Scott spent the rest of the afternoon with Allison, just catching up and talking about how they had spent their summer, but it was almost 5 o'clock and Scott wanted to bring her up to speed before he went home.
"Allison, I wanted to talk to you and your dad about something that just happened earlier today."
"Really?" she asked, surprised. "OK, well come out to the living room and I'll go get him."
Scott had barely made himself comfortable before Mr. Argent came out of his study. He got the impression that Chris had just been pacing in the study all this time, listening for any suspicious sounds.
Mr. Argent sat down across from Scott in the big armchair and frowned when Allison sat down on the couch right next to Scott. 'I bet he thinks we're getting back together.' Scott thought. 'I wish.'
"Hello, Scott," Mr. Argent began, "Allison tells me you have something to say to us." He looked like he would not approve of anything Scott could possibly say. 'Oh, well. What else is new?' he thought.
"That's right, Mr. Argent. I don't know if this will mean anything to you two, but I wanted you to hear it from me first, just in case." He took a deep breath and pressed on. "Some of the other werewolves have asked me to be their alpha, and I have accepted. Isaac, Ethan and Aidan are now in my pack."
It was if he had set off a bomb in the middle of their apartment. "Who did you kill to become alpha?" Chris shouted. "Derek or Deucalion? Or was it Kali?" he demanded, getting up and arming himself. He grabbed Allison and pulled her behind him.
"No one, I swear!" Scott shouted. He scrambled behind the couch looking for cover. "I didn't take the power from anyone. It's because I'm a True Alpha! That's all." When he didn't hear any gunfire he peeked back over the top of the couch. Chris was just staring at him in shock and Allison peeked around his shoulder curiously. "I'm guessing you've heard of that before."
Mr. Argent lowered his weapon and sat back down. He kept the gun in his hand, but Scott thought it was more like a security blanket than anything. "Who told you about that?" Mr. Argent asked.
"What's a True Alpha?" wondered Allison aloud. She moved to sit back down on the couch but her dad had her sit right next to him instead. Scott didn't know if he should sit or stay behind the furniture. "Better to be safe than sorry," he told himself and stayed where he was.
"Dr. Deaton told me that a True Alpha is a werewolf that attains the strength and powers of a regular alpha based on his strength of character and force of will, and not from killing or stealing the power from someone else," he said answering both their questions at once. "That's all I know about it, but my eyes turn red now so there must be something going on."
"That was a very concise answer Scott. Yes, that is how a werewolf becomes a true alpha." He said that last part robotically, still stunned by the news.
"Why is it such a shock to you then?" He felt a little hurt that Mr. Argent didn't think he was good enough to be a true alpha.
"I'm shocked, because it's such a rare thing. Most hunters, most werewolves even, think it's a myth. It's usually only in very old werewolf families that the lore is passed on. Do the Hales know?"
Scott thought about it. "I think Derek saw my eyes change to red, but I don't think he's told anyone else. Other people do know though."
"Who?" Chris demanded.
Scott listed them off on his fingers. "My mom and Stiles, my pack, Dr. Deaton, Ms. Morrell, Deucalion and Kali. And now you two."
"Oh, is that all?" Chris asked sarcastically.
"I didn't know it was a secret. Anyway, half of them knew before I did. That's the whole reason Deucalion brought his pack here, to either kill me or get me to join him. He's your upstairs neighbor, by the way."
"Yes, Allison told me, which is why I sound proofed the entire apartment when I found out."
"You did a really nice job, Mr. Argent. I bet the owner won't even be able to tell."
"Yes, thank you, Scott." Chris said, rolling his eyes.
"So, Dad," Allison began, "if its only old werewolf families that know about true alphas, then how do you know about them?
Chris sighed. "It's not only old werewolf families. The Emissaries would know of it too, but, well, you were going to find out eventually anyways. Since Scott's here now, I might as well tell you both. Scott, sit back down. I'm not going to shoot you." He waited until Scott eased his way back around the couch and into his former seat.
"This is a long story, but I'll try to be brief," he began, "after the fall of the Roman Empire, came a time known as the middle ages, or the dark ages. For over thousand years, Europe struggled with war and poverty, sickness and famine. It was a hard time to live in, made even harder by werewolves." He looked at Allison, and explained further. "At this time, there were no hunters to protect people, and without society to hold them in check, they ran rampant. The alphas only bit people they thought were naturally vicious and easily led, to consolidate their power. They capitalized on the fear and superstitions of the people and kept Europe from economically righting itself."
He looked back at Scott. "By the 1300s things were looking pretty grim when the Black Death spread throughout Europe. One alpha saw this as a chance to increase his power and began biting people as fast as he could find them. One of the hundreds he bit was a man named Johannes who wasn't cruel or weak, but a good man. He became the first true alpha that Europe had seen for centuries and his fight against the cruel, power hungry packs is part of why Europe was able to transition into the age of enlightenment. He believed that werewolves could coexist with normal people and he sought to rid Europe of the murderous, corrupt wolves who populated it. He taught his pack and his children how to kill werewolves, and they spread across Europe, providing the first retaliation the werewolves had seen for a thousand years. They were the first modern hunters."
He sought Allison's gaze again. "Not every child born to a pack is born a wolf, and one of his children was our ancestor, Tomas Argent. We are the descendants of a true alpha. And no, it doesn't give us powers, it only gives us purpose."
Both Scott and Allison were speechless.
"Over the years the role of a hunter has changed. By nearly eradicating the older, evil wolves, new werewolves who arose didn't have the knowledge or pack structure that would have helped them stay in control of their instincts. Hunters began policing these out of control wolves and protecting the human population. As more and more of them rejoined society, werewolves became a thing of legend. Today, the biggest problem is when werewolves expose their true nature to the unsuspecting public. We hunt them as much to protect the secret as to protect humanity at large. However, the code of the hunter remains unaltered since Johannes gave the mandate 700 years ago."
At this Mr. Argent closed his eyes and began to recite the code. "A werewolfe who has killed a human shall be himself killed if there is proof of his deeds. A werewolfe who is a child shall not be killed, nor shall a human who allies himself with a werewolfe. Protect the innocent from their fury and visit my wrath upon those who would do harm." He opened his eyes again. "That is the Code of Johannes which every hunter accepts when he or she is initiated. I always thought it was funny that no one ever asked who Johannes was," he mused.
"Whoa," Scott said. "That is a lot of information. And a lot of pressure."
"If we are descendants of a werewolf, why did Kate and Gerard go against the code?" Allison asked. "I would think that having that as part of our family legacy would make them want to stick to it even harder."
Mr. Argent looked at her very intently. "It's not the wolf that makes a man a monster. The monster is already there, waiting to be given a shape. For Kate, that shape was fire, and for Gerard, a sword. It is up to each of us to fight that monster inside and to be there when someone else loses that battle."
He got up and put his weapon away. "Scott, I think it's time for you to go. I'm sure you're mother will be getting home soon." Scott nodded and got up to leave and Allison showed him to the door. Before he left, Chris called out to him. "Come back sometime and have dinner with Allison and I. You haven't been to one of our awkward dinners since we moved. You're welcome anytime."
"Thanks, Mr. Argent, that means a lot." He squeezed Allison's hand gently, and left the apartment.
His mind was in such a blur from everything he had been told that afternoon that he stepped onto the elevator and pushed the lobby level button without thinking.
"Hello, Scott, " came a voice from behind him. He spun around to see Deucalion in the elevator with him. Wonderful. "It seems I have misplaced two of my pack members. Where do you think they're hiding?"
"They're not your pack members anymore. They're mine now." Scott replied heatedly.
"Oh really. Care to make another wager? Same rules, Different terms. If you can take my cane away from me, I'll leave your pack alone. If you can't, I'll just have to come find them." He smiled cruelly.
Scott couldn't let that happen. He lunged for the outstretched stick, but just like last time, it wasn't where he thought it would be. Deucalion tutted at him and pulled out the 'Stop' knob on the elevator. He turned to face him again. Scott focused all his energy on the blind man. He couldn't let himself get riled up. He had to fight smart. Deucalion's arm shot out and Scott deflected it turning it into a counter move, which Deucalion dodged. His pole whipped around but Scott had seen that coming and he bent backwards as it skimmed over his chest. He sprang back up and head butted the older man right in the face, shattering his glasses and breaking his nose. It healed quickly, but Scott had landed the first blow.
"Hmm," Deucalion said, removing the frames and tossing them off to the side, "it seems you've learned a trick or two. Lets see how you cope with this." At that, his eyes flared red and he came at Scott with such a volley of punches that it was all Scott could do to avoid them in this confined space.
He dodged under one arm and scooted around behind Deucalion to the elevator controls. He pressed the 'Alarm' button and a very loud ringing, began to sound. Deucalion wasn't expecting this and he dropped his cane to cover his sensitive ears. Scott scooped it up and released the button. He then pressed the 'Stop' knob back in and the elevator resumed its descent. Deucalion uncovered his ears and scowled at Scott.
"That wasn't very nice Scott. How are you supposed to be a true alpha with dirty tricks like that?"
"What do you know about it?" Scott replied, finally letting some of his anger out. "You're so far away from behaving like an alpha should that I'm surprised your pack didn't band together to kill you years ago. You may have started out as the frog in the story, but you've turned into the scorpion, and are poisoning everything around you. I thought you hated Gerard, but you must worship him, because you are exactly like him. You're petty, power crazed and your search for vengeance has blinded you to what you've really become. Yeah, I said it." The elevator dinged and Scott stepped out. He snapped the blade off of the pole and tossed the stick back to Deucalion's feet. "Stay away from my pack," he said as a parting shot and left the building.
It was now 5:30 and the sun was getting closer to the horizon. He started to jog back home. He wanted to get there before his mom did so that she wouldn't have to make dinner for seven hungry people after working all day. Unfortunately, he arrived back just as she was pulling into the driveway. He stopped and waited for her to turn off the car and grab her stuff.
"Hi Honey, how was your day?" she asked him, getting out of the vehicle.
"Eventful. I'm actually just getting home now too. Let me take your bag, Mom and I'll help make dinner tonight."
"Thank you Sweetheart. Any ideas for what to make for dinner?"
"Well, Stiles has his dad on a heart healthy diet, so I'm sure anything that's got carbs or fat in it would be a hit with him." This made his mom laugh.
He opened the door to their house and stepped aside to let her in first, but the laughter died in her throat and Scott looked up to see what was wrong.
The first thing he noticed was the smell of lasagna wafting out the door. Then he saw the rest of the house. The dishes had been done from this morning and someone had vacuumed. The windows were sparkling and the table was already set. All the little everyday clutter was put away and someone had bought flowers which were in a vase in the living room. He just stood in the doorway with his mom gaping at their nice clean house. He could even hear the washing machine and the dryer running.
Isaac popped out from around the corner. He had a swiffer mitt on each hand. "Oh, you're home already? We're not finished yet." He went back into the living room, and Scott followed.
His mom walked into her immaculate house like she was an insect caught in the soothing blue glow of a bug zapper. Isaac had resumed dusting, but now they could see Ethan folding laundry and Aidan, who was wearing Grammy McCall's old apron, was chopping up some vegetables to put in the salad.
He felt his mom tug on his sleeve and he looked back at her. "Scott," she whispered as if talking too loud would break the spell. "I think I could get used to this."