AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've never had any story where I had to put a trigger warning in it. At least I think this chapter would be considered a trigger warning for talk of suicide and yeah.. read at your own risk.
Previously on Losing Your Memory..
Julie glances at Scott before she takes a deep breath and heads towards him. The moment she gets a couple of feet away from him, the wolves all snarl and growl. She gets that they don't want her anywhere near him so she turns to another familiar face. Stiles.
But the second she sets her sight on him, the growls and snarls get even louder but she figures they have to give her one so she goes for Stiles. Maybe he can help with Scott.
When her figure becomes visible in the dark- Allison, Lydia, and Stiles all freeze at the incoming being. She stops just before him, her face downcast with her hair hiding her face. She slowly looks up at him, her hands coming up to push her hair behind her ears and plasters on a guilty smile.
"J-Julie?!"
"Hiya, Stiles."
The growling stops the moment Julie's name passes from Stiles' lips- Stiles staring in shocked awe at his friend standing before him. Julie's guilty grin falters, her bottom lip trembling as she stares at the ground and waits for the scream or shouts of fear.
"Wha- why- how did-"
"Last year." Julie mumbles sadly. "I was turned last year."
"What exactly are you?" Stiles murmurs.
Julie looks up then, her eyebrows rising into her hairline. "Come on, Stiles. I know you're not that dumb."
"Yeah but-" He trails off, eyes darting to Derek before narrowing into slits. "-you said they didn't exist!"
Derek's eyes widen when Julie turns to face him, his eyes taking in the fact that this girl moved faster than what his eyes could see and that she has blood smeared around her mouth. His jaw clenches before it looks like he's going to say something but a whimper of pain catches their attention. They all turn to Scott who's still tied up and slouching against one of the poles, black blood leaking from his gunshot wounds and mouth now.
Allison cries, pulling against her restraints. "Please." The cuffs jingle as she moves. "If you're not going to hurt us, please let us go so we can help him. He's dying!"
Julie frowns at her words as she looks back at Scott and then without thinking twice about, she heads to the pleading girl to check out the bindings. "What's wrong with him?" She asks as the pulls apart the chain that connects the shackles around the girl's wrist. "I smell wolfsbane but I've never seen wolfsbane do that to a wolf before." After the shackles, she easily unties the knots in the rope before Allison is finally free.
Allison sighs in relief, rubbing her sore wrists as she runs to one of the weapons laying around and picks it up before running towards Scott. "What do you mean you've never seen wolfsbane do that before?" a deep voice asks as she works on Stiles' binds now.
Julie pauses in her work, peering around Stiles before asking Stiles, "Who's he?"
Derek growls and Stiles snorts. "Derek Hale. Hale alpha." Stiles answers. "The two next to him are his betas Isaac and his sister Cora."
"Stiles." Derek warns. "Stop talking."
"She's a friend." Stiles shoots back. "It's only fair we introduce ourselves to our savior."
"Our savior just slaughtered a group of hunters within seconds. I'm not so sure it's a good idea to walk down memory lane right now."
Julie frowns as she finishes Stiles' binds. "He's right you know." She mumbles. "I'm dangerous now. I'm not that same little girl who used to go camping in the woods with you and Scott."
Scott suddenly screams in pain, startling everyone including Julie who's face morphs suddenly into her inner monster. Her eyes narrow on the girl kneeling beside Scott, a hiss escaping as her lips pull back to bare her fangs in Scott's direction.
"Hey, whoa, calm down." Stiles walks into her line of vision. "Allison is just curing him. The cure is a major pain in the ass but he'll be okay soon enough." Julie breathes in and out as to calm herself down and let's her vampire features morph away. "Not the same girl anymore, huh? Looks like to me you're still protective of us as you used to be."
His mouth curves into a grin and Julie barely offers one back. "You should go help free that alpha and his wolves. I'll get Lydia."
Julie moves over to Lydia Martin, the girl she rarely spoke to when they were little. Lydia watches her with wary eyes but doesn't say anything as Julie moves behind her to free her. "Uh, measly human here." Stiles quips. "You're the only one strong enough to rip apart the chains."
"Fine." She sighs. "Then go take off those muzzles. They look really uncomfortable."
The second Lydia is free, she rubs at her own wrist while nodding her thanks to Julie. The two girls weren't what you would call friends but they didn't dislike each other. The moment Lydia acknowledges her so-called thanks, she makes a be-line for Cora who's still tied up. Sighing in exasperation, she uses her vampire speed to appear behind each wolf and snap the chains to their shackles while letting Stiles and Lydia do the rest. The wolves had a split second to tense at Julie's close proximity before she was gone and kneeling next to Allison who was now helping Scott sit up.
"Easy, Scotty." Julie murmurs when Scott groans in pain.
Scott's eyes flutter open, his brows furrowing when he sees Julie is there with them. His body is slowly healing and he's confused as to why Julie's face is covered in blood but the cock of a shotgun catches his and Julie's attention. Both supernatural beings turn towards the sound, Scott's eyes widening as he sees a weakened Hunter lazily pointing the barrel of a shotgun towards Lydia's back.
"No. Don't!" Scott manages to groan out.
Cora is closest to Lydia but the she-wolf is still managing with the knots of her ropes that she can't get out fast enough. The same goes for Isaac who Stiles is trying to help free and Derek watches on in horror as the Hunter places his finger on the trigger. Derek is the furthest away from her, and Lydia doesn't see the danger that's right at her back so that really pisses off Julie once more.
Shooting or stabbing someone in the back is the coward's path and she'd be damned if she watched on as Lydia fell. Before the Hunter can squeeze the trigger, Julie bares fang once more and hisses in rage. She disappears from Scott's side within the blink of an eye and when a gunshot sounds in the night, everyone flinches.
Lydia screams, Cora breaking the last of her bindings and pulling Lydia behind her only to find Stiles' friend standing there and breathing raggedly. All her life, Cora and her siblings had been told vampires didn't exist but there was one right before her eyes right now. The girl's fangs were sharp, blood smeared around her mouth, chin, and neck. Dark veins protruded beneath the female's eyes and the whites of said female's eyes were blood red. The girl's top lip trembled in anger, the female slowly turning around and giving Cora her back. It's then that Cora realizes the girl took the bullet in the back for Lydia.
The Hunter grunts in shock and scrambles to cock the shotgun once more when Julie starts stalking towards him. He barely manages to place his finger back on the trigger before the gun is ripped from his hands and thrown to the side, Julie bending down and wrapping one hand around his throat. With a snarl and inhumane strength, she easily lifts him from the ground and holds him so that his feet dangle right above said ground.
Her eyes burn in anger as she slowly brings the Hunter closer to her face, her mouth opening a bit wider as she gets ready to sink her fangs back into him to finish him off. A deep growl sounds behind her, snapping her out of her predatory and protective demeanor, and she peers over her shoulder at the one called Derek.
Derek stands tall while letting his eyes flash a deep red. Julie knows how protective and rule-abiding werewolves can be so she lets her fangs crawl back up into her gums. "If you wanted to finish him off, all you had to do was ask."
By now, everyone is stumbling towards Derek, Stiles and Allison helping Scott walk. "Is that what you're going to do- finish him off?" He asks. The Hunter now has his feet back on the ground but Julie still has her hand gripping his throat tight.
"I was going to feed one last night before I let you kill me."
Her blunt statement catches the wolves off guard, Scott and Stiles both snapping their gazes up at their friend. "What?!"
"I'm a monster." She tells them with a sudden feeble grin and shrug. "Look at what I've done." Her eyes then dart towards the pile of bodies she made before going back to her friends. "My kind don't belong in this world."
The Hale/McCall pack is too caught up with this vampire that they don't see the Hunter's hand moving towards his back pockets. In the moment of silence that follows, his fingers wrap around the hilt of a dagger, gripping it tight as he brings it forward and shoves it into Julie's abdomen.
Julie snarls in rage, Derek and Scott both growling, and Stiles attempts to race to his friend. Julie's features easily slip vampiric when angered or agitated so it's no surprise when she's once again baring fangs.
"I'll k-kill you, y-you bitch." The Hunters pants in her grasp.
"Not in your lifetime." Julie snarls in his face, one hand creeping behind his head while her other hand came to palm his chin. Without a second thought, she easily snapped his head to the left and let his lifeless body fall to the ground.
No-one bats an eye as the last Hunter falls, instead, they're all focused on Julie when Stiles grabs her by the shoulder and turns her around. "Are you okay? Are you alright?!"
It takes a moment to will away her monstrous features and when she does, she nods. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
At that, Stiles' eyes fall to her stomach. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you have a knife sticking out of your stomach!"
Julie looks down and sure enough, the dagger is still implanted in her. "Oh. Wow. That actually stings." She grimaces as she grips the hilt and yanks out the knife.
She grunts, dropping the dagger and hunching in on herself. "Now are you okay? That had to hurt." Stiles goes to straighten her out so he can see the damage done.
"I'm fine, Stiles." Julie sighs. "See? It's all healed now." She lifts up her shirt, grabbing his hand to let his fingers trail over where the wound was. When Stiles seems content, Julie cracks a wobbly grin. "So, werewolves, huh?"
Stiles sighs in relief, taking his hand back before pulling Julie into a hug. She momentarily freezes, getting ready to push him away but when her thirst doesn't hit her, reality finally sets in on why she wasn't hungry and she completely breaks down. Her eyes tear up, her arms snaking around Stiles' waist as she buries her face into the crook of his neck and sobs.
"Shh. Shh." Stiles coos. "It's okay. Everything's fine now." He tries to assure her as he nervously looks around at his Pack and friends.
Julie's hands grip the back of Stiles' shirt and Derek growls in the background. His growl goes unheard as Julie continues to sob, Stiles trying his best to soothe his long time friend. Scott watches on, still somewhat confused, before he too steps towards them. The second Scott gets close enough, Derek growls yet again.
"Would you stop that?" Scott groans. "She's no threat to us. If she was, she'd have attacked us instead of standing there and crying."
Derek glares at him, Isaac and Cora flanking the Hale alpha as well as Allison taking their side. The mystery girl might have helped them but she was a supernatural being that she had yet faced. She wasn't going to take any chances. Lydia looks unsure of what to do so she just stands there as now both Scott and Stiles try to comfort the girl she knew long ago.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Julie cries. "I didn't mean to do that but they were-"
"They were killing Scott." Stiles assures her. "They were going to kill us all if you hadn't intervened."
"I- I shouldn't have killed them but I- I can't control it." Julie sniffled as she pushed herself out of Stiles' grasp. "I was going to let them hurt everyone here. I was going to let them kill you all and then ask them to end me but then I heard you.. and Scott wasn't looking too good.. and-"
"Wait, wait, wait." Scott cut her off, the alpha werewolf looking better as the time went by. "End you? Why would you want them to end you?"
Julie's voice was weak and vulnerable when she answers, "Because I'm a monster."
A flash of uncertainty crosses Derek's features but as soon as it appears, it disappears. Isaac, Cora, and Allison are following Derek's lead while Lydia still looks uncertain of Julie. The second Julie starts to cry again and takes herself out of Stiles and Scott's reach, her tear-filled eyes land on Derek.
"I'm sorry but it's for the best of everyone." She says to her two friends though her gaze is locked on Derek as she slowly walks towards him. Derek stands a little taller at the vampire's incoming figure but she soon stops and falls to her knees. Her eyes fall shut as she tilts her head upward and spreads her arms wide open. "This world would do good with one less monster."
"Jules, what the hell are you doing?!" Stiles yelps.
"What should've been done a long time ago." She answers.
"But your parents!" Stiles squeaks. "What are they going to think when you go missing?!" Stiles' heart is pounding loud and fast, he doing everything he can to get his friend up off her knees and away from the alpha werewolf who looks seconds away from giving into her wishes.
"My parents?" Julies eyes snap open and her head turns to face Stiles and Scott who suddenly look relieved. "My parents are dead." She deadpans. "My little brother, too."
Stiles and Scott both gape, both boys trying to figure something out. Turning back to Derek, she gives them no chance. "Do it." She grits up at him. "Either rip my heart out or get a branch from a tree and drive it through my heart."
Derek glances around, his eyes falling to the nearest tree as he eyes it's branches. "Don't even think about it." Stiles tells him.
Derek looks at Stiles, his gaze flickering between the girl before him and the boy who he considered pack and maybe something more. His eyebrows furrow in confusion, his weight shifting from one foot to the other. Julie sees that the werewolf might actually not go through with it now so she immediately climbs to her feet and vamps out in front of Derek.
"Do it!" She snarls at him, hoping to get a rise out of the werewolf and smirks when she sees that his resolve hardens.
Derek growls, flicking his wrists out on either side of him where his claws are sharp and ready for battle. He takes one step towards her, everything in his body telling him to take out the threat in front of him when Scott roars at him, causing him to freeze.
Derek glances at the fellow alpha and snarls but Scott snarls right back. Julie sighs and whimpers, letting tears fall once more. Dying wasn't going to be an easy task now.
"We're not killing her."
"It's what she wants." Derek tries to reason with Scott. "She said it herself. She's a monster."
Scott growls lowly and steps up next to Julie but before he can defend her there's a blur of blonde hair in front of them where Derek goes missing followed by a hissing sound. Julie easily followed the movement, finding a very familiar figure crouching over Derek and pinning him to the ground while hissing in his face.
Isaac and Cora act on instinct, both of them wolfing out and lunging to help out their alpha. Isaac gets his claws into the blondes back, prompting the female to use her inhumane speeds to stand and face him, placing her foot on Derek's chest to keep him down and using her hand to grab Isaac by the throat and launch him backwards. Cora starts slashing and growling, the blonde hissing in retaliation before throwing her palm out and catching Cora in the chest with a sickening crunch.
The she-wolf goes flying back- Allison, Lydia, and Stiles watching on in horror at how easily this blonde female, who looks no older than any of them, easily takes down Derek, Isaac, and Cora.
Scott growls menacingly next and Julie finally vamps out and hisses at the other vampire. Julie launches herself at the blonde much to everyone's surprise, tackling the other vampire to the ground.
"Leave them alone, Beth." She snarls in the blonde's face.
The new vampire- Beth- has the audacity to laugh, shoving Julie off of her and standing with ease. As Cora, Isaac, and Derek all stand to their feet- they watch as Julie and this so-called Beth slowly circle each other. Julie is still vamped out, baring her fangs while Beth grins wickedly and lets her vampire visage fade away. What they see is a girl who looks about seventeen, blonde curls framing her flawless face and ocean blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
"Now, now, Julie." She coos as they continue to dance around each other. "No need for hostility. I'm merely saving my child from a group of mutts."
Beth's statement earns a few growls but no-one makes a move. "Stop calling me that." Julie grounds out. "I am not your child."
"Aren't you?" Beth smiles. Everyone continues to watch on and now have their interests piqued with the word 'child'. "I'm that one who made you into what you are now therefore you are my child."
"I didn't want it though!" Julie cries, her hands clenching into fists. "I didn't want to be a monster."
"You were dying-"
"Then you should have let me die!" Julie snapped back. "I was perfectly fine with leaving this world."
Beth huffed and smirked which was enough to make Julie lose control. She hissed, lunging at Beth as the wolves around her tense and ready for a fight. Beth easily catches Julie by the throat, smirking all the while and brings Julie's face right up to her own and looks her deep in the eyes. "Stand down. I'll take care of this little wolf problem and then we're leaving. Don't fight me." Beth grins as she let her fangs slide out. "I command you."
And much to everyone's surprise, they watch as Julie's body sags with defeat- her vampire visage slowly fading away as she blinks owlishly. "Don't- don't do this." She meekly pleads.
"Too late." Beth says as the rest of her face transforms. She releases Julie's throat, turning around on spot and grins out at everyone. "Who's first?"
Scott, who was the closest, didn't take kind to the threat and instantly wolfed out- attacking Beth. The blonde vampire huffed a laugh, dodging his claws and gripping him by the nape of his neck- bending Scott over and kneeing him in the face. As Scott stumbled off to the side, Isaac and Cora jumped in at the same time. Both wolves swiped and clawed as Beth laughed and danced around them, dodging their blows.
"Stiles." Julie catches his attention. "Stiles, she's going to kill you all if you don't kill her."
Stiles' eyes bulged. "And how do we do that?"
Beth continued to laugh as she danced elegantly around the wolves who were trying their damnedest to take her out. "Stake her. Break off a branch from somewhere and drive it through her heart."
By now, Allison and Lydia had made their way over, careful to stay out of the fight since none of them had weapons to fight off a vampire. "What about you? Can't you do anything?" Allison asked.
"I- I can't." She sighed. "It's a link between us. She says to stay and I have to obey. I'll explain more if we make it out of this. Just please, hurry or she's going to kill them."
Cora screamed out in pain, the humans and vampire turning in time to see Beth stomping on Cora's kneecap and breaking it. Isaac launched himself on the vampire's back, Beth easily throwing him off just in time to catch Derek's claws as he attempted to gut her.
"Stake. Now." Julie told them.
Allison and Stiles both eagerly looked around, Stiles taking the lead as he and Allison ran for the woods to find a suitable branch. Julie went back to watching the fight, using every ounce of strength she possessed to move against her maker's command. She couldn't.
She and Lydia watched on helplessly as Beth once again knocked Scott back as she continued to play around Derek. She was having fun taunting the wolves because they weren't as fast and nowhere near as strong.
Derek, Beth, and Scott were busy with hand-to-hand combat- Beth throwing punches that were strong enough to break bone as she dodged and jumped claws and legs. Julie caught sight of Stiles and Allison re-emerging from the woods, Stiles gripping the makeshift stake and making his way towards the brawl. Julie worried her bottom lip in anticipation, her eyes darting back and forth between the fight and Stiles as he edged closer. She heard a roar of pain, turning just in time to see Beth shove Derek to his knees as she had his arm bent at an awkward angle. Beth laughed as she broke his arm, kicking Derek down onto his front and turning in time to catch Stiles' raised hand.
Beth tutted mockingly at Stiles as she wagged a finger at him. "No, no, no, little human. You should know better than that." She gripped Stiles' wrist hard enough that she broke it, the stake falling to the ground as Stiles screamed in pain. "If you want to make a fuss, I'll give you something to fuss about."
Tears sprang to Julie's eyes the second she saw Beth tilt Stiles' head to the side. "No!" She screamed and Beth sank her fangs into Stiles' neck.
There was a moment when everyone froze at the bloodcurdling scream and Julie watched as Beth slightly clenched her jaw and ripped her mouth away from Stiles' neck, pulling a chunk of flesh with her. The second Stiles fell away gurgling on his own blood, the wolves all launched themselves at Beth as Allison and Lydia ran towards Stiles to see if they could stop his bleeding.
"Scott!" Julie yelled, catching the alpha's attention. "Snap her neck. Do it. Now!"
Scott didn't bother doubting his friend and maneuvered around so he could get a clean shot at her head. When he found his opening, Scott lunged from behind as he gripped the back of Beth's head and used his other hand to grip her chin, snapping her neck to the right. There was an audible snap as Beth's neck broke, the vampire falling to her knees.
"Get the stake and drive it through her heart. She's not dead yet."
Isaac looked up at her, his eyes falling to the ground as he scoured for the stake. Once he found it, he ran to it and picked it up, running back to his alphas and bending over Beth's lifeless form as he jammed the stake into her chest. Right before their eyes, they watched as Beth's skin grayed and dark veins appeared all over her face, neck, and any available skin they could see.
Julie knew her maker was dead the second she was able to take a step forward. Once free, she wasted no time in blurring up to Allison and Lydia who were crying over Stiles.
"She tore a chunk out of his neck." Allison cried as she kept her hand clamped down over Stiles' neck, blood seeping through her fingers. "I-it's t-too much. He won't make it to the hospital."
Stiles coughed, blood droplets spraying over the girls as he struggled to breath. Julie fought back against her vampire nature when she felt fangs slide out. Looking up, she found Derek glaring at her. "If you so much as think-"
"I'm not." Julie shook her head. "I wouldn't."
"Derek!" Scott shouted. "Now's not the time. We need a plan or Stiles won't make it."
Derek clenched his jaw, nodding as he stared back at Scott before his features softened when he took in Stiles' state. If Julie hadn't had enhanced hearing, she would've missed the whimper that Derek involuntarily let out. As everyone gathered around Stiles, Julie took a moment to breathe in and out deeply to get her urges under control. She wasn't hungry at the moment but blood never failed to make her fangs slide out no matter whether she was full or not.
"D-don't worry b-bout me." Stiles struggled to talk. "J-just take c-care of my-"
"Stop talking." Derek suddenly pleaded. "You're going to be-"
"Der-" Stiles cut him off. "I.. I'm not stupid."
Julie sniffled as she regained control over herself, turning and moving to drop down to her knees by Stiles head. "He's right. You're going to be fine." Everyone looked at Julie as if she had grown a second head, each one of them knowing that Stiles was dying right before their eyes and there was nothing they could do. "I need you all to trust me. Can you do that?" Scott, Lydia, and Allison were all quick to nod their consent- Isaac and Cora glancing around before shrugging. Derek was the only one who wouldn't say anything. "Come on, man. I won't do anything unless I have everyone's trust. I can save him but you have to trust me."
Scott elbowed Derek in the ribs, causing the alpha to grunt. "Fine. Save him."
Julie sighed in relief, letting her vampire visage slip to the surface. Derek growled in warning when he saw this but Julie easily ignored him and brought up her wrist to her mouth- biting into it. They all grimaced as Julie tore into her own flesh and gawked as she shoved her bleeding wrist to Stiles' mouth. "Drink." She told him. "Trust me and drink."
Derek growled yet again and this time, Julie locked gazes with him. "Just wait. Give him a moment and then you'll see. It's going to help him."
Derek continued to growl and everyone grimaced some more when they saw Stiles reach up, gripping Julie's arm and drinking in more as if he craved it. After a minute or two, Derek had enough. "How is this helping him?!"
"Look." Julie feebly grinned, pulling her wrist free from Stiles' mouth. She nodded towards where Allison was pressing on Stiles' neck and motioned for Allison to let go. Brows furrowed in confusion, Allison did as she was told and slowly removed her hands. "Vampire blood heals." She mumbled as they took in the bloodied neck, no wound visible. Allison and Lydia cried out in relief, both girls throwing themselves down on Stiles as the boy groaned. Looking up, she found Scott staring at her in awe as well as Isaac and Cora while Derek looked highly relieved and somewhat grateful. "The only downfall now is that he'll have to be home bound for a week or two. At least until my blood is out of his system."
"Why?" Stiles manages to grunt.
"Because should you die with my blood still lingering in you, you'll turn." She shrugged. "I wouldn't want you to become like me but I needed to do something. I couldn't let you die."
"Likewise." Stiles managed a smile before exhaustion took over.
Julie's smile faltered as she sighed. "Stiles-"
"He's right, you know?" Scott cut her off. "We can't let you die. We won't."
"Scott-" Julie tried again but this time, it was Derek who cut her off.
"They're right. If you're looking to kill yourself, you'll have to look elsewhere."
Julie sighs one last time as she moves to sit on her butt, sitting Indian style and pulling Stiles' head into her lap. "You guys were never this stubborn before." She smiles sadly as she runs her fingers through Stiles' hair.
"Get used to it." Scott huffs a laugh while Stiles weakly grins. "We're not letting you out of our sight for a while." Julie opens her mouth to retort but Scott shakes his head at her. "You're not a monster, Jules. If you were, you wouldn't have given a damn about any of us but you did. You saved us so we're going to return the favor. We're going to save you."
Julie's lips twitched into a frown as her eyes dart to each and every face that was surrounding her. If anyone was against keeping her alive, no-one said anything since their alphas had spoken. She continued to absentmindedly run her fingers through Stiles' hair, biting her bottom lip in worry. "You don't understand. You don't know what it's like to crave blood every single day. What it's like to have to ignore the thirst until you have to eventually cave in instead of massacring a whole town." The wolves all bristled at her words but let her speak. "I never wanted this. I was ready to die last year but Beth intervened and turned me against my will. She kept me alive as a monster and commanded that I didn't run away or off myself. But now that she's gone, I can do as I wish. And I wish to finally end it all."
"Julie." Scott groans, silently pleading for her to think about it but Julie shakes her head at him.
"It's my decision, Scotty. You have to let me go."
There's an eerie silence that follows as Scott and Julie have a stare down, all the while Stiles is trying to keep his eyes open.
"You'll stay with us tonight." Derek's voice suddenly sounds, cutting off any impending argument from the weak teen in Julie's lap. "You'll be there so I keep an eye on you while you catch up with your friends and vice versa. It's the least you can do before you go on your little suicide mission. And come tomorrow morning, if you still feel like biting the dust, be my guest."
"Derek!" Allison yelps to which he shrugs at her, giving her his full attention and it's then that she sees that Derek doesn't really want to go through with it.
"It's her life, Al. We can't keep her hostage in a life she never wanted. If we did, we'd be just like that Beth girl."
Stiles wants to argue but he's too drained to do anything and Scott looks utterly defeated that Julie can't help the cringe when she hears her friend whimper like a wounded puppy.
There's yet another moment of defeated silence before Lydia speaks up. "So we have until tomorrow morning to change your mind?" She asks, hoping that the vampire will say yes.
Julie gives a wobbly smile as Cora stepped forward. "There is no changing her mind. She's already dead set with her decision, aren't you?"
Everyone looks at the vampire, understanding passing through everyone as tears filled Julie's eyes. "'Til tomorrow morning, guys. Make it count."
Scott sighed as Stiles struggled to stay awake. "Fine. Help us get rid of the bodies. We need to call this in." Scott says as his features harden but Julie doesn't feel bad for her going through with what she's been thinking about since she had been turned.
Julie sat there, breathing in deeply before she collected herself and nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
"Wait until backup gets here." Scott states as he avoids eye contact.
Scott and Derek waste no time in telling Cora and Isaac to run back to the house with Julie to help her get cleaned up. They were calling in Chris since he knew about the Hunters coming to town and telling him most of the story about how the Hunters were planning to kill them all until Julie, a friend of theirs, showed up. From there, they were going to switch it up and tell him that Julie rounded up the Hunters as she started to release Stiles, Allison, and Lydia when her Maker came into the equation and killed the Hunters because they started to focus their attention on Julie.
Julie went along with the story, getting their false statements together so no-one messed up. The only downfall was that they had to tell Chris what Julie was but Derek and Scott were vouching for her so Chris wouldn't feel the need to threaten her. It's not like it mattered though since she didn't have much time left with them anyway.
..
..
By the time Chris rounded up a cleaning crew and dug holes for the bodies because there was no way they could pass this off as an animal attack, the sun was starting to come up. The only body remaining was that of Beth who the Hunters were hesitant to touch because apparently none of them had ever come in contact with a vampire before.
"I know she kind of dove off the deep end but, uh-" Scott sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, finally finding it in him to not shun his friend. "-is there some kind of special burial you want for her? You are her child. Whatever that means."
Every pair of eyes swiveled towards Julie as she peered down at Beth's grayed form. "No. Let her burn." Chris and the crew nodded with her, some of his crew patting down their pockets for something. When Chris pulled a lighter out of his own jean pockets and flicked it on, Julie stopped him. "Don't. Don't waste your materials on her."
Again, they all watched as Julie stepped forward towards Beth's body and crouched down. Julie took a moment to look at her Maker one last time before reaching for Beth's lifeless hand and pulling off one of her rings. Instantaneously, Beth's body started to smolder as her skin suddenly looked as if it were burning ash. Julie stood, standing back with her newly acquired friends and within seconds, Beth's body erupted into flames.
Everyone gaped as the vampire's body burned to nothing before looking up in awe at Julie. Lips twitching in amusement, she tossed the ring to Chris. "Study it if you want. That's the only type of stone that will soak up magic. If magicked correctly, it allows vampires to walk in the daylight."
Chris caught the silver ring, taking in the small crescent moons on either side of a blue stone in the middle. "Uh, thanks." He says and pockets the ring.
"Wha- why- are you serious?!" Stiles flailed from his position of leaning against Lydia and Derek. Julie couldn't fight back a grin at her friend's spastic behavior, especially since it seemed he was bouncing back from his attack. "Why didn't you give me that? I could've studied it!"
Chris rolled his eyes before rounding up his crew and leaving through the woods. When Stiles stopped flailing, Julie pulled on a silver chain around her neck, pulling out a thin blue stone hanging from a silver clasp. "I have my own, Stiles. You can have it after tomorrow."
And just like that, Stiles' moment of spastic behavior ended as his mood turned sour. Scott and Derek eyed the necklace and Julie in confusion before Lydia piped up that they should take the group back to Derek's so they could rest and get something to eat.
..
..
By the time they get to Derek's home, Julie looks up hesitantly at the looming white home with dark green shutters. It's a typical home, two stories high and looks large enough for everyone here. The porch travels the length of half the front of the home and a white railing closes it in.
Allison and Lydia have yet to leave Stiles' side- the two girls helping him up the porch stairs. Isaac and Cora follow up next, the two occasionally glancing over their shoulders at Julie who was behind them but in front of Scott and Derek. At the top step of the stairs, Julie hesitates when everyone piles into the house. Her fingers tap anxiously against her thighs and Scott slowly nudges her forward.
"Come on, Jules. There's nothing to worry about."
"I- I'm not worried." She replies. "It's just, uh, I sort of maybe need an invitation in order to get inside."
"What do you mean by maybe?" Derek quirks an eyebrow at her.
"It's a, uh, it's a definite." Julie admitted. "As long as the owner of the house is alive and not a vampire then the owner of the house needs to personally invite me in or I'm stuck out here."
"You mean that myth is true too?!" Scott actually seemed excited about this tid-bit of information. "What about holy water?"
"Oh, Scotty." Julie nervously chuckled as she patted his cheek. "Don't believe everything you hear."
Scott's smile slowly faded and it was Derek's turn to look amused. "Okay, well, are you sure you can't get in? Since I'm the owner and a werewolf, I'm not exactly human."
Julie pursed her lips in contemplation before shrugging. "Only one way to find out." She stepped forward towards the front door where everyone else was now gathered just on the inside of said door frame to see what the hold up was. Julie held her hand out and they all watched as her palm meets with an invisible barrier before she could even reach the inside. "Yep. Definitely going to need an invite."
"That. Is. Awesome." Stiles and Isaac both breathe in awe- the girls rolling their eyes at the boys' behavior.
Scott smiles his puppy grin and Derek sides with the girls as he rolls his own eyes at the boys' display. Stepping around Julie and entering his home, Derek gestures with his head. "Come in, Julie."
Julie sheepishly grins at him as she enters his home, Stiles gripping her by the wrist and steering her towards the living room. Once there, everyone takes a seat and gets comfortable, Derek being the only one to stand and pace as all eyes fall on Julie.
"Why do I get the feeling this is an intervention?" Julie joked while trying to lighten the mood.
"It's not." Derek grumbles. "But do you mind if we ask a few questions?"
Julie shrugs. "It's only fair since you're putting up with me for the day and night."
"Right, well, one thing has been bothering me since we found out death by sunlight was possible." Derek immediately replies and Scott perks up because he too was wondering about this. "If sunlight kills you, and you want to die, why not rip off your necklace during the day? Why seek someone out to kill you?"
Again, all eyes swivel back to Julie as they await her answer. "Believe it or not, suicide by my own hand was something I could never bring myself to do." She sighs sadly. "For some reason, I got the idea twisted in my mind that should someone kill me if asked, it really wouldn't be considered suicide and I wouldn't be damned. But seeing as that is now my only option.."
"But aren't you damned already by you know.." Stiles bares his teeth. "-by sucking the life out of people?"
"Dude!" Scott admonishes. "Not helping!"
Stiles' eyes widen. "Sorry." He apologizes. "Sorry." He says again but this time directs the apology to Julie.
"I-It's fine." Julie assures him. "I, uh, I don't kill people." She tells them. "Beth made me kill in the very beginning and I hated myself for it. So in my mind, I shouldn't be damned because that wasn't me painting the town red. It was Beth's mind control bullshit."
"Huh." Scott huffs. "If you don't kill when you feed then how do you survive? Vampires need blood, don't they?"
"Yes and no."
"Explain." Derek demands and Julie has to bite her tongue to keep quiet at his sharp tone.
"We can drink human blood or animal blood and still survive off of it." She answers. "Or we can eat regular human food to stave off the hunger or drink loads of alcohol to curb the thirst for a while."
"And what's your preferred choice?" Derek asks.
"Blood bags. Whenever I can break into a hospital that is."
"So you break into hospitals and steal blood bags?" Scott frowns. "But people need those."
"Yeah, well, so do I." Julie frowns back. "It's either steal from the hospital or feed and compel my meals."
"Compel?" Isaac speaks up but shrinks back into his seat when everyone glances at him.
"Uh, yeah." Julie grins at him. "Mind manipulation. All vampires can do it but it doesn't work on other vampires or supernatural beings. Makers can control their Child but no-one else."
"Oh."
The room goes quiet and it's then that Scott comes to realize something. "Is that what you tried doing to me yesterday?" He squeaks in outrage. "Compel me?"
"In my defense, I told you I could take care of myself and walk back on my own." Julie feebly grins. "But you were being stubborn as hell."
"Yeah and with good reason." Scott grumbles.
"But wait-" Allison suddenly interjects. "-you just said you couldn't compel supernatural beings."
"I didn't know Scott was a werewolf." Julie replies with a shrug of indifference. "I knew he was different because he smelled off but I didn't know he now had fangs and claws."
"Smelled off how?" Scott now looks offended and it takes everything in Julie to not laugh at her friend.
"Humans have a certain zing! to their scent." She grins at him. "You, though, you smelled of earth. Like damp dirt after a summer's rain. It's the way all werewolves smell, really, but I didn't realize that until your friend-" She pointedly looks at Allison. "-said that you were dying of wolfsbane poisoning."
"I see." Scott hums thoughtfully.
"Okay, well now I have a question." Allison leans forward as she catches Julie's attention. When she doesn't try to dissuade Allison, the Huntress goes on. "When they were fighting the other vampire and I told you to help them, you said you couldn't and had to obey. Why is that?"
Julies blows out a breath of air as she contemplates her answer. "Vampires.. vampires have a connection with the person who turns them. Something like a sire bond. Since it was Beth's blood to turn me, we formed a bond and anything she said, I had to obey. It sucks.. especially if you don't get along with your Maker."
"And you didn't get along with yours?"
"No." Julie shakes her head. "I didn't know the supernatural existed until the night I got turned. I was laying in a hospital bed with a bad case of pneumonia and BAMM!, next thing I know a vampire is shoving her blood down my throat before snapping my neck."
Stiles and Scott grimace. "Ouch."
"Well that explains your turning and your near death situation-" Stiles pipes up. "-and not to be a debbie downer but what about your family?"
At this, Julie frowns and looks down as she twiddles her thumbs in her lap. She bites her bottom lip in apprehension before telling them what happened. "Mom and Dad died of injuries from a car accident." She tells them.
"And Frankie?" Scott murmurs.
"Overdose." Julie's bottom lip trembles as she recalls finding her little brother. "He- uh- was medicated for depression and he just took all his pills at once when I wasn't home."
"Oh shit, Jules-" Scott frowns. "-I'm sorry. I didn't-"
"It's fine." She assures him with a watery smile. "It was a while back. And at least now I'll be able to see them soon, right?"
There's a moment of silence after that, everyone relaxing bit by bit as they realize Julie is not going to lash out at them and kill them when they least expect it. Everyone glances around at each other and no-one knows what else to ask.
Allison is the first one to yawn which sets off a chain reaction with everyone else and Derek demands that they all go home and get some rest or find a room to crash in upstairs. Allison and Lydia don't even bat an eyelash and both girls immediately stand to walk out to Allison's car and head back to Allison's since Chris knew everything already. Stiles and Scott seem hesitant to leave but before they even make their final decision, Derek pulls Stiles up from the couch and steers him towards the stairs.
Scott fights a scowl at Derek taking care of Stiles but figured something was bound to happen sooner or later between the two. Isaac and Cora snicker but follow after Stiles and Derek, muttering about finally getting some sleep without having to worry about some crazy ass hunters cutting them in half.
Julie and Scott glance at each other since they're the only two left in the living room but before they can say one word to each other, Derek re-enters the room.
"The basement is like a mini apartment. If you want to sleep, you'll more than welcome to sleep down there."
Julie smiled but shook her head. "Vampires rarely sleep." She tells Derek. "And after last night, I'm still kind of amped up. I'll stay awake while everyone catches up on their rest."
"Well if you're going to stay up, I'm going to stay up too." Scott held up his hand to halt any argument from Julie. "If you're really going to go through with ending your existence, I want to be awake for the last hours of your life."
Julie closed her mouth before sighing. "Scott.."
"Nope." He defiantly shook his head. "It's the least you can do for me." Julie groaned out loud in annoyance, the small bickering between the two friends causing Derek to hide a smirk. "Besides.. I have a lot to tell you about all that you've missed."
..
..
Surprisingly, everyone sans Derek, Scott, and Julie slept through the day and night. And surprisingly, everyone had woken up before the sun came up and gathered downstairs. The only two who weren't present were Lydia and Allison because they weren't comfortable with watching someone commit suicide- monster or not.
After a brief discussion, Scott and Derek permitted the girls their space while everyone else gathered 'round for Julie.
Cora, Isaac, and Derek didn't know how to act or what to say. The moment the three friends were reunited downstairs, the air grew thick with tension and nobody knew what to say. Fighting was useless- Julie having had her mind made up for a while now- and cracking jokes at a time like this wasn't going to cut it.
So instead, Isaac and Cora made breakfast while they sat in silence.
Everyone gingerly picked at their food, Julie even indulging the two wolves who put a plate in front of her and nibbled on the offered bacon. The moment the sun peaked through the windows, everyone tensed. Julie seemed to ignored the sun's rays and continued to finish her bacon and drink the orange juice that Isaac had offered.
The atmosphere continued to remain tense and even more so when Julie stood. Scott's grip on his fork has his knuckles white and Stiles hung his head in defeat.
"Scott. Stiles." Julie mumbled. "Can I have a moment with you two on the porch real quick?"
Scott immediately stood to his feet with Stiles slowly climbing to his before they followed Julie outside. Once there, she leaned against the railing as she stared off into the woods surrounding the home. Scott and Stiles came to stand on either side of their once friend, each of them staring off and gazing into the woods along with her.
"I'm sorry, you know?" She muttered without meeting anyone's gaze. "I didn't mean to run into anyone here let alone old friends and stir up old feelings. I was just supposed to waltz into town, take a look at my old home, and move on before I found peace."
"Jules.."
"I don't belong here." She continued on, ignoring Stiles' attempt to talk. "I don't want to be here anymore." She falls silent for a moment before stepping back so she can see both her friend's faces. "You know, if I listen closely, I can practically hear Frankie telling me to hurry up because Mom and Dad are waiting."
Tears immediately filled Stiles' eyes as he tried to fight them back. "How are you-.." He trails off when his voice cracks. "You're going to do it yourself?"
Julie numbly nodded as she moves towards the steps. "I figured I'd stand in the shadows of the trees before hanging my necklace on a nearby branch so you can pick it up afterward."
By the time they're halfway across the yard- Derek, Cora, and Isaac are walking behind them to the place it's all going to take place. Julie finds a darkened spot in the woods that would seem like it would work to protect her from the sun's rays until she walked out from them. And the moment she reached for her necklace, Stiles and Scott threw themselves at her and sandwiched her in a hug.
"Are you scared?" Stiles mumbled.
Julie laughed a watery chuckle, squeezing her friends one last time before stepping back from them. "I'm ecstatic!" She beamed, tears falling down her face though she smiled brightly. "After all this time.."
She trailed off as she gently unclasped her necklace. Instead of hanging it though, she passed it off to Stiles who gripped it tightly in hand. "Say 'hi' to Frankie for me."
"I will." She smiled.
Scott and Stiles stood back with Derek, Cora, and Isaac- the two Packs putting more space between them. Julie took a deep breath, her gaze set on the visible line of where dark met light. Steeling herself for the pain that's sure to come, she keeps her gaze darting back and forth between her two friends as she takes steps forward. The moment her toes meet the line, she watches as Derek raises and arm to throw around Stiles' shoulders and pulls her friend into his side as silent tears fall down his face as well.
The moment Julie's body is engulfed in the sunlight, there's a brief moment that they watch her with a radiant smile before said smile falters and her anguish cries echo throughout the woods. Her body is immediately engulfed in flames by now and Stiles chokes back a sob as he hears her screams. Derek takes that moment to shift his body in front of Stiles and block his view and even Isaac has to look away.
Derek, Cora, and Scott are the only ones able to continue watching as Julie's burning body falls to her knees before her screams finally fall silent.
Told you there was no happy ending. Unless you count the boys following her wishes to be happy, well then it was.
This, unfortunately, is the end. I know it blows but I couldn't figure out how to keep her alive when all she wanted was to die. If you wanna write up your own alternate ending, be my guest. Send links to me if you do! :)
I have a new story in the works, an Avengers/Harry Potter crossover :) Of course, the main character from the Wizarding Realm is an OC and her interest is the one and only Steve Rogers ;) I'll be posting the first chapter within a week.
Until next time..
