"Hey you alright?" Stiles asked, looking at Malia who was refusing to look at him.
Levi stood up, shoving Scott away from her as he tried to embrace her in a hug. She snarled at him as he tried to take another step towards her, causing the other alpha to raise his hands in defeat.
"How dare you," Levi spat, walking straight out of the vault without looking back.
Malia wasn't just her friend. She was her family.
///.///
Levi watched as his face appeared on her phone screen again. She had ignored his calls for days now, not wanting a single thing to do with the hyperactive Stilinski, or his partner in crime for that fact.
She wasn't even speaking to Lydia, having realised that not only did her best friend know that the boys had been hiding something from her, she knew that it was that Malia was not just a friend - but in fact her long lost cousin. Something about the betrayal - while only minor - resonated with Levi enough to break contact from the pack for the time being.
That didn't mean she wasn't aware of the recklessness that the pack was getting up to. Mrs McCall had informed her exactly of what the pack was getting up to in order to try and discover any potential leads on the benefactor's identity - including the stupid plan of killing Scott for just under an hour. She was grateful that Melissa had only told her this after it had all been executed successfully or Levi was sure she would have personally killed Scott himself before it had even been allowed to begin.
Allowing her phone to ring out, she rammed the black machine into her jeans pocket, carrying on her walk through the edge of the woods. The darkness comforted her - reminded her of the area where Derek and Laura and Cora would play with her when she was younger. Her heart ached for her family, and while she still had Derek it just wasn't the same as it used to be. Deucalion had ruined that part of her life for her. He had ripped away the chance at a normal childhood for her and torn her apart for his own maliciousness.
Levi looked up, feeling the moonlight against her skin. She could still feel the pull of the full moon, desperately calling for her to turn into the monster she used to be. She closed her eyes, accepting the feeling for a second before she snapped out of it. Levi Hale had been many things in her life, but she would never go back to the way she had been before she had moved back to Beacon Hills. Reaching down to her wrist, she pulled the hair tie off and tightened her hair into a high ponytail. With a quick tighten of her shoelaces she sped through the forest floor, straight back to the familiar apartment block on the outskirts of town. She needed her brother.
//.//
She was at Derek's when she saw them for the first time since her discovery in her family's vault. A book was perched in one hand while the other held an apple she had been munching away on when the doors to her brother's apartment slid open and there he stood, standing tall and proud with that stupid puppy grin on his face. It faltered as he made eye contact with the other alpha, seeing the rage that was still flowing through her eyes days later.
Derek was at her side instantly, having sensed the presence of unexpected visitors. Lydia walked in, straight past Scott and dragging who Levi recognised as Parrish with her. She placed him directly in front of her brother as they launched head first into the reason of their unannounced visit.
"He covered you in gasoline?" Derek asked, holding Parrish's hands as he examined the deputy. Levi looked up from her book, rolling her eyes slightly at why her brother was repeating everything the pack had told him.
"It's the hair and nails, isn't it? The parts of the body that are essentially dead," Lydia supplied, but Derek shook his head slightly in confusion as he released Parrish's hands.
"Well, they should be gone," he stated, as Parrish jumped in.
"I was set on fire. All of me should be gone!" He yelled, waving his hands in the air slightly as he studied the four supernaturals in the room with him. Levi scoffed slightly, closing her book and walking over slightly.
"Not if you're like us," Scott said, almost proudly and Levi snapped at him.
"Suppose if I set you on fire you would survive?" She snarled, her eyes flashing red. Derek smacked her on the arm, not knowing what had gone down with Levi in the pack but he knew he should stop her before she did something she regretted.
Scott looked down in shame, knowing that Levi lashing out was completely his fault for lying straight to her face multiple times. He knew what family meant to her and he had realised just how big a mistake he had made the second he saw her face in the fault days prior.
"Like you?" Parrish asked, ignoring Levi's hostile remark towards Scott.
"I don't think he's like us," Derek shook his head again, shrugging slightly as he studied the deputy.
"Then what is he?" The banshee asked, Levi meeting eyes with her for a second before her gave was instantly diverted from the alpha.
"Sorry, but I have no idea."
"But you knew about Jackson and Kira!" Scott exclaimed and Derek narrowed his eyes slightly at his accusing tone.
"This is a little out of my experience. There might be something in the bestiary. Did you try Argent?"
"I don't know where he is." Scott answered truthfully, a part of him still resisting the urge to reach out for Levi, to have her in his arms where she should be. He didn't feel whole with her standing so far away glaring down the apartment at him.
"Okay, hold on. What's a bestiary? Actually, that's not even my first question. Just... Just tell me one thing. Are all of you like Lydia? Are you all psychic?" Levi scoffed as Derek mirrored her.
"Psychic?"
"Yeah. Not exactly." Scott answered.
"Okay. Then what are you?" Parrish asked, confusion written across his face.
Levi - being as extra as she was - saw this as the perfect opportunity.
"They," she pointed at Scott and Lydia, "are liars. Derek's turning into human for unknown reasons." Levi stated as she began to walk towards the exit of the apartment building, all four sets of eyes resting on her back.
"As for me? I'm just a monster who killed for fun."
//.//
Levi sat, eying up the girl sitting next to her. She watched as she filled the small silver flash with nothing but vodka, and Levi considered if the girl might as well have started to drink pure ethanol from the amount of alcohol she had already consumed.
"I still think this is a bad idea," Levi muttered, pulling the key out of the ignition and allowing the hum of the engine to wither away. She watched as Malia passed her the flask over.
Although she knew there would be no effect, Levi pulled the flask to her lips and gulped, the vodka still burning her throat.
"Live a little."
//.//
"Hey. What are you doing here?" Levi turned around at the same time as Malia to see Scott awkwardly rubbing his neck as he focused his attention on the two girls. Levi didn't answer, simply looking to Malia.
"Getting drunk. What are you doing?"
"Trying to make sure no one gets hurt," Scott answered, watching as Levi ran a hand through her hair in the way that always made his knees feel slightly weak.
"That sounds fun too," Malia muttered, an awkward silence filling the air slightly as they both looked at Levi who was taking another swish from Malia's hip flask. She knew fine well she couldn't get drunk, but she so wished that maybe for once in her life the universe would make an exception and give her something she wanted.
"I don't want to ruin your night or anything, but we kind of can't get drunk," he explained to Malia and watched as her eyebrows furrowed and she stopped dancing for a second.
"What?" She looked to Levi for confirmation and the girl shrugged slightly, muttering a slight non-apologetic apology.
"I think it has something to do with our healing. But, trust me, I've tried. You're not gonna feel anything," he smiled slightly, before watching Malia's head turn over her shoulder. He followed her gaze and looked to see Liam trying to drink himself away.
"Maybe you should tell him that."
Scott was about to walk over to the boy when he looked back at Levi to see her watching him carefully.
"I will, but there's something I need to do first," he said, moving towards the other alpha.
Levi watched him walking towards her and she moved to turn away from the crowds. She wasn't in the mood for an alpha-to-alpha pep talk or any talk that involved her and Scott at this point in time. Just as she was almost slipping away, Scott's warm hand gently latched on to her wrist, allowing her to pull away if that's what she had truly wanted.
The second their skin made contact, Levi could feel her anger being to dissolve. She forgot about the hold he had over her, how strong their bond was. It was as if everything else had faded out as she stared down at Scott's hand, the music fading out until it was just them.
"I just want to talk." He murmured softly, watching as her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Well, I just want to dance," Levi argued, but it was without feeling and Scott could easily see that she was having an inner battle about what to do with him.
"We had our reasons. We didn't tell you about Malia..."
"To protect me. Well guess what Scott, I'm fully capable of PROTECTING MYSELF!" She yelled the last part, her chest heaving as undried tears had formed in the edges of her eyes, just waiting to pool over and down her face.
"Levi, we need to stay together. You, me, ..." Scott continued but he was cut off again.
"I don't want to talk about us. I just want to dance. And get drunk," Levi said, just as Malia came stumbling across into the couple's arms. They caught their pack mate, watching as she stumbled against the muddy grass.
"Malia... You are drunk," Scott was confused, and Levi looked across at her beta who was also stumbling. Liam was flailing his arms and suddenly Levi felt her blood run cold. This wasn't right.
"Yep."
"But you can't be."
"Is this what drunk feels like? It doesn't feel as good as I hoped." Malia confided in the two alphas as they held her up amongst the dancing teenagers.
"I don't think it's supposed to." Levi warned the girl, her and Scott meeting eyes - and for the first time in the week all hostility was gone.
As they both moved Malia to sit on the grass next to where Mason was holding Liam steady, Levi felt herself stumble on to the ground beside Malia. Her vision was blurring in and out, and she could feel Scott's hand faintly rested on her head as he held her up.
"It's the music," Scott told Mason, holding on tightly to his (was she still?) girlfriend. Levi looked up at Scott, her eyes shining red and he tucked her head into his chest so no one would see.
"Levi, your eyes!" He ordered, but she shook her head as she faintly mumbled a response.
"I can't control it anymore,".
//.//
The next thing Levi knew was her back being flung against the cold metal of the lockers in the school corridor. Scott landed next to her, pulling her in close to his body as he looked up at the police officer standing above them and a passed out Liam and Malia.
"What is that?" Scott asked, watching as the bald man raised a plastic red container that smelled strongly of fuel.
"Gasoline," Levi muttered, answering the other alpha's question.
The bald man laughed, kicking Levi's leg with his foot. "The Hale has intelligence, surprising." The other deputies laughed as he started to poor the gasoline over their bodies. "Haines said we got to burn you."
Scott and Levi tried to squirm away from the man but he simply kicked Scott in the chest and backhanded Levi across the face. Leaning down to face the two alphas, he opened his lighter and flicked it open, showing the open flame dancing across the barrel of the metal container.
Just as he held it closer, Levi heard the music stop and instantly everything stopped swimming. She felt her canines grow as her eyes continued to glow red, and a quick glance at Scott showed her that he was the same too. The deputy moved his head to look at the door, wondering why the music had stopped as Scott's hand shot out and snatched the lighter from his palm. He snapped it shut, along with snapping the man's wrist to protect his pack.
Levi reached out, kicking him straight in the chest. He faltered slightly, but was immediately knocked down by their saviours, Derek and Braedon. The two fought against the guards, with Levi springing to her feet to help them. As Levi wrestled with her attacker, she almost slammered her claws through his chest before being stopped by Scott.
"LEVI NO!" She released the man, looking down at her hands as her claws shrank away. She had almost allowed herself to become the monster that Deucalion had folded her into - and she could see the fear that reflected in her friends faces. Malia and Liam clung on to each other, not having witnessed this side of their alpha before.
Levi sunk to the floor, Scott running over and sliding down next to her. He grabbed her, and held her close because this was just more evidence to him that he didn't know how short their lives could be. But deep inside him, he was more worried about Levi's inner wolf, and the bloodthirsty effect it was having on her and her mental health.
Levi looked back up at him, her eyelids shutting slightly as she held on to his hand.
"I forgive...you..." she muttered, being passing out in his arms.