Last thing I remember, I was

Running for the door

I had to find the passage back

To the place I was before

'Relax, ' said the night man,

'We are programmed to receive.

Cole thought their trip out of Beacon would be a relaxing break. How naive.

***Flashback***

The warm late summer breeze floated in through the window, rustling the papers on her desk she desperately tried to focus on. With a huff, she brushed them aside. Just for a moment. Talia leaned back in her chair.

She certainly loved the benefits of human society, but when she was forced to do paperwork, she certainly understood the packs that chose to live off the land. Perhaps she could sacrifice electricity. Nothing was more boring than filing taxes.

She toyed with the thought momentarily, a quiet place when nobody could find them. Land to run for miles.

Sweet thoughts, but with three kids, she couldn't survive without plumbing.

Her attention was drawn away by a knock on her door. She looked away from the window, to her door, as it slowly cracked open. A blond head peaked out from the hall, smiling brightly at her.

"Yes, Laura?" She greeted.

"Someone is at the door."

Talia sighed, looking down at the mess in front of her.

"Could you bother your uncle to answer it, please?"

"Mhmm!"

Wasting no time, Laura took off down the hall, away from the study and to the stairs. She stormed down them as fast as she could, coming to a sliding stop as she rounded the corner into the sitting room.

Peter sat in the far corner of the room on the largest couch. He was stretched out across it, his legs resting atop the arm on an angle in order to fit. His hands folded together and rested on his chest. His face was out of sight, obscured by a small paperback novel.

As Laura's small feet slowed to a tip toe on the cool wood laminate, she crept closer to the couch.

"Uncle Peter?"

Her voice came out barely a whisper, as she rocked back and forth with her hands now resting on the arm above his head.

"Yes, Laura?"

He responded in his normal tone, causing the blonde child to jump and let out a giggle. She dropped the hushed tone.

"Mom told me to tell you to answer the door. They don't seem to want to give up."

As if to punctuate her sentence, the sound of knocking echoed through the first floor once more. Peter let out a long over dramatic sigh, drawing a giggle from Laura.

He rose lazily from his place, moving his book to the side as he sat up. He pushed off the couch, rising to his feet with a huff.

As he puttered down the hall to the sound of now endless knocking, he could hear the small slaps of his niece's feet trailing behind him impatiently. As they got to the door he turned to shoo her off.

Peter turned back to the door. He flipped the lock on the knob more aggressively than necessary, but the knocking was getting on his nerves. Thankfully, as he turned the deadbolt, the person on the other side seemed to clue in. He stretched his arm upwards towards the final lock, turning then pulling the metal bar down from the hole in the ceiling. He finally wrapped his hand around the knob, squeezing to open the latch, and pulled the door open. Peter stepped back in shock.

The guy standing before couldn't have been far from his age. He had something crudely wrapped with his jacket in his arms. He looked extremely on edge, but that was no surprise.

Peter could feel himself tense, claws urging to lash out.

If the spiked blond hair and bitter expression wasn't enough of a giveaway, the family crest on his arm did it.

"I'm going to assume you have a VERY good reason for being here. Or maybe just a death wish."

Peter broke the tense silence with the comment, gaining a sneer from the other man. Peter returned the expression, taking it a step further with a low growl. To his surprise, the bundle in the other man's arms seemed to shift at the sound. His expression dropped, as he watched it curiously.

He took a moment to listen. Through his own heartbeat and steady breath, and the rapid unsteady breathing and heartbeat from another man, there was something else. It was barely noticeable, but he could just hear the faint heartbeat emitting from inside the jacket. He stared at the other man wide eyed.

"You have to take it."

Peter stared blankly at the man. When he suddenly approached, Peter tried to step back, but he found the bundle being shoved against his chest. Out of reflex, he reached out to secure it. The other man backed up as fast as he approached.

Peter looked down at the warm bundle in his arms. He slowly reached upto the top, pulling back the worn suede. It was exactly what he feared.

"If you don't, they kill her."

Peter looked at the other man with horror. He wished he could formulate any kind of response, but he found himself speechless.

"I have to go now, or they'll know."

Peter watched the other man turn and stalk away, hopping in his truck, and tearing off. He remained in his place, stunned.

"Uncle Peter?"

The sound of Laura's voice made him jump. The form shifted again, seeming to wake slowly.

"Go get your mom."

Laura understood his tone, taking off down the hall without a question.

The bundle began to cry. Peter did his best to rock it. He tried to wipe the blood away without irritating it. The birth was fresh, no more than a half hour since the blood was still wet. As he rocked it seemed to settle down, cries fading to coo's. He knew the calm wouldn't last long. It would get hungry.

There was no mistaking the scent of a wolf, even through the reek of afterbirth.

Talia came stalking around the corner then, with Laura in toe.

She stopped straight upon seeing Peter, cooing child in his arms, and a look of awe in his eyes.

She grimaced internally, thinking of the hoops she had jumped through to avoid exactly this.

End of flashback

Leila jolted awake.

The dreams slowly drifted away, as she tried desperately to recall them. The warm feeling in her chest disappeared just as fast.

They completely left as her focus was broken.

She felt the bus screeching to a stop, jolting everyone in their seat, including her. Leila jerked forwards, as her eyes shot open. She braced her head for impact with the crusty old bus seat.

Instead she was met by a sturdy, yet boney arm against her chest. She looked to her sister with gratitude, who shrugged in response, dropping the limb that had caught her.

Cole turned to rise with the rest of the group. They grabbed their bags, following everyone as they tiredly shuffled out of the bus.

Leila squinted blearily as they descended the stairs to the concrete, the lights of the ugly neon sign lighting up the otherwise dark parking lot. They were at some shady motel on the side of the freeway. Her and Cole stayed towards the back of the group, leaning against the bus as everyone continued to file into the parking lot.

"I've seen worse." Cole stated, looking at Leila's disgusted face.

"Where have you seen worse?"

"Listen up!"

Coach's voice made both of them jump, with his everlacking control of volume.

"The meet's been pushed till tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgement when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves. You'll be pairing up. Choose wisely."

They watched as everyone started walking towards the front, where Coach held the room keys out. They followed suit, watching Stiles and Scott grab a key. They snuck towards the front, aiming for a good room. They got their key, and waited as Isaac and boyd got theirs, and headed towards the rooms after the other two boys. Everyone began making their way towards the rooms. Coach yelled at them once more, ending his sentence facing them.

"And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!"

Leila felt a smack on her ass. Her glare shot to her sister who laughed harder at her face. Leila gave her a solid punch, her fist connecting with her sisters ribs, and sending her stumbling a few steps, but she couldn't help the small grin at the sound of Coach muttering annoyedly as he stormed away.

She started to follow Cole as she walked towards their accommodations, before turning back to the bus.

Lydia and Allison still remained, the former seeming frozen in place.

"I don't like this place."

The statement left Leila feeling eerie.

"I don't think the people who own this place like this place. It's just for a night. " The brunette reassured.

"A lot can happen in one night."

Leila felt a tug on her jacket. Cole pulled her towards the rooms as the other girls began heading towards them.

The room they found themselves in had a typical hotel layout. Bathroom against the back, two beds in the middle, and a tv across the way. What wasn't typical was the smell.

Leila followed Cole inside the room with her nose scrunched up. Cole threw her bag next to a chair sitting near the entrance. She started reading through the pamphlets that sat around the phone on the cheap table by the drawn curtains.

Leila surveyed the room further, grimacing in regret as she noticed the thick layer of grime on the whole place. She absentmindedly rubbed her hands off on her jeans. She looked at Cole, who now looked on the room with a much different expression.

"Just like LA." She sighed, inhaling the scent Lei couldn't wait to get away from.

"This is why I hated it there." Leila muttered, as she moved towards the chair to drop her own duffel down. She continued to look around as Cole headed towards the first bed.

"I'm gonna crash. That bus ride was deadly boring. If I had to listen to one more conversation about size between a bunch of dudes, I'd have knocked myself out."

"Well thanks for sparing me." Lei replied, as Cole crashed down into the yellowing comforters. The thought of sitting in this place quietly, with just her thoughts, and the millions of bacteria to keep her company, somehow didn't seem very appealing. In fact it left her with a twisting feeling in her stomach. One that had only gotten worse Since they arrived.

"I'm going to take a walk. Maybe I'll check in with Mara." She said towards her sister, heading back towards the door. Thinking better of it this time, she let her jacket cover her hand before she reached for the knob.

"Don't stay gone long, stay close, aim for lit areas…" Cole muttered weakly though the pillow.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'll skip the call since I already got the lecture." She teased softly as she walked out into the nipping night air. Cole grumbled something in response, her head now buried in the pillows, face down which sent a shiver down Lei's spine as she pulled the door shut. She tried to shake the feeling of bugs crawling on her as she wandered off down the hall.

Cole awoke in a cold sweat. She shot up, leaving the edges of her vision dark as her head spun oh so typically.

She looked around as it cleared, seeing no sign of her sister around the room, using the dim rays pushing through the curtained window.

Her mouth felt sticky. Cotton like, as if she'd slept a whole day. She grasped at the nightstand, her fingers closing around her IPhone.

Hitting the power, she was greeted with a picture of Gus, and a bright 12:04. It had been just over half an hour.

She had no messages, so she texted her youngest sister to check in.

She squinted down into her lap as she tried to type out a quick message, finding it difficult to focus on the screen.

The longer she stared, the worse it got. Were the letters melting…?

She gave her head a hard shake. Clearly the lack of rest was getting to her.

Cole pushed the blankets away, suddenly feeling overly warm. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, giving herself a minute, before rising slowly to her feet. Her stomach was turning in its place, or at least felt like it. Cole absentmindedly twisted her rings around as she headed towards the bathroom.

She felt slightly better as her feet pressed against the cool tiles. She passed on the light, making her way straight towards the sink. She turned the knob left, waiting for the cool water to flow. She was unpleasantly surprised.

Hot water poured from the tap. She yanked back her hand in surprise. She switched off the tap, then turned it the opposite way.

Same result.

Cole was getting bitter now. She was sweating through the thinnest of cotton tees, her head was beginning to throb, and she just wanted a cold drink.

She angrily jerked the tap back off, before catching her own eyes in the mirror. They shone back at her brightly to her dismay.

She gave herself a good slap.

The loud smack, as well as the stinging pain seemed to help her ground herself.

This wasn't right. She'd delt with much worse before. Why was she losing control now?

Cole could count the amount of times she had lost it on her fingers. Something else was going on.

Cottonmouth, woozy, not thinking straight, it sounded like drugs, but they hadn't taken anything from anyone.

Maybe it had something to do with the motel. She knew she should have trusted the bad feeling in her stomach when they'd arrived, but she'd just wanted to crash finally after being up at the crack of dawn.

She shook her head once more. It didn't matter. She needed to find Leila now. They had to figure out what was going on.

Cole pushed off where she had begun to lean on the edges of the icy porcelain, savouring the fleeting coolness on her palms.

She made her way back into the dark room, grabbing her phone from the bed. There was no answer from Leila. Cole hovered over Mara's name in her text, considering a call. She pocketed the device instead. She didn't even know what was going on yet, and knowing her older sister, she'd be there in a few hours.

Cole moved across to the table, grabbing the remaining keycard. She headed for the door, reaching for the metal knob.

She drew back sharply with a hiss. It was burning hot. She stood for a moment in shock, before grabbing the knob again, this time prepared. She grimaced, feeling her skin fry as she forced the doorknob to turn. The door swung open wide with a bang. The dark room was suddenly illuminated.

Tall, scorching flames danced in the door. They licked the roof, the thick smoke piling into her untouched room. Cole was stunned for a moment.

No, she told herself. This isn't right.

Her claws now stuck out from her nail beds, embedding in her palm.

The deeper they went, the smaller the flames grew. They didn't disappear all together, but she knew now. Her hands weren't really burnt. The fire had not set off the sprinklers she could see clearly now, kind of. She was hallucinating.

With the realisation, Cole stomped through the remaining flame without thought as they finally died off. It was going to take more than a delirium to shake her.

This chapter is dedicated to futurewineaunt on ao3. Thanks for keeping me motivated. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was a lot of emotion for me, but I think I did alright.

As always, let me know what you think, it keep's chapters coming. Stay safe 3