APOV

When I finally left the kitchen, everyone was gone. Derek was sitting on the bed. "Did they tell you too?" I asked.

"That my number's up? Yeah." He sighed. "With everything that's been happening to me, I knew it was coming."

"Just because a banshee predicted your death, doesn't mean it's going to happen. Lydia's predictions have helped us save people in the past. Notably Kira."

"We still don't know what Kate did, we have no way to reverse it. For the time being I'm human, but is this the end? Is this going to kill me?"

"We can't lose hope." My phone rang and I groaned. "Malia, what is it?"

"Um, I was just wondering if you were going to the bonfire tonight?" She asked.

"I wasn't planning on it," I said. "I don't really feel up to it."

"Yeah, that makes sense," she paused. "Are you sure getting out wouldn't make you feel better? Stiles says you like parties."

"I do." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Maybe you're right. It could be good for me."

"Awesome! Get dressed and pick me up in an hour, okay?"

"See you then," I hung up. Derek gave me a curious look. "I just got a pity invite to the bonfire. But I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to get drunk after today."

OoOoO

"Aren't you glad you're here?" Malia asked. She had to shout to be heard over the music.

"Sure beats moping in the loft," I said. She handed me her flask and I took a big gulp. "You know you can't get drunk, right?"

Malia shrugged. "I can try."

"Try a little less," I said. "That flask only holds so much vodka, and I need it more than you."

She laughed and gave me the flask. "You're right, keep it." She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the middle of the card. "The only thing that gets your mind off your problems, better than drinking, is dancing!"

"I'm not sure you've had a lot of experience with that," I said.

"Let's test my theory!"

We danced until my feet hurt. I had decided that Malia was right. Dancing and drinking were the two best things that I could be doing right now. I was feeling pretty okay. "I should warn you, Peter's a complete asshole," I told her.

"I've figured that out," she said. "But he's going to help me find my mom. So, I'm going to put up with him."

"I'm sorry for not telling you about your dad," I said. "We were-"

She put her hand over my mouth. "Oh come on, it's not like we were best friends. I don't care." Then threw her arms around my neck. "But now we're practically family. So we have to get along."

Malia let go of me and stumbled. I pulled her back to my feet, feeling a little light headed myself. "Are you drunk?" I asked her.

She giggled. "I think so."

"That's impossible." I looked around and found Scott supporting Liam. "Come here, we're going to sit down."

"I don't wanna sit down! I thought we were having fun?"

I led Malia over to Scott. "What's happening to them?"

Scott shook his head. "Were you two drinking out of the same flask?" I nodded. "But you feel fine?"

"Tipsy, but fine."

"How much has Liam had to drink?" Scott asked Mason.

"Not enough to get him like this."

"Something's happening, we need to get them out of…" Scott trailed off, looking at his hands.

"Scott, are you okay?" I asked. "How much have you had to drink?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, not even a sip." He bent over the table and closed his eyes. "It's not the drinks, it's the music!" He stood up. "I need to go stop it, watch them."

I nodded. Mason and I stood next to them. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Me? I was doing swell until Malia almost puked on my shoes." I turned to look at her and noticed the security guards coming towards us. They grabbed Liam and Malia and pulled them to their feet.

"What are you doing?" Mason asked, stepping towards the men. "Those are my friends!"

"Your friends are overly intoxicated, they need to be escorted off the premises."

I grabbed Malia's arm. "We'll go with them."

"That won't be necessary," the man said shaking me off. When Mason took a step forward the guards shoved him to the ground. We watched as they took Malia and Liam away.

I pulled Mason to his feet. "We've got to turn that music off!"

Mason pointed to the side of the stage. "The generator is over there." We both ran towards it and he grabbed one of the cords and pulled. The music went silent. I pulled Mason away before anyone could catch us.

We ran to the parking lot. "I guess the party is over."

I turned back the flask and gulped down the last bit. "Now it is."

"Why was the music affecting them like that?" He asked.

I shrugged and answered truthfully, "I dunno."

"My brother is coming to pick me up, do you want a ride home?"

I shook my head. "I live downtown, it's out of the way. Plus I need to find Malia."

"Okay, see you around. Be careful."

"You too." I walked away from Mason. Instead of going into the school after my friends, I walked to my car. I sat down on the hood, and then lay back. I was still clutching Malia's flask.

I wasn't sure how long I lay there, before Derek appeared above me. "Stargazing?" He asked.

"Just, enjoying the feeling of not thinking about anything. You ruined it."

He smiled. "Sorry. Want me to drive you home? Or do you just want to keep laying here."

"Will you lay here with me, just for a minute?" I slid over and he lay down next to me. I put my head on his shoulder. For a moment I was silent. "You can't die," I whispered. "I won't let you die, I need you."

"I'm not giving up yet," he said. He kissed my forehead. "If I do die, you'll survive. That's who you are."

I was quiet for a minute. "Over the last three and a half centuries, I have watched so many people die. I learned how to box up everything I was feeling and pack it away; I was so good at moving on. But I don't think there's enough room in storage for another box. I don't think I'd be okay this time."

He turned to look at me. He reached up and wiped away tears I hadn't realized I was crying. "I'm not a crier."

He kissed me. When he pulled away I pressed my forehead to his. "I love you," he said. "No matter what happens to me, you'll be okay. You're strong."

BPOV

After I left the loft, I just drifted. I wanted to give Ava space, and I wasn't in the mood to play guardian angel either. So I floated through the spirit world. I wasn't sure how long I was gone, it was easy to lose track of time when there wasn't a sky to watch.

"Brooke?" I heard my name through the fog. Suddenly I was pulled back into the physical world. Stiles was sitting in a hospital room. He sighed. "I don't know why I expected you to reply."

I sat down on the bed and noticed a pen and paper were sitting on the table. "This could work," I muttered to myself. I threw myself at Stiles.

When I opened my eyes, I was facing the opposite direction. "I'm still not used to this." I turned and grabbed the pen and paper and quickly wrote. "R U okay?" And then jumped away from him.

Stiles looked around, and then noticed he was holding a pad of paper. He read it and then smiled. "Melissa says I have a concussion. I'll be fine, but it's going to cost us a ton. We're already behind on payments."

I flung myself back into control and wrote, "Ava can pay your bills. It's not like she's hurting for money."

"I don't want her charity," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "It wouldn't be charity, it would be helping out a friend. If it makes you feel any better, you could pay her back later."

"Maybe."

"Is this weird?" I wrote. "I'm sorry I didn't ask, I didn't know how."

"Weird? Yeah," Stiles said. "But not bad weird. Not any weirder than knowing my friend's dead sister is my guardian angel."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help last night," I wrote. "I should've been."

"Hey, you don't have to save me from everything. You're as bad as Ava."

"I just want to help as much as I can."

"You're helping just by being here." After a moment, when I didn't write a response, he moved on. "What's it like being dead?"

I thought about it for a second before writing. "You know that feeling when you're super tired? Like your brain is stuffed full of cotton balls? That's what it felt like at first. Then it just felt warm and fuzzy, like a big yellow blanket. At least that's how I remember it. I didn't cross the bridge, obviously, so I don't know what it's like on the other side. As far as being a wraith, it's weird. Sometimes I feel present, and grounded, and human. Other times my whole body feels like static, like how your foot feels when it falls asleep. That feeling is disconcerting. Also I'm cold all the time."

It took him a moment to read my response. "If I could, I'd give you a hug," he said finally. A knock on the door startled us both. Melissa pushed the door open. "Did you find a tape player?"

"No, but I found someone looking for you." She said.

She stepped out of the doorway and Malia walked in. She glanced at the notepad. "What's that?"

Stiles tossed it back on the table. "I'm writing a book," he joked. Melissa shut the door behind them. I heard the door lock and realized Melissa was going to keep them in here until they had worked out their problems. I flickered out of the room, deciding that wasn't exactly something I wanted to see.

APOV

I slept until the afternoon. It wasn't because I was particularly hung over. It was mostly because I figured if I stayed in bed my problems couldn't catch up to me. Turns out they still found their way to me. Derek came in and woke me up around four to let me know Scott thought Satomi's pack was being targeted that night.

So I dragged myself out of bed, grabbed my bow and arrows, as well as my new gun, and headed to the packs new hideout. Scott looked relieved when Derek and I showed up. Braeden wasn't far behind us, and Brooke showed up a few minutes later. I took a look at the other werewolves, most of them looked terrified. "They aren't exactly fighters, are they?"

"That's why I called you guys."

"I'm still hoping this is a big false alarm," Kira said. "It's possible we could wait here all night and nothing happen, right?"

"Stiles and Lydia are heading to the lake house to try and stop this," Scott said.

"What if there is no stopping this?" Brett said, stepping away from his pack. "What if this doesn't end until we're all dead?"

"Then tonight we send a message," Derek said. "To anyone with a copy of that list. It doesn't matter if they're professional assassins, hunters, or an amateur who just picked up a gun. Anyone who thinks they can hunt us down and kills us for money will go on another list, our list. They get to be a name on our deadpool." The other werewolves looked inspired. Even our group looked like they felt a little better.

I leaned against his shoulder. "You don't need claws or fangs to be an alpha."

OoOoO

For a while everything was quiet. I was beginning to think Kira was right, this whole thing was a false alarm. Then Brooke appeared in front of me, "They're here!"

Smoke bombs were thrown into the room, making it hard for me to see what was going on around me. I was reminded of the day this all started in the vault. I hid behind a corner and peaked out. I could see a few men with large military grade weapons and gear.

I shot one of them as he turned away from me, but that gave away my position. Chris motioned for me to go down the hallway. I backed up a few steps and watched Chris shoot two guys that were coming towards me.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see three men coming towards me. I shot one of them, but the second shot me in the arm. I dropped my gun. I took a chance and rushed them. I was able to shove one to the ground, and shoot him with his own gun, but that left me vulnerable to the third.

At first I didn't realize what had happened. I felt my body collapse, and I hit the ground on my stomach. It was when the second shot hit me that I knew what had happened. Pain spread through my entire body, but I didn't move. Footsteps approached me, and then I felt a hard kick to my ribs. "Human," he muttered. As much as I wanted to cry out, I stayed quiet. I closed my eyes. If he thought I was dead, maybe he wouldn't shoot me again; maybe I'd still have a chance.