The house was eerily silent as Allison, Derek, Stiles and Ellie made their way through its dark interior.
They moved cautiously. Derek expected an ambush at any moment. It was too easy. They had gotten out of that basement too easily. He knew Kate was planning something. He just wasn't quite sure what.
His arms tightened around Ellie briefly as they came to a stop on the front porch before he set her down on her own two feet.
Ellie let out a soft protest as Derek set her gently down on the front steps of the Hale house. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she knew she couldn't. Not yet. They needed to get to safety.
Her knees buckled and Derek's hands held her steady as his eyes darted around, looking for danger.
He passed Ellie over to Stiles slowly, waiting for the younger boy to have a firm hold of his mate before he let go and slowly made his way down the steps one at a time.
His bare feet met the dewy grass, and he tilted his head up to scent the air.
Ellie's voice, soft and eerie sounding made them all tense up. "Papa's close." She paused for a moment; her eyes glazed over. "We aren't alone."
Derek's body tensed even more, and he let his claws extend as he placed himself in front of their small group protectively.
Stiles looked down at his sister's face and frowned. Her eyes were darting around. Between the four of them, she was the one most on edge, which worried him further. Her eyes never settled on anything for long.
"Ellie?" He asked softly.
Her eyes finally settled on his and her lips parted. "Kaine... Have to... Save Kaine." She reached up to rub at her eyes. She was so tired.
The sound of a twig snapping had Derek on higher alert. He spun around quickly, shoving Stiles and Allison to the side, narrowly avoiding arrows in the process.
He swept Ellie up into his arms and cradled her close as he knelt with a growl.
Allison scrambled over to Stiles as an arrow flew past her face, barely dodging it in time. It nicked her cheek bone. A small trickle of blood began to seep to the surface of her skin and trickle down.
Kate was actually trying to kill her! Her own aunt!
"Cover your eyes!" Derek cried out but all too late.
The second those words left his lips; an arrow struck the earth before them. It had them all flinching away at the brightness as the flash arrow went off at Stiles' feet.
"Shit!" Stiles cries out as he backs into Allison, knocking them both sideways and to the ground.
Derek held one arm up to shield his eyes and felt Ellie bury her face into his shoulder.
Something large and heavy slammed into him, knocking Ellie from his arms.
Derek lashed out blindly, howling in pain as claws dug into his leg and side while razor sharp teeth clamped over his shoulder, ripping through his flesh.
Kaine.
Kaine shook Derek like a rag doll and flung him to the side and away from Ellie, tearing his thigh open viscously.
~~~~~~
Pain. Ellie was in excruciating pain.
One moment, she was clinging to Derek, and the next, she was rolling across the ground, an occurrence she had hoped to never experience again.
Her temple smacked into something hard as she rolled, and her vision swam.
Her back slammed into the base of a tree, halting her roll and stealing her breath from her lungs.
She wheezed, trying to suck as much oxygen as she possibly could.
She slid her palms across the dirt as she tried to push herself up, arms shaking from the strain.
She glanced up through her hair and watched in horror as Derek was tossed to the side, in the opposite direction that she was thrown.
It was that night at the school all over again.
Kaine was on all fours, hackles raised, and his muzzle dripped blood as he snarled at her.
Manic laughter drifted through the air as Kate stepped out of the shadows, cross bow slung over her shoulder.
She came to rest at Kaine's side, lips smiling as her gaze bore down at Ellie.
"Oh, how I so enjoy tormenting others." She cackled once more as her gaze came to rest upon Derek as he struggled to pick himself up. Blood pooling rapidly beneath him.
Kate took an arrow from her quiver and dug the tip into Kaine's shoulder, watching gleefully as Kaine growled but made no move to stop her.
"Stop!" Ellie cried out, hand reaching out in vain.
Kate shot her a smug, satisfied look, digging the arrow in deeper, knowing Ellie wouldn't be able to stop her.
"You abominations deserve everything coming to you." Kate spat in disgust.
"I'm the only abomination here. They are human!" Derek spat out from between clenched teeth as he struggled to move.
He needed to take her attention away from the others, away from Ellie.
"Oh, but Derek? Can't you see? You care about them. That's all I need." She tisked. Derek ground his teeth together.
She wanted to cause him as much pain as she could. She knew he had a new pack. One that she wanted to rip away from him once more.
"Shame I couldn't enjoy your body one last time. You have grown up in such an...." Her gaze drifted across his form, eyeing his chest in a sick desire.
"You are nothing more than a murdering pedophile!" He growled, pushing himself up to his knees and trying to get to his feet, only for his legs to buckle under his weight. His legs were torn apart, unable to let him stand.
Kate scuffed and turned her back on him to advance on Ellie. "Honey..." She threw him a smirk over her shoulder. "The younger the better."
She stepped forward, reaching out to touch Ellie.
What happened next, she didn't expect. She had thought she had more time for some psychological and physical torture. She had miscalculated how long it would take for their alpha to reach them.
She let out a snarl in frustration as a large, black and cream-colored wolf had her dodging his claws.
She dodged at the last second, claws raking down her shoulder instead of her throat.
She gave a grunt and gazed down at the wound. Her shirt was torn, and she was barely bleeding. It was merely a flesh wound.
She stood tall and rolled her shoulders and neck. "You wanna dance, big guy?" She chuckled and reached behind her, bringing her stun baton out, pressing a button for it to extend. It came to life instantly, the electricity crackled around the rod.
"Let's tango." She smirked before darting towards the wolf. This was what she was waiting for.
"Kill her!" She shouted out as she dodged a swipe from Peter.
"No!" Derek cried out as Kaine leapt towards Ellie.
Stiles cried out in fear, blinking away the white filling his vision, even behind closed eyelids. He didn't have the adjustability or healing like Derek. He was still partially blinded from the flash grenade.
A roar had Kaine pausing mid step. His head tilted, listening.
Scott burst free from the foliage, Chris right behind him, gun raised and ready to fire.
Ellie's eyes widened in shock. "Don't shoot! Please?!" She begged. She could do it. She could save Kaine. She would save Kaine, damn it!!
She scrambled, rushing toward the distracted form of the feral alpha.
"Kaine! Please! You need to snap out of it! Break free! I know you can!"
Her fingertips barely touched his shoulder before he had rounded around to attack her.
Scott acted. He leapt onto Kaine's back, scratching and clawing away at the flesh, tearing into anywhere that he could.
It wasn't long before he was tossed aside as well. Ellie scrambled back into a tree as Kaine stalked forward, muzzle wide, teeth on show with saliva and blood oozing from his wolf-like lips.
"Kaine. Fight! Please!" She begged, tears filling her eyes.
Kaines body shuddered, his breath catching in his chest. His red orbs flashing silver for a split second before he was advancing once more.
Like the predator that he was, he struck with the aim of taking out his prey.