Chapter Two
Lana parked her car in front of Dr. Deaton's clinic. The other day, she asked the Hale family's former druid to help her get in touch with Satomi. She needed both their help to keep Derek safe.
Satomi was already with Dr. Deaton, both smiled at her.
"Dr. Deaton, Auntie Satomi, I'm sorry I have to involve you in this." She hates to drag other people in the mess, but she just has to so she can get on with her mission.
Satomi gently tapped her cheek. "Nonsense, Lana. We, too, have made a promise to Talia that we'll do what we can to look after her children."
Dr. Deaton nodded in agreement. "Well, then, are there any new details on this matter? What can we do next?"
Lana took out her laptop and a journal "I have made a digital copy of my grandfather's journal. But it's in his other notebook that I found notes that I think would help us." She turned to the pages she was referring to. "The prophecy, 'A tragedy to the Hale family may strike for the second time on a dark moon, starting with the son.'— I think 'dark moon' may be in reference to the Black Moon."
Lana has been trying to piece things together—who could be after Derek and when, more importantly. It's on the latter that she thinks has somehow been accounted for.
"The Black Moon?" Satomi looked puzzled.
"Yes. It's often associated with pagans, but my grandfather traced that it's originally a practice among werewolf packs and other supernatural beings. The black moon signifies a new beginning—one that is governed by a strong force or power. There's a price that has to be paid though."
"Sacrifices," supplied Dr. Deaton.
She nodded. "It's somehow similar to the five-fold sacrifice: virgins, philosophers, warriors, guardians, and healers. It'd only need one of each though—along with a triad." Lana looked at Dr. Deaton and Satomi, who just nodded for her to continue. "Now, the ritual has to take place not before or during the black moon, but in between two black moons. That means we have to trace when it could have started. Three months ago, on a night of a dark moon, one of the last to have been killed by who we probably thought was the benefactor's hired killer is a doctor from another pack."
Satomi inhaled sharply. "The healer."
"But if only five sacrifices have to be made, along with the triad, why does the death count continue to increase?" Dr. Deaton's forehead was furrowed in puzzlement. He has been keeping track of the death count in the previous months upon learning that the first three cases were all supernaturals. The case of the Benefactor may have been closed, but the killings being resumed so shortly after has been quite alarming.
"Not all of them are werewolves, Dr. Deaton."
Satomi's face turned grim. "How many werewolves have been sacrificed by now?"
"Four. Healer, warrior, guardian, and philosopher. They're from different werewolf packs, some have just recently moved in town. They'd been lured by the Nemeton, I presume."
"But why are werewolves being the target?" It was from Dr. Deaton.
"It's a sacrifice for a new beginning of a wolf pack, Dr. Deaton. My grandfather had made notes of sacrifices of the Black Moon that had been made. There were those by wendigos and other supernaturals, but more sacrifices were made by werewolves. The ritual of the Black Moon requires that whoever does it sacrifices those of his kind."
"But why Talia's son?"
"My theory is that it's because Derek is one of the few werewolves who can fully shape shift into a wolf. It's a known symbol of power among your kind. Now, the other two are the protector and the vessel. The protector's like a guardian—only far more capable, like an omnipresent god. The protector symbolizes the pack's shield from any and every harm that may come their way. The vessel, on the other hand, is of abundance. Fluid, far-reaching, the sacrifice of a pack will ensure that every member will flourish. Whoever it is that's behind this is after creating an invincible pack—one that's far superior than an alpha pack. It's the new beginning that he wants from the Black Moon."
Both Dr. Deaton and Satomi's faces were now grim. They are apparently up against a force that will stop at nothing for his selfish desires.
x
Lana was driving back to the apartment downtown she's renting. Satomi herself will investigate using her networks on who's behind the Black Moon ritual. It would've been easier if they were to mobilize her pack members, but Satomi doesn't want to endanger any of them in this mission.
She's known both Dr. Deaton and Satomi since she was a child, and have considered them as her uncle and aunt. She often saw them whenever they were at the Hale household, meeting with Derek's mother back then. As much as she doesn't want to hide things from them, she just couldn't tell them that she might be a target herself.
Lana is Derek's protector. She's not exactly a supernatural, but she possesses abilities that, well, aren't exactly human. It had been a painful process to become one. It's out of sheer will and character that one becomes a protector (like how it is for a true alpha).
A month after she and Derek broke up three years ago, she found out that she was pregnant with his child. It hadn't been an easy pregnancy for her, and against the advice of her doctor, she went on with it. She was torn about telling Derek or not, since he had been very clear that he wanted out of the relationship. She never mustered the courage to tell him, and the need was lost just as she miscarried Derek's son on her 5th month of pregnancy.
It scarred her. She couldn't function at all; all she could think of was the baby she had lost and all she could feel was pain. Then the miscarriage resulted in complications, causing her health to nearly fail. At that moment that she was at her closest to death, she thought of nothing but Derek and their baby—of how she had not been able to protect them from harm, from herself.
The doctors in England were able to save her. Months after the incident though, she began experiencing changes in her body. She'd suddenly feel weak and tired at times. Or even be in pain, as if she'd been beaten. The answers to her curious case slowly came to her, starting, when at one time, she'd seen the veins in her arms suddenly darkening, simultaneous with feeling pain all over her body. Lana has seen it before with Derek, Aunt Talia, and Laura. It happens to them when they try to absorb the pain inflicted on other people.
She then remembered an entry on her grandfather's journals about protectors. They're humans who are fiercely loyal and protective of their masters, oftentimes of werewolves. The process is still unclear on how one becomes a protector. What are known of, at least, is that it is out of sheer will that a human can become a protector. Protectors don't possess much ability—only that they can take away the pain and heal who they are protecting. They can also protect them from death—simply put, sacrifice their lives should the supernaturals they 'dedicated to' face death.
It still is a puzzle to Lana how she really became a protector. One thing she's sure though is that she is Derek's protector. Her hunch was confirmed a few months after she'd learned of her new abilities.
"It's nice to hear from you, Lana. I hope you're doing well in England." It was Christmas, and Lana decided to phone Dr. Deaton to say her greetings. They've been talking over the phone for a few minutes now, exchanging updates on each other's lives.
"I guess I am, Dr. Deaton. Ahm, h-how's Derek, by the way? I heard that he's back in Beacon Hills." Lana hoped that the druid has some details that can somehow let her confirm her hunch.
"He and Laura are back. I haven't met with them yet though, but I saw Derek the other day at the gasoline station—with his shirt sleeves torn, and an already faint mark of bruise on his head. He seems to be a magnet for trouble, just as for girls," Dr. Deaton chuckled in amusement.
With this, Lana's almost sure that she is a protector for Derek. Well, who else would she want to protect? Who else has she been trying to care for all these years but Derek—her first love, the father of her unborn child—Don't go in there, Lana, she warned herself.
After a few more exchanges, Lana ended the call to Dr. Deaton.