𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 ▷ 𝐬. 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐢 ✓

𝟒𝟎. 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞

CHAPTER FORTY
act like you love me

YASMINE MCCALL

How had I somehow forgotten that Gerard had full control of the Kanima?

The second the words escaped Gerard's liquid-filled mouth, my entire being tensed up as I obtained eye contact with Allison, the brunette squeezing her eyes shut as we both concluded that once the Kanima had sliced her throat, I was next.

My eyes widened in surprise as the Kanima kept his eyes on Gerard's body, which was on the ground. The old man seemed to have fainted or perhaps even passed away as he had collapsed onto the solid ground, his head facing away from us as he was lying in his own mess, not moving an inch. I watched the Kanima hesitantly remove its hand from Allison, the brunette flinging her arm back to elbow the Kanima. It stumbled back and the huntress dove to the ground, the Kanima hissing angrily now locking its eyes on me.

"Oh, hell no," I muttered panicked and prepared to dive for one of Allison's knives in case the Kanim targeted me next, but I never got that opportunity seeing as a car drove straight through the wall, its bright headlights momentarily blinding each and every single one of us.

Just when I thought the driver of the baby blue Jeep would stop, he kept going and had Scott not yanked me away, well then the Kanima would not be the only one getting hit by a Jeep tonight. Heart racing and adrenaline pumping, I peeked inside the car and spotted Stiles and Lydia seated inside. The lacrosse player's entire face was tense and he was breathing heavy, having now fully come to a halt.

"Did I get him?" Stiles hollered, his squinted eyes locked on Scott and me, although all I was able to focus on was Lydia's panting.

I refrained from answering and instead took a moment to compose myself, inhaling deeply and staying still only to exhale just moments later, feeling my head clear and my heart resuming its normal pace. I could tell Scott had chuckled and that had been enough of an answer for Stiles, whom I heard sighing relieved. Suddenly a familiar shriek broke the calming silence around me and my eyes peeled open only to see the Kanima now kneeling onto the bonnet of the Jeep, hissing as it sized up both Stiles and Lydia through the window.

Basically, we were still utterly fucked.

Both Lydia and Stiles screamed as the Kanima narrowed its reptilian eyes at them, my heart once again beating much faster than it should as I saw Lydia throw open the car door and both of them rush out, slamming the door behind them.

"Jackson!" Lydia cried out, my eyebrows furrowing as I wondered what the hell was happening.

Stiles came speeding towards us and grabbed onto my arm, looking directly into my eyes as my breath got caught in my throat. "Yasmine," he breathed relieved, his hazel eyes examining my face. "Are you okay?"

Not knowing how to answer or even how to behave, I plastered a false smile on my face, nodding gently as he let out a relieved sigh, nodding to himself as Scott moved in front of us, once again taking the form of a human, or rather werewolf, shield as we stood there in anticipation. Of course, I desired to act normal around Stiles, and seeing as his first move upon arrival had been to check on me, I had felt that maybe, just maybe, he did genuinely care.

The Kanima rose to its feet as Lydia panted, the girl standing mere inches from the creature. "Jackson," she harshly uttered while the creature rose to its feet, raising its scaly hand.

"Lydia!" Stiles shouted worriedly and tried to run past me towards the girl, only to be held back by Scott.

My eyebrows furrowed when I saw her raising her hand, a key gripped between her fingers as she silently cried. The Kanima froze in its tracks and its eyes fell upon the key, cocking its head to the side. Stumbling back, I fell back into Scott as I watched Jackson return to his own self, half of his body still covered in scales. I scoffed in surprise, startled that it had actually worked.