Black Sun

Evil is always unspectacular and always human. And shares our bed... and eats at our table.

- W.H. Auden


Chapter Twenty-Eight

If No One Knows


It felt like I already knew this man somehow.

He was old, not limp with a hunched back kind of elderly but there was a maturity to his features and demeanor that was way beyond my years and most people I'd ever seen. He lifted his head slowly and seemed to stare at me through his dark visors. Even though I couldn't make out the color of his eyes, they felt analytical. Intimidating but also calm, as if this wasn't the first time he'd entered someone's home without permission. A tick tick tick sound came into the living room then, like tiny scratches you'd hear from small rodents running across bare floors and I turned to see a pair of eyes on me too. More than one.

A tall, slender woman leaned against the archway, one hand up on the frame while the other rested on her left hip. Her nails were long and sharpened to razor edge arrow head points, matching her feet. So that was what made that eerie ticking noise. But that wasn't the strangest thing about her. Her eyes were a bright crimson red; Alpha red. Behind her, also stood a man, younger than the one at my dad's desk, but looked to be around the same age as the clawed woman. He folded his arms over his massive chest and stared down at me, no emotion in his eyes, but his presence gave off the same kind of powerful vibe. He was a werewolf too. An Alpha.

I took a single step back, closer to my Dad's desk and the man with glasses but he didn't feel as threatening as these other two. Even if he did just break in. I didn't want to be close to any of them.

The woman chuckled at the movement, finding amusement in my fright.

"Now, Kali," the man with glasses chided and stood up carefully. "Don't scare the girl."

"Where's the fun in that?" The clawed woman, Kali, replied humorously. The walking stick guy just looked at her sharply and her features shrank in submission. He really was the leader.

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and turned back to the man with glasses, finding it easier to think despite my back being so exposed to two fully grown and empowered werewolves.

But the man with glasses stepped around the desk with grace. "You'll have to forgive my pack mates," he said politely. "As you can see, they have a tendency to be a bit... unruly." He smiled a little at that, then lifted a hand toward my face. "May I?"

This guy touching me in any way screamed instant death, but if chances were he had my parents hostage somewhere, only where his pack knew and that required my compliance, then doing his biding for the time being had to go without saying. I nodded tentatively, waiting for his hand to descend, before realizing that he couldn't see and needed verbal confirmation. "Yes."

He lightly ran his fingers over my eyelids, down the bridge of my nose, across my eyebrows and tracing around my lips. Was this his way of painting pictures of people's faces? "I see you take after your father," the man commented and lowered his hand.

My skin felt like a snake just crawled over it. "Where are my parents?" I asked, trying to sound unfazed, but it came out shaky. "Did you hurt them?"

"Me?" The man feigned innocence. "I've brought no harm to them. I think it's more accurate to say it's you who decides what should happen to them."

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's start this off right." He removed his glasses then with one hand, folding the handles and tucked them into his side pocket. His eyes were a deep cobalt blue, but the whites of his eyes were flushed with red. "Deucalion," he introduced himself. "Or perhaps you've heard of me."

"I have, actually," I answered precariously, remembering the way the notorious name sounded off Derek's tongue and gauged his reaction. "They say you lead a pack of killers."

"Doesn't really roll of the tongue when you put it that way." The man, Deucalion, sighed then. "But I won't deny it. We've become better from it."

"What do you want from me?"

"I understand your family does a most interesting line of work. I'd like to put those talents to work in my favor."

"But I'm not a werewolf."

"I'm aware. You think that makes you useless?" He shook his head slowly then, as if disappointed with my apparent low self esteem. "Twenty years Gerard Argent searched and only ten for me since I discovered your family, a ghost of a legend creatures like me only dream about. You can imagine my surprise when I heard of Gerard's demise and I must say, the feeling then isn't as sweet as meeting you, here and now."

I didn't answer. What else was there to say? A weird guy was in my house, making veiled threats towards me and my family, and I didn't know how to take it. Playing their little game didn't seem like the safest choice, but possibly the only one if it meant them leaving with my parent's life.

"It's also been brought to my attention that you have been in certain liaisons with a Hale. Derek Hale. Not like I'd ever associate someone like you with the likes of Peter." Well, he had one thing right.

"Please don't hurt him."

"Hurt him?" Deucalion's brows rose at the suggestion. "What have I said that gave you such an idea? No, no. We have a place for him here. Think about it, my dear: wouldn't it be wonderful to escape from your burgeoned teenage life and join a pack where power is unlimited?" His tone grew sardonic then. "Where knowledge is key to unlocking the greatest of weapons? And the best part of it, is that you wouldn't have to leave your sweetheart behind for it."

"But my family, my friends... what about them?"

"They would only be holding you back."

"So I should just leave them?" I said, aggravated that these Alpha's stepped into a place that was supposed to be a safe haven, but instead made it feel like a kill zone for any wrong move made. "Or kill them?"

Deucalion cocked an eyebrow, as if he couldn't understand why I found this proposal preposterous. "Why not? I did. So did Kali. And Ennis. So why not you? It isn't hard. Quite the opposite, in fact." He glanced up at the ceiling briefly, eyes foggy, like he was recalling a beloved memory. "I remember how my claws felt as it sunk into the heart of my first beta. His blood strengthening my power. A truly remarkable experience."

I couldn't answer. Just being in the same room with that man just made my skin slither, like a disgusting living thing, sticky and catching. Their offerings of power and belonging sounded more like violation. What they were asking was insane. Killing people I loved... for a pack of Alphas that most likely were going to dispose of me after they got what they were after?

Deucalion sighed at the silence. "Still not convinced? Let me make this easier for you: convince your beloved Father to work for our pack or we will massacre everyone you hold dear. And we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

My chest tightened, as if I were being choked from the inside out. "No."

"Good," Deucalion chimed and inspected his lenses like he was checking for damage, then placed them delicately back on. "I think I've taken up enough of your time. You've got some thinking to do. I trust you'll make the right decision." He shortened his cane to a small, pocket sized wand, then took Kali's arm. She guided him deliberately through the living room and into the foyer, the front swinging open seconds later.

My shoulders sagged with relief. They were leaving. My parents were gonna be okay now.

"Oh, and don't worry about Derek," Deucalion's voice chirped from the entry way. My head snapped in his direction, meeting his wide back as he barely turned his vision in my path. "I'll be paying him a visit soon."

Kali smirked and waggled her fingers in a mock farewell, fingernails black as night's sky. "Sleep tight, little girl."

Then they were gone.

The door shut with a faint click.

I stood there, silent, for what felt like hours until somehow my feet moved me over to the living room to sit numbly on the sofa. My hands were growing red by how tight I was wringing them together as the clock made it's circuit agonizingly slow on top of the mantle. Like a dying heartbeat. Sunlight shone through the curtains, casting monster-like shadows over the furniture and coffee table, arms long and clawed hands wriggling toward me to pull me down to who knows where.

I pressed my palms over my eyelids and hung my head, trying to shake the images of the Alpha's hurting everybody close to me, but it was all so vivid. They were dead serious about it too. Just the mere tone in Deucalion's voice heavily implied he'd do anything to gain the upper hand. And I was sure he would.

But I didn't how to react, much less what to do. Accepting their offer or not, blood would have come out of it. More chaos and even more death. How could I really choose between Derek and my family? They were one in the same. I wanted to go to them about it, vent my feelings, my feats and tears and anger about being put in a position like this but I couldn't. If Deucalion found out, he'd hurt them. I'd never live with myself if something happened to them. If something hadn't already.

The sudden thought of that made me spring up from the couch. What id Deucalion already got his claws into them? And everything he told me was just a ploy to make me defect quicker, without hesitation? The clock read almost seven thirty in the morning then. Almost two hours had gone by. Where was Mom and Dad?

I paced anxiously in the foyer, rubbing my hot cheeks as time continued to blur by. It couldn't have taken them this long to get home. Mom should have been there anyways, getting ready for work like she always did. What if they... what if Deucalion had-

My eyes began to swell warmly with tears and I furiously dabbed at the corners with my pajama sleeves to keep them from overflowing. I couldn't lose them. They couldn't leave me. Not like this. Dad still needed to teach me how to drive, we didn't even discuss college plans together as a family and I had to ace that upcoming Algebra test that I studied so hard for. I needed them. That would never change, now matter how old I'd grow.

The front door snick snicked open, keys jingling on the other side. Voice mingled together and my heart soared at the sounds. The hinges creaked and when the voices became clearer, I whirled around and ran headlong into Dad's unsuspecting arms. He rocked back a step, arms taut at his sides before bringing them slowly to hold me to his chest.

"Good morning," he greeted calmly.

"You're back," I whispered into his coat, silently thanking God in my mind. He smelled like cigar smoke and pine needles, and I need inhaled it in deeper. There was never a more comforting scent. "You're back, you're back..."

"Yes, we're back," Dad said, grasping my shoulders gently. He positioned me at arms length, taking a good look. Maybe he could sense the distress. Lawyers were funny like that. They had to be I guess. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said quickly. "I was... I just thought that you'd be home when I came in, so when you didn't show up I just got a little worried." My tone shook a little, but I tried faking relief, despite the building paranoia inside.

Mom and Dad glanced at each other quickly. "I'm sorry, honey," Mom said, smoothing a hand down my hair. "Your father took a little longer at the clinic and after we drove up to Carmel to meet with one of your Uncles. We should have called you."

"It's fine. It's okay." I sniffled and smiled. "I'm just glad you're home."

They looked at each other again, longer this time, as if they knew there was more to the story, but chose not to pry. Dad shrugged out of his jacket and hung it up at the coat rack. "Did you eat breakfast?" Mom asked as she took off her dangling earrings and walked into the kitchen.

I followed her, an uncomfortable knot still molded in my gut. "No, no yet."

"What do you want?" She peered inside the fridge.

"I don't think I can eat much right now." Or for the next few days for that matter. Not until I figured what I was gonna do about Deucalion and his Alpha pack.

"I haven't cooked in a few days, babe. Let me enjoy this nice kitchen we paid thousands for."

That was the 'don't argue with me or you'll be writing your own obituary' voice. If Deucalion wasn't enough of a terrifying presence, my angry mother would be for sure. I did what she told me and sat quietly at one of the island chairs, watching as Mom bustled around in the pantry for something to spruce up, unaware of the threat strange men and woman and wandered around her home hours, probably touching her things, leaving a sign that only I would know that they were here. To scare me.

And it worked.

[O]

School during the following days after Deucalion's visit really put a wrench into my social and personal life. I tried my hardest to act like everything was okay, but I was sure I was acting like an escaped insane asylum patient, fearing empty rooms, jumping at any elevated sound and all around acting screwy. I hoped no one noticed it but that was just one extra worry to add to the growing list other than trying to keep my family alive. I didn't know I could feel so much anxiety yet still remotely function. It was exhausting.

At times I wondered if Deucalion told me to choose just to frighten me, as a distraction for something they really had planned. But Deucalion sounded so sincere, it was hard to pick apart his words to determine if it was all a trick or not and if it was, what would he even gain out of it? Just by looking at him, you could tell he was smart. But I guessed that was what Alphas did. Mess with people's heads until they broke and had no choice but to comply. I promised myself to never let it get that bad, no matter what happened.

I had a free period in the beginning of campus hours and homeroom wasn't being occupied at the moment, so I found a comfortable seat to finish math homework. That way I could focus even though the radio silence made my fidget and the tick tick tick of the clock on the wall sounded like a dying heartbeat the more I sat there, listening and thinking. After a while, my eyelids grew heavy. I wasn't even sure if the equations I scribbled down were correct but I decided to take a risk and turn it in that way, but half the time the math teacher didn't return graded exams on time so if I was eventually going to get flogged for a sinking grade, at least there was a window of time to prep myself for it.

I hiked my bookbag over my shoulder and crept back out into the hall again, glancing both ways down and felt immense relief when no one was in sight. Still safe. For the moment. After closing the door, I turned in the direction of my locker but brown hair blinded my vision and made me stumble over my own shoes, bumping into the wall and dropping the books in my arms.

"I'm so sorry!" A voice exclaimed and feminine hands reached down to pick up my belongings the same time I did.

I grabbed them first, though, and rose up slowly and met the wide eyes of Ms. Blake. She smiled when she saw it was me. "Ms. Blake's voice chirped. "I'm sorry, Alessandra, I didn't know you were in there. Did class let out early?"

"I had a free period, so I wanted to finish some homework."

"Studious." She smiled again. "I like that."

"Not all the time," I more than cared to admit to her but the smile didn't leave her lips. Wow, she really was friendly.

"Better to start now than never," she said.

I guessed that was true.

I made off for my locker soon after that, waving bye to Ms. Blake's retreating figure waltzing down the opposite end of the corridor. Since there was around twenty minutes until the bell rang, I had to dig my way through the catastrophic mess that was my locker cabby as the clutter of papers crammed inside made it seem like something alive had awakened far in the back and occasionally ate whatever I put inside. Some things I stored there in the past were never seen again.

Once I was done and zipped up my backpack, I punched the combination back in and headed off for Spanish.

Then my forehead smacked against a wall. A very hot, broad wall that grew long arms and one of them snaked around my waist.

A stubbly jaw brushed over my cheek. "Careful," Derek's voice murmured.

I blinked, looking up at his features that seemed to appear out of thin air. Always a comforting presence but it made my pulse pound harder than necessary if anything else. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on your teacher." He inclined his head toward English class down the hall.

"You mean Ms. Blake? She was the one in the boiler room?" I asked and he nodded. "Is she okay?"

"She's paranoid," he said vaguely. "I think it's been like that for a while."

"Maybe she really didn't see anything," I mused, staring at my shoes.

Derek's fingers tipped my chin up, holding it in place with his thumb as he brought his lips to mine. I didn't have time to react, much less exhale when he did it and he must have sensed my anxiety because his kiss was gentle, soothing. Not laced with out of control passion. We were in public after all so that definitely was a no-go.

"I'll pick you up after school," He said against my skin, pressing a kiss to my cheek then down at my neck.

"But what if I have homework?" I murmured when he leaned forward to kiss me again. Oh, no... those lips were a tangled web of danger. I'd never make it out alive.

"Then you should probably do it," came his dull reply but I could feel his scruff against my cheek, a slow smirk playing on his lips that sent my toes curling in my sneakers each time nipped at my pulse.

"At this rate, I think I'm better off walking."

"Does that mean you're locking your window tonight?"

"No, no," I said a little too quickly and swallowed nervously when he pulled away to look in my eyes, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. "Just until I don't feel so... disorganized anymore."

Derek's features softened then and his thumb stroked back and forth slowly. "Take all the time you need."

I smiled at that, dropping my bag at my feet so I could wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He was so understanding. I didn't know what I did to deserve that. "Is Cora better now?" I asked.

Mentioning his sister deflated the light in his eyes then and he frowned. "She won't talk to me about the vault."

"She was in there for a long time," I pointed out. "And you just found each other again. Just give her a little space and she'll open up."

"I should have looked for her more."

"No, don't blame yourself. How do you know she was still even Beacon Hills when the Alphas took her?"

"I know," Derek murmured, eyes distant and lost. "When I last saw her..." he trailed off, not needing to say anymore because I knew the images that must have been flashing in his head of his family and when he last saw them all together.

I ran my fingers through the short hairs at the back of his neck, pecking his cheek and his arms wove tighter around me. The corridors were still deserted at that point but it wouldn't be very long until the bell rung and the hallway would flood with stampeding students onto their next class. I had to do the same.

Derek held my hand while I walked with him to the end of the hall where one of the entrances were. We kissed again briefly and I promised to call him when I returned home, after my school assignments were finished. If he stepped one foot through my window before they were complete, they'd end up kicked under the bed and forgotten. Kind of like his shirts. The thought of that made me flush so I lightly pushed at his chest and his stepped backwards to the door, his broad back pushing it open and he kissed my hand once before disappearing.

My skin tingled where he touched me. It always did and I found myself smiling dreamily, but when I turned my stomach instantly twisted. Ms. Blake stood at the opposite end of the corridor, hands clasped low in front of her and she was staring like she'd seen the whole thing. Her eyebrows were knitted together, confused and maybe even upset, but once our eyes connected the sparkle came back to them and she smiled. Even that felt weird. Not like when I first talked to her that morning.

She waved at me before walking into the adjoining door, hearing it shut after her. I didn't know why but I suddenly uneasy being in that hallway by myself.

[O]

I was starting to regret going back to P.E. after the altercation with the first Alpha. If I hadn't I would have been free from one of the worst tirades of Coach Finstock's career, all about the Cross Country summit. All he cared about was the seasoned lacrosse players making the cut. But he solicited so many students into the taking the course even if they had clearance not to attend and I was supposed to be one of those students due to my rollercoaster attendance record with girls' track but I was afraid of what he'd might do if I didn't go. He could have easily failed me in Gym which would have been sad. Who could multiply mixed fractions with floating alphabet numbers above them but fail to run around in circle for one mile? Me, obviously.

My folks certainly didn't put me back in school to fail every class, so there really had no choice in the matter. Thankfully, it was in the middle of the day, so I didn't have to stay later or arrive any earlier. But we had to stay outside and the windy weather made me wish I brought a jacket. I kicked a few tiny twigs and rocks around with the tips of my vans as the other students stood around and stretched. I barely knew anyone there.

Until two hulking shapes appeared in the crowd, their jawlines so sharply cut there was no mistaking them for the Alpha twins. They were always together. The straight creeper twin met my eyes a couple times but he'd always look away as if something physically pained him. Huh. Definitely creepy. But I wasn't the only one who noticed as both Scott and Isaac were present as well and that was a recipe for trouble.

Both Alpha boys loomed menacingly over Isaac as he knelt down to tie his shoe. My stomach flipped, thinking they were about to jump him and their cover as normal high school boys would get blown but before anything could happen, Coach Finstock blew the whistle sharply. The race was one.

I flinched at the sound as the runners around me took off in a half sprint. The creep twins were one of the first ones to bolt.

"Pace yourselves! Come on!" Coach Finstock yelled.

I hurried over to Isaac when his muscles rippled, looking like he was about to burn the forest down with his angry laser vision. Scott saw it too. "Isaac," he said, placing a gentle hand on his fellow beta's shoulder.

"It's them," Isaac growled and broke away to dash after the twins down the trail.

"Isaac, wait!" Scott tried stopping him, but it was too late. The boy was long gone, practically burning a strip along the path. Scott and I gazed at each other for a moment until he ran off first, making me sigh. Well, there was no guessing who the winners would be. They were probably halfway to the finish line by now.

I ran as fast as I could after them and maybe if we were still in girl's track I would have been doing okay, but other students were passing me up. Coach Finstock blew the whistle in my ear, making me wince. "Move it!" He waved his hands to pick up the momentum.

I tried not to glare at him as I went a little faster or as swift as the length of my legs could take me and caught up with the last group of joggers down the path. I tried to stay toward the middle that'd way I'd be less visible and could slow down a little if I got tired without getting noticed. Who knew what Coach Finstock would have done.

The trail dipped and curved all throughout the forest, leading to barren areas that no one really came through, even on busy days. As the run went on, a gap in the group made me see toward the front and I realized Isaac was nowhere to be seen. Or the twin boys. When I leaned my head around some of the taller student's backs, I couldn't see them anywhere behind us either. Wherever they were running, it was far away from the trail. That worried me. Isaac was undoubtedly strong, but against two Alpha males? The outcome of them fighting couldn't be good.

Scott was keeping up good pace but the crinkle in his brows suggested he shared the same thought.

He glanced over his shoulder then, finding me through the crowd of faces and nodded once before running ahead of the group. I pushed a little farther up the trail, trying to follow him without making it clear I was attempting to break away but Coach Finstock hadn't blown the whistle for a while so I guessed he wasn't paying much attention. Shoe prints led all the way to a rocky arc, mostly dirt and grasslands that had a surprisingly pretty view of the sun. Deep off near the shrubs, out of ear shot, were the creeper twins holding Isaac in a death grip. It looked like we'd just interrupted them on a sporadic torture session.

"Ethan, I always forget. How many bones in the human body?"

"I don't know. Let's count."

Scott used his ninja moves again and socked one of them across the jaw, sending him flopping to the ground.

"That was one," he told them.

I shoved the other one, my shoulder ramming into his back and it made him stumble backward a step, letting Isaac go. "Take notes next time," I said, stopping next to Scott. My arm throbbed from the collision but I tried to ignore the dull achy pain.

The twin knocked to the leaves glared back at us, fixing his broken jaw, then rose fluidly to his feet. Both brothers flicked their claws out, growling and their irises flashed bright blood red. Oh, no, I thought. Here we go.

Scott and Isaac also wolfed out, staring them down like something out of a Superhero movie with me standing in between with nothing to protect myself with. If worst came to worst, I knew how to throw a decent fist or at least hoped I could aim well and actually hit them. But doing damage was something else entirely. Compared to their naturally protruding knives, I was mince meat. I guessed I'd just have to wing it and hoped that I'd come out in one piece. More or less.

Before anyone made a move, though, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through trees. Scott glanced around at all of us before we raced out to find whoever made that noise...

Tucked away behind a line of shrubs, stood the majority of the running team. Tied against the large tree was one of the male students, not apart of the Cross Country, but it looked like he has just been taken from school. Blood leaked down from the gaping wound at his throat, soaking through the front of his shirt and down to his jeans. A thin wire was wrapped around his neck, wrapped so tight to the point where his head was almost cut clean off. The blood was fresh.

Which mean the killer just left.

"It's him, isn't it?" Stiles breathed.

I covered my mouth with my arm sleeve, resisting the urge to gag and the sour stench of metallic. I couldn't look anymore and turned my face away until the ambulance arrived to collect the body. The County Deputies came shortly afterwards and formed a line around the growing group of bystanders, with Mr. Stilinski storming up to the scene first.

"Hey, get out of the way. Get back." He paused to one the deputies. "Get this area cordoned off before they trample every piece of evidence. Get these kids out of here!"

"Dad, just come here," Stiles pulled his father aside then. "Look, look. Look at it. It's the same as the others, you see?"

"Yeah, I see that," Mr. Stilinski responded like he wasn't really listening. "Do me a favor. Go back to school, yeah? Coach, can you give us a hand here?"

"You heard the man! Nothing to see here!" Coach Finstock yelled at us. "Probably just some homeless kid." As if that made it okay he was brutally killed.

"Coach..." Scott began slowly.

"Yeah?"

"He was a Senior."

Coach Finstock sputtered. "He wasn't on the team, was he?"

A girl came sprinting up to the body then, tears streaking down her cheeks and she reached for the body like the stiff hand was searching for her as well. She must have been his girlfriend. My heart sunk like a life preserve at the sound of her sobs and another police officer had to hold her back. It was depressing to see and even worse when his family arrived. At that point, I couldn't stick around much longer and met with the boys as they convened outside the perimeter. The stalker twins lingered, watching the whole scene baffled expressions.

"You see the way the twins looked at him?" Isaac pointed out as we walked down the hill.

"Yeah, you mean like they had no idea what happened?" Stiles observed.

"No, no, they knew."

"The kid was strangled with a garrote, all right?" Stiles remarked. "Am I the only one recognizing the lack of "werewolfitude" in these murders?"

"Oh, you think it's a coincidence they turn up and then people start dying?" Isaac shot back.

"Well, no, but I still don't think it's them."

"I'm not sure, guys," I mused and folded my arms. "Did you see the look on their faces? It's like they're only sticking around to find out more. Maybe they're in the dark as much as us."

All eyes went to our fearless leader then. "Scott?" Isaac inquired. "How about you?" Stiles crossed his arms and stared expectantly at his best friend, probably assuming he'd automatically side with him. Peer pressure still alive and kicking.

"I don't know yet," Scott said simply.

"You don't know yet?"

Scott gestured to Isaac. "Well, he's got a point." Stiles looked like he wanted to throw a tantrum at that. "Seriously, dude, human sacrifices?" Well, it was a morbid theory. But his theories usually came true...

"Scott, your eyes turn into yellow glow sticks, okay?" Stiles berated. "Hair literally grows from your cheeks and then will immediately disappear, and if I were to stab you right now, it would just magically heal, but you're telling me that you're having trouble grasping human sacrifices?"

Awkward silence.

Scott exhaled and turned to Isaac. "That's a good point too."

I stared at the dirt for a second, pondering Stiles' lengthy example before nodding along slowly too and glancing up at Isaac. Yup, made sense.

"I don't care," the curly haired beta said vengefully. "They killed that kid, they killed the girl that saved me. I'm gonna kill them too." He strode off then, probably heading back to school or home while the rest of us just stood there, dazed from the shock of the new murder and wondering how long it would be before another came about.

[O]

The Cross Country meet was called off after that. With my shoulder still sore, I ventured back to the girl's locker rooms to change into my regular school clothes but given my late start back, I was the only one present. Everyone else had switched out of their P.E. sweats and went back to class. I couldn't pull shirt over my head without thinking of that crime scene, the yellow tape, blood running in rivulets down the tree bark and the sound of the girl crying. I shivered from the utter darkness of those images but maybe it was because the heating vent in the locker room was broken. Or some of Stiles' morbidity must have rubbed off on me.

The bell rang after a few minutes, signaling a new period. Algebra was next on my schedule, as the day wasn't terrible enough. Homework assignments were steadily becoming easier to get done and I hoped I could stay on top of homework as best as I could, now with murders happening so close to campus. As I was scribbling something down in class, bang bang bangs echoed from the empty hallway. Or it was supposed to be empty anyway.

I raised my head and so did everyone else, gazing around warily. It stopped.

But only for a second.

Another shot off again, this time sounding like a gun and it made the teacher cease writing on the chalk board. Everybody jumped from their seats and hurried out the door to see what it was and I hurried to slide my books in back into my bag as I followed the audience to the corridor. I squeezed past a few shoulders, thinking someone forgot their science project in their locker and the chemicals exploded because of the temperature, but it wasn't. Actually that would have been better.

A beaten and bloodied Alpha twin lied helplessly on the floor in front of Isaac, blood staining the floor. Down the hall, the shadow of his brother turned the corner, just barely making it out without being noticed.

"What is this? What's going on?" Mr. Harris demanded.

Danny knelt beside the bruised twin, falling for the charm. "You all right?"

"He just- he just came at me."

Mr. Harris addressed Isaac accusingly. "Isaac, what the hell did you do?"

The poor guy looked dumbfounded. My eyes raked over his tall figure and I realized that there was a serious lack of blood on his clothing or knuckles. You'd think he'd have a bit smeared on his skin, given how much was dribbling from the Alpha twin's lips from apparent punches. But nothing. Not a scratch on him. That didn't make sense. Isaac could be impulsive, but not suicidal. He wouldn't ambush one of the twins on his own... would he?

Regardless, Mr. Harris sent him to a lunch detention, which would only be an hour. That really pissed him off and Scott too. The pummeled creeper twin just smirked in their direction and played up the role of victim when the nurse tended to his busted lip. Jerk.

The next period fluttered by in a blur. Allison texted me after Biology class and said she wouldn't be there for lunch. Turned out her unplanned nap during French landed her in detention too. Not that I blamed her. I took French back once in eighth grade and after one day I knew I wanted to swap out for another language, any one except French.

When the bell rang, I collected my book bag and moseyed down to my locker. Lydia was still free for lunch so I reorganized my bag for the final school period so I wouldn't be rushing later on. A sheet of paper fell from my binder then and I stooped down to pick it up but when I rose again, a student stood at the locker on my right who wasn't there before.

Are you serious? I thought dreadfully to myself as the straight creeper twin opened his locker door, no care in the world. Like he didn't just pull of the greatest heist of the school year... and what were the odds that we got spaces beside each other? Angry, I stuffed the last of my notebooks and pencils in my backpack before slamming the door closed. A little too loudly since it made the straight twin freeze for half a second.

"I know you think you're winning right now," I told him, staring at my combination lock. "And you probably are, but we're gonna figure something out. You won't win all the time."

The stalker twin glanced both ways down the hall, as though expecting someone. "Look, will you keep your voice down?" He whispered, leaning in a little. "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you."

"What do you mean?"

"We were told to leave you alone."

"What, why?" I shook my head a little at this, bewildered. "By who?"

"You know him," was all the twin said mysteriously. But it didn't click right away. "If you really want your friends safe, you'll keep your distance from us. We'll keep ours."

We glared at each other for a moment before heading off in separate directions, and my frustration led me to believe it was all a scheme. They just wanted me scared, feeling like I was alone so they could beat up on my friends more and maybe eventually my own family. Like hell.

I tried not to fume all the way to my next class but it was hard to shake it off, especially when the irritation bubbled into anxiety. I thought I would have Deucalion's proposition all figured out by the end of the day and despite the school hours being half over, I was worse off than I felt that morning. What was the meaning of the twin's warning? Was it all a trick? Or were they really told to stay away? Somehow it felt like I was sinking in an even bigger puddle than before.

The subject of people I loved coming into immediate risk flooded my thoughts throughout class. I tapped the erasure end of my pencil against the notebook cover, zoning out until the teacher gave the cue for everyone to pack up and go, and even then I just sat there for a little while in a daze. How was I supposed to get through this? I couldn't even go twenty-four hours without crumbling mentally. There was only one of me and I couldn't be in so many places at once to make sure my friends weren't being ambushed, that the Alphas weren't at my house waiting for my folks. It was pure torture.

Sighing, I thought I'd clear my head by getting drink from the vending machine. There a few dollars worth of leftover quarters in my pocket that could be put to good use so I made off for the corner hallway. As I fished around my pockets for the coins, I came to a standstill where the dispenser usually sat. But the large cubicle was missing from it's designated space, the white tile brighter from being covered for so long. Weird, I thought, just staring. Is it broken? Are they refilling it?

Then something crashed.

I tip toed around the corner, hearing odd noises source from the janitor's closet all the way at the end of the hall. Banging. Hook-ups at this hour? I thought to myself. Good to know other people had care-free lives, at least.

Then somebody screamed.

I dropped my books and they clattered to the floor. I knew who that was.

I ran toward the door, ready to throw it open and raise my human fists to anyone who was endangering her, but Scott was already there. He yanked the vending machine aside as if were nothing and nearly tore the door off it's hinges. Seconds later, Isaac came flying out and tumbling to the floor like a wet paper bag. From the dark center of the closet, I could make out the shaky silhouette of Allison crammed against a storage rack, eyes wide and watery. I hurried inside.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I asked, taking her hand.

"No," she said swallowed thickly, visibly shaken. "No... it's fine. I'm fine."

I frowned at the two long slashes running down the length of her forearm. "You're bleeding."

I walked with her out the door as Scott calmed Isaac. He noticed the wound on her skin and inspected it, grasping her arm gently. "I'm okay. I'm fine," she told him.

"What happened in there?" I asked the curly haired lycan.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Isaac exclaimed, face sweaty and ashen.

"I'm okay," Allison repeated.

Isaac hung his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry..."

Scott watched him closely with a tight jaw, but it didn't appear like he was angry at his fellow werewolf. Just on guard. "It's not his fault," Allison told him softly.

"I know," Scott answered.

I surveyed the overturned soda machine, seeing claw marks embedded onto the metal sides and heavy impacted dents at the front. Someone incredibly strong had to be capable of pushing that toward the storage room door. Someone so powerful, they wouldn't need an extra pair of hands. Someone like an Alpha. I looked to Scott then. "You know who did that, right?"

Our eyes meet and his dark brown owns flashed. "I guess now we know they want to do more than get you angry. They want to get someone hurt."

"So are we gonna do something?" Isaac said from the floor.

"Yeah," Scott murmured, a peculiar color to his voice. "I'm gonna get them angry. Really angry."

I liked the sound of that.

Scott apparently already came up with something ingenious. If there was anything those two creeper twins loved more than their own reflection and expensive leather clothing, it was those bikes they rode in on each school day. I wasn't entirely sure how the plan would hitch off but I had faith in our joint effort while Allison and Isaac went to the parking lot to find the motorcycles as Scott and I hunted around campus for items that could pass as vehicle parts.

We shared one of the last few classes of the day with them and it happened to be English next. Ms. Blake was at the desk, looking more anxious than her first day there, and held a stack of papers in her hand. I hoped it wasn't more homework. Scott read something from his phone and looked up at me, a pleased smile pulling his lips as he went over and seated himself next to the twins. He beamed at them like they were childhood friends. The only free chair was the one beside the straight one, so I held back a lot of my annoyance with them and set my things down.

Scott unzipped his bag then and brandished out a sharp, spinning metal disk. He placed it nonchalantly on his desk. "That looks kind of important," he said casually and sacked his bag for more. This time a circular hunk of metal, loose wire protruding from the side. "I have no idea what that thing does." The Alpha twins fidgeted in their seats, features darkening with rage like they were this close to tearing their shirts and hulking out.

They glared daggers at Scott, so I waited until Ms. Blake had her back turned before quietly unzipping the front flap of my backpack and reeling out a long, thick chain that was supposedly rendered unbreakable, ideal for locking up any prized bike. That is, if the person trying to steal it wasn't a werewolf with super strength. They glanced my way when I plopped the clunky appliance on top of my text book. "Is this for the back wheel or the front wheel?" I said, peering over at Scott for confirmation, who smiled wide. "I can't tell."

That set off the last bomb. Both boys gaped at the door, a horrifying message dawning on them as we practically dangled the faux mutilated remnants of their treasured motor vehicles in their faces. The straight creep twin sprang up from his seat, consumed with fury as he stormed full force out the door and down the hall. His thunderous footsteps ran at breakneck speed all the way to the entrance doors, causing Ms. Blake to spin around in confusion.

Scott and I glanced at each other, mentally high fiving each other and stood up with the rest of the student body like we had nothing to do with it as screeching tires and a rumbling engine roared all the way from the doubled doors. Half the school exited their class rooms to see what the commotion was, just in time as the straight twin approached the bike to park it out where it belonged.

Ms. Blake was one of the onlookers. "You have got to be kidding me," she gawked. "You realize this is gonna result in a suspension."

I stifled laughter behind my hands at that, and Allison and Isaac came bouncing up in time to see right after. Scott in particular looked very boastful. We couldn't exactly cheer for a job well done but the feeling was more than satisfying given everything that happened that day. If only it could stay like that.

[O]

Later at home, I did like I promised myself and finished my homework in my bedroom after dinner. I even turned my phone off, kept my laptop shut but left the radio on to a random pop station so the dead silence wouldn't allow my thoughts to roam while I reread paragraphs, wrote notes and finished multiple assignments. Toward the end of the night, I was feeling pretty accomplished. Yawning, I stretched my arms over my head and sat up in bed. The crickets were already chirping outside my window so I knew it was late, late enough that my folks already retired to bed.

I checked my phone for the first time in hours and realized I had a missed call from Derek. But then he sent a text message not to long ago.

'Are you awake?' he wrote.

I smiled thinking about him and typed back a reply. 'Sorry, had my phone off while doing homework. Still up.'

Seconds passed before his response popped up. 'I'm at your curb.'

What? I thought to myself and jumped off the bed to check out the curtains. Sure enough, there sat his car. He stopped beside a tall tree so the shadows camouflaged the huge vehicle against the already pitch black street. I wondered how long he'd been waiting.

As quietly as I could, I tied my sneakers back on and shrugged on a jacket before swiping my house key from the dresser and tip toeing downstairs. The television was shut off and all the lights powered down so it was safe to say my parents were up in their bedroom, sleeping without a clue. The door hinges creaked when I opened it but I hurried out onto the porch and closed it again, locking it tight before they heard.

It must have rained the whole time I was studying because I had to walk with care past my driveway and lawn soaked with water. I was shivering a little by the time I made it to the passenger seat and hopped inside.

The car lights were turned off too so it took a solid minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness but when I did, I turned to Derek, expecting an embrace or kiss but he was stalk still.

"Derek?"

No answer.

"Are you okay?" Another pause. "Was... was it something I did?"

Derek let out a breath at that. "I kicked Isaac out."

"Why?"

"I had to. If I keep him around, either they'll kill him or make me do it." They, his words repeated in my head. He was talking about the Alpha pack. "They'll kill all of them."

"How do you know?"

"Because it's what they do," he answered. "They came to the loft and they would have killed Cora if I didn't play along."

"They hurt you," I realized, studying the way his expression wilted by the second and his body language that he had even tougher day than me. I shouldn't have turned my phone off... I should have been there for him. How badly did they harm him? It angered and made me feel so powerless at once just thinking about it.

"It's fine now. I've healed."

Physically he was okay but it made me wonder about his mental state. And emotional. "What do we do?"

"I don't know," Derek grumbled. "But it's not safe for Cora. And neither for you."

I looked up slowly at that, confusion drowning my thoughts and I blinked as if he'd spoken in a foreign language.

The his eyes met mine regretfully. "Maybe you should stay away for a while. Just until I had figure how I'm gonna do this."

"You.. don't wanna be together anymore?"

"I want you to be safe," Derek corrected.

"But I feel safe with you."

"Do you have any idea what you're risking by being with me? Right this second?" He shook his head, like he couldn't understand why I didn't get where he was coming from. I did. I really did, but I didn't want to just give up. "I'd protect you every second if I could, but if keeping you safe means staying away then that's what I'll do."

"I'm already in danger with or without you," I said and my stomach flipped when Derek frowned at me, as if he sensed I was holding something back. But no... I couldn't tell him the Alpha pack already came to talk to me. If we were already in deep with them, then we'd really drown if he knew the whole story. I wanted him safe too. "I don't wanna just walk away from this. From you. Whatever happens, at least I'll know I was with you."

Derek laced his hand with my own then, bringing it to his lips and gently kissing the back of my palm. He kept it there, pressing lightly like this was our last night on earth, just rubbing our fingers together.

"I have to keep you safe," he murmured, almost to himself.

Feeling just as lost, I rested my temple against his sturdy arm and just gazed out the windshield, all while he held my hand to his lips, tracing patterns on my palm with his fingertips. I honestly didn't know what was going to happen now. Tomorrow or the following day... it was all an enigma to me. And even though keeping the Alpha pack's visit a secret from Derek, from everyone I knew, weighed heavier and heavier on my heart, at least I could still lean on him for comfort. More than anything, I just wanted him to be okay.


A/N: This chapter was so fun to write. I hope I characterized Deucalion okay.

Also, I'm gonna try to write the next chapter in sequence with the scripted episode. So they'll be sections in the present time and ones that retell what happened in the showdown with Deucalion all in the same non-linear format. But I'll be writing the past scenes in italic to avoid any confusion. :)

Thanks for reading! I love you guys so much.