Justin ended the conversation. I was a little sad to not be able to talk to him longer than that, but I ignored it. Right now, I was feeling too many emotions. Unlike Scott and Justin, I didn't feel anger to Derek, but pity. I had seen the beating he had taken, and I know that part of that was because of me. If Peter hadn't been using me, his emotions would have been removed from the situation. Instead, he had to worry about saving me.
I mindlessly went to the kitchen and made myself a bowl of cereal. I wasn't really hungry, I just wanted something to do. When I put the milk away, I grabbed the bowl and propped myself up on the counter. My stomach hurt a little as I did, but it had healed a lot over the last few days.
Suddenly, Allison came in holding something small and black in her hand. She rolled it around in her palm, her long fingers caging it in. "What's that?" I asked, pointing my spoon at her hand.
She shrugged, "I don't know. I found it in the garage when I went out to my car to look for the necklace aunt Kate gave me for my birthday." I shuddered at the cruel werewolf hunter's name. I really didn't like her. Especially after what she did to Derek. Crap, I was trying to not think about him at the moment. I still didn't want to believe he'd betrayed us.
I put my spoon in the bowl to free my hand up so I could hold it open for Allison to place the object in my hand.`I rolled it around to my fingertips, inspecting what it was. Sadly, I recognized it as something Allison wasn't ready for. "Any guesses to what it is?" She asked, her dark eyes watching me.
I knew I couldn't lie to her, but I decided to be vague. "It looks like an arrowhead to me. I think you should just put it back where you found it."
"No way! I wanna know what it does. I'm going to go shoot it. I need the practice anyway." I inwardly groaned.
"Well, I'm coming with you. When do you want to do it?" She beamed at me.
"I was thinking at noon. Ok?"
I nodded and placed my bowl in the sink. "Works for me. I'm going to go get ready."
I went up to my room to get my things when I saw Kate leaving my room. I walked over to her, pissed off as ever.
"What the hell? Why were you in my room? You had no right to be in there!" Kate tossed her head back and laughed. I clenched my teeth and had to really concentrate on not hitting her in the nose.
"Would you believe I was taking in your laundry?"
"Not if hell froze over. No." She raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows.
"Smart girl. Now, I have somethings I have to do."
She started to walk away, but I still wasn't done. "I never got an answer to my first question."
"I know," I she giggled already down the stairs. I rolled my eyes as pure anger seethed from my very core. I entered my room. Nothing appeared touched until I went to my trunk. I pulled out my knives and guns which were all now unorganized to find a note under them.
I'm watching that boy of yours. Something isn't right about him and I know it. -K
A cold feeling washed over me. I froze there, the note still in my hand. All I could think about was Justin and how I could protect him. Suddenly, Allison called for me. "I'm coming," I yelled back before placing the note in the chest again. I also snapped on my guns and knives before putting my red leather jacket over it. We were going to have to go into the woods in order to test this out, and I wasn't ok with the idea of Derek or his uncle being out there. I didn't think Derek would hurt me, but I didn't know about Allison.
I went to the garage and met her in the car. Allison was already in the driver seat and ready to go. I slid in beside her, wishing she would have just put the dang arrowhead back. Now, I had to go to the middle of the woods to protect her from vengeful werewolves and psycho hunters while she finds out on her own the secret that her family belongs to a long line of monster killers. Yeah, typical day for me.
Soft music played in the background. It wasn't the stuff I usually would listen to, but it wasn't bothering me. "So, Aideen, are you and Justin ok? I mean, you guys seemed upset with each other for a little while there."
"Well, we did fight, but we're better. I love him, Allison. I mean, we can fight sometimes and he can be a total jerk-off and I can be a prissy sometimes, but that doesn't mean we love each other less. We can fight all we want, as long as we talk it out in the end. That's what's most important."
"How do you know you love him? I mean, what if he lied to you? Would you be able to take that?"
"He has lied to me before. And he's even accused me of cheating on him once."
Allison's eyes got so huge, I was almost afraid they'd pop out. "With who? Stiles?"
"No, but it doesn't matter. He loved me enough to try to make up for it, and I love him enough that I forgave him." I laughed. I would never get with Stiles. He was just my friend.
Allison didn't say anything. I knew she had been talking about Scott. I could also tell that she still cared about him. I also knew that Scott was entirely captivated by her. He would do anything for her, and every time he lied to her was to protect her. He was trying to be selfless, but understandably, she didn't see it.
We pulled into a little area in the woods where no one would bother us. I knew we would need to walk a little ways before she would be able to shoot. I could feel the metal of my knives pressing on my skin. It was a comfort to have them on me. We made a short hike through the woods after Allison got her compound bow from the trunk. The forest leaves had turned the crispy blazing colors of fall. Burning red, chocolate browns, sun-kissed orange. They all caught my eye. For a moment, I thought I may have spied ice blue eyes, but on second glance I guess I was wrong.
"You got the stupid thing?" I asked, watching her pull out the black arrowhead. She nodded and screwed it into an arrow shaft. I waited as she pulled the string back expertly. I could see her natural hunter abilities already, and the intensity was putting me off. Suddenly, she let go and it whipped into a tree. On impact, it exploded as I had seen my father's do many times before.
"I have no idea what that was. Do you know, Aideen?" Before I could answer, we both heard a very loud snap come from within the forest. Allison tried to hand me her bow, but I shoved it back into her hand. Why the hell would you give away your greatest weapon? I pulled a knife from my boot that she looked at me questioningly for, but I ignored her at the moment.
Following my ears, I walked silently to it, holding my knife in my fist so that I may slash at anything quickly. Allison pulled out a taser and followed me. As we moved, another sound came from behind us. We both spun around and I raised my knife to eye level as Allison shot her little weapon. The wires connected with a very stunned Scott and he sunk to his knees from the attack. A look of horror crossed over Allison and she ran over to him.
"The trigger!" he wheezed out. I was laughing, knowing he wasn't really hurt that much. The irony of all this was too much. Allison let up, and the two had a moment as Scott gave Allison back the missing family crest. She hugged him awkwardly and then got up and walked away. I smiled politely at Scott before he spoke.
"Justin says he's going to call you tonight. He and Stiles are looking into something and he's going to fill us in later. Stay safe, Aideen." With that, we went our separate ways. It was getting Dark out, and it wasn't safe to be out anymore. I got back to the car and got inside when I replaced the knife in my boot.
"What was that? Since when do you carry knives on you, Dee?"
"Since when do you carry tasers on you, Al?"
"Since aunt Kate showed me how to use one," she retorted. I rolled my eyes. What was that woman's deal with electricity and fire? Frigging pyro.
When I got home after the rest of the silent trip, I went up to my room. My heart skipped a beat when I got there. Sitting on my bed was a werewolf with ebony hair and ice blue eyes that were turning back to grey.
"Derek, what are you doing here in the Argent home?"
"Do you have a death wish?" I crossed my arms, confused by his statement.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He stood abruptly and walked forward. With each step he took, I stepped back until I hit the door. He got even closer, his breath touching my face. Surprisingly, I wasn't uncomfortable. I trusted him. "You alone in the woods with the Argent girl. Do you know how easily the alpha could have killed you?"
"So you were watching. I thought I saw you. Why were you following me, Derek?" This time, he looked almost sheepish.
"I was... making sure you were safe. I know you're strong and are capable of taking care of yourself, but I don't want to take chances with you. I told you I thought of you like a second chance with Laura. I would have followed her, too."
My heart melted for him. "Derek, thank you, but as long as you're working with your uncle, the killer, don't bother."
"Fine." He headed to my open window until I had a second thought and grabbed his shoulder.
"I'm still looking out for you. I care about you and don't want you hurt, but I can't be your friend when you're working with the alpha. I will protect you from the hunters until you kill someone, Derek. If you do, I will take you out myself, no matter what. And I expect you to fight back."
He turned around and looked me right in the eyes. "I can't hurt you. It's not possible."
"Then leave. Go home, and stay there, That's where you;ll be safe."
"It's where I was going. I have to make a stop first." He fit his large frame in the window and dropped to the ground. "Tell Justin I'm sorry for me. I didn't know he was going to get hurt. He's like family." With that, he became a black shadow in the night.
I turned around as someone knocked at my door. Allison came in. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going out. To see Scott. I... need to talk to him." I smiled.
"Good for you. I hope it works out."
She smiled. "Thanks, Dee. See you later." She came and hugged me before spiriting out the door. Just when she left, I got a call on my cell. I answered when I saw it was Justin.
"Hey, babe," his deep voice soothed. I blushed, loving the pet name.
"Hey yourself. What's up?"
"I just waned to fill you in on things. The alpha has killed two more people. And Chris Argent has got his eye on Jackson. And Jackson knows about werewolves. He knows about Derek, Scott and me. He also knows about hunters and he knows now that you're one. And he figured this all out mostly on his own. Scott didn't help any. That's about it for me. What about you?"
"Wow, that's crazy. I think Allison is figuring out what's going on with her family. She doesn't know about anything yet, but she's getting there. Kate keeps dropping clues for her o find because Chris said to not directly tell her yet. Also... you might not wanna hear this, but Derek dropped by. He was waiting for me when I got here."
"What?" Justin snarled. He was still pissed at Derek. "Do I need to come over?"
"No, he's gone now. He didn't do anything. He just came to say that he's been protecting me and making sure his uncle leaves me alone. He also said to tell you he's sorry. He didn't mean for you to get hurt."
"Sorry isn't going to cut it. I hope he gets a little punishment." I hoped not. Derek didn't want to hurt anyone. "Hey, babe, I have to go. I'm getting a call from Scott. I'll call you back, ok?"
"Yeah, sure. Talk to you soon." I ended the call and sat on my bed, taking in all the information I had just gotten. Jackson was about to become very involved.
The phone rang again. "Hello?"
"Aideen, it's bad," Justin said. " The alpha tried to get to Scott by going on a date with Scott's mom. Stiles stopped it, but he told Scott that he basically told Derek to kill Jackson. I'm coming to get you right now. We're going to the Hale house. Have your game face on."
Justin arrived to pick me up. I was dressed in full gear and ready to go. I could feel myself trembling in the car next to my boyfriend. Not because I was afraid to fight Derek, but because I didn't want to. He's my friend, and I've grown close to him. The sad thing is if he's spilled human blood, I'll have to kill him. That's the way the hunter code goes, and I've never broken the code.
"Aideen, are you ready?" Justin spoke softly and he grabbed my hand, twining his fingers with mine.
I nodded, "Sadly, yes. I don't want to hurt him, but I will if I have to." He squeezed my hand in a comforting way. I smiled at him softly. Even at a time like this, he was trying to make my life better. All too soon, we came upon the Hale house's drive. We parked the car on a side path so no one would see it and walked the rest of the way so he wouldn't be able to hear us coming. We snuck in the back door and came through the back to see Scott jumping down the stairs in front of Jackson. He was in full wolf form and looked pissed.
"Scott, get out of my way," Derek said, his fangs slightly distorting the words. I walked over to stand behind Scott, Justin right behind me. Derek's eyes got wide, but he still didn't move. I knew this wasn't going to end well.
"Derek, please, just calm down. I don't know what's going on with you right now, but I want to help. Just let Jackson go." I pleaded with him. I didn't want to have to kill him, and I knew he didn't want to kill me from the look in his eyes.
"I can't. He knows too much, Aideen." I felt a cold tears freeze in my eyes for the blood of a friend that was about to be spilled.
"So be it. I'm sorry." I pulled out one blade and one gun. I leveled it with his head and gripped my knife at my side. The wolf in him snarled and his eyes flashed at me. My finger tightened on the trigger.
Just then, the heavy tension in the room was broken by an onslaught of bullets upon us all. I rolled to the side before anything hit me, an Justin dropped to the ground on his stomach to avoid getting shot. Derek ended up next to me, positioning himself between me and the attack as if to protect me. I leaned into him, glad he was on our team for the moment.
Scott was shot multiple times. His body shook with the force of the bullets hitting him. I could tell by the way they entered that they were wolfsbane bullets. Scott stumbled over to the side. Leaning heavily against the wall as blood rushed out of him, Derek glanced his way, face full of concern. "Scott, get out of here," he said, trying to save him while covering me.
All Scott could do was sink to the floor and groan in pain. Justin crawled like a soldier to him and hooked his arm around him. "Aideen, let's go!" he yelled, werewolf teeth bared from the adrenaline. I started to leave when I noticed I wasn't being followed.
"What are you doing? Let's go, Derek," I said, pulling his hand. His eyes looked sad, and I knew what he was thinking. "No. You're not staying. You have to go. If you stay here, you could die!"
"The hunters out there know I'm inside. They came for me. And if I don't keep their attention, they could get Scott, Justin and even you too. I can't let that happen. Go while I hold them off, Aideen."
I didn't want to leave. Derek was my friend and I needed to help him. His eyes begged me to go
but I couldn't do it. I pulled him into a rare hug and buried my face in his neck. "Go, now. Justin needs you." I knew he was right, and I broke away, bolting for the back door.
I ran as fast as I could. I ran from the shooting. I ran from the hunters. I ran from the werewolves. I ran away. I ran as I heard the shots that his flesh. I ran from the howling of misery. I ran away, just like he told me to.
And I felt guilt. I had no idea if Derek was even alive anymore. I pictured a gleeful Kate standing over his mutilated body in my head. It broke me down, and when I found Justin and Scott at the car, I fell to my knees from the weight of the world. Scott sat in the seat, bleeding out, some strange man looking over him. Justin saw me and ran over to me.
"Are you ok? Did he hurt you? I'll freaking kill him!" I grabbed Justin's shoulder in a death grip, looking into his green eyes.
"You may not have to. He didn't hurt me. He saved me." And then, I could see it clicked.
Justin pulled me close to him, his strong sent filling me, making me more calm. "Is he ok? What did you see?"
I knew he was close to Derek. "I don't know. The last I saw, he made me leave while he went up against the hunters on his own. He told me to go to you. Justin, I don't know how many times they shot him!" I clutched at his shirt, needing something to hold me up. He rubbed my back soothingly in small circles, and I felt some of the tension leave me.
"Look, there's nothing we can do right now, Aideen. We need to get Scott taken care of. Then we'll worry about Derek. Ok?" I nodded and composed myself, getting into the back of the car. Justin said something to the black guy who had been taking care of Scott. We were to follow him to a vet clinic where he works so that he could save Scott. The ride was silent on the way there.
We all went inside and I stayed in the waiting area while Justin and the vet tool care of Scott. Suddenly, my pocket vibrated and I checked my messages.
Allison Argent: Dee, I need you. Let me know where you are. Aunt Kate wants to show me something and you're supposed to come too.
I didn't want to see that woman, but I sucked it up for Allison. I text her back and tell her that I'm at the vets and that I would be waiting for her. Justin came out as I hit send.
"How is he?" I asked. Justin gave a light smile, but it wasn't the true kind that I loved so much.
"He's doing better. The vet is supposedly a friend to our kind. How are you holding up?"
"Not very well, but Allison is coming to get me. Apparently, there's something Kate needs to show her. Probably how to be a creeper." Justin laughed lightly, but he knew I wasn't joking. He leaned down and gave me a very soft kiss, making my heart jump in my chest. I heard honking from outside, and I knew I had to go. I broke away and smiled as I walked outside.
"What were you doing in there?" I looked over at her, and smiled in a fake way. I put on my mask to protect her from my world.
"Justin had to help a a puppy. It was a little messed up and I went with him. Now, where are we going?"
"Oh, that's nice of him. We're going to the address Kate sent me. Just sit back and and enjoy the ride." And I sat back. But I didn't enjoy the ride. Eventually, we came to an all too familiar road that lead to a burned building. I felt my throat get tighter, and my heart sped up. We kept driving to the very front of the house. Parked right outside was Kate, leaning against her car. Allison parked and we both went to meet her.
"Allison, I have something you need to see. Aideen, you need to be here too." With that, she turned and started to walk away, signaling us to follow.
"What smells like rust?" Allison asked innocently. One look at the front door told me everything. It wasn't rust that she smelled, it was blood. And a lot of it. I followed Kate very closely, almost brushing shoulders with the woman. Allison was right on my heels. We came to a little cellar like door which Kate entered. It lead down a dimly lit hall with grimy walls and ended up in front of an iron door. She stopped just in front of it.
"What is this place?" Allison asked in a whisper. I wanted to know the answer to that, too. I had no idea what Kate was up to, but it didn't sit well with me. She just beamed at her niece.
"You know how every family has there secrets? Well, we have some as well." With that, she opened the door to a dark room and went inside. Allison went in before me and walked in slowly. Suddenly, I saw her cringe and I went on to see what was wrong. What was in there, I would have never been ready for.
Kate flicked on a large flashlight that sat on a stand in the middle of the room. When the rays hit, I gasped, not from fear, but from shock. There, totally pissed off, was Derek. He was chained to some metal rig with his arms above his head. I also noticed he was very shirtless and very... not happy. But he was very alive for the moment, and that gave me hope.
He roared at Allison and Kate in blind anger. I don't even think he saw I was there until his wild eyes caught me. "Beautiful, isn't he?" Kate egged him on. He looked in her direction and snarled.
I didn't move. If I tried to help him with Kate here, she would stop me. Until I got a chance for us to be alone, I was going to have to put up with Kate's antics. She walked over a table to Derek's right and took a seat on it. Next to her was some box that had a small switch. I took in every detail possible and saw the cables attached to it and Derek's bare side. I knew that what was coming wasn't going to be good.
Kate flicked the switch. Derek soon felt the pain, though he tried to not show it. Finally, after being warn down from from the shocks, he broke out in a small scream. My heart broke for him, but I stayed still. Kate let the power run until he reverted back to human form. When that happened, she let him breath a moment before switching it on again, the pain forcing him back into werewolf form.
"What are you doing? is it going to kill him?" Allison said in a ruched, panicked voice. Kate just laughed and shook her head. "What is he?"
"He has lots of names. Lycan. Shapeshifter. Werewolf! What about you, Aideen. You have anything to add? I think you've had almost as much experience with them as I've had." Now Allison looked at me with accusation in her eyes.
"Dee, what is she talking about?" It was over. She knew and I had to tell her. Kate planned this so that I would be the one for Chris to blame. I sighed and looked in her eyes.
"He's a werewolf,and Kate and I are werewolf hunters. Actually, all the Argent family are hunters. My family was too, before..."
"Before?"
"Before werewolf killed my sister. I'm not supposed t be alive, Allison. Her killer though she was me, the the next in line to hunt."
"You knew all this and didn't tell me? How could you? I thought we trusted each other." With that, Allison walked out of the room, not being able to be around me. Kate beamed at me and followed her.
"I'll go see if I can calm her down. You keep an eye on that," she said, referring to Derek. Then, she closed the door. I spun around and ran to him. His head was dropped down from the pain that had been inflicted on him.
"Derek," I said, coming over and patting his face to wake him back up. He looked up at me, those eyes looking into me. I shivered under their power. I reached for his arm to start undoing the cuffs holding him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, his words slightly slurred.
I looked at hm funny. "What does it look like, I'm ordering a pizza? I'm letting you go!"
He shook his head, making my heart sink. "You can't right now. Kate will know you helped and and then she'll try to kill you."
"I... I can't watch you die, Derek. I can't. If you stay here and don't give any information, she'll kill you. Please, just let me save you and I'll say you attacked me. And you you can punch me or something in front of her."
He shook his dark head. "I can't hurt you. For now, we're just going to wait." With that, he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling over my head. With a heavy heart, I backed away from him. I had to calm down before Kate got back and saw me getting emotional over a werewolf. Just as my back hit the wall opposite Derek, she came in alone.
"Where's Allison?" I asked, fearful of what she may had done to her.
"Going home. I told her to act normal. And don't worry, she's not that pissed at you."
I took a sharp inhale of breath before challenging Kate. "This isn't right, Kate. You have to let him go. No hunter that follows the code has ever attempted to get information from a werewolf like this. It's not right."
"What are you going to do? Tell Chris on me?" By the look on my face, she knew she had guessed my plan. "Oh, that's all you had? Well, then, here's the deal. You tell Chris, and I'll kill him," she said coldly pointing her manicured finger at Derek. His eyes closed.
"You can't. He hasn't killed anyone that we know of. Are you really going to break the code... again?" Fire washed over her expression and she slapped me. I saw Derek's eyes flash in the corner of my eye, and I knew he was pissed. I shook my head ever so slightly to get him to now say anything. In a smooth motion, I pulled out my knife and wrapped my arm around her neck, holding her still as I pressed the sharp edge to her neck. I felt her stop breathing, and I smiled.
"What's to stop me from killing you right now, hmm? I could do it, you know." She croaked out a strangled laugh.
"No, you can't. I'm human. You can't take a life."
"How the hell do you know?" I spat.
For a moment, her eyes betrayed her fears. "If you kill me, you break the code. And you become like me. Either way, I win. I either will break him, or you. Pick."
She was right, and I knew it. I spun around to face her and pressed her against the wall, pinning her down. You could see a battle of will pass through us. I backed away, turning to walk when I heard her giggle, "weak." At this, I flipped around and threw my knife at her, just landing to the left of her face on target. I went and claimed it, looking into her eyes again.
"Kill him without cause, I will kill you. Touch me again, and you'll wish I had killed you." She saw I wasn't playing, then I went to sit in a chair to watch over Derek who had been watching the whole thing with wide eyes. Kate picked herself up and went over to the little table and started going through all of Derek's stuff. She pulled out his driver's license and held it right up to his face.
"Oh, you should smile more. But, don't you hate the people who tell you that? 'Smile, Derek. Why don't you smile anymore?' Don't you wanna kick those people in the face?" She slapped his face for extra measure before walking over to me.
His piercing eyes glared at her. "I can think of one," he hissed. She raised her eyebrows, and smiled.
"Really? 'Cause if I thought you were gonna be that exciting, I'll let you go. Until then, why don't you tell my who the alpha is? Or maybe other beta?"
Derek remained silent to this. Kate rolled her eyes and went back to the table, now picking up his cell phone. "Nothing, nothing. Man, I hate this detective crap!"
I just watched and figured I would learn more by not saying anything. Derek was losing his patients. "Are you going to torture me, or just talk me to death?" I would have laughed if he hadn't been so serious. Kate looked at him like he was being crazy.
"Sweetie, I don't want to torture you! I just... wanna catch up. Remember all the fun we used to have?" Sweetie? Catch up? Where the hell did that com from?
"Like the time you burned my family alive," Derek challenged, leaning forward.
"No, I was more thinking about the...hot... crazy sex we had. But the burning part? Well, that was fun too!" Kate was right up in his face. My eyes got huge. So the truth comes out. Kate did burn the Hale home down. And not only that, but she had once had a relationship with a werewolf! Derek for that matter. Maybe I was more like her than I thought...
Derek flinched and was obviously pissed. Kate just grinned wider. I felt myself rising on my toes to help Derek, but I was stopped in my tracks by what Kate next. "Remember how this felt?" She leaned into him and ran her tongue along his bare side, making me halt. Derek snareled and tried to bite her face, but she was just out of his reach. She laughed at his anguish as he tried to attack. "I love how much you hate me."
"Kate, stop. Enough." Someone had to get her to calm down before she did something crazier. She looked at me and nodded. Then, she went back to Derek. "Sweetie, I really don't want to torture you..." just as she says this, another hunter came in. He was popping his knuckles. "... but he does." Kate finished. My heart started pounding in my chest in fear.
Kate started to walk out, and I tried to follow her. Derek told me not so help him and I didn't want to stay and watch what was coming. "No, Aideen. You stay here. Unless, you don't care if an accident happens and he dies." With that, she stepped away to allow me to walk through the door. I sent her a death glare and closed it to show I was staying. Then, I went to the corner of the room, slid down the wall, and closed my eyes so I didn't have to watch.