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Present day...
Thunder rattled through the bus, making Aires stir in her sleep. Her knees were brought up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them, cocooning herself.
"This is the first bit of actual sleep she's had in days." Stiles whispered to Scott as he watched the girl. "She's been a ghost for days."
"Allison's worried about her." Scott shot back whilst nervously bouncing his knee. "The night she was kidnapped by the twins she had some type of breakdown at the loft. She thinks Aires hasn't been taking her medication recently."
"Really? Do you think that?"
"I don't know. But after seeing the state of the loft, I think it's something a lot more than her not taking her meds. I think it has to do with her magic." He was the only one to suggest it, everyone else filled it under her lack of medication and her mental illness, nobody but Scott thought to look beyond it.
With a sigh, Stiles' gaze dropped back to the blonde at his side. He knew something was different with the girl, something had changed since she had come back from France. The air around her was different, it was as if there had been a shift in the universe that regarded Aires, a change in her aura. And he was determined to work out what it was.
A wince from Scott broke the boy from his trance. "You okay dude?"
"Yeah." The McCall mumbled back, clenching his teeth in pain as he shifted around his seat.
"We shouldn't have come, I knew it. We shouldn't have come."
"There's safety in numbers."
"Well there's also death in numbers, okay? It's called a massacre, or bloodbath, or carnage, slaughter, butchery."
"Stop Stiles." Scott groaned, resting his head against the window.
"Has it healed, let me see it." He mumbled, pulling up the boy's shirt to reveal a still very fresh wound. "Why isn't it healed?"
"Because it's from an alpha, it will take longer."
"Scott, you arent okay-"
"I'm fine. I just can't believe he's dead. I can't believe Dereks dead."
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Twelve hours before...
Aires pov...
With a pounding head and a ringing in my ears, I hesitantly tried to roll onto my side, only to feel a restraint on my body.
"Shh, it's okay. You're okay." A familiar cool voice whispered in my ear as my eyes shot open. "You're gonna be okay, you just have to stay quiet. They aren't gonna hurt you, I won't let them." Aiden mumbled, bringing a scowl to my face as I shuffled away from him.
"Where am I?" I demanded, murder in my eyes.
A cool breeze flew through the cracks of the brick wall to my side. The room was echoey and eerie, sending a chill down the my. I didn't know where I was, but by the looks of it, I was in trouble if I didn't leave.
"You fucking kidnapped me." I hissed scathingly. "I'll fucking kill you."
"Aires, shut up and listen to me." Aiden shot back. "Deucalion sent me and Ethan to take you but he didn't tell us the real reason why. You're not just the bait, you're a necessary asset to him. So necessary he was willing to kill Enis and Kali on the spot when they made a subtle threat to you. Don't fight it, stay here and stay quiet."
As much as I despised him, I knew he wasn't a liar. Aiden didn't lie, and that was a part of him I didn't completely loathe. He was stupid enough to tell me information that he shouldn't have been giving me, and if he was stupid enough to do that I was curious to know how much more I could squeeze out of him.
He became a new necessity.
"What the fuck are these?" I questioned whilst holding up the chunky chains that sat around my wrists. They weren't usual restraints, they were laced with something I hadn't seen before.
"They are designed to stop you from using magic so you can't break out of them."
Smart. And possibly useful.
Slowly, I leant against the wall, silence filled the air as I subtly analysed my surroundings. I wouldn't have gone far but I wouldn't still be close to Beacon Hills. Glancing up at the ceiling, I peeked through the crack to see the moon hanging above my head in a similar place to the last position I had seen it in, meaning it had been maybe an hour since I was in the woods.
Calm, cool and collected. I didn't scream, didn't make a scene, I was silent and from the way Aiden was frowning at me, I knew my silence scarred him a lot more than any screaming could. I was curious as to find out why Deucalion wanted me, why he was so infatuated with me. He had been for years and part of me thought he was the one that Braeden was on about when she said someone was after me.
But then again I had a lot of enemies, ranging in the thousands, so it could be whoever.
As footsteps echoed from the staircase, I quickly closed my eyes and evened out my breathing to appear asleep. I refused to be spotted, refused to appear as if I was awake. I needed to grab every advantage I could, every piece of information.
"Jeez Ethan, how hard did you hit her?" Alex asked.
"You were supposed to get the girl, not sleeping beauty-" Kali snickered, the playfulness in her cruel voice wasn't hard to miss.
"That girl could kill you without as much as blinking, don't disrespect her." Deucalion snarled, jumping to my defence as he once did years ago. "You haven't seen just how powerful she is."
"Is that why you want her? Because she's powerful?" Aiden demanded from beside me.
"I have watched her grow up, from the moment Talia brought her to a meeting until the day before her tenth birthday. I watched her become one of the most feared and powerful supernatural beings in the world. Haven't you all realised? She's not just a witch, she's The Eve witch." The myth, the monster, the rumour, the legend. "She's the one who took out her entire coven effortlessly- who killed her ancestors. She's the one who took down the Elites. Aires Hale isn't just feared by the witches, she's feared by the world."
"Is this why you want her?" Aiden demanded yet again. "To prove a fucking point that nobody can mess with you?"
"Whether you think it or not Aiden, having her in our pack would be protecting her." He snarled back. "I once made a promise to her mother that I would look out for her. I've been looking out for her over the years. She's dying, did she tell you that?"
Deafening silence filled the air and even though my eyes were closed, I could feel Aiden's gaze on me. I could feel the intensity of his stare. I desperately wanted to open my eyes, to see what emotion was behind his. I didn't though, I kept mine closed and faked he same facade. My plan wouldn't work if they knew I was awake too early.
"She's dying, Aiden." Deucalion continued, and I wanted nothing more than to jump up and snap his neck. "Did your little girlfriend not tell you that? The Darach, the one causing chaos in this town, is the one poisoning her. The Darach needs her to complete its sacrifice. Everything always leads back to Aires Hale. I need her on my side, I will not let her die at the hands of the Darach."
Whether that was because of my mother, or his own selfish quest, I didn't know. Everybody wanted me and everybody hated me. It was confusing as hell to deal with. People wanted me on their side, to be their asset, their little playing thing- but they didn't want me. I was nothing but disposable to them.
It was a life lesson I had been repeatedly learning recently.
"Then how do you plan to save her?"
"By killing her, myself."
As the words slipped past his lips, I bit down on the inside of my cheeks, instantly tasting a bitter copper as my mouth filled with crimson red. Always an object, never a person.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Aiden snapped, just like I knew he would.
"If I kill her, she will turn back into a heretic." Deucalion stated, and even though I wanted to scream, I kept my lips shut and inpaitenly waited for him to finish his little rant.
"That's not possible. Her coven destroyed her vampire side when they sacrificed her."
"Yes, they destroyed her vampire side. However, just like a werewolf, she can move back up the ranks." Oh. "She was born with vampire blood already in her body, and being killed put her into transition. Just because her vampire side was destroyed doesn't mean that the vampire blood left her body."
Just like some wolves I knew, they could go from alpha, fall to a beta, and back up again. I could die, and be reborn all over again. A never ending cycle.
"This time, the only difference is that if her vampire side is destroyed again, it won't matter. She will still be a heretic. Just like when wolves fall down the ranks, they can only go up. It's a loophole. When Aires dies again, she won't ever be a human, she will be a heretic."
I didn't want to be a heretic ever again.
I refused.
"So she's immortal? She has a human body yet there's no way she can die?"
"No. No matter how many times someone destroys her vampire side it will still be there, it will just take dying again to activate it."
I couldn't bear to hear anything else, I was ready to explode. With a deep breath, my fingers clutched around the chains as I began to channel all of my power. As I let myself prepare to explode.
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For twelve hours Aires had been missing, and for those twelve hours, everybody had been looking for her only to come up empty.
"Allison hasn't seen her." Scott mumbled with a shake of his head as he stormed into Dereks loft. "She's worried. Chris thinks she's staying round Stiles house, Allison doesn't know how long she can keep up the act before he notices-"
"They have Aires." Derek interrupted, his three words sent chills down the McCalls spine. He didn't need the older Hale to elaborate, he knew exactly the people he was on about.
"Why?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"We don't know. What we do know is that they have her, we know where they have her as well. We are getting her tonight."
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Present day...
"One of his family members is badly hurt? Are they on about Enis? Is he alive?" Stiles whispered to Scott, eyes wide and wild with curiosity.
"Maybe." Scott groaned whilst resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the boys never ending pestering.
"JARED!" Coach's boomed, making Scott slightly wince at the sound. "I'm warning you. I'm an empathetic vomiter. You throw up, I'm gonna throw up right back on you. And it will be profoundly disgusting."
From the back of the bus, the two boys cringed. "Thank god she's still asleep." Stiles muttered as he glanced at the girl. "The last thing we need is her waking up and hearing them talk about throwing up."
"Now the rest of you, don't think we're gonna miss this meet because of a slight traffic jam, a minor tornado warning and Jared. We're gonna make this thing. Nothing is gonna stop us!"
"If he doesn't stop yelling, it's gonna wake up Ree." Stiles snapped with a shake of his head.
"Stiles, she's gonna have to wake up at some point, she's been asleep for hours." Scott shot back, slightly amused with a knowing smile on his lips.
He was being over protective of the girl, he always had been. But something about the way he was with her recently always bought a smile to the McCalls lips. Something had shifted between the two of them, and witnessing it was something Scott was eager to see.
"I don't care." Stiles hissed. "If she wants to sleep the whole day she can. After what happened last night to Derek-"
Suddenly, Aires eyes flew open and her whole body shot up at the same time her lips parted to scream. Knowing what to do without the words, Stiles' hand clamped over the girl's mouth as he pulled her into her chest.
"Ree, it's okay. You're not there, you're here. With us, with me. "
With a shake of her head, Aires untangled herself from the boys hold and brushed her hair out other face. "I'm fine, it was just a nightmare." She muttered whilst shifting away from the boys an bringing her knees back up her chest.
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Eleven hours earlier...
Aires pov...
Minutes had passed, maybe hours. I wasn't sure. As their voices filled the air around me, I used their oblivion to channel everything within me. I knew I could do it, that I had the power to do it. But I had underestimated just how hard executing the plan would be.
"Are we sure?" Ethan repeated for the hundredth time like a dumb little dog.
"Yes."
"But are we-"
A hint of a smirk tugged on my lips as the chains wrapped around me shattered, crumbling into chunks and freeing me. Once again I had done the impossible, what couldn't have been done. I defied the odds yet again.
"What the-"
The whole building began to shake as I brushed my hair out of my face before slipping out of the room. With every step I took, the ground shook beneath my feet. With every step I took, the ceiling caved in from above me. The lights flickered around me, screams broke out. And I walked with a smirk on my face because I was behind the cause of it all.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?" Ethan screamed from somewhere behind me.
"Aires Hale." Deucalion simply replied.
"Hey Deuc. We got company." Ethan suddenly yelled, however, I didn't care, I didn't pay attention, I had a mission of my own to complete.
With my hands on the railing, I quickly ran up what seemed to be a never ending staircase. I didn't need to turn around to see him, I knew Aiden was hot on my heels, and I pushed my legs to move even faster.
"AIRES, STOP!" Aiden screamed. "YOUR GONNA DESTROY THE WHOLE BUILDING."
"OH YEAH?" I screamed back as I reached the next floor and took off running across to the other side. "You think you can kill me?" I snarled. "Nobody, will kill me. If you want to kill me have at it, give it your best fucking shot." I was pissed. "If it takes killing all of you to get you off my case then so be it. It'll be your funeral."
My hands flew out from my sides, making all the windows shatter to pieces. I took off again, running back down the staircase with my hand brushing against the rail. What I didn't realise was that with every step I was taking, another crack in the ceiling would form. By the time I reached the last step, the ceiling completely gave in and fell through several floors until it reached the bottom.
We were on the third story at least, and I had just created the perfect place to dispose a body.
"Oh fuck." I mumbled, my feet coming to a halt. "Fuck me." I muttered at the same time a set of strong arms wrapped around my waist and flung me to the side.
On impulse, my hand formed into a fist and I slammed it into Aiden's nose. The sickening sound of bones cracking filled the air and I used his pain as a chance to slip out of his hold and race towards the screams.
I wanted to watch the chaos unfold, to see what I had created, however, as I looked over the end onto the floor below me, my eyes locked onto Scott, Derek and Isaac, all fighting different battles.
The hole I had crated lingered near them and a light ringing sound echoed through my ears, as if warning me. Quickly, I defended the stairs and threw myself into the fight. With one swipe of my hands and the help of my magic, I flung Enis to the side.
"You wanna fight?" I snarled, murder in my eyes as I cocked my head to the side, amused. "Game on."
Both Kali and Enis lunged at me, only to be sent straight across the room. With Derek by my side, we took out the alpha pack with ease until Derek and Enis broke off into their own smaller fight. I knew he could handle his own- at least I thought he could.
I was taking on almost everyone, snapping their bones and sending them cowering into the corner in pain. I had taken out everybody but Enis and from the grunts that filled the air I had guessed he was still stuck in a scrabble with my brother. Looking over my shoulder, my eyes stuck on the sight in front of me.
A scream was lodged in the back of my throat, my shouts on the tip of my tongue. It was a horror movie, I knew what was to come, I knew how it would play out. Enis and Derek were getting close, dangerously close to the gigantic hole I had created.
Paralysed in fear, I watched in horror as my brother sent one last punch into Enis's face, sending him flying over the edge. However, Enis' hand wrapped around Dereks shirt and pulled him with him. A blood curdling scream finally ripped past my lips as I watched my brother topple over the edge and fall, far, far down.
"DEREK!"
My feet moved before my brain had time to catch up and if it wasn't for Aiden, I would've too fell like my brother. With his arms wrapped around my body, Aiden dragged me away from the edge, however, the image of my brothers lifeless body crumpled at the bottom was burned into my mind.
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Present day...
Aires pov...
"Are you hungry?"
"No." I shot back whilst rubbing at my temples and willing my persistent headache to leave me the fuck alone.
"Thirsty?" Stiles poked, a hopeful smile on his lips.
"No."
"Well are you-"
"Stiles." I snapped. "I am okay."
"You don't have to lie to me, Ree." Stiles whisper hissed whilst scooting closer towards me. "You don't have to pretend with me. You never have to lie or put on your mask around me. It's just you and me."
I wanted to believe his words, a part of me did. However, I couldn't. I just couldn't. I couldn't let him see me weak, let anyone see me weak. I simply refused, and I knew it was me being stubborn, and I knew it would be my downfall. However, it was the way I was and I couldn't change that.
Suddenly, Scott groaned in his sleep, stealing both of our attention thankfully. A splotch of blood seeping through his shirt brought a groan from my lips before I quickly lifted up his top to see his fresh, gaping wound.
"Why isn't he healing?" I demanded in a whisper hiss to the boy beside me.
"He won't let himself." Stiles whispered back whilst shaking his head. "That's it. I'm calling Allison and Lydia for help."
Crossing my arms over my chest, I rolled my eyes. "Alli and Lyds are both in Beacon Hills, what the hell are they gonna do?"
"They're not." Stiles shot back. "They have been following us for hours."
"Why?" I demanded, already knowing the answer.
Me.
With a shake of my head, I quickly brushed my hair out of my face. "I'll go try and talk to Coach about letting us stop somewhere." I mumbled before shooting out of my seat and sliding into the one next to Coach.
"Good afternoon Little Hale." He hummed playfully whilst rifling the my already tangled hair.
"Good afternoon to you too, cupcake." I shot back, knowing he hated the nickname yet let me use it anyway.
"What brings you to the front of the bus? You know, besides me being your favourite teacher."
"That you are Coach." I shot back whilst forcing a playful smile onto my lips. "It was getting too crowded back there, the boys were pissing me off."
"Understandable." He nodded in agreement.
"Considering I've been friends with them my whole life, they should have grown used to the period talk by now."
"Period talk?"
"Yeah." I sighed, knowing exactly what I was doing and knowing exactly how I was going to get my own way. "I accidentally started my period when I was napping and I forgot it was coming so obviously I forgot to bring stuff with me. Then when I told the boys about the fact that my leggings are stained with blood they got all squeamish and-"
"Woah, woah, woah. Rewind. What are you on about? Your leggings are stained, why?" He mumbled mindlessly because at the end of the day, he was a man.
"Coach." I muttered with a serious expression. "I started my period on the way here, whilst I was napping. I have blood flowing out of me and I can't fix that until we arrive at the meet. I can't control if it stains my clothes."
"Hey, you!" Coach yelled to the driver before hopping out of his seat and walking over to the man. "Pull over at the nearest rest stop. My favourite student needs to use the bathroom, immediately."
And just like that, I got my own way.
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Aires pov...
"How the hell did you get Coach to pull over with a two minute conversation? I had a yelling match with the man and he still said no." Stiles muttered with a frown.
"I'm Aires." I mumbled. "I always get my way."
As soon as we made it into the bathroom, Allison dropped Scott onto the ground and pulled up his shirt, revealing his still very disgustingly fresh wound and making a pang of guilt my chest. Suddenly, the air felt too thick and a ringing sound filled my ears.
"I'll be a minute." I mindlessly mumbled before slipping out of the room and disappearing around the corner, out of view.
With my hands brushing my hair out of my face, I slid down the cold brick wall and brought my knees up to my chest. Everything I touched, I ruined. Everybody I loved died. I corrupted everything and everyone.
I took it too far yesterday, played with my magic like a toddler and my brother was the collateral damage. I killed him. I created the hole. I killed Derek.
I killed Derek.
Like the looming presence of death that seemed to haunt my life, Aiden's shadow loomed over me, bringing a groan from my lips. Why couldn't he just leave me the fuck alone?
"Go away Aiden." I hissed through gritted teeth.
"You weren't the reason Derek died, Aires." He mumbled in a stupid whisper as if he knew what was going on in my head.
The moment his name left his lips I wanted to punch him in the fucking face. If he didn't kidnap me, Derek would've never have shown up. Part of me blamed Aiden for Derek's death, even though I knew that wasn't exactly fair.
It was me.
"Don't you dare say his name." I snapped before jumping to my feet and roughly shoving his chest. Our faces were inches apart, the sound of my ragged breathing filled the air. I hated him. "After everything you've done to me, after everything you've caused- you're dead to me Aiden. You used me, hurt me, put my life in danger several times. You were gonna let Deucalion kill me. You, are dead to me."
Without another word, I turned on my heel and stormed away from him. Fuck him. Fuck his stupid little words that meant absolutely fuck all to me. Fuck him and his alpha pack. Aiden Steiner was dead to me.
"Aires." Aiden muttered whilst grabbing my hand.
Spinning on my heel, I ripped my hand away from him before getting in his face. "You're fucking dead to me. Do you hear me? Your dead to me. Now leave me the fuck alone, Aiden. Leave me alone." I hissed before spinning around and bumping into Isaac.
All it took was a glance between me and the boy behind me for him to jump into a fight. His fist slammed into Aiden's jaw whilst Aiden wrapped a hand around Isaacs neck and threw him to the floor. I should have intervened, should have stopped them. However, I stood watching the boys like a motionless ghost.
I watched the chaos that I caused unfold.
Blood coated Aiden's face, his body laid limp on the floor- and everybody had gathered around to watch. Inside my mind, a small voice screamed for me to do something, to stop Isaac before he killed Aiden, because as much as I hated him, if he was going to die it wasn't going to be in front of me. I didn't care about him, but I didn't want to have to witness another death and know I was the cause of it.
Someone needed to stop Isaac.
Someone needed to help Aiden.
Someone needed to stop Isaac.
Someone needed to help Aiden.
Someone needed to stop Isaac-
"Aires." Stiles' snapped whilst shaking me and snapping me out of my head. "What the hell happened?"
I didn't say another word as I shook my head and brushed past him before running over to Isaac and gripping the back of his shirt. "ISAAC." I screamed, and thankfully, he stilled.
"What the hell?" I whisper hissed with wide eyes.
"EVERYONE, BACK ON THE BUS NOW!" Coach demanded, though my eyes were still stuck on Isaac.
"Isaac what were you thinking-"
"I did it for you." He shot back.
"Isaac-"
"I heard what he said to you, I did it for you, Aires."
Guilt pricked in my chest, and I hated it. I hated how conflicted I continued to be, how one minute I hated everything and the next I was drowning in guilt. Wouldn't it be great to feel nothing? I felt everything all at once and ever so deeply. I felt everything so strongly that it was a curse. I felt my anger in every inch of my bones, my sadness in every corner of my body, my happiness in my soul, my guilt in my heart. I felt everything so strongly that one day I was sure it would kill me.
Everyone kept getting hurt because of me and even though I hated Aiden for what had happened between us and everything he did in the past and continued to do in the present, I couldn't help but feel a heavy pain settle in my chest at the thought of him being hurt because of me. Even if he deserved it- even if I wanted to punch him in the face twenty four seven.
Slowly, I shook my head before turning and walking back onto the bus. I loathed the way he made me conflicted about everything. I loathed the way that no matter how many mantras I related, 'I hate him, I hate him, I hate him', it wouldn't ever be fully true. I loathed that there was still a thread of me attached to him and that no matter how hard I pulled, tugged or tried to sever, it wouldn't detach.
My eyes scanned over the seats until I found an empty one directly next to the blue eyed boy, the boy who forever screamed trouble, the boy I was connected to. Alex was sat behind him, her blue eyes glared at me however I ignored her.
"Are you okay?" I whispered as I sank down next to him.
I ignored the judgmental stares of my friends and forced my eyes to stay locked on the dangerous blue ones I once found comfort in. They didn't understand me, why I couldn't untangle myself from him- they never would understand. I was made to understand, not be understood.
It was a life lesson I was slowly beginning to accept.
"Careful Aires, it's starting to sound like you actually care." Aiden snarled, making me roll my eyes as I brushed my hair out of my face before crossing my arms over my chest.
"Ree." Stiles called whilst motioning his head towards my old seat.
"I'm sitting here." I shot back, the words slipped past my lips before I could stop them and I watched as a frown twisted onto his face.
I wasn't sure what made me say that, I wanted to go back to Stiles, to my friends. However, I felt a strong pull towards Aiden, one that I couldn't seem to shake away. One I couldn't seem to ignore. I was sat next to a boy I despised more than anything, and yet, he was a boy I couldn't seem to get rid off, to scare off.
Staring at Stiles and watching him glare at Aiden, I felt as if I was stuck in between a sick game of tug of war. Two boys, and me. A stupid little love triangle.
Stiles was good, Aiden was evil. However, I always did find comfort in monsters. As much as I liked the idea of being with Stiles, I knew it was unrealistic. It would never end well. Every smile I gave him made me feel sick and twisted because he saw something else, something we could be whilst I saw how we would end- I would ruin him. Being around Stiles was easy, but that was the problem, it was easy. I corrupted everything, it would ruin it all. I couldn't give Stiles anymore hope. But sitting next to Aiden would give him hope.
What the fuck was I doing?
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I hate this chapter but here you go!
HOTEL CALIFORNIA IS NEXT AND ITS GONNA BE A FEW VERY EVENTFUL, SAD CHAPTERS...
Let me know what you guys want to see and who you want Aires to be with...
XOXO