Secrets in the Hunt (Book 2)

Let's Go to War

My phone dings as I slam the Argents' front door. I look down and see a text from Scott.
       Meet me at the Hale house ASAP. I huff. I do not have the energy to continue running around this damn town. I send him a quick text letting him know that I had found Stiles and that he was hopefully on his way home. I glance around, dreading another run, when I spot Allison's car. She wouldn't mind, right? I glance back at the house that I was just banished from. Oh what the hell. I jump into the car and grab the key from the glovebox. I start it and drive from the house as quickly as possible. Another ding makes me glance down at my phone.
      Change of plans, meet at the hospital. I glance around to make sure there are no cops and do a quick U-turn. I don't have a license, so it's not like getting caught making a U-turn is my biggest worry. I drive right above the speed limit, fingers crossed that I don't get pulled over. Right as I pull into a parking spot, I see Scott walk into the building. I grab the key and run into the hospital, calling Scott's name.
      "What's going on?" I ask, rushing over to him. I give Isaac a small smile, not expecting him to be there.
     "My mom said something's wrong with Jackson." He says, walking quickly. I raise an eyebrow.
     "Wrong more than just collapsing on the field?" I ask, and Scott turns to me with a frown.
     "You didn't hear?" He asks and I shake my head.
     "Hear what?"
     "Tori, Jackson's dead." Scott says, walking into the morgue. I curse under my breath and follow him. I nod at Melissa, glancing around the room. My eyes widen when I see the half opened body bag on the table. I walk over, careful not to touch the cocoon surrounding Jackson.
     "What's happening to him?" Scott asks.
     "I thought that you were gonna tell me." Melissa says, her hands on her hips.
     "It's a cocoon. I think....I think he's changing." I say, and all eyes switch to me.
     "Is it bad?" Melissa asks, and I shrug. I've never dealt with a kanima before, but I have seen creatures that use cocoons.
     "It doesn't look good." Scott says. Jackson shifts and we all jump back.
    "Whoa." Isaac says, moving his hands away from Jackson.
    "Whoa. Um mom, could you zip it up please." Scott asks, stepping back until he's almost touching the wall. I scoff at him.
     "Is the big bad wolf scared?" I tease, and Scott just glares at me. Melissa chuckles as she steps towards the body bag.
     "Okay. Okay, okay. Okay, here we go." She says just under her breath, shakily tugging on the zipper. It gets caught right under Jackson's chin and Melissa frowns. She tries again, but Jackson opens his mouth and lets out a hiss, his teeth all filed into fangs. I wince at the sight. This can't be good.
     "Mom, zip." Scott says, his eyes wide.
    "Okay, okay, okay, okay." She mutters, tugging on the zip. Jackson starts thrashing around and I step forward, helping her tug on the zipper. Who makes these damn bags?
    "Zip! Zip, mom, zip! Zip!" Scott snaps, and Melissa and I are finally able to tug the zipper up the rest of the way. I twirl around and glare at Scott.
    "Zip, Scott, really? Why couldn't you help?" I snap back at him. He throws up his hands and walks away, calling someone. I turn to Melissa and frown at her. "Your son is useless. No offense." I say and she just laughs.
     "He can be pretty helpless at times, I'll give you that." She says and I grin.
    "Honestly, I don't see how he's done the past couple months without you knowing about this. I can already tell that you're much better at this than he is. His plans are worse than Stiles'." I say, and she smiles.
     "I'll take that as a compliment." She says. Scott walks back in and huffs.
    "We need to take him to Derek." He says, and I nod, holding up Allison's keys.
    "I'll drive." I say and Scott frowns.
    "You don't have a license." He says.
    "But I'm friends with the Sheriff." I counter.
    "When did you even get a car?" He asks, and I wince.
    "I kind of stole it. But, in my defense, I was tired of running all around this damn town. I don't have super speed or anything." I say, crossing my arms. Scott just shakes his head and grabs the part of the body bag where Jackson's head is.
     "Isaac, grab the feet. Tori, you're lookout." Scott directs. I salute at him and smile at Melissa before looking out the door.
    "We're good." I say, and together, we walk out of the hospital. "Wait." I say as we get to the parking lot. Scott and Isaac both freeze, and I wait for the car to pass before I nod. "Okay let's go." I say, and we continue walking to Allison's car. I curse as Scott drops his part of the bag. I move to help him, but stop when headlights light us up. My thoughts race as I try to come up with a believable excuse, but it all leaves when Chris steps out of the car. I look to the passenger side, expecting someone else to step out.
     "You're alone." Scott says, and Chris frowns. 
     "More than you know." Chris says, and I frown at him before crossing my arms. He didn't do anything to me, but I have to be on the defensive here. I mean, his wife had an affair with my dad even if she only did it for information.
     "What do you want?" Scott asks, and I can tell he's on edge.
    "We don't have much in common, Scott. But at the moment, we have a common enemy." Chris says.
     "That's why I'm trying to get him out of here." Scott says with a nervous laugh.
     "I didn't mean Jackson." Chris says and my eyes widen.
     "You're not on Gerard's side either." I say, and he turns to me, giving me a sad smile.
     "Gerard has twisted his way into Allison's head, the same way he did with Kate. Like he tried to do with you." He says, looking at me.
     "I don't want to be Kate." I say, and he nods.
     "I know. But Allison." Chris pauses and looks at Scott. "I'm losing her. And I know you're losing her too."
     "You're right. So can you trust me to fix this? Then can you let us go?" Scott asks, and there's a long pause. I look between Chris and Scott, anxious to get going. I mean we're standing in the middle of a parking lot with a body bag. That's kind of suspicious.
    "No." Chris finally says, and my heart drops. I look between Isaac and Scott, ready to help them fight our way out of this. "My car's faster." He says, helping Scott pick up Jackson. Let's go to war.
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New cover! And there's a new cover for Born To Hunt too! As always, comment and vote!