Teen Wolf: Dragon Among Wolves

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Hale House

Jacob, Stiles, and Scott arrived at the old Hale house and stepped out of the car.

Stiles looked up at the charred, crumbling remains of the once-proud home and muttered. ”I don’t think Derek or anyone lives here.”

Jacob replied. ”I’m going to check inside. By the way, Scott... do you smell that?”

Scott sniffed the air. ”Smell what?”

”Blood. Can’t you smell it?” Jacob asked.

Scott took a deeper breath, then nodded. ”Yeah... you’re right. I can smell it.”

Jacob said. ”I can smell more. It’s the same scent as the dead girl we found the night you got bitten.”

”You mean... the other half of her body is here?” Stiles asked.

Jacob said. ”Yes.” Then he pointed to a section of the yard where the ground looked freshly dug. ”Over there.”

”What should we do?” Stiles asked, looking nervous.

Scott said. ”Let’s dig up the body and tell your dad, and send Derek to jail.”

Jacob said. ”Let me check the house first. But I doubt Derek’s inside. If he were, he would’ve heard us already and come out.”

Jacob headed into the house, not to look for Derek, but to complete a system sign-in.

As he got inside the house, Jacob said to the system in his mind. ’System, sign in.’

[Location sign-in successful. Rewards obtained:

–Ability Poison Resistance: Immunity to all poison

-Bottomless Bag of Chips: Infinite chips

–Strength Potion: Permanently increases strength slightly after consumption]

Jacob smiled with satisfaction and thought. ’Great, the rewards I got this time are all great, even the bag of chips. As expected from a location like the Hale house. System, merge the poison resistance ability into my body.’

[Are you sure, host?]

’Yes.’

[As you wish. Poison Resistance is now being merged into the host’s body.]

Jacob felt a wave of heat spread across his body, but the feeling went away quickly.

[Ability merged successfully.]

’Awesome. Now I don’t have to worry about poison anymore.’

He took out the strength potion and drank it. A wave of heat rushed through him again. Jacob clenched his fist and felt that his body had become stronger. Then he shifted, and this time his entire chest was covered with black, shiny scales.

’I feel so strong, but I don’t think I can beat Peter yet. Anyway, I should find him and confirm how strong I am compared to him.’ Jacob smirked and thought. ’I can’t wait to fight him again.’

’System, show me my status.’

[Status]

[- Name: Jacob Alexander (16 years old)

- Species: Human/Dragon

- Abilities:

1. Fire element control

2. Thunder element control

3. Fire and lightning resistance

4. Standard shifter abilities

5. Poison Resistance

6. Passive charm

- Weapons and Items: Defective lightsaber, Defective Invisibility Cloak, Excalibur knockoff, The Joker’s Laughing Bomb (x20), A can of Popeye’s Spinach.]

Jacob saw his status and was so excited when the word ”locked” after fire and thunder element control disappeared. He said to the system. ’System, can I use fire and thunder now?’

[Yes, host. However, the current level of your elemental powers is weak. They are not yet suitable for combat.]

’How do I use them?’

[You can think of the ability you want to use just like when you want to shift, and you will be able to use it.

Note: Although the host can use his elements now, I suggest you hide them until you are strong enough to protect yourself or have an escape skill like teleportation. If people know you are a dragon, they will do everything to hunt you, be it out of fear or greed.]

Jacob thought about using his elemental powers, and soon his right hand ignited with fire while his left sparked with electricity. He stared at his hands with excitement and thought. ’Even if I can’t use them in combat yet, it’s still pretty damn cool to control fire and lightning.’

’By the way, System, do I need to be an alpha to use powerful elemental attacks?’

[No, host. Since you’ve awakened your elemental powers, you can train daily to strengthen them. With time and effort, their power will grow. If you’re lucky, you may receive elemental-enhancing potions or abilities related to your elements through Monthly, Location, and Quest Sign-Ins.]

’Great. And what about the fire and lightning resistance listed in my status? Tell me more about that.’

[That ability means you’re immune to fire and lightning, host.]

’Nice. Now I just need to train and keep a low profile. The last thing I want is to get hunted by some psycho who wants dragon leather boots.’

He glanced around. ’Alright. Time to head back to Scott and Stiles.’

As he exited the house, Jacob spotted a shovel leaning by the door. He grabbed it and walked over to the others.

”Hey guys.” He called. ”No sign of Derek, but I found a shovel.”

Stiles lit up. ”Perfect! Now dig up whatever’s buried over there!”

Jacob tossed the shovel toward him. ”You dig. I’m not digging someone’s grave, that feels disrespectful.”

Stiles caught it awkwardly. ”Why me? I don’t have supernatural strength!”

Jacob shrugged. ”You’re the one into necrophilia, not me.”

”For the last time, I’m not into necrophilia!” Stiles groaned.

Scott sighed, taking the shovel. ”Give me that. I’ll dig.”

A few minutes later, Scott hit something. ”I think I found something. Stiles, give me a hand.”

Stiles jumped into the hole and helped Scott uncover the object. It was wrapped tightly in black cloth. As they started unwrapping it, they were both horrified to find the upper half of a wolf’s body.

They screamed and scrambled out of the grave in a panic.

Jacob, who already knew what was buried there, burst into laughter. ”Cowards.”

”Shut up!” Stiles snapped. ”I was prepared to see a dead girl, not a freaking dead wolf!”

Jacob looked at the wolf and said. ”That’s not a wolf—that’s a girl. Or to be more precise, that’s a werewolf.”

Scott said. ”You mean this is the body we’re looking for? Then how are we supposed to turn her back to human form?”

Jacob pointed toward a flower growing beside the grave. ”That’s easy. See that flower over there? You just need to pull it out.”

Stiles looked at the flower Jacob was pointing at and said. ”That’s wolfsbane.”

”Yes.” Jacob said.

Scott, who had been told before that wolfsbane is a werewolf weakness, started backing away. ”Wait, wolfsbane is toxic to werewolves, right? Should I even be near it? Is that flower going to kill me if I touch it?”

Jacob rolled his eyes. ”Relax. Wolfsbane is poisonous to werewolves, but only if ingested or introduced into your bloodstream. You can still touch it briefly, but you shouldn’t stay near it too long—it’ll start to affect you.”

Scott stopped retreating and walked back to Jacob’s side. ”Alright, Stiles. You do it.”

Stiles sighed dramatically, then grabbed the flower and yanked it out. It was connected to a thin rope, which spiraled around the grave. As he pulled the last of the rope free, the spiral glowed red—and suddenly, the wolf shifted back into a girl’s body.

Scott and Stiles stared in shock.

Stiles said. ”Do you think this is why Derek killed her?”

Scott frowned. ”What do you mean?”

”Well.” Stiles said. ”She’s different from you, Scott. She can shift into a full wolf. Maybe Derek killed her to gain her ability or something.”

Scott turned to Jacob. ”Is he right?”

Jacob shook his head. ”I don’t think so.”

Then, Jacob’s ears twitched slightly. He smirked. ”Why don’t we ask him directly?”

Stiles blinked. ”What do you...”

Scott interrupted. ”I hear a car. Someone’s coming.”

Stiles looked nervous. ”Should we leave?”

Jacob shrugged. ”No. We came here looking for Derek, didn’t we?”

Scott turned to his friend. ”Stiles, stay behind me.”

Soon, a car pulled up, and Derek got out. The moment he saw the grave disturbed and his sister’s body exposed, his eyes glowed bright blue, and he growled as he walked toward them.

”What are you doing?” He demanded.

Scott stepped forward. ”We found the girl you killed, and we’re going to send you to jail.”

From behind Scott, Stiles added. ”Yeah, and did you kill her because she was a different kind of werewolf? Because she could shift into a full wolf and you wanted that ability?”

Derek’s growl deepened. His entire body radiated rage.

Jacob thought. ’I think we went too far. This guy just lost his sister, and we dug her up like it was nothing. If it were me, I’d probably tear someone’s head off.’

He sighed and stepped forward. ”Alright, that’s enough, Scott. Stiles. He’s not the Alpha, and he didn’t kill the girl.”

Scott looked confused. ”How do you know?”

Jacob stared at him. ”Did you two forget what I told you about Alphas?”

Stiles answered. ”That they’re the leaders of a pack and stronger than Betas?”

Jacob nodded. ”And what about their eyes?”

Both Scott and Stiles remembered—an Alpha’s eyes glow red. They saw Derek’s eyes glowing blue and realized they had made a mistake.

Scott looked at Derek. ”I’m sorry. I thought you were the Alpha. I didn’t pay attention to the color of your eyes yesterday. But to be fair, you didn’t deny it—you even pretended to be the Alpha. Anyway, thank you for saving me from the hunters yesterday.”

Derek’s eyes returned to normal as he snorted, clearly annoyed. Then he looked at Jacob, narrowing his eyes. He could feel threatened by Jacob—whatever Jacob was, he was very dangerous.

”Who are you?” Derek asked. ”And what are you?”

”I’m a friend of Scott’s.” Jacob replied. ”As for what I am... I don’t know yet.”

”You don’t know?” Derek asked suspiciously.

Jacob shrugged. ”Yes, I don’t know what I am. Now, can you tell me who the girl was to you? I can feel your sadness.”

Derek walked silently to the grave, looking down at the body. ”Her name was Laura Hale. She was my older sister.”

Stiles muttered. ”Shit... so we’re the bad guys here.”

Scott nodded solemnly. ”Yes... we are.”

Without a word, Jacob jumped into the grave. He gently wrapped Laura’s body back in the black cloth, his expression serious.

He thought. ’I shouldn’t have let them dig her up in the first place. I’m still thinking this is a TV show, and that’s wrong. This is a real world, and what we did just now was wrong.’

He climbed out of the grave and faced Derek. ”I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have disturbed her. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. I really am sorry for your loss... and for what we did.”

Then he turned to Scott and Stiles. ”You guys should apologize too.”

Jacob picked up the shovel and began covering Laura’s body with dirt again.

Scott and Stiles, guilt all over their faces, looked at Derek. ”We’re sorry.” They said quietly.

After the grave was filled, Derek took the wolfsbane and the rope from Stiles. He carefully recreated the spiral around the grave to return his sister’s body to her wolf form.

To be continued... 😊