Fair Game (Teen Wolf- Liam Dunbar)

Chapter 3

Liam's POV

"Liam!" I heard Scott barge through the door downstairs.

"Don't you knock?" I asked, descending down the staircase.

He pulled me into a suffocating hug, letting out a sigh of relief. I squirmed on instinct, then settled to pat him on the back. "What happened?" I asked.

He released me from the hug, and took a step away. "You have a target on your back."

"What do you mean?"

"I met a Beta today at school. She followed me," Scott explained. "She's strong, she's scrappy, and she's looking to kill you."

"Why me?" I asked, unimpressed. At this point, I was used to threats, and I wasn't used to losing.

"I don't know. Her Alpha must be somewhere in town, and it looks like they want to take us down. Badly."

Scott's concerned eyes didn't move off of me. He was obviously terrified of this girl, even though she was a Beta. I was sure he could defeat her. "Don't worry; we'll be fine. You're a true Alpha."

"Liam, she beat me today."

I paused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she had me pinned down, and if she wanted to, she could have killed me."

"Well," I said, beginning to feel less confident. "If she didn't kill you, maybe she's making false threats. Maybe she doesn't kill people."

"Her eyes were blue."

"Well..." I racked my brain for any optimistic scenarios, but came up empty. "Shit."

"Listen, this girl was at school today. She's obviously not hiding from us, so she could try to get you then, or at lacrosse, or-"

My phone buzzed. "Sorry," I told Scott, pulling it out of my pocket, seeing a text from my boss. "I gotta go to work, but we'll continue this conversation later, okay?"

"Work? Seriously? That's the perfect place to cut your head off!"

"Gruesome," I said, putting my phone back in my pocket. "But I doubt she'll be there. She's probably done her damage for the day."

"Liam..."

"Look, don't worry about me. I bet she's bluffing on going after me. She's probably just trying to distract you. I'll be fine. You go warn the others, and I'll stop by your house after my shift."

"I still don't think you should go."

"Scott, I swear I'll be fine. You told me I should be living a normal life, right? Well, me going to work is normal. Me cowering in fear of an evil Beta; not so much."

"Okay," he sighed. "Just be careful, alright?"

"I will be," I said, opening the front door.

As Scott and I parted ways and I began to drive to work, my nerves grew. Everything Scott had said made me feel worse about this girl, and I struggled to fight the overwhelming feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

In all honesty, I was terrified nearly all of the time. I constantly told Scott and the rest of the pack that I was fine, and I was ready to fight. Fighting used to bring excitement, but now it felt that each one brings me closer and closer to death.

I could never understand how everyone seemed to jump from one problem to the next. I never understood how they always seemed to come out on top. I knew of most everything that happened to Scott since his sophomore year, and I couldn't help but think that they hadn't lost anyone in a while, and someone was going to die eventually. I worried it would be me.

When I got to work, a little restaurant called Pedro's Diner, I took a few deep breaths before going inside. I eyed the waiting customers as I walked through the door into the kitchen.

"Liam," Pedro spotted me, relieved. "We're short-staffed. We need you to do tables."

"What? But I wash dishes," I complained as he shoved an apron into my hands.

"And now you're working tables."

"I don't know how," I told him worriedly, tying my apron on.

"It's easy," he said, putting his hand on my back to push me back out the door to the restaurant. "Smile, tell them your name, ask for their order, write it down, and put the paper up for the cook. Start with table seven."

"Seven?" I asked meekly.

"Seven," he said, pointing to a table where a young girl sat with her feet up on the booth, twirling her long black hair. She looked up at me and smiled.