"What did you drag, drag me into?

I keep on pointin' fingers passin' the blame

But I'm just as bad, as bad as you

Yeah, it's half my ego, half all my shame"

What You Love by Olivia Holt

While at my locker gathering my textbook and binder for my first class of the day, the door slammed shut unexpectedly. I turned with a glare to see Stiles in all his anxiety-ridden, buzzcut glory looking as nervous and jittery as usual. "You have five seconds to explain what the hell you're doing before you see a side of me you haven't seen yet," I threatened slowly, my eyes narrowed and upper lip curled up into a snarl.

"How'd you do it?" Stiles asked, completely ignoring my very real threat.

I rolled my eyes, some of my anger dissipating with his stupid question, and shouldered my bag. "You're going to have to be more specific. I'm not a mind-reader."

"How'd you and Derek convince Jackson to recant his statement to the police?"

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Not sure how that doesn't add any confusion to the situation. I don't know what you're talking about, Stiles. What statement? His knowledge of Mr. Lahey being the father of the year?"

Stiles's eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head, just as visibly confused as I felt. "You really don't know, do you?" I raised my hand like I was making a move to grab him and threaten him again. He jumped back in alarm. "Okay, okay! Jackson told my dad that he didn't see Isaac and his dad fighting that night, so my dad had to drop the murder charges. Isaac's no longer a fugitive."

My face dropped. "What?" I exclaimed. Students passing by turned their heads to look, but I ignored them. While happy that Isaac could come back to school, there was no doubt in my mind that Derek and/or Isaac must have done something to Jackson to get him to talk to the police again. No matter how big of a douche Jackson Whittemore tended to be, he didn't deserve whatever Derek did to him. And add on the fact that no one told me.

"Wow, you seriously didn't know." Stiles hadn't dropped the question mark written on his face, but a small hint of concern was bubbling. "If they didn't tell you, then something is most definitely wrong. They're up to something, and we've gotta figure out what." I nodded and clenched my jaw. I hadn't even thought of that. Why else wouldn't they tell me? They trust me, sure, but Derek knew my stance on violence and cruelty. I can fight but to protect myself and others, not to intentionally do harm unless necessary. The warning bell echoed through the halls. "I gotta go tell Scott. You, try and figure out what they're up to."

"Got it." He went in one direction while I went in the other. I'd see him in Economics, right before Chemistry with Isaac. I sat in my chair before my first class started and pulled out my phone, sending a text to Isaac before the final bell rang.

Me: What the hell is going on?

About ten minutes into class, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I discreetly pulled it out to look at the screen. It was from Isaac.

Apollo: We have a plan. Talk soon xx

I gritted my teeth and put my phone away. A plan? A plan? One that was so profoundly ridiculous Derek thought it best not to tell me about? My blood boiled as I tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but it didn't work. Something was wrong, and I didn't like one bit of it.

I sat behind Stiles once I got to the Econ classroom. He immediately turned around and asked, "Have you heard anything?"

Shaking my head with a frustrated huff, I pulled out my textbook and set it on the desk with a loud thud. Both Stiles and Scott, who sat to the left of his best friend, winced at the jarring sound. "I haven't seen Isaac or Erica in the halls, but I texted Isaac and asked what's going on. All he said was they have a plan and we'll talk soon." I rolled my eyes at the thought of the message.

"Why do I get the feeling you're ready to tear Isaac's throat out?" Stiles asked quietly. I gave him a blank stare which gave him the exact answer he needed. I basically was. Stiles nodded and quickly turned back around, opening his textbook to avoid more uncomfortable eye contact with me.

Jackson walked in right after the bell in all his rich kid glory and sat in the seat next to mine, behind Scott. Leaning forward, he looked at Scott and Stiles. "Hey, testicle left and right," Jackson said to grab their attention. I snorted and tried to contain my chuckle, which only slightly worked. The two partners in crime lifted their heads, obviously not amused. "What the hell is a kanima?"

All three of us turned to Jackson with wide eyes. There was no way he should know that word. But before any of us could reply to Jackson, Coach Finstock slammed a textbook onto his desk. "Okay, listen up. Quick warning before we begin our review: some of you, like McCall, might want to start their own study groups because tomorrow's midterm is so profoundly difficult, I'm not even too sure I could pass it." Well, that's a great way to motivate your class, Coach. "Okay, I need a volunteer at the board to answer the first question."

Some students raised their hands while Scott, Stiles, and I turned back to Jackson. "I was taken by Derek and his cronies and made to swallow something while he was talking about a snake being poisoned by its own venom or whatever. Then you wanna know what happened to me? Paralyzed from the neck down," Jackson explained, seething in rage. "Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"Kinda familiar with the sensation," Stiles said. Wait, what? I thought. Did he seriously get paralyzed at the mechanic's garage? And is a kanima what we're up against? Derek is so going to get an earful.

"Wait," Scott said, pulling Jackson's unamused expression away from Stiles. "Why would they test you? Why would they think it's you?"

"How should I know?" Jackson countered. Maybe because Derek gave you the bite and hasn't heard anything from you since? I glanced between the three guys. Did Scott and Stiles know Derek bit Jackson?

"Do they think it's Lydia?" Stiles asked.

Jackson shook his head with a shrug. "I don't know. All I heard from the leather twins was her name and something about Chemistry." I spotted Coach Finstock walking forward and I immediately leaned back in my chair, trying to seem like I wasn't a part of their conversation at all.

"Jackson!" Finstock yelled. Scott and Stiles turned back around. "Do you have something you wanna share with the rest of the class?"

"Um," Jackson floundered as he glanced around at the students around us, half of whom weren't actually paying any attention. "Just an undying admiration for my-my coach."

Coach Finstock smiled. "That's really kind of you." Jackson, true to his arrogant nature, grinned back and tilted his head back and forth, pleased with the feedback to his bullshit. But Finstock's smile turned into a frown. "Now, shut up! Shut it." Finstock turned to look at the other students. "Anybody else?"

As the lacrosse coach walked away, Scott grabbed Stiles's sleeve and pulled him closer to him. "How do we know it's not her?" Scott whispered.

"Because I looked into the eyes of the thing, okay, and what I saw was pure evil," Stiles explained. "And when I looked into Lydia's eyes, I only see fifty-percent evil. Alright, maybe sixty. But you know, no more than forty on a good day."

I rolled my eyes and leaned closer to the two idiots. "That's not a good enough argument," I berated. "We need to do better than that."

Stiles sighed, glancing back at me. "I'm aware of that, thank you. I swear, it's not her. It can't be, alright? Lydia's fine." He started to turn back and face the board before realizing something. "Wait, 'we?'"

"I'm going to help you."

"But what about Derek?" Scott asked.

"Fuck Derek. I'm not in his pack." First, my best friend got turned into a werewolf and brought into an incredibly complicated and dangerous world. Then Derek convinced me to help him basically build an army. On top of that, his training techniques pissed me off. Now, after kidnapping a teenager and forcibly testing him to see if he's a monster that Derek hadn't told me was terrorizing the town, he planned on testing another teenager in the middle of a school day which could only spell disaster. It was tiring me out. Scott and Stiles might not have been the smartest, but their intentions were clearly better than Derek's.

I looked up at the board and saw Lydia writing, but it didn't look right. She turned around crying as Finstock called out her name a few times. Finstock faced the class and asked, "Does anyone else wanna try answering? This time in English." Members of the class started laughing, which made me wanna hit them all. The poor girl was obviously in distress about something and they sat in their seats laughing at her. Lydia whipped back around to look at the board as if she didn't know what she had written.

"What is that, Greek?" Scott asked no one in particular. Scott, have you ever seen Greek?

"No, actually, I think it is English," Stiles replied, showing Scott his phone. He then showed me a picture of the board mirrored. "Someone help me" written at least twenty times backward in chalk. Stiles might not have thought she was the kanima, but there was no way, after that, he could possibly think she was doing just fine.

After Econ, Stiles, Scott, and I walked to Chemistry together. "If she doesn't get paralyzed, I don't think Derek will just sit by," I told them, gripping my messenger bag tight as we walked through the hall. "His first instinct is to kill or be killed."

"Derek's not gonna kill her," Scott assured as the three of us walked into the Chemistry classroom, wholly unprepared for whatever Harris had in store for us. "Not without proof."

"So he tests her like he did with Jackson," Stiles said. "But when and where?"

They looked at Lydia sitting at one of the lab stations. "Considering Jackson heard Isaac and Erica say something about Chemistry, it's safe to say, they're going to try and do it at school," I told them. Our eyes were then drawn to Isaac and Erica walking into the class from the other door, both donning cocky grins that they never had before becoming werewolves.

"Then here and now," Scott said as Isaac and Erica locked their eyes on Lydia's form. We glanced at the empty seat beside Lydia and back at the two wolves near the back. That wasn't good.

Scott quickly grabbed the seat next to Lydia while Stiles and I took the empty lab to the left of them. Isaac and Erica sat at the lab table behind them. I looked back at Isaac and his stupid leather jacket and he made eye contact with me. The brunet glanced at Lydia with a pointed look and turned back to me, trying to tell me something. I shook my head at him in a silent plea to leave Lydia alone. I didn't like it one bit. I loved games, but it seemed like the damn classroom was about to become a game of cat and mouse. While I never truly liked Lydia, and I knew why Isaac didn't like her, it didn't make any of it right.

"Einstein once said, 'Two things are infinite,'" Harris opened as he walked to the front of his classroom and students finished taking their seats. "'The universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe.' I myself have encountered infinite stupidity." Harris patted Stiles on the shoulder as he passed him. I found myself smirking. "So, to combat the plague of ignorance in the class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments. Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or in Mr. Stilinski's case, less than one." Stiles's jaw dropped at the insult, and I covered my mouth so I wouldn't laugh. "Erica, take the first station and start-" He cut himself off because of multiple male students and one female student raising their hands in the hopes to be paired with her. "I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down." Mr. Harris looked back at Erica. "Start with Mr. McCall. Alright, next two, Stilinski and Eva. Then Isaac and Sara."

I forced myself not to turn to see Isaac's expression at being paired together for the first round of the assignment, waiting for everyone to be paired off and sent to their stations. I stayed at my table while Stiles moved to the one that Scott and Lydia were at, leaving the seat open for Isaac to plop himself down beside me.

"Why are you mad?" Isaac asked, picking up one of the ingredients for the experiment.

I didn't look up at him, staying focused on the instructions in front of me. "If you have to ask, then how well do you really know me?" I countered with a snappy attitude.

"Of course, I know you. Your favorite band is All Time Low. You've always wanted to travel to Argentina. Your favorite superhero is Nightwing. Your favorite flower is a tie between a red hibiscus and a tiger lily. And you've always said if you were to go to prison, it'd be for murder."

He wasn't wrong about anything he spouted off, but it made my heart ache. I shook my head and took in a deep breath. "You're a lot of things, Isaac, but a killer or unnecessarily cruel isn't one of them."

"So, what? You're switching sides to Dumb and Dumber?" Isaac swirled around the ingredients in the large beaker.

I huffed and finally looked at him. He looked like a darker version of himself. "I was never on Derek's side. I was on yours." His eyebrows lowered the slightest bit and he frowned. "But I won't compromise my principles for whatever you're a part of. Kitsune are tricksters, but we still have morals." Isaac didn't get the chance to reply.

Harris dinged the bell and everyone moved to a different station. I sat down next to Allison, the resident apprentice werewolf hunter. For a moment neither of us spoke. She probably didn't know about my involvement whatsoever.

I glanced over at the long-haired brunette who had befriended Lydia on her first day. "Was Scott able to tell you anything?" I asked.

"W-what do you mean?" Allison questioned, unsure of what I meant exactly, especially since she had no idea about me. Was I talking about the werewolves in the room or something completely mundane, like the class?

I poured a liquid into the beaker. "About Isaac and Erica." I noticed her eye the two newest werewolves as well as Scott. "They can fill you in more about my involvement later, just know I'm well-aware of the situation and trying to help you."

She nodded slowly as she stirred the solution. "I know they're trying to get to Lydia, so I assume they think she's the kanima."

"They need to test her first. And if she fails the test, they're probably going to kill her." Allison snapped her head fully in my direction but Harris rang the bell again, not giving her the chance to reply. Gathering her things, Allison stood, ending up at the station with Erica while I sat at the station next to Scott who was with Stiles. In front of me were Isaac and Lydia, unfortunately. I leaned across the aisle briefly. "Just so we're clear, I don't like any of this."

"Same here," Scott replied.

Danny Mahealani, my temporary lab partner, didn't miss my disgruntled mood. "You alright, Sara?" Danny asked. While I didn't often talk to the lacrosse player, we were still on good terms due to his status as an all-around super nice guy and on the team with Isaac. We had also been partners for school projects a few times. I nodded and made an indistinct sound of affirmation. Danny didn't seem to believe it. "You and Isaac fighting?"

"You're more observant than you're given credit for. I guess you're more than muscles and cute dimples." Danny chuckled at my statement but didn't reply, focusing on the crystallized solution.

Harris dinged the bell once more. "Time!" he announced. "If you've catalyzed the reaction correctly, you should now be looking at a crystal." Danny grabbed the tongs and picked up one of our mostly clear crystals. "Now, for the last part of the experiment I'm sure you'll all enjoy. You can eat it."

Humming, I plucked the crystal from the tongs and held it up. Rocky candy always tasted good, even if it made your teeth hurt. Danny grabbed another crystal and unhesitantly took a bite into it. As I brought mine to my mouth, I noticed Lydia take a crystal from Isaac. Fuck, that's how they're testing her.

Scott sprung from his seat and shouted the redhead's name, drawing the attention of everyone in the class. Lydia didn't hide her utter confusion. "What?"

Scott then realized his mistake at making a spectacle. Scott pulled back the stool and sat down. "Uh, nothing," he said. Scott, Stiles, Allison, Erica, Isaac, and I all watched as Lydia then slowly took a bite from the crystal.

Nothing happened.

Scott reached over to me and pointed out the window. I looked out of it, passed Danny, and into the parking lot. There stood Derek leaning against his parked car. He knew she didn't get paralyzed and now he was waiting.

Immediately after class, skipping over going to the cafeteria for lunch, I followed Scott, Stiles, and Allison into Coach Finstock's empty office. He was barely ever in his office which made it prime real estate for students wanting to talk privately or hook up. Scott shut the door as we all faced each other. "Derek's outside waiting for Lydia," he told them.

"Waiting to kill her?" Allison asked.

"If he thinks she's the kanima, then yes." Allison sighed in frustration, leaning her head back. "Especially after what happened at the pool." What happened at the pool? The more I learned from Scott and Stiles, the more disgruntled my fox-spirit grew.

"It's not her," Stiles argued.

"Stiles, she didn't pass the test. Nothing happened."

"It can't be her."

"It doesn't matter because Derek thinks it's her," I cut in, harshly setting my bag down on the desk and leaning against it. "He's going to kill her."

"So either we've gotta convince him he's wrong or we've gotta figure out a way to protect her," Allison said.

Scott looked at me. "Do you think you'd be able to convince Derek?" he asked.

I shook my head. "You obviously don't know him very well. I don't think there's any possible way I can get through to him. I'm not part of his pack, and I'm not his family. But if it's any consolation, I don't think he'll do anything here. Not at school. It's too public. That's why they needed Isaac back in school. They're keeping an eye on her."

"What about after school?" Allison asked. None of us had an answer for her. She ducked her head down to grab her bearings and then looked back up. "What if we can prove that Derek's wrong?"

"By three o'clock?" Stiles clarified.

"There can be something in the bestiary," Allison pointed out.

"Oh, you mean the nine hundred page book written in Archaic Latin that none of us can read? Good luck with that." Stiles had a good point. I grimaced. It's seriously written in Archaic Latin?

Scott sighed but brightened up briefly. "Sara, Derek knows what a kanima is. Do you?"

I shrugged. "Just that it's supposed to be a werewolf but fucked it up somehow. Well, and that it's a scaly monster that only goes after murderers. Fun at parties." Stiles groaned but didn't say anything useful. "I might be able to talk to Isaac though. I don't know how well it will work, but it's worth a try."

"I think I may know someone who can translate it," Allison said.

"I-I can talk to Derek. . . maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove that it's not her," Scott added. He glanced between each of us. "But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it. Okay?"

"What does that mean?" his secret-not-so-secret girlfriend asked.

"You can't heal like I do." Allison was so done with him. Girl, please knock him down a peg. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

Allison stood from her spot against the desk, dug into her bag, and pulled out a small crossbow, holding it up by her head. "I can protect myself." Stiles raised his hands like he was not expecting that and I smirked. While hunters were, well, hunters, I had to hand it to her: she could be pretty gutsy. Scott glanced down and Allison noticed something was wrong. "What?" She set the crossbow down. "Did something else happen?"

Stiles and I glanced at each other, completely confused. "I just don't want you getting hurt," Scott told her. "Seriously, if anything goes wrong, call me. Okay? 'Cause I don't care if your dad finds out. Call, text, scream, yell, whatever. I'll hear you and I'll find you as fast as I can." I shifted my footing, totally uncomfortable listening to them have their heartfelt conversation. By the look on Stiles's face, he didn't like it either, and instead focusing on the crossbow Allison had set down. Allison barely nodded. "We have until three."

Scott then turned to leave, but Stiles accidentally pulled the trigger for the crossbow. The bolt whistled through the air and Scott caught it right before it went through his head. "Ah. . ." Allison held out her hand to Stiles who handed her the weapon. "Sorry, sensitive trigger on that."

I rolled my eyes. "It's a wonder you're still alive, Stiles."

He pointed at me, still super jittery. "Not helping."

"Well, how about this for helping," I said, holding out my hands, mildly ready to smack him. "Derek isn't going to be convinced, so we need to have a plan for after school, and to be safe, for the rest of the school day. There should always be one of us by Lydia's side and at the end of the day, we have to get her out. Remember what Finstock said in Econ? The midterm tomorrow is going to be hard and that we should form study groups."

"That'd be a good way to get her to come with us," Allison agreed. "We can meet in the library and get Jackson, too."

"Great," Scott said. "So Allison will get the translation, I'll talk to Derek, Sara will talk to Isaac, and Stiles will tail Lydia. Good luck." With that, the group disbanded with their missions in mind.

The halls were mostly empty, save a few straggling students passing through. As I walked down the halls, I tried to think of what to say to Isaac. I had been blunt with him earlier, but I needed to draw out the conversation to get one of them out of the way. The familiar weight in my bag led me to the idea of tying him up, but it wouldn't last long and I didn't know how I would tell my dad that I broke my chain dart without telling him what I'd been up to.

I could hear harsh voices conversing as I reached the intersection of another hall, so I slowed to a stop before the turn.

"I'll handle it," the male voice said. I realized quickly it was Isaac.

"You better," Erica replied with a growl before leaving him, walking in the opposite direction.

So not everything was going well in paradise. Good to know. That made it easy to sew dissension among the ranks. I leaned on the lockers, listening to Isaac's footsteps move towards me, but they faltered for a moment. He could probably smell me or hear my heartbeat. I heard him sigh as he rounded the corner and leaned on the locker in front of me. "You might find it difficult to hide now," he told me, folding his arms across his chest.

"Who said I was hiding?" I asked, leaning my head back to look up at him. "We need to talk."

"I think we've talked plenty. I know where you stand now and it's not with me." Isaac scoffed and shook his head while biting his lip. After a moment, he turned his gaze back to me. "We had hoped you would understand. Lydia is dangerous and something needs to be done."

"I'm not doing anything without proof that it's her. Sure, she didn't turn after being bitten and didn't get paralyzed from the kanima venom, but there are plenty of creatures out there that we haven't encountered. It's possible she's one of them. I've always been the 'seeing is believing' type, and you know that. So, until I actually see her shift into a large, scaly, green monster, I will defend her. You've been a werewolf for all of five minutes. I've been a kitsune my whole life." I took a threatening step closer, noticing his body tense at my movement. I lowered my voice and peered up at him. "If any of you get in my way, I will show you exactly what a kitsune is capable of with the right motivation. Don't force my hand."

"Sara, please." His voice cracked the slightest bit as he tried to conceal all emotion, but it didn't work.

"Isaac, you're my closest friend. I've always been protective of you and loyal without a fault, but not this time. I won't compromise my principles for anyone, even you. What Derek is doing is wrong, and I know you know it. This isn't you, Isaac. You're channeling all your emotions into this one task, and it'll burn you out. Werewolves are predators, but you don't have to be killers."

For a few seconds, all we could do was look into each other's eyes. I could see the conflicting emotions clouding his, darkening them. But they flashed yellow and he broke off the contact, squeezing his eyes shut as he breathed in and out deeply a few times. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to normal. "Derek wants Erica and me to do it before school ends," he revealed, his jaw twitching. "He and Boyd are going to distract Scott. You need to get her out. I can't go against his order." The orders of an alpha were almost absolute, especially for a freshly turned wolf who was still learning control.

Reaching out, I placed a reassuring hand on his upper arm. "Thank you." I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek before scurrying away. I had to find one of the others.

As the day drew to a close, sort of, I met up with Allison and Jackson during study hall, on our way to Lydia and Stiles in the library. Somehow, they had convinced the Queen Bee to join our fake study group, but Stiles wasn't exactly being subtle about anything.

We exited into the main hall together and Lydia shoved Stiles's hand off of her, growing more peeved and confused by the second. "If we're doing a study group, why didn't we just stay in the library?" Lydia asked.

"Because we're meeting up with somebody else," Stiles explained.

"Why don't they just meet us at the library?" Lydia continued, eyeing Stiles with a mixture of sass and annoyance.

"Ah, that would've been a great idea! Too late."

Lydia raised a finger and moved to stop walking. "Okay, hold on-"

Jackson cut her off by grabbing her arm, forcing her to continue forward. "Lydia, shut up, and walk." It was a little harsher than I would've gone for, but it got the job done.

Allison, Stiles, and I shared exasperated glances but followed Jackson and Lydia out of the building and to the parking lot. I started towards my own car as there was no way in hell I was leaving it at school or being crammed in the back of Stiles's jeep with Lydia and Jackson.

"Wait, where are you-" Allison started to ask me.

"Five people in Stiles's crappy jeep doesn't exactly seem fun to me," I told her, ignoring the offended look on Stiles's face. "I've got my own car if you'd like to go with me."

"Oh, yes, please!" Lydia exclaimed, tearing away from Jackson and sidling up to my side. She hadn't been the one I was offering a ride to but alright. I shrugged mostly to myself and allowed both Allison and Lydia to follow me.

Allison sat in the back while Lydia climbed into the passenger seat as I started the car and buckled my seatbelt. I pulled out of the parking lot behind Stiles and followed him onto the road. We were going to Scott's but I had no idea where he lived.

For the first few minutes, the car interior was silent besides the radio playing, until Lydia decided to start talking. "Sara, right?" she asked. I made a small noise in affirmation. "You're friends with Isaac?"

"Um, yeah," I replied slowly. We were having difficulties at the moment, but yes.

"It seemed like he was acting kind of weird today. Like he was hit with some sort of confidence spell or something." Lydia laughed quietly, and Allison and I joined her, trying to act semi-normal. "But I guess we cope in different ways. His dad dying probably wasn't exactly easy." It sounded like she was actually concerned. For someone who had often ridiculed those around her, it seemed like she felt bad or sorry for him. There was a lot more to the red-head in my passenger seat than she let on, but I highly doubted she was the kanima.

You act like the animal you are. Scott was a literal puppy dog. Isaac loved affection and his hair being played with. Erica loved being around people. I'm quick-witted and solitary. Derek could growl at a tree stump. Boyd wanted a group to call home. Lydia? She was more a crow than a snake. If anyone was a snake, Jackson fit the bill.

The rest of the trip had the occasional chatter, mostly Lydia wondering where we were going, who we were meeting up with, why Jackson seemed pissier today, and how I started hanging out with them. Lydia was an incredibly curious person. With her chosen friends and curious nature, I knew without a doubt in my mind that she would find out about the supernatural soon.

I parked on the side of the street right behind Stiles's jeep. The moment we all got out of the cars, Lydia asked yet another question. "If we're studying at Scott's house, where's Scott?" She stomped up the stairs to the front door.

"He's meeting us here," Stiles told her, following close behind her, far closer than he should have comfortably been. "I think. I hope." The second we were inside, Stiles shut the door, locked all three locks, and peaked out the side window. I raised an eyebrow at him and Lydia looked at him like he was crazy. To be fair, he was probably close to it. "Uh, there's been a few break-ins around the neighborhood." After a tense moment, Stiles also grabbed a nearby chair and slid it under the doorknob. Lydia blatantly gestured to it. "And a murder." Stiles was not helping his case. "Yeah, it was bad."

I noticed Allison eye Jackson and glance up the stairs, hinting for him to get Lydia alone. "Lydia, follow me," Jackson said. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

Lydia let out a frustrated sigh. Today was not her day to avoid weirdness. "Seriously? What is going on with everyone?" she asked herself as she followed Jackson further into the house.

I turned to Stiles and Allison, who was pulling her crossbow out of her bag. "It shouldn't be long before they get here," I said before digging into my own bag. "Those measly locks and chair aren't going to do anything against werewolves, trained or not." My hand wrapped around my chain dart and twin dai-kunai. The familiar weight of the ball and chain and knives was a comforting feeling. I tossed my bag to the side and attached the end of the chain to the small ring of one of the kunai, slipping the other into my jacket pocket. I then looked up and noticed both Allison and Stiles staring. "What?"

"I-is that a kusarigama?" Allison asked.

I snorted. "What, no. That's a sickle on a chain." I glanced down at my weapon. "Well, okay, I guess it's similar. But it's more like a mix of a meteor hammer and rope dart."

"Like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat!" Stiles blurted with excitement. Allison and I gave him blank looks. He nodded a few times before shaking his head and pointing at me. "I didn't know kitsune fought with actual weapons."

"Because you're such an expert on me," I replied sarcastically. "Keep an eye out, would you?" Stiles turned back to the window while I unwound the chain and looped it in my left hand, holding onto the part of the chain right before the kunai with my other hand. The interior of the house wouldn't provide for much in the way of using the whole chain, but that wouldn't hinder me too much. And I wasn't planning on killing anyone, only minor injuries and stalling.

"Uh, guys," Stiles muttered, worry clouding his voice. "They're here." Allison and I moved closer to the window and moved aside the curtain, seeing Derek and his three betas standing across the street. Stiles pulled out his phone and handed it to Allison. "Call Scott."

Allison went to Scott's contact in Stiles's phone and called her boyfriend. The moment he answered, she greeted, "It's me. . . You need to get here now. Right now. They're here." Allison hung up after getting an answer from Scott. "He said he's on his way." She handed Stiles back his phone.

I impatiently swung the knife back and forth as we waited for Scott to arrive. The sun had just set and we were getting antsy. Allison pulled out her own phone and stared at it.

"What are you doing?" Stiles asked after turning away from the window.

"I think, I think I have to call my dad," she told us, on the verge of breaking down. I thought hunters were supposed to be good under pressure. Someone needed some better training.

"If he finds you here, you and Scott-"

"I know," Allison interrupted. Are they seriously more concerned about a high school relationship? "What are we supposed to do? They're not here to scare us, okay? They're here to kill Lydia."

I bit my lip and shook my head to myself, not letting me voice my own option for backup. I would not call my mother. "Whatever happens, I'm not backing away without a fight."

Stiles looked back and forth between the window and mine and Allison's weapons. "I got an idea," he whispered, trying to keep the chance of them hearing his plan down to a minimum. "Shoot one of them."

"Are you serious?" Allison asked quietly.

"We told Scott we can protect ourselves. So let's do it. At least give it a shot, right?"

"Stiles, Scott caught an arrow, they can, too," I pointed out.

Stiles was practically bouncing in place. "Look, they don't think we're gonna fight. So if one of them gets hit, I guarantee they'll take off."

I shook my head fervently, glaring at the anxious human. "You don't know the power of an alpha, Stiles. If Derek doesn't leave, they won't. And a single arrow won't scare him away." I sighed and looked up at the ceiling before I had an idea. "It'll slow them down though. Shoot one in the stomach or leg. They'll more likely see an arrow coming for their head."

Allison nodded and looked out the window. "Which one?"

"Derek. Yeah, shoot him," Stiles said, breathing heavily.

"No, choose one of the other three. Derek will catch it regardless," I argued.

"You mean two," Allison corrected.

I looked at Stiles, both of us furrowing our eyebrows. "Uh, no, I mean three." I took a step forward and looked out the window with Allison. Only Erica and Boyd stood next to Derek. Where did Isaac go? Stiles voiced my internal question as Allison got ready to shoot her crossbow. Then I heard a struggle and turned around, only to see exactly where Isaac had gone. Allison landed off to the side and Isaac grabbed Stiles tossing him in the other direction. Taking a few steps away from the door to give me space, I began swinging the knife backward, staring up at my best friend whose eyes glowed yellow. "You don't want to do this."

"It doesn't matter what I want," Isaac replied.

My eyes flashed orange as I hurled the kunai towards him and he caught it mid-air instead of dodging it. Sending a loop down the chain, it wrapped around his wrist and I tugged hard. Isaac's body jerked forward and I kicked him square in the chest which sent him flying back and landing next to Stiles on the living room floor with a thud and a groan. I folded back the chain to collect the knife, still standing in front of the door.

"Dude, your girlfriend's scary." That wasn't the right thing for Stiles to say as Isaac grabbed him by the shirt collar and sent him flying towards me.

Dodging him, I immediately started swinging the knife again, letting the chain blur around me as I used the swinging to build up momentum for the weapon. Isaac stood warily just out of range of the swinging projectile, searching for an opening. His patience ended quickly and he moved forward during one of the backswings, only for me to kick the knife with my boot to send it in the opposite direction. The sharp tip of the kunai sliced through the front of his shirt and he growled in pain, his fangs and claws coming out to play as he rushed forward to grab me and get passed the range of the knife.

We grappled and dodged, me using the chain to wrap around his wrist and avoid being sliced by his claws while he avoided being cut by the knife. I kneed him in the already healed chest, but Isaac grabbed my arm and brought me to the floor with him. I swung my legs around, locking one across his chest, the other over his throat, and gripping his forearm against my abdomen with the chain.

Isaac brought his arm up, my body coming with and flying across him to land on the wood floor hard. My hands lost the grip on the chain. The boy stood and grabbed ahold of my chain weapon, only to toss it behind him. I kicked up onto my feet, pulled out my other kunai, and readied it in my hand. I could see the exasperation on his face.

Rushing forward and slashing his claws in a downward arc, I moved behind his arm, hooked my foot behind his ankle, and pulled him down. I climbed on top of him, pinning his wrist with my hand and his other arm with my knee in the crook of his elbow before he could make a move to get up and held the knife against his throat threateningly. "Don't move."

Both of us breathed heavily, our chests heaving violently. The beanie on my head had been lost during our struggle. "We're still friends, right?" Isaac asked as his claws and fangs retracted and yellow eyes turned back to their natural beautiful blue.

My scoff turned into a laugh which he joined in with. "Yeah, we're still friends, but according to Stiles, we're apparently dating."

His eyebrows raised and mouth opened and closed like he was contemplating something. "Well, would you. . . be okay with that?"

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline before I narrowed my eyes at him and glared. "Seriously? You ask that now?"

He nodded and shrugged as best he could in the position we were in. "As good a time as any, I guess." He hurled his hips up, catching me by surprise as he used one of his legs to wrap around me and pull me off of him. Knocking my knife to the side, Isaac straddled my hips and pinned my wrists to the floor with a cheeky smile.

Little shit, bitch move, distracting me like that. Although I had to admit, I didn't mind the position, but I still glared at him and said, "I hate you so much."

"Except you don't." Sometimes I wanted to punch him in his perfect teeth.

My eyes shifted away from Isaac at the sight of Scott coming up behind him, dragging a paralyzed Erica. Scott dropped her and Isaac quickly got off me, moving to attack Scott instead. But after a few well-placed hits, Isaac went down. I nodded to Scott and Allison held out a hand to me, helping me off the floor.

After picking up my weapons and beanie, I gladly opened the front door for Scott, who literally threw an Erica and Isaac out. Stiles, Allison, and I stood behind Scott on the front porch, staring down a visibly peeved Derek and a stoic Boyd.

Derek looked up from his betas to the one who kept defying his invitations. "I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott," Derek announced. "You're not an omega. You're already an alpha. . . of your own pack." He then bared his pearly whites in the smile that usually got every girl to swoon. "But you know you can't beat me."

"I can hold you off until the cops get here," Scott countered. Derek frowned as he was finally aware of the sirens in the distance. I didn't know the cops had been called, but it had probably been Lydia.

But our attention was drawn by a hissing noise coming from on top of the house. We left the porch to stand near Derek and Boyd and spotted the kanima crawling on the roof. It looked at us and made a sound like a mixture of a hiss and growl. The sight of it sent a chill down my spine. A giant lizard wasn't what I ever thought I'd see in my lifetime.

"Get them out of here," Derek ordered Boyd.

Lydia then came marching out of the house looking royally pissed. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" she demanded. If she was standing right there and we had just seen the kanima, it definitely wasn't her. So that left the one person who was missing.

Scott voiced the outcome of my train of thought. "It's Jackson."