LOVERS ROCK
chapter four ; magic bullet
[ season one - episode four ]

Dawn was upon them as a couple drove through the quiet town of Beacon Hills. It was quiet, the entire town asleep. It was dark, just how they liked it. It had been a long time since they'd been in this place, six years, to give it a number. The last time they left, they hadn't looked back, until now when they had been called back again, for the same reason that called them here six years ago. As they drove through the quiet streets the pair had quickly noticed that it looked the same as it had when they were last here, that was the thing about this little town, it didn't matter how long a person had been gone, whenever they came, and they always did, this town ceased to be any different. It was still that innocent-looking town that was infested with monsters that people liked to think of as mountain lions, a predator that had an act for killing the people of the town. Maybe part of their assumptions were true, the thing killing all of the people here was a predator indeed, just not the kind of animal that they had all convinced themselves it was committing all of those animal attacks. That was another thing that ceased to change, the naiveness this town had. How many of these so-called animal attacks did there need to be for them to understand it wasn't just bad luck or wild animals like mountain lions committing the crime?

An announcement came on the radio, the male in the car turning it up slightly. Authorities in this little town were remaining perplexed to the animal attacks that plagued it. The woman in the car scoffed with a shake of her head, contemptuous as she changed over the station. It was that kind of announcement that brought the two of them here, just like it had last time the two were here, it would never change. This town was a beacon for trouble, disaster, someone had to fix it. And it was people like them who aimed to rid this town, the world in fact, of that problem.

Kate looked at her boyfriend in the driver's seat of the car, asking him when he was going to tell her. He wasn't sure which thing she was referring to, there were a few things in his life that Jude needed to tell his daughter about. For starters, Kate. But he doubted that was the thing she was referring to, the more dire thing that she had been encouraging him to discuss with his daughter when they arrived in town. She was old enough now, it was about time she knew. From what he had told her about his daughter, she was strong-minded, she wouldn't be thrown off of the edge by that kind of revelation in her life. He suspected that too. But beneath the urge to be a hunter who protected this town, a hunter who bred more hunters, he was a father who wanted nothing more than safety for his beloved daughter.

Not yet. He told her. He had hardly gotten into the town yet, before he dropped that bomb onto her he would like to spend some time with her, to catch up on the things that he had missed in the past few weeks of her life. To see how she had established herself in this town, whether she had become like her mother in this environment, this town seemed to have a particular effect on women with the Brown gene, his wife, his sister-in-law Abigail, and perhaps his daughter too. It was no secret that she was like her mother, she always had been, but he'd always wondered just how deep that went, how much Honey really could be like her mother.

Kate told him again that she thought the girl should know. That if he wanted to protect her, that was the way to do it, not by hiding her from the truth of this world, a popular approach she had noticed, one that her brother had taken with his daughter too. She disagreed with it completely. Her father had told her when she was just fifteen, and she had thrived.

Jude didn't answer his girlfriend this time, he was looking in the rear-view mirror, all around him and the car they were in, he felt off, as if something was watching them. Bee sat up in the back of the car, looking at the window with a low growl. Kate peered over her shoulder, watching as Bee began scraping his paw against the window, a low growl turning into a bark. Jude was right, they were being watched by something, someone. The car came to a sharp stop as the man reached a crossroads, almost hitting another car until he had braked hard.

The couple looked at each other, taking a deep breath as they sat at the crossroads for a second, sometimes, this town got the better of them, it made them paranoid, they knew that there was a chance something could be watching them as they drove innocently through town. One of those things that enjoyed preying on them whether it be day or night. Jude looked in the backseat, the golden retriever in the back was lying back down, whimpering softly. Suddenly, there was a loud thud on the roof of the car, startling both of the hunters.

Jude looked at the shotgun in the footwell of Kate's seat, slowly she began reaching for it, as she did, a large, clawed hand smashed through her window, grabbing her arm as she struggled in its tight grip. Jude reached for the shotgun at Kate's feet, shooting a bullet through the roof of their car, the creature grunting as it hit it, releasing the blonde hunter.

Both of the hunters jumped out of the car, Kate grabbing the shotgun that had been in the back of the car beside Bee who was back barking at the window, all three of them looking for where it had gone, where the creature was hiding. Kate shouted at the top of her lungs, encouraging the wolf to come back as she shot bullets into the sky. But there was nothing. Kate opened the trunk of the car, pulling out a larger, more precise gun from their collection, along with a bullet from a special stash she and Jude kept in a wolfsbane engraved box. Magic bullets, Jude called them.

Jude pulled out his phone, calling for backup as he and Kate began pursuing the animal further, leaving Bee in the back of their locked car, knowing that if the beast returned, he'd alert them of it. With Kate's brother on his way, Jude put the phone down, he and Kate running through each back road available, looking everywhere for their creature. At a glimpse of something running in the distance, Kate held up her gun, not hesitating to shoot it, watching as it dropped. A smile on her face. Seconds later, her big brother pulled up. He didn't live far, and the trip was even shorter in the middle of the night without traffic, when he could put the pedal to the metal.

"Get in." Chris spat out at his little sister.

His little sister laughed. "Not even a "hello, nice to see you"?"

All he had for them was a warning to put their assault rifles away before someone noticed them, it wasn't exactly the kind of gun that Beacon Hills saw around here often. Neither held their rifles with discretion, both filled with too much pride to do such a thing as hide them.

Kate laughed, that was the brother she loved. The over-protective, over-paranoid big brother she had always known, her brother had very different tactics of hunting to hers or even the tactics of Jude which weren't so different from her own. Jude informed him that there were two creatures, the Alpha, Chris questioned. Neither half of the couple were sure, only that one of them attacked Kate, trying to kill her. Chris told them that it would be the other werewolf who led them to their Alpha, something that it couldn't do if his little sister or her boyfriend killed it.

The woman shrugged, telling him that she couldn't help kill either of them if one of them killed her first. A point that Chris couldn't argue with, instead, he asked how long it would take, for the bullet that she had used to kill the wolf that she had shot. He didn't doubt that she would have used one of those "magic bullets" of theirs, the pair always resorted to that, to killing from afar and discreetly, never up close and personal which was how Chris preferred his kills, a tactic he'd learned from his own father. A sword was a much better weapon for them to die from than guns.

She gave it 48 hours. If that. By then, the wolf she had shot would be dead.

With bleary eyes Honey Carter stumbled downstairs in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes while her hair was messed up in the bun she had slept in, a vast difference from how she usually woke up, normally, she looked well-rested, flawless even. But this morning, that wasn't the case. She had been restless, excited by the idea of her father arriving in town the following day, not to mention that she had been thinking a lot about the Alpha who was running around town that neither she nor Derek and Scott knew the identity of. To add to all of that restlessness, Stiles had woken her up early this morning, for reasons she was still unsure of, perhaps he had grown sick of having to rush around before school because she always woke up only fifteen minutes before school.

Today was the last day that the two of them would go through this routine, Stiles having to wait around for her to get ready for school before he could leave himself. After today, she would have her own car to drive to school, she would officially be moved into this town, into her own house with her father. It would be a few hours before the man and Bee arrived, at least he had told her not to expect his arrival until the afternoon, still prepared to pick her up outside of school.

Her fluffy socks dragged across the laminate flooring of the Stilinski house until she reached the kitchen, the usual place where the two Stilinski's greeted her of a morning, Stiles normally with his bowl of cereal, Sheriff Stilinski usually with a cup of coffee, prepared to head to work in just a few moments. She had opened her mouth, about to ask through the mumble of a yawn why the boy had woken her up so early, but her yawn was cut off as she walked around the corner to see a sight much different from the one she was used to.

Noah and Stiles were leaning against the kitchen counters with doughnuts in their hands, a man stood in front of them, his back to Honey, but she knew who it was nonetheless. Jude turned to his daughter, a bright smile growing across her face, and his, the blonde bounced up and down, screaming in excitement as she rushed to her father who wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"You're here!" Honey beamed as the man spun his daughter around. The girl giggled like a little kid as her father put her down, suddenly, she had all the energy in the world. "I thought that you weren't supposed to get in until this afternoon? Why are you here so early? Where's Bee? Oh, my God you brought doughnuts!" The blonde rambled as her father looked at her with wide eyes. It had been a while since he saw his daughter so filled with light. She turned to the two Stilinski's, asking if they had known about this, both nodding.

Sheriff Stilinski had found out a few days ago when Jude had changed his plans to arrive earlier, Stiles, on the other hand, had only found out last night so that he didn't blurt it out accidentally to Honey and ruin the surprise her father planned to give her. With the mention of the name Bee, the golden retriever had come running in through the open back door, the blonde screaming in excitement yet again, louder than before as the three males cringed at the sound.

"Well, it's nice to know who she missed more," Jude mumbled to the Sheriff as he watched his daughter make up for the time she had missed without the dog she'd had since he was a puppy, her just a little girl. "Hey, why don't I drive the two of you to school?" He suggested, looking at the two teenagers.

While Stiles couldn't accept the offer, partly because he had to pick up Scott, and partly because the thought of being without his Jeep for even one day sickened him, Honey accepted the offer, it would give her and her father a chance to catch up on their own. For him to tell her how it was torture to be without her for the past few weeks.

Just before school started, Scott and Stiles walked up the long path to the school, as he'd been doing for the entire drive to the school, the wolf continued updating Stiles on the things that he had missed, starting with the other werewolf, the Alpha. Honey had told him snippets, but she'd left the big things for Scott, it was his news to tell, but she had to have some explanation for why she had come home almost two hours after curfew the other night. But what Honey didn't know was that two more hunters had come into town last night, one of them had shot a werewolf, the boy wasn't sure if it was the Alpha, perhaps making it easier for him and Derek to find them, but Scott was much more focused on two more people being around to kill him. As if Allison's father needed the help. He knew that he had to give Honey that update as soon as she got to school, he had planned to do it when he told Stiles, he expected the blonde to be in the Jeep, but Stiles had explained that her father had arrived in town a few hours earlier than anticipated.

The two stopped right at the doors of the school, looking across the parking lot, both wondering whether Honey was already here if somehow she had gotten ready so quickly that she and Jude managed to beat them both. Scott had become distracted, noticing Allison getting out of her car with Lydia waiting for her, the brunette smiled and waved at him before she was whisked away. The question about Honey was quickly answered as her father's car pulled up out front, the girl had climbed out of the car, her dad following her, wrapping his daughter in another hug.

Stiles let out a disgusted groan. "Great." He mumbled, catching Scott's attention as he turned to see what had caused his friend's disgust. Jackson had approached Honey and her father, taking the man's hand as he introduced himself. "Does he not realize he has a girlfriend? I mean, he has been blatantly flirting with Winnie ever since she got here-"

"Stiles." Scott interrupted him, his voice too in a mumble.

"I know, I know. Lydia isn't interested in me, I should move on blah, blah-"

"Stiles." The wolf repeated. This time, Stiles shut up, looking at the concern in his best friend's eyes, this time, he asked what was wrong with him. "That's him."

"Him?" He asked with a furrowed brow, pointing to the man standing with Honey and Jackson. "Yeah, that's Jude Carter. Winnie's dad."

Scott shook his head, that wasn't what he meant. That man standing with Honey wasn't just her father, he was one of the people he had seen last night, one half of the couple who had come to Beacon Hills late last night, he was a hunter.

Stiles scoffed in disbelief. One, Honey's dad didn't have a girlfriend, so Scott couldn't have seen him with a woman last night. The blonde girl's mother had only died a few months ago, surely it was much too soon for him to be dating someone else. Two, Jude couldn't be a hunter. The man might have been intimidating, but he couldn't be a hunter. It was impossible. Or was it? As Stiles thought more about it, the more it made sense. Perhaps it explained why she seemed to know so much about werewolves, because her father hunted them, perhaps even she did and this was all part of a big scheme they had planned, for her to befriend the newest wolf. It would explain a lot, like how she had managed to look at Derek and immediately see him as a werewolf, because her father trained her to have that ability.

He asked his best friend whether he thought it was possible, whether she would betray the two of them like that, whether she could be like her father, a hunter. Scott didn't know why, but his first instinct was to say no, he didn't think Honey even knew about her father, let alone did she know about her father's side job. He could see why Stiles would be suspicious of it, Honey was adamant about hiding something for them, but he didn't think this was it.

Before the boys knew it, Honey was skipping up to them, waving off her dad before she reached them. Her first question when she approach them had been to ask what she had missed, neither of the boys willing to tell her about her father on the chance she really didn't know. But they did choose to tell her that there was one new hunter in town. A woman. That was all she needed to know right now, as far as Scott and Stiles were concerned, the wolf never saw Jude last night. He was just Honey's dad. Not a hunter.

·❥·

It was almost the end of the school day as Honey walked through the school halls, her head low as she texted her father. On the drive to school, the two of them had certainly caught up, maybe a little more than she wanted considering he had dropped a girlfriend-sized bomb on her. Honey tried to act okay with the news, telling her father that she was happy if he was, perhaps part of it was a lie, she was hurt beneath the surface, her mother had only been gone two months and yet her father had already found her replacement, in the two weeks they had been apart.

Not only did he have a girlfriend, but he'd brought her to Beacon Hills with him, apparently Kate, as he called her, had family here too. And now, he wanted them to meet, to have a nice meal as a happy family as if she had ever met the woman before. All she knew about Kate was her name. It wasn't exactly something she could start a conversation over. Despite that, Honey knew that she couldn't decline the offer, tonight was her father's first night here, and she planned to spend the night with him, with or without the company of the woman he called his girlfriend.

The blonde didn't look up from her phone until she had bumped into someone, almost tripping over had the person not caught her, and just before her phone hit the floor, they managed to get that too. Honey mumbled an apology as she took back the phone from their hand, only seeing it was Derek when she had looked back up. The blonde hadn't been able to hide her surprise when she looked at him, an audible gasp escaping her mouth. He looked terrible, his skin white with a line of sweat upon his brow, she was surprised that his reflexes were still so fast when he looked on the edge of death.

"Are you okay?" Honey asked, her voice sincere with concern.

Derek deflected. "Where's Scott?"

Honey stammered for an answer, too astounded by how bad he looked to answer straight away, eventually, she mumbled that he was still in class before she asked her last question again, she'd been lead to believe that wolves didn't get sick, so why did the man look so ghastly. She told the wolf he looked clammy as she raised her hand, ready to feel his temperature with the back of her hand but Derek quickly stopped her.

His hand was wrapped around her wrist, gripping it tightly as she winced in pain, his grip strong still despite his condition. His skin was ice cold, clammy just like she thought it would be. Derek repeated the question again, asking her where Scott was, he needed Scott. His tone was harsher this time than it was last time, his pale face just inches away from hers as he snarled the words. Honey gave him the same answer, that Scott was in class, her words through gritted teeth, she'd begged him to let her go, the pain crippling her.

Honey's eyes grew wide as she noticed a streak of crimson red blood trickling down her wrist, at first she wasn't sure whether it belonged to her or the wolf, but there wasn't a wound on her, nor were Derek's claws out, the blood was his. As soon as she had notified him of hid bleeding Derek snatched his hand back.

"Why aren't you healing, Derek?" The girl asked, looking between him and the trail of blood he'd left rolling down her arm, encouraging her to pull her jacket back on before anyone saw it.

"I don't know." He admitted.

Honey ran her hand through her hair, a stressed sigh as she looked around the empty hallway, it would soon be filled with bustling teenagers as the bell ended their school day, they'd all see the wolf in his ghastly state, there would be no hiding him even in a crowd like that. She turned back to the wolf, urging him to go home and hide, that as soon as the day ended she would find Scott, they would be straight there to figure this out and help him. But Derek told her that he couldn't do that, it wasn't safe for him at home, not when he couldn't protect himself. Her frustration was growing by the second, unsure what she was supposed to do, she'd never known a wolf who had failed to heal within seconds of being healed. She urged the wolf to hide anywhere, anywhere he could, she promised they would find him, but he couldn't stay in a school, not like this.

Derek wasn't going to agree, he was going to be his usual stubborn, brooding self, but she didn't give him the chance, she grabbed onto his arm until he was looking her straight in the eyes, they gave the wolf a look of warning, a slight plea, urging him to listen to her and get out of here. The wolf didn't fight any longer as he stumbled down the hall, leaving Honey to scour the school for Scott or Stiles, ready to tell either of them about their little problem when the bell had sounded.

Honey walked out of the school alongside Stiles, while she had managed to catch him up on the wound that Derek had sustained, she hadn't managed to find Scott, Stiles had insisted that they just text the wolf, she was already more caught up in all of this business than Stiles liked, maybe this wasn't her first rodeo, but it was still dangerous. And now, it wasn't like it was when she had moved here a few weeks ago, a girl trying to make the most of her time without her dad around to watch her like a hawk, he was here now, and he would in fact be watching his daughter like a hawk. Especially if he had any incline she hung around with the very people he hunted.

While the girl agreed that she would stay out of it for one night, she made him promise to give an update on what was happening at least every half an hour, she needed something to provide her with entertainment while she was at dinner with her father and his girlfriend. That, he could give her. Stiles took the mention of Jude's new girlfriend to ask what Honey knew about her, to see if she knew anything more about the hunter out to kill their best friend, but she knew nothing, not even her last name, just Kate. Kate her potential new stepmother.

The two had climbed in the Jeep, Stiles prepared to drop the girl off at her new home, but before they'd made it out of the parking lot the two of them were stopped by none other than Derek, he raised his hand causing Stiles to brake sharply, throwing both of them forward with only a wheel or dashboard to stop them flying through the windscreen. Honey's eyes widened, Derek had not only failed to hide away from the school like she had told him to, but he looked even worse than he had before. His skin was almost transparent now, the circles around his eyes brighter. He had stood there for a moment with his hand still raised to stop them and the traffic gathering behind them until Derek dropped weakly to the floor in front of the car. Honey rushing to his aid.

"You gotta be kidding me. This guy's everywhere." Stiles complained with his hands thrown up in the air as he turned to look at the girl in his passenger seat, only then realizing she had gone. "Damn it!" He shouted as he scrambled out of the car but the brunette was already kneeling in front of a weak Derek. Quickly joined by Scott who had run over after noticing Derek.

"What are you doing here?" Scott spat out at the man.

"Are you still bleeding?" Honey asked him, confusing the younger wolf who furrowed his brows at both of them, unsure how she knew Derek was bleeding. Clearly, he had missed something, a text or two from Stiles perhaps.

"He doesn't look like he's doing too good." Stiles chimed in. The two on the floor kept asking the dying wolf questions while Stiles looked around them, everyone looking to see what had caused the traffic leading out of the parking lot.

Derek told them that he was shot, that he couldn't heal, a different kind of bullet had shot him, a hell of a bullet too, this was one of the worst kinds of pain he'd ever felt.

While Stiles was living his greatest werewolf fantasies, mumbling on about silver bullets, the boy who'd overheard an interesting conversation last night had realized something. The hunter he'd seen with Honey's father, how she said he had 48 hours. Derek's head shot up as he heard Scott's mumbling, asking who he was talking about, who said he had that much time to live. Horns had begun to honk, pressuring them to move, but Honey and Scott were more concerned about how Derek's eyes flashed in and out of their glowing blue, how he had no control over any of it. They could only make up so many lies about what was wrong with him, a hernia, vertigo, anything the three of them could think of that would explain it, but flashing eyes, that was where the options began running slim.

Scott began lifting Derek off of the floor, Honey assisting him as the wolf urged his best friend to put him in the Jeep, of course, Stiles wasn't a fan of the idea of hitching a ride with Derek, there were many reasons for it, the main one being that it was complete insanity, they had gotten him locked up for the murder of his own sister, Stiles was still waiting for the payback.

Derek urged Honey and Scott to find the bullet he was shot with, instructing them both, this was a job for both of them, they worked best together, he could see that. Neither of them understood how Derek expected them to find it out, he only gave them one piece of information to help. She was an Argent. A hunter like Allison's father.

Scott was unsure what they should help him, why they should do anything for Derek when he'd made their life a mess lately, but Derek assured the young wolf that he would need him, and he couldn't help him or any of them if he was dead. Stiles and Scott both looked at Honey for what she had to say, she seemed just as unsure as them as she continued to watch Derek deteriorate by the second, only when she noticed Scott staring at her did she nod, agreeing that they should help him. She knew as well as Derek that they would need his help whether they liked it or not.

For at least half an hour, Honey kept a close watch of the wolf and human boy, scared one of the two would attack the other if they weren't under close supervision, she hadn't been necessarily wrong, all they had done since pulling away from the school was bicker with one another, Derek complaining about the company of the Stilinski, Stiles complaining about Derek smelling and if his blood would get onto his seats. Frankly, the blonde wasn't hesitant about leaving them, but she knew it was too late to cancel with her father, the least she could do was eat an appetizer, it would soften the blow if she abandoned them in the middle of dinner to help Derek and Stiles in tonight's endeavors.

With her bag teetering off of her shoulder, Honey climbed out of the Jeep, leaning against Stiles' open window as she gave him a final warning, to call her if something happened, if either he or Derek needed help, and finally, to both behave themselves. Derek rolled his eyes at the girl, as if he would take orders from a sixteen-year-old girl, Stiles, on the other hand, nodded, promising he would call her, if it meant not being with Derek alone for the rest of the night he hoped that it did take a bad turn tonight, that he would be able to call her out and give himself company.

Honey walked into her house, lingering at her open front door until the Jeep disappeared down the street, only then did she step into her house. She closed the door behind her, setting her key down on the table in the foyer before she looked around the entrance, taking in all of the boxes that her father was supposed to unpack. Frankly, it didn't seem as though he'd gotten a lot done for a man who planned to spend his entire day working on the boxes. So far, she couldn't see the things from their old house, everything seemed new, and far from the taste of her mother.

"Dad?" Honey shouted for the man as she made her way through the home, looking around at a series of new additions, dark purple cushions on the couch, flowers in vases, the kind of upkeep her mother used to take care of.

And then, she saw it. Two photos on the mantelpiece, one of her and her father, and another. An image of her father and an unfamiliar woman, a blonde, both smiling. It was clear that her father was much younger in the photo, it wasn't recent, but it wasn't her mother either. She picked up the photo, furrowing her brows at the image, wondering whether it was the woman they would be dining with tonight. Whether she was already such a big a part of her father's life that she had already earned a place on the mantel, a permanent feature in their home.

Honey shouted once again, louder than last time for either her father or Bee. She was sure that her dad was here, his car was outside, and Bee had to be here. Usually, he pounced on her when she walked through the door, but he was nowhere to be seen either.

At the sound of footsteps quickly approaching the blonde turned her head towards the archway on her left, expecting that led to the kitchen, perhaps where her father had been hiding, making a mess as he tried to prepare dinner. Only when she turned towards it, it wasn't her father there. A woman had come to a sharp halt when she saw the teenager standing in the living room, both of them pausing for a moment, looking each other up and down, analyzing one another until the woman's face was pulled into a smile. The same couldn't be said for Honey. She looked back at the photo in her hand, back to the woman smiling at her, comparing them, there was only a little difference, the woman in front of her looked a little older, just as her father did, but it was her.

"Either your Kate or I should be calling the cops right now." The teenager joked as she waved the photo in her hand around.

"Keen eye." Kate complimented the woman with a smile, yet for some reason, it sent chills down Honey's spine as she placed the photo back on the mantel, avoiding the woman's glare, it took a lot to intimidate Honey, but this woman had managed to do it in two simple words. "It's good to finally meet you, I've heard so much."

Honey bit her tongue, tempted to say how she'd heard nothing at all about her. Her father hadn't had much of a chance between the Stilinski house and school, but he could have at least told his daughter more than her first name and that she had some family in Beacon Hills. For the sake of her father, the blonde told herself she'd be nice, perhaps this was some midlife crisis for him, he could just be going through some kind of grief that made him try to find a carbon copy of Emily, maybe Honey was biased, but she didn't think he would find any similarities between Kate and her mother. Minus the blonde hair.

The girl gave Kate a weak smile, choosing not to comment at all, instead, she deflected, asking if her father was home, hoping for an escape from the woman. Kate nodded, pointing the teenager towards the kitchen. Rather than leaving Honey to find her own way through her new home, the woman walked with her, just what she didn't want. Not only did she insist on walking with her, it also sprung up another conversation. Kate told her that she was just like her mother. Honey had come to a sharp halt in the hallway, the woman turning to look at her, apologizing for if she had overstepped, but Kate's bravery to mention her dead mom wasn't what shocked Honey, it was how Kate knew what her mother was like.

She was about to ask how Kate knew her mother, but before she had the chance, her father had appeared from the kitchen, a bright smile growing across his face when he found them together, he'd wondered where Kate had disappeared to. He threw his arm around the woman's shoulder, planting a kiss on her cheek. "So the two of you have met, huh?" He looked between them as the two blondes smiled, one weaker than the other. "What did I miss? Girly gossip? How was school, Kiddo?" The man flooded them with questions, more eager than Honey had ever seen him.

"You didn't miss anything," Kate reassured him, both adults turning to the girl to answer his next question.

Honey told them school was fine, there wasn't much to tell, apart from the fact she was awaiting an update on a werewolf who had been shot by a hunter to see if he was dead or not yet, or if the other wolf she knew had figured out how to save him yet, she would call that an uneventful day. At least compared to the other days she'd had in this town since moving here. Hoping to avoid a conversation about werewolves, Honey deflected them again, asking if her father wanted some help with dinner. That would keep him distracted.

At least it would have, if her father wouldn't have informed her of their change of plans. The way he spoke cautiously hadn't been a good sign to Honey, her lip already curling up in anger, ready to her that her father would ditch her tonight for a date with his girlfriend in their new town, that was what she had expected when her father first told her about Kate. If she knew what they had up their sleeves, being ditched would have been the better option.

"Actually, there's been a change of plans." Jude informed his daughter, already her lip curled up in anger, prepared to hear that they were ditching her tonight to go on a date in their new town, frankly, if she knew what they had up their sleeves, that wouldn't sound too bad. "Kate's brother invited us over for dinner with them."

Within the hour, Honey was dressed, heading to dinner with Kate's brother and his family, she'd found out as much about them as she had about Kate- nothing. She tried to find out more about the woman in the midst of getting ready, finding excuses to walk around the house so she could run into Kate. But the woman didn't seem like the type to gush about her personal life with a girl she'd just met, or anyone for that matter. She was an expert at evading questions, always finding a way to move the topic on before it had even begun. The only piece of information she'd gotten about the family they were visiting tonight was from her father, he'd been talking about Chris, he seemed to know Kate's brother personally, talking about him as if they were alreays friends. In the middle of gushing about the man, he'd told her that he had a daughter too, the same age as she was.

Honey quickly assumed that that was what tonight was all about, it wasn't just two families who were being brought together by a relationship, this was a set up for two teenage girls, she would be expected to befriend whoever Chris's daughter was. Now she understood why her father was asking so much about any girl friends she'd made since moving to town, he had expected that it wouldn't be many, or any at all, and he intended to change that.

She wasn't sure how that idea made her feel, for all she knew the girl could be horrid, she could make her life hell. That was the kind of thing she liked to avoid, she already had a taste of that in Lydia Martin, she didn't need it twice. Aside from Lydia, she already had too much happening in her hectic life to keep up with the confessions of a teenage drama queen. She had werewolves, a mysterious Alpha on the loose, and two teenage boys who she practically babysat.

As they pulled into a large driveway Honey looked up at the house, an extravagant one at that, it was a large family home, much bigger than what was needed for three people, unless her father had skipped the detail of Chris having more than one child, but whatever job that this family had she wanted to be a part of. She didn't even know homes this large existed in small towns like this one. Bright headlights shone on the blonde's face as she stepped out of the car, another car had pulled in behind them, two people climbed out to greet them.

A redhead was first to step out of the vehicle, her hair bright, bringing out her piercing blue eyes along with her finely plucked brows. Frankly, the woman was quite terrifying when looked at for too long, so Honey quickly turned her head to the driver stepping out of the car. With the lights in her eyes still, he looked just like a silhouette for a moment, he was of an athletic build, he had to have worked out in his spare time. He approached the teenager with his hand already out to greet her, but when he saw the girl's face his hand dropped, his eyes widening, just as hers did. A familiar face in front of her. Allison's dad.

"Mr. Argent" Honey mumbled in shock, surprised to find he was the Chris that her father and his girlfriend had been talking about, that the daughter was Allison. If the two of them would've just told her a little more, she could have figured that out a long time ago.

"You two know each other?" Jude questioned, approaching the pair.

Honey nodded. "I know Allison, we all sat together at the lacrosse game."

Chris chuckled softly as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, telling her that he'd thought she looked like someone when he'd seen her at the lacrosse game with his daughter, now he knew it was Emily. Honey turned to look at her father, he nodded in agreement, a faint smile, she looked a lot like her mother, she always had. What Honey could understand was how they all knew each other, her parents and Allison's, her aunt too, as if there was some kind of family tie.

She knew nothing about how long they'd all known one another, how in all of the years that they had been friends working with each other that they found themselves living in the same town to fight the same battle. That was how the two men knew that this was more serious than anything they had ever fought before, it wasn't as simple as going on away for a few days like they'd been doing since the birth of their daughters, trying to keep close to home. It was serious enough that a whole move was required, that their daughters come with them. Despite bringing the girls, the two men had a similar understanding in the fact both of them would be kept in the dark, neither was willing for them to get involved just yet. They were sixteen, impressionable, and vulnerable, they were too young to find out the dark secret that brought families like theirs together.

Chris held up his phone, telling them the alarm for the garage had been set off during their drive home, and that he had to go and check on it. Jude volunteered his assistance, in the meantime, he told his daughter to help Kate and Victoria grab the groceries out of the car. Honey nodded in agreement, filling her arms with some bags. As the girl turned around, she was startled, almost dropping the bags until someone else had quickly caught them before they hit the ground. Her jaw remained on the floor as she looked down at Scott, he was just as shocked to see her outside the Argent's house helping with their groceries.

As the blonde took a bag from him she asked him in a whisper what he was doing here. Studying had been the simple answer, but that wasn't what he and Allison were doing in the garage. Kate appeared beside them, a hand on the young boy's shoulder, assuming that he was Scott, Allison had told her about him. The wolf nodded timidly, a lump growing in his throat as he looked into the eyes of the woman who'd shot Derek, who'd given him 48 hours to live.

Argent appeared back on the doorstep, Scott handed him the grocery bag quickly, a guilty-faced Allison was standing just behind her father, waiting to hear a lecture from her father until Honey had come into her view, then she didn't have time to feel guilty about getting caught, she'd been distracted by all of the thoughts Honey had had when she realized who Jude's daughter was, the daughter of her aunt's boyfriend. Scott picked up his bike, prepared to leave before Allison's dad stared at him long enough that he completely combusted.

"You-" Kate approached her brother and the three teenagers, placing a hand on both Honey and Scott's shoulders, both of them flinching. "-with the adorable brown eyes, drop your bike. You're staying for dinner." The woman insisted, narrowing her brows at her brother.

An extra chair was pulled up to the table, Scott sitting in between the other two teenagers, Jude and Argent staring at him, into his soul, hoping he would spontaneously combust if they stared a good amount of time. Argent was still livid from catching him and Allison in the garage, Jude was livid for him, but also, he wondered how his daughter knew this boy, Scott seemed like a kind of delinquent, someone who didn't care for rules. She hadn't mentioned any friends, certainly not a Scott, as far as he knew her only friends were Stiles and Jackson Whittemore, the polite, sporty boy who'd introduced himself this morning. But not the boy sitting opposite him, a troublesome teenage boy.

Jude wasn't sure why he was so surprised to find his daughter was friends with someone like the boy sitting beside her, it wasn't out of character for her, she attracted trouble, but he'd hoped for that to change with the move. Honey noticed how the man stared at Scott, it was that same look her father used to give him, when he thought that someone was no good for her. She knew she'd receive the lecture when they returned home tonight, she could still remember the last one. But she had one thing to be sure of- she would never hear it about Stiles, being Noah's son meant he was kept off of the list, the one person her father would never say a bad thing about.

When the man noticed his daughter staring at him his gaze strayed from Scott for a moment, his daughter narrowed her eyes at him, a silent warning to her father. She hadn't had the chance to talk about Scott in the car this morning when they had been so focused on Kate, or after school when their topic of conversation was also about Kate.

Tonight was going to be a long night.

"Would you like anything to drink besides water, Scott?" Victoria asked, watching as he gulped down his drink as though it were going out of fashion.

The boy placed his drink, shaking his head, thanking her for the offer.

"We can get you some beer?" Chris proposed. All three teenagers' heads turned towards him, a similiar confused look on their faces, he couldn't be serious. Just in case, Scott rejected the offer with another thanks, treading carefully around the three hunters. "Shot of tequila?"

"Dad, really?" Allison spat out at her father who shrugged, seeing no harm.

"You don't drink, Scott?" Jude asked from across the table, this time it was his daughter giving a stern look to her father, questioning if he was really going to get involved in this. The boy quickly shook his head, telling them he wasn't old enough. "That doesn't seem to stop many teenagers." He mumbled under his breath, taking a sip from his beer as he looked straight at his daughter. A girl who'd come home drunk a few times, something he blamed on that ex-boyfriend of hers. He had been a bad influence too, as he expected of Scott.

"No, but it should." He told the man.

"Good answer." Kate praised him with a smirk. "A total lie, but well played, Scott." She continued as she waved around her fork, unlike her boyfriend and brother, she took joy in the boy being at their dinner table, it was added entertainment. "You may yet survive the night."

Scott took a sip from his water, disguising his proud smirk as Honey gave him a nod of approval, frankly, Kate had just earned herself a few points with that comment, making her almost likable. But Chris hadn't stopped there, asking whether he had ever smoked pot, a question that made a poor boy choke on his water, lost for words.

"Okay!" Kate stopped her brother. "Changing the channel to something a little less conservative. So, Scott, Allison tells us you're on the lacrosse team." She asked, he nodded, as did Allison, she smiled widely with pride. And relief that her aunt had stepped in, Honey felt that same relief, the woman had just earned another point, it wasn't as though Honey was keeping track or anything for the future. "I'm sorry, I don't know much about that, how do you play?"

The wolf tried his best to explain, using the same way that Stiles had explained it to Honey, he'd compared it to hockey, only lacrosse was played on grass rather than ice. Kate seemed to get the point as she nodded in understanding, once again, it hadn't ended there. Jude stepped in again, correcting the boy, hockey on grass was called field hockey. Honey sighed in irritation, telling his girlfriend that it was like field hockey instead they had sticks and nets, Scott agreeing with a nod.

With a little more explanation Kate liked the idea of the game, the violence it seemed to have. A crucial part of any sporting game in her opinion. She smiled at Honey as she spoke, but the girl's phone had begun vibrating in her lap before she could react to it, Stiles's name on her phone, he text her, telling her that he needed help. Seconds later, Scott's phone vibrated. She peered down at his phone as he read the text, it was Stiles too, asking him to call. Scott looked up at the girl as she nodded, a signal that she'd do something. She reached for her glass, pulling it towards her, a pool of water spreading across the table as almost everyone jumped up, a commotion.

Honey's clothes were dripping from the drink, even her hair was wet as she dripped on the floor, Victoria was frantically wiping down the table with the help of her husband, Scott and Jude had stood frozen, unsure what had happened, Kate still sat down, watching it all pan out. Allison had begun wiping down Honey, asking if she wanted a change of clothes.

Scott turned to look at the girl, wondering what her next move was. "I think I need to go home." She mumbled, shaking the water from her hands.

"Why don't you just take some of Allison's clothes?" Jude asked, no longer helping the Argents, he was more interested in his daughter staying for dinner and getting to know the family.

Honey couldn't control what came out of her mouth next. "Because it's in my underwear, Dad."

The whole room froze, shell-shocked, unsure what to say to her, especially not her father whose napkin dropped from his hand, stammering for words as he nodded in agreement, telling her to go home and get cleaned up, to even take his car. Honey nodded, picking up her jacket as she apologized to all four of the Argents for having to leave so soon, and for making a mess in the meantime. Victoria told her not to worry, though she smiled, Honey could see that the woman was freaking out inside, worried about her fine china and table cloth. As the blonde walked out of the room she nodded at Scott, she would find Stiles and Derek, she would do as much as she could, but he needed his part in this to be completed sooner rather than later.

·❥·

By the time Stiles and Derek finally received an answer from Scott it was almost pitch black, the two of them had been driving for hours, they were tired, almost dead, both more irritable than a pair like them could deal with. He couldn't deal with Stiles's music in his ears anymore, or Stiles singing along to said music, his ears felt like they were bleeding, more than his gunshot wound. His annoyance only lead to something even more unhelpful than Stiles's singing, Derek taking a handful of Stiles's CDs, crushing them in his hand while the boy watched with fear, a lump in his throat as he imagined his head being crushed like that. Not to mention he'd lost all of his CDs if he was to conduct a stakeout anytime soon, how was he supposed to cope?

For now, he distracted himself with Scott's call, after a little arguing and complaining, Scott told him that Honey was on her way, to meet her at the animal clinic, a safe space for them while he tried to find answers, something he was yet to get the chance to do. Stiles told him to hurry, he'd had enough of Derek and the man's stench of death, Honey would be lucky to find them alive if he took much longer.

After being told by Scott to head to the clinic Honey slammed her foot down on the gas, trying to get to the pair as soon as possible, she knew as well as anyone that they were probably at each other's throats, fed up of being sat in a car with one another for hours. Honey thought the clinic sounded like a terrible idea, that she told Scott, but they didn't have another option, it wasn't as though they could go to any of their homes with a dying wolf.

By some miracle, the girl pulled up at the back of the clinic just as the Jeep did, she jumped out of her car, rushing towards the Jeep as Stiles climbed out of it, furrowing his brows at her, she'd ran straight to the passenger side of the car, hoping Derek was still alive. She took a large sigh of relief as she saw the wolf sitting there, his head back, still in terrible condition, but alive.

"Careful, blondie," Derek warned her weakly. "Someone might think you care about me."

Stiles rolled his eyes as the blonde helped the wolf out of the Jeep. "Why are your clothes wet?" He asked as he looked her up and down, her white shirt see-through, of course, he noticed that.

"Fast thinking." Honey shrugged with the wolf on her shoulder. "I would have done anything to get out of that dinner, talk about a train wreck."

"That bad?" Stiles asked as he began opening up the clinic.

"My dad interrogating Scott, Allison's dad interrogating Scott. Reminds me why I never took my ex-boyfriend home."

"Ex-boyfriend?" Stiles questioned.

"Do you two mind?" Derek interrupted them with a growl. "I'm dying here."

As soon as the shutters to the animal clinic opened Derek stumbled in, gripping his arm as he fell down onto a pile of animal food left in the corner. His exhausted expression, dark circles, and his overall lack of energy were enough to make Honey tired every time she looked at him. At least it was until one of their phones began ringing causing them all to jolt in shock before they realized what the ringing actually was. Both teenagers patted themselves down trying to figure out who had the ringing phone it was until the blonde girl pulled her phone out to see Scott's caller ID, all of them hoping that this was a call to give some well-deserved good news.

She immediately asked if he found the bullet, but Scott didn't answer her question, instead, he'd asked his own, whether he'd heard her say before that she knew some French. She agreed with a weary tone, her French was far from up to scratch, her mother had been the one to teach her, her mother was all for learning the language of love.

"Good. I need you to translate something. I'll send it over." As her phone pinged to show she had received the image Stiles walked over curious as to what Scott had sent her until both were staring at an image of a small wooden box with a message engraved. Stiles, who hadn't ever taken a French class, stared at it with a furrowed brow questioning if Winnie would know how to translate that. And maybe he should take up French after all. "Can you translate it?"

Honey stammered as she tried to translate it in her head, Stiles squinting, unable to even make an attempt at pronouncing it, let alone trying to translate it. Eventually, she came up with their translation. Nordic blue monkshood. She knew what it meant. She turned to Derek who gave a confirmation of her thought. A rare form of wolfsbane. Just as the girl thought, the wolf told her to get the bullet here, he would die without it.

As soon as she had hung up Derek began standing up, his legs weak, but he was desperate to get off of the pile of animal food he'd thrown himself on. Honey tried to help, throwing his arm over her shoulder, he was much heavier than her, and he was getting heavier by the minute, he was a pile of dead weight at this rate. Stiles took the lead as he walked ahead to the surgical room, the other two stumbling behind him, he was just as surprised as Derek that the girl was helping him as much as she was.

When Derek removed his weight from her shoulder he crashed into the surgical table, leaning on that for support instead while the two teenagers stood on the opposite side of it. He removed his shirt to examine the severity of his wound, what was once a pool of blood was now an enlarged wound surrounded by colorful, bright veins stretching up his entire arm.

Stiles winced in disgust. "You know, that really doesn't look like anything some echinacea and a good night's sleep couldn't take care of." He suggested in an attempt to be optimistic.

"When the infection reaches my heart it will kill me."

Stiles shook his head in irritation. "Positivity just isn't in your vocabulary, is it?"

"If he doesn't get here with the bullet in time, last resort..."

"Which is?" Honey asked, she'd been out of the loop for a few hours, she was yet to hear Derek's great plan that Stiles had been waiting hours to hear too, he was just as clueless to it as she was. At this rate, he was expecting another kind of mythical creature to come waltzing in and heal the wolf, he wouldn't put it past this world. But that wasn't anywhere near what Derek had planned. His last resort came straight from one of the clinic's drawers, a bone saw.

"You're going to cut off my arm."

Stiles chuckled nervously, shaking his head, shaken by the thought of cutting off Derek's arm, it filled him with nausea he'd only ever felt when his mother made him eat cabbage as a child, a little bit of vomit in his mouth as he looked back at the infection. This had reached another level of supernaturally fucked up that he hadn't anticipated over his few weeks of knowing about their existence, all the glory surrounding it was gone, leaving this.

Derek passed the saw over the table leaving them with the choice of who'd perform the surgery, for Stiles, the answer seemed obvious as he quickly pushed the bones saw over to Honey, as if it was the diseased thing in the room. He was disgusted by it. Honey picked up the bone saw, she looked at the dying wolf across the table.

"You want me to cut off your arm? Here?" She asked, waving it around, the wolf more unsure of his decision by the second. "I have no experience whatsoever with a bone saw. This is just a joke, right? Payback for Stiles annoying you all day?"

She asked as her eyes darted between the bone saw in front of them and the man asking them to do such an insanely unthinkable thing. Stiles looked offended as he stood with a slacked jaw, but he too hoped this was some kind of joke. It wasn't. Derek didn't joke. Honey shoved the saw in Stiles's hand, telling him it was his time to shine.

"What?" He mumbled in shock as the bone saw was placed into his hand. "No, no, no, no. No!"

Stiles shoved it back in her hands. "I can't do it. I'm a girl." She shook her head as she returned it back to him harshly, even holding it in its place hoping that would stop it from being in her possession again. That was a game that was continued for much longer than either would like to admit.

"Don't use that card on me, Honey."

Honey's eyes widened. "Wow, you used my actual name. You really don't wanna do this."

The boy shook his head rapidly, he couldn't think of anything worse. With a sigh the blonde took the bone saw back, turning to a dying Derek who was so weak he hadn't even been able to shout at them to shut up. She adjusted the bone saw in her hand, holding it tightly. Giving herself a few quiet affirmations while the boy beside her tried not to throw up everywhere. Just as the girl felt prepared to follow through with the insane idea, the bone saw raised, she looked at the wolf. He was hunched over the side of the table, before she could open her mouth, he hoped his, a black liquid pooling from his mouth and onto the floor. His body trying to heal itself.

He stood back up, looking at the blonde, she had to do it now. She nodded, that nausea now in her stomach too as she placed the bone saw on his arm. With a shaky breath she placed the saw above the elastic band, ready to amputate.

"Stiles? Honey?" Scott's voice shouted through the empty clinic, interrupting the procedure.

"Scott?" Stiles muttered, looking at the door.

When Scott reached the doorway panting heavily, those breaths were knocked straight out of his body as soon as he saw the sight in front of him. Derek hunched over the table, Honey holding a saw to his arm, Stiles standing, shaking. All he could think to ask was what the hell was going on. Honey quickly dropped the saw, a sigh of relief. He's saved them from a lot of nightmares. Derek asked if the other wolf had found the bullet Scott began digging through his pockets to pull out the golden bullet that caused all of their torment for the past four hours. For something that had led to something so dramatic it seemed like a pretty basic bullet, none of them were some kind of experts on bullets but they would have imagined something slightly more fascinating than a simple gold piece of metal.

Derek held up the bullet to his eye level, his eyes themselves blurring in and out of focus as he began swaying which didn't pass as a good sign to the three teenagers around him. His grip on the bullet became looser until both the bullet and himself dropped to the ground causing panic in all three teenagers as Scott rushed to grab the bullet before it fell into the drain with Honey and Stiles dropping to the ground in the aid of Derek. They could hear Scott struggling across the room as he tried reaching for the bullet that he hadn't been quick enough to catch. Stiles shouting for some guidance as to what they were supposed to do didn't help either, all of their nerves had sky-rocketed in the past minute and it didn't feel as though they'd be coming down anytime soon.

"He's not waking up, Scott!" Honey shouted. "I think he's dying."

"I think he's dead." Stiles added.

"Just hold on!" Scott shouted back as he continued to struggle. Within a few seconds, his tone had changed from over-whelmed and panicked to hopeful as he shouted. "I got it!" repeatedly.

Stiles took a deep breath as he raised a clenched fist, begging that Derek didn't kill him for the thing he was about to do. He punched the wolf, Derek jolting upright as Stiles screamed in pain, holding onto his fist. He pushed aside his pain for a moment, helping pull Derek off the floor. He took the bullet from Scott's hand, leaning him against the surgical table once again.

Derek tapped the wolfsbane out of the bullet before setting it alight, turning it to a bright spark that they all stepped back from if they wanted to leave tonight with their eyebrows. The spark burnt down into a blue dancing flame allowing Derek to scrape what was left on the table into his hand. He waited a few seconds, taking a deep breath before he slapped the wolfsbane onto the wound, his finger digging the concoction further into the hole.

A blood-curdling scream came from Derek's mouth as he stumbled across the room in pain until he fell onto the cold floor, still releasing a large scream as the three teens moved to watch him as he rolled across the floor. Clearly, this wasn't Derek's first rodeo of being poisoned by wolfsbane but it was theirs. And it was terrifying. Their jaws fell slack as they watched the purple veins that stretched across Derek's arm fade into nothing, his bullet wound closing up as it released a blue flame that resembled the one the wolfsbane had died into. Until there was nothing left. Nothing to commemorate the amount of stress and trauma all four of them had gone through.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Stiles cheered as he pumped his fist into the air. "Yes!"

Honey turned to Scott who shared the same puzzled expression as she did, both wondering how any of this was considered 'awesome' when just ten minutes ago Stiles was almost crying over a bone saw and the thought of a chopped-off arm. None of this was awesome.

"Okay, we saved your life, which means you're gonna leave us alone. You got that?" Scott spoke up confidently. "And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad and I'll tell him everything." He began to rant incessantly until Derek decided to cut him off.

"You're gonna trust them? You think they can help you?" Derek snarled as he looked at the wolf, Scott knew he wasn't just talking about Allison's father, but Honey's father too.

"Why not? They're a lot freaking nicer than you are!" Scott shouted back with the two beside him nodding in agreement. Even Honey could agree with that and she was still deciding whether she liked Kate or not.

Derek scoffed, a smile on his face, but not a comforting one, a devious one, telling Scott he could show him just how nice they were. Honey and Stiles were glad they didn't have the invitation, it seemed like a better option to go home, to make the most of the peace and quiet while it lasted. Because it never lasted long.