The Alpha's Keeper

Erica

The next day, Allison and Scott were climbing up the rock wall in gym class. My class ended up with Coach's class again so I was waiting for my turn with the others. "It had a tail. I don't have a tail." I heard Scott tell Allison. They were talking about the creature we saw last night. "Maybe you just haven't grown it yet." She replied with a shrug. "I'm not growing a tail. Ever." Scott insisted. "Are you slowing down for me?" he asked her. "I was waiting for you." she replied. "What? Waiting for me to catch up?" he asked her with a small laugh. "You looked like you were struggling." She said with another shrug. "Maybe I was admiring the view." My brother replied, his gaze flicking to his girlfriend's butt. "Try admiring from afar." She replied with a smirk before she climbed quickly up the rest of the rock wall. Scott slipped, trying to catch up with her and came repelling down. His line caught him a few inches off the ground and he hovered there for a moment before dropping down onto the mat with a groan.

"McCall, I don't know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy." Coach taunted him with a laugh before turning to the rest of us. "Alright, next two. Stilinski, Erica, let's go. The wall." Coach called out to them. Stiles and Erica were quickly helped into safety harnesses before they started climbing the wall. Stiles made it up the wall easily but Erica froze about ten feet up the twenty foot wall. "Oh, please..." I heard her whimper as she clung to the wall. "Erica. Dizzy? Is it vertigo?" Coach called up to her as Stiles came repelling down to the mat. "Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear. She's just freaking out." Lydia told him very insensitively. "Erica." I called up to her, remembering her from the locker room not too long ago. "I'm fine." she called out, her voice shaky. I heard her heartrate increasing and felt her panic.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe. You know she's epileptic." Allison muttered to Coach. "Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff? I have to get – Erica, y-you're fine. Just – just kick off from the wall." Coach called up to her. But I knew her panic was practically through the roof. I pushed through the crowd, offering a few excuse-me's as I made my way to the wall. I didn't hesitate to climb it without the safety harness or rope. "McCall, what do you think you're doing?" Coach shouted at me. But I ignored him and climbed up the wall surefootedly. "Hey," I called to Erica once I reached her, my voice low. She looked over at me with wide eyes and I offered her a smile. "Remember me?" I asked her and she nodded carefully. "You helped me the other day in dodgeball." She replied with a shaky voice. "Yeah, that's right." I replied, keeping my voice soft and warm.

"I helped you then and I'm gonna help you now, okay?" I asked her. She nodded in return as I held onto the wall with one hand. "Okay, I need you to kick off from the wall. The rope will keep you from falling and there is a mat right under you, okay?" I instructed. She nodded again before turning to face the wall. "Come on. You'll be fine." I promised as I slowly started to climb down the wall. She nodded before taking a deep breath and kicked off the wall. I quickly climbed the rest of the way down even though I knew I would be fine if I had just jumped off. "See, you're fine. You're on the ground. You're alright. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine." Coach told her as she quickly took off the harness. I landed firmly on the ground and went with Erica to the bleachers.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as we sat down. "Yeah, thanks to you." she said before groaning. "I can't believe I got so scared. You weren't scared at all and you didn't even have a harness." She said before putting her head in her hands. "Hey, it's totally okay to be scared. I mean, I get scared too." I told her as I started rubbing soothing circles in her back. "What do you get scared of?" she asked me, her eyes curious. "Well, I absolutely hate spiders. Even the baby ones. I have to get Scott to come and kill it every time I find one in my shower. And..." I trailed off as I remembered yesterday. I had lost control. I had terrified Scott and Stiles and I had hurt Scott and Derek. That terrified me the most. "And?" Erica asked, pulling me out of my mind. "And I get scared that I might hurt someone I care about." I told her. She nodded, smiling back at me.

Soon enough, class was over and we were all back in the locker room. I was about to start changing when I froze, a tingle running up my spine. I glanced around but she wasn't here. "Has anyone seen Erica?" I called out to the other girls. I heard a few giggles but chose to ignore them. "I don't think she came in with us." a girl named Mary told me. I nodded before my eyes flashed wide. Something inside of me seemed to click into gear and I quickly ran out of the locker room to see Scott right in front of me. We both burst into the gym and saw Erica on the climbing wall – without a harness. Scott ran towards her first as she fell off of the wall. He caught her just as the others came running in. "Put her on her side. Put her on her side!" I ordered Scott as I saw the seizures take place. He quickly laid her down on the gym floor and held her on her side. I pulled her hair away from her face and held it back so she wouldn't swallow it. "How did you know?" Allison asked as she came up behind us. Scott and I exchanged glances and realized the same thing. "We just felt it." Scott told her as I turned my attention on Erica. "Allison, call 911. Get an ambulance down here now." I insisted. She quickly pulled out her phone and did what I asked.

The next day, I sat with Scott as Stiles talked to this kid Boyd who worked at the local ice skating rink. He paid him 50 bucks to get the keys so Scott, Allison, Lydia, Stiles, and I could all go after hours. "Got 'em." Stiles said as he came to sit with me and Scott. "Pick you up right after work tonight and we'll meet at the rink, cool?" Stiles asked my brother. I was going to be with Allison and Lydia after school to help them pick out their skating outfits so I would ride with them.

Suddenly the sound of heels clinking on the floor filled my ears and I looked towards the cafeteria doors. In walked a girl with great legs, a leopard print skirt, and some excessive cleavage. My eyes widened when I saw her. She looked so different. "What the holy hell is that?" Lydia asked as she placed her hands on our table while staring at the other girl. "It's Erica." I muttered as she stole an apple from a boy's tray and took a big, seductive bite right in front of him before winking. She took another bite before walking out of the room. I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran after her. Stiles and Scott followed me as I followed Erica. Damn, she moved fast in those heels. We ran out of the building just in time to see her getting into a familiar black Camaro. My heart clenched as Derek smirked at us, leaning over her for us to see him. She tossed me a wave of her manicured hand before they tore out of the parking lot. I felt this terrible knot in my stomach forming and a darkness surrounding my heart. I clenched my teeth as I stared after them. "Evie." Scott called, poking my shoulder. My gaze snapped to him. Apparently he had called my name a couple of times. "I'm fine. Totally fine." I lied to him and Stiles very unconvincingly before stomping back into the cafeteria. Yep, I was 1000% jealous.

"Could it be any colder in here?" Lydia complained as the five of us laced up our skates. "Here." Stiles said, pulling an orange sweatshirt out of his backpack and holding it out to her. "I'm wearing blue. Orange and blue, not a good combination." Lydia told him. He fumbled over his words and I giggled silently to myself before carefully walking out onto the ice. I had a few minutes to myself out here before the others would join me. I had been skating since I was eight years old. I had never taken classes or anything like that but I had always gone whenever I could. At first, I fell on my face every couple of seconds. But then I got better and now I really enjoyed it. I closed my eyes as I felt the ice sliding underneath me. I twirled and slid backwards just like any figure skater. But with my eyes closed, I saw it again. Erica getting into Derek's Camaro and that little smirk he shot us. It had felt like he was personally stabbing me in the heart.

"Allison, not that this is news or anything," I heard Scott start, breaking me out of my thoughts. He was barely on the ice with Allison. "But you remember the werewolf thing? Super speed, strength, and reflexes." He told her, hands on his hips. I smirked to myself as I made my way over to them, coming to a stop a few feet away. "So a little ice skating should be no problem." I called, my smirk widening. "Yeah. See?" he asked as he took a step farther onto the ice. "It's no problem – ugh!" he was interrupted by falling on his ass. "Maybe." I heard him grumble over my fit of laughter. "Screw you, Evie!" he called out playfully. I just stuck my tongue out at him before skating my heart out.

I kept my eyes closed for a long time as I skated, keeping my senses alert so I wouldn't run into anyone. Images of the woods filled my mind – woods in the summer time. Green leaves in the canopy covering the forest floor. I smiled to myself as I hummed to the soft music playing in my head. But a scream shattered that image and I my eyes snapped open. Lydia was crouched on the ice, screaming as she stared down at what was underneath. I skated over to her just as Stiles wrapped her in an embrace, trying to calm her down. "What's wrong with her?" I asked him. He shook his head, eyes wide with fear. Something was happening with her but none of us knew what.