《Teen Wolf/Beneath the surface/ Season 7》 Chapter 01: All over again The war on supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills had died down a few, since the two-faced shape shifter called the "Anuk-ite" was its major kickstarter. It fed off of people''s fears, brought out their worst nightmares, drove them to panic, insanity and despair, ending their own lives eventually. "It was supposed to ride with the hunt forever" These were the words of "Halwyn" the hellhound who helped build Eichen house and froze himself for a hundred years, waiting for the miserable day the ancestral creature managed by some means to escape. Looking for its two faces, the Anuk-ite made the decision to conquer shape shifters'' bodies, believing their strength would also make it even more powerful once the two parts merged; powerful enough to never be trapped again, and it worked. It went on its merry way, petrifying everyone and anyone who dared crossing its gaze. Gerard, the patriarch of the Argent family, wasted no time and seized the golden opportunity in order to further push his ultimate agenda: the annihilation of supernatural creatures from the surface of the planet. He hoped to expand and reach more people around the globe and gather more supporters to his cause, so in the effort to defeat his sworn enemy Scott MCcall, he teamed up with none other than the Anuk-ite who also seemed to have a particular interest in the true Alpha. Only... caught in the hype of winning a few battles, the new allies omitted a crucial detail, more so a flaw : you can''t have the power of a shapeshifter without equally having its weaknesses. And so was the downfall of that plan, and their end was on the hands of Scott and his Pack, who swore to honor the code of their late friend Allison: To protect those who cannot protect themselves. All of these events were vivid memories carved onto a lot of people''s minds, that was certainly the case for Deputy Parrish. From time to time images would flash before his eyes, stuck revisiting all that had happened during the past five years. Starting from the day he first walked into Beacon Hills, he was hit with the inexplicable feeling of being drawn to that place, to the day he realized he was no longer a mere human like he used to be. The realization of what he was and what his role consisted of, his bloody and ferocious battles against the beast, the strong bond that tied him to banshees and ghost riders. All of it played back in his head so realistically that he would lose all sense of awareness and reality, hearing only the echoes of sounds and conversations he once had or heard. Sometimes he''d sink so deep into his contemplations that he''d forget where he was or what he was doing. For instance, he didn''t realize that his car had stopped until his collegue, Deputy Fisher, brought him out of his train of thought, back to reality, when she opened the door and slid inside, neither her chestnut hair nor the brown of her eyes properly distinguishable under the gas station lights. She was a five foot five, athletically built, beautiful young woman in her twenties. He flinched and looked in her direction, eyes wide open. She seemed to notice his surprise because once she was comfortable in the passenger seat she quickly asked: "Is everything alright?" concern was showing on her face. "Yes... Everything is fine," he replied nervously before shifting his eyes towards the windshield, a confused expression appearing on his face. He looked through the car windows, almost like he was wondering how he got there. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "We are at the gas station," Fisher said, she did catch his attention, but when he still didn''t say anything she added, "You asked me to fill the tank," A mix of comprehension and frustration in his eyes confirmed Fisher''s suspicion. She knew that look very well regardless of the fact that she''d only been his partner for a month. "Still happening?" she asked. Parrish took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. After staying that way for a few seconds he finally relaxed, his expression softening. "It''s like I was there again," he finally admitted. She discerned defeat and distress in his eyes, and even though she was the type of person to know exactly what to say to a human being in these situations, she also knew that Parrish wasn''t a regular human being. Perhaps his increasingly frequent moments of absence meant something other than what she was used to with regular people. "You said that you got help from someone to figure out what supernatural creature you were, and that they helped you evolve and embrace your power, maybe they can help you with this too?" she asked. Parrish understood that she was talking about Chris Argent, and he didn''t take long to think about her question. "Yeah but this time it''s different. This time¡­ I think everyone is dealing with what I have... Some may even have it worse than me..." She stared down for an instant, debating whether she should voice her ideas or not, then her demeanor shifted from compassion to determination as she focused back on him. "Maybe it''s more of a reason to talk to them about it, so that you can help each other," she marked a brief pause when he started the car and drove back on the road, then once the vehicle was rolling in a straight line, she continued, "After I tragically lost my mother, the only thing that really helped me was talking about it with other people that were going through the same trauma..." She kept talking, but no matter how hard Parrish tried to concentrate on her words, her voice became increasingly echoey and far-away sounding, giving the impression that she was talking from the depth of a well. He became aware of a low fuzzy sound; static emanating from the car radio. The longer it went the louder it got, until suddenly a voice came through, someone breathing heavily. It was a woman''s voice, and it felt like she was struggling to talk. After a few attempts she finally managed to spit out something cohesive, it came out in a whisper, almost like she was on the verge of death, "HELLHOUND!" She gasped, then resumed panting. "What was that?" Parrish questioned, looking away from the road to the radio. "What was what?" Fisher stopped speaking and seemed puzzled as to what he was talking about, but before she could add anything she lifted her gaze towards the road for a split second. "Watch out!!" she screamed, putting her arms forward, resting her hands on the dashboard in an attempt to prepare for a brusque halt. Parrish was so absorbed by the sound coming from the radio that he had forgotten the car was still rolling, startled by Fisher''s scream he jumped straight back into his seat facing the roadway to see that he was about to drive right into someone standing in the middle of the otherwise empty road. He abruptly swerved to the side, luckily managing to stop the car after swerving only once. They immediately jumped out to make sure the individual was alright, but also to ask them what they were doing out there in the middle of the night, but by the time their feet hit the pavement, the person had already disappeared. The two deputies looked at each other, shocked and bewildered by what had just occurred. "You saw that too right? I wasn''t hallucinating?" Fisher asked in a panicked voice. "Only if we had the same hallucination!" replied Parrish, while turning his flashlight on. They both circled around the car in opposite directions, drawing their weapons alongside their flashlights. They figured whoever it was, if it was fast enough to disappear in that time span, then it had to be a supernatural, and they didn''t want to take any chances. They scrutinized the area for over five minutes, then finally concluded that the person or creature had to have been long gone Fisher was already heading back towards the car, shaking her head, wondering internally what it could have been, and Parrish was having a similar silent dialogue with himself. <> He thought, and for a good reason. Two mystifying events on the same night, moreover the same minute, definitely couldn''t have been a coincidence. Though he was quickly snapped out of his reverie by his partner... Once again. Chapter 02: Plan A - Part 01 "Where is she?" said a rather tense, deep and gravelly masculin voice. Not longer than five seconds later, another one replied, this one much softer and fminine sounding,"On her way there, she will reach out when she can," although gentle and definitely on the quieter side, there was no doubt she was filled with confidence nonethless. The young man took a deep breath, clutched his machine gun tighter between his hands hugging it closer to his chest, his patience was reaching its limits, beeds of sweat began to form at the top of his forehead only to drip down along his face, "This... Is taking too long!!" he spoke again, unable to hide the panic overpowering his anger. "It''s not particularly taking any longer than usual," replied his partner while comfortably sitting on a trunk box, undoubtedly containing more weaponry, both her absence of agitation and lack of excessive sweating were a perfect indicator of her large experience in the matter , though her steady and emotionless tone didn''t contribute in helping calm him. On the contrary, he grew more nervous and fidgety <> The more questions he asked himself the closer he was coming to the realisation that after that day, there was no going back, he will be a totally different person, a new man, either he liked it or not... he still wasn''t entirely sure. That thought alone sent a chill down his spine, he couldn''t see what she was doing from where he was standing, but he stuck to the impression that she was cleaning her already immaculate hunting knife''s blade, no surprise there, she had always been obsessed with it, as far back as he could remember. He wasn''t wrong, she could clearly see her reflection in that large deadly blade, yet she kept going at it with a similarly clean clothe, she only stopped from time to time to admire the shine of what she deemed a treasure. The idea that he couldn''t take any of it back was closing in on him, he was losing control over his emotions, out of patience to give, his breath accelerated, quickly followed by his legs, he moved a few feet forward determined to get it done, to prove to himslef that he could do it! NO! To prove to himself that it was the right thing to do! He came to a sudden halt, aimed his gun down ready to pull the trigger, eyes transfixed on someone lying silenty on their left side. The boy looked like he couldn''t be a day over sixteen years old, his black frizzy hair covered in dust just as much as his clothes, his hands tied behind his back, the dry blood on his forehead was already darkening, perfectly still, the only part of his body moving was his chest as a result of inhaling and exhaling. "Daniel... Control yourself !" her cold and monotone voice broke the unbearable silence, startling Daniel. When he turned his attention back to his target however, his eyes locked with those of the boy, a sense of dread overtook him, all his doubts becoming more vocal. <> He tried with all his might to supress any other emotion other than hate, disgust and repulsion but to no avail, his eyes slightly softened getting shinier, filling with tears and thus betraying him. "It''s now or never!" he practically shouted, shaking with rage but... Also hesitation," I have to do it! I....Need to do it!" he continued, all the while the boy didn''t move an inche. "Then do it!" the woman exclaimed finally stopping her activity and raising an eyebrow, turned out she could make other facial expressions other than the indiffrence she was showing, she ran out of patience herself, had enough babysitting the new guy on the job. Daniel wrapped his finger further around the trigger as if he was ready to get it over with, for a split second he glanced around the room, on the floor were nine other people lying down, tied up, some looked back at him with anger and hate, others with fear in tears. "What are you waiting for?" she firmly added gazing at the wall in front of her. He kept looking back and forth between the hostages, "Why are you looking at me like that?" he spat at the boy, "Alice !...." Daniel pleaded with his partner as he felt his confidence fading. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The so called Alice slowly put her knife down beside her, shot up then started walking towards Daniel. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched from the moment she walked in that abandoned building ... or more correctly since they all walked in. A pair of yellow glowing eyes started reflecting on her shiny blade from above, who''s ever eyes those belonged to then proceeded to discretely follow her. She stopped beside Daniel, eyed him with a look of disappointment as he was gradually lowering his weapon, face red like a tomato his, vains falling short of popping under his skin. Alice turned her attention to the boy and with a malicious and condescending smile she said,"Alec? isn''t that right?" she marked a pause as she pulled her gun and pointed it down at his head then she added,"Any last words?" Alec smiled back and calmly retorted with nothing more than one word,"Coyote," Everything after that, happened in less time necessary for anything to be comprehended. First, there was a gutteral sound which turned out to be growling, then Alice was thrown to the ground and disarmed after a male humanoid figure with yellow glowing eyes and dirty blond hair jumped on her. Daniel took a hit straight to the back of his head, he fell forward revealing a fit young woman standing behind him, she had short brown hair, unatrualy glowy blue eyes, a pair of fangs and a set of claws instead of fingernails. "why so long?" the blond young man chose that moment to reprimend Alec for taking so long to give the signal. "Can you cut me loose first at least?" replied Alec a bit offended. "He''s right Liam, now is not the time," Interjected the woman as she was rapidly untying everyone else.
"Where are the others?" asked Alec while relying on Liam to stand and run, the woman who''s name was Malia was supporting a girl that seemed completely out of it, her long hair dangling in front of her face. All of them were now speeding along a hallway towards the exit of the building. "Well Stiles is driving , Lydia is standing gard outside just incase , Derek is ...." Liam didn''t get time to finish when a body shot out of a door right ahead of them stopping them dead in their tracks, the figue crashed on the wall across, they all simultaneously looked at said door, and there he stood, Derek Hale, eyes still glowing blue, fangs, claws.... the whole nine yards. "Derek is right here," he said smiling at them. They made it out of that place, everyone who was held captive immediately squinted their eyes, the sun was still up and shining, a five foot three stawberry blond hair woman ran in their direction, "Oh great! you guys are here," she declared out of breath but clearly happy nonetheless. "Lydia...where is... the ride?" asked a confused Liam. "Ow... somewhere," she replied slowly nodding and tightening her lips, not having an anwser to that question. Malia, Liam and Derek all frowned then turned to the same direction, followed by Lydia and the others. Not long after, a bus emerged from around the corner of what appeared to be another abandoned bulding, approaching the group at high speed. "Nevermind..." muttered Derek. It''s door opened a few seconds before the vehicle briskly came to a halt, and they could finally see the driver, a white young man, brown hair, browon eyes, and a ridiculous smile, obviously proud of the entrance he just made, well it was obvious because as soon as they reached him he asked, How was my entrance? Epic huh?" his facial expression switched to disapprovement before he got any response,"Alec, buddy... you look awful," he added slowly shaking his head. "Ow thanks Stiles, I hadn''t realy notice," replied Alec sarcastically as he took the seat behind him. The group helped the others settle, then came back to the front of the bus, they still weren''t ready to leave yet, they were still missing a friend, a member of their group, their pack. A pack indeed, By now it is completly unnecessary to state that they are not ordinary people: Derek, Liam and Alec were werwolves, Malia was a wercoyote, Lydia a banshee and Stiles...well Stiles was possessed by a very evil spirit for a while, now... he...is...better, he was one of the very few humans in the pack. Right then this pack was missing its Alpha. "Where is Scott?" guestioned Malia. "He should have been out by now," said Lydia just as worrisom as her friend. A ground shaking growl irrupted from the building followed by a goosebump inducing howel, and there he was, the true alpha, standing tall on the edges of the third flour, his eyes shining blinding red. He jumped only to land effortlessly three stories bellow near the entrance, he held all of their attention as he got on the bus with a heartwarming smile. "I told you it''ll work!" he said with a radiant smile. They all chuckled at his comment, Malia sighed in relief and they proceeded to get settled on a seat before the bus started moving. Their rescue plan sailed smoothly this time, but it wasn''t always cupcakes, they had to retreat and swallow alot of losses in the past three years since the defeat of the anuke-ite. The pack fought a lot of enemies before, only now they have to stand against large groups of the dominant intelligent specie, where their strength wasn''t only in their weapons but in their numbers as well. Humans were known to wage long lasting wars against who or whatever they feared and hated, and supernatural creatures simply weren''t an exception to that rule. Chapter 03: Plan A- Part 02 A hasty pair of feet walked through the hallways of Beacon Hills Memorial hospital, only decelerating around corners to avoid any collision with staff or worse...Patients. The nurse was rushing to greet an incomng patient, she charged towards a gurney carrying a woman whom, at first glance seemed in her thirties. "Chris!" she called out to the man that brought the victim in, then as she started running along with the strecher she added, "Why the front doors?" "She is human," he replied. "What happened?" Melissa questioned again. "Gun shots, hunters," he answered. Melissa''s facial expression twisted in a way that perfectly translated her utter shock and confusion. Her reaction was justified, ever since the big clash between humans and supernaturals back in 2013, a precise number of nurses and doctors took the task to care for supernaturals when they were brought in, they were usualy admitted through the back doors and kept seperate from other patients to avoid any unwanted situations. Chris simply shook his head and implyed that he would explain everything later on. The woman was crying and pleading to whoever would listen,"Where is he? where is my son?" she implored, but nobody answerd. Another nurse held her hand and was too busy repeating,"It''s going to be ok, you are going to be fine, please calm down," She was taken to the OR in order to undergo surgery, the doors closed leaving Chris behind standing alone, arms hanging down on both sides of his body. He was dressed in an all black uniform, a leaf fell out of his vest pocket when he pulled his phone out suggesting he''d spent sometime in the Beacon Hills preserve, scouting for potential endengered supernaturals or humans. ''How ironic!'' he thought to himself, just a few years back his priority was to protect humans from the dangers of the supernatural world, how the tables have turned! His screen lit up, he sat down in anticipation for news of any kind when he saw that he''d received a message from scott, it read: - Monroe is on her way to you, she left Los Angeles not long ago - Alec had communicated to the rest of the pack everything he heard during his time being captured by the hunters, since he was the last member of the pack to stay unidentifed, it was mostly his role to infiltrate and collect information. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Chris Argent sunk in the waiting room chair, recollecting his memories of the past six hours in the forest, replaying the events for no other purpose than finding out if there was anyway he could have changed the outcome. He jolted out of his thoughts when Melissa called for him to follow her, hours had passed since the patient he brought went into surgery, she ushered him into a room where the woman was lying peacefuly asleep on a bed, it appeared she was out of the danger zone. She closed the door behind her then turned to face Chris, both hands on her hips,"What''s the story?" she asked peering at the woman for a second before looking back at him. "We were doing our round in the forest as usual, we heard gunshots, screams, both human and inhuman, took us about ten minutes to reach the source, there were five bodies mutilated beyond reconizion, at best I can confirm they were hunters, she was the only one with gunshot wounds," finished chris by pointing to the woman on the bed. "What about the boys? where are they?" she continued. "Nolan stayed put with stilinski at the scene, Corey and Mason took some pictures for Deaton, maybe he could enlighten us about the kind of creature that would be capable of this," "It wasn''t a werewolf?" the more informations she received the more confused, scared and concerned she grew. "Even from the distance we stood at, it sounded nothing like a werewolf''s growl, as for the injuries... We couldn''t even tell which were bite marks and which were clawmarks..." As he was speaking, Chris slowly came to realising that he was yet again hands deep into something stranger and far more dangerous than what he was comfortable with. "There were more than one?" "Noway to tell," he answered. They marked a pause in which, they both silently contemplated the idea that one creature could take five hunters armed to the teeth on its own. Then almost as if someone had slapped Melissa across the face, she jumped," What about her son? She kept asking about him when she came in," "There was nobody else there, not alive at least, she was the only surviver," This only raised more flags in their minds, crazy hunters were one thing, but a new supernatural threat? humans were already on high alert, for three years everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells and then this! Whatever happened, they were forced to wait for the woman to wake up.
"Crap..." Muttered Sherrif Stilinski under his breath, looking down upon a number of disfigured bodies, while his team was scanning the area and collectiong evidences. He took a deep breath then exhaled before gesturing to Nolan to come near, the young man dressed similarly to Argent obliged. "Walk me through it again son," said Stilinski. "Yes, we heard a scream and a very unusual growl, I don''t know what it realy was because I''ve never heard anything like it before, then immediatly after, a gunshot rain," answered Nolan. "Anything else?" "Yes... When we got close to the scene, they all ceased fire at the same time, kinda like it was synchronised," the young man added. "Or... it took one blow to take them all down...at once," Stilinski frowned at that thought, just like Argent, the fear of a new all out war froze him for a moment but Nolan''s voice brought him out of his transe, "We didn''t really take the time to look for more, the woman we found was critically injured," he stopped before quickly adding "Gunshot wounds, none supernatural," He perceived the apprehension in the Sheriff''s face, at least they could choke the hunter''s fate to self deffense, but that woman seemed to have nothing to do with them. The victims were drenched in blood, big gashes open all over their bodies, wounds so profound that the bones could be seen in some places, the rest was covered in smaller scale slashes and after closer examination there seemed to be no bite marks. Chapter 04: Black Blood The vet was seemingly hunched over, both hands gripping the table''s edge to support his upper body, as his gaze was deep into a set of six photos aligned infront of him. "Mason, you said that the gunshots all ceased at once ?" he asked one of the two young men that were standing with him in the animal clinic. "Yes, it was like... they were silenced at the same time," replied Mason still perplexed by what just came out of his own mouth. Without taking his eyes off of the pictures the vet continued, "what ever it was, it must have been fast, and it cut deep," "It? so... You are sure it was a single creature that did that?" intervened the second young man as baffled and confused as his partner. "Take a closer look at this slash," he pointed to one of the pictures, as he sligntly budged to leave enough space infront of him, he resumed talking once the boys moved closer to him, "If you align the pictures this way, what can you notice?" he proceeded to put the photos in said order. On five of the images, a different body was displayed, they all had multiple wounds scattered randomly on the corpses, however one fairly big gash on their chests seemed to be commun for everyone, from the depth of the injury and the trajectory, it was logical to deduce that it was inflicted to all the victims at the same time. "It... but...who?....what?" blabbered the boy even more suprised than before. "Yes Corey, it''s exactly what you are thinking, this wound was inflicted by one strike only, I can say for sure that, this is the cause of deat,." retorted Dr.Deaton in his usual calm tone," I should be able to tell more if I examine the bodies upclose," " But these don''t look like normal werewolf claw marks?" quized Mason. " Nor talents for that matter," added Corey. " No, indeed this slash appears to be too big, too wide for a werewolf to make," finished the doctor. An instant of silence passed when they just stood completely quiet, trying to absorb the informations they just received before they heared the doors to the clinic fly open, the sound of a bell ringing and frantic breathing. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. " DOC!! We need help!!" a man''s voice yelled behind the wall. They ran to find out who it was and how they could help him. Two men were standing at the entrance, the one that yelled for help seemed to be in his early forties, soaked in his own sweat and eyes wide open. He was holding the other young man''s arm around his neck to support him and keep him from falling. "Peter?" asked Mason. "What''s wrong with Theo?" pumped in Corey before Peter could say anything. Theo was barely conscious, the doctor moved forward and grabbed his other arm to put it around his own neck then, both Peter and Deaton dragged Theo to the table in order to be examined. "What the hell happened ?" Mason freaked out. "Give me five minuts to breath, please... I just ran a mile with this dipstick on my back," begged Peter while trying to catch his breath. "He should be healing by now, this doesn''t make any sense," said a confused Deaton. "Well... don''t expect me to make any sense out of it, I mean we didn''t even see the thing, it was so fast even with werewolf eyes I couldn''t see it coming... the darkness didn''t help either," spat Peter without taking any breaks, angry at the situation he was put in. Theo remained sensless on the table, lying on his back eyes closed, his heart rate wasn''t slowing, he was struggling to respire, his shirt was torn off allowing his bare skin to be visible, a large wound streached from left to right across his chest. Mason abandoned his shock face, squinted his eyes and opened his mouth ready to speak, but nothing came out. Corey noticed his expression and immediately asked, "What are you thinking about?" That directed Peter''s and Deaton''s attention on Mason, who kept eying Theo''s chest. "Mason...what do you have in mind?" quized the vet. " Uh... the wound, it... looks like... one we already saw tonight," he said as he picked one of the pictures up. The three men approached him to see for themselves what he was talking about, the gash was extremly similar to the hunter''s laceration, the one that caused their deaths. " I guess we were the luckier ones tonight..." joked Peter. A scream of pain and agony filled the room, they all turned to find its source, they were petrified by the horrifying show taking place before their eyes. The flesh around Theo''s wound was gradually changing to a greenish colour, quickly replaced by a darker purple all the while he didn''t stop screaming and gasping for air. It was like a sped up decomposing process, followed soon after by some sort of black blood leaking from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth, they had to lay him on his side so that he didn''t choke on that substance. "Nevermind....There are a few key diffrences between the attacks afer all," said Mason always in a state of stupor. "Peter, i think you are going to have to tell us everything that happened down to the tiniest detail," "I do hope his recovery doesn''t rely on that, because I saw almost absolutely nothing and there isn''t much to tell," replied Peter as they were all trying to hold Theo down on the table. Chapter 05: In the dark "What happened?" Was such a simple sounding question, yet Peter couldn''t find enough words to construct and fill cohesive sentences. Only a few frames popped clearly back in his mind, the rest of the scene was just a blur, so he started with the first thing he remembered from that night, Earlier that evening: "We''re taking the east side, they are taking the west side and we''ll meet in the middle, not that complicated when you think about it," said Peter in a calm but visibly irritated tone. Theo stood in place behind him, put his arms halfway up and muttered, " Right... Sorry I asked," " Well, now that we''ve got the stupid questions out of the way, we can finally be on our way," retorted Peter in the same voice as Before. His attitude and choice of words clearly annoyed Theo who, seemed to be acting like it was a casual conversation between them two nonetheless. They walked through the dark forest with a nonchalant air, unbotherd by the blackness surrounding them, their glowing eyes being the only flicker to brave the shadows. "For how long do you think we''ll keep doing this?" Theo''s voice broke the silence once more. "Just keep your head focused on the present," replied Peter, this time definitely more weary than before. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. " Yes, I figured that out on my own thank you... But you know what I mean!" "Shhh !" Peter cut him off and stopped dead in his tracks, Theo followed shortly after, looking down in an attempt to focalise his hearing. But nothing further could be heard. Instead, it was a smell that reached their nostrils, more of a stench, their facial expressions gradually twisted, they turned to look at each other, but neither one of them had any answers. "It smells like..." started Peter. "Death ?..." finished Theo. "I don''t think I have a better word for it, so we''ll stick with that," " It''s coming from this way," said Theo while slowly heading in the direction he had just pointed at. Peter put a hand on Theo''s chest as he was about to pass him, "Did you hear that?" he whispered. It was Theo''s turn to prick his ears up. What followed was, a few seconds of silence, then and almost on cue, all hell broke loose. First, a gut wrenching mix of a hiss and a growl, relatively distant but the two men still had to cover their ears. Second came the cascade of gunshot sounds, all of that topped by a woman''s high pitched scream. It made every hair on their bodies stand, they looked at each other again for a split second before Theo launched him self forward, running towards the potential massacre. "No wait!" screamed Peter in an attempt to catch his attention, but in vain, "Oh Hell!..." he explaimed before following his companion''s tracks. All he could see was Theo running ahead of him, he froze in place when he heard the sound of leaves violently shaking and branches breaking to his left, a scream of pain errupted just then and all he had time to see was his friend falling to his knees, then crashing face first onto the ground. Peter ran up and crowched down near him, all the while frantically scanning everything around them in apprenhension, hoping that whatever had done that... Was gone. Chapter 06: Perigee Syzygy "Perigee Syzygy," The creepy robotic voice uttering those words found its way to Lydia Martin''s ears. She froze as a sense of dread filled her, she knew that voice all too well, how could she ever forget it, it tormented her for months to no end, her, her friends, her town that they fought tooth and nail to keep from harm. She stood in place, but... What place? The only thing she could feel was the cold hard concrete underneath her bare feet, there was ... Nothing. Nothing insight distinguishable to her eyes at least, everything around her was masked behind a thick layer of fog as white as the dress she was wearing. She slowly, but finally took a few steps forward, turning left and right trying her best to scrutinize her surroundings for any clues regarding that location. After a minut of walking through emptyland, she started to get imaptient when she realised she wasn''t making any progress, impatience gradually turning into panic, Lydia picked up her own pace and began running with seemingly no purpose. She halted to take a breath, she revolved around herself clockwise then counter clockwise, as if she was expecting or hoping for something new to happen each time, only for her to understand that she was nowhere near figuring it out, nowhere near getting out and... "Perigee Syzygy," She heard it again, his voice, the Surgeon''s voice, her breathing accelerated and soon after turned to hyperventilation. "This... this can''t be !!" she muttered to herself, tears ready to fall. "Perigee Syzygy," he said again. At that point nothing made sense, he was dead! The three of them were dead! The dread doctors were dead! So why was she having a vision about them? "It rings a bell, doesn''t it?" Lydia jumped, instantly flipped around, understandably taken aback, to make eye contact with the young woman that spoke seconds before. She stood at just about seven feet away from her, a sincere beautiful smile across the face. " Who are you?" Lydia wasted no time in pleasantries. The woman slightly tilted her head to the side, then her lips moved,"I am just like you Lydia," the unmistakable look of confusion she received in response told it all, she needed to give more than that, "Right... Let''s not beat around the bush too long, You heard their voice didn''t you?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "y-yes but it''s... it''s impossible we..." The stranger cut her off to finish her sentence for her, "You watched the beast rip their heads off, yes, don''t worry there is no doubt, they are really very much dead," she reassured her. The stawberry blond haired girl noticed that both their dresses were indentical, except for a large blood stain around the abdomen area of the woman, she was injured, and badly by the look of it. She brought her gaze back up to lock eyes with her again. "What happened?... What''s happening? What''s this place?" "Well you are a banshee, you are having a banshee premonition of what''s coming," Lydia stepped towards her and stopped a few inches away, She was again beginning to feel impatient, for all she said she still didn''t give any solid information. "Okay, can you be a tad bit more specific here ? I mean, if the dread doctors are really dead then why am I... why are we hearing them? and why am I having a premonition of nowhere ? Make it make sense," She didn''t wait long for an answer, it came immediatly," It''s not about them, not directly at least, It''s something that came from them, and this place is a starting point," " To what?" " The first place you need to look at upon arriving to Beacon hills," At first Lydia was getting ready to ask how she knew they were coming back to Beacon Hills, but then she remembered that the woman was also a banshee, well, according to her own words at least, then a better question popped in her head, "What place? I keep asking you about this place, we are in the middle of nowhere!!" She noted the movment of the stranger''s Irises, She was no longer looking directly at her, her eyes stopped a little above Lydia''s sholders, indicating she was looking at something behind her, She raised both eyebrowes and lifted her head to further point behind. Lydia finally turned around to see it... " But that''s..." " Yes! It''s the basement where blasko broke out of the wall, the same basement where you found Liam and Hayden when they were taken," Lydia''s eyes fell to the ground to let the information sink in, that was the place to start with? It was all confusing. " You will find exactly what you are looking for there," the woman said, her voice cut for few seconds then she added, "Ow! and... If the hellhound doesn''t find me, I''ll count on you to do so, trust me, you will need me for what''s coming," Lydia''s puzzled face steadily pivoted, nothing was said, nothing needed to be said, her quizing expression communicated her thoughts perfectly. Both women looked down at the blood stain that seemed to be getting larger by the second. They gazed back at each other again, one with obvious worrisome, the other displayed a sorry expression. "I have to go now, i can''t stay any longer," "Wait!... Who are you? Wha''s your name? whah...where can we find you?" Lydia had grabbed the woman by the wrists. she did open her mouth, but only one word was heard,"Maylee," "Maylee?" another voice asked out of nowhere, a muffled far sounding voice , but a familiar one for sure, it was ... Stiles''s voice. "Stiles?" Lydia opened her eyes to find her boyfriend sitting next to her in the bus, his face turned in her direction, with a visible interrogative expression. She realised she had just awoken from slumber, The foggy neverland was all a dream, of course, she knew it was more than a simple one, she wasn''t that lucky to get a boring normal dream. She still wasn''t very sure what it held, but she was sure of one thing, whatever it was, something told her she wasn''t going to be happy about it, none of them were going to. Chapter 07: Reminiscence The prevalent atmosphere in the bus was rather... Dreary, reasonably comprehensible considering Lydia told them all about her "dream". Not that they expected it but, at that point in their lives, they''ve learned not to be too surprised by anything, in fact it would seem almost delusional on their parts to assume that nothing worse than the hunters would come after them. Stiles clenched his fists thinking about this god awful new threat awaiting them back in their town, after nearly three years, that was what they were coming home to. He pulled his eyes away from the road infront of him to take a glance at his girlfriend, sitting beside him, she was resting her head on the seet, watching the night as the street lights went by, she seemed pensive, just like every other soul on that vehicule. He thought he must''ve looked at her for too long, because she smiled at his reflection when she noticed, then she turned to face him,"What''s on your mind?" her soft voice turned the volume of his screaming thoughts down, allowing a way out for the questions he really wanted to ask, "Not that I''ve always been the most optimistic member of the pack but, I just can''t stop thinking... What could essentially be worse than a monster who incapacitates his enemies with nothing more than their fear? And I am not going to forget the Medusa effect on anyone that looks straight in his eyes," " Can''t shake that thought either but...whatever it is, for once it seems like we have a clue as to where to start," " Yes, according to the banshee ... Whom we didn''t know existed before today," Lydia slightly frowned at his last statment, even though she understood what he was reaching for, she definitely wanted to hear more about it," You think she''s lying?" " I am just saying, we shouln''t hold our breathes, last time we trusted another banshee, things almost didn''t end well for any of us," Stiles was of course referring to the banshee named Meridith, who turned out to be a criminal mastermind, after seeming like nothing more than a lost cause, overwhelmed by her own powers. Even though she wasn''t an evil person... In the end alot of people lost their lives becaue of her, and nothing could ever change that fact. "We don''t have to trust her, I just need to know that what I saw and heard wasn''t hocus pocus, that''s all..." "Yeah, well if she was an enemy, it does look like we are walking right into her trap," "No, I have this inexplicable feeling that our location dosn''t matter, wherever we go it''ll affect us, it''ll affect all of us," Stiles learned to never question Lydia whenever she spoke in that tone, it goes beyond rational, it made sense whithout making sense. Something supernatural that will affect them regardless of their location, he coudln''t even begin with the possibilities, her voice brought him back out of it again, "Well, whatever it is I am just glad that for once, we didn''t cause or attract it, I can be proud of that at least," She said in an almost cherrful tone as she leaned onto her boyfriend, put her hand on his and closed her eyes, he flipped his hand around to hold hers aswell, he placed a delicat kiss on her head before shutting his eyes along with her. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Malia was leaning on Scott''s chest, both feet up on the seat, he''d wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. The pair of them were facing the window, and even though the sky was clouded, they could, from time to time catch a glimpse of a star in between the gaps. Quite ironically, the peaceful moment they were having felt exactly like those stars, that against all odds and efforts to keep them conceiled, managed to shine through the darkness. In all the chaos running their lives, they still found a way to steal a minute for themselves occasionally, granted it was not much but it was... enough for the time being. Malia took a deep breath then broke their silence, " How bad do you think it''s about to get?" "Personally, I was wondering how quickly it was going to go up from bad to awful?... but, I couldn''t come up with an answer to that either," "Very comforting," Scott chuckled at the sarcasm of his girlfriend, her eyes lingered up towards him to meet his gaze,"I mean, do you think we will ever get to just... stop and live ?" The sorry look on his face was enough of an answer to her question, she brought her attention back to the night sky. " I don''t know how or even if I can answer that question anymore," Things had been snowbowling ever since the night he was bit and turned into a werewolf, actually, and to that day, it still didn''t seem to be slowing down. Scott realized very early on with the help of his loyal friend Stiles, that he had the potential to make great change with the powers that he''d gained after that night in the woods, he made it his responsibility, moreover his priority to protect and save his friends, as well as all the innocent souls that crossed his path. Countless times he''d blamed himself for the life that his close circle of friends and family were leading, yet they never failed to remind him that they chose to follow him, not just that but they insisted on it, they took it upon themselves to make his cause their own, it didn''t matter the amount of danger and tourment they had to go through, they learned the disclaimer by heart a long time ago, it didn''t matter where he''d lead them, because they would follow, they trusted him with every ounce of their being, he had always made up for any dissapointment he''d caused. In return, he could never express how grateful he was to have them enough, without them, he''d be nothing and without him... well they didn''t dare to think where they would be and what their lives would look like, or if they''d even still be alive. Liam wasn''t sharing the double seat with anyone, so he decided to rest his legs on it, with his back leaning on the window, he caught sight of Alec on a seat nearby fumbling with his phone, he looked deeply focused on whatever appeared on the screen. It was amusing to him really, how he himself was around Alec''s age when he became a werewolf, when his life changed forever, was it for the better? he wasn''t quite sure what his alpha thought of that, but to him there was no doubt, he wouldn''t trade his place with anyone or for anything in the world. He was also around that age when he fell in love for the first time, the word he''d use to describe it would be euphoric, even though it could also be qualified as ephemeral, he''d never felt that way with anyone else, not that he tried or that he even had the time to try, nevertheless, he couldn''t stop thinking that she was the one for him, that she had always been the one for him. Hayden Romero was her name, she chose to leave Beacon Hills behind and move far from the reoccuring events, anomalies and shenanigans of that place, in order to protect her family, her sister. Their last moments together still replayed in his mind from time to time, he''d picture her hair, her figure, adorable face and amazing smile but mostly, her voice, charged with burden, heavy with sorrow and he especially thought of the way it cracked when she spoke her last words to him, the day of her departure, "Be safe Liam," The young man wondered if she was happy, safe or... Even alive for that matter, he found it ironic that she left town looking for safety and stability, only for a world wide all out war to blow not long after. No matter, wherever she was he just hoped she was ok, that was, after all the best he could do. Chapter 08: Welcome to Beacon Hills Liam shifted his weight back on his legs, he left his seat and made his way to the front of the bus, he walked by Alec who was still very much captivated by whatever was on his screen, Scott and Malia contemplating the dark sky in each other''s arms, Stiles resting next to Lydia, together holding hands. He stopped and stood next to the driver''s seat, he glanced at Derek for a moment then turned his attention back to the empty road in front of him,"How far are we?" " Not very, we are really close actually," responded Derek. After a few seconds of silence he added, "How is everyone doing back there ?" "As fine as everyone can do ... in hindsight," Derek seemed to regret that last question a bit, then again, how "fine" can they really be in... hindsight? Considering well... Everything. Both men decided that they didn''t have anything left to say or share after that. Liam just stood there awkwardly, far from it being an unbearably uncomfortable situation, it was still unpleasant nonetheless and for some reason the idea of simply returning to his seat felt even more awkward to him. And so he kept staring at the road, well ... as much of it as the headlights could illuminate at least, everything else around was gobbled up by darkness, he hoped for something or someone to come up with a good enough excuse to disrupt that quietude. He didn''t have to hope for very long, as that reason came right away, a sign on the side of the road entered the radius of the headlight''s gleam, It was a green metal traffic sign printed in white with the number "115". How did he make out its color in that dimness? One might wonder. Simply put, the highway "115" was known as the only way back into Beacon Hills! No... This wasn''t the only reason that sign was so memorable to Liam, a key event took place there, the occurrence that altered the entire course of all their lives. A bitter taste built up in the back of his mouth at the thought of that... That was where everything went downhill. He looked over his shoulder and caught sight of Scott, he watched as the true alpha''s face slightly but gradually contorted from relatively peaceful to plain sadness when he layed eyes on the sign, because after all, whatever it ment to all of them wasn''t even close to what it ment to their leader. Scott''s mind flashed back to the senior scribe night, the eve of his first day as a senior at Beacon Hills high. He rode his motorcycle on highway 115 to pick his then girlfriend Kira YUKIMURA up, who was coming back from New York with her parents, their car was stuck in traffic, an accident caused a pile-up ahead of them. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The young wolf was beating himself up at the thought that, had he gotten to her before the dread doctor got their hands on her, none of them would be in the situation they were in that day. Kira being a thunder Kitsune was a major part of those abomination''s plan from the get go, all they had to do was tamper with her fox and with that, all the dominos alligned. They botched the pack''s visit to eichen, stole dr. Valack''s third eye which allowed them to carry their experiment to success, yielding a lot of victims in the process. But... that wasn''t all, oh no! that was but the beginning, they also botched their second visit to eichen during the mission to save lydia, causing Odin''s hunt which was already in Beacon Hills to be stuck there, the pack therefore had to push against the wild hunt through their second semester of senior year. That resulted yet again in another catastrophy, since they allowed an ancestral monster "anuk-it¨¦" to escape the hunt and cause mayhem by kickstarting a worldwide war lead by one of the serviving victims of the beast of gevaudan. If only and only if ... He''d gotten to her first, she would probably still be with them today, with her friends and family, instead, she was roaming the deserts with skinwalkers under the sun... in the dust. Liam could only imagine the guilt his alpha must feel, he hated the fact that there was nothing he could do or say to make it better, telling him that there was noway he could''ve known would surely not amount to anything and... " Here we are," A bit startled, Liam turned towards Derek, he''d almost forgotten that he was still standing next to him, he conveyed his attention forward, another sign lied ahead, this time however it was fashioned from wood and the letters carved on it said: -WELCOME TO BEACON HILLS.- He faintly beamed at the sight of it, emotions that he thought he''d never feel again sudenly flooded him, he''d already anticipated the reunion with his family and best friend when he learned that they had to go back home, except then, it felt real, it was really happening. His contentment was swiftly cut short, and his heart fell in the pit of his stomach when a humanoid silhouette erupted from the darkness, still and stiff as a board in the middle of the road, right infront of the bus. Derek reacted quickly, he stepped on the breaks faster than Liam could say, "HOLY SHI... !!!" The rest of the passengers were alerted, they didn''t exactly know what the problem was, but they knew enough to understand that something was about to happen and they soon realized it was nothing good when they felt the bus abruptly halting, well trying to halt judging by the screaming wheels scraping against the tar, plus their bodies being thrown forward so hard they each had to find something stable enough to grip a hold of. Stopping a speedy vehicle dead in its tracks at a short notice wasn''t going to be without repercussion. Indeed, with such mass, at such velocity the bus had too much momentum, so much so that its rear-end left the ground and thrusted forward, while the front seemed glued to the floor and it basically flipped upside down on itself. The bus glided and grinded on its top-end against the road for the next ten feet that came ahead, until, it finaly sat still, and everything went dead quiet... Chapter 09: Venomous The bus finally stood still, and everything went dead quiet... For a brief while that is. It was shortly after followed by the burst of a restless commotion, resulting from the agitation of everyone coming to their senses. Scott took few seconds to overcome the deafening noise thundering in his head, as soon as he did, his brain was met with an overwhelming and searing pain, then came the sound of broken glass cracking and metal crying underneath people''s shoes as they were trying to exit the vehicle. "SCOTT!! Are you alright?" his ear drums weren''t ready for Malia''s voice, especially not from that up close and at that volume, he let out a groan and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. Malia seemed to notice that, so she softened her voice, " Scott, can you stand? we need to get out of here," "Stiles! Stiles and Lydia! We need to take care of them first!" that was the first thing that came out of his mouth when he somewhat got his thoughts together. "Liam and Derek were closer to them, they got them out," "What about you? are you...?" he added, a tad calmer. "I am fine, all healed, c''mon let''s move," she helped her boyfriend hoist himself up then, together they headed towards the front of the bus, or what was left of it. The windshield was completely smashed and removed, probably kicked away by either Derek or Liam to make a larger door out. Stiles and Lydia were the only two lying unconscious on the side of the road with Alec and Derek by their sides, checking in on them, everyone else appeared to have already healed from their injuries even the rescuees. " How are they?" Scott directed his question at Alec as he drew closer and got down on one knee on Stiles''s side. " I think he''ll be fine," Alec replied concerning Stiles. He then turned his attention to Derek who understood what was expected of him, "She''ll live," he says about Lydia. The true alpha nodded his head in relief briefly then slowly stood up, he shined his eyes red to case the area through that darkness, they crashed right at the entrance of town, " what a heartwarming welcome" he thought, other than that there wasn''t much to be said or seen until ... "SCOTT!!" Liam''s voice arose loud in the night, it caught the attention of every conscious soul in the surrounding circumference, he was standing behind the metal carcass, his tone held concern and a hint of surprise if not fear. Scott circled around and approached him cautiously, followed closely by Derek and Alec and others who were near. They thought they''d seen the worst, they thought they''d prepared for the worst, only... What they were facing, nobody could perceive coming, not in a million years, because what they saw was nothing like anything they''ve dealt with before. What Liam was peering at was an eight feet tall humanoid figure, wearing but its bare skin, colored from head to toe with a sandy brown color, no shoes no clothes on its body, and long silky black hair on its head. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Guys!..." this time it was Malia''s voice that called for attention, it yanked them out their trance but they went right back into it when they laid eyes on what she was looking at. She was standing behind Scott, fronting a second figure, identical to the first one, everybody''s heads were snapping back and forth between the two creatures before realizing that a third one had appeared from another side, then a fourth one, all exactly alike apart from some facial features. "Oh ... c''mon what now ?! ... "whined Alec. " Derek?... Any ideas?" quizzed Scott hoping Derek would have a faint idea as to what those where. "Nope! none at all!" exclamed Hale back at him. "Hello ... Hi...! Do you guys... speak?" that was Liam''s attempt at a communication with the "men", the pack assumed they were male based on their masculin build, the lack of genitalia however left room for doubts. " What''s... going on?" " You mean : WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" snapped Alec back at Liam. Time wasn''t abundant to answer many questions. Once confusion settled, fear and apprehension creeped in, they had to prepare in anticipation of a fight, and sure enough a fight broke out when one of those things pounced so fast that there was no forecasting it, Scott didn''t think any creature could move at that speed since Deucalion. They moved between the rescues in rows, leaving only wind behind to be felt. People started dropping to the floor like flies, then came the moans and groans of pain, the pack''s turn to be attacked came right away, their first target was Derek, he was immediately and effortlessly pinned to the ground. That sequence allowed them to get even a better look at the supernaturals, a body part that wasn''t visible before, a thick long tail was hidden behind their back when they were standing, but it wasn''t just a simple one, it was a scorpion''s stinger, and that thing was ready to use it on Derek if it wasn''t for the intervention of Scott who, threw himself on the enemy and pushed him off, they definitely didn''t want to find out how lethal or venomous it was. The others joined the battle and quickly understood that they were no match, the difference in strength and speed was way too considerable to be comparable. Bodies were slammed, bones were broken and sizable wounds were open, within ten seconds from the start of the confrontation, the pack was incapacitated and out of commission. Scott was being held down by the throat, trying with all his might to break free from its grip, he looked around to catch sight of both Liam and Alec bested, lying sensless on the ground. Malia was the only one still standing although she seemed to be more focused on dodging their hits and she was pulling her weight, till the creature did a full on pirouette and lacerated her with its stinger from left to right across the chest, she dropped on her knees then face planted on the tar. Derek was crawling on his elbows in a strive to make distance between him and the scorpion man, face covered in his own blood. The creature seemed to follow slowly behind him, it was in no rush whatsoever, it knew its victim had nowhere to run to, it was practically toying with him and mocking him. For Scott to watch his friends get treated that way felt much more painful than his throat being crushed by a monster twice his size, it felt surreal, almost like watching a movie sequence in slow motion, yet the worst part of it all, was when he looked in the direction where Stiles and Lydia were lying, he saw one of them standing over the banshee''s head, ready to snuff her out of existence. "NO!! Wait! STOP!!!" he screamed. It didn''t react to his voice in any shape, it continued like it was made for the only purpose to take Lydia''s life. A blaring loud noise rattled the place, it sounded like the roaring of a motorcycle engine, the mystery was over when a motor bike flew out of the trees and rammed straight into the creature pending over Lydia''s body, the biker then landed her vehicle and without skipping a beat picked a shot gun and shot the supernatural holding Scott down right through the heart, she immediately flipped around and did the same with the creature threatening Derek. She was a perfect shot, she finished the job and once the menace was no more, she walked towards Scott then lended him a hand, he just froze there looking back up at her, she reached for her helmet to remove it. "Need a hand?" she asked. She turned out to be someone he knew very well, it was, "Braden ?!!" he finally took her hand and picked himself up. "Yup! That''s me," she stopped speaking, took a look around and... an air of confusion appeared on her face, she stared back at Scott and asked, "Uhm... Where the hell is Parrish ?" Chapter 10: Allies and Enemies " It looks very... abandoned ..." said the young african american woman right after stepping out of a car, shutting the door without as much as a look behind her back. Her full attention was directed towards the abandoned mansion before her eyes. It wasn''t falling apart by any means, though, it had clearly been deserted a long time ago, a few years at least, it appeared. "Of course it does, and it is," the woman whom just gave a reply marked a few seconds break, then she spoke again, "Monroe, isn''t it ?" she didn''t wait for an answer, she just turned around, started walking towards the house and added, "Well then, follow me," Monroe picked up the trail, followed by the three young men that stepped out of the car with her. They entered the cold, dusty and unfurnished property, it was a large manor. They thought it must have looked stunning once upon a time, when it was inhabited by an ordinary family, supposing there ever was a plain family to settle in such place. The hunters weren''t there to visit the estate however, the woman guided them straight towards the levels below. The basement would have been as unremarkable as any other if, it wasn''t for the giant hole in one of the walls. " This is it?" Monroe asked. "You were expecting something else?" " Not at all, in fact this is perfect... for the moment being at least," the huntress took a walk around and perused the place for anything that caught the eyes. " What are you planning on doing with the place?" the guide asked. " Nevermind my plans, how about, you tell me how a woman like you came across a place like this?" Monroe''s question sounded almost like a provocation. "A Woman like ... me ... I am not sure I like the sound of that very much," "Frankly, what you like or dislike isn''t really on my list of priorities," The silence after that was one of the most uncomfortable out there, so much so that seconds felt as long as minutes. It seemed as though without a swift intervention, the meeting would have quickly gone south. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it " It looks like it has a pretty heavy and rough history..." one of the three men accompanying Monroe spoke up, an attempt at interrupting the unpleasantness they were plunged into. As awkward and lacking in confidence as it was, it at least had the merit of grabbing the ladies attention. " So you do have a voice! I was starting to think that you were here just for show," the guide replied in an amused tone, almost a taunting one. She walked around for some, trying to find the words to capture what she felt about that place, well at least that was what she seemed to be doing, " Yes, a heavy and very rough history... Yes, that''s exactly how I would describe its history," she continued in a much calmer and hushed voice, "If you put your ear to the walls, you could almost hear the cries of the tormented souls once held within this space," "People?... Humans?" he asked with a hint of anger and disgust that he was trying to contain. "Yes ...Humans, now here is the part that might kick you in the balls, they were tormented not by supernaturals, but by humans just like them ..." A look of confusion possessed their faces, she clearly was hinting at something, they weren''t sure what but whatever it was, they had the feeling that they weren''t going to enjoy it. Her, on the other hand looked satisfied, just as if she got the reaction she was yearning for from them. "Yeah that''s right, sometimes we forget that humans can act like monsters as well," at this point she was back to moving around the basement again, slowly walking towards the shelves. "Yeah, but we already have a system made to punish humans for their crimes," he replied. "That we do, those criminals however, no human was able to stop , I am still wondering to this day how... That bunch of little runts managed to do it..." her timber gradually shifted flavor from soft and amused to dark and resentful. "What bunch of runts?" quizzed Monroe. "You know them... you fought them... in fact you came close to killing their leader," Monroe thought for a second before it clicked in her mind, "MCcall ..." "Yeah, him... and his pack have been a serious pain in my ass a while back," " Sounds like we''re on common grounds," smiled Monroe. "Well yes, yes we do, too bad though ... it couldn''t work between us..." the atmosphere switched once again at the sound of those words. "Aren''t you jumping the gun?" asked a second guy from the group. "What makes you think we''re not gonna get along?" Monroe was trying to remain as calm as possible. "Don''t ask me! The problem won''t come from me in this alliance, it will come from you, at some point," Monroe slowly brought her hand to the side, she seemed to be catching onto what the woman was hinting at, she felt the danger, and she knew she''d have to protect herself, but... " Not so fast darling ! Honestly I''ll always be amazed by the number of amateurs who believe their own hype, I mean you don''t really think it''s gonna be that easy, or... do you?" Chapter 11: Lost and found Parrish was coming home from a long night shift, he worked for longer hours than the rest of the department for obvious reasons, not that he was forced to, it''s just that he felt the obligation to do more, to work harder, he however still needed to rest nonetheless, hellhound or not. He dropped his entire weight on the couch, his eyes lingered from the wall facing him up towards the ceiling, took a lengthy breath, held it for a few seconds then let it out in an extended exhale, he brought his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes simultaneously with his thumb and index, if that wasn''t a sign of exhaustion nothing else could qualify as such. He thought there was no time to be wasted, he got up all the while pulling his badge off his chest and putting it on the table near, he started unbuttoning his uniform blouse and heading towards the shower, his plans were to clean up, sleep some, one or two hours at most, then go back out there, not much difference from his routine, he saw absolutely no reason that night should be divergent. Well, those plans were cut short when midway out of the living room the tv screen lit up, on its own accord. He immediately froze and gave his entire attention to the occurrence, he just kept standing there and staring at it, waiting for anything else to happen, not knowing what to expect. Jordan was a hellhound, he lived in a world filled with werewolves, banshees, wendigos and whatever the hell else was out there, all of witch, he got to accept. TVs turning themselves on however... He wasn''t very sure what to make of it, especially with the car radio incident he had earlier that same night. Whatever the explanation, he wasn''t going to get it by standing still and gaping at it intensively. He took a few cautious steps forward and stopped again once close to the devise, he tried listening, thinking that a voice might come through the statics, just like the radio, that maybe he could hear the voice calling for him again. Alas, no one''s voice came out so the deputy decided there was no use to the persuit of a clarification right then. He reached for the switch button to turn the TV off, when he pushed it the screen went black as fast as it lit up, and if it wasn''t for the bright moonlight shinning through the window he would have never noticed the reflection of a silhouette standing behind him. Parrish didn''t squander a second and flipped around himself to catch sight and hopefully identify the intruder, before it vanished in a puff of smoke and leave him to question his sanity, kind of like every other bizarre thing that happened that night. Usually he''d have his gun pulled and pointed at his target already, not for this case however, this time he felt deep in his core a sense of...safety, he sensed that whoever this individual was, they didn''t mean any harm, that they were a friend. Well that she was a friend, one look at her and he immediately knew it was her voice that came through the radio, he just knew. "You were not supposed to be here," she steered him out of his thoughts when she broke the pending silence. "What do you mean?" "You have to find me... tonight, a lot of people will die if you don''t," she replied to his question. "You are a banshee!" his intonation was somewhere between a question and a statement. "Come find me," "How do I do that?" "You are a harbinger of death, you know what to do," "Spare me time then, just tell me where you are," he begged. "Time ... yes, I don''t have much time left," she looked down towards her abdomen area and his eyes followed. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "You are injured!" he could easily tell from the huge circle of blood staining her snow white dress. "In the woods, you know where..." she uttered those last words in a distant whisper, a breath, almost like she was moving further and further away from him then... The TV went back on again, the sound of static consumed the room and that''s when... Parrish woke up from the nap he wasn''t even aware he was taking, he was still on the couch, turned out, it was all a dream, but just like Lydia he knew too well not to take it too lightly. He didn''t know who she was or what she ment but one thing about her was for sure; She was reaching out to him for help! Jordan jumped out of his seat, picked up his badge and keys on the way out, hopped in his car and drove away. "In the woods! In the woods! Couldn''t she be a bit more specific ?! God! I''ll never find her like this!" The Beacon Hills preserve was a vast land, if he had any chance of finding her he was going to have to rely on his supernatural side, he had to let it take over even if just for a short while. When it came to fighting enemies, he did that multiple times it was becoming a habit, though when it came to his supernatural GPS skills... Parrish did that once to find Lydia, but that felt different, he didn''t remember how he did it, and it was a lot easier because she was right next to the nemeton. He didn''t fully have faith in his abilities yet, and he was beating himself up for not realizing that sooner and working on it, it was too late for that, he couldn''t focus, his thoughts were all over the place, her words were playing back in his mind like a broken record," If you don''t find me, a lot of people will die," " I wish Lydia was here! This is her specialty!" Yes! Lydia, what would she have done ? How did she do it? He was rummaging through his head for a solution, a memory that could be of use to him then, for some reason only one came through to the surface, it was that of a conversation he had with Lydia, back in the summer when she was helping him figure out what creature he was. //Memory Flash// "So how do you do it? How do you always find the bodies before anyone even realizes these people are missing?" Parrish asked. "Most of the time I don''t know what I am doing, or even that I am doing it. It just started happening after I was bitten," "I thought you had to be born a banshee, you can''t be given that power by a bite," he replied. "Yes I came to find out that it runs in the family, the power was always dormant, it was always in me, Peter just brought it out with the bite," explained Lydia. "But, there has to be a common denominator, a constant element in the way you always find the bodies?" Lydia took a few seconds to reply, she appeared to be considering something, then, "Well now that you mention it... I think... Everytime it happened, it did while I was driving or...sitting next to the driver." He kept looking at her, waiting for more, he could tell from the look on her face that she had a lot more to say about it. "It happened many times but, the first time I was conscious about it was when... me and Kira were trying to help Malia with her driving, I told her to take a turn convinced it would take us to school, then Kira pointed out we were heading down town, that''s when I knew I was doing it, and that we had to keep going that way," " So it just... happens then, noway to know how or when..." " There was this once, where I was sure the GPS was on, and I was just following it, but then Aidan told me that the GPS was off all the time," " The GPS??" " Yes, in my mind I was following the indications of the GPS," she said. // End Flash Memory// Parrish glanced at the GPS, hoping it would happen to him and that somehow he would hear its voice. He clingued to the stearing wheel, his breathing accelerated, he was losing his cool, he needed to focus, there was alot on the line, so many lives, he didn''t have the right to screw it up. "I can do this! I can! he uttered those encouragement words to himself, then closed his eyes for two seconds, the car was still moving, not slowing down, in fact it was picking up speed as it went. When he opened them, they were both glowing in a radiant warm orange tone, like they were the gates to hell and those gates were about to open. He handed complete control of his body over to his powers, he knew he''d need to stay conscious but just enough to know what was going on around him, he felt his muscles relaxing, his seat beneath him, the air around him, kind of like he was hypnotising himself. The deputy felt a sudden change in direction, he was making a turn, it was working, hopefully he would not be late or else ... That dynamic continued for over ten minutes, he eventually left his car behind and kept going on foot, he picked up his pace, very soon he began to run through the woods, there was no stopping him, well there ... was, once he reached the person he was looking for. Parrish finaly did, he found her, found Maylee the banshee that spoke to Lydia, her state was deplorable, curled up against a tree to shelter herself from the harsh cold wind. Previously (1) This is a recap for the following chapters: [1-11] A few years after the death of Gerard and the capturing of the Anuk-ite, Scott and his pack moved to LA in order to chase Monroe and save as many supernaturals as possible. During their latest rescue mission, they figured out that for some unspecified reason Monroe was heading back towards Beacon Hills, and thus they decied to follow suite. On their way home, Lydia got one of her banshee visions where, she entered in contact with another banshee named Maylee, she informed Lydia that upon arrival to Beacon Hills, they needed to visit the basement that the dread doctors used to store the chimeras, while they carried their experiments on them. She also let Lydia know that she was in dire need to be found, and that Parrish was supposed to be on the task. Meanwhile, that same night in Beacon Hills, Chris Argent who had taken Mason, Corey and Nolan under his wing, discovered the bodies of five hunters, mangled beyond recognition as well as, a civilian woman. They spilt up after that, Mason and Corey headed towards Deaton''s clinic, Chris took the woman to the hospital, as Nolan stayed put, waiting for the sheriff Stilinski to arrive at the crime scene. The three groups began to wonder and try to put the puzzle together, the clues seemed to indicate that the creature that committed the crime was alone, but the damage it caused was beyond that of any other thing they saw before, for a single foe that is. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Peter reached Deaton''s clinic out of breath, dragging Theo''s unconcious body, whom after examination did not seem to be healing, Peter then described what he could see of the attack, which was not much, since whatever did it was very fast, even for him. Parrish began to have visions of his own as he was on patrole with is partner Fisher, he heard a voice calling out for him from the radio, then a figure appeared in front of his car then disappeard as soon as he stepped outside to investigate it. Later that night, he saw that figure again, in his house, he even spoke to her, it was Maylee, asking for his help. As they entered Beacon Hills, a creature stood in the path of the bus carrying the pack, causing a horrific accident, that they all survived thankfully, however this time, unlike with Parrish, this figure didn''t disappear, on the contrary it brought friends. They seemed detemined to kill the pack, especially Lydia. They almost succeeded, if it wasn''t for Braden who showed up last minute on her motorcycle, she gave the impression to know exactly how to kill these mysterious creatures. She then wondered where Parrish was, leading to believe that he was supposed to be there. Monroe on her side, had arrived to Beacon Hills, an unknown woman was waiting for her to guide her through the visit of an abandoned mansion. The two women were not off to a good start, it didn''t look like they were meant to get along. Once in the basement, which turned out to be the dread doctors''s basement, things escalated faster when the tour guide hinted that there was noway, for them to work together, or to be on the same side. Parrish managed to find Maylee, thanks to his harbinger of death senses, she was injured, in the forest. **** These are the events that carried out through the first eleven chapters of this book, and there is much more to come next. I really hope you''re enjoying the read. Stay safe everyone^^ **** Guardian Angel "If we die out here I swear to god, I will kill you!!" promised the young man to his partner as he walked behind him. "Talk about beating the dead horse!" a second voice had risen in the dead of night. " Just remind me why we are doing this again? I mean for all we know it could just be a trap and we are walking right into an ambush," this time he formulated a question instead of a threat. Though, he did have legitimate reasons to show and express concern, walking in the woods at night when it was freezing cold, under a full moon to top that, wasn''t exactly the wisest nor the safest thing to do, although the previous arguments were enough to explain why it was not a recommended activity, it was not the main one yet. "It is not an ambush," " How do you know? We have no idea who this (Guardian Angel) is! Aren''t you the least bit concerned about this? or Am I just being unreasonable?" Indeed, the main reason he was so worried was the (Guardian Angel) who neither of them really knew of. " You''re being perfectly reasonable... Of course I am concerned about it but... I am more concerned about what could happen if we don''t do this," that response did well to calm the nerves of his partner. Were they doing the right thing? should they have come there like they were instructed to? were they going to live past that night? All those questions kept wrestling round and round in their heads but whatever the outcome, they were already there. "Well, here we are. Now what?" "We''re exactly at the coordinates we were given, so now... We take a deep breath, listen and wait for... whatever is supposed to happen," And so they stood there, quiet, listening closely to the forest''s melody, the hoots of owls, the sound of trees and branches swaying along with the wind and its whims. " You know what annoys me the most in all this?" he took a moment then spoke again, "We''re missing our anniversary, yet again!" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. His partner blessed him with a genuine smile then said, "I was sure you''d say that at some point tonight," " I guess you just know me too well," Their smiles dropped when they heard a faint growl in the distance. Their ears caught the same growl a second time and they realized it wasn''t as distant as they first thought, it was just very low. " Definitely not hunters!" " Werewolves?" " I am not catching any sent," "I am! I sensed it once before... In Beacon Hills," "So what is it?!" "Don''t know but it''s definitely not a werewolf," They had been whisper-talking every word to each other from the moment they figured out they weren''t alone. Focusing their senses on gathering more information about their company, preparing their muscles to react in order to dodge or fight back against any incoming attacks. Lucky they did, right in time to jump back as something shot fast towards them. It landed in the ground between them, after inspection they realized it was an odd looking knife, one of the young men reached out and pulled it out. Both of them were taken aback as they saw that a large part of it, in fact most of it dug itself deep in the ground, up close it resembled more an abnormally big canine tooth than a knife. They looked at each other wondering, how strong was whatever threw it their way. That low growl came quick to answer, their heads simultaneously shot up in the same direction. "NOWAY... IN THE SEVEN HELLS !!" Their eyes widened at that sight, the sheer size of that thing was intimidating, it looked human enough underneath that armor of bones it wore. " A BERSERKER ?!! Here? Really??" "Can we fight this thing?" "One of them ? Maybe, but two ..." "What do you mean by two?" "Well I mean that other one," he pointed behind his partner toward the second berserker standing there. " How are we supposed to get rid of them now?" "We stick together and... we run..." They started stepping back slowly, as the two creatures began to step forward . A very loud growl resonated in the area stopping all of them in place. "WOW!! Ouf! It looks like I got here just in time," a young woman spoke as she came closer emerging from behind the nearest trees. The two men looked at her, then shifted attention to the berserkers who were standing still. " What''s happening ? Why did they stop?" " Because I told them too, I guess..." she replied. "You''re a werejaguar?" "E..h, that''s a long story for another time, for now I guess you''re the two werewolves I am supposed to meet, Jackson Whittemore and Ethan Steiner," "Yeah...Does that mean you''re not the "Guardian Angel"?" asked Ethan. " No I am Hayden... Hayden Romero," " Hayden?... Wait I heard that name before, aren''t you one of Scott''s betas?? " this time it was Jackson''s turn to ask her the question, it threw Ethan off because he thought she was a werejaguar. "Wait, so... you''re a werewolf!! But then how can you control these?" he pointed to the berserkers as he spoke. "I told you long story and right now, we need to get going we can''t afford to be late, I''ll tell you everything I know on the way," "On the way where?" chimed in Jackson. " We''re going to Mexico... to (La Iglesia), " she said bluntly. Keycode " Lydia" Scott held Braden''s phone up, he seemed attentive to the words printed on the screen, his eyes followed from left to right then from top to bottom, as he was reading the content of a message before handing it back to its owner, who was standing in front of him. "So you were sent the coordinates of our location?" he asked. "Exactly," she confirmed "But you came prepared, like... you already knew what to do out there," The young man had so many questions , he struggled to know which one to ask first, curious and confused he continued, "Why did you ask about Parrish?" "I was under the impression that he''d be there before me, I was only supposed to show up as back up," she answered . " And this Guardian Angel gave you that... impression?" "It started with a tape cassette, like the ones made by the benefactor, I listened to it closely then went on the URL I was assigned and that''s when I received a text message containing one word..." Braden paused and sighed for a moment. "And what was the word?" Scott urged her to continue. "Lydia," she stopped again, but this time Scott didn''t say anything, his look was enough to indicate his serious need for extra details. " When I looked back at my computer screen, I realized what it was and understood what I needed to do... It was Loraine Martin''s code and the key was Lydia," " The code ... for the... deadpool?" "More of a to-do-list designed especially for me, a list of missions that I was to carry, it said that I''d get the locations an hour before I was supposed to execute them," she finished. " What were these missions about? And... how do you know that this person can be trusted?" " Scott, last time this happened, It turned out a banshee was behind it all, I didn''t want to wait around for people to die for me to move," A banshee, she said... The Alpha could recall the vision that Lydia had in the bus, the one that they weren''t so sure they could trust. Nothing was set in stone but the pieces seemed to fit. His thoughts were promptly interrupted by his mother''s voice, who was heading towards the both of them as they were standing in the middle of a hospital hallway. "Everyone is being taken care of right this moment, sure you don''t need anything?" "It''s alright mom, I am fully healed, but I am worried about the others, I''ve never encountered those creatures before, I don''t think their injuries are as usual ones, it''s taking them longer to heal... then there''s Stiles and Lydia..." Melissa put a hand on her son''s shoulder to provide some comfort, she could read the stress claiming his face. As she opened her mouth to utter some alleviating words to him, the double door at the end of the corridor shot open giving way to Parrish who barged in carrying an unconscious young woman in his arms, "SOME HELP HERE PLEASE!!" He stopped running along once she dissappeared behind the operating room''s doors, she was left in the caring hands of Mrs. MCcal, Scott and Braden joined him for a much needed and influent conversation. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "A banshee?" the werewolf asked. "Yeah she reached out to me earlier tonight, she asked me to find her..." "So that''s why you were late ... I believe you were supposed to find her few hours sooner," commented Braden. "What''s with that by the way? She said something about me not being supposed to be where I was," "My mission was to back you up at the scene of the attack against Scott, I believe she made direct contact with you since you''re both connected, but somehow you missed the memo," explained Braden. "In the car... The radio..." muttered Parrish to himself Scott chimed in and attempted to align the bits and pieces in their proper order, "So this banshee uses the code for the deadpool just like Meredith did, but instead of a kill list she makes a task list for Braden, she contacts Lydia in order to warn us about something terrible coming our way, she gives away a start line, then she tries to contact Parrish to find her since he''s the harbinger of death that''s actually present in town, he misses the first sign and that''s how he doesn''t find her in the right time and she doesn''t get to tell him about us and the attack...? Do I have everything right? Usually Stiles does the case work and analysis of things..." " No, it''s fine! That was spot on actually!!" Braden comforted him. Parrish''s gaze dropped to the floor as soon as Scott finished speaking, he stood still and allowed his demeanor to describe his state of mind, as more doubt crept in on his soul imbuing his lungs with guilt, he couldn''t help but think things would have been a lot worse if Braden didn''t save the day, things could have been a lot better if he held himself together. He''d rather feel the pain of claws digging through his chest anytime, if it meant getting rid of that intoxicating culpability. The two others didn''t seem to notice, they were more focused on the next step in the program since Braden announced it, "Speaking of start lines, Scott, you and I have somewhere to go to in a few hours," "Where...?" he asked. " You said that the banshee contacted you through Lydia, and she gave you a place to start from," "Right, that house where the Dread doctors kept the chimeras in, in that basement..." Scott concluded. " Yes, part of my task is to accompany you there," "It has to be just the two of us?" he wondered. "Yeah, I have a feeling it has to be that way, though I am not a hundred percent sure, The list doesn''t insist on the two of us being the only ones..." What if it had to be just them? On the other hand, what if it hadn''t ? It was not exactly a matter of < Damned if you do and damned if you don''t > but it was definitely a matter of life or death. Going alone could turn out to be fatal to them and bringing someone along could be fatal to that person instead. Scott despised the position of uncertainty he was in, not sure anyone else would envy him for that spot to be frank. His thoughts were not rudely interrupted when his phone buzzed, the alpha picked up immediately after seeing the caller ID, " Deaton? Sorry I didn''t get the chance to call and inform you that we were already back in Beacon Hills," "It''s alright Scott, I was hoping to catch you before you arrived but..." "Why is that? Something happened?" asked Scott. "You can say that..." Deaton declared as he looked over at Theo, still unconscious but seemingly stable, The vet then continued, " I just wanted to warn you about something to keep an eye out for, an unidentified and apparently dangerous creature running around Beacon Hills," "I am not sure but... I think we had a front row seat to their show at our arrival," " You were attacked?" worried Deaton. Mason, Corey and Peter, looked around at him shocked by those words. " Yes, we are at the hospital right now and it looks like everyone will be fine... I hope," "I see, we''ll be heading your way, Theo has been injured, and I need to examine other victims for more information about the creature, " Scott put his phone back in his pocket after ending the conversation with Deaton. His former boss had just informed him that he''d dealt with the monster that attacked them, he had to wonder if it happened simultaneously, in which case there are more of them... He did get a chance to see that there were multiple assailants therefore it wasn''t a far fetched possibility. What about the dread doctors? How were they linked to all this? What was he going to find in that house? And the Guardian Angel? What of it? Was it the banshee? Or was it deeper and more intricate than that? His thoughts leaned toward Stiles as his face popped in his mind, he''d have been really helpful at that moment, more so helpful than himself, the werewolf thought. He stood right outside his best friend''s room door, his feet had walked him there while his head was doing all that thinking. No answer! "Hey Fisher! Where do we set it up?" She looked up at the deputy that had just spoken to her, then at his hand, it was pointing towards a man that stood at about two feet behind him, he seemed to be carrying a package in his arms, "What do we need to set up?" she asked back. "It''s a new printer," She just shut her eyes and slightly shook her head for a brief moment, finally remembering about that damn machine, she had to endure her partner''s complaints about it for the entire duration of the past two weeks, "Ah yeah! It goes near Parrish''s desk," she said as she referred to the desk next to hers with her index. The man walked by and put the box where he was pointed. "He''s not here at the moment so I''ll sign for him," She picked up a pen in her right hand and extended her left arm towards the delivery man who handed her the clip board for the signature. As her eyes landed back on the open files in front of her, the same young deputy spoke once more, grabbing her attention yet again, " I''ve been meaning to ask you this, but never really had the opportunity to," " Well now is your chance! Have at it," she cracked a friendly smile as she waited for the question to come. "You''ve been his partner for a while now and ... How is it really...?" "You mean working with a hellhound?" The look on his face was a good enough response for her. "I don''t mind you asking you know? it''s not really a taboo subject ..." "Kinda feels like it though... Ever since the all-out war three years ago, it''s like reality shifted," "To be fair it''s not just an impression, reality did sorta shift," said Fisher with a smile, she then proceeded to answer his initial question, "But to answer your question, it''s pretty much ordinary, rarely anything supernatural, I don''t think he''s ever shifted in front of me..." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "I figured... I don''t know what I was imagining..." he looked to his feet as he uttered those words, an air of embarrassment visible on his face. "Well... We do end up finding more dead bodies than other dispatches..." He seemed half-amused, half-surprised by her words, they both silently smiled at each other for a short number of seconds before another voice seized hold of their attention. The dispatcher''s voice got suddenly louder than the rest at the sheriff station: "DISPATCH!! COME IN!! DISPATCH!... JONES!!" He kept shouting those same words over and over, in hopes of hearing words at the other end of the line, but in response all he got was the sound of static. Fisher slowly pushed her chair with her legs as she got up, her interest in that conversation peaked, but she wasn''t the only one to do so, her colleague as well as every living soul under that roof stopped whatever they were doing and looked up. The dispatcher repeated himself a few more times, eyes were wide open, he tried to keep his composure but the cold sweat on his face and the twitch on his forehead gave him away. There was still not response, it seemed one of the dispatches had run into serious problems, they could no longer communicate with their colleagues. Fisher came close and asked for details, "Gordon? What is the situation?" "It''s Bince and Sanders... we lost contact..." "Where are they?" "Multiple reports of bizarre sightings, they went to check," he said. "Bizarre sightings? Where?" she pressed. "Reports of weird looking creatures heading in direction of Eichen," "Eichen house? I thought it was deserted. And why would they go without back up?" Gordon didn''t say anything, but the deputy standing near, the one Fisher was talking to, started to think out loud, " If the reports were about the same creatures from the attacks earlier tonight... then they are in serious trouble..." The young woman stood still for a moment she didn''t move a muscle, focused on her thoughts, she didn''t want to waste any amount of energy unnecessarily and disturb her brain processing everything. " They are gonna need back up, more than one dispatch, the sheriff is off to the hospital and Parrish is off duty right now, so... wanna partner up?" she asked the deputy standing nearby. "Sure, we shouldn''t go alone though," "Wilson and Gibbs? they''re not on patrol right now," And so, the two police cars set off towards Eichen house, wary but completely unknowing what awaits them there. Visionary " Perigee-syzygy," The inhuman robotic sounding voice pervaded the space once again, that same dull, white empty space surrounded Lydia as she stood still, bare feet in a hospital gown. She was back to the vast nothing-land she saw in her first dream at the beginning of the night. <> she thought. "Technically a dream," Lydia immediately swirled around her heels to finally meet the eyes of the speaker, " Maylee?" Both banshees were facing each other, both wearing identical hospital gowns. "I am guessing the hellhound found you? ..." Lydia asked again, though this time she got her answer. "He did, I am safe... for now..." " We''re not wearing those god-awful dresses anymore... I suppose we both are at the hospital...?" Maylee raised her left eyebrow and pulled a side smirk, a natural reaction to Lydia''s reasoning, "You pick up quite fast, that''s nice to see, when I was your age, my thoughts were all over the place..." "My... age? What is that supposed to mean?" muttered Lydia loud enough for Maylee to hear, at that moment she found that statement about the banshee''s age more suspect than any other strange happening around them. "You''ll understand that soon enough," "And what should I understand now?" interjected Lydia. "Now? You need to look around yourself, what do you see?" The strawberry blond woman did as advised, but round and round everywhere she laid eyes, nothing was there to be seen, "What am I looking for exactly? Because honestly... I can''t see the point of this exercise... if there is one in the first place..." "Patience Lydia! It will come to you, but you need to be calm, even in desperate moments, even when everyone around has fallen to their knees. YOU! Need to stand and focus..." her words were true, Lydia was getting impatient, growing restless, losing control over her breathing, she was indeed wasting her energy away on what wasn''t needed Although, upon hearing Maylee''s words, she didn''t doubt their truth, she admitted to herself that she was faltering and there was no time for that. " Don''t think about it too much, just let your arms rest each on their respective sides, close your eyes, take a deep breath and stay calm," Lydia was following Maylee''s guidelines as she was uttering them, by the time she finished speaking Lydia was already in a calmer state, she remained that way for what felt like a minute. Her eyes then opened wide when she felt a light breeze across her face and through her hair. "You felt it, didn''t you?" Maylee asked with a smile on her face. The young woman facing her just nodded her head ever so slightly in response. She wasn''t sure what it was, nor did she understand why it was a good thing, but she didn''t get any time to ask or even think about it. Her mouth ajar, her eyebrows pushed more and more together as she gradually frowned at the sight. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "What is it? What do you see?" Lydia closed then opened her mouth and when no words came out, Maylee simply followed the woman''s gaze towards...her own shoulder. A black widow seemed to have climbed on Maylee''s back and decided to repose on her left shoulder, though she saw it crawling about near her face, she remained unfazed and serene as if it was... supposed to happen. "Wh... What is happening?" "Nothing that shouldn''t happen... " asserted Maylee as she looked back at Lydia, she then brought her stare down to the ground. Lydia''s eyes followed, " WHAT!!" she gasped in but not only surprise, she began to hyperventilate when she saw an army of black widows just crawling past her. "Stay calm! You''re safe, so focus on your breathing!" And safe she was, at least from the spiders which were ignoring her, in fact it seemed as though they had a purpose, they were all heading towards one and only direction, they were crawling towards... " Wait what?!" " Relax, it''s just a transition," Maylee''s voice could be heard again, the transition she ment was that of space, they were no longer standing in the middle of nowhere, they were in... a basement, a notorious basement amongst the pack, Lydia recognized it almost immediately by the giant gash in one of the walls, it was... the dread doctors'' one. The number of spiders grew exponentially as their numbers covered the entirety of the floor, all appeared to converge towards one random spot in the cellar. The young woman was attempting to determine the importance of said spot, what could be so special about it? When and out of the blue a loud cracking sound ensued from a wall nearby. Lydia''s attention then shifted to the walls that kept cracking up from every side, so much so that the place began to tremble. At some point the fissuring infected the ground as well, a part of that perplexed Lydia however, all the breakings and cracklings met in a center on a specific spot, different from that of the spiders. Parts of the wall were blown away with a loud bang as water burst through them, soon enough water was spilling from every split and fracture, more bits of the basement exploded for more liquid to penetrate the chamber, even though the pressure was high, the water moved in an unnatural way, despite all the commotion, it was clear a third center was forming only this time it was for the aqua. "What THE hell is all of this?" "Glimpses of the past," "Well can I freak out now?" "You''re not up yet... So, I''d say it''s not over yet," it certainly wasn''t over, as soon as Maylee stopped talking, a third voice blasted through, it was another woman, "You''re just like me Lydia... look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it!" The first words she spoke sounded like they were coming from a human being, the last ones of her sentence however were demonically distorted and reverberated so loud, that it got too painful for Lydia to listen to it without covering her ears and shutting her eyes tight. All of a sudden, everything went dead quiet, all she could see when she opened her eyes again was a boring white ceiling and a boring old hospital light. She was lying down on a bed, alone, wearing a hospital gown, she''d finally woken out of that vision. Lydia slowly got up to her feet and walked out of the room, the hallway was calm and empty, though she could still hear voices conversing softly. "Lydia?" She turned around to see a confused Scott standing a few feet behind her. "We need to talk to her as soon as possible," "Who do you mean?" Scott didn''t get the hang of who she ment immediately, until he deciphered her facial expression, the one she usually gives when she means'' You know exactly what I am talking about''. "Ow... her! This way... How did you even know she was here anyway?" She didn''t say anything, she just followed him to the door he guided her to. When he opened it, the two friends took a moment and stood perfectly still, what they saw wasn''t shocking or horrifying, it was just... unexpected. Maylee was already awake, sitting up, she seemed to be waiting for their arrival, when she saw them, she drew a short breath and spoke up, "There you are! I was worried you''d make me wait," The awoken hound Three loud enough but still gentle knocks came to Chris Argent''s ears. The door creaked a few inches open to let young deputy Parrish peek through. "Can I come in?" he asked. "Sure," Parrish did so, he then carefully closed the door behind him and slowly advanced inside the room. He dragged a chair near the bed and proceeded to sit, in silence for a short moment, "I don''t really know where to begin, I just thought I should talk to someone about it," he stated when he felt Chris''s gaze weighing on him. "What about?" Although, Parrish shifted his attention towards the woman lying on the bed, "Is this the woman you found at the scene?" "Yeah, but she was still alive, unlike the rest of the people there, she said her son was taken," " They were all human?" "That we know, what we don''t know is what did it," The deputy frowned and thought back to the conversation he had with Brayden and Scott, "There is a possibility the same creatures that attacked Scott, did this as well," "That remains a possibility for now, unless... you know or feel something that we...the rest of us can''t know," speaking of knowing and feeling things, that last suggestion from Argent seemed like a good segway to the subject Parrish was really meaning to talk about. " I don''t know, I haven''t really used that side of me that much before tonight," he confessed. "When you found the banshee?" Parrish replied to Chris''s question with a simple nod. "How did you trigger it?" Argent asked again. " I thought about Lydia, every time I had a vision, she was there..." "Makes sense, hellhounds and banshees are connected," " I already know that; I just seem to struggle more to trigger my ... Harbinger of death side... Compared to Lydia for example," "You both hold the title of harbinger of death sure... But you are both inherently different," Chris marked a short pause before continuing, "Lydia''s only ability is to access the supernatural, which manifests through her hearing being tuned to a different level of that from others, and it runs in the family," "Like it was for Loraine Martin?" "Yeah, they just access what can''t be heard or seen by regular people, which is why they are not supernatural, unlike werewolves, kitsunes or wendigos who can''t go through or touch mountain ash, banshees can," According to what Scott and the others told him, he, as a hellhound also had the ability to go through mountain ash barriers, the main difference however, is that he burns them, unlike Lydia who just passes through without any noticeable interaction. One thing boggled his mind though, Argent said that Lydia had only one ability. " You said Lydia had only one ability? I mean I know she can predict death but what about her ability to scream or have visions and her dreams?" " I was getting to that part, her visions come from the things she hears, from the voices that speak to her... to warn her, and the power of her scream doesn''t really come from her, it comes from every dying scream she can hear," The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. " Is that why her scream was so powerful back at Eichen, when Valak drilled a hole in her head?" " Exactly, she could access and hear every dying scream and it was just unbearable," Chris had finished explaining the origins of Lydia''s powers. Jordan just sat there looking attentive and marveled at how awful it must be for her, to hear and feel the pain of so many people, when he himself struggled to handle his own. He snapped back out of his thoughts when Argent added, " Your power on the other hand doesn''t really come from you, it comes from a spirit that inhabited your body at the moment of your death, a spirit that works for Odin''s hunt. Your or its, primary task is to protect the supernatural from whatever your instructed," " So... I take orders from the wild hunt?" " Think about it, you didn''t use your powers against the nogitsune or against Kate Argent and her berserkers, your powers only activated when your car was set on fire by your colleague, But! You took the chimeras and fought the beast, what do you think is the difference?" " I was sent to fight the beast... Because the only other person who could stop him was a banshee but even then... She needed to know its true identity," " Yes, nobody else was strong enough, not even a true Alpha...That''s why we had to freeze you almost to death...We needed to put you in contact with the spirit, to get you on the same page, it''s much easier to gain control upon its powers when you know each other, or so to speak," " So, while Lydia accesses the supernatural through herself, I have to jump through a few hoops to get there..." Parrish finally concluded. Putting words in their places the way Argent did, felt like finally sipping water after wandering for days under the sun in a dry desert, which may sound like an exaggeration to anyone other than Parrish, but then again nobody else was walking in his shoes. That conversation cleared the fog in his mind, it shut down some of the voices standing in his way. He stood up, thanked Chris for his helping hand and left the hospital. Once comfortable in his car seat he gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared at his reflection in the rearview mirror. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, if there could ever be a moment for him to pitch in and actually make a difference, beyond vaguely patrolling around the town, if there could ever be a moment for that, then there was his shot. His breathing grew increasingly faster and louder as he hoped against all hope, to make some kind of connection, sense an energy or catch a sound, a voice...Contact, he desperately needed and tried to make contact with the spirit of the hellhound without losing control over his own body to it. Alas, when nothing came of it, Parrish just sighed and reopened his eyes to face the cold hard reality and... He froze, a shiver ran down his spine when it dawned on him that the colors and the atmosphere around him had changed, he was... No longer alone in the car. He could see someone from the corner of his eye, someone stiffly sitting beside him in the passenger seat... Someone wearing a deputy''s uniform. Parrish so very slowly and shakily turned towards the sight; the moment he laid eyes on it he lost every bit of determination he''d mustered to wish for a vision as a way to contribute to the fight somehow. It was not an "it" but a "he", his colleague Wilson sat beside him, as pale as dead, his gaping eyes were surrounded by huge black circle bags, in a way that would seem excessive even for a panda. But the most horrific thing about his look was the thin line dressed across his throat, clear for a strangulation mark. Right underneath that mark, another one lied, only this time it didn''t appear as a thin line but a large one, it was a gushing wound with blood oozing from it. His throat had been slit open. Jordan''s eyes were directly facing Wilson, so he''d stopped moving his head, though he couldn''t quit the shiver, since... The nightmare wasn''t yet over. Once again, from the corner of his eyes he''d captured another disturbing image, this time on the back seat of the car. Deputy Gibbs''s physical state wasn''t any better from Wilson''s: Identical dead stare, crusty cracking pale skin and more importantly the same slit throat and strangulation mark. What bothered Parrish the most about them was the lack of life emanating from them, almost as if those bodies were just carcasses drained of their souls. The deafening silence of the moment didn''t ease Jordan''s anxiety, but he kept still in anticipation. Then, as if on cue, both bodies cracked their mouths open in a grotesquely fast movement, but no ordinary voices came of them, no words, only... Radio static which kept getting increasingly louder with time running by until he heard it, the echoey voice uttering those words: "Eichen! to Eichen! Eichen house! ..." He listened to it play on repeat, getting further and more echoey by each second that passed ''til the loop was finally broken, the silence, the natural colors of the night and the temperature went back up to normal. Parrish stopped shivering when he opened his eyes to see his reflection staring back at him in the rearview mirror, his irises were glowing a fiery orange. He was sitting in the same position right before the vision, clutching the steering wheel with both hands. He immediately knew what he had to do, he started the car and booked it towards Eichen house. The serpent and the flower " There you are! I was worried you''d make me wait," Derek wondered whom, might that unfamiliar feminine voice belong to, it sounded muffled and quite distant to his ears. But questions such as: Who was speaking? And what were they talking about? quickly turned to: Where am I? And: What happened to me? Once he successfully managed to push past the heaviness of his eyelids that is. The lights were harsh on his pupils at first, but were gradually accepted, to allow the sight of a plain white ceiling. Only a few seconds were enough for the man to comprehend he was in a hospital room after that, and memories of the reasons that brought him there started flooding his finally conscious mind. "You''re Maylee?... The banshee..." now that voice on the other hand sounded very familiar, it was Lydia''s. He snapped his attention back towards the conversation he was originally listening in on, which he realized was happening in the room right next to his own. "I think you have more pressing questions to ask me Lydia," There was an awkward silent gap which, wouldn''t have felt nearly as long for anyone else as it did to Derek, he... By nature, wasn''t a patient man to begin with so he wasn''t ready to welcome any additional suspense, not in times like these anyways. Fortunately, his friend''s voice came to ease his nerves when she spoke up once more, "The vision, the one we just had...It means people died there..." the young woman half asked half stated her last line, she sounded very unsure of her words or even what order she should mouth them in. "People die everyday dear, and we don''t have time to beat around the bushes so be more precise, how many did you see?" such a cutthroat response coming from such a sweet and calming voice, moreover, something in her speech sparked some questions in Derek''s mind, a bother about her choice of words that he couldn''t pinpoint the origin of quite yet. "Three people," stated Lydia. "Three? Alright, why three?" "The spiders, the flood and the earthquakes, they intersect in one unique point each," "Great, what do they each represent?" "A phobia," "Yes, each of those phobias belonged to someone that has died there, but many people died in that place, so why are these three special?" quizzed Maylee "Well, these three are directly connected to our current situation," The quick to the point t¨ºte-¨¤-t¨ºte between the two banshees had been flowing forward for sometime, both evidently too immersed to note the palpable tension in the room, too focused on each other to even consider the third presence standing among them. Scott lost the north somewhere in the middle of that conversation, so he chose to remain on the sideline, perfectly fading into the background, so much so that his eavesdropping friend didn''t pay any attention to his heartbeat, the third one in that room beside the two women, although that only lasted until the true alpha finally spoke his mind, " So you had a vision about three people that died recently, and the cause of their death is at the very least connected to what we are dealing with now, what about the location then?" The wait for an answer wasn''t very long," The dread doctor''s basements," Maylee replied. " Right, ... You''re the gardian angel! You''re the one who told Braden to save us and... that I have to go with her to that basement?" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. " For the most part yes, I am, but that''s another story for another time. Now, about that cause of death, what can you tell me about it, Lydia?" " What do you mean?" Lydia spoke again. " Well, you mentioned the phobias, what else did you see? We both know you saw more than that, I was there too" " Well, if you saw it too, why does it have to come out of my mouth, can''t you just say what you saw?" " I saw a strange and intimidating woman, a woman that uttered words dedicated to you and only you, that was your vision Lydia I was only intruding, a spectator if you like and thus those words are unfamiliar tome but in no way are they to you. So... I''ll ask again...What did you see?" Maylee explained. "I saw!... I... Saw..." If the tension was palpable before, it definitely escalated past that point, getting unbearable by the second, with both banshees growing impatiente, their voices progressively but surely raising, Maylee on one hand fed up with Lydia who kept dancing around the fire and Lydia on the other one clearly frustrated from the fact that she was being hounded with questions at such intensity. But what was frustrating her the most, was the realization that she did need the push, because unlike the idea Parrish had formed about her, she knew she wasn''t as confident in her abilities as much as he thought she''d be. The fire was there, she needed only to reach for it but mostly, she needed someone to help her get over the fear of doing so. Dead silence fell all of the sudden, after she''d pronounced those last words. Her mouth agape, eyes widening, she just froze in place as a dawning realization creeped in on her. A glimpse of a foreign visage uttering very non foreign words. How could she have forgotten that part? By far the most important piece of the vision, " Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it..." she whispered those words just loud enough to be intelligible for Scott and Derek''s ears, although neither of them understood the meaning nor the weight of that statement, they could only presume it was important seeing the shaken state of their friend. People often prefer to hear major revelations about their own identities from a caring friend, or at the very least from someone serving them as a guide, but assuredly not from someone that qualifies as a foe. Unlucky Lydia, had to face the latter option, not that it was much of an << option >>. The very first person to identify which supernatural creature she was and to label her as such, was ironically, also trying to end her life at the very same time. " Jennifer Blake..." Murmured Lydia. " What? Why... are you bringing her up? " " Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it... Jennifer Blake was the one who said these words to me... When she found out I was a banshee, " Lydia said more to herself than to Scott. Scott still couldn''t comprehend why she was bringing Jennifer''s words up, surely it couldn''t be because she saw her in the vision? Or could it? " Jennifer Blake was the druid that went sour after a member of the alpha pack tried to kill her, wasn''t she? " Maylee''s interjection had drawn both of their attention upon herself. But it did get Scott by surprise," You know about the alpha pack? " " Well of course! Every supernatural creature that lived for more than three decades knows about them, " " But she had a different face in the vision..." Lydia said in a hushed voice again. " With enough power a druid can make you see whatever they want, from your wildest dreams to your deepest fears, not that complicated really," the other banshee clarified. The implication of those words landed a tremendous blow to Lydia and Scott who, could use the shake out of their stupor. But their shock was nothing compared to that of Derek, he laid there expressionlessly staring at the white ceiling above but seeing nothing other than her face: Jennifer Blake or...By her real name Julia Baccari. She had done quite the number on him, and everyone he ever cared about at the time. Him, who had truly fallen deep into the clutches of her love. The countless innocent lives she took in order to exercise her revenge could never be paid forward, she lost sight to the rage that occupied her heart, too blind to grasp how high the price to pay for bringing down the one who victimized her and left her for dead. The last time Derke''d seen her; she was bleeding oceans from her slashed throat. But wasn''t she dead? everyone had assumed so when nobody had heard anything about her. Was she back? And if yes, then why? Another revenge? She was a true monster in a category of her own. Monroe and the hunters, the scorpion men that attacked them and now Jennifer Blake? which way should they turn their heads? " I believe you have quite the heavy history with that one," Maylee''s words called Scott back to reality. " I really thought she was dead..." " Scott, I''ve seen people rise from death before my eyes, remember? I don''t think anything can surprise me anymore," A knock on the door made the two friends jolt out of their states, Braden''s face slowly peeking through, " Scott? It''s time for us to go?" " Right now? Can''t wait a while?" The answer quickly came to him, but not from the person he was asking, " Absolutely not! Any delays in the schedule can result in a disaster," " Wait... You''re ... The gardian angel?" Braden asked. " For the most part, now off you go unless you want to die horrible deaths!" Maylee responded nonchalantly. Friends and beloved family Scott had long since left the hospital after Maylee''s warning, in hopes of saving himself and everyone''s life, something to do with not wanting to die horrible deaths she said. " She''s... still alive..." Scott was gone, along with Braden but the two banshees remained where they sat, there was still a lot to unravel, and judging by their most recent discovery, they weren''t any close to see the end of their pain. " So... Jennifer Blake was your enemy a few years back, from what I am understanding, " " Well, she didn''t come after us per say but... We sorta were in her way so... " said Lydia as she fiddled with her fingers, but she quickly added, " Her real name is Julia Beccari, she was Kali''s emissary, but we all know how that part ended," " It''d be wise to assume that she''s been in town for a good while already, " the confusion in Lydia''s eyes coaxed Maylee to speak further of her thoughts, " She disappears for years, and now, all of the sudden she pops up in your vision, somehow in the location connected to the people I came to warn you about and right on time at that... Do you see where I am going with this Lydia? " " The threat that brought you here... and Jennifer are somehow connected... What about the rabid scorpion men you saved us from? Were they also conveyed to this party?" " If I can guarantee you one thing in this whole story, it''s that for sure, " and there it was, the verbal confirmation she was so reluctant to hear, a few seconds were all she could afford to recover from the initial shock of hearing those words from somebody else''s voice, one that wasn''t in her own head at least. For three years they ran around and about to find the next victim to save, seeking to accomplish the impossible: A world without the legacy of Gerrard Argent. A world where they didn''t have to feel guilty for every moment of calmness and peace, every brief chance at rest they managed to steal away from their busy schedule. Yes, they could do with a world like that. " The last time she came to Beacon Hills, she came with a new face as Jennifer Blake but for that, she performed many sacrifices to obtain the power to do so..." she dozed off for seconds that allowed her thoughts to linger on what she was actually saying, a conclusion started to form in her mind, she continued when Maylee nudged her to elaborate, " We all came back to Beacon Hills tonight... a bus full of supernatural creatures, I mean sure we were after Monroe but it still counts I guess..." " What counts?" " Every sacrifice she made gave the nematon its powers back and with that, it recovered its original fonction as a beacon... for supernaturals, once the nematon had enough power... it pulled supernatural creatures towards it, like the sun and its planets," " Of course... You show up, I arrive, the scorpion men come out of the woodworks... All that happens in one night, none of it is a coincidence," confirmed Maylee once again. " No, she''s been flying under the radars, working her charms, we know she already got her new face and...supernaturals are flooding into town, which only means she killed enough people to give that much power to the nematon," This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. " Which means they are here," " Who are they?" questioned Lydia. "Well, my beloved family of course," **** " Liam?" Mason announced himself as soon as he stepped through the door of the room. A pair of ocean blue eyes greeted him, his friend''s impartial expression remolded in order to cast one of the most radiant and welcoming smiles he''d ever seen him show. Sure thing, Mason preferred to meet his friend under different and a tad more joyful circumstances, but after so long without seeing him, without hearing his voice, he''d missed their shenanigans together so much, enough for him to simply set complaining aside. " So, are you gonna give me that hug or... you''re just gonna stand there?" exclaimed Liam as he widely stretched his arms left to right. Snatched out of his rumination, Mason immediately dashed forward wearing the warmest of beams on his face without asking the rest of it. " Missed me that much?" the letters in Liam''s words were mispronounced as they were muffled in Mason''s embrace. " Yeah... I guess I have..." he retorted sarcastically, bemused by his friend''s teasing tone. He broke the hug shortly after, somewhat in an abrupt way, which made Liam look at him questioningly, although Mason seemed to have queries of his own," You''re not agonizing!" The confused and astonished tone in which he exclaimed that last sentence, pricked the attention of the werewolf even more, " Um... Yes, I thought that was a good thing but... maybe I was wrong?" " No! I didn''t mean it like that, it''s just... Theo... He''s been attacked a while before you guys'' and... He doesn''t seem to recover... Not as much as you did..." " He was attacked by the same creatures?" " Most likely, he was with Peter but neither of them got a good look at it," " So... he''s not healing?" " Well, the humans that were attacked by that creature didn''t survive so... He''s one step above that at least..." " Maybe it''s because he''s a chimera..." Liam was thinking back to the time Brett was injured by a chimera that had scorpion venom, Corey was also hurt by the same chimera, however it took Brett far less time to recover than it did Corey and far less agony. Hayden also had a harder time healing from graver injuries as a chimera before she was bitten. " Hey Liam!" Corey''s voice made both young men glance towards the door, he walked straight to Liam and hugged him briefly before ending it. " Long time no see Corey!" " I would ask how have the years treated you but as we all know this type of question is useless among us. So, what were you guys talking about? " " About Theo and the differences in healing capacities between chimeras and supernaturals," answered Mason. Liam pulled the top of his hospital gown to reveal his chest," It hasn''t completely healed yet but it''s nowhere near the disaster on Theo''s chest," " It definitely isn''t," agreed Corey. " It definitely looks like you''re not gonna die," Peter stood at the door looking as unbothered as his usual. " Glad to see you too Peter... And Malia is in the next room..." " I know that... I am a werewolf too Liam..." Liam felt a slight pinch in the guts, guilty of assuming Peter only stopped by to ask for Malia''s whereabouts. Not judging him by his past actions was no easy task, the pack had gotten used to him being stone cold and self-serving, and thus disregarding his caring or affectionate actions or mistaking them for manipulation tactics and scheming. " Right!... I should go see my daughter before she gets creative with the ways she''d like to torture me in," he broke the awkward silence and exited the room, leaving the three young men behind before any of the could say anything. " Did... Peter just come by to check on me?" " I believe he did," Both friends uttered the last sentences very slowly, they squinted their eyes as they approached the subject with suspicion, acting as though it was such an unbelievable thing to happen. But then again, they couldn''t be blamed, it was pretty uncommon and as Peter himself used to say, - "We''re all works in progress "- The apprentice Malia was sitting on the side of her hospital bed, already getting into the attire that Melissa had brought for her. The coyote was never one to squander time, never one to hesitate, always ready to jump face first into action, in the area of impatience, boldness and shear courage, she had much in common with her cousin Derek. " Are you actually gonna say something? Or you''re just gonna stand there like a creep?" she said halfway turning to look towards the figure standing at the door since, she was facing the opposite way. " Wow! What a hurtful thing to hear and from my own daughter at that! " Peter said sarcastically, his arms crossed over his chest. " Well, three years apart doesn''t really work well in favor of a father daughter bond so..." He could swear he felt a small nip in his heart as he took the last sentence in, he then did his best to put his usual neutral facial expression back on, as he used his leg to push himself off the doorframe, " Where are you going? " " Melissa informed me that Scott left with Braden to see whatever the hell we''re supposed to see in the basement of doom so, I am going to help," she stated, zooming past Peter to exit the room. " Well, Melissa informed me that Lydia is talking to another Banshee who apparently has all the answers and guess what? She''s only a few walls away, so don''t you think we should start from there?" both the emphasis he put on the word ''me'' and his tone, gave away his irritation and discord on the matter, his daughter on the other hand, didn''t seem to be fazed by it, not one bit. She kept on walking away from him without the slightest hesitation, " MALIA!" he yelped out, which made her stop in her tracks, realizing that she couldn''t keep on ignoring him, to her dissatisfaction, she swiftly twirled around, her demeanor displayed a combination of confusion, angst and anger or something in between. " What?" she spat. " Look, I don''t mind your ''punch first ask questions later'' attitude and frankly, it is one of the things I am proud of you for, but don''t you think that maybe, just maybe this is exactly the situation where you could use some time to seriously think before any action?" " No offense, but if I could afford the luxury of actually stopping to think, I have a list of people that I''d rather do that with and... you''re not really at the top of said list," If anyone had told Peter five years ago that somebody''s words would inflict that much emotional damage to him, he''d have called them crazy, then again, she wasn''t just a somebody...She strode off leaving him behind, in the rising dust of his own ponderings. Both him and her mother were ready to get their hands dirty but neither of them was rash. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He followed on her steps shortly after, still wondering what he did in his lifetime to deserve that, though his past actions flashed quickly before his eyes to remind him that, he''d done fairly enough to deserve exactly that and maybe even worse than that. **** " The beast of Gevaudan drew his last breath in 1767 at the hands of the first hunter from the Argent clan. The memories of him were best to be erased as you know. But his closest friend wasn''t ready to let go quite yet, he successfully managed to combine his medical knowledge with the supernatural in hopes of resurrecting the monster. He was named the sergeon, in his first fifty years of research he crossed paths with two other like-minded people: a man who will be known as the pathologist and a woman who will be known as the geneticist," Maylee was trying to count the story in the right order of events, so that she can elaborate on what she ment by '' my beloved family''. Lydia was all ears, sitting straight, barely even blinking, fully immersed fearful of missing any detail, " The three of them together formed what you know them as, ''The dread doctors''. After only a few decades, they understood that they had something else to worry about beside their initial quest, their mortality was beginning to pose an issue. Nevertheless, they started moving around the world until, they met him," "Him?" " My father, ... In 1827, France, a very ambitious man who supported their ideals and was fond of their determination, that is how he became known as the apprentice. It merely took ten years in their company for them to inculcate in him the knowledge they''d built up over the years. He caught up fast, so fast that he grew goals and ideas of his own," " He wanted to leave them? " " Yes, he eventually broke out of the group in 1840, he realized that he was in no way interested in wasting his years trying to resurrect one creature, one that he barely even cared about. He wanted power of his own, he wanted control and he had already scripted the perfect strategy... Build his own army...Of pons," Lydia caught a heave of grief in Maylee''s voice as she uttered those last words, she... Could only deduce who she ment by pons. " Unlike the dread doctors who struggled to complete the chimera process, the apprentice, had single-handedly figured out a way to create even spiritual supernaturals, such as kitsunes..." " What? But I thought Kitsunes were people who shared their bodies with a fox spirit..." " Well, you were not wrong, yet... Here I am attesting of the possibility to create your own from scratch," she declared sarcastically forcing a smile on her face. " What about hellhounds?" asked Lydia, fighting against her fear of the answer she was about to get. " As of now, I can''t be sure of that but... I can say that he found a way to control them," " Which also means that... He found a way to kill ghost riders?" " If that surprises you, wait until you find out which creature got to be his first foot soldier," " A banshee?" " Dead center!" " Wait!... You said that he''s your father, does that mean... You were his first soldier?" Lydia asked in shock. " Not quite, but I was his first creation," Maylee kept dropping bombshell after bombshell with no breaks, Lydia wondered how much more could she take in before her mind gave up on her. " So... He created you? A banshee...?" " Yes, I was the first, since then he created hundreds more of different creatures," " Hundreds?... But then... How old are...you?" This young woman opened her mouth to answer a simple question of age, yet what came out of it was nothing less than astounding, " Around a 156," Devine shadow " Everyone has it, but no one can lose it," Odd it was, hearing that voice again, it took stiles a lot of time and efforts to chase it out of his nightmares after all. He never really managed to forget it, how could he? The creature that kept uttering those words took a huge chunk of his and his friends'' souls, it took a very dear friend from them, the wound it inflicted upon them was forever lasting. " Everyone has it, but no one can lose it," it said again. And this time, Stiles had to fight harder to open his eyes, he had to see where it was coming from, had to see if it was real. A suffocating blue hue assaulted his eyes, a sensation of daze invaded his mind, he didn''t feel like the master of his own movements and getting off that hospital bed was a hassle. Then came time for him to wonder where he was... It sure looked like a hospital room except... No part of it felt right, not even the smell, though the biggest hint was the fact that he was completely alone, nobody with him in that space, nobody in the hallways, neither family nor friends, same went for staff. No sign or sound of life besides his, if that disturbing silence could have a voice, it would be what Stiles was experiencing right there. " Everyone has it, but no one can lose it, what is it?" Was it a dream? It certainly fit the criteria of one, but something told him he shouldn''t count much on that to stay safe. Was he stuck inside one? happened before, but what was the purpose of this one? " Everyone has it, but no one can lose it, what is it?" The high volume hurt his ears this time around, he couldn''t just ignore the incoming query, the walk through that long and empty corridor felt more painful after the whispers chimed in. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. " Think that you can run away from me Stiles?" There were a few seconds break before the voice spoke again, " Did you miss me, Stiles? " Stiles had forgotten whether he was walking or running, his legs no longer withstanding the weight of the pure panic that coursed through his vains. " We... will destroy all of them Stiles," it growled. " No, no, no... this...this can''t be happening..." Stiles whispered to himself. " Poor you...Still as hopeless as you used to be, look at you, trying to run away from me... like a little rat," One single door offered itself to the young man at the end of that narrow route he took. He pushed through it with not much caution of what could be lurking behind it. First came relief when he saw a very familiar silhouette, the man that raised him was standing right there in the middle of the room, in his sheriff''s uniform. That feeling very quickly washed away however, in front of the lack of response his father was demonstrating. What was he so focused on that he couldn''t even pick up on his own son''s voice? what put him in such a trance? Stiles really needed to see it with his own eyes, so instead of walking straight towards him, he decided that he would just very slowly step in a circle around him. He had to hold that thought for a while, to deal with whatever was coming in behind him. The sound of that door disturbed the ambient silence. Stiles just froze in place, awaiting...and awaiting...Until... " I came back just for you Stiles..." This time there was no doubt to have about it... It was there, this time he felt it''s breath on his neck. " So... Everyone has it but no one can lose it, what is it, Stiles?" This time, it wasn''t growling its words at him, it wasn''t painful to listen to, it was just loud enough for him to hear. The shivering was too strong for him to control, with much effort he managed to slowly turn around, and when he came face to face with it, he finally uttered, " A shadow," " Exactly Stiles, you couldn''t get rid of your shadow even if you tried...Right?" The creature stopped for a moment then carried on, " So why are you trying to get rid of me...?" " You''re...Really back...This isn''t a dream...?" " I am a bit disappointed in you Stiles... When has anything been nothing more than a dream for the likes of you?" " H... How?" "You pulled your devine move, remember? Now I am simply pulling mine and...Would you believe it? I came back right on time for mischief night!" Arrivals It had been a while since somebody stood at the lookout point to gaze upon Beacon Hills. That spot offered a magnificent and global view of the town to whomever seized the chance to... Well, view it. The perfect place to impress a date by all means, a curious balance between light and darkness had established itself there, the fresh air captured the essence of all the forest dwellers indiscriminately, after all, the stars and the moon allowed their shine to fall upon the lot of them regardless. Scott knew well to take advantage of that little arcadia, his first love, Allison Argent loved it as well. After her passing, he still did go there, sometimes on his own, sometimes with his friends, either to recollect or rest his nerves. But standing at that emotion filled spot right then, was a couple that nobody could anticipate. The line between life and death had been blurred a time ago, the equilibrium of nature upset, these two individuals were tragically ripped out of existence, but by a mysterious mean were put right in the middle of it, for them to pick back up right where they left it at. "Did you miss the town?" said the man to his partner. "Not a bit, not the place, not the people... or creatures..." was her reply. "We made so many mistakes, I am not sure if we..." he started. "We did, and we paid the price, we died, remember?" she quickly cut him off. "Yeah, we''re finally getting a second chance at life, I just... don''t wanna walk on the same steps," "I am not saying I disagree with you; I am saying I am not sure we have a choice," she said. " Kali... Remember when each of us had their own pack?" "I definitely remember killing them to join ...How did he call it again? The perfect pack...But I also remember that I did it to be with you Anas," "You''re still not sure we deserve a second chance?" he asked. "I would definitely think so if we could bring all of them back, so that they could share this chance... You know... Our original packs," "I know, though I am not sure the first thing they''ll do would be to thank us, when they see us..." "Can you really blame them Anas? We didn''t even burry them...Our own people!" This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Well, whatever it be, we''re here now... We''ll see what the future holds," **** " Scott? What are you doing?" Braden walked up to Scott who, was just standing in the middle of what seemed to be a spacious dining room, an old, dusty and unkept one. He was facing a large beautifully designed fireplace. " I''m just looking around... This place just... has a strange vibe," " I know, this entire house reeks of it..." she replied. " I''ve never been here before, Theo was the one that came to rescue Liam and Hayden when they were taken by the dread doctors," " Rescue?" " You know what I mean..." Braden''s rhetorical question about ''the rescuing'' Scott had mentioned was in its right place, since at the time, Theo Raken wasn''t really what one could call a friend, and he definitely wasn''t there to rescue anybody. " So where did it all happen?" " The basement, and apparently that''s where Lydia and Maylee want us to go," he said. " What do you think about her by the way?" asked Braden as they started moving towards the basement. " Maylee?" he carried on once he concluded that her body language was enough of an answer, " I don''t know what to think just yet, everything sorta fell on our heads in one night," " Please... When have you ever had time to prepare for a tragedy?" " Fair enough," he chuckled lightly before that reply. " I guess we''ll just have to keep going, hoping she...wait...!" he suddenly paused stopping Braden in her tracks right behind him. At that point they were in front of a closed door. "What is it?" His lack of words irked her a bit, but she opted not to insist when she discerned the confusion pinned on his demeanor. He appeared to contemplate for the answer within himself, though he also seemed to come short of one. " Monroe...it''s Monroe..." " She''s here?" the woman raised her weapon and put her garde up, not that it was down to begin with. By then, they were both on high alerte, their bodies kept getting more and more tense, their throats drier during the moments leading up to him grabbing then twisting the knob. " Something about it is off though..." " What do you mean? Is it Monroe or not?" " Definitely her sent but..." he confirmed. " What? We already know this place reeks of death so no pressure," " Well, I''d like to think that a true Alpha werewolf can catche more than a sent, we''ve been here for a while now, and I haven''t heard anything... no shuffling, no breathe and no heartbeat..." " You''re saying she''s dead?" " I am saying she''s definitely not breathing..." The conversation they started at the top of the stairs, after they opened the door, was then coming to an end. They descended to what looked to be the basement, still very wary of every step they took, mechanically turning from left to right each at their own turn, just to have the other''s back in case. Braden decided to head towards the shelves, a smell then tickling her nostrils, she began to understand what Scott meant a few minutes earlier. The alpha made his way towards the gigantic gap in the wall that seemed to be calling for him. " Braden!" The exploration was short, it seemed they''d found what they came for pretty quickly. Braden sped her pace towards Scott, she did not like how troubled the sound of his voice was when he called her. She was ready to fight, to face the enemy, what she wasn''t ready for however, was whatever she was facing right then. It sure was the enemy, only... Not quite. Monroe, the instigator of a huge wave of violence against any and all supernatural creatures had met her fate. So many years spent running after her tail for eventually...That. Just an empty husk...No breathe, no color and no sign of life. Monroe was... dead and done for. Previously (2) This chapter is the recap for the following chapters [ 12-22] Around 24 hours before Scott and his pack headed back toward Beacon Hills, somewhere in England, Jackson and his fianc¨¦ Ethan entered a forest following a set of instructions they received on their phone, the sender went by the title of "Guardian Angel". The two werewolves were attacked by berserkers but saved right on time by none other than Hayden Romero, who turned out to have the ability to control berserkers, but more on that in the future. She then informed the men that they needed to head to Mexico " La Iglesia", as instructed by the "Guardian Angel". Fast forward to after the attack on the pack, Scott and Braden were discussing the reason she showed up at the scene at the right time, and the reason she knew how to take down those creatures. She explained that she received the instruction to do so from someone named the " Guardian Angel" she noted that the process was the same as for the deadpool, only this time instead of having a list of people to kill, it seemed to be a list of people to protect. She let him know that she was only supposed to be there as back up to Parrish, and that was the reason she was confused when she didn''t see him on site. Speaking of Parrish, he joined the conversation after bringing Maylee into the hospital, he then found Chris Argent who explained what he knew and understood about the powers of hellhounds and banshees. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Meanwhile at the sheriff station, Fisher decided to go check on her colleagues who disappeared after following a lead into Eichen house, as Parrish exited the hospital and as he was seated in his car, he received a premonition of his colleagues'' gruesome deaths at Eichen, so he drove off in that direction. Back at the hospital, Lydia had another very creepy vision, guided by Maylee, after waking up she went out to find her in her room. Maylee then proceeded to tell her why she was there and how much danger they all were in; she also told a bit of the backstory about their new enemy. As Derek eavesdropped on them, they talked about Jennifer Blake coming back from the dead. Stiles, still unconscious was visited by an old demon of the past, he seemed stuck in his nightmare and couldn''t escape the grasp of what sounded like the nogitsun¨¦. How was he back? Nobody could answer that question yet. Jennifer Blake and the nogitsun¨¦ were not the only relics back from the past, Anas and Kali made their appearance at the lookout point that same night, and they seemed very much alive. Scott went out with Braden, following one of the instructions from the "Guardian Angel" where they visited the dread doctor''s basement, only to discover the dead bodies of Monroe and the young men that accompanied her in her trip to Beacon Hills earlier that day. ***** These are the main events that took place in the chapters [ 12 to 22]. More on the guardian angel and Maylee are coming soon, how did Jennifer Blake (dark druid), Anas and Kali comeback to life? who released the nogitsun¨¦ back to nature? I really hope you enjoyed the read until now, hope to see all very soon^^ The four musketeers Watching the grave digger work in the middle of the night, in the Beacon Hills cemetery of all graveyards, pushed some painful memories back to the surface. Oh, how cruel were those days to him! But in spite of his aching heart, his face couldn''t part ways with that radiant and contempt filled smile. He did feel contempt, and the more he thought about it, the higher his satisfaction rose as he watched the hardworking man in action. Simply because he wouldn''t go back to that epoch unless he was being dragged by the hair, he would leave his nails dug into the flour if he had to. Nothing from the long list of hardships he had to go through since, would make him wish he could turn back time for that era of his life. He must have been standing there for quite a long moment, long enough for the man on the machine to feel a pair of gazing eyes on him. He stopped shortly to take a look, but all three hundred sixty degrees around himself, he detected nothing, nobody. So, he just took a deep breath and resumed his work. Little did he know that someone was still watching him, only from a different and unlit corner. " Isaac? " a young sounding voice brought the observer out of his thoughts, The so-called Isaac turned around to look at the seemingly young boy who called out to him. " Hilldon! You managed to stay alive I see," replied Isaac. " Barely, you finally decided to show up!" " Hey! cut me some slack, I needed to lay low so I could heal," " So, they got to you too?" asked Hilldon. " Yeah, I was kinda ambushed before reaching town. Where is Maylee?" " I hope she got where she was supposed to be... We got separated before the hellhound found us," " What about Rosalie?" " Not sure if she''s still alive, a group of hunters attacked us then a bunch of long tails joined the fun, I had to run," replied the boy, he looked like he couldn''t be older than twelve years old, with quite the dark hair color, his big eyes seemed of a lighter brown, the shades couldn''t easily be distinguished in such a poorly lit setting, " Why come here of all places anyway?" " This place plays on my heart strings...I felt nostalgic, nothing to worry about," " Oh so...This is where you became a werewolf?" " Yeah, I was a grave digger just like him," Isaac pointed his chin towards the backhoe in the distance, " Next thing I knew...Was that my life changed forever," This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Not that listening to Isaac tell his life story was unpleasant, far from that idea, but they had bread to chop, and they needed to act fast. Hilldon had to ask more pressing questions, " So the three of us are here, what about our fourth musketeer?" " No clue really, I haven''t been able to contact him since I landed from Europe," " Well, at least we know he''s alive, the messages have been getting to their destinations," " Wait, how did you find me here?" asked Isaac again. " Unlike some people... I am supposed to be here," Isaac leaned on the tree that stood behind him, crossed his arms and displayed an amused expression at his answer, "Would you listen to that...And why might that be?" " I am waiting for some people to join us and... It looks like they''re right on time," Just as Hilldon finished his sentence, a black SUV pulled to the side, the two guys walked towards it as two other young men came out of the vehicle. They seemed a bit confused as to the reason that brought them there, but as soon as their eyes fell on Isaac, their expression immediately switched, they both opened their mouths to say something to him, but he was faster, " Jackson Whittemore and Ethan Stainer! What a surprise! Never thought I''d see you two again," His words reeked with sarcasm, in fact it was so transparent that Ethan called it out," Isaac Lahey...You don''t sound so surprised to see us," " Yeah, yeah, that''s all fascinating but we don''t really have time for that, did you drop Hayden off where you were supposed to?" Hilldon cut their reunion speech short. " Yeah, we were meant to go to Mexico, but we received another one of those messages, it said we needed to drop Hayden somewhere and then go somewhere else. I am assuming you''re this guardian angel?" Asked Jackson. " Partially," interjected Isaac. " What''s with that anyway? And what are we doing here?" Ethan was beginning to lose patience. " We''re here to dig a special grave," said Hilldon nonchalantly. " Ow desecration! That''s all?" joked Jackson. " Hold on, I want to go back to the part where you said you were only partially the guardian Angel," " Is the train going too fast for you Stainer?" " A sunshine to be around as always Lahey, glad to see you haven''t changed," " What Isaac meant to say..." Hilldon shot a murderous look at Isaac before continuing, " Is that we act as a group under the title of Guardian Angel," " How many of you are there?" " We are four," affirmed Isaac. " And... Whose grave are we even supposed to dig?" Jackson seemed afraid to ask that question. " You knew them...You''ll see when we get there," That was all they got from Hilldon as an answer. " I really don''t like the sound of that," protested Ethan. " But what about the grave digger?" " What grave digger?" Isaac whipped his head around to see that the man had already left, they were so absorbed by their conversation that he hadn''t noticed it. " He always leaves at around...Well Four minutes ago," added Hilldon as he checked his watch for the time. " What are we supposed to do with it anyways once we dig it?" Jackson spoke with care as he walked towards the said grave alongside the others, to make sure he didn''t trip. " Where were you on your way to when you got a message again?" " What? We have to take it to Mexico? And who are you? We know Isaac but I''ve never seen you before," " My name is Hilldon," " Ow, I am realy helped with that answer," Ethan''s dissatisfaction was pretty clear. Hilldon came to a halt and the three men closely following behind stopped as well. As soon as their eyes fell on the gravestone, their hearts dropped to their stomachs... Jackson couldn''t hold his exclamation back," No way in the nine rings of hell... !!" Recollection The camera flashes were going off, enlightening the dim basement for spilt seconds at a time. Scott stood at a few feet of distance out of the way, in order not to disturb the forensic team. He couldn''t remove his eyes from the bodies, still and silent, he was able to shut away any and all outside voices and noises, yet he couldn''t quiet down the loud and violent storm his thoughts were at the heart of. Years running after Monroe, only for it to end that way? "Stilinski isn''t coming?" Braden pulled Scott right out of his mental steer. "He''s at the hospital for now, but he''ll be here later," "The bodies?" she was referring to the bodies found in the woods earlier that same night. "That, and... Stiles is still unconscious, despite the doctors saying he should have been up by now," he let out. "concerning..." Braden could almost physically touch his pain, she decided to ask and relieve him of the pressure of his own thoughts, "Penny for your thoughts?" "They''ve been choked using what seemed like a garrote, Their throats have been slashed, and their skulls have definitely been smashed in," as a matter of fact, Monroe''s death already left a bitter taste in his mouth, thinking about her killer and having an idea about their identity however, completely pushed him out of the rails. "Last time this happened it was some sort of druid gone sour?" she questioned. "You can say it like that," "So, we got another vengeful druid on our hands?" "Worse," he stated, then after a few seconds he added, "According to Lydia''s vision it''s definitely a DARAK but... Not a new one," "Thought you left her for dead?" "And Peter said he finished her for good," he confirmed. "Then how ?" "I didn''t get to hear the entire story from the new banshee, I had to come here first," he took a deep breath before carrying on, " All I know, is that she didn''t come alone," by she, Scott was of course talking about Jennifer Blake, the dark druid who plagued their town with a lot of unnecessary deaths a few years back. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Braden let out a low scuff, " Well that''s a given, considering the heart warming welcome you got when you arrived," "The banshee said those were just pawns, that they''re not the ones we should really be concerned with," An odd thought crossed the mercenary''s mind right then, and she decided to share it,"Kate Argent could be one of them, she''s been silent for the past three years," "I wouldn''t put it beneath her, speaking of Argent, I should probably text him about this ordeal," **** "You alright?" asked Chris calmly as soon as the woman regained consciousness. "I am at the hospital?" she asked seemingly confused. "Yes," he answered simply. "What happened?" "We found you in the woods, you were shot by hunters," he marked a short pause to see if she had any reaction to those words, when he didn''t discern any, he continued, "Any reason you were out there in the middle of the night?" "I... Don''t really remember," she fiddled with her fingers while looking down at them. "I see... You saw something else in those woods, didn''t you?" the woman remained silent,"When I brought you in earlier you were asking about you son," she gave him no response their either. He could tell she was hesitant to open up, to her, he was nothing more than a stranger, and he didn''t expect her to trust him, so he decided that the best route was to reassure her first, "Alright, you don''t have to answer any of those questions if you don''t want to, I know you can''t trust me or anything I say, but... I am trying to help, just know that nothing you will say can make you sound insane," A sound emanated from Chris''s phone indicating the reception of a text message, he pulled it out of his pocket to read it and he did so, the lights in the room flickered for about two seconds, causing them both to look up instinctively. "They are already here," she stated. "Who are they?" "We were supposed to meet Scott and the others, that''s why we were crossing through the woods, the hunters showed up then the longtails followed," it seemed that something had changed her mind about speaking to him, either she trusted Argent or not. "The longtails?" his inquiry urged her to tell more,"Basically half men half scorpions, they have long scorpion tails," "Yeah, I''ve heard of those tonight, where do they come from?" "They''re nothing more than foot soldiers, they only obey to their leader," she said, "I don''t know about the one that gives direct orders to these braindead creatures but, I know who benefits from this entire thing. He goes by the apprentice," Chris took a few seconds to digest what she''d just given him, before concluding that he''d gotten enough from her, he didn''t want to press her further,"I see... I should get going for now, I won''t disturb you further," "Rosalie... My name is Rosalie, and my son''s Hilldon," Kin Hayden stood in front of a closed door, not sure if she should knock on it or simply twist the knob and open it, she glanced at her phone one last time, just to be sure she was at the right place, she finally decided to make her presence to the owner of the house known. " It''s open," she heard a woman''s voice say a few seconds after her knocking, she sounded calm and soft, yet loud enough to be heard from a certain distance. Hayden gently pushed the door open and slowly made her way inside. As soon as she was through the threshold, she spotted a figure sitting at a table, head down, seemingly focused on something. She instantly recognized who the woman was, even though she had only seen her once or twice her entire life, she could never forget her face," You''re the person I am supposed to see?" Hayden asked, somewhat surprised. " Well, there is nobody else here but me," " Are you the Guardian Angel?" she asked the woman again. " No, and I am guessing you''re not either," she replied before inviting Hayden to join her at the table, " Take a seat," " Oh, I am just supposed to pick something up and leave," " I know that, please sit," The woman insisted. " You came back into town because of the message?" " Not really, I was already here when I got it," there was a small pause before the silence was broken again " Your name is Hayden Romero if I remember it correctly?" " Yes, is... The reason of your comeback relevant to this entire situation by any chance? Unless it''s personal," tact wasn''t on Hayden''s priorities list at that moment, she needed to carry that conversation to a quick end in order to pick the item she was sent for, and that was it. " I am not sure of that yet, one could say it is personal, but if my fears about it turn out to be real... I am not going to be able to handle it on my own," so much for drawing the discussion to an end, the cryptic language the woman was using didn''t really make it easy for Romero. " What about the thing that I need to pick up?" " I am not sure if I should give it to you," for once, her answer was straight to the point, unfortunate it wasn''t what Hayden wanted to hear. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. " What''s that supposed to mean?" " If I am not mistaken, you are planning to take it to Mexico, to a place called ''La Iglesia''?" the woman began to explain herself. " No, you''re right, that is what the message said," " I didn''t get that part of the message, but I have a small idea about what the Guardian Angel wants you to do," Hayden was standing between two questions to ask about, on one hand she wanted a glimpse of whatever this Guardian Angel expected her to do, on the other hand however, the reluctance of her conversational partner to give her the item, whatever it was, pricked at her mind," And you... Don''t agree with it?" " If it is what I think it is, then I have every reason to be concerned, by now I am sure you''re fully aware that no deed goes unpunished, there are consequences for everything, especially when it comes to the supernatural," " It''s really that bad, isn''t it?" " You don''t need me to tell you that," that confirmation sent a chill down Hayden''s spine. She hit a wall in terms of questions after that, but then, she brought her attention on the table infront of her, she paid more mind to what the woman was doing, " Mrs. YUKIMURA, this game, that you''re playing..." " The game of go, and... You may call me Noshiko at this point," Noshiko seemed as focused on that game as the chat she was having with Hayden, moving the little black and white pieces on that wooden board with much thought and care, almost as if her life depended on it. " Right, Liam told me some stories about the pack''s adventures before I met them, and there was a part where he talked about the battle against the nogitsune...I remember him mentioning this game, and not in a casual way," Hayden took a few seconds to choose her words for that next question," Does that reason you came back for, and that you''re still not very sure about, have anything to do with... The nogitsune?" " As I said, I am not sure of it, but I do have a strong feeling about it...Yes," " How come? Are you somehow connected?" " In a way, as I am sure Liam has also mentioned, I am responsible of the fact that this one is roaming the earth, but he is my kin after all, just a different type of kitsune, it''s like you, being able to smell other werewolves for example," explained Noshiko. "Well, unless they have the ability to inhibit their smell then, yeah, I suppose," "Yes, you get the point," Romero''s anxiety was already ten stories higher, but she dreaded the answer to her upcoming inquiry even more, " What do you suspect the Guardian Angel wants us to do in Mexico that, you''re so much against?" " The object that you were sent to collect from me is Kira''s sword, it''s in pieces in that little jar behind you," Hayen whipped her head around, to catch sight of a white little jar sitting on a smaller table, that got her confused, considering Noshiko''s stance on the matter," I''m not following, are you saying I can take it or...?" " I said I was against the idea, not that I had a better plan," she stated simply. " What do you think we''ll need to do with it?" Hayden attempted again, since she didn''t get a relevant answer before. "If I am correct, you''re going to drastically upset the balance of nature, last time I did that, it only brought pain, strife and chaos... That being said, and if I am correct, you still need to take it and go where you were told, there isn''t much time, I myself, have somewhere else to be," Postmortem Nolan sat quietly in the hallway near Stiles'' room, he couldn''t bear the sight of a father awaiting for his son to rise awake again. The young man thought he should allow him some space, to express his feelings in the peace and quietude he deserved. Noah Stilinski had indeed seen and been through his fair share of hardships and struggles, both as a man but also as the sheriff of such town that is Beacon Hills, all of which he had to learn to live with. What he couldn''t overcome however, was every parent''s fear, a possibility in life that almost all dreaded, outliving their own children, or worse...Having to bury them. Most should agree that nobody needed to go through something like that, yet most should accept that, it will be part of reality for some. "Stiles... You gotta get up...," he couldn''t find better words to utter, as he gazed upon his unconscious son, "We need you...We all do, " he wasn''t a defeatist by any means, but judging by the abnormally excessive sweating and dark purple circles under Stiles'' eyes, Noah knew he could toss the idea of him simply sleeping peacefully out the window. He could feel his struggle underneath all those deep layers of slumber, "Whatever you''re going through, whatever you''re seeing deep down there... I know you can beat it; I know you can make it out of there," Did he know that for sure? Even he couldn''t tell, he just wanted to hold his son, have a conversation with him, hear his voice, see his smile... It had been years since he could do so, but with all of that, he still was very proud of his courage and accomplishments, he had doubts about it but when the sheriff looked at the impact Stiles had on so many people''s lives around him, he definitely knew he did a good job at raising his child. "I am sorry..." Noah muttered, before turning aside and discretely wiping his tears, he''d heard footsteps coming his way. Melissa walked into the room and headed straight towards Stiles to check on his state, as she passed Noah, she mustered a little " Hey," and a sympathetic smile on her face. He returned the gesture then proceeded to ask her, "No improvement?" "I am not sure, to be honest, this doesn''t really make any sense, he should have been up by now," she said as she examined his vitals. Noah took a deep breath, brought his right hand onto his eyelids and massaged them, " So this... is supernatural?" he asked. " It does seem like it, I am sorry," her answer was brief, then again, she didn''t know what else to say, Stilinski was a close friend, she wasn''t going to give him the same comfort speech she was used to giving patients and their families. " I will join you and Deaton at the morgue in a little while," he seemed to catche onto her thoughts, thus, he decided to change the subject. " Alright, I''ll be heading there right now," she said before exiting the room. As she crossed the door, she came face to face with Chris, who seemed to be looking for her. " Is she up?" asked Melissa about the woman he was keeping an eye on. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. " Yeah, she did say some interesting things, but not as much as I''d hoped," he answered before adding, " I need to catch up to Scott, apparently... Monroe is dead," A moment of speechlessness followed suite as she took the time to digest the news, it was a rather odd sensation, to hear about the death of the person who had been tormenting them for a major part of the recent past years. "I need to get going, but...Keep your eyes open...For anything really," his voice snapped her back out to reality, she looked him in the eyes, and he held her gaze, they both could discern all the emotions bottled up deep within themselves, yet very little of those feelings bubbled up to the surface, neither one knew which to express and how. " I''ll go with you," Nolan stood at some distance behind Melissa, he had just broken the intense moment between the two of them. " Be careful out there," was all she found to say. " I always am," he replied, before heading towards the exit with Nolan. **** " It seems you were right Mason, earlier tonight when you made the connection between what happened to Theo and the creatures that attacked these hunters," stated Deaton, as he flipped through the autopsy report''s pages, for one of the bodies discovered earlier that night. " So, the difference may be that Theo is not human," intervened Corey. " Yeah, the black blood could be his body''s attempt at healing," Mason thought back to what Derek had told him about the healing process for supernaturals, more specifically werewolves, he''d explained that when something prevented their healing, the symptoms tended to manifest through the discharge of rancid black blood. " The others healed up pretty quickly compared to him though," Liam said right as Melissa appeared through the door to the morgue. She heard the last thing that was said, so she decided to contribute with an answer, " That could be because Theo is not a supernatural, but a chimera," " And the hunters died almost immediately..." added Deaton. They all remained silent for a moment, each dwelling around their own contemplations, until Melissa spoke again, " The autopsy suggests that the cause of death, is the presence of large doses of venom in their systems," that statement opened the doors to a swarm of new possibilities and theories. " What kind of venom?" Liam asked. " Scorpion venom," replied Deaton, his eyes happened to fall on the answer right on time for Liam''s question. As if someone lit a lightbulb in Corey''s head, he immediately opened his mouth to speak, when he felt he needed to share his realization " I think I experienced this kind of venom before," " Lucas..." Uttered Mason. " The guy we fought at the night club ''cinema''?" Liam remembered that night him and Brett had a confrontation with the scorpion chimera, before Scott and Kira joined them to help. " The scorpion chimera you told me about?" Alec wasn''t sure if they were talking about the encounter he was thinking of, since he was the last to join the party, he could only rely on the tales conveyed by those who had been there before him. " I remember saying it was sort of a miracle that you were still alive," Melissa spoke, looking in Corey''s direction. " Because he was already a chimera at the time," Mason followed behind her words. " Didn''t stop me from seeing the red rivers of pain from hell," Corey chuckled at his own anecdote. Another moment of silence fell in the room before Deaton''s voice broke it, " The healing process for chimeras is slower and less effective, we did establish that before, with Hayden," At those words, Liam proceeded to shed more light on the matter, considering he was one of the only people in that room to have dealt with the said creatures they were speculating about " Yeah, but these didn''t look anything like...Luka, or any other chimera we saw, they had unnatural shapes yeah, but they weren''t shifters," " They were basically just monsters," Alec added. True that was, their attackers appeared in one shape then departed in that same one, in a way they resembled berserkers, those too didn''t seem to have a mind of their own, like they were being controlled by a being of higher intelligence to theirs. But that remained only a theory at that time. Nemesis Liam wasn''t sure where he should be heading, after leaving the morgue that is. He knew where Scott and Braden were, he knew what they discovered in that basement, he also knew that Chris and Nolan were going their way. He thought he wasn''t going to be needed there, he didn''t particularly want to see Monroe''s carcasse either, he wished he could have confronted her in her time among the living, there was no use to it once dead. The idea of joining Lydia and the new banshee crossed his mind, but before he could linger on it, he noted that he was walking by Theo''s room. There he lied motionless, unaware or...Perhaps aware of his surrounding, just unable to interact, or open his eyes for that matter. An odd sensation overcame Liam at that moment, a few images escaped his memory box and flashed before his eyes, images of his and Theo''s adventures together, if one could call them that. Their relationship had always been complicated, Liam contemplated the state of it from time to time, come to think of it, he never dwelled on it long enough to put an overall label on it. Where they...friends? Why did the word friend feel so heavy to think about towards Theo? Then perhaps... A nemesis? " It''s hard to imagine, seeing him like that..." Alec stopped him in his train of thoughts. " What do you mean?" Liam answered, after realizing he was no longer in the hallway, but standing by one of Theo''s bed sides instead. " Well, you said that you started off as enemies," his words couldn''t be any truer than that, they really were the worst of enemies before, Alec walked to the other side of the bed as he spoke those words. Liam seemed to be deliberating and picking his next words, not sure what or how to lay them out, "Yeah... We did, he manipulated all of us to turn on Scott," he said eventually. "You had the worst part in his play, he pushed you far enough to kill," Alec was referring to the fact that...Liam had almost killed Scott in a fit of uncontrollable rage. "I think about it from time to time, each time I come back to the conclusion that he wasn''t really the only factor," it was hard for Liam to admit that, but the more he reflected on that part of their history, the less he blamed Theo for his actions that night, the intent of them at least. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "I get that," Alec nodded simply. "Right now, the only thing on my mind is what he said about chimeras not being able to heal like us," he revealed, the worried look he had never left his face, the entire duration of their dialogue. "you''re worried?" "Well... I don''t necessarily want him to die..." Liam felt a bit exposed after Alec''s question, though worrying about Teo''s wellbeing wasn''t the most embarrassing thing to own up to, he immediately switched back to his concerned demeanor. "What if... He needed help?" Alec broke the silence that chiseled in after Liam''s response, "You said that in order to trigger the healing process we needed to feel pain... But, you also said that sometimes... too much pain can cause our abilities to halt," "Yeah... I can try that," The blond man set his right hand on Theo''s forearm, black vains began to protrude on the chimera around the area of contact between the two of them, the black blood vessels extended towards Liam''s arm quickly enough, the breathing of the patient became uneven, as he inhaled deeply and only exhaled shortly. Alec noticed Liam''s struggle taking his pain, his agony was clearly greater than they previously thought, "Let''s do it together?" he instantly put his hand on Theo''s other arm, mimicking Liam''s action, and sure enough, the black vains also appeared on his side. The young wolf was hit with a searing throb in his skull, a grilling burning sensation around the chest area and a foreign weakness all over his body. "We should stop, we don''t want to go overboard," Liam said promptly as he let go of Theo''s arm. Alec was told of the process, but it was his first time taking somebody''s pain, in hindsight he did quite well considering the amount of hurt he pulled from the chimera. Both wolves seemed relieved after letting go, their heavy breathes filling the otherwise quiet room. "Think he''s gonna be fine?" asked Alec, as he tried to steady his respiration. "Yeah... It''s Theo, he came back from hell once, he can definitely do it again, I am sure of it," They were plunged in darkness for a very brief instant before the lights started flickering, on and off again at irregular intervals of time. Their gazes shifted upwards as they looked at the sealing, eyebrows furrowed, "What''s happening?" quizzed Alec in a hushed and warry tone. Liam chose to remain quiet, the lights were back on, but an eerie itch niggled at him. In his world, flickering lights at the hospital were never a good omen, especially with the situation they had their hands full with at that time. To Eichen! If there was one matter, that the entire population of Beacon Hills could unanimously agree upon, it would be the fact that "Eichen house" was one hell of a dreadful place. The last person to ever set foot in it was the sheriff Stilinski, the day he rescued Parrish from the deputies trying to kill him. No one had the courage to approach it, no adventure or thrill seeker, no adept of the horror factor dared to either. In fact, there were no plans of reconstructing, remodeling or repurposing for it whatsoever, it was just abandoned, everyone just accepted it and left it at that. The first thing Parrish perceived aside from the cursed building itself upon arrival, were the two police vehicles parked ahead. He apprehensively walked towards them flashlight in hand, to check for any sign of his colleagues, after he exited his own car that is. When all the hints led him to the unfortunate and unquestionable conclusion he feared, he drew his weapon and prudently approached Eichen''s entrance. The more he advanced towards that metal door however, the slower and more hesitant he grew, he couldn''t help it, the memories of that place were flooding in at a much higher speed than he could handle. Hellhound or not, flying so close to death, on more than one occasion, at the hands of multiple people sure scarred him deeply, he simply mismeasured how deep until then, as he was being confronted with the feelings he had curbed for all those years. The deputy came to the realization that he was sweating through his uniform, standing there only a few inches away from that damned door. He brought his sight up and glazed over the building''s facade, skimming for the courage to at least push through the threshold of that hell. He instantly froze when he locked eyes with one of his colleagues, staring at him through one of the windows. Although something about him seemed quite wrong, his appearance wasn''t outright that of a living human being, his gaze satiated with years worth of hate and grudges, his skin bore the same signs of dryness and cracking as those in Jordan''s vision earlier that evening. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. That was enough for Parrish to ignore all the voices screaming warnings in his head and enter the property. He moved forward very carefully, through the doors, through the hallways, a sickening sense of familiarity overcame him as he walked past the cell where he almost took his last breath. His guard dropped to a rather low level at that moment, the biggest indication of that, was the amount of time he took to notice the figure standing at the other end of the corridor. He quickly pointed his gun in its direction before slowly lowering it, eyes wide with astonishment,"Sanders?" he called out. Sanders, or what looked like a standing corpse version of him didn''t react to his own name whatsoever, he instead turned away at a steady pace and disappeared to his right down the hallway. Parrish followed suite, but couldn''t catch up to him in time, Sanders had vanished behind that corner, "Sanders?" Jordan called out again, this time louder and most importantly in vain, at least it was until a far-sounding voice reached his ears. "Parrish? Parrish, I am here!" she screamed. "Fisher? Where are you?" he had a vague idea about where her voice was coming from, the darkened route Sanders took to vanish, he reluctantly accepted that it was the route he needed to take. Wherever she was, she didn''t sound like she could wait for much longer, her tone was heavy with urgency, and so, Parrish did his very best to move as fast as he could while remaining vigilant. "Fisher?" he called for her again, he began to grow more anxious because of the lack of response he was getting, but what he disliked the most in that setting was the unsettling feeling that he was walking in a straight line to no end, he literally couldn''t see any end to that hallway, the more he went, the more he felt like the walls were stretching forward, as little as he could view of them through the thick layers of darkness. His disconcert escalated higher when he picked up on a nauseating metallic scent, faint at first, though becoming more pervasive the further he proceeded down that path. He was nearing something he was sure he could never unsee. His heart skipped a beat, he immediately regretted wishing for an end to the corridor he was running through. As soon as it was granted, he was assaulted with the mortifying reality, the disturbing fate of his colleagues. Bince, Sanders, Wilson, Gibbs and... Their youngest recruit, Reyes, were aligned horizontally, all hanged by their necks with fishing lines, so thin that Parrish thought they were only floating before the realization sunk in. Ansa Chris nodded politely towards one of the deputies as he crossed the yellow tape at the crime scene, had he been anybody else, he wouldn''t have had that privilege. Making his way to the manor''s door but, stopping in his tracks once he turned around to find himself alone, Nolan nowhere to be seen. Eyebrows furrowed, head turning from left to right, then back and forth. Argent decided to walk back to his car where he found Nolan, just sitting in the passenger''s seat, entranced by the police cars lights as they continuously flashed between red and blue. Chris slowly approached the car door, nearing the young man, no mind reading powers were needed to decipher his thoughts, or workout the reason he wasn''t moving. Although Nolan seemed very well aware of his surroundings, because he rolled the window down to hear whatever Chris had to say," You were one of the first people she hurt," uttered Chris calmly, before continuing, "I''ll understand if you don''t want to go in," " I don''t think I''ll forgive myself if I don''t," Nolan replied in the same tone. " Still, you can take some time if you want to," After hearing those words, Nolan put on the best determined look he could muster on his face, before opening and pushing the door open, this time, he did walk behind Chris. The wheels in his head kept spinning relentlessly, he was one of the first feeble minded minions that Monroe enjoyed manipulating and controlling, those were his words when describing his past behavior, and while forgiving was an option, forgetting, unfortunately could not be one. " Chris!" Scott called out when they stepped into the basement. " Scott," Argent motioned towards Scott, before turning to Braden and addressing her, " Glad to see you''re back in town marshal," " You alright, Nolan?" Scott asked when he noticed the silence of the young man. " Yeah, fine," he simply replied, though his eyes betrayed him, when he kept staring intensely at the spot where the bodies were found. " You said they were sacrificed?" Chris butted in. " Yeah, and according to Lydia and the other banshee... That''s not the worst part...," said Scott. " I am assuming the worst part has to do with who did it?" Argent asked again, this time he sounded more cautious. " It''s the same person you fought years ago?" Nolan finally decided to break his silence with that question. " I completely trust Lydia''s words on this, so yes, I have to accept it," Scott stated more to himself than anyone else. " So, she''s back from the dead? Did that banshee give any details on how she was brought back to life?" " I didn''t stay long enough to hear that part of the story," Scott spoke again. Chris had more questions, " What about the creatures that attacked you? can They be connected?" " Yes, I think... I''ll have to hear more about it from her though, just to be sure," Nolan snapped his attention onto something else, it appeared, he seemed to be casing the scene again with a different air on his face, confusion, "Where is Malia?" the young man asked, "Or Peter for that matter?" he added. "Not here, why?" quizzed Braden. "They left the hospital a while before we did, she said she was heading here," Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Now that Nolan pointed it out, Chris''s interest was also peeked. "They probably made a stop somewhere," Scott wasn''t entirely convinced by his own words, having more than one supernatural enemy on their tail wasn''t really a blessing for their numbers. "Hope so," finished Braden. Speaking of Malia, she was driving her car with an ambiguous look on her face, what did it translate into? Peter wondered. Was she upset? was there something she wanted to say to him? Or was she simply worried and uneasy because of the recent events, that was about as much as he could read on her from his peripheral vision. She seemed stiff, too stiff for his comfort, "Care to share?" he finally asked. Without reverting her gaze from the road, she spoke, "Share what exactly?" "Hell, am I supposed to know? Whatever is grinding your gears?" "You''re not really my first pick for that kind of conversation," she simply answered. "You said that before... I am kinda your only pick right now, considering... We''re stuck together in this car," he did his best to conceal his hurt. "If you think you''re ''stuck'' with me on this car ride, you really have no right or business blaming me for not talking to you," she clenched her jaw muscles saying those words, clearly more affected than she wanted to let him believe. "I wasn''t talking about myself when I said that," "Same, you can''t speak for me and ask me to talk at the same time, it''s either one or the other," "Fine! ... I met Corine when she was in Beacon Hills on a job, we hit it off and..." "Oh! You gotta be kidding me?" Malia rushed to cut his story off, almost fearing that if he finished it, she''d be forever cursed by his words. "What? You were clearly changing the subject, we gotta start somewhere!" "And you think the best place to start, is to remind me of my crazy homicidal mother? Who tried to kill me too ... by the way," with more context, she was referring to the fact that werecoyotes handed down part of their power to their newborns, Corine being her mother, tried to take the power that Malia had inherited from her back, by... killing her, or at least attempting to do so. "I don''t see you pitching in, where else can we start in order to build this... Healthy and normal father daughter relationship?" he instantly quit mid-indignation when Malia slammed her foot on the brakes, "God damn it! Your driving still sucks!" he yelled out as the car wheels squealed harshly against the tar. When they finally found their way back to the calm of the night, she took a deep breath, her hands still gripping the steering wheel and her eyes still fixed ahead, "Just for a second... One second, did you think that maybe we''re not meant to have a normal relationship?" she remained silent for a moment before carrying on, "We never were a normal family to begin with, nothing about us can be qualified as normal, that was never our fort¨¦, so consider pulling your weight somewhere else, maybe?" "Maybe..." after her words, that was all he could quietly mutter, by then she had already restarted the car, and they were on their way again. "For now, let''s just get to that damn house," she added. They moved steadily since then, each conversing with their own thoughts on the down low. Well, that was until Peter steered the attention on something new, "Wait... How come we''re still on the road?" "What do you mean?" she was ticked off, but kept on going calmly, waiting for his response. "The road to the house, is not supposed to be this long...," he was alarmed and weary, looking around them from the spaces provided by the windows and the windshield. "The sky... Look at the sky," Malia pitched in, as she slowed the car down, to allow herself the time to look at the night sky, which was pitch black, the darkness had ingested any hint of gleam, beside the luminescence granted by the headlights of the car. "I think we drove right into a trap," said Peter, realization dawning on him, they had been driving in some sort of a loop for quite the amount of time, " Where the hell are we?" Sitting still in the middle of god knew where, at the edge of their seats, they didn''t know what to expect, neither did they know when to. "This is one, very very long night," Peter voiced his thoughts once again. "That smell..." she pointed out, once her nostrils picked up on a sort of familiar scent around them. By this point, they weren''t only still, they were petrified, they knew they weren''t alone out there, but that wasn''t the most dreadful part of it all. Because then, they had an idea on who was creeping around them, well mainly what was. Then they heard it, the lowest of growls, also familiar to their ears, that only further confirmed the identity of whatever was surveying them. The voice was unwaveringly climbing in terms of decibels, they were inching closer to the vehicle. both Malia and Peter turned to face each other, then followed the tone''s direction and kept turning to find themselves looking straight towards the back of the car. "I think this night is about to get longer..." voiced Malia, astonished by the sight that greeted her. "Holy crap!" added Peter, just as surprised as his daughter. That was the last of their conversation before it, meaning...Before the berserker put his hand under the rear end of the car and just... Flipped it upside down. Untimely They all hanged by their necks with fishing lines so thin, that Parrish thought they were only floating before the realization sunk in. Jordan just stood there... Staring at the empty husks, once full of life but... No longer so. Could he have saved them? Maybe in a perfect world, in a dimension where he was better at being a harbinger of death? Perhaps he could have had the vision a tad earlier to prevent their untimely demise? " Parrish?" he finally remembered to breath when he heard her voice, Fisher was still alive, but for how long still? He thought. At last, his eyes were able to move away from his already lifeless colleagues, allowing him to further inspect the room. He picked up on a door''s presence, that he wasn''t entirely sure had been there before, but what was the need to ponder on such questions at that point. He walked forward once his legs finally obeyed his intentions, "Fisher?" he settled for finding his partner for that time being, answering questions such as where he truly was or how to get out of there, became a secondary quest. "I am right this way!!" it seemed he was heading in the right direction, getting closer to the source of those words so he picked up in speed, and began to run towards it. The hallway he was racing through was just as dark, narrow and everlasting as the one he traversed before. He kept on going forth as she cried out for him a few more times, each call closer sounding than the previous. His tension wasn''t easing, and he seemed to have ditched all efforts to be wary by then, ready to jump head first into whatever situation was awaiting. "Parrish, help!" he instantly dug his heals into the ground when he realized that... Something was wrong with her voice, tone...With her presence in general. It sounded like Fisher, but also unlike her at the same time, good thing was that he''d already believed in the supernatural, otherwise he''d have been a good candidate for losing his mind over that. The idea of backtracking crossed his mind, but... The soft whispers faintly chirping around him, mixed with disturbing sorts of low giggles discouraged him from making any movement, he knew by then that, it was already too late. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. He slowly turned to look behind himself, only to be met with a solid wall. A wall that undoubtedly was not there. It was a corridor, he''d come from that way, there was no reason for him to see a wall there instead. His anxiety and fear upgraded to unimaginable levels of aggravation and disgruntlement. He thought it was ironic, more than anything really, he thought that predicting other people''s death was the most dreadful feeling he''d have to endure, he internally laughed at that right then. Because in any case, predicting his own death took the cake for him, he was going to... die, and so much sooner than he''d expected. **** "You''re a hundred..." Lydia lost her words. "A hundred fifty six, you heard it correctly the first time," The moment of silence that followed the banshee''s conversation, was broken by Melissa, as she entered the room. She immediately spoke up, "How are feeling, girls?" "Alright," Lydia simply answered. "So, you''re Melissa McCall?" "Well... That''s me, and you''re the new banshee?" That short interaction sat awkward vibes for everyone, with the exception of Maylee who seemed... Comfortable, come to think of it, her demeanor barely changed throughout her entire discussion with Lydia. "I heard you were most likely the reason why everyone on that bus is alive...So... Thank you," Melissa felt she was blurting out words she thought were appropriate to break the ice. " Well, I didn''t really do it to be a saint, they die, I die too, eventually," Lydia glanced at Melissa, unsure how to react in front of Maylee''s blatancy and overall social skills, "How is everyone doing?" she finally managed to ask. " Well, apart from Theo, everybody affected by the scorpion men seems to have recovered," " Was... Stiles also injured by them?" " No, he wasn''t, but..." " But what?" Lydia frowned. " He should have been up by now," " He should have been? So, he''s not?" Asked Lydia, suspicious. " No... He isn''t," Confessed Melissa. Lydia immediately turned towards the door, but before she could step further away from the bed, she felt a strong grip on her wrist," What are you doing? Let go, please," She demanded from Maylee. " We''re not finished here yet, I am going to need you," " My boyfriend needs me," she made sure to articulate those words as clearly as possible, as if that would convey her message better. " He''ll be fine," That statement both infuriated and comforted Lydia, from one side she was enraged at Maylee''s casualness and carefreeness about the subject, but on another side however, that confidence was what comforted her. She knew Maylee had her reasons for acting that way, she just hoped they''d be good reasons. " Just trust me on this, if I am right about this, there''s no other place you''d rather be but here, for the time being at least, your friends'' lives may depend on that," Nowhere Land Where did all that quietude fall from, all of a sudden? It was provoking, infuriating not to know what was brewing behind the scenes. Not that Stiles missed that monster''s voice. In fact, he''d do well without ever having to hear it again. The young man knew however, that he wasn''t in the clear, still. He struggled to pull his own weight, which forced him to rely on the steadiness of the walls around him, his hands gliding along the surface, left then right each at their turn in order to expedite is body forward. His eyes finally landed on a sign, above a double doored exit, validating his sentiment of progress making. The relief was short felt in any case, when he was close enough to actually read the sign. He realized it didn''t exactly say ''exit'' but ''xeit''. Stiles felt his blood freeze in his veins, then a burning sensation began to arise in the pit of his stomach, quickly followed by a bitter taste reaching the back of his throat. " Think you''re dreaming, Stiles?" Despite his queasiness, he fought back the urge to vomit right there, he ignored the throbbing in his head and pushed past the plea of his sore muscles as he doubled his efforts to reach the doors, because although the voice was far-sounding after the miles of interminable hallway he left behind him, he still didn''t want it to gain any distance on him. He could hear it giggle then laugh, then giggle again. It didn''t sound worried the slightest about letting him get away. Stiles sweated his way to those gates, practically throwing himself onto them once he felt they were realistically close enough. He expected to be struck by harsh lights but none of that was. Instead... Darkness greeted him with open arms. He squinted his eyes trying to ajust his sight to the new found obscurity. He felt the weak breezes of cold air graze his skin. They carried a woodsy fragrance along with the scent of damp moss on a grassy earth to his nose. He knew he was standing in the middle of a forest according to those hints alone. "Good old times! I spent a few years in this stupid tree trunk, it''s like a second home to me..." one could hear a hint of nostalgia in that demon''s voice. One could fall for the ruse if they didn''t know that trickery was a full fledged piece of kitsunes, and worst of them all, nogitsunes, chaos and strife being their main nutrition sources. Stiles could finally view his surroundings, the tree trunk that the nogitsune was talking about was none other than the ''nematon''. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Doesn''t it feel like home to you Stiles?" he adopted a more of a mocking tone when he said that. Stiles didn''t say a word, he settled for breathing in all the oxygen he could take. He seemed almost afraid there wouldn''t be enough to keep him alive. " Why the long face? Not happy with something?" " Reasons for me to be happy?" Stiles had unglued his lips and articulated his tightly clenched jaws to begrudgingly utter those words. " Well, beggars can''t be choosers," one minute it sounded like the voice was coming from behind him, then the other it sounded like it was speaking to Stiles from the front. He began to frantically look around himself, trying to catch a glimpse of his foe, but... An echoey voice was all it was, or so it seemed. **** "This stupid night is really... very... long," Malia heavily struggled to push those words out of her throat as she groaned in pain. She slowly craned her neck and looked in her father''s direction. He seemed to regain his consciousness at the same time as her. "You think?" Peter brought his hand up towards the warm liquid pooling on his forehead, he then took a look at his red stained fingers, which confirmed that he was bleeding. Malia carefully unbuckled her seat belt, while pushing on the top of the car with the remaining free hand to prevent herself from falling on her head, the car was upside down after all. She then slowly turned to the side in order to kick the door off its hinges at a better and more advantageous angle. As soon as she''d crawled outside, she felt a strong hand tightly grab her by the throat, slowly crushing her windpipes and lifting her off the ground. She was finally at eye-level with the berserker attempting to snuff her out of life. She flailed and thrashed her legs around as she desperately gasped for air to breath. Right when her sight grew blurry, she felt a great mass smashing into both her and the berserker holding her up, and the three bodies were sent crashing to the ground with force. Peter rushed towards his daughter the moment he stood back on his feet, gently but hastily tugging on her arm, he''d thrown his entire body weight on the monster to wrench her out of its grip, "Malia! C''mon, we need to get outta here!" he tried to help her up. They limped as fast as they could to take refuge in the thickness of the forest, between the trees. "It''s not alone," Malia stated in her panting. "Somebody brought them here," added Peter. "Where is here? What the hell is this place anyway?" "I don''t know about that but... I only know of one creature that can control berserkers," Peter said, before they heard another low growl coming at them upfront. They stopped and switched to running in another direction. "Think she''s back?" "Know of any other werejaguar?" Peter threw out. "We better keep on running for now," "This is ridiculous! This is the second time tonight!" Peter whined as they attempted to find their way out of that... Long night. Memoriae Walking in the dead of night, he was attentive to every noise, every crick and crack and every quivering leaf. Best be mindful, best be acute, when one walked out way past twilight, under the murky skies. Yet, and with that in mind Derek knew he was believably marching straight into a trap. Into her trap, Jennifer Blake, a real nasty woman she was, if one could call her a woman at all, not after the monstrosities she''d committed. He couldn''t settle on the idea of knowing she was roaming his town freely, alive. No, the cold sheets on that hospital bed burned his skin, the moment he heard her name from Lydia''s lips. Still usure of what the whole picture or map looked like, not sure where he was precisely supposed to go, but he thought, he believed he should head to where Jennifer Blake''s entire chapter began. The reasons that pushed her to go from Julia Beccari, an average emissary to... Well, her, to Jennifer Blake the darak. That sound on his left? The deep but soft hooting of an owl, probably calling out for a potential mate. To his right? Nothing more than the whistling of winds through the dense forest. Nothing to ruffle his feathers about, so he kept flashing his eyes forward and put one foot in front of another. As he drew closer to his destination, his focus fell back on her, on how he didn''t even want to imagine what she was plotting but, really had no choice about it. He had to face her anyhow, he thought that if anyone should do it, it was him. Derek broke his motion pattern once he saw that building in his prospect. The distillery he used to often frequent in his youth. He stood for a moment, just taking that still image in, wondering what he hoped to accomplish there after reaching that place. His eyes then drifted from the highest point of that old construction, down towards a distinct marking on one of the walls. It was a symbol, The sign for vendetta known amongst werewolves. Anas had carved it there in a fit of rage, on the day of his last meeting with the other alphas of Beacon Hills. Peter had witnessed the entire scene. That gathering was in many ways the kickstarter of... Many unfortunate turns of events. It still reeked with the foul stench of blood; Derek noted upon entering the abandoned establishment. But, against all odds, it wasn''t the memories of all and every violent occurrence that he had to face in that place that came forth to the surface, it was the gentle and sweet sound of music he could never forget, no matter how hard he could try, not that he ever tried to though. The beautiful notes played by his first love, Paige. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. She brought to life some magnificent pieces with the power of her gifted hands. Paige was the only girl to have ever, truly loved him. She definitely was, considering his luck with women after her. Even in her last moments, she made sure to let him know how much she loved him, for who and what he really was. She assured him she wasn''t taking any grudges with her to the afterlife, towards him for the part he played in her end, at such a young age. "You''re gonna make me jealous, Derek," at the sound of her cursed voice, he immediately shut his eyes, then pinched the bridge of his nose to stop two little tear drops from escaping, "How long has it really been?" "Not long enough," he barked back. "So, you didn''t miss me? Is that what you''re saying, Derek?" she mocked. "Who in their right mind would miss someone like you?" "You have the gall to be speaking like that! After you just stood there and watched them kill me?!" Jennifer sounded more aggressive when she uttered those words. "You weren''t exactly innocent yourself," he retorted. "I did what I needed to do to survive, just like everyone else," she had recovered her calm tone. "No! no, you did survive, that was not the problem, it''s what you did after surviving that is the problem," "By the way, why are you keeping your eyes shut? Were you so disgusted by the sight of my slashed face, that you don''t want to take the risk of seeing it again?" Derek didn''t even realize it until she pointed it out, except, she got the reason for him closing his eyes wrong. He guessed it was just a reflex, after the anuk-ite used her voice to trick him. Unlike what she assumed, he never thought much of her damaged face. He never even really had the time to, those superficial thoughts were always immediately overshadowed by her disgusting actions, "You ever wonder, about what could have happened if you just came back to Beacon Hills, and didn''t go about your revenge the way you did?" he''d loosened the tension around his eyelids when he said that, but he still kept them closed. "Because you think I would have gotten your attention without the power that the first sacrifice gave me?" "Really, Jennifer? Should I remind you of the day we met, and the reason things happened the way they did?" he hated to admit it, but his voice did soften when he spoke that last sentence. "Yeah... You could remind me of that but, why don''t you take a look at me first?" she sounded little and brittle at those words. Derek decided to grant her that wish, if it was ever her last. He slowly forsook the darkness behind him and accepted the colors of the world around him again. First, he saw her feet, then her legs...Her waist, her chest then finally, her face, and the smile she displayed seemed too genuine for someone with a tainted soul such as hers. Previously (3) Previously in the chapters from 24 to 33: Isaac Lahey arrived back to his hometown; he went to visit the place where he first learned about the existence of werewolves and the supernatural in general, the Beacon Hills graveyard. A young boy, going by the name of Hilldon, joined him there. They appeared to know each other since, they asked questions that hinted to that. They asked each other about their other acolytes, Maylee, Rosalie and another person that they called " The fourth Musketeer" for that moment. Shortly after that, Jackson and Ethan arrived and Hilldon informed the lot of them that they were there to dig a grave up, a tomb belonging to somebody that they apparently knew very well once upon a time. He also asked if they''d dropped Hayden where they were supposed to, as it turned out Isaac, Hilldon, Maylee and another person were the people working under the title of "Guardian Angel". Speaking of Hayden, she did show up where she was supposed to, from what she saw, she was supposed to meet Noshiko Yukimura, in order to recover Kira''s sword from her. According to what Noshiko said, she was also expected to perform a task and participate in the upcoming battle. Rosalie turned out to be the woman that Chris rescued from the forest; he had a conversation with her at the hospital, in it she informed him that the creatures that attacked Scott that night were called the longtails, and that they were only disposable and reproduceable soldiers. Worse was yet to come. He left the hospital along with Nolan, to meet Scott and Braden at the lieu where they found Monroe and her acolytes'' dead bodies. Upon arrival, Scott informs them about the method the killer used; it was the well-known sacrifice ritual Jennifer Blake used back when she came to execute her revenge. Which in a way, confirmed Lydia and Maylee''s words about the darak''s comeback. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Nolan had noticed that Malia and Peter were not there, he found that odd considering they left the hospital to go their way before him and Chris. The two Hales were indeed not at the end of their surprises. They were ambushed on their way there. They seemed to get stuck in an alternative world where no stars shone bright, and where there was no way out of the road they were driving through. To add more to their pain, they were attacked by Berserkers; establishing that they were no match for such creatures, Peter and Malia decided to seek refuge in the thickness of the forest to avoid confrontation. As things were getting tense in the hospital, Stiles still remained unconscious despite doctors'' opinions. He simply couldn''t leave his dream or more correctly nightmare, he was stuck in his own torment, relentlessly persecuted by none other than the nogitsune, who seemed to be interested in a revenge as well. Torturing Stiles on one hand and announcing his arrival at the hospital on the other, the power in the building wasn''t stable and everyone noticed it. Liam paid a short visit to Theo, also still unconscious, clearly not healing as fast as the other supernaturals, due to the fact that he was a chimera, according to Deaton and Melissa''s words, after a detailed and deep conversation on the matter. Alec for the first time, had the chance to experience what the other werewolves had told him so much about, taking somebody''s pain to help them. He thought that doing it to Theo could somehow trigger his healing. On another side of the city, consumed by his desire to help, Parrish followed his harbinger''s senses, which led him straight to Eichen, pushing through the red flags around it, he hasted in headfirst and stumbled into what seemed to be a trap. At that moment, he could predict his death, he did see it. ***************************** These were the main events through the chapters listed above. I do hope you enjoyed the read. I will see you very soon hopefully^^ New Face The lights flickered above her head, and they did so again and again. Rosalie sat up on her bed, transfixed, watching the lamps go on and off for what felt like an eternity. She used her right arm to push herself to stand up, she grimaced as her entire bodyweight rested on nothing more than her still weak legs. Slowly trudging towards the door, she gripped the knob and cautiously twisted it, sneakily peaking at the hallway. It was suspiciously quiet, sure it was indeed a very late hour, but still, she expected to see some staff members at the very least. She noticed, to her dismay that, the flickering was not a malfunction exclusive to the lights in her room. She felt the knot in her stomach grow larger and her mouth go dryer, as she realized that her fears were funded. She groped the walls to help herself move along, her destination clear in her mind, she made progress at a steady pace, and she almost reached the elevator when... When she remarked a buzzing sound, coming from the light straight above her, it was significantly louder than the one emanating from the others. She carefully lifted her head to investigate the source, but immediately and upon sight she regretted her decision to do so. Her eyes widened, all her facial traits mobilized together in the efforts of displaying one single expression, that of sheer terror. When her view landed on the horde of flies, seemingly almost clumped together, fluttering at only a few feet above. They had even managed to cloak the light because of their broad number. Rosalie refused to waste another second on the spot. Her breath quickening, she advanced forth as fast as her body state allowed her to. Upon finally reaching the elevator doors, she impatiently and repeatedly pushed the button to call the steel cage to her level, desperate to leave that floor. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Going somewhere?" She paused, finger grazing the dial, she held her breath and remained petrified. On the closed grey metal doors Infront of her, Rosalie could vaguely distinguish a human silhouette, standing at a mild distance away behind her, from the look of it. "You know who I am, don''t you, Rosalie?" he spoke again. His low gravelly voice extended to her ears, the blare of it was blasphemous, wickedness and vileness oozing through his teeth, with that, he perfectly conveyed the feeling of threat he intended to, "I know we haven''t met before, but I heard a lot about you. You know, I really am a big fan of your little team," he kept on talking, taunting and mocking her all the way through. When the elevator failed her and refused to obey, she finally accepted that she had no other choice, but to resort to face him. And so, she did. She slowly turned his way. Once her eyeballs were on his figure, she quickly assessed his form and concluded that, she''d simply never seen him before, yet she knew quite well who he was or, what he was. He appeared as none more than a young man, from Japanese descent by the look of him. Deep dark circles weighing his under eyes down, his exaggeratedly pale skin faintly cracked due to the torturous smile he insisted on squeezing out. "They set you free again," her shaky voice cracked as she uttered those words. "Well, yeah... It''s nice to walk the earth again," "Why are you here?" she asked in the same tone, though somewhat louder than before. "Oh, I have some unfinished business to tend to under this roof. Don''t worry, I am not here for you though," he paused for a while, then spoke again, "Not yet," his smile grew somehow wider at the end of that sentence, it sent a chill down her spine. Fortunately for her soul, she heard the elevator sing and the doors behind her open, she regained a sliver of hope as she shoved her body inside. As they closed however, she could swear she caught a glimpse of multiple dark shadow figures, appearing out of thin air. She didn''t catch any more details about them, as her focus fell back on him. He stood in place, unmoved, the only part of his body that did so, was his arm that he lifted up in a slow motion, in order to wave a creepy and unsettling goodbye to her, his face frozen in time. Death trap From above first came the screams of a crowd translating sheer panic and confusion, then the sound of unending gunshots fired. Wondering what all that commotion was about, Scott launched into a sprint towards the basement stairs, followed closely by Chris, Nolan and Braden. As soon as they reached the ground floor, the alpha stopped dead in his tracks, "What the hell is that?" he managed. " What the hell is what?" Chris had barely finished his sentence when he began to understand what Scott meant. A thunderous blare, resembling that of wood, crashing under the power of brute force speedily colliding with it. It seemed to be getting closer towards them and at a fast pace; they quickly gathered that it was none other than the sound of wooden walls being brutally wrecked. The four of them turned to face the direction it was coming from, slowly taking some steps back, and bracing themselves. Apparently, they didn''t brace enough, because they didn''t move an inch as the wall facing them was demolished into tiny chunks, sent flying all around. A huge mass darted through that open gash, like a car at high speed and violently slammed into Braden, sending her into an aerial glide across the mansion. She eventually crashed onto the floor after traversing several feet of distance away from the point of impact. Scott watched as her body fell limp, they all did, but their attention was soon snatched away by the creature towering over her unconscious figure. It stood there, seemingly enjoying its latest accomplishment, the taunting look on its face, almost as if it relished at the sight of their shocked expressions. " A long tail..." stated Chris. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. " What did you call it?" asked Scott. " The woman I took to the hospital, that''s how she called the scorpion-men that attacked you," he clarified. " What the hell is it doing here?" Nolan wondered. " Well, isn''t it clear? It wants a fight," Scott clenched his fists and assembled all the strength he could gather in his legs, in order to pounce at the creature, before the scorpion tail menacingly hovering over Braden plunged downwards to stab her. " Good call...McCall!" Scott''s blood froze in his vains when those words reached his ears, his eyes wildly fluttered around giving him a crazed expression. " Scott what''s happening?" Chris asked him, concerned by his sudden change of behavior. Clearly nobody but him could hear that voice, from the reaction of the two men near him. Yet he couldn''t bring himself to describe the waves of pain that hit his soul after the realization of who was speaking to him. When his eyes finally landed on the creature, the voice immediately spoke again, " Don''t worry Scott, they only attack when I tell them to," cue more frantic motions from Scott to find the owner of the voice, which again, turned out to be in pure vain, " You don''t remember me, Scott? Alright, what if I said? Werewolves, Kanimas, it''s like a freaking halloween party every full moon," " Why don''t you come out and face me?" Scott shouted back at him. " Well, I am right here, I''ve been waiting for you actually," the creature backed away from Braden, turned around then proceeded to jump towards the front door. Scott took the hint, looked at Nolan and said, "Nolan, I am gonna need you to stay here with Braden," him and Chris followed suite after the longtail through the door. They were so taken by what was happening inside the house, that they didn''t realize how much they had zoned out of the events right outside the mansion, if mayhem had a face... well... The longtails were wreaking havoc out there, taking both bullets and lives, it seemed so easy for them to tear through human flesh like thin sheets of paper. One of the creatures sent an entire police car crashing onto a group of deputies close by, unfortunately too busy shooting away at another one of those abominations. Screams of terror, and pain, calls for help and in the middle of all of that stood one man, one unfazed, unbothered man, " Ah you finally noticed me, Scott!" he announced in a chilling kind of cheerful tone. Demons out "They''re here! And they have a nogitsune with them," Rosalie Barged in on Lydia and Maylee, winded by the distance she arduously forced her legs to travel after exiting the elevator. " Wha... Who are you? Wh..." began Lydia before being swiftly cut off. " They have great timing!" exclaimed Maylee, she then turned towards Lydia in order to answer her questions," That''s Rosalie, one of our very good and helpful allies," " And the nogitsune is one of theirs...?" Lydia still struggled to pick her stance about Maylee''s calm demeanor, sure she was over a hundred years old and sure, she knew more about their enemy than all of their minds combined, but surely even her could afford more facial expressions than the cold, counterfeit smile she was harboring. What had this ''Apprentice'' done to her, that caused her soul to be damaged to this level? The saddest part of it all, was that he, probably regarded her as one of his most prized masterpieces, the ultimate success story in his logs. Or perhaps, there was no reason to fret, and it was pure confidence she was exhibiting. She wrestled her own thoughts, when she realized she was sinking much deeper than she needed to. The lights flickering certainly helped her with that task, she had all the time to shed tears of sorrow for the stolen youth of the woman before her ages away, poring her spirit into solving the issues of the present day, seemed to promise a much more fruitful outcome, then and there. The lights blinked again and Lydia could swear she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, he was there then, he was not. She ran out of the room, ignoring Maylee''s calls for her attention. "Stiles! Stiles...Stiles," she half shouted, half whispered his name, almost like the words clogged her windpipe. She burst into his room, in a huff, making Noah leap out of his seat, his eyes flashed with concern. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Lydia? What''s happening?" he asked as she got close enough to hold Stiles''s hand. She sniveled before answering with a small voice," The nogitsune...Is back, he''s back," she muttered, not taking her eyes off her boyfriend. Upon hearing that information, the sheriff''s mouth opened up slightly then closed shut immediately after, whatever he had to say seemed to have died in his throat. " What''s going on?" Liam''s inquiry grabbed their focus, but before anything could be said, the lights went off and remained off. " What the hell?" cursed Stilinski, a tiny click near Lydia indicated that Noah had picked his weapon up from its holster. All three in the room, abided by the voice inside their heads, murmuring at them to keep quiet. She had the time to hear what sounded like steady ticking noises, similar to the one spiders make, accompanied by the cries of the air being sliced by a long and sharp blade. Liam''s glowing eyes cut through the veil of unnatural darkness around them, as soon as the golden hue flared however, he sucked in a sharp breath and yelled," Lydia, get down!" before darting forward. She immediately ducked, and threw her leg backwards, she thought she hit the jackpot when she felt a mass colliding with the bottom of her foot, she pushed it back with all the might and strength she could muster. The lights shone bright once more, for Lydia to realize that the man... The creature she''d just kicked, had barely stumbled a few inches back. Before Liam tackled it to the ground, Lydia identified the supernatural, by virtue of the sword it brandished, the disturbing, nightmare inducing mask it bore to cover its face and the fancy all black attire. Stilinski fired three times at the Oni but in vain, they all knew better, they were aware that in order to kill an Oni, one needed to use weapons fashioned out of pure silver. It lifted Liam from is collar and trusted him against one of the walls. "Out of the way!" Maylee stood at the door and shouted at Lydia, who didn''t realize she''d moved in front of the Oni, she obliged, in time to dodge the sword that shot right past her, Maylee lifted her hands up to a defensive position, gathered all the air she could suck into her lungs, then let it all back out in a loud, agonizing shriek. The scream powered by her inhuman vocal cords reached the creature at the same time as the sword she''d thrown beforehand; a yellow gleam manifested from the Oni''s chest the moment the blade stabbed through it, the demon imploded in a ground shaking reverberation, and just like that it... It was no more. Surprise, surprise "All healed? " Peter asked, as him and Malia sat on the ground, their backs pressed against a tree trunk. "Pretty much," she answered, then she asked a question of her own, "Now what?" "I think the best thing to do is to avoid all confrontation with them," he suggested. "And for how long do you think we can keep that up?" Running away from the berserkers exhausted them to their core, their legs couldn''t carry them no more, so they settled for trying to even their breathing out, in hopes of coming with a plan during that process. Malia flashed her coyote eyes blue and thoroughly scanned the area surrounding them. Peter waited patiently for her response and asked as she reverted her eyes back to her human ones, " Saw anything?" "No, but we can''t stay here for too long," she said. She paused for a moment, then she asked," Ideas on where we are? Or what this could be?" "Not sure but considering we should have reached the house by now, I''d say we were driving in a loop, now I don''t know of any creature that could create time loops like that," he stated. "The sky is still pitch black," Malia said looking upwards. "What are you getting at?" "If it was just a time loop then, wouldn''t the sky look natural, just looped?" Her question stirred some cogitation in Peter''s mind, "If the sky isn''t real then, maybe nothing else is, maybe it''s all an illusion," "Well, the accident and the berserkers were pretty real," she added. "We need to find a portal," "A portal?" "Some sort of doorway back to the real world, the way we see it under normal light, I don''t know how to explain it," he tried. "So, an exit from the illusion?" "You got the point," he whined before getting up to his feet making sure to look around him, " C''mon, we really got to get outta here," She copied his actions and stood from her resting place, by then their breathing had slowed back to their normal rates. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. They poured their efforts into keeping alert over any unfitting detail around, watchful of their own steps. They cemented in place when they heard another low, long growl, they just couldn''t pinpoint its provenance. "Where is it coming from?" Malia asked as she looked around for the source. Peter took the time to do the same and come to terms with the answer he came up with," Everywhere..." he said, defeated. **** Meanwhile and apparently, in another universe, Alec walked close to a vending machine, deliberating his pick from the various choices available. When, all of a sudden, the lights went completely out, then he heard Liam''s voice yell out for Lydia to watch out. The lights came back on, then what sounded like three gunshots came through the same direction and Alec darted towards his friends to help in whatever way he could. As he turned around the corner however, he was met with an unknown figure. Well, he''d never seen one in person, but he''d heard all about the story of the Oni, he distinctly remembered the part where one of them took the life of a member of the pack, that part stuck with him. It puffed in from thin air, tarnishing the once lit way with murky, opaque smokes of shadow. He had to think fast after that, the creature in front of him was ruthless. It wasted no time to brandish its poisonous sword and swinging at Alec one first time, in an attempt to decapitate him before he ducked promptly. He jumped back, head hunched forward, just intime to dodge the blade falling short from disemboweling him. He knew the only way to really get rid of an Oni was through the use of silver, the question for him was, where the hell could he find any of it then and there? So, for that time being, he resorted to bending out of shape to evade any injury at their hands, he also knew that the cuts they made were nastier than mere ones. It pushed him towards the makeshift exit door, that opened on the backside of the hospital. Alec rolled back on the ground, again avoiding a slashing in the nick of time. He got back on his feet; he looked around himself to see he was in the empty lower level of the parking lot. it was time for him to hit back, just hard enough to allow him the time to get around it, he needed to get back by his friend''s side, they''d have a solution, surely. Better fight those things together rather than solo. He heard a second low and steady clicking sound behind him, his legs refused to further move back, he snapped around sharply to see a second Oni posted behind himself, ready to attack. Only that time, Alec didn''t have time to react accordingly, and was lacerated enough to cause him to fall on the ground. The other enemy grabbed his sword with both hands, and he lifted it, as far as he could manage above his head, ready to stab it with full force right into Alec''s throat. The young wolf lied helpless on his back, he saw his life flash before him, unable to heal fast enough to take any action to save his own skin. A new loud gunshot blared and rumbled the silence of the night, The bullet flew right through the chest of the Oni that was preparing to execute Alec, giving sight to a bright yellow light from the wound, it shone brighter each second that passed, until it engulfed the creature entirely before it went up into smithereens. Alec lifted his head off the ground, curious about the identity of his savior. He wasn''t ready for the shock he was in for. All he could utter was the name of his hero," Daniel?" In enemies Clutches "Last time I checked, you three were not on the best of terms," said Derek to the three individuals that trapped him in the triangle shape they''d created standing around him. "Well yeah, Kali did slash my face and left me for dead in order to be with Anas, but that''s all behind us now," retorted Jennifer. "Is that so?" asked Derek again. "And she did kill me so...," added Kali from where she stood. "Is there any use in asking you, how you all somehow got back to life?" Derek tried. "I wouldn''t see any problem as to why not, but I can''t see why yes either," Jennifer harboured a malicious smile as she uttered those words. Derek knew what they were there for, at that point he was just delaying the inevitable. Not only did he have to stand his ground against three enemies at once, but he was also in total darkness when it came to their abilities; he knew the old them for sure, but what if they were blessed with new powers since their resurrection? Anas kept his silence from the moment he showed his face, Kali didn''t seem too happy either. For people who were presumably there to take revenge, they did not appear to gloat the slightest bit. It all felt like layers on top of layers of strange. Nevertheless, Derek needed to brace himself for what was to come from them, pleased to be there or not, they did show up for the job, so he couldn''t let his guard down. "So, shall we do this or not?" said Derek. "Ow, you''re in a rush I see..." said Jennifer tauntingly, she gave one of her mischievous smiles before her eyes darted from Derek to Anas, then Kali. Who was going to make the first move? They quit all and any motion all of a sudden, for a brief while, they kept their activities to the minimum of breathing... Anticipating. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," It was Jennifer who threw the first punch. Well, a punch is mainly an expression; she lifted her arm up in front of herself suddenly, pushing the air forward with her open palm, her eyes had entirely shifted to a white color as she did that. Derek felt like his body was yanked backwards, as he felt a strong breeze emanating from her open hand, his feet detached from the ground; he was flung against something metallic, judging by the sound he made at the collision a few feet away behind him, he found no time to identify the machinery however, then again, what was the use? "What are you too waiting for? An invitation?" she spouted in Kali''s and Anas directions. They seemed reluctant, and she didn''t like that. Both of them glared at her, before turning Derek''s way, and heading towards him. "Where did he go?" Anas asked, as they halted in their tracks when they saw that Derek had vanished from the spot he fell at. " You''re both alpha werewolves, don''t act like you can''t find him!" she said, "hear that, Derek? I know you''re here; I know you''re hiding, but you can''t hide forever," she taunted. Her words gave him a sour taste, even though he knew she was right, there weren''t enough machines for him to endlessly hide behind, not much to keep them at bay for long; he needed a plan, and he needed it fast. **** He was wrong indeed, seeing his own end, had a thousand ways of being more painful than predicting that of others. At least those were the thoughts of Parrish, as he sat trapped within a cube made out of six walls, all around him. Upon contact, they seemed very solid and very real. Was there really no hope for him? "Why didn''t you come sooner?" Sanders''s voice blared in Jordan''s mind like an echo chamber; he flipped himself around to see him. No, no, whatever that was, it only had the appearance of sanders, as well as his voice before what happened to him in that place. "You could have saved us Jordan!" another voice boomed, this time it was his other colleague, Bince who stood to his other side. But once again, Parrish knew it wasn''t real. "You really are good for nothing..." Fisher''s remark made him cover his two ears with his hands, he pressed on them as hard as he could, hoping he could lock their voices out of his head, in vain of course. He opened his eyes back to see that his three unalive colleagues, had surrounded him, their backs against the walls of the concreate cubicle he was trapped inside of. Parrish slowly crouched down and hid his face behind his palms, then moved his fingers through his hair, sighed but not in relief; he wondered about Lydia, what was she doing then? He also wondered why she was the one on his mind then... Trickery, Mockery Deaton put his baton up just in time to block the sword swinging towards him. The Oni swung again but was blocked once more. The two of them kept on with that exchange, hitting, dodging and blocking, until a third element perturbed the balance of it. A second Oni spawned out of thin shadow ribbons behind Deaton; the man was barely holding his own against one demon, he knew he wouldn''t last long with two at his throat. He held his metal baton up in a horizontal orientation in order to stop the sword from slicing him into two halfs, the creature threatening him from behind however, had a green light to act. It took momentum, getting ready to puncture through his spine. Thankfully, Lydia''s strong vocal cords were there to fall back on, as she sent the Oni flying backwards, sparing Deaton''s life in te process. When she saw that he could most likely handle things from there, she made a swift turn around herself, to see Liam busy clawing his way through another demon''s chest. Both Maylee and Rosalie were involved in fights of their own, and looked like they were fine off. Mason was emptying his gun inside an enemy''s guts, he was shortly after backed up by Cory, who made himself visible again to the human eyes, he stood behind the Oni and bonked it with his own gun, to its head, hard enough to send it to the ground on its side. "Everyone c''mon!!" Melissa screamed from inside the room where Stiles lied. She had had the genius idea to disperse mountain ash powder all around the inside of that room, knowing that the creatures couldn''t spawn inside that perimeter, she thought it would give them sometime to think of a plan. Everyone scrambled her way, doing their best to shake their opponents off. " How long will it last?" asked Stilinski once they were all inside the temporary safe zone. "Not sure, but I wouldn''t count on it for very long," the reply came from Melissa. " Do you think the others are...?" Rosalie began to ask but trailed off. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. " Do I think the others are also fighting? Well, definitely, but I wouldn''t worry about them if I were you," retorted Maylee. Rosalie seemed to be accepting of that response way too easily for Mason''s taste, "What do you mean by not to worry about them? If they''re attacked by these things, I am pretty sure a lot of worrying should be done," The lights began to flicker on and off restlessly, that was when Liam realized something, or the absence of someone that should have been with them," Wait, where is Alec?" " What do you mean? He''s standing right over there," Lydia pointed at one of the corners in the room, confused by Liam''s question. " Where? Lydia, I don''t see anybody there," replied Liam. " We... can''t see him either if that means anything..." added Melissa. There was nobody else there indeed, only Lydia''s eyes were seeing him; she turned her head slightly to the side and..." Jordan?" she muttered when she saw Parrish, she kept on turning, " Malia?... Peter?" the slow pivoting she was doing became frantic," Derek? Scott?" she wasn''t murmuring anymore. But then she stopped dead in her motion, shocked," S... Stiles?" she uttered. At the exception of Maylee, everyone around Lydia seemed lost, when she said Stiles''s name however, they all turned to him on the bed. " What the hell?" sheriff stilinski stiffened. Lydia directed her attention towards the bed as well by then," Where is he? Where is Stiles?" Stiles was no longer lying down, in fact he was nowhere to be in that room, none of the others that Lydia saw seconds before were either. They all vanished the same way they appeared, because they were never there, she realized, she was just having a banshee premonition. **** Where was Stiles? Stiles staggered along the hospital hallway, only one purpose in mind, what was his purpose? Whenever he tried to think about it clearly in his head, it all seemed so blurry; why was he heading towards the roof afterall? Noway to grasp that, he just felt the urge to. As he moved, he didn''t seem to encounter any human soul; before he could wonder about the reasons for that, he had already made it to the highest floor; and something else caught his attention; words around him, on posters, patient files near their room entrances and warning signs along his way. He could read all of them. "Am I still dreaming?" he muttered to himself. " Why don''t you find that out on your own?" an unpleasantly familiar voice whispered behind him, so close that he could feel their breath on the back of his neck. His only way of putting any kind of distance between them two, was to push open the rooftop door and throw himself out under the still dark sky. He wondered if he was contemplating the real sky or, if he was still stuck in his nightmare, he pondered about the thought that, the night was stretching beyond its own time, but then, his mind became preoccupied by something else... The silhouette standing right by the edge, she looked like she was ready to jump. Was she a patient? She was dressed like one. Stiles froze in astonishment, when he thought he recognized her ... "M... Mom?" he mouthed with a shaky voice. King of hearts Scott approached the creature ahead of him, without reluctance, but apprehensive, nonetheless. That abomination on the other hand stood its ground, very confident. "Matt?" uttered Scott once he thought he got close enough to the thing. "Scott," Matt said in a taunting manner, "Glad to know you haven''t forgotten about me," he added. "I wish I could do that," Scott admitted under his breath. "You''re an alpha now! Congratulations by the way," Every word out of Matt''s mouth felt calculated and planned for the only purpose to push Scott''s buttons. Not that it would be surprising, in a way the only thing that hadn''t changed about him was just that, his attitude. Everything else seemed almost too foreign; his eyes bared the same cold mass of hatred they''d always displayed. The only exception was that then, it was pretty apparent. "I see you upgraded too," Scott attempted. Matt ignored that remark and transferred his attention onto Chris, who, was standing a few steps behind Scott, the man clutched his weapon with a little more intensity than he liked to admit. "Argent! Still alive?... Unlike the rest of your family," he mocked him. Chris tensed even more than he already was upon hearing those words. Matt knew where it hurt, and he clearly enjoyed pressing on that sore spot. When nobody said anything, Matt decided to add, " I hear your father had been wreaking havoc around the world. I wish he was still alive though," he pouted. "And why is that?" Chris finally spoke. "Well, you know... I kinda owe him for the last time," "If you''re here for revenge, you''re a little too late. As you said, he''s dead," "Yeah, I saw. well, you know, we gotta make do with what we have," Matt cracked a malevolent smile at the end of his statement, it announced the colors of his intentions to Scott and Chris. The latter didn''t wait for an invitation, he swiftly lifted his weapon, aimed and shot Matt right through the heart and... And nothing happened, Matt didn''t move, didn''t stumble backwards and didn''t fall to his death a second time as expected after that shot. "Bullets laced with mountain-ash? Really?" The previously malicious smile Matt offered slowly morphed into a devious giggle. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Scott seemed as shocked as Chris by the facts, they stood transfixed watching the hole in the creature''s chest refill itself, regenerating cell by cell before their eyes, quicker than it had been shot. Braden had shared the information about the bullets needed to take the longtails down, wondering why those didn''t work on him, would need to wait. Matt had stopped laughing, "Well, you know, I wish I could stay longer for more idle chit chat but, I''ve kinda got a job to do, and I don''t want to fail," "What job?" Scott tried with him again. "You see, I am the new recruit, I don''t want to turn out..." he appeared to be searching for his words before he finally finished his sentence, "Disappointing," and with that, he lifted his forearm and flicked his finger in the direction of Chris. Neither of them anticipated the next thing, not even Scott. One of the extra longtails who had been lurking around them for a while crashed into Chris, sending him a few feet away from where he originally stood. The creature then turned towards Scott, picked him up by the throat and slammed him to the ground as hard as its power allowed it to. It held him down in place, allowing Matt to walk forward. He stopped near Scott''s head towering over him, "I didn''t have that kind of power last time we met, ow how tables have spun and spun around," "We didn''t do anything to you!" The alpha struggled to push the words out past his tightly held jaw. "What was that? Ow but you did... You stood in my way, and we all know how that ended," "What were we supposed to do? let you kill innocent people?" "Innocent!? Innocent? Of course, you''d say that, perfect Scott MCcall. You know, she was right, you haven''t changed a bit," "She?" wondered Scott, but again, Matt ignored his questions and turned towards Chris who was still trying to regain his senses, after what the creature put him through. He strolled his way dangerously and Scott knew what was on his mind. Matt was planning to finish him off. It was then that Scott found the imperishable strength to grab the large hand squeezing his throat and breaking the bones holding it together, in a loud and painful crack. His facial expression had nothing of the confusion exhibited a few minutes earlier to that. Eyes flashing red and with sheer determination he kicked the longtail away from himself. He ran towards Matt who, dodged him a little too easily. He seemed to have all the time in the world to simply move aside, as Scott jumped forward in an attempt to reach Matt, the werewolf landed on his feet first then his knees second. "Damn... You''re slow for an alpha," Matt stated simply, "And a true alpha at that!" he mocked further. "How did you do that?" asked Scott remaining in that position. "What?" Matt feigned ignorance for a moment before he continued, "Ow you mean this?" he said before holding his hand up and plunging it hard into his own chest, braving through the layers of skin, flesh, muscle and bones like there were none, but that was not the most impressive thing about it. As he did that, he simply stood there, barely reacting to what was happening to his body, it was as if that man, that creature had never even heard about the concept of pain. "What the...?" Scott could think of nothing to do but gawk at the pure insanity he was witnessing, after all the crazy things he''d seen. "Surprised?" he spoke again, retrieving his hand from his own torso, only for it to grow whole again before Scott''s eyes, "See? shooting or stabbing me through the heart does nothing to me... I am what you may call the... King of hearts," King of hearts Scott approached the creature ahead of him without reluctance, but he was apprehensive, nonetheless. That abomination on the other hand, stood its ground, very confident. "Matt?" uttered Scott once he thought he was close enough to the thing. "Scott," Matt said in a taunting manner, "Glad to know you haven''t forgotten about me," he added. "I wish I could just do that," Scott admitted under his breath. "You''re an alpha now! Congratulations by the way," Every word out of Matt''s mouth felt calculated and planned for the only purpose to push Scott''s buttons. Not that it would have been surprising, in a way the only thing that hadn''t changed about him was just that, his attitude. Everything else seemed almost too foreign; his eyes bared the same cold mass of hatred they''d always displayed. The only exception was that then, it was pretty apparent. "I see you upgraded too," Scott attempted. Matt ignored that remark and instead transferred his attention onto Chris, who, was standing a few steps behind Scott, the man clutched his weapon with a little more intensity than he liked to admit. "Argent! Still alive?... Unlike the rest of your family," he mocked him. Chris tensed up even more than he already had upon hearing those words. Matt knew where it hurt, and he clearly enjoyed pressing on that sore spot. When nobody said anything, Matt decided to add, "I hear your father had been wreaking havoc around the world. I wish he was still alive though," he pouted. "And why is that?" Chris finally spoke. "Well, you know... I kinda owe him for the last time," "If you''re here for revenge, you''re a little too late. As you said, he''s dead," "Yeah, I saw. well, you know, we gotta make do with what we have," Matt cracked a malevolent smile at the end of his statement. It announced the colors of his intentions to Scott and Chris. The latter didn''t wait for an invitation, he swiftly lifted his weapon, aimed and shot Matt right through the heart and... And nothing happened. Matt didn''t move, didn''t stumble backwards and didn''t fall to his death a second time as they''d both expected after that shot. "Bullets laced with mountain-ash? Really?" The previously malicious smile Matt offered slowly morphed into a devious giggle. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Scott seemed as shocked as Chris by the fact. They stood transfixed, watching the hole in the creature''s chest refill itself, regenerating cell by cell before their eyes, quicker than it had been shot. Braden had shared the information about the bullets needed to take the longtails down, wondering why those didn''t work on him, needed to wait. Matt had stopped laughing, "Well, you know, I wish I could stay longer for more idle chit chat but, I''ve kinda got a job to do, and I don''t want to fail," "What job?" Scott tried with him again. "You see, I am the new recruit, I don''t want to turn out..." he appeared to be searching for his words before he finally finished his sentence, "Disappointing," and with that, he lifted his forearm and flicked his finger in the direction of Chris. Neither of them anticipated the next thing that happened, not even Scott. One of the extra longtails who had been lurking around them for a while crashed into Chris, sending him a few feet away from where he originally stood. The creature then turned towards Scott, picked him up by the throat and slammed him to the ground as hard as its power allowed it to. It held him down in place, allowing Matt to walk forward. He stopped near Scott''s head, towering over him, "I didn''t have that kind of power last time we met. Ow how tables have spun and spun around!" "We didn''t do anything to you!" The alpha struggled to push the words out past his tightly held jaw. "What was that? Ow but you did... You stood in my way, and we all know how that ended," "What were we supposed to do? let you kill innocent people?" "Innocent!? Innocent? Of course, you''d say that! perfect Scott MCcall. You know? She was right, you haven''t changed a bit," "She?" Scott wondered, but again, Matt ignored his questions and turned towards Chris who was still trying to regain his senses, after what the creature put him through. He strolled his way dangerously and Scott knew what was on his mind. Matt was planning to finish him off. It was then that Scott found the imperishable strength to grab the large hand squeezing his throat and breaking the bones holding it together, in a loud and painful crack. His facial expression had nothing of the confusion exhibited a few minutes earlier to that. Eyes flashing red and with sheer determination he kicked the longtail away from himself. He ran towards Matt who, dodged him a little too easily. He seemed to have all the time in the world to simply move aside, as Scott jumped forward in an attempt to reach Matt. The werewolf landed on his feet first then his knees second. "Damn... You''re slow for an alpha," Matt stated simply, "And a true alpha at that!" he mocked further. "How did you do that?" asked Scott, remaining in that position. "What?" Matt feigned ignorance for a moment before he continued, "Ow, you mean this?" he said before holding his hand up and plunging it hard into his own chest, braving through the layers of skin, flesh, muscle and bones like there were none, but that was not the most impressive thing about it. As he did that, he simply stood there, barely reacting to what was happening to his body, it was as if that man, that creature had never even heard about the concept of pain. "What the...?" Scott could think of nothing to do but gawk at the pure insanity he was witnessing, after all the crazy things he''d seen. "Surprised?" he spoke again, retrieving his hand out his torso, only for it to grow whole again before Scott''s eyes, "See? shooting or stabbing me through the heart does nothing to me... I am what you may call the... King of hearts," Euriella Parrish only became aware of his lowering body temperature when he finally realized he was shivering. He''d spent heavens know how long in that square cube of nothingness, wondering how many minutes, hours or perhaps even days had passed with him still trapped. He''d noticed that the dull, walls surrounding him were being increasingly covered in frost and ice, their once repulsive yellow color was then starting to turn into a shimmering snow white, if only that meant a good thing at least. No, instead, Parrish was more and more coming to terms with his imminent death, he saw himself freeze out of commission. Although he knew the hellhound part of him would be just fine, he was already mourning the other part of him, the life of Jordan Parrish; he wondered what kind of world, and what would it look like when or if, he''d ever be set free from his ice shell again. How long would it take for that to even happen? centuries? He remained in a crouching position, hands tight around his own arms, in a vain attempt a prolonging the freezing process, perhaps it was the silence that would drive him insane before anything else killed him, all he could hear in there was his intense and desperate breathing rhythm. "Lovely, isn''t it?" or perhaps he wasn''t going to go insane? A faint and soft voice reached his eardrums. Without much consideration he responded, "What''s so lovely?" he grunted between his teeth, the cold becoming less and less bearable by the second. "Well, the sight of you dying of couse!" she said, sounding a tad louder than the first time she spoke. "I can''t recognize your voice, " he managed. "Don''t fret much dear, you don''t know me," she kept quiet for a moment before adding, "we don''t want you exhausting the last of your energy that fast, not before we get to chat, that is," The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "You''re enjoying this, aren''t you?" he tried to sound determinate or the least bit threatening, but his lungs were struggling to work, and it all came out in severed huffs. "Shouldn''t I? It''s not everyday I get to witness the spark of a hellhound flame out, it''s such a rare thing, you see? Even for somebody like me, " "Will you at least tell me who you are?" He asked. "Such a shame too... I really liked you, but we had to take you out first, I am sure you understand we can''t have a hellhound pulling our whiskers if we want to get some real work done around here," She''d completely ignored his query, Parrish expected it, she wasn''t just going to answer all of his questions, not without stringing him along at the very least. So, he decided to follow her flow, "You liked me? Even you said that I didn''t know you," "I said you didn''t know me, I never said I didn''t know you," "Are you gonna tell me who you are before I die, at least?" "I can tell or... I can show you," through her words Parrish had the feeling that she was some sort of an old soul, like she was from a completely different era, something about the way she spoke and the tone she picked with him," Well aren''t you going to look?" she snapped him out of his thoughts. Rummaging through his own deep sea of contemplations, he''d missed the fact that she... was standing right beside him. He craned his neck upwards with much difficulty to see her. In many ways, she seemed familiar to him, on one hand like he''d known her for quite the long time but on the other, like he''d only recently met her. Her gorgeous titanium white hair, extending down to her lower back, thin and loose but voluminous nonetheless, her eyes bared a fierce piercing look, as hard as diamond, the consistency wasn''t all they had from that precious stone, her eyes did look like diamonds, shinning gray, he wondered if her skin had always been of that color, or if... If she''d looked more human once upon a time, unnaturally pale as sheet she was that woman. "Who are you?" he attempted again with that question. "I am somebody''s daughter, used to be somebody''s sister And I..." She put emphasis on the word ''used'' in her statement and she was about to proceed, before he cut her off, "You''re a banshee!" he uttered, more so terrified than he wanted to be. "Well, mostly," she admitted plainly. "Can I get a name?" the words escaped his mouth before he could do anything about it. Why did he ask her in such a friendly tone? He''ll never understand. "Whatever use would you have with my name?" "None," he quietly muttered. "Euriella, that is my name," Once a killer! Always one! "It''s weird, I can''t hear anything. Can you?" asked Peter, half frantically looking to both his left and right. He was walking as he spoke but, when no response came from his daughter, he quickly stopped moving and turned around; only to see that... He was left there completely alone. No living sign of Malia whatsoever, "Malia?" he questioned, panic rising through his guts, "Malia?! Where are you?" he demanded in a more desperate tone. That did him no good since, Malia still was a no-show. He flashed his eyes blue to gleam the area around himself, in hopes that he could perhaps catch a glimpse of... Anything at all. At that moment his fears won him over, and he wasn''t only thinking of Malia in particular, he was ashamed to admit it but, at that instant he truly only wanted to feel another presence by his side. "Something the matter, Peter?" He froze upon hearing her voice, he never thought he''d ever hear it again, if not only in his head from times to times, when he reminisced on the old days, "Talia?" he uttered in shock, unable to turn around, unable to face her. For many reasons, he couldn''t get himself to look his late sister in the eyes, not after all the nefarious things he''d done years after her extinction... To his own family. "Isn''t this what you wanted, little brother?" she asked condescendingly. "No!! I didn''t... I... I wanted none of this!" he stuttered the words out the best he could. "Well, did you think that this day would never come? Did you really think you could escape the consequences of your own doings?" "Where is Malia? Where is my daughter?" "Malia? So, you found your daughter after all? That poor child, she could have gone several lifetimes without ever needing to know who her father was...," "Shut up! Shut up!" he screamed, in a mix of anger and plea. "I did my best to protect her from you! Seems to me... That my best wasn''t enough," she said. "You! You took her away from me!" "Can you really blame me?" Could he really ever blame her? For protecting his own daughter from him? He''d always wondered, how different things could have been, if Talia never took that memory away from him. Perhaps she would have perished in that fire like the rest of his family? He immediately shook that thought away, but he couldn''t shake his sister''s words off. When he''d laid eyes on her, he realized that he had already turned around and... When he did finally get a chance to take a good look at her; he thought... Of many things. He thought her traits had hardened, he thought her eyes had darkened... But in the midst of all of that he thought... That he''d missed her. Was she even real? Never mind that, he couldn''t focus on such questions, for his guilt flooded all and any part of his being. He began to remember all the cruel words he''d spoken in her regards, both to her face and behind her back; how he relentlessly tried to take the leadership of the clan from her, only because he thought he was entitled to such power. How he''d always undermined her authority and looked down on her ways, believing she was making them weak in the eyes of their enemies, but what happened to them after that? This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Well, this might not be what you wanted, but it sure as hell is what you deserve!" she cut his cogitations short, "Total and utter loneliness," she added. Right then, he felt a tight hand grip at his ankle, his eyes instinctively darted down, startled by how freezing that touch was. Odd, since said hand made contact with his jeans and yet... He felt like it was locked right onto his bare skin. That wasn''t the end of it, he lost all control over his breathing when he realized who it was, crawling on the cold hard ground. "Laura?" his voice trembled. Her right hand hooked around his leg, she managed to glare at him beneath all the dirt, filth and unkempt hair covering her face. He stumbled a few steps back before falling on his behind, his back sustained by a large tree trunk. "Did you miss me, Uncle Peter?" she said in an unhinged tone, as she strained her arms to pull her weight forward, she had no legs to do so, her body simply stopped where her lower back was supposed to be, she crawled closer and closer to him, she dragged her hanging insides along with her as she moved. "I am sorry, I... I am so sorry, Laura..." he apologized profusely between his breaths, he shook in his spot as the memories of what he did to his own niece, on the night of a full moon, bulldozed any other aspect of thought in his mind. "I don''t want your apology! What did you do to me?" Laura demanded ragingly. "What did you do to my daughter?" Talia yelled out, " What did you do?" she screamed louder. "I... I killed her, I killed... Her," he cried. "Killer! Once a killer... Always a killer!" Laura berated him. "Again! Say it again!" They both howled, their shrieking echoed loud in his head, it''d gotten so bad that he had to put his hands on his ears. "I Killed her! I did... I am sorry, I am sorry..." he repeated and repeated like a broken record. "What the hell are talking about? Peter! Peter! It''s me! Wake up!" That was another familiar voice, but his brain couldn''t process it fast enough, not when he was in that state; what did they mean by wake up? "Peter!" the voice called ou to him again, "C''mon! I think I found a way out," it said. After a few more seconds stuck in that condition, he felt a moderately strong blow to the side of his face and finally decided to look up, "Malia? Is it really you?" he pleaded. "Yes!" she answered that a bit too fast, "What do you mean?" she added. "I thought... I," he tried but she spoke again. "We were walking, and you freaked out all of a sudden, out of nowhere but... Forget it for now, I think I found a way out, look over there," She pointed towards an enlightened gap in the middle of the dark gown that covered that entire world. He saw it, then he saw... That there was no Talia or Laura around them, just him, and Malia crouched on her knees Infront of him. It was then that he realized that all of it, was nothing more than an illusion, a trick designed to mess with his mind, with his feelings. He felt a tug on his arm, Malia was urging him to stand back up, in order for them to run towards the gleam of hope a few dozens of feet ahead of them. So, they ran in its direction like there was no tomorrow for them. They leaped, throwing their bodies onto what they believed was the exit from that hell hole. They crashed on a hard, wooden surface. After a second glance once they stood up, it appeared to be floorboard, one that was all burnt up and damaged that is. As they took a more considerable look around them however, they began to seriously doubt that they had successfully landed outside the illusion. They were in a house, that had been burned to a crisp, they could even catch whiffs of scorched objects'' souls. They recognized that house, at least Peter did, how could he ever forget it? "Please tell me this isn''t real," he begged under his breath. "Wait, are we...Where I think we are? This is...," asked Malia. "The Hale house...," he confirmed. At the edge "Mom?" for the first time since he''d gotten to the hospital, Stiles was able to see what was in front of him clearly. For the first time that night, he was able to feel the cold wind brush against his skin, it definitely was a welcomed sensation, but he couldn''t take the time to celebrate it for the comfort it brought. At the very far edge of the roof stood a woman, or at least, that was what that figure appeared to be; she wore a hospital gown, all he could distinguish about her hair was its length and the fact that its color was on the dark side of shades. He didn''t see her face, but he didn''t feel the need to, he instinctively knew who she was, that entire scene being way too familiar for him not to. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she almost growled that question at him. "Mom, it''s me..." he desperately tried. "I know who you are! I know what you are here to do!" she spat furiously. "No, mom I... Please, get away from the edge," he shakily reached his right arm out towards her. He took the humble amount of two steps in her direction before she shrieked, "Stay away!" "Mom, I am not here to hurt you," he muttered, the weight of his aching feelings gradually muffling his voice. "Yes, you are! I''ve seen the way you look at me! Do you think I am stupid? I know, I know you are trying to kill me!" she vomited all those words at once, leaving him no chance to place any of his own. She gasped, for a moment she appeared to be losing her balance, her upper half dangerously bent and dangled forward over the far down ground, her arms could do nothing but flail wretchedly through the thin air around her, in an attempt to keep her body from falling. Stiles didn''t hesitate the fraction of a second to dart her way, but when he got close enough to her to hold her, her body suddenly stopped all the forms of gymnastics it was performing in order to keep her on the edge, and she simply stood still and straight, like nothing had happened at all. He immediately froze, not very fond of his odds with that thing anymore. He began to think less and less of her as his mother. Then again, he thought that if he was still dreaming, then that thing was absolutely a trap; the nogitsun¨¦ knew how much of a soft spot his mother was for him, and it was using her to make Stiles'' experience more agonizing for the sake of its own sick pleasure. After all, if a nogitsun¨¦ could fulfil any purpose, it was its ability to bring strife and chaos to fruition. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The woman disguised as Stiles'' mother began to slowly and steadily turn around herself. once she came face to face with him, she finally stopped her rotation. He couldn''t believe his eyes, it truly had every trait from his actual mother, exactly like he''d remembered her on her best days, he got completely lost in her deeply loving eyes, mesmerized by her radiant and genuinely warm smile, he let his emotions get the best of him, and all of his thoughts about it being a trap flew into a puff of smoke all of a sudden. She unhurriedly lifted her hand and placed his cheek right into her palm, it didn''t feel as cold as he''d expected to be, nor did it feel too warm either, in fact it felt just... Perfect; she gently tilted her head after that, smiling sadly, her eyes increasingly filling with a transparent liquid before his gaze, until... her eye sockets became too small to hold it all in, for one tear to finally escaped them, and roll freely on her cheek. "I know who you are... You are my son... My baby," she murmured between her cries. "Mom...," he spoke softly, unable to hold his tears back any longer. He had the impression that somebody had protruded their hand right through his chest, squeezing a fist full of his respiratory system. He couldn''t breathe regularly, but not out of fear, sorrow or even despair, it was all of those combined in one giant soul crushing ball. The fear that, that moment wouldn''t last, sorrow for all the years he spent parted away from her and despair, because despite all of his hopes, he knew that none of it was real... And that it could end at any moment... And he''d lose her again. "Do you want to stay with me, Stiles?" her smile seemed a tad less sad than the previous one she gave; she looked hopeful as she asked him. "What...?" he couldn''t believe his ears, only a few milliseconds before, he was contemplating the end of that moment, and then she hit him with that question out of the blue. "Do you want us to be together again? Like we used to be before... It all went downhill," she said. "I... Do, mom of course I do, but..." he stuttered. "We can, there is a way Stiles, for us to finally be happy, you just need to give me your hand," she stretched her arm out to him and opened her hand, waiting for him to take it. He hesitated for a short while, before admitting how all of it was too tempting for him to resist. So, he slowly reached his hand at his turn. She closed her soft fingers around his own as soon as they touched, then she began to seamlessly and delicately pull him towards her; he drew small steps closer to the edge of the hospital roof with her, until they both stood horizontally to each other. "See? It''s easy! There is only one step left, and then we''ll be together forever," she grinned. "What step?" he asked, his voice weak. "We need to Jump from this edge together, Stiles," Previously (4) Previously in the chapters {35 to 45}: All the members of the pack were stuck, going through their own ordeal, nobody was safe. They had to fight to survive. As Peter and Malia advanced in the unknown world they''d fallen into, they kept getting chased by berserkers. That wasn''t their only problem however, Peter began to have strong and nasty hallucinations about his dead sister Talia Hale and her daughter Laura, his niece that he''d killed on the night of a full moon in order to take the alpha spark from her. Malia managed to shake him out of the delusion and informs him that she found what seemed like a way out. Low and behold, it was not, they were still stuck, they landed in a place that no longer existed in reality, the Hale house after the fire. Scott, Braden, Argent and Nolan ran out of the basement after hearing unusual screams for help and gunshots all over, they found out the hard way that the longtails had arrived. The monsters took Braden out of the way, a potential payback for her intervention against them earlier that night. They attracted Scott outside the mansion to meet their leader who was none other than Matt, the young man who controlled the kanima a few years prier. He came back with a new look and new powers, powers that left Scott and Chris stunned, considering his lack of vulnerabilities. He survived a shot through the heart like it was nothing, and he called himself the king of hearts. Stolen novel; please report. At the hospital, everyone available was battling the Oni. Liam, Deaton, Mason, Corey, and the banshees. Melissa managed to create a temporary safe zone with mountain-ash to grant them some time, Liam noticed Alec''s absence, and that was when Lydia had a vision, she saw all of her absent friends including Alec and Stiles, which hinted at their very close deaths. Alec wasn''t as lucky and found himself isolated from the group, his fight was lead outside of the hospital and he couldn''t stand his ground on his own, he almost got killed, if it wasn''t for the intervention of somebody really unlikely, someone that nobody would have expected to save him. None other than Daniel, the hunter that held a gun to Alec''s head at the very beginning of that night when he was pretending to be captured. Stiles finally woke up, but thought he was still dreaming, his feet walked him up to the roof where he was met by an uncanny sight, that of his mother whom he knew was very dead. Parrish, still stuck in an illusion of his own, was visited by an unknown face, he discovered that she was also a banshee, and she did give him her name, ''Euriella'' she said her name was. She enjoyed watching Parrish freeze to his death and she thought to make a short appearance to gloat. Derek, on his own in the old Beacon Hills distillery, was cornered by three individuals, Jennifer, Kali and Anas. He knew he couldn''t fight all of them at once, but he found a way to drag the fight and give himself a bit of time to think about a plan. All trapped with noway out, everything lead to believe that Lydia''s visions would soon become reality. What would save the pack? Will they all survive? All of that will come in the next chapters. Timely "I never thought I''d ever say this but, I missed this place...," said the woman. She sounded on the older side and also had a bit of an accent. "Are we late?" asked the young sounding man standing a few feet behind her. He was much taller than the rest of the group; they were all covered by long black robes, their faces safely hidden underneath oversized hoods. "No, I believe we are right on time," A different man emerged from their midst, he walked past all of them towards the front. He didn''t sound very old but, he sure had a mature timber, he spoke with more certainty and confidence than the previous male. "It has already started, I can feel it," said a young woman from the back of the line. "What are we waiting for exactly?" asked the same young man from before. "The signal," "I know that... I meant what is the signal?" he asked again. "You''ll know when you hear it," another young woman gave him the answer, she stood right beside him. "Dying in a fight then rising from the afterlife into another fight... How deplorable," the woman that first spoke, had spoken again. "I hear we''re not the only ones back from the dead," "I hope they brought back the ones that killed me!" "We are not here for our pesky personal desires of revenge, do not forget that!" the wiser sounding man said. "It''s no fun then," Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "Do you all have your coordinates?" "Yeah..." Most of them said in unison, and most of those that did, sounded pretty young. "And remember, if we fail, then all of this would have been for nothing!" "Eh... We won''t even get to enjoy our second chance at life...." "What about you Deucalion? I''d heard that you vowed to never get involved in a fight again," "Not at all my dear Satomi, I... Vowed to never take a soul, not to never fight," The two oldest members of the group had finally addressed each other by their names. "Hear that people? He doesn''t want to take another soul," Scuffed a young man that had been silent until that point, as Deucalion remained silent. "We all made our fair share of mistakes," replied Satomi. "Well, some of us made slightly graver mistakes than others so, it would be really nice not to put all of us in the same load," The young woman that stood at the back spoke again, although she sounded more aggravated than before. "Still angry at me, I see," said Deucalion. "You kinda killed us... So don''t hold your breath for hugs," another tall man spoke. "Technically... I didn''t," "It''s up for technicalities now," she stopped for a moment before continuing, "If I thought I had a chance at killing you, I''d have done it the moment you rose from the grave," "But you learned your lesson, I''m glad you wisened up, Erica," said Deucalion again. At those words, the tall man that stood beside Erica lost his temper and dashed towards Deucalion, but the other members of the group stood in his way. "Calm down Boid! Now is not the time for this!" "Shh, listen!" said Satomi in a hushed voice. She extended her ear to the night; if dead quiet had a sound, it would be that. It felt like nothing around them was alive anymore, like it all died in an instant or... It went silent, in anticipation for something much more important than any chirping they''d make. The forest didn''t sound like a forest anymore. "What is it? I can''t hear anything!" "I can feel it, it''s coming our way," said the other young woman. They all looked down, sensing some sort of vibration crawling their way through the ground. Then, all of a sudden, a loud and ear-piercing shriek arose, it sounded so far yet so close. "It''s... Lydia," said one of the young men with a shaky voice, he''d recognized the voice of the banshee he knew once upon his lifetime. "I suppose that is the signal," "I believe so... Let us all meet again once our missions accomplished... Stay alive," uttered Satomi before they all scattered apart, for they all had somewhere to be. Twenty minutes away Twenty minutes before sunrise. "What''s happening? " mumbled Braden, her vision still blurry, she struggled to rise back to her feet. She slowly lifted her head, everything around her sounded surreal, the screams of agony, the gunshots and explosions were blaring loudly in the background, brutalizing her brain. Her vision had finally cleared only for her to lay eyes on Nolan, right as he shot a longtail that was approaching them threateningly through its heart. He turned his head towards her when he heard her words, "Finally awake?" "Where are Scott and Chris?" she asked as she stood up. "Out, there''s someone out there that they knew, they asked me to stay here with you," "Well, I am awake now, thanks for having my back. We should go, they probably need us," she added. She held her weapon up, ready to shoot as she exited the mansion, Nolan walked closely behind her. Chaos was still unfolding outside; more and more patroller vehicles were showing up, the door would fly open, and the deputies would immediately begin emptying their chambers in the creatures before them. Most of them only got to fire a small number of shots before they were rendered dead, too slow to rival with the speed of the longtails. Braden shot one through the heart, right on time to save a deputy from imminent death, "This is turning into a blood bath," she uttered. "I think it already is one," the response came from Nolan. "We need to find Scott, and fast," she said. Nolan Pulled a small devise from his pocket, pushed on a button only for the screen to light up, he swiped on it a few with his thumb, Braden''s curiosity awakened," What are you doing?" "It''s a tracker, it links me to Chris, Mason and Corey. This way," he answered before dashing forward, leaving no choice for Braden but to follow. Chris wasn''t very far; it was time that appeared to be his enemy in that situation. He was surrounded by three longtails, determined to erase him before moving on. He was fast enough to take one down as it was closing in on him, but not enough to dodge the hit he received from the one behind him. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. He dropped to the floor, leaving an opening for the second longtail to act, but right before he could sink his monstruous claws deep into Chris''s chest, he was stopped by the shot fired from Nolan''s gun and Braden quickly took care of the other monster. "Are you alright?" Nolan hastened to his side, worried. "Yeah, I''ll live," Chris said. "Where is Scott?" Braden asked. "He ran after the creature that controls these monsters," he said. "He wouldn''t just leave you here like that," "Well, he didn''t really have a choice, it was either that or I die," "The one that controls these is a lot stronger than the rest, isn''t he? Otherwise, you would have just shot him," said Nolan. "I did shoot him, right through the heart... It did nothing to him," Chris sounded like he couldn''t fathom or believe his own words. "We can''t just let him deal with it alone," added Braden. "I''m not sure we can do anything to help him," said Chris, his head bowed down. "I think we''ll hold him back more than help," stated Nolan. Not much cogitation was necessary for Braden to agree with both men, all they had were their guns, and if those didn''t work against the leader of the longtails then... There was no place for them in that fight, they would truly just stand in Scott''s way. Scott would have agreed too, had he been with them; he hoped that Chris found a way to save himself, as he ran through that dark forest. There wasn''t much hope to cling on to at that time, all he could do was run after Matt. Matt kept mocking and teasing him all the way through, Scott could catch a glimpse of him upfront from times to times, then he would disappear for a while, before showing up again. He just kept on darting forward, doubts creeping in through the cracks of his mind, an intrusion he couldn''t push away. He wondered how he was going to deal with Matt once he caught up to him, he pondered on a way to neutralise him or at worst take him down. He wasn''t going to hide sunlight with a fishnet, he''d always doubted his powers as an alpha. When it came to brute force, he wasn''t sure he could stand in the same league as Deucalion or the beast of Gevaudan. He''d always, in a way admired their raw power from afar, even though they had been enemies in the past, he could never deny the truth of it. He was afraid to faulter, he feared his determination wouldn''t suffice, he dreaded the idea that his burning desire to protect his friends and loved ones would never be enough, not this time around. "What is the point of being true alpha, if you can''t beat one miserable manmade creature? Tell me that, I need to know," Matt interrupted his thoughts in the middle. Scott immediately stopped, realizing he''d arrived in a clearing, Matt still in the shadows. "Don''t have an answer? Thought so really, can''t say I expected much from you either," he spoke again. Scott preferred to remain silent, to focus on his environnement, to listen... But most importantly, think. Matt was playing on his weakness, his doubts and fears. Unfortunately, that wasn''t his only weapon, he had the powers to back up the talk. Fifteen minutes away Fifteen minutes before sunrise, Anas and Kali were stealthily converging towards a commun point behind a considerably large metal container. "For how long do you think you''ll be able to hide, Derek?" asked Jennifer, she was still standing in her spot, unmoved. The two werewolves advancing suddenly stopped, an air of confusion plastered on their faces, an air that didn''t go unnoticed by Jennifer, "What is it?" she asked again. Instead of words, actions answered her questions. It all happened very fast; a black fluffy shape jumped out from that blind spot and landed right onto Kali, she dropped to the floor, struggling to get rid of whatever had her arm clutched in its jaws. Anas ran forward and grabbed the animal, only to swing it away a few seconds after that. It didn''t take them much time to distinguish what it was. It was a large black wolf, it stood on all fours again and staired intensely at them. An unhinged giggle reached all of their ears at that moment; they turned to find an amused Jennifer, "So it''s true! You have evolved!" "Nobody thought about telling us?" groaned Kali as she tried to stand back on her feet. "It wouldn''t have been very fun if we did. The look on your faces is priceless, worth almost as much as watching him die," she pointed at Derek in his wolf form as she said those words. Anas hastened and thought he cornered the wolf seeing that he was trapped between them and a wall. He ran at full speed towards him, but it seemed Derek hadn''t given up yet. He launched in Anas''s direction just as fast as him, but right before their collision and in an instant, Derek made the choice to shift back to his human form, wrapped his two arms around Anas''s waist and tackled him to the ground, then, just as he shifted, he transformed back into a wolf again and scurried back into hiding. "Ow! he is giving you two hell," the druid mocked. "Well, just stand there, don''t pitch in whatsoever," Kali complained. "Seriously, what is the point of the two of you? I don''t understand why they brought you back, you''re as useless as you''ve always been," Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Just how useful do you think you have been so far?" Kali turned her hostility towards Jennifer, getting fed up with the treatment she was giving them. "Ow, you really want to try that now? Remember how it ended the last time you turned on me?" "You had your revenge!" spat Kali at her. "Yes, I did, and if that was what I could do then, when I was on a few sacrifices, what do you think I can do to you now?" Jennifer''s words sounded like a threat, one that Anas wasn''t ready to downplay or risk taking, "Now is not the time!" he interfered. "Then when is the time? I think we played good puppets for long enough," Kali responded, her eyes beginning to glow. Derek''s suspicions were confirmed, even though they were there for a shared purpose, the animosity between them truly was palpable, they never resolved their preceding issues, they still dwelled on their past. That was to his advantage, had they been working in harmony, they''d have probably succeeded in their mission by then, which he suspected to be his death. Unfortunately for him, his plotting was cut short. As soon as he''d began to think of a way to retreat from the distillery altogether, he started to feel an unpleasant tingling that quickly turned into searing pain. It felt like having a parasite... A million small parasites crawling beneath his skin, fighting for dominion over his own body. His breathing grew irregular, his vision became blurry and soon after, voices were ignited in his mind, they were whispering at first, but then they turned into full blown loud screams. The pressure was too high for Derek to handle, he dropped to the ground struggling to keep his eyes open, his muscles spasming in their places. "As much as I wish to rip both of your heads clean off your bodies, I can''t do that, not just now at least, not while we have a spectator," stated Jennifer looking in the direction of Derek''s hiding spot. Kali and Anas''s expressions changed once more, as they followed Jennifer''s gaze, they realized that something had changed about Derek''s heartbeat, his scent too was different. They both grimaced as if they smelled something that made their nostrils curl inside out. "He''s... Dying!" exclaimed Anas. "You''re doing that?" asked Kali, just as surprised and even though she wouldn''t admit it, just as scared as her partner. "Yes, I can do that... I can do a lot more than that," she spoke, her words sounding like a warning to their ears. Right at the end of her statement, she slowly lifted her arm; before they started hearing the sound of metal under growing pressure, they both looked ahead as all the metal in front of them was bending and warping out of its original shape, for a moment they thought they were looking at mere pieces of paper being squeezed into a fist fitting ball. Finally, Jennifer made a sudden movement, with the same arm she''d lifted before, and just as suddenly as her movement, all of those metal containers and pipes were no more, she''d sent them flying out of their way, only to reveal Derek helplessly lying before their eyes, fighting to stay alive. Ten minutes away Ten minutes before sunrise. "Euriella?" asked Parrish. "I told you, you don''t know me," she calmly answered. "I feel like I do," "That''s natural, I am a banshee, and you are a hellhound, as new as you are to all of this, I suppose that you are aware of our connection at... The very least," "That I know of..." he muttered, "That''s not what I meant," "Then perhaps, you''ve met my annoying little sister?" she mocked. When she mentioned that, he remembered some of her previous words, something about the fact that she "used to be somebody''s sister". He also remembered that he''d met another banshee that same night. "Maylee?" he wondered. "Who else could it be?" she remained calm, but he could detect a hint of annoyance in her voice. She then continued, "They say blood is always thicker than water, no wonder she turned out this way, that bitche was adopted," "You''re not actual sister?" "I just told you we weren''t, is the frost clogging your ears too?" she snapped, "No we... We opened our doors to her, we saved her... Father saved her, I only helped her cope," after those words she sounded saddened, regretful. From the sound of it, she regretted that they made Maylee one of them. "Your father? Saved her?" "She was nothing, father gave her power, he made her into what she is today, everything she is able to do is thanks to him... But she went and betrays us," "What do you mean by your father gave her power?" Parrish asked, intrigued by her statements. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Well, he made her into a banshee of course! What else would it be?" "How does one make a banshee?" more questions were popping in his head the more she spoke. "The blood of a banshee coursing your vains and a tragic event to shake the bottle," "It doesn''t sound like you really saved her from much," Parrish said. "How could you ever understand? I didn''t expect someone like you to appreciate such gift," she snarled. "You call that a gift?" "What else would you call it?" Jordan forgot his pain a few, since their conversation had begun, he''d been very focused on her words as well as the information she so... Kindly conveyed. He wondered how much more he could get out of her; did he have a chance of survival? Or was he going to take it all with him to his grave, if he''d ever be lucky enough to get one, "Your father, who is he?" he tried. "You would want to know about him now, wouldn''t you?" she had that side smirk at the corner of her lips, that never had anything good to announce. "No reason not to," speaking was becoming more and more difficult in his state. "My father... What can I say about him? He''s the man that lived to accomplish so much, yet very little know about him," she paused, pondering about her thoughts for a moment, "He was born to achieve great things," "Was he?" She didn''t seem to like his tone, she added with an obvious hint of grudge in her voice, "Clearly, you wouldn''t know, he was always fascinated with the supernatural ever since he first discovered it, he never stopped looking," "Looks like he found what he was looking for," "Of course, he did," she seemed so mesmerized by her own words that she forgot to care about his tone, it seemed that, telling her father''s tales was a second nature to her, "He found three Para scientists, they were consumed by a single goal, and at first it was enough for him, he followed after them, they had so much to teach. But he became bored with them very quickly, he''d already learned what he had to from them, and there was no need to stick around anymore, their goal became too small for him," When she''d spoken about the three para scientists, Jordan had already gotten the hint, he knew their identity. The dread doctors weren''t going to be that easy to forget after all. Neither did he forget what their goal was, he was at the frontlines, fighting against their precious creation "The beast", well, recreation. He''s forgotten she was still there, telling her story, he''d also forgotten that he was still dying, he tuned back in when he heard her say, "Well, he reached horizons they never even dreamed of," "What do you mean?" he asked when he caught up. "Well, he created banshees, didn''t he? what else do you think he created?" Five minutes away Five minutes before sunrise; "What?" Stiles had been holding his breath for a moment before asking that question. "We must jump, Stiles," she said with the same bright hoping eyes. "Why?" he murmured weakly. "Nobody will find us, nobody will take you away from me again, we will be together forever," she spoke her words fast. "Mom, who would take me away from you?" he asked. "You know, Stiles" the more she spoke, the more she sounded desperate. "That doesn''t sound very fair," he turned his head away from her, to look down at the ground below. Life truly was unfair, but then again it was that way for everyone, or at least most people. Standing there near the woman he knew was in no way his mother, yet he couldn''t, he just couldn''t break his silence about it, he couldn''t tell the creature by his side that he knew it was just playing a trick on him. It... She looked like his mother, she sounded like his mother, she even smelled like her... He thought it was odd, he''d thought he''d forgotten both what she sounded and smelled like. Was it a trick? How strong was this creature? The damage it could do was incredible, inimaginable, but somehow Stiles was immune to its games, in a way at least. When something was too good to be true, he learned that it most likely could not be true. "Take my hand, Stiles," she brought him out of his thoughts. He closed his eyes, to savor what he believed to be the last moments of peace with his mother''s memory, then he took a slow step back, eyes still closed, he stepped further away from the edge. The creature took the hint, and decided to finally show its true face, it turned his way harboring a devilish grin. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," it said, unhinged. "I guess it was," Stiles replied, the same saddened look on his visage. There were only a few instants of silence, before the creature made its move. It traveled faster than Stiles could react. In the blink of an eye, it grabbed his throat with one hand, so tight his vains threatened to pop under his flesh. He felt the floor disappear under his feet, the monster was lifting him off the ground slowly but surely, Stiles could swear it was shorter than him a few seconds before but was seemingly growing taller and taller. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. It still had the appearance of his mother, but nothing about it felt familiar anymore, he looked in its eyes, searching for any hint, a glimpse of the woman that remained so very dear to his heart, but found none. "My God! You''re still looking at me with those stupid eyes like you can''t believe what''s happening," Stiles remained silent, not that he had any say in the matter. He could barely breath let alone speak, the creature didn''t care much for an answer either, it made the decision to throw Stiles to the ground, hard enough for him to wince when he landed flat on his back. "I just can''t get what it is about you that is so special. I lived for a thousand years, took so many lives and bodies, I still can''t understand what happened with you," "And you never will," Stiles sounded bolder in his statement, he slithered his body backwards by elbowing his way on the surface beneath himself as the creature advanced towards him. "There he is, the Stiles I knew, the Stiles I enjoyed toying with," **** "This can''t be real!" Exclaimed Peter, incredulous. Malia couldn''t believe what her eyes perceived either. The Hale house had been demolished a while after she''d recovered her human form, and she knew it. There was no way she could accept the idea that she was standing in that same house. A piece of her wondered, what her life could have been living in that house. Why did she have to be Peter''s and Corine''s daughter? Her life would have been so different if she hadn''t been so. She walked around, letting her curiosity loose. She fondled a few burnt wooden chunks between her fingers, "This was the house you used to live in?" she asked. She caught her father a bit by surprise with that question, he looked her way even more incredulous than before, "Yeah this... Looks very much like it," he simply answered. "We should probably get out of here," she said with not much conviction, her eyes still gliding on any and every surface or object she could observe. For once since his reunion with her, for the first time that night, he thought he could hear her thoughts perfectly clearly. He saw through her eyes, all those questions she kept hidden from him, she couldn''t foul him there. But he decided not to share his contemplations, "Yeah, we should probably do that," was all he said instead. "Leaving so soon? I thought you''d miss home," That familiar voice hit Peter''s ears like the blow of an explosion. They both stopped dead in their tracks, and slowly turned around. As soon as they laid eyes on the speaker, Peter was sent flying backwards only to land on his posterior a few feet behind. Kate Argent had shot him through the stomach. "You must be Malia," she turned towards Malia, "I never really got the chance to say hi," she kept on taunting. "Don''t worry, I think I''ll survive without it, thanks," Malia retorted. "Where are we?" Peter struggled to speak, still on the ground clutching his bleeding side. "We''re not wasting anytime, are we?" Malia began to show her fangs and claws, her eyes glowed blue in Kate''s face who remained unfazed, "You''re gonna fight me?" she mocked, "I can do with some warmups," "No! Malia," Groaned Peter. "I don''t think we have much of a choice here," his daughter retorted. "She clearly doesn''t get her smarts from her father," Interjected Kate before shifting to her were jaguar form. A berserker joined them just as Peter was able to stand back on his feet again. It seemed... They had no other choice but to fight indeed. To live or to die Scott opted on remaining silent. He flashed his eyes red to scrutinize his surroundings, but his loud thoughts clouded his mind and sight, he could barely focus on the task at hand. Even in a clearing, he still couldn''t catch a glimpse of Matt''s whereabouts. "Seriously, I pity you, Scott. I''ve been dead for so long and now, I can''t find a single thing to envy in your position," He stood to his left, no... He was to the right; it became very easy for Scott to get confused very quickly, and it became equally very hard to chase Matt''s hurtful words out of his consciousness. His head kept on frantically darting from one side to another, desperately trying to meet his enemy''s eyes. "This isn''t really fun anymore, you know? Maybe I should head back to Argent and the rest of your little friends, maybe I''ll enjoy my time with them more," "Leave them out of this! I am the one you want!" Scott couldn''t hold his words to himself anymore. "Who the hell said I wanted you? You truly think you''re something special, don''t you?" Scott was at a loss of words, what was that supposed to mean? wasn''t Matt there for a revenge? What else could he be trying to do? "What do you mean?" he couldn''t find anything better to say. There was no answer to his query, which led to him being more and more impatient, " Answer me!" he stood for a moment before screaming," Matt!" It seemed it was Matt''s turn to remain silent. Scott felt a swift breeze of cold air coming his way from the front, he was too late to notice the massive dark shape zooming towards him, and before he could react, he felt a significantly large hand clutch his leg around the tibia and flipped him over, he landed flat on his face. He pushed himself off the ground, only to be sent back down by something he couldn''t see, it came at him from behind that time. He sensed intense stinging on his back, he quickly reached his hand backwards as he struggled back up and realized it felt wet, the creature had deeply clawed him and ran for the hiding again. Something hit his face right as lifted his head, and once again he was propelled to the ground, but once he didn''t try to get up, he didn''t move, he just laid there, looking at the night sky... Was there a solution for him there? Was there something he could do? Was his answer going to fall from the sky? Very unlikely... "Giving up already?" Matt scuffed," Not that I didn''t expect it, I didn''t believe her when she told me you were an alpha anyway," This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Who was she? Who could that mysterious woman Matt kept bringing up be? Was she the one that gave him his life back? He knew he had no way of making it out on his own, not for that time, he was very underprepared to face Matt, or at least that was what he felt at that moment. A miracule was what he thought he needed, yes, a miracle... **** "Lydia, are you ok?" Melissa held Lydia''s figure to prevent her from falling to the ground, the young woman seemed dazed. "I can''t... I can''t take it anymore," she stuttered. "What is it? What do you mean?" asked Melissa again. "I can''t hold back, they''re all screaming," Lydia said as she brought her hands up and covered both her ears, she fell to her knees. "It''s happening," muttered Maylee looking at Lydia. "What is happening?" Melissa had turned her attention towards the other banshee. "They''re all dying," she answered. "What?" Liam freaked out," Who''s dying?" Maylee calmly turned towards him, but instead of answering his question, she said," You should go help them, they won''t last long without you," Liam didn''t budge, he simply gawked at her with the same terror filled look in his eyes so, she added, "They are right out the back door," Maylee slowly walked towards the hospital room door and pushed a scream out, which allowed her to clear the way for Liam to leave and go where he was supposed to, she then turned his way and using her head, she signaled him to run. After he obliged, she walked towards Melissa, picked the mountain ash packet, and recloser the circle to prevent the Oni from entering whenever they came back. "You can hear what she hears?" asked Stilinski pointing at Lydia with his chin. "Yes," she said simply. "Why is it so painful for her and not to you?" Mason seemed to understand where the sheriff was heading with his question. "You can say I am very used to it, and she''s not," she then moved in front of Lydia and crouched, her demeanor shifting gradually, she had the look of a caring older sister to Lydia''s regards, " Can you hear my voice?" she spoke in a smooth tone to the ears," I know you can, you''re not just any banshee Lydia, you''re a Martin," Lydia kept on rocking her upper body slowly back and forth, her eyes glued to a fixed spot on the ground, she seemed tuned out until Maylee uttered more words for her to listen," You''re done it before, remember? You saved Malia and you weren''t anywhere near her at that time, you can do it again, you can save all of them," Lydia''s eyes shot up," How can I do that?" she murmured. "Do what a banshee does best... Scream," Lydia''s skeptical eyes convinced Maylee to say more, "Scream like there''s no tomorrow and don''t worry, you won''t hurt anybody," "How do you know that?" Lydia asked, tears streaming down her face. "Because you don''t want to hurt anybody, and you know how not to do that, you''ll save everyone," Lydia thought fast, in the span of a few seconds, and little by little, her breathing fastened, her confidence grew, her thoughts aligned, and priorities sorted, she wanted to save her friends, all of them, and if all she needed to do, was to scream her lungs out like there was no hope, then that was exactly what she was going to do. With that in mind, she let it all out in a single blow, it went on for several seconds, everyone around her clasped their hands to their ears, but none of them really got hurt, they all survived her scream, Maylee didn''t even flinch, a big bright smile on her lips. From afar "They are right out the back door," Maylee''s words played on repeat in Liam''s head, he thought that she sure had to be talking about Alec, but she mentioned ''they'' as in plural. Who else could she have been talking about? He was so deep into his own thoughts that he forgot to pay mind to what was in front of him. Another Oni had appeared in his way; Liam cursed under his breath, his time wasn''t really abundant, but he knew there was no easy way around the demon either. He ducked in time to dodge the sword swing towards his neck. After he switched sides with the creature, he had a choice to make; either stay and fight or run to join Alec. He chose to go with the second option, considering he had nothing on his hands to take the Oni down. Liam ran as fast as his powers allowed him to reach the hospital back door and burst out of it like his back was on fire. "Alec!" He yelled when he laid eyes on his young friend. Alec and Daniel were pretty busy with their attempt to push the Oni back. From where Liam stood, their situation seemed quite hopeless. Daniel did his best to shoot any and all demons that had managed to get too close to them, while Alec kicked, punched, clawed at their enemies however way he could. Liam broke into a run again, towards Alec and Daniel. He thought he''d seen that hunter''s face before, but he also concluded that there was no use pondering on that idea then and there. He kicked an Oni that had latched onto Daniel''s back to the ground. "Can you get a clean shot?" Alec asked. "Not like this, I can''t," Daniel replied instantly. "You can kill them?" Liam turned towards the hunter. "I should be able to, I''ve got some silver bullets, but I haven''t been able to kill one for a moment now," he said. "Well, that''s just perfect. What about arrows? Got any?" Liam asked again. "Hand me a silver bullet!" Liam demanded. They''d managed to squeeze their small conversation in between hitting, shooting and dodging their assailants. Daniel was quick to oblige and toss one of his silver bullets towards Liam, who caught it and without any hesitation turned to face an Oni. He punched through its chest hard enough to pierce it, then he pulled his hand back away from it, empty, he''d made sure to leave the bullet lodged inside of it. The Oni twisted and wriggled where it stood before he went off in a ray of yellow gleam and a ground shaking vibration. "That was awesome!" exclaimed Alec in admiration. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "We''re not done yet," Daniel called for his focus back on their remaining enemies, as he shot a few more bullets into them. For a moment everything ceased. It felt like time had stopped, even the Oni stood unmoved. The hairs on the back of the werewolves'' necks pricked up. Liam and Alec clasped their hands on their ears, barely able to withstand the sheer power of that superhuman shriek, then they felt a breeze of fresh air hurling their way. "Lydia?" murmured Liam. "What''s happening inside?" panicked Alec. "They''re inside as well, what did you expect?" Daniel had interjected. "Give me another bullet," Liam requested again. Right as he caught the second bullet that Daniel had thrown his way again, Liam saw a third Oni appear out of thin air. "Well, that''s not good," stated Daniel. "How many of them are there?" Alec complained exasperated. They started another waltz of jumping, kicking shooting without much success. It felt like the more of them they killed, the more that came back even stronger. Exhaustion was creeping in; Daniel was running out of bullets in general, but they all held their own as long as they could. One moment of lack in attention led to Alec being yet again thrown to the ground; Liam tried to go and assist him but dropped his guard as he did so and ended with his back to the floor as well. "Guys! I don''t really have the ability to heal, you know?" Daniel spoke in a tone that he thought was calm, but he couldn''t foul anyone, he kept on shooting until.... He couldn''t do that anymore, "I am completely out," he announced. Both Liam and Alec were physically battling their injuries, the wounds the Oni''s swords had opened on their flesh were leaking black blood and discharging ominous dark fumes and they both seemed to be in pure agony. Daniel''s eyes kept darting between the two werewolves, seeking any glimmer of hope or comfort, but none came from the sight of them, helpless. He watched as the three Oni dangerously closed in on him, he was being surrounded, cornered. "Get out of there, run!" Liam managed to choke out, even though he knew full well that the man didn''t have many options there either. Another sound reached Liam''s ears, only that time, it wasn''t loud and painful, that time, it was swift and subtle, like a sharp dard cutting through air. It flew fast and lodged itself right into an Oni''s chest. Once the creature blown away, the thing that killed it fell to the ground; it did resemble a dart, a silver one. Something tackled a second Oni to the ground and held it in position, someone... Wearing a cloak to conceal their identity. Without any hesitation, they stabbed the Oni in the chest with a similar dart. Once the deed was done, the cloaked figure stood at their full height, and something nipped at Liam''s heart, a sentiment of familiarity, he felt like he knew that person or whatever that creature was. They were so absorbed by the first figure that they hadn''t paid attention to the second one, a much shorter one, who sneaked behind the last Oni and stabbed it as well. There was a moment of silence before two other Oni appeared, the two figures faced them, seemingly ready to fight but... The demons began to disintegrate, starting from one point at the top on their heads, until there was nothing left of them. Liam didn''t grasp what was happening till he felt a sting in his eyes; he promptly squinted to protect them from the incoming sunlight. The sun was finally rising, shining upon them. They all came to the realization that, so much had happened, in just one night and that and it was coming to an end just like it had started. "Sunrise was a bit late. She was right," the shorter clocked figure spoke, in a feminine voice. "How many times am I going to have to save your ass Liam?" the taller one spoke as well. "B... Bret? Lori?" Liam stuttered in shock. A settler "So, he made a lot more progress than the dread doctors ever did," stated Parrish without conviction. "That he did, and he still does. I''ve never met anybody so ambitious, other than him I mean," Euriella added, she seemed very proud and happy to be counting her father''s achievements to Parrish, so much so that she didn''t even seem so interested in watching the hellhound die anymore. She was looking away, at a random spot on the wall, deep into her contemplations and memories of the apprentice. "What else did he manage to make?" he asked. "I asked you that question first. C''mon! Can''t you take a little guess?" she taunted. "I am not really in the mood, nor am I in the position to be playing guessing games, in case you haven''t noticed," "You''re angry, I can tell. You despise what I stand for, but you can never truly hate me, can''t you? That, I can feel," Parrish lowered his head and bit his bottom lip fiercely; he knew she was right; he just couldn''t understand why. For a moment he thought that it could have been because of their supernatural nature, but she was also right when she said he despised it. "You died once before, haven''t you?" her words made him raise his eyes back to her figure, "This time feels different to you, doesn''t it? It''s a lot scarier when you get the time to think about your demise," "I have been in a situation like this before," he said. "I know you have. Only this time, you know you''re going to die, you''ve seen it, haven''t you?" She was ruthless, with her words only, she didn''t need to act; everything she''d said to him seemed to cut him deep, to hurt his soul, he wasn''t sure if it was because she was right on more than one occasion, or if it was his downright fear controlling him. He noticed that he could no longer feel nor move the lower half of his body; he thought there was a positive side to that since... He could no longer feel the pain either, but he quickly snapped out of that and his desire to live took over. He shut his eyes tight, in an attempt to activate his powers, he tried and tried, pushed himself to the limits. Alas, nothing came of it. "You don''t know when to quit, do you? Not that I expected you to, I just... I know you won''t be able to save yourself, and I also know that nobody is coming for you either so, might as well..." Her words were suddenly drowned by a familiar voice; he knew that scream very well, he''d heard it so many times before, "Lydia?" he muttered. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. There was a moment of anticipation when he''d expected Euriella to say something, to comment on what they''d just heard, to carry on with her insultes perhaps? But none of that happened; the silence kept on choking the small space he was confined into, until... "I think I''ve missed the sight of you," a new but somehow again familiar voice reached his ears, "I just wish I could have gotten to see you in a better shape than this one," she finished her sentence. Parrish struggled to lift his head towards her, but when he did and finally managed to see her face, he felt something he thought he''d never feel again, not after that night; hope, "Meredith?" he choked out. "Why are you so surprised to see me? I never really left this place," she stated. "Why not?" he asked whenever his shivering body allowed him to spit letters out of his mouth. "I''ll explain everything but first, maybe we should get out of here," "I can''t, I..." he opened with that sentence to try and explain to her the fact that he couldn''t feel let alone move his legs but, he was pleasantly surprised when he managed to wiggle his foot away from its original place. "You can get up now," she said, almost like she knew what was on his mind. He slowly started to hoist himself out of that painful position, his skin gradually regaining its colors back. When he managed to stand somewhat upright, Meredith walked closer to him and put his arm around her shoulder for a bit of help. "This way," she said as she began to lead him in a specific direction. He noted that the walls that had been trapping him had vanished, the way for them was clear. They were back in the lugubrious hallways of Eichen; along the way he tried to not put much of his weight onto her. "So, how are you still here?" he asked unable to contain his curiosity any longer. "You could say that people who die in places like these, in the circumstances that we died in, don''t really get a peaceful passing, nor a peaceful rest," she explained. "So, you were stuck here, all this time?" "I wouldn''t say stuck, I''d say I am more of a settler, but if you see things like that...," "I never felt your presence, in all these years," he said. "You can''t feel my presence for I''m already dead, you''ll only see or hear from me when I want you to," "So, you came for me?" he wondered. "Naturally, I heard the call of a friend, so I came," she stated. "You heard Lydia''s scream," "It wasn''t just a scream; it was a call for help," she corrected. "She knew you were here?" "I am not sure of that, but I think she''s not alone so, I am not worried about her," He carried on, asking questions and listening to her answers attentively, being occasionally surprised at some. He thought there was so much out there that he didn''t know of, that he didn''t see; so much of that world that he''d been thrown into only a few years prior. "We''re here," she brought him out of his thoughts when they were only a few feet away from a door. "Meredith, thank you," he believed he shouldn''t forget to thank her, she came to his rescue, even though she was no longer part of their world, she didn''t need to do that at all, yet she did. "No worries," she said, she paused for a moment before adding,"And Parrish, I truly am sorry for your loss," He was caught off guard with her last statement, he didn''t immediately understand what she meant until, they both went through that door they neared. When he laid eyes on them again, he felt his heart skip a beat, he sensed his throat drying. He wasn''t ready to see them again, not that he thought he could ever be ready to see them like that again. His colleagues, still hanged, dead... At the same spot where he''d left them before. First alpha "What are you doing to him?" asked Kali, her eyes on Derek, an air of suspicion mixed in with fear visible on her face. Derek was still on the floor, trying his best to crawl away from them, through the anguish Jennifer was forcing him to endure. The sight of him was deplorable and painful as he kept trying to shift, his eyes switched between his human and supernatural ones in flashes; whatever she was doing to him, was not only impairing his movements but preventing him from shifting as well, keeping him as helpless as possible. "There I am, serving him on silver platter to you, what else do you need me to do?" said Jennifer. Both werewolves knew what she was hinting at with those words, she wanted them to finish the job and put an end to his existence right then and there. Seeing as Anas was hesitating, Kali decided to move forward, towards Derek. He stopped trying to crawl away when he perceived Kali''s feet; he slowly lifted his head to face her. She towered over him, and Derek still couldn''t decipher the expression she returned to him at that moment. In fact, he couldn''t figure it out at all, he wondered how much time he had to ponder on it, on her reasons, on her motivations... "Are we waiting for the grass to grow?" Jennifer egged her on. upon hearing her, Kali''s lips parted in an attempt to push words out, but what came out at that moment was,"I am sorry," it mostly came out as a whisper. She proceeded to lift her arm up, her claws ready, to stab through his back all the way to his chest, till his heart gave out on him. She paused before giving the coup de grace, frowned then turned away. Anas seemed to copy after her, leaving Jennifer in the Dark, "What are you doing?" Before she could add any insults to show her displeasure, something came to her ears from a far. A voice, a scream, growing louder with the winds that brought it closer; it was her turn to frown after that. She''d recognize that scream among millions, even though she''d only heard few of it. Derek on his end, managed to exude an air of surprise through all those pained expressions he was reflecting, he wondered about the meaning of it. Was Lydia and the others in danger? He pushed himself beyond the limits of exceeding hurt he was feeling and clenched his fist as tight as his muscles allowed, saddened that he could offer nothing to help his friends, who he thought were probably going through their own ordeals at that moment as well. Something rattled things around. Anas, Kali, and Jennifer all began to turn their heads around, looking for the source. The disturbance, just like the scream, also seemed to come from a far. Kali was the first one to stop looking around the place, she''d locked eyes with a figure, humanoid at first sight, eyes glowing with a golden hue. She let out the smallest of gasps that didn''t go unnoticed by her partners; both Anas and Jennifer followed Kali''s gaze, then a short moment of deafening silence fell. "Did you miss me, bitche?" the figure finally spoke, in a feminine voice, breaking that lapse of quietude. She made a few steps forward, in order to leave the shadows she was hiding behind. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Erica?" Derek uttered in disbelief. Before anyone could say anything else, Anas was propelled forward and fell heavy to the ground; a large, cloaked shape rested on his back, they''d successfully tackled Anas from behind, "I got this one," said the masculine voice coming from the hooded mass on top of Anas. "All yours," said Erica before launching herself forward in Kali''s direction. Both women collided and had their claws in each other''s skin, they both wanted to live but Erica seemingly had more intention to win, but most of all, she wanted Kali dead for what she''d done to her. Derek saw an opportunity to lift himself up, sensing that Jennifer''s influence on his body had somewhat decreased. He sure was thankful to his rescuers, but at that moment he couldn''t care to wonder about the identity of the second figure, even though he had his idea on the matter. He quickly shifted to his wolf form and darted towards Jennifer who seemed a bit distracted by their most recent Developpement. But alas, he was too slow, she saw him coming and stopped him right away. He growled at first but couldn''t hold the howl back any longer, she''d inflicted far more pain on him than the first time she did. The four other werewolves were busy tearing each other apart in the background, the sound of ripping and breaking soon became muffled to Derek''s ears. His senses weakened; he was unable to focus his hearing on the area around him. Through sheer determination, he''d managed to lift his head with difficulty; he first caught a glimpse of a blurry version of Jennifer in front of him, but then... He saw something else, someone else standing behind her. "Somehow, I knew I couldn''t count on you two to get this done," said the voice. Everyone ceased their doings at once, "Oh! go kick some rocks, no one asked to see your face," retorted Erica. "What''s so wrong with my face?" the man asked feigning offense. In response Kali opened her mouth, shocked at his sight, "Deucalion?" "We thought you were dead," said Anas. "I thought the same thing about you two, to be fair," Deucalion replied. Jennifer had backed away from him by that point; she was a lot stronger than she''d been when they last met and faced each other, but she still had that inexplicable fear of him. She looked behind her only to see that Kali and Anas were already roughed up and bleeding, coming close to getting out of commission. "What''s the matter Jennifer? You don''t seem pleasantly surprised to see me," he taunted. She did not look pleased the slightest, in fact, just the opposite of that. She looked furious at many things certainly, but nobody paid attention to that side, "We''re leaving," she stated. "Leaving us so soon?" Deucalion asked, his tone oozing with sarcasm. "Don''t think so, we''re not done yet!" said Erica, firing her golden eyes at Kali, before launching at her again. But Erica never reached her target; strong winds came through the large doors and raised a tempest of thick veils from dust all around them. When it all finally died down, there was no trace of Jennifer, Kali nor Anas in the distillery, they vanished right before their eyes. "Well, can''t say I didn''t expect that," Deucalion announced. "You are alive? All of you!" Derek managed to say as he slowly got back up on his feet. "I mean, you saw them alive, why are you surprised to see us?" Erica had her usual irritated tone, before it swiftly transitioned into a smile, she ran towards Derek and hugged him tightly, stopping only when his wincing and complaining got too loud to ignore, he was still sore. He turned toward the still cloaked figure in anticipation, who seemed to understand the gist and took the hood off his face, "Boyd?" Derek was floored. That or the opposite really, he felt his feet leave the ground, he thought he''d be able to float from excitement... And joy. One that he couldn''t hide, he''d been the one to sire Erica and Boyd into the werewolves they became, and then he lost them both very tragically, very quickly. He was their first alpha. "I feel like I am third wheeling this moment," said Deucalion, amused by their sight. sunrise ahead "There he is, the Stiles I knew!" the nogitsun¨¦ exclaimed. His smile was only shortly displayed on his face. He cut it dry, his eyes still on Stiles. It seemed he was determined to finally get it over with. It almost felt like he didn''t want to do it, like he didn''t want to kill Stiles just yet, like he wanted to prolonge his suffering in order to revel in it a bit longer... "Well, farewell, I suppose," he simply stated. His problem arose however, when he couldn''t complete his action. The nogitsun¨¦ stood confused, wondering about the reasons he was hearing that scream, her scream. It wasn''t part of the plan, it wasn''t supposed to go that way; he too recognized that banshee''s scream, for he too had dealt with her in the past, Lydia. "Lydia?" Stiles muttered to himself, turning away from his enemy to look at the roof door leading back inside the hospital. "Not sure what that was about but. No matter. Where were we?" said the nogitsun¨¦, his mind set on eliminating Stiles. Stiles laid his sight back on the creature once he heard his latest words. Something peaked from behind the monster''s back, right near his shoulder. Stiles instantly squinted his eyes at what he came to understand was light. His heart skipped a beat at that realization, he didn''t even care about the fact that he was on the brink of death. That god awful night, that dragged its tail forever, was finally over. Stiles'' lips naturally pulled into a side smirk The nogitsun¨¦ took no time to notice that, before following Stiles'' gaze, and slowly turning around to view the sun, gradually casting its bright rays upon the town from the horizon. When he turned back around towards Stiles, his face was twisted in what could only be described as a thousand layers of rage and hatred. The creature only had the time to take a deep breath and open its mouth to speak but didn''t get the chance to come out with it. A thin silver blade promptly protruded through his chest; he took a few seconds to stare blankly at nothing in particular, then his irises fell down on the blade. Stiles noted that instead of blood, he saw rays of lights exude from the stab wound. The blade was retracted by its wielder as quickly as it pierced the nogitsun¨¦ who, had begun to spin his head around to catch a glimpse of his killer. But before he could do so, the weapon that appeared to be a katana was seen by Stiles go high, full swing, and behead the nogitsun¨¦. His head landed a few feet away on the ground. The body of the creature broke apart, consumed more and more by light with each second that passed, leaving free way for Stiles to gaze upon his hero. "Mrs. Yukimura?" he spoke. She sighed, before finally speaking, "You may call me Noshiko, at this point," **** The fight would have been merciless, if Kate hadn''t liked toying with her catches. She''d always been that way, as far as anyone that crossed her path knew of her. She enjoyed watching the berserkers give a hard time to Peter and Malia. Peter pushed himself as far as he could just to lay a hit on his enemy, but his recent injury was preventing him from fighting at full strength. He could sense how weak his punches had gotten; bruising a berserker''s skin wasn''t an easy task to begin with, let alone with a hindrance. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Peter!" Malia screamed before throwing herself between her father and a berserker that stood behind him ready to stab him. Peter only had the time to see the dagger after Malia''s exclamation, but then it was hidden behind Malia''s figure, who''d protected him from harm, "No!" he said, when none of them moved... Nor breathed for that matter. "I am fine, focus on your fight," said Malia through gritted teeth. She''d managed to stop the dagger with her hand by allowing the berserker to stab through her palm. She lifted her leg and kicked at the berserker that barely budged, but that action permitted her to push herself backwards in order to remove the blade out of her hand. "This honestly feels like the d¨¦j¨¤ vue of a d¨¦j¨¤ vue," stated Kate, she''d rested her figure on the stairs'' handrails. As burnt as they were, they still held in place, even in that illusion. Malia and Peter were in her view, she watched their clash with the berserkers with twinkling eyes, she loved following their growing struggle. Every injury and wound they''d garnered throughout that fight, she simply enjoyed the show. Everything must come to an end one day or another, and it seemed that at that moment, it was time for Kate''s smile to die as Lydia''s scream ringed everyone''s ears. "That''s Lydia''s voice!" said Malia. "It came through that way!" added Peter, pointing towards a specific direction just by looking its way. They both ran like hell, their only hope to survive at that point was to leave that fight behind, and they certainly couldn''t care less about finishing it. They weren''t a good match anyway. However, Kate saw through their plan, and she immediately ordered her berserkers to go after them, she enjoyed playing around but push finally came to shove, and she knew she had a task to complete. They''d managed to run out of the hale house but didn''t make it far enough from there, when Malia tripped and fell face first to the ground; Peter didn''t hesitate to rush back by her side to help her. As she was busy pushing herself off the dirt, Peter had the occasion to see what stood right behind her, ready to end her life. The werewolf closed his eyes, threw himself on her back and held onto her tight to protect his daughter from the incoming attack. An attack that... Never came. Peter reopened his eyes to see, that there was somebody standing between them and the berserker. The young woman didn''t appear to have been injured, she stood in place, her arms spread eagle to shield him and Malia from the berserkers. Malia thought she''d recognized the scent of Hayden Romero right then, "Hayden?" she said when she''d laid eyes on her. When the shock was finally out of everyone''s system, Kate spoke, "Interesting! They didn''t kill you," "No, they didn''t," Hayden said simply. "You''re not a werejaguar, but you''re not a simple werewolf either," said Kate again. "It''s a long story, that I dont feel like chatting about with you," Hayden retorted. "Whatever, maybe they can''t hurt you but... They will, them!" Kate promptly growled her order at the berserkers after finishing her sentence. The monsters advanced but, Hayden stood in their way again, but she didn''t stop at that, she held her hand up to one of the berserkers'' masks and gripped it. A few instants after that, its mask began to show signs of fracturing, and as soon as the mask had completely disintegrated, the entire berserker was rendered into a pile of crumbling dust. Kate''s eyes remained wide open before that show, unsure of what to do, but Hayden didn''t wait for her response, she took the initiative, "Berserkers can''t hurt a bone woman, can''t disobey her and can''t win against her," she said in a firm tone. "Maybe... But you still can''t take me on your own pipsqueak," Kate mocked Hayden. "What makes you think I came alone?" Before Kate could add anything, Jackson and Ethan came into view, one standing to her left and the other to her right, "Nowhere to run now, you old hag!" Ethan threw her way. "We''re not done yet," said Kate, then she continued as she turned towards Ethan,"I''ll make you pay for those words," Light invaded the space around them very quickly, they all had to cover their eyes to avoid potential blindness, and when they finally opened them again, Kate and the remaining berserkers had disappeared. previously (5) This is a recap of what happened in the past ten chapters: A group of cloacked figures arrived at Beacon Hills only a few moments before sunrise, they appeared to be led by none other than Deucalion and Satomi, two extremely powerful alpha werewolves who''d lost their lives during the all-out war. The individuals spoke among themselves about some sort of signal that they were waiting for in order to execute a mission. The signal came shortly after in form of a scream. Braden wakes back up to find the world around her in flames, the battle raging and people dying, she looks for Scott and Chris, and Nolan informs her of their whereabouts, they both charge in their direction, only to find Chris alone trying to stand his ground against multiple foes. Braden and Nolan naturally help him, then he proceeds to let them know that Scott had gone ahead and followed the leader of the long tails (the scorpion men) who was none other than Matt. Scott was indeed on Matt''s tail who led him deeper into the woods and into a clearing, and it seemed he''d taken him exactly where he wanted him to be. Meanwhile, at the hospital, the group wasn''t doing any better, they were cornered into a room behind a vail of mountain ash, Maylee lets Lydia know that it is time for her to give the signal out in the form of a scream, she guides her through the process until she does what she was told. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Derek was also in a lot of difficulty, being tortured by Jennifer for her own amusement, she had Anas and Kali by her side very figuratively, considered they seemed to be afraid of her more than anything else, she had gained more powers than she ever had before she died. Lydia''s scream had finally reached their ears, and after only a few minutes, new players entered the game, three individuals from the clocked people had joined them, Erica, Boid and Deucalion. They gave Derek''s enemies no other choice but to retreat. Peter and Malia were doing their best as well in the illusion world, but they were not at the end of their pain, they were joined by Kate argent and her Berserkers who gave them a run for their money. They were hopeless until they heard Lydia''s scream as well, and were saved by Hayden, Jackson and Ethan. Stiles was stuck in an illusion of his own, with the creature pretending to be his mother, it was trying to convince him to jump off the roof, as some sort of a sick joke on top of the lunacy. Fortunately, Stiles figured out the ruse, but even with that he still couldn''t fight the nogitsun¨¦, Lydia''s scream reached their ears their as well, before Noshiko Yukimura finally diced to make her presence known and saved Stiles for him fate. Liam had run out of the hospital room after Maylee gave him an opening, he was trying to reach Alec. Along the way, he was of course attacked by multiple Oni, he exited the hospital only to find Alec with Daniel fighting for their lives. He joined them and they fought as hard as they could to stay alive but, in the end, it was Brett and Lori who came in to save the day after hearing the signal (Lydia''s scream). And the first rays of the sun announced the end of a very long night for the pack. Loopholes Theo Raeken was lost in his own sphere. His body still on a hospital bed, but his mind couldn''t possibly stray further from that place; operating at full throttle, but not to keep him serene... In fact, it was doing just the opposite of that. Perhaps it was the so easily recognizable odor of hospitals, that haunting smell that filled his nostrils as he ran through the hallways of that building, desperately trying to evade the rath of his late sister. It reminded him of his darkest nightmare, where he was stuck, constantly running from his sister only to have her catch up to him by the end, and mercilessly rip his heart out of his chest, over and over, again and again. He... Could never truly blame her for it though; he felt he deserved that more than cold treatment from her. He thought that the pain of having his heart grossly ripped out, couldn''t possibly come close to fair against the sick pleasure he felt when he''d watched her agonise for hours and beg him for help before her death. Sure, it happened when he was only a nine year old but at that moment... It made no difference to him whatsoever. Stuck in his nightmare, he''d lost count of how many times she''d already caught up to him, of how many times the loop repeated itself. He woke up in a cold sweat again on his bed, hearing her threateningly whisper his name... Again. He got up, ran out of his room as fast as he could. Only this time, he wasn''t greeted by the sight of a gloomy empty hospital hallway, this time, his eyes landed on a familiar figure. He immediately halted, "Scott? What are you doing here?" Theo asked out of breath. "It''s time to leave this place behind," Scott replied in a calm tone. "I... Can''t, you know I can''t," said Theo, his tears threatening to fall. "Sure you can. This way," said Scott in the same tone as before, he then turned his gaze away from Theo. Theo followed Scott''s gaze, towards the end of the hallway which oddly enough began to seem... Enlightened, a lot less dark than it previously looked to Theo, but his eyes weren''t the only part of his body that took the hint about something new. His ears caught a new sound, a familiar scream, it felt as though it was calling for him and guiding him. Theo followed Lydia''s voice and Scott''s figure in good faith and then... He woke up in his hospital bed again, for the last time. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He sat up quickly, worried that he was still stuck in that loop, but then he began to take in the informations that his surroundings offered. The entire atmosphere was different; it no longer felt off, it felt just normal, then he heard what sounded like an amalgamation of voices and noises. From where he sat, it seemed like there was a struggle taking place a few rooms away from his own. He stood up, slowly and cautiously approached the door. Once out of his room, he turned to face the direction the sound was coming from; the more he walked forward, the closer he got to the source of the clamor. When he neared a corner, he finally slowed down, believing that whoever was fighting was right around that same corner. He peaked beyond just in time to see three men dressed in all black, force their way through what appeared to be a mountain ash barrier, only for a loud shriek to blast them back out, they hit their backs to the wall then landed on the flour. "Put it back up!" Theo recognized that voice to be none other than Mason''s. "I can''t, I used up all the mountain ash," That voice belonged to Melissa he thought. "Well, I guess we have no choice. Let''s get the hell out of here," said Noah Stilinski, before he exited the room, followed shortly after by Lydia, Melissa, Deaton, Mason and Corey, plus two other women that Theo couldn''t identify. "Go! we can hold them back for a while," said Lydia. "What the hell is going on here?" Theo chose that moment to finally announce his presence, but they were coming his way regardless. Instead of a reply to his question, he got a panicked shout from Corey, "Watch out!" It seemed like Theo didn''t sense the creature standing right behind him, brandishing its sword, ready to end Theo''s life. But none of that happened, the Oni stood unmoved for a few seconds before disappearing in an intense golden hue, leaving place to who stood behind the demon. "Satomi-san?" said Deaton. "Glad I wasn''t late for this one," "Wh...? How...?" stammered Melissa. "We can all be shocked later, we still have these three to deal with," said Mason, referring to the three remaining Oni. "I wouldn''t worry about those," said Maylee in her usual enigmatic fashion. "What do you mean?" asked Stilinski, but before getting any answer, he watched the Oni as they went up in puffs of golden dust. They simply vanished under everybody''s eyes. "Sun is up, the night is over," stated Rosalie in a relieved tone. Majestic The sun finally came to cleanse that side of earth from the darkness that had consumed it. Beacon Hills could only be thankful for that. The warmth of its light wrapped and delicately pulled Scott back to the land of the awake. He very slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying bloody, mangled and senseless, his back flat on the ground. He realized he was still in that same clearing; the only part of him that was set free to roam around himself were his eyes, the rest of his body remained completely still, too sore and damaged to make any movement. After identifying the place he was at, he brought his eyes up towards the morning sky and just laid there contemplating it. His face seemed void of all and any concerns, he looked peaceful and relaxed. For a moment it seemed like all of his doubts and fears were simply null, he acted like he had all the time in the world, like everything around him was just fine. Matt didn''t seem to like that, not one bit,"Giving up already?" he mocked. Scott remained silent and still, "I''d try to explain it to you Matt, but you wouldn''t understand," he said. Although, he wasn''t exactly sure of the meaning of his own words, perhaps he was truly giving up on his own life, but only unwilling to admit it; yet something else kept him calm, he thought it couldn''t just be the effect of sunrise alone. No, there was something else, he could acknowledge it without knowing its source or what it was. Then it came to his ears, Lydia''s voice, that was when things made a little more sense in his mind. But it did open up a door for brand new questions: Was it a cry for help? Was it the reason for his misplaced peace? Was it nothing more than despair in disguise? The idea that he couldn''t do anything to help his friends and pack, crushed his spirit, broke his soul and snuffed his hope. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Did you hear that? Your friends are going through it too. Look at the bright side, at least you won''t be alone in your afterlife," said Matt who seemed dangerously close to Scott, "No offense, but I can''t stay here with you forever, I am sure you understand," he added, the murderous look in his eyes was not a good omen, Scott''s odds didn''t look very bright at that moment. Scott closed his eyes for a second, then two, then three seconds. He began to wonder what the hold-up was, what was taking Matt so long to bless him with the final blow. A blow that never came. Scott reopened his eyes just in time to see a fountain of black blood trickle from Matt''s mouth, then his body moved a tad, it was as if something had hit him from behind. The alpha''s eyebrows furrowed, when he allowed his mind to focus again, he was sure he heard a faint and swift sound, the sound of a thin object cutting through air at a very high speed. A bit like... An arrow. "What the... Hell?... This is impossible!" groaned Matt, attempting to turn around and look at his assailant. Scott followed his gaze; he too was curious about the identity of whoever came to his rescue. Though, before Matt could lay eyes on the individual, he received a third arrow right through his thigh and thus he was forced on his knee. Scott''s heart began to beat faster in his chest, no number of words could have ever described his surprise, when he finally saw who it was that saved him. Nothing could have ever prepared him for a moment like that one was. He could see them clearer when they''d begun to lower their arms along with their bow. He thought she looked as radiant, as majestic as ever. When he was finally able to see her face without anything between them to obstruct his vision. She was exactly the image he''d kept of her in his mind for all those years, since the day he''d lost her. Moreover, she looked... Very much alive. Allison Argent was alive. To be alive Malia and Peter were the first to step back through the hospital doors that morning, for the supernaturals'' side that is; they were accompanied by Hayden, Jackson and Ethan. Braden, Nolan and Chris Argent, followed shortly after. Some of them seemed to be in need of some patching up, but all of them looked to be wishing for a new ticket to life, a do over, a chance at a boring and normal life. Melissa didn''t wait a second and jumped in Chris''s arms for an intense hug, the kind of hug that lasted long enough for the people around to feel uncomfortable, but nobody did feel that... Discomfort, not that the pair would have cared anyways. It was moments like that that reminded them of why they did what they did everyday, a chance to hold their loved ones at the end of the day was enough. Once they made sure that both of their bodies were warm enough to prove they were very much alive, they released each other, so that Melissa could get back to doing her work, tending to everyone''s injuries. She was cleaning the scratches drawn on Mason''s forehead, under the concerned eyes of Corey. "Where is everyone?" Chris asked as he stood near them. "Well, Lydia went to look for Stiles, Malia and Peter just got back, Derek is still out there, Scott called and said he was on his way, but I think a meeting or reunion is needed, "Melissa answered without looking away from Mason. "Scott called me too, but why do you insist on a meeting?" he said. She paused what she was doing, thinking of her next words, "I don''t really know how to put this, you should see for yourself," she said, she ushered him to the closest room, suggesting he should go there. Chris walked his way there, the first person he laid eyes on when he peeked through the door, was Malia, he couldn''t read her expression quite well yet. As he moved forward, he caught sight of Peter, who seemed to share the same expression as his daughter. Curious about what made those two look like they''d seen the dead walk the earth; he advanced further to finally see Deaton, focused and invested in a conversation he was having with someone Chris couldn''t see the face of just yet, he could only see their back, "What is going on here?" he asked. Only for the figure to turn to him and finally reveal her face, "Chris Argent! Long time no see," she said. "Satomi?" he uttered. While he came to understand Malia and Peter''s looks, he still couldn''t make sense of what his eyes had before him. He''d been swimming against the tides of the supernatural ocean since his very young years, but never had he encountered such... Situation. "Well, it is exactly what it looks like," Peter chose that moment to share his thoughts. "And it is just as crazy as it looks," added Malia right after her father. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. **** Parrish was sitting on the pavement near Eichen''s entrance, blue and red lights flashing away and colorizing the environment around them under the morning sun. He watched as the bodies of his colleagues were dragged out of that damned building, then put into ambulances headed straight for the morgue. He stared and stared at the immobile body bags, as though they were just going to open, for his colleagues to leap out of them and tell him it was all a joke or a mistake... Or anything at all. Only, nothing of the sort happened, and he knew damn well nothing would, but still... He let his eyes fall to the ground, somehow that was worse. All the events from the beginning of that night started to play back, over and over in his head. Did it really need to end in such a way? Or was there something he could have done to change the outcome? Was he just that incompetent, useless? Why were all his efforts so meaningless in the end? Was he ever going to accomplish something with his powers? Or was he just... "Parrish?" Somehow, Fisher''s soft voice broke through to him. "Please don''t ask if I am alright," he said, his eyes still on the floor. "I wasn''t going to," she lied. "I''d pay a fortune to know what is going through your head right now," she added. "Save your money, it''s really not worth it," he said. "Whatever it is, I hope you''re not thinking that any of this is your fault, I hope you''re not wondering if there was anything you could have done better or differently, I hope you''re not thinking that maybe, if you were faster, things would have been different. You''re not seriously thinking about that, are you?" As usual, Fisher''s words were right on the money, she was as perceptive as always, she saw right through him for someone that knew him for only a month or so," You can''t really blame me for having these thoughts now, can you?" he said with a bit more intensity in his tone. "Blame you? No, not that but... Should I blame myself too? I did rush here without calling you, knowing full well the reputation of this place and... I even dragged a fellow deputy into this..." she said, her voice breaking further as she neared the end of her sentence. Parrish wasn''t one to mince his words at the risk of sounding hypocritical, there was a certain amount of truth to her words, she had a part of responsibility in the events she cited. But then again, he thought they all did, even though his tortured mind wouldn''t allow him to lean on that fact, he couldn''t think of an adequate response to her concerns right then. "Jordan..." he felt a touch on his hand, as gentle as the voice that spoke his name, then he heard it again,"Jordan, I am alive, I am... Still alive, which would have never been possible without you and..." she agonized to speak those words, her voice cracked and fell apart the further she pushed it, she sounded in so much pain, but she forced herself to say those words because she felt it was very important for him to hear them," As sad as I am to lose my colleagues, and I realize how selfish this may come across but, I am happy... To be able to use my lungs still, to be in control of my body, to... To be alive! So, thank you," she finally finished. He raised his gaze her way, he found that he was right to assume... She was crying, which explained her struggle to talk. He didn''t even consider that fact, that her life had depended on him that night as well, he was so focused on his mistakes and what he''d lost that he couldn''t even look at the brighter side, for he didn''t think there was any at all. He knew of the impact words could have, but never did he think it could be that big, he was in desperate need of a change in perspective, and he didn''t even realize it. He didn''t feel like he could save the world yet, but the way there was being paved, very slowly but surely," No, thank you! Fisher," he said, looking into her tearing eyes. Past acts Hayden walked alongside the wall patiently. Throughout the hundreds or so of voices she could hear in that hospital, she could make out one that she''d been wanting to hear ever since she first left Beacon Hills. Liam was talking to someone, no, two people; she knew them as well, only not that much. Hayden found their conversation quite peculiar at first, but then she recalled what her and the others did in Mexico, things made a lot more sense to her after that. "I don''t get it, I thought you were dead, I saw you two die," Liam said, he sounded like his sanity was hanging by a thin thread. "We did die," that was Brett''s voice. "Oh well, that explains everything then," Hayden smiled at Liam''s sarcasm. "Well, if it makes you feel better, we''ve been dead until very early last night," said a girl that Hayden believed to be Lori. "Ok, what happened after that?" Liam asked. "I am not sure to be honest, when I opened my eyes, I was in some sort of old temple. Apparently, it''s an Aztec temple underneath a church in Mexico," Brett answered his question. "Same for me. Sorry we don''t know more than that," Lori added soon after him. "I know Satomi was there too since I saw her, but who else was with you?" said Liam. "I know about Deucalion and three other werewolves, Erica, Boyd and Aiden, someone else was revived after us but we didn''t stay to find out who it was," said Brett again. "Deucalion is back too?" "Well, yes, most definitely," said Lori. "But how?" Liam asked. "We didn''t really understand the process, but I am sure Satomi does, she can explain it to all of us later, when the others come back," said Brett. "We just know that the temple was an important part of it," Lori added. "I am sorry I am bombarding you guys with these questions, it''s just that..." Liam started but trailed off. "That it all seems so crazy? When has it ever been otherwise for the likes of us?" Brett chuckled. "Yeah, I guess this is just beyond the usual level of crazy I am used to," said Liam. "Well, don''t hold your breath, according to what Satomi said, crazier is yet to come," said Lori. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "I don''t doubt that," he answered. "So, we''ve been dead for what now? Three years?" asked Brett, in a bit of a lighter tone. "Something like that," "What did we miss?" asked Lori. "A huge war. Humans against... All of us," Liam didn''t really know how to describe the events better than that. "Wow! I am not sure if I should be happy I slept through that storm," Brett continued and joked around. "God! You haven''t changed a bit," said Liam. "Well yeah, for you it''s been three years, for us, it feels like time hasn''t moved at all, it''s just like it was yesterday," said Lori. "I guess what I am trying to say is... I am glad to see you guys," finished Liam. Hayden felt odd, listening in on their discussion. But focusing on their words, she realized that, out of all the names they''d just sited, she really only knew Deucalion. It emphasized the feeling of distance she had ever since she''d received her first message from the guardian angel, that feeling of loneliness, like she was cut out from a bigger picture. As she advanced towards them, their voices got louder and clearer. When they were finally at her reach, she stopped and just stood there pondering, hesitant. Unsure of whether she should show herself or not, she knew they were too deep into their talk to even notice her presence behind that wall. She thought that perhaps she should let them finish what they had to say to each other, they hadn''t seen each other for years and for solid reasons at that. "Are you just gonna stand there?" A fourth and familiar voice came to her ears from behind, she flipped around to see him. "Theo?" said Hayden. Theo had his arms crossed, his back and one foot against the wall behind him, "Yeah, yeah, how dare I be alive? And so on and so forth..." he said. "No... That''s not what I was thinking at all," she said in a bit of a serious tone. he noticed a hint of what he thought was sadness in her voice, he couldn''t tell the reason why, but he did regret his last utterings, "Ow well, that''s progress," he smiled as he said that. "I guess it is," she said, trying her best to smile. "Anyways, you should just go in there, I''m sure you won''t bother them," he pushed his weight off the wall with his foot, then he walked away from her after speaking those words. Whatever he meant, she thought some of what he said ought to be true; what could she have had to lose more than what she''d already lost. She took a deep breath and turned around, she took a few steps forward, but then she noticed that Brett and Lori''s heartbeats weren''t there anymore, they''d left already. "Were you really thinking of leaving without saying hi?" Liam''s voice made her heart jump in its cage. He was standing right around the corner, waiting for her to pay attention. When she finally laid eyes on him, everything she''d thought of saying to him just evaporated, it was like her vocal cords just dried out on the spot. Her lungs felt heavier in her chest, and she had no idea what to do with her body. Thankfully, she didn''t have to think much about it for herself, she felt his arms go around her to squeeze her into a tight hug. She felt his warmth against her, and she could breathe his scent in. She finally allowed her tears to roll freely on her cheeks, she''d been holding them back for quite the long time. "Liam I...," she began. "It''s alright, you don''t have to say anything, I know," he said as he held her closer. She did have much to say, she wanted to tell him how sorry she was for leaving, how wrong she was to think she could just get away from all of it. She wanted to let him know how sorry she was for basically abandoning him. How regretful she was of that decision, and how painful were the thoughts of her past actions leading up to that moment. But somehow, he knew it. Somehow, he felt all of it. She knew she didn''t need to utter a word about it, because he just knew, he just understood, even though he couldn''t possibly know why. Lumiere "How do you know he''s there?" asked Noah Stilinski as he ran behind Lydia. "I just know it, I don''t know how to explain it," she said, a bit out of breath. They ran without a halt in the direction of the hospital roof, until they finally reached that metal door. Lydia threw her weight on it and pushed it without regards, then she stopped... Her face gradually switching expression, it was like watching light slowly brighten a dark corner, like a heavy weight was being lifted off her shoulders very little by little when she finally laid eyes on his figure. She didn''t need to see his face to feel that way, Stiles was facing away from her at that moment, he was visibly talking to someone that Lydia paid no mind to, it wasn''t important, not right then at least, their presence was completely eclipsed from Lydia''s range of vision, all that mattered was that Stiles was alive and well. He''d immediately turned around when he heard the door swing open behind him, and for a short moment they just stared at each other, happy to be standing under the same sun, reflecting the same light on their skin and in their eyes. They both thought it was amazing that a human being could go through and feel so many emotions in such a short amount of time. They both closed the distance between them for their bodies to feel each other''s warmth, they''d been a part for one night, yet it felt like centuries, they missed each other''s scent, and they missed each other''s touch. Then finally, their lips locked together into a passionate kiss as their tears broke free. Noah waited patiently and silently for their embrace to end, his heart threatening to leap out of his chest onto his hands. Unlike Lydia, he hadn''t seen his son for years, and the first he got to see of him was his unconscious frame. He felt a squeeze in his stomach when Stiles'' eyes finally turned towards him, he just wanted to tell him how much he''d missed him, how happy he was to see him back on his feet or... To see him at all for that matter, but he fell short on words, and just like Lydia he let his body do the talking for him. "How did you know I was here?" Stiles asked as soon as he broke the hug with his father. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "I didn''t, she did," Noah pointed at Lydia. "Yeah, I just knew you were here, I felt it... Not sure how else to explain it," Lydia tried to manifest her thoughts into words, but that was all she could come up with. "It''s because you had a vision of his death here," The fourth person on that roof finally spoke up. "Noshiko Yukimura, isn''t it?" The sheriff asked her after they''d all turned her way. "I did see his death approaching, but I didn''t have a clear vision of it, I don''t remember seeing the rooftop," said Lydia before Noshiko could answer Stilinski. "It''s like a dream, your conscious mind may not recall every bit of it, but it''s all there somewhere in your subconscious," said Yukimura. "But what happened here? How did you get here in the first place?" asked Noah. "I was visited by an old friend," said Stiles, not wanting to get into the details of how the nogitsun¨¦ had manipulated him before Noshiko came to his aid, if he could spare his mother''s memory from being further insulted, he''d always do just that. "So, I am guessing the Oni weren''t here alone after all," said Lydia. "No, of course not, they needed someone to pull their leash, all the while torturing me, I mean I think it''s impressive, don''t you think?" Lydia and Noah were glad to see that Stiles'' sense of humour and sarcasm as a coping mechanism had remained unchanged. "What are you doing here?" Lydia turned towards Noshiko again. "She saved my behind, obviously," Stiles answered Lydia''s question, pronouncing the last word at a lower volume than the rest of his sentence, a slight hint of embarrassement on his features. "I thought you couldn''t fight anymore," Noah interjected. "Not when the battles aren''t mine to fight," stated Noshiko in her usual unbothered expression. "That''s... Oddly convenient," said Stiles. "But how did you stop the nogitsun¨¦?" Lydia asked again. "I didn''t stop him; I just delayed his plans...But to answer your question, I am a celestial kitsun¨¦, my sword braves through darkness, especially one made by my kin," said Noshiko. "Makes sense, celeste or lumi¨¨re, both synonyms of light," commented Lydia. "How did you get here in time? Is what I want to know," Stiles spoke at his turn. "The guardian angel told me to be here," she said. "The who?" it made sense for Stiles not to know who the guardian angel was or what their mission was, he''d been unconscious since the attack on the bus. "Well, that''s a bit of a long story that we all need to sit down for," said Lydia. They opted to join the others downstairs and wait for the rest of their friends to come back to the hospital. On their way there, Stilinski was informed about the tragedy that took place in Eichen, so he chose to join his deputies on site instead. Links and Weaknesses Alec''s injuries had already healed on their own, he needed no assistance with that. He decided, after making sure the rest of his friends were all alive and well, to spend his time searching for someone. He looked all around in the hospital for that specific person but couldn''t catch a glimpse of him whatsoever. When all his other senses failed him on that task, he turned to his werewolf sense of scent to complete the job. It did turn out to be a tad more complicated than he thought it would but eventually, he did find him. Daniel was outside the building, sitting by himself, just staring into nothing like there was something about to appear out of thin air again. He seemed pensive enough not to notice Alec approaching him from behind, or at least that was what Alec thought. "What do you want?" Daniel asked even before he could see Alec. "Nothing... I just...," Alec stuttered. "I am not really in the mood to talk to you," he said. "Will you ever be?" asked the werewolf, then he finished his question when Daniel turned around to see him,"Be in the mood to talk to me?" "What do you want to know?" Daniel gave up on his attempt to push Alec away, it almost seemed too easy, nobody could really tell those days. "I don''t get it, only a few hours ago you were trying to kill me, now you saved my life and... I gotta say I am a bit confused by all of this...," "I wanted to kill you, but I wasn''t trying to," Daniel admitted in a softer tone. What he said didn''t clear the fog in Alec''s head so, he walked even closer to the man and slowly sat by his side,"I still don''t get it...," Alec''s words got stuck in his throat when Daniel turned to look him in the eyes, he bore an expression Alec couldn''t comprehend, the best he could guess was somewhere between pain and sorrow, his tears threatening to fall. A moment of silence followed in which, Alec wondered if Daniel was gathering his strength to speak up, or if he was picking his words with care for one reason or another, but then he spoke,"I had someone to care for, someone to love, someone to talk to... And then all of the sudden they were ripped away from me with such ease, I just couldn''t live with it," Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "They were murdered by a supernatural?" Alec asked when Daniel paused for a little too long, he waited for the answer even though he already knew what it was going to be. "A werewolf," he said, he resumed his story faster than he did before,"I watched the entire thing, and I couldn''t do anything. After that you can imagine what I wanted to do, I wanted to rip the heart out of that thing''s chest, I wanted to eat it raw. I didn''t care, I just chased after it for months until, I found out another hunter had already had its head. I was left with all that anger burning me from the inside and I didn''t know what to do with it and then...," "And then you met Monroe," Alec finished his sentence for him when he seemed to be struggling to do so himself. "She told me all supernaturals were the same, and that she made it her mission to go around and exterminate anything she deemed more than human, and she invited me to join her group. You might think it was pathetic but at the time I was completely lost, and she gave me a new purpose, something to live for when I''d totally given up on living. Deep down I think I always knew how absurd we all were with that mindset, but I just couldn''t accept it," Another moment of silence followed after Daniel''s words, before Alec''s voice came to break it, "No, I... Don''t think it was pathetic, I couldn''t think that even if I tried to," Daniel''s eyes darted towards Alec in an instant, he seemed surprised by what he just said to him, but then Alec said something else,"What changed you since last time we saw each other?" "Well, there''s already the fact that you could have killed all of us, but you didn''t," "Yeah, sorry about that by the way, but...We can''t just let you kill us, you know?" They both chuckled after Alec''s most recent sentence but then, Daniel''s face became serious again and he finally allowed the heaviest thought he had in mind to escape, "You look just like him," Alec went dead quiet after hearing that, he pondered for a few seconds whether he should ask or not, eventually he went with the former idea, "Look like who?" "My little brother... The one that I... Lost," Daniel confessed with the smallest of voices, almost as though he was afraid of what would happen, like he wasn''t allowed to say what he did. They both just sat in silence after that, Alec came to understand Daniel''s attitude towards him the night before, when he had a gun pointed at his head. In a way, maybe that was the only reason he didn''t pull the trigger, maybe he felt like he was watching his brother die all over again, or worse, maybe he even felt like he was the one killing him. It felt like it was a good opportunity to just look at the morning sky, and breathe all of that torment out, so they did just that, no more words were needed. Secret deaths Deucalion ambled the woods of Beacon Hills with a certain level of assuredness. He threw his cane forward before his feet over and over again. Not that he needed to use one considering he''d recovered his eyesight. After he''d spent a decent amount of time walking there, he just stopped all of a sudden and spoke, "I see you made it here first," "That shouldn''t really surprise you, I came here first thing after the signal," Aidan came around the tree he was standing behind. They stood in silence for a moment before Aidan spoke again," Why are you here?" "Did you find it?" Deucalion asked a different question instead of answering. "No," said Aidan simply. "Well, here''s your answer then," Aidan didn''t say anything after that, he didn''t protest in indignation, he didn''t throw sarcastic remarks nor did he hurle insults at Deucalion, not even if he''d felt offended at the time. Deucalion expected one of those things to happen at the very least but... Nothing ever came his way. When he saw that Aidan started to head in a certain direction, he decided to stop him,"Where are you going?" "To try and find this thing!" Aidan retorted at the verge of impatience. "Have you forgotten everything I worked so hard to teach you?" Aidan didn''t even turn to look at him when he said, "No, but trust me, I tried so hard to erase it all," he put emphasis on the words "so hard" in that statement, but he didn''t sound angry, didn''t sound impatient, just bored and uninterested. It was clear to Deucalion that Aidan did not want to be there in the slightest, "It''s a beacon for supernatural creatures, it attracts us, but we can only see it if we truly want to," he attempted to segway into a new subject with that. "That''s just great... And how do I truly want to see this... Beacon?" "You use your superhuman eyes," Deucalion switched his eye color from human to their supernatural crimson red ones. He resumed walking, leaving Aidan behind him. The latter flashed his eyes to their usual werewolf blue shade, then began to advance as well, "I guess you''re still an alpha... Even after rising from the grave," "That makes a lot of sense, when you understand that the process used to bring us back, rewound our physical bodies and mental states to the instant right before our deaths," explained Deucalion. "How did they do it anyways? I only know of one person that came back from the dead, and it wasn''t really a risk-free operation," Aidan was hinting at Peter Hale''s come back from the grave sometime before the alpha pack had arrived in Beacon Hills. "There are multiple ways to cheat death in the supernatural world, you just need to pick your...," Deucalion stopped dead in his tracks and waited for Aidan to get closer to him before completing his sentence, "Poison," If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. When Aidan''d caught sight of whatever it was that Deucalion saw, his eyes seemed to be opening wider and wider, quite in shock, he looked a lot more shocked than Deucalion did. For good reasons, what they had in front of them was nothing short of uncanny. They''d stumbled upon a small clearing. Right in the center of it stood a sizable tree stamp, only it wasn''t an unsignificant one, this one was the nematon. That wasn''t even the craziest part about it. Because all around it, a mass of human carcasses laid scattered, all mutilated, defiled and lumped one on top of the other with a disturbing lack of care. Neither Deucalion nor Aidan could count their numbers. In the end, how many were they? Who were they? None of the answers to those questions really mattered, the bitter truth remained... They were pawns in somebody else''s game of power. **** Stiles walked towards one of the vending machines available there for a quick snack. Though he wasn''t very sure what to pick initially, he did make up his mind eventually. But upon entering a coin and pushing the buttons he needed to push, he still didn''t get what the machine promised. He scratched his forehead, signs of irritation gradually showing on his face, he began to shake the thing, with a little more force by each second that passed. "Need a hand with that?" a feminine voice spoke to him. He froze. He knew that voice. He knew that young woman but... She was... Dead, "Stiles?" she nudged. He turned her way slowly, as though he was taking the time to process the sound before adding the visual part to it, "Erica?" he finally said. "Wow! Did you see a ghost or something?" she said half innocently. Stiles looked past her, only to see Derek relying on Boyd to be able to stand, his injuries didn''t seem fatal, but he still looked weakened. "I thought Satomi was supposed to be here, didn''t she say anything about us?" Erica pulled his attention back on herself. "She is! But no, she didn''t say any...Thing about you guys," he managed to say with difficulty, his thoughts were loud and distracting. He never truly ever felt close to Boyd or Erica, but he did consider them to be somewhat his friends, he did care about them, and their deaths did leave a mark on him, even though he never stopped to openly address it. Melissa Jostled him slightly as she rushed to take Erica in her arms, she hadn''t seen her after she''d kissed her human life goodbye, but she did care for her back when Erica used to come to the hospital, and she did that quite often. "So, you''re one of the revenants, huh?" said Melissa with teary eyes as she broke the hug. "I guess, I am," retorted Erica with a smile. "What happened?" Stiles was able to focus again. "Well, he," Erica pointed towards Derek as she spoke, then she continued, "Was attacked by other revenants, and we kinda saved his ass," she finished. "I heard that," Derek interjected from a few feet behind. Melissa waited for him to approche their group further before speaking, "Was it her?" "Who?" said Stiles. "Lydia and the other banshee were right, it was Jennifer, but she wasn''t alone, she brought friends," said Derek. Stiles felt lost among them, Lydia had begun to fill him in on what he''d missed since the accident but apparently, she hadn''t gotten to that part yet, "Jennifer is back too?" "Anas and Kali too," said Erica casually. "What?" Stiles asked. "Wait, you asked if she was back too. So, who else is back?" Derek butted in. "The...Nogitsun¨¦..." said Stiles sheepishly. "The what?" Boyd finally spoke up. "Oh! Hell," exclaimed Derek. Their conversation was immediately stopped, since Scott had opened the hospital doors. All eyes fell on him, but also... On whom was walking behind him. Allison Argent looked exactly like the day she died a few years before, with the exception of her clothes, she was wearing whatever she''d been buried in back then. Crossroads Allison argent looked exactly like the day she''d died, with the exception of her clothes, she was wearing whatever she''d been buried in back then. Well, no. There was another exception to her looks. Her expression... Anyone who could see her then, anyone who knew her that is, could tell there was a difference. In the many years they''d known her, she''d never displayed such cold, unbothered and disconnected expression. Allison Argent looked the same yet so different at the same time. Her interaction with her friends was as brief and detached as they thought it would be after their first glance at her. Once the shock wore off, Lydia and Stiles noticed Scott''s expression as well, he didn''t seem as thrilled to see her alive as he should''ve been. Something was in the water, and whatever it was, it didn''t smell that good. The most disheartening part of it all, was her reunion with her father. Watching the joy slowly melt away from him once he realized she wasn''t totally herself... Broke many, especially those who were once close to her. She broke away from the group shortly after, she chose to sit by herself for a while, looking into the distance from a window. She wasn''t smiling, she wasn''t crying, she wasn''t showing any emotion at all, or at least that was what Scott had noticed. He stood at a distance behind her, just waiting for... Whatever would happen, if anything did at all. "Anything?" Scott''s eyes hesitatingly left Allison''s figure when he heard Stiles'' voice nearby. "What do you mean?" Scott asked. "I know you''re doing that thing where you try to figure out somebody''s emotional state," said Stiles. He paused for a moment, then when Scott laid his eyes back on Alisson without saying a word, he asked again, "So, anything?" "No, nothing at all," he said, sounding defeated. "But what does that usually mean?" said Stiles. "Usually, it either means the person is dead or... Incapable of feeling any kind of emotions," "That... Doesn''t sound very good," Stiles commented. Then again, he stopped talking for another moment, before something else urged him to speak, "You know, I just realized... You and I haven''t really spoken at all since... I am not really sure anymore," Scott looked at Stiles twice as fast as he did the first time, "Yeah, I guess we''re already too deep into this whole thing, it''s ..." Scott trailed off. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "It''s just as overwhelming as it is per usual?" Stiles suggested an ending to his friend''s sentence, "It''s not really new to us. Sure, the circumstances are different but... Same old, same old," he added. "What do you think about all of this, by the way?" Scott asked. "I still don''t have all the pieces to make an assessment or a conclusion, let alone a plan... But if Jennifer and the nogitsun¨¦ are back, I can already picture the disasters ahead," "We need to talk to everyone, as soon as possible. It feels like our enemy... Or whoever is pulling the strings in the shadows, is already ten steps ahead of us...," "It''s not just a feeling Scott, they are ahead of us," Stiles was sorry to say those words, it was apparent through his voice, even Malia could tell. She was standing as far as her vision allowed her to watch from. To watch the watcher. She never stopped to really think about it, but she did join the pack after Allison''s death, and Malia knew the huntress was Scott''s first love. She never thought they''d be crossing roads, not that way at least. Seeing him like that, she wondered.... It was true that throughout her many years in her human form, she became familiar with most emotions to feel out there. But jealousy in that aspect wasn''t one she''d experienced frequently, if not at all. She wasn''t even sure it was that, then came a sensation she was familiar with, that of guilt, just as nauseating as the first time she''d felt it. She felt guilty she was thinking of such things at such times. "I wouldn''t worry about this too much if I were you," just like Stiles had surprised Scott earlier, Peter came behind Malia and caught her attention from the scene she was focused on. "Are you an expert or something?" she asked, as unimpressed as she always was, when she spoke to her father. "Would you be surprised if I were?" he said, feigning offence. "Slightly," she said, her eyes still on Scott. "Not an expert, but I did go through something like that, in the end you''ll realize it''s not worth it," he said, a tad more serious. "Yeah, somehow I am not convinced," she said. "What gives?" "No offense, but your advice aren''t really reliable, especially when they date back to your younger years," she said. "Fair enough but, trust me on this at least. You''ll just hurt yourself," on those words, Malia turned towards Peter, he did sound a lot more sincere than usual. Then again it was Peter, she cared for him, more than she let show, but she was never sure of his intentions, not that she didn''t believe he was trying to help, but people often try to help for the wrong reasons, and with him... No one truly ever knew. "There won''t be much left to hurt if we don''t solve this," a different voice came to Malia and Peter''s ears. "You''re that new banshee," Peter commented. "I am not that new, especially compared to any of you, but we can talk about this another time. Call your friends then join me at the morgue," said Maylee, before turning away and leaving. "Creepy...," said Malia. "Yeah, she is. There''s something about her... Something very wrong," Peter voiced his concerns. "Think she''s an enemy?" "No, it''s not that, it''s just... I don''t know how to explain it, her scent is very off," "I noticed that too, but I didn''t think much of it. Anyway, I guess we''ll find out more about that when we''re all gathered," said Malia. Assembly- Part 1: Maylee was number one to arrive at the morgue, she sat down facing the doors just in time for them to open and let Lydia in. The others didn''t keep the banshees waiting, since the rest of the pack showed up very shortly after. "So, who''s gonna go first?" Liam volunteered to be the conversation starter once everyone settled. "Well, maybe we should go one by one, telling what happened to us tonight," Mason suggested. "First things first, I''d like to get to the heart of this, and I think this banshee has the full story," Derek interjected, pointing at Maylee as he spoke. "No, it''s best if I go last," she said. "Is there a reason for that?" Jackson, who''d been standing at one of the corners, decided to comment. "If I may, I believe that she and Mason are right on this, it would be better for all of us to cite what we know for sure before proceeding to the origins," said Deaton. "And besides, we''re not complete yet, I am waiting for more people to arrive," said Maylee. "There are more of you?" Liam spoke again. Everyone seemed to think that the morgue was crowded enough as it was. Scott couldn''t tell if they were impatient to hear more of the story or to just get it over with and finally leave that place. Although, if he could have been completely honest with himself, he wasn''t delighted to be in that room either. That was why he opted to go first, "Okey, right around sundown yesterday, we were out of town, on a mission to rescue a group of supernaturals, and we decided to head back towards Beacon Hills when we found out that Monroe was on her way here," "As we were driving, I had a vision, during which I saw Maylee, and she informed me that we needed to go to the dread doctors'' basement. In that vision she appeared to be injured and she asked me to let Parrish know about her in case he wasn''t yet aware," Lydia''s voice came after Scott''s. "I think that was around the time we were patrolling the preserve, Mason, Corey, Nolan and me. We heard a loud scream, and we ran towards it, but we were too late and all we found were a bunch of mutilated bodies and... Her," Chris pointed towards Rosalie as he finished his sentence. She didn''t wait for anyone to ask questions, she immediately began to tell her side, "We''d arrived in town only a few hours prior, me, Maylee, my son Hilldon and Isaac," "Isaac? Isaac Lahey?" Scott asked. "Yes, him, but we were cornered by the hunters before the longtails showed up. I believe they were after Maylee, but the rest of us got in the way. We all split up, and I screamed only because she told me to. At the time I didn''t understand why, but now I guess it was because she knew we weren''t alone in the forest," Rosalie added. "I heard that scream too, I was with Theo on the other side of the preserve. We were attacked by some creature I couldn''t really catch sight of. Theo got hurt pretty badly and the animal clinic was the closest to us, so I took him there," Peter gave his piece of the puzzle. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Speaking of Hilldon and Isaac, we met them earlier last night, but the story doesn''t start there. A few days ago, Jackson received a weird text from a sender called the guardian angel, they gave us coordinates and a specific time for a meeting. Only when we showed up there, we were attacked by berserkers, and Hayden saved us because she has the ability to control them," said Ethan as he stood near Jackson. "You can do that?" Liam was surprised by what he''d heard about Hayden. "She can do more than that, but we''ll get to that part later," Malia interfered to set the discussion back on track. "I also received a message from the guardian angel, with coordinates and time for a meeting, but I got more than that; I was told who I was supposed to meet and what I was supposed to do. That was how I found out about my ability with the berserkers. And I was also told that once done, me, Jackson and Ethan were supposed to go to La Iglesia in Mexico," said Hayden. "I suppose you were sent an additional message, telling you to make a stop at Beacon Hills first?" Noshiko finally spoke. "Yeah, I was supposed to go to the cemetery with Ethan, in order to... Dig a grave," Jackson paused for a moment, hesitant, ashamed perhaps. Although, his eyes betrayed him as they darted towards Allison when he spoke about the grave, but then he continued, "But Hayden was told to stop by a specific house," "That was my house, I also received a message from this guardian angel, I was to prepare Kira''s sword for Hayden and then head to this hospital," "These longtails, the creatures that attacked Maylee and Theo, they came after us right as we entered the town. They''re man-made creatures, with an extremely powerful scorpion venom, not to count their physical power and supernatural speed," said Alec. "Yes, and from what I saw, they really wanted to get rid of Lydia. They almost got what they wanted, if it weren''t for Braeden," Scott finished that part. "I got there in time thanks to a message from the guardian angel, I was supposed to be back up for Parrish but for some reason he wasn''t there," said Braeden. "Fast forward until sometime later, I got a different vision about the dread doctors'' basement, I think I saw Monroe''s death, and upon waking up I joined Maylee in her room, by then Parrish had already found her like she asked," Lydia spoke again. "That was when Braeden received another message, telling her to go to that same basement with me," Scott added. "And I overheard your conversation, that was how I found out that Jennifer Blake had something to do with Monroe''s death, and I decided to go to the distillery. I knew she''d show up there if I did, and I thought I could take her down by myself but... She wasn''t alone, she brought Anas and Kali with her," Derek shared his side. "The first thing I did after waking up was go after Scott, and Peter came with me, but we were ambushed on the way... We were stuck in some sort of parallel world, an illusion, and Kate Argent was in control of it... I think," said Malia. "I remained unconscious throughout all of this because I was being held back by the nogitsun¨¦, I don''t think I need to paint a picture for you to understand it wasn''t a pleasant experience," Stiles chimed in. "The nogitsun¨¦ brought the Oni with him, and we had to fight them off here in the real world as you were stuck with their leader, "Corey had finally decided to say something. "I think we were all about to die... I saw everyone''s death a few minutes before..." Lydia trailed off, scared by the thought of it alone. "Before we showed up to save your asses," Erica seemed happy to be able to speak her mind at last. "Right, you told us you''d explain it all once gathered with the rest. So, how are you back and... Alive? And who exactly is this guardian angel?" asked Liam, impatient to get the answers he truly wanted. "That part is gonna have to wait," Maylee spoke up. "Seriously?" everyone was irritated by Maylee''s words, but Nolan was the one to voice their displeasure. "Another story needs to be told before that one," she said. "Which one?" Scott asked. "His story," she said drawing attention towards the morgue doors that opened again, for Isaac and Hilldon to enter. Assembly- Part 2: The doors to the morgue opened, for Isaac and Hilldon to appear. Nobody said a thing for a moment, all remained quiet for their own different and personal reasons. Derek, who was usually the one to suppress his emotions, couldn''t hold a gaze of astonishment back. Him being the one who had turned Isaac from human to werewolf, he shared a unique bond with him, even though Derek had lost the spark that made him an alpha by then. Chris Argent wasn''t far behind in terms of shock and surprise; he also had his fair share of moments with Isaac to say the least. He''d left the country in his company years back, after Allison''s death, they''d found great comfort in each other, both having lost every other member of their respective families. Scott, Lydia and Stiles were simply delighted to see an old friend, taken aback at first for sure, but his sight wasn''t unwelcomed, on the contrary. "I see you still like scarfs," Stiles was the first to break the silence. It wasn''t a remark to take to heart, but it did have the merit of lightening the mood in the room. "Isaac," said Scott with a little voice, unable to contain a bright warm smile towards Isaac. "And Hilldon," the second person who''d showed up alongside Isaac had finally spoken. He sure had the face of an innocent child, but he also had the energy and enthusiasm of a stone wall. His cutthroat tone didn''t go unnoticed. "Hilldon? That''s your son?" Chris turned towards Rosalie to ask. "You still tell people that I am your son?" Hilldon was the one to answer instead. "Force of habit," she said, slightly shrugging her shoulders, unapologetic. "So, he''s not your son?" said Melissa, who''d remained quiet until then. "Never your mind about that, Isaac dear, they need you to tell your story," Maylee interjected to steer the conversation back to its original course. "God, I''ll never get used to the way you talk," he said, before finding a spot to sit in. He took a deep breath, then exhaled a long one, "I left with Argent to France a few years back, we split up before I could put the Triskelion box containing the nogitsun¨¦ in the nematon there. Back then, the nematon in France was still up, not like the one we have in Beacon Hills. I found it pretty easily but... I wasn''t aware I was being followed, believe it or not. I didn''t stand a chance against the longtails, and they''re even stronger now than they were then. I woke up in a cage, surrounded by mountain ash, I didn''t see anyone for months, they only sent the longtails for the necessary to keep me alive. And then one day, she showed up... She brought with her a young guy, he was Japanese, I think. Lo and behold, he was the nogitsun¨¦, they''d managed to find him a new body," "When you say that she showed up, who do you mean by that?" asked Stiles. "Euriella. I found out later on that she was a very powerful banshee, but she also had other powers, I don''t even know how many," he replied. "Euriella?" Lydia turned towards Maylee," Is she your... Sister? The one you told me about before?" "Yes, she is... She was," said Maylee. "Throughout the days that followed after that, a different woman was responsible of bringing me food and water. That was how I met Rosalie," Isaac continued his tale," Hilldon started showing up near my cage shortly after, I used to catch him staring at me whenever I woke up. Apparently, he was curious about the "werewolf" that his master was keeping hidden from the rest of his... Toys, shall I say?" he paused, seemingly drained of the desire to tell more. Maylee had noticed, the way it strained him. That was possibly why she took the initiative to carry on, "Hilldon was especially close to me, he''d brought Isaac''s case to my knowledge, and I decided to visit him myself. At the time, I was still by my father''s side, even though I never really endorsed his doings, but I didn''t think I had much of a choice. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. We''d heard about Scott McCall and his packs'' accomplishments, it is safe to say that you made quite the name for yourself in the supernatural world," she said, her eyes on Scott. "You were by your father''s side? Doesn''t that mean he''s the master that Isaac mentioned?" said Liam. "The master is also called the apprentice, I believe?" Lydia attempted to put the pieces together for her friends. "The apprentice? That''s our enemy?" asked Alec. "The apprentice is a title that was given to him by his mentors, back when he first joined them, the dread doctors," Maylee began to answer, then she added, "But once he realized their ambitions were limited, he quickly chose to part ways with them. He thought that what they were going after was a monumental waste of time," "The resurrection of the beast, that was what they were after," stated Argent in a sigh. "What did he want then?" Scott asked. "More? He wanted the world?" Maylee picked up from there, "He dedicated every breath towards his cravings, the more knowledge about the supernatural world he acquired, the more he desired, there was no stopping him, no line was above crossing for that," "Even experimenting on his own daughter was fair game," Lydia muttered, leaving everyone else in utter disbelief after her words. "Euriella, is his own flesh and blood, and she was also his first soldier, his first pawn in this long game. He adopted me only to repeat the process with me, at the time I couldn''t say no, it was either that or death and I was only fifteen... I wanted to live" Maylee continued. "So, this apprentice created you, a banshee?" Stiles was skeptical and for good reasons, he''d never heard of such thing before. "Well, if that surprises you... He created much more than that. I kept quiet for years, preparing my plan. Isaac had convinced me that if I could put my faith in someone, it had to be in Scott McCall," "That was when you created the guardian angel?" Lydia spoke again. "Me, Isaac, Hilldon and Rosalie. But we still needed a recruit that was skilled with computers and technology, so Isaac suggested the perfect fit. I''d opted for the method created by Loraine Martin and then used by Meredith Walker for the dead pool," "So, you guys are the guardian angel?" Liam interjected. "That''s what she just said, genius," the pack was quick to learn about Hilldon''s short temper. "And who is the fourth member of your group?" Stiles asked. "You know him well, I believe. But it''s better if we keep his identity a secret for now," Maylee answered quickly. "Sure, whatever, but this still doesn''t explain how you brought everyone back to life," Derek''s patience finally ran out. "Well, you bet the apprentice found multiple ways to resurrect the dead. He collected the bodies of your enemies one after the other, and he rallied the rest of them to his cause. Matt, Jennifer... I watched them rise back to life, and then came the desert wolf, before she lost her powers to you Malia, of course," Maylee''d began to explain but Scott interrupted her, "When I faced him, Matt said he was their latest recruit. So, he lied?" "No, he''s been brought back very shortly after his death actually, but he was kept away, he was under construction if I may say so. His transformation took the longest and I believe I don''t need to explain why that is," "And how did you bring our friends back?" Liam pushed on. "Why I stole one of his methods of course. First, I needed the power of Tezcatlipoca, in order to revert the bodies to their states at the moment of their deaths; that is why your friends look like they haven''t aged a day. For that I needed a werejaguar or anything close to that. So, I chose Hayden for that. Then I needed a great amount of energy, in order to revive the bodies, and for that there was the power of thunder, a thunder kitsun¨¦ did the job," "That''s why you took Kira''s sword?" Noshiko spoke up. "Your daughter has been great at being a kitsun¨¦ m''aam," Isaac commented in his usual nonchalant tone. "Where is she?" Lydia''s voice brought attention towards her. "Still with the skin walkers, for now at least," said Hilldon. "All of this is so... Crazy, I don''t even know where to start," Peter couldn''t hold his thoughts back anymore. "No, it''s not crazy. It actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. It''s the perfect plan!" Nobody had noticed Theo''s presence in the room until he''d said that. "Care to elaborate?" said Stiles. "It''s clear he''s the dread doctors'' apprentice, since he''s using their methods," Theo paused, but felt forced to elaborate even further, seeing the looks everyone gave him, "When the dread doctors came to town, what was the first thing they did?" "They sent Belasko after me, and then they sent you... To make sure we were too busy to stand in their way," Scott had finally caught on to what Theo had meant. "The apprentice sent your old enemies to distract you, lay the grounds for him to show up at the very end and put the icing on the cake," Theo continued. Silence fell in the room after that, nobody had the slightest clue as to where to start from where they were left. Nobody knew what to say, and the majority looked towards Maylee for a hint, out of all of them, she seemed to be the one to hold all the answers. Fortunately, nobody had to think further. Scott''s ringtone filled the room when he received a call. When he picked it up, he couldn''t recognize the number but answered it anyway, "Hello?" "If it isn''t the true alpha himself!" The voice at the other line exclaimed. "Deucalion?" said Scott. Previously (6) Previously in the chapters from 57 to 66: Theo, who''d also been stuck in his never-ending nightmare, was brought out of it thanks to Lydia''s voice. He''d managed to join the others in the hospital just in time for sunrise. Satomi made her appearance there as well. They watched the Oni leave when they were grazed by sunlight. Scott was saved by none other than Allison Argent, to his great surprise, she was also back to life like the others. Members of the pack began to flock back towards the hospital. The time for battle had ended, then came time for recollection and reunions after that. Chris went back to Melissa, Hayden reunited with Liam and Lydia finally found Stiles who was with none other than Noshiko on the roof. The sheriff was called in to deal with the situation that took place in Eichen as well as the massacre dealt by the longtails that same night, and the loss of his deputies. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Alec was finally able to talk with Daniel, the latter had confided in him the reasons of his actions among the hunters, but also the reasons that made him change his mind. He''d let Alec know that he could never have killed him anyways, for he looked so much like his late younger brother. Time for a gathering came, in which everyone listed what happened to them since the beginning of the previous night, in order to connect the events chronologically. Maylee then let everyone know about her activity as the guardian angel, alongside Isaac, Hilldon and Rosalie, they mentioned their fourth member but didn''t divulge his identity. She''d explained that her adoptive father (the apprentice) was behind all of it, and that he''d resurrected all of their foes and rallied the rest of them to his cause, just to get the pack out of his way. The pack finally understood the process that allowed their friends to come back to life, which consisted in the power of Tezcatlipoca as well as a thunder kitsun¨¦. Deucalion, who''d been busy trying to help Aidan find the nematon, called Scott to let him know what they found once they were near the tree. Whispers of death "It''s alright, I got you, don''t be afraid," "We''ll be fine," "This is the end," "No! Please!" Euriella kept her eyes shut as her fingers lingered and pulled on the strings of a harp she''d placed between her arms. She could hear it all, whispers, murmurs, desperate cries for help and people''s last words in their final moments. Things that could only be heard by a banshee. Things that would otherwise be devastating and weighing any other soul down. Euriella on the other hand, didn''t seem to mind it. All the pain and torture she was constantly confronted with everyday, at all times. On the contrary she seemed to be open to it, welcoming it, as though she reveled in it. She sat by an open window, allowing the winds to softly play with her hair, like she gently played her instrument. With each string pulled, a new voice came to her ears. Sometimes the hushed tones would turn into dying screams... But that only made her face look even more serene, and her smile grow brighter. Nothing seemed to phase her, nothing appeared to be getting through to her heart of stone. No one could tell just by looking at her, one could easily mistake her for an angel through her aspect alone. But perhaps, so very far, deep down the alcoves of her soul, a soft piece of her good will remained... "I can''t do it. It''s not working," The voice of her sister, Maylee, blared out from memory. "It takes time, I told you it would. These things don''t come easily," Euriella had given Maylee that response back then. "How much longer do you think this is going to take me, I mean before I get the hang of it?" Maylee had asked. "It all depends on you, I am afraid," "But I swear I am trying, it''s just that, the moment I put my hand on the tree it...," Maylee''s frustration grew with each second that passed. She clasped her right hand in her left one, eying the ginormous tree that stood close by them intently. "That it overwhelms you?" Euriella gave her sister a soft little smile, "The nematon is not just any tree, you know? Its great power sucks the likes of us towards it. It''s the source of all good and all evil in us. And our powers happen to rise exponentially near it. Thus, it is perfectly normal that it consumes your senses at first," "What if I never make it? Will father... Leave me behind?" Maylee''s true concerns were slowly making their way to the top, through her throat and out of her mouth. "Well, with this attitude we''re not off to a good start, are we now?" For a moment, Maylee seemed to think that her sister had purposefully avoided her previous question, but she also seemed to let it go eventually, in order to ask a different question, "How did you manage?" she said with a small voice. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "To control my powers?" "No," Maylee corrected, "How did you get used to the voices?" she added. Euriella opened her mouth then closed it again, she remained silent for an instant after that, clearly considering her next words with a bit more care. But then, she finally spoke, "Do... Do the voices hurt you?" "Do they not pain you, sister?" Maylee asked with admirative eyes. "They used to. But I discovered my powers very early, back in my childhood. I believe it was only a matter of time, the pain didn''t disappear, I just learned to live with it, and now, it doesn''t bother me anymore. I am afraid, I can''t really be of much help in this matter," Euriella watched as worry creeped back into her sister''s eyes, upon hearing her latest words. She remembered the heavy silence that had followed their conversation on that day. It was so damning that Euriella had felt as though the burden of breaking it, laid on her shoulders, "Nevermind that for now, I believe there is a much more urgent matter to tend to," "There is?" Maylee''s eyes grew wider in an instant. "Why of course there is. There is that untamable hair of yours. It has grown too long, and it is imperative that we find a suitable cut for it," Euriella suggested humorously, her hands on her hips. At those words, she watched how her sister''s tension had melted in one breathe. Maylee''d dropped her guard down along with her then slumped shoulders. Her teeth peaked at Euriella through the gleaming smile that drew itself on her lips. Had she known that those moments weren''t meant to last, Euriella would have painted that smile for herself to keep, before the long years came to forever blur away the shine of them. By then, moments of reminiscence were a rare thing for her. But whenever she did, she''d always chose that moment to go back to, amongst thousands of others in her long list of memories. Nobody had ever given her a smile as genuine and warm as the ones Maylee made a habit of giving her. So, she cherished them with all her power, knowing that she could never admit that to anyone, sometimes not even to her own self. "Something the matter?" another voice brought her out of her own depths. She opened her eyes to see that Kali had entered the room where she previously sat alone in. She hadn''t noticed it, but she''d stopped playing the harp way before Kali came to interrupt her, "I hear you didn''t fulfil your goals for the night," she said, her usual demeanor back on, like it had never left her. "None of us did," Kali retorted. "I''d watch my tone if I were you. You may have had dreams of your own once upon a time, but now you only breath for what we brought you back to do," she warned Kali with very little emotion, apart from the disturbing constant semblance of serenity she always had on, "Call the others for me, and meet me in the grand hall," she added shortly after, without the slightest consideration towards Kali''s discomfort. She didn''t wait for Kali''s retreat before diving back into her contemplations. On her own time, she wondered, if Maylee ever had those shared memories of theirs, surface like they did for her. Maylee... Maylee sat miles away from her sister. She couldn''t see her, couldn''t hear her, yet, she too had sunken deep into her own thoughts. In fact, she was in so deep that she barely noticed when Allison Argent came in and stood by her side. The huntress had noticed that Maylee was only physically present with her, her mind might as well have been light years away. Through the manner in which the banshee was fiddling with her hair, Allison could tell that she needed to call for her attention before she could get it. So, she placed one of her arrows before the eyes of the banshee, promptly pulling her back out to reality. "Busy mind? Marie-Amelie Argent," said the huntress, making sure to pronounce the name with a French accent. Maylee''s eyes shot up towards Allison faster than the speed of light. Nobody had called her by that name in... A century. Nobody could, for nobody knew what her real name ever was before she became Maylee. Even that accent remained as fresh in her mind as the last time she''d heard it. Puzzle pieces Scott and Stiles simultaneously closed the car doors behind them as they exited the vehicle, leaving it at the entrance of the Beacon Hills preserve. They silently walked side by side for a while, each of them apparently busy in a mind labyrinth of his own. "Did you talk to her?" Stiles was the first to disrupt their quietness. "If you mean Allison, then no," Scott gave him the answer without a glance in his direction. "What about Malia? you know, your actual current girlfriend," Stiles added shortly after. Scott furrowed his eyebrows at Stiles before replying,"What about her?" "Scott, your first love resurrects from the dead to save your ass, your girlfriend barely escapes death the same night that that happens, and you don''t think there''s anything you should talk to her about? And it doesn''t help that it''s Malia of all people," said Stiles in one breath. "What is that supposed to mean? Malia of all people," "You can look at her from any angle you want, but... Compared to us, she''s only been human for what now? Six years? At best? Not to mention she came back to not one but two, completely broken families after transitioning back from coyote to human form," Stiles continued. Scott slowly but gradually came to understand the meaning of Stiles'' words, and he could do nothing but agree, even if he didn''t say it out loud at first. Allison Argent was his very first love, even though they were no longer together by the time of her untimely death, his feelings for her were anything but deniable. Malia had joined the pack only after the ordeal with the nogitsun¨¦ came to an end. Not to forget the fact that she''d spent nine years trapped in the body of a coyote, which didn''t always come in handy when she ever needed to overcome her emotions, or control them for that matter, "I don''t know, I guess I was too overwhelmed by the recent events, maybe she was too, I mean she didn''t say a thing either, I just honestly thought there was nothing to be said," "We all are living a constantly overwhelming life, if you''re waiting for a break to sort your personal affairs, well, I hope your patience is limitless, for your own sake," said Stiles. "She doesn''t have anything to worry about, at least not concerning this," Scott answered almost immediately. "Does she? I mean, she sure experienced a wide range of emotions by now, but some are still foreign to her. You only got together with her once both of your exes were completely out of the picture, as sad as the circumstances made that a reality. I don''t know what she felt when she saw you walk through those doors with Allison, but... If I can be absolutely sure of one thing, it''s that silence isn''t the way to go with Malia," They resumed their quiet walk after those words, Stiles made his point and Scott seemed to have gotten it. Until a different course of thoughts popped in the Alpha''s mind, and he chose to not hold it back, "Speaking of silence, you didn''t really contribute much during the reunion earlier today, when your turn to speak came," Scott watched Stiles closely after what he''d said to him. He was no mind reader but even he could tell that Stiles had hoped that moment would never come; the moment when someone would actually ask him for more details on what had happened to him, as he was stuck in his nightmares the previous night. He could tell, that the nogitsun¨¦ did a number on his friend yet again... And he, the true Alpha let it happen... Again. Scott knew there was no way for him to have done things differently, no way for him to have known what the future had for all of them. But it was no use trying to convince himself of that... All he could do, was accept that those poignant feelings of guilt came with his job. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I saw my mom," Stiles said in a dry tone. Scott didn''t say anything, there was nothing for him to say to that. Stiles walked a little more, then his expression softened a bit before he added, "The nogitsun¨¦ made me see my mother again. She was on the roof top, waiting for me to jump with her," Scott remained silent once more, afraid to cut his friends'' thought process as he was in the middle of opening up. What could he possibly have said to him that would be of any help to him anyway? That he found the nogitsun¨¦''s methods cruel, perhaps? That it wasn''t fair for the creature to use Stiles'' mother against him? None of those things would come as news to his friend. But those were his own thoughts on the spot. "I guess he thought it''d be funny for him to take me out that way... By making me take my own life...," said Stiles. "I see... So, he used an illusion to manipulate you into doing his job for him," that was all Scott had managed to say. "You know, I''ve been thinking, the nogitsun¨¦ used my nightmares against me, Jennifer Blake used her powers to try and kill Derek, but one piece in this puzzle doesn''t fit for me," Stiles jumped ship, straight into a different topic from where he''d originally started. "What piece?" Scott asked and waited patiently for the answer, if there was anybody he could always trust to think outside of the box, it was his best friend, Stiles. "Peter said that him and Malia were trapped in some sort of loop, or an illusion. Sure, he said that they were ambushed by Kate and her Berserkers, but he also said that he''d hallucinated his sister Talia and her daughter Laura. Do you see where I am getting at?" "Yeah, I... No, I actually can''t see it," Scott thought for a moment that he understood what Stiles was hinting at. But eventually he realized he didn''t have the slightest clue about it. "It''s Kate Argent! We know Kate Argent! She''s a werejaguar, she''s the bone woman, she can create and control Berserkers, but what else can she do?" Stiles spoke fast, waving his right hand around in the fashion he always did whenever he was deep into a serious analysis. "That''s it, to my knowledge at least," said Scott. "Exactly! Jennifer was busy with Derek in the old distillery, which is situated at some distance outside of town, the nogitsun¨¦ was busy with me at the hospital, which... Is still quite far from where Peter and Malia were ambushed. So, what or who caused those hallucinations to help Kate?" Stiles had finally drawn a full picture of what he had in mind. "There''s a possibility one of them finished early with their own mission and went out of their way to help Kate," Scott suggested. "Yeah, there''s that possibility, but I wouldn''t count on it to be our answer. If I remember correctly, everyone said that our enemies all retreated at the same time, around the time Lydia screamed. So, you wanna know what I think?" Stiles stopped talking for a second before continuing, "One of these two possibilities here: Either Kate was blessed with brand new powers... God forbid; or one of the other bastards went through a giant upgrade, and can now cast extremely wide range attacks, where the influence of their powers extends beyond the distances, we''ve known them to be capable of before," "Well, you wanna know what I think?" Stiles stopped dead in his tracks, wondering why Scott''s voice was coming from a distance behind him. Once he turned around, he saw that Scott had halted sometime before he did himself. The alpha seemed to be facing a specific way, too focused to think of anything else around him. Stiles walked slowly towards his friend; once near enough, he noticed that Scott''s eyes were crimson red. Then Scott spoke again, "I think that you''re completely right about what you just said," he said, the astonishment remaining on his face. Stiles finally followed Scott''s gaze to understand what was with his sudden change in behavior and... His own eyes widened. He only remembered to blink when he felt his eyes sting. "What the hell?" he managed to say, still incredulous at the sight of the nematon, surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of dead bodies stacked all around it. "You''re finally here, I was really starting to think we''d have the time to bury them all and maybe even give a eulogy for each and everyone of them," Deucalion''s voice came to pull them both out of their trances. Scott''s lips moved, but only to say, "You gotta be kidding me...," Family secrets Peter stood in front of what appeared to be an abandoned construction site, somewhere around the outskirts of town, deeper into the preserve. He swayed his head slightly to the side, before his irises followed the movement shortly after. "Look who''s following who now?" he said lightly. "Yeah... I guess," said Malia, as she came out from behind some trees she was using for cover. "You didn''t go with Scott?" he asked when she didn''t say anything else. "No. What are you doing here?" she said, looking at the pile of rubble in front of her. "You could say I missed home," he answered. He walked a few feet around the place before stopping. As it turned out, the construction site he was contemplating was none other than the grounds where the Hale house stood, once upon the years. Malia stared at her father''s back. It was the first time in a while that he''d addressed her without looking her in the eyes, "They say you rose back to life in this place," she cut their silence short. "Not my finest hour, to be perfectly honest," he spoke without turning her way. "What was your finest hour then?" at those words from her, he finally spun around to face her, for a few seconds before setting his attention back on what had it previously. "Not sure I have one," "Last night, when we were in the car, you said that we needed to start somewhere in order to build a... Father daughter relationship," she said. "And If I remember clearly, you told me that I should stop trying, and that we didn''t have a typical relationship," "I didn''t mean we should completely stop trying. I have questions, lots of them," she made him look at her again, her voice became softer at that statement. She kept going when he didn''t say anything, "I don''t want to hear about how you met the desert wolf. I want to hear about the rest of your family, the good side of it, I want to hear more about your life," He chuckled softly, before crouching to pick a piece of splintered wood between his hands. He stared at it and fiddled with it, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He remained silent for a while. Malia had begun to think that, it was no use trying to talk to him then so, maybe another time? If they''d ever gotten another chance to talk, they all knew that moments of piece like those had become a rarity for them. But then his voice came to her ears, "This piece of land became a state propriety a few years ago. I don''t know what they''d planned to build here, but they put everything on hold, due to... circumstances. I think they completely abandoned the idea if you ask me, "he paused, then resumed his speech, "Talia had picked this place for us, and we all had to follow her here. At the time, I really hated her policies and ideals, I hated the way she chose to lead the pack. I thought that being anything other than ruthless made us look weak... I never even tried to understand her, why she acted the way that she did, or why she picked the words that she did. Throughout the years, the Hale family had dedicated its efforts and wealth towards rebuilding the town around it," "Beacon Hills...," Malia muttered. "I didn''t understand her choice to do that, not then at least. All I did was complain, stand in Talia''s way and cause problems in my spare time and then..." he trailed off. "And then, there was the fire..." his voice grew too constrained to continue his sentence so, Malia finished it for him. "I was the only survivor, or so I thought, since there was Cora too. But unlike her, I was trapped in a werewolf coma. It drove me insane; I knew who did it, but I was stuck in a state where I wasn''t able to do a thing. You know the rest of the story after that," The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Yeah... You pretty much lost it," she said. "I only went after the responsible ones," he objected. "And then some...," he glanced at her for a moment, after she''d said that. But then he again looked back down at the piece of wood he was still holding, "Last night, when we were stuck in that illusion. You kept saying Talia and Laura''s names. You saw them, didn''t you?" "Guilt, I suppose. Turns out, even I can feel that," "You know, I shifted in a car, on the night the desert wolf attacked me for the first time. I don''t remember anything that happened after that, but I think I did hurt them, my mom and my sister," Malia allowed the memories of the potentially most horrible and traumatic event in her life to surface. She wasn''t very sure of her reasons, but at the time, she thought she was trying to walk in her father''s shoes, to relate to him, to ease his suffering perhaps... "Malia...," he began, "You can''t possibly compare your situation to my actions. You, losing control over your powers at nine years old, as someone was raining gunshots at your mother''s car; can''t possibly be comparable to me, murdering my own niece in order to become an alpha, insanity or not," He hadn''t even noticed her movement, until she''d crouched beside him. He couldn''t get himself to lift his gaze towards hers, but he knew her eyes bore into him, and then she spoke, "You know, no matter how I spin this around, I can''t help but think that... In your craze, you did one thing really right," "And what was that?" he wondered. "You chose Scott McCall," ****** "Busy mind? Marie-Am¨¦lie Argent," said the huntress, making sure to pronounce the name with a French accent. Maylee''s eyes shot up towards Allison faster than the speed of light. Nobody had called her by that name in... A century. Nobody could, for nobody knew what her real name ever was before she became Maylee. Even that accent remained as fresh in her mind as the last time she''d heard it. "If I asked you, how you knew my real name, would you answer me honestly?" Maylee''s shock had already faded from her face when she spoke. "I would," said Allison simply. Maylee picked Allison''s arrow by its head, she lifted it to her eye level, and gazed at the Argent''s family crest for a moment, "So, who told you my name?" she asked. "Mary-jeanne Valet did," "So, there is an afterlife, ... I am not sure how to feel about that," Maylee smiled, her eyes still on the emblem as she twirled the arrow around between her fingers. "I spent a lot of time in her company. Where I was, time didn''t matter, but it felt like forever. She told me about somethings, and she showed me some others. But I want to hear your story from your own mouth," said Allison. "You look so much like my mother, Marie-Jeanne''s granddaughter. A fierce woman she was. I loved my mother but, sometimes... Sometimes she scared me. She always knew what she wanted, and God help you if you chose to stand in her way, even if you did so by mistake. Her own husband, my father, didn''t dare to, not even in that era," "So, you''re her great granddaughter," said Allison. "You know, I hear people talk sometimes, complain about how they were born in the wrong century and how they thought they belonged in a previous epoch. It always makes me chuckle; if any of those people were yanked out of their time and thrown into older times, they''d cry tears of blood. In my Era, even the privileged were oppressed," Maylee paused, but Allison was patient and she trusted her to pick up where she''d stopped, and that, she did, "Me and my two brothers, Antoine and Emile followed a strict training program to become hunters like our parents were before us. And I was being groomed to become the next leader of the clan, after my mother. The fact that I was only fifteen mattered very little. I just had to be perfect, my mother would accept nothing less of me," "But you weren''t perfect," Allison commented before Maylee could continue. "Marie-Jeanne Valet may have been the very first huntress to join the Argents. But even at the time, the Argent family was already well versed into the supernatural. In fact, that was the reason Marie-Jeanne met Henry and remained with him in the first place. See? The clan had a code of their own, even before Marie-Jeanne Valet joined it. All members bore the responsibility to put their relatives out of their misery, if they ever happened to be bitten by an alpha," "You were bitten by an alpha, weren''t you?" asked Allison. "I was still fifteen, and two possibilities offered themselves to me. Either the bite would kill me, or one of my siblings would have to put me down," "You ran away...," "I didn''t run very far, mind you. It turned out, my body couldn''t handle the bite. The alpha that''d bitten me, found me right before I kissed life goodbye. But instead of finishing me off, he gave me a choice," "I am guessing the choice was either die there, or join the apprentice?" Allison suggested. Maylee nodded her head before speaking again, "I wanted to live," she brought her gaze lower towards the floor, "I really didn''t want to die," "And that was how you became Maylee," "That was it indeed, my dear great, great and great grandniece," Maylee responded with a little smile. Unearthed "Mason?" Corey called for his boyfriend''s attention when he saw that it was elsewhere. Mason seemed to be shaken out of a daze. Upon hearing Corey''s voice, he immediately looked up at him, "What?" he asked. "Nothing. I was just asking if you were alright," said Corey. Mason didn''t say anything. Instead, his eyes drifted back towards the floor, where they originally were before Corey came by his side. Corey knew Mason too well not to understand that something was making his gears turn. The concern displayed on his features was a dead giveaway. "What is it?" he asked as he sat near him. "No, it''s just something... I couldn''t shake out of my head, ever since we had that meeting earlier," Mason admitted. That was it. He didn''t reveal further details about his thoughts, he just kept on staring blankly at the floor tiles straight ahead. But his body seemed to relax a little once he felt Corey''s touch. The later gently held his partner''s hand, slowly moving his thumb back and forth on it, "Talk to me about it, please," muttered Corey. "Well, we know the nogitsun¨¦ is back, Stiles saw him. We also know that Jennifer, Kali and Anas are back, since Derek fought them. Kate Argent went after Peter and Malia. Then there''s Scott, he said he was attacked by a certain Matt. I never met him, but I heard about him and apparently the longtails obey him now," Mason had said that after taking a deep breath. He paused for a moment before adding, "The sheriff was missing earlier because he had to go to Eichen. Parrish was there, in Eichen. He was also attacked and...," "And what?" Corey nudged him softly to go on. "How many creatures do you know, that are powerful enough to give a hellhound a run for his own money?" Mason finally finished his thought. "I see your point," Corey felt a little squeeze on his hand. Mason somehow looked even more worried than he did before. "There''s someone else with them, and whoever it is, they are very powerful," "But you have an idea about their identity, don''t you?" asked Corey. "Well, the new banshee, Maylee, mentioned her sister earlier. A certain Euriella, I believe. I think she could have been the one that attacked Parrish in Eichen. And I think... She was going to win; she was going to kill him. Lydia had a vision of his death, I heard her speak his name when we were fighting the Oni," "What about this apprentice? Do you think he might already be here?" said Corey. "No idea," Mason said nothing after that. The silence that settled in after their words, felt heavy on their shoulders. Or at least that was what Corey had felt, he simply assumed it was the same for his boyfriend. Although, from the sight of him, there weren''t many doubts to have about it. He seemed... Determined to remain stuck in his own head. He seemed to have so much to say yet couldn''t get a single word out. He seemed... To struggle with his own inner voices. He had a look that no one sane of mind would enjoy their loved ones to bare. "Mason? Hey, Mason," Corey softly called for his attention. When Mason finally granted it to him, he continued, "You know we''re gonna get through this, right? All of us, I know we can do it. I mean, we''ve done it before. We''ve been doing it for years without a break," This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "And we lost so many people along the way. That was when we had one enemy. Now it''s an entire league," "I said it before, and I''ll say it again, I don''t care how many times I have to repeat it, I will. People like me, need people like you, Mason. You''re the only reason I am still alive, you''re the reason many people are still alive. And yes, you''re right, we lost many battles. But we won a lot more of them than you think. If you give up on us now... It''ll be like losing half of our forces, and there''s no rising back from that," Corey had emptied his heart out, looking right into Mason''s eyes. He''d put his hands on both sides of his boyfriend''s face to make him look up. ******** "So, you''re a supernatural?" Chris Argent asked away. Rosalie did nothing but stare at him for a while, not grasping the need to answer such enquiry, "When we found you in the forest. Your wounds weren''t healing and... You didn''t react to mountain ash either," he clarified. "If I didn''t react to mountain ash, then that must mean only one thing, that I am not a supernatural," she stated. "So, you were made too?" "I know the dread doctors came to Beacon Hills a few years ago. I also know that you dealt with the chimeras that they created. Those didn''t react to mountain ash either, did they?" "Yes but, they were only trying to resurrect the beast. All the others were deemed failures, collateral damage," he said. "Technically, that was exactly what they were, in that context at least. As Maylee explained it before, the apprentice left the dread doctors because he thought they weren''t ambitious enough. He thought their ultimate goal was holding them back, was clouding their judgments and impairing their progress," "So, you''re saying that the apprentice made better progress in the process of creating chimeras?" he was intrigued by her words. "I have boosted physical strength, superhuman speed, hearing, eyesight, very slow aging, but... I wasn''t given the ability to heal faster," she confessed. "So, he is so far ahead, that he can even control and pick which abilities you get, and which you don''t?" Chris was surprised to say the least, but apart from the usual eyebrows furrowing, none of his thoughts and feelings were displayed. Her lack of response indicated that he was right. So, he thought he''d ask her about another subject that... He was a bit reluctant to get into. Not knowing what her reaction about it could be, held him back. But his desire to understand it, got the better of him, "Hilldon... Is not really your son, is he?" To his surprise, her traits softened, her nerves seemed to ease, and she gave a small yet radiant smile to nobody in particular. Not quite the reaction he''d expected but, he didn''t ponder on that for very long, her lips parted to let her speak, "The apprentice is a smart man. Back when he started his experiments, he never took anybody that would be missed. He gave everyone a choice, to join him or to die, but not like he would kill them if they refused. Everyone he spoke to was already on the brink of death. Hilldon was the same when he was brought in. He was so sick, so broken... They left him in my care as he was undergoing experiments. When he was back on his feet, I found out from him that he was an orphan, and that no one would come looking for him anyway. He was eleven at the time," "When was that time?" Chris asked as soon as she went quiet. "He was eleven, thirty five years ago," she said. "But you weren''t loyal to the apprentice, even after what he gave you," "I wanted to live, I was alone and scared. Who would say no to a second chance? But that doesn''t mean I couldn''t tell right from wrong. Besides, he wasn''t a kind man either. Everyone could see that, with the exception of Euriella of course," They both didn''t say a thing for a couple of minutes, until Chris thought of a new question to ask Rosalie, "You said you wanted to live, and that you were alone. How old were you then? if I may ask," "I was twenty... But I prefer to keep the rest of my story to myself," she seemed adamant about her decision not to disclose any further details of her story. So, Chris didn''t push. He thought that whatever it was that had happened to her, it must have scarred her pretty deeply. It must have, if she chose to remain silent about it even after several decades had passed. He left her side to go seek his daughter. Speaking of stories... He knew he had his own to sort out before thinking about that of others. He didn''t speak to Allison since he first saw her that morning, nobody did speak to her for that matter. He moved through the hallways until he thought he heard her voice among others. She sounded deeply focused on the conversation she was having with someone, another woman it appeared. The small bit of their dialogue he''d caught stopped him dead in his tracks. "Busy mind? Marie-Am¨¦lie Argent?" said Allison. "If I asked you, how you knew my real name, would you answer me honestly?" and that was Maylee''s voice, he thought... Plan off, plan on Taking a deep breath, Euriella turned away from the window she was gaping through with great focus. She stood in place for a moment, contemplating what she had in front of her. A large table occupied the center of the immense room, "Is everyone here?" she asked, her eyes moving from one person seated at that same table to another. "I believe we''re still missing a member," Anas spoke, drawing attention to himself from the rest of the attendees. "An argent? Really? Why do we have to work with her anyways? The princesse even thinks she can make us wait," said Matt, bearing a nonchalant air. "I don''t remember ever mentioning you get a say in who joins us and who doesn''t," Euriella spoke in her usual stern but soft voice. "This entire thing is a joke," Jennifer commented, looking annoyed. "I wouldn''t say the entire thing. Well, perhaps the part where they brought you back to life is," Kali could no longer hold back her remarks towards Jennifer. The latter didn''t waste a second to exude her displeasure. She immediately pushed herself off of her chair, throwing it backwards behind her. Her eyes were already switching to a whiter shade, ready to have a go at Kali. "Oooo! We''re getting a cat fight!" another person in the room spoke up. The nogitsun¨¦ had decided to voice his amusement at the spectacle unfolding before him with twinkling eyes. "Enough!" The entire room went dead quiet after Euriella''s command. Her voice blared through and seemingly rattled their brains, by the way they all clenched their ears, in hopes of saving whatever they had left of their hearing. They all had great powers of their own, but none of them could hold a candle to the banshee glaring at them with cold eyes. She had an air about her that could freeze hell over. Nobody in the room dared say a thing, as the echoes of the last word she''d yelled at them, still bounced between the walls of that massive dining hall. It was like night came before its time, even though sunlight penetrated through the windows perfectly, it was as though her figure alone drained all its brightness and reach in that space. "Ow! How nice of you all to wait for me!" Kate Argent appeared through the wide open doors. She walked towards a specific seat and threw herself on it without much class. "You''re late," Euriella pointed out. "Well, a lady is certainly allowed to keep the masses waiting," she retorted with her signature unhinged smile. "Huh... A lady...," Matt scoffed from the opposite side of the table. "Okey kid, what is it with you? You''ve been giving me the stink eye ever since you came out of that toy box of yours," said Kate his way, her smile not leaving her face. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "Alright then, now that we''re all gathered, I''d like to start right away," Euriella cut the previously ongoing conversation short, as she sat on a chair of her own. They all brought their attention on her person, in anticipation. She didn''t say anything for the first few seconds. She just looked back at them, then at the silverware in front of her. "Okey, so, before you take a hammer to my head, he had back up, and it was pretty solid back up," Matt went first, seeing as Euriella wasn''t taking initiative, it struck him as a sign that she was the one awaiting reports. "Is that so?" Euriella slightly squinted her eyes in his direction. "I am not defending him or anything, but he''s not bullcrapping. My target had help as well," Kate went next. "And they were very much alive," said Jennifer. "Yeah, no shit sherlock!" Kate retorted. "No, you don''t get it. You told me that Allison Argent was dead," Matt spoke again. "Duh! but I''d rather it if you didn''t utter her name, it feels like blasphemy in your mouth," said Kate. "Oh yeah? Then how come she was the backup I mentioned?" Matt ignored her snarky remark and went straight to the point. They all watched as Kate''s fist somewhat clenched at his words. Those with supernatural hearing could clearly discern the change in her heart rate. The once untroubled expression she had, was tainted with intensity. "I killed Boyd and Erica with my own hands, yet they''re back too somehow. They came to help Derek," stated Kali. "Deucalion is back too...," added Anas. "What about you? Who stood in your way?" Euriella turned towards the nogitsun¨¦, who''d remained silent since Kate''s arrival. "A celestial kitsun¨¦, the same one that called upon me for revenge a few decades ago," he said, as heedless as always. "I see. They brought us a gift of their own," Euriella chuckled a tad at the thought. "It''s more than that, it''s like they knew exactly where we''d be, from the very start," Jennifer expressed the part that''d been eating her from inside. "Ow, I don''t doubt that. I see she made progress since the last time I saw her," Euriella thought out loud. "Your sister? The one that you mentioned before?" asked the nogitsun¨¦. She kept her thoughts about that to herself. As Kate''s stupor began to wear off, she felt ready to speak again, "So, we go again tonight?" "No...," said Euriella, she dragged her tone, appearing pensive, selective of her words, "She wants to play? Fine, two can play the same game," a venomous smile drew itself across her features. "Okey, so, what''s the new plan then?" asked Kali. "We keep them busy for now. You may do as you please in the following hours but, keep your strengths up for D day," she said. "What about the master, when is he joining the party?" asked Matt. "I think that''s a bit above your paygrade, boy," Kate suggested, easing back into her eternal, naturally unbothered mood. "Who rung your bells?" he snapped her way. "In any case, she''s right. You''ll find out about him when you''re supposed to find out," Euriella interfered again. "Whatever, I am just glad I get to play with no rules," the nogitsun¨¦ chimed in. "I''m guessing you got a plan of your own," said Jennifer. "Nah... I don''t make plans, I play games... And I like to win," he said, his entire focus on the silver spoon he was slowly spinning between his fingers. He was the first to excuse himself from the table after that. Kate Argent was second to leave, followed by Matt then Jennifer. Kali, Anas and Euriella were the last three to remain seated, "Something on your minds?" she asked the two werewolves. Kali watched as Anas looked downwards towards his lap, before she copied his action. The banshee waited for a short while, then she pushed her weight off her chair, just as the others had formerly done so. Kali''s eyes darted towards Anas once more, when they were left alone in the hall. She knew explicitly well what he had in mind, she just couldn''t spell it out. Past sorrows Liam and Hayden had left the hospital together, to wherever their feet took them. All they wanted was a moment of piece for themselves and... A hospital wasn''t the ideal place for such luxury, especially not for werewolves. They ended up somewhere near the entrance of the preserve, they didn''t care much for it, they just enjoyed being in each other''s view. "So, you can really do what... They said you''d done," said Liam, his eyes never leaving her for a second. "You''re talking about the berserkers?" she asked. He watched as she pulled a rebellious, tall strand of grass out of the dirt, he wasn''t very sure how to frame his questions, "Yeah, I guess I am," he said simply. "Well, I don''t know where to start," she looked his way before continuing, "I received the message from the guardian angel, telling me where to go and what to do," He noticed that, upon speaking those words, she''d looked towards the ground. He could tell there was so much more she wanted to say, but for some reason she appeared to hesitate. The answer she''d given was concise, and she only repeated what she''d already said during the meeting, word for word, "Hayden, you know you can talk to me," he said. She chuckled lightly, then she spoke, "Been a while since I was able to do that so, i guess I got a bit rusty at it," "Do what?" "Talk," she said. Liam was beginning to register the depths beneath her reluctant front. Whatever had happened to her during their years apart, had slithered its way down and latched on to her marrow, there were layers to peel before reaching the Hayden he once knew. "Hayden," he gripped her hand a little harder than he''d meant to, "Earlier when we met at the hospital, you wanted to tell me something, I knew it was important, but I stopped you," he realized there was a million other ways he could''ve have asked, but for one reason or another, he thought that she''d appreciate him not jumping through various hoops with her. It was hard enough for her to get the first words out; he didn''t need to overcomplicate things by dancing around the subject. Although he wasn''t sure, his stomach clenched onwards as he waited for her response. "I was in Scotland when I received the message from the guardian angel," she started, and he felt the pressure in his abdomen area subside slowly, "I was scrambling to stay alive. It''s pretty ironic when I think about it," she added. The moment she mentioned irony, he knew he was getting closer to the piece of her past that tormented her the most, to the part that kept on aching her even as they were speaking. "Were you... Alone?" he asked. "I left Beacon Hills with her to protect her. I wanted her away from... All of this," she said. "Your sister?" he wondered. "Yeah, my sister...," her voice died down at the end of her sentence. Liam knew the answer to the question he was going to ask but... He had to ask it, nonetheless, "What happened to her?" "A little while after we left, the worldwide war between humans and supernaturals as you know it, broke out. They were aiming for me but...," she trailed off, her vocal cords tightening. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "But she got in the way, didn''t she?" he said. "Ironic, isn''t it? I leave this place behind, to protect her but in the end, she was the one that protected me; worse... We were alone out there, and I did that; that was my fault," He moved to stand in front of her, leaving her no other choice but to stop and look at him, their faces close enough for them to feel each other''s breaths, his eyes stared straight into hers, "She was your sister, you would have done the same thing for her," "It wouldn''t have needed to happen if we just stayed here. If I just stayed here... Close to my pack," she said, this time not taking her eyes off of him. In a way, he thought she was partially right. There was a reason the expression " A lone wolf can never survive," existed in the first place. And the fact that she was Scott''s beta, put her at the top of every hunter''s list, at least she was, back then. However, he also thought that nothing good could ever come from living in the past, constantly rehashing one''s actions and decisions leading up to a particular event or end result. "When I received the message from the guardian angel; I didn''t even think, I just followed their instructions. When I read Ethan and Jackson''s names I... Don''t know how to explain it, they sounded familiar, then I remembered some of the stories that Scott told me about his friends and pack a while before I left town," she plucked him out of his thoughts. Somewhere along the course of their conversation, a new question popped in his mind, but he held on to it, until he couldn''t hold it anymore, "Hayden, why... Why didn''t you immediately comeback to us?" Right as he spoke those words, right under his gaze, her eyes progressively filled with a clear liquid, rapidly reaching the maximum volume of tears her sockets could contain. When the first tear finally dropped, was when she opened her mouth to answer him, "Maybe... Maybe because I didn''t think I had the right to show my face to any of you, after I just took off," she said with a very small voice. Liam felt his heart drop to his stomach, even if he''d expected her to say that; It still felt like a painful blow to the chest. Everything that she was feeling; all the guilt, and all of the shame, the hurt... He just wished he could magically make it all go away, with the wave of a hand, a blink... Perhaps, even a touch? As those thoughts crossed his mind, he noticed that her features had begun to relax. Her once upset demeanor was steadily shifting to a surprised one. They both slowly glanced down, where their hands connected them to each other. As a stream of very distinctive black vains were flowing from her arms towards his, he realized with a gleaming smile what he was doing; he was taking her pain, reliving her of it ever so slightly, but it was enough to allow her to breathe like she hadn''t done so in very long. "I thought... That we could only do that for physical pain," she said, her voice sounding much more at ease. "Yeah, I thought so too," he said in between two chuckles. "Well, I am definitely not complaining," she added. They remained rooted in place, contemplating each other''s faces for a moment. Before Hayden''s eyes drifted to the side in a dubious manner. It seemed as though she sensed something that only she could feel, "What is it?" Liam finally asked. "I am not sure but... It''s exactly like the night I found Ethan and Jackson with the berserker, and the same way I found Peter and Malia. It''s like I can hear these very distinctive voices, and they''re calling me," she said. Liam stood to the side, after turning to face the way she was eying. He walked forward before stopping again, "Hayden, do you remember the time when Theo brought you back to life?" "Yeah?" "He came to you for help, he asked you to guide him towards the other chimera. The one that was part berserker," he said. "Yeah, I think his name was Noah, or something like that," she answered. "How did you do it? I mean, how did you find him?" "I am not sure, but I asked Theo about it. He said that we were drawn to each other, because he was part berserker, and I was... Part jaguar. I think that''s what allowed me to find the berserkers and stop them from hurting Malia, I even killed one of them with a lot of ease actually. I don''t know how exactly but, even after getting the bite from Scott, that part of me still isn''t gone," "No, no, no, it actually makes a lot of sense," he spoke as he started walking again, this time a tad faster, like he was walking with a purpose, "You were already a chimera when you took the bite, it was part of you then, it''s still part of you now. It''s energy, and energy doesn''t just disappear," "Wh... Why do you suddenly sound like an expert?" she said as she caught up with him. "I am channeling Mason... Or Stiles...," he said, unsure. "And where are we going?" she asked. "You''re drawn to the berserkers, the berserkers are with Kate and Kate is...," "With the others," she finished his sentence. "If we find Kate, maybe we can find all of them," he said. Lorraine Lydia opted to remain at the hospital. She was the only one that didn''t leave the morgue after their meeting had ended. She just sat there, unmoved, unendingly staring at the wall across from her. If it had a mouth, that wall would have reminded her that she, in fact, had the ability to blink, if ever she desired to, whenever she wanted to. She had gotten used to the heart wrenching voices, the dreadful nightmares and the heinous visions as part of her abilities, but what she was hearing at that moment, sprung purely out of her memories. Echos of friends telling her how much they counted on her, how much they trusted her, how smart and capable she was. Right then, she had to admit to herself, she wasn''t feeling like she deserved any of those praises. She didn''t think she was much of an asset to her friends and loved ones in her state at all. Looking back at the events, since the beginning of the previous night, she was at a loss from beginning to end, she''d barely been able to keep up with Maylee. Had it not been for Maylee, things would have ended very differently for all of them, and that thought alone terrified her. Sure, the other banshee had over a century of practice on her belt but... Lydia didn''t have that. She didn''t own a second to waste. So, she picked her brain, from every side. She rummaged through her own mind, determined to dig something useful out of it. Out of all those years as a banshee, what had she learned? From all the near-death experiences they all went through and barely survived. She was going to find something, even if she had to shake her brain with her own bare hands. She kept those efforts up until, and as if someone had slapped her across the face, she stood up from her chair at once. She fondled around desperately to find something. Once she did, she ran back to that same table she sat at before, and laid the paper, pen and candle that she''d brought on it. She lit the candle and set it in front of her, she then held the pen between her fingers and placed her hand on the piece of paper. Breathing deeply, she watched the flame flicker gently, in complete quietude. She waited and waited, until something finally happened. A slight spaz overcame her arm, there was a span of time where nothing ensued but then, it happened again and again. Her arm jerked erratically across the surface of the white sheet underneath it. Left and right, up and down, the pen left its marks behind every move she made, as she scribbled and jotted away. The process carried on for only God knew how long, before her arm ceased all movement, allowing Lydia to finally catch her breath. Her gaze eventually broke away from the candle, looking down towards the paper under her hand. Her sight then darted back to the flame, she gazed at the mesmerizing small blaze some more, before inhaling a long one and swiftly blowing the candle out for good. At first glance, the ink on the paper didn''t seem to translate to something significant; it all looked like nothing more than random scratches and scribbles. But once she got off her chair and took a few steps back, she was able to see the bigger picture. She realized that she''d spent an unknown amount of time writing one, single name down: Lorraine. Lydia frowned; her eyes still glued on her... Art piece. Half wondering, half understanding the reasons that would lead her to transcribe her grandmother''s name, during her automatic writing session. As a banshee, in her lifetime, Lorraine Martin had left clues for Lydia to unearth, in order to save hers as well as many peoples'' lives. The only way for her to figure what she had on her hands at that moment, was to start somewhere. Somewhere she knew had a great connection to Lorraine. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. It had been years, since she had visited the Martin''s lake house. The construction was supposed to be kept in pristine shape in order to be sold, but after the deadpool ordeal, nothing ever came out of it. Upon arrival, Lydia stared at it, then stared at the sky, only to realize that hours had already passed since she''d sat down for the automatic writing; the sun was only an hour away from setting. The moment she stepped through the front door, she was hit with a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vue. She stood in that living room, reflecting on Liam''s first full moon as a werewolf. When she moved down to the basement, she was met by various markings and scratches on the wall, courtesy of Malia from when she was trying to learn control on full moon nights. The soundproofed study on the first floor, held the memories that had her chest clenche itself. The room where she''d heard the first key for the deadpool code. The place that had the strongest connection to her grandmother... She descended to the boat house near the lake, she stood in place for a while, capturing the entirety of it in her eyes. Thinking about it, she realized that, it also held a special place in her heart. It was where she came to learn that her grandmother was a banshee just like her, that she wasn''t the black sheep of the family like she''d believed for so long. She even had a bonus, she learned that her mother, Natalie knew about the supernatural more than she let appear. She walked around very slowly, allowing her fingertips to graze over random, abandoned objects stacked there, for people to forget about. Her mind went to the thought that, those objects must have had a story of their own once upon a time. She kept on her wonderings and pondering until... She heard faint sounds and noises, creeping towards where she was. She chose to stay still, to let the sounds shuffle closer in her direction. She had an annoyed expression on her face, she crossed her arms, waiting for whoever it was to show themselves. And when they finally did, she spoke, "I could''ve killed you, you know?" "Woah... Okey, sorry, I guess," Mason had his hands up as Corey and Nolan stood behind him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "We saw you leave the hospital alone, in a hurry, you seemed worried about something so, we thought...," he spoke again. "So, you thought you''d follow me? You think sneaking up on me like that was a good plan? I could have killed you!" she repeated. "Yeah, why didn''t you do that by the way?" said Corey. "I don''t know, I just had this feeling, that whoever you were, you weren''t here to hurt me, so I didn''t do anything," she said. The three young men shared an almost identical frown on their faces, but then Nolan spoke, "But, why come here of all places?" She sighed, and led them back up towards the living room, where they sat so she could explain the reasons that had brought her back to that house. She handed the piece of paper she''d previously used in the morgue, to Mason. "What''s... This?" asked Corey, sitting on the couches'' armrest, he had a perfect view on the sheet. Mason seemed to have caught on to what she expected from him. He laid the paper on the table in front of them before sitting back in his previous position, "Lorraine?" he asked. "My grandmother," said Lydia. "You used that hypnosis technic, didn''t you?" Mason asked again. "It triggered my automatic writing ability, and this is what I came out of it with," she said. "You think this place is going to give you whatever you''re looking for?" said Nolan. "Well, this place was built by Lorraine; not to mention, this is where the whole deadpool thing started, but it also is where it all ended so, I figured...," she trailed off. "No, I understand, if there''s any place that is more likely to give you answers about Lorraine, it''s this house," said Mason. "Did you find anything?" Corey had gotten up and started fondling some of the furniture around the room. "So far, nothing," she admitted, an air of defeat invading her features. Older foxes "Come here often?" a voice came to Noshiko''s ears and plucked her out of her cogitations. "Satomi-san," she acknowledged, turning around only slightly towards the woman behind her, "But to answer your question, no, this is the first in quite the long period of time for me," "Figured so," said Satomi in her usual calm tone. She walked forward and stopped near Noshiko, "Reminiscent?" she asked the celestial kitsun¨¦. "I suppose, if one may call it so. This is where the story started after all," said Noshiko, looking up at the metallic scripture above an apparently abandoned gate. The sign spelled the title "Oak Creek" out. The two women stepped over the overgrown and unkempt greenery, walking through the entrance in complete silence. They moved around the run down concentration camp, their eyes darting about freely, allowing old and... Painful memories to resurge. It wasn''t a happy place by any means, everywhere they both looked, they saw the shell of a tragedy. However, it didn''t stop Noshiko''s face from adorning the ghost of a smile. For a very short moment, she''d caught the sweet scent of chocolate, before it eventually faded along with her smile once she''d remembered how things had ended for all of them there. "His body is still in Eichen?" Satomi didn''t need to specify, for Noshiko to understand whose body she was talking about. She knew very well that Satomi was talking about none other than Reese. "I believe so. In the basement," she answered. They both stood at the beginning of a long and narrow corridor, looking intently at all its details; its walls, its floor, the dirty and dusty pipes, it''s ceiling that, for some reason appeared to hang lower than the last time they checked. Satomi had a gentle hand on Noshiko''s back. She wasn''t putting pressure, she wasn''t moving, it was just there for comfort. Satomi thought her friend needed that, at the very least. "The place where it all ended," said Noshiko, her eyes forward. "For our generation at least," said Satomi in a sigh. "You got me good back then, I gotta give it to you!" A third voice blared through the haunting hallway. The two women lifted their gazes, and glared ahead at the creature that came out of the shadows. The voice was unfamiliar, but the tone was anything but that. "I would have welcomed you back, but I am afraid I would have been lying if I did," said Noshiko sternly. "Yeah, and we both know how much of a bad liar you are, Noshiko," he said, walking towards them. Neither of them took a step back, instead, Satomi spoke up, "I see you stole another innocent life," she half asked, half stated. "Come on now, have some faith in me, will you? This young man was about to take his own life anyway," he said, gesturing towards his own body. "A nogitsun¨¦ has no faith," stated Noshiko in a cold tone. "Right, we''re tricksters. Then again, so are you my dear Noshiko so, lower that chin of yours when you talk my way," he said. "You and I are not, and will never be the same," she said through gritted teeth. "What business do you have in this place, demon?" asked Satomi. He put his hands up, feigning an innocent demeanor, "I am not here to start a fight, if that''s where your minds went. Shocking! I know," he said with a smile. Noshiko squinted her eyes at him, "What is it then?" she asked, suspicion eating at her features. "Well, sunset is in a few minutes... I just wanted to remind you how the game worked and who comes out to play by night. I thought we kinda owed that to each other. You know how it is between us, old foxes," he paused for a moment to let a sinister giggle out, " Ow! And I really, really wanted to be the first to see your faces when it all goes to hell," he laughed harder at the end of his sentence. Neither Noshiko nor Satomi knew what he meant by that exactly. But they were both sure, that whatever it was, it was bound to be something coming straight out of their worst nightmares. ***** "So far, nothing," Lydia admitted, an air of defeat weighing her features down. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Corey had gotten up. He started fiddling with furniture, picking stuff up, then putting them back in their previous places shortly after. "Okey, but according to you, why would you get your grandmother''s name as a clue?" said Mason, still seated across from Lydia. "Well, this is the place where the whole deadpool thing started. Lorraine hid an old computer behind a wall in the study upstairs, but it''s gone now anyway so, I am left with nothing else," she said. Mason looked away from Lydia. His eyes first landed on Nolan who, appeared to be deeply pensive, but then, his sight fell on his boyfriend, Corey. The latter had gotten his hands on a cardboard box, stacked with old vinyl records. For a moment, Mason sat still, before an imaginary light bulb ignited above his head. He instantly turned towards Lydia again, "Hey Lydia! You said that you got the first key for the deadpool code, by playing a vinyl record upstairs, right?" he said. "Yes, that''s exactly what happened, why?" she asked, before following his gaze towards Corey''s hands, he hadn''t noticed that the rest of the room was focused on him yet, "These are just my father''s old records," she slightly shook her head dismissively. "Got a better idea?" Nolan interjected. The four began to rummage around, until one of them yelled out from a room that he''d uncovered a record player, it was Nolan. After dusting it a tad, they placed the first disk on it, waiting and praying the ancient thing would actually work. Nothing. Nothing useful to their case at least. The first thirty or something disks were all ordinary music records. By then, Nolan went out to breathe some fresh air into his lungs and Corey sat on the couche behind Lydia and Mason, he was twiddling on his phone; the app he was using, emitted a sound effect that did nothing to improve Lydia''s mood nor expand her patience, though she still remained quiet about it. The banshee was seriously considering calling it a quit, but Mason insisted on trying one more. He played the disk and they both waited and... Waited, for nothing to come out of it eventually. "Hear anything?" Mason thought that, just because he couldn''t hear a thing, didn''t mean that a banshee couldn''t either. "No, I can''t hear a damn thing!" she inhaled deeply then exhaled in annoyance, all the while bringing her hands up to cover her face, rubbing her eyes in the process then moving her fingers towards her temples, "And for the love of god!" she swiftly turned towards Corey, to yell at him about that stupid sound effect that''s been nagging her for a good while, that ridiculous tone that resembled the ringing of an old phone. But once she''d made an entire hundred and eighty degrees turn... She stopped, her words dying in her throat. She didn''t see Corey, nor did she see the couche he''d been sitting on. She couldn''t see anything from the room she was previously standing in for that matter. She simply wasn''t there anymore. "Mason?" she turned to him, only for her to realize that he''d disappeared as well. The only thing that had remained from the previous scene, was that same ringing she''d been hearing. But it had morphed into something much similar yet so different at the same time. Right then, it sounded like the constant ringing she''d always heard in the sheriff station. Her eyes slowly came to the same conclusion, after having to adjust to the new lighting conditions. She was indeed standing in the sheriff station. Only, it was empty of all and any soul. She found herself standing alone in there, desperately scanning around for clues or a thread in order to pull an explanation her way. She took a few weary steps forward before immediately halting and looking down to her feet. Even through her shoes, she could feel that she''d walked onto a sticky wet kind of substance, viscous and gooey. That was how her irises fell on the dark crimson colored matter, covering the floor of the entire place. Once she lifted her eyes back up, she couldn''t unsee what she''d already seen. Blood on the floors, blood on the desks, blood on the walls... Blood, blood everywhere and anywhere she looked. Her eyes widened, her breath hitched in her throat and her heart rate quickened. Her chest began to go up and down faster as she spiraled down a fit of hyperventilation. "Lydia," his voice came from one of the corners, she couldn''t see his face, for his figure was darkened under the shadows that were casted upon him. "Parrish?" she uttered as she finally moved towards him. But her hopes were crushed when she was able to see the entirety of his face at last. His eyes empty, his skin dry and punctured by multiple shrapnel pieces, some were profoundly lodged into his flesh and others only hanging superficially on the surface, a deep shade of red liquid trickling down from the gashes. "What happened?" she asked in a quiet murmur, more tears welling in her eyes the longer she stared at him. "He did it again," that answer didn''t come from Parrish. Instead, it came from a different familiar voice. Lydia whipped around herself, only to catch sight of the sheriff. His condition seemingly much worse than Parrish''s. His skin all riddled and torn by the same type of materiel that Jordan had on his face. "Who did it again?" she tried to ask them, but no matter how hard she shook them, she couldn''t seem to get to them. she kept on repeating her question over and over, in hopes that, they turn to look at her instead of through her, like they were at that moment. She frantically ran between Parrish and Stilinski, until something made her stop all of it at once. A loud, brain shaking and ear damaging boom, blew from the other side of the room. She stood in shock, gawking at the origin of what she later came to understand was an explosion. Looking down again, the floors were no longer only colored in red. But there were also carrying several bodies, all dressed in deputies'' uniforms. Somehow, through the crisis, and all her senses screaming at her to give up and just let her body drop to the ground. Somehow, through all of that, she realized it was nothing more than a vision of the near future. A vision that would become a reality if she wasted more time than she thought she already did. She bolted towards the doors marking the exit of the station, and just as she jumped through them, she felt a set of arms wrap themselves around her figure. "Lydia? What''s happening?" Mason''s voice blared into her ear. It took him and Corey a few seconds to shake her out of her crazed state. She stopped, looking at nothing in particular for a moment, then, her eyes darted up towards Mason, "Call the station! Hurry! Tell them there''s a bomb in the building," she said, tears streaming down cheeks. Source of power Scott''s lips moved, but only to say, "You gotta be kidding me...," He felt a gentle yet firm grip on his shoulder, before a familiar voice spoke to him, one that he hadn''t heard in years, "No, I am afraid it''s not a joke, Scott," When Scott laid eyes on the speaker, the first name that came to his mind was Ethan, but then, and once he was able to take a better look at the young man, his eyes flashed with another wave of shock, "Aidan?" Aidan''s lips curved upwards, giving Scott a small but very warm smile in response. Not that Scott wasn''t delighted to see an old friend, he felt overwhelmed by the velocity of the latest events. For a moment it seemed that the whole time his body had been running on nothing but adrenaline, since the minute he took his very first step back into Beacon Hills. Well, since he first crashed back into Beacon Hills. He just stood there stunned, until Stiles finally spoke, "Welcome back to the land of the living," he addressed Aidan. "Is nobody going to welcome me back?" "Deucalion," Scott had finally snapped out of it, and simply greeted Deucalion with a small nod and a side smile. "So, are we going to discuss the reasons that brought us here or...?" again, Stiles took it upon himself to end the comfortable silence that had settled between them in that clearing. They didn''t say anything, they just needed to enjoy their quiet happiness. They hadn''t even noticed that they were just standing there, staring at each other. Deucalion cleared his throat before speaking his mind, "Well, first things first. Do you recognize any of these faces?" he gestured towards the desolating sight of the dead bodies around the nematon. Scott moved forward first, then Stiles followed, apprehension visible on both of their demeanors. Scott walked around for a while, trying his best not to avert his gaze away from the empty eyes, gaping blankly at him. He crouched down, his eyes fell towards the ground before looking back up, "It''s kinda hard to say, in their condition," he commented. He knew that statement didn''t bring much to the table; deep within himself he knew it was just a distraction from the rest of the thoughts forming in the back of his mind, each violently pushing and racing towards the front; sort of like how all of those people looked so young, how most of them were with no doubts in the prime of their lives, how breathing air was unfairly stolen from them. "It''s just that there are so many of them, it''s really hard to believe that Lydia didn''t pick up on any of them," Scott finally broke eye contact with one of the cadavers that seemed to be seeing through his soul. He turned towards Aidan to answer him, but Stiles beat him to it, "We''ve been out of town for the past three years," when everyone did nothing but stare at him, he added quietly, "Kind of a long story...," "And I am sure it''s a very interesting one. Anyhow, we''ve seen this phenomenon before," said Deucalion, using his cane to point at the bodies. "You mean bodies being dropped near the nematon?" asked Scott. They all seemed to know what he meant by that, with the exception of Aidan who looked beyond confused. Still, he didn''t utter a word about it; instead, he waited for more details on the matter. "Yeah, but I am having a really hard time picturing Parrish hiding the bodies like he did back then," said Stiles in response. "Well, I didn''t really have Parrish in mind when I said that," Scott clarified. Thinking back at the times when Parrish took the bodies of the failed chimeras and carried them over to the nematon. Back then, he had very little control over his powers, acting only and purely based on his hellhound instincts. Stolen novel; please report. "It wasn''t necessarily a hellhound that did this," said Deucalion. Stiles furrowed his eyebrows in Deucalion''s way, but Scott seemed to have caught on, "Yeah, most of them aren''t even supernatural," he gestured towards the bodies. At the mention of most of the bodies belonging to non supernatrals, something clicked in Stiles'' mind. He walked even closer to the mass, doing his best to overcome the whiff of pure death his nostrils were hit with and the pang he''d felt around his heart. He moved from one carcasse to another, intently eying every visible detail about them. "What is it?" asked Scott. Stiles'' right arm repeatedly waving around in circles was a second nature for him. It was something he did whenever he was deep into an analysis, "No... It''s just... Look at their wounds. Don''t they look familiar to you?" Scott stood up, somehow convinced it would give him a better view of the scene. His eyes skipped between bodies, until an air of comprehension appeared on his face as a feeling of deja vue washed over him, "The threefold death," he muttered unable to decide if he was shocked or just disheartened. "So, all of these are sacrifices?" Aidan finally butted in. "Most of them appear to be so, yes," Deucalion confirmed. "What you said earlier about Jennifer getting stronger, when we were on our way here, you were right," Scott turned to meet Stiles'' gaze, but the latter seemed to remain focused on one of the wounds he had under his eyes. But even in that state, he still managed to articulate his thoughts, "Derek said that her powers had been enhanced, extremely, compared to the last time we faced her," "Yes, she was much more powerful than before, but she still was reluctant to face me," said Deucalion. "Guess somethings never change," Aidan commented on that last statement. "That still doesn''t explain how Kate was able to create an illusion," said Scott. "If her allies are as powerful as Jennifer, maybe she didn''t need to," Stiles retorted. "I personally don''t believe it was Jennifer that did that," both Scott and Stiles turned towards Deucalion. They stared at him in anticipation for further clarification, "I did sense that Jennifer''s powers grew beyond what they once were but, I don''t think she''d have that kind of reach and projection. Kate was too far away from her at the time," he added. "Okey so, so far we know of Matt, Kate, Jennifer, the nogitsun¨¦, Anas and Kali... Who else is with them?" Scott asked. "There''s the other banshee, Euriella or something like that," Stiles flicked his nails against each other as he spoke. "Well, we can''t really be sure of anything. We don''t know much about her," said Scott. "It would still be a fair assumption," said Deucalion. "Besides, I think we should talk to Parrish about this," Stiles spoke again. "Why exactly?" "Because I am pretty sure he met her last night," Before Scott could ask Stiles another question, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He picked it up, noting that he''d received a text from Liam, "Liam says we need to meet again, he thinks he found a way to track our enemies to their hideout," he voiced the content of the message to inform everyone around him about it. "Didn''t mention how?" asked Aidan. "No, that was all he said," "I think we''ve seen everything we needed to see here anyway, but we need to call this in," said Stiles. "I''ll take care of that," Aidan volunteered for that task. Scott and Stiles broke away from Deucalion and Aidan. Heading back out of the preserve, they exchanged further notes and conclusions about the scene they left behind them. There were things they had already figured out, like the source of Jennifer''s power, or the fact that nobody in town had connected the missing people''s cases until then. But there were things they still couldn''t wrap their heads around, things such as Euriella''s mysterious powers, or who else was part of their enemy''s team. Once they were both seated in the car, Stiles looked up towards the darkening sky, "Do you think they''ll strike again tonight?" he asked. "No idea, really," Scott replied as he started the car. There was another buzz, only that time it came from Stiles'' phone. He immediately answered the call once he saw Lydia''s name on the screen, "Lydia?" he remained silent in front of her frantic vocal attempts to sound coherent, but all he could make out of it was, "We tried to call the station, but nobody is answering," and "I tried to get a hold of Parrish and the sheriff, but I couldn''t," Stiles did his best to understand it, but when he couldn''t, he stopped her, "Wait, wait, wait, Lydia, please slow down, I can''t understand a thing from what you''re saying," She''d stopped speaking, but she was still breathing heavily on the other end of the line, trying to slow her heart rate to a normal one. When she thought she could get a decent sentence out of her mouth, she spoke again, "We are on our way to the sheriff station, we need to get them to evacuate immediately. There''s a bomb in there but we couldn''t reach the emergency line and I couldn''t get a hold of Parrish or the sheriff either. I don''t know if you can get there faster, but we need to try everything we can to keep everyone safe," Old tricks "We need to go," Sheriff Stilinski stood in front of Parrish where he sat. He''d been trying to shake the deputy out of his disquietude, for over three minutes. He looked over towards Fisher, who didn''t appear to be doing any better; Noah wasn''t really sure what to do, he didn''t seem to know what to say either. Both of his deputies had been through so much that night, but he came to them with an already heavy heart, for he''d been through a hell of his own that same night. And as if that wasn''t enough, he had to spend most of that day watching half of his department being carried away senseless on stretchers, some were heading straight for the hospital but others... Weren''t as lucky. He watched the light go off in the eyes of some of them as he held their hands for comfort. He pressed his hands against so many wounds in order to prevent them from bleeding out as they waited for help to come. When he''d finally gotten to Eichen, where Parrish and Fisher were, his spirits were already out and gone... So, he stood there just looking at both of them for a moment. Seeing as neither of them was really responsive, he sat down near Jordan and stared off into nothing. "You know I am not daft, right?" That seemed to do the trick; Parrish''s eyes instantly shot up in Stilinski''s direction, "I... Yes, why would you think that?" "What? You think I haven''t noticed? I know you''ve been struggling for the past three years. I don''t know with what exactly, but I''ve seen it. In every look, in every smile you give, every move you make, I could see it. I assumed it had something to do with your... powers," said Noah, his eyes still wandering around and about. "Something of the sort," Parrish sighed. "I didn''t say anything about it, because frankly, I didn''t know what to say, even though I wanted to," said Stilinski, his eyes still ahead. "It''s fine," Parrish said simply. "No, it''s not. I''ve been introduced to the supernatural world since long enough. I should be able to be there for my deputies, my family, my friends... But every time I think about it, I find myself seriously impaired. I find myself short on words," Noah admitted. "But... You are always there. I know you think you''re not doing enough but, trust me, it always was enough for me," Stilinski chuckled, "I guess, we''re a lot more alike than I thought we were," "Kidding me? You two are almost identical. Even I have noticed it, and I''ve only been here for over a month," somewhere along their conversation, Fisher sat down near them and commented. "Now, what is that supposed to mean?" asked Noah, smiling lightly. "Well, you both act like nothing is bothering you, like you''ve got it all figured out, but in reality...," she said. "Yeah...," Parrish said nothing after that. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "All I know is, we''re not gonna figure anything out by sitting here," Noah''s phone buzzed as he spoke. he could read Mason''s name on the screen, but he opted on not answering it then and there. He put it back in his pocket and turned towards Parrish again, "We have a lot of things on our hands before we can just sit and wallow in despair," "Where are we even supposed to start?" said Jordan. "Right now, I''d say the station would be a good place to start," Fisher interjected. She stood first, with a little more energy than the two men. Noah followed suit, before landing a hand to Parrish, which he took with a smile. As they drove towards the station, the sheriff had asked Jordan to sit with him in the car. It was a good opportunity to speak more freely. "Mind giving me any details?" Stilinski broke the silence. "Not sure where to start," he paused, but continued once he noticed Noah''s short glances his way, "It''s just that, I''ve been having these flash backs to three years ago. Sometimes it goes back to the day I first came into Beacon Hills," "So, it''s like a feeling? Like something is coming your way but you can''t explain it?" Stilinski''s words took Parrish by surprise. That itch that he couldn''t scratche for months, seemed to finally subside a little. "Yes, but it''s a little more complicated than that. I have no idea how to interpret any of it. Am I having visions? Am I predicting something? It feels like trying to look through a blurry screen, and I can''t get a hold over my powers, no matter how hard I try, I can''t see it clearer," said Parrish. "Well, have you thought that... Maybe, your powers aren''t the problem? Maybe, something out there is preventing you from seeing clearer," said Noah. Something clicked in Parrish''s mind. What Noah had mentioned, was an idea that had already crossed Jordan''s mind, but he''d immediately scratched it off the board. His lack of faith in himself drove him to make that decision. But hearing it out of someone else''s mouth, someone he truly admired and respected... Made him feel like, he was allowed to think the idea through, like he wasn''t trying to find excuses for his incompetence at being... A hellhound. "When did the feeling and the flashes start?" Stilinski''s voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Around six months ago, I think. I am not sure," he said. "That''s broad," Noah paused, seemingly thoughtful, before he added, "And when did it get worse?" Parrish took a few minutes to think the question over, before answering, "Two or a month ago, I think," "I believe that''s when our enemy got closer. It makes sense. But instead of trying to figure out why you can''t see through it, maybe we focus on actually understanding your visions, that''s more urgent for us now," said Stilinski. "I''ve tried, I tried a lot," "Maybe you shouldn''t try, maybe you should ask someone about it. Someone with a lot more knowledge about your powers," "I already talked to Chris, and I think he did enough," "I wasn''t talking about Argent," said Stilinski, his eyes forward on the road. Noah parked the car in front of the station. As they both walked towards the door, Stilinski''s phone buzzed again. His eyes widened remembering that he''s ignored a call from Mason. He thought it was high time he remedied to that, lest it was something important. But when he picked his phone up, he stopped for a second, reading Stiles'' name. He answered it and trailed behind Parrish. "Stiles? What is it?" he said. Though, he could barely comprehend what was coming through the other end of the call. Stiles was breathing erratically, trying to articulate. "Dad? The sheriff station... We can''t reach anyone there! You have to evacuate! There''s a bomb!" The moment he heard those words, Noah''s hand felt heavy, he couldn''t hold his phone up to his ear any longer. His eyes darted towards Parrish who, was a second from opening the door to the station. Stilinski ran forward as fast as he could, but as soon as he reached the threshold, he was thrown backwards by a powerful blow. The last things he''d had the time to see were splinters, and pieces of furniture flying around him and settling on the ground beside him. His eyes fluttered shut shortly after that, leaving nothing but the sound of Stiles'' voice emanating through his phone, "Dad? Dad? You there? Dad!!" Previously 7 Previously, throughout the chapters {68 to 77}: We get to see more of Euriella as a person. Flashes from her past, show us the special bond she developed with Maylee, even though the latter was only her "adopted" sister. Meanwhile, Alisson stroke up a conversation with Maylee, about her past. And in that part, we got to learn the truth about Maylee''s identity, as well as her real name which was: Marie- Am¨¦lie Argent. As it turned out, she is a descendent of Marie-Jean Valet. She became Maylee after being bitten by an alpha Werewolf, before fleeing from her family who had an even stricter code back in her time. She was then given the choice, to join the apprentice or die where she sat. Allison goes out of her way, to inform her that in her afterlife, she''d spent a lot of time by her ancestor''s side, Marie-Jean Valet, which may explain her cold attitude towards her friends, after rising from the grave. Rosalie, informed Chris about some of her past and how she came to meet Hilldon, who was a dying orphan, brought in to undergo experiments on the hands of the apprentice, clarifying that Hilldon, was never her true son. Chris remembered that when he''d brought Rosalie into the hospital, he thought she was human, because she couldn''t heal, and she didn''t react to mountain ash either, and so, Rosalie explained that the apprentice had only modified her system to give her a few abilities; such as speed and strength, but she wasn''t given the ability to heal, and she was made so, she couldn''t react to mountain ash. After that, Chris caught the conversation between Alisson and Maylee, but he couldn''t let them know he was there. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Stiles and Scott took the road towards the nematon to meet Deucalion and Aidan. On their way there, they got the chance to talk somethings over. Sort of like, how Kate used an illusion to trap Malia and Peter, trying to figure out how she did that, or who might have helped her to do so. Mason on the other hand, was more focused on Parrish, and the person that was able to hurt him. Talking to Corey about it. They came to the conclusion that it may have been Euriella, and that she was more than just a banshee. Lydia, put in the effort, and forced a vision out of herself. A vision that led her to the Martin''s lake house where she felt like hitting a wall again. She was then joined by Mason and Corey. They helped her figure out the reason that brought her to that place. She got to have a different vision about an explosion that would take place in the sheriff station. Liam and Hayden also had a conversation, where they reconnected after their long time apart, and they got more time to talk about things. Hayden felt the presence of the Berserkers, and Liam got the idea to use that to track their enemies where they were. Noshiko and Satomi went back to Oak Creek, where they were joined by the nogitsun¨¦, the latter bragged about something he was going to do and taunted the two women about it. But before that, a meeting took place, except it wasn''t held by the pack, but instead by their enemies, and it was led by Euriella. They too, discussed what happened to them the previous night, when they launched an attack on the pack. They informed each other on who came back to life and who stood in their way during their mission. Euriella told them they were free to act, until further notice. Malia followed Peter to the old Hale house. They got the chance to talk about things that they didn''t before. Peter got to open up a bit about his past self, and his behavior, his regrets as well as what pained him the most. Stiles called his father just in time to warn him about the explosion, but he didn''t get time to evacuate the station, Mason and Corey couldn''t get a hold of the station and the bomb went off. Fuel for fire "Asses on the bus! Asses on the bus!" Coach Finstock''s eyes followed the students as they hurriedly climbed on the school bus, one after the other. Once the last of them was in, the coach quickly followed after him. He stood near the driver''s seat; his gaze skimmed the list of names on the clipboard he held. When he reached the bottom, he voiced the last three names, "Anderson is here, McKenly is here and finally... Greenberg is...," He paused for a moment, looking over the list one more time, before lifting his sight towards the students. He searched for a sign of Greenberg''s face among the others, but found none, "Oh hell! Where is Greenberg?" he exclaimed in an outburst. Finstock waited for an answer that never came. Instead, the students, looked at each other, then back at him again, only to shake their heads from left to right in the end. A voice eventually came from the rear of the bus, "Coach, last I saw him, he was in the locker room, he didn''t look well. I think he''s sick or something," said the student. "And you didn''t think to notify me of that?" the coach wore his heart on his sleeve, he wasn''t the type to hide his thoughts, his emotions often manifested in a variety of energetic and comical motions. He huffed and puffed, practically stomping his way out of the bus, back to the boys'' Lockeroom, "Greenberg! It''s always Greenberg. Why does it always have to be Greenberg?" he grumbled under his breath. He burst through the door, expecting to see Greenberg in there, but all he saw was... Nothing. "Greenberg?" he called out for the young man. There was no response... Finstock walked between the locker cabinets looking for his missing student. The silence in that place irked him, but he tried his best to keep his demeanor together. After about three minutes of pointless searching, he stopped, the back of his hands on his hips, he furrowed his eyebrows, "Where the hell is he?" For a moment, the coach thought that the space around him was all wrong, like it was somehow quieter than it should have been. However, in the midst of those notions he heard what he first thought were screams. He bolted out of there and ran through the empty hallways of Beacon Hills high. By the time he reached the bus again, silence had already reconquered its territory. Nobody was screaming; the cold air of the night brushed the coach''s skin when he left the warmth of the building behind him. Moreover, nobody was moving; Finstock perked his head up to catch a glimpse of his students inside the vehicle but, it seemed like there was no one in there. That impression was confirmed once he stepped inside. There was no sign of the students, no sign of the driver and... No sign of struggle. The bus looked as good as new. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Henrick?" the coach called for the driver, who was nowhere to be seen. At that point, Finstock looked more annoyed than anything. He was well aware of the bizarreness Beacon Hills was dipped into, but for some reason, it didn''t really faze him all that much. He exited the bus again, and went in a circle around the thing, looking for... Frankly, whatever he could find, "Goddamn it! Why does weird shit like this keep happening?" he muttered. "You haven''t changed a bit, Coach," she pressed on the letters when she uttered the word "Coach". He flipped around to put a face on the voice that spoke to him. He didn''t immediately recognize her when he first laid eyes on her, but the memories slowly came back to him in bits and pieces, "Jennifer Blake?" he asked. "Oh! I am surprised you remember me," she said. Her focus was fully on something she held in her hand, like it was the most fascinating thing. He would have loved to give her one of his classical retorts, but his confidence was dwindling by the second, the more he looked at her figure. He kept trying to see what she was holding as he took a few steps towards her, "Well, you seem to remember me too so..." "Nonsense! Who could ever forget about you?" she said, finally peering at him. He froze, not wanting to close the distance between them anymore, he looked at her like she was some sort of feral animal, "Aren''t you supposed to be... Dead?" he asked, seemingly confused. "Honestly, is there anything in this town that goes the way it''s supposed to?" she moved towards him a little, lifting her hand up, parading what she held in it. It was a whistle, the kind he always had around his neck. "Wh... Where are my students?" "I am afraid I can''t tell you that, but I wouldn''t worry about them, they are in good hands, I assure you that," He wasn''t convinced much by her words. He kept eying the area around them, he knew she wasn''t quite a normal human, as she''d pointed out, normal doesn''t really run miles in Beacon Hills, "What did you do?" "Can''t tell you that either. Just know that we needed them, we''ll put them to good use," at that statement, he couldn''t be anything but disgusted. The way she spoke about those kids, did more than irk him in many ways. Although, he didn''t get much time to ponder on things any further. He fell to the ground on his back, after feeling a cold object pierce through his abdomen area. He only felt the sharp pain of the carving knife lodged in his insides when his eyes fell down on the thing. A warm sensation crept and gradually spread around the wound, as what he came to understand was his own blood leaving his vessels. It was funny to him, how he only realized that she''d stabbed him after feeling all of those things happening to his body, "Oh! Crap...," he managed to say, looking up at her where she towered over him. "I would have apologized but, it would have been a lie. Though, I was honest when I said we needed them," "For what?" he struggled to speak as he tried to find any semblance of mercy in her cold, dead eyes. "For fuel. They''ll be the fuel for my fire," she stated like it was the most basic concept one could hear. Spiritual visitor "Sheriff?" Noah heard the muffled sound of Lydia''s voice. The man felt like his ears were submerged under water, "Sheriff, can you hear me?" she spoke again, only that time she sounded a lot closer than she did before. It took some time for him to regain his senses; when he did, the first thing he recognized was Lydia''s face. Then came the pain that his brain was finally able to process and translate. The third thing that reached his ears, was the commotion around him; he heard Mason''s and Corey''s voices nearby, but he couldn''t make out what they were saying. "Is he conscious?" that was Nolan, asking Lydia if Noah awoke. "Yes, but I think he needs a moment," she said. "What''s going on?" Stilinski grunted out as he tried to sit straight. "Wait! I don''t think you should be moving right now. We don''t know what kind of injuries you have," "I think I am fine; I was just thrown back. I can move just fine, so it''ll be alright," he told her. "That''s not really how it works, but...," she uttered as she did her best to assist him. He took the sight around him once he stopped adjusting himself on the ground, where he sat. Mason and Corey whom he knew were there, were rushing to help whoever they could. The main entrance to the station was blown outwards, considering the pattern at which the uneven shards had been scattered after the fact. Everyone else seemed to be scrambling in order to spare any life that can be saved, rushing in and out of the building in two different lines. There were no ambulances there yet though. "What happened here?" he asked Lydia. her eyes drifted back towards him before she spoke, "The nogitsun¨¦... He placed a bomb in the station... Again," she said in a hushed tone. "How do you know it''s him?" the sheriff had asked that question before he could think his words over. "Well, it''s his ammo, shrapnel bombs," she paused, pointing at a tiny piece that had lodged itself under his skin, causing a small gash on his face. Lydia went on to explain further, "And I had a vision about it," Noah couldn''t really tell, but he felt like Lydia was struggling to get the words out, like something was preventing her from speaking. Eventually, he resorted to assume it was the sheer weight of the recent events. "The ambulances are on their way. Sheriff, are you alright?" Parrish emerged from the station. To Noah''s relief, he seemed to be unharmed, apart from his uniform looking a bit rough. "Where''s Fisher?" Stilinski asked about Fisher before answering the original question. "Yeah, she''s fine, she was behind you when the explosion happened," said Parrish. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "We were the first to arrive because we were already on the way here," said Nolan. There was a moment when none of them said a thing. Parrish went back inside the station to help some more, and Nolan followed after him. Lydia remained silent; the sheriff couldn''t think of anything to say to her right then. "Dad?" he looked the other way just in time to see his son run his way, Scott a few feet behind him. "I am fine, I am fine...," Noah immediately started trying to reassure Stiles, which he knew wasn''t going to be an easy task, but he still didn''t want him to worry, not more than he already was worried about everything else. Stiles knelt down near his father''s figure, his breathing rate out of norms, his features twisted with concern. If the sheriff had no clue what to say to Lydia, his tongue was pretty tied into a knot in front of his son. He knew nothing he''d come up with could help ease the tension on Stiles''s shoulders. Lydia stood up and moved away in order to give the both of them a moment with each other. It felt odd for Noah to admit, but it was comforting to just see Stiles near him. Neither of them needed to speak or say something specific, but "nice" was all he could think about to describe the way he felt at that time. Lydia walked towards Scott, who wanted to make sure that the sheriff was alright before heading inside the station to help as well. "The nogitsun¨¦...," he uttered, unsure what else to add. "That''s the assumption," "You had a vision about it?" he asked. "Yeah, I induced it," from an outsider point of view, and under different circumstances, their conversation could seem like one of the most uncomfortable and unpleasant settings to ever be in. But Scott and Lydia were dry out of words and energy to aligne them, "What did you find when you went to the nematon?" "What do you think we found? I honestly have no idea what to say anymore," he said. "More bodies, I assume," she paused to see his reaction, when he didn''t say anything, she added, "Do you think they were experiments? Kinda like the dread doctors and the chimeras?" "I doubt Parrish is still going around hiding bodies from us, and considering the way they were killed, I''m more inclined to think they were sacrifices," they started heading towards the station as they talked, "You said you induced your vision?" "Yes, I used the hypnosis method that Deaton had shown me before, I think you were there when I did it for the first time. It was when we were up against the wild hunt," she explained. "Yeah, I remember. We need to see Liam, I think he found a way to track our enemies," Lydia''s eyes widened and darted towards Scott when she heard his last statement, "How?" "I don''t know, he didn''t give any details in his text and we...," Scott stopped midway through his sentence to support Lydia''s wavering body. She seemed dazed, like she was about to collapse, "Woah! Lydia? Are you okey?" She brought a hand up to sooth her forehead, "Yeah, I just have this feeling... I am not sure, but I felt it before," "Another vision?" he asked. "No, this is different, like something is off," "Tell me about it, a lot is off right now," "No, no, it''s not like that, this feels more... Pressing," she began to turn left and right, seemingly looking for something precise. She was frantic, like whatever it was she was looking for, was to be the cause of immense hurt. She froze a few moments after that. her gaze focused on a particular spot in the distance. Scott followed her sight only for his to land on a figure he wasn''t sure he knew, "Is that...?" "I think it is," Lydia broke into a sprint in that direction, caring very little about Scott''s calls for her attention, and he was left with no other choice but to go after her. Stiles who had been helping his father get off the ground, noticed his girlfriend and best friend running the same way, but when his eyes finally followed, they met the person they were going towards. He ceased all movement, which led to the sheriff noticing his rigidity, "What is it?" he asked his son. "It''s him...," "Him who?" "The nogitsun¨¦... He''s here," Home sweet home! Derek slid the metal door to his loft open; he hadn''t been to that place in years. He took his very first steps inside, only to be greeted by the specs of dusts that occupied the space during his absence. He didn''t necessarily think of it as his home but still, it was the closest thing he had to that definition. Erika walked past him and headed towards one of the covered couches. She lifted the white sheet off and flaunted it away. She flopped her body weight onto the seat and sighed a long one, "Eh, too bad I bit the dust before ever setting foot in here," she said. "I actually bit the dust in here," said Boid nonchalantly as he looked around the place, his eyes landing on the spot he''d lost his life for the first time. "Seriously...," Derek commented as he took his turn to throw himself on a couche. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing his body to relax a little. When he reopened them, his gaze fell on Isaac, who was leaning on the door frame, his arms crossed. Isaac didn''t say anything, he just stared at Derek, "If you''ve got something on your mind, just go ahead and share it, because you know I''m not going to beg," said the latter. "You were never one to beg," Isaac chuckled, then he added, "But yeah, I do have a question for you. Why did you do it?" "Do what?" said Derek. "Go out there by yourself," said Isaac, still in the same position. "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Derek tried to dismiss the topic, although he knew it wouldn''t be that easy to do so. "I wanted to ask you the same thing from the moment we saw each other, but I thought the timing was inappropriate," said Erika. Isaac moved inside as Boid pulled a chair to sit closer to the group. Neither of them was specific with their questions, but Derek knew exactly what they meant, and he knew he was just delaying the inevitable by that point, he was going to have to give clear answers anyway. He just wanted to take his time in order to find better words for it. "I mean, I knew you were as bold as brass, but never reckless. So, I kinda wonder the same thing," this time it was Boid''d turn to ask. "Was it because it was Jennifer?" Isaac spoke again. "How did you know she was there anyway? In the distillery?" asked Erika. "I think it was the other way around. I think she was the one following him," "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Derek confirmed Boid''s thought. "It makes sense that out of all of us, you''d be on Jennifer''s radar the most. But that still doesn''t answer the question I asked before," said Isaac. Boid and Erika remained silent, but just by the way they perked up, Derek knew they were waiting for the answer too. Seeing that Isaac wasn''t letting go, he took a deep breath and started, "I was at the hospital when I caught wind that Jennifer was back. I can''t say I thought much about it before going out there," "I don''t think you thought about it at all, if you want my opinion. I mean considering you knew there were other creatures other than Jennifer," said Erika. "Do you... Still have feelings for her or something?" said Boid. Derek looked at Boid and Erika, they hadn''t changed a bit. He''d noticed that before, of course but... He felt like he was finally having the time to think about it soberly, since the entire previous days were a blur. Isaac on the other hand, seemed to have changed a tad. He sure still had that sinical side to him, but he appeared to be more thoughtful. "Was it guilt?" Isaac caught Derek off guard with that question. He read right through him, or so Derek thought, "Maybe...," he said. "And you thought you should be the one to take her down?" said Isaac. "I get it, but at the same time I don''t. You didn''t think for a second that she wouldn''t face you alone? Because that''s the kind of person she is? Unless... You were ready to die," Erika wasn''t making it any easier on him. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "Is that true? You knew you weren''t coming back alive?" said Boid. They kept going, one after the other, asking questions and suggesting answers, getting to conclusions on their own. Derek hadn''t said a thing until then, unsure if he had anything to say anyways. "Look, some twisted reason in your mind may lead you to believe that you brought Jennifer into our lives back then but... I hope you realize that it was not the case, right? I hope you know that on that night, you saved us. Without you in that distillery with Scott and Deucalion, none of us would be here right now," Isaac had said all of that so fast, barely leaving Derek the time to disagree. He just looked at Isaac, giving him a questioning look, it was like he knew what Isaac was talking about, but at the same time he didn''t. Isaac noticed the brooding look on Derek''s face so, he continued, "Scott told us what you did that night. You tricked Jennifer into healing Deucalion''s eyes, which weakened her greatly, and then you fought her and took the beating in order to win some time until the lunar eclipse was over. You do realize that you played the biggest part in taking her down, right?" Derek''s eyes fell to the floor the moment Isaac finished speaking. Twisted truly was the correct word to describe his thoughts and feelings about Jennifer''s ordeal. Hearing Isaac retell the events of that night the way they happened sparked a dull ache in Derek''s heart. Not that he doubted Isaac, but he did doubt himself for sure. Somehow, he''d completely forgotten the part he played that night, he looked down on his own role, the same way he''d always looked down on himself. For years, he''d relentlessly blamed himself for Jennifer, completely omitting the fact that, she would have executed her plans regardless... "He''s right, you know? Jennifer isn''t your problem. She is our problem," Erika didn''t have her usual nonchalant or playful tone when she uttered those words. On the contrary, she sounded... Comforting and sincere. They all remained silent after that. Derek was finally able to entertain the idea that perhaps, not all of the guilt fell on his shoulders like he thought it did. He was finally contemplating the idea of peeking out of his airtight shell on the subject. But something came to rattle their little moment of peace. They all started looking at each other, before looking at the still open door. They slowly got up, got ready to act, until Derek spoke up, "We know you''re there. Come out already!" Only seconds after his words, a figure appeared from behind the wall where she''d been hiding. Erika growled under her breath at the sight, her claws already pushing through her skin, her fangs out, eager to finish what they''d started the previous night. "What are you doing here, Kali?" for some reason, Derek sounded calm, like he knew something the others didn''t. Well, Isaac didn''t seem phased by her presence either. Kali just stood there, looking back at them. She didn''t look fierce, she didn''t look feral, she didn''t seem to be ready for a fight, or she most likely didn''t come looking for one. She put both of her hands up before she spoke, "I am just here to talk," she said simply. **** Scott, Lydia and Stiles were facing who they believed to be the nogitsun¨¦. None of them spoke, allowing the racket coming from the sheriff station to become the only background noise to their stance. "Did you like my surprise?" the nogitsun¨¦ spoke first, adorning a smile on his lips. It seemed he just wanted to claim responsibility for the bomb, in case they hadn''t figure it out yet. "No. Sorry, I prefer to be honest about my feelings," Stiles surprised Scott with his answer, drowned in sarcasm like his usual, apart from gritting his teeth he didn''t allow any other emotions to show. "Where are the Oni?" asked Lydia. "Ow, tonight I thought we could dance to a different song," said the creature. "We can definitely dance," Scott was ready to jump at his throat, but was surprised again when Stiles put a hand up to stop him. "Lydia! We meet again! Did you miss me?" the nogitsun¨¦ addressed Lydia. "Not really," she said. "Tell me, I am just curious, how did you do it?" he asked again. "What do you mean?" Scott interfered. "I didn''t come here with any ill intentions. I just came to enjoy the show," the nogitsun¨¦ looked past the three friends, towards the sheriff station. Then he continued, "So how did you know I was here?" She just frowned, having no answer to his question. Scott couldn''t lie, he was intrigued by it as well, but he was brought out of his thoughts by Stiles'' question, "You came all the way here just to gloat? Is that the only reason?" "See any other reason? Besides, it''s not like getting here was that hard," the nogitsun¨¦ remained quiet for a while before he added, "Aren''t you going to ask me anything alse? Like the usual questions? You know, like: Why are you doing this to us? And all that spiel," he adopted an over dramatic tone, in order to mock them, without a doubt. "We know better than to ask a trickster about his motifs," said Stiles. "Ah! you spoiled all the fun," said the nogitsun¨¦. "It''s nothing personal," Lydia chimed in. Scott watched the conversation between his friends and the nogitsun¨¦ carry on like nothing was pressing. He was barely able to hide how dumbfounded he was at Lydia''s and Stiles'' nonchalance, even though they seemed to be holding their rage back, it still was pretty out of character for them, especially Stiles, after what happened at the station. He was calm about it, too calm for Scott''s liking. "Anyways, it was kinda nice chatting with you here, but I have things to tend to," the nogitsun¨¦ cut Scott''s contemplations short. "Scott?" the sheriff''s voice caught the three friend''s attention, they turned to look at Noah as he approached them. But when they turned back towards the nogitsun¨¦, he was no longer there. On high alert! Rafael McCall''s face was the first thing that Scott''s eyes landed on upon going through the hospital doors. His traits seemed strained with the weight of the crisp concern he was bearing. Once both of their gazes locked on each other, Scott walked his way, Stiles and Lydia not too far behind him, "Dad?" said Scott when he got close enough to his father. "What the hell is happening around here again?" "Honestly, I am not even sure where to start," said Scott in a sigh. "A hug might be a good place to start," Stiles'' intervention didn''t go unnoticed; it brought the attention of the three of them towards him. When nobody said a thing, he tried to render his sarcasm heavy sentence more candid, "I am just saying, you haven''t seen each other for a while, and a hug would be a good start," In response, Rafael took a deep breath and shifted his attention back onto his son, "When did you get back?" "Last night, but it''s a bit of a long story," "I really hope you''re good at giving summaries, because I have stories of my own to tell, and I assure all of you that we don''t have a minute to waste," Rafael paused, swiftly looked around for a second before asking, "And where''s the sheriff? I couldn''t get a hold of him on my way here," "Well... About that...," Lydia gave her signature expressions, one that usually meant "It''s too insane to look or sound sane while explaining it." Seeing that Lydia fell short on words, Stiles took over, "I think you''ll have a chance to see him, and faster than might you think," Stiles turned to Scott, "You too should talk for a while, you know where to find us later," And on that note, Scott nodded and watched as Stiles and Lydia walked down the hallway, away from him and his father, leaving the both of them alone. "Another supernatural enemy?" said Rafael. "Sort of," "What''s that supposed to mean?" "Well, there''s more than one," Rafael took a split second to digest the news before getting back to his usual demeanor, "Does that have anything to do with the situation at the sheriff station?" "You know about that?" Rafael gestured Scott to walk with him, "All I know is what I was told when I was assigned this case, I assumed things at the station must be out of hands if they sent me out here for this," "Why are you here by the way?" "Mass kidnapping, and apparently the authorities in Beacon Hills are overwhelmed as I understood," said Rafael. "That''s an understatement. Do you investigate kidnappings too?" "Long story. A bus full of high school students, including the driver disappeared earlier tonight. According to the eyewitness, they vanished without a trace, but he has a clear idea of who did it," As they both moved through the hallways, several medical staff members rushed past them, pushing stretchers that carried people wearing deputies'' uniforms, all of them in pitiable conditions. Rafael''s eyes followed after them for a moment, before darting back towards Scott, "What the hell happened?" "An explosion," Stolen novel; please report. "Again?" "Did the witness say who it was?" Scott asked. "Well, we''ll be there in a few seconds, you can ask him yourself," "You want me to talk to him?" Scott was split between understanding and perplexity. On one hand he thought it was evident that he should talk to the witness, but on the other... He couldn''t help but find the situation odd all the way. "You''ll understand why when you''ll see him," Scott didn''t like the sound of that one bit. Terrified to see another friend or even acquaintance in a bad situation. Of course, it still would have been horrible no matter who it was that had to witness that, but still... He couldn''t chase that feeling away. Rafael finally stopped in front of a door; he pushed it open and stepped aside to let Scott in. His jaw dropped a little when his caught sight of the man, "Coach?" he exclaimed. Taken by Surprise, coach Finstock dropped the spoon full of food he was holding, back on the plate in front of him, "McCall? No, no, no, not you again! You graduated so, I don''t want to be involved in your....," Coach seemed to be struggling to speak, looking for his words as his hands, his fingers twiddled erratically, as though he was trying to make the end of his sentence physically materialize, "You, your... Bizarreness," he finished. "I think it''s a little bit too late for that, coach," Scott gave him an apologetic look. "No, no, no I am done with your stories. You and Stilinski and Dunbar, you''re not welcomed within the perimeters of this room," said Finstock in a haste. "I am afraid you''ll have to make an exception this time around, coach," Rafael interfered, leaving Finstock no choice but to listen to Scott. "Coach, please tell us what happened?" said Scott calmly. "We were supposed to drive to Davenford Prep school, for a lacrosse game. I went back to the locker rooms to look for Greenberg, a...," "Greenberg is still in Beacon Hills high?" the question jumped out of Scott before he had the chance to stop it. "No, it''s his younger brother but that''s not... Just... Do you want to hear the rest of what happened or not?" "No, yes, please, I am sorry," "Anyways, I couldn''t find him, that''s when I heard the screams and I ran back towards the bus but...," Finstock trailed off. "But they were already gone, weren''t they?" Scott decided to finish his sentence for him, just to spare him the struggle. "You said you saw the person that took them. I just wonder how? Since you said the students were already gone," Rafael wasn''t as lenient as Scott with his tone. "I don''t think it was a considence. She wanted me to see her, she stayed behind just so she would tell me she did it," "She was the one that stabbed you?" said Scott. "Oh no, I fell on a kitchen knife that was just lying there on the floor, for no apparent reason. Of course, she stabbed me! Who the hell else would do it?!" "Coach, we''re just trying to understand things clearly, try to calm down and be more helpful, please," Rafael felt he had to interfere again. "You said, you knew this person. Can you give us her name?" Coach pondered for a moment, he seemed reluctant for some reason, but he spoke eventually, "It was that teacher that was reported missing a few years ago, she was presumed dead after that," The moment Finstock brought the story of the missing teacher, a single name flashed in Scott''s mind. There was no doubt for him to have, that woman was the only teacher that was reported missing and then presumed dead after a while. It was her, It was... "Jennifer Blake," Finstock brought Scott out of his thoughts when he uttered her name. He''d guessed her identity right, it was her. More importantly and most unfortunately, he had a pretty clear idea of the fate she reserved for the students she took. "Did she say anything else?" said Rafael. "She said they were the fuel to her fire, or something crazy of the sort," Scott was right on the money again. The highschoolers she took, were to be sacrificed for her crazed desire to acquire more power. The need to talk to Liam and Hayden about the hideout of the enemy suddenly became more pressing in his mind. Once they thought they heard all they needed to hear from Finstock, they exited his room, closing the door behind them. They stood in silence for a moment, breathing in and out deeply, sighing a few times in the process. "You know who this Jennifer Blake is, don''t you?" "Yeah, we fought her before... And now she''s back, and she''s not alone," said Scott. "So, it''s that bad?" what came from Rafael was a question, but it sounded more like a statement than anything else. "No matter how bad you think it is, trust me, It''s way worse," "I guess I need to get up to speed with everything," there was another span of muteness between the two men after that, but then Rafael spoke again and broke it, "Say... Is it too late for that hug that Stiles mentioned?" "No, it''ll never be late for a hug," They stopped communicating with words and let their bodies do the talking, as they both tightened the embrace. Neither of them would admit it but they were both looking forward for that moment since they first saw each other, and Stiles only voiced it out loud on their behalf. A lead Lydia kept staring at Stiles'' back as she walked behind him. Her mind was bustling with clusters of thoughts and questions; each of them just as important as the other. She deemed only fair to prioritize the ones that concerned the man that stood in front of her at that specific moment. Although, that worked well for her convenience, him being her boyfriend and all. She watched as his head followed the stretchers carrying the patients past him, most of which were heavily injured deputies. His mind being obviously as busy as hers, she didn''t want to pile more onto his plate. Yet, she still felt that urgent need to talk to him about whatever was pulling her whiskers. She was so focused on Stiles, that she was able to drown out any and all the noises surrounding them. She wasn''t distracted by the tumult caused by the medical staff racing time through the hospital hallways, to help as many souls as they were able to; neither was she distracted by the voices screaming for attention in her head. Thinking about it, she imagined that if she''d gotten a minute to breath, she''d have patted herself on the back for the control she''d gained over her banshee powers, despite the tight spot she found herself to be in those days. She was so focused on him in fact, that she barely even noticed that they''d both stopped. She didn''t realize it, but her body automatically stopped in response to Stiles halting in front of her to talk to someone. "Where''s Scott?" said Liam, his eyes shifting between Stiles and Lydia, as Hayden stood a few inches to his side. "With his father, he''ll be here in a few. So, you said you found a way to track the enemy?" said Stiles. "Yeah, sort of... Well, Hayden did," Liam answered. "What did you find?" Lydia''s gaze flickered towards Hayden when she asked that question. "Well, you already know that I have some sort of connection to berserkers, and earlier when I was out with Liam I... Felt them, I felt their presence. It was like they were calling out for me," said Hayden. "Did you follow their trail?" Stiles asked. "No, we thought it''d be better to talk about it first with you guys," said Liam. "I still think it would have been a good idea to go find them first," said Hayden. "Liam was right. For all you know, it could have been a trap. You did the right thing by coming back here," said Lydia. "Besides, once we talk with the others, we will follow the berserkers'' trace to check what it is about before making any plans. There is no need to put yourselves in danger without back up like that," Stiles added immediately after Lydia, emphasizing how much he agreed with Liam''s approach and how dangerous it could have been for just the two of them to venture out, chasing a lead on their own. The four of them stood there, undoubtedly going over what they''d just talked about seconds earlier. The silence was a comfortable one, they all seemed busy listening to their own inner voices. Although, they did shift around occasionally to not obstruct the passage in the corridor. Eventually, they just stuck their backs to the walls, unsure of where to cast their gazes. Lydia''s mind found its way back to the cranny it dug deep into before Liam and Hayden had gotten there, and her thoughts drifted towards Stiles once more. Everything around her that wasn''t Stiles, was blurred out of her vision. Only that time, there was a difference. She was no longer walking behind him like she''d been doing a few minutes prior. No, she was standing right beside him for a change, "What is it?" he muttered her way. "No, nothing," she immediately retorted when she snaped out of her daze, realizing he''d caught on to her stares. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Lydia, I may not be a werewolf, but I can still tell when something is off with my girlfriend," he said. She sure did have something to say, but she couldn''t really find a way to broach the subject. That, and she didn''t want to keep sitting on the questions she had for him any longer either, "Stiles, earlier when we were face to face with the nogitsun¨¦... I," she''d started to speak, but she trailed off, immediately regretting the fact that she hadn''t picked the right words to express herself beforehand. "Lydia...," Stiles pressed his elbow against the wall to rest his weight on his arm instead of his back. He carried on once he had a better view of her face, "Please, you know you can talk to me, and frankly? I don''t think that now is the time to hold your piece on whatever you need to say," he said. Stiles sounded more confident, but he still communicated in a soft tone, nonetheless. She mulled her thoughts over for a while, appearing reluctant at first but relenting at last. She sighed, "I... don''t really know how to explain it or where to begin," "Just try and start. I think you''ll find the words along the way," Stiles reassured her. She still took a few seconds before speaking, "Earlier, when we were at the station, I... Was talking to Scott while you were with your father and... I had this feeling that... I really couldn''t wrap my head around. It wasn''t anything like my usual premonitions, it was more like I felt the presence of someone or something that didn''t belong in that space," "And that was how you knew the nogitsun¨¦ was there," at his words, her eyes snapped up towards him in surprise, even though, she knew Stiles well enough to not be surprised by then. But the look she gave him carried more than that initial shock; it translated relief, for the fact that she didn''t have to painfully spell everything out for him. It was more than that, it was gratitude she felt at that moment. "Yeah, I guess so. But I don''t know what it means yet, or how I was able to do that," she said. "I think it''s an upgrade," he said. Then he added after considering the puzzled look she gave him, "I mean, your powers could be evolving. If before, you were able to sense death coming, then maybe now you can do more than that," "Actually, it did happen before," Thinking back, she realized the station wasn''t the first place she''d ever gotten that sensation at, "I was at the lake house when I had the vision about the bomb. At first, I was in there alone. But then I had the same feeling as the one I just told you about. Only that time, the presence was welcomed. I did feel like I wasn''t alone in there anymore, but I still felt safe," "And since you showed up at the station with Mason, Cory and Nolan, I am guessing they were the presence you felt while you were at the lake house," said Stiles. "Yeah, in fact I probably would have never had the vision without their help," "Then it stands. Your powers are evolving," "But this doesn''t fall within the range of banshee''s powers. Banshee are supposed to predict deaths. Tracking people and their localisations aren''t supposed to be included in the package," "I think we should look at it from a different angle," he paused before adding, "You can not only predict death but also feel it. Now, what is the closest thing to the concept of death in this world?" "The concept of... Life," she muttered. "Yes. I think that just like you''re able to feel death, you can feel all forms of lives and existences around you. Right now, you can''t tell because this place is chaotic but... I guarantee you that if one of our enemies showed up here, you''d sense it," "Because it would be a very hostile form of life," she said. "Well, that and they probably would be here to cause a lot of deaths so...," Lydia went silent after that. She had thought of that as an explanation, but it seemed that consulting Stiles on the matter and having his input came as a great help. "Was that all you wanted to talk about?" Once again, her eyes snapped in his direction. For a moment, she wondered if he was secretly able to read her mind, but then she remembered that he wasn''t her boyfriend for nothing. His acute perspicacity was one of the many qualities she fell deeply in love with him for. Nevertheless, she''d already changed her mind on talking to him about what she originally had in mind, before bringing the subject of her powers up, "Yeah... It was really clouding my mind. I didn''t know how to go about it," One look at him and she already knew, he wasn''t buying it. He clearly knew something else was up, but it seemed like he didn''t know how to drag the words out of her either. So, they awkwardly stared at each other until Scott''s voice hit their ears, "Hey, I just texted the others. They''ll be here soon," They all turned his way, noting by the same occasion that Rafael was with him as well. Relief and gratitude were again the feelings that Lydia had felt. Relief, for not having to confront Stiles with what she really had in mind, and gratitude towards Scott, for not having to find another way out of what would have undoubtedly been a painful conversation. The other side They slowly got up, got ready to act, until Derek spoke up, "We know you''re there. Come out already!" Only seconds after his words, a figure appeared from behind the wall where she''d been hiding, "What are you doing here, Kali?" for some reason, Derek sounded calm, like he knew something the others didn''t. Kali just stood there, looking back at them. She didn''t look fierce, she didn''t look feral, she didn''t seem to be ready for a fight, and she most likely didn''t come looking for one. She put both of her hands up before she spoke, "I am just here to talk," she said simply. "Where''s your boyfriend?" Erica wasn''t as patient as Derek and Isaac were willing to be. Kali looked at Erica, leaned her head to the side in a "give me a break" fashion, but she remained silent. No venomous reply, no snarky comments; it really was out of character for Kali. Even Erica was taken by surprise with that. "Are you actually gonna tell us what brought you here? Or are we gonna have to pull the words out of you?" said Boid. Derek watched her movements closely. She seemed bothered by something, which was a fact he already knew. At first, he thought she was sorting the words out in her mind, but then the longer he stared at her, the more he realized it wasn''t the case. Her attention was clearly scattered around the place, between a few specific spots. She looked down towards the floor, at the center of the loft; that was where she''d stabbed him in the back all the way through to his chest with a metal bar. The alpha pack then proceeded to watch him suffer and bleed his vains out for quite some time. That same spot was where she''d impaled Boid on none other than Derek''s claws, for him to die very shortly after. It was hard for Derek to imagine, but perhaps she did have the ability to feel guilt. Or perhaps that was just what he wanted to believe. In the end, perhaps she was just feeling uneasy, because... That was also the place she''d met her fate, in her last fight against the darak, Jennifer Blake. "He''s on his way. I am sure you know who I am talking about," she said, dragging Derek out of his thoughts. "Yeah, we know about him. The real question is, why are you telling us about it?" said Isaac. "You spent some time in their company. I am sure you understand why I want to walk away," she, of course, was hinting at the fact that Isaac had been a prisoner of the apprentice, before Maylee, Rosalie and Hilldon helped him escape. "Horsecrap! You don''t just walk away from those people!" Erica did not want to drop her guard. "No shit! Why do you think I am here? I can''t just pack up and go on my merry way. Their henchmen are everywhere," If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "So, you know you don''t stand a chance at survival out there on your own, and that''s why you came here. Is the great Kali scared?" said Boid, a small smirk drawn on his lips. "If someone told me I''d live enough to see this day, I''d have thought they were insane!" Erica chuckled at her own words. "You didn''t live...," Kali retorted out of habit. Although, her voice died down at the end. Isaac wanted to steer the conversation onto a different track, "Did Euriella tell you that he was coming?" "I wouldn''t say that, but she hinted at it," "What else happened? You''ve been with them for a long while now, you won''t convince me that this is all you know," said Derek. "We were supposed to take you out yesterday," she said, as her legs lead her to the couche where she sat, "We split up into groups in order to strike at the same time," "And you failed miserably," said Erica, still starring daggers at Kali. "You''re not really dropping bombshells here. You''re just telling us what we already know," said Boid. "Yeah, I was getting to that part. Up until now, Euriella has always kept me and Anas at arms'' length, easy to reach but only in dire need," "So, basically, what you''re saying is that you pretty much have nothing to offer?" said Isaac. "I am willing to believe you," everyone turned towards Derek after they''d heard his words. Even Kali was taken aback; after all, neither her nor Anas ever gave him a reason to trust them, in anyway, shape or form. "Seriously?" Erica practically leaped off her seat, "She shows up here, doesn''t have anything to contribute with, and we''re somehow supposed to believe that she''s deserting their ranks?" "I gotta say, I don''t always agree with Erica, but... She''s got a pretty good point here," said Isaac. Derek walked towards the massive wall of glass that served as a window in the room, he stared through it for a while before speaking, "I would have been more skeptical if she came to offer us all their secret plans on a silver platter. Judging by the way you and the others talk about this apprentice and his daughter," he looked at Isaac for an instant, then he looked back out the window, "I doubt they''d be the type to share their plans with their pawns," he finished. Isaac''s ears heated up, and Derek could clearly see it. Evidently, that thought hadn''t crossed his mind. Fortunately for him, Kali brought the attention back onto herself, "I can tell you where their hideout is. And... Another thing for sure, the ones you need to fear tonight are Kate and the nogitsun¨¦," "Why is that?" asked Boid. "Today, during the meeting we had, Euriella hinted at the apprentice''s arrival. After that, she said we were free to do as we pleased until then," "Euriella said that? You''re sure?" Derek interjected. "Well, yeah, positive," He pondered over her words for a good minute, part of her statements tickled his curiosity, but he opted on keeping that to himself, then he finally spoke again, "The rest checks out then. Kate is the most volatile of the bunch and the nogitsun¨¦ thinks in a box of his own. How many of you are there in total?" said Derek. "If we exclude me and Anas, there''s Jennifer, Matt, Kate and the nogitsun¨¦. I am not counting Euriella and the apprentice of course," she said. "What about the entire army behind him? What do you make of that?" Isaac seemed to be losing patience. "I am not counting those either, they''re just simple supernaturals and chimeras," "Are you kidding me? An army of rats is still an army!" said Erica. Derek''s phone buzzed in his pocket, "It''s a text from Scott. He wants us to meet him at the hospital," he announced after reading its content. Rekindle Allison found her way to her father''s armory. She walked between the shelves of that spacious place. She beathed deeply, like she was inhaling untainted air for the first time in ages. She seemed enamored by the sight of so many weapons in one place. She allowed her fingers to roam freely, grazing wood, metal and plastic. She promptly stopped and turned her face halfway towards her left side. She waited and waited... For him to say something. "I see you had no trouble finding this place. Can''t say I am surprised, but I am proud," said Chris. He stood near the entrance, almost giving the impression that the site wasn''t his property. "You''re not surprised that I just got back from the dead, and somehow stumbled upon your bunker. Really?" she said calmly. But then she continued, "Unless...," Chris had finally decided to push his weight off the door frame, in favor of moving closer to his daughter. Although, he couldn''t find a single thing to say, nothing that would fit as a response anyways. She was coming to the conclusion on her own. "So, you were listening in on my conversation with Maylee," said Allison. "That wasn''t my intention but... Yeah, once I heard a part of it, I couldn''t not hear the rest," he explained. "I wouldn''t have blamed you either way; I was just guessing," she said. It was odd for Chris, he had so much to tell her, so much to talk to her about, yet couldn''t find a single way to undo the knot in his throat. He wasn''t the kind of man to be at a loss of words but then again... He never imagined he''d be staring into the eyes of his undead daughter after so many years. "Are you going to make me guess again?" Allison spoke again, confirming that she was indeed alive, that he wasn''t dreaming. As though the fact needed further proof. "Guess?" "Yes. Since I know you heard everything I said to Maylee, then I know you have questions about where I was for all this time," she pulled the only chair available there before sitting near a busy table. He knew she was right and as hard as it was to come up with the right words, he still preferred to dance around the fire, "I did and... Yes, I do have questions," The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Well, then which one of them do you want answered first?" "Did you feel anything? ... Pain?" he uttered. "Which part do you mean? At the moment of death? Or in the afterlife?" "Both, I guess," he sounded like he was battling for the will to get the words out, without crumbling that is. "It didn''t hurt to die, but it hurt to leave, and no, I didn''t feel like I was stuck in the afterlife for years, it actually felt like hours," she revealed. Whatever he''d thought of saying after that, just vanished into the mist. When he heard her admit that leaving him and her friends behind, hurt her more than any other thing. All the strength he''d gathered in order not to crash up until then, had just... abandoned him instantaneously. Moreover, he was hit with the sudden realization that the reason she felt familiar despite her attitude, wasn''t the fact that she looked like Allison. It wasn''t the fact that she answered to the name of Allison Argent, nor was it the fact that everyone around was convinced it was her either. No, it was the fact that she reminded him of her mother, Victoria, his late wife, so much so that he was perturbed by it. Thankfully, a question managed to sprout through his burdened vocal cords, "You said you met Marie-Jeanne Valet?" "Yes. The entire thing felt like a dream. One moment I was in Scott''s arms saying my last words and only seconds after that I was in some sort of forest. Something attacked me but a woman that looked exactly like me came to help me, I found out after the fact that she was Marie-Jeanne, and I stayed with her," she said. "You told Maylee that you were watching over us. Is that how you knew where to find this place?" "I wouldn''t say I was watching over you. It was more like following the development of your story, your lives I mean," "But she also told you the story of our family, didn''t she?" he asked. "She did. Although, I still don''t know what to make of it. One''s take varies based on their perspective," "You thought you couldn''t trust her?" "I am saying I was skeptical. I mean, you never told me about her," said Allison. "I never really got around to do that. What was it that attacked you when you were in that forest?" "I still have no clue about it. I asked Marie-Jeanne, but she never really gave me a concrete answer," she said. Chris fought the urge to ask the newest question his tormented mind came up with, but Allison was a lot more perceptive than he gave her credit for, or at least, she became a lot like so, "I saw her too," she stated. "Saw who?" he didn''t know why he felt the need to ask that, considering he already knew who she meant, but it just escaped his lips. "I saw mom. But... she wouldn''t talk to me," at those words, Allison swayed on the chair towards whatever parts and scraps were laying there on the table. Her pick was a bullet that she twiddled between her fingers. Her action seemed more like a desperate attempt to shift her attention in order to drown the pending sorrow she felt. By some unknown power, Chris found a lot to say at that moment; the lines just kept flowing through his mind with ease. But right as he was about to open his mouth, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket; he would have ignored it if not for the fear to delay something that shouldn''t be. "What is it?" Allison''s voice pulled his attention away from the screen he was staring at. "It''s Scott. He wants us to meet him at the hospital," he said. Underground "How many underground layers and secret vaults does the Hale family own?" Malia uttered as her head spun from left to right, so that her eyes could view as many details as they were able to. "Just this one and the vault under the high school," said Peter while closing the sliding metal door behind them. They both marched along a hallway, once Peter had walked past Malia in order to switch the lights on and guide her inside. "What was this place used for?" she asked. "The family kept it to train the young wolves that had issues shifting during full moons," he said, "But after the fire, the Argents used it as a torture chamber," he added. "Cozy...," she commented. They kept on walking in a straight line until Peter stopped again in front of another sliding door. It opened on a large empty room, dust being the only element to cover every surface. Malia walked around the place for a moment before dropping her weight to the ground and crossing her legs. "What are you doing?" Peter was startled by her action at first but then became confused. "Sitting," she said simply. "Can''t you just sit like normal people do?" "I am not normal people," By the way she acted and the short answers she gave, Peter knew she had something on her mind. He could see her thoughts swirling behind her eyes, "Are you still thinking about Scott?" "No, I don''t want to talk about that," she said, her eyes on the ceiling. "Right, because if I remember what you said correctly, you have a list of people to talk about this with and I am not even on there," he crossed his arms. "That''s not it. I actually want to talk about something else," she admitted. Peter''s brows furrowed, his full attention on her; he didn''t say anything and just waited for her to start. "This whole thing with Kate and the Argents, from back when they were still hunting werewolves and other creatures...," she trailed off, but caught her words before completely losing the will to ask, "After the fire, you fell into a coma, and you were stuck in that state for six years. I know what happened after you woke up, I heard it all from the others but... I... I mean...," her voice became more hushed the longer she spoke, and the closer she got to the question she wanted to ask, the harder it became for her to utter her words. "But you haven''t heard it from me yet," he guessed. She finally looked at him, still unable to express her thoughts the way they were lined up in her mind; not that they were in a perfect order in there either. Peter wanted to alleviate that weight off her shoulders so, he decided to carry on, "I actually remember a lot about that day. I didn''t think so many details would keep coming back to me after so many years, but here we are. I''d been out of the house for a while. Back then, me and Talia didn''t see eye to eye, but you already knew that. I did go back to talk to her from times to times, to confront her...," he trailed off. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Confront her? What about?" said Malia. "You," he said in a whisper, his voice trembling. He noticed Malia''s confusion so, he explained, "At the time I didn''t know I had a child, she''d even made me forget about Corine. But I knew she stole a memory away from me; I wanted it back," "The day of the fire. You...," Malia started on a presumption, but she couldn''t finish her sentence either. "Yes, that was what brought me back to the Hale house the day of the fire," "There were other people in the house that same day, right?" she asked. "Talia had taken our youngest cousins under her wing. Their parents had passed only a few months prior to that. They... Weren''t supernatural. The argents... Well, Kate didn''t care about that, and I am pretty sure Gerrard was proud all the same," "That''s even more depressing," she stated, then she added, "I know that Derek and Laura were at school, but I recall someone mentioning that another member of the family had survived," "Cora. She fled to south America; she came back to Beacon Hills a few years ago but, after the pack had defeated the darak, her and Derek left again, even though Derek came back," They both held their pieces for a while. Peter didn''t know where to go from there, and Malia looked like she was genuinely trying to pluck up the courage to ask more questions. Questions that would possibly cause him more grief, questions that would throw him back into a spiral of emotions, ones that he''d finally managed to seal away and somewhat move on from. He thought that she was getting good at that, reading the room... Malia had struggled a lot with that before. Peter was proud of the progress she''d made but wanted to spare her the pain of trying to find the right words to ask him what she wanted to know. He didn''t want to have those kinds of barriers with her, he figured they''d already had enough of those between them two, "But you want to know what it felt like for me to be in that coma, right?" She tried to hide it, but guilt was written all over her face, "Yeah, ... I guess I didn''t know how to ask about it," she said. "Well, I definitely remember the panic, then the moment the flames touched my skin, the first burns that I got from that and the unbearable pain that came with it. The smoke that I''d inhaled didn''t help my case either," "Is that how you fell into a coma?" "I think by now you know that for most supernatuals that can heal, pain is the trigger for the healing process. What happens when there''s just too much pain to bear though?" he asked. "We don''t heal," "At first you just lose consciousness, but after a while and the longer you remain in that state, the more of your awareness you regain. My body shut down but not all the way down to death. I could hear people around me, yet I couldn''t speak. I could feel all the pain yet couldn''t complain or cry. I remembered what happened to me and my family, I remembered who did it to us, yet I couldn''t scream the rage out of my lungs. I could do absolutely nothing other than lie down in that bed and wait patiently. I stayed like that for six years, and believe me when I say, six whole years can be awfully long when the only person you can talk to is yourself," Peter finished his tale on its lowest note, his voice shaking, not from sadness but from the hints of rage he hadn''t gotten the opportunity to express with others yet. With guilt still apparent on her face, Malia spoke again, "I... Am sorry I reminded you of all of that," "No, I am actually glad I could talk about it, and I am glad it was you that asked," he went quiet for an instant before continuing, "And thank you," "For what?" she asked. "Not reminding me that what I did after the coma was wrong," he admitted. "There''s a time and place for everything, I guess. Besides, I think you''ve been reminded of that enough times," she said. Masterminds It took almost an hour for the entirety of the pack members to join Scott at the hospital. Most of that hour, however, was spent waiting for the dust to settle after Kali had showed up alongside Derek. Questions were asked, protests were made, and concerns were raised. "I actually wanted to gather all of you here because... Well, we may have an interesting lead," Scott seemed to almost cough out his words the moment everyone went quiet. "No shit...," the others could not disagree with Erica''s comment. In fact, all eyes were understandably on Kali at the mention of a lead. "We should probably take this as a sign that the universe approuves of our intentions." wasting no time, Stiles brought the attention of the room onto himself, "Yeah, instead of shooting in the dark and praying to whatever gods would listen that the lead Hayden found isn''t a trap. We can actually crisscross it with the information that Kali has to offer," he finished explaining. Liam stepped in after that to keep the meeting as short as it needed to be, "Right so, Hayden and I were out on a walk around the entrance of the preserve and...," But he didn''t get to finish what he had to say. Allison had interjected before he''d gotten to the important part of it, "Stop! I want to hear what Kali has to say first," she stated in a dry tone, her eyes transfixed on Kali. Once again, everyone''s gaze traveled from Allison to Kali. Up until then, all she''d done was show up; she hadn''t contributed with anything to win their trust yet, and they knew that Allison was right. Even Derek who seemed to have no reluctance towards letting her be with them, had decided to let things play. "That sounds pretty fair to me. Shot in the dark or not, I don''t trust this woman," said Malia. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence, which everyone had to resist the urge to break, settled in the room. Realizing there was no avoiding it, Kali finally spoke up, "Fine, I guess it is fair," she stated, pressing on the word ''''is'''' as she uttered it, "I know that the apprentice, or the master as they like to call him, is on his way to Beacon Hills; don''t know when he''s showing up, but he''s definitely on his way. I also know that apart from me and Anas, there''s Kate, Matt, Jennifer and the nogitsun¨¦ in their ranks; these are the higher ups that are already in Beacon Hills, and I am not talking about the lower rank soldiers, like the berserkers and the long tails. I have no idea how many of them there are out there, around the world," "Wow! That... Actually, does... Not help us at all. Do you have any important information that we have yet to hear," Daniel popped from behind Isaac where he stood to voice his thoughts. "I intensely and heavily agree with his statement," said Isaac sarcastically, his arms crossed against his chest. Kali rolled her eyes at them before asking, "What about their hideout? Does that sound like an important information?" "I''d say it would be a great start," said Lydia. "They''re staying in a mansion up north, very close to the border of town," she said. Everyone looked at Hayden all of the sudden; all waiting for her to confirm Kali''s words, "So? Does it add up with what you found?" said Stiles. To which Hayden replied with a very clear, "It does, yes," an answer that was seconded by Liam who kept nodding his head as she spoke. "Alright so... What now?" Brett asked when he thought that the silence ate more of their time than it should have. All of their gazes shifted destinations once again; they went from looking at Hayden and Liam to Scott and Stiles, who stood next to each other, "So... I''d say we strike them as fast as we can," said Scott. "Especially if his majesty the apprentice is on his way here," added Stiles. "You wanna go there tonight?" Derek was taken slightly aback by Scott''s decision; the true alpha had always refrained from hastiness. "No, not tonight, not exactly but...," he looked at Kali as he said that. "You''re afraid I''ll go back and tell them all about your plan to strike?" said Kali. She didn''t seem particularly offended, more so exasperated than anything else. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Well, can''t really blame him, can you?" it was Boyd''s turn to speak up. "Look, guys, I am usually the paranoid skeptic around here, so none of you can call dibs on that role. But... Today, right here, right now, we can''t afford that. I am sure you noticed how fast of a pace they moved at; they struck as soon as we entered town, and I don''t need to remind any of you that most of us here, would have been dead by now without much needed helping hands," Stiles spoke quickly and with much avidity. He''d managed to catch their complete attention and simultaneously leave them no room to argue, not because they couldn''t speak but because they had nothing to add; they all knew he was right. "That is the most accurate assessment of this shit show that I''ve gotten to hear so far. Anyhow, what''s your plan Stilinski? That is of course, if you have one," said Jackson. "We should split up," Scott threw those words out there and took everyone by surprise. "Wait, yeah, sure we can split up but... After establishing a plan, right?" said Ethan. "Well, we need a plan of the mansion, which Kali can provide, yes; after that we split up into multiple groups and each group establishes its own plan the way they see fit," said Scott. "I also think each group should designate a leader and only the leader should be informed of the plans of other teams, just so that we don''t step on each other''s toes," said Allison. "I like the idea of staying in my lane but, doesn''t that sound a little too draconian?" said Malia. The moment she spoke, the atmosphere in the room became denser and heavier. The way Scott, Allison and Malia stared at each other, seemingly made everyone else uncomfortable just by being there. "No, as long as we have Kali in our ranks, we cannot sleep on both ears. If she runs back to the enemy and informs them of our plans, we''re dead ducks. It''s not that complicated to understand," Allison''s sentence did not help soothe the already inflammable air around them. "Well, maybe if you...," Malia had stepped a little forward towards Allison, but Stiles swiftly interjected between them, "I think we all need to take a few steps back in order to get the full view over what we have. While I agree with Malia that doubts and lack of trust can hold us back, I also have to agree with Allison''s take; it really does sound like the best for both case scenarios," Immediately after his words, Liam stepped in to share his suggestion, "I think I should go with Hayden and I want Brett and Lauri to join me if that''s ok with them," "Sounds good for me," said Brett. "I have an idea and I would need the help of Jackson with it," said Deaton. "I''m in, but I don''t think that the three of us should go in alone," Jackson had motioned at Deaton as well as Ethan and himself when he spoke. "It''s alright, Deucalion and Aidan should go with you; they were a bit busy, that''s why they couldn''t show up here," said Scott. "Aidan? Aidan as in my brother Aidan?" Ethan leaped out of his calm state, understandably outraged; nobody had thought of taking the time to inform him that his dead brother was one of the revenants. "What? Really? Aidan is back too?" Lydia seemed shocked by the news as well. "I know, I am really sorry, I just didn''t find the right time to tell you about it yet, I just...," But Ethan did not wait for Scott to finish his excuses, "I think I''ve heard enough, and our group is set anyways, so I might as well get out of here," he exited the room right when he finished speaking. Jackson followed after his fianc¨¦; he gave one last glance at Scott and the others before disappearing behind the wall as well. Sheriff Stilinski took it upon himself to break the new fallen silence, "I think I should go with Parrish, Fisher and Rafael; I think we''ll work better as a team, if that''s alright with all of you," "Me and my father should go together and...," Allison made an awkward pause, before looking towards Isaac and adding, "Isaac should come with us, if he wants to," "Yeah, sure," he said sheepishly. "Can we tag along with you three?" Daniel asked Allison, referring to himself and Alec. When neither Allison nor Chris said a thing, the rest took it as a sign of agreement and they moved on, "You three can come with me if there is no objection from you?" Satomi addressed Mason, Corey and Nolan. "Sounds good for me," said Mason. Nolan and Corey simply nodded. "Right, I think me, Scott, Lydia and Malia should go together," said Stiles. "I''ll go with Peter. We can take Braeden and Theo with us," Malia had immediately intervened, leaving no time for Peter to prepare his words. He uncrossed his arms and let them fall by his sides, surprised by his daughter''s decision. Stiles looked at her and then at Scott; his best friend seemed to lack any sort of response at what he''d just heard. Lydia was looking between the both of them as well and it wasn''t long before Stiles noticed that everyone else was stuck doing the same. If the atmosphere was heavy until then, it was becoming unbearably thick, Stiles felt like he could slice it if he had a scalpel in hand. Thankfully, Derek cleared his throat at that point, "I''ll go with Erica, Boyd and Kali as well," Erica snapped out of whatever thoughts she was having; she turned towards Derek so quickly that it didn''t go unnoticed by the others. Although, there were no comments about Derek''s decision whatsoever. "I guess this leaves me, Hilldon and Maylee, we... Wait," Rosalie paused and scanned the room with her eyes, "Where''s Maylee?" "Maybe she wasn''t informed about the meeting," said Stiles. "Impossible. She was right behind me when we were on our way here," said Rosalie. As if on cue, and at the mention of Maylee''s name, Scott''s voice was heard in the room again, "Lydia, what''s wrong?" he had asked while supporting Lydia''s figure. Her body had leaned to the side, and she looked like she was struggling to stand on her own legs. "Lydia?" inquired Stiles as he slowly walked her way. She held her head in her right hand and shut her eyes tightly, "Something..., I am not sure but... Something is really wrong, I can feel it. I think it has to do with Maylee. I think wherever she is, she''s in trouble," she said. Unexpected One foot in front of the other, Maylee stepped ahead. She walked the hospital hallways with a clear destination in mind. She turned at corners where she needed to, and she made stops where she felt she had to. It was like she was guided by an unseen aura, an estranged yet so familiar aura. At last, she made a final halt in front of a door. She hesitated for a moment before finally pushing it open. Maylee was greeted by the back of a woman that stood facing the window in the room, a woman she knew all too well. "So, you came, and you came alone," Euriella announced as she turned around towards Maylee. As soon as Euriella''s eyes met those of Maylee, Maylee''s gaze darted all around in the room, everywhere except for Euriella''s face, "I didn''t feel like bringing company," said Maylee. "You never were the brightest bulb, sister. Can''t say I am surprised," There were two hospital beds in that room, Maylee walked towards one of them and sat down, still refusing to look at Euriella higher than knee level, "Nothing you should be surprised about, I just wanted to have a moment alone with my sister, can''t I?" said Maylee. "As if. But a girl can dream, I suppose," They stood in the same room, yet it was like they were in two separate dimensions. The air around them was cold, even though both the window and door were closed. The short list of words they''d exchanged reached each other''s ears just fine but, had a much deeper impact than both wanted to admit. They had so much to say but wanted to keep just as much hidden. Maylee couldn''t really tell about Euriella, but her heart ached just at her presence. She couldn''t even bear the sight of her; it was all too painful. "What is it you came here for, sister?" Maylee asked. The smirk on Euriella''s face faded; she took a deep breath, "Whatever it is you''re scheming with your new little friends, forget it. It won''t end well for any of you," "You came all the way here to threaten me?" "Take it as you will, sister. But you know how father likes to do things," said Euriella with a heavy tone. She moved back towards the window and stared outside, "A beautiful town, Beacon Hills, don''t you think it is?" she said. "I never knew you much of a beauty admirer," "Well, I say that, I say things can turn ugly pretty quickly," Euriella retorted. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Maylee got off the bed and slowly walked towards Euriella. They both stood side by side, staring ahead. Maylee wasn''t really interested in the scenery; her eyes were just lost in the void of space. Nothing other than the sound of her own thoughts chained her attention. She wondered about the reasons that brought her sister to visit her, she wondered about all the things she knew her sister had in mind but would never be able to hear from her mouth. But most of all... She wondered... If her sister had a shred of emotion to spare her way. When she couldn''t bear the weight of her inner voice, she thought it''d be best to ask, "Euriella, do you remember back when you used to teach me how to harness the powers of the nematon?" "I distinctly remember you failing miserably at it," said her sister. "Still as cutthroat as always, I see," Maylee couldn''t help but smile a little when she heard the strain in Euriella''s voice. She was evidently struggling to sound harsh in front of her. "But you clearly had something in mind when you asked that. Why else would you bring it up?" said Euriella. "To be frank, I have no idea why," Maylee paused, then she continued, "Perhaps I wanted to know if I was the only one having these flashbacks of us back then," "And what if you weren''t? What change would that make?" For the first time since Maylee had walked into that room, her gaze rushed to meet Euriella''s. Their eyes bore into each other''s, and they stood that way for quite the long minutes. Their silence said a thousand words without the need to utter them. Maylee felt a burning sensation that rose all the way through her chest and huddled in her throat along with all the pent-up emotions she''d kept bottled for years. She was afraid to speak, scared the cracks in her voice would expose her. When she finally plucked up the courage to speak, she asked, "I heard he was on the way here," "You''ve heard?" Euriella pondered a bit before adding, "You really can''t trust anyone to keep their mouths shut these days, can you?" "And I suppose it would be of no use asking you what his goals are," said Maylee. "I think you know the answer to that," Euriella responded exhaling. There was another lapse of time when both remained as silent and still as they could, only remembering to breath for their lives. But in the blink of an eye, that all changed. Euriella made a swift movement with her arm, lifting it up and rapidly bringing it towards Maylee''s neck. By the time Maylee had caught up, she realized it was too late to react. She was able to catch the sight of a fairly large syringe jabbed right into her carotid artery. She watched as the content of it disappeared into her body; the homogeneous neon green fluid worked as fast as it was being injected into her. Maylee began to feel its effects almost immediately; she fumbled around with her hands for something to grasp in order to steady herself. She tried to fight the daze she was gradually falling in into, but to no avail. She was sure she hit the ground after that, but when no pain came with it, she started to doubt herself. The space surrounding her lost all its light as her eyes slowly closed. Completely alone and lost in a tract void of all matter, the only color she could perceive was black, pitch black. Unconscious but somehow still aware of what had just happened to her; it wasn''t like one of those dreams where, the moment one falls into them they lose all connection to reality. She remembered well but she wondered... For how long she was going to be stuck in that void and... What was the exact purpose of Euriella''s doing. Previously 8 previously in the chapters from 79 to 88: Jennifer keeps on stacking up bodies on top of bodies as sacrifices in order to gain more power than she already has; when the number of missing cases kept on rising, the state sent in Rafael McCall back to Beacon Hills to investigate it. But because of the madness, Scott and Rafael''s reunion was cut short. Hayden and Liam split up from the rest of the pack for a while to talk and reconnect, but Hayden sensed the presence of Berserkers lurking around at a specific place. Both immediately contacted Scott about it. Malia chose to stick by her father''s side for longer, during that time, he opened up about his past a little more, after she''d asked him to. Likewise, Chris wanted to rekindle with his revenant daughter, but it was a little more complicated, Allison had changed in a way that Chris couldn''t understand just yet. Lydia, talked to Stiles about her new ability; she brought up the fact that she sensed Corey and Mason in the lake house before she knew they were there. Then, she mentioned their encounter with the nogitsun¨¦ a few hours prior. They both concluded that her ability to predict people''s deaths was simply expanding and branching out, granting her more power than she''d had before. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Derek visited his old loft along with his three previous betas, Isaac, Erica and Boyd. They enjoyed catching up with each other, especially Erica and Boyd, who have been dead for years. Until Kali showed up at their doorstep. She claimed to be on their side, and she said she was there in order to help them but... Was she sincere or was she not? That was the question they all asked. Although Derek agreed to give her a chance, to everyone else''s surprise. Considering the new informations they had to share, the pack held another meeting at the hospital, where they decided to make a move against the enemy. They split up into multiple smaller groups and started planning their acts each separately. Maylee, however, wasn''t present at the meeting. She was drawn somewhere else. When she finally got there, she realized it was the doing of none other than her sister Euriella. They exchanged a few words before Euriella took her by surprise and injected her with an unknown substance which left her unconscious after that. The dark sun The clattering of his heels whipped the walls around him as the echoes emphasized the dead silence in the mansion. He walked along the vast hallways like he was familiar with every inch of that place. Nothing or no one dared stand in his way until... "Father! You''ve finally come to join us," said Euriella as she came out of a room to greet his presence. He didn''t stop and without a glance towards her, he spoke, "Well, yes. That was the plan after all," He walked past her, through the doors she''d just exited. He neared a black leatherette, high back throne chair, that looked every bit as expensive as his all black outfit, "I see you''ve been busy," he said motioning at Euriella''s harp near one of the windows. "Of course, best to keep ourselves informed in order to stay ahead," she said after sitting closer to him. "I am always ahead," he added, in a calm tone but with a stern look on him. "Right, you are," she said, "This town has changed quite a bit since the last time we''ve visited," she added. "Spare me these fruitless chats, would you? And tell me how much we''ve progressed in our plans?" for a man over a century of age, he sure sounded hasty. For a man over a century of age, he sure didn''t seem all that old. Physically, he seemed to be in his very early thirties or even less; flawless skin, piercing blue eyes and overall, universally desired features; it was obvious that his years dabbling in the powers of the supernatural served his interests well. "Our plans are on track," she said. He did not seem convinced, "Is that so? Did you fetch her?" "I went to a few hours ago," "And?" he asked after she''d remained quiet for too long. "She was already dead when I got there," Euriella announced. "I thought you said she''d survived," "I thought so as well, but apparently she didn''t fair against the Oni at the hospital," she explained. "Well then, I am afraid you''ll have to replace her. You understand that, don''t you?" his tone shifted at those words. He sounded like he was asking nicely, like Euriella had a say in the matter, even though they both knew that was not the case. Neither of them said a thing for a while; Euriella stared at her harp pointlessly and he, the apprentice, gazed ahead just as purposelessly as she did, "I still find it odd," he said out of nowhere. "What is?" her eyes darted back towards him. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Last time we spoke, you''d said that they all survived the last night. What are you trying to say? That you somehow missed your sister''s death?" he continued. "I still don''t understand what happened either. Marie- Am¨¦lie was at the hospital at the time and none of ours were present to tell what really happened there," Euriella was lying through her teeth; she did her best to hide her truth, did her best to conceal her fear; after all, she was lying to the apprentice and that was no easy task. From the short words they''d exchanged since he''d gotten there, it was clear that he''d burdened Euriella with the task of fetching her sister, Maylee, that they still called by her birth name, Marie-Am¨¦lie. Maylee was to be an apparently important part of a yet another sordid plan of his... But for a reason that Euriella couldn''t feel safe disclosing to anyone, she chose to lie knowing full well the consequences she was to face should that information ever leak to his ears. "What about the others?" he asked. It seemed like he was dropping the subject a little too quickly; clemency was not part of his vocabulary, nor was it a second nature to him and Euriella was left wondering if he''d believed her or... If he was simply stringing her along. "The others?" she asked, out of her element. "That true alpha and his pack, who else would I be talking about?" again, he seemed unbothered, but she knew reality to be very different, she knew him very well, she knew not to be fooled by his calm temperament. "Oh them..." she muttered, "They''re still running around like the children they are," she added. "You seem... Distracted. I don''t like it when you are distracted," he stated coldly. "Well, like you said... I only seem distracted. I am not," she said. "Did my toys perform well? You haven''t told me about that part either," his mood swung suddenly, and he appeared to be very excited about the topic he''d brought up. "They''ve done quite well for themselves, but they are flawed. As the confrontation proved last night," she said in a dry tone. "And how so?" he quizzed, all ears for her answer. "For one, your invulnerable matt, wasn''t that invulnerable it seemed; he has a weakness, and I am sure you know how they found out about it," she started. "That stupid girl went and ran her mouth... What''s new?" he commented through half gritted teeth. "Then there was the nogitsun¨¦, he found his match against a celestial kitsun¨¦ and a powerful one at that," "That old bat still has zing," he chuckled, refereeing to Noshiko Yukimura. "The Oni are useless during daytime and Kate Argent was bested by another bone woman, and she too is pretty useless without the berserkers, honestly," "You mean that little Hayden; her case is interesting when I think about it, might be worth the study," he said. "Should I put her on our list of goals?" "No need, if things go the way they should, we''ll have everything we want and then some. The sun will never shine the same upon this town... Upon this world. I''ll be their new sun, their dark sun," They both decided to leave the conversation at that. The apprentice retreated back into his own thoughts and Euriella chose not to disrupt him. She knew it was best to leave him be when he was in that state. She left the room shortly after, in order to allow her brain the time and freedom to process all that happened in the preceding days; that was a luxury she couldn''t afford near him. She wasn''t to be "distracted" as he''d described it so well. She thought back on her actions a few hours prior, and the consequences resulting from them that she''ll have to endure in her near future. Whether she regretted them or not, did not matter a single bit... For it was too late for her to take them back in any way; the only thing she genuinely felt sorry about, was the fact that she left her sister for the final time, without proper goodbyes. Postpone "So?" Malia crossed her arms, unaware that she was frantically tapping her right foot against the floor. Both the doctor and Melissa had their hands full, trying to figure out what had happened to Maylee. Neither of them however, had yet to grasp the shred of an answer, "Anything?" Malia had spoken again. "This is why family and friends of the patient wait outside of the room and don''t hover," said the doctor exasperated. There were five other people besides Malia in that room, and while they all seemed worried or puzzled, nobody looked as impatient as she did, "Well, we''re neither friends nor family so, those rules don''t really apply," she said sarcastically. All eyes snapped towards her, "Malia...," Stiles started but was at a loss of words. "What?" she turned towards him, then added, looking between all of them, "How did this happen? I mean what do we even do now?" "It happened. Running after the how, won''t help us," said Scott calmly. "What the hell does that even mean?" Malia then looked in Lydia''s direction, "You''re the banshee here, how did you miss this? Why were you only able to feel that something was happening when it was already too late?" Lydia remained silent, her eyes glued on the senseless frame of Maylee, "It doesn''t have to be somebody''s fault," Scott tried again with her. "Yeah well, we still need to know why and how things can just happen under our noses like that. It can be a fatal mistake for us, you can''t tell me I am wrong about this," she said. "No one here is saying that you''re wrong. All there is, is that this conversation can wait, we don''t need to have it right here, right now. And Lydia predicts death not danger; Maylee is clearly alive, as you can see," Stiles did his best to keep his tone as calm as possible in order not to further steer the pot. Malia was about to retort when the doctor''s voice cut in before hers, "Well, if you''re done arguing, then maybe you''ll be interested to hear the conclusion I reached about her state," they all went quiet upon hearing that, all ready to listen, "Absolutely nothing is wrong with her physically," he said. "What?" Stiles asked, puzzled at what he''d just heard. The rest of them seemed just as shocked as he was. "Exactly what I said. All of her test results show she''s fine and perfectly healthy; no matter how I look at her, she''s all fine," said the doctor. "And her vitals seem fine as well. Whatever is causing her coma, it has to be supernatural," Melissa jumped in. "I think we already had that part figured out," stated Malia. The doctor exhaled one last time before exiting the room, followed by Melissa, "Great... This is just great," Malia exclaimed when she saw the way they all looked at her, she then proceeded to storm out of the room herself. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "Malia, wait!" she turned around to see that Scott had followed her out to the hallways. When she stopped to hear what he had to say, he spoke his piece, "I know everyone is on edge right now, but we can''t let things overwhelm us like that. It''s true, that things have been happening fast the past few days and it''s out of our control...," She cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "Things have been going on in our lives ever since I recovered my ability to walk on my two feet, just like you guys. Things never stop happening and guess what? Things are always out of our control, and yet we never seem to catch up with whatever is after us. We never do right on time or before suffering huge losses. So, for how long are we gonna keep dragging the excuse that everything is always out of our control, Scott?" she said in one breath before turning on her heels again and walking away from him. Scott was left rooted in his spot, in the middle of that hallway, mouth agape for a moment. Throughout their years, him and his pack had been through tough times, they''d braved many hells to get to the point they were at; they''d fought so hard just to survive and keep the world around them safe. In those many times, there were always moments during which Scott had a sinking feeling in his stomach that... Everything was falling apart, that the ground was crumbling beneath his feet, and it seemed... He was living one of those moments right where he stood. Despite agreeing with Malia''s words, he still couldn''t change the fact that things truly were out of his control and as much as he hated it, he could only admit it. "You know, she''s only partially right," said Stiles from behind him. "Where''s Lydia?" Scott had noticed that his best friend was alone. "She wanted to be left with Maylee alone for a while," "She knows she''s not to blame, right?" said Scott. "Well, she thinks she has a pretty good reason to blame herself," Scott furrowed his eyebrows at what he''d heard from Stiles, the latter continued, "You saw it too at the sheriff station when the nogitsun¨¦ showed up," "You mean, she can feel the presence of people and creatures around her?" "She brought it up a while ago, before our meeting, but she wasn''t very sure how to go about it," said Stiles. "Then what I said still stands. If she has new abilities then there''s no way for her to just know how to use them right away, that is not how it works," said Scott. "Still... I think whatever she needs to do right now, she has to do it by herself; none of us can really help her with it. No matter how much it kills me to say it out loud... I am not going to be of much help for her, especially now, with this...," "Malia is right. You know she said the same thing you said to me when we were walking in the preserve," "What''s that?" quizzed Stiles. "That things never stop happening, but somehow I am never ahead of them and...," Once again, Scott was cut off in the middle of his speech, "I told you, she''s only partially right and I meant it. You know exactly what''s tormenting Malia at the moment so, you should definitely talk to her about it," "Well, you were right too when you said that this is not the time to talk about these things," "Scott, we''ve already established that there is nothing you nor I can do for Maylee; you''re very free to take care of other matters. I am giving you the answer when I say that the reason we''re never ahead of things, is because we never communicate properly. Things aren''t going to solve themselves on their own, one conversation can take you a long way, just one," "I know that, but right now, we need to focus on our plan for tonight," said Scott. "Oh my god...," Stiles grunted out before turning around and leaving too. Trifecta from hell or heaven Far away from Scott, Lydia and Stiles, Isaac followed in Allison''s steps with one specific question in mind. As soon as she''d entered what resembled her father''s bunker, she dropped whatever she was carrying on her back and began to fiddle with some weapons lying around, mostly arrows. Chris Argent did the same with his weapons of choice. Isaac stood there, feeling out of place, his eyes darting between both of their busy figures. Allison had clearly picked up on his desire to speak, nothing else could explain why she had asked him first, "Something on your mind?" When he''d finally hopped off of his train of thoughts, he realized she''d stopped what she''d been doing and was standing still, her full attention on him, "What? Oh, no, I was just thinking," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear him. "Well, mind sharing?" she persisted. He pondered for a few seconds before responding, "I was thinking about the longtails. I know that their weakness is their heart. I know that they are to be shot or stabbed with something that has mountain ash in it or on it but... I don''t remember hearing anything about their leader''s weakness," Isaac fidgeted a bit, uneasy at the lie he just had to tell. Although, he thought he deserved a pat on the back for coming up with something that coherent on the spot. Allison, however, did not seem duped, he felt as though she could read through him, like she could hear his thoughts. He was sure she knew he was lying, yet still chose to say nothing about that. Instead, she responded to his statement, "His name is Matt; I don''t know if you remember him. Matt was the one controlling the kanima before Gerard did," "I heard a few things here and there about that, yeah," he said as he slowly crossed his arms, "I just don''t remember Maylee mentioning his weakness before," he added. "There was no time to discuss all the details," by the time she said those words, she''d already gone back to what she was doing before, but she paused for a moment, looked in his way again only to say, "Even with you," "I got that impression... So, what is it? His weakness, I mean," said Isaac a bit awkward. Allison inhaled deeply, she then started to move around, seemingly looking for something specific. As she did so, she began her explanation, "The longtails are what you can consider as a failed experiment," At that point, even Chris had dropped his doings halfway through them and came to inquire, "Failed? They looked pretty accomplished to me... Wait! You mean to tell me that those were failures?" he simply could not believe his ears. "They''re not exactly as they were meant to be... For lack of better words," she said, "They are not supernatural, they were made and therefore, mountain ash as a barrier won''t hold them back; if mountain ash penetrates their organisms however, it''ll act as a deadly poison. That was why Braeden was told to lace her bullets with mountain ash," "Alright, but that doesn''t answer the question I asked, nor the one that Chris raised a few seconds before," said Isaac. "Matt said he was the leader of the longtails, right? He called himself something along the lines of ''king of hearts'', right?" she waited a bit, but seeing as the two men just looked at each other, confused, she decided to continue, "Do you honestly think that there is no other connection between them and Matt?" This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Are you saying what I think you''re trying to say?" asked Chris. "Yeah, are you... Wait, what do you think she''s trying to say?" Isaac, even more confused than before, turned towards Chris with his question. "Yes, all the longtails you fought until now, were meant to have the same powers as Matt. Matt is the successful experiment, he also was the first one," said Allison. "Usually with experiments, we hear a different story; try, fail, repeat until success. Not the other way around," said Chris, perplexed. It appeared that Allison was done looking around, since she''d found what she was seeking. She walked back towards Isaac and Chris. She proceeded to lay a silver arrowhead on the table Infront of her, followed by a small jar containing mountain ash powder. The last thing she deposited near the two previous items was a piece of greenery, a small plant. "Is that...?" Isaac had begun to form a question but trailed off. "Yes, it''s mistletoe," stated Allison blankly. "What are these supposed to represent?" asked Chris. "This! Is his weakness? These three?" Isaac seemed very surprised. "Silver, mountain ash and mistletoe. It''s imperative to combine the three of them," she said. "The trifecta from his own hell. I guess now I understand why Braden''s bullets didn''t work," said Chris. "The apprentice had been working on this creation or... Abomination for decades. Matt was his first lab rat after he''d taken his body. The experiments were separated into different stages. It wasn''t just a one time and done. When he saw the success, he wanted to replicate the result with other bodies... But they all ended up failing after the first stage," "How so?" said Chris. "They were supposed to keep their conscience and personality, like Matt did... But they all became braindead instead," she finished. "And that''s why they only have one weakness and not three," muttered Chris under his breath. "All ended up failing but one... I wonder what Matt had that was so unique to him to be the only success," wondered Isaac. "Well, you know what they say... If you can''t beat them, join them and if you can''t join them either then... Lead them," said Allison. "I don''t think I''ve ever heard the last part of that sentence before," Chris chuckled at her words. Silence took over the room again and both Argents had resumed their respective activities, leaving Isaac alone to battle his thoughts. They clearly had the upper hand since he couldn''t stop his vocal cords from outing words he''d wanted kept within himself, "I don''t think I''ve ever heard about any of this, even when I was held prisoner there," "Why don''t you just ask what you''ve been dying to ask since the beginning?" said Allison, her eyes on him once more. He shifted in his place a bit, uncomfortable at that thought alone, "No, I haven''t been dying... I... Am not dying to ask anything, I am very happy to be alive actually; I don''t know why you might think that," he stammered. Finding the words to describe how odd it was to stand in front of her like that, to just look at her... Felt harder than climbing the highest mountains on the land of the living. There was that invisible wall between them two, that prevented him from asking her any direct questions. Questions that he truly had been dying to ask her, but for some reason, that same wall didn''t seem to stop her from seeing right through his words. She''d been gone for years and all of the sudden she came back with answers and solutions to problems they''d been living with the entire duration of her absence. The look in her eyes, did not help at all, not by a bit... The more he looked at her, the more he was certain it was her... And yet... And yet not... "We''re here. Sorry, we just stopped on the way for some food but then we thought we''d gotten lost," Daniel and Alec had come in right in time to save Isaac the embarrassment of a conversation he wasn''t ready to have. The five of them stood in silence for a moment before Alec''s turn to speak finally came, "So, shall we discuss our plan?" Familiarities Deaton had entered a phase of repetitive motions, where he''d walk around the clinic, open cabinet doors, rummage through their contents and then close them very shortly after that. Jackson stood in one place, his eyes following the vet''s every movement. Although, from time to time, his gaze would escape him to steel quick glances at Ethan, who took a corner for himself and remained quiet, deep within his own thoughts. He hadn''t said a word since they''d left the meeting a few hours prior to that moment, not to Jackson, not to Deaton... Not to anyone. The silence was growing too heavy for Jackson''s shoulders to bear, the only sounds reaching his ears being the vibrations of objects that traveled the air around him. Deaton was causing quite the raucous. But even then, he felt the need to hear a voice, words from somebody''s mouth, anybody, didn''t matter who. And so, he thought he could be that somebody. Jackson inhaled some and then asked, "Hey Doc! What are you doing over there?" Deaton did not stop to reply, instead he gave him an answer as he continued on, "I just need to pick a few things. I will be with you in a moment," Jackson''s plan to spark up a conversation sank as deep as the feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if he should just address the elephant in the room and try to talk to his partner but... Somehow that option felt heavier than the pending silence in that room. Fortunately, or... Unfortunately? The bell above the entrance door to the clinic rang and announced the arrival of new souls into that space. From the corner of his eye, Jackson could see Ethan perk up in his seat. He still wasn''t able to see who it was that came in but through his hearing alone, he knew there were two people. Two heartbeats, one a tad calmer than the other, as well as two sets of footsteps sounds and their scent... Utterly foreign. The first face that came into his vision, belonged to a man seemingly in his fifties. Jackson assumed that one to be the Deucalion, the famous or infamous one, depending on who he asked. Right behind him came the second face and... When Jackson had first caught sight of it, of him, he refused to believe his eyes for a while. He knew that Aidan was Ethan''s identical twin. He''d heard the information from his own fianc¨¦. However, it seemed that hearing about it and living to see it were two completely different things. He did his best to regain composure as quickly as he could accomplish that. He knew he had to be there for Ethan, he thought he deserved to have that moment with his brother without anything to interfere between them. Neither Ethan nor Aidan said anything. They both just stared into each other''s eyes. Ethan''s features were visibly twitching from the weight of that scene alone. He seemed lost, petrified in his spot, his lips parting then closing again before the ghost of any whisper could escape them. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Aidan seemed to handle things better on his side, not by much but still better. His legs were moving, allowing him to advance towards his brother. The closer to him he walked, the more apparent his smile became, and not long after that, their tears shone as they trickled along their skin under the lights of the clinic. After all the stories about Aidan Jackson had listened to from Ethan, all the tears he''d watched him shed over the years, all the nightmares he had to comfort him for... Witnessing the two brothers jump in each other''s embrace felt like quenching a long-lasting thirst, like extinguishing hell fire? Like appeasing a dull ache, perhaps? The words to describe the feeling Jackson had had at that moment simply failed him. "Deaton," Deucalion greeted. "Deucalion," Deaton greeted him back. The realization that nobody had said a thing since both men had entered, immediately hit everyone like a train. "Long time no see," Deucalion spoke again, although the second time he wasn''t only addressing Deaton. "I''d say not long enough for me," said Ethan. "Easy with the sarcasm, I haven''t had my morning coffee yet," retorted Deucalion calmly. "Somethings never really change, I see," it was Aidan''s turn to pledge his words. He moved away from his brother in order to give a hug to Jackson, "I hear you''ve been taking good care of my brother," he said. "I am glad to finally meet you," said Jackson. Deaton neared the examination table that stood in the middle of the room and placed the items he''d collected from the drawers and the cabinets on its surface. Jackson and the others stared at the empty clear glass flasks that the vet had just laid in front of them. "Well, Doc, you said you had an idea and that you needed me for it," stated Jackson, unsure. "My plan relies heavily on your kanima abilities which... I assume or more so hope you still have," Deaton admitted. "So, I am guessing you want me to fill these with kanima venom," Jackson pointed at the flasks on the table. "Exactly," "What about the rest of us?" asked Aidan. "Scott did say that each group should designate a leader to communicate our plans," said Deaton. "If we''re voting, I am voting for Deaton. Last time we had Deucalion as a leader, it didn''t end well for any of us," said Ethan putting his hand up. "It kinda ended well for him, though," commented Aidan. "Yeah, weirdly enough," said Ethan again. "Will I ever get a break with you two?" Deucalion exhaled. "Guys, we have to move fast so, we need to get these basic decisions out of our way," Deaton interjected in his usual calm tone. "Whatever works for you. Besides, we are already going with your idea about the kanima venom. I think it''s only fair you should take the lead," said Deucalion just as calm. "Well, alright then," A wolfs hunch The immense window in Derek''s loft gave way to a magnificent view over the town. Derek stood hands in pockets, in front of the glass, watching as the day neared its end. And although captivated by the beautiful sight ahead, he could still hear the voices talking behind him. They weren''t as loud as they were clear, for one of the people he''d expected to stand against his decisions, wasn''t even part of that conversation. Indeed, when Derek turned around, all he saw was a busy looking Kali, bent over a fairly large sheet of paper that seemed to consume all of her focus. Boyd, clearly intrigued by the thin, gray lines that she was outlining on her white canvas. Arms folded, he only used his chin to point at the drawing, "So, this is the plan of the mansion?" said Boyd. Kali halted all activity, she lifted her head slightly, just so she could gaze at him with annoyance, "It will be... If you let me finish it," she said calmly but without a kind tone. As Derek was walking towards the two of them, he caught a glimpse of Erica from the corner of his eye. She''d kept herself away from everyone else in the room. Without realizing it, Derek had changed the direction he was moving into, he went and sat beside Erica instead. She didn''t seem to mind, in fact, she didn''t seem to notice his presence near her at all. Eyes on Kali, she was barely blinking. Derek thought she''d found a way to drown her anxiety through biting her nails. She wasn''t frantic but she reeked of consternation. "Why? Just tell me why," before Derek could say anything, Erica beat him to the mark. It appeared she knew he was near her after all, "Every time I look at her, I see a disaster begging to fall on our heads and then...," she trailed off. "And then what?" he asked. "And then, i look at you. You''re so confident about this... About her. It just drives me crazy," Erica finished her pending sentence. She was oddly calm. Derek almost didn''t recognize her, "Just tell me you have a reason to trust her beyond a simple hunch," she continued. Derek felt a stab of guilt in the guts. He had absolutely no words to offer, none that would put her concerns to rest at the very least. And when he took too long to come up with an answer, Erica decided that she didn''t like the silence around them, "Do you remember the last time you and I talked? Before I died, I mean," "Yeah, it wasn''t much of a conversation. But I remember clearly, you said that you wanted to live your life and that there were many things you still wanted to do," he said. "I had just turned sixteen and I was terrified. It didn''t matter how much you warned me and explained to me in details how dangerous it was going to be before you gave me the bite...," "The grass is always greener," once again, Derek had finished her sentence for her. "My point is, on that day, we should have listened to you. We should''ve stayed in Beacon Hills, with you. Instead, I went ahead and gotten myself killed," she said. Her eyes finally set Kali''s figure free from her gaze and drifted towards Derek, "I know that I was brought back for a specific purpose, and I don''t even know if I''ll still be alive when all of this is over, if I ever live to see the end of it. But if there is even the tiniest chance that I get to live and finally do what I wanted to do all those years ago then... I''d like to take that chance," This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "You don''t want to make the same mistake as before, but you''re not sure if you can trust me. Is that it?" he asked. "I don''t trust her. And yes, if there''s something I definitely don''t need a do over for, it''s the mistake that led me to my death but... Every time I look at her... My gut screams at me to just kill her," she explained. Derek was ready to share a bit of his mind on the subject of Kali, but Boyd''s voice called for their attention at that moment, indicating that Kali had finished with the drawing of the plan. Both Derek and Erica stood up and moved towards the table holding the light sheet on its top. "You drew this?" that was the first thing Erica had thought to ask. "Yeah, why? I know the lines look straighter and certainly more defined than your future but... I digress," retorted kali. "Actually, I was thinking...," "How many entry points are there?" Derek had cut Erica off promptly in order to move things forward at a faster pace. When Kali''s attention was finally fully on him, she answered, "In total, and if I exclude the windows on the ground floor, there are five of them," "Wait, why is this one so far from the mansion?" asked Boyd, pointing at a specific zone on the plan. "That''s the entrance of the second basement. It is also accessible from inside the mansion of course, but it''s irrelevant if you have to get inside the manor first," said Kali. "So, it''s about fifty feet southeast from the building. And this one is a... Green house?" asked Derek. "Guess they''re into gardening and stuff," commented Erica. "They have a druid on the team. Where do you think she gets her precious, rare plants for those stupid rituals? Do you think she wastes her time looking around the woods or something? Seriously, what is the point from you being here? Aside from the unnecessary commentary," Kali never did mince her words before spiting them out. She knew that and she always expected responses on par with her own level of hostility, especially from someone like Erica. Only, to her and everyone else''s surprise, Erica just looked at Derek shortly, before turning and walking away. "Where to?" asked Boyd. "Just let me know when we''re ready to go," said Erica without a glance behind her back. Derek followed her figure with his eyes, until she disappeared behind a wall, and then turned back towards the sheet of paper; he took a deep breath, "So, we can also move through the green house to access the mansion," "What''s this room? You marked it like the other entrances, but it''s clear it isn''t one," said Boyd. "No, it''s not an entrance. This is the room where Euriella often spends most of her days... And nights for that matter," "What? She doesn''t sleep?" Boyd was again curious. "I actually can''t say for sure,"she said, "The first basement is where they keep the longtails and the berserkers, usually," she added. "What about the second basement?" asked Derek. "I have no idea; I was never granted access to it. In fact, I know that nobody on the team has access to it, except for Jennifer," she paused, but seeing the look Derek was giving her, she quickly continued, "From what I heard of the apprentice, if Jennifer was given access to that zone, it has to be because he found a use for her powers in there, that''s it. It''s definitely not because he has higher estime for her," she stated. Just then, Derek saw his hand hover over his pocket in order to pick his buzzing phone out of it. He stared at the screen for a little while, before looking back up at Kali and Boyd, "All the teams have designated their leaders. I should send them pictures of the plan now," "Right, my work here is done. I should get back to the mansion for now," said Kali as she walked towards the exit door. "You''re going back there?" Boyd seemed confused by her decision and perhaps even a tad worried. "Relax, Anas is still there, he doesn''t even know I am here. I have to talk to him," she said and just like Erica, both men followed her with their eyes until she disappeared behind the closing door. Bait "Are we ready to go?" Stiles had pulled Scott''s attention away from his phone with that question. Scott took a few seconds to wrap his mind around things before responding, "Wh... Yeah, I just received a message from Satomi, her and her team are on the way," "What about the others?" Stiles asked again. "It''s done. They all designated a leader and came out with plans for their teams. Oh! Speaking of plans, Derek sent me the overall plan of the mansion," Scott''s screen lit up just as he finished speaking. He directed it towards Stiles in order to let him get a look at said plan, "I see five entry points in total," said Stiles. "If we ignore the windows on the ground floor, that is," "Which one are we taking?" "This might sound crazy but... I was thinking our team should go straight from the front. I mean one of the windows at the front of the place," Scott sounded apprehensive, thinking his idea wouldn''t land well through Stiles'' lenses. Against all odds however, Stiles wasn''t repelled by the thought, "This might sound crazy but... I don''t think your idea is completely crazy. You''re thinking we could serve as bait, so that the others can get a higher chance of going in. Is that the big idea?" Relieved upon hearing his friend''s words, Scott allowed a small smile to appear on his face, at the very least he didn''t have the burden of convincing his best friend, "Basically, yes. I just think that if the enemies catch wind of our plan, they will probably go after me first. That could give our allies the time to react accordingly," "I see where you''re coming from, but don''t you think that if our enemies uncover our plan, this is exactly what they''d expect us to do? Not to mention, we don''t even know if the apprentice is here already," "Honestly Stiles? it feels like they''re already a hundred steps ahead. According to Maylee, the apprentice has been operating in the shadows for over a century, waiting for his moment to strike. If it took him this long to be ready, I''d like to think that he had long enough to think about mishaps and potential obstacles, especially ones like us," "I was afraid you''d say that," Stiles exhaled and pressed his back against the wall. "And I was afraid you''d say what you just said," Scott copied his friend''s actions. They both stood there, facing the same way, without a word. Scott couldn''t admit it at that moment, but he''d hoped for a better plan idea from his friend. Stiles was always the one to go to for a better plan, but it seemed it wasn''t the case for that time. Then perhaps that silence was his cue to dig some other subjects up from the dirt where he''d left them for lack of time. There were so many conversations left unfinished. He had so many questions to ask his friend, and it wasn''t just a feeling he had, they truly were racing against time. One after the other, the recent events had all lined up and backed them into a corner. He had his objective clear in mind and yet... And yet, he couldn''t help but feel like he''d already lost it all, like his time with his friends was limited. All he wanted at that moment, was for his mouth to just open and spill it all out in front of Stiles, all the thoughts and questions he''d kept from him for the past few days but... If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "What are you thinking about?" Stiles was never late to notice when something was up with his friends. "I just... I don''t know, it feels like nothing is stacked in our favor," said Scott. "Scott, I hate to say this buddy but, it''s not just a feeling," Stiles was also never one to sugar coat things, especially not to his best friend. "So, when do we go?" a third voice entered their conversation. Rosalie stood in front of them waiting for an answer that... They took their time to give. "I... Yeah, we''re just waiting for Lydia and we''re good to go," Scott managed to speak after a few seconds in trance. "Lydia isn''t coming with us, that''s why she sent me," said Rosalie. "Why not?" asked Stiles. "She said she needs to stay here with Maylee, she says she has to keep on trying to bring her back," Rosalie retorted. "Can''t she try after we come back? This doesn''t make any sense, we need her for this to work," Stiles was losing patience with every word he was uttering. "Believe it or not, I''ve already tried telling her that. She insists on staying until she manages to wake Maylee up. And besides you have me," explained Rosalie. "Don''t get us wrong, Rosalie. It''s just... Not the same, we still need Lydia even if we have you," Seeing as things seemed to escalate, Scott tried to lay things out for Rosalie the best way he could as the two of them were speedwalking through the hospital hallways after Stiles, who was heading towards Maylee''s room in order to talk to Lydia. Without giving it much thought, Stiles exposed what was going through his mind at that moment and for once, Scott wished his friend could filter situations out where he''d needed to sugar coat things a little, "You can''t even heal," he said. "Neither can Lydia. Actually, scratch that, neither can you! And neither can your father! Both of your fathers!" her eyes flicked between both Scott and Stiles as she spoke. "That''s not the point... It''s just...," Stiles tried. "Then what the hell is the point?" Rosalie sounded calm, but it was clear to Scott that she was beyond irritated, and even he couldn''t deny the fact that she had a good point. What the hell was his point? Stiles finally opened the door to Maylee''s room. Lydia was sat by her side, facing the opposite wall to the door. She was completely silent, holding Maylee''s hand between hers. She did not react whatsoever to their arrival in the room, she did not turn to face them, she did not say a thing to them. "Lydia...," Stiles began but Melissa, who they hadn''t even noticed upon entering the room, came to stand in his way. "I wouldn''t do that," she said before adding, "She asked me to keep an eye on her while she tries to enter in contact with Maylee''s consciousness. She said she didn''t want to be disturbed while trying," "Well, this is just great...," Stiles exhaled again. Hurdles and serendipities Aside from the engine, the only other prevalent sounds in the car, were the clinking and clunking of Braeden''s guns as she assembled them into a ready to use form; the four individuals inside the vehicle remained silent. Malia was focused on driving, Peter stared at the road ahead, Braeden seemed pretty busy with her equipment and Theo, who sat in the back alongside Braeden, had his attention split between the window on his side and Braeden''s activity. The quietude didn''t last very long however, it was broken when Braeden thought that Theo had something to say to her, "What is it?" "Nothing! This just... Brings back memories. That''s all," that was all he seemed capable of saying in response. "You don''t say. Last time we were on the same team, you betrayed us and then left us for dead," she calmly stated, without a glance at him. His eyes on the other hand couldn''t seem to decide on a place to land and remain on; they kept on darting between the window and her hands much faster than they did before their conversation had started, "About that... I think we''ve never really gotten th...," "Theo," she promptly interrupted him, only this time, she''d stopped fiddling with her stuff and looked straight at him, "I am not much of a forgiving woman; when I have lingering feelings about something, I make it known," "So...?" "My point is, drop it. I think you''ve gotten your comeuppance; I can be vengeful, but I''d like to think I am not spiteful, at least I hope I''m not," she finished. And just like she''d asked, he listened and dropped the subject. His eyes grazed the road in front of them for mere milliseconds, before finally landing and dwelling on the window on his side once again. While Braeden and Theo put an end to their conversation, it wasn''t the case in Malia''s mind. Their words opened the flood gates for her thoughts to take over; all that talk about vengefulness, spitefulness and comeuppance... Made her body tense up a little more than it already had. It sure seemed like Theo was struggling to find his words, but they still managed to communicate their thoughts efficiently and consequently close a chapter that had lived rent free in their minds for so long. Well, that was the case for one of them, at least. That and all the recent events, made her realize how very little progress she''d made in terms of communicating her thoughts, and managing her feelings like a balanced human would be capable of doing. The walls between her and her loved ones seemed to be growing taller and thicker, and she couldn''t fathom a solution for the constant roadblocks thrown on her way. "They''ll be fine," Peter, who''d been sitting next to her, seemed to have noticed her inner turmoil. Her body shared of her mental state more than she could have ever agreed to divulge. "Who?" plucked out of her thoughts in such a sudden way, she didn''t immediately understand what or who he meant by that. "Scott and Stiles. Aren''t they the ones you are stressing over?" he clarified. "I guess I am really glad that werewolves can''t read minds," she said. "I don''t know about werewolves, but I am sure fathers all around the world would kill to have that ability," he joked. "I''d be careful what I wish for, it sounds like a nightmare from hell, for both fathers and their kids," they had many differences, but Malia seemed to share the sense of humor of her father. At least at that moment, she did. "Alright, maybe... Maybe you''re right. Maybe I wouldn''t wanna know what''s going through your minds twenty-four seven, but I think I could use a power like that right about now," Her facial traits were pulled away from their place in order to display a smile before she answered him, "Then, maybe you should join the apprentice. From what we heard of the guy; he sounds like the go- to guy for a power like that," "Actually, that''s very tempting, now that I think about it," he said feigning an obviously fake air of seriousness. "Fine, I''ll pity you this time," she declared, then she continued, "Right now, I am reminiscing the days where I could just roam the woods in my coyote form, without a care in the world. I just miss those days, now more than ever," "You know, you can hide things, even though you''re not very good at it, but you can''t lie to me," he said. "You think I am lying?" her eyes left the road for a split second as she questioned him. "Well, if you''re not lying to me then to who? I don''t know how you even got to the conclusion that you had no care in the world during the period when you were lost," he explained. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "What makes you say that?" "If you did, you wouldn''t have chosen to live as a coyote in the first place," That was the last thing that was said between them. Peter didn''t push, and she didn''t have further questions. He''d given her enough to think about with those words, and she took the chance that the silence that had fallen back in the car offered in order to cogitate. The road in front of her was empty, just an endless tar mattress tiled in the midst of a thick forest. And the car kept on rolling along towards their destination. It seemed all too easy; it was all too easy. Until... Malia''s irises caught sight of something in the distance. Something that kept on creeping closer to them the more she drove towards it. The thing stood in their way; the thing... had a human like figure. "What the hell is that?" she wondered out loud. "What is it?" Peter seemed confused and he asked again when he got no response the first time, "What do you mean?" At first, she thought he hadn''t paid attention to the road, but after she''d pointed it out, all the three remaining souls in the car had their eyes cemented in front of them, yet they still seemed confused by her question. Although, she could not dwell on the thought that she could have been going crazy at that moment, for another realization hit her out of nowhere. The closer she got to the figure, the more she could make details out about it... About her. It looked like a woman, with long brown hair, dressed in an all black attire. A woman she knew all too well. One that she wished she''d never met in hers or any other lifetime. The mother she had but never wanted... ******** "Bouh!" Hilldon spoke in the least exclamatory tone he could muster, in order to announce his presence to Liam and Hayden. "Man, you would have definitely scared us if we weren''t werewolves," said Liam just as unenthusiastically as Hilldon. "Yeah, sorry, I don''t have the energy to be my usual upbeat self," Hilldon dragged on some words as he spoke. "Sad. You were so optimistic the first time I met you," Hayden chimed in with a sentence that was heavy on sarcasm. "Okey, whatever. Are you getting anything from here?" he asked. "Heartbeats... And I can feel the berserkers roaming about inside the mansion," said Hayden. "How many heartbeats?" "Too many to count, but you''re welcome to try and figure that out. Maybe you''ll do better," Liam couldn''t pin Hilldon''s personality and motivations with enough exactitude to loosen up around him. He always seemed so on edge, always keen on talking down to anyone and everyone around him. "Well, considering the distance...," Hilldon trailed off, his eyes set on the mansion. "We didn''t want to take any risks, at the expense of accuracy," said Hayden. "You''re kidding, right?" he chuckled. He gave the both of them time to look at each other, in confusion, before he added, "I don''t know for how long the two of you have been standing here, but if you can catch their heartbeats, they definitely caught yours," "Why are we still alive in that case?" Liam demanded. "It''s the apprentice we are talking about here... So, who knows exactly? I gotta be honest here, I didn''t know what to expect from you guys, I just trusted Isaac, but this plan of yours kinda sucks," he stated. "If you had a better plan, why didn''t you share with the class? It''s a bit too late to whine," Liam was losing his patience with every second. "If I had a better plan, I wouldn''t be here in the first place," "Fine! Whatever. Let''s say the apprentice knows we''re here, we still have to do this regardless," Hayden decided to close the conversation for the both of them before it escalated further. The three of them stood at a considerable distance from the mansion. After a short moment of silence, they decided to advance towards the building. They approached its towering walls as fast as they were able to, while remaining as quiet and undetectable as possible. They went for an already open window on the ground floor, assuming that the rest of their friends weren''t there yet, they wanted to keep the chances of making any noise, as low as they could be. Once inside, they found themselves in a very spacious and lightly furnished room. Although, the small number of furniture that was present, perfectly reflected the expensive taste of their enemy. Liam did his best to focus his hearing on his surroundings. He couldn''t help but to partially agree with Hilldon''s previous words. Something was definitely off. "Same as earlier, I can hear heartbeats and I can feel the berserkers, but nothing new. Are you catching any scents?" Hayden murmured her sentence to the best of her capability. "No, nothing at all...," Hilldon stood straight, his vision traveled around him, from the chandeliers to the unimportant paintings on the walls. But for someone that was convinced they were walking right into a trap; he seemed very calm about it. "This doesn''t make any sense. We should''ve been able to catch a scent at least," said Hayden. "I know, I know," said Liam. They continued on sharing their suspicions and concerns about their odds in that place, all the way as they walked out of that room and along the corridor that met their eyes once they''d exited through the doors. But that was until they started noticing different types of sounds. They began to note a specific number of heartbeats coming right their way; they came from behind a wall around a corner ahead of them. They walked in a line, one behind the other, out of caution. Hayden quickly picked up on something else, she furrowed her eyebrows and gently tugged on Liam''s shirt. When he turned towards her, she pointed up with her index finger at her nose, indicating that she was catching a scent. That was around the time he too, noticed it. He immediately lifted his arm to stop both of Hayden and Hilldon behind him for more time to think. The group that was coming their way held a larger number of people, and they might not have had a chance if they''d fought them. But as Liam was gauging the situation in his head, Hayden walked right past him without regards. His first reaction was to try and grab her and pull her back, but she''d already gotten out of his reach by the time he''d caught on. She stood in the middle of the intersection and smiled, "I thought that it was you guys," she stated. Liam and Hilldon finally moved towards her, revealing their presence to the group that had been inching closer to them all that time. All they saw was a composed Deucalion, a set of twins that were smiling back at Hayden, Jackson that appeared to be letting a breath that was stuck in his throat out, and Deaton that had his gun ready to fire at potential enemies, though, he was already in the process of lowering it when Liam caught sight of him. Anarchy rising A hundred... Two hundred... No, it was a number of heartbeats far above those ones that Parrish had discerned, as he stood fifty feet away from the manor, in front of a not so obvious entrance to a tunnel, Stilinski and Rafael by his side. "What is it?" Noah, whose eyes were on Parrish''s face, could very clearly tell that something was bugging the hellhound. Parrish struggled to pick the words that would lay his thoughts out. Although, he eventually settled for a few, "It''s odd. I can hear heartbeats, many heartbeats but...," "But?" asked Rafael. "Something''s off. I can''t catch any scent and that''s not all," said Jordan. "Could it be the distance? We are pretty far from the mansion," suggested Fisher, who''d been standing behind Rafael. "No, I should''ve still been able to get a scent from here," "What else is the issue? You said that it wasn''t all," Noah seemed rightfully hung up on Parrish''s previous words, unwilling to let any detail slide. Surely, he was feeling responsible for the lives of his deputies. "The heartbeats... There''s something wrong with them. It''s like everyone in there has the same heartrate, it''s disturbing," Parrish explained. "It definitely seems like we are walking into a trap. I believe I heard you mentioning that some of these creatures were able to perform powerful, wide range illusions, is that correct?" asked Rafael. "That''s right. They have a druid, a nogitsun¨¦ and a powerful banshee," "I wasn''t aware that banshees could create illusions," Fisher commented, right as she began to follow in Stilinski''s steps. Parrish was first in line, him being the only supernatural on the team counted for that. Right behind him, Stilinski walked close to him, followed by a group of deputies, all on high alert, weapons ready. Rafael, opted to keep an eye out at the end of the line, and thus he was the last to engulf himself into the tunnel. It was not the longest of distances by any means, but it still felt endless. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes like hours. For many reasons, Parrish had the sensation of walking through the insides of a serpent. Unsure as to why, but he considered their prior conversation about it being a trap and them walking right into it, to be a strong clue. Those thoughts kept on poking his nerves, until his flashlight illuminated something other than shoveled dirt. A door, a metallic looking one stood in their way. After a first try, Parrish found the door to be locked, but oddly enough, it didn''t take him as much effort as he thought it would to break the lock and pry it open. In fact, he didn''t even need any assistance to do so. After that first obstacle, he was met by... More darkness. Not that he truly needed any light to see in front of himself, but he still made an effort to make it as easier as possible for the rest of the group behind him. For a while, they all silently carried on, following wherever their only way led them towards. Everything remained unchanged, up until a fairly strong stream of wind hit them face first. Everyone''s primary reaction was to freeze in their spots and shield their eyes, but that moment didn''t last very long. "What the hell is that... Smell?" said Stilinski in the lowest tone he was able to speak in. "It''s blood... So much blood...," By the time he gave that answer, Parrish''s hands had already dropped, exposing the mixture of horror and defeat on his face. The rest of the group slowly copied after him, as they gradually came to the realization that what they were smelling was, indeed, blood. "That doesn''t make any sense. Shouldn''t you have been able to smell it way before now?" asked Fisher. "At this point, I am fairly sure that the only explanation for this, is that we are all victims of a strong illusion," said Rafael. "I can''t really disagree with that," said Stilinski. "Then shouldn''t we head back while we still can? This is clearly a trap," "Fisher... While I think you''re right about this being a trap, I think you''re wrong about us still having the option to fold back," If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Fisher''s eyes stuck to Stilinski after his answer, "Why? Why can''t we go back out? This is clearly a bad idea, and I don''t think we''ll stand a chance if we keep going," "I think I have an idea as to why," Parrish stood in place and pointed at a distance ahead of them. If the stench of blood had previously rooted everyone to their spots, the sight that their eyes were directed towards, didn''t do their terrors and anxieties any good. Because right there and all of the sudden, they were able to see light that didn''t originate from their flashlights. It looked like a wide-open door to a room that was lit by moonlight and nothing else. It was close enough for them to have that impression but far enough for them to remain in the dark about the details. Parrish was again the first to advance, the rest followed close behind him. Things did not get better after that. The moment they stepped inside that room, it was very easy to deduce that their hearts had simultaneously dropped to their heels. As the vast space kept extending beyond their vision, they spotted high, wooden, cylindrical polls that reached the ceiling, perched all across the place. But that was not extraordinary, not as insane as what those polls supported. Each pillar was decorated by a body that was tied to it by its throat. Some bodies had their eyes closed, but others... Wide open, still held the dread of the last thing they''d seen before their expiration. Their blood had already somewhat dried up on their clothes, but not so much on the floor, where pools of the crimson fluid had ended its journey. Parrish did his best not to walk in it, getting as close as possible to inspect the bodies. "I guess we know now what Jennifer meant by Fuel to her fire, when she took those kids from the school bus," Stilinski ended his sentence with a sigh that dragged the despair out of him. "These were all... Sacrifices," Parrish muttered, his eyes stuck on the body of a kid that couldn''t possibly have been older than fifteen. "You know, it is a gross misconception that druids only sacrifice virgins and philosophers and healers and whatnot," Jennifer''s voice blared in their ears, and it had sounded like it came from everywhere in the room, "Everyone is fair game after the first essential ones," As soon as her sentence had ended, the silence that had dominated the space since they''d infiltrated the place, was brutishly broken by the first gunshot from Stilinski, that thundered their surroundings the second he caught sight of a longtail. That quickly escalated further when more longtails showed up, and all hell broke loose. ***** "Okey, so, let me get this straight! You''re saying that you are not getting any scent whatsoever coming from this... Literal castle of a manor," said Stiles, his expression scattered somewhere between confusion and frustration. "Yes, that is exactly what we are saying," stated Rosalie as a matter of fact, completely ignoring the aim behind Stiles'' words. "Guys, we''re literally inside the place, you are supposed to be getting something, aside from the heartbeats," he added with a lot less confusion and a lot more frustration. "Let''s all just take a second and calm down. We are inside, yes, but we need to keep our cool for now," Scott attempted to calm Stiles'' nerves. "Exactly, we are inside and with every second that goes by, we are realizing that this entire thing might be a trap. And no offense, but there''s only three of us here; one alpha, a chimera that doesn''t heel and me with a gun and some magical bullets," Stiles laid his thoughts out, before any of them could add anything. Just like Liam and Hayden had done before them, Scott, Stiles and Rosalie entered the mansion through one of the windows at the ground level, just a different window. They landed in a similar vast and luxurious room as well. Stiles and Rosalie kept on bickering at a very low volume, knowing full well, that their plan wasn''t going anywhere near the way they had concocted it earlier that day. Just like Liam had found the corridors empty, they did as well, but unlike their friends, it took them much longer to come across any enemies at all. When they''d finally found people or creatures on their way, they''d opted to avoid confrontation, while trying to their best abilities to reach the room that Kali had indicated before, as the one where Euriella spent most of her time. "What are these?" asked Stiles. He referred to the people they saw walking around. They did not look like longtails, or Berserkers, they did not look like anybody that the members of the pack would personally recognize. From the outside, they looked like regular people. "Chimeras," Scott had answered. "More like lab rats," said Rosalie, "They''re just like me. Some of them have all the powers of a supernatural, but others only have a select few of them," "Yeah, I am getting different features from them. Not all of them are werewolf chimeras," added Scott. He then flashed his eyes red for a moment, before allowing them to get back to normal, "Some of them are kitsun¨¦!" he said flabbergasted. "What?" "I thought Maylee told you that he made other creatures than the obvious ones," said Rosalie. "I was already at a loss of words when I heard he made banshees but now... I don''t know what to say. How is that even possible? Actually, never mind any of that, but shouldn''t they be able to hear us talk now? Why aren''t they doing anything?" asked Stiles. "Maybe, none of these chimeras have super hearing abilities. Tell you what, if we survive here tonight, I''ll explain his process. Although, I don''t know every detail about them," said Rosalie. "Yeah, not a chance! What are the odds of that? We''ve encountered how many of them already? What? Like seventeen?" Stiles was raising valid points. By then, none of them had remaining hopes that they were coming out of there unscathed. Nothing was going exceptionally bad for them, but nothing was going exceptionally well either. It was too quiet when it shouldn''t have been. Going back on their tracks, however, was out of the question... They were well aware that the enemy had already spotted them, and there was no running from it. Old feuds Had it not been for the fact that Derek knew he was walking on enemy territory, he''d have taken the time to enjoy the atmosphere around him. The tall greenery granted perfect shade from the moonlight, but the three of them were able to see where they sat foot, nonetheless. "Is it me? Or it''s too quiet around here," asked Erica as she trailed behind Derek. "It is too calm," said Derek simply. They did their best to keep their voices on the low end, but they expected their enemies to hear them regardless of those efforts. "I can''t smell anything other than wet dirt and vegetation," said Boyd. "If you''re trying to tell us that this doesn''t make any sense, then you can save your breath. It''s pretty obvious that we walked right into a trap," Derek was quick to respond and by then, he''d already stopped walking, he stood still and scrutinized the area as well as he could. Both Boyd and Erica copied his actions; they stood facing different ways. "I guess all we need to do now, is to wait for them to make a move," muttered Erica. The silence that followed Erica''s comment after that was deafening, and for a moment, the only thing Derek could hear was the sound of his own heartbeats, accompanied by those of Boyd''s and Erica''s. Although, he noted that theirs drummed their chests a little harder and faster than his did. He''d have spent however much time he needed to express how unfair all of that was to them, coming back to life only to be immediately thrown back into a rampaging, red storm level of a danger. He had to cease all cogitations when a new sound came to his ears, one that sounded so close, he could''ve sworn it had happened right in front of him. It was the sound of something solid piercing through something wet, damp and mushy; kind of like a blade that had stabbed through a warm body to dance within its insides. The second new thing that hit him out of nowhere, was the putrid smell of rancid blood. "Did you hear that?" questioned Erica as she half frantically looked around herself. "Can you smell that?" Boyd followed her question with another one. Derek felt relieved to know that he wasn''t going crazy, knowing that both of them had caught the sound and the smell, but that feeling was quickly replaced by that of mild pain emanating from his right forearm. Something small and very sharp had grazed him hard enough to break his skin. Two short groans behind him indicated that Erica and Boyd were facing the same fate. When he finally looked down at his arm, he noticed a tiny scratch that had already began to heal under his eyes. "Get down!" He thought it was Kali''s voice that''d just hollered at them to get down, and without bracing the three of them threw themselves to the ground, to dodge whatever it was that she was warning them about. Lucky they did, because what they hadn''t realized, was that they weren''t as alone in that greenhouse as they thought they were. A horde of longtails had already surrounded them, and were inches away from ending their lives, if it weren''t for Anas and Kali among them, stabbing the beasts straight through their hearts with what Derek immediately assumed to be a mountain ash laced blade, considering they weren''t getting back up after they''d fallen. "What the hell is happening? We didn''t even see them coming! How?" Screamed Erica, as she''d gotten back to her feet in order to fight. It was perfectly understandable for Boyd and Erica to be hoodwinked and fall for such ruse, but it wasn''t Derek''s first time standing against deceitful enemies, that would choose not so stellar methods to take them down. It was also not the first time for him to be trapped in an illusion like that. The creatures seemed like they were coming out of thin air, when in reality, they had already been standing there, waiting for them from the very beginning, and it was Derek''s and Erica''s, as well as Boyd''s entire senses that had deceived them. "It was a powerful illusion, we weren''t alone in here from the get go!" somehow Derek had found the chance to yell the answer at her, right as he blocked one of the longtail''s hands from gouging his eyes out of him. "Take these!" Both Kali and Anas hurled three small objects their way. Once he''d held one, Derek understood that it was a knife. The longtails were extremely powerful and resistant, fighting them barehanded would have been a sorry case of suicide. They needed the mountain ash laced weapons, and all they had to do after that, was to hold on long enough and score a bull''s eye hit through the monster''s chests. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. And thus, it had begun. A constant sequence of jumping, kicking, dodging and clawing took place, sprinkled with a few attempted stabbings, some of which were successful. It allowed them to cut the numbers of their enemies shorter. "Don''t let them touch you with the end of their tails! Or you''ll be sorry!" Kali screamed at Erica who''d barely managed to avoid one of their tail attacks. The young blond did not have the luxury to retort with anything, too focused on the fight, even though it looked more like they were all trying to survive, rather than take the creatures down. They were rapidly losing ground, so much so, that at some point, Boyd was pushed to stand back-to-back against Derek. "They were standing in the greenhouse all along?" said Boyd. "It does look like it. Anas and Kali broke us out of the illusion when they scratched us," said Derek. Those were the only words they were allowed to exchange. After that, the circumstances around them forced them apart, for each of them to carry on the fight on their own sides. ***** "So, we''re just gonna try the door? Like we''re coming for tea or something," said Isaac, as he stood behind Allison. The five of them had arrived at the mansion, just like most of their friends had already done so before them. Allison was the first inline, facing the backdoor. She stood there for a moment, seemingly contemplating her options, but then she gripped the doorknob and slowly twisted it, "It seems like that''s exactly what we''re gonna do," she said before carefully taking her first step inside. Chris Argent threw a look at each of the remaining group members behind him and then followed after Allison, "Are you getting anything?" he asked the two werewolves. "No, nothing," said Alec. "Except for the heartbeats we were able to hear since earlier," added Isaac. "Can''t you smell anything?" Daniel thought it was a good time to ask his question. "Absolutely nothing," said Isaac. "This smells like a trap, through and through," said Chris, pensive looking, allowing his weapon of choice to follow his gaze gradually towards the ground. "It is one," said Allison calmy, without stopping. "Wait, how are you so sure?" Alec followed after her and Daniel did the same after Alec. Isaac and Chris seemed to share a thought, they both stopped where they stood for a moment in order to voice their concerns, "Do you... Have any idea as to why her behavior would be so skewered after she came back, like this?" Isaac sounded hesitant and took the time to pick his words carefully. "No, and it kills me. The others seem fine," Chris said, then he continued, "Out of all the people that you''ve resurrected that day in Mexico, she seems to be the only one that kept memories of where she went after her death," "I actually had the chance to ask Kali about it. I saw her only once when I was one of their captives there. I was very sarcastic about it, but she did give me a straight and genuine answer," said Isaac, as both men started walking ahead towards the others. "What did she say?" "She said she doesn''t remember anything after the moment of her death. She said that the last thing she could recall was Jennifer''s fury before she stabbed her with hundreds of little glass pieces. She said she remembered sharp pain and then... Waking up in a lab, like what had happened before that was all nothing but a nightmare," said Isaac. They didn''t have time to speak further, as they''d caught up to Allison and the others, and they did not want to discuss the subject in front of her. They''d walked close enough to them right in time to hear Alec''s persistance with his questions, "I don''t understand. You say you know it''s a trap so, why not?" "What''s the problem?" asked Chris. "She says she''s sure we''re walking into a trap, but says it is also impossible for us to leave," Daniel decided to clarify, since neither Allison nor Alec seemed to be willing to do so. "Why can''t we go back?" the youngest werewolf of the two asked again. By the time he''d finished his question, Allison had already turned to face him, her face terrifyingly expressionless. She seemed to be aiming her weapon right at Alec, who was rooted in his spot, "Let me show you why," she said, before firing her gun without the slightest hesitation, under everyone else''s horrified eyes. Someone yelped in pain, but it wasn''t Alec. In fact, it wasn''t even his voice. It came from very close behind him instead. Allison didn''t say a thing and the others took a few seconds to assimilate what had just happened, but by the look on their faces, it was clear that no amount of time in the world would have been sufficient for them to fully grasp the idea. That was until the voice spoke again, "They informed me of your comeback... They did. But I didn''t believe them," she said. Far from the spot she''d been shot in, Kate Argent stood a few feet ahead of Allison, "And look at you! You look just like... Well, I wasn''t really there when you... You know?" Kate finished by making a gesture with her index finger, moving it from one side of her own throat towards the other, bearing a short lived, ridiculous grimace on her facial features. "I did not expect the reunion between us to be heartwarming or anything, but I gotta say, you''re reaching lows I didn''t think anyone could sink to, not even you," said Allison, just as cold and expressionless as she''d looked before. "What''s this supposed to mean?" asked Daniel. "We were stuck in an illusion, but I am not sure of what kind," explained Chris. "You''re as sharp as I can remember, Chris. So quick to find an answer to everything," Kate turned back towards Allison before adding, "The real question here, is why didn''t it work on you?" "I worked hard on my ability to see through bullshit. It''s a must in our family," said Allison in a bone chilling tone. Heartaches "You know, it is a gross misconception that druids only sacrifice virgins and philosophers and healers and whatnot," Jennifer''s voice blared in their ears. It had sounded like it came from everywhere in the room, "Everyone is fair game after the first essential ones," As soon as her sentence had ended, the silence that had dominated the space since they''d infiltrated the place, was broken by the very first gunshot fired by Stilinski after he''d caught sight of a longtail, and all hell broke loose after that. The creatures seemed to be materializing out of thin air, even if they weren''t really doing so. The remaining deputies and agents fired as fast as they could, as accurately as they managed to. They did their best to keep their enemies at a good distance away from them, but most unfortunately, their numbers were in rapid decline. Having heightened senses, Parrish was able to react quicker. He''d managed to save the lives of multiple colleagues in the process of keeping his own out of harm''s way. Without a pause, he took a few steps back and only stopped when he thought he was close enough to Stilinski, "How many of those bullets do you still have?" he asked loud enough for the sheriff to hear. "Not enough to get rid of all of them in time," Stilinski admitted as he kept on firing. "Yeah, I don''t think we''ll hold the fort forever like this either," "Where is that woman?" Fisher had asked. Parrish hadn''t noticed that she was standing beside Stilinski before then. "I don''t know, I can''t see her," he said, "I''d like to try something, but it''s pretty risky. If I fail, we''ll all be toast," "At this point, I''d say I''m willing to give anything a try. What''s your plan?" said Noah. "I''m gonna need you to call everyone for a retreat," "To retreat? I thought we couldn''t do that?" Fisher seemed more confused than worried as she asked. "Alright, I trust you," said Stilinski. "You got it," Rafael added. Both Stilinski and Rafael had agreed to give Parrish''s plan a chance, and thus they called for all of their units to retreat into one spot. Parrish wasn''t joking, they truly were an easy target, from the way they were all hurdled together. Their enemy had already surrounded them, and without Parrish''s intervention, it would have been a matter of minutes before they''d all been dead. "Whatever you want to do, just do it fast! Things aren''t looking so good for us right now," yelled Stilinski. Parrish did not respond to that. Instead, he closed his eyes in an attempt to focus, which was a delicate thing to do, considering his circumstances. Nevertheless, he did his best to clear his mind in order to connect with his other half, the spirit he was graciously sharing his body with, not that he''d had a choice there. Deep within himself, he looked for his fire, that which burned his foes but spared his friends. He needed to control his hellfire, enough to make a safe zone that his flames could not reach. Slowly but undoubtably, a ring of flames began to appear around Parrish and his friends, as his eyes gained the hue of the element his hands were projecting. If it could have been compared to any phenomena, what he''d created around them very closely resembled a raging storm. One that was as hot as the sun, even his friends were able to sense its sizzling, considering the way they were inching away from it. As perfect as the barrier it was, it only helped shield them from the longtails that were closing in on them. The creatures appeared reluctant to attempt to brave through Parrish''s fire, but all the same, they weren''t retiring from the fight. "Now what? Pretty sure we can''t hide behind your flames eternally," said Rafael. "Now, comes the best part. Be ready to attack," said Parrish with a small smile on his lips. In a fast movement, he closed his stretched out arms together in an echoing clap. And just like that, the fire he''d kept on rotating around himself and his friends, broke out of its path and blasted every longtail standing close by, incapacitating them in the process. That was the perfect opportunity for Parrish and the others to gun down and eliminate as many monsters as they could, while these were busy flailing about, trying to extinguish the fire on their skin. "That was impressive!" Everyone was able to hear Jennifer''s hand claps before her voice had reached their ears. She continued her speech after emerging from behind one of the large wooden pillars in the room, "Wanna see something even more impressive?" she asked as her features drew a devilish smile across her face. She didn''t move an inch from her place, yet somehow, she forced the Sheriff Stilinski to drop to his knees. Everyone watched as he brought both of his hands to his throat. He desperately clawed at it, in order to remove something that was clearly blocking his airways. Something, that remained invisible to everyone''s eyes. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Parrish''s entire body lit up before he leaped out of his place and thrusted towards Jennifer. It only took him a fraction of a second to reach the place where she stood. Although, she was no longer standing there. He flipped around himself, looking for her figure. "She''s there!" said Fisher, she fired her gun and ran headfirst in a specific direction. "No! Fisher, wait!" screamed Parrish after her. He only had a brief moment to turn back towards the sheriff to see that he''d thankfully regained his ability to breathe, but the longtails were attacking the group again. "Go! Just go after her! You need to stop Jennifer! We''ll be fine!" yelled Rafael between gunshots. After a few seconds of hesitation, Parrish finally moved. He ran in the direction that Fisher had previously taken. He zigzagged between the pillars and strayed further and further from the gunshot sounds behind him. He kept on going until he reached an Area where there were no wooden poles, and that was where he decided to stop and take a look around himself. Wherever he laid eyes, all they''d captured was an extension of nothingness in the dark. He could neither hear, nor see anything, "Fisher? Where are you?" he screamed, hoping he''d get an answer. "Here!" He darted towards her voice without a second thought. As he ran, his insides ached all of the sudden, he did not stop for that much, but a strong sense of d¨¦ja vue hit him. For a moment, he thought he was running in a loop as the memories of what had taken place in Eichen house a few nights prior, pushed through to the surface of his mind. That was when he realized that the same thing was happening to him all over again; he was following Fisher''s voice in the dark, hopelessly trying to reach her. "Fisher?" he stopped and called for her again, only, in response, he received complete and utter silence. There still was nothing around him. He tried to discern if anyone was near with his supernatural eyes, but even then, he failed to find the slightest clue of where he was. "You''re fast, I''ll give you that," He jumped around to see that Jennifer had been standing a few feet away behind him, "Yeah, apparently not fast enough," he said before launching towards her the way he did before. Unlike the previous time however, he didn''t reach where she stood, he simply couldn''t. Midway through, he was stopped dead in his tracks. He appeared to no longer be the master of his own body as he just froze there, struggling to regain control over his muscles and failing miserably at the task. Upon looking back at Jennifer, he was a tad surprised to be greeted by furrowed eyebrows from her. Even though, he still wasn''t free to express any of his feelings on his own face, due to lack of control. Although, he quickly understood that the look of discreet shock from her, was because his fate was no longer in her hands. "Thank you, my dear Jennifer. You''ve done perfectly," a deep masculine voice came out of nowhere to compliment Jennifer''s doings. "I guess my work here is done, then," she said with a feeble smile. "So, it appears," the same voice as before addressed her again. At that point, Parrish still hadn''t laid eyes on the new speaker. It was a voice he couldn''t recognize for all he tried; he simply had never heard it before. The tone of who Jordan thought was a man, was very calm. If he could just forget where he was for a second, he could''ve thought that the voice belonged to a kindhearted man. But if even Jennifer didn''t resort to her usual snark with him, then there were no mistakes, he wasn''t one to be trifled with. Parrish was so absorbed by his curiosity, in addition to his physical condition, that he hadn''t even noticed that Jennifer was no longer there. "Parrish, isn''t it? I am honored to finally meet you, face to face," said the man. Parrish thought it was rich of him to speak of honor, considering he''d incapacitated him before making his presence known. "Oh! Pardon. Silly me, I forgot you couldn''t speak. Let me... Fix that for you," he said in what Parrish believed to be the fakest amicable tone the man could muster. Objectively however, he thought his tone did not sound fake at all, it did not feel forced. But with the snap of a finger, at least that was what Parrish thought it was, since he still couldn''t see him, Jordan felt his blood rush towards his lips again, "Who are you?" that was all Parrish had finally managed to squeeze out. "Really? Are you saying that you''ve got no idea of who I can be?" Had Jordan answered that question with a yes, it would have been a total lie. He did have an idea about the identity of the mysterious man. If there was one man that Jennifer would obey without slacking, it had to be him... The apprentice. "You''re here to kill me," stated Parrish through gritted teeth, still attempting to win control over the rest of his body back. "No, no, no, no... See? when I have the intension to kill someone with my own hands, I tend to prefer a simpler approach. I would always opt for a good old traditional duel. I just think it is more fun that way. You understand me?" As the apprentice spoke, Parrish could hear a single set of footsteps moving all around him, "I am not here to kill you but... You will die right here, right now, regardless," Jordan thought he already knew what the apprentice was going to do to him. But hearing the confirmation of it from his own mouth, filled him with a new sense of dread, "How are you going to kill me then?" he tried to sound collected. "As I said before, I will not kill you with my own hands but... Rest assured, I sought, and hand selected the perfect candidate for this task myself. It won''t be my fight but, I am only here to assist them," he said. He kept the same tone all the way to the end, from the moment he made his appearance. He did not speak fast, nor did he talk slow either. And if Parrish thought he''d kept an ounce of confidence in him, it instantly vanished when he laid eyes on the person that was supposed to take his life... There she stood facing him, a place he could''ve sworn was empty a few seconds before, but she was there all along. She had a diminishing grin on her. She looked every bit as familiar as she looked foreign to him. It was her but... It also could not have been her... "Fisher?" he muttered with a week voice. "No hard feelings partner, it''s not personal," she said as the barrel of her gun almost rested on his forehead. There was a void in time where his brain refused to function... And then, everything came crashing on him all at once. All of his thoughts, feelings... Everything. He even felt the ground crumble beneath him; he hoped it would swallow him whole so that he didn''t have to deal with the reality of that moment. He wished he had the ability to turn back time just like he had the ability to review all of his memories of Fisher ever since she came to Beacon Hills. But the time wasn''t for wishes... In fact, there was no time for him to do anything... Previously (9) In the ten previous chapters, the pack suffered the loss of Maylee. She wasn''t dead, but she was barely alive. The doctors struggled to find whatever was wrong with her, and when they failed, they had to conclude that the issue could not be natural. Meanwhile, far away from Scott and his friends, the apprentice finally made his appearance. A conversation between him and his daughter, Euriella, spun around the fact that Euriella was sent to bring Maylee back, in order for her to be used for the plan they had. The apprentice let her know that she would be replacing her sister after she''d failed to fetch her. The pack members split up like it had been decided during their latest meeting. At the animal clinic, Ethan was finally able to reunite with his twin brother Aidan. They were allowed their moment before they all had to focus back on the situation at hands. Allison, Chris and Isaac were able to have a conversation about Matt''s weakness, where she explained the way to take him down and what was needed to do it. According to her, she''d learned that from her time with Marie Jeanne Valet in the afterlife. Derek gets the plan of the enemy''s mansion thanks to Kali, who immediately goes back to the enemy once she''s finished. Derek sends the plan to every group''s leader, and things go fast from there. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Hilldon joins Liam and Hayden near the mansion, and they were the first to enter. In their path, they meet with Deaton''s group, and they go together. Scott, Stiles and Rosalie manage to infiltrate the mansion as well, but something is clearly off, as they can only hear a distinct number of heartbeats. Same thing happens when Derek gets in through the green house, but his group were caught in an illusion where they almost got killed if it weren''t for Kali''s and Anas'' intervention. Parrish, the sheriff and Rafael arrive to the first basement through a tunnel entrance. The same happens again for him. He manages to catch the sound of a number of heartbeats, and they quickly realize that all of it was a trap. They understand that they are bound to partake in a fight that they may not win but all the same, they cannot retreat. They come face to face with Jennifer and the place where she does her sacrifices. Parrish follows Fisher who follows Jennifer, they were led into a spot where the hellhound was completely isolated for the apprentice to finally meet him. But the worst was yet to come for him. He comes to find out and understand that Fisher was not the woman he thought she was, she wasn''t the partner she''d presented herself as. She was working for the apprentice, and she was the one tasked with taking Parrish out of the game. Allison and her group were to face none other than Kate. Meanwhile, still far from the mansion, Malia was plagued with visions of her birth mother, the desert wolf. A turn of hearts Lydia was once again left to stare at an empty, plain wall by Maylee''s bed side. Everything around her was so quiet, yet so loud. The sounds and noises reaching her through the closed door were ever so slowly fading away; leaving place to different kinds of voices, the kinds that she''d usually be constantly fighting to keep herself from hearing. The kinds she did her best to ignore in order for her to live a somewhat decent life. Well, as decent as she could afford, considering the lifestyle that was forced upon her and her friends. Just like the noises, everything around her was begging to be let go, to vanish... And she allowed it. Although, she held on to one last thing linking her to her sad reality. That thing being the warmth of Maylee''s touch as she held the hand of the unconscious banshee. She gave herself the time to listen; fumbling through the mingled voices that only she could hear, desperate for the one she sought. But alas, to no avail; nowhere did she come close to hearing Maylee''s voice. Nowhere was she able to catch a glimpse of her in that world she saw behind her eyelids, once she''d closed her eyes. Failure after failure, the only conclusion she could come to, was the fact that hitting a wall was no pleasant outcome. Even the voices she was able to hear were so far away sounding, and no matter how far she walked or ran through the vast nothing-land she was stuck in, she couldn''t seem to get any closer to them. She slowed her pace down, to finally appease the questions that were imploring to be answered from deep within. Maylee had not only managed to enter in contact with her but was also able to see Lydia''s visions. So, how was she capable of doing so? Were all banshees capable of that? Maylee wasn''t even born a banshee, she was made. Was there a way for her to accomplish the same thing? Lydia sank deeper and downwards she went with those contemplations; her vision growing blurrier and fuzzier because of the tears welling up in her eyes. Body so tense, she could swear her fingernails had pierced the palms of her hands from clenching her fists so hard. Although, she wasn''t sure since all of her physical pain was effectively drowned by her loud, invasive thoughts and ponderings. "I honestly couldn''t believe it was you when I heard your calling," Lydia''s thoughts were in fact so loud, and so virulent that they''d barred her from sensing the new presence that came near her. She immediately swirled around to put a face to the unfamiliar voice that came from behind her, "Who are you?" Lydia asked when she couldn''t recognize the young woman, despite her best efforts to. "I really am impressed," The young woman spoke again as Lydia kept her eyes on her; they scoured every inch of her searching for something she''d probably only know when she''d see it. Both women remained silent for seconds that felt like hours, both staring not at but into each other''s souls. Until Lydia felt her insides twist in a trice before unwinding again, only to allow a continuous, dull ache to settle in after the fact. She hadn''t exchanged many words with Parrish since her arrival into town, but from the little she did, he''d made sure to let her know about the young banshee with angelic features. The one that was cold as ice and peerless in power. Lydia opened her mouth to utter the name that came to her mind when looking at the woman, but her words were caught in her throat, her heartrate quickened, leaving no other choice for her breathing but to follow its pace. She couldn''t explain her reasons but... At that moment, she felt like the only way for her to survive was to scream... To scream her foe away. She focused her efforts on drawing as much air as her lungs could sustain, but right as she was about to let it all out in one of her ravaging screams... Nothing came out. She once again stood with a dry throat, unable to voice anything. "Simmer down, girl. You are good, but not that good. Not yet at least," said the stranger. "How did you do that?" Lydia had finally recovered her ability to speak. She hurled that question at the stranger in a rush, as though she feared another loss of voice that would prevent her from doing so. "You''ll learn... If you survive what''s to come, that is," she stated. But seeing as Lydia''s figure wasn''t relaxing under her gaze, she added, "If I of all people wanted you dead, then trust me when I say you''d already be dead," "You are Euriella, aren''t you?" said Lydia in a tone that was closer to a murmur than a statement. Euriella did not respond. Instead, she gently nodded her head and curled her lips in a manner that would indicate to Lydia that her assumption about the woman''s identity was correct. Euriella didn''t say anything after that, she just stared Lydia down, from the highest hair on her head to the lowest point of her body. She then proceeded to very slowly turn around before beginning to walk away from Lydia, "Walk with me a bit, will you?" she spoke. Lydia stood in place for a moment, debating whether she should follow Euriella or remain rooted in her spot. Seeing as Euriella wasn''t stopping, she allowed her legs to finally step forward, "What do you want from me?" "Do you often call for people only to then ask them why they came to you?" asked Euriella without as much as a glance back at Lydia. "I didn''t call for you, I called for...," she began but she was interrupted. "You called for my sister, I know," For all Euriella had said, she hadn''t really given anything of substance just yet. Lydia felt like she wasn''t any more advanced in her quest for answers than she was before talking to her. In those terms, Lydia thought that Euriella was much like Maylee, both always vague in their utterings. Speaking of Maylee, Lydia had a question pop in her mind, one that jostled every other in its path until it was successfully let out, "Why didn''t you kill her? You had the opportunity to," "I know I had the opportunity to. You are not really breaking any news to me," Euriella went silent for a moment after that but then she continued, "It''s different. She was left under my wing, and she stuck by my side for so long before she left so... It''s different, it''s just different," Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "He sent you to kill her, didn''t he? Your father," said Lydia, "But you couldn''t do it, and here you are, responding to a call that wasn''t for you in the first place," she added. "Don''t go and get confused, I am still debating whether to kill you or not. As I said before, Maylee''s case is different, but I am still no do gooder," said Euriella , slowing her pace further. "Then why come here?" "Curiosity, I suppose," Euriella had half whispered those words, "She has so much faith in you, after that werewolf Isaac had filled her head with stories about you and McCall''s pack. I wanted to know who she''d left us for," Euriella wasn''t volunteering information out of her own good will and so, Lydia thought it was up to her to pull the words out of her, "When you first came, you said that I impressed you. What was so impressive in what I''ve done?" "Take a look around us. What do you see?" Lydia did as she was told and took a thorough look around herself, "I see... Nothing. Nothing up close and nothing but white fog clouding what''s distant," "This place is called the in between, because it stands one step under the spirit realm, the place where spiritual creatures such as kitsunes, ghost riders and hellhounds dwell. And another step above the real realm where we all live," Euriella made a very short pause before continuing, "Banshees have the ability to enter in contact with other banshees and when they really want to, they can do so with other creatures as well," "Who else can access this realm?" "No one else. Banshees are neither natural nor supernatural; we are harbingers of death in our own category, even hellhounds can only cross this place, they can''t stay here for very long," she explained. "Is it that hard to access? I know another banshee that was able to contact me whenever she needed to," Lydia was referring to Meredith in her speech. "As a banshee, you either control the voices or you let them control you. Correct me if I am wrong but... This banshee that had managed to contact you, didn''t seem to have all of her head, did she?" At those words, Lydia''s eyes simply dropped to the semblance of floor that they were walking upon. When she didn''t say a thing Euriella carried on, "When you let the voices control you, you''ll have full access to your potential as a banshee but losing your mind isn''t really something that you want, I am sure. The other way is to control the voices and allow them a place in your mind, a space that you have full control over. It took me decades to master my powers and then decades to teach Maylee to do the same, but I still failed her...," "She is very powerful and competent as a banshee," Lydia felt the urge to interject with those words at that moment, she''d spoken them before she could even fathom the reasons why. "She still has much to learn and as a made banshee, she will never do what you and I are capable of doing. Reaching this realm is an accomplishment of its own and seeing as you still have your senses, I am assuming you have a great aptitude for control so... Perhaps I...," Euriella trailed off. "Perhaps you what?" Euriella took a deep breath and stopped in her tracks, "Nevermind that for now," she turned around to peer at Lydia, "I suppose, I might as well tell you that you won''t find her here; the injection I gave her sent her to the spiritual realm, but I am guessing you don''t have enough control to ascend one more step above us yet," "Why did you send her there?" "Because I knew she didn''t have enough control to step down from there. I didn''t expect you to be able to come here. You''re what now? In your early twenties? And you only found out you were a banshee at the age of sixteen?" "Pretty much," said Lydia. "You might not know how amazing of a demonstration of control you''ve made here, but here I am, telling you about it," There was a moment of tranquility where neither of them said anything. Euriella simply kept on staring at Lydia and Lydia didn''t particularly mind. She was on a train of thoughts of her own. But that peace could not last very long, "Oh god! What is happening?" Lydia bent over forward and clenched her chest as hard as she could, almost like she was afraid that her heart would outgrow its normal proportions and leap out of its place. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut just to be able to withstand the sharp shards of pain that her entire being was sending up to her brain. "I see it has started," said Euriella in a dry tone, her eyes still on Lydia. "Wha... What has?" she barely did, but she managed to get those words through her gritted teeth. "Remember what I said about hellhounds in this place?" Lydia simply grunted louder in response, trying her best to lift her gaze up at Euriella. When she finally did, she realized that Euriella was no longer looking back at her but staring straight ahead. There was a third figure in the distance, one that was close enough for it to be distinguishable. Even through all the pain hammering her insides, she''d immediately recognized Parrish''s features. He stood there, unmoved until he opened his mouth to say, "I am really sorry," before vanishing without leaving a trace. Oddly enough, the pain that had been constant in intensity that whole time, had begun to decrease substantially," What does this mean? What just happened?" Lydia asked when she was able to catch her breath. Even without a response from Euriella, Lydia would have eventually come to the conclusion she was so afraid to reach. Parrish''s appearance in the in between realm could only have meant one thing. "I don''t think you need me to answer those questions. But for what it''s worth, I am sorry too," said Euriella before turning around again and resuming the walk she''d stopped a few minutes earlier, "It seems the time for me to do my part has come. I must go for now," "Wait! No! Please! I can''t...," Lydia forced her body back into a straight position in order to run after Euriella. Well, the word run was an overstatement, considering her struggle to do so. "I assure you; you won''t need me for now. But you know where to find me when the time comes," Lydia kept on trudging forward, throwing her legs in hopes they wouldn''t faulter and let her weight down. She tried to the best of her ability to catch up to Euriella. She looked down at her feet for a split second but when she lifted her head back up, Euriella was no more. Instead, she was greeted by the face of Melissa McCall, filled with worry and an apparent hint of urgency in her eyes, "Lydia!? What are you doing?" the nurse asked as she held the strained body of Lydia up from her arms. "I have to... I have to stop them... They will... They wi...," her mouth was uttering explanations, but her mind was busy registering the new environment around her. She was out of the in between realm, she found herself out of Maylee''s room, and she was walking through the hospital hallways instead, "I have to go to the others, they''ll need my help. I don''t think they''ll make it otherwise," eventually, she''d successfully pushed a coherent sentence out of her lips. Melissa''s expression seemed to twist even more than it already had before, but she didn''t say a thing about that. She took another breath and then she spoke again, "Okay... Yes but, there''s someone here asking to see Maylee or any of you guys," "What? Who?" Melissa released her grasp on Lydia''s arms and moved to the side, allowing the banshee to see what stood behind the nurse. Lydia''s eyes widened at the sight of him, "Danny?" "Yeah, I was pretty surprised to see him back here, but that''s not what surprised me the most. He says he''s part of the guardian angel''s team," said Melissa. No fire Stilinski ran ahead of everyone else, not knowing exactly where Parrish and Fisher were; it was hard for him to find his way through that hellish labyrinth of a basement. He''d lose more and more of his patience, little by little, at every turn, every corner and every dead end. Unlike Parrish, Noah did not see a dark and endless corridor; he was forced to turn left or right every time he was greeted by a wall. The only thing he knew for sure about that place was that it was vast and confusing; other than that, he felt like he was dropped in the middle of the ocean with no chance to find a way home. His mind wasn''t quiet. His thoughts were loud, louder than everything else around him. Nothing in that place helped appease his inner voices. Not the fact that he was completely out of his element, nor the fact that he couldn''t find Parrish and Fisher and it certainly wasn''t going to be the unsettling silence around him as he walked. He felt at such a loss that he''d even hoped the walls around him had voices of their own, just to keep him company. But somewhere along his bleary path, at some point, he came to regret that wish. His wish to hear something other than the voices in his head came true. Noah Stilinski stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a deafening gun shot in the distance. For a moment, his brain did go silent; his head flipped round and round from left to right, in an attempt to catch sight of the sound''s origin. But then, the flood gates opened up again and all of his thoughts resumed their screaming all at once. The only good thing that came out of that was the fact that he was able to find his way towards that sound. He finally began to slow down when he discerned a figure standing at a considerable distance. He cautiously closed the gap between himself and the figure, gun in hand, ready to defend himself. He instinctively started to slowly lower his weapon when he recognized the figure to be none other than Fisher. The closer he moved towards her, the more details he was able to see. Details such as the fact that she was standing over an unconscious body, or the fact that she held her gun in hand in a manner that indicated she was the one that had fired the shot he''d heard only seconds prior. Although, a far worse realization was yet to hit the sheriff. And when it came, it hit him to such extends that his legs couldn''t hold his weight anymore. The realization that the body laying at Fisher''s feet belonged to Parrish. "You missed the show," Fisher broke the silence with a tone that froze Noah''s blood in his vains. She''d addressed him in the same manner Jennifer did when she''d attacked them earlier, and thus for a moment, he entertained the possibility that what he had before his eyes was yet another illusion, thrown his way in order to further break his will, "What?" that question was all he could afford to utter. "You know, I really hate that I can''t read your mind right now. I just want to hear what despair sounds like," she spoke again. "Fisher? What are you saying?" Part of him was up and arms, ready to fight anyone and everyone that would dare tell him that it wasn''t an illusion and yet... Another part, a much smaller and quieter piece of him... Had already begun to dig through his head for... Proof, reasons, clues to prove to the rest of him that it was all real and that Fisher wasn''t... The Fisher he knew. "God...," she said, sounding exasperated, "I really hate that name as is and it''s far, far worse when I hear it from you," When he no longer had the strength to keep his eyes up and withstand her gaze, he allowed them to fall downward. His sight landed on Parrish''s motionless carcasse. Jordan''s eyes remained wide open, growing hazier by the second, colder and emptier; the ghost of the last thing he''d seen gradually fading with his warmth. His blood was still gushing out without any restrains out of the open hole between his eyes. Stilinski kept staring at him, thinking that perhaps if he waited long enough, Parrish would rise again from his death; he was a hellhound after all. He waited for his flames to ignite and surround him like they''d always cradled him and shielded him from danger. But the fire never came. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Don''t hold your breath. He won''t heal," she brought him out of his thoughts. It was almost like he''d forgotten her presence in front of him until she''d spoken again. In a swift movement, he raised and pointed his gun at her, "Don''t move!" he barked. "I am not moving," she simply stated, almost like she was mocking him. "Why? What happened? Wh... What did you do?" he threw all of those questions her way in one breath. "You know what, I take back what I said before. I''ve been by your side long enough to know what''s going through your mind right now," In reality, it was hard for anyone watching him right then, not to know what was racing through his mind. Fisher''d managed to raise a storm of conflits within him. It became hard for him to move his limbs as he stood, sweating through his uniform, his gritted teeth only allowing his breaths out in grunts from now and then. "Are you going to shoot me or..." she began, but when he gave no reply to her taunting, she continued, "You must be very confused. Wondering why or what made me do this, am I correct?" he again remained silent, "Your mind must be scrambling to find a half decent justification for my actions. I even bet you think I was forced to do this, to work for the apprentice, that I had no choice," Upon hearing her words, his tongue tied itself into a untwistable knot. She was right; his mind had already rushed to try and find rational explanations to her actions, to make them more excusable, hoping against all hope she''d be a redeemable soul, but alas... From the way things were looking, they weren''t taking that route. "I guessed right, didn''t I? yeah... I was right," she giggled before her demeanor shifted to a tad harsher one, "Do you have any idea what''s it like for someone like me? To live among people like you?", she pointed at him, then at Parrish, "On your high moral grounds, constantly judging everyone, deciding who gets to roam earth freely and who doesn''t," "Then why?" "I guess I can be nice enough to tell you what creature I am," she made another pause, "It may surprise you but... I am nothing but a human; a very lost one. Well, I was lost," "Until the apprentice found you," he whispered through his pained windpipes. "See? There you go again making assumptions. He didn''t find me, I found him. Contrary to popular belief, people like me aren''t very common. Even when I joined the apprentice, I realized that I was still the odd one out. They all have their bullshit reasons for doing what they did; even the apprentice, even he doesn''t hurt people unless he thinks he has to. Kate Argent is a sociopath; she doesn''t mind hurting people, but she''s not quite like me. Then there''s Jennifer, that one is just a spiteful bitche, she too doesn''t hurt people unless she feels she has to. Anas and Kali are no fun and Matt... Well Matt still hasn''t figured out what he wants already, but he is vengeful and a lunatic," "You''re trying to tell me that you''re somehow worse than all of them," he said, he did struggle to speak but a lot less than he did in his previous attempt. "Well, almost. There''s one of them that match my hunger for pain and chaos, can you guess which one?" "The nogitsun¨¦," he stated, his facial features twisting further when he pronounced that word. "Him and I like to play these games, we really do complete each other," "You really think he cares about you?" he asked. "Care?" she sighed, "I didn''t expect better than that so, why am I so exasperated? You don''t get it, do you? He doesn''t care, I don''t care and that is precisely what brought us together," As Stilinski was fighting the pull of gravity, urging him to just give up and let his entire weight drop to the floor, he was all of the sudden forced to bend forward and grip his abdomen area. His mind had already been so clogged before the fact, that he couldn''t find any other way to describe the burning sensation that was coursing through his vains, other than the sting of pure agony. "Oooh! It''s starting!" she exclaimed with a lack of energy. "What?" he grunted. "Tonight, is a full moon night, and it is finally completely out," she stated. "What does that have to do with this?" "Shrapnel bombs are the nogitsun¨¦''s ammo, right? Say he has a friend that is just as demented as he is and say that friend suggests a little addition to the bomb," "You knew about the bomb? You helped him with it, didn''t you?" he tried his best to yell, to scream his rage out at her but all he could afford was to grunt his frustration. "Helped him? How do you think he even got the bomb inside the station? All I needed to do was to make sure my colleague wasn''t there to receive his brand-new printer," "What did you put in the bomb?" "Just a little something to spice things up. Have you ever wondered what it felt like to be a werewolf on his first full moon night? Well, tonight you will," From deep within "What the hell is that?" Malia had asked that question more to herself than anyone else. Although, she was loud enough for Peter and the two others to hear her. "What do you mean?" asked Peter, his gaze ahead. The looks that Braeden and Theo gave her did nothing to ease her worries either, but she couldn''t even ponder the thought that she was losing her mind. Looking back at the road in front of her, at the... thing standing in their way, she began to discern more and more details about the creature; details that she had already been able to see thanks to her elevated sense of sight, but were clouded by the dread over the sheer idea, the awful prospect of seeing her again... The number one person on the list of people Malia never wanted to see, ever again. Was the desert wolf truly back? If yes, then why was she the only one able to see her? Was it another illusion? The enemy had managed to make Peter see his late sister and niece through an illusion before; was it the case right there? "Malia?" "What do you see?" Every voice, every sound around her was drowned by the ravaging force of the flood that carried her contemplations through the crevices of her mind. She''d sank so very deep into them that when she finally focused back on the desert wolf''s figure, Malia realized that she had her guns out and up, aimed at their car. She only had a fraction of a second to react and she did... She veered to her left as fast as she was able to, which made the vehicle completely swerve in that direction. But it didn''t stop, it kept on moving forward until it left the road, landing in the nearest ditch shortly after that, flipped on its side. Utterly shaken by the hits she''d taken to the head, even the voices in Malia''s mind went mute. The very first thing her brain was able to translate after the fact, was the sharp pain emanating from her abdomen. She began to register the informations around her, very little by little after that. The second thing she was capable of distinguishing was the creaking and squeaking of the wrecked car around her. Upon reopening them, her eyes immediately landed on her abdomen wound, seeing the sizable shard of glass that had caused it. Every other injury she''d sustained, had already healed by then, taking the aching they''d brought with them away as they vanished. She shakily reached and then carefully pulled the shard out of her guts, as slowly as possible, fearing pieces of the glass would break and remain lodged in her body, before allowing it to drop wherever. She breathed a long sigh of relief that hitched in her throat when a realization hit her. It had completely slipped her mind that she hadn''t been alone in the car before the accident. It was like somebody had slapped her across the face when that fact came running back towards her; her head spun in a brash twist that almost caused her neck to break. Her eyeballs combed the entire space around herself, yet she could find no other sign of life than hers. It was like Peter, Braeden and Theo were never with her in the first place. They''d vanished without leaving the slightest trace. Throughout her best attempts at choking the wave of pure, unbridled panic that threatened her senses at that moment, she''d managed to push the door to her side open and pull her weight up outside of the car. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "Peter? Braeden? Theo?" She called for the three passengers that were with her as soon as her feet touched the ground. But all in vain, no matter how many times she''d called their names, none of them gave an answer. Although, she had no time to consider the reasons for that. Malia was abruptly yanked out of that state when the first gunshot was fired. It hit the metal of the car she''d left behind her. It wasn''t until after the second and third shots that she was finally able to lift her gaze up towards the shooter. She barely had a second to look at the figure before the desert wolf pulled the trigger again and then she did so again and again, leaving no other choice to Malia but to run behind the car for some cover. She crouched down and held her knees to her chest. She hadn''t even realized how much she was shaking until her hands came to rest on her legs. She sat there as shell casings kept on raining out of her "mother''s" weapons. The deafening bangs dragged the most heart wrenching memories out of Malia''s depths; memories she dug as deep as she could within herself just so she could forever keep them hidden; memories of the night she lost a beautiful life she could have had. "Hiding again, Malia?" Corine''s voice sore through space to reach her ears, "it''s been so long. Don''t you want to see your mother?" the desert wolf had ceased fire by then, "Come out. C''mon! Come out and face me like you couldn''t, thirteen years ago, on that night," Corine had done it. She''d said the words that riled up Malia''s insides far above containment level. The young coyote threw every bit of good sense she had away. Her eyes flashed blue, the purest, most intense blue they had in a while. She let out a soul shuddering, guttural growl as her canines protruded through her gums. She simply saw red. Malia jumped out of her hiding spot, dashing towards the desert wolf against the winds that hit her face. Completely blinded by rage, only seeing images of her adoptive family as they played back in her mind over and over. She didn''t stop, even after her body collided against Corine''s at full force. She heard the sound of bones breaking in keen cracks, but she didn''t care who''s they were. She felt no pain at that moment, only a dire need to tear her biological mother to shreds. She was kicking and clawing at will, unsure of if her hits were landing or not. Although, she did feel the warmth of skin under her claws. A gratifying sense of delight coursed through her vains as she dug her claws deeper and deeper with every attack. She kept at it for a good while before she felt a strong set of hands wrapping around her wrists in order to hold her still. She did her best to fight against it, but she halted all efforts when she heard a vaguely familiar and commanding voice scream her name. As soon as the voice went quiet, Malia felt like her insides were squirming and bending out of shape, sending a terribly sharp pain all through her body, the kind of pain only an alpha can cause with their calls. "Satomi?" murmured Malia. Satomi''s face was the first thing she saw when she came back to her senses. Upon looking around herself, nowhere could she find Corine. Instead, her eyes landed on Nolan and Mason as they were helping Braeden back to her feet. Peter Stood near Theo behind Satomi, both of them completely out of breath, riddled with claw marks that had already began to heal. they seemed to be shielding Cori who bore similar injuries to them but took longer to heal. "What... What happened?" Her mind was pulling a fair idea of what had happened there together, an idea of what she had done to her friends and father; of what she could have done to them. A terrifying reality that left her astonished where she stood. Different pains "Have you ever been to this place before?" Rosalie raised an eyebrow at Scott''s question, which prompted him to elaborate, "I mean, when you were still with the apprentice," "He travels a lot. When he does move, he only takes the elements that he needs for a specific purpose with him. I never stepped foot in here before tonight," she said simply. By that point, the three of them didn''t look particularly worried as they advanced through the mansion. They knew the enemy was aware of their presence but wasn''t doing anything to stop them. The only thing they didn''t know, was the exact reason for that. They kept on walking through the hallways and taking turns where they had to, in order to avoid the creatures that seemed to be there for... The sole purpose of forcing them to head the way the enemy wanted them to. The silence that shadowed them in their steps was very heavy, very unwelcomed; Stiles felt the need to break it, "I think it was a terrible idea to carry on with this, we should''ve pulled back," "We''ve been through this before. We don''t even know where the others are and we don''t know what will happen if we make the decision to pull back," said Scott. "This would have sounded reasonable if... It was remotely reasonable! Scott, we have a way to contact the others, and we also don''t know what will happen if we don''t retreat," "Just trust me on this," Scott made a short pause during which his eyes swiftly traveled around and brushed over the floor, the walls and even the ceiling, "We can''t bail," Stiles was unsure on how to react accordingly, but he knew that pushing it wasn''t the way to go about it. And so, they resumed their silent walk; but when the silence was broken a second time, it was by Rosalie. She clasped her hand around Stiles'' wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks. The three of them froze for a while, Stiles and Scott just stared back at Rosalie who seemed... Stiles couldn''t tell. Was she horrified? Or was she angry? Or perhaps both? "What is it?" Scott finally asked. "It''s her! I caught her scent. Euriella is in that room over there," she stated as she pointed towards a fairly large door a few feet away from them, down the rest of the hallway ahead. "Yeah... I don''t know whose scent this is, but I am definitely getting something new," said Scott. They slowly and carefully edged closer to said door, knowing full well there was no use trying. If they sensed her presence close by, the enemy certainly knew about them as well, as they''d suspected it before. Right as they were about to peek into the room, they were yet again frozen in their spots when a new sound hit their eardrums out of nowhere. Well, perhaps the word "hit" doesn''t fit to describe the gentle sound that a harp can make. Scott was first to push through and past the voices that screamed warning alarms in his head. Stiles and Rosalie were only instants behind him, they faced and stared directly ahead inside the room. "How valorous of you to stand like that in front of me," her voice was as soft as it gets. her eyes did not stray away from her instrument, yet Stiles felt a stifling gaze burn holes into his chest. She had that aura around her he instantly recognized; that aura that all banshees he ever came to meet had, but with Euriella, something else came with it, something very menacing. He felt threatened by her presence alone. His hand automatically gravitated towards the holster on his side. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "You are Euriella, aren''t you?" Scott finally found his voice again. "If you know, why ask?" she retorted, her attention still on the harp she was playing. "Where is he?" Upon hearing Rosalie''s voice, it was like something had snapped in Euriella. Her hands slowly abandoned the strings they were pulling. She straightened her posture and stood off her chair, "The audacity," she stated, "Out of many things, treason peeves me the most," she said, staring daggers at Rosalie. At those words, Scott inched closer to Rosalie until he stood in front of her, fully shielding her figure from Euriella''s gaze. "You know what''s not fun?" she said. "Living entier centuries without a goal of your own?" Stiles'' voice also seemed to find its way back to him. Euriella turned towards Stiles, "Stiles, is it? No, that wasn''t the right answer, but I am ready to bet that you of all people know the correct one. Being that close to a banshee allows you to see her at her very best and worst without any filters. So, let me ask again. Do you know what''s not fun at all?" "You already know the outcome of every battle...," Stiles muttered his answer as his eyes dropped to the floor. "Knowing the outcome doesn''t mean anything! Outcomes can be changed," said Scott. "Is that so?" Euriella brought both of her hands up to her chest, feigning innocence as she asked, "Shall I give you a demonstration?" Her words pushed everyone over the edge. As soon as she spoke, their bodies tensed up beyond what they thought was possible. They gathered every bit of strength they could muster for what was to come their way. Stiles had expected many things to come their way; supernaturals, chimeras to jump at them out of nowhere. Anything, he''d expected anything but the thing that actually happened to them. Before they knew it, the three of them were already brought to their knees, hands clasped over their ears so tightly that Stiles was sure he''d cut blood circulation to that area of his body. As for the pain he was experiencing; he could simply not find any words to describe it. Nothing came to his suffering mind, other than a question, what did it feel like having about a hundred people scream for their lives, somehow inside his ears? Euriella took her time as she dragged her feet between them and none of them could do a thing about it. She made her way towards Rosalie and towered over her, watching as the woman writhed in pain beneath her, "See? This is what I meant when I was talking about knowing the outcome of every battle. For example, three of you came into this room but only two of you will walk out of here alive. Care to guess which of you won''t be that lucky?" she said as she looked down at Rosalie again. The entier room was instantly filled with Rosalie''s screams, having the pain inflicted upon her clearly climb in intensity. "No wait! You don''t have to do this!" Scott tried with her. He seemed to regain his senses, he was able to stand back on his feet, but not without much difficulty. "Don''t be so jealous! I truly have nothing personal against you two but with her... Let''s just say it''s a different story," Stiles noted that, despite the incessant voices in his head screaming at him for help, he could still move his body. Only, seemingly with a lot more difficulty than Scott had encountered. He came to the conclusion that it was no coincidence. Euriella had clearly eased up on his and Scott''s tormenting in order to focus on Rosalie''s. She sure was powerful, but just like every other creature they''d fought, she too had her flaws and weaknesses. Stiles thought that, as Euriella was busy with Rosalie, he could blindside her somehow. As quick as a flash, he pulled his gun ready to shoot a bullet that he was never able to fire... A freakishly strong hand maintained Stiles'' arm still. The man''s grip grew so powerful that Stiles thought he''d hear his bones crack under the pressure. "Sorry, but you''re going to have to patiently wait for your turn," said the man as his piercing gaze compelled Stiles to stare back blankly, completely still. Then again, and very quickly, the man who was none other than the apprentice, pulled his hand away and swung with that same hand back at Stiles, sending him flying backwards where he landed already unconscious on the cold hard floor. "Scott, is it? We finally meet face to face," said the apprentice, as a chilling smile adorned his features. Elixir of life "What happened to her?" Danny stood by Lydia''s side as they both stared down at Maylee''s unconscious figure. "Euriella happened," she said. "I see," he paused for a moment before asking, "I thought you''d go to the mansion with them. Did you stay for Maylee?" "Yeah, I thought it wouldn''t hurt to try but so far... Nothing," Lydia diverted her gaze away from Maylee, in order for it to land on Danny, "You know about the mansion?" "Isaac has been keeping me in the loop. Since I''ve already done my part, I thought there was no use in remaining in the shadows any longer," "So, you''re the fourth musketeer, huh?" she asked, "How did that happen? I thought you left town," "I mean, I did leave town and by then I''d already known about the supernatural, but it wasn''t until three years ago, when the all-out war broke out, when people started dying around me like crazy... That I thought I had to do something. I just didn''t know what and from where to start... And then Isaac contacted me a few months ago and... Voil¨¤," Lydia patiently waited for him to finish. Then, she took a deep breath, "I thought you said that Isaac kept you in the loop but... The first question you asked me was what happened to her," she gestured towards Maylee as she spoke. "He just told me she was out of commission and then left the rest to my imagination. So, you really have no idea what she did to her?" "I''ve got a faint idea. From what I gathered, for now she''s as good as dead," said Lydia. "For now? So, there''s something that can be done?" "Yes, but not now, not as I am now. I don''t have the necessary control over my powers to bring her back," "Okey, but... Right now, what are you going to do?" "Well, you caught me right as I was about to join the others. Are you coming?" she asked as she headed towards the door. "No, I''ll just be in your way, but I''ve got something that could help," Danny unzipped his backpack under Lydia''s curious eyes. She watched as he pulled a fairly small, black case out of it, "What''s that?" "I don''t know for sure; I''ve never tried it myself but...," he opened the case for Lydia to see its content, "According to Maylee, this is the elixir of life," Three crystal clear tubes were carefully nested into black foam padding. They seemed to be holding a sort of neon green, viscous liquid within their transparent walls, "I think she might have taken them from the apprentice before she left," he finished. After their conversation had ended, Lydia took the elixir viles before exiting the room with the purpose of joining the others at the mansion in mind. She did not get to leave the hospital, however. She''d only managed to reach the elevator doors when... She thought she heard the faintest of whispers, "Help...," barely audible. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Her head spun in the direction she thought the pleas for help were coming from. Lying a few feet away, in a pool of blood, a woman dressed in a nurse''s attire had her hands clasped around her throat as she gasped for air. Lydia could see the upper half of her body but not the lower part, for it was hidden behind a corner. She hurriedly cut the distance between her and the woman short, but as she approached her, she became aware of something else that was out of place; A sound... That of a low growl. She decided that the best thing to do was to slow her pace down until she stood right by the injured nurse. And by then, the growling had yet to disappear. In fact, it seemed to have gotten louder. It was then she realized that whatever was the source of that noise, that creature was standing right behind the wall that hid the lower part of the nurse. Lydia flung her eyes down to see the look that the nurse gave her, a look of confirmation. There was, indeed, someone or something standing behind the wall, ready to pounce. Lydia braced herself, took a few steps back and did her best to slowly walk around the woman lying on the floor, in order to grant herself a better angle. But all of the bracing in the world could not have prepared her for what stood behind that wall. She was so stunned that the creature''s claws missed Lydia''s throat by a thin hair. She ducked down to catch her breath before the thing attacked again. It was a man, or at the very least, that was the impression Lydia had gotten from her first glance at the thing. Although, the longer she looked at it the more details she''d gotten to see. Claws and fangs out, eyes glowing gold, the creature was dressed in a deputy''s uniform. The young-looking man had all the traits and features of a werewolf. When he attacked her a second time, she was left with no other choice but to defend herself. She drew air into her lungs and let it all back out in a deafening scream. One that propelled the werewolf backwards. He laid where he fell for a moment, which gave her some time to collect her thoughts. A sensation of daze overcame her all of the sudden. It threw her off her balance and she was forced to seek support from the nearest walls. So many screams had gotten to her all at once, completely overwhelming her senses. The pain had been so unbearable that she had to keep her eyes shut. When she was finally able to lift her heavy eyelids up, she registered that another werewolf was on its way to attack her. She had no strength to draw more air for a scream, had no energy to move and so, she did her best to withstand the oncoming strike. Fortunately for Lydia, Melissa had reached her just in time to spare her a lot of unnecessary pain. The werewolf dropped to the floor, incapacitated, spazzing in its spot. Melissa held her taser wand up in anticipation. "What the hell is happening?" Lydia had managed to gasp out. "From what I understand, It''s the deputies that were brought in from the station because of the bomb! All of them awoke at once and went crazy," said Melissa as she crouched down to try and stop the nurse on the floor from bleeding dry. "They have claws, fangs and glowing eyes, just like werewolves," commented Lydia. It seemed that, with every second that passed, the situation at the hospital was getting more and more out of hands. The screams came from everywhere, became louder and more frequent. Lydia and Melissa did their best to push the werewolves back, protect themselves and the others around them in the process, but they were growing tired. The more they knocked down, the more of them that came charging back at them. "They''re completely out of control!" screamed Melissa. "they''re acting like werewolves on their first full moon night," Lydia yelled back as she kicked one of her assailants away. "It is a full moon night! What can we do?" "I don''t know about that. All I know, is a lot of people are going to die here tonight," said Lydia. "Well, we have to try something!" "I know! I think I am getting an idea but I''m going to need all of the deputies'' names," said Lydia. "That, I can get you, but why?" Lydia took the time to thrust one of the werewolf deputies backwards with a scream before she answered, "I am a banshee, I think I can force at least some of them back into their human form if I scream their names, but we have to hurry before they manage to leave the hospital," For the plan It had begun, indeed. A constant sequence of jumping, kicking, dodging and clawing... Even with Anas and Kali by their side, it seemed they were only delaying the inevitable for them. Fighting a battle that was heralded fruitless at best and crushingly lost at worst. "there''s more of them coming!" yelled Boyd, right after he''d managed to successfully stab a longtail through its chest. Erica seized the chance that presented itself in front of her, when Kali held one of the creatures in place long enough for the blond to pierce it with the blade she held. Kali allowed the motionless body to fall out of her hands. She turned around just in time to dodge an incoming, and quite possibly deadly, hit to the head. But that same longtail did not get the opportunity to swing at her a second time since Anas had already punctured its heart from behind. "Stay focused!" Derek alerted them just as he shifted back to his human form. "Any other, better suggestions?" asked Erica in the heat of the moment. "Yeah, try to stay alive!" was the only think Derek added before jumping back into action. And trying to stay alive they did; they did their very best for that. There was no use in pretending, however. They all knew that if none of them came up with a better plan or a solution, and quickly, there was no shot for them to make it out of there alive. A change in pace did finally happen. But it wasn''t thanks to their efforts. Instead, it was the longtails that drew back, for seemingly no reason. Well, there was a reason... And that reason announced its presence as soon as the longtails had stopped attacking, "Well, well, well! Look what we have here!" his voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere; they struggled to pinpoint its origin inside the green house. Kali took a few, slow steps back towards Anas, "It''s him. It''s Matt. He controls these bastards. Be careful, everyone," "Why spoil the fun like that?" it seemed that despite Kali''s efforts to keep her voice on the low end, Matt had still managed to catch her words. All of the sudden and without any prior notice, Matt lunched himself at Derek. An action that none of them could counter. For as fast as they all were, none of them had the speed that would match Matt''s. Apparently, and as the leader of the longtails, he enjoyed far better perks than the rest of them were given. Derek found himself lying flat on his back only seconds after that, a few feet away from where he previously stood. "I remember you. You were a pain in my ass on that day back then, in the station," said Matt towards Derek. He took a small step back, almost like he had all the time in the world, in order to avoid Erica''s attack, "Really? Is that all you have?" but then he directed his attention back towards Derek again, "So, you came all the way here to take us down and this... Is the backup you brought with you?" In the midst of all the insanity they were thrown into, Boyd still found the time to squeeze a chuckle out, "Yeah well, it took more than a cancer infested, dying old man to take us out the first time around," he said, referring to Matt''s fate on the hands of Gerrard Argent. Matt did not appear to appreciate being mocked in that fashion. In the blink of an eye, he cut the distance that stood between him and Boyd very short. And in another very swift movement, Matt had grabbed him by the throat and effortlessly lifted his entire weight off the ground, "What do you think it will take for me to put you out of your misery this time?" This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Derek, Erica and Anas did not waste any time to react. The three of them hurled themselves at Matt in that instant. "It seems I already missed most of the party," and the three of them fell to the ground before Jennifer had finished her sentence. "You finally decided to show yourself," said Kali, her eyes on Jennifer. "Why am I not surprised? Loyalty has never been part of your vocabulary, has it?" Jennifer spoke again, a hint of disappointment in her eyes as she stared Kali down, "I see you''re having fun," she said towards Matt. "Why do I have the feeling that the fun isn''t gonna last now that you''re here?" he said, tossing Boyd to the side like he''d toss a toy he was bored with. Just like Kali, Matt had his eyes on Jennifer. Seeing as Jennifer was maintaining the three other werewolves flat on the ground, Kali seemed to feel like, the burden of bringing a change to the situation, relied on her alone, "So, are you going to kill them?" her eyes fluttered between Jennifer and Anas. Jennifer followed her gaze, but she didn''t stop at Anas. Between Derek and Erica, the look on her face softened; especially once it had landed on Derek, "Are you worried about them?" she paused, but then she continued, "Of course you''re worried. You''ve been acting all righteous from the moment you were brought back. Can''t say it looks good on you," she kept on addressing Kali. "Why? Is it that unconceivable?" asked Kali. "On the contrary my dear Kali. The reason I find it so nauseating, is because I know for a fact, that it''s true. You used to be like that once upon the time, remember? I used to be your closest friend for it. I just wished you came to your senses before you killed every member of your pack, before you slashed my face off of me, and my entire identity with it," Nobody moved, nobody laughed. In fact, nobody said a thing after that. Jennifer''s words seemed to reach very deep within Kali. Derek knew they reached him too. As much as he wanted to believe he wasn''t concerned with that affair, he''d found himself dragged into the very middle of it a few years prior, regardless. So, and from Kali''s demeanor, he knew just how sharp, how jagged, how venomous those words must have been to her. Even though, the constant pain Jennifer was inflicting on him, impaled him to the ground, he still thought that kind of ache held no candle to hers at that moment. Yes, there was a way to remedy his situation, change his fate, the outcome of the fight. There still was hope for that but no way was that appliable to the past... There was no changing that. "Well, that soured the mood... Didn''t it?" Matt broke the agonizing silence. Jennifer had noticed that one of the longtails was nearing dangerously closer to Erica. Upon understanding what Matt had ordered the creature to do, she immediately lifted her arm up towards it. The monster froze and began to visibly spasm on the spot. "What are you doing?" asked Matt. "Did you know that mountain ash wasn''t the only way to take your little toys down?" she asked as her arm shook slightly harder while still being directed at the longtail. Under everyone''s eyes, the creature''s heart moved gradually closer to its rib cage before literally breaking the bones that were in the way and protruding from underneath the tough layer that served as flesh and skin. The heart flew across the room, straight into Jennifer''s open hand, where she held it up in front of Matt''s face, "In reality, you just need to entirely remove their hearts. Like that!" she finished her sentence by flinging the heart to the ground for it to splatter into pieces. Matt waited until the heartless body of the longtail had dropped to the floor before reacting, "What the hell are you doing?" "Relax, I am just doing my job. We can''t kill any of them just yet," she said as she ambled towards Derek. "I know that! I wasn''t going to kill her," Matt protested. "You can''t be trusted with something like that. At any moment before I arrived, you could''ve have killed them and ruined everything by the same occasion," she said, "I''ll advise you to step back. I know ripping your heart out won''t kill you but ripping your head off, on the other hand, might do it," she added when Matt stepped towards her in a threatening manner. He seethed in place for a moment, before taking a deep breath and averting his gaze towards Derek, still on the ground, "Fine...," he conceded, "Now what?" "Now, we wait patiently for further instructions. Very unfortunately so, might I add. Believe me, I want to hurt them as much as you do and perhaps even more but... I am not about to ruin my chance at revenge yet again," she said looking back at Kali. The Argents prestige Kate took a moment to look down at Allison''s hands, "What happened to your bow and arrows?" referring to the fact that Allison came in with a firearm in hands, instead of her usual weapon of choice, "Are you even truly Allison Argent?" she added. up until Kate had uttered those words, Chris hadn''t really thought of that as a possibility. They''d all questioned the process that made the resurrections a reality but... None of them thought to question if the people that rose back from the dead were the ones they once knew. Then again, there was no reason to. At least there wasn''t any with the others. Allison''s case, however, was peculiar. The whole time he''d been around her, Chris had carried that lingering feeling along; that strange unfamiliarity, that distance between him and his daughter that seemed so unconquerable... But he thought that time would mend it all, that time was all she needed in order to come back to her old self. Not once did he think of the eventuality that the body of his beloved daughter harbored someone other than... Well, his daughter. "Argent! What the hell are you doing?" yelled Daniel. Furious that he''d had to call Chris back into action whilst trying to survive it. Plunged in the bottomless pit of doubts that Kate''s words had instilled in him, he''d completely missed the fact that the fight had already begun. He turned to his side just in time to shoot at a berserker that was coming his way. In vain, of course, berserkers were such durable creatures that the group was struggling to leave the smallest of scratches on their bodies. Allison was fully focused on Kate and as it seemed; Kate wanted it to be that way, since none of her berserkers were going after Allison either. Which left Isaac and Alec, running, jumping and ducking around to avoid any incoming hits. At the same time, the two werewolves were making sure that berserkers went nowhere near Chris and Daniel by attracting their attention towards themselves. It was not an imperviable plan however, since some of them slipped through the cracks and still went after one of the two humans anyway. "Can we even kill these things?" asked Daniel as he kept on firing on the berserkers. "Yeah, but we need a lot of fire power," said Chris, but then he added, "Either that or a werejaguar to stop them," "Well, I don''t think this werejaguar is gonna ask them to stop anytime soon. So, I vote for the fire power. What do you have in mind?" "Something big. But we''re gonna have to swap roles with the werewolves for a while. Think you''ll hold on?" asked Chris. "Whatever it takes. We won''t hold on like this much longer anyways," said Daniel. Chris shoved his hand in one of the barely visible pockets of his pants and pulled what looked like a small, black box out of it, "Issac!" he called for Isaac, "I need you to get as close as possible to one of them and stick this some place on their body they can''t reach easily. This side here is adhesive. Make sure it sticks!" he told Isaac once he got his attention. "What was that?" quizzed Daniel, his eyes glued on Isaac''s hand. "You''ll see. Now, keep firing on them until you get their attention," said Chris. Isaac on the other hand, did not seem to be in need for any pointers. He communicated to Alec what was expected of them, and they went from there. Both werewolves toned it down with their acrobatics which led the berserkers to gravitate towards the second loudest thing in the room. The gunshots. The berserkers kept on advancing towards Daniel and Chris while Isaac did his best to sneakily get closer to one of them behind its back. Once he''d managed to stick the box on the berserkers''s back, he immediately skedaddled away from it. Knowing Chris''s style, whatever was in that box, had to be loud and burn hot. "Get down!" screamed Chris for everyone to hear, including Allison and by the same occasion, Kate. The moment they''d all touched the ground, he pushed a red button on an even smaller device than the box and from there, the berserker that had the item on its back, went up in flames, in the loudest, most deafening boom they''d all heard in a while. It turned out, the small box was a bomb and a very effective one at that. Once everything had calmed down, and they all rose back to their feet. They''d noticed that the only thing remaining of the berserker was a body of ashes. To their greatest solace, the exploding berserker had taken with it the other berserkers that were standing the closest to it at the moment of the explosion. "Clever... I must say," said Kate without a trace of annoyance, "I recognize your genius there, Chris," she moved a strand of her hair that''d been dangling in front of her eyes away from sight, "Too bad, there''s more where those came from," She let out a growl that reverberated gradually louder from the depths of her voice box. And just like that, the four berserkers that had remained after the explosion, became ten, then twenty, then thirty... Chris lost count at forty. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. "How many bombs do you still have?" Daniel leaned in closer towards Chris. "Not even close to enough," said Chris as his eyes moved from left to right, not knowing where to set his attention at. Kate pushed a second growl to which the berserkers responded by advancing towards the group, "I told you Chris, or didn''t I?" Kate snickered as she spoke, "I told you that being my enemy could cost you your life. I just didn''t know you were ready to wager other people''s lives. I gave you so many outs, yet you kept on coming after me... And look where that has led you. I am afraid I can''t hide behind the fact that you''re my brother to justify letting you live anymore... I am afraid this time is the one too many and this time, I really have to pull the trigger on you," she took her time and strolled closer towards them. But along the way, she stopped in her tracks. Chris noted that her demeanor had shifted. He followed her gaze towards Isaac and Alec who... Were smiling. She was no longer smiling, she seemed confused. That was when, a third growl was heard. Upon hearing it, the berserkers immediately halted advancing. Kate dropped the look of confusion she had on her face and resumed smiling like she''d never even stopped, "It''s you again. I am glad we get to have a second round. So, where were we?" All the mystery around the third growl, the berserkers stopping and Isaac''s smile in such times, had disappeared the moment they laid eyes on who came into the room. Liam and Hilldon stood each on one of Hayden''s sides. She''d been the one to growl at the berserkers to stop. "You realize that all I have to do is to growl new orders at them, right? When it comes down it, they''ll always listen to me over you," said Kate. "True but... It won''t come down to it. Not this time," said Hayden, a victorious smile on her face. Chris tried his best to follow as things were unfolding before his eyes but failed miserably. He was left wondering why Kate''s smile had faded, once again. Or the reason that made her head whip around from left to right like she was closely following the movements of an invisible fly. Better late than never, Chris was finally able to catch the faint but sharp swooshing of air that was soring in between and through the rows of berserkers that stood still. Before he knew it, the whirling sound grew a little louder followed by the sound of large bodies falling to the ground. Sound that came from the berserkers, dropping immobile to the floor one after the other, like empty husks. "We''ll take this side," said a familiar voice before its owner sprang into action. Ethan, who was very closely followed by Jackson behind, ran towards a specific side of the vast space that had contained all of them that whole time. They were only clearly visible for a short span of time, before both of their figures grew blurry to Chris''s eyes as they ran as fast as they could. Shortly after that, gunshot sounds called for their attentions towards another side of the room. Deaton came in, firing at berserkers who were immobilized, seemingly losing all control over their bodies in less than a second. Once the dust had settled and the room had been cleared of all berserkers, Chris was finally able to take a good look at their heroes. Deaton stood on one side. Jackson, had his kanima tail out and stood near Ethan. The closest to them were Deucalion and Aidan, who''d made it so far into the room without Chris ever noticing it. Liam, Hilldon and Hayden hadn''t moved. "Good thing we chose to come this way, it seems," said Deucalion. "So, it seems," retorted Deaton. "What happened? What did you do to them?" Chris was shaken out of his trance by Daniel who''d spoken to his left side. "Kanima venom," Chris had answered before any of them had gotten the chance to, "You even made darts out of it," "I spent the entire day filling those viles. I am glad it wasn''t all for nothing," said Jackson as he lifted his hand to rotate his claws in front of his own eyes. "Aren''t you forgetting something?" Kate''s voice arose again. When they''d all turned to meet her eyes, their visages twisted into what could''ve been translated to confusion, surprise, fear. All expressions scattered unevenly between their faces. Kate had her arms around Alec''s neck, holding him in front of her, shielding her body behind his. She''d pulled him to the side, completely isolating him from the rest of the group. Her hand gripping his jaw tightly, ready to snap his neck in an instant. "That was a great plan you came up with, but you see, I can be resourceful as well," she said, a long-lasting smirk on her lips. "Let him go!" yelled Daniel. "Yeah, that''s not gonna happen. He''s coming with me," she''d begun taking small and slow steps back, dragging a visibly terrified Alec but she immediately stopped in order to reaffirm her threats when Deucalion had made a sudden movement, "I''ll snap him like a twig before you get the time to call his name," she carried on walking backwards. When she saw that Deucalion had heeded her warning, her attention fell on Allison, "So, here we are, Allison. What has our family come to? It''s hard to believe that we''re the last standing Argents and yet... Here we are," she then turned towards Chris, "What has become of the Argents? The legacy that those who came before us spent centuries building. Our prestige! All gone... And for what? We were once able to put our own family members down to spare them from their own fates and look at you today. Look at what you''ve done to our family, Chris. You are corrupted to the bone. Look at you! Trembling for the fate of a creature you were only brought to this world to hunt! What about you Allison? Huh?" Chris''s gaze landed on Allison. She seemed... distant. Completely disconnected. The look on her face unkind towards its onlookers. She didn''t seem to have a care in the world, yet she seemed so uptight at once. "I can''t let you leave," said Allison. Her eyes went over Chris before they landed back on Kate, "He''s trembling, yes," she spoke again. In the blink of an eye, she lifted her weapon towards Kate and Chris knew what she was about to do, "But I am not," Without a warning and before anybody could stop her, Allison opened fire on Kate, simultaneously hitting Alec in the process. "No!" screamed Daniel as he jumped on her. Daniel scrambled to get on his feet and ran towards Alec who was left to bleed on the floor. By then, Kate was long gone. Worse than death After Parrish and sheriff Stilinski, it was Rafeal''s turn to run through the web of walls surrounding him in that basement. He moved forward with no way to know if his friends had taken that route before him. He''d remained behind until he''d made sure the number of longtails left was manageable; enough for the rest of the deputies and agents to handle on their own. He''d hoped he''d be able to catch up with Parrish and Stilinski with the smallest number of hurdles he''d have to deal with. But alas, he wasn''t helped by the many dead ends he was confronted with; the sheer, unnerving silence around him and the harrowing feeling that things were about to go from terrible to unbearable levels of doom, like they hadn''t touched rock bottom just yet and that worse was yet to come. And so, he ran with that in mind until he was finally able to see the end of the concrete maze he''d been rushing through. He''d reached what he thought to be a spacious open area. He could hardly tell; it was poorly lit for his human eyes to distinguish anything beyond the ten feet ahead of him. By then, he''d already slowed his pace down from a speedy stride to a very cautious one. His flashlight very close above his gun, he advanced warily, illuminating the place he walked into, gradually, from one spot to another. All the way, for what felt like an eternity to Rafael, he could not catch sight of a single thing. But all of that changed when, along his hyper vigilant exploration process, his ears caught what sounded like an egregiously low, bone chilling growl. The more steps he took in front of himself, the louder became the growl. Only a short while after that, he began to discern another sound. A hitched, ragged breathing grew louder with the growl. It was only when he''d stopped to contemplate his fate that he''d taken notice of his shaking body. The sound of his own uneven breathing. The pouding of his heart against his ribcage as well as his sweat drenched skin. He tightened his hold around his weapon and cursed at his stiff legs, forcing them to move further ahead. Which they did, allowing him to venture deeper into the unknown, drawing closer to that... Thing, that creature, whatever it was, with every step. He made peace with the idea that the monster he was sharing that space with, could jump at him at any given moment, from any possible angle. The thought, that everything could come to an end for him at any second in there. Well, peace was perhaps not the right word to describe his state of mind right then, but he sure did his best to keep his calm in that situation. At first, he thought his prayers were answered when the beam of his flashlight brushed a familiar figure. But then, he remembered where he was and the fact that who he thought was the sheriff was crouching down, holding his arms tight around his own gut, was no good augury. Rafael drew nearer to the sheriff, making sure to remain on his guard. After all, he could still hear the growling and panting from earlier. "Stilinski... What''s going on?" he asked in a very low tone. Knowing full well that the creature that was with them there, was already aware of their presence. However, Rafael''s heart sank lower into the pit in his stomach when he understood that the growling noises weren''t coming from a monster nearby, but from the sheriff himself. He paused for a split second before moving towards Stilinski again, but he stopped him, "Stop! Don''t come any closer. I... can''t control... it," he uttered through gritted teeth and agonizing tears. Rafael was barely able to recognize his voice underneath the deep, raspy growl that accompanied every word he struggled to put out. He sounded like a demon, more than a real one could ever sound like. Once he''d lifted his head up for Rafael to get a look at him, the latter was horrorstruck when he saw what had become of the sheriff''s face. The bone structure around his mouth and jaw had changed to somehow put more emphasis and give more definition to that area of his face. The shape of it sat somewhere between a human mouth and a wolf''s snout. His teeth had nothing of the ordinary ones he previously had; all jagged and standing in line, with the exception of the canines; those were far more evident considering the way they were protruding past the rest of them. His eyes were flashing between his human Irises and the shinning, golden ones of a werewolf. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Stilinski, what the hell is going on? What happened to you?" Rafael questioned as he began to move closer towards Stilinski, again. Completely forgetting his previous warning not to come near him. "I said stop! Don''t come near me!" growled Stilinski once more. Rafael froze in his spot but said nothing, hoping Stilinski would volunteer more information about his condition on his own accord, when he can. To his relief, Noah carried on, "It was in the shrapnel bomb. Fisher... She put something in the bomb... Some sort of virus...," it appeared that with every effort to speak, Noah lost a little more control over his actions. His eyes remained illuminated with a golden hue for a longer span of time than they did before. During that interval, Stilinski had to restrain himself from launching forward at Rafael. "Fisher? Isn''t she one of your deputies? What do you mean she put something in the bomb?" Rafael did his best in order to put the pieces that Noah gave him together. But some pieces simply didn''t fit, no matter how hard he tried. "The nogitsun¨¦... She helped him get the bomb inside the...," his throat burst into an agonizing, inhuman scream before he could finish his sentence. Stilinski was gradually losing all the features that made him human, only to be replaced by foreign, monstrous ones. Sturdy and firm Claws came to slowly replace his fingernails. Instinctively, Rafael brought his weapon up before slightly lowering it again in front of the shaken figure of the sheriff, or what remained of his original self, "This... This virus is making you turn into a werewolf or some sort of other creature?" "It''s a full moon night... I can''t control it! I can''t!" cried the sheriff as he held his right wrist in his left hand, giving the impression that he''d lost control over that arm. "The full moon is what triggered the virus. That means that every deputy that survived the explosion can be contaminated," Rafael''s mind was bustling, running at a faster pace in order to process the information he''d just received. "Promise me that you''ll do whatever you can to take care of this situation," at those words, Stilinski no longer sounded threatening, but instead, he sounded defeated, beaten down by his circumstances. "What do you mean? What about you?" Rafael was afraid of what Noah expected of him. He feared that what he''d have to do, the price he was going to have to pay, was far more expensive than anything he''d imagined it to be when he sat foot in that basement, at the beginning of that night. "You know what I mean... Please, don''t make me say it," Stilinski begged. "There has to be another way!" Right as Rafael had finished that exclamation, he saw what was, perhaps, the last remaining shard of humanity, Noah had struggled so painfully not to lose. He shed one last tear before his eyes flashed into that cursed golden color they kept on teasing all that time. His skin had lost its natural shade and had turned into a different one. One that Rafael couldn''t distinguish with exactitude, considering the poor lighting in that place. It seemed that his body was done with all the aching. It seemed he was becoming much more comfortable in his new body once there was no ounce of his true self left to fight it. He, the creature, slowly stood straight in front of Rafael, a devilish grin drawn across its features. He took one first step towards Rafael, who hastily aimed his gun at Stilinski again, "Stilinski! I know you can hear me! I know you''re in there! Please! Don''t make me do this! Fight it! I know you can! Noah!" he kept on shouting at him. He took as many steps back as Stilinski was taking forward. At that point he''d lost all of his composure, his voice just as shaky as his arms, which barely allowed him to aim correctly. At that point he knew, he was only delaying the inevitable. He knew, that should he refuse to pull the trigger, there was no way for him to live to see the end of their war against the apprentice. He knew he''d have to make his choice as fast as possible and so, he... He did nothing. He did not get to do anything. He did not have to make that choice after all. A far sounding, soul shuddering growl resounded all around them. It completely captured the attention of the creature that Stilinski had become. A few seconds of silence followed after that before the creature turned around and scurried away from sight. What kills an alpha "What happened?" Satomi slowly loosened her grasp around Malia''s wrists before letting go of them all together. The were coyote looked away from Theo towards her father, her eyes alone begging for answers. She then turned to Satomi right after Cory when the previous two didn''t say anything. Her breathing quickened further when her sight had finally landed on Braeden, who still needed to rely heavily on Mason in order to move. "You were driving and then all of the sudden you started acting weird. You said there was someone on the road and you swerved the car into the ditch. You acted even weirder after that," Theo volunteered to respond first. "Weird how? What do you mean I was acting weird?" she questioned. "Malia, you leaped out of the car and started behaving erratically. We were calling for you, but you weren''t even acknowledging us. It''s like you couldn''t see us, at all. That was when Cory showed up and without a second thought you just jumped at his throat," Peter gave her the rest of story. Or at least, what it looked like from his perspective. "No... No... No... That''s not... It can''t be," she protested, "That''s not how it happened. It can''t be possible. I saw her! Didn''t you see her?" once again, she tried to find the answers to her questions in their eyes. Hoping to make sense out of the situation. But they all remained silent and stared back at her like she had completely lost her mind. "See her? See who?" asked Peter. "The desert wolf! She was here! I am telling you I saw her!" her tone shifted from confusion to anger throughout her sentence. "Well, if she was here, we didn''t see her," stated Mason as he neared them, Braeden''s arm around his neck. "It was an illusion," Satomi had finally decided to break her silence. She''d taken a moment to examine the area around them, and it seemed like, only when she''d found what she was looking for, did she come to share her thoughts. Once everyone around Satomi had followed her gaze, they finally came to understand what she''d meant with her words. Because standing at several feet away from them and in the middle of the road was a young man that none of them, other than Satomi could recognize. "And who the hell might that be?" quizzed Peter. "Care to take a guess?" she replied with another question, her eyes following the young man''s every move. Not that he was really moving. He just stood still, smiling like he''d just done the greatest thing he could ever achieve. Peter slightly shifted to face the stranger''s way, took a few seconds to brood on Satomi''s words, before his facial features were repositioned in order to convey a totally different emotion, "Ah hell no!" he exclaimed with a clear lack of joy. "What? Who is that guy?" demanded Malia. "You mean to tell me, that you don''t know who I am? I thought for sure that Stiles at least, would''ve brought me up in some of your conversations. I don''t like to feel forgotten. C''mon Malia... You''re better than that," by that point the young man had already moved closer to them. He didn''t walk, he didn''t run. He just appeared to be a lot nearer than he was before the moment he addressed Malia. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "It''s the nogitsun¨¦," said Peter as he was stepping back, his arm up gently pushing Theo and Malia backwards with him. Satomi was doing the same thing with the others. "What do you want? The apprentice sent you to stop us, didn''t he?" growled Malia. "What do I want? Well... I don''t know, Malia. Why don''t you tell me?" "Are you high on your own crap or something?" Malia spoke again. "It appears there''s some unfinished business between us. Go figure. But I am not one to leave unfinished business behind me," at those words, the nogitsun¨¦ had cut the distance between them even shorter. "What unfinished business? I''ve never even met you!" she explained. Malia seemed out of the loop just as much as the others around her did. "Are you sure about that? Because I, unlike you, am able to remember our meeting quite clearly. See? I had your life my hands. Well technically, I had a cranial drill but... You get the point, I am sure," his smile somehow grew more disturbing than it was before. Malia kept on rejecting the idea that they''d met before. Up until he mentioned the cranial drill, that is. She could, although very vaguely, recall something about that. It dated back to when she was still locked up in Eichen house. The memories of it all were blurry but... She caught on to a few pieces of them, nonetheless. And then, just like the nogitsun¨¦ had mentioned it, she remembered that Stiles did in fact talk to her about their time together in Eichen, right before the nogitsun¨¦ took full control over his body, "It was you...," she muttered, "It was you back then. It wasn''t Stiles. You were going to kill me," she finished. "Yes, I was. So, the real question, is why didn''t I kill you?" "You threatened to kill me if Stiles didn''t let you in. And he... Let you in. You had no reason to kill me," she said. "Yes, but also no. You see, a nogitsun¨¦ isn''t really in the business of keeping their word. My motto is strife, pain and chaos all the way, all night and all day. So, why? Oh why... Didn''t I kill you?" he kept the smile on, but it looked somehow tainted. Unlike before, when he seemed to be asking questions he already had the answers to. This time around, it looked like he was expecting a genuine response and his displeasure about that fact was showing on him. "Well, you answered your own question there, don''t you think? You like to cause pain, strife and chaos. I think deep down you knew that my end would result in almost no pain to anyone. I didn''t really have anybody to cry my death," said Malia with a lot of certitude. "See, that''s exactly what I thought at first but then... I wasn''t so sure of it anymore...," "Cut the crap, will you? Are you here to finish the job or just to distract us," interfered Peter. "Both actually. I am just trying to have some fun too, you know. Life can feel quite long and boring without a little bit of fun," the nogitsun¨¦ chuckled, "But yeah, distracting you is definitely at the top of my list. Kind of. Let''s just say that an alpha without his pack isn''t much of a threat. You would know something about that Satomi, wouldn''t you?" he mocked her. "You can keep us here for as long as you want. You''ll never be able to kill Scott," stated Malia. "Kill him? And what makes you think the apprentice is trying to kill Scott? No, no, no, he''s going for the throat. I hate to admit it but he''s far better than I''ve ever been at what I do. He''s a very patient man. He... Stalks his prey, very closely, until he finds out what makes it tick... What makes it hurt the most, what hurts it even more than losing their own life. What do you recon would hurt Scott the most, Malia? What do you think would take the life out of Scott, the ture alpha, the warrior with no blood on his hands, without killing him?" The grin he gave her sent shivers down her spine. But his words sent far more than that; they sent a clear message about what the apprentice was about to do to Scott. Before thinking twice about it, she pounced and landed a great distance away from all of them in her coyote form. After that, she took off in the direction of the mansion and she ran like there was no tomorrow, leaving her father and friends behind her, ignoring all of their attempts at reaching her. A new end to a new beginning Stiles could still hear the echoes of the screaming souls coursing through his throbbing head. When he opened his eyes however, he realized he was no longer in that vast room he previously stood in and neither Scott nor Rosalie were anywhere to be seen. Same went for Euriella and the apprentice. He was on his own; he was not lying on the floor where he''d landed after being stricken by the apprentice. He was standing, facing a long, dark hallway ahead of him, one that seemed to fade the further away Stiles tried to look. "Scott?" he tried calling for Scott but the only response he received were the echoes of his own voice bouncing back towards him from the walls. He called Scott''s and Rosalie''s names a few times before finally deciding to take his first steps through that hallway. The longer he walked down that path the more he felt the atmosphere around him getting heavier, further pressuring his insides. He could hear a constent, everlasting ambiant muffledness, like his ears were submerged underwater. It wasn''t very long, until he perceived what he thought were doors, plastered on either side of the never-ending walls trapping him in that narrow, straight line. he approached the first one to his left with apprehension; he grasped then slowly turned the knob to open it. But the moment he peeked through the small crack he''d made, his entire body tensed up, causing his hand to release its hold on the door, which allowed it to open all the way, giving him full view to the content of the space behind the door. He gawked at the sight of the morgue in front of him, he recognized it to be the hospital morgue, but he could not understand why he was able to access it from... Wherever he was at that moment. Before he could linger on the thought however, he was drawn out of it by another sound, coming from further down the hallway. The sound of a door creaking open. Stiles chose to follow the sound and thus ignore every other door on his way towards the one. He halted once he thought he caught sight of it. One slightly open door among all others. He gently pushed it with care, anxious of what could be lurking behind it. Once again, nothing could have prepared him for what awaited him in there. Stiles had to make sure his jaw didn''t fall to the floor, his hand automatically gravitating towards the door frame for support, "What... What is this? Wh...," he uttered with a shaky voice, trailing off towards the end. "You had a pretty nice room. I''ve never really had one of my own; not one this good, at least," said the nogitsun¨¦ from where he sat. Or who Stiles thought was the nogitsun¨¦, at least. Upon hearing his words, Stiles'' eyes traveled across the room. It was his childhood room, the one he had when he used to live with his father. The nogitsun¨¦ was seated on a chair, fronting a small wooden table that held a squared surface board on its top; it was a chess board. "He keeps me in this place that I... Can''t recognize. He makes me play this game; I think you know it; it resembles chess in many aspects, it''s called "go". I don''t know for how long I''ve been there with him," said the nogitsun¨¦. "What do you mean? What... Are you talking about? What is this place? What do you want?" torn between his thoughts, Stiles couldn''t figure out which question to ask so, he asked all of them at once. At first, he thought that the nogitsun¨¦ was talking about the apprentice keeping him somewhere but then... He thought it didn''t add up. Or at least, it didn''t seem like it. "I thought that... My existence would finally mean something by giving it away... That I would finally make some change, that it would get better... But...," he looked away from the chess pieces on the board towards Stiles, his gaze heavy with sorrow, or so it appeared. For a moment, Stiles wondered if it was the nogitsun¨¦ speaking to him or... The original owner of the body he was looking at. Although, he didn''t get the time to ponder on the idea, for another voice called for his attention. A far away sounding one, coming from the deepest, furthest corners of the hallway he was traversing. "So, what will it be, Scott?" Stiles had heard that voice before but couldn''t correspond a face to it at the time. He stepped back out of the room he''d entered and began to run down the corridor, leaving who he wasn''t sure was the nogitsun¨¦ behind himself, hoping to draw closer to the new voice he''d heard. He ran until he saw the light that guided him out of his nightmares. Stiles opened his eyes again, very slowly. Only for them to fall on Derek''s figure a few feet away from him. He did not seem in a better shape than him. He was incapacitated, lying on the floor, barely able to move. "It''s either one or the other. You cannot have it both ways, I am afraid," the man said again. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "It doesn''t have to be that way," Stiles was finally able to hear Scott''s voice. Although, he seemed to be in a predicament of his own, grunting his words at whoever was talking to him. Stiles did his best to move his head towards the voices, in order to get a view of the happening since he still couldn''t move the rest of his body. He quickly understood that things in the room were different since he''d fallen unconscious. As he''d already noticed, Derek was lying on his chest a distance away from him, but... He wasn''t the only one. Boyd, Erica, Kali and Anas were there as well, just as unconscious as he was. "You''re trying to reason with me. Just what I thought you''d do. I commend you for it, but I am afraid, you and I cannot see eye to eye on the matter. So, once again, it is either her or them. Which is it going to be?" that voice spoke again. A pair of feet came into view, a woman''s, he thought. One that towered over Derek. Upon hearing the man''s words, she came closer to his body before lifting one foot and setting it right on the back of Derek''s neck. His sight was still hazy, but Stiles could still put the pieces together, nonetheless. The apprentice was forcing Scott to choose between the life of his friends and something he had yet to know what it was. He gathered his strength in order to push his own body off the floor. He''d managed to lift himself up, just enough to see that the apprentice was holding Rosalie by her neck, making Scott stare into her eyes as he slowly squeezed the life out of her. "Allow me to give you another demonstration, then," said the apprentice, before bringing his hand up then swiftly spearing it through Rosalie''s chest like it was nothing but foam to him. "No!" screamed Scott. Stiles watched silently as he stumbled back up to his feet. Barely able to withstand his own weight, he could do nothing other than watch... And wait for Rosalie to draw her last breath, as her blood rapidly escaped her body, her heart resting in the apprentice''s hand. He finally allowed her empty husk to fall to the floor, before tossing what was left of her heart along with her. Her eyes were still open when she hit the ground and Stiles couldn''t avert his gaze away from hers... He thought he caught the last train of thoughts that ran through her mind the moment her soul left their world. "Stop! Why are you doing this?" Scott''s voice resonated across the room and shook Stiles'' core. He was finally able to move his eyes away from Rosalie''s. Scott was visibly shaking. From anger? Despair? Fear? Stiles could not be sure. "Some things are necessary, and others are... A simple coincidence but some, don''t work in our favor, while others do. We tend to call those, fate," The apprentice''s gaze left Scott in order to land on Stiles. Scott looked back and forth between the apprentice and Stiles, possibly thinking that Stiles was his new target. His eyes flashed red right before he jumped at the apprentice in a futile attempt to stop him. Scott did not make it very far, however. He dropped to his knees just as fast as his eyes went back to their human color, his hands firmly clasping his ears. "Superbe timing!" exclaimed the apprentice in his unchanging calm tone. He seemed to be looking through Stiles and not at him. Stiles had the strangest feelings at that moment, like something or... Someone was inviting him to look behind himself, just for a moment... Stiles slowly turned around, his heart threatening to sink deeper into his guts. But when he finally laid eyes on it... On him, his heart didn''t just sink. It raced to the bottom, to the deepest tranche of his soul. Noah Stilinski, or what was left of him, stepped into the light, towards Stiles. "I must say that, at first, I wasn''t very thrilled to hear about what you''ve done but... I came around to see it for the brilliant idea that even I did not think of," Stiles looked back towards the apprentice, to see that Fisher was standing by his side. He did not care to probe the infinite number of theories and ideas flooding his mind at that moment. Instead, he focused back on his... Father. Stiles could barely recognize him. His eyes, his claws, his fangs... Made him something other than the loving father he knew... "D... Dad?" he uttered with a trembling voice, but Noah did not show any sign of awareness. "It is imperfect for lack of testing but... I believe that sometimes, beauty is in one''s imperfection," said the apprentice proudly, "So... Scott, I''ll ask you again. What will it be? The life of your friends or hers?" Hers? It took Stiles a moment to figure out who the apprentice meant by hers... Euriella''s... He wanted Scott to choose between killing Euriella or watching his friends die before his eyes... To call it cruel would be... A monumental understatement. It would not even begin to cover it. But with the woman, Jennifer, pressing further down Derek''s neck. Another creature that distantly resembled Matt, threatening to end Boyd and Erica''s lives. Noah Stilinski dangerously approaching Stiles... Scott was more and more backed into a corner... "You''ll see. It isn''t that hard. I''ve done it times and times over and you can too," Euriella''s voice came to Stiles''s ears. She kneeled very close to Scott, who was getting back to his feet. Stiles couldn''t tell if she was being genuine or not. Did she really want Scott to kill her? Or was it the apprentice''s idea and she was forced to comply? Either way, Scott had to make up his mind otherwise... Everyone else was going to die. But it seemed... That he already had. Scott gave one last look towards Stiles before flashing his eyes red again, lifting his arm up before quickly bringing it down towards Euriella''s throat. Everything after that was nothing but a blur in Stiles''s mind. He could hear people scream; he could see people run around him but... He couldn''t tell whom the voices belonged to. Nor could he tell about their figures. He felt a set of hands grab him and drag him away, but he''d completely lost the will to even try after what he''d seen his best friend become. Scott had moved so fast that Stiles couldn''t distinguish everything about him. The best he could tell, was that Scott looked the furthest from a human than he ever had. Scott McCall From afar, still and dead silent, he watched his prey. Even the breaths he took were deliberate, regular, becoming one with nature. Through his carmine red eyes he stalked the tiny thing, going about its business, completely oblivious to what the monster had in the works for it. The little bunny sniffed around and searched for whatever, its head snapping from one direction to another as though constantly being distracted by something new. The predator''s muscles were coiled, preparing him to pounce and end it all in one single leap. Indeed, despite the coat of black fur allowing him to effectively blend in with the night and as low to the ground as he''d managed to keep his body, his great size denied him the luxury of inching closer to his prey unnoticeably. In no way did that cause him to worry, however, because he was confident he could do it and when the right time came, he propelled himself forward and upward with both his front and back paws at once. The monster burst through the bushes and trees in his way with such speed and power that the bunny had little to no time in order to react. In his feral mind that moment lasted for long minutes. A span during which the blood in his veins coursed faster, delighting him with the rush he so relished. The predator landed neat on the bunny, securing his catch with one hand¡­ Paw. An audible crack traveled to the monster''s ears as that happened and when he lifted his limb off his prey, he noted that it was no longer moving. His bloody paw left prints in his path as he moved away from the bunny. For him, it was never a matter of satisfying his hunger. He''d done it for the mere thrill of the kill. He painted the ground as he went until the blood had completely dried up, no longer leaving prints as a result. The monster drew further and further from the body of the little creature until it faded from his view, leaving nothing but the scent of a fresh kill as a reminder. For all that time, the rustling of grass and leaves that danced to the winds'' rhythm were the only sound that kept him company, but that changed the instant he heard the snapping of twigs in the distance. He froze and listened very carefully to the three distinct but synchronized thumping sounds that came along with it. Muffled, as though encased in something warm and soft. Very reminiscent of the thumping that had emanated from the little bunny up until it had stopped breathing. They dared come closer and so, he brought his body lower to the ground once more. He waited for something new to travel his way. Sure enough, something new reached him, this time around, it was a smell. It was quite the unpleasant stench. One that reminded him of a prey long after it had fallen into a forever slumber. The wait lasted for a long time. Luckily for the monster, he was a patient creature. The sound of their footsteps grew louder the shorter the distance between them and the monster became. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Paws down flat, the monster gathered from the intensity at which their feet made the ground vibrate that the three individuals were large in size and of similar weight to each other. They approached so very slowly ''til their figures finally came into view. The monster¡­Thought they were of a familiar shape. Tall, but still not as tall as him, their bodies were of a homogenous color from head to toe. Only the long sheet of silky hair on them donned a different one. Unlike him, they had no fur to cover them. Unlike him, the tails hanging on their backs were not fluffy, but long, large and pointy towards the end. The monster knew he''d encountered their kind before, but could no longer tell if they were friends or foes. For lack of a better judgement as well as¡­ Care, the monster decided that they stood in his way and thus meant no good. One of the three creatures faced the monster, while the two others slowly walked around the predator from each side until, and in one breath, they all simultaneously made the ill-judged decision to pounce on him. And what an unwise move that was! They never stood a chance against him as the monster shook them off with one wave of its enormous arm. Before they''d even collapsed on the ground, the monster was already chewing on one of them''s throats, separating its head from the body neatly. One of the remaining two had been fast enough to get back on its feet and close in on the monster, stabbing it with the pointy end of its tail through the back. However, instead of wavering as the creature seemed to expect, the monster merely spun around to take a hold of the tail protruding his body and with both clawed hands began to pull the creature towards himself. Despite fighting him with all of its might, it barely made a difference, on the contrary, managing to make his efforts look even more effortless than they already did. When the creature''s body came inches away from the monster, it was over for it. With one hand still wrapped around the tail, the other had free reign to rip through the creature''s chest, only to wrench its heart out with such ease as though nothing but butter and a sheet of ice had separated the organ from his hands. As the second body thumped the ground, the monster then turned towards the third creature which froze in place, watching its brethren meet their fate. The monster meandered the realm of possibilities¡­ Of what he could do to that creature to satisfy its unceasing thirst for blood. He pondered the infinite ways in which he could make it suffer for his own satisfaction, slowly stepping forward as the creature stepped back. Although, before he''d gotten the time to enact any of his plans, a deafening boom shattered nature''s voice, announcing the arrival of new players in the arena. From its mouth, the creature spouted a thick, dark liquid that spilled all over its body before it came crashing down, face first onto the ground. "There he is! Don''t lose him!" Those were voices! The monster thought. Not very comprehensible to him as he still struggled to deduce whether they were friends or enemies. In shape, they resembled the creatures he''d just terminated, but much shorter and their bodies weren''t of such homogenous colors. They came in a larger number than the creatures and dashed his way. Part of him believed he could give them the same treatment as the bunny, in fact, multiple parts of him screamed at him to take action, however¡­ There was that tiny piece of him that wanted him to run and never look back. That part of him, as small as it might have been, won against the rest. The monster turned around and leapt away, carving more distance between himself and the two legged, talking creatures. As he drew further away, another voice traveled to his ears, quite faint but clear, "We found him! Tell them we did! We found Scott McCall!"