I turned over for the fiftieth time, and sighed.

The cold side of my bed comforted me only a little bit. I was tangled in the blankets, lost in deep thoughts, and unable to sleep. It was one of those nights where every time I closed my eyes, I saw Damian. I saw my parents. I saw blood.

Frustrated, I sat up and grabbed my laptop from my side table. I minimized the tabs I had had up looking for another place to run to when the time came, and brought up a new page. If I couldn't sleep, I might as well look for more info.

I typed in the same phrase I'd been using, watching as links showed up, all purple from my previous studying. I had grown bored of this search: always the same and never anything in reward.

But people's lives depended on us finding out what this creature was, and I wasn't going to give up until I, or someone else, found out some info.

I glanced over images of lizards, geckos, snakes and all sorts of reptiles. A few turtles were even in the mix. But I locked on to a new image, shared just yesterday according to the time on the photo.

It was a big lizard-like thing, and I clicked on it, curious to get a closer look. It was venomous, native to Indonesia. I went back to the search bar and brought up more listings of this creature, which was called a komodo dragon.

Dragon. Dragon!

Nearly breathlessly, I typed in 'types of dragons', and watched as links I hadn't visited before popped up. I needed to find a dragon-like creature with a poisonous bite.

Though I had never met the veterinarian that Cora and everyone seemed fond of, I had his number for emergencies, as Cora had insisted. I needed to call him now, and hope that he would forgive me for the time.

I dialed and waited. It rung twice and then a friendly, warm voice answered. "Hello?" "Hi, um, Doctor…Deaton! My name is Rachel, I'm Cora's friend. I'm so sorry for the hour." "Don't worry about it, Rachel, I've been up for weeks almost, looking for any lead on this creature. What can I do for you?"

"So, have you seen this creature?" "Only in what Cora and Liam have described to me. It is, pardon my pun, a slippery thing. They said it was dragon-esque, but I've never heard of them, and certainly not with a bite like this creature has."

"That's what I was thinking. I'm up right now looking for such a creature. So, if it's like a dragon, but has a poisonous bite, what are some other names it could be known by?"

"…Come to think of it…there are legends of a creature from the other side of the world known to have characteristics of a dragon. In fact, they're often mistaken for dragons in pictures, books and even oral stories. One of my instructors from a long, long time ago told me of one such story, but he said that these creatures only existed in medieval times."

My heart beat hard in my chest, and I put a hand over it for support. "Doc, what were these creatures called?"

"Wyverns."

Lightning fast, I typed the name into the search bar. Before my very eyes came pictures similar to what the creature looked like. Most of these things had only two legs, but ours had four. The wings looked almost identical, the teeth and claws too.

I clicked on the first link on the web, and read the information. "Doc, Wyverns have poisonous bites. It doesn't list what that poison does, but it is listed."

He grew quiet on the other end, then hurriedly, "Rachel, call Cora and all of you come to my workplace, now, please."

Before I could answer, he hung up and I was out of bed, pulling on my jeans and dialing Cora's number.

"Hello?" Cora half-yawned into the phone. "Cora! It's called a Wyvern! Doc Deaton wants us to be at the office, pronto." I heard noises come from her side that indicated her getting ready, and I hung up, finishing up getting dressed and grabbed my keys from their place on my dresser.

I went probably a good ten miles over the speed limit, but when I pulled up to the veterinary hospital, I saw Cora's and Mason's cars and Theo's truck already there. At least now I would get to meet the Doc.

When I opened the door, Cora, Liam, Theo, Mason and Corey were there huddled around the table with the doctor. He was a shorter man, with rich colored skin and affectionate, tired eyes that buzzed with energy from our new discovery.

"Rachel, hello," he said, and I nodded in response as I went to stand by Theo. "Took you long enough," Theo said, winking at me. I knew he was joking, so I stuck my tongue out at him and turned my attention back to Doctor Deaton.

"Alright, so, this thing is called a Wyvern," the doctor said, pulling some folded up, freshly printed papers from his coat pocket and laying them out on the table, "It has a toxic bite, as we've seen. They are supposedly extinct, I've not had a single druid report to me in all my years of one before. It must be one hell of a hider."

"So, how do we kill it?" Theo asked. Liam's look turned dark as he glared at Theo. "We have to try to save whoever it is, that's how Scott would do it."

"Scott?" I asked.

"Well, there's a huge difference, Liam," Theo growled, "Scott isn't here. He hasn't been for almost two years, and he hasn't come back to help with anything. We need to do this our way."

"What gives you the impression that it can shapeshift anyway, Liam?" Cora asked, "Something that big? It seems unlikely."

"You saw Le Bete, right?"

I rubbed my head. "You guys have got to tell me what went on before I got here one day. I have no clue what any of you are talking about."

"That's different," Theo shot back, "Le Bete wasn't a shapeshifter. He was an asshole that the Dread Doctors kept alive unnaturally, who then tried to take over and kill your friend. He needed someone to do that, and this creature doesn't."

"And who would know that better than you?" Liam growled.

"Can it, morons!" Cora called over them, "Focus! Now, we need to look for weaknesses. Rachel," she met my eyes, "this may be where you could be really important. If somehow, the creature can shapeshift, it could pass through the hospital under a guise. Has anyone suspicious been through lately?"

"Not that I have seen. Just stitches here and there, some coughs, an earache from a three year old. Not anything out of the usual."

"Okay," the doctor said, "well, any red flags thrown up should be told. Watch people's eyes, their tempers, anything that would give them away. Anger will be their biggest revealer."

I nodded, and watched Theo glare at Liam from under his lashes.

"We do what we have to," he said, "I know that you want to walk every way in Scott's path, but you can't do that. Not when the creatures are getting more dangerous." "Scott always found a way, even when he couldn't see the enemy. That is what makes people like us different from people like you, Theo, we give a shit about people."

"…You never even made a move toward Gabriel. That was me. You were too obsessed with getting back at Nolan."

Liam's eyes went gold in anger, and he growled, "That was one time to my many. I was on the good side from the start, and where were you? Betraying Scott, turning him against his best friend and attempting to get everyone killed. You're no hero."

Theo's body went stiff, and I swore they were going to tear into each other. I didn't think.

I reached out and put my hand on Theo's shoulder, and felt his body relax under my touch. Hopefully the distraction worked well enough that he wouldn't hurt Liam and Liam wouldn't hurt him.

Doctor Deaton smiled at me discreetly from his corner. Theo's head had tilted slightly over his shoulder to acknowledge me without words and I saw Liam break his angry stare also.

"Guys, we're a team. I don't know anything about what happened in the past, but doesn't it mean something that we're all here together now? I'm not asking you to like each other, it's obvious that you don't, but please, for the sake of this town, let's band together to fight this thing."

Liam nodded slowly, and Theo turned his back to him and Cora, looking straight to me. Cora smiled at me and mouthed "Thank you". However, the doctor's face showed a certain pride that seemed almost fatherly.

"Okay guys, let's go back and try to get some rest. It's going to be a busy day hunting for the creature." Cora said. Everyone began to walk toward exits, and Theo's walk slowed as he passed me. He didn't say anything, but in just a simple gesture, he brushed the back of my hand with his index finger, almost sweetly, and went on his way, leaving me there with a shocked expression and flitting heart.

I heard his truck start and the wheels on the pavement as they all tore out of the lot. Doctor Deaton stepped forward, wearing that same smile as before.

"In the years he's been here, I've yet to see that expression on his face. I can't say for sure, Rachel, but I believe our troubled friend is fond of you."

I felt my cheeks redden and warm. "Oh, he couldn't be, Doc. He's…Theo. And before long, I'll be leaving. He just doesn't know that."

"Sounds to me as if you care as well." He placed a hand on my shoulder, "That one is a peculiar one. He is often dangerous, and is known to backstab in a heartbeat, but you're the only one that I've seen pull him away from himself. We all have our backstories, but we don't always have to run from them."

I gave him a small smile, "If only mine were as simple as that." "You are bright, my dear. You will figure this life out."

I nodded once more, thanked him and walked back to my car. Placing my hands on the steering wheel, I let myself wonder back to what the doctor had said. I'd admit that I'd noticed Theo's slight unusual behavior, as he was different with me than he had been at first, but I pushed it away from myself.

And if the Doctor knew, who else had guessed?

**Things may begin to spice up soon between Theo and Cassia! What do you think? Hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading! Have a good day!**