A/N: Hi to all my new followers and favorite-ers!
Liberty Blake, ELECTRA13, and joannacamilley, thank you for your reviews! I really appreciate that, and I'm glad you liked the story time in 'Origins'!
There's more action in this chapter, and there's also a new update to the "Sangster Bestiary" for the creatures we meet in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Stay gold, my lovelies!
Breakfast the next day was slightly awkward, to say the least. Everyone knew what Isaac and Neris had been up to the previous evening, though no one mentioned it. Everyone steered the conversations towards more appropriate topics, though Neris could feel her mother's eyes burning into her. Neris knew her mom was fine with her having sex, but it was one thing to do it in their own home and another to do it at a family member's home.
Swiftly, a wave of unease washed over the sirens, and they grew tense. Lei's hands gripped her utensils tightly, bending her knife in half.
"What's going on?" Scott asked worriedly.
"Shit," Giuseppe swore, "They're not here, are they?"
"Who are they?" Stiles asked, his voice slightly worried.
In a flash, all the sirens were up and out of the house, the others following close behind. They made their way quickly to the docks, staring angrily at a boat that was slowly coming to a stop.
"What's happening?" Isaac asked as he reached Neris.
"Those are centaurs," she replied, her voice tight in her throat.
The boat was anchored a good distance away from the island, the two centaurs aboard standing to get a view of the island, but that didn't stop the sirens from bristling in irritation at the interruption.
"What do you think they want?" Maree asked, pursing her lips.
"I don't think I even want to know." Riga confessed.
"But we have to find out," Constance replied. "Giuseppe, can you take the boat out to meet them? Find out what they want? And take the other two with you."
"No," Neris interrupted. "We should have one of them stay back here so we can know what they're saying. You guys can hear each other from this far away, can't you?"
"Yeah, we can," Isaac replied. "I'll stay back."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all," Constance replied.
Scott and Giuseppe took The Rooster out to meet the centaurs. They pulled up next to the side of the centaurs' boat, but didn't board it.
"What's happening?" Maree asked nervously.
"Giuseppe just asked why they came here," Isaac told them. "The centaurs only said they want to come onto the island and talk with all of us."
"That's not going to happen," Constance replied.
"That's what he told them. But they said something's happening in Greece and they want to ask our help."
A confused and hesitant quiet came over the group, making the lapping of the water on the rocks seem louder.
"Why would they want our help?" Lei said quietly, breaking the silence after what felt like an eternity.
"There's only one way to find out." Riga replied in a defeated tone.
"Riga, you're not suggesting –" Constance began.
"Let them come ashore," Ioannina interrupted, her voice stained with finality.
Constance, though unhappy, conceded to her mother's decision. The two boats began snaking their way through the water and pulled up to the dock. Giuseppe and Scott were the first to disembark their boat, and Isaac instinctively went to join them. The centaurs were next, walking towards the small group on the dock but keeping a healthy distance from the sirens.
"So…what exactly is going on?" Stiles asked nervously.
"They tell us why they want our help and we try not to rip each other's' throats out." Neris told him, her voice clipped.
"Someone is murdering our herd." The tallest centaur spoke, his voice thick with both an accent and grief. "A werewolf."
"How do you know it's a werewolf?" Mrs. McCall asked, coming to the defense of her son even though he hadn't been accused.
"My brother was bitten," the shorter one answered defiantly. "By an Alpha."
Seeing the muted horror on the faces of his hosts, Scott asked, "What does that mean?"
"If an Alpha werewolf, or any other shapeshifter that gives a changing bite for that matter, bites a born shapeshifter like sirens or centaurs, the bite always leads to death." Ioannina answered. "A slow and painful one."
"But there is a way to stop it," the shorter centaur added.
"There's no guarantee it will work," Constance replied. "And if it does, then a sacrifice will be made."
"A sacrifice?" Stiles gulped. "You don't mean –"
"Not that kind of sacrifice," Neris clarified. "If the cure works, then he'll never be able to shift again."
"For some of us, that's a fate worse than death," Maree added.
"We cannot give you a cure," Ioannina told the pair. "The Alpha that bit him must be dead and burned in order to do so. And you know if we could, your brother would be dead by the time you got it to him."
"It's not for his brother that we have come," the taller centaur told them. "Others have been found torn to shreds. And it's not just our herd. There have been other centaur deaths throughout the country."
"There's a werewolf killing centaurs in Greece, and we have come to ask for your help." Said the shorter one. "We don't have the ability to track him like your wolves can."
"Why should we help you?" Isaac retorted, his arms folded defensively across his chest.
"There have been rumors that once the centaurs are exterminated, sirens are next."
"But werewolves and sirens have always –" Lei began.
"This wolf is committing genocide." The shorter centaur interrupted. "I don't think he's concerned with upholding ancient alliances."
"So, if we help you, what do we get out of it?" Scott asked, still not fully convinced.
"The knowledge that your siren friends won't be targeted next."
Scott looked over to Neris, who returned his uneasy gaze. Clenching his jaw to steady his resolve, Scott turned back to the centaurs. "We'll do it."
/
"You're not doing this," Mrs. McCall told them.
The centaurs had returned to the sea in their boat, waiting the final decision of the group. The sirens and their company went into the main house and sat around the dinner table to discuss. Riga had made a statement similar to Mrs. McCall's moments before, but that wasn't stopping the teens.
"Mom, I'm not going to let this guy target Neris' family next." Scott protested. "We have to do something."
"We've taken on an Alpha before," Neris agreed.
"Yeah, and hunters and a kanima. Multiple times." Stiles added.
"Are you sure Beacon Hills is a safe place to live?" Alma asked, her top lip curled in distress.
"Look, we can argue about this all night, and while we're doing that more centaurs will die." Neris threw her hands against the table. "I can't stand them as much as the rest of you, but that does not mean they should be killed!"
"Neris is right," Ioannina finally spoke. "While I don't enjoy the idea of my great-niece fighting against a murderous werewolf, I do have to acknowledge the things she and her friends have accomplished. They are a pack, and we should trust that they are capable enough to handle this."
"But Aunt –" Riga started.
"My decision is final. They leave immediately."
/
It took fifteen hours to get to the city the werewolf had last been seen. It was nighttime, and the streets were devoid of all life. The deaths hadn't gone unnoticed – even if the victims weren't human, the people living in the city believed they were. Their footsteps seemed unnaturally loud, and the street lamps and flashlight beams didn't add much to the creepy atmosphere.
"Can you guys smell him?" Stiles asked his wolf friends.
"The scent's jumbled," Scott admitted. "It's like he's gone in all these different directions."
"So, we're just walking around aimlessly until you find the right scent path?"
"Basically."
"This isn't how it was supposed to be," Neris lamented. "We came here to get away from the supernatural, not jump into a whole other country's worth."
Isaac looked to her, conflicted. "Neris, I don't think you should go ahead with us."
"What?" She looked insulted.
"You and Stiles should stay back." He continued, his voice lacking conviction. "Scott and I can take care of this."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Stiles cut in. "I'm not staying behind while my friends are out risking their lives. I've taken on an alpha before," he held up the large bottle in his hand that he smuggled across the ferry, the self-igniting Molotov mixture swishing against the glass, "and I can do it again. Ioannina said the body needs to be burned, and that's what I'm going to do."
"I'm with Stiles." Neris nodded. "If you guys go, we go. End of story."
Isaac looked to Scott, almost pleading with him for back up. Scott, however, gave him a look that said he supported his friends. Isaac sighed, looking back to Neris.
"Okay," he conceded. "But, can you do one thing for me?"
"Anything," she replied.
He cupped her face in his hands and crashed his lips against hers. They were warm against hers, and she could almost taste the worry as his lips moved in rhythm against hers. Pulling away, he threaded his fingers into her hair, leaning his forehead against hers.
"Stay alive." He whispered.
"Isaac, you know –"
"Promise me," he pleaded. "I've lost too many people; I can't lose you, too. Promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to stay alive."
"I promise."
A shrill howl cut through the night air. The four teens tensed up as it reverberated off the walls.
"He knows we're here," Isaac whispered into the dim light.
"What do we do?" Stiles asked, chewing worriedly on the inside of his cheek.
"There's an open area over there," Neris pointed down an alleyway that appeared to lead to a field. "We need to get him away from people he could hurt."
"Let's go," Scott commanded.
The four teens ran as fast as they could down the path, skirting around trashcans as they dashed to the field. The dim light from the town barely lit the grassy area, though they could see they were standing on the edge of a forest. A large lumbering figure bounded over the tops of the roofs and sped towards them, stopping just in front of them. Shuddering slightly, he transformed back into his human form, though his eyes still glowed red.
"So the centaurs sent children to stop me, I see." He sneered.
"You have no idea what we're capable of," Neris retorted, sounding significantly braver than she actually felt.
"Ah, Americans." The alpha spat, his heavily accented voice full of scorn. "I thought so; I can smell your 'freedom' from here. Tell me, what part of America."
"Why should we tell you?" Isaac asked, the assuredness in his voice taking the alpha slightly aback.
"Let's call it curiosity." The alpha smirked.
"California," Scott replied.
The look on the alpha's face became a sick mask of glee. "Beacon Hills?"
"How'd you know that?" Neris questioned, eyebrows knitted.
"I've heard rumors," the alpha smirked. "First you had the abomination, and soon…"
"Soon what?" Scott pressed.
The alpha chuckled darkly. "You should be thankful it will be me killing you, and not what's coming."
"Hate to break it to you, pal," Stiles retorted, attempting to keep any tremors out of his voice, "but we're not dying any time soon."
"We'll see about that, human. Tell me, do they keep you as a pet? Don't you want to be like them? I can help you."
Stiles gulped, anger and fear at the collection of the alpha's words as well as seeing the alpha begin his transformation into a beast knotting his stomach. There was movement in front of him, and he looked to see his friends blocking the alpha's way to Stiles.
"Touch him and you die," Scott growled lowly, claws beginning to emerge from his fingertips.
Stiles looked on at his friends, curling his fingers tighter around the neck of the bottle. The radiance in Scott and Isaacs's eyes increased, Neris' eyes and hair turned black, sending a shudder over his skin. Suddenly they weren't his friends anymore. They were stuff of fairy tales.
"Try and stop me, little wolf," The alpha taunted.
With a chest-ripping roar, Scott zoomed towards the alpha. The alpha met Scott's chest with one arm just before he struck, flicking the younger wolf off as if he were dust. Scott few backwards, smacking against the pavement. A curly mass of bronze hair flew past Stiles as Isaac leapt into the battle, attempting to tackle the alpha's legs and knock him to the floor. The alpha slashed at Isaac's torso, snarling as he deflected the attack. But before he could strike a fatal blow, the alpha was attacked from two sides. Neris on one side clawing at his face, and a Grecian beta on the other digging his claws into the alpha's back.
The centaurs had found the rogue Alpha's pack, and they had arrived as reinforcements. Other werewolves were bounding out of the forest, their features hidden save for the amber glow in their eyes.
"Nikolas," the alpha snarled to his beta, "what are you doing?"
"What is right," Nikolas growled back.
The alpha gave a roar, flinging the two creatures off of him. He was seconds away from going on a rampage when he saw his own pack in battle formation against him, a young woman at the front.
"Delia," the alpha half-snarled, pain leaking through the hate.
"Your own daughter should not have to teach you that genocide, even on a supernatural level, is intolerable," she replied.
"You would stand with this filth against your own father?"
"I already stand with them."
The alpha's face contorted, different emotions pouring across his face as his daughter challenged him. He let out a roar that shook the whole forest, and raced towards his former pack. They were five in total, but were more than a match for their alpha, especially with Isaac, Scott and Neris in their company.
However, the alpha was still a strong opponent. He threw off his attackers forcefully, one by one. Isaac landed hard on the ground, Neris being thrown on top of him. Scott, who the alpha had tossed off by the scruff like a puppy, had landed expertly on his feet. He took off running for the alpha again as the alpha began to race towards him. Neris watched, time slowing down, as they collided with a thunderous crack in the air. The alpha had maneuvered his legs in front of him, and as he and Scott collided the alpha kicked off, sending Scott careening towards a tree. Neris reeled as she heard her friend's bone shatter.
Suddenly, a white hot rage built up inside of her. She stood up swiftly, drawing out her blackened wings as her skin turned the light silvery gray, and stalked towards the alpha in full harpy form. She grappled with the alpha; he struck her across the chest, leaving a section of her skin and shirt in tatters. As her wound slowly healed, she bared her teeth and jammed her hand forward with every intention of throwing him back into a tree.
She only registered that she hadn't done what she had intended when she saw a look of horror cross the Alpha's face. She looked down at her hand, having felt something squishy enclosed in it and a wet sensation running down her arm, to see the Alpha's heart gripped tightly by her fingers. She hadn't even felt her talons cut through flesh and bone. Neris froze, utterly shocked, as the Alpha collapsed limply in front of her, his eyes glazed and lifeless. He was dead.