"liam, i'm fine," tay muttered. she coughed slightly, laying on the table at the clinic.
deaton had taken care of her and helped her out. she was healing, slower than usual, but still healing. she was trying to convince liam to let her go to school.
"no, tay, you just got attacked and beat." liam shook his head, his voice breaking. "you need to stay here. you're safer here. or would you rather be put in a hospital bed where melissa and argent are?"
tay sighed. "i'd rather go to school and rub it in those hunters faces that i'm a lot harder to beat."
"i'd rather you stay here, safe and healing."
"liam..." she tried. "just let me go to school. i won't overwork myself, i'll sit around all day, i just need to show them i'm stronger than they think."
he sighed, squeezing her hand. "i can't loose you, tay."
"i know," she whispered. "i can't loose your either. and you're not gonna loose me. it's just school."
"where they're testing people if they're supernatural and where there's hunters everywhere and people who want to kill us," he retorted.
"i'll be fine," she told him. "just please, let me go to school. i'll stay with you all day, alright? please."
he sighed. "ok. but i'm beating gabe's ass."
"please do."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
liam threw gabe onto the floor in the locker room, tay sitting on the bench as she watched. her whole body was aching, but she ignored it and played it off so liam didn't bring her back to deaton's or the hospital.
"i don't know anything," gabe insisted. "i swear."
tay scoffed, grunting at the pain in her chest.
liam glanced at her worriedly, his anger going away for a second.
"i'm fine," she muttered.
liam looked back at gabe with a glare, the anger coming back.
"i don't know what happened at tay's apartment. and i don't know what happened at scott's house. i didn't even know lena left with hunters!"
liam growled, lifting gabe up by his collar. "did you know who was at scott's? did you know mason was in there?!"
"no, i didn't know anything. i don't know anything."
liam turned gabe around, slamming his face into the mirror.
tay clenched her jaw, completely ok with liam doing this.
"maybe you haven't noticed lately," liam snarled, "but i've been having trouble controlling my anger. when things happen to my friends, i just can't seem to help it. i especially can't seem to help it when my fucking girlfriend gets shot and beat by a ton of bitches who are somehow more than willing to hurt the most amazing and beautiful and caring person in the fucking world!" he shouted the last sentence.
"no, liam, wait, please," gabe pleaded.
"i just get so angry!" liam pushed his head further into the mirror, breaking the glass and making gabe cry out. his hand gripped so hard on the sink it started to break.
"stop, liam, please-"
"shut up," tay demanded.
"you think i'm going to kill you?" liam asked. "you think we're all killers? maybe we should be! maybe i should show you exactly how my girlfriend felt when your friends went after her at her own apartment!"
"i didn't have anything to do with it," gabe cried.
"i said shut up!" tay snapped as she stood, grunting and holding onto the locker to stay up.
theo walked in, moving over to tay and helping her keep her balance. "you're really gonna kill him?"
liam turned to theo.
"i mean, i honestly don't care if you do." theo shrugged, wrapping an arm around tay's shoulders. "but, have you thought this through? any idea where you're gonna dump the body? but no one saw you grab him, did they? cause that could be a problem."
"i don't care," liam deadpanned.
"i don't care either," theo agreed. "but at least let me help. it's the least i could do after you saved tay. and i'm the one with experience here."
tay gave him a look.
he frowned apologetically but continued talking. "if we kill him, we'll have to find the witnesses and kill them too."
"i don't care," tay mumbled. "i killed twice in one night, what's one more? especially another that deserves it."
she had ended up killing two people last night. she checked. the one she shot the arrow in the head and the one that threw a knife at her and she threw it back. the knife had ended up landing in his neck, right at the artery.
and she hadn't told a word to scott yet.
theo's frown at her got deeper, rubbing her shoulder. he was careful not to touch wherever her wounds where. "liam, if we do kill him and the other witnesses, we're gonna need shovels, some plastic bags, maybe a chainsaw..."
liam gritted his teeth, letting go of gabe and letting him fall.
tay stared at the broken spot on the mirror that was covered in gabe's blood.
"you made your point," liam told him.
"and you didn't kill him," theo added. "that's progress."
"why do you keep trying to save me?" liam inquired. "you think it'll make scott forget about everything you did and he'll just let you into the pack? scott's never gonna trust you, even if tay does."
tay nodded, knowing that was true. "no offense, theo. i mean, you did literally kill scott, so..."
theo sighed, also knowing that was true. "i'm not trying to get into the pack." he looked at liam. "you might wanna remember what scott's goal has been all along... keep people alive."
"he should try harder," gabe spoke up.
tay glared at him. "i told you to shut up." she paused when she finally processed what that meant. "wait, what?"
"what are you talking about?" liam asked.
gabe sat up, "you don't know, do you?"
"know what?" tay raised her voice, grunting and holding a hand to her chest.
gabe didn't reply, his mouth slightly ajar.
theo's expression got darker. "take her." he past tay to liam, who of course held her up with an arm around her waist carefully. he grabbed gabe and pushed his face into the mirror like liam did earlier.
"about the other bodies," gabe caved.
"what other bodies?" liam demanded.
tay shared a look with liam and theo.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"it's a bad day for finding bodies," malia commented.
"there's gonna be a lot more if we don't find aaron's other half," liam added.
"which we know nothing about," theo informed.
tay took a deep breath from the chair she was sitting in between her boyfriend and brother, her body still in pain.
isaac turned to her and muttered, "you should be at deaton's."
"i'm fine," she insisted.
"no, you're not." he shook his head. "you should be resting and letting your body heal."
"i'm healing," she told him. "i'm fine. the apartment on the other hand, not so much."
isaac sighed.
scott stared at tay with a frown before clearing his throat. "we do know one thing. we know it's a werewolf."
"we need to find this other werewolf right now," liam declared.
"no shit, blue eyes," tay mumbled.
"preferable before they merge," theo added.
"what happens if they merge?" malia asked, sharing a look with scott and isaac.
tay looked between them. "did you guys..." she gasped, holding back a groan at the pain that shot through her chest. "no way."
isaac covered his face with his hand, glancing at scott. scott looked down while malia smirked.
theo held back a chuckle.
"i'm happy for you guys but now isn't the time," liam reminded them.
scott cleared his throat. "right. uh, i don't know what's gonna happen if they merge, but i got a feeling that it's not going to be good."
"any chance you got to put together that army, scott?" liam asked.
"you're looking at it," malia stated.
"deucalion didn't work?" tay asked.
isaac shook his head. "neither did peter."
"you-" tay stopped herself to lower her voice, taking a deep breath as she rubbed her chest. "you went to peter?"
scott sighed along with malia.
"yeah." malia nodded.
she grimaced. "ew."
"that hurts, tay," peter spoke up.
they turned to him, who was covered in black smoke and burnt parts, holding a steering wheel in his hand.
"and let's hope this thing doesn't feed off desperation, because this room reeks of it."
"what happened?" scott asked.
"please tell me you almost got burned alive for the fifth time," isaac spoke.
tay nodded in agreement.
malia laughed, stopping when scott gave her a look.
peter sighed, lifting the steering wheel. "the hunters destroyed my perfect automobile. so, if this thing had anything to do with it, i'd like to see its demise is appropriately painful." he plopped the steering wheel onto the file holder thing next to him.
"if i have to deal with you until the anuk-ite is dead, i'm gonna see my demise real soon," tay commented.
liam gave her a look, still rubbing her shoulder as he had been the whole time.
she shrugged, grabbing his hand and squeezing.
"i thought you had two cars?" malia asked.
peter held up a small piece of his second car and dropped it. "there's going to be hell to pay."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"hey, it's me again," the woman on the voicemail said. "i, uh, don't know why you can't seem to call me back. maybe it's because you think you're punishing me. but this is too long. it-it-it's too much. and it's not about us. something's happening in beacon hills, to the people here. i just..." she exhaled. "i-i just- i need to know everyone there with you is ok, so can you just, please, call me, please? one call, that's all i'm asking for, and if you can't call me back, then... i'm going to get my answer anyway. that means i'm coming up there myself. if i don't get a call from you, i'm coming up there. so just try," she sighed, "try to remember, it's my pack too."
the voicemail ended and tay shut the phone.
"you pulled this off one of the bodies in the woods?" theo asked scott.
"malia did," liam informed.
"yeah, there were six dead bodies, and one of them had no face," scott explained.
"ok, so the one with no face, you think that's the woman on the phone?" he inquired.
scott shrugged, leaning on the desk next to tay. "maybe."
"it's the same thing that happened to aaron," mason added. "it took over his body, basically stole his face and his DNA. so that means whoever this woman is, she could be the other half of the anuk-ite."
"which means she's just half of the problem," theo realized. "the other half we already know about, aaron."
"we don't know where he is, though," liam said.
"ok, hold on." theo raised his eyebrows. "aren't we supposed to keep both halves apart?"
"yeah," tay confirmed.
theo nodded. "if we know about one half, let's just go for that one, that's aaron."
"i agree with you." tay also nodded.
"i'm not agreeing with theo, but i do think it'd be easier to track down aaron over a-a voice on a phone," mason agreed.
"that's agreeing with theo," liam deadpanned.
"yeah." mason sighed. "but i thought i'd try to soften the blow a bit."
theo looked between everyone except for his sister. "is everyone completely shocked that i might be right, excluding tay?"
"no, we just don't like it," liam complained, resting his head on tay's shoulder.
"maybe we're all right, maybe we should be looking for both, aaron and the woman on the phone," scott spoke up. "i mean, since you guys agree..." he looked between tay, theo, and mason.
"wait, you mean, us and... him?" mason asked.
"no. i mean you and him." scott took a moment. "tay, you're not going, you're still hurt. you two find aaron, though."
"what?" she asked. "no, i wanna go."
scott shook his head. "you're staying here. we," he gestured to himself, tay, and liam, "will try to figure out whose voice is on the phone."
"i want to go with them though," tay argued.
"you shouldn't even be here," scott admitted. "you should be resting in the back room over there." he pointed to the back room of the clinic.
"i want to help," tay insisted.
"and you are by helping us fine whose voice that is."
"that's boring!" she exclaimed.
"he's right," theo spoke.
"wh-" she gaped.
"you should stay here, you're still hurt," he told her.
"i know," she muttered. "but i can't just sit around. i want to do something."
liam frowned, looking at her. "i'm sorry, tay, but you need to stay here. it's only been two days."
she sighed, looking between everyone. "mase?"
he made a face, looking down.
that gave her the answer.
tay sighed again. "fine. i'll stay here and find a stupid woman's voice."
liam rubbed her arm, taking the phone from scott. "if we find either half, maybe we don't have to fight at all. stop the anuk-ite..."
"stop the war," scott concluded.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
tay spun the phone around, watching it spin as she sat on the table.
scott grabbed it after a moment, starting to walk. he stopped when liam grabbed the phone, dialing and holding it to his ear.
"liam," tay spoke, her eyebrows knitted together.
scott took the phone from him, shutting it. "do you even know what you're gonna say?"
"'hello'?" liam tried.
"we might only get one shot at this," scott told him. "what are you gonna tell her?"
"i'm gonna try to get her to meet us somewhere."
"what if she says no?" tay asked.
"yeah, maybe that might not be the best idea," scott agreed with the fairy.
"why? then we'll know who they are," liam argued while scott moved to the other side of liam and tay.
"and they'll know who we are," scott stated.
the phone rang.
"shit," tay whispered. "do we answer it?"
liam nodded. "answer it."
"you're the one who wanted to make the call, you take it." scott held the phone out to him.
tay gave them a look. "we're not five-year-olds prank-calling one of our parents. one of you just answer it."
liam exhaled, taking the phone. but the ringing stopped.
"what now?" tay asked.
liam shrugged, flipping the phone open. "we call back." he pressed a few buttons and the phone rang, placing it on the table next to tay.
tay adjusted her sitting position, sitting on the table on her knees, all of them staring at the phone. she exhaled when her thigh ached, wishing she'd just be fully healed already.
the line kept running.
"beacon hills high school. how can i-"
tay panicked, her and liam reaching forward to shut the phone. "what the-"
"fuck?" liam finished. he gaped, turning to scott. "it's someone at school."
"we might know who they are," scott stated.
liam looked between the two before staring at the phone, opening it and pressing some more buttons. he replayed the voicemail at his ear.
"put it on speaker," tay told him quietly.
liam complied, holding it out.
they listened carefully, trying to recognize the voice. "but this is too long. it-it-it's too much. and it's not about us. something's happening in beacon hills, to the people."
"guys?" scott asked. "tay? liam?"
-
tay had her arms crossed with her forehead against her arms as she slept, liam next to her with his face resting on his arm, halfway sitting up and halfway with his head down.
"tay, liam!" miss finch called.
they jumped up, sharing a look.
-
tay and liam were messing around during class, throwing things at each other and trying not to laugh loudly.
he tossed a balled up paper at her.
she exclaimed, grabbing a pencil and throwing it at his face.
he laughed, catching it before it did.
"not fair," she complained.
"guys!" miss finch called.
-
liam was on his phone texting tay with a smile.
"liam!" miss finch exclaimed, snatching it from him.
"hey, wait!" liam tried.
-
tay exhaled as she and liam started a staring contest, refusing to blink. after a minute, her eyes started to burn. she didn't blink though. she snapped her fingers in front of liam's face, but it didn't work.
liam held back a chuckle, his hand gripping tay's. he inhaled deeply, not blinking either.
"tay! liam! pay attention!" miss finch exclaimed as she clapped in between their faces.
they jumped and blinked, letting out groans in unison.
"come on!" tay face palmed.
liam sighed. "did you have to?"
"yes," miss finch deadpanned.
-
"holy shit," tay whispered when she figured it out.
liam shut the phone, turning to scott. "i think we know who it is."
"it's miss finch," tay stated.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"miss finch?" scott asked as they watched her get out of her car and toward the school. "are you sure?"
liam nodded, on tay's lap like the other day. "it was her on the phone."
"we know it," tay added.
"ok, well, that still doesn't prove that she's the anuk-ite or even that she's one of us," scott said.
"she said on the voicemail 'it's my pack too'," tay informed.
"and it was still her," liam agreed.
"ok, well, we need to get closer," scott decided. "see if we can get her to expose her supernatural side."
"how are we gonna do that?" liam asked.
scott sighed. "one of you is gonna do it."
"what?" tay asked. "you're the adult!"
"and you're seniors who go to this school and have her as a teacher," scott retorted.
"well, what about the hunters, a-a-an-and the nazi student brigade?" liam asked.
"yeah, i'll be right there with you," scott told them. "just get close."
tay and liam sighed, sharing a look.
"find out, and get out."
"easier said than done." tay's face dropped to the nape of liam's neck, letting out a small complaint about scott's plan.
liam nodded in agreement although he couldn't get out everything she said, lifting his hand up to stroke her hair. "but i hate biology."
"i despise biology," tay agreed.
scott gave them a look. "go to class. and then get out."
they groaned.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
tay sat in her seat with liam, squeezing her eyes shut when her thigh accidentally banged into the corner of the lab table. "ow. shit."
liam's eyes widened. "shit, are you ok?"
she exhaled. "not really. but i'm fine."
he gave her a look.
"let's just get this over with," she mumbled.
gabe sat behind them, dropping his backpack onto his table as he glared at the two in front of him.
tay clenched her jaw, sharing a look with liam.
"welcome back," gabe said as he leaned forward toward them.
"go fuck yourself," tay muttered.
liam sighed, grabbing her hand and interlocking their fingers.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"phones away, everyone, and settle down," miss finch spoke as the bell rung and she writing on the chalk board. "we have a long way to go to get through the day. we'll start first with..." she turned to the class, stopping when she saw tay and liam. "tay. liam."
they looked up while everyone stared at them.
"i didn't think we'd be seeing you again."
"after you let gabe and nolan beat liam's ass?" tay raised an eyebrow. "oh, no, of course we're back. and i don't know why you'd think that." she gritted her teeth, liam squeezing her hand.
"can't let my GPA go down just cause i got beat up in class," liam said, controlling his anger.
"which you let happen," tay added. she could tell miss finch felt guilty, but tay wasn't going to stop with the comments.
miss finch nodded. "yes. well, i..." she cleared her throat.
tay glanced behind her, seeing gabe texting on his phone. she nudged liam, subtly jerking her head toward gabe.
liam did the same as tay did, nodding at her slightly.
"gabe, i said no phones," miss finch spoke. she held her hand out when she walked over to him.
gabe handed his phone over.
she went to the front of the class again, putting his phone on her desk. "ok, let's get started. ok, so when two people come together, we have a variety of possibilities." she wrote on the board where she had drawn four eyes. "and how do we determine the probability of an offspring having a particular trait?"
liam subtly put the ear thing in his ear. he and tay shared a glance, their eyes casting down to where liam had the emitter from chris.
"we're talking about, like, your eye and hair color, or, uh, if you have an extra digit."
liam turned the emitter on, but miss finch wasn't effected. a girl in the second to last row was though, quickly covering her ears and running out of class.
"turn it off," tay whispered.
miss finch cleared her throat. "where did rebecca go?"
liam turned it off, putting it back into his backpack.
"she went to the bathroom," tay lied. "couldn't wait."
liam pretended to itch his noise, covering his mouth as he did, "no. no reaction at all." he faked a cough when gabe glanced at him. "what?"
"whisper," tay reminded him in a whisper. "what's he saying?"
liam held a finger up, trying to listen if scott was replying.
"three volunteers, please," miss finch requested.
gabe raised his hand, going up when miss finch waved him over.
"i don't know," liam whispered, clearly answering scott.
he and tay shared a look, getting up as volunteers and heading to the board. liam purposely bumped into gabe while tay moved to the other side of him, sending a subtle glare.
tay grabbed the chalk, hesitating to write since she didn't know anything. she glanced around the class, seeing sydney mouthing the answers to her as miss finch was looking at her paper. she smiled at the girl, slowly writing on the board.
liam looked over to tay, tapping his wrist like it was a watch. 'scott', he mouthed.
tay nodded.
liam pulled a thing out of his pocket. he sprinkled wofsbane onto the eraser, tay giving him a look since gabe was right there and watching them.
"liam, that's not even remotely close," miss finch spoke, referring to his answer on the board. "why don't you have a seat, and let's try this again. tay, that's actually pretty good."
she gave miss finch a dirty look as she headed back to her seat with liam, glaring at gabe again when he smirked.
miss finch grabbed the eraser, using it easily as she erased liam's wrong answers. she coughed and cleared her throat. her breathing got shaky, and then she sneezed.
tay's face dropped. "are you kidding me?!" she whispered.
liam huffed.
"you'd think i'd be used to that after twenty years," miss finch commented. "uh..." she looked down at the 'dust' on her clothes. she touched her finger, seeing purple. "that's it for today."
tay and liam shared a look. miss finch knew.
"class dismissed."
gabe swiped his phone back as he went to his seat, everyone collecting their things.
"not you, liam," miss finch said. "you stay put."
tay and liam shared another look, tay staying right where she was with him.
"tay, you can go," miss finch decided.
"i'm good," she argued. "i'd rather not leave my boyfriend alone in a class with a teacher who let him get beat."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
miss finch put down the eraser, turning to them and looking at liam. "i get it. i know what you're trying to do." she slowly walked toward them.
"you do?" liam raised an eyebrow.
"you're upset and you wanna get back at me."
"upset?" liam echoed.
"because i stood by and i did nothing for what gabe and nolan did to you then tay. i'm your teacher and i should have protected you. now you want to get back at me."
"that's me." tay raised her hand. "i'm upset and angry. i wanna get back at you. preferably repeatedly and violently."
miss finch nodded. "i get that. again, i should've helped and protected liam and you."
"no!" liam shook his head. "no, i-i-i-i-i mean- i mean, yeah, yeah, you should've, but no, that's not why we're here. we know about your pack."
miss finch furrowed her eyebrows. "my what?"
"we know what you are."
"liam, i..."
"you're a werewolf."
tay nodded.
miss finch chuckled. "a what?"
"a werewolf," tay repeated. "we know, you don't have to lie, alright?"
liam nodded.
"i'm sorry, a werewolf?" miss finch asked.
"a person who turns into a wolf on a full moon?"
"oh, god. yeah, right. and i can probably only be killed by a silver bullet."
"no, no, that's not totally true."
"are you two on drugs?" she asked.
"huh?"
"what? no!"
"well, i know your father's a surgeon at the hospital, liam." miss finch walked closer to them, squinting as she looked at their eyes. "and your best friend's mom's a nurse there, tay."
"no, we're not on drugs!" liam exclaimed. "miss finch, you're a werewolf."
"hydrocodone?"
"you have a pack."
"liam, maybe we were wrong," tay whispered.
"oxycodome?"
"you said it on the phone."
"he's right, we heard the voicemail." tay nodded.
"that's enough," miss finch told them.
"you can't hide what you are."
"i don't know what you're talking about but you really need to go, now."
"miss finch, we heard the voicemail," tay repeated. "you said 'it's my pack too'. that-that's kinda of giveaway."
"no, you both need to leave this classroom right now." she huffed when they didn't move. "you have to leave my class. go!"
"miss finch, we heard the voicemail!" tay exclaimed.
"hey, it's me again."
they turned around, seeing scott holding the phone and playing said voicemail.
"i, uh, don't know why you can't seem to call me back." scott walked toward them. "maybe it's because you think you're punishing me. but this is too long. it-it-it's too much. and it's not about us. something's happening in beacon hills, to the people here."
miss finch snatched the phone from scott's hand, shutting it. "where did you find this?"
scott raised his eyebrows.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"i told you, i don't know what the primal is," miss finch insisted. "i don't know what an anuk-a-whatever is," she stammered. "i-i was just trying to call my daughter. where did you get this?"
"you said you were in a pack," liam urged.
"like i've quoted to you five times," tay complained.
"that was you on the phone, that's what you said," liam continued.
"and i don't know what business it is of yours, my personal life," miss finch argued. "i am the teacher, you are the students. i don't go digging into your personal life outside these walls, you shouldn't be digging into mine!"
"did you reach any of them before they died?" scott asked.
"what..." she paused. "what-what are you talking about?"
scott furrowed his eyebrows. "well, miss finch, i'm sorry, but your family, they were attacked."
miss finch shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears.
"and they're dead."
"dead? they... no, they can't be dead because... they were just- they were... they were in the woods, they were just- they're hiding out."
"miss finch, i'm sorry," tay told her.
she kept shaking her head. "they're scared. they're not dead."
"we found that phone on a body," scott explained. "three men, two boys."
"what about my daughter?" she whispered.
"well, there was another body, but, uh..."
tay gulped, sharing a look with liam.
"but what?"
"we couldn't identify it. the skin was st-stripped down to the muscle. there was no DNA. pack tattoo was still there."
miss finch held her hands up for a second, "ok, sorry, but this... um... no, this doesn't make sense. i mean, this isn't how biology works."
"that's what the anuk-ite does," liam explained. "it finds a body and it takes its face. it takes the whole identity of that person."
"not my daughter," miss finch refused. she walked to her desk, trying her best not to cry. "no, not my daughter." she sat against her desk.
"there's a way to find out," liam informed.
tay frowned.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"i won't do that," miss finch denied.
"just call her and tell her not to go anywhere near the school," liam tried. "tell her that there's someone or something hunting for someone like her."
"you have to stop talking about this," she pleaded.
"if she shows up, at least you'll know what happened to your family," scott urged. "what happened to your daughter."
"miss finch, you need to do this," tay added. "for the sake of everyone, you have to."
she shook her head, her face scrunching up as a tear came out.
"i'll do it for you," liam decided.
miss finch opened the phone and dialed the number, handing it to him. she moved to the lab table.
"that's her name?" liam asked. "that's your daughter's name?"
"quinn."
tay's head snapped over to miss finch. "wait, quinn?"
scott's eyes widened.
"my daughter's name is quinn."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"what?" tay asked when liam and scott looked toward the door. "is..."
liam nodded, walking to the door with tay following.
miss finch walked to scott. "that's her, isn't it?"
he nodded.
"well, what are you planning on doing?"
"shh!" liam whispered. he turned to tay, speaking quietly, "stay behind me, alright? you're hurt enough and i don't want anything else happening to you."
tay sighed. "alright."
scott followed after them.
"you-you're not going to try to hurt hurt, are you?" miss finch inquired. "that's my daughter."
"we're gonna do what we have to do," liam responded.
"what exactly does that mean?" she stammered.
"stop talking," tay told her.
"and just stay back," scott added. "you too, tay, at least try to keep a distance."
tay reluctantly nodded.
slow footsteps filled the air when everyone shut their mouths.
"liam?" scott spoke.
"ready."
miss finch suddenly came running at liam, hitting him with the wolfsbane covered eraser.
"what the fuck, lady?!" tay raised her voice. she went to push scott out of the way of miss finch's next hit but the wolfsbane was already in the air, the werewolves coughing. she stood in miss finch's way, raising an eyebrow. "you're asking for me to punch you, aren't you? first you let nolan and gabe beat liam and now this shit?"
miss finch shook her head. "i'm not letting you hurt my daughter."
"i'm not letting you out of this room," tay deadpanned.
she looked around, grabbing one of the chairs. she held it up and swung, missing tay since she moved out of the way. she swung again and missed, but she got it the third time, hitting tay in her thigh, pulling the chair up, and knocking her down. she ran out of the room and into the hall, dropping the chair in the classroom.
"ah, fuck!" tay gritted her teeth in pain, feeling one of the stitches reopen. "are you kidding me?!" she knew there wasn't any blood coming out but it still really, really, really hurt.
"ta-tay!" liam coughed.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
once liam and scott could get up, liam held up tay and helped her out as they ran into the hall.
they spotted miss finch on the floor, leaning against the wall with a hand to her throat.
scott kneeled next to her as liam just stood there, making sure tay wouldn't fall over.
"liam, it's fine," tay tried. "it hurts, but i can still kinda walk and stand."
he shook his head. "not good enough. i'm not risking it."
"wait, i'll stay," scott spoke. "go find quinn, leave tay with us."
"no way, i'm not leaving her," liam argued. "and we need to face her together anyway."
"i can't leave miss finch," scott told him. "tay'll be fine, she'll be with me, now go."
tay nodded. "it's ok. you got this. go get quinn."
"wh-what if she finds aaron first?" liam asked. "how am i supposed to fight both of them? or-or what if all of your stitches come out, you bleed to death, and i'm not here?"
"blue eyes, it's just one stitch. i'm ok. go."
"i can't- i can't fight them both," he stated.
"liam, look, man..." scott started. "it's ok to be afraid. just don't let it stop you, ok? tay will be ok, she will be with me the whole time, she won't die or anything. you've got this. go get quinn. go."
liam looked between tay and scott. he sighed, reluctantly putting tay down next to scott. he cupped her face, kissing her firmly. "you better be alive when i come back."
"you better come back alive," she retorted. she kissed him again. "i love you. you can do this. you got this. i believe in you."
"i love you too." liam kissed her again, this one a little longer. he reluctantly pulled away and got up, scott giving him a nod before he ran after quinn.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
scott turned to tay. "how are you feeling?"
"i'm ok," she stated. she was luckily wearing ripped jeans so she just lifted one of the ripped parts enough to show the bandage. she pulled enough off to show some of the stitches, including the ripped one. "i'm not bleeding. it hurts, but it's ok."
he nodded. "ok, good. not good, but you know what i mean." he turned to miss finch, "hold on, miss finch. we're gonna get help. you just, you need to hold on a little bit longer, ok?"
she did her best to nod.
scott squinted when he saw something on her arm, pulling the sleeve up.
a pack tattoo with claw marks dug into her skin with blood.
"miss finch? hey, i need you to look at me, ok?" scott moved in front of her. "you have to trigger your healing. you need to shift."
"i can trigger her healing," tay offered. "i'll just snap her arm."
"tay, no, that's not the way to do it."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
tay looked up from where she now sat when she heard liam roar, in the classroom with scott and miss finch. "liam... i need- i have to-"
"no, tay, you need to stay here." scott grabbed her shoulder, making sure she stayed seat.
"but liam-"
"liam can do this," he assured. "no one believes in him more than you. you know he can do this. you gotta stay here."
she hesitated. "gabe was on his phone earlier, and he was texting someone. he probably told lena, gerard, or monroe that we were here, me and liam. that means the hunters are gonna come. liam can't take them and quinn. or aaron if he shows up."
scott sighed. "i know. but we need to stay here. liam's got this."
tay sighed.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"it's my fault," miss finch grunted. "i pushed her away.
"miss finch, please, you have to trigger your healing," scott urged.
"i forced her to run with them, i forced her to hide who she was."
"hey. you need to shift or you're gonna die. do you get it? you'll die."
tay sighed. "can't you just dig a claw in or something?"
"that'll make it worse," scott told her.
she exhaled.
"oh, quinn," miss finch whispered. her eyes shut.
"miss finch? hey. shift, ok? you need to do it right now. shift!"
"quinn..."
"she's gone. your daughter's gone. quinn is dead."
miss finch let out a loud growl as she finally shifted.
tay exhaled. "finally. can we get liam now? i have a really bad feeling."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"how do we fight something we can't look at?" liam asked, starting at the statues of hunters that the anuk-ite did.
"i have no idea," lydia admitted.
"we have to learn to fight without our eyes," scott spoke up, standing with tay and malia, who'd found them in the classroom.
"he's right." isaac nodded.
"liam," tay breathed, limping over to him before he pulled her into a tight hug. "are you ok? are you-"
"i'm ok. i'm ok, tay." liam exhaled deeply, tightening his hold on her.
"wait, fight without seeing, that means..." malia started.
"deucalion," lydia concluded.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"i'm tired," tay mumbled, changing into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. she glanced at liam when she noticed him staring at her gunshot wounds and the knife one. "it's fine, blue eyes."
he sighed and shook his head. "i should've gotten there sooner." he got into their bed.
"it's not your fault, it's lena's," tay told him, climbing in next to him.
liam frowned.
she exhaled, laying down on her back. "i still haven't told scott. or isaac, actually."
he laid down next to her, turning onto his side to see her better. "it was self defense."
"i know," she stated. "it just... i feel like i lost something. like i lost a piece of me..." she turned onto her side, staring into his eyes with a certain look. she was thankful she didn't have to get on the side where her arm was wounded.
"what?" he asked.
she shrugged. "your eyes are pretty."
he cracked a smile. "you're more than pretty."
tay scoffed. "my face is cut and bruised. that's not pretty."
"you're pretty," liam repeated. "you're always pretty. tay, you could be bleeding out and you'd still be pretty."
she laughed quietly, which made him laugh too.
he reached forward and cupped her face. "you did what you had to do. you protected yourself."
tay frowned, her hands wrapping around his wrists. "i love you."
he kissed her forehead. "i love you more. c'mere."
she scooted forward, feeling his arms wrap around her. she rested her cheek on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"doesn't feel good, does it?" liam deadpanned, he and tay stepping into the isle.
everyone was staring at nolan, just like they had been liam and tay.
"you know why they're all looking at you like that?" liam raised his eyebrows.
"they're afraid of me?" nolan guessed.
"eh." tay shrugged.
"they're afraid of what you're gonna say, and who you're gonna say it to," liam informed.
tay faked a cough, "lena and monroe. speaking of lena, tell her i said she can go fuck herself and go to hell. and i actually mean that."
liam nodded. "i second that. and no one trusts you anymore."
"then why are you here?" nolan inquired. "how come you texted me back?"
"cause maybe this time we'll kick your ass." liam and tay stepped forward.
"i'm gonna end up doing it anyway," tay deadpanned.
"i said i was going to help," nolan told them. "i can show you something. something i know you're gonna wanna see."
"where?" liam asked.
"a-at the hospital."
"how are we supposed to know you're not trying to kill us?" tay raised an eyebrow.
"and why don't you just tell us what it is?" liam added.
"because i had a plan," nolan explained.
"you? you have a plan?" liam echoed.
"yeah. yeah, i-"
"is it to kill us?" tay questioned. "cause i swear to whatever god you believe in, you'll be down on the ground before you get the chance."
"it's not to kill you," nolan stated then sighed. "i'm gonna show you what you need to see at the hospital. then you're gonna kick my ass so miss monroe and lena thinks you had to beat the information out of me."
"i told you, i was gonna kick your ass anyway." tay smirked. "and i'm gonna beat you harder than you did liam, just like you deserve, because no one lays a hand on him and gets away with it."
liam smiled at her. then he turned to nolan. "we're good with that plan. more than good with that plan."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"see that guy?" nolan asked. "that's why we didn't come in the front door."
"who is he?" liam inquired.
"he's with lena and monroe," he explained.
tay clenched her jaw. "of course he is. isn't everyone?"
nolan sighed. "he was there last night. they handed him a gun like everyone else." he pointed to another person. "you see that-that nurse right there?"
"yeah." tay nodded.
"she was standing right behind me. there's more than you think and they're not just hunters. it's anyone and everyone who's willing to pick up a gun."
"what were you guys doing anyway?" tay asked.
nolan gulped. "last night they ere teaching them how to use them, how to load clips, what to do if the gum jams."
"nurses?" liam furrowed his eyebrows.
"everyone... and lena and monroe were electrocuting these two werewolves. especially lena, she seemed to know them."
"who?" tay demanded.
he hesitated. "uh, i think you know them too..."
"who, nolan?"
"ethan and jackson..."
tay's head whipped over to him with a glare. "ethan and jackson are here and being tortured and you didn't say a word about it in the library?"
"i didn't think it'd matter to you that much when we have this stuff to deal with..."
"m- i- nolan!" she hissed. "yes, that matters, those are my friends, you idiot." she took a deep breath. "i'm getting them out later."
"you can't, the place is guarded with hundreds of people and weapons."
"and i can teleport."
"you'll get yourself killed."
"i didn't think you'd care if i lived or died."
"well, i do, i don't want anyone else dying."
liam sighed. "nolan, shut up. tay, we'll figure it out later." he looked at nolan. "this is what you wanted to show us? nurses with guns? and that people hate us? we could've figured this out on our own."
"but it's not just that," he whispered. "come with me, ok?"
tay and liam shared a look before looking at the nurses.
"now!" nolan whispered.
they walked past the nurses with guns, sneaking around and following nolan.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"they brought them in yesterday," nolan informed.
tay looked between the three on hospital beds. "what..."
"who are they?" liam asked.
"i-i don't know, but they brought them in last night," he repeated.
liam walked up to one of the people on the bed closest to him. he stared at the IV bad that had something purple in it
"do you know what that is?" nolan inquired.
"wolfsbane," tay stated with a frown, liam saying the same thing at the same time but angrier.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"can't we just pull them out?" liam asked.
"no, don't remove the IVs," mason argued.
"why not?" tay asked.
"you don't know what's gonna happen. let's- just-just wait til we get there. we're on our way."
"alright. hurry," liam urged. he hung up.
tay sighed. "there's gotta be something we can do."
liam shrugged.
"ok," nolan spoke up. "uh, i'm going."
"uh-huh." tay nodded sarcastically, moving in his way while liam pushed his shoulder.
"whoa, whoa, what about your plan?" liam reminded him.
"nobody saw you come in with me..." nolan tried.
liam gave him a look. "so?"
"so, i don't have to get my ass kicked."
liam shared a look with his girlfriend. "well, that was the only part of the plan that we liked. a lot."
"just cause no one saw doesn't change the fact we're beating your ass." tay rolled her eyes. then she threw her fist at his face as hard as she could, knocking him down.
he groaned, holding his nose. "was-was that really necessary?"
"yep." tay nodded. she stepped out of the way with liam.
"go," liam told him.
nolan paused before smiling. he gave them a nod before walking out.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
tay looked through the window on the door, the same thing liam was doing.
there was no one in the hall.
liam's head whipped over to the farthest bed when he heard something, pulling tay out of the way of a gunshot. they ducked under one of the beds, hiding there as the guy kept firing the gun.
"they're not werewolves," tay whispered. "they're hunters."
"it's a trap," liam realized.
"did nolan know?"
"no, he's too much of an idiot, he would've given it away." liam shook his head. 'stay here' he mouthed. he crawled under the other two hospital beds, grabbing the hunter once he got their. he threw him through the doors, the wall the hunter hit knocking him out.
tay stood up. "that was easy."
they walked out of the room, glaring at the hunter.
guns cocked on their left, tay quickly looking over.
"wait," gabe demanded. "let us do it." he and lena aimed the guns they had at them, four hunters with them.
"oh, shit," tay whispered, she and liam walking backwards toward the elevator.
"go ahead, guys. run. it'll be more fun that way," gabe taunted.
lena glared at tay, cocking her gun.
tay and liam shared a look before the elevator doors opened and they were pulled in, just as the gunfire started. tay could feel two bodies shielding hers as they all hid behind the inside part.
once the doors closed, the two bodies removed from hers.
liam looked at tay before he looked at theo. "what are you doing here?"
"was just asking myself the same thing," theo replied, running a hand through his hair.
"jesus christ," tay breathed, looking at the door. she could hear the gunfire still going off, then it stopped.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"still out there?" theo asked.
liam nodded.
"is lena?" tay asked.
liam sniffed the air, taking a moment before he hesitantly nodded.
tay's lip curled to a snarl. "bitch."
there was a long moment of silence between the trio.
"look, i'm not dying for you." theo shook his head. "tay, yeah, i'll die for tay. but not you." his eyes were on liam.
"i'm not dying for you either," liam retorted. "i'll die for tay too, not you."
tay huffed. "can we not do this right now?"
liam clicked his tongue. "i will fight with you, theo."
theo sighed. "ok. let's fight."
tay cracked a smile. "this includes me, right? i'm not gonna be told to stay in here?"
liam shook his head. "you're healed enough. just... be careful."
her smile got bigger. "yes!"
theo laughed. "let's do this." he pressed the door open button.
the elevator dung as it opened, liam and theo's glowing yellow while tay's hand glowed white. they all snared and ran forward.
the three hunters closest to them fired their guns at them. tay slid on the floor and shot the light beam from her hands to the hunters back, him screaming as he fell to the floor. liam and theo used the wall to jump off of and grab one of the other hunters, throwing them into the wall.
the trio went to the next two hunters. tay grabbed the hunters' heads and slammed them together. liam grabbed one of them and threw him into the wall as theo flipped the other one over his shoulder.
they went to the next three hunters. theo pushed one of them before leaning over, liam rolling over his back to the kick the hunter. tay shined her hands into the other hunter's eyes, him yelling as he kneeled then falling forward.
they ran at the next two hunters. liam took one of the hunter's gun and moved behind him, crouching. theo jumped up and kicked him, the hunter falling over. tay grabbed the other hunter's head and slammed it into the metal supply thing next to her.
liam and theo grabbed both of the hunters before throwing them down the other hallway. the three turned to the hall, seeing a hunter grabbing a gun and reloading before aiming at them.
melissa appeared behind him, shocking him with an electric baton. nolan to the other hunter who was trying to gran his gun, taking it and hitting his temple with the butt of the gun.
tay cheered. "yeah, mama mccall!"
melissa chuckled.
"get down!" nolan yelled suddenly.
the trio looked behind them, seeing lena and gabe there with guns.
"run!" tay shouted, grabbing liam and theo's arms as they all went running down the hall. she knew liam was making sure his body was covering hers, but she didn't know theo was trying to cover both of them.
the gunfire started, them falling to the floor after the bullets got too much. tay could feel two bullets, but somehow none of them got anywhere important. one in her shoulder and another grazing her side. she, liam, and theo stayed on the floor, waiting for the bullets to stop.
once it did, they got covered by anything in the halls. walls, gurneys, etcetera.
"come on, tay," lena called as she walked with gabe. "just get out here."
liam roared, coming out from where he was hiding. he grabbed gabe and threw him into the wall before clawing wherever he could reach lena.
gabe lifted his gun, firing it but missing since tay ran at him and tried to keep the gun away from liam.
tay's hands lit up and she put one of her hands on gabe's shoulder, listening to his cry of pain. she let go, pulling the gun away from him and kicking him away as hard as she could.
liam growled, grabbing lena and trying to pin her to the wall. she got her gun and went to aim at him, but he grasped it, keeping it away from him.
"i can't get a shot. what do you want me to do?" one of the hunters asked into the radio.
tay rushed over to liam and lena, pulling lena away from liam and punching her.
"just shook him. shoot both of them if you have to," monroe replied.
"you bitch!" tay cried, punching lena over and over again. she didn't stop. "so much for loving me, huh!? what was the fucking point... if you were just gonna try to kill me!"
gabe got back up and shot at liam, but he started fighting with him.
the hunter shot at tay and liam, but they both got out of the way in time. so lena and gabe were the ones being hit, the clip running out.
nolan came up from behind the hunter, hitting the back of his head with a fire extinguisher.
gabe fell to his knees, then his stomach.
lena fell onto her back, gasping as her heart slowed. "i... tay..."
the girl's shoulders shook with sobs as she stared at lena with hatred in her eyes.
"sam's... ok," lena got out. then her chest stopped moving, her body going limp.
tay cried quietly, sniffling and wiping her nose with the back of her wrist.
gabe started crawling toward the medicine area thing, pushing himself up and sitting. he grunted and groaned, a blood trail from where he was to where he now was.
melissa went over to her kids, helping liam get back up from where he'd jumped out of the way and onto the floor. she then went to tay, pulling her into her arms as she tried not to cry. liam joined the hug, he and melissa trying their best to comfort tay.
theo got up, holding him wounded shoulder as he leaned against the wall.
gabe coughed. "it hurts. it hurts."
theo started walking to gabe.
he cried. "it hurts."
tay lifted her head, wiping her face. "theo-"
he shook his head, a deep frown on his face along with a pained expression. "trust me."
she sniffled.
theo crouched in front of gabe, taking a moment before rolling up his sleeve. then he grabbed gabe's hand and squeezed. and after a moment, black lines appeared on their hands.
tay exhaled. in order to take someone's pain, you had to care. theo cared.
gabe sighed, the pain going away.
"does it hurt anymore?" theo asked.
he shook his head. "no."
"good."
gabe's eyes shut as his head fell to the side, his heart stopping. his hand went limp in theo's.
nolan gaped in shock. he still cared about gabe.
from where mason and corey where, who joined after lena and gabe where shot, shared a look.
the area was silent, except for tay's sniffles.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"this is monroe," monroe spoke through the radio. "someone report with a status. now. someone respond. someone talk to me."
liam crouched down next to one of the knocked out hunters, taking the radio.
"what's happening?! someone pick up the radio and tell me what's happening!"
he held it up, about to speak.
but tay grabbed his hand. "wait."
he stared at her before giving a nod, handing her the radio.
she held it to her mouth and pushed down the button. "it's over, monroe. lena's dead, so is gabe, gerard should be too, the hunters are unconscious, and the anuk-ite should be done by now. it's over."
"no," monroe refused.
liam grabbed tay's wrists, bringing the radio to his mouth. "you lost."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"oh my god," tay whispered. "derek!" she ran up to him with a slight limp, throwing her arms around him.
"oh," he grunted, rolling his eyes playfully before hugging her back.
"oh my god!" she exclaimed. "oh." she sighed. "i need this. wow. you're very comfy by the way."
derek huffed out a laugh, not pulling away just yet. she was the only one he let hug him.
a long moment past.
"wow, none for me?" ethan spoke up next to jackson. "so rude, tay, i thought you loved me."
she gasped. "ethan! jackson!" she gave derek a kiss on the cheek before pulling away and hugging the gays. "oh!" she exhaled heavily. "i so need this."
jackson laughed. "i missed you."
"we both did," ethan added.
"i missed you gays more," she whispered.
another long moment past.
"taylor raeken!"
"ah!" tay jumped, turning around to see stiles. "mieshceslaw stilinski!"
"you didn't say it right!" stiles complained.
"you can't say it right!"
they stared at each other before running and hugging, knocking each other down onto the floor.
"you should be at the FBI," tay mumbled.
"and you should've called me to tell me this was going on," stiles retorted.
"fair enough."
𖦹𖦹𖦹
"i shouldn't go," theo argued.
"yes, you should," tay stated. "and you are. you have no choice."
"what are you gonna do, drag me there?" theo raised an eyebrow.
"no." she shook her head. she grabbed his arm, teleporting them to the spot where they had to be. "scott wants you here."
"no, he doesn't," theo denied. "he doesn't trust me and for good reasons. teleport me back."
"no."
"tay."
"theo."
"teleport me back right now."
"no."
"tay!"
she mocked his expression like a child. "theo, you're in the pack now. you deserve to be here. you made up everything. well, not everything, but enough to be here and in the pack."
"tay..." he tried.
"no, i'm not gonna hear it." she shook her head. "now c'mon." she dragged him with her as she walked up to her friends.
derek got out of his car. stiles and lydia got out of roscoe. malia and isaac got out of malia's car. and liam got out of tay's, walking over to his girlfriend and theo.
"are they all... uh, different?" alec asked.
scott nodded. "some of them are. some can do things you'd never believe. and others might only be human, but they make up for it by being really smart, or really good in a fight."
"who are they?"
scott grinned. "my friends. my pack." his eyes glanced around his friends, girlfriend, and boyfriend. then his eyes landed on theo, giving him a nod.
theo hesitantly nodded back.
"told you," tay whispered, her hand grabbing liam's, who had an arm around her shoulder.
scott turned to alec. "and you can be with us if you want. but you're gonna have to fight."
"against monroe?" alec checked.
"and everyone that follows her."
"she said she'd find me. that she'd hunt me down and kill me. she didn't care how old i was. she said i was a monster."
"you're not a monster." scott shook his head. "you're a werewolf. like me." he glowed his red eyes. his eyes went to his normal ones, looking at liam.
liam smiled.
scott looked at alec, jerking his head to his right. they walked, and everyone started walking with them.
derek was next to malia, who was next to isaac, who was next to scott, who was next to stiles, who was next to lydia, who was next to liam, who was next to tay, who was next to theo, who was next to alec.
they were a pack. they were best friends. and they knew everyone they'd lost... they were all watching over them. erica, boyd, allison, aiden, brett, lori, even deucalion. tara.
tay grinned. then she turned to theo. she gave him an encouraging look, seeing how his lips twitched to a smile he was trying to hide.
theo sighed, looking between everyone.
liam nodded.
he exhaled before letting the smile take over his face, chuckling when tay bumped hips with him.
tay exhaled, her grin getting bigger.
THE END.
TRAIN WRECK ( THE PREQUEL ) IS UP.