It's a mean world that I've known

Never got no good doing what I'm told

It's a mean world that I've known

Now you'll find me where the devil don't go

Where the Devil Don't Go – Elle King


"Your friends aren't totally terrible," the Original commented conversationally as we took a left, moving off the street and into the forest where the wolves' scents led. "When they aren't being overtly melodramatic, at least," he rolled his eyes, just to convey the correct amount of apathy.

"I think that's the nicest thing I've heard you say since you were undaggered," I chimed, and he threw me a sour look that made me grin. "Don't suggest we split up," I continued, taking a pause to sniff the air and change course when I realised the pair had moved further east. "You're stupid if you think I'm going to be alone on a full moon with two crazy puppies on the loose."

"Ah yes, I heard about your run in with a werewolf's fangs," he murmured, eyeing the prints on the soft ground. "How did you convince my bag-of-dicks of a brother to give you his cure?"

I shrugged, "Damon called in a favour."

He snorted indelicately. "That can't be the end of it." I glanced at him before jumping up on a rock and using my momentum to throw myself at a low hanging branch, catching myself on it and swinging myself across a small river in my path. "Niklaus wouldn't just...what is it they say now? Do you a solid."

"Please never try to use modern lingo again."

"The sheer fact that you called it 'modern lingo' means you shouldn't be using it either, sweetheart," he grinned, spinning around on nimble feet and beginning to walk backwards through the leaves covering the ground. "Come on, give it up," he probed. "What'd you do in return? Was it sex? You can tell me if it was sex."

My hands whipped out and I shoved him roughly in the chest, making him almost lose his footing, only to get it back so quickly I wondered if I'd imagined the whole thing. "It was just the usual bargain," I admitted after a pause. "A favour for a favour."

"...And what was this favour."

I pressed my lips together, suddenly wishing I'd packed my cigarettes when I'd gotten ready for this Godforsaken suicide mission. "I'll know when he calls it in," I told him.

He laughed, the sound more mocking than amused. "Oh, you're going to regret that one."

"Well, at least I'm alive," I said, though I couldn't help but agree. Something told me whatever Klaus would want in return, I sure as hell wouldn't want to give. "Stop," I hissed suddenly, hearing a twig snap in the distance. I took a breath in, glad to be downwind when I caught the scent of Cora in the distance. "200 yards to the right," I whispered, stepping around a tree and disappearing into the shadows.

Kol did the same, even more effectively than me. One minute he was there, the next he was a ghost. I could barely even detect his scent in the air. I had to ask him how he did that.

She sensed we were there, and the minute she realised we were following her she took off, heading deeper into the woods. As we chased her, I pulled my phone from my pocket, dialling Scott and calling him as I darted between the trees. "Heading south down Hill River," I yelled into the phone, immediately hanging up and shoving it back into the safety of my pocket.

I could have caught her easily. It may have been a full moon, but not even the most powerful full moon would give a werewolf enough speed to beat me. However, I only needed to make sure she didn't kill anyone, that didn't mean I had to risk getting bitten. I could watch her from a distance just as well.

A new set of footsteps registered in the back of my mind, and I slowed down slightly, glancing behind me to see Isaac running behind us. "Nice of you to show up," I called over my shoulder, my mischievous streak hoping to get a reaction, only to be disappointed when he merely grunted in response.

"Smell that?" Kol called from his place flanking her right.

I took a deep breath. "Human," I murmured back with a worried frown, just as she broke into a clearing, a human girl standing by a tent and fire, staring at the approaching werewolf in pure horror.

I slid out of the trees, skidding along the ground, coming to a stop in a pile of crunchy leaves. The girl gasped, as she took in my fangs, no doubt gleaming in the glow of the full moon. Her gaze slid to Isaac, who was crouched in the leaves to my right. I didn't move, letting the werewolf make the first move. Turns out, neither of us were the first to attack. Scott dove over top of my crouched form, a snarl ripping from his throat as he slammed into the other werewolf, kicking her off balance before throwing himself impressively to his feet.

Cora was back on her feet in an instant, growling menacingly at the three of us; Kol having conveniently lost his way somewhere between the clearing and where we'd been only two seconds ago.

I knew I couldn't get too close. She was fast, pumped full of endorphins or adrenaline, whatever it was that flooded a werewolf's body on a full moon. On any other night of the month, I wouldn't hesitate running right up to her face and knocking her out cold, but I knew now that I couldn't chance getting bitten. Everyone was right; Klaus wouldn't come running a second time.

The only other way to end the whole thing safely would be to run around her while she was distracted and snap her neck, but knowing now that she was Derek's sister, I knew there wasn't a chance in hell of that being an option.

Speaking of the alpha, he appeared at the mouth of the clearing, fangs extended as he snarled at his kin warningly. Undoubtedly realising she didn't stand a chance against an alpha, two betas and a vampire, she turned tail and ran, darting between the trees with disconcerting speed. Derek didn't hesitate, following close on her heels with Isaac close on his.

I wasn't sure they had it handled, but I knew my priority had to be containment of truth. I stood straight, turning to face the terrified human girl before me. "Go!" Scott urged when he realised I was staying behind. "I'll take care of it, just go!"

I wanted to argue, tell him what a pointless idea it was since he couldn't do what I could, but nonetheless I spun around and disappeared into the trees. "Kol!" I yelled, not sure how far away the bastard was and if he would hear.

"Half a kilometre East!" he called back, and I knew suddenly that he hadn't ditched us, but rather had picked up on Boyd's trail and gone after him. I would worry about him doing it alone, but I had a nagging suspicion that werewolf bites didn't do shit to Original vampires, and from his blasé attitude to the danger, I assumed I was correct.

I realised I hadn't been fast enough as I heard the sounds of fighting. When I leaped over a fallen tree, I was met with the sight of Kol beating Boyd to a bloody pulp. The kid looked ready to keel over, and on instinct I threw myself at Kol, the element of surprise the only thing that allowed me to tackle him cleanly to the mossy ground.

Boyd let out a whimper that turned into a growl, and for one heart-wrenching moment I thought he was going to attack. To my relief, he merely snarled once before taking off as fast as he could, running with only a slight limp; most of the damage to his face.

"What the fuck, Juliet?!" Kol yelled furiously, shoving me off of him with ease and sliding smoothly to his feet.

"You were killing him!" I yelled back, pushing myself to my feet with as much grace as I could.

"Is that not the point?!"

"No!" I screamed vehemently, taking a step closer, preparing to shove him into a tree. "That's not the point!"

"Then why are we here at all?!"

"To make sure they don't hurt themselves or others!" I snapped with a growl, eyes flashing red.

Kol merely scoffed. "How sad," he commented apathetically.

"If you don't like it, go the fuck home!"

Before he could reply, an obnoxiously cheery tone filled the air, and it was all I could do not to flinch. I answered my phone, taking a split second to glance at the name on the screen.

"Stiles," I said his name like he was my messiah, hoping I didn't sound as pathetic as I thought I did. "Are you okay?"

"Me?" he asked, sounding surprised. "Of course I am! I'm not the one risking a deadly werewolf bite in the middle of the woods. Are you okay?"

"So far, so good," I answered honestly as I pointedly looked away from a seething Kol.

There was a silence and Stiles' name was hissed by a familiar voice in the background. "Oh, right," he muttered uncomfortably. "There is one tiny little thing..."

"What is it? How tiny?" I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. He was silent for too long. "On a scale of ice cream to a dead body, how bad is it, Stiles?"

"Dead body," he muttered. "And I mean that literally. There is literally a dead body in front of me."

I finally glanced back to Kol, who was watching with a bored expression, clearly feeling little interest. "Go find the others and bring them back here," I instructed him. For a brief moment he looked like he wanted to tell me exactly where I could shove my instruction, but eventually he huffed and disappeared into the shadows. "Lydia's with you?" I asked to be sure. He hummed a yes. "Where are you? Are you both alright?"

"We're fine Jules," he responded and I could tell he'd rolled his eyes. "Look, we're at the local pool. Lydia stumbled upon a dead body here."

"Dead how?"

He hesitated, "Uh...I'd say the slashed throat is a pretty solid guess for cause of death."

"Was it a vampire or werewolf?" I questioned seriously.

"What? Who am I? Sherlock Holmes?" he snarked back.

This time I rolled my eyes. "Did it look like it was done with claws or teeth?" I tried again, and he made a disgusted groan. I frowned, briefly wondering why he'd want to be a vampire if he couldn't even handle needles, or God forbid a little blood.

"Claws," he finally told me, voice not exactly brimming with confidence.

"So, any theories?" I asked casually, hoping to at least somewhat distract him from the gruesome scene he was no doubt exposed to.

"Well, if the claws thing means it was werewolves, then it has to be Boyd and the girl, right?" he responded, confidence beginning to seep into his tone.

A stick cracked behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Derek approaching, Isaac and Scott close behind him, with Kol casually strolling up at the rear. "What?" Derek snapped, no doubt irritated by my call for a time-out.

"Stiles and Lydia found a dead body," I answered him levelly.

"What? Where?" Scott asked with wide eyes.

"Local pool."

"Are they okay?" he inquired worriedly.

"They're completely fine, just a little freaked out."

"What killed the him?" Derek spoke up, sounding vaguely curious.

"Werewolf," Stiles replied with something like a gag, clearly hearing the question.

Derek rolled his eyes, looking like he wanted to reach through the connection and throttle my human boyfriend. "Are you sure?" Scott asked, stepping closer to me and practically pressing his cheek to mine so he didn't have to shout to be heard by the kid on the phone.

"Yep," Stiles responded surely. "Throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the fricking Shining over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods and ask me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not going to be surprised."

"Could you get a closer look to make sure it was them?" he asked gently.

"Make sure it was them? Scott, who else goes around ripping people's throats out?" A thick and heavy pause filled the space, making all the present creatures look to each other suspiciously. The silence seemed to make Stiles realised his mistake. "I-I mean-"

"How much blood is there?" I asked him tightly, sending my scariest glare at Isaac whose stare was moving between Kol and I accusingly.

"What?" Stiles asked cluelessly.

"How much blood?" I repeated sharply, glare switching to Derek who was eyeing Kol like he was sure he was the cause.

"Uh-I don't know. Lots, I mean it's everywhere – ugh," Stiles gagged slightly.

I raised my eyebrows challengingly at the present wolves. "So it wasn't a vampire," I told them, clearly daring them to challenge me with my gaze.

"Why not?" Isaac spoke up, stupidly brave enough to try.

I levelled him with a flat look. "A vampire wouldn't have left that much blood," I told him simply, and he nodded, grimacing no doubt at the thought of ingesting the blood. I smirked at the puppy's innocence. "Look Stiles, have you called the police?" I asked into the phone, turning away for a moment, giving the illusion of privacy.

"Yeah, Lydia did. They're on their way," he replied.

"Okay, I'll call you when we find Erica and Boyd."

"Okay, love you," Stiles said as a farewell before hanging up.

What I'd heard took a moment to sink in. I was frozen, feeling the wind hit my face softly as I continued to hold the phone to my ear long after the call had ended. Had he just told me he loved me?

I wondered why the hell he'd chose a moment like this to say such heartfelt words. Saying those words was a big step, wasn't it? It shouldn't be done while one half of the couple is with a dead body and the other is in the forest looking for the killers. At least, that's what the books had taught me.

My heart seemed to clench, which was alarming since it hadn't so much as flinched in two hundred years. I sucked in a deep breath, staring unseeingly into the dark depths of the woods, still reeling.

"Well, isn't that adorable?" Kol chirped from behind me, and I swung around, shoving him in the middle of his chest and sending him back a few steps. If I could blush I would have, instead merely avoiding eye contact with any of the pack.

"This doesn't make sense," Derek spoke up, unknowingly saving me. "The public pool is on the complete other side of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near there."

"Derek, they killed someone," Scott muttered.

"How are they moving so fast?"

"Derek."

"They can't move that fast on foot!"

"Derek! They killed someone. Some totally innocent kid is dead. And it's our fault," Scott said seriously, puppy dog eyes wide and shining as he spoke.

Derek eyes moved to the ground, and something like shame crossed his face. "It's my fault."

"We need help."

"We have Isaac now."

"I mean real help." Isaac looked affronted with the subtle insult, and I held back an amused snort.

"Good thing you have us then, I suppose," Kol spoke up, leaning casually against a tree trunk with crossed arms, smirking devilishly at the pack. "Two vampires on your side? Easy winnings, boys."

"Do you know much about werewolves?" Scott countered, and for once Kol seemed to be knocked down a peg, as he cringed uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm not an expert..."

"Do you know anything about hunting werewolves?"

"Not so much, that was always more Klaus and Elijah's deal..." he trailed off, scowling at the mention of his older brother.

"So, to summarise: we have an ancient vampire who knows nothing about what we're trying to do and is no help other than brute strength, and a vampire who knows a lot more about werewolves, but can't get close enough to actually do any good without risking death by bite."

I turned to sneer at Isaac, who merely smirked back widely. I opened my mouth to let him have it, but Derek cut me off. "We'll catch them," he nodded reassuringly, talking more to himself than anyone else.

"What happens if we do? Are we just going to hold them down until the sun comes up?" Isaac continued with an incredulous scoff.

"Maybe it would be easier...just to kill them." I could tell the words caused physical pain as they fell from his lips, staring ashamedly at the ground.

"Well, I have some brilliant news for you," Kol spoke up, accent lilting in the soft breeze. His lips pulled up into an – ironically – wolfish grin, revealing his pointed fangs as they slid from his gums. To add effect he cracked his knuckles, wagging his eyebrows at us all. "I happen to be very good at killing things."

Scott looked to me, silently begging for help. "Hate to break it to you, kid, but if we're doing a referendum, I vote for murder." He looked almost betrayed, frown appearing on his handsome face. I hurried to explain myself. "I'm risking everything by being out here. I don't want them to die, you know that, but if it comes down to them or me, I'm going to choose survival, Scott."

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do," he spoke up after a long moment; always the moral compass of the pack.

"What if it's the only thing to do?" Isaac countered rationally. "If we can't even catch them, what else do we do?"

"Find someone who knows what they're doing."

"Who?" Derek asked with a confused frown.

Scott smirked, an unusual expression for the teen wolf. "Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves."


"Did we really have to stop and buy cigarettes?" Isaac whined from the from seat, glancing back at Kol and I with an annoyed frown. "Can't you go an hour without one?"

"Not if you want your throat to remain intact," I piped up, and the beta wolf cringed at the reference to the latest werewolf-related fatality. "Too soon?" I asked uncaringly, taking a drag of my smoke before handing it off to Kol who breathed it in eagerly.

"Could you at least blow the smoke out of the window? Secondhand smoke kills, you know?"

I snorted, rolling my eyes and kicking my feet up on the seat. "You're a werewolf, moron, that damage'll heal."

He muttered under his breath childishly, but I ignored him, not quite feeling petty enough to call him on it. I glanced out the window again, eyeing Scott where he was talking in low, desperate tones to papa-Argent. "Do you think this is going to work?" he asked louder, head swinging to Derek lazily, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Nope," Derek responded curtly.

"Definitely not," I added.

"Complete waste of time," Kol drawled.

"Yeah, me neither," Isaac mumbled, eyes narrowing as he watched the hunter and wolf converse. There was a heavy pause, and I took the smoke back from Kol, sucking in the horrid but addicting chemicals and sighing contently as I exhaled. "So your sister?" he said conversationally, looking over at the alpha expectantly. Derek turned his head, shooting his loyal beta a flat, intimidating stare. "Sorry," he apologised awkwardly. "Yeah, it's a bad time. I'll ask later..." Derek once again sent the teen wolf that death stare that made his heart jump slightly. "...or never. Never is good."

We were silent again, all listening as Argent clearly but surprisingly gently said no to Scott's request. "So...plan B?" I spoke up, frowning when Kol sighed and mumbled about there being better ways to spend his time. I turned to him with an irritated expression. "It's either do something good for a change or go home to fuck sluts and drink grog until you pass out," I told him snidely as Derek pulled out of the parking space, following the SUV heading onto the main road.

He snorted in blatant amusement, lips pulling into a grin. "This coming from the girl who I once caught with no less than five-"

"We're not having this conversation," I hissed furiously, successfully cutting him off, but come on, like I could ever actually intimidate the Original Troublemaker? Isaac turned in his seat to stare at me with wide, intrigued eyes. I reached forwards quickly, pressing the butt of my cigarette into the spot between his baby-blue's.

The wolf cried out in pain, flinching back and pressing a hand to the burn it left on his smooth, pale skin. "What the hell?!" he shouted, wincing for a moment before the burn began to heal before my eyes, just as I knew it would.

"Even one question comes out of that pretty little mouth and you're going to regret ever hearing my name, you got that?" I seethed, glaring at him threateningly. He swallowed, wincing when my eyes flooded with blood. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal," he muttered with a hurried nod.

I sneered in his direction, just as Derek pulled into a parking lot only a street from the pool. We didn't have to wait long, not a minute later Derek's phone rang. He answered the call, talking with Scott in clipped sentences, arranging to meet at the last place we saw Boyd and Cora.

I didn't usually get tired, but it felt like it'd been weeks since I last slept. As we drove back towards the north park that was closest to the place we had to be, I thought about how much I'd love to be in bed with Stiles, the kid curled around me in the way that somehow made me feel both excited and relaxed at the same time.

The thought of Stiles made me swallow. He said he loves me. I knew he cared a lot, that he definitely felt something stronger than mere attraction, but to love me? I'd forgotten what it felt like to be loved. Nobody had loved me, really loved me, since I was human. Klaus had never said it, Damon sure as hell never even hinted at it, and every other fleeting relationship had been superficial at best.

I loved the way Stiles made me feel. It was hard to describe exactly what he did to me. It was almost as though he...brought me to life. And that's what Stiles was; pure life. And after two centuries of nothing but death, it was more than refreshing to be around someone who generated such life.

"Thinking about lover-boy?" Kol spoke up, and my gooey smile dropped from my face, instantly melting into an irritated glare. "Ooh, still tense after the whole 'I love you' thing, are we?"

"Fuck off, Dr Phil," I hissed angrily.

"Pretending, for a moment, that I understand that reference, how are you feeling? That was the first time he'd said it, huh?"

My glare only intensified. At one point, so many years ago now, Kol had been my best friend in the world. He was tough and mischievous and harsh, but when it came to friends and love lives he could gossip all day long. It was a dreadful thing, really, but at the time, back in my bloodthirsty days, it'd been the best having someone I could unload all of my problems onto.

Unfortunately, it'd been a long time since we were that close, and I wasn't about to go back to the way things were. We weren't the same people, and this wasn't the same decade. Hell, it wasn't even the same century.

"I mean, as far as declarations of love go, it wasn't the most romantic thing I've ever seen," he continued to chatter, reaching into my pocket without permission and pulling out another cigarette, lighting it up with the lighter in his pocket and puffing on it happily. "Or the smoothest. Or even the most sincere. It was really more of an afterthought than anything, and that can't feel good-"

"Kol," I began with grit teeth. "If you keep talking I'm going to shove that cigarette so far down your throat that it'll singe your intestines."

"Always so creative," he chimed with a playful smile. "That's what I love about you. Remember that time in Egypt, when you-"

"Can you stop telling my...telling Derek and Isaac all of my dirty laundry?" I snarled (reluctant to call the two werewolves my 'friends' period, much less in front of Kol), but the Original merely chuckled, leaning back in his seat and inhaling a lungful of chemicals.

Finally Derek pulled into an empty parking lot at the edge of the park, and I immediately slipped from the confines of the vehicle, taking a deep breathe of fresh, forest air.

Not bothering to finish the rest of the cigarette, Kol dropped it to the ground and stepped on it lazily, shoving his hands into his pockets and wandering towards the tree line without prompting. Derek followed, and of course Isaac stuck close to him. I sighed, running a hand through my hair, the same shade as the night sky, and headed after them, trying to put what was happening with Stiles on the back-burner.

We got to the site first, and since I couldn't imagine Scott giving Argent a piggyback ride all the way here, they were probably going at a human pace. Thankfully, it didn't take long for them to show up, heavy looking black duffel bags in their hands.

"Who's he?" Argent asked bluntly, nudging his chin in Kol's direction.

"Your worst nightmare," he responded callously, his signature wicked grin firmly in place.

I rolled my eyes at his theatrics. "He's on our side." I told the hunter, arms crossed over my chest as I raised an eyebrow, as though daring him to speak up.

"You think that's all I need to know?"

"I know that's all you need to know."

We were caught in a stare off. Luckily, I was fantastic at them. Blinking was another thing that wasn't a necessity for me, so I really only continued to do it so I didn't unnerve everyone around me. Still, it came in handy in times like this.

"Kol's an old friend of Juliet's," Scott spoke up, and with a growl I looked away from Argent to glare accusingly at Scott. "He's an Original vampire, but he's good...at the moment."

The hunter's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, giving away his shock. "The Original family is a fairy tale; nothing more than a myth, a ghost story to keep monsters in line," he said harshly, expressive eyes narrowed suspiciously at my old friend. "So I'll ask again, who are you?"

"Kol Mikaelson," the vampire introduced himself civilly, forgoing holding out a hand, knowing it would be pointless. "You probably haven't heard of me – I take no offence – but I have no doubt a hunter as esteemed as yourself knows of my brothers, Elijah and Klaus." Argent didn't look the slightest bit convinced, though I could have sworn I saw him flinch at the names of his older brothers. "I'd offer to show you baby pictures, but the camera wasn't invented until eight centuries after we were born," he clicked his tongue casually.

"We don't have time for this," Derek snapped suddenly, looking at the hunter imploringly. "They could be killing someone else as we speak. It doesn't matter who he is," he growled, pointing halfheartedly at Kol. "Just know that he's powerful and on our side. Now, what's the plan?"

"Are you tracking them by print?" he asked, eyeing Kol for another long minute before crouching down to look closely at the soft earth beneath us.

"Trying to," Scott responded with a nod, glad we were making some headway.

"Well you're wasting your time. There's only one creature on earth that can visually track footprints, and that's man. If you're not trained like me you'd have no idea that these prints are Boyd's," the experienced tracker pointed at a set of heavy footprints leading into the night, "And these..."

"...Are Cora's," Isaac finished with a confident smirk that made me want to roll my eyes.

Argent sighed tiredly, already done with his shit. "They're yours," he corrected bluntly. "You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here. Listen, I know that three of you are focusing half of your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon. The other two resisting the call of my blood." I scowled at him, hating the way he made me sound disgusting, like some kind of animal. "That puts you all at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora who have totally given in. They've got the pedal to the floor while you five are barely hitting the speed limit."

Derek sighed too, arms crossed over his chest defensively. "So what do we do?"

"Focus on your sense of smell. Actual wolves are known to track their prey by a hundred miles a day. A trained hunter can use scent to track them. If the wind is with them, wolves can track a scent by a distance of two miles – which means we can draw them to us, or into a trap."

Argent turned to Kol and I, eyeing the Original with severe distrust.

"The two of you have sight and sound on your side," he told us, meeting my eyes more than Kol's. "Your nose isn't much compared to wolves, but they're no match for your hearing or sight. Rely on that, be our ears. You'll hear their hearts from a good mile away, which will give us plenty of time to prepare.

"The full moon does give us one advantage. They'll have a higher heat signature which makes them easier to spot with infrared."

The hunter tossed us each a set of what I assumed were infrared goggles. I knew they would only prevent me from operating at my best, so I threw them back.

"Thanks, but I've got my own," Derek spoke up, eyes glowing ruby red for one moment.

"And the thought that we need actually these is laughable," Kol said, tossing his own pair back. They landed on the bag with perfect accuracy, and he shot the hunter a shit-eating grin.

"Just remember we're not hunting wild animals. Underneath those impulses are two intelligent human beings. They'll think they can't rely on that human side. It's suppressed, but it's there; reminding them how to mask their scent, how to cover their tracks, how to survive."

He spun around, facing the other direction as he surveyed his surroundings, getting his bearings.

"This way," he finally said, leading us up and over a ridge, revealing the glowing lights of the city. It was beautiful, and I had a strange sense of home. I may not have been here long, but the town had wormed it's way into my heart in a way I hadn't expected any place ever would.

I thought of the school, where I spent my days drawing and writing and reading, interacting with people around my physical age, letting me pretend, for a few brief hours a day, that I was human. My keen eyes locked onto the massive building towards the west of town, where the hospital sat, windows shining with painful fluorescent lights, where I went every couple of weeks to steal blood, sometimes chatting with Melissa while I was there, who had become more of a figure in my life than I'd anticipated.

I remembered Stiles' house, where I spent the majority of my time, chatting easily with John over fat-free pancakes and something called 'fakon'. Where I laid in bed with my gloriously human boyfriend, listening to old music and talking about recent movies I had yet to see. I thought of my house, where I had pictures of my life framed on the walls, and of my old, worn couch that I slept on more often than not. Of my fireplace, which (even though I didn't get cold) I loved to curl up in front of when it rained. I thought of my kitchen where I had stored enough food to feed an army, mostly things Stiles and Scott enjoyed, so that when they came over they could help themselves to meals while we did stupid teenage things like drink and play ridiculous board games.

It was all so disgustingly...domestic. But I loved everything about it, about this bloody town. Right down to the squeaky step on my staircase and the way I walked everywhere. I loved how my neighbour sometimes came over to ask for sugar and how her cat could be found in my own house more often than not. I loved the way Scott joked with me at school about Stiles, muttering humorous comments about 'study dates' and something about a 'sexy librarian' fantasy of Stiles'.

And Stiles. I remembered the way he sometimes took me past the Subway shop on the way home from school, because he knew that even though I didn't need to eat, I loved the taste of their sweet chilly chicken. I thought about how I loved the way we sometimes went to the park, and I'd sit under the shade of a tree reading a classic while Stiles practised throwing a ball with his lacrosse stick. How he'd get tired and collapse next to me as he huffed for breath, then I'd make it worse by kissing him until his lungs screamed for air.

I knew I had to tell him. I had to tell him how my heart – that shouldn't have been moving at all – always seemed to jump when I saw him; how my skin tingled when we touched; how, even though he was the biggest moron I knew, I loved him more than absolutely anything on this earth.

He needed to know I was never going to leave him.

"Juliet?!"

I didn't hear them call my name until Kol slapped me over the head. I cringed as my skull cracked at the impact, but ignored the pain in favour of focusing on Argent.

"How fast can you go?" he continued once he finally knew he had my attention.

I smirked, putting all sentimentality and personal thoughts out of my mind, concentrating entirely on the conversation, living completely in the moment. "I can sure as hell give a werewolf a run for his money," I grinned wickedly.

"Even on a full moon?"

My grin only widened. "Any day of the month, papa Argent," I replied playfully, and Kol snorted from behind me while he looked to be trying not to roll his eyes.

"Alright," he said, focusing back on the task at hand. "The problem is when they breach the woods and hit the residential area. Once they're past the high school they're right in the middle of Beacon Hills."

"They're not going to...kill everything they see, are they?" Isaac asked wearily.

"No, but there is an important difference to recognise. Wolves hunt for food, at a certain point they get full. Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill. There's some primal-apex-predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds. And who knows when that need gets satiated?"

Argent paused, taking the opportunity to glace back at Kol and I with barely veiled contempt.

"If anyone understands that, it'll be you two." He said it like it was an insult, but his words didn't affect me in the slightest. "Wolves and vampires couldn't be more different, but if there's ever a time when they're most alike, it's the night of a full moon. They have the exact same, uncontrollable bloodthirsty urges; the instinct not only to feed, but to maim and torture and inflict as much pain and chaos as possible."

"We can't kill them." We all turned to look at Scott, who had spoken suddenly.

"What if we can't catch them?" Derek countered darkly, making a valid point.

"Then maybe we just need to contain them," Argent said with a thoughtful frown. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

"You want to use the school as a cage?" I asked, eyebrows raising at how shockingly brilliant the idea was.

"If there's somewhere with a strong enough door. No windows or access to the outside."

"Like the boiler room," Isaac suggested idly. "There's just one big steel door."

Argent was silent for a long, heavy beat. "You're sure the school's empty?"

"It has to be," Scott spoke, heart racing as our plan came together. "There can't be anyone there this late."

"Okay," the hunter nodded, seeming to steel himself, a strength overcoming him that I refused to admit I admired. "I know what we have to do." He turned and started back to his car, opening the trunk and pulling out a metal kind of cylinder. "These are ultrasonic emitters," he told us, jamming one into the soft earth with ease. "It's one of the tools we use to carrel werewolves and vampires; pushing them into a direction we want them to run. It gives off a high-pitched frequency that only they can hear."

He pushed the button on top of the device, and pain suddenly exploded in my head. Instinctively my hands shot up to cover my ears, like that would in some way help. I winced, practically keeling over as I felt intensely ill, like I was going to vomit. It was like when a witch pulled one of their bloody voodoo tricks and made our head explode with pain, except this was the man-made equivalent.

Finally the sound stopped and it was like a heavy weight was lifted. I sucked in a deep breath of air, the experience zapping me of energy. I knew I needed to feed, but I didn't have the time.

"These are going to drive them into the school?" Derek asked once we'd all recovered, taking a few of the devices from the suddenly helpful hunter.

"Then it's up to you to get them into the basement."

"Does anyone else want to rethink the plan where we just – ah – kill them?" Isaac spoke up, and Kol and I looked to the others eagerly.

Unfortunately Mr 'moral compass' shot down that suggestion once again instantly. "It's going to work," Scott assured us all.

Argent pulled out a map of some kind, laying it against the side of the car and running his finger over the edges. "Derek, you put one here and here. Isaac, you need to get one here. Juliet, here and here. Kol, is it?" he didn't wait for an answer. "You can put one here and finally Scott you can do the ones closest to the school here and here." He turned around to shoot us all a searching look. "Everyone know what they're doing?"

"Sir, yes, Sir," I mumbled, ignoring the sour look the hunter shot me. I plucked two of the devices from the pile.

"Meet back at the school in ten minutes," Argent told us as I headed into the night.

I laughed, the sound no doubt carrying back to them. "Only need five."


"So what're you gonna do about Stiles?"

I rolled my head to the side to glare irritatedly at Kol, who was lounged on the stairs beside me. "Why are you, a thousand year old immortal, so damn invested in my love life?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

Kol snorted at my question. "Please, it's an even better source of drama than a novel," he drawled. I rolled my eyes, shooting him an unimpressed stare. We were quiet for a moment, each of us appearing casual, but both coiled and ready to pounce at the slightest sign of a threat. "Do you love him?"

I turned to look at him again, this time with genuine surprise rather than annoyance. I didn't really have anyone to talk to, I realised. Scott would tell everything to Stiles, Damon would make fun of me, Lydia wasn't even an option, Allison was standoffish after everything, Derek was a dick, Isaac was immature and Melissa would make too big of a deal out of things.

So who did that leave me with? Besides, the guy had been my very best friend for a good fifty or so years. I also wasn't about to lie. Even though it was practically my default setting, I couldn't lie about this. Even if it wasn't to Stiles' face, I'd never answer that question with a 'no'.

"Yes."

"Then what's the problem?"

I frowned at Kol in confusion. "What problem?"

"Your problem."

"I don't have a problem," I defended.

"I can see it," he argued, pointing at my eyes obnoxiously. "I can see it, right there."

I was quiet for a long minute, considering his words. "Have you ever loved a human?" I finally asked.

"No," he answered instantly, with absolutely no hesitation. So either it was really true or really false.

"I just think he could do better," I shrugged, frowning once more as I remembered something my boyfriend said to me recently. "But, he's forbidden me from pulling a 'Twilight'."

"What the fuck is a Twilight?"

"Be glad you don't know."

There was movement from the right, and I was on my feet in a quarter of a second, keen eyes cutting through the dark like it was daylight. Growling met my ears, and the sounds of Isaac cursing to himself. A horn honked, then I could hear feet hitting the cement as the wolves ran through the front of the school, heading for the entrance.

Knowing where they were now, we took off to meet them inside the hall with Derek, only for us to get there and hear their footsteps on the roof.

"Someone has to drive them inside," Scott told us with a worried frown.

Argent held out his fucking lightening rod weapon, the electricity covering it in glowing blue waves. "I'll go," he told us grimly.

"No," Isaac cut in. "I'm faster." He turned and ran, feet barely touching the ground as he legged it to the back of the school.

"Inside," the hunter instructed us tightly. "Be ready."

We didn't respond, but followed the instructions, moving into the school and pacing the hallways, waiting for a chance to kick some werewolf ass. They didn't take long to appear, the wolves barrelling down the hall like the school was on fire. Derek and Scott flanked our sides, ready to fight just as we were.

Cora came at me first, snarling with glowing eyes as she threw out her hand, nails catching my arm and slicing through the soft flesh. I grunted in pain and used my uninjured arm to slam a fist into her jaw. She fell back but caught herself at the last second, propelling herself at me and snapping her jaws, nearly landing a bite to my wrist. "Now would be a good time to get them into the boiler room!" I shouted at Derek and Scott, who growled to catch their attention.

It didn't work, too focused on the threat of vampires to pay them any mind.

With an irritated sigh I spun around, taking off down the hall, Kol on my heels. It wasn't hard to outrun them, and Derek and Scott were on their six, making sure they didn't fall off the trail. We got to the room in record time, ripping open the door and slipping into the encasing darkness of the chamber.

I made a bee line for the furthest corner, making sure I wasn't in range of their deadly bites. Kol was leaning lazily near the door, looking more bored than anything. Scott and Derek slid into crouches, claws extended and ready to attack.

It only took a few short seconds before the two out-of-control wolves were tripping over themselves in their haste to get through the door, amber eyes glowing eerily in the darkness.

Scott tossed something my way, and the kid was more than lucky that I saw it coming and plucked it from the air. I eyed the fire extinguisher in my hands, wondering what the hell he wanted me to do with it; hit them over the head?

I glanced to Scott, who noticed my confused look and mimed pulling the trigger and shooting the substance in their faces. As soon as they were close enough I did just that, along with the two sane wolves. The distraction only bought us maybe an extra ten seconds, and before long they were running at us again.

The wolves ran first, leading the way out of the room. We came up the rear, diving through the door just before Derek slammed it in their faces. Scott was sucking in air desperately, and Derek was scowling as he pressed his full weight against the door while the wolves on the other side banged at it like it had offended them.

Kol seemed unaffected, going as far as to already begin taking the stairs back up to the first floor. I rolled my eyes, but after checking nonverbally with Scott, followed after him, they could take it from there.

"We should have just killed them," the Original vampire said coldly, though on the whole seemed uninterested, casually observing his nails as he leant against the lockers. "It would have been easier," he added, nodding pointedly to the large slashes in my tank top, and the blood staining the surrounding fabric.

"You're right," I nodded acceptingly. "It would have been easier."

"So we never really got introduced," Isaac popped up, holding a hand out to Kol with his winning grin spread across his face. "I'm Isaac Lahey, I'm Derek's beta."

"Do I look like I care?" Kol responded bluntly, raising an apathetic eyebrow.

"Be nice," I murmured, and he shot me a glare. Fine, I would just have to do it myself. "Isaac, this is Kol Mikaelson. He's a jackass."

"I'm a big fan of the whole undead thing," Isaac commented friendlily and Kol sent him a dubious look. "Seriously, if I wasn't already a werewolf, I'd be begging Jules to change me," he added honestly, heart beating steadily in his chest. I raised an eyebrow at him in question, but he merely smirked in response.

Kol reached forwards and stole another cigarette from my pocket, slipping it between his lips and lighting it in less than a moment. I inhaled and instantly my throat ached, a familiar scent invading my senses, making me hungry instantly. "Do you smell that?" I hissed with a frown.

Kol sniffed lightly. "Blood," he answered with a thoughtful grimace. "Werewolf blood."

"Maybe they're tearing each other apart down there?" Isaac suggested with a shrug.

I tilted my head, keen ears focusing in on the sounds coming from the boiler room beneath us. "Something's not right," I said cautiously, eyeing the empty hall with suspicion. There was a familiar voice groaning in pain, and without waiting for the others I darted back to the door to the stairs, ripping it open and peering down at the bottom, where Scott stood; all alone. "Tell me Derek didn't go back in there," I growled from my place, glaring at the boy angrily.

"There's someone else in there," he told me with a worried frown. "Someone human."

"So he went back in alone?" I hissed, taking the stairs two at a time in my haste to get to the bottom. "Is he suicidal?" With an enraged huff, I reached forwards, intending to open the bloody door and step in before Derek ended up wearing his intestines.

"You're not going in there," Scott said, all but leaping in between me and the door. I raised an eyebrow at him, perplexed by his nerve.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice like ice.

"I'm not letting you get hurt, Derek can handle himself."

"Come on, Stiles doesn't need to know. You won't get in trouble. Just let me in-"

"It's not for Stiles," he cut me off with a rare scowl. "You're my friend, and I'm not letting you get hurt."

A warm, pleasant feeling buzzed in my gut, and I was once again eternally grateful for the ray of sunshine that was Scott McCall. Before I could say anything back, all the sounds from within the boiler room came to an abrupt stop. Scott and I looked at each other, worry apparent on both of our faces as we listened to a weak heartbeat pumping through the door.

"Scott! Juliet! The sun's coming up!"

Isaac all but dove down the stairs, and Scott didn't hesitate to rip open the door, darting into the room, searching for our alpha friend. He was alive, but for how long I couldn't be sure. He was kneeling on the cement, blood seeming to drip from every bit of exposed skin. He took a shaky breath as we approached him, eyeing the unconscious wolves on either side of him.

"There's a teacher," Derek breathed, clearly in pain. "I'll take care of her."

"No Derek, I can do it-" I tried to say.

"I'll take care of her," he repeated, shamelessly cutting me off. "Get them out of here," he instructed, gesturing to the wolves before us.

I wanted to argue, but something in his voice told me it wouldn't be a good idea. Too tired to bicker, I reached down and helped Scott lift Boyd, both of us throwing an arm around him and hauling him out and up the stairs. As we left, I couldn't help but think of one thing: Derek might have been a dickhead.

But he was also kind of a hero.


"He wants us to meet him where?" I asked as I stood beside Stiles' locker, putting in the combination – his mother's birthday – and opening it, sliding out Stiles' grey hoodie and throwing it over my torn clothing, meaning we wouldn't have to make a stop on the way to meet our mutual friend.

"The hospital," he repeated, watching me closely as I brushed the dirt from my face and threw my hair on top of my head. "He says there's something we have to see."

We turned to leave the school, heading out the doors and down into the soft warmth of the rising sun. "No need to look so forlorn," I told him gently, nodding respectfully at Argent as we walked past him. "Nobody died this time."

I could tell he knew I had a point, but wasn't about to stop feeling guilty about whatever was bothering him so.

"Come on," I nudged him gently, smirking up at him playfully, hoping to at least slightly cheer him up. "I'll race you."

He rolled his eyes, the beginnings of a smile appearing on his lips. "But we both know you'll win," he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I'll go easy on you," I jested with a wolfish grin. "Come on, teen wolf," I jeered good-naturedly. "Let's see what you're made of."

We were both tired – exhausted, really – but we both also knew we could do with something to distract us. He didn't give me any warning, suddenly just speeding up, turning into a slight blur. I grinned widely, pausing for one final moment before launching myself across the road at half my potential speed, catching up to the wolf with ease.

We made it to the hospital in no time, me arriving several seconds before Scott, who made a show of pouting before a familiar sunny grin overtook his face. "Mom!" he called, seeing his mother behind the desk. She turned to us, hurrying from her post to reach up and kiss his cheek.

"Hi sweetheart," she greeted him casually, turning to shoot me a kind smile. "Hey Jules." There was a pause, and she grew somber. "Stiles is down in the morgue," she whispered to us discretely. We nodded and turned to leave, but Melissa caught my wrist, pulling me back to her gently, a worried look on her face. "And Jules? They found that girl's body; his friend? I have a feeling he'll need you more than ever."

Grief ripped through me, surprisingly strong considering it was merely sympathetic grief. I knew what it was like to lose someone, and I never wanted him to have to go through that. But no matter how strong or how fast I was, I couldn't protect him from everything.

He was leaned against the wall when we walked in, hands pressed to his temples like he was fighting a headache. "Stiles," I said his name like a prayer, at the door in one moment and in his arms the next. He started in surprise, but as soon as he realised who was wrapped around him, he relaxed, arms coming up to wrap around me, pulling me to him and taking a deep breath like he hadn't been able to breathe before I got there. "I'm sorry," I whispered to him, nuzzling my head in the crook of his neck. "I wish there was something I could do..."

"You're doing it already," he whispered back as though Scott wouldn't be able to hear anyway. My lips tipped up slightly before I pursed them and pressed them to his skin, the small gesture making him shiver.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked when we – finally – pulled away from each other. He stepped up to his best friend, meeting him in a remorseful hug.

"I'm getting there," he murmured back, clapping him on the should twice before pulling back.

"So what did we need to see?" he asked, clearly knowing as well as I that our Stiles needed a distraction to cope.

"Okay, so both the body from the pool and Heather have the exact same injuries," he began, lifting the sheet off who I assumed was the kid found at the pool. "Head bashed in, asphyxiated and throat slit. What kind of moon-crazed werewolf would take the time to inflict all of that?"

"So Boyd and Cora might not have killed anyone?" Scott asked, trying to wrap his head around everything.

"You're going to wish they did," he responded grimly.

I bristled in concern. "Why?" Scott questioned confusedly.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure yet but...the other girl who was out in the woods – Emily – eventually they're going to find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool? All three were virgins," he paused, rubbing a hand across his jaw with a sigh. "They're all going to have the same three injuries. Strangled; throat slashed; head bashed in. It's called a three-fold death."

"So if these aren't random killings then what are they?" Scott asked with a cautious frown, clearly knowing the conversation wasn't going to end on a happy note.

"Sacrifices. Human sacrifices."