Marlow and Sheriff Stilinski were standing in the hallway in front of the locker room. "I'm fine," she assured him once more.
He lifted her chin. The marks were nearly gone. "You are not fine. You almost just got killed."
Marlow sighed. "Wouldn't be the first time."
He gave her a look. "That does not make me feel better and you know it too."
She nodded. "I'll be more careful in the future."
Noah pulled her into a hug. "I'm not gonna be able to convince you to take a step back, am I?"
They pulled apart. Marlow looked at him. She knew he was worried. He had every right to be. And she hated leaving seeing him so worried about her. But she couldn't stay out of it now - even if she tried. She was on the list. More assassins would be after her and her pack.
She shook her head. "No can do, Dad."
He sighed but nodded nonetheless. While he felt helpless when it came to watching his kids fighting monsters, he knew they weren't. "Just be careful. Please."
"I will. Now, please resume doing your job."
He walked away from her as Deputy Parrish led Violet out of the locker room. Marlow glared at the girl.
She saw Liam standing around the corner and walked up to him. "What happened?" he asked. He looked at the marks on her throat, his face showed the kind of concern that made her heart flutter. "Are you okay?"
Marlow nodded. "Scott saved me. Violet tried to kill me, then him. And before that Brett."
"Where's he now?" Liam asked.
"Stiles took him to the animal clinic. Deaton will know what to do."
"Parrish, hold up," Agent McCall said as he walked past the two.
Scott approached them. "Where's Kira?" he asked Liam.
"She took off. Stiles told her about Lydia cracking the second part of the Dead Pool."
Scott thought for a second. "Her mom's on it."
"Everyone's on it," Liam reminded him.
"You're not," Scott said.
"Not yet. There's still another third, right?"
Marlow's heart began to race. The severity of the situation was beginning to get to her. Scott looked past Liam. Marlow followed his gaze.
His dad was talking to Violet. Marlow listened in to the conversation as well.
"Thermo-cut wire's a very unusual weapon, Violet. Now, we've got a file at the bureau on something similar. Used in over a dozen murders," Agent McCall told the girl.
Marlow's eyes widened. That was a lot more than what the pack had thought. They'd been doing this for a while.
"There's no way they're high school students," Marlow told the boys.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I just go to school here," they heard Violet say, feigning innocence even though everyone around her knew the truth.
"Maybe we should call your parents then. Oh, no. That's right. You don't have any parents. That's why they call you The Orphans," Agent McCall said.
Marlow couldn't help but smirk as Violet's face went dark and the deputies led her away.
"We need to find her boyfriend, Garrett." Agent McCall told Sheriff Stilinski.
Her dad nodded and turned to Coach Finstock. "Coach, I'm gonna need both their locker numbers," he told him. "And someone find me a set of bolt cutters."
"What now?" Marlow asked.
Scott sighed. "I don't know. I need to find Kira and make sure that Brett is okay."
"We should probably wait until everyone's gone and go through Garrett's locker," Marlow suggested.
Scott nodded. "You're right. That's a good idea."
Marlow grabbed Scott's arm. "And don't worry, Kira will be fine. So will Noshiko," she assured him.
He nodded. She could tell he wasn't too sure about that but also didn't want to worry either of them.
The trio waited until most of the people had dispersed.
Marlow lightly shoved Scott into the locker room while she and Liam acted as lookouts at the door.
Scott broke open Garrett's locker and searched through it.
Marlow and Liam heard a radio signal and Liam looked back at Scott.
"I think someone's coming. Hurry!"
Scott was silent for a second and Marlow wondered why he had kept looking through the small locker for that long.
"You find anything?" Liam asked.
Marlow listened to his heartbeat.
"No. Nothing."
His heart was beating rapidly.
He was lying.
Marlow put her books in her locker the next day. She hadn't seen Liam or Scott since the night before and was getting worried. Garrett was still on the run and that couldn't have been a good thing.
Right as the feeling that this situation wasn't going to end well came over her, she was stopped by Mason as she walked to class.
"Have you seen Liam today?" he asked.
Marlow's brows furrowed. "No, why? I thought you two were out running."
She had thought it was a ludicrous idea for the two of them to go out running while Garrett was still out there, but couldn't convince them not to.
Now she was getting worried.
"We were. He just took off and suddenly he was gone."
Marlow took a deep breath. She took her phone out of her pocket and called Scott. "Have you seen Liam?" she asked as Mason looked at her confusedly.
"No, why?" Scott asked back.
"Mason is saying he took off on their morning run and he hasn't seen him since," she explained.
Scott was silent for a second. "Meet me at Coach's office. Maybe he's seen him."
"Okay, see you there," Marlow told him and hung up the phone. "Come with me," she told Mason.
"Where are we going?" he asked as they took off.
"Coach's office," she simply answered.
The two walked to Coach's office in silence. Marlow was getting more and more worried. She couldn't explain why, but she felt extremely protective over Liam.
Scott was already standing by the office when the two arrived.
"Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine," he immediately said.
Marlow couldn't tell if to her or Mason. She knew Scott could tell when she was nervous. It was just nature at this point.
Scott rapped on the door with his knuckles, waiting for a response.
When that response came in the form of a pained groan, they all shared a confused look.
Scott opened the door to reveal Coach Finstock downing a gulp of cold medicine in one go. He gave them a sleepy look.
"Sorry for the disturbance," Scott told him. "We were just wondering if you've seen Liam Dunbar today?"
Coach put down his cold medicine and coughed. "Sorry, guys, Liam skipped my class," he replied, then, with a hoarse and defeated tone, he added "Maybe he's sick. Like me."
Marlow took another deep breath. Liam couldn't get sick, and while she hadn't known him long, she assumed that he wasn't the type of person to just go radio silent for hours.
"Liam didn't look sick on our run," Mason told her and Scott.
"He's not getting back to any of my texts," Scott said.
"Mine either," Mason added.
The boys looked at Marlow, a questioning look on their faces.
She took a look at her lock screen.
No messages.
"Nada," she said as they walked away from the office, the bell ringing over their heads.
All three were silent for a second as if to try and think up a solution.
"Don't worry. I'll find him. But text me if you see him," Scott told Mason.
"All right," he said, his voice dripping with uncertainty and confusion, and walked away.
"What do we do?" Marlow asked as soon as her best friend was out of earshot.
Scott shook his head. "I don't know."
"We can both agree that Garrett is involved in this somehow, right?" she asked.
Scott sighed.
"Most likely," he replied with a nod.
His phone rang and he quickly answered it.
Marlow waited for him to finish the call, impatiently wringing her hands in the meantime. Her nerves were fried and she was not ready for another issue being piled onto everything else that was going on.
When Scott hung up the phone, his face was suddenly pale and a look of fear crossed his eyes.
"What?" Marlow asked, squeezing her hands together so hard, she feared she might break them.
"That was Garrett. We have a problem."
Marlow hid behind one of the buses, listening in on the conversation between Scott and Garrett. She had wanted to join him, but Scott said no. Marlow though, refused to let him do it alone, reminding him that another pair of ears may hear something he wouldn't.
"Okay, what do you want?" he asked impatiently. "You want me to go to Stilinski? I can do that. Or I can talk to my father. He's an FBI agent."
Marlow bit her lip, her brows furrowed intently.
She knew he wouldn't go for that. Garrett wasn't stupid.
"You think I want you talking to anyone with a badge? I'm not getting help from a werewolf because I want him to talk to someone."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"They are transferring Violet to a federal facility. You are not gonna let that happen."
"How?"
"They're going to put her in a car. We're going to follow it. We get ahead of it. You stop it."
"You want me to attack a car? That's your plan?" Scott asked Garrett.
He thought he was insane.
So did Marlow.
She would have loved to jump out and beat the crap out of him.
"You're an Alpha. If you can't stop one little car, then one little Beta is going to die," Garrett said, his voice firm - he meant it.
Marlow heard the sound of a blade and nearly jumped into the conversation.
She stopped when Garrett started talking again.
"I stabbed your boy with a blade dipped in wolfsbane. Once it gets to the heart. Bad things happen."
Marlow's heart was racing. Liam was in trouble and she had no idea how they were gonna get him out of it.
Marlow waited in Stiles' Jeep in front of the Sheriff's station.
He would kill her if he found out she had taken it but it didn't matter to her at that moment. Liam's life was on the line. Scott didn't want to let her tag along but she refused to let him go alone.
He was currently trying to get his dad to not attend Violet's transfer. Marlow wasn't sure if that would work but she had to let him try.
She clutched the wheel of the Jeep. She only had a learner's permit and would be deep in it if she was stopped on the road without an adult present.
It had gotten dark. The transfer would happen soon.
Scott walked out of the station and slightly nodded at Marlow.
He got into what Marlow assumed to be Garrett's car.
The door to the station opened again and Agent McCall walked out followed by a couple of deputies and finally her father who led Violet out.
Marlow's breath hitched - she didn't know her dad would attend the transfer.
Everyone got into the van, Violet being led inside first, no real emotion displayed on her face.
Luckily, her dad was so preoccupied with Violet, he didn't spot the Jeep before getting in.
All bets were off now.
Marlow was worried about Liam but under no circumstances would she let her dad die. She would kill Garrett if she had to.
The van took off and Marlow slowly drove after it, making sure to keep her distance.
Sometime later Garrett's car drove past her.
She slowed down a bit to not make him suspicious, her eyes focused intently on the road.
Everything was okay at first.
All was going according to plan, when suddenly, Garrett abruptly stopped the car.
Marlow slammed on the Jeep's brakes and it came to a creaking stop. She had to keep herself from slamming into the steering wheel.
She let out a ragged breath, looked up, and saw why they had stopped.
The van was overturned in the middle of the road and Scott rushed out of the car to the scene.
The young werecoyote was about to get out of the Jeep when she saw one of the Berserkers sneaking up to the car.
Garrett got out of his car, lacrosse stick in hand.
He walked up to Scott.
Scott pleaded with him.
More Berserkers emerged from the darkness and Garrett tried fighting him.
He got too cocky, acting as if nothing could hurt him.
A Berserker dug his claws into Garrett's back, raising him from the ground.
The boy dropped to the floor as Scott ran up to him.
Her father yelled at Scott before one of the Berserkers came in and knocked Scott out cold.
Another Berserker picked up Violet from the wreckage and all of them disappeared in the dark once more.
Marlow jumped out of the Jeep and ran after them.
"Marlow, no!" her father yelled.
But Marlow didn't want to wait. She had to act.
The Berserkers moved fast and Marlow tried catching up to them. She knew it was insane but Violet was the only lead they had. They needed her to get Liam back.
Marlow had lost them soon after. She rushed back to the crash site.
Her gaze quickly flitted between Scott and her dad. Scott was still unconscious.
She dropped down in front of her dad. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "I'll be fine."
But he didn't look fine and Marlow could feel herself getting even angrier at Kate and her posse.
Marlow called in the accident anonymously.
"Marlow, get Scott out of here. None of you are supposed to be here. I don't want you getting wrapped up in it."
Marlow didn't want to leave her dad's side. But the Berserkers never seemed to have been after him or the other officers. The ambulance was on its way and she knew he was right.
She nodded and kissed her dad on the forehead before dragging Scott to the Jeep.
Marlow managed to put him in the backseat and drove off before they'd be discovered.
She grabbed her phone and called Chris.
"It's about Kate. Meet me at the clinic."
"I'll be there ASAP."
She hung up the phone, putting her foot down on the gas harder.
Marlow and Deaton put Scott on one of the steel bars in the clinic. One of the Berserkers had gotten Scott good. Their bone was sticking right out of his ribcage.
"We're gonna have to pull it out," Deaton told Marlow.
She gagged a little.
"I don't know if I can do that."
The bell above the door rang and Chris walked in.
"Good to see you. Can you help me please?" Deaton asked, pointing at the bone.
Chris nodded and Marlow took a step back.
Suddenly, Scott slowly opened his eyes and looked around him.
"Hey, there. I was actually hoping you would be out for a few more minutes," Deaton told him.
"Scott. This is going to hurt," Chris warned him.
Scott nodded, though he was still out of it.
Marlow cringed as Chris slowly pulled the bone out of Scott's side.
Scott screamed out in pain and slid off the bar.
Chris caught him before he could fall, steadying him in the process.
"You all right?" Chris asked.
Scott groaned in response.
Deaton grabbed some gauze off the table and pressed it into Scott's side.
"Where's my dad and the Sheriff?" Scott asked in a panicked state.
"They're alright," Marlow assured him.
"They're at the hospital," Deaton added. "Hold this," he told Scott as he let go of the gauze pad.
Scott nodded, still clearly in pain. "It was Kate. It was her and the Berserkers."
"We know. Marlow told us. She tried following them," Chris informed him.
Scott shot Marlow a shocked look. "You what?"
Marlow waved him off. She knew she was still like a kid to him, but she had done a lot of growing up in the past couple of years.
"But they move fast. And they don't leave much in the way of tracks," Chris went on before Scott could on a rant.
"We have to find her. She's got Violet. I think Violet knows where Liam is," Scott told him.
"Then as much as this hurt, it could probably also help," Deaton spoke up, holding the Berserker's bone out to Scott.
Scott grabbed it and started smelling it. "There's something there for sure," he said after a minute. "We have to go now."
"Alright, then let's go," Marlow said, turning to walk away.
Scott grabbed her by the shoulder. "No, not you. I've already involved you in this situation too much."
"Scott," Marlow said indignantly.
"No. Stay here. Just wait for further news," Scott told her before he and Chris rushed off.
Marlow let out an annoyed sigh, sitting down at the bar as Deaton got to cleaning up the mess.
"I'm so tired of being on the sidelines."
Deaton smiled at her, in a way that was bemused but understanding.
He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Your time will come."
Marlow knew she heard it. The howl. It wasn't Scott's.
So she ran, not caring how mad Scott would be at her. She wasn't a little girl anymore and he would have to recognize that at some point.
She followed the howl's echo into the woods, but it was getting harder to track with each passing minute.
The werecoyote came to a sudden halt in front of an old well, frantically looking around the area.
There wasn't anyone around.
"Liam?" she finally yelled out in desperation. He had to be in the area - her hearing never failed her.
"Marlow?" she heard Liam yell back.
It was coming from inside the well.
Marlow let out a relieved gasp and rushed towards it.
She broke the wood off of it and looked down.
Liam looked back up at her, a look of relief crossing his face.
"Thank God," she said.
"Help me, please. I'm about to slip!"
Her heart skipped a beat as Liam's foot slipped on the wet moss.
She reached forward, grabbed his hand, and began pulling in quick succession.
He was too heavy for her, and she was afraid he would slip out of her grip when, suddenly, another hand clasped around hers.
She looked up and saw Scott standing over her. "I told you to wait."
"Well, thank God I didn't."
They pulled Liam out of the well together and sat him on the brim of it.
Scott engulfed Liam in a tight hug.
"You're okay," he said, letting out a relieved sigh.
Liam was still holding onto Marlow's hand and she didn't let go of it until they were back at the clinic, at which point Liam had already passed out.
Scott put Liam down on the steel bar, and Deaton walked up to him with a scalpel.
He made a small cut down Liam's chest and the yellow wolfsbane released in a cloud.
Marlow breathed out a sigh of relief.
Scott checked Liam's forehead.
"I don't want to keep watching people die."
"I'm not sure you have a choice about that," Chris told him.
"Maybe I do," Scott said.
"That's a lot of burden to carry, Scott," Deaton reminded him.
"I don't care. No one else dies. Everyone on that list. Everyone on that Deadpool."
"It doesn't matter if they're wendigos, or werewolves, or whatever. I'm gonna save everyone," Scott vowed.
"Not alone," Marlow told him.
He nodded at her.
The vow hung in the air for a bit.
Chris left shortly after. For the night at least, they were done fighting.
Marlow got a call from Stiles. She picked up the phone, trying to keep her eyes open.
"Did you take my Jeep?" he asked - not even greeting her.
Marlow sighed. "It was an emergency. Roscoe is fine."
She could practically feel the anger radiating off her brother through the phone.
"Scott will bring it back to you. I don't have time right now. Bye, Stiles!" she said and hung up the phone.
Scott looked at her. "I guess I better take off too then."
Marlow nodded and held out the Jeep's key to him.
He grabbed it and looked at her. "You coming?"
Marlow shook her head, looking down at the still passed-out Liam.
"I'm gonna stay until he wakes up. Get him home."
Scott nodded, putting his hand on her shoulder.
He shook his head, a breathy laugh escaping his lips.
"You did well today. Even though I told you not to.
Marlow laughed under her breath. "Thanks."
Scott took one more worried look at Liam before he walked out.
Marlow sat down on a nearby chair, not taking her eyes off of Liam.
Deaton swiftly kept working around her and, eventually, she passed out from exhaustion.
