Jacob managed to escape the woods and reach the road, where he was nearly hit by a red SUV that screeched to a stop just inches away from him. He recognized Allison and her mother Victoria in the car.
He thought. 'Weren't they supposed to almost hit Scott? Why are they just passing by? Well, this is a good chance to spend more time with Allison, I guess, and get to know that mean woman Victoria.'
He ran to the driver's side window. "Hello, ma'am. Can you give me a ride?"
Allison recognized him immediately. "Jay! What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hi Allison." Jacob said, feigning surprise. "I didn't see you there." He turned to Victoria. "Mrs. Allison's mom, can you please give me a ride? There's a weird-looking bear chasing me."
Victoria narrowed her eyes as she looked him up and down, taking in his dirty, messed-up clothes from the fight with Peter. As a hunter, she didn't trust him at all—so she didn't let him in. "No."
"Mom!" Allison protested. "Let him in!"
"Do you know this kid?" Victoria asked.
"Yes! He's my friend Jacob, the one I met yesterday when shopping for school supplies. Remember? He was standing with me when you picked me up. Let him in!"
Victoria remained firm. "He's filthy and soaked. He'll ruin my leather seats."
Seeing Victoria wouldn't budge, Jacob sighed. "Alright, if you won't let me in, I need to run. You should get out of here too. See you tomorrow, Allison."
Just then, a deep growl echoed from the woods. Jacob spun around to see two red eyes glowing behind a tree. Victoria immediately recognized an alpha's gaze, while Allison only saw what she thought was a bear.
"Mom! Who cares about the seats?" Allison screamed. "Unlock the door! There really is a bear chasing him!"
As Peter emerged from the trees, Victoria finally clicked the locks. "Quickly, kid! Get in!"
Jacob jumped into the backseat as Victoria sped away. Peter gave chase, his supernatural speed closing the distance alarmingly fast.
"Kid." Victoria demanded. "What exactly did you do to piss that thing off?"
Jacob smirked. "Nothing much. Just sprayed it with bear spray a few times. It didn't like that at all."
Allison squinted at Peter's alpha form chasing them. Unable to see clearly, she genuinely thought it was just a bear. "Why is that bear so fast?"
Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe someone experimented on it. You should see it up close, it's really messed up. Its eyes glow red, it only has fur on its back, and when it stood up, it was like eight feet tall. It almost scared me to death when I first saw it."
"Hold on!" Victoria shouted. "That thing's about to hit us!"
Jacob rolled down the window just as Peter lunged. Another blast of bear spray sent the alpha reeling back, howling in pain and rage.
"Take that, you stupid beast!" Jacob cheered. "Okay Mrs. Allison's mom, drive faster before it catches up again!"
"Call me Mrs. Argent, kid."
"Okay, Mrs. Argent."
As they drove away, they heard a final roar, but Peter didn't give chase. When Victoria deemed them safe, she slowed the car and studied Jacob through the rearview mirror.
"Kid, were you bitten by that thing? If you were, I should take you to a hospital. It could have rabies."
Jacob thought. 'More like taking me to a morgue.' Aloud, he said. "No, I wasn't bitten. If that thing got close enough to bite me, I'd be dead by now."
"How did you escape?" Victoria pressed.
"I already told you—bear spray. Didn't you see me use it just now?"
Victoria's eyes narrowed. "What were you doing in the woods at night?"
Jacob spun his tale smoothly. "I heard the sheriff was looking for a dead body in the woods, so I went to check it out. I thought it would be safe with all those deputies around, but when the sheriff almost found me, I panicked. And I didn't want to answer too many questions or get taken to the station, so I ran, and that's when I met that thing."
Allison gasped. "A dead body? Did you see it?"
Jacob said. "Unfortunately yes, it was the upper half of a girl. It was gruesome."
Victoria, still distrustful of Jacob, wanted to know more about him. She said. "I'll drive you home, kid. Where do you live?"
Jacob gave her his address, and she said. "That's a wealthy neighborhood. What do your parents do?"
Allison, knowing Jacob was an orphan, looked at her mom and said. "Mom, don't ask..."
Jacob cut her off. "It's okay, Allison. I don't mind talking about them."
Thinking about his parents, he missed them. He looked out the car window with a wistful smile and said. "My dad was a doctor, and my mom was a lawyer."
"Was?" Victoria echoed.
Jacob's voice softened. "They died eight years ago in a car accident."
"Sorry, kid."
"Don't worry about it."
Victoria continued her interrogation. "Who are you living with now?"
Jacob said. "I live alone. They left me a house in this town and some money to live on, so I moved here from New York yesterday."
Jacob thought to himself. 'Well, my real parents were a doctor and a lawyer, and that's what my ID says even in this world. So even if Victoria does a background check on me, she'll find I was telling the truth. I don't really care about her, but if I want to be with Allison, I need Victoria to at least not get in the way for now, not until Allison falls in love with me. After that, she won't be able to break us apart, even if she knew what I am.'
Victoria said. "How old are you? Can you live alone?"
Jacob replied. "I'm sixteen, and a lawyer friend of my mom got me legal emancipation. So yeah, I can live alone."
Victoria asked. "Are you sure you can take care of yourself?"
Jacob said. "Yes, Mrs. Argent. I grew up in an orphanage, and people like me tend to grow up early. I've worked summers since I was eleven to earn money for things the orphanage couldn't provide."
Allison, annoyed, said. "Okay, Mom, that's enough of your questions."
Victoria replied. "I'm just trying to get to know your friend, sweetheart."
Allison countered. "Well, you're trying too hard, Mom."
Victoria shook her head and focused on driving.
When they arrived at Jacob's mansion, he offered. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Argent. Want to come in for a drink?"
"No, thank you. We need to get home."
"Alright. See you tomorrow at school, Allison."
Allison said. "See you, and remember to wait for me at the school gate."
Jacob said. "You seem pretty sure you're going to be late."
Allison smiled and said. "I'm a girl. I need to look good on my first day at school, so I'll probably be late."
Jacob said. "Can't you just wake up early?"
Allison winked and said. "No, I need my beauty sleep."
Jacob shook his head and said. "Goodnight, ladies." Then he got out of the car and walked toward his home.
Victoria looked at her daughter and said. "Do you like that boy?"
Allison rolled her eyes and said. "We're just friends, Mom. Besides, we just met."
---
Peter's POV
After the bear spray's effects eased, he decided to stop chasing Jacob. He went to a stream in the woods and washed off the bear spray.
Then he went to a high hill overlooking the twinkling lights of Beacon Hills before shifting back to his human form.
He thought to himself. 'Although I got myself a beta tonight, I don't know where that evil kid came from. The little bastard not only sprayed me and poked my eyes, he was also kicking my crotch so hard when he first bear sprayed me.'
A shudder ran through him. "Thankfully, I don't have balls in my werewolf form." He muttered to the night air.
Peter turned around and started walking back to the hospital, thinking. 'But I'm now interested in that evil kid. I should make him join my pack too, but only after beating his ass. And if he doesn't want to join my pack?' His claws extended briefly. 'Well, I could always use another corpse to decorate these woods.'
To be continued... 😊