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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER SIX: Self-Promoted to Fulltime Babysitter
✧✧✧✧
When Jay surprisingly spent the weekend after the big game without any drama, he tried to tell himself that everything was normal. That maybe God was giving him a break for once after all the shit that's been going on in his life left and right. There was radio silence from Scott and Stiles, and even Derek, who was released from holding, was back to his more manageable brooding level. It was amazing to be able to rest and not worry about someone getting murdered every couple of seconds.
But he really should have expected for it not to last that long. In fact, the sudden calm should've been a warning in and of itself for a storm slowly brewing because before he even stepped foot back on school property the following Monday, he knew something was off. Then, when he took a breath, he could smell it. There was a distinct metallic scent of old blood clouding up the area. It hit him like a punch in the gut, instantly putting him on edge.
He followed the trail of dread to a gathering crowd, all fixated on something he wasn't prepared for.
The back area of the school was cordoned off with caution tape, and beyond the sea of heads blocking his view, Jay spotted the familiar school bus. Its backdoor looked to have been torn off its hinges and discarded carelessly on the side, as though it were nothing more than a piece of scrap metal. Worse than that, there were deep red streaks all along the metal, as if someone had been trying to drag themselves out or something.
Jay's stomach twisted at the sight, and his feet moved on autopilot away from the scene and away from the crowd of people who were watching it all unfold.
Maybe the game wasn't the only place where he should've been keeping an eye out on Scott. Maybe it was careless of him to just sit back and relax at home instead of checking up on the boy, because surely that was what the bloody bus meant, right? Scott lost control and killed someone. His scent—the fresh ripeness of a newly turned werewolf—was intermingling with blood and the chemo signals of pure terror. It was clear that he was on the bus recently, there was no denying that.
But the only people who Scott would've been with on a regular outing would be Allison or Stiles. Either of them could be ripped apart and murdered with no real cause. The worst part was that it wouldn't even be because of Scott, who had lost control. It would be because of Jay's carelessness. Even Derek had a hand in everything for not being more firm with Scott right at the beginning. For not forcing Scott to listen and teaching him how to control his urges before he did something that was irrevocable.
His breath tightened and, in his haste to get away, he ended up stumbling straight into someone.
That someone was the very person he was about to absolutely murder.
