Ten days had passed since Jacob burned the auction building in Vegas. In those ten days, not much had happened—the commotion Jacob caused in Vegas died down, but people all around the country still talked about the Minotaur. Peter and Derek were lying low, the Argents hadn't tracked them down, and Jacob's daily sign-ins these past ten days had yielded only kitchen essentials or normal food like cans of tuna or a few dollars.
That morning, he woke to the familiar weight and warmth of Malia curled against him, tucked into the hollow of his arm like a living pillow. Allison and Lydia had spent the night at their parents' houses.
Jacob stroked her fur gently and thought. 'System, sign in.'
[Daily Sign-In Successful. Rewards Obtained:
- a plunger for your toilet
- $50
- a measuring tape]
He sighed. 'I've been really unlucky these past few days.'
He got out of bed, waking Malia in the process. "Sorry, go back to sleep. I've got school." She curled back up and was soon asleep again.
He took a quick shower, dressed, and went downstairs. Cogman was waiting in the kitchen.
"Morning, Cogman." Jacob said.
"Good morning, sir." Cogman replied. "Should I drive you to school today, sir, or are you taking your bike?"
"No, I'll take my bike today." Jacob said, grabbing a slice of toast.
"Very well, sir." Cogman said.
After finishing his meal, Jacob rode his bike to school.
At school, Jacob met Scott and Stiles.
"Morning, guys." Jacob said.
"Morning." Scott and Stiles answered in unison.
Jacob raised a brow at how cheerful they seemed. "Why are you two smiling like idiots? Did something good happen?"
Stiles pointed toward the parking lot, where Jackson had just climbed out of his Porsche, looking confident as he walked toward the school. "We took Jackson to Peter yesterday, and Peter gave him the bite. Jackson paid us ten grand."
"I see." Jacob said. He glanced at Jackson and thought. 'I wonder if he's still going to turn into a Kanima.'
Shaking off the thought, he turned to Scott. "Did you pick out a car yet?"
"Yeah." Scott said, grinning. "I found a nice 2000 Mustang GT for $6,000. It's owned by an older gentleman, the mileage is a little less than 50,000, and it's in great condition. Title and registration will cost an extra six hundred, so $6,600 total. I gave Stiles a thousand, I gave my mom two grand, kept $400 for myself, and I'm going to get the car today after school."
Jacob tilted his head. "Did you tell Melissa where the money came from?"
Scott said. "I told her I did a werewolf a favor, and he gifted me ten grand. She took the $2,000 and said she really needs it to pay some bills."
"How is she, by the way?" Jacob asked. "I should give her a visit."
"No. You stay away from her!" Scott snapped.
Jacob said. "Relax, I'm sixteen. I don't want to date your mom." Then he smiled. "I just want to build a good relationship with her and make sure she stays single until I turn eighteen."
Scott's eyes flashed yellow, and he let out a low, warning growl. Jacob laughed and ran off toward Allison and Lydia, who had just arrived at school.
Scott calmed down and looked at Stiles, who was quieter than usual. "What? No sarcastic comment?"
"I've got plenty." Stiles shrugged. "But I don't want to say anything about Jacob dating your mom in front of him. I don't want him getting upset and going after Erica." Then he smirked. "But now that he's gone, I can say something sarcastic about your future stepdad if you want."
Scott got angry when he heard the word stepdad. "You know what? I think I'll go after Erica myself."
Stiles stared at him wide-eyed for a second, then burst out laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" Scott said. "I'm serious!"
"Ahahahahaha! You are... serious?" Stiles managed to say between laughs. "Hahahaha!"
"Stop laughing!" Scott said, growing more frustrated.
Stiles finally caught his breath, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry, it's just... that's the funniest thing you've ever said!"
"You think I couldn't get her if I wanted to?" Scott challenged.
"I thought my laughing was an obvious answer." Stiles retorted. "What do you think you have that I don't? You used to be the lacrosse co-captain, but now I'm just as good as you after Jacob gave me that potion. If I wanted to be captain, I could—but since we're best friends, I don't want to take that from you. Besides, Erica likes me, and she would never be interested in your stupid ass."
"Hey, you didn't have to call me stupid." Scott grumbled.
"Aren't you failing a few classes?" Stiles shot back.
"Not anymore." Scott said, a touch of pride in his voice.
Stiles snorted. "Anyway, I thought we were brothers. I never thought I'd have to worry about you going after my girlfriend. I really want to beat your ass for saying you'd go after her. So, I'm not talking to you for the rest of the morning."
With that, Stiles turned and walked into the school building, leaving Scott standing alone, scratching his head awkwardly.
---
After school, there was a lacrosse game, and Jacob and the girls went to see it since there was nothing else to do.
In the bleachers, Allison saw her parents and Kate sitting there. "What are they doing here?" She asked.
Jacob said. "I don't know. If I have to guess… maybe they're looking for Peter's betas since they couldn't find him and Derek."
"I'm going to ask them." Allison said, then walked toward her parents.
Jacob noticed Melissa sitting beside Sheriff Stilinski. He took Lydia's hand, walked over, and sat next to her.
"Jacob! How are you?" Melissa greeted with a warm smile as he sat.
"Hey, Melissa, long time no see." Jacob said. "Is Scott still making trouble for you?"
Melissa chuckled. "No, he's surprisingly well-behaved, more than usual since the last time I saw you."
Then Jacob looked at Scott on the field, who was glaring at him. "Is he? Anyway, if you want to teach him a lesson, just let me know."
Melissa reached over and twisted his ear lightly. "I can take care of my son, kid. But thanks."
Lydia, on Jacob's other side, pinched him. He took the hand that was pinching him and kissed it, making her pout.
The game started, and Scott was playing rough. Instead of reprimanding him, Coach was actually cheering him on and arguing with the referee every time a foul was whistled against Scott.
As the game continued, Scott looked at the bleachers, where his mom wasn't even paying attention to him but was talking and laughing with Jacob. His eyes glowed, and he ran to one of his own teammates, bumped him hard, took the ball, and ran toward the opposite team's goal to score.
Stiles caught up with Scott. "Scott, calm down! Let's go check on Sean; I think you hurt him badly. I swear, when you hit him, I heard his bones breaking."
Scott came back to his senses and walked with Stiles toward his teammate to check on him, but the guy named Sean stood up and pushed Scott away.
"I'm fine." Sean snapped as he walked off.
As Sean walked away, Scott looked at Stiles and whispered. "Sean is like me. I think he just shifted when he pushed me."
Stiles whispered back. "A werewolf?"
Scott said. "No, he's something else. And whatever he is, he smells bad. Like, really bad."
Jacob, sitting in the bleachers, felt a wave of disgust the moment Sean shifted and pushed Scott away.
"Jay." Lydia whispered, leaning close. "I don't like that guy who just pushed Scott. He feels wrong."
Jacob made sure the Sheriff doesn't hear them and said."I know. I think he's a wendigo."
"Are you sure?" Lydia asked.
Jacob said. "Yes. You can't tell when a wendigo doesn't shift, but when they do, they smell rotten, and he just shifted when he shoved Scott. You stay here with Melissa."
Melissa, who was listening, whispered, leaning close. "What's a wendigo?"
"Lydia, tell her." Jacob said.
Lydia nodded, and Jacob got down from the bleachers. He walked near the field and called Stiles over.
Stiles jogged over. "Can you stop messing around and keep away from Melissa, at least until the game's over? Scott is going to lose control and hurt someone."
"Don't worry about that." Jacob said. "Tell me, what's the last name of that guy, Sean?"
"Walcott." Stiles said.
Jacob thought. 'So, he is the wendigo from season 4. He and his family have a secret stash of human bodies in their basement.'
Stiles brought Jacob out of his thoughts. "Why are you asking about his last name? Is it because he's a shapeshifter too?"
"No, it's because he's a wendigo, and I need his last name to know where he lives." Jacob said.
Stiles frowned. "What are you going to do?"
"Let's just say your dad will be very busy tomorrow." Jacob glanced back at the field. "Now go play your stupid game. Coach is coming this way, and I don't feel like talking to him."
Stiles nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He jogged back to continue the game as Jacob moved to a remote corner of the lacrosse field and spoke to Allison telepathically. [Allison, come here and bring your parents too.]
Not long after, Allison, her parents, and Kate came and stood next to him.
Victoria said. "Allison said you wanted to talk to us. What's going on?"
Jacob's expression was serious. "There's a wendigo on the field right now—and you know what that means, right?"
Chris frowned. "If that's true, there's probably a family of them living here in Beacon Hills."
"Yes, and we can't let them live past tonight." Jacob said. "So, this is your chance to show Allison what hunters really should do."
Chris nodded. "Do you know where he lives?"
Jacob shook his head. "No, just his full name—Sean Walcott."
"That's good enough." Chris said, stepping aside and pulling out his phone. "I'll make a few calls."
As Chris walked off, Victoria turned to Jacob. "How do you know he's a wendigo?"
"He shifted, and I caught his scent." Jacob said. "I've dealt with wendigos before. Although it was Cogman who killed them, I still remember their scent. They smell like rotting flesh."
Kate said. "I've dealt with one before. Nasty things—but not that strong. They're easy to kill."
"I guess you've never met one in its alpha form." Jacob said. "I've read about them and have a picture of a wendigo in its alpha form, and it is not pretty to look at—a deer skull for a head, a furry body, and red glowing eyes instead of white. They're monsters among monsters."
Victoria nodded. "We have that picture in the bestiary too, but no one has seen an alpha wendigo in centuries."
Allison said. "And I hope we don't see it either." She looked at Jacob. "Do you think Sean's family has an alpha?"
Jacob shook his head. "Probably not."
Chris rejoined them, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "I got their address. We'll hit them tonight at 11 PM."
"Alright." Jacob said. "You guys get ready. Cogman and I will join you at your place. He'll sulk for a week if I don't take him with us tonight, and he'll probably start playing creepy music on his piano. I'd rather not wake up to him playing creepy music at 3 a.m."
Allison laughed. "Yeah… that sounds exactly like him."
Jacob smirked. "Are you going with your parents, or with me and Lydia?"
"I'll go with my parents." Allison said. "I want to see how they prepare for a hunt."
Jacob leaned in, kissed her, and said. "Alright then, I'll meet you at your parents' house." Then he started walking toward Lydia, waving over his shoulder. "See you guys later."
As he reached Melissa and Lydia, he kissed Melissa on the cheek and said, "Good night."
Melissa raised a brow. "You're not going after that wendigo, are you?"
"Yes, we are." Jacob said. "We can't leave something that dangerous living in Beacon Hills. Wendigos eat people, Melissa."
"Is Scott going with you?" She asked, concern clear in her voice.
"No. He doesn't want to kill people, even monsters like wendigos, so we will not take him with us." Jacob said.
Seeing that Melissa's expression had changed and she obviously didn't agree with killing people, Jacob sighed. "Don't give me that look, Melissa. If you want, I'll call you and Scott afterward. You can see for yourself what wendigos really do. And don't worry, I would never encourage Scott to take a life. He chose not to kill, and I respect his choice."
Melissa thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Call me when it's done. I want to see with my own eyes how horrible they really are."
Jacob smiled faintly. "Alright."
He and Lydia walked toward the parking lot. "Did you bring your car?" He asked.
Lydia said. "No, I came in Allison's car; she drove to school today."
"Then let's ride my bike home." Jacob said, tossing her a helmet.
They climbed onto his bike and rode off toward the mansion.
To be continued... 😊