t w o
Ding!Dong! The door once again rang and Florence dropped her ongoing conversation with SAM to go open the door. Derek stood in the doorway with the same dull expression on his face. A figure stood behind him and Florence was quick to identify it with a name. Peter Hale, in flesh and bones had the audacity to stand at her doorstep.
Sensing the anger rise in her bloodstream Derek said, "He followed me here, something about wanting to say hi to his old friend."
Peter smiled his usual mockery smile and put up a hand in a wave form. "Hi," Not long after was he wobbling and clenching his jaw from the impact of the blow Florence initiated at him.
Without letting either of the men say a word Florence turned around and fixed her tight sleeves. "Right, let's talk shall we?" She lead them down to the lair.
"So you said you sensed danger here?" Derek broke the ice as he and his uncle sat down on one of the chairs around the table. His eyes scanned the room seeing the less than a dozen of computers on the walls around the room. "And that's why you're back?"
"And there I thought you came back for me, Florence. Pity, I thought we were close before the tragedy that occurred a few years ago." Peter mocked grinning at the witch as she paced in front of them.
"Now is not the time Peter. And you should know every well why I refuse to acknowledge your friendship asshole and if you don't then you're more heartless than I thought." Florence snapped back at him, her eyes narrowed, a scowl forming on her features like a mother would at her child. "Anyway, we should get a hold of information of whatever danger is bound to happen before it does."
"How are you so sure it's not the Alpha Pack? Because we know about them already."
Florence held up a finger at Derek as if he made a point then turned to the table between them, with a few clicks here and there the table lit up holographic blue and she tapped on the keyboard to bring out a file. Deucalion's Alpha pack was marked burgundy red in the middle. "Because I have the Alpha packed traced here, whatever they're planning it hasn't evoked trouble with my senses yet. but here," The werewolves followed her hand, with wide surprised eyes. The table computer was a lot to get used to Florence supposed. She pointed to a dark black dot floating in another part of screen. "That's the spirit of darkness I sensed. They're completely different."
"Right, well since you have literally everyone pinpointed on you little,... device here, why can't you pinpoint the darkness?" Peter asked.
"Because I already did and when I went to where SAM had it located, it wasn't there. It's like it's in two different places at the same time. Like the angle o f death, it's everywhere but nowhere."
Peter scoffed, "Poetic, really. But I can't help but think we're chasing after nothing when we should be worrying about Duke and his minions."
"Peter's right, unless it brings an actual threat to anyone in Beacon Hills, it's not our responsibility."
Florence raised an eyebrow, they obviously didn't understand each other or else he would make such a competent suggestion. "It's always better to act before chaos erupts, you should know that."
"It's risky too. This darkness could be not so dark. they could be normal people who suffer the same fate as us. Unchangeable fate being tied to who you are forever." Derek stood up and sighed as he looked at the vamp-witch. "If anything happens, we'll be ready to attack but until then, there's nothing we can do."
Florence watched them leave. Her mind was fuzzed and she wondered when Derek became like this, patient. She was the patient one not him, why was he so calm about the whole thing?
.
Days went by and like Florence anticipated the Alpha Pack made their move and Derek happened to be the main target. They had ambushed an attack on Derek and his sister Cora in which Florence had to go and break apart. The fight was gory, Derek had been injured by a pipe through the back and Florence, though her injuries were not as fatal she suffered a break in the bones of her neck as she was held by the neck in a strong grip. She healed awfully quick and helped Derek to heal too.
The Alpha pack were one of two problems. The other being the many lives being sacrificed within their town. Florence daren't to say she told them so to the Hale men but she told them so. Each murder Florence has identified to be the killings of the same darkness she found. The Darach.
Florence spend next few days with the betas that Derek hang round with, training with them in the training facility in her basement. Mostly Cora and Scott.
Scott was a nice boy with manners and smart qualities. He had a kind soul and was the complete opposite of Cora who just like her family wore a hard face, rolled her eyes one too many times and had a lot of snide.
They made training both fun and challenging.
"I haven't seen a vampire or a witch before." Scott said with a smile.
"Yeah, well," Florence grunted as she threw another punch at the heavy bag that Scott held firmly for her. "You probably haven't see werewolf before either, but here you are."
"I guess. But werewolves are sort of understandable and witches too, but Vampires, they're basically undead. They're the living dead and it doesn't make sense for them to exist." He replied.
Florence nodded. She could tell curiosity brought out the heavily smart edge on him. "But they do, somehow and I guess the only explanation is Life."
Seeing her stop fighting Scott let go of the bag and furrowed his eyebrows. "Alright, but you were originally a full witch, aren't witches sort of like servants of nature? How is it possible that a nature obliging creatures can fuse with nature defying creatures?"
"You know you're the first person to identify witches that way, most people say we're devil worshipping whores." She laughed grabbing a towel and wiping it over her forehead. "And you're right, I also asked the same thing when I survived the bite. I never really go the answer I sought."
"What answer did you get?" Cora asked from her station behind a table with a bag of chips in her hand.
"Vamp-witches are the imbalance of nature and those who seek to become one will face a terrible fate. Vamp-witches will be a new era for vampires, they will have every trait of a witch and their own and at the same time will be able to reproduce like a mortal would."
A sound alarmed them and they all headed to the lair in a hurry. The lair had become a sort of help for the pack, SAM being able to tell them almost everything they needed to know.
"What's the sitch SAM?" Scott asked, then looked back at the girls who raised eyebrows at him. He smiled, "I always wanted to say that. Kim Possible was my childhood."
Chuckling Florence shook her head and turned back to the monitor. 'Mr Hale had left a message to suit up and meeting him and the pack at the location given.'
"Derek? Did he say why?" Cora questioned.
'He mentioned something about an attack on Deucalion, to get rid of one problem, he said.'
"Of course, I can't believe him. He said he wouldn't do no such thing." Florence frustratingly swung back her head and let out a huff of air. She looked at her watch and saw that it was around ten at night and wondered how they lost track of time with training.
Scott placed a reassuring hand on her arm and said, "It's okay, you can work with us from here, we'll go and try to talk sense into him."
"If not? What if the Alpha pack defeat you all?" Florence tested. "What then?"
"Then,.. You can save us. But we can't have you hurt because you are the only person to know about the Darach and you might be more help than we can imagine."
Florence nibbled on the inside of her lower lip and sighed. "I can be more help there, fighting besides you."
.
Drag. Thump. Cry. Drag. Thump. Cry.
These sounds repeated in Florence's foggy head, the soft agonised cries of the Latino boy. She didn't know what was happening. Just a minute ago they were fighting the Alpha pack.
She remembers fighting Deucalion himself, her Vampire strength being more than enough help to her. The younger betas were up against the twins and Kali, whilst Derek fought Ennis.
Her powers were getting out of control and Deucalion had a form of power over her. Everything after that was black. Nothing. She heard cries of help and shouts of a name, then the echoing sound of something hard hitting the ground twice.
Her mind manipulated her and showed images of Derek lying on the cold ground, still. Dust from the floor of the abandoned mall forming on his body. The blood on his arms and torso were beginning to dry, his face beginning to pale.
Florence found herself crawling over to his body shaking her head as tears began to prick her eyes. "No, no, no. No, Derek, no." She whispered in denial. Her weak body barely made it to him, her hand reached out to touch his but he began to fog before eventually disappearing behind her touch.
"No," She looked over at where he was supposed to be. "No! Derek!"
"Hey, hey, Florence. Calm down. It's alright, you're alright." The voice came softly then firmly. Florence found herself thrusting around a big bed, Cora Hale next to her. Cora took hold of her shaking body and held her still. "Florence, you have to rest. You need to heal."
Florence looked around the dark room, not recognising it but she could sense the pack there. "It was a dream," She told herself. "It was just a dream."
"Florence," Cora mumbled softly kneeling in front of her. "I'm sorry, it wasn't."
Something clenched in the depth of Florence's chest, it squeezed until she could barely breathe. What she had thought was just a dream turned out to be real. "What happened?"
"Derek was in a losing battle with Ennis and Scott tried to help but it caused the fall of both alphas. He didn't mean to but it happened."
Florence swallowed and closed her eyes. "What about me? I felt someone dragging me, someone crying. why don't I remember anything? Everything went black."
"Deucalion pierced his claws into your chest, he tried to steady your heart beat but you ended up fainting. Scott was trying to drag you away from him, he was injured too so he could barely help. He's still injured now." Cora explained. Florence felt her hand involuntarily reached up to her chest and felt a sticky moisture beneath her shirt. "It's okay, you need to get some rest Florence."
Florence nodded but her tired eyes didn't leave the girl's face. Her young eyes were red and droopy, wet from tears and her lips were like desert ground. Her face in general was pale and tiresome.
"Goodnight Cora,"
"Night, Florence."
.