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 some fuck ass Alpha that seemed to have a particular interest in r...
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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
James Hale and His Wax Wings
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After weeks of navigating Derek becoming the newest Alpha asshole, the war of the bitten betas, and the latest shockwave of the Kanima's sudden takeover, there were only two paths laid before Jay: align with Scott completely or high tail it back to Derek's miserable side.
Derek was most likely stewing in his underground evil lair, waiting for him to submit. Scott was awkwardly trying not to mention out loud the question of his loyalty ever since the ice rink incident, but he only made things worse with his pointed, wide-eyed stares. And then there was Stiles, relentlessly bringing up the matter whenever and wherever he could, being his usual irritating self.
But the truth was, Jay didn't know what to do, and he couldn't fully agree or disagree with either side.
He was at a standstill, too biased to come to terms with the real answer.
So, ever defiant, he decided to procrastinate just a little longer. He conjured a third option out of sheer stubbornness alone while taking a midnight shower in the boys' locker room. Some could say shower ideas often led to terrible places, but Jay would beg to differ.
Like a magician pulling an impossible trick from a top hat, determined to complicate his life more than necessary, he decided to become a master of espionage somehow, playing both sides until he could devise a real plan or get rid of the problem himself along the way.
Scott had a point; they all wanted the same thing—to eliminate the Kanima as a threat. But their methods couldn't be more different. Derek was ready to kill the creature and anyone who stood in his way, waging a full-on war against the Argents in the process. Scott, on the other hand, would likely try to reason with the monster, ignore the issue of the Argents, and hope for a fairy-tale ending where everyone lived happily ever after.
Both sides were unrealistic and flawed—Derek's plan teetered on the edge of madness, and Scott's on naive idealism.
Jay decided he was the only one who could bring balance to this mess.
What exactly does that mean? He didn't know. He was quite literally winging it. All he knew was that after he licked his metaphorical wounds about having to pretend to submit to Derek, he'd go to the train station and start acting all sad.
Derek was a surprising softy. As long as Jay looked in the mirror and put some practice into a dejected expression, Derek would eventually crack and fall apart like sand.
Thus, his plan, though far from perfect, was simple enough: trick Derek into thinking he's given up on rebelling, spy on whatever information and plans the man had, find the Kanima himself using the intel, prevent unnecessary deaths (unless absolutely required—like if the Kanima was irredeemably evil or if Gerard "Geriatric" Argent pulled some shit), and somehow maintain the peace.
