A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the late release, I've been busy. For everyone that has come this far, thank you. I hope you've enjoyed it. The climax is coming soon so please stick with me and review. Let me know what you think and what you think will happen, I haven't decided yet and I need ideas. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10
"We're going to help you but if it comes to you or Beacon Hills, our town comes first."
Artemis nodded as she allowed herself to feel relieved, "I understand, thank you. I really underestimated you, Scott. And, you guys, I really am very sorry for everything, especially you Liam. I don't know what came over me, I guess I was just scared for my life. You're really nice, I hope you guys can forgive me."
Silently, Artemis was chiding herself for being so soft and mushy. She was worried that they wouldn't take her seriously anymore. But she really did regret what she had done and was willing to do almost anything to make up for it.
"Is there anything I can do to make up for my actions?"
Liam scowled at her and Malia growled but no one said anything until Scott replied, "It's gonna take a while for us to forgive you completely and trust will take some time to build up, but I'm sure we'll all come around eventually. Just consider this you owing us a favor."
"Yeah," Stiles chuckled, "Like a huge favor or maybe ten or something little tiny ones."
Artemis looked at Stiles blankly, it would be a while before she'd be able to understand his sarcastic humour.
"Definitely, I'll fight with you Scott, anything to keep me alive."
"Okay," Scott nodded and turned to look everyone, "let's come up with a plan."
-/\-\/-/\-\/-/\-
Scott's pack were spread around his living room, talking, thinking up a plan as Artemis stood to one side of the room awkwardly, she had called her brothers and they there with her, somewhat defensively. Liam glanced at her and expected to feel the hatred that rose up inside of him every time he looked at her, but he didn't feel it as strongly as usual, instead there was just a little bit of hate fighting to be noticed against anger and, surprisingly, pity. He couldn't believe it, but he felt sorry for her, after the whole ordeal.
Artemis had explained to them all the situation she was in, they all knew the story but somehow, hearing it again from her made it more real. She had also revealed that she had purposefully made it easy for Liam to escape in the hopes that he would and she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. When he'd heard that, Liam flashed back to the moment when he escaped, he remembered how easy it had been, how he had been gullible enough to believe that his kidnappers had merely been careless. Knowing that Artemis felt remorse and had practically let him go made Liam soften up to her a bit, but he didn't trust her enough to know if it was genuine or part of another scheme.
"Liam!" Scott was calling him from across the room.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"
"I said I know you haven't had a lot of time to recover or get over it, but you're going to need to fight with us, and with Artemis."
"Yeah," he paused, still not completely sure how he felt about it, "Yeah, okay. Whatever."
"Good," Scott continued and Liam paid attention this time, "Artemis, do you have any idea how close your pack is to Beacon Hills?"
"Well," she shifted her weight between her two feet nervously, "I think they're already here. Someone ransacked our first hideout so we moved to the cabin in the woods."
She looked at her brothers and seemed to feel more comfortable, she regained her tough demeanor and continued, "We're sure it was them."
"Okay," Scott said, "the three of you should stay with me, Malia, or Liam until this is sorted."
"We can handle ourselves, we don't need babysitters."
"I thought you wanted our help."
Artemis looked annoyed and took a deep breath before saying, "Fine."
"If they contact you, you should tell us immediately. We want to handle this without a fight and with no one getting hurt."
"Okay, do you have a plan?"
"Yes," he looked at everyone before turning back to Artemis and her brothers with a smile, "How do you feel about being bait?"
-/\-\/-/\-\/-/\-
Good thinking, Artemis thought at first, but then she remembered she was the bait and she was luring her ex-pack to a trap.
"What? No! Wha— definitely not. You don't know how dangerous she is."
Liam looked up in interest, "Who?"
"The werewolf that killed my parents."
Marcus and Matthew stepped forward as Marcus said, "and wants to kill the three of us."
"She will kill anyone who stands in her way," Artemis continued, "Even celebrity, True-Alpha, Scott McCall. No hesitations."
"Artemis," Scott said, putting out his hand in comfort, "It's okay, we can handle this. We've fought a whole pack of alphas. It'll be okay."
"No, you don't understand. Do you know what is worse than a pack with bonds made through loyalty? Loyalty generated by fear, fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. This werewolf is a scheming, conniving bitch. Nothing can stop her, especially not a negotiation. This was a mistake. If she doesn't kill us three, she will destroy Beacon Hills until you give her what she wants."