"I know there's something you guys aren't telling us."
Cole's eyes never broke from the road, nor did she offer any kind of reaction.
"Is that why you've been making that face for so long?"
Stiles didn't sound particularly bothered, which was a shock. The statement was almost absentminded, yet certain. He turned back to the road, and Cole caught Scott in the rear view mirror shooting a confused look between them.
"There's alot of things you haven't told us. Your history, what Peter knows about Lydia, why Mara's eyes are different. You guys always seem to have a good reason. I'm gonna trust its for a good reason."
Cole remained silent, but the corner of her mouth threatened to twinge upwards, in an uncharacteristically genuine manner.
"Where is she?"
"Over here."
Cole followed Allison matching her long strides. Scott and Stiles followed closely behind as well, calling out. Leila led the group.
Upon walking into the area, Cole was immediately hit with the foul smell of rot, though it was just the beginning. The further they proceeded, the harder it became to breathe normally for the wolves.
"Lydia? Lydia!" Cole's thoughts were interrupted by Stiles' cries as the familiar red hair could be seen. Their friend was seated cross legged, facing away at a wall. There was a slight tremble to her shadowed figure.
"It's the same thing. Same thing as the pool. I got into the car heading somewhere totally different, and ended up here. And you told me to call you if there's a dead body."
Lydia's voice echoed off the concrete, sending a chill down their spines, as they reached her. Leila had already dropped to the side, recognising the fading blank look Lydia gave.
"You found a dead body?" Stiles questioned, looking around the immediate area. Cole continued deeper into the abandoned building, her head tilted up to the air. Scott was not far behind.
"Not yet."
Her shaken tone bounced throughout the halls. Nowhere near as loud as the response.
""Not yet"? What do you mean "not yet"?" Stiles was in a tate of disbelief as he stared down. " Lydia, you're supposed to call us after you find the dead body."
Leila scowled at him, but Lydia resplied first. Her head snapped up to face him, a fierce look overtop the fear.
"Oh, no, I'm not doing that again." She bit, pointing a finger at him. "You find the dead body from now on."
Cole's arm shot out to block the doorway she'd just stepped up to. Scott ran into it with a huff, looking up at her confused, before following her wide eyes to the floor just inside.
"How are we supposed to find the dead body?" Stiles exclaimed, wildly gesturing to the crumbling walls around them. "You're always the one finding the dead body."
Cole and Scott looked at eachother, brows raised, mouths agape.
"Guys... we found the dead body."
Back to school the next morning. Cole felt like she had whiplash. She really couldn't keep track of everything happening. She mindlessly followed her sister down the hall, with a vague idea what she was rambling about.
"Cole!"
Okay, maybe not.
She shook her head, and looked at Leila with an apologetic grin. The youngest didn't waiver in her fierce scowl. If Leila should think she wasn't a Hale, this was undeniably damning evidence otherwise.
"I said text Isaac. I want him to go check on Allison."
COle eyed her questioningly and Leila scowled more.
"You haven't heard a word, have you? She's not here today."
Cole nodded with an 'ah', to which she received an eye roll.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but you better clear your head before tonight."
The recital. To "honour the losses.". How strange and out of touch. The whole thing gave Cole a gross feeling. Mara seemed to agree, as she said they'd all be in attendance. Even Peter. It would be the first time they stepped out as a family, as one united front.
Clearly her eldest sister wanted to make a statement.
She stopped dead in the middle of the hall, her youngest sister whipping around to look at her with annoyance. Cole's ear twitched as she tried to lock in on what she'd heard. Leila eyed her with confusion now, looking wary.
There was yelling, louder than she'd expect after classes. If she doubted it was a problem, the ensuing sound of a commotion confirmed it. She took off back in the direction they'd come, knowing her sister would follow.
The last thing Cole heard as she reached the source of the sound, was her youngest cousin, crying out in pain. She didn't waste a second, barreling through the door to an English class. She felt Leila barley stop behind her, as she surveyed the scene. Lydia was to the side, scared but safe. Cora was not far, being shredded by one of the twins. Cole growled.
She launched herself at him, knocking him off Cora and onto the cold tile floor. The sudden force seemed to shock him as he lay, trying to block his head from the worst of Cole's onslaught.
Cole didnt' give him a second to recover. Her claws came down in a furry shredding away at his flesh, tearing down to bone faster than even the alpha could heal. The way Cole saw it, if he wanted a fight while he was all alone, she'd give him one.
Leila gave him a few good kicks, mostly for herself.
The shock from her small foot colliding with his head seemed to shake him straight.
"She came at me! She came at me!"
It took a moment for them to register what he was saying, so Leila put a hand on her sister's arm, slowing her to a stop.
The alpha skittered back a few feet from them, cradling his arms.
Leila looked over behind her, and Cole followed, turning around to find Cora still sitting on the ground. Their cousin looked between their concerned looks, before forcing herself up with a scowl. She probably thought it covered up the pained expression.
"You're hurt." Cole stated plainly, blood still dripping from her claws.
Cora scowled at her once more, favouring her left side as she moved towards the door.
"I'll heal."
Cutting off her exit, suddenly Stiles, Scott and the other twin came rushing into the room.
" You okay?" Stiles eyed Cora closely, with a surprising amount of concern. Lydia popped up from behind Cole, throwing in her two cents.
"She doesn't look okay."
"I said I'm fine." Cora snapped bitterly, though there was tiredness behind her tone.
"Do you realise how suicidally crazy that was?"
Cole cut in once more, glaring down at Cora with a deep frown. Cora's eyes hardened as she snapped back again.
"I did it for Boyd! None of you were doing anything. You're just a bunch of stupid teenagers running around, thinking that you can stop people from getting killed, but all you do is show up late. All you really do is find the bodies."
Cole didn't flinch as Cora yelled in her face. She let her have her little meltdown, her expression of anger unchanging. When Cora finished she held Cole's gaze.
Cole remained silent for a moment, staring at her cousin. The tension seemed to get to her, as her expression began to grow confused.
"Are you done?"
When Cole spoke, the whole room began to feel cold. Her tone was almost joking, but the emptiness behind it was chilling. Everyone was beginning to get uncomfortable with the family moment. When Cora looked at her with more confusion, she continued.
"The only one running around being stupid is you. This battle we fight, it doesn't end. We're fighting to survive, Cora, and not everyone is going to make it. If we fought like you, nobody would."
Cole's cool tone did nothing to soften the blow of her biting words. As it looked as though Cora might object, her hands coming upwards in a show of anger, Cole smacked them. Hard. The slap echoed through the empty room, every pair of wide eyes on them. Even her sister was taken aback by her harsh words, but Cole simply didn't have the energy to dance around the truth any longer to protect feelings. Cora looked up at her with the same wide-eyed shock. Cole remained unchanged.
"We did everything we could to save that kid, and he's not even part of our pack. Don't you dare accuse us of not trying. We're lucky we haven't lost more. If you don't get it together, it's gonna be your body we find next."
Cole's eyes drifted towards Leila, before she shoved past the smaller girl, not willing to lose her temper further. She would if she stuck around. The anger bubbling at her surface was growing stronger by the second. She knew it was more than Cora, and it wouldn't be fair to take it out on her. The girl was just scared too, after all.
No, it went much deeper. She was angry about Boyds death, that they were just a second too late. She was mad the alpha's thought they could come pick and choose who to kill and who to take. She was mad at the hunter's for creating the psycho pack in the first place.
Mostly she was just mad they never caught a break.
It was exhausting to constantly be on guard. Being three stray wolves in LA hadn't been easy. They'd just begun to settle there when they'd returned to Beacon, which brought no peace of mind. She was quite tired of it all.
As she headed down the hall away from the class, she heard Stiles break their silence.
"She's definitely a Hale."
The comment would have brought a grin to her face any other day.
"I'm going to go talk to her."
It was Scott's voice, to her surprise. She couldn't help the roll of her eyes as the sound of his footsteps pounding towards her reached her ears.
"Cole!"
She stopped, and turned to face him with a sigh, as he came to a stop in front of her.
"I'll skip the peptalk, boy scout."
He fixed her with the now familiar dopey grin he so frequently donned. She felt her scowl involuntarily soften, and she cursed him internally.
"I'm not really feeling peppy lately." He teased lightly, before his expression turned more serious. "I just wanted to make sure everything is okay."
Cole examined him for a moment, her dull green eyes meeting his lively dark brown ones, plagued with concern. She was surprised by the sincerity in his intense stare.
Scott wasn't the smartest in his group, or the best fighter, but what he lacked in certain areas, he more than made up for in pure good character. He rarely thought about himself and was always worried about his friends. The empathy he showed was unmatchable, even to his detriment.
She thought back to when he'd been barely conscious, apologising to them when he was dying.
Even now, standing in front of Cole, when her family could be blamed for all the pain and suffering that had come with the bite, he still worried about her.
No matter how dark things got, nothing seemed to snuff out Scott McCalls light.
He would be a truly great alpha. Especially with Stiles by his side.
His expression began to take on an almost suspicious look, as he stared at her.
"What?" He asked, a smile creeping up on his face.
Cole realised a small smile had graced her own lips, as she stared on in thought. She let it fall away as she shrugged her shoulders dismissively.
"Just thinking." She replied simply. He seemed to accept it for now. Cole turned to leave once more the way she came, and was surprised when he continued walking with her.
"You still didn't answer my question."
The genuine seriousness in his voice as he trailed her caught her by surprise once more, as she let out a small laugh.
"I'm fine, Scott. I swear. So is Leila. Things have been tough, but we're tougher."
Hearing her say it directly seemed to bring him some relief, as he visibly exhaled, dropping his shoulders. His smile seemed lighter.
"Good. That's good. I know it isnt easy. We haven't been much help so you guys have been heading the efforts to stop this."
Cole shrugged once more before teasing him.
"You guys aren't terribly awful when you actually listen."
His face seemed to redden, and she realised he was blushing. He'd become very sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, I can't say it's my strong suit."
She found herself smiling once more. She gave him a pat on the back as they reached the doors to the parking lot.
"That's okay. You've got other strengths. I'll see you later, boy scout."
She headed through the doors, in no mood to sit through the day just to come back later that night. Leila would have to find another ride.
