"Everything's a lesson, every moment with me. And if there's one thing you learn today, it's this, the best way to build an army is through fear," he informed her, about to move away and slip into the shadows when a pair of eyes latched on to his.
Standing with her hands drenched in the blood of her boyfriend, Levi Hale fearlessly stared back at the man as Scott approached their beta. Gerard felt a small smirk grace his face as she stood her ground, Monroe watching the sudden stand-off with confused eyes.
In that moment, Gerard and Levi knew that they had just formed an instant agreement; one of them certainly was not going to make it out of this war alive.
//.//
"They were murdered. Killed by the new hunter in Beacon Hills. You know, when he took out the Hellhound, we thought that it was luck. That we were dealing with an amateur. But now we know that whoever this new hunter is, he has a teacher," Scott said, twirling the piece of wood that had been embedded in him in his hand before Levi spoke up. Lydia, Levi, Chris and Malia watched as he slowly placed it back down on the table in front of him.
"Gerard," she spat, with such viciousness that they all looked at her for a second. It had been easy for them all to forget that Gerard had caused so much pain in the girl's life before they had even met her. He and Kate had been the cause for the death of her family, he had blinded the man that would eventually act like a father - even if it was a bad one - to her, and he had taunted her repeatedly about the ruin he had caused in her life.
"Which means this is my fault. I'm the one who let him go," Chris sighed, rubbing at his face as he thought about the fact he had allowed his father to walk simply because of the fact that he was his father.
"You couldn't have done anything," Lydia said, a sympathetic look on her face as she tried to reassure the man that he was simply holding on to the last bit of family he had left.
"He could've killed him. Just saying."
There was a moment of silence as they all stared at Malia with sour expressions, knowing that she really was not helping the conversation progress at all with her negative comments.
"I should have slit his neck the second I laid eyes on him last night," Levi snarled, her eyes flashing red as she moved away from the table and turned her back on the rest of the room. There was a moment of silence as they all considered reaching out to touch her, but they knew that she would not be appreciative of it at that point in time.
"We're not executioners," Lydia firmed reminded Malia and Levi, but she knew that Levi wasn't going to listen to her statement. Just because the rest of them had lead a kill-free life since becoming supernatural (despite the accidental kill of Malia's family), she sometimes forgot that Levi used to never hesitate before going in for the kill.
"You are when it comes to war." Malia argued, but Scott shook his head.
"That's why we're gonna make peace."
"With Gerard?" Lydia scoffed, knowing that this was not going to end well at all. There was no way in hell that Gerard would gladly let the werewolves continue to live in Beacon Hills as if they were normal people, and there was no way that they could be able to live there after being exposed as supernatural.
"Lydia, you know what's coming. We all keep using the same word. War. So what stops a war from happening?"
"Peace summit."
"Right. We meet face-to-face with Gerard. Find out what he wants and then we stop all this before it gets any worse!" Scott pleaded with them, noticing that Levi had been incredibly silent.
"Last time Gerard was at a peace meet was with Deucalion. He blinded him and then killed everybody else, including his own men," Lydia reminded them, her eyes flickering to where she could see Levi clenching and unclenching her fist, her back still turned to the rest of them.
"All we need is to find out what he wants. Then we can bargain," Scott reminded them all.
"Even if he does agree, his terms might be difficult to meet." Chris countered.
"Well, that's why it's a negotiation. I don't expect to get anything without giving something up."
"Then you're gonna have to figure out just how much you're willing to give, and how far you're willing to go to stop a war."
"Oh," Levi spoke, her voice echoing throughout the room as they all turned to look at the girl. She had turned back round to face them, but her eyes were shining red as she snarled her answer at them all. They knew she wouldn't like the idea of a peace summit, but Scott wasn't expecting her reply. "It doesn't matter how far you are all willing to go to stop a war, because if this summit doesn't work - well, I'll stop it myself. Even if that means I need to slash the throat of every last hunter that even considers stepping foot into Beacon Hills."
They all watched in silence as the girl picked up her coaching duffle bag from the corner of the room and left without another word.
___
"Sorry I'm late coach," Levi muttered as she zipped up the coach hoodie that was spread across the back of her chair in his office. Coach Finstock shot her a short sympathetic look when she wasn't paying attention, knowing that the two teenagers that had died had been her friends.
There was a moment of silence before they heard the boys in the locker room breakout into an argument. Slamming the office door open, Coach Finstock and Levi moved into the boys changing room where they were all standing facing Liam. She could hear her beta's heartbeat was spiked erratically, and she knew that this was just the beginning of a long day at school for not only Liam, but herself too.
"What the hell's going on here? Who called a meeting without me? Guys? I said who called the meeting?" The coach yelled at them all, waving his hands around as he stared at all of the boys. Some of the boys froze, but a few just looked straight at Liam.
"Uh, I did," the beta spoke up, a small hint of annoyance flooding Levi as she realised that he was defending those that were planning to expose him. "Sorry, Coach, but uh, my, my grades are slipping and I need to take a step back from the team. We just voted Nolan to be the new team captain," Liam informed the older man, with Levi and the Coach both raising their eyebrows at the boy before looking around the locker room.
"Nolan? Yeah. Nolan's perfect."
"He's a great player," Levi noted, her eyes staring straight at the boy who seemed to twitch under her gaze. The way he was nervous around the girl assured her that he knew she was one of the supernaturals of beacon hills. He skipped under her gaze before she fake smiled at him. "Just needs to watch his footing." The boy gulped before adverting his eyes.
"Nolan's got amazing leadership skills. Which one of you is Nolan? Yeah, that guy! How about a big hand for your new team Captain, Nolan! - Let 'em hear it!" The Coach blundered before clapping. One look at his assistant coach informed him that this wasn't a good decision that the team had made, but he wasn't sure what was happening with the school at the moment.
__
Levi walked into the staff room as she tucked her whistle inside her hoodie. There had been a few cases recently where she had almost dipped it into her soda, and the thought just reminded her of the time the whistle had been filled with wolfsbane on their cross-country trip only two years ago.
She walked towards the fridge as she crouched down to pull out her pre-packed lunch that Melissa had made her that morning. The woman knew the exact meals to made her as she did have a larger appetite that the normal human, especially due to her werewolf metabolism. Just as she was reaching in for her can of soda, she felt someone move to stand behind her.
"Hey, could you pass me that salad just beside your hand?" She recognised the voice instantly as the new guidance counsellor that had been pestering Liam, Mason and Corey recently. Sighing, Levi forced a fake smile on to her face as she pulled the salad out at the same time as she pulled out her cola.
Placing everything on the counter beside the fridge, Levi shot the woman a small smile as she put her plastic container of food into the microwave. As she turned the dial, she noticed that the woman was taking a significantly long time to apply the dressing to her salad.
"So, I heard no-one was surprised when you decided to become assistant coach instead of applying to colleges," Monroe started conversation, knowing that the real reason the girl hadn't applied for colleges was because of the fact she had seemingly disappeared for a year from school and never even had the chance to apply for any.
"Beacon Hills has always been where my family has stayed for generations, just felt right," Levi truthfully told the woman as she turned to look at her. Monroe smiled, before moving to grab a fork from the counter.
Knocking Levi's unopened can of soda, the girl cursed herself when her reflexes caught the can immediately. There was a short pause before Levi allowed for the can to be released from her fingers where it clattered to the ground. Luckily, the can didn't explode but Levi knew that the woman was now suspicious about what just happened.
As she stood up from the ground, her eyes fell on three long lines that were etched on to the woman's neck - something that definitely was not there the last time they had spoken. Levi felt warning bells go off in her head as she looked at them.
"What did you do to your neck?" Levi coughed out, the defence in her voice now very present. Monroe had to give it to the alpha, she was catching on much faster than Liam had started to earlier before he left her office.
The woman stuttered her excuse, knowing that the alpha had already decided there was no way to ever trust the woman. "A branch in the woods caught my neck," she muttered, before going to turn away. Levi grabbed on to her wrist tightly as the woman spun around, the scent of her drifting into her nose. She had smelled that scent before, the night before in the woods and on the hands on Brett himself.
"The woods can be a scary place at night," Levi nodded, smiling falsely at the woman as she checked the timer on the microwave. "Some people are more suited to it than others."
Monroe titled her head as she mirrored the expression on the girl's face. She knew antagonising an alpha - especially a Hale alpha - was not a good idea, but there was something so thrilling about it that she couldn't help herself. And especially as she knew that Scott McCall's pack was currently trying to have a peace summit, she knew that this alpha was all bark and no bite.
"Your people?" Monroe smirked, thinking she was catching the alpha out.
"Maybe," Levi mused before grabbing her tub from the microwave as it dinged. She looked back up at Monroe as she placed her lid back on the plastic tub to make sure that it stayed warm. "But while I usually agree with my people, unlike them, I understand that sometimes getting your hands dirty is better than cleaning someone else's."
As Levi walked away Monroe felt the smile drain from her face as she realised just what Levi Hale meant. Levi Hale had just told her that peace treaty or no peace treaty, the girl was out for blood.
__
"Are you just going to let us do this to you? You know you can take us. All you have to do is change!"
Levi shot up from her seat as her hearing focused on in the words that had been shouted corridors away from her. She had heard the noises of a fight, but she hadn't realised who was in the fight. The comment instantly sent triggers in her head as she scrambled from her chair, the coach jumping up from his in fright as he saw her move quickly.
"Liam," she snarled under her breath, knowing that he would be able to pick up on her since she was his alpha. "Say the mantra!"
She rushed down the corridors, Coach Finstock hot on her heels as she followed the sounds of their voices. She needed to get to her beta before he did something stupid, she didn't care about anyone seeing his eyes anymore, she just needed to make sure he didn't hurt someone.
"The sun, the moon, the truth-"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Who cares?"
Levi skidded as she tried to stop outside the classroom but was blocked by the hoard of students. She went to push past them, when Bobby's shouting caused the crowd to part instantly.
"What the hell is going on? Back off! Hey! Get to the Principal's office! Now! What the hell is this?" He yelled, grabbing on to Nolan and the others as he pulled them away from Liam. Levi brushed past them, looking Nolan in the eyes and allowing hers to flash once. He already knew she was supernatural, so she no longer cared about breaking the rules.
Levi turned her back so that she was out of view from the remaining students, allowing her veins to turn black as she held her hand against Liam's arm. He sighed slightly as the pain subsided, watching it travel in black stems up her neck. The coach slid down beside her before she could release his hand, and she noticed the way he looked at the veins on her neck as they returned to normal. There was a pause, before she saw a look of familiarity in his eyes and she reminded herself of the time they took his pain away after void stiles had stabbed him with an arrow.
He nodded, no words exchanged as they hauled Liam to his feet with the help of Corey and Mason.
"I can't believe you did that."
"Clark Kent, right?" Liam replied to his best friend, a faint smile on his lips.
"Yeah. Clark Kent." Mason agreed, patting his friends back lightly as he regained his balance.
___
Levi watched as the car pulled up to Scott's house, the girl only having just been dropped off by Mason seconds prior. Noticing the blood on her knuckles, he jogged to her. She shook her head, and he knew it was from Liam's alternation earlier on.
Nothing else was said as they entered the house with Lydia and Malia.
"Scott. Scott McCall."
They all jumped in fright as the lights turned on to reveal a swaying and badly beaten up girl in Scott's kitchen. Levi launched forward, holding on to the girl as she stumbled towards them.
"Wait, hey, hey.Hey. Sit down."
Levi passed as she turned to look at the other three. "She's a werewolf."
"Who did this to you? A hunter?"
"A deputy."
"They've got a deputy?" Levi snarled, throwing her hands in the air as Scott held on to the injured werewolf.
"They've got everyone."