Grace stood next to Erica with her arms crossed over her chest as Derek opened the trunk he had filled with chains, the lid revealing the same spirals he had tattooed on the back of his neck, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Grace walked next to Derek, examining the various chains he had stored. "What's that?" Isaac asked, bending down to trace the spirals.
"It's a triskele," Boyd said rapidly, making Derek look back at him with an amused look, surprised that he knew what it was, "Spirals mean different things: past, present, and future, mother, father, and child."
"You know what it means to me?" Derek asked Boyd.
"Alpha, beta, omega?"
"That's right," Derek said with a smirk, "It's a spiral. Reminds us that we can all rise to one or fall to another. Betas can become alphas, but alphas can also fall to beta or even omega."
"Like Scott?" Isaac asked, making Grace tense up.
Derek and Grace both gave Isaac the same disapproving look, Derek bending down to take the chains out of the trunk, "Scott's with us."
"Oh really? Then, where is he now?" Isaac retorted, raising an eyebrow at Derek.
Grace scoffed, walking closer to Derek to face Isaac with furrowed eyebrows. "He's looking for Jackson," Derek said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, he's not gonna have it easy tonight, either. None of us are. There's a price you pay for this kind of power," Derek started, taking out one of the chains that resembled a bear trap, "You get the ability to heal. But, tonight, you're gonna want to kill anything you can find."
"Good thing I had my period last week, then," Erica said, making everyone burst out a chuckle. Derek glanced at Grace's smile before looking at Erica, holding up a chain that resembled a crown with nails on the sides.
"Well, this one's for you," he said with a fake smile, making Erica look at him with an amused look.
"How kinky," Erica teased, making Derek roll his eyes, "Well, Grace would be the only lucky one to know that for sure."
Grace let out a laugh as Derek's eyes widened, covering her face in embarrassment as her cheeks turned a dark crimson, nervous giggles coming out of her as she looked at the floor, not bothering to look around as Derek continued to assign chains for the rest of the pack, his cheeks sharing the same color as hers as he tried not to laugh at Grace's embarrassed features.
...
"Derek it's just a party. Besides, it's my third full moon, I think I have it under control," Grace tried to reason, Derek letting out an exasperated sigh, his lips pursed in disagreement.
"Grace, it's not safe," he said softly, "I don't want anything happening to you."
Grace looked down, her heart fluttering at the softness of his voice, "It's 9:30. Party starts at 10 o'clock. I'll be back here at 11:30, earlier if I feel... homicidal," She compromised, Derek clenching his jaw softly as his jade green eyes pierced into her features, "I'll be careful, okay? Trust me."
He let out a breath, nodding softly, "Wear something red," he said with a small smile, "Makes the boys drool."
She let out a laugh, a smile resting on her features, as she took a step closer to him, her hand resting on his right shoulder as she walked past him, taking his leather jacket behind his back, the fabric filled with the smell of his cologne. She decided to take his advice, if she wanted to be happy, she had to move on from everything that had happened. "I forgive you."
Derek's head snapped back, his eyes widened, "What?"
"Bad things happen, there's no way to change that," she said, remembering what he told her, "I shouldn't have blamed it all on you. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
Grace smiled, walking over to him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she embraced him in a hug. Derek inhaled sharply, hugging back after a few seconds. He buried his face on the crook of her neck, feeling himself unravel in her embrace. He missed her, he needed her as if she was the air he needed to breathe. His grip was tight around her waist, pulling her closer against him. It felt like an eternity wrapped around her, and he realized how much he needed her, she was everything he wanted, yet he couldn't have her. She was so close yet so far away from his grip, and he felt like he was never going to get her back, but he still hoped. He hoped that she'd be able to fill in the void inside him, to be the last piece of his puzzle, but he knew deep inside maybe they weren't supposed to be together, and he had to live with that, regardless of how much it pained him.
She pulled away, her eyes closed, wishing everything was a dream. "Be careful," Derek said, making a small smile tug on her lips. She opened her eyes, looking up at him. She cupped the side of his face with her hand, a pained smile on her eyes as she stared into his.
"Goodbye, Derek," she said, turning away from him with his leather jacket still intertwined against her arms. The hardest thing to say was always goodbye. It wasn't only a goodbye as she left for the party, it was a goodbye for everything they had. Every kiss, every touch, every song, they were all part of the past now. They were all in a room and she had just locked the door and there was nothing to be done about it. There was nothing now. And it was hopeless. How come everyone's happy ending always walked away from them? Well, that was life and he needed to accept that. He needed to accept that she walked away and the past was all locked away now.
...
"I came, I saw, I made it awkward," Grace said, making conversation with Scott, Stiles and Allison who were at Lydia's party, who was full of people she didn't know. Allison laughed as she handed Grace a cup full of punch before walking away from the three of them, Grace chugging the pink liquid before letting out a disgusted groan, the liquid burning down her throat.
"Hey, what are you doing here in a full moon? Aren't you supposed to be with Derek?" Scott asked, puzzled on his sister's behalf.
"Do you see me turning into a homicidal monster yet? I better enjoy my last few moments before I start killing people," she said, making Scott's eyes go wide, staring at her, "I'm joking. Also, don't you guys feel that? Like there's something about to happen."
Stiles and Scott's eyes widened as the looked behind Grace, "Oh shit, Jackson's here."
"Um, you guys go handle that, I'll look for Allison," Grace said, walking through the crowds of people until she spotted Allison's braided hair, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as Allison looked petrified, gripping at her stomach, "Woah, Allison, you okay?"
"Y--yeah, I'm just... seeing things," she answered, Grace about to ask another question but being interrupted by a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She covered her mouth, running inside one of the rooms before vomiting on the toilet, her hair being held back by Allison.
"How much did you drink?"
"One glass," Grace whispered, gripping her stomach before vomiting again, cleaning up her mouth with a wipe and flushing the toilet while still kneeling over it, panting for breath. She gasped as she felt a kick in her stomach, gasping as she saw a baby bump, crawling back as she groaned in pain, Allison staying by her side as she screamed out in pain.
"Oh my god," she muttered several times, her eyes not leaving the bump that was her stomach, it moving as if there was a baby inside her.
"Grace, what's wrong? What's going on?" Allison asked frantically.
"I--I'm going into labor," Grace said between heavy breaths, making Allison widen her eyes, completely confused.
"What?! What are you talking about?" Allison exclaimed, touching Grace's flat stomach, "Grace breathe, everything's going to be okay, it's just in your mind."
Grace grabbed Allison's hand, shutting her eyes closed as she told herself it wasn't real, taking a deep breath of relief as she opened her eyes, her stomach normal and painless. She sat up against the cabinet she was resting against, gasping as she looked at the door, Peter's silhouette appearing, his charismatic smirk mocking her. "I'm losing my mind," She muttered to herself, "Oh god, I need to go, Allison."
Grace stood up and sprinted to her car without another word, getting inside and starting the engine, putting her hands in her face as she tried to calm down, the moonlight shining on her. She gasped loudly as she saw Peter standing in front of her car, driving away as fast as she could to the station, basically leaping inside when she arrived. She walked over to the train where everyone was, Derek going outside as soon as he saw her distressed face. He took her forearms to help her calm down, her palms shaking. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?"
"I--I keep seeing Peter everywhere, something's gonna happen--"
"Peter's dead, Grace, everything's okay, it's just the full moon affecting you," he reassured her, "Take a deep breath, calm down, focus on your anchor."
"My anchor?"
"I'm sure you have one, you control yourself far too easily," he said. Grace and Derek looked back at the train as they heard things being thrown, the three uncontrollable betas inside growling and screaming loudly. They both went inside, Grace gasping as she saw the three of them turned, getting off their chains and looking at them as if they were meat. Grace shrieked as Isaac pried off his chains and tackled her, pinning her on the floor, Grace grunting as she tried to get off his grip.
"Isaac!" she exclaimed, her eyes piercing into his, starting to hyperventilate as he kept hitting her, giving her a small advantage as she realized her knee was on his crotch, kicking it up and straddling him, getting on top of him, pinning his arms against the floor, making him growl, her grip struggling to keep him in place, "Isaac! It's me! Breathe, find your anchor!" she screamed, Isaac trying to get her off him until he closed his eyes, calming down. Grace smirked before Boyd grabbed her by the back of her shirt, throwing her against one of the seats, making her groan as she hit the back of her head, kicking him away as he charged towards her, Isaac grabbing him and pinning him against the wall, looking at Derek as he cuffed Erica back on the pole.
Derek put the chains on Boyd and Isaac after knocking Boyd unconscious. Grace groaned as she stood up, cuts covering almost every inch of her body. She looked at her stomach, three claw marks covering it under the ripped red crop top she had on. She sat down, letting out a breath as she observed Derek putting the chains on Issac, Isaac's bright yellow eyes staring into the seat in front of him. "Looks like you found your anchor," Derek said, making Isaac chuckle softly.
"My father."
"Your father used to throw you in a freezer to punish you," Derek said while checking on the restraints. Isaac smiled to himself.
"He didn't use to," he muttered. Derek nodded before standing up, going over to Boyd and Erica and double checking their chains for when they awoke. Grace walked over to the front of the bus, taking off Derek's leather jacket and laying it on the seats next to her, walking back, being held by the hand by Isaac.
"You're new to this too, aren't you? How do you control yourself so fast?" Isaac asked, his hand on Grace's forearm. She sighed before crouching to be the same height as him.
"I had anger management therapy when I was little, so I have plenty of practice in control," she said.
"What's your anchor?"
"Feelings," she answered, "My therapist used to say I had too many feelings and bottling it up just ended in me getting angry."
Isaac nodded, his stare trailing from her chestnut brown eyes to her cherry red lips. Without a second thought, Isaac's lips connected with hers, making Grace inhale sharply before kissing back, her hand cupping the side of his face. He pulled back, licking his lips as he opened his eyes, his cheeks flushed as he stared at her features. Grace looked back at Derek, his eyes pained, looking away as soon as she caught sight of him. The kiss was short and sweet; the exact opposite of Derek. She felt warm inside, but there weren't any sparks, any chemistry. She wanted to like Isaac, she wanted to, but it just wasn't there, and you can't force something that's not there. There wasn't passion, there wasn't fire, there wasn't butterflies, it was just a warmth throughout her body; small potential, but there was something holding her back. Something that told her it wouldn't work.
Grace looked back at Boyd, furrowing her eyebrows as she realized Derek wasn't inside the train, "Where's Derek?" Grace asked Isaac, looking around the train. He looked up at her, his eyes laced with hurt.
"What?" He asked, his voice small and pained.
Grace stood up, getting out of the train, stopping in her tracks as she saw purple glitter on the floor. She bent down, getting Derek's scent along with the glitter's one. She stood up, looking around. Something was wrong and she knew it. She gasped loudly as she looked behind her, coming face to face with Peter. She walked back, her eyes wide as she observed him. He looked real, but he couldn't be. This time, he chuckled, his signature smirk plastered on his face as he walked closer to Grace, making her gasp as she walked back.
"Nothing smells better than home sweet home, don't you think? Hmm, well not so much when it's burned down, though," he said, making Grace furrow her eyebrows in confusion, her eyes still wide, "Oh, honey, don't give me that face, it's not like I look bad, although I could look better alive."
"Where's Derek?"
"There you go, always worried about little old Derek," he taunted, chuckling, "You have his scent, Grace, I suggest you follow it," he said, making Grace turn back, getting out of the station, Derek's familiar scent still fresh in her mind as she spread her wings, flying over to Derek's burnt down house. She furrowed her eyebrows as she saw the door opened, cautiously walking towards the entrance, her heart thumping like crazy. She took a deep breath before entering, gasping as she saw Derek starting to gain back consciousness, Lydia behind him, moving the mirrors so that the moonlight would reflect towards the whole on the floor, where Derek's arm was.
Derek groaned loudly, making Grace run towards them, gasping as she saw Peter's body inside the hole, his claws digging into Derek's forearm. Grace tried to pry Peter's hand off Derek, wincing as she made contact with his skin, covering her ears as they started ringing, her whole body feeling as if it ringed and shook. The redness of Derek's eyes faded as Peter awoke, standing up from being under the floor, Lydia, Grace, and Derek moving away from him.
"I heard there was a party," he said, his voice as silky as ever, "Don't worry, I invited myself."
***
ok ok so I just let it sink in that this book has only two chapters left until it ends and well I'm actually seriously debating whether or not I should turn this into a trilogy and make a third and final book but yeah, enjoy the two new chapters you have of this book and maybe I'll upload the two remaining chapters this week.
-- vivian darkbloom