After re-burying Laura, Jacob walked over to the old Hale house's front steps and sat down. Stiles and Scott followed, settling beside him.
Jacob looked toward Derek, who stood silently by the grave, staring at them.
Jacob said. "So, are you going to tell us what's going on?"
Derek walked toward them, his expression guarded. "That's none of your business. You three should leave."
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Come on, we know the alpha probably killed your sister. You're trying to find him, and so are we. Wouldn't it make more sense to share what you know?"
Scott added. "I need to find him and make him stop bothering me."
Derek looked at Jacob. "And what about you?"
Jacob smirked. "I want to fight him. So, anything you can tell us?"
Derek sighed and finally sat down on the steps beside them.
"I don't know who he is or where he is. If I did, I would've killed him already… or died trying."
Stiles leaned forward. "Then what do you know?"
"All I know is that someone lured my sister back to Beacon Hills, killed her, and stole her power. He's now trying to build a pack."
"You mean he killed her to gain her ability to shift into a full wolf?" Stiles asked.
"No." Jacob said. "He killed her for her Alpha spark."
Scott frowned. "Alpha spark? What's that?"
Derek nodded. "It's the power that allows a beta to ascend and become an alpha. You either inherit it… or you take it by killing an Alpha."
Scott nodded slowly. "I see."
Stiles asked. "Do you know how we can find the Alpha?"
Derek said. "I don't know."
Jacob said. "How about you and Scott howl and call him at night?"
Derek shook his head. "I've tried howling to draw him out. He doesn't respond."
Jacob stood up and stretched. "Well, I don't want to sound rude… but you're useless."
Stiles smirked. "Are we leaving?"
"Yeah." Jacob said. "I'm starving. I feel like I could eat a cow."
Scott gave him a confused look. "Didn't you just have breakfast?"
"I did." Jacob said casually. "But I'm hungry again."
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Man, your stomach's like a bottomless pit. By the way, did you tell Allison how much you eat?"
"Nope." Jacob said. "How am I supposed to explain that? I eat normally when she's around."
As they started walking, Derek called after them. "Wait. Scott… if you find anything—anything at all about the Alpha—can you let me know?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah. I will."
The three of them hopped into the Jeep and headed back to Jacob's mansion.
While driving, Stiles turned to Jacob. "Are you going to tell Allison about what you are?"
"Yeah." Jacob replied. "I will tell her and Lydia. I just don't know when yet."
Stiles blinked. "Lydia too?"
Jacob nodded. "I want to date both of them. So they need to know about the supernatural."
Stiles stared at him. "Are you serious about having a harem?"
"Absolutely." Jacob said confidently.
Scott asked. "Do you think Allison and Lydia will agree to that?"
Jacob shrugged. "I don't know, but we live in a world where werewolves and supernatural creatures from mythology are real, so me wanting to have a harem isn't that hard to accept, right?"
Scott chuckled. "I guess you've got a point. Good luck with that."
"Thanks." Jacob said. Then he looked at both of them. "And by the way, Scott, Stiles—you guys should tell your parents about the supernatural too. The sooner, the better."
Scott's expression twisted. "No, no, no. We can't do that. What if my mom thinks I'm a monster… what if she hates me?"
Stiles agreed. "Yeah, we can't tell them. Not yet, at least."
Jacob sighed. "They're going to find out eventually. And Scott, you should tell your mother soon and have her carry bear spray… maybe even wolfsbane if you can find it. So she can protect herself. And don't worry—she's your mother. She won't hate you."
Scott hesitated, then said. "I'll think about it."
Stiles dropped Jacob off at his mansion, then drove off with Scott.
Jacob headed straight to the kitchen, devoured a big meal. After digesting his meal, he trained his fire and thunder elements, then he played video games late into the night.
---
The next day, Jacob arrived at school. After parking his car, he walked past Scott and Stiles, offering only a quick. "Morning." As he passed.
Stiles grabbed his arm. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
Jacob said. "I'm going to class to get some shut-eye. I didn't sleep enough last night."
Stiles narrowed his eyes. "You were up all night playing video games again, weren't you?"
Jacob shrugged. "Yes. Now let me go. I'm tired."
He walked off and headed straight to class, collapsed at his desk, and quickly dozed off. But his peace didn't last long—Stiles and Scott soon arrived and shook him awake.
Jacob opened his eyes slowly, glaring at them. "Believe it or not, I will kill you two bastards."
Stiles smirked. "Not a morning person, huh?"
Jacob growled. "What do you think?"
Scott stepped forward, his tone serious. "Jacob… I think I killed someone yesterday."
Jacob blinked. "What?"
Scott said. "Last night, I had this dream. I was on the school bus… attacking someone… it felt real. And we just saw the bus. It was covered in blood, like someone died in there."
Jacob yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Alright. Show me your eyes."
Scott frowned. "My eyes?"
"Yeah. Your wolf eyes."
Scott made his eyes glow, and they glowed yellow.
Jacob said. "You're fine. You didn't kill anyone."
Stiles looked confused. "How do you know?"
"When a werewolf takes a life—be it by accident or not—his eyes will turn blue." Jacob explained.
"Like Derek's." Stiles said.
Jacob nodded. "Exactly."
"So Derek's a killer?" Stiles asked.
Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. He might have killed someone by accident, or he might be a cold-blooded murderer. Either way, if you want to know, go ask him yourself."
Jacob leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Now you two idiots leave me alone. I want to take a nap."
"Wait." Scott said. "Can you tell me what that dream meant?"
Jacob groaned. "I don't know. If you want to find out, go check the bus. If you were there last night, it'll come back to you."
Stiles asked. "That's it? He just needs to go to the bus?"
"Yes." Jacob snapped. "Just go to the freaking bus. And if you two don't leave me alone right now, I will probably kill you both—starting with you, Stiles."
Stiles backed away quickly. "Okay, okay. Come on, Scott. Let's go to our seats. The stupid snake is in a bad mood."
---
At lunch in the school cafeteria, Jacob sat next to Scott and Stiles when Allison and Lydia joined them.
"Hey, guys." Allison greeted cheerfully.
Lydia glanced at Jacob and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you? You look pissed."
Jacob sighed. "Didn't sleep much… and I really hate the chemistry teacher."
Allison nodded, then leaned in a little. "Did you guys hear what happened with the bus?"
Stiles chimed in. "They're saying it was an animal attack. Mountain lion, maybe."
Allison frowned. "No way. A mountain lion can't do that. Didn't you see the back door of the bus? It was broken with huge claw marks on it. I think it was the same bear that was chasing you that night, Jay."
Jacob shrugged. "Yeah… probably."
Lydia rolled her eyes. "Okay, can we talk about something else now?"
Jacob spoke up loudly. "Sure. How about we talk about your dumb ex-boyfriend who keeps glaring at me."
He looked over at Jackson, who was seated at the next table and indeed staring daggers at him.
"I'm in a bad mood right now, so if you keep staring at me like that." Jacob said. "I won't mind slapping you a few more times."
Jackson scoffed, but lowered his head and looked away.
Stiles chuckled. "Poor guy. Not only did he lose his girlfriend on Friday, but Scott also became co-captain of the lacrosse team. He probably hates everyone at this table."
"I didn't do anything to him." Allison said.
Stiles grinned. "Did you forget? You spat on him and called him a pig at Lydia's party Friday night."
Allison blinked. "Oh… I forgot about that. Honestly, I should've kicked him in the balls, too."
Lydia rolled her eyes. "Ugh, let's just forget about that pig already."
Then she turned to Jacob with a playful smile. "Jay, how about you and I go out tonight and have some fun around town?"
Allison quickly spoke up. "I'm coming too. You're not going out with Jay alone."
"Come on." Lydia protested. "You can go out with him tomorrow."
Allison crossed her arms. "Yes, I can go out with him tomorrow… but I'm also going out with you guys tonight."
Jacob raised his hands. "Okay, okay. The three of us will hang out tonight—and tomorrow. Just stop arguing."
Lydia grinned. "Alright, where are we going?"
Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. You pick tonight, Allison can choose tomorrow."
Stiles raised a finger. "You guys do realize there's a curfew, right?"
Lydia scoffed. "Curfew? Who even cares about that?"
Allison said. "My parents would care, and they'll probably not let me go out."
Lydia smirked, clearly pleased. "That's too bad… guess it's just me and Jay, then."
Allison bit her nail, then muttered. "I'll sneak out."
Lydia looked regretful but smiled again and said. "Then how about we go bowling?"
Jacob groaned. "That sounds boring... No, actually that sounds fun. I've never been bowling. You girls will have to teach me."
Seeing the perverted smirk on Jacob's face, Allison playfully stomped on his foot.
"Ouch!" Jacob winced. "Allison, what are you doing?"
She smiled sweetly. "Oops. Did I get you? My bad. Lydia, let's go. Class is starting soon."
Lydia winked at Jacob. "See you later, Jay."
As the girls walked off, Jacob turned to Stiles. "Hey… are you trying to stop me from going out with Lydia?"
Stiles blinked. "What? Why would you say that?"
"Don't play dumb. If you weren't trying to stop us, why'd you bring up the curfew?"
Stiles looked away. "I was just reminding you, that's all. Besides… Lydia doesn't even care about me. I'm not going to ruin our friendship over something that'll never happen."
Jacob smiled. "Alright. Since you're being a good sport about all this, I'll help you hook up with some hot girl who'll love a nerd like you."
Scott raised his hand. "What about me?"
Jacob turned. "What about you? You're the captain of the lacrosse team and a werewolf. If you can't get a girlfriend by yourself, then maybe you should just go date a dog."
Scott stared at him. "What?"
Jacob smirked. "I was going to say a female wolf, but since there aren't any in Beacon Hills… a dog's the next best thing. Don't worry—me and Stiles won't judge you."
Stiles added. "Yeah, man. We'll understand and we'll still be friends with you... probably."
Scott stood up. "Screw you guys."
He walked off as Jacob and Stiles burst into laughter.
"Hey, Scott." Stiles called. "What do you think about huskies? They're kinda wolf-like!"
He jogged after him. "Wait up! Let's talk about it!"
To be continued... 😊