren't the usual one I would go for. Jackson, on the other hand, was a jock at heart as he offered his input on sports movies.
"Now, Hoosiers is not only the best basketball movie ever, it is the best sports movie ever made," Jackson comments but then turns around to look at me, "Tell me you agree, Juliette."
"Never seen Hoosier," I answered him, "I'm more of a superhero movie kind of gal."
He rolled his eyes before turning back to Lydia who just answered with a solid, "No."
"It's got Gene Hickman and Dennis Hopper," Jackson offered.
Lydia gave him a smile before repeating her previous answer. I couldn't help laughing at her strong stance on the matter.
"Lydia," Jackson was starting to get frustrated, "I swear to God you're gonna like it."
"No."
"I am not watching The Notebook again!" Jackson exclaimed.
I sighed, placing my hand on his shoulder, "Face it Jacks, we're watching The Notebook again. Come on, let's just get it already."
He sighed before leaving the car. I rolled my eyes, a smile on my face, and followed behind Jackson. I tucked my hands in my jean pockets as we glanced around the video shop. No one was around. It was only Jackson and myself, and that didn't feel right.
"Can somebody help me find The Notebook?" Jackson called out to the void of DVDs, as the phone began to ring.
"Something doesn't feel right..." I commented, inching close to Jackson, "Maybe we should just leave..."
"And get Lydia angry," Jackson scoffed, a smile pulling on his lips when he noticed I was holding onto his sleeve, "Let's just get the movie and leave. Hello? Is anybody working here?"
I stayed close to Jackson as we walked further inside. My nose picked up a scent of blood, causing me to hold onto Jackson tighter. He glanced over his shoulder to look at my scared state. He was having to much fun with the thought that I was being clingy.
I was so focused on trying to pinpoint where the body was, but my mind was running in circles as I thought about the worst scenery. I was a werewolf, but it still freaked me out to know there was a murderer out there ready to kill us at any minute.
Glancing toward the direction that my nose picked up the smell, I found myself looking at a pair of feet sticking out of an aisle of movies. My eyes widened at the sight as I stopped in my track, causing Jackson to stop as well. He glared over to me, getting slightly annoyed at my cowardice state but the sight of the fear on my face caused him to become worried. I began to slowly lift my finger over to the source of my fear for Jackson to look over to what I was seeing.
"Jackson, look," I pointed to the feet ahead of us.
He noticed it and began to walk over to the person lying on the floor. When we finally saw, we backed away in shock. I held back a scream as I bumped into the ladder behind me, especially when the lights flickered on and off until they gave out all together. Jackson curse under his breath as he looked over to me.
"Come on," Jackson took my arm in his hand as he began to guide us toward the exit, "Let's get the fuck out of here."
"What about the store clerk!" I exclaimed, looking over to the poor man that is now dead.
"Who gives a fuck about the guy!" he hissed over to me, "We need to think about ourselves, now is not the time to be your usual empathetic self!"
I yanked my arm out of his hold ready to yell back at him for his cruel words toward the innocent man laying on the carpeted store, but I never got to say anything as a loud growl filled my senses. We both began to look around to look for the source of the sound. My eyes flickered yellow for a moment, but I controlled myself. At that moment, I was able to catch the silhouette of a large animal.
When angry red eyes looked over to us, I knew that that wasn't just any animal before us. It was the god damn Alpha that has been terrorizing the town. Now it was before us, more than likely planning our death.
Pulling Jackson down in an aisle, we looked at each other. His breathing was off, as he tried to calm down his heart, but I wasn't focused on him. I was focused on the alpha making its way over to us slowly. Carefully pulling out my phone out of my pocket, I unlocked it, ready to call Stiles, but Jackson stopped me.
"Are you fucking crazy!" he whispered, "It'll see the light from your phone."
He was right.
With a sigh, I just pocketed my phone once more as I went to get a glance around the store, but a loud sound caused me to pause. The DVDs began to fall around us but before we could getaway, the shelf fell on top of us. I was able to push Jackson until he was just caught at the waist down. I was unfortunate as the shelf fell entirely on me, except for my head.
"Juliette!" Jackson cried out to me.
I tried to catch my breath before answering him, "I think I'm okay..."
Really, I was strong enough to get the shelf off me, but that would only blow my cover. So I just stayed still as the Alpha approached us. I could see its eyes, blood red. But I was more focused on how it looks. It didn't look human, or like Scott, Derek, or myself when we shifted. No, it looked feral.
It came over to me, taking a hold of my face, or as much as it was available to hold. Red eyes looked deep into my own, as they clashed with my own yellow eyes. I took in a deep breath, waiting for his next move, but that was when I caught the familiar scent. The anger, pride, love, and sorrow. All swirling around, fighting for dominance over the other. My eyes widen at the realization.
The Alpha had been the intruder who entered my room while I was asleep.
I could have sworn, it smiled down at me. Reaching it's clawed hand over to my face, he left me a light cut across my cheek before turning over to Jackson. I don't know what the alpha was doing to him, but it only resulted in Jackson screaming. Once it had done what it wanted to do it rushed out of the store followed by Lydia's screams.
---
It took a while for the cops to arrive, but when they came we were escorted to the backs of the ambulances. I had allowed Jackson to help me out from under the shelves as we exited the store to find a freaked out Lydia still in her car. I had rushed over to her as I held her. Jackson was surprisingly sweet as he placed his hand on my shoulder as I rocked Lydia in my arms.
When the deputies began to question us, I had to play dumb until someone could come to help us. When we were freed, the paramedics checked us over. Jackson was fighting the paramedics as they looked over whatever the thing that was on the back of his neck. Lydia was still in shock as I held her to my side.
Apparently, the cut that the Alpha had left behind, lingered. The paramedic looking me over had bandaged it up and now we were waiting for Sheriff Stilinski to arrive since he had to get statements from us. Jackson was not helping at all, as he fights with anyone that prevented him from going home. Lydia kept to herself, and I tried to explain as much as I could while I tried to calm her.
"Juliette?" the Sheriff's voice called out, "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Just a bit tired and a few scratches nothing too bad," I tried to make light of things.
"Why the hell can't I just go home? I'm fine," Jackson came up to Noah.
Noah looked over to him and answered, "I hear ya, but the EMT says you hit your head pretty hard. They just wanna make sure you don't have a concussion."
"What part of 'I'm fine' are you having a problem grasping?" Jackson insisted, "Okay, I wanna go home."
"Jackson," I called out to him, "Stop being a jerk and let the Sheriff do his job!"
"Thank you, Juliette," Noah thanked me before looking back to Jackson, "I understand that., but-"
"No, you don't understand," Jackson got angrier, "Which kind of blows my mind since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum-wage rent-a-cop like you!"
"Jackson!" I yelled at him, getting up from my spot beside Lydia, "Shut the hell up already! You are sounding like A-rated little bitch. Sit the hell down and shut up for once!"
Jackson glared at me which I returned full-heartedly. Whatever reconnection shared during our encounter with the Alpha was out the window now. I wasn't going to sit back and let him talk to Stiles' dad like that. He was about to demand his freedom once more, but a familiar voice called out first.
"Whoa, is that a dead body?" Stiles called out as he pointed over to the gurney with the poor clerk under the white blanket.
Noah sighed at his son's outburst as he called out to everyone, "Everybody back up. Back up."
I rushed over to Stiles and hugged him. As soon as he wrapped his arms around me, a sort of calm slowly rolls through my body, and my past worry was gone.
"Are you okay?" Stiles asked into my hair.
I nodded, "Yeah, just a bit shaken up is all..."
"What happened?" he asked, tightening his hold on me.
I smiled at the warmth and answered, "It was the Alpha... I think it was targeting one of us. It came to me first but then it did something to Jackson, I don't know what that was since I was stuck under the DVD shelves when it happened."
"Stiles!" Noah called out, "I told you to stay in the car..."
"Sorry dad," Stiles pulled away a bit to look over to his father, "I just saw Juliette and got worried."
Noah sighed and pointed over to the car parking behind us. It was my mother and Samuel as they came out from the familiar SUV. Before they came up to us I whispered to Stiles and his father.
"Please..." my voice was a bit shaky, "I don't want to go back home... Can I stay over?"
"Juliette!" my mother called out to me.
I didn't pull away from Stiles as I looked up at him, pleading for his help. I didn't want the Alpha to get near my mother or Samuel, and if I'm with Stiles, I would be able to protect him since he knew my secret. Samuel was still in the dark from what I had gathered. Stiles could only look over to his father as they tried to have a silent conversation about what to do with what I just told them.
"Are you okay?" my mother pulled me away from Stiles as she looked me over.
I pushed her hands away from my face as I answered, "I'm fine... just shaken up..."
"Let's get you home then," Samuel commented.
I glared at the floor as I waited for someone to either drag me to the car or if one of them would save me from this. I was grateful for the latter. Noah placed a hand on my shoulder and my mother's.
"If you don't mind, Jess," Noah spoke up, "Juliette can stay over. I think having someone at her side would be best after what happened tonight."
My mother looked down at me, which I still held my head down.
"Are you sure, Juliette?" my mother asked, "I don't have work until tomorrow night so I can stay with you."
"I don't want to ruin your night with Samuel, or well more than I already did..." I commented, "You also know that I am not comfortable with strangers in the home..."
My mother sighed, knowing very well that it's true. Whenever I made friends, I never allowed them to come over. Even Allison hasn't stepped foot in my home because of it. I was territorial and my home was everything to me, along with my friends and family. Only those that I really trust, were the ones that allowed inside. That list only consisted of Scott, Stiles, and Lydia.
"Alright," she gave in.
I nodded and hugged her. I whispered her a silent thank you and apology. She hugged me and whispered back that she understood. I watched her re-enter the car along with Samuel and soon drive away, leaving me with the Stilinskis.