The sun was low in the sky, casting a rosy hued light over the city of Beacon Hills. Saturday evening and much of the city was getting ready for when the sun would disappear and the stars would come out to play. Many were getting ready for an ill-timed shift or a night on the town. But on the outskirts of the community, a large house lay bustling with a different sort of energy. As the sun continued its slow descent into the horizon, the new pack of Beacon Hills was preparing for another family meeting.
The room was buzzing with life. Overflowing with energy as the pack crowded into the generous dining area. Pizza boxes stacked high on the table. Quickly being emptied as ravenous wolves chomped down.
"For the last time Boyd, relax." Mel ordered gently as she pushed the giant back down. After a quick lunch, they had resumed their watery battle. Feeling much better, Boyd had decided to join them. Unfortunately he had misjudged how healed he was and collapsed from exhaustion. Saint carried him back into the house, and since then the female alpha had kept a close eye. Not allowing him another chance to strain his still somewhat fragile body. He squirmed a bit uncomfortably at the fact he was the only one sitting. The rest crowded around the room, but no one even seemed to take a seat. Not even the lone human.
"Dude you don't have to sneak around. Have as much pizza as you like. You're practically family now." Saint laughed as he placed another slice on the human's plate. Stiles gave an appreciative smile before slipping off to a corner. Both he and Scott silently watched the room. As this meeting was rather important, the pair had been invited to join in. Neither said a word and tried to keep the blush off their face. Ruby, Sapphire, and Hana wore only bikinis. Clamoring around the room, bouncing as they went. The youngest and the female alpha were only slightly more modest, donning a pair of oversized shirts over their swimsuits. But even that did little to actually cover. The neck lines plunged very low, cleavage and bikini top almost always being put on display. And anytime they were to bend over, the hemline would lift. As Zen was only fourteen, both guests felt a little awkward about leering and averted their gaze. But that was a little harder to do with the female alpha. Currently she was leaning over to examine Boyd's neck wound. So preoccupied with observing its healing progress, she didn't realize how much the shirt had lifted. Supple hips and backside were on prominent display. The redhead slowly approached behind her alpha.
"EEK!" Mel shouted as she leaped away.
"Come on sis, you can't display that juicy ass without one of us wanting to smack it." Ruby laughed. "And since your mate wasn't taking advantage of the opportunity." Both her and Saint chuckled as the male alpha averted his gaze. He had been lurking silently in the corner and though he didn't blush, it wasn't that difficult to detect his embarrassment.
"Yeah, and now I have to deal with a red hand print on my ass all night. Thanks for that." Mel huffed a bit in annoyance.
"You're very welcome." The redheaded beta answered, giving a formal bow. The female alpha just shook her head and sighed. Her pack's antics were really too much at times.
"Ok people, enough with the fun. Let's get this thing started." Saint's booming voice echoed across the room. Silencing the rest of the pack. Mel shot him an appreciative glance before taking a deep breath.
"Before I begin, you guys need to know it's some pretty heavy stuff. It's important, but is probably going to eat up the rest of the meeting. So before I start, anyone else have something they would like to bring up?"
"What happens to Boyd when Grandpa comes back?" Zen chipped in.
"Him and Isaac are going to borrow you're room until the attic is finished." She noticed the confused looks on half the room, remembering not everyone had been here from the start. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. This place has been under construction since we moved in. Just a few short weeks and the attic will be converted to two more bedrooms and another bathroom."
"Is it cool if I bunk with Ruby? Saint's room is starting to smell like rotting ocean."
"Why the hell does it smell like rotting ocean?" Saint asked incredulously.
"I don't know. It's your room." Zen answered a shrug. The female alpha raised an eyebrow. The youngest wolf sighed. "Ok, I left some seaweed and kelp under the floorboard. I'm surprised no one noticed."
"How long ago did you leave it?" Saint questioned a bit curious.
"Weeks ago. When we moved in."
"Ah Bitch." Saint remarked. Words aimed at the air more than anyone in particular. "I just thought the room smelled funky."
"That's a great freaking prank." Stiles laughed.
"Please don't encourage her." Mel rolled her eyes. Trying not to show how impressed she was. Zen was very clever in her pranks, and even her victims often marveled at her cunning. "Yeah, I'm going to skip right past the part about where you managed to get that stuff. Clean it out and if you ask nicely maybe Ruby will still let you bunk with her. And maybe I won't tell gramps."
"No, no, no. Please don't tell him. I'll clean it out and won't play anymore pranks at home. I don't want pink eyebrows again." She begged frantically. The female alpha let it go on a bit more before conceding.
"Ok. No more." Mel demanded, trying to suppress her laugh. Exactly what the rest of her pack was doing. The outsiders looked in confusion. Now would be a good time to explain the very appropriate fear. "Gramps doesn't use corporal punishment. Kind of pointless on wolves. He takes a more interesting route. Last time Zen pranked one of us, he dyed her eyebrows hot pink. We still haven't figured out how he snuck in the room without her noticing."
"And he gave me a temporary face tat once for staying out past curfew." Saint added in. The room couldn't help but laugh at the information. Except for one wolf. Quietly standing next to the table. Half listening to the outside conversation while a full blown argument was waged in his mind. Last night, he witnessed something he never would have guessed. At the moment, he was badly torn and nowhere near a decision. Part of him wanted to admit what he saw. To keep the female alpha from being in the dark. But another part wanted to remain silent. The relationship between the alphas was slowly improving. Bit by bit they seemed to be getting closer. And making this feel like a real family. He wanted things to stay on this happier path. Would have done practically anything. But not this. He would not be another betrayer in her midst. With a sigh, he raised his hand.
"Isaac we aren't in school. You don't have to raise your hand." The room laughed a bit at the slight folly. The beta stared down at the floor in embarrassment. The female alpha held up her hand for silence, and the laughter cut out. "Be nice, he's still new to this. Go ahead Isaac. What's on your mind?"
"Well. I…" He felt unsure how to proceed. Knowing it was the right thing to do, but feeling painfully tongue tied. He took a deep breath. "Last night I woke up. Went downstairs for a drink of water."
"Dude you're family. You don't have to confess things like that." Saint chuckled a bit.
"Saint." Mel's voice was soft but commanding. She turned back to the other beta and gave a soft smile. "Go on Isaac." The beta took another deep breath, his eyes inadvertently darting over to Derek. He liked the alpha. He was a bit rough around the edges, but always had their back. Still, it wasn't fair for him to treat anyone like that. Let alone someone as compassionate and caring as Mel. She was so protective and nurturing. Welcomed them into her home and family in a heartbeat. Didn't deserve someone going behind her back.
"I came back upstairs…Erica was leaving you and Derek's room." The area went silent, people scarcely even daring to breath. Isaac's mouth suddenly felt dry. But he forced himself to proceed. "Her hair was really messed up. She was wearing some really skimpy lingerie. And…She smelled like sex." The silence began to weigh heavier on the air. Multiple pairs of eyes flashed over to the female alpha. Waiting for her reaction. Scott and Stiles both felt indignation. The wolf was helpful. Kind. Someone who didn't deserve to be cheated on. Stiles felt the rage a bit more prominently. Derek had been so threatening when he feared being cheated on. Yet at practically first opportunity he sought sex elsewhere. How fucked up could the guy be?
"What did you do?" Mel all but growled. Eyes narrowing at her mate. The outside males watched her worriedly. Derek met her gaze, but remained silent. Locked eyes with the slightly snarling wolf, but made no excuses. Isaac briefly regretted saying anything. The pair had finally started getting along. Reached some sort of mutual understanding. Now the mirth of the afternoon was gone. Burned up by the tension now building in the air. He wanted to apologize for bringing it up. Maybe beg them to work it out. He felt like a small child, watching parents argue and just wanting it to stop. Desperation clouding his brain, it took a moment to recognize the familiar smell that teased at his nostrils. He glanced around the room, surprised that Boyd and Scott had the same confusion in their eyes. All three taken aback by the scent. The room was not filled with anger or disgust. Rather the air was permeated with the distinct scent of fear. He turned back and was surprised to find the female alpha's eyes soft and filled with worry. "Please. Is she at least alive?" Her tone was so pleading it was almost a whine.
The rest of her pack watched the alpha wearily. Touches of fear present in each one of their eyes. But not for something as shallow as the state of the alpha's relationship. They had been brought up properly. Taught not only how to protect themselves and survive, but the myriad of rules that went with being in a pack. And the beta known as Erica had violated one of the most basic tenets. To challenge an alpha for control was one thing. Families often just allowed power to be transferred down through the generations. But less tight knit packs often had power struggles. Fighting for dominion was just part of a normal life for some wolves. In reality, the pack understood the blond beta probably didn't even realize what she was doing. She didn't have a proper wolf education yet. Sadly that wasn't actually an excuse. In the wolf world ignorance really wasn't an acceptable excuse for violating their code of conduct. Especially the more serious offenses. And unfortunately Erica had committed one of the lowest transgressions. She had attempted to steal a mate. To undermine the alpha's authority. A cowardly act so despicable banishment and death were considered just punishments. Either alpha was entitled to hand down whatever sentence they deemed fit. Would they have to bury another wolf because of a stupid mistake?
"I left the punishment up to you." Derek finally answered, breaking the spiral of fear. Mel breathed a deep sigh of relief, as did the rest of her pack. The female alpha's upbringing had focused more on the protective and nurturing side of being an alpha. Patience and mercy. But hers was a rather special case.
Saint eyed the male alpha with extreme interest. The guy was very domineering. Aggressive and forceful even to his own pack. That type would typically go for the harshest punishment. He would know Mel wasn't that kind. So either he showed mercy of his own accord or was simply handing off the choice of punishment to his mate. The former was a display of kindness, the latter a display of subservience. Both were signs of a surprising softness to the alpha's rough edges. Maybe that's what Mel was able to see. Why she had allowed him such free reign on her body. Despite her past.
"Ok, can someone please explain to the human what's going on here?" Stiles chipped in, deeply confused at the moment. He gulped a bit when Derek shot him a rather nasty glare. Quickly averting his gaze, he noticed the giant smile plastered to Saint's face.
"Sorry. We keep forgetting we have guests." The giant wolf laughed. "Let me explain."
"Please do or I'm pretty sure my head will explode."
"Promises. Promises." Derek muttered, earning a glare from his mate. Saint snapped his fingers to get the room's attention.
"Ok people, another lesson about wolf culture." He said excitedly. "Another way wolves are better than humans is actual mates are completely faithful to each other. They literally can't even be attracted to someone else."
"But Erica." Isaac cut in. "She came out of the room and-"
"Erica tried to seduce me. I rejected her." Derek explained curtly.
"But she smelled like sex. I swear I'm not making that up."
"Yeah, that wasn't actually her." Mel looked at the table, a bit of a blush on her face. The silence in the room broke when Ruby hooted. Isaac tried to hide his own blush, feeling just as embarrassed as the alpha.
"Ok, if we are done discussing our alpha's sex life, let's move on." Saint once again yielded the room to his alpha. Mel walked over and grabbed a few pieces of giant neatly rolled up paper off the couch. Saint pushed aside the pizza boxes, and she unfolded it to reveal a map.
"This seems important. Hold up a minute." Ruby halted the proceedings. She went over to Derek and held out her hand. "Phone please." Already knowing her persistence, the alpha relented. Punching a few buttons, she held the phone up to her ear.
"Um, what are you doing?" Mel asked. The only answer she received was Ruby holding up a hand for silence. Derek felt a growl build up in his gest. Astonished by the insolence of the beta. Her alpha seemed to have something very important to say, yet here she was making a phone call. Even in a typical human family that would be considered rude.
The room heard every long unanswered ring, shifting uncomfortably as the eighth one passed. A few wondered how long this behavior was going to be tolerated. Even her own pack was eyeing her with a bit of unease. More worried than Derek's pack. Ruby loved to tease her alpha, but only in a familial jesting way. She was blindly loyal. Never hesitating or questioning an order. Backing her family up in a heartbeat. Venturing into such disrespectful actions was very unusual. Unless there was just cause. Everyone was completely on edge, questioning her reason for halting the meeting. Their collective breath was held as the call was finally answered. A rather annoyed feminine voice uttered a quick, and somewhat rude, greeting into the phone.
"Hey Erica. This is Ruby." The red head spoke sweetly into the phone. The voice on the other end became irate; speaking so fast it was difficult to keep up with all the words. Ruby nodded patiently into the phone for a few moments before interrupting. "Ok…No…Listen sweetie we really missed you today for the game. I think you would have had fun….Of course she would be there….No….Sweetie. Sweetie. I'm calling right now because we are having a meeting. It's very important and we would like for you to show up. Don't worry. We already heard about last night's little mistake. There are no harsh feelings." The irritation became full blown rage as the blond beta screamed at the other end of the line.
"LIKE I GIVE A FUCK IF THAT SLUT FORGIVES ME. BITCH DOESN'T DESERVE HIM AND FUCKING KNOWS IT. ONLY REGRET I HAVE IS I DIDN'T SUCK HIS DICK BETTER BECAUSE HER SKANK SCENT MADE ME WANT TO THROW UP. FUCK YOU AND FUCK THE PACK." The room stared silently at the phone. Still spewing hurtful and beyond cruel comments. Isaac stared down at the map, flustered and a bit angry at the girl. She had done some messed up crap and was acting as if she was the one that had been betrayed.
A low growl fell from slightly parted lips as anger coursed through Derek's veins. His beta was acting like a complete idiot and it was pissing him off. The town had been deemed a hostile environment. Yet here she was isolating herself. Scott was here because at the moment being an omega was more a death sentence than when Gerard was around. It was something none of them could afford to be. Yet she willfully alienated her pack. Placing herself in a precarious and vulnerable position. Hell even if she wasn't trying to alienate everyone, she was doing a hell of a job trying to get kicked out. From day one she had repaid Mel's kindness with spite. Such disobedience that just seemed to get worse. And still the alpha forgave her. Showed only worry when she thought the girl had been punished. He was frustrated and beyond pissed at the abuse being leveled at his mate. He wanted to rip the phone away and order her ass to get down here. But he never got the chance. The smile on Ruby's face grew strained before completely falling away.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY YOU STUPID ASS PUPPY!" The red head yelled into the phone, completely silencing the voice on the other end. Taking a calming breath, the beta resumed talking. Voice much lowered but with none of the rage dissipated. "Right now we are in a very important meeting. Quit being a whiny little bitch and get your ass down here. I have had it with your fucking antics. Stop your shit or I swear to everything that is holy I will rip what little of an ass you have off. Got it?" A few stutterings were on the other end of the line as the blond relented. A few minutes later she walked through the door. Taking a seat at the table, she pouted. Silently throwing a tantrum.
Mel tried to hide her pain from the room. What should have been another sister was nothing more than a painful thorn. And it was heartbreaking. But she couldn't deal with that now. There were more important matters to attend to than her own hurt feelings. Clearing her throat, she caught the attention of the room. "Bad news guys. We are being hunted."
"No duh." Erica scoffed, earning a glare from the female's betas and her own alpha. She slumped in her chair and pouted further.
"Not by the Strix. We need to drop all but passive surveillance for them at the moment. We have another problem." The room erupted in a flurry of whispers. She held her hand up for silence. "Strix don't use wolfsbane. They don't use goldenseal. We are dealing with something else."
"Hunters." Saint ventured solemnly. Mel nodded.
"We need to focus our energies on finding them yesterday."
"And forget all about those Strix things? The ones you practically pissed yourselves over." Erica scoffed. The female alpha sighed in frustration.
"Strix activity has gone dead, while the hunters seem to just be getting started. And there's more than just one group." The room looked on silently. Waiting for further explanation. "Hunters tend to favor a few tricks. They don't change up easily either. The poison at the game and the ambush at Derek's lair. Those are the call signs for at least two different lines."
"So what do we do?" Boyd asked, absentmindedly adjusting his injured shoulder. His heart started racing a bit. The Strix were bad enough. Now there were hunters on their asses once again. And he wasn't anywhere near full strength. He couldn't help protect them. Might even be a hindrance. As if sensing his thoughts, the female alpha placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It's ok. We're a long way from home, so we don't really have access to the same resources. I'll ask Grandpa to stop by a safe house on the way home. See if he can get a read on anything."
"Are you sure that's safe?" Saint looked at the map. Nervous about the familiar red x's. Strix nests that had been found. Crossed out ones had been eliminated. There were a lot of uncrossed x's on the paper. "Too many of our best information lines are in or dangerously close to Strix territory." Mel nodded in agreement. Chewing her lip nervously as she attempted to think.
"Why don't we just track them?" Isaac chimed in. "We can lure them into some sort of trap. Take the fight to them."
"I want to know exactly what we're going up against before we tip our hand." She eyed the map closely. They need information and Saint had been right. All the best sources would put them into very risky territory. And considering what was defiantly coming down the road, she couldn't afford to lose a single wolf. "No matter how strong we seem, we can't be Poland."
"Poland?" Isaac and Boyd asked in unison.
"World War two. September invaded Poland along three sides. Though forced to retreat they managed to stall the invasion until Russia invaded the remaining side and overwhelmed their defenses. And I really hope that is what you're referring to." Stiles finally took a breath.
"Glad someone got the reference." Mel gave the human a soft smile.
"Ok, so why can't we be Poland?" Erica interjected, inspecting her nails. She didn't really care. Didn't even want to be stuck in this room. Was just trying to unhinge the alpha a bit. Show her how fallible she was.
"Actually yeah. There's a bunch of us now. Why can't we just split up?" Scott asked curiously.
"Yeah because that works so well for Scooby doo." Stiles quipped, eliciting chuckles from a few of the wolves.
"Technically Stiles is right." Mel answered. "We are at our strongest all together. To take down the Strix is going to require all our combined efforts. I can't risk a divided assault. And I can't risk these bastards sneaking up on us when we do attack. "
"You said earlier you didn't want to tip our hand. What did you mean?" Derek finally joined in the conversation.
"I don't want to lose the element of surprise." Mel explained. "Right now I don't think they know about us."
"But they attacked Derek. Of course they know." Boyd argued forcefully.
"Oh. I see." Sapphire nodded at her alpha. Greatly impressed by the girl's detective skills. It wasn't guaranteed, but their being hidden was fairly possible.
"Can someone let the rest of us in please?" Saint broke into the conversation.
"Sorry." Mel apologized. "It's just an observation, but it's fairly possible they only know about Derek's pack. Not all of us."
"How the hell did that happen?" Ruby voiced her own hesitation. Mel and Sapphire always tended to catch on to things just a little quicker than the rest. Notice things and deduct a strong and logical conclusion based on things others often missed. Right now she hoped that skill was still very much honed.
"Right now I'm just guessing, but Derek your pack's been established in the area for some time right?" Mel looked at her mate. He nodded, prompting her to further delve into her realizations. "And Scott, you've been making waves in the area for hunters too. Ok, hunters work in certain groups, but they spread the word to a much bigger circle. The hunters here tried to take you guys out and failed. Their obituaries would be like a beacon. Spreading the word that they had failed."
"And prompting other hunters to come finish the job." Ruby finished the sentence. "Seriously brilliant Sis. But how do you know we aren't on the radar yet?"
"Because they launched the full scale attack on Derek." Mel explained. "Proper hunters understand hunting Strix and werewolves are two completely different things."
"Thanks captain obvious." Erica remarked snidely. Mel ignored the barb and continued.
"They have completely different social structures and require different methods to eliminate. Strix don't really communicate much. Each nest operates individually, making brief rare contact with the main nest. That's why when you hunt them, you sweep through the smaller nests. Destroy the smaller targets and work your way up. When hunting wolves it's the complete opposite. We're technically a lot more social. We always have communications open with other packs and within our own. That's why attacking the smaller lair first is strategic suicide. You take the main force out in the initial blast then mop up whatever remains. If you hit the weak link first, you're just alerting the stronger force to your presence. It would be like sneaking into a bear's cave and wasting the only surprise shot on a cub. No offense."
"None taken." Derek shrugged, fairly impressed with his mate. For someone so young she really did her job well. Given another few years she would probably surpass his mom. And she had been a damn legend in the wolf world.
"Wait, but what about you getting poisoned?" Isaac brought up the point that had been gnawing on his brain.
"I'm pretty sure that was meant for you." Mel countered. "My Grandpa is a pretty well-known hunter. Moving around a lot or having a lot of children in the house is normal for both wolves and hunters. Nothing about our presence really raises any flags. But with your father's strange death and your ties to Derek, you've probably been on a black list for a while."
"But you have ties with Derek too." Boyd rejoined the conversation.
"Yeah but that still just goes back to being in a hunter family." She eyed the locals of the area, preparing to expand their world just a little bit more. "Not all hunters are fanatical genocide nuts. Many really do just want to keep the peace. And a few found that easier to do with supernatural allies. My family is more likely to be labeled bleeding heart hunters instead of secretly harboring werewolves. The goldenseal what the biggest tip off though."
"How is that the biggest clue?" Stiles couldn't stop himself. The strange world he found himself and Scott immersed in was getting stranger every day.
"Again, my grandfather. One of the staple tricks of the older generation was coptis. Really nasty poison. But again coptis and goldenseal counteract each other. Neither is used much anymore because of that. But old habits die hard. It's very common to keep a little on hand out of habit. If they knew about us, they would at least figure I would most likely have the antidote on hand."
"Maybe they thought you would die before you had the chance to get at it." Isaac guessed.
"If that was the case, they would have used a much higher concentration." Derek interjected. Finally pushing off from the wall, he made a bee line for the table. Settling next to his mate. "Goldenseal can make humans sick, but it will almost never kill them. They could have put ten cups of the powder in and the worst that would happen is the human players would throw up a little. But it has a very distinctive smell. To better the chance of it working, you guess a few factors and put the minimum amount necessary in. You guys were on the road for well over two hours, but she didn't get to the fatal zone until you got home. Had it been Isaac, he would have been dead within half an hour."
"How does that work?" Scott questioned.
"Probably because she's female and an alpha." Stiles answered happily. Withering a bit when he caught the male alpha's glare. Derek continued his glare for a few moments before sighing in concession.
"He's right though. Alphas are naturally more resistant to poison. Females in particular have a higher tolerance. Plus their metabolism is lower so it takes a larger amount of poison and a longer amount of time. Now that we have that little q and a session over, what's our plan?"
"Really the only thing we can do for the moment is send out webs." Mel answered, feeling the tiniest bit frustrated there was so little that could happen without jeopardizing their safety. She noticed the confused looks everyone but her pack and Derek wore. "Sorry. That's just some hunter slang meaning to try to open up information lines."
"Like a spider making a web to catch prey, send out strings until something eventually sticks." Sapphire explained the metaphor.
"Well that's fucking stupid." Erica sighed impatiently. The rest of the group ignored her.
"I need to talk to Grandpa. We need to find out who the local hunters are and who their most prominent allies are. It's not really our home turf so it will probably take a few days. In the meantime we will have to do our own reconnaissance. Maybe get lucky and stumble on a few clues. We can guess a name if we at least know their methods."
"If they haven't changed them." Sapphire interrupted. "It's rare but if the occasion calls for it hunters will switch. And we don't know if they still have more reinforcements showing up. We could be chasing false or partial leads for days."
"I know but there isn't really much choice. We dealt with this before at home." Mel kept her back straight and face neutral, but Derek could see the weariness in her eyes. The tiniest slump in her shoulders. Troubles she was attempting to hold back from the rest of them. Great partners produced strong bonds when they mated. In turn the bond strengthened their already strong relationship. In their case the forced bond of mating came before the established bond of an actual relationship. But that didn't matter. The bond produced the same affects. Despite being practically strangers, they had an ingrained trust. Could sense emotions and feel the others pain and frustration on a level so deep it was impossible to describe. She knew him better than his betas, and though he knew little about her, he could sense the tiniest changes that even her betas would miss. And right now she was displaying an alarming sense of hopelessness and frustration. He placed a soothing hand on hers, interlocking their fingers.
"Lucky for you, there are actually locals in this room." Derek reassured the slightly frazzled alpha. "I never partnered with them, but I was hunted. Argent family is the most prominent in the area." A light reappeared in turquoise irises, and she turned to Saint.
"Get the book." She ordered. Without a word he exited the room. Returned with a small green hardcover notebook. He handed it to the alpha. Dropping Derek's hand, she flipped through the pages.
"You said Argent right?" Her tone was completely serious as she rummaged through the book. Derek gave confirmation and finally she settled on a page. Her eyes bulged a bit and her body tensed. "Ah fuck. Saint now." The giant wolf stepped around the male alpha and looked over his sister's shoulder.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me." He sighed in agitation.
"What?" Scott asked. The two seemed to ignore them. "What do you have about the Argents?" His tone a little more panicked.
"Only that they have a black spot." Mel sighed, tossing the book to the table. Running her hand through her hair, she tried to figure out how best to deal with this.
"What's a black spot mean?" Stiles questioned curiously.
"Something really bad." Ruby answered. The room remained silent in anticipation. Mel sighed again. Looking over at the human and wolf duo, she shook her head slightly.
"Hunters keep track of other hunters. Should they need them as allies or other reasons. There is a code system. One through five details their skill level. One being amateur, five being highly professional. They also get a color detailing how friendly they are with supernaturals. Blue means very friendly. Like my grandfather. Green means they are ok but not exactly exchanging Christmas gifts. Purple means neutral. They aren't opposed to be working with them, but they won't ever ask. Red means hostile. They refuse to work with them and tend to be merciless when hunting. And finally you have black. It means very hostile to the point of being murderous."
"Meaning?" It was Isaac's turn to prompt.
"Meaning we need a go between because we can't trust they won't try to kill us the moment we show up." Mel answered.
"That's not exactly fair." Stiles chipped in. "You know, giving a whole family a black mark for the actions of a few." Mel's pack looked at him in confusion.
"We don't." The female alpha picked up the book. Leafing through the pages to the one she had left off at. "Each person is given their own designation. This stuff is a few years old, but sadly people really don't change much. Ok, the only ones with the black mark are Kate, Gerard, and Victoria."
"What about Allison?" Scott asked hesitantly.
"Hmm. Latest received info was that she was approaching training age but hadn't been initiated yet. And it says Chris Argent is a purple with a few tendencies to fall towards red." She closed the book and looked at Derek. "I'm telling you now; I won't even consider a meeting with a black mark. If you guys think he can be trusted, I might be willing to have a talk with Chris."
"Well that won't be a problem. Seeing as how all the black marks are dead." Erica snickered.
"Oh. Well I guess that does solve the problem in a way. Looks like I need to get ahold of the others. Any clue?" Mel looked around the room.
"Allison goes to our school." Scott answered softly.
"Excellent." Mel clapped. "Saint get your laptop. We are going to the school website and Scott will tell us exactly which girl we are looking for."
Mel watched as flecks of water sprayed against the wall tile. Stared in fascination as the droplets danced their way down toward the waiting drain. But for once her mind was at peace. There was still a hurricane of thoughts swirling around, but the heaviness she had long ago grown accustomed to was gone. By pure luck and adrenaline she had managed to get her pack out of Strix territory. Delaying another inevitable battle until her side could find some sort of boost. In the middle of her hunt for them, she had figured out about the hunters. The realization had terrified her. She was good, but she wasn't that good. There was no way to face a two sided war without heavy casualties. Especially not when she had little reconnaissance on either. Losing her father and Denver had been bad enough. Losing anymore would kill her. Literally. Had it not been for the fact she had to keep the rest of her pack going, she would have given up the moment Denver was taken. Allowing herself one more forlorn sigh, she pushed the depressing thoughts back into the dark recesses of her mind. She could mourn when this was over. When they were safe. The door to her room was open and footsteps moved across the wood floor. Moving almost without a sound. Derek. She could identify him just by the sound of his walk. The way his breathing would hitch every time something caught his interest. Even by the way the slight electricity in the air cackled when he entered a room. It still seemed so strange she could identify someone she had only known a few weeks that easily. It had taken a year of living with Denver before they had reached this level.
Once again the image of her lost brother forced its way into her mind. When her father died, Denver had stepped into the role as best he could. Tried to help with that carefree smile and gentleness that no one would ever be able to match. Watched over her at the worst times in her life. And now that role had been taken by a man she had barely met. The mere idea made her snort in laughter. It was kind of ridiculous. Derek was being put in the same light as the boy she grew up with. Not that he was a bad mate. Was a bit too aggressive on occasion, and wasn't even a tenth of the sweetheart Denver had been. Yet there was just something that made him comfortable. Besides that, he definitely had advantages over the beta. He was years of experience above either of them. So much knowledge rattling around in his head. Skills honed far above her pay grade.
Her breath caught as she realized why he settled into the vacant spot so easily. Easier than Saint had even been able to. They both took care of her the way she needed it. Though her mate had one more clear advantage. Derek was able to mentor her the way her father had done. Stood in the shadows as she tried to lead, stepping into the light when she needed. Denver had been younger than her. A guaranteed beta. Their entire life it was understood what station he occupied. SO he really just never learned to lead. Despite how caring and protective he was, the boy would never have been able to take the reins when she got overwhelmed. A role Derek had been able to step into fairly easily. Another long sigh and she forced the memories away once more. She couldn't afford to dwell on those. Shutting off the water, she stepped out of the tub. Wrapping a towel tightly around her as the door to the bathroom opened.
"Mind if I take a shower now?" Derek's head peaked through the partly opened door. She nodded, averting her eyes when he walked into the room. The guy was too comfortable being naked. He hopped in the shower and she went about her usual nighttime routine. As they went about their tasks, he filled her in on the story of the Argent family. How two of the black marks were dead, one was missing, and how the remaining two had relented their genocidal war near the end.