The next evening, Kara was in bed, burrowed under the covers, with her bedside lamp still on. She was too afraid to turn it off, because she knew the Beserkers would be coming for her if she did.

"Come on, kiddo, it's almost midnight. Time for bed. Shut the light off." Her father, from the doorway in his sheriff's uniform, ordered. She looked at him with pleading eyes, but he simply shut her down with his parental gaze. "Dad," she whined. He shook his head and left the room.

With a gulp, she slowly leaned over and flicked the switch, bathing the room in darkness. The only light came from her alarm clock, which washed everything in a dull blue glow. It was quiet and peaceful for a few moments, until she heard something breathing, loudly and heavily. Something inhuman.

Without turning towards the sound, she fumbled for her phone and dialed a number that belonged to someone she knew would understand. He picked up after six rings, when she had all but given up hope that he'd answer and when the labored breathing had only gotten louder.

"Kar? What's wrong?" Liam said immediately, voice raspy and slow with sleep. She took in a shaking breath, squeezing her eyes shut. "How fast can you get here?" She asked; on the other side of the call, there were sounds of shuffling and a door opening, then closing. "I'm on my way. Just hold on, okay? I'll be there in a few minutes." He promised, and there was a pause, like he was going to end the call. "No, don't hang up. Please." She pleaded.

"I won't. Listen, I'm almost there. Should I come in through the window or the front door?" He questioned, mostly to keep her mind focused on him. She immediately answered, "Front door. My window squeaks." He chuckled lightly, and she heard his footsteps through the phone. "Is it unlocked?" He continued. She nodded before realizing he couldn't see her. "Yeah," she mumbled.

It was quiet except for his breathing for a few minutes; the sound was soothing, a reminder that he was still there. She heard a door open downstairs, and a moment or two later, her bedroom door opened. Liam quickly made the distance between them disappear, and he walked to her, sitting on the edge of her bed. He took in her tired, frantic eyes and she noticed his frayed plaid pajama pants.

"Did I wake you up?" She whispered. Despite the true answer being yes, he shook his head. "No, I was already up. Don't worry." He told her. Sleeping or not, he'd go to her at any time she needed him. She listened to the sounds around her, and when she didn't hear the Beserker breathing, she sighed in relief. "It's gone," she breathed. He didn't look at her like she was insane. Instead, he nodded, like he understood what she meant.

"I've been seeing them too." He stated. Out of nowhere, she had a thought. "Liam, many times have you saved my life?" She asked. His eyes widened, and he paused to think. "On the roof, the night I was bitten, and also last night, if you count when I took you back to Stiles. I don't think that counts, though." He said.

Abruptly, Kara leaned over and pulled him into a hug. His body froze, arms hovering at his sides awkwardly, but he eventually wrapped them around her slight torso.

"Thank you," she murmured.

—

She had fallen asleep midsentence, hair splaying over her face and across the pillow. Soft snores came from her slightly parted lips.

Suddenly, something made her jerk awake. She sat straight up and panted, eyes locked on an invisible threat. Her breathing became more labored, and her expression was horrified. She gasped, and before he could stop her, she screamed. It was low and guttural and it sounded like it hurt her immensely. The brunette began to thrash wildly and violently; he grabbed onto her and held her in place as she cried.

"Don't, please! Liam!" She sobbed, and he realized that her claws were out and digging into his arms while he tried to prevent her from hurting hurself. The door was thrown open, and a sleepy-looking Stiles burst into the room. He saw the two, more specifically, Liam attempting to calm her down:

"Kara, you're okay. You're safe. Nothing's hurting you," The blue-eyed boy assured her. She was finally snapping out of her vision, and she looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Liam?" She whimpered. He nodded, rocking her back and forth while murmuring you're safe, and locked eyes with her brother. The human motioned for him to come out in the hallway. Liam gently laid Kara down and wrapped her under her blankets, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and met Stiles in the hallway.

"I need you to keep an eye on her. Protect her. She might not let you- hell, she definitely won't let you. You wanted to know what made her so harsh? My sister doesn't let people I'm because she's scared of losing them, of getting hurt. Everyone she's cared about has almost died right in front of her or left her. Some have died in front of her." The elder Stilinski explained. "First, our mom, when Kara was really little. Then was our friend Allison, last year, when I was possessed by the evil spirit. Point is, she won't let you get close if she thinks you'll leave her or hurt her." He finished.

"It's been my priority since the night I was bitten to put her first, Stiles. I won't let her get hurt. And I sure as hell won't leave her." The beta promised. He kept glancing over his shoulder, back into her room, at the sleeping girl he was so enamored with. He definitely wouldn't call it love; it was far too early for that. But he wouldn't exactly call what he felt for Kara liking. It was so much more than just a stupid crush.

Stiles put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Good. If me or the others aren't around, you stay with her. Don't take your eyes off of her, okay?" He instructed. Liam chuckled slightly.

"Trust me, that won't be a problem." He said. The older boy sensed the double meaning and punched him in the chest, though it didn't even make him flinch. "Just because I'm entrusting you with my baby sister's life doesn't mean you can date her, you little runt." Stiles spat. "Now get your scrawny ass in there and make sure she doesn't have nightmares!"

—

Kara sat in next to her father's hospital bed, after the man had been shot, apparently. She didn't really know what happened, only that she had to be there.

The doctor came in, with a clipboard and a pen in hand. "Alright, Mr. Stilinski-" he began, but was cut off by both siblings. "Sheriff." They corrected at the same time. The doctor, whose name tag read Dr. Vandenberg, swallowed audibly, and nodded. "I've got you scheduled for surgery first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, it's going to take a little digging to get that slug out of your shoulder." He explained.

Their father nodded also. "Yeah, it's fine." He agreed, and took the clipboard from the doctor. He flipped through the pages of paperwork until he stopped at a certain one. "What's this part? This line here?" He asked, looking up. The doctor glanced at the page. "Oh, patient responsibility. Parts of the procedure and hospital stay not covered by insurance." He told them.

"Are those big parts? Expensive parts?" Kara questioned. "That's between your father and the insurance provider, unfortunately." Vandenberg chided, treating her like she was a child. She scowled. "You should start feeling the morphine in a minute. They to get some rest, Sheriff." He said before leaving the room.

Stiles and their father looked at her with unreadable expressions. "Stop it. I was just curious about the terminology." She told them in response to their looks. Then, both children's gazes turned to the parent. "Don't give me that look. We're not in dire straits." Sheriff Stilinski stated. Her shoulders slumped as she and her brother shared a look.

"We know about the bills, Dad. We know about the collectors calling about Eichen House. About the advance from the department, the credit cards." Stiles confessed. Their father sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Are you two going through my stuff?" He asked. She shrugged. "Well, yeah, we go through all of your stuff. Especially when you're keeping things from us." She answered.

"I keep things from you because you don't need to know everything." The man exclaimed. Again, the siblings spoke at the same time: "Yes, we do!" They cried. Stiles continued the thought. "I have to know everything. How the hell else am I supposed to take care of you and Kara?" He demanded. She sat at the end of her father's temporary bed as he tried to formulate a response.

"You're not supposed to take care of me, or your sister! I'm the dad. You two are the kids. You get it? Dad. Kids. I take care of you." The man declared. Kara flinched slightly, and grabbed both his hand and Stiles's. "We're supposed to take care of each other, Dad." She whispered, voice breaking as tears were brought to her eyes.

Upon seeing his daughter's expression, he softened. "Hey, we're all going to be all right." He assured her. Stiles took a seat next to her. "How do you know?" He asked quietly. Their father shook his head, a small smile on his face. "I don't, but the morphine's kicking in. I'm not all that worried about anything right now." He replied, chuckling. In a few moments, the man was out cold.

"But I am," whimpered Kara.

—

She stood at her locker, completely unaware that Liam was across the hall, eyes locked on her and never wavering. Well, she could hear him, his voice, along with Mason, but she didn't know that he stared at her.

"Hey, Liam!" Mason shouted, loud in her ears despite being relatively far away. "Am I gonna see you at the bonfire tonight?" He asked; he was referring to the start-of-the-season lacrosse bonfire that was taking place that evening. "Uh, I'm thinking about skipping it." Replied the beta. She practically tasted Mason's surprise. "You are not skipping." He exclaimed. "Why not?" Retorted Liam. The dark-skinned boy scoffed. "Because you're on the lacrosse team. Don't you have to go?" He retorted incredulously.

"Uh, I don't think I can make it." Liam tried to reason, but his friend wasn't having it. "You're coming. And we're gonna find you a nice girl that you can embarrass yourself in front of, and find me a lacrosse player. Because, statistically speaking, someone on your team has gotta be on my team." He insisted. She heard the blue-eyed boy's pulse quicken. "I don't really need you to find me a girl." He mumbled.

"And why is that?" Mason urged, laughing. "Oh wait, it's because you already have Kara." He teased. When he said that, her heart skipped probably a billion beats, and she felt sick. "I don't have her. Not yet." Liam answered quickly. Not yet. "See, this is why you need to go to the bonfire! Maybe she'll be there!" Mason chuckled.

Before Kara could hear Liam's response, she slammed her locker and briskly walked away.

—

"Little Stilinski, what are you doing in here? How many times have I told you not to come into the boys' locker room?" Coach Finnstock demanded when she walked right in behind Scott. She smirked and rolled her eyes at the man. "I just love having this chat with you, Bobby. You know you can't stop me, so, until next time." She joked, then proceeded to make herself at home, sitting down on one of the benches, next to the true alpha.

"All right, now I know it's the start of the season bonfire, it's a big deal for you guys." Coach called. "I also know it gets out of hand sometimes. The alumni show up, there's other teams, and alcohol." At that time, the lacrosse team, plus the girl, cheered. "All right!" He yelled to quiet them, but the shouting didn't cease.

"Shut up!" He screamed. It went silent. "Now, while I don't understand is why anyone would want to get stumbling-down drunk in front of a massive fire, I'm also resigned to not being able to stop you." At this, another cheer went up. "I also remind you, your team captain, McCall, will be there. And I can count on him to narc on any and every one of you little bastards. Plus, Little Stilinski will help. Right?" He called in her direction. She snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, right." She said.

With a glare in her direction, he ordered, "Get back to class!"

As she walked out of the locker room, a hand clamped around her wrist. She saw it was Liam, and immediately, a feeling she couldn't describe, almost like her brain wanted her to put up her defensive walls but her heart wanted to stay open, washed over her. She wrenched her hand away and stepped away from him.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked softly, eyes darting from her face to the people around them. She nodded and he led her to the abandoned hallway outside of Coach's office.

"You okay?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, like someone pulled them from her tongue. He shook his head. "Last night, my- my printer went off by itself." The blue-eyed boy began. "I couldn't turn it off. I hit the cancel button, but it just kept printing." He explained. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Printing what?" She questioned.

Then, a whirring sound came from the room behind them, Coach's office. "What the hell's this?" The man shouted. The two freshmen ran in and took in the scene: Coach Finnstock stood at his desk, staring down at the mess of papers his printer had spit out. She picked one up, and realized that it was the Dead Pool, with three significant changes made to it.

Liam was worth eighteen million dollars, three times his original worth. Derek was no longer on the list. The final change, though, struck her the most.

Karina Mikaelson——— 50

—

While Stiles and Lydia were at Eichen House to investigate her grandmother's suicide, Kara was at the bonfire, attempting to get drunk, despite the idea that werewolves were unable to get drunk. She and Malia passed a flask of some sort of alcohol back and forth, and out of the corner of her eye, Kara could see Mason and Liam, the latter chugging a bottle of soda that obviously didn't contain soda.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Scott, suddenly behind them. The short brunette turned toward him, hips still swaying as she danced, and grinned. "Getting drunk. What're you doing?" She replied. The alpha didn't return her smile. "Trying to make sure no one gets hurt." He deadpanned. Malia, after taking a swig from the flask, said, "Well, that sounds fun, too." He pursed his lips and sighed. "I don't want to ruin your night or anything," he began, and Kara groaned. Whatever he said was definitely going to ruin her night, she decided. "But we kind of can't get drunk. I think it has something to do with our healing. But trust me, I've tried. You're not gonna feel anything."

"Maybe you should tell him that." She suggested, pointing to Liam, then walked over to the boy in question, who still gulped down his drink. As she made her way over to him, his gaze snapped up to her, and his eyes widened. She sent him a smile, almost like she wanted to apologize for her earlier behavior towards him, and sat down next to him.

"Not gonna tell me to slow down?" He asked rhetorically to her and his best friend. The dark-skinned boy laughed humorlessly. "Actually, I was gonna tell you to keep drinking." He said. Both Liam and Kara looked at him incredulously. "I think you should get drunk. And I mean stumbling down, fall on your ass, passed out with your face in a toilet drunk." He continued. "Why?" The beta questioned.

"Maybe then, when I ask you what's going on, you'll be too drunk to lie. I'm not asking because I want to know. I'm asking because I want to help." Mason concluded. She frowned. "Mase..." She started; before she could continue, Liam stood up. "C'mon, Kara. Let's dance." He suggested. She looked from him to the human, then sighed and joined him.

He led her out to the makeshift dancing area, into the thick crowd, towards the large, burning cyclone. The club-style music changed just then, to a slower song that still had an electronic sub-beat. He offered her a hand, but instead of taking it, she turned around and pressed her back to his chest. She felt him sharply inhale, and his hands seemed to hover in the air, never landing. She took them in her own and positioned them on her hips, where they squeezed lightly.

She began to move against him, at a rhythm that matched the music. Their bodies rolled as one, and her hands glided from his wrists up to his neck. There, her nimble fingers played with his hair. This was teasing to him, maddening, and he couldn't take it. He pulled her hands away, spun her around so she faced him, and kept her wrists clasped behind her back. Her body was still pressed against his, with their faces only inches away. He used one hand, while the other had her wrists pinned, to snake up her side and hold her cheek.

"Kara," he whispered, thumb tracing her cheekbone gently. She nodded, gulping. "Can I kiss you?" He asked. She smirked. "I don't know, can you?" She retorted. He rolled his eyes and released her wrists, bring his now free hand up to hold her other cheek.

"Shut up," he muttered. Then, he did it. He kissed her.

To him, it felt like a trillion fireworks were going off in his heart and gut as he pressed his lips to hers, and he only hoped that she felt the same. By the way her fingers gripped his jersey, pulling him closer, he could tell she did.

Meanwhile, Kara's brain was going crazy, thoughts zinging back and forth rapidly. Thoughts of her, of him, of what this meant. It was overwhelming, and she tried to bring him closer to her, despite the lack of distance between them.

Suddenly, she was ripped away from him. Scott stared down at them with confusion, but also with an expression much like one her brother would've worn. He pulled them over to Mason, never making a sound. To Mason, he demanded, "Don't let them out of your sight," although she couldn't really focus on anything other than Liam's hand in hers. It made her dizzy and a little bit nauseous.

Or maybe that wasn't just his touch. It looked like he was sick too, and as Scott walked away, he swayed as if he was also feeling poorly. Then, two men approached Mason, Liam, and Kara, and started to pull the latter two away.

"Wait, stop. Hey, where are you going? These are my friends!" Mason shouted to the men. One turned to address him. "Your friends are overly intoxicated. They need to be escorted out." The man said. The dark-skinned boy stood his ground. "Then I'll go with them." He offered, but the man just laughed. "That won't be necessary." He spat. When Kara began to struggle, yanking against the harsh hold, he hit her on the head with something hard, and she slumped, unconscious.

She opened her eyes to two dead men and a pungent, foreign scent in her nose. Derek Hale and Braeden, the mercenary who the Hales hired to find Kate Argent, stood over them.

"What happened to the gun?" Questioned Scott, not realizing she was awake. She sat up, head pounding much like it had when she woke up the day before. "You're all covered in gasoline," Derek answered sarcastically. So that was the strong scent. Gasoline.

"Hey," Malia said, elbowing Liam and pointing at Kara. The boy quickly rushed over to herand helped her to her feet, despite her protests. She swatted him away and stepped towards Scott, unsure how to act near Liam after that kiss. When everyone's eyes turned to her, she looked at the ground.

"I'm fine. Seriously." She said.

"I'm fine."

1)this is the longest chapter I've ever written

2)literally so much lara jesus my otp my chilDREn

3)LaRa KiSs

that is all

-hales!