METAMORPHOSIS • DEREK HALE [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twenty

"Derek," Alex let out a breathless sigh as she sprinted into the darkened parking lot of the high school. 

Only a couple of miles separated the public library and the school, and Alex knew the fastest way she could reach her destination was by foot. With her speed, she covered the cemented stretch in mere seconds, her only drawback being the heavy bestiary in one arm. 

She skidded to a halt at the sight of Derek's car with the trunk propped open and him standing anxiously beside it. Exchanging little words, Alex placed the book in the trunk while Derek reached for the handgun among the other weapons Chris had loaned them. "How did it go," Derek wondered as he saw her tuck the book inside. 

"I'll tell you later," she smiled.

In the distance, the glow off the bonfire burned bright in the sky along with pulsating music. To Alex, each electronic beat of the song blaring through the air only seemed to grow louder. Her felt each note vibrate in her chest. She just assumed the volume increase inclined with the party. Little did she know of the deeper and damaging effect it was having on her.

Picking up their feet with each step, they headed towards the thriving party. Both paused before entering the mob of intoxicated teens, all clashing in a dancing mass. She leaned in close to Derek's ear to say, "Let's stick together."

Standing around the crowd, they noticed security guards idling standing by the walking MIPs, and that alone sent Alex into an unnerved state. Braeden had warned Derek about the police having their own force assembling to take out the names on the dead pool after interrogating a deputy who tried to murder another fellow deputy. She caught a watchful yet sinister look in the eyes of the unseeming uniformed men, and it created waves of uneasiness in her stomach.

"Sounds like a plan," Derek nodded, and lowered his gun to keep it concealed from the sight of any and all on-lookers.

They managed to weave their way into the pack, but Alex became more unsettled as none of their own pack members could be spotted. 

"Do you see any of them," she struggled to shout over the thundering music. Looking at Derek, she received his head shake, but then her line of vision became blurry before it started to spin.  

"Woah," she gasped as she slightly leaned more towards him but lost her footing. He caught her elbows before she stumbled to the grow, but waves of confusion crossed his face.

"Alex, what's happening to you," he asked, concerned.

"I don't know," the short answer escaped her mouth in the form of giggles. With the party moving around her and the music surging through her, a sense of lightness came over her. She lost the urgency she felt only moments ago. 

"Come on, let's get you into the school. I don't think they're out here anymore," Derek's arms wrapped protectively around her waist, supporting her upright. His dark eyebrows stitched together, wondering about the cause to her disorientation and the disappearance of his betas. Although he was no longer an alpha, the group of teenagers would always be the kids he would protect. They were forever a part of his pack. 

As Alex slowly returned to her equilibrium, the music still blared in her ears, but it gave her a chance to closely listen to it. She realized the dizziness and her loss of balance was all due to the unnatural rhythmic sound. She couldn't quite figure out how the assassins managed to engineer the debilitating noise. 

"Der-derek," she uttered in a slurred voice, "the music. It's the music."

His head peered up at the booth containing the mixer being run by a seemingly twenty year old male and an array of vibrating speakers. Standing next to the raised platform were two security guards stationed who noticed the swaying, intoxicated movements of Alex.