Series 5 Episode 9
"Acceptance"
Watching on the television as Dylan anxiously paced around the bunker, Yasmin’s mind was going into overdrive. An alarm clock next to the TV was counting down – forty-five seconds and descending. Drew and Allyn had been dragged off to somewhere that Yasmin didn’t know, leaving Monty and Josh as the only potential victims of the electric shock. She couldn’t see either of them hurt, especially Josh, they made a great pairing. Nevertheless, shocking them would be worth it to save Dylan and others’ lives, but nothing was ever as simple as it seemed with her dad.
Thirty seconds. Yasmin tried struggling in her chair, but it was no use, until she realised. She had her own weapon to utilise against her dad. She barely knew her own abilities, so he must have had no idea what to expect.
Yasmin directed her hands towards the button. There was a fairly lengthy gap, considering the button was behind the table and her hands were handcuffed to the table leg. Little droplets of water began to trickle from her hands as Yasmin focused, closing her eyes.
“Stop that,” a guard ordered. Yasmin ignored, of course. The strength of the water increased, reaching higher and higher, closer and closer to the button.
Ten seconds. A gust soaked the red button, encompassing it entirely, water seeping into its electrical wiring.
Five seconds. The button sparked, the water causing a malfunction.
Three seconds. The power collapsed. The countdown clock stopped, the television switched off and the lights went out. The metal railings Monty and Josh were tied to powered down.
“What have you done?” the guard yelled, furiously heading for the door as Yasmin once again tried to wriggle free. As she did, she heard an audible wail coming from outside. It sounded powerful, and very familiar. The door swung open, knocking the guard out stone cold. Stood in the doorway were Lydia and Stiles, ready for the rescue mission.
“Sorry for the damage,” Stiles smiled, looking at the unconscious guard.
Thirty seconds. Yasmin tried struggling in her chair, but it was no use, until she realised. She had her own weapon to utilise against her dad. She barely knew her own abilities, so he must have had no idea what to expect.
Yasmin directed her hands towards the button. There was a fairly lengthy gap, considering the button was behind the table and her hands were handcuffed to the table leg. Little droplets of water began to trickle from her hands as Yasmin focused, closing her eyes.
“Stop that,” a guard ordered. Yasmin ignored, of course. The strength of the water increased, reaching higher and higher, closer and closer to the button.
Ten seconds. A gust soaked the red button, encompassing it entirely, water seeping into its electrical wiring.
Five seconds. The button sparked, the water causing a malfunction.
Three seconds. The power collapsed. The countdown clock stopped, the television switched off and the lights went out. The metal railings Monty and Josh were tied to powered down.
“What have you done?” the guard yelled, furiously heading for the door as Yasmin once again tried to wriggle free. As she did, she heard an audible wail coming from outside. It sounded powerful, and very familiar. The door swung open, knocking the guard out stone cold. Stood in the doorway were Lydia and Stiles, ready for the rescue mission.
“Sorry for the damage,” Stiles smiled, looking at the unconscious guard.
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Lights out. Lily felt more anxious than before. She was trying to hold herself together for Dylan’s sake but it was proving extremely difficult. She wasn’t used to being the strong one – she usually had Jono for that, but now Dylan needed her, and Dylan was family. She would always be there for him.
“What the heck is going on?” Dylan panicked as soon as the lights went out.
“The countdown is over,” Freddie realised.
“We’re not dead. The countdown stopped,” Lily pointed out, “That’s a good thing.” She wanted Dylan to remain as optimistic as always, because she knew that was how he would save them. Right now, he was too flustered to be the alpha they needed.
A loud scream suddenly filled Lily’s ears. It was further down the corridor, it must have been, but with the scream’s loud volume and Lily’s improved hearing, she heard it as if someone was screaming in her ear.
“What the heck was that?” Kamilah sounded terrified. Lily, however, felt motivated. She knew that scream anywhere.
“It’s our friend,” Lily smiled. The door dented slightly as the scream impacted. The lock broke. Dylan heaved it open, seeing Scott and another girl on the other side.
“You called?” Scott smiled back, knowing their rescue mission was successful. Dylan jumped in for a hug, as Lily and Freddie clambered around him too, “Oh, and this is Malia.”
Scott introduced the girl next to him. Malia smiled awkwardly in return.
“Who the hell is this?” Kamilah queried. Lily forgot she hadn’t met Scott before.
“Kamilah, this is Scott,” Lily introduced.
“Scott McCall?” Kamilah surprisingly recognised, “I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard you took down the Anuk-Ite, that was my favourite story Sierra used to tell me.”
“Thanks,” Scott smiled charmingly, “We found some of your friends.” Lily stepped outside of the bunker, seeing Stiles and Lydia with Yasmin, Josh and Monty. Immediately, Lily threw her arms around Yasmin, and Dylan hugged Josh tightly. She was so relieved they were safe.
“Where are Drew and Allyn?” Lily queried, knowing the full pack wasn’t reunited just yet.
“He said they were somewhere else,” Yasmin responded emotionally.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked her. She knew the answer: her psycho dad had strolled back into her life and attempted to ruin everything good about it. Lily couldn’t even imagine how that would feel.
“Just about,” Yasmin lied, her hands shaking and her voice quivering.
“Come on, we need to find the others,” Dylan motivated. Lily was pleased he had perked up. Now they stood a fighting chance.
Darkness. That was all Drew could see. Even using his wolf vision brought nothing into view. All he knew was that they were inside, in a place joined to the tunnels underground, and that Allyn was by his side.
He could feel her gripping to his arm as if it were the only thing keeping her alive, and Drew was doing the same back. Neither of them had any idea of what they were up against, and it terrified Drew. If he knew his opponent, he could prepare and fight accordingly. Instead, Drew had to prepare for just about everything, which was notably less productive.
He tried to focus on his other senses. His hairs were stood on end, meaning it was cold. The room was silent, which meant they were alone.
Thump. Perhaps not any longer.
Allyn gripped Drew tighter. They were both as scared as each other. Drew still couldn’t see anything, or feel any changes in air pressure around his skin, meaning the room must have been big – whatever was in with them can’t have been that close.
Thump. A louder sound. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
Drew felt protective over Allyn, though he didn’t need to be. When the time came to fight, she would hold her own easily, perhaps even better than he would. Besides, this wasn’t the first time either of them had dealt with hunters.
Drew heard a growl. It was pretty close, and definitely no hunter. Green and orange lizard eyes came into view across the darkness ahead. It was the kanima.
Drew wasn’t holding back any longer. He activated his inner wolf, while Allyn let the coyote take over. They weren’t going down without a fight, and it was guaranteed to be a darn good fight.
Nervously enacting his plan, Jono was taking the passenger seat for a short while. Brett was leading Jono down a route he had not seen before. Jono was becoming pretty familiar with the forest, but he hadn’t seen this section before. It was the direct opposite end to Dylan’s house, and far away from both the cottage and the secret hut that led to the tunnels.
Jono still wasn’t sure he trusted Brett either – he had a darn lot to prove – but Jono was using his newfound abilities to his advantage. His hearing wasn’t fine-tuned by any means, but he was able to hear Brett’s heartbeat. He had seen Dylan use this technique before – if the heartbeat jumped or skipped a beat, it was a sure-fire sign of a liar. Brett’s heartbeat had remained constant though. He was being truthful.
“Down here,” Brett led the way towards another hut, though Jono barely noticed it. If he wasn’t on full guard, he wouldn’t have spotted it at all, as it was hidden in shrubbery and among the trees as if it were a massive secret that the forest was trying to keep.
“Does this go to the bunkers?” Jono queried. Perhaps it was another entrance he hadn’t seen before.
“No, but you’re close,” Brett vaguely replied, pushing open the door which was hanging onto its hinges for dear life. Inside, the hut was a blank canvas. Nothing was in sight, and nothing was present to disguise the hatch in the floor, much like the other hut. That said, the outside was a good enough disguise that another one wasn’t necessary.
Brett opened the hatch with ease and jumped down it, allowing Jono to follow immediately after. Underground, Jono could immediately tell it was a different tunnel to the bunker route. It was much darker and narrower. Jono knew exactly where he was. These were the tunnels Freddie and Josh used, leading out from Sierra’s cottage.
“I hope you know where you’re going,” Jono prayed, knowing he was in the dark – quite literally.
“Me too,” Brett nervously laughed. Jono felt terrified – so much could go wrong, and he had no room for errors.
Checking Drew’s bunker just to be sure, Dylan was out of luck. The group had split up, searching every bunker up and down the pretty length tunnels. As a team, it was done within about ten minutes. Dylan knew they had to be time productive because every second wasted could put Drew and Allyn at more and more risk.
“How long has this been going on?” Scott questioned. The two of them had taken one for the team and sprinted to the far end of the tunnels, but ultimately it had amounted to nothing.
“A couple of weeks,” Dylan replied, “It’s been a bit crazy round here.”
“They built an army in a couple of weeks?” Scott was almost impressed.
“An army out of fear,” Dylan noted.
“We saw this before, in Beacon Hills. The Anuk-Ite created fear, and people directed their fear at us, but this is different. People are believing what they hear from Dami and Jake,” Scott pieced everything together.
“So we need to stop them fearing us,” Dylan thought, trying desperately to find a solution in his mind, but the harder he probed, the messier his train of thought was becoming. It was no good.
“You need to stop fearing yourself first,” Scott mentioned. Dylan stopped in his tracks. What did he mean? Dylan knew himself and his body. He wasn’t scared.
“I don’t,” Dylan replied confidently, expressing his confusion.
“I can smell fear on you. Chemo signals, remember?” Scott flashed a friendly, comforting smile. Dylan realised. There was an elephant in the room.
“I’m scared of what I can do,” Dylan opened up, “I’m scared that I bit Jono, and things won’t be the same any longer.”
“I noticed he wasn’t here,” Scott added.
“I wanted to keep him safe. He was dying, and if I didn’t bite him, he’d be dead. I keep telling myself I did the right thing, but what if I didn’t?”
“My first beta happened like that too. His name is Liam. I barely knew him at the time, but he was hanging off the edge of a building. He fell, but I saved him by biting his wrist. It was the only thing I could do; my hands were tied, literally. He hated me for it,” Scott told.
“Where is he now?” Dylan wondered.
“College, and looking after Beacon Hills when I’m not around,” Scott mentioned, “He made it through, and he’s one of my best friends. Jono will too.”
Dylan nodded. It was reassuring to hear Scott’s own story. Everything would be okay, and he had to make sure of it. He still needed Jono more than anything.
“Found anything?” Freddie yelled over from further down the tunnel.
“Nope,” Dylan sighed.
“Alright, well Monty’s got an idea,” Freddie mentioned, immediately leading the way back. Dylan desperately hoped they had finally struck gold.
Jono didn’t lose the tense feeling at any point in the tunnels. It constantly felt like he was being followed, with something tickling the back of his neck. It was uncomfortable in every way.
Brett looked more at ease – perhaps because he had taken this route before – but the darkness, and therefore lack of vision, was a barrier for Jono’s comfort.
Brett stopped abruptly. They were outside a door – a plain, bog-standard house door, completely unlike the bunker doors Jono was used to seeing down the Crystalshaw tunnels. It wasn’t locked, so Brett opened it with ease, exposing what looked to somehow be an even darker room. Jono could see nothing but pitch-black inside.
“What’s in there?” Jono wondered curiously.
“It connects these tunnels to the other ones. It’s like an abandoned warehouse underground, it’s totally empty. Here, we can use this,” Brett reassured, flicking his phone torch on. Jono still didn’t feel happy, but he knew he had to do it. His mission was to save Dylan, and if this was the way he needed to go, so be it. However, two steps into the room, Brett paused.
“What?” Jono impatiently wondered.
“You can’t hear it?” Brett sounded surprised. Jono focused. Three heartbeats. Six small glowing lights floated in the distance. Four yellow, and the final two were a shade of orange and green.
Jono focused his sense of smell. He was getting used to scents still, but the giveaways were colognes and deodorants. Jono could pick out Drew and Allyn, and they were fighting the kanima. He could feel the fear in the room, it was as if he felt it too.
“We need to help them,” Jono instantly knew.
“You can help them, I need to do my part,” Brett rushed off. Jono felt uneasy. How was he supposed to intervene? What could he even do?
As Kamilah and Monty rapidly cleared away the empty shelving units in their old bunker, Yasmin was sat quietly reflecting. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and she still couldn’t really process it. She had little idea what was going on around her, so Yasmin simply closed her eyes. She focused on the here and now.
A soft, comforting hand caressed Yasmin’s left shoulder. Without even looking up, she knew it was Lily. Lily had been her rock; they had both been through so much, but no matter what, they had each other’s backs.
“I was just getting over him,” Yasmin opened up.
“I know, and you’ll get over him again, we can do it,” Lily supported.
“She’s right,” a second, deeper voice reiterated from behind Lily. Yasmin looked up to spot Josh as he came and sat on her right-hand side, “You’re awesome, and you’ll find your feet again soon. Until then, we’re your crutches.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Lily smiled excitedly, standing up and leaving the bunker. Yasmin knew exactly what Lily was expecting to happen, though she wasn’t convinced her relationship with Josh was anything more than platonic. They made a darn good detective duo though.
“You don’t need to stay with me, I’ll be okay,” Yasmin assured Josh. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to stay with her.
“I know, but I want to. We got into this mess together, we’ll get through it together too,” Josh nodded comfortingly.
Yasmin placed her hand warily on his. She wasn’t sure if he would appreciate it, but it felt natural. Josh wrapped his thumb around hers, leaning his head calmly and graciously on her shoulder. Yasmin felt more focused than she had all day. With Josh by her side, she knew she could conquer anything.
Racing to the far end of the tunnels, Dylan ground to a halt. The farthest bunker from Drew’s had previously belonged to Sierra, though it was cleared out when Kamilah helped Drew and Lily out before summer. Quite why they were back there now wasn’t clear to Dylan, and neither was Sierra’s absence. She had been missing in action, and nobody had told Dylan anything. He felt justifiably concerned.
“What’s happening?” he questioned, already catching his breath back. Before he was a werewolf, Dylan could barely run for the bus without running out of breath; now he could run for miles with no problem.
“We think we’ve figured out where they are,” Monty replied, shifting the final bookcase out of the way. A wooden door was shrouded behind it, previously obscured entirely. Kamilah took out a key and unlocked it.
“What’s through there?” Scott queried.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m not sure I want to find out,” Stiles interjected, “Hidden doors never head anywhere nice.”
“Open it. Whatever it is, we can take it,” Malia debated, priming her claws.
Kamilah looked to Dylan. He gave an approving nod before she clicked open the door. Dylan tried to make out what was inside, but whatever was there had been entirely obscured by pitch black.
“They’re in there,” Lily mentioned, “I’ve got their scents, both Drew and Allyn.”
“Hey, can someone find a light switch? I’m kinda scared of the dark,” Stiles nervously queried.
“It’s true, he sleeps with the bedside lamp on,” Lydia added.
“Monty, see if you can find a light switch,” Dylan decided, “We’re not going in unless we know what’s there.”
“I think we can see that already,” Freddie mentioned, pointing inside.
Dylan paid attention. Sure enough, he could see glowing dots. The unmistakable eyes of werewolves. They were moving very frantically. They were fighting.
“Light switch. Now,” Dylan commanded. Rapidly, he rushed alongside the edge of the room, feeling along for some sort of light.
Dylan noticed a familiar scent in the air – one that wasn’t Drew or Allyn. Dylan could identify that scent anywhere: Jono. He had come looking for them, just as Dylan said. Now he was fighting; Jono had never fought like this before, and it made Dylan even more worried than usual.
“The switch doesn’t work,” Scott informed, catching up.
“What do you mean? How can a switch not work?” Dylan panicked.
“The power went out. I flooded the system. Literally,” Yasmin called over.
“There’s got to be a back-up,” Lydia mentioned.
“Find it, quick,” Dylan ordered. He couldn’t leave Jono in danger any longer.
Following his gut instinct, Jono was unleashing the fight he had buried inside him. He was letting the wolf run free because he needed to save his friends; Drew and Allyn needed all the help they could get. That said, Jono was finding it difficult to fight in the dark. His senses were all over the place, and it was proving tough. He just tried to follow the terrifying scaly eyes he could see.
Jono flung a punch in their direction. The creature fell backwards, feeling the full force that Jono was able to exert now. He didn’t know his own strength, and this could be an advantage.
Suddenly, the lights flickered on. They were dim, but far better than the complete darkness of before. Jono could see just how vast the warehouse was now. It wasn’t tall – they were still underground after all – but it was wide, which meant plenty of space to fight. The kanima hopped up, climbing along the walls. Jono saw it heading towards Dylan – his knight in shining armour.
“Get down,” Jono yelled, seeing it approaching Dylan. It pounced back to the centre, hissing at Jono. He spotted Dylan and Scott behind the kanima. They nodded at each other simultaneously before letting out a huge growl.
The kanima spun around, away from Jono. However, Jono wasn’t letting that be the end of it. He launched at the kanima, his claws scraping the scales off its skin. As he landed, Jono spotted a third entrance to the room on his left – an open door. That must have been where Brett went.
“Up there,” Jono ordered to Dylan, “Go!”
Dylan nodded, pulling Scott up towards it. The kanima was more interested in Jono for now, and he had to keep it that way.
Sprinting for the far door, Dylan was determined to finish this off for good. This must have been where Dami, Jake and Mr. Forsyth were hiding, because they had been suspiciously absent.
Scott was following as they entered another tunnel. A dim lamp lit the way, and it was notably shorter than the tunnels they came from.
Dylan could see a room ahead. He couldn’t hear anybody speaking, but four heartbeats were present. Dylan couldn’t tell who the fourth was, but there were no prizes for guessing the other three.
“Come through, Dylan,” a spine-tingling voice greeted. They knew he was there. Dylan walked into the room ahead against his better judgement. He saw Mr. Forsyth stood at the end of the small room, sat with a computer behind. Jake was tending to a frail-looking Dami on his right-hand side, while a tied-up Brett was positioned on his left.
“Your little infiltration failed I’m afraid,” Mr. Forsyth smugly continued. Dylan had no idea what had been happening, but he assumed it was Jono’s plan. Nevertheless, he had to go along with it. Dylan wanted to give the impression that he had it under control.
“You wanted me, you’ve got me. What do you want?” Dylan got straight to the point.
“I want to see you beg,” Mr. Forsyth responded coldly.
“She’s not good,” Jake relayed, interrupting.
“They killed…” Dami croaked.
“Don’t speak,” Jake encouraged, holding her in his arms.
“They killed…my mom,” Dami continued, “Werewolves.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Dylan sympathised. He knew not every werewolf was an angel, but neither was every human.
“You did this, Dylan Drummond. You’re killing her. You’re her murderer,” Mr. Forsyth hammered home. Dylan tried not to take it in, but he saw Dami clinging onto life. He was the reason she was dying. He bit her, and even though he was trying to save Jono, he’s still the cause of her death.
“Ignore him, he’s provoking you, keep focused,” Scott whispered.
“She’s got no pulse,” Jake mentioned. Dami was gone.
“You killed her,” Mr. Forsyth reiterated, raising his voice.
“No,” Dylan stood firmly.
“Your kind are dangerous, and Crystalshaw will be a better place when I eradicate every last stinking werewolf from this town,” Mr. Forsyth ranted.
“I bit Dami to save the love of my life. If I didn’t, he would have been shot in the head and he’d be six feet under right now. I wish it were different, and I hate what I did, but Jono’s alive, and he’s fighting back. Just like I’ll do,” Dylan spoke with a fire lit in his belly.
“Stand down,” Mr. Forsyth pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at Dylan.
“Or what? You’ll shoot me? Like she shot Jono? Do your worst,” Dylan smiled confidently as he heard the kanima snarl behind him. It wasn’t attacking, it was simply gazing at Dami’s dead body.
“It’s got no master,” Jake realised, standing up to approach it. However, Dylan had already knelt down next to it. The kanima held a hand up, as if it wanted a high-five. Dylan gently placed his hand against its own. They made friends. Dylan was now the master.
Immediately, he visualised the first command he wanted it to perform. The kanima had to become Noah again. Instantly, it began to shift back. The scales morphed back into the pale shade of skin that covered Noah.
“Dylan, watch out,” Jono followed it, seeing Mr. Forsyth priming the gun. Malia followed him in, walking directly up to Mr. Forsyth. She snatched his gun and broke it to pieces with one hand. Now he was defenceless.
“You’re still not safe,” Mr. Forsyth threatened, “We raised an army.” Jono used his claws to slit the rope on Brett’s wrists, before removing the tape from his mouth.
“You didn’t count on this,” Brett held up his phone, with the recording app open. The entire conversation had been recorded. Dylan smiled with glee – Jono’s plan had worked all along.
“Put your hands up, this is the sheriff department,” Ed stormed in alongside McCall. Dylan couldn’t resist a proud but not arrogant smile. They had won.
He looked over to Jono, who was sharing the same expression. Dylan rushed over to him; he couldn’t stop himself. He flung his arms around Jono, pulling him in tightly.
“I love you,” Dylan smiled, his chin resting on Jono’s shoulder.
“I love you too. Always,” Jono replied. Dylan never wanted to leave Jono’s side ever again.
The mood at the morgue was sombre, much as Dylan would have expected. However, he felt an immense feeling of sorrow seeing Sierra’s recovered body locked up in one of the containers there. Kamilah looked numb. Allyn was tightly gripping Drew’s hand. Monty stood so close to Noah that they might as well have merged.
Their pack had been torn apart, and it worked as a reality check for Dylan. He had come so close to losing so many of the people closest to him. He had been so lucky to save Jono. He couldn’t imagine how the others were feeling.
“What’s next?” Dylan asked Kamilah softly.
“Start again,” Kamilah replied, “We can’t stay at the cottage now.”
“Where would you go?” Drew looked extremely concerned, glancing at Allyn.
“We’ll find somewhere,” Allyn replied, “I’ll let you know, I promise.” Dylan watched on as Drew worried. He had never seen him so concerned. Dylan was amazed that Drew had found such a good match in Allyn, but delighted for him.
“I’m sorry, for everything I did,” Noah looked to Monty.
“It wasn’t you, it was her. I never forgot that,” Monty reassured.
“I know, and that’s why I want to stay with you,” Noah decided. Dylan was shocked, “I know I can’t replace Sierra, but I want to be with you Monty.”
“I don’t see why not,” Allyn added.
“Okay, sure,” Kamilah smiled.
“If that’s okay with you,” Noah looked towards Dylan.
“Of course,” Dylan smiled. He felt teary, as if he were losing Noah, but he knew he’d be looked after. After everything Noah had been through, Dylan was so pleased he had friends to fall back on.
“We’ll be okay,” Kamilah nodded, as if she was convincing herself, “We’ll keep in touch, I promise.”
Allyn nodded. He knew they needed space, but while they were also allies, they had become his friends.
Dylan smiled before walking back through the hospital, meeting up with Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia in the waiting area.
“We need to head off,” Scott began.
“Sure, thanks so much, you saved our asses,” Dylan hugged him tightly. Though he spoke to Scott so rarely, he looked up to him. They had a lot in common, after all.
“Look after Jono, he needs you now more than ever,” Scott advised, “Act natural around him, because if you act weird, he won’t learn.”
“Or just chain him up,” Malia butted in, “It worked for me.”
“You were a feral coyote living in the woods for your entire childhood,” Lydia added.
“So what?” Malia questioned seriously.
“If you’ll excuse me, I gotta pee before we head back,” Stiles interrupted in his usual cack-handed fashion. Dylan couldn’t help but laugh. He was so lucky to have such dependable friends.
Yasmin was so pleased it was the weekend. She took a while to get to sleep after everything that had happened, but by the time she eventually nodded off, she slept like a baby. The clock had just hit midday and Yasmin had spent the past hour sat up in bed, with nothing but her phone for company. The calm after the storm.
“Yasmin sweetie,” she heard her mum call in, timed with two knocks from the door, “Your friend is here, are you up?”
“Yes mom, it’s fine,” Yasmin didn’t move from the bed. It was probably Lily, and she had certainly seen Lily in a worse state than pyjamas and no make-up.
The door crept open, and Josh poked his head around.
“Shit,” Yasmin found herself saying. If she knew it was Josh, she would have made herself more presentable.
“Sorry for arriving unannounced, Freddie’s just dropping me home. I wanted to ask if you were free,” Josh explained.
“I could have done with some notice,” Yasmin awkwardly responded.
“Oh, okay, I’m sorry. Maybe another time?” Josh’s cute puppy-dog face looked disappointed.
“I didn’t say no, dumbass,” Yasmin corrected. She wanted nothing more than to spend time with Josh, “I could do with a distraction.”
“Hey, he’s been arrested, your dad’s gone for good this time,” Josh consoled.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Yasmin wasn’t buying it. All they were likely to do was send him back to the mental institution he easily escaped from – there was no evidence of any crime being committed.
“Regardless, I meant what I said. The recording’s been shared all over my timeline, people are hearing it and listening. It’s safe out there, and I’m here for you, just like Lily is, and Dylan, and all of us,” Josh reassured, “And your mom.”
“Let’s not go there,” Yasmin rejected the thought of her mum being involved.
“Her psycho ex threatened you, the daughter they share,” Josh noted.
“I know, I was there,” Yasmin remained blunt.
“Okay,” Josh gave in, “Back at mine in half an hour?”
“I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep,” Yasmin playfully smiled, “I’ll be there at some point before dinner.”
Josh laughed, pulling the door shut. Yasmin kept the smile on her face, because she knew she’d cry otherwise. Josh was her perfect distraction, and she intended to keep it as drama-free as possible.
“Dude, I can’t hear a fucking thing,” Jono yelled up from the ground. Dylan sighed. He had spent his whole Saturday in the treehouse trying to train Jono’s werewolf senses, but it was hard work. Scott had given him some good advice, but following it was easier said than done.
“One more try,” Dylan called down. He had tried whispering from the treehouse to see if Jono could hear it from below, but evidently it was no good – he couldn’t focus yet.
“No more, please. Can’t we just chill out? Be human beings for the first time today,” Jono climbed back up into the treehouse, making himself comfortable.
“I want to talk to you about something first,” Dylan went serious for a moment. Lily’s words from the day before had resonated in his mind more than he expected.
“What is it?” Jono picked up on the serious tone of the conversation.
“Something Lily said led me to a bit of research. I know everyone says not to self-diagnose, but I think I might have autism,” Dylan opened up.
“Oh, like her friend Shawn,” Jono realised, “What does it mean?”
“A lot of stuff. I guess it explains why I love my routine so much, and why I’m pretty horrible at socialising with people I don’t know,” Dylan confessed. He’d read a lot of websites about autism to try and figure it out – he was scared at just how realistic it was.
“Dyl, you’re perfect whether you’re autistic or not. Please don’t forget that,” Jono smiled. He pulled Dylan up close, giving him no choice but to give in to his playful mood.
“I suppose we’ve earned a rest,” Dylan smiled coyly, planting his lips on Jono’s. Dylan leaned backwards, lying horizontally with Jono on top. Their lips didn’t part for even a second – Dylan made sure of that.
“Feels like you can’t wait,” Jono observed, making Dylan blush. He froze in his tracks all of a sudden. Jono’s eyes were glowing.
“Eyes,” Dylan informed.
“Who cares?” Jono flippantly shrugged it off. Dylan couldn’t argue – though making out with Jono made his heart rate increase, causing a shift, he knew they were also each other’s anchors. Jono as more controlled than ever.
“Jono?” a voice called from the ground. A voice Dylan didn’t recognise.
“Who the heck is that?” Dylan whispered.
“I don’t know,” Jono seemed confused. He climbed up off Dylan and peeked down.
“Well?” Dylan was impatient.
“What’s she doing here? I’ve not seen her for years,” Jono said, climbing down.
Dylan was baffled and left without answers. Who was this? An old friend? Dylan had no choice but to follow him down the treehouse ladder. Waiting at the bottom was a pretty brunette girl, no older than they were, with a suitcase in tow.
“Hey, you look great,” she grinned, hugging Jono, “And this must be the famous Dylan.” She wrapped Dylan into a friendly hug.
“Who is this?” Dylan felt rude to ask, but he was still clueless.
“Dylan, meet Sammi,” Jono introduced, “My cousin.” As Jono stood behind Sammi, Dylan caught his facial expression. He looked terrified, and his eyes were glowing their bright yellow glare. They were not out of the woods yet.
“What the heck is going on?” Dylan panicked as soon as the lights went out.
“The countdown is over,” Freddie realised.
“We’re not dead. The countdown stopped,” Lily pointed out, “That’s a good thing.” She wanted Dylan to remain as optimistic as always, because she knew that was how he would save them. Right now, he was too flustered to be the alpha they needed.
A loud scream suddenly filled Lily’s ears. It was further down the corridor, it must have been, but with the scream’s loud volume and Lily’s improved hearing, she heard it as if someone was screaming in her ear.
“What the heck was that?” Kamilah sounded terrified. Lily, however, felt motivated. She knew that scream anywhere.
“It’s our friend,” Lily smiled. The door dented slightly as the scream impacted. The lock broke. Dylan heaved it open, seeing Scott and another girl on the other side.
“You called?” Scott smiled back, knowing their rescue mission was successful. Dylan jumped in for a hug, as Lily and Freddie clambered around him too, “Oh, and this is Malia.”
Scott introduced the girl next to him. Malia smiled awkwardly in return.
“Who the hell is this?” Kamilah queried. Lily forgot she hadn’t met Scott before.
“Kamilah, this is Scott,” Lily introduced.
“Scott McCall?” Kamilah surprisingly recognised, “I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard you took down the Anuk-Ite, that was my favourite story Sierra used to tell me.”
“Thanks,” Scott smiled charmingly, “We found some of your friends.” Lily stepped outside of the bunker, seeing Stiles and Lydia with Yasmin, Josh and Monty. Immediately, Lily threw her arms around Yasmin, and Dylan hugged Josh tightly. She was so relieved they were safe.
“Where are Drew and Allyn?” Lily queried, knowing the full pack wasn’t reunited just yet.
“He said they were somewhere else,” Yasmin responded emotionally.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked her. She knew the answer: her psycho dad had strolled back into her life and attempted to ruin everything good about it. Lily couldn’t even imagine how that would feel.
“Just about,” Yasmin lied, her hands shaking and her voice quivering.
“Come on, we need to find the others,” Dylan motivated. Lily was pleased he had perked up. Now they stood a fighting chance.
Darkness. That was all Drew could see. Even using his wolf vision brought nothing into view. All he knew was that they were inside, in a place joined to the tunnels underground, and that Allyn was by his side.
He could feel her gripping to his arm as if it were the only thing keeping her alive, and Drew was doing the same back. Neither of them had any idea of what they were up against, and it terrified Drew. If he knew his opponent, he could prepare and fight accordingly. Instead, Drew had to prepare for just about everything, which was notably less productive.
He tried to focus on his other senses. His hairs were stood on end, meaning it was cold. The room was silent, which meant they were alone.
Thump. Perhaps not any longer.
Allyn gripped Drew tighter. They were both as scared as each other. Drew still couldn’t see anything, or feel any changes in air pressure around his skin, meaning the room must have been big – whatever was in with them can’t have been that close.
Thump. A louder sound. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
Drew felt protective over Allyn, though he didn’t need to be. When the time came to fight, she would hold her own easily, perhaps even better than he would. Besides, this wasn’t the first time either of them had dealt with hunters.
Drew heard a growl. It was pretty close, and definitely no hunter. Green and orange lizard eyes came into view across the darkness ahead. It was the kanima.
Drew wasn’t holding back any longer. He activated his inner wolf, while Allyn let the coyote take over. They weren’t going down without a fight, and it was guaranteed to be a darn good fight.
Nervously enacting his plan, Jono was taking the passenger seat for a short while. Brett was leading Jono down a route he had not seen before. Jono was becoming pretty familiar with the forest, but he hadn’t seen this section before. It was the direct opposite end to Dylan’s house, and far away from both the cottage and the secret hut that led to the tunnels.
Jono still wasn’t sure he trusted Brett either – he had a darn lot to prove – but Jono was using his newfound abilities to his advantage. His hearing wasn’t fine-tuned by any means, but he was able to hear Brett’s heartbeat. He had seen Dylan use this technique before – if the heartbeat jumped or skipped a beat, it was a sure-fire sign of a liar. Brett’s heartbeat had remained constant though. He was being truthful.
“Down here,” Brett led the way towards another hut, though Jono barely noticed it. If he wasn’t on full guard, he wouldn’t have spotted it at all, as it was hidden in shrubbery and among the trees as if it were a massive secret that the forest was trying to keep.
“Does this go to the bunkers?” Jono queried. Perhaps it was another entrance he hadn’t seen before.
“No, but you’re close,” Brett vaguely replied, pushing open the door which was hanging onto its hinges for dear life. Inside, the hut was a blank canvas. Nothing was in sight, and nothing was present to disguise the hatch in the floor, much like the other hut. That said, the outside was a good enough disguise that another one wasn’t necessary.
Brett opened the hatch with ease and jumped down it, allowing Jono to follow immediately after. Underground, Jono could immediately tell it was a different tunnel to the bunker route. It was much darker and narrower. Jono knew exactly where he was. These were the tunnels Freddie and Josh used, leading out from Sierra’s cottage.
“I hope you know where you’re going,” Jono prayed, knowing he was in the dark – quite literally.
“Me too,” Brett nervously laughed. Jono felt terrified – so much could go wrong, and he had no room for errors.
Checking Drew’s bunker just to be sure, Dylan was out of luck. The group had split up, searching every bunker up and down the pretty length tunnels. As a team, it was done within about ten minutes. Dylan knew they had to be time productive because every second wasted could put Drew and Allyn at more and more risk.
“How long has this been going on?” Scott questioned. The two of them had taken one for the team and sprinted to the far end of the tunnels, but ultimately it had amounted to nothing.
“A couple of weeks,” Dylan replied, “It’s been a bit crazy round here.”
“They built an army in a couple of weeks?” Scott was almost impressed.
“An army out of fear,” Dylan noted.
“We saw this before, in Beacon Hills. The Anuk-Ite created fear, and people directed their fear at us, but this is different. People are believing what they hear from Dami and Jake,” Scott pieced everything together.
“So we need to stop them fearing us,” Dylan thought, trying desperately to find a solution in his mind, but the harder he probed, the messier his train of thought was becoming. It was no good.
“You need to stop fearing yourself first,” Scott mentioned. Dylan stopped in his tracks. What did he mean? Dylan knew himself and his body. He wasn’t scared.
“I don’t,” Dylan replied confidently, expressing his confusion.
“I can smell fear on you. Chemo signals, remember?” Scott flashed a friendly, comforting smile. Dylan realised. There was an elephant in the room.
“I’m scared of what I can do,” Dylan opened up, “I’m scared that I bit Jono, and things won’t be the same any longer.”
“I noticed he wasn’t here,” Scott added.
“I wanted to keep him safe. He was dying, and if I didn’t bite him, he’d be dead. I keep telling myself I did the right thing, but what if I didn’t?”
“My first beta happened like that too. His name is Liam. I barely knew him at the time, but he was hanging off the edge of a building. He fell, but I saved him by biting his wrist. It was the only thing I could do; my hands were tied, literally. He hated me for it,” Scott told.
“Where is he now?” Dylan wondered.
“College, and looking after Beacon Hills when I’m not around,” Scott mentioned, “He made it through, and he’s one of my best friends. Jono will too.”
Dylan nodded. It was reassuring to hear Scott’s own story. Everything would be okay, and he had to make sure of it. He still needed Jono more than anything.
“Found anything?” Freddie yelled over from further down the tunnel.
“Nope,” Dylan sighed.
“Alright, well Monty’s got an idea,” Freddie mentioned, immediately leading the way back. Dylan desperately hoped they had finally struck gold.
Jono didn’t lose the tense feeling at any point in the tunnels. It constantly felt like he was being followed, with something tickling the back of his neck. It was uncomfortable in every way.
Brett looked more at ease – perhaps because he had taken this route before – but the darkness, and therefore lack of vision, was a barrier for Jono’s comfort.
Brett stopped abruptly. They were outside a door – a plain, bog-standard house door, completely unlike the bunker doors Jono was used to seeing down the Crystalshaw tunnels. It wasn’t locked, so Brett opened it with ease, exposing what looked to somehow be an even darker room. Jono could see nothing but pitch-black inside.
“What’s in there?” Jono wondered curiously.
“It connects these tunnels to the other ones. It’s like an abandoned warehouse underground, it’s totally empty. Here, we can use this,” Brett reassured, flicking his phone torch on. Jono still didn’t feel happy, but he knew he had to do it. His mission was to save Dylan, and if this was the way he needed to go, so be it. However, two steps into the room, Brett paused.
“What?” Jono impatiently wondered.
“You can’t hear it?” Brett sounded surprised. Jono focused. Three heartbeats. Six small glowing lights floated in the distance. Four yellow, and the final two were a shade of orange and green.
Jono focused his sense of smell. He was getting used to scents still, but the giveaways were colognes and deodorants. Jono could pick out Drew and Allyn, and they were fighting the kanima. He could feel the fear in the room, it was as if he felt it too.
“We need to help them,” Jono instantly knew.
“You can help them, I need to do my part,” Brett rushed off. Jono felt uneasy. How was he supposed to intervene? What could he even do?
As Kamilah and Monty rapidly cleared away the empty shelving units in their old bunker, Yasmin was sat quietly reflecting. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and she still couldn’t really process it. She had little idea what was going on around her, so Yasmin simply closed her eyes. She focused on the here and now.
A soft, comforting hand caressed Yasmin’s left shoulder. Without even looking up, she knew it was Lily. Lily had been her rock; they had both been through so much, but no matter what, they had each other’s backs.
“I was just getting over him,” Yasmin opened up.
“I know, and you’ll get over him again, we can do it,” Lily supported.
“She’s right,” a second, deeper voice reiterated from behind Lily. Yasmin looked up to spot Josh as he came and sat on her right-hand side, “You’re awesome, and you’ll find your feet again soon. Until then, we’re your crutches.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Lily smiled excitedly, standing up and leaving the bunker. Yasmin knew exactly what Lily was expecting to happen, though she wasn’t convinced her relationship with Josh was anything more than platonic. They made a darn good detective duo though.
“You don’t need to stay with me, I’ll be okay,” Yasmin assured Josh. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to stay with her.
“I know, but I want to. We got into this mess together, we’ll get through it together too,” Josh nodded comfortingly.
Yasmin placed her hand warily on his. She wasn’t sure if he would appreciate it, but it felt natural. Josh wrapped his thumb around hers, leaning his head calmly and graciously on her shoulder. Yasmin felt more focused than she had all day. With Josh by her side, she knew she could conquer anything.
Racing to the far end of the tunnels, Dylan ground to a halt. The farthest bunker from Drew’s had previously belonged to Sierra, though it was cleared out when Kamilah helped Drew and Lily out before summer. Quite why they were back there now wasn’t clear to Dylan, and neither was Sierra’s absence. She had been missing in action, and nobody had told Dylan anything. He felt justifiably concerned.
“What’s happening?” he questioned, already catching his breath back. Before he was a werewolf, Dylan could barely run for the bus without running out of breath; now he could run for miles with no problem.
“We think we’ve figured out where they are,” Monty replied, shifting the final bookcase out of the way. A wooden door was shrouded behind it, previously obscured entirely. Kamilah took out a key and unlocked it.
“What’s through there?” Scott queried.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m not sure I want to find out,” Stiles interjected, “Hidden doors never head anywhere nice.”
“Open it. Whatever it is, we can take it,” Malia debated, priming her claws.
Kamilah looked to Dylan. He gave an approving nod before she clicked open the door. Dylan tried to make out what was inside, but whatever was there had been entirely obscured by pitch black.
“They’re in there,” Lily mentioned, “I’ve got their scents, both Drew and Allyn.”
“Hey, can someone find a light switch? I’m kinda scared of the dark,” Stiles nervously queried.
“It’s true, he sleeps with the bedside lamp on,” Lydia added.
“Monty, see if you can find a light switch,” Dylan decided, “We’re not going in unless we know what’s there.”
“I think we can see that already,” Freddie mentioned, pointing inside.
Dylan paid attention. Sure enough, he could see glowing dots. The unmistakable eyes of werewolves. They were moving very frantically. They were fighting.
“Light switch. Now,” Dylan commanded. Rapidly, he rushed alongside the edge of the room, feeling along for some sort of light.
Dylan noticed a familiar scent in the air – one that wasn’t Drew or Allyn. Dylan could identify that scent anywhere: Jono. He had come looking for them, just as Dylan said. Now he was fighting; Jono had never fought like this before, and it made Dylan even more worried than usual.
“The switch doesn’t work,” Scott informed, catching up.
“What do you mean? How can a switch not work?” Dylan panicked.
“The power went out. I flooded the system. Literally,” Yasmin called over.
“There’s got to be a back-up,” Lydia mentioned.
“Find it, quick,” Dylan ordered. He couldn’t leave Jono in danger any longer.
Following his gut instinct, Jono was unleashing the fight he had buried inside him. He was letting the wolf run free because he needed to save his friends; Drew and Allyn needed all the help they could get. That said, Jono was finding it difficult to fight in the dark. His senses were all over the place, and it was proving tough. He just tried to follow the terrifying scaly eyes he could see.
Jono flung a punch in their direction. The creature fell backwards, feeling the full force that Jono was able to exert now. He didn’t know his own strength, and this could be an advantage.
Suddenly, the lights flickered on. They were dim, but far better than the complete darkness of before. Jono could see just how vast the warehouse was now. It wasn’t tall – they were still underground after all – but it was wide, which meant plenty of space to fight. The kanima hopped up, climbing along the walls. Jono saw it heading towards Dylan – his knight in shining armour.
“Get down,” Jono yelled, seeing it approaching Dylan. It pounced back to the centre, hissing at Jono. He spotted Dylan and Scott behind the kanima. They nodded at each other simultaneously before letting out a huge growl.
The kanima spun around, away from Jono. However, Jono wasn’t letting that be the end of it. He launched at the kanima, his claws scraping the scales off its skin. As he landed, Jono spotted a third entrance to the room on his left – an open door. That must have been where Brett went.
“Up there,” Jono ordered to Dylan, “Go!”
Dylan nodded, pulling Scott up towards it. The kanima was more interested in Jono for now, and he had to keep it that way.
Sprinting for the far door, Dylan was determined to finish this off for good. This must have been where Dami, Jake and Mr. Forsyth were hiding, because they had been suspiciously absent.
Scott was following as they entered another tunnel. A dim lamp lit the way, and it was notably shorter than the tunnels they came from.
Dylan could see a room ahead. He couldn’t hear anybody speaking, but four heartbeats were present. Dylan couldn’t tell who the fourth was, but there were no prizes for guessing the other three.
“Come through, Dylan,” a spine-tingling voice greeted. They knew he was there. Dylan walked into the room ahead against his better judgement. He saw Mr. Forsyth stood at the end of the small room, sat with a computer behind. Jake was tending to a frail-looking Dami on his right-hand side, while a tied-up Brett was positioned on his left.
“Your little infiltration failed I’m afraid,” Mr. Forsyth smugly continued. Dylan had no idea what had been happening, but he assumed it was Jono’s plan. Nevertheless, he had to go along with it. Dylan wanted to give the impression that he had it under control.
“You wanted me, you’ve got me. What do you want?” Dylan got straight to the point.
“I want to see you beg,” Mr. Forsyth responded coldly.
“She’s not good,” Jake relayed, interrupting.
“They killed…” Dami croaked.
“Don’t speak,” Jake encouraged, holding her in his arms.
“They killed…my mom,” Dami continued, “Werewolves.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Dylan sympathised. He knew not every werewolf was an angel, but neither was every human.
“You did this, Dylan Drummond. You’re killing her. You’re her murderer,” Mr. Forsyth hammered home. Dylan tried not to take it in, but he saw Dami clinging onto life. He was the reason she was dying. He bit her, and even though he was trying to save Jono, he’s still the cause of her death.
“Ignore him, he’s provoking you, keep focused,” Scott whispered.
“She’s got no pulse,” Jake mentioned. Dami was gone.
“You killed her,” Mr. Forsyth reiterated, raising his voice.
“No,” Dylan stood firmly.
“Your kind are dangerous, and Crystalshaw will be a better place when I eradicate every last stinking werewolf from this town,” Mr. Forsyth ranted.
“I bit Dami to save the love of my life. If I didn’t, he would have been shot in the head and he’d be six feet under right now. I wish it were different, and I hate what I did, but Jono’s alive, and he’s fighting back. Just like I’ll do,” Dylan spoke with a fire lit in his belly.
“Stand down,” Mr. Forsyth pulled out a gun and aimed it directly at Dylan.
“Or what? You’ll shoot me? Like she shot Jono? Do your worst,” Dylan smiled confidently as he heard the kanima snarl behind him. It wasn’t attacking, it was simply gazing at Dami’s dead body.
“It’s got no master,” Jake realised, standing up to approach it. However, Dylan had already knelt down next to it. The kanima held a hand up, as if it wanted a high-five. Dylan gently placed his hand against its own. They made friends. Dylan was now the master.
Immediately, he visualised the first command he wanted it to perform. The kanima had to become Noah again. Instantly, it began to shift back. The scales morphed back into the pale shade of skin that covered Noah.
“Dylan, watch out,” Jono followed it, seeing Mr. Forsyth priming the gun. Malia followed him in, walking directly up to Mr. Forsyth. She snatched his gun and broke it to pieces with one hand. Now he was defenceless.
“You’re still not safe,” Mr. Forsyth threatened, “We raised an army.” Jono used his claws to slit the rope on Brett’s wrists, before removing the tape from his mouth.
“You didn’t count on this,” Brett held up his phone, with the recording app open. The entire conversation had been recorded. Dylan smiled with glee – Jono’s plan had worked all along.
“Put your hands up, this is the sheriff department,” Ed stormed in alongside McCall. Dylan couldn’t resist a proud but not arrogant smile. They had won.
He looked over to Jono, who was sharing the same expression. Dylan rushed over to him; he couldn’t stop himself. He flung his arms around Jono, pulling him in tightly.
“I love you,” Dylan smiled, his chin resting on Jono’s shoulder.
“I love you too. Always,” Jono replied. Dylan never wanted to leave Jono’s side ever again.
The mood at the morgue was sombre, much as Dylan would have expected. However, he felt an immense feeling of sorrow seeing Sierra’s recovered body locked up in one of the containers there. Kamilah looked numb. Allyn was tightly gripping Drew’s hand. Monty stood so close to Noah that they might as well have merged.
Their pack had been torn apart, and it worked as a reality check for Dylan. He had come so close to losing so many of the people closest to him. He had been so lucky to save Jono. He couldn’t imagine how the others were feeling.
“What’s next?” Dylan asked Kamilah softly.
“Start again,” Kamilah replied, “We can’t stay at the cottage now.”
“Where would you go?” Drew looked extremely concerned, glancing at Allyn.
“We’ll find somewhere,” Allyn replied, “I’ll let you know, I promise.” Dylan watched on as Drew worried. He had never seen him so concerned. Dylan was amazed that Drew had found such a good match in Allyn, but delighted for him.
“I’m sorry, for everything I did,” Noah looked to Monty.
“It wasn’t you, it was her. I never forgot that,” Monty reassured.
“I know, and that’s why I want to stay with you,” Noah decided. Dylan was shocked, “I know I can’t replace Sierra, but I want to be with you Monty.”
“I don’t see why not,” Allyn added.
“Okay, sure,” Kamilah smiled.
“If that’s okay with you,” Noah looked towards Dylan.
“Of course,” Dylan smiled. He felt teary, as if he were losing Noah, but he knew he’d be looked after. After everything Noah had been through, Dylan was so pleased he had friends to fall back on.
“We’ll be okay,” Kamilah nodded, as if she was convincing herself, “We’ll keep in touch, I promise.”
Allyn nodded. He knew they needed space, but while they were also allies, they had become his friends.
Dylan smiled before walking back through the hospital, meeting up with Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia in the waiting area.
“We need to head off,” Scott began.
“Sure, thanks so much, you saved our asses,” Dylan hugged him tightly. Though he spoke to Scott so rarely, he looked up to him. They had a lot in common, after all.
“Look after Jono, he needs you now more than ever,” Scott advised, “Act natural around him, because if you act weird, he won’t learn.”
“Or just chain him up,” Malia butted in, “It worked for me.”
“You were a feral coyote living in the woods for your entire childhood,” Lydia added.
“So what?” Malia questioned seriously.
“If you’ll excuse me, I gotta pee before we head back,” Stiles interrupted in his usual cack-handed fashion. Dylan couldn’t help but laugh. He was so lucky to have such dependable friends.
Yasmin was so pleased it was the weekend. She took a while to get to sleep after everything that had happened, but by the time she eventually nodded off, she slept like a baby. The clock had just hit midday and Yasmin had spent the past hour sat up in bed, with nothing but her phone for company. The calm after the storm.
“Yasmin sweetie,” she heard her mum call in, timed with two knocks from the door, “Your friend is here, are you up?”
“Yes mom, it’s fine,” Yasmin didn’t move from the bed. It was probably Lily, and she had certainly seen Lily in a worse state than pyjamas and no make-up.
The door crept open, and Josh poked his head around.
“Shit,” Yasmin found herself saying. If she knew it was Josh, she would have made herself more presentable.
“Sorry for arriving unannounced, Freddie’s just dropping me home. I wanted to ask if you were free,” Josh explained.
“I could have done with some notice,” Yasmin awkwardly responded.
“Oh, okay, I’m sorry. Maybe another time?” Josh’s cute puppy-dog face looked disappointed.
“I didn’t say no, dumbass,” Yasmin corrected. She wanted nothing more than to spend time with Josh, “I could do with a distraction.”
“Hey, he’s been arrested, your dad’s gone for good this time,” Josh consoled.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Yasmin wasn’t buying it. All they were likely to do was send him back to the mental institution he easily escaped from – there was no evidence of any crime being committed.
“Regardless, I meant what I said. The recording’s been shared all over my timeline, people are hearing it and listening. It’s safe out there, and I’m here for you, just like Lily is, and Dylan, and all of us,” Josh reassured, “And your mom.”
“Let’s not go there,” Yasmin rejected the thought of her mum being involved.
“Her psycho ex threatened you, the daughter they share,” Josh noted.
“I know, I was there,” Yasmin remained blunt.
“Okay,” Josh gave in, “Back at mine in half an hour?”
“I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep,” Yasmin playfully smiled, “I’ll be there at some point before dinner.”
Josh laughed, pulling the door shut. Yasmin kept the smile on her face, because she knew she’d cry otherwise. Josh was her perfect distraction, and she intended to keep it as drama-free as possible.
“Dude, I can’t hear a fucking thing,” Jono yelled up from the ground. Dylan sighed. He had spent his whole Saturday in the treehouse trying to train Jono’s werewolf senses, but it was hard work. Scott had given him some good advice, but following it was easier said than done.
“One more try,” Dylan called down. He had tried whispering from the treehouse to see if Jono could hear it from below, but evidently it was no good – he couldn’t focus yet.
“No more, please. Can’t we just chill out? Be human beings for the first time today,” Jono climbed back up into the treehouse, making himself comfortable.
“I want to talk to you about something first,” Dylan went serious for a moment. Lily’s words from the day before had resonated in his mind more than he expected.
“What is it?” Jono picked up on the serious tone of the conversation.
“Something Lily said led me to a bit of research. I know everyone says not to self-diagnose, but I think I might have autism,” Dylan opened up.
“Oh, like her friend Shawn,” Jono realised, “What does it mean?”
“A lot of stuff. I guess it explains why I love my routine so much, and why I’m pretty horrible at socialising with people I don’t know,” Dylan confessed. He’d read a lot of websites about autism to try and figure it out – he was scared at just how realistic it was.
“Dyl, you’re perfect whether you’re autistic or not. Please don’t forget that,” Jono smiled. He pulled Dylan up close, giving him no choice but to give in to his playful mood.
“I suppose we’ve earned a rest,” Dylan smiled coyly, planting his lips on Jono’s. Dylan leaned backwards, lying horizontally with Jono on top. Their lips didn’t part for even a second – Dylan made sure of that.
“Feels like you can’t wait,” Jono observed, making Dylan blush. He froze in his tracks all of a sudden. Jono’s eyes were glowing.
“Eyes,” Dylan informed.
“Who cares?” Jono flippantly shrugged it off. Dylan couldn’t argue – though making out with Jono made his heart rate increase, causing a shift, he knew they were also each other’s anchors. Jono as more controlled than ever.
“Jono?” a voice called from the ground. A voice Dylan didn’t recognise.
“Who the heck is that?” Dylan whispered.
“I don’t know,” Jono seemed confused. He climbed up off Dylan and peeked down.
“Well?” Dylan was impatient.
“What’s she doing here? I’ve not seen her for years,” Jono said, climbing down.
Dylan was baffled and left without answers. Who was this? An old friend? Dylan had no choice but to follow him down the treehouse ladder. Waiting at the bottom was a pretty brunette girl, no older than they were, with a suitcase in tow.
“Hey, you look great,” she grinned, hugging Jono, “And this must be the famous Dylan.” She wrapped Dylan into a friendly hug.
“Who is this?” Dylan felt rude to ask, but he was still clueless.
“Dylan, meet Sammi,” Jono introduced, “My cousin.” As Jono stood behind Sammi, Dylan caught his facial expression. He looked terrified, and his eyes were glowing their bright yellow glare. They were not out of the woods yet.