Gibbous Moon:

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Stubbornly, I ignored my phone despite its continuous buzzing. With my cigarette tin filled with the creatures paralytic venom, my plan was to change into something warm and sleep. Perhaps if I had taken the time to check my phone the sight of Stiles hunched over my laptop wouldn't have been so surprising. I couldn't quite get over how at home the boy look at my desk, his eyes locked onto the glowing screen.

Standing still I took in the room. The tousled bed sheets from yet enough nightmare filled evening. The hapzard piles of clothes that where neither dirty nor clean, worn once and tossed carelessly to the floor. Photos pinned to the walls to cover the tatty wallpaper I had peeled off in places. What did Stiles think of it all? I pondered silently to myself.

As I slammed the door shut, the noise forced the skittish teen in front of me high into the air with a yelp, I eyed the strange text filling the screen. " I assume you found the bestiary," I commented dryly not bothering to question why he had decided to infiltrate my room.

"Well I'm yeah, though we couldn't, what are you doing!?" Stiles' voice became higher the more he spoke until his last few words came out as little more than a squeak.

While he had been talking I'd taken the time to find an oversized top to change into. Rolling my eyes at his reaction I continued to change regardless of his protests. Only pausing for a moment when I spotted the light dusting of pink that had covered his cheeks as I wiggled out of my wet jeans. My smirk dropped when I noticed his eyes linger on my scars, I was too tired to deal with his questions. Instead I steered the discussion into a different direction.

"Latin?" I questioned as I sat down on the edge of my bed, my knees resting against the wood desk. After a close look at the screen I shook my head, "No it's not Latin but it's pretty close. Archaic maybe? I wonder what the creature is called."

"A Kanima, Derek told us," came Stiles' reply.

I had muttered the last part to myself and hadn't really expected an answer. Though the answer he gave made sense. My lips parted to form a small circle as I nodded in understanding. Stiles sent me a curious look upon spotting my moment of clarity.

"How do you," he paused before deciding to ask to ask a different question. I'm grateful that he did, I wasn't sure I wasn't ready for him to see just how much research I'd been doing into the supernatural. The idea of Stiles spotting the various images of clawed creatures that I had filed way within the very desk he was lounging over made me uneasy. With a slight shake of his head he continued, "you know what never mind what else do you know about it?"

"Not much, or at least nothing that links to our scaly friend. Everything I've read implies they are werejaguars," I replied honestly.

"Werejaguars!?"

I nodded, if only he knew just how many different werecreatures I had stumbled upon in an attempt to find what had attacked me all those years ago. Shuffling back into the bed I began to rearrange the sheets around me, "Werejaguars yes and according to everything I've read so far they only hunt murders." With a heavy sigh I gestured toward the top draw reluctantly, "second draw down, don't give me that look I'm not asking you to look at anything scandalous. Pass me the black notebook." I watched him carefully as his eyes lingered a little too long on the other books wedged into the draw. Snatching the book from his hands to regain his attention, I flicked through the dog eared pages with ease.

Each page was filled with crude drawings and scribbles. Some had printed pages stapled and taped crookedly over my writing. Yellow highlighter circled the same word over and over. Claws. Though despite doing all this research I had yet to find a creature whose claws matched the ones that had torn into my skin as a child.

Once I had found the printouts I was looking for I detached the paper clip that secured them, ignoring the short summary I had scribbled beneath them. "This is all I have," I declared as I thrust the pages into his outstretched hand. "Now if you don't need anything else, I'm going to bed," I made a point of yawning dramatically as his eyes slid down to black notebook I was tucking under my pillow.

"Can I," he began edgerly.

I shook my head curtly before nestling further into my sheets. Despite the disgruntled huff, Stiles seemed to get the hint as he shuffled away from my desk toward the window. As he clambered across the window sill awkwardly I couldn't help but smile.

My dreams had been filled with a mixer of bizarre creatures and blushing boys. Though by the time I had fully woken up and managed to get to school any details I might have remembered upon waking had been lost. The halls were alive with rumours and everyone was either discussing Isaacs sudden return to school or Lydia's melt down in class. I had yet to see either of them, though not through lack of trying.

It wasn't until chemistry that I finally found them. The look of panic on Scott's face sent my heart into overdrive. As Scott and Stiles forced their way into the the seats either side of Lydia I realised something had to be terribly wrong. The air was tense and every movement seemed planned.

Sliding into the empty spot next to Alison I nudged her lightly with my elbow, "what's going on?"

Alison looked just as confused as I felt, "I have no idea, but Scott told me to keep them," her tone turned icy as she glanced at the pair of newly turned werewolves behind us, "away from Lydia."

"That should be easy enough, we're stuck in these seats for the lesson at least and we then can," I paused.

"So to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments. Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or in Mr. Stilinski's case, less than one," I shot the teacher a dirty look. Of course today would be the day he changed his teaching style! Harris rarely let us move seats and strongly disliked partnered work. "Erica, you take the first station. You'll start with - I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down. Start with Mr. McCall. All right, next two." As everyone began to move Alison darted for the spot next to Lydia while I shot into the vacant seat Erica had left.

From the corner of my eye I took in Isaac's new appearance. Like Erica the bite seemed to have given the once doormat like boy a new lease for life. Though whether it was his new mentors influence or the removal of his toxic father, who according to Matt was a vile human being, was unclear. Just like his pack mates he had wrapped himself in leather and a newfound sense of confidence.

Isaac, unaware of my inner monologue, was still facing the board his fingers fiddling with one of the breakers on the desk. It seemed neither of us had any intention of starting the experiment. I honestly hadn't thought the leather clad wolf was going to bother talking to me, so his question seemed to come from nowhere, "so what are you?"

"Mildly annoyed?" I quipped back knowing that wasn't what he was asking.

The corners of his lips twitches in amusement as he explained his question, even though we both knew I had understood the insinuation he was making, "Derek said it wouldn't even touch you. That has to mean something."

"It means I got lucky," I stated easily, it was the truth after all.

Isaac finally set the beaker down and faced me. Pinning me with an exasperated expression he tried again, "You have to be something."

"Do I?" I chimed intentionally trying to rile him.

Though before either of us could say more the dulcet tone of Mr Harris filled the room as he told us to change partners. Chairs scrapped the floor and student began to shuffle about, I shot up purposefully leaving my stool in Isaac's path. Passing Alison with a determined nod I settled into the seat beside the frustrated redhead.

Lydia looked ready to snap, her lips pressed into a firm line as her eyebrows drew closer together. "Okay, what is going on?" her words held a sharp edge as she began to work her way through the second lot of instructions.

I shrugged halfheartedly, "nothing major."

Lydia snatched the bottle of liquid I had been turning over in my hands and sighed tiredly, "so why are they all watching us."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that they weren't watching us, they were watching her. All eyes had been on Lydia the moment she had begun working and not just from those involved with the supernatural. After her meltdown in economics everyone in our year was keen to see what she would do next. According to Matt many students had started making bets and wagers as to which lesson she would lose it in next. Teenagers could be cruel. Most seemed more interested in watching the once mighty Lydia Martin plummet from her throne than helping a girl in clear distress. To my surprise she had yet to notice the shift in the school hierarchy.

So instead I joked, "maybe they just realised what a cute couple we would make."

Lydia's expression lightened slightly as she tilted her head in thought before agreeing, "we would wouldn't we." She continued to work away. Mixing and pouring with a calculated easy only she seemed to possess. As she spoke the rawness in her voice made it harder to lie to her, "it would be easier if I knew what was going on."

My mind replayed the image of her red eyed and teary. I had asked her to wait for answers but how could I possibly ignore her pleas for help. While I hadn't been in class I had seen the images of Lydia's mirror writing on the board. With a sigh of defeat I began to tell her, "you want the truth? Fine."

Our conversation was cut short as Lydia and I were forced to swap partners once again. Scott reluctantly sank into the space beside me as Erica grinned with triumph from her spot beside Lydia.

The young wolf looked more on edge than I had ever seen him. His irises shimmered a tell tale amber as he glanced between Isaac and Allison. Before bouncing back to the girls in front of us and finally shifting across to his best friend. Scott's expression only became more pained as he shared a heavy look with Stiles before eventually sending me a serious scowl.

Scott must have over heard the tail end of my chat with Lydia as his first words to me were a simple warning, "you can't tell her."

I tilted my head slightly and raised an eyebrow at Scott's demanding tone, did he think I was some pup he could order about. In an instant his expression softened. Clearly our short time as friends had taught him that I didn't respond well to being told what to do.

Shaking his head he tried to reword his earlier warning, "I, well, she could get hurt."

"She has already been hurt Scott and whether we like it or not she is linked to all this somehow," I bit back with a heavy sigh. Surely they could see how much Peter's attack had affected the young girl. Knowing why or what had attacked could help ease her troubles, I know that is all I had wanted after being left for dead in the woods.

"It isn't your secret to tell Emma," was his feeble reasoning.

Rolling my eyes I pinned him with a hard look, "I don't have to tell her about you, there isn't any reason why I can't open her eyes to everything else." Scott took a moment to think about my words. He looked torn as he tried to find the right words.

According to Mr Harris we should have created an edible crystal, though there was no way I was going to try to degust the crumbled shards that the group before us had managed to produce. I continued to glare at the powered mess that covered our beaker while I waited for his reply. "That isn't the poi," I couldn't help but jump in my seat as Scott sprang to his feet with a shout, "Lydia!"

Plump glossed lips parted eagerly as the petite teen held the clear edible crystal up. Erica's triumphant grin grew as the gem got closer to her mouth. The thick venom rolling down its sharp edges. Lydia paused momentarily to cast a confused look at Scott before biting down on the sugary treat. The room stilled, or at least those who knew what was happening stilled. Our eyes glued to Lydia as she placed the second half of the crystal back on the tray. Frowning she glanced between us all confused by our horrified expressions.

Amazingly despite ingesting the poison Lydia was still moving. Once again the girl had displayed an unprecedented immunity to the supernatural. She had failed whatever test Isaac and Erica had set to give her.

Allison dragged me and Scott into an empty classroom after Harris had finally dismissed us. I wasn't at all surprised to find Stiles already inside pacing frantically and muttering to himself. It didn't take long for the four of us to get into a heated debate about our next set of actions. Stiles was so sickeningly sure that Lydia wasn't the kanima that a childish swell of jealousy rose in my gut. I didn't what Lydia to be the creature but everything seemed to be pointing that way. Beside as Allison said even if she was the creature we would do everything in our power to save her.

Even with the continuous stream of disagreement we had managed to create a plan. We had until the end of the day to talk Derek out of harming Lydia and if that failed we had to keep her as far away from the Hale pack as possible. Which would have been easier to plan if Scott hadn't been so insistent on taking on the challenge of protecting us all by himself.

After deciding to divide and conquer I had found myself in the library with Danny and Matt. The pair had been so engrossed in whatever it was they were discussing they hadn't noticed me until I slammed my bag onto the table beside Matt. While Danny flinched at the noise Matt merely turned to face me with a bored expression. He was clearly annoyed that I hadn't replied to any of his prying texts in the last few hours.

He continued to ignore me as he turned his camera over in his hands. While he was busy examining it Danny sent me a questioning look clearly confused by the sudden change in attitude. I gave him a half hearted shake of my head and eyed the device in his hands. Was that the recording Jackson had made with Matts borrowed video recorder?

Before I could ask Matt had finally decided to talk, "that is so bizarre."

"What?" Chorused Danny and I.

Turning his camera back over Matt showed the images on screen to each of us in turn. Pictures of lacrosse players filled the screen and the telltale glean of a lens flare fanned out from under one helmet in particular. It had been the same lens flare that had first opened my eyes to McCall's involvement in the supernatural. Who was to say it wouldn't do the same for Matt.

"My camera's having some sort of glitch - slash - meltdown," he whined.

Plucking the camera from his hands with the intention of scanning his photos to see if he had captured anything more than just Scott's eyes. I gave him a dismissive shrug, "huh, oh that, it's just a lens flare."

Matt snatched back his camera before I had had the chance to scroll through his pictures. I frowned inwardly, Matt never hid pictures from me. Clearly annoyed with my tone he continued to explain why the flashes of light trouble him so badly, "yeah, but it's only happening on one player - McCall." My stomach churned. He was closer to figuring it out than I had thought.

A new problem arose before I had time to make up a valid reason for the lens flares. Lydia had just entered the library flanked by Allison, Stiles and surprisingly Jackson. The small group weaved there way between the tables and seemed to be heading straight for the second door on the other side of the room. Allison caught my eye as I sent them a puzzled look, had I missed some great scheme? The young huntress jerked her head back toward the door. As Erica and Isaac's silhouettes filled the frosted glass I understand why the group where rushing for the exit.

Without so much as a goodbye I shot to my feet and twisted my way towards the pair of wolves who had just entered the room. Pulling a single dried petal from my camera satchel I ground it in the palm of my hand before deliberately knocking my shoulder into Isaac's chest as I made to pass the pair.

The wonderful thing about attending school with such a naïve and trust werewolf like Scott was how easy it was to secretly test potential weapons. Though I feel I should probably point out that I have never done anything that would intentionally hurt Scott. I had taken to carrying a single sprig of wolfsbane with me after we had defeated Peter and soon found that even the tiniest amount would irritate Scott when he was near. After a few weeks of trial and error I had discovered dried wolfsbane in small amounts went unnoticed by the teen. He did however react when the fragile petals were crushed into a fine power.

Isaac had no intention of letting me pass and I had no intention of walking away from them. In one swift movement he had grabbed my arm and wrenched me back in front of him. If he had applied anymore pressure I would have stumbled backwards into the doorframe. A cocky smirk spread across his lips as he demanded, "where is she?"

My own smirk grew as I counted dumbly, "where's who?"

Erica snorted at my words and Isaac lent closer trying to intimidate me. However the closer he got to me the closer he was to the fine purple powder I had sprinkled into the air around me. The newly turned wolf's smirk dropped as the beginning of his sentence died in his throat. The hand that was wrapped around my bicep began to shake as he tried his best not to let the nails change to claws.

I forced myself not to wince as one claw nicked the soft flesh of my underarm. I did my best to sound sincere as I questioned, "you okay?" Isaac shot back away from me as if I had burnt him and pulled his hands firmly to his chest.

Erica growled protectively as she pulled her friend backwards. I took a moment to watch Isaac's reaction, he had doubled over to hide his face from the other students in the room. Was the power forcing him to change? Scott had never had such a strong reaction to it but then again Scott had been a werewolf longer. With one last sneer Erica curled an arm around his hunched shoulders and maneuvered him out of the library.

With the leather clad duo dealt with I turned eager to find Scott, who if I remembered correctly should have been finishing a makeup test somewhere nearby. With a new sense of urgency I powered through the sea of blissfully ignorant students.

"Hey, McCall," The sound of Matt's voice made me pause.

Poised and ready Matt had lifted his camera to his face. Waiting patiently for Scott to turn and face him. My heart raced as I pictured the lens flares that would cover Scott's eyes. Matt clearly knew something was wrong and even though I had toyed with the idea of telling him, now wasn't the time. Scott had been mortified by the idea of Lydia, who had every right to the truth, finding out. I doubt he would be happy if he realised others outside of his little circle had begun to notice something was different about him.

"Scott, hey still good for that study group later. Want a lift?" At my words Scott had turned away from Matt and his camera. I didn't have to look at the photographer to know he was seething at the action. I could feel his heated glare on my back as I hooked an arm around Scott's elbow and began to steer the confused wolf in the opposite direct to Matt.

Neither of us spoke as I pulled him past his bike and toward my car. Neither of us shared our fears that the others might be in danger or worse hurt. And neither of us brought up the fact that we were scared.

By the time we had arrived it seemed the fighting had begun. Derek stood just outside Scott's house with Boyd loyally at his side. With Isaac and Erica out of sight and our friends inside the barricaded home panic began to set in. Scott had leapt from my car before I'd even swung the vehicle up onto his drive.

Abandoning my car I followed Scott at a more humanly pace. I chose to climb the porch railing instead of marching out into the eye line of the opposing werewolves. Heaving myself up onto the railing clumsily I made a mental note to start training. I was almost ashamed of how disgustingly unfit I was. If I planned to continue helping Scott with his supernatural problems I was going to need to up my game.

Finally I lifted both legs over the railing and settled on the porch. Before I could enter the building Erica and Isaac's motionless bodies came soaring through the open doorway. The pair crashed down onto the earth beside their alpha's feet as Scott strode from his house in triumph. The exhausted figures of Stiles and Allison followed closely behind.

Derek eyed his betas before turning his gaze upon us. His voice carried across the lawn with ease, "I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott. You're not an omega, you're already an Alpha of your own pack." I bristled at the insinuation that I was part of his pack. I was merely an add on, an extra pair of hands, a helper. The idea of being lumped into the mix with werewolves and hunters terrified me. Derek didn't seem to notice my inner turmoil at his words. His eyes focused solely on Scott, "But you know you can't beat me."

"I can hold you off until the cops get here," came Scott's smart reply as sirens filled the air.

Though Derek didn't seem interested in Scott's response. The older wolf's eyes were glued to something else, something on the roof. A clatter from above had each of us darting from the porch to watch the scaled kanima scurry across the tiled roof. Dread filled my gut as we watched the creature scuttle out of sight.

Where was Lydia going? Who did she plan on killing next? My questions seemed irrelevant as the redhead marched out of the house and demanded loudly, "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

She wasn't the Kanima. However if she wasn't the creature who was? As if struck with the same realisation everyone paused momentarily. It was Jackson.

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