Chapter 22:

Jay’s Tale

The first light of the sun began to rise over the Nightshade campsite. Along with it, Jay began to rub his eyes and stretch out his muscles. He let out a yawn, climbed out of his sleeping bag and just before he left his bed. Jay just like he did every morning checked underneath his pillow. Underneath it, he kept a photo.

This photo was a picture of a woman with crimson red hair, she had her hair tied up in ponytail. She was wearing a red tank top, black sweatpants. Her dark greens were looking down at him as a child, her lips pressed on top of his head. Alejandro was sitting right next to her on the couch, his red eyes still half asleep. His twin brother was standing beside Alejandro with his fists up trying to play fight with Alejandro like he always did. Everyone in the picture was happy, Jay's life was so full then but now it felt empty.

"I miss you mom, we all miss you," Jay wiped a tear from his eye. He set the picture down gently and once again hid it beneath his pillow. If his brother or Alejandro found out he still had a picture of her. They'd make him get rid of it. They were all trying to forget she ever existed thinking that forgetting would make the pain go away. Jay didn't want to forget, he wanted to remember her, even if it tore his heart to shreds. He never wanted to forget the Princess who became his teacher, his best friend, and his mother.

"First rule of being a tracker," The crimson haired woman began walking Jay through a forest. "Always, Always, Always, be the first to wake up in the morning. Unlike the others, trackers have to check their traps, survey the area to make sure it's safe. We gather the herbs, we start off with a ton of tasks and most of them have to be done before everyone wakes up." She shrugged. "So, you've got to wake up early if you want me to teach you."

"Okay, I will be up super early from now on." Jay promised. "No more oversleeping for this guy." He pointed at himself.

Jay began taking a stroll through the forest. He started his morning by checking on his traps. This task was made easier by his special ability. He shut his eyes and opened them once he did. His sense of sight was increased allowing to see much farther distances. He simply searched the areas he set traps and fixed them if they needed to be fixed. While he was fixing them, he began to think back on his first day of training.

"You said," Jay raised his brow. "Trackers set traps, how come I've never seen you set traps." He gasped. "You do it so early in the morning nobody can see you doing it."

"Exactly, come here," She took Jay's hand. She led him to an open area, the ground looked stable. There was nothing out of the ordinary. "Okay Jay, work your magic, find the trap." He nodded, he closed his eyes and activated his special ability. His sense of sight was increased allowing him to see farther and pick up more details in the area around him.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Jay's eyes wandered the forest. He could see a caterpillar crawling on a tree. Various bugs crawling on a branch. He closed his eyes and deactivated his ability. Odds are it wouldn't be a smell trap. He wouldn't find it by amplifying his sense of hearing or taste either. So this left him one other option. He shut his eyes and increased his sense of touch, he bent to one knee and touched the dirt. Once he did he could feel various weak points in the ground. But only one caught his attention.

"It's right there," He pointed at a spot in the ground. He walked up and grabbed a rock, he casually threw it. The ground underneath the rock broke and it fell into a mud pit. The woman clapped after he revealed her well placed trap. "Also when I boosted my eyesight, I saw a trap over there," He pointed off in the distance. "There," He pointed again. "And there, but that one over there is a new one."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "All of my traps are seen in the werewolf handbook." She handed him the werewolf handbook. "We're only focusing on the basics." Jay began walking over to the trap. Once he found it, he beckoned her over to him.

"See?" Jay pointed at the steel fanged trap. He bent down to test it, the moment his hand got close. It snapped at it, its silver jaws moving so quickly. It could break through a bone. "I don't think this is intended for vampires." He clenched his hand after it was almost caught in the trap. "What kind of trap is that?"

"It's for werewolves," She bit her lip. "But not "our" werewolves." She took out a camera and took a picture of the trap. "Come on," She took Jay's hand. "We'll worry about it later. I'll show you all the various traps you have located and teach you how they work."

"Okay," Jay's eyes lingered on the steel trap as she pulled him away. What did she mean by not "our" werewolves? Could there be other types of werewolves? No, that can't be right, it'd be in the history books.

Jay hooked his agile legs around a sturdy tree branch. His shirtless body hanging upside down while he did crunches to strengthen his core muscles. He had his ash blond hair tied up in a ponytail as he pushed himself to move faster and faster. His face was covered in sweat as the sunlight peeked through the trees heating up his skin. While he was upside down, his dark amber eyes lingered on a basket of herbs he picked for Claire.

"So, um," Jay sat there in the bushes helping his mother pick herbs. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask me anything." She encouraged him.

"What does it feel like to be in love with someone?" Jay asked. "I'm not talking about the love you have for me and my brother. I'm talking about the love you have for Al," The moment he spoke Alejandro's name. His mother's cheeks flared red.

"Um, Al, that's a tough one." She blushed harder. "I mean, it's complicated."

"But you do love him right?" Jay raised his brow.

"Like I said, it's complicated." She admitted. "Like yes, I feel strongly about him and he's special. But, I'm dating Lycan so I shouldn't be feeling anything toward Alejandro. He's just a really good friend that means a lot to me. Almost, like, family. I mean," She shrugged. "He's uncle Al."

"I don't want him to be Uncle Al anymore," Jay confessed. "I want him to be my dad. He takes care of us every time you and Lycan go on dates. He built us a cabin to stay in, he's always been there for us like a father. So why not, you like him right?"

"It's complicated," She answered once again. "One day," She ran her fingers through his hair. "When you're older," She added. "You'll understand what that means." She rose to her feet. "That's enough herb picking for one day," She dusted herself off.

Jay left the forest and went to his tent. His morning routine was over. Now all that was left was to work on his confession. Today's the day he's going to tell Claire how he feels. No more being shy with his feelings. The war is in three days, as soon as Leader Lycan gets back. He's expected to meet at the Cabin for help with Nightshade's war strategy. There was no more time to wait, Claire needed to know how he felt before then. He wanted at least one more date with her, one more chance to make her his girlfriend. No more stalling.

Jay sat down having a blue notebook in his lap. The notebook was opened and hung to a paperclip right above the page. It was a picture of him and Claire together at the Lunar Ball. The two of them posed for a silly photo. Jay was in his black suit with a blue undershirt. His tongue sticking out as he threw up sick bullhorns. Claire in front of him, her knuckles at her chest shooting up two bullhorns. Her tongue sticking out as well. They both had the same idea in mind, they pretended they were at some kick ass rock concert. Raven thought they were so cute together. If only the Lunar Ball could have lasted forever.

Jay let out a deep sigh. He'd give anything, everything, he'd even give up his goal of avenging his parents. If there was a chance, he'd end up as Claire's boyfriend. The way it felt to dance with her at the ball. His hands as they were placed at her sides, holding her close. The occasional kiss that would send flames to his heart. That moment was going to last forever in his mind but Claire didn't feel the same. Maybe now, he was starting to understand what his mother meant by it's complicated.

Every day since that night. Jay sat in his tent trying to put his feelings into words. He wanted to write those feelings down and give them to her. Or maybe, even, trying to tell her these feelings. It's just he couldn't get the words out. He couldn't find the right words to say, to write, they all sounded lame. Probably the same complements she's heard over and over again. He wanted his words to be unique to be special to mean something to her. But no words were good enough. He read over what had to be his fifth attempt at a confession.

Claire,

I think you are the smartest and most prettiest girl alive. If I was yours, I swear to you. I'd show you just how smart and beautiful you are. I'd spend everyday reminding you of how smart and beautiful you really are. Because, I'd never want you to feel like you aren't.

"Smart and beautiful, that's the best I got." Jay growled. He crossed out the words in frustration. He took the picture off the page and tore the sheet of paper from his notebook. "Not like she hasn't heard that before." He crumpled up the paper into a ball and threw it aside. "She deserves better than that, come on Jay, think." His mother always told him to be honest with his feelings that women loved it when men were honest. But, how could he be honest with his feelings if he can't even get them on paper.

"This is so hard." Jay laid his head on his pillow in defeat. He took out the picture of his mother. He wondered what she would say in this situation, what advice would she give him? Other than the honesty one, he needed more than that. Know what, enough stalling, he was just going to walk up to Claire and tell her how he felt. It's just that simple, he just had to go up to her and- Jay jumped as a warm hand touched his shoulder.

"Jay, there you are," Claire spoke. Oh, shit, it's Claire, he wasn't ready. He felt his entire body freeze in place. He was looking at the woman of his dreams and he was speechless. Come say words, tell her how you feel.

"Um, ugh," Jay rubbed the back of his neck. "I got you some herbs." He forced a smile as he handed her basket full medical herbs. "I picked them this morning, you know, just doing my tracker thing." He shrugged.

"Right, thanks," Claire took the basket of herbs from him. "So, um, the war is happening soon right?" He nodded. "Okay, then, well, um, this is embarrassing to admit but um," She fondled her fingers together nervously. "See, I'm not very good at the fighting thing." She confessed. "Like, I've been practicing but I feel like my fighting skills are a bit lacking compared to everyone else."

"Tell me about it, you suck," Jayson walked past her and patted her on the shoulder. "It's a good thing you're the medic." Claire growled at him. He shrugged. "Just stating facts, if you get in a fight with a vampire. You're fucked. So if I were you," He walked up to Jay. "I'd find a guy who's dumb enough to protect you during combat. Maybe a guy who's gullible. A guy that has feelings for you like my foolish, love struck brother here." He placed his hand on Jay's shoulder. "Isn't that right bro, you'll keep Claire safe won't ya bro."

"Of course," Jay offered.

"Look," Jayson brought his lips to Jay's ear. "I get that you got the hots for Claire who thinks she's hot shit. But don't forget," He glared at Jay. "We got unfinished business with the bastard who killed our family. So let's worry about him first." He whispered so Claire couldn't hear him. "Then, once he's dead, you can worry about getting your dick sucked. Right now, eyes on the mission."

"I know that, don't worry, I got it covered." Jay assured him. "Just trust me," He pulled his brother in for a hug. "Claire's acidic blood is a huge part of my strategy." Jays whispered these words in Jayson's ear so Claire couldn't hear him. "Without it, we won't win. So in a way, my eyes are on the mission. Have a little faith in me, bro," He punched Jayson's shoulder. "I know what I'm doing." Jayson nodded and left him to be alone with Claire.

"So um, Claire," Jay laughed. "You were saying that you were having trouble learning to fight. Well, um, I'd be glad to help with that. We could train together if you'd like, I'll show you some of my moves." He offered.

"Thanks, that'd be great. Just let me put these away," Claire showed him the basket of herbs he gave her. "and I'll get ready. So um, what were you two talking about?" She pointed over at Jayson. "I was going to use my werewolf senses to eavesdrop but then I was like it's Jayson, he's probably being gross."

"He is," Jay nodded. "He was just telling me to steer clear of some bushes. He might have-. How can I put this?" He could tell by the grossed out expression on Claire's face. He didn't need to elaborate any further. She got the message. "Yeah, so, watch out for bushes." He forced a smile. Claire laughed.

"Jay," Alexis ran over and threw her arms around him. "There you are, I've been looking for you all morning. So, I got you these." She handed him a basket full of medicinal herbs. "I woke up bright and early to help out."

Alexis claimed she was helping. However, Jay knew the real reason she chose to gather herbs for him. She didn't want him spending time with Claire. Herb collecting is one of the very few times. Jay gets to associate with the medic. Alexis was just trying to eliminate that factor once again getting involved in his love life. Now, he's never going to be able to tell Claire how he feels, Alexis won't allow it.

"Thanks but," Claire held up the basket Jay got her. "Jay already took care of it," Alexis growled and handed her the basket. "So, I guess, I have extra." She forced a smile. Alexis glared at her then at Jay.

"Really," Alexis hitched a fake laugh. "Jay took care of it." Jay gulped as her eyes shifted over to him in anger. "That is so sweet of him," She punched Jay in the rib cage while Claire wasn't looking. Jay tried his best to ignore the sharp pains in his ribs. She didn't have to hit him so hard. He gets that she doesn't want him talking to Claire. But is that reason enough to assault his rib cage? "He is such a great guy isn't he," She forced a smile. Soon after the smile, she stomped right on top of Jay's bare foot.

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"Ou," Jay whispered. He cringed as sharp pains filled his entire foot. He casually bit down on his lip. The last thing he needed was for Claire to see him taken down by a stomp to the foot. Even if she was wearing sneakers. He'd endure it and smile through the pain.

"So, um," Alexis ran her hand through her red hair with yellow orange tips. She wore a red orange hoodie and a pair of distressed jeans. "What are you guys up to?" She crossed her arms. She glanced over at Jay. He half smiled at her and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. She just couldn't stand the idea of him hanging out with another girl could she? He couldn't help but wonder if all women were like this. Or was this just an Alexis thing?

"Jay, I, we were going to go training in the forest." Claire answered. "He offered to help since we're friends and all." Great, friends, not exactly a term he wanted to hear from a girl he liked. But he'll take it. Besides if she said anything more. Alexis might start throwing fireballs at him. He was not in the mood to be putting out a forest fire.

"That's funny because," Alexis grabbed Jay by the arm. "Jay told me that he was going to be sparing with me all day today." Jay's eyes widened. He said no such thing, she's making that up. He made no plans with her. There were no such plans. This is a lie, she's trying to get between him and Claire and some much needed alone time. Why does she do this to him? Why torment him so? He's just a boy in love with a girl that isn't her.

"Jay, is this true?" Claire raised her brow. "Why would you make plans with me," She pointed at herself. "When you already made plans with her?" She pointed at Alexis. "I'm really sorry, he didn't say anything to me about it. I'll just let you guys be alone." She went to go into her tent.

"Claire, wait," Jay called out, she stopped. "I made no plans with her." Alexis stomped on his foot again. He growled at her. "Stop doing that," He pointed a sharp finger at her. "That hurts," He yelled. "Now look here," He glared at Alexis. "I'm training with Claire today. Throw fireballs at me all you want. Light my ass on fire. I don't care, I'm training with Claire. This is bullshit, I call bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit." He yelled. "I should be allowed to train with other girls, I should be allowed to talk to other girls. I'm a grown ass man, I make grown ass man decisions and I'm not dealing with your shit today."

"Excuse me," Alexis glared back at him. "What was that Jay, you want me to throw fireballs Jay is that what you want?" She created a fist full of fire. "Oh, I'll throw fireballs, I will do more than light your ass on fire. I will barbecue your ass. So, you best, apologize right now. I'm trying to protect you. Claire is evil, she doesn't give a shit about you."

"Hey," Claire yelled. "Who the hell are you calling evil?" She crossed her arms. "Do you have a problem with me?" Alexis glared at her. "Don't make me get my knife. I'll get my knife and I will throw it at your ass. I'll throw it at your face, I don't care where it lands. But, bitch, I will throw a knife at you. Don't fuck with me, my sister is Raven, let that sink in for moment. Raven is my sister, I'm just as crazy as she is. Don't test me."

"Oh, I'm testing you." Alexis got face to face with Claire. "Bring your knife, bring all your knives, it won't make a difference. Cause Jay is mine, that is my man you're trying to steal. I'm not going to sit here and let you steal my man from me. You better kill me, bitch, because that is the only way. You're going to get him."

"Ladies, let's be rational," Jay kept his voice calm and soothing. He was hoping to get these two girls to calm down and not kill each other. The last thing he needed was for them to start fighting each other over him. "I'm sure, we can come to a peaceful agreement and-," Claire went into her tent. He could already hear her rummaging through her things. "Great," Jay let out a deep sigh. "She's getting the knife." He turned to face Alexis. "Why would you make her get the knife?"

"Like I'm scared of a knife," Alexis ran her fingers through her hair. "I'll be in the forest, she can fight me there." She took off hoodie. Underneath she wore a black crop top with a flaming phoenix design on the front. The shirt revealed her stomach and her belly button piercing of a red heart. She had a tattoo sleeve on her right arm. The tattoo was of several thorn vines wrapping around each other. The vines opened up at her shoulder revealing a beautiful red rose in full bloom. The other arm had a partial sleeve going up from her wrist to her elbow also of thorns but each one had a small rose blooming from it. Her blue jeans sagged revealing her red lace panties and as she walked the forest. Jay saw a tattoo right over her ass of a wolf paw print.

At this moment, only two thoughts crossed Jay's mind. The first thought, Alexis is kinda hot, he didn't remember her being this hot. The second thought was. When did she get tattoos? He didn't remember her having tattoos. If he were allowed third thought, it was this. Belly button ring. He would never forget the belly button ring. Call it a fetish, but he loved it. She needs to take her hoodies off more often. Wait, she's about to fight Claire. He had to break up the fight and talk some sense into her. This was not the time to be memorized by her nice curves and her belly button ring. He had to do the right thing and stop them from fighting.

"Alexis, wait," Jay reached out for her. She kept walking away from him. She was just going to ignore him. A second later, Claire came out of her tent holding her knife. "Now Claire," He said calmly. "Let's be rational," He placed his hands in front of her to block her path. "Let's not bring a silver edged knife to a werewolf fight." He reasoned.

"The bitch is lucky I don't have a silver bullet." Claire retorted. She walked right past Jay and began making haste for the forest. "Evil?" She growled. "She has the nerve to call me evil, bitch, I'm nowhere near evil. That's okay, that's alright," Claire unzipped her navy blue jacket. "I'll show her evil. She messed with the wrong one. Today," She threw her jacket over to Jay and began popping her knuckles. "My brother's training is being put to use." Jay stood there holding Claire's jacket.

"No, Claire, please, she's my friend." Jay threw her jacket aside. "Let's talk it over, you two don't have to kill each other. I'm sure if we all just work together. We can come up with a peaceful solution to this. Come on, Claire, Please." Claire hadn't the slightest idea what she was getting herself into. There's a lot about Alexis she doesn't know.

Alexis is a recruit from another elite pack of werewolves. This pack is often referred to as Nightshade's sister pack. Though unlike Nightshade who specialized in front line combat. This pack specialized in all out defense. Lord Grimm called them his Elemental Guard. Each werewolf had a special ability that allowed them to control a single element. With their ranged attacks and knowledge of close quarters. The Elemental Guard is just as notorious as Nightshade. The pack consisted of her and her four brothers. Her father is the Alpha of the pack and the two packs have always served as rivals.

In short, Alexis is no stranger to combat. She trained with her father and her brother's regularly. She was most known for her fight against Jayson. She was able to tie with him even though she's three ranks lower than him. She was also the only werewolf from that pack brave enough to fight Alejandro, one on one. She loved a challenge and wasn't afraid of anything. When it came to taking risks, her darring-ness could only be matched by Jayson.

"Claire," Jay called out. "Listen to me, you don't want to fight her." He kept walking after Claire. "I'm telling you, this is a bad idea. You'll get hurt."

"I'll be fine," Claire's eyes wandered the forest. She was searching for Alexis in the trees. "Figures, she's a no show." She threw her arms up and went to walk away. The second Claire turned around. Alexis leaped off a tree wrapped her legs around Claire's neck and threw her to the ground. Once Claire got back up, Alexis punched Claire in the face, kicked her in the gut and struck her in the face with a quick headbutt.

"Come on," Alexis urged her to get back on her feet. "You want to practice fighting. Well come on, practice with me. Let's see what you got." Claire got up, she kept trying to punch Alexis, she dodged her punches and caught her arm. She kicked Claire in the stomach. She fell over clenching her gut after having the wind kicked out of her.

"Alexis, stop," Jay placed his hands on her chest. "I don't want you and Claire to-," Claire forced herself to stand up. She tackled Alexis to the ground and began punching her in the face. She grabbed a handful of Alexis's red hair and began slamming her head against the dirt. "Claire, stop it, both of you stop fighting."

Alexis rolled over on top of Claire and began punching Claire over and over again. Claire took out her knife and stabbed Alexis in the leg with the silver edge. Alexis let out a loud scream clenching her leg. While she was trying to recover, Claire jumped on her back and shoved her face in the dirt. Claire rose to her feet and kicked Alexis right in the stomach as hard as she could.

"You want a piece of this," Claire pointed at herself. "Jay is my friend. If I want to hang out with him I can. I don't need you calling me evil. I don't need you talking shit about me. The only thing I need you to do is shut the fuck up and mind your own business. You don't own him. He is a grown ass man. He doesn't need a babysitter."

"Bitch," Alexis wiped blood off her lip. "It's not about owning him. It's about bitches like you who use Jay for your own personal gain. Like, I don't know what you're planning." She rose to her feet. "You don't want to get better at fighting, you don't want to train with Jay. The only reason you're seeking him out. Is because. You want to take advantage of his feelings for you and use him to protect your sorry ass during the war. You sit there and you manipulate him into doing whatever it is you want. Because, without him, you're useless."

"Useless, I'm not useless," Claire argued. "I'm not trying to take advantage of Jay. He is my friend and I wouldn't do that to a friend."

"Hear that Jay," Alexis smirked. "Friend, not boyfriend, friend, she's using you." Claire growled and tackled her. The two girls kept rolling in the grass exchanging blows. Alexis hitting Claire. Claire hitting Alexis, the two girls wouldn't stop fighting. The two of them rolled down a hill into the stream where the fight continued.

"I'm not using Jay," Claire kicked Alexis in the gut and struck her in the face with a headbutt. She grabbed Alexis by her hair and forced her back on her feet. Just as she was about to kick her. Alexis ducked her kick and struck Claire with a powerful clothesline that knocked the wind right out of her. Alexis climbed on top of Claire and kept punching her over and over again. Jay couldn't stand to watch these girls fight each other. He didn't like fighting girls but this is ridiculous. He couldn't just stand there and let these girls kill each other.

"Enough," Jay grabbed Alexis by wrapping his arms around her stomach. He pulled her off Claire. She kept hitting him trying to make him release her. "Alexis, stop it that is-," Claire rose to her feet and tackled Alexis to the ground. "Claire, stop it," He grabbed Claire, pulling her off Alexis. Alexis got up and charged at Claire. "I said enough." He pushed Alexis back down. Claire tried to get past him. "I said stop it," He glared at Claire. "Both of you." He glared at Alexis.

"Now both of you listen to me," Jay pointed at himself. "I am done with you two fighting over me. Alexis, I can talk to whomever I want, I am a grown ass man that is my right. I don't need you trying to protect me anymore. And Claire," He shifted his gaze to her. "Alexis is my friend, I don't want the two of you fighting. That puts me in an awkward situation and I don't like it and second."

"We are in a werewolf pack together, Nightshade, for the love of-," Jay let out a deep sigh. "This pack is known for its teamwork. Werewolf packs are created bearing teamwork in mind. That means we shouldn't be fighting each other. So, you two," He pointed at them. "Have got to start getting along because this is embarrassing. Especially considering the pack we're in. We should be setting an example for future packs. We are the example." He stressed. "Nightshade is the very first werewolf pack, I will not have its name dragged through the dirt. So if you two insist on fighting each other."

"Then," Jay stood in between the two of them. "You'll just have to fight me first." Alexis and Claire looked at each other. "So, what's it going to be?" He crossed his arms. Claire took out her knife and swung it at him. He dodged her knife, caught her arm and squeezed fit forcing her to drop the knife. Once she dropped it, he flipped her over his shoulder. Alexis tried to tackle him, he jumped over. She spun and tried to kick him. He ducked her kick and tripped her. Alexis hit the ground landing on her butt. The two girls laid on the ground, both of them trying to get back on their feet. "Had enough?"

Alexis and Claire exchanged glances at each other. It was clear what they had in mind. The two of them sought to team up and fight him. Knowing this, Jay used his special ability to increase his sense of hearing. The second Claire got up to attack him, Jay dodged her. He heard Alexis rise from the ground and try to hit him. He dodged her. The two girls kept trying to attack him but Jay eluded every single one of their attacks. He could hear their feet moving in the water of the stream before they struck, calling out their every move. Jay proceed to dodge until both girls were out of breath and no longer had the energy to fight back,

"Stop dodging," Claire tried to tackle Jay. He did front flip over her and she tackled Alexis instead. Alexis rose to her feet after being hit by Claire. Her eyes burned with rage and body temperature began to rise.

"Dodge this," Alexis created two fireballs one for each hand. She hurled one at Jay, he started to dodge but realized. They were in a forest if one of those fireballs hit a tree. It could cause a forest fire. Which would give away their location. He couldn't dodge it, he had to put it out. Jay quickly swung his arm in the water of the stream using a splash to put out the fire. She hurled the second fireball at him. Jay used his leg to kick water at the fireball putting it out. Then got on all fours and jumped at Alexis. He landed right on top of her pouncing like a lion to its prey. Once he was on top of her, he grabbed her wrists and pinned her down.

"What did I tell you about using fire in the forest?" Jay flicked Alexis in the nose. "Bad Alexis, no fire," Jay's ear twitched as he heard a knife spinning in the air coming right for his back. He quickly turned around and caught the knife by its handle in mid air and threw it back at the person. Claire let out a loud scream as her own knife struck her right in the leg. "Oh my god," Jay gasped. "Claire, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"My leg, you bastard." Claire fell over grabbing her leg. The knife was impaled into the side of her thigh and it wedged in deep. He must have thrown the knife harder than he thought. Way to go Jay, why don't you just throw a knife at your crush. That'll make her fall in love with you for sure. She's never going to date him now.

"Claire, I'm really sorry, it's just-," Jay began to stumble on his word. "You threw a knife at me and my natural response to that was to um," He faked a laugh. "Throw it back," He cringed as he looked at her wounded leg. "I'm so sorry, see werewolves, we have instincts that kind of just kick in when we're fighting. When you threw the knife, you um, triggered mine. So I ugh," He pointed at the knife in her leg. "Yeah,"

"Jay," Claire growled. "Don't talk to me, don't look at me, you threw a knife at me. I am pissed." She tried to pull the knife out of thigh but it was caught deep within the skin. He must have thrown it harder than he thought. Alexis was in the background laughing like a hyena. While Claire was glaring at her.

"Oh, wow, you got impaled by your own knife." Alexis laughed harder. "Great work Jay, I'm sure throwing her knife at her will make her like you. Way to go Romeo." She gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, I don't think she's going to be your girlfriend anytime soon. Have fun getting that knife out of your leg Claire." She flipped Claire off and walked away.

"Here um," Jay forced a swallow. "Let me just ugh, pull the knife out and we'll see how bad the wound actually is." He gripped the knife handle. Claire bit her lip just him touching it was causing her pain. It didn't help that the knife had a silver edge. Claire being a werewolf, the silver was burning her skin and keeping her from healing. Which only made it worse. Still, once the knife was removed, she'd able to heal again. "Okay, take my hand because this is going to hurt." He held his hand out to her, Claire took it.

"Okay," Jay took a deep breath, "On three," Claire nodded. "One," He gripped the handle of the knife tightly. "Two," Claire's eyes began to drift over to her wounded leg. Jay shook his head and made her look up at him. "Three," He quickly pulled the knife out of her thigh. Claire in response punched him on the shoulder. She let out a scream and began biting down on her lip. Her hand squeezed his hand so tight, he thought she broke it. "There we go, it's out, so you should be healing again soon and again, I'm really sorry about the-,"

"Don't, just don't," Claire took her knife from him and began limping away. He offered his shoulder as a way to help her but she refused him. It was probably best if he waited to tell Claire his feelings and perhaps gave her some time to forgive him for the knife thing. Though, in his defense, she threw the knife first so hopefully she'll forgive him.

Once Jay made it back to the Nightshade Campsite. He took notice of both Lycan and beside him was a woman with crimson red hair. Wait a minute, that hair, those dark green eyes, it couldn’t be-.

“Mother?” Jay rubbed his eyes and the image of his mother faded. In her place was Raven holding Lycan’s hand as they walked back together. But on her wrist was a bracelet he knew all too well. Those black beads, that clover charm, it was his mother’s lucky bracelet. He thought that bracelet was gone, along with all of his mother’s things. If that’s true then how did Raven end up with his mother’s bracelet? Unless Alejandro didn’t throw it out. Which means there’s still a part of him that misses their mother. So even he had trouble forgetting.