Paradise City | Lydia Martin

Chapter 06 | Heart Monitor

Scott was wandering the mall's garage after some late-night shopping, trying to find his mom's car amidst the rows and rows of other trucks, but was unsuccessful so far. He could have sworn that he parked it on this level. His arms were growing tired of the heavy bags he carried and he felt a cold shiver run up his spine as the darkness began to creep in. Despite his newfound energy thanks to his werewolf nature, the tiredness seeped into his bones, making him weary.

He put the grocery bags down by his feet, rummaging through his pockets for the car keys before he pressed the call button a few times. He waited for the click to follow, but much to his charging, it came from the floor above him.

With a sigh, he leaned down to pick up his food, but a bottle of milk rolled out, tumbling under a car nearby. Before Scott could chase after it, it came back with four holes in the plastic, leaving splashes of milk in its wake.

The teenager tensed, training his hearing and catching deep growling at the other end of the parking lot. Without a second thought, he began running in the other direction, his heart in his throat as the beast caught up to him.

Upon reaching the lower level, he hid behind a row of cars, panting for breath. After a moment, he wasn't able to calm down his racing heartbeat to confuse his pursuer, so he leapt on the hood of the nearest car, setting off its alarm. He did the whole row down, jumping from one hood to another, not really caring that he dented them in the process before he hid at the end.

The trick seemed to be working as the growling grew farther and farther still until his phone began ringing obnoxiously loud. He pulled it out of his pocket hurridly, Allison's face lighting up the screen, but he didn't have the time to fawn over the photo. As he began fiddling with the button to turn it off, he was yanked up by the hood of his hoodie and slammed into the roof of the car he was crouching behind.

Towering above him was none other than Adrian Hale, his long fangs turning his cheeky smirk dangerous as his green eyes shined full of mischief.

„You're dead," teased the blonde before holding his hand out for Scott and helping him stand up.

Derek hovered a few feet away from them, a deep frown etched into his features as he crossed his arms over his chest. Adrian dropped down from the vehicle and the cousins began walking away without as much as a glance in the teenager's direction, the hellhound trying to convince Derek to renovate the house.

„We should do the kitchen first, it's the most important room," mused Adrian, his gaze growing wistful at the idea of a homecooked meal.

„Of course, the food is all you can think about," chuckled Derek, shaking his head in amusement, „You're like a trash can on steroids."

„Hey!" objected the blonde, letting out an offended huff, „You can't blame me that I burn calories fast."

„What the hell was that?" barged in Scott angrily, finally being able to catch up with their long strides.

The older werewolf didn't slow down in his tracks, only rolling his eyes as the teenage drama began getting on his nerves.

„I said I was gonna teach you. I didn't say when," he called over his shoulder, shrugging nonchalantly.

„You scared the crap out of me!" burst out the Beta, his voice raising, „What were you thinking chasing me like that?"

„That was actually me," Adrian interrupted before a real fight could break out, defending his cousin.

„What?" the tan boy stopped short, but then he asked, hoping for at least some advice, „Okay, but I was fast, right?"

„Not fast enough," Derek clicked his tongue disapprovingly, „Rian was faster and he was holding back."