CHAPTER TWELVE » ENDURE
"Get over yourself, Dunbar."

☽

The man who had thrown the punch stumbled to a stop upon the sight of Liam. He stared up at him in shock, as surprised gasps began to ripple through the crowd.

Security were there within moments, attempting to pull both of the men away from Liam, who was stood rigidly, desperately trying to get under control.

I broke through the gathering crowd, spotting Liam's claws desperately digging into his palms. "Come on," I said quietly, grabbing his wrist firmly as we began to move through the crowd.

Liam lowered his head once we made it into an open space, the two of us rushing down the corridor, quickly passing the wandering eyes of confused spectators. I expected Mason to be hot on our trail, but when I glanced back, I realised he was still stuck in the crowd.

"Wait, stop!" A nurse called out, drawing attention back to us. I gripped Liam's wrist tighter, dragging him along with me as I raced to the elevator at the end of the corridor.

Aware that people were still watching, I frantically flung my palm against the elevator button, hurriedly pushing it down with my thumb until the doors began to open.

I ushered a panicking Liam inside before me, and stepped in as he pushed the first button he could find. Liam stayed in one corner as I moved to the other, watching him warily as he panted, trying to catch his breath. If he turned and tried to kill me, then I was certainly going to regret my life choices.

I turned my attention to the closing doors, almost swearing upon seeing a face outside just before they dinged shut. Well, that was close.

I blinked quickly, shaking the thought from my mind as I turned my attention back to Liam, who was still curled up in the corner, whispering a mantra I hadn't heard him use for a while.

"The sun," he began to mumble to himself. "The moon," he paused, his breathing still shallow. "The truth." Noticing he'd begun to keep himself under control, I edged closer, keeping quiet so he could repeat his mantra. "The sun. The moon. The truth."

The elevator doors reopened again, and Liam took a quick glance down at his hands, checking that the claws were gone, before we stepped out into the corridor.

I found an empty room, quickly ushering Liam inside. He fell against the wall, sliding into the corner. Defeatedly, he dropped his head down, pulling his legs up to his chest.

I sighed heavily, closing the door shut behind me. "Liam," I said softly, receiving no response. "Liam."

"I'm fine."

I shook my head, moving to kneel down beside him. "You're not, and that's okay. You lost the person who keeps you grounded," I started, shifting my gaze elsewhere as I hesitated on my next words. "Trust me, I know how that feels."

When I looked back at him, I realised he was staring at me, a glint of something in his eyes. He then glanced away. "How'd you do it?"

"I found myself," I replied, swallowing thickly, my throat feeling dry. "And I surrounded myself with the right people. With the people I love."

"I can't do this," he stated, shaking his head. "I can't."

"You can," I assured, beginning to reach a hand out to comfort him, until I stopped myself. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"I can't believe it really happened," he breathed out slowly. "All of those people that saw–" he cut himself off, as if still trying to process it. I did wonder what this meant, now that people had seen. I mean, are they gonna start asking questions? How do you explain that?

"Look on the bright side," I started, a grin pulling at my lips. "At least we weren't confined in the space of a prison van this time."

That got me a laugh.

~

"Hey, what'd you do with that rat?" Liam asked Mason as I began to climb out of the car. As if that stupid dead rat was our main concern right now.

Mason hesitated for a moment, seeming to think of a response. "I...lost it in the fight." I held back a laugh, shaking my head as Liam, accepting of the answer. "Melissa's gonna kill us."

I shrugged. "Probably."

"I don't think we can ever go back there again," Liam said, a nervous chuckle following his words.

"Yeah, that might work for you two, but what about me?" Mason asked, as I paused, realising his point.

"That could be a problem."

The three of us made our way inside, heading through the corridors to the library, where we were meeting Corey and some others for the late night study session.

"What are you here for?" I heard a voice question, sounding as if it was a few corridors away.

My eyebrows drew together in confusion as I shared a look with Liam. "Parrish? Why is he here?"

I took the lead, following the voices to help me locate the deputy and whoever he was with.

"Something you let out," a voice I didn't recognise responded. "It must be stopped."

I came to a stop, spotting a tall man dressed in dark clothing stood with Deputy Parrish. He had very little hair on his head, and had a strong build. He seemed to be the typical villain stereotype that we always came up against. Great.

But, thinking about it, cI'd seen that face before. Where?

The unfamiliar man's eyes glowed bright orange, his body erupting into roaring flames. Within seconds, Parrish had followed suit, the two men facing each other in a stand off.

"Get behind me," Liam ordered as the three of us stumbled away, our eyes all glued to the two of them.

"Wait that's a–"

"Hellhound," Liam and I both finished Mason's sentence, turning to share a look as we watched the fight unfold.

At the point where Parrish had been slammed into the lockers, I felt the burning urge to do something to help. But I knew better than to get involved in a fight between two hellhounds.

My heart raced as the three of us watched helplessly as the unknown man jabbed his claws into Deputy Parrish, causing him to let out a long, loud, pained groan until he was flung through the doors outside and left unconscious.

Okay, now we were screwed.

"Mason, go," I instructed firmly, my eyes unable to leave the hellhound. As far as we knew, he was ready to kill or seriously injure anyone in this school. When Mason didn't move, Liam and I both shouted to him simultaneously. "Run!"

"I'm not leaving you!" He argued back as I took a step forwards, brandishing my claws.

"No, he's a hellhound, run!" Liam yelled back to him in desperation, moving to my side as Mason finally began to rush down the corridor.

Liam roared, hurtling towards the hellhound without a seconds hesitation. He kicked one leg against the lockers, which gave a powerful edge to the hit he swung at the man. I hung back slightly, having a feeling that things were going to go south pretty quickly.

With another roar, Liam pulled the nearest locker door from it's hinges, moving back to swing the metal at the hellhound, who was barely affected by the blow.

In response he instead pinned Liam to the lockers, trapping him, which signalled that it was my time to shine.

I found myself crashing into the hellhound at full force, knocking him away from Liam as we both stumbled over. I slid across the floor slightly, swinging my leg up, hitting the man in the knee, causing his legs to buckle. Liam pulled himself together quickly, hitting him hard with the locker door again.

I scrambled up from the floor, bringing my knee up under his chin. His head flew back, but he managed to take a swipe at us. A sharp pain seared against my skin, distracting me momentarily until I found myself being pushed back.

My back hit the lockers, hard, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs. I groaned, feeling the heat raging from the flames engulfing the man's body. He pressed the metal against Liam and I again, the weight feeling as if it was crushing my chest. I couldn't breathe.

"If the wild hunt couldn't keep you, nothing can," he said lowly, as I shot Liam as sideways glance. He then tilted his head, seeming to deliberate for a minute. "No. No, it's not either of you."

Before I could react, I watched as Mason swung Stiles Stilinski's trusty bat at the hellhound, who reacted within milliseconds, reaching out to stop it as if it didn't even phase him.

He swung the weapon back at Mason, who grunted, falling hard against the lockers and then to the floor.

"Son of a–" I started through gritted teeth, using all my strength to push the damn locker door away. I felt the pressure lift from my chest, and stumbled slightly as the hellhound noticed we'd broken free. He whipped the door around, attempting to hit us until we both ducked to the floor.

Liam sprinted to get a kick off from the lockers again, his leg crashing into the hellhound, who became dazed. I took the opportunity, and pushed him back, slamming him hard against the lockers.

I went to land a punch, but I felt another swipe of claws against my skin, throwing me off balance. I doubled over as the hellhound went for me again, this time digging his jagged claws much harder and deeper into my skin.

I squeezed my eyes shut in agony, thankful when the pain finally ended. I opened my eyes again, relieved to see it was the man who was pushed against the lockers, Liam swiping his claws against him continuously. He stepped back going for a final hit that sent the hellhound falling against the lockers, the fire around him faltering; everything finally stopping.

I breathed out heavily, clutching the pain in my abdomen, my eyes on Liam until a menacing laugh cut through the air. "It won't say hidden," the man said darkly. "It must be stopped. Nothing else matters."

He fell silent, and I watched him for a moment or two before turning my attention back to Liam.

"The sun," I heard him whisper desperately, his breathing heavy. I moved towards him, weakly falling beside him against the lockers. "The moon," he continued, letting out a pained groan. Our shoulders touched, and I turned to face him, silently begging him to meet my eyes. He did. "The truth."

The two of us held eye contact, only breaking it when Mason leaned down beside us, holding his side with a pained look on his face. I glanced back over at the hellhound, only to see that he'd disappeared, merely leaving a shadowy mark on the lockers instead.

"Who the hell was that?"

~

I let my aching arm fall from around Liam as he collapsed onto the bench. With a groan, he started to pull his unbuttoned shirt open, exposing bloodied scratches and burns all over him.

"It should be healing faster than this," he said, grimacing down at the wounds.

"It's from a hellhound," I reminded, wincing at my own injuries as a movement sent a painful twinge through my body.

"I mean, all things considered, you're doing great," Mason added, moving to sit beside him.

"Great isn't supposed to look like this," Liam replied dismissively.

"You fought a hellhound," Mason reminded, glancing from Liam to me. "Both of you. Without Scott."

"I don't wanna get used to that," Liam stated, and I glanced down, feeling the exact same way.

"Wounds heal, people move, things change," Mason told him.

"Yeah, but it still hurts though," Liam stated, his head falling defeatedly. I knew they weren't just referring to Scott and the others leaving, but to Hayden moving away too.

I let out a heavy sigh. "That's just life though, isn't it?" I attempted to sit beside Liam on the bench, but the movement sent a horrible wave of pain through me, which both boys noticed.

"You okay?" Liam asked, watching me with, what appeared to be, concern.

"Fine," I brushed it off, not wanting a fuss to be made. It would heal soon anyway. But fuck, it hurt.

"Why are you clutching your stomach then?" Mason questioned, his eyes narrowing as he continued to watch me struggle.

"Just a scratch."

"Yeah right," he stood up, moving towards me. Without warning, he gripped the end of my shirt, raising it a small amount.

"Dude–" I started, attempting to fight him off until I caught sight of the wound. A thick, deep cut, almost the length of my stomach. Smaller, thinner scratches and burns also covered my skin, but nowhere near as bad as the deep cut.

"Holy shit," Mason muttered, his eyes glancing from my injuries and back to me.

"I've had worse," I grimaced, attempting to pull his hand away. I didn't even believe my own words, so I doubted Mason did.

"No," he stated firmly. "Shirt off." I raised an eyebrow. He tilted his head to the side. "Never thought I'd be saying that to a girl."

"Look, I'm fine," I argued, shooting Mason a cautioning glare.

"You need to heal," Liam added, as I glanced up in the air in annoyance.

"He's right," I heard a voice say from the shadows, catching me by surprise. "Take the damn shirt off."

"Of course he would say that," Liam muttered under his breath.

I ignored his comment, as amusing as it was, shooting a sideways glance at Brett, who was stood at the locker room door, before turning back to Mason. "You called him. Of all people?"

"No, Mason called me," Venus said, stepping out from behind Brett. She nodded over to him. "He just tagged along."

"To do what, annoy us?" I quipped, receiving a fake smile in response from Brett. I turned back to Mason, who raised his eyebrows, prompting me to get on with it. "Fine," I huffed, beginning to unbutton my shirt.

I slowly began to peel the, now slightly bloodied, material away, discarding it on the floor, and leaving me in my sports bra – slightly awkward, but I was more worried about whether I was about to die or not.

I noticed everyone's grimacing faces, and realised that they were most definitely right; it really didn't look that great.

"It's a good job you did call me," Vee said, her and Brett now heading over to the three of us. "That shit is nasty."

"Tell me about it," I muttered, tearing my eyes away from the wounds. I felt sick.

"What are you gonna do?" Liam asked, watching Vee with slight uncertainty.

"Healing spell, duh," she answered nonchalantly, ushering me to sit down on the bench. "It'll speed up the process and take away any pain." She crouched in front of me, her hands hovering above my injuries. "Okay, this might hurt. Briefly."

"Just do it," I stated, bracing myself as soon as I heard her murmuring the spell under her breath.

All of a sudden, sharp, searing bursts of pain pulsated within the wounds, intensifying so much that it felt like somebody was twisting knives into my whole body.

"Jesus, fuck–" I cried out, grabbing onto the arm of the person closest to me. With every second that passed, the pain amplified, and I soon found myself biting my tongue in a vain attempt to keep myself from crying out.

My eyes met with Brett's, who came to my side, holding out his hand. I gripped on to him tightly, squeezing my eyes shut. It felt as if my wounds were ripping open, not healing and closing shut. I'd never felt anything like it.

I let out a small, strangled scream, feeling the blood catch in my throat from biting my tongue so hard.

And then it all stoped.

The brutal pain gently faded into a dull ache, allowing me to finally feel as if I could breathe again.

Slowly, I released the grip on Brett's hand, and moved my hand away from Liam's arm. The pained look that they both exchanged, in response to my harsh grip, didn't go unnoticed.

"Told you it would hurt," Venus said as I leaned my head against the lockers, my eyes fluttering shut in relief, which currently felt like utter bliss. 

"Never. Again."

"That's amazing," Mason stated in awe as I looked up at him, noticing his wide-eyed stare.

Vee turned to the side, addressing Liam. "Your turn now."

"Uh, I think I'll pass," he declined almost immediately.

"Get over yourself, Dunbar," Brett said with an eye roll. "Look, you can even hold my hand if you want."

"I'm fine, thanks," he retorted back, an element of bitterness in his tone.

"Trust me, it's better to go through ten seconds of pain than to sit around forever waiting for that to heal," Vee said, to which I raised an eyebrow.

"Ten seconds?" I breathed out in disbelief. It felt like way more than ten measly seconds. And I definitely wasn't sure if I agreed with it being worth it.

"Liam, she's right. You can barely stand," Mason told him, causing Liam to huff in response, eventually giving in.

"Fine."

Brett shot me a grin, his eyes then averting to focus on Liam. "Oh, I am so going to enjoy this."

~

"Becca," Liam stated all of a sudden, his voice catching my attention, considering we'd had a long car ride of silence up until now. I tore my eyes away from the window, glancing over at him.

"What's up?"

"Are we–" he cut off, deliberating over his words. I watched him unsurely as he took his eyes off the road for a moment to address me again. "Are we good?"

I raised my eyebrows in amusement, studying his expression carefully. "Define good."

"Like," he paused, "friends," he finished, shrugging his shoulders casually. "I don't know."

I thought for a moment, glancing back at the road. "I suppose we gotta stick together," I started, watching from the corner of my eyes as he glanced over at me briefly. "You know, for survival."

"Right," Liam nodded his head slowly. "For survival."

I couldn't help but smile.

As we headed down my road, I spotted Stiles' jeep still in the driveway; which immediately gave me the feeling that something wasn't right. Stiles had left the jeep for both Scott and I, but we'd agreed that I could "officially" have it, considering Scott still had his bike. Despite the fact I loved Stiles, I did not love his jeep, and was happy to offer it to Scott to use for college.

I wouldn't have exactly been left completely vehicle-less anyway, as I was always getting rides from Brett, who, by the way, had the coolest, comfiest (and probably most expensive) car ever. Plus, I had been working a few jobs over the break to save money for a car of my own  – a good move considering I had used a lot of my own money to go away for a while last summer. I wasn't exactly very close to having enough, but I was getting there. Slowly.

Liam pulled up outside the house, also seeming confused as to why the jeep was still here. He turned the keys in the ignition, killing the engine, the headlights fading and leaving us in darkness. "I thought Scott was supposed to be out of here by now?"

"So did I," I said, sharing a wary look with him. Without another word, the two of us opened our respective car door's, stepping outside and both glancing around.

"I've got Lydia and Malia's scents too," Liam informed as I slowly pushed open the front door to my house, noting that it had been left unlocked.

"Scott?" I asked, stepping inside. The lights were all off downstairs, but there seemed to be some light flooding from a room upstairs. "Scott?"

"Up here."

Liam and I shared a glance before beginning to climb the stairs, heading to Scott's room, where my brother, Lydia and Malia were sat on the edge of the bed, their eyes on both of us, unreadable expressions on their faces.

"Why are you all still here?" I questioned, looking between them unsurely. There was no way Malia would have passed up going to Paris without a good reason, seeing how excited she was. And after the fiasco with the hellhound, I was beginning to suspect something important must be going on to make them stay.

The three of them briefly exchanged glances with each other, until Scott finally spoke up. "We can't leave. Not now."

And despite the fact that it was evident something bad was coming, I couldn't help but feel relieved that they were all still here.

❥

A/N

I live for Brett tbh. *cries*

I made a trailer (took me forever) if you wanna check that out. Should be attached at the top but if not then my YouTube is _toxicity

#Riam #Lebecca #Riex #WhateverThey'reCalled is on the rise again...for now.

Thanks for reading ✌🏼