Jacob and Cogman stepped out of the mansion. Cogman proceeded to the iron gate to open it for the Argents, and with his British accent said. "Welcome. Please, drive in."
Chris nodded, drove through, and parked in front of the mansion. The Argents got out of the car, their eyes falling on Jacob waiting for them by the steps.
Jacob smiled. "Welcome." His gaze flicked to the bottle of wine in Chris's hand, and he raised a brow. "Did you really bring alcohol for me? I'm a teenager, you know."
Chris snorted. "No, I didn't bring it for you." He pointed at Cogman, who had just returned after closing the gate. "I brought it for him."
Cogman gave a polite nod. "That's very kind of you, sir, but I do not drink."
Chris frowned. "You don't drink alcohol?"
Jacob shook his head. "He doesn't. None of us do—it has no effect on us. We're supernatural, after all. But we appreciate the gesture."
Then, Jacob walked over to Victoria and greeted her the French way with a kiss on each cheek. "Welcome, mother-in-law."
Victoria raised a brow. "Call me Mrs. Argent."
Jacob smirked. "Come on, that sounds so distant. I'll call you Victoria instead. Let's go inside."
As Jacob turned to enter the mansion, Kate, who had been watching with a smirk, spoke up. "Hey, that's rude, kid. Aren't you going to greet me?"
Jacob didn't bother hiding his annoyance. "No. And I was hoping you wouldn't come here, Kate."
Kate tilted her head. "Did I offend you or something?"
"You sent your hunters after me and my girls yesterday. Did you forget?" Jacob replied coldly. "The only reason you're still alive is Allison."
"That wasn't my idea!" Kate protested. "Besides, we didn't order them to shoot you. We just asked them to make you lose control..."
A deep growl cut her off. "Stop talking." Jacob warned. "You're just making me want to beat you."
Cogman interjected calmly. "Should I get rid of her, sir? I promise, Lady Allison wouldn't know I was the one who did it."
Jacob chuckled. "Tempting… maybe if she offends me a second time." He walked inside without another glance.
Cogman looked at Kate, who was now watching him warily. "Watch yourself, woman. I've just added you to my shit list."
Turning to Chris and Victoria, he softened again. "Come along. Lady Allison is waiting for you."
The Argents followed him inside to the living room. Jacob was already seated next to Lydia, both of them clearly prepared to enjoy the unfolding drama.
Allison greeted her parents warmly, then shot a glare at Kate. "I was hoping you wouldn't come. I really don't want to talk to you right now."
Kate sighed. "I'm sorry about yesterday..."
"No." Allison cut her off sharply. "It's not about yesterday. It's about what you did."
Chris and Victoria, who had just sat down, looked at Allison. Chris asked. "What did she do?"
Allison sat down and looked at her father. "Let's talk about what you did first."
Chris frowned. "What did I do?"
"You sent your hunters after Jacob, Lydia, and me. And you never told me you were a hunter."
Chris explained. "I didn't tell you we were hunters because I wanted you to have a normal childhood. I wanted to protect you from my world for as long as I could."
Allison frowned. "I see. But why did you send your hunters after us yesterday?"
Chris's eyes narrowed at Jacob, who was lounging next to Lydia with an arm casually around her waist. The two were munching on chips, looking far too entertained by the family drama. Chris said. "Because I didn't want you to date that mons..."
Jacob smirked and subtly gestured with his eyes toward his phone. Chris remembered the embarrassing fart video of himself and quickly changed his tone. "Because I didn't want you to date Jacob. I didn't know the two of you shared a mating bond."
Allison sighed. "You could've just talked to me, Dad."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Chris said softly. "I'll never do something stupid like that again. I'll… try to get along with him."
Allison smiled. "That would be great."
Then she turned to her mother. "What about you, Mom?"
Victoria exhaled slowly. "Honestly? I don't like that you're dating… married to a shapeshifter. But there's nothing I can do about it. And I don't like that you're a supernatural creature either."
Allison's face fell. "Do you hate me because I'm a...?"
"Never." Victoria cut her off firmly. "I would never hate you, sweetheart. But can you tell me what kind of shapeshifter you are?"
Allison hesitated, glancing at Kate.
Kate leaned forward, her voice unusually gentle. "Come on, princess. Do you really think I'd hurt you? I admit I'm not a good person, but I love you more than anything. I'd rather die than hurt you."
With a quiet sigh, Allison faced her parents again. "I'm a wind fairy."
She stood up and shifted into her fairy form. Her eyes glowed green, her ears elongated and became pointed, and her hair turned a dark green with freckles appearing beneath her eyes. A green aura surrounded her entire body. She raised her hand, summoning a swirl of emerald wind that filled the room with a gentle gust.
Kate's eyes widened. "Wow… you look gorgeous. I've read about fairies before, but this is the first time I've ever seen one."
Allison turned to her mother. "What do you think, Mom?"
Victoria's stern face softened into a smile. "You look beautiful. And I'm glad you're not a werewolf."
Chris leaned forward, still stunned. "But… how? How did you become a fairy?"
Allison shifted back to normal and sat down. "I can't tell you that. It's Jay's secret."
Chris's jaw tightened. "And what about him? What is he?"
Allison shook her head. "I can't tell you that, either. You can ask him yourself."
Chris let out a short, frustrated snort. "I did. He didn't tell me."
Allison replied calmly. "All you need to know is that he's strong. Very strong. And dangerous."
Victoria's gaze shifted to Lydia. "And what about you? What are you?"
Lydia arched an eyebrow. "You're a hunter. You saw me use my powers yesterday. You should be able to guess."
Victoria shook her head. "No. There are many creatures that use sound to attack."
Lydia leaned back, her expression unreadable. "Maybe I'll tell you when I trust you enough."
Victoria turned her attention to Cogman, who was standing behind Jacob. "And you? What are you?"
Cogman offered a polite smile. "Me? I'm just a butler, madam. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go make some tea."
With that, he strode elegantly to the kitchen.
Chris looked at Allison. "Can you tell us what Kate did?"
Allison's eyes hardened. "She was the one who burned Talia Hale and her family."
Victoria, who had already suspected as much, stayed composed. But Chris's face twisted in shock as he turned to his sister. "Did you really do it, Kate?"
Kate sighed, almost bored. "Yes, I did. Talia and her pack were monsters that needed to be put down."
"Talia Hale was the guardian of Beacon Hills." Allison said. "She was a good alpha who protected the innocent and kept other supernaturals in check. But you didn't just kill her. You burned normal humans too, and even children."
Kate chuckled coldly. "I don't know who's been filling your head with lies, princess, but there's no such thing as a good werewolf. They're all monsters. As for the humans and children… that wasn't my intention. I was only trying to kill Talia and her pack."
Jacob interjected. "No one is filling Allison's head with lies. It's your head that's filled with hatred."
He looked at Chris. "You knew who Talia was, didn't you? You must have met her before. She was a peace-loving woman."
Chris hesitated, then nodded. "Yes… I knew her. I met her a few times with Gerard. She was a strong Alpha, respected by many other Alphas and their packs."
Victoria, reluctantly, added. "Although I hate werewolves, I'll admit—I respected that woman."
Chris looked at Kate with profound disappointment. "How could you break the code, Kate? You even killed children."
Kate snapped. "Don't look at me like that! I just did what I was told. It was the first time Gerard entrusted me with something like that."
Chris froze. "What? It was his order?"
Kate snorted. "Of course it was his order. You don't really know who he is, do you, brother?"
Chris's face paled. "I… I don't know what to say. How could he do something like that? He was the one who taught us the code."
Jacob smirked darkly. "That old bastard doesn't have a code. He'll do anything to get what he wants. And believe me, he'll use the three of you—and Allison—to achieve it."
Chris glared at him. "You seem to know a lot about him."
Jacob leaned back casually. "I do. I investigated him. Do you know Deucalion?"
Chris nodded grimly. "Yes, we do."
Allison frowned. "Who's Deucalion?"
Jacob explained. "Deucalion was once a peace-loving Alpha werewolf. He tried to negotiate peace between werewolves and hunters—with Gerard. Talia Hale warned him Gerard couldn't be trusted, but he didn't listen. He met Gerard in an abandoned warehouse. Gerard, who wanted no peace, ambushed him. He killed Deucalion's Betas, and even slaughtered his own hunters. He used a spiked mace made from werewolf claws to frame Deucalion, making it look like he had massacred everyone."
Lydia, who was enjoying the story, asked. "What happened next?"
Jacob continued. "Gerard blinded Deucalion with flashbang arrows, but he didn't—or couldn't—kill him. After that, Deucalion, the peace-loving werewolf, turned into a ruthless monster. He's now known as the Demon Wolf, and all his pack members are alphas. He's the alpha of an Alpha Pack, and they say he's very strong."
"How do you know all this?" Chris asked, bewildered. "What Gerard told me was completely different from what you just said."
Jacob shrugged. "Believe me or not, that's up to you. But you'll find out who Gerard really is sooner or later. And just a heads-up: if that monster provokes me, I'll show him no mercy. So when he comes here and hears about me and Allison, make sure he stays away from both of us if you want him to live longer."
"The kid is right." Kate said. "Don't tell Gerard that Allison is a fairy. I don't trust him. He might try to hurt her or use her to get to Jacob."
Before Chris could respond, Allison's eyes glowed bright green. "Let him try. I'll kill him myself. It's not like I haven't killed before."
Victoria's eyes widened. "What? You've killed someone?"
Kate said. "If you're talking about the hunters from yesterday, you didn't kill any of them. You hurt them badly, sure, but you didn't kill them."
Allison's eyes returned to normal. "I wasn't talking about them. I'm talking about a hunter group who called themselves the Harvesters."
Chris's face darkened. "Where did you meet those bastards?"
Allison answered. "Jacob and I ran into them last week in the woods. They kidnapped two kids, but the kids' mother, a werebear, found them and was fighting them. We helped her and killed them all."
Jacob glanced at Chris. "Do you know about those hunters?"
Chris nodded grimly. "Yes. But those guys aren't hunters. They're just butchers and monsters who hunt for profit, not to protect anyone."
"But they call themselves hunters." Allison pointed out. "So, just like there are good and bad supernatural creatures, there are good and bad hunters. Like those guys... and Kate."
"Come on now, princess." Kate protested. "Don't put me in the same category as those monsters."
Jacob said. "Why not? You did kill innocent people, children included. You burned them alive. And you even slept with a minor."
Lydia's eyes widened with interest. "What? This is getting interesting. Who did she sleep with?"
Jacob smirked. "Derek Hale. He was our age back then. She seduced him and used him to get information about his family."
Lydia turned to Kate, her lips curling into a sly smile. "Interesting. You slept with a minor, and a werewolf at that, yet you claim to hate werewolves."
"I did what I had to do for the mission." Kate said defensively.
"Yeah, right." Jacob retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Not only are you a murderer, but you're a sexual predator too." Allison said, her voice cold with disgust. "I don't know what to say anymore, Kate."
Lydia leaned toward Allison. "You could ask her to stay away from Jay. She's dangerous. She might seduce him."
Allison's eyes narrowed at Kate. "Lydia's right. Stay away from Jacob, Kate."
Then she turned to her father. "Keep your sister in check. Or better yet, take her to the sheriff's station to turn herself in. That would be better for her, because the alpha is after her."
Chris sighed, changing the subject. "Speaking of the Alpha… can you tell us who he is?"
Allison looked at Jacob, who gave a slight nod. She turned back to her parents. "His name is Peter Hale. He knows what Kate did. The people who have died in town since we moved here were all Kate's goons who helped her set the fire that killed the Hale family."
Chris looked at his sister with disbelief. "We really need to talk about this mess you've made."
Kate rolled her eyes. "What's there to talk about? We just need to kill Peter. Problem solved."
Before Chris could respond, Cogman entered with a tray of tea and snacks. Allison quickly shifted the conversation. "Alright, let's not talk about what Kate did anymore. Dad, tell me—what was your first hunt like? What kind of creature was it?"
Chris began telling stories about his early hunts, and Victoria shared tales of her own first experiences. Allison and Lydia listened with interest, even laughing when Chris and Victoria recounted some embarrassing moments from their younger days.
Jacob, however, sat quietly. He watched Allison laugh with her parents—and even with Kate, despite her sins. He didn't judge Allison for it; he understood. They were her family, and she loved them.
A wistful smile touched his lips as he began to think of his own parents, how happy he had been when they were alive, and what life might be like if they were still here. He was lost in thought and sadness until Lydia and Allison both noticed and gently brought him back to reality.
Jacob blinked and looked at them. "What?"
Allison's expression softened. "You're sad. I can feel it."
Lydia nodded. "I can feel it, too."
Jacob sighed. "I'm fine. I just remembered my parents." He kissed both girls on the forehead, then stood. "I'm going out for a walk."
"Now?" Lydia said, glancing toward the window. "It's raining outside."
Jacob gave a faint smile. "It's alright. I love the rain."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Lydia asked.
He shook his head. "No. I want to be alone for a while."
Allison sighed. "Okay. But don't be late."
"I won't."
Before leaving, Jacob turned to Victoria and Chris. "I promise I will never wrong your daughter or make her sad. I'll protect her with everything I have. So don't worry about her being with me. I hope, one day, you'll accept me as your son-in-law—or at least, let's try to get along for her sake."
Then his eyes shifted to Kate. "The truth is… I didn't know Talia Hale, or the people who died in that fire. And honestly, I don't really care about their deaths—people die every day. But you should change, Kate. Stop hurting innocent people. If not for yourself, then do it for Allison. She still loves you, despite the monster you are. So do better."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out of the living room.
Cogman followed him into the hallway. "Do you need a brolly, sir?"
Jacob blinked. "What's a brolly?"
"An umbrella, sir."
Jacob shook his head. "No need, Cogman."
"Then when shall I expect you back, sir? So I can prepare dinner."
"I don't know. I'll let you know when I'm on my way back."
"Very good, sir."
Jacob gave a casual wave and left the mansion, heading toward the woods under the heavy rain.
To be continued… 😊