Chapter Fourteen: Code Breaker (Part 1)
Chapter Song: Who Are You Really by Mikky Ekko
Saturday came and went, and soon both Scott and I found ourselves rushing to get ready for the formal. Mom was in Scott's room, helping him get ready, and I was currently running around my room in search of a bottle of hairspray. I ransacked my fifth drawer, swatting products out of the way until I found the sleek black bottle. I groaned loudly, shaking the bottle only to find it empty.
"Mom." I cried out, while ransacking my fifth drawer in search for a bottle of hairspray. I swatted products out of the way until I found the sleek black bottle. I groaned loudly, shaking the bottle to find it empty. I rushed out of the bathroom and into the hallway. "Mom! Please tell me you have extra hairspray." I stopped in Scott's doorway and pointed at my freshly curled hair. "Oh God. Dude, put some clothes on!" I shielded my eyes, seeing Scott standing dumbfounded in his boxers while mom sewed a rip in his pants.
"I could say the same to you!" He cried in retaliation, pointing at my black spandex shorts and tight red tank top that left little to the imagination. I rolled my eyes.
"Mom. Hairspray." I reminded, getting back onto the subject.
"Top drawer in my bathroom." Without another word from her, I rushed into her bathroom and snatched the small black aerosol can and sprayed it generously all over my curls. On the way back to my room, I could hear mom talking to Scott about Allison. It wasn't their usual kind of conversation either, it was heartfelt. Whatever Scott was thinking, I knew it was somewhere along the lines of that he might lose Allison to Peter. And not in a love triangle kind of way, more of the throat ripping out kind of way.
☾☾☾
"Hayley, Stiles is here!" Mom called from downstairs. I glared at the mirror in front of me, standing uncomfortably in my black heels as I began having second thoughts about, well...everything. While I began doubting my outfit choice for the night and wondered if I should have chanced, my real concern was more like if I should really go to the formal at all. With Derek still missing and Peter still lurking in the shadows, I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about tonight. I swiped a nude lipstick across my lips, before shooting myself a fake smile in the mirror. It was a stupid school dance, I silently repeated to myself as the uneasy feeling in my stomach churned. What could go wrong?
"Oh my God." Mom squealed after I rushed down the stairs in hopes to make it out the front door without her catching me. Too late, I was caught red handed. "Look at you! My baby looks so grown up." She mused. "I need to take a picture. Where's the camera?" She began looking around. Stiles began honking outside.
"Later, mom. Don't want to keep Stiles waiting!" I called as I flew out the door. My eyes immediately fell on the beat up Jeep where Lydia sat shotgun with a dramatic frown. Her face lit up when she laid her eyes on me, thankful someone was saving her from her unwanted date. Stiles head poked out from behind her and smiled. I waived my fingers, shooting the two a toothy smile.
☾☾☾
My legs ached as I stepped out of the cramped back seat of the Jeep. I ran my hands down my dress, straightening out the lace fabric, and looked around the parking lot. It was packed, most of the school had ended up showing up to the formal. Smiling fancily dressed couples walked into the gymnasium hand in hand. A ping of jealousy arose in my stomach, mixing with the uneasiness that had failed to subside. I couldn't happen but continue to worry if Peter would show up. If he was planning to use Allison as leverage, he could make his move at any time. Every person—every happy couple walking past me—could be an easy target for him. I quietly sighed, hoping to rid myself of the perturbation lingering in my chest as I continued to scan the parking lot.
While most students were infatuated with their dates, Jackson was infatuated with a small bottle of Smirnoff he was taking pulls from. Beside me, Lydia stared at the blonde as he downed the liquor beside his Porsche.
"Careful Lydia, you're drooling." I warned, catching a glimpse of her longing expression. The girl quickly recomposed herself as Stiles reappeared. I left the couple alone, making my way over to the shiny silver Porsche only to snatch the liquor bottle out of Jackson's grasp.
"Save some for me, jack ass." I smirked, pressing my lips to the bottles neck and taking a few swigs of the pungent liquid.
"As if." He coughed a laugh, snatching the bottle back.
"Hey, if you're not doing this night sober, neither am I." I retorted, looking over at Allison standing on the other side of the Porsche. "You better watch her back." I warned.
"I know the plan, McCall. Relax."
☾☾☾
Somehow, the winter formal committee managed to transform the gymnasium into a winter wonderland. Lights and decorations were strung all over the room, making me question if this was truly the same gym Scott and I had almost been crushed to death in by the Alpha a few weeks prior. The dance floor was packed with dancing students as the band on stage played loudly. While Stiles and Lydia got situated with each other, I followed Allison around like a lost puppy as she did the same with Jackson.
"Do you know if Scott's coming?" Allison spoke up, fidgeting with the fabric of her dress. The brunette tried to pass of the question nonchalantly and act like she didn't care.
"Maybe." I shrugged, acting as if I knew nothing of Scott's plan. I broke from Allison's side, walking over to beside Jackson and the other lacrosse meatheads.
"This is going to be a long night." I sighed, tucking a curl behind me ear as I watched Jackson pour his silver flask into a solo cup. "Come on, don't be selfish." I urged, jutting out my blue solo cup. The jock rolled his eyes, pouring the clear liquor into my cup.
"Never thought I'd see the day you'd ask me for something, McCall." Jackson snidely commented. I rolled my eyes as I took a sip from my mixed drink.
"Will you please come dance with me?" Danny asked, approaching the two of us. "Josh doesn't want to dance."
"Unless I get about five more of these in me," I waived my drink in his direction, "That's not going to happen." I chuckled.
"You're all so boring." Danny rolled his eyes, turning his attention to Jackson. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, with your date?"
"Shut it, Danny." Jackson retorted.
"It's a valid question." The teen shrugged. "I mean, Stiles is spending time with Lydia."
"I said shut it, Danny." Jackson barked. Danny rolled his eyes once again as Jackson walked over to Allison's side.
"Scott can't be happy about that."
"Jackson taking Allison?" My eyes wandered around the room wondering if Scott had snuck into the dance yet. "No, probably not. But then again, Allison looks like she's ready to gauge her eyes out every time Jackson talks to her." Danny laughed.
"Jackson has that effect on people." Danny took a sip of his drink. "Now, don't kill me for asking this. But where is your date?"
"Well being that Stiles is here with Lydia and you're here with Josh, I didn't have the option of bringing a date."
"Not a friend date, Hayl. Like a date-date. You know I could have set you up with someone on the team."
"Yeah, just what I wanted, to go to formal with Greenberg." I sarcastically said, rolling my eyes.
"I play better matchmaker than that." Danny defended, dramatically putting a hand over his heart. "My friend Matt is single. I can give him your number."
"Danny, I promise I'm good. I'll let you know when I want you to play matchmaker."
"What about Stiles' cousin? Now that would be a hot fit."
"Huh?" I rose a brow.
"Stiles' cousin." He repeated, waiting for me to respond. His brows furrowed when I looked at him dumbfounded. "Miguel?" He reminded. Miguel? My eyes widened as I realized who Danny was talking about.
"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Miguel!"
"Now if I wasn't with Josh, I'd—" As Danny continued talking about Derek's alter ego Miguel, my eyes darted around the room for Stiles, wondering if he had made any progress getting Lydia to warm up. My eyes locked on the table we had settled our stuff at, only to find it empty. I shifted my focus over to the dance floor, pressing my cup to my lips. As I went to take a drink, my eyes focused on a man dressed in all black standing across the gym at the edge of the dance floor. I spit out my drink into my cup, almost choking when I realized the man as Peter Hale. The Alpha winked at me, causing my body to tense.
"You good?" Danny asked. For the split second my eyes shifted to look at Danny and back to Peter, the Alpha had disappeared.
"Yeah, sorry." I shook myself out of the daze, wondering if it was just my nerves that were imagining Peter popping up. A bright flash from beside me went off, causing me to jump in my place. My head whipped to the side, seeing the schools photographer, Matt Daehler, with a camera pressed against his face.
"Jeez Hayl, you're jumpy tonight. Matt, warn a girl next time." Danny laughed.
"Sorry. If it's any consolation, it was a good picture of you." Matt apologized, holding up the camera as if I wanted to see the picture.
"No, no. Not your fault. It's, uh, just a little too much to drink." I lied, awakrdly laughing the situation off.
"Sounds like your night is going a lot better than mine. I'm hoping to head out soon."
"There's like two hours left?" Danny realized.
"Yeah but I've taken enough pictures for the yearbook, and it's kind of boring when everyone else has a date."
"Well Hayley can relate to that, can't you?" Danny looked over to me with a sly grin. I pursed my tightly lips, silently reminding myself to get Danny back for that one later.
"Keep it up, Danny." I warned, shifting my weight uncomfortably on my heels.
"McCall!" Coach Finstocks shrill voice bellowed over the loud music. I whipped around towards his voice, my eyes wide wondering what Coach wanted from me. "I see you! Come here buddy!" Coach yelled, pointing a finger towards the bleachers. I followed his line of sight, watching my brother stumbling up and rushing into the crowd.
"Oh, shit." I muttered under my breath.
"Your brothers here?" Danny realized.
"I thought he wasn't allowed to come. Isn't Allison here with Jackson?" Matt mused, putting the camera up to his face and rushing off to capture a photo of Coach running after Scott. After Coach chasing my brother across the gym, Scott rushed up to Danny and I in a frenzy.
"Danny, Danny! Dance with me!" Scott cried.
"What?" Danny shook his head, questioning if he heard Scott correctly.
"Dance with me." Danny looked over to me with a raised brow.
"No." He refused.
"Dance with me! Right now!" Scott demanded, grabbing Danny and pulling him over to the dance floor. My brother latched his arms on Danny's shoulders as Danny uncomfortably grasped Scott's waist. Coach ran up to Scott, waving a finger at him.
"McCall! You're not supposed to..." Coach's voice trailed off as he realized his star lacrosse player was dancing with Danny. "What the hell are you...what the hell are you doing?" Coach wondered in shock.
Everything in the gym came to a pregnant pause and all eyes fell on Coach.
"Yes, Coach?" Scott asked, pulling Danny closer to him. I chomped down on my bottom lip, holding back a fit of laughter as Scott's plan had become evident. Coach began struggling for words as he realized what the situation looked like to bystanders who were shooting him hateful looks.
"Just dance everyone! Dance! Dance! It's a party!" Coach yelled after trying to defend his actions. The music and conversation continued on and Coach quickly walked away. Scott's arms fell from Danny as he let out a sigh of relief and walked towards me.
"Nice job." I patted him on the back. "Now go get your girl."
☾☾☾
Romantic music drifted through the air in the gym as couples slow danced with each other. My stomach twisted, the feeling of loneliness creeping up on me for the second time tonight. I sat down at the table alone, drumming my fingers against the black table cloth as I watched Scott and Allison pressed up against each other, swaying to the slow beat of the music. Being that Stiles and Lydia weren't at the table either, I figured even they were dancing somewhere in the crowd. My eyes shifted around the dance floor to find Jackson. Being that my brother hijacked his date, he was probably bored out of his mind too. The jock was no where to be found, which caused me to think he was probably taking shots in the hallway where Coach would't find him. After another glance at all the happy couples dancing to sappy love songs, I stood up from my seat and ventured out into the hallway as the music began to speed up. I glared at the blank screen of my phone as I walked out. I pulled up Derek's contact, seeing the log of all my unanswered calls. For the hell of it, I clicked his number and pressed the phone to my ear. As expected, the call rang several times before going to voicemail.
"Hey," I sighed disappointingly into the phone, "Kind of stupid of me to think you'd answer, but...uh, on the off chance you're alive and hiding out somewhere, call me back. We're worried about you." I quickly hung the phone up and continued on my venture to find Jackson. I turned into a dark hallway, shocked to find the jock slowly walking towards me.
"Hey." I surprisingly greeted, thinking it wouldn't be that easy to hunt him down. Jackson was alone, which also surprised me. "You still got anything in your bottle?" After asking my question, I began to notice something was off. Jackson looked unusually pale. His fingers were trembling and sweat was collecting at his hairline. Jackson looked as if he had just seen a ghost. "What's up? You look wrecked."
"Have you found Lydia?" Stiles' tense voice floated from behind me, causing Jackson to jump uneasily. I looked over at Stiles who looked scary and then looked back to Jackson as he stood before us speechless.
"Jackson..." I glared at him, silently pleading for him to reveal what was going on. His blue eyes darted around the hallway as he refused to look me in the eyes. His jaw tensed with fear.
"I was out behind the school..." He quietly started, his voice trailing off. My stomach began twisting into knots as I realized something was gravely wrong. Jackson refused to look at me in the eye. Why was he so scared?
"Jackson. What happened?" My jaw squared.
"And...I was out..." He stammered, looking for the words to say as his eyes fell to the floor.
"What did you do?" I whispered, praying for a different outcome.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. I felt the air deflate from my chest as my expression fell. Jackson would never apologize unless he did something bad...like give up Scott's secret.
"What—what does that mean Jackson? What's I'm sorry supposed to mean?" Stiles stammered.
"It means he gave Scott up." I realized, my jaw tensing as a million different thoughts began running through my head.
"Are you kidding me Jackson?" Stiles spat.
"Who?" I asked Jackson, figuring I'd already know his answer. He continued to look as if he was in a state of shock.
"Argent." The name was almost silent coming out of his mouth.
"Oh God." I whispered, running a hand over my face as Stiles began to panic.
"What is wrong with you?" Stiles screamed. I pressed my hands to my face, breathing in and out slowly as I tried to get my thoughts straight.
"What did you say about finding Lydia?" I remembered.
"That doesn't matter right now!"
"Stiles just answer the question!" I demanded.
"She went looking for this jack-ass." He pointed at the blonde traitor.
"So she's alone out there." I realized. Stiles registered in the fact that Peter was looming nearby, ready to rip anyone in his path to pieces.
"Oh no." Without another word, I ran into the gym to find my brother while Stiles went off to look for Lydia.
☾☾☾
Finding Scott was harder than I thought. I had searched every square inch of the gym, but there had been no sign of Scott or Allison. My heart was pounding feverishly in my chest as the anxiety I had for my brothers well being grew. I asked every familiar person I bumped into if they had seen Scott but their answers were all the same: no. My eyes darted through the sea of dancing teenagers, getting more and more disappointed with each of them not being Scott. My eyes landed on the back door, a shining exit sign dangling right above it. The door lead out to where the bus parking lot, and it was the only place left in the building I hadn't checked. It was isolated and the perfect spot for Scott to get in some alone time with Allison. At first I didn't think Scott would do it, not with Peter lurking in the shadows. It was too easy for the Alpha to sneak up and bite Allison there. Scott couldn't have been that stupid. But, with his brain spinning around Allison-land, the thought of that happening probably hadn't crossed his mind. I rushed over to the back exit, crossing my fingers in the process. A wall of frigid cold air hit me as I shoved open the back door. At first, there was nothing. But then the faint sound of giggling and tires caught my attention. I began rushing towards the sound only to find a pair of two large SUV's at opposite ends charging towards my brother, ready to crush him.
"Scott!" I screamed. Just before the cars collided together, Scott jumped up in the air and landed on the roofs of the SUV's. The following seconds felt like hours. Scott breathed heavily, his chest heaving as he slowly looked up to the bus in front of him where Allison was stationed inside. His ears were pointed, his face shifted into his wolf form. I looked past Scott, finding Chris Argent in the drivers seat of the red SUV, illuminated by the headlights of the car opposite to him. His face puckered in anger as he looked at my brother, finally seeing that the wolf he had been hunting was his daughters boyfriend.
"Scott, run!" I screamed. A wolfed out Scott turned his head towards me before taking off just as Chris Argent slammed his hand on the horn. I watched my brother disappear into the tree line, and all I could do was pray he could run as fast as he could. My breath hitched inside my throat as I locked eyes with Chris Argent. Without waiting another second, I lurched my body around and ran back inside. All that I could think of was finding Scott. I ran through the swarm of happy, dancing teens and rushed over to the table I had set my stuff down at. I searched the tabletop for the keys to Stiles' Jeep, only coming up empty handed. My eyes fell on a lose car key, sitting beside a drink. It was moms. Scott must have left it over here before running off with Allison. I grabbed the key and my phone, quickly rushing out of the gym. The second I made my way to the front stairs, my phone began buzzing. Ambulance sirens wailed off in the distance, causing my stomach to churn. I was more than surprised to see Jackson's name pop up on my phone screen under my new messages. A wave of nausea rolled through my stomach as I read his message.
Lydia was bit. EMT's taking her to Beacon Memorial. Can't find Stiles anywhere.
My knees buckled from under me and I grabbed onto the stair rail to prevent myself from falling to the pavement. My head spun as everything in my body stopped, my heart pounding as I registered that Peter bit Lydia.
☾☾☾
"Come on pick up, pick up." I muttered to myself as I sped down the dark roads of Beacon Hills with my phone pressed against my ear, eager for Stiles to pick up on the other end. I hadn't seen nor heard from him since he disappeared to find Lydia. And while Jackson said he found a bitten Lydia, Stiles was nowhere to be found. Anxiety grew in my chest the longer I didn't hear from Stiles and I had begun to presume Peter had taken him and bit him too.
"Yo, this is Stiles—" Stiles' voice sarcastically spat on the voicemail.
"Damn it!" I yelled, hanging up the call only to try again. After several rings, I could hear the call pick up and shuffling on the other end. "Stiles!" I exclaimed.
"You're quite persistent, aren't you Hayley?" My face turned a ghostly white as Peter Hale's voice replied on the other end of the line. My grasp on the steering wheel tightened as I could feel my heart drop into my stomach.
"Where's Stiles?" I hissed.
"Right here. He's safe."
"As safe as he can be around you." I spat back. "What do you want with him?"
"Now let me answer your question with a question. You of all people being Scott's sister should know, does your brother have his phone?"
"What?" I asked, more confused than ever. "What are you talking about, what the hell do you want with Stiles?" Peter heavily sighed.
"Hayley, you should know we're on the same team here. We want the same thing—to find Derek."
"We're far from being on the same team. I swear to God if you hurt Stiles—"
"I'm going to stop you right there and save you some time from listing every useless threat in the book. Find Derek, and Stiles will be fine."
"Peter—"
"Have a good night, Hayley. I'll be seeing you soon."
"Peter!" I yelled, only for the call to end. My reflection stared back at the blank screen before me. I screamed out in frustration, throwing my phone into the passenger seat.
☾☾☾
Finding Scott in Beacon Hills was like finding a needle in a haystack— especially because 99% of the places he could be hiding were the woods. But, there was one place where Scott went to when he wanted to escape people. It was the perfect place to hide out with it being only him and the animals there.
The back door of the animal clinic squeaked open as I entered the building. The back room was the only area with lights on. I rushed into the room, relieved to find Scott in the corner of the room crying on the floor. He held his knees and rocked his body back and forth gently. I sighed in relief, seeing him physically unscathed.
"She knows. They know everything." He cried, detecting my presence.
"I know." I whispered, walking over to my brother and crouching down in front of him. I squeezed his hand in mine. "Scott,I know you can't think about anything besides Allison right now, but we need to try." I begged, resting my hand on one of his knees.
"I can't." He wiped away salty tears on his cheek with the sleeve of his dress shirt.
"Peter...he has Stiles. And he bit Lydia." I admitted, my voice cracking. "We need to find Derek. We can't do this alone."
"We don't have a choice."
"We have to, Scott. We need him. He has Stiles." Scott nodded his head in acknowledgment. He knew we had to find him. As Scott opened his mouth to reply, he was cut off by a chorus of dogs barking. His thick brows furrowed, his eyes darting around.
"What? Is it Peter?" I tensed.
"No, but...but I think I know how to find Derek."
☾☾☾
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, staring at the bright screen on my phone while the darkness of the woods surrounded me. Scott had me drop him at the preserve, and I sat waiting anxiously for him to come back. He planned to find Derek by howling. And while I prayed Scott's plan worked, something Peter had mentioned in passing crossed my mind. Did Scott have his phone? If Peter was so concerned about my brothers having his phone on him, there had to be a deeper meaning. Scott had mentioned he had dropped his phone the night he and Derek were attacked by the Argents—the night that Derek was captured. Years ago, when mom used to track my phone, I figured out a way to turn it off, which gave me an idea. I quickly typed in the password to our family phone account, scrolling through the site until I found a way to find Scott's phone. I pressed in Scott's account name and password, only to be alerted each time that they were incorrect. I pause, gnawing on my lip as I thought of something he would use.
"You've got to be kidding me." I muttered to myself, as I thought of the one thing Scott would use as his password. My fingers inputting Allison's name into the keyboard, the screen quickly changing and granting my access to Scott's account.
"Idiot" I quietly mumbled. I clicked on the find my phone button, watching the screen work as it brought me to a map. After having the signal triangulate, a small pushpin emoji appeared on the screen in what looked to be in the middle of the woods. I zoomed into the screen, wondering if my eyes deceived me as I looked closer and closer at the location. Beside me, the passenger door was yanked open.
"He's at the Hale house!" Scott and I yelled at the same time.
"What?" Scott questioned. "How do you know?" He slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut.
"He's had your phone this whole time. He must have taken it before the Argents got him." I informed, tossing Scott the phone screen as I threw the car into drive.
"How is that right? They're keeping him at his own house?"
"I don't know how Argent logic works!"
☾☾☾
Scott and I approached the Hale house after parking the car at the edge of the woods. It was eerily silent, only the sound of leaves crunching under our shoes echoing through the trees.
"What happens if we run into Argents?" Scott quietly asked, his eyes darting around.
"You run and get the hell out."
"No way, what about you?" He refused.
"I'm not the werewolf."
"Hayley, that's stupid."
"Well, stupid seems to be my middle name lately." I sighed. "Lets get Derek. Get in and get out." I stated. The two of us continued our walk to the Hale house.
"Do you hear him?" I whispered. Scott concentrated on listening in on the house.
"No." Scott shook his head. "Your heartbeats distracting me." I rolled my eyes. "I don't think he's here, Hayley. It's silent in there." We looked around the area, there was no signs of Derek or the hunters. While treading through the eaves, my heels stepped onto a solid piece of ground. Instead of sinking into the dirt this time, they only crunched on leaves. My brows furrowed, and I slowly continued following the leave covered platform until I found the ground sunken in. At first, I thought it was just part of the land. But past all the leaves and dirt, I could make out a rusted metal gate covered in vines. I crouched down and wiped away the debris, finding a set of wooden steps. Curious, Scott walked over to me and investigated. I nodded my head, signaling to him that this had to be where Derek was. The two of us carefully descended the tree unstable steps and pushed the gate open. A cringe shivered through my body as the rusty metal screeched loudly, echoing through the trees. Scott shut the creaking gate behind us, grabbing my hand and leading me down the dark passageway in front of us. We weaved our way down the hallways, finally finding a closed metal door. We looked at each other hesitantly. I lifted a finger to my ear, wondering if Scott had heard anybody in there. He shook his head and without any other hesitation, we grabbed the door lever and slid it open with all our strength. It was a surprise to both of us we didn't scream. The wind felt as if it was knocked out of me as I stared at the scene before me. Derek was chained to a slatted metal wall, his hands tied over his head. His shirtless body glistened with sweat and blood. There was a patch taped to his side, the wires connected to it leading back to a generator across the room. I paled considerably, realizing what the wires and the generator were meant for. The Beta's eyes were closed, making it hard to decipher if he was dead or alive.
"Oh my God." The words escaped my mouth in barely a whisper. I rushed over to the generator and turned the dial all the way to zero. The buzzing sound of electricity finally ceased, the room falling silent. They had been electrocuting him. I cautiously walked over to Derek, relieved to find him coming to. His muscles spasm and his chest tightened, like he was ready for some sort of impact. He must have thought I was an Argent.
"Hey, it's me." I quietly announced. His jaw clenched, his lips forming a slight snarl to expose his fangs. "Derek, it's just me." His eyes opened wider and looked up to meet my gaze. Derek looked beaten—physically and mentally. Whatever they had put him through the last couple days had did a number on him. He looked delirious, his green eyes dim of life. I cautiously put my hand to the chains, praying Derek wouldn't bite my hand off thinking I was the enemy.
"Scott, help me here." I ordered, pulling a bobby pin from my hair. I bent the pin in half, putting the end through the lock of one of the metal shackles that entrapped Derek's wrist. He took a deeper breath in, his eyes blinking several times.
"What—what are you doing here?" His voice was hoarse and weak as he came to realization of who we were.
"Getting you out of here." I replied, turning the pin a few more times until I heard a click. I took the pin out and pulled on part of the metal lock, releasing Derek's raw wrists. Derek dropped his arm in relief.
"Scott, help me." I demanded again. As Scott stepped forward, the three of us jolted around as we heard the loud creak of the front gate echo through the room. Derek suddenly became fully aware and tense. I frantically looked to the door then back to Derek. His eyes met my own.
"Hide." He ordered. After deducting there was no place to hide, Scott and I rushed out of the room and back into the hallway, holding our breath as wed feared the inevitable. We pressed our backs up against the wall, watching a bald man approach the steel door and yank it open. His heavy footsteps entered the torture chamber. I peaked my head around the corner of the door, watching the man flip on a bright light that illuminated Derek's body. The hunter sauntered over to Derek, a baseball bat in hand.
"Ready to have some more fun? To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So, I brought some help. But, I need to warn you. I used to play in college." The man smirked, aiming the baseball bat at Derek. Just as the bat was about to make impact against Derek's chest, he caught it with his free hand. The bald hunter looked to the Beta in horror.
"I brought a little help too." Derek spat. The hunter looked over his shoulder to see Scott and I standing in the doorway of the torture chamber. Derek shoved the bat against the hunters head, knocked the man unconscious and sending him flying across the room and into a wall. I entered the room once again, walking over the the unconscious hunter and nudging him with my heel.
"Nice hit." I muttered. Derek quickly ripped off the electrocution wires.
"Help me with this." Derek pleaded as he shook on his restrained hand. As I walked over to Derek, Scott grabbed my arm tightly and held me back.
"No." Scott stated, monotone.
"What are you doing?" I sneered, yanking on his grasp.
"What?" Derek barked.
"Not until you tell me how to stop Peter." Scott bravely refused, continuing to keep his stance. I tried pulling my arm from him, but he wrapped his hand tighter.
"Are you kidding me?" I spat. "We came here for that reason!" I yelled at my brother.
"You really want to talk about this right now?" Derek spat.
"He's going after Allison and her family. He's going to kill them." Scott calmly stated.
"So what?" Derek screamed.
"The Argents can protect themselves! Don't be an idiot, Scott, we don't have time for this!." I seethed.
"Tell me how to stop it." Scott replied.
"You can't! Alright?" Derek began yanking on his own shackle, the chains loudly rattling. "I don't know when Kate's coming back so just get me out of this right now! Get me out right now!" He bellowed, the anxiety of idling here any longer growing in his chest.
"Promise you'll help me." Scott calmly replied. Derek's lips curled up in anger, his eyes dark as he glared down my brother.
"You want me to risk my life for your girlfriend? Huh? For your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott! You're sixteen years old! You're a child!" Derek shouted, his words causing me to fall still. A silence blanketed over the three of us. Derek's words stung, and they weren't even directed at me. Scott finally released me from his grasp, but I didn't move to help Derek. I averted my eyes from Scott's harsh gaze on me.
"Maybe you're right. But I know something you don't." The calmness in Scott's voice made me wary of what was to come. "Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister. He lied." Scott reached into his jacket pocked and produced a crumbled piece of paper. The paper, a report from the animal clinic, showed a picture of a dead deer with a spiral carved into the side of its body. "This is what brought your sister back to Beacon Hills, right?" I inquisitively looked at the piece of paper, noting how familiar it was.
"Where did you get that?" Derek jaw tightened as he stared at the familiar picture. I grabbed the paper from Scott, examining the bloody red spiral carved into the deceased animal.
"My boss told me three months ago someone came in asking for a copy of this picture. Do you wanna know who it was?"
"Peter's nurse." I realized. "I was the one who helped her out."
"They brought your sister here so Peter could kill her and become the Alpha and that's why you're going to help me." Scott bravely announced. Derek's eyes flickered with fury and betrayal as he realized Peter had purposely killed Laura. And while Derek didn't want to believe his only remaining family member would kill off his sister, he knew he was capable. Anger flooded Derek's emotions as his breathing deepened. Not only did Derek lose his entire family, he lost the only remaining survivor he had left.
"Scott." I quietly called as my brother turned around towards the door.
"No!" Scott heavily sighed. Derek's hands turned into fists as he began bending on the metal of the restraints. "Just say you'll help me and I'll help you unlock your other..." Clink. I watched as the metal enclosing Derek's wrist released and Derek jumped to the ground. He rubbed his raw wrists as he glared past me to my brother.
"I think he got it." I muttered to Scott. With fury and vengeance burning through his veins, and the thought of destroying Peter fresh in his mind, Derek finally agreed.
"I'll help you."