Codominance:

'In and out.'

'In and out.'

'In and out.'

Nerves caused my fingers to tingle as I sat silently on the couch in our living room, bouncing my knee up and down in a rhythmic fashion. My enhanced hearing couch perfectly hear Stiles playing around with the mechanics of his jeep in the garage and my brother packing a bag upstairs in preparation for their road trip to find Kira. I had let myself into the house only a few minutes prior, wanting to discuss the subject the three of us had actively avoided since I first mentioned it: the fact that I wasn't part of the pack any longer.

After the announcement last night no one uttered a word; Stiles didn't say anything sarcastic, Scott didn't try to coax the reason out of me, and I couldn't believe the words had even past my lips in the first place. The three of us all went our separate ways but ultimately ending up at the same destination and I hoped that it was metaphor for the future; travelling separately but ending up together at the same place. Just because we take different avenues didn't mean we didn't have the same principles, the same morals, and the same hope for a specific outcome of events. I still believed in protecting the innocents of Beacon Hills; 'we protect those unable to protect themselves.'

I wasn't going to sit around and mope about the turn of events; I wasn't going to let myself dwell on the misery I felt about the situation. I prided myself on being savagely unafraid to fight for what I felt was right, on being brave enough to go to war for those under my care and those who were seemingly unaware of the supernatural world that surrounded them.

The sound of the front door opening drew my attention as I stood up so that I was in a better positon to defend myself but the familiar scent associated with Liam hit me as the footsteps got closer to the living room. The young Beta hesitantly appeared from around the corner, his hands in his jean pockets and a sheepish expression on his face but his tense posture immediately relaxed when he saw that I was alone. My lips twitched in amusement but knew the reason for his wariness was because this was the first time he would be seeing Scott since the night of the Supermoon and he wasn't sure how the Alpha was going to react after nearly being killed by him.

I opened my mouth to reassure him but the sound of footsteps echoing from upstairs interrupted and Liam paled considerably as he practically scampered over to stand next to me, as though my presence would halt any wrath coming his way. It was a little humbling to know that he automatically assumed that I would be able to protect him, even from his Alpha's anger. I smiled slightly when he cowered behind me, peeking out over my shoulder as Scott appeared from around the staircase and I could feel the palpable tension in the air as my brother came to a stop at the base of the steps with wide eyes. The overnight duffel bag in his hands sagged slightly as his hands slackened and his expression remained wary as his dark brown eyes flickered with uncertainty, conflicted as to what to feel about the estranged Beta's presence.

Liam shifted nervously behind me, his heartbeat accelerating to an almost dangerous speed and I was starting to get concerned for his health when he suddenly blurted out, "They're alive."

Scott narrowed his eyes in confusion as he shifted on his feet but didn't say anything in response and Liam waited a moment longer to make sure before continuing to explain his words in a nervous ramble, "I mean, the Chimeras. Some of them – not all of them."

"I know." he replied shortly as he looked anywhere except for our direction and Liam tried to hide his grimace at the characteristically curt answer as I placed a comforting hand on his arm, knowing that he was blaming himself for the divide between them.

Maybe it was my own anger at my brother, or my personal experience with losing control, but I couldn't help feeling protective of the younger werewolf. I couldn't hold Liam responsible for what happened that night when others with more experience had fallen victim to the power of the lunar cycle; the full moon, the eclipse, the Supermoon, they were poison for a werewolf or any other supernatural creature dependent on the moon.

Another awkward silence overcame the trio; the tension causing me to shift my own weight as my fingers rubbed together in a subtle display of nerves. It had taken months of mediation and concentration to train my body not to react under any circumstance. After being tortured twice in the last few years I wasn't going to let any more of my enemies have the satisfaction of seeing or hearing me squirm if I had the chance to stop it from happening. I was tired of having my weaknesses used against me. I wasn't going to let that happen again.

Scott bit down on his lower lip as he adverted his gaze to the ground, seeming to be internally debating something before releasing a huff of air and making his way around us as he headed towards the back door. "I... I'm sorry, I can't talk right now, Liam."

Liam followed his Alpha's movements with wide eyes, the sadness and guilt wafting off of him, and he took a few steps forward as if to follow him but stopped almost as abruptly as he started. "It was Theo. He's the one who brought them back, and now they're with him. Like they're his pack."

"I know."

"Hayden's one of them."

The words sent a shudder through me as I adverted my gaze from them; unwilling to let them see the pain in my eyes at the mention of the girl I had unintentionally started to care for before her death. A part of me still blamed Scott for not even attempting to save her life but agonising over the fact wouldn't fix anything or magically rewind time, so I had to move on. I had to focus on the future, on keeping everyone safe from the unknown creature currently stalking the citizens of Beacon Hills. Time didn't stop just because I wanted it to, everyone else didn't give you time just because you were grieving. I didn't have the luxury of breaking down over person when everyone else was in danger of being killed right along with them.

Scott came to a sudden stop in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, his dark brown eyes shining with obviously genuine surprise at the remark and he seemed to briefly forget about how uncomfortable he felt around Liam as he asked, "She's okay?"

"She's alive. I'm not sure she's totally okay, but she's definitely alive." The Beta answered honestly with an insecure shrug of his shoulders as he rubbed his forearm absently and I gently placed a hand on his shoulder in hopes of comforting him even slightly. Scott breathed out a sigh as his tense body slumped in relief for a moment before remembering that he was speaking to the boy that almost killed him recently and emotionally withdrew from the conversation, physically turning away from us as he shifted the duffel bag on his shoulder.

"Where are you guys going?"

"To get Kira. Her dad told us that her mom took her out to New Mexico, to this place called Shiprock. They're trying to figure out a way to help her. But, it's dangerous... So, we're gonna go find her and bring her back."

Liam's eyes light up at the opportunity to help earn his Alpha's trust back and he immediately takes a few hasty steps forward as he exclaimed eagerly, "I'll come with you!"

The sudden movement causes Scott to reflexively step backwards from him, his complexion paling slightly as he put a hand up in front of him to stop anymore movement and I narrowed my eyes at him in anger when Liam recoiled as though someone had punched him in the stomach. Scott looked away instantly or he would've seen absolute devastation that clouded Liam's features and I felt my heart ache in my chest, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help mend their fractured relationship.

"Let me help." Liam pled emotionally with unshed tears in his eyes as he clenched his hands into fists at his side, digging his sharp claws into the palms of his hands until he drew blood. The faint scent had become familiar to me over the last few years and I knew that fear, adrenaline and anger were making it nearly impossible for him to control the subconscious trigger response. Scott came to a stop near the backdoor with his back facing us, hesitating on the precipice of allowing himself to forgive the younger boy and being scared to do so. Liam seemed to sense the same thing I did because he took another hesitant step forward and his voice became even more desperate as he continued to practically beg to be included, "Let me do something. Just tell me what I can do."

The silence that followed was practically deafening as my brother inhaled sharply, hesitating to answer as we stared at his tension riddled shoulders and I could barely his respond in a whisper over his shoulder as he walked out the backdoor without a backwards glance, "Don't do anything."

The door slammed closed behind him as Liam breathed out a strangled sigh, his entire body slumping with defeat as he stared at the door and I could practically taste the sadness in the atmosphere of the living room. Tears brimmed my own eyes, part out of anger at Scott and part out of helplessness because I didn't know what to do to help them recover. I ignored the ache in my chest, knowing that I was going to have to be strong for Liam as I stepped forward and wrapped my arm around his shoulders in a comforting embrace.

"Come on, hon. We have school, and after that I'm sure that someone will do something evil, or someone will go missing, and we'll need to investigate." I murmured softly to him in a humoured tone of voice before pressing a kiss to the side of his head and he chuckled weakly at my attempted at a joke as he leaned into my side for a moment. I released him with a sigh as I wandered over to the longue room so I could grab my purse from the couch and I heard the familiar spluttering of Stiles jeep as the engine turned over before it faded down the road.

I grabbed my keys, letting them dangle from my fingertips as I held them up tauntingly and turned my head to smirk at the younger boy as I offered, "Want to drive?"

Excitement mingled with anticipation in my bloodstream as I finished writing notes on the blackboard and I placed the stick of chalk down before brushing the dust off of my hands. Biology wasn't my absolute favourite subject but it was a requirement for the psychology course I was taking at Stanford online. I was luckily enough that Mrs Finch had offered to oversee my unpaid internship at the high school and was allowing me to take control of her sophomore class. I had spent time preparing a lecture of co-dominance for the class and was actually pretty excited to be passing on my knowledge.

The sound of the bell ringing caused a smile to spread across my lips as the pounding of feet got closer to the lab and I heard the mumbled inquires as to where Mrs Finch was as the students took their seats. I turned around to face the classroom as I noticed Liam pause in the doorway with an incredulous expression but I merely quirked an eyebrow with a smirk as I gestured for him to take a seat. Mason grinned happily with a jaunty wave as he made his way past me, gently pushing his best friend towards the tables and I couldn't help shaking my head in amusement at the two of them. I noticed Corey enter the room from the corner of my eye as he looked at me with a small frown on his lips but I offered him a small smile as I tried to ignore the warmth that occurred in my chest at his presence.

I knew that it was because he was Chimera, he was my pack and I was his Alpha. Theo could play pretend all he wanted but genetics and the connection I felt towards them was undeniable.

I heard a sharp intake of breath at the doorway, causing me to look over and see Hayden standing there looking alive and well with a scowl marring her face. I could hear her heartbeat increase at the sight of me at the front of the room but I maintained a professional expression as I quirked an eyebrow at her in silent question. She adverted her gaze from me as she wandered over to sit down and I could sense her uncertainty from the front of the room, the scent of her chemo-signals almost over powering.

"What are you doing here?" Hayden asked me with a slight attitude as she sat down at a bench near the centre of the room and a few of the other teens looked at her with wide eyes, obviously having heard my reputation and were surprised by her candour.

"I need a biology internship for my psychology class." I explained calmly as I leaned my back against the front of the desk with my arms crossed over my chest and I was met with a few confused looks as quiet murmurs filled the room because the high school didn't offer a psychology course.

"Sophie's taking classes at Stanford University online. She's nearly completed her freshman year." Mason boasted proudly with a grin as he sat up straighter in his seat and I chuckled in amusement as he blushed in embarrassment when he noticed everyone staring at him in confusion.

"He's not wrong. Now, everyone shut up and pay attention." I said firmly as I pushed myself off of the desk and let my gaze drift over all of them, causing all of them to fall silent. I allowed a smirk to play on my lips, satisfied with my power over them and I calmly paced in front of the class as I started my lecture, "Codominance, a relationship among alleles where both alleles contribute to the phenotype of the heterozygote. Quite a mouthful, I know, but it's exactly what we'll be learning in today's lab. Students in the first and third row, look behind you – these are your partners."

I struggled to contain my laughter when Hayden turned around to see Liam sitting behind her in the third row, both of them looking uncomfortable and awkward in response to the prospect of being partnered up. Liam raised his arm as he opened his mouth to complain but I gently bopped him on the head in reprimand and he ducked out of the way with a grimace as I called out, "No switching!"

Liam scoffed sarcastically as he looked pointedly towards the other side of the room where Mason was pulling a student away from their desk and taking the position for himself so that he could be partnered with Corey. I supressed a grin at his amusing antics as I shook my head at him, pleased that Corey was smiling brightly at the other boy in reply and I made my way back to the front of the class as everyone switched seats to sit next to their newly assigned partners.

"Remember that in codominance, neither allele is recessive- the phenotypes of both alleles are expressed." I told them firmly as I glanced at the diagram for codominance that had been drawn on the chalkboard, which involved a red fish and a blue fish mating to create a purple fish. I spun around to face the class with a small smirk on my lips, loving that fact that everyone's attention was on me and they seemed riveted by what I was telling them. It was definitely an adrenaline rush. I looked out at all of the people in the crowd until my gaze landed on Corey and I strolled over to stand in front of him as I asked him, "Corey, in human blood, what is a good example of codominance?"

The Chimera looked up at me with wide eyes, surprised that I had called him out in front of the class and he stole a quick glance towards Mason before turning back to me as he answered in a questioning tone, "Type AB?"

"Very good! So, today you're going to solve a little mystery. Two couples had babies on the same day in the same hospital. Were the babies switched? Open your packets and read the instructions." I told them as I handed out a two pieces of paper stapled together to each partnered group and a few people groaned in annoyance, probably hoping that I would let them spend the day goofing off since I wasn't a real teacher. I rolled my eyes at them with an amused smirk as I moved to stand in front of the class, leaning back against the desk and watching everyone get started on their paperwork.

"Gonna talk to me?" I heard Hayden whisper to Liam under her breath near the back of the room and I tried not to listen to them but my enhanced hearing made it impossible not to.

"I'm reading the instructions..." Liam murmured back to her as he purposely ignored her stare in favour of skimming through the packet in front of him and Hayden sighed in exasperation as she gave him a pointed look, signalling her displeasure at his avoidance.

"You know what I mean."

"You mean, how you're hanging out with a total psycho that tried to get me to kill Scott and then did it himself? The same psycho that was partnered with the people who tortured Sophie? Who would've tortured me if Sophie had sacrificed herself to keep me safe? Yeah, okay, let's-let's talk about that." the young man said sarcastically with a fake smile as he turned to look at her, anger glowing in his eyes and I lowered my head in order to hide the small smile that spread across my lips when he defended me.

"That total psycho brought me back to life. Remember that?" Hayden shot back after a moment as she flinched at the reminder of the gruesome injuries she had seen afflicted on my person by the Dread Doctors. Liam frowned as he looked back down at his paper, unhappy with the reminder of her death and severely uncomfortable with how much she seemed to be defending Theo There was an awkward moment of silence where neither of them said a word but she cracked first as she sighed heavily before continued, "I'm not dying again."

"You don't have to – "

"– Why? Because Scott's gonna save us? He doesn't even know what's coming."

Liam lifted his head to look at her with an incredulous expression on his face, his interest piqued while simultaneously making him worried, both because she knows something he doesn't and because it's obviously something bad. "What do you mean? What's coming?"

She bit her lower lip in consideration, trying to decide if she had said too much and she opened her mouth to answer but the bell rang overhead, interrupting whatever she was going to say. Hayden quickly stuffed her books into her backpack before heading out of the lab without a backwards glance while everyone else left at a slower pace. Some of the students offered me a smile when they left their worksheet on the front desk, some chatting quietly to another as they left the room until only Mason and Liam were left with me.

"Did you hear Hayden? I think Theo knows more about the creature that killed at the technician." Liam stated in a rushed forward with a panicked expression, a fierce burning in his blue eyes and I smiled slightly in order to calm him down; it didn't matter how often I told him that calmer heads prevailed, he always seemed on the brink of intensity.

"It seems that way, yeah. Damnatio Memoriae. It's Latin. It means the condemnation of memory. I think it also means that whatever the Dread Doctors created, whatever this last Chimera really is, it's not something new. It's something old. Really old. They didn't create a new creature. They resurrected one. Theo definitely knew something, and didn't want us to know. So, after school I'll go through all of my research material, our bestiary, and maybe make some phone calls to my contacts, see if anyone knows anything helpful." I told them calmly with a small smile on my lips as I placed a hand on the Beta's shoulder and gently but forcefully started guiding him out of the classroom with Mason trailing after us.

"But what – "he started to complain as we entered the hallway, dodging some of the other students that were getting things out of their lockers or making their way to their next class of the day. I stumbled into his back when he came to a sudden stop in the middle of the corridor and I scowled at him as I moved to stand next to him so that I could see what had caught his attention.

My eyes narrowed when I witnessed Hayden leaning back against her locker with a faint upturn of her lips as Theo stood next to her, leaning one hand next to her head as he leaned in to whisper something in her ear. a vicious scowl twisted Liam's lips when she let out a melodic laugh at whatever Theo had said, a bright smile on her lips and I heard a faint growl rumbled from the Beta's chest as he was transfixed by the scene playing out. It was obvious by the smirk on Theo's lips that he was aware that the trio were watching them, and was taking great pleasure in making Liam angry and me annoyed.

"You said Scott told you not to do anything." Mason warned anxiously when he noticed that his best friend was clenching his jaw in an attempt to quell his rising fury and Liam's glare could have melted a glacier as he kept his eyes on them when he responded to his friends comment in a stifled tone of voice.

"I know."

"Liam, you said you weren't gonna get involved."

"I know."

"Liam, don't get involved."

"Screw that. I'm going to kick his ass. Again." I muttered in annoyance as I watched Theo lead Hayden down the hallway in the opposite direction, my mouth twisted into a scowl and my hands clenched into fists at my side. I took a deep breath to calm myself down, closing my eyes as I counted to ten in my head before opening them again and forced a smile onto my lips as I nodded towards the sophomores before walking down the corridor without a backwards glance.

3rd Person POV:

"What are you doing?" a familiar voice asked Liam sweetly, causing him to jump slightly in surprise from where he was sitting on the steps in the library and he scowled in frustration as he warily watched Hayden walk over to sit beside him with kind expression.

Nervous anticipation caused his heartbeat to pick up speed, and he was sure that she would have picked up on it immediately if she had training. That was one of the things that he would forever be grateful towards Sophie for; that she had taken the time at the beginning to teach him everything she knew about being a werewolf, everything about combat and strategies, everything that he needed to know now that he was a part of the supernatural world. In all likelihood, he probably would've died multiple times over if it hadn't for Sophie tutoring. He doubted that Theo had taken the time to teach the chimeras even the basics; probably just the barely minimum, enough to survive.

The Beta werewolf scoffed slightly with a roll of his eyes as he looked away, unsure how he felt about her presence when he was so unsure of their current relationship status. Her familiar scent washed over him like a calming balm and he ducked his head in embarrassment when his lips turned up uncontrollably, a flush causing his neck to redden. He thought about not giving an answer, he thought about ignoring her, but he couldn't, he couldn't do that, so he grunted out the truth, "Trying not to get involved."

"Does that include me?" she asked him hesitantly as she took a seat beside him on the stairs, making sure that they weren't touching because she wasn't sure she could handle the rejection if he recoiled from her touch.

Liam couldn't help but chuckle softly as he shook his head with a shrug, unable to give her the answer she wanted, the answer he wanted to give, but he also couldn't relented, so he settled on an honest, "Maybe."

Hayden seemed to take his answer as an invitation to slide closer to him on the step, letting her thigh brush against his and her breath caught when she saw his fingers twitch like he was holding himself back from grabbing her hand. 'He still cares', she thought happily as her lips turned up in the corners and she pondered for a moment how to make him understand, how to avoid a miscommunication before speaking slowly, "I know how you look up to Scott, and how you all feel about him... But he just can't protect us the way Theo can. My sister..."

"– Your sister's a Sheriff's deputy, and she looks like she can handle herself."

"Not if I'm dead. She's not gonna be able to handle that at all." she insisted forcefully in a strong voice as she turned her body slightly so that she was looking straight into his eyes in order to convey how serious she was about the topic. "I can't die again, Liam. Do you get it? It would ruin her."

A frown pulled at the corner of his lips as he looked down at the floor at the reminder of her death, a familiar ache in his chest, a painful reminder that she could've been lost to him forever and he lifted his head to look at her through his eyelashes as he admitted sheepishly, "It would ruin me, too."

Hope shone bright in her eyes as he slowly leaned towards her and her lips parted instinctively as she copied his movement, allowing him to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. She felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest as a warmth spread through her veins, reminding her of coming room and she reached up to grasp the nape of his neck to keep him from moving away when he pulled back slightly. He chuckled breathlessly against her lips in response but placed a loving hand on her cheek as she leaned into his touch and he felt a sense of pride when she moaned slightly in pleasure as he deepened the kiss.

"Ah...young love. Two lovers on the opposite side of a war between families. So Romeo and Juliet. So cliché." A familiar female voice cooed teasingly from close by, causing Liam to groan in annoyance and Hayden to jump in fright since she hadn't noticed anyone approaching them. The Beta leaned his forehead against her shoulder with his eyes closed for a moment, concentrating on calming down his breathing so his heartbeat would slow down and a blush spread across his cheeks at being caught making out by a woman who acted half like a sister and half like a mother.

"Go away, Sophie." he groaned out through gritted teeth as he lifted his head to glare at her without any real heat behind it and Hayden quickly dropped her hands to her lap, unable to look at the brunette beauty standing in front of them.

"Interesting proposal. I'm gonna go with 'no'." Sophie pondered sarcastically as she tilted her head to the side with her hands resting on her hips and Liam gave her a pointed look as he noticed Hayden inching away from him. An uncomfortable grimace marred her features like she didn't know how to interact with the older girl who had stayed by her side the entire time she was dying and he reached over to cover her hand with his in order to offer her some comfort.

"Why? Do you have some problem with Liam and I being together?" Hayden asked in a hostile tone with a glare as she lifted her chin rebelliously, causing Sophie to quirk an eyebrow at her in amusement as Liam winced sympathetically at the direction the conversation was headed. The chimera frown slightly to herself, unsure why she was being so difficult but she couldn't stop the words from pouring from her mouth.

A melancholic smile appeared on the older girls lips as she looked between the two sophomores sitting on the steps in front of her; Liam gave her a knowing look, his eyes offering her an out if she wanted to take it but she thought that the story could either help them move forward in their relationship or provide a cautionary tale.

Sophie let out a breath as she folded her arms over her chest, looking them both directly in the eye as she spoke and she kept her voice emotionally detached as she started to explain, "I don't care that you're on opposite sides. None of us do, but I especially don't. When I was a junior, a pack came into town looking to recruit Derek, Scott and I. they wanted us to eliminate the rest of our pack, and to do that they needed information on us, to see who would be the weakest link. Two twins enrolled here at the school and were instructed to get close to Lydia and our friend Danny. But one of the twins took a liking to me instead. I knew immediately that he was a werewolf and made the connection that he was part of the rival pack. I didn't care. He was hot, I was bored, and so we started sleeping together. By the end of the civil war, we had lost two of our members and so had they, but the twins survived. They decided to stay in town, and Scott agreed to give them a trial period. Aiden and I started to like each other more and more, started spending time together without having sex, until he eventually got me to cave and we started dating. Something…bad, came to town. Something completely evil, and we lost one of our members. Aiden wanted us to run away together, but I wouldn't go. I couldn't go. Not while everyone else was in danger. In the end, Aiden sacrificed himself to save Derek's life. He died in his brother's arm, with me by his side."

Silence concluded the story as Sophie sniffled slightly, gently brushing away a few of the errant tears that had escaped during the story and Hayden was gaping a little with a look of complete embarrassment for even starting the conversation while Liam rubbed circles on her back with a downtrodden expression. It wasn't the first time that the senior had told given a brief summary of her past but it never seemed to get any easier to tell.

In Hayden's eyes, Sophie had always carried herself with a confidence she wasn't sure was deserved; she acted so graceful and put together, like nothing and no one could touch her without permission. But that wasn't the case at all. Sophie was strong. It wasn't that nothing could touch her, it was that every time she was knocked over she got back up from the ground.

"Look, whatever Theo's told you, it's probably not true, but the one thing you can't believe is that we don't care. We do. We care. About everyone. 'Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux mêmes'," Sophie quoted solemnly with an intensity that caused Hayden to crease her eyebrows in confusion, especially when she noticed Liam nodding along with the words from the corner of her eyes like she meant to know what they meant.

"I don't know what that means." she admitted softly with a frown as she looked between the two of them, feeling oddly left out when they shared a companionable look that she couldn't begin to decipher.

"'We protect those who cannot protect themselves.' It's French." Liam explained to her with a sense of pride in his voice, happiness shining in his blue eyes as he looked over at her with a small smile before glancing over to Sophie with admiration clear in his expression.

The sound of footsteps rushing towards them caused Sophie to stand up straighter, his expression morphing from relaxed and open to blank and on guard; it was almost startling to witness firsthand. She glanced over shoulder and started to relax when she saw that it was Mason and Corey approaching them; the former grinning excitedly while the latter looked on in confusion.

The older girl quirked an eyebrow at them in amusement, waiting for one of them to speak since the human boy was practically vibrating with excitement and she asked him slowly as though he was a small child, "Mason? Something to share with the class?"

"I found out something from Corey. We know what Theo's doing. He's looking for an Alpha. A blind Alpha." he answered in a rush, the words blurred together into one long sentence, and his dark eyes were alight as he bounced on his toes in enthusiasm.

Sophie felt her eyes widen in shock as she quickly hide her surprise from the others and silently wondered what the hell Theo was looking for Deucalion but knew that it worked in our advantage. Theo obviously didn't know that we had reached a truce with him after the obliteration of the Alpha Pack, or that the so-called 'demon wolf' often called to check-up on his 'daughter in law'.

She tried to hide the smile that was growing her lips as she placed her clasped hands in front of her mouth and she turned towards the younger members of her pack as she declared happily, "Come on, boys. We have plans to make, and no offence, but as much as I like you both, I don't trust you. I don't want our strategies getting back to Theo. Mason, Liam, say goodbye and meet me by my car. Chop, chop!"

The four younger students watched the charismatic brunette saunter out of the library, dialling someone on her cell phone and not paying attention to anyone around her as she went. There was something about Sophie that was undeniably attractive and alluring, an aura around her that sucked you in and lulled you in a sense of security.

And for the first time since waking up from their deaths, Corey and Hayden contemplated whether or not they were on the right side of the upcoming war.