Til Forever Runs Out

by ScaliaFics94

PART II of Whenever You're Ready. Scott and Malia are in their junior year of college. They've never met, but they instantly feel like they know each other. They can't quite explain how, but the more they figure out about each other the more they want to find out why they know those things. AU/OOC. Smutty. Expect everything to be different.

11. The Night We Met

The song for this chapter is Lord Huron - The Night We Met (So this song is literally everywhere and so mainstream after 13Reason Why. I love that people love the song as much as I have for the past three years, but does anyone else that knew it before the show feel like it's losing it's essence? Not to be hipster about it haha)

MALIA'S POV:

The sound of forks and knives clinking against porcelain plants filled the awkward void in the air.

With the six of us exchanging half glances around the table. Michelle sat next to me while Scott sat next to Kylie, my dad's on either end of the table.

Kylie's foot tapped mine under the table. She gave me an anticipative look as she took a sip of water, her eyes motioned to Scott.

He pushed around the peas on his plate with his gaze lowered.

So I knew that he wasn't just spaced out because Michelle was here, but because of our shared memory earlier. I guess, we both sort of assumed we ended up together in the other life but actually seeing it play out was different.

Those words hadn't left my head.

Seven years I have loved you like I haven't loved anybody else. When I saw you in that diner two years ago I knew that I was completely screwed.

Seven years. That was a long time. A lot longer than our almost month. Fuck, the engagement ring was gorgeous. That Scott had said something about seeing me two years ago in a dinner, I wanted to know what happened. But this reincarnation thing didn't work that way.

"So," Henry started. "Michelle, how's college going?"

She swallowed her food, then grinned at him. "Pretty well. I've been doing classes in the summer so I'm going to graduate this semester." She nodded. "Then I'm off to find a real job."

"That's great," He concluded. "You're still an Engineer, right?"

She smiled with a laugh. "Yeah. They won't be ready for me." Her confidence had always inspired me to be like that.

I hadn't always been such a feminist or independent. Or strong. After Deucalion, I'd been the weakest one. Finding Michelle was my saving grace. She wore her Black confidence like a crown, something I'd been so attracted to in the beginning.

"No, they won't." I added with a slight grin. My eyes went to Scott still pushing peas around his plate.

Kylie raised her brow at Michelle. "You're an Engineer?"

Michelle met her green-eyed gaze with her own brown sugar stare. "On my way to being one. Don't tell me you're one of those that believe women can't go into the Science and Engineering field?"

Kylie gave a half shrug. "I just think a woman's place should be in the house, that's all."

The air turned rigid.

As terrified as Kylie had been about Deucalion getting a hold on her again, she still exhibited sexist tendencies from learned behavior over the years. I tried to break her of continuously asking the men if they needed anything throughout the days or randomly cleaning things. Not that there were anything wrong with those, but in the obedient nature she learned they were incredibly disgusting. It was like she'd grieved internally, then she was right back to the conditioned state.

Last night Scott yelled for me to come to his guest room. When I got there Kylie had been on his bed, naked and waiting for him to use her. He had his hands over his eyes and when he saw me he didn't know what to do. She didn't understand what the problem was from our worried expressions. She kept saying that's what she thought Scott wanted.

That night I held Kylie as she slept. It had been a harder night than most.

Next to me, Michelle was about to school her, I could feel it.

Scott turned toward her with nervous eyes. "Despite what you've been taught, women are extremely capable of doing everything a man can. Probably better." His eyes met mine. "Look at your sister, for example. She's smarter than most of the people in the room. I've seen her take down men who thought treating women like pieces of meat and minorities like scum in ways that I could never do."

My chest warmed at his words. I tried to hide the budding smile on my face.

He looked back at her with sure eyes. "And I don't doubt that she can kick my ass if she has to."

Kylie nodded, then stole his roll off his plate. "If you're not going to eat that, I will."

He grinned at her with a shake of his head.

She reached for my bread.

My hand almost forked her hand to stop her from taking it. "Sorry,"

She drew her hand back with wide eyes.

Scott nudged her shoulder. "Watch this," He reached for my roll.

And I let him.

Michelle and Kylie's mouth fell open in shock.

"What? How is that fair?" Kylie asked with a knowing look.

Scott bit into the roll with smug eyes.

Michelle turned toward me. "You never let me pick off your plate."

Face red, I looked at Scott with hard eyes. He knew what he did.

"Scott," Peter picked up on my discomfort. "Are you going back to school soon? Surely, you shouldn't be missing this much class."

Scott looked him in the eye with the same restraint he'd displayed the past couple of days. "I'm here as long as I'm welcomed."

Peter's gaze fell on me. "What about you, dear? When are you going back?"

"I'm not," I looked at Kylie. "I'm not leaving you behind this time."

Her head shook. "I'm fine."

My head shook. "No, you're not."

Her face hardened. "There's nothing wrong with me, Lizzie."

She didn't know how wrong she was.

"That's not up for you to decide."

Her head tilted. "Being that it's my life, I think it is up for me to decide."

I leaned forward on the table. "Kyle," I reined in my anger. "You're not okay. People don't go through what you went through and turn out just fine. You need help."

Her face reddened in embarrassment, her eyes shifted around the table uncomfortably until tears formed in her eyes. "I don't need this," She pushed her chair back and dashed from the table.

"Kylie," Dad called after her.

Scott gave me a disappointed look.

With a sigh I lowered my gaze.

"I'll go talk to her," Henry rose.

"No," Scott shot up. "I'll do it."

My eyes met his before he went after her.

Henry sat back in his seat, his glasses perched on his nose. "That went well,"

Michelle nudged me. "Are you going to tell me how she's alive?"

Internally, I groaned. My lips pursed. Despite having been in a near six year relationship with Chelley I hadn't ever told her about my Werecoyote side. I trusted her completely, but putting her in danger with that secret wasn't an option I could afford. Now, I felt I had an obligation, but I didn't know how she'd take it.

So I fully faced her and the words that I kept in for years and years spilled from my mouth.

SCOTT'S POV:

Kylie sat on the floor against her bed, her head in her hands while she wept silently.

I sat beside her with a foot or so of distance in between us.

She looked at me with red, teary eyes. "It's not like I don't know that there's something wrong with me. I know."

My head shook. "There's nothing wrong with you, Kylie."

Her mouth held a wry set to it. "That's not what Malia thinks."

My knee nudged his. "Malia loves you and she's just wants you to be like her. Too fast too soon."

"So you agree that there's something wrong with me?"

I huffed. "I think you've been held captive by a raving chauvinist who manipulated your mind to bend to his fantasies." I took a moment to think. "And I think you know what's right and wrong, but what he did to you is making it hard to integrate those beliefs that you have underneath."

Her chin crinkled together and she turned away from me to cry. "I don't want to be this way," She got out in between sobs. She eventually leaned against me.

Trying to respect the boundaries she needed to have with men, I let her take comfort in me but I didn't touch her.

Henry's clunky footsteps headed up the stairs and in our direction. I prayed he didn't think I was taking advantage of his daughter.

When he stood in the doorway he held a broken look only a father in his situation could have. He motioned for me to hug her.

So I did.

She cried even deeper.

He locked his eyes on mine and gave a grateful nod before he wandered off.

"You just have to find your voice." I told her as calmly as possible.

I focused my hearing between the room and downstairs.

Malia delivered the whole story to Michelle. The most shocking news was that she hadn't told Michelle about her animal side. All the years they'd been together and I felt confident in saying I knew Malia far better than she ever did.

There was nothing to be jealous over. That first day I got upset, sure, but now I was certain Malia didn't let Michelle know her like I knew her. Now she was telling her the truth, but there was no intent in her to pick things back up with Michelle. They left the house to presumably talk more about things.

Once Kylie had fallen asleep against me I picked her up and tucked her into bed. The dark country sky darkened her room.

During my shower I tried to clear my head, but it was hard given the atmosphere.

When I came out, Malia was perched on the bed. She gave me a sheepish half grin, then picked up a basket. "Want to go somewhere with me?"

My brow rose.

MALIA'S POV:

The walk through the woods was quiet, nothing but the sound of night creatures that puttered around us, a slight breeze that ruffled through the trees and our footfalls. The moon bounced its ethereal luminescence around. When it landed on Scott all I could do was stare at him.

He let his heart palpitating inducing gaze fall on me. "What?" A dimple popped out for me.

I felt my eyes smile more than I did. My head shook. "I'm sorry about dinner. That was weird. Like really weird." I blew out a breath. "I don't know why my dad did that. He knows that we're..." I struggled for the right word. "Involved."

He nodded, but didn't know what to say.

My shoulders shrugged. "I told him about you before..." I shrugged again.

I knew my dad meant well, but this dinner came off as insensitive. To Scott. I knew it did. Especially after what happened on the porch.

He looked at me with question in his eyes. "You talked to him about me? When?" His mouth dipped in what could be a hopeful grin if properly motivated.

Not realizing I probably shouldn't have said that, I blushed a little. "A few weeks ago."

His grin grew into one that held me captive. "So the week after we met."

This was embarrassing. Now he probably thought I fantasized a whole relationship in my head the second we met or some stalkery crap.

His hand grabbed the basket and slid into place with mine. "Don't be shy, I think it's cute. You had a crush on me."

I gave a defensive grin. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Yeah, okay." He didn't sound convinced. "Where are we going anyway?"

My eyes rolled playfully. "To my cave."

He stopped where he stood. "What do you mean your cave?"

"I have a cave." I laughed. "I went there a lot when we stayed here. It was far and between after Kylie and mom died. But I went there a lot after Deucalion. It became a second home when I ran away from the others. I didn't talk to my dad about a lot of stuff back then. The girls were there, but that was one thing we brushed the rug."

His hand tightened around mine. "Are you going to punch me if I say I'm sorry?"

"No," I laughed. "It's not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry about."

He tugged me closer. "All this time we were so close to each other and we never met. If I have gotten to know you then I could've done something."

"It's sweet of you to think that, but we thought Deucalion was dead. There was nothing else to be done about it. We just didn't want to acknowledge it. Besides," I stared into his eyes knowingly. "If you met me then you wouldn't have liked me."

His forehead creased. "Why is that?"

"Because I was nothing like how I am now. I was shy are introverted. I was only in sports to work through anger issues that I wouldn't talk about with my dad. The girls did the best they could with what they had, but if Michelle hadn't come along then I don't who I'd be. She helped me through a lot of things without realizing it."

His head tilted back with a sigh. "Michelle," He glanced at me. "She really wanted me to know that she had you first."

I gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that. We were in it for the long game, but school got in the way."

"But now that you're back..." He put out there.

My eyes narrowed at his. "Are you nervous that I'm going to get back together with her?" I teased.

He met my gaze full on. "Not even a little bit," His gaze gave me goosebumps. "I know how you feel about me, I think." He chuckled adorably. "But I think she's gotten the message."

"Trust me, she has."

His brow rose.

"When we left earlier I told her everything. Not just the werecoyote part and Kylie stuff, but everything. Our memories included."

Shock sat on his face.

I nodded with the weight of that decision. "It felt so good to get it off my chest to someone objective. Well, partially objective. She knows that her and I aren't going to try again. How could I when what we have is literally out of this world?"

He shook his head. "Cheesy, Tate. I didn't think you had it in you."

A smile passed over my face as we neared the cave. "There's a lot of things that you didn't know I had-" I cut myself off.

He smirked. "Go ahead and finish that sentence,"

I held up my middle finger with a laugh when he looked upset by it. "Aww, you're not going to cry are you, McCall?" I lead him into the opening of my cave.

"No, but I might tell Kylie you're being mean to me. We both know she's on Team Scott."

My laughter bounced off the walls the deeper we went. "Yeah, I think you're right about that. How did you hijack my sister?"

He set the food down, then dragged me along to gather firewood. "It's simple. I'm the hot girl."

Laughter escaped me. "You're the what?" I followed.

"The hot girl." He threw a look over his shoulder. "People are drawn to me, for the most part."

I thought on it.

"Hate to break it to you, but in my experience, people don't like you as much as they're intimidated by you. You're not the hot girl. You're just hot."

He wiggled his eyebrows.

I laughed again.

With the kindling and such gathered, we headed back to the cave.

He looked at me with indecision on his lips. "Uh...Do you know how to build a fire?"

I took the wood from him with a smirk. "That hasn't changed. I remember that about you." I smiled at the memory as I began the making of the fire.

He sat back and watched me, a permanent look of amusement on his face ever since we started our walk over. One leg fell flat on the ground with the other propped up, his arm rested on the knee. "Do you ever think about what it would be like if one of us didn't remember the other life?"

"And the other did?" I glanced up from my work to verify.

"Yeah," He tapped his thumb on his propped knee.

My shoulders shrugged. "No, never thought about it. Until now." I nodded. "That would suck. Especially because I don't think either of us would believe the other." I saddened at that knowledge. If it had played out like that then I know I'd likely go insane if it were me.

"Or what if one of us stopped having the flashbacks?" He posed.

My eyes met his in worry. "Do you really think that's going to happen?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. We don't always see the same stuff. Like that night I kissed you, I didn't see what you saw. We don't know how this thing works. Or why we're seeing them, how. Is there a purpose behind them?"

"It seems pretty cut and dry to me. The powers that be want us to be together," I teased.

His eyes rolled. "We can do that on our own. It just seems weird that they only started when we met. Why not over the course of our lives?"

My mind went back to the moment I envisioned his face over the summer and when we both had our first flashback together.

"It's music." I paused. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before." I stood. "It's music. That's how we connect."

He rose, his mind going to the same place mine did. "You might be right."

"I am," I went to him. "When I started playing guitar again over the summer I saw you. At the time, I didn't know it was you, but I felt your presence. At the dinner, that song. Close Your Eyes, it was what gave us our first flashback. Music was a big part of our lives there. You got me into it, I made a career out of it. You were a dancer."

He nodded. "We made music together."

Did I know that? I don't think I knew it, but maybe I felt it.

"So maybe if we continue to play together we'll get all of our memories?" He offered. "Do you have another guitar at home?"

My head shook.

The only one I had I gave to him. Maybe if I had known Kylie was alive I would've saved it to give back to her.

"We'll figure it out." He assured.

After I got the fire up and burning we dug into the chicken salad sandwiches I made. Not to toot my own horn, but they were delicious.

"Are you going to tell your dad you're here?" I asked.

He popped a potato chip into his mouth and shook his head. "Too dangerous. He still doesn't know about Deucalion. I'd like to keep it that way." He glanced at me. "He asked about you,"

My eyebrows danced. "Did he want my number?"

His foot lightly kicked mine. "Gross,"

"If you think DILF's are gross..."

His eyes narrowed and I couldn't tell if he was actually mad or egging me on.

So I said, "It runs in the family I'm sure, you're definitely going to be a DILF when the time comes."

He leaned forward against his propped up knees. "Are you offering to make me one?" His eyes full of a playful promise that should've sent me running away with my track record, but it was Scott so it was endearing.

My brain froze and I said, "Erm," I blushed with a nervous laugh.

He reached over, picked up my hand and held it close to his face, his thumb ran over my ring finger. When his eyes met mine I blushed even harder.

Like a coward my gaze fell away.

"It was my mother's wedding ring," He muttered. "She was dead there, too. I could feel it."

My eyes snapped to his in remorse. "I'm sorry, Scott."

"I don't remember what happened, but I remember feeling like she'd be really excited for us." He nodded, his thoughts far away in his warm eyes.

I didn't know what to say, so I intertwined my fingers with his.

He rested his gaze on mine. "Things seemed easier for them, why can't they be like that for us?"

I chewed on it, then said, "We don't know that they had it easier. Maybe they had it harder. Maybe we're the lucky ones."

"I definitely didn't feel lucky until I met you so..."

A smile broke out on my face and my eyes softened. "Now I know how she fell for you there, such a sweet talker you were."

He grinned. "No," His eyes went beyond me playfully. "I think it was my empanadas."

I laughed, my hand teasingly slapped his chest. "Shut up."

His eyes returned to mine, this time with the heaviness of our otherworldly marriage. "The more I remember about you, the easier it is for me to want what they had."

My hand disentangled from his and went to his face. "Believe me when I say that before you the thought of marriage and all that was a huge no."

His eyes ran over my face, the hunger rose in those chocolate orbs that told me he wanted to pull me close and love me. "And now?"

A spell of nerves fell over me and I blew out a heavy breath.

He made a disgusted face from my pickley breath.

I bursted out in laughter.

He reached into his pocket for a stick of gum, unwrapped it, and fed to me. He shook his head at my unintentional shenanigans.

I laughed uncontrollably while I chewed the funk away, then spit it out across the cave before my minty fresh mouth descended on his.

His hand pushed my hair out of the way, then held my face on both sides while his tongue took over my mouth. He pulled away first. Sadly.

My forehead rested against his while I caught my breath. Half the time he took it away just by being next to me.

"Back to you marrying me now," His eyes held a serious amusement.

My dimples came out for him. "Now I know I definitely don't want to marry you." I teased.

He knew I was joking, but he still narrowed his eyes. "Is that right?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I gave a tight grin to keep the laughter at bay. "You are the last person I'd ever say yes to."

His brows rose. He flipped us over so he was on top of me. Cocky brown eyes glared into mine. "The last person, huh?"

"You don't even make the list," I grinned despite wanting to keep a playful seriousness about me.

With challenge in his eyes, he leaned more into me. His hips worked into mine with a pressure I hadn't felt in way too long. Thankfully, my period had ended yesterday.

Instinctively, I moved against him.

"After tonight you should probably go." My eyes scanned his.

His head shook. "I'm not going anywhere."

My heart dipped at his words.

"So you just want to use me for my body with no long term commitment?"

My hips opened up and I wrapped my legs around him. "Not just your body," I humped him back. "You make me cum like no one else has before." I smirked. "Maybe I am just here for your body."

He lowered his mouth to mine with a soft tug of lips. "Be serious with me for a second," He rose his head enough to look down at me. His hand pushed my hair back and trailed a finger down my face. His heart was on his sleeve like never before. "I know it's incredibly early in something that's not even official and maybe it's unfair to ask, but I've got to know. Can you picture more for us?" He scanned my face for any sign of disapproval.

Not wanting to lead him on unnecessarily I chose my words carefully. My hand reached up to gather his chin between my thumb and finger to pull his face closer to mine. "I still don't know if marriage is for me. Hell, I'm not even there yet to let you call me your girlfriend." My eyes burned into his. "But I do know that every second that I'm with you that both possibilities become easier for me to accept. That's a big deal for me." Butterflies flapped in my stomach. "And I'm not saying that I want to marry you, but like I said, I can see how she fell for you. It was incredibly effortless. That's what I'm afraid of." I admitted.

He gave a slight nod. "You have no idea."

With a ghost of a grin on my lips, I brought his down to mine again.

We peeled each others clothes off, our hands everywhere.

His mouth went to my neck as his fingers worked in and out of my pussy, his thumb focused on my clit.

My hand slid up and down his erect cock like I longed to do in the past week.

The cave filled with our moans, the fire a few feet from us heated things up considerably.

The closer we got to orgasming the louder our noises bounced off the walls.

He looked down at me when he entered me bare.

This time around we didn't bother with the bdsm stuff. It was just us in the moment. The heat of the fire on our skin, our hearts pumping faster with our for once slow movements. This wasn't a heated anger fuck. It was how sex should be between two people; intense and powerful, and scarily open.

I'd never been scared like that having sex, in the good way. In the way that I was afraid at any moment I might break and say something along the lines of 'I love you'. Saying that to Scott would not only change everything between us, but I'd be leaving myself open for heartache from a man. Was I ready for that? Would I ever be? Scott was a good a candidate as any to test run it on. When the time was right.

My arms draped over his shoulders as he slid in and out of me in the most beautiful way.

His warm breath fanned across my skin, his eyes laid claim to mine. Probably the moment we first looked at each other.

He leaned down to press his mouth to mine, that was it.

I grinned then laughed against his lips.

"What?" His face broke out into a smile.

"I was just thinking about my dad taking our pictures."

His brow arched. "That's what you're thinking about when we're having sex?" He cracked a grin. "Do you have a daddy kink you want to tell me about?"

I laughed some more. "Probably. What was he thinking? Like we wouldn't catch him."

His lips trailed to under my neck and he grinned when I moaned. "He probably just wants pictures for our hypothetical wedding."

My eyes rolled, but I didn't knock the joke. "Maybe," I flipped us over.

He sat up with his back against the wall, his hands spread against the skin on my hips while I rode him at a pace that should be ticketed for driving under the speed limit.

We wanted this to last and having this moment with him suddenly felt better than the others. Without approving it ourselves, we leveled up in our relationship.

Somehow without being frozen in place, my mind flashed back and forth between her life and mine. The both of us riding Scott. The both of us moaning. The both of us with our hearts open for him.

"Can you feel...?" I couldn't get out the rest of the sentence from the pleasure that wracked through my body. My eyes went back in my head.

His hips met mine. "Yeah..."

I wasn't alone in experiencing this sort of double sex scene.

There was an odd thrill of watching other people have sex. Like we were having sex and watching porn while doing it. I'd be weirded out if it didn't feel so good.

"Scott," She moaned above him.

My head tilted back. "Scott,"

Her Scott took her nipple in his mouth.

My Scott wrapped his wet lips around my sensitive bud and tugged with teeth while he slammed inside me.

"Holy fuck." I cried out.

Her hand went to his hair.

Mine went to his hair and pulled.

He got the message and brought his mouth to mine.

She was close to cumming and rode him fast with her forehead on his.

I pulled away from the kiss and threw my head back as I neared the edge.

"Oh, God." She groaned. "I love you, Scott."

My hands tightened around his shoulders. "Fuck, I love-" My eyes snapped to his.

While our motions didn't stop, he stared at me with wide hopeful eyes.

"You what?" He wrapped his arms around me to hold me closer while his hips worked over time.

I was so close and I didn't want to ruin what could be the best orgasm of my life.

To fix what we both know what was about to come out of my mouth, I moaned, "I love your cock."

While that probably wasn't what he wanted, it worked enough for him to shoot his hot nut in me.

My mouth attacked his until his high faded, then we fell to the ground.

We laid there, sweaty, breathless, and together.

"Wow," I muttered, my eyes on the ceiling of the cave.

He looked at me and smirked. "That was a two way street."

I turned my eyes on his. "How are you so perfect?"

His dimples took over his face. "I'm not perfect," He traced the skin on my arm. "But when people like us find each other we become perfect for each other."

My eyes rolled playfully. "Sap."

He chuckled. "You love it."

"Maybe," I grinned.

His eyes stopped on mine at the half confession. "I like 'Maybe'."

To give him something to hold onto, I said, "I like 'Maybe' too."

We froze with the familiarity of our minds giving us another memory.

"Malia," He called.

The coyote showed its teeth at him, the blue eyes sensed his Alpha red pair. She backed away and ran for another direction not liking the threat.

Scott followed frantically.

Once he cut her path off she growled at him.

He gave only a glimpse of an Alpha roar. He held much more power than he knew at the time.

The coyote turned into a girl. Me.

She laid on the ground, her torso turned around to inspect Scott and her hand in a much confused state.

He looked at her with one knee on the forest floor, a look of bewilderment on his wolfed out face.

They stared at each other and even though the girl didn't yet know what she would feel for him, loyalty and longevity sat in her heart.

We fell back into the present.

Our eyes locked.

"The night we met." He said.

We actually remembered it. Finally.

Our minds grabbed us again for another ride.

The heartache of Henry's rejection filled her chest while she sat in the comfort of her cave.

Scott went to her crying side and held her close until she tried to make a move on him and he stopped her in her emotional state.

I guess, that Scott wasn't so different after all.

She had woken up from a night of sleep to find Scott sitting at the lip of her cave.

The air between them was morbid at best.

She went to go sit next to him and they talked about her running away. Henry had just died. Murdered actually.

"What if there was some supernatural fix though?" She looked to him. "What if we can bring him back?"

His brown eyes saddened. "There isn't." His gaze lowered. "I tried after Allison..."

Allison was dead?

Soon the pack's howls filled the air for miles.

Our mind's released us.

My head lolled forward, a wave of nausea hit me.

Scott's eyes focused on my face. "Lia," He brought his hand up and wiped the wetness away from under my nose. When he pulled away blood coated his fingers.

My eyes widened as we locked eyes.

ALLISON'S POV:

It was nice actually being back in classes and back in the dorm. My dad was still at the motel, but I was in my dorm again. It felt good to have the responsibility back. I wanted the underclassmen to come to me with their problems or just to chat. While I wasn't under any delusions that they'd rush to me with zealous, I still held out hope they'd confide in me when they needed.

Just when my hall meeting wrapped up, Stiles walked off the elevator.

He smiled at me as he leaned against the wall, looking all sorts of delicious.

I tried to hide my excitement from seeing him.

The students rose to go to their rooms. A few of them looked between us and whispered amongst themselves.

Janet came up to me, her blonde pixie cut always made me think of tinkerbell. "Is that your boyfriend?" She whispered.

Stiles headed our way.

My face reddened. "Uh, I don't know..." I gave a nervous chuckle. "Maybe."

She gave me a look. "Allison,"

"Don't you have a test to study for, Janet?" I lovingly sent her on her way.

Stiles stood in front of me. "Hi," He grinned.

"Hi," My dimples appeared.

He leaned forward for a kiss.

I moved back. "Not in front of my kids." I playfully chastised.

With a raised brow he backed us into my room, then shut the door. He pulled me to him and kissed the breath out of me. Ever since he came back from rescuing Kylie we'd been really great. We talked about a lot of things, things that weren't on the table before our feelings came out. We did it. A lot. What can I say? He was really good at it.

I pulled away to catch my breath.

He moved his mouth down my jaw.

That was my spot, he knew that.

I gave a breathy laugh. "Did you come here for a reason, Stiles?"

"To do this," He picked me up and carried me to my desk, his hands rested on my thighs.

My hands unbuckled his belt. "Fine by me."

A grin formed on his mouth as he kissed my lips. "I lied, that's not why I came over here."

My hands paused. "Then why'd you come?"

"To get you to help out with the finishing touches on Malia's apartment."

I perked up. "He's still sending stuff?"

He nodded. "Gotta hand it to Peter. He may be a psychopath, but he cares about his daughter. This apartment is much needed. The girls need to get out of that motel."

"Agreed." I hopped down. "I can't wait for her to see it!" I danced.

He chuckled at my excitement. "Have you talked to her lately?"

"We facetimed this morning," I winked. "Jealous?"

He folded his thick arms across his chest. "A little. She doesn't facetime me."

I grabbed my running shoes from my closet and laced up on the bed. "You can't have it all."

His eyes playfully rolled. "No, just a beautiful girl that drives me crazy."

I grinned as I stood. "Let's go fix up this place. Malia deserves it."

He nodded. "Agreed."

I closed the door behind us.

LIAM'S POV:

Theo grabbed the other end of the couch and carried it with me to the apartment.

We set it down with a huff.

"Not that I don't mind moving all of this furniture in, but why didn't Peter spring for movers?" He asked.

Allison walked by with a box in her arms. "Because he knows we'd do it." She looked at me. "And no one invited him."

"Be nice," I advised, I looked at him.

He let it roll off of him.

We headed back out to the moving truck.

I picked up a chair.

"So," I started. "How was practice this morning?"

He looked up at me with grayish blue eyes. "It could've went better." He shrugged with two boxes stacked in his huge arms. He motioned for me to go in front of him. "I don't really know what I'm doing."

"You knew what you were doing with me." I walked down the elevated ramp. "How is this any different?"

He followed. "It's different because I wasn't getting paid to do it. I wanted to help you. And maybe seeing you shirtless was a perk." He teased.

My face reddened. "You don't have to train me to see me shirtless." I threw a smirk over my shoulder. "Just ask." I turned around with a grin.

He almost tripped over the edge with his eyes glued to my ass. I could tell.

"Noted."

Not that I didn't like making him squirm, realizing I had the ability to was astounding, but ever since last night he's been a little weird. A little off somehow. I didn't want to say it was me because we weren't together, but there was something going on between us.

After we all had Malia's apartment set up we pulled up for a late lunch at a BBQ place on the side of the road. When our food came we sat outside at a picnic table. The slight breeze rustled our clothes and hair, but it was nice after the work we did.

I knew I wasn't imagining Theo's weirdness when he sat on the other side of the table and not next to me. He didn't look up from his plate while the others glanced at me with intrigued eyes, but they didn't say anything as we dug in.

Kira nudged my foot next to me. She gave a funny face with her eyes crossed. "I think I need glasses." She looked at the others.

I laughed loudly and the others joined in.

She stole a chip chip from my plate.

I stole one from Lydia's.

She stole one from Allison's who stole one from Stiles'.

Stiles looked at Theo with unsure eyes. "Can I have one of your chips?"

Theo tore his eyes away from the road to face him. "Huh?"

"You okay?" Kira asked.

He nodded, not really meeting any of our eyes. "Yeah, no. I'm good."

Even though my eyes stared holes into him he never looked at me.

Just like that the small light heartedness at the table disappeared. We all ate in casual silence.

When we were dropped off at my dorm he hesitated before going in.

I looked back at him. "You coming?"

"No, I've actually got some stuff to take care of." He gestured behind him, still not meeting my eyes. "So I'll see you later."

I nodded. "Okay," I would've offered to help him, but he seemed so in his head that my presence probably wouldn't have done squat. So I went up to my room.

Mason sat at his desk with the chair propped back, his feet on the desk with a book in his lap. "Hey, man."

"Hey," I plopped down on my bed, my arm over my eyes.

"Where's Theo?"

I shrugged. "Out. He seemed a little moody. Did he say anything to you?"

The chair scraped against the floor while he turned around. "No, but there's something I want to talk to you about."

My arm fell to my side, then I sat up. "What's up? Is his presence too much?"

His hand raised. "No, it's not that. It's just how much do you really know about him?"

"I know enough."

The paperback book in his hands bended. "Look, I know we haven't bonded that much or whatever, but as your roommate I have to look out for you."

I motioned for him to go on.

"At the party last night I overheard him on the phone. I don't know who he was talking to, but it didn't sound good."

My elbows rested on my knees. "Mason, you had a lot of jello-shots." I cracked a grin. "I'm surprised you're upright right now."

He waved it off. "No, I only had about three at that point."

I gave him a look. "You're a lightweight. Three for you is like seven for someone else." I joked.

His jaw clenched. "Okay, say I'm wrong. Say I misunderstood what he said. The look he gave me afterward ran chills down my body, Liam. Like he was prepared to get rid of me if I was a problem."

I stood and grabbed fresh clothes on the way to the shower. "You're looking out for me, I get it. But all you have are accusations, dude. Come to me when you have something concrete." I headed into the shower.

THEO'S POV:

As soon as I woke up guilt crashed down on me. What was I doing here? Why was I mooching off of these open-hearted people that actually had it in their hearts to help me when they thought I needed it?

And I did need it. Just not in the way they thought.

They seemingly trusted me.

Liam trusted me.

I didn't deserve it. As soon as the time came I had to do what I had to do.

I hadn't meant to get close to everyone, especially Liam in the way I had. I had the duty to, but I hadn't expected it to feel so right or happen so easily. The one thing I hadn't lied about was wanting to be better.

What I never told him was that what changed my tune from our initial meeting was a vision of him or a dream really.

I tipped back my flask as I leaned against the bar.

The bartender raised his brow at me.

"What?" I demanded. I pushed off it to head for the food table.

Someone intersected my path.

I could tell it was Liam right away from his scent, plus he gave off a heat signature that I grew accustomed to. And your body reacted a certain way to someone you had feelings for and I had a lot of feelings for him.

"Hey," He said.

"Hey," I side stepped him.

He stood in the way again. "Do you want to dance?"

My brow arched. "Seriously?"

His hand grabbed mine and pulled me along. "Seriously." He wrapped a hand around my waist and the other held my hand while he took the lead.

I cleared my throat. "Won't your date be jealous?" I teased.

"I sent him home." He paused. "I ended things with him."

I nodded. "Are you okay?"

He pulled me closer. "Aren't you going to ask why we broke up?"

I sighed. "Okay, I'll play along. Why'd you break up?"

"Because you exist." He said as if it were as simple as that. "I was upfront with Darius about what our arrangement was, when I realized that I go be even the tiniest bit happy with him in public or private and not question anything I knew that I could have that with you." His hand on my waist raised to my neck. "If you still want that?"

I stopped dancing. "You want to talk about this now, here in front of all these people?"

"Wasn't that sort of the point of all of this? For us to be able to have a couple's fight in public?" His voice riddled with amusement.

I gave a small laugh. "Is that what this is?"

"If you'd let it be. I want to fight with you more about whatever, disagree with you on whatever, I don't care. I just want to be with you, Theo."

A smile found my face. "Oh, I don't know about that. I'll go with you on one date and if it doesn't work out-"

He brought my face down to his, his lips attacked mine. He kissed me with a certainty that this was what he wanted, that he'd wanted this for some time, and now that he had it he didn't want to let it go. When he pulled away he said, "It'll work out."

My eyes drifted open with the realization that the darkness that I grew so used to was leaving, replaced by distant blurry figures. I squinted, then blinked a few times.

"Theo?" Liam asked. "What's wrong?"

My hand went to his shoulder to steady myself. "My eyes," I tried to focus on something, but it was too hazy. "I think I can see again." My jaw clenched as I looked at different distant objects.

"Hey, look at me." He came into view. "Focus on me until it becomes clearer."

I nodded slightly. My gaze zeroed on him until things weren't so blurry. His face filled my vision. His baby blue eyes soon stared back into mine.

Relief washed over him. "You can see me?"

"I can see you." I breathed out a shaky breath, my hands grabbed his face, and I kissed him in the way I've wanted to do these past few years.

After that night I wanted to feel like how I felt in the dream; proud of who I was and surrounded by good people. And loved.

Maybe that was why I kissed Liam that second day on the steps. I wanted to feel that. What excited and terrified me was that I didn't, but I felt a familiarity when his lips touched mine. Like it was right, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Now that we were sufficiently wrapped up in each other's lives I couldn't back out even if I wanted to.

I knocked on Coach Brunski's door.

"Come in," He answered.

I walked in with the knowledge that when this conversation was over I wouldn't feel so bad about Liam.

"Theo," He turned from his binder. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you about something, Coach."

He gestured for me to sit down. "I figured."

I sat in the chair in front of his desk. "I don't really know how to go about saying this, but the thing is,"

His hard brown eyes stared back into mine in interest.

I blew out a breath. "Liam and I are a..."

"Thing?" His brown brow rose. "I figured as much. He's gay as hell and you two don't know the meaning of discrepancy."

He could tell there was something going on between us after one practice? I thought I was being professional.

I leaned forward. "Look Coach, we're not a thing but we do live together. He's letting me stay with him. I really need this job,"

After everything was said and done with the gang I didn't know how I was going to keep it. Liam would never forgive me. None of them would.

"And I don't want that to jeopardize this." For my sanity, I held a look of desperation that didn't come easy. "Is there any way there's campus housing for me that comes with the job?"

He grunted, then sat back in his chair. "We don't really do that. You're going to have to find a place on your own."

I leaned on his desk. "If there's anything you can do, I'll take anything. A broom closet even. I can't afford a place yet. Can't the school take it out of my salary?"

He looked off to the side and scratched his neck. "I'll see what I can do, Raeken."

"Any chance it could be available today?"

He ducked his teeth, then picked up the office phone. "Yeah, you have one?" He nodded a moment later. "Great, I owe you one, Larry." He hung up, his gaze fell onto me. "Happy?"

I nodded. "Thank you," Relief flooded me. "I really appreciate it." I stood to shake his hand. "Thank you."

He raised his hand. "Don't mention. Just keep doing what you're doing at practice. If you can improve the rest of the team like you improved Liam after a few days then we'll call it even, okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

He grabbed his binder again. "Was there anything else, son?"

"No, Coach. Thanks again." I headed for the door.

"Head to the athletic dorm. They've got a place ready for you. Some students left some furniture and bedding. They'll give you credit to wash whatever you need to wash. Alright, see you tomorrow."

I gave an appreciative wave before I left.

The Desk Aid pointed me into the right direction with a room key.

I recognized a few athletes from around campus and posters hung up.

A few of them nodded my way. I guess they heard about my new position.

The room wasn't all that big, but it was enough for me. Just me. I thanked whatever God that was listening for this opportunity and prayed he'd forgive me when the others wouldn't. Truly, I didn't know what I'd do when it was all over. If Deucalion had his way and Kira, Lydia, and Malia were going to die I wouldn't be here much longer. Scott, if he didn't die in the process, would definitely come after me.

The little bit of food I ate earlier worked its way up my throat without notice. The alcohol from last night came up with it.

At the end of the day I had to do this for Deucalion, if I didn't he wouldn't deliver on his end of the deal. As much as I could see myself with this group of people as pack I knew realistically that wasn't an option in my endgame. Even if I let myself develop anymore feelings for Liam I could only protect him but so much. I hoped when the time came he wouldn't be involved.

My stomach dipped and I rushed to the bathroom in time to unload in the sink. Once I was emptied out I sank to the beige linoleum to close my eyes and wallow in self-pity.

SCOTT'S POV:

The next morning I woke to the sound of wood splitting.

I headed to the window to see Peter chopping wood with an axe in hand. From here I could tell he still struggled to keep his cool. The only reason I hadn't retaliated because of my mom was for Malia's sake. I wasn't that selfish as to make her life any harder right now. But one day he'd get what was coming to him, even if it wasn't by my hand.

When I got dressed and headed downstairs I stopped in my tracks. My dad sat on the couch with Malia and Henry on either side of him.

"Dad?"

They turned at my arrival.

He stood.

My eyes went to Malia. "You called him?"

She rose. "Yeah," She ran her hand through her hair like she did when she was stressed. "I have to stay here and deal with things. You have to go back to your life."

My forehead creased. "So you called my dad?"

"I thought you'd listen to him because you wouldn't listen to me." She came to my side. "Don't get me wrong, I love that you're here, but I can't be responsible for ruining your life."

I pointed at her. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

Her hands clasped around my raised hand. "You have a pack to get back to, school. The longer I keep you from that the harder it will be to get back into the swing of things."

She came from a good place, but it shouldn't have been her decision to make. Bringing my dad here, while it was nice to see him, swept my feet from under me. I couldn't stay now without throwing a temper tantrum.

"What about Kylie?" I voiced. "Or haven't you told them yet?"

Her eyes narrowed at my blow back, but it had to come out eventually.

"What are you talking about?" Henry asked. "What about Kylie?"

Malia turned back to him. "We don't know for sure, she still needs to go to a doctor."

"Malia Elizabeth Tate, tell me what's going on right this instant." Henry pushed his glasses back on his face as he stood.

She paused, unsure of what to say or do.

My hand reassuringly pushed her forward.

Her arms crossed her chest as she admitted, "Kylie's pregnancy. It's Deucalion's baby."

Henry collapsed back on the couch. He ripped his glasses off and folded over with a shake of his head. He looked up at her with tears in his helpless eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "We heard a heartbeat, dad. She's a few months pregnant, the baby's forming."

A sob came from the stairs.

Kylie stood with her hand over her mouth in horror. She ran back up the stairs.

"Kyle," Malia called, then went after her.

The door slammed and locked.

Malia banged on the door.

Henry held his head in his hands as he cried.

My dad looked at me in confusion. I thought Malia had told him everything, but apparently not.

Peter stalked in with concern. He took in all of us and looked to me. "What happened, Scott?"

We had yet to have a conversation just the two of us, so when he spoke to me directly I had to compose myself to answer. It was challenging to hide the burning hate I had for him, but when I looked into Malia's eyes I could see the pride she had in me for refraining from pummeling him. It was all I needed to keep the Alpha at bay. When the time came I would have a conversation with him, I just wanted to know how he could give someone the bite without their consent or knowledge of what they'd turn into. It ruined your life in more ways than it made it better.

My throat cleared. "Deucalion impregnated Kylie." There was no sweet way to sugarcoat it.

Kylie wasn't Peter's so he shouldn't have felt the hot anger that filled him even more at the news, but he did.

Malia continued to bang on the door. "We need to talk,"

Kylie's muffled cry carried to our ears.

His jaw clenched while he headed for the front door.

I stood in his way.

He stepped aside.

I did the same.

"Get out of my way, Scott." His face transformed.

My head shook. "I can't let you go after him."

"And how are you going to stop me, boy?"

My eyes glowed red. "We can't go in blind. Trust me, I want nothing more than to hunt him down and tear him apart. He had my mom killed." My eyes glanced at my dad.

He visibly sagged at the news and turned toward the wall with his hands on his hips.

"For everything he's done he deserves Hell, but he's smart. If he's waited this long to resurface he's been plotting. If we don't get more information on him and his real endgame then we will lose." My eyes tried to reason with his. "Is that what you want?"

He growled. "I don't care about losing." He shoved me aside.

I followed him onto the porch. My hand pulled him back roughly. "Think about Malia,"

He shoved me off. "I am thinking about Malia!" He roared. "And what he did to her, Lydia, Kira, and Kylie."

"Peter," I stepped closer. "She needs you just as badly as she needs Henry. Don't take that away from her because you want to get revenge. We'll deal with Deucalion when we have the opportunity."

Shouting came from Kylie's room.

We rushed up there.

"Go away!" She screamed at Malia.

Malia tried to calm her down.

"Leave me alone!" She struggled against Malia's advances. "He only took me because he couldn't have you." She cried harder.

Malia's face fell even more. Her wet eyes met mine, then lowered to the ground as she held her sister.

I closed the door for their privacy and we all shuffled down the stairs into the kitchen over fresh coffee I brewed. Silence filled the air besides Malia lulling Kylie to sleep upstairs.

My dad came to lean against the counter with next me, his coffee mug in hand. He didn't say anything, he just stared at me.

I met his gaze.

He wasn't the worse dad like I cooked up in my head a week ago. He wasn't the best either, but he was trying which was all I ever wanted from him. I was grateful that Malia pushed me to fix things. Times like these were trying and I was glad he was around to be a support system.

After while, Malia descended the stairs with tired eyes. She came to me feeling helpless.

I pulled her in for a hug and squeezed her as she cried into my chest.

LIAM'S POV:

With a sigh of satisfaction, I closed my Math textbook and shoved it onto the floor. I was caught up on my work and now I could rest.

Only I couldn't fall asleep because I was worried about Theo.

I'd grown used to his presence in the room, falling asleep had been a little easier with the extra muscle around to protect me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't paranoid about Deucalion sending some goons to kidnap me for leverage. With Theo here I rested easier knowing he'd protect me if need be.

After several attempts at napping my phone vibrated behind me on the bed.

Deadly Sin: Are you at your dorm?

Me: Yeah.

Deadly Sin: Can you meet me outside? We need to talk.

I reread the message to make sure I got it right.

Me: On my way out.

I slid my socked feet into my Adidas slippers then made my way for the elevator, my legs were so tight today. No thanks to Theo's coaching.

Worry built in my chest. I was a little upset because I didn't know what was going on with him, but I couldn't expect him to tell me everything. But we had told each other a lot. So why was this so different?

He stood by the walkway with his hands in his new Lacrosse sweatpants. He stiffened when saw me.

"Hey," I greeted as I neared.

"Hey," He looked me up and down like I'd changed somehow.

My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "So why am I meeting you out here? You can come in, you know."

He glanced off to the side. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay," I straightened up. "You have my attention."

His eyes couldn't stay on mine for very long. "I'm moving out."

My forehead creased. "What?"

"I've got another place." He cleared his throat. "I asked Coach to help me out."

I stepped closer. "Is that why you've been acting weird all day?"

He met my eyes and nodded.

"If you were worried about anybody finding out I wouldn't have said anything."

"Coach knew," He looked away again, his tone grew cold. "I just think it's the best decision for right now. It wouldn't look good if an Assistant Coach lived with a student."

My mind went over what he said, while I knew he was right, it still felt like something else was going on here.

My eyes narrowed. "Is this about yesterday?" After he gave me a blowjob I went down on him. It wasn't my first time by any means, but things escalated quickly and he wanted to have sex and I wasn't ready.

He stilled. "What?" His eyes held concern. "No," He neared me. "No, of course not." He pulled me off to the side when a group of chatty girls passed us.

I could tell from his eyes that he wanted to open up to me, but something held him back.

"Really, cuz it kind of feels like it." I accused.

His hands rested on my shoulders. "Liam," Anxiety filled his voice. "This isn't about that, I swear." His eyes studied mine. "This is just how it has to be now. Do you get what I'm saying?"

My brow arched. "Yeah, you're 'breaking up with me'."

He sighed. "I don't really have a choice. If I can keep this job then things will change for me for the better. You're still a part of that."

"Just not with you."

While he didn't look happy about it he still nodded.

My hands shoved his off of me. "You know, you really should've figured that out before you kissed me, Theo." I backed away. "I'm sorry, it's 'Coach Raeken' now." I turned away from him with the stinging of disappointed tears.

"Liam," He called.

I continued for the doors.

"Liam!"

Once back in the comfort of on my now lonely room I slid into bed and cried. Not just because of Theo, but because of how crazy my life now was and I couldn't have one good thing in it without it being ripped away.

SCOTT'S POV:

Henry started on dinner.

When Malia assured him he didn't have to cook he protested, probably welcoming the distraction.

My dad didn't want to intrude any longer so he gave his condolences and said his goodbyes.

I followed him outside to his SUV.

We stood by the door.

He sighed. "Scott, I know that you have a need to help everyone and I love that about you...but this isn't your fight. You need to leave this to her family."

I knew he was right, but I couldn't just leave.

"Who I would be if I left, dad?"

He stared at me, then gave a nod. "If the situation were reversed I know Malia would be having this conversation with Henry and Peter."

I hoped she would. No, I knew she would.

"When you get back to school let me know so we can talk more. I need to know everything."

I don't know about everything, but I should fill him in on what's been going on. He deserved that much.

He pulled me into a hug. "Please, be careful."

I hugged him back. "I will. You, too."

He slapped my back before he opened the door. "Tell Malia I said thank you."

My head nodded. I watched him pull off, then headed back inside.

Malia went to go check on Kylie for dinner, but she was asleep apparently. That, or she didn't want to be around anybody.

Dinner was quiet, uncomfortably so.

By the time everyone was finished with mostly full plates Kylie came down when I started on the dishes. I washed the silverware first to get any sharp objects out of the way. I placed the carving knife in the knife block, then started on the plates.

"Hey, you want some dinner?" Henry asked Kylie.

Malia rose to help me, her cold shoulder understandable, but flat out wrong. She dried the dishes I placed in the dish rack.

"No, thanks." Kylie answered.

"We just want you to know we're all here for you," Peter told her.

I faced her.

She wore a big jacket and sweatpants.

She gave a half smile for my benefit, then her eyes fell on Malia. "Lizzie,"

Malia turned to her with a rigid jaw.

She came to hug her. "I'm sorry,"

I went to the bathroom to keep myself out of it. My dad was right, there was nothing I could do here, but that didn't mean I wanted to stop trying. In the passing weeks I thought of Malia as my family, I realized. But they were her family more so than I could ever be.

While in the bathroom I came to the conclusion that it was my time to go back to school, no matter how much I thought Malia needed. She didn't. She needed her family.

I walked out the bathroom to find Henry and Malia at the table still. Peter went back out to chopping the wood.

"Malia, can I talk to you for a minute?"

She looked up from the table, her hand against her forehead. She nodded.

We went out on the porch and sat on the couch.

Before I could get a word out she said, "You want to leave."

Shocked, I stared at her, then nodded.

She stood. "Okay," She looked at me. "I don't know when I'll be back."

"Wait a minute," I grabbed her hand. "That's all you have to say?"

Her shoulders shrugged. "What do you want me to say?"

"That you don't want me to go?"

She gave me an exhausted look. "Of course, I don't want you to go, Scott. But it's not all about me, is it?"

Well, when you put it like that.

I stood and pulled her hips to mine. "Say the word and I'll stay." My eyes scoured hers.

A grin that didn't quite reach her eyes or her lips crossed her face. "Don't make this harder than it has to be." Her hand came to my face. "If things were different I'd be going back with you. I'm sorry."

My hand grabbed hers. "You have nothing to apologize for. You need to do this, I get it. If it were my mother I would drop everything, too."

Her eyes softened. "I'm not dropping you," An actual smile came to her face. "Just putting you on hold."

My head tilted back. "Oh, is that what this is?" I gave a faux mad tone.

She laughed. "Can you just go before I do something stupid like ask you to stay?"

"Fine," I gazed down at her. "But first I need to do this," My mouth fell to hers to demonstrate that I wouldn't be going anywhere emotionally. Physically, I was definitely leaving.

When I pulled away she pulled me back for a kiss that left me weak in the knees a little.

I gathered myself. "Wow."

She grinned her dimpled grin, then laughed at the look of awe on my face. "And don't you forget it."

My head bobbed obediently. "Trust me, I won't." I said like a horny fourteen year old who just got his first kiss.

"Yeah, okay." She headed for the door with a lazy grin.

I followed.

"I'm going to go talk to Peter." She headed out back.

Henry pondered over an empty coffee mug. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

I nodded, but realized he didn't see that. "Yes, sir. My dad was right. This is family matters. I shouldn't overstep."

He looked up at me with soft yet hard eyes. "You are family, Scott. If you're important to Malia, you're family."

Taken by his words, I cleared the tears from my throat and nodded. "Thank you."

"And you're one of the only people that Kylie opens up to."

Wanting to check on her, I turned my hearing toward upstairs. There was just the beat of her heart that seemed not as steady as usual. She wasn't crying. So what was she doing?

The smell of blood finally wafted to my nose. Human blood. Her blood.

She wasn't on her period obviously, so it had to be another cause. It was fresh.

My eyes went to Malia as she talked with Peter.

I was about to jet up the stairs when I noticed the carving knife missing from the block of knives I washed earlier. That was why she came down here in that big jacket and hugged Malia. She'd been standing right in front of it, the only obstacle between her weapon and victory.

I dashed up the stairs and kicked the door down. "Kylie," I looked around the room in haste, then found the source of blood from the bathroom.

She laid in the empty bathtub, the bloody knife on the floor, her wrists cut open jaggedly. Her desolate eyes met mine. Her pale lips moved with what energy she had left. "Let it be." She begged.

"MALIA!" With thick tears in my eyes I rushed for her. "MALIA!" I cried.

She had lost a lot of blood, her heart was going to give out soon.

In pure desperation, I bit down on her shoulder, her back, then her arm.

The shuffling of feet hit the stairs hard.

I turned to them with lost eyes.

"No!" Henry snatched Kylie up in his arms. "Kylie,"

Malia dropped to her knees in absolute defeat, heavy tears welled in her crushed brown eyes.

Henry tried to stop the bleeding. "You're going to be okay." He grabbed the towel to press into her wrists. "It's going to be fine."

Black blood oozed out of her nose and ears, letting us know her body rejected the bite. It wasn't enough.

Malia's face crumbled and she let out a roar so loud the windows shattered. She curled in on herself.

Peter picked her up and carried her away. His eyes found mine, he nodded.

I was left with a hysterical Henry trying to coax her back to life. What had we done?

A/N: Please review.