A/N: Sorry about the wait! Things have been a little crazy here and then I got sick and lost motivation… Hopefully, this will bring back the motivation and get me writing again! I hope you guys enjoy and I'm going to try and have one or two more chapters posted by next week! Please don't forget to review, fave, and follow!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Sophia Markus!

XXX

Sophia slipped on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans before putting on a long sleeve dark purple shirt. She put on a pair of brown leather knee-high boots with a brown leather jacket; she pulled her hair out of the back of the jacket before putting it up into a ponytail at the nap of her neck. She turned to the mirror hanging on her wall, looking at her appearance before she grabbed her make-up. She did the minimal things before stepping back to check her reflection once again. She smiled to herself before she put everything back where it belong and made her way down the stairs.

Her parents were already at work so the house was quiet as she grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter. She grabbed her keys from the small door-side table before heading outside. She closed and locked the door behind her as she turned to the driveway. She smiled as she unlocked the door of the familiar Camaro before getting inside. Shortly after Derek had left, her Challenger had taken up residence in the garage so that she could drive the Camaro. She felt closer to Derek when she did. She held the apple in her teeth as she put the key into the ignition and started the engine. The car rumbled to life before she put it into reverse, pulling out onto the main road before heading to school.

She pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later, smiling at everyone's shocked expression when she got out. She turned, locking the doors behind her before putting the keys into her pocket. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder before making her way towards the school. As she passed a trash can, she threw the core, making it inside. She fist-pumped before continuing on her way to find Scott and Stiles. Who knew dating Derek would cause her life to seem just a little brighter?

XXX

"Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one." Lydia said loud enough for Sophia to hear when she walked into the building. Sophia's brow furrowed as she looked up. The strawberry blonde was walking ahead of Scott, Stiles, and Allison. Sophia walked over to them, avoiding a few students as she walked before the four of them saw her.

"What are you talking about?" She asked when she stopped in front of them, looking them over.

"Scott, Allison, and I have been seeing things we became the sacrifices for our parents." Stiles explained, looking at the girl as she began walking beside them as they all made their way to their first classes.

"We're not crazy." Allison said to Lydia, ignoring the conversation Sophia and Stiles were having.

"Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are fine." Lydia said, stopping to turn back to the three of them.

"We did die and come back to life." Scott said, looking at Stiles and Allison. "That's gotta have some side effects, right?" He asked and Sophia nodded.

"Deaton said it would affect you guys for the rest of your lives so… I would think so." She said unhelpfully with a shrug. The bell rang signally for classes to begin.

"We keep an eye on each other, okay?" Stiles said to them. Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Sophia nodded.

"Alright, if you need me, text me." Sophia said, beginning to walk backwards to her class. This was one of the only bad sides about being a grade ahead, she couldn't be with them in case something happened and it was usually by text she found out.

"We will." Scott, Stiles, and Allison said at the same time. She nodded and made her way to her science class.

"And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much." Sophia heard Stiles say to Lydia. The redhead couldn't help but chuckle.

XXX

Sophia leaned against the locker next to Stiles' for a moment, watching Scott and Stiles talk.

"Maybe we need a little more time to get back to normal." Scott said to Stiles, glancing over at Sophia.

"Yeah, try not to forget we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures." Stiles said as he opened his lock on his locker. He glanced at Scott. "There's a pretty good chance things are never going back to normal."

"Yeah." Scott muttered. Stiles tried to open the lock but it wouldn't budge. Stiles looked at his lock, trying to figure something out while Scott looked over his shoulder, at someone. Glancing over her own, Sophia saw the new girl looking right back at Scott. Sophia smiled a little before turning back to Stiles. She looked up at Scott and the smile fell from her face quickly.

"Um… Scott… you're eyes." She said, drawing Stiles' attention away from his lock to their best friend.

"What about them?" He asked, looking up at them.

"They're starting to glow." Stiles said, trying not to panic in the middle of the hall.

"You mean right now?" Scott asked.

"No Scott, like fifteen minutes ago, yes right now." Sophia said, glaring at the boy. "Stop it." Sophia said, knowing her own eyes were beginning to flash in response to Scott's new Alpha eyes.

"Stop it both of you!" Stiles said, looking between the two Alphas on each side of him.

"I can't… I can't control it." Scott began panting, covering his eyes with his hand. Sophia closed her eyes and look in a deep breath, she could feel her eyes return to their normal emerald color.

"Alright, just keep your head down. Look down, come on." Stiles said, looking around before reaching over to hold Scott's head down and ushering him into an empty classroom. Sophia smiled at the people watching them before following them and closing the door tightly behind. Scott shrugged off his book bag and his jacket, making his way to the back of the class. Stiles tried to follow him before Scott turned, holding his hand out to stop the other boy.

"Get back. Get away from me." He said, growling slightly. Sophia laid a hand on Stiles' shoulder as she walked around him.

"Scott, it's okay." She said, watching him closely.

"I don't know what's going to happen. Get back." Scott turned back to them; his fangs had dropped as well. Sophia was fighting off the urge to do the same thing, she was never this affected by Scott's shift before he became an Alpha. It had to be an Alpha thing, she figured, especially considering she was usually affected by Derek's Alpha shift as well. He was panting and as he brought his hands up and clenching them into fists; his claws were out so they sunk deeply into his palm, causing blood to pour down his arms. Scott growled and Sophia couldn't help but growl back. Scott dropped to his knees before sitting back and leaning against the desk behind him. He looked down at his hands, they were back to normal… so were his eyes. Stiles dropped his own bag as he and Sophia moved closer to the other Alpha. Both of them knelt down beside him as he looked at his bloody hands.

"Pain makes you human." He said, panting still.

"Guys, I hate being the barrier of bad news but… I don't think it's just in your heads." Sophia said, turning to look at Stiles before looking back at Scott. They both nodded their heads at her, realizing that everything that she may have been right.

XXX

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Sophia spent her night at her computer; looking up the "symptoms" Scott, Allison, and Stiles said they had. She remembered not eating and falling asleep somewhere around 3:30 in the morning. When she woke up, she was still sitting at her desk with her computer in sleep mode. With a yawn and a stretch, she got dressed and made her way downstairs. Her dinner from last night was in the fridge, covered with saran wrap. She took it out and warmed it up, eating it quickly before making her way to school.

XXX

At lunch, she squeezed herself between Scott and Stiles; Allison, Lydia, and Isaac where there as well. "Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things?" Scott asked his friends after throwing Sophia a small smile. She smiled back before throwing her bag under her feet.

"And is unable to tell what's real or not?" Stiles added.

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?" Allison said as well. Sophia tilted her head, looking at the brunette.

"If we're being honest, she was a demon." Allison glared at her and she shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of her vanilla Pepsi.

"They're all locked up because they're insane." Isaac said, finally looking up at the group.

"Ha. Can you at least try to be helpful, please?" Stiles said to the other boy sarcastically.

"For half of my childhood, I was locked in a freezer. So, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me." Isaac said and Sophia chuckled.

"So sassy… I like it." Scott rolled his eyes and dropped his head on his folded forearms.

"Hey, dude, are you still milking that?" Stiles asked him.

"Yeah, maybe I am still milking that." Isaac said back.

"Hi." A girl said and all of the teens turned to her. Sophia recognized her as the new girl she'd seen yesterday, the one Scott was looking at. She was cute in Sophia's opinion. "Hi, sorry. I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about." Lydia threw a glance at everyone else and Stiles fidgeted uncomfortably. "And I think I actually might know what you're talking about. There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called 'Bardo.' It literally means 'in-between state.' The state between life and death."

"And what do they call you?" Lydia asked rudely and Sophia glared at the younger redhead.

"Rude if you were asking me." Sophia said and Lydia turned to her to retort. Sophia lifted her hand, blocking her eyes from the new girl and flashing her Alpha eyes at Lydia. Sophia knew it wouldn't actually affect the other girl but she took a hint and quieted down before turning back to the other girl.

"Kira." Scott answered. She smiled at him before everyone turned their attention to Scott. He looked at all of them. "She's in our history class."

"So are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" Lydia asked, turning her attention to Kira once more.

"Either, I guess. But all the stuff you guys were just saying?" She asked before slipping down into the small sliver of room by Stiles. "All that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful or wrathful deities."

"Wrathful deities?" Isaac asked. "And what are those?"

"Like demons." She answered.

"Demons." Stiles said back. "Why not?" He said, turning to look at Sophia and Scott.

"Hold on, if there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?" Allison asked Kira.

"Death. You die." Kira said simply and Sophia sighed… of course. Time to see Deaton.

XXX

"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you." Deaton said after flipping the sign to closed.

"Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?" Stiles said as the three best friends followed the emissary back into the clinic.

"Do you remember what the sign language looked like? The placement and movement of the hands?" Deaton asked.

"You know sign language?" Scott asked, surprised.

"I know a little." Deaton answered. "Let me give it a shot." Stiles proceeded to show them all of the hand signs that he had seen. "When is a door not a door?" Deaton explained.

"When is a door not a door?" Stiles asked.

"When it's ajar." Scott answered.

"You're kidding me? A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?" Stiles asked the man.

"Not necessarily." Deaton answered him. "When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of superconsciousness… You essentially opened a door in your minds." He explained.

"Okay, so… what does that mean?" Sophia asked. "That the door's still open?"

"Ajar." Deaton said, looking from the girl to the two boys.

"A door into our minds?" Stiles asked slowly.

"I did tell you it was risky." Deaton said back to them.

"What do we do about it?" Scott asked.

"Well, that's difficult to answer."

"No, wait a second, I know that look. That's the 'we know exactly what's wrong with you, but we have no idea how to fix it' look." Stiles said, pointing at the man.

"One thing I do know is having an opening like that into your mind, it's not good." Deaton answered him. "You each need to close that door and you need to do it as soon as possible." The three of them looked at each other before walking out of the clinic. They were about to get in (or in Scott's case, on) their respective vehicles when a police SUV pulled up and the Sheriff stepped out of it.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm here because I could use some help. Actually… your help." He said, motioning to Scott and Sophia.

"Why us?" The boy asked.

"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident. One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to have me thinking that…that a werewolf could have caused the accident, and then dragged her body away. If you could somehow get a lock on her scent, if you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue." The man explained.

"But what if it was a werewolf?" Sophia asked.

"Well, there's somebody out there who murdered an entire family. Someone who still needs to be caught."

XXX

"This is one of the stupidest things we've ever done." Sophia whispered to Scott and Stiles as she got out of the Police SUV and the boys got out of the Jeep. They walked quietly onto the porch, stepping over the rat trap Malia's father had set up. They walked over to a door that leads directly into Malia's room. Stiles opened the door slightly, stopping when he realized that the door creaked. With a deep breath, he opened it quickly, stepping in quickly with Scott and Sophia doing the same before he closed the door as quietly as possible. They began their search. Sophia smelled the air while Stiles threw things at Scott for him to sniff. At one point, Sophia was nailed with a stuffed animal to the face. She glared at Stiles before picking it up and smelling it. It smelled the same as everything else in the room.

"All I'm getting is some animal smell." Scott said in a low voice.

"What about you Sophia?" Stiles said, his voice just as low as he turned to the girl, making sure he could trust Scott's nose.

"Same." Sophia said but she just couldn't place her finger on it.

"Well, what kind of animal?" Stiles asked, holding up something else for Scott to sniff. There was a growling sound and Sophia turned slowly.

"Dog." The werewolves said together before Stiles turned. A large Rottweiler was standing in the doorway. Sophia wanted to laugh so badly when Stiles hid whatever he was holding in his jacket but she knew this was a serious situation.

"Hi puppy. Get rid of it." Stiles whispered.

"Me?" Scott asked.

"How is he supposed to do that?" Sophia asked, making sure to keep the bed between her and the dog.

"Either of you, I don't care which one. Just glow your eyes at it or something… Be the Alpha." Stiles whispered back. The dog just kept watching them.

"I can't, I don't have control." Scott whispered back before they both looked at Sophia. She glanced at them before turning back to the dog before doing a double take at the boys. She sighed softly.

"Fine." She said, moving slowly so the dog didn't start barking or attack one of them. She knelt down slightly, making her eyes glow but as soon as they changed color, the dog began barking. The boys jumped from their place behind the redhead as she jumped as well, eyes losing their red glow.

"Apollo! Apollo, shut the hell up!" A man called from the other end of the house and the dog stopped barking but continued to watch them. Sophia glanced over her shoulder and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as Scott and Stiles almost clung to each other. The dog whined before it turned around and trotted off to wherever the man was. Stiles let out a breath before moving onto something else. He handed Scott a book and Sophia a stuffed animal.

"Anything?" Stiles asked, Scott shook his head, not even bothering to sniff the book.

"All I'm getting is that dog." The younger Alpha said. Sophia nodded her head. Sophia began moving around the room while Stiles found something that maybe useful to them, snapping a picture on his phone.

XXX

The three of them got out of the Jeep, walking over to the Sheriff as he leaned against the SUV.

"Sorry." Sophia said quietly. "We tried but it was so long ago and with the dog…" She explained.

"It's okay. It was a long shot." The Sheriff said, nodding to the two werewolves. "In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you guys here. I don't know what I was thinking. Thanks for trying, alright?"

"Yeah." Sophia and Scott answered. He patted Scott on the shoulder before giving Sophia a hug and climbing into the SUV.

"See you at home." He said to Stiles. The boy waved as the man pulled out.

"Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?" Scott asked Stiles.

"Yeah, I just think this is one he felt like he could've figured out right now." Stiles answered.

"Why's it so important now?" Sophia asked, leaning against the side of Stiles' Jeep.

"He wants to be able to solve one more while he's still sheriff." Stiles said, turning to his friends.

"What do you mean, 'still sheriff'?" Scott asked confused.

XXX

"So, how was your day honey?" Sophia's mother asked her as they all sat down for dinner. Sophia looked up at her and shrugged her shoulders.

"It was okay." She said, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes.

"Anything supernatural?" Her father asked. They were still trying to get used to the whole idea and usually, dinner always involved some sort of supernatural talk. Just a couple of nights ago it was about Scott becoming an Alpha.

"Nothing major." Sophia said, not telling them about the "open doors" and sneaking into a man's house to try and find the scent of his dead daughter. That seemed a little over the top, even to Sophia. "On a non-supernatural note… have you heard about the John's impeachment?" She asked, looking up at her parents.

"I did… I don't see how they could do that to him. He's a good sheriff." Her mother said, taking a bite of her roast beef.

"I can. When was the last time he even solved a case?" Her dad said, taking a sip of his beer. Sophia looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, considering our town is a beacon for supernatural creatures and he didn't find out about them until just a few months ago… I think it's justified. Besides, it's Scott's dad doing the investigation." Sophia looked back down at her plate.

"Rafael's back?" Her mom asked and Sophia nodded her head before taking a sip of her water.

"He'll figure it all out and then we'll be able to have a sheriff that is able to do his job." Her dad said, taking a bite of his food. Her parents jumped when she slammed her fork down onto the table.

"How can you say that?! Do you not realize what I just said!? This town is going to draw in all kinds of different supernatural creatures and you want to fire the one law enforcement officer who actually knows about them? That's stupid!" Sophia said, standing up, her voice rising slightly.

"Sophia…" Her mother said, trying to calm her down.

"Maybe the next guy could figure it out with having to have his halfway delinquent son right in the middle of it." Her father said and Sophia set her jaw, trying not to grind her teeth together as she turned and left the table.

"Sophia! Where are you going?" Her mother called for her.

"To Stiles'." She grabbed her jacket and her keys before slamming the door shut behind her. Once on the main road, she spun the tires on the Camaro as she made her way to Stiles' house.

XXX

When they were younger and Sophia would spend the night with Stiles, they would always share a bed and now, even as a seventeen year old and an eighteen year old, they do the same thing when something is bothering them. His dad's impeachment and the huge blow-out with her own dad was the reason for this quiet cuddle session. Stiles was lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. His left arm was behind his head while his right one was wrapped around Sophia's shoulders. The redhead was lying on her side beside Stiles' with her head resting on his chest. The room was silent, both teens unmoving except for the gentle tap of Stiles' pointer finger against Sophia's shoulder. The silence was disturbed by a knocking on Stiles' door. The two sat up when Scott walked through the door, fully dressed.

"Hey, what's going on?" Stiles asked.

"The three of us." He said. "We're going to go out and find a body. A dead body." Sophia nodded, climbing over Stiles to get to her duffle bag.

"I remember about a year ago this little crazy adventure starting that way… please don't get bit Stiles. I can't take both of you being werewolves." The boys chuckled as she slipped past them to go into the bathroom to change.

XXX

Sophia remembers the night Scott got bit… it was a lot like the night they were currently walking around in… with one less crazy Alpha though. Sophia pulled one of Stiles' jackets tighter around her body. "You know, if my dad's right, that means there's another werewolf in town we haven't met yet." Stiles said to them as they walked.

"I know." Scott said, looking between his phone and the surrounded woods.

"If it turns out to be something like triplets that form into, like, a three-headed hound of hell, I'm seriously not up for that." Stiles said and Sophia scoffed.

"You and me both." She said, glancing around them.

"Me either, especially since I can't control my own transformation anymore." They walked a bit further before there was a howl, causing Stiles to flail and grab Scott, knocking the phone out of his hands.

"Relax Stiles, it's just a Coyote." She said while patting the boy on the arm. They looked down into the ravine and saw that the phone had landed in a pubble. Scott turned to glare at Stiles.

"Sorry buddy. I hate Coyotes so much." Stiles said, releasing Scott. "They always sound like they're mailing some tiny, helpless little animal." Scott and Sophia jumped down easily while Stiles had to climb down, he tried to make it graceful but with Stiles…it was anything but. Scott knelt down and picked the phone up, whipping it off with the sleeve of his jacket.

"It still works." He said to his best friends before looking at the screen again.

"Let me see the flashlight." Stiles said to Scott, taking it from Scott's hand and shining down the ravine. "I think we found it." He said, making his way over to something. Sophia looked closer and saw that it was an overturned car, the one that the Tate family wife and daughters died in.

"Why wouldn't they move it? Isn't it evidence?" Scott asked as he and Sophia caught up with Stiles.

"Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out." Stiles answered, walking closer to the car.

"Especially if it was thought to be an accident at the time. No reason to waste that time and effort." Sophia said as she watched Stiles walk closer to the car. Stiles shined the light around the car looking at it before something caught his eye.

"Look at this." He said to his friends and they all stepped closer. There were claw marks on the metal of the doors and they were unbelievable, definitely not from a normal coyote or (if California had them) wolf. "See those?" Stiles asked and Scott put his hands on the marks, his fingers lined up perfectly with them. "Animal claws would be closer together, right? A lot closer."

"Then it was a werewolf." Scott said, almost as if finalizing it.

"So my dad was right." Stiles said before kneeling down to look inside the car. Scott and Sophia knelt down next to him before, this time, Sophia saw something. Stiles reached in and pulled out a doll. They looked it for a minute before it spoke, saying I'm hungry. Stiles screamed and dropped the doll as Sophia and Scott jumped back. He took in a deep breath before turning to them. "I think I just had a minor heart attack." Sophia sighed, chuckling softly. Suddenly, there was growling from the tree line. Sophia looked up and saw two pairs of glowing beta blue eyes.

"Hey Stiles." Scott said, gaining the boy's attention. "Please tell me you two see that." He said to them. Stiles stood up and walked over to them.

"I see it." He said. The eyes were only there for a moment longer before they turned to run. Sophia and Scott made the split second decision to chase after it. "Wait, hey! Scott! Sophia! Wait!" Stiles called after them but they didn't stop. Sophia, being a bit faster, took the lead, following it. It was in a full form, like Laura was when the boys dug up her body but it wasn't very big. Not wide and stocky like you would imagine a wolf but tall and lanky as well as not a similar color. Sophia let her eyes shift to red as she continued to run. It was a long and exhausting chase when they jumped over a small canyon and came face to face with the creature they had been chasing. Like Sophia thought, it wasn't a wolf… it was a coyote. Sophia was closer, her face inches from its jaws when she heard Scott land behind her. Sophia could feel that her eyes were still red before the coyote did something… strange and unexpected. It's normal brown eyes turned a chilling and familiar shade of beta blue, almost ice blue. Sophia watched the animal for a moment before finding her voice.

"Malia?" She asked quietly. The next moment, the coyote turned and ran deeper into the woods. Sophia let her eyes return to normal.

"You think that's her?" Scott asked as Sophia settled to lie on the ground.

"I don't know… maybe… I mean… I don't know what made me say it…" Sophia turned to look at where the coyote had run off to. "Remember what Derek said, the bite changes you into a were-creature but it doesn't guarantee you'll be a wolf." She sat up and looked at him. He nodded. She reached into Stiles' jacket and pulled out her phone. "I'm texting Derek." She said, writing up a new text, she glanced briefly at the texts they had sent a few days ago, smiling softly. She hit the send button before getting up and dusting herself off. "Come on, let's go get Stiles." Scott nodded and stood up as well.

To Big Bad (11:54 pm)

Hey Big Bad, we got a situation. Give me a call when you can, k? It's kind of important, so ASAP! 3