[3x17; Silverfinger]

"His eyes were glowing."

Mr. Argent stared at Scott, though he didn't seem to be seeing him. The glint in his blue eyes made it look like he was traveling through time, recalling long-buried memories. "There was something almost ritualistic about it," he agreed with Scott as Allison continued to mop the blood pouring from the cut above his eyebrow. "Like it was looking right into his soul."

"That's the same thing it did to me," Isaac murmured, sitting in the chair on Olivia's left.

"That's what it did to everyone," Allison added.

Scott shook his head. "Not everyone, they only came after the werewolves."

Olivia clicked her tongue in disagreement. "They went after Lydia and me, too, remember?"

"Anyone with a connection to the supernatural," Mr. Argent said knowledgably.

"Then who was the guy they went after in Japan?"

Finally, someone asked the question that Olivia wanted to ask but had the patience to wait. She and Mr. Argent weren't the best of friends by any means, but they had a considerably better relationship than the end of sophomore year when he helped get Stiles away from his evil father. That was thanks to his actions that night and how close she, Allison, and Lydia had gotten. She respected the man—so if that meant waiting for answers until Allison could finish patching him up, she was fine with that.

Apparently those weird ghost ninjas had attacked Isaac the night before when he was visiting Allison for a late-night…chat. Olivia didn't know the specific details—though she would definitely pry them out of Allison later—but they did to Isaac what they did to Lydia and Aiden only hours before. Mr. Argent had found familiarity in Isaac's description of his attackers and had asked him and Allison to wait to say anything until he did some digging.

His digging led him to the Japanese mafia and from there…well, he was a bit bloody at the moment, so things did definitely not go as well as he would have hoped.

"A Kumicho," Argent answered, having already filled them in on the beginning of his story; when he first saw those ghostly ninjas years ago. "A Yakuza boss. It was my first gun deal, I was only eighteen and it was supposed to be a simple exchange. Except Gerard left out the minor detail of the buyers being Yakuza," he scoffed and shook his head bitterly. "He wanted to see if I could adapt in the moment, testing my ability to improvise."

"Or your ability to survive," Allison murmured, her distaste for Gerard very apparent.

Mr. Argent didn't disagree with her but instead, chose to continue his story. "The moment the sun went down, they just materialized out of the shadows. They had swords, not curved like katanas but straight, black steel. Like ninjatos."

Olivia raised her eyebrows, mentally making a note to study Japanese weaponry when she had the chance. "What did they want?"

"To get to the Kumicho…" Mr. Argent paused for a long moment, more memories haunting his eyes. "They cut down every living thing in their way."

Isaac reached for his ear, running his fingertip over the marked skin behind it. "Did they mark him like they did us?"

Argent dipped his chin gravely, careful not to mess up Allison as she stitched him up. "Not exactly."

Well, they all knew what that meant.

"What was he?" Scott asked somberly.

"I don't know, but there might be someone who does," Mr. Argent revealed just as Allison finished up bandaging his stitches. "There were a few others who survived that night. One of them was a man named Katashi. They called him Silverfinger because of an unusual prosthetic."

Olivia's lips curved; if Stiles was there, he would have been gushing over a fake finger made out of silver.

"It looked like he was getting ready to take them all on himself," Argent continued. "I've known for a while Katashi was in the country; I spent yesterday tracking him down."

Isaac winced, gesturing to his forehead. "Didn't really look like he wanted to be found."

"Not particularly, no."

Scott glanced at Olivia and she cocked her head in response, both of them thinking the same thing. "Do you think he knows what they are?" Scott asked Argent. "Or what they want?"

"Maybe."

"What if he doesn't want to talk?" Allison brought up a good point; Argent had already been injured by Katashi's men. "What if he doesn't even remember you?"

Mr. Argent stood from his desk chair and approached an ornate wooden box settled on the side of his desk. "He'll remember this," he pulled off the lid, revealing a silver mask broken into four separate pieces. Scott immediately reached for a piece. "I know I didn't kill it, I'm not sure you can. But I slowed it down long enough for us to get out of there."

Scott held the mask piece out to Olivia; taking it, she asked Argent, "What was behind the mask?"

"Darkness," Argent answered grimly as she studied the heavy metal. "Absolute darkness."

Olivia was going to kill Aiden Steiner.

She didn't get any sleep that night, thanks to the ghostly ninjas and the talk at the Argents' apartment, but thankfully, she did have time to stop by her house and change her outfit. It was then that she first crossed paths with Aiden, who had come over to make sure Lydia was all right. He had been weirdly cheerful as he greeted her and then followed her all the way to her bedroom. She had ignored him and thought he would go away while she changed; unfortunately she was wrong.

He waited for her outside her door and then followed her down to the kitchen, watching with her with a creepy smile on his face as she scarfed down a quick bowl of cereal. When he had asked her for a ride to school, she put the pieces together. Aiden was following her for some insane reason and she did not like it one bit.

Olivia did not make it a priority to spend time with Aiden—in fact, she could say that she went out of her way to avoid the first half of the former alpha twins. After spending five minutes with him alone, she realized that she had been right to; how Lydia could stand to be in his presence for more than a minute blew her mind. He would not stop talking, chatting about anything he caught his eyes on the drive to school. And then, when they finally got to school and she exited her car, he proceeded to follow her into the building, all the way to her locker.

"Why are you being so annoying?" she hissed at him as she dialed her locker combination. "I don't want you around me, I don't want you following me."

"I'm protecting you," Aiden insisted, leaning against the locker next to hers. "Listen, I don't want to be here, either, but Ethan decided that I was stuck with you."

"Stuck with me?" Olivia gaped at his audacity. "You're the one following me around like I'm Lydia."

"I wish I was stuck with Lydia."

"I can't stand you."

"Aw, the feeling's mutual."

Olivia clenched her fists, trying to have some control and not punch him in that ugly mug of his. It was hard, she wasn't going to lie, but at least Scott walked up to her, distracting her from her violent tendencies. Of course, Ethan was right behind him. "Ugh, you got one too?"

Scott wasn't pleased with his bodyguard either. "Yep," he sighed and stared at the twins. "You guys going to be doing this all day?"

Ethan nodded. "All day."

"All night," Aiden finished.

"Is this about being in our pack?"

"This is about you two being the target of demonic ninjas," Aiden refuted.

Ethan looked over at his twin, raising his eyebrows mockingly. "You mean the demonic ninjas that pulled swords out of their chests and completely kicked out asses?"

"Yeah," Aiden pointedly glared at Olivia and Scott. "Those demonic ninjas."

Olivia glanced at Scott and narrowed her eyes at him, silently telling him that he needed to take care of this. Scott inhaled deeply and told the twins, "We don't need you to protect us."

"They were looking at the both of you when the sun came up."

"And then they disappeared," Olivia reminded them. "Allison's dad things that they only come out at night. Last I checked, the sun's shining, boys."

Ethan didn't humor her. "Since this is our first experience with demonic ninjas, we're thinking we should play it safe."

"All day," Aiden insisted.

Olivia groaned and shared an annoyed look with her alpha. "And all night."

Scott shook his head. "Fine, whatever," he gave in reluctantly, knowing that while he had some chance against said ninjas, Olivia would need some protection that the former alphas could provide. "First, Liv and I have to talk to Stiles and let him know everything that happened last night…and that needs to happen without you."

"No," Aiden instantly denied while Olivia took out her economics book and shut her locker.

"Yes," Scott emphasized as Olivia rolled her eyes. "And I don't want you listening in, either. No wolf hearing."

"How would you even know?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow at Aiden, and fibbed just a little. Hey, if it would get the twins away from her and Scott, she didn't mind lying. "He's a true alpha," she pointed out. "You guys have no idea what he can do."

Her statement was firm and would have been so badass if Scott had kept his mouth shut. Instead, he sounded like a fourth grader when he boasted, "Yeah!"

Olivia gave him a deadpan look and grabbed his wrist, tugging him away from the twins in order to meet up with Stiles at his locker.

Stiles was already waiting for them, anxiously tapping his fingers against the metal lockers he leaned against. He looked like he hadn't slept in three days and Olivia inferred from the dark circles under his eyes that he probably hadn't. He was bundled up in a too-large hoodie and gray t-shirt that made his paler-than-usual skin contrast sharply.

His appearance honestly worried Olivia. When she had seen him at the rave the night before, he looked much livelier and healthy. He looked so sick now, and worse than that…panicked.

"There you are," he said, almost urgently, when they were close enough to him. "Olivia, do you remember those keys yesterday?"

"Yeah," Olivia said, worried about how serious he was.

Stiles nodded and started walking away; Olivia and Scott hurried after him. "Okay, and do you remember how you were kinda drunk and we were dancing and stuff and then we got something to drink?"

"What's going on, Stiles?" she sped up her walking so she could hold his hand; his skin seemed so clammy that it made her worry more.

"I just need to show you," Stiles brushed her off, letting go of her hand, and turned down the science hallway. He headed straight to lab where the message to kill Kira was written down, the one with the closet full of chemicals. "All right, so, you were talking about phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, remember? So, that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in."

Olivia paused for only a second as Stiles opened the classroom door and held it open for her and Scott to come through.

"It's gone…" he murmured, sounding utterly devastated, when he glanced at the board, noticing that the message about Kira was missing. That devastation was gone in an instant, replaced once more by urgency. "Okay, it doesn't matter, though, it doesn't matter. I still have the key."

Her mind raced as he tore off his backpack and searched for his keyring…Was Stiles saying that he was the one that let Barrow into the closet? It scared Olivia, how out of sorts he seemed, flipping through the keys like his life depended on it.Stiles finally found his keyring and all but ran to the chemical closet, pausing when he couldn't find the key he was looking for.

"What the fuck?" he swore at himself very angrily. "I had it. I had it here," he turned to Olivia and Scott with wide, frantic eyes that broke their hearts. "I had it here this morning. I swear to God, I had it this morning."

His hands were shaking so badly that Olivia couldn't sit still. She stepped toward him and took them between her own, holding them against her collarbone and pressing her lips to his fingers. It did something in the way of calming him down, making him slump into her until his head was resting on her own.

"This is the key you were talking about last night, right?" Scott asked skeptically, causing Stiles to look back over to him.

"Yeah," instantly, that bad energy was back inside again, bouncing around his body. "I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show you?"

"No, you just told me about it," Scott shook his head hesitantly. "I never actually saw it."

"But I did, remember?" Olivia was quick to remind her boyfriend when it looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown right in front of them. "You showed me. I remember it."

"Okay, but it's not here now," Stiles ripped himself away from her and stumbled toward the clean blackboard. "I was here a couple of hours ago and the message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there on the board. It was in my handwriting and I had the key to the chemistry closet."

Okay, so, yeah…Stiles genuinely thought that he was the one to sent Barrow to kill Kira. Olivia bit the inside of her cheek worriedly as she stared at him. This all had to be the lack of sleep, right?

"So, you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops, and then you wrote him a message to kill Kira?" again, Scott sounded skeptical.

It had Stiles whirling around on him in defense. "I know how it sounds, but look at this," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled ball of paper. It was an article about Barrow's initial crime. "This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this? See what he did? He used nuts, bolts, and screws and then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present…"

A trembling hand covered Olivia's mouth when she realized what exactly he was getting at.

"What does that sound like to you?"

Scott inhaled quietly, uneasily. "Coach."

Stiles nodded. "The joke we played on Coach," he confirmed shakily. "That was my idea, you remember? That was my idea. That's no coincidence, it can't be!"

Honestly, Olivia didn't know what to think. Yes, Stiles had compelling evidence, she wasn't going to deny that, but Stiles wouldn't do this. He wouldn't let Barrow into the school and hide from the cops while also leaving him with instructions to kill Kira. This was Stiles Stilinski, the man who cried during The Empire Strikes Back and who was ultra-ticklish under his chin. There was no way he would work with a shrapnel bomber to kill the new girl—one that he didn't even know.

From the hesitant look on Scott's face, it was clear that he agreed with her. "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong," he said carefully, aware of Stiles' fragile state. "but I don't think you're trying to kill people either."

Stiles stared at him for a second before he looked back at the board, almost dejected, crumbled up the article once again, and whispered, "It was here. It was all here."

Olivia's heart positively ached. "Sweetcheeks," she pried the article out of his hand and intertwined their fingers in order to get his attention. "are you feeling okay? You look so tired."

Stiles blinked down at her. "Yeah, I'm fine," his continued whispers did nothing to assure Olivia of anything. "I just haven't been sleeping really."

Scott gave him a pitiful look. "Why don't you go home? Take a sick day or something."

"I'll go with you," Olivia offered. When Stiles nodded, she wrapped an arm around his waist and started leading him out of the classroom. They were halfway to the door when his legs almost gave out; if it hadn't been for Olivia, he'd be on the ground. "All right, nope, we're going to the hospital."

Scott gathered the rest of Stiles' weight, wrapping his other arm around him. "I'll help you take him to your car."

Stiles didn't argue about the hospital, which told them that he was really feeling bad. It broke Olivia's heart to see him like this—she decided then and there to talk to Noah and see if she could sleep over for a couple of days so Stiles would feel safe enough to sleep. She couldn't stand to see him so sick.

Melissa had been understandably concerned when Olivia and Stiles walked into the hospital when they were supposed to be in the middle of study hall. Once Olivia was able to assure her that there were no emergencies, involving them or Scott, they were able to get to business. Things were going well with trying to get Stiles in to see a doctor, until Melissa broke the news to them.

"Dr. Gardner's not back until next week," she said apologetically. Olivia sighed, knowing that Stiles wouldn't want to see any other doctor, especially one he didn't trust. "Do you want to try waiting for one of the urgent care doctors or…"

She trailed off when Stiles unwrapped himself from around Olivia and stumbled a few steps away from her. He looked like he was going to collapse or faint at that very moment. Olivia hurriedly took action, supporting most of his weight within seconds.

"Stiles?" Melissa hurried around the desk to take the rest of his weight. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know," his breathing picked up anxiously and he sounded so confused. "I guess—I guess not really."

Olivia's eyes stung when Melissa looked at her; it killed her that she didn't know what was wrong with Stiles. His tether was resting calmly in her mind, indicating no sort of trouble. What if physical sickness didn't manifest danger in that way, though?

"All right, kiddo, all right," Melissa nodded calmly, putting on a reassuring smile for both Stiles and Olivia. "Come with me, it's okay."

She led down the hallway and to one of the empty ER rooms, letting Stiles get settled in while she officially checked him in to the hospital as a guest. Olivia didn't know what to do as they waited for her to return; she settled herself by wrapping a warm blanket around Stiles and tucking it in tight, making sure he was all covered up. She must have seemed like a worried mother, but Stiles didn't say a word and instead, let her dote over him.

"All right," Melissa returned with a brand-new folder, already pre-filled with Stiles' medical information. "tell me what's going on."

"Um, I'm having blackouts, but not for that long. Sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot as a kid," Stiles listed slowly, tiredly. Melissa dutifully wrote down his symptoms, eyebrows just as furrowed as Olivia. "I'm having some really bad anxiety."

"Panic attacks?"

"Yeah, a couple," Stiles confirmed while brushing his thumb over the back of Olivia's hand. "Oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read but that might have had more to do with this giant magic tree and whole human-sacrifice thing."

Olivia's lips ticked up faintly while Melissa chuckled and nodded. "I recall something vaguely about that, yes," she moved on. "How many hours of sleep are you getting?"

"Eight."

Melissa raised her eyebrows at that. "A night?"

"The last three days," Stiles let go of Olivia's hand so he could count using his fingers; her breath had left her at his answer and now her heart raced as he shakily raised his fingers, probably too tired to count without them. "Yeah, definitely eight."

Olivia looked away from Stiles and watched Melissa as her expression contorted worriedly. She turned away from Stiles' file to walk over to the medicine cabinet, quickly unlocking it and pulling out a vial of medicine and a syringe.

"Been feeling irritable?" Melissa wondered, coming back to the table next to the hospital bed Stiles sat on.

"Yeah, possibly to the point of homicide."

"Inability to focus?"

"No, the Adderall's not working."

"Impulsive behavior?"

"More than my usual?" Stiles glanced back at Olivia, who put on a smile for his benefit. He clearly saw right through it, taking her hand in his once again. "Hard to tell."

"Vivid dreams during the day?"

Stiles turned back to Melissa, suspicious. "Okay, basically all of the above. Do you know what this is?"

"I think so," Melissa snapped on some plastic gloves and ripped the syringe from its packaging, filling it up with the medicine she brought over.

Stiles gulped as she approached him. "Uh, what's that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"When you're not holding a needle," Stiles answered swiftly, reminiscent of his regular self.

Melissa chuckled. "It's Midazolam."

Olivia recognized the name. "A sedative?"

Stiles looked at Melissa for confirmation. "Why are you giving me a sedative?"

"Because," Melissa carefully, yet swiftly, pressed the needle into Stiles' arm, injecting him with the sedative. "you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man. You need rest and you need it now. Lie down."

Melissa gripped his shoulders and as she slowly guided him into a laying position, Olivia hurried arranged the pillows to Stiles' liking. She stood next to his head and stroked his hair, mostly free of its usual styling gel. In response, Stiles tried to scoot closer to her, though didn't get very far due to his quickly draining energy.

"Okay, how long's it take to—" he paused as his eyes started fluttering shut. "Oh, not long at all…"

Melissa smiled in amusement and carefully laid another warm blanket around him, tucking in the edges slightly. "Get some rest."

"Thanks, Mom," Stiles muttered sleepily, not even realizing what he had just done.

Olivia smiled sadly at Melissa when she faltered, staring at Stiles with wide eyes. With a comforting squeeze to Olivia's arm, Melissa slowly retreated from the room to give Stiles some privacy.

"Sleep well, Stiles," Olivia gently kissed her boy's pale cheek, ready to take Melissa's lead and let Stiles sleep. "I love you."

Stiles cold fingers wrapped around her wrist, tethering her to him. "Stay," he murmured. "Stay with me."

Olivia knew that she shouldn't but she couldn't resist Stiles when he was like this. He was vulnerable and how many times had he stayed with her when she was in his position? She couldn't leave him now. She didn't want to.

"I'll stay with you, always."

In the hours since Stiles fell asleep, Olivia's phone had been blowing up with text messages.

First, it was Scott. He told her that he was pretty sure that the demonic ninjas were after Kira too. She had no idea how he got that idea, and had told him so—so, Scott let her in on what happened the night before with Kira. Apparently she had some kind of aura around her that looked like a fox and because the ninjas were after anyone with a supernatural ability—no matter how unknown that ability was—he figured that they were after her, too. He wanted to protect her and Kira, so he told her the plan that he and Kira had to go to his house after school to outwait the night and the ninjas.

Olivia had to admit that it was a good idea. Recently, Dr. Deaton had put ash wood boards around the McCall's house. Melissa would be able to make a mountain ash barrier at the door that would put the house on supernatural lock-down, not letting anything out or in. She quickly agreed to head over to his house before the sun started to set, promising that she'd be careful in the meantime.

And then it was Derek who called for her attention, then. He had been splitting his time trailing her and Scott throughout the whole day and had overheard Scott's plan with Kira. He was just making sure that Olivia was going to be safe, and suggesting that she get a ride home with Melissa from the hospital. Lastly, Aiden had somehow gotten her number, scolding her for going to the hospital without him or Ethan—she promptly sent him the middle-finger emoji and blocked his number.

She didn't want to leave Stiles but she knew that it was for the best. If those ninjas went through everyone to get to her, that meant Stiles was in danger by association. Without her around, he wasn't going to be targeted. He'd be safe. So, with a gentle kiss to the forehead and whispered promise that she'd be back when it was safe, she left with Melissa.

Olivia didn't know if Melissa was tense because of the danger that Scott faced or if something else was bothering her. Either way, the older woman looked incredibly stressed, her hands gripped tight around the steering wheel, and though she and Olivia were friendly, they weren't close enough that Olivia could just outright ask her what was up—no matter how much she wanted to.

Unfortunately, Olivia never had the time to gather her courage to ask Melissa what was wrong. As soon as they were pulling up to the McCall house, Melissa was swearing under her breath. To Olivia's slight amusement, she was cursing her ex-husband, who's car was parked out front.

"Jesus Christ, what's going on now?"

Never one to miss out on drama or hot gossip, Olivia hurriedly followed Melissa into the house. It was there that they discovered Agent McCall arguing with Scott while Kira stood to the side, looking like a wounded puppy. Olivia instantly went to stand by her, giving her a questioning look, but Kira just shrugged, wide-eyed.

"No, you're a gene donor, I got my hair color from you," Scott told his father calmly. Olivia was impressed; if she was in this situation, she would have been spitting fire. Then again, her father tended to get a lot more violent than Agent McCall would. "And that's all I got. So, you're not allowed to play tough dad with me."

"Hey," Melissa greeted them cautiously, shutting the screen door behind her. "What's going on?"

Agent McCall turned to Scott and Kira with a stern look. "Maybe one of you should explain."

In all honesty, Olivia wanted to know what was going on as well, but now really wasn't the time. The sun was going down, and with it, their safety was in trouble. "Scott…" Darkness fell over the house and Olivia shivered, red and purple tethers lighting up her mental map. A slight shuttering sound, like some kind of bug, came from behind them—she didn't have to turn around to know that it was one of those ninjas. "Scott!"

It was then that Agent McCall spotted the shadow ninja. "Who the hell is this?"

He was pulling out his gun and stomping toward the ninja without waiting for a response. Scott yelled at his dad to stop and keep away from it, but the bastard was too stubborn to listen. In a swift move that went by far too quickly, the ninja pulled out his sword and impaled it into Agent McCall's shoulder.

"Dad!"

Olivia winced while Kira screamed and Melissa darted into action. She hurried over to where Agent McCall's body fell onto the floor and was dragging him out of the living room in an instant, bringing him to the hallway where she could keep pressure on the wound without being disturbed. The back door opened at the same exact time and Derek rolled in, his wolf features already on display as he growled at the imposing shadow figure.

"Liv, the ash! Do it now!" Scott shouted at her while he and Derek leapt toward the ninja.

Olivia ignored the ferocious growling and ran from the room, grabbing the jar of mountain ash that had been sitting on the table, waiting to be used. She got to the screen door quickly, pouring the ash out into a neat, straight line, before running back to the back door, creating a whole other barrier. Unfortunately, that was when the twins decided to jump through the windows in order to join the fight—that meant that she had to make a barrier around the broken glass and debris.

"Liv!"

"I'm trying!" Olivia shouted, pouring the rest of the ash out just as Scott, Derek, and the twins pushed the ninjas out of the house.

She ran back to the dining room, eyes on the screen door, just as one of the ninja's pressed its hand against it. The barrier held firm, repelling its touch with light blue energy that crackled against it. She inhaled deeply and made her way over to Derek and Scott, where they were staring at the back door, another ninja waiting just outside.

"All the baseboards are ash wood?" Derek asked Scott.

"Yeah, it was Deaton's idea," Scott confirmed before raising his eyebrows. "Where the fuck did you come from?"

"I've been following you," Derek answered like it was the easiest question in the world.

"For how long?"

"Since Ollie took Stiles to the hospital," again, Derek's answer was simple. When Scott looked over at Olivia for help, she just shrugged and went to her cousin, wanting a hug. Physical affection was not something that she and Derek dealt with often, but right now, she needed to feel safe and warm. She needed someone to hold her strong and be there for her while she was being strong for Stiles.

Derek wordlessly wrapped her into a hug. She didn't have to say anything, her chemo signals were more than enough to tell him what was going on. Still holding her, he led her back to the dining room where Ethan and Aiden were standing with Kira while Scott went to check on his mom and dad.

Kira stood at the screen door where Olivia had previously been standing, studying the way that the ninja was kept out of the house with the mountain ash barrier. Aiden stood next to her, staring down at her with a mischievous smirk.

"It's Kira, right?" Kira nodded silently. "You going to tell us what you are?"

"What?" Kira asked quickly, confused. "What do you mean?"

Aiden reached for her arm, smirking at his twin over her shoulder, and raised it. "Aiden…"

"Just watch," Aiden warned Ethan, his eyes flashing to Olivia, who went to take a step forward to rescue Kira. He abruptly pushed her hand against the barrier, watching as it pushed her flesh away, keeping her inside just like all other supernatural creatures—other than Olivia and Lydia. "See that? She can't go through it either."

Ethan hustled to his twin's side, glaring down at Kira. "So, what are you?"

Olivia sighed; she didn't know exactly Kira was—Scott hadn't made her privy to that detail—but she wasn't going to let the twins antagonize her like that. Sure, she didn't really know Kira that well and yes, she was some unknown creature, but Scott liked her and she got a good vibe off of her, too. Besides, compared to Ethan and Aiden, what harm could Kira possibly do?

Before she could speak up in her new friend's defense, Derek intervened. "She's a kitsune, idiot. Use your eyes, you can see it all around her. The younger ones give off an aura. She just hasn't learned how to conceal it yet, she probably doesn't know what kind she is, either."

"A kitsune," Olivia hummed, at least what Scott said about a fox aura made sense. She had read about kitsunes in the Hale bestiary—which, in her humble opinion was far more vast than the Argent's—and they interested her greatly.

There were thirteen different types of kitsunes but only a couple Olivia knew from the top of her head—celestial, wild, ocean, thunder, and air were the few she had studied more in depth. She found it interesting that there were so many types of the same supernatural creature, so many powers they held. Most were considered dangerous and powerful and while she could sense that Kira had the same kind of energy under her skin, she knew that she had hardly used it.

Like Derek had mentioned, Kira probably didn't even know what kind of kitsune she actually was. She doubted that Kira didn't even know she was a kitsune until very recently.

Kira glanced between Derek and Olivia with wide eyes before hurrying out of the room. Olivia briefly heard her call Scott away from his mom and dad before focusing back on her cousin and the two former alphas.

"Try to keep your hands to yourself," Olivia narrowed her eyes at Aiden. Even though she had only known Kira for a couple of weeks now, she trusted her far more than the twins—especially Aiden.

"I wasn't going to hurt her," Aiden retorted; Ethan, Olivia, and Derek all gave him skeptical looks.

"Not yet, you weren't," Derek replied snidely, firmly on Olivia's and Scott's side of the Kira argument. He trusted them, so he trusted her—end of story.

Aiden's lip curled. "Why do you think we're here, guys? For a study group?" he tried to convince Olivia and Derek of his Ethan's good intentions. "We're here to protect you and Scott, Olivia."

Ethan quickly added, "We're trying to fight for you."

Olivia twisted her lips and lowered her eyes. She recognized that the twins were fighting for them…but that was one good deed. It didn't compare to any of the bad things they had done, killing Boyd on top of the list. Boyd was her packmate, her friend, and she wasn't going to disrespect him by letting Ethan and Aiden into her life. She tolerated their presence for Scott's and Lydia's sake—that was it. That was all they were going to get from her.

"I'm sure you are," Derek spoke, stepping in front of his cousin in a protective stance. "I'm sure you'd kill for them. But are you willing to die for them?"

Olivia didn't want anyone to die for anyone, even the twins. Sure, she didn't like them at all, but she wasn't an evil person, she didn't want them to die. And certainly not while protecting her or Scott, because then she'd feel guilty about it and she didn't want to feel anything but hatred for the former alphas.

And Derek? Well, she especially didn't want him to die. It scared her that he was willing to do that to protect her or Scott, or even any other pack member. She couldn't imagine a life without Derek and she never wanted to—the thought of it caused her chest to physical ache. For the past seven years of her life, Derek had been more than a cousin to her; he'd been an older brother, her protector, a father figure when her own was off turning people into werewolves and murdering arsonists. She was one of the two most important men in her life, and with the other hardly sleeping and seemingly having a mental breakdown, she needed Derek to stay safe and at her side at all times.

She wished she hadn't become so paranoid. But, if she learned anything throughout this crazy year of her life, it was that people were never guaranteed a long and happy life. Erica and Boyd were proof of that.

Olivia turned away from the twins when they went silent and exchanged uncertain glances. Sensing her discomfort once again, Derek wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lead her into the living room.

"You're gonna be okay, Ollie," he spoke to her quietly yet reassuringly. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know you won't, but things aren't okay, Der," Olivia swallowed harshly, squinting her eyes hard enough that her head started to ache. She didn't want to cry—she wouldn't let herself cry. "Stiles—Stiles is in the hospital because he's so worn out, probably because he sacrificed himself to that stupid tree. We have demonic ninjas out to get us, you and Lydia already got hurt…We're not okay, nothing's going to be okay—"

"Hey," Derek shifted so he was grabbing her shoulders with both hands, forcing her to look up at him. His face was serious yet heartfelt and she was so lucky to have a brother that made her feel so safe. "Everything's shit right now, I get it. I know. But you're a Hale. You're strong. You're gonna get through this—we all are getting through this."

Olivia wanted to believe that, she really did. "Okay."

Maybe agreeing with him would manifest it into the universe.

Derek nodded and pulled her into a tight hug, pressing her face into his warm Henley. His familiar scent was comforting and eased her worries, though Stiles was still there, at the back of her mind, his tether doing nothing to suggest the actual danger he was in.

All of a sudden, the house shook. It wasn't an earthquake shaking the house, but it was, as they discovered when they went back to Ethan and Aiden in the dining room, one of the ninjas. It was banging on the barrier, trying to break through like Scott had once done against Jennifer.

Scott was a true alpha, one of the rarest creatures in the world, and he was strong, but for some reason, Olivia had a feeling these guys were stronger.

"What are they doing?" Scott asked as he and Kira rushed into the room behind her and Derek.

"Testing for weaknesses," Ethan answered, his eyes firmly held on the ninja.

As if the ninja though Ethan was daring it to do more, he once again banged on the barrier with his sword. This time, however, his buddies joined him. The house shook violently, dishes falling from the shelves and crashing onto the floor in the kitchen.

Knowing that a fight was about to break out, Olivia left Derek's side and went to Kira, taking a hold of the girl's hand. Kira didn't hesitate to squeeze her hand tightly, more than nervous about what was going on. Olivia waited for the moment the barrier fell and Derek, Scott, and the twins started the inevitable battle.

The ninja in front of Ethan held its sword against the ash barrier, slowly carving out a hole in the invisible forcefield. "Guys," he called, as if none of them were watching the ninja stick his hand through the hole. "we have a problem."

Scott glanced at Olivia. "Call Allison."

Olivia didn't hesitate, reaching for her bag on the table and ripping her phone out from inside. She tapped on Allison's contact and as soon as the ringing stopped, Allison answering her call, she didn't bother to greet her. "Allison, please tell me that you have something. They're here and they're trying to get in. They're strong, I think they'll be able to break through the barrier."

"Okay, okay listen," Allison's voice was strong and calm, putting Olivia a little at ease. "They're Japanese demons. They're called the Oni. They're looking for someone possessed, someone with a dark spirit attached to them. It's called a Nogitsune."

Scott, able to hear the call from his place next to Derek, looked over at Olivia sharply. "How'd she know that?"

"Know what?" she asked, confused.

"Liv, you there?"

"Sorry, Al. Yeah, what else do you know?"

"Okay, they won't hurt you. They know you're supernatural but once they do this check, once they realize that you're not carrying with you this dark spirit, then they won't hurt you," Allison spoke quickly. "I promise. All they're looking for is the Nogitsune."

Kira turned to her, eyes wide and fearful. "They're looking for me, aren't they?"

"I gotta call you back, Al," she hung up the phone and addressed Kira and Scott, thoroughly confused. "What are you guys talking about?"

"A Nogitsune," Kira explained quickly. "It's a dark kitsune. I'm a kitsune!"

Scott quickly walked over to them before Olivia even had a chance to react. "They're looking for a dark spirit," he corrected Kira earnestly. "And I know it's not you."

The house shook again and when Olivia glanced over at the screen door, she saw that the barrier was all but broken through. "Scott," they could talk about this later. "we have to decide what we're gonna do."

Scott nodded seriously and then turned to Ethan, Aiden, and Derek. "Don't do anything."

Aiden glanced at Derek. "Is he serious?"

"I said don't do anything," Scott repeated firmly and then addressed Kira and Olivia. "We're gonna be okay. Trust me."

Olivia nodded; she trusted Scott and she certainly trusted Allison. They wouldn't steer her wrong; Derek, Isaac, and Lydia had survived these Oni. So, why wouldn't she? She wasn't possessed, she wasn't a dark spirit. She was gonna be okay.

Olivia glanced at Derek and he nodded ever-so slightly, silently telling her that he agreed with her and Scott's decision. The barrier broke, the Oni stepping into the house one-by-one, and he stood still, his eyes following them as they walked over to her, Scott, and Kira.

As one of the Oni approached her, eyes blazing like a firefly, she felt frozen. She couldn't close her eyes, she couldn't breathe…all she could do was stare into its glowing eyes. As it reached its gloved fingers toward her ear, a burning sensation scarring the delicate skin behind it, her vision slowly faded to black.