After retrieving his gold, Jacob teleported back to Serendell and continued playing with Saphira.
After a while, he headed to the kitchen. The vast room was quiet, the only sound the soft clink of utensils. Cogman was the only one there, methodically polishing a set of silverware.
Cogman looked up. "Did you get the gold, sir?"
Jacob nodded, chewing a piece of roasted meat. "I did. I'll put it with the rest of the treasure in the underwater palace when you finish it."
Cogman inclined his head. "I am making good progress, sir. The underwater palace is nearly complete."
After eating, Jacob teleported out of Serendell and appeared in the garage of his Beacon Hills mansion. He took his Camaro and drove aimlessly through town.
His phone rang. Noah.
Jacob answered. "What's up?"
Noah's voice was grim. "Can you come to the station? I need your opinion on something."
Jacob changed direction and drove to the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Station. He walked inside, nodded to the deputies he passed, and went straight to Noah's office.
Inside, he found Noah and Stiles. And an old Asian woman.
Jacob recognized her immediately—Satomi. But he acted like he didn't know her.
He greeted Noah and Stiles, then sat down and nodded toward Satomi. "Who's she?"
Stiles raised an eyebrow. "Don't you recognize her?"
Jacob shook his head. "I can tell she's a werewolf, but I've never seen her before."
Stiles said, "She's Satomi. I thought you knew her. After all, you're the one who told me about her."
Jacob kept his expression neutral. "I know about her. But I haven't met her before." He looked at Satomi and inclined his head. "Nice to meet you, Satomi."
Satomi studied him with sharp eyes. She nodded back. "Nice to meet you too, kid." She glanced at Noah and Stiles, then back at Jacob. "Why were we waiting for this kid? He's just a normal human."
Noah smirked.
Stiles pointed his thumb at Jacob. "Him? Just a normal human? Yeah, right."
Satomi frowned and gave Jacob another look, her senses reaching out. "Am I wrong?"
Stiles grinned. "You couldn't be more wrong."
Jacob ignored the exchange and looked at Noah. "Alright, tell me why you asked me to come here."
Noah leaned back in his chair, his expression turning serious. "We found two students dead in a stream in the Beacon Hills Preserve four days ago. There were claw marks on their bodies. And someone hit them with a chain." He paused. "I thought it was a normal crime but Satomi just told me it wasn't. She said it was a werewolf."
Jacob turned to Satomi. "How do you know?"
Satomi's voice was calm. "The two kids who died were friends with my children, Lori and Brett." She folded her hands on her lap. "Three days ago, Lori and Brett went to the woods to try to catch the smell of whoever killed them. They thought it was just a human. They wanted to help the police capture him—bring justice to their friends." Her jaw tightened. "But when they got there, they realized that what killed their friends was a werewolf. They ran. But the werewolf was there. It found them. Followed them through the woods." She exhaled slowly. "Lucky for them, they escaped and returned home."
She continued, her voice growing heavier. "The next day, they were coming home from town at night. They caught the werewolf's scent again. When they looked back, they saw a humanoid wolf following them. They said it was terrifying. Their instincts screamed at them to run—and so they did. But it was too fast. It caught up with them. Slashed them with its claws. Beat them. Broke several of their bones." Her eyes flickered with anger. "Then it stopped. Moved aside. Watched them heal. And laughed at their pain."
Jacob's expression remained neutral, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
Satomi continued. "After Lori and Brett healed, they ran again. The werewolf followed them—keeping its distance. When they ran faster, it ran faster. When they slowed down, it slowed down. It herded them all the way home. Then it disappeared." She looked down at her hands. "When I went looking for it with the rest of my pack, we couldn't find it. We followed its scent to the river downtown, and there we lost it."
She looked back up. "It appeared again yesterday. But this time, we were ready. I asked Lori and Brett to walk alone at night—to lure the werewolf out. It worked. It appeared and followed them again. But when it saw me and the rest of my pack ambushing it, it didn't attack. It laughed. Then it shifted from a humanoid wolf into a wolf with wings and flew away—still laughing. Making a weird noise."
Stiles spoke carefully, his voice low. "That's why we called you, Jacob. It can shift into a wolf with wings. And apparently, it's a trickster—it likes to play with its victims. Just like someone we know."
Jacob frowned. "Do you think it's Malia?"
Stiles's eyes widened. "Of course not! Satomi said the werewolf's eyes glowed blue—but not like a normal werewolf's eyes. Like two blue flames. And its fur is black." He shook his head. "I'm sure it's not Malia. And even if Satomi told me it was Malia who did it, I wouldn't believe her." He paused. "Sure, Malia is a bit scary. But I'm seventy to eighty percent sure she isn't a cold-blooded murderer."
Jacob raised an eyebrow.
Stiles shrugged. "She says some scary and heartless stuff from time to time. Especially to me. She creeps me out more than Cogman sometimes."
Jacob smirked. "Fair enough. But she would never hurt innocent people."
Stiles nodded. "Anyway, I thought it might be someone related to her. Maybe her cousin or something."
Jacob shook his head. "No. She wasn't born with wings, Stiles."
Stiles caught on. "I see. It was you who gave..."
Jacob cut him off and looked at Satomi. "I think I know what kind of werewolf we're dealing with. But can you try to remember the weird laugh it made when it was flying away?"
Satomi closed her eyes, concentrating. "It was something like... cloudy. Or couldeh. Something like that."
Jacob asked, "Did it have chains wrapped around its body?"
Satomi's eyes snapped open. "Yes. There were black chains wrapped around it."
Jacob nodded. "Then that's definitely a Kludde."
Noah frowned. "What's a Kludde?"
Jacob leaned back. "It's a winged werewolf. I read about it in the bestiary with Malia when we were looking at wolf supernatural creatures with wings."
Stiles was already pulling out his phone. "Let me search for it." He opened the bestiary app. "How do you spell its name?"
"K-l-u-d-d-e."
Stiles typed it in. "Found it."
Noah said, "Read it aloud."
Stiles cleared his throat and read:
---
[Name: Kludde
Type: Werewolf subcategory / Supernatural Predator / Trickster
Description: A shapeshifter that takes two distinct forms. The first is a massive black wolf with leathery, bat-like wings and iron chains wrapped around its body. The second is a humanoid wolf—upright, muscular, with the same black fur, leathery wings sprouting from its back, and chains wrapped around its body. In both forms, its eyes burn with cold blue flames.
Tell-Tale Sign: Known to shout its own name—"Kludde, Kludde!"—in a rasping, mocking shriek while fleeing or retreating from a fight.
Behavior: A cruel and patient tormentor. It does not kill quickly. Once it locks onto a victim, it stalks them for days, appearing at windows, standing at the foot of beds, howling just beyond the tree line. It feeds on fear, growing bolder as its prey unravels. The chains are its primary weapon—it lashes out to trip, ensnare, or drag victims through dirt and stone. When the Kludde finally grows bored of the chase, it wraps its chains around the victim and drags them to the nearest body of water, holding them under until they drown.
Weaknesses: Shares the same weaknesses as werewolves. Fire forces it to keep its distance. Breaking its chains weakens it significantly, though the chains regenerate with time. A victim who shows no fear can confuse it long enough to escape.]
---
Satomi said, "That sounds exactly like the creature that has been following my children."
Stiles pocketed his phone and looked at Jacob. "So, what's the plan?"
Jacob shrugged. "Since it's already killed two people, we should kill it."
Stiles asked, "Should we do it tonight?"
Jacob nodded. "The sooner the better, I guess."
Stiles grinned. "Great. I'm going with you. And I'm fighting this time."
Jacob smirked. "Sure."
Noah sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. "Another case closed. But I'm going to write it up as unsolved. My career is going to shit."
Stiles patted his father's shoulder. "You can always retire. Spend more time with Natalie. Maybe give me and Lydia a few siblings."
Noah snorted. "Yeah, maybe. But it's too soon for retiring. And definitely too soon for children. I don't want to scare her away."
Stiles shrugged. "Well, you don't have to work so hard. We're rich now. Jacob let us take some gold—we just need to sell it."
Noah shook his head. "I don't only work for the money, Stiles. I actually like my job."
Stiles smiled. "As long as you're happy, I guess." He turned to Jacob. "So, how are we going to find this Kludde?"
Jacob looked at Satomi. "We don't have to find it. It will find us. We'll borrow your children—since they're the Kludde's targets."
Satomi's expression hardened. "I'm coming with you. I don't know if you can keep them safe. And it's the full moon tonight. Lori and Brett can control themselves, but I don't know if they'll lose control if they're scared."
Jacob smirked. He released a fraction of his aura—just enough to press against Satomi's senses.
Satomi's eyes widened. Her own eyes flickered red involuntarily. Her breath caught. She stared at him, her voice barely a whisper. "What… what are you?"
Jacob's smirk widened. He stood, slung an arm over Stiles's shoulder, and guided him toward the door. "Meet us before dark at the entrance of the preserve. Bring your children."
Stiles waved back at his father. "See you later, Dad."
They walked out of the office.
In the hallway, Stiles said, "How about we go to the arcade?"
Jacob nodded. "Sure."
They got into Jacob's Camaro and drove to the arcade. They spent the afternoon there—racing games, fighting games, shooting games—until the sky outside began to darken.
An hour before sunset, they left. Jacob drove to the entrance of the Beacon Hills Preserve. He parked the Camaro, then stored it in his pocket dimension.
They didn't have to wait long.
Satomi arrived with Lori and Brett. The two teenagers looked at Jacob with a mixture of curiosity and unease.
Jacob ignored their stares. "Let's go take a walk in the woods."
Satomi frowned. "Are you going to use Lori and Brett as bait? Should we hide and let them walk alone?"
Jacob shook his head. "There's no need. The moment the Kludde appears, I'll sense it. Even if it doesn't show itself."
They walked deeper into the preserve, the canopy overhead blocking the fading light. The air grew cooler. The only sounds were the crunch of leaves underfoot and the distant call of birds.
As they walked, Satomi moved alongside Jacob, studying him. "By the way, kid—how do you know about me?"
Jacob kept his eyes forward. "I did my research when I moved into town. I know about you and your pack. I know about the Hales. I know about Deucalion and his Alpha Pack—though he doesn't live here anymore."
Satomi's eyes narrowed. "Do you know about the Argents?"
Jacob nodded. "Yes. They're my in-laws. And they've quit hunting."
Satomi's expression flickered with surprise. "Is it true that Gerard Argent is dead?"
Jacob's voice was flat. "Yes."
Satomi let out a slow breath. "That's a relief. That man was evil. He was the reason Deucalion became the Demon Wolf." She looked ahead, her voice distant. "Before he met Gerard, Deucalion was a good man. A pacifist. But after what Gerard did to him… he went insane. He killed his entire pack. And I heard he forced Kali and Ennis to kill their packs too."
Jacob glanced at her. "I wonder why he didn't come after you and Talia Hale."
Satomi smiled—a sad, knowing smile. "He respected Talia too much to attack her. As for me… he knew I'm a pacifist. He knew I would rather die than kill my own pack. So he didn't bother."
Jacob nodded. "I see."
They kept walking, the conversation fading into silence. The sun dipped below the horizon. Shadows lengthened. And they waited for the Kludde to appear.
To be continued… 😊
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