sharonpijl - I try not to over do backstory but some needs to be there
weregrrrl13 - it would be creepy if he saw her this way ;) Always glad to hear my OCs aren't annoying and some even liked ...
A/N: sorry for taking so long, really needed to edit this chapter and with mating games and other stuff, I just didn't get around to it
The past days had left Chris feeling more frustrated than ever before. Neither he nor Scott and his pack had been getting any answers to their current crisis. All their efforts seemed to lead to only more problems. With the twins keeping an eye on Lydia their patrols had fallen short. In the end, that hadn't done any good either since Lydia had been taken by Peter Hale. Forcing them once more to focus on him.
Chris saw all the good reason for taking him out. Not out of revenge, but because of what Allison and Isaac had discovered. There was no excuse for what Peter had done to Lydia. It was only Allison's extreme fixation with putting a arrows through Peter Hale which gave him pause. It worried him to see Allison in this state once more. It brought back bad memories to the time when Gerard had pulled her strings.
He considered taking that burden from her, but going for the easily solutions had never helped him or anyone in the past. There was another much bigger problem: the killings, the lastest having only occurred last night, were quickly tolling up. Allison was convinced that Peter was behind it but the timing was too close.
Peter couldn't be busy kidnapping Lydia and then appear at the other end of town taking out two high school students. Just as the cabin had been too far way for Peter to overpower Deucalion somehow and set his ritual up and be back in Beacon Hills to commit another murder.
If Peter had information that could actually help them with that, then maybe it was a bit premature to put him down for what he did to Lydia. Since he had kidnapped her again after the twins hadn't been there when Deucalion had attacked her, it was probably safer to get her back first. It made Chris also wonder why Peter had neither killed Deucalion, the sheriff or anyone lately.
What kind of example would it set if his first response was to kill instead of solving problems with compromise, when Peter Hale was doing exactly that. He was trained to shoot first and ask questions later and that bothered him more and more. It was one thing to act ruthless during a hunt, when you were at risk of being torn to pieces any second but an entirely different one if became the only response all the time.
Allison had taken those lessons in the short time of her knowing to heart: Gerard, Kate and even he and Victoria had passed on the family tradition in a way that seemed to make it impossible to get through to Allison. Chris could endlessly think about all the mistakes he had made in raising Allison and it wouldn't help him one bit in getting her to slow down and see things from a different point of view.
Any talk Chris began ended with an argument, with things as they were, they couldn't afford to spend time yelling at each other. He let Allison and Isaac to look for Peter's location. Since he couldn't stop her, he was at least hoping she was going to to be sensible and call it in when she had found something.
It left him the time to check out the parking lot, where the two teenagers - fifteen and sixteen years old - had been making out in their car. The lot was taped off by the police and he could smell the dried blood in the air before he got even close to the parking spot. The car had been removed but the Sheriff had explained that the attacker had dragged one of the boys out of the driver's car window. The boyfriend in the car had been torn apart as he had tried to start the car.
The dried blood covered a wide area: the boy killed outside the car had his limbs ripped from his torso and his entrails torn across the area. Chris had seen a lot of awful killings but this was different, there was a cold viciousness, he hadn't witnessed in even the most disturbed werewolf. He was almost glad only to have seen pics, it just left him with the nagging feeling he might have missed something this way. It was like someone revelled in the brutality of the killings and still they seemed so impersonal.
They were getting deeper into the city with each attack as well. Trying to hold back his quick and fatty breakfast, Chris scouted around the lot for bloody paw prints. He did find what seemed to be tracks from the front paws of a big cat and the hind legs of large dog. There was something that looked like it was an especially heavy wolf but not quite.
If he didn't knew this was impossible he would give more merit to the franken-creature theory. It looked like someone had patched several animals together and let them lose but he couldn't imagine how this was remotely feasible. What was even more worrisome was how the tracks suddenly disappeared. They went off the concrete and where the grass began was no sign of any further tracks.
"We should have moved," he grumbled.
That had been his first impulse after his own father had nearly murdered them all. It would have spared them a lot of problems. His old man could rot alone in his room for all he cared. As long as he and Allison would never again have to deal with the supernatural. Allison had wanted to stay and Chris hadn't wanted to drag her all over the country again. He had already taken away too many friendships and chances at having fun with people her age due to their family's occupation and all the moving around.
It was too late to mourn decisions that couldn't be revoked.
Chris made mental notes of everything he saw at the crime scene in hopes he could talk with Deaton and maybe stumble upon something that could give them a better hint of what was going on. As he walked back in his car, Chris decided that he might as well try and call Deaton right away. Next move would be to check in with the twins upstairs, hoping that Ethan could tell him more about what happened. Afterwards he wanted to look around on Union Street to see what Peter's new betas had been doing there and finally go back to the animal clinic.
At least that was the rough plan, since Deaton wasn't picking up his phone, Chris had no idea if he would be there. So he drove back home and took the elevator to the penthouse. Even though he hadn't expected a warm welcome, the hostility the twin that opened the door displayed was overwhelming. Chris assumed it was Aiden, since Ethan shouldn't be up according to Deaton.
"What do you want?"
Chris sighed. "Just wanting to know if Ethan can tell us anything else about the shooting."
Very obviously blocking the entrance to the flat, Aiden stepped closer. "Why? Do you think you can take out Peter's betas? You can't even find him or them."
"Maybe not, but I might be able to find out what they were doing on Union street," Chris said calmly.
It took him every inch of self restraint not to fall back into old habits. He wanted to draw his gun so badly and use it to shield himself against the aggressive alpha. Realising that this had to be overreaction on Aiden's part to protect his injured brother helped Chris to keep his cool. Yet, he knew his nervousness and fear must be as transparent as glass to the twin.
"Ethan was going to check out that bookstore Lydia had been to - that's where he encountered the betas," Aiden said his voice ripe with annoyance. "So if you want to make yourself useful …"
His plan to ask if it had been Ethan or the other beta who had started this was dropped in favour of making an early exit without provoking Aiden further. Chris realised it didn't matter to him anyway. That was something the twins and Peter's pack could settle among themselves. If it had been Ethan who had been the aggressor it could help him convince Lydia to stay away from them in the future.
"I'll do that," Chris said and stepped back without taking his eyes of Aiden.
The twin smirked at him, clearly enjoying edging Chris Argent on, before he turned and shut the door loudly. Chris realised that this could have gone a whole lot better and took comfort in the fact it could also have been a lot worse. Either way, he had found the information he needed. Riding the elevator down to his floor, he gathered his weapons, surveillance equipment and some prepacked sandwiches.
Prepared for everything he went down to his car and headed towards Union Street. On his way there he tried calling Deaton again and then landline of the clinic.
It was Scott who picked up. "Mr. Argent?"
"Yeah, is Deaton there?" he asked.
"No, sorry, he hasn't been in since yesterday," Scott said, sounding pretty worried.
"You think something happened?" Chris knew that Deaton was somewhat secretive but he wouldn't have left Scott alone at the clinic without telling him anything.
"He's worried about his sister, he'll be back tomorrow, I hope," Scott explained. "He wanted to visit a mutual friend out of town."
"Would you call me or tell him to call me, I've been at the crime scene and I noticed a few things, not sure if it shakes anything lose but I like to run it by him."
It was frustrating that everyone seemed to be preoccupied. Which was probably also because there was nothing that actually brought them closer to solving the murders while there was no shortage of events to distracted them. Allison seemed to think those were all planned by Peter but it was too perfect to be pre-planned. It was much more believable that the Nemeton had attracted too many dangerous creatures at once.
"Of course," Scott agreed.
"Thank you, Scott." Chris hung up.
There was only one clue left to pursue and Chris continued on his way to Union Street. It was a pretty average street, a Chinese restaurant, a variety of stores, apartments and some offices. He made sure he got feel of the location, before walking up to the front door of the bookstore. Chris pushed the door open and a little bell chimed. He heard a woman and a man talking in the back of the store.
The man was sighing in relief in between words and sounded very grateful. "I can't thank you enough, these anti-anxiety meds weren't helping at all and this - this - is the answer to my prayers."
"You did all the work," the female sounding voice said. "Meditation isn't that easy to master and all I did was suggest it."
Chris stepped closer through the row of shelves filled with book and glass cabinets displaying jewelry and mineral stones. The male voice sounded somewhat familiar.
"But I never would've tried without you," the man insisted. "Either way, I just wanted to thank you and tell you how much better I'm doing."
It was the Beacon Hills High school principal, who was just saying his final thanks and turned the moment Chris stepped into their field of vision. When the principal saw Chris, he stop dead in his tracks and gave him a panicked look. A split second later, he turned and fled quickly through another row of shelves. Whether scaring him out of his job had given him the anxiety problems or if they just had made them worse, Chris felt pretty lousy about it.
"Hello," the woman was greeting him.
Her mouth was surrounded with a smile but her eyes sized him up. She leaned on a small round high table that was just large enough to have an old cashier and room for a few books. He couldn't help letting his eyes explore the tattoos that covered her arms and back. It didn't help that she wore a black bodice that left most of that free.
"Since you're not looking that scary," she said with a sultry undertone as she looked him up as well, "I can only assume you've met before."
There was something in those last words that made him think she knew about the incident. Maybe the principal had mentioned being threatened and she had put one and one together.
"Just a misunderstanding," Chris replied and smiled.
He couldn't help but feeling a bit boyish when hers widened. Despite the tattoos, which weren't really his thing, he couldn't help but finding her quite pretty. Shaking his head as if he could shake off that thought, he took a step closer.
"Something tells me, you're not here for books or jewelry," the woman began and then she tilted her head and seemed to stare right through him. "No, you wouldn't gift your daughter jewelry, and not a book either, but something else, something made of metal."
That was eerily creepy, Chris cleared his throat, "Are you psychic or something?"
"Either I'm psychic or, "she paused dramatically, before leaning back to point to a stack of newspapers, "or I could be reading the newspapers around here faithfully, Mr. Argent."
Chris stared at the cover of the local newspaper. This had come out three days ago and the headline read Why isn't the Sheriff calling in the Argents for questioning? The article had detailed again their cover story that Kate had done all those killings so they wouldn't have to explain what really had happened. A move that in hindsight had created more problems than it had solved, since some now wondered with new killings, who else in his family might be up to this.
Unluckily, the article also showed Allison's picture. Since Allison had turned eighteen, the newspaper no longer afforded her anonymity. It was of course just spreading unnecessary panic and lame accusations but for that he had a false public phone number and a private unlisted one. This way no flaming phone calls came to Allison's attention.
"You're not scared?" Chris found himself saying in a tone that was wholly inappropriate.
"Should I be?" she replied.
Childing himself for going too far off topic, Chris decided to somewhat rudely get back on track. "Depends, someone reported a shooting here last night," he forced his voice to sound neutral and detached.
"Some deputies came by and asked me about it," she said with a disappointed sigh. "I'm afraid, I couldn't be much help to them. Is there a particular reason for your personal interest?"
He let out a short breath, she could be all business, too. Suddenly, he wasn't sure what he was doing here in this perhaps silly but nonetheless quite ordinary shop. Then he remembered, Lydia had been here. That suddenly gave him idea. "You're right, my daughter doesn't read esoteric books, she barely reads her school books, but a good friend of hers, developed an interest in Esoterics and I kind of forgot to buy her a present for her birthday - so I wanted to do that but then I heard of the shooting and I was worried, since she comes her, too."
"Ah," Yoon smiled. "That is so sweet of you."
Again Chris found himself smiling, even though there was this silent alarm bell ringing in his head. It was something about the way she said it which troubled him for a split second. It was the words that followed along with how she leaned forward that distracted him.
"So, did you had a book in mind, some jewelry or maybe something else?"
Back to sales talk, Chris thought and wondered if he might get something more out of her, if he brought Lydia up specifically. There was something else he hadn't asked. Something that might help him in establish more of a link with her to get her to open up a bit more.
"You know my name, but I don't remember hearing yours."
With his luck, this might be a dead end, Lydia having only been here to buy a simple book without anything sinister happening and he was just bugging this seemingly sweet person for nothing.
"How rude of me, I usually don't forget that, Yoon is my name, I always go on first name basis with my customers - unless of course they mind," she explained.
"No, call me Chris," he replied without thinking. "So you might remember a young girl named Lydia, who recently bought a few things from here?"
Yoon nodded and smiled a little bit. "Yes, she was here, although I've known her only for a couple of days, so I'm not sure if I could give you very good suggestions for a present."
Wondering what he had gotten himself into, he kept trying to get more info out of Yoon. "I believe she's interested in dreams. Something to do with bad dreams?"
The question was how much detail he could reveal. He knew about her being attacked in her dreams, but if Yoon didn't knew anything about the supernatural he better kept silent on that part. Chris also thought it might come off odd if he knew too much about his daughter's friends dream problems. So he acted as if he wasn't sure, like it was something Allison might have mentioned in passing. He scratched his head. "Just a little thing," he added.
"I believe, she's got everything that could actually help," Yoon said as she looked up in no particular direction thinking hard. "There might be something else."
Chris watched her as she turned and walked over to a row of books. Stepping on a short shelf hook that was oddly sticking out from a few bookcases, she climbed up to the top of the shelf. He stared at her before turning away, realising that he was gawking at her tattoos and also the rest of her body. When she jumped down, she landed on the carpet without making a sound.
"Here," she said and held out a book to him.
"This isn't an esoteric book," Chris said surprised and looked at the paperback that was titled The Accidental Mind. It was a science book on brain evolution and seemed utterly out of place in the store. He looked around and up to the shelf. The upper shelves were full of books with more scientific sounding titles.
"I do have plenty of those - but I also like to educate people," Yoon smiled as her words drew in his gaze. "Lydia seemed like a bright young woman, I'm sure she'll appreciate a more scientific approach and understanding, along with the spiritual guidance she needed."
Chris knew she was right, he had seen the books Lydia was casually reading when she came over and Allison was busy figuring out her homework. Once he had asked why Allison didn't let Lydia help more with the homework and his daughter has just told him that Lydia just did things and her explanations just went over Allison's head.
"I think she might," he nodded and asked. "So - how much is this?"
"Twenty-four dollars," Yoon said in a way that made it impossible to say no. They walked over to the cashier and he gave her a twenty and a five dollar bill. Chris didn't want anything back, he felt there was something to be found out but he knew he wasn't going to get answers by asking Yoon. She handed him the book in a multicolored paper bag, when he declined her offer to wrap it.
When Chris finally left the store, he realised that he should stick around. If he had learned something solid from his years as a hunter that it was best to observe. However Yoon tied into this, his best option was to find a position to observe the store and see who came by or whom Yoon went to see after closing hour.
Driving off, he found a secluded spot for his car. With a supply bag and a sniper rifle, both for the excellent scope and the feeling of security it gave in addition to his sidearm, carried in a maybe not so inconspicuous casing, he made his way to the roof of a house two buildings from the store across the street.
Hiding under grey camouflage tarp, he positioned himself with his rifle. He could've used a spyglass or binoculars, but this was how he used to do it. Switching from broad overview to spying directly at Yoon through the scope. It wasn't that he hadn't noticed any attractive woman since his wife had committed her assisted suicide but Chris had been able to avoid talking to one so far. At least under these circumstances. His basic reaction to her smile and intriguing appearance filled him with guilt now that he had put a safe distance between them.
The longer he sat on that rooftop, the more convinced he was that there was something not quite right. He was sure his guilty conscience played a larger role in it than anything he observed. Yoon closed the shop at eight and went upstairs to her flat which was directly above the store. The curtains were closed and he could make out Yoon's outline through them. He had been watching locations before but here he avoided looking too often. Just waiting for a bit of motion or a hint about what she was doing.
Which wasn't much, she seemed to settle down with tea and a book and then turned on her tv. After one more trip to the kitchen he could see her lying down on what had to be the sofa. He didn't see her for a while, if she got up during whatever she watched, then Chris was sure he must have missed it.
Her behaviour reminded him a lot of his own. Before the murders picked up, he had spent far too much time by himself in front of the tv. It wasn't even that he watched anything - he just liked the voices keeping him company. Chris wanted to spend more time with his daughter but he didn't want to impose. He was glad she got along better with the others, even though some of them were werewolves. Up until now, that had been not so much of a problem.
Knowing that she saw more than a friend in Isaac bothered him. He knew he needed to do something about it but he wasn't sure what. Threats hadn't broken up Scott and Allison, Chris was aware it might not work with Isaac either. It would only make Allison withdraw further, but the thought of her being intimate with a werewolf, that was still something he couldn't get over with.
Whatever had been kindling, it was a whole lot better than Allison in her current state. What Peter had done to Lydia had made her so obsessed that Chris worried about her being out there, doing something rash. With a sigh, he sat down in the corner of the roof, he had chosen and called her.
"Allison?" he was worried when it took so long for her to answer.
"Yes, dad, who else?" she replied. Her voice sounded tense and and still angry.
Before he could think of a better way to go about it, he asked bluntly. "Are you home, yet?"
"Dad, I'm 18. No, I'm not home yet. Don't worry, if anything comes my way, this whole problem will be over."
Determination swung through in her voice but there was also something else, something that Chris had begun to learn to pick up on: fear.
"Running around all night, isn't going to bring Lydia back, it only puts you in danger."
"I can watch out for myself," Allison groaned annoyed, putting way too much emphasis on each syllable.
"We have no idea what else is out there," he tried to reason. "It could be something that is as impossible to fight as the kanima. We need more answer - until then I don't want you out there alone or that late. Is Isaac with you?"
Things had gotten bad enough that he was actually hoping for a positive answer. But Allison said "No". Chris wasn't sure if that was her denying Isaac was there out of fear how her father might react but it worked for him.
"Then go home," he urged her, "take Isaac with you tomorrow - but don't be out on your own. I've got enough to worry about without worrying about you going all reckless again. You know what happened the last time …"
There was a long silence and eventually Allison said: "I won't stay out all night, but I got one more thing to check, I call if I find something and need backup."
Chris stared at the phone unable to believe that she had just hung up on him. He knew she was eighteen and should be able to make the decisions in situations like this, but he also saw that she wasn't mature enough. Her view of the situation was clouded and she was bound to make mistakes. Even if she succeeded, he'd rather have his daughter go through life without having to take one.
He only wished Victoria was still around to talk some sense into her. He needed her more than ever. Damn that stupid code! There had been no good reason for her to kill herself. They could have kept her locked up and found a solution that was better for Allison. Damn Gerard! But it was just as much his fault, he had been too inflexible. He had felt that it was wrong but hadn't been able to do anything. It wasn't how he was raised, how he thought and once Victoria had made her decision there was no way to deter her from it; a trait he feared had rubbed onto Allison.
Chris went back to looking at the apartment and the changing light from the tv was the only movement. He imagined Yoon lay probably comfortable on the couch, watching whatever she liked in warmth and comfort. While he was crouching on dirty roof top in the cold, hoping that when he came home later tonight Allison would already be there. If she wasn't, there was little he could do about it.
He used the time to think about their unknown foes but also the one he knew was still out there: Deucalion.
He wasn't as powerful anymore but Chris felt in his current state of mind he might be even more dangerous. If he was out there looking for Peter and Lydia to get even, he might run into Allison and that was an upsetting thought. He still couldn't understand why Scott and Derek had let him walk away, it was probably too much to ask for them to take of the matter but an alpha so disturbed to not only kill his own pack but get others to follow wasn't the type person Chris would have let go. Deucalion was the prime example for a werewolf that needed to be put down.
Even more so than Peter, whom Chris had considered finding after seeing him on that night when Gerard had revealed who the greatest monster of them all was. In the end, he had decided against it. There was no sign that he was after Allison anymore and his past actions weren't that different from what he was doing. Chris couldn't justify using the code to kill and then turn around to kill someone who essentially had acted in accordance with that code: Hunt those that hunt us.
There were moments when Chris wondered if taking revenge mightn't have been better. In the end, Chris liked to think that he had learnt his lessons: violence and death wasn't the solution to all problems. He couldn't have foreseen that it would get Lydia into trouble down the line.
With Yoon either chilling out or being asleep in front of the tv, he found it pointless to remain. He considered that maybe she had slipped out unnoticed, but if that was the case he had lost her long ago. It surprised him that he hoped she was staying the night in. He hated the idea of her being involved and all the problems it might create. It was much more comforting to think that her store was just a store and the shooting happened there for no other reason that she had the wrong customers.
But that would be too easy.
After watching for an hour or he decided it was enough, he wasn't going to find out more and he would be much better focused if he observed her another day taking more care to focus on the task at hand. He packed up and snuck down the stairs and then headed towards his truck.
It was almost eleven pm when he got home and judging by the open door to his daughter's room she wasn't home. He looked and called out to her and eventually he took out his phone, hoping that she'd answer her cell. His mood couldn't possible get any worse and the bad feeling in his guts was probably giving him an ulcer.
"Yes, yes," Allison yelled annoyed as she picked up, "I'm almost home, needed to avoid a few police patrols."
Then she hung up again: doing more than just slíghtly irritating him. It took her long enough to finally get home. Chris had tried to calm down but when he saw her carrying the mini-crossbow and a stun stick he yelled at her again. It did only put her more on the defensive. She was cold and distant and eventually told him she needed to sleep and left him there standing and fuming.
She wasn't going to listen him, for some reason he could never get through her when he needed her to listen the most. If he couldn't keep Allison out of trouble, then he needed help as little as he liked it. With some reluctance he sent a text to Isaac's phone, asking him to have an eye on her tomorrow. He didn't bother going to bed, he switched off the lights and made himself comfortable on the couch.
While Chris slept miserable, his choice to camp out in the living room proved to be right in light of Allison trying to sneak out of the flat. He sat up and looked at her, that seemed to work a bit better. Her expression softened when she looked at him. Chris wondered if he looked as tired and worn out as he felt.
"I need to keep looking for Lydia," Allison told him.
"But not alone," he said and sighed. "I've asked Isaac to come over. If you actually do find her, you need back up. Also, he might help you with the actual tracking."
"You've asked Isaac?" she said surprised. "I thought you were mad at him for …"
"No, I'm mad at you - for your lack of judgement. I mean - another werewolf really?" Chris shook his head.
Allison looked at him unsure what to say. "I like who they are - not what they are. What does it matter? Neither Scott nor Isaac have ever really hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. You seemed to like Isaac before."
"That was before," Chris sighed again, wondering if maybe it wasn't so much the idea of his daughter being with a werewolf but the fact that his daughter was having sex. Thinking about her with someone, who wasn't a werewolf didn't made things much better.
Having been brought up with the "knowledge" that werewolves were nothing but rabid animals added some more dread for a father to the situation - but he had learned it wasn't quite as easy. Werewolves were dangerous and powerful but that paled in comparison to some of the deeds done by his own family.
It had been easy to view things as being black and white but reality had caught up to him. Chris wasn't ready to let go of his severe dislike of Allison having a werewolf as a boyfriend but at least he didn't feel the urge to shoot and kill to put a stop to that relationship. He was getting there.
He got Allison to eat breakfast with him, when the doorbell rang and Isaac came in. He clearly felt a bit awkward and declined to eat because he had already breakfast with Scott and Melissa.
"How are they doing?" Chris asked remembering that one of the victims had been a colleague and friend of Melissa's.
"Scott's mum is pretty worried, even though Scott is only going to the clinic today," Isaac explained.
Allison smiled. "Maybe she's worried about you."
"Oh, she thinks we're just hanging out here," Isaac looked weary at her father. "I hope that was okay, I didn't want her to worry more. It's a bad time to be living in this town anyway."
"That is very considerate of you," Chris told him honestly. He could appreciate how much both - Scott and Isaac - were looking out for Melissa. Since Isaac cared for Allison, Chris felt like he could trust him to look out for her, despite being a werewolf. Or maybe because he was. A human boyfriend couldn't catch a bullet and keep on fighting for her.
"Have you heard?" Isaac suddenly asked.
"What?" Allison said a tad bit too aggressive.
"Derek is back," Isaac replied his voice just a bit shaky.
Chris saw Allison lower her fork. "So he decided to come back after all. Wonderful maybe he can lead us to Peter."
Isaac shook his head. "No, he never bothered to find out where Peter lives either. But Derek and Cora, did see him yesterday." Their questioning looks made Isaac go on. "He was by his old house training his new pack members. Lydia was there, too."
"Derek left her there?" Allison yelled in disbelief.
Her aggressive tone made Isaac scoot back on his seat. "He didn't know," Isaac said defensively, "Scott said he couldn't believe what Peter had done to her, given that she acted as if she wanted to stay with him."
His voice became softer near the end under Allison's serious and frightenly hostile stare and body language. "Right," she scoffed.
"Allison, just let him tell us what went down - what Derek did or didn't do isn't on Isaac."
"Yeah, sorry," she mumbled.
Isaac looked at him grateful but biting his lower lip, this wasn't easy for him. "So, he and the other had this chat about the killings and it seems Peter thinks he has figured out who is behind the killings - at least one group."
Allison rolled her eyes at the very idea but Chris wasn't as dismissive. "Allison," he warned her before giving Isaac an encouraging nod.
"It sounds so silly, but they believe the creature responsible is a Greater Zombie Master."
"A what?" Allison laughed. "He thinks we fall for that?"
Chris had to admit it sounded ridiculous but he rather hear Deaton's opinion on that first. "Did someone talk to our resident druid about that?"
"Scott phoned him, it seems that Peter's emissary is going to talk to have a little expert conference with his boss this afternoon," Isaac shrugged. "But it seemed like this might be a real possibility. Deaton says he has heard about it but remembers nothing that specific about how to deal with one or how to identify them. Which is apparently what Lydia managed to do."
Chris wondered how they had found it out but he hoped that they would find out more from Deaton, maybe if they met at the animal clinic he could join the conversation. He certainly liked to get a good look at whomever had taken on the role of being Peter's emissary.
"Is there anything else Derek mentioned - for example about the new pack members?" Chris tried to sound out Isaac for more information.
He could tell it was making the young werewolf uncomfortable to be questioned like that. Chris wanted to assure him that nothing bad would come out of Isaac giving up intel on the other werewolves. However, if the confrontation with Ethan was any indications, they might be too wild and dangerous and had to be taken out.
"They aren't teenagers, the Mexican guy is about Peter's age and the Native American woman is a bit younger," Isaac begun but stopped when he saw Allison rolling her eyes impatiently.
Chris shot her a sharp glance and then encouraged Isaac to go on.
"Derek knew the guy, something about his pack coming to Beacon Hills on occasion to ask Talia for advice. He's a born wolf, but the woman was obviously bitten recently by Peter."
"Hmm," Chris took in that piece of info not sure what to make of it.
"What?" Allison asked seeing his expression.
"It's unusual for a grown-up werewolf from another pack to be taken in by a new alpha. Omegas try to get into packs but that seldom works out," Chris explained. "At least that might mean they won't establish a proper pack connection. For that to happen there needs to be bonding and the best pre-requisite for that is having been bitten by the alpha."
"Yeah, maybe." Isaac sounded unconvinced.
"Is there something else?" Chris asked.
The young beta shook his head a bit too quickly. Whatever it was, it had to be something big for him to be so reluctant to tell them. He kept looking at Isaac, who then caved in. "Derek mentioned, that there seemed to be a strong connection between the three. Almost - almost as if he couldn't believe Peter managed to achieve that." Isaac sighed and then added with a low tone. "Given that he didn't."
"Clearly, Peter selected them with much more care." Chris got the feeling that Peter had learned from his mistakes in the previous year.
"He's been lying in wait - planning this all this time." Allison was curling her lips in disgust. "Any idea why he chose those two?"
Isaac shrunk a bit more in his seat and Chris couldn't blame him. The sharp, icy tone and the underlying aggression in Allison's voice did make him uncomfortable as well. "There has to be a bonding element. Turning the girl-friend alone wouldn't connect the Mexican wolf to the pack by default."
"Who knows?" Isaac said, obviously holding back and as he was looking for a hole in the ground to sink into.
"Isaac!" Allison sounded very impatient.
Chris wanted to point out that a calmer tone worked better with Isaac, when the boy did spoke up, his voice filled with pain. "You don't want to know."
"What did they murder puppies together as kids? Resided over the high schools rape club? Buried each other kills?" Allison assumed with the most condescending tone.
Isaac shook his head almost unnoticably, looking at her scared. Chris tried to get his attention but did it by using a much softer tone. "You can tell us. Every piece of information can only be useful."
"Okay." Isaac pressed his lips together, then let out a deep breath, before he started his explanation. "They share a bond, because - their packs got killed by the same person."
"Kate," Chris let out his breath. This was indeed a blow. He probably should have seen this coming. It was no wonder Isaac was so reluctant about bringing it up, but he confirmed it with a simple 'yes'.
What worried him even more than Isaac's composure was the dark expression on his daughter's face. Kate's descent into madness had hit her the hardest. She had always idolized her aunt, finding out she had murdered innocent kids had been bad enough but thanks to Gerard she had almost walked down the same path.
Feeling that she needed a moment to digest the news, he turned back to Isaac. "Thanks for telling us." Chris knew how difficult this had been for him. The boy needed to hear that his information, however unpleasant, was needed and would never get him into trouble with him.
"So can we expect them to come after us?" Allison wanted to know.
Isaac shrugged. "For now, at least from what Peter said so far, it seems he's focusing his efforts on putting an end to the killings. He seems worried about it attracting more hunters. Since it already has gotten the FBI involved."
"You believe that?" Allison shook her head.
"Scott does," he answered her and lowered his gaze to the table.
"That is a whole new level of blind trust."
"We can't rule out any possibility. Certainly, Peter is planning something but we can't be sure that the killings are actually his doing." Chris looked at Allison. "You told me yourself, that the ritual has turned Beacon Hills back into a beacon. We can't ignore the possibilities that one or both of the killers are other supernatural beings attracted by that."
Allison wasn't open to that possibility, Chris saw it on her face. At least she didn't outright protest, it was a bit of progress. He needed her to see reason but he also didn't want to push her away further. She needed to know that he was there for her, that if she actually found Peter, he would be there to help her get Lydia back and do whatever else was necessary to ensure that.
"I'm going to pursue other angles, talking to Deaton, maybe getting a few more bits of information out of Derek, if he's around and then finding out more about those new betas and what happened in front of the bookstore," Chris explained to them and with a´long look at Allison he ended by telling her that if she found anything, she should call him. There was nothing so important that he wouldn't be there to help her get Lydia back.
"We're going to call you," Isaac assured him.
"Yeah, sure," Allison replied, her eyes narrowing and making her look fiercely determined. "Unless we need to defend ourselves with deadly force before you get a chance to be there."
Chris sighed, he knew Allison felt utterly helpless about not being able to do anything for Lydia, but he was so worried that her need to do something about it was clouding her judgement. With someone like Peter Hale that could end deadly for her. "Just remember," he told her, hoping not to come off as too lecturing, "that the last time you all worked together to take Peter down. He's no doubt going to take you more seriously and he has two betas on his side. Even for an experienced team of hunters this would be a real challenge."
Allison at least nodded, but Chris felt that he wasn't really getting through to her. Maybe she'd think about it and realise the truth behind it.
"How did you take, Peter out, by the way?" Isaac asked, curiosity written all over his face. "Derek mentioned you all set Peter on fire but not really much more than that. Scott wasn't really forthcoming either."
Bringing that event up, did lighten up Allison's face. Chris wasn't really sure how to feel about that. Maybe recounting how many factors and people had contributed to them taking out Peter then would give her a better perspective on what it would mean to engage him in another fight.
"After the fight moved out of the house, Stiles and Jackson showed up and Stiles threw a Molotov Cocktail - which Peter caught." Allison began, an amused smiled on her lips whenever she paused. "Then Scott threw me my bow and I shot the bottle and - voilà - it lit him up like a roman candle."
Chris saw that Isaac's mimic was stuck somewhat between fascination and horror. With a dismissive shrug Allison then mentioned that Jackson also threw one of those self-made cocktails.
"Do you always have these molotov cocktails handy?"
"No," Allison laughed off Isaacs worried question, "I think Stiles and Jackson made those specifically for that night. Lydia kind of taught them how to that night when Peter attacked us at school."
That was news to Chris, but it probably shouldn't surprise him. Lydia had many hidden talents and her new supernatural abilities were only adding to those. He sighed: "Glad to see someone is paying attention in class."
"I think I could make one, too - but it might be too dangerous to carry them around in my purse," Allison frowned.
"That is a wise decision - besides I doubt that Peter is going to fall for the same maneuver twice. He clearly is taking a more measured approach," Chris pointed out.
It was hard staying calm especially since Allison was so livid about the issue, the moment he stopped, she spoke up. "Measured? I'm surprised he hasn't tried moving against us already. Even if he's just behind one of those killings - it's far from being measured!"
"If he was behind those, he'd probably used them to go after us - considering how much we're footing around in the dark - nobody would have been the wiser," Chris explained his reasons for reserving judging on Peter's possible role in the kidnappings. "Either way, just because we mightn't be on his list right now or haven't been so far - you need to be careful. Until we know what he's planning."
"Scott thinks he might actually want to help and stop that Zombie creature," Isaac suddenly spoke up and then cringed when Allison's harsh gaze fell upon him.
"In that case, Scott needs his head examined."
Isaac scratched his head: "But it would make sense, Peter mentioned to Derek that the creature is too powerful for just one alpha to take out. He'd probably stay away from you - until he's gotten rid of that thing with Scott's help."
"In theory, we got Scott and the twins - once we get Lydia back, we don't need Peter," Allison said, sounding at least a bit more rational.
"Yes, maybe - he seems to know things about the creature - we probably should explore all options before we take drastic measures," Chris tried to keep the conversation to constructive arguments.
"Dad, he killed Kate, raped Lydia and almost killed me!" she burst out. "Isn't that enough?"
He wasn't arguing against that. It wasn't what bothered him about the issue: after the latest stunts he had no moral qualms taking Peter Hale out. His concerns lay elsewhere.
"I'd just wish that when it comes to a confrontation you'd call me for back up. You shouldn't ever be in a position to have to be the one who takes a life. No matter how justified it feels."
His voice felt so solemn and yet, it seemed to have no effect on his daughter.
"He's on borrowed time anyway," she reminded them. "I've also helped in killing him already. I don't see putting him back in the ground as such a big issue."
Chris shook his head, when Isaac surprised him by weighing in on the subject. "You know, Derek was the one to finish him off and you should be glad for that."
"Yeah, says the guy who was gleefully ready to kill Lydia," Allison said. There was a pause as if she regretted it as soon as she said it. Bringing that up was clearly hurting Isaac, who blushed a bit and looked down on his empty plate again.
"We thought, we had to - I don't know what got into me, but I'm glad it turned out differently," he whispered, his voice rich with embarrassment.
"Well, it's Derek fault," Allison told him and reached out , "we all were freaked out a bit about how unstoppable the Kanima was."
It was good to see that despite the arguments, Allison still was caring for him. Chris couldn't believe that this would make him feel better about the whole situation. "So are you two heading out then?"
"Yeah, we should get going, I got some more ideas where to look and I've talked to someone at a restaurant who said that someone matching Peter's description had come by several times for take-out," Allison explained proudly.
"I'm impressed you got a lead." Chris smiled at her. "I'm going to look into something and then head to Deaton's later on - but if anything comes up - call me. I'll get to you as soon as possible."
"Don't worry we will," Isaac assured him.
Allison chuckled darkly and stood up. "Yeah, unless of course we got to fight for our lives."
"A good hunter finds their prey without it noticing the hunter approaching," he reminded his daughter as she walked away from the table.
"Don't worry, I intend to be careful," she replied without looking back.
Isaac pushed his chair back and with one last glance at Chris he followed Allison out of the room. Taking a moment to close his eyes, he rested his head in his palms before getting up as well. When he stepped out into the corridor, he saw the two putting on jackets and then with a final nod from him, they left.
What remained was a bad feeling that this wasn't going to end well. He couldn't follow her around everywhere. It would only undercut their trust further and made it more likely for her to do something rash the minute he had to be elsewhere. It was a sad truth that as a parent you could never be around everywhere. He couldn't be everywhere.
More than ever Chris wished there was someone he truly could count on. Things had gotten too complicated, they had always been, but now he couldn't ignore this anymore. Calling in more hunters would only get Scott and Isaac killed and not necessarily put an end to the killings. He couldn't even be sure that the hunters would get the jump on the more dangerous werewolves.
Allison might not understand this but right now they needed everyone, even Peter, to bring this nasty situation to an end. But patience wasn't a trait usually found in youth and Allison had run fresh out of whatever little she had possessed of it.