I wasn't even sure where to begin. Yes, finding Boyd, Cora, and Blair are a number one priority. But, Aaron's out there, too. We can't possibly track down and then stop all four of them. "Boyd and Cora are going to want to kill everything in sight, whereas Blair has a goal. She's still feeling it's affects, but she's in control."

"Why doesn't the moon affect her like the rest of us?" Scott asked. We've been searching the preserve, following anything we think might lead to catching one of them. But we stopped for a break since we've been running ourselves ragged.

Derek looked at me. "Because she's not like the rest of us."

I nodded. "She's a werelion. And, an Alpha."

"What?" Scott looked confused. "How do werelions even become Alphas?"

"Lions aren't like wolves. They have a pride, not a pack. And much like actual lions, the pride keeps to itself with one head lion, or Alpha, and one head lioness." I sighed, glancing around the woods. "That Alpha is the father of all the children in the pride, and he's usually the only male. The only way to become an Alpha would be for one of those children to kill their father, thus becoming the new leader of the pride. It's a much different role than pack Alpha."

"So is that what Blair did? Did she kill her father?"

"No, he's still alive. Blair had an older brother, Daniel, who was in our pack, too. He was an Alpha. But he didn't have to kill his father to do it. Their father hates them both. That's part of the reason why we ended up with them. Their father challenged Daniel to a duel, meaning he just wanted an excuse to kill his son. The only way you win is by killing your opponent. It was gruesome to watch, but Daniel beat him. And instead of taking his life, he spared him. But he didn't do it to prove a point.

"His intentions were completely pure. And, in turn Daniel became a true Alpha; the strongest you can be as a werelion."

"But Tobias still killed him."

I nodded. "I've heard rumors of a third way that a lion can become an Alpha. But never heard of a female achieving it like this."

"How?" Derek asked.

"Without a pack a wolf is still something. But a lion without a pride is virtually nothing. Not only did she loose one pride, but then she lost another when my pack was killed. I've heard it can do things to your mind, that kind of loss. Everyone wants revenge for the loss of a loved one, but this goes beyond that. It becomes the only way to survive. And acting on those feelings, taking a life of someone who took one from you…it changes you. Did you notice her left eye?"

"Yeah," Scott said. "Why didn't it heal?"

"It's part of the curse she's brought on herself by acting on her vengeful feelings. Her eyes don't glow the normal Alpha red. They're darker, and the injured one even darker. We call that forever red. Because the only way to reverse it, bring back the Blair I once knew, would be for her to kill all those who scorned her, did her wrong."

"The Alpha pack," Derek said.

"And, me," I added. "I'm a part of that. So is Sam, I assume." I sighed. "And, she's out there somewhere with Aaron." I looked at Derek. "If she finds him-"

"That won't happen. We'll find him first."

I nodded. "I need to tell Ben. You guys keep looking. I'll catch up." Derek nodded and then he and Scott left. I called Ben. He didn't answer so I left him a very long message. I hung up and slid the phone away. I turned around and saw someone inches from me. I startled slightly.

"Easy." I recognized Tobias' voice instantly.

I gritted my teeth. "You knew this would happen."

"I did," he nodded. He had his hands in his pockets, not expecting a fight. "But, you can easily solve this mess."

"How?"

He smiled. "You're afraid Blair will get Aaron. And, I know where Aaron is. Right now, he's far away from her. But that could change." I tried to suppress my rising anger. "All you have to do is kill Blair."

"What?"

"Kill Blair and Aaron will be spared from her wrath…? I don't see what's so hard about that."

I couldn't help myself. I lunged forward, grabbing two fist fulls of his shirt. "You're insane, Tobias."

"Ah," he sighed. "I love it when you say my name." I quickly let go of him and backed up. "But, hey, I can sweeten the deal. So, kill Blair, Aaron's safe, and we'll leave town. All of us, the whole pack."

"Why? I thought your father had some master plan."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but you know how it is when someone's out to kill you."

"Even if you left, it wouldn't stop me from chasing you."

"Please," he scoffed. "We can handle you." He's afraid of Blair. They think she can kill them. All of them. Why else would he want me to get rid of her? But why didn't they just kill her when she was their prisoner? Why let her go and then have me do it? I didn't say anything. I just turned and walked away.

"You're just sealing Aaron's fate, Kit," he called after me.

I stopped and looked at him. "No, Tobias. I'm sealing yours." I watched as the expression on his face changed. It went from a cocky arrogance to the realization that he'd messed up, said too much. I smirked and turned, breaking into a run. Two can play at that game. He has to be smarter than the person he's trying to outsmart.

But Tobias can't keep his mouth shut. He can't help it. The longer I spend with him the more he reveals. And the greater my chances are of stopping him. Without everyone I care about dying in the process. I ran for a mile or two, putting ground between us, before I slowed to a walk.

I pulled out my phone and called Derek. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Not from the running, though. From talking to Tobias. As soon as I heard Derek answer the phone I just started talking. "You guys need to be careful. Tobias is out here, too."

"What?" Derek said. "Did he hurt you?"

"No. I'm okay. But I think he wants Aaron. He said Aaron would be safe if I killed Blair, and I don't think he meant just from her."

"Why does he want you to kill Blair?"

"Remember what I said earlier? She won't stop until he's dead."

"And you." The voice came from behind me, a split second before something hard hit me in the back of the head. I dropped the phone and fell forward, doing a belly flop into the ground. A hand grabbed my shoulder and forced me onto my back. I stared into Blair's eyes just as a set of claws dug into my stomach at my waistline.

I growled, trying to bite back the pain. But it wasn't working. I struggled for a breath, feeling as though I had an elephant on my chest. Blair straddled me, a closed mouth grin on her face. I knew that look in her eyes all too well. She was enjoying my pain. And being the one to cause it.

"I know," She said. "It's hurts. That's the first place they got me, that night."

"So, what? Are you going to reenact what was done to you on me?"

"No. Because I'm going to enjoy it, this time."

I sighed, and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Blair. For everything." Her body went rigid as she eyed me. "I'm truly sorry for what happened to you and Daniel, all of them. If I could, I would go back and stop it-"

"Would you?" she asked skeptically, her voice hard.

"Yes. Listen to my heart. I'm not lying."

"You can't tell me that you didn't know who the man was that lied next to you every night. You can't tell me you were innocent in all of this."

"I was just as much a victim as the rest of you."

"No, you weren't." Her face turned hard and she looked down at her hand in my stomach. I felt her fingers bend inside me as her claws moved to point up. I screamed as she dug into more of my flesh. Her claws were about to break through when she suddenly stopped. "Why didn't you agree?"

I swallowed and blinked a few times. "What?"

"Why didn't you agree to Tobias' terms?"

I shouldn't be surprised she was watching me, but I am surprised that she asked. "Because I won't kill you."

"Why?" she was even more skeptical now. "Even now, you're not fighting back. Why?"

"I don't want to fight you. I thought you were dead, along with everyone else. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you." I sighed. "I understand why you want me dead. Daniel was the only blood relative you had. He raised you and was probably more of a father than a brother. And we were the only real family you've ever known."

She closed her eyes. "Stop."

"And something I did, loving Tobias and bringing him into the pack, caused you to lose all of it. In one night, everything you knew and loved was gone."

"Kit…" she warned.

"I don't blame you for wanting me dead. But I'm not going to kill you. Because you're still my pack." While she was distracted, the claws on my right hand came out and I put them on the side of her head and then pressed the tips into her left temple. She tried to react but was too slow.

I was already in. The memories of that night flowed from my mind to hers. Everything from the Banshee visions I was having to the talk I had with Logan and my wantings to go find Sophia and not acting on them. How I tried to call her and heard Tobias' phone ring instead. How I saw the signs and did nothing because of my denial.

I didn't want it to be true. I didn't want it all to be real. And I shared with her that night, how Tobias and I fought. How Deucalion and Sam showed up. I showed her everything. Everything from how I felt and was thinking down to what the air felt like and how the room smelled.

I pulled my hand back, my claws leaving her head. She sat with a dazed look for a second, with tears streaming down her face. Because she also saw my visions of our pack being killed, how each one was cut down. Neither of us said anything. I wanted it to soak in. I wanted her to believe me.

"Kit!" I looked in the direction the sound had come. Isaac stood about twenty feet away, Aaron not too far behind him. I looked back at Blair. She was glaring in Isaac's direction. Then she looked at me. Her hard expression had returned. The hand that was inside of me quickly formed a fist, her claws punching their way through my flesh.

And then, with a hand full of my flesh, she yanked her hand out and stood. She tossed the large chunk of my skin she tore out before running off. The pain was too great to scream. I only gasped at her action. I thought showing her the truth would change her mind. But I guess not.

Isaac and Aaron ran over to me. Aaron got down and propped me up on his knee. Isaac ran past, in the direction Blair had gone. I coughed. "Isaac!" My voice sounded worn and broken. He stopped and turned to look at me. "Don't follow her." He looked back in the direction she had gone and then walked over to us.

My eyes went to Aaron. He was in human form and seemed to have things under control. His eyes were locked on my wound, concern and worry furrowed his brow. "I'll heal," I tried to sound as reassuring as possible, given my current circumstances.

Isaac knelt down on the opposite side of me, as I looked at him, "Where'd you find him?"

"Actually," he looked past me at Aaron, "he found me." I could tell more happened than what he was saying. But everyone's okay and that's all I care about. Isaac looked at me. "Derek was on his way to find you, but he caught sight of Tobias and told me to go instead."

"He saw Tobias?"

He nodded. "But he's not following us, he's following Boyd and Cora."

I sighed. "Where's Scott?"

"He went with Derek. I ran into Aaron on the way here."

"Okay." I nodded to myself, trying to convince myself of what I was about to do. "We need to go." I put my hands on the ground and began pushing, but I didn't get very far. It felt like I had healed a lot more than I had.

"What are you doing?" Aaron asked. "You can't walk."

"Well, we can't stay here," I said. "We need to keep moving."

Isaac sighed next to me. "Alright." He wrapped one arm around my back and then put the other under my knees.

"What are you doing?" Just after the words left my mouth, he stood and took me with him.

"Carrying you," he answered, like I should know that. But he wasn't being snotty about it. More like this was the only way this was going to get done and I shouldn't be protesting it. So I didn't.

Scott ended his phone call with Stiles, leaving us all speechless. Boyd and Cora killed someone at the pool on the other side of the preserve. Or at least, we're pretty sure it was Boyd and Cora. Though I know Stiles can be over dramatic sometimes, I don't think this was one of those times.

Apparently, Lydia's the one who found the body. Her abilities are finally starting to show themselves. I've had a few talks with her, trying to convince her of what she is. But she won't have it. Our talks usually end with her getting rude and then walking away, denying everything I just said. Maybe now she'll listen.

"This doesn't make any sense," Derek said. I stood next to him. He hasn't left my side since we met back up with each other. Of course, Boyd and Cora got away from them, and they never found Tobias. But Derek was extremely regretful that he didn't come after me, even though I tried to tell him there was nothing he could do. "The public pool's all the way on the other side of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near there."

"Derek, they killed someone," Scott said.

"How are they moving so fast?"

"Derek."

"They can't be that fast on foot."

"They killed someone. Some totally innocent kid is dead…and it's our fault."

"It's my fault."

I looked at Derek. "We're all to blame for this." His eyes met mine, saying more than his words could've.

"So, what now?" Aaron asked. Then he looked at me. "And don't tell me to go home." I wasn't. Shortly after I'd healed, whatever bit of control he had over the moon's power he lost. And for about three minutes, he wanted us dead. Somehow, Isaac was able to get through to him, the same way he had when they first found each other. For whatever reason, they seem to understand each other.

"No, I'm not letting you out of my sight," I said. "Made that mistake already once tonight."

"We need help," Scott said.

"We have Isaac, now," Derek said. "And Aaron."

"And I can call my dad," Aaron suggested.

"I mean real help," Scott looked at them. "They're too fast for us, for all of us. They're too strong, too rabid."

"We'll catch 'em," Derek insisted, not willing to let it go.

"What happens if we do?" Isaac asked. "We just gonna hold them down until the sun comes up?"

"Uh…" Aaron cringed. "Somehow I don't see that working out very well." He looked at me. "Especially that one who hurt you."

I shook my head. "She's not a concern, right now. Just Boyd and Cora."

"Maybe," Derek said, "it would be easier just to kill 'em." I looked at Derek, unable to believe what I just heard. He's fine with killing his sister because it will be easier?

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do," Scott said. Thankfully we have our way too incredibly moral, moral compass to keep us on track. Of course killing is easier. Why do you think people started doing it? I mean, really, Derek? Why are you so prone to turn back when things get hard?

"What if it's the only thing to do?" Isaac asked. "If we can't even catch them, what else do we do?"

"Find someone who knows what they're doing."

Aaron sighed. "Seriously? I thought we were done with that guy."

"Who?" Isaac asked. I looked at Scott and our eyes met. I knew exactly who he meant. And lucky for us, I have him on speed dial.

"You're tracking them by print?" Chris asked. We brought him to the preserve, to the last place we saw Boyd and Cora. I wasn't surprised that he answered the phone. But him saying yes is what actually shocked me. I think normally he would've said no. But since I had him go to Ben's house yesterday, he knew there was a problem.

I told him what had happened. Told him about Tobias and the Alphas and how we got here with Boyd and Cora. It went a lot better than I thought. But, when you've been in the game this long, there comes a point when things stop surprising you.

"Trying to," Scott said.

"Well, then you've been wasting your time." He looked at me. "I taught you that."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you, Master Windu. But I haven't been a hunter in a while now. These days, I'm the hunted."

He looked down and thought. "There's only one creature on earth that can visually track foot prints, and that's man. And if you're not trained like me, you have no idea that this print is Boyd's and these-"

"Are Cora's," Isaac said.

"Nope. They're yours. You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here." He sighed. "Listen, I know the five of you are focusing half your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon, but that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora, who have fully given in. They put the pedal to the floor, where you five are barely hitting the speed limit."

"Thank you for telling us what we already know," I said. "Can you tell us something we don't?" He glared at me. That same look I'd always get from him. Shortly after I had joined the Argents, and he was beginning to train me, I found his lectures very boring and he'd give me the same look. Like I had to hear it all in order to understand any of it.

"You need to focus on your sense of smell. Actual wolves are known to track their prey by up to a hundred miles a day by scent," he continued. "A trained hunter can use scent to track them. If the wind is with them, wolves can track a scent by a distance of two miles, which means we can draw them to us…or into a trap. Full moon does give us one advantage. They'll have a higher heat signature. Which makes them easier to spot with infrared. Just remember, we're not hunting wild animals. Underneath those impulses are two intelligent human beings.

"Don't think they can't rely on that human side. It's suppressed, but it's there, reminding them how to mask their scent, how to cover their tracks, how to survive."

Aaron scoffed. "Let's not sugar coat it."

I scowled at him. He looked at me and I shrugged, "Dude."

He sighed. "Just blame anything that comes out of my mouth on the moon. Okay?"

I sighed and Chris looked at me. "His first?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"I'm right here," Aaron said.

"Actually it seems to be going pretty well."

"Yeah," Isaac said, "minus the two times he nearly ripped me to pieces." That statement alone was funny, forget the logistics of it. Isaac's over six feet tall, Aaron's probably five foot six.

"Still right here." Aaron crossed his arms. "And, I think you're taking that just a little bit out of context."

I looked back at Chris. "Like I said; it's going pretty well."

Derek blew air out his nose, clearly annoyed with our banter. "So, what do we do?" he asked Chris.

Chris thought for a minute. "The problem is when they breach the woods and hit the residential area. Once they're past the high school, they're right in the middle of Beacon Hills."

"They're not gonna," Isaac said, "kill everything they see, are they?"

"No. But there is an important difference to recognize. Wolves hunt for food. At a certain point, they get full. Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill, for some primal apex predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds."

"Again, with the sugar coating," Aaron sighed. He interlocked his fingers, placed them on his head, and then started pacing.

"We can't kill them," Scott said.

Derek looked at him. "What if we can't catch 'em?"

"Then maybe we just need to contain them," Chris said. I was listening to the others, but my eyes were on Aaron. I think the moon's getting to him again. I snuck a glance at Isaac. He was staring more intently at Aaron than I was. Right now, Aaron's just a ticking time bomb, a grenade missing it's pin. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

"You want to trap them inside?"

"If there's somewhere with a strong enough door, no windows or access to the outside."

"What about the boiler room?" Isaac looked at Chris. "It's one big steel door."

Chris thought. "You're sure the school's empty?"

"It has to be," Scott said. "There can't be anyone there this late, right?"

My eyes were still on Aaron. I think he's got it back under control. But for a second I saw his eyes glow. But only a second. For some reason he has more control than any other Beta on their first full moon that I have ever seen. And I've seen a lot of Betas on their first moon.

I know he's grown up watching Sam and I struggle with our supernatural halves, but that's nothing compared to doing it yourself. Yes, he picked up a lot of tips. But those tips aren't going to teach you how to control the strength of the moon or one hundred percent prepare you for how it'll feel. Something's not right.

"Kit?"

I looked at Scott. "Yeah?"

"What do you think? The school should be empty, right?"

I shrugged. "I guess we're going to find out."