"Do you have to look at pictures of a dead body while we eat?"

Kira glared at Stiles from across the table as we sat in the courtyard during lunch, the older boy holding up crime scene photos of a girl who had been murdered this weekend, another name on the Dead Pool. She had been stabbed numerous times and had her hand cut off, the injury having similar patterns to Demarco's head which meant our assassin had struck again.

"I'm sorry, is me trying to solve a literal murder bothering you?" Stiles bit back as he held one of the images up to the sun above us, people who passed behind him cringing at the disturbing picture.

I slapped Stiles' shoulder and made him put the photos down, much to Kira's delight.

"I don't see the problem." Malia shrugged and stuffed another meatball off her plate into her mouth, unbothered by the pictures of a young woman's body scattered across the surface of our table.

The weekend after the full moon was utterly chaotic.

We spent most of the time trying to piece together everything that was going on into one coherent story so he could explain everything to the sheriff. We had to connect with how the Hale vault robbery fit into the Dead Pool, how potential assassins were going to be able to access the code, and how many more possible names would fit into the next two codes.

Eventually, we figured out the connections with the Benefactor orchestrating the robbery and manipulating Kate, and that they were now orchestrating the transference of funds for every supernatural assassination in town. Another person from the list was found, and it was just in time for Scott, Stiles, and I to take our information to the sheriff to cross them with his own findings.

The sheriff allowed Stiles to "look" at the case file for the girl who had been murdered which of course meant he photocopied it and decided to have his own set of the information. I didn't make fun of him for it though because it was a solid idea, and after days of not getting any actual sleep, I couldn't be bothered to argue.

"Can knife hilts do that?" Stiles shoved one of the pictures in my face making me sit up since I was leaning heavily against the table. I sighed and took the image in my hands to examine it, an eager Stiles watching me.

"Nothing that I've seen. Hilts aren't sharp enough to leave that kind of impression, even if they had werewolf strength." I point to the hexagonal shape around the stab wounds on the paper before handing it back to a disappointed Stiles.

He studied the picture for a second and then turned it back to me. "Is there any kind of creature that has a mouth shaped like this? Maybe it's like some kind of were-mosquito?"

I openly gaped at him, too drained to do anything else or come up with some comment about how he was a dumbass.

"Stiles," Kira reached out to force his hand down. "I think Jac needs a break."

Realization dawned on him and Stiles apologetically put the pictures back into their file folder. "I'll just look at those when I'm in class. Coach won't mind."

"I should go, I have to help Lydia paint so she can hear dead people." Malia swallowed the food she had stuffed into her mouth effortlessly before getting up, Stiles pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Stiles started to pack up as well as Kira, both of them having to go to their next period with Coach who wouldn't allow any members of the lacrosse team to be absent the day of a scrimmage or game.

"We'll see you tonight, right?" Stiles asked in reference to tonight's match as he got up, Kira rounding the table to stand beside him.

"Yeah, go Cyclones!" I cheered without enthusiasm which made them smile as they walked away from me.

I blinked a few times to help my dry eyes refocus as I stood up, shaking my head to regain some composure. I didn't even remember what class I had right now and could feel my vision blurring, so I figured it couldn't hurt to skip just this one class and sneak off for a nap.

I mean, it's the responsible thing to do, right?

Without any set place in mind, I found myself heading further into the courtyard. It was a nice day with a decent breeze and there weren't too many people outside, so I settled for a shady spot under one of the trees farther away from the clumps of teens around.

I tossed my bag on the ground and settled into the grass, laying back with my backpack now a makeshift pillow. It wasn't the most comfortable, but after my body sunk into the earth, it felt like Heaven. I could feel myself drifting off as the music of the leaves above me lulled me to sleep. Footsteps approached me though, and I became more alert the closer they got.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

I sighed as Liam's voice came from above me, keeping my eyes closed.

"I could say the same thing to you so back off."

Liam chuckled and I felt movement from beside my head, realizing that Liam had come to sit next to me. I opened my eyes now, looking up at him through my lashes as he appeared upside down from my position. He was leaning against the trunk of the tree, staring down at me as he made himself comfortable.

"Liam, why don't you come have a seat?" I mocked which only made him laugh more. He didn't seem embarrassed and clearly understood I was just joking. 

"What are you doing out here?"

"Spent all weekend with the guys trying to piece together the whole Dead Pool thing, barely slept. Figured I could skip class and take a nap." I explained to him.

Scott had let everyone know that over the weekend he told Liam about the Dead Pool in an attempt to have full transparency with his Beta and make sure he was prepared. He had even been trying to catch Liam up on pack history, but that had proven to be much more complex than he had realized, and Liam still hadn't heard everything Scott had faced in his time as a werewolf.

I thought it was nice of him to give Liam that insight, but I had asked him to not tell Liam of my past when it came to the lives I took. That wasn't something I wanted him to know because I could imagine his reaction of disgust and see the betrayal in his eyes when he realized I had killed people like him. Scott didn't press the issue and promised it was up to me on whether or not Liam would ever find out.

I knew he would eventually, but I acted selfishly and savored the feeling of having someone look at me like I wasn't completely broken. 

"What about you? Shouldn't you be somewhere showing off?" I asked sarcastically which made him smile but it died down after a few seconds.   

"Everything okay?" I frown at his shift in moods. 

"Just a bad morning." He responded softly.

I wanted to ask him what was wrong but I didn't know if he would want to tell me, and I didn't want to make it awkward and have him leave because his presence was calming. Though, to be fair, anyone was more calming than Stiles and his pictures of dead bodies.

"Run out of hair gel?" I remark jokingly, pointing to his hair that was usually styled with far more product than necessary.  

His frown disappeared to be replaced with a wide, embarrassed grin. He reaches over to me and lightly shoves my shoulder, only making me laugh at his expense. 

"Shut up." He chuckled with me, shaking his head at my reaction.

Silence falls between us, and Liam adjusts himself against the trunk to a more comfortable position. He pulls out a worn paperback book from his bag and I watch him with an openly confused expression. 

"You can sleep, I'll wake you up later." Liam said nonchalantly.

"No, it's fine, I shouldn't sleep at school anyway." I tried to brush him off and sat up, not wanting to burden him with being some sort of babysitter for me. It was one thing to nap by myself but to force him to sit here and watch me was weird.

He rolled his eyes gently. "You watched me on the full moon, I'm returning the favor."

Liam scooted closer to me and placed a soft grip on my shoulders to pull me to lay back down. I blew out a puff of air to get the loose strands of hair that fell from my braid out of my face which failed miserably, so Liam reached down and brushed the strands away, his fingers lightly tracing the outline of my face.

I blinked a few times, unsure of how to respond to the sudden contact especially with Liam staring down at me with a faint smile on his lips. 

"Go to sleep." Liam instructed gently and I didn't argue, finding myself drifting off once again, the feeling of his delicate fingers permanently etched into my mind.

---

Most times I went to sleep I would always be greeted by memories or nightmares of Kate or Gerard. I forced them out of my mind so much while I was awake that I had no choice but to see them in my more vulnerable hours. 

This time though, the only thing I could picture was a pair of blue eyes, and when I woke up they were staring back at me in real life too. 

"You slept for barely an hour."

I groaned as I sat up, my back cracking at the change in posture, and Liam put his book down to watch me.

"Believe it or not, that's better than usual," I grunted as I tilted my head side to side to let my neck adjust.

Liam gave me a concerned look and I realized that what I said could be taken as problematic.

"I'm kidding." I lied, not wanting to burden him with my sleep troubles. Also, I was sure me telling him his presence made it easier for me to sleep would creep him out. 

I stretched and shifted to press my back against the tree trunk next to Liam, my arm pressing against his. I was about to move away to give him more space but when Liam rested against me I found myself not wanting to pull away for once. 

"You should probably go to the field, I bet Coach wants you guys to run drills." I offered an out to Liam, wanting to give him the chance to leave my side if he wanted to but was too polite to excuse himself.

"Tryna get rid of me, Knight?"

I gave him a shocked look that was mixed with amusement at his response. He grinned at me and I shook my head at the cocky glint in his eyes.

"Don't even start with me, Dunbar."

We laughed in unison and as it died down I found myself watching Liam closely, admiring his smile. His eyes were bright and the creases in his cheeks brought color to his smooth skin making it difficult to turn away from him.

Our eyes locked, and our faces suddenly weren't as far apart as I thought they were. I could feel my eyes flutter as I averted my gaze for a moment, but found myself looking back at him again because of how intently he was watching me.

His attention made my heart thump awkwardly in my chest. Usually, I had better control over my bodily reactions but I couldn't help it. I hoped that Scott had yet to teach him to listen to someone's heartbeat yet, sparing myself some embarrassment. 

I was saved from a possible breakdown over a glance when someone yelled for Liam from across the courtyard. I made a point to move away from Liam as I turned to see who the voice had come from.

Liam was still watching me, ignoring the fact that Mason was practically sprinting toward us. He only looked away when Mason reached us, bending over as he panted heavily from the physical exertion. 

"Dude, what's wrong?" Liam stared up at Mason and I found myself peering around him to make sure no one was chasing after him.

Mason just pointed wildly at the parking lot in response, and we followed the direction of his finger to see a large bus pulling up, the other school for tonight's scrimmage showing up.

Devenford Prep.

Liam tensed as he realized our campus was about to be flooded with his old peers. He shoved the book he had been reading back into his bag and stood up, marching towards the direction of the bus without saying anything to either of us.

"Ah, crap." Mason sighed with exhaustion dripping from his tongue. I nodded in agreement and picked up my bag, the both of us chasing after Liam's fading figure.

We pushed through the crowd that had gathered to welcome the other team to campus, and also pay witness to whatever interaction happened between Liam and the Devenford Prep students because the tension was obvious.

Liam stood in front of the bus, glaring at a taller guy with light brown hair. It was fairly obvious he didn't look happy to see Liam. 

"Brett, I just wanted to say," Liam spoke stiffly, his voice straining with rage in his eyes, but with a deep breath he held his arm out to the guy in front of him, flexing his hand out after having held it in a fist for so long. "Have a good game."

Rather than be civil and take Liam's hand, Brett started laughing. The rest of his team joined him in laughing. Mason and I share a disgusted look at their reaction and move closer to Liam. 

"That's cute Liam, is that what they told you to say in Anger Management? Apologize and everything is fine?" Brett snarked, berating Liam who was now shrinking under his insults.

He started getting in Liam's face which was making him breathe quicker, anger setting in at Brett's attempts at intimidation.

"You demolished Coach's car." Liam's eyes shot up to his. "I paid for it." He said through his teeth, jaw clenching too fiercely for his voice to sound normal.

"Yeah you're gonna pay for it, we're gonna break you in half out there." Brett's words make me alert now, his threat being said too confidently.

I moved in between them, facing Liam and completely ignoring the group of cocky lacrosse players behind me. I placed my hand on the crook of Liam's elbow to keep his attention on me. His skin was warmer than it should've been, an indicator that his rage was bubbling over and he was risking a shift. 

"Liam, let's go, this guy's not worth it." I keep my voice low and try to tug Liam but he doesn't budge. 

I had half a mind to use my strength and toss him over my shoulder, but I was trying to be discreet, and this confrontation Liam decided to start had already gathered quite a crowd. 

"And you are?" Brett narrowed his eyes at me, having overheard my comment about him.

I rolled my eyes and cast a quick glance over my shoulder. 

"You don't wanna find out." I reply quietly, my jaw clenching as I try to bury my own frustration. If Liam weren't on the verge of losing control I would've decked Brett the moment he threatened him. 

Brett smirks in return, but it falters as Scott and Stiles push through the crowd and come to our side. 

"Hey, what's going on prep students?" Stiles greets them nonchalantly, taking the attention for himself and earning a scowl from the whole team.

Scott pulled Liam back and nodded at Mason who was worried for his friend but looked much more relieved now that Scott and Stiles were to help. 

"Welcome to our humble public high school, how ya doing?" Stiles held his hand out to Brett, and once again Brett didn't reciprocate the offered gesture. 

Stiles tilted his head to the side at the lack of conversation. "That's a firm handshake you got there." He commented sarcastically, taking his hand back to rest it on his hip.

"We all just wanna have fun with the scrimmage tonight, no rough stuff." Stiles winked, tapping Brett's chest with his pointer finger lightly which just made Brett glare at said finger.

Stiles realized he wasn't getting any open responses so just whipped around, waving at the three of us to start walking away. "Go, go."

People parted to let us through, Mason staying behind to watch us walk away. I felt sorry for him, and hoped his friendship with Liam was as strong as the bond between Scott and Stiles. It would be a long road to rebuilding that friendship if it wasn't.

Liam was starting to growl loudly now, and he was trying to contain it but it was obvious he needed a release of some kind. I followed Scott's lead as he dragged Liam through the school and eventually to the boy's locker room. 

Liam started to shift more rapidly now, his fangs and claws reaching to slash anything they could. His golden eyes looked menacing with the snarl on his face. Scott and Stiles grabbed him by his shoulders and ran backward with him until his back hit the wall of the showers.

Stiles searched behind Liam, scrambling to twist the knob of the shower on and allow water to pour over the three of them. The water should help to cool Liam down, distract him from his shift, and drown out the sound of his snarling. 

"Liam, calm down!" Scott yelled at him, continuing to pin him to the tiled wall of the shower as the Beta thrashed in his arms.

I locked the door to the room, ensuring that no one would find our precarious situation.

Liam tried to snap at Scott and Stiles which forced them to shove him harder, only aggravating him. I walked into the showers, waiting to see if I had to join in and help, or if they could pull Liam back.

My steps made the puddle of water in the shower splash, and Liam's eyes snapped to me from the noise. His golden iris tracked every move I made. 

His hardened scowl deepened as he continued to fight free from the boy's grasp. His jaw jutted out, his fangs taking up too much residency in his mouth. 

I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how. If this had been Isaac or Scott freaking out, I'd have hit them over the head with a heavy blunt object and called them being knocked out a success. That definitely wasn't something I wanted to do to Liam. 

I held one of my hands up, my palm facing him with my fingers extended equal size apart. It was as if I was reaching out to touch him and soothe him, but not actually doing so.

Liam's eyes went from my palm to my face, and the rage in his features softened to recognition. Soon, his movements against the boys stilled and his breathing evened out. I dropped my hand back to my side as his eyes eyes faded back to blue, and his fangs shrunk down.

"Okay, okay." Liam said to the guys as they kept their grip on him, letting them know he was able to control himself for the moment. 

They gave it a second before finally letting go and shutting off the shower. Liam slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest as he stared at the puddle beneath him. 

"That car you smashed, I thought you said it was your teachers?" Scott questioned Liam now that he was talking and not trying to bite their heads off, wanting to revisit the argument between him and Brett.

"He - he was also my Coach, he benched me for the entire season." Liam said shamefully, his shoulders shrinking in defeat as he realized Scott wasn't going to let the topic go.

"What did you do?"

"I got a couple red cards." Liam responded but it obviously wasn't the whole truth by how he said it.

"Just a couple?" Stiles mocked. Scott ignored his words and kneeled in front of Liam, trying to console his Beta. "You have to be honest with us, Liam. What else happened?" 

"Nothing." Liam said almost instinctively, his eyes going everywhere but any of us. He sighed before continuing, knowing we wouldn't take that as an answer. 

"I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychologist for an evaluation." 

"What did they call it?" Scott asked for whatever diagnosis Liam got in return, because there had to be something if he mentioned the psychologist.

"Intermittent Explosive Disorder."

Stiles' face dropped into a sarcastic smile and he looked between Scott and I. 

"I.E.D? You're literally an I.E.D? That's great, that's great! You gave superpowers to a walking time bomb." Stiles falsely complimented Scott with a wink and a thumbs up.

Liam winced at Stiles' words, his reaction upsetting me. I glared at Stiles but he didn't seem phased by it, too busy shaking his head at Scott to notice. 

"Did they give you anything for it?"

"Risperdal," Liam fiddled with his hands. "It's an antipsychotic." 

His words were full of pain as he said them. This isn't something he wanted to share with us now, maybe even ever. I could understand where he was coming from, and I felt guilty having to listen to him do this.

"Oh, this just gets better." Stiles quips.

"I don't take it." Liam adds in, that pesky line forming between his eyebrows bringing so much sorrow to his smooth face.

Stiles holds his arms out gesturing to the current situation we were in. "Obviously."

"Stilinski, you have ADHD and freak out all the time, shut it." I snap at Stiles, not holding back the fire in my eyes as I scowl at him. 

He seemed surprised at first, not even understanding how he was coming off. He takes the hint though and finally stops with the comments. 

"I- I cant play lacrosse on it, okay? It makes me too tired to do anything. I need lacrosse." Liam defended himself desperately. 

"You should sit out of this game tonight, tell Coach your leg is still hurting." Scott suggested but that made Liam shoot up from the floor.

"No, no, I can do this." He bargained, trying to stand straight in order to portray his physical being was in better shape than his mind.

Stiles sighed and rubbed his hands over his face and this time I agreed with his reaction. It was Scott all over again, trying to play lacrosse to impress Allison, ego more important than being safe. 

Even Boyd joined the lacrosse team when he was still freshly bitten, and Isaac never saw a problem with going on the field when he lacked control. Teen werewolves are just plain stupid their first year in.

"Liam, it's not just about the game, we think whoever killed Demarco is on the team." Scott said, much to my surprise. 

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" I looked between him and Stiles, not hiding my irritation.

"We just came up with the theory last period, the wounds are shaped like a lacrosse stick base. The killer could have a makeshift weapon of some kind hidden in the hilt." Stiles explained, his shoulders sagging. 

I knew it was eating him up inside to have a bunch of murders piling up that his dad couldn't solve on his own.

"Wait, who's Demarco?" Liam butted in.

"The guy that got beheaded at Lydia's lake house party, he brought a keg. We think whoever ordered it was the person that killed him, because it guaranteed Demarco was there that night." Stiles explained, his tone much softer now when speaking to Liam.

Liam's face fell as he started to process something, as if fitting the last piece of a puzzle together.

"What, do you know something?" Scott asked, seeing the same look on his face that I did.

"I don't know who ordered the keg," Liam paused, shaking his head slightly which caused drops of water to fall from his hair. "But Mason told me all about the party when we hung out today, he saw who paid for it when he was in the kitchen."

"Who was it?" I asked and Liam turned to me. I felt myself swallow a lump in my throat because of how intently his eyes bore into mine.

"Garrett."

Scott, Stiles, and I shared a look as the possibility of having an assassin this close.

"I mean that can't be possible though, right? He can't be an assassin. He's - he's my age." Liam spoke up with doubt in his voice, and an edge of fear, at the thought of his friend being a paid killer.

The thing was, if Garrett was an assassin he probably wasn't Liam's friend at all. He was most likely using him for cover. I wondered if Violet was meant to be cover as his girlfriend as well, or if they were some twisted duo.

Stiles tilted his head to the side as he contemplated what the Beta said. "Not necessarily. Jac was twelve when she had her first target. It's not unheard of."

I felt my body run cold as if I had just been doused in the freezing water too after it hit me what Stiles had just revealed. If possible, the entire world seemed like it fell silent in that moment.

My eyes never left Liam's as he processed what Stiles had said. Stiles, unaware of what he had done at first, figured it out when he saw the harsh glare Scott was shooting at him.

"Wait... you've killed people?" Liam asked in shock.

The feeling in my stomach was agonizing. Before I could try and decipher the emotion that crossed Liam's face, I turned around and marched out of the locker room. I didn't say anything, my silence enough of an answer. 

"Jac!" Stiles called out but I didn't stop, and his voice only made me move faster.

I bolted down the hallway and entered the nearest empty classroom, shutting the door behind me. The squeak of Stiles' damp sneakers passed as he went off in some random direction to find me. 

I groaned and dropped my forehead against the surface of the door, hitting it a little rougher than necessary as reality kicked in. 

I knew this would happen eventually, but that still didn't stop me from having some hope for once. Deep down I knew I didn't deserve that. I didn't deserve hope. This was the price I had to pay for all the lives I took. If they couldn't live, neither could I.

I tried to picture that moment under the tree again and savor that final moment before Liam realized who I really was. What I really was. 

~

||| A/N |||

LMK what you thought of this part and how you're liking to story so far! I'm up to 200 reads on my story overall which makes me so freaking excited lol, thank you to everyone who read and continued to vote, it means so much you have no idea.

Much love, RealmAlpha <3