CHAPTER 44,
GENOTYPE
"No, I'm not on drugs!"
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INDIANA IS CURRENTLY standing in the animal clinic with the boys, a flip phone resting on the table in the middle of them with the voicemail log pulled up.
"Hey, it's me again." A woman begins on a voicemail. "I don't know why you can't seem to call me back. Maybe it's because you think you're punishing me but this is too long. I- It's too much and it's not about us. Something's happening in Beacon Hills, to the people here. I just... I just need to know everyone there with you is okay so can you just call me, please? One call, that's all I'm asking for. If you can't call me back then I'm going to get my answer anyway, that means I'm coming up there myself. Just try to remember it's my pack too."
"You pulled this off one of the bodies in the woods?" Theo questions.
"Malia did." Indiana replies.
"Yeah, there were six dead bodies and one of them had no face." Scott adds.
"Okay, so the one with no face, you think that's the woman on the phone?" Theo asks.
"Maybe." Scott replies.
"It's the same thing that happened to Aaron. It took over his body, basically stole his face and his DNA." Mason states. "Whoever this woman is, she could be the other half of the Anuk-ite."
"Which means she's just half of the problem. The other half we already know about, Aaron." Theo says.
"We don't know where he is though." Liam reminds.
"Aren't we supposed to keep both halves apart? If we know about one half, let's just go for that one for now." Theo tells them.
"I'm not agreeing with Theo, but I do think it'd be easier to track down Aaron over a voice on a phone." Mason says.
"That's agreeing with Theo." Liam informs.
"Yeah, but I thought I'd try to soften the blow a bit." Mason replies.
"Is everyone completely shocked that I might be right?" Theo asks.
"No, we just don't like it." Indiana replies.
"Maybe we should be looking for both Aaron and the woman on the phone." Scott suggests. "Since you guys agree, you can look for Aaron together. Indi, Liam, and I will try figure out whose voice is on the phone."
"If we find the other half, maybe we don't have to fight at all. Stop the Anuk-ite. Stop the war." Indiana tells them.
The five soon settle with the plan Scott said about splitting up, Theo and Mason walking out of the clinic where they make their way elsewhere in search for Aaron. This leaves Indiana still stood in the animal clinic with her brother and her boyfriend.
Liam suddenly reaches out and grabs the phone, pressing a button before raising it to his ear. The sound of the device calling someone is heard, Scott quickly snatching it into his possession and slamming it shut.
"Do you even know what you're gonna say?" Scott asks.
"Hello?" Liam replies, Indi pursing her lips as she holds back a laugh.
"We might only get one shot at this. What are you going to tell her?" Scott repeats.
"I'm gonna try get her to meet us somewhere." Liam replies.
"Maybe that might not be the best idea." Scott informs.
"Why? Then we'll know who they are." Liam states.
"And they'll know who we are." Scott adds.
The phone then begins to ring in Scott's hands, the three looking down at the device before glancing at one another. Liam tries to get the older boy to answer, soon taking it back into his possession where it stops ringing and he has to dial the number again.
"Beacon Hills High School. How can I—" A man begins through the phone, being cut off as the girl reaches over and slams the phone shut.
"It's someone at the school. We might know who they are." Liam states.
"Wait, okay the voicemail again." Indiana instructs.
Liam furrows his brows slightly but presses the button to oksy the recording again, the woman's voice exiting the phone and resting what they've heard already.
"I think I know who it is." Indiana tells them, turning to the blond. "Liam, you recognise that voice, right? We've been told off by her so many times."
"Mrs Finch?" Liam questions, receiving a nod in response.
"Are sure it's her?" Scott asks them both.
"It was her on the phone." Indiana replies.
"Okay, well, that still doesn't prove that she's the Anuk-ite or even that she's one of us." Scott says.
"It was still her." Indiana insists.
"Okay, we're gonna need to go to the school and see if we can get her to expose her supernatural side." Scott informs.
"How are we gonna do that?" Liam asks.
"You two are gonna do it." Scott replies.
"What about the hunters and the Nazi student brigade?" Liam questions.
"I'll be right there with you." Scott reassures. "Just get close enough to find out what we need to and then get out."
"I hate biology." Indiana whines.
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Indiana, dreading the fact that she's being forced back into school where practically everyone hates her and doesn't exactly help with her anxiety, finds herself seated in biology beside Liam. The two have created a plan to figure out whether the teacher is a supernatural creature like they are. Scott is hiding outside of the classroom, making sure everything goes according to plan.
"Phones away, everyone, and settle down. We have a long way to go to get through the day." Mrs Finch informs, turning around and pausing at the sight of the two. "Indiana. Liam. I didn't think we'd be seeing either of you again."
"A girl's gotta learn to get into her dream college." Indiana replies, being slightly sarcastic since she has no clue on which college to attend.
"Can't let my GPA go down just because I got beat up in class." Liam adds.
"Gabe, I said no phones." Mrs Finch reminds, confiscating it from him. "Let's get started. When two people come together, we have a variety of possibilities. How do we determine the probability of an offspring having a particular trait?"
"I'd want our child's to have your eyes." Indiana unknowingly says, growing bright red as she realises what she just said.
Though the two are still teenagers and considered young to be thinking about the possibility of having kids or getting married, it can still play on some of their minds especially when they're in a serious relationship. They've been through a lot together since the night Liam was turned into a werewolf, staying by one another's side and remaining strong.
Obviously they're not planning for it now, but maybe in the future. Because that's the point of dating someone, you aim to grow old with them and start a family of your own if you'd like to.
"Yeah, well, I'd want them to have yours." Liam replies, making her feel more comfortable about the topic she didn't mean to bring up. "Which is more likely to happen since brown is the dominate colour."
"Still a twenty-five percent chance for blue." Indiana reminds, a smile playing on her lips.
The blond hands her some earplugs, the both of them slyly putting it into their ears where he then turns on the emitter that only supernaturals can hear. The teacher doesn't seem to react to the noise whereas a random girl in the class does, her hands flying over her ears as she runs outside. Liam turns it off again.
"Guys, did Gabe get a text out?" Scott asks from outside.
"I don't know." Indiana whispers, trying not to attract attention from her classmates.
"Three volunteers please." Mrs Finch says.
Gabe rises to his feet and makes his way over to the board, Liam copying his actions and making his way over to the board. Indiana just keeps her head down to her work, acting natural while she allows the blond to complete the wolfsbane part of the plan.
"Liam, that's not even remotely close. Have a seat and let's try this again." Mrs Finch tells him.
The boy listens, making his way back around the desk and taking a seat on the chair beside Indiana again. The teacher grabs ahold of the chalkboard eraser, beginning to rub out his answers where she coughs before letting out a sneeze due to the wolfsbane coming out of it.
"That's it for today. Class dismissed." Mrs Finch tells them, everyone listening and exiting the room. "Liam, can you stay behind?"
The brunette glances over at him, receiving a small nod of reassurance that insists her to go. The girl listens, turning and exiting the room where she sneaks over to where her brothers hidden.
"I get it. I know what you're trying to do." Mrs Finch begins. "You're upset and you want to get back at me."
"Upset?" Liam repeats.
"Because I stood by and did nothing for what Gabe and Nolan did to you. I'm your teacher and I should've listened to your friends ask me to protect you when I should do that anyway." Mrs Finch tells him.
"No. No, I mean, yeah, but that's not why I'm here." Liam informs. "I know about your pack."
"My what?" Mrs Finch questions, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"I know what you are. You're a werewolf." Liam continues.
"A what?" Mrs Finch asks, scoffing in shock.
"A person who turns into a wolf on a full moon?" Liam replies.
"Yeah, right. And I probably can only be killed by a silver bullet." Mrs Finch adds.
"No, that's not totally true." Liam replies.
"Are you on drugs?" Mrs Finch asks. "I know your father's a surgeon at the hospital."
"No, I'm not on drugs!" Liam exclaims. "Mrs Finch, you're a werewolf and you have a pack. You said it on the phone."
"That's enough." Mrs Finch tells him.
"You can't hide what you are." Liam continues.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but you really need to go now. You need to leave this classroom right now!" Mrs Finch demands.
"Hey, it's me again. I don't know why you can't seem to call me back. Maybe it's because you think you're punishing me but this is too long. I- It's too much and it's not about us. Something's happening in Beacon Hills, to the people here. I just...." The voicemail plays from Scott's hand as he and Indi enter the room.
"Where did you find this?" Mrs Finch asks after snatching the phone and holding it close to her.
The three werewolves begin to talk to the teacher about the pack she's supposedly associated with. The woman only denies everything, acting clueless about the situation.
"I told you, I don't know what the Primal is. I don't know what and Anuk-a-whatever is. I was just trying to call my daughter." Mrs Finch informs. "Where did you get this?"
"You said you were in a pack. That was you on the phone, that's what you said." Liam states.
"And I don't know what business it is of yours, my personal life. I am the teacher, you are the students. I don't go digging into your personal life outside these walls, you shouldn't be digging into mine." Mrs Finch snaps.
"Did you reach any of them before they died?" Scott asks, ignoring what she just had to say.
"Wh- What are you talking about?" Mrs Finch questions, her voice a whisper as tears begin to well up in her eyes.
"Mrs Finch, I'm sorry..." Scott apologises. "Your family were attacked and they're dead."
"Dead? No, they can't be dead because... They were just... They were in the woods, th-they were hiding out. They were scared." Mrs Finch stutters, her voice cracking with pain as she blinks back the tears.
"We found that phone on a body. Three men, two boys." Scott continues.
"What about my daughter?" Mrs Finch asks.
"There was another body but..." Indiana begins.
"But what?" Mrs Finch questions, pushing for a straight answer.
"We couldn't identify it." Indiana replies. "The skin... It was stripped down to the muscle. There was no DNA. The pack tattoo was still there though."
"I'm sorry, but this? This doesn't make sense. This isn't how biology works." Mrs Finch states.
"That's what the Anuk-ite does. It finds a body and it takes its face. It takes the whole identity of that person." Liam explains.
"Not my daughter." Mrs Finch refuses, not wanting to believe what they're saying.
"There's a way to find out." Liam informs.
Mrs Finch nods for them to continue as she takes a seat at her desk to help with her shakiness of the dreadful news she just received. The three teenagers begin to explain to her what their plan is.
"I won't do that." Mrs Finch replies.
"Just call her and tell her not to go anywhere near the school. Tell her that there's someone or something hunting for someone like her." Liam repeats.
"You have to stop talking about this." Mrs Finch says, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"If she shows up, at least you'll know what happened to your family, what happened to your daughter." Scott states.
"I can do it for you if you'd like." Indiana offers, her voice gentle.
"Please." Mrs Finch replies, her voice a whisper as she wipes away her tears.
The teacher pulls out her phone, unlocking it and pushing a few buttons until it's on her daughters contact number. With tears continue to side down her cheeks, she extends her arm out and allows Indiana to take it into her own hands.
"That's your daughters name?" Indiana questions, looking down at the screen.
"Quinn." Mrs Finch replies, the threes faces falling instantly. "My daughter's name is Quinn."
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As the three teenagers and the adult are standing in the classroom with the moonlight shining in through the condensed windows, a sound is suddenly heard from the silent hallways that cause their heads to snap up instantly.
"That's her, isn't it?" Mrs Finch asks, receiving a nod in response. "Well, what did you plan on doing?"
"Shh." Liam hushes, trying time continue listening to the sound.
"You're not going to try hurt her, are you?That's my daughter." Mrs Finch continues, ignoring the boy.
"We're gonna do what we have to do." Liam replies.
"What does that mean?" Mrs Finch asks.
"Just stay back." Scott instructs.
The footsteps along the marble hallway is heard edging closer and closer to the room that they're located in, the three werewolves readying themselves with their eyes glued on the doorway. However, their plan is ruined when Mrs Finch throws the remaining grains of wolfsbane on the eraser into their faces. They fall to the ground, coughing violently.
Eventually, they manage to rise back to their feet and sprint into the hallway. They find the teacher laying in the hallway with blood seeping into her clothes from the wound on her body.
"I'll stay, go find Quinn." Scott instructs the two.
"We need to face her together." Indiana states.
"I can't leave her." Scott replies.
"What if she finds Aaron first? How are we supposed to fight both of them?" Liam asks, a hint of worry laced in his voice.
"Guys, look, it's okay to be afraid. Just don't let it stop either of you, okay? You've got this. Stick together and you'll be okay." Scott tells them.
Indiana hesitates before rising to her feet, both her and Liam running down the hallway in search for Quinn. Loud screams can be heard throughout the school, only making the brunettes heart race with more fear. Despite that fear, she continues running and following the sound where they find themselves in the school library.
Quinn stands there in the middle of the room, Aaron walking out from behind the bookshelf where their eyes lock onto one another. The two werewolves growl loudly, their eyes glowing the golden yellow colour as usual where they then leap over the desks to keep the two halves of the Anuk-ite apart. But that plan fails when Quinn and Aaron throw a single punch at them, sending them flying backwards and ending up as a heap on the ground.
Aaron and Quinn then turn back to face one another, reaching out and connecting their lips where the spiders in their bodies begin to merge. All of a sudden, they're fighting to the point where he grabs ahold of the girls head and snaps it so that she drops dead on the cold library floor.
The boy extends his arm out and touches her face while his eyes flow purple, the spiders from her lifeless body exiting and making their way into his instead. The bones in his body then begins snapping as his movements becoming dramatic, a dark purple mist surrounding him before the transformation is complete.
Indiana pulls herself up to her feet at the sound of snarling behind a bookshelf, pulling Liam up with her. The blond's eyes begins to glow yellow as he readies himself to attack the fully-formed Anuk-ite. However, the library doors suddenly push open and arms yanks them backwards.
"We have to run!" Lydia informs as they take off running into the school hallways.
"What are you doing? Quinn and Aaron merged, we have to stop them." Liam tells her.
"You can't." Lydia replies. "You can't look at it otherwise it'll kill you."
Turning a corner in the hallway, the three members of the pack find themselves looking down at two hunters that have been turned to stone. Their bodies lay in the middle of the school hallway, guns gripped in their hands.
"How do we fight something we can't look at?" Liam asks.
"I have no idea." Lydia replies.
"We have to learn to fight without our eyes." Scott speaks up, appearing beside them with Malia.
"We're gonna need Deucalion's help then." Indiana informs.
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The couple are currently sitting out on top of Liam's roof, having snuck out through his bedroom window. The moon is shining brightly in the starry night sky, a few clouds gliding over it but remaining bright. The boys arm is wrapped around the girl, her head resting in the crook of his neck as she looks up at the stars like the date they had a few days ago. The two look so peaceful compared to what they had just found out hours beforehand.
"Thank you." Liam blurts out.
"What?" Indiana questions, slightly confused.
"Ever since the start you've always been there for me, helping me through the stages of becoming a werewolf and dealing with my anger issues. Whenever you're around, you make me feel calm and happy." Liam replies, smiling. "Thank you."
"Okay, well, if you're thanking me then I'd like to say something." Indiana says, lifting her head up so that she can look at him properly. "You've always been there to comfort me or protect me from harm. You make me feel special with the way you treat me. Thank you."
Liam's blue eyes flicker down to her soft lips, ducking his head down and pressing his own lips against hers gently. One of his arms remains wrapped around her while his free hand raises and cups her cheek.
As they pull away from their kiss, Indiana reaches up and playfully ruffles his blond hair as a jokey way to tell him to stop being so sappy. Liam just gently hits her hand away, leaning down and beginning to tickle her stomach where laughter erupts from her mouth.