TW: Blood and violence (figured I'd add this just in case for my squeamish friends :) )

The throbbing in my head stung, and I couldn't help but wince as I tried to force my eyes open. I was strung up by my chains around both of my wrists, the metal links shaking as my body became alert. 

The light from a battery-powered lamp on the floor was enough to cause me discomfort even if it wasn't the brightest, purely because of the injury on my temple. It was too dark to see anything beyond my direct personal bubble and I hadn't noticed Kate was in the room until her voice spoke up from the shadows.

"Have a good nap?" Kate crept from the black and approached me, her neck craned to look up at my hanging form. I didn't say anything in return just yet, settling for glaring down at her.

"Your hair got longer." The end of the braid my hair was typically tied in, rested on the front of my shoulder and she reached up to grab it, feigning nostalgia in her voice as she continued talking.

"I wanted to find you before but there were clearly a few complications in the way."

Kate dropped my hair and reached up to touch my face. I leaned as far from her as I could, but my lack of mobility allowed her to caress my cheek. Her touch made me sick and the urge to vomit on her popped into my mind, but my empty stomach wouldn't allow it.

"It's sweet how you stand by Scott even after what he did to Allison."

Her grip tightens on my cheek and the soft foreign touch now becomes familiar, rough and needlessly aggressive. Her nails dig into my skin and I feel relieved at the fact that they weren't her claws.

I jerk back more violently now to pull my face from her hands. "Don't even try and put that on him, you have no idea what you're talking about."

Kate takes a step back and gives a short chuckle under her breath as she circles my hanging frame.

I could tell that defending Scott to her struck a nerve but I wouldn't let her blame him for Allison's death, especially when Allison would have never been thrust into the life of hunting without preparation if it weren't for Kate. If anyone was to blame, it was her.

"I'm glad you're so loyal to your Alpha," Kate said the last word with so much spite I winced. "After everything I did for you, after everything I trained you for... You betrayed me."

"Betrayed you?" I echoed with an appalled expression. 

"No one forced you to murder the Hales. You killed humans in that fire too, Kate. Some of them were kids. You're delusional if you think that anyone would want to follow you after that."

Kate doesn't respond and I try to study her in the silence. 

"What do you want from me?" 

"Who is the Benefactor?" She asks and I can't help but laugh as I realize she did all of this for information I didn't have.

Kate's face fell as she glowered at the walls around us, turning her back to me to hide her reaction. Her fists were flexing over and over at her sides, her actions exposing her lack of stability.

"It must kill you to have no idea who it is. You're being hunted now Kate, how does it feel?" I smile at the back of her head, taking pleasure in her lack of power in the situation.

Of course, my cocky demeanor wasn't appreciated and Kate whipped around to reveal her new form with a high-pitched growl. Her body was purple now, a darker shade spotting certain areas that made her raised bridge of her face even more menacing. Her eyes glowed a bright neon green and I came to the conclusion that purple and green were one of the worst color combinations in the world.

"You don't wanna tell me anything, that's fine." Kate snarled from behind her fangs and disappeared into the shadows. I stared at where she had gone, seeing her appear a second later, dragging something - someone behind her.

Violet was strapped to a chair, her hands bound behind her back and legs tied to the bottom of the chair to prevent her from running. She had a gag in her mouth that muffled her yelling, and prevented me from knowing she was in the room with us before now.

"She's a quiet one too but I'm sure once I get my hands on her boyfriend she'll talk." Kate tapped Violet's cheek roughly, her finger slipping into the fabric gag around her head to pull it off.

"Screw you." Violet spat now that she could talk normally, but Kate was unaffected. She simply smirked at Violet's reaction and sauntered away into the shadows.

She opened a door, and the bright lights outside of it allowed me to see her properly. Her face had faded back to normal, and she looked back at me for a moment before shutting the door behind her. Her footsteps faded as she left to presumably give her Berserkers further instructions.

Violet was yanking at her arms and legs now, trying to break the thick ropes that tied her to the chair but it didn't budge.

"Violet," I called out to her and she only settled on me when she wasn't able to break free. 

"Where's Liam? Garrett took him, I know you know where he'd be."

Garrett taking Liam wasn't some spur-of-the-moment decision, I was sure of that. Violet and Garrett had been so well hidden and that took skill. I'd be foolish to think they didn't have the foresight to plan ahead if something were to go wrong, especially in a town that wasn't their usual territory.

Violet just scoffed and continued to yank against her binds. 

"Oh please, like I'd tell you."

I narrowed my eyes at her. 

"Were you just born annoying or something?"

Violet stares off to the side, focusing on nothing in particular as her mind wanders since it was pointless for her to try and escape anymore. Neither of us says anything for a while so I start to take note of the chains I hung from, seeing if I would be able to get out of them. If I could get some slack on the line, I would be able to free myself. 

Ironically, Kate is the one who taught me how to.

"You know, we aren't so different."

Violet's words pull me from my concentration and I give her a disbelieving look that she doesn't miss.

"Don't act so high and mighty. You have just as much blood on your hands as me." Violet responds and I tense up at the prospect of Violet knowing about my past.

"I stopped killing," I frowned, disgust filling me at the accusation that I was anything like her.

Violet chuckled, her jaw jutting out as she was in a moment of thought. 

"You're lucky that's why."

"Lucky?" I echo her words in disbelief. 

"Yeah," Violet responded simply. "I lost my family too when I was a kid, and I didn't get taken in by rich hunters. I was thrown into a group home surrounded by kids just as messed up as us, in a town that wanted to swallow us whole." 

I shook my head as she spoke, hardly paying attention to her as her unwarranted pity party. 

"Let me guess, Garrett was one of them and together you guys became a knock-off Bonnie and Clyde? Romantic." 

Violet didn't appreciate my bemused reaction and continued. "You think it's every little girl's dream to become a killer? I did what I had to do, and so did he. This isn't a life someone chooses, you should know that."

"There's always another choice." I automatically answer, trying to tell her what I've told myself all these years, what I told Stiles last night.

"How old were you for your first? I bet you weren't old enough to know you had another choice. I was fourteen the first time I had to take a life." Violet began her story, her eyes looking at me but far away as she spoke. 

"He was a drug dealer who always sold to my foster mom. One day she didn't have enough money so he tried to take me as payment... and she was going to let him."

I stopped my movements and found myself actually listening to her. She could've been lying, but something deep inside me knew she wasn't. I didn't know why she was telling me this, but I gave her my attention anyway.

"He didn't realize I was smart enough to carry a knife on me though." Violet smiled bitterly.

"Garrett saw what happened and helped me dump the body, told me he knew why I did it and he wouldn't tell anyone. When people started asking around about the guy, he lied for me. Protected me." She closed her eyes and I could hear the faint cracks in her voice as she choked up.

"Our foster mom ended up telling the guy's boss to save herself after they assumed she killed him. His boss took us and tried to make us confess, rat the other out just to scare us, but we didn't."

I could picture a young Violet in my mind, scared beyond belief as someone who was supposed to keep her safe betrayed her. It was something that hit a little too close to home.

Violet breathed out a soft laugh. "Turns out the guy was impressed and offered us a job. First it was just some small deals, then when we got older it became something more."

She looked at me now, angry tears in her large eyes. "I didn't get a hero like Scott McCall. I didn't get to save lives. I didn't get another choice." Her voice was harsh and accusatory and I could understand why.

As messy as my life had been, it all changed the day I came to Beacon Hills. That day changed the course of my life and I became better because of it.

Violet didn't get that.

It didn't excuse what she and Garrett did, but if fourteen-year-old Violet was seated in front of me now after she had to defend herself, I wouldn't think of her as a killer but as a child who should've been protected.

She was just another innocent life taken too soon.

It was hard to admit that maybe I would have thought of myself the same. Stiles claimed I was a victim and I resented the thought, but now the lines were blurring and I wanted more than anything to go back in time and save the younger versions of Violet and I. 

How many lives could have been spared if we had just ended up with people who actually cared for us...

"I was twelve," I mutter softly. "I had to kill him to complete my training and show loyalty to the Argents."

My heart raced at the admission, especially since it was to her, but an odd sensation of relief also filled me at her reaction. She didn't look at me with sympathy or judgment, but empathy. 

She knew what it meant to be a killer and I wanted to resent sharing something with her, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring me some kind of comfort to have someone that truly understood.

"Liam didn't get a choice in this life either," I tell Violet who scoffs and averts her eyes.

"Violet, please. Just tell me where he is." I openly begged her and she remained silent. Realization dawned on me and an idea struck me. It was a stupid idea but it was all I had at the moment.

"We'll let you and Garrett go."

Violet finally looked at me again. "What?"

That hopeful spark in her eyes that she tried to hide was all I needed.

"I'll make Scott let you guys go. He won't like it, but for Liam's life, I know he'll at least give you guys a head start." I offer sincerely, not at all trying to pull some two-faced scheme, and Violet could see that.

She didn't say anything for a while, contemplating her options. 

"She won't let us out of here." Violet tilts her head in the direction that Kate had gone.

"We can get out if we work together. Once I have him, we'll call Garrett and you two can leave." I promised, knowing that Kate was a pivotal obstacle for us to face, but as long as we put our differences aside we could handle her.

"How can I trust that you won't betray me?" Violet studies me to see any cracks in my offer.

"I have to trust you." I laughed, knowing that this would only work if we had a mutual understanding.

Despite herself, Violet chuckled under her breath too. She turned her gaze to above my head, nodding at the chain I hung from. "You can get out of those?"

"Watch and learn, Violet." I smirk and start to swing my body back and forth to gain momentum. Once I had enough, I swung my body up and caught the chain I was dangling from with my thighs, wrapping myself around it as tightly as I could.

"Show off." Violet mumbled with genuine amusement.

Blood rushed to my head and I got overwhelmingly dizzy. My head injury didnt help either, but I forced myself to swallow the tension because it got me one step closer to finding Liam.

After a few minutes of being in that position, sweat was starting to sting my vision and my breath was shortening. I was on the last loop when Violet got my attention. 

"I hear something." She hissed under her breath.

I tried to drop down as gently as possible, but the chains still yanked at my joints. It was necessary though because the door to the room swung open, revealing Kate once again. 

She strutted into the room, making a direct line for Violet. The smugness on her face should've given it away that Kate was about to do what she does best, ruin everything.

Kate tossed a lacrosse stick on the ground that had blood smeared on it, the net side had been broken off and the bottom of the hilt revealed a hidden blade. It was Garrett's.

"Turns out your boyfriend isn't as tough as you." 

Violet's eyes widened as she put it together and she looked between the stick and Kate, who just stood there menacingly.

"Garrett." Violet whimpered to herself.

"Violet, don't believe her. She's lying." I tried to get Violet to focus on me, my voice frantic as my chances of finding Liam became slim. 

Kate turned to me, a smirk on her face. "If only."

At that moment, I could see Violet's entire being shatter into a million pieces. A scream ripped her throat as she tried to lung at Kate but to no avail. The binds against her held her back, the force of her tugging against them caused her chair to scrape against the floor, still not enough to break free.

"You're a coward! Untie me Kate, make the fight even!" She roared with anguish thick in her screams.

Kate put her back to Violet and her breathing was sporadic, shoulders moving up and down unevenly as Kate tried to control herself with each insult Violet threw her way.

"Don't turn away from me!" 

"Violet, stop." I pleaded, shaking my head at her but it was useless.

"You deserve to rot just like the rest of your family!" Violet bellowed and Kate froze. Her breathing settled, not because she had calmed, but because her shift was complete.

"No!" I shouted, but it was too late.

Kate twisted in her shifted form and lunged at Violet. Her animalistic urge took over and her claws dug themselves deeply into each side of Violet's face, dragging down to leave their marks into her cheeks. 

Violet's wails made my stomach turn as Kate mauled her body, vicious swings landing against her thin form. Kate didn't even hesitate and Violet's anguish only seemed to encourage her.

I panicked to pull myself up on the chain, rushing to undo the final loop so I could free myself. I landed on the ground with a thud, bending at the knees to brace myself for the fall.

Kate still wasn't in full control of herself and after she heard me come down she spun around. I had to duck under her outstretched arms and continue to move back as she tried to claw at me. 

She had taken my weapons off of me and there was nothing I could use against her nearby so I settled for trying to at least get distance between us.

I charged past Kate and jumped up to grab the chain I had just freed myself from, gripping the links tightly as I swung forward, then twisted back around to plant both of my feet in the center of Kate's chest. She roared as she fell backward and skidded across the floor towards the wall by us.

Kate barely needed any time to recuperate and she desperately dove at me. I dodged her first swipe, but the second one connected with my side and slashed into my hip, making me lose my footing and fall onto my back.

Kate coming to stand ominously above me. I breathed heavily as I tried not to let the sensation of my wound distract me from the way Kate stared down at me, her hand curving as if about to strike again. 

I lifted my own hand up, holding it out to her as I silently pleaded for her not to do what she was compelled to.

"Kate!"

Scott's voice echoed through the building and Kate's head snapped to the side as he stole her focus from me. My head fell to the ground in relief as she stomped in his direction, throwing the door to the room we were in open to join her Berserkers that waited patiently for her outside.

The bright lights from outside the room reflected on something nearby, and I tilted my head to the side to look at it closer. I groaned as I sat up and crawled on my knees over to it, my fingers shakily picking up the chain that held my silver bullet. The same silver bullet I had left in La Iglesia.

She must've really been there that night in Mexico, lurking in the shadows, and for some reason she had yet again taken my bullet. After I kicked Kate, it must've loosened itself from one of her pockets and she was too enraged to notice its absence.

"Jac..." Violet gasped weakly, the life fading from her eyes as she bled out. I wrapped the chain around my fist, forcing my focus on the girl beside me, and shuffled her way.

I had one hand on my hip to hold my own injury, and the other went to wrap itself around her throat in a lame attempt to help her. Violet's tears slid down her bloodied face as she came to terms with the fact that there wasn't anything either of us could do to stop what was coming.

She was trying to say something, her lips moving but only choked croaks left her in the beginning.

"Well," She grunted and continued to try and talk, forcing her eyes open every time they slipped closed. "Well." She repeated.

"I - I don't understand." I shook my head, but Violet just continued to mumble that one word over and over again. Gunfire rang through the warehouse but I couldn't be bothered with it, my attention solely on the young assassin in front of me.

"Well." Her breath quickened erratically and she stared into my eyes as she finally slipped away. I bowed my head as my hand fell from her neck, her pulse no longer beneath my fingertips.

A few hours ago I wouldn't have blinked twice at the thought of Violet being dead, but now I couldn't help the regret that filled me. It felt wrong to think of me and her as one and the same, but we were. We were both children who didn't know any better, and didn't get any better. Our lives had been decided for us a long time ago without our consent and we had to live the lives others had chosen for us.

"I'm sorry." I whispered softly to Violet, reaching up to close her eyelids as she stared blankly at me, allowing her a final moment to rest.

I dropped down to sit with my back against her dead body as I clutched my side. I pulled my shirt up to look at the cuts that Kate had left, sighing in relief when they weren't deep enough to cause any real damage. It was excruciating, but at least I was better off than Violet.

The wall beside the door burst open as someone was thrown through the thin plaster, Scott sliding across the floor as he was flung by a Berserker. He groaned as he observed his surroundings, his eyes shooting open as they landed on Violet and I.

"Jac, no." He shot up from his position on the floor to slide over to me, placing his hands over mine to add more pressure. 

"I'm fine." I try not to make him worry too much.

"Did you find him?" I ask Scott, wanting more than anything for Liam to pop out of nowhere behind him and be perfectly fine.

Scott doesn't respond, his silence an answer enough and I shut my eyes for a second, fatigue setting in. I opened them again when the ache in my body started to drain, Scott wincing as his arms pulsed with black veins that took my pain away.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." I breathed out and leaned back from him to make him stop, which thankfully he did. I hated when Scott took my pain, it felt selfish.

"Scott!" Chris' voice shouted loudly from the main part of the warehouse. Scott seemed torn on whether or not to respond. I pushed at his chest, making the decision for him. 

"Go."

He hesitates at my words but gets up nonetheless, running back through the hole in the wall he was tossed through. A shaking growl echoed through the building from Kate, and soon the sound of gunfire and fighting faded as she retreated with her Berserkers.

After a minute Scott came back in through the hole in the wall, Chris behind him looking less than presentable after facing Kate and the Berserkers, his lips dotted with blood. Chris' step faltered as he took in the sight of a mauled Violet, and then me bleeding next to her.

"I heard him, he called out to me." Scott panted with a hurried expression as he came up to me, taking my focus away from Chris. Scott put his arms under my knees and around my waist to hoist me up into his arms.

"Dude." I groan as he carries me bridal style, but Scott gives a pointed look to tell me to not argue.

"Wait," I make Scott stop and glance at Violet's body. "You have to tell the sheriff to come for her now, I don't want her to be forgotten here."

Scott seemed taken aback but doesn't question it. He turns to Chris who pulls the phone from his pocket, silently offering to do as I asked. 

Scott continues carrying me out, taking me to Chris' SUV outside. He opens the back door without any help from me, using his strength to hold me with one arm. He places me in the seat, his hands hovering over my hip as he watches me with concern. 

"Jac, I'm sorry." He shakes his head as he stares down at my blood-soaked clothes. 

"Neither of us knew this would happen. Don't blame yourself." I urge him, knowing he'd try to take credit for my misfortune. He nods, but the sorrow on his face doesn't leave. 

Chris comes out of the warehouse, getting into the driver's seat without a word. Scott joins him in the passenger seat after closing my door. Chris pulled away from the warehouse and sped onto the main road, glancing over at Scott.

"Where am I headed?"

"Towards the preserve near the lookout entrance, I know that's the general area he's in." Scott responded as he rolled down the window, ready to stick his nose out like a dog as we drifted closer to where he heard Liam call from.

"The preserve is huge. How do you know where you're going if you can't catch a scent?" Chris asked with a serious tone, trying to prepare Scott for the worst-case scenario.

I hated to agree with him but he had a point, there was no telling what area of the preserve Garrett had dumped Liam at, and now we had no one to guide us there.

"I can call out to him and he can do it again?" Scott suggested lamely.

Chris took his eyes off the road to look at the wolf with judgment. "Scott, my best guess was him calling out to you after all this time was a hail mary."

Scott didn't seem pleased and remained quiet as Chris continued his rantings. "There are tons of caves, ditches, and old properties he could be hidden in."

My mind started to wander through the endless possibilities of where Liam could be and how terrified he must've been. He had been out there alone for hours and I could imagine how worried he was that his call to Scott might go unanswered.

I thought of Violet now, and how desperate she was to be with Garrett. She knew Kate lacked control, and she knew that pissing her off would end with her demise. In her last moments, she wanted nothing more than to be with the person she loved even if it meant death, yet her final words weren't his name.

Well, her voice echoes through my head.

Chris burst through the preserve gate, the thin metal fences slammed apart to let his SUV through. I leaned forward between the front seats, my hand gripping the back of Scott's chair while the other held onto my hip.

"Well," I announced to them, trying not to let the bumps in the dirt path keep me from speaking clearly. 

"Well, what?" Scott threw a confused look over his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes at his lack of understanding. 

"No, it's a well. He's in a well."

Scott studied the dashboard in front of him, his mind connecting dots I couldn't see as he processed my words. Chris slowed the SUV as the path became too narrow for us to go through, glancing between Scott and I.

"How do you know that?" He questioned, and I was about to explain but Scott spoke up before I could. 

"There's an old well off the edge of the old lookout trail. Stiles and I used to go to it when we were younger but they fenced the area off and put up signs to stay out when a kid fell in."

Scott immediately opened the door, running off into the treeline to hopefully bring back his Beta. Chris and I watched him retreat into the night, impatiently waiting for his return.

I leaned back in my seat and pulled up my shirt to take note of my wounds once again. The bleeding was minimal now, but it had begun to sting as Scotts dose of pain he took from me earlier faded. Chris examined the wounds from the front seat.

He reached into the middle console of the car and pulled out a rag, handing it over to me to place over the scratches. I gave him a thankful nod and placed it against my skin, feeling relief as I applied pressure there without the burn of the oils on my hands affecting it.

"Kate did that?" His voice was gruff as he spoke, trying to contain his emotions.

I peered up at him for a second before responding. 

"Got too close. She can't control herself."

"I wasn't talking about the scratches." He glared at the scars that covered my stomach, and I quickly tugged my shirt back down to cover my body. 

That was enough of an answer, and Chris clenched his jaw tightly as he looked away to stare off in the direction Scott had run off in but his mind was clearly elsewhere.

After a few minutes movement in the treeline grabbed Chris' attention and I followed his line of sight when I saw how alert he became. Out of the shadows came two figures, Scott and a tired Liam leaning heavily against him. Liam was completely soaked and had a rip in his black tank top, blood seeping through the opening to reveal where Garrett had cut him.

Scott had a frantic expression as they approached while Liam looked exhausted, his eyes on the ground closing with prolonged blinks. Liam wasn't spewing yellow foam from his mouth like Brett had, but I didn't know if that meant his condition was worse or better.

"We need to get him to Deaton." Scott says as he opens the back door.

I reached out to touch Liam's shoulder and he jerked back at the touch, not completely aware of his surroundings. His tired eyes were wide as he searched for my hand, his expression calming when he realized it was me.

"Jac?" He choked out. 

I tried not to think of how grateful his voice sounded when he said my name and instead offered my hands to him, waving them slightly to tell him to give me his hands. He did as I suggested and Scott kept a secure grasp on his back to make sure he didn't fall backward, his body clearly weak.

Liam collapsed into my side because I was pulling him and I flinched from the impact on my injury, but when Liam didn't lean away I decided the pain was worth it. He had molded into my side as if he was a part of me, placing an arm around my lap loosely. 

I instinctively wrapped my arm around his shoulders to hold him close because his body wasn't as warm as it should've been and I felt desperate to give him whatever body heat I had. There was a small voice in the back of my head that resented having someone touch me, but it became silenced when Liam breathed out a content sigh of relief against me. 

For him, I would bear it. 

When Scott got into the passenger side Chris quickly turned out of the preserve to head for the clinic. Thankfully, Deaton was on supernatural appointment standby tonight, and practically every night so far since the Dead Pool had been revealed. Liam's current state was troublesome but I did feel some relief knowing Deaton would know how to take care of him.

"You're hurt, I can smell the blood." Liam's voice was low but because of the confined space of the car, Chris and Scott heard him speak. 

Scott turned in his seat to look at me with concerned eyes while Chris glanced back from the rearview mirror.

"Don't worry about it, doesn't even hurt." It was a lie, and Scott could tell, but he turned back around anyway when I didn't acknowledge him.

"I remembered what you told me," Liam was breathing heavily as he spoke, the wolfsbane coursing through him to make even the smallest actions seem like he was running a marathon. I tried to shush him and have him relax but he forced his eyes open and stared up at me from his head on my shoulder. 

"You were there with me the whole time, Jac. I wasn't alone."

I was taken aback by his words and the fact that Liam recalled our conversation from the day after the full moon. I didn't know what to say or do without exposing a weakness in myself to him that was only for him.

The crease between his brows was prominent in the way that aged his face far too much. I felt an urge to reach out and smooth the line out, making his skin perfect and unbroken once more. I hesitantly lifted my hand, but with a deep breath I finally reached out and traced the tip of my middle finger against the line.

The touch was light and brief, but it made my heart race like crazy. 

Liam's face settled at my touch and he breathed out tenderly, closing his eyes again and resting calmly on my shoulder. 

My chest almost burst with pride when I realized that he felt safe with me. I knew this moment would replay in my head a dozen times after today as the moment I understood just how much Liam Dunbar had wormed his way into my being.

Every single cell in my body called out to never allow the world to touch him again. Each breath he took as he rested against me was some sort of ammunition of the promise I was making to myself to keep him safe. I couldn't deny it any longer or pretend it was some sort of moral obligation. 

This feeling was disastrous and euphoric all at once.

I could feel eyes on me and I looked forward, Chris' stare meeting mine in the mirror as he watched Liam and I. Scott was decent enough to keep his eyes forward, but the car wasn't exactly a private space.

Chris didn't say anything but beyond his cold stare, there was suffering. It was like he was being tortured but he was fine physically, so whatever battle he was facing was purely between him and his mind. I turned away, not able to handle that look in his eyes, and decided to just watch Liam for the rest of the ride.

When we arrived at the clinic, Scott was the first one out of the car, rounding the back to come and grab Liam. Liam didn't wake up as Scott placed him over his shoulder and it was probably for the best considering he was about to get his chest sliced open.

I got out of the SUV and walked behind Scott, Chris trailing behind us more slowly. Deaton was waiting for us just like he had been with Brett, scalpel in hand. I rounded the examination table and held my hands out to Scott to tell him to lower Liam. Before we fully laid him down I tugged off his tank top and threw it on another table nearby, knowing his chest needed to be exposed for Deaton.

"Hold him down, if he wakes up and moves it could be bad." Deaton instructed and Scott grabbed ahold of his shoulders while I placed my hand over one of Liam's.

Chris stood in the doorway of the entrance to the room, not coming close to us but he seemed ready to jump in if necessary.

Scott was obviously nervous as Deaton lowered the scalpel to Liam's chest, making the critical incision. Liam didn't jolt awake or struggle, too weak to fight back, but his hand flipped over so our palms were flat against each other and he gripped my fingers loosely.

I squeeze his hand as I watch his perfectly smooth skin tear apart behind Deaton's scalpel, making sure I saw every last bit of the poisonous yellow fog escape him.

Despite the pain of being cut open, Liam also breathed out a sigh of relief and his body sagged a little as the tension of the wolfsbane in his system finally dissipated. Scott used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the sweat from Liam's forehead, still looking distressed even though his Beta was fine.

"Scott?" I send him a questioning glance, his silence becoming worrisome.

"I don't want to keep watching people die." He muttered.

"I'm not sure you have much choice about that." Chris said with a hint of pity in his tone.  

Scott shook his head and looked up from Liam to the three of us, his face now determined. 

"Maybe I do."

Deaton sighed with unease. "That's a lot of burden to carry, Scott."

"I don't care. No one else dies." Scott said, sure of himself. He had that look in his eyes now, the one he always gets when he remembers why he was a True Alpha in the first place. 

"Everyone on that list, everyone on that Dead Pool, it doesn't matter if they are wendigos, or werewolves, or whatever. I'm gonna save everyone."

Chris and Deaton don't look too thrilled of Scott's words, knowing how troubling it will be for him to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even though Liam was unconscious, I sought comfort from him and held his hand tighter.

"We can't tell you what to do, all we can do is help." Deaton replies after some thought, knowing he couldn't pull Scott away from this even if he tried. Chris didn't look too pleased but nodded nonetheless, and Scott turned to me to see what I had to say.

"You know I'd follow you anywhere, McCall." I get a chuckle in return, Scott and I sharing an agreeable admiration for each other at that moment because it was true.

I'd follow Scott anywhere because he was the type of person you fight for. He was the type of person you die for.

I knew I would never be able to change who I was but I could change who I become. Violet was right when she said we didn't always get another choice, but we did get another chance.

~

||| A/N |||

What did yall think about what I did for Violet's backstory? I like morally grey characters, and Jac is sort of an anti-hero in a way, so I wanted to really dive into a connection with them and use that as a jumping point for Jacs character development.

The next parts coming up are gonna dive into Jacs origins with Deucalion and the Argents so that means plenty of dialogue! (oh no lol).

Vote, comment, or just enjoy yourself with reading, all of it is appreciated by me so much!

<3