"You're frustrating."
Derek gripped the steering wheel tightly. He had been trying to pry her intentions out of her the whole car ride but she revealed nothing.
"I know. It's one of my talents."
She casually picked her nails while she responded. She sighed and lazily let her head rest against the cool window.
"What exactly are you looking for in Beacon Hills?" he asked, "What is here that you can't find somewhere else?"
"A true alpha, for one."
His breath hitched slightly at the straight answer. He continued to press on.
"What else?"
"It's a talisman of sorts. I've been told it's a rare artifact the originated in Asia during the creation of the Han dynasty."
"What would you need with a talisman?" he pried.
She scoffed and turned her head towards him.
"Seriously? You think I'm gonna spill all my secrets just like that?" she laughed, "Derek, you tried to torture the answers out of me for three days and that didn't work. And you thought playing nice and flashing your pearly white smile would make me crack?"
He rolled his eyes, "Would killing you shut you up?"
"Probably not, actually. My voice would just endlessly haunt you."
They stayed silent as the car passed through the back roads. They drove by the edge of the forest, rustling up piles of leaves as they went.
But a scent caught her nose as they passed by a large opening in the woods. She slapped a hand on Derek's arm, causing him to stiffen.
"Stop."
"What?"
"Stop the car," she ordered.
He questioned her but did it anyway. Once the car was parked, she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. She jogged closer to the forest opening, following the scent.
Derek followed her, grumbling under his breath as she led him further in.
"If you're taking me out here to kill me then you should know that I'll fight back," he warned.
She ignored him and continued walking purposefully. They passed an old campsite that seemed to be occupied for the moment. Tents were set up around the small fire pit but no one was around.
No one alive anyway.
She stopped at the edge of the site, taking in the overwhelming smell. Derek caught up to her and stood by her side. He finally caught the scent that she had and he stood mortified.
He slowly observed each tent. All of the tan material used to create the shelter was now doused in red blood. They could hear flies buzz from inside, presumably where the bodies were rotting.
"It must've been the alpha," he breathed.
She took carefully steps closer to the tents. She pulled the flap back and spotted the corpses, each with blood mixing into the other ones.
Derek winced at the strong smell but she seemed unphased. She moved onto the next tent and found the same thing.
"This isn't the first time we've dealt with murderous alpha. It won't be the last," he mumbled.
He pulled out his phone and tried to dial someone's number but she snatched his wrist.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling Scott and the Sheriff," he stated matter of factly.
"That's the stupidest idea ever."
"How?"
"If the alpha did this then that means it's their territory. It's their kill."
"So?"
She sighed tiredly and threw her head back, "If you disturb it, they'll come after more people to create a new scene just like this."
"I thought you didn't care about innocent lives," he remembered.
"I don't. But it seems like I won't get what I want if this pack doesn't solve their problem first. So let's try and figure this out quickly so that we can move on with our lives."
He scoffed and tried to dial the number again. This time, she let him. She only rolled her eyes and grumbled in protest.
She let go of his wrist and examined the remainder of the site as he called his people. There weren't any footprints or otherwise that would allow them to track whoever did this. And the fire's smoke was too strong for them to catch a personal scent to identify someone.
"Let's go."
She turned back around to see Derek was moving back towards the direction of the car.
"Go where?"
"To high school."
-
Derek drove them to the high school but when the pack tried to sneak out, they'd been caught by teachers and brought back to their classes. They were stuck inside for the rest of the day while the two werewolves waited in the fancy car.
Maia tried to turn to radio on but he shut it off right after. She tried to prop her feet up on the dashboard but he knocked them down. The only thing she could do was roll down the window.
They sat in silence for a long time. It drove Maia crazy because she couldn't stand being able to hear the subtle things. She liked to be distracted and always engaged.
But Derek was the opposite. He wanted nothing but to shut down every attempt at conversation. He either glared or kept his stare out the window and away from her.
She groaned in frustration, "I honestly don't think I've ever met someone as boring as you. You seriously need to re-evaluate the fun category of your personality."
Again, he glared.
"You can't even make small talk?"
He snapped and turned his whole body to face her, "Here's a topic of conversation: what are you planning?"
She scoffed and shook her head. One of his hands tightly gripped the wheel while the other kept himself balanced against his seat.
"What do you want?" he repeated.
"What I want is beyond your understanding," she answered vaguely, "All you need to know is that I want Scott McCall and that talisman. And I'm willing to do anything to get it."
They engaged in a battle of wills until they heard the distant bell inside the school. Kids started to file out of the building, jittery to go home.
But as they all left, Derek and Maia got out of the car. He led her towards the back of the school where a large field was.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Lacrosse practice."
They approached the end of the bleachers and watched as high school guys ran around the field, sticks in hand. They dodged and weaved through the defense plays, tossing the ball into the net one at a time.
Derek pointed out his friends, "There's Scott, Stiles, Liam, and Kira."
She followed his gaze and found three huddled together at the back of the offense line while Scott was in the goal.
"What are you waiting for? Go get them."
"It's the middle of practice," he argued.
"So?"
"So the coach is a little..." he struggled to find the right word, "Eccentric?"
She scoffed and began to march onto the field. Derek tried to catch her arm but she shrugged it off. As she stepped onto the field, the other players started to whisper about her.
She made her way towards the Scott. The player that was currently trying to take his shot didn't stop when he saw her. He launched the ball in the air, aiming it directly at her.
Just as it was about to hit her, she caught the ball with her hand. They all murmured in surprise while Scott gaped at the woman standing in front of him.
She inspected the ball before looking up to glare at the attacker. She tossed it back to them.
"Throw another ball at me and the next one goes through your skull."
A shrill whistle came from the sidelines and a wide eyed man came running forward. He pointed at her aggressively, "Yes! That's what I'm talking about! That's the kind of spirit this team needs!"
She furrowed her brows in confusion at the man as he yelled at his players to gain the same attitude. Unbothered, she turned back to face Scott.
"What are you doing here?" he asked breathlessly.
"We found a campsite of dead bodies," she stated.
"Yeah but Derek said that the sheriff was handling it. And I've got lacrosse practice now."
She grabbed the front of his helmet and pulled him close. His eyes widened in fear as her voice lowered dangerously.
"Listen here, McCall," she seethed, "You asked me to help you find the alpha. So I am. But I'm not doing all the work. So get your scrawny ass off this field right now or so help me God I will castrate you in front of this entire team. Got it?"
He nervously nodded his head, "Yes, ma'am."
She let go of his helmet and pushed him back. She straightened herself out and casually walked back to where Derek was standing. But as she passed the coach, he tried to stop her.
"Have you ever played lacrosse? We can just lie about your age."
---