Lydia and I sat shoulder to shoulder in the back of the ambulance, sharing a blanket thrown across our backs. We were both silent, watching blankly as police drew tape across the area and started clearing away the glass and debris. The dead man that we found had been taken away already for identification. Allison was talking with Stiles's dad and recalling her side of the story while he listened, concerned. A mountain lion – that's what we had told them. Lydia had muttered it over and over, trying to convince herself until a paramedic gave her something for the shock. After, she just sat and stared, a shell of the usual Lydia Martin. I knew the truth, but who was going to believe me?

About 10 minutes after the cops showed up, I heard a car screech into the parking lot and my head shot up as the familiar Jeep skidded to a halt. I saw the Sheriff put one hand to his forehead and shake his head as his son and his best friend jumped out of the car.
Scott and Stiles are here – they'll believe me! I threw the blanket off my shoulders and tucked it around Lydia gently before speeding towards the boys. Allison got there before me and swung her arms around Scott's neck. Without warning, she forced her lips against his and kissed him like it was her last chance. Scott's hands shot out in surprise before grabbing her waist and kissing her back. Stiles and I reached each other and I tucked my arms around his waist, thankful that someone else was here who understood.
Stiles chuckled in my ear, "Don't I get a kiss like Scott?" He joked and hugged me back tightly. His arms were warm, like Isaac's, but didn't feel as right.
Ignoring his joke, I whispered, "It was him. It was the Alpha," before pulling away and looking him in the eye truthfully.
"I know," Stiles ran his fingers through his short hair before pulling a sheet of paper out of his hoodie pocket. It was my drawing from the other night, when we had figured out my anchor. Of course. The beast jumping through glass – it was just like it happened tonight…
"Do you always listen in to my phone calls?" Stiles's Dad appeared at my shoulder and frowned at his son.
Stiles opened his mouth and gaped like a fish before replying, "Not the boring ones."

Scott strolled over, Allison's hand firmly in his, and nodded to me, "You okay, Emily?"
"Yeah. Can we go home now?" I asked, hugging my arms to myself. I couldn't stop looking at Allison and Scott's hands intertwined.
Sheriff Stilinksi twisted his mouth and sighed, "I guess, yeah. You kids get yourself home; we'll clean up around here. As long as there is nothing you've forgotten to tell us?"
I shook my head, "No."
"I'll take you," Stiles offered.
Lying to the police was worse than lying to my parents, but it was what needed to be done. They couldn't help. It was all down to us. And we needed to get a plan together, fast.

I made sure that Lydia was okay and that her parents were on the way to pick her up before leaving her in the hands of the paramedics. The girl had a faraway glint in her eye, like she was both remembering and trying to forget the giant monster crashing out of a window towards her. I hope she convinces herself that it was a mountain lion, for her sanity's sake. Before I joined the others by the jeep, a shadow caught my eye on the top of the building. Derek and I looked at each other for only a moment, before he turned his back and disappeared into the shadows.

Once in the car, we dropped Allison off first because her own had to stay at the video store until all evidence had been dealt with. When she was gone, Scott, Stiles and I sat in silence, unmoving.
Stiles's stroked the steering wheel with his hands and kept glancing at me in the back seat.
"I saw Derek tonight," I decided to say when the silence became almost uncomfortable, "He was at the scene back there."
"Yeah, he always shows up out of nowhere," Scott groaned, resting his forehead in his hands, "but Derek has no clue what's going on either."
"Surely-" I begin, but Scott gets agitated and growls.
"This isn't standard practice; we don't go out in the middle of the night murdering random people. We're not killers!"
I gulped and clasped my hands together silently.
Scott sighed and twisted around, "I'm sorry, Em. I didn't mean to yell… I just can't stand by and watch more innocent people being killed."
Stiles perks up like a rabbit and says cheerfully, "Well at least we know it's not Isaac's Dad."
"What?!" I shout, putting my hands on the front seats and pulling myself forwards to glare at him, "What did you do?!"
The boy blinks at me abashed and goes, "Well… tonight, Scott and I were staked out at Isaac's house watching to see if his Dad showed any werewolf-y signs. But then we got the call about the video store as we were watching Isaac and his Dad eating dinner together so… he's not the Alpha."
"Tell me no one saw you, dear god," I moaned, falling back into my seat, completely exasperated.
"No one saw us, Em," Scott assured me, but I couldn't help and feel like they'd crossed the line. Isaac told us to keep our nose out of his family and they had borderline stalked his Dad. Although I'm sure my vision of his Dad meant something, it was obviously not to do with the Alpha, so I should try and let it go, for Isaac's sake.
"Well," I take a deep breath and pierce each of them with my eyes and mutter sarcastically, "That only leaves the rest of Beacon Hills as suspects. Where do you want to start?"

…

A few days pass like a blur. I go to school and take notes, I go to work and serve customers, I go to sleep and dream of suffocating. Over and over. Lydia, Allison and I stick together like glue, bonded by the incident at the video store. Everyone at school was whispering about it, but it only added to Lydia's popularity. She pretended as if it never happened, putting on a giant smile and walking down corridors as if she was parting the waves. Allison and I followed in tow, sharing soft smiles and squeezing each other's hands in support. I couldn't get out of my head how strong she had been in the store. Where I panicked and screamed, she had kept calm and tried to investigate. If I was going to get better at drawing, I was going to have to be more like Allison. So I went home every night and practised. And every night the trance came easier to me. And on the nights when I woke up in a cold sweat, paint leaking up my arms, I wouldn't cry or call for Stiles. I would think of Allison and her determination in the face of danger. I shoved all the doodles and paintings in a folder, ready to show Stiles and Scott if anything dangerous showed up. Most were tiny details – a broken wooden chair, a clenched hand, a locked door – nothing that gave me any warning of any murders or attacks from the Alpha.

After a weekend of studying and working and practising, I dragged myself to school on Monday morning exhausted and draining coffee as if it was my life source. Chemistry with Isaac was first. He hadn't spoken to me since a week ago at lacrosse practise and I desperately needed to see him. Just to see how he was doing. I wanted to listen to him tell me about the most boring of details about his week or about lacrosse, anything, just to hear him speak.
He was in his seat as usual when I arrived. Summer didn't even raise her head anymore when I walked past anymore, like she had completely forgotten who I was. She, Jane and Sarah must have heard about the incident at the video store, but not one of them made any effort to see if I was okay. I pushed it out of my mind, not wanting to be effected by such negative thoughts. Isaac was here and that was enough.

"Hey," I settled down beside him.
For once, he actually raised his head and beamed at me, "Hi." The smile made butterflies flutter from my stomach to my throat.
"How was your week?" I asked, casually, taking out my textbook.
"Fine, thanks," Isaac glanced down and his hands clutched at his own textbook, just like the first time we spoke. He noticed the direction I was looking and immediately let go, flexing his fingers. "I'm sorry, I-" He stuttered out, trying to pick his words carefully but it all came out in a rush, "I heard about you getting attacked at the video store and I wanted to ask if you were alright but I didn't know if you want to speak to me after I shouted in lacrosse last week and I'm sorry and-"
"Isaac," I stopped him in his tracks and flashed him a joking smile, trying to assure him that it was all forgiven and forgotten, "I thought we promised that we would only apologise to each other if it was important."
His mouth hung open slightly before he spoke again, "But it is important. I don't want you to think that I'm mad at you."
"I don't think that at all. And for the record, I'm sorry too," I whispered, moving my hand to rest over his.
The electric current buzzed through my veins as Isaac and I gazed at each other.

"Right, settle down, I know you've all been studying hard because I expect no one to fail this pop quiz," Harris announced, holding up a stack of paper.
Isaac coughed and pulled his hands to rest in his lap. My face started burning and I smiled to myself, glad that Isaac doesn't hate me. As Harris passed out the pop quiz, I sneaked a glance at the boy next to me and felt the butterflies take off. His hair was flopping over his face slightly and curling around his flushed cheeks. I wanted to reach my fingers out, run my hand through his curls and pull him towards me, kissing him suddenly, like Allison had done to Scott the night of the incident. But this was Chemistry class and I was going to have to find another opportunity.

…

I decided to find Isaac again when he had finished lacrosse practise, so for the rest of the day, I had a knot forming in my stomach. At lunch, I sat with Scott and Stiles and ate my sandwich whilst doodling on a napkin to try and take my mind off things.
Scott and Stiles had been discussing going to visit Derek to find some answers, but Scott was very against the idea.
"No way. He never tells me anything and it'll just result in him getting all moody and telling me to stop seeing Allison, like he always does," Scott was saying, shoving pasta into his mouth at the same time.
"But we have no other leads. Emily hasn't drawn anything huge in a while and I'm starting to itch!" Stiles cried out, making dramatic gestures at his friend. I listened with half an ear and let my pen move by itself over the bumpy napkin.
"Besides, I have so much Math homework, I'm failing so many classes and my Mom is getting suspicious of my late night outings!"
Stiles rolled his eyes, "Do you want to do your homework, or do you want to not die. Because that's what'll happen, Scott! We need go and see Derek again."
My hand stopped moving and I raised my head to look at the boys, "No you don't. Because he's going to come and see us instead." I turned the napkin around and showed them. Derek's face was sketchy, but recognisable. His brow was knit together and his arms were folded, bunching up the dark leather jacket that he was sporting.

…

It was during afternoon recess when I went to the girls bathroom that Derek showed up. I was washing my hands in the sink when a shadow fell to my left. Luckily, the bathroom was empty apart from me, so I turned and raised an eyebrow at the man whilst reaching for a paper towel to dry my hands.
"You know, the one annoying thing about my ability is I never know the exact time of when it's going to happen. But Derek, the girls bathroom, really? This is where you want to finally talk?" I taunted him, discarding the paper into the bin and turning to face him full on.
Just as I expected, or rather, predicted, Derek stood with his arms crossed over his check, brow furrowed. His presence was intimidating, but I remembered Allison and tried to remain strong.
"No, not here," was all he said before stepping towards me.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up on a wooden chair in an unfamiliar room. My eyes shot open with a start and almost fell to the floor in surprise. Derek stood over me, arms still crossed; only the scenery had changed.
"What the…" I whispered out, taking in the surroundings. The room was derelict and falling to pieces. The wall had been stripped down to its foundations, although old wallpaper could be seen in the better parts, peeling off and stained. Floorboards covered the empty floor like fallen gravestones and beyond the claw ridden door frame, I could see a broken and abandoned staircase leading to a second floor.
I swallowed hard. This is exactly how the start to horror films start and I hate films like that. Luckily, I wasn't bound to the chair so I could get up and run at any time. I didn't rate my chances though. I had no idea where I was and my captive was a werewolf who could smell better, run faster and kill me if he wanted to.

"How did you get me out of school?" I asked, out of curiosity. Because someone must have seen a scary older man carrying an unconscious teenager out of school and thought to call the cops.
"I have my ways," Derek replied, mysteriously. He pulled a piece of paper out from his back pocket and showed it to me. It was the one of the Alpha jumping through the window. He must have got it from Stiles. "Tell me about this," he ordered.
"What about it? It's from the other night when the Alpha killed that man at the video store."
"But how did you do it?"
"Do what?! Draw it? Because I'd like to know the same thing-" My voice went all high and squeaky like a child. Derek's eyes were terrifying me.
"No. You sent him away. He didn't kill you. Why?"
I shrugged, trying to seem like I didn't care, "How should I know? You're the werewolf! He sniffed at me a bit and then legged it out the window!"
Derek put the paper back in his pocket and placed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. Sighing, Derek told me, "We have less than a week until the full moon. He's probably going to attack then."
"Why don't you just sniff him out?" I jested, not thinking about the consequences.
Derek's stoic nature flipped suddenly as he turned and punched a gap in the wall near the door frame. I squeezed my mouth together tight and stared at him in fright. Holy shit, this guy could change moods fast.
"Because his human scent is different!" He yelled, panting at the wall and staring at the hole he just made, before continuing, quieter, "Scott and I can find him, but not alone. We're stronger in numbers."
"Like a pack? You do know that I'm not a werewolf," I reminded the man.
"You're something!" He yelled unexpectedly, making me shrink into my seat again.
"Fine!" I exclaimed, "I'll try to help you! But you have to give me a clue! I've been practising how to control my power, but that doesn't mean that I can pick and choose what I draw. It could be anything, from someone stubbing their toe, to a freaking murder on the school bus! I can't just magically draw the Alpha's human form for you out of thin air!"
Derek watched me with careful eyes and brushed his hands off. "I'll help you," he insisted, "Before the full moon on Saturday."
"Great," I mumble and stand up, making a move to leave.

Derek shoots and arm out and stops me, his face cocked to one side like he was listening out for something. He shushes me and continues to listen. I gulp and wipe my hands on my leggings, wondering what he could hear. I didn't really want another run in with the Alpha so soon after the last one.
Finally, Derek turns to me and says two words, "Hunters," and "Run."

My face pales and Derek has to guide me from the room. A gun goes off loudly and the bullet flies through the front door. Remember how strong Allison was, I remind myself as Derek shields me from a second bullet.
"Out the back door and keep running in a straight line. You should reach the road soon enough," he orders, before sprinting to the front door and ripping it open with a roar. I see his face transform into a scarier one, with a thicker nose and hair sprouting from his cheeks. The gun goes off again and I take it as my cue to leave. I find the back door and creep out, double checking that the hunters had stayed at the front of the house.

And then I run. The forest around me blurs past in a greeny, brown swirl of colour. Soon enough, my throat begins to burn from the cold air I choke in and my lungs can no longer handle it. However, the growing darkness pushes me on. The sun had begun to set and I realised that I must have been out at Derek's for most of the afternoon. School was probably over and my car was miles away, leaving only my feet to carry me home. It's times like these when I curse my artistic talent and wish that I had more of an athletic side to me.
I had been running for what felt like a good hour when the trees thinned out and twigs stopped crunching under my heavy feet. Finally, the hard concrete surface sent a spasm up my legs and I halted where I stood, doubling over and giving in to the burning pain that was flaming up in my chest.
"Oh god," I breathed out, stretching upwards to rid myself of the stitch, when I saw a shadow heading towards me. I squinted and realised what it was a second before it hit me – a bike.
Throwing myself out of the way, the cyclist screeched to a halt and tossed his bike to one side.
"Emily?!" A voice made the pain in my chest melt away like butter. I was saved!
"Isaac? What are you doing here?" I cried, watching him pull off his bike helmet. His curly hair stuck out messily and he pierced me with those blue eyes. He was panting, like he had been riding fast and his t-shirt was stuck to his chest.
"Looking for you! Scott said-"
But I didn't let him finish his sentence, because in that moment, I remembered watching Allison and Scott, and I remembered how I felt in Chemistry and I remembered wanting to act upon it.

I closed the distance between us and seized his cheeks with my clammy hands. Without a second of doubt, I drew his face down and kissed him softly on his warm lips.

A.N.

Wow, bit of a long one this! I knew where I wanted it to end but so much had to happen before that :') I hope you are all happy, it took them long enough! Two chapters in one day as well, I am so on a roll haha!
Next chapter won't be out until maybe Sunday because I have work and such, so sorry about leaving you on this, albeit good, cliffhanger.
Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed, I appreciate every one of you and would love to hear from more of you! :D