Predators Of The Moon

Chapter 10

"Laura was looking for answers, a lot longer than we initially thought," Harry said tersely, "Like months, not just days, she wasn't exactly being quiet about it either. It caught their attention, Jennifer was sent to deal with Peter as her initiation of sorts into the hunter lifestyle, on the side being guided by Gerard Argent into accepting the bite if she could do it without arousing suspicion…both of them are sick, Jennifer has stage four cancer and Jennifer believes the old man has something. She recognized the pills he's taking but she never found out what exactly. She believes he's using her as a test subject, to see if someone so sick could get the bite and survive it."

Derek looked ready to be sick, the mere thought of anyone giving someone like Gerard Argent that sort of power – the gift – was horrifying. The thought of them trying to use his sister of uncle in such a way – to take away their body autonomy – to force them to give the bite made him shudder anew. His claws scraped on the table, but nobody so much as blinked at the sight of them. It was Derek's only show of loss of control, although nobody had been watching his eyes.

"They specifically wanted her out of the way before she actually gathered proof that the Argents were behind it. The council, they're on shaky grounds with them…all the rumours going around about their…heavy handedness." Harry continued as he read everything that had been said and done during the interrogation. "Kate was specifically worried when she realized Laura was closing in on a 'Harris' if she was nervous then he most definitely had contact with her. There's been no proof that she had contact with her other…accomplices from the fire."

Derek slumped onto the chair, causing it to creak ominously but inevitably hold him. Magical enhancements wasn't quite so easily broken, not even by a werewolf. This was all his fault, if he had just confessed everything to Laura…she wouldn't have been looking for answers – answers he already had for her – because he was a stupid idiot who trusted the wrong person. Said person had proceeded to kill every member of his family. He'd nearly lost Laura because he was too stubborn to let go off his past fully and just accept it and move on.

Derek gladly accepted the hand to the back of the neck, the comfortable feeling of his mates fingers stroking over his nape protectively. Telling him without words that he wasn't alone, to just stop blaming himself for every little thing. He and Harry didn't need to speak, they knew each other well enough to know what exactly the other would say.

"This means that Kate Argent has people here in Beacon Hills, she was here before all this went down, on that we can be sure. She must have possible allies, where she could lay low if she doesn't return to the Argents base." Harry stated, and that's exactly what it was, they could dress it up fancy, but it was a base, pure and simple. The Argent's didn't do homes, from what he'd learned he felt sorry for the kid. At least until she hurt someone anyway, then any and all feelings he had for the youngster would fade. "No…no we're making this too complicated, they will think Peter killed Laura and ran, refused to go back to the hospital, without Jennifer there they won't know the exact circumstances of his exit from the hospital yet."

"She's not shown up at the hospital, we're watching places like that for any sign of her," Ambrose interjected mildly, "I'll receive a message the second she's spotted in any of the CCTV camera's."

"And where would you have stayed if I wasn't here?" Harry said knowingly, glancing at Derek with a perfect eyebrow arched his lip curled just a bit making him look feral in his desire for revenge.

Derek closed his eyes, a resigned smile on his face, sometimes Harry was just too good at putting pieces together. "The house, I would have used to the house for as long as I could…" he'd tried to even with Harry there, wrong of him, especially considering how open to the elements it was, in other words it was freezing, or at least Harry had been, he hadn't been quite so affected.

"You plan on setting a trap, use Derek as bait?" Samantha queried, Harry never used anyone as bait, he never allowed it. No life was better than the other, he always said, no life was worth the risk of getting a criminal either. Sooner or later they would reveal themselves in a safer manner, plus plans when using bait always get screwed up. Not everyone was stupid after all, and that was just how it was in their group. Although their usual group was twice this size usually, quite a few of them were working at headquarters.

Ambrose snorted, shaking his head at the question, he didn't even think for a second Harry would use his mate as bait or anyone for that matter. Samantha didn't see them in the midst of battle often, usually on the healing side of things, so he wasn't surprised by her question, just amused.

"No, but a few of us are going," Harry declared, his tone booking no arguments, not that he'd receive them, he was after all, at the end of the day their boss. What he said went, especially if they wanted to keep their job.

"It's going to be one hell of a stake-out," Samantha said, hoping she wasn't going to be picked to come, since she still had to look after Laura she didn't want to have to leave her teammates behind to check on her every few hours. That was the quickest way to get someone killed, they worked in teams for a reason. "With no guarantee for success."

"I'll think of something to do," Harry waved off the concern, "She'll show up…eventually,"

"What about Harris?" Ambrose questioned, seeing his interrogation transcripts under the hunters. "What did he know?" he knew the guy had been interrogated for all of a few seconds in his own home before his guilt became so obvious they'd taken him in without further questioning. The guilt exuded from the teachers face so much so that it was utterly transparent.

"Let's see," Harry shoved Jennifer's papers to the side to see Harris' with one hand. His fingers still moving up and down against Derek's neck in silent comfort. Quickly reading through everything that had been asked. He'd gotten very quick at reading things like this, especially later in his career. "He was seduced one night at the pub, completely hammered, enjoying someone taking an actual interest in chemistry. Talking about everything from chemicals that would melt the damn lock of vault doors…to a chemical component that would see someone getting away with arson. A week later the Hale housefire happened…he knew, he knew and kept quiet. All he really remembered about the woman was her pendant, which he drew for Laura, it must be the drawing we found. He knows absolutely nothing about the supernatural world," It explained why it wasn't in her handwriting.

"What does that mean?" Peter growled out through a mouthful of fangs, eyes glowing supernatural blue, as if he suspected the bastard was going to get away with killing his family. Even though he hadn't really had a hand in it, if anything it was a mere thought crime, or perhaps voiced crime. That voiced crime had devastated an entire family, or the ones who were left anyway.

"It means that he will be obliviated of any supernatural he's seen in the past twenty-four hours, and sentenced to a non-magical prison for culpability and preventing the courts of justice. His trial will be within the next twenty-four hours with the information we have there's no need to delay it any longer than that. He will get anywhere from three to five years for his culpability…as for preventing the courts of justice and the seriousness of the crime…life imprisonment." Harry explained not even slightly perturbed at the sight of a fully turned werewolf, Derek had hated him seeing his shift for a while after the big reveal. Now though, Derek was in a good place…or had been before coming here, accepting both sides of himself and very happy. The quicker they could get out of this town the better it would be for him. He'd always assumed Derek would want to return if only to reminisce once he stopped blaming himself. This wasn't how he thought it would go. Life rarely did go the way you expected it.

The change receded when Peter realized that the man wasn't about to get away with his crimes. Life imprisonment, that was fair, he didn't deserve to be free to cause harm to anyone else.

"I want to be there when you arrest her," Peter asked, which was really a demand wrapped up in a polite façade.

"That won't be happening," Harry scoffed at the mere thought, "She's not getting off easily," he swore staring straight at Peter a solemn look on his face. "I haven't been searching for this son of a bitch to see her killed before she can come to terms with the mistakes she made." Muggles could live up to their nineties, some actually get to that one hundred number. With a little luck, Kate Argent would have good enough genes to see her suffering for seventy years at least. Confined to a cell, unable to get away, forever locked up never knowing what was happening on the outside world…in solitary confinement, not allowed to interact with a single soul again.

"I won't kill her," Peter stated, his face completely composed.

Ambrose bit his tongue at that proclamation, he hadn't know the werewolf long but he knew it was a lie. Underneath that mask he wore…was a brewing storm just waiting for an outlet…and Peter wanted it to be Argent. He understood the concept of wanting revenge, but not the true feelings behind it. He had never lost anyone the way Peter, Derek or Laura…hell even Harry had. He'd always wanted to help people get justice though, and that's what led him to joining the Aurors all those years ago. To give victims of crimes peace to move on with their lives.

"Even I don't need to be a werewolf to hear that lie a mile off," Harry said, green eyes gleaming, "I understand….truly, you want her to pay, you want to kill her in the worst way you can imagine. But letting her off…isn't suffering, she'd be let free, to be reborn and to start all over again. This…imprisoning her is a life long punishment that, that is worse than anything you can think to do to her."

Peter scowled he loathed the fact that Harry wasn't lying, he seemingly did understand.

"Revenge…revenge is empty, it doesn't really get rid of the pain, or the agony residing within you. It gives you a second reprieve before you just want someone else to suffer, to give you that reprieve again." Harry continued, his gaze never wavering from Peter for even a second. "Only you can find solace and a way to move on with your life, Peter, its not easy, in fact sometimes it's downright fucking impossible. But…but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel, it usually hits you when you least expect it." Hopefully focusing on his daughter would be the thing he needs to get out of his 'need for revenge' funk he'd fallen into. Oh, he didn't blame him, for he knew he'd be reacting the very same.

Samantha and Ambrose shifted uneasily, they didn't know everything about their boss, but they knew more than they wanted to. Unfortunately, Harry's life had been…a difficult one, in the limelight from a young age. Each action had consequences, not just for him personally but the world on a whole who judged him for it. Here in America though he wasn't as bothered as he had been like he was back in Britain. Mostly because his job had him constantly on the move and not everyone had worshiped the ground he walked on like they had in Britain. It hadn't been their war after all. He revelled in the anonymity, that was blatantly clear a few months into his job as the boss. Ambrose had been with him since the beginning, him and a few of the others, Samantha had been one of the first graduates.

"What's the prognosis on the Preserve?" Harry asked, already putting away anything on Harris, since he was already dealt with it wasn't going to be a problem for him anymore. His file would remain in the Hale fire casefile box though, or at least one of them, it made things a little easier being able to duplicate them.

"You weren't kidding about something rotten being there," Ambrose's soft rumbling voice filled the room, getting rid of some of the tension. "The runes were pinging before I even put the last one in. I'm not sure what it is, the runes can't identify it, we're going to need a closer look. The runes can at least point us in the right direction if nothing else. The Fey lines intersect in Beacon Hills, there should have been looked after but I guess there wasn't anyone to do it."

"I suspect it was up to the Hale Alphas," Harry said, sighing softly, "Laura may know more about it. She was the next successor, but I'm not sure we can wait around until she wakes up to see what the hell is going on out there." If she wakes up went unsaid but definitely understood. He pursed his lips as he thought about it, it seemed entirely…idiotic to only teach one child how to be an alpha, when all of them had the capacity to be. What if Derek or hell one of the other members of the pack became Alphas instead of Laura? Like Peter. What if Laura had died in that fire? Talia hadn't thought of all that when she only taught one member of her pack how to be her successor. She hadn't done a very good job with Laura, all he had heard was great things about Talia as an Alpha, yet Laura was the complete opposite. Heck he was surprised Peter knew who the Emissary was to the pack, since normally only the Alpha was privy to that, perhaps even the Alpha's successor who knew? Did that make him very good at what he did…or Talia bad at protecting pack assets? If the Emissary could be considered as such, he'd done a spectacularly bad job of protecting the Hale pack after all.

Neither Derek or Peter had anything to say, which told him that they were just in the dark as the rest of them.

"We will need to all go to deal with whatever this is, I'm not risking anything happening to the town or the people in it." Harry explained seriously, barely glancing as Radswell when he wandered in. Already changed into clean and ironed clothes with a few disk cases in his hand with presumably information on his own case. Harry would have been impressed if he didn't already know they moved fast, they were in his core group for a reason. Because they were the best at what they did. "Which means dealing with Argent first, we will probably be dealing with other hunters as well, not just her, she wouldn't take the chance, not with both Derek and what she will think is an 'Alpha' prowling around knowing what she did." Giving Peter a pointed look as he spoke, referring to Peter as the 'Alpha' prowling around.

"Gaviola is still on her isn't he?" Radswell asked, blinking in confusion.

"Lost sight of her," Harry stated curtly, "He's still looking but I've heard nothing back yet, I'm going to leave him on her just in case she doesn't come near the house." He wasn't stupid enough to pull everyone from their different duties.

Radswell winced, Gaviola was going to be impossible to be near for the next few days. Especially if he didn't manage to catch up with her. He'd be like a bear with a wounded head, especially considering she was a damn Muggle. Those sort of things didn't normally happen to them, they were trained in stealth and tracking – the best of the very best – they weren't being ignorant when they said that. It was just pure simple fact.

"Give me a minute, I'll come with you," Radswell slid into the cupboard he'd made his own office, placing the disks down, which would hopefully give him a clue as to what caused the wounds on the Alpha of the Nelson pack. Whatever it was, it was bloody massive, powerful and it was quite scary to think it was out there still, doing Merlin only knows what. He just wished he had a damn intern, someone to shift through all the video so he could do the more important things, like finding out what the heck it is and if it was a danger to No-Maj exposure.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harry asked, as Derek put his jacket on.

"I'm coming," he stated seriously.

"No, I'm not putting you at risk," Harry denied Derek his request immediately.

"I'm coming," Derek reiterated.

"Do you honestly think you're up to seeing her? Listening to her?" Harry asked, trying to make his point without being too harsh.

"I am not a child any longer," Derek stated, eyes flashing red as his wolf very greatly disliked being talked down to, even by his own mate even if the human in him knew Harry was doing this with his best interests at heart.

"She'll want to draw you out, use any and all ammunition to achieve that, can you say you'll remain calm in the face of her taunts?" Harry asked him, stepping closer, green eyes filled with nothing but concern. He wasn't afraid that Derek would kill her, and honestly, he wouldn't really mind. Why shouldn't he be allowed his revenge? He had gotten his, but the point was, he didn't want it to set Derek back.

Derek just scowled and stared at Harry, refusing to discuss this in front of everyone his teeth clenched together giving him a particular sour look. One that Harry was familiar with…or had been, Derek didn't even realize it, but this place was turning him back into the young man he'd met all those years ago already.

It was hard enough knowing his Uncle knew and one day his sister would – she would recover she just had to – and that his mate knew. He didn't want these wizards knowing even if they were people that Harry trusted with his life. He wouldn't be able to deal with the pity that would come with their new knowledge. The knowledge that he'd killed his own family because of his stupidity.

Radswell slipped out the door to wait on Harry, not wishing to get in on the confrontation. Samantha too had made herself scares, joining Laura in the bedroom and taking care of her needs. There were just some things he didn't want to see, and that was his boss getting into an argument with his partner. Mate more like, he amended silently, he had brushed up on all his knowledge on these particular Lycans when the job crossed his desk days ago.

Radswell glanced up when the door opened and both stepped out, he almost sighed in relief when there was no noticeable tension between them. It would have made this stake-out excruciating if they were going to be at odds with one another. It wasn't something they could afford, not when they were dealing with a damn disappearing No-Maj who could outmanoeuvre one of their own.

"We're approaching from the back, half a mile down, be careful, Peter thinks they could have already put traps up, so whatever you do, keep your wand stuck to you in case anyone creeps up on you." Harry stated, the thought of any of his men ending up in the position of being trapped infuriated him. Thankfully they were all powerful enough that if they were swept of their feet, they could summon their wands to them or cut themselves down, it was simple spells so of course they could.

"Traps?" Radswell narrowed his eyes, stomach queasily thinking of those humongous beartraps he'd seen in No-Maj classes back while he was in school.

"Just watch for trip wires, we aren't splitting up, it's just in case of a bad landing," Harry explained, as he and Derek joined Radswell. "There's only three of us and neither of us are splitting up." They always doubled up on teams or went together.

"Alright, let's go," Radswell decided, still a little wiggled out over the prospect of a beartrap, but at least they weren't splitting up. Now that would have wiggled him out even more, he didn't relish losing his leg because of barbaric No-Maj equipment.

Radswell blinked in surprise, when he was grabbed by Harry as well as Derek and Side-Long apparated instead of going himself. For a few tense seconds, he didn't dare move, remained standing in the exact spot. His eyes roaming around looking for those dratted metal teeth they had the nerve to call a trap.

A few spells later by Harry, his boss relaxed a little, evidently there wasn't anyone about.

"Okay, we're safe for now, there's nothing within a two mile radius and the wildlife is fleeing quite impressively in all directions." Harry said wryly, giving Derek an amused grin. Delighted in the way his ears went red, as they so often did when Harry teased him. His face might remain impassive most times, but Harry had learned long ago to look for other signs. "That doesn't mean we're safe from any traps, so keep your eyes peeled."

It didn't take long before Harry was able to demonstrate what he meant, when Radswell tripped one, his robes covering his face and chest. Which thankfully muffled – but not enough – the high pitched girly scream that emerged from Radswell's throat. One swift cut of Harry's wand, the trap was dismantled, and Radswell grunted in pain as he landed on the ground which was mostly covered in prickly bloody grass and normal forest plants. His entire face was red hot but to his credit he cleared his throat and got back to his feet and the task at hand.

Three Days Later

Radswell had been correct, Gaviola was like a bear with a wounded head, he was furious with himself for losing her tail. When he wasn't getting ordered to sleep by Harry, he was out there trying to hunt her down. He wasn't having much luck, Beacon Hills was a massive town after all. Even if most of it was forest and the reserve and abandoned buildings.

Between Radswell and Ambrose they split duty, going with the boss to the Hale house – along with Derek – waiting for something to happen. They'd set up perimeter spells, so they would know if anyone was nearby, all around the building so there was no surprises. Today it was Ambrose's turn, Radswell was currently sifting through months' worth of CCTV images hoping for a miracle.

Out of sheer boredom Ambrose began to help Harry by repairing the books from the Hale library. Peter had looked ready to cry, nothing too outwardly drastic, but the look on his face…it spoke volumes. Especially since Peter wasn't a man who expressed emotion unless it was to get answers or manipulate in order to get something he desired. He had changed and become more haunted once the memory blocks had been removed which had happened two days ago instead of four like they'd originally intended. Too much had been happening and it had been pushed aside temporarily.

Now Peter had a task of his own he was looking into, using Harry's contacts and resources with the promise of allowing Harry to use his own in the supernatural world. Now he was a man on a mission to find his daughter, to take back what had been stolen from him from Talia all those years ago.

And she had been stolen.

"This…this is an old one, hand written," Ambrose said reverently, delicately opening the pages before rapping it softly with his wand. Some were just too badly damaged to be repaired, those were regretfully set aside, this one fortunately wasn't. A whoosh of air left Ambrose as it began to repair slowly but surely. Bit by bit until it looked brand new in his hand, as if it hadn't aged at all but welcome to the beauty of magic and its capabilities. "Merlin it was written before this town was here," the music wasn't loud enough to make them need to shout in order to talk to each other.

"The Hales were responsible for the creation of Beacon Hills, it was their money that was thrown into making the town what it was. If only they knew just how protected they had been over the generations…" Harry mused, a grimace appearing on his face.

"They'd scream blue murder? No-Maj's can't stand anything they'd see as abnormal." Ambrose scowled, "Well most of them," he amended but it was with great reluctance. He wasn't prejudice per se, he had just seen the rotten side of the non-Magical world too often to truly see the goodness that some No-Maj's were capable of. Unfortunately, as an Auror it was all too often he saw the horrid side, but there were times…just a few times in his long career that he saw good things but the bad definitely outweighed all else.

"Most of them," Harry confirmed, in his experience there were only a few Muggles out there who wholly accepted the magical world. Others…others took their prejudice and fear and pathetic jealous out on innocent children and women. Severus Snape, Eileen Prince, him, Tom Riddle, the list went on and on. Say what you like, Tom Riddle had been innocent once, just a child wishing to be loved, the society he'd lived in made him a sociopath. Arguments could be made that he was already a bad seed, but Harry didn't think anyone was born that way.

They continued their task in silence, absently tapping along to the music as the books got put into either the discard pile or the one they'd be taking home to the Cabin and to Peter. It would have been a long arduous task, but when you had nothing better to do, it passed the time when otherwise they would have been bored to tears.

Both froze in the process of removing yet another charred book from the shelf, as the feeling of the wards being tripped ran through Harry. Ambrose froze mimicking Harry, knowing there was a reason for his bosses sudden pause. Quite correctly thinking that after three long days, there was finally news.

Flicking out his wand, he murmured a quiet 'silencio', directing it through the open floor and to the portable stereo Derek had brought with him which was with him in the ground floor, the sitting room or living room. This place was no house, it was a manor, it had more than one sitting area, not to forget the office and that, but no surprise, especially if they used the house as a pack home. Truthfully Derek would have heard him perfectly clear without him having to silence the music, but he wasn't taking any chances of him missing anything that went on. Especially when it came to the Argents, they weren't exactly the most predictable bunch. Fanatics rarely made sense or followed the rules when it came to thinking how they'd react.

Derek's gaze immediately swung out towards the front of the house, from where he had been doing exercises. Exercises that Harry had actually managed to stop him doing years ago, at least so excessively. He'd been doing it as a form of punishment, seeing it as a penalty he owed everyone. Refusing to stop until he and his wolf dropped in exhaustion. Since he couldn't run in New York, not really, there weren't much in the way of running trails like there were in Beacon Hills. So he'd just deplete himself so utterly he'd be unable to move for a few hours. His hearing picked up what had caused Harry to stop his music, it was just within his hearing range.

"How many?" Derek questioned, up the stairs in a flash causing Ambrose to do a doubletake but Harry barely blinked used to the speed by now. "I can sense three right now," it didn't mean there weren't more as back up coming behind them.

"There are only three so far, and they're quite a bit in already, if they had backup they'd be here by now," Harry stated, at least he assumed so, hunters had to hunt in groups if they wanted to survive hunting and tracking a werewolf who was faster, stronger and with more senses than a human could fathom.

"Stay up here for a few minutes," Derek said, eyeing both of them with worry, sure they could heal themselves, but could they heal from a gunshot through the heart? He didn't think so, then again he wouldn't either, but he'd have a greater chance of surviving than them. "Let me deal with them," all it took was a lucky shot.

Harry's phone silently vibrated – to Ambrose and Harry's ears anyway not Derek's – Harry snatched it up and glanced at the screen. "One of them is Kate Argent, we've finally got her, he tracked her down at a gas station just a mile past." Without a car, he was having to Apparate to keep up with her, which was easy to do since he'd placed a tracking charm on her. "They're here alone," just three hunters? He honestly wasn't sure what to make of that, it either meant they were the best at what they did and felt confident…or they were overconfident in their abilities.

"We will deal with them, Derek, just remember we are trained for this," Harry said, understanding why Derek was concerned, he was just trying to protect his pack, his mate. It was the Alpha in him, and his protectiveness will be heightened due to his own fear of the hunters. "They won't get a chance to use their weapons."

Ambrose stretched out, wand held casually in his hand as he moved from the library, hiding in the corner beside the stairs, in the darkness where he couldn't be seen.

"No heroics please?" Harry said, cupping Derek's jaw giving him a kiss before he moved, a simmer of magic enveloped him, making him disappear from view. The only indication of where he was, that Derek could sense, was his heartbeat, scent and of course the tiny patter of his feet stealthy making its way to the other side of the hallway that showed all the way down one level of stairs and more importantly the doorway.

Derek growled at Harry in annoyance, before he reluctantly faded into the darkness of the house himself. He wasn't about to stand there and have either of these wizards shot because of him. Only to begin growling, eyes glowing red in the dimness of the room at the sound of Kate's voice. The past rushing back to him, the memories of running, running when he should have stayed, confessed all, and together with the rest of his family got revenge for what happened to his family. He couldn't regret it completely, for if not for being in New York, he would never have met his mate. At least not when he needed him the most.

The door was abruptly kicked in, and three hunters made themselves known, two men and a woman, who obviously could only be Kate Argent. Said woman was still talking, eyeing everything around her like it was the enemy. "Really? A dog joke?" she scoffed, "Why don't you try something like this? Too bad your sister died before she could have her first litter!"

The resounding snarl from Derek was extremely loud, and he was off like a shot, barely discernible to their eyes, they watched him take out both male hunters before they could get more than one single shot off.

"I'm going to kill him," Harry muttered under his breath as he picked himself up off the ground, his ears were still ringing painfully. From both the shotgun blasts which had barely missed him and the damn roaring. The entire house had shaken on its foundations, hell if there had been glass in the panes he'd guess they too would have shattered. He had never heard Derek roar that way, not in all the time he knew him. This was truly him pissed off. "Get the two men dealt with, I've got her," with that Harry silenced himself as he ran down the stairs, Apparating would have been dangerous especially with how unstable the entire property was. He didn't want to end up staring up at the damn house from its very foundations while being surreptitious after all.

He didn't hear Ambrose move, he must have done the same thing, hopefully he was quickly dealing with the two hunters. With a little luck, they would be in prison for a very long time after this. He didn't give them another thought as he entered the sitting room, and found Kate using an electric prod on Derek.

That, that was the straw that broke the camels back.

Without further thought, Harry slashed his wand before driving it in a circular motion, before blue electricity zapped out of his wand, heading straight for the woman. Unlike the prod, Kate's entire body shuddered and shook in mid-air, her mouth open in a silent scream, unable to do so as she couldn't get air into her lungs to release the scream she so desperately desired in order to express the amount of pain she was in.

"Derek, are you alright?" Harry asked, keeping the spell on, not venturing near him, he'd been too near the gunshots, he probably had wolfsbane covering him.

Derek managed to get himself into sitting position, panting against the glass panes only able to give Harry a nod. His attention was riveted to Kate, red eyes gleaming showing that the Alpha was in full control and loving the punishment she was receiving.

Abruptly Harry yanked his wand backwards, stopping the spell causing her to fall, still twitching and spasming on the floor.

"Kate Argent you're under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. One will be appointed to you by MACUSA." Harry parroted the words he'd long since memorised, it didn't matter if she had a human attorney, she would be appointed a magical one and a magical one only. She wouldn't see a no-Maj lawyer where she's going. Grasping her roughly by the shoulders he turned her around, and cuffed her, the cuffs glowed blue as the steel clicked around her wrists.

Kate tried to look behind her at the man, confusion most prominently featured on her face as wooziness and pain coursed through her. Unfortunately she hurt too much, so all she could do was listen to the man talk, ordering to someone on the phone to have a car sent to the Hale house but everything was becoming fuzzy including her sight until she slumped forward dead to the world. The shock her body had literally went through too much for it.

"Why is she needing a car?" Derek asked Kate wasn't the only one confused, standing up on shaky legs he moved towards Harry.

"Stay back," Harry stated, Derek paused feeling extremely hurt by the order, "I'm covered in Wolfsbane, I'll need to shower once this is over and properly clean the clothes." Just being near Wolfsbane weakened a werewolf, caused their wolf to come forth as well, made them angry.

"That's them both apprehended, will they be going to the station as well?" Ambrose questioned Harry grimly, arching an eyebrow at the sense of magic in the room, glancing briefly at Kate wondering exactly what he'd done to her. Not that he cared too terribly, they had so many cases to deal with because of her. Probably more, once she was interrogated they'd know just how many more…and some of them might not be recorded in their department.

"No, they're probably using false ID's anyway, the Argent's are too well known, and have too many connections, that's the only reason I need to take her to the station to get 'booked in' until she's transferred, she won't have the time to call in back up don't worry, I'm staying until the car arrives, it will take only fifteen to twenty minutes, not long enough for a lawyer or even a relative to get there…not that it would matter, I doubt they'd bring the wrath of the police force given what they do," Harry stated, before reassuring Derek. "Once she's booked for the transfer she'll be put in the car driven around a few corners before being transported to MACUSA." And the transport van would go with them, as it always did between jobs.

"I'll wait for the others to get here then before taking them to MACUSA," Ambrose stated, and he wouldn't be budged on that.

Harry's phone pinged again, it had a video attached, frowning he opened it and his eyebrows disappeared as he watched the scene in front of him. "Well…that's different, have either of you seen anything like this?" Harry turned the phone around and pressed play for them to see the scene again.

The scene depicted two shadowy figures, that were most definitely in Beta shift, one pressed his hand into the back of the other, and before they knew it they were merging grotesquely into one gigantic form. This explained the wounds on the Nelson pack, he had seen a lot, but two wolves merging into one monster Beta form?

"Holy shit!" Ambrose exclaimed as he watched it, completely mesmerised.

Harry smirked wryly at him, shaking his head, yes, he'd had held in his own words as he digested what he saw.

"I've never seen or heard of that happening before," Derek shook his head, almost as lost as them, perhaps a little more due to the fact that this was his world. He'd grown up in it, he should know everything, but he'd never seen anything like this.

"He's still going through the tape, so it was a werewolf…or rather two that killed the Nelson pack," Harry stated, one question mark answered.

"If that is them as Beta's…" Derek started, jaw clenched, barely able to unclench his jaw to say the rest, "I dread to think how much bigger and stronger they are as Alphas…if they did destroy the Alpha joined…it may well have made both Beta's the Alpha powers."

"Damn, I didn't even think of that," Harry muttered breathing out a little puff of air, dragging his hands through his hair. Another message distracted him, it was merely a text letting him know that the car was there. "Right, that's Samantha here, Radswell's going to continue watching the CCTV recordings. Take those two to MACUSA and alert Nick to not only her being found but everything else in the past twenty-four hours." They always kept him in the loop, and in turn Nick kept Callum Torres appraised of the appropriate information. Although knowing Torres he was going to beg to be back into the field soon, the paperwork sucked, and as a boss – temporarily as it may be – it was a huge amount to sift through every day. Including the changes Harry had enforced in his absence, putting everything into position via what kind of creature they were or what the case was. From Murder by arson, or just plain old murder. He was never going to allow this sort of thing to happen again under his watch.

"Let's go," Harry stated, banishing the damn electric prod she'd used as well as the bullets left behind from the guns. Leaving no sign of what had gone down here. He wasn't about to let the hunters figure it out, not that they'd really have a chance anyway.

Ten minutes later the scene was wrapped up, the guns put in the boot with evidence tags on them, an added reason that Kate Argent was 'armed and dangerous'. Kate was also dragged from the house, still unconscious, and placed in the back seat. Samantha vacated the car without a word before Apparating away, knowing that Harry was going and would wish to take Derek with him.

As they drove silently towards the police station in Beacon Hills, Harry already informing the station he was bringing her in, Derek finally spoke.

"You were right, I wasn't ready," Derek admitted, frustration pouring off him in waves. Well, he hadn't been until he'd watched her being zapped within an inch of her life. She deserved it, it was only Karma coming back to bite her in the ass after six long years. Too long in reality but at least it happened and before he lost any more family. It would take a long time to really trust his Uncle again

"You're never going to be ready, Der," Harry sighed, glancing in the mirror, she was still unconscious. She definitely was, Derek wouldn't be talking this way if he thought for a second she was awake and he would know better than anyone. "Nobody is ever ready…no matter how strong they are, how strong they feel, she's part of your traumatic past…this will help you move on though." Seeing her put behind bars and unable to harm another person or werewolf again would be cathartic for him.

The worst of it was over.

Or so they thought.

Neither Derek or Harry could foresee just how difficult their lives would get.

Annnd the ominous foreshadowing! Will they be able to overcome it or will Derek have to walk alone for a while before he gets his head out of his ass? Will he pull Harry close or push him away in order to 'protect him' Will harry be able to ground him and stay around despite his actions or will he be unable to do so? Will we have the Alphas coming into it before Gerard Argent gets into town...as lovely as it would be to see the Kanima thing that's not happening here lol BUT I did contemplate turning Scott...just for a little conflict between Derek and Scott it's always amusing to watch but I don't know what do you think? I could make it so that he was bitten after a 'court appointed visit' was ordered by a judge so that he had to visit his father? or we can make it Peter again perhaps the same night...he was turned Alpha bit a boy - Scott - who'd come to hospital from an asthma attack? R&R please

EDIT - I have a Facebook Group up for my stories (instead of Yahoo group) it's much simpler so if you'd like to join you're welcome to do so. You can't post links here so I'm going to post it on my profile if it works! BUT it should be easily found under DebsTheSlytherinSnapeFanStories group.