It had been one week since Katherine relocated to Beacon Hills and was resurrected by the witch Cassandra. She had established herself quite well in the town through her alliance with Derek Hale as well as setting herself up in the social network at the High School. Though the alliance with Derek was a pretty tenuous, the two of them were managing to work rather effectively with each other. Derek had taken it upon himself to watch over Scott for the time being and although the two of them weren't getting along at all, it meant Katherine could focus her energy on finding the Alpha; however she had just been turning up blank after blank. Not only was the Alpha incredibly adept at covering its tracks it hadn't made any noticeable moves since biting Scott for Katherine to get any clues from.
Finding the Alpha, however, was not Katherine's only objective now. After the run in with the Argent hunters the previous week, Katherine had started to develop her friendship with Allison more in order to use her as a connection to the Hunters and hopefully learn more about their objectives. Katherine did have to be careful though as in her long life she had made an incredible amount of enemies and the Argents were most definitely on that list but if they tried anything she would have no hesitation in tearing out their throats.
Katherine walked through the school hall, heading towards the exit when she saw Scott and Stiles in the distance. The two of them were peering at something around the corner from where they were standing. She tuned in her hearing and found that they were talking about the murder of the girl in the woods and that they think Derek is the killer. Katherine smirked and instantly ran up to where they were "Hello boys" she greeted almost warmly.
The two teenagers jumped in freight at the sight of her and somewhat backed away from her "Katherine" stammered Scott. The two of them hadn't actually spoken since the night in the woods aside from when Allison was around them to make sure that they could only talk about regular high school topics.
"Wow so you're really a vampire huh?" questioned Stiles as he examined her up and down "You sure don't look like one...sunlight doesn't even affect you" he observed.
"There are ways around it" stated Katherine "But don't be surprised if you wake up feeling a little...drained now and again" she teased. This caused him to become even paler with fear, however Scott's eyes began to glow and he let out a deep growl.
"Wow one little threat and you can't even control your rage" laughed Katherine as she folded her arms "Derek was right you have absolutely no control over yourself, calm down!" she exclaimed which caused Scott to instantly drop his werewolf eyes and retract his fangs "Good boy" she mocked, casting him a sinister grin as she patted him on the head; demeaning him as if he were a dog.
"Scott, how do we know she didn't kill the girl in the woods?" questioned Stiles as he slowly backed away from Katherine.
"You're right" stated Scott as he stared at Katherine "I saw her kill four hunters the other night in about ten seconds." Stiles nearly fell over as he heard what Scott just said.
"Please" laughed Katherine "If I killed the girl her body wouldn't be cut in half it would have been drained of blood and I wouldn't just leave the body lying around for anyone to find" she then moved closer to the two boys so she could whisper to them "I'm a much more experienced predator."
Just then Allison came up to the three of them and greeted them cheerfully "Hey guys what's going on?" she asked in her usual cheerful manner; she was accompanied by Lydia who was scowling viciously at Scott.
"Nothing much just talking about the curfew the police are going to enforce after they found that body in the woods, the Sheriff is talking to the Principal right now" explained Katherine with a sly grin that only Scott and Stiles noticed.
"Oh really?" questioned Allison.
"Well we better go visit Jackson before that curfew kicks in then, he's in the Hospital...someone nearly broke his shoulder during Lacrosse practice" hissed Lydia in a shrill tone as she glared at Scott with her icy gaze.
"It was an accident!" exclaimed Scott "I..."
"Lost control?" interrupted Katherine as she cast Scott a knowing glance "Sounds like you could use some lessons in restraint...might help you know how and when to use your strength."
"Okay regardless we are all going to visit Jackson at the Hospital!" exclaimed Lydia. Everyone was silent for a moment. Katherine's initial reaction was that there was no way she was going to waste her time on that Jackson brat but then something came to her attention; Jackson had a mark on his wrist similar to hers, it probably wasn't going to help her find the Alpha but she might be able to learn something about Cassandra.
"Sure I'll come with you" stated Katherine bluntly.
"Really?" questioned Lydia.
"Yeah, really?" added Stiles.
"Who are you?" asked Lydia as she only just noticed that Stiles was present in the group, this caused him to become incredibly saddened as he back away slightly.
"I'm...never mind" he replied causing Lydia to slightly grimace.
"Actually we have to go the Hospital to...see my mum so we'll probably catch up with you guys there" stated Scott as he and Stiles awkwardly began to walk away. Katherine could tell that they were up to something.
"Scott!" called Allison as he began to walk away.
"Allison! We'll talk later I promise!" he exclaimed as he kept walking away from the three girls.
"Remember what we talked about Scott!" called out Lydia in a cautioning tone "I better see you on the Lacrosse field this Friday!" Scott just completely ignored her and kept walking.
"What was that about?" queried a concerned Allison.
"Just securing our school's reputation and victory, now come on let's go girls" ordered Lydia and with that the three of them left the school and headed for the Hospital where Jackson was currently being examined.
Katherine sat patiently with Allison in the waiting room as Lydia and Jackson had an argument in front of them. Jackson's shoulder was a little banged up but apparently he was fine to play thanks to some medication the Doctors injected him with. Katherine watched as the two bickered about the Lacrosse game and how important it was that they won, they then kissed and made up. Katherine rolled her eyes, this high school gig was starting to get old, all these kids were just too immature, but she had to keep up the ruse. She leaned in towards Allison "So what's going on with you and Scott?" she asked grudgingly, although it pained her to admit it, this information could be useful for her plan.
"I don't really know... I like him but he's just been acting really weird" stated Allison "Like he got all weird that his friend Derek took me home and he even tried to get me to stay away from you" explained Allison.
"Really?" asked Katherine, if Scott outed her to Allison she would have to rip out his spleen "That's odd, do you know why?" she queried.
"Beats me, maybe he's just jealous that you and Lydia are close friends of mine and he just wants to be that close to me too?" reasoned Allison, although it sounded like she didn't even believe it herself.
"Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself and not me" stated Katherine and Allison just shrugged.
"Speaking of Derek, didn't you two walk into that party together? Something going on there?" she asked with a teasing nudge.
"Oh god no!" exclaimed Katherine.
"That's too bad coz he's hot" interjected Lydia as she butted into their conversation "If the opportunity comes up I suggest you let him..." trailed Lydia.
"What the hell is happening?" thought Katherine to herself, she still hadn't gotten used to having this type of teenage girl talk and she honestly didn't care for it "Girls please if I wanted him, he'd be mine" assured Katherine. The other two girls just smirked at her confident bravado.
"If you say so" laughed Lydia "Now let's get going, Jackson's just getting his things and he'll meet us in the lobby" informed Lydia. Allison quickly shot up out of her seat, she was desperate to get out of the Hospital. She only came because Scott said he was going to be there but he didn't turn up.
Lydia and Allison began to walk towards the lobby when they noticed Katherine wasn't following them "Katherine, come on" ordered Lydia.
"I'm just going to the bathroom I'll meet you there" called out Katherine. She watched as the two girls disappeared from her sight and immediately walked over to the room where Jackson was gathering his things. She opened the door and entered the room where she found him packing his bag with a furious scowl on his face.
"Lydia you don't have to watch over me like a hawk every five seconds I'll be fine!" he yelled but when he turned around he was surprised to see Katherine standing against the door watching him.
"Oh it's you" said Jackson with a strange relief in his voice "What do you want?" he asked, his regular angst fuelled voice returning to him.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing, heard Scott did a real number on you" explained Katherine, although she added the last bit because she knew it would aggravate him.
"I'm fine" grunted Jackson "Thanks for your concern" he said in a relatively ungrateful manner, he didn't even bother looking up from his bag to address Katherine at all.
Katherine immediately dashed over to where he was and he immediately turned around, the sight of Katherine being behind him so suddenly caused him to jump with freight "When did you" he questioned in confusion but he was immediately interrupted by Katherine.
"Jackson I'm gonna be honest I don't care about your shoulder in the slightest" she stated in a cold tone that indicated she was going to follow up with something terrible.
"Then why did you"
"The mark on your wrist, where is it from?" she asked as she pointed to the mark of the viper that was woven across the underside of Jackson's wrist.
Jackson looked down to where Katherine was pointing and saw nothing, he looked at her with confusion "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Katherine held up her own arm and revealed to him the Black Widow Spider mark that was on the same spot on her wrist. Jackson looked at it with intrigue and then looked down at his own wrist to see that there was now a viper mark where there was just skin before "What the hell!?" he exclaimed.
Katherine immediately pushed him against the nearby wall and lifted him off the ground by the scruff of his neck "Where did you get the mark?" she asked again, this time in a much more threatening tone.
"I don't know!" exclaimed Jackson, his fear now overwhelming him "I just saw it now I swear I never noticed it before! I didn't even have it before!"
Katherine could tell that the boy was really clueless but she had to make sure he wasn't just a really good actor; she began to tighten her grip around his neck and twist it slightly "Are you positive that you know nothing about the mark?" she questioned again. Jackson was now struggling to breathe and he grabbed onto Katherine's hand that was tightly wrapped around his throat as he helplessly tried to loosen her grasp on him.
After his hand came into contact with hers Katherine felt something strange spread through her hand, she felt weaker, like something had drained her strength in that part of her hand. She immediately let go of Jackson as she couldn't manage to hold him up anymore. After her connection to Jackson was severed she slowly felt her strength and energy return "What the hell did you do?" hissed Katherine.
"I-I don't know!" exclaimed Jackson as he looked down at his hands, for some reason he felt physically stronger than before but it shortly faded away "I swear I don't know anything!" he screamed in frustration and fear.
Katherine decided that the situation was bizarre but it seemed that the boy literally knew nothing and she decided it would be best to wipe this whole interaction away from his memory "Jackson" she said in a calm voice "Forget this ever happened" as her eyes met his.
"What?" questioned Jackson immediately which caused immediate confusion in Katherine "I'm not going to forget any of this!" he shouted "What the hell are you?" he demanded.
Katherine was actually concerned now; her compulsion had no effect was he somehow on vervain? She analysed the boy for a moment when she felt something wash over her, she could somehow smell his blood and he wasn't even bleeding, she didn't know how it was possible but she could tell his bloodstream was free from vervain. Her head then began to ache slightly and she placed her hands over her temples to soothe them. At the same time, a slight popping noise could be heard from outside and it was immediately followed by the sounds of screaming people "What's happening now?" she questioned as her headache faded away.
Katherine had to focus her attention on Jackson first "You're not human" she said in surprise. Jackson was now staring at her in fear and confusion, Katherine knew she had to somehow silence him and killing him wasn't going to help as it would just raise too many questions; so she decided to resort to an old school method. Katherine unleashed her fangs and let the blood inside her rush to her face so her most terrifying vampire look would be exposed to Jackson. He immediately recoiled when he saw the horrifying face change. Katherine ran up to him and threw him against the wall, she didn't want to risk awakening whatever power was protecting him from before so she didn't make contact with his body for more than a second.
"Jackson!" she hissed as the boy began to crawl away from her, but she immediately turned him around to face her and then pinned one of his legs down using her one of her heels, she didn't penetrate the skin but it was definitely going to leave a bruise "If you tell anyone about this or about me or even hint at it in the slightest I will rip your spinal cord right out of you before you even have a chance to blink...do you understand?" she threatened. Jackson rapidly nodded his head and Katherine lifted her heel off of his leg.
"Good" she stated coldly "now get up and get out of here" she ordered, he immediately got up and raced toward his bag to pick it up off the ground.
"First McCall starts acting weird, then that Derek Hale begins popping up more regularly and now you...what the hell is going on? And what do you mean I'm not human!?"
"Trust me Jackson, the less you know the better for your sake" replied Katherine, although she didn't exactly know how to answer his last question since she had no idea what he was, but whatever it was it was similar to her and she knew that there was one person with the answer...Cassandra.
Jackson immediately left the room without making eye contact with Katherine, she slowly followed him out and to her surprise she saw blood all over the floor and a group of nurses cleaning it up.
"What happened?" asked Katherine to one of the nurses.
"Some of the blood bags being transferred through here suddenly exploded, no one knows why" explained the flustered nurse as she continued to help cleaning up the bloody mess.
Katherine stared at it for a moment "Was that the popping sound from before?" she wondered as she watched the nurses for a few more moments before proceeding to leave the Hospital.
The next day Katherine sat patiently in the living quarters at the manor, she was waiting for Cassandra to come out of her witch chambers as she had a few questions to ask her; namely about Jackson and how he was immune to her compulsion and displayed some sort of super power but also about how they both share a similar mark on their wrists. At first Katherine thought Cassandra's plan was just a simple game that the witch was playing for entertainment or some other foolish reason but Katherine was now beginning to suspect that there was more to Cassandra's plans for her than she originally thought.
The witch soon emerged from her chamber and Katherine immediately got down to business "What is Jackson Whitemore?" she asked as she sped up to the witch and blocked her from walking away.
"Oh?" questioned Cassandra who seemed to actually be surprised by vampire's question "So you've already noticed have you? Impressive"
"You mean how he was somehow able to resist my compulsion, has a mark of a viper on his wrist that's like my spider one and somehow managed to weaken my arm and remotely blow up some blood bags at the hospital... yeah I noticed" stated Katherine as she folded her arms and scowled at Cassandra "So I'll ask again...what is he?"
"Very well...I didn't expect you to find this out quite so soon but it's good that you have it'll be better for everyone" stated Cassandra as she took a seat on a nearby lounge chair.
"Just get to the part where you tell me what I want to know" snapped Katherine as she took the seat directly opposite the witch.
Cassandra just snickered "Jackson is like you...a branded one" stated Cassandra simply.
"A what now?" questioned Katherine with the slightest hint of laughter in her voice.
"A branded...it's a very exceptional type of supernatural being you see a person can only become branded when they have been on the brink of death but pulled away just before it became permanent" explained Cassandra "There are only three witches in the world with the power to create such beings and as a consequence the witch's magic becomes a part of the person's being and gives them access to a unique power that is magical in nature but not magic itself and that is why a vampire, like yourself, can have this ability. The brand itself is just a physical manifestation of the power and bond" explained Cassandra, her face was incredibly serious the whole time however Katherine was having a hard time swallowing it and she began to laugh.
"Wait so you're telling me that Jackson and I both have superpowers, that's ridiculous" she laughed.
"Not superpowers, just a power, something to set you apart from the regular supernatural beings to give you an advantage over them" explained Cassandra.
"An advantage you say?" questioned Katherine, she was pondering how this could come in useful should a hateful Klaus find out about her and come for her and how this could be used to protect herself and her daughter.
"Yes dear" stated Cassandra.
"So how do I use it?" asked an intrigued Katherine.
"You let it grow with time and eventually learn how to control it, taking it from base form and training it to become a supreme ability."
"And Jackson, he's one of these 'branded' as well?" questioned Katherine.
"He's every bit a branded as you are, however he's a human and you're a vampire so you beat him there" laughed Cassandra.
"How did he become one?"
"That is his business not yours, should he learn more about himself and if he seeks me out he will learn that part of his origin" replied Cassandra sternly, she was clearly adamant that she would not divulge any of these details to Katherine.
"Yeah well he's probably going to be seeking therapy after I scared him into silence" laughed Katherine but Cassandra remained silent "So he can do what? Leech people and blow up blood?" she asked.
"That is not the case" admitted Cassandra as she broke her stone cold silence "Jackson himself seems to possess the ability to absorb people's strength and energy and use it to increase his own strength with it, but it is early days so he won't be able to use it to its full potential for a while...but he's not the one who made the blood bags explode" conceded Cassandra.
"Oh?" drawled Katherine as she leaned closer to Cassandra.
"That was a display of your power, you seem to display a certain dominion over blood...possibly a reflection on the fact that it was the one thing driving people to come after you for over five hundred years, Klaus for your doppelganger blood and Silas for the cure; to name a few notorious ones" explained Cassandra.
A wide smile began to appear on Katherine's face as she leaned back into her armchair "That is very pleasing information" she snickered; this new knowledge gave her something useful and powerful that she could use to her advantage.
"I'm glad you are pleased" acknowledged Cassandra "but just one more thing, that power means you can't lay a hand on the witch who bestowed it upon you...namely me, but you wouldn't do that would you now Katherine?"
"Of course not Cassandra" reassured Katherine in a condescending tone as she batted her eyelashes at the witch.
"Very good" mused Cassandra as she got up from her seat "If that's all you need I'll be on my way and you should be too" instructed Cassandra as she walked away from Katherine.
Katherine just sat in silence and thought for a moment until she was interrupted by her phone ringing, she immediately pulled it out and saw that the number wasn't a familiar one and so she hesitantly answered the call "Hello?" she questioned "What do you mean you got arrested?" she asked in confusion, the voice on the other line immediately began yelling "Okay I'm on my way!" exclaimed an annoyed Katherine, and with that she hung up the phone.
Katherine headed straight for the police station after she received the phone call; apparently Scott and Stiles managed to somehow get Derek arrested for the murder of the girl in the woods, only an amateur wouldn't cover their tracks, she reasoned. Regardless of the circumstances she was going to have to get Derek out of jail somehow.
She entered the quaint police station and spoke to the woman at the main desk "Hello, I was wondering if I could visit one of your inmates?" requested Katherine as she approached the desk "His name is Derek Hale."
The woman instantly became intrigued at the mention of Derek's name "He your boyfriend?" she asked in a snarky tone.
"Sure" stated Katherine, it seemed like a pretty decent cover.
The woman just cocked one of her eyebrows "Aren't you a little young to have a boyfriend his age?" she interrogated.
"Aren't you a little old to be single?" replied Katherine instantaneously, the woman furrowed her brow and scoffed in disgust.
"The Sheriff will need to approve any visits for Mr. Hale, I suggest you take a seat and wait Miss" ordered the disgruntled Deputy as she ushered Katherine to the row of seats nearby before heading into the Sheriff's office. Katherine didn't take a seat though she just stood at the reception desk and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.
Finally the Sheriff came out to meet her; he was a slender middle aged man with a receding hairline and a stress ridden face. Katherine could tell that he was a man who definitely took his job seriously. "Sheriff Stilenski" introduced the man "How can I help you?"
"Oh you must be Stiles' father" observed Katherine, it was definitely something that could be potentially useful in the future.
"Oh you know Stiles...are you a classmate of his?" asked the Sheriff.
"Yeah I am actually" replied Katherine sweetly.
"Mind telling me what a high school student is doing involved with someone like Derek Hale?" he questioned.
"With all due respect Sheriff, that's really not your business is it?" Katherine replied, she didn't want to aggravate the man but she would have no hesitation compelling him or worse if she had too.
"Very well...I'm afraid I cannot let you see Mr. Hale at the moment as he is currently the main suspect of a murder case involving Laura Hale...his own sister and the situation is relatively serious" explained the Sheriff but he was shortly interrupted.
"Look I don't care about any of that" interrupted Katherine as she focused her gaze on the Sheriff's eyes "You'll take me to Derek right now" she ordered through her compulsion.
"I'll take you to his cell right now" replied the Sheriff with a simple nod of his head.
"Thank you Sheriff, tell Stiles I said hello when you see him" smiled Katherine as she followed the Sheriff to where they were keeping Derek. The werewolf was sitting in his cell with his head buried in his lap as if he were doing some major brooding.
"Here he is I'll leave you to it" stated the Sheriff and with that he walked away.
Katherine turned to face Derek after the Sheriff left "Honey you look awful" she teased and he immediately shot his head up, he was surprised that Katherine managed to get in though he gathered that she probably had her own way of getting around red tape "So apparently you killed your sister? Do you think your defence of 'it wasn't me it was the big bad alpha that no one knows about' will hold up in court?" continued Katherine with a mocked emphasis on the rhetorical question.
"Very funny" muttered Derek.
"So how'd Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb land you in here?" she asked in reference to Scott and Stiles "Seriously how'd they outsmart you?"
"They found my sister's body buried near my house, I brought it back from the woods to give her a proper burial and then I covered the ground in wolfsbane so she'd be in her wolf form and unrecognisable but the two of them found a way around it" explained Derek.
"This is the sister that was killed by the Alpha?" questioned Katherine "The one who was brutally severed in half?"
Derek nodded "She inherited the Alpha's power from my mother after the fire but then this wolf somehow killed her and stole her Alpha power" he explained.
"Interesting" stated Katherine as she processed the new information "Wouldn't that mean that the body would show signs of animal attack and not human?"
"They're probably running tests and when they find out they'll have to let me out of here" reasoned Derek as he slowly got up and approached the bar cage that was keeping him prisoner "But I'm gonna need you to get me out of here now...Scott's gonna play that stupid game tonight and get himself or someone else killed."
"I don't think so" giggled Katherine as she slowly moved away from the prison cell and headed towards the nearby exit.
"Excuse me?" questioned an angered Derek.
"Well we tried it your way, the safe way where we warn poor little Scott about the risks of his condition and look where that got us. You're in the slammer while I scout the forest in expensive clothing looking for a werewolf that can't be found" lectured Katherine, Derek's scowl only grew more fearsome the more she spoke "Now we're gonna do it my way, I'll let him play and if he turns on the field or worse it'll be on him or if he learns how to control himself on the field it'll be progress."
"Katherine if you cared about him you wouldn't do this" cautioned Derek.
"I'm sorry I never said I cared about him, my initial assignment was to protect Scott and if things go south and anyone tries to hurt him I'll just kill them" reasoned Katherine.
"You can't just come to my town and turn it into a war zone!" roared Derek.
"Oh sweetie" sighed Katherine "I'm Katherine Pierce, that tends to happen wherever I go, it's inevitable...but this little experiment will not be the cause of war. Just trust me, this will work." With that Katherine waved her fingers at him and headed out the door, Derek just slammed his arm against the cell cage helplessly.
Before Katherine completely left the Police Station she had a bit more snooping to do, though it was a small hunch she had to investigate something that could potentially help find the Alpha; however she didn't want to share this with Derek because it would probably be difficult to digest if she was right and if she was wrong well he didn't need to know at all.
She immediately vamp sped through the Station and found her way into the storage room for files and cases. Stealthily she dug through the files until she found the ones that were marked 'homicide and boy were there a lot of them. She rummaged through them, desperately looking for a few particular files. Family mauled by coyotes in car crash, no; unidentifiable woman found slashed to death in the forest, no; boy drowns to death at high school swim team party, no! Eventually she found the one marked Hale House Fire and simply took it; she also found the recent murders that were related to the death of Derek's sister and then ran out of the Station undetected.
Katherine put the files in her bag and decided she would go over them later, for now she had a message to deliver to Scott and she had to watch her plan come into fruition. She drove away from the Sheriff's station and headed to Scott's house; fortunately for her she was good at finding out where people live. After the quick drive she immediately got out of her car and knocked on the door of the house; now the tricky part, getting invited in.
Fortunately for Katherine though Scott didn't answer the door, his mother did and she looked like she was just on her way to work as she was in her nurse's uniform and looked very flustered "Hi" she greeted in surprise as she opened the door.
"Hi there Ms. McCall, sorry to just drop by but I'm a friend of Scott's I was wondering if he was home?" asked Katherine politely.
"Oh you must be Allison, come on in and please call me Melissa!" she insisted as she invited Katherine into her home.
"Oh no I'm not Allison" she corrected "My name's Katherine, I'm a friend of both Scott's and Allison's" she stated.
"Oh well come on in anyway sweetheart" she offered warmly, Katherine just smiled at her before stepping into the house and looking around; it was a simple, quaint, little home not much to write home about "Scott's just upstairs in his room with Stiles" informed Melissa "I've gotta run but please make yourself at home" stated Melissa as she headed out the door and left Katherine alone in the house with Scott and Stiles unwittingly aware of her presence.
"This should be fun" laughed Katherine as she proceeded to head up the staircase. She heard voices coming from the first door on the right and she assumed that, that was Scott's room. She immediately opened the door and strutted right on in "Hello again boys" she greeted which caused Stiles to immediately fall out of his seat and Scott to get up and assume a protective stance in between Katherine and Stiles.
"Retract the claws I'm not here to fight" stated Katherine "You'd lose anyway."
"What do you want?" asked Scott.
"I just wanted to wish you luck for the Lacrosse game tonight" smiled Katherine.
"What?" questioned both Scott and Stiles in unison.
"Well yeah you got Derek temporarily incapacitated, well done by the way, and well I'm not going to stop you from playing" she explained but the two boys just looked at her in confusion and disbelief "Look Scott it's completely your choice now but if you choose to play and you hurt someone or worse it'll be on you" she instilled forcefully. Scott just looked down an expression of inner turmoil was sprawled across his face.
"What do you mean Derek is temporarily incapacitated?" questioned Stiles.
"Quite the observant one aren't you" stated Katherine in a tone that somewhat indicated she was complimenting him "Derek didn't kill his sister you idiots it was the Alpha that bit Scott who did it and when they realise that it wasn't a human who killed her they'll let him right out of there" explained Katherine.
"Wait a minute Derek didn't bite Scott?" questioned Stiles.
Katherine sighed "No, did he forget to mention that?" she questioned in annoyance "There's a bigger werewolf in town right now and what he wants is you Scott but don't worry as soon as I find him I'm going to rip his head off" assured Katherine.
"Wait what!?" exclaimed Scott.
"Just something to consider before the big game tonight, but Scott I trust that you'll be able to exercise a bit more self control if you find a way to ground yourself and find your humanity" preached Katherine.
"Anyway I'll see you boys tonight" she smirked as she left the room after dropping the bombshell on the two boys. They just stood there with speechless expressions on their faces and didn't blink for several minutes.
That night the whole school was packed with parents and students eager to see the first Lacrosse game of the season. Among them were Lydia and Allison who were accompanied by Allison's father, Chris Argent. Seated next to them was Melissa McCall who was there to support her son since it was his first time actually playing for the team. Katherine arrived shortly after and saw all the players warming up and getting ready to play she also noticed that Scott was among them which meant that he had decided to play regardless of the risk he posed to himself and others "Good" thought Katherine to herself she then headed into the stands and took a seat next to Allison who had already acquainted herself with Melissa. Chris immediately glared at Katherine when she took a seat near his daughter but she just smirked at him to show that she wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
Just then the Sheriff, Stiles' father, showed up and took a seat next to Melissa "Oh good you're here Miss Pierce" he said as he acknowledged Katherine's presence.
"Yes Sheriff, how can I help you?" she replied.
"No I'm not here on Police business I'm here to support Stiles but you'll be pleased to know that your boyfriend Mr. Hale was released from custody this evening" he informed. Katherine could feel Chris' eyes burning into her from the back of her head at the mention of Derek's name.
"Derek's your boyfriend?" questioned Allison.
"I knew she was into him! And he was in jail? That's kinda hot" exclaimed Lydia in a far too excited tone.
"Yep" replied Katherine simply as she watched the game start and everyone's attention drift from her. However she could see from the corner of her eye that Chris was still eyeing her, chances were he was here to hunt the Alpha too but if he got in her way again he wouldn't survive a second encounter. Scott was dating his daughter too but Katherine had no way of knowing if Chris had realised that the boy was a werewolf yet; although Katherine couldn't help but find amusement in the whole scenario.
The game started pretty ordinarily although as it went on Katherine could see that Scott was starting to lose control and it only got worse when Allison was forced to hold up a sign in support of Jackson by order of the all mighty Lydia. At that point he began to exert superb displays of athletic ability that would impress the normal people in the crowd but to someone like Chris it would strike a suspicious tone. Eventually however Katherine could see Scott's condition deteriorating and she knew that he was losing control. There was 20 seconds left on the clock and Scott was in the moment to decide the outcome of the game but it was clear that he was too lost in his own mind to focus but then the unexpected happened, Allison muttered supportive words and he immediately perked up and scored the winning goal. The whole crowd erupted in cheers of praise, except for Lydia who was pouting about the fact that Jackson wasn't in the spotlight. Katherine was somewhat impressed though, it seemed that the key to Scott's control was Allison, she glanced as the girl and then saw Chris who was staring at Scott with a concerned expression on his face, he then looked at Katherine again and she shot him an icy glare. Their standoff was quickly disrupted when the crowd shot up in a roar of happiness and excitement as Scott scored the winning shot. Melissa and Allison had to have been cheering the loudest. Katherine remained reserved as she observed her surroundings making sure there were no surprise Alphas lurking around.
Eventually the field cleared out and everyone went home but Jackson remained behind and went up to one of the gloves that had been discarded, he picked it up and noticed that there were holes in each of the fingers as if a wolf-like animal had punctured them with their own claws. He looked at the name on the glove and smirked when he noticed it was Scott's glove.
"Jackson" echoed Katherine's voice as she appeared behind the boy who immediately jumped in freight, but still clung onto the glove "I thought I made myself clear at the Hospital but let me just remind you once more...keep your spoilt, rich, bratty nose out of this!" she hissed.
He lifted up his wrist and showed his mark to Katherine "No one can see this, not Lydia, not my best friend Danny no one! Except you! What does it mean?" he demanded in confusion and frustration.
"I'm apparently not the go to girl on this" stated Katherine.
"Well then who is?" he asked.
"Jackson trust me you wanna stay out of this" threatened Katherine "you wouldn't last five seconds in this world it's best you stick to what you know" she mocked.
"You don't know that! Make me like you!" he pleaded.
"What?" laughed Katherine.
"I want something more; I want to be something else, something bigger and more meaningful than all of this. You did it to McCall now do it to me!" he shouted.
"First of all Scott and I are two very different things, you'll find that my thing is better" she stated.
"Well then make me like you. You don't what it's like to watch some punk kid suddenly come in and steal everything you worked for in your whole life!"
Katherine just laughed "You want to be a vampire?" she asked in amusement and he nodded.
"I'll pay you anything you want" he offered desperately.
"You think money is an issue for me?" she laughed "You don't know what you're asking from me" she warned. She then tilted her head and saw that Derek was standing across the field glaring at her with a harsh gaze "Go home Jackson" snickered Katherine "We'll talk about this another time."
"No we'll talk about it now!" he yelled and Katherine immediately released her fangs and hised at him causing him to immediately recoil from her in fear and run off.
"Stupid kid" she muttered as Derek approached her, he didn't say anything but it was clear from his facial expression that he was incredibly infuriated "Smile Derek, someone would think tonight was a complete failure if you didn't" teased Katherine.
"You think you're clever leaving me in there, we had a deal!" snapped Derek.
"The deal was I would help you protect Scott and I did what was necessary to help him learn control and it worked so get over it" she rebutted.
Derek was about to begin arguing again but Katherine immediately placed her hand over his mouth and made a shushing signal as she focused her hearing. She could hear a man screaming in the not too far distance and what appeared to sound like a car or a bus being torn apart "Can you hear that?" she asked and Derek just nodded. The two of them then ran off following the cries of terror.
Their tracking lead them to parking bay in the school where the buses were kept, the two of them stood on top of school building and watched from afar as they saw their target for the first time in the flesh; the Alpha. He was there and he was attacking a bus driver for some reason. The two of them immediately ran over to the bus and attempted to get into it but they were immediately knocked back by a powerful and blunt force as the Alpha emerged from the bus. Katherine stared in amazement at the huge monster, she had never seen a werewolf like this before he was standing on his hind legs and was almost demonic. He wasn't like Derek or Scott who only seemed to become wolf-like and nor was he like the werewolves she'd encountered in Mystic Falls who turned into real wolves this one was an absolute beast with fearsome red eyes to match.
Katherine got up and immediately charged at the werewolf, knocking him back into the bus. The monster got up and shook his head it seemed to actually be impressed by Katherine's power because it immediately jumped over her and fled the scene "Follow him!" shouted Derek as he jumped over the fence and immediately chased after the werewolf followed by Katherine who ran passed him and chased after the Alpha; she was faster than Derek but the Alpha seemed to be capable enough to outrun her.
Nearby a woman was driving along the quiet road on the radio she listened to news broadcaster talk about the recent string of animal attacks in Beacon Hills; this caused her to laugh in derision as she changed to a station that played some upbeat music. Outside the car, running right alongside her, was the Alpha and he was staring murderously at the woman; she had dirty blonde hair and dark eyes and her skin was fair but she was hardly pale and her name was Kate Argent, sister of Chris Argent and Allison's Aunt. Kate looked out her window but the Alpha hid before she could see him. However Kate began to grow suspicious and looked around her, analysing the streets she passed and not paying attention to her actual driving. And that's when it happened, crash; she collided head on with another car that was crossing the intersection. Fortunately Kate was driving a relatively large and sturdy vehicle but the car she hit was a lot smaller, it was a simple, red convertible.
"Crap" exclaimed Kate as she immediately got out of her car and ran over to the victim, she had completely totalled her car. Kate saw the girl she hit, she was a young girl, and probably a teenager, with long blonde hair but the rest of her body was covered in cuts.
"Are you okay?" asked a concerned Kate but her eyes immediately widened in horror as the girl's wounds began to heal "You're one of them!" exclaimed Kate before she ran back to her car and opened the boot, revealing an impressive set of weaponry and artillery; she was definitely an Argent.
"Oh bloody hell" sighed the girl before she jumped out of the car and ran over to Kate, pulling her back by the neck and turning her around to face her, revealing her vampiric face to her in an all too intimidating fashion. This girl's name was Rebekah Mikaelson and she wasn't just a vampire, she was one of the Original vampires. She recently had a falling out with her brother Klaus and was forced to temporarily relocate and so she ventured across America until coincidentally enough she ended up in the quaint, little town of Beacon Hills.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Smashing my car like that and then trying to kill me, that's bloody rude!" exclaimed Rebekah as she attempted to sink her fangs into Kate but just before she could the Alpha jumped up onto the roof of Kate's car and let out a ferocious howl before knocking a startled Rebekah away from Kate.
At that point Katherine showed up and immediately dashed to Rebekah and pulled her from the scene and pinned her against a wall in a nearby alleyway "Elena?" questioned a bewildered Rebekah.
"Guess again" smiled Katherine as she watched shocking realisation dawn on Rebekah's face.
"You!" she hissed as she pushed her off of her "You're supposed to be dead you tramp!" she shouted in outrage.
"Oh honey I'm over that" snickered Katherine.
Nearby Kate had managed to pull out a rifle from her boot and rolled out of the path of the Alpha before he could lay a claw on her "Come on!" she shouted as she fired a shot into the air.
"Who is she? And what is that? And how the bloody hell are you here!?" exclaimed Rebekah, she had a lot to take in from the last thirty seconds.
"That's a hunter who really hates everything supernatural she and I have crossed paths before and that thing is a werewolf" explained Katherine "but more importantly why are you here? Last I heard you and Elijah decided it was a good idea to follow Klaus to New Orleans, what changed?"
"And the last I heard you were dead and I was glad, clearly things don't always work out the way they should" hissed Rebekah.
At this point Derek had caught up to them but the Alpha, noticing all the enemies that were concentrated in one area, decided to flee the scene and Derek immediately ran after him. He ran to a nearby building and climbed up to the rooftop where the Alpha was however the Alpha just stood there taunting him; as if to mock the Beta's attempts to rival him. Derek attempted to jump up at the Alpha but a sudden gun shot fired and Derek went down instantly. The Alpha's escape was uninterrupted now.
Hearing the gunshot Katherine knew she didn't have time to chat with someone she didn't particularly like "Lovely chat Rebekah but I have business to attend too" dismissed Katherine as she vamp sped over to Kate and knocked her rifle out of her hands "Hello Kate" greeted Katherine menacingly.
"So it's true, you are here" acknowledged Kate as she stared Katherine down "I suppose this is the part where you make me beg for my life?" she questioned in an unwavering voice.
"Or I could just skip to the part where I kill you" suggested Katherine as the veins in her eyes began rushing with blood.
"Wait hold the bloody hell up" interrupted Rebekah as she sped up to the two women "I want to kill her, she destroyed my car and then tried to kill me."
"Unless she had a white oak stake in there she wasn't going to do anything that would kill you" retorted Katherine.
"That's not the point, the point is she tried" hissed Rebekah.
"Why are you here!?" demanded Katherine, she was growing more irritated by the second just from Rebekah's question.
"Ladies" interrupted the voice of Chris Argent as he walked up to them with a stumbling Derek in his grip "How about we make a trade?" he suggested as he threw Derek on the ground in front of him. His face was pale and he was sweating profusely although Katherine had no idea why.
"Or we could just kill you both?" suggested Rebekah.
"You kill me and he's dead" stated Chris as he pointed a loaded gun at Derek's head.
"He's handsome but I've had a long trip and you're irritating more than the dopple-wench over here" stated Rebekah.
"Wait!" shouted Katherine which caused Rebekah to roll her eyes "I can't let Derek die" she said almost regretfully "Take Kate" she said as she let go of Chris' sister and immediately sped over to Derek and picked him up off the ground.
"What the hell just happened!?" demanded Rebekah, she was terribly confused by everything that was going on.
"Smart move" stated Chris "we aren't your enemy...not right now at least."
"That's comforting" stated Rebekah, Chris just smirked.
"All we want is to protect what's we love, something I learnt from my family but you lot don't have much of that these days...do you?" he questioned in a way that struck a nerve with Katherine, Rebekah and Derek on a personal level.
"Might want to take better care of your family then" taunted Katherine "wouldn't want what happened to your mother to happen again to someone you care about" Chris just glared at her before he took Kate and left; he knew the two vampires could take them out instantly in this scenario and so he decided to take the best course of action accordingly.
Rebekah watched as the two Argents left leaving her there with her destroyed car and a woman she pretty much hated for the last five hundred years "Mind telling me now what the hell is going on?" she asked irritably.
However Katherine ignored her and instead examined Derek's injury, a bullet had been shot into his arm however this bullet wasn't just an ordinary bullet, it was glowing a bright blue and seemed to have injected a very potent chemical into Derek's bloodstream that has already taken effect; probably a special type of wolfsbane. Katherine attempted to extract the bullet but it burnt her, the instant she made contact with it and Derek couldn't start healing until the bullet was removed "Come on I'll take you to Cassandra, she's a witch she can help" stated Katherine as she helped Derek to his feet.
"Cassandra?" questioned Rebekah "I'm coming with you!" she insisted.
"The hell you are, I don't even like you" snapped Katherine.
"Listen here you trollop my car has been destroyed, I've driven from New Orleans to Beacon Falls or whatever this place is all because your witch bloody lured me here so I intend to find out what she wants now let's get going!" demanded Rebekah. Katherine just rolled her eyes and the three of them headed off.
Katherine took Derek back to Cassandra's home as fast as possible, the toxin from the bullet was spreading fast and Derek began to slip in and out of consciousness; any attempts made to remove the bullet were futile since it just burnt through the girls when they tried to extract it. This burning wasn't a simple vervain-fuelled sting it was as if the bullet was laced with some extra potent material that actually burnt holes through the vampire's hands within seconds.
When they arrived they quickly headed into the house where they found Cassandra sitting in the living room quietly sipping a cup of tea but as soon as she saw Katherine walk in with a semi-conscious Derek alongside Rebekah she shot up out of her seat and waltzed over to them immediately "I see you've had an eventful night" she stated as she examined the three people standing in her foyer.
"So you're Cassandra I take it?" asked Rebekah instantly "I received your message what the hell do you want with me and how do you know about..." Rebekah trailed off and glanced at Katherine who was eyeing her with suspicion and curiosity "How do you know about the situation in New Orleans?" she finished.
"Miss Mikaelson please come in" welcomed Cassandra as she ushered Rebekah into the living quarters "I will be with you in a moment after I attend to this" explained Cassandra, referring to the injured Derek who was desperately leaning on Katherine.
Rebekah sighed in annoyance before she strutted into the living room "This better not be a bloody waste of time" she growled as she exited the foyer.
Cassandra then turned her attention to Katherine and Derek "What happened?" she asked as she examined Derek. Katherine lifted up Derek's arm and revealed the bullet wound that was in Derek's arm. The wound was oozing black bile from the infectious venom that was spreading throughout his blood which caused the veins leading away from the wound to also turn black. The bullet itself was still firmly lodged in Derek's arm and was flashing bright red.
"You couldn't just pull that out of him?" asked Cassandra.
"You think if I could I would have brought him here?" replied Katherine.
"Honestly I am just surprised that you didn't just leave him for dead" remarked Cassandra as she examined the wound.
"Look just get the damn bullet out of him I can't touch it without my hand nearly disintegrating" urged Katherine as she ignored Cassandra's comment.
Cassandra smirked before she placed her hand over the wound and began chanting for a brief moment it seemed like everything was going fine but then Cassandra began frowning and her arm began to shake as she was knocked back a few steps by some repelling force "What the hell was that?" questioned Katherine.
"I-I'm not sure there's something in the bullet that is repelling my magic" stated Cassandra in a concerned and confused tone "this has never happened before...we're going to need the assistance of a different kind of practitioner."
"I thought you were an all-powerful witch goddess? You can't even extract a simple bullet" scorned Katherine.
"Believe me for once I am just as confused as you are" stated Cassandra in concern "but for now you need to deal with the most pressing issue" at that point Derek began to cough, black blood was now pouring out of his mouth, some of which splattered on Katherine's boots.
Katherine groaned in annoyance as she hoisted Derek up to examine his face, he was barely conscious anymore and he had become very pale; he was also sweating immensely "Where is this Doctor?" asked Katherine.
"His name is Alan Deaton and he masquerades a veterinarian but he has extensive knowledge of remedies to supernatural problems" explained Cassandra.
"What is he like a shaman or something?"
"No he's a druid and he has a long history in this town and with the Hale family" stated Cassandra as though she was hinting at something. Katherine didn't have time to play Cassandra's games she had to get Derek to the Animal Clinic as fast as possible; she couldn't help but note the irony in taking a sick werewolf to an Animal Clinic.
After attaining the address from Cassandra, Katherine immediately headed off to the Animal Clinic in hopes that the druid would still be there. With Katherine and Derek having left Cassandra could focus on the new matter at hand as she had an Original Vampire waiting for her in the other room. She smiled to herself and headed into the living room where Rebekah was.
It was a short drive to the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic as it was located not too far from where the school was. The building was a dark brown colour layered with painted bricks; and there was a small, transparent door that lead into the Clinic however the sign on the front of it read 'Closed.' On the way there Derek had completely passed out so Katherine decided to go see if anyone was inside, she knocked on the door repeatedly until finally a man emerged from a nearby room and came rushing over to the door. He was a dark skinned man with average height and a somewhat built body frame. He had no hair on his head but he did have facial hair "I'm terribly sorry miss but as you might be able to see this Clinic is closed for the night" stated the man as he tapped on the Closed sign.
"Yeah, yeah I'm sure your family is just waiting at home in anticipation for your return" mocked Katherine as she disregarded the signage "Are you Alan Deaton?" she then asked.
"Yes I am" replied Deaton, although he seemed quite alarmed by the question as he slowly backed away from Katherine "What do you want?" he questioned.
"My friend in the car has been shot with a toxic bullet and apparently you're the man to come to for these kinds of things" stated Katherine as she pointed to Derek who was still passed out in the passenger seat of her Aston Martin.
"I don't know if you realise this" began Deaton in an unusual tone "but this is an Animal Clinic, your friend probably needs a real doctor" he explained as if he was trying to remain blissfully ignorant to the situation but Katherine was familiar with these types and she wasn't buying it one bit.
"Listen I know what you are, druid so why don't we just cut to the chase" asserted Katherine as she glared at Deaton.
For a moment there was silence "You're the one she brought to town aren't you? Katherine Pierce?" asked Deaton.
"Oh good my reputation precedes me" snickered Katherine.
"Why don't you show me what the problem is?" suggested Deaton. Katherine opened the passenger door to her car and Deaton knelt down to examine Derek after a moment he spoke up "Bring him inside" he instructed with sincere urgency at which point Derek began to spasm uncontrollably as more black blood seeped out of his mouth "he needs immediate medical treatment!"
Katherine picked him up and ran him into the Clinic where Deaton lead her into his surgery room. Much to Katherine's surprise Scott was in the surgery room "What the hell?!" he exclaimed as he saw his boss walk in with the vampire and werewolf behind much of his issues.
"Scott we'll talk about this after" stated Deaton in a calm tone "Lay him down on the surgery table for me" he instructed to which Katherine immediately complied.
"What are you doing here with him?" asked Scott.
"Your girlfriend's Aunt shot him with a wolfsbane bullet that no one can get out and it's slowly killing him...didn't you know or were you too busy consorting with the enemy?" snapped Katherine, she was in no mood for the teenager's idiotic commentary at the moment.
"You mean Kate?" he questioned.
Katherine immediately vamp sped up to him "You met her?" she demanded instantly.
"Yeah I went to Allison's for dinner after the game before I stopped by here and I briefly spoke with her, what's the problem?" demanded Scott.
"Scott look at Derek right now" stated Katherine as she pointed to the half-dead werewolf who was having drastic surgery performed on him in an attempt to save him from death. Scott just stared at him with the slightest glint of guilt in his eyes "She did that to him" stated Katherine bluntly "Kate Argent is a psychotic, nut-job with a tendency to take their code to the extreme" hissed Katherine.
"What code?" asked Scott.
"Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassen" stated Katherine but Scott just looked at her blankly "It means we hunt those who hunt us and don't think for a second that they will not hunt you down once they find out what you are and how you've worked your way into their family through their daughter."
"That's not true I care about Allison, I love her I would never use her just to spy on their family!" exclaimed Scott.
"Scott I'm just trying to help you, they will see it that way and they will come after you, they are not the nice, loving family that they pretend to be; they are all killers and Allison will become one too" warned Katherine.
"Well they're a hell of a lot nice than you are!" snapped Scott although Katherine took that to be a compliment more than an insult "How do you know that they're like that? How do you know that they're killers?" demanded Scott.
"Why don't you ask Derek that when he comes too?" replied Katherine.
Deaton had been listening to their conversation the whole time but couldn't say anything as he was desperately trying to save Derek's life. He had managed to extract the bullet which was the main issue as it was blocking Derek from triggering the healing process. He now had to synthesise an antidote to the wolfsbane but Derek would at least start to heal but if he couldn't remove the toxin soon it would kill him. By now Derek had somewhat stabilised and was no longer vomiting up black bile; he had also regained consciousness but he was still incredibly weak so he just listened to the conversation.
Scott just remained silent so Katherine returned her attention to Derek and Deaton. She watched as he concocted a remedy using a various array of herbs and ingredients that he eventually injected into Derek. Katherine watched as the black veins slowly faded away and colour returned to his skin. He then slowly got up and stretched his body like he had just woken from a long slumber.
"You almost had me considering contemplating worry for a moment" stated Katherine in a convoluted manner.
"Something tells me I've grown on you" smirked Derek as he got off the surgery table and put his shirt back on.
"I couldn't just let you die...not when you owe me a new pair of boots" retorted Katherine as she pointed at her shoes which were still mired with the black blood that Derek indirectly splattered all over them.
"Never happening" stated Derek.
"You go that right" hissed Katherine bluntly.
"If I may interrupt" interjected Deaton "Derek you've taken quite a hit I would suggest that you take it easy for a little while. Maybe stop getting into fights with hunters for a few days."
Derek then looked at Deaton "I remember you...you were always at the house before the fire; they called you the emissary didn't they?"
"It's nice to see you again Derek...although that was a long time ago and after Talia died in the fire it was easier to just retire" explained Deaton "but then another werewolf wound up on my doorstep so I guess I couldn't hide from my past any longer."
"What the hell is going on!?" demanded Scott and everyone suddenly turned their attention towards him. His face was contorted with confusion and inner conflict. He knew the Argents were dangerous but so was Katherine and so was Derek and now there was an Alpha who wanted him which meant danger was just another Sunday for him but amidst all the danger one thing has remained constant, Allison; she's been there at the beginning of all of this and she's been the only thing that was keeping him sane and in control he couldn't lose her.
"I want you guys to leave me alone" stated Scott shakily this caused Katherine and Derek to exchange amused glances, however Deaton just remained cautiously silent "If you don't I'm going to go to Allison's dad and tell him everything!" he threatened.
"That's a good idea Scott, why don't you just kill yourself now and save everyone the drama" scorned Katherine, she couldn't believe how idiotic the kid was being right now; it was an absolute joke to her.
"Scott you really think you can trust them?" questioned Derek.
"I don't know!" exclaimed Scott.
"Come with me...there's something I want to show you, you think they're nice just wait until after I show you what you need to see" offered Derek. Scott shakily nodded his head and the two of them walked out of the Clinic together.
Katherine was about to leave, she had personal investigating to do; since she stole those files from the Police Station she hadn't had time to properly looked over them but before she could leave Deaton beckoned her "Would you mind taking a look at this for me?" he asked as he held out the bullet in the palm of his hand and a magnifying glass in the other.
Katherine curiously walked back over to him and looked at what Deaton was focusing on and to her surprise she saw a unique insignia on the back of the bullet. It was a red pentacle with a scorpion in it.
"I've never come across an insignia quite like this one" stated Deaton "I was hoping to get your opinion on it since you are probably very old."
"Watch it" warned Katherine as her age was mentioned "I've never seen anything like that before" she stated simply as she examined the insignia "Probably another Argent symbol or something" she guessed.
"Possibly except from what I gather the Argents use a very different insignia to this one...this one also seems to have a mysterious property about it, almost like it has a negative effect on magic" he stated curiously.
"It burnt me when I touched it and when Cassandra tried to use her magic to remove it the bullet wouldn't even budge" replied Katherine "You think the Argents have developed anti-magic weaponry?" questioned Katherine.
"Maybe the Argents...Maybe something or someone else, perhaps it would be best if you take this bullet to Cassandra she might be able to identify the insignia" suggested Deaton as he placed the bullet in a zip lock bag and handed it to Katherine who cautiously placed it into her handbag.
"So what do you know about the Hale house fire?" questioned Katherine immediately, hoping she wouldn't have to resort to torture since she'd had a very long night.
"I knew you would ask me that eventually, I don't know much but I can tell you one thing. Innocent victims died that night, children who weren't even werewolves and I know only one person who was close enough to the Hales and crazy enough to do something like that...Kate Argent" stated Deaton.
"Crazy bitch" cursed Katherine, she had done a lot of horrible things in her own past but there was one thing she could never bring herself to harm and that was children; defenceless and innocent it actually pained her to think that someone could kill them especially by burning them alive.
"She was very close to Derek at the time, the two of them shared a physical relationship but you know as well as I do that Kate is not a lover of supernatural creatures...I couldn't just accuse her though, not without any evidence" explained Deaton with a helplessness about him. Katherine said nothing but internally she could see a conspiracy coming together and how that conspiracy was now reaping the deserved consequences; the Alpha might have a more personal plan in mind than simply building a pack.
"I might need to give Scott a raise" pondered Deaton to himself as he watched Katherine rush out of the Animal Clinic in a hurry.
Katherine returned to Cassandra's estate immediately after, she now had time to investigate the files but with the new information about Kate, Katherine had a sinking suspicion that she knew what was happening in Beacon Hills and it wasn't pretty. As she entered the house she found that Rebekah and Cassandra were still sitting in the living room however they seemed to be engaged in a more casual conversation as Cassandra sipped from a cup of tea and Rebekah drank blood from a martini glass.
"Oh good you're still here" stated Katherine sarcastically as she acknowledged Rebekah's presence.
"Yes I've decided to stay here for a while so please try to stay out of my or I'll break your spine in two" warned Rebekah casually as she sipped from her glass.
"Always a pleasure Rebekah" smiled Katherine in annoyance "but since you're both here take a look at this" stated Katherine as she tossed the bullet to Rebekah "recognise the insignia on the back at all?" she asked.
"Never seen it before in my life" she stated and she handed the bullet to Cassandra who examined it thoroughly but she too came up blank.
"Well ladies be careful around the Argents they apparently have anti-magic weaponry" warned Katherine "isn't that lovely?"
"Impossible" laughed Cassandra.
"Hey just telling you what I've been told" stated Katherine.
She then left them and headed up to her room and began to examine the case files that she stole from the Station. At first she saw nothing out of the ordinary but then she hit a lead. Two men who had been murdered recently, cooked alive in a barrel of fire, were also involved in the burning of the Hale House. Another one who had been recently hospitalised was the insurance case worker who assessed the issue. Paired with the fact that the recent murders and attacks have been labelled as "Animal Attack" Katherine began to notice that her suspicion from earlier was grounded in truth. Someone survived that night and he or she was the person who killed Laura Hale and became the Alpha that bit Scott.
She then found a medical report, most of the Hales were found dead aside from Derek and his sister Laura but there was one other who survived, who is apparently permanently damaged and hospitalised as a result but he is alive "no way" stated Katherine.
Scott had been taken to the Beacon Hills Crossing Home which was a care facility. It was there that Scott saw the true horror of what the Argents were capable of, what they had done to Derek's family as he was introduced to Derek's Uncle. An incapacitated man who couldn't speak or move, he had burn marks all along his face and although he was alive he seemed to be merely existing, not living.
"This is my uncle, Peter Hale."
