Chapter Text
The streets of Beacon Hills were dead silent as the curfew was still out on account of the recent animal attacks. So Kate Argent had no trouble with traffic as she pulled into town and drove the streets. She was listening to the newscaster on the radio talking about the recent attacks in the town. She just snorted as she switched the channel to some music instead. As she drove she sensed something amiss, even though she missed seeing the giant wolf running past her window a moment ago. She looked back to see if anything was following her when she nearly crashed into a pickup that was pulling in across from her.
“Nice driving Kate,” she mumbled to herself. “Nice.”
She was about to pull forward when something hit the roof of her car. She reached into the back and pulled out a shotgun and fired straight up into the roof.
The shotgun blast woke both Scott and Stiles from their sleep as it echoed off into their heads.
Kate then went into the back and pulled out her rifle and went into her bullet case for her special bullets. She then went to her phone and sent a message to her brother.
Allison was up to as she heard her father moving around downstairs. “What’s going on?” she asked as she stepped out to find him fully dressed.
“Your Aunt Kate just texted. I’m heading over to pick her up.”
“But it’s two in the morning,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, she’s just having car trouble,” he said.
“It’s not serious, is it?”
“No,” he shrugged off. “It’s just a flat tire. Go on back to bed sweetheart.”
Allison headed back for her room while he headed out the door.
Derek was out trying to track down the Alpha when he came upon some drops of blood. They were fresh. He looked up and caught sight of it scaling the walls of the building across from him. He tried to scale the building after him and got to the roof as he scanned for any sign of it. He saw it running off a small distance away so he chased after it. He jumped the building when he felt a sharp pain hit him in the arm as it knocked him down. He saw that his arm had a big gaping bullet hole now in it and noticed that there was a blue glow in his wound. He forced himself up and got out of there as quick as he could. Kate Argent had spotted him and then went and shot the werewolf as he jumped. She put her rifle down, knowing that she scored a hit.
The shot had attracted both Scott and Stiles to the area. Scott was across the street from Kate while Stiles was hiding behind a building at the other side of the block.
Chris Argent pulled up and went right on over to her. “Get in,” he growled at her.
“Oh not even a hello,” she said mockingly. “Nice to see you.”
“All I’ve got at the moment is ‘Please put the assault rifle away before someone notices’.”
“That’s the brother I love,” she smirked before it fell off. “Chris, there were two of them.”
“The Alpha?” he asked.
“I don’t know but one of them tried to kill me.”
“Well, one of them was going to lead us to the other and he can’t do that if he’s dead,” he said scolding to her
“Well, I can’t help kill either of them if I’m killed first,” she argued back.
He exhaled. “How long will it take?”
She shrugged. “I give him 48 hours. If that.” She then went to head into Chris’ car.
Scott had been watching the two of them, Allison’s father and apparently her aunt too, talking about the shot she made and a part of him hoped that the one she had shot was indeed the Alpha.
As for Stiles, listening to the two of them talk so casually about hunting werewolves down. The woman especially, she made his hairs stand on end. He could see that they wouldn’t be happy at just killing the Alpha. They wanted all of them dead.
The next morning Kate was greeted by a loud scream as Allison came running into her room. They embraced in a tight hug as they laughed at seeing each other again.
“I don’t see you for a year and you turn into a freaking runway model,” Kate said as she took her niece in. “Look at you. I hate you.”
“I haven’t even showered yet,” she said blushing at the praise.
“Sweetie, you’re a knock out. In fact, I hope that you have the boys knocking each other’s teeth out for your attention.”
“I kinda have one.”
“You kinda have one?” Kate said eagerly moving closer. “You should kinda have a million,” she said before they both laughed.
“Need help unpacking,” she said reaching for a bag.
“No not that one,” she said quickly taking her wrist in a quick and firm grip. She then quickly let go. “See? You turn out beautiful and I turn up with this kung fu death grip,” she tried to joke. Allison had been about to go into her bag of arsenals. “Sorry sweetie, I didn’t mean to be so rough.”
“No worries. Hey, is everything cool with your car?” she asked remembering last night.
“Yeah, I just needed a jump start, that’s all.”
Allison froze. “A jump start?” Her father said that she had a flat tire.
They were hiding something.
At school, Scott was eagerly waiting for his teacher to give him back his test. He was worried that he didn’t do so well.
Stiles gave him a small tap to get his attention. “I’ve been trying to figure all this out. The Alpha, the one that bit us, who do you think he really is?”
Scott just shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“You think he could’ve been the one that killed the bus driver?”
Scott shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He settled back in his chair. “Hey, do you think Allison’s dad might have a clue about how to find it?”
“I don’t know!” Scott snapped before dropping down, embarrassed at everyone now staring at him.
Stiles then got his test back and saw that he got an A. He exhaled out in relief. Then Scott got his test back. It was a D-.
Stiles noticed it. “Dude, you need to study more,” he casually said though Scott just went and slammed the test down. “That was a joke. Scott, don’t worry. It’s one test. You could make it up. You want some help studying?” he offered.
“No,” he rejected. “Studying with Allison after school today.”
“That’s my boy,” he teased.
“We’re just studying,” he defended.
“No, you’re not.”
“No I’m not?”
“Not if I’m forced to live vicariously through you you’re not. If you go to her house today and squander that opportunity then I swear to god I’ll have you deballed.”
“Okay,” he said getting uncomfortable. “Just…no more questions, okay?”
“Fine,” he said backing down. “No more questions. Or talk of the Alpha, or Derek who I think still wants to tear you open a new one and still kind of scares me.”
“Thanks,” Scott slurred out.
“But,” Stiles suddenly said.
“What?” Scott said tirelessly.
“Um, just one thing, were you out last night by any chance?” he asked looking at him calmly.
Scott stiffened a bit. “No,” he answered.
Stiles’ eyes looked down towards where Scott’s heart was and heard the skip in its beat.
Derek was roaming the halls of the high school as he tried to get himself to either Scott or Stiles. His wound wasn’t healing and the pain was only getting worse. He needed help and, unfortunately, those two were all he had to go to. He tried to sniff or even hear them out to find them but his senses were completely out of whack. He couldn’t focus them. He then caught sight of the guy on their lacrosse team, Jackson he thought his name was. He went over to him as the kid was going through his locker.
“Where’s Scott McCall? Or Stilinski? I don’t know his first name but I think everyone calls him Stiles.”
Jackson took in the guy’s appearance. “Why should I tell you?”
“Because I asked you politely and I only do that once.”
“Hmm,” Jackson said looking at him. From how he looked and how old he seemed Jackson guessed that if Scott and Stiles were on something then this guy either knew about it or was their dealer. Maybe he would finally find what they were hiding? “Okay tough guy, how about I help you find them if you tell me what you’re selling them?” Derek just stared blankly at him. “What? What is it? Dynabol? HGH?”
“Steroids?” asked Derek. This kid thought he was a drug dealer and was selling those two something? Derek started to walk away. He didn’t have time for this.
“No girl scout cookies,” he said sarcastically as he stopped him. “What the hell do you think I’m talking about? Oh and by the way, whatever it is you’re selling I would probably stop sampling the merchandise. You look wrecked.”
Derek looked down to see that the bleeding from his wound was getting worse. “I don’t have time for this. I’ll look for them myself.”
“No, I’m not done with you,” Jackson said going to stop him.
Derek pushed his hand away and forced him up against the lockers. His claws had come up and pierced his neck. He was starting to lose his control. He then let Jackson go and went off to try and find one or both of those betas. Jackson was left there, with his hand reaching for where Derek had just scratched him.
Derek huddled into a corner as his senses started to go more whacky. He started to hear random things in the hallway. He cringed as everything invaded his head until he heard a familiar name.
“Scott’s coming over? Tonight?”
“We’re just studying together.” That was Allison Argent’s voice.
“Just studying,” her friend said. “Never ends with just studying. It’s like getting into a hot tub. Somebody eventually cops a feel.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m just saying be sure he covers up.” There was a small pause. “Hello Snow White, I’m talking about a condom.”
“Are you kidding? After one date.”
“Don’t be a prude. Give him a little taste.”
“How much is a little taste?” Allison asked nervously.
“Oh god, you really like him. Don’t you?”
“Well, he’s just different. When I first moved here I had a plan. No boyfriends until college. I just move too much but…then I met him and he’s different. I don’t know, I can’t explain it.”
Derek narrowed his eyes. He was starting to understand more of Scott’s attitude towards him and he knew that this wasn’t good. Not at all. He then remembered Stiles. Maybe he could use him to fix this.
“What time is he coming over?” he caught her friend asking Argent.
“After school.”
But then the bell rang and his ears hurt from the loud pang they made in his eardrums. He had to get out of there and catch Scott or Stiles before they left for the day.
Stiles was already in the parking lot as he climbed into his jeep and started to pull up to head on home. He started to head out of the lot but stopped when Derek Hale pulled up in front of him. Stiles then started to honk, hoping that Scott heard it.
Which he did when he was getting his bike off the rack. He ran over to see that there was a line of cars behind Stiles’ jeep. Derek was laying out on the ground in front of it.
“What the hell? What’s going on?” he asked as he ran up.
“I don’t know,” Stiles said as he got out and headed over.
Scott bent down to him. “What are you doing here?”
“I was shot,” Derek gasped.
Stiles took in Derek’s pale complexion and the circles in his eyes. “He’s not looking so good Scott.”
“Why aren’t you healing?”
“I can’t. It…it was a special kind of bullet.”
“Silver bullet?” Stiles eagerly asked.
“No you idiot,” Derek bit out.
“Wait,” Scott said suddenly. “That’s what she meant when she said you only had 48 hours.”
“Who?” asked Derek. “Who said 48 hours?”
“The one who shot you.”
“Yeah, the hunter from last night,” said Stiles.
Scott turned to look at Stiles. How did he know that? Derek then bared his teeth as his eyes started to flash blue.
Scott started to look around horrified as the car honks continued. “What are you doing? Stop that!”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, I can’t!”
“Derek, get up!” Scott said as he went to push him into Stiles’ jeep.
The cars behind Stiles kept on honking. One of them was Jackson’s Porsche and he got out to find out what the hold up was. Allison was close by and wondered what was going on herself.
“I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used,” Derek said to Scott knowing that he had a study date with her to get to.
“How am I supposed to do that?” he asked.
“She’s an Argent. She’s with them.”
“Why should I help you?” Scott wailed.
“Because you and your friend need me, that’s why.”
Scott took in Stiles shocked face before he exhaled deeply. “Fine, I’ll try. Get him out of here,” he said to Stiles as he hopped in the driver’s seat.
“No kidding,” Stiles said before he put the car in drive and went off.
Allison then came over to him. “What was he doing here?”
“Oh, Stiles was just offering him a ride.”
“I thought you said that you weren’t friends with him.”
“Oh, not really. Um, we’re still studying right?” he asked quickly.
“Yeah.”
“Great, I’ll see you later,” he said giving her a quick kiss and then heading off for his bike.
Allison paused for a bit. She had a feeling that Scott was hiding something from her, just like how her parents and aunt were hiding something from her.
Scott went off to get his bike when he looked off and noticed that Jackson was looking at him with a hard stare.
Scott stared back for a second before they both took off.
Scott started to peddle and ride his bike as fast as he could and he managed to make it to Allison’s house at the same time she did from her car.
“How did you get here so fast?” she asked him.
“Oh, just a shortcut. A really short shortcut.” he said before setting his bike away.
“What is going on with you today? You’re acting all kinds of bizarre.”
“I’m just…stressing about classes. I’m not doing as good this year,” his bad test grade flashing back to him.
“Not doing as well,” she corrected.
“See?”
Allison then opened the door and walked in. Scott stopped at the front step. He took a moment to look around. He suddenly remembered, not only was this Allison’s house but it was a hunter’s house too. Her father and now her aunt.
“Don’t worry. No one’s going to be here for hours. Come on in”
“Great,” he said as he stepped in and followed Allison upstairs to her room. He went in to see that there were still a couple of unpacked boxes laying around. “Haven’t you been here for over a month?”
“Taking my time,” she said as she set her bag down.
He then went to set his bag down and took off his sweater. “So, I figure we could start with history.”
But then Allison started to lightly grope him. Then they started kissing and Scott fell onto her bed with her on top of him. He started to lightly run his hands over Allison’s back as she kissed him on his lips and his cheek. His hand then started to sprout claws which he noticed and started to back away as he hid his hand away.
“What’s wrong?” she asked concerned.
“Oh, nothing,” he gasped out. “I…just don’t want you to do something that you don’t want to do.”
“I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do. Are you?”
Scott smirked up at her. “Are you seriously asking me that question?”
They started to kiss again when his phone started ringing. “It’s Stiles. It’ll go to voicemail…eventually.”
When it kept going Allison decided to get it but Scott went to stop her as his hand was there but he saw that the claws were gone. He then went to his phone to see that Stiles left a text asking if he had found the bullet yet.
As for Stiles, he was in the car with Derek watching him as he was shifting around. The sight of the bloody wound on his arm still looking and smelling wet. He was not happy.
“Try not to bleed on my seats,” he huffed. He couldn’t believe that he was here with Derek while Scott was off with Allison right now. “Okay, we’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” he slurred out.
“Your house,” Stiles said like it was obvious.
“What?” Derek snapped out of it. “No, you can’t take me there.”
“I can’t take you to your own house?”
“Not when I can’t defend myself. That is going to be the first place the hunters go to look for me and call me crazy but I don’t feel safe having you as a last defense.”
Stiles bit the inside of his cheek. He then pulled over. “Then what the hell am I supposed to do? Tell me, because from how that smells,” he said pointing to his wound. There were black lines leading from it.
“Oh, please tell me that isn’t contagious because that’s all I need right now.”
“No,” Derek bit out angrily.
“Yeah, well it looks like 48 hours is too generous a timeline.”
“I’ll be fine as long as Scott gets the bullet in time.”
“Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t be feeling safe having him as your last hope.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because, if I know Scott, and sadly I do, he’s not looking for your magic bullet right now. He’s busy doing something else and he’s not going to be in a hurry to stop.”
“What?” Derek bit out.
“Studying,” Stiles said flatly.
The double meaning behind that was painfully clear to them both.
“Just start the car and drive,” Derek barked out.
“No,” Stiles barked back. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be barking orders at me. In fact, I’m betting, if I really wanted to I could leave your dying werewolf ass out on the side of the road.”
“Start the car,” Derek said in a low voice. “Or I’ll rip your throat out, with my teeth.”
Stiles kept his eyes locked onto Derek’s, both of them having a stare down before Stiles broke first and put the car in drive. Yeah, Derek may not be the one that bit him but he still scared him a bit.
Back at the house Scott went and shut his phone off. “It’s off. Sorry about that.” He then looked down into one of her boxes and noticed a photo in a frame of her father and a blonde woman. He went to go and pick it up. “Who’s that?” he asked.
“That’s my dad’s sister Kate. Except she’s more like my sister. She got here last night.”
“Uh, last night,” he said surprised. So, the blonde he saw was this woman.
“Yep, she had some car trouble, I guess.”
Car trouble? So Allison didn’t really seem to know anything about her family if that’s what she believes. “She kind of looks familiar.”
“She actually used to live in Beacon Hills. Maybe you saw her around then?” she suggested.
She used to live her? He then pulled out some photo prints. “You do these?”
“Yeah, that’s from when I thought I was a photographer.”
“They’re good,” he complimented her.
“No,” she said taking them. “They not. Focus is off. Bad lighting. Trust me, not good.” Scott then found a drawing of fruit which she took too. “That’s from when I tried painting.” He then pulled out an envelope marked poetry. “And that’s from when I was into poetry. Terrible doesn’t even come close to describing that.”
“Then what are you good at?” he asked her.
“I’ll show you, if you promise not to laugh.” She then took him to the garage. “So I was naturally ranked as a kid. My dad wanted me to go on but I don’t really like it. Promise you won’t laugh.”
“I promise,” he said as his eyes scaled through all the boxes there. He then turned to look back at Allison to flinch as he saw that she was aiming a bow right at him. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s a compound bow and I’m pretty sure that it requires an arrow to be harmful,” she lightly joked.
Scott eyed the bow with tense hesitation. “So…that’s what your good at? Archery.”
She put the bow away. “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”
He shook his head. The memory of another arrow coming at him painfully clear. “Trust me I’m-“ he froze. “Not laughing.” He was looking at the other side of the garage where there were cases of bullets next to rows of guns. Not just handguns but automatics and assault rifles. Suddenly, he remembered just what Allison was really a part of. He tried not to imagine one of these weapons being aimed at him or at Stiles.
“I should probably explain,” Allison said coming up to him. “We’re not some separatist gun nut family. My dad sells firearms to the law enforcement.”
“Oh, that’s…good,” he said as he kept his eyes on the dozens of bullets out in the open and in the cases. “So, you planning on joining the family business,” hoping to god that Allison said no.
“I don’t know, you tell me,” she said before reaching out for him. “Would I look hot with a gun?” she said seductively.
Scott’s smile found its way back to his face and the guns faded from his line of sight. “Hotter without,” he muttered seductively back before going in for a kiss.
But before it could go on too far, the door to the garage opened and the two of them threw themselves down in cover.
“Hey Chris,” a woman’s voice sounded. “Get yourself out of the 1950’s and help with the groceries.”
“Be right there,” Mr. Argent called out as he approached them. “You two mind helping?” he asked them.
The two of them just stared back in an embarrassed deer in the headlights look.
“Sure,” said Allison.
“No problem,” said Scott.
Mr. Argent nodded. “Good.”
