Chaos Running

Artemis sighed to herself as she and Stiles walked to their destination.

Stiles had talked her into accompanying him to a birthday party for an old friend of his, Heather. Artemis was glad for the chance to distract herself from her messed up life, but she wasn't exactly in the mood for a party.

After Kali had ran from the hospital, Artemis had had to explain to Melissa about Kali's new life as an Alpha and try to calm her down and convince her to keep Kali's survival quiet. Then she'd had to get Isaac back to Derek's apartment and help Isaac heal up from his wounds. He still didn't remember what had happened to him, which wasn't good.

The girl who'd rescued Isaac, Braeden, was gone and had yet to be found. And to top it all off, they had yet to decipher her message. The paper she'd given Stiles had contained a picture of a strange symbol and the words, "Where this mark resides will be those you seek to find." Efforts to find out the symbol's meaning had been fruitless and they were running out of time and options.

"Hey, what's with the look?" asked Stiles.

"What look?" asked Artemis.

"You know what I mean. You sighed and you had that look on your face," said Stiles. "You always get a look on your face when you're doing something just to make me happy even though you don't want to do it. So, what's up?"

Artemis sighed again. "I just don't feel like going to a party right now. I've got a lot on my mind and I can't forget what happened at the last two parties I went to."

Lydia's birthday party had been a disaster that resulted in the punch being spiked with wolfsbane, Peter's resurrection and Victoria's murder. And the rave before that resulted in another victim being claimed by the kanima and Artemis nearly getting killed by Victoria. Both events were ones that Artemis didn't like to remember and they made her slightly wary of other parties.

"Oh, come on. Just because a disaster befell the last two parties we went to doesn't mean one will this time," said Stiles. "And besides, we're not staying that long. We're just here because I've known Heather since kindergarten. She's a friend."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…everything's so messed up. The Alpha pack, my sister…"

"And that's exactly why we're doing this," interrupted Stiles. He understood what she was feeling upset and stressed, but it was all the more reason for a night off. "We are going to forget about our troubles for an hour and have fun. No Kali, no Alpha pack, none of that. Just you and me and some fun. Okay?"

Artemis couldn't help but smile and nod. "Okay." It's just for a little while. What's the worse that could happen from one night off?

Stiles smiled back. "That's my girl. Give me five."

They high-fived and then went inside Heather's house where they were immediately met by a pretty blond girl, who hugged Stiles tightly.

"Stiles!" said Heather, happily.

"Hey, Heather," said Stiles, smiling. They broke apart and Stiles gave Heather her gift. "Happy birthday. You look amazing. How've you been?"

"Thanks. I've been good," said Heather. She took her gift out of the pretty bag it was in. It was a necklace from Artemis's website. "Stiles, it's beautiful! Thank you." She quickly fastened it on before smiling at Artemis. "So, Stiles, is this your friend you told me about?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. Artemis, this is Heather. Heather, this is my best friend Artemis."

"Nice to meet you," said Artemis, as they shook hands.

"Likewise. It's great to finally meet you. I'm a huge fan of your website. Your jewelry is just the best," said Heather. "Thanks for the necklace. I've been dying to get it for weeks."

Artemis smiled. "Thanks. Just for that, next time you're shopping there, it'll be buy one, get one free."

Artemis had a business of making and selling jewelry online during the school holidays. She liked hearing compliments about her work and when she did, she sometimes liked to make discount offers to her customers.

Heather beamed. "Thanks. Now, I'm going to steal Stiles for a minute. Help yourself to the refreshments and then I'll introduce you to my friends."

"Sounds good," said Artemis.

And with that, Heather dragged Stiles away and Artemis went to the refreshments table. For a little while, Artemis was having fun. The refreshments were great, she loved the music and she was even making some new friends when Stiles came back, looking uncomfortable.

"Stiles, what's wrong?" asked Artemis, concerned.

"Ask me later. Let's just get out of here," said Stiles. "Please."

Wisely, Artemis didn't press the matter. "Okay, we'll go. Let me get my jacket." She'd just grabbed her jacket when suddenly there was blood-curdling scream that was coming from the cellar.

"That's Heather!" yelled Stiles, looking panicked.

Quickly, Artemis and Stiles ran down to the cellar and the sight before them wasn't good. Broken bottles, wine and blood littered the floor along with Heather's birthday necklace and the cellar window was open. Worst of all, Heather was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, crap. Stiles, call your dad," said Artemis.

Stiles didn't need telling twice. He called the Sheriff and before long the police arrived. An investigation into Heather's disappearance and most likely kidnapping went underway, but everyone knew the chances of finding Heather alive and well were very slim.

Still, the question remained: who would've kidnapped poor, little innocent Heather?

XXX

The following morning, Isaac was anxiously pacing the floor of Derek's apartment.

Isaac was taking some time off school and Derek had arranged for Peter to come by and try and share in Isaac's lost memories, hoping it would lead them to Erica and Boyd. Isaac had agreed to go through with it, but he wasn't at all pleased to have Peter be the one to do it and he was nervous about it.

"Derek, I'm not so sure about this," said Isaac. "It sounds kind of dangerous." He stopped pacing for a moment. "You know what, I definitely don't like this and I definitely don't like him."

Derek looked up from the book he was reading. "Calm down. You'll be fine."

Isaac wasn't convinced. "Does it have to be Peter? Why can't it be you?"

"Much as I hate to admit it, yes," said Derek. He wasn't any happier about this than Isaac. "Peter knows how to do it and has experience. I don't. And it'd be more dangerous if I tried to do it myself."

Isaac groaned as he leaned against the wall. "I trust you and Artemis more anyone else. But I do not trust Peter and I really don't like him."

"We don't have to trust him. If he so much as tries anything suspicious, I'll deal with him. I've done it before," said Derek. Peter had yet to misbehave and he was always obeying orders given to him by Artemis and Derek, but nobody trusted or liked him, especially Artemis. "And another thing, nobody likes or trusts him."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Derek got up and opened it to find Peter on the other side, looking annoyed.

"Boys, F.Y.I., coming back from the dead may have left my abilities slightly impaired, but my enhanced hearing is working perfectly fine. So, I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is you have to say to my face," said Peter, grumpily.

Derek gave him an irritated look. "Just shut up and help us." Peter's feelings weren't high on his priority list at the moment.

"Okay, okay, okay. Sheesh. So impatient," muttered Peter.

Isaac rolled his eyes as he took a seat and Peter stood behind him with his claws on his left hand extended.

"Just relax, Isaac. This will go over a lot better and quicker if you're calm," said Peter. "I'll get more out of you, too."

Isaac snorted. How was he supposed to be calm when Peter, Artemis's former Alpha and tormentor, was about to poke around his brain?

"How do you know how to do this again?" asked Isaac.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alphas, since it's a skill that requires quite a lot of practice," explained Peter. "One wrong move and you could paralyze someone or kill them. But that's not going to happen to you, I promise."

Isaac didn't look convinced, but he had no time to reply as Peter grabbed Isaac with one hand and plunged his claws into the back of his neck. Their eyes glowed bright werewolf blue and gold and small gasps of pain were emitted as they underwent the process.

Peter then pulled away and the two werewolves were left gasping for breath and feeling shaken by what had just occurred.

Derek was at Isaac's side in a flash, offering the young boy his support and comfort. Thankfully, Isaac was shaken, but he was fine.

After making sure Isaac was okay, Derek turned his attention to Peter, who was trying to catch his breath and kept clenching his hand into a fist.

"Peter, what'd you see?" asked Derek.

"I saw them," said Peter, as his brow wrinkled. "But it was confusing. There were images and vague shapes." He then looked worried. "Isaac found them. He found Erica and Boyd. I barely saw them but they were there."

"What else?" asked Derek.

Derek was glad that his Betas had been found, but there had to be more to it. Isaac had been wounded by the Alphas. They wouldn't leave the place unguarded and chances were that he might've overheard Deucalion's plans for his prisoners.

"Deucalion was there," said Peter. "He was talking to them. He was saying something about time running out."

A tear slid down Isaac's cheek. "Deucalion's going to kill them, isn't he?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't think so. He promised them by the full moon, they'd both be dead."

Derek's ears perked up at this. "The next full moon?"

Peter nodded and also looked worried. "Yes. And the full moon's tomorrow night."

This wasn't good.

XXX

Meanwhile, at the school during their free period, Artemis, Alison and Stiles were in the school library trying to find out what the image on the paper meant, but so far they were having no luck. They found nothing in any of the books or websites they'd searched.

"There's got to be something here," said Alison, as she closed yet another book. "What could this symbol mean?"

"I don't know, but we're running out of time," said Stiles. "The girl's note said that the symbol would be where we'd find Erica and Boyd and the full moon's approaching fast."

Derek had contacted Artemis and told her what had happened with Peter and Isaac. Their efforts to locate the symbol's origin and meaning had tripled

"Yeah, but that's another thing. Why take them and hold them prisoner for months just to kill them now? Why take them at all?" asked Alison.

"I don't know. But I think it's something to do with me," said Artemis, grimly. "Peter said they'd take an interest in me because of what I might become and Braeden was looking for me before she vanished. Maybe this is part of some plan to break me."

Alison and Stiles grimaced at this, not liking the thought.

"And what about Heather? Do you think they're the ones who took her?" asked Stiles.

"Maybe. I mean, if they wanted to turn her, it is easier to turn teenagers rather than adults. But I can't think of any reason why they would turn her. They're all powerful Alphas. Why would they be recruiting?" said Artemis.

It didn't make any sense for the Alphas to take and turn Heather. But then again, their kidnapping of Erica and Boyd didn't make sense either.

Stiles ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Too many questions, not enough answers. I'm going nuts. We need to find Erica and Boyd and Heather and fast." Stiles was worried because he'd known Heather since he was three and had no desire to lose her.

Artemis gave Stiles' shoulder a comforting squeeze. "We'll find her, Stiles."

Stiles sighed and didn't reply.

Alison sipped her coffee and then traced the logo on the container. "Hey, guys, I just thought of something. What if it's not a symbol, but a business logo?"

"That would explain why we haven't found it yet. We've been looking in the wrong direction. Alison, you're a genius," said Artemis. "We'll find it in no time now." Every business's logo was different. And even if that weren't so, there couldn't be many businesses with this strange logo.

Alison began typing up a storm on her laptop. "I'll do a search, but the sooner Isaac remembers, the better."

"Yeah, but how? Peter and Derek couldn't do it. How many werewolves do we know with better mind tricks?" asked Stiles.

Artemis thought for a moment and then it came to her. "We don't need one. We just need someone who knows a lot about werewolves. My boss, Dr. Deaton. I bet you, if anyone knows anything about this sort of thing, it'll be him."

Quickly, Artemis called her boss and made some arrangements.

XXX

That night, Derek, Artemis, Isaac and Stiles met at the vet's to enact their plans to recover Isaac's memories. Dr. Deaton did have a way to do what they wanted, but it wasn't going to be all that pleasant for Isaac as it involved him submerging himself into a large water tank full of cold water and countless bags of ice.

Isaac watched from the doorway while the others fill the tank. Dr. Deaton took the chance to talk to him.

"Isaac, you alright?" he asked.

Isaac nodded. "Yeah, I'm just nervous." He wasn't going to back out of this as he was willing to do anything to help his pack, but part of him was afraid of what he was going to remember.

Dr. Deaton gave him a sympathetic look. "I won't lie to you. This isn't going to be all that comfortable for you. But your pack's here and so am I. We're not going to let anything bad happen to you."

"I know," said Isaac. "So, just to be clear, I slow my heart rate down and then I'll get my memories back?"

Dr. Deaton nodded. "You'll slip into a trance-like state. It'll be like hypnosis," he said, as they approached the now-full tank. "You'll be half-transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."

Isaac still looked nervous. It didn't help that the tank wasn't that wide and he was claustrophobic thanks to his jerk of a dad.

"Isaac, listen, if this feels too risky, then you don't have to do this," said Artemis.

"She's right. If you want to back out, then tell us. No one will blame you," said Derek.

Isaac swallowed painfully and took a deep breath. "If this will help find Erica and Boyd, then I'm not backing out. They're my family. I can't quit on them. But, can I ask you guys for a favor?"

"Sure. Name it," said Artemis.

Whatever Isaac wanted, they'd do it for him. He just had to say the word.

"Hold my hands while I'm under there, give me an anchor," said Isaac, with a pleading, fearful look in his eyes.

Artemis and Derek were family and he was scared. Isaac needed them to make him feel safe and secure.

Derek and Artemis's faces softened as they nodded.

Relieved at their response, Isaac took another deep breath before taking off his shirt and submerging into the tank but not before he tightly grabbed Derek and Artemis's hands.

For a few moments, Isaac thrashed about in the water, but then all of a sudden, he stopped. He floated up to the surface of the water and breathed slowly. He looked like he was sleeping rather than what he actually was.

No one spoke for Dr. Deaton had made it very clear that only he was to speak to Isaac during the memory retrieval process. Any more voices than his would distract Isaac and ruin the whole thing.

"Isaac, can you hear me?" asked Dr. Deaton.

"Yes," said Isaac. His eyes were shut tight, but he was still talking.

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. First, do you feel your hands being held?"

"Yes," said Isaac, as his grip on them tightened.

"That's Artemis and Derek. They're right here with you, and they won't leave you. Just hold onto them tight whenever you feel afraid," said Dr. Deaton. "But you must remember, what you see are just memories of what's already happened. They can't hurt you. Understand?"

"Yes," said Isaac. "I understand."

"Good," said Dr. Deaton, sounding pleased. "Now, I want you to tell me about the night you found Erica and Boyd in as vivid detail as possible. What happened that night?"

Isaac shuddered beneath Artemis and Derek's hands. "I was in a crappy part of town, trying to find them. It was one of the few places we hadn't looked. I knew I shouldn't go there alone, but I thought I could take care of myself. The wind blew by and I picked up a scent. It smelled kind of like Artemis, and I got suspicious, so I went and looked."

Artemis winced at this. He picked up Kali's scent and walked straight into a trap. Oh, gads. Kali, what did you do Isaac?

"Good, good. Where did you go to look?" asked Dr. Deaton.

"It's a bank or something. There's a big vault. I didn't see a sign, so I can't tell what bank it is, but the inside was all fancy and stuff. By now I could smell my friends, hear their voices, but I couldn't find them. I looked, but I had to hide. Someone was coming and it's not Erica or Boyd," said Isaac. "It was the Alphas. They were talking about their prisoners not being in control on the full moon."

Stiles, Artemis and Derek exchanged worried glances at this. Erica and Boyd had learned how to control themselves on a full moon ages ago. The fact that they might lose control now wasn't good. If they were locked in a room together on a full moon and couldn't control themselves, the mere idea of what they'd do was bad.

"Okay, good. Where did you hide?" asked Dr. Deaton.

"First place I could find. It was closet…maybe a janitor's closet? But I didn't pay attention to that. Erica was in there too. She was scared and upset, but when she saw me, she was so happy," said Isaac. "She said she knew we'd find them. She and Boyd never gave up hope."

Derek and Artemis smiled at this, feeling touched by Erica and Boyd's faith in them.

"Why is Erica in the closet? Why can't she break free?" asked Dr. Deaton.

"She's trapped," said Isaac. "There's a circle of mountain ash around her. She's trapped in there because Deucalion wants her to hear her mate, Boyd, suffering and she can't do a thing to help him. But then Erica told me that there's another prisoner, another Beta wolf."

Dr. Deaton's eyes widened in surprise. "Who is this Beta wolf?"

"I don't know. Erica never learned her name. She just knows that the girl's important to Derek if he ever finds out she's here," said Isaac. "I left the closet. I promised get help. I was going to check in with Artemis and Derek, let them know what had happened. But then I got caught. The she-wolf who smelled like Artemis found me. She was so mad at me for what I'd done. She pinned me to the floor, and we fought. I yanked off her necklace in the fight. She retaliated by taking my memories. She would've killed me, but Braeden showed up and saved me."

Suddenly, Isaac woke up and sat up, gasping for breath before he got out of the water tank. Stiles quickly covered him with warm towels, which he wrapped around himself.

"I saw it," said Isaac, as he slowly calmed down. "I saw the name. It's Beacon Hills First National Bank. And I think I know why the girl's important to Derek, why they took her."

"Slow down and calm yourself first," said Dr. Deaton. He handed Isaac a mug of tea that was said to have calming properties. "Drink this and then tell us."

Isaac did as he was told. He drank the tea and then calmed down. "It was her scent. She smells like Derek in the same way that Artemis and Kali do."

Shocked looks crossed everyone's faces and Derek found himself unable to speak. Another of Derek's family was alive? That was impossible. Only Peter had survived the Hale Fire all those years ago.

"Isaac, are you're absolutely sure that she smelled like Derek?" said Artemis. If Isaac was wrong about this, it was going to break Derek's heart.

Isaac nodded. "Definitely. I wouldn't have said so otherwise."

Derek looked shaken and for a few minutes, he was silent as he paced the room. He stopped when Artemis placed her hands on his shoulders and then she held him close. It was hurting her to see him like this. But she couldn't blame him. He'd just learned someone else in his family had possibly survived the Hale Fire and was Deucalion's prisoner.

Derek, love, talk to me, said Artemis. You're scaring me.

I'm sorry. It's just…you heard what Isaac said, Huntress. Someone in my family's locked up in that vault. Someone who survived the Hale Fire, said Derek. How'd she even survive the fire and why wouldn't she tell me? How'd the Alphas find her?

I don't know, but we'll figure this out. We'll get them out and we'll bring her home. We'll do it together, said Artemis. She cupped his face in her hands and stroked his cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. She knew how he felt. If anyone understood having a messed up family, it was Artemis. You're not alone in this. I love you and I'm going to help you with this, I promise.

A small smile crossed Derek's face before he kissed her. I love you too, Huntress. Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you.

They broke apart and then faced the others, who were silently waiting for the couple to finish their psychic conversation.

"Well, now this symbol makes sense. It's the logo for the bank," said Stiles, as he looked it over on his phone.

"Now the question, how're you going to break your friends out?" asked Dr. Deaton. "You need some form of strategy."

"Yeah, but what? We can't just break into a bank, even if it is abandoned!" said Isaac.

"Maybe we don't have to," said Stiles. He pulled up some news reports on his phone. "Check this out. That bank closed down because some idiots actually managed to break in and my dad was the investigating officer. Five bucks says he'll have the blueprints of the bank locked up somewhere."

"Find them and fast. We need to get them out of there before it's too late," said Derek. He was mad and on a mission. The Alphas were going to pay dearly for daring to mess with his family.

XXX

The following day at school, Artemis met up with Alison to let her in on the plan.

Alison's research had confirmed that the symbol on the logo was the symbol for the bank where the others were being held prisoner.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Alison.

"Stiles got the blueprints of the bank, so we're meeting at Derek's to go over them and decided how to enter the bank and escape," said Artemis. "Isaac needs more time to recover, so Peter's watching him. Jackson, Derek and I are going to get Erica and the other two out. But we're not heading out until after dark. If we're lucky, we shouldn't have too much trouble doing it."

"Okay. Can I come and help?" asked Alison.

Retired she might've been, but Alison wasn't about to pass up a chance to help her friends when they needed her.

Artemis shook her head. "Not a chance."

Alison looked outraged. "Why not?"

"Because we're rescuing three werewolves who've undergone heaven alones knows what, they're going be fragile and quite possibly, two of them are going be completely bug nuts. And there's a darn good chance the entire Alpha pack's going to be there, including my evil sister. With Isaac being out of commission for the time being and Peter having to watch him, Jackson, Derek and I are going to have our hands full as it is. I'm not going to risk your life by having you be there," said Artemis, firmly. "The answer's no, Alison."

Alison folded her arms across her chest. "Really? Then how're you going to get Erica free if I'm not there? Last time I checked, non-humans couldn't break mountain ash barriers."

Artemis was about to reply before she realized Alison was right. Mountain ash couldn't be used by werewolves. Without someone like Alison, they couldn't break Erica free. With an exasperated sigh, Artemis said, "Okay, fine. You can come. But only on one condition: when you get into the closet and set Erica free, you do not, under any circumstances, come out until we say it's safe. Agreed?"

"Agreed," said Alison.

"Okay. Meet us at Derek's at five o'clock," said Artemis. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this?

Alison looked pleased.

XXX

That night, everyone met up at Derek to go over the plan.

Stiles rolled out the blueprints onto Derek's table and used a red marker to mark the areas where they'd enter and exit.

"Okay, you see this? This is how the bank robbers got in," said Stiles. "It's a rooftop AC vent which goes down inside to the wall of the vault which is here." He marked the area with a big red 'x.' "Now, one of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Because the space is so small, it took him about twelve hours to drill into the wall—and that wall is stone, by the way. Then, throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom."

Jackson frowned. "Are you sure we can fit in there? That space looks puny."

"It's small, but we should be able to fit. But honestly, Derek should probably go in first because they patched up that wall and he's the strongest one. He should be able to punch through it," said Stiles.

"And once Derek's through, Jackson and I will follow," said Artemis. "Once we're in, Alison, you'll follow. Got it?"

Alison nodded. "Got it."

Peter rolled his eyes and sighed from his seat. "This all sounds like a well-thought out plan, but have you considered the odds of this plan actually working?"

Artemis bit back a growl as she glared at Peter. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, but we don't give up on family. We can't just sit back and let them die when we've got a chance to save them!"

"That's all well and good, but need I remind you what we're up against here? A pack of Alphas, all of them killers. There's Deucalion, the Demon Wolf. Ennis, an Alpha who's possibly the strongest of our kind. Ethan and Aiden, who join together to form one giant Alpha. And then there's Kali, your wacko, traitor of sister," said Peter. "If that's not enough to scare you back into your hole, I don't know what is."

Artemis flinched at the mention of Kali, but said nothing as everyone growled or glared at Peter, resisting the urge to punch him as they did so.

"Could someone kill him again, please?" muttered Stiles.

Jackson extended his claws. "Gladly."

"Don't even think about it," said Derek, as his eyes glowed red. Despite how much he disliked and distrusted Peter, until his uncle did something other than be a sarcastic smart alec, there was no justification for killing him at the moment. "Sit down and be quiet."

Jackson looked unhappy as he grudgingly sat down and retracted his claws.

"My powers may be weakened, but I could still beat you, lizard boy," said Peter.

"That goes for you too!" said Derek, sternly. "Shut up."

Peter scowled, but didn't argue or disobey.

XXX

Later that night, Alison had decided to go to the bank early and break Erica free. She'd snuck off without telling Artemis. She found her own way in—the front door. The front door was chained and padlocked shut, but Alison's bolt cutters broke the chains and allowed her access.

Once Alison was inside the bank, she closed the door and quietly snuck around. It was dark and seemed to be devoid of any life, human or werewolf. But nevertheless, Alison kept her guard up and a tight grip on her bow and arrow.

Isaac said Erica was in a closet. Where's the closet? Alison searched and searched until she found what she was looking for. She didn't find it a moment too soon, for the minute she found the closet, she heard voices and footsteps.

Quickly, Alison dove into the closet and locked the door. She spilled ammonia onto the floor and blocked the bottom of the door with her jacket, knowing it would conceal her scent and block off light from the closet to the Alpha pack.

"Alison, is that you?" whispered a voice.

Alison nearly jumped out of her skin, but then she relaxed when she turned on her cell phone's flashlight and saw Erica.

Erica's hair was lank and unkempt, her skin was paler and she was thinner than she used to be and her eyes were red from crying, but other than that, she seemed to be okay. Erica's face was full of relief at the sight of Alison.

"Erica!" gasped Alison. "Oh, thank heavens. Hang on. I'm going to get you out." She knelt down and broke the mountain ash circle, freeing Erica.

The two girls hugged each other tight and cried in relief.

"I knew someone would come. I knew it," said Erica. "Is Isaac okay? I heard fighting after he left. I thought something bad happened to him."

Alison nodded as they broke apart. "Isaac's okay. He's at Derek's place getting some rest. He's worn out from the past few days, but he's fine."

Erica heaved a sigh of relief. "Artemis and Derek…they're coming too?"

"They're on their way," said Alison. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise. Right now, let's try and get you better."

Thinking that Erica, Boyd and the other prisoner might need food and water, Alison had packed a bag with supplies. She got out the sandwiches and bottled water from her bag and Erica tore into them like a hungry animal. Eventually, she finished eating and the two girls held each other in the darkness, waiting for the chance to escape.

XXX

Meanwhile, Derek, Artemis and Jackson were breaking into the vault.

True to his word, Derek managed to break a hole into the vault large enough for them to go through. The three of them tumbled through, ready for whatever came their way.

"Boyd?" said Derek.

Boyd was standing a few feet away, his posture all stiff and his head hanging down. But when his pack entered the vault, he wolfed out and growled at them.

"Boyd, take it easy. It's us," said Derek. "It's your pack, your family. We're here to get you out."

Artemis's cell phone then went off and she answered it. "Stiles, now's not a good time."

"Artemis, you've got to listen us!" said Stiles, sounding panicked. "I've got you on speaker. You've all got to get out of there, now! The walls of the vault are made with a mineral called hecatolite. It scatters the moonlight."

Artemis frowned. "Scatters the moonlight? What're you—oh, crap." Suddenly, Artemis remembered what her boss had told her about some materials that were harmful to her kind. Hecatolite was known for blocking out moonlight, including the light of the full moon. And Boyd and the other prisoner had been trapped in a room full of the stuff for months.

"I know you don't trust me, Artemis, but believe me when I say you're in more danger than ever before," said Peter. "Think of this is as like the gladiators in the coliseum. They used to starve the lions for three days so that they'd be more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance for it."

Artemis's blood ran cold at this. "Meaning they're going to be insane, savage animals and we just waltzed right into a trap." She should've expected this. The Alphas had left their mark on Derek's door months ago. They wouldn't have waited all this time unless they had some kind of plan ready for them.

Artemis hung up. "Guys, we've got a problem. The vault's made of Hecatolite."

Jackson looked confused while Derek looked horrified as he knew what this meant.

Suddenly, the other prisoner, the girl whose scent had been much like Derek's, came into view. She was a few inches shorter than Artemis with dark brown hair, pale skin, and was dressed in ragged clothes. She looked just as savage as Boyd did, if not more.

"Cora?" said Derek, sounding choked. His eyes glistened with tears. "Cora, is that you?"

Jackson frowned. "Who's Cora?"

"She's my sister, my younger sister," said Derek, not taking his eyes off her.

Isaac was right. Peter wasn't the only survivor of the Hale Fire. But they had no time to dwell on that as the vault door swung open, causing them to spot the mountain ash barrier that was keeping them inside the vault and allowing in the light of the full moon. The light caused Boyd and Cora to wolf out and attack.

Artemis, Derek and Jackson were forced to fight back and defend themselves. But even though they outnumbered Boyd and Cora, the two Betas put up one devil of a fight due to be nothing more than mindless savages. It wasn't long before all three of them were badly injured from the fight.

Artemis found herself being choked by Boyd, and couldn't get herself free.

"Boyd, stop!" yelled Erica. "Let her go!"

Erica and Alison had left the closet when they'd heard the fighting breaking out and now they were here to help.

Upon hearing his mate's voice, Boyd released Artemis, but then turned his attention to Jackson and fought him instead.

Erica couldn't cross the barrier to help, which left only one option. Alison knelt down and broke it, despite Derek's command not to.

Within moments, Cora and Boyd were gone, having fled from the vault and into the night, intending to wreck more havoc upon Beacon Hills.

While Jackson caught his breath and healed from his wounds and Artemis shared a reunion with Erica, Derek's eyes glowed red with fury as he grabbed Alison by the shoulders.

"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?" yelled Derek.

"THAT I HAD TO DO SOMETHING!" yelled Alison, as she broke free of his grasp.

Artemis immediately intervened and came in between them. "Derek, stop it!" she said, as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I know you're angry, but calm down! We'll figure this out. Just calm down."

"Alison just saved our lives. She was helping us. Why're you yelling at her?" demanded Jackson.

Derek relaxed a little under Artemis's touch, but he still glared at Jackson. "You think she's helped? Cora and Boyd are out of control and out of their minds! What do you think they're going to do out there? Do you have any idea what's been set free?" He growled at Alison. "You don't think! No one in your family ever thinks of the consequences when dealing with my kind!"

Alison glared back at him with an intense fierceness. "Don't do this. Don't you dare blame me for what Kate and Gerard did! What they did wasn't my fault!"

Derek's temper then got the better of him and he accidentally let slip one of Artemis's secrets.

"And what about your mother? You're going to tell me what she tried to do to Huntress wasn't your fault?" fumed Derek. He'd never forgiven Victoria for trying to kill Artemis and part of him had always been angry at Alison for it, because it had been Alison's friendship with Artemis that had almost gotten Artemis killed.

Artemis winced and shot Derek a glare. Thanks a lot. She hadn't wanted to tell Alison about that night for a reason and now she would have to. Why did you have say that?

I'm sorry, Huntress, it slipped out, said Derek, sounding genuinely apologetic. But you can't keep hiding this from her.

Artemis knew Derek was right even though she didn't want to admit it.

Alison looked confused and somewhat concerned. "Artemis, what does he mean? What is he talking about?"

Artemis sighed. "Guys, give us a minute," she said. "Alison and I need to talk."

And with that, Erica, Jackson and Derek left the bank, leaving Artemis and Alison alone to talk.

"Alison, do you remember the night of rave?" asked Artemis.

Alison nodded.

"Did you know that your mom was there?" asked Artemis.

Alison looked startled. "My mom was there? Why…why would she have been there?"

Artemis swallowed painfully. "Alison…it wasn't just because of your rejection that Matt targeted your mother. It was also partly my fault," she confessed. "The night of the rave, he…he saw Victoria try to kill me."

Alison was shocked. "My mom tried to kill you?"

Artemis nodded. "Victoria found out we were still friends and decided to get rid of me. She attacked me and locked me in a room with wolfsbane gas. She tried to make it look like I'd had an asthma attack and couldn't reach my inhaler. I would've died if Derek hadn't gotten to me in time. Derek spared her because I asked him to. But I didn't know Matt had seen it and I didn't know he would go after her or I would've found someway to stop him."

Alison couldn't believe this. She knew what kind of person her mother had been, but to kill Artemis in cold blood…now Derek's anger made sense. Alison didn't blame Artemis for her mother's death, but she couldn't help but feel hurt that Artemis had kept such a secret from her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Alison, softly.

Artemis sighed. "Alison, you've got to understand. I didn't want to keep secrets from you, but you were already in so much pain over your mom's death, I couldn't add to it. No matter what Victoria had done, I didn't want what she did to me to be your last memory of her. I couldn't do that to you. What would you have done if our roles had been reversed?"

Alison was quiet as she realized that if she'd been in Artemis's place, she would've done the same thing. But that didn't mean she was happy knowing that Artemis had kept this from her.

Artemis took her friend's hands in hers. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I know that is a really big shock and you've got a lot more to ask me and a lot on your mind, but we have a situation on our hands. There're lives in danger. We have to stop Cora and Boyd before it's too late. Are you going to help us or not?"

Alison sighed and then nodded. "I'm in. Let's go."

It was going to be a very long night.