Fury
Derek felt like he was trapped in a dream.
There was nothing but bright white light all around him and then he heard a voice calling out to him from somewhere.
"Derek? Derek, can you hear me? Derek, wake up! We don't have much time!"
Suddenly, Derek cringed at the sound of an ear-splitting noise. His eyes then shot open and he was breathing hard. His vision cleared and he saw Dr. Deaton kneeling beside him, looking relieved.
"That sound…" said Derek. "What was it?"
Dr. Deaton smiled as he held up a dog whistle, which made Derek roll his eyes. He then tried to stand up, only to almost fall down again as Dr. Deaton eased him onto the staircase.
"Easy," said Dr. Deaton. "You're going to be weak for several hours. Take this. It'll help speed up the strength recovery process."
Derek took the offered bottle of liquid and downed it in one gulp, wincing at the foul taste. Then he remembered what happened and saw the place where Peter had burst out of the floor. "It actually happened," he said, horrified. Part of him had been hoping it'd just been a nightmare. Having Peter back was not a good thing. What if he went after Artemis again?
"Don't worry," said Dr. Deaton. "You're still an Alpha. You're still an Alpha. He's just a Beta now, thank heavens. But as for where he is, I don't know."
"Then how about you tell me how you knew I was here and why you're helping me," said Derek. Dr. Deaton was a nice guy, but Derek had always had a suspicion there was more motive to Dr. Deaton's continued help. It couldn't just be out of the goodness of his heart or because Derek was Artemis's mate.
"Your pack called me. When they woke up and found you missing, they got worried and asked me for help," said Dr. Deaton. "I took a shot in the dark about what happened to you and found you here. As for why I keep rendering assistance, well, helping your family used to be a big part of my life. Helping you specifically is because of three reasons. One, I made a promise to your mother. Two, you're a good man who's done a good job taking care of your new pack. And three, because I know how much Artemis loves you."
Derek was surprised at this. He then frowned as he recalled something his sister had told him. "You're the one my sister talked about. She said you were like an advisor."
Dr. Deaton nodded. "She was right. And I have some advice that you need to listen to very closely. What Peter managed to do, doesn't come without a price. He'll be physically weak, so he'll rely on the strength of his intelligence and cunning. He's going to come at you, Derek. He'll try to twist his way into your mind and prey on your insecurities. He'll tell you that he's the only one who can help you stop Gerard, but you cannot trust him."
"Who says I do?" demanded Derek. Peter had lost his trust a long time ago. "Artemis, Stiles, my pack and you are the only ones I trust." He trusted Artemis most of all. She loved him and she would never betray him. "Next time I see him, he's going to get it."
"I'm aware," said Dr. Deaton. "But remember to keep Artemis close to you. She's the one you should trust the most and she keeps you human, so to speak."
Derek nodded. "Have you heard from Artemis?"
"Not for a while," said Dr. Deaton. "She called me when you didn't answer your phone. She said that Matt is definitely the kanima's master, Victoria was its latest victim and she was going to talk to Sheriff Stilinski with Stiles. But I think something's wrong. Artemis made that call to me more than an hour ago. Now, she's not answering her phone and neither is Stiles. You need to find her and fast."
Derek's blood ran cold and then suddenly, he felt Artemis's fear and heard her cry for help. He felt angry when he saw the danger she was in at the hands of the enemy. "She's in trouble. I've got to get to her. Can you stay with the Betas? I don't want them getting caught up in this." His Betas were exhausted and had just endured the full moon. They were in no condition to fight the kanima and its master.
Dr. Deaton nodded. "Go. I'll keep them safe. Protect Artemis."
Derek didn't need to be told twice. He left as quickly as he could. Hold on, Huntress. I'm coming to help you.
XXX
After Chris took Alison home, Sheriff Stilinski took Artemis and Stiles to his office at the police station and they tried to persuade him that Matt was behind the murders.
Unfortunately, Sheriff Stilinski was having a hard time believing a teenage boy was behind all the mayhem of recent weeks.
"Stiles, you really expect me to believe that this kid murdered all these people?" he said, skeptically.
"Yes," said Stiles. "Trust us, it's him. Dad, look, everyone knows that the police looks for connections in murders, and everyone except for Victoria Argent is connected to the swim team. Artemis, talk to my dad, please."
Artemis sighed. "Sheriff, it's true. It's hard to explain how we know this, but you've got to trust us. It's him."
"Yeah, he took Harris's car," said Stiles. "He knew that if a cop found tire tracks at the scene of the murders and enough of the victims were in Harris's class, they'd arrest Harris!"
"Okay, fine," said Sheriff Stilinski. "I'll allow the remote possibility. But what are you guys not telling me and where's the motive?"
"We're not actually sure about the motive. But there's something else. Matt's been obsessively photographing me and Alison for weeks," admitted Artemis. "We should've told you, but we didn't want to believe it at first, because we heard about it from Jackson. But then Alison saw the photos on Matt's camera and confirmed it."
Sheriff Stilinski's eyes darkened with anger. "That's it. We're going over the evidence and find some way to nail this little freak." If there was anything Sheriff Stilinski hated, it was people like Matt doing stuff like that.
Stiles and Artemis shared a look of relief.
"We should look over the hospital stuff first," said Stiles. "They have cameras. Matt might've shown up on one of them."
"Good point," said Artemis.
They went over the hospital security tapes the night the wife of the man had died. So far, there was no luck except for catching the back of Matt's head. Stiles insisted it was Matt and even pointed out that Matt was wearing a leather jacket, but that fell through when Sheriff Stilinski said he knew millions of people who wore leather jackets, including Artemis, Erica, Isaac and Boyd. But then they caught him. The footage showed Matt talking to Artemis's mother.
Artemis immediately called her mother's cell phone and turned on the speakerphone. "Mom? Hey, it's me. I need to talk to you about something. Have you got a minute?"
"Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?" asked Melissa.
"Remember the night that woman who had a baby died? We think we may have idea as to who did it, but we need your help," said Artemis.
"Okay, first of all, who's 'we'? And second, of course I remember that night. But do you know how many people I talk to and see every day?" said Melissa, warily. "Besides, I already talked to the police about this, sweetie."
"I know, I know, I just…Mom, I'm going to send you a photo. Tell me if you recognize him," said Artemis. She quickly used her phone's camera to take a photo of Matt's image and sent it to her mother. "Do you recognize him?"
"Uh…yeah. I remember I stopped him because he was tracking mud in the hall," said Melissa. "Artemis, what exactly are you up to?"
"Mom, I'll explain later. I've got to go," said Artemis. She hung up the phone and gazed at Stiles and his dad. If Matt had left a footprint in the hospital, then that left a number of possibilities to be explored and evidence to discover.
Sheriff Stilinski quickly skimmed through the files. "There was a shoe print that we found alongside the tire tracks at the trailer sight."
"And if they match, that puts Matt at the scene of three murders: the trailer, the hospital and the rave," said Stiles.
"Four actually," said Sheriff Stilinski. "A credit card receipt for an oil change was signed by Matt at the garage where the mechanic was killed."
Artemis and Stiles' eyes widened.
"What? When?" asked Stiles.
"Just a few hours before you got there," said Sheriff Stilinski, grimly.
"Okay, Dad, if one's an incident, two's a coincidence, three's pattern, what's four?" asked Stiles.
"Four's enough for a warrant," said Sheriff Stilinski. "That and those photographs of Artemis and Alison are more than enough to convince me. Artemis, call your mom back and ask her to come by as soon as possible. If I can get an official ID, I can get a search warrant. Stiles, go to the front desk and tell them to let Mrs. Moon in when she gets here."
"On it," said Stiles.
He then left the room and Artemis called her mother back. Melissa agreed to come by and identify Matt officially.
"She's on her way here," said Artemis, as she hung up her phone. She then noticed the look on Sheriff Stilinski's face. "Sheriff…?" Artemis turned around and saw Stiles coming in. He was being held at gunpoint by none other than Matt.
"Matt," said Sheriff Stilinski, as he held up his hands. "It is Matt, right? Matt, whatever's going on, I can guarantee there's a solution that doesn't involve a gun."
Matt looked patronizingly at the sheriff. "You know, it's funny you say that when I don't think you're fully aware of just how right you are."
"Matt, come on. I know you don't want to hurt people—"
"Oh, actually, I do want to hurt people. Several people," interrupted Matt. "You three weren't on my list, but that could easily be changed, just like with Victoria Argent. After all, I'm still pretty mad that you refused me, Artemis."
Sheriff Stilinski's eyes widened at this confession. "What do you want?"
"Funny you should ask, Sheriff. I want several things," said Matt. "Starting with all of you removing your cell phones from your pockets. Do it. NOW!"
Everyone obeyed Matt's orders. They had no choice.
Then Matt forced them to take Sherriff Stilinski down to the cells and handcuff him to the wall before he marched Artemis and Stiles back up to the office where they destroyed all the evidence they had on him, both on paper and on the computer. Fortunately, Artemis managed to send a message to Derek using her link and was able to get a plea of help to Chris off without Matt knowing. Normally, she wouldn't have gone to the Argents, but desperate times called for quite desperate measures.
"Done," said Artemis, as she switched off the computer. "So, Matt, since all the people you hated and are dead and deserved, since they killed you first—whatever that means—I trust we're done now. The evidence against you is gone. What more do you want from us?"
"Plenty," said Matt, evilly.
Artemis's heart sank when a car pulled in. Her mother's car. Oh, crap. Not now!
"Sounds like your mom's arrived, Artemis," said Matt.
Artemis's eyes darkened with anger and flashed gold. "Matt, don't you dare hurt my mom. She doesn't know anything. Just let me tell her that there was a mistake and she can go back to work. Please. Just let her go. She's innocent."
Matt shook his head. "Afraid I can't do that, Artemis. You see, you've given me twice the leverage." He waved the gun at her. "Walk and do as I tell you, or else."
Artemis wasn't worried about herself. She could heal quickly. Stiles and her mother, however, couldn't. So, she did as she was told. She walked to the front door and opened it at Matt's command and was relieved to see Derek.
"Derek? Oh, thank goodness," said Artemis, relieved. Her relief quickly faded when Derek fell to the ground, paralyzed. Jackson was standing behind him, half transformed and under Matt's control. Artemis knelt down to Derek and held him in her arms. "Gads, Derek." She then used her link to speak with him, not wanting Matt to hear them.
Derek, are you okay? I'm so sorry for this. I never should've asked you to come here. What had she been thinking? She should've known this would happen.
I'm okay, I'm just paralyzed. It's not your fault. I would've come anyway. I love you, said Derek, soothingly. It'll be okay. I promise. Just stay strong.
Artemis smiled the tiniest bit as she touched Derek's face. I love you too. I love you so much.
"So, this idiot's the one controlling Jackson?" said Derek, aloud as he glared at Matt. "And this is the same jerk who was actually stupid enough to think he had a chance with you or Alison? What a loser." When Derek got mad, things flew out of his mouth and he was really ticked off at Matt for a lot of reasons.
Matt glared back. "Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big, bad werewolf. Oh yeah, that's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas. It's all one big Halloween party every full moon. Except for you, Stiles. What do you turn into?"
Stiles glared. "Abominable snowman," he said, sarcastically. "And I'll take being a regular human over the kanima's master any day if it keeps me from being a psychopath like you."
Matt nodded and then Stiles ended up paralyzed because of his big mouth.
Artemis nearly wolfed out in anger as she barely managed to catch Stiles in time and lower him on to the floor before he fell on his face.
"You scumbag!" she yelled.
"Ah-ah-ah, no wolfing out or else," said Matt, warningly. He held the gun in Artemis's face and Jackson was holding his claws out threateningly. "Really sucks, doesn't it, Artemis? To see have your powerful boyfriend reduced to nothing with just one little cut to the back of the neck. Bet you all feel so incredibly helpless, don't you?"
"He's not nothing!" snarled Artemis.
"And I've still got plenty of teeth. Why don't you get a little closer and we'll see how helpless I am?" snarled Derek. "And by the way, when this wears off, I'm going to make you wish you were never born."
Matt smirked evilly. "I doubt that."
Artemis's mom then pulled for reals.
Crap, not now! They were being held hostage by a lunatic with a gun, Artemis's mate and best friend were paralyzed, the deputies were dead and there was a kanima loose in the building. Melissa didn't know about the supernatural. How was Artemis was supposed to explain it all and keep her mother safe from Matt and Jackson?
"Do what I tell you, Artemis, and I won't hurt your mother," said Matt. "I won't even let Jackson hurt her. And the other two will be fine. I promise."
Having no other choice, Artemis agreed. She walked in front of Matt as they approached the front desk as Melissa arrived.
"Mom?" said Artemis.
Melissa sighed in relief. She'd been concerned when she hadn't seen anyone in the office. "You scared me. I thought—" she cut herself off when she saw Artemis being held at gunpoint by Matt and she looked scared.
"Mom, please, just do what he says. He promised he won't hurt you," begged Artemis.
Melissa just froze and didn't reply as Artemis turned around to face Matt.
"She's right," said Matt. "However, Artemis, this is for rejecting me in favor of your loser of a boyfriend."
Melissa screamed in horror and Artemis nearly doubled over in pain when Matt shot her just under her ribcage.
Artemis forced herself to ignore the pain and stand up as she applied pressure to her wound. It was already healing, but it still hurt. She thanked her lucky stars it was just a regular bullet instead of a wolfsbane-laced one.
"You should really check the wording on deals, Artemis," said Matt, shaking his head. "I said I wouldn't your mom, Stiles or your stupid boyfriend. I never said I wouldn't hurt you. After all, if I can't have you or Alison, no one can."
"Artemis!" cried Melissa. She tried to help Artemis, but Matt forced her back.
"No, you get back!" he snarled.
Tears glistened in Melissa's eyes. She needed to help her daughter. For all she knew, Artemis could die from the wound.
"Mom, please, back off," begged Artemis, wincing in pain. "Please, just do as he says. Please." Artemis was grateful for her mother's love, but if Artemis lost her mom, Artemis would never heal from the pain
With great reluctance, Melissa obeyed. But she was still worried about Artemis. She was then taken down to the cells and locked up. "Matt, please, Artemis needs to see a doctor."
"You think so?" said Matt, sarcastically.
"Hey, hey, hey, you listen to me—!" said Sheriff Stilinski, angrily.
Artemis interrupted. "It's all right!" she said, loudly. "I'm okay."
Melissa shook her head as tears streamed down her face. "No, honey. You're not okay. You're running on pure adrenaline. You need help," she said. Melissa tried pleading to Matt again. "Matt, please, just let me see Artemis. I can help stop the bleeding."
Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. "They have no idea, do they?" he said. "You never told them, did you?"
"Told me what?" asked Melissa. She didn't understand any of this. She didn't know why she and her daughter were being threatened, she didn't know what was going on, and she had no idea what Matt was talking about just now or when he mentioned Artemis having a boyfriend. All Melissa did know was that she had to help her daughter.
"You'll know soon enough," said Matt. He turned to Artemis. "Artemis, back to the front. Now. Go!"
Matt forced Artemis into the lunch room and made her sit down on one of the chairs.
"Has anyone ever told you that you take rejection badly? Why are you doing this? The evidence is gone. What more do you want?" asked Artemis. There was something more to Matt's behavior. She could feel it.
"The evidence didn't matter that much to me! I want the book!" yelled Matt.
"What book?" demanded Artemis.
"The bestiary! Where is it?" he demanded. "I know you stole it from the Argents. I want it. Not just a few pages, the entire thing. Where is it?"
Artemis was confused. He wasn't just after the evidence, he wanted the bestiary? "I don't have it on me. It's on my laptop at my house. Why do you want it?"
Matt glared at her in frustration. "Isn't it obvious? I want answers. I want to know about this." He lifted up his shirt, revealing numerous kanima scales on his torso. He was turning into the kanima.
XXX
At the Argents house, Chris was going over his e-mail when he found one from Artemis.
Concerned, as Artemis never contacted him that way since the declaration of war, Chris opened it and read the following message from Artemis. It was short, but it fulfilled its purpose.
Chris, I need help!
Kanima and master at police station
Matt Daehler is kanima master
We're being held at gunpoint
Sheriff Stilinski locked up
Deputies dead
SOS!
—Artemis.
"Oh, no," muttered Chris.
What he feared had come to pass. Artemis was in danger and not just her, but others well. Lives had already been taken and more would follow if he didn't act. Despite not wanting to get Gerard involved, Chris knew he couldn't go this alone. So, he got the help he needed and more. Alison insisted on helping. Chris didn't have time to argue with her. They had civilians to save.
XXX
Matt was growing more impatient and frustrated by the minute.
Artemis had had to use the sheriff's computer to access her e-mail to locate the bestiary files. She checked her sent box and found the e-mail with the attachment, she'd sent to Derek and waited for it to load up.
"Are you going to give me an explanation, Matt? Because I think I deserve one," said Artemis.
"Ah, explanations. Funny things, aren't they? Like the kind of explanation you're going to give your mom and the sheriff for how you've miraculously healed," said Matt.
Artemis hadn't even noticed. But when she looked down, she saw that he was right. She was healed already.
"You know, I kind of feel sorry for you, Artemis. What I wouldn't give to see how you're going to explain this to your mom. But then again, you probably don't even realize how lucky you are to be able to heal when anyone else would've died."
"Like you?" demanded Artemis. She'd been piecing it together for a while now. "You drowned, didn't you? That's why Jackson's afraid of the water and can't swim when he's in his kanima form. Because you are."
Upon hearing this, Matt couldn't help but explain his motivations for everything he'd done.
"It was 2006. I was nine years old. I went over to Isaac Lahley's house to trade some comic books. I went there to have fun, and instead I was scarred for life," said Matt. "I heard music. I didn't know the swim team had just won State or that, that scumbag who called himself Isaac's dad was celebrating them. But I got curious about the music and went to see what was going on. I saw Jessica get tossed into the pool, and the others jumped in."
"And they tossed you in too, didn't they?" said Artemis. "They saw you and decided to let you in on their fun. But they didn't listen when you told them you couldn't swim." After what happened at Lydia's birthday party, it was only logical to assume the same thing had occurred at Isaac's house all that time ago.
Matt nodded and looked both angry and physically sick. "I told them I couldn't swim. But no one listened. They thought it was funny. There I was drowning and they were all having fun in the water, laughing and not noticing that I was dying. Next thing I know, Lahley's gotten me out of the water and instead of punishing the swim team, or telling me everything's going to be okay, he's actually angry with me. 'It's your fault,' he said. 'It's your fault! What kind of idiot doesn't know how to swim? You tell no one! You don't tell anyone!'"
"And you didn't," said Artemis. She could see where this was going. "You never told anyone, but you never forgave and you never forgot. You had panic attacks and nightmares. Every time you'd close your eyes, you'd see yourself drowning."
Matt stared at her. "How could you possibly know that?" he asked, in a hushed whisper.
"How could I not? You're not the only one who knows what it's like to be scared and keep it a secret," said Artemis. She understood Matt's pain. She'd had panic attacks and nightmares for years and the first few weeks after Peter turned her had left her scared in ways she never thought possible. Keeping it a secret had also been one of the most difficult things.
"Then you understand why I'm doing this," said Matt. "For years, I suffered in silence, slowing going out of my mind. Did you know I didn't even see the light everyone talks about when they die? When I died, all I saw was darkness. I thought it'd never end. But then came Kate Argent's funeral and while I'm taking pictures, somehow Isaac's dad got into one of them. I wanted to delete it, but instead I kept it. I kept it and when I looked at it, I felt so angry. I wanted him dead. The next day he was and I just knew it had something to do with me. Then Jackson asked to borrow my camera the night of a full moon. He said he needed to film something, but he wouldn't tell me what. I got curious, so I connected to it with my cell phone and I watched. I saw him transform into the kanima and then he came out and we made contact. It felt like we'd already cemented this great bond and understanding."
"Let me guess, you realized what Jackson was capable of and knew you were his master, so you used him to extract your vengeance. Must've felt like the furies had come to obey you," said Artemis. In Greek mythology, the furies were deities of vengeance who were sent by the gods to punish those who needed it.
Matt nodded and then looked proudly at Jackson. "That's exactly how I felt. Jackson is my fury. I knew he'd enacted my revenge for me, and I knew he'd do it again, but I couldn't let him know, so I made sure the footage didn't appear when he looked for it."
"Meanwhile, you kept taking pictures and getting your revenge. You used an innocent teenager to do your dirty work and took a life yourself when Jackson couldn't do it," said Artemis, angrily. She hated Jackson, but he didn't deserve to be used like this. No one did. Matt was using him for his own sick and twisted purposes.
"What do you care?" yelled Matt. "You hate Jackson! He's an arrogant buffoon! I'm giving him a purpose!"
"No! You're using him to murder people!" yelled Artemis, as her eyes flashed their werewolf gold. "Jackson's a jerk, but this is beyond evil and wrong! What has all this death accomplished? Nothing! It won't change what happened to you and it won't make your fears go away. Revenge does nothing but eat at you until there's nothing left inside. It'll kill you."
"And how would you know?" yelled Matt. "What would you know about vengeance?"
Artemis gave him a cold look. "What do you think started all of this? Revenge." Kate's death, Peter, the war between hunters and werewolves, Artemis's turning, the kanima, all of it had happened because of revenge. She knew what it felt like to want revenge. How could she not? But she'd never taken it because from what she saw and knew, revenge accomplished nothing. "And if you don't mind my asking, why did you kill Victoria Argent, Alison's mother? She had nothing to do with what happened to you."
"You really don't know? I would've thought it would be obvious," said Matt, mockingly. "Just because I can't have you, doesn't mean I wanted someone else to kill you. Did you really think I didn't know Victoria went after you the night of the rave? Please. It was obvious. She had to pay for what she did. And well, Alison broke my heart at Lydia's party, so I broke hers by taking away someone she loved. Victoria just happened to fit the bill."
Artemis's eyes darkened with anger. She was furious. "You disgusting, sick, twisted, heartless son of a bilge rat!" she growled. "You deserve what's happening to you."
"Meaning what?" demanded Matt.
Artemis thanked her lucky stars she had her telepathic link with Derek, so she knew what was happening to Matt. He knew and he had told her.
"The bestiary's loaded up for you to read, but the kanima's files not going to help you. The universe balances things out. Nature has rules. You're turning into the kanima because you've been breaking nature's rules. You've used Jackson to kill people who don't deserve it and you've also taken an innocent life yourself," explained Artemis. "This is your punishment, Matt. You brought this onto yourself."
Before Matt could reply, the lights went off and the alarms blared.
"What is this?" demanded Matt.
Artemis didn't reply. She knew exactly what was happening. Chris. He's here. She then spotted two hunters outside the windows with rifles. "Oh, crap. Duck!" she yelled. She and Matt ducked down as the hunters opened fire. When the gunfire ceased, a smoke bomb was tossed in through the window, forcing them to flee from the room.
Artemis took the chance to run to the sheriff's office and get Stiles to safety. Derek had managed to force the toxin out of his system and was back on his feet and ready for a fight. Artemis got Stiles somewhere she hoped he'd be safe before leaving to help in the fight.
On the way, she ran into Alison, who looked as vengeful as Matt as she held her crossbow up in Artemis's face.
"Whoa, jeez! Alison, it's me!" said Artemis, startled.
"Where's Matt?" demanded Alison.
Oh, crap. Artemis knew the look on Alison's face all too well. She was hurt and angry and wanted to take revenge for her mother's death. That couldn't happen.
"Alison, listen to me…"
"No, I don't want to listen, Artemis! Matt needs to pay! He killed my mom!" yelled Alison. "Just like Peter killed my aunt!"
"I know what happened and I wish I could change that!" yelled Artemis. Her voice and face softened. "But Alison, this isn't our way. Think about what you're doing! Revenge can't be us or we become like those who hurt us. We become empty and ruthless, just like them. Just like Matt is and just like Peter was! Is that really what you want, to become like them?"
Alison didn't reply for a moment and looked like she was struggling, before she put down her crossbow. "I hate you sometimes, you know that?"
Artemis sighed in relief, silently thankful she'd talked Alison out of revenge. "Yeah, well, I'll take being hated for a while over you becoming vengeful any day. I don't know where Matt is, but Stiles is the interrogation room down the hall, paralyzed. I need you to get him out of here before he gets hurt and I have to help my mom."
"Okay, I'm on it," said Alison. "And Artemis?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for talking me out of it," said Alison, gratefully before she took off.
Artemis sighed in relief before she ran down to where her mother was. She got there only to find Sheriff Stilinski freed and knocked out and Derek fully wolfed out and in the middle of a fight with the kanima.
Without thinking, Artemis wolfed out as well and joined in the battle. She helped Derek fight the kanima and together they managed to give it enough a fight that it forced it to retreat before it could hurt Melissa.
"Artemis? Derek?" gasped Melissa.
Oh, crap. Artemis had completely forgotten that Melissa knew nothing of her double-life and had just witnessed them wolfed out. Hesitantly, both werewolves faced Melissa, forcing her to witness them reverting back to their human forms.
"Artemis…" gasped Melissa. Her expression was mixture of shock, worry and fear. But the fear wasn't directed at Artemis or Derek.
"Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to find out like this," said Artemis, regretfully. "I know this is a shock and we've got a lot to talk about, but now is not the time. You have to get away from here. Derek's going to take you home and I'll be there as soon as I can. Okay?"
Melissa must've been in shock, because she didn't say a word. She just numbly nodded and allowed Derek to break the lock off the door and to take her away from the situation.
Artemis then left to make sure Jackson and Matt were gone and Stiles was safe, when she ran into Gerard. She wasn't surprised to see him but she wasn't happy either. "I should've known," she growled. "What the heck are you doing here? It wasn't supposed to happen like this!"
"Trust me, I'm aware of that," said Gerard, flatly.
"Then what the heck are you doing? I've done everything that you've asked of me!" hissed Artemis. "I risked my neck, I gave you all the information you wanted. You know Matt's the one behind this—"
"Then leave him to us," interrupted Gerard. "Help your friends. Leave Matt and Jackson to me. Deal with your mother."
"Fine," said Artemis. She then spotted Gerard's medicine container on the ground and picked it up. "You dropped this."
Gerard took it. "Go!"
Artemis did as she was told.
XXX
When Artemis got home, she found Melissa sitting at the table with a cup of tea in her hands. Derek was sitting across from her, but he rose up when Artemis came in.
"How is she?" asked Artemis.
"She's shaken, but I think she's going to be okay," said Derek. "I made her some tea and we had a long talk."
"What did you tell her?" asked Artemis.
"Everything," he admitted. "I had to. I think she's still processing it."
Artemis just nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to her and then put her to bed."
"Should I stay here with you?" asked Derek, concerned. "Matt might come back."
"No. We'll be okay. I think I need to have some time alone with her," sighed Artemis. "I'll let you know if I need you."
Derek accepted. "Okay. I love you."
"I love you too," she said, as she gave him a quick kiss.
Derek then left and Artemis sat down across from her mother at the table. She cleared her throat and got Melissa's attention. "Mom, I…"
"I just have one question, Artemis," interrupted Melissa, as she looked at Artemis with tears in her eyes. "Were you ever going to tell me? Was I ever going to find out about any of this stuff from you, ever?"
That was it. No demands for a further explanation. No asking if Artemis could be cured. No demanding why Artemis hadn't told her. Melissa just wanted to know if Artemis ever intended to tell her the truth.
Artemis sighed again. "Not if not knowing the truth meant you were safe," she admitted. "Mom, I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you, I did! But I couldn't. I wanted you to be safe and even then, I had no idea how to tell you."
Melissa sighed. "I understand," she said, softly. "But I still wish you'd told me. Artemis, I can't pretend that all this doesn't scare the crap out of me or that I wish you were living a normal life, but I can't deny that I'm proud of you either."
Artemis smiled a little. "You are?"
Melissa nodded. "Just promise me one thing."
"Anything," said Artemis.
"No more lies or secrets, even if it means you think you're protecting me," said Melissa.
Artemis couldn't bring herself to refuse her mother's request. "I promise." She ended up being tightly embraced by her mother as both women wept a little. For one moment, everything was okay. They were both safe and Melissa was accepting of her daughter's double-life. For a moment, everything was okay.