"I don't want to go, I want to look for Isaac"
"Just go to school, it will take your mind off things" Derek said with a sigh.
"My boyfriend is missing and there's a fricking alpha pack hunting us down. And I'm going to go out of my freaking mind very soon!"
Derek narrowed his eyes. "Boyfriend?"
"Uh, yeah..." I trailed off awkwardly.
"When did this officially happen?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well, yeah" Derek said in a duh tone. "I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on that boy" he mumbled.
"If he's even still alive" My Uncle's voice said from behind me.
"You're not helping" I snapped.
He held his hands up in defence.
"You do realise that Isaac, Erica and Boyd have all been taken by the alpha pack, right?" He said.
"No, really. I would never have guessed" I said sarcastically, throwing in an eye roll.
Derek looked down at the floor and I could practically see his mind churning things over.
"Anyway, what about me? Why haven't I been taken yet? They had a perfect opportunity the other night when I was alone in the woods"
"Maybe they just don't want to put up with your sarcasm" My uncle suggested.
"Well maybe I don't want to put up with your sarcasm" I retorted.
"Then why are you still here?"
"Because I'm helping my brother. And correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you kill my sister? And didn't Derek kill you. Clearly, that's a sign that nobody really wants you around. So why are you still here" I challenged.
"Because like you, Shay, I am helping too"
I scoffed. "You don't even know the meaning of the word help"
"Wow. Where has all of this 'I hate my Uncle Peter' stuff come from"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I presumed you had got the message that I despise you when I first saw you again"
"Stop!" Derek bellowed.
I turned away from Peter to face my brother.
"Go to school, Shay"
"Derek, I am not going to school" I said sternly.
"You heard your brother, Shay"
"SHUT UP" Derek and I yelled simultaneously at our uncle.
"Wow guys, these negative vibes towards me are really starting to hurt"
"Oh, just piss off. Haven't you got some more family murders to plot or something" I scoffed.
"Fine. I can see when I'm not wanted" My uncle turned away and left the room.
"Derek, can you please kill him again"
"Not unless you go to school"
I groaned. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. I'm serious. I'll call you if there's any news, okay. It's only been slightly over twenty four hours. There's still time to find him"
"Promise?"
"Promise"
~
"Freshmen. Tons and tons of fresh men" Lydia said, with a smile playing on her lips.
I scoffed. "You mean fresh boys"
"Lydia, they're fourteen" Allison pointed out.
"Eh, some are more mature than others" She shrugged.
Allison and I both shared a look.
"You know, it's okay to be single. Focus on yourself for a little while, work on becoming a better person" Allison said.
Lydia smiled, and turned towards her.
"Allison, I love you. So if you need to do that thing where we talk about me and pretend like we're not actually talking about you, it's totally fine. But I don't want a boyfriend" she placed her hand on the locker, leaning against it. "I want a distraction"
She smirked and I followed her eyes to where two guys were stood.
"Brothers?" Allison asked.
Lydia cocked her head to the side. "Twins"
I narrowed my eyes, catching a whiff of something. A scent. I frowned, looking over at the two twins Lydia was eyeing again.
Werewolves.
My phone started ringing and I tore my eyes away from the twins to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Shay"
"Melissa?" I asked in confusion.
Why is Scott's mom phoning me?
"Yeah, I'm sorry to bother you but I'm currently with Isaac and-"
"Wait. You're with Isaac? Is he okay? Are you in the hospital? What happened?"
"He's fine. Yeah, we're in the hospital. But we're going to need some help"
"I'm on my way. Have you called Derek?"
"He wouldn't answer"
"Scott?"
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to call him. I don't want him involved if he doesn't have to be"
"Okay, I'm on my way now" I hung up the phone and turned towards the girls.
"Who was that?" Allison asked.
"Uh, just Derek. I need to help him out with something so I'll probably miss first and second period"
Thank god neither of them are werewolves. I'm an awful liar.
"Are you sure everything is okay?" Ally asked.
I nodded. "Everything is fine. I'll see you later"
I swung my bag over my shoulder and weaved in and out of the sea of people in the corridor until I eventually got outside.
I hopped into my car and started up the engine.
As I adjusted my mirror, I noticed Scott stood behind my car.
I sighed and rolled down the window as he walked over.
"Where are you going?"
"To Derek" I replied.
He frowned. "You just lied to me"
I gasped in mock offence. "Did not"
"You just did it again"
I groaned. "I'm going to the hospital"
"Why?"
"None of your business" I retorted.
"Why?"
I rolled my eyes. "Just go to class"
"Just tell me why you're going and I'll leave"
"You're so annoying, you know that right"
"Thanks, I try my best" he smiled.
I glared at him. "I'm going to see Isaac"
"Why? What happened to Isaac?" Scott asked in concern.
"That, Scotty, is what I'm going to find out" I started to wind the window up again.
"Let me come with you"
"Your mom doesn't want you involved"
"You spoke to my mom?"
"No, I just said that for no reason at all" I said sarcastically. "Now I really need to go"
"Shay wait-"
"I'll keep you posted, okay" I shut the window completely, despite Scott's protests, and reversed out of my parking space.
There were two things I couldn't stop thinking about as I drove to Beacon Hills Hospital.
The first, Isaac.
How did he find Erica and Boyd? What happened to him? And how did he escape?
The second, those twins.
I definitely caught a scent and they seemed to be where it was coming from. Could they be part of the alpha pack?
These thoughts consumed me and before I knew it, I had reached the Hospital.
I parked my car and got out, trying to resist the urge to run inside.
"How can I help?" The woman at the front desk smiled at me.
"Hi, I'm here to see Isaac Lahey" I said.
"Shay?" I turned around upon hearing Melissa's voice.
"Melissa" I smiled.
"It's okay Sarah, I'll take her to Mr Lahey" Melissa smiled at the woman at the desk who just nodded before looking back at her computer screen.
"What happened to him?" I asked as we walked quickly down the corridor.
"I'm not entirely sure. But I know he came in with a girl. They both had bad injuries but his are healing"
Melissa pushed open the door to Isaac's room and he started to sit up as I walked in.
"Isaac!" I exclaimed, running over and gently pulling him into a hug. "Are you okay? What happened to you?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine" he smiled pressing his lips to my forehead.
I stepped away slightly and Melissa reached over to check Isaac's injuries.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's healing, visibly. Wow" She said.
How the hell are we going to explain this?
"They can't see this. Nobody can see this" I said.
"All right, cover it up" Isaac replied.
I bit my lip. "I don't think that's gonna matter"
"You're scheduled for surgery, which is obviously gonna be very confusing for a lot of people" Melissa added.
"Okay, can you do something?" I asked her.
"Me do something? I'm relatively new to all of this. That's why I called you.
And there's a sheriff's deputy that's stationed right outside the door" Melissa said.
Isaac and I both exchanged a worried look.
"I don't think there's anything we can do. Not that I can think of" I said.
"Have you tried calling Derek?" Isaac looked between Melissa and I.
"Like, five times" Melissa replied.
"I've sent him loads of texts. He should be on his way soon. I hope" I said.
"Do you have any other emergency werewolf contacts?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah" Isaac said and I immediately knew who he was talking about. "Call Scott"
Melissa looked reluctant to do so.
"I spoke to him earlier. Before I left school. I don't think there's anything he can do" I said.
"It's worth a try though, right?" Isaac questioned.
Melissa and I sighed.
"Okay, I'll call the school" Melissa left the room, leaving Isaac and I alone.
"Isaac, what happened?"
He shook his head. "I have no clue"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"Being in the woods. With you"
I frowned and sat down in the chair next to his bed.
"Who's the girl?" I asked.
"She rescued me" he replied.
"From who? Was it the Alpha's? You called me, saying they'd found you"
Isaac shrugged. "All I remember is being in the woods and then a girl coming to rescue me. And then I ended up here"
"So you don't remember anything in between?" I asked, completely puzzled.
He shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "I remember flashes of things. But I can't piece them together"
Something in my head suddenly clicked when I realised what had happened.
"Isaac, I think you found them - Erica and Boyd. And I think the alpha's somehow took your memory"
"They took my memory?" Isaac frowned.
"I don't know. I'll have to speak to Derek more about it" I shrugged. "Actually, I might try and call him again. Will you be okay on you're own for a while?"
"I'll be fine"
I smiled at him and headed outside the room to find Scott's mom.
"Melissa?" I questioned as I left Isaac's room. "Melissa?" I called out again.
"Shay, what are you doing here?"
I bit my lip, turning around to face my brother.
"Uh, I'm here for probably the same reason as you"
~
"It's not stupid! It's a good theory" I protested. My brother just looked at me with his arms folded across his chest.
A crash suddenly sounded from an elevator nearby.
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"They're here" Derek said through gritted teeth.
"Who? The alphas?"
The two of us raced to the elevator where I could hear voices.
"Don't you realize what you're dealing with? I'm an Alpha" The attacker said.
The elevator door dinged open and I saw Scott being held up in the air with someone's hand on his throat.
I could also see Isaac in a wheelchair behind them.
Derek stepped forwards. "So am I"
Ah, shit. Not good. Not good at all.
Derek dug his claws into the alpha and threw him out of the elevator, where he collapsed to the ground unconscious.
I let out a laugh. "That was easy"
My brother, with no expression written on his face, then turned to Scott. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"I'm here for Isaac" He answered.
"That's funny because I'm also here for Isaac" Derek raised his eyebrows at the two of us.
"Uh, in case you're both forgetting. I was here first, for Isaac. You-" I pointed at my brother. "-wouldn't answer your phone. And you-" I looked at Scott. "-Actually you did nothing wrong. Anyway, the point is. Isaac has been into surgery with that guy-" I pointed at the alpha on the ground. "Pretending to be a doctor. How do we know he hasn't done anything?"
Derek looked over at Isaac and sighed.
"We need to get him out of here"
~
"I wonder what they were thinking. It must have been so confusing. You're about to operate on someone and they suddenly have no injuries at all" I said as I hopped into the passenger side of my car.
Derek insisted on driving.
"Well, we'll never know" My brother answered, placing Isaac in the backseat.
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked.
"He's going to be fine"
I nodded and stared out of the window.
How did Isaac find them? And how did he escape a pack of alphas? It doesn't make sense. And who was the mystery girl? Did she help Isaac escape?
"Have you ever seen the girl before?" I asked Derek.
He shook his head. "What girl?"
I ignored the question. "This doesn't make sense. Isaac can't remember anything but flashes. Do you think they could have taken his memory?"
"It sounds like something they would do"
"Is there a way that we can get those memories back. I mean if he did find them-"
"Shay, Isaac didn't find them"
"Yeah, and how do you know that?"
"The alphas wouldn't have just taken his memory. They would have killed him"
"Did you not listen to what I said at the hospital? If Isaac did find them, then maybe the alpha's found him and took his memory. Maybe they were going to keep him with Erica and Boyd but the mystery girl turned up and saved him. That's why one of the alpha's turned up at the hospital. Maybe he was there to take isaac back" I bit my lip. "Or kill him"
"Mystery girl is a human. Isaac is a new beta. They wouldn't have escaped a pack of alpha's"
I shook my head in disagreement. "I think they did"
We pulled up as close as we could to our old house and then trudged through the woods to reach it. Scott was a few meters behind us, on his phone.
"You don't still live here, do you?" Scott questioned as we stepped inside, looking at the old, deteriorating house in disgust.
"No. The county took it over, but there's something here that I need. It'll help heal a wound from an Alpha" My brother answered, looking through lots of pieces of wood.
"Yeah, but it did heal"
"Not on the inside" I replied.
"Hey, are you gonna tell me who that was back there? That Alpha" Scott queried.
"A rival pack. It's my problem. I know you wanna help, and you did. I owe you one. Now go home. Go back to being a teenager" Derek said.
"Uh, hey, Derek. If you wanna repay back that favor now, there is something you can do for me"
~
"Yeah, I see it" Derek said.
"It's two bands, right?" I asked. Scott nodded.
"What does it mean?" My brother questioned.
"I don't know. It's just something I traced with my fingers" Scott shrugged, showing the pattern on the sand.
"Why is this so important to you?"
"Do you know what the word 'tattoo' means?"
"To mark something" Stiles, who had arrived a few minutes ago, interrupted.
I rolled my eyes.
"Well, that's in Tahitian. In samoan, it means 'open wound'. I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18. I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now, to make it kind of a reward" Scott explained.
"For what?" I questioned.
"For not calling or texting Allison all summer. Even when I really wanted to, even when it was so hard not to sometimes. I was trying to give her the space she wants. Going four months later, it still hurts. It still feels like a, uh-"
"Like an open wound" Stiles said.
"Yeah"
I couldn't help but feel sorry for Scott.
"The pain's gonna be worse than anything you've ever felt" Derek said.
"Ah, that's great" Stiles muttered from beside me.
"Do it" Scott said determinedly.
Derek lit up a torch and smiled.
"Oh, wow. That's a- that's a lot for me. So I'm gonna take that as my cue- I'm just gonna wait outside" Stiles started to turn away but I grabbed his arm, pulling him backwards.
"Nope. You can help me hold him down" I smiled sweetly.
"Oh, my God" Stiles muttered.
The two of us went over to Scott's side and pushed him down onto the chair.
Derek pressed the torch onto Scott's skin and he started to scream and writhe.
"Hold him!" Derek yelled.
More painful screams and an almost full transformation later, the tattoo was visible.
"It worked" Scott said with a smile, looking down at his arm.
"Well, it looks pretty damn permanent now" Stiles said.
"Yeah. I kind of needed something permanent. Everything that's happened to us everything just changes so fast. Everything's so, uh Ephemeral" Scott said as the two of them stood by the door.
"Wow. Using big words are we now" I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Studying for the psats?" Stiles questioned his best friend.
"Yep"
"Nice"
Scott's eyes wondered from Stiles to the front door, which I had reluctantly spent time painting over the summer.
The things I do for my brother.
"You painted the door?" Scott wondered aloud. "Why'd you paint the door?" He turned to face Derek and I.
"Go home, Scott" Derek said.
"And why only one side?"
Scott flicked his wrist, showing his claws and he started to scratch off the paint.
"Scott" Derek cautioned.
After successfully scratching off the paint, Scott took a step back.
"Dude, I'm not painting over that again" I said, shaking my head.
"The birds at school and the deer last night; just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the Alpha. How many are there?" Scott asked.
"A pack of them" Derek answered.
"An Alpha pack" I concluded.
"All of them? How does that even work?" Stiles asked with a frown.
"I hear there's some kind of a leader.
He's called Deucalion. We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Shay, Isaac, and I have been looking for him for the last four months" Derek informed the two boys.
"Let's say you find them" Scott started. "How do you deal with an Alpha pack?"
Derek looked between all of us. "With all the help I can get"
A voice from behind us startled me.
"Where is she?" The four of us spun around to see Isaac sitting up.
"Isaac-" I started.
"Where's the girl?" He asked.
Derek turned around.
"What girl?"
~
A/N
So this is the first chapter of Warzone.
I'm really excited to write this book because I have so many ideas for it.
And i'm going to start working on a trailer for it in a couple of days so that should hopefully be up soon.
Hope you liked the chapter (: