The following night I was once again at home, making dinner with Erica. And unfortunately, she was still giving me the silent treatment. The only communication I'd managed to get out of her was when I asked what she wanted to make. She'd barely given it a second thought before marching over to the cook book, opening it up and then throwing the book down in front of me. I tried not to grin at the recipe she'd picked out. A Spicy pasta dish. When she shot me a glare I lost all feeling of amusement and got to work. I let Erica do as she pleased and whatever she wasn't doing I took responsibility for. We were almost finished when the doorbell rang.
I looked down at my outfit, plain black t-shirt and ripped dark jeans. Both stained from the food preparation. I didn't care too much and after dusting off my hands I made my way to the front door. I opened the door and then jumped a little when I saw Derek on the other side. "Em…Hi," I said, more than a little startled.
"Hi," Derek replied politely with a friendly smile. He hadn't been smiling like that in a while. As I'd gotten to know him better, I'd realised very little of Derek was smiles. He was like a gruff old man, only in a young fit body. Still I cared about him and would stand by him not just because he was my Alpha, but because he was my friend. Even so this was the first time he'd stopped by my house. "Everything all right?" Derek asked as he frowned at me.
"Yeah. I just thought that if you ever came over you'd sneak in and just appear like in all my fantasy books," I explained as Derek's frown turned from one of light concern to a mildly offended one.
"I am capable of using the door you know," Derek pointed out.
"Right, sorry," I quickly apologised before stepping aside gesturing for him to come in. He did, and I closed the door behind him. "So what's up?" I asked, folding my arms as I rolled my lips in and he turned to face me.
"I need your help." My eyes widened. This was another first, he'd never asked me for help before. My mind began to race, wondering why an Alpha would need a lowly Beta's help with anything. Even when I'd gone to tell him about last night, he'd had only mild interest about my solo adventure, and once I was done he'd tiredly told me to leave.
"With what?" I inquired, a little pride in my eye at the thought of him coming to me for help.
"I've been tracking a new wolf in town. An Omega," Derek began to explain in a low voice so that no one in the house could over hear us from the hallway. "The last two nights I've been out but I'm having trouble keeping a fix on his scent. So I want you to come with me and give me a hand."
"Why?" I asked with a smirk. I had an idea why, but I just wanted to hear him say it.
"You've come along way with your senses. It indicates you might be a good Tracker. Every Pack needs one. I figured we might as well put your skills to the test and get some practise in as well." I smiled up at him and he smirked a little in response. We both stood there for a moment before my mom walked in.
"Who's at the door, Hon – Oh, hello," my mom said in her usual upbeat friendly manner that would undoubtedly scare away any friends, if I had them. I expected Derek to start snapping at her but instead he plastered on his friendly mask and turned to greet her with a smile.
"Mrs. Reyes? Hi, I'm Derek, a friend of Dylan's," Derek quickly introduced himself before reaching out with his hand to shake my mom's.
"Oh, well, hello, nice to meet you," my mom replied as she shook Derek's hand, taking him in with her eyes.
"Sorry to be a bother but I need Dylan's help with something personal," Derek explained with a sheepish look as he looked over to me and then back to my mom. "Do you mind if I borrow her for the evening?"
"Well, why don't you stay and have dinner first? Dylan and Erica have been making pasta," she said as she tried to entice Derek.
"That sounds very nice, but this is a time sensitive thing and I'm afraid we're going to have to dash." Derek then looked back to me and subtly nodded for me to go and get ready, and fast.
"I'll just grab my jacket," I said as I headed for the stairs. I ran up to room and was back down in record time, pulling on my jacket and ready to go. "Right let's go," I said with a grin as I opened the door. Derek walked out, and I was about to follow when I heard Erica.
"Where are you going?" I stopped and turned back around to see her standing in the archway that led to the kitchen. A sad look on her face. It broke my heart, but Derek needed me, and he was my Alpha. She'd understand soon enough, once I had another chat with Derek about making her the offer.
"I'm sorry, Erica. I promise I'll make it up to you," I said with a sad look. She looked heartbroken and all I could do was close the door. It was just preparing a meal, but clearly she'd been missing me, even if she wasn't speaking to me. I'd make it up to her just as soon as me and Derek were done with this Omega Werewolf.
"You okay?" Derek asked as we walked over to his car, noticing the irritated and determined look on my face.
"When this is over you and I are having a serious talk about my sister." He didn't say anything in response and was silent for the entire ride over to the forest. Once we were deep enough, he pulled over and we got out. From there it was an hour or so of roaming the woods trying to pick up on the Omega's scent. I'd learnt to pick up scents quick enough when in the presence of a target, but picking it up when the target wasn't in sight was a different story. Luckily Derek was seasoned at it and located it for me. Once he did, he spent the next few minutes helping me pick up the same scent he had. And then we were off.
Derek was right, I was good at tracking. Once I had the scent I was like a hunting dog chasing after its prey. I was so confident I even managed to take off ahead of Derek with him trailing behind. The scent never wavered, not once. It was like I could see the Werewolf in the desistance, just at the edge of the darkness, and I was gaining on him. The path twisted and turned zigzagging over itself a few times, but I managed to keep up with it and continued on in what I hoped was the right direction. When I confided in Derek about my worries, he assured me he believed in me. And sure, enough we did find the Omega Werewolf, along with Scott who was also chasing him.
"Wait! Stop!" Scott called after him as he ran. I was about to jump in and join the chase when Derek grabbed my shoulder. I looked back, about to ask what was going on, when I saw him listening, face serious. I did the same and was suddenly bombarded with several heartbeats and heavy footsteps. The Hunters. They were here.
"Come on," Derek said as he took off towards Scott with me following behind, the instinct to stay close to my Alpha and protect him driving away any fears I might have had towards the Hunters. I watched as Scott came to a stop, the Omega Werewolf hitting yet another of the Hunters' trip wires and being pulled up by his hands. I felt bad for him but there wasn't time to save him like Scott was trying to. Since Derek got to him first, he quickly shoved Scott aside. I then joined him as we both grabbed and arm each and hoisted him up, pulling him off to the side where we took cover behind a tree trunk. I ducked down, peering around to keep an eye out for the Hunters while Derek restrained Scott.
"What are you doing? I can help him," Scott pleaded as he tried to pry himself free of Derek's hold.
"They're already here," Derek hissed as he allowed Scott to look around the tree, both standing over me as we all looked around to see the Hunters surrounding the trapped Omega. Now that I knew Derek was in no immediate danger, my fear was starting to seep back in, just from the sheer number of Hunters that were out tonight. All looking to kill a Werewolf. One of the men stepped forward, flicking out what appeared to be a cattle prod before then jabbing the Omega with it. He screamed and I quietly gasped as I watched them electrocute him until finally he turned back to human form.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The unmissable voice of Mr. Argent, only this time I could see him, dressed in full hunting gear like his friends. The only one that seemed out of place was an older man stood surrounded by the Hunters, watching as Mr. Argent questioned the Werewolf.
"Nothing. Nothing, I swear," the wolf begged.
"You're not from here, are you?"
"No. No, I came…I came looking for the Alpha. I heard he was here. That's all." So he was looking for Derek. Did that mean he wanted to join our Pack? "Look, I didn't do anything. I didn't hurt anyone. No one living. He wasn't alive in the ambulance. He wasn't, I swear." I knew he was lying. I might have not have known the full context but I knew he was lying, trying to save himself from whatever fate the Hunters had in store for him.
"Gentlemen!" the older man finally called out, address the Hunters. "Take a look at a rare sight." He paused, turning to Mr. Argent. "You wanna tell them what we've caught?" He must have been in charge. I thought it would be Allison's dad but apparently not, apparently seniority was a big thing with Hunters.
"An Omega," Mr. Argent declared.
"The lone wolf!" the old man roared in triumph, like it was some amazing achievement to catch a living creature. I could already tell this guy was one of the worst people on the planet, taking joy in tormenting another living creature, even if he was a Werewolf – and himself a Hunter. "Possibly kicked out of his own Pack. Or the survivor of a Pack that was hunted down. Maybe even murdered. And possibly alone by his own choice. Certainly not a wise choice." The old man finished with a chuckle before walking off to the side and pulling out a silver longsword. "Because, as I am about to demonstrate." He held up the sword proudly, gripping it with both hands firmly, staring coldly into the eyes of the Omega. "An Omega rarely survives…on his own."
Then he swung the sword, slicing clean through the Omega's chest, just as Mr. Argent had described to Scott the night before. I gasped in horror and was forced to turn away as I felt vomit flood into my mouth. The sight of his lower half dropping, off guts and blood pouring out while his spin dangled from the top half of the now dead body. It was all too much. I threw up, trying to be as quiet as possible. Mr. Argent saying it had been one thing, one thing that gave me nightmares. But seeing it had possibly scarred me for life. This was what the Hunters were capable off, this was what they did. Kill Werewolves in the cruellest way possible, like they just had with that poor Omega.
"Look. Look. Look at them!" Derek hissed at Scott as he to tried to look away until finally he turned back to the horrific sight. "You see what they do? This is why you need me." Finally, I found the courage to look back, almost throwing up once more at the sight of the twisting, twirling, top half of the Omega. "Why we need each other," Derek continued to hiss at Scott. "The only way to fight them is together."
"What are they doing?" Scott panted out in between heavy breaths.
"Declaring war," Derek said as he glared over at the hunters who thankfully hadn't noticed us.
"We have a code," Mr. Argent said as he stepped up to the older man who looked at him before turning back to the remains of the Omega.
"Not when they murder my daughter," the old man declared before stabbing the sword into the ground, leaving it to stand on its own as he turned to address the Hunters. "No code. Not anymore. From now on, these things are just bodies waiting to be cut in half. Are you listening? Because I don't care if they're wounded and weak. Or seemingly harmless, begging for their life with the promise that they will never, ever hurt anyone. Or some desperate, lost soul with no idea what they're getting into. We find them. We kill them. We kill them all!" the old – and frankly terrifying – man declared in pure anger to the Hunters.
Derek was right. This was war.
Eventually the Hunters cleared out, taking the two halves of the Omega with them. Derek let Scott go and he mumbled off something about going to meet Stiles and resume the search for Lydia. I could careless, so I didn't bother listening before he left. Instead I just stood, staring at the blood stains on the forest floor, the blood of the wolf that had been cut down for no reason other than to satisfy the bloodlust of the Hunters. Hypocrites, the lot of them.
I jumped when I felt Derek's hand on my shoulder, turning to see his concerned eyes. "You all right?" he asked, hand remaining on my shoulder. Somehow making me feel safer. Maybe it was an Alpha thing, or perhaps I just really needed human contact right now. I nodded feebly. "Do you want me to take you home?" Another feeble nodded. From there he led me back to the car and drove me home in my numb state. It was strange, like an out of body experience. The car journey flew by and next thing I knew Derek was taking me out of the car and leading my up to the front door.
"Do you want me to stay close by?" I appreciated his concern, but I didn't need a babysitter. I told him I'd be fine and that'd call him tomorrow. Still, he waited until I was in the house before leaving. My parents were already in bed, as was Erica. I glanced down at my muddy cloths and sighed. I began peeling them off as I walked up the stairs then dumped them in a pile at the door. I could handle the cleaning in the morning. The only thing I bothered to hang up was my jacket, draping it over the back of my desk chair. Then I pulled on my pjs and was about to get into bed when I suddenly remembered the cut-up Omega. I was now regretting sending Derek away. I really didn't want to be alone. I needed human contact.
My eyes moved to the bathroom door and I took a calming breath before heading towards it. I opened the door and then opened the second one, heading into Erica's room. She had her back to me, so I stood in the doorway letting the light shine in for a moment before I decided to speak.
"Erica?" I called out. She looked over, saw me and then turned away. I cringed in hurt a little, but continued in and closed the door behind me. "Erica, I'm sorry. I know that wasn't fair, me running out on you. I really am sorry. And I am going to make it up to you, I promise." She remained still, not looking back. "But I really need you right now," my voice croaked, tears beginning to burn my eyes at the thought of the Omega again. "And I know it's not fair…but can I please just spend the night in here with you?" She didn't say anything and for a moment I thought she was going to kick me out. But instead she remained quiet, and then flipped over the covers so that I could join her. A smile touched my lips and I climbed into bed next to my sister. My arms wrapping around her like they used to do when we were kids and she'd had a bad dream. I heard her sniff sadly. And then I sniffed sadly too. And then we slept through the night, holding each other as if we'd never even been arguing, smiling as we dreamt happily.