Chapter 10: The Overlooked

The soft sound of Stiles's voice calling out for his dad would probably haunt me for a while. Stiles eventually kicked down the door hard enough to get into the room, but the Darach and his dad were nowhere to be found. Me, Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Isaac stood in that parking lot as we watched the ambulance that was carrying Lydia drive away. Jackson wasn't too far behind the ambulance.

"The paramedic said that she'll go to a hospital downtown because of the storm," Allison shared.

"So, why is the coroner still here?"

"The pianist," Allison said with a sigh. "Mistletoe and a vicious piano wire."

The air shifted around us to an even more grim mood. "That wraps up philosophers then, yeah?" Isaac asked.

"Obviously," Stiles retorted with an eyeroll.

"Okay," Scott warned, placing a hand on Stiles's shoulder. "We need a plan. Allison, what does your dad know about the last group of sacri—guardians."

"Or," I interrupted before Allison had the chance to say anything. "We go to Derek and rat out Ms. Blake. He can definitely rip her throat out with his teeth."

"Derek's back?" The other three repeated. Stiles and I exchanged a look. Derek being back definitely wasn't the thing that would surprise them the most.

"Kinda. He's probably still at the hospital with Cora, but that's not the point. We need him to shoot first and ask questions later," I explained.

"You want us to take advantage of Derek while his sister is in the hospit—"

"Scott, c'mon, don't think of it like that. Think of it like she's murdered almost a dozen innocent people and there's no other solution here," Stiles added to my defense. "And who's to say she's not at the loft comforting Derek and tricking him into thinking that she's a good guy."

"Gross."

"Is that why he kicked me out? To smash our English teacher?"

"And what is it with him and psychopathic women?" I asked back.

"Okay, okay," Scott reeled again. He took a moment to himself to mull over his very limited options. Time was of the essence again and, luckily, he didn't take him long to come to a decision. "Let's head to Derek's. Allison, can you guys try and figure out where the Sheriff might be while we deal with this?"

Allison nodded earnestly. "Of course." Allison looked up to Isaac expectantly. Isaac looked back and forth between Scott and Allison as if he were internally debating something. The wind and distant thunder increased the sense of impending doom.

"I should go see Cora," Isaac finally said to Allison. She nodded again with a disappointed but understanding face. There wasn't enough time to unpack their interaction.

Okay, well, maybe there was time to unpack, but it seemed wildly inappropriate considering the circumstances. Plus, Stiles chatted incessantly all the way to Derek's. No one bothered to shut him up, though. The nervous talking was probably the most normal thing that's happened in the past week.

Once we made it to Derek's, we wasted no time barging into his loft yet again. Boyd was lounging on the couch with his head in his hands. And Derek was halfway done packing a suitcase. The initial shock of Boyd's presence knocked any coherent words from Isaac and Scott. Boyd seemed just as surprised to see them as well. The room was silent until Boyd jumped up from the couch to meet Isaac midway for a hug. I couldn't help but to audibly awe at the sight. Scott stood in place with his jaw still to the ground. Stiles walked up to Derek's bed to shut his suitcase. "We have bad news and worse news," he announced.

The three of us explained the situation the best we could without overwhelming Boyd and Derek. As usual, it was impossible to tell because of their expressions. Or lack of.

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" Derek asked for the umpteenth time.

Stiles threw his arms up and turned to walk away. The peppery scent of anger told me to let him walk away until he was ready to come back.

"Derek, dude, I'm telling you—this was nightmare fuel, okay? Ms. Blake was totally normal looking and then she turned into this disgusting slime slasher with no mouth," I explained with my arms, making it seem much more dramatic than it was. He still looked skeptical as he shot a look towards Boyd. "Okay, remember the Kanima?"

"Vividly."

"You asked Stiles and I to describe it that night at the pool, right?" Derek nodded. I shuddered at the memory before continuing. "And we described it to a freaking T!"

"Seriously, Derek," Scott began in a pleading tone. "Why would we lie about this?" Before Derek could answer, the sound heels could be heard clacking in the distance.

"Upstairs, all of you," Derek ordered. The five of us didn't hesitate to listen. Well, there was a little hesitation from Stiles. Understandably so. The sound of running heels grew closer and closer until it suddenly stopped.

"Derek?" She called out in a too good to be true voice. "Derek, where are you?"

Due to the open plan of the loft, it was easy to hear. The five of us stood at the top of the staircase but hidden from view. "Right here."

"Thank God," she sighed. There were some sounds of shuffling before she spoke again. "Something happened at the recital. At the school. Okay, I need to tell you before you hear it, before you hear any of it from them."

"From who?"

"Scott, Stiles, Charlie. They're gonna tell you things. Things you can't believe. You have to trust me, okay?" She pleaded. "You trust me."

"What is it?"

"Promise you'll listen to me."

Oh, my god, just spit it out, lady!

"I promise."

It took almost everything in me to not audibly gag at that. Maybe Jackson had a point at watching Stiles's and I PDA. The sound of kissing could be heard next. This time, I did audibly gag, which earned me a shush from Scott.

"It's gross, okay!" I defended in a low, sharp whisper. "And someone needs to intervene ASAP because she's wrapping herself around his finger again."

Stiles nodded in agreement with me. He and Scott had a silent conversation amongst themselves before nodding once and heading down the stairs. I followed them but stopped halfway and leaned against the railing. Boyd and Isaac remained upstairs much to my annoyance. If this went south, we could always use an extra set of claws. Ms. Blake didn't look surprised to see us. She looked amused, actually.

"So, what? They filled your head with the idea that I'm the one taking people?"

"We told him you're the one killing people," Scott corrected as he as Stiles flanked Ms. Blake.

"Oh, that's right. Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour. That way, I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense," she defended with a short laugh. Derek's face didn't melt as he crossed his arms.

"Where's my dad?" Stiles asked.

"How should I know?" She asked back with an eyeroll. I would like to take this moment to give her zero stars for her acting performance. She should definitely not quit her day job. "Derek, don't tell me you believe this."

"Do you know what happened to Stiles's father?"

"No," she replied shortly.

"Ask her why she almost killed Lydia," Scott spoke up again.

"Lydia Martin? I don't know anything about that."

"Boo," I heckled, walking down a few steps with tons of unearned confidence. Boyd and Isaac's words of disapproval weren't enough to keep me from completely descending the stairs. "You're lying through your fake, giant teeth! And you're a terrible damsel. You would think you would be better at this considering."

Another frown etched its way onto her face. "Considering what?"

"Stop playing stupid, you look stupid," I countered, leaning on the railing once again.

Ms. Blake overdramatically placed a hand over chest at that. "I will not stand here and be insulted over accusations you can't even prove! None of you can!"

"What if we can?" Scott said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a jar filled with powder I didn't recognize.

"What is that?"

"My boss told me it's a poison and a cure which means you can use it," he explained as he turned the jar in his hands. Stiles and I exchanged a look that said that we didn't know what was going to happened next. "And it can be used against you." Scott popped the lid from the jar and tossed the powder into Ms. Blake's face. Immediately, the horrifying Darach appeared. Isaac was down the stairs in a second to get a better look.

"Mistletoe?" It questioned in a warped and angry voice.

Fortunately, the mistletoe wore off quickly and Ms. Blake was back in her human form. Before anyone could even think to move, Derek's hand was around Ms. Blake's neck.

"Hell, yeah, shoot first!" I cheered, throwing my hands up. "Well, second, I guess, whatever."

Scott shot a disapproving look at me before looking back at Derek. "Derek…" he warned. There was an unnatural popping sound that came from Ms. Blake's throat that made the reset of cringe.

"Derek!" Ms. Blake managed to croak out. "Derek, I know how to save Cora!"

I could finally see Derek's face melt, but his grip on her neck didn't falter. "The Sheriff—I know where he is!"

"Derek!" Stiles shouted this time. My face couldn't help but fall as well. I didn't consider that she knew where Stiles's dad was. I took a seat on the stairs and buried my face in my hands.

A sigh of relief came from Ms. Blake. "That's right. You need me. All of you. You should know I'm not doing this because I have to. I want to. I could still run, and you wouldn't have an easy time stopping me. But I don't want your sister to die. I'm only doing what I had to do."

She was right. Mostly. This fight was still pretty one sided since she knew something we were dying to know. Something in my gut told me she couldn't be trusted. Aside from the fact she tried to lie about being the Darach just now, but there was something else that was throwing the situation off. None of this was up for debate since there wasn't much time to waste.

"Hospital. Now."

Isaac, Scott, Boyd, Stiles and I managed to pack ourselves into Stiles's Jeep while Derek rode with Jennifer alone. He insisted it be that way and there was no room for argument. I piled into Stiles's lap while Scott drove. Boyd and Isaac were tucked away in the backseat. "Does something feel off to you guys or is it just me?"

"The fact that you're using Charlie as an airbag is a little weird," Isaac noted.

I shifted my weight awkwardly to properly look at Isaac. "I bounce back. Like a rubber band."

"I have a feeling that you won't bounce through a windshield."

"Jackson did." Isaac was speechless and confused at that. "Yeah, the Darach tossed him like a salad out the window. He's fine and douchey as ever."

"Not the same," Boyd corrected. "Scott's driving like 40 miles an hour."

I glanced over at the speedometer to see if Boyd was right. I then looked down at Stiles to see if he was wearing his seatbelt. "It is kinda weird if you think about it."

Stiles looked at me incredulously but unbuckled his seatbelt and wrapped it over the both of us. It was awkward, uncomfortable, and probably still unsafe. "Happy?" I titled my head side to side before nodding.

"I was actually talking about Ms. Blake being the Darach. We proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all still going according to plan," Stiles explained.

"I did have a feeling—a gut feeling," I agreed. "But, if we're being fair, I'm suspicious of everyone. Allison had me convinced that her dad was sacr—the Darach."

"Boyd, what do you think? She's full of it, or what?" Isaac asked.

I craned my neck to look at Boyd. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "She does sound like a politician."

"Politician?"

"Politicians have to be elected to office, right? Her election is living. She either has a real plan with good intentions to win or she's faking it until she gets what she wants," Boyd elaborated. "Just like a real politician she's saying all the right things to get us, the people, to vote for her on election day."

"Let's say she wins—what happens to the people on election day?"

Boyd shrugged at that question from Scott. "Stick around and find out."

With Scott's careful driving in the heavy winds that hadn't let up, we finally made it to the hospital. We piled inside the ER reception area and followed Scott to the nurse's station where Melissa was effortlessly giving out orders to evacuate any remaining patients.

"What are you doing here? What are you all doing here? The hospital is evacuating," Melissa informed, gesturing to the disorder around us.

"We're here for Cora," Scott said.

"All of you?" She repeated, looking at the group of us again. "And why does Stiles have my bat?"

"Claws versus bat," Stiles simply said.

"Mom, just trust me on this," Scott assured. They shared a quiet moment together before a round of thunder and lightning struck the moment. "You need to get out of here. Right now."

"The building is supposed to be clear in 30 minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back. One's 10 minutes out, the other's 20. Cora needs to be on one of those. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."

"Got it."

Sounds easy enough. Ms. Blake heals Cora. We bounce. Save Stiles's dad. Ms. Blake goes to bother some other town. Easy, peasy.

We then followed Derek to Cora's room on the second floor. The first notch in our plan had already gone wrong when Cora wasn't found in her room. There was a trail of familiar looking black goop on the floor. "Maybe she went for a walk?" Isaac quipped in a hopeful tone.

There wasn't much of a scent to track since the scent of all the excitement from the evacuation was still in the air. So, we followed the trail of goop down the hall and through a set of doors that read 'RESTRICTED ACCESS!'

Before the doors could shut behind me, Peter came sliding down the hallway as if he were just thrown. A deep, loud growl came from nowhere and soon Eiden merged as megawolf was heading toward the eight of us. Behind Eiden, an unmoving Cora was on the ground.

Surely, eight versus two would have a good outcome.

Scott and Derek were the first two to move and strike at the twins. Stiles and Boyd went to help Peter rally as Isaac and I held back. Jennifer tiptoed to the very back of the group.

Before the fight had even really started, it was already over. They were just too big and fast for Derek and Scott. "Back or legs?" I asked Isaac in a hushed whisper.

Isaac tilted his head side to side in thought. "Legs."

As soon as the words left his mouth, I sprinted over to latch myself onto the Eiden's back. This didn't bode well since they easily hooked their arms together and tossed me over their heads to body slam me on my back. "Change of plans, yeah?" Isaac asked in a tone I didn't care for.

I didn't reply since most of the air had been knocked from my body. Isaac attempted my same move with better results. I rolled over and went to help Derek rally while the twins attempted to thrown Isaac off. Boyd took my place and yanked Eiden's legs out from under them. They fell down pretty hard but didn't stay down for long. Still, we had them surrounded and a somewhat decent fighting chance.

There was a strange moment of idle from the merged twins as they assessed the situation. Suddenly, they locked eyes on Scott. Derek and Boyd were the first two to respond. But the twins managed to catch Derek and tossed him into Boyd. The pair went flying past Ms. Blake and through the double doors. The next thing I knew, Scott was on the ground with an oversized hand wrapped around his neck. Isaac and I moved at the same time but was stopped by a roar and the sound of Scott pleading. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat at the quickly escalating situation. "All we want is her!" Their voice demanded. I looked around for Cora who was now gone along with Peter and Stiles. Then I realized Eiden's eyes were settled on Ms. Blake. She also realized this and began to back away.

"W-what?" I stuttered. "Why?"

The sound of Eiden's hand tightening around Scott's neck made me cringe. "Okay, not the time for questions, got it," Isaac said.

There was no way we could give up Ms. Blake for Scott. But there was no way we could give up Scott for Ms. Blake. It was the world's shittiest ultimatum. I could have totally used another Molotov cocktail right about now.

The sound of the elevator dinging grabbed everyone's attention. Ms. Blake looked surprisingly remorseful as the doors began to shut. It was no Molotov cocktail, but it would do. In a split second, I decided to fight dirty again and go for a handful of Eiden's groin and gave it the ole twist and shout. They weren't letting up on Scott and, apparently, they were after the key to getting us out of this sacrificial mess. The twins instantly went to further protect their manhood. I took the moment to grab Scott by the hand and tugged him toward us. We all turned and began heading down the hall and away from the twins as we could possibly get.

We separated at the end of the hallway unintentionally. Stiles, Peter, and an unconscious Cora were hiding around the right corner. Boyd, Isaac, Scott, and I went left while the others ran right. "You have your phone?" Boyd asked as we entered a stairwell. I unlocked it and handed it over as we took the stairs two at a time. Boyd passed me my phone back just as we reached the third floor. We continued to sprint down to the opposite staircase and went up another flight. I tried my best to pretend I wasn't out of breath when Boyd suggested we stop.

"Oh, thank god," I huffed, rubbing the center of my chest.

"I sent a text to group telling them to meet us at the south elevator on the 4th floor," Boyd relayed as we walked toward the only other elevator on the floor.

"Where are we now?" Scott asked, looking around for a sign.

"4th floor, south tower, by the…"

"Elevator," I groaned, throwing my head back in frustration. "It can't be good that we beat them here, right?"

"We probably would've heard the twins by now," Scott assured. His tone didn't sound his usual level of confidence.

Isaac must have noticed this too because he made himself parallel with the ground and put his ear to the floor. It was strange, smart, and kind of gross, but kudos to Isaac for taking one for the team. "I think they're coming," he relayed in a faraway tone. "But I don't think they're alone."

Half of this proved to be true a few moments later when Stiles came bursting through the staircase door. He held the door open as everyone ran through, but instead of letting it shut like a normal, sane person, he held it open with his foot and prepared to swing his bat.

"Stiles! No—"

The words stopped coming out as soon as the bat hit Eiden. It didn't even shatter, it turned into freaking sawdust. This only annoyed Eiden further. Stiles didn't stick around to see just how annoyed they were. The group took off again, but this time Scott stayed behind. "You have got to be kidding me."

We watched in awe as Scott leaped into the air to grab two fluorescent light bulbs in each hand and swung them on both sides of Eiden's head. He also didn't stick around for a reaction and took off with the rest of the group. We ran through the maze of the operating rooms before stopping and settling in one. It was quiet aside from the sounds of everyone trying to catch their breath. Boyd and Isaac were resting on the ground with their backs against the entrance doors. Peter had laid down Cora on the operating table while the rest of us were scattered throughout the room.

"How long do we have?" I asked as I tucked some loose strands of hair behind my ears.

"Before…?"

"Before the twins find us, before your crazy ass girlfriend ditches the hospital to go kidnap someone else, before the next ambulance gets here, before you sister croaks, before the next full moon—there's so many options, Derek," I dumped in a voice just above a whisper. Only one of those questions were supposed to come out, but the situation had reached maximum stress a long time ago and I was running out of patience for stupid questions.

"Ditched us? She's gone?" Stiles repeated. He looked to Scott for confirmation. "What the hell?" He stressed in a louder tone.

Derek shushed Stiles. "Be quiet."

"Me be quiet? Me, huh? Are you telling me what to do now?" Stiles asked in an even louder tone. "When your psychotic, mass murdering girlfriend—the second one you've dated, by the way, has got my dad somewhere, tied up, waiting to be ritually sacrificed?" As satisfying as this was, Stiles was going to have us found much sooner than we needed to be.

"Stiles, seriously, they're still out there," I warned in a softer tone.

"And they want her, right?" He pointed out in a rhetorical, but softer tone. I nodded and sighed. "We don't have her, so, what does that mean for Cora and my dad?"

We were all silent at that question. It didn't need an answer.

"We don't know yet," Scott reassured. "Is she really dying?"

"She's not getting any better," Peter said, looking back down at Cora.

"There's gotta be something else we can do."

"Have you tried Deaton?" I asked in a hopeful tone.

"There's only one thing that can save her," a voice announced from the other side of the doors. Boyd and Isaac jumped up in sync. The voice belonged to Ms. Blake. She was immediately let into the room. "I can save her, and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But there is a pack of alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So, I'll help you," she finished. I exchanged a look with Boyd at the way she was convincing us to elect protect her. "But only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."

Derek reacted the same way I was thinking. But before he could get his teeth into her throat, Scott came between the two of them. "She was trying to leave," Derek countered with red, glowing eyes.

"I was trying to keep from getting killed. You can't blame me for that," Ms. Blake argued.

"We absolutely can," I scoffed.

"Did you see the size of that alpha?"

"The majority of us have spent the better part of the year trying to stay alive, too. But the difference between us and you, is that we didn't have the spare time to ritually sacrifice a dozen people in the process. S—"

"Your brother did."

The second the words left her mouth, the world around me went silent. My eyes were hot and I completely turned before I could help myself. A pair of arms tried to stop me, but I could only see red as I tore myself from them. Ms. Blake didn't bother to fight back when I tackled her to the ground. Another pair of arms pinned my arms to my side before I could do any real damage, but I was lucky enough to get a satisfying kick to her chin before I was tossed to the side.

I jumped back to my feet with tunnel vision. The sounds of protests were muffled and muted. The overwhelming rage I was feeling had completely overtaken anything and everything. I held my eyes on Ms. Blake who was still on the ground.

Stiles.

His dad.

Derek.

Cora.

My vision cleared but my feelings remained the same. I needed to leave. I needed to get out of here. I had already made too much noise, so the twins were probably on their way. There was nothing I wanted more than my hands around her neck. But I suppressed the urge and turned to leave. No one was guarding the door anymore and I took full advantage as I took off in a sprint through the maze of operating rooms and nurses'stations. The only sound I could hear now was my heart pounding in my ears as I continued to run. I eventually found some stairs and went up and up and up until my chest burned.

If I were being chased, I definitely wouldn't have noticed until now. I pushed on the door that read, 'ROOF ACCESS' and was immediately met with the harsh winds. It was strangely calming. Still, I wanted to break something but the risk of being found and flattened was too great.

It had been a while since I completely turned into a werewolf. I didn't love the feeling of being out of control like that, but the power that came with it canceled that out.

It had also been a while since I've thought about Matt. Well, it had been a while since I thought about kanima Matt. I undoubtedly still wanted to rip Ms. Blake's tongue from her mouth for forcing the thought on me. She obviously knew what she was doing. Or maybe she didn't anticipate such a violent reaction. And, honestly, neither did I.

Matt did kill a bunch of people in the name of revenge. Innocent people. And to think I was capable of experiencing the same rage—the same fury—as him made me want to die. Like, truly roll over and die.

Then my dad. A drunk who became stuck after the divorce. Add in a mix of probable PTSD from 20 years in the army and you've got a total fucking disaster.

I walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned against the barrier. The wind dried my tears that I hadn't noticed were falling until now. I was undeniably calmer but overwhelmed with melancholy. "I cannot believe I let that bitch get in my head," I scolded to myself. I dropped my head as more tears began to fall.

"It's not your fault." A voice announced from behind me. It took me a moment to place it as Isaac. It was kind of disappointing it wasn't the twins. "It's part of her election campaign, or whatever."

I stood up straighter and turned to face Isaac. "Yeah, well, whatever she's planning on doing, it's working," I said in a voice shakier than intended. I crossed my arms and leaned against the ledge of the concrete barrier. "I just want this all to be over."

Isaac didn't bother to keep his distance and walked over with a box of tissues. I took a few to clean my face up. "It's almost over. Just a couple of people to save and then a few alphas to get rid of."

"Sounds easy when you say it like that," I huffed in a flat tone.

"I know things seem kind of impossible right now, but I really think everything's gonna be okay."

"You don't know that."

"I don't," Isaac admitted. "But I do know we have Scott. And Boyd, somehow—this place is so weird sometimes."

"Mhm," I agreed. I'm not sure what exactly what Isaac was trying to do, but it wasn't working. I was too sad to be motivated and assured that things would be okay. "We should go back to the group and make sure they're not Eiden food."

Isaac placed a hand on my shoulder as I started to walk away. "Are you okay? You're allowed to sit this out, you know."

My reaction was embarrassing. It was overdramatic and I hated turning in front of everyone. Now I have to deal with the aftermath of my reaction. Luckily, the more pressing situation wasn't about me. "For now? Probably not."

"I'll take it only because you didn't tell me what I wanted to hear."

I made a noise of agreement as the sounds of shuffling was heard from below. Stiles, Derek, Boyd, Ms. Blake, and Cora had made it to an ambulance. Isaac and I moved to the other corner of the roof to get a better look. Stiles, Boyd, and Cora all shuffled inside and shut the doors behind them.

"Look," Isaac whispered as he pointed far ahead of the ambulance. A familiar dark head of hair and black toenails could be seen pacing ahead.

"Does they know she's…Hey, Kali!" I shouted.

"Kali!" Isaac repeated much louder than I had. Everyone's head shot up to the roof at the sound of Isaac and I yelling. Kali growled at the pair of us and took off toward Derek and Ms. Blake.

"On your right, Derek!" I shouted again. This only made Kali change her direction.

"She's moving left now!" Isaac relayed. Derek and Ms. Blake were still idle. It looked like they were arguing about what to do. But eventually they disappeared into the parking garage. Kali sent us one last glare before following the pair.

Isaac and I left the corner of the roof and headed toward the entrance back to the only door on the roof. As I reached for the handle, the door swung open. It revealed Deucalion and Melissa. Most of us seemed surprised to run into each other in such an unconventional place.

"Charlie, Isaac," Deucalion greeted in his eerily calm tone. The rest of us exchanged glances and attempted to communicate without verbalizing anything. "If you're plotting to take Ms. McCall and escape, I'm sorry to let you know that that is not in your best interest."

Isaac and I shared a few looks and gestures that led to nothing. I dug around for my phone and began typing out a message. Before I could get a couple of words typed out, Deucalion's cane came crashing down on my phone. The screen was the only thing that suffered, thankfully. I slid it carefully back into my pocket. "Ms. McCall and I were just headed to cut the power out. You two care to join us?"

"Is that actually an option, or—" I knocked the wind from Isaac before he could finish.

"After you, Melissa," Deucalion ordered. We sent reassuring looks to Melissa but followed her reluctantly. We were led to an uncomfortably loud box of metal that hummed until Ms. McCall pulled several levers until it was quiet again. "Thank you. That was more than helpful."

Then she asked what we all wanted to know. "What now? What do you want with me?"

"You? You're my gesture of goodwill."

"What?" We all asked in sync.

"Go find your son, Scott," he insisted. The three of us moved fast to leave. "Do yourself a favor, Melissa and be careful out there."

"What does that mean?" I asked as Isaac swung the door open.

"Who cares?"

"He only said it to her, though," I argued before turning back to Deucalion. "Do you have the hots for Scott's mom, or is it something else?" Before Deucalion could answer, a hand grabbed mine and pulled me through the door. "I'm serious, that guy doesn't do or say anything for no reason." I argued as we shuffled down the stairs.

"Charlie, sweetheart, it's probably nothing," Melissa insisted as we continued down the stairs. Her voice had the same soothing effects as Scott's, but the panic still leered. "Now, where was the last place Scott was?"

"An OR on the fourth floor."

We followed Isaac down several flights of stairs until we reached the fourth floor. Melissa then took the lead as we headed back to the ORs. "Seriously, does Deucalion have a crush on you, or what?" I asked again as we slowed down our pace.

"No," Ms. McCall sighed. "He's just a very strange bad guy who, apparently, has a thing for Scott."

She admittedly had a point with that. We all knew Deucalion wanted Scott in his pack, but it weirded me out that he would only wish Melissa good luck. Sure, he probably hated Isaac and I for making his life a lot harder, but that's on Deucalion for coming here and stirring things up. "Okay, fair, but what does he want with our old English teacher? The alpha pack must know something we don't."

"Definitely," Isaac agreed. "They got to the hospital before us trying to take Cora from Peter."

"Right! What was up with that? Were they trying to get information from Peter about Ms. Blake? Or Scott? Because they nearly killed Scott in exchange for her."

"But why would they kill Scott for her if Deucalion wants Scott in his pack so bad?"

"They probably didn't bank on Scott protect—" The rest of my sentence was cut off by the sounds of a fight. Particularly, a one-sided fight. "You hear that?" I asked in a lower voice. Melissa and Isaac both stopped walking to listen. After a moment of listening, Isaac and I pointed in the direction of the fight. We watched as Ms. McCall disappeared into an OR and came out with a machine that read 'AED'. "Better than a bat."

We took off in sprint toward the sounds of fighting. It was down a few hallways that looked exactly the same. In fact, I thought we were lost until we saw the back of Eiden that had Scott lifted up and pinned to the wall. Melissa turned on the machine and mumbled a few rushed words as the machine charged up.

"Stay here," Isaac ordered as he sprinted to the twins. I tried to object so we could keep the element of surprise, but Isaac had made his mind up already. He jumped up and wrapped an arm around the twins' neck. They didn't go down as planned, but they did drop Scott in surprise. Then Melissa handed me the bulk of the machine as she handled the pads. She nodded at me once. "400." Was the only thing she said before running away. I stuttered but ran behind her. I looked down at the machine and turned the knob until it reached 400 joules. "I'd like to try something!" She announced. Isaac dropped to the ground just as the twins turned around to face Melissa and me. She held the pads up to their chest and delivered a shock that would surely kill one regular person.

The twins separated back to their original, separate forms as they fell to the ground just as Melissa and I dropped the AED. She grabbed Scott's hand as I grabbed Isaac's and the four of us took off down the hallway. We only ran down one flight of stairs and around one floor before slowing down to a fast walk. "I don't know if we have a problem or if we're just being paranoid," Isaac said to Scott who was typing out a text on his phone.

"Both, it's probably both," I mused.

Scott wore a frown as he locked his phone and slid it back into his pocket. "Deucalion made me shut off the power and then he just let me go," Ms. McCall explained. "For no reason other than a gesture of goodwill."

"That doesn't make sense, he had to have a reason. I don't think he does anything without a reason," he argued.

"Right? And then he told her—and only her, to be careful," I added. "How weird is that?"

"He definitely knows something we don't."

"Well, if that means I should continue to be profoundly terrified, then don't worry about it. I got that covered," Melissa quipped with a long sigh.

"Mom, everything is going to be okay, I ha—" Scott was cut off by the sounds of footsteps nearby. It couldn't be the twins, Kali, or Deucalion. I looked to Scott who also looked confused as to who could still be lurking in the hospital. "Derek's in the elevator with Ms. Blake, Stiles, Cora, and Boyd are in the ambulance…"

Scott gestured for us to stay here as he headed down the hall. His eyes glowed to help with the darkness and dim generator lights. We watched his face melt in relief when the footsteps grew closer. "I thought you guys were still at the school."

Melissa, Isaac, and I met Scott at the corner to see Allison and her dad. It was certainly a relief to see more reinforcements.

At this point, we were caught up about the whereabouts of everyone. And although still confused as to why we were fighting the alpha pack for Ms. Blake, we were determined to get the hell outta here with everyone in one piece.

Derek and Jennifer were trapped in the elevator when Melissa cut the power. Stiles, Boyd, and Cora remained safely in a locked ambulance. Peter was outside with said ambulance. Of course there were no secure coordinates on the alpha pack, but we assumed they were still leering throughout the hospital just as we were.

"So, they're essentially trapped in the elevator?" Mr. Argent confirmed.

"Right," Scott said, "And as soon as we get the power on, they'll be on top of Derek and Ms. Blake and then there's really nothing we can do for Cora or Stiles's dad."

"You've got two extra people, now," Mr. Argent argued. "We can best them in a fight."

"It's too risky. Even if we got them out, it's still a battle getting them out of the hospital and somewhere else safely," Scott countered.

"Which teacher is this?" Mr. Argent asked.

"Brown hair, kinda tall, kinda hot, actually," Isaac spoke up. We all sent him a curious look at that. "Jus—just an observation."

There was a too long pause before Allison spoke up. "I have an idea."

The plan was to basically fool and distract the alpha into thinking that Ms. Blake was free from the elevator so we could cut the power back on and free them from the elevator and gtfo. Allison and her dad had the pleasure of distracting the alpha pack by herding them outside of the hospital. This would hopefully work long enough for Scott's mom and I to switch the power back on so Scott could get Derek and Ms. Blake out of the elevator and to a safer area. Isaac had the duty of helping move Cora to a car so she could get to a working hospital that wasn't overrun by werewolves.

I liked the way the plan sounded, and it didn't require much from me. Pulling a bunch of levers sounded easy enough. The only mystery was: was Deucalion still hanging out on the roof? Ms. McCall wasn't wrong about being profoundly terrified. I already knew he was much faster than me with his cane. But Scott did a good job reassuring me that Deucalion would also be distracted. So, that's how I ended up trekking up the same mountain of stairs to the roof with Scott's mom.

"Have you been doing this long?" She asked, breaking the silence between us.

It was certainly a loaded question. I almost wanted to laugh, but a sad feeling washed over me instead. "No." It wasn't very assuring, but it was true. Most of the time, it felt like I was bitten yesterday. And before that, I truly had no idea what I was doing most of the time. Losing a few things along the way certainly didn't help. "I've watched a ton of horror movies if that counts," I offered when Ms. McCall's air of anxiety worsened.

She didn't say anything to that.

I glanced up to see that we only had a few flights of stairs left. We picked up the pace as I heard the gunshots in the near distance. A text from Scott buzzed through just as we reached the final flight. I pulled out my phone to type out a reply as Melissa led the way to the roof. I heard her push the door open as the wind gushed through.

Just made it to the roof. 10 secon—

The weight of the door hitting my face was enough to knock me off my feet and down a few steps. Black spots threatened my vision, but I still managed to catch myself before reaching the bottom of the stairs. I looked up through the window of the roof access door to see Ms. Blake gripping Scott's mom by the throat.

I immediately rushed back up to the door and pushed on it futilely.

My options were scarce. Like dangerously scarce.

I could break the window and try to unlock the door. I could scream for help. I could leave to go get Scott. Doesn't this hospital have a helicopter? That would be way faster.

No, Charlie, that's crazy.

Jennifer could clearly see the panic on my face as I continued to push and push and push on the door.

"Scott! Scott! Scott!" I shouted. Well, it was more of a desperate shriek. Ms. Blake eventually disappeared from my line of vision with Ms. McCall, but not before smirking at me. My next move was to punch the glass. This only cracked the glass. "Scott!" I yelled with more desperation in my voice. I could feel the heat grow behind my eyes. Next, a pit of dread filled the bottom of my stomach when I finally heard Scott's running footsteps frantically running up the stairs. I tried punching the door glass again only for it to mock me with more cracking. Hot tears of frustration were rolling down my face. They blurred my vision so much that could hardly make out a new figure behind the glass. "Deucalion?"

In lieu of saying anything, he opened the door and stepped aside. The feeling of shock didn't have time to settle when I remembered the task at hand. I ran out to the roof and desperately looked around for any sign of Ms. Blake and Ms. McCall. "No way, no fucking way," I mumbled to myself as I darted from corner to corner and repeatedly came up empty.

Scott was finally on the roof. "Charlie?"

I didn't answer him as I retraced my footsteps as if Scott's mom were hiding around the corner. "There's no way this is happening," I mumbled again to myself.

"They're gone," Deucalion announced. I stopped in my tracks to snap my head at him. I wanted to look at Scott, but I knew couldn't stomach the look on his face. "Guardians."

"Guardians," Scott repeated after a beat of realization.

"Parent or guardian," I murmured to myself.

There was another moment of silence. I still couldn't look at Scott. "If you were with me, Scott, I could've told you what it meant. I could've warned you," Deucalion led on. The shouts from Stiles as he approached the roof could be heard in the near, near distance.

"So, why didn't you?" I asked, my voice shakier than intended. "You wait for her to take Scott's mom so you can dangle—"

"You were all against me. Focused on the wrong enemy—"

"Are. We're all still against you," I interrupted. "This was a ploy to get Scott in your pack."

"I want to help Scott so we can help each other."

"Hurt," Stiles's voice suddenly corrected. "You suddenly wanna help us after killing Boyd and letting Ms. Blake run off with Scott's mom? I don't buy it." He was out of breath and a little disheveled, but still managed to effectively stand up to a too powerful bully.

Scott still hadn't said anything, though. I had the courage to look over at him. He looked as lost as the rest of us felt. His mom was gone. Which meant he was more vulnerable than ever. Deucalion knew this.

"Let me help you, Scott. Let's help each other. You help me catch her, and I'll help you get your mother and Stiles's father back," Deucalion offered.

"Scott don't do this. Don't go with him."

"Absolutely not."

Stiles and I protested at the same time. Scott looked in between the two of us with the same lost expression on his face. He looked back to Deucalion and then again back to Stiles.

"I don't know what else to do," he admitted in a desperate tone. Stiles and I couldn't argue with that. Our backs were against the wall.

When neither one of us argued against Scott, he took a step toward Deucalion.

I threw my hands up as if that could stop Scot from moving further. "Scott, this isn't—we—please don't do this. Please."

"We always have a plan B, there's gotta be something else," Stiles bargained.

Scott shook his head as a frown rested between his eyebrows. "I promise that we'll find your dad, Stiles."

"Scott, please."

Our pleas were ignored as Scott stopped in front if Deucalion and turned around, so his back was facing him. Deucalion smirked and placed his hand on Scott's shoulder. Scott looked down as he guided Deucalion from the roof and back to the stairs. They both headed downstairs without another look back.