Neriah Hale lost her family at the age of ten, leaving her in the town of Beacon Hills with no one but two boys and a secret that she'd spent her whole life hiding. But when one of the two boys gets bitten, she has to reveal her true self to help sa...
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THE next day, Stiles pressed his foot on the brakes, coming to a slow stop near Jackson's Porsche and a red SUV in the school parking lot.
I faked a smile from the backseat when I noticed Jackson and Mr. Argent standing in front of Jackson's car.
For some reason, Scott felt like he needed to protect Jackson because the hunters thought he was a werewolf, even though I suggested it was not our problem and to let nature take its course.
But no. Of course, they didn't agree.
"What's up?" Stiles called out, and Jackson looked over to us with Mr. Argent.
"Is everything okay?" Scott asked them.
"Hey, Scott," Mr. Argent greeted with a fake ass smile like my own. "Your friend here was having car trouble. We're just taking a look."
"There's a shop right down the street," Scott pointed out, and Jackson nervously looked between them. "I'm sure they have a tow truck."
"Yeah. You want a ride?" Stiles asked, and I knew he hated that.
Scott pushed open his door, and Jackson honestly looked like he might shit himself.
"Hey, come on, Jackson," I said nicely, leaning out between the seats. "You're way too pretty to be out here all by yourself."
"Ew," Stiles whispered to me, and I sent him a small smile.
You have nothing to worry about, I wanted to say, but didn't.
Jackson nodded and started to walk toward us as Scott got out of the Jeep, and I sank back into the backseat, sitting behind Stiles and watching Mr. Argent closely, who seemed to be doing something to the Porsche.
"You owe me for this," I whispered to Stiles, looking at him for a second before looking back to the others.
Suddenly, Mr. Argent stood up, walking around the car. "Hey, boys, and Neriah," he called out, opening the car door. Well, at least he included me, I guess. The car started, and I furrowed my brows. "Told you I knew a few things about cars."
Climbing over the seat, I sat in the front as we all watched Mr. Argent get back into his car and drive away without another word.
Whirling back around to Scott, Jackson sent him a furious look. "What, are you following me now?" he demanded, and Stiles got out of the Jeep just as Scott slammed the door before I could even get out.
"I'll just stay in here then," I mumbled, leaning against the rolled-down window.
"Yeah, you stupid freaking idiot," Scott snarled, getting closer to Jackson. "You almost gave away everything right there!"
"What are you talking about?" Jackson asked, furrowing his brows.
"He thinks you're the second Beta," I clarified, throwing my hand up. "Keep up, Jackass."
He looked at me and then at Scott with a confused expression. "What?"
Jesus, how clueless was he?
"He thinks you're me!" Scott yelled and then hit the Jeep door, making my teeth chatter.
"Bloody hell," I cringed, grabbing my jaw.
"Dude, my Jeep," Stiles groaned in despair.
"I can hear your heart beating from a mile away, literally!" Scott warned Jackson, ignoring Stiles. "Now he thinks that there's something wrong, and now I have to keep an eye on you, so he doesn't kill you, too!"
When Scott turned around, heading back toward my door with his arm raised, I threw out my hands, leaning out the window as Stiles grabbed him.
"Okay, okay, okay," Stiles repeated, pulling Scott away. "How about we just step away from Stiles's Jeep?"
Snorting at him, I opened the car door and jumped out before closing it behind me and leaning back against it.
"You know what, this is your problem, not mine, okay?" Jackson bit out, pointing a finger at Scott. "I didn't say anything, which means you're the one who's gonna get me killed, okay? This is your fault!" He shoved Scott back into the Jeep beside me, and I quickly stepped away.
"Can we stop hitting my Jeep?" Stiles exclaimed, throwing his hands up.
Scott shoved Jackson back, and Stiles quickly got between them as I stepped closer to Scott, keeping my eyes on Jackson.
"When they come after you, I won't be able to protect you," Scott warned as Stiles stepped back to my side. "I can't protect anyone," he added, looking at Stiles and me.
"Why are you looking at us?" Stiles asked, arching a brow.
Scott stared at us for a long moment, and I crossed my arms over my chest.
Why was he looking at us?
"You know what?" Jackson cut in, gaining our attention. "Now you have to do it. Get me what I want, and I will be fine protecting myself."
"No, you won't!" Scott argued. "Just trust me, all it does is make things worse."
"Oh, yeah, really?" Jackson sarcastically asked. "You can hear anything you want and run faster than humanly possible. Sounds like a real hardship, McCall."
"Yeah, I can run really fast now, except half the time, I'm running away from people trying to kill me! And I can hear things like...Like my girlfriend telling people that she doesn't trust me anymore right before breaking up with me. I'm not lying to you! It ruins your life."
Jackson shook his head. "It ruined your life. You had all the power in the world, and you didn't know what to do with it. You know what it's actually like? It's like you turned sixteen and someone bought you a Porsche when they should have started you out with a nice little Honda." I rolled my eyes at his whole attitude and started walking toward his Porsche as he continued. "Me? I drive a Porsche."
"Oh, you mean this one?" I called out, standing beside his passenger window. Jackson turned around with furrowed brows as Scott and Stiles shook their heads. But I only smirked before throwing my elbow back and shattering the window. "Oops."
"You crazy bitch!" he shouted, running over to me.
I only walked straight toward him and grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it hard enough to make him fall to his knees with a cry. "If you tell the hunters or anyone about Scott, I will break your shoulder beyond repair, Jackson," I threatened him lowly, shoving him away from me. "That's a promise."
