"Scott!" I called out as I bolted out from the main house and down to the lake.

Kira said that after I had left Liam escaped and Scott was desperately trying to find his Beta in the woods around the property. The thought of Scott being alone and vulnerable now that there was a price on his head didn't sit right with me. I told Kira to stay and keep Lydia safe as well as let Stiles know what was going on while I went to search for Scott and Liam.

I went down to the boat house just to be sure no one was down there, finding the side window completely shattered. Once Lydia was able to compose herself she would no doubt verbally assault Scott for allowing that to happen.

The trail of glass led out to the woods and I followed the footprints in the dirt and broken branches that hung low, keeping one hand behind me to draw my gun if necessary. I mentally cursed Liam as the frigid night air nipped at my exposed arms and made me unintentionally tremble. Lydia may have hated my jacket but it sure did its job of protecting me from the elements.

There wasn't any movement I could hear besides the wind and the leaves crunching beneath my boots. Moon rays illuminated the thin forest and provided a decent amount of light. It was because of that light that I caught the edge of a shadow behind me. 

I moved quickly to turn around and aim my gun in the direction of whatever lurked there, expecting to see a shifted Liam but instead was greeted by the muzzle of a hefty Desert Eagle.

"You're getting slow." Chris held the gun at me, only lowering it when I dropped mine first.

I took note of the crossbow he had in his other hand and it dawned on me that Scott had updated Chris on what was happening. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, but I couldn't help but feel a little betrayed at the lack of warning from Scott on the possible return of another Argent. Kate was more than enough.

"You didn't happen to see a newly bitten werewolf running around, did you? About this high." I hold my hand up to Liam's height, half-joking but still desperate to find him and Scott.

Chris motioned for me to follow him and I did, still alert to my surroundings and now him.

At one point in my life, I trusted him more than anything but when he let Gerard manipulate Allison so freely, my respect for him dwindled. He had just lost his wife, sure, but I figured if anything that would have made his drive to protect his daughter more intense but he was almost scared of his father.

When things settled and Allison found herself again she brought the three of us together under a new code. I had started to trust Chris again and we all found a better way. He even bought an apartment with enough rooms for me to live with them, and even though we weren't the type to have Friday dinners, for a long time it felt like the closest thing I had to a home. 

Then she died and whatever semblance of a home I ever had with the Argents went with her. Once we took down the Nogitsune and could lick our wounds, he left. He and Isaac ran off to France and he never even offered for me to follow them. 

He abandoned me. 

I was angry with him for so long after it happened but then I realized he never offered because I wasn't his responsibility. I was his sister's pet project that he felt sorry for and had a need to redeem himself over, which he had.

I wasn't angry with him anymore, but I couldn't think of him the same, and now that he stood beside me that mutual comfort we once had was absent.

"Looks like it's gonna rain soon." He commented with a gesture at the cloudy night sky above as we walked and I gave him a bored side-eye.

"Yeah," I muttered, not bothering to add anything to his attempts at small talk.

Loud, painful shrieks rang through the trees and I reached behind me for my gun, not fully pulling it out but prepared to. Chris didn't seem phased by it and continued ahead for a few feet towards the yelling but then stopped, staring out in front of him.

I ventured up the hill and stopped behind the older man, my eyes falling on Scott and Liam in a clearing below. I could see a few of Chris' sonic emitters surrounding Liam, but Scott turned them off. He and Chris must've had a run-in not too long ago for Scott to have the remote to the emitters.

Liam's wails died down into soft whines, his hands dropping from his head to the dirt beneath him. Scott got closer to him, his steps slow and cautious.

"What's happening to me?" Liam asked in a broken voice, his eyes filled with tears as he stared up at Scott from his hunched position on the ground. I knew he must've been so confused and hurt, but I was glad to know he had not run off and unknowingly ripped someone to shreds.

"The same thing that happened to me." Scott bent at the knees to kneel at Liam's level.

Liam avoided Scott's stare and glared at his dirty hands. "They can't know about this, my mom and stepdad, I can't do this to them again."

"What do you mean, again?" Scott pressed, gentle but curious. 

"I got kicked out of school, and I deserved it. The way they looked at me when they saw what I did to that car-" Liam's words were cut off by a faint sob.

Chris and I were observing the interaction, and as much as I wanted to make sure Liam was okay, I couldn't help but feel wrong for listening to him talk to Scott about his past in such a vulnerable state. If it were me I wouldn't want anyone to see me like that. I averted my eyes to the ground beside me, figuring that was the least I could do.

"Liam, it's okay." Scott said with conviction like he always did. 

Scott wasn't the type of person who only saw good in people, he saw them for what they were and could see all their flaws, but he could see their possibilities too. Scott didn't take people in for who they were, he took them in for what they could be.

"They can't see me like this," Liam cried and I winced at the sound. "Like, like-"

"Like a monster?" Scott finished for him.

The use of such a vile word to describe Liam made me look back to the two werewolves. Scott began to rise above Liam, staring down at him with his shoulders straightened.

"You're not a monster. You're a werewolf," Scott told him with no hesitation, his words as strong as his will. Liam's head lifted to gaze up at Scott. "Like me." He said proudly as he flashed his bright red eyes.

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face watching Scott claim his place as Alpha to his Beta, all on his own. Liam rose from the ground after his words, going to his knees then standing across from Scott, his eyes flashing gold right back.

Chris had an appreciative look of his own as he watched, his face also showing pride as he watched the boy he once hunted become a man. Seeing him look at Scott in a way he would never look at made me tear my gaze from him and go back to the boys, finding them now heading over in our direction.

"Thanks for the help." Scott greeted Chris and gave me a quick once over, probably to see how I was handling the older man's presence.

Liam wiped his cheeks rapidly with the sleeve of his denim jacket as he stood behind Scott. He peered over at me after he was done but turned his eyes away. The fact that he felt the need to hide his tears from me made me rethink our previous interactions, wondering if I said anything to make him feel uncomfortable around me.

Realizing I was wasting time worrying about if I offended Liam, I turned to Scott.

"We need to talk." I insisted seriously, which caused his brows to furrow and head to tilt. He caught on that it wasn't something that should be said in front of Liam.

"Let's get you back to the boat house." Scott laid a hand on Liam's shoulder.

Chris walks off to start collecting his emitters, holding them in the crook of his arm that held the crossbow.

"You have to tie me up again?" Liam asked, reluctance all over his face.

Scott gave a short laugh. "Well, you actually broke all the chains, so no. Plus the moon isn't at its peak anymore so you'll be able to control yourself better, but you should wait at the boat house until sunrise just to be safe." He explained and Liam looked more open to help as he did so.

"This way," Chris called out to us, walking back in the direction of the lake house. 

Scott followed suit and led by example for Liam who trailed after him, his shoes shuffling through the layer of leaves on the ground. I followed the line and kept behind Liam. His head hung slightly and his shoulders were slumped. 

I didn't think he was still upset, possibly tired, or both. Running around the woods all night will do that to you.

When we came out of the treeline we followed the path of the driveway towards the main house. There were tons of cars parked alongside the steep hill and I could already picture Lydia freaking out over the dozens of tire tracks left in the perfectly trimmed grass and splotches of oil that dripped from under some of the cars.

Our pace was the same as when we were in the woods but Liam had begun to slow down and ended up at my side rather than in front of me. I watched him cautiously but he kept his gaze forward even though I knew he could feel me staring at him.

I had the urge to reach out to him, and once again against my better judgment, I did. It wasn't much of a touch, poking his upper arm with my pointer finger. He still didn't look at me, but the frown on his face turned upwards into a crooked, barely-there smile. At least that was something.

Scott came to an abrupt stop in front of us and my attention fell away from Liam.

"Scott?" Chris questioned the odd behavior as the werewolf sniffed the air with wide eyes.

"I smell blood." He tracked the scent and we followed, coming up to one of the cars parked on the side of the path. As we ventured closer I could see a body laying on the ground beside it.

I was about to rush forward to help aid whoever it was, but Scott held his arm out to stop me from crossing. I understood why a second later when I noticed that this person's head and body were no longer attached.

"Is that his head?" Liam squeaked out.

Scott and Chris approached the body, squatting down next to it. Liam watched from next to me but when Scott leaned down to take a whiff of the body, he spun around and put his hand to his mouth, a slight choking noise coming from him.

I wanted to join Chris and Scott but instead stayed beside Liam. "Don't worry, it gets easier."

Liam turned to me with wide eyes. 

"How many times have you seen a decapitated body?" 

I was about to answer but decided it best not to when I saw how pale he was now and settled for just shrugging.

"You picking something up?" Chris questioned Scott.

Scott spoke slowly, his voice trying to be calculated as they observed the scene. "He's definitely a werewolf, but there's more," Another deep inhale sounded from Scott, and Liam gagged again at the sound, closing his eyes.

"He's a part of a pack, I can smell it on him."

"If he is, that means they'll be looking for him. We need to get Stilinski down here to block the body before anything can be moved or those kids see." Chris gestured up the driveway to the lake house full of dancing freshmen.

I was mostly watching Liam as he tried to compose himself and not throw up, but then I turned to look closer at the body. The nametag on their polo shirt caught my attention and I took a few steps closer to read it.

Demarco.

First the Walcotts and now Demarco, that was five people from the Dead Pool already. How long until there was a sixth, and what if one of them was a part of the pack?

"What's wrong?" Scott cocked his head, a sign that he was listening in on my heartbeat that had begun to speed up. 

I glanced behind us to Liam who had walked away, bending over with his hands on his knees and dry heaving from the sight of the body. I figured that was as good as it was going to get for the time being and I turned back to Scott and Chris.

"Lydia broke the code."

"The code you called about? I thought you guys didn't have any clues?" Chris aims his question more at Scott considering he was the one that called.

"Banshee," I answered simply, moving on before either of them had the chance to ask me what the keyword was because I wouldn't be able to handle the looks on their faces.

"It unlocked a list of names with prices. Lydia said they are all supernaturals in Beacon Hills. She's on it, so are you, Kira, Derek, even the Walcotts. There's a few more names but I don't recognize them." 

My eyes pass Scott and land on the body. "Demarco's on it too."

"What does that mean?" Scott asked and before I could answer Chris spoke first.

"A Dead Pool."

I nodded, a grim look on my face as the atmosphere around us became tense. I didn't miss the way Chris' eyes scanned the trees around us, wondering the same thing as me. 

Is Demarco's killer still out here?

"What do we do?" Scott let his hands fall beside him in defeat as another problem arose before we were able to solve the other hundred.

"There isn't much we can do right now with scattered information so we should focus on what we can solve. Get the sheriff down here and help Liam." Chris ordered and Scott agreed, looking over to his Beta who was panting heavily and appeared to be praying to the night sky.

I had to hold back a laugh at that because not even Stiles reacted this badly to bodies. For the most part, at least. 

"I'll take him to the boat house, you guys get the sheriff." I said to Scott and Chris, leaving them to go to Liam who was muttering reassurances to himself.

"You okay?" I asked him and bit my cheek to hide my amusement from showing. 

He stood up straight and kept his eyes down the driveway to avoid accidentally seeing Demarco again.

"I'm pretty sure I'm never going to get the image of his head out of my head." 

"C'mon, I'll take you back to the boat house. It's freezing out here." I shivered as I spoke, my adrenaline fading and now allowing the night air to fully display its power against my exposed skin.

Liam winces as he recalls what happened earlier. "I'm sorry about earlier Jac, I couldn't control myself. If I hurt you-"

"It's fine, it was just a jacket." I cut him off with a chuckle, finding his reaction cute considering he had no idea how many other werewolves I had to face on full moons. He was like a little puppy compared to them.

He didn't look convinced and I sighed, holding my arms up to show I was unscathed.

"Seriously, the only thing you did was leave me susceptible to frostbite." I joke and gesture for him to follow me again, not wanting to have the cop cars overload his senses upon their arrival. 

Liam doesn't move though and begins to take off his denim jacket. He holds it out to me, leaving him in just his shirt.

"Liam -"

Before I could decline Liam forces it into my hands and gives me a look that says he wasn't going to take no for an answer. I sighed and thanked him wordlessly as I slipped his jacket on, and truthfully felt myself sigh in relief. The jacket was a little big on me but after Liam had worn it all night running through the woods it was toasty, which immediately soothed me.

"Can we go now?" I gave Liam a judgemental look that only amused him, moving to follow my lead with a subtle grin.

Chris' eyes darted between Liam and I as we passed him and Scott. He only turned away when Scott began talking to him, getting his attention. 

I didn't think much of his studying gaze and focused on leading Liam around the cars, hoping that way he wouldn't see the body again as we quietly went to the boat house.

As we reached the end of the path by the lake I could hear sirens drawing closer to the property and was relieved we had left the driveway at the right time. Liam glanced over his shoulder and the noise and shook his head in an attempt to not focus on it.

"Take a deep breath." I ordered him gently as we entered the boat house, keeping my voice calm in hopes he would mirror my attitude.

Liam listened and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before regaining some composure and looking more stable. When he opened his eyes he examined the environment around him, pausing on the shattered window.

"Lydia's gonna hate me."

I chuckled as I dragged the milk crate I sat on earlier to be in the middle of the entrance of the boat house, blocking the inside from the outside, and putting a barrier between Liam and anyone who might stumble upon us.

"Lydia kind of hates everyone at first, don't take it personally." I commented as I recalled Lydia's distaste for me when we met. 

She openly hated having any competition for the spot of Allison's best friend, but eventually warmed up to me when I helped protect Jackson rather than murder him like I was supposed to when he was the kanima.

Liam took note of me standing by the door, his eyebrows lifting in question.

"You're not leaving, are you?"

I shook my head, surprised to find the way my chest pulsed sadly at his reaction to me potentially leaving. He looked distraught at the idea of staying here by himself and I resented him being fearful.

"I promised you earlier you weren't alone, remember?" I smirked softly at him as I took my seat on the crate, pretending like I didn't see the way he smiled at me.

Liam went to the post he had been bound to earlier, kicking the chains aside before taking a seat against it. He drew his knees up and put his arms on them. He was angled towards me, so soon I felt his gaze on the side of my face. I turned to look at him with a questioning glance but he darted his eyes away to look out towards the lake instead.

I chuckled under my breath at his antics and settled for looking out at the night sky, the full moon staring directly at me from behind puffs of clouds.

I soon felt Liam's gaze on me again, but this time I didn't turn to him as I spoke.

"Get some rest, I'll watch over you." 

He didn't respond, but after a few minutes his snores mixed in with the buzzing of insects, and the crashing of waves against the boat house posts to create a melodic symphony around me.

I turned to see his head leaning on his shoulder as he had fallen into a light sleep, smiling to myself at the view. He looked so peaceful. I could feel the slight burn of exhaustion in my own eyes but I blinked it away.

I adjusted myself to get more comfortable in my position and got ready for being awake for the next couple of hours. I shrunk into Liam's jacket, burying my nose into the collar to stave off the cold. Faint notes of cologne hit me along with something naturally rich and warm, Liam's scent clinging to the denim. 

A calmness washed over me because of it, and I easily settled in for the rest of the night.

---

It was always peaceful to watch the sunrise, the sky shifting between pitch black to dusty pastels as time passed. It was also a relief to know we had another month to try and help Liam before the next full moon.

Footsteps approached from outside and I turned to see Scott walking towards the boat house, so I straightened my posture and tried to appear as if I hadn't been burrowing myself into his Beta's jacket for the past few hours. 

He forced a smile but his eyes betrayed him to reveal how tired he was. He must've stayed up all night too to look over Lydia.

"He okay?" Scott asked, keeping his voice low to not wake Liam as he approached.

I turned to the Beta, also checking to see if he had woken up to Scott's presence. His breathing remained as even as before and his faint snores continued.

"Yeah, he's just been sleeping since we got back. I didn't want to wake him, he had a rough night." I admit to Scott, taking my eyes off of Liam afterward.

"How'd it go with the sheriff?"

Scott's let out an exhausted sigh. "Turns out we weren't the only ones who were close to an assassin last night."

I tilted my head, silently asking Scott to elaborate.

"Peter got attacked at the loft by the man without a mouth, and before the guy left he was able to lift some kind of modified military wrist computer off of him. Derek and the sheriff tracked him to the high school and when they got there the guy had a trap set up with a bomb. It didn't go off, thankfully, but before they could arrest him, Peter murdered him."

I shake my head bitterly. "Of course he did."

Self-righteous prick couldn't let us have one solid lead, could he?

"The sheriff said the guy's computer revealed his call sign was The Mute, and he was getting paid from someone called Benefactor for his kills." Scott continued, his eyes going to Liam to make sure his Beta wasn't eavesdropping.

"We should probably get him home before his parents think he's missing or something."

"I'll take him home on my bike." I offer.

Truthfully I just didn't want Scott out in the open just yet until we could piece together all the separate aspects of what was going on with the Dead Pool. Plus the lack of knowing the names on the other two ciphers was a whole other complication in itself. We had to help those names too and how could we do that when we couldn't unlock the lists or possibly even find them?

"You sure you're okay to ride?"

"Please." I scoff softly at his concern which makes Scott smile before moving past me to Liam, squatting down next to him. 

He placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently, saying his name a few times until Liam jerked awake.

"What's wrong?" Liam croaked, blinking harshly and darting his eyes around the boat house to see if there were any potential threats. Scott chuckled and patted Liam's shoulder where his hand rested before standing back up.

"Nothing's wrong, in fact, you made it through your first full moon."

Liam used the post behind him for support as he got up, stretching until his bones cracked.

"Jac's gonna take you home so you can get some real rest. I know last night was really weird and confusing but I promise I'll explain everything to you." Scott told his Beta while reaching into his pocket, bringing out a phone that wasn't his.

"I put my number in. Text or call me when you're ready to talk." Scott pushed the fact that he and Liam would have a one on one and I admired that. He was already a better Alpha to Liam than Peter had ever been to him.

"Thanks Scott." Liam told him sincerely, taking his phone to slip it into his pocket.

"You ready?" I ask Liam, his gaze going from Scott to me.

He nods lightly and I tilt my head in the direction of the main house for him to follow. My bike was in the same spot as it was last night and thankfully no drunk jerk stole my helmet off the seat. I brought my keys out from my jeans to turn the ignition on, quickly flipping the switch, wanting my bike to warm up a little.

I glanced back at Liam expectantly, wordlessly telling him to get on the bike too. He cleared his throat and stepped closer, looking behind me at the seat we were about to share. 

I braced my feet on the ground and kept my hand on the clutch just in case. Liam could heal but it still worried me that he wouldn't have a helmet, and I knew if I offered him mine he would decline.

"Um, is it okay if I..." His hands hovered awkwardly over my shoulder.

"It's okay." I scooted forward onto the seat, allowing him more space behind me.

Liam held onto my shoulder for balance as he swung his leg around the end of my bike, being careful not to hit anything, and the bike bouncing a little under his weight. The seat of my bike was a decent size to fit a passenger behind me but the rear fender was lifted so no matter what the person seated there would have to lean into me. Liam realized this and when his waist met my backside instantly jerked back to put space between us there and I could picture his slight blush in my mind.

"Comfortable?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. I knew he wouldn't actually be comfortable the farther back he sat on the seat, but it was sweet of him to not want to create any awkward transgressions between us.

"Mhm." He gave the hum as a swift response and I bit my cheek to contain my smile, figuring this would be the best time to put on my helmet. 

Scott was watching us, a hint of amusement on his face at Liam's reaction. Underneath it, he seemed a bit apprehensive still, so I gave him a smile to soothe any worries. 

"Drive safe." He warned and I gave him a mock salute and switched gears out of neutral, the bike pulling forward. 

I usually didn't go too slow at first but I didn't know if Liam had experience on motorcycles and didn't want to have him fall off. I could feel him jump behind me when the bike moved and his hands shot to my waist rather than just laying on my upper back.

"Hold on," I ordered him before he could stutter out the apology I could hear forming on his lips. He listened and gripped my sides properly as I began to speed down the driveway.

I had packed people on my bike before and was never bothered by their presence that much. I always wore a jacket on my rides for protection so it worked as a sort of buffer between me and the person I was riding with.

As the ride went on, Liam's grip on me tightened on me and the warmth of his hands bled through the fabric. Beneath his hands laid ugly, jagged scars, and even though logically I knew he couldn't feel them, I drove faster anyway.

Eventually, we made it to the main road and started the journey towards Liam's house. He lived in a nice neighborhood, the houses all painted neatly and lawns trimmed to perfection. I wondered for a moment what it would be like to live in a place like this but decided not to linger on those thoughts because it wasn't going to do any good.

When we came to a stop at a sign, on the back of my neck I could feet Liam's hair tickling the skin above the collar of the jacket. I was focusing on the area around us to make sure no cars were around but I could help but falter in my attention when I realized he was sniffing me?

Liam caught on that I could feel him and his head pulled away from my neck.

"Sorry, I'm - I'm just not used to my new senses, your perfume is really nice." He explained awkwardly and I just nodded in response because it was a little weird, okay a lot weird, and I wasn't even wearing perfume because of the full moon.

When we reached Liam's house I shut off my bike because it was the early morning and I didn't want to aggravate his neighbors with the sound of my engine. He climbed off and gave me a thankful smile before shuffling onto the path that led to his front door.

"Oh wait!" I called out as I realized I still had his jacket on.

Liam turned to see why I had stopped him and when he saw me starting to tug his jacket off he held his hands up.

"No, keep it."

I couldn't help but laugh at the odd offer and shook my head, my hands paused as the jacket slumped around my arms as I was in the middle of taking it off.

"I have other jackets, Liam."

Liam gave me a lingering smile as he stared at me. "You look better in it than I do."

The relief I felt as I knew he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks behind the visor of my helmet brought me great satisfaction. He chuckled under his breath and turned around to continue walking inside his house, facing me once more when he reached his porch and waited to watch me drive off.

"Thanks for the ride, Jac."

I gave a brief tilt of my head and switched my bike back on, turning out of his street to efficiently get back to the motel quickly, and keep a certain Beta from protruding my thoughts anymore than he already had.