Chapter Eight - The Salt Enters the Wound

~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~

Avery pulled up outside of Stiles' house.

She'd just left Boyd's even though they were pretty sure that Mr. Harris was the third warrior sacrifice, Avery wanted to check on him to make sure he was okay.

Taking a deep breath she headed up and knocked on the door. A few moments later Stiles opened the door and looked at her surprised.

"Hey." He said smiling at her.

"Hey." She greeted back.

He stood there smiling and she looked around for a few moments before she said, "Are you going to ask me inside?"

"Oh! Right, sorry. I'm just, uh… just happy to see you. I was freaking out all summer." He admitted as he stepped to the side.

She walked in the familiar warm house and said, "I know I should have come to get Annabel when I first got saved from the bank. I've just been really busy."

Before he got the chance to respond she continued, "I know it's kind of late, I wanted to see Boyd before I came here."

"You went to check on Boyd?" Stiles asked her a little surprised.

"Yeah… I just needed to make sure he was okay." She explained.

"I didn't think you two were really friends." He admitted, a slightly confused expression on his face.

"We weren't at the beginning of the summer."

He opened his mouth to say something but before he could Sheriff Stilinski walked in the living room.

"Avery, it's good to see you. How was your vacation?" He asked as he picked his car keys up from the table.

Plastering on a smile she said, "It was really great."

"I'm glad to hear it and I'm happy you made it back home safe. I know Stiles is too." He said as he said bye to the two teens and headed into the station to get some paperwork done.

"Where's Annabel?" Avery questioned as she faced Stiles.

"In my room." He said as he nodded for her to follow him.

As he opened the door to his room Annabel raced out and sat at Avery's feet meowing at her.

Smiling Avery reached down and picked her kitten up, "What have you been feeding her? She's gotten so big… she barely looks like a kitten anymore."

He still had so many questions to ask her about the summer and the alpha pack. He was also dying to know how she knew so much about druids and the human sacrifices that had taken place, but he wasn't sure where to even start.

Silently he helped Avery gather Annabel's toys and get her into her pet carrier.

"Thanks again for watching her." Avery said sincerely.

Teagan had filled her in some on how Stiles had taken Annabel since her dad was having a hard time managing the kitten and his job.

"Oh, here's this too." He said as he handed her –her computer bag.

"Why do you have my computer?" She asked as she pulled it onto her shoulder.

"I was trying to check your cellphone records. I was worried, no one had heard from you all summer." He said after a few minutes.

He stared at her, trying to read her expression but he wasn't sure what to say.

"I should probably head home, it's supposed to start raining soon and my windshield wipers aren't that good." She said as she turned and started to leave the room, but something caught her eye.

Walking over she picked up the newspaper articles he'd cut out about the murders.

"I uh, Isaac thinks that it's the alpha pack doing the killing… but that doesn't make sense." He reasoned.

"It's not the alphas." She said confidently as she laid the papers back down on the desk, and paused for a moment wondering who it could be doing the sacrifices.

"What were you doing at the animal clinic earlier today?" He carefully questioned.

"I just needed to talk to Deaton about a few things." She answered vaguely.

"You sure? I mean… you seemed to know quite a bit about the murders earlier." He pointed out.

She looked over at his computer desk and then down to the floor before she said, "Thanks again for watching her."

He quickly followed her as he called out, "Avery!"

She didn't turn around until she was almost at the front door when he said "Avery, wait."

She paused and looked down to the floor, taking a deep breath she said, "I don't know what to say to you."

"Are you okay?" He asked, growing increasingly worried.

Slowly turning to face him she stared past him for a little while before her eyes met his and she said, "This summer was supposed to be life changing. I worked out a plan with Isaac for him to meet up with Teagan, and I was going on this vacation that I was really looking forward too. I was supposed to come back and have everything figured out…"

Swallowing hard he said, "I get it, I know you didn't spend all summer lounging on the beach, Avery. I'm just worried about you."

"No, you don't get it." She finally said as she shook her head back and forth.

"I'm trying to understand." He exclaimed dropping his arms to his sides.

"I spent every day thinking it was going to be my last, literally every single day I thought I was going to die. I just kept waiting for them to come and kill me. The only friends I had were Boyd, Cora and Erica. And then after a while… Erica was gone. And I wasn't allowed to see the others anymore and I just knew they killed her and I didn't know who was next." She said her voice cracking as she spoke.

Stiles looked down as her words sunk in. He couldn't imagine what that would be like, to spend months thinking each breath could possibly be your last.. He hated to think that she'd gone through that.

It also explained why Avery had been so torn up over Erica's death, when before the summer started, Avery and Erica didn't like each other.

Swallowing hard she said, "The summer was life changing, just not the way I'd hoped it would be."

When she avoided his eyes, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to like her next sentence.

He looked down to the floor and waited on her to continue.

"I'm not the same person I was when I started tenth grade last year. I was worried about my hair and my clothes. I mean… come on, next to Teagan the most important thing to me was my car. Why were you even nice to me? I was terrible to you!" she exclaimed.

"You weren't that terrible." He offered with a small shrug.

She let out a dry laugh.

"You practically worshiped the ground I walked on and I knew it… I used you for the attention because I liked it. But then I got to know you and you're seriously one of the most amazing people I've ever met, you're so funny and sweet." She stopped and cleared her throat, swearing that she wasn't going to tear up.

"You cared about me so much and you took an interest in everything that I like. No matter what, you were there for me and no one has ever done that before." She said as she remembered the things he'd done for her.

Stiles raised his head and looked at her confused, but now he had no idea what she was getting at.

"I'm not that same self-centered person that I was. I wake up terrified every single day that someone I love is going to get killed. But you deserve better than me, Stiles." She started to say but he cut her off before she could say anything else.

"You're right, you have changed. But with everything that's happened, with everything you've been through… no one can go through all of that and be the exact same person they were." He reasoned as he took a step towards her.

She took a step back and shook her head back and forth knowing she was on the verge of tears.

"And watching you become who you are right now… it's only made me love you more." He admitted.

A mascara laced tear rolled down her cheek and she said, "If something happened to you because of me… I'd never be able to forgive myself."

His eyes slowly widened as he realized what she was really trying to say.

"They let you live for a reason, didn't they?" He asked, talking about the alpha pack.

Quickly swatting the tear away and pinning her eyes shut before anymore could escape she said, "I'm sorry." As she turned back around to leave.

He stepped forward and gently grabbed her arm as he said, "Whatever they've got on you… whatever it is they're threatening you with. Let me help you… you're not in this alone."

"You can't help me…" She started to argue but he cut her off.

"Let me try." He said.

Turning around she shook her head back and forth, "No one can help me. This is something we've never faced before, this is bigger than going against Peter last year, bigger than some psycho going around killing people. You can't help me… not even Derek can. And we're all in danger, every single one of us."

The look in her eyes and the tone of her voice was disheartening; he knew that there was something Avery was holding back. But whatever it was, she didn't want anyone involved.

"I really need to go." She said, breaking the silence.

"I'm here if you need anything, Avery. I'm always going to be here for you." He said, wishing she'd just tell him what was going on.

Her eyes locked with his and for a moment she thought about letting her guard down and talking to him but a loud clap of thunder sounded from outside and reminded her she needed to get home before it started raining too hard.

She quickly said goodbye and practically ran from the house and didn't stop until she was in her car.

~()~

That night, Teagan carried hers and her dad's empty plate into the kitchen, sitting it by the sink. She looked out the window, watching the rain hit against the window and house.

"It is really coming down out there." Her dad, Paul, stated as he walked into the kitchen carrying the other dirty dishes from the dinner they just ate.

"Yeah, it is." Teagan said, agreeing with him. She turned around to face him then asked, "I bet you are glad you don't have to go out in it and go back to work tonight."

"Very glad." Paul said with a laugh then added, "But someone still needs to take Aspen out."

Teagan nodded her head in agreement then called out quickly, "Not it."

Paul chuckled at his daughter, feeling a tear in his eye, as he thought about his wife, who used to say the same thing to get out of doing things. She would even give him the same look that Teagan was right now; a slight pout with wide brown eyes that he could never say no to.

"What is it? Are you ok dad?" Teagan asked when she saw the look on his face.

Paul cleared this throat and said, "Yeah, yeah I'm ok. It's just... you remind me so much of her sometimes."

Teagan felt tears fill her own eyes at the mention of her mother. People say time heals all wounds, but a year later it still hurt not having her around and she didn't ever see that feeling going away.

"You are more like her than I thought." Paul added quietly with an unreadable expression on his face. It was like he knew something about her mother's death that she didn't and feared he would lose her the same way.

"Are you sure you're ok dad?" Teagan asked again with a worried expression, then added, "I mean if you need to talk .."

"Actually there is something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Paul said, wondering how to bring up what he recently discovered. "It's pretty important." He added.

"What is it?" Teagan asked.

Paul opened his mouth, he wasn't sure what words were going to come out, but figured he would say the first thing that popped in his head and go from there, but before he could even say a word, they heard the doorbell ringing.

The father/daughter duo looked at each other in confusion, neither one was expecting any company that night. Teagan spoke up and said she would get the door as she walked out of the kitchen and made her way toward the front door. She glanced out the peephole then gasp in surprise when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Isaac." Teagan breathed out, as she opened the door and saw her rain soaked boyfriend.

"Hey." Isaac mumbled, as he raised his head to look at her with a heartbroken expression on his face.

It was hard to tell if he had been crying or not cause of the rain, but she could definitely tell he was upset about something.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Teagan asked as she rushed toward him. She looked him over making sure he wasn't hurt or anything then threw her arms around him.

"You're going to get all wet." Isaac pointed out, as he tried to push her off of him, not wanting to get her dry clothes as wet as his were.

"I don't care. I don't care at all." Teagan said back, as she wrapped her arms around him again. She raised up on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his for a soft kiss.

She didn't know what was going on, but was hoping she could at least give him some comfort.

Isaac wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her toward him as the kiss went on for a few more seconds before he rested his forehead against her with a soft sigh. This was why he came to her, he knew she could make him feel better, make him feel less alone. As long as she was in his life he knew he would never be alone again. It didn't matter how many people knocked him down or kicked him out, he at least had her.

The two continued to hold each other until they heard a set of footsteps coming up behind them followed by a loud bark from Aspen causing the two to turn around and see Paul holding onto Aspen's leash as he got ready to take him outside.

"Isaac, a little late for a house visit don't you think?" Paul asked the teenage boy.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I just- I didn't have anywhere else to go." Isaac quickly apologized. Teagan's dad had always been nothing but nice to him, but the look he was giving him now was different and it made Isaac think that maybe he made a huge mistake coming there.

"Wait, what happened to Derek?" Teagan asked him.

"He kicked me out." Isaac answered, his voice cracking slightly. He still didn't understand why, he didn't know what he did that was so bad. He had been racking him brain wondering what he could have done differently to keep from getting kicked out. It's not that he actually loved living with Derek, the alpha was quite moody at time, but at least it was a home and now he had nothing.

"What? Why would he do that?" Teagan questioned out loud, feeling anger toward Derek for doing this to him.

Isaac shrugged his shoulders, not having an answer for her as Paul spoke up and said, "Well I'm sure you can find somewhere else to stay, somewhere better."

"You can stay here." Teagan volunteered, as she slid her hand into his, giving it a soft squeeze.

"I uh, I don't know if that's a good idea." Isaac said, as he glanced over at Paul and noticed the look on his face.

"Of course it is. We finally fixed up the spare room over the summer and we would love to have you stay in it." Teagan said with a smile as she looked at Isaac. She turned her head to look at her dad, missing the look he had been shooting at Isaac, then added, "Right dad? Wouldn't we love for Isaac to stay with us?"

"I-I don't know Sweet Tea." Paul answered, then explained, "I mean, I'm trying to be as understanding as possible but considering what he is, it might not be a smart idea."

"What?" Teagan breathed out nervously, worried that her father had figured out that Isaac was a werewolf.

"What do you mean considering what he is?" She asked curiously.

"I mean since he is your boyfriend it might not look good to have him living under our roof." Paul answered, then added, "What did you think I meant?"

"N-Nothing." Teagan said, then added, "But I don't care what others think. Dad it is pouring outside and he has nowhere to go. I'm not just going to send him away."

"It's ok. I'll uh, I'll go .."

"No!" Teagan said, interrupting Isaac as he tried to leave. She held on to his hand and said, "You're staying here."

"Right, dad?" Teagan asked, as she looked over at her father again, pleading with him to let him stay.

Paul sighed, giving in, then said, "Ok. You can stay tonight and we'll figure out something more permanent tomorrow."

Teagan shot her dad a smile, thanking him, as he added, "Get him set up in the guest room while I take Aspen out, then it's lights out for you two in your separate rooms, ok?"

"Ok, dad." Teagan said, as they watched him walk outside with the happy white dog trailing along behind him.

"Come on." Teagan said softly, as she began to walk toward the stairs, pulling him behind her.

The two walked down the hall toward the spare bedroom but instead of going to it, she went to the room across from it, her bedroom.

"I thought your dad said separate rooms." Isaac pointed out, as he walked in behind her.

"I don't care." Teagan said, as she turned around to face him. She laid her hands on either side of his face, looking at him closely, as she softly asked, "Are you ok?"

Isaac shook his head, his eyes watering, as he said, "I don't know what I did wrong."

"I'm sure you didn't do anything. Derek's an asshole." Teagan pointed out, then added, "I don't know why he did this, but I'm going to find out, then I'm going to kick his ass. I don't care if he is an alpha, I will kick his ass."

Isaac softly chuckled as he laid his hands on her shoulders then said, "No need to go all 'Avery' on someone."

He shrugged his shoulder, trying to brush it all off, "It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is." Teagan said back. She lightly caressed his cheek, "I can tell by the look on your face that it is a very big deal."

"What happened?" She asked him with a concerned look on her face.

"I uh, I don't know. After you dropped me off everything was fine or so I thought. Derek wasn't saying much, but that's normal for him, then he dropped my bag on the floor and said I had to go." Isaac answered, "He said with Cora being back it was to much for him having both of us there and then he ..."

"He what?" Teagan asked when he paused.

Isaac released a breath he didn't even know he had been holding as he took a step back from her and slowly sat down on the edge of her bed as he remembered the thoughts running through his head when the glass flew by his head. He thought back to all the times his dad threw something at him, it happened more times than he could count, but after he had become a werewolf he swore to himself that he would never have to go through that again. He would never have to feel that powerless again; he would be strong and wouldn't have to put up with abuse anymore.

"He uh, he threw a glass at me." Isaac answered softly, as he looked down at the floor.

"No." Teagan breathed out, as tears filled her eyes. She dropped down to her knees in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck, she could only imagine the hurtful thoughts running through his mind and her heart broke for him.

"It's just... it reminded me so much of .."

"I know, I know." Teagan mumbled, as he paused to take a deep breath.

He pulled her against him, her scent instantly relaxing him, then he raised his head to look at her and said, "I know I'm not that same scared little boy that my dad tormented for years, but when I saw that glass coming toward me, I just... it was like I was right back at home with him."

"But you're not. You're not there and your dad can't hurt you anymore, Isaac." Teagan pointed out, as she rested a hand on the back of his neck, playing with his hair and hoping to calm him down.

"You have always been strong Isaac and now you're even stronger. You don't need them, you don't need anyone." She added.

Isaac shook his head to disagree as he looked at her, "I need you. Just you."

"And you have me." Teagan said back, "Now and forever."

Isaac softly smiled at her words then leaned forward to kiss her. Their lips stayed attached as she stood up from the floor then sat down on him, straddling him as the kiss began to heat up.

Hearing the door close from downstairs, Isaac pulled back a little, his lips inches from hers, as he said, "Your dad is back with Aspen."

"I don't care." Teagan breathed out, as she pressed her lips against his.

Isaac pulled back again and said, "We're supposed to be in separate rooms."

"I don't care." Teagan said again, as the two began to kiss once again.

Losing himself in her, Isaac tuned out all the noises from downstairs as he kissed her back with everything he had until he heard a noise that he couldn't ignore footsteps on the stairs.

He pulled back, breaking the kiss, then whispered, "Your dad is coming."

"Damn it." Teagan mumbled, as she quickly stood up from his lap. She quickly rushed to the bathroom attached to her room, grabbed a clean, dry towel then ran back into her room, throwing the towel to Isaac, who had stood up from her bed, right as her dad walked into her bedroom.

"What's going on in here?" Paul asked them, "I thought I said get him set up in the guest room, not your room."

"I know dad, but I figured he would want to take a shower first to warm up." Teagan said, covering up what they were really doing. "And I figured he could use my shower instead of yours since you're about to go to bed, right?"

"Right." Paul said, accepting her answer. "Well hurry up and do that, then it's time for bed." He added.

Teagan and Isaac nodded their heads, neither one saying a word until Paul walked out of the room. Once they were alone, Isaac turned to look at her as he said, "I think I do need a shower now, but it won't be a warm one."

Teagan giggled at his comment as she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a t-shirt that was actually his and a pair of her biggest jogging pants that use to belong to her dad, then she walked back over to him to hand him the dry clothes for him to change into after his shower.

"I wonder what happened to this shirt." Isaac mumbled, as he looked at the shirt she handed him. He looked up at her as he added, "I should have known that you stole it."

"I can't help it. I love that shirt. It's just so big and comfy and it smells like you." Teagan explained, then added, "I love sleeping in it."

"You can sleep in it tonight then." Isaac said, as he handed her the shirt back. He held up the jogging pants and added, "I'll just sleep in these."

"You sure?" Teagan asked him.

Isaac nodded his head then said, "Yeah, besides, knowing you're right across the hall from me in my shirt, kinda turns me on."

Teagan smiled then raised up on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck as she said, "Yeah well knowing you're across from me with no shirt really turns me on."

"Maybe I should sneak into your room later tonight then." Isaac suggested, then added, "I mean it'll be a shame if we're both turned on and alone."

"It would be a shame." Teagan said, agreeing with him. "I'll be waiting for you later." She added with a smile.

Isaac smiled back as he pressed his lips against hers for a sweet kiss. He still didn't know what went wrong at Derek's, but he was thankful that at least he had someone to turn to, he knew she would always be there for him. Now and forever.

~()~

Avery was sitting on her bed playing with Annabel, trying to forget about what had happened at Stiles' house when she heard the doorbell ring.

She doubted it was anyone coming to see her, but then again it's not like her dad got too many visitors. Every once in a while her uncle would come to visit him but that was about it.

All of a sudden Annabel sprung off the bed and darted underneath it as she could hear her growling.

She'd only ever seen her act like that when Derek had shown up.

Moments later she heard her dad yell, "Avery! It's for you."

She paused at her bedroom door, and looked back to the window she used to keep unlatched so Derek could come and go unnoticed by her dad or anyone else. But it was pouring rain outside and she'd had all the windows tightly locked since she'd been rescued from the bank.

"Avery!" Richard yelled again.

With a small sigh at her dad's impatient calls, she started down the hallway and then the stairs.

"Cora?" She asked surprised as she saw her newest friend standing in the entry way of the house, soaking wet from head to toe.

"Hey." She greeted back.

Richard looked between the two girls, "Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Avery said as Cora managed a smile and nodded.

He lingered in the entryway a little longer before he headed down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Once he was gone Avery looked at her, "Are you okay?"

Cora looked around the large entryway of the house for a few moments before she said, "We need to talk."

Avery's heart started to race at her words, she didn't know what was going on but it couldn't be good.

Nodding for Cora to follow her, Avery started up the stairs towards her room.

Shutting the door behind them, Avery said, "There's towels in my bathroom… you can borrow a change of clothes."

"I'm okay..." Cora said, her voice trailing off as she looked around the large bedroom, her eyes stopping on a picture collage Avery had on the wall.

The room seemed to signify everything she didn't have growing up.

Silently she crossed the room and looked at the pictures of Avery smiling and having fun with all of her friends from school. Even though she knew Avery had a life and friends, the girl in the pictures seemed entirely different from the one she'd been locked in a bank with all summer.

Then her eyes stopped on a picture of Derek with his eyes closed and Avery kissing him on the cheek.

"Pretty sure that's one of the only pictures I have of him." Avery said with a small laugh as she walked over to Cora and saw what she was staring at.

"Well, I mean one of the only pictures I can actually have up because of his eyes." She explained.

Cora nodded as she said, "I still can't believe you dated my brother."

A slight look of pain spread over Avery's face as she looked back at the picture.

Finally pulling her eyes away from the picture she saw Cora wrap her arms around herself and shiver.

Crossing the room Avery opened her closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and a zip up long-sleeved jacket.

"The bathroom's right there." She said as she pushed the dry clothes into Cora's hands and nodded towards the door of her bathroom.

A few minutes later Cora came back out dressed in dry clothes and drying her hair with a towel.

"Thanks." She said.

Avery nodded and asked, "So… what made you come out in the pouring rain?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She vaguely answered, then added in "Derek was attacked today and I didn't know if they'd came after you too."

Immediately Avery's eyes widened, "What? Oh my god! Is he okay?"

Cora opened her mouth to speak, but Avery grabbed her purse and phone off the top of her dresser.

"What are you doing?" Cora asked.

"Where is he?" Avery asked, sounding frantic.

"I said he got attacked not killed… he's okay." Cora said, a little surprised at how Avery had reacted.

"Was it the alpha pack?" Avery expressed her fears.

She nodded and took a few steps towards her.

"Deucalion, Kahli and Ennis… Kahli almost killed him. She uh, she stabbed him with a broken pipe and if she'd left it in too long…" Her voice trailed off as she replayed the scene in her head.

She'd been forced to stand helplessly to the side watching as her brother suffered.

"He's okay." Cora repeated when she saw Avery holding her breath.

Slowly Avery laid her purse and phone back down on the dresser.

"Deucalion wants Derek in his pack doesn't he?" Avery asked.

Cora nodded, "But it's worse than just that. In order to join him, Derek would have to kill his pack."

"Oh my god…" Avery breathed out.

"He kicked Isaac out not too long before I left to come here." She said.

"Poor Isaac." She said under her breath, then paused as she knew that Isaac had probably gone to Teagan's house and was staying the night there.

"Okay… maybe not poor Isaac." She reasoned.

Ignoring her comment, Cora continued, "Deucalion went on this long speech about he's all about discovering new talent. And then he said something that really caught me off guard."

Avery looked down to the floor by her bed to see that Annabel Lee was peeking out at Cora.

"He rubbed a hand over Derek's face and said that he looked like our mom." She continued.

Avery nodded her eyes widening as she remembered back to the day she'd been abducted.

~(Flashback)~

"Help!" Avery screamed as she struggled to get her arms unbound from the tight ropes cutting into her skin.

She was sitting in a cold room, with her arms and legs bound. It had been hours before that she'd been abducted from the airport beside her car.

"Somebody help me!" She shouted again, followed by a painful coughing spell. She'd been yelling since they put her in the room and shut the lights off. Her throat was sore and raw.

"You can stop screaming, no one can hear you." A male voice said.

Her breathing grew shallow and she squirmed even harder against the ropes that bound her.

The lights in the room turned on and she saw an older man walking towards her, wearing sunglasses and using a type of cane to tap the floor in front of him to avoid running into anything.

"Who… who are you?" She asked, her entire body shaking from fear.

Leaning down in front of her, he reached a hand out towards her face. She closed her eyes to try and squirm away as he felt her facial features.

"You look just like your mother." He stated.

When he moved his hands she gasped, "What? How do you even know my mom?"

"I knew her years ago. Your mother was an exceptional woman, very powerful. As are you, it's in your blood." He explained, leaving her with even more questions.

"What?" She gasped, feeling like the air was getting thicker by the second.

She turned her attention to a woman who walked in the room barefoot with her toenails extended into claws.

"Come on, Duke. She's useless." The woman said as her eyes glowed red.

"Alphas, you're both alphas?" Avery realized, as she remembered the two teenage boys who'd taken her also had red eyes.

Looking down to her lap she closed her eyes and breathed out, "Oh my god…"

"You understand there's no way out of here. You're outnumbered." Deucalion said.

"I got that, thanks." She snapped wondering what they wanted with her.

"Untie her Kali, she knows she doesn't stand a chance against us." He instructed.

Avery gathered that he must be the leader of the alphas.

Leaning down, Kali gave her a wicked smile before she used her claws and cut the ropes.

Quickly Avery scrambled to her feet and rubbed her sore wrists. She glanced over at the door but sighed when she realized there was no escaping.

Avery watched as Kali left the room, leaving them alone.

"Recognize where we are?" He questioned.

She looked around the small empty room.

"No… I don't." she admitted.

He smirked and turned to walk from the room.

Slowly and cautiously she followed him out of the room, her eyes widening as she looked around the bank.

"Your father use to own this bank, didn't he?" Deucalion asked.

"Yeah." She said quietly as she looked over to where all of her bags of luggage had been opened and gone through.

~(End of flashback)~

"Hello?" Cora asked as she noticed Avery hadn't been listening to her.

"Huh?" Avery asked shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" Cora questioned.

"It's nothing, it just reminded me of something that Deucalion said to me." She admitted, breathing hard.

"What the hell is going on?" Cora breathed out as she ran her fingers through her still damp hair.

"I don't know. But I really doubt he's going to all of this trouble just to recruit Derek… there's a bigger scheme at work. I just have no idea what his end game is." Avery breathed out.

"I don't think anyone does." Cora said as she looked down when Avery's kitten rubbed against her leg begging for her attention.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Avery asked after a few moments of silence.

"I should probably get back to the loft." She declined the offer and turned towards the bedroom door.

"I'll give you a ride home, let me get the keys for my dad's truck." Avery explained as she headed down the stairs to find her dad.

~()~

Cora watched as Avery pulled the old freight elevator door closed and stepped back, waiting for it move to the top floor of the building.

"You really don't have to walk me to the door. Plus, even if the alphas are there… you're human, you'd be useless against them." She said calmly, as if her words weren't the least but offensive.

Avery fidgeted a bit with her dad's car keys and shrugged, "Strength in numbers, right?"

Cora turned her head looking at Avery as it occurred to her that Avery wasn't there for her.

"Mhmm, unless you're really only coming with me because you want to see Derek."

Avery looked over at her friend who was giving her a knowing look and holding back a laugh.

"Shut up, Cora. You have the worst people skills of anyone I have ever met." Avery sighed as she shook her head and stepped out when the doors opened.

As they neared the loft Avery stopped and quietly whispered, "He's probably fine…"

Cora's face twisted with confusion as she looked at her, not understanding what the big deal was.

When Avery started to hear the loft door slide open her eyes widened and she whispered to Cora that she'd see her later, before breaking into a sprint for the elevator.

Of course she knew that was probably pointless, if a year ago he'd been able to track her scent to the park she goes to when she's upset, of course he'd know she'd be there.

But at the moment all that mattered to her was both knowing he was okay and not seeing him. She'd made herself a promise while she'd been locked up over the summer; that she wouldn't get involved with anyone, after all every person she loved could be used against her, used as a weaknesses and she couldn't let that happen.

Pulling open the door on the first floor, she started to walk out but stopped when she saw Derek there waiting on her.

Stepping off the elevator she looked around, her eyes stopping on the stairs as she realized he must have ran down there from the top floor to catch her.

They looked at each other in silence, but her eyes lingered on his midsection where Cora told her that Kali had stabbed him with a broken metal pipe. Luckily he appeared to be all healed up, one of the benefits from being an alpha, even faster healing powers.

"You healed?" She questioned taking a step forward.

"Completely." He admitted, then added in, "Cora never should have went to you."

"She was just checking on me." Avery defended.

"But the last thing I need is you getting any more involved in all of this than you already are."

She shook her head at his words, the thought of her not being involved was almost comical. Deucalion had made it clear to her that she didn't have a choice in the matter.

Trying to not show how much the whole situation was affecting her, she walked past him out of the doors into the pouring rain, but he went after her.

"Avery, I'm serious… whatever happens, I need you to stay out of it. To stay out of danger."

Turning around she wiped the mixture of rain and salty tears from her face, as she turned and faced him, shivering from the cold water soaking her hair and clothes.

"Yeah?" she scoffed closing her eyes for a moment, and thinking about how close he'd come to death that day, she walked forward holding onto him as she admitted, "And what I need is for you to stay alive." Her words were barely audible through the heavy rain and the thunder rumbling in the distance.

Slowly, his arms folded around her as he reminded her of an earlier conversation with a small smile, "I thought you didn't need me anymore."

Pulling back some she looked up at him as she shook her head back and forth, "I just…" But she couldn't find her words as she stared at him, mentally commanding her lip to stop quivering.

"I'm okay." He assured her, knowing now it wasn't just the rain streaming down her face. He brushed some of her soaking wet hair from her face and stared at her, wishing that she'd never gotten involved in any of this in the first place.

Even though she told them not to, her eyes slowly traveled down to his lips, and she shivered not only from the cold rain, but from remembering how those lips felt on hers.

When she realized their faces were now only inches apart, it took every bit of strength she had to turn her face and step back. She'd made a promise, not to get involved with anyone, and for reasons that he didn't yet understand she had to keep that promise.

Even if every cell of her body wanted to be back in his arms again.

"I –I uh, I need to get home." She excused herself, as she quickly got into her dads truck and left him standing out in the pouring rain, as she wiped more tears from her cheeks.

A/N- Thanks for reading guys! Did you all hear the good news that Teen Wolf was renewed for season 5, which will have 20 episodes!

I want to take a moment and thank everyone who has added this story to your favorites and/or subscribed for update alerts. It's all of your continued support that inspires us to keep this story going, and we're really having an amazing time writing and bringing Teagan and Avery's stories to life here!

We'd both really love it if you'd take the time to leave a review and let us know you're still reading. ^_^