Chapter Twenty-Six

Slipping inside Coach's dimly lit office, Scott flips the lock on the door and turns to Stiles, Allison, and me.

"Derek's outside. Waiting for her." Scott informed us after class.

"You mean waiting to kill her?" Allison asked.

"If he thinks she's the Kanima? Then, yeah. Especially after what happened in the pool." Scott cringed, and I felt my heart beating.

"But it's not her." Stiles continued.

"She didn't pass the test, Stiles. Nothing happened." Scott pointed out.

"It can't be her." Stiles stresses.

"It doesn't matter. Derek thinks it's her. So either we convince him he's wrong or we figure out how to protect her." Allison spoke harshly.

"I don't think he'd do anything here. Not during school." I hoped.

Allison gives us a look. "What about after school?" Scott gives the nod, the implication clear: after school Lydia is vulnerable. "What if we can prove Derek's wrong?"

"By three o'clock?" Stiles asked.

"There could be something in the Bestiary," Allison suggested.

"You mean the nine hundred-page book written in Archaic Latin that none of us can read? Good luck with that." Scott scoffed.

"Actually, I think I know someone who might be able to translate it," Allison smirked and gave me a look. I nodded, knowing exactly who.

"I could talk to Derek. Maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove it's not her." Scott tells us. He and Allison look to Stiles and I who reluctantly nod, I nod along. "All right. But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it."

"What does that mean?" Allison asked.

"It means you can't heal like Paige and I can. I don't want you getting hurt." Scott softly says.

Allison puts her bag on Coach's desk and unzips it. She pulls out a black item with a pistol grip on it. With a snap of her wrist, the sides fly out and lock into place to reveal a collapsible and quite a deadly crossbow. "I can protect myself." Brandishing it in her hands for the two wide-eyed boys, she sets the crossbow down. But Scott still doesn't look convinced. "What? Did something else happen?"

Scott struggles in silence, all of us watching him. "I just don't want anyone getting hurt. If something goes wrong, you call me, okay? I don't care if your Dad finds out. Call, text, yell, scream, whatever. I'll hear you, and I'll find you. As fast as I can." Allison nods, looking on him with concern. "We've got until three."

He turns for the door but hears an odd snapping sound. He spins back, hand whipping up just in time to catch a crossbow dart. Stiles lowers the crossbow with a guilty smile on his face. "Sensitive trigger on this thing...."

⇉

Ms. Morrell studies a printout of the Kanima page from the Bestiary on her desk. Allison gauges her confused look as she tries to translate it. "Do you mind me asking where you got this? A book?" Ms Morrell asked her as I stood beside Allison.

"Family heirloom," Allison told her.

"Interesting family. I'm pretty familiar with most romance languages, but this looks a little out of my reach." Ms Morrell informed us.

"Can you give it a shot?" I asked her politely.

Morrell begins to translate. "Can-i-mah. Do I have that right?" Allison nods. "Like the wolf... its power is greatest at the moon's peak. Huh. Sounds like a werewolf." Allison and I give a nervous laugh. "Hhmm. There are some words here I don't recognize."

"Just try. Please?" Allison begged.

"Could I maybe hold onto it for a bit—"

"Now is better. Please." Allison cuts her off quickly.

Morrell nods and begins again. "Like the wolf, the Kanima is a social creature. But where the wolf seeks a pack, the Kanima seeks... a friend."

"A friend? What does that mean?" Morrell questioned, and Allison and I gave each other a look.

"Maybe it's lonely?"

Allison gazes down at the page. "Sounds like a teenager."

⇉

After successfully sneaking Lydia out of school, we headed towards Scott's place, where we told Lydia that we would be studying. She had a few questions about it, but she stopped after a bit.

Stiles helps Lydia out of the Jeep to join Allison, Jackson, and I at the steps to the McCall home. "If we're studying at Scott's house, where is Scott?" Lydia asked.

"Meeting us here. I think. I hope." Stiles muttered the last part.

Allison throws him a look. He gives a shrug as they hurry to the door. While he digs for a key, Allison whispers to Jackson. "Thanks for doing this."

"I need to talk to her anyway," Jackson spoke. Allison nods but eyes him a moment longer; something unsettling about his darkening expression. The door swings open.

And then slams shut once we're inside. Stiles locks it. Then flips the deadbolt. Then latches the chain. He turns to a suspicious Lydia. "There's been a few break-ins around the neighbourhood." Stiles lied. Clutching our bookbags, we all stare at the door. Then Stiles wedges a dining room chair underneath the knob. Lydia looks at him in disbelief. "And a murder. It was bad."

As he retreats from the door, Allison gives Jackson a nod to the stairs. "Lydia, follow me. I need to talk to you for a minute." Jackson requested.

"Seriously, what is going on with everyone?" She muttered under her breath while she followed Jackson up the stairs, leaving Allison, Stiles, and me alone. We looked outside and saw Derek and his pack standing there.

"I'll call Scott," Allison spoke. "Paige, can I use your phone?" I nodded and let her use my phone. "Scott." She spoke as soon as he picked up. "It's me."

"What's wrong?" Scott asked.

Back to the wall beside the living room window, Allison grips my phone in one hand, crossbow in the other. "You need to get here now. Right now."

"I'm on my way. Leaving now." Scott quickly spoke.

⇉

Sun is almost set; Allison, Stiles, and I throw cautious glances at Derek and his pack outside the window. With the hand not holding the crossbow, Allison pulls out her phone. "What are you doing?" I asked her.

"I think... I think I have to call my Dad." Allison looked at me.

"But if he finds you here. You and Scott—"

"I know. But what are we supposed to do? They're not here to scare us. They're here to kill Lydia." Allion gives Stiles and me a stern look. Stiles and I looked at the phone in her hand, neither of us knowing what to do.

Stiles looks down at the crossbow in Allison's hands. "I got an idea. Just shoot one of them."

"Are you serious?" Allison hissed.

"We told Scott we could protect ourselves. So let's do it. Or at least give it a shot, right?" Stiles asked. Trying to be brave, Allison gives the nod. "They don't think we're going to fight. If one of them gets hit, I guarantee they'll back off. So shoot one of them."

"Which one?" Allison asked.

"Derek. Shoot him. Preferably in the head." Stiles informed me, and I rolled my eyes.

"If Scott was able to catch an arrow, Derek definitely can." I pointed out.

"Fine. Shoot one of the other three." Stiles spoke.

"You mean two." Allison corrected, and I frowned.

"He means three," I tell her. I glanced out the window to the street to find only Erica and Boyd now flanking Derek.

"Where the hell's Isaac?" Stiles asked.

Allison sees him first. Reflected in the living room window right behind us. Isaac grabs Stiles, lifting him off his feet and tosses him across the room. Allison raises the crossbow to shoot. But Isaac moves too fast, knocking the weapon up so the dart fires harmlessly into the ceiling. Grabbing a handful of her coat, he lifts Allison up and sends her flying as she smacks painfully to the wood floor.

I growled lowly as Isaac hurt my friends. I glared at him vengefully. I stepped forward, my nails and fangs coming through. "Isaac," I growled.

"You know, you really should've joined us." Isaac snapped. "Maybe we'd be in a different situation."

I looked at him in disgust. "I'm with Scott. I'll always be with Scott."

Isaac then leapt towards me, and I easily dodged his attacks; while I kept him busy, I saw Allison creep up the stairs towards Lydia and Jackson. Isaac grabbed my wrists and pinned me against the front door, glowing his yellow eyes. I growled back, snapping my fangs at him as I struggled against him. Come on, Paige, you are stronger than that.

I kneed him in the balls, and he let out a whimper, stumbling back. While he was kneeling over, he groaned in agony. I smirked and kicked him in the chest harshly, sending him back to the kitchen table, and I winced, feeling his pain. Sorry, Scott.

I sprinted up the stairs, trying to make my way towards Allison. She turned to me as she stood by the window, smiling. "Lydia's okay; she's in the bathroom." I looked over at the bathroom; I could feel fear as the door was closed. It was an intense feeling.

I could hear footsteps coming up and kicking the door shut behind me, running towards Allison and standing beside her, growling softly. The door opens, revealing Erica. Allison was aiming her crossbow towards Erica.

"This might make me sound like kind of a bitch, but I've always wondered what it feels like to steal someone's boyfriend." Erica steps forward. Allison's finger tenses over the trigger. "I bet it's a pretty sick rush of power. I think I'm going to try it with Scott. And you know what? I don't think it's going to be that hard. Because why would he be waiting around to steal ten minutes with you when he could have me any time he wants? Any time. All of the time."

Lips pressed tight, Allison doesn't respond. Instead, she pulls the trigger. The crossbow fires. Erica whips back as if slapped. But then she slowly turns back to reveal the dart gripped in her hand. "You didn't really think that would work, did you?" Erica smirked.

"Actually, yeah," Allison spoke. Confused, Erica lowers the dart and opens her hand to see Kanima's venom covering the shaft. Venom, which now sticks to the fingers of her hand. I smirked widely.

The dart slowly falls to the floor.

With a look of pure hate, Erica uses her last bit of strength to charge toward Allison. But with only her first step, she goes down—collapsing to the floor with a cry of anger, the paralysis begins to take hold. Allison casually kneels to look her in the eye as she struggles to move.

"I thought you were psychic. Bitch." Allison grinned. She nods for me to leave, and I step over Erica, smiling. Allison and I walked downstairs, watching Scott throw Isaac out the front door. Scott grabbed Erica in five seconds before throwing her on the lawn.

Scott steps confidently over the threshold, eyes burning with a furious yellow glow. Stiles, Allison, and I follow, remaining on the porch as Scott strides down the steps.

"I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott. You're not an Omega. You're already an Alpha. Of your own pack." Derek eyed Allison, Stiles, and myself. Stiles, Allison, and I glance at each other, realizing who Derek is talking about. "But you know you can't beat me."

"I can hold you off until the police get here," Scott said, and in the distance, there was a faint sound of a siren approaching rapidly. And then something else... an odd scurrying. The clicking of sharp claws. I frowned at the strange sound. Everyone glances up to see a sinewy, jet-black body perched on the roof of the McCall home, glowing eyes peering down at them.

The Kanima.

Thin lips curling back to expose a double row of teeth, it opens its jaws and unleashes an inhuman shriek. Everyone steps back as the creature darts across the roof and leaps off. In a flash, it's escaped to the other side of the house, disappearing into the darkness.

Derek turns to Boyd and nods to Isaac and Erica. "Get them out of here." Derek intructed him.

As he retreats to race off in pursuit, the front door clicks open. Lydia steps out. "Would someone please tell me... what... the hell... is going on?" Lydia asked breathlessly, looking frightened.

Shocked, Derek stares at the innocent girl he nearly had killed. But he's not the only one surprised. We were all shocked.

Stiles, Scott, Allison, and I all turn to the house's open door, peering in with the knowledge that one of our friends is still unaccounted for... I frowned deeply.

"Jackson," I whispered. That Kanima is Jackson.