Monday morning, Jacob and the girls were having breakfast in the kitchen.
Lydia brought up a new topic. "So, should we go shopping for the winter formal?"
Jacob looked up from his food. "When is that?"
"Next Friday." She replied.
"Do we have to go?" Jacob asked, a hint of a whine in his voice.
"Definitely." Lydia stated, leaving no room for argument. "Now, about shopping..."
"I'm good." Jacob said quickly. "I have a lot of suits. I can just wear one of those. Even you girls have a lot of dresses, so why go shopping again?"
Lydia ignored him and turned to Allison. "How about you? Do you want to go shopping?"
"Sure." Allison agreed with a smile.
As the girls began discussing dresses and shopping plans, Jacob turned his attention back to his plate. 'System, sign-in.' He thought.
[Daily Sign-In Successful. Rewards Obtained:
- A Squeaky Hammer
- Wilson the Volleyball (Cast Away)
- A Flip Phone]
Jacob read the list and sighed internally. 'It seems I'm unlucky today. All the rewards are garbage.'
After they finished breakfast, Cogman drove them to school.
---
Jacob, Stiles, and Scott were heading to the lacrosse field during a free period when Jackson and two of his friends intercepted them. The two guys with Jackson stepped forward, blocking their path.
Stiles raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"
One of them sneered. "This is none of your business, Stilinski. Take your dork friend and leave. We only want to deal with Alexander."
Jacob ignored the two and looked directly at Jackson, who was hanging back. "Are you going to help them deal with me, too?"
Jackson backed away, his hands raised. "No, no! I don't want to deal with you! I warned them not to attack you, but they wouldn't listen!"
"Is that so?" Jacob asked, his tone flat.
Jackson nodded vigorously. "Yes! I really don't want any trouble."
A slow smile spread across Jacob's face. "Well, you're not as stupid as I thought you were."
Scott tried to interject. "Jacob, they are..."
"I know." Jacob cut him off. "They're both werewolves."
Stiles's eyes widened. "What? Is that why they've gotten so brave? These are the guys you beat up at Lydia's party with Jackson! They've been avoiding you ever since. So they think they're tough now that they're werewolves?"
Jacob focused on the two aggressors. "Before I kick your asses, tell me: who's your Alpha? Is it Peter?"
One of them puffed out his chest. "Yes. Are you scared?"
Jacob chuckled. "Scared? If he were here, he'd have beaten you himself—or even killed you—if he knew you were provoking me." He turned back to Jackson. "When did these two idiots get the Bite from Peter?"
Jackson said. "I took them to him two nights ago. He asked me if I knew anyone he could turn and add to his pack."
"I see." Jacob said. "But didn't he warn you and your buddies not to provoke me?"
"He warned me when I got the Bite, but he didn't warn them. And they didn't want to listen to me when I tried." Jackson explained.
One of the new werewolves snarled. "Enough talking!" And threw a punch at Jacob.
Jacob just smirked, effortlessly dodging the blow. The other one joined in, but they couldn't even touch his clothes, let alone land a hit.
Frustrated, the two looked around. Seeing they were alone in the hallway, they let their control slip. Their faces shifted, morphing into their werewolf forms. One of them had yellow glowing eyes, but the other had eyes that glowed blue.
Jacob's smirk vanished, replaced by a frown. He stopped dodging. In one swift motion, he caught the werewolf with yellow eyes, twisted his arm until it broke with a sickening crunch, and slammed him to the floor. The boy screamed in agony, shifting back to human form as he clutched his arm, the bone visibly protruding through the skin.
Jacob then grabbed the one with blue eyes by the throat and pinned him against the lockers. The werewolf struggled violently, but he couldn't budge Jacob's arm. Jacob headbutted him hard, breaking his nose and forcing him to shift back to human form from the shock and pain.
In a deadly serious tone, Jacob demanded. "Who did you kill?"
Panic flooded the boy's bloody face. "I-I didn't kill anyone!"
"You don't have to answer." Jacob said coldly. "I'll find out myself..."
Just then, Coach Finstock came running around the corner, drawn by the commotion. "What's going on here?!" He yelled. He saw one boy on the floor, clutching his already healed but blood-soaked arm, and the other pinned against the lockers with a bloody nose. "Alexander! What are you doing?!"
Jacob clicked his tongue in annoyance and released his grip. He looked at Coach. "They tried to bully me. I was just teaching them a little lesson."
Coach pointed at the blood splattered on the floor. "You call this a little lesson?!"
Jacob shrugged. "You can check them yourself. They're totally fine."
Skeptical, Coach bent down and examined the arm of the boy who had been screaming. He found no injury, no scar—nothing. Puzzled, he stood up and addressed the boy. "Take your friend to the infirmary. His nose might be broken."
The boy nodded shakily and helped his friend up, quickly scurrying away. Coach then turned back to Jacob, a strangely eager smile on his face. "You just injured two of my players. So, you're going to play for us this evening. Otherwise, I'll have you cleaning the library for a month for beating up your fellow students."
Jacob sighed. "Are you sure about letting me play lacrosse? I have no idea how to play."
Coach patted his shoulder reassuringly. "You'll learn!"
"Then I hope you won't regret it." Jacob said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "And don't worry, Coach. I'll do my best and be the most outstanding player on your team."
Coach beamed. "That's the spirit!" He then left in a remarkably good mood.
After Coach was gone, Scott looked at Jacob with concern. "Should I be worried about my captain status?"
"No," Jacob replied. "What you should be worried about is Coach's health. I'm going to make him stop trying to make me play that stupid game tonight, once and for all."
His expression then turned serious. He took out his phone and called Chris Argent.
Chris answered promptly. "Jacob? Is everything alright?"
"I just found out that Peter turned two students at my school two days ago." Jacob reported. "And one of them already has glowing blue eyes."
"Give me his name and address if possible." Chris said, his voice all business. "I'll check his house first, then come to the school."
Jacob looked at Jackson, who was still hovering nearby. "Tell me your blue-eyed friend's name and address, if you know them."
Jackson quickly provided the information, and Jacob relayed it to Chris before hanging up. He then looked back at Jackson. "If I were you, I'd go home right now before the hunters come looking for your blue-eyed friend."
With that, Jacob, Scott, and Stiles left the hallway.
---
At lunch, Jacob and his friends were in the cafeteria when Chris called back.
Jacob answered. "Did you find anything at his house?"
"Yeah." Chris's voice was grim. "It's bad."
"How bad?"
"We found his parents. Both dead in a freezer in the basement. He tore them apart."
"Did you get to the school yet?"
"No, there's no need. He came home while we were there. We've already caught him."
"Good. You deal with him, then." Jacob said, ending the call.
He looked at his friends. "You guys heard that?"
Lydia nodded. "Yeah, we heard. That's terrible. Why would he kill his own parents?"
"Who knows?" Jacob shrugged. "Maybe they yelled at him and he lost control. Or maybe he was just a psychopath."
"I bet it's the latter." Stiles chimed in. "He didn't seemed too heartbroken about his parents death earlier."
Allison said. "I think Peter should be stopped. He's turning teenagers into killers."
Jacob sighed. "Peter didn't provoke us, he isn't killing innocent people, and he didn't ask that idiot to kill his own parents. So, I don't think we should interfere with what he's doing. Let the hunters deal with him. And don't worry, even if he kills all the other hunters, he wouldn't dare harm your parents, because he knows that would be his end. You can help them if you wish, but I really don't want to get involved in the mess between Peter and Kate." He thought to himself. 'If I did, I might lose out on some nice rewards from the System.'
Allison thought for a moment, then said. "I won't get involved either, but I'll watch from the shadows when they fight to ensure my parents' safety."
"Lydia and I will be right beside you." Jacob promised.
Lydia took Allison's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Yes, we won't let anything happen to your parents."
Allison smiled gratefully. "Thanks, guys." She didn't mention Kate. She still didn't know if she should try to save her aunt or not.
---
After school ended, Jacob, Scott, and Stiles put on their lacrosse gear and headed to the field to play.
Coach gathered his players and delivered one of his famously bizarre pep talks. He finished by patting Jacob's shoulder. "I'm feeling optimistic about you, kid."
Jacob smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Don't worry, Coach. I'll be the star of this game." He then waved exaggeratedly at Lydia and Allison in the bleachers before jogging onto the field.
True to his word, Jacob became the center of attention—but not in the way Coach had hoped.
Hating lacrosse, Jacob decided to create his own version of the game. He immediately started stealing the ball from his own teammates, even scoring several goals against his team, which left Coach sputtering with rage on the sidelines.
Undeterred, Jacob continued his reign of chaos. He aggressively checked players from the opposite team, committed every foul imaginable, and whenever he somehow managed to score a goal for the right side, he would sprint up to the opposing goalie to scream and taunt him. Between plays, he would turn to the bleachers to blow kisses and flirt shamelessly with the highly amused Lydia and Allison.
Coach was fuming, his face turning a dangerous shade of purple. When he tried to substitute Jacob out, Jacob simply refused to leave the field.
Then, things escalated. Jacob deliberately bumped into an opposing player, dropped his stick, ripped off his gloves and helmet, and assumed a boxing stance. He then began throwing punches at the stunned player. When the referee rushed in to break it up, Jacob shoved him aside, grabbed the other player by the jersey, tore his helmet off, and resumed pummeling him—mercifully holding back his supernatural strength, but still giving the poor guy a thorough beating.
Coach, Scott, and Stiles finally managed to pull Jacob off his victim. "What was that?!" Coach roared.
Jacob scratched his head, feigning confusion. "Aren't fights allowed in lacrosse? Like in ice hockey?"
"No, you idiot!" Coach screamed, veins bulging on his forehead.
Jacob smiled serenely. "I see. But that was fun, though. I think it should be allowed. Anyway, let's continue the game! I'm enjoying it so much; I didn't think it would be this much fun!" He looked at Coach with utter sincerity. "Thank you, Coach, for letting me play." He then turned to the rest of the players. "Alright, let's continue!"
The referee stepped forward, his face stern. "Hold on, kid. You're not continuing anything." He brandished a red card. "You're out! And kid... I think you need some serious therapy."
Jacob immediately switched to pretending to be outraged. "You can't kick me out! I didn't know fighting wasn't allowed! The most you can do is give me a five-minute time-out or whatever you call it!"
The referee looked pleadingly at Coach. "Coach, get him out of here now, or I'm ending this game and declaring a forfeit for your team."
Coach said. "You can't do that!"
"McCall! Stilinski!" Coach yelled, pointing a trembling finger at Jacob. "Get your stupid friend off my field!"
Scott and Stiles quickly grabbed a still-protesting Jacob and dragged him toward the locker room. The moment the door closed behind them, Jacob burst into laughter.
"That was fantastic!" He wheezed. "I bet Coach will never ask me to play again. Now, I'm gonna change and go annoy him some more."
Scott and Stiles just shook their heads, laughing, before heading back to the field.
After a quick shower and change, Jacob returned and positioned himself right next to a stressed-looking Coach. "So, Coach, when's the next game? And when are practices? Also, are fights allowed during practice?"
Coach didn't even look at him, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Get lost. You are not allowed to play. Ever again."
"You can't do that, Coach!" Jacob protested. "I'm better than all your other players! Didn't you hear how loud the crowd was cheering for me?"
Coach thought. 'What have I done? Why did I insist on making him play? This psycho not only created chaos on the field, he even scored on his own team!' Aloud, he said. "Go. Away. I'll... I'll think about it. Maybe I'll let you play if we're ever desperate."
Jacob opened his mouth to argue further, but Coach cut him off, shooing him away. "Go! Go! I'm busy!"
Satisfied, Jacob turned with a triumphant smile and went to sit between Allison and Lydia in the bleachers.
Allison shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Poor Coach. He must be regretting letting you play."
Lydia added. "He's probably cursing your name in his head right now."
Jacob leaned back, pleased with himself. "I'm not going to lie, that was fun. I'm almost tempted to play again, if only to piss him off and send his blood pressure through the roof."
Scott and Stiles had to play more seriously to help their team recover and secure a win after Jacob's chaotic performance, which had included scoring several goals against them.
After the game, the group dispersed. Cogman arrived to drive Lydia and Allison home, while Scott headed off to his after-school job.
Jacob slid into the passenger seat of Stiles's Jeep. "Is your old man home yet?"
"Not yet." Stiles replied, starting the engine.
"Then let's go get something to eat before we head to your house." Jacob suggested.
"Alright." Stiles agreed, and he drove them to a local diner where they shared a meal. Once they were finished, they got back in the Jeep and finally set off for the Stilinski residence.
To be continued... 😊