Chapter Forty-Three: Frayed [Part 1]
Chapter Song: I Walk the Line by Halsey
☾☾☾
"What the hell?" I muttered after my eyes shot open. The familiar feeling of deja-vu spread across my body. I was dreaming, I could tell almost immediately. My eyes narrowing at my surroundings.
Beacon Lake Condominiums.
Now this was a change from the dreams of the abandoned building I had on repeat the last several nights. Now what the hell was so significant about Beacon Lake Condos? I walked inside the building, the glass front door creaking as I swung it open. The lobby was small and clean, and there wasn't a soul in sight.
Why did you bring me here, I silently questioned.
My gaze fell on the wall of brass mailboxes. The apartment numbers were engraved into the brass while white labels of last names were pasted under the key hole. I scanned over each mailbox, searching for any familiarity. Wilson...Lopez...Kennedy....Barnes...Steiner...
I paused. Steiner—PH. The surname felt familiar. Like I knew it belonged to someone, but couldn't put my finger on it.
I continued on. Connors...Brown...Whitlock...Monroe...Argent....Jacobs—
Argent? My gaze shot back over to the mail box. Argent. 1402.
A vague memory of Lydia mentioning to me that Chris had sold the Argent family home after Victoria's death came to mind. This must be where they moved. The buildings door creaked as it swung open.
"I don't know dude, but whoever did it isn't our problem." A male voice grunted as he entered the lobby. I did a double take at the two tall men walking into the lobby, keys jingling in hand. What were the twins doing here?
"It's going to be our problem if we're next." Ethan sighed.
"Right. Like someone is stupid enough to square up with an Alpha pack." Aiden scoffed.
"You mean like all of Derek's pack?" The two approached me.
"Now that's a special kind of stupid." Aiden smirked. The two hovered beside the mailboxes. Aiden stuck his key into the box labeled Steiner.
That's why the name seemed familiar. Ethan and Aiden Steiner. Their, presumably, fake last name they had used at the school. Aiden grabbed a bunch of mail from the box and closed it.
"We've got to at least tell Deucalion about this." Ethan suggested.
"Okay, go up there and tell him then." Aiden offered, pressing the up arrow to call for the elevator. "He's going to get pissed and you know it."
"I'm just trying to help." Ethan mumbled. The elevator dinged and the two entered, I quickly followed.
"The only way you can help is if—"
My eyes shot open, a labored breath escaping my lungs. With hardly a moment to catch my breath, I scrambled out of bed and darted to my dresser to grab my phone. I clicked Derek's contact and pressed the phone to my ear, jiggling my leg as the other line rang. Anxiety bubbled in my chest as I realized Derek and I hadn't talked in a few days, and I wasn't even fully sure if he'd answer the call.
"Hayley?" He answered, concern laced in his voice. My heart jumped at the sound of his voice.
"I think I know where the Alphas are."
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I slid the door of the loft open, finding Derek pacing in the middle of the room. He paused, his gaze softening as it reached mine. My chest tightened, my heartbeat increasing at the very sight of him. I hadn't seen him since the Alpha attack, nor had we talked much. After finding out he had kicked Isaac from the loft, I called him in a heat of anger, only to receive a lackluster response that he was doing this for our best interest. I took that as a sign to leave him alone, no matter how much it hurt me.
"Hi." Derek finally spoke up.
"Hi." I responded flatly, avoiding his gaze. I slid the door shut behind me and ventured further into the loft.
"What happened?" He was quick to ask.
"They're at Beacon Lake Condos. They live there—in the penthouse. I woke up outside the building, walked inside, saw the Argent's name on a mailbox and then walk in the twins taking mail out of their own mailbox."
"Was there any more to it?"
I shook my head. "They were just talking—I'm assuming about the human sacrifices, or whatever the hell is going on. But it was just them discussing whether or not they should tell Deucalion." Derek scowled at the lack of information the dream gave. "I know it's not that helpful but..."
"No, it is. It gives us a staring point."
"I don't know why I couldn't have dreamed up their location a few months earlier."
"What about the other dream?"
"This one about Ennis dying? Yeah, still happening in graphic HD detail." I frowned, pictures of Ennis' bloody and lifeless eyes flashing in my memory.
"Anything else?"
"No Derek, nothing else. No dreams warning me when the Alphas are going to kill us and especially no dreams warning me that you were kicking Isaac out from living here." I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.
"It's too much with Cora here." He sheepishly admitted.
"Right, it's too much with Cora here...you're doing this to protect us...should I name off every other excuse you're trying to come up with as I speak?" I rose a brow. Derek quietly sighed.
"Hayley..." He stepped forward, closing the gap between us. "I need you to understand..."
"Just because you push us farther away doesn't mean that's going to change anything. The Alphas are going to try to go after us one way or another. You're just..." I sighed. "You're just making things more difficult, Derek. We should be working together. Not being pushed away."
Derek pursed his lips tightly together. He rose a hand to my face, tucking a brown stand of hair behind my ear, and cupping my cold cheek with his warm palm. His eyes melted into mine and I knew he was trying his best to apologize, to explain the he thinks he's doing the right thing, but he didn't know how. I leaned my face into his palm, savoring the moment no matter how much my heart hurt.
"Hayley..." He began.
"I hate to interrupt you two love birds." A jarring voice rang. My head whipped over to glare at the stairs, watching Peter saunter down the steps. Derek and I quickly stepped away from each other. My jaw clenched as Peter hit the bottom step, a suspicious grin plastered to his lips.
"What do you want?" Derek asked, his once soft gaze now hard and serious.
"Derek, is that any way to talk to your uncle?"
"What do you want?" He repeated his words slower.
"Well I just came down here to say hello to dear sweet Hayley." Peter clasped his hands tighter as he eyed me. "And to figure out what these certain little dreams she speaks of are." His smile stayed frozen on his face. My cheeks burned red, not realizing he had listed in on the conversation.
"What?" I kept a straight face.
"Even if I couldn't hear the sound of your heartbeat, you're not a great liar." Peter stepped forward. "So let me ask again, what am I missing here, Hayley?"
"Go back upstairs." Derek ordered.
"If my memory serves me correctly, I did manage to knick you with some claws before Derek decided to murder me."
"You call what you did a knick?" I rose my brows.
"Exactly my point." Peter smirked. "Now Derek. We've got a pack of homicidal Alphas on our hands and don't think I haven't noticed the uptick in murders around town the last few weeks. I don't like not being in the know if there's...a threat I should be aware of." Peter suggested, flicking his claws out and examining them. I instinctively took a step back.
"Don't." Derek warned, flashing his orbs a blood red.
"I'm just trying to protect us both, Derek. I don't like being lied to." Peter scowled as he set his gaze on me as he took a step forward.
"I said, don't." Derek growled.
"Okay, enough." I said, my voice an octave louder. I gritted my teeth together as I stared to Peter in pure hatred. "I've been having dreams about the future that warn me about things before they happen, okay? That's it. Are you happy?"
Peter's obnoxious grin returned. "See, was that so hard?"
"Leave." Derek ordered.
"Now, now Derek. It's rude to push a guest out of your home." Peter looked back over to me inquisitively. "A second sighter. How...interesting."
"A what?"
"A second sighter. A clairvoyant. A soothsayer. Someone who-" he wiggled his fingers dramatically "-can see the future. Talia told me about one once, but never met one." Peter rose a brow and shrugged. Derek and I looked at each other. "Well, not until now."
☾☾☾
"Why would they pick the same building as the Argents?" I mused under my breath as I hovered over loft table scattered with blueprints.
"Well Hayley, you're the one who is having the tell-all dreams. Why don't you inform us? Peter suggested with a smirk. I gritted my teeth together, biting my tongue to prevent from responding. My gaze narrowed, shifting over to look at Derek standing beside me. I silently begged him to shut his uncle up. The front door of the loft slid open, loud creaks echoing through the loft. My body stiffened, only to relax when I found a frantic Scott standing in the doorway.
"I know where they are!" Scott cried.
"Same building as the Argents. We know." Derek responded as he leaned against the metal table, knuckles white as they wrapped around the edge.
"I had a dream."
"And Cora and I followed the twins." Boyd informed.
"Then they want you to know." Scott alarmed as he entered further into the loft.
"Or more likely, they don't care." Peter corrected with a shrug.
"What is this?" Scott wondered, approaching the table and scanning the blue prints scattered around.
"Isn't it obvious? The schemers are scheming. Coming up with a Coup De Main. Better know as a pre-emptive strike." Peter pursed his lips. Scott looked over to me, silently requesting elaboration.
"They came by the loft. They threatened Derek. They want all of us dead." I admitted quietly.
"You're going after them?" Scott asked Derek.
"Tomorrow." Derek nodded, his lips forming a tight line. "And you're gonna help us."
☾☾☾
"They're in the penthouse. It's one floor above Allison." I informed.
"So kill them first? That's the plan?" Scott asked.
"They won't even see it coming." Boyd assured.
"Why is the default plan always murder?" Scott hissed.
"Are you seriously implying we shouldn't kill the people that want to kill us?"
"Just once, can someone try to come up with something that doesn't kill everyone?"
"You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you?" Peter questioned, turning to Derek and I. "Not that I disagree with him."
"I do." Cora scoffed.
"Do I have to remind you that you used to be a full on serial killer?" I shook my head.
"Used to being the operative words." Peter suggested.
"Why do we need this kid?" Cora scowled.
"This kid helped save your life." Derek corrected. "And you know we can't just sit back and wait for them to make the first move."
"You can't beat a pack of Alphas." Scott disagreed.
"That's why we're going after Deucalion. Just him." Cora said.
"Cut off the head of the snake. The body dies." Boyd inserted. I closed my eyes, releasing a breath from my nose. My fingers wrapped around the edge of the table tightly.
"Only this isn't a snake. It's a hydra. And like Scott says, they're all Alphas."
"I hate to agree with Peter, but..." I shook my head. "If we take Deucalion out, they're going to retaliate."
"Deucalion's still the leader."
"Let's hope so. Because you know what happen when Hercules cut off one of the heads from the hydra?"
"Two more grew back in its place." Scott responded solemley.
"Someones been doing their summer reading." Peter smirked.
"We can't do this at the condo. There's too many people that live there. Too many lives that are going to be at risk." Derek frowned.
"Really? That's your concern?" Peter rose a brow, unamused.
I froze, a lightbulb appearing over my head. The group began debating what would be the best place for their Coup—the woods? The school? The bank? The—
"Somewhere abandoned." I whispered under my breath. I quickly walked away from the table and over to Derek's nightstand where I had left my phone.
"What?" Cora questioned.
"Hayley?" Scott called. I clicked on the internet app on the phone, feverishly typing and searching 'Abandoned building in Beacon Hills' into Google. I scrolled through the options, my eyes landing on an article dated three months back.
'Abandoned Beacon Hills Mall Scheduled for Demolition Next Year'. My eyes continued to scan the article, reading that the mall, that had been abandoned several years prior, was dilapidated and destroyed and covered in graffiti. It was a ticking time bomb of when it would collapse. I contained to scroll the article, stopping when I found a picture of the abandoned mall compared to what it had been. It was nothing but concrete.
Just like from the dream.
"Earth to Hayley, hello." Scott called. I lifted my head up, protruding out my arm to show the group the picture on my phone.
"Here." I spoke up. "It needs to happen here."
"A mall." Peter remarked, unamused.
"An abandoned mall. And it's where Ennis is going to die."
"What?" Cora exclaimed. "What happened to only going after Deucalion?"
"Hayley..." Scott met my gaze, his brows furrowed tightly together.
"I've had several dreams the last week and they all end the same. Ennis dead in what I'm pretty sure is this mall." I pointed to the phone.
"Looks like she is useful after all." Peter smugly smiled.
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I paced my bedroom back and forth, anxiety bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Scott and Isaac had left in what seemed like hours ago, but in reality it had only been twenty minutes.
"You're not coming." Scott had strictly ordered after I had come into his room, ready to join him. "I'm sorry Hayley, but it's too dangerous. We can't get you hurt."
I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a long breath in a lame attempt to control my racing pulse. Panic flooded through my body, nervous for the unknown that the wolves were about to face.
And what could you even do anyways, I questioned myself. The only time I was useful was when I was asleep. I wasn't like Derek or Scott, I didn't have the means to protect myself. I was a liability.
I had never felt so useless—this powerless—until the very moment. And it fueled the distress pumping through my veins.
DING-DONG. The doorbell chimed loudly, causing me to flinch. My brows knitted together, curious as to who was at the door. Mom was at work, Stiles was at home, and the pack was most likely getting their ass handed to them by the Alphas. I padded down the stairs and looked through the peep hole. I debated if my eyes had deceived me, but the sight was confirmed once I opened the door.
"Allison?" I realized. She had been the last person I expected on my doorstep.
"Hey." She meekly greeted, a stifled smile on her lips as she shifted her weight to adjuster her grasp on the large duffle bag in her grasps.
"I—"
"I know I'm the last person you want to see and I know how you feel about me right now, but Scott told me about the plan. And I can't just sit back and let them do this alone." She said. My lips curled into a grin.
I stepped back from the door, opening it fully to allow the girl into the house.
The two of us padded into the kitchen, Allison hauling the heavy duffle bag onto the granite island. She unzipped the bag, revealing a plethora of weapons. My eyes widened significantly.
"Oh wow." My lips parted in a search for words. There were dozens of arrows in the bag.
"Flash grenade arrows." She elaborated. "It should temporarily blind them."
"While that's great, I don't know how to shoot a bow an arrow."
"What about a gun?" She asked, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small black handgun. A lump formed in my throat. I found myself absentmindedly grabbing the weapon, surprised at the heaviness as it landed in my palms.
"That, that I've done before."
"Good." Allison nodded. "Because I brought plenty of these." She held up a silver bullet pinched between her thumb and pointer finger.
"Wolfsbane." I assumed, remembering how such a tiny bullet brought Derek to the brink of death. She nodded. I sharply inhaled, placing the gun onto the granite.
"It's something that could buy them some help." She believed. "I can't...I can't just sit around and ignore it and stay out of it while my friends are risking their lives."
"I know how you feel." I whispered. "Derek's going to be there." I informed her.
"I know." She nodded. "And I'm willing to help him too." My lips parted, wondering if her words were just a farce to get close to Derek. "Scott told me what happened, what my mom did. And Hayley, I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry for betraying you and Scott and for letting my grandfather brainwash me. I know you can't trust me, but is there any way we could push that to the back burner. Just for now. Just until we can help them. Then you can go back to hating me, if you want."
A soft smile spread across my lips. "I think that's doable."
"Friends?" Allison lightly smiled. "Unless you want to punch me one more time?" She quietly chuckled.
"I think I'm good." I shrugged. Allison walked around the counter, engulfing me in a hug.
☾☾☾
My heart pounded against my chest cavity as Allison and I quietly crept into the abandoned mall, hardly making a sound. If the Alphas didn't hear us before, my pulse would definitely give it away. I slowly inhaled, trying to slow my racing heart. Loud grunting and animalistic snarls echoed off the concrete walls. My hands grew clammy, the gun latched in my right hand growing heavier and heavier. My knuckles turned white as they gripped the handle tighter. We paused, listening in before Allison nodded the all clear and we continued forward. The two of us crouched to the ground, creeping forward as we inched closer to the edge of the floor. Allison put a finger to her lips and pointed down to the scene below.
"—have more promise than others." I heard Deucalion say. We edged closer to the edge of the concrete, finding ourselves a floor above the wolves. Deucalion was perched on the escalator. Kali stood over Cora, her bare foot positioned on her throat.
"Let him rise to the occasion then!" Kali snarled. "What'll it be Derek? Pack or family?" A strangled cry echoed through the mall as Kali stepped down on Cora's throat. Boyd was on the floor, weak and struggling as he looked at Derek, who stood in the middle of the room. The twins—now merged as one extra large Alpha—held Scott and Isaac by the collars of their shirts. I immediately searched for Ennis, disappointed as I found him still alive, hovering behind Kali. I quietly leaned back to avoid the group from seeing me. Allison was loading her bow and arrow, getting into position. The two of us looked at each other for a long moment, silently praying our last minute plan would work. She nodded and aimed her arrow at the twins. She pulled her arm back, calmly releasing her grasp and wizzing the arrow through the air.
Derek flew to the ground as the arrow flew over him and hit the giant alpha, throwing it back and merging the twins. Allison stood up, aiming her arrow beside Kali and shooting it off. Kali screeched as she released her footed grasp on Cora, struggling to cover her eyes as the sparks blinded them below.
"Your eyes!" Deucalion alerted, crouching down on the escalator. "Cover your eyes!" Allison continued shooting off several arrows back to back. I hopped up, aiming my gun at Ennis and shooting off three rounds. The large alpha threw himself to the side, dodging the shots as he attempted to cover his eyes from the flashes.
Allison held her hand up, signaling me to stop as she paused her attack to allow Scott, Derek, and the rest of the pack to regain their composure. Scott looked up from his shelter on the ground, his eyes widening a fraction as his gaze landed on the two of us. Allison smiled as the two locked eyes momentarily.
I searched the room for Derek, finally spotting him rising from the ground. He look to me in fear, slowly shaking his head and wondering why I had done something so stupid. One corner of my lips twisted up into a small smile. I nodded over to him.
Get him, I mouthed. His jaw clenched, his eyes growing cold as he turned around to face Decualion.
Scott charged at Ennis and a loud crack echoed through the building as the bodies collided. Scott slid back, snarling as his eyes gleamed a blood red. Wait—
I did a double take, squinting my vision to make sure that I was seeing correctly. Yet when I blinked, Scott's eyes were their normal gold.
Ennis growled as he stared at Scott, positioning his body and readying himself to attack.
But before he would move, Derek came up behind the Alpha and shoved him forward.
"Ugh!" Ennis groaned as he was pushed forward. Derek and Ennis ensued in their own fight, throwing punches at each other but both managing to just miss the other. That was until Ennis managed to slash his claws across Derek's chest, sending him flying. Derek immediately gained composure. With a snarl, he launched himself at Ennis once more. Derek maneuvered Ennis close to the edge of the floor they were on. A familiar tingle crept up my spine and up the side of my neck, creeping behind my ear. Goosebumps prickled at my skin.
Something was going to happen.
Time seemed to slow down in the ensuing moments. It was like everything had turned into slow motion.
Scott, struggling to stand from the floor, launching himself forward, swiping a claw at Ennis' calf. Ennis stumbled, pushing Derek forward and holding onto him as the two went over the edge of the floor. The gun dropped my grasp.
"No!" I screamed. Derek's blood red eyes met my terrified gaze as he tipped over the edge. I launched myself to the edge of the floor we were on, only to have Allison pull me back before I went over the edge myself. Thump. The sound of the bodies crashing against the cement shook the building.
"No, Hayley! No!" She gasped, holding onto me with all her strength.
"No!" I screamed again, collapsing in the girls embrace.
Scott launched himself to the edge, watching Derek and Ennis' body crash below. A shaking breath left the teen as tears dotted his eyes. He turned back to face me, horror written all over his features. There was no other way to interpret the look on Scott's face.
Derek was dead.
a/n: I hope I did this chapter justice, the frayed episode is the hardest one to write with all the out of order scenes lol .