"So, we get the keys, and then what?"

"Hope Scott doesn't get chopped in half."

Andre smacked her lips and then gave me a look. "Tessa, what is the plan?"

I let out a deep sigh, the breath swirling around my face in the cold night air. Andre and I were seated in the lacrosse bleachers, nestled at the top away from the rest of the crowd. Allison and Gerard had yet to arrive. We had not anticipated Gerard showing up to the game, but it was almost like he had some sixth sense that told him when we didn't want him around just so he could show up. My anxiety was at an all time high, my heart pumping my ears so loudly I thought I might go deaf. The temperature had dropped significantly and I was wrapped in a hoodie, covered by another jacket.

"We read through it and figure out what the hell attacked Stiles at the mechanic's." I responded, making sure to keep my voice low as my eyes surveyed the field. Scott and Stiles had yet to come out to the field, Jackson already seated on the bench beside Danny. "Deaton didn't even really have a clue."

"Deaton is the incredibly vague but also obnoxiously wise vet, right?" Andre questioned, raising her eyebrows. "That guy gives me weird vibes."

"He is the closest thing we've got a bestiary at this point." I defended, shaking my head and then wrapping my arms around myself to provide some kind of warmth. "Plus, Scott trusts him and that kid needs all the help he can get right now."

Andre hummed in agreement and we lapsed into silence. I assumed both of our brains were running at full capacity, sifting through every scenario we could possibly go through tonight. Allison had mentioned that she had begun to develop a plan on how to get inside Gerard's office and that him showing up to the lacrosse game actually gave her a leg up. I was certainly intrigued to see how that was going to work out.

It was only a few moments later before the rest of the lacrosse team began to pile out on the field. Scott was dressed from head to toe in his gear and I noticed someone walking beside him in what looked to be a tracksuit.

"Uh, why is Stiles...dressed like that?" Andre asked slowly, bending down slightly in my direction but our eyes never left the boy.

"I-I think Coach benched him after he missed the game." I murmured back with a befuddled expression. "And maybe he's cold?"

Then, as if he had super hearing, brown orbs darted up in our direction. Both of us straightened immediately and gave polite smiles, curt waves returning his look. His eyes glanced in my direction, our gazes locking momentarily, before he broke away. I swallowed hard, biting down on my bottom lip sharply. It was if the physical pain could overlap the emotional pain.

"So, it's still like that?" Andre said softly.

"Yup, it's still like that." I grumbled and then sank down in my seat.

"Why the long face, Ms. Bradley?"

"Jesus-"

My arms flailed around as I shot up from my slouched position, the voice catching me off guard from such close proximity. I snapped my head in the direction of the sound to find Gerard sitting down just beside me, a venomous smile on his lips. Allison looked anything but comfortable and tried to offer me a kind nod but my adrenaline was pumping too high.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." Gerard claimed, but I could tell it was ingenuine. "I thought you might've heard me coming."

"Obviously not." I responded and then tittered nervously, tucking hair behind my ears. I cleared my throat and then gestured at Andre. "Uh, Principal Argent, this is my sister, Andre."

Gerard's teeth came to view as his lips curled back into an even more vicious smile, his wrinkled hand extending across my chest towards my sister. "Pleasure to meet you, Andre."

"Uh, pleasure is all mine." Andre replied back, her voice not wavering in the slightest. I suddenly found myself envying her ability to remain calm in situations like this one. Her face held no indication that she was uncomfortable or that she was nervous. In fact, she looked confident and almost proud of herself.

Fortunately, Gerard saved the conversation. After warming up, the team set up on the field and began their game. I noted the gigantic human on the opposing team, one that stood even taller than Danny, and had more muscle on his body than half of the lacrosse team. He used that to his advantage, taking down players with ease while Coach screamed ballistically on the sidelines. This was the semi-finals and if they lost this game, their season was over. Even in the world we lived in, we still cared about normal teenage activities-such as sports. I knew Scott could kick this freak's ass, but with Gerard watching him like a hawk, he couldn't risk it.

"I knew I should've brought a warmer coat." Allison suddenly said, pulling my attention away from the game. I glanced over at her and she shot me a quick look.

This was it.

"Oh, you're cold? Here is my coat." Gerard offered instantaneously, rising to his feet just to remove his jacket. Then, he wrapped it around Allison's shoulders and she immediately tucked her hands into the pockets. My only guess was that his keys were inside those pockets and this was her ploy to get inside the office.

Then, like clockwork, I saw Stiles rise from the bench. He murmured something to Coach who would have cared less and then began to walk towards the bleachers. My eyes were poised on him and I watched as he walked over to where Allison was sitting just at the end of the bleachers. He then continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Uh, I-I need to use the restroom." I suddenly blurted, unable to help myself. Allison's eyes widened somewhat and she stared at me with a panicked expression.

"Okay…" Andre hummed, her brow knitting in confusion. "Hurry back. This game is about to get ugly."

I nodded frantically before standing and then clambering down the bleachers like a toddler who just learned how to walk. I shoved past other members in the crowd who growled at me and voiced their irritation. It was all white noise as I darted in the direction Stiles had left. I could see his figure disappearing as he walked further and further with no idea that I had even followed him in the first place. I noticed he was going towards the parking lot which probably meant he was going inside the school, going through the front door to make sure Gerard wouldn't see him.

Deciding to slow down, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that I wasn't being watched. Gerard seemed to still be engrossed with the lacrosse game and Andre was keeping her post on the bleachers. The sound of the crowd softened as I moved further away from it and Stiles had disappeared behind some cars that were parked. It was only once I had gotten closer that I heard two voices in the distances. Worried it might be someone I didn't want to see, I ducked down and weaved through the cars.

Then, my eyes landed on the red tracksuit leaned in towards the window of a car. It was a car I happened to recognize and the sight made me feel sick. It was Lydia's Beetle.

"...because I think you look really beautiful when you cry."

It felt like all of the breath had been knocked out of my lungs with the force of a baseball bat. That bat was being swung by the psycho giant on the lacrosse field right and my crouch stance staggered. I could no longer hold myself up and I carefully sat down on my butt, my back leaned up against the side of the car. There was a slight shake to my hands as I placed them on either side of me and made sure I was still hidden. My eyes stung with the intensity of a thousand suns and the lump that had risen in my throat made it difficult to swallow.

Stiles wasn't going to stand around and wait for an answer from me. He also wasn't just going to fall out of love with someone had been interested in since the third grade. How could I blame him? Lydia was smart and she had a vibrant personality. Her smile seemed to light up every single room she was in and her beauty was unmatched. I could never amount to anything that she was and I would never be the first choice for Stiles. I was indecisive and cagey. I was an asshole and had a serious anger management problem. I was damaged goods while Lydia was designer merchandise.

Afraid to hear anything else that might hurt my feelings, I crawled until I could get up and moved inside the school without anyone seeing me-especially Stiles. I still had to keep up the act that I had to use the restroom and figured I was running out of time before I needed to get back. I ducked up the steps and then pushed through the doors, the dimly lit hallways greeting me.

I took one step inside before my phone began to chime with several text messages from Andre.

Where are you?

Where is Stiles?

Boyd-the third werewolf teenage abomination-IS PLAYING IN THE GAME!

Panic raged through me as if someone had opened floodgates. Scott had toned down his werewolf abilities to hide himself from Gerard. Boyd was a brand new werewolf who had one of the worst teachers in the entire world. I hadn't even noticed that he had showed up. If Boyd decided to get on the lacrosse field and show off his new digs, there was a serious chance of him getting slaughtered. He would get his entire pack slaughtered.

"Oh man-"

I turned around to run back out the doors when I suddenly slammed chest first into another body. Losing my footing, I fell backwards onto the linoleum flood with an unsatisfying smack and the wind once again left my lungs.

Groaning, I clenched my eyes shut to get passed the pain that had just rippled through my body. I tried to gather my senses when I felt someone looming over me. Keeping my eyes shut, I tried not to move. There was a really good chance that I had been caught, that Gerard had called my bluff and that I was in a serious amount of trouble. There was also Erica who had decided she was going to show up to the game too, and tear me to shreds. Maybe it was the lizard with paralyzing capabilities. The possibilities were endless. However, the answer I received was nearly at the bottom of my lists of one's I wanted.

"Tessa, what the hell are you doing in here?"

My eyes snapped and there he was in all his glory, looming over me with his precious brown eyes and round face. His warm breath was fanning my cold skin, infiltrating my nose with the smell of mint gum.

"I had to use the bathroom." I responded, my voice still quiet as I stayed still. At this point, my immobility was involuntary. The proximity of Stiles' body to mine was paralyzing.

"Are you okay?" He then asked, his eyes darting across my body as if checking for injuries before he looked back at me. It was the kindest expression I had gotten from him in days and I basked in the moment.

"I'll be better once I'm off the floor." I grunted and then pushed myself up on my elbows. Stiles' hand reached out and grabbed my bicep, helping me up. I dusted off my pants before taking in his full appearance. I then noticed what he had in his hands. "The keys. You have the keys!"

"Yes, and I need to get this done in about five minutes." Stiles replied, jiggling them in front of my face. Then, he sighed. "And because I don't particularly feel like doing this myself, you're now coming."

"What-oh, okay, we're going." I mumbled as Stiles grabbed my hand and began dragging me down the hall in the direction of Gerard's office.

Once we arrived, he quickly went through all the keys and found the one to the door. It swung open with an eerie creek and Stiles rushed inside to begin digging through the drawers. I stood in the doorway, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Gerard wasn't just going to pop up out of the shadows.

"Book...book...book…." Stiles chanted to himself as he rapidly dug through each individual crevice in Gerard's office. Finally, he gave him and brought out his phone to shoot a quick text to Allison. "Nothing...here."

"Glad that we did this for nothing." I hummed with a sarcastic smile, crossing my arms over my chest and shaking my head. "I am going to get back to the lacrosse game where we both should be."

Turning on my heel, I went to walk out of the room when I was met with yet another possibility I had been afraid of. There was no way Boyd had come alone and there were two other people he would've come with that could be undetected by Gerard.

"Hello, Tessa. Stiles." Erica greeted, looking nothing but pleased with herself as he looked between the two of us.

"What the hell is this? Another ambush?" I scoffed, taking a step back away from her as Stiles came to stand beside me. His shoulder was touching mine as he seemed to use his body to separate me from the she-wolf.

Erica looked like she was thinking for a moment and then nodded curtly. "Yes."

Then, her hand struck out and she grabbed me by a handful of my hair. The strands strained tightly against my scalp and I let out a small yelp of surprise. Her eyes flashed a vibrant yellow as she glared down at me, pulling me towards her.

"Hey, let her go!" Stiles demanded, stepping towards the wolf. Yet, when she looked at him, he cowered back slightly.

"If you care about your pretty brown hair, I suggest you follow me." Erica growled in my face and then began to walk. My feet tripped over each other but I managed to keep myself upright as she pulled on my hair violently.

"Where are we going?" I asked through gritted teeth, sharp breaths coming out of my nose. Stiles managed to keep up, walking directly beside me.

"You'll see." Erica chirped, shrugging a shoulder. "You know, I am really glad that Derek keeps putting me in charge of retrieving the two of you. Then, I have a reason to kick your ass."

I clenched my teeth together for a moment as her grip began to tighten. "I never did anything to you. Why do you hate me so much?" I muttered, trying to look up at the side of her face.

"You took everything from me." Erica murmured lowly before we turned a corner and I realized we were moving towards the swimming pools.

We passed the threshold into the said pools and Erica released me roughly, tossing my forward a couple of steps. I immediately raised a hand to rub the sore spot on my head and then straightened.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed in anger, my voice echoing off the walls. In the faint blue glow, Derek stood before me with a basketball in his hands. His expression was impassive and he seemed to not even flinch by Erica's handling of me. She went to stand behind him with a poisonous smile on her lips.

"Stiles," Derek finally spoke, ignoring me almost entirely. "What did you see at the mechanic's garage?"

"Uh, several alarming EPA violations that I'm seriously considering reporting." Stiles answered casually and I looked over at him with a sharp glare, having to hold my tongue. Erica and Derek seemed to laugh together at his response, but the sound of a hissing noise stopped them both. The basketball in Derek's hands suddenly deflated and I swallowed hard, shuffling backwards slightly. "Holy God!"

"Let's try that again." Derek suggested, his voice calm and collected as if nothing was bothering him in the current moment. He then looked over at me, raising his eyebrows. "What about you?"

"Oh, no need to injure another piece of innocent sports equipment, I wasn't there." I assured him sarcastically, holding up my hands as a sign of mock surrender. "And, if I was, I wouldn't exactly feel like telling you either since you're a narcissistic, moronic piece of crap alpha."

A low growl rumbled deep in Erica's throat as her eyes lit up again and I gave her a look that mimicked being impressed. Derek placed a hand on her wrist and she seemed to instantly relax, her eyes still settled on me with a look of disdain.

Derek cleared his throat and then rolled his shoulders. "I am done playing games with you, Tessa. If you want to continue your attitude with me, fine. I won't fight for something that isn't worth fighting for." He said boldly and I tried not to let my shock waft onto my features.

"Look, Tessa has nothing to do with this. So, just let her go, alright?" Stiles spoke up before I could respond to Derek, stepping in between us.

Derek shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. If I want you to talk, I need leverage." He stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "She stays."

"God, you suck. So much." I whined, holding up my hands and then clenching them into fists before aggressively shaking them.

"Alright, the thing was pretty...slick looking." Stiles began, placing his hands on his hips and sounding bored. "Um, skin was dark-kind of patterned. Uh, I think I actually saw scales. Is that enough? Okay, cause I have somebody I really need to talk to."

I stiffened slightly at his words, knowing exactly who he needed to talk to. That was where he had come from and that was where he would return-to Lydia.

Derek stared down Stiles, looking almost expectant. The boy growled. "Uh, alright, fine. Eyes. Eyes are, um, yellowish and slitted. Um, it has a lot of teeth. Oh, and it's got a tail, too. Are we good?"

It was then I noticed that Derek was no longer looking at Stiles. His attention seemed to be turned to something behind my friend, something above him. My brow twitched and then I slowly turned my head over my shoulder to look up. That is when I saw it and for a moment I realized the description Stiles gave was absolute garbage in comparison to what this thing actually looked like.

"What?" Stiles demanded once he also noticed that Derek and Erica looked visibly panicked. "Have you seen it? You have this look on your face like you know exactly what I'm talking about?"

The lizard had climbed onto the top of the railing and was staring down at us, their beady yellow eyes taking in each member of the group. I felt frozen with absolute fear, the same fear I had felt when Peter was in full alpha form. My brain seemed empty with no thoughts running through it except for the impending doom that we were all going to die.

Finally, Stiles looked in the same direction as the three of us and, as soon as he made eye contact, the lizard's mouth opened to let out an ear shattering screech. My hands flew up to clap over my ears and I jumped at the sudden noise. It lept off of the balcony and I nearly tripped over my feet as I backed away from it at once. Stiles grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him as Derek crouched down, wolfed out. He let out a threatening roar but the lizard was quick to swipe at Erica, launching her across the room and into a wall. She was knocked unconscious, her form going limp on the floor.

"Run!" Derek ordered and shoved Stiles in the chest. Before we could even take a step, the lizard swung out it's hand and I saw a mark suddenly appear on the back of Derek's neck.

"Derek, you're neck." I uttered out, my voice wobbling dramatically. The man began to sway on his feet, all the feeling in his body beginning to dissolve. Stiles released my wrist only to run forward and catch Derek before he fell, wrapping the werewolf's arm around his shoulder.

"Tessa, come on!" Stiles shouted as he began to take Derek away from the lizard and I didn't hesitate to follow him. We began to run in between the two pools. I dared not look over my shoulder, afraid the monster might be right behind me. "Where is it? Can you see it?"

"No, just hurry!" Derek responded through a strained voice, all of his limbs entirely immobile as Stiles practically dragged him. "Call Scott!"

Stiles used his free hand to reach into his pocket, withdrawing his phone but immediately dropping it. Without taking a moment to think about his actions, he bent down to pick it up which inevitably led to him releasing Derek. With a loud yell, Derek's limp body suddenly flung off to the side and into one of the pools.

"No!" I screamed in horror, my eyes widening as I sprinted over to the edge of the pool. Derek's body was rapidly sinking with his inability to swim.

My feet moved on their own accord and I found myself leaping into the pool. I had been on the swim team at my high school last year and that experience kicked in as I rapidly kicked my way over to where Derek had fallen. The water was colder than I had anticipated and my skin began to tingle the more I swam in the water. Once I was hovering over where Derek had sank, I sucked in a deep breath through my mouth and then ducked on the water, my hair swirling around me. I opened my eyes against the chlorine and then kicked my feet strongly, propelling myself downwards with my arms. Once I made it to the bottom, I looped my arms underneath Derek's armpits and then placed my feet flat on the bottom of the pool floor. Pushing myself up, I used all the strength I had to swim my way to the top. Before I reached the surface, I felt as though some of the weight had been lifted off of me. I broke through the surface of the water, spluttering and flicking hair out of my face to find that Stiles had also jumped in the pool.

"What are you doing in here?" I demanded, wrapping one of Derek's arms around my shoulders while Stiles grabbed the other. "You're supposed to call Scott!"

"You think I was gonna let you drown trying to save this douchebag's life? I don't think so!" Stiles shouted back, water spraying across me as he shook his head.

"I was on the swim team, dumbass! I know what I'm doing." I argued back, giving him a glare to which he responded with a roll of his eyes. Letting out a sigh, I frantically looked around the room in hopes to catch sight of the lizard, but I was unsuccessful.

"Where'd it go?" Stiles asked, obviously having been doing the same as me. I was suddenly reminded of how uncomfortable I was in the water with all of my clothes on, my hoodie clinging to my body tightly. I was also incredibly aware of my cellphone in the pocket of my jeans which were painfully stuck to me as well. Stiles' phone was still outside of the pool. "Where is it? Do you see it?"

Derek was only able to move his eyes to glance around the room. "No."

Derek's body weight was becoming significantly heavier the longer Stiles and I waded in the water. I shifted his arm and gave a powerful quick to ensure that my head was going to stay above the water. I glanced over at Stiles warily and was reminded of his lack of athleticism-quite practically his lack of stamina. He was already beginning to struggle even more than I was and he was spitting water with his chin dipping below the surface every now and again. It was nearly an hour and a half before someone said something.

"Okay, maybe he took off." Stiles theorized, sounding a bit too hopeful for our current situation. As if on cue, a loud screech rang through the room once more and I flinched at the sound.

"Maybe not." Derek mumbled back, his eyes glancing over at Stiles. Then, he looked over at me. "What the hell do you think you're doing jumping after me?"

"Oh, so this is the time you decide to take Stiles' side." I responded angrily, shaking my head and scoffing. "How convenient."

"Do you realize how stupid that is?" Derek bit out, eyes still pointed directly at me. "You could've drowned, Tessa."

"Like you could care." I clapped back, turning my own attention towards him with a fiery glare. "I'm pretty sure you just made it clear that you didn't care about me. I'm just leverage."

"Guys, this is really not the time for a family bonding moment, okay? There is a scary lizard monster cornering us while we're currently holding a paralyzed werewolf in a swimming pool and my legs are getting very tired!" Stiles interjected, giving us both a wild look.

I considered backing down like I normally did, but my emotions were running at an all time high. The last few times had been pushing me closer and closer to the edge and looking into the eyes of death seemed to really cross the line. Derek being a colossal jerk was the first thing to top it off also combined with Stiles icing me out because I couldn't make up my mind, Isaac Lahey pretty much hating my guts, and Jackson threatening me in the hallway. Gerard was also up our asses and was a bomb just waiting to go off while we couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Actually, I think this is the perfect time." I said and both of the men looked somewhat surprised. "If we're probably gonna die, then maybe we air out the dirty laundry, huh?"

"Tessa, you've already told me how you feel. Let's stick to an escape plan." Derek suggested, sounding even more strained than he had before.

"You're supposed to be my brother, Derek." I raged on, shaking my head. "And you've only gone after my friends and showed up when I'm not around. I don't trust you and you don't even seem to care about me. Peter told me you did all of this to protect me-you wanted to help Scott because of me. Is that the truth? Tell me."

Derek was quiet for a few seconds and, surprisingly, so was Stiles. "Yes." Derek responded quietly. "Andre told me what happened to your parents. She called me a few days before you guys moved here and, the night you did, Peter bit Scott. I knew what I had to do to protect you."

The lump that had formed in my throat earlier had returned and water collected at the brim of my eyelids. I tried to keep my tears at bay, not wanting to cry in front of him. "And this is protecting me?" I questioned, my voice wavering. "Letting your guard dogs come after me and my friends? Attacking Scott?"

"Tessa, come on-"

"Don't you even start with me!" I shouted, having not felt this kind of raw emotion in my entire life. The pot was beginning to boil over and even just the sound of Stiles' voice was sending me over. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, the hot temperature of it ensuring that it wasn't pool water. "I can't believe I even let myself think for two seconds that you might actually like me."

"Tessa, what are you talking about?" Stiles demanded, his eyes bulbous as he continued to kick under the water.

"You love her." I whispered, swallowing hard. Sniffing, I turned my eyes back down to the blue water. "And I'll never be as good as her. I'll never be good for you. That's why I run away."

"Will you get me out of here before I drown?" Derek suddenly interjected and I found that I had run out of any energy to continue.

"You're worried about drowning?" Stiles responded to Derek, his attention switching at the drop of a hat. "Did you notice the thing out there with multiple rows of razor sharp teeth?"

"Did you notice that I'm paralyzed from the neck down in eight feet of water?" Derek retorted, his voice steadily rising as he continued on with his sentence. I focused on kicking my feet to stay afloat and I managed to stop any more tears from flowing.

"Okay!" Stiles replied and then began to look around once more. "I don't see it. Tessa, help me swim over to my phone."

I nodded and then began to help move Derek across the water towards the edge of the pool. "Wait, wait, wait! Stop!" Derek suddenly called out and we followed his line of sight.

The lizard was on the other side of the pool, hissing loudly and slinking across the floor. However, it looked as though he had distanced himself from the water and was content with watching us from afar.

"What's it waiting for?" Stiles asked, sounding horrified at the prospect of an answer.

No one had one for the spastic boy and instead we continued to watch the monster as it curled around to another side of the pool. Then, to my amazement, it suddenly reached out a scaly limb. As soon as it's skin touched the water, it hissed violently and shrunk away from the liquid.

"Wait, did you see that? I don't think he can swim." Stiles noted, his voice just as shocked as I felt.

"It's, like, he's afraid of the water." I whispered, some water getting in my mouth and I pushed myself upwards. I expelled it out of my mouth, my face twisting up at the taste.

"Okay, okay. I don't think I can do this much longer." Stiles suddenly admitted, his voice significantly more breathless as his arms moved slower. I had to agree that my own legs were getting tired and Derek's body felt more like a bag of bricks than a human body.

Stiles then made a move to let go of Derek and I felt all the weight on me at once. "No, no, no, no! Don't even think about it." Derek warned and I knew that Stiles was going to move towards his phone like he had tried to do earlier.

"Can't you trust me at least this once?" Stiles requested desperately. "I'm the one keeping you alive, okay? Have you noticed that?"

"Yeah, and when the paralysis wears off, who's going to be able to fight that thing? You or me?" Derek rebounded bluntly and I rolled my eyes at his ego.

"That's why I've been holding you up for the past two hours?" Stiles reminded the werewolf, giving him a knowing look.

"Yup. You don't trust me. I don't trust you. But, you need me to survive which is why you're not letting me go." Derek told the boy through his teeth and I couldn't help but admit that he was right. There was no way Stiles and I would get out of here without Derek to protect us from the scary lizard monster.

Stiles stared at Derek and I could see that the wheels were turning. Then, his eyes glanced over to me as if he were trying to convey something. I knew then what he was going to do and I had no choice but to follow his plan. Derek seemed to realize what Stiles was going to do at the same time and shouted his name as the boy threw his arm off his shoulder.I went to do the same but I was unable to throw the arm far enough over my shoulder. Derek's hand caught in the thick hood of my jacket and I found myself being dragged down with him at a rapid pace. Stiles was still swimming towards the edge of the pool and I wasn't even sure if he noticed that I had also gone under the water with Derek.

I tried to kick my feet and remove his hand from the hood but it only seemed to wrap around his limb. Derek's mouth opened to let out yells, bubbles flowing rapidly from his lips. I jerked my body frantically and used a breathing technique I had been taught during my years of swimming, but I was a bit of practice. The exhaustion from holding Derek up for two hours was starting to settle in and it was becoming harder to kick my legs as well as move my arms. I felt my feet touch the bottom of the pool, but Derek fell on his back which jerked me downwards. I stared up at the water, the blue waves casting a white glow over the two us. I could feel my oxygen decreasing rapidly and I tried to keep myself from panicking, worried it might take more of my breath away. Turning my head, I looked over at the wolf who had stopped yelling. His blue eyes were poised on mine and the regret crashed in like a bullet train. If I died now, Derek would think I hated him. And, even though I thought I did, in that moment I was convinced I truly didn't hate him.

My eyes had begun to burn against the chlorine and I shut them, my lips pressing tightly together I felt like I was suffocating. As soon as I thought I might try to inhale, a hand clutched at the front of my hoodie and I was thrown upwards into the water. My eyes snapped back open and I found Stiles grabbing the front of Derek's shirt, pulling him back up towards the surface. I wasted no time in kicking my way up. When my head popped above the water, I coughed violently, expelling water from my throat. I then took in several gulps of oxygen, savoring the feeling of it gliding down into my lungs. Stiles came up shortly after me with Derek who was now also gasping for air.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Stiles exclaimed, his voice shaking rapidly. "I-I didn't know that-"

"Just tell me you got a hold of Scott!" I shouted back, still struggling to hold myself above the water. Stiles' lack of an answer concerned me and I could hear Derek groaning in either anger or worry.

"Tessa, I can't stay up any longer." Stiles said once after a couple of minutes, this time sounding like he was in physical pain.

I reached out a hand and grabbed onto Derek's hand, tossing it over my shoulder. As soon as the weight was on me, I sank beneath the water. With a grunt, I kicked my feet and held myself up. "We can't stop. We can't risk it." I talked through the water.

"I just need something to hold onto." Stiles pleaded and then spotted a ladder on the other end of the pool. He began dragging Derek and I struggled to keep up, willing my body to continue pushing.

We reached the ladder and I watched as Stiles tried to reach his hand up and grab onto the metal pole. The water made his fingers slippery and I realized that his attempts were going to be in vain. His hand slipped and Stiles' strength had run out. With a deep inhale, Stiles' arm released Derek and he sunk beneath the water. Without Stiles' help, I found myself also unable to hold on any longer and went back where I had been just several minutes ago. Yet, I felt the hood of my jacket get tugged on again except with more strength.

My body surged upwards and then out of the water, my back hitting hard pavements. I coughed hard once more, my eyes staring up at the ceiling of the pool room. Two more sounds of bodies hitting the ground erupted beside me and I turned my head to see the two boys. Then, a werewolf roar collided with my ear drums and I shot up to a seat to find Scott knelt down on a diving board. He was completely wolfed out and the lizard reacted to his roar with a violent screech.

"Scott!" I cried out in fear for his life, having watched what happened to Derek. If Scott was paralyzed, we stood no chance against the monster and I was certain that was when we would die.

The lizard tackled Scott by the waist, but the boy rolled out of his hold quickly. With persistence, the lizard swung out its tail and wrapped it around Scott's ankle, tossing him against a mirror on a wall just a few feet away from them. Thinking fast, Scott held up a shard of glass to defend himself, but the lizard made no further movement to attack him. Scott stood as still as a statue and the lizard suddenly took off, climbing up the wall, across the ceiling and then out one of the windows.

Derek had regained some of his movement, but was still incredibly weak. He heaved himself up onto the diving board, panting heavily. I dissolved into lying on my side, my limbs numb with exhaustion. Pieces of hair were matted to my face and my clothes felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

"Tessa!" I suddenly heard someone cry out and I rolled over on my other side to see Andre sprinting into the room. Her eyes glanced around the room and then she saw me on the floor, her body looking visibly calmer. "Oh thank God."

For one of the first moments in my life, I couldn't have felt more relieved to see my sister. I mustered up the last of my strength to push myself to my feet and, as soon as I was on them, my sister's body came barreling into mine. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, one hand placed on the back of my head as she held my tightly to her.

"I-I'm sorry." I gasped, clutching onto her with all I was worth. "I meant to text you, but-"

"You are alive and that is all I care about." Andre stated firmly, pressing a kiss to the side of my head and giving me one final squeeze. She then pulled back, placing her hands on both of my biceps, surveying me. Then, she swallowed hard. "I meant to come looking earlier but Gerard caught me in conversation. Let's just say, that guy is super creepy. And then Boyd started to bug me about some crap I didn't know about the newest creepy crawly in Beacon Hills."

"Do you think he suspected anything-Gerard?" Scott asked, having returned back to his natural form. "When we were at dinner, he was acting like he didn't."

Andre shook her head. "He asked me about Tessa-kind of raved about you. He told me how much he appreciated your friendship with Allison and he would hate if anything ever came between you two." My sister continued to explain and then she frowned slightly. "However, he did say something about being disloyal."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked, having also gotten up from the floor. Derek was trying to regain motion in his limbs, but seemed to be interested in the conversation.

"He said that Tessa knows where her loyalty lies and she's smart to put it in Allison." Andre murmured and then glanced at me nervously. "And that I should be supportive of that."

"I don't know about you guys, but that kind of sounds like a warning to me." Stiles mumbled, gulping loudly as he shifted on his feet.

"Because it is." I whispered, clenching my jaw tightly. "Gerard was the one who wanted me at Kate's funeral. There-there had to be a reason why."

"Do you think he'd know you're related to Derek?" Scott then questioned, stepping forward and crossing his arms.

I shrugged in response. "I don't know. Chris knows but I'm not sure how much he's shared with Grandpa about what's been going on. You obviously survived dinner." I gestured at the werewolf.

"Yeah, barely." Scott scoffed and then ran a hand through his hair. "Come on. I found the bestiary on a flashdrive from Gerard's keys. Stiles' laptop should be able to bring it up."

Scott began to lead the group out of the pool room and we all followed. The silence that hung over the five of us was something I think we all appreciated, especially after my freakout in the pool. I found myself regretting everything that I had said entirely and wondered where this left Stiles and I.

We made it to the parking lot and back to the Jeep. Stiles retrieved his laptop from his backpack and then opened it up on the hood. Scott handed him the USB drive and he plugged it in to reveal a digital book.

I leaned in and then frowned once I realized...it wasn't even in English.

A/N: I sincerely apologize for the late update. Life gets busy and I get sidetracked with other projects. But, here is the next chapter. The last part of this episode will begin in the next chapter and then will work into episode four. This one ran a bit long what with the conversation I chose to include that will propel our plot line forward.

Thank you guys so much for sticking around and please leave a review!

Thanks,

Laura