◤ prologue: ❛ the unknowing
bite ❜ ◢

✧

JACKSON'S HEART BEAT RAPIDLY IN HIS CHEST AS HE STARED AT THE REMAINS OF THE HALE HOUSE. His mind kept flashing back to that night, where he saw the burnt remains of Peter Hale, where he saw Derek slash at his throat as his eyes turned red and he proclaimed I'm the alpha now. As he looked at the crisped leaves on the ground he's reminded again of his and Stiles' involvement, though he really didn't like the inclusion of Stiles into this.

He let out a shaky breath and got out of his car. The ground crunched under him but he tried not to think about it, or the fear in his hear that accompanied his desire to reap the benefits of a werewolf bite. It was his time to shine, like he had told Lydia. He was going to succeed, he was going to go places and soar higher than her, and she simply wasn't necessary in his life anymore. After this, he could do better than a girl who tried to influence his life. He was over people having a say in how he lived, and this bite would prove his superiority over them. He would never bow down again.

But still, that night...it made him give this a second thought unlike anything else. Seeing Lydia in that state, her still not healing even now, the hunters and Peter's burnt body...it made him think. Yet, even with that extra thought, he still ended up here. He still wanted this life, he still wanted that extra strength, that superiority - the pros still outweighed the cons, so here he was.

Standing in front of the dead Hale house with burnt wood left over from the fire, not taken with it, and the remaining exterior with nothing inside. No life, no light, just darkness and a feeling of death. But he swallowed. He was already here and there was no turning back, he was sure that Derek could hear him already out here, which confirmed that he had to do this.

He wanted this; it was his turn to shine. He should've been turned in the first place instead of McCall, but now he was going to get what he wanted. What he deserved. He was going to become a better version of himself, but he wasn't going to be selfish and keep it all for himself. No, he was going to extend this. It was what Cooper deserved, after all the shit they had been through together, and now Jackson was going to get Derek to reward him.

They were both going to be better versions of themselves, they both were going to excel and soar higher than the rest of the little humans in Beacon Hills. They had always been better than this small town, and the bite would confirm that for the both of them.

He moved forward, one foot in front of the other, until he was up on the porch staring straight at the door of the house. His hand went to the knob and he turned it, still feeling nerves run through him as his mind raced through his decision, if he should turn and go still or if he should go in.

Right or left, forward or backwards, one move would decide everything. Going forward meant another life - a better life - and going back meant giving into his fears and always being below someone. No, he wouldn't go back because of his fears - he was above that. He had to go forward, so he turned the knob and walked in.

The house was barren, but of course it was, nothing had lived there since the fire, and everything inside was just burnt again. It wasn't hard to spot Derek sitting at the top of the stairs, just staring at him, and he would never admit it but that look terrified him. Everything about this terrified him right now, the possibility that he wasn't going to get what he deserved. He needed this, and even more than that he deserved this. It was his time to shine. Everyone knew that Jackson Whittemore was the best, and he needed this bite to make that always ring true - he deserved this more than anyone else. Him and Cooper. They earned this.

And even though he was sure Derek knew he was terrified, he still tried not to show it, even though he was positively shaking. He couldn't show fear, he couldn't cower now. He was better than his simple fear.

"Derek," he called out the wolf, though it wasn't like the wolf didn't already have his attention on the teenager at the bottom of the stairs with a heart pulsing so loudly in his chest. He swallowed again, "Derek! I - I helped you. I helped save you. Okay, you got what you wanted. You got what you wanted."

He kept repeating himself because he was so anxious, so fearful, so deserving of this that he was stumbling over his words as he went to articulate his case. He needed this - he deserved this - and now he was going to get it. He was going to get what he deserved and the person who was going to give him that was right there, now he just had to convince him.

"Now it's my turn to get what I want," he told Derek, earnestly as he believed it whole heartedly. Derek stood up, jumping up from where he was and landing right in front of Jackson. He wouldn't admit that his heart jumped up in fear, even though Derek had said nothing, his eyes said enough, and he was scared. Really scared, but he wouldn't say a word about it.

"I need this - I've earned it," Jackson told him, staring back into Derek's eyes and not allowing himself to be scared, conveying how much he wanted this, "And so has my brother. Cooper's earned this. You need to turn him to."

"I don't need to do anything," Derek replied back, and Jackson opened his mouth to say something else when Derek pounced on him, and everything went black for a moment.

✧

JACKSON'S SIDE ACHED WHERE DEREK HAD BITTEN HIM, BUT THE PAIN DIDN'T MATTER TO HIM SINCE SOON IT WOULD HEAL AND HE WOULD BE STRONGER THAN EVER. He went up to his room without any resistance from his parents - though, they weren't really his parents, only his guardians even if they insisted that they had parented him enough to be called mom and dad. Yeah, right.

He tried not to think about his side as he went up the stairs, passing by Cooper's room as he did. He knocked on the door, and soon he heard Cooper getting up off his bed and then the door was opening so he could see his brother with a dopey grin on his face.

"Hey, player," Cooper greeted him, "You just get home from some girl's house? Come on, who's the lucky winner this time?"

"That's my line to you," he reminded Cooper, since the other boy was the player while Jackson had been in a more or less committed relationship with Lydia for a long time. A year, at least, together until he broke things off. He was better than Lydia now, he didn't need her. The ache of his side reminded him of that. "And no."

"Then why do you look like that?" Cooper motioned to the state of dishevelment that he was in.

Jackson shrugged, "I was out practicing some lacrosse. Just got back."

"Sick. Can't wait to see you tear through the other team next game," he said, supportive as ever. And it meant a lot to Jackson, having Cooper's support, and that was part of the reason he wanted Cooper to have the bite, even though he wasn't sure that it was going to happen now because Derek seemed not willing to give other people what they deserved as well.

"Let's hope," Jackson smiled at him, causing Cooper to wink at him, as if he knew a little secret about their next game and how it was going to fair.

"I went to go see Lydia in the hospital," Cooper mentioned, changing the subject and bringing them to a somber mood, "She's not looking too good."

Jackson nodded. He already knew that because he went to see his ex earlier that day. Yeah, they weren't together anymore and, yeah, he was doing a lot better without her, but that didn't mean all feelings for her dissolved. Some part of him still cared, maybe, and what happened to her...it was bad. Real bad. Of course he had to go check on her, especially seeing as he was the one that brought her to help, taking her off the lacrosse field where she had been attacked by Peter.

"Yeah, I know," he said quieter than before, "Talk to her parents?"

Cooper shook his head. "Nah, they were out when I went to see her. I just - what happened to her? That's what I wanna know more than anything, but she's asleep so she can't answer."

"I think it's a lot more complicated than that," Jackson told Cooper, torn between telling him the truth now or waiting for later - if there was a later, if Derek turned him and he could reveal everything because if not, he didn't see the point in dragging his brother in to this if he wasn't a werewolf as well.

"Maybe," Cooper shrugged, "But you know me. Always the curious cat."

He sent Jackson a grin, teasing eyes accompanied with it but Jackson didn't entertain him. Not with this issue. Usually, he would, but now with this. "Maybe the curious cat should sit this one out," he suggested and Cooper's grin dropped.

"Yeah," he sounded disappointed that Jackson didn't indulge him in this like he usually did, and he felt guilty for it, but not guilty enough to retract his statement and redo what he said, "Maybe. I got a lot of homework to do, so night."

He felt his mood drop now that he had upset Cooper. Whenever Cooper got upset with someone, he just shut them out, giving himself some time to think things through, and he always respected that with other people, but not with himself. He always felt like an absolute jackass when Cooper did this time, and maybe that was something Cooper wanted him to feel as an after effect of his actions, but he hadn't even done anything bad.

But the door was shut in his face and he was left in the hallway alone, so instead of fighting it he just went to his own room instead. He didn't know that night Derek was going to bite Cooper in an attempt to make him a werewolf, and he didn't know that it wasn't going to work as intended for either them but instead awaken something else inside them entirely, all he knew was that Cooper wasn't going to talk to him for days and he was going to feel like utter shit because of it.

authors note
yes you are correct that this did not follow cooper but jackson. the rest of the story is going to be through cooper's eyes mostly if not entirely, but the prologue worked better through jackson's perspective so i went with it. yes, cooper got the bite, but jackson doesn't know this. the only person that knows is derek and cooper, but he doesn't know how to explain it so he thinks it was like a demon or something in his sleep. also this takes place at the end of season one but the rest of the act takes place in season four, so get ready boys!

and the reason cooper got bit is similar to lydia's where it's like an awakening to his abilities. it's more like he's now just alluring and his words have more of an effect over people because lol he's alluring guys!1!1! get it, i'm so funny.

also don't expect very frequent updates for this book because i don't have time every day to just watch teen wolf and write, so please be patient with me and the sporadic nature of my updating schedule with this book.