HARSHER THAN THE BARK
A/N: So we have made it to the season 3A finale! This is so awesome and I am so happy reading your guys' comments and hearing your thoughts and how much you love this story, it truly makes writing it so worthwhile! Can't wait to hear what you all think at the end of this chapter!
Enjoy...
"Just get out!" Melissa screamed, waking Scarlett from her sleep. Scarlett rubbed her eyes groggily, jumping out of bed, grabbing her teddy bear and wandering into her twin's room. Scott was already sitting on the edge of his bed, a sad look on his small face.
"Why are they always fighting, Scotty?" Scarlett asked innocently.
Scott shrugged and jumped off of his bed, walking towards his sister. "I don't know Scar."
Scarlett wrapped her arms around her brother, keeping her grip tight on her teddy bear too. They both turned upon hearing something smash downstairs.
"Dammit Melissa, are you trying to wake the kids up?" Rafael shouted as the glass vase shattered right next to his head.
They turned their heads to the top of the stairs when they heard the floorboards creak. Their two young children stood there with confused and worried expressions.
"Daddy, where are you going?" Scarlett asked, tears in her eyes, as she saw her father standing with a bag in one hand and a jacket in the other.
"Daddy's gotta go away for a little while, sweetheart." Rafael lied.
"But I don't want you to go." Scarlett protested.
"Go back to bed, both of you." Melissa softened her voice.
"No!" Scarlett shouted, running down the stairs.
"Scarlett!" Scott tried to reach out and stop his sister but slipped and tumbled down the stairs, smacking his head off the floor. They all ran to him immediately. He was bleeding and would need stitches.
"Do you see what you did? All you do is destroy everything! Leave!" Melissa screamed, holding Scott to her. Rafael nodded and headed towards the door but Scarlett ran after him and grabbed a hold of his hand, pulling him back.
"Daddy wait! Don't leave, please!"
"I'm sorry baby." Rafael tugged his hand from her grip and she fell.
"Come back! Daddy! Come back!"
"Scarlett, honey, I'm right here." Scarlett shot up and gasped. She looked bewildered at her father as he sat on the end of her bed.
Her shock quickly turned to anger. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Rafael sighed. "Where are Scott and your mother?" He asked, reminding Scarlett of what was going on. Scott was with Deucalion and Melissa was tied up…but Scarlett was too so then how was she now in her bed at home speaking to her father whom she hadn't seen in years?
"I don't know. But that doesn't answer my question. Why are you here?" She pressed as she glared at him.
"I was called in for an investigation into the alarming number of murders and disappearances in this town and I thought I'd stop by to see how you're all doing."
"Well feel free to leave." Scarlett snapped. "You're not welcome here. Get out."
"Look, Scarlett-"
"I said get out!" Scarlett cut him off, sounding just like Melissa had when she had yelled at him to leave all those years ago. Rafael nodded and walked out of the room. Scarlett yelped when she felt a stinging in her thigh. She threw the covers back and almost passed out at what she saw.
Claws.
Protruding from her fingers tips. She had stabbed herself.
No. No. No. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.
She looked at the horrible claws again and started hyperventilating as it all came back to her. Jennifer had left her for dead and then she was with Derek and he…oh God no. He bit her. He bit her to save her. That bastard. He knew that she would rather die than become what he was. How could he? How dare he?
Scarlett wasted no time in grabbing her phone, still giving the claws a disgusted look. Why wouldn't they just go…away. The claws disappeared as Scarlett had willed them too and she shook her head trying to forget the fact that she had just had claws two seconds ago.
It was Friday. She had been taken by Jennifer on Wednesday. So much could've happened in the time she'd been out. She needed to find out what was going on. Her own horrific problems could wait until later.
Scarlett ran to the bathroom and stared, wide-eyed, in the mirror. There was virtually not a scratch on her. She checked her abdomen where she was fairly certain Jennifer had stabbed her. Nothing. Not even a scar. She quickly checked her tattoo. It was still there, thank God. It was healed already so her…werewolf healing must have missed it. She felt sick as she even referred to…that.
She leaned closer to the mirror and pulled down the skin below her eye before jumping back and letting out a small scream as her chocolate brown eyes turned a bright, forest green.
She smacked her hands onto her face. This so wasn't happening to her.
After her shower which hadn't made her feel any better, Scarlett called Lydia, her first port of call in any situation.
"Scarlett! You're okay." Lydia sounded so relieved.
Scarlett shook her head. "No Lyds…I'm not okay. Something…something horrible as happened to me."
"Scar, I know."
"What do you mean you know?" Scarlett asked, her eyes narrowed.
"I mean, I'm the one who told him to do it." Lydia admitted with a sigh.
"Lydia!" Scarlett screamed. "How could you?! You're my best friend!"
"Calm down Scarlett. Come to the animal clinic and I'll explain everything to you."
"No. No I'm going to go and tear Derek's head off instead." With that she hung up, grabbed her keys and headed to her mother's car.
"Derek!" Scarlett shouted as she slid the door to his loft open.
She was greeted by Peter. "Derek's not here right now, can I take a message?" Scarlett walked up to him and slapped him right across the face. "Ow…"
"You wanted this to happen!" Scarlett screamed in his face, anger coursing through her veins. "I bet you're the one who gave him the idea."
"Scarlett." Derek appeared behind Peter. Scarlett shoved Peter out of the way and went for Derek, slamming him up against a wall with her newfound, superhuman strength.
"How dare you, Derek?!" She was crazed, animalistic. Her blood boiled and her breathing was heavy as her eyes glowed the magnificent green colour. "You knew! You knew I never wanted this! How could you do this to me?! Was it all part of your sick little plan to continue to make my life miserable? Because, congratulations, you've succeeded." She let him go and turned away, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. She couldn't believe this was happening to her.
"Scarlett," Derek's voice was soft and calm. He had expected this. Maybe not the violence but the anger and he didn't blame her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned around, revealing that she now had tears in her eyes.
"Why, Derek? Why didn't you just let me die?" Her voice cracked, she was surprised at how fast her mood was changing. "I never wanted this. I never wanted to be what you are." She cried into his chest.
He stroked her hair comfortingly. "Scarlett your body's going through a lot of changes right now and your emotions are all over the place…you're going to experience a lot of different moods and especially a lot of anger. So let me help you."
Scarlett pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "I think you've done enough." She spat before walking out and slamming the door behind her.
Peter turned to Derek. "Well, that went well."
"Shut up." Derek snapped. He was still weak from giving up his Alpha status to save Cora but he had to protect Scarlett, even from herself. "Scar wait."
"What?" She snapped, turning around to face him.
"Tonight's the full moon. You shouldn't be alone."
"It's the lunar eclipse, Derek." Scarlett reminded him. "I won't have any power."
Derek shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Jennifer's still out there and-"
Scarlett let out a short, humourless laugh. "If I see Jennifer I'm going to rip her heart out and feed it to her." Derek was a little taken aback by Scarlett's aggression.
"Scarlett please, I know I have no right to ask-"
"Then why are you asking?"
"Because I need you to be safe. Just, please stay here where I can protect you." Derek reasoned with her.
Scarlett scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah because you've been doing such a great job of that so far. You weren't there when I needed you Derek and I don't need you now. You let me down more times than I can count. I'm sick of thinking you'll come around. Thanks to you and your evil girlfriend, I don't need your protection anymore."
Scarlett turned away but Derek grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "I know I've fucked up, Scarlett. I know. You don't think that it kills me that I had to do this to you? But I did it. Because if I didn't then you were going to die. And if that makes me the bad guy then I will be the bad guy. You can hate me all you want but I couldn't handle the thought of you dying. And I would choose to turn you rather than let you die. Every time. I would choose a lifetime of you hating me, every time, even though I'm still in love with you."
Scarlett felt tears well up in her eyes at his confession. She couldn't help it. Angrily, she grabbed his shirt, yanking him close to her. "I hate you." She growled before capturing his lips with hers in a searing kiss. She felt it again. She felt those damn sparks that she had felt the first time she kissed him and every time since. The obvious passion and connection that flowed between them was undeniable. Scarlett pulled away and slammed Derek against the wall. "I really, really hate you." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself that it was true but something forced her to kiss him again.
Derek melted into the kiss, relishing in the feeling of her soft lips against his once again. He felt like he was right where he needed to be. With her. He picked Scarlett up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as she tangled her hands in his hair, pulling him as close as physically possible to her. She was so much rougher now. Derek slammed her against the wall, knowing it wouldn't hurt her, and ravished her with his lips, teeth and tongue.
They heard a cough and both stopped, panting, as they looked at Cora who was healthy again. Scarlett sighed and Derek put her down. "We need to talk." Scarlett straightened out her outfit and followed Derek and Cora inside. "So are you two back together now?"
"No." They both answered at the same time. Cora nodded with narrowed eyes.
"So that was just a pre-battle make out session then?" She asked.
"Pre-battle?" Scarlett queried.
"Yes." Cora snapped. "Kali's coming to kill him. Or had you forgotten?"
Scarlett narrowed her eyes and took a step towards Cora, not liking her tone. "Hey listen here-"
"Scar," Derek warned, pulling Scarlett back when she tried to go for Cora.
"Oh could you all please stop with the teeny-bopper drama." Peter groaned, standing up from where he had been sitting on the couch. "Instead, let's focus on more urgent matters. Such as, figuring out how Derek's going to fight Kali as a Beta."
Scarlett's eyes widened again. "Beta?"
Derek looked down. "I had to give up being an Alpha to save Cora."
"Yes, yes, it's all very touching, turning you was his last act as an Alpha and blah blah blah." Peter said sarcastically.
"I think I can help with that." They all turned to see Lydia and Ethan standing in the doorway.
"Oh my God, Scarlett." Lydia rushed towards her best friend and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug.
Scarlett couldn't help but hug her back. "I'm still angry at you."
"But you're alive." Lydia reminded her.
"Listen," Ethan said, walking past them towards Derek. "We know about the lunar eclipse. So don't think Kali's just going to wait around for it to level the playing field. She's coming. And my brother's coming with her."
"Good enough for me." Peter announced. "Derek?"
"You want me to run?" Derek asked.
"No." Peter answered sarcastically. "I want you to stay and get slaughtered by an Alpha with a psychotic foot fetish, of course I want you to run. Sprint, leap, gallop your way the hell out of this town."
"If you want to fight and die for something, that's fine with me." Cora told him. "But do it for something meaningful."
Derek turned his gaze on Scarlett and she put her hands up as everyone followed his gaze. "Don't look at me. I refuse to be anyone's reason for dying. Especially yours. You don't get to die for me."
"How do you know I'm going to lose?" Derek raised his eyebrows and Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. He couldn't beat Kali as an Alpha. He wouldn't last two seconds against her as a Beta. It was suicide.
"We don't." Peter informed them. "But I bet she," He looked at Lydia. "Has an idea. Don't you Lydia?"
Peter began walking towards Lydia and Scarlett instinctively positioned herself in front of Lydia.
"I don't know anything." Lydia admitted.
Peter stopped and peered at her around Scarlett. "But you feel something, don't you?"
"What do you feel?" Derek asked.
"I feel…" Lydia looked around, wide-eyed. "Like I'm standing in a graveyard." Scarlett gave Derek a grim look. Lydia was very seldom wrong.
"Okay. I'll go." Derek said after a while of silence and tense stares. "But you're coming with me." He said, pointing at Scarlett.
Scarlett shook her head immediately. "No. Do you not recall what happened the last time you insisted I go with you? I ended up a fucking werewolf." Derek sighed. "I'm staying with Lydia. You go. Now."
Begrudgingly, Derek left with Cora and Peter which meant Ethan, Lydia and Scarlett were left in Derek's loft to greet Kali and Aidan when they arrived.
It didn't take them long to get there. The trio stood next to the window as they watched Kali smash the alarm with her foot. "Where is he?"
Lydia snapped her fingers. "I think he said he was heading out to do some shopping, isn't that right Scarlett?"
"Yup." Scarlett agreed. "Said he was fresh out of dog treats to offer you."
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Kali asked, stalking towards them.
Lydia glanced down at Kali's bare feet. "Someone in desperate need of a pedicure. I'd be happy to give you a referral."
Kali began to growl but a louder growling came from behind her. Aidan was ready to pounce if she tried to touch Lydia. "Oh really?" Kali asked, turning to face him. "Did someone take their little assignment too seriously?" Kali began to circle Aidan.
"She's not the problem." Aidan told her.
"Maybe the problem is where your loyalties lie." Kali growled.
"Oh God." Lydia sighed. "Is this about to get really violent?"
"Probably." Ethan told her.
Before anything could happen between Aidan and Kali, someone jumped through the glass window above them, the glass shattering everywhere. When Scarlett saw that it was Jennifer she immediately let out a ferocious growl, her eyes turning green as her claws came out.
"My, my, look at you…" Jennifer smirked. "I'll get to you later. But for now," She turned to Aidan and Kali. "Who wants to go first?"
Kali pounced immediately, fighting with Jennifer while Scarlett stood protectively over Lydia. Jennifer flipped Kali and threw her away. Then it was Aidan's turn. She overpowered him easily and upon seeing his brother fail, Ethan jumped up, running to Aidan and beginning to form their mega wolf. Jennifer smirked and walked towards them, pulling them apart to stop the merge. The twins both got knocked out. Kali got back up again and faced off with Jennifer.
"That's right, Kali. Look at me." Jennifer said. "Look at my face. Do you know what it takes to be able to look like this? To be able to look normal?"
"I don't care," Kali said with a shake of her head.
"It takes power." Jennifer continued as though Kali hadn't said anything. "Power like this." Jennifer put her hands out over the surrounding shattered glass and as she raised her hands, the shard raised themselves from the ground.
Jennifer willed them to all point at Kali. Kali breathed heavily, knowing she was about to die. "I-I should've…I should've ripped your head off!" She screamed at the last minute.
Jennifer screamed and let the glass shards fly at Kali. They stabbed Kali all over her body and she was dead instantly, falling to the ground as Scarlett and Lydia watched wide-eyed. Jennifer turned to face the girls and Scarlett stepped forward, growling viciously.
She saw the twins behind Jennifer but didn't say anything. She waited until Jennifer heard their growl herself. The twins walked towards Jennifer as one werewolf. They swung for her but Jennifer quickly turned them, getting her arm around their throat and applying pressure. There was a sickening crack as the twins fell to the ground as well.
"What's that line Coach likes to say?" Jennifer asked with a smirk. "The bigger they are…"
Scarlett felt her blood boil. She wasn't letting Jennifer touch Lydia. Scarlett bared her fangs at Jennifer and she had absolutely no control over her body or anything it did next. She didn't really feel anything but, all of a sudden, Scarlett wasn't on two legs anymore. She was on four and stalking towards Jennifer.
"What the hell…" Jennifer gasped, walking backwards from the huge, white wolf with glowing green eyes that was coming towards her. She had definitely not anticipated this. From what she had heard only Alphas ever had the power to transform into an actual wolf and even then it was incredibly rare. The wolf growled at Jennifer and lunged at her, grabbing her by the throat and rag-dolling her across the floor. Scarlett, in wolf form, bit Jennifer, cracked the bones in her arm and threw her across the room with her teeth.
All the while, Lydia stood with her mouth hanging open, frozen in shock. She had just seen her best friend, that she had known since she was five, turn into a huge wolf. The wolf looked at Lydia and Lydia could tell it was Scarlett just from the look in her eyes. Lydia didn't know why but she wasn't scared, just very, very surprised and confused.
The wolf stood proudly in front of Lydia, challenging Jennifer to come at her. The wolf's coat was immaculate. The kind of white that fresh snow was after it had just landed. Her ears stood at attention and her fur created a sort-of mane around her face and down her chest. The rest of her body was covered in the same soft, flowing white fur and her tail was long and fluffy.
Jennifer stood up eventually and ran at Scarlett. They fought for a few minutes. At one point Scarlett was on her hind legs, brawling with Jennifer. Much to Lydia's surprise, Jennifer managed to gain the upper hand and throw the wolf across the room. Scarlett yelped as she hit the wall.
Jennifer wasted no time in walking up to Lydia. "What do you want from me?" Lydia asked, terrified.
"I want you to do what you do best, Lydia. I want you to scream." Jennifer transformed her face into the hideous monster that she really was and Lydia let out a blood-curdling scream. Scarlett howled as the scream almost burst her tender eardrums. When Lydia stopped, Scarlett recovered and bounded towards Jennifer, grabbing her whole head in her mouth and flinging her across the room, away from Lydia.
Jennifer took a while regaining her strength. She stood up and was about to go for Scarlett again but the door swung open, stopping her.
Derek's jaw dropped at what he saw. A very dead Kali, dead twins, Lydia looking scared out of her wits, Jennifer looking groggy and a wolf standing in the middle of his loft.
"What-"
Scarlett reverted back to her human form, not knowing how she did it, stopping Derek from whatever he was about to say. She stared up at him from where she was naked on the ground. Cora pushed past Derek and Jennifer and ran to get Scarlett one of Derek's t-shirts.
Scarlett stood up, not caring that they were all seeing her naked. They were mostly all females so it wasn't like she had anything to hide and she couldn't count the number of times Derek had seen her naked so it wasn't a big deal.
"What the hell did you do?" Derek asked Jennifer, managing to rip his eyes away from Scarlett's magnificent body and also managing to stop his mind from racing about how he just saw Scarlett as a wolf.
"I did it for you." Jennifer played the 'I still care about you' card.
"You did this for me?" Derek asked, incredulous.
"For us." Jennifer stressed. "For anyone who's ever been their victim."
"Stop talking to me like a politician." Derek growled, walking forward. "Stop trying to convince me of your cause!"
"Fine!" Jennifer said. "I'll convince you of someone else's." She turned to look at Scarlett who had her arms folded across her chest and glare on her face. "Scarlett. You can save her mother, Stiles' father…"
Scarlett narrowed her eyes at Jennifer. She was obviously lying but apparently Derek couldn't see that. "How?"
"Derek!" Scarlett hissed, walking forward. "She's lying! Don't buy into it."
"How?" Derek repeated. He was doing this for Scarlett. He owed her that. He owed it to her to at least try and save Melissa.
"I need a guardian." Jennifer informed him. "That's a role that can either be filled by the three parents I've already taken or by you."
"No!" Scarlett protested, stepping in front of Derek. Despite how angry she was at Derek, if anyone was going to kill him it was going to be Scarlett. Derek grabbed Scarlett's arm and pulled her back to stand beside him. Scarlett slapped his hand away.
"I can't help you." Derek stressed. "I'm not even an Alpha anymore."
"I just need your help to get Deucalion in the right place at the right time."
"You just killed three of them on your own." Derek pointed out. "What do you need me for?"
Jennifer shook her head. She looked scared. "You haven't seen him at his strongest. I have. And with Scott with him I don't stand a chance. Unless I have you…and you." Scarlett scoffed as Jennifer pointed to her.
"Yeah right. Like I would ever help you." Scarlett snarled, stepping forward. "You ruined my life."
"Without your help or not I have the eclipse in my favour. The moon's only going to be in the Earth's umbra shadow for fifteen minutes. That's the extent of my window. There's no decision to struggle with. Help me kill him and the others live. Just help me!" Jennifer pleaded, sounding desperate.
Scarlett hated the situation they had found themselves in. There was no way in hell that she was helping Jennifer but she said that if Deucalion was killed then her mom, Stiles' father and Allison's father would live. How could she pass up on that?
"I'll do it. But Scarlett stays out of it." Derek finally said.
Jennifer shook her head. "No I need her."
"For what? I won't even have any…power," It all sounded so strange to talk about herself as a werewolf. It would take a lot of getting used to. "I'll be useless against Deucalion."
"You don't need to fight him, you just need to be a distraction if it comes to it." Jennifer informed her, causing Scarlett and Derek to frown.
"What kind of distraction?" Derek asked.
"Deucalion has no idea that you turned or that you can turn into a wolf. He'll be fascinated and he'll let his guard down." Jennifer told them.
Scarlett sighed. "You swear that the people I love come out of this alive?" Jennifer nodded but that wasn't good enough for Scarlett. She growled and grabbed Jennifer by the throat, hoisting her in the air. "Swear to me."
Jennifer went wide-eyed, clawing at Scarlett's hand. "I swear."
Scarlett dropped her and looked at Lydia, giving her a reassuring nod before turning to the door. "Let's go."
Scarlett and Derek followed Jennifer, keeping their guards up as she led them out of Derek's building. "Do you have any clue where you're going? Do you even know where Deucalion is?" Scarlett questioned, incredulous.
Jennifer rolled her eyes and took out her phone, checking the countdown to the eclipse. 29 minutes. She stopped and scrunched her face up as she received a video message from Scott.
"You see this symbol? It's a symbol of revenge. You talk about balance and about saving people…we know what you really want. And now you know where to find us." The message from Scott ended and Jennifer glared into the distance. They were at the abandoned distillery outside of town.
They piled into Derek's jeep once they knew the location of Deucalion and Scott. Jennifer sat in the back while Derek drove and Scarlett sat in the passenger's seat.
"How did you do it?" Derek asked after a while, glancing at Scarlett.
"Do what?" She queried.
"You turned into a wolf Scarlett. Like an actual wolf. How did you do it?"
Scarlett shrugged. "I have no clue, Derek. I barely have a grip on what's going on around me, I still can't come to terms with the fact that I'm…a werewolf. How I turned into an animal is as much a mystery to me as it is to you."
"We need to work on it. I'll help you learn how to control it. How to control your anger and other emotions." Derek explained.
"Yeah that's great." Scarlett turned to look at Jennifer. "But maybe now isn't the best time to be talking about all that. Who knows if I'll even make it out alive."
There was a thick fog that hung in the air as they parked outside the abandoned distillery. Thunder and lightning cracked in the sky but no rain fell.
The trio got out of the car. Despite Scarlett wanting to prove that she could stand up for and protect herself, her instincts pushed her to keep close to Derek. She felt like he was her safety blanket.
Jennifer took the lead, striding through the fog, while Scarlett and Derek followed behind. They didn't know what to expect so everyone, Scott and Deucalion included, had to be on their guard at all time.
Scott's eyes widened as he saw Scarlett and Derek come into view. He had expected Jennifer to be alone. He couldn't get into a fight with his sister or Derek. He wouldn't. And what was Scarlett doing there anyway? She was human and fragile. She could so easily get hurt. He glared at Derek. It was probably him who insisted she come along. He didn't like how obsessive Derek was over Scarlett. He knew that Derek still loved her but he didn't seem to realise that she could actually take care of herself and she had dumped him. Which meant she didn't want to be coddled by him. Scott was perfectly capable of protecting his sister if she needed it. All Derek did was put her in danger.
"What're you two doing?" Scott asked, trying to not let the panic show through.
"Believe it or not, we're trying to help you." Derek answered, glancing at Scarlett with worried eyes.
Deucalion obviously couldn't see Scarlett but he could sense her presence. "Like brother against brother…or brother against sister. How very American this is." Deucalion began folding his cane into itself. "Are you ready, Jennifer? Have you gathered your herbs? Prayed to your Gods and oak trees? Slit a baby's throat, perhaps?" Deucalion began walking forward. "Should we show them why you needed to sacrifice nine innocent people just to face me?"
Scarlett unwillingly took a small step back as Deucalion's face transformed into his werewolf form…and then some. He was unrecognisable, terrifying, really. His face turned a grey colour and he heavily resembled a wolf with glowing red eyes.
"Or is it twelve now?" He asked, his voice warped, loud and scary. Deucalion growled and ran forward, ready to slash Jennifer but Derek quickly bared his fangs and ran at him before he had the chance.
Deucalion grabbed Derek's arms and forced them to his sides with ease. Scarlett worried for Derek's safety. It looked like Deucalion could easily crush Derek like a toothpick if he wanted to.
Jennifer walked forward and tried to use some of her power to throw Deucalion backwards, like she had with Kali in the elevator, but it had absolutely no effect on him. He just gave her a pathetic looked and grabbed both of them by the throat, lifting them into the air before throwing them backwards.
Derek was up almost instantly, trying to get the upper hand again but, again, he failed and Deucalion flipped him, throwing him into a pile of boxes.
Jennifer ran at Deucalion again but it was no use, he threw her away like she was nothing. Deucalion walked over to Jennifer and grabbed her by the back of the neck, dragging her over to Scott.
"Kill her." He commanded. Scott did nothing so Deucalion let out a ground-shaking roar and Scott was forced to drop to his knees.
That's when Scarlett knew. She knew she had to do something. She couldn't let Deucalion do this to Scott.
Without any warning or expectancy from any of the others in the distillery, Scarlett changed into her wolf form, her desperation and pent up anger taking over. She let out a deafening howl of her own which made Deucalion turn around just in time to see her jump on his back and rip him off of Jennifer with her teeth, throwing him away with ease.
Scott's jaw dropped. He stared wide-eyed at the wolf. That wolf was his sister, there was no denying that but…how could it be? She wasn't even a werewolf unless…oh no. Oh God no. She had turned. It was the only explanation. He didn't know why it happened but he heavily regretted leaving with Deucalion because, in his absence, his sister had been doomed to live the same life as he was living, without his knowledge.
Scarlett looked Scott in the eye but quickly turned and pounced on Deucalion again, ripping into his shoulder ferociously with her teeth and making him let out a howl of pain. She dragged him back over to Scott and put a huge paw on his chest, holding him down.
"It's impossible." He muttered. Scarlett growled in his face, her green eyes glowing brighter. Deucalion turned his head to the side, facing Jennifer and then Scott. "You have to kill her Scott. You'll never see your mother again if you don't." Scarlett pressed down harder at the mention of her mother. "She's the one causing the storm. She's burying them alive as we speak. It's her connection to the telluric currents. Kill her and it ends."
Scarlett was distracted by Deucalion's words and that distraction gave him a slight upper hand, meaning he was able to throw her off of him and jump up to grab Jennifer again, stopping her from escaping.
Scarlett was back up in less than a second and ready to go for him again but Scott stopped her. "Wait." He said. Scarlett was reluctant but she walked over to take a defensive stance next to her brother anyway.
"It won't end with me Scott." Jennifer warned him as she struggled against Deucalion's grip. "He'll make you kill everyone you love." She looked at Scarlett.
"They're dying, Scott." Deucalion reminded him. "Kill her now and it's over. Become the Alpha you're meant to be. Become the killer." Scarlett took a step forward, growling.
"They're not dead yet." Scott told him.
"And who's going to save them? Your friends?" Deucalion asked, incredulous.
Scott stood up and looked at Scarlett who was just about at eye level with him. His eyes glowed golden-yellow and he and Scarlett both turned to face Deucalion. "My pack."
Deucalion growled and dropped Jennifer, grabbing Scott by the back of the neck and forcing him to stretch out his hand. Scott gave Scarlett a look, telling her to stay there and she did.
"Maybe you just need a little guidance." Deucalion said, forcing Scott to walk closer to Jennifer. Scarlett growled, inching to go forward and take out Deucalion but she fought against her instincts and stayed back.
Scott stopped and looked at Deucalion. "I have to tell you something. Something Gerard told me. Deucalion isn't always blind." Scarlett clocked Scott taking sparking arrowheads out of his pocket and she quickly bowed her head and shut her eyes just as he threw them at the ground and let them explode.
When Scarlett opened her eyes again, she saw as a human. She was back to human form and no one was in their werewolf form anymore. It was the lunar eclipse. It was happening now and they were all powerless.
Scott wasted no time in removing his jacket and helping Scarlett slip into it before anyone could see her nudity.
"Thank you." Scarlett whispered to Scott.
He gave her a solemn look. "I'm so sorry." She knew he was referring to the fact that she was now a werewolf.
"It's not your fault. We can talk about it later." Scarlett turned her head away from Scott and immediately noticed Jennifer was gone. "Shit."
They watched as Jennifer, in Darach form, emerged from the sand storm that was occurring outside. Scott's eyes widened as she threw him away with ease and then turned to Scarlett and did the same. Scarlett landed next to the boxes that Derek was hiding behind and he quickly pulled her behind them too.
They watched as Jennifer threw Deucalion just as easily as she had thrown the twins, showing just how strong she was. As soon as Deucalion was on the floor, Jennifer was kneeling next to him and bashing his head again and again off of the ground.
"Stay here." Derek whispered before jumping up. "Jennifer." Her attention turned to Derek who began walking forward. "He doesn't know."
"Know what?" Jennifer asked. Her voice sounded warped and unhuman.
"What you really look like." Derek informed her. "He knows the cost of bringing Kali into his pack, but he's never seen the price you payed."
"No…no he hasn't." Jennifer confirmed with realisation. She knelt down again and placed a gloved hand over Deucalion's eyes. Deucalion started screaming as Jennifer gave him the power to regain his sight. "Turn to me." She said as soon as his eyes were open. "Turn around!" She screamed. Deucalion slowly turned to look at her and his eyes widened. He looked terrified. Jennifer's face reverted back to normal and she was about to go for Deucalion but before she could, she began stumbling backwards. Derek ran forward to catch her before she fell. "What is this?"
"Healing him made you weak just like Cora did to me. You won't have your strength for at least a few minutes." Derek told her. Scarlett had to admit, it was a good idea.
"Then you do it." Jennifer pleaded. "Kill him."
Derek shook his head. "No. Like my mother used to say. I'm a predator. But I don't have to be a killer." Derek gripped Jennifer by the throat. "Let them go."
Jennifer struggled against him and was finally able to throw him against the boxes again. She walked up to him and began slapping Derek. Scarlett sucked in a sharp breath. She couldn't believe she was about to do this again.
Scarlett ran at Jennifer and shoved her out of the way. She knocked her onto the floor and held her there by her throat. The two women glared and snarled at each other. "What round is this? I lost count after youleft me for dead." Scarlett raised her other hand and slapped Jennifer across the face, leaving a red mark. Jennifer screamed and threw her off but Scarlett was back up in no time. As the women circled each other, the three males did nothing but watch.
Jennifer made the first move, knocking Scarlett onto the ground but Scarlett was able to bring her leg up and use her foot to kick Jennifer off of her. Jennifer stumbled backwards and Scarlett used the opportunity to roundhouse kick her in the side of the head, knocking her to the side and making blood pour out of her mouth. Scarlett panted and glared, her body shaking as the adrenaline rushed through it.
Jennifer ran at Scarlett again and wasted no time in bashing her head off a wall. Scarlett fell to the ground, her sight becoming hazy. She watched groggily as Jennifer raised her hand to hit her again but was yanked away before she could by Derek.
Derek struggled against Jennifer but she was able to slam him up against a wall. This was what he wanted. He needed her to use up all of her strength. She couldn't have much left after Scarlett's beat down anyway. Jennifer bashed him against the wall over and over and over and all the while, he kept thinking of when he had allowed Boyd and Cora to release all their aggression on him until the sun came up and they couldn't hurt anyone else. He just had to hold out. The eclipse didn't have long left and if Jennifer was preoccupied beating him then she wouldn't have the time to go after Scarlett again.
Derek felt his superhuman strength coming back to him and his eyes glowed an electric blue. "You're fifteen minutes are up." He growled, throwing her off of him. His immediate instinct was to rush to Scarlett's side but her eyes were already glowing green and she was already up and running towards Jennifer.
Jennifer wasted no time in taking out a handful of mountain ash and creating a ring around herself. Just in time, Scarlett felt herself being yanked back so that she didn't hit the protective field around Jennifer. She looked at Scott who had pulled her back before turning and growling at Jennifer.
"Like I told you, Derek, either you or the parents." Jennifer snarled. She looked a mess. "Well I guess I'll just have to take them now."
"Like hell you will." Scarlett growled, she was about to move forward but Scott held her back again. There was no use in trying anyway. It was impossible for a supernatural being to get through the mountain ash barrier.
Jennifer shook her head and laughed. "In a few minutes, they'll be dead and I won't need a lunar eclipse, even to kill a demon wolf." Scarlett turned her head to watch as her brother raised both of his hands and moved them towards the invisible force that kept them out of the mountain ash circle. "You've tried this before, Scott. I don't remember you having much success."
As soon as Scott's hands made contact with the field, it was no longer invisible. It became bright blue and purple where his hands were. Scarlett watched with wide eyes, as did everyone else, as Scott used the power of his own will to forcefully push against the barrier. It was amazing. He was actually pushing it back. Scarlett continued to watch her brother commit an impossible act and as he did so, his eyes turned red. She knew she wasn't imagining it this time. This time it was real. He was becoming an Alpha. A true Alpha.
Scott pushed harder and he was able to take a step inside the mountain ash circle, much to Jennifer's concern. As he put his other foot in the mountain ash with one final push, the field pretty much exploded and disappeared, causing Jennifer to fall back.
"How did you do that?" Jennifer asked, terrified.
"I'm an Alpha now." Scott finally admitted it to himself and everyone around him. "Whatever you're doing to cause the storm, make it stop. Or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the colour of my eyes."
"It won't change the colour of mine." Scarlett heard Deucalion say behind her. She turned to see him rush towards Jennifer. "So allow me." He slashed her throat wide open before anyone had a chance to say anything.
Scarlett frowned and Derek raised a brow at her. "I wanted to do it." He shook his head and pulled her into a hug. Despite it being bone crushing, it didn't hurt Scarlett. She guessed that was a perk of being a werewolf.
She took in Derek's scent, which was so much stronger now due to her heightened sense of smell, and she realised just how much she had missed him. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, melting into him.
Scott walked away and phoned Stiles to make sure they were all okay. Scarlett pulled back from the hug, eager to know that her mother and everyone else she loved was still alive.
Scarlett gave Scott a questioning look and he nodded, making her sigh in relief. "They're okay." She said to herself, a smile spreading across her face.
When Scott was off the phone, he, Scarlett and Derek gathered together to face Deucalion. "My mother told me you were a man of vision once." Derek announced. "So we're letting you go because we hope you can be that man again."
"But if you're not then having your eyesight back won't matter because you'll never see us coming." Scott threatened before the trio turned and walked away from Deucalion and the distillery.
"Mom!" Scarlett shouted as she bolted towards Melissa who began running as well to meet Scarlett halfway. They crashed into each other, gripping one another as tightly as possible.
"Oh my baby." Melissa cried, pulling back to look at Scarlett's face. "I was so scared."
"I know mom. But I'm okay now…" Scarlett looked down and remembered that she wasn't even human anymore. "Sort of."
Scarlett's eyes glowed green and Melissa's eyes widened in shock. She shook her head and then sighed. "I love you no matter what." She then looked at Scott who had just walked up to them. "Both of you." The three smiled and Melissa hugged them both tightly.
Derek looked up as he heard a knock on the already open door. Scarlett smiled sheepishly. "I was on my way to school and I just, uh, wanted to stop by, if that's okay."
Derek flashed a smile. "Of course."
Scarlett grinned and walked down the steps to Derek. "Look, Derek, I'm sorry." She admitted.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Derek reminded her.
Scarlett shook her head. "I do. If I hadn't broken up with you then you wouldn't have gotten with Jennifer and you wouldn't have to feel so guilty about…everything."
"You don't have to worry about it, Scar. If anyone has to apologise, it's me. I've hurt you in so many ways and practically ruined your life by turning you and-"
"You did it to save me and I couldn't be more grateful." Scarlett felt tears well up in her eyes. She didn't want to die and Derek had found a way to not let that happen. He was her saviour after all. Scarlett wiped the tears away and looked at the bags that were lying around. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked with a disappointed expression.
Derek looked down. "I'm leaving. There's nothing left for me here."
"Oh…"
"Scar, it's better this way. I won't be here to put you in danger anymore. You'll be safer, happier." Derek explained to her, tilting her chin up so that she was looking at him. God, he would never get over how beautiful she was.
"Derek, I have come to realise that I can't be with you." She started. "But I can't, for the love of God, be without you either." Derek laughed. "I have no clue what to do about this but if you stayed…then you could help me figure it out."
"Scarlett I love you." Derek admitted. "And I want you to be happy. Which is why, we both know, I can't stay."
"But,"
"I'll see you around, Scar." Derek kissed her forehead and used up all the strength of his own personal will to walk away from her.
"Derek!" She called, making him turn to look at her. She bit her lip. "I love you too."
Scarlett sighed as she walked through the doors of the school. She felt empty knowing that Derek was gone but as soon as she saw Lydia and Aidan, and Allison and Isaac, and Ethan and Danny her face lit up. She then spotted Scott and Stiles and walked forward and put an arm around her brother, giving both him and Stiles a grin.
They had survived.