Chapter 26

"Hey guys," Miss Blake called over the class. The yammering only settled a little, but not enough that she didn't have to yell. "There will be a memorial tonight honoring those that have died recently. I suggest you attend."

The bell rang and Lydia rolled her eyes, yawning.

She put her pen in her bag and paused in the middle of closing her notebook.

"Everything okay," Miss Blake asked, stopping beside her.

Lydia snapped her notebook closed and offered a tight lipped smile.

"I'm fine," she replied.

She rushed out of class. Halfway down the hallway, she opened her notebook. She could've sworn she'd gotten down notes, but there weren't any on the page. Instead, there was an intricately drawn tree.

"Nice work," Stiles said coming up next to her.

She shut her notebook, rolling her eyes.

"Where's Melanie? Shouldn't you be pestering her," Lydia inquired.

"She's on one of her trips," he replied.

"Which one," Lydia dared ask.

"They all kind of blend together, but I think it's 'I'll kill you if you look at me'," he laughed. "What's with the tree?"

"Uh, nothing. Got bored in class," she replied.

Seeing Aiden talking to Ethan not far off, she left Stiles to greet him. She could only take so much of his incessant rambling. It had been a lot easier to ignore when Jackson was here, but now he wasn't and she was a part of something that was so much bigger than her and it was terrifying. She was thankful for the nights when all she dreamt was blackness. Those nights used to make her restless, but now she found peace in them.

Aiden kissed her on the side of her head. She smiled up at him.

Melanie skipped lunch and used the time to camp out in the library. Delving into research with Stiles and Danny kept her mind off of other things. It also kept her out of the house. More often than not anymore she stayed at Derek's. It was easier to avoid Isaac that way. Being around him was too hard. She was immoral in a lot of ways: she didn't mind kicking somebody's ass, insulting their entire life, but she wouldn't ruin something she'd never truly had-love. That was spiteful. It was like shredding a soul; the thing that is so imbedded in your system that you could kill somebody.

Small stacks of books sat around her. She was looking at one about Celtic sacrifice. A lot of it was based on Stonehenge and conspiracy theories. She scribbled notes across a half filled sheet of paper. Yawning, she set down her pencil and arched her back. It cracked in a few places. She let out a relieving breath. Pulling out her cell phone, she checked the time. Ten minutes until class. She was tempted to skip, but the last thing she wanted to deal with was detention and that's what she'd get if she didn't go.

Melanie shoved the book and a few others into her bag and rushed out of the library. She put her phone in her back pocket.

The moment she walked through her front door at seven in the evening she grabbed a soda and the container of turkey lunchmeat from the fridge then went upstairs to her room. It was delicious and simple. Isaac wasn't here, that or he was ignoring like he'd been doing.

Melanie didn't care. She poured the contents of her messenger bag onto her bed then took off her shoes and jumped on the bed. Lying back on her pillows, she was tempted to fall asleep. Her body stretched out, relieving all of her tension. She sat up and grabbed one of the books. It was the one she'd been looking at earlier today. The focus wasn't solely on how the monument was used by UFOs and witches and several other things. It was based on witchcraft, but not like Salem witchcraft. It was dark and creepy. Sacrificial. There were many uses for it, both good and bad, but it wasn't looked at as white or black magic. Magic was magic and this type required a powerful source in nature.

She turned a few pages and stopped on a picture of a fivefold Celtic knot.

The school auditorium was filling up quickly. Lydia sat with Aiden and Ethan. Oddly, she was comfortable with them. She felt safe. Looking around, she saw Isaac and Allison standing in the back. Stiles and Scott sat on the other side. Separated again.

The room buzzed with light chatter as the band got set up on stage. Lydia shifted uncomfortably.

"Lydia, it's okay. The darach won't attack in front of all these people," Aiden said, leaning in close.

"Something's wrong," she squeaked uneasily.

Aiden and Ethan shared a look. The auditorium went quiet as the first few chords were struck in the string section. A cold shiver ran over her arms causing the hairs to rise. The music rose and Lydia sunk in her seat. She grabbed Aiden's wrist as the music grew harsher. Her heart pounded painfully.

The intensity of the music continued on and every musician on stage started playing harder and harder on their instruments as if turning them into weapons of destruction. Others around them sunk back in their seats as well, gripping the wooden armrests.

"Something's wrong," Lydia said again, her voice quaking.

The band teacher, who sat at the piano ripped on the black and white keys moved harder into the movement. It sounded like death. A loud zip resounded through the auditorium followed by Lydia's screaming. Others followed and quickly, people were filing out of the place. A string snapped from within the piano and swung out violently, flinging across the band teacher's throat. Her head fell onto the keys of the piano, singing her last tune. The white keys pooled over red and dripped onto her feet.

Aiden rushed Lydia out the door as she screamed, piercing the ears of Isaac, the twins and Scott. Scott and Stiles watched horrified, being the last ones to leave. Allison and Isaac rushed out with everybody. Allison pulled out her cell phone and called her Dad. Ethan had disappeared among the crowd of frightened people. Scott touched his ear. It was moist. A few droplets of blood tainted his fingers.

"Scott," Stiles said, his voice cracking.

Isaac walked through the front door around eleven and trudged upstairs tiredly. It had been a long night. Chris said he would talk to them in the morning. He was too occupied to really talk to them tonight. Allison voiced her suspicions quietly and Isaac was starting to believe her. Chris had something to do with all of this. He was off doing things on his own most of the time. What was he doing? With another person dead, Isaac was even more confused and frustrated.

He stopped at the top of the stairs.

Melanie was home. It was the first time she'd been home all week. Against his better judgment, he peeked into her room. She laid on her back, her hair around her neck and her legs intertwined in her blanket. An open book perched on her stomach. Several other books surrounded her along with an empty container of lunchmeat.

"You ate all of it," Isaac grumbled, picking it up.

He tossed it in the trash nearby. Melanie sighed, shifty her shoulders. Her nose wrinkled with an itch, but she didn't wake. The lack of control was driving him insane. Reaching out slowly, he touched her cheek. He knew better than to think that this stupid charade would do any good. It hurt being away from her and even worse when they were near each other. Her anger towards him radiated like the heat of the sun. Her glare made him ill. This, the way she looked so peaceful right now, was nice.

He took her glasses off and set them on the nightstand by her lava lamp then switched it on. Deaton was right, but Derek was an asshole. He thought back to the wolfsbane poisoning…

"So she's fine—they're fine," Isaac switched his tense quickly.

"Yes, they're on their way home to sleep the rest of the night off," Deaton assured him.

The tight tension in Isaac's chest released. She's okay.

"How long have your eyes been turning pink," Deaton asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Isaac, your eyes turned bright pink before you passed out. The symptoms you suffered were completely different than the others. You were dying, but it was as if by sheer will. There was no wolfsbane or poison in your system."

"Why would I will myself to die," Isaac sneered.

"That is a very good question. Have you been getting any weird feelings? Desires? Urges?"

"No," Isaac shrugged, "I don't know."

"I see."

"Look, I don't know. I feel protective over her. I can't explain it. I have to keep her close. It hurts otherwise, she hurts. I don't want that. If she…I don't think I'd…"

"Isaac, you have to stop. It's Melanie."

"I'm confused," Isaac said, tilting his head to the side. He paced across the room.

"You've—the other part of you, it's chosen a mate," Deaton explained.

"Okay, I've heard stupid shit before, but that's new," Isaac laughed.

"You get sick when you're with Allison or when you see Melanie upset. You're angrier than normal when you've seen her hurt whether it's physical or emotional. You've got this strong need to protect her regardless of the consequence. To you, there are no consequences except what she could do to you. All you know and feel is that you can fulfill every single desire of hers."

"I get it!" Isaac exclaimed.

He ran his hands through his hair restlessly, sighing.

"I can't help how I feel," he whispered after a few minutes. "I'm not sure I want to."

"She can though."

"What?" Isaac sounded in pain. His eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. How could he think that? Why would he think that?

"She's human. She can choose. Derek doesn't want you to go forward with this. It will put you both in danger. Together you could be extremely powerful but apart you would be very vulnerable. He doesn't want you putting her in danger. Ignore the call, you have to. It will fade in time, possibly when she falls in love, gets married and has kids. The pain will disintegrate if you let it and will be nothing more than a daydream crush. You cannot pursue her. You are putting both of your lives in danger."

Isaac's eyes watered. It was meant to be and his alpha was saying no? He nodded and walked out of the clinic quietly. His chest tightened and he clenched his jaw, trying to ignore it. He rubbed his chest where he felt a stabbing. His heart was breaking.

Leaning down, he kissed Melanie's forehead.

"I'm glad you weren't there," he whispered.

He got up and left her there. It was going to be a long night of no sleep, but that was okay. He could hear Melanie's heart beating steadily.

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