The last thing James "Jay" Hale ever imagined was to begrudgingly return to Beacon Hills, find out his older sister was murdered, and then be forced to go on a wild goose chase after an enigmatic Alpha that seemed to have a particular interest in ru...
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CHAPTER THREE: Guilt is a Funny Thing
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The car swerved dangerously to the side in Derek's attempt to reach over into the passenger seat, his whole body was turned and his entire focus was on grabbing the boy next to him to keep him seated. But as his right hand shot out, his fingers were only able to barely brush against the fabric of Jay's hoodie before he was too late.
Watching his younger brother throw himself out head first was enough for an immediate bolt of panic to shoot through him. The feeling washed over him like a sudden ice-cold bucket of water.
Meanwhile, Jay went tumbling out of the moving vehicle. All he could see were the leaves flying up around him as he rolled ungracefully with momentum for a couple of feet until finally coming to an abrupt stop. Maybe if Derek hadn't been driving like a maniac the fall wouldn't have been so bad but that was neither here nor there. He was the one who jumped out to escape his harsh words, so he had to deal with the consequences. Thankfully, the hard impact of hitting the ground barely even registered to him though. The pain was basically nonexistent in comparison to the stabbing behind his eyes and the bone-deep, unnatural ache coursing through his body and rattling his bones.
Not to mention the twisted vice around his heart that was beginning to feel like rusty chains trembling and shifting for the first time in forever.
When his hands reached up to clutch his head they inadvertently brushed against the new unnaturalness of his face shape. He ran his fingers along the rough skin until they came in contact with his newly developed razor-sharp teeth. He clenched them just because he could and felt a sharp pain from where they met his lips, drawing out blood. The tangy metallic taste of the blood in his mouth gave Jay the reality check he needed and the panic of it all started to set in.
He hadn't lost control on a full moon in literal years.
Meanwhile, Derek managed to slam the brakes as soon as the audible thud of Jay hitting the ground sounded out a little too loudly in his enhanced ears. The tires of his beloved Camaro slid over the uneven dirt until finally coming to a stop so sudden that it whipped the open passenger door dangerously on its hinges. He left his own door wide open as he ran towards the crumpled heap that was Jay on the ground, clutching at his face and radiating an aura of pain and anger.
Instinctively, in his panic, the first thing Derek did was crouch down and grab Jay's hands to try and pry them away from his face in case he accidentally took an eye out with his claws. Fortunately, he was fast enough to dodge the sudden swipe towards him as retaliation.
Jay bore his newly sharpened teeth up at Derek, his yellow eyes piercing the darkness of the night. It was only when Derek raised his hands up to show that he wasn't gonna touch him again did he roll on to his front and start to pant heavily through his mouth. His breaths were coming so hard that large puffs of air were visible in the cold night air. He sank his clawed fingers into the dirt beneath him, trying to find a hold to help stabilize himself.
