We Must Be Killers
In which the pack must deal with the 'death' of one of their own.

I woke up, I was stuck in a dream.
You were there, you were tearing up everything.
And we all know how to fake it, baby,
and we all know what we've done.
We must be killers.
Children of the wild ones.
Killers.
Where we got left to run?

-Mikky Ekko

The battle was finally over.

With Beacon Hills a glowing beacon for all things supernatural once more, pack after pack after a variety of supernatural beings decided to stop by. Scott was surprised with how many friendlies stopped by just to see such a powerful nemeton and a True Alpha but were soon on their way after that. Though every now and then, they did get a pack of werewolves or a coven of witches or anything really that were on a quest for power that the nemeton promised.

Just like tonight when a pack of fifteen werewolves decided to attack.

Having been outnumbered, Scott asked Chris to join their ranks for the night. With Allison and Avery having taught Stiles and Lydia to use some weapons, it still wasn't enough for the McCall pack. Chris agreed to fight if only for the future of Beacon Hills- that and the glare his daughter had directed at him was pretty harsh. Still being outnumbered, John volunteered himself. He was a decent shot and after collecting wolfsbane ammunition from Chris, he was ready to fight.

It was the enemy of fifteen to their twelve.

Killing was always the last option for the McCall pack but when push came to shove, the order was given. The fight for territory had been brutal- not a single person walking away unscathed. Scott had ordered the humans to not separate because they were stronger together but by the end of the battle, everyone had been separated. And the deciding factor of the fight had been Lydia's banshee wail.

The enemy pack didn't know there was a banshee within their ranks so when the wail pierced the air, the McCall pack was quick to tune it out and finish off the last standing wolves while they were distracted. Though with their victory came panic within the McCall pack.

"Lydia!" Scott and Derek were closest to each other, both covered in healing scratches and bruises though Scott's were taking longer since he was fighting the enemy alpha. Sweat, blood, and dirt clung to their skin but they were more worried with why the banshee screamed. "Where is she," Scott panics as they came across Aiden and Ethan.

"I- I don't know," Aiden pants as he wipes blood from his jaw. "I lost sight of her early on."

"SCOTT!" Scott, Derek, Aiden, and Ethan's attention all turn towards the direction they think Lydia's voice came from but they can't pinpoint the location. There's too many smells interfering with their senses and they don't know who is where or if they're badly injured. "Scott! I- I can't find Avery." Lydia starts mumbling, the four wolves immediately running towards her voice. "Oh, god, there's so much blood. I can't- I can't stop it."

The four wolves come to a stop, finally realizing why she was muttering about blood. She's kneeling by Stiles- Stiles who is struggling to breath with four very gnarly claw marks running from his right should to his left hip. Blood is everywhere and Lydia has nothing to stop the flow with.

Scott immediately falls to his knees, the twins stripping out of their tattered shirts and letting Scott and Lydia use them to press against Stiles' wounds. "We need to get him to the hospital," Lydia mumbles with trembling hands. "These can't be fixed up at home."

"Lydia," Derek peers down at her. "Who did you scream for? Who's death did you see?"

Lydia's gaze snaps up to him, eyes filled with tears. "I- I couldn't find her. I tried to but I stumbled across Stiles first."

"Avery," Derek gulps but manages to keep himself in check. "Was it Avery?" Rustling of leaves and the snapping of twigs to their left gain their attention- Cora, Chris, and John reappearing looking as worn as everyone else. "Dammit, Lydia," Derek finally snaps. "Was it Avery?!"

"Was what Avery," John sighs before catching sight of Stiles and rushing forward to help with whatever.

Without answering, Lydia looks up at Derek and numbly nods. "Find her," Derek growls. "Find her now," he snaps in a panic looking at Aiden and Ethan.

Cora, John, and Chris have no idea what's going but Derek, Aiden, and Ethan don't get far before there's a ferocious roar echoing through the woods. There's something heartbreaking about the roar, at least to the humans' ears, but it's like a punch to gut to the wolves.

Cora whimpers and Lydia starts sobbing.

Scott's eyes flash red though tears start immediately falling and roars back. "Cora," he hiccups. "Come down here and take my place." Cora does as she's told, not bothering to hide her tears. "Mr. Stilinski," Scott frowns as he looks at him. "Call 911. We need to get Stiles to the hospital and Avery," he cuts off with a sniffle. "Just get them here."

"Scott. Scott," John yells as Scott and Derek take off running through the tress. Since it seems that John isn't calling in 911, Chris decides to make the call. "What the hell is going on," he then demands of Lydia.

Lydia's mouth open and closes, Cora's gaze darting between the worried father and the banshee. Making sure that she's pressing the bloodied shirt to where it needs to be pressed, Cora tells him. "Avery's dead. That roar you heard moments ago was Isaac. He found her."

"No," John shakes his head in denial. "No, she can't be dead. My daughter isn't-"

"Help's on the way," Chris breaks off John's rambling denial. Casting the man a pitied glance, he lays a hand on the man's shoulder. "We need to get you home. If what Cora said is true, most of us are going to need an alibi."

"I'm not leaving my kids," John snarls pretty good for a human.

Cries can be heard from the trees now- the same section of the woods that Scott and Derek disappeared to- and Isaac and Allison appear. Allison is leaning on Isaac, sobbing as Isaac fights off sobs of his own. Behind them, Scott appears looking quite numb and behind him, Derek is cradling Avery.

Avery seems paler than normal is the moonlight that's managed to break through the trees, her hair blowing freely with the small breeze, and her jacket and jeans have a dark stain on them. Her limbs hang limply from Derek's hold, her eyes shut peacefully and mouth closed.

"They ripped her throat out," Isaac mumbles with a traumatized look in his eyes. "S-she wasn't breathing when we found her. There's no h-heartbeat," he chokes on a sob as he explains.

John immediately stands to his feet, rushing to his daughter's body as he tries to take her from Derek. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Chris takes charge. "We need to get most of you out of here," he explains. "With Stiles severely injured and Avery dead, this is going to gain a lot of attention."

"What do you need us to do," Scott murmurs. He cringes as John howls out in anguish, not wanting to look at what he's sure is a heartbreaking scene.

"First of all- you, Cora, Derek, Lydia, Isaac, Allison, Aiden, and Ethan need to get out of here. Since these are the Sheriff's children, it's going to look suspicious if people find out how many of us were here yet only them two were injured even though everyone looks like shit." Scott nods, eyes watering as he stares down at his unconscious friend. "Since there are claw marks, we can pass it off as a mountain lion attack. I was with John when we got the call from Stiles after the attack. The animal attacked him before Avery distracted it and made it chase her through the woods. She managed to fend it off long enough until we got here but when we got here, we heard her scream. A gunshot from our gun scared it off but it was too late."

"And what were they doing in the woods in the first place," Scott gulps as he tries to distract himself from what John's going through at this moment.

"Car trouble," Ethan deadpans. "Before we leave, we can puncture one of the tires on the Jeep."

Sirens blare in the distance and Chris tosses Isaac the keys to his SUV. "Get Allison and Lydia out of here. Now!"

Lydia scrambles to her feet, letting Isaac pull her and Allison along leaving behind their battle worn pack.

Aiden and Ethan need no telling what to do, both rushing towards their bikes they had left beside Stiles' Jeep and Derek's Camaro. Before they can leave, Aiden digs one claw into a tire on Stiles' jeep to let all the air out.

With taking one last look at Chris now applying pressure to Stiles' wounds and John cradling Avery's lifeless form, Derek gestures for Scott and Cora to follow him so they could all go change and clean up, and then meet up at the hospital.

..

..

When Derek, Scott, and Cora finally make it to the hospital- the entire pack is already there plus half of the Beacon Hills Police Force. There's not a dry eye in the waiting room and John is blubbering as Melissa lets him lean on her.

Derek and Cora move to sit next to Lydia and the twins, Scott heading for John and his mom. As he nears, he can clearly here what John is mumbling beneath his cries, he crying out for his baby girl. Scott blinks away some tears of his own and leans down to give his mom a side-hug.

"Stiles is going to be okay," Melissa sniffles. "He needed a blood transfusion and some stitches, though, and he actually woke up. When he asked about Avery, John told him what happened, and the doctor sedated him. They're keeping him for a few days."

Scott nods, sniffling some as he eyes his heartbroken pack. "Has anyone informed Nik and Elijah?"

"I'll do it," Derek immediately stands. "I'll just step outside."

After hearing Melissa tell Scott that everyone should head home now because there's nothing anyone can do, Derek heads outside to dial Nik. The phone rings for a while before going to voicemail, Derek hanging up and then trying again. On his second try, during the fourth ring, he answers.

"Mr. Hale," Nik drawls. "There better be a good reason as to why you're waking me up so bloody early."

A lump suddenly forms in Derek's throat, he quickly clearing it away before delivering the bad news. "Avery's dead. There was a fight with an enemy pack and she didn't make it."

Silence falls over the line and just when Derek thinks they've been disconnected, Nik's voice crackles over the line. "What," he asks calmly. Too calmly.

"She's dead, Nik," Derek repeats.

There's more silence before the tell-tale sign of ripping material sounds over the line and a few seconds later, a cringe worthy howl comes through. Derek sighs, figuring Nik transformed in his anger and then a few moments later, a new voice comes over the line.

"Mr. Hale," Elijah asks. "What's going on?"

Derek cringes at the thought of telling the second Original before relaying the message he passed on to Nik, silence once again falling over the line at Derek's admission. But instead of going into a rage, Elijah speaks calmly. "We're nearby. We'll be there soon."

..

..

It'd been an hour since Melissa finally made the pack leave, she being sure to tell her son to not leave John alone. Scott had assured her that he wouldn't- most of the pack agreeing as well. They all took Avery's death pretty hard, most of them still not quite believing how the night turned out.

She had a few more papers to sign off on down in the morgue- the morgue giving her a chill as the girl who she considered a daughter lay under a sheet a few metal tables down.

Putting the fact that Avery was no longer among the living, Melissa got to work.

She's only a handful of minutes in when a startled gasp sounds behind her. Freezing mid-loop of the first 'L' in her last name, she shakes her head in denial before finishing her signature. Fear of a body suddenly waking up in the morgue is a common fear for nearly everyone who works in a hospital.

It isn't until she hears the creaking of one of the metal tables that she slowly turns around, already cringing at what she's about to come face to face with. Lo and behold, it's every worker's fear come true with a body sitting upright and looking rather confused about their surroundings. But instead of screaming out in fear, Melissa's heart thunders inside her rib cage as lump forms in her throat and tears fill her eyes.

"A-avery?"

Avery's bewildered expression darts to Melissa, face pale and eyes wide. Her hair hangs in a mess of tangles around her face and she's clutching an itchy white sheet to her naked frame with no throat wound in sight. "Am I," she gulps before looking around the room once more. "Did I die?"

Forgetting all about her paperwork, Melissa pushes her stool back and rushes towards Avery. "Sweetie, what did you do?! How are you alive right now," she asks as she starts feeling Avery's cheeks and forehead like the concerned mother she is.

"What am I doing here? How did I- what happened?!"

Slowly removing her hands, Melissa takes a step back. "You don't remember?"

"No," Avery suddenly sniffles. "I- I remember the pack fighting and then.. nothing."

Melissa's nodding along, letting Avery try to piece it together on her own but when she doesn't, she tells her. "Scott told me it was one of the most brutal fights the pack has ever been in," she murmurs. "Stiles was injured but he's here at the hospital for a few days until he's stable enough to go home, and Isaac and Allison," she pauses a moment to clear her throat. "Isaac and Allison were the ones who found you. Your throat was ripped out, honey."

Avery blinks owlishly at the news, tears quickly falling now as she reaches up to run her fingertips along the smooth skin of her throat. "Can you get me my clothes? I want to see my brother."

"I- I can't," Melissa shakes her head. "They're locked up in another room since you've been marked down as deceased and you can't see Stiles because he's been sedated. He didn't take the news of your death very well." Avery frowns, hands shakily wiping away tears. "But I can get you some scrubs and then we can call your Dad," Melissa amends. "I'm sure he'll be more than happy to hear of this.. miracle."

Not knowing what else she can do, Avery nods and watches as Melissa scurries from the room. She's back in under a minute, a pair of light blue scrubs in hand. Before she offers Avery a bit of privacy to change, she slips off a hair-tie and offers it to Avery as well.

"I'll just- I'll just call John," Melissa mumbles as she gives Avery her back.

As Avery slowly dresses, Melissa digs out her phone from her pocket and dials John's home phone. The phone rings and rings and is eventually answered by Scott.

"Mom? Why are you-"

"Wake up, John," Melissa cuts him off. "Wake John up now!"

"He's not- he didn't even go to sleep," Scott blurts and Melissa sighs because it's just after six in the morning. "Hold on, he's right here."

"Melissa-"

"Avery's alive," she blurts immediately. "You need to get to the hospital asap. No-one can see her."

"Melissa, what-"

"I don't know," she panics. "One second she's not alive and the next, she is! I don't know what's going on but we're both confused and she's asking for you."

John goes quiet on the other line and then there's a moment when it sounds as if the phone is being passed off. "Melissa," and that's Derek speaking now. "I need you to listen very carefully. In some myths, legend has it that the claws of an alpha can turn if dug deep enough. Since we're not sure who clawed-"

"I'm not a werewolf," Avery's voice startles both Melissa and Derek into silence for a moment.

"Do you have us on speaker?"

"N-no," she stutters. "I don't know how she-"

"I'm not a werewolf," Avery says again. "Just come pick me up. Please. Bring my Dad and no-one else."

"I, uh, yeah. We'll be right there."

The phone call ends and Melissa pockets her phone once more. As Avery is tying up her hair, she catches Melissa staring at her. "Spit it out," Avery finally mumbles. "It looks like you're biting your tongue pretty hard there."

Melissa smiles sheepishly and takes a step closer, reaching up to trace her fingers along the throat she saw ripped open earlier that night. "It's just.. if you're not a werewolf then what are you? People just don't come back to life especially without a wound to show for it."

"I- I'm just," Avery frowns before stepping away from her. "Can we not talk about it? I just want to go home."

"O-of course. I'm sorry."

Avery's on edge, her hearing amplified and trying her best not to cringe and make Melissa suspicious. She can hear the faint buzzing of electricity from the fluorescent lights up above but when she peers upward, her eyes are very sensitive to the light.

Choosing to sit in a darkened corner, Avery presses her back to the wall and slides down to sit on the floor. Hugging her knees to her chest, she rests her head down atop her knees and tries to labor her breathing. She didn't want to make Melissa any more suspicious than she already was but her sudden super hearing is making it very hard.

Avery can practically feel when her Dad is nearby, a frantic heartbeat beating faster than any other heart there suddenly hammering in her ears. Squeezing her eyes tight, she waits for him to appear.

Moments later, the door squeaks open but she doesn't pick her head up. Her new hearing is rather cringe-worthy. "Where is she," John's voice rasps. There is no answer so Avery expects that Melissa just pointed her out. "Avery?"

Her head finally snaps up, tears running silently down her cheeks. Both John and Derek are shell-shocked, Derek's eyes flashing blue very briefly as his head tilts in confusion. "Hi, daddy," she finally mumbles and pushes herself back up to her feet.

John doesn't waste anymore time, he lunging forward and wrapping Avery in a bone crushing hug. His hands twist into the back of her borrowed shirt, his face pressed into her shoulder as he sobs. "How is this even possible?! How are you- I don't understand."

"Just take me home, dad. I want to go home."

As John clutches his daughter to him, Melissa finally breaks the brief silence after Avery's admission. "John, if you're going to take her out of here then you need to hurry. It's bad enough I'm going to have to think up an excuse about the missing body of the Sheriff's daughter."

"Yeah.. yeah, you're right," John mumbles as he pulls out of the hug, staring at his daughter in awe before pulling her back into a hug. "I just can't believe it."

Derek is still staring oddly at Avery but doesn't voice his concern. It isn't until he hears muffled words directed at him that he snaps out of his thoughts. "What was that?"

"I asked if you've already contacted 'lijah or Nik," Avery repeats.

"Yeah," he answers. "They should be here soon."

"Can I see your phone then? I have an idea so that Melissa doesn't have to think up a believable excuse for me."

Derek nods, picking out his phone and handing it to Avery. John settles Avery into his side, keeping one arm draped across her shoulders as she dials a number on Derek's phone.

"Hale," Nik's voice immediately answers.

"Nik," Avery murmurs. "Nik, I need a favor."

"Kitten?!"

"Yeah."

"What did you do?!"

Sighing, Avery clenches her jaw before responding. "Why does everyone assume I did something. Insurance policy, remember? Finally looks like I was able to cash in."

Nik sighs heavily over the line and as Avery meets Derek's gaze, she knowing that he knows something is up. "What do you need, love? We're less than thirty minutes away."

"I need you to compel half the town." John, Derek, and Melissa all tense- mouths dropping open in shock. "Look, just hear me out," she pleads softly to the three in the room as Nik waits patiently on the line to hear what she's got to say though he doesn't need to know why. He'd do anything for her. "The entire Sheriff's department and the hospital know I died. My body's disappearance will raise a lot of questions as will my Dad's lack of interest in finding me. I just need you to compel them to forget- forget that I died tonight," she explains. "Let them think that only Stiles was hurt- that I fended off the mountain lion with fire or something just long enough to get my Dad out there before calling in 911. They just need to forget that I'm dead and everything will be fine."

John, Melissa, and Derek don't say anything but Avery didn't really care for their permission. She just needed Nik's approval of help. "Got it, darling. Have your father set up a meeting first thing in the morning for his deputies. Elijah and I will compel every doctor, nurse, and orderly who heard of your death. You have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Nik."

"You can thank me by completing-"

"I will," she quickly cuts him off. "I'll see you soon."

After quickly hanging up, Derek shrugs out of his leather jacket and hands it to Avery. "Let's go. Everyone is at your house waiting for you."

..

..

It isn't until she's seated in the back of Derek's Camaro with her Dad seated in the front passenger seat and Derek driving that she finally snaps. The not-so-subtle glances that Derek keeps casting in the rear view mirror have finally grated on her last nerve.

"What? Why do you keep looking at me?!"

Instead of being flustered or showing an ounce of guilt at being caught, Derek looks even more suspicious. "Why don't you have a scent?"

John whirls in his seat, eyes wide as he stares at her and Derek keeps glancing at her in the mirror. Knowing that Derek and now her Dad won't drop it, Avery sighs and sits back, finally letting her emotions take over one more. Eyes filling with tears and bottom lip trembling, she tells them the truth. "I'm in transition. I only have twenty four hours to complete it."

Derek's grip on the steering wheel tightens, he having known what being in transition meant. John- though- John has no clue. "What does that mean?"

Avery opens her mouth to answer but all John gets is a choked off sob. Taking the reigns on the conversation, Derek tells him. "Vampire blood can heal a human. Avery's been drinking it for as long as she's known about the supernatural and if there's vampire blood in her system when she dies, she'll wake up in transition and turn into one of them if she completes it."

John gapes, his heart beat picking up speed. "And how do you complete it?"

"Just a drop of human blood would do," Avery murmurs. "But only a little drop will start a feeding frenzy."

"Which means we'll need more," Derek sighs. As the car's occupants fall silent, Derek curses and digs out his phone. They don't know who he's calling but it's obvious as soon as the other caller answers. "Melissa, we're going to need your help after all." Avery doesn't bother trying to listen in on what Melissa is saying and just waits for Derek to continue. "We've figured out what Avery is and we're going to need one or two blood bags from the blood bank. It doesn't matter what type but we need it and we need it now. We'll be at John's."

John seems a bit uncomfortable with the twist of events but manages to finally relax once more in his seat. Derek meets Avery's gaze in rear view once more and with a determined nod, Avery calmly breathes in relief.

It was going to be okay.

It had to be okay.

..

..

The moment they enter the Stilinski home, it's Allison and Scott who are first to get their arms around Avery. Having pushed John and Derek to the sides, the two men step away and take a stance near Chris who's watching Avery with a curious gaze. When Avery manages to get one arm free, she reaches for Lydia and tugs her forward into a group hug while gesturing for Isaac to join in on it as well.

They hug it out for a few moments, Allison and Lydia both crying which gives Avery the sniffles. Scott and Isaac are doing their best to scent mark their pack mate all over again since it seems any and all scent Avery once carried is now gone. It seems like forever that the pack holds on to her and by the time they relent, Avery has her minute to accept Ethan's hug and pull Aiden and Cora into a group hug when Melissa finally shows up.

Glancing warily at everyone in the home, Melissa adjusts her bag hanging from her shoulder and stands near Derek. "You got it," he asks.

Nodding, Melissa reaches into her bag and pulls out a blood bag. "Managed to sneak out two."

John grimaces, Chris' eyes widen, and the other four wolves in the room immediately stare at the bag in Melissa's hand. "What's going on," Scott mumbles, stepping forward towards Derek. "What's with the blood?"

"My coming back didn't come without consequence," Avery answers him. "If I don't complete the transition, I die again but this time I won't be coming back."

"Y-you're a vampire," Scott splutters.

"Not yet," she shrugs. "About to be though."

Chris swears and John nods along in agreement but ends up herding the pack towards the living room since they had all congregated in the little hallway by the front door. Once everyone is settled- either standing or sitting- and Avery is perched on her own single sofa chair, Derek steps forward with the blood bag in hand.

"How do you want to do this? From the bag or in a cup?"

"Bag's fine," Avery grimaces and reaches for it. "I'm not too picky." As she accepts the blood bag from Derek, she nearly cringes at the way the blood sloshes around in it's bag. There's a little tube at the top of the bag and after bending it a bit, she breaks the seal so the tube will act as a straw. "Bottom's up," she shrugs.

Everyone seems to hold their breath as she tentatively sips from it, her nose crinkling at the metallic taste. It isn't until she pulls the small tube from her mouth does the taste settle on her tongue and she practically salivates. Eyes widening at the fact that she likes it, she pulls the tube back to her mouth and hungrily sips it.

When her eyes catch that of her pack, everyone is either grimacing at her or avoiding the sudden feeding frenzy.

She slurps down nearly half the bag, a sudden sharp pain pulsing in her gums. Groaning and yelping in pain, the blood bag slips from her hands and fall on the floor at her feet. Doubling over, Avery clenches her eyes shut and clamps a hand over her mouth.

"What is it? What's going on," John demands as he rushes forward. In the midst of his sudden panic, he tramples on the fallen blood bag and pops it beneath his shoe. "Avery, tell us what's going on!"

John pulls Avery's hand away from her mouth while simultaneously lifting her face.

When she looks up, John gasps and stumbles away. Her mouth is parted slightly as she pants, newly formed fangs bare for everyone to see. Dark veins seemed to have slithered to the surface from the bottoms of her eyes and fanning out over the tops of her cheeks. And when she opens her eyes, her eyes are a shade darker and the whites of her eyes are now blood red.

She suddenly hisses, her eyes trained on John and everyone tenses.

Avery- their friend, their pack mate- is a vampire. A blood thirsty vampire.

John immediately holds his hands up in surrender, palms facing out and Avery hisses yet again. The werewolves all flash their eyes, claws extending herding the females behind them. Avery's nostrils flare and when her eyes glance down at the spilled blood beneath her feet, she frowns.

"If you're hungry, we still have another bag," John voices as calmly as he can.

Avery glances back up at him, her head tilting in confusion before her lips pull back in a sneer. Her gaze darts down to his neck where the now visible pulsing artery- at least to Avery's vision- is pulsing tauntingly at her. She glances back and forth at the blood beneath her feet and at John's neck.

In the blink of an eye, she hisses from her seat before she's up on her feet and blurring into John's personal space. She has one hand on his shoulder and the other pushing his head into a tilt before she's sinking fangs into his neck.

John yelps in pain, the women in the house scream, Avery hungrily feeds, and the werewolves all snarl in warning at her. The cock of a gun is loud to Avery's ears but she doesn't relent, and she only does so after a hand grips her tightly on the back of her neck. The grip is stronger as they squeeze, and as Avery opens her mouth in a warning growl, whoever is squeezing her sees their opportunity to rip her away from John without inflicting more damage to his neck.

She goes flying across the room, hitting the wall upside down with a sickening crunch while leaving an impression behind of cracked plaster, and falls to the floor head first.

In a blur of movement, Avery is in a defensive crouch and ready to attack once more, eyes darting all over everyone. As she bares her fang in a hiss, hungry eyes watch as Chris and Isaac position themselves in front of Allison and Lydia. Scott and Ethan are standing guard in front of Melissa, and Aiden and Cora are helping John keep pressure on his wound as Derek wolfs out and snarls at Avery.

This time when she lunges, it's to the incredible timing of the front door being kicked open and Avery being caught by the nape of her neck just inches in front of Derek.

Nik has a strong hold on Avery, an arrogant smirk in place while Elijah casually strolls in. Avery continues to hiss and bare fang at Derek, and growing tired of it, Nik elegantly snaps Avery's neck to the right without a second thought and catches her in the fireman carry before she crumples to the floor.

The sickening crunch of bone startles everyone, Scott, Derek, and Isaac now all growling at Nik for doing what he did. "Oh, relax," he drawls. "She's a vampire now so only a stake to the heart will kill her, not a snapped neck."

"Are you crazy," John yells at him. "That's my daughter!"

"Your daughter who's a blood thirsty vampire if that wound on your neck is anything to go by," Nik bit back. "We just did you a second favor so while we go compel the hospital staff for you, Avery will be resting peacefully until we get back. Hale," Nik barks out, gaze slowly meeting that of Derek's. "Take the baby vampire up to her room," he tells him. "Close her blinds or curtain on her window and shut her bedroom door halfway. As for the rest of the windows and doors upstairs, make sure their curtains are open as are the doors so the sunlight floods in. If she awakes before we return, the sun rays will keep her prisoner in her room."

Derek growls once more before cautiously taking Avery from his hold, gesturing for Lydia and Allison to follow so they could enter the other rooms and open up their windows.

Once the four of them disappear up the stairs, Scott turns to Elijah. "What's our plan now? How do we explain Avery's sudden liveliness?"

"We're compelling them to forget about it," Elijah steps in before Nik exaggerates their plans in front of the Hunter who's eyeing them warily. "It was Avery's idea and John's approved. He's scheduling a meeting for after when the sun has come up and everyone's attending. Nik and I are on our way to compel the hospital staff right now, and one of us will stay behind to compel the deputies later on."

"Why only one of you," Isaac suddenly asks. "Won't it go quicker if the both of you stay?"

"Well one of us needs to get Avery to New Orleans asap," Nik smirks. "There's no way she's staying here when she's such a liability at the moment."

"Now hang on one damn moment," John scoffs. "You are not making-"

"She needs to, Mr. Stilinski," Elijah quickly steps in to diffuse the tension. "Avery needs to learn control over her blood lust and since there are no vampires in Beacon Hills, her best bet is to go back home with us. After she's gained control, she's free to come back."

"Why can't you assign a vampire to Beacon Hills for her," John easily relents, the wound on his neck causing him a bit of pain and not in a very argumentative mood.

"This is Avery we're talking about," Nik huffs. "We don't trust anyone else other than ourselves to teach her control."

Even though Avery is an adult and Scott is her alpha, they leave the decision to John. He looks reluctant about sending his daughter away but he knows that Elijah speaks the truth. If his daughter attacked him without second guessing herself, she'd attack anybody. She needed to learn control and she needed to learn it fast.

"How long are we talking about Avery being gone?"

"The least amount of time is a year," Elijah admits. "Blood lust is a hunger unlike she's ever felt and it's going to be hard. We'll have her call every other day and I'm sure she'll want to video chat with you. We'll permit that but we can't have her coming home any sooner than that or her having any visitors. She needs to put her all into learning control."

John sighs, wincing as he holds onto his neck. Nik takes one look at him before disappearing into the kitchen and then showing up a moment later with a tumbler of what appears to be Scotch. "Here, mate, drink this."

"What's in it?"

As John eyes the alcohol suspiciously, Nik grins. "If I tell you, you won't drink it. Drink it and that nasty little wound will be gone within the hour."

John takes the tumbler with a scowl, quickly tossing back the drink in one single gulp. Nik smirks as he takes the tumbler back to the kitchen and everyone seems antsy as Elijah lingers around.

After approving with the compelling plan, Elijah and Nik excuse themselves. Before they leave, though, Melissa volunteers to go with them. When asked why, she reminds them that she works there and she can pull aside her coworkers that knew of Avery's death so Nik and Elijah can compel them. Agreeing to take her, Elijah hooks his arm around Melissa's waist and disappears with her within the blink of an eye- Nik hot on their trail.

John sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose before telling the Pack he has to go in to put together a mandatory meeting for 9AM that morning. Chris volunteers to stay but after Derek tells him he's got it under control with Scott, Allison tells her Dad to go home and get some sleep. He tries to tell her the same thing, that she needs sleep too but she tells him she'd rather stay to see Avery off when Nik and Elijah take her.

Chris sighs but knows that's a pack thing so he leaves her behind and follows John out the front door. As Scott, Derek, Cora, Allison, Lydia, Isaac, Ethan, and Aiden all share shocked stares- the girls are quick to start opening curtains and blinds so the now pink sky outside is visible.

Might as well flood the entire house with sunlight in case Avery makes it passed the upstairs floor.

..

..

When Avery finally comes to, every one of her senses are on overload. She has a splitting headache, a crick in her neck, and her throat is oddly dry and burning. She can hear multiple beating hearts not far from her location- the heart beats sounding as if they're clustered together. The room distinctly smells a bit musky, along with the smell of dog, which her mind immediately screams werewolf.

There's a presence very nearby if the little hairs all over her body sticking up and her sudden alertness to danger is any indication. Eyes fluttering open though, she's met with the sight of Elijah.

"'lijah? What are you doing here," she rasps.

As she tries to sit up, she feels leather slide against her arms and realizes she's wearing a leather jacket that's many sizes too big. Elijah gently pushes her back down so she's leaning up on her elbows. "Tell me what you last remember, sweetheart."

Avery frowns in confusion, her brows pulling together as she tries to think. "I- I was in the forest," she gulps. "The pack- we had a fight with an enemy pack. After that, it goes black and I woke up in the," she trails off, eyes going wide and sitting up in a blur. Elijah immediately sets a hand on her shoulder to keep her in the bed. "Oh god, I died! I- I turned and then Derek and my dad- my dad!" Her eyes widen in shock, tears quickly gathering, and the cluster of heartbeats start beating faster in sync. "Oh god, 'lijah, I attacked my dad!"

"It's okay," he speaks calmly while taking a seat next to her. Smoothing down one side of her head of hair, Elijah leans in to peck her left temple. "Your dad is fine, Avery. Derek pulled you off of him and Nik caught you just in the nick of time. That's why your head is pounding, love. He snapped your neck."

Annoyance hits Avery like an 18-wheeler, her lips pulling back into a snarl as her vocal cords rumble and she feels rather than hears the growl that escapes her throat. Eyes widening in surprise, Elijah chuckles. "It's not funny," she suddenly whines. "It feels like a constant bought of PMS. I'm a terrible vampire."

"You're only a baby," Elijah grins. "It'll get better." Avery scoffs and moves to let her legs dangle off the side of the bed. "And speaking of getting better, how's the throat? How thirsty are you?"

"Uh, pretty thirsty," she admits. "It burns. I didn't know it burned like this."

"Yes, well, being a vampire isn't as easy as it seems. Melissa left a blood bag here for you drink. Would you like it now?" At the mention of blood, Avery's gaze snaps up to Elijah, her eyes darkening and fangs slipping down. With a chuckle, Elijah nods. "I'll take that as a yes. Derek, if you will?"

Derek enters the room, blood bag in hand. His face is void of any emotion and Avery feels guilty for a split second. "Sorry for earlier," she frowns. "I wasn't in control."

"S'fine," he mumbles. "Sorry for tossing you into the wall. I'll pay for the damages."

Avery frowns in confusion just as she hears snickering outside the door. Just as she's about to ask who all is there, Derek snaps the tube and the faint scent of blood infiltrates her sense of smell. She immediately vamps out but before she can blur up to Derek, Elijah grips her shoulder once more and forces her to stay seated. The werewolf eyes her warily as he cautiously hands her the blood bag, his nose crinkling when Avery forgoes the tube and sinks her fangs into the bag instead.

When she's finished slurping down the blood, she smacks her lips together while licking up whatever coated her lips and gives Derek a fangy smirk. "Don't look at me like that. I'm pretty sure when you were younger that you ate Bambi and his mom."

"It's just weird, is all. Just last night you were human and now you're sucking down blood like your life depends on it."

"It does depend on it," she retorts. "At least for now until I learn to control it and then it won't be as bad."

Derek shoves his hands in his pockets, moving to stand back against the wall of what she realizes is her room. The bag is long empty but her vampire visage is still in place. "Still hungry?"

"A little."

"If you try to take a bite out of me, I'm snapping your neck."

Avery snorts and Elijah grins. "Trust me, Der, you don't smell appetizing to me at all." She takes a sniff for show and scowls. "You actually smell like a dog."

"Hey, I resent that," a new voice sounds. Peering to the side, Avery catches Aiden standing there and mock glaring at her.

"Aiden," Avery grins, her vampire features slowly fading away. "Is the whole pack here?"

Instead of answering, he steps further inside and Ethan follows in behind him. Behind Ethan is Scott, Lydia, Allison, Cora, and then Isaac. Allison and Lydia are pushed behind the wolves but Avery doesn't fault them for it. "Where's Dad? And Nik?"

"Out doing your bidding," Isaac supplies with a shaky grin. "Apparently you told them to compel half the town to forget your death. The hospital's been taken care of so now it's the deputies."

Avery nods, taking in a deep breath only to realize she doesn't need the air any longer. Though as she took in a deep breath, she also brought in the smell of blood rushing beneath flesh. There are two distinct smells of human and it makes her top gum ache to drop her fangs. Her throat suddenly burns in thirst and she can feel when her eyes change. All the wolves in the room tense but sag in relief as they watch Avery reach for Elijah's hand.

"Open a window, please. I- I need fresh air." Scott rushes to open the window, Avery holding her breath until said window is open. When it is, she rushes to the open window only to draw back with a hiss. "Motherfucker," she snarls. "I'm really starting to hate being a vampire."

They stare in shock at the sudden redness of Avery's face from where it was exposed to the sun, the burn healing right before their eyes. "The sooner we get back to New Orleans, love, the sooner you'll get your daylight ring."

"New Orleans?"

"Oh, yeah," Scott raises his hand as if he needs permission to speak. "Elijah and Nik thought it was best if you went back to New Orleans with them to learn control. The quicker you learn, the quicker you'll come back."

"And no-one thought to wait until I was conscious to ask me what I wanted?!"

In her anger, her vampire visage makes a debut once more. "Calm down before I compel you to calm down," Elijah threatens her. "You're not mad right now- you're annoyed. Everything's amplified so any little emotion gets blown out of proportion."

Avery growls at him, breathing deeply before turning her head towards the window and breathing in the fresh air rather than the air in her room tainted with the promise of blood. As she starts feeling a bit more like herself, her shoulders sag in relief. "You're right. This really blows," she mumbles. "Will I at least get to see Dad or Stiles before I leave?"

"Afraid not," Elijah stands up and smooths out his suit. "Your father's meeting is still not for a couple more hours and we can't risk taking you out just yet. You've also no daylight ring so it's better if we just get on the road."

Keeping to the shadows, Avery nods. "Very well then." She's walking around her room, making sure to stay out of the sun's rays. Stopping in front of Scott, she offers him a shaky grin. "Go to my brother, will you? Wait there with him so I can call and let him know I'm okay."

"Yeah. Anything." Scott can't help himself, he lunging forward and wrapping Avery in a hug. She tenses under his hold, slowly relaxing when she realizes his scent doesn't bother her. "Take care, okay? We'll be waiting for you."

After being released from Scott, Avery makes a move to slip out of the leather jacket that she assumes is Derek's and is proven correct when Derek stops her. "Keep it," he tells her. "You can give it back when you come back home."

Avery accepts a brief hug from Derek as well as Cora but the moment Lydia makes a move to hug her, Avery blurs to the opposite side of her room, fangs out. "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry," she pants. "No humans. Not yet."

Lydia frowns but understands and steps back with the pack. Calming down, Avery locks gazes with Elijah. "I guess all there's left to do is pack."


Nearly two years later..

Since Avery's departure from Beacon Hill's, the McCall pack became an even tighter knit group. As cliché as it might sound, losing their human friend for those couple of hours was as if something was missing from their soul. It was like a little piece of them was taken out and lost forever, and they each knew they'd never be complete again. But when Avery had returned to them in the form of a vampire, that little piece filled itself back in but it didn't quite feel right.

But since her departure, the Pack learned to make the needed adjustment towards their pack mate's new creature status. Even though they weren't able to see each other in person, there were many phone calls and Skype calls almost every day. Stiles had taken the news surprisingly well that his sister was a vampire and eventually told them he'd take having his sister no matter what species she was over being dead.

As the weeks turned into months, the Pack relied more and more on their Emissary in training- Stiles. And when Stiles became stumped, one call to Avery was all they needed to gain what information they were missing on the creature of the week in Beacon Hills.

New enemies were coming in slower than normal but they were enemies nonetheless. Smaller and inexperienced packs were easily taken care of whereas vampires, witches, wendigos, and fairies gave them a run for their money. In the end, though, the McCall pack came out victorious and the Beacon Hills residents lived another day in the dark about the supernatural.

Though, on this particular night, the McCall pack found themselves in serious trouble.

A witch coven blew into town undetected- these witches having been the most experienced they've ever came up against. They were smart enough to mask their scents unlike any other covens that came into town and the pack didn't know they were a threat until the very last second.

On one side of the clearing deep in the Preserve, the werewolves all stood herded together by a ring of mountain ash while the humans- Stiles, Lydia, and Allison- are tied up and knocked unconscious a few feet away from the wolves. Cora, Isaac, and Aiden were nursing a few broken yet healing bones, fangs on full display as they snarl at the witches smirking triumphantly at them from across the clearing.

Scott stands at the front of his pack, eyes glowing a menacing red at those who trapped them. Derek and Ethan are flanking him- their own eyes glowing a piercing blue.

"Ready to give us what we want," the leader of the witches asks. His own human blue eyes are easy to distinguish from across the clearing- his eyes gleaming arrogantly with their sure victory.

Instead of answering, Scott snarls and snaps his fangs in their direction. Ever since they'd been trapped, the leader of the Coven had been asking Scott to give up their territory. Since they were one and the same from the supernatural realm, the witches didn't want to kill them and uneven the balance. Killing a True Alpha was a major no-no and should Scott die at their hands, the Coven's magic would most likely be stripped by their ancestors.

Their words not the Pack's.

As they continue their stare off, a low- very low to the wolves' ears- little sweet four note whistle reach their ears. The wolves bristle at the noise, even more so when it comes again only a bit sharper.

"What is that," Derek snarls from Scott's left when it doesn't let up. Eyes casting everywhere in the clearing, the werewolves realize that either the witches are causing it or they just can't hear it.

The sweet four note whistle happens twice more until Cora shakily stands on a newly healed leg. "Is that from the Hunger Games," she scoffs lowly. Head tilting to the side and straining her hearing, she slowly nods. "That's the tune from the movie. The one Katniss uses to signal for her little friend."

Taking his eyes off the enemy for the first time, Scott peers over his shoulder. "Katniss?" His eyebrows pull together as he thinks about it, the tune being whistled another three times before Scott huffs a laugh. "I used to call Avery Katniss. She had this thing about scaling trees when we had paintball tournaments."

Ethan helps his brother to his feet as Cora reaches down for Isaac. "Do you think it's her," Isaac asks. "Last we talked to her, she never said anything about coming-"

The tune gets sharper and closer before finally ceasing, and a low chuckle reaches their ears. "Is it my time to show you what I've learned?"

The werewolves all perk up, eyes scanning the woods around them but they don't see anything out of the ordinary. It also doesn't help that she has no scent.

Just as the witches grow frustrated, they start chanting. The leader, who's all scruff and smug smirks, loses his cool facade and starts chanting in Latin rather roughly. One of his members- a female with hair dark as night and eyes an ice blue that oddly glow in the dark steps forward. She reaches her hand out, palm up, and fingers forming mock claws. As she chants in sync with her coven, she flicks her wrist upward and the ring of mountain ash ignites in tall flames.

The wolves all flinch and just as the flames get hot enough to pull a whine from Cora, there's a horrendous female screaming from the witch's side before said scream turns into gurgling. The flames die but the mountain ash remains untouched.

As the wolves get their vision under control, they see the female who caused the flames dead on the floor with her leader hovering next to her side. A sardonic chuckle catches everyone's attention- the chuckle coming from beside the herded werewolves.

Laughing under the moonlight- stripping out of a black leather jacket- is Avery. A white cropped muscle-tee flaunts pale skin, dark skinny jeans cling to her legs, and knee high heeled boots complete the new and improved female. Turning her face to towards the wolves, dark loose curls hang freely framing her face, and the moonlight lights up her features so they're staring at a nearly normal Avery.

Her face is completely human except for the glimpse of fang they can see through her crooked grin and the blood covering the bottom half of her face.

Another female screams in outrage, eyes wild, and rushes forward from her coven. She's chanting again but this time, the wind picks up and thunder rolls in the distance. Glancing up at the sky, Avery laughs before giving her attention to the witch in question. Tutting and wagging her finger at her, Avery steps in front of Scott just on the outside of the mountain ash.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Avery lets the rest of her vampire visage bleed to the surface and darts her gaze to the man glaring at her. "Call her off or I'll rip her throat out as well. I'm still a bit famished. Don't think I won't do it."

"Lamia," the coven leader hisses. He takes a quick stand from beside his fallen witch, moving forward and placing a hand on the chanting witch's shoulder. Making her stop, he pulls her behind him and sets his glare on Avery. Narrowing his eyes on her, he says the one word that let's Avery know this coven isn't leaving Beacon Hills alive. "Comburet."

The earth beneath Avery's feet ignite in flames- said flames licking up her legs.. but the flames aren't harming her. The werewolves all snarl in warning and Avery chuckles as she kicks at the dirt beneath her feet to put out the flames.

"Cute," she grins at him. "But you have no idea who you're messing with, do you?" Reaching into her shirt while keeping her gaze locked on the coven leader, she pulls on a silver chain to bring out a cut-out Tree of Life medallion. "Your powers are useless against me. I know stronger and older witches."

As if on cue, torches ignite to life all around the clearing- a hooded being holding each torch that have the witches, werewolves, and humans encircled. The leader of the enemy coven glares at having been approached undetected but says nothing and motions for his remaining witches to come closer.

Smirking tauntingly at the enemy, Avery paces back and forth in front of the growling werewolves. "You see, Jamie, you should do your homework before attacking a pack." Jamie's eyes widen ever so slightly, his heart picking up speed, and Avery practically purrs in excitement. "As you can see, I did. Which is how I knew that Anabelle- the woman lying dead at your feet- was your fiance. You attack what is mine," Avery gestures to the pack behind her. "And I'll attack what is yours. Anabelle was your first warning now leave," she hisses.

Jamie scowls, peering over his shoulder and looking several members of his coven in the eye. They all nod, staring forward and as one, they all raise a hand with their palms out.

"Comburet."

This time, the ground beneath the werewolves' feet ignite in flames. They all snarl, kicking at the flames but before there can be any real damage, the hooded figures each raise a hand and the flames lower, burning out under their command.

Avery snarls at their audacity, "Wrong move! Here's your second warning." As the witches tense and prepare for an attack, Avery blurs in front of a random witch within the blink of an eye. She grips her by the back of her neck and tosses her into the center of the clearing, blurring up beside the shell-shocked witch and kicking her to her back. Pressing the heel of her boot to the witch's throat, Avery puts just enough pressure to cut off her breathing.

"Stop," Scott warns. "Not another life, Avery."

Avery's gaze meets Scott's just over her shoulder, red eyes gleaming at her in warning. She doesn't feel the need to submit to him but she knows that he's the alpha and she'll respect that. Giving up a little pressure, the allows the witch to breathe beneath her. "Fine. Can I make the call on their punishment?"

"Fuck that," Aiden suddenly snarls. "They were going to burn us alive! Kill them."

Scott growls at him warning, red eyes turning on Aiden, making the beta submit. "Make the call," Scott grits out.

Avery smirks in victory, leaning down and gripping the fallen witch by her bicep before tossing her forward. Making eye contact with the fuming coven leader, Avery gestures for the hooded witches to come closer. "Jaime, you and your followers are to be taken to New Orleans. There, you will answer to Nik and Elijah Reynolds of the French Quarter for attacking territory not only already taken but for attacking territory that's under their protection." At his wide eyes, Avery chuckles and shrugs. "Should've done your research, buddy. Now you pay the consequences. And trust me, they'll be far worse than what I had planned for you."

The hooded witches draw nearer, pressing in around Jaime and his coven. "My friends, the Reynolds' personal Coven, will escort you there. Have fun."

The enemy coven shriek and shout in outrage, the hooded witches starting their own chanting as they press in closer. The closer they get, the weaker the enemy coven gets until they all crumple unconscious to the ground.

Scott and his pack watch in amazement as the hooded witches straighten up, pulling off their hoods and relaxing for the first time night. Avery appears in front of Scott without warning, all the werewolves flinching back and growling.

"Dammit, Avery! Don't do that," Cora growls.

"Hello to you, too," she grins at the she-wolf. "Miss me?"

As Cora rolls her eyes, Avery kicks at the ring of mountain ash and breaks the circle. "Couldn't have done that sooner," Derek huffs as every wolf starts to walk out of the circle- Aiden, Isaac, and Cora making a beeline towards the unconscious Lydia, Allison, and Stiles.

"I was busy," she shrugs. "Scooby messed up my flow. I was going to have some fun," she pouts.

"Yes, well, sorry for not wanting this to turn into a blood bath," Scott frowns. "Which by the way, you have some," he points at his own chin, letting Avery know about the blood still covering her chin.

Avery laughs and pulls Scott into a hug, patting his back briefly before letting him go. "Sorry I forgot to call. Stopped by the Sheriff's station to see Dad when he told me about the coven giving you problems. Your lucky I brought friends," she winks. "We were going to let it slide but when Stiles or Lydia wouldn't pick up their phones, I knew something was wrong. I came prepared."

"Yeah, well, thanks for that."

"No problem," she punches Scott's shoulder playfully. "So, uh, do you mind giving me hand? We need to get the witches into the vans waiting a few hundred yards that way," she gestures off to the south. "While the witches might be powerful enough to put the other witches in a temporary coma, they don't have the muscle strength to move dead weight."

"Of course," Scott agrees. "But before we get started, I have one question. You here to stay?"

Grinning, Avery nods. "I'm back for good."


I used Google translation for these Latin words. Sorry if they're wrong.

Lamia- Vampire. Comburet- Burn.

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