Taken
"Charlie, you need to give this up," Kaia warned as the beta walked back into the house.
"He threatened Fiona. I'm not going to give up until I find him."
"He had the chance to attack her, but he didn't. He only did it to get to you. You have to give this up," Kaia repeated.
"You can't fight him on your own," Jay commented causing the beta to scoff. "You tried. You lost."
"I lost because you showed up," Charlie grumbled.
"And next time no one is going to be there to save your ass," Jay stated, ignoring his comment. "I'm too busy trying to catch a Ghost Rider with Liam and the others."
"And I'm trying to find Canaan. Both things that can help us learn about the Ghost Riders and that need to be done immediately," Kaia stated.
"And so far, you have no plan," he said nodding toward Jay before turning to Kaia. "And all you've been able to find is a civilization wiped out by Israelites." The room fell silent for a minute as Kaia and Jay glared at the beta. "Maybe August was wrong," Charlie told them.
"So, we should drop our only leads on getting August back to chase after a ghost?" Jay asked.
Charlie opened his mouth to respond as Kaia headed for the door. "Maybe you should tell Steve what's going on with Blake. He'll at least stand a chance in the fight," she commented as she passed him.
"I can't—" he started before Kaia slammed the door behind her. "I can't tell Steve," he finished turning to Jay.
"'Cause you think Blake still holds power over him? 'Cause you don't think Steve is strong enough or focused enough on getting August back to resist Blake? Or do you want to fight him yourself to get revenge?" Jay asked as he got out of his seat. Charlie looked down at the ground and clenched his jaw. "I get it. I hate Blake too. But, maybe, if you helped one of us, we'd be able to come up with a solution to get August and the others back faster. Then you would be able to bring Steve. Get revenge together."
Charlie watched as Jay moved toward the door before heading out.
"I can't believe August signed me up for ballet," Fiona sighed as she packed her bags while the rest of the class exited the room.
"Fighting is often compared to dancing," Leonard mentioned.
"And Swan Lake is going to help me fight off the Ghost Riders? I should be helping Kaia look into Canaan."
She heard Leonard sigh in her head. "I haven't been able to find anything about Canaan either," he admitted.
"You're supposed to be focused on helping Chris," she reminded him.
"Yeah, that's going about as well."
"You'll figure it out," she assured him as she put her bag on her shoulder and headed out of the room. She froze when she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and found she was completely alone in the room. Fiona's eyes narrowed on the mirrored wall when she saw a shadow creeping along it.
The banshee moved toward the mirror, tilting her head once she was near before a woman with wild blonde hair appeared with a town festival occurring behind her. After the two locked eyes, the woman turned and walking into the town. The mirror returned to normal and Fiona reached out and felt the mirror turn into a liquid. She glanced behind her for a moment before stepping into the wall.
Fiona looked around and saw a handful of old cars lining a street before spotting the woman walking toward the crowd. "Hello?" she heard Lydia say as the other banshee chased after the woman. Fiona followed after her before spotting a banner above the main part of the festival that read Canaan Day.
"Wait!" Lydia shouted as the two banshees started to run after the woman before losing her in a crowd of people. "What is happening?" Lydia muttered, looking to Fiona as "Hungry like the Wolf" started to play on a nearby boombox.
They moved through the crowd as the laughter and cheering filled the area as the festival-goers enjoying the barbeque and rides. Lydia froze when she came up to the carousel and Fiona heard the music fade into the distance. Fiona followed the other banshee's gaze and spotted a blood-covered horse passing on the ride.
The sky darkened as the festival attendees fell silent. The two jumped and turned when they heard a screen door slam open and watched a man run into the street before vanishing in a cloud of green smoke. The silence was replaced by screaming as the people started to scatter, some calling for their children as others tried to sprint from their house. The two banshees watched as the people disappeared in clouds of smoke, leaving behind skateboards and half-eaten hot dogs. The wind picked up, blowing away the paper plates and they spotted the woman from earlier.
The woman walked around the festival, terror in her eyes as she realized she was the only person left. The woman started to sob as she covered her ears and lightning flashed in the sky. "It's not real! Not real!" the woman shouted into the air. The woman continued repeating the words as her voice started to break. Lydia and Fiona approached her and Lydia put her hand on the woman's shoulder to comfort her.
The woman fell silent and turned to the two banshees before her face flashed from her current, younger self to an older version before finally transforming into the older version. Lydia's scream caused Fiona to cover her ears and flinch.
When the banshee opened her eyes, she found herself back in the dance room, alone.
"I know who he is!" Scott shouted, running toward the other alpha as Steve moved to get in his car.
"Who? August?" Steve asked, pausing with the door open.
"No, Stiles. He's the sheriff's son."
"That the sheriff doesn't know he has?"
"Right, so we need to tell him."
"Us?" Steve asked glancing at Scott.
"You heard the voice too. You're also missing someone. I can't get ahold of Lydia, you're the only other person I could think that could help me convince him."
"Okay, get in," Steve replied nodding to the passenger side door.
The two drove to the sheriff station before running inside. The sheriff was speaking with Parrish and the two looked up when Scott and Steve walked in.
"Hey, can we talk to you?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, what's up?" the sheriff asked, straightening himself.
"We heard Stiles over the radio. I know who he is, he's your son," Scott explained.
The sheriff turned back to Parrish and the two shared a look before the sheriff raised a finger at the deputy and nodded for the two alphas to move to his office. "Alright, you heard a voice coming through the radio, and now you're convinced that it's the voice of—" the sheriff started.
"Stiles. Your son," Scott finished.
"Uh-huh, and maybe it's just a random signal cross?"
"That knew who we were from our voices and gave us information about the Ghost Riders?" Steve asked looking at the sheriff.
"Someone intentionally misleading you that was watching you hang out in that jeep all day?"
Scott sighed and slammed the keys on the desk. "Peter gave us the keys to the Jeep, and it started right up. Claudia's Jeep," the true alpha explained.
"Oh, wait, wait, so now I'm supposed to trust Peter Hale and him?" the sheriff shouted, pointing to Steve.
"I want you to trust me," Scott said. "We heard Stiles, and their friend August, on the radio. I'm sure of it. If you had heard it too—"
"Well, I didn't!" the sheriff said, interrupting Scott.
"Yeah, but if you had—"
"Enough, Scott! Enough!" the sheriff shouted, pushing the keys back to him. The two stared at each other for a moment and Steve opened his mouth. "Go," the sheriff sighed, pointing at the door.
The two alphas sighed before heading out of the sheriff's station.
"I think I found something," Kaia said looking up from her laptop as she and Malia sat in the library.
"Canaan, California?" Malia asked moving around to look at the screen. "I've never heard of it."
"I was barely able to find anything about it," Kaia admitted.
"I'll call their City Hall, see if I can find anything," Malia said, pointing to a phone number on the screen before returning to her seat. Kaia searched for it in google maps while Malia called but was unable to find anything. "No answer," Malia stated after a few minutes.
"Try again," Kaia said, moving to the shelves to find a map of California.
"Lydia and I are on our way. We think we might have found something," Fiona thought as Kaia flipped through the road maps on the shelf.
"Yeah, me too," Kaia sighed once she found the town on a map. "Still no answer?" she asked returning to the table.
"Nope," Malia replied putting her phone on the table. "You find anything else?"
"I know where it is," the kitsune replied, showing Malia the map.
"That map is thirty years old," Malia mentioned, looking at the front of the book.
"Wasn't able to find it in any newer ones," Kaia said as Lydia and Fiona walked into the library.
"We had a premonition," Fiona said.
"There was a festival with a carousel, a sign that said 'Canaan,' and then everyone disappeared in clouds of green smoke," Lydia explained as the two sat at the table.
"Sounds more like a dream than the usual premonition," Kaia said, looking at Fiona.
"You saw a carousel?" Malia asked.
"And a big sign that said 'Canaan.' And people disappearing in clouds of smoke," Lydia repeated.
"Do you ever have nice dreams?"
"We need to go to Canaan," Lydia told the werecoyote.
"It will be helpful if we knew anything about the place," Malia said.
"I've been calling the number for City Hall and no one answers."
"But we know where it is," Kaia told her.
"But the only map we can find it on is thirty years old," Malia told her.
"That makes sense," Fiona sighed.
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked.
"Duran Duran. Hungry like a Wolf," Fiona said, trying to remind the other banshee. "It was playing on the radio, released in the eighties."
"So?" Malia asked.
"The Ghost Riders erased the town while the song was playing. So, that means that town basically stopped existing thirty years ago."
"Then let's go," Lydia said, grabbing the map.
"Scott and the others are going out to Canaan. He said to go through with the plan as long as it doesn't destroy his house," Liam explained as him, Hayden, and Jay walked through the halls.
"What's the plan again?" Jay asked.
"Hayden's plan."
"I don't have a plan," she told him.
"Well, you said you had all these ideas about how to catch a Ghost Rider."
"I had one idea. It was pretty bad. Then I had another really bad idea," she explained.
"Bad plan is better than no plan," Jay mentioned.
"Anything that could work?" Liam asked.
"Yeah, but it's terrible," Hayden said.
"Great, let's do it."
"We need to break into the faculty storage room," Hayden explained.
"To save the whole school from Ghost Riders? No problem."
"The whole town," Jay correct. "And I'm definitely down," he added when Liam looked at him.
"You're not coming?" Fiona asked Kaia as Steve and her prepared to get into the car.
"Someone has to watch out for—" Kaia stopped when she noticed Charlie coming out of the house.
Charlie nodded for Steve to move away from the others. "Blake's still around. He threatened Fiona the other night," Charlie stated once the two were alone.
"Okay, do you want me to stay? Fiona can go with the others, she'll be out of town and safe."
"No, go with her," Charlie said quickly.
"In case Blake still has some control over me," Steve said, nodding in understanding.
"It's not that. I came back to kill Blake when I found out what he did. But you were already about to and, like I said, you would have made a better leader. But his time, I want to do it. For those kids I found that night and for us," the beta admitted.
"Do it," Steve ordered.
The beta nodded before running down the street and Steve joined Fiona in the Camaro. "He won't be able to do it alone," Fiona warned him.
"Kaia's here. She'll be able to help," Steve assured her.
Leonard watched as Melissa slowly removed the blanket covering Chris so that she could check his wounds. She carefully pulled the bandage away and revealed a deep cut that was emitting a green smoke. Leonard was hit with the scent of dying flesh as Melissa quickly covered it again.
"It's spreading, isn't it?" Chris asked noticing their expressions.
"You don't wanna know," Melissa told him. Chris sighed as he rolled his head to the other side. "Uh, how did a whip do this?"
"It was a Ghost Rider's whip," Chris explained.
"Well, the regular doctors think that they can surgically remove the dead flesh. You're scheduled for emergency surgery in an hour," Melissa said.
"Then we need to get out of here," Leonard said as he and Chris began to remove the wires monitoring Chris.
"Wait," Melissa said as Chris tried to stand. "Where are you going?" she asked, moving to pull him into bed as Leonard moved to help him up.
"It's a supernatural toxin," Leonard explained. "If the doctors try to cut it out it will make it spread."
"Okay," Melissa sighed as Chris fell back into the bed. "Tell me what you need."
"I can't go into the operating room. I won't come out alive."
"Alright, then we gotta get you out of here," Melissa told him before nodding to Leonard.
The werelion grabbed a wheelchair that was outside of the room and helped Melissa move Chris into it.
"They've stopped," Steve stated, staring at the car ahead of him.
"That's because we're here," Fiona replied, opening the passenger side door and stepping onto the road.
Grass and weeds had started to break through the concrete while the surrounding foliage grew untamed. The two looked past Scott, Malia, and Lydia and saw the road lined with cars that were starting to rust and various decrepit houses on the sides. The houses were covered in dirt and dust, the majority of the windows had cracked if they had not already been shattered. Tree branches hung menacingly over the roofs, threatening to fall into the houses at any moment.
They joined the others and the five took their first steps into the town. "This is it," Lydia stated, looking to the others as they paused. "Canaan's a ghost town."
"You know I can't keep up with you," Kaia warned the beta.
"Which means you won't be able to keep up with Blake. He's not just going to slow down for us."
"And he's not going to go easy on you until I show up either."
"I'm not worried about that," Charlie scoffed. "He's running for a reason."
"Charlie—" Kaia started before the beta closed off the link. The kitsune slid to a stop in the woods and looked for a way to track him. "Damn him," she muttered before finding an indent in the leaves and running after the trail.
"I don't hear a single heartbeat," Scott stated as they continued down the road.
"I'm not catching any scents," Malia added.
"Wouldn't be a ghost town if we could do that," Steve commented, earning a look from the two.
They passed an old convertible that had a streetlight collapsed on it. "I wonder why Stiles would send us here," Scott muttered. Another streetlight flickered and the five froze before the light faded away.
"There has to be something here," Steve said, pushing forward. The others followed in silence as they continued searching for clues.
They stopped again below a torn banner. The top half of the word Canaan could be made out from what was left of the old banner. "This is the place we saw in the mirror," Lydia stated, looking to Fiona.
"Which means something has to be here," the other banshee told them.
Steve, Malia, and Scott moved to search one of the picnic tables. Scott grabbed an old cell phone while Steve fiddled with the nearby radio. Malia grabbed the newspaper on the table and flipped it over to look at the front page. Steve found a wallet while Scott went through a nearby bag. Steve pulled out the driver's license. There was no picture and almost all of the information was missing except for the issuing date of April 1987.
The three looked up when they heard metal squeal and noticed the carousal Lydia and Fiona had mentioned. They rejoined the two banshees as they all approached it, noticing the blood covered horse. The five of them paused for a moment before Scott stepped forward to examine the horse. As soon as the alpha stepped on the carousel, the machine whirred to life and the ride started to spin as off-pitch carnival music played.
Scott jumped back as the others looked around, shocked. "That's mildly terrifying," Steve mentioned as the ride slowly died out.
Leonard followed Melissa as she wheeled Chris out of the room and toward the elevator. "Tell Doctor Geyer they wanted to do a few more tests before surgery," Melissa stated, looking back and noticing the other nurse at the station. "If he even asks. He probably won't, but if he does ask, tell him that," she added before they made it to the elevator.
The other nurse remained silent as Melissa gave a wave before the doors closed. "Smooth," Leonard said.
"Well, next time you can come up with the lie," she commented, pressing the button for the basement.
"No, I meant it. I've heard far worse."
Jay rolled his eyes when he saw Liam and Hayden making out next to the faculty supply closet. He shook his head before returning to the lock he grabbed, keeping an eye on the teachers talking further down the hall. After a few minutes of fiddling with the lock he noticed the teachers glancing over to him. He jerked his hand down and broke the lock before opening it.
He groaned slightly when he noticed the pink fur covering the inside of the door that framed a small mirror. The werecheetah quickly started to act like he was fixing his hair in the mirror and noticed the teachers return to the conversation before walking down the other hall.
Jay closed the locker and ran to the other two as they ran into the supply closet. Hayden started to pull different supplies off the shelf and shove them in her bag. "Can't we just buy a lightning rod?" Liam asked.
"Sure, if you've got $2,500," Hayden replied.
Liam turned to Jay and shrugged. "Not to spend on a half-baked plan. Let's experiment with one that we've built first."
Liam shook his head before the two followed Hayden as she moved around the corner. The three froze when they found Mr. Douglas sitting at a table covered in wires, metal, and various computer parts. Hayden moved closer to examine what he was working on, but caused him to jump and set his tools down. "What're you doing here?" he asked, standing and starting to pack his things away. "This is faculty only."
"Then why are you the one leaving?" Hayden asked.
Mr. Douglas looked at her for a moment before continuing to pack away his things. "What are you doing?" Liam asked.
"Science experiment?" Jay asked trying to make sense of the equipment.
"Are you making a taser?" Hayden asked.
"No. No, of course not," Mr. Douglas chuckled.
"You saw them, didn't you?" Liam asked
"You should be in class."
"Was it the night of the lacrosse game?" Liam continued. "You saw the lightning, the men, and the horses?"
Mr. Douglas froze and stared at the three students. "Dozens of them."
"Then what?"
"It was chaos. They were everywhere. Some of the kids were running," Mr. Douglas stated. Jay shifted uncomfortably as he recalled the night. "But for everyone else it—it was like there was nothing there. They couldn't see a thing."
"We did," Hayden told him. "And we've got a lot more to tell you if you really wanna fight back."
"Between what we know and your understanding of physics, we should stand a pretty good chance," Jay added.
Steve separated from the others and moved to search the backyards of one of the houses. He pushed open the gate and found a set of swings next to what used to be a sandbox. He moved to the house and found an old grill knocked over on the patio. The alpha set the grill back on its leg but froze when he saw a shadow reflecting from the glass patio door.
Steve turned and found Blake, holding Charlie by the throat. "Didn't think he could take me, did you?" the other alpha growled, glaring at Steve. Steve froze as he watched Blake rip out CHarlie's throat with his claws.
"No!" Steve screamed, moving to attack Blake but was stopped by Fiona.
"Charlie's back in Beacon Hills," Fiona whispered, calming the alpha. "It wasn't real."
Steve turned back and noticed the backyard was empty before Scott, Malia, and Lydia ran to investigate the sound. Steve turned back to Fiona and nodded at her as he calmed down before both their eyes rolled up into their head and they collapsed on the ground.
"Almost there," Melissa whispered as she pushed Chris through the abandoned basement.
"What do we need? I'll go—" Leonard started before collapsing.
"I have our plans in my locker. I'll go grab them," Hayden stated as the four of them moved down the hallway.
"We compare notes. Turn two probably bad ideas into one—" Jay started before wincing and falling to the ground.
Kaia ran through the woods, tracking Charlie's footprints before she stumbled and toppled over, sliding through the leaves as her limp body came to a stop.
"How far have you run just to catch me?" Blake chuckled when Charlie came to a stop in front of him, panting.
"You didn't tire me out to the point I can't beat you," Charlie growled, his eyes glowing blue.
"Come to get revenge?" Blake taunted. "All by yourself?" Charlie charged forward, but was knocked to the ground as he neared the alpha. "Didn't remember how it worked out last time? I'm surprised you didn't at least bring Steve. I'm sure he would have enjoyed taking the kill from you again."
"He makes a better alpha," Charlie spat as he got to his feet.
"See, I always thought you would have."
"Why's that?"
"You always had a stronger connection with the link, able to manipulate it more, access the abilities and memories that I had blocked off. You're able to draw immense power from the link, even when you are blocking everyone else out. Probably a pretty big mistake though," Blake added with a grin.
Charlie growled and prepared to rush the alpha again but froze when he heard a horse whinny behind him. The beta reopened the link between him and the others before turning to the sound behind him. Charlie was immediately stuck in the face with a whip before disappearing in a cloud of green smoke.
"What happened?" Scott asked as Steve came to. Steve jumped to his feet and stared wide-eyed at Fiona. Her tear-filled eyes met his as he tried to reach out to the rest of the pack.
"We—we lost someone," Steve stammered.
"We need to get back to Beacon Hills" Lydia stated causing the others to turn to her. "The energy here is causing hallucinations. We can't stay here."
"We can't leave. Not until we figure out why Stiles sent us here," Scott told her.
"Scott's right," Steve said, turning away from the banshee. "We're here now. We need to figure out whatever we can about the Wild Hunt."
"Who are we going to ask? There's no one here," Lydia stated as they started to move around the house and back to the street.
"We can ask him," Malia said pointing to a small boy who was staring at one of the houses.
"Hey!" Scott shouted causing the boy to turn to them before running off.
"What do we do?" Lydia whispered.
"Go after him," Scott told her before the three of them ran off. Steve moved to follow but noticed Fiona hadn't moved to follow them.
The alpha turned back and grabbed the banshee's shoulders, causing her to look up at him. "We find out what we can while we're here. When we get back we can use everything we learned to save everyone. Charlie, August, Zach. Everyone." Fiona nodded slowly at the alpha. "We'll save them. All of them," Steve assured her before the two ran after the others.
"Want to explain what that was about?" Melissa asked as Leonard joined her in the room.
"I got cut off from the pack link. It takes a toll on us," Leonard explained rubbing his neck as Melissa inserted a needle into Chris's IV. She turned to ask more but Leonard stopped her. "It's not important right now, I'm fine. We need to help Chris."
"Well, I think we all know that this medication isn't going to work either," she stated, looking to the hunter. "So, I'm open for suggestions."
"I had an idea but it's asking a lot," Chris told her.
"Asking more than risking my job by losing a patient in this hospital?"
"It's nine herbs. They counteract supernatural venoms. If the herbs are combined in the wrong way, it increases the venom's power," Chris gasped.
"So, if we screw up—"
"You'll kill me."
Melissa glanced back at Leonard. "I haven't heard of them, but I'm a fast learner," the werelion mentioned.
"Can you talk us through it?" she asked, turning back to the hunter.
"Yeah, I can try."
"Well, we don't have a choice. You don't have much time," she sighed, pulling out a notepad and pen. "Okay, what are they?"
"I only know the names in Celtic," Chris told her.
"Okay," Melissa sighed before the two chuckled.
"First one is mugwort."
"I'm gonna need ya to spell that," Melissa replied, looking up from her notepad.
"Yeah," Chris sighed.
The five moved down the street and saw the boy run around a corner and out of their sight. They peaked into every yard and car they passed but came to a stop when they saw a curtain move in one of the houses. Scott looked to them before nodding toward the door and heading off as the others followed.
Scott slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Hello?" Lydia asked as she knocked.
Steve looked around and saw the house was fully furnished and fairly clean compared to the others house they had seen. He heard Lydia jump and followed her gaze down the hall where a woman stood. "Visitors?" the woman asked excitedly drawing the others' attention. "I can't believe we have visitors! Oh, Caleb will be so happy to see you. It's been such a long time since he's had anyone to play with. Oh, you must be thirsty. Come on in and have a seat while I get you something to drink," she said, a smile filling her face the entire time, before running back to the kitchen. "How silly of me, I'm Lenore," she added, popping her head back around the wall before ducking back into the kitchen.
"That smile is a little creepy," Steve muttered.
"Seriously, what is with her?" Malia added.
"She's the woman I saw in the mirror," Lydia whispered as they moved toward the dining room.
"The one who survived the attack," Fiona added looking to Steve with a hint of optimism.
"Mugwort. That sounds so familiar," Melissa sighed before pulling out her phone. "Of course, it's prescribed for anxiety."
"Atterlaothe was used to cure snake bites," Leonard added, finding information on the second item on the list. "Also used to keep ghosts out of graveyards in ancient Rome. Now used to treat anxiety, migraines, and high blood pressure."
"Most of these herbs are used in modern drugs."
"Anything that isn't can be picked up from an herbal remedy shop."
"So, between raiding the hospital pharmacy, the homeopath downtown, and the salad bar—"
"We'll be able to get everything fairly quick," Leonard finished. The two looked back to Chris who was fading in and out of consciousness.
"We'll be back as soon as we can," Melissa told him. "You try to stay awake."
Chris grabbed her hand as she stood and headed for the door. "Mel," he gasped.
"I'm right here."
Mel—You have to add—You have to add—" he panted.
"What—What do we have to add?" she asked, but Chris had fallen asleep before he could reply.
"Go get everything else," Leonard told her. "I'll watch him and try to figure out what we have to add."
Melissa nodded before running out of the door.
"Come on, Chris, tell us what we need," Leonard sighed before searching the internet for anything credible about the nine herbs and their recipe.
"Are you okay?" Liam asked as Jay returned to consciousness. The werecheetah looked around and noticed that he was in the physics classroom. He saw Hayden and Mr. Douglas looking over a blueprint at front of the room.
"Yeah," Jay breathed, shaking his head to clear it before getting off the desk. "We have a plan?"
"I'm just now explaining ours," Hayden told him as Liam and Jay joined the other two. "The lightning strikes the rod, which sends the bolt down into the tunnel. We grab the Ghost Rider, pushing him into the bunker, and we trap him there," Hayden explained, pointing to the rooms on the blueprints.
"Okay," Mr. Douglas muttered as he turned to sheet toward him. "How do you keep him from riding the lightning back out of the tunnels before you get him into the trap?"
"Well, if the lightning strikes again, it'll just hit our rod," Liam told him.
"But shouldn't we assume the Ghost Riders have some kind of control over where it strikes?"
"To the point that they could direct lightning underground?" Jay asked.
Mr. Douglas chuckled at the werecheetah's question, causing Jay to narrow his eyes at the teacher. "Just because physics can't explain it today, doesn't mean there won't be a logical explanation tomorrow."
"Then what is our logical way to stop them?" Jay asked, looking at Mr. Douglas. The smile faded from the teachers face as Hayden and Liam turned towards the werecheetah, surprised at his shift in attitude. "We're down three pack members, sorry if I don't have time for jokes."
Mr. Douglas nodded at Jay before turning back to the blueprint. "We need to absorb a lightning bolt," he muttered.
"Can we do that?" Hayden asked.
"Not with anything we have here," Mr. Douglas told her. "I can't build a conduit strong enough to absorb even half that much energy."
The bell rang as soon as Mr. Douglas was finished speaking and he quickly rolled the blueprints up and handed them to Hayden. The other three nodded at each other before heading into the hall. "Instead of a conduit, maybe we can find a person to absorb the lightning," Liam stated as they walked through the halls.
"Yeah, let's just fight the skinwalkers to get Kira back," Jay scoffed.
"I don't even think Kira could do that," Hayden told him.
"Josh could," Liam said. "He ate electricity."
"We wouldn't be able to revive Josh with almost half our pack missing and no supermoon for another year. Besides, even if we did, he wouldn't have his abilities. Theo made sure of that."
"Exactly," Liam stated.
Jay stopped in his tracks and the other two continued for a few steps before turning back to Jay. "You want to bring back Theo?" the werecheetah asked.
"We can't get to him," Hayden said, looking to Liam.
"We don't know that. Not for sure," Liam told her.
"Well, he's not after your alpha anymore, so I can see why you'd be okay with that," Jay told Liam.
"He's right, this is insane," Hayden told the other beta.
"It is insane, but it might be our only chance at this. At saving everyone," Liam added looking to Jay. "I need you guys with me on this."
Hayden reached out and grabbed Liam's hand and the two looked back to Jay. "This is stupid," Jay muttered shaking his head before sighing. "Let's do it."
"I'll get a hold of Noshiko. We'll meet her tonight," Liam stated before he and Hayden walked out the door.
"Kaia?" the werecheetah thought. He waited a moment for a reply before quickly reaching for his phone and calling the kitsune's number.
"This is bad," Kaia said as soon as she answered.
"It's about to get so much worse," Jay told her.
"This was my mother's lemonade recipe," Lenore chuckled as she brought a tray of glasses to the kitchen table, still beaming with excitement. "At least as much as I can remember. We always served this when we had friends to visit."
The five of them grabbed a glass but Steve paused to examine the yellowish liquid when he noticed black flecks of mold floating around the drink. The alpha looked to Fiona and grimaced as he shook his head. She gently grabbed his hand, her optimism still present in her face before she turned back to the woman. Steve nodded and turned to the others, freezing as he noticed Malia chugging her drink.
"We didn't come to visit. We're looking for someone," Malia stated after she set her glass down.
"A friend of ours. A couple of friends, actually," Scott added, looking to Steve and Fiona. "Maybe you've seen them. Their names are Stiles and August?"
"It's been a while since anyone came through Canaan," Lenore told them.
"How long?" Lydia asked.
The woman remained silent as she thought. "About thirty years?" Fiona guessed, drawing the woman's attention as Malia took a piece of a newspaper she grabbed earlier.
"Since April 8th, 1987?" Malia asked, handing the paper to the woman.
She looked down at the paper before glaring at Malia. "Why would you disturb those things? They don't belong to you."
"We need to know what happened," Steve told her. "It'll help us find our friends."
"There was a picnic. A community party," she told them.
"Seems like everyone left in a hurry," Malia stated.
"People had been leaving Canaan for a long time."
"Where did they go?" Fiona asked. Lenore shrugged before continuing.
"That's the day the last of them left," she said, nodding to the newspaper.
"All at once? They all just disappeared?" Scott asked. Steve looked to Lydia and saw the banshee was quickly glancing around at the others at the table.
"I didn't say the disappeared. I said they left," the woman told him, raising her voice, the table shaking on her last word.
Steve sat up in his chair and turned to grab Fiona when he noticed both banshees were staring at the woman in fear.
"Did they leave in a cloud of green smoke?" Malia asked, pressing the matter.
"They just left!" Lenore shouted. Steve felt himself get dizzy and tried to move before he felt a small hand on his chest, keeping him from falling out of his chair.
"We didn't mean to upset you," Lydia said quickly as Steve attempted to recover. He noticed Scott and Malia were also disoriented, but Fiona and Lydia's eyes were locked on the woman.
"We'll just be going," Fiona added as the two banshees nodded to the rest of the group.
Fiona helped Steve to his feet as the others started to make their way out of the kitchen. They followed behind Lydia as the other two stumbled toward the door ahead of her. As Malia was about to reach the door it slammed shut causing them all to turn back to Lenore who was standing in the entryway between the kitchen and living room. The smile had completely left her face and was replaced with a snarl.
"No one is leaving," she told them. "No one is leaving Canaan ever again."
"Figure out what Argent was trying to say?" Melissa asked as she came back into the room carrying two bags full of bottles.
"No," Leonard sighed.
Melissa nodded as she set the bags on the table. Leonard joined her as they began breaking pills and adding them to a bowl.
"I think what you were trying to say was my name," Melissa panted as she added some herbs to the bowl. Leonard paused and looked at her confused before realizing she was talking to Chris, who was still unconscious. "You said, 'Mel, you need to add—' Wait," she said, freezing and turning around to Chris. "Since when do you call me 'Mel?' Since when do you use a nickname for anybody? You don't even use your first name. Everybody called you Argent. except for—" she muttered turning back to Leonard.
"We aren't fond of his family name," Leonard explained.
"You—" she started, turning back to Chris as his breathing became more ragged. "You were saying something in Celtic." Melissa pulled out her phone and Leonard joined her as she searched for the Celtic word. "Of course," she sighed.
"There should be honey upstairs," Leonard told her. "I'll go grab it, you finish the rest," he added before sprinting toward the stairs.
Scott started to try to pull the door open as Steve moved between Lenore and the banshees. "Scott open the door, you're a werewolf," Malia said from behind him.
"I'm trying," Scott panted. Steve turned and saw Scott's muscles swell as he pulled against the door, but it didn't budge. Malia turned and moved toward the front window and started to punch it. The glass remained firm, not even cracking from the impact.
Steve turned back to Lenore who tensed as Malia continued to punch the glass. "What the hell is wrong with this place?" the werecoyote asked. Steve watched as the woman's shoulders dropped. Fiona put her hand on the alpha's shoulder and nodded back toward Scott and Malia. Steve hesitated for a moment before moving toward the others.
"Lenore? Could you unlock the door, please?" Lydia asked.
"Now that you're here, you need to stay," Lenore replied. "Caleb likes you."
Steve and Malia shared a look before Fiona and Lydia moved toward Lenore. "We like Caleb too," Fiona stated. As they moved around Lenore and back into the kitchen.
"But we need to help our town. People are disappearing—leaving," Lydia corrected when she noticed Lenore tensing up again. "I mean leaving."
"Our friends have left us too. We could really use your help," Fiona added.
"No one can help you. If they want to leave, they're going to leave," Lenore told them. "They'll go, and they'll go, and there won't be anything you can do about it."
Steve shook his head and turned to the others, opening his mouth to speak, but stopped when he noticed Caleb in the doorway behind them. The other two turned as they followed Steve's gaze. "Come with me," the boy ordered, an echo in his voice.
They turned back to the banshees as Lenore walked past them and into the kitchen. "Go," Lydia whispered, nodding toward Caleb as the boy walked into the hallway. Fiona nodded to Steve as the three of them followed Caleb into the basement.
They opened the door and saw Caleb staring at them, the TV behind him was filled with static. Scott and Steve made their way down the stairs with Malia following behind them. The two alphas stopped when water splashed through the carpet beneath their feet.
"What the hell?" Steve muttered.
Scott shook his head before moving to one of the windows on the wall. He reached up to open the latch but found that it was stuck. "Caleb, can you help us find a way out of here?" he asked, giving up on the window.
The boy turned around and put a tape in the VCR. A video began to play on the TV showing Caleb playing and blowing bubbles. "You have to stay because mommy said so."
Steve's eyes narrowed when he noticed the date in the bottom corner of the home video. It said the video was filmed August 12th, 1985, but Caleb appeared to be the same age.
"No, we can't stay, we have to go home," Scott explained.
"This is home," Caleb said but Lenore's voice seemed to follow behind it. Steve and Malia shared a look before the door behind them slammed shut.
The video continued to play and Caleb continued to sit in front of the TV, seemingly unaware of the self-closing door. "Scott, come here for a sec," Malia said. Scott slowly moved over to the other two after breaking his focus on the door. "Look at the date," she whispered.
"Caleb, what year were you born?" Steve asked.
The three took a step back as Caleb stood and turned back to them. He was soaking wet and paler than he was a few moments ago. "1976."
"And when did you die?" Scott asked.
"Why didn't you leave too?" Lydia asked as Lenore moved back into the living room.
"What is that supposed to mean? Is that an accusation? Are you accusing me of something?"
"No, of course not," Fiona assured the frantic woman. "We just want to know why you're the only one left."
"Did you hide? Did you fight them?" Lydia asked.
"Fight who? Who are you talking about?"
"The Ghost Riders," Fiona told her as she and Lydia stepped closer to Lenore.
"They're the ones who took everyone from Canaan. Why did they leave you?"
"I don't know! They took everyone. But they didn't take me!" she screamed, sending a shockwave towards the two banshees that launched them over the couch and to the ground.
"You're a banshee," Lydia whispered as she and Fiona got to their feet.
"A powerful one," Fiona warned, leaning toward Lydia.
"My mom is not thrilled about this plan," Kaia told Jay as they moved to meet the others in the tunnels.
"I know. Liam couldn't get a hold of Noshiko. Yuki was the only way I could think to reach out to her."
"We don't even know if this plan will work."
"We don't know how Yuki will react around Noshiko either."
"What do you mean?"
"They didn't really seem like friends when the nogitsune was released. After that encounter, who knows what happened with how the pack was. Or without Stiles here."
"They met after we moved out here. They seemed to have patched things up."
"Yeah, but that was before August was taken."
Kaia sighed before spotting Liam and Hayden walking toward them. "At least the nogitsune is taken care of," Kaia whispered before they joined the others.
"Almost there. Last chance to bail," Hayden told them.
"If we're going to stand a chance, we have to do something drastic," Liam told her.
"Whatever it takes to save my friends," Jay added.
"There's whatever it takes and then there's this," Hayden scoffed.
"I know, it's not the perfect plan," Liam sighed. "But we need the bad part of the plan to make the good part work."
"You think she knows it's a bad plan?" Hayden asked.
"Anyone would know this is a bad plan," Noshiko stated as they rounded another corner and saw her and Yuki standing in the middle of the tunnel. Noshiko whipped out a sword and held it against her side. Kaia reached for her katana, but Jay grabbed her hand. "Which is why I have to ask you one more time, are you sure you don't wanna change your minds?"
"We don't know what else to do. It's like the Ghost Riders are unstoppable," Liam told her.
"They are unstoppable," Yuki told them. "The Ghost Riders have been taking souls for millennia. Long before either of us were born."
"Yeah, we won't survive them. Not without help," Liam said, moving toward the two older kitsunes and pointing at the sword.
"Kira entrusted me with her sword while she's with the skinwalkers, and now, I'm trusting you because I believe she would want me to. Do not mistake this for me agreeing with your decision."
"I understand," Liam nodded. "Kira just stabbed her sword into the ground," he added, nodding toward the place where Theo was pulled into the ground.
"If you want to do this, you'll have to do it yourself," Noshiko told them, holding the sword out to Liam.
"I should do it," Kaia stated. "Kira and my abilities fell into similar categories," she explained before bowing and taking the katana from Noshiko.
"Once it's done. Whatever happens will be your responsibility," Yuki explained as Kaia moved passed them.
The younger kitsune nodded her head slightly as orange flames started to flick around the blade. The others followed as she adjusted her grip and stood at the point of impact. The flames turned blue as Kaia lifted the sword and started to bring it to the ground. "No, wait!" Hayden called out as the blade entered the ground.
The ground started to crack open, glowing blue as small blue flames licked the edges before stopping in the middle of the room. The moment the cracking stopped, a clawed hand shot out of the ground and Theo grunted as he emerged from the earth. His eyes shined yellow as he panted. Jay shifted as Theo growled at the group. Kaia glanced back and noticed the two older kitsunes were gone.
"Mil. Celtic for honey," Melissa muttered as she squeezed the honey packet Leonard had retrieved into the bowl. "It's not an herb, but it is a binding agent and a natural antibiotic."
She mixed the paste together as she walked over to Chris. Leonard started to remove the bandages from Chris's wounds and revealed the black skin around the wound. Using a tongue depressor, Melissa began to apply the black paste to Chris's wounds. Leonard watched as the paste started to smoke. He and Melissa shared a worried look before Chris sat up and screamed in pain.
"Oh, God," Melissa gasped, grabbing a towel from the table. "Bite down on this, bite down on this," she ordered shoving the towel into his mouth. "It'll help. It's okay. It's okay."
Chris's muffled screams continued for a few moments as the smoke started to fade away. Leonard looked at the hunter, noticing how quickly his condition improved. "I'm going to need you to write all that down so I can remember it. Preferably in Latin," Leonard joked as Chris's breathing started to slow. He chuckled lightly at Chris's look as he and Melissa started to check his vitals.
"Uh," Steve breathed as water began to pour down the walls and from the window as the water on the damp carper started to rise.
"Am I having another hallucination?" Malia asked.
"If you are, I'm having the same one," Scott replied as Caleb's disembodied laughter echoed in the room. A second later they heard Lydia scream Allison's name and Steve turned to the closed door behind them.
"We've got to get out of here," Scott told them.
"I know you're not gonna beat an eight-year old's ass, but I will," Malia told him.
"He's already dead," Steve added with a shrug. The two ran at him, preparing to strike the boy, but froze as their lungs filled with water.
"You don't look so good," Caleb commented as they two fell to their knees. Steve looked up and noticed that Caleb's eyes had become more sunken and his lips had turned blue before he and Malia started to vomit water. "Maybe you should sit down," he added with a smile.
"It's not my fault they didn't take me," Lenore told them.
"I know why they didn't," Lydia stated, moving to Lenore.
"You think I helped them because they brought back my dead son."
Fiona turned back toward the hallway the other followed Caleb down. "What did you say?" Lydia asked.
Fiona's head whipped back around as Lenore and Lydia screamed. Their shockwaves collided in between them, causing the curtains to blow back. Fiona raised her hand and focused her voice at the older banshee, adding her scream to the mix.
The three continued their standoff for a moment. Fiona blinked and found herself back in the street, on Canaan day in 1987. She saw Lydia standing beside her before the man ran out of his house. Lighting struck the ground behind the man, leaving behind a Ghost Rider who shot the man in the back. The man disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and the crowd surrounding them started to scream and run. The banshees looked around, noticing the same scene from the mirror take place but this time they were able to see the Ghost Riders taking their victims. Fiona spotted a younger Lenore in the crowd and saw the woman standing in fear as all of the town's people were taken in front of her.
Three Ghost Riders came down and began to circle her and Fiona pulled Lydia towards her. They heard a faint whisper as one of the Riders leaned toward Lenore, before holstering his gun. In a flash of lightning, all of the Ghost Rider vanished and the two banshees ran up to Lenore. Lydia placed her hand on Lenore's should and the three of them began to scream again.
Fiona opened her eyes and found herself back in the living room of Lenore's house, panting. Lydia and Lenore were still standing right in front of each other, but Lenore reeled back, away from the two banshees.
Theo charged for Liam, slamming the beta into the tunnel wall behind him. "Theo, we're not trying to hurt you," Hayden told him as Kaia prepared her sword. Jay stopped her, allowing Hayden to talk to him. "We're the ones that brought you back."
"Where's my sister?" Theo growled.
"She did a long time ago," Liam reminded him, still being held against the wall.
"You killed her. Remember?" Hayden asked.
"I think I remember Santa Clause being involved," Jay added, glaring at the chimera.
Theo looked around at the others before turning back to Liam. "I'm gonna kill you too. I'm gonna kill all of you."
"Okay, send him back," Hayden said.
"Gladly," Kaia replied, preparing to strike the ground with the sword again.
Theo froze, staring at the blade in fear before releasing Liam. "We need your power to help us," Liam stated as Kaia moved the blade to her side. "Then you can kill whoever you want. But if you do kill us, you're gonna end worse off than ever."
"There's nothing worse than what I've been through," Theo told them.
"You ever heard about the Ghost Riders?" Liam asked.
Theo paused for a moment, looking around at the others again before nodding. "What do you need me for?"
"Use the powers you stole when you killed Josh to help us stop the Ghost Riders," Jay explained.
Theo started to shake his head slightly. "It's that or you go back in the ground," Kaia threatened.
"Fine," Theo muttered.
The four walked back down the tunnel with Theo following behind them. "Mr. Douglas should be waiting for us at the rod," Hayden explained.
They continued down the tunnel in silence. Jay keeping Theo in his peripheral preparing for the chimera to attack them. "Find what you were looking for?" Mr. Douglas asked as the group neared him and he finished attaching a battery to a wire.
"Who we were looking for," Liam corrected him.
The teacher turned and hesitated for a moment when he noticed the extra member of the group. "He can absorb the electricity from a lightning bolt?"
"He better be able to," Kaia stated, still holding the sword in her hand.
"Well, its all hooked up," Mr. Douglas said, gesturing to the wires before grabbing the battery and adjusting a few dials.
"What makes you think this is going to work?" Theo asked as he approached the wires.
"You took Josh's power. You can do it," Liam told him.
Theo slowly reached out and held the wire. "Here we go," Mr. Douglas announced stepping back. The others followed suit as the teacher turned the dial. A few sparks flew from above Theo's hand before the chimera was launched back down the tunnel, grunting in pain.
"Hey, what the hell?" Liam asked, staring back at the chimera who was laying on the floor.
"That was only a billion joules," Mr. Douglas stated.
"Only?" Theo grunt as he started to get back to his feet.
"Well, how many joules are in a bolt of lightning?" Liam asked.
"Five billion," the teacher said.
"Well, I'm fine, by the way. Thank you for your concern," Theo said as he walked back to the group.
"Fine, but completely useless to us," Jay commented.
"You don't have Josh's power anymore, do you?" Liam asked.
Hayden stepped forward and grabbed Theo's hand, examining his claws. "Or Tracy's," she added, dropping the chimera's hand.
"Guess I'm back to classic Theo," he shrugged.
"Maybe you should try some remorse. Since you killed them for their powers."
"I just put them back the way I found them," Theo commented before turning to Jay. "Just like The Beast returned Lucas."
Jay and Kaia shared a look before Jay before turned back to Theo. "Enjoy your trip back to Hell," the werecheetah growled as Kaia prepared to strike the ground with the sword.
"Hold on, I can help," Theo said. "I know about the Wild Hunt from the Dread Doctors. I also know about things I'm betting you don't," he added, turning to Mr. Douglas.
"Pretty sure you don't know much more than we do," Jay told him.
"I'm with Jay on this one," Mr. Douglas stated. "Send him back."
Theo stared at the others with panic on his face as Kaia raised the sword again. "Who's making decisions around here? Where's Scott? Steve? Where's Stiles?"
Kaia froze at the mention of Stiles's name. "You remember Stiles?" Hayden asked.
"Why wouldn't I remember Stiles?"
"Maybe he's useful after all," Liam muttered.
Kaia turned back to Jay, who was glaring at the chimera, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly. He looked to the kitsune and shook his head with a grimace on his face.
"You didn't know what was happening did you?" Lydia asked, moving closer to Lenore. "You only saw them at the very end."
"They were all around me," Lenore whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "But they didn't take me."
"Lenore it wasn't your fault," Fiona reassured her.
"It's because you're a banshee, like us," Lydia added, gesturing toward Fiona.
Lenore walked past the two and moved to a mirror near the door, wiping away the dust. She hesitated for a moment when she saw her reflection. "How long has it been?"
"Almost thirty years," Lydia told her.
"Breathe, Malia, you guys need to breathe," Scott pleaded, trying to help Steve and Malia as the two continued to vomit water and gasp for air. "Lydia!"
Scott ran for the door, but stopped, clutching his chest before he began to vomit water as well. Steve fell to his side, the water splashing his face as he struggled to take another breath. He closed his eyes, thinking back to how he convinced Fiona to stay and find a way to save Charlie, worried now about what pain she is going through trying to survive Lenore.
"What're you doing to us?" Scott asked.
"You're drowning. Just like me," Caleb explained. "Now we can be friends forever."
"You two won't be taken," Lenore told them, still facing the mirror. "You'll be safe."
"We don't want to be safe," Lydia explained.
"We want to save our friends," Fiona added.
"Don't let us be the only ones left behind," Lydia pleaded, touching Lenore's shoulder. The older banshee turned to the other two. "I don't have a Caleb."
"Go," Lenore whispered, gesturing toward the door next to her. The door unlatched and flew open in front of them.
"Thank you," Fiona whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.
Steve groaned as he felt another wave of water crawl up his throat before the feeling disappeared. He gasped for air and pushed himself off of the wet carpet, noticing that the other two were able to breathe as well.
"Are you okay?" Scott asked turning back to the other two?
"Are you okay?" Malia asked Scott, nodding to him.
Scott shook his head quickly before the two glanced at Steve. The alpha nodded slightly before turning back to Caleb. The boy had turned his attention back to the TV that was still displaying the home video. "Mommy says you can go now," he said, not turning back to them. The basement door swung open once he finished speaking.
Steve pushed himself to his feet and ran up the stairs, the other two following behind him. He ran out of the house and saw Fiona and Lydia outside waiting. "You're okay," Steve muttered as he embraced Fiona. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He felt the banshee shake her head slightly against his chest.
"Let's get out of here," Scott said.
"Yeah, absolutely," Malia stated.
Steve and Fiona separated as they followed after the others. After a few steps, Fiona and Lydia turned around. Steve turned to see Lenore and Caleb walking to the doorway, the boy was still soaked with water. "You know you can still come with us," Lydia told her.
"I couldn't leave Caleb," Lenore said.
"Lenore, you know he's not real," Lydia reminded her.
Lenore looked down at her son before turning back to the group. "I couldn't leave Caleb," she repeated.
Fiona nodded her head. As Lydia shook her head slightly and joined Scott, Steve, and Malia. "I understand," Fiona said, giving one last glance back at the two as they held hands before joining the others.
"You know all about the Ghost Riders?" Hayden asked once they returned to Scott's house. "How do we get Stiles and the others back?"
"You can't," Theo muttered. "The Wild Hunt comes. The Wild Hunt goes. That's how it works."
"Except it isn't going anywhere," Jay told him.
Theo turned back to them surprised. "They're still here. And they're still taking people," Liam explained.
"That's not possible."
"Clearly it is," Kaia told him.
Theo shook his head at the kitsune. "They're the Wild Hunt. They're not just gonna stick around—Unless—"
"Unless what?"
"Unless they're stuck."
"How do they get stuck?" Liam asked.
Theo shook his head and shrugged at the group.
"Why'd August send us there if there was nothing to gather other than that everyone will disappear?" Steve asked as he drove behind Scott and the others.
"To warn us?"
"It almost got us killed," Steve said. "And we got nothing from it."
"Not nothing," Fiona whispered. Steve turned to her. "Lenore was left behind because she was a banshee. Lydia and I will be left behind too."
"After everyone else is taken," Steve muttered. "We need to figure out how to get the Ghost Riders to just leave."
"Not until we figure out a way to save everyone else."
"You're going to help us," Liam told the chimera.
"Liam, I don't know what to do."
"Well, you remember Stiles, so clearly you know more than we do," Hayden said.
"We remembered Stiles too, but you attacked us," Jay scoffed, turning to Liam.
Liam shook his head before turning to Theo and gesturing toward Kaia. "You're gonna help us, or you're going back."
"Let me guess. Scott and Steve weren't a part of this plan, were they?" Theo asked as he heard two cars pull up outside.
"We can figure that out once we can stop worrying about the rest of us being taken," Steve told the banshee.
"No, because once the storm leaves, everyone they've taken—August, Charlie, Zach, Stiles—everyone will become a Ghost Rider."
"Wha—How do you know?"
"I felt it. In Lenore's memory. Everyone was taken—I could feel their souls disappear—no, change."
Steve felt his hands start to shake before he gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Then we make sure this storm doesn't leave until we figure out how to get everyone back," the alpha stated, pulling up to Scott's house behind the others.
"You felt it too?" Fiona asked as the others got out of the car.
"Yeah," Lydia muttered before walking off, Malia and Fiona followed after her as Steve and Scott moved inside.
Jay turned when he heard the door open and saw Steve and Scott frozen in the doorway staring at Theo. Theo turned and saw the two alphas behind him. "Somehow I don't think we're gonna hug this out," the chimera commented. Steve glanced at Jay and Kaia before turning back to Theo, his red eyes glowing.
"Are you okay?" Malia asked as she caught up to Lydia.
"I'm fine," Lydia replied quickly. Malia raised an eyebrow at the banshee before moving in front of her. "Okay, I was thinking about Lenore. There's myths about the Wild Hunt and the Morrigan. They left Lenore behind."
"I thought Lenore was a banshee?" Malia asked.
"The Morrigan was a banshee, practically the mother of all the banshees," Fiona explained.
"So, when the Wild Hunt moves on from Beacon Hills—"
"We'll be like Lenore," Lydia stated. "Left behind. Alone."
Fiona noticed Malia's nose twitch before she suddenly walked away. "I'm not letting the Wild Hunt take Charlie from me," Fiona said, turning to Lydia. "Don't let them take Stiles from you."
"I won't," Lydia whispered, nodding before the two followed after Malia.
"I hope you realize it's taking all of my strength to not tear you in half right now," Scott stated.
"You're stronger than me," Steve growled, stepping forward. The alpha was stopped when Scott pushed his hand against Steve's chest just as Malia walked into the back door, growling at the chimera.
"Hey, Malia," Theo gasped. "You aren't still upset about the whole shooting thing, are you?"
Malia's eyes turned blue as she roared at Theo.