Part of the Pack

"Hey, so we're going to grab some dinner after the guys' game, do you want to come with us?" Lydia asked Brayden, referring to herself and Allison.

"I would, except I have a grand total of $5.12 in my bank account. I seriously need a job, you guys." she sighed.

"Why don't you just ask your parents for money?" Lydia asked her, as if it were completely obvious.

"Oh believe me, I would have but last week my parents told me that from now on if I want something, I'm going to have to work for it. They're not giving me anymore money to go anywhere. They say I need to start learning how to handle my money now that I'm becoming a young lady."

"You guys, I started working my freshman year of high school. It's not that hard. What's a few hours of torture for some cash?" Allison rolled her eyes.

"Well that sucks." Lydia replied to the two.

"Why don't you work now, Allison?" Brayden asked.

"I've saved up quite a bit of money from my last job. I don't need to work right now, plus I'm helping my dad around the house." she told Brayden.

"So, do you guys know any places around town that are hiring?" Brayden asked them.

"Scott works at the animal clinic, maybe he could get you a job there." Allison suggested.

"No, I doubt I'd be very good at handling the animals. My parents never let me have any pets."

"Okay, then what about the mall? Maybe after school you, Lydia and I could go down there and you can hand out your resume. In time to be back for the game, of course." Allison smiled.

"Sounds good, I'll print off some resumes in the library during my free period."

~

A week later.

"Hi, welcome to Sleek Chic! My name is Brayden, today's promotions are 20% off of scarves and socks, and buy one get one 50% on dresses. Also the men's jeans are 2 for $50. If you need anything else, please let me know!" she smiled at the two girls who had just walked into the store. They walked off to browse, and she went back to folding a pile of picked through clothes some customers had ruined.

"Hey, Bray." A voice called, she looked up to see Stiles and smiled.

"Hey Stiles! What are you doing here?" she asked, continuing to fold.

"Oh nothing, Lydia and Allison said you worked here and I was looking for some uh-" Stiles looked around the store. "Jeans..."

"Well you're in luck, our jeans are on sale right now. Any particular style you want?" she asked, leading him over.

"Actually, I think I can find them myself. I'm kind of picky about my jeans." Stiles answered, leaning on a table near by. Brayden raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, well I'll leave you to it then. Call me if you need anything, I'll be over there." she pointed to the front of the store.

"Wait! What time do you get off?" Stiles asked.

Brayden looked at her watch, "In 15 minutes, why?"

"Well, it's getting pretty late. I figured I should probably walk you to your car. When I came in, it was just starting to get dark outside."

"Oh, you don't have to if you don't want to. I don't want to make you wait." Brayden replied.

"I'm fine waiting. I'll just look around the store." he smiled.

"Okay thanks! There's chairs outside of the dressing rooms if you get bored." she smiled. "I just have to finish folding these clothes and start shutting down and I'll be right out."

"Hey, Brayden." A voice came from behind.

"Oh, hey Austin. I didn't know you were still here." Brayden smiled at the brown haired boy.

"Yeah, I got off 10 minutes ago but I was just in the back, tidying up. I can close up for you, if you want. So your boyfriend doesn't have to wait."

"Oh, Stiles isn't-" Brayden blushed.

"Yeah, we're not-" Stiles stuttered.

"Stiles is just a friend." Brayden explained.

"Oh, sorry. Well I have nothing else to do all night and I'm sure you want to get out of here so why don't you let me lock up?" Austin offered.

"Are you sure?" Brayden asked.

"Absolutely. Get out of here." Austin grinned.

"I owe you one, Austin. See you tomorrow!" she grinned back, then turned to Stiles. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to get my jacket."

Brayden walked out, Stiles following behind her. They began to talk about school, the pack, and mostly just small talk when Brayden stopped him.

"Do you hear that?" she asked. Stiles stopped to listen.

"No, I don't hear anything." Stiles furrowed his brows in concern. "What do you hear?"

"Wait." she said. She took a few steps, hearing a pitter patter behind her. Someone else's footsteps. She stopped again, and the sounds disappeared. "It sounds like someone is following us."

Stiles looked around the almost empty parking lot frantically. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, but I can only hear their footsteps once I start walking." she assured him. "And I don't see anyone else here but us."

"Yeah, well a guy who shows himself when trying to stalk someone probably isn't the most stealthy guy." Stiles said sarcastically.

"I was just implying that it might be the whole banshee thing." Brayden rolled her eyes, hitting Stiles on the shoulder. "I can hear it, you can't."

"So if it is, what does that mean?" Stiles asked.

Brayden suddenly bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"I don't know, you tell me! I'm new to this whole thing, remember?!" Brayden yelled in a hushed town. Stiles still looked around for any sign of another person.

"Let's just, get out of here, okay?" Stiles suggested trying to help her up. "Where's your car?"

Brayden pointed to it, only a few feet away. Stiles walked her over, making sure she got inside the car safely, though Brayden was still heaving for breath. She buried her head in her hands and began pulling at her hair.

"Stiles..." she heaved. "I'm going to scream."

~~~

"In other news, police have reported another bear attack which occurred last night. A sixteen year old boy was admitted into the hospital at approximately 10:30 p.m. after a mall worker closing up shop was walking out to their car, saw the boy on the ground and called an ambulance immediately. Police have not released the name of the boy attacked but have told us he is in stable condition. However, we are going to Joanna live now, where she interviews the man that saved his life."

"Thanks Gary. I'm here with Austin Gordon, who works at the store Sleek Chic. Austin, can you describe to us what happened?"

"Well, to put it simply, I had finished closing up the store. I was walking over to my car, which the boy was just a few feet away from. At first I thought he might have been sleeping, so I tried shaking him. He opened his eyes for a couple seconds, then I realized there were claw marks on his right arm. That's when I knew I had to call an ambulance."

Brayden look at the TV screen in horror. "He was looking for me. That seventeen year old boy, that could have been me."

"No, you're wrong." Derek counters. "He's still just trying to scare you. If he knew it was you, he wouldn't have attacked you. Remember Brayden, he's trying to get you to join his pack, and you can't join the pack if you're dead. He's trying to show you he knows where to find you."

"What does he want with me?" Brayden sighs.

"Well, if he knows you're a banshee, then you're rare. He has werewolves. He wants you." Derek explains.

"Listen, Bray. We can't lay low anymore. You need someone to protect you at all times." Scott tells her.

"Fine. It's not like my friends haven't disowned me already for hanging out with the mysterious kids." Brayden replies. "Follow me wherever you want."