Expect the Unexpected

[skylar-monaghan]

Kelsie:

Princess.  Before that name had been filled with nothing but playfulness and love.  She could remember each time James called her that, how she playfully nudged him and called him her Prince Charming.  This was the farthest thing from that.  Her fairy tale seemed over.  Her hand started to shake but the determined look in her eyes never wavered.  She was going to make him pay for what he did.

Everything he did, everything he said, each little taught…it all made Kelsie’s blood boil.  She was livid.  “No,” she told him.  “You ruined something good.  You don’t deserve the respect that alpha’s require.  You are nothing but a fraud.  An evil, evil man trying to fill some void.”  But then he kicked James and she couldn’t let him do that.  Her heart jumped because she hadn’t seen it for herself.  He could still be okay.  She could still help him.

Kelsie fired the gun.  Loaded with the silver bullets dipped in wolfsbane Nina had wisely suggested, Kelsie wasn’t scared they wouldn’t work.  She was scared of her aim.

The first bullet grazed his arm.  That wasn’t good enough.  “You don’t get to just..take away the person I love,” Kelsie hissed as she pulled the trigger a second time.

The smile barely faded from Skylar’s face when the bullet hit his chest. He didn’t even register what had happened. Had she actually shot him? Did she have the guts to fire the gun? He had been chuckling at her little hero’s monologue at him being evil or wicked. Something not all too flattering but not entirely inaccurate. His smile slowly faded when he realised his knees were shaking from the impact. Then the burning started.  He cried out in pain, shuddering as it felt like acid was running through his veins. His skin grew goosebumps and all of his hairs were standing on end. These were not normal bullets.

“You fucking bitch,” He snarled, his entire body trembling as he fell to his knees, just a metre before her. The sensation spread from the entry source of the bullet wound. His body broke out in a cold sweat and he started to lose control of his muscles. “What the fuck did you shoot me with?” he asked, his jaw beginning to clench involuntarily. He groaned, voice strained and cracking against his pain. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” He lashed out an arm, trying to sweep at her leg to bring her down so he could paw at her while he suffered an agony he had never known, but he had fallen just out of reach.

She fired again, and he screamed out in pain, body lurching in reaction. It was too much at this point. Like a fiery explosion, Skylar’s body fell back, smacking hard against the concrete of the alley. The world felt like it had blown up inside him, and now, all that was left was the dark emptiness. 

[skylar-monaghan]

Kelsie:

She could feel it, that familiar tug of loyalty.  It had always been something she associated with James, even before they started dating.  Only now that she felt that familiar tug directed at the man standing in front of her she knew exactly what it was.  He was the alpha now.  He was the one that hurt James.  She stepped towards him, the gun still leveled at his chest.  She was listening intently, listening for any sign that the man she loved was still alive even as he laid crumpled at the new alpha’s feet.  But he was a false alpha, one Kelsie would never bow to.

She saw the blood on his hands, the bruises, when she stepped closer.  It only confirmed the suspicions she felt.  “Don’t lie to me,” she snapped.  “I can feel you’re the alpha, but you will never be mine.  Tell me what you did to James!” Kelsie’s tone was harsh and demanding as she glared daggers at him.  Every ounce of her body was begging for her to run to James and see if he was still alive, but she couldn’t move.  Not while this man who tried to take everything from her still lived.  He did this.  He may have stripped her child from it’s father.

“I’m losing my patience.  Tell me or I’m going to shoot you.”

The look in her eyes, the ferocity. The gun in her hand. It was all too much. Skylar knew he had barely tried to maintain his act but the rush and giddiness of achieving his mission made his ego soar. James Armstrong was dead. Kelsie stood before him so serious, likely feeling so mighty and secure with the gun in her hand. How naive. She was so blinded by rage and grief she forgot how useless the average bullet was on a werewolf. She didn’t even know what kind of things Skylar had seen, how he had been tweaked to perfection. Her measly weapon might slow down or kill a human, but it would be like swatting at pesky flies on a humid summer’s day for him.

His shocked eyes slowly melted into a more sinister, cruel expression. His gaping mouth curled upwards into a twisted grin and he let out a laugh. “Listen, here, princess,” he mocked, lowering his hands and stepping over James’ body, slowly walking towards her. This time, not timid. But almost leisurely, like a lion circling a fresh kill. “I have that right, don’t I? Princess? If I call you that enough times, who knows, maybe you’ll fall to your knees for me as quickly as you did for James.” Skylar enjoyed the verbal and mental jabs just as much as he enjoyed the physical ones. He was built to break down. It didn’t hurt that he loved doing it, too. 

“Let’s just say ol’ Jamie here finally did something better than run your little ragtag group of mutts,” he said, the toe of his boot kicking lightly into James’ temple. “Just be grateful I did this before the wedding. Now you don’t have to say you’re a widow.” 

[skylar-monaghan]

Kelsie:

@skylar-monaghan

She had been looking for James.  In the chaos of the vampires falling ill, Kelsie’s nausea reached a new height.  Rancid blood filled her nose and she gagged on the stentch, carefully avoiding getting too close to the vampires.  Little did she know the world was falling apart in more ways than one.  She was far enough from the water not to hear the siren’s call, but when each text message went unanswered, Kelsie grew more concerned.

Then she felt it.  It was like someone blew out the candle inside her bonding her to James and the pack.  He was in danger.  He was hurt.  So Kelsie started running.  She had to find him.  She had to get there.  Then she stopped being able to feel him at all.  That little glimmer of hope that he was okay snuffed out the moment she felt the pack bond indicate someone else was the Alpha.  Someone else held her loyalty.  Kelsie felt sick.  This couldn’t be happening.  This couldn’t be real.

Last she heard he was by the corn maze so she ran, looking down all the streets and avoiding the sick and rabid vampires.  She had to help him.  The gun she bought from Nina was in her purse and she gripped it, unwilling to pull it out until she knew if she needed it.  If she needed it, that would be her only choice.  While pregnant, it was impossible for her to shift.  She merely hoped she wouldn’t need her weapon.  But then she skidded to a stop at the opening of an alley.  An unfamiliar man was looming over someone on the ground.  “James,” she breathed out, her hand instinctively moving to draw the weapon she had so recently purchased.  Her eyes were brimming with tears, but emotion could not outweigh logic right now.  James couldn’t be gone.  He just couldn’t be.  But if he was…he would want her to protect herself and the baby first.  Then the pack.

She lifted the gun and pointed it at the man looming in shadow.  “What did you do to James?”

Skylar had just made his call to Logan for the extraction team when a vaguely familiar figure seemed to have stumbled upon him and the body of the once mighty James Armstrong. Though, not a mighty as Skylar would have guessed or hoped for. When he looked up, it was the figure and voice of none other than James’ pesky little fiancée: Kelsie Woods. It was so sickeningly sweet how she always seemed to find him, and him her. Skylar took a bit of pride in being the one to finally pry the couple apart.

He held his hands up in a surrendering motion. His jaw fell and eyes widened in horror. After all, he’d simply stumbled across this man! Hurry, we need to call for help! Just enough room to get close to her and disarm her. Maybe even show her what that gun could really do. He just had to hope she wouldn’t see Skylar’s bloodied knuckles, a dead giveaway that Skylar was no innocent in this alleyway manslaughter. 

“M-Me?!” He stammered, taking a few, slow steps towards the woman. Maybe she could already feel that he was the new Armstrong alpha, that would likely be another dead giveaway. “I-I just found him like this, on the ground...I tried to resuscitate him, but I heard a bone crack...” He said, thinking up a story on the spot. Damn, he was good. It took most of his willpower to not smirk gloatingly in Kelsie’s face.  

[skylar-monaghan]

James:

James wasn’t fighting as his usual peak. He wasn’t focused, his mind was a blur, trying to strategize and rationalize all outcomes, all outcomes that were possible for Kelsie. He had been in the corn maze with Nick, been with him about two hours. Where had Kelsie said she would go before they parted? His anxiety over Kelsie distracted him enough to let his physical guard down. His eyes widened at Skylar’s tauntingly cryptic response. Where was Kelsie? Was she even alive? His heart raced, just enough for it to abruptly stop as a sharp pain met his ribs. James cried out more in surprise than pain and took a step back to collect himself, his hands up bracing for another punch. The punch would come later, when James couldn’t prepare.

Instead, he was knocked backwards, his head smacking against the concrete, the browned, dead leaves beneath him serving as a paper thin cushion to the blow. His vision blurred but refocused in time for a sharp pain in each arm. “WHERE IS SHE?!” James cried with a mixture of rage, confusion, and fear. His desperation was met with a hard hit to the face. Blood filled his mouth and sprayed out as he head was knocked sideways. He saw spots, blinking and trying to flush the droplets of blood from his eyes when Skylar brought another surprise attack. James couldn’t quite see what happened, but he tensed and groaned, kicking his legs up, trying to roll backwards to flip Skylar over. He swung his legs to garner momentum but again, his efforts were too late: his vision went gray, then black as he felt a fire spread through his veins from the sharp pain in his shoulder. His momentum was lost and his body began to shake before going limp, a thin trail of blood running down the side of his mouth. He couldn’t think about anything except Kelsie, if she was okay, if the baby was okay. His cognitive abilities were short-lived in this moment of clarity, but he knew only one thing: He was too late.

Skylar watched in awe as James’ body shuddered and convulsed-- undoubtedly a reaction to the mysterious serum-- before going limp and completely still. His eyes had been wide, jaw slightly agape as the grown man beneath him lay still and empty. Blood trailed out of his mouth and the mighty Alpha, generations of Alphas in the south, ended here. He slowly rose to his feet, and just as slowly but still eagerly, a wide smirk spread across Skylar’s features. Mission accomplished. Skylar had dominated the Alpha and now held the Armstrong pack in his hands. Maybe it was ego, maybe it was werewolf biology, but he felt his power coursing through his veins. He felt invincible. 

He released a hearty laugh, that turned into a howl. His hands clenched and he threw his head back, howling at the moon, the pack he stole, howling for himself. Years of sacrifice led to this moment and it tasted sweeter than his imagined. He heaved in a deep breath before reaching back into his pocket, pulling out the burner phone, and dialling Logan.

“It’s done,” he grinned, giving the body before him a swift kick in the side for good measure. “It’s done. Come get us.” 

FIN

[skylar-monaghan]

James

James was frantic, eyes scanning the surrounding areas, senses on high alert. He honed in on his listening, trying to pick up on Kelsie’s cries. He followed who he thought was Zachary Woods loyally, with only Kelsie and their unborn child on his mind. He heard screams, he heard the low thumping of the bass that was still playing due to no one recognizing the chaos that was ensuing. They were going down an alley, away from the mess. The metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils, even as they walked out of the busy street. His scent was distorted, so he tried to focus his hearing, listening for Kelsie– a sob, a gasp, a whimper, anything. The fact that he hadn’t picked up on anything immediately when ‘Zach’ made it seem like they were getting closer only made his heart race more.

When they slowed to a stop, he started to realize something was amiss. Kelsie wasn’t nearby, was she? Was she even in danger? Possibly the latter but certainly the former. James opened his mouth to speak when ‘Zach’ was suddenly on him, a dark, sneering expression and James could barely put his arms up in time to cushion the blow. He skidded back, feet sliding on the wet asphalt. Brown and red leaves from the autumn breeze were scattered on the ground, compromising James’ footing. He tried to dodge another blow, but instead took a punch to the face as he wasn’t fast enough. Bastard caught him off guard. This wasn’t Zach. This had to be someone after the alpha position. Someone who knew about Kelsie.

“Who are you?” James cried out, snapping back quickly and going back for the blonde man in front of him. He wanted answers before he killed the man who dare threaten his pack and his family. “What have you done to Kelsie?”

Skylar noted how James was catching up to the moment they were in, and how he was dodging Skylar’s fists. Skylar was able to get a few hits in, for James was too slow during the first few punches. He smirked, proud that his powers were serving him well. He would win this fight, even if it was the last thing he did. He just didn’t expect it to be so easy.

It was Skylar’s turn to be caught off guard, though. When James went after him, he barely had enough time to raise his arms when his back collided with the brick wall behind him. The air pushed out of his lungs and Skylar coughed while James went on his verbal tirade. Clearly, the man was more concerned for Kelsie than his own life, which was the only real thing at risk here. Skylar had no interest in the Alpha’s bride to be, but of course, James wouldn’t have known that. James’ fear seemed to be his greatest weakness, so Skylar let his act go unfaltered. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He hissed, raising his knee up sharply and kneeing James in the chest. With force, he pushed the alpha off of him with near ease, but James was working his way up to maximum power it seemed like. Better to strike while he was weak. After the swift kick, Skylar leaned forward and charged at full force, bringing the Alpha down to the ground.

The syringe. He didn’t know all it would do, but hopefully it would set back James enough for Skylar to go in for the kill. Skylar’s knees pinned down James’ arms. He pulled his arm back and decked James hard across the face, enough to break skin and draw blood. This gave Skylar a moment to pull the syringe out of his coat pocket and pull off the cap. Before James could retaliate, he jabbed the long needle into the bleeding man’s shoulder, pushing down to empty every last drop of the serum in the vial.

“Not so tough now, are you?” he jested, a sinister smirk spread across his features.

[skylar-monaghan]

James

James had just been trying to find Kelsie after he and Nick finally emerged from the insane and far too difficult corn maze when all chaos seemed to break loose. The smell of rancid blood filled his nostrils, metallic and sour, making him gag as vampires were brought to their knees, vomiting. They were pale but their skin looked damp, almost feverish. The icy porcelain complexion was having greenish undertones. The ones that were collapsed were nothing like the ones with the same appearance, but reaching out and grabbing anyone with a heartbeat that they could. They were slowed down, but like a moderately-paced zombie from a bad movie. James heard a few screams and saw people trying to pull some of the vampires off of humans and witches. He furrowed his brows in confusion– some were so sick and weak, how come others were attacking? His first thought was his pack and Kelsie. He was preparing to signal a howl when someone grabbed his arm and started leading him off. James instantly tensed and tried to jerk his arm away– this man was a werewolf, but one he didn’t know. What was going on? When he mentioned Kelsie, suddenly it clicked: Kelsie had told him her brother was in town, that he was a lone wolf. Maybe this was him. That was the only explanation as to why a stranger would know both he and Kelsie, and their tie together. James nodded silently, picking up his pace to follow the blond. “Where is she? Is she okay?” he asked urgently.

This was too easy, like taking candy from a baby. Or an Alpha from his pack. Skylar had to remind himself not to sneer, a little surprised at how trusting this notoriously paranoid Alpha was being. He needed to take James to a place private enough, but not too quiet. If the other wolves in his pack could hear them, it was only a matter of time before they’d come running. Worst case scenario, they would stop what needed to happen. 

“I don’t know, she was crying and told me to find you,” Skylar replied, keeping up with the charade. Sure, James was gullible but he didn’t keep his position because he was stupid, too. So Skylar needed to uphold the act as he led James back down the alley. The music was still playing, the vampires were still getting sick. He could hear people calling out for help and running. Close, but not too close to them. It was perfect, the perfect shield to disguise his deed. He turned back and looked at James. There was no Kelsie, that much was clear now and he needed to act before James’ little brain could catch up to what was really going on.

“How strong is an Alpha really?” He said before smirking darkly, reaching out and striking James across the face. His training had led him to this moment, he needed to succeed. This was what he had worked for all his life. This was the ultimate test. “How strong is he without his pack?” Skylar probed, punching James again.

[skylar-monaghan]

@armstrong-james

Skylar had been keeping his eye on the Alpha for the last few days leading up to the Halloween celebration. The small town was blissfully unaware of how it had become a target, concerned with futile street vandals and reckless pranks only suitable for amateur YouTube channels. Skylar smirked as he watched vampires drop their little red tablets into water and ooing and aahhing and laughing as they drank the semi-synthetic blood. If they thought was impressive, their worlds were truly small.

Finally, the side effects of the tablets kicked in. Vomiting red spewed everywhere in the streets, already-pale bodies weakened and slumping against street posts. Maybe it had been centuries since any of them experienced illness, maybe only a few years. On the other side, some who were weakened didn’t vomit. They became insatiable. Raving with hunger and grabbing at anyone in arm’s length. Hm. That was peculiar. Skylar tried not to be distracted by the turn of events, and took it as his signal. His eyes were still trained on the Alpha, who was frantically searching the crowd for his beloved fiancee amidst the chaos. Skylar’s upper lip curled in disgust and took his chance. His hand wrapped around the Alpha’s arm and pulled him forward, dragging him away from the crowd. He feigned a look of concern, time for him to win his Oscar.

“You’re not safe here, come on,” He insisted. Before James could ask any questions, he added something he knew that would block out the Alpha’s logic and would give him tunnel-vision. “They’re after you and Kelsie. She’s this way.”

[allthecelebritiesyoulove]