Broken Things (Broken Book 1)

14: Battleground

The room became quiet. Almost everyone, with the exception of Derek and Lydia, had a surprised look on their faces. Lydia gave Scott an "I told you so" look.

"You're a Valkyrie?" Stiles asked. "How is that even possible? You don't even have the right eye color."

"That's because I'm not a Dark Valkyrie. I'm a Pure Valkyrie. And the last one might I add. We have blue eyes. If we turn Dark, they turn green."

"Vincent said you weren't as strong alone as in a group," Derek said. "Do groups of Valkyries work the same as a wolf pack?"

"Mostly. When grouped together, they can be stronger. Even with me killing one of his Valkyrie, he's no weaker than he was beforehand. But even if the two of us went toe to toe he'd still be stronger than me."

"Because he's their leader?" Scott asked.

"No, because he's just more powerful than me. How bright or dark our eyes are announces how powerful we are."

"His eyes are bright green," Malia pointed out.

Isabel flashed her medium blue ones. "My power is nowhere near his."

"Okay, I'm still having trouble grasping the fact that she is a Valkyrie," Stiles said, earning a slap to the back of the head from Derek. "Ow!"

Isabel sighed and pulled off her jacket, turning away from the group. She was still wearing the black racerback top. It was the first time most of them had even seen her tattoos. As they watched, they started to move and then seemed to grow from her skin. A moment later, a pair of pure, snow-white wings extended from her back. She folded them and turned back to the others. "Happy now?" she asked Stiles, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Yeah, she's definitely not one of them," Lydia remarked. Derek's face was unreadable.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Chris suddenly asked. "In Derek's loft."

"I came looking for Talia. My mother had told me if I ever needed sanctuary from the Dark Valkyrie, I should go to Beacon Hills and meet with Talia Hale. She told me she was a powerful and wise Alpha. But when I arrived, I found the Hale house in ruins and heard about the fire that killed Talia and seven others. I found out her son was still alive and I tracked down Derek to his loft, but I saw the muzzle flashes through the window. I flew to the roof and watched through the skylight as Kate shot him."

"Why were you at the loft?" Derek asked.

"I was hoping you were the Alpha. When I saw Kate was about to kill you, I couldn't stand by and watch."

"The light?"

"It's something only a Pure Valkyrie can do. Actually, it's really not that common among the Pure Valkyries. It's like a complete shift in a wolf."

"Like Talia and Laura?" Scott asked.

"If they could shift completely into a wolf, then yeah."

"That's rare, isn't it?" Stiles asked.

"Not as rare as a True Alpha but yes," Peter answered.

"But how did you know to bring him here?" Deaton asked.

"We've met before, Doc. I was here with my parents and brother when I was eight. I looked through Derek's phone after he passed out and saw your name."

"That's why I couldn't catch your scent," Derek said. "In the loft."

"And why I didn't catch it here," Scott added. "Or now."

"I don't have one in my Valkyrie form." Isabel's wings retracted and she returned to her human form, pulling the jacket back on. "You found that electricity hurts us, but it will also force us out of our human form. I only had enough control to keep my wings from extending, but not from keeping my eyes from turning. When I asked you to close your eyes, Derek, I didn't want to blind you when I used my light against Kate." Isabel turned to Lydia. "Your scream hurts us as much as it does a wolf. Because I was in my human form I was able to recover quicker."