The Girl Who Knew Too Much

The day was clear and sunny, but it was in sheer contrast to the moods of Artemis, her friends and her packs.

The previous night, Lydia had found another sacrifice made by the Darach and it hit them all hard as the Darach had sacrificed Sheriff Stilinski's deputy, Tara Graeme. She had been more than just a deputy. She had been a close friend of Stiles' family. She was like a big sister to Stiles as she would spend time with him when he had to wait for his dad at the police station.

During morning break, Sheriff Stilinski spoke with Artemis and Stiles. Since Artemis's world had become known to him, he was involving them more in his cases and going to them for consultation.

"Did Tara die a threefold death like the others?" asked Stiles.

Sheriff Stilinski grimaced as he nodded. "That makes ten sacrifices within the last few weeks. What was it this time?"

"According to my boss, there're virgins, warriors, healers, philosophers, and guardians to be sacrificed for power," said Artemis. "Tara was most likely a guardian sacrifice because she was your deputy."

"Swell," mutter Sheriff Stilinski. "And I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but half the state and the F.B.I. are starting to come down on me about this. Ten deaths and no suspects imprisoned, doesn't look good especially when this thing's killed one of our own. I think we can expect a visit from your father."

Artemis's eyes glowed gold with anger. Her father, Agent Moon, was an F.B.I. agent and she hadn't seen or heard from him in since he moved away after Kali's funeral. He was the one responsible for driving Kali into the world of werewolves. He was part of the reason Artemis had lost her sister. And now he might have the nerve to show his face again after all these years?

"Remind me to have Derek kill him," she muttered.

Neither Stiles nor the sheriff knew if she was being serious or not, but didn't pay much attention to it.

"What exactly is the plan here? Because if its guardians as in law enforcement, I can't put all my officers on house arrest," said Sheriff Stilinski. "Is there any idea who the next two victims are?"

"We don't know, but I might have a way of finding out the Darach's identity," said Artemis.

Stiles stared at her in disbelief. "You do? Since when?"

"Since Kali told me Decualion's secret," said Artemis. She'd been thinking about it ever since that night and had mentally berated herself for not thinking of it sooner. "Kali and Ethan are going to talk to us during lunch about what happened with the emissaries of the Alpha pack. The Darach is a druid gone bad and druids are emissaries to my kind. Kali said that her Alpha's emissary betrayed her and Kali punished her for it so chances are this is all connected somehow."

Getting Ethan away from his more controlling, aggressive brother, had been child's play when Kali stepped in as she could be very persuasive when she wanted to be.

Sheriff Stilinski frowned. "When did Kali punish her emissary and what was her name?"

"Nine years ago and her name was Julia Baccari. Why?" asked Artemis.

"I'll explain later," said Sheriff Stilinski. He had a hunch and he was going to get some evidence to support it. "In the meantime, talk to your sister and the Ethan kid. Find out what they know."

Artemis and Stiles nodded.

XXX

During the lunch hour, Artemis and Stiles met with Kali and Ethan in the woods. They couldn't risk anything more as it would raise a lot of questions if students saw Artemis's 'dead' sister back from the grave.

Kali was leaning against a tree examining her nails while Ethan looked both nervous and confused as to why this was happening.

"Hey, guys," said Artemis.

"Hey," said Kali.

"Hey," said Ethan. "Just out of curiosity, why did you ask to see me? I don't know how I can help you guys or why you're suddenly trusting me after what Aiden and I did."

"Because despite all the idiotic things you and your brother did when you got here, you proved yourself worthy after you helped save Danny," said Stiles. "You're not like Deucalion, are you?"

A sad look crossed Ethan's face as he shook his head. "No. We're not. Aiden and I only joined Deucalion's pack because we owed him. We weren't like him and Ennis when we met him. We weren't even Alphas."

"What were you?" asked Artemis.

"They were Omegas," replied Kali. Having known each other a while, Kali was familiar with Ethan and Aiden's life story.

"In actual wolf packs, Omegas are the scapegoats. They're the ones who eat last and endure the ridicule and pain from the others. Our Alpha was the worst of them all," said Ethan.

Stiles frowned in confusion. "Why didn't you and Aiden just do your usual trick of becoming one giant Alpha and fight back?"

"Because we couldn't! We didn't know how to control back then. Not until Deucalion came and taught us. But despite what he did, we weren't going to join his pack after that," said Ethan, looking to be on the verge of tears.

"So why did you?" pressed Artemis. If Ethan and Aiden didn't want to work with Deucalion, why were they allies with him now?

Ethan sighed. "Back then, there was only one person who gave a crap about Aiden and me, our Alpha's emissary. She hated how we were treated. She tried to help us, protect us from what was happening to us, but she couldn't. When she finally tried to get our Alpha to treat us better, he killed her for 'insubordination.' That was when Aiden and I snapped. We took revenge for her. He'd taken her life, so we took his and when the pack saw what we did, we had to defend ourselves or they would've killed us."

Artemis was horrified by this. "I'm sorry," she murmured. Being alone and unloved and then finally finding someone who cared, only to lose them in such a manner…no one deserved to endure that kind of hardship.

"It's not your fault," said Ethan. But his eyes were dull with grief as he wiped away his tears. "And before you ask, as far as I know, Morrell is the only one of our emissaries who's alive. I don't know why, but Deucalion spared her life. I think that's the only reason she's still working with him. But there's no way she's the one sacrificing innocent people. She's not like that, trust me."

"Well, we'll have to pay her a visit to find out for certain, then, won't we?" said Stiles.

"Agreed," said Artemis. She turned to her sister. "Kali, you said Julia betrayed you. What happened exactly? I need to know the whole story, starting with what happened when you left me."

For a moment, it seemed Kali wasn't going to explain but then she sighed and said, "The night I left, I was in the woods and I had just decided to turn back. I couldn't bear to leave you like that. But I never made it home. It was a full moon and I was attacked by a werewolf. He was young, newly turned and experiencing his first full moon. Ennis happened to be in the area and when he saw me being attacked, he killed the Beta and saved my life. It was love at first sight for both of us. Ennis wanted to turn me because he loved me and I had just told him I was willing to do anything to live."

"But if Luna was your Alpha, how'd that work out?" asked Stiles, looking confused. Last he checked, Kali was an Alpha because she'd killed one to become one. If Ennis had been the one turn her, that wouldn't have worked out so they'd both be Alphas in Deucalion's pack.

"Luna was in the area as well that night. The wolf who attacked me was one of hers and she responded to his howl for help. When she found out what happened, she demanded that she be given recompense for his death. A Beta for a Beta. Ennis and I agreed because we had no other choice. I became part of Luna's pack and I stayed away from Beacon Hills and you because she ordered me to and also because I was afraid of hurting you, Arty," said Kali.

Luna's demands hadn't been what Kali had wanted back then, but Kali had had to make sacrifices in order to save her own life.

"Your lycanthropy wasn't easy to get under control, was it?" guessed Artemis. She was all too familiar with the struggles newly turned Betas endured.

Kali nodded again as she closed her eyes. "You know what it's like when you're newly turned, how it feels for the first few full moons. You have to fight every minute of every day to maintain control of your anger and inner wolf. I didn't want to risk hurting you or Mom until I had it under control. But even when Luna was out of the picture and I had control, suddenly any idea of coming back scared seemed impossible. I was too far gone and you seemed to be better off without me."

Artemis's heart ached as she touched her sister's face. "That's not true. I wasn't better off. I needed you, Kali." Artemis couldn't blame Kali for staying away, but she still wished that it hadn't happened. There had been so many times in Artemis's life when she'd needed her sister for comfort and guidance, but Kali hadn't been there to give it.

Kali took Artemis's hand in her and squeezed it before she continued. "Anyway, as I said, Luna trusted me enough to tell me of her emissary's identity. Julia Baccari and I were friends and she arranged for Ennis and I to meet whenever possible. Ennis and I were deeply in love as mates usually are, but we did more than become mates. We found a way to get married in secret. And like many lovers, we thought we were invincible. We didn't foresee the consequences of our relationship."

"What consequences?" asked Stiles. "Did your Alpha not approve or something?"

Kali shook her head. "Luna knew of our relationship. She didn't care about it as long as it didn't get in the way of our duties to our packs. No. The problem came from Julia. It turned out she was also in love with Ennis, but she didn't have a clue that he was with me romantically because she just assumed our meetings were for business between the packs."

Artemis sighed as she rubbed the space in between her eyes. She could tell where this was going. It was a love triangle gone terribly wrong. "Let me guess, when Julia found out the truth, she betrayed you."

Kali nodded. "Julia told Ennis of her feelings one night and she ended up heartbroken because of it. Ennis told her that he and I were mates as well as married. It didn't take long for Julia's heartbreak to turn into jealousy and hatred that was directed at me. So, she chose to get rid of me so she could pursue Ennis. My entire pack, including Luna, went missing for three months and when I found them on the night of the fourth full moon, they were savages. They'd been locked in a room made of hecatolite and Julia trapped me inside with a mountain ash barrier."

Artemis breath caught in her throat as she tried not to picture such a thing in her mind. No wonder Kali had become what she was. Who could blame her?

"That's why you killed your pack and Alpha, isn't it? It wasn't just to join Deucalion's pack and be like him. It was in self-defense," she said, softly.

Kali nodded. "I didn't want to do what I did, but I didn't have a choice. I was trapped and they were going to kill me. So, I fought back and I won. When I told Derek killing pack felt liberating, I meant because I was saving my pack from a fate far worse than whatever Julia would've done to them. Eventually, Morrell found me and she freed me. By then I was just like Deucalion. I was so angry and betrayed. All I could think about was taking vengeance. I hunted down Julia like an animal and I made her pay dearly for what she did and what she tried to do. It was only when she was on the brink of death that I finally stopped."

"Why? What made you stop?" asked Stiles, puzzled.

Kali sighed again. "There was a moment when I looked at her, and the look in her eyes reminded me of Artemis. Because of that, I chose to leave her to die in peace. So, I turned away and I left without looking back. By then, Deucalion had created the Alpha pack and I joined it to be with Ennis. I never saw Julia again after that day, but I highly doubt she managed to live after what I did to her."

"You're absolutely sure about that?" said Artemis. "There's no way Julia's alive?"

Artemis was only asking because they had to be one hundred percent that Alphas' emissaries were dead. If one of them besides Morrell was alive, that meant that the Darach wasn't just acquiring power through death for the sake of power. The Darach was planning to use that power to enact revenge.

Kali nodded. "Positive."

Suddenly, Artemis let out a gasp and she nearly collapsed as pain swept through her. Stiles and Kali caught her before she hit the ground.

"Arty, what's happening to you?" asked Stiles.

Artemis swallowed painfully. "It's not me. It's Derek. Something's wrong."

Whatever was happening to her mate, it wasn't good.

XXX

Meanwhile, Jennifer was meeting Peter under the overpass at the school.

Lately, it seemed the young couple was spending every spare moment together as being apart even for a few hours was rather painful.

When Jennifer saw Peter waiting for her, her heart leapt and she smiled as she ran into his open arms.

Peter spun her around in his arms and then they kissed one another with an intense passion for several long moments until the need for air forced them to break apart.

"I've missed you," she murmured, when they broke apart. "It feels like I haven't seen you in an eternity. How long has it been?"

In all honesty, they'd just had a date the previous night, so technically it hadn't been very long, but that didn't matter to Peter and Jennifer.

"Far too long," said Peter, as he kissed her again.

Just then, the bell rang and they broke apart again.

Jennifer sighed in irritation. "One of these days I'm going to take a sledgehammer to that stupid bell," she murmured, as she buried her face in Peter's chest.

Peter chuckled. "Want me to do it? I could make it look like an accident."

Jennifer just laughed at this. "Has anyone ever told you that you're irresistible when you act all perfect like that?"

"Not until now," said Peter, smiling as they rested their foreheads against one another's and held each other's hands. "So, any chance I could convince you to play hooky with me? Just run away for a day or two and forget about the rest of the world?"

Jennifer smiled and shook her head. "Much as I would love to, I can't. I've got three more classes left and I've put together this special recital for tonight. I organized it to honor the losses at the school. And I'll bet that sounds really stupid, doesn't it?"

Peter shook his head. If he'd heard it from anyone else, he would've said yes. But since it came from Jennifer, he wasn't going to. Coming from her, it sounded like a brilliant idea.

"No. It's perfect, just like you." said Peter, as he kissed her again. "I love you, Jennifer." It was the first time he'd ever said it to someone he cared about and he truly meant it. There was no question about it now. Peter was in love with Jennifer.

"I love you too, Peter," said Jennifer. She kissed him once more before she departed.

XXX

Miss Morrell was busying organizing her file cabinet when she heard someone enter her office and close the door behind them.

"Sorry. But I don't recall having anymore appointments today," she said, not looking up from her work. She assumed it was just another student who'd come to see her.

"You'd better double-check your appointment book then, because you and I have some unfinished business."

Miss Morrell looked up sharply to see Kali standing before her looking cold with her arms folded across her chest. Kali had decided to visit Miss Morrell personally and she didn't care who saw her do it as they needed whatever information Miss Morrell was withholding from them.

"We need to talk," said Kali.

"Yes, I would imagine we do. I can see you're in need of some guidance," said Miss Morrell. She beckoned to the chairs in the room. "Have a seat, Kali."

They both sat down. Miss Morrell sat at her desk and Kali sat across from her.

"I'm surprised I didn't piece it together sooner. You're a double-agent, aren't you?" said Kali, as her eyes flashed red. "You're the only one who could've known about Artemis and made all those promises to Deucalion about her and you're the only one knew what was going down at the bank and could've sent that girl to rescue Isaac."

"Braeden," said Miss Morrell, through gritted teeth. "Call her by her name or don't talk about her at all. And yes, I sent her. I had to do something if no one else was going to. And yes, I told Deucalion about Artemis. But it wasn't what you think. I merely confirmed what he already knew, that's all. Ask him if you don't believe me."

Kali didn't speak further on the matter, but she still flexed her claws warningly. "Why didn't you tell me Deucalion killed Ennis?"

Miss Morrell raised an eyebrow. "You're really asking me that? I know you, Kali. You were practically drowning in your grief and dying to quench your thirst for vengeance against Peter. You never would've believed me and honestly, I have no problems with Peter being killed a second time, provided he actually stays dead, of course."

Kali growled, but didn't argue as she knew Miss Morrell was right. When Kali set her mind to something and was in a mood about it, it was almost impossible to dissuade her from acting purely on her emotions and wolf instincts. Plus, no one would've really cared if Peter was gone for good.

"Quite honestly, Kali, I don't know why you're bothering me when you know the clock's ticking," said Miss Morrell. "You know someone else is about to be taken and yet you're in here questioning me. You're wasting time."

Kali scoffed. "Yeah, I don't think so." Artemis's pack was already working on finding out the identity of the Darach's next sacrifice. They could manage without Kali for the time being. "You know a lot more than you're saying. So why don't you cut the crap and tell me what it is you know?"

"Fine," said Miss Morrell. She rose up from her chair. "You want to know the truth? The truth is, I may not know who the Darach is, but I'm all that stands between Deucalion and the lives of Artemis's loved ones. I've been the one pulling the leash taut when he's been salivating for a bite. I've been protecting your sister."

"Because Deucalion wants her dead," said Kali, as she rose up.

"No," said Miss Morrell, shaking her head. "He'll only resort to that if he has no other option. Deucalion wants a True Alpha in his pack. He knows it's your sister. He's believed it to be her it for a long time just like Alan and I have ever since she was first turned. The incident at Peabody's Mall confirmed his suspicions and now there's no telling what he'll do to get his hands on her.

"And a little thing like human sacrifices won't distract him from the grand prize—your sister. Artemis may not be a True Alpha yet, but it won't be much longer before she finishes her ascension. Artemis is invaluable to Deucalion. She's the rarest of the rare of your kind. But she's also a danger to him because of what she's meant to become. And if Deucalion can't have Artemis, she'll have to be destroyed."

"Meaning if Artemis doesn't willingly join his pack either before or after she becomes the True Alpha, Deucalion's going to kill her," said Kali. Her hatred of the man had just increased a great deal at this.

"Exactly," said Miss Morrell. "But there's another option Deucalion will settle for. If Artemis takes a life, her True Alpha potential will be destroyed and she won't become the True Alpha she's meant to become. He wants to turn her into a killer. That's what he does. He did it with Ennis, he did it with the twins and he did it with you. Artemis will be no different, not to him, anyway."

Kali nearly wolfed out in anger. "Clearly he's underestimating Artemis. She would never take a life or join that monster's pack."

"Don't be so sure," said Miss Morrell, coldly. "Anyone can break if they're pushed hard enough, even someone like Artemis."

"Tell that to Peter. He tried the same thing and he didn't succeed, did he?"

Miss Morrell smirked. "Peter's a lot of things and he's willing to cross a lot of lines to get what he wants, but Peter's not Deucalion. You're all playing Deucalion's game and while you, your sister and her friends are trying to figure out what to do next, Deucalion's thinking ten moves ahead with the checkmate in sight. Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do. So, get out."

Kali was quiet, which was rare for her as she departed from Miss Morrell's office. Her mind was abuzz with the information she'd just acquired. Deucalion was either going to kill Artemis, destroy her True Alpha potential or make her join his pack. Either one of those three options wasn't good. Kali couldn't let any of them befall her sister. She had to protect Artemis, even if the cost was Kali's own life.

XXX

Artemis and Cora frantically burst into the hospital. They were looking for Derek.

After Artemis had felt the pain from her mate, she'd gotten a phone call from her mom, saying Derek was in the hospital. Artemis had wasted no time contacting Cora to tell her about it and the two girls had rushed straight to the hospital. They found Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa talking together by the front desk.

"Mom! Sheriff!" cried Artemis, catching their attention. "What happened? What's wrong with Derek?"

"I don't know," admitted Sheriff Stilinski. "We met up to talk to your mom about the Darach and he just collapsed. He hit his head on a chair, but he didn't heal or wake up, so he got taken in for medical treatment."

"They've been running tests, but the doctors don't know what's wrong with him," said Melissa. "But we've called Dr. Deaton and he's on his way. So, hopefully we'll get some answers soon."

Artemis and Cora exchanged worried glances. A strong, powerful Alpha like Derek didn't just collapse and not heal for no reason. Something was seriously wrong with him. But what could it be?

"Where is he?" asked Cora. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, you can see him. He's in room 309," said Melissa.

And with that, Artemis and Cora went upstairs to see Derek.

When they entered his room, the sight before them broke their hearts. Derek lay on the hospital bed with his head bandaged and machines were strapped to him. He was out cold and showed signs of a fever, which didn't bode well.

Artemis bit her lip in worry as she grasped Derek's hand and stroked his hair as she sent out a telepathic plea and began taking away as much of his pain as she could. Derek, if you can hear me, I need you to wake up. Please. If he could just open those beautiful eyes of his for a moment…!

Derek appeared to have heard Artemis's telepathic plea and taken well to her pain relief, because he stirred and awakened right after that.

"Hey, Huntress, Cora," he said. He sounded exhausted and faint.

"Hey, yourself," said Cora, as she took his other hand. "Derek, what happened to you?"

"I don't know," he admitted. One minute, I was fine and the next everything hurt and I passed out." Suddenly, Derek's grip on Artemis's hand tightened as he winced in pain and turned green, signaling that he was going to be ill.

Artemis quickly grabbed a bucket as Derek became ill. Within moments, Derek was almost asleep again, and black ooze could be found in the bucket along with a certain plant they were all too familiar with at this point.

"Mistletoe," breathed Artemis. Rage surged through her at this. The Darach had just chosen Derek as a target. That was the reason he was sick and possibly dying. She was going to kill the Darach when she found it.

"What do we do?" demanded Cora, worried.

Artemis hesitated. She had no desire to do this, but she knew there was no other choice. "Stay with Derek. I'll call Alison and see what she's uncovered. Maybe we can track down the Darach before it attacks again. I'll be back as soon as I can. Just watch over him."

Cora nodded in agreement. "I'll keep Derek safe. You find this thing and you kill it."

Artemis nodded. She didn't know what exactly she was going to do, but she knew that this had to end before anyone else got hurt.

Artemis caressed Derek's face and gently kissed his forehead. "I love you, Derek," she choked, as a tear escaped her. If Artemis lost Derek, she would undoubtedly die with him. Her feelings for her mate were that strong. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," whispered Derek. "Be careful and I'll be here when you get back."

"You'd better," said Artemis, as she left the room.

If anyone's listening, please don't let Derek die, she silently pleaded. I can't lose him. Please, don't take him away from me. Please.

XXX

Meanwhile, Alison and Isaac were doing their own investigation.

When Alison hadn't shown up for school, Isaac, being a sweet and protective boyfriend, had gone to her house where she was snooping around Chris's office yet again. They'd found something quite interesting. Underneath Chris's maps on his desk was a Celtic five-fold knot engraved on the desk and written in an ink that could only be read by an ultraviolet light were the categories of each of the sacrifices.

It proved that Chris was tracking the Darach's movements, but it also worried Alison that her father might be walking into a trap of some sorts. So, as one might expect, Alison and Isaac discovered where the next sacrifice, which was their just kidnapped history teacher, Mr. Westover, was going to happen.

Alison parked her car at a power substation and saw that her father's car was also parked there.

"Before we go in, can I just ask why we haven't told Artemis or the others about this?" asked Isaac.

"Because I want to make sure we're right about this in case it's a wild goose chase," said Alison. She grabbed her equipment before she got out of the car. "Stay behind me and stay quiet."

Isaac nodded and did as she asked, but he still muttered under his breath, "This is so not going to go well." It was a mistake to go in without backup, he knew that. But Isaac found himself unable to resist Alison's charms.

They entered the building and they hadn't gone far when Isaac put a protective arm in front of Alison.

"Wait, I smell blood," he whispered.

Alison frowned in worry. "Where? Which direction?"

"Straight ahead," said Isaac.

Alison quickly drew her Chinese ring daggers and started walking straight ahead despite Isaac telling to come back. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Mr. Westover dying at the hands of the Darach.

Alison ran straight for it.

"Alison, don't!" yelled Isaac, as he chased after her.

"GET DOWN!"

Suddenly, both teens ducked as Chris came out of nowhere and fired heavily at the Darach, trying to stop it, but to no avail. The Darach escaped and vanished into thin air and when Alison checked Mr. Westover's pulse, she found that he had none.

"We're too late. He's dead," said Alison. She then turned on her father. "And why on earth didn't you tell me you've been tracking the Darach?"

"Maybe because I was trying to keep you out of it and protect you," said Chris, sternly. He was furious as they'd just foiled his attempt to destroy the Darach. "I almost had it. I would've destroyed it if you two hadn't been snooping around and ruined the whole thing!"

"When are you going to learn that I'm not going to stay out of things like this when people I care about are in danger? And we came here because I thought you might be in trouble! Excuse me for being worried about my father that I love!" snapped Alison.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" said Chris, sternly.

"Hey!" said Isaac, loudly. "Not that I mind watching you two go at it, but we've got a situation here, in case you've forgotten! The Darach just killed our history teacher and last I checked, he wasn't law enforcement!"

The two Argents forced themselves to calm down as they realized Isaac was right. The Darach hadn't gone after guardians.

"It's going after philosophers, as in teachers," said Alison. "I need to call Artemis." She got out her phone and was about to call her friend, but then her phone rang and Artemis's name flashed on the caller ID. Alison answered it. "Artemis?"

"We've got a problem. The Darach's poisoned Derek," said Artemis.

"What?!" exclaimed Alison, horrified. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know," said Artemis, as her voice cracked. She sounded like she'd been crying. "Dr. Deaton's on his way, but there's no guarantee Derek's going to pull through. So, if you've found out anything that can help us track down the Darach, that would be helpful."

"We have," said Alison. "My dad, Isaac and I found Mr. Westover. He's dead. We were wrong. It's not guardians as in law enforcement. It's philosophers as in teachers."

"Crap," muttered Artemis. "That explains why Tara died. Stiles said she used to teach middle school before she became a cop. Look, you need to get to the school, pronto. Every teacher's going to be at the recital tonight. So, if the Darach's going to strike again tonight, this is our only shot at stopping it."

"Got it. We're on our way," said Alison, as she hung up.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa were in a private room of the hospital going over some old medical files, trying to determine the Darach's identity.

"This is it," said Melissa. She opened up a file and held it out for them to read. "This is the one you were asking about. According to Artemis, Kali attacked her Alpha's emissary, Julia Baccari, for betraying her. After Kali brought Julia to the point of death, Kali left her alone to die and believes Julia died that day. But I don't think she did. Around that time, there was a patient who looked like she'd been attacked by an animal who was on the verge of death."

"Attacked by an animal or attacked by a werewolf?" asked Sheriff Stilinski, shaking his head. "Werewolves really take the whole revenge business up a whole new level, don't they?"

"You have no idea," said Melissa. Having been told by Derek and Artemis, Melissa knew quite a bit about a werewolf's thirst for revenge and the lengths they were willing to go to quench it. "Anyway, the girl was in no shape to talk to us, so she was labeled a Jane Doe."

"But you definitely think she was Julia?" asked Sheriff Stilinski.

Melissa nodded. "And that's not even the strangest part. The day she was being treated, while she was in the O.R. struggling to hold on, hundreds of birds flew into the walls and windows like they'd gone insane."

"Or they were sacrificing themselves for this girl," said Sheriff Stilinski. He remembered all too well when the animals went crazy the night prior to the sacrifices started. It would be too much of a coincidence if something like that happened on the day Julia was taken to the hospital. "What happened to Julia?"

Melissa shrugged. "Unknown. She just disappeared one night. People assumed she'd just been taken."

"Or maybe Julia survived and left the hospital," said Sheriff Stilinski.

A cold shiver went down their spines at this.

XXX

At the recital that night, all the werewolves were standing guard over the teachers, including Kali and the twins. They were watching and waiting for the Darach to make its move so they could stop it.

Everyone was nervous and tense. No one could relax, not even when Alison arrived with Isaac and her father to aid in their stakeout.

From where Artemis was standing guard, she could see Lydia nervously approaching her.

"Hey. What're you doing here? I thought you were going home," said Artemis.

Lydia shook her head. "I can't. Artemis, I don't know why I am the one who's immune to kanima venom and Alpha bites or why Peter was able to use me or why I keep finding the bodies, but I've been thinking. Maybe I just stopped fighting it and stopped being so afraid of it, maybe I can control it and maybe I can find someone before they died and I can do it in time for someone like you to save them."

Artemis nodded. She knew better than anyone what Lydia was going through, as she'd been forced into the supernatural world and she had fought against what she was in fear until she'd finally accepted it. Artemis still had her fair share of struggles, but her life had become better in many ways because of her acceptance.

"Lydia, I may not know why you can do what you do, but I do know what you're going through. So, trust me when I tell you that when you've accepted whatever this is, there'll be nothing you can't do," said Artemis. "You're a lot stronger than you know. And I swear to heaven, that if you get me the time, I will do everything I can to save that person's life."

Lydia smiled at Artemis and then Lydia did something that she'd never done before in her life, she hugged Artemis.

"You're going to be a great Alpha, Artemis. I know it," she whispered. "I'm really glad we're friends now."

Artemis returned the embrace and then smiled as Lydia pulled away and took her seat. Artemis never thought she'd live to see the day when she was glad of a friendship with Lydia, but she was. People changed and could surprise you, especially when you didn't expect it. This was proof of that.

The night went on and for the most part, the recital was beautiful. The music performed was sweet, tear-jerking and magnificent. For a little while, it was almost enjoyable. But then suddenly, everything went wrong.

The music took a frightening turn and it reminded Artemis of the noise she'd heard on the sacrificed music teacher's phone when he'd gone missing and then suddenly, the pianist who was also the piano teacher, was killed and yet no one had gone anywhere near her. As the crowd screamed and fled for the doors, Jackson came up to Artemis looking panicked.

"Where's Lydia?" he demanded.

XXX

Pain throbbed throughout Lydia's body as she slowly came to.

She'd received a text requesting her presence and had left the recital to take care of it as the text claimed it was a matter of life and death. But when Lydia had arrived at the rendezvous point, which was an empty classroom, she'd been met by Jennifer, who promptly knocked her out and tied her to a chair in the room.

Now she was awake and it looked like Jennifer was preparing to sacrifice Lydia next.

"You're the Darach," whispered Lydia. "You're Julia, Kali's former emissary." She'd been told the story by Artemis. She knew what had happened between Kali and Jennifer.

Jennifer nodded. "Technically, I was her Alpha's emissary. But I suppose I was also hers, in a way. But it doesn't really matter. Kali's going to pay for what she did to me."

"So, this is just about revenge?" asked Lydia.

"Not entirely. It's also out of necessity," said Jennifer. "To be honest, I'm surprised none of you figured it out sooner. After all, my timing in Beacon Hills matched up, didn't it? And I'm also surprised that none of you see that what I'm doing is for the good of all of us. You call them 'sacrifices' but you're not understanding the word. It's derived from the Latin word, 'sacrificium,' an offering to a deity, a sacred rite."

Lydia shook her head and regretted it afterwards for her head hurt terribly. "Artemis saved your life!" she hissed. Artemis had almost died trying to save Jennifer and this was how Jennifer repaid her? "Why'd you try to sacrifice her after what she did?"

"Honestly? I was grateful for what Artemis did, but I couldn't dwell on it. Artemis, Derek and Ethan were intended to be guardian sacrifices because of their roles in their packs. But truth be told, I just wanted Kali to hurt and the best way to do that was to get rid of her sister," said Jennifer, coldly.

Jennifer had known from the beginning that Artemis was Kali's sister. They looked like each other and they bore the same surname. It had also been easy to find out what had become of Artemis since Peter bit her as druids had a habit of finding out almost anything, even when people didn't expect it. She had pretended to befriend Artemis as Artemis was just a means to an end in her plan to destroy Kali.

"Why are you doing this?" demanded Lydia.

"I have to," growled Jennifer. She'd gone mad with vengeance and it had eaten away her humanity and compassion. All she thought about was Kali being punished. "You don't know Kali and the Alpha pack like I do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm not doing this to you because you're a sacrifice. I'm doing this because you know too much. You're a loose end, Lydia. And all loose ends have to be tied up."

Jennifer then tried to kill Lydia, but Lydia let out a loud yell. "JACKSON!" And then Lydia emitted a cry that broke the windows and threatened to shatter the eardrums of the werewolves who heard it as well.

Jennifer stepped back and stared at Lydia in utter shock. "Unbelievable," she murmured. "You've no idea what you are, do you? No wonder you always seek out death, Lydia. You're a banshee, a wailing woman."

"And she's my mate!" snarled Jackson. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Jennifer looked up and saw that Jackson, Artemis and the rest of the pack had broken into the room, along with Sheriff Stilinski. The werewolves were all wolfed out and ready for a fight and the Sheriff had his gun aimed at Jennifer.

Artemis and the other wolves then attacked, but Jennifer just tossed them aside like ragdolls and wounded them before turning her attention to the Sheriff. Jennifer didn't even notice Jackson freeing Lydia of her bonds and getting her to safety.

"I should've chosen philosophers first," said Jennifer. She tossed her knife and it hit the Sheriff, causing him to drop his gun. "I would've gained considerable knowledge and strategy skills. Maybe then I could've gotten away with this."

Sheriff Stilinski grabbed his gun and fired it at Jennifer, only for her to heal quickly from it like a werewolf would. Jennifer winced at first, but after she healed she continued to walk towards the sheriff.

"Kali's going to find you," choked Artemis. She was healing from the wounds Jennifer had inflicted, but it wasn't fast enough. She didn't even possess the strength to stand so she could protect the sheriff. No one did.

Jennifer grinned evilly as she displayed her true face for all of them to see. "I know she will. And when she does, Kali's going to pay for what she did to me with her life. I've spent years preparing for this and now all my hard work's going to pay off. I've just got to get rid of Kali and make one last round of sacrifices before I get rid of Deucalion."

Jennifer then grabbed Sheriff Stilinski and disappeared with him into the night just as Stiles arrived.

The situation had just gone from bad to worse. What were they going to do now?