Mostly Ghostly | Isaac Lahey ¹✓

[08] bait

As she gets closer, she notices how stiff Dom is. His normally loose posture is rigid, fists curled at his sides. She also realizes that Scott is standing in front of him as if the placement is purposeful. Stiles stands awkwardly to Dom's left, completing some sort of uneven triangle that seems off-putting and unnatural.

"Hey," she greets the trio when she finally reaches them so they now form a diamond, turning so she can see Dom's face. His expression is as dark as his black sweatshirt, mouth twisted into a furious frown and stare locked on something past Scott's head. He doesn't seem to notice her presence.

"Hey, look at that! Vera's here!" Stiles exclaims pointedly. Vera's eyebrows crease at his suspiciously eager tone. "Vera, please tell our friend that murdering someone during cross country practice would probably put an ugly stain on his permanent record and should, therefore, not be on today's to-do list."

Her eyebrows crease even further. "What?"

She follows Dominic's line of sight and immediately understands the rage spilling from him like oil. Aiden and Ethan Steiner, the Alpha twins, have apparently joined the cross-country team as well. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that they're following her, Scott, Isaac, Stiles, and Dominic. Rather, judging by the insulting smirk that Aiden tosses Dominic's way, and how Ethan is staring at Isaac like he wants to kick him to the ground, it seems that they're just where they want to be.

Wrath churns in Vera's gut, rising the foulest of emotions to the surface and twisting her face into a hate-filled sneer. Perhaps she'd been incorrect before by saying she only hates Peter. Those Alpha twins have smug faces that are begging to be punched.

"Stiles, you shouldn't have said anything," Scott groans upon detecting the chemosignals now radiating from Vera as well. He knows firsthand how terrifying angry Latina women can be, and it shows in the dismay on his tanned face.

"I won't kill them— I have a moral code," Vera says. "But if you find Ethan with a broken face, don't tell Coach it was me."

She starts to stalk forward, but stops when Scott takes her bicep and holds her in place. Her glare snaps to him. It's a stark contrast to the softness in his eyes, the innate goodness exuding from him that could probably turn the devil back into an angel.

"Vera, you can't," he says firmly. She rolls her eyes in response, about to tug away, but he steps closer and barrels on with his reason and logic. "Stay off their radar. Don't give them a reason to come after you— they can tell Deucalion, and then you'll be on his trail again."

Vera had roughly explained her history with Deucalion to her other friends, figuring that it was best for them to know. Any missing information could result in another person's death. Now that Vera's ugliest secret isn't hidden to them anymore, she hopes that the others will come forward with whatever new leads they find as well.

"Maybe if I rough them up a little, it'll show Deucalion not to mess with me," she growls, eyes shifting to a milky white as she moves away from Scott again.

"Listen to me," he begs, gently pulling her back. Her eyes turn back to their normal brown as she's forced to take a step toward him. "You know that's not true. Be smart."

Vera huffs through her nose, her rage boiling in her gut and setting her heart ablaze as she catches the predatory glance Ethan sends toward Dominic before flickering his eyes away. But Scott is right— as usual. She forces rational thoughts to break through the barrier that had clouded her head with nothing but anger. Pounding the daylights out of the twins with her fists will result in nothing but giving them a reason to fight back themselves or get their leader to do it for them.