𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

I raise my hand and ring the buzzer for Derek's loft before tucking my hair behind my ear as I wait.

"Hello?" Peter's voice comes through the speaker.

"It's Natalia McCall. I'm here to see Cora" I explain.

"The witch?" Peter asks curiously.

"Yes. The witch" I grumble in annoyance.

The door buzzes and I pull the door open, heading up the stairs. I push the loft door open and I'm immediately met with Peter, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.

"I don't know if I like you yet" He declares.

"The feeling is mutual, grandpa" I retort and he rolls his eyes, walking away.

Cora appears from the next room and I squeal, attracting her attention.

"Coco!" I shriek, running at her and throwing my arms around her neck.

"Lia" She laughs, wrapping her arms around my smaller frame.

"I was so worried about you. I called and I text and I emailed and I FaceTimed and I-" I ramble but she cuts me off, slapping her hand over my mouth.

"I'm okay now, but thanks for caring" She teases me and I roll my eyes, pushing her hand away from me.

"You are such a bitch" I huff and she chuckles, shaking her head.

"You say that like it's a bad thing" She responds and I shrug, smiling widely.

"Sometimes it is" I reply.

"How are things at the McCall household?" She asks "I heard your brother is a werewolf"

"Things are actually not bad. It's been pretty easy settling in, almost too easy" I answer "And yeah. Your uncle bit him"

"Peter, am I right?" She scoffs and I giggle, nodding.

"Are you doing okay? You know, after being kidnapped and all" I ask in concern and she rolls her eyes.

"I'm good. I feel great" She answers and I raise a brow, making her huff in annoyance "I'm being serious, Lia. I'm not fazed by anything"

"Yeah, because your a stone cold bitch" I retort and she smiles in amusement.

"And you're a sensitive little baby" She insults me, causing me to gasp.

"I am not!" I argue.

"You're just proving me right by getting offended...baby" She smirks.

"You whore" I snap.

"You got the wrong bitch" She sasses me.

"Are you two bonding or arguing? I can't tell" Peter asks, entering the room.

"Shut up, Peter" We huff in unison and he holds his hands up in mock surrender.

❦ ❦ ❦

As I stretch out, getting ready for the cross country trail I'm about to run, I feel multiple gazes burning into me or should I say, my ass.

Probably my bad for wearing tight blue running shorts and a matching blue crop top around the lacrosse team.

I stand up straight and someone comes up beside me. My head turns to see who it is and I smile when I see Aiden grinning down at me.

"What brings you here, gorgeous?" He flirts.

"I like to run" I answer simply, playing hard to get as I tighten my ponytail

"You still undecided on me taking you out?" He asks curiously.

"I have a better idea" I smirk and his lips tug up at one side.

"Oh, yeah?" He hums "What's that?"

I place my hand on his chest and lean up on my tip toes, my lips brushing his ear.

"You could come over tonight" I whisper before taking a step back to see the wide smirk on his face.

"I like that idea" He tells me, brushing my loose hairs behind my ear "Text me your address"

He walks away and I smile, shaking my head. I feel eyes on me and I turn my head to see my brother and Stiles staring at me in pure confusion. I wink at them and turn back to the front. The whistle blows and I break out into a sprint, my competitive side kicking in almost immediately.

I watch in disbelief as the twins take off in the lead, disappearing ahead and Isaac chases after them with determination. My brother sprints after the beta and just as I speed up to chase them, someone catches up with me. I turn my head to the wheezing Stiles Stilinski and I automatically laugh at the boy, causing him to shoot me a glare.

"You good, dork?" I ask him in amusement.

"No. I hate this" He complains.

"That's a damn shame. I was gonna ask you to be my running partner" I joke and he scoffs loudly

I speed up and leave everyone in the dust, enjoying the wind blowing through my hair and the way my thighs burn.

As I turn a corner, I expect to see a sign of my brother and Isaac or the twins, but what I see is something completely different.

A loud scream escapes my lips and I stumble back, away from the blood covered body that is tied to the tree in front of me. Lanky arms are wrapped around me and I spin in Stiles' grip, burying my face in his chest as the others gather around the scene.

"I got you" Stiles murmurs and I take a deep breath, trying to shake off the shock.

I sense another presence next to me and I pull away from Stiles to see my brother who puts a hand on my shoulder, looking relieved to see I'm okay. Isaac jogs over, standing next to him and I turn back to the body, my stomach dropping at the sight.

"It's him, isn't it?" Stiles asks, referring to the guy who went missing from the clinic last night.

Scott nods softly and I gulp, an uneasy feeling spreading throughout my body.

The Sheriff soon shows up and pushes through the crowd, yelling for people to get back.

"Hey, get out of the way! Get back!" He demands "Get this area cordoned off before they trample every piece of evidence"

"Back up! Everyone back up!" Deputy Tara hollers.

"Get these kids out of here!" Sheriff orders.

"Dad, just come here" Stiles snaps, grabbing his father's shoulder "Look, look. Look at it. It's the same as the others, you see?"

"Yeah, I see that" Sheriff sighs "Do me a favour. Go back to school, yeah?"

Stiles looks at Scott and I in frustration and Sheriff Stilinski turns to Coach Finstock.

"Coach, can you give us a hand here?" The Sheriff asks.

"You heard the man! Nothing to see here!" Coach barks "Probably just some homeless kid"

"Coach" Scott speaks up.

"Yeah" Coach turns to us.

"He was a senior" My brother tells the man and he sighs loudly.

"He wasn't on the team, was he?" Coach asks and shake my head.

"Kyle! Oh, my God, Kyle!" A blonde girl screams in horror, trying to run to the body, but Tara grabs her and holds her back "Oh, God!"

"Go on. Go" Sheriff says to us.

I walk away with Scott by my side, Stiles and Isaac following just behind.

"You see the way the twins looked at him?" Isaac asks and I frown, glancing at the twins who are staring at the body in surprise.

"Yeah, you mean like they had no idea what happened?" Stiles retorts sarcastically.

"No, no, they knew" Isaac argues.

"The kid was strangled with a garrotte, all right? Am I the only one recognising the lack of werewolfitude in these murders?" Stiles explains and my frown deepens.

"You think it's just a coincidence they turn up, and then people start dying?" Isaac asks.

"Well, no, but I still don't think it's them" Stiles answers.

"Scott? Natalia?" Isaac says, looking at us "How about you?"

"I don't know yet" Scott answers.

"You don't know yet?" Stiles asks in disbelief.

"Well, he's got a point. Seriously, dude, human sacrifices?" Scott questions his best friend.

"Scott, your eyes turn into yellow glow sticks, okay? Hair literally grows from your cheeks, and then will immediately disappear, and if I were to stab you right now, it would just magically heal, but you're telling me you're having trouble grasping human sacrifices" Stiles rants.

"Dork's got a better point" I declare, Isaac glaring at me.

"I don't care, all right? They killed that kid. They killed the girl that saved me. And I'm gonna kill them too" Isaac retorts before storming away.

"Were you two nerds not gonna tell me the twins were werewolves?" I huff in annoyance.

"I thought you knew. Weren't you talking to Aiden earlier?" Stiles replies.

"Yeah, but he wasn't telling me 'By the way, I'm a werewolf', idiot" I argue.

"We think they're part of the Alpha pack, so be careful" My brother warns me.

"Great" I groan in disbelief.