MJF's Stories

Stepping off the plane in LA, Lily felt bittersweet about being back so soon. The death of Violet had shaken all of them, so college had granted all students a week back at home while they investigated the few leads they had. Studying felt pointless when it had been made clear just how short life really was.

This time around, she wasn’t travelling alone. With the approval of her parents, Alex was coming to stay the week. Of course, she knew she had to play it carefully, and George was the first person she needed to speak to when she got back. However, Alex’s parents seemed less than thrilled at the concept of an early return home, and Lily didn’t want to leave him behind when Nicolas could so easily strike again.

Passing back into the main airport where she bade farewell before, Lily was overjoyed to see Jono and Dylan waiting for her. They had come to pick them both up, and it was amazing just to see their faces in person again, especially with everything that had gone on since they were last together.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Lily hugged Jono as tight as she could. She hadn’t been gone for long, but it was still the longest they had spent apart.

“Hey, mind the hair,” Jono joked as Lily accidentally tugged on his mop of curls, “And this must be Alex, right?”

Lily let go to allow for introductions. She was praying Alex made the best first impression ever on them both – she needed this to go smoothly.

“Yeah, Alex, this is my brother Jono, and his boyfriend Dylan,” Lily introduced. The boys both politely shook hands with Alex.

“You’re the alpha, right?” Alex said, looking at Dylan.

“He knows?” a confused Dylan shot a concerned look at Lily.

“I think we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Lily casually mentioned. She was hoping it would be a little longer before they had to delve into supernatural sagas, but clearly, there was no time like the present.

It felt like her life had been flipped on its head several times over in the past year, but this had to be the most unbelievable shift Sammi had endured so far. Her mind hadn’t stopped all night, ferociously trying to work out exactly where Jeremy could fit into the timeline.

To do this, she needed some questions answered. Why didn’t she know Jeremy was alive? Did her mum know? She desperately wanted to know the answers, but Jeremy would only know some of them, and she didn’t want to interrogate him. First impressions mattered, and she’d hate to be seen as her father’s daughter. After all, Jeremy was innocent in all of this. He was a pawn in whatever sick game her dad was playing. If he really was her brother, it was vital that she made him feel welcome in the family home.

While Sammi collected Jeremy from the hospital, Freddie had been preparing a bedroom for him. There was one spare bedroom at the Chadwick house, and it surely had Jeremy’s name on it. Explaining who he was to Uncle Steve and Aunt Helen would be the tricky part.

“Hey, you don’t have to do this,” Jeremy insisted as Sammi pushed open the bedroom door. The stairs were tricky to negotiate, but he was getting stronger, and there was no way he’d have even managed one step even just a day earlier. The benefit of werewolf healing powers.

“I’m your sister, it’s what I’m here for,” Sammi insisted. It felt odd to say that sentence aloud. She always wanted a sibling when she was younger; gaining one at seventeen years old wasn’t quite what she envisioned.

“I always wanted to meet you,” Jeremy revealed, “Dad showed pictures of you all the time, but never told me why we couldn’t see each other.”

Sammi paused. He knew she existed, but she was kept in the dark. Why did he get the privilege?

“Sorry, I know this is a lot,” Jeremy must have realised. He was right – Sammi hadn’t quite come to terms with it yet, but she was powering through.

“It’s not your fault,” Sammi kept a brave face, “Go on in, this is your room.”

Jeremy looked on in awe at the size of his new room. A double bed, made perfectly without even a single crease in the duvet, was the centrepiece of the room. A dresser was situated to the left, with a full-length mirror attached to the wall. A small TV was perched on top of the chair opposite the bed.

“What do you think?” Freddie stood proudly at the foot of the bed.

“You aced it,” Sammi planted a grateful peck on his lips. He was surprisingly creative, considering his own bedroom was far from pristine.

“I wasn’t asking you, but thanks,” Freddie chuckled.

“Oh,” Sammi spun around to Jeremy. He was in awe. He seemed to amazed by just a simple bedroom, one that was specifically for him. It made her curious to learn about his upbringing.

“This is for me?” Jeremy questioned, genuinely taken aback.

“For as long as you want,” Sammi smiled. Jeremy wrapped his arms around her. She hadn’t expected a reaction this strong. It was so heart-warming.

“Hey, are you gonna be okay? I gotta meet George, he’s free today and says he needs to talk,” Freddie timidly interrupted.

“I’ll be fine,” Sammi nodded, “Tell him I say hi.”

She glanced at Jeremy again, who was sat on top of the bed, seeing how comfy it was. He was so pure. Sammi couldn’t wait to learn more.

Driving back towards home, Yasmin had caught a brief moment of calm among the craziness to spend with Josh. They hadn’t spent a great deal of time together since LA, what with quarantine and the drama David was causing. It was nice to simply be together for the morning, enjoying breakfast in town.

“Do we really have to listen to this?” Josh complained about Yasmin’s music choice. He should have known by now that there was no way she wouldn’t be spamming the new album by The 1975 that weekend.

“Call it education,” Yasmin chuckled, “Don’t pretend you’re in a position to judge.”

“Roddy Ricch has too many tunes to be hated on by you,” Josh bantered back. Oh, to be like Dylan and Jono with their near identical tastes in music.

“Awkward when not one of his songs has a tune,” Yasmin teased, taking a left turn.

“Hey, why did you turn?” Josh wondered. Yasmin looked around. She wasn’t sure either. This wasn’t the way home.

“I don’t know,” she replied truthfully, “Let’s keep going.” Yasmin’s instincts always meant something. She had to follow them.

The road led round to the other end of the river. Yasmin knew the river well at this point; it had helped her to hone her nix abilities. However, she had never ventured this far out. It was uncharted territory for her.

“Hey, look,” Josh immediately noticed as the car ground to a halt. He leapt out of the car and sprinted towards a dead body – of course, a staple of Yasmin’s powers.

It felt horrible to consider, but Yasmin felt immune to the sight of dead bodies. She had seen so many that the shock factor no longer existed. Even the sadness subsided after so long.

“Careful,” Yasmin warned. She didn’t want to risk Josh catching the virus again, even if they now knew the cure.

“No, this isn’t the virus,” Jono commented. Yasmin looked closer – he was right. The body had been mauled, ripped apart by an animal. Or a werewolf.

“Can you get a scent?” Yasmin questioned.

“Not one I recognise,” Josh fed back, “That doesn’t rule David out. He’s an alpha, he can mask his scent.”

“I know. We need to call Ed and Dylan, in that order,” Yasmin thought productively. Whoever did this was trying to make a point, and so far, they were winning.

On the home stretch through town, Jono felt good to have Lily back home, even if it were only for a week. It had been crazy in the small period of time he had been gone, and reliving it all for her in the car made him realise just how dangerous it had been.

Though being a werewolf wasn’t always a positive, Jono knew there was one perk – he could always protect Lily. He had healing powers that she didn’t, meaning he could afford to be just a little riskier if it meant saving her life. However, they had both been trying too hard to protect each other from afar. They were suffering in silence, when in reality, they were stronger together, and they had been their entire lives.

“You mean, you knew of a virus that infected werewolves and didn’t think it was worth mentioning? I’m literally part-werewolf, Jono,” Lily complained. She was sat directly behind Jono but still insisted on debating there and then.

“I figured you’d be safe out of town, and that you’d call me If you found anything like that. Besides, you’re immune, we both are,” Jono defended.

“Do they always bicker?” Alex queried to Dylan.

“Amazingly, no,” Dylan replied cheekily.

“Shut up you two,” Jono chuckled, “I’m sorry about your friend, Lil. We just wanted to protect you. I just wanted to protect you.”

“Same,” Lily confessed, “And I wanted to prove I am capable on my own.” Jono’s heart broke. Lily never had to prove her worth – Jono was always the first to remind her just how brightly her star shone.

“I know you’re capable, that’s the last thing you ever need to prove,” Jono reassured, “I just need you to be safe.”

“I’ve got some good people looking out for me,” Lily added. Jono spotted a shared smile between her and Alex. Something was definitely going on there, but that was a question for later.

“Enough about me, how long have you two been together?” Alex smartly diverted the subject.

“Two years,” Jono replied, “First two of many.” Dylan rubbed his leg. That never failed to make his heart flutter.

“They’re the most sickly-sweet romantic people ever,” Lily added unhelpfully.

“Guilty as charged,” Dylan laughed.

“Hey, we all need to make time for a little romance, right?” Jono agreed, pulling up in his usual parking space. Once the engine was off, Jono kissed Dylan – he had been craving that for the whole journey. It never ceased to fulfil his heart’s desires.

“Okay, we’ll leave you to it, come on Alex,” Lily teased as she shooed Alex out of the car.

Interrupting the love-in, Dylan’s phone buzzed. This never meant good news.

“Who is it?” Jono nosily enquired.

“Yasmin. They need me at Ed’s office,” Dylan begrudgingly replied.

“Go, I can cope with these two,” Jono encouraged. He had promised to spend the day with Lily, but the world kept turning. Dylan had bigger fish to fry.

“Alright. I love you,” Dylan kissed him once again. He could have stayed there all day.

“I love you too,” Jono smiled back after. How did he get so lucky?

As he arrived back at home, Freddie was wondering why George needed him so urgently. They had seen each other only that morning, so it must have been a recent development. Was rent becoming an issue? Freddie had been working any shift he could at the computer repair shop in town, so it wasn’t all on George any longer.

George was waiting patiently in the kitchen, a can of beer perched on the table in front of him. If he were drinking this early, it had to be really good news, or really bad news.

“Hey,” Freddie sat opposite him, “What’s all this?”

“Hey, um, it’s a bit of a long story,” George began. Freddie felt nervous. He didn’t seem overjoyed. This had to be bad news, “I’ve been offered the chance to study abroad.”

“Oh, okay,” Freddie didn’t know how to react, or how George wanted him to react. It should have been good news, but George still sounded despondent, “Where? How long for? I need the details.”

“London, for a year,” George answered. Freddie knew how much George cherished London. They went there with mum as kids – it remained the best time of Freddie’s life, “I don’t have to take it. I’ll have to quit my job, and you can’t pay for this place on your own.”

“Dude, you have to take it,” Freddie insisted.

“I don’t want to abandon you,” George was still doubtful, “Where will you stay?”

“We’ll work something out,” Freddie remained firm. He could tell George was holding back for him, and that wasn’t necessary any more. Freddie was eighteen, he didn’t need looking after, “I guess there’s one other person holding you back, right?”

“She’s back today, I need to talk to her first,” George assured. Any decision he made had to include Lily too, “We’ve not spoken much since she went to college.”

“Don’t worry, Jono’s not heard much from her either. She’ll get it, dude. She’ll be as happy for you as I am,” Freddie said. He was so proud of George. He had given up so much for Freddie’s sake. Now it was time for him to spread his own wings.

Ed’s office was its usual state of organised chaos when Dylan arrived. Paperwork was spilling all over the desk, the crime board was cluttered, and it would have been impossible for anyone to find anything in there. Yet, Ed could find anything he wanted in an instant. Dylan found it a shame that organised chaos wasn’t an acceptable state for his bedroom to be in.

“What’s going on? Is everyone okay?” Dylan was panicking a little as he burst through the door. Yasmin’s text was vague – she should have known better than to let Dylan’s mind invent its own theories.

“Everyone’s fine,” Ed insisted. Dylan noticed his mum was sat on the opposite side of Ed’s desk, while Yasmin and Josh were relegated to the wooden chairs in the corner.

“Are we interrupting?” Dylan was confused.

“I came to drop off lunch,” Caroline explained, “It’s nice to see you, too.”

“And I let your mom know that I’m cooking dinner for us all tonight. Just the four of us,” Ed added, winking at Dylan. Suddenly, it all made sense. The proposal was going to be that night, “But first, we’ve got a homicide, as found by your brother.”

“He wishes, I found it,” Yasmin corrected. Ever the sucker for detail.

“Nevertheless, it looks more like your territory than mine. I might have to add you to the payroll,” Ed handed the photographs over to Dylan.

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea,” Dylan teased.

“Don’t start,” Ed smiled back, “Take a look, kid.” Dylan examined the pictures. The body was hardly recognisable. It had been cruelly mauled, and could only have been done by an animal. Or a werewolf that shed its humanity years ago. It made Dylan feel sick.

“Any leads?” Dylan asked Yasmin and Josh. They had to be proactive.

“Nothing, I didn’t recognise the scent, but this has to be him, right?” Josh suggested.

“Who?” Ed interjected.

“David,” Dylan answered.

“Who the heck is David?” Ed was clearly a little behind on the updates.

“Sammi’s dad, right?” Caroline jumped in. At least someone had paid attention.

“He’s in town? My town? And you didn’t think I should know?” Ed felt left out.

“We’ve been sorta busy,” Josh defended, “You know, like trying not to die from a virus.”

“Alright, whatever, but you said you didn’t recognise the scent,” Ed was trying his best to understand.

“But we know David’s got others on his side,” Yasmin informed, “Jeremy. Johnny.”

“Have I missed all of this? Who the heck are they?” Ed was bemused. Dylan and Josh shared a smile – his frustration was quite funny.

“Jeremy is Sammi’s brother, Johnny is Brett’s friend,” Dylan informed, “They’re both connected to David. He could have more.”

“Hold on a second,” Ed started to search through his ridiculous mountain of paper on the desk. As expected, he knew exactly where to look for what he wanted, “Missing kids. Four this week, that’s way above the norm.”

Ed passed Dylan the papers. Nobody he recognised, but this couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Yasmin, Josh, check the addresses. If we can get through to them, we could break up his pack,” Dylan directed. A plan was forming in his head.

“What are you gonna do?” Yasmin wondered.

“I’m gonna speak to David himself,” Dylan replied firmly, “And I know exactly how to get his attention.”

Showing Alex up to the guest bedroom at the Chadwick house, Lily was excited to give him the grand tour. She’d missed the comfort of home so much. The space, her own bed; it had so many benefits over college accommodation.

“This will be your room,” Lily proudly opened the door, but Alex’s face was not one of amazement. In fact, he looked more confused than anything. Lily looked in to see Sammi sat on the bed, next to a boy she’d never met before.

“Lily, hey,” Sammi smiled her usual cutesy smile, “Welcome home.” Lily had missed Sammi and her innocence, but she was extremely confused.

“Who’s he?” Lily wondered.

“Ah,” Jono muttered, joining them upstairs, “I was going to tell you that later.”

“Tell me what? Hello?” Lily was getting frustrated. Why was nobody answering her?

“I’m Jeremy,” he introduced.

“He’s my twin brother,” Sammi added.

Lily was speechless. How did Jono leave the most important part of the past week out? Since when did they have another cousin?

“I was going to tell you,” Jono insisted, “He needs shelter. David’s on the lookout for him.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to get in the way,” Jeremy insisted. Lily understood. He seemed sweet, even if nothing about him made any sense at all.

“No, not at all,” Lily replied, turning to Alex, “I’m sorry about this.”

“I’m not one to judge,” Alex smiled. He was far too sweet. She wanted to hug him tight, but it was too early for that. Nobody knew the truth yet.

“You can have my bed,” Jono offered, “I’ll stay at Dylan’s. Unless…”

“Oh my god,” Sammi picked up on it too. Drat, “Come in, I need to hear everything.”

Lily sighed, glancing disapprovingly to Alex. She couldn’t reveal all yet. She had to speak to somebody else first.

“Give me an hour,” Lily requested. Jono nodded. Lily knew she had his approval regardless.

“For what it’s worth,” Jono whispered, “He seems nice.”

“Thanks,” Lily grinned. It was good to hear. She knew in her heart that she was doing the right thing.

Summoned by Dylan to the sheriff station, Brett felt like his bubble had been burst. He and Johnny hadn’t left each other’s side all day, and it felt good to finally be with him, the way they had both so desperately wanted for years. Brett was convinced this moment would never come; he had almost gotten over Johnny. It was a miracle.

The fact that Dylan needed them was an immediate vibe-killer, though. Whatever he needed couldn’t have been easy, or safe, but it was inevitable. Johnny’s ties to David were always going to prove useful. It just would’ve been nice to spend one day together before that time came.

“Hey, sorry to call you like this, but I need you,” Dylan greeted with a sense of urgency.

“Is it rude to say I have a bad feeling about this?” Brett mentioned aloud. He wasn’t going to cloud his anxiety.

“You get used to it,” Ed interjected. He and Dylan’s mum were also in the office.

“What’s going on?” Brett questioned. He needed to know for his own peace of mind.

“I need to speak to David,” Dylan informed, “And I need Johnny to direct him to me.”

“Has something happened?” Johnny wondered.

“He’s recruiting teenagers to join his pack, we think. He’s getting them to kill innocent people,” Ed detailed.

“Untrained werewolves who don’t know the extent of their powers,” Dylan added.

“I…I didn’t know,” Johnny protested.

“I’m not accusing, I promise,” Dylan assured, “I trust you. Both of you. That’s why I need you to help.”

Brett glanced at Johnny. This was entirely his call, but Brett was worried for Johnny’s safety. If David found out whose side he was actually on, things would get very ugly, very quickly.

“Sure. What do you need?” Johnny agreed without hesitation. Brett knew he would, but that didn’t calm his nerves.

“He’s never going to talk to me if he knows I’ll be there, but we’ve got our secret weapon,” Dylan began.

“Jeremy,” Brett realised. The kid Johnny had been told to watch. The secret son.

“Are you sure it’s sensible to use him as bait?” Caroline mentioned, sprinkling a dose of reality.

“I’ve already spoken to Jono, he’ll be there to protect him, and so will Sammi. No matter what side she’s on, he wouldn’t hurt his daughter,” Dylan justified.

“It’s too dangerous,” Brett remained unconvinced, “He’ll know Johnny set this up. He’ll kill him.”

“I’ll be okay, if this works out, maybe we’ll be able to live a normal life afterwards? It’s worth a try,” Johnny persuaded, gripping Brett’s hand. For the first time, Brett didn’t care who saw. In fact, it felt liberating.

“Alright, but I’m coming with you,” Brett impulsively decided. He wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not, but being by Johnny’s side was the only place he wanted to be.

“What? You can’t,” Johnny warned, “Please, let me do this.” Brett sighed. This plan had too many risks, but Johnny was dead set.

“Okay,” Brett gave in. This had to work out, because he couldn’t lose Johnny again.

Stood on George’s doorstep, Lily paused to collect her thoughts together. She had attempted to rehearse what she’d say to George, but it was pointless. She couldn’t make this any easier. George was her best friend, and she still loved him. She knew she always would. The only problem was that she didn’t love him in the way she loved Alex.

Taking a deep breath, Lily went to ring the doorbell, but the door swung open before she got the chance.

“Oh, hey,” George seemed surprised to see her, “I was just coming to see you.”

“No need, here I am,” Lily awkwardly smiled. This was breaking her heart, but she was putting on a brave face.

“Come in, I’ll put the kettle on. I’ve got something to tell you,” George mentioned. This sounded important too. Lily closed the door behind her and followed George into the kitchen.

“Bit early, no?” Lily spotted the empty beer can on the table.

“Oh, I guess I’m kinda celebrating,” George justified, filling the kettle up, “That’s what I need to tell you.”

“Go on,” Lily was intrigued, but she so desperately wanted to say her part too. It was making her feel even worse knowing she was going to have to burst his bubble.

“I’ve been offered the chance to study in London. I spoke to Freddie, he said I should do it, but I don’t know,” George explained.

“Woah, George, that’s incredible,” Lily felt so proud of George. For a moment, she forgot what she had to tell him – celebrating his achievements was so much more important, “On your own?”

“Um, that’s what I wanted to tell you,” George brought Lily’s mug of tea over. Milky with three sugars – just how she liked it, “I’m going with Mia.”

“Mia,” Lily repeated, “Who’s Mia?”

“A girl I met. She’s pretty awesome,” George sheepishly told her, “That’s why I needed to speak to you. I wanted to tell you face-to-face. I owe you that much.”

“Oh,” Lily realised. In a weird way, she felt relieved. She wouldn’t be breaking George’s heart as much as she thought, even if she shared the burden now, “I met someone too. His name is Alex.”

“Is that why you were stood on the doormat for five minutes?” George chuckled, losing the fight against the tear that rolled down his cheek.

“Yeah,” Lily felt the same. Her eyes were cloudy. She couldn’t stop the tears coming, “You’re the first person I’ve told, I promise.”

“Same,” George admitted, “And I really want us to stay friends. Only if you’re okay with that. There’s one thing I know and it’s that I always want you in my life, Lily Chadwick.”

That was it. Lily was sobbing relentlessly. She felt like an emotional wreck, but that was George’s effect. He was the sweetest, loveliest person on the planet. Even their break-up was filled from start to finish with love.

“Always,” Lily concurred. Almost simultaneously, they stood up to hug. It was one of the most meaningful hugs of Lily’s life. The hug that cemented their new chapter. Apart, but friends forever.

Pacing back and forth in the Chadwick living room, Dylan felt nervous. Johnny had gone to tell David where Jeremy was, so it was now just a matter of time until he arrived.

At least he had some element of security. Jono, Sammi and Brett were with him, as well as Jeremy who, though not at full strength, added an element of safety. David wasn’t going to cause his children any harm, after all. To top it off, Ed was parked outside the gates. His mum had insisted on joining Ed – Dylan wanted her as far away from trouble as possible, so hopefully they wouldn’t have to be involved.

“Can you hear anything?” Sammi nervously questioned. Dylan had been paying extra close attention to his hearing – David wasn’t going to ring the doorbell, after all.

“Nothing,” Dylan replied, “It’s almost too quiet. No birds, no dogs barking, no chatter in the street.”

“He’s close,” Jeremy identified.

“Okay, remember, I’m doing the talking. Alpha to alpha. I need to find out what he wants,” Dylan laid out the ground rules. All of them nodded, except Brett, who was anxiously checking his phone.

“He’ll be okay,” Dylan assured him. Brett raised a half-smile. He didn’t look convinced.

“Welcome to the family,” Jono smiled at Jeremy, “Not every day’s like this.”

“Well,” Sammi doubted.

“It’s okay. I didn’t think I’d ever meet my family, so I’ll take what I can get,” Jeremy seemed so calm. Dylan admired that about him. He was so gentle despite everything his father was. Just like Sammi.

“Hold on,” Dylan held a finger to his lips. Footsteps from the back of the house. David.

Dylan’s heart began to race. His nerves were wrecked. He was about to negotiate with a werewolf-killing alpha. This could go so badly.

“Hello kids,” a voice came from the doorway. David had swooped through the house in a flash. Damn, he was fast, “Daddy’s home.”

Dylan gulped. This was it.