Unleashed

The following night after the rescue of Cora, Erica and Boyd, Artemis was all healed up and back on her usual routine.

At that moment, she was finishing her shift at the vet's, helping Dr. Deaton tend to a sick little dog that belonged to one of Artemis's classmates, Kyle.

"That's not going to hurt him, is it?" asked Kyle. He looked uncomfortable at the sight of the shot his dog was about to receive.

"Just a little. But I find that it's the owners who feel the most pain," said Dr. Deaton, with a teasing glance. He administered the shot and then Artemis took the dog off the table. "All right. We're all done here. We'll check his stool sample for parasites, but he probably just ate something he shouldn't have."

"He'll be fine. Won't you, boy? You were so good today. Yes, you were," cooed Artemis, as she rubbed the dog's belly. She then saw the dog's nametag that read, 'Bullet.' "That's a cool name."

Kyle smiled. "Yeah. He's got two brothers at home named Beretta and Trigger. Military family, you know?"

"Yeah, I figured," said Artemis. "Okay, Bullet. Stay put while I get you a treat for your good behavior." Sometimes Artemis gave out treats to the best-behaved pets that came in for check-ups and treatments. She fished out a dog biscuit from a jar and fed it to Bullet, who didn't move or try to take it until she told him to.

"Wow. I can't believe he's obeying you like that. Looks like he knows who the alpha is," said Kyle.

Artemis emitted a weak chuckle before she nodded. He didn't mean it literally. It was just a figure of speech.

Truth be told, Artemis had been worried about becoming a True Alpha ever since she found out she had the potential to be one. She feared being unable to lead as an Alpha should and she worried about being able to control it once it happened. After Boyd and Cora had told her that her eyes had turned red the night at the school, she knew it was inevitable. She didn't even want to be an Alpha, but apparently, that didn't matter.

"Well, we'll give you call if we find anything. Let us know if Bullet gets sick again or anything, okay?" said Artemis.

"Sure. Thanks again," said Kyle, as he left with his dog.

Needing a way to distract herself, Artemis volunteered to check the dog's sample for anything nasty. It wasn't long before she found something interesting.

"Dr. Deaton, I found something. What is this?" asked Artemis. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she held it up with a pair of tweezers. Whatever it was, it was driving her senses crazy, just like wolfsbane did.

Dr. Deaton looked concerned as he examined it. "It's definitely poisonous, not just to the dog, but also to you. It's mistletoe."

Artemis frowned. "How could Bullet have gotten that into his system?" Artemis wasn't the best expert on herbs, but she knew that mistletoe wasn't native to Beacon Hills and there was no store in town that sold it.

"I don't know. But I'll see if I can find out," said Dr. Deaton. "I'll let you know if I find anything. Okay?"

Artemis nodded and then she began cleaning up. She'd just finished when she heard Kyle yelling and Bullet barking.

Crap. What now? Quickly, Artemis ran out of the building and was worried by what she saw. Kyle's car door was open, but he was nowhere to be seen and she could smell blood.

"Kyle? Bullet?" she called out.

Bullet peeked out from behind the cardboard box where he was hiding. At the sight of Artemis, he ran straight into her open arms. He was whimpering and shaking as she tried to calm him down.

Not knowing what else to do, Artemis went inside and called the police and Kyle's family to let them know what had happened. Something had scared Bullet half to death and his owner was missing. This was not good.

XXX

Early the following morning, Jennifer arrived at the school to go over her lesson plan one more time.

The night before, just before dawn had arisen, Jennifer had been at the school earlier than usual and had gone down to the boiler room supply closet to get some materials she'd needed for her class. She regretted it as she'd nearly been attacked and probably almost killed by what had appeared to be actual monsters.

Jennifer's life had been spared thanks to Artemis, to whom she felt immense gratitude, but she was still scared out of her mind as she'd heard what sounded like animals fighting. When the fighting had ended, a very handsome man with blue eyes came and checked on her. She hadn't gotten his name, but he'd been very suave, cool and charismatic and had acted like a gentleman to her.

Jennifer had ended up asking him to take her home as she was in no condition to teach her students and he did so, but he also gave her his telephone number. She hadn't used it yet, but she was sorely tempted to as he had been very attractive.

"Get a grip, Jen, get a grip," she told herself, as she entered her class room.

Jennifer had just closed the door and was about to sit at her desk when she let out a shriek. The man from the before was in there and had startled her.

In a moment of panic, Jennifer grabbed the nearest weapon she could find—a teacher's pointer stick and held it defensively in front of her.

"You again. Who are you and what do you want?" demanded Jennifer. Granted he'd been kind to her, but she was full-blown panicking right now and had a number of theories as to what he was doing there, many of them were due to having read too many scary stories and watching too many murder mysteries on T.V. "Are you here to threaten me? Tell me that no one's going to believe me if I say anything? Kill me?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "My name's Peter Hale. And no, I'm not here to do any of that, Miss Blake. I could, but I won't. I actually came to see if you were okay." Peter wasn't one to leave loose ends, normally. But the English teacher had caught his eye and he was quite interested in her.

Jennifer looked into his eyes and decided she believed him as she put down her stick. "It depends on your definition of 'okay.' If by 'okay,' you mean that I'm completely freaked out; then yes. I'm fine. But according to my therapist, me being emotionally 'okay' has been debatable for a while and I'm now I'm babbling like an idiot."

Peter chuckled again. "You're going to be fine."

Jennifer sighed. "Clearly you've never taught high school. In twenty minutes, I've got to start two dozen students about The Crucible, and I honestly don't know what I'm going to say to them."

"Well, you could start by telling them that it's an allegory for McCarthyism," suggested Peter. He was familiar with the tale.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Is that your way of asking me not to say anything? Because I'm not going to, I swear." Who would believe her even if she did tell anyone?

"No. Just a suggestion," said Peter. "Now, I must god. But if you do need to talk to anyone, feel free to call me at anytime."

"I will," said Jennifer. She was already planning to call him during her break. "Wait. Could you tell me one thing before you go, Peter? Artemis Moon, the student who helped me…is she okay?"

Jennifer had been worried about Artemis ever since she'd saved Jennifer's life but hadn't been able to find out if she was okay or not.

Peter nodded. "Artemis is fine."

Jennifer heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"You're Welcome. I'll see you later, Miss Blake," said Peter.

"Jennifer. You can call me Jennifer," she said, as she blushed.

Peter smiled, which made her heart flutter. "Jennifer," he murmured.

Jennifer was definitely going to call him later.

XXX

Later that day in the locker room, Artemis told Stiles about Kyle's disappearance.

Needless to say, after the last three missing persons who'd turned up dead, Stiles was convinced their new enemy was at it again and Kyle was the latest victim. Stiles was on the verge of a breakdown because of this.

"I'm telling you, it's like he just vanished into thin air. I looked for hours last night, but I couldn't pick up a trail. He's just gone," said Artemis. "But whatever took him scared his dog have to death."

"That's not good," said Stiles. "Do you know if he was connected to the other three victims?"
"No. But he was from a military family," said Artemis.

"So?"

"So, there've been at least three victims with threefold deaths. Three, Stiles. Do you think that it's possible Kyle's part of another three? Not virgins but something else entirely?" asked Artemis. She didn't want to believe Kyle was dead or that their new enemy was out picking new victims, but she had little reason to believe otherwise.

Stiles frowned as he shrugged. "I don't know, Arty. Maybe. We're grasping at straws here. We need answers. Think Deaton might know something?"

Artemis nodded. "Wouldn't surprise me if he did." Dr. Deaton, though a mysterious and secretive man, knew more about the supernatural than anyone Artemis had ever met. If anyone would know anything about what was happening, it would be him.

"I've got a free period today. I'll talk to him then," said Stiles.

Artemis nodded and then Coach Finstock came in. "Team, listen up! Before we go out on our run, I'll remind you all that cross-country is not optional for lacrosse players! I don't want any of you to turn into a bunch of fat, couch potatoes! You're going to stay fit and in good health to secure wins for our school! Understood?"

"Yes, coach!" said the team.

In Artemis's opinion, there was no point in having the lacrosse team participate in cross-country. Lacrosse was an exercise by itself and no one on the team showed the slightest signs of getting fat. They were all as fit as could be. But she didn't argue as she finished tying her shoelaces and headed out with the guys.

When they got onto the trail they were going to run, Artemis saw Isaac tense up in anger at the sight of Ethan and Aiden, who began to run ahead of him.

Artemis put her hand on Isaac's shoulder. "Isaac, what're you thinking?"

"Everything that's happened lately, it's because of them!" spat Isaac. He hated the twins for their involvement in his friends' kidnapping and imprisonment, and for all he knew, they'd killed Braeden. He was angry and he wanted revenge. "They're going to pay!"

Isaac yanked himself free of Artemis's grip and took off after them.

"Isaac, wait! Isaac!" yelled Artemis. What is he thinking? He's going to get himself killed! She chased after him and found him kneeling on the forest floor with his hands pinned behind his back by Aiden as Ethan prepared to strike him.

Quickly, Artemis punched Ethan damaging his jaw and causing his twin to release Isaac. "Leave him alone, you jerks!" she snarled.

"Well, well, well, if isn't Kali's legendary little sister," sneered Aiden. "Think you just because you took down one Alpha and a kanima that you can handle the two of us?"

"If I have to," growled Artemis. "Or you could just walk away and live to be jerks for another day."

"I think not," snarled Ethan, furiously.

Ethan and Aiden wolfed out and it looked like there was going to be a wolf fight, but a girl's scream diverted their attention. All four of them ran to where the girl's scream was heard and it was then that they saw it.

Kyle was tied to a tree and had died threefold death, just like the other victims.

The police were immediately called and the crime scene was blocked off. Artemis spoke to Kyle's girlfriend, who was devastated and a sobbing mess and learned that Kyle had left behind a one-year-old son. He hadn't been a virgin like the other victims, but he had been military, which meant that Artemis's earlier suspicion was spot on.

When she was done conversing with the girl, Artemis joined Jackson, Isaac and Stiles, who were waiting for her in another corner of the woods. The team was taking a five-minute break before resuming their run.

"Did you see the way Ethan and Aiden were looking at Kyle?" asked Isaac.

"Yeah, like they'd had no idea what had happened," said Jackson, sounding bored.

Isaac shook his head. "No. No, they knew. I'm sure of it."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt they did it, Isaac. Kyle and the others weren't killed by teeth and claws. Am I the only one seeing the lack of…werewolfitude in these murders?"

Isaac clenched his teeth in anger. "Oh, you think it's a coincidence that they show up and people start dying?"

"No," said Stiles. "But I still don't think it's them."

"He's got a point. The Alpha pack's been here for four months. If they were going to act like Peter did, why wait until now to do it?" said Jackson. "But I also think the idea of someone performing human sacrifices is a bit nuts."

Stiles looked indignant at this. "You're part of a werewolf pack. You heal, run and have sense way beyond that of a normal person's. You used to be a psycho, vengeful lizard for crying out loud! And you think my theory is insane?"

Jackson winced. He didn't like being reminded of when he was the kanima.

"All of you stop it!" said Artemis, sounding both exasperated and stern. "Look, I don't think it's a coincidence that these murders are happening around the same time the Alpha pack shows up, but I don't think they're the culprits. Do I think that they're connected somehow? Yes. But we have no proof and we have no idea or what's doing this or why. We need answers."

"The answers are staring at us in the face!" argued Isaac. "Those two or someone in the Alpha pack killed Kyle and the others and they killed Braeden for saving me. And I'm going to kill them."

Artemis grabbed Isaac by the shoulder and forced him to look into her eyes. "No, you're not. We're not killing them or anyone else and that's final. Understand?"

Isaac looked unhappy about this, but he nodded. "Yes, I understand."

Isaac wouldn't kill them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't land in a few punches if they tried anything.

XXX

Later that day, Isaac and Alison found themselves serving lunchtime detention. Alison, for falling asleep during her French class and Isaac for ticking off Mr. Harris by making his lab experiment blow up during class.

They were assigned to restock the janitor's closet and normally Isaac wouldn't have cared about it, except there was just one problem. The janitor's closet wasn't that big.

While they were working, Alison noticed Isaac's breathing was becoming shallow and he looked uncomfortable.

"Isaac, you okay?" asked Alison, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not a huge fan of small spaces," he admitted. Thanks to his jerk of a father, Isaac was claustrophobic.

"Well, if it's really bothering you, I can do this myself," she offered.

Isaac shook his head. "No, I'm not making you do this alone. As long as the door stays open, I'll be okay. Just do me a favor and keep talking to me, please." He needed her to keep him distracted as he couldn't keep looking over his shoulder to check the door if he was going to finish the work.

"Sure," said Alison. She became a little nervous. "Are you busy Friday night?"

Startled, Isaac looked up from his work and stared at Alison. "Uh…no. I don't have any plans. Why?"

"Well, there's a new Chinese restaurant that's just opened and I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner?" asked Alison, blushing slightly. Part of the reason she hadn't done any dating during her trip to Europe was because she'd been developing a crush on Isaac for a while. But up until now, she had never had the courage to act on her feelings.

Isaac, who'd also been slowly falling for Alison, felt flattered by her asking and found himself unable to reply for a moment due to his shyness.

Thankfully after a moment he was able to get the words out. "Yes. Yes, I'd love to."

"Really?" said Alison, looking hopeful.

Isaac nodded. "Absolutely."

"Great! So…you'll pick me up, Friday at seven?" said Alison.

"Yeah, sure," said Isaac. Now he knew how his friends felt with their mates. Perhaps after some dating, Alison would be Isaac's mate.

Their moment of joy was disrupted when the door suddenly slammed shut and the room went dark.

Panicking, Isaac ran to the door and tried to open it, but to no avail. It wasn't locked, that much he could tell. Ethan and Aiden had shoved a soda machine against the door and deliberately trapped them inside.

"Isaac, calm down. We're going to be okay," said Alison, trying to calm him. She hit the button on the stop watch Artemis had given her and silently prayed the pack had heard it. "Just breathe. It's going to be okay."

But Isaac was too caught up in his panic attack to listen. His mind flashed back to those countless times when he'd been locked in a freezer and screaming for his father to release him and he recalled the feelings of helplessness and fear that had threatened to destroy him.

"I've got to get out. I've got to get out!" he cried, as he frantically pounded on the door. "SOMEONE, ANYONE, LET ME OUT, PLEASE!"

"Isaac. Isaac! Isaac, listen to me—!" said Alison. In an attempt to divert his attention, she grabbed his shoulder, only to pull back at the sight of him wolfed out. She knew then that he was reacting to his fear and anger and didn't know what he was doing, but if they didn't get out of there, he would hurt her.

Isaac growled and was about to attack Alison when suddenly the door was swung open. Boyd grabbed Isaac and tossed him into the hall. Artemis then grabbed him by the throat as he growled at her.

"Isaac, stop!" roared Artemis, as her eyes flashed gold.

Artemis's command did the trick. Isaac reverted back to his human form and then backed up against the wall in shame.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to…Alison, I'm so sorry. I didn't…"

"Shh," said Alison, soothingly. She knelt down beside him and held him in her arms. "It's okay. I'm okay. It's not your fault."

"It really isn't," said Boyd. "Ethan and Aiden's scents are all over this. They're the ones to blame, not you."

Isaac looked angry, but said nothing as he leaned further into Alison's arms.

"I guess now we know they want to do more than just get us angry. They want someone to get hurt," said Artemis, shaking her head.

"They can't get away with this, Artemis." said Boyd, flatly. Personally, he was looking forward to giving the Alphas what he thought they deserved. "We've got to do something."

"We will," said Artemis. She was just as angry about this, if not more. Normally Artemis wasn't one for revenge, but in this case, she was willing to make a small exception. "But we've got to be careful about this." Ethan and Aiden were dangerous and they had to watch themselves with whatever they did to get payback.

"I take you have a plan?" asked Alison.

"Indeed I do," said Artemis.

If this plan worked, Ethan and Aiden would the ones in trouble with the school and not Alison or the pack.

A few hours later, Artemis checked her phone as she walked into her last class of the day and she smiled at the photo of Isaac on Aiden's motorcycle. Alison had broken the locks on the bike, hotwired it and instructed Isaac on how to drive it.

Artemis then took a seat by Ethan and Aiden. "Hey, boys, can I ask you a few questions about motorcycles? These look kind of important, but I'm not sure what they do." She took a few bike pieces out of her backpack and placed them on her desk. She was unable to stop smirking at the looks on their faces.

Ethan looked like he was barely restraining himself while Aiden was on the verge of a breakdown. At the sound of a motorcycle's engine, Aiden ran out of class despite Ethan telling him to stay put.

It wasn't long before the engine's noises became louder and the entire class filled out of the classroom just in time to see Aiden get on his bike. Isaac had driven it into the hallway and did an impressive leap over it. Isaac landed near the crowd as Aiden got on his bike, making it look like he'd been the one to ride it in the school.

Jennifer came out of the classroom and looked furious. "You've got to be kidding me! You realize this is going to result in a suspension."

Artemis, Alison and the pack shared some smug looks at the looks on the faces of Ethan and Aiden, who were furious.

XXX

At Derek's apartment, Cora was working out.

After the night of the full moon, she and Boyd had healed of their wounds and they were working on getting back into a normal routine. But Cora was finding it more difficult than Boyd.

Cora was happy to have her brother and uncle back, she was happy to learn that Derek had found his true mate in Artemis, she even had no qualms about having Isaac as a housemate. But being captured for months, learning of Laura's death at the hands of Peter, and spending the last few years believing she was the only survivor of the Hale Fire had taken its toll on Cora. Where she'd been and how she'd survived were a mystery she refused to reveal, but it was clear she had been traveling and was alone as well as greatly unhappy for the most part.

Derek watched Cora work out with concern. She was healed, but she was still regaining her strength. Months of captivity didn't just fade away overnight, even for their kind. Plus, if he remembered Cora as well as he thought he did, Cora was pushing herself so hard because she needed a distraction.

"That's enough. You're worn out. You should take a break," said Derek, when she stopped using the chin bar. "Lie down and rest for a while."

Cora scowled at him and shook her head. "I'm fine and I'm done lying around."

"Then sit," said Derek.

Cora ignored him as she began doing push-ups. "I'll sit when you agree to get rid of Peter and help me go after the Alpha pack."

Peter lived on his own downtown and kept away from the pack except when he was needed, but that wasn't enough for Cora. She was angry with him for killing Laura and for what he did to Artemis and wanted him punished. Cora also sought revenge on the Alpha pack for kidnapping her and holding her prisoner for so long.

Derek sighed. "I already explained this you. I only got rid of Peter to get him out of Artemis's life. I hate him and distrust him as much as you do, believe me. And as much as I want to go after the Alpha pack for what they did to you and the others, we're going to do it. We don't take revenge and we're not killers."

There was also the fact that going up against the Alphas without some sort of plan or an ace in the hole was completely insane and would only get them all killed.

Cora stopped what she was doing, got up and glared at him. "I can't believe I came back for this! I got my butt tossed in a vault for months because of you and you're willing to just sit here and do nothing, even after what they did!"

Derek forced himself to swallow his anger. "Cora—"

"No!" interrupted Cora, angrily. "No. I spent years thinking I was alone. Do you have any idea what it was like when I heard that one of the Hales was a new Alpha and was building up his pack? Do you have any idea how it felt to find out that not only were you and Peter alive, but that Peter had killed Laura and you were the new Alpha?"

Derek sighed again. "Yes, I do. Finding out you were alive shocked me too. And do you really think I'd let Peter walk around if I wasn't sure I could handle him? If there's so much as a hint of trouble from him, he'll be dealt with. And I'm sorry I've disappointed you, Cora. But I'm not the same guy I used to be."

Cora's face softened as she sighed. Now she felt bad. "I'm sorry. It's just…everything is insane right now. Adjusting to all of this is harder than I thought it'd be. And the truth is…I'm scared. What if they take me again?"

Derek wrapped his arms around Cora as she buried her face in his chest. He rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"It's going to be okay," murmured Derek. "You're home now. The pack and I will protect you, I promise."

Cora couldn't help but smile at this as she broke apart from her brother.

Suddenly, there was the sound of pounding on the door. The door then opened to reveal Kali, Ennis and Deucalion. Kali and Ennis were wolfed out, ready for a fight and Deucalion was his usual arrogant self.

"Knock-knock, Derek," said Kali.

Derek held up an arm to keep Cora from attacking them. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much," said Deucalion, casually. "We were in the neighborhood and thought we'd pop in for a little chat. May we come in? This won't take more than an hour."

Derek narrowed his eyes. Deucalion wasn't lying, but that didn't mean he could be trusted. Derek wanted to refuse, but he wasn't in the position to do so. Cora wasn't up for a fight just yet, and granted Derek was a powerful Alpha, but even he couldn't take on three Alphas alone.

"Fine," he said, through clenched teeth. "We'll talk. But after one hour, you get out out of my apartment."

Deucalion nodded. "Agreed."

With Kali's guidance, Deucalion took a seat on one of the armchairs. Kali and Ennis stood on either side of him in case Derek or Cora did something stupid.

Derek and Cora sat on the couch across from Deucalion. Derek kept a tight grip on Cora's hand. They didn't wolf out, but they kept their guard up in case of an attack. Cora was glaring at the Alphas with an intense hatred.

"You see, Derek? We're not unreasonable. No reason why we can't all be civil," said Deucalion.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Cut to chase, Deucalion. What do you want? You want to kill me?"

Deucalion laughed. "Oh, please. Do you really think I'm that boring? Don't throw me in with psychopaths like your uncle Peter."

"Speaking of Peter, I want to know where he is," said Kali. "Where's that slime hiding?"

"Why do you want to know?" demanded Cora, suspiciously. She didn't know why anyone would want anything to do with Peter.

"Peter turned my little sister against her will and tried to force her to do his bidding. I want payback," said Kali. Her eyes flashed red and her claws on her hands briefly extended. "No one messes with my sister like that."

Derek just scoffed. He didn't believe Kali had a shred of humanity in her or cared about Artemis. If Kali had, she never would've let Artemis think she was dead for eight years. If she cared at all, she wouldn't be working with Deucalion in the first place.

"Forgive me if I have hard time believing that Huntress means anything to you after what you put her through," snarled Derek. Derek had felt Artemis's pain when she'd learned the truth about Kali's disappearance. Anyone who put their own family through that kind of pain didn't deserve to be called family. "And if you really care about her, why're you working with Deucalion?"

The way Derek saw it, Kali was either truly clueless regarding Artemis's secret and Deucalion's plans for her, or she just didn't care. Either way, it made her look like an idiotic, heartless woman.

Kali let out a furious growl as she glared at Derek. "Don't presume to know how I feel about my sister, Derek! And count yourself to lucky that you're her mate, because if you weren't, I'd—!"

"Kali!" said Deucalion, warningly. "Enough. Ennis, calm your mate."

Ennis touched Kali's shoulder, making her relax. But she still glared at Derek.

"You'll have to forgive Kali. She can be rather temperamental," said Deucalion. "As I was saying, I'm a man with far more vision than simple murder. In fact…" He took off his sunglasses, revealing his bright red eyes, which were covered with film and looked pupil-less. "I'm here to show you just how much vision a blind man can have."

"Do us all a favor, Duke, and get to the point," said Kali, sounding bored.

Deucalion smirked. "You see the one problem with being in an Alpha pack? Everyone wants to make the decisions. Me? I'm more about discovering new talents…like you."

Derek's eyes flashed red. "I'm not interested."

"But you haven't heard his pitch," said Ennis.

"I don't need to," growled Derek. He already knew what Deucalion was going to say. "He wants me to kill my own pack. The answer's no." Derek would sooner die before he'd ever lay so much as a claw on one of his own pack. He'd given his Betas the choice of joining him and when they'd agreed, they'd given him their loyalty and their love. They were more than just Derek's Betas, the were his family.

"No," said Deucalion, sounding offended. "I want you to kill oneof them. It's not as bad as it seems, trust me. Once it's done once, you'll want to rid yourself of the rest of your pack. I did it, Ennis did it, Kali did it, Ethan and Aiden did it. Tell him what it's like, Kali."

Kali grinned a sickening grin. "It felt liberating."

Derek fought to urge to be sick. How on earth was this woman related to his Huntress? They were nothing alike!

"Listen to her, Derek. Do you really want to stay beholden to a bunch of maladjusted teenagers and your psychotic uncle who're bound to become liabilities? And believe me, they will become liabilities. In fact, I have a feeling one of your pack's already getting himself into trouble," said Deucalion.

"If it's with your two lackeys, then I'm sure it's nothing they don't deserve," said Derek, coolly. He was already aware of the situation with the twins via his link with Artemis. If need be, he'd step in, but he trusted his pack to deal with the annoyance.

"And I'm sure whatever Ethan and Aiden do in retaliation is nothing short of justified," snapped Deucalion. He rose up from his seat and began walking around, using his cane to guide him. "You see, Derek, the reason I'm always invested in new talent is simple. We all know that a pack is strongest due to its individual parts. The stronger the parts, the greater the whole. Your pack for example, has accomplished commendable achievements. It's all very impressive, but you have yet to consider the real potential for power you could have."

Derek snorted. "I'm not interested in power. The only reason I became an Alpha was so I could protect my mate."

"Yes, I'm aware," said Deucalion, stiffly as he began folding up his cane. "But you're not seeing the bigger picture. And trust me, once you get a taste for real power, you won't want to let go. When I lost my sight, one of my Betas assumed I wasn't fit for my role anymore. He tried to take it from me, so I retaliated. Killing him taught me something about Alphas that I didn't know they could do. When I killed him, his power was added to mine. I became stronger, faster, more powerful than I'd ever been."

"Let me guess, you decided to add to your power by killing the rest of your pack," said Cora, disgusted.

Deucalion smirked. "Quite correct, Miss Hale. I took the individual parts and became a greater whole. The results were rather spectacular." He then approached Derek and touched his face. "I was right. You do look like your mother."

Derek pulled away from Deucalion's touch and let out a growl. "Don't ever touch me again," he snarled.

Deucalion ignored this. "You'll get to know me, Derek. Just like your mother did."

"I already know you," spat Derek, angrily. "I know what you are. You're a fanatic!"

Deucalion was powerful and great, but he was insane and Derek wanted nothing to do with him at all.

This made Deucalion angry. He put down his cane and spoke in a frightening way. "You know me?" he repeated. "You've never seen anything like me. I am the Alpha of Alphas! I am the apex of apex predators! I am Death, Destroyer of Worlds! I AM THE DEMON WOLF!"

Deucalion's voice grew louder with every word he spoke and by the time he was done, his sunglasses were cracked. Then suddenly, he was calm again as he slipped off his dark sunglasses, revealing his damaged red eyes.

"I hate it when that happens," said Deucalion.

"Indeed," said Derek, dryly. "Now, your hour's up and my answer's still no. Get out."

"Very well," said Deucalion. "But Derek, I'd advise you to think about what I've said. You may find yourself wanting true power."

Derek wasn't fooled for an instant. Deucalion wasn't just offering him power. He wanted Derek to get rid of Artemis because Deucalion was afraid of her. But Deucalion was severely underestimating Derek and his pack's will to protect their own, the strength they had to do so and their loyalty to each other.

"I doubt it. Now, get out," snarled Derek.

"As you wish," said Deucalion. "Ennis?"

Ennis was at Deucalion's side in an instant. Deucalion took Ennis's arm and then the three Alphas departed.

XXX

During his free period, Stiles dropped by Dr. Deaton's office.

As usual, Dr. Deaton had a smile on his face and a warm greeting saved for his friends.

"Stiles, good to see you. Artemis said you might drop by," said Dr. Deaton. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was hoping you might have some information. Have you heard about what's been happening lately?" asked Stiles.

Dr. Deaton's smile faded and he looked solemn. "Yes, I heard. Artemis said they might be human sacrifices."

"Then do you know that there might be a connection between the murders and the Celtic druids?" asked Stiles. He'd done quite a bit of research in the last few hours and the results were interesting, if not worrying. "Derek's tattoo, the symbol of the bank, and the mountain ash all trace back to the Celtic druids. And anyone who's ever looked up human sacrifices before knows that the druids were fond of giving people up to the gods."

Dr. Deaton looked deeply disturbed by this. "Follow me into my office, please." He led Stiles into his office and got out his jars of herbs and minerals. "Stiles, what is the druid's most used herb?"

"Uh…mistletoe. Why do you…ask?" Stiles' voice wandered off when Dr. Deaton produced a sprig of mistletoe from one of his jars. After a moment, he caught on. "Wait a second. You're a druid? Why didn't you ever tell us or Artemis?"

Dr. Deaton sighed and looked regretful. "I was retired from my old life after something happened that I wish I could forget. I've spent a long time pushing my past away, denying it, and lying about it. But as you can tell, I never truly moved on. My workspace is protected from people like Peter, I've held onto these materials, and after Artemis was turned, I found myself becoming more than just a boss and father-figure, I became her mentor in ways that no one else could. But despite it all, breaking my old habits concerning keeping my past a secret, hasn't been easy for me."

Stiles sighed. He understood Dr. Deaton's reasons for keeping his past a secret even if he didn't entirely like it.

"So, this new enemy, is he a druid?" asked Stiles.

Dr. Deaton shook his head. "No. It's someone copying a centuries-old practice of a people who should've known better," he said, fiercely. "Do you know what the word 'druid' means in Gaelic? 'Wise oak.' The Celtic druids were close to nature. They believed they kept it in balance, hence the mountain ash. They were philosophers and scholars. They weren't murderers."

"Unfortunately, this one is," said Stiles. His phone then went off and he answered it when he saw it was Artemis. "Hey, Arty, what's up?"

"Stiles, you need to get back to school. Lydia's had another episode and we've found evidence that the music teacher's been taken," said Artemis. "There're sounds of an abduction and something really freaky on his phone and marks on his piano. You need to get over here now and bring my boss. Now!"

"I'm on it," said Stiles, as he hung up. "You need to come with me. Someone else just got snatched."

Dr. Deaton didn't hesitate to agree. He accompanied Stiles back to the school and into the music room where everyone was waiting.

Dr. Deaton listened to the recorded noise on the missing teacher's phone with great concern. He sent a copy of the sound file to himself for later analysis while Stiles began rummaging through the teacher's desk with Lydia's help.

Despite her fear, Lydia had gotten over her panic quickly with a bit of comfort from Jackson and was trying to help.

"Dr. Deaton, what can you tell us about all this?" asked Artemis.

"Each grouping of three would have its own purpose, its own power. Virgins, warriors, healers, guardians, philosophers…"

"Wait a minute, warriors?" interrupted Artemis. "Kyle was part of the Junior R.O.T.C. and he was a military brat. Would he qualify for a warrior?"

Dr. Deaton nodded. "Absolutely."

"And guess who else qualified for that category." Stiles put out a photo from the desk. It was of the music teacher at his wedding and he was dressed in military blues.

"That's it. That's the pattern," said Dr. Deaton. "Who else do you know that has a military background?"

Artemis thought for a moment and then paled. "Oh, crap. Mr. Harris was in the army before he became a teacher and he's got a military quote on his desk."

"We've got to find him," said Isaac.

Quickly, they all ran to Harris's classroom, only to find him gone. No one doubted he was taken as Harris never left behind his briefcase behind. He took it with him wherever he went no matter what.

"Guys, any idea why Harris would've graded a paper, 'R,'?" asked Jackson. He held up a test paper that was marked with a large red R.

"This one's an 'H,'" said Erica, as she held up another one.

Dr. Deaton's brow wrinkled in concern as he took the papers and arranged them so that they formed a word. Harris had apparently known his abductor, for he'd left the word, 'Darach,' for someone to find.

"Dr. Deaton, what does this mean? What's a Darach?" asked Alison.

Dr. Deaton looked truly worried now. "In Gaelic, 'druid' means 'wise oak.' If a druid went down the wrong path, the wise oak was said to have become 'a dark oak.' There's a Gaelic word for that as well."

"Darach," guessed Boyd.

Dr. Deaton nodded. "Yes."

Dread and fear settled on everyone at this. A psychotic Darach was on the loose making human sacrifices in order to acquire power and they had no idea who it was or how to stop the Darach. This was not good.