Chapter 2

As they were driving to the school to get ready for the game, Scott was lost in thoughts, leaning his head by the window. His nose had healed half an hour ago, perks of being a werewolf. But that didn't mean, that he had forgotten the impeccable punch across his face. It wasn't that it had hurt his ego or something like that. In fact, he thought the punch to be quite justified, considering he had got Amara's brother arrested. And it was one thing he had actually expected her – no, wanted her to do – rather than her condescending smile, followed by the cold and cutting remarks.

If he did a closer inspection of his thoughts, he didn't even know why the punch was one to be remembered, other than the fact, that it was related to Derek's sister, who so mysteriously appeared out of nowhere this morning. Well, he wouldn't say she was mysterious. In fact, she was quite honest with what was actually happening around the town. She said more things in just that 10-15 minutes of their encounter which he couldn't get out of Derek in their three whole meetings.

Now that he was no longer on the receiving end of her verbal jabs, he could actually process his thoughts about her. He wouldn't say that he was smitten with her, he would rather not dare to. And besides, he liked Allison. Yes, he liked her a lot, to think about another girl. But that didn't mean, he wouldn't be curious about someone. And Amara was a person to be curious about.

First of all, her whole personality had been quite intriguing. She was not at all a brood like Derek, he figured. In fact, she was a lot like Stiles, with her witty and sarcastic comments. If it were an alternate universe, they could actually have a fun time, and Stiles and Amara would definitely debate over who was the more sarcastic one.

The second was her scent – which Scott didn't notice at that time. It was a mixture of roses and lavender, and was, somehow…quite tantalizing, if that was the correct word, especially during that moment when she was so close to him, that their noses were almost touching. Yes, he was definitely never going to forget that. That moment was supposed to be intimidating on her part, at least that's what he supposed it to be, and she supposed it too perhaps. But…it was something else, really, now that he thought about it. Something, close to…sensual, especially when he could feel her breath on his lips, along with her scent filling his senses, and he was staring so closely at those devastating green eyes.

Yes, that was the third intriguing thing about her. Because, apart from their rarity, Scott saw so many things in the depths of her eyes, which could not be deciphered by her face. They somewhat represented a fiery and charismatic nature, radiating a surge of power that could even make Derek take a step back, and that was saying something. Along with that, they also displayed a haunted innocence, which somehow spoke of uncountable terrors plaguing a pure heart. Such enchanting, and mesmerizing were those emerald orbs that he had actually drowned into it until she drew back.

Another thought crossed upon him. Her scar. Firstly, how did she get a scar like that? It looked like someone had cut across her forehead with a knife; he shuddered by just thinking that. And then it looked so fresh! Generally, if one got any scar, it usually faded with time, if not completely gone. But hers wasn't the case. It was still so clear, that he had doubts that she might have got it recently. But that's where he was confused. If she was Derek's sister, she must be a werewolf. Which meant that her scar should have been completely healed by now. Unless…she wasn't. Scott recalled, that she wasn't affected at all by the wolfsbane flower, while that Moony guy did; even his eyes glowed, although not of the same colour as him.

And last was her accent. It was sooo…British! In fact, all three of them had a British accent. And Scott knew that Derek's was full American. But she claims to be his sister. Then how…?

So many questions were roaming inside his head about this one girl, that he had completely forgotten about the fact that he had a game to play in half an hour, or that there was a bloodthirsty alpha along with hunters after his life. He felt his shoulder being shaken by someone, and his name being called…

"Scott. Scott! SCOTT!"

Scott shook out of his thoughts and turned towards Stiles, who had a weary expression on his face. He cleared his throat, and asked, "Yeah. What is it?"

"What do you mean what is it?" Stiles asked looking rather irritated with his best friend, "I've called you so many times! We've reached school?"

"We have?" Scott asked, surprised.

"Yes! And the game starts in 20 minutes. So, we need to go to the locker room and change fast."

"Oh! Um…okay. Let's go."

Stiles stared at him for a long moment, which made him a little uncomfortable, "What's gotten into you? You didn't say a word the whole ride.", he finally broke the stare and inquired.

Scott thought about it. Should he tell him? No. Now was not the best time to talk about all this.

"Um…nothing. It's just…a lot has happened overnight. So…I was just thinking about it. That's all." Scott spoke, trying to wave it off like it was nothing, but by the look on Stiles's face, he figured that he didn't believe him. Thankfully, Stiles didn't press it further, and the two best friends got out of the jeep and went inside the school.

The whole day, constituting of Derek's arrest in the morning, the encounter with his mysterious sister, along with the whole match, followed by the events that happened after, could get only one word from Stiles, "Damm!"

To say that the match was eventful would be an understatement. It first started with Lydia grabbing Scott by the collar, as soon as they came to the field, and although he had moved afar from them and was, therefore, out of earshot, he could very well guess, that Lydia was threatening him, in a way, to win at any cost. Yes like that is going to diffuse some tension, he thought. Stiles sat on the bench and looked over to the bleachers. He could see Melissa, Allison, and…

Holy Shit!

Her father, the hunter, Argent!

Oh, this is not gonna be good, he figured.

Stiles didn't know whether Scott had seen him too or not, as just then the referee blew the whistle, signalling the start of the match.

Jackson seized the first opportunity and started running with the ball, as did the other players along with Scott. But Jackson didn't pass him; in fact, he didn't even seem to notice him and instead passed it to Danny. This happened quite a few times, even when Scott was in the clear, and passing him the ball would have been advantageous. After the third goal that Jackson made, Stiles figured, that he deliberately didn't include Scott in the game, and he might have told the other players as well. On top of that, Stiles saw both Lydia and Allison holding a placard stating, 'We love u Jackson!', and Scott looking at them. "Oh, this definitely can't be good!", he spoke loudly this time.

The match started again and…did he hear Scott growling? And was there a glint of gold in his eyes? Oh god, he swore in his mind. He didn't even know, that in his nervousness, he was chewing on his quidditch glove. The referee whistled and the other team captain seized the ball and threw it up in the air. And Scott…he took a massive jump over three players, caught the ball in his lacrosse stick, and started running. It looked as if, even a thunderstorm wasn't going to make Scott pass the ball to anyone else. He started dodging the other players with expert skill and threw the ball towards the net, making his first goal in the match. The crowd just erupted, and Stiles could see Allison jumping up and down on her seat.

The referee whistled again, and this time the ball wasn't seized by any other captain, but another player in the other team. But then…he passed the ball to SCOTT! Did he…oh no. Needless to say, everyone in the audience as well as the players were shocked by this. Even the coach inquired as much, "Did that player just…passed the ball to us?"

"I believe he did.", Stiles replied shakily, still chewing on his quidditch glove. If Scott has shifted, then it wouldn't be long before he gets out of control and…he didn't want to think what would happen then. The said boy caught the ball again, and dodging other players, he threw the ball with such force, that it tore through the goalie's stick and…GOAL!

Stiles didn't even realize, that even he was jumping in excitement. The coach had joined him in shouting with glee. The other team's coach had come by then, and they had quite a debate over the ball tearing through the lacrosse stick net. But in the end, he had to concede. It was a clear shot, after all.

Only a few seconds were left and Scott had again caught the ball, but when he reached near the net, he was blocked by three players from the opposing team, and Stiles could hear a faint growl all the way from his seat, and it looked for a moment as if he was going to lunge at them. He was mentally screaming to the heavens to send help of any kind to save his best friend. But just as he lost all hope…he could see that Scott calmed down a bit and threw the ball expertly towards the net, and…

Another GOAL!

As the referee whistled, signalling the end of the match, and Stiles let out a breath that he didn't even realize he was holding. Beacon Hills High School had won by 6-5! The crowd of their school erupted from the seats and ran towards the field to cheer for their team, and especially Scott. But, Stiles noticed, he ran towards the school, preferably towards the boys' locker room. He slumped to his seat, as he heard his dad talking with an officer on the phone. The way his brows furrowed, made Stiles unsettle. As soon as he ended the call, Stiles walked up to his father.

"Dad, what is it?"

His dad let out a sigh, "During the autopsy of the body, animal hairs were found. And they identified the body, both halves…It's Laura Hale!"

Stiles's mouth parted in surprise. So, Amara was right. It was their sister. And animal hairs were found, which meant…he looked at his father in question. "They let Derek out", he confirmed. Stiles wouldn't say that he was entirely pleased because now they both would have to face Derek's wrath. It didn't seem that his dad was pleased with it as well, but he didn't say anything, as he bid goodbye to him while going to the station. Stiles was just contemplating on whether it would be better to tell Scott the news now when a British accented voice came from behind…

"Well, the match was quite disastrous, I must say." It was so sudden, that Stiles jumped almost 3 feet into the air, and whirled around, flailing his arms to the source of the voice. It was Amara, who had pursed her lips, trying to control her laughter. She was with the woman they had seen in the morning, and even she had clamped her hand on her mouth to stop her chuckles. Needless to say, Stiles became quite annoyed.

"You Hales surely love to give heart attacks to people.", he quipped. This time, they both burst out laughing, which annoyed him all the more. "And now you're laughing at me", he deadpanned.

Amara cleared her throat to control her laughter, and then spoke, "Well I certainly didn't expect you to react like…that", she pointed towards the stance in which he was still standing. He straightened up, and then, for some reason, he smiled as well. It actually was quite funny, he thought. But then he remembered what Amara had said, about the match.

"It wasn't that bad, the match.", he tried to protest.

Amara raised an impressive eyebrow, "That friend of yours, he shifted in public", she pointed out.

"That friend of mine…has a name!" Stiles argued.

Amara gave a look that clearly meant that she didn't really care, but he still felt the need to supply, "His name is Scott…and he controlled himself."

"Only barely, and at the last moment. It's perhaps Merlin's good grace, that nobody saw it, or even if they did, they didn't question it." She pointed out. Wait! Merlin! Now it was Stiles's turn to be amused.

The girls in front of him looked at each other in confusion. The brownish-pink haired woman, Dora was it? Yes, asked, "What's so funny?"

Stiles coughed to cover his laughter and replied, "No…you said Merlin…sooo…"

Amara drew back a little, looking like she just slipped a closely guarded secret. "Oh…it's just a figure of speech.", Stiles would have said something more, but she looked around the field, and spoke, "Where is Scott anyway?" she deliberately emphasized his name, he noticed.

"I saw him running towards the school after we won. I think he's gone to the locker room to cool off."

Amara's eyes seemed like they'd bulged out of sockets. But it was Dora who asked on her behalf, "You mean, Scott is in the locker room, almost out of control, where we just saw Argent's daughter going to, a minute ago?"

Blood drained out of Stiles's face. He didn't even realize that someone would follow him into the locker room. He immediately sprinted towards it, dreading whether he would be able to stop Scott at the right moment. He turned the corridors here and there, and when he reached the locker room, he looked like he was about to collapse. He saw that one of the mirrors of the sink was broken. Oh god, oh god, oh god, very quietly and slowly he took the steps forward and peeped from one of the lockers towards the showers. "Whew!" he made a low sigh of relief. Scott had shifted back, and he was kissing Allison. Well, that's a good sign then! he thought. They broke apart, and after mumbling something to Scott, Allison left the locker room, giving Stiles a wave.

Scott looked particularly giddy and was smiling from ear to ear like a lovesick puppy, as he came towards him, and Stiles debated again, whether he should give the news to him tonight.

"I kissed her!"

"I saw", Stiles deadpanned.

"She kissed me!"

" 'Saw that too."

Scott was smiling to himself, which made Stiles smile too. "It's pretty good, huh?"

The answer was pretty much in Scott's beaming eyes. He continued, "I-I-I don't know how b-but I controlled it.", his voice had dropped to a whisper, "I pulled it back. Maybe I can do this. Maybe it's not that bad."

"Yeah.." Stiles forced a smile. It's better not to ruin his mood. "We'll talk later then," with that he was about to leave when Scott stopped him. Oh god, now he wants to know, he grimaced.

"What?" Scott asked.

Here goes nothing.

"The medical examiner…looked at the half body we found."

"And.." Scott urged.

"And…well to keep it simple…medical examiner determines the killer of the girl to be animal, not human. Derek's human, not animal. Derek not killer. Derek let out of jail."

The smile on Scott's face disappeared with the speed of ripping up a bandage. "What?" he asked in a panicked manner.

"Yes. And here's a bigger kick in the ass. It seems Amara was right. My dad identified the body, both halves, and confirmed it was indeed Laura Hale, their elder sister."

Scott was silent for a few moments. Stiles was beginning to think that he must have been paralyzed from shock when he finally spoke, his voice shaking, "So then…" he licked his lips, "her other words are also true? There is a murderous alpha still out in the town, and he is after me now?"

"Probably, yes."

"Oh, God!...Oh god...Oh god!"

Stiles could see that he had started hyperventilating, so he quickly made him sit at a nearby bench, "Scott, take deep breaths. Watch me, huh? Breathe in. Breathe out." Scott watched him, as he demonstrated, and he followed for a few minutes, after which he finally calmed down. His brows furrowed suddenly, and he looked up at him, and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Stiles…I think Amara was here…during the match."

"Yes, I know. I saw her."

"Really?" Scott sounded surprised, "When?"

"Well just before I came into the locker room, I was actually talking to her. She told me that Allison…"

"Where did she go?"

Stiles frowned a little. Why was Scott sounding so urgent?

"I-I don't know. We're talking by the bleachers. I thought she was behind me, when – hey Scott, where you goin'?"

But Scott didn't listen, as he sprinted out of the locker room towards the field. Needless to say, Stiles also followed him. Once they reached the bleachers, Scott looked around scanning the field. But nobody was there. Stiles reached out of breath, and he asked, wheezing, "What's going on dude?"

"Where is she?"

"Well, she might have left", Stiles said it like an obvious statement.

"Yes, but where?"

Stiles looked at him incredulously, "Dude, I just told you that Derek was released from jail."

"So?"

"So, she might have gone to the police station to receive him."

Scott seemed to mellow down a bit at that statement. "Yeah…you're right.", he said distractedly.

Stiles was now growing a bit concerned about his best friend. Just a minute ago, he was so giddy about kissing Allison, and now he looked totally…lost. And he didn't, for heavens knew why.

"What's gotten into you, man?", he asked it the third time this evening, but before Scott could answer,

"Scott! Oh! Thank God! You're here!", it was Melissa, Scott's mom, who strode towards them, taking a sigh of relief. "I've been looking all over for you. Where were you anyway?"

"I-I was in the locker room. You know…my first match. I had an adrenaline rush."

"Oh…well, you should have. It was your first match after all." Melissa said in an obvious sort of manner. "Speaking of which, you were wonderful out there! I'm so proud of you!" Scott beamed at that. "Thanks, mom." His giddiness seemed to have returned a bit. Stiles decided to leave the mother-son duo for tonight, and so he bid goodbye to them and went to his jeep. Whatever happened today, they have plenty of time to discuss it later. Especially, Scott's behaviour towards Amara!

The black Camaro reached the end of the town of Beacon Hills. From the front Derek and Amara got out, followed by Remus and Tonks from the back. Amara let out a low whistle.

"Well, it was an eventful day, wasn't it?", she spoke, turning towards Derek.

"Yes, but it ends now with you going back," Derek stated firmly.

"But Derek –"

"No buts. We've already talked about this all the way down here. It's not safe!"

"But I have Moony and Dora with me!"

"That doesn't make me worry any less about you. Especially after…" Derek trailed off. He couldn't bring Laura into the discussion. It was still too painful to talk about her so soon. But Amara's eyes told him that she understood the reference, as she let out a sigh.

He continued, "I can't fulfil my purpose, of tracking down the alpha, if I constantly have to worry about you. Please try to understand." His face was stern, but his voice was pleading. "And besides," he spoke, "it's not like, you'll be able to change the whole town of Beacon Hills, in another 3 days of your leave."

"You may be surprised."

"Hmm. There's no need of being cheeky with me. It's not gonna work."

"Ugh," she groaned, "fine. I'll go back."

"That's my good sister!" Derek smiled a little, which she returned. He then proceeded to ask her about the task he had given her before being arrested, that was, to check if Scott remains grounded, during the match.

"He shifted if that's what you're asking." Amara stated, "But he pulled back at the last moment which is…kind of a…good thing."

"Did anyone see you there? The Argents?"

"Nope. Except for Stiles, nobody else. All thanks to Dora, and her expert disillusionment charm."

The said person did a little mock bow, to which Remus chuckled fondly. Amara looked at the two people with amusement. These two are clearly meant to be together, she thought. But, then she became serious. There was still a little thing to say to Derek before she left.

"All anger, resentment, and annoyance aside, I think you should seriously consider helping Scott." Derek looked at her, confused. She cleared her throat, and spoke, "Derek. I know that both of them are total dimwits, and frankly Scott…is a complete git." Her elder brother scoffed at that, "But…", she urged, "…he is still new to this supernatural world. From what I saw during that morning encounter, and during the match, he looked…totally lost."

"And whose fault is that? Besides, does it even matter now? The last time I checked, he didn't want any of my help. And he would happily turn against me for his trivial gains."

"Yes because he still doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. And it matters because…I was also like that…6 years ago…when I first came to know about me being a witch and the Wizarding World. In fact, I would say that I was so lucky I had so many people around to constantly guide me." She looked towards Remus, who smiled, "this guy…he has no one, except that muggle friend of his, and you!"

"And besides," she continued, "an unguided newbie werewolf would be quite dangerous for him, as well as you, now especially when the hunters and an alpha is around."

Derek stared at his sister for a long time. When did she become so mature? Just two years back, she was being moody, and aggressive, throwing things, screaming at the top of her lungs, all over the house. She was acting so juvenile…just like a 14–15-year-old should do, he figured. And now…she looked like; she carried the weight of the entire world on her fragile shoulders.

When did she grow up so much?

When did those beautiful and lively emerald eyes start looking so dull like they had seen years of suffering?

When did it all change?

Or, the better question would be, why didn't he notice that before?

He grasped both her hands and ran his thumb soothingly on the back of her knuckles. He could feel the carvings on the back of her right hand, I must not tell lies, even though they had faded quite a bit now. He still could not fathom where she got all that strength, that she was repeatedly able to endure that torture by that pink-clad-toad-face woman, in the name of detentions last year. She wasn't a werewolf like him, she couldn't heal. And yet, it seemed as if she was stronger than him.

Amara kept her left hand over his, and spoke, "It doesn't hurt anymore Derek."

"I know", he whispered.

Amara then said, "Promise me that you'll help him."

"I can't promise that," Derek was met with a stern gaze. "I'll try my best, in what I can do. But, he needs to come to me first. I deserve at least that much!"

Amara let out a sigh. "Fine," she said.

Derek then turned to Remus, "How are you going to go?"

"We'll first, have to go to MACUSA headquarters. From there we'll have to arrange the permit for the International Portkey. We'll reach by dawn."

"Good," Derek said.

Dora then supplied, "Come on 'Mary! It's already late!"

Amara grimaced at the nickname again but didn't say anything.

She then jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly, which Derek returned with equal fervour. "Be careful" she spoke. "I will" he replied.

They broke apart after a few moments, and Amara went towards Remus and Tonks to place herself in the middle. Her arms were grabbed by both of them, and with a crack, they were gone.

Derek stood there, staring into nothing for a few more minutes, then letting out a sigh, he went back to his Camaro and drove off to his place. Though there have been many dangers lurking around the castle of Hogwarts itself, it's still as safe as it could be for Amara, and now that he knew that she would be within the grounds by dawn, Derek could freely focus on the task at hand.

And anyway, it was only 5 months after which she would be back for the summer holidays. Though they had a house in New York, it had been quite some time for them to stay in their hometown. He could take a big apartment where the two siblings could live.

Who knew at that time that that was the last time he would be seeing her?