The pack spent nearly the whole night at Lydia's lake house, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with that Deadpool. Lydia, Malia, and Kira were still there in the morning while the rest of the group dispersed - with Liam going home, Scott and Stiles consulting Sheriff Stilinski, and Marlow waiting in the Jeep for them, lost in her thoughts.
Like, who would put out a hit list for supernaturals and why? And was she ready to take on the fight against the assassins out for their blood?
She texted Mason, asking him if he got home alright. He didn't reply. He seemed to have gotten some shut-eye after the whole party debacle. Lucky him.
Marlow honked the horn, hoping it would make the boys wrap up their conversation.
They didn't come out for another ten minutes. It made sense. Not only would they have to try and explain the entire thing to her dad and make him believe it but they'd also have to explain why the decapitated body of the guy who delivered the keg to Lydia's party was laying in front of her lake house.
"Oh, what did we get ourselves into now?" she mumbled to herself.
The boys finally exited the station and they all left.
Marlow walked into school the next day. Another werewolf had been murdered the previous night and Scott and Stiles deducted it had to have been someone from the party who murdered Demarco. So she was asked to keep an eye out for any defensive wounds on some students as well. It was crazy to Marlow though. Mouthless assassins she could handle, but someone from her own class? That seemed nearly impossible. No one really stood out to her anyway. They all looked like they always did.
She walked to her locker, nearly slamming into an angry oncoming Liam.
"Liam? What's wrong?" she asked. He ignored her. She rushed off after him. She had to keep an eye on him. "Can you slow down please?" she asked as Liam maneuvered past students. He walked into the boy's locker room and Marlow followed him in, unfazed by the possibility of boys already being in there. She closed the door as Liam chucked his bag into his locker. "Tell me," she said.
"It's-" he said, catching his breath. "It's hard to explain."
"Try me," Marlow told him.
"What the hell? Where's my stick?" Liam suddenly asked.
"What?" Marlow asked. Suddenly she heard a clacking noise. Liam walked away from her towards the showers. Marlow slowly followed him. This could be an assassin out for their blood.
But instead, it was Derek, holding up one of the long sticks. "Is this yours?" he asked. Then abruptly broke it in half.
Marlow gulped. Liam roared in front of her and ran up to Derek. "No - wait!" Marlow yelled.
Derek grabbed Liam by the neck and slammed him up against the wall. The young Beta struggled, his eyes glowing yellow and fangs fletched. "Oh, God. I know Scott is in on this. I hate you guys so much!" Marlow said.
"Calm down," Derek told her.
Marlow shook her head. Liam struggled in Derek's grip. "Liam." she heard Scott say behind her. Liam calmed down.
"You're right. He is angry." Derek told Scott. He put Liam down.
Marlow crossed her arms in front of her chest. This was child's play. Scott showed Liam another long stick. "This one's yours," he said. He threw Liam the stick and the bell for class rang. Marlow tightened her grip on her backpack strap. "Get to class, Liam."
Liam walked past him, gathered his stuff, and walked out. "Class act, guys," she said sarcastically before rushing out after Liam. "Hey! Wait up," she yelled, catching up with Liam.
"Liam, don't let them annoy you like that, alright? They're just testing you." Marlow assured him.
"Why?" Liam asked.
"Because you're the new guy. And your constant hulk-outs don't exactly give you the best rep. Just don't let them get to your head." Marlow told him.
Liam stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Marlow. She took a step back. Something was off with him that day. Even more than the past week. "That's easy for you to say," he grumbled.
"Hey," she said, putting her hand on his arm. "I wouldn't invest all my time in you if I didn't believe that you can do this. So don't give in to their crap," she told him. The second bell rang so she walked past Liam to her next class. "Don't let them get to you," she repeated as she turned around. She smiled at him and walked away.
Marlow was standing by her locker, switching books for her next class. She was nearly run over by Mason when she closed the door. "What the hell?!"
"I'm sorry. It's Liam! The scrimmage tonight." he choked out between heavy breaths.
"Mason, calm down," Marlow told him, trying to hold her best friend up. "What about Liam and the scrimmage?" she asked him.
"Do you know who they're playing against?!" Mason asked.
Marlow shrugged. She'd never cared for the other teams. She barely cared for the Cyclones. "No. Why?"
"It's Devenford Prep. Liam's old school."
Marlow's eyes widened. That must have been why he was acting so weird. "Seriously?"
Mason nodded. "Yeah, and he is not happy about it! I tried following him but lost him in the process," he explained.
Marlow was positively freaking out. Something must have happened for Liam to be so conflicted about his old school being the lacrosse team's opponent. "They're coming here, right? Like Devenford Prep is gonna come into school just about now?"
Mason's eyes widened. "Of course!"
The two ran to the school's entrance where the bus stop was located. The bus carrying the Devenford Prep students had already arrived and the boys were descending from it. Liam was already running out to them.
"Liam, wait. What, no, no, no, no. Liam." Mason yelled, trying to get ahold of his best friend before he ran off to fight his old classmate.
"Liam, don't!" Marlow yelled as he walked off.
"Brett!" he yelled, catching the attention of one tall Devenford player.
"Ah, here we go." Mason sighed.
"Oh, damn," Marlow said under her breath. She knew it had been too quiet for the last few hours. The two boys stared each other down angrily. Marlow wondered who would throw the first punch.
"I just wanted to say..." Liam brought out. "Have a good game." he suddenly said, extending his hand for Brett to shake it.
Marlow's eyebrows furrowed together. "What?" she asked. This wasn't the same Liam who had been getting angry every chance he got for the past few days.
His former teammates broke out into laughter. Marlow cringed at the scene. "That's cute, Liam," Brett spoke up. "Is that what they told you to say in Anger Management?" he asked. Having met Liam, that line didn't puzzle her as much as it should have. "Apologize and everything's fine? You demolished Coach's car."
That Marlow hadn't heard about. She gripped her backpack straps tighter, ready to jump in. She couldn't have Liam turning all werewolf in front of his old team and the entire school.
"I paid for it," Liam said, still oddly calm.
"Yeah, you're going to pay for it," Brett told him. Marlow could see Liam angrily digging his fingers into his palms. "We're gonna break you in half out there. And it's gonna be all your fault." Brett went on. Blood started running through Liam's fingers and Marlow knew it was time to intervene.
She handed Mason her bag and ran up to the two, ignoring Mason's pleas not to. "Hey! How about you two stop your dick measuring contest for a second?" she asked, stepping in front of Liam.
She looked up at Brett, noticing just how much she wasn't scared of him. "Save your energy for the field, Brett," she said. He huffed out a little laugh and shook his head. "Do I look like I'm joking to you? Back off!" Marlow said, her voice even firmer than before.
"You got yourself a bodyguard now, Liam?" Brett asked, turning past Marlow. Marlow could hear Liam softly growl behind her. "A tiny, little girl bodyguard?" he asked, this time looking her in the eyes.
Marlow wasn't stupid, she knew he was trying to get her riled up and it wouldn't work. She stayed quiet, grabbed Liam's hand, and flipped him off. "See you later, preppy," she told him before leading the by now fuming Liam away. She handed him over to Scott and he hurriedly led him back into school. Stiles walked up to her as Marlow walked over to Mason. "Bag," she said and Mason handed her backpack over. She strapped put it back on and turned to Stiles.
"That was awesome," he said. Marlow smiled at him.
"I know," she said. Though truth be told, she had been a little scared. Not scared of Brett but scared of Liam shoving her out of the way and tearing Brett's throat out. Stiles ran after Scott and Liam and Marlow turned back to Mason.
"What was that?" he asked her.
Marlow shrugged. "Something happened with them. Must have been bad. But don't worry, Scott and Stiles got it." she assured him.
"Since when does Liam hang out with juniors? You, I get, but Liam?" he asked. Marlow shrugged nonchalantly. It was getting harder and harder to hide the truth from him, especially now that Liam was also at Beacon Hills High School, but she still didn't have the heart, to be honest with him.
Marlow made a point to assure Mason that everything would be just fine with Liam. She then walked off to find the boys in the locker room showers, shoving a roaring Liam back under the running water. Liam signaled for them to let him down. He slid down the tiled wall and sat down, his breathing slowing down.
"That car you smashed. I thought you said that was your teacher's." Scott told him. Marlow hadn't been informed about the incident that forced Liam to switch schools in the middle of the semester but Scott and Stiles did. Of course.
"He was also my Coach. He benched me for the entire season." Liam answered. Marlow stalked closer to the trio.
"What did you do?" Scott asked.
"I got a couple of red cards," Liam told him.
"Just a couple?" Stiles asked. Marlow had wanted him to stop interacting with Liam for days now. He was just not as good at it as Scott.
Scott crouched down to Liam's eye level. "You gotta be honest with us. What else happened?"
"Nothing." Liam insisted.
"Liam," Marlow said. He looked up at her. She gave him an encouraging look.
"I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychologist for evaluation."
"What did they call it?" Scott asked.
"Intermittent Explosive Disorder," Liam answered. Marlow sighed. Of course. That's why Liam had anger issues dialed up to eleven.
"I.E.D? You're an I.E.D? That's great. Great. You gave powers to a walking time bomb." Stiles chimed in.
"Stiles, shut up!" Marlow demanded. He gave her a questioning look. She dragged a thumb across her neck, telling him to cut it out.
"Did they give you anything for it?" Scott asked.
"Risperdal. It's an antipsychotic." Liam told him.
"Oh, this just gets better," Stiles said. Marlow clutched her fists.
"But I don't take it." Liam interrupted.
"Obviously," Stiles said, particularly snippy.
Marlow grabbed a hairbrush from her bag nearly chucked it at her brother. She should have done it but held back and stuffed it back into the bag.
"I can't play lacrosse on it. It makes me too tired." Liam explained.
"Okay. I think you should bail out of the game. Tell Coach your leg is still hurting." Scott told him. Marlow nodded. At least one of them was coming up with something logical and not just sassy remarks.
"No, no!" Liam said, getting off the floor. "I can do this. Especially if you're there," he told Scott. Stiles was rubbing his forehead, seemingly holding back another remark.
"But, Liam, it's not just about the game. We think whoever killed Demarco might be on our team." Scott informed his Beta.
"Who's Demarco?" he asked.
"The one who brought the beer to the party. The guy who was beheaded. Remember?" Stiles explained.
"We think the person who ordered the keg killed Demarco," Scott added.
Marlow could practically hear the wheels turning in Liam's head. She walked up to him. "What is it?"
"I don't know who ordered the keg. But I know who paid for it."
Marlow's brows furrowed. "Who?"
"Garrett," he told her.
"Garrett? You're saying a high school freshman managed to behead a grown-ass werewolf and got away with it too?" Marlow asked.
Liam shrugged. "I don't know if he killed him but I know he paid for the keg," Liam told them. Scott sighed.
Marlow handed Liam a nearby towel. "I'll meet you at your locker later," she told him. Liam nodded and walked out of the locker room. "Garrett?!" Marlow asked as soon as he walked out. "We don't believe Garrett killed Demarco, right?"
Scott shrugged. "He's on the lacrosse team." he reminded Marlow.
"And seemingly the only lead we have right now." Stiles chimed in.
Marlow sighed. "Good lord," she said. "We're not gonna let Liam play the scrimmage tonight, right?" she asked.
"We have to," Scott told her. Marlow narrowed her eyes at him. "It will be better for us if we're all together. That way we can look out for each other." Scott told her. Marlow shifted her weight from one leg to another. "We're all on the Deadpool. And if Garrett, a high school freshman, can decapitate an experienced werewolf, who's to say he can't come after all of us?" he asked.
Marlow sighed but nodded. "So Liam's playing."
Scott nodded. "And you will be sitting in the stands, as per usual, acting like nothing's wrong," he said. Marlow nodded. The Alpha had spoken and so the plan was set.
Marlow's heart pounded as she walked towards the lacrosse field. If they all played their cards right, they might catch Garrett in the act and the police could apprehend him. She saw Liam and Mason standing close to the stands. She walked up to them.
"Hey boys." she greeted with a smile as she put her arm over Mason's shoulder. She saw Liam practically giving Brett a seething stare. "Jesus, I thought this school had locker rooms," she said as she watched Brett change his shirt. He too was staring Liam down. Marlow lightly hit Liam in the arm. "Hey, stop it!"
He turned back to them, still angry. "I don't care if he's a foot taller than me. I think I can take him," he told them. Marlow rolled her eyes.
"Yeah," Mason said then looked over at Brett.
Marlow followed his gaze. She lightly hit him. "Do not go there," she whispered.
Liam had followed Mason's gaze as well and promptly looked back at him. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked in an accusatory tone.
"What? Me?" Mason asked as he quickly looked back at Liam. "Agreeing with you," he assured Liam. "I'm being agreeable."
All three looked back at him. "You think he's hot, don't you?" Liam asked.
"No! No. Not at all. No way!" Mason said. His vehement attempt at defending himself wasn't helped by him still staring at Brett. "Maybe. Yeah, maybe a little," he said.
Marlow laughed under her breath. "He wants to destroy me." Liam reminded Mason.
"I think you could definitely take him," Mason assured Liam. Marlow nodded reassuringly. "And then give him to me," Mason added. Marlow smirked at him and all three broke out into laughter. "No, no just go out there and kick their smug prep school asses," Mason told him.
Marlow nodded. "And don't let him get to you. Remember your mission," she told him with a wink. He nodded at her.
"Uch, straight love." Mason playfully joked.
"Shut up!" Marlow told him. "Go look for a spot for us, you hooligan," she said. Mason reassuringly hit Liam's shoulder and walked away from the two. Marlow turned back to Liam. "I'm serious. Don't let him get you all riled up," she said again.
He nodded. "I get it. I know the mission," he said.
"Good. And if you do get angry, just find me in the crowd. I'll be there." she assured him. He smiled at her. She slightly smiled back. "Kick his ass," she told him with another wink and walked away to find Mason.
The scrimmage was a disaster. The Cyclones were horrible at what they did, as per usual. But Marlow couldn't even focus on any of that. She was too busy watching Garrett, wringing her hands nervously every time she saw him glance at Stiles, Scott, Kira, or Liam. She swore to herself that she would run out on the field if he tried to hurt them. But she knew he wouldn't be dumb enough to do anything out in the open.
The referee blew the whistle and the game started. Brett once again played big man with Liam and he was about to jump in. Marlow got off the bleachers. "Liam!" she yelled. His head snapped towards her. She motioned for him to calm down and he went loose in Scott and Stiles' arms. Marlow sat back down. Mason and Violet stared at her. "What?" she asked, annoyed with their childish behavior.
"You do want him," Mason told her, stifling a laugh.
Marlow shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about this anymore, Mason," she told him. He sighed and turned his head back to the field. Shortly after that Kira finally caught the ball and made a play for the goal.
"Run Kira! Run, Kira, run!" Stiles yelled at her.
Coach Finstock was freaking out. "Pass it! Kira, pass the ball!" he yelled. But Kira didn't. She scored the goal on her own. The crowd cheered and Kira threw her arms up in excitement. "Yukimura! Get over here." Coach yelled at her.
"Oh no," Marlow said.
"He does not look happy right now," Mason added. Coach and Kira argued and she was promptly sitting down on the bench.
Marlow sighed, looking back out onto the field. A few more plays later and suddenly Liam was flying over Brett's body. She could hear bones crack but wasn't sure whose they were. Both boys were groaning out in pain. Marlow tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear to eavesdrop.
"Okay, back off! Back off!" Coach yelled as he diverted the players away from Brett so the medics could take care of him.
Scott helped Liam up. "How hard did you hit him?" he asked.
"I didn't. He hit me." Liam answered.
Marlow's brows furrowed. "Then why's he in pain?" she whispered.
"Huh?" Mason asked.
"Nothing." Marlow quickly mumbled.
She listened to the scene again. Brett yelped out in pain and the medic and the ref picked him up. They led him off the field. Marlow heard a blade snap and quickly looked at Garret. "Are you cut? Did Garret cut you?" Scott asked panicked.
"No, no. I'm okay." Liam assured him.
"Then he missed," Scott mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Liam asked.
"It's you, Liam. You're the one he's after." Scott said. Marlow narrowed her eyes. Then why would Garret miss? It seemed unlikely.
Violet got off her seat and excused herself. Before she could walk away Marlow noticed some scratches on her neck. "Hey, Violet! What happened here?" she asked as she pointed at her neck.
Violet was a little taken aback as she touched the scratches. "Oh, just my cat. I'll be right back," she told them.
Marlow nodded and watched her walk away. She narrowed her eyes. "Have you ever heard her talk about a cat?" she asked Mason.
He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. "Never," he said. Those did not look like cat scratches. Marlow's brain began working hard. Garret and Violet had been practically attached at the hip ever since Marlow met them. And she was at the party too. The scratches weren't helping her case and it was hard to imagine Garret pulling off the murders alone. Marlow jumped off her seat. Liam wasn't the target.
"I gotta go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," she told Mason.
"Okay," he said as he watched her run away.
Marlow ran into the school, rushing towards the boy's locker room and ready to take down Violet while Garret was still out on the field. She hadn't pegged Brett for another werewolf because he was so calm. But just because he was calm didn't mean he wasn't one. The young werecoyote came to a sudden halt in front of the locker room. The medic was lying in the doorframe, having been knocked out. Marlow kneeled and looked for a pulse. He was still alive. She stepped over his body and into the room.
Brett was lying in front of the sinks. His eyes were closed and for a second Marlow thought he was dead. She was startled as something hot was placed around her neck. "I knew there was something off with you," Violet told her. Marlow struggled against the wire around her neck. She managed to pull the wire away and roared out. Violet loosened her grip and pushed her against the tiled wall. Marlow lost consciousness.
A few minutes later someone was shaking her awake. "Marlow! Marlow, wake up!" she heard Scott yell. Marlow's eyes fluttered open. Scott breathed out a relieved sigh. "You knew," he said as he helped her up.
Marlow nodded. "Used my detective heritage." she choked out.
"You should have told us," he told her.
"I wanted to get to her while she was alone and vulnerable. I could have taken her too if she wasn't such a sneaky coward." Marlow explained. "Where is she anyway?" she asked. Scott nodded behind him. Violet was lying on the floor. "She tried to get you?" Marlow asked. Scott nodded. Marlow scoffed. "A little over-eager."
"Yeah. I called your dad. He'll be here in a bit." Scott told her.
"What about Brett?" Marlow asked, noticing the other werewolf was gone.
"Stiles took him to the clinic," Scott told her.
"And Garret?" she asked.
"Still out on the field," he answered.
Marlow nodded. "Is everyone okay?"
"We're alive."
Marlow took a deep breath, hoping the faint markings around her neck would go away before her dad came when suddenly she realized that she could have died right in that locker room. "For now."