My conversation with Jane had put me in such a great mood that as I walked towards my Chemistry classroom, I thought nothing could bring me down. I tried to take a snapshot of how I was feeling to try and remember next time I felt like crap. I was light and it felt easier to breathe – what's the worst that could happen? I could face my fears and have no worries.
I then entered through the door and my heart stopped. It was as if someone had cracked an egg on my head, the way the chill ran down my spine. This room had been one of the ones the Alpha had been in last night. I could tell from the boarded up window and the dusty floor that had been pathetically cleaned. I was staring at the tape holding the wooden board up against one of the windows when a sharp cough brushed against my neck. Stiffly, I span around and Mr Harris was raising his eyebrows at me.
"I'm sure the lack of one window will not stop me giving a pop quiz today," Harris peered at me curiously over his glasses, "To your seat, Hoskins."
I scuttled over to the lab bench where, thankfully, Isaac wasn't sat yet. He must be running late… I wasn't sure whether I was happy or worried about his lack of appearance. He'll just be feeling ill or his Dad let him have the day off because of what happened at the weekend or… Or he didn't want to see me. I clutched at the happiness that I had been feeling before with Jane, but so many 'what if's' were escalating in my head. Or. The Alpha got him. The Alpha followed him home and turned him. That's why he isn't here. Isaac has been turned into a monster.
No, stop it! I forced myself to listen to Harris, who was droning on about a chapter in our Chemistry textbooks that will be essential in our midterms. The students around me were turning open their books and pulling out pens. But I couldn't – it all felt meaningless. How did Scott do this? How did he manage to stay in school and listen to teachers whine about subjects that, in all honesty, will not matter when a ferocious werewolf was trying to rip out your throat? I had a choice between sitting here and learning Chemistry, or trying to save people's lives. I felt so done with sitting around waiting for the Alpha to strike and dealing with the consequences after he's attacked. No. I want this over with. I'm bored with waiting now.
My hand shot into the air and it took a second for Harris to lazily roll his eyes over me and pull one eyebrow up.
"Yes?" He asked, not taking his chalk off the board, where he was drawing the structure of a certain molecule.
"I feel really ill, I think I need to go to the nurse," I said blankly, not breaking eye contact. After my fainting episode in this class not so long ago, he has to let me leave.
Harris sighs and I try to look as pale as possible. He was surveying me as if deciding if it was life or death that I must leave his class.
"Fine," Harris says finally and he turns to his desk to scribble a hall pass for me. I grab my bag and scurry to the front, putting on a wince as if it hurt to be alive.
Then something weird happened. As Harris started to write, almost in slow motion, my eyes fell on a piece of paper sticking out from underneath a textbook that was open at the edge of his desk. I wouldn't have noticed it had I not have been worrying so much about the werewolves running around Beacon Hills. On the paper was a rushed sketch of a wolf and a moon, joined together by a series of patterns that I definitely recognised from somewhere. Stealthily, I checked that Harris wasn't looking and slid the paper out with my thumb and forefinger. His gaze shot up as soon as I had shoved the paper behind my back. Disgruntled, he handed me the note and signalled for me to leave without any suspicion. Needless to say, I exited the classroom immediately, paper in hand, my heart pounding as if I had just tried to rob a bank.
What the hell is this? I scan my eyes over the drawing once I am standing in the middle of the empty corridor. A snarling wolf was facing the moon, and the pattern, I realised now that I looked closer, was made up of arrows. I was certain that I had come across this before, so instead of skipping school to search for Derek like I had planned, I made for the library.
It was near empty in the library when I arrived, so I settled down in a corner and tugged out the book Allison had leant me about her family. I had taken to carrying it around, just in case. Kate had scared me so much that if she ever came searching for it back, I could have returned it straight away and left without any difficulties.
Hurriedly, I flick through the pages, searching for this mystery symbol. In all my madness, I do not pay attention to my surrounding. My hands fall on a page entitled, 'La Bête du Gévaudan' when a cough startles me out of my bubble. Allison sits opposite me, her hands folder delicately. She is smiling, amused, but my own expression is of pure horror.
"Looking for something?" Allison asks, politely.
I try to stutter out and excuse but come up with nothing. My talent of lying under pressure has obviously vanished.
"Don't look so shocked, Em," She rolls her eyes and shuffles around the table to sit next to me. My hands are frozen – one on the page of the book and one on Harris's drawing. There is no getting out of this. Not when Allison is already pretty suspicious.
"I've been wanting to ask you for this back actually, but it seems like we are on the same page," Allison whispers to me, pushing her hair behind her ears to concentrate. She reads the title of the page I'm on and translates, "The Beast of Gevaudan. It's supposed to be this myth about man-eating wolves who killed loads of people in France in like, 1765. 'Witnesses described the beasts as having formidable teeth, immense tails and an unbearable odour. They killed their victims by tearing at their throats with their teeth.'"
Her eyes take in the sketch of the wolf and arrows, and suddenly her hand flies to her neck.
"What?" I manage to whisper out. I can see in her eyes that she is putting the pieces into place. Allison is not stupid. She's figuring it out.
Her fingers loosen and reveal a necklace around her neck that has the exact same symbol on. I gasp lightly and take a closer inspection.
"My… my Aunt gave me this on my birthday. The same time she gave me the book."
"Kate…" I breathed out. She had given Allison all the clues.
Then the penny drops and Allison's eyes are fixated on mine, only a few inches away.
"It's not a myth, is it? It's real. That's what happened at the weekend. And the video store. It's all real." Her voice doesn't shake once – she believes in herself and her judgement.
It's no use pretending to be ignorant.
"Yeah… It's true. The thing in the school wasn't Derek-"
Well technically, Derek is still involved, but I didn't feel like it was necessary to tell her that right now.
Allison's eyes narrow on mine as she continues to understand: "It was a werewolf. And it was a werewolf who attacked us at the video store too. It killed the shop assistant. And the bus driver. It's not a mountain lion at all."
I nod once.
"But what does that have to do with my necklace and my family history?" Allison wonders aloud.
"I think you need to talk to Kate about that," I suggest – it is not my place to get involved in the Argent's family business. And I didn't want Kate to get mad at me for taking the moment away from her.
"Here, you can have it back now," I close the worn down book and push it towards Allison, "I know more than I need to." I stood up abruptly and grabbed my bag.
"Where are you going?" Allison asks, raising her head.
I turn and glance down at her flushed face and feel nothing but admiration for her. But she still didn't know the whole picture. It was not my secret to tell her about Scott and Derek.
"I need to get back to class," I lied, "See you later on."
…
"Derek! Derek! You're here, I know you are! Show your godamn face! Derek!" I screeched at the top of my lungs, cupping my hands around my mouth. I was stood halfway up the ruined stairs in Derek's broken down house that he called home. The place was eerily silent, except for the occasional gush of wind that trickled through the cracks in the walls. But Derek wouldn't be anywhere else. He had to be here.
"Derek!" I screamed again, before jumping at the vibration in my pocket. Tugging my hand into my jacket pocket, I saw that Stiles was calling me. I hovered over the button to hang up on him before changing my mind and deciding to hear him out.
"Hey," I answered, holding the phone to my ear and resting against the bannister of the stairs lightly.
"Emily, where are you?"
"Uh, why?"
"Because you're not at school," he replied, concerned.
"Well done, genius."
"So where are you?"
"Nowhere. Just at home, why?"
"Because my Dad made a huge breakthrough in the Hale arson case and I need to talk to you about it."
"Can you not just tell me now?"
I heard him groan and heard Scott in the background muttering away. They must be in the canteen at lunch. I wonder if Isaac ever showed up to class…
"Fine," Stiles sighed, "Listen, the bus driver and the guy who worked at the video store were both involved in the fire at the Hale house. The bus driver used to be an insurance guy who decided to rule the fire as accidental and the sales assistant was a convicted felon, known for crimes involving arson."
I put one cold hand to my clammy forehead and let out a short breath, "So you think that the Alpha knew they were involved and is getting revenge?"
"Exactly. The only thing we don't know is who else he intends to get revenge on."
"I think Mr Harris is involved somehow. I found a sketch of the Argent crest on his desk," I revealed to Stiles.
"…You know, my Dad actually interviewed him at the weekend. Apparently, years ago just before the fire, someone at a bar was asking him about how to start a fire."
I heard a creak echo from upstairs so I turned to face it, hoping to see Derek, but no one revealed myself.
"You know who it was?" I ask in a more hushed tone as the movement in the house set me on edge.
"Not yet, but I-" Stiles started, but I automatically hung up on him as I became more fixated on the noise.
Shoving the cell phone back into my jacket, I kept my gaze on the upstairs landing.
"Derek?" I call out again, my heat beginning to pound away. If it was Derek, he would have revealed himself by now…
A flash of blonde swooped into view and the next second the barrel of a gun was pointed in my direction.
"Don't. Move." Kate ordered me, peering at me with one eye to aim.
My hands flew up with open palms, "Kate!"
"I've had my eye on you for a long time, missy. And I'm not liking what I see," Kate spits, shuffling her aim slightly.
I shake from head to toe. There is no excuse I can give her, except the truth.
"I'm not a werewolf, so if you shoot me, I won't heal," I try to explain, as calmly as one can with a gun pointed at them.
"Well, there's one way to find out if that's true," She smirks and I do not doubt for a second that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot me.
My eyes flicker to check how far away the door is behind me. Kate sees and fires a warning shot that flies inches away from my head. I scream and hug my arms to my head. Run. Run. Run.
"I'm not a werewolf!" I sob out, my throat stinging, "Please!"
All of a sudden, Kate marches towards me, the gun falling to her side. I have a moment of quick relief before she grabs my healing shoulder and pushes in her thumb. I let out a scream that causes my eyes to dot with black. My legs give from underneath and I crash onto the stairs in a heap, my head knocking backwards into the bannister on the way down. Pain throbs in my shoulder like a heartbeat. I let the tears start to fall without any embarrassment.
Kate kneels down next to me and wipes away a tear with a pretend pout on her face, "There we go, that wasn't so bad, was it? I know you're not a werewolf, you idiot. But you know who is. You know who the other beta is. And seeing as Derek so kindly refused to tell me – I'm going to get you to instead."
"I don't-" I start, but stop when Kate places her hand on my shoulder again lightly, as if she was going to push it again.
"Now, now, let's not play that game."
"Let me go, please," I cry, blinking away the blurriness so that I could look into her cold eyes.
"Not until you tell me who the other beta is."
"But- Allison- Allison-"
"Allison knows nothing, unfortunately. I heard you tell Stiles that you were at home. And you're boyfriend Isaac isn't capable of rescuing you in the state he's in, so there's no one to charge in and save you, princess. You may as well just tell me."
My whole body ran with electricity. What. What did she just say?
Despite the heaviness of my limbs, I sat bolt upright and the tears stopped immediately.
"What was that? About Isaac? What state is he in?" My voice is sharp and commanding, and I hoped it was enough to get information out of Kate. Maybe if I challenge her, she will play along.
Her eyebrows raised, "You don't know? Oh, well, he's just a tad bit on the bruised side is all. I went to check if he was the other beta before coming here. I had my suspicions about him after seeing how close you were together, maybe history was repeating itself. But a werewolf would have healed himself after that mess."
"What are you talking about? What mess?" I growled, flicking my eyes down to check how loose her grip on the gun was – not very tight.
Her eyes closed off to me as she spoke, "You really don't know…" And then, of all things, she started laughing, "Oh god, that's brilliant. He actually never told you. Now there's a relationship built on trust! No wonder!" Her cackle echoed around the deserted house.
I seized my chance. Kate's eyes closed for a split second as she leant her head back to laugh. With my right hand, I forced the gun out of her loose grip, pushed upwards with my leg and swung around so that I was trapping her against the bannister. I pressed the gun vertically against her neck and in her surprise, I managed to get the upper hand.
Kate's laugh stopped as the metal touched her skin.
"Well, well, well, seems like we've got a fighter here. You should be an Argent," Kate smirked. If she was annoyed or worried, she wasn't letting on.
"For your information, Kate," I spat out, leaning close to her face, "Allison figured it out for herself. Today actually. So she won't be very happy with you when she finds out that you've been trying to kill people. And whatever mind games you are trying to play about me and Isaac, forget it."
"She's a smart girl, I knew she would eventually," Kate smiled and lifted her chin slightly as I pressed the gun against her harder. However hard Kate was trying to keep cool, her voice was rising slightly as she spoke. "And it's no mind games, sweetie. Your boyfriend has got a dirty little secret that he keeps in the family, as it were." Her mouth tugs to the side, almost inviting me to ask.
"If Isaac needed to tell me something important, he would have told me. You're bluffing."
"So you never wondered why he always had to rush home? Why he never wanted you around his house? Why those curious lacrosse injuries just kept happening?"
A coldness was creeping up through my stomach and into my chest. Kate was right. More than right. Her words had made me lessen my grip on the gun. Something bad was happening to Isaac. He'd pushed me away so that I wouldn't find out.
The next thing I know, an electric shock is zapping up my arm like a painful jolt of lightening. I cry and fall back, shaking and screaming as the pain bubbles in my chest. I fall down a few stairs and feel the edges of each step poking into my back as I descend.
Kate jumps up to her feet, holding her tazer in one hand. She flicks her hair back and straightens her jacket.
"Nice try," I hear her say as I try to catch my breath again, "But let's get back on topic. Who's the other beta, Emily?"
"Bite me," I wheeze, clutching at my chest. My heart is pounding away like a rocket. Kate's foot stamps into my side and I choke out a gasp of pain.
"Who's the other beta, Emily?" Kate repeats.
I remain silent, knowing that Kate loved the sound of her own voice. She would continue talking and give me time to heal sooner or later.
"It's a shame it isn't Isaac. I would have loved to have broken up another relationship-"
Kate breaks off. When I look up at her, she is deep in thought, as if remembering something from long ago.
"…History repeating itself… Not your relationship… But someone else's…" She mumbles to herself before glaring down at me.
With an angry shove, she kicks me down the final few stairs and marches down, stepping over me in the process. I roll and cough out a ball of dust. I wasn't really hurt, just aching and tired.
"Thanks for all your help, Emily, it was nice to chat again."
"Wait-!" I cried out, sitting up, confused, "Where are you going?"
Kate spins around like a princess, her blonde hair whipping across one shoulder. With a sweet smile she tells me, "I'm going to kill your friend, Scott."
A.N.
Hi! Sorry again, oh my god, I am so bad at getting my chapters out now. Literally, I hardly have any free time anymore, it's so sad :( I would love to write more often, it's just very difficult. I won't give up though, this story will keep being updated until it's finished, I promise! Can't leave you all hanging :'D
So yeah, all my love to those of you who have stuck with me! Thank you lots and lots and lots. Please keep on reviewing as it keeps me motivated to write and thank you for all the favourites and stuff!
Hopefully I'll be updating pretty soon, it's all coming together now! xxxx