CHAPTER TWO

I had been out for a run in the woods when I met Laura Hale. I had known wasn't very far from the Hale house, but I didn't think much of it those days. Then, suddenly, there she'd been. Laura Hale standing on the trail ahead of me. From what I could remember about her mother she took after her. Laura had this effortless beauty about her. Mostly I remembered her eyes, she had a very severe gaze though not at all unfriendly. She stood with her hands in the pockets of her jacket and didn't react very much as I slowed to a stop a few feet away. I knew she was a werewolf, which meant she probably had a reason for making her presence known.

"You look like your mom," She broke the silence.

I gave a half-hearted laugh, "So do you, Laura."

Laura smiled at me then and relaxed her stance, "So, you stuck around this town, that surprises me."

"This is where my only family lives," I paused, suddenly not sure if she had heard, "My mom was in a car crash..."

"I heard," Laura reply grimly, "I'm sorry. My mom always spoke really highly of her."

Then she turned and started walking through the trees and I moved to fall into step beside her. Somehow I knew that she wanted me to follow, "My mom felt the same about Talia. Even though I know we didn't come around very often in the end."

"Hey, I get it, families and what not. Not to mention your witch stuff and our wolf stuff." She joked lightly, "It's hard to make time."

I laughed in agreement, Laura wasn't what I would have expected. I guess I still expected her to be grief stricken from what happened. She did have a haunted quality to her, which was most likely guilt hanging around. I understood that, but she seemed hopeful and alive. "How is your brother, uh, Derek?"

Laura definitely brightened up at that, "He's my little brother, so, a pain in the ass." She quipped before answering more seriously, "I worry about him, he was really... affected by what happened. He can't seem to move on at all."

"I don't remember much about him, to be honest." I looked up and we broke through the trees and before us stood the Hale house. It felt like a dead thing, as if it had once been alive but now all that was left from a decomposing set of bones in the forest. I shivered at the sight of it, I hadn't been this close in years, and I had no desire to get much closer.

Laura looked up at the house with an odd expression, as if she were searching for something in the charred remains. When she spoke again she sounded distant, "He was a good kid, his teenage years were rough but..." She laughed seeming to come back to the present as she spoke, "I always expected Derek to be quite the romantic really. Now he... closes himself off. He tries to act untouchable, tough and angry. I know there's still that kid in there though, I just hope he doesn't lose that completely."

"What do you remember, about the day it happened?" She asked, nodding toward the house.

I had spent years trying to piece that day together, but unfortunately it was limited. All of the doctors said this was normal with the sort of trauma I had gone through, and while I was so young. I honestly didn't even remember why or when we had driven to Beacon Hills, I didn't remember the crash either. Maybe that was better. "Honestly, nothing. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing really." I turned back to the house, the windows were dark and eery as if they were watching us, "Why are you here, Laura?"

"I'm looking for something."

"What?"

Laura looked at me, "I heard our moms talking once. Yours was saying that a witch, someone with the Sight had told her that our families had an entwined destiny. Good or bad we would always be connected, she wasn't sure of the reason." Laura seemed to be trying to work something out as she spoke, "I think I can feel that. I don't really know you, but I trust you. I think that we could be friends, allies, like our moms were."

"I can see that," I could feel that too, it was odd how instantly I felt drawn to her.

Laura smiled, "I need to figure some things out, but would it be okay if I called you in a few days? I think there are things we need to discuss."

I had given her my phone number then we had parted ways in the trees, and that is the last time I would see Laura Hale alive.

...

When Selena said she would come watch the lacrosse practice with me I became immediately anxious. I still hadn't told them about Scott, but if she saw him on the field she may realize that something was off. She might remember that he wasn't anywhere near as good at the sport. It turned out that I shouldn't have been worried at all. As soon as we took our seats at the top of the bleachers she immediately pulled out a bottle of nail polish and started fixing the chips in manicure. Selena must have come just to keep me company, and clearly had no interest in paying any attention at all to the practice itself. As long as Scott didn't shift on the field in front of everyone she wouldn't notice anything was amiss.

I had shared everything Eva had told me about the creature and Derek Hale. It was a dilemma I didn't mind having someone to talk over with. In fact, she had been quite helpful. Selena had reached out to members of the coven and found out that Allison's father was Chris Argent, he appeared to be calling the shots and he favored a crossbow. That was useful information, and I was certain that I had heard my mother talk about Chris Argent before. Selena had been less helpful when discussing the matter of Derek.

"So, is he hot?" Selena asked, blowing on her thumb nail to help it dry.

I frowned and glanced at her, the players were all lining up now to get started, "Who?"

"Derek Hale," Selena rolled her eyes, as if this was supposed to be obvious, "I'm picturing him as hot."

"I guess," I was actually pretty certain that he was attractive, but that wasn't exactly an important detail, "Probably less so when he grows claws and mutton chops."

She laughed at this, "The mutton chops aren't very sexy, but I've always wanted to date a werewolf. Seems like it would be exciting."

"Exciting is a word for it I guess," I laughed slightly and cast a glance at my own unpolished nails, suddenly wondering if I should put more effort into them, "Not that I would know."

Selena glanced up at me, "So, no word from Declan?"

"I'm still giving him his space," I started to dig in my bag for a hair tie, it wasn't hot out but the sun was beating down and making it seem much warmer than it actually was.

"He'll probably get over that when Eva tells the coven everything she's seen," Selena noted, "Anyway, have you decided what you're going to do about Derek."

"Well, I know that I'm less concerned with how hot he is and more concerned with the level of his killer instinct." I didn't mention that I had no idea how exactly I was going to gauge that.

"So, have you gleaned anything from him that might hint to that?"

I had been thinking about that quite a bit. He had helped save Scott the other night, and he made sure that Allison had been safe too. He didn't have to do that, and the gesture of keeping an Argent safe was interesting. Although he could have just saved Scott as a way of keeping his own secret. Or to use him for or against the alpha. He may have kept Allison safe to keep from drawing attention from the Argents. I couldn't say any of this without giving Scott's secret away so I just said, "It could honestly go either way, but in my brief interactions with him so far I didn't feel anything terribly hostile."

"So, you don't think he's going to go all murder wolf?" Selena asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but at the moment I'm leaning towards 'no'." I grimaced when Scott took a hard hit from Jackson that left him in the grass.

I was suddenly alert, if Scott was too agitated from the hit then continuing to play against Jackson could turn very bad very quickly. Selena was still intent on her nails, not paying any attention to the field. I leaned forward, ready to bolt off of the stands at the first sign of trouble. I would have to get Scott off the field if he started to turn, isolate him from any witnesses. He had returned to his human form on the full moon when he had been struck with the arrow, perhaps pain could have that affect. Too bad I didn't have a crossbow handy.

Scott hit Jackson hard this time and fell to his knees next to the injured player. The coach and the other players rushed over to gather around Jackson, who was clutching his shoulder in pain. Stiles was the only one who ran to Scott and after a moment he pulled him to his feet and they started across the field toward the school.

"I think Scott's hurt, I need to go check on him." I told Selena quickly and climbed down the bleachers before she could respond.

I glanced at the group huddled around Jackson as I walked quickly away from the stands. I was trying to get an idea of how badly he had been wounded, fortunately no one else seemed to be in any hurry to go after Scott. Someone standing by to the side of the bleachers caught my eye. Derek hale was standing off to the side and slightly behind the bleachers, only a few feet away from where Selena still perched. Clearly he had come to keep an eye on Scott, but had he been listening to us also? He could easily have heard our conversation clear as day.

I shook my head and just hurried away toward the school, I didn't have time to worry about that right now. If Scott was shifting then someone had to be there to keep him from ripping Stiles to shreds. I pushed through the doors into the quiet hallway and started toward the boys' locker room. That was the only place I could imagine they would go. It was quiet, I couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. When I got to the doorway to the locker room I found it ajar with a fire extinguisher discarded in the threshold. I looked inside and saw Stiles and Scott sitting on a bench, both looking unscathed and mercifully human.

"Hey, Scott, are you okay?" I asked and they both looked up almost guiltily.

"Yeah, is Jackson all right?" Scott started to stand.

"I'm not sure, he was hurt. I came to check on you first." I moved to step around the fire extinguisher, eyeing it curiously.

Stiles hurried to pick up the extinguisher and put it back on the wall, "I knocked this over... clumsy."

I raised an eyebrow at the explanation and then turned back to Scott who shrugged, "I just felt sort of light headed. I'm fine now," he insisted.

That seemed to be the only explanation I was going to get. Clearly it had been a close call, whatever had happened in the locker room could easily have turned deadly. On the drive home I worried all the way about whether or not I should tell them about me. At the same time I knew I wouldn't be much help to them. Or at least I wouldn't be the help that Scott really needed. I had no idea how werewolves learned to control the shift, the most I could do would be to knock Scott around with magic when he lost control. I didn't think that would be particularly comforting or helpful to him. I also really wasn't prepared for their reaction, I would either be bombarded with stupid questions or their heads would explode. Neither of those options was particularly appealing.

When I asked Stiles about the upcoming lacrosse game he said that Scott was going to try to get out of playing. That seemed unlikely considering that Jackson's shoulder had been separated at practice. I had a feeling that the coach and several other people were going to try to convince him otherwise. I was, on the other hand, was relieved. That would be one less thing to worry about. Until Scott learned more control he didn't need to be out there playing such an aggressive game. It was just asking for trouble. Though at this point I doubted he needed to go looking for trouble, it seemed to be finding him well enough on its own.

The next day at school we found out about the curfew, though nobody seemed to care either way. I had a feeling it would do very little to prevent people from wandering around at night, courting danger. I spent my lunch period with Selena, discussing everything she had found out about the Argents. There wasn't much to learn, it was mostly just something to occupy ourselves with until bigger problems presented themselves. It didn't help jog my memory about what my mom had said about them. she had mentioned Chris Argent, not to me directly but in a conversation with Eva. She had said he was an honorable man, that he stood by the code. I had learned recently that the code was likely referring to their rules against killing innocent or young werewolves. That was comforting, but I felt like those lines might be blurred if he found out that a werewolf was making out with his daughter.

That night I found that I had the house to myself, the Sheriff was at work and Stiles was probably out with Scott trying to wrap their heads around the whole werewolf thing. So, I spent the night making spells, I had always crafted small protection charms for Stiles and my uncle. They weren't fool proof by any stretch, but they would help keep them safe. With everything going on it was time to revamp those spells and beef them up a bit. I would have liked to have gone to Selena and have her make them, she was much better at hand crafted spells than I was. That might make her suspicious about Scott, however, so I couldn't risk it. I finished tying the last little bag and sighed, this felt a lot less effective then my usual magic. I knew the spells would help, but I was more accustomed to my more tangible power. I had made one for Scott too, but I wasn't sure how I was going to get it into his room. For now I just went and tucked the spells for Stiles and the Sheriff under their beds, tucked between the box spring and the bed frames.

When that was done I went to bed, hoping to have some clarifying vision that would hint at what was to come, or perhaps at what had happened to Laura. When I got up the next morning I learned from Stiles over my oatmeal that he and Scott had stumbled across a body at the Hale house, and that the police were going to investigate today. I kept my face blank during all of this and when he rambled up the stairs I sighed. Of course those idiots had gone out and searched for the body again. I really needed to start keeping better track of Stiles. Then I had to think about the body.

If it was Laura it would explain why Derek had hidden it, I sensed he had a distinct distrust for the police. Then again it could mean that he was actually a killer, which I hadn't sensed, and the possibility made me feel like an idiot. I had to get answers for myself. I had total faith in the Sheriff's department, however they were really only working the problem with less then half the information. For them it would be like looking for a clue of a particular color while they could only see in black and white. Without any knowledge of the supernatural realm they wouldn't make much progress.

After Stiles left to meet up with Scott I decided I needed to go up to the Hale house, if it was Laura I had to know sooner rather than later. I dressed quickly and got in my car to drive to the Hale house, and the sight didn't disappoint. The place was littered with police cars and people in uniform. There was a section of dirt to the side of the house that had been roped off with bright yellow caution tape and a gurney with a black body bag was being hoisted into the back of a coroner's van. I bit my lip and turned off my car engine. I took a deep breath and got out in time to see Derek Hale being led in handcuffs to be placed in the back of a cruiser. I had to hand it to him, he had one hell of a poker face. If werewolfery didn't pan out he had a career playing cards professionally, or modeling in particularly brooding ads for leather jackets.

Of course Stiles and Scott were here, to watch the events they had set in motion with their late night grave digging. Scott was standing by the hood of Stiles' jeep, watching it all seriously. Maybe it was time to tell him everything, and find out what he knew. I doubted it was much, but clearly he had felt the need to go searching for the body. He also clearly didn't trust Derek or else he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to incriminate him. I was about to go over when Scott's expression suddenly changed. I followed the direction he was looking and saw Stiles getting into the front of the cruiser that Derek Hale was currently locked in.

"Morons..." I rolled my eyes impatiently and then looked down. A fleck of color had caught my eye, near my feet there was a little purple petal. I knelt to pick it up and drew in a sharp breath, wolfsbane. I looked over at the dirt where the body had been recovered and spotted a few more flecks of purple on the ground. For whatever reason Derek had used it to bury the body, which meant that Stiles and Scott had come across it. My guess was that Stiles had been the one to handle it, and I doubted they would have left it for the police to find. What had they done with it? I shook my head in frustration.

I was getting really tired of stumbling up on the messes the boys were leaving. I couldn't imagine a more inept pair, they were like the pointless members of the Mystery Gang. I strode quickly to the police car and glanced around to make sure no one was watching before I opened the drivers side door and got in, closing it behind me. Stiles and Derek both looked at me in surprise, but I didn't care. I was too irritated, this was all too reckless. I had to make sure that Scott didn't get anywhere near that wolfsbane. So far they had been lucky, any slip of that luck and Stiles would be dog chow.

"Stiles, where's the wolfsbane?" I asked simply.

He blinked at me, "Uh..." I could tell he was about to say something snarky and decidedly not helpful so I thumped him on the forehead, "Ow! Did you just thump me?!"

"Yes, and it was extremely satisfying. Now, where's the wolfsbane?" I held up the petal for him to see.

Stiles blinked at it dumbly for a moment and then shook his head as if jumpstarting his brain again "Wait, what do you know about wolfs- Ow!" He jerked back when I thumped him again and rubbed the spot on his forehead, "Stop that!"

"Stiles, you have to keep it away from..." I cut off when the passenger side door opened and the Sheriff pulled Stiles out by the back of his jacket. Then he leaned down and looked at me.

"Out of the car." Sheriff ordered simply.

"Yep." I nodded and got out, closing the door behind me, I moved to join the two of them a little ways away.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" He asked simply, the question aimed at both of us.

"I was thumping Stiles on the head." I answered honestly.

"I was just trying to help!" Stiles answered defensively.

"Uh huh," Sheriff sighed, "Okay, well why don't you help me understand exactly how you came across this?"

"We were looking for Scott's inhaler," Stiles started confidently, but I already saw where this was about to backfire.

"Which he dropped when?" the Sheriff asked.

To which Stiles responded as if it were obvious, "The other night."

"The other night when you were out here looking for the first half of the body?"

"Yes!" I was staring at my cousin now, trying to figure out how he didn't realize what was happening. He could be really stupid sometimes.

"The night that you told me you were alone, and Scott was at home?"

"Yes!" Stiles agreed enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes and had the sudden urge to thump him again. I nodded when I saw the realization hit him and he changed his answer, "No... oh! Crap."

The Sheriff was looking pretty satisfied, "So you lied to me."

"That depends on how you define lying," Stiles reasoned and I raised an eyebrow, that was impressively bold.

"Well, I define it as not telling the truth. How do you define it?" The Sheriff countered.

"Reclining your body, in a horizontal position?" Stiles even mimed it and I had a new urge to slap my palm against my forehead. I loved my cousin like a brother, but he was a ridiculous human being.

The Sheriff looked at him for a moment as if coming to a similar conclusion and then turned to me, "Thump him again."

I was all too happy to oblige, "Ow! That hurts, you have abnormally bony fingers."

"Elise, please tell me you didn't have anything to do with all of this." Sheriff asked me tiredly.

I shook my head, "This is all way too half baked for anything I would be involved with."

Sheriff seemed to think about that for a moment, "I believe that, and I'm not sure if that should be make concerned or comforted."

"I would say probably both," Stiles offered, "Like, fifty fifty."

"Get the hell out of here," The Sheriff said simply and Stiles nodded, moving toward his Jeep.

I lingered and then decided just to say it, like pulling off a band aid, "Sheriff, listen, I came here because I might know who the victim is."

"Why would you know that?"

"Because someone that I knew is missing," I sighed and glanced toward the coroners van, "She was female, in her late twenties, the time line matches."

"You're going to have to give me something more than that to go no Elise."

I nodded, "I think it's Laura Hale. Look, just let me see her, if I'm right then it will save you a lot of time trying to identify her. I need to know."

He seemed to think about it but started to shake his head, "I don't think I should."

"Sheriff, don't worry about me. I can handle it, I need to know if it's her. I've been wondering about it ever since I heard about the body being found." I continued quickly he was desperate to know and I needed to convince him before he remembered that he was my guardian, "I've had this horrible feeling ever since I didn't hear from her when she said she would contact me again. Please, let me help you."

He let out a long and tired sigh, "You're just like your mother, and your aunt. Stubborn."

I nodded and watched him think it over for a moment before nodding and he motioned me to follow him to the coroners van, he waved the coroner away and opened the rear hatch. I swallowed but tried to look determined as I stepped up into the van. It smelled of decay, but that was to be expected. I sat down on the little bench next to the gurney and looked at the body bag for a long moment, steeling myself. I was a little alarmed at how it reminded me of a trash bag, and I had to push that though away quickly. I knew I had to be fast, if I gave the Sheriff too much time he might reconsider. He climbed in and sat across from me, he reached up to grip the top of the bag with one hand and the zipper with the other.

He seemed to have a moment of hesitation, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," I nodded, putting as much confidence into my voice and expression as I could muster. I watched as he slowly unzipped the top portion, he paused for a moment before he folded the bag open enough for me to see her face.

I leaned forward and saw Laura's green and lifeless eyes staring back at me. I let out the breath I had been holding and nodded, "It's her. It's Laura."

My hands were shaking as I gripped the side of the van to climb down, I heard the bag being zipped up again behind me and it seemed like a very harsh sound. I almost wanted to turn around and ask him to leave it open, not to close her up in that bag. I was cold again, that unnerving internal chill. Stood just outside the window of the cruiser Derek was sitting in, she was blocking him from view. Again she just stared at me, dirt smearing on her ashen skin and leaves clinging to her tangled hair. I saw her for only half a second I blinked and she was gone, I was left staring directly into the very similar eyes of Derek Hale.

The vision hit me like a ton of bricks as stepped down from the van. One moment I was caught in Derek's intense gaze and then the next moment everything went black. I didn't see Laura's death, but I felt it. I felt claws tearing into her flesh, my flesh, it was all the same. I felt the terror, the excruciating pain, and a feeling of utter betrayal and disbelief. I heard a scream, and I wasn't sure if it was Laura or myself.

"Elise? Can you hear me?"

I opened my eyes to see my uncle standing over me where I was laid out in the dirt on my back and I nodded, "Yes, I'm fine."

He helped me up, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just skipped breakfast," I insisted and started to brush the dirt and leaves off of my jeans.

He didn't seem entirely convinced but he shook his head, "So, you knew the victim?"

"Not very well, our moms were friends. I met her once or twice when I was younger, but I don't remember much about it," I sighed, "We ran into each other a few weeks ago. We talked a little, exchanged stories of our moms. She said she would call me the next day to talk more, but she never did." I glanced back at the van, "Now I know why."

He nodded grimly, "You'll need to come down to the station and give a statement."

"That's fine." I pulled a dead leaf from my hair and let the wind snatch it from my fingertips.

He looked at me and must have decided that I was still too unwell to drive, "Smith! Drive Elise down to the station please."

A young Deputy hurried over, "Yes, sir of course."

"Sheriff, I'm fine, I was just a little light headed." Thanks, Scott, for that excuse.

"You're not driving until you've eaten and I'm convinced you're feeling better, give Deputy Smith your keys."

I raised my hands in surrender and pulled my car keys out of my bag, handing them over the Deputy who seemed all too eager to take on the task, "It will be a pleasure to drive you ma'am. You're a lot prettier than the criminals we usually drive around."

The Deputy took a moment to look mortified about what he had just said and the Sheriff just shook his head and started away. I gave the Deputy an awkward smile hoping to reassure him that he shouldn't be embarrassed. Deputy Smith was always overly accommodating toward me, I chalked it up to wanting to the fact that I was the mayor's niece more than anything. He was also only a few years older. He may have had a little crush, but it was nothing. He walked me to the car and opened the passenger door for me to get in, I thanked him and leaned back in the seat. I could feel the gaze of Derek Hale on me well until we were out of sight. I had no doubt he had heard everything, and likely had some questions that he would expect me to answer.

I gave my statement at the station, leaving out all of the supernatural elements of course. I was done at the station in time to head to the lacrosse game. Clearly Scott had changed his mind about playing, he was certainly on the field when I got there and got a seat next to my uncle. I vaguely wondered if maybe that was why he had been so eager to get Derek arrested. Derek had seen him lose control at practice, he probably had tried to stop Scott from playing the game. I tried to cheer with the crowd, but my mind was elsewhere. I had been preparing myself to find out that the body was Laura since the moment I heard about it, but it was still sobering. It made everything that Eva had said all the more real. Up until the moment I looked into that body bag it had all seemed like a distant problem, something abstract.

My anxiety was about more than Scott as I watched the game play out, he didn't score anything for the first part of the game. He did, however, secure a victory for Beacon Hills. I lost sight of him when everyone came streaming down from the bleachers in a blur of celebratory faces and shouting. My uncle's phone was ringing and he moved to answer it so I hopped down from the bleachers and went to sit next to Stiles on the bench.

"Scott did pretty great." I noted to him.

"Yeah..." He agreed and then looked at me, "What do you know about wolfsbane?"

"What do you know about wolfsbane?" I countered and we stared at each other for a moment before he broke the gaze first. That's when he noticed that the Sheriff seemed less than thrilled about the conversation he was having on the phone.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Stiles stood up and we both went over.

Sheriff hung up and sighed, "Derek Hale has been released from custody."

"What? Why?" Stiles demanded, standing from the bench quickly.

"The autopsy came back and it was determined that the victim, Laura Hale, was killed by some sort of animal." He met my eyes when he said her name, "Derek's not an animal the last time we checked."

"Laura... Hale?" Stiles seemed to be trying to wrap his brain around that connection.

"Yeah, Stiles, the victim was Derek's sister." The Sheriff noted grimly, "You two go celebrate winning the game. Try not to worry too much."

Stiles nodded absently and turned to go to the school quickly. I just went back to my car, I wasn't in a very celebratory mood. I sat in my car for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. I needed to talk to Derek at some point, I needed to figure out what to do about Stiles and Scott, I needed to figure out what do to do about the Argents, and I needed to figure out what to do about the big bad alpha that was out there somewhere. So far it hadn't killed again, but I couldn't hope for that to continue for much longer. I had developed quite the laundry list of daunting tasks. I had gotten out of telling Scott and Stiles about me for now, but I would have to eventually. Honestly, part of the reason I didn't want to tell them was because I didn't want to face the fact that I knew little more than they did about what was going on. I need to get my own mind around some things before I had to face their questions. I needed to talk at least some of these problems over with someone, so I started my car and drove toward Eva's.

...

"I think the alpha has killed again," I closed my locker quickly.

Selena lowered her voice and glanced at the students milling around us, "What do you mean?"

"Last night, I dreamed it, sort of." I shuddered at the memory, "I could feel its claws tearing into flesh. My flesh, but not me, someone else."

"Right..." Selena shook her head seriously, "No idea who?"

"Not a clue."

Selena was about to say something else when the principal spoke out over the loud speaker to make an announcement. Something about an incident on one of the buses. Selena and I exchanged a meaningful look and then hurried down the hall to the closest window that would afford us a glimpse at where the buses were parked. We pressed up to the glass and peered out, the emergency exit door at the rear of one of the buses had been pried open. It was warped and dented beyond any hope of repair. Inside the bus we could see blood, slashed seats, and even where a seat had been pried up from the floor.

"The alpha?" Selena asked in a low voice.

"Definitely," I breathed and then thought about Scott, as much as I didn't want to believe that Scott would be capable of something like that. He had been bitten by the alpha, I knew from my research that he could be called out against his will. My instincts told me that he hadn't killed anyone, I just hoped that was the Sight and not my own personal bias to think Scott incapable of something like that.

Selena was the one who found out that they found the victim alive, he had been a bus driver. We pulled up the news story on her phone at lunch, I didn't recognize him. I guess I had never ridden on his bus. It was just a relief that he hadn't been killed, but I was wondering if this was a random attack or something more targeted. As horrible as it was, I hadn't been left with many clues to follow. This might give me a chance to get closer to what was going on around here. What was motivating the alpha? If this wasn't a random attack then this latest victim could be the key.

"Do you think Derek had anything to do with this?" Selena asked.

I shook my head, "I don't think so. I think he's hunting the alpha too, I mean, the alpha killed his sister."

"True." Selena nodded, "Unless it was Derek that killed his sister to become the alpha. Grandma did say that he was tormented."

"No, I can't be sure, but I think he's still a beta." I untwisted the cap off of my juice.

Selena shook her head, "Maybe the Argents know something."

"I doubt it, if they did they would have made a move by now," I took a drink.

"Good point, have you remembered what your mom said about the Argents?" She was still looking over the story on her phone as she spoke.

I nodded, "Yeah, I remembered my mom saying that Chris Argent followed the code."

"Meaning their code against not killing werewolves that are too young or innocent." Selena tapped her nails on the table absently as she thought, "Well, that's good. I guess. He's a possible ally."

I shrugged helplessly, "Has your grandma heard anymore about the coven setting up a meeting?"

"No, but they want to do it soon, so you're going to have to figure out for sure where you stand on Derek Hale." Selena answered, "You know how they are, they probably won't intervene with the alpha since they don't know who it is. That doesn't mean they won't decide to do something about Derek if they think he's a risk."

"I know, I know... I'm working on that." I glanced absently to the table where Stiles and Scott were, "I need to try and talk to the victim from last night. That takes priority for now."

Selena nodded and then reached over, gripping my arm, "Be careful. All of this is... getting pretty heavy."

I sighed and nodded, "You're not kidding."

...

"Then he said the words, 'I'm a great bowler' and I almost died of second hand embarrassment." Stiles finished telling me the story of Scott's date plan fiasco.

"I know the feeling," I noted pointedly and he rolled his eyes at me, "So, I take it Scott is a terrible bowler?"

"Yep, it's going to be a train wreck. I'm just sad I won't be there to witness it tonight." Stiles shook his head regretfully.

"Maybe it won't be too bad," I shrugged and then got up, "I have to go. Selena and I made plans to hang out tonight."

"What about the curfew?"

I rolled my eyes at him, "Oh please, you go out and dig up bodies after curfew."

"Excellent point," He agreed and turned back to his computer.

It was chilly out and I wished I had gotten a thicker jacket, but I just got in my car and turned the heat on. Eva had said that the alpha was motivated by something, that seemed like he wouldn't be killing at random. Clearly he had killed Laura so that he could become the alpha, but why would he attack this seemingly random guy? It didn't make sense, there had to be a reason. I just hoped that the victim knew what this reason was, because otherwise I was no closer to figuring out what was going on. That's why I was on my way to the hospital, I wanted to go now when there would be less people around to see me sneak in to talk to him. I frowned when my 'check engine' light came on and the car made a strange groaning sound. The engine sputtered into silence as I pulled off onto the side of the road.

"You have got to be kidding me," I started digging around in my bag for my cell phone, I would call Stiles or the Sheriff and they would come pick me up. My interview with the victim would have to wait. My cell phone wasn't there. I leaned back and tried to think back to the last time I remembered having it, I had plugged it up in my room to charge... and then never gotten it again.

"Super," I sighed, "You're really on top of it, Elise, good job."

I got out and locked my useless car, there was a gas station less than a mile ahead. They would probably have a phone I could use, I shoved my cold hands into my pockets and trudged along. A car passed on the road but didn't notice me or did and decided not to stop. I couldn't really blame them with people being attacked all over town by a mysterious wild animal. As I walked I became significantly more uneasy, and I had a sense that I was being watched. I paused shivered as I glanced around, there weren't many lights around so any number of things could be hiding in the darkness. The cold feeling in my bones wasn't entirely from the chill in the air, it was a warning.

Something in the trees to my right moved in the darkness and I heard the sound of rustling leaves. It sounded like it was something huge moving around in the forest. My body was telling me to run, and I was only too happy to oblige. I turned and broke into a sprint toward the lights in the distance. If I was being followed I couldn't tell, I couldn't hear over the sound of my heart beating wildly. I knew better than to stop or look back, that was the mistake of almost everyone killed in a horror movie ever. The sense of danger was there though, following me, so I had a feeling I was being pursued after all.

Suddenly I burst out of the darkness and into the fluorescent lighting of the gas station. I slowed to a stop as the feeling of danger faded and I turned to look over my should back into the shadows. When I turned back around I was met with an interesting sight. Derek Hale was at the gas pump, standing next to his car and there were two SUVs blocking his path both in front and behind. I came up behind his car and eyed the two men in the SUV closest to me. I recognized them from the forest as hunters, the driver of the other SUV stood in front of Derek's car. He was Chris Argent, Allison's father, and the hunter that had shot Scott with a crossbow.

"Are you okay?" One of the hunters near me asked after getting over the surprise of my abrupt entrance.

I looked up in surprise, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You were running," Chris Argent interjected, he was looking at me intently, he recognized me. This meant he had definitely known my mother.

"Well, you know, it's faster than walking," I answered, "I think it should be acceptable to sprint everywhere, much more efficient." I noted lightly and started to move around Derek's car, eyeing the shattered driver's side window.

I could almost feel the hunters behind me tensing as they watched me take note of it, I just looked up and gave a pointed smile, "Oh, I'm sure the rain did it." I frowned thoughtfully, "Probably the same rain that gave me car trouble."

I was such an idiot, I should have expected the Argents to want to question me in some way. There was probably some device on my car, set to kill the engine after a certain distance had been travelled. It would make for a perfect opportunity for the father of one of my fellow students to show up and save the day, while trying to figure out what I knew. I should have expected this from the moment I gave my statement and identified Laura Hale.

Chris Argent decided to ignore the comment about the rain and my car, "You look very familiar, have we met?"

"I believe I go to school with your daughter, but I don't think we've met. I just have one of those faces... my mom's face actually." I noted and then made a decision to cut through all this cryptic nonsense, "I think you did know my mother. Madeline Blanchett?"

"Ah yes, Madeline, I was sorry to hear that she passed," Chris nodded seeming a little surprised at my frankness, "You do bear a striking resemblance."

I let out an impatient breath, "It's cold out, you might as well just ask me whatever you want to know now. Unless you want to give the whole broken down car ruse another go tomorrow?"

He gave me a surprised look and then laughed, "You're more like her than just in appearance," he noted, "Well, you can understand why I would be concerned. You go to school with my daughter and you knew a victim of a violent crime."

"Everything I know is in the police report, which I'm sure you already have a copy of," I moved to kick a piece of glass away from me with the toe of my boot, "Anything I left out is information that I'm sure you can fill in for yourself."

Chris Argent watched me for a moment as if deciding if I was lying or not. He seemed to decide that I wasn't, "Here, let me give you a ride back to your car. I can take a look under the hood and see if I can help. You shouldn't be out by yourself."

"No thanks, I can find my own ride." I smiled, "But I do expect my car will be working when I get back to it."

Chris looked at Derek uneasily and then back at me, but he must have seen that I was determined, "If you're sure."

"I can take care of myself," I assured him and then paused, "My mom once told me that Chris Argent is a man with a code. A man of honor." I let that sink in for a moment, "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

He smiled and then nodded at the other two hunters before going to get back into his car. The others got back into theirs and I moved around to the back of Derek's car to get out of their way as they pulled out of the gas station parking lot. Chris Argent turned his car to go back the way I had come, no doubt to take whatever device off of my car that he had put there earlier. I watched them go and then turned to Derek who had watched the exchange with some interest.

He would drive a Camaro, I thought to myself and then just held up my thumb like a hitch hiker, "So, are you going my way?"

He raised an eyebrow and just opened the passenger door for me, "I can drive you back to your car."

"That's all right, we can just ride to the hospital together," I noted and moved to get in, pausing at the door, "Maybe I can answer some of those burning questions you have."

Derek closed the door behind me and came around, he brushed some of the glass off of his seat before getting in and starting the car. He pulled out of the gas station parking lot and started toward the hospital and for a few minutes we drove in silence. My earlier confidence was waning, I had felt pretty clever and composed a moment ago. Now that I was here I wasn't sure how to begin, then it occurred to me that we hadn't actually met each other.

"I'm Elise, by the way," I introduced and he nodded curtly without looking away from the road.

"I remember your mom," He said simply, "I thought you were older, that you would have graduated by now."

"I'm nineteen, I spent a little too much time recovering from the accident so I had to repeat a year." I explained, it was an explanation I had given often, "What do you really want to know?"

"You saw Laura before she died."

It wasn't a question but I treated it like one, "Yes, we ran into each other a few weeks ago. We recognized each other, and spoke a little. Nothing really important."

"Did she tell you why she was here?"

"No, she hinted at it, towards the end of our conversation. She said she was looking for something," I shook my head, wishing I had pressed for more information from her when I had the chance, "She said she wanted to talk to me more about something, something important, but she never got in touch with me again."

"Why did she want to talk to you about it?" Derek asked simply, he definitely didn't mince words.

"She said that her mom told her that our families were sort of, bound, that we have a shared destiny." I looked out the window into the darkness, "Laura said she never thought much about it until she found out that our mothers died on the same day. She asked me about that day, but I didn't remember much then."

Derek was silent for a moment, mulling this over, "You remember more now?"

"Yes, bits and pieces have been coming back ever since I ran into Laura," I noted, it still wasn't much, "About a month before the fire my mom bought a loft here and said we were going to move back. She told me that she just felt like we needed to be in Beacon Hills. A week before we were scheduled to actually move she woke me up in the middle of the night and had me pack an overnight bag. She said we had to get to Beacon Hills right away."

I paused, remembering the drowsy trip to the car and the first few hours of driving when I had tried to sleep, "I asked her on the drive why we were in such a hurry. My mom told me that she had to stop something terrible from happening." Derek's fingers tightened on the steering wheel for a moment, "I don't remember much after that, but I know the timeline. We arrived in Beacon Hills that morning, we stopped at the gas station. The very gas station we were just at, actually. We filled the tank and got some snacks and then we got back into the car and drove in the direction of the Hale house. Five minutes later the brakes failed and the car flipped six times into a ditch. Then that night your house burned down with most of your family inside."

Derek nodded slowly, "Then it wasn't a coincidence, the car accident being on the same day as the fire."

"No, I don't think so. I don't think Laura thought so either." I rubbed my hands together, the cold wind coming through his broken window was getting to me.

Derek didn't say anything, he just reached over and turned the heat up, "You were going to see the guy that was attacked to night too."

It wasn't a question but I answered anyway, "Yes, if it wasn't a random attack then maybe he knows why he was targeted."

"So, I take it Scott and Stiles don't know what you are."

"No, not yet anyway. I'll have to tell them eventually, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I looked at him, "I'm worried that werewolves and witches might actually cause them to have a full blown mental meltdown."

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't actually smile as he parked the car at the hospital, "Let's hope this guy is in a sharing mood."

Derek paused near a nurses station, "Do you know what room he's in?"

"No... hold on," I closed my eyes and felt for the gentle tugging on my mind to guide me, "Let's try this way."

If Derek was wondering what I was doing he didn't say anything, he just followed me in silence. The key to not getting stopped by someone is to act like you exactly where you're going, so I made sure I walked with purpose down the halls. Several of the staff went past but didn't give us a second look. I stopped at a closed door and glanced at Derek, nodding to indicate that this was it. He went in first and I closed the door behind us before I followed him through a curtain. The man was hooked up to more machines then I remembered from my days in the hospital and appeared to be asleep. He was bandaged and bloodied, but still alive. I couldn't help but shake the feeling that he wasn't going to make it though. I felt death on him. I reached up to touch the man's arm, maybe I could glean something this way, but Derek caught my arm swiftly, but gently. He shook his head, never taking his eyes off the man's face, apparently he could sense something that I couldn't so I dropped my hand without protest.

"Open your eyes," Derek ordered and then more firmly, "Open your eyes." The man's eyelids flickered a moment before they opened and he stared up at the ceiling, "Look at me." Derek demanded and the man lifted his head, the small movement seeming to take quite a bit of effort, to look slowly at Derek, "What do you remember?" Derek asked impatiently.

"Hale..." The man's voice was raspy but clear and there was recognition in his eyes as he looked at Derek.

Derek looked puzzled and he glanced sideways at me before turning back to the man, "How do you know my name?"

"I'm sorry," The man said simply, swallowing heavily. Then he shifted his gaze and focused on me and there was recognition again, except this time it was more like he was looking at a ghost, "I'm so sorry."

Derek looked at me again quickly and I shook my head to indicate I didn't know how he knew us either, "How do you know us?" He asked urgently.

"I'm sorry," The man said in response and then leaned his head back, letting out a trembling breath.

I felt it happening before the machines did and I reached up, gripping Derek's arm quickly, "Derek."

The machines started beeping like crazy, indicating that something was wrong, that death was coming. Derek stood there for half a second more and then nodded, "Let's go."

We hurried out of the room and around the first corner we got to just in time to see Scott's mom go racing into the room, "She won't be able to save him." I said softly and ran a hand through my hair.

Derek nodded slowly and then looked at me, "He knew both of us, did you know him?"

"No, I had never seen him before." I folded my arms across my stomach, wracking my mind to make sure before adding with more certainty, "No."

Derek stared at me for moment as if listening for something and then nodded, "Well, he definitely knew us."

I frowned at him, "Were you just listening to my heart beat? Someone has trust issues," I snorted and glanced back toward the room anxiously, "Death is here for him, I can feel it, can we go? We can't learn anything more tonight."

He nodded and we started down the halls again quickly and went back out to the parking lot, we got back into his car in silence. He started the car but didn't start driving at first, he suddenly hit the steering wheel in frustration. I could understand, we were left with more questions then answers now. How did he know us? This seemed to indicate that this wasn't a random attack, it was all connected to what happened six years ago somehow. Eva said that the alpha had a purpose, could it be the Hale fire? If it was someone who wanted revenge for that then why kill Laura? I shook my head, this trip hadn't been very successful or enlightening. I looked out the window as Derek backed out of the spot and left the parking lot, speeding back toward where my car was on the side of the road.

"Can I trust you?" He demanded suddenly.

I blinked, feeling oddly defensive, "Can I trust you?"

Derek let out an exasperated breath, "You said our families are bound together right?"

"Yes, but that can mean many things. Our mothers were friends, but if your mom had been raging psycho-wolf murdering people it would have been a completely different sort of dynamic." I pointed out.

"You think I'm involved with the alpha?" He gave me scathing look.

"No," I shook my head, annoyance starting to fade, "I actually don't. I think you're trying to do right by your sister. I want to as well. I liked Laura, I'm sorry that she's gone and I want justice for her."

He pulled off on the side of the road behind my car, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want us to be allies, Derek," I sighed, "I'm asking you not to make yourself my enemy."

He looked at me for a long moment and then turned back to the windshield, "I'll wait and make sure that your car starts."

It would seem that I was dismissed, "Thank you."

I got out and got into my own car, the engine started up just fine. I glanced in my rearview mirror and watched Derek drive away. I sighed and pulled back onto the road to head home. Tonight had certainly left me with more questions than answers, but I had decided on one thing. When the meeting of the coven was called I would tell them that I believed Derek Hale was worth saving. Sure, he was lost and he had the potential to be dangerous, but I felt something else. There was potential there to be good, potential to be something great. If he could be saved, then I had to give him his chance to take the right path. Besides, I couldn't doom Laura's brother so easily. She had clearly loved him, and worried about him. I think that she really did believe he was more then the surly exterior. I sincerely hoped that he wouldn't prove us wrong.