Isaac, Scott, and Grace were in the boy's locker room, the stench of distress thick in the air as the news that Stiles was missing and Jackson apparently killed himself with his own venom spread. Noah Stilinski looked down, sighing as he talked to the three of them, "I gotta meet with the medical examiner and try and figure out what happened to Jackson. I've got an APB out on Stiles. His Jeep is still in the parking lot so that means..." he said, sighing as he started to trail off, "Hell, I don't know what that means..." he said, the trio sharing a look of worry, "Look, if he answers his phone, answers his emails, or any one of you guys see him..."
"We'll call you," Isaac whispered.
"Look, he's probably just freaked out by all the attention or something. We'll find him," Scott reassured, but deep inside the three of them were actually worried about the pale teenager.
"Yeah. I'll see you guys," Noah said before leaving the locker room. Isaac and Scott looked at each other with worry in their eyes, about to say something before Coach cut them off.
"McCall," he started, referring to Scott, "We need you on the team, okay? You know I can't put you on the team next season if you don't get your grades up," he scolded, a hint of actual concern in his tone.
"Yeah, I know, Coach," Scott said.
"I mean, I–I know I yell a lot, but it's not like I hate you guys. Well, I kinda hate Greenberg, but, we'll, that's different. It's Greenberg. I'm just saying we..." He looked down, "I need you on the team. Get your grades back up."
"I will," Scott reassured, making Bobby nod before leaving, leaving the three of them alone in the room.
Scott looked around before ripping out the metal door of Stiles's locker. "You're gonna find him by scent?" Isaac asked as soon as Scott handed him a shoe.
"Yeah. We both are."
"How come you get a shirt and I get a shoe?" He protested, being ignored by Scott as he looked at Derek who stood behind them.
"We need to talk," Derek said, his hands behind his body. Peter walked out from behind a wall, making Scott tense up beside Grace.
"Yeah. We all do," Peter said, a smirk covering his features.
"Holy shit," Scott said, his eyes never leaving Peter.
"Yeah, I know," Grace sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, "The full moon turned into Michael Jackson's Thriller video." She walked towards Derek and his uncle, standing beside Derek with her arms crossed over her chest, Isaac's eyes dropping as he looked at the small distance between Grace and Derek.
"Well, that video was iconic so I'm gonna say that means my entrance was also iconic," Peter said, making Grace scoff.
"What the hell is this?" Scott whined.
"You know I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the station," Derek retaliated, raising his eyebrows cockily. Grace rolled her eyes beside him.
"Derek, it's nighttime, there's no need for shade," Grace said, making Isaac stifle a laugh behind Scott.
"Okay, hold on, he threatened to kill my mom. And I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?" Scott defending himself, making Grace scoff softly as she glanced rapidly at Peter, whose eyes were glued to her figure.
"I'm gonna go with Scott on this one. I mean have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous," Peter remarked making Grace look back at him with disgusted features, mirroring those of Scott and Derek who both told him to shut up simultaneously. Peter rolled his eyes, "I mean, I wouldn't mind trading for the younger model," he said, his eyes on Grace as she choked on her saliva, this time the whole room shutting him up simultaneously.
"You're disgusting," Grace said before they could return to their conversation.
"Who is he?" Isaac asked, already a hint of anger on his voice as he caught him repeatedly checking Grace out.
"He's Peter, Derek's uncle. Little while back, he tried to kill us all and then we set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat," Scott gave a quick summary, making Peter flash him a proud smile.
"Hi," he said.
"That's good to know," Isaac said, his voice laced with a bit of nervousness.
"How is he alive?" Scott asked.
"Look, the short version is he knows how to stop Jackson. And maybe how to save him," Derek explained.
"Well, that's very helpful, except for the fact that Jackson's dead," Isaac said, making Derek and Peter widen their eyes.
"What?" Derek asked.
"Yeah, Jackson's dead. It just happened on the field," Scott explanes rapidly, making The Hales and Grace let out a sigh of frustration.
"Okay, Why is no one taking this as good news?" Isaac asked.
"Because, is Jackson's dead then it didn't just happen, it means Gerard wanted it to happen," Peter said, stepping forward.
"But why?" Derek asked his uncle as he walked in front of Derek.
"That's exactly what we need to find out," he said, the same smirk on his face, "And something tells me the window of opportunity is closing. Quickly."
•••
The group found themselves on the Hale house once again, were Peter had announced he was looking for something. Scott sighed contently as his phone buzzed, "They found Stiles." Nobody seemed to pay attention, Peter going straight to the stairwell.
"I told you, I looked everywhere," Derek said, making Peter chuckle as he opened a stair, pulling out a rectangular object.
"Well, you didn't look here."
"What is that, a book?" Derek asked, his eyebrows furrowed as they all stared at Peter as he blew off the dust on top of it, turning towards them with an incredulous look on his face.
"It's a laptop," he said, "What century are you living on?" Grace stifled a laugh as Derek rolled his eyes, "A few days after I got out of my coma, I transferred everything we had. Fortunately, the Argent's aren't the only ones that keep records."
Scott and Isaac left in a hurry with no explanation after Scott got a call. A few minutes later, Derek got a call from them, their frantic voices heard from where Grace and Peter stood from. Peter started looking up information on his MacBook as he heard what they were talking about. Derek read from the website, telling Scott through the phone. "It says it's some kind of transparent casing made from the venom coming out of his claws."
"That sounds officially terrifying," Peter commented, Grace resting on the desk next to him as she read the website with him.
"They also say he's starting to move," Derek said, putting it on speaker.
"Okay, I found something. Looks like what you're seeing from Jackson is just the kanima's beta phase," Peter said, tapping on the keys of his computer.
"Well, meaning what? It can turn into something bigger?" Derek asked, the phone still on his hand.
"Bigger and badder," Peter said, his blue eyes widening as they all looked at the screen in shock.
"He's turning into that?" Grace asked fearfully.
"That thing has wings," Derek exclaimed, making Grace roll her eyes softly.
"I can see that," Peter said.
"Scott, bring him to us," Derek said into the phone, putting it out of speaker and into his ear.
"Look, someone actually made an animation of it. Maybe it's less frightening if we—" he started, tapping on the video making the three of them jump as the animation popped up in full screen, the hideous creature hissing and screeching loudly. Peter slammed his laptop shut as they stood in fear for a second, "Nope. Not at all. We should probably meet them halfway."
"Scott, get him out of there now. Go now!" Derek said into his phone, the three of them walking rapidly to the exit as soon as he hung up. Peter stopped Derek midway.
"Derek, we need Lydia," Peter said.
"There's no time for—" Derek started, being shut up as Peter raised a single finger in front of him.
"That's the problem. We're rushing. We're moving too fast. And while everyone knows a moving target is harder to hit, here we are, racing right into Gerard's crosshairs," Peter reasoned.
"If I get the chance to kill Jackson, I'm taking it," Derek said, giving them no other choice but to follow him as he left. Derek started running, Peter behind him, making Grace roll her eyes as she thought about what a perfectly good car the Camaro was and how they were just running. She slid off her jacket, walking behind them as she spread her wings, letting the jacket stay inside the house. She started running, faster and faster until her legs were no longer on the ground, her leathery wings flapping on the sky as she spotted them, their bodies running towards an abandoned building in the middle of the highway. She went down, deciding to run instead of fly just to make them eat their dust, passing Derek as soon as her feet touched the ground, the three of them arriving at the empty building, Grace first, with Derek right behind her, Peter panting as he got last.
"Well, that was an unwanted workout," Grace said, glaring at Derek.
"You had an unfair advantage, and let's not talk about how I just came back from the de—" Peter started, being cut off by Grace.
"Oh, shut up."
At that moment, a black van arrived at the place, Scott, Isaac, and Chris Argent coming out of it. "Where's Derek?" Chris asked, Grace about to look at him when she found him running—on all fours, mind you—towards them, doing a backflip and landing on his knees, his blood red eyes looking up at them. Peter sighed at the same time Grace rolled her eyes.
"Well, someone certainly enjoys making an entrance," Peter remarked.
"Honestly, was that really necessary?" Grace asked, pursing her lips.
"I'm here for Jackson. Not you," Chris said, sighing as he saw Derek.
"Somehow, I don't find that very comforting," Derek said, making Grace roll her eyes as she walked towards him.
"Derek, we have extra help. Take it or leave it," Grace scolded, looking back at Chris.
"Get him inside," Derek said, not bothering to talk back at Grace. Once they were inside, Jackson and all, Scott looked around, his features confused.
"Where are they? Peter and Lydia?" He asked, Derek rolling his eyes before zipping open Jackson's bag, "Woah, hold on. You said you knew a way to save him."
"We're past that," Derek said, making Grace and Scott's gaze snap down at him.
"Wha–what about—"
"Think about it Scott! Gerard controls him now. He's turned Jackson into his own personal guard dog. And he set all of this in motion so that Jackson could get even bigger and more powerful," Derek exclaimed, making Chris shake his head no, still in denial.
"No," Chris said, "No, he wouldn't do that. If Jackson's a dog, he's turning rabid. And my father wouldn't let a rabid dog live."
"Of course not," Gerard said, making everyone's heads snap into his direction with wide eyes, "Anything that dangerous... that out of control... is better off dead."
"Bullshit, old man," Grace exclaimed, Derek raising his claws to kill Jackson, being stabbed by him as he woke up suddenly, Grace's eyes widening as he threw Derek's body to the other side of the building. Isaac and Grace looked at each other, both with wide eyes. As Chris and Scott both assumed a position to fight, Grace slowly stepped back, grabbing two pipes from the floor, flipping them with her fingers as she walked behind the three of them, her feet spread apart as she prepared herself to fight if it was necessary.
"Well done to the last, Scott," Gerard started, taking slow steps towards them, "Like the concerned friend that you are, you brought Jackson to Derek to save him. You just didn't realize that you were also bringing Derek to me," Gerard started, looking at Grace for a second before an arrow pierced through Isaac's chest. The blond grunted softly before collapsing on the floor.
"Allison?" Scott asked softly in awe before he moved towards Isaac, helping him up as they both started running away from them. Grace walked back slowly, not turning her back on Gerard or the kanima. She heard the whistle of an arrow coming towards her and her reflexes acted for her, blocking it from hitting her with her two pipes, walking faster.
Derek pulled her towards him by her arm, making her gasp, almost hitting him with one of the pipes but sighing once she saw it was him. She turned around sharply as Chris shot at the kanima, making it screech before it charged towards him. He ran away from the creature before slipping out a blade from his ankle, it being no use as Jackson rammed into him, shoving him towards the nearest wall. Derek rapidly turned into a werewolf before running towards him, growling at Jackson in an attempt to challenge him. Behind him, Grace stood, her eyes glowing their pale shade of purple, the leathery texture of her wings almost touching the floor as they both looked at Jackson.
At the side opposite of them, Isaac and Scott stood, both already turned. At that moment, they would all fight as one, no matter their differences or their inner conflicts, because there was a greater evil in front of them and they were the only ones able to stop it. Derek growled before charging towards the kanima, the rest of them behind him.
Derek was the one who started, blocking a punch from Jackson before giving him one of his own, grunting as Jackson slashed his stomach. Scott buried his claws on his back, making the reptilian creature screech loudly before throwing Scott away from him. Isaac and Grace fought together, Isaac grabbing him by the neck before punching him, Jackson throwing him against the floor. Grace took him by the neck, slamming him against the floor head-first. Jackson clawed at her ankles, making her fall on her back, groaning softly as she hit her head. He stood up, hissing as he broke her leg, making her let out a loud groan, the kanima about to paralyze her before she grabbed his wrist, kicking him away from her.
She groaned as she tried to crawl away before Jackson grabbed her by her wings, throwing her against the wall, before she could react, he buried his long claws on her wings, making Grace scream in agony, a pain she'd never felt before cursing through every single inch of her body. Before Jackson could do any more damage to her, Scott grabbed him and pulled him away from her, Derek fighting him with all his might, his anger fueled even more by the damage he did to Grace.
The raven haired girl slid down to the floor, still in agony, before Peter slid her body towards him in the crook where he was hiding. Grace couldn't take the time to ask him why he wasn't fighting before he examined her wings, pursing his lips as he cupped her face to see if she was okay. Grace could barely respond, groaning as she tried to even move. He groaned before taking a bit of her pain away, enough to let her think straight and stand up, but she was still weak. All she could do—more like all Peter let her do—was watch, and it was probably for the best since she could barely even walk.
And so she watched. She watched as they all got their asses handed to them. And now, not only was the kanima a threat, but Allison as well. She watched as Isaac got knifed down like a fillet by Allison, she watched as Derek got beat up by the kanima, she watched as Scott was trying to catch his breath and wrap his head around the fact that they were losing, that he already completely lost Allison. And the party was far from over. And she didn't want to watch, she didn't want to watch everyone she cared about get killed. If they were going to die, she wanted to die with them. She stood up, but Peter wouldn't let her, and she realized she was too weak to fight him, let alone fight her ex-best friend and a reptilian creature who couldn't seem to die no matter what hit him.
Allison walked towards Derek, her knives sharp in her hands with a look of complete darkness and determination on her face. Grace's eyes widened, she couldn't process anything but she was scared to the point where her eyes watered. She didn't want to lose Derek. She didn't want to lose anyone. "Allison. No!" Scott yelled, making Allison stop for a split second, giving the kanima enough time to grab her wrists, making her drop her knives before holding her captive, his claws on her neck.
"Not yet, sweetheart," Gerard said as he walked towards all of them, a grim smirk on his face, making everyone look at him with confusion at his words.
"What are you doing?" Allison asked, gasping for air as the kanima held her neck with precision.
"He's doing what he came here to do," Scott said.
Gerard looked at him, "Then you know."
"What's he talking about?" Allison whispered, tears threatening to fall from her caramel brown eyes.
Gerard looked at Scott before he looked back at Allison, "It was that night outside the hospital, wasn't it? When I threatened your mother. I knew I saw something in your eyes. You could smell it, couldn't you?"
"He's dying," Isaac answered.
"I am," Gerard said, making Chris purse his lips, "I have been for a while now. Unfortunately, science doesn't have a cure for cancer yet. But the supernatural does," He said, looking at Derek, who stood paralyzed on the floor. Grace stood up, groaning softly.
"You monster," Chris said as his eyes watered.
"Not yet," Gerard retorted.
"What are you doing?" Allison cried.
"You'll kill her, too?" Chris asked, his voice breaking.
"When it comes to survival, I'd kill my own son!" He said, making Chris look down, "Scott."
Scott took a breath before he started walking towards Derek slowly. Grace stood up, not caring about the piercing pain on her body. She was scared. She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks, she felt Peter holding her to keep her from going over there. "No," she whispered, crying as she tried to take Peter's hands off her, "Leave me alone. Stop." Peter held her tighter, her body shaking as she cried softly. She couldn't watch Derek die. She couldn't. Her heart sunk, her weak body trying to peel Peter's away from her.
"Scott, don't. You know he's gonna kill me right after. He'll be an Alpha." Derek said, his eyes searching for Grace.
"That's true. But I think he already knows that, don't you, Scott?" Gerard smirked, "He knows that the ultimate prize is Allison. Do this small task for me and they can be together. You are the only piece that doesn't fit, Derek. And, in case you haven't learned yet, there's just no competing with young love."
"Scott, don't. Don't!" Derek exclaimed, breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry," Scott whispered before he slowly walked him towards Gerard.
Grace fought against Peter's body weakly, the tears rolling against her cheeks. Peter just held her against him firmly. She still fought, she couldn't watch Derek die, she couldn't see them all lose. Derek searched frantically for Grace as Scott walked him closer and closer to Gerard. Grace gave up. There was nothing she could do. It was happening. She was going to watch Derek die. "Derek," she whispered, loud enough for him to hear, his blood red eyes connecting with hers for the last time. The tears rolled down her cheeks as he smiled softly at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered before Scott held him up, opening his jaw so Gerard could receive the bite.
Grace couldn't seem to react. She rested against Peter's arms as they all watched as Gerard put his forearm between Derek's fangs, piercing his skin. Grace could feel it. The power of someone joining the pack. But there was something wrong. Everyone knew it. Especially when the bite oozed with a dark liquid. "What the fuck?" Peter whispered as he held Grace.
"What is this?" Gerard asked menacingly as he looked at Scott, "What did you do?!"
"Everyone said Gerard always had a plan. I had a plan, too," Scott said before Gerard grabbed his pill pouch, growling softly as he crushed them, a black powder oozing from inside it.
"Mountain ash!" He growled before dropping to his knees, the black liquid coming out of every hole in his body. He choked before vomiting out the liquid, dropping on the floor.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Derek asked Scott.
"Be cause you might be an alpha, but you're not mine," He answered. Grace finally got out of Peter's grasp, walking slowly towards Derek, who was still on the floor. As he stood up, Grace pulled him into a tight hug. She breathed in his cologne, smiling softly against his chest. She remembered the first time he almost died, when Stiles almost had to cut his arm off and how they hugged after Derek was cured. She held him tighter, she couldn't afford to lose him, she couldn't bare to.
After they finally pulled away, everyone's eyes fell on Gerard, who spit out black liquid every second. "Kill them," He commanded the kanima, "Kill them all!"
Before Jackson could comply, Gerard fell to the ground, Jackson softly letting go of Allison. She took that moment to hit Jackson with her elbow, making him fall back. In that moment, Stiles' Jeep crushed through the walls of the building, running over the kanima before it could react. Stiles and Lydia both closed their eyes as they entered.
"Did I hit him?" Stiles asked, his eyes still closed before Jackson hopped on the hood of the car, Lydia and Stiles both getting out as fast as they could. Stiles ran towards Scott but Lydia stayed in front of the kanima.
"Jackson?" She started, the reptilian creature about to attack her before she took out a key. The creature instantly stopped, its yellow eyes glued to the key. It started turning back to Jackson as he grabbed it, taking deep breaths as he walked back. Derek took sight of Peter, who looked hungrily at Jackson before charging towards the blue-eyed teenager, both of them slashing his chest with their claws, making Lydia let out a cry as Grace gasped.
Derek walked back towards Grace, turning back to human, "I'm sorry. I had to." Grace looked at him. She knew he didn't want to kill him, she could see it in his eyes. She nodded before looking down.
Lydia took Jackson's body before he fell to the ground, crying as Jackson turned as himself for the last time. He looked at Lydia, his right hand cupping her face as she cried, "Do you... Do you still--"
"Yes," Lydia answered, knowing exactly what he was asking her, "I do still love you."
Jackson smiled softly before laying his head on her shoulders, taking his last breath. Lydia let out a sob before she lay his body down on the ground in front of her. Allison looked around, her hand intertwined with Scott's. "Where's Gerard?"
"He couldn't have gone far," Chris answered.
Lydia stood up, her eyes still glued to Jackson's dead body. The strawberry blonde sobbed, turning away from Jackson. Grace walked towards her, wrapping her up in a hug. Lydia sobbed against Grace, Grace running her hand through Lydia's hair to try and soothe her. "Oh God, I'm sorry, Lydia, I'm so sorry," Grace whispered. She knew exactly how she felt. She lost the person she loved most. She was sorry not only for that, but for not being there for her in the past year or so. She had distanced herself from everyone, when she could've helped Lydia through her PTSD and Allison through her mother's death. She felt so horrible but she knew she was going to be there for them. She needed to.
Grace widened her eyes as she heard Jackson clawing against the floor. "Lydia..." She said, making the strawberry blonde turn around to face Jackson as the boy stood up, letting out a growl as his eyes turned bluer than usual; a werewolf's shade of blue. Lydia rapidly embraced him in a hug, both of them in an embrace that seemed never-ending. Grace looked back, walking towards Isaac and Derek. She stopped midway, giving Allison a short hug.
"I'm so sorry about your mom," she whispered, making Allison nod against her neck, "I should've been there for you, and I'm sorry for that, too."
"Don't be," Allison said, "But, from now on, we're acting like friends again, okay? I miss you," Allison said and Grace smiled, nodding rapidly.
"Gotta blast," Grace said before walking towards Derek and Isaac.
•••
Derek, Peter, Isaac, and Grace all walked towards the Hale house at the crack of dawn. Isaac was in front of the trio, and Grace walked a bit faster to catch up to him, grabbing him by the arm. He looked back at her, barely suppressing a smile. "Can we talk?" Grace asked him softly, walking away from Derek and Peter before facing Isaac.
"What is it?" Isaac asked, trying not to look at her in the eye.
"About the night of the full moon..." Grace started, making Isaac sigh before scratching the back of his head.
"There's nothing to talk about," he said rapidly.
"Isaac... you kissed me."
"Yeah, and right after, you asked where Derek was," He spat, making Grace cross her arms over her chest as she scoffed softly.
"Yeah and turns out he was kidnapped," She said, making him roll his eyes softly.
"That's not the point!" He exclaimed, taking a breath before continuing, "Point is, I like you, Grace, a lot. I've liked you since the moment I laid eyes on you."
"I like you t—"
"No. You don't," He said rapidly, making Grace scoff again, "You may not notice it, or maybe you don't want to see it but I see it. I see the way you look at him, the way you talk to him, the way you touch him. You may not see it but you still have feelings for him."
"Really? You're jealous about Derek?"
"See? I didn't even need to say his name for you to know it was him," He sighed.
"Isaac, what I had with Derek was, first of all, illegal an--"
"Grace, I'm not mad. Well, not anymore, mostly, I'm just sad, I guess. But the thing is I would've loved to date you. To be with you. You're beautiful, smart, amazing, but I can't be with you when I know you have feelings for someone else," He said, sighing before he walked away from her, leaving her looking at the ground. Damn. She sighed. She knew she should feel bad at least, but she didn't feel anything. She looked back, where Peter and Derek where both looking at her, before walking towards them.
"So.. you and Isaac kissed?" Peter asked as the trio walked towards the house.
"Shut up," Grace said, making Derek and Peter share a small smirk.
"Derek, that's the second guy you've cock blocked for Grace," Peter said, making Grace laugh as she looked at the floor.
"Who's the first one?" Derek asked, making Peter smirk.
"Me, of course."
As they arrived to the house, for the fourth time that week, Grace and Isaac furrowed their eyebrows as they looked at the unknown symbol painted on the front door. Peter sighed as he rested against a tree, "You haven't told them everything, have you?"
Isaac looked back at the trio, "What do you mean?"
"Why do you think Derek was in such a hurry to build his pack? So eager to strengthen his power and his number? When there's a new Alpha, people take notice," Peter explained.
"People like who?" Isaac asked, making Derek point at the symbol on the door, "What is this? What does it mean?"
"It's their symbol. It means they're coming," Derek explained briefly.
"Who's coming?" Grace asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked beside Derek.
"Alphas."
"More than one?" Isaac asked.
"A whole pack of them," Derek sighed, making Grace look at Derek with wide eyes, knowing the worse was yet to come.
"An Alpha pack. And they're not coming. They're already here," Peter said.
And, indeed, the worse was yet to come, but they didn't know that yet. Their life would be filled with even more chaos and death, but maybe, just maybe, something good could come out of all that chaos. When they're all broken and their eyes no longer sparkled, maybe they would find just one good thing to rely on through the darkness and pain. But for now, maybe they needed the pain to come, maybe they needed their hearts to turn cold and dull to find it.
Maybe.
***
this is officially the last chapter of this book but, due to popular demand, there will be a third book and it's on its way. I just need to get some things together before publishing it and it'll be done this week. I hope you guys enjoyed these books, and I seriously love every single one of you so much. Thank you all for being there through this journey and, trust me, it is far from over.
-- vivian darkbloom