"Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds

It's all over now

Before it has begun

We've already won"

Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy

School was not something I wanted to attend the next day. Not after a fun night with Isaac and a morning of finding out what had transpired during Erica's detention. School fight my ass. But one good thing came out of it: Scott had joined Derek's pack with the sole condition of them catching Jackson, not killing him. At least they were finally working together and not against each other. On the other hand, the school was buzzing about an underground concert going on on Friday which Scott had figured out Jackson had bought a ticket for by tailing him. Jackson had also freaked out the person selling the tickets, so a whole bunch of people were unable to get any.

Figures, even while being controlled, Jackson was a huge dick.

While studying with Isaac at the train station, Derek waltzed in, putting his phone in his pocket. "You two, up," he ordered. "We're going somewhere."

Isaac and I shared a look before turning to the alpha werewolf. "To a black site so you can dump our dead bodies?" I questioned while smirking.

"Don't tempt me." Derek spun his hand around. "Hurry up. We're meeting Scott at the vet clinic."

"So you are having us put down?" Isaac asked.

"Come on, Derek, not everyone is lucky enough to have a pet fox," I added.

"I can't believe there's two of you." If only I could have Derek's exasperated expression framed and hung on my wall.

Isaac and I laughed together but listened to him anyway. We set our pencils down and closed our textbooks then stood up and followed Derek out of the station and to his car. "Why are we going to the vet?" Isaac asked seriously as Derek drove, peaking his head between the two front seats and playing with a few strands of my hair.

"Dr. Deaton is knowledgeable about the supernatural for unknown reasons," Derek explained. "It's not unheard of. But it means he might know how to help us with the kanima."

"How do we know he'll help?"

"We don't." Derek didn't sound too particularly pleased, but when did he ever? And I definitely knew Deaton would help.

The drive to the vet clinic was short and silent for the rest of the way with nothing but the sound of the car filling the void. Isaac continued playing with my hair up until Derek pulled into the clinic parking lot. We each climbed out of the car, Isaac particularly struggling because of being relegated to the backseat and having to climb over the folded passenger seat to get out. Why he had insisted on sitting in the back and letting me be in the front, I'll never have a clue.

Scott unlocked the front door to the building as we got closer. "What's he doing here?" Scott asked, looking between Isaac and Derek. I didn't miss the lack of mentioning me.

Isaac and I followed Derek inside. "I need him," Derek answered.

"I don't trust him." Does that mean he trusts me?

Isaac and I went around Derek who had stopped walking. "Yeah, well he doesn't trust you either," Isaac replied.

"And Derek really doesn't care," Derek added in the third-person. I snickered and leaned on a surface with Isaac. "Now where's the vet? Is he gonna help us or not?"

"That depends," a voice said from behind Isaac and I. I turned to see Dr. Deaton leaning against the wall. His simple presence just radiated wisdom. "Your friend Jackson, are we planning to kill him or save him?"

Scott said, "Save him," at the same time Derek said, "Kill him."

The two looked at each other. "Save him," Scott repeated, looking at the older werewolf pointedly. Derek's shoulders slumped a little as he turned away from Scott and they looked at the vet. "Save him."

"Come on back," Deaton told us. Isaac and I stood and we all began following Deaton to the examination room. "How's Simba doing?"

While Scott and Derek donned confused expressions, I happily replied, "He's doing good, Dr. Deaton. Although, I think my dad's been feeding him too much since he's getting a little chubby."

The vet laughed. "Of course, Michael's always been a sucker for cute animals." Like foxes.

We entered the exam room. I stood between Isaac and Scott while Deaton pulled out a small wooden box filled with glass jars with symbols on the lids. Isaac immediately tried to grab one. Derek's hand shot out, grabbing Isaac's wrist. "Watch what you touch," Derek said harshly, pulling Isaac's hand back. I chuckled and patted Isaac's back.

Deaton was looking at the various jars, thinking over what he had been asked to figure out. Isaac leaned down to look at the jars without touching them. "So, what are you, some kind of witch?" Isaac asked. Oh my god, Isaac, you can't just ask that.

Deaton looked at him with an amused grin. "No, I'm a veterinarian." Isaac awkwardly half-nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't see anything here that's gonna be an effective defense against a paralytic toxin."

"We're open to suggestions," Derek told him.

"What about an effective offense?" Isaac posed.

"We already tried." Derek glanced from Isaac to Deaton. "I nearly took its head off, and Argent emptied an entire clip into it. The thing just gets back up." So the hunter that night was an Argent. I would assume Allison's dad based on how old the man had looked.

"Has it shown any weaknesses?" Deaton asked him.

"One: it can't swim."

"Does that go for Jackson as well?"

"No," Scott answered. "He's the captain of the swim team."

"Essentially, you're trying to catch two people," Deaton explained. He turned around and dug through one of the drawers, Isaac standing up as we all watched the doctor. Deaton pulled out a metal charm and held it up to show us. "A puppet and a puppeteer." He set the charm down on the table. "One killed the husband but the other had to take care of the wife. Do we know why?"

"I don't think Jackson could do it." Scott waved his hand for emphasis. "His mother died pregnant, too. And she was maybe murdered." I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Scott. When did he learn that? "I think he couldn't let the same thing happen to someone else."

"How do you know it's not part of the rules?" Isaac added. "The kanima kills murderers. If Jackson kills the wife then the baby dies, too."

"Does that mean your father was a murderer?"

Isaac leaned subtly against me for comfort while thinking about Scott's question. "It wouldn't surprise me if he was."

"Hold on, the book says they're bonded, right?" Deaton asked. Derek nodded. "What if the fear of water isn't coming from Jackson but from the person controlling him?" Deaton looked down at the jars in front of him, picking up one filled with a dark powder. "What if something that effects the kanima also affects its master?" He emptied the jar in a circle around the puppet charm.

"Mountain Ash," I blurted, finally realizing what it was and pointing at the powder. "I've never actually seen any before. We can catch them."

"Both of them," Scott added. Deaton nodded with a grin.

"I-I don't get it. What's Mountain Ash and how's a powder supposed to trap the kanima?" Isaac asked, looking lost and confused. Poor guy has a lot to learn.

"Try to pass your hand over it," I told him.

Isaac narrowed his eyes at me. "Why do I feel like you're trying to get me to do something stupid?" I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand, bringing it over to the Mountain Ash barrier around the charm. The moment his fingers tried to pass over the line, his hand was forced back as if it had been electrocuted. His eyes widened and he looked down at his hand, twisting his fingers. "I don't like that at all."

Deaton chuckled quietly. "No supernatural creature does. There are very few things that can pass over or touch Mountain Ash. Humans are one, which none of you are. That means you'll need Stiles to use it. The question is when and where?"

"Well, we know Jackson is going to be at the rave on Friday, so the person controlling him will probably be there, too," Scott said.

Derek looked at Isaac and I. "I guess you two are going to a party."

The whole idea sounded wrong. Isaac and I going to a party? Me, sure, I liked good music and dancing as much as the next person, but Isaac acting natural in a crowd sounded hilarious.

We thanked Deaton and started to leave, but the doctor called out my name. "Sara, a word?" he requested. I slowly nodded and stayed in the room while the werewolves went to the waiting area. Derek and Isaac hadn't left without skeptical glances, but they still went with Scott. "Your parents don't know you're spending your free time with werewolves, do they?"

My hands gripped the metal table. "Nope. And I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"They can help, too. What happened to Riichi was terrible, yes, but that's no excuse to become divided as a family. Especially with the Argents in full force and a kanima on the loose."

"I know, doc."

He sighed and nodded. "Keep working on trying to conceal your aura. You may have earned a tail, but concealing your aura is the first step to truly becoming one with your spirit."

"Will do." I mock saluted and left the room, returning to Isaac, Derek, and Scott.

Derek was able to get his hands on tickets for him, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, and I to attend the underground concert and set the trap into motion. The Friday school day couldn't end fast enough. Derek's betas found themselves in my room just after sunset with Erica and I rifling through my closet. Isaac and Boyd were bored out of their minds and entertaining themselves by looking through my personal belongings.

"Boys, can't take them anywhere," Erica cheekily said with a smirk.

"We can hear you," Boyd told her as he flipped through a book while lounging on my beanbag chair.

"That was the point." Erica slyly winked at him and turned back to my closet. "Don't you think you have too much red?" She pulled out a hanger with a plaid red tank top hanging from it.

"It's her favorite color," Isaac chimed in from his spot by my desk. He was taking the time to look at all my photos on my wall and desk. Some of the pictures were of me and him with a select few of my family members and nature, so I didn't know why he was so interested in looking at them.

Erica handed me the tank and hanger. "It's still a lot. Wear this one."

"Why are you making me change?" I asked, hanging the hanger on the closet door. I stripped off my thin sweatshirt and heard various confused noises and half statements from the boys. "Shut up. I'm not naked!" My high-waisted jeans, bra, and long hair covered everything. You'd think they'd like a girl taking off her shirt in front of them. Although, Boyd probably only wanted to see Erica strip. I pulled on the tank and fixed my hair.

"Just because we're going to trap a homicidal lizard, doesn't mean you can't look hot at a rave," Erica explained. Meanwhile, she wore a cute white graphic tank top and a leather skirt.

"She's right!" I glared at Isaac, picked up my sweatshirt from the floor, and threw it at him. "Hey!" Boyd simply laughed at the shenanigans and turned back to the book in his hands. "Such abuse, I swear." Isaac laid my sweatshirt over the back of my desk chair then sat down. "Boyd, why did we come here again?"

"Because you wanted to bother us?" Erica supplied, placing her hands on her hips.

Isaac started to shake his head and argue, but Boyd answered, "Don't lie. That's exactly what you said you wanted to do."

Isaac's jaw dropped open. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I never said that."

I pointed at Boyd while smiling at Isaac. "Thank you, Boyd. We can always count on you to call out the bullshit."

Boyd didn't even look up from the book. "It's my dream job."

"Of course it is," I muttered. Then I spotted Isaac about to touch something hanging from my lamp: a small slab of black stone carved into the shape of a blade hanging from a thin golden chain. "Don't!" Isaac froze in place and looked at me with his wide blue eyes. I walked over and snatched it from my lamp.

Boyd looked up from the book, and Erica narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "Pretty protective of a necklace," Erica said slowly. "It's cute. You should wear it."

"What, no, it's. . ." I glanced down at the necklace in my hand. "It's my tail."

"Your what?" Isaac blurted. None of the beta werewolves knew what I meant.

"When a kitsune unlocks a power, reaches a certain age, or achieves some sort of milestone or whatever, we earn tails. They're a symbol of our strength and wisdom and they can manifest in some sort of physical object. Mine look like the blade of a kunai and I put it on a chain to kinda make it a little more inconspicuous. My mom's look different. And you can earn nine in total."

Isaac pointed at the necklace. "So what did you do to earn that one?"

"Unlocked my healing ability."

"Why do I get the feeling it was painful?" Isaac asked.

As Erica closed my closet, she said, "It's good to know you heal like us. Oh, also, no beanie."

"No beanie?"

"No beanie!"

With my boots laced tight and my chain acting as a fashionable belt, I was ready to party. Although, I did feel naked without a hat on my head. When we arrived at the rave, the party was in full swing. The strobes flashed as Isaac, Erica, and I entered the room filled to the bring with people dancing. While it looked like fun, we were technically here working. All we had to do was find Jackson and keep an eye on him. Isaac grabbed my hand so he didn't lose me in the crowd and we made our way over to the couches so we weren't in the middle of everyone.

"You know," Erica began, trying to talk over the loud music, "when I imagined going to my first party, this isn't what I expected."

"Your first party's illegal," I pointed out. "Go big or go home, right?"

"I'm gonna go dance."

"Keep looking out for Jackson."

"My pleasure." She donned her signature smirk, winked at us, and went back into the crowd.

I shook my head as I watched her walk away, slightly worried about what she was going to get up to. "I feel like a parent."

Isaac laughed and took both of my hands in his so I would look at him. "Come on, we're at a freaking rave. Have a little fun. It's Scott who has the difficult job."

For a moment, I stared up at his playfully pleading eyes before nodding. He broke into a huge grin and began dragging me closer to the main crowd but didn't go into it. Instead, he pulled me close. My heart sped up considerably as Isaac held me against him. My fox stirred at the proximity.

Oh, what the hell? I asked myself as he placed one of his hands on my waist, keeping my body pressed against his. I was sure he could hear my erratic heartbeat threatening to thump right out of my chest. The heat of his body so close to mine drove me crazy as we swayed to the blaring music. It felt right in his arms.

The longer we danced the more I didn't want to let go. The hand on my waist burned at his touch, like the fire I could produce.

Isaac nudged my forehead with his nose and I looked up at him. He started to move downward.

My attention was drawn to over his shoulder. I spotted Scott rushing through the crowd over to us. He looked worried. All thoughts of what was just about to happen slipped my mind. "I think something's wrong." Isaac reluctantly turned to where I was looking. Scott stopped by one of the posts and waved us over. Isaac and I went to see what Scott wanted. "We literally just got here. What happened?" I asked, leaning against the post. Isaac stood close behind me, so close I could feel his torso against my back.

"Allison told her father who the kanima is. The Argents are here to deal with it," Scott explained, leaning towards us and holding a syringe with ketamine. "I need you to knock out Jackson."

"Why us?" Isaac asked.

"Because I've gotta make sure Argent doesn't completely ruin the plan. And this is actually for you." He looked particularly at Isaac then looked at me. "Derek and Boyd are going to stop the hunters from getting inside, but they're probably going to need help. If I know anything about the Argents, I don't think they plan on leaving anyone alive and they probably have their own army."

I nodded once. "Alright, I'll see what I can do." My gaze drifted up to Isaac's. Even in the dim lighting, I could see the worry in his eyes. "Good luck."

"It's not me I'm worried about," he replied. "Be careful." I smiled, rubbed his arm reassuringly, and kissed his cheek before hurrying out of the building.

I left the building to find Derek and Boyd waiting outside. "The Argents always know the worst time to crash the party, don't they?" I said as I joined the two werewolves by the vehicles.

Boyd smiled and tried not to chuckle while Derek allowed himself to smirk the tiniest bit. "I can hear them coming," Derek told me.

"How many?" I asked, unhooking the chain from around my waist and looping it in my hand.

Derek took a moment to listen. "Five."

I raised an eyebrow. "Only five?"

"They have a lot of firepower. And I'm sure there are others stationed around the building as lookouts or backup. You might need more than just your chain, Sparky." The way he said it clued me in. I would need to use my powers. I nodded in understanding. He turned his head to the far corner of the building. "They're here." Boyd and I followed Derek's lead and began walking towards the alleyway to intercept the hunters. I held my hands behind my back to hide my weapon. They can think I'm another wolf all they want. We stopped at the edge of the building at the sight of the band of hunters, with the man who emptied an entire clip into the kanima at the helm. Could be none other than Mr. Chris Argent, Allison's father.

"Derek, back off," Argent said, not pleased to see the alpha.

"Back off?" Derek repeated. "That's really all you've got?" Now isn't the time to be a cheeky little shit, Derek. "Gotta be honest, Chris. I was expecting more from the big bad werewolf hunter."

Chris Argent grinned. "Okay, then. How about, didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring claws to a gunfight?" The four hunters behind Argent pointed their guns at us.

"That one sounded pretty good," Boyd conceded.

Derek glanced at his beta, not amused. "I'll do you one better," Derek said to Argent. "You shouldn't bring guns to a firefight."

My eyes turned orange as I brought my hands out from behind my back, a rush of power surging through me, and sent a wave of flames towards the hunters. They all dived out of the way to avoid being hit while Derek, Boyd, and I took the chance to charge them, forcing them into the alley and away from the front door of the warehouse.

I swung the weighted end of the chain towards the nearest hunter, hitting him in the face with the heavy ball. Bruising and internal bleeding was all I really wanted to inflict on humans. They couldn't heal like us. The hunter hit the ground hard, and I slung the weight towards one about to shoot Derek, lacing the chain around his ankle and tugging hard. I whizzed around, knocking them down, my body almost a blur to the hunters.

Until a bullet sliced through my abdomen from behind. It went clean through and hurt like a bitch. I turned around, snarling and whirling the weight at Argent, who had been the one to shoot. He pulled the trigger again, narrowly missing being hit by the weight, but I dodged the bullet that time. I spun the chain around and threw it towards him, the chain wrapping around his upper torso. I pulled hard, using all my strength to throw him a short distance away.

Collecting the chain, I dived behind the dumpster in which Derek and Boyd were using to catch their breaths. I could already feel my wound stitching itself back together. I was madder about my pants having bullet holes in them.

"I think I stopped healing," Boyd told us, looking down at his bleeding chest. Bullets had a hard time completely going through him since he was built like a damn freight train.

"Bullets laced with wolfsbane," Derek explained, breathing heavily. "You gotta go. Take the car."

"What about you?" Boyd asked.

"I have to find Scott. Sara, go with him. Get the bullets out and burn out the wolfsbane in his system before anything worse happens." I was about to protest, not wanting to leave Derek or the others, especially not Isaac, behind to deal with both the hunters and the kanima. "Help him. Go. Go!" Boyd heeded Derek's order took off. I gritted my teeth and followed, hurrying towards Derek's car. Derek was right. Boyd needed immediate help before something seriously bad happened with the wolfsbane.

I surpassed Boyd while running and leaped over Derek's car, landing on the driver's side. I slid into the seat and Boyd sat in the passenger seat. The keychain hung from the ignition and I started the car then peeled out of the parking spot and onto the road. Boyd wheezed in his seat while I drove. "Hang in there, okay? We just have to get you to the station." I speed through the streets as fast as I could without wrecking or getting pulled over. When I finally pulled up outside, I climbed out and wrenched open the passenger side door, pulling Boyd with me into the building and down the stairs. I lost my grip on him and he fell to the floor next to some metal barrels. I winced. "Sorry!"

"Just get the bullets out," he groaned.

"Right, yeah, just cut you open. I can do that." I nodded erratically to myself and knelt next to him. Using the kunai on the chain, I cut through Boyd's shirt to expose the wounds. Counting seven wounds in total, I went in, cringing as I used the tip of the knife to dig out each bullet. He cried out in pain as the blade dug into his skin. Once I got the bullets out, I looked at him sympathetically. "The wolfsbane is still in you. This is going to hurt."

"It didn't already?" While a sense of humor was a good sign, a little knife cutting was nothing compared to what I was about to do. I placed a hand over one of the bullet wounds and set it ablaze. He screamed in agony and his claws came out. I dodged an unintentional swipe from him. I did not sign up for this.

"What are you doing?" I heard someone yell behind me.

Tearing my hand away, I looked and saw a concerned Isaac and Erica rushing down the stairs. "I have to get the wolfsbane out," I explained quickly. "He can't heal with it in his system. The only way to get it out is to burn it. Hold him down. I've got six more to go." The two betas hurried to either side of Boyd and held down his arms. I placed my hand on another wound and burned out the wolfsbane. Isaac and Erica struggled to keep Boyd under control. He was naturally stronger than them.

By the time I finished, Boyd had passed out from the pain. I slumped back on my feet, breathless and sore. Erica stayed close to Boyd, keeping a hand on his shoulder and looking over him. I looked down at my hands and saw they were covered in his blood.

My breathing quickened which Isaac noticed. "Hey, hey, hey," Isaac said, leaning towards me and taking my hands in his. "It's alright. Everything's fine. He's okay." Isaac wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. "It's just blood. It's all over."

I let out a deep breath. Everything was hitting me at once. I fought hunters. I used my powers against people. I had to cut into someone to pull out bullets. I had to use my powers to cauterize the wounds. That's a lot of firsts for one night. And I was pretty sure Isaac almost kissed me at the rave. Meanwhile, I didn't know where Derek, Scott, or Stiles were or if the plan to trap the kanima had even worked. But if the presence of Isaac and Erica but no Derek meant anything, it hadn't worked.

But Isaac sat there holding my shivering body in his arms. I needed to focus on that.