Fury

"We should call our dads," Allison said as they drove back to the valley.

"No," Kira muttered. "The harpies are looking for someone else. It could be Tiberius."

"So, we just let them waste time searching in Beacon Hills?" Allison asked.

"If it keeps my dad away from the harpies, then yes."

"We have to deal with it by ourselves," Fiona sighed.

"We've done it before," August said.

"No, we haven't," Jay reminded him. "Not alone."

August exhaled and stared at the road.

"He was going to just put us in a trunk," Steve muttered as he and Charlie walked down the road. The alpha turned to the beta. "It's just—," the alpha stopped. "You're shaking. Are you okay?" Steve asked.

"I could have killed him," Charlie muttered.

"Who?"

"The guy who took Marcus," Charlie stated staring at the alpha. "You don't remember?"

"Oh," Steve shrugged. "He's okay now though."

"But, I wanted to kill him."

"It's okay," Steve told him, patting his shoulder.

"It's not okay," Charlie growled as he knocked Steve arm aside. The beta's blue eyes were glaring at Steve, and the beta's wounds were closing quickly.

Steve stepped back and held up his hands. "You were angry and wanted to find Marcus, you just acted by instinct," Steve said calmly.

"My instinct was to kill," he snarled. "I could have killed an innocent man."

"It was a just a mistake, you thought you were doing the right thing."

"My first instinct can't be to kill."

Steve approached the beta slowly, reaching his arm out. "It doesn't have to," the alpha said, as black tendrils crawled up his arm. The beta slowly returned to normal. "Just use your anchor."

"It was you."

"Was?"

"When I saw the man, I tried to use you as an anchor, but the situation—It just made me angrier."

Steve tilted his head slightly. "It reminded you of how Blake was going to risk our lives and how I acted," Steve breathed.

"No—"

"It's okay," Steve interrupted. "You just need to find another anchor, probably a less violent one," he added with a slight chuckle.

"Is that what you did once August left?"

Steve shook his head, his smile fading. "I didn't have to. While we were training for the alpha pack, I realized that all of you were my anchor. All of you keep me human."

August carried Jay into the pack house and set him on the bed. "I still can't move," the werecheetah mumbled.

"You'll heal. Once everyone is better they'll be able to help you," the hunter told him. The werecheetah still looked terrified. "Try to wiggle your toes," August said. Black tendrils started to make their way up August's arm as he turned towards the werecheetah's toes. August spotted Allison watching from the doorway as Jay's toes twitched.

"It worked," Jay sighed

August held up his arm so Jay could see the tendrils. "Once everyone can help, you'll be back on your feet in no time."

"I thought Steve removed you from the link?" Jay stated his eyes wide.

"Fiona's scream reopened the connection, that's how I found you guys. Get some rest, okay?" August said rubbing the werecheetah's head before standing and heading out of the room.

"Werewolves are the only ones that can take pain like that," Allison said after August closed the door.

"I'm not a werewolf," August told her. "The pack has a mental link that allows us to share some abilities."

"So, they aren't just your friends. They're your pack."

"Were," August reminded her as they moved down the stairs. "We're going to get some things from my house," the hunter announced to Fiona and Kaia as they lay on the couches.

Leonard hopped out of the recliner when he heard Elisheba flick her claws out behind him. He turned and saw her and Isidore approaching him, both shifted, their emerald eyes locked on him. "Mom's running some errands, poor timing if you ask me," she growled. Leonard backed away from his siblings until his back hit the living room wall.

Zavis slid between Leonard and their younger siblings, roaring at them. "You're in the way," Isidore snarled.

"I know what you're planning," Zavis told them, holding up his bloodied claws. "Herit says you were planning to frame me."

"Dad'll be pissed when he finds out what you did," Elisheba growled still moving forward.

"You'd rather follow him?" Zavis growled nodding towards Isidore.

"I don't care who I follow so long as it's not him," she said glaring at Leonard.

"We're working on that," Lena commented as she came down the stairs. "None of us want to be ruled by him, but he's still our brother."

"Oh, you care for Leonard so much," Isidore mocked. "You just like Zavis more than me."

"Well, he's not the one turning to fratricide," Gulliver replied following behind Lena.

"Don't act like you have morals," Aanu said as she walked in behind Isidore and Elisheba. "Zaivs promised to give more of dad's estate when he takes over."

"Dad won't care if I kill the three of you," Zavis growled as Lena and Gulliver stood next to him and shifted.

Isidore glared at his older brother. "You can't always protect him," he growled before he walked off with Aanu and Elisheba.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Zavis asked, turning to his brother, still shifted.

Leonard quickly shook his head. "I'm still looking."

"You better figure it out fast," he growled. "Until then, you don't leave our sight."

Leonard nodded looking between the three siblings.

Steve and Charlie walked into the pack house and found Kaia and Fiona sleeping on the couch. Steve nodded towards the stairs and the two werewolves quietly made their way upstairs. The alpha pushed open the door to Jay's room and the werecheetah looked down at the door from his bed.

"Let's get you moving again," Steve told him. The werecheetah grinned and the two grabbed his arm. They gasped as the black tendrils moved up their arms. Steve let go as the tendrils reached his chest, he turned to see Charlie still holding on, the tendrils were making their way up the beta's neck.

Charlie gasped as he let go and fell to the floor. Jay grunted as he sat up. "Is he okay?" he asked looking down to Charlie.

"Yeah, just took a bit more than I should have," Charlie moaned as he sat back up.

"He transferred some of the injury to himself. You two will both be weakened. I wouldn't try anything too crazy," Steve told them.

Jay wiggled his toes and lifted his legs, chuckling to himself. "I'm not staying in bed."

"I would never have imagined you would," Steve said and the three headed downstairs.

August rolled a map onto the dining room table and pulled out a marker. Steve noticed his gear laying in the chairs. "Couldn't do it at your house?" Steve asked him.

"It would make working together a little bit harder. Where was Marcus taken from?" August asked.

"There," Charlie pointed at the map.

August marked the town with an x. "And they went to the warehouse before going to where we were attacked?" Charlie nodded and the hunter marked the warehouse with an x as well.

"What're you trying to do?" Steve asked looking at the map.

"Seeing if I can't triangulate where they might be working from."

"Don't you need three points for that? And, they can fly, they don't exactly need proximity to operate," Steve told him. "They went to the warehouse. I think they are using places significant to us."

"You're basing their pattern off one occurrence," August told him.

"One's an incident, two's a coincidence, three's a pattern," Allison muttered to herself.

"What?" Steve asked her.

"We need more points before we can figure out what they're doing. We need more information," Allison stated looking at the map.

"The guy who was keeping Marcus seemed to know a bit about the harpies. Maybe he knows of other sightings," Jay suggested.

"I wouldn't mind speaking to him myself," August added.

"I'm going too," Allision told them.

"Let's go," Charlie said.

August shook his head. "You and Jay are injured. Kaia and Fiona are too exhausted."

"I'm just fine," Steve commented.

"Fine," August said, "Let's go." The three of them headed out of the house and got in August's SUV.

"How're you feeling?" Charlie asked as Fiona started to stir.

"I've been better," she answered holding her head. "Where's everyone else?"

"August, Steve, and Allison left to see if they could get any more information on the harpies."

"The car ride itself sounds exciting," Jay mentioned as examined the map.

"It'll probably be a silent ride," Charlie told him. "Woah, take it easy," he added as Fiona got up and walked over to the table.

The banshee looked at the map, running her fingers over the x's August drew earlier. Her finger fell to the other side of the valley and rested there for a moment. "Something's here," she muttered.

"Just trees," Jay told her. "We haven't even looked over there."

"You feel up for a scouting mission?" Charlie asked the werecheetah.

"Not if harpies are going to be there."

"I'll go with, they didn't seem to like fire too much," Kaia stated, stumbling off the couch.

"You still look pretty drained," Charlie told her.

"We'll take our time. Stay with Fiona, she might feel something else," Kaia breathed

Charlie nodded as Kaia and the werecheetah headed out the door.

"This is the house?" August asked as they pulled up.

"Yeah, hence the windows being destroyed. But, at least the door is fixed," Steve told him as they stepped out of the car.

"August, what is it?" Allison asked.

"Osmont?" August asked as the man peered out the window.

"Who?"

"He would watch Marcus and me as kids, before we started hunting with my mom and dad," August stated. He continued to stare at the house for a moment before walking towards the door.

"That's a significant connection," Steve told Allison.

Allison shook her head. "Two's a coincidence, Marcus was just being kept here," she told him before following August. Steve joined behind her.

"August," Osmont said as the three entered the ruined house.

"You were keeping Marcus from us?" August asked in disbelief.

"Marin told me what was going on, she wanted me to keep Marcus for a few weeks until things settled down."

"But why not tell us?"

"Your father and I had a falling out, I didn't know how to contact him."

"What do you mean falling out?" Steve asked.

"Nero didn't like the stories I told you two, like the story of Lycaon. He said I was planning to undermine the Republic. Your father withdrew before even speaking with me."

"But you know where the valley is," August stated.

"Blake came and took my memory of where you were."

"Marcus could have led you!" August said, raising his voice.

"He might have been able to. But, Marin was planning to bring him back a few weeks later."

"But now he's been taken by the harpies. We could have protected him!" August shouted.

"August, calm down," Allison whispered, grabbing his shoulder as he tried to move towards Osmont.

"I tried to protect him," Osmont stated, remaining calm.

"Looks like you tried real hard," August stated looking at his uninjured body.

"I healed him," Steve told the hunter. August turned back to the alpha. "He was in bad shape."

"I was surprised to find the wolves in Blake's pack knew how to heal others," Osmont commented.

"It's not Blake's anymore," Steve told him, flashing his red eyes.

Osmont's stoicism broke as he raised his eyebrows. "Oh. It's been passed on then."

"Something like that," Steve said. "Listen, do you know anything else about the harpies, where they've been seen before coming here or anything else?"

"I know some stories. Sit," he offered gesturing to the ruined living room. "Many of the earlier stories considered Harpies the embodiment of storms, but this is a misconception. They began by attacking ships during storms and taking sailors away."

"Why'd they take the sailors?" Allison asked.

"Different accounts vary, Virgil considered them to be the guardians of the underworld. They would snatch the souls and bring them to Hades. But not everyone who died was taken by a harpy, so I think the other, worse, accounts are more accurate."

"What's worse than taking someone to their death?" Steve asked.

"In between the early accounts and Virgil, it was thought that the harpies were tools of the gods. They would capture those who defied the gods, and torture them for their misdeeds before, eventually, allowing them to pass into the underworld."

Steve looked down at his arm, at his covered tattoo. "So, Marcus did something to anger the gods?" August asked.

"No, they said they were planning to use Marcus to lure someone who did."

"Wait, gods? Like from ancient mythology?" Allison asked. Osmont nodded. "But aren't those just myths?"

"So are werewolves and harpies," Steve told her.

"So, now we have to worry about Zeus and all the others coming to smite us?" she asked.

"Jupiter," August corrected. "And no, after losing to humanity and its allies, the gods retreated, and have decided to leave us alone." Osmont smiled slightly as he nodded.

"Then why exactly are the harpies seeking out someone who wronged the gods?" Allison asked.

"I think they want to bring them back," Osmont told him.

Steve nodded. "We ran into a couple before coming here the first time. They mentioned bringing them back. The them must be the gods."

"They want to bring the gods back by enforcing the old laws," August breathed.

"That sounds bad," Allison stated.

"It is," Steve told her.

Jay and Kaia arrived in a clearing near where Fiona pointed on the map.

"I don't sense any harpies around," Jay whispered.

"Yeah, Fiona's tired. She might have just made a mistake," she responded.

"Or they might come by here later. Maybe we should stick around for a bit," Jay said as he sat against one of the larger trees. Kaia stared at him, her eyes widening. "What?"

"I've been here before," she said as she spun around and saw three other large trees circling the edge of the clearing. "Except there was snow," she muttered.

Jay jumped to his feet and the two shared a look.

"You have another feeling?" Charlie asked as Fiona walked away from the table.

"My mom calls them premonitions," she stated moving down the hallway. She stopped when she reached a room, block by double doors.

"No one has been in there for a while."

"What is it?"

"A library. The alpha before Blake enjoyed reading. Blake had been in there a few times, but not for a few years. I don't know if we would find anything relevant in there."

"Something's in there," she said. The doors groaned as she pushed them open. She stepped into the dark room. Shelves filled with books lined the walls and a large table sat in the middle of the room. She ran her finger the tabletop, disrupting the dust that had accumulated. She looked down at her fingers, rubbing the dust away before moving to the shelves behind her.

Her finger ran along the spines of the books as she walked further into the library. She stopped walking and pulled the book out. "The Oresteia?" Charlie asked turning on his phone's flashlight. "I don't see how a trilogy of Greek plays is going to help us."

Fiona flipped the pages and stopped at the start of the third play. "Eumenides," she whispered. She began to skim through the play.

Charlie started typing on his phone. "It's about the trial of Orestes by the Furies after he killed his mother," he read. "Still not too useful."

Fiona grabbed his phone and looked up the Furies. "Harpies worked as the servants to the Furies," she stated showing Charlie a picture.

"Still not seeing the relevance between them and Marcus."

"August blamed himself for his mother's death," she muttered.

"Yeah, but he didn't kill her. Besides, if the harpies were after August, why didn't they just take him when he and Allison showed up. They just flew away."

"They flew away after Steve killed one of them. Maybe they sensed the tide of battle was turning and decided to wait for a better time."

"August is alone with Steve and Allison. It took all of us to barely stay alive last time."

"Exactly."

"But they haven't attacked yet. Maybe they aren't after August."

"That place you pointed to was where Dianna was killed," Kaia told them.

Charlie looked up at Fiona before running out of the library.

"Exactly how bad would it be if the gods were brought back?" Allison asked.

"They'd wage war on humanity again," Osmont told her.

"The harpies are after August," Charlie thought to them.

"For what?" Steve asked.

"Matricide."

Steve and August looked at each other before August rose. "We have to go," he announced.

"Charlie's on his way, we'll meet him halfway," Steve said as stood as well.

"What?" Allison asked looking at the two as they rushed to the door. "We haven't figured anything out, except they want to bring back the gods."

"They're after August. We need to move," Steve said as he opened the front door.

Five women were standing outside and smiling at the alpha. Steve's eyes widened and he moved to slam the door but they shoved it open, knocking Steve to the ground. The alpha rolled back onto his feet and roared as he shifted. Allison jumped out of the chair, spinning two ring daggers in her hand before gripping them.

"Wait," August said as the harpies started to move forward. "You're here for me. Just take me and let the others be."

The harpies stopped and looked to the hunter. "That one killed one of us," one of them hissed, pointing at Steve.

"But he didn't commit crimes against his family. You don't want to taint the blood you'll spill," August told her. Steve ran at the harpies and two of them slammed him into the wall. "If you hurt him, I won't come willingly," he shouted, pulling out a dagger.

"We can just kill you and your friends," the harpy said.

"No, we need to wait for the full moon," another told her. "Grab him," she said nodding towards the hunter.

The other two harpies dug their talons into the hunter's shoulder as he released the dagger. The hunter winced briefly as they pulled him to the door as black tendrils shot up Steve's arm.

"We can't have that," one of the harpies holding the alpha hissed.

"We don't want him to follow us either," the other commented. The two harpies released him before ducking down and slashing through the back of the alpha's knees.

Steve roared as he collapsed to the floor. August yelled out as the pain hit him and he was taken into the air by the harpies. The other women flew after them.

Allison stood there, frozen for a moment, before running to help Steve to his feet. The two fell back to the floor as the alpha tried to support himself. He growled and Allison released him, stepping away.

Charlie ran into the door and looked around the room. "Where's August?" he asked.

"They took him," Allison said. Steve snarled from the floor.

Charlie lifted the shifted alpha up as he started to take his pain. Charlie's entire arm turned black after a few seconds. The beta heard Allison gasp behind him before the beta stopped drawing the pain. "You said you had other anchors," Charlie said. "Use them."

"Pain makes you human," Allison told him when Steve just growled in response.

"He's already in pain," Charlie barked back.

"Try it anyway," Osmont said.

Charlie sighed and grabbed the alpha's arm, bending it back on itself. Steve cried out in pain as he returned to normal.

Charlie lifted the alpha off the ground. "We need to find August."