Two-Pack III: Teen Wolf Season Five

by lordtrayus

The Ghost Pack is defeated, and Scott's pack have emerged stronger than ever. However, an insidious new enemy has come to Beacon Hills, the evil Dread Doctors, who will stop at nothing until they have completely exterminated all supernatural life, and the only thing in their way, is Scott's pack...

9. Episode 2: IED Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf

Two-Pack III

Dr Finch was in the surgery, sorting out some small paperwork matters that needed dealing with. With Scott back to school tomorrow, she and Dexio were about to come under a bit more pressure, but she was fairly certain the two of them would be able to handle it. That wasn't to say Scott's help wasn't invaluable, and he still had his regular hours that he'd keep up, but his help had been invaluable as she took over the practice.

The whole thing was rather an interesting conundrum. She knew Deaton of old, back when she had been friends with Talia Hale, and the two of them had struck up a friendship, and she had been one of the few people from the olden days that Deaton had kept in contact with after Kate Argent had massacred the Hale family. A certified scientist, vet and supply teacher, Dr Alana Finch had come to town after Deaton had reached out, asking her if she would be willing to watch his practice for the foreseeable future, as he had made several missteps recently that had forced him to leave town.

Upon arriving, she had read the letter that Deaton had left her, and had realised exactly what had gone wrong. She had also, to her consternation, found herself now thrown into a town she knew little about, the seat of power of the one and only True Alpha, and had now, however inadvertently, put herself into the crosshairs of the three powerful factions that made up the supernatural world.

And that was quite possibly the last thing that she and her pack needed.

The rest of her pack had now arrived, her daughter Quinn was also now enrolled at school, as it appeared that they would be staying here for a while, as she had to admit, other than a debt she owed Deaton, she was also curious as to the True Alpha himself.

By all accounts, Scott was a highly engaging young man, and having defeated four notorious villains along with others who were less well known, his legend was growing daily. His power was also considerable, and Finch had had to take extreme care so as not to alert him to the fact that his new boss was another Alpha herself. She didn't think it was advisable to let him know, especially with how things had gone down between Deaton and Scott's pack, that the person Deaton had asked to replace him was another Alpha infringing on the local pack's space, especially when Scott already seemed guarded around her because of what he knew was just her professional connection to Deaton.

She was curious about him, she had to admit, and didn't want to jeopardise any form of relationship with him, especially when their world was getting…unsettled for want of a better word, and had so far kept the cards very close to the chest. And whatever happened, being allied with the True Alpha, or at least close by, would give her an idea of what to do when the time came and the fur started to fly.

She was disturbed from her ramblings as the door was suddenly wrenched open, and she span in alarm, trying not to allow her wolf to take over, and barely managed to restrain herself from letting her eyes glow red, and when she took a quick breath, she realised how fortunate that she was that she hadn't done it as the girl in the doorway clearly needed help.

A slight girl with slightly curly blonde hair, she had clearly seen better days. Her face, hands, arms and legs were all scraped and cut, her clothes were frayed and torn, she was covered in dirt and grime, and what was more, she was bleeding considerably from numerous bullet holes.

"I…need to talk to…Scott…McCall…" the girl breathed, her blue eyes unfocused as she looked at Alana, then promptly collapsed forward in a heap, clearly utterly spent.

Alana rushed to help her, but as she checked the girl over, a bullet that had been dislodged from one of her wounds rolled out from her patient, and Alana felt her blood run cold.

Only one man used those sorts of bullets, and if he was here, they were all in terrible danger, as Crockett, the most famous and dangerous poacher in the world, was here in Beacon Hills, and if he was here, there was only one prey he could be interested in:

The pack of the True Alpha.

XX

"Will you relax?" Garrett complained as they headed back through the preserve, and Liam shot his adopted brother an unimpressed look.

"How the hell do you expect me to relax? I've been attacked and nearly killed by some massive brute with glowing claws, turned into a werewolf, started my training as a werewolf, Scott says there's some evil flying bat thing out there, there's a poacher in town hunting us all, and now we've found a mass grave! How am I meant to relax?" Liam squeaked, looking around nervously as the two of them headed back through the mid-morning sun dappled woods.

Garrett looked worriedly at his brother, his best friend. He did get it, and finding out about the creepy bat thing that had likely been perving on them all certainly hadn't improved his mood either. On top of nearly dying, he did understand why Liam was a little out of sorts. He couldn't help but be worried though. After all, he and their parents had decided to go along with Scott's plan to save Liam, and had willingly turned him into a werewolf. What sort of person did that make him? Selfish, or selfless?

Was Liam truly ok with being turned into a werewolf? He had seemed to enjoy himself this morning, sure, but there was a difference between all the cool things werewolves could do, and all the associated, unpleasant crap it brought with it. Would he start to resent him, resent his parents, resent Scott? Would he rather have died, and basically been with Mason rather than get turned into what could well be described as a monster?

Garrett pondered these things as Liam prattled, walking slightly ahead of him. In his lessons with Argent, Argent had admitted that he had originally believed that all werewolves were monsters that had to be put down, like rabid dogs, just like his father, sister and wife. Argent had then admitted that his views had changed, in no small part due to Allison naturally, but also because of their rather dorky Alpha, who, despite himself and contrary to the front he put up, Argent really was quite fond of. He had admitted to both Garrett and Violet that he had learned a lot since his daughter had foolishly fallen in love with a werewolf. He did say that while there were some monstrous ones out there, some truly evil Alphas, many had been shaped by what hunters had done to them, or what other creatures or factions had perpetuated against them to begin with. He said that many just wanted to survive and be left alone. But he did note that there were even some who were extraordinarily rare, of which Scott was one, who actually wanted to help other people and look out for people.

Garrett had convinced his parents that Scott could save Liam, and he was right, he had, Scott had saved Liam. But at what cost? Liam was now a werewolf in the pack that were the sworn protectors of Beacon Hills, where bad guys showed up with murder and mayhem in mind with alarming frequency, and being the bitten Beta of the one True Alpha, did that mean that by encouraging Scott to save Liam, he had inadvertently endangered his brother even more than he had been when he had been dying, and potentially dooming him to a fate worse than death?

Garrett was still mulling all this over, contemplating what hell he might have inadvertently set loose on his brother, on his best friend, when he suddenly walked into the back of said best friend, who had stopped abruptly.

"Dude!" Garrett scolded, but Liam had sent still, tensed up, and he raised a hand to shut Garrett up.

Liam sniffed hesitantly, as though he was convinced that he wasn't doing it right, his face worried as he did so. He knew that smell, that smell that you got when you'd been whacked in the jaw by a lacrosse stick.

"I smell something, I think…I think it's blood." He mumbled, and Garrett cautiously reached for his gun, clicking the safety off.

So much for being alright in broad daylight.

"You sure?" he muttered, readying his gun in case they were about to be attacked, and Liam nodded, though did look a bit unsure.

"I think so, know that horrible smell when you get whacked in the mouth with a lacrosse ticket, when your mouth is full of blood? It smells like that, I think, but it's not strong." He told him in a low voice, and Garrett looked around, he wasn't able to see anything, but then again, it was Beacon Hills.

"Ok, where?" he asked, and Liam sniffed again, still looking uncertain, but pointed off to the west, to where there was a stream that eventually joined into the one that was affectionately named the stream where Malia and Stiles had sex.

"That way." He said, and ran off, and Garrett let out a petulant groan, really, what was it with the wolves and running?

"Liam, don't you think we should call the others?" Garrett protested, running after his brother as he led the way towards the stream up ahead through the cold morning.

"Yeah…maybe we should." Liam said breathlessly, pointing to the edge of the stream, his blood going cold as he did so.

At the edge of the water, which had gone a translucent pink colour due to the blood seeping into it, there was a girl lying, riddled with multiple bullet wounds, scratches and scrapes. She was soaking, her long brown hair was matted with blood from her injuries, and she was deathly pale, but from the looks of it, she was still breathing.

"Where the hell did she come from?" Garrett demanded, covering the girl with his gun and edging forward, but as he did so, Liam hastily grabbed his shoulder, looking scared.

"Wait." He commanded, and such was the authority that he spoke that Garrett did so, still keeping an eye on the girl as he looked at his brother.

"What is it?" he asked, and Liam sniffed again, looking scared.

"I don't know, but it's like there's something…else, and I can't help but think we're being watched." He told him darkly, and Garrett hissed through his teeth, but if they were about to run into trouble, then they needed help there wasn't much a neophyte hunter, a werewolf pup and a heavily injured girl could do.

He edged forward, as did Liam, the two of them alert for any sign of trouble, Garrett scanning the area, but could see nothing, but despite the fact that Liam was new at this, he did trust that his brother was right. Liam sniffed again, his face clouded and worried, but he knelt down beside the girl, though his eyes, now glowing gold, were keeping a close watch on everything that moved.

It was eerily silent in the clearing, only the sound of the stream and the wind rustling through the springtime trees disturbing them as they checked on the girl. She looked about their age, pale at the best of times but even worse now due to the blood that she had lost.

"Who is she, where the hell did she come from?" Garrett asked, checking for a pulse, and was strangely relieved to find one, but he didn't put down his gun, after all, there was no guaranteeing who or what she was.

While, ironically, the supernatural was the obvious choice since this was their lot in life, the fact that she was so far away from anywhere also had Garrett in mind of something equally insidious, drugs. There had been a slight and barely noticeable drug problem when he had been in the orphanage, but he knew that there were parts, particularly on the opposite side of the preserve, that were a lot seedier and more dangerous.

"Well, the river does come through here, reckon she was washed here?" Liam asked, that sense that they were being watched hadn't gone away, but they were completely alone, there was no sign of anyone, or anything.

Mindful of Scott warning them about the flying pervert, he chanced a look above but also saw nothing, but there was still that unsettling feeling, but strangely, other than the smell of blood and the water coming off the girl, he couldn't smell anything else either, yet he was still unsettled.

"Maybe…ok, so what do we do, we need to get her to a hospital?" Garrett told Liam, and the young Beta nodded, but pondered whether or not they could risk moving the girl without aggravating her injuries or possibly killing her.

"We need help," he decided, and that feeling was getting worse, it was like something was stalking them, and he was starting to get very scared, not that he would admit it, "but there's no reception!" he complained, checking his phone desperately, and Garrett, sensing how unsettled Liam was, reached across and took his wrist, noting that Liam's claws were starting to grow in panic.

"Liam, you don't need the phone. We're not far from the grave site, and you're a werewolf now." He told him as the water churned behind them, and Liam chewed his lip, he hadn't thought of that, but he'd never done that before, he was new at this.

"You mean roar? I haven't done that yet, in case you missed it, Werewolf 101 got interrupted!" he whined, and Garrett looked at him earnestly.

"Liam, you can do this, and besides, this girl isn't going to last if we don't get her to a hospital, and you've kind of given me the creeps saying we're being watched," he hissed as the water sloshed behind them, "you can do it! Just concentrate, you're Scott's Beta, roar for him! Besides," he said with a coy grin, "it's not like you don't want to." He teased, and Liam looked at him furiously.

"I do not have a crush on Scott!" he insisted bitchily, the water starting to part behind them, unnoticed, as two glowing reptilian eyes fixated on the two boys and the errant girl, getting closer every second.

But ignoring his brother who was now smirking as he had clearly annoyed Liam, Liam closed his eyes, trying to feel Scott, just like he had when Scott had calmed him down before, that part that connected him to Scott in a way that was unique to him and to his Alpha, he had to get this right, he had to get Scott, he had to roar, and do it fast, before the girl died.

His eyes glowed a shining gold, he tilted his head back, and let out a roar.

But far from the ground shaking roar that Scott was capable of, or even the vicious ones the others did when they fought, his, his didn't sound like that, as evidenced by Garrett bursting out laughing, his whole body shaking in mirth.

"You call that a roar? I can roar better than that, you sounded like more like a werecat getting sat on!" he chortled, and Liam scowled.

"Oh shut up, I'm new! Ok, the girl, we need Scott, ok…I can do this…" he panted worriedly, the girl's breaths weren't exactly even, and they were coming fewer and further between, if they didn't hurry they'd lose her, and there was still the fact that he had that feeling that they were being watched.

He had to do this, he visualised Scott, his Alpha, Isaac, his Prime Beta, Garrett, his best friend and brother, Kira, his girlfriend, yeah, they were all part of the same pack, they were all together, he was one of them, he was a werewolf now, he was Scott's Beta, and he needed Scott, he needed them all, all of them, it was like he could hear Scott whispering in his ear, encouraging him, telling him he could do this, that he was his Beta, hearing Scott calming him and encouraging him, he could do this!

The water churned as the glowing reptilian eyes got ever closer, its jaws opening wide, preparing to tear them all asunder as it leapt from the water…

Only for Liam, feeling the power of the pack coursing through him, tilted his head back, and roared.

The roar rippled across the preserve, shaking the ground beneath them as he did so. Heading back to town, still wondering if it was the right thing to do to let Liam and Garrett head back alone, Scott and Isaac suddenly stopped, their eyes glowing red and gold respectively, and they rushed towards the sound of the roar. Aiden and Lydia exchanged an alarmed look, hurtling through the forest towards the source, Ethan right behind them. The roar even reached Stiles, who was chatting with Neo as he drove them home, who frantically twirled his steering wheel, throwing his arm across a suddenly very alarmed Neo's chest as he did so, before driving off towards the noise.

In the water, the beast growled in annoyance, before somersaulting over in the water, swimming away, thwarted again.

And as the pack, and the police started to arrive, Scott sent his Beta a proud look, and Liam gave him a rueful grin, as it seemed that being a werewolf could be something he might be really quite good at.

XX

"She was lucky, very lucky that you brought her in boys. Much longer and she wouldn't have made it." Dr Dunbar told them grimly, and Liam exchanged a dark look with Scott, who looked curiously at the doctor.

"Will she be alright? And do you have any idea who she is?" he asked, and the doctor shook his head.

"Nope, nothing's came back anyway, the sheriff is checking it out, but obviously with the discovery of the," he began, looking around furtively before lowering his voice, "the mass grave, he's got a lot on his plate."

"Will she be alright?" Garrett asked worriedly, peering through into the room where the girl had been put, and Dunbar nodded.

"Yes, we think so. But, if she is, you know, like you guys," he said significantly, "we're going to have to get her out of here before people start asking too many awkward questions, especially when she's not the only girl who's in this mess." He told them, and Scott looked at him curiously.

"There was another?" he asked curiously, and Dunbar nodded.

"Yep. Your boss brought her in actually, Dr Killian is checking her over, but both girls have been shot, repeatedly. So I'm going out on a limb, even though I'm new to all this, and assuming that this is something to do with the supernatural?" he asked in a low voice, and Scott sighed, kneading the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

Yep, certainly seemed that way didn't it?

"Where's Dr Finch?" he asked, and Dunbar pointed to a room further down the corridor, and Scott turned to Liam and Garrett.

"Ok, stay here, and keep an eye on that girl, I'm going to go and speak to Dr Finch and find out what she knows. Hey, is there any way we can see one of the bullets that they got shot with? It might help Argent identify who we're dealing with, if it is something supernatural related and not just some nutter." Scott suggested, and Dunbar nodded, heading to get some while the two young pack members guarded the door where their mysterious girl was recuperating from her injuries.

So, two girls, riddled with bullets, that had been found in time, and were both looking likely to survive. Yeah, that would indicate that Dunbar was likely right, and that this was indeed the supernatural, and Scott had a horrible feeling in his gut that these bullets, once he got Argent to identify them, would likely point to this Crockett character being in town.

He shook his head, this was the last thing they needed. As Lydia had precited, there were other bodies buried further under the ground than the ones they had inadvertently discovered when Liam had fallen in the hole, people who had gone missing seventeen years ago, on top of two of the people who had gone missing recently. Which meant that that site had been used as a dumping ground for dead bodies for quite some time.

It also begged the question, as two of the missing victims had been found, where the hell were the other ones? And what was more, preliminary investigations had reasoned that they were still three bodies short from seventeen years ago, and that the three babies who had disappeared at the culmination of the whole thing, which Clive Mariner had been blamed for.

The only fly in that particular ointment was that Clive Mariner had the exact same blood as that flying thing that had been perving on the entire pack, which they still hadn't found any sign of, the Popobawa Isaac had called it. But if Mariner was indeed the Popobawa, where were the other victims? And if he was a flying creature, why hadn't he flown away when the police came after him, chasing him to try and recover the three missing babies? And if he was the Popobawa, why did he kidnap the kids in the first place, and well, was he always the Popobawa?

And on top of that, they still had no idea who or what had attacked Liam, there was still a large number of missing kids and finding the mass grave hadn't alleviated those fears any, and Scott had to try and train a neophyte Beta in the art of being a werewolf when there was a poacher potentially in town, a perverted flying thing, something with talons running amok, and a mounting list of missing kids that were more than likely going to turn into dead kids unless they did something soon.

He sighed. Like he had told Liam, sometimes he enjoyed being a werewolf. However, when he had to be the Alpha, well he didn't mind being the Alpha, but when he had to the True Alpha of Beacon Hills, that got on his nerves a little, well, a lot really.

Grumbling internally about how unfair his life was at times, well how unfair it was for everyone in Beacon Hills, he knocked on the door and opened it, to see Dr Finch standing with a clouded expression as she stared at the girl in the bed. Scott quickly ran an eye over her, and his heart skipped a little, he knew that girl, that girl was Lori, one of Satomi's Betas, she had been at the summit.

Fearing that his day had just gotten a lot worse, he turned to Finch, who met his eyes warily.

"Dr Dunbar said you brought her in?" he asked without preamble, and Finch nodded cautiously.

"Yes, I did, she barged into the surgery and said she needed to speak to you before she passed out. She's been through the wars this one. Whoever shot at her didn't mean for her to escape, Scott." She told him darkly, and Scott ran a critical eye over Lori, and was relieved to see that she seemed to be healing.

Ok, so someone had shot at both her and the girl that the kids had found, and as Lori was a werewolf and was likely being targeted, it stood to reason that the other girl was also something to do with the supernatural.

"Will she be alright?" Scott asked worriedly, looking at the unconscious Lori, and Finch nodded, before she fixed Scott with a concerned look.

"Scott, I know we don't know each other very well yet, but please, you have to be careful, if this is who I think it is," she began, and then blanched as she realised what she had said, as Scott turned to look at her, a current of irritation, threatening to become a torrent, surged through him.

"Wait, you know who did this?" he asked through gritted teeth, and she breathed through her teeth, and she nodded reluctantly, figuring that, due to her little slip there, she might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

"I have a pretty good idea, Scott, please, don't ask me anymore, but I…" she began, raising a hand to placate him, but Scott let out a low growl, his eyes turning red as he did so.

So, once again someone he was meant to be able to trust was trying to keep things from him. Once again, someone to do with Deaton was keeping things from him, and after that had backfired so epically onto them all last time, like hell was he going to allow that to happen again.

"Who are you?" he demanded, bringing the full level of his Alpha power to bear.

Finch stepped back in anger, feeling Scott's raw unbridled power being turned against her. She had been stupid to let that one slip out, and now the relationship with Scott that she had been cultivating, the one she had taken pains not to give too much away about due to Deaton's own mishandling of the situation, was now hanging by a thread.

However, that being said, there was still the fact that this mere boy, despite being the True Alpha, was now trying to force her into revealing herself when she didn't want to? Who the hell did he think he was?

Finch growled herself, and to Scott's utter shock, her eyes also glowed a shining red, bespeaking considerable power, and he noticed claws sprouting from her fingers and her fangs were also growing inside her mouth as she answered his dominating growl with a challenging one of her own.

"Don't you know it's rude to force shapeshifters to reveal themselves?" she snarled, tensing up, and Scott sent her an unimpressed look, allowing his own claws and fangs to grow, and knowing that he had Liam and Garrett nearby, not that he would want to involve them if it came to a fight with her, but also knowing Argent was also on his way, snarled back, and took a step towards her.

"And don't you know it's rude to hide the fact that you're an Alpha from the Alpha who protects this town, to lie to him just like your predecessor, and not tell the incumbent Alpha that you've entered his territory? And really? You think you can take me?" he snarled, and Dr Finch considered replying that she could, easily, but then she truly beheld the young man who was such a cause for concern in the supernatural world, and felt her certainty fade.

After all, Scott wasn't the vaunted True Alpha for nothing. What was more, he was also the hero who had defeated the rogue Peter, the geriatric psychopath Gerard, the renegade Deucalion, an ancient Nogitsune, and had also defeated the Corrupter, and by defeating all of them, he had, however unwittingly, taken on some if not all of their power by doing so. And while she was one of the most powerful werewolves that she knew of, and her pack had a certain reputation, she also had studied Scott, and knew of his exploits and prowess, and suspected that a battle between the two of them, while serving absolutely no purpose, might not turn out the way she hoped.

Resenting the boy slightly, but figuring that his anger was rather justified when she thought about it, with an effort, she retracted her claws and fangs, and help up a hand as an offer of truce.

"Ok, I'll admit, you have a right to be angry. If you calm down, we can talk, but I would rather not have this conversation at loggerheads." She said suggestively, and while he did throw her a resentful look in response, he did retract his claws and fangs, then crossed his arms angrily, his uneven jaw jutting out as he glowered at her, as though challenging her to try and pull something.

"Let me guess, Deaton sent you to spy on me?" he snarled, and Finch could tell that the boy was angry, and also rather jaded by his mistreatment at the hands of his former employer.

Finch sighed, and gestured towards the chairs at the bottom of Lori's bed, and glowering at her, Scott did sit down beside her, and she sighed, figuring she had no choice now but to explain herself.

"Look Scott, Deaton didn't send me here to spy on you. Deaton realised he had made errors, a lot of errors, regarding his treatment of you and your pack. He lost your trust, and you did what any reasonable Alpha would have done upon being betrayed by their Emissary: you cast him out. I am simply here to watch his practice for him while he…goes off soul searching somewhere. However, as he told me, when I got here, I found this highly engaging young man, the one True Alpha. I suspected that if I revealed that I was another Alpha, it would automatically put you on your guard, potentially even turn you against me, especially with how Deaton had acted towards you. So, I kept my counsel. And I have to admit to a certain degree of curiosity, I was intrigued to find out who you were, what you were like, without Deaton having informed any of my opinions and conclusions. As you say, it is rude for another wolf, particularly another Alpha, not to have the decency to alert the local Alpha to their presence within their town. But, we did have to work together, and I didn't want to ruin any form of proper working relationship simply because of how I was tied to Deaton. I swear Scott, I didn't come here to spy on you, I came as I owe a favour to an old friend, so I came to watch his practice, that's all. And to help Dexio finish graduating of course, and to help you as well. And I do hope that you'll forgive me not telling you who I was, but I was rather intrigued to get to know you without the whole supernatural aspect. I'm sorry." She told him softly, and he sighed.

All through her explanation, he had listened intently to her heartbeat, to see if she was indeed lying, and her heart hadn't spiked at all, so she was telling the truth…or was at least very good at hiding the fact if she was indeed lying. But despite the fact that she hadn't told him, he did kind of see why she hadn't. He didn't like it, but he did see why she had. The entire pack, particularly his joint seconds in command, had been extremely hostile towards Deaton, and with his apparent betrayal through omission when they were battling Agravaine, the situation had become much worse. For Dr Finch to arrive in town, to be greeted by a rather guarded and hostile pack, especially after their numerous losses and Stiles' apparent betrayal on top of Deaton's, it was perhaps wise that she had kept quiet.

He looked at her, and she gave him an earnest look in return. She had admitted to being curious, and he supposed that wasn't a crime, hell it was him and Stiles being curious that had gotten them into this whole mess to begin with. And so far, she hadn't led him wrong, and didn't seem determined to kill him, so he supposed, for the time being at least, he could trust her.

"Ok, but please, don't lie to me again. We've had enough of that." He told her, and she nodded, conceding the point.

"Yes, my predecessor certainly didn't help matters. I am sorry Scott. I did wonder if it might be better to tell you, but figured that if I did, well, this would happen." She lamented, and he grinned.

"So, you are technically just a vet?" he asked, and she smiled ruefully.

"Not entirely. I am also trained as a biology teacher, which is Lydia's mother keeps phoning and harassing me." She mused, and he shrugged.

"Yeah, we don't have a great record with science teachers so maybe it's best if you avoid her calls." He advised, and she flicked him a dark smile.

"Having met that odious little gremlin Adrian Harris, I can say that he well and truly had it coming," she told him, and he grinned, yeah, Harris wasn't someone he was particularly bothered had been killed, he was a horrible person, like Isaac's father, and had had it coming, "but other than that, I'm just a vet who can also teach AP Biology." She explained airily, and Scott felt his heart flutter a little.

As he had always wanted to be a vet, AP Biology was essentially to getting into any of the college courses that would put him on that path. But while his grades were better than they had used to be, the constant supernatural interruptions, not to mention nearly dying twice in the space of the year, well, his chances of getting into AP Biology decreased drastically with each passing day, and as it looked as though the supernatural was again on the move in town, his chances of getting into AP Biology had likely devolved from highly unlikely to severely impossible in the last twenty four hours.

See, this was one of the parts he hated about being an Alpha.

"So, other than the obvious, why the secrecy?" he asked, deciding not to dwell on his future, or rather his soon to be lack of one, and she smiled in slight amusement.

"Well, a couple of reasons. One, when I arrived you were just finding your feet in the statesman role of an Alpha and didn't want to meddle, or put you off guard, it pays to have allies, especially ones as powerful and wise as Satomi. And secondly, well, my pack has a…reputation." She told him, and he looked at her worriedly.

"What sort of reputation?" he asked warily, ready to flex his claws again if the situation required, but she waved her hand in dismissal.

"Oh, nothing bad, well, not really! See, we're called the Primal, and we only really want to be left in peace. So, to that end, I had our Emissary spread all sorts of rumours that we eschewed everything, essentially, what I wanted to be seen as was essentially an Amish pack, which makes sense, my father was Amish, and led the pack perfectly well. The plan was to just be a pack that kept themselves to themselves, while adhering to some Amish values, which helps us retain our humanity. But, well, somewhere along the line, it started as they believed we eschewed all modern technology, which obviously isn't true, well, except in my case for the microwave, don't trust them. But before I knew what had happened, suddenly the Primal didn't just have some Amish values, we were suddenly abandoning all technology, essentially becoming Amish ourselves, but we were apparently violent Amish, and sacrificed our humanity and didn't follow any rules or morals. So, my Emissary did a little too well, but those who have come after us learned that to their folly, we aren't Amish, we can defend ourselves, but we're also not the murders or killers my rather overeager Emissary portrayed us to be. I don't know, you'll soon learn, that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." She told him with a slight sigh, and he laughed.

She then pulled the sleeve of her top up, revealing a tattoo of the Horned God on her upper right arm.

"We don't mean you, or your pack any harm Scott, I swear to you. In fact, my daughter, Quinn, is actually settling into the school with you. I moved the pack here simply because I came here to make good on a debt to Deaton, and, admittedly, I was curious about you. You are an odd one," she told him, favouring him with a slight smile, "but I don't know, I have a feeling that you could be a great one."

Scott felt himself blushing, and he looked away from her, and then looked at Lori lying recuperating on the bed.

"Thank you. So, you know who did this to Lori and the other girl?" he asked, and Finch nodded, pursing her lips grimly as she got up, slipping a bullet out of her pocket as she did so.

"Yes. We've encountered him before, his name is Crockett, and he's a poacher, not just a hunter. He doesn't hunt us for sport, or for some noble reason like protecting people, he hunts us because it makes him money, and a lot of it. And the fact that he's here…" she told him warningly, and Scott groaned.

"Means he's after us. No chance he's after you?" he asked, a little hopeful, and she smirked, fixing him with a pitying look.

"While it is possible, as we have given the illusion that we are rather removed from humanity and are a murderous bunch, the truth of the matter is, very few people know about us. He might be, there's no disputing that, but the rest of my pack are always on the lookout for such things. And quite frankly, since Crockett is here, chances are he's after the biggest game in town, which is naturally the True Alpha and his pack." She told him, and he sighed.

Yeah, he knew that, typical.

"How do we know it is him though?" he asked, and a voice from the doorway answered his question for him.

"His bullets." Argent told him, entering the room, giving Finch a respectful nod, which she returned in kind, and she threw one of the bullets she had pulled out of Lori when she had found her to him, and Argent held it up for Scott to see.

"You've seen enough of my bullets, with our crest on them, at least the important ones, to know how to identify if we shoot at you," Argent explained, and Scott grinned a little, and Argent met him with a slight smile, well, he was only human and couldn't be blamed for enjoying the thought of shooting at him, "the Calaveras were the same, they inscribed all of their bullets as well with their own crest."

Finch snorted derisively.

"Though how they could find which end of a bullet was which always surprised me, I've seen more intelligent creatures than them running around farms with their heads cut off." She commented in disdain, and both Scott and Argent grinned, she wasn't wrong, the Calaveras, with a few notable exceptions, like the one the Berserkers had dragged off at the end of their fight with Agravaine, weren't exactly dangerous, they were irritating more than anything else, and the inbred hunters were only really a threat because they attacked in such large numbers.

Well, they had done, as between a mysterious assailant who had framed Derek for several murders including that of their leaders Araya and Severo, their war with the pack which had led to most of them being captured, then the war with the dogs, the Berserkers, the Pombero and Ifrit, had led to the Calaveras being wiped out, or near enough to extinction to mean it'll take generations before they were a threat of the same level again.

"Crockett's bullets aren't that distinctive," Argent explained, showing Scott the end of the bullet that Finch had thrown to him, "other than this little bump at the end? See it?" he asked, and Scott frowned as he beheld the bullet, which did indeed have a tiny little bump at the bottom of the bullet.

"Yeah, you'd think it was just a flaw, wouldn't you?" he asked, and Argent nodded.

"That's the idea. Inside there's a tiny little GPS tracker, it's how Crockett operates. He solders these microdot trackers into each bullet, so that when he shoots his victims and they actually escape, he still has a way of knowing exactly where they are." He warned darkly, and Scott felt his blood run cold.

So, if he shot his victims with bullets with an inbuilt tracker, especially if he was hunting for supernaturals, then that meant…

"He knows where Lori and the other girl are, which means he's going to come for them." He concluded darkly, and Argent nodded.

"That's the idea. He shoots his victims, usually members of werewolf packs for example, and they of course head back to their pack to warn them." He explained, and then Finch joined in, looking grim.

"And once they're in place to warn them, Crockett attacks and winds up the whole pack. A pack we were close with suffered the exact same fate. He tracks them, then rounds them up." She told him, and Scott looked at them both in confusion.

"Ok, I get that he sells the people he captures, but who the hell does he sell them to?" Scott asked, and Finch looked grimly at him.

"There are far worse people in this world than the insane nutjobs you've encountered Scott. People who pay for the exotic, people who like to have a little claim to fame of having a 'freak' in their collection, people who are actually aware of the supernatural and seek to harvest people like us for their own insidious ends." She warned darkly, and he shuddered, yeah, Crockett seemed like he was a real delight.

"The bullet is definitely his, and like Dr Finch said, he's most likely here for you and your pack." Argent warned, and Scott nodded, then beckoned them out of the room, and after sharing a slightly startled look at the abruptness of his departure, they hurried after him as he headed along the corridor to speak to Dr Dunbar.

"Is there any way you could get Lori into the same room as the other girl?" Scott asked him without preamble, and Dunbar nodded.

"Yeah, I was going to anyway, I'm assuming the sheriff will want to station a deputy here to make sure they're both alright and nobody comes back to finish the job. Do I even want to know?" he asked, and Scott shook his head and Dunbar sighed a little before heading off to make the arrangements.

He then took Argent and Finch over to the youngest pack members, who looked at him worriedly.

"Is it the Crockett guy who shot at her?" Garrett asked darkly, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, and at Lori too, one of Satomi's Betas." He explained, and Liam looked at him curiously, as if to ask how he knew that, and in response, Finch allowed her eyes to glow red, which Liam took a startled step back in response to.

"She came to me, she was looking for Scott. However, the fact that she's been riddled with bullets and was in such a state makes me worry about what might have befallen Satomi's pack. However, due to the nature of my pack, I don't have any way of contacting Satomi to find out what's happened to her." She grumbled, and Argent took out his phone.

"I'll ask Gareth to go and check on her, see if he can find anything. It's possible Lori just got ambushed alone, but until we know more, we have to assume that something has happened to the entire pack, that is Crockett's M.O after all." He told them, and Scott looked in at the girl that the kids had brought in.

"Satomi could be in trouble, or worse. But this girl isn't part of Satomi's pack, but, I have to assume that she is supernatural since Crockett shot her as well, which means that there's likely another pack in the area." He mused, and Finch looked at the girl.

"Well, there is a way to see if she is indeed supernatural, you can use your Alpha power to change her form." She told him, and he sent her a nettled look.

"You just told me that was rude! Besides, I can't Alpha her like that when she's unconscious, anyway," he muttered, rubbing his arms self-consciously, "it wouldn't be right."

Finch restrained herself from rolling her eyes, albeit with some difficulty.

"The way you did it before when you confronted me is rude, that is essentially using a hammer when something more delicate is called for. But there are ways for Alphas to identify a fellow supernatural without being so obtuse about the whole thing, come on." She told him, and led him into the room, and Liam leaned closer to Argent.

"So, his boss is an Alpha now too? I'm very confused." He complained, and Argent nodded, looking at Finch with a cautious respect.

"She's the Alpha of a pack known as the Primal, very isolationist bunch, but powerful, and feared, so keep an eye on her just in case." He advised, clapping Liam on the shoulder as he and Garrett watched Scott go up towards the girl.

Scott looked down at her. She had been cleaned up since being brought in, but there were numerous bandages adorning her body. A pretty girl, she was quite pale, though he supposed that was also likely attributed to the blood loss. She was covered in numerous bruises and scrapes, and her long brown hair with slight highlights running through it had been washed and pulled back while she recuperated.

"So I can make her turn?" he asked, figuring that whatever had befallen this girl, they needed to know about it regardless, and Finch nodded.

"If, as we both suspect, she was shot by Crockett and has likely been tracked here, that means she's likely a creature, similar to us. As such, we need information, if she's friend or foe, and if there are others out there who are also in danger, similar to Satomi. But until either of them wake up, we're kind of stumbling in the dark. So, concentrate. Feel your Alpha power surging through you," Finch ordered, and after taking a deep breath, Scott did so, "and reach out, as you would to check on your pack. Very good. Now, obviously when you detect each of your pack you're quite happy as you know who they all are, what they all are, and don't go much deeper than a cursory inspection. But extend your awareness around the girl, and there, you can find a sort of, kernel, a nub." She explained, and to his surprise, Scott did find a sort of bubble in the energy that made up the girl's consciousness that he could perceive.

"Ok, so gently apply your power. Don't just shove on it, just a gentle indent of your power, apply it gently, as though you were applying flea medicine to a kitten," she told him, figuring that was most helpful to him, and his eyes closed, he nodded and did so, "and with any luck…ah!"

To Scott's surprise, he felt that little kernel of her mind dip ever so slightly, and as a result, her appearance started to change.

Her feet, which were under her bed covers, began to change, rippling the covers, and Finch pulled them back to see that her feet had become webbed, with skin stretching between the toes. Her legs had also changed, becoming more muscular. Her hands changed as well, turning from a hand into a paw for want of a better word, everything growing closer together, and a pad of thick, rubber like skin grew on the palms of her hands, similar to that of a paw pad. Short stubby claws, shorter than those of the werewolves, grew from her hands. Her teeth also changed, preying open her lips, to reveal a set of teeth that were mostly flat molars, though with four needle like incisor teeth at the front of her mouth.

"Well, she's clearly not a werewolf." Scott commented, surprised by the change in the girl into something that they hadn't seen before, and Argent, who had been watching curiously from the door, came in, surveying the girl.

"Interesting. I think she's an Antukai, a were-otter, well, more of a were-sea otter to be more precise. They're usually quite a friendly bunch from what I've heard, love seafood, they have a colony up towards Alaska way if I remember right." He explained, and Scott looked at the girl musingly.

A wereotter now. Well, at least she sounded more pleasant than many of the other creatures they had dealt with.

"So, if she is an Antukai, what the hell is she doing here, and why the hell did this Crockett guy want to pump her full of bullets?" Scott asked, and that was the question, and he sent a text to the pack, requesting reinforcements at the hospital, because if Finch and Argent were right, it meant that Crockett would be looking for both the Antukai and for Lori, he was likely coming here, and until they got more information, they were all sitting ducks.

"Ok guys, stick around, I doubt he'll try anything during the day, but it looks like we could be here for a while. If this Crockett guy is after these girls, he's going to find us waiting for him." Scott vowed darkly, as Dr Dunbar wheeled Lori into the same room as the mystery Antukai, and they began to settle in to wait, hoping that one of them at least would wake up soon.

XX

The executive suite once again had two guests held captive inside it, this time under the sole ministrations of Dr Turnbull, the Geneticist.

"Look, please, you've kept me here for so long, what the hell do you want from me?" Brett demanded hysterically, struggling at the restraints that were binding him to the table.

Turnbull ignored him, instead choosing to peruse his file on all the experiments that she and her compatriots had performed upon him since she had captured him a couple of months before when he had been all too curious as to how the True Alpha's lacrosse team had beaten his at the last game. The boy had been useful, in particular he had been highly instrumental in Dr Urbaniak's preparations for Operation Fallout, ensuring that his particularly nasty concoction didn't affect the human population, just the supernatural one.

Brett's hair was now messy and unkempt, a far cry from the well sculpted and styled young man she had kidnapped. He was clad only in underwear and had numerous marks on his body as a relic of his time with the Dread Doctors, burns, lash marks, needle marks, among other less than savoury marks, such as the black eye he had received from Urbaniak for being badly behaved during their last session together. All in all, he was a good, well-rounded specimen, however, as a mere human, his usefulness to them was rapidly approaching an end. But, she thought with a malicious smile, there was one last experiment that she had in mind to perform on the boy, which is what brought her attention to her other guest.

Sinner and Crockett had done very well in neutralising the pack of the oldest Alpha in the world, well, at least so far as they knew. Satomi was now bound in the other table, dressed in a loose-fitting white smock, and the Alpha was glowering at the Geneticist, fire kindling in her eyes.

"Oh, I want so many things Brett, and you my little pumpkin, are but one stop on the way to discovering them all. After all, you didn't exactly react well to my little revelation about the supernatural, yet here you are, all these weeks later, and you've been so very helpful to all our research." She purred, strolling towards him, and caressing his still relatively well-defined chest, and he struggled against his bonds, trying to stop her touching him.

"Get off me, you psycho bitch!" he spat, and she rolled her eyes, really, they'd all been here for months, the people who cared enough to look for them had been forced to give up, must they be so tedious? All they were doing was delaying the inevitable and interrupting their research.

She backhanded him viciously, the slap resounding through the room, and as Brett shook his head, dazed, she heard a warning growl from behind her.

"Leave the boy alone you sadistic monster." Satomi whispered in a voice as cold as winter, and she turned to look at the Alpha.

"Monster? My dear Satomi, I am not a monster," she purred, stalking towards her newest victim, "after all, I am not a violation of humanity, a monster that should exist only in horror stories, unlike you. I am a scientist, and it's my mission in life to destroy your entire, disgusting, aberrational species. But, to that end, there is much work to be done. You are all part of the great undertaking, this great experimental drive, which will see the world returned to humans, and to humanity alone."

Satomi met Turnbull's gaze, her eyes glowing crimson as she glared at her.

"I have lived through the worst humanity has to offer, and they all believed that their one type of chosen people should inhabit the world. The world isn't built that way! We have much right to exist as you do!" she spat, and Turnbull then seized the Alpha by the neck, slamming her head back into the operating table she was restrained by,

"No, you don't. You are abominations, and it's our mission in life to destroy you all. But to do so, we need to know every single aspect of your filthy species evolution, which brings me to today's experiment." She told her, prowling over to Brett, who once again strained as though to try and put some distance between them, not that it would do any good.

"You can't do this, experimenting on teenagers, on our kind!" Satomi hissed, and Turnbull smirked.

"Oh, but I can. I currently have virtually your entire pack in my custody, I have Brett here and numerous others of his little friends all awaiting our pleasure. I have everything I need, and if you persist in being…uncooperative, I'll make you watch as I flay your Betas alive, how does that sound?" Turnbull asked, her voice cold, and while Satomi snarled at her, she did indeed go quiet.

Satisfied that her guests had learned that it was unwise to test her, Turnbull stalked over towards Brett, and made rather a show of flexing her metallic glove, smirking in satisfaction as he shivered in fear.

"Tell me Brett, do you recall the murders that happened last year?" she purred, and a long needle emerged from the knuckle of one of her gloves, and he started, straining at his restraints again, clattering them as though he was trying to back away from her and the needle she had just developed.

"Yeah, so what?" he demanded, and she chuckled, shoving him back against the table, slowly passing the needle in front of his face.

"Well, the thing that was killing those poor, unfortunate souls," she hissed softly, and he glowered at her, with her savouring the rage, hatred and fear on his face, "was a kanima. A highly fascinating creature, the claws of which contain a powerful, paralysing venom. That venom is imbued into this needle here." She explained softly, and he was quivering in fear, looking warily at the needle, fearing what she planned to do with it.

"You see," she told him, suddenly pushing off him and turning, pacing towards Satomi, who growled warningly as she approached, "in order to fully destroy the werewolf species, we've been trying all sorts of experiments, to see what methods are most effective, yet somehow, in all of our years of research, we have never considered this: what happens to the sacred bond between an Alpha and a Beta, when both sides were unwilling to administer the bite?" she hissed, and Satomi roared in fury, straining as hard as she could, her eyes bulging in her head as she attempted to free herself.

"That is an aberration, a crime against nature! Some wolves bite without remorse, without thought, but most of our kind only administer the bite when one or the other side agrees, preferably both! To force an Alpha to bite someone against their will, especially on someone who also doesn't want the bite, is a crime against nature!" she shouted, struggling, determined to get free and pry Turnbull's head from her shoulders.

"A crime against nature? You dare? You are the crime against nature," Turnbull growled, seizing Satomi by the neck and slamming her head against the table she was bound to, "you disgusting vermin have no business existing in this world, and I am going to take great pleasure in exterminating your entire disgusting race. But first, my experiment." She purred in a malicious, silky voice, and as Satomi roared in protest, Turnbull injected the needle into her skin, flooding her with the Kanima venom. Satomi growled, snapping at Turnbull, trying to bite her, to hurt her, to inflict some measure of the pain on her that she sought to inflict on everyone else, but after spiking her, Turnbull had stepped back a little, retracting the needle back into the confines of her glove.

"Fascinating, the venom of a kanima isn't it? With a single dose, you can bring down an Alpha, the greatest and strongest of your kind, and render them powerless," she purred, stroking her metallic glove down Satomi's face, who strained to try and get away from her, but Satomi knew she was right, she could feel the kanima venom flooding through her, and knew it wouldn't be long until she was completely powerless, damn kanimas, she had never liked them, "and I think that you and your kin should be powerless more often. The paralysis is spreading in you now, rendering you completely unable to move, and once that happens, well, Brett will take his first steps into a wider world." She told them, her voice cold and Brett, who was looking at Satomi in terror, turned to look at Turnbull, his face white as he looked at the Geneticist.

"What the hell are you going to do to me?!" he demanded furiously, wincing as Satomi roared, her eyes glowing red, but she could feel the venom paralysing her, and she had a horrible feeling about what would happen to them both once it had done so.

"Dear, dear Brett. After all, you were so keen to find out how the True Alpha's team beat yours…and as they say, if you can't beat them…join them." She hissed, and Brett started to struggle against his restraints as Turnbull undid Satomi's restraints, allowing the Alpha to drop to the floor.

Satomi couldn't move, despite her strength, her age, her wisdom, she was completely powerless, she couldn't move at all. As she smarted from landing on the floor, she heard the metallic clunk of Turnbull's footsteps as the Geneticist towered over her. Satomi gave a warning growl, but paralysed as she was, she could do little else, other than gave a pained snarl as Turnbull yanked up by her hair.

"What are you going to do, let her go, she's just an old lady!" Brett yelled at her, and Turnbull stopped for a second, and looked at Satomi, who, despite her situation, did look a trifle offended, which made Turnbull allow herself a small chuckle.

"Oh Brett, you have no idea. Let's just say you're taking your first steps into a larger world, and by so doing…you'll get a front row seat when Project Typhon wipes out the entire supernatural species, in fact, you'll be one of the first victims…provided you survive the bite that is." She told him nastily, and continued dragging a completely paralysed Satomi towards him by her hair, the Alpha unable to do anything as she got closer to Brett.

"Let her go! Keep away from me!" Brett spat, making a racket as he strained against his bonds, but reaching him, Turnbull backhanded him, dazing him, and then used her inexplicably augmented strength to heave Satomi up so that she was standing on her feet.

"Hey, you wanted to know, now you'll get an intimate understanding of why they're so much better at lacrosse than you, not that it'll do you much good, once I unleash Project Typhon. Now, Satomi, open wide!" she cajoled, her eyes glinting in malice underneath her mask, and Satomi let out a pained whine.

This was an aberration, an abomination, she didn't want to bite Brett, who despite being very competitive and a bit of a spoilt rich kid, didn't seem that bad (his describing her as an old lady aside), no, she couldn't, she wouldn't bite him, it didn't matter what she did to her, she wouldn't allow herself to bite the boy.

She dimly heard Turnbull sigh in disgust, and she felt her head get yanked back, as another needle extended from the Geneticist's wicked glove.

"Let her go, get away from me!" Brett screamed, and Turnbull simply made an amused noise as she let the tazer needle activate.

Satomi, paralysed as she was, couldn't do more than growl in protest as the current pulsed through her, and with her head tilted back by Turnbull, she was dimly aware, to her horror, of her fangs growing in response to the current surging through her body, enough to trigger the change, to bring this about, but not strong enough to do more than that other than cause her discomfort. No, she was going to force her to bite this boy, both Alpha and potential Beta utterly unwilling, all as part of some twisted experiment.

"This might hurt." Turnbull whispered in a malevolent voice to Brett, who was thrashing about, as though trying to break free, making noises of protest as Turnbull brought Satomi ever closer towards him, and despite Brett's screams of protest, and the grumbling roar mulling in her throat that she didn't have enough autonomy to actually perform, Turnbull used Satomi like a stapler, and brought Satomi's exposed fangs down on Brett's exposed arm.

Brett screeched in agony as Satomi's fangs pierced his skin, blood gushing down his arm, tears in his eyes as he jerked his left arm, trying and failing to alleviate the pain that Satomi was causing him. Satomi, her eyes glowing crimson as a result of the small but powerful current that Turnbull was coursing through her, her eyes full of despair, of horror, of self-recrimination and pain, of apology as she looked at Brett, trying to convey how sorry she was that she had been forced to do this to him.

Turnbull then yanked Satomi's fangs out of Brett's arm, Brett screaming in agony as her fangs tore up his arm even more, and with her use for the Alpha at an end, the Geneticist cast Satomi to the ground, leaving the paralysed Alpha in a heap, filled with self-loathing, the taste of Brett's blood, the blood of an innocent teenager, filling her mouth, and she couldn't even spit it out. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as with a metallic clunk of her feet, Turnbull leaned closer to Brett, who was still gasping and shuddering in pain, inspecting the wound that Satomi had been forced to inflict on him.

"Fascinating, the venom of a werewolf, isn't it Brett? Now, we'll see if you survive the transformation, do try not to die, I'd hate to have to repeat my experiment." She purred into his ear, and he sobbed in pain as she seized his chin, as though inspecting him for any sign it already hadn't worked, and then released him.

"You're insane!" he spat, tears of pain, of horror, of shame running down his face, and she turned her sightless mask to look at him.

"No, Brett. I'm simply a scientist, trying to solve the biggest problem facing the world: how do you make sure that the things that go bump in the night, no longer exist?" she asked him coolly, and pressed a button, and the door slid open to reveal two members of Ouroboros, and to her surprise, the Surgeon was also waiting outside.

"Ah, Dr Turnbull, a fruitful experiment?" Valack asked eagerly as he entered the room, the two members of Ouroboros looking to the Geneticist for instructions.

"Yes, you could say that Dr Valack, time will tell the full results of the experiment. Take them to their cells, in fact, make sure they share a cell, so they can both get to know each other, an Alpha to a Beta…or failing that, so Satomi can watch the boy she bit die." She hissed, and Brett cried out in protest as he was yanked off the table, and the other dragged Satomi along by the feet, heading back to their increasingly occupied cell level, Brett crying out in pain as the two guards bullied him, and there also seemed to be a cry of pain from Satomi as well.

Urbaniak also then entered the room, looking curiously towards where the guards had dragged Satomi and Brett off to.

"Looks like you've had fun. Is it that time again, doctor?" he asked, and Valack nodded, and Turnbull picked up her cane, and as one, the three Dread Doctors headed for their command room.

"Alas, I'm afraid so, it is time for us to speak to the Benefactor." He told them, emerging from the Executive Suite, and slowing their pace to allow Turnbull to match theirs while using her cane, they ambled up the corridor.

"Why do we all have to do this?" Turnbull complained churlishly, and Valack, his face hidden by his own mask, rolled all three of his eyes.

"It is merely courtesy my dear, after all, they pay our bills, it is only common decency to meet with them, especially when we are accelerating our plans." He informed her, and Urbaniak turned his own sightless mask towards his compatriots.

"Do we tell them everything? The damned pack has discovered our dumping ground!" he complained, and Turnbull clicked her tongue in admonishment.

"Yes, they have Simon, that much is true, but we figured those meddling children would find something leading back to us eventually anyway. I don't see why you're so worried, we all knew we'd wind up having to confront the True Alpha and his little band of merry men eventually. And besides, we're still in complete control, and shall remain so, which he and his little brat friends will learn to their detriment." She rasped excitedly, and Valack raised a hand to make sure the two of them didn't start bickering.

"Penelope is correct Simon. The fact that they found the dumping ground is immaterial, and like she says, it will only encourage them to confront us, and when they do, we can crush them all in one single stroke. And what was more, it proved that my experiment was a complete success: the True Alpha created a Beta, an heir, and that gives us so many more avenues to explore with our research, which the Benefactor will be very pleased to learn as well. Now, come." Valack ordered, opening the door into the dark command centre.

The nerve centre of their entire operation, the hub of the entirety of the Directive's resources, as opposed to the rest of the base, which was bright and white, the control centre was a room kept in considerable darkness, with numerous whirring computers with flashing lights illuminating the darkened room, with their numerous operators stationed throughout the room.

"Excuse us all gentlemen, oh, and gentle lady of course," Valack said kindly, inclining his head to the one female operative in the room, "but we have need of the room."

The various operatives quickly took their leave, leaving only the Dread Doctors within the darkened command room, but with two others, one of whom was Colonel Sinner, standing in the shadows, awaiting the call from the mysterious Benefactor, without whom, none of this would be possible.

The Benefactor was the one behind the entirety of the Directive's operation. A mysterious figure, they had contacted Valack some time ago, and had offered him funding in exchange for Valack's research into the supernatural. Valack had jumped at the chance, and the mysterious figure who bankrolled their whole operation had vastly expanded their resources, their funds, and their access to the things that the Dread Doctors, who now numbered three, for their experiments.

Even Urbaniak and Turnbull didn't know all that much about the Benefactor. Having been recruited much later into the Directive's development than Valack, who was there at the beginning, they remained fairly in the dark about the nature of the mysterious Benefactor. However, while they remained in the dark, there was a problem for the Benefactor, who wanted to keep their identity secret: the two other Dread Doctors were as equally insidiously intelligent as Valack. As such the two had deduced two things, firstly, that were actually two Benefactors. The first of them was the actual Benefactor, the other one however acted more as an advisor on the various supernatural entities they were determined to purge from existence. Secondly, of the two Benefactors, despite how the original Benefactor tried to make it appear, by changing their voice and their shadowy appearance, they were still the same person.

And it was that shadowy excuse for their overlord who had appeared before them now.

"Benefactor." Valack greeted, inclining his head in respect, a gesture mirrored by his two compatriots.

"Doctors. What news of our venture?" they asked, their voice and form appearing to be that of a stooped, disfigured and ancient man.

Valack smiled beneath his mask.

"Our venture progresses in leaps and bounds, as it always does, Benefactor. We have recently acquired the pack of the oldest Alpha in the world, and Dr Turnbull is welcoming them to their new home," he informed their paymaster, an excited lilt to his voice, while Turnbull inclined her head, "and we have each been forwarding our cause in our own, unique ways. What is more, what has been dubbed the African pack has also been captured, we are just awaiting delivery. The last grant that you so graciously offered us has attracted the attention of the poacher Crockett. He will procure for us the pack of the True Alpha, that I can assure you." Valack told them, and the figure had now changed to the shadow of a tall, stately and lithe woman.

"Excellent. I knew that you would enjoy being back in Beacon Hills. A word of warning, we keep an eye on the FBI, for reasons that will undoubtedly soon become apparent," they said, and the figure standing with Sinner started but kept quiet, "and they will undoubtedly soon deliver a rather specific agent to Beacon Hills, so be on your guard."

"We shall take your suggestion under advisement, Benefactor." Urbaniak purred, and the Benefactor, now looking like the shadow of a small child, turned to him.

"And what of your project, Pathologist?" they asked, the creepy falsetto voice of a mimicked child came over the screen, and Urbaniak quivered, and Valack and Turnbull looked at each other, both rolling their eyes in amusement.

"Operation Fallout is nearly ready, a few final tweaks, and all shall be in readiness, ready to deploy when the time is right," he informed their financial backer, voice quaking with excitement, "in fact, I have performed several experiments and it should be around 97% effective, if not better by the time we are ready to action our plan."

The childlike figure clapped their hands happily.

"Excellent doctor, I knew I could count on you," they told him, transforming into what seemed to be a middle-aged man, "and you, Surgeon?"

Valack's third eye glowed an eerie blue, and an image of the boy, Liam, blossomed to life in front of them all, Valack's eyes looking at the boy's image hungrily as his third eye created it.

"I undertook a very unique experiment, and I was correct in my hypothesis: when presented with the choice, the young True Alpha acted rashly in order to save the boy after my pet savaged within an inch of his life," he purred with relish, and the Benefactor looked impressed, "and he made the boy into his own Beta. The True Alpha now has…an heir."

The Benefactor nodded, though from what Turnbull could see, they looked a bit unsettled by this admission.

"None of the factions particularly wanted one True Alpha, let alone one that has survived as long as this one," they hissed, now sounding like an overdramatic teenage girl, "and now you have created a potential second?"

Turnbull and Urbaniak both looked at Valack, who ever-so-briefly lost control of his temper, as his third eye flashed a furious crimson before returning to normal.

"Yes, your entire plan Benefactor, hinges on the presence of the True Alpha. However, the rogue Alpha, the Renegade, the Nogitsune and the Corrupter have all come very close to killing the boy. If the boy should fall before you are ready, then it would be wise to have a spare, would it not? Besides, regardless, it is a very interesting experiment, he could perhaps be the first ever Beta of a True Alpha that hasn't been killed, much like his Alpha. We don't know if he could inherit the position, all we know is that he has the capacity, and once we get our hands on him…I will happily dissect him, piece by piece, to find out exactly what makes the bitten Beta of a True Alpha…tick." He promised in a soft, melodic voice, and the Benefactor, now appearing as a big, burly bearded man, roared in laughter.

"My apologies for doubting you Surgeon, you are correct, I am sorry that I cast any aspersions on your ability to control your experiments. Do you require anything else for this particular experiment that I can provide, your status report yesterday made me think there might be?" they asked, and Turnbull and Urbaniak exchanged excited smiles, yes, if the Benefactor could provide that little ingredient, they would all take to Valack's next experiment with gusto, and they would all see exactly what the True Alpha's heir was made of.

"Indeed. As an experiment, and also as…insurance, I require a person to be delivered into our care, it can only be this person, nobody else is qualified, this one is unique, you see. I am sending you the information pack to you now," he said, and pressed a button on the console, "and as you can see, once this particular person is within our custody, we will have our insurance, we will have our experiment, and you will have another avenue to get what you want." He growled excitedly, and the figure, now assuming that of a baby, spoke in a childish but no less frightening voice.

"Excellent Doctor, I shall have this fellow brought to the care of your graces. And you, Geneticist?" they asked, turning their overlarge head towards the final Dread Doctor.

"I have just performed another experiment to more fully understand the nature of werewolf bonds," she informed him, "and have harvested everything I need from the recently captured pack. Once the African pack and the pack of the True Alpha are within our custody, and I have what I need, Project Typhon will finally be complete, and then, once it is, we can rid the world of these savage beasts."

The Benefactor chuckled, assuming what they could only assume was their usual form.

"Splendid, you continue to do exquisite work as always, and soon, the world will be rid of the beast menace. You may have noticed that you have a visitor, Colonel Sinner, if you please?" they called, gesturing, and Sinner emerged from the shadows, shoving a man who looked a little brow-beaten, a little despondent, and also sickened and furious.

"Dr Deaton, welcome home." Valack greeted cordially, turning and extending his hand towards the former vet, who glowered at the leader of the Dread Doctors, but shook his hand when Sinner cocked his gun behind his head.

"Dr Valack, you look well…somehow." Deaton commented, and Valack chuckled before turning back to face the image of the Benefactor.

"Dr Deaton is there as my eyes and ears, no disrespect intended to you of course!" they protested, as the three Dread Doctors suddenly turned their sightless visages onto him in fury, "but I do know how you all like to get involved in your work, and quite frankly, we are too close now to abandon our goals. I know you don't, but as we get closer, I am afraid that in your excitement, you might get a bit…carried away." they told the Doctors, who, after sharing a look, did give a conceding nod, it was a possibility after all.

"Very well. Colonel, please escort our new guest on a tour around our facility, and make sure you take particular care to show him our captives, of particular note of course, show him his sister, and remind him what will happen to him and his sister if he dares try to run to his former pack." Valack ordered silkily, and Deaton's eyes bulged in fury, and made as though he was going to try to hit Valack, but in the blink of an eye, Turnbull had her cane levelled at the throat of the vet, the bone tip drawing blood as she dug it in warningly.

"Behave doctor. After all, I performed your medical check-up when you arrived," she whispered in a voice as cold as the Arctic, "and know exactly what little bruises, little bumps, you have."

Deaton glowered at her, but blanched when she mentioned the bumps, and he went quiet, bowing his head as Sinner escorted him from the room, dabbing at the trickle of blood that the Geneticist had elicited from him.

"Thank you, my friends. Keep an eye on him, he is inherently treacherous, and something of a whiner. We are close my friends, the Benefactor will be in contact again soon," they told them, and Urbaniak and Turnbull exchanged a look, meaning they had to jump through these hoops with the other Benefactor soon enough, "and soon now, the beasts of the supernatural world will be eradicated, and the entire world will know your brilliance!"

The three Dread Doctors bowed their heads as the image cut out, all of them sharing the same thought, which apparently hadn't occurred to the Benefactor: that they classed the entire supernatural as beasts, and not just the ones the Benefactor had decided consisted of them, and when Project Typhon was complete, each and every single one of them would be wiped off the face of the earth.

XX

The entire pack had been coming and going out of the hospital all day, all keeping an eye on the mysterious girl and Lori to make sure that Crockett didn't turn up to finish the job. At the moment, Scott was getting something to drink with Kira, who had arrived for her own shift watching the two poacher's victims.

"Hey, Scott, something occurred to me earlier, you know, about Liam." She said worriedly, accepting the can that Scott passed her, and he looked at her curiously.

"What?"

"Well, once we go back to school tomorrow, we'll be back to lacrosse training, and we our first game after we go back is coming up. But, you know, it's against Davenport, and well, you know, Liam's got history with them and all, and now he's a werewolf…" she said worriedly, looking tortured at the thought of being the one who was bringing her boyfriend's potential problem to the Alpha, but Scott groaned.

Damn it, that hadn't occurred to him. There was a lacrosse match on Friday, against Davenport to boot, which was all they needed. Fair enough, Brett might be one of the kids who was missing, but the rest of the Davenport team, especially Brett's main cronies, would most likely try to antagonise Liam even worse than usual, especially without their ringleader (Lydia had a theory on why Brett was so antagonistic to Liam, but that was a future him's problem). So, Liam's former team, comprised of his virulent former teammates who despised him for showing them up, combined with the fact that he was now a werewolf, yeah, that wasn't going to end well.

Not to mention, Scott was team captain and also knew that Liam was one of the best players on the team, (if not the best) and removing Liam from the team could severely hinder their chances even if the majority of the team were werewolves. And what was more, Liam used lacrosse as a way of maintaining control of his IED, and removing him from the team, even for just one match, could well spiral into a much, much bigger problem.

"Crap, that hadn't even occurred to me. Thing is, Liam needs lacrosse to manage his IED, but now that he's one of us," Scott pondered, as a nurse went past but thankfully she seemed to be rushing elsewhere with a bedpan, "it's just asking for trouble." He complained, and Kira nodded, looking dispirited.

"Yeah, exactly. If it was any team other than Davenport it might be worth the risk, but even with Brett missing, they'll still be foul towards Liam, and now he's a wolf, his temper will be even harder for him to control. Oh I feel so guilty, but I don't want Liam to get in trouble, or worse, if we play Davenport and he loses it."

Scott scuffed his feet as they headed back to the room they were camping out in, keeping a watchful eye in case Crockett turned up. The entire pack was all away doing various missions, Isaac was at home researching the Popobawa along with trying to discover what the hell attacked Liam with Melissa's help, Malia had gone into the preserve with the twins, Jackson, Melody, Violet and Parrish for backup to see if they could identify where the mystery girl had come from, Stiles was trying to keep Neo away from all of their associative craziness, Derek was helping Braeden investigate her suspicions that Deaton had indeed returned to town (that was not a conversation he was looking forward to having with his best friend and boyfriend, they were both going to hit the roof), and Lydia had gone home to lay down as despite finding the mass grave the voices inside her head were killing her as she couldn't figure out what she needed to figure out to shut them up, and Danny was keeping her company. As a result, the others were all here, watching their two shooting victims.

"Please don't mention that I told you, my boyfriend just got savaged by some horrible monster, his Alpha is a serial child kidnapper," she complained, her lips twitching upwards as she did so while Scott scowled at her, "and now he might not be able to play lacrosse."

"Who can't play lacrosse? Hi!" Liam exclaimed happily, kissing Kira on the cheek as he came out of the room that they'd made their base camp with Lori and the mystery girl still unconscious within.

Kira looked pleadingly at Scott, and Scott suppressed a groan, see, it was that look that had been one of the things he had liked about her back when he had considered dating her. And he supposed Liam had been through enough the last forty-eight hours without making him think his girlfriend was against him. No, he got to be the Alpha yet again, lucky him, he got to be the bad guy. He really needed someone to delegate the crappy jobs to, like Stiles for example. He might also consider Isaac, but he needed Isaac on side for…physical exercises.

"Um, Liam….it occurred to me that we're meant to play Davenport on Friday." Scott said hesitantly, and his Beta grinned.

"Yeah, and I mean, I know it's bad that Brett is one of the kids missing but since he's gone, we should be able to walk all over them!" he gloated, and Scott sighed, yeah, he was going to really piss his Beta off in a second.

"Yeah, that's true, but the thing is Liam, you're a werewolf now, and with the match being against Davenport, well, it makes it very risky. I'm sorry dude but I think it's just too dangerous for you to play." He told him regretfully, and Liam took a second to process this before looking furiously at his Alpha.

"What, why not?" he demanded angrily, his eyes flashing gold as he did so, and claws starting to sprout from his fingers, forcing Kira to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"That's exactly why honey! You're too new a werewolf, it's very hard to control your emotions, especially during your first few weeks as a wolf. And when you add in your IED, and the fact that we're playing Davenport, who'll probably be even more obnoxious as Brett is missing, well-"

"It's just not a good idea Liam, I'm sorry." Scott told him apologetically, and Liam looked at him with a betrayed expression on his face.

"You played in your game, Derek told me!" he snapped, and Scott suppressed a snarl of irritation, his pack members had big mouths.

"That was different Liam, and you know it!" he protested, and Liam growled at his Alpha.

"Different how? You were obsessed with Allison, making out with Lydia, and couldn't really control your transformation either!" he bit back, and Scott growled a little in the back of his throat, he could feel Liam was getting more and more agitated, more and more angry, and as he was his Beta, Scott was responding in kind, even though the two of them were what was causing the other to be getting angrier.

"I didn't have IED!" Scott ground out, and Liam growled in challenge, and Scott's eyes also flashed red as he did so.

"So, what, because I've got a condition, I'm automatically worse than you? That's pure prejudice, and besides, with Brett gone, I'm more likely to be in control, not less!" he yelled back, and Kira looked around worriedly, they were starting to draw attention.

"It's still too dangerous Liam, what if you lose control? You're not in control now, we haven't taught you how to properly control everything, you've only been at this for a day, it takes, weeks, months!" Scott yelled back, and Liam scoffed, his face morphing into a mask of petulant, teenage anger.

"So it's one rule for you, and a different one for me?" he demanded, and Scott felt his blood thundering through him in rage.

"Yeah, actually, it is, because I didn't have IED, which on top of your transformation, makes you more of a ticking time bomb than usual!" Scott snarled back, and a brief flicker of hurt blossomed over Liam's face, before his fangs grew from his mouth, essentially challenging Scott and squaring up to him.

"Guys, please!" Kira begged, laying her hand on Liam's chest, but he gave a tremulous snarl in his throat, and Scott looked at his Beta, as though daring him to pounce.

"Really? Your second day as a werewolf, and you reckon you can take me?" he hissed, and Liam snarled, his eyes blazing gold, his claws ready, his fangs primed…

"Hey, dude, calm down!" Garrett's voice cracked like a whip as he emerged from the room, standing defiantly in front of Liam, and seeing her boyfriend was dealt with, Kira stood in front of Scott, her own eyes glowing in a warning amber colour.

Liam snarled, but upon seeing his brother's steely blue gaze, he forced himself to take a deep breath, and his fangs and claws retracted, his eyes fading back to their usual colour, before he stormed past Scott, shouldering him out the way as he stomped up the corridor.

"Liam!" Scott shouted in exasperation, but Garrett took his shoulder as the Alpha made to go after his Beta.

"Leave him be, he needs to cool off, he won't do anything." He advised, and Scott also forced himself to take a deep, calming breath.

He had never felt anything like that before, his pack had mutinied and he hadn't even felt like that, no that wasn't mutiny, that was…parenting. Parenting an angry, surly, betrayed and disappointed teenager, who he had let down and hurt, and had responded to his attitude with his own.

He owed Derek a massive retroactive apology for being such a pain when Derek had been the one trying to rein him in, while Scott had been obnoxiously ignoring his advice.

"Teenagers!" he complained, his blood still up, and seeing that the coast was clear, and that the curiosity that they had attracted had largely petered out, Kira breathed a sigh of relief.

"That could have gone better, but, thanks for not throwing me under the bus, least he's still talking to me! I hope." She finished lamely, and Scott glowered at her before looking anxiously at Garrett.

"You sure he'll be alright?" he asked worriedly, and Garrett nodded, though he did look a little concerned.

"Yeah, he will be, I mean, when he's in that state, it was more Mason's job to reel him back in, but yeah, I think so. Anyway, the mystery girl is awake if you want to talk to her." He informed him, and Scott headed into the room, Kira right behind him while Garrett closed the door, though did nod to his father, who sighed and headed off in the direction his son had stormed off in.

The mystery girl was indeed awake, and looked blearily around the room, as though trying to get her bearings, clutching the bed covers towards her chest protectively. Her long brown hair was messy and unkempt, she was still very pale, and she looked extremely pained and ill, and when she looked at Scott, she backed up in her bed in fright, but he raised a hand to calm her.

"I promise, I'm not here to hurt you." He told her, his eyes flashing red as he got close to her, and she looked at him in shock, and her eyes glowed an interesting and unique shade of brown.

"You're the local Alpha, Scott isn't it?" she asked cautiously, and he nodded.

"Yeah, Scott, this is Kira and this is Garrett. Who are you?" he asked softly, sitting down beside her bed, and figuring she was fairly safe, at least for the moment, she did relax a little.

"My name's Brooke." She replied, and Scott smiled, and offered her his hand, which she tentatively shook, and some of her pain crept out of her and into the Alpha.

She had quite a thick accent, with an odd lilt to it, but as she blinked her brown eyes, which had now returned to normal, she gave her full attention to the Alpha.

"Well it's nice to meet you Brooke. Garrett here," he said, indicating the blond standing behind him, who unknown to Scott and Kira, went red as Brooke looked at him and smiled at him, "found you with his brother, and brought you here."

"Thank you." She told him sweetly, going a little red herself, and this time Scott did notice, and sighed a little, oh brother.

"No problem." Garrett responded, grinning back at her, but Kira, fearing that they wouldn't get what they needed out of her if this two started doing a flirting tango, took the situation back in hand.

"How did you wind up here Brooke?" she asked curiously, and Brooke shivered a little, pulling the blankets closer round her as she did so.

"My…pack, my family we really are, we're called the African pack. Our leader, Savannah, comes from Africa, and she kind of brought us all together and we all travel together. And that's what we were doing, we were passing through, we were actually looking for you to pay our respects, you know, like packs are meant to do, but then these guys all showed up. We figured they were hunters, and we can usually take hunters, you know? But these guys, they herded us, forced us away from town, into the preserve, and captured us all. Savannah realised too late about who was leading them, Crockett, he's-" she started to explain, and Scott nodded.

"A poacher, we know. Your pack, are they all still alive? How did you escape?" he asked, his concern growing, this guy Crockett was becoming a major pain in the neck.

"Luck mainly, they were filling us all with sedatives to keep us under control, and I bit the guy trying to inject me, made a break for it. Then he, then he shot me, repeatedly. I fell off the cliff, and when I came to, I was in the water. I'm an Antukai, but even I can't keep up with the torrents of that river, and there's something, you know, else, in the water, it chased me, but I got away from it. I can't remember much else after that, I don't even know if the others are still alive." She informed them grimly, and Garrett walked to her side and squeezed her hand.

"It's ok, at least we found you. You're lucky to be alive though." He told her, and she smiled up at him.

"Thank you, you and your brother probably saved my life." She told him, but as Garrett grinned at each other, Scott interjected.

"We got the bullets out of you, but this Crockett guy implants GPS chips in his bullets, so he probably already knows where you are. And as for the thing that chased you, we think there's a crocodile on the loose." He told her grimly, and she looked at him in slight alarm.

"What sort of place are you running here? No offence, I'm thankful and all, but really, a crocodile?" she asked weakly, and he gave her a tired smile.

"Welcome to Beacon Hills. Do you know roughly where you were when he captured you?" he asked, suddenly all business, a plan formulating in his mind.

"What are you thinking?" Garrett asked curiously, and Scott blew out of his nose in annoyance.

"I'm thinking if this guy Crockett is coming after us, and after Lori too," he said, indicating the girl in the other bed, "along with Brooke, we might as well head him off at the pass."

"A pre-emptive strike?" Kira asked with interest, this was new, going on the offensive alone, instead of a defensive offensive.

"Well, we might as well, we reckon he's after us, he's a poacher, and like Argent says, we're likely the biggest game in town. And the longer he's out there, the more people he could hurt."

"Like Satomi." A voice chirped up, and they all jumped in shock, turning to look at Lori, who had obviously just awakened.

"Lori, how do you feel?" Scott asked, while Brooke waved tentatively at her roommate, who waved weakly back.

"Like I was hit by a train. Satomi, our entire pack, that Crockett guy, he attacked us, but he wasn't alone, he had others with him, like soldiers." She explained, and Kira looked at the female Beta worriedly.

"Wait, he captured your entire pack?" she demanded weakly, and Lori nodded a little, her eyes full of self-recrimination.

"Yes. I didn't hear them at first, I had my headphones in, but then, they were everywhere, bullets, wolfsbane, flash bangs and all that stuff. Satomi sent me away, to go and warn you. I got away, that horrible flying thing that attacked us didn't follow me luckily, I just knew I had to come let you know." She explained tiredly, and Scott squeezed her hand, and felt some of her pain ebb away from her and into him.

"Ok, thanks Lori, rest now, we'll leave people here to protect you." He told her, and she nodded weakly, heading back to sleep.

"Scott, Crockett is very dangerous, I can't let you…" Brooke began softly, but he shook his head, and sent her a reassuring look.

"I know, but we don't really have a choice. He's going to be coming after us regardless, and if we go after him, at the very least we might be able to find your pack and help them. Do you think you could roughly guess where you were when he attacked you?" he asked, and Garrett looked at him sceptically.

"You think he's still there?" he asked, looking sceptical, but Kira did look thoughtful as she mulled it over.

"Well, even in Beacon Hills, he would be bound to attract attention if he's captured a bunch of people. He'd have to be far enough away from town so as to avoid anyone, especially anyone coming across him by accident. Reckon you could do it Brooke?" she asked kindly, and the girl gnawed her lip.

"I don't know, I don't know this town very well. But, I suppose, if you used your Alpha power…?" she asked, and Scott nodded, yeah, that could be helpful.

"Ok, we'll get a map. Don't worry Brooke, we're not going to let him get you, and if we can help your pack too, we will. Kira, call the rest of the pack. Tell them we're going hunting." Scott ordered darkly, his eyes flashing red, and Kira smirked excitedly, looking at Garrett, who also grinned.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, and Scott looked outside, at where Dr Dunbar had returned, scowling at Scott, but his face changed when he saw the dangerous look on the face of his sons' Alpha.

"Get us a map, and then call Parrish. You can stay here with him to defend Brooke and Lori, make sure Crockett doesn't come to try and finish the job." He commanded, and Garrett sent a brief look at Brooke, who blushed a little.

"Yes sir." He replied, heading out towards his dad, while Scott kept half an eye on the passed out Lori, and turned to face Brooke.

"We'll find them Brooke, I promise." He told her kindly, taking her hand and squeezing it, and she looked at him imploringly.

"Scott, I want to help, let me-!" she began, and he gave her an encouraging look.

"You will be helping. One way or another, Crockett isn't going to hurt anyone else, and you're going to help us stop him. He's going to learn that poachers aren't welcome in my town." He growled menacingly, and Brooke felt something drip down inside of her, like molten courage, and she felt something…strange, a feeling, that whenever this Alpha put his mind to something, he could do anything.

Crockett, she thought with some satisfaction, wasn't going to know what had hit him.

XX

"I'm glad you're making friends son, don't get me wrong," Johan said, as there was suddenly a frenzy of activity coming from the room of the girl that Dr Dunbar's kids had brought in, "but how much do you really know about these people?"

Neo shrugged. It had been an interesting couple of days since he had met Stiles and all of his friends, who else could say that they'd attended a party, seen the sights, and discovered a mass grave all in the same weekend? Admittedly, discovering a mass grave had not been part of the plan at all, but while horrifying in all the obvious ways, he had enjoyed hanging out with Stiles and his friends.

"Well not much, but, I don't know, there's something about them, about all of them." Neo told him, sitting on his father's desk, mulling it all over.

And it wasn't like he was lying, there was something, well, odd about them all, but he felt, for the first time, that he potentially, had a place to belong.

"Oh, what sort of something?" Johan teased, and Neo looked at him in exasperation.

"Dad, you know I'm not into that sort of thing!" he protested with a groan, and Johan chuckled, "but, I don't know, it feels like we could actually all, maybe, hopefully, be friends." He told his dad, who smiled happily, and clapped his hands onto his son's shoulders while looking into his eyes.

"I'm glad to hear it son. I know you've always struggled to make any sort of connection, and I'm glad that you think that might change. Your mother would be proud. But," he said, then leaned in close, and whispered into his son's ear, "just be careful. Nobody here knows about you, about how unique you are, and it will be a lot safer if it stays that way."

Neo sniffed, images of his mother playing in his mind as his dad's warning echoed inside his head.

"I know dad, I won't let them know." He promised.

It was times like this that he really did miss his mother, his mum would know what to do. His dad, despite being totally human, tried his hardest, and had accepted many curveballs being both his wife's husband, and being Neo's father, and he was very close to his father and his grandmother. But times like this, when he actually made progress with others his own age, while hiding his secret, he really did miss his mum, she would know what to do.

"Good lad. What are you and your friends doing tonight?" Johan asked, smiling happily as for the first time in ages, if not forever, his son actually had friends.

Neo's guts twisted painfully. Stiles had dropped him off at the hospital as he'd had to meet his dad anyway, but it seemed that whatever Stiles was doing tonight, he hadn't actually invited Neo along. Did he not want to hang out with him anymore?

"Don't know yet." He replied, and Johan chuckled, and clapped his shoulder again.

"Well, whatever it is, don't be out too late, tomorrow's your first day of school remember. And Neo," he told him, as Neo got up, looking for his phone to message Stiles to find out if he was to come to whatever they were doing tonight, "your mother would be proud of you."

Neo smiled at his dad, and headed off, while Johan watched his son disappear, a proud and happy smile on his face as he did so.

XX

"He was just so, so, so…defiant, and stubborn! I've never had this problem when any of the other Betas have acted up!" Scott complained back at the house as he, Stiles, Isaac and Melissa sat in the living room, with Isaac checking the bestiary while Scott and Stiles planned their assault on Crockett's camp, and Melissa fretted.

"No, instead you sit back and let them mutiny against you." Isaac muttered under his breath, but preoccupied by his fight with Liam as he was, Scott didn't hear him.

"In fairness dude, you do sleep with one of them." Stiles told him, and Scott shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, but that aside, and the mutiny aside, this wasn't caused by anything else, this was just him being a, a,…"

"A little shit?" Melissa asked, chuckling, and he turned to look at his mother.

"Well, yeah! What's so funny?" he demanded, and she smiled, getting to her feet and wrapping an arm around her son's shoulder.

"Oh, not much. Just the fact that you now have to deal with having a teenager as a kid, and I don't even have to be a grandma for the privilege!" she teased, and he looked at her, not comprehending.

"What?" he asked, perplexed, and she leaned against him, grinning widely.

"Ok, you've admitted you maybe didn't handle the whole thing particularly well. But what was going on between you and Liam earlier wasn't because you're an Alpha and he's a Beta, what was going on was you basically having to parent a teenager while still being a teenager yourself. Scott, let me tell you a little secret: parenting is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in this life. And some, like you most of the time, don't give their parents much trouble. See, when you all come out, it's fine, sleepless nights aside. The terrible twos, they are a drag, but after that, they get shunted off to school, then high school, it's wonderful, they're only with you for a few hours each day, weekends and holidays. But then, then they become teenagers. Teenagers think they know better than everyone else, believe nobody understands them, and are testing boundaries, and doing new things, and let me tell you, parenting teenagers is a real challenge, especially when one is hyperactive menace and leads you astray," she said with a smile, looking at a mildly offended Stiles, "one is a survivor of abuse," she continued, eyes flicking to Isaac, who blushed a little as he realised she was counting him as one of her kids, "and the other is some sort of supernatural folk hero to the masses. It's draining, and yeah, they're still your kids, but they're becoming their own people. You are actually alright, but the horror stories you hear about parents trying to cope with their teenage kids acting up, they'd turn your hair white! You and Liam now have some sort of weird relationship, you saved his life, and bit him. By doing that, you're now some weird mix of big brother, leader and father to Liam. All your spat earlier was, was you suddenly having to parent a surly teenager who was getting told to do something he didn't want to do, and enforced the old teenage allegory: that their parents are out to get them, when we're really not, we're trying to do what's best for them, even if we don't really know what we're doing ourselves. You're not having Alpha problems because Liam's your Beta, Scott, you're having problems because Liam's weird big brother, hero worshipped and now pseudo-father figure is telling him he can't do something he loves for his own good, and he resents it, that's all."

Scott let her words sink in for a moment, and then let out a petulant groan, which only made his mother smile all the wider, and she was now grinning like the Cheshire Cat, damn her, she was enjoying this!

"I'm not ready to be a parent, least of all to a teenager!" he whined, and Stiles shot Isaac an amused look, and he saw Isaac had frozen stiff for a second in fear.

"Thank Christ for that." Isaac mumbled in relief, making Stiles snigger.

"I know honey, and I shouldn't laugh, but I reckoned I would have to wait at least another ten years or so until you learned my pain, but you're feeling it now, it's very gratifying!" she told him happily, and he shot her a dirty look as she headed through to the kitchen.

"How did I get myself into this mess?" Scott whined, kneading his temples with his fingers, and Isaac grinned.

"Because you did the right thing and saved Liam's life. Don't worry, he'll come around about the whole lacrosse thing, or we can find some way to at least keep an eye on him." He assured him, shutting the bestiary in annoyance, having not found anything at all about whatever attacked Liam.

"But you were still an insensitive jerk to him about his IED, even if you did make the genius decision to make a literal walking bomb into a werewolf." Stiles mocked, and Scott glowered at him angrily.

"What, so you'd rather be attending his funeral?" he hissed back, and Stiles recoiled, raising his hands in a placating manner.

"Hey, I was just winding you up, sheesh, nobody can take a joke round here anymore!" he complained, but did go quiet as Melissa came back through, her face a mask of worry.

"Look, while I agree that this Crockett guy needs to be stopped especially when he's pumping teenagers full of lead, are you sure going after him to confront him is a good idea?" she asked worriedly, her eyes crinkled with concern, and Isaac shrugged.

"Hey, none of us like it, but at the end of the day, Scott's right. He must be here to come after us, so if we can do anything to stop him before he does, even better." He told her, and she sighed, she did see the logic, she just didn't like them all going off after this ruthless poacher that they were dealing with.

"Besides, he hopefully doesn't know we're coming. Alright, Isaac, make sure the pack's ready, we'll meet at the edge of the preserve, same place we met to find the damned Nemeton, let everyone know if they get there early, send a couple to make sure that the damn thing doesn't look dead, or wrong like last time. Meantime, I'll go speak to Liam, see if I can get him to speak to me again." He told them, sweeping out of the house after kissing his mother's cheek goodbye.

"Be careful, all of you!" she called after him, as Stiles and Isaac also headed out of the house, Stiles flexing his hands as he put on his gauntlets and Isaac checking he had his daggers and that his bow and quiver were both in optimal condition as they headed into Stiles' jeep, while Scott roared away on his bike.

"Oops…" Stiles said, checking his phone one last time as he and Isaac got into the newly renovated Roscoe, and Isaac looked at him curiously.

"What?" he asked, and Stiles gnawed his lip worriedly.

"Um, how do we feel about taking someone else on our little mission?" he asked hesitantly, and started the jeep just as Isaac's face transformed into a mask of fury as he realised who he was talking about.

XX

As he had suspected would happen, especially with Garrett on guard duty at the hospital, Liam didn't answer the bell when Scott got to his place, and even phoning or shouting for him hadn't yielded any results. Frustrated, and knowing time was running out as the longer they waited the more chance they had of losing where Crockett was (having identified roughly where he should be thanks to Brooke's memories), Scott had decided that discretion be damned, he needed to talk to his Beta before their tiff got any worse, and as such, after checking the coast was clear, climbed up the side of the house, and pulled himself up to Liam's window.

Liam was lying on his bed, glaring up at the ceiling, with heavy metal music pounding through the whole house, so much so it was likely making the building shake. Scott smiled a little ruefully, his mother had been right, he was just dealing with an angry teenager, who had been let down by someone he thought he could trust.

Scott rapped on the window, then growled in annoyance when Liam didn't even flinch. Seriously, how could he listen to that racket, he called that music? Wait, had he really just thought that? Oh for crying- he was an Alpha to a teenage Beta while being a teenager himself, he wasn't old for god sake!

But seriously, he had to do something about Liam's music taste.

He rapped on the window again, though with the pounding of what Liam called music, his surly Beta couldn't hear him. Either that, or he could and did hear him, he was just being an awkward little runt while his Alpha hung on for grim life outside his window.

Figuring the longer this would take for him to actually get in, the more he risked escalating it, ie by breaking the window, Scott growled and then hammered on the window with his fist, and this time, Liam definitely heard him, as his eyes flicked over to the window, before he rolled his eyes and turned away from Scott.

"Oh you little…" Scott ground out, reason be damned, the window was coming down!

He thumped on the window repeatedly, louder each time, and was sure that he heard an extremely surly sigh of annoyance as Liam eventually sat up, turned to glower at his Alpha and eventually wrenched the window open.

"What?" Liam asked, though as the soundwave coming out of his room assaulted him, Scott struggled to hold on.

"We need to talk!" he called over the din, and there was the tiniest of inflections in the scowl on Liam's face, as though he was fighting a smile as his Alpha dangled outside his window, and he reluctantly moved out of the way to let Scott into his room, and was even so big as to turn his music off.

"Thank god they've gone." Scott mumbled, shaking his head to clear it of all the metal music that was still clanging through his ears.

"What do you want?" Liam asked, flopping down onto the bed to glower at Scott, and Scott sighed, and sat down beside him.

"To apologise, for a start. Earlier shouldn't have gotten so out of hand, and I'm sorry I let it. Look, Liam," he said softly, looking at his Beta, who was determinedly glowering at the floor, "I get that you want to play when we face Davenport. I understand, and yeah, it might actually be better for you without Brett there to wind you up. But his cronies are still going to be there, and they know they can push your buttons, and there's also the fact that they don't have Brett with them as well, which means they're probably going to be even more irritating than usual. It takes a long time to figure out your anchor, it took me a long time, and what was more, I made mine Allison, which didn't actually work for very long since we broke up. But I do have an anchor, I have several things I can use as an anchor, to keep me human even when everything is going against me. You don't have that yet."

Liam glared at him as he scuffed his feet on the floor.

"I'll get an anchor eventually." He complained, and Scott sighed a little, but nodded.

"Yeah, you will, because I'll help you get one. But Liam, you've been a werewolf for two days. Even if we work hard all week, there's no guarantee you'll be in charge of your emotions, or have an anchor by then, especially when we're still two weeks away from the full moon. I'm sorry Liam, but it's too risky, you've just not been a werewolf long enough. And if we're all playing, we can't keep an eye on you. I know you love lacrosse, it's part of the reason I made you my vice-captain, and I know it helps with the IED, but it's just too dangerous dude. You do get that, right?" he asked worriedly, and Liam sighed, sending an annoyed glare at Scott.

"Yeah, I do. But Scott, I need lacrosse, it's the only way I can control my IED, which you reckon is going to be worse now because I'm a werewolf anyway." He replied, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, I know that buddy. Look, I am sorry for what I said about your IED, I know it can't be fun for you, especially when people have a go at you for it, especially when they should know better, like me." He told him, going a little red, and Liam grinned ruefully.

"It's ok, I was kind of being a brat. I just, I know you're right, really," he admitted sadly, "but I love lacrosse, and love showing up Davenport even more, and you told me I couldn't do it, and it was you, and…" he complained, and Scott, figuring it was now safe to do so, wrapped an arm around Liam's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Liam, I was being a jerk about the IED, you just wound me up by being such a…teenager," he said with some patience, and Liam grinned, "and I shouldn't have thrown it back at you. And I know you're not stupid, it's not like I don't want you to play, I'd rather you were out there with me, kicking Davenport's ass." He told him, and Liam sighed miserably.

"I know, you're doing the right thing and looking after everyone as usual, it just sucks. I'll be ok," he promised, and Scott felt an invisible weight lift off his shoulders, "but we've still got Coach to convince," he reminded Scott, who suppressed a groan, that was a battle for when they were back at school, and let's face it, Coach wasn't the most reasonable of people, at all really.

"He can wait just now. You want to come help us stop this Crockett guy?" he asked, and Liam perked up a little.

"Wait, you're still going to take me with you?" he asked in surprise, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, we were both equally to blame for earlier, and besides, you're my Beta, and if we're going to fight him, I'd rather make sure you were where I can see you. I don't like it," he admitted darkly, if he had his way, none of them would be going after Crockett at all, but the poacher was forcing his hand, "but we need to stop him, and I'd rather have you with us than sitting here sulking. You up for it?"

Liam grinned widely, and nodded.

"Yeah, sure, if I can't beat up Davenport, I might as well help stop this Crockett dude. What do we do?" he asked excitedly, as Scott got to his feet, offering his Beta his hand, who took it and let Scott pull him to his feet.

"You do as I say, and you stay close to me and Isaac, ok?" he intoned, and seeing the sheer seriousness on Scott's face, Liam nodded without preamble.

"Sure, you can count on me. But if I haven't transformed yet…?" he began, and Scott nodded.

"Which is why you're staying close to me and Isaac. Don't worry, from what Brooke saw in her memories there weren't that many guys helping Crockett, so it should be fine, but if I tell you to do anything, you have to do it ok?" he told him, and Liam gulped a little before nodding, though he did look slightly nervous.

Glad that Liam was taking this seriously, and not entirely liking the fact that he was potentially leading his pack into a trap, yet realising he had little choice in this matter as it was better facing the poacher on their terms rather than his, he led his Beta outside to his bike.

"Do you think we can stop him?" Liam asked worriedly as the two of them got onto Scott's bike, and a nervous Liam wrapped his arms tentatively around his Alpha's waist.

"That's the plan. Let's see what you learned earlier shall we? Text the others, let them know we're on our way." Scott ordered, gunning the engine, as Liam sent the message.

The pack's vehicles then roared to life across the town, with the exception of Stiles' jeep which was already there, as the pack's cars and bikes sped through the town, speeding through the preserve, heading for their confrontation with the poacher who had already caused so much damage.

One part to go, I'll sum up at the end of the next part