Wicked Game

Chapter 19

I rub the back of my neck uncomfortably, my heart thumping in my chest. I glance back at the doorway, and nearly rolled my eyes into the back of my head.

"What do we have here?"

I knew Peter's voice the moment I heard it. I hide my face in embarrassment when he continued.

"Well nephew, so much for being sick of cleaning up my messes, huh?" The cunning voice asks Derek. I avoid Peter's intense gaze.

"Kasey," Derek says before his uncle can say anything else. I look up from my lap at him and he goes on, "Will you give us  a few minutes please?"

I nod, and stand from the couch, clutching my music player. Derek shows me to his room, glancing at me before shutting the door behind him.

I was left by myself in the dark room. A streak of light shines in through a crack in the drawn curtains. I left my feet move towards them, and tug them open. The street lamps made the room glow, not revealing much here except a dresser and a bed recently slept in. I gaze at my surroundings, and tune in to the conversation in the next room.

"...friends aren't going to have much luck with that anymore," Peter scoffs, and I instantly catch on.

Rain had begun to fall outside, blotting the concrete an asphalt. I hated to admit that Peter was right, but the rain would surely put the mission on hold. Pretty soon, the boys will lose the scent.

I could almost feel Derek's nerves radiating through the walls.

"Tell me you didn't have anything to do with this hunter going after Kasey," he says firmly to Peter.

"Me? Hiring someone to take out one of my own pack members? Please," the alpha scoffs in return, coming off suspicious, but I didn't believe he would. No, this was something else.

"Why are you so concerned anyhow? A couple months ago you were complaining about my endeavor to start recruiting again," Peter calls him out, and I could imagine the icy glare that would have earned him.

"It's different. Obviously she's apart of the pack now. Not yours," Derek pauses. "Ours. Scott's. Look, if this blows up, it could be serious for all of us. As far as we know, this hunter only knows about Kasey."

"Sure, that's the reason," Peter wanders back to his main point. My heartbeat suddenly began thumping in my chest again, sending me into surprise. I close my eyes and take control through my breathing. That was the part of me that hoped Derek hadn't been listening.

By now the rain was pouring harder, definitely interfering with the situation. I knew it when headlights rolled in and the blue jeep passed under the street light. Once parked behind Derek again, Stiles hops out of the driver's side and Scott and Isaac climb out the passenger's. I could tell from here that they were all sopping wet.

I quickly make up my mind to not be in here when they would come through the door. There's more important things right now than why I'm in Derek's room, which I know I would get hell for...

I fix the curtains so they're how I found them before letting myself out of the room. Never thought I'd be here. Like at all.

I shake the thought from my mind when I find Derek standing in the middle of the living room. He rubbed his hands over his face, obviously in his sour wolf mood.

"They're back," I speak up. Peter had vanished, which I was relieved for, leaving it just Derek and me.

Derek peeks from behind his fingers before letting his hands fall. The sound of three pairs of footsteps reach the door, opening to reveal the drenched boys. And they did not look happy.

"What happened?" Derek asks them immediately, brushing past me without another look.

"We lost the scent in the rain," Scott answers exactly what Peter had predicted.

"But," Isaac pitches in, pointing at Derek with an exasperated arm, "I did get a license plate number!"

"We first saw her lingering in Kasey's neighborhood. It's definitely the same girl from the dance and the picture of her outside here," Stiles confirms. "She figured out she was being followed though and she lost us."

"She knows we're onto her now. That means we have to act fast," Derek thinks out loud, ruffled by the fact that she had gotten away. I could feel his tension just by looking at him. I folded my arms over my chest, leaning in the doorway.

I run a hand over the back of my neck, separating myself from the conversation and losing myself in my head. This hunter knows where I live, where I go to school, and by now who my friends are. The echoing thoughts were endless from there. What would she do to my family, or what if she found out about my friends and they got hurt because of me?

This was about to get serious.

_________________________________________

Allison stayed over at my house for the next couple nights, bow hidden under my bed just in case. She even took me out in the woods one afternoon to show me how to use it.

Louie was happy that I was bringing friends home and staying at our house rather than theirs. I felt bad because I knew that he missed me, but I mean, what can I say? Hey Lou, I can't stick around, I got turned into a werewolf and now I'm spending all my time with other werewolves so I don't hurt anyone. At least graduation was coming up.

The rain fell heavy since that night, putting an even longer hold on finding the hunter. The boys still searched, Derek mostly, but came up with nothing every time. I didn't say anything, but I knew the woman was still around. I could sense it, even if there were no signs.

So in the mean time, Derek worked with me on my fighting skills. Everyday after school, Allison and I would go to the gym for a couple hours, and I would be the one coming home completely exhausted. Derek was not letting me off easy, almost pushing me as hard as he did when we first started. There was no talk of that night. Derek didn't bring it up, so neither did I. He would if that's what he wanted, right?

I roll my eyes at myself for thinking of such a stupid idea. It's Derek. Derek's cold, closed off, and belongs to no one. I run my fingernails over my bottom lip, letting my gaze focus on the rain and graying skies outside.

Allison, Scott, Stiles, and I work on homework at my dining room table. Well, they do, I drift in my own little world for the millionth time in the past week.

A two note whistle snatches my attention. I snap out of my daydreaming, turning my head and raising my eyebrows at Stiles. He waves a hand in front of me, "Earth to Kasey?"

I let my hand fall to the table and fidget with the mechanical pencil in my other hand. I clear my throat, "What?"

"I said, are you okay?" Scott repeats himself, raising his eyebrows in return.

"Yeah, I'm good," I nod, straightening in my chair and letting my eyes linger back to my homework. I felt Scott still staring at me and knew he didn't believe me.

Like obnoxious siamese cats, the twins appear from nowhere, looming over the company.

"A few dorks and a pretty lady who seems a little lost," Duke analyzes us in his own view, winking at Allison.

Scott glares, and I huck my pencil at them, "Go on, get out of here! Shoo!"

"Come on, sister, we're not dogs," Fallon  throws me a corny grin, hanging in the doorway. I would hate to see my brothers as werewolves...

"I sure hope not," I scoff at them right as Louie came through the front door.

"Lou, Kasey won't let us talk to her pretty friend!" Duke tattles from across the house. There was a moment's pause before my older brother responded.

"Do you blame her?" He calls back, and Duke pulled an offended expression. I shrug and him and mouth Sorry, waving the two boys off.

I smile at my goofy family and friends, but feel everything else eating me up inside. What no one knew was that I was planning something drastic and reckless. But it would only be that way for me.