AN: Hello everyone and sorry about the wait! I've had some weird shit go down in my life and I've been busy with work. BUT I'm still here and writing when I can so forgive me. I should be wrapping up the story sooner than later but a lot of stuff still needs to happen. So, enjoy this chapter and I'll hopefully have the next up soon!
- Vivian -
"You know the alpha." My Dad broke the silence as we walked through the woods.
"Yeah, Derek is kind of my brother. He knew about the whole situation before I-" My Dad shook his head and cut me off.
"You know the alpha that bit your brother." He repeated and a shiver danced up my spine.
"What do you mean?" I ask as we reached the clearing we used as a shooting range. The night sky was lit tonight and the growing moon made me shudder.
"Chicago." He said and I felt my chest cave in.
"Logan, the alpha Logan can't still be alive. I cut him in half." My words spewed and in a rushed horror.
"I think we missed one; a female that's now out for revenge." He continued as he pulled out his gun and shot at a pre-existing target from a while back. The sound echoed in my ear.
"How do you know it's a female?"
"She has a little chat with Cameron afterward." He answered as he shot again. The shot echoed in my head again.
"Stop shooting, Dad. If we are having an important conversation, talk to me." I growled and he fired another shot.
"I don't know if anyone is listening and this is really important Vivian. If a creature is nearby, I don't want them hearing and I don't want any hunter hearing either. This covers the noise." He told me as he hands over the gun.
It weighed down my hand and wasn't the type I was used too. I rarely used a gun except finishing the monsters. I let it shift between my two hands before I held it up and shot it. The kickback was tremendous and not what I was expecting; I missed the target.
"The Alpha didn't give him a name but he told me she was covered in dirt and had brown hair with glowing red eyes. She told him she'd be watching from a far and to tell 'Vivian' she said hi." I pulled the trigger and missed the target again. My throat closed as I remembered back to my weeks with Logan. I knew the girl he was describing and but her face and name remained blank in my head.
"She wants me." I shoot the gun again and finally hear the bullet pierce through the target. I look to my Dad and he nods his head.
"She is after me. She wants to get to me. You couldn't tell me about this sooner?" I snarl at him, as I pull the trigger at random and glare into his eyes. I heard the bullet hit a tree in the distance and he sighed.
"I was afraid someone would hear over a phone call or see a message. I also wasn't sure if you knew about Derek yet or how you would react." My eyes continue to pierce into his and I fire another bullet into the dark abyss. He quickly grabbed the gun out of my grasp.
"You are wasting bullets like that." He growled at me.
"I thought we were using them to cover up our voices." I hiss.
"I'm telling you this now. So you can decide." He turned away from me and fired but I didn't take my eyes off of him.
"Decide what?" I ask bitterly.
"What you want to do. I'm giving you the reigns. You need to come up with the game plan." He said.
"I need to come up with a game plan? Do you know how much-"
"Shh." My dad's light blue eyes danced across the wooded outskirts.
"What?" I hiss softly, as the word came out of my mouth I hear a rustling in the trees.
My Dad springs into action before I can even process what was going on. I run after him and watch him pin a shadowy figure to a tree. The closer I get the more I process; glowing yellow eyes, curly dirty blond hair, jagged jawline. And my father had a dagger inches away from plunging into his skull.
"DON'T!" The word broke out of my mouth as a desperate plea. My father didn't turn his gaze towards me as he threw Isaac's body to the ground instead of penetrating the blade into his temple. Without thinking, I stumble toward his body and let out a ragged breath.
"Vivian, I'm alright." Isaac whispered, as I look him over. He didn't seem to have any damage except a gun wound through his upper thigh.
"You shot him." I growled at my dad and he snorted.
"He's a werewolf, he'll heal just fine. Won't you?" My Dad's words sounded bitter and his question seemed rhetorical.
"Yes, sir." Isaac answered tensely, and my father just nodded his head. I get up from my crouched position and hold out my hand toward the beta.
"Can you walk?" I asked him and he nodded 'yes' and took my hand. I pulled him upward and watched him stagger for a moment.
"You're in Derek's pack, aren't you?" My Dad asked him as I brace him for a second before Isaac pushes me away. He stood on his own as he talk to my Dad.
"That's none of your business, sir." Isaac said curtly to him as he held his ground. I nudge him but he doesn't seem to budge. I interrupt before my Dad could be catty back.
"Did you get the bullet out of your leg?" I asked and he just continued glaring at my Dad.
"Nope."
"Get it out then." I growl. I look between the two men and they wouldn't break their hard cold stare. I could feel the testosterone pulsing through the air.
"What the fuck is going on?" I look between the two until I watched Isaac ease and shift his stance as my Dad tensed muscles finally relaxes. My throat begins to lump as I thought about what I was going to do in a moment.
"Dad," I grab Isaac's hand and I watch his face plastered into a horrified expression. "This is Isaac Lahey, part of Derek Hale's pack, and my boyfriend." I state and grit my teeth. I watch my father's eyes go wide.
"You are dating a werewolf." My Dad stated, I could hear some anger bubbling in his voice.
"You told me I'm supposed to be with Derek after this anyway. Who else did you except me to date?" He looked Isaac over and turned back to me.
"Maybe someone human." I can feel Isaac tensing up.
I knew was running through his mind. Not good enough for Derek. Not good enough for his father. Not good enough for me. It was a mistake to tell him. Even with Cam being a werewolf, it really hadn't softened his stance. Even with the pact he wanted with Derek, he didn't really trust them.
"Isaac is bet-" I tried to argue but Isaac cut me off.
"Sir, I don't know what you expect me to do to gain your trust but I only need hers. I know you aren't going to like me, but don't you ever underestimate me." I could here the rumble in his throat.
This was a really bad idea.
"You know boy, you would've been dead in seconds if it wasn't for her telling me not to." My dad's hand waved to me but the two were locked in a stare.
"I could've ripped your head off." Isaac snarled between his bared teeth.
"What the fuck is you problem, that is my Dad." I shouted at Isaac. I watched glowing eyes dim back to a blue and his mouth turn into a tight line. I could sense his impulse to run so I grabbed his arm but he shook me off. My dad smirked and I turned toward him.
"And you don't know anything about Isaac, so quit undermining him. He's with me."
"I'm not undermining, I'm assessing him. He's not human, isn't any of your training kicking in. He is dangerous." His words knocked through my head and I felt Isaac tense.
"You are going to kill her." My Dad flung his words at Isaac and I grabbed him as I felt him tremble. My hand wraps around his and I knew he was getting ready to shift.
"He wouldn't-"
"How are you so sure, Viv? I've seen cases, you've seen cases of people that get too close to werewolves and all it ends in is a bloody mess."
'This is why we hunt, Vivian. She was wandering around with this pack. I've seen her.' Kate's words echoe in my ear as I looked away from the body.
'No, you are going to look at it.' Kate grabbed me and held me so I was forced to stare at the lifeless mass in front of me.
It was so dehumanized, with only her long hair and certain parts of her body that still were intact were the only reason I could make out her sex. Her arm was torn off and laid close to her body. Claw marks and missing chunks of flesh were scattered all over her body. But her face was like a piece of ground beef. Blood pooled and flowed over her caved in skull. I could tell you anything about her except she had blonde hair that was soaked mostly in red and she seemed to be in shape.
'She put her trust in them. And this is how they repay her, with this.'
"Isaac is different, my pack is different. I'm not some stupid girl who doesn't know what she's getting into. I can handle them. I was born into a pack; I was raised by hunters. I think I should know what I'm getting into by now." I growl and grip my hand tighter around Isaac's.
"This is the problem with starting a hunter too early, they think they know everything." My dad retorted. Before I could rebuttal again, I could hear new people entering the opening. I watch as Allison, Chris, and Gerard find our bag and look around anxiously.
"Run, I'll see you later." I turn to Isaac to quickly kiss his cheek. He tried to pull away but I managed to kiss his cheek before I watch him speed off. My dad noticed what was happening in the clearing and began heading over and I followed by his side.
"Why did you do that? You want me to be with Derek but you don't want me to associate with any of his pack." I whisper and he rolled his eyes.
"Out of all of them, you pick the Lahey kid; the one with the abusive father, the one that has a high risk of mental issues and post-traumatic stress. Toby I had my doubts about too, but at least you guys were on the same level. It's like you have a death wish." He whispered back. I was shocked and couldn't say anything as he slowly started reaching where the other Argent's are standing.
"What were you two doing out there?" Gerard questioned.
"I thought I saw something spying on us and ran out to see what it was, it ended up just being a deer though." I answer him quickly.
"Did you shoot it?" His question worried me a bit but I realized that if it was a werewolf, I should've shot it and asked questions later.
"She thought she saw a werewolf but turned the gun away when she saw Bambi prancing away. I've been talking to her about how that was a dangerous and stupid idea." My dad told him as he loaded up the gun again.
"I'm not going to kill a creature because I thought it was something it wasn't for a second. If it was a rabid animal, I would've shot it dead in an instant." I promised the two and headed over Allison who walked away to from the group.
"Have you shot a gun before?" I asked her and she rolled her eyes.
"Just because you had more training than me doesn't mean I haven't shot a gun." She said kind of bitterly but her eye roll and smile at the end showed that she was just kidding.
"Well, I barely have so it wasn't to be offensive." I promised her with a laugh. She looked over at the men and back to me.
"Run in with Isaac?" She whispered so softly that I almost missed it.
"Yep, bad, it was very bad." I whispered back. She smiles and kept up her front as she pulled out a gun.
"Let out some more stress then." She held the handgun out toward me and I hesitated before I grabbed it from her hands.
I cocked the gun back and pulled the trigger, I missed the target. Again, missed the target. Then the same results again…
"You weren't kidding about the barely touching a gun." Allison said in disbelief.
"Yeah, I usually used it to finish them off. Bullet in the head to make one hundred percent sure that they were dead and gone." My finger itches the trigger again, but the bullet misses the target yet again.
"Sweet heart, you're doing it all wrong." I felt Gerard's hands on my shoulders and his face close to mine. I almost jumped but I managed not to.
"Here, just breathe out while you shoot. Focus on the target. And relax, your very tense, dear." He instructed and I panicked slightly. I shoot the gun again.
"No, are you even listening. Relax, focus, and breathe. Act as if you have one bullet left in the chamber and your life was on the line." Gerard's voice startled me this time and I tried to listen to advice.
I let go off every muscle I was flexing. I focused on the center of the target. I breathe out and pull the trigger. The bullet zooms through the air and hits the target dead center. Gerard shakes my shoulders in what is supposed to be a comforting embrace.
"You don't know how important one bullet is until you need one clean shot. Keep shooting." Gerard said, and I followed his orders. Treating each bullet as if it was my last. That my life was on the line, or of someone I loved. And I didn't miss the target.
- Allison -
"The plan is Tuesday night." I heard my father say as I headed down the stairs. I made eye contact with Vivian's grey eyes and was trying to cover her worried expression. Gerard must have followed her stare since he appeared in front of her and motioned me to come down.
"Allison, nice to see you up finally." Gerard's voice was cold but welcoming. Vivian turned her attention back to Gerard.
"Are you sure she can handle this?" Vivian questioned him with her arms crossed against her body; he scoffed.
"Vivian, have a little faith in your cousin. She is better at archery than you; more of a natural talent." She looked at him with nostrils flared and a wild look.
"Her kill count is zero, she has no experience in a pressure situation." She growled.
"Settle down, Vivian. You didn't have experience until you were flung into the situation either. She is ready." Gerard smiled as I joined the group in the living room and he put a hand on my shoulder.
"The plan as of right now is simple. Monday night, we plan on attacking the Hale pack and taking down Derek once and for all. We are gathering other hunters as we speak that are up to the challenge. Get ready for war." I look to Vivian with a blank expression and meet her cold stare, poised like she was accepting the challenge.
"I've been ready." She hissed and walked up the stairs.