In The Shadows (Teen Wolf) (Shadow Series #1)

Chapter 11

A noise from outside of my bedroom door wakes me up for the second time in the past ten minutes and I give in by climbing out of my warm bed to investigate. The amount of security that Dad has put around the house gives me the reassurance that no one has broken into our house, but I'm still on the edge of who is making all of the ruckus. It's a Wednesday night, which means Allison is fast asleep, so it can't be her.

I trudge out of my bedroom, bouncing into the wall from sleep deprivation. Allison's door creaks open just as I pass by it and I pause by her door.

"Clara?" Allison yawns, too tired to cover her mouth. Her hair is piled in a messy ponytail, a few strands hanging around her face. "What's that noise?"

I shrug my shoulders and dig my hands in my oversized hoodie. "I don't know." My eyelids begin to droop as I stand still. I blink my eyes a couple of times to try to keep myself awake a little bit longer.

"Let's go find out." Allison walks alongside the wall, her shoulder brushing up against it the whole way to the balcony in the middle of our house.

I sleepily rub my eyes on our way down the stairs. Allison and I bump into each other more than a couple times until we safely make it to the first floor. Dad is bent over on the dining room table, his back to us as we approach him.

"Dad?" Allison crosses her arms.

His movements quicken and he carefully keeps something hidden behind his back when he spins around to face us. "Girls?" Dad has the look of surprise at sight of us.

"What's going on?"

"Your Aunt Kate just texted me." Dad slyly slides something into the back of his jeans. Allison doesn't pay attention to small details like this, but Dad has helped me over the years to not let little things get past me. "I'm headed out to pick her up." Dad bypasses us, the back of his jacket hiding whatever he doesn't want us to see.

I whirl around as he wanders over to the front door. "But, it's two in the morning. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just a little bit of car trouble." Dad walks back over to us and kisses Allison on her forehead.

"Not serious, is it?" Allison questions.

Dad wraps an arm around my shoulders. "No, just a flat tire." He brings me closer to him and kisses my forehead like he did to Allison. "Go-Go to bed, sweethearts."

We stand near the stairs, watching Dad send us a fleeting glance before disappearing out of the door and into the dark of the night. A cold breeze swoops through the house and I tug on the sleeves of my hoodie. I didn't even know Aunt Kate was coming to visit us.

"C'mon." Allison yawns for the hundredth time. "We have to get up in a few hours."

I keep my eyes trained on the closed door for a few more seconds before giving into my sister's continuous pulling on my arm. "I'll be lucky if I fall back asleep."

I actually had no problem falling back asleep after this morning's little talk. Once my head hit my pillow, I was already asleep and didn't wake up until my obnoxious alarm went off. I heard Allison groan when her own alarm went off seconds after mine.

I quickly changed into a pair of denim shorts paired with a white tank top tucked into it. The weather is slowly warming up and I am taking full advantage of that. Sure, it may only be sixty degrees, but I'm going to act like it is ninety degrees out today. That's one thing I miss about living in San Francisco, I was able to wear shorts without the worry of getting frostbite.

"Aunt Kate!" Allison squeals from the guest bedroom.

My head snaps up when I remember the reason why dad went out last night. I yank a light pink, long cardigan from my closet and race out of my room, down the hallway, and straight to the guest room. My Aunt Kate is talking to Allison about something just as I run into the room.