dark moo

"We are going to die." Lydia Martin deadpanned as she looked to her right, her two friends stood beside her, taking in the environment much like she was.

High upon a mesa in the middle of the desert sat a small Mexican village, burning hot sun blaring down on them as all heads turned towards them, staring at three teenagers who looked like fish out of water, but that was an understatement. They had no place here, but it was only natural for them to end up here, following an absurd plan- the plan Lydia believed would finish her off. That was how she felt towards most plans created by Stiles Stilinski, but this had to be their worst yet.

Stiles hadn't been alone in creating this plan, Noelle had a part to play too, she hated to admit. It was a necessary evil, the pack depended upon her and her training to navigate them. To gain the intel that would help them defeat a group of hunters like the Calaveras- a group Noelle was told tales about by her mentor, a man she'd called upon for assistance. Though in her words, she was just curious to know more about the family. Though there was slight disbelief, Chris told the girl what she needed to know, where to find the Calaveras, the aresnal they might have.

When Argent had seen her name on his phone for the first time since his move to France he had made a few assumptions of what it might be about, curiosity over the Calaveras wasn't on that list. He had thought that she had called to confess that she was struggling without his guidance to help her, that settling into the new family dynamic that she found herself in wasn't as easy as she hoped it would be. Frankly, everyone had expected it to be easier than it had been, they all had the same assumption that when Noelle reunited with her birth mother they would instantly click, like it would all make sense somehow. That her relationship with Peyton would be like the relationship she'd shared with Cole. It couldn't have been further from the truth.

Maybe she still had the unrealistic expectation that one day she would be wrapped up in Darby's arms and it would feel like home, like everything was right in the world, but she was a girl who'd just lost the strongest family figure she had, who'd had everything swept beneath her. She'd lost family just as quick as she'd gained it. To find out that her biological father had met the fate her father had wasn't easy, perhaps she was more like Camila than she'd thought. Rather than all of the fantastic feelings she'd thought she would receive when being reunited with her true family all that Noelle had been left with was anxiety that she wasn't the daughter that Darby had been picturing for the past fifteen years, the daughter that she knew as Briar, a name she'd called the blonde a handful of times over the past few weeks. If not the feeling of anxiety, then fear, fear of not being the older sister to Peyton like Cole had been the older brother to her.

It was safe to say that over the past few weeks, adjustments had been made, physically. But the mental adjustments were yet to be made. For more than just Noelle. Everyone was still trying to mourn the death of Allison and Cole. Lydia was still working her way through the heartbreak of Aiden leaving on top of that. Stiles was handling the guilt that he felt for their deaths, he would never not feel responsible for his best friend losing her big brother, or for his other best friend to lose a girl he'd loved once before, perhaps part of him still did have a soft spot for the brunette who walked into his life at a time where he needed it most. Life hadn't been great for anyone as of late.

"Nell," Stiles spoke, the blonde quickly turning her head to look at him, as though she'd listened to everything said before her name. Frankly, she couldn't remember a single word that they had spoken since they had left Beacon Hills. "Tell Lydia she's being pessimistic, this is a good plan."

"Mm-hmm, yeah." The distracted girl nodded as they furthered into the unfamiliar town, waiting to be offered a warm welcome, it already seemed that they'd overstayed it.

"Mind running me through this ground-breaking plan again?" The redhead asked with a tone of sarcasm, not only did she remember it well, but she knew that none of them thought that it was a ground-breaking plan, Stiles's confidence was a facade, he had no faith in it, nor did Noelle. It was obvious that she didn't, Lydia didn't believe the girl was capable of having faith in anything anymore. She hadn't been the same since that night. From the way she spoke, the way that she acted, even the way she dressed. When the Jeep had picked her up this morning she had to do a double take, in disbelief that Noelle Priestley was wearing a black leather jacket, both a color or style she wouldn't have been caught dead in a few months ago.

But Noelle had done what she did best- act in denial, hide from her problems. It was a facade the redhead saw straight through, she could see the girl wasn't acting, it was too soon for her to be a part of something like this, she'd told Noelle that herself. Another thing she denied, claiming she was fine. Defenitely not anxious would be the day that she had to use her abilities again, the one that she had been given back by her brother mostly. She was severely out of touch with all of her abilities, but her ability to control fire, that was something she wasn't sure she'd ever be in touch with completely. There was always that risk of it going wrong, of it happening again.

Today would be the first for a few things. The first time they had taken Malia, the latest addition to the McCall pack, on one of their dangerous missions. The first time that they had all been with each other since the funeral. And the first time Noelle will have used her training since Cole and Allison's death. She'd lacked both the interest and the heart to participate in something she had once shared dearly with the two of them until it had been declared they were heading to Mexico she hadn't even looked at the arsenal of weapons Argent had left her. Perhaps she now had the title of a graduated huntress, but it wasn't one she planned on living up to, not without the two of them. She would never be a full-fledged huntress as far as she was concerned.

Stiles gladly ran through the plan again, Lydia's sarcasm flying over his head, he spoke with his head held high, speaking with feigned confidence. After the unnecessary reminder of the plan, Lydia could only confirm once more that this plan was going to get them killed, that it had to be the stupidest thing they had ever done. To infiltrate the home of a well-known group of hunters after Argent had emphasized so greatly just how dangerous they were. Stiles kindly asked Lydia to keep her pessimism to himself, suggesting she limit her comments to Banshee predictions, a moment of mockery shared between them.

Noelle walked ahead of the two who mocked each other silently, she had learned over all of her time since escaping the vault that it was best to ignore the two of them, at least when they were like this, it could last for hours, she had seen it herself. Eventually, the three of them reached the dark alley that would lead them to the Calavera's. She pulled a card out of her jacket, handing it to the boy, reminding him to keep it safe, not to lose it in the few feet between them and the two bodyguards standing at the door. Stiles nodded, he wasn't offended, he knew that it was always a possibility for him to do something stupid like that. But just in case, Noelle made sure that the redhead knew it too, without it, there was no plan. The two nodded in understanding, both very aware of the plan, at least most of it. There was one thing that they weren't sure of. How Noelle planned on getting into the building if not with them or the rest of the pack. She had kept that a secret, for reasons they were unsure of. All she ever told them was that they didn't need to worry about her, and that was the answer she gave them now too, without further elaboration she had told them to go, pushing them ahead.

The two practically tripped over their feet from her strong push, simultaneously turning to look at the blonde girl with a scowl, but she had disappeared completely. Into thin air. Confused, the pair turned back to the alley, slowly edging closer to the door that the large, intimidating guards stood by. Lydia cowered behind him, opting for silence.

The boy pulled the card out of his pocket, a large stylized skull on the front of it, holding it up for the guards to see. One of them nodded towards a camera in the corner, a red light watched as he raised it higher, the door clicking open, allowing them entry. With a hesitant look, they ventured inside of the large building, walking through a darkened hallway, two large wooden doors on the opposite side of it. Before daring to step past it they shared another weary look, knowing that as soon as they walked through it, there was no going back. With a deep breath they pressed ahead into a packed dance club, not particularly the thing they expected to see. Music blasted loudly in their ears, the beat sending vibrations through the floor, people dancing everywhere. For Lydia it should have been a familiar sight, but this wasn't like one of her Beacon Hills parties.

Lydia nodded over to the bar, both of them heading through the crowd, shoved from side to side by the intoxicated partygoers as they wormed their way through it. They had hardly approached the bar before two shots were set in front of them, for once Stiles hadn't been asked for his ID, it would have been thrilling any other time, but not now. He looked around the club, trying to get a glimpse of one of their friends, not a single one of them in sight. Lydia looked up at the barman, telling him that they hadn't come to drink, instead, she dropped something in her shot. A golden bullet. One of the Calavera's golden bullets.

Before they knew it they were being guided to a private room, a woman waiting for them as she used a small, curved blade as a seam ripper, intently working on a piece of cloth as the pair took a seat on the other side of the table. Stiles couldn't help but imagine that curved blade cutting a few necks, his, precisely. The woman commented on how someone called Severo hated the kind of music that was playing in the club that now played faintly in their ears, the vibration however could still be felt on their feet. She on the other hand, like the music, the music of the youth she referred to it, explaining how it had a savage energy.

"We're here for Derek Hale." Lydia deadpanned, uninterested in small talk. "We know you have him. And we've heard you can be brought." Stiles emptied his pockets, laying out fifty-thousand dollars on the table.

"Now, where does a teenage boy get money like this?" Araya asked with a smile. "Perhaps from a girl involved with the Japanese Mafia?" She asked, Severo and two other hunters cocked each of their weapons, intimidating the teenagers, especially Lydia who looked at Stiles with her eyes as wide as saucers, this was the kind of thing she knew would get them killed. "Not smart for you to come alone." Araya shooks her head with a tut.

Stiles leaned forward in his seat "What makes you think we came alone?"

Perhaps he hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of them, but they knew exactly where their pack was placed inside of the club. Noelle had thought it out well, her tactical decision making they'd expected from her had came into play. They needed to be spread out, prepared for attack, and if the blonde got what she wanted there would be no surprises. Not like their last mission. She was sure that nobody would die, she wouldn't let it happen again.

Malia had been placed central of the club, dancing, blending in, just like Noelle had told her to, it wasn't a hard task, and that she was glad about, it was only her first mission after all. Not too far from her sat Kira on the sidelines, she was at an angle where she could see anyone approaching Malia or any of them for that matter, her weapons close by her side if things turned sour. Noelle was smart, she had placed them tactically, Kira knew that, but she still felt nerves churning, she felt out of practice too, nobody had really done anything this dangerous since, well, the dreaded night. Araya was furious as she asked if the two of them had dared to bring a wolf into her home, but they had brought much more than that. They brought an Alpha.

In a dark corner, Scott lurked in the shadows, he had a clear view of Kira and Malia, his glowing eyes allowing him to see through the crowds of people. The darkness concealing their redness. He scanned the room, searching for danger, and in turn, his blonde. His eyes widened when he'd finally spotted her across the room, certainly not dressed how they had left her. Before, she was in a flowery dress, paired with the black leather jacket he had seen her wearing a lot lately, that was a gift from Darby. Now, she had paired it with a tight black dress and a pair of black boots, a pair he was sure he had seen on Lydia before. She walked around the edges of the dancefloor in confidence, a drink in her hand, hoping that along with the clothing she'd changed into, it would help her blend in. She had learned from Allison that she had to look the part, and that a huntress had their tricks. Scott could see the trick as the girl walked, the slit in her black dress revealing a sheath attached to her leg, a silver dagger tucked inside of it. With the club so packed and all the dancing people so close to her, nobody would notice such a well-disguised weapon.

Noelle watched as the Calavera's hunters began drawing closer to the dancefloor, each talking in Spanish, whispering into their walkie-talkies, plotting. They analyzed every intoxicated face that passed them by, trying to suss them out. She could see then that Araya had been alerted of their presence in her club, and as expected, the hunter wasn't happy. She wanted to find out just who dared to infiltrate her home, how someone could be so stupid to do it. One of the hunters looked at the blonde girl, a stern look across their face as they watched her take a sip of her drink, she'd held it up to him with a smile, a silent cheers that seemed to draw him from her trail as he gave a scowl in return. Typical hunter, she mumbled to herself.

She edged closer to the bar, her eyes shifting to Kira who had jumped out of her chair, she saw it too, it was go time. She met with Malia in the middle of the dancefloor, prepared to warn her the plan was truly in motion. Noelle threw back what was left of her drink before slamming it down on the bar, making her own way to the dancefloor, her hand on the dagger she kept on her leg as she continued looking out for the other hunters. Perhaps she had convinced once, but Araya had a dozen at her disposal, and if she had learned anything about the woman, they would all be on their toes trying to find the supernaturals.

"What do we do?" Kira asked as she stood before the werecoyote.

"Blend in!" Malia urged as she continued to dance, but the kitsune looked lost, unsure how she was supposed to blend in with this kind of crowd. "Dance with me, dumbass."

Kira tried to dance, but she had to admit, this wasn't her kind of scene, she had never been one to party, drink and especially not dancing, she was more of a sitting on the sidelines kind of girl, that was why she had liked her part in Noelle's plan so much, she hadn't thought there would be any need for her to intervene, but alas, there had been. She tried her best, but the way she tried to move her body was awkward, enough for Malia to feel some embarrassment on her behalf as she tried to hide her smirk. The kitsune was growing frustrated with herself, she was going to be the one who got them caught, perhaps even killed, this shouldn't have been her part to play, the party scene wasn't one she was well acquainted with.

Malia tried to assist the brunette as best as she could, she took ahold of the small of Kira's back, pulling her in closer until the two of them were grinding against one another, Kira slowly easing into the movement, quickly gaining confidence in her movements. Their moves had attracted a small crowd that drew in around them, blocking any hunters on the outskirts of the dancefloor from looking at them, picking them out of the crowd.

Noelle took a deep breath when she had saw that they had narrowly avoided a crisis, she began backing off of the dancefloor, stepping backward as she nodded at Malia with approval, the girl providing a proud smile before continuing to help Kira dance. As the girl stepped back a hand on her back, stopping her, a sharp breath escaped her as she turned around, expecting to be faced with a hunter that was ready to kill her in the middle of the club with no hesitation. Luckily, Scott stood behind her, a relieving face as she began breathing again.

He nodded at the corridor behind them, suggesting that now was the time to sneak off and find their friends, perhaps even the man that they had come here for. Derek. They didn't come across a border for just anyone, only someone like the Hale could make them stupid enough to invade a hunter's home to ensure that he was safe, alive. Just because he hadn't answered Scott's texts in weeks. At least that was how it started. It had taken him until a few nights ago to bring it up to Noelle, she was hit with immediate concern, choosing to text the wolf herself. Derek didn't often reply to texts, at least not from anyone who wasn't the blonde girl, a dear friend of his little sister who still checked in once a week. Knowing that, Cora was the first person Noelle had called after Derek had failed to answer her texts too. As expected, Cora hadn't heard anything from Derek in weeks, admitting that she was only a few days from asking Noelle the same question.

It was the night of her phone call with Cora that Noelle decided enough was enough, declaring it was time to go to the loft, to invade Derek's home, a habit of theirs, and see if he was hiding out, or if her worries were real. And he was gone.

Noelle and Scott stood at a crossroads in the club, the wolf looked left, the druid right. Scott had suggested sticking together, they were both aware of what they were up against, how risky their mission already was without being alone. Her detailed plan didn't accommodate this. The druid pulled the dagger from her sheath, suggesting the opposite, that they dare to split up, she hoped it would give them better odds of finding at least one of the three people on their list. The Alpha looked at her with hesitance, she gave him a stern look, narrowing her eyes at him, he knew that no matter what he said, she would get her way. So he nodded, watching her walk away first, she tightened her grip around the dagger, taking a deep breath. Now might be the time that she put all of that training back into action.

Her breaths were heavy as she walked down the darkened hallway lined with red walls, her back against them as she occasionally looked at the silver dagger in her hand, a reminder of just how far she had come, who she was here fighting for, who she would fight for until the last breath she took. Her head turned left and right, checking her blindspots. No surprises, Noelle. She muttered to herself. No surprises tonight. She couldn't let it happen tonight, she had a little sister at home to protect, she couldn't let Peyton go through the same kind of pain that she did when losing her brother. Peyton was too young for that, even she was too young for that. And Darby, perhaps the woman hadn't been in her life long, but she was her mother either way, and she couldn't let her go through another death. There had to be a point where a person suffered too many losses for them to carry on living themselves.

The blonde stopped hastily in her tracks when she heard the distant static of walkie-talkies, that paired with the sound of footsteps were not a good mix for someone sneaking around. Her hand tightened once more, her knuckles white as she began holding up the dagger. She walked closer to the corner with stealth, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack whoever passed her. The hunter walked around the corner with no idea of what awaited him, as soon as he walked past a dagger was stabbed into his leg, a large groan escaping his mouth as he dropped to his knee.

From the opposite corridor, Scott heard the commotion, the sound of fighting, his head whipped towards it. Noelle, he muttered to himself. He stopped for a moment, listening, he could hear her as she tried to fight off whoever she had come into contact with. Part of him told him to stay, she could handle herself, she would want him to continue searching. And then there was the part of him that had lost her once before, the part never willing to do it again. That part controlled him as he ran back through the halls, running to find her, hoping he didn't have a run-in of his own in the meantime.

That same part of the wolf that told him to run for her was the same part that told him to call her name, even if it risked his own life, he had to know that she was alive and okay, even if her voice showed her desperation. Any sign that she was alive would suffice. She had told him about this family, how they were kill first, ask questions never kind of people. It didn't matter if he was this amazing True Alpha that everyone talked about, or a druid capable of burning them in a blink of an eye. Power like that didn't matter with the Calaveras.

The sound of struggling became louder in his ears the further he ran down the corridor, running around a corner he almost collided with the wall, his own feet to fast for him to keep up with, he came to a sharp stop at the sight of the blonde with her back to him, her black high-heeled boot on a man's chest, watching as the man faded out of consciousness.

She turned to look at the wolf, her chest heaving and her mouth pulled into a smile. "Well, that was fun." Noelle joked as she removed her foot from the man's chest, fixing her appearance. He shook his head at the blonde, picking up the walkie-talkie beside the man's bleeding leg.

"Stiles." He spoke through it. Lydia and Stiles kept straight faces as they heard his voice through the radio on Araya's desk. "Take 10 off the table."

As Stiles took the cash from the table, Lydia suggested that she tell them about Derek, before all of the money was gone. Araya scoffed at the teenagers in front of her, wondering how they were so stupidly confident inside a place filled with hunters. Lydia suggested that she tell them about Derek, to give them the information they wanted, the offer wouldn't last much longer, with each of the hunters that Scott and Noelle took down, it would drop. Araya scoffed, as keen as she was to follow the warning of a Banshee, she had to decline. Neither of them had thought it would be such a vigorous process, they thought that taking that money from the table would secure their deal, but they had clearly underestimated Araya, even with all the things that Noelle made sure to find out about the Calaveras, they knew nothing of the risks here.

"Just give us Derek. You don't want him anyway. Haven't you noticed what a downer he is?" The boy began as Lydia followed along, nodding beside him as he began to list off some of the more undesirable traits of Derek Hale. "No sense of humor. Poor conversationalist." He continued the redhead continued to nod, he wasn't lying. "Just come on, take the money."

The Calavera woman kept her stance, picking up her radio as she called for Severo. The teens in front of her shifted in their seats, visibly uncomfortable, something made harder when hearing a hunter order her men to show them just how Calaveras negotiated.

Scott led his pack back through the darkened halls, still determined to find what they needed, it had become clear that this wasn't something that could be done alone, not with just him or Nell, they retrieved Kira and Malia from the dancefloor, resuming the part of the plan where they kept one another at arm's length. The coyote was rarely out of arm's length from Noelle anyway, but she kept her especially close as they walked through the club. Between this group she was more at risk, the most human compared to the three who could heal themselves, everyone wanted to keep her close, to make sure that she didn't come into life-threatening harm again.

The two lycanthropes were trying to catch a scent on Stiles, he had the most pungent scent, the strong perfume that Lydia wore couldn't even defeat it. Every door they passed Noelle tried the handle, each of them locked, nothing but silence from inside as Scott pressed his ears against it, just to make sure. This place was a maze, every wall looked the same, every door, even all of the blood stains on the wall looked identical to them. Scott tried not to look back too often, he left it to the three girls to have his back, while he had to cover their front. He could smell their nerves, the uncertainty they had that they weren't walking the same hall again, even he couldn't tell, he tried to find something to differentiate them all, but he was yet to find something. He looked at the floor, wondering if there was an odd wooden plank that could give them some hope that the club wasn't some maze after all. Instead, a light smoke began appearing at their feet.

Scott's arm stretched out, Noelle walking straight into it as she stopped. She looked down at the smoke he saw, asking what it was. The smoke thickened, consuming the hall as the teenagers all began coughing, suffocating from it until the floor was no longer visible. Blasts of smoke emitted from the ceiling, the four teenagers dropped down as they tried to shield their mouths, coughing until it felt like they were about to lose a lung.

"It's wolfsbane!" Scott shouted through his coughs. He tried to see through the smoke, trying to find the three girls, he could see Malia on the floor, her arm over her mouth as she tried not to let it get into her system. Kira was feeling through the smoke too, only she was searching to find her weapon, this was an attack. Noelle's hand was extended, her eyes glowing a shade of yellow, she tried moving the smoke out of the way, but with her throat burning, she couldn't focus. She felt a strong sense of deja-vu, being stuck in a hallway of smoke, trying to find a way out. "Run!" The Alpha warned them. She and Kira were the only ones who could get out, the only two who were left unaffected by the wolfsbane. "Get out of here!" He warned the girls.

Kira found the girl with glowing yellow eyes, grabbing her wrist as she began guiding her out of the hallway, the two almost made an escape. Almost. Their path blocked by a large man who'd dwarfed them with his size. The light of Noelle's eyes quickly cut out. Ironic that the hunter she found herself against was the very one she managed to throw off of her scent on the dancefloor. Kira swung her illuminated nunchucks around, giving a good fight, as good as she could in such a poorly lit, smoke-filled area. Inevitably, it was her environment that caused her downfall. The hunter cold clocked her with the butt of his shotgun, dropping her unconscious body. He turned to the blonde girl whose eyes began illuminating a strong orange, praying for some control, that was her downfall. She had no control of it, this time, it wasn't about stopping before it went too far, she hadn't even gotten that far before he coldcocked her too.

Noelle's stomach churned as she stepped out of the elevator, fiddling with her clammy hands as she read the small sign on the door. Argent. It was the first time she had been here in weeks, she, like everyone else, had spent their time avoiding it, hoping not to be reminded any further of the things that they'd lost. But that wasn't why they were here, it wasn't to focus on losses, in fact, it was the complete opposite thing that brought them to this door on the evening of Cole's funeral. It was about what she had gained- a new mother, her biological one, a sister to complete the set. While Argent had been the one to tell her that Darby was waiting inside of his apartment, he had reassured her that she didn't have to do this today, that he could call the woman back if she felt it was too much to take in. And perhaps it was too much to take in, but if she had another second to think about what she was doing she couldn't guarantee she would ever follow through with it at all. It really was now or never.

The girl didn't know what to expect from this evening, she didn't know anything about her birth mother other than the things that Camila had done to her all fifteen years ago, nobody did. Even Argent hadn't managed to find out much about her before he left her and her younger daughter waiting in his apartment. But from what he had seen of the woman, she was Camila's opposite, he reassured Noelle of that, though the girl was still unsure. They all tried to comfort her, Stiles suggesting that the woman they were about to meet might be just as Camila described, maybe she had used another name for her, but she couldn't have made up everything about Darby, the story had to have some truth to it. He doubted Camila was that creative. Scott hadn't spoken as much as the other two, he was still trying to process it all for himself, how his father had dated a murderer, proposed to one, and how the one obstacle stopping him and Noelle was gone, it was only natural that he wondered what would happen to them now.

The girl didn't know what to expect from this evening, she didn't know anything about her birth mother other than the things that Camila had done to her fifteen years ago, perhaps she was the opposite of Camila, friendly, warm, all the words Camila had used to describe Jade, which she'd assumed was a fake persona for her birth mother.

Argent's hand reached for the door handle of the apartment, stopping before he opened it, once he did, there was no going back. So one last time, he turned to the blonde standing behind him, asking her if she was sure about this. Noelle looked at Scott and Stiles, the two people she would trust with her life. Both of them nodded, this was the right thing to do. At least they hoped it was for her sake. She needed some good news in her life, someone who could give her that maternal love that Camila had failed to provide, someone to guide her through life now that it changed so drastically, so abruptly. Noelle turned back to Argent, nodding at him.

Noelle took another deep breath as she stepped over the threshold of the door, following Argent as she began nervously fiddling with her fingers again, Scott noticed, taking hold of her clammy hands as he gave her a reassuring smile, if anyone could do this, it was her. She made bad things work, she defeated the odds that she was put up against, he had no doubt she could do it again. The girl smiled back, somehow, a feeling of relief washed over her, it helped, more than she had thought a simple gesture like that could.

Her breathing calmed, a sudden confidence as she further on into the apartment, following the Argent man to the living room where her new life awaited her. As they reached the doorway he took a step aside, allowing Noelle to get a good look at her mother, and her mother a good look at her. For a moment, there was nothing but silence in the room as Darby quickly stood up from her seat, her jaw slacked as she looked at the girl standing across the room. An image of herself, it felt as though she was looking into a mirror, and with a few years taken away. There wasn't an ounce of a doubt that the girl standing there was her daughter.

"Briar." The blonde woman beamed as she wrapped the girl in her arms. Scott released the girl's hand, allowing her to be swept up by her mother as she indulged in a slightly awkward hug. The room remained quiet, waiting for someone to correct the woman, the girl she hugged no longer went by the name Briar, and as far as she was concerned, she never had. Darby pulled away from the hug, getting another look at her daughter as she swept a finger through the girl's golden hair. "You are everything I imagined you to be." The woman told her, a slight smile across Nellie's face as warmth began growing inside of her. "My sweet, sweet, Briar." And then, it went cold again. A feeling of awkwardness washed over Noelle again, she knew that she couldn't let it continue for a moment longer, she didn't want to disappoint the woman, but she wasn't Briar.

"Actually," The girl mumbled. "I go by Noelle now." She cleared her throat, looking behind her to Scott and Stiles, both providing her with another reassuring nod. "I'm sorry."

Darby shook her head. "No, no. It's my mistake. I'm sorry, I- I remember your brother mentioning that." The woman added as she spoke carefully, she knew what today was, Argent had told her it was the day of the funeral, straight after telling her that her son had died a few weeks ago. Darby looked down at the black dress her daughter was still wearing, the funeral clothes, she had been to enough funerals herself to know what they looked like. This wasn't everyday attire. "I'm sorry for your loss, I didn't get the chance to truly know your brother, but Chris tells me that he was an amazing boy." The woman continued, peering over to the man who stood by his words.

"He was." Noelle nodded with a faint smile. Her eyes averted Darby for a moment, seeing the girl still sitting down, she looked nervous to as she stared back at Noelle, waiting for someone to see her, to acknowledge her presence in the room.

Darby turned her head to her youngest child, opening an arm out for the girl, introducing her to everyone, Peyton, her name. The girl gave an awkward smile and wave, just as uncomfortable in this situation as everyone else trying to figure out how it should work. Noelle smiled at her, her heart sinking into her stomach as she did so. It was uncanny. Perhaps she resembled the woman in front of her, but Peyton resembled Cole, a spitting image of their older brother. It was like she had seen his face again, the memory of his last words in her mind as her eyes glossed over. That was when Darby suggested that they all sit, that they clear the air, she was prepared to answer any of the questions that her daughter might have about her, her past with Camila. Anything. It was Stiles who began the questioning process as he took a seat beside his two best friends, he couldn't help but wonder whether she was like Noelle, an elemental druid.

The woman laughed slightly before she answered his question, she could see he was eager, and it seemed like a question her eldest daughter wanted to know too as she raised a brow at it, she wouldn't have even thought to ask something like that, she tried to forget about what she was. Darby nodded in agreement, she was like Noelle, Cole had told her about both of their abilities, how she was much stronger than him, capable of a lot more than he was. And she knew exactly where her daughter got it from. Her. Noelle was surprised to find that Darby was too capable of controlling multiple elements, all but water, but while she didn't possess that talent- Peyton did.

Their heads turned to the fifteen-year-old girl sitting beside her mother, surprised that she was one of them too, and at such a young age. Peyton admitted that she was still new to it all, that it had only been a few months since she came into her abilities, at school of all places. While they were on the subject, she asked if she could ask a question of her own. Noelle nodded, ready for anything that the girl threw at her. At least she had been. How did you find out about yours? The girl asked her, innocently, she didn't know much about her big sister, only the snippets that her big brother had told their mother when he came to Atlanta to find them. The blonde girl felt her heart drop once more as she thought about the answer to that question, only one person knew the exact answer to that question, and he sat beside her, regretting that he brought up the topic.

Noelle lied, partially. She kept it simple, telling her little sister that she accidentally set her rug on fire after having an argument with her mother. The room fell silent again as she said that, it had slipped out of her mouth, still so new to her. Camila, she corrected herself, Darby shook it off. She couldn't complain, not when she had done the same thing by calling her Briar. It was a big adjustment for them all to make, one that would come with time and mistakes.

Darby digressed. "How did she react to that? Camila, I mean." She asked the girl. "I bet she was thrilled as an Alpha to have someone like that in her pack, something so unique. When I told her about me she-" The woman quickly stopped her explanation as she looked at the four slacked jaws in the room. All hung up on something. "Was it something that I said?"

"Camila's a what?" Scott repeated.

An Alpha, the woman deadpanned. She thought they were all very familiar with the topic, Cole had told her that they had a werewolf of their own, a true Alpha, though she couldn't remember the name. Scott took it upon himself to introduce himself, said Alpha of their pack, while he had the chance, he introduced Stiles too, human of the pack. Both giving a little wave. Still in shock that she had just claimed that Camila was a werewolf. An Alpha nonetheless.

"That doesn't make any sense." Noelle shook her head. "We would have known."

"Not with Camila." Darby objected. "She knew how to hide it, from other werewolves too. That's why you never noticed, Scott. Because she didn't want you to know what she was, I assume that it was so you wouldn't discover the truth about her." She explained further. "Camila has always been a master manipulator, she could make anyone belive anything, but with the abilities of an Alpha too? I think that was why your father never suspected that you weren't his children. She'd manipulated his mind, altered it." The woman proposed, it didn't seem out of the question, Jack had to have came to believe it somehow, she had met Jack, he wasn't a man who would follow a sadistic person like Camila.

The three teenagers looked at one another, their jaws on the ground, how could they be so naive to it all. Even if she could hide it from Scott, they should have known, they had experience with a whole pack of Alpha's, how could this not occur to them? Noelle sat quietly for a moment, trying to process that part of information, how she had lived with a werewolf her entire life and not had any idea about it, not even the slightest of an incline. Where did Camila go on full moons? Where were her pack? Did she have a pack anymore? Did she ever? Out of all the questions that Noelle though of, she had only asked her mother one. Camila had told Cole so much about what druids were capable of, as if she was talking from experience, so how did the woman know so much? It was a simple question for Darby to answer, she told Camila everything, they were best friends, a pack, she supposed. Before they had even known it. She never thought her best friend would do to her what Camila had done, to steal her family, to try and kill her. And that was why she was so glad to see that her daughter had made such good friends. Ones who would fight for her.

·❥·

With a sharp gasp blonde girl sat upright, a hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath. An old, dirty public bathroom was where she found herself, not a vault like her first thought told her she might be, and this time, she wasn't alone. After hearing her abrupt awakening the group had run to her aid, prepared to comfort her. They knew that it would take a little longer for her to get up than the kitsune or the lycanthrope, and that her experience might be a little different based on the history she had, a history of being kidnapped and held hostage. The girl looked around in a panic, checking over the four faces that surrounded her, making sure it wasn't just a game that her mind played on her. It certainly had a habit of doing so.

When she was sure that she was awake, that it was all real, a much more Noelle-like reaction had come from her mouth. Ew, she deadpanned as she climbed off of the dirty floor, assisted by Kira and Scott as they held out their hands. Despite parts of the girl changing over past weeks, Noelle was still there somewhere, hiding behind a sudden change in her taste of clothes she was still an awfully bright soul.

Her brow furrowed as she scanned the four faces again. Four. Someone was missing, a particular redheaded girl who would have been first at her side if she were here. "Where's Lydia?" She said in a weary voice, unsure whether she wanted the answer. They all helped in telling her what they had come up with while she was out. Araya didn't have Derek, nor did she know where he was, it was a conclusion that they'd come to separately, Scott just before his unconsciousness, Stiles as he was thrown into this pit. As for Lydia, Araya had her, for reasons they were still unsure of. The Stilinski boy told them what she had said about the redhead girl, how she knew that Lydia was a Banshee, and since, she had found out who stood with her. If Araya had any sense she'd know to kill Lydia was to start a war against one of the most young and powerful packs she had ever seen in her lifetime. Noelle was left with only one conclusion. Araya wanted something.

Malia gladly gave her opinion on their situation. "I say when that door opens again, we take out whoever's standing in the way and run for it." She said with pride.

"What about Lydia?" Kira questioned her.

She shrugged. "What about her?"

"We're not leaving without her." Scott deadpanned.

"Why not?" Malia asked again with furrowed brows.

Stiles and Noelle looked at one another, a shake of their heads. They were her mentors, the pair of people who were helping settle her back into civilisation, Malia needed all of the help that she could get, and the two of them, well they had things to offer that Scott of the group couldn't, his job was to teach her the supernatural things while they worked on the human. Noelle had quite the unique perspective of settling back into civilisation after being gone for so long, perhaps she didn't quite have the same situation as Malia, but there were similarities. Not to mention, Malia trusted her more than she did anyone else. Including Stiles. Despite their weeks of hard work to help the coyote, there were still a few things she hadn't quite grasped, in particular, she couldn't understand why anyone would put themselves in danger for the sake of another human.

"Is that what you would do as a coyote, leave her for dead?" Kira asked curiously, just like Malia didn't know much about the typical ways of a human, she didn't know the typical ways of wild animals. For all she knew, Malia just didn't like Lydia.

"If she was weak and injured, yeah." The werecoyote nodded plainly, Noelle placed her fingers to her temple, clearly there was still work to be done. "If hunting had been bad that season, I would eat her. Then I'd leave."

"Mmm. Believe it or not, that's progress." Stiles mumbled, he wasn't wrong, Noelle nodded too, that definitely was progress compared to when they had first started mentoring Malia. Before it would have been a much crueler answer. They had received that answer, the gruesome detail of it still made them shiver.

Scott tried to help the pack feel some comfort while left in the unknown, reminding them they're still alive, and considering what Argent had told Noelle, that seemed like a good sign. Maybe the wolf was right, but they still didn't know where Derek was if Araya didn't have him. They were at square one, or whatever came before that. A few theories were thrown around the room, but for now, that was all they were- theories.

As they waited for a change in their situation, they all listed off what they had come up with, the things that could have happened to Derek. A few being that; Araya did have him and this was all a front, Derek had left the loft on his own, or someone else had taken him. They entertained the latter for a moment, considering all of the people who would want Derek, those who might want revenge on him, and that was quite a lengthy list. There were people they didn't even know who might want something with Derek, a werewolf born to quite the royal lineage in the supernatural world. Noelle grew tired of hearing all the theories, all the waiting had her frustrated, and lately, she'd gained quite the temper, and Scott and Stiles knew exactly where she had gotten it from. It was a temper that Cole used to have, particularly when he was younger, and just like she'd taken a snippet of Jennifer's traits, she had now taken Cole's too. The joint temper of her brother and a woman who committed ritual sacrifices during her lunch hour. That was why neither of the boys were surprised to see how she reacted once she had reached the height of her frustration- telling them that she would break down the door.

Kira turned to Scott, asking if she could do that, he shrugged, he didn't think so, but he turned to Stiles and Malia seeing if they had ever seen her break down a huge steel door which neither had witnessed before, they didn't like to doubt Noelle. But... They doubted her.

But that didn't stop her trying. She remembered Eichen House, how she had believed in herself until she had broken the lock on the door, this was a bigger job, she knew that, but she couldn't stay in the dirty public bathroom a moment longer than she already had. As the girl took a deep breath, focusing the energy like she had that night, she raised her hand, and just like that, it had started to open. Everyone standing behind the girl stood with a slacked jaw and wide eyes, they had no idea how she had done it, and frankly, neither did she as she opened her eyes, confused as to just how quickly it worked this time. And then, the dream faded. Three hunters standing on the opposite side of the door, they had opened it, not her.

Severo led the two hunters in, one hand pointing at the druid, the other at the Kistune as both of them took a step back, Scott a step forward. Before Scott could even open his mouth to ask what they planned on doing, or where Lydia was, a cattle prod was shoved into his stomach, dropping him to the floor.

Lydia Martin was led into one of the back rooms of the club, or more so dragged into it by quite a handy hunter, but no matter how much she complained about it, the man continued pulling her, Araya continued walking ahead of them with her head held high. All of the attitude that forged a typical Lydia Martin dropped in an instant when the door opened, she saw Scott sitting ahead of her, chained to a chair, his head droppy, his head lined with a golden sweat. Her heart sunk, this wasn't good, far from it. And it only got worse. She was sat in a chair beside him, allowing her to see what stood behind the door. One hunter held Kira tightly, another held Noelle, both wearing an uneasy expression, unsure what the Calaveras had planned for them.

Alone in the dirty bathroom, Stiles and Malia began to panic, stressed about their friends, four of them now taken by Araya, four different supernatural creatures, all with different abilities for her to play with. It could only be a matter of time before they came back for Malia. Until then, they'd agreed that they had to figure out what was going on, they needed to know what to expect when or if those hunters returned.

Left alone, they began to panic. With every minute that passed, Stiles and Kinsey had grown the most anxiety and paranoia riddled they had ever been. It was the fear of the unknown. They had taken three people now, all supernatural, when dealing with hunters, that was less than ideal. It was only made worse with the three creatures they had taken. A banshee; a predictor of death, a thunder kitsune, someone who could spark this entire place out of electricity without batting an eyelid. And a true Alpha, the rarest of the rare, a werewolf, the Calavera's biggest enemy. Kinsey and Stiles had very different methods for coping with their stress. Stiles talked Malia through the process of focusing her hearing as they sat against one of the old sinks, he walked her through it step by step, telling her to concentrate but there were too many voices in her ears. A club full. All of this was too much for her, she and Scott hadn't gone through this yet, she wasn't ready for the kind of thing he was getting her to do.

He spoke softly, guiding her through it as she told him to look straight into his eyes, telling her to do anything she needed to try and concentrate on the sounds she heard. So she did, kissing him, drowning out every other useless voice. As she pulled away her eyes glowed a bright blue shade, it had worked, she could hear them, she could hear Scott screaming in pain, the whimpering of a Banshee who was forced to watch it, the pleading of Noelle as she begged Araya to stop, and the resistance of Kira who didn't want to help them torture the Alpha.

"Tell me!" Araya demanded. "Who actually has Derek? Who had a reason, a vendetta particular to the Hales?" She asked the Alpha in front of her again. Every time Araya didn't get the answer she wanted, Scott would feel more pain.

"I said I don't know." Scott panted with frustration.

"Oh, you don't know because you haven't figured it out yet. So think!" Araya spat out at the wolf. "Who could've taken him?" The dial was turned up again. "Who had the power? The power of a shapeshifter? Someone who could have turned without you knowing. Turned, but not by a bite!"

"I don't know!" Scott snarled through gritted teeth.

Araya turned her head to the Kitsune, insisting she turned it up, all the way. Kira refused, shaking her head, Scott was in more than enough pain on three, ten would kill him. But Araya didn't care whether it killed him or not, she would do it herself if she had to. Noelle begged the woman, she told them again that they knew nothing, they had no idea who she was talking about. Araya said differently, once again telling them that they just hadn't figured it out yet. She shoved Kira out of the way, turning the dial until it couldn't go any higher. Scott's screaming loud in their ears. Each of the girls winced, turning their heads away from the sight, unable to watch it any longer. Lydia tried to fight her way out of the chair she was in, wanting to help, but it was no use, these were a hunter's restraints, there was no point in fighting such a strong system.

Scott's eyes opened as he screamed, they were their glowing red, his scream turning into a loud roar as he gathered up the strength he needed to break free from the handcuffs, the pressure he put on them freeing him from the restraints as they fell onto the floor. Scott raised his arms into the air. Slowly sinking weakly into his chair, panting heavily. Araya turned off the dial. He knew, she told him to say the name. The name he didn't want to say, he didn't want to believe it. Kate.

"You're just letting us go?" Scott asked as he and Noelle were guided out of the club, the rest of the pack had already been set free, but Araya had kept the two of them for a little longer. There was still unfinished business when it came to the two of them. She wanted some information on a werewolf she had been searching for for a long time, one she had recently heard that they had a connection to. Somehow, before Araya had even said the name, Noelle knew. Camila, she had finished the woman's sentence. The woman nodded, she knew all of it, the lies that the woman had told, how she had kidnapped two children and raised them to believe they were her own. It was as if she had been watching them, forever. There wasn't a detail about Noelle's life that she didn't know of, she even knew about her second kidnapping, being held hostage by Deucalion. And now, after making sure to tell the blonde girl just how much she knew about her, she chose to release them. Ensuring she left with an ounce of fear inside of her, and most of all, a warning, perhaps Camila was in Eichen House now, secured behind bars, but she promised the girl that it wouldn't be the end.

As she led them out of the building Araya told them that she had sent four men to the last place Kate was rumored to be found, none of them had returned. Now, she wanted to see if the two of them could do any better. She didn't doubt they could. A true Alpha and a druid who was raised by an Alpha, trained as a huntress, gifted with the elements? There didn't seem like there were a lot of things that they couldn't do, and with such a loyal pack behind them, even she had to say that they were a strong, worthy competition.

"You could've just told us she was alive," Scott told the woman.

She shook her head. "You wouldn't have believed me." The two teenagers looked at each other, perhaps they wouldn't. Or maybe with all of the insane things that they had heard lately they'd believe in a heartbeat that a woman had risen from the dead. Compared to Noelle being raised by a manipulative, murderous Alpha, Kate Argent being alive wasn't too out of the ballpark. It should have been more surprising, but they were all out of that emotion. "Now I know the kind of Alpha you are. And where your next step lies." She told them.

Confused, Scott asked what next step she referred to. Araya told him. When he took the bite of an innocent, when he made a wolf of his own, she would cross their border and come knocking on their door. Noelle had no doubt about that, the woman in front of her was quite possibly the fiercest hunter she'd ever known of. But neither of them saw Scott giving someone the bite, ever. It had been something that they had talked about before, whether he had any interest in making his pack stronger, bigger, like everyone else that they knew, and he didn't. He was happy with an accidental pack that he had grown, built with his friends, people who were like family.

As the two of them walked towards the Jeep, Noelle came to an abrupt stop, the wolf stopped in his tracks too, turning back to her, asking if she was okay. "What do you think she meant? That it isn't the end with Camila?" She questioned, as though he had the answers. "She can't get out of there, right? She's in the closed unit. People don't just escape the closed unit, do they? I mean-"

"Nell." Scott interrupted her rambling. "She's not getting out of there. You're okay, okay? Darby's okay. Peyton's okay. We're all okay."

"Except Derek." She deadpanned. "Derek's not okay. What if we go to this stupid church and he's dead, huh? What do we do then? What do I tell Cora? Hey, remember when I called and asked if you'd heard from your brother and you said no? Yeah, it's cause he's dead. Haha, we both have a dead brother now." The girl began having a meltdown, continuing to walk towards the Jeep, her hands running through her blonde hair as Scott followed her, the other four managed to catch a part of her sentence, they could see that she was spiraling, and fast.

Her word vomit was interrupted once more, only this time it was by a motorcycle. The guide that Araya was giving them to head to La Iglesia, a church, but not the kind of place where they'd find God in. That was where Araya believed would lead them to Derek, it was the first step in the new plan they'd had no other choice but to form. Before beginning their tour of Mexico, their guide, the mercenary, Braeden, stopped, her finger pointing at the blonde girl as she furrowed a brow. She had a distinct look. One that was recognizable, this girl had been described to her a fair amount over the past few months. Noelle, she asked, the blonde nodded, confirming that it was her. Braeden had thought so, the legend that was the girl who was taken by the Alpha pack and lived to tell the tale, the one who had taken the power of the Nemeton without committing a single sacrifice, and based on recent rumors in the supernatural world- the "daughter" of an Alpha who had managed to hide her identity from everyone.

As Braeden listed all of those details the pack nodded, confirming that everything she had heard about Noelle was true, the blonde still unsure how she and Camila had become something that an entire community of supernaturals gossiped about, how everyone had come to find out all of these things. Did they have a worm to worry about? Some kind of supernatural newsletter, if so, she really needed to subscribe to that, it appeared she was a regular headline for it. Unsure what else she was supposed to say, Noelle began walking towards the Jeep, everyone took that as the cue to begin driving to La Iglesia, and not a moment too soon, time was running out, darkness in the near future.

"How does everyone know who I am?" Noelle asked Malia as they waited to pile into Stiles' Jeep that was much too overcrowded. "Everyone." She emphasized the coyote shrugging, suggesting that maybe she was some kind of supernatural celebrity. That sounded like a nightmare.

Once Noelle's rambling had died down, the Jeep was left in uncomfortable silence, six of them in a cramped car in the middle of the desert with more questions on their minds than any of them knew what to do with. Most revolved around the woman who had supposedly come back from the dead, something that none of them had experience with, not even the three squished in the front of the Jeep. Noelle only knew a few things about Kate, the things that Scott and Stiles told her to catch her up when she was freed from the vault, but she didn't know the true extent of the woman, just how cruel the woman was, neither did Kira or Malia, two people who hadn't heard a Kate mentioned until today. Of course, the three girls had some curiosity as to who she was. Just how scared did they need to be that she was back?

Kira and Malia kept sharing looks, waiting for one of them to ask, or for someone else to bring up the conversation, but the silence was deafening, it was clear that the three who knew about Kate the most didn't want to talk about her, they didn't want to relive the nightmare that was her and her reign of terror over Beacon Hills. Lydia kept making eye contact with Scott and Stiles through the rearview mirror, wondering whether they were going to say anything, but neither of the boys quite had it in them to begin thinking about it, they were still getting over the last big revelation, and that was weeks ago. While the looks were shared, Noelle was the only one who didn't share one with anybody else, her head was kept down as she sat on Scott's lap, Araya's words playing on repeat in her head. How it wasn't the end with Camila. It was as if she knew something, she'd avoided confronting Camila since that day, the option was there, anytime she wanted she could go to Eichen House, sit opposite the woman, and ask her all of the questions that she'd thought of since finding out. But she was too scared, and most of all, it felt like a betrayal while trying to make things work with her birth mother, she should be focusing on her, not the woman who had made their lives a living hell.

"Okay, I'll ask." Malia deadpanned, breaking the silence as they all turned to the girl, dreading what was going to come out of her mouth. "Who's Kate Argent?"

At first, everyone looked at Scott, expecting him to take the lead, he was an Alpha after all. But he remained quiet as he turned to his best friend, he expected Stiles to explain this one, he knew it would probably come out better than anything that he could come up with. Stiles nodded as he began the tale. "Well, we were at her funeral." He told them. "So I'd like to know how she got out of a casket that was buried six feet underground."

"She was never in it." Scott shook his head, that was clear now. They had never seen a body, that was for sure, hell, they barely saw the funeral before Stiles's dad had pulled them from it.

Noelle chimed in with the one piece of information she did know about the woman, that she was Allison's aunt. The car fell silent for another moment as the name was mentioned, whenever the group mentioned it the tone lowered, a wave of guilt washing over them again. They imagined it would always feel that way, even when they reached the stage of grief where their names would be used to share memories and happiness, there would always be some guilt there, a hole left in their absence. Lydia tried to change the topic, at least from Allison, informing the girls that Kate was a sociopath, Stiles elaborating on what made her one- she was the one who set the fire that killed most of Derek's family, some of the family survived, like Cora and Peter, a very angry Peter. Their tale ended with the explanation of what Peter had been like as an Alpha, something Noelle was glad she was in the vault for, she wasn't sure she would have made it through that, finally, it came to the big finale, Peter ripping out Kate's throat, the thing that they thought killed her.

Stiles reiterated his point, they had seen Kate buried, they watched the casket go down. But the Alpha was still adamant that she was never in it, the Calaveras were many things, a grave digger didn't seem like one of them. Noelle offered an alternative, it was clear Araya knew everything about just about every supernatural, perhaps they'd heard about Kate, how she was killed by an Alpha, as strict followers of the code, they would want to ensure that she was dead. Of course, it didn't turn out that way. She must have been healing, and the closer they were to the full moon, the closer she was to coming back. Araya must have swapped the bodies, taking a temporarily dead Kate with them. She looked between Scott, Stiles and Lydia, the three all nodded, that was a pretty specific theory, and one that seemed entirely possible. Noelle would know, she was part hunter. Kira needed to clarify a point that she had made, the code that the girl talked of.

"If a hunter is bit, we have to take our own life before we change." She began, Kira's eyes wide as she listened, that wasn't the start she expected. "The Calaveras, they treat it like law. They make it their responsibility to enforce it." Malia intervened, saying that it was good for Kate, that if she were in Kate's position she wouldn't have done it either, even then, it was progress for Malia. But that wasn't the point. In the time that Araya had kept her and Scott she had told them what Kate had done, she had killed half a dozen people to escape. "Allison changed the code after Jennifer sacrificed all of those people, and we swore that he would protect people who couldn't protect themselves." Noelle finished, her voice ending up in a mumble.

Her brother and Allison had died trying to follow that code, trying to protect everyone from Void. That just added to the list of reasons why she didn't want to follow through with being a hunter, it was good training to have in times of need, but becoming a hunter in itself, that had gotten the people she loved killed. Only hours into being hunters too.

Kira leaned forward, hesitantly asking another question- was Kate a werewolf now?

Scott shrugged, he wasn't sure what Kate had become, but he told them there was a saying that sometimes the shape someone takes reflects the kind of person they are. Lydia spoke up again, asking what kind of shape a sociopathic bitch might take, a loud outburst of laughter came from the coyote sitting beside her, clearly, she liked that one. Suddenly, the Jeep shifted to the side, a tire bursting as Stiles struggled to keep control of the car.

Braeden had quickly spun around at the sound, pulling up at the side of the Jeep as the teens all climbed out, wondering what the hell had happened. This was the kind of thing that made Lydia want to drive out here, in her own new car that they could trust. Braeden told Scott they needed to get to La Iglesia by night, it was too dangerous otherwise, but he didn't want to leave them, it was dangerous here, and frankly, he didn't like leaving Noelle at all. He looked at her and Stiles, both pushing him to go with Braeden, reassuring him that they would be fine, but it didn't make a difference, he wanted them to come with him, but that wasn't an option that they had.

Someone had to find Derek, he had to go. Stiles reassured him that they would figure something out, they always did. And when they did, they would be with him as quick as they could. The girl at his side nodded in agreement, giving him a reassuring smile like he had done for her so many times these past few weeks. Still unsure, he agreed, he had faith in them, possibly a too much of it. The wolf began walking towards Braeden's bike, Stiles turning back to his broken Jeep.

Noelle watched Scott walk away, and suddenly, she had an urge to say something to him, it was long overdue, something that needed to be said, it should have been said a long time ago, but it was something that she had been too scared to say, or that she couldn't say. She called the wolf back as she rushed after him, grabbing onto his arm as she opened her mouth to say it, it would change everything. And as soon as she realized that, fear rose in her again, and she hesitated to say the words, instead, all that came out was- be careful. The blonde wrapped her arms around the wolf, hating herself for wimping out again, letting fear rule over her again. As the wolf left, a similar regret was inside of him, wishing he had said it too, but it was too late, he turned back to see that she had already returned to the Jeep, a roll of duct tape in her hand from Stiles. They would figure it out one day, they had come so close, and yet they still seemed so far.

·❥·

Deep beneath the church of La Iglesia, Scott and Braeden wandered through the ruins filled with an array of cobwebs, a cruel breeze against their skin, and Derek. The wolf's sense told him that he was down here somewhere, but he wasn't the only one. Someone, something was down here with them, something Scott could only describe as inhuman. He didn't quite know what to call it considering its unique scent, it was nothing he had ever smelt before, it was unsettling, the wolf hoped that after tonight he would never come into contact with it again.

He held a flashlight close to him as he walked through the church, listening to the tales Braeden told him about it as she held her gun close to her chest. La Iglesia was central to a town that had been leveled by an Earthquake, it was the only thing to survive the disaster, but it wasn't due to plain dumb luck, it was the belief of the locals that it was what lay beneath its structure that had allowed it to survive the Earthquake. An Aztec temple, home to the Nagual. Shapeshifters, Scott knew them as, but Braeden was a little more specific- werejaguars. Neither quite knew what the plan was, even now as they walked through the temple, the mercenary admitted she had never gotten this far before, and though that scared Scott a little, she still seemed fearless, unbothered as she had been all afternoon. Braeden had made a few things clear in their time together, for an intriguing amount of money she would do anything, she would kill anyone, even him if the offer was big enough for it. If the legends of werejaguars didn't scare the wolf, that sure did.

"So," Braeden began talking again, for the first time since Scott had announced that they weren't alone in this temple. Scott dreaded what she would say, so far, it hadn't been a pleasurable time, every time she opened her mouth he was left contemplating whether he would ever see the light of day again, or if he would die down here. "Why didn't you kiss her?" She asked, taking Scott by surprise as he asked her what she said, unsure he had heard her correctly. "How come you didn't kiss your girlfriend?" Braeden asked again.

"Noelle?" He clarified.

"How many girlfriends do you have?" The woman retorted. "The fire-wielding blonde." She told him, but it was already clear to him who she was referring to, he was just surprised that she had assumed Noelle was his girlfriend, and he wondered what had given that impression.

"Well, she's not really, uh..." He began to stammer, trying to explain to her the complicated thing that he had with the girl, he didn't quite know what to label them as, they hadn't talked about it yet, he wanted to, but he wanted to make sure it was a good time for her, and so far, they lacked a free period in their lives. They hadn't even spoken of the night that they had spent together, it was on the list of things to discuss. "I mean, we've never actually... She's not my girlfriend." The Alpha finally spat out, confused by his own words. It felt wrong to say that, it stung to admit that.

"So if you die down here-" She continued the conversation, that was more along the lines of the sentence that he had been expecting. "Are you gonna regret not kissing her?" Scott's brows had furrowed as he thought about that question, and then, he wondered why she was questioning it at all, she didn't seem like someone interested in teen romance. He turned to the woman with a tilted head and a look of disapproval. "You should've kissed your girlfriend."

With the Jeep back up and running, Stiles and the four girls climbed back into it, determined to reach La Iglesia and find Scott before they were attacked again. In the meantime, he lectured an irresponsible Malia for running away to chase whatever creature lurked out here with them, she had only followed an instinct, to fight, to protect herself and those who were with her. Kira had chased after her too, Noelle didn't quite get that chance, Lydia had snapped at her and Stiles to finish fixing the Jeep so they could get out of here, and they had, but that didn't mean that he'd let Malia get away with it.

He chastised the girl, begging her to never do it again while the girls in the back remained quiet. Malia didn't quite understand what she had done as she questioned it. He thought that she had just taken off, that she was running. His answer only confused her further, she was running, not the type he was referring to, but she was indeed running. Stiles sighed as he explained it to her, how he thought that she was leaving. Noelle looked up at those words, Stiles had never handled people leaving well, no matter what kind of leaving it was. Whether it was through death or even when their fourth-grade teacher had left for maternity leave, he had cried and complained for an unbelievable amount of time. And now, after all the people that left him, he was scared that they would all leave him one day.

Malia reassured him that she wouldn't leave, not without him. He felt relief at that moment, and also surprise, now that was progress for Malia. She added that she wouldn't leave without Nellie either, a smile over the blonde's face as the coyote peered over her shoulder. A nice moment, for a second, and then she admitted she would leave Lydia and Kira. She didn't see them as a loss to her life. They weren't a necessity like Noelle and Stiles were to her.

Noelle told the girls she sat in between that she didn't really mean it, but she did, Noelle knew it, she just didn't want either of them to feel bad. But Malia had heard her whispered reassurance, a second reassurance to them that she would leave them, in a heartbeat if she had to. The girl who had tried to ease the situation shook it off, desperate to move on from this topic, Noelle pointed at the wound on Malia's side, it was deep. A little too deep for her liking. Stiles was concerned for her too, it wasn't any small wound, but she told both of them that she would be fine, she felt her body healing from it already.

"You didn't see anything?" Lydia asked her.

"Barely." Malia shook her head. "It had a strong scent, though."

"Like what?" Stiles questioned, unsure if he actually wanted to know.

After he knew the answer, he wished he hadn't. Malia could only come up with one word to suit a smell like that, it was an unusual smell to her, unsettling, she had never smelt anything like it, an almost inhumane smell. Death, she described it. That had only worried them more as Stiles sped up, as desperate as ever to get to his best friend before that creature caught up to him. Even with his foot on the pedal, it felt like it took forever for them to reach the ruined town, the headlights lit up the entrance of the church, allowing them to see three figures stumbling out, they came to the quick assumption of who it was as they rushed out of the Jeep.

Noelle had rushed ahead, eager to help Scott and Derek, but as soon as she had seen their faces she had come to a sharp halt, a hand over her mouth with her eyes wide. An expression matched by Lydia as she found herself beside the blonde, one by one, jaws began to drop as they all saw a new side of Derek Hale. A younger side of him. What the hell had happened to him?