CHAPTER EIGHT !

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

————✩ ————

"WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU KNOW ABOUT VAMPIRES?" Derek asked. Scott, Isaac, and Derek all stood around the clinic's operation table, facing Deaton. The three werewolves had originally come to know more about Jackson and the kanima. Deaton had explained that if they managed to trap the kanima, they would be able to catch whoever was controlling him too. However, that hadn't been the only thing Derek wanted to know.

"Vampires? I know some things but I don't see how that'll help you deal with a kanima," Deaton frowned at Derek. He hadn't heard about any vampire attack around town and obviously didn't know that the latest new student in town was none other than of the Originals.

"Well... not long ago, a new girl came to town," Scott started, "and we found... well Derek found out that she's a vampire." Ever since the day of the kanima attack at the library, which had been followed by Derek confronting Astrid about her being a vampire, Astrid had been ignoring pretty much everyone at school from either Scott or Derek's pack. She sometimes talked with Lydia, who was still clueless about everything anyway, but that was it.

Deaton slowly nodded, quietly thinking about all the possible consequences of having a vampire in town. And, as a druid, he had to make sure this vampire wouldn't go around town killing people. He turned to grab a jar from the counter and put it on the table facing the three werewolves.

"What you are currently looking at is called vervain. It can neutralize vampires, it's a little like liquid acid for them. If injected, it can make them lose consciousness and will make their skin burn when in direct contact. It's the equivalent of wolfsbane for you."

He took the jar in both hands before handing it to the alpha. "I have a little more in the back so you can have that. It can be used if you ever need to neutralize her but be careful, an angry vampire is never a good thing." Derek nodded slowly and took the jar. At least they were even now, he thought, thinking about the wolfsbane that was probably sitting in Astrid's house. Fortunately, they hadn't given her much. He looked at the flower closely, having never seen such a thing before.

"We were wondering, Astrid seems to be unbothered by the sun but aren't vampires suppose to live at night? To... you know, getting burned by the sun?" Scott asked. Since last time, when they had asked Astrid but had remained answerless, he couldn't help wondering how it was possible.

"Well, it's true that vampires do burn in the sun. But I've heard of some who get help from a witch to get daylight objects. They are enchanted objects who, if worn, protect them from the sunlight."

Isaac had been listening closely, drinking the veterinarian's words. His eyes shot open wide when he heard the word 'witch'. "Witches? So, what, vampires and witches exist now? What's it gonna be next time, zombies? Ghosts?" Derek turned his head toward his beta and shot him a glare that made him wish he hadn't opened his mouth. Isaac gulped and looked down.

"Well, luckily for us, zombies don't exist. However, even if ghosts are out of reach most of the time and their intervention requires a special context, they can make apparitions," Deaton said calmly, "Anyway, know that, like werewolves, vampires have enhanced senses but their strength their agility and their speed are also way above the normal human level. They can also manipulate the dreams of humans or vampires weaker than them. They can also hypnotize humans but not other supernatural creatures, fortunately for you. Or if the person is wearing vervain, I think. I always have some on me, just in case. That's how they get to blend in most of the time."

Right away, Scott understood how the Greenes had welcomed Astrid so easily. She had forced them to go with it. Did she also make them believe they were her parents? He certainly hoped not...

"And how do we kill them?" Isaac's head snapped toward Derek, wide-eyed. Why did the alpha want to kill her?

"You want to kill her? But she hasn't done anything to us, has she?" he asked the alpha. In turn, Derek looked at him, a little confused. Since when did he care? Isaac hadn't as much as bat an eye when Derek had asked him to go after Lydia. Why was it different with the Original?

"What if she ever decides she wants to kill us? We need to know that kind of thing, just in case," the alpha answered. His goal was to protect his pack and his betas. And it sure as hell wouldn't be a new girl who came out of nowhere who was going to destroy what he had used so much care to put together. He already had way too much to worry about.

"Well, I guess a very large dose of vervain might kill a vampire. However, the amount I gave you won't be enough, I fear. I don't know everything but, if I'm being correct, decapitation kills them," Deaton went on as if stating the obvious while Isaac and Scott listened, with their mouth nearly hanging in shock. "Fire, in addition to the sun, affects them. And then, a wooden stake through the heart always does the trick. Apart from that, anything that'll kill a human will only kill them for a small amount of time and then they'll heal and come back to life."

"Come back to life? Just like that?" Scott asked, a little puzzled. Deaton had just dumped so much information on vampires it nearly didn't feel true. Then again, he was a werewolf so he guessed a lot was possible.

"Well, yes. After all, they died as humans before coming back as vampires. Oh! I almost forgot werewolf bites are also lethal for vampires." With that, Derek smirked. For once, something seemed to be in their favor.

————✩ ————

"We have to go. There's no other choice, really." Astrid rolled her eyes at Lukas, with a smile. He could be a drama queen when he wanted to. Most of the time, it didn't bother her, it made her think of Kol, on the contrary. "Come on, there's gonna be so many people! It'll be great."

They were both sitting in her room, textbooks on their knees and a cup of steaming hot coffee next to them. Lukas had proposed another study date, as Astrid still struggled with some subjects, another consequence of not going to school for hundreds of years.

"Fine! We still have to find tickets, though, I heard they were crazy hard to find," Astrid retorted. Of course, as last resort she could always compel someone on the way in but then, she'd have to explain that to Lukas. And she didn't want to be caught doing something like that, so little time after Derek found out what she was.

Lukas beamed as if he had been waiting for her to ask. "Well, consider it done," he took two paper tickets out of his bag and showed Astrid his trophies. "Here! I bought some as soon as I heard of it, and I know those things sell fast. I was considering either going with you or making a crazy profit when reselling them," he shrugged as if the whole school wasn't looking for tickets.

Astrid chuckled, it was pretty thoughtful to have thought of her right away. "Aw.. you wanted to go with me?" she teased him, pinching his arm lightly. Lukas took his arm off, right away, blushing.

"Stop! Well, yeah, but I mean, you said you'd finally help me by being my wingman! Or wingwoman, I guess..." Lukas told her, with a smile, not being bothered by the teasing. They had a lighthearted relationship. Sometimes, Astrid could pretend she was back with her family and this was their usual bickering.

"Right... Still not convinced how you're gonna get Danny to fall for you but I'm here. I'll support you no matter what! Even if you get turned down in the most humiliating way ever." Now it was Lukas' turn to pinch her, making her laugh out loud. Soon enough after befriending him, Astrid found out that the reason Lukas had been at practice the same time as she had been to ogle at the goalie, Danny. But, being a little shy when it came to boys, Lukas hadn't had the gut to do anything about it yet.

Though, it didn't keep him from making a comment every time he saw Danny, talking about how his pants fit him so well, that day at the cafeteria. Or how he was so smart, once after answering correctly in chemistry. It didn't bother Astrid, even as she had started spending more and more time with him the last few weeks. On the contrary, she thought it was cute. She wasn't one to look down on love, even if she wasn't as passionate about it as her sister Rebekah.

"Hey! Should I remind you how you told me I was the best-looking guy at school? That shouldn't count for nothing!" Lukas argued, a wide smile on his face.

With a sigh, Astrid dramatically put her textbook down. It seemed like their chemistry session was officially over. Once they started getting sidetracked like that, it was practically impossible to regain all their motivation. She wasn't too displeased, still having a hard time with the subject, and the person teaching it.

"Okay so, tell me more about the party, where will it be, who'll be there?" Astrid asked. She had heard things here and there about this underground rave but hadn't spent enough attention to get all the elements.

"Well, as I said, it's a rave. I think it's supposed to be held in a warehouse near the industrial sector. And, again, as I said, everyone will be there. Including Danny. I think even your friends are coming. You know? Stiles and Scott." Astrid grimaced a little. She hadn't talked that much to them over the past couple of days. Every time she walked past Allison, Erica, or Boyd, she would receive side glances. And when it was Stiles, Scott, or, God forbid, Isaac, she had been the one avoiding the stares and purposely looking away.

"I'm not that close to them, you know that," she huffed. Actually, they had been at first. She had spent some good time with them, like that evening at the ice skating rink, but she didn't want to be involved in the supernatural. And that meant not being involved with them, too, unfortunately.

"Yeah, whatever happened in detention can stay in detention. I saw how the library looked after you guys and it looked like hell. But I guess I can understand the disinterest, these guys seem to attract trouble. I'd stay clear too." Astrid had told him how she had ended up in detention only for keeping Scott from murdering Jackson. How course, she hadn't told him anything about the kanima attack and had only mumbled something about another fight getting a little violent. Especially for the books.

"Well, there's probably going to be loads of hot boys for you. Don't think I have forgotten your case, young lady." Lukas added sheepishly. He had repeated multiple times that she had the opportunity to get pretty much anyone she wanted in the school, even after she'd refused to believe him every time, and always bugged her to find someone. "Like that, you'll go on double dates with me and Danny" he'd always tell her, always making her laugh.

"Yeah, right. We'll see about that," she simply answered, not taking any notice of the fact that he had ironically called her 'young lady', ignorant to the fact that she was about a thousand years old. Astrid took a sip of her coffee before it got cold and looked back at Lukas.

"What about Isaac? He's cute." Lukas asked out of the blue. With that, Astrid nearly spat out all of her coffee on him. Fortunately, she controlled herself and gulped, with difficulty, coughing a little.

"Are you crazy? Isaac is the least person I'd want to hook up with. He's so rude! He's become completely insufferable since his father died and the charges were dropped. How is that even respectful?" She still hadn't forgiven him for the picture he had stolen from her. She had trusted him, letting him inside her home and sharing something from her past and all he had done was steal from her, in return. What a prick.

Was his story about his brother dying in combat even real? Or had it been another ploy to gain her trust and stab her in the back right after? She didn't even want to know. It wasn't as if Isaac hadn't tried talking to her since but she didn't want to talk to him.

"Oh, come on. He's not that bad. I quite like his newfound confidence. If you want my opinion, he was a little too shy before that. And he's always looking at you in class. Even if you don't pay attention to it, the boy is devoted. Plus, he's pretty hot." Astrid rolled her eyes. She had sensed his stares from the back of the class where he could be found moping but she had always ignored them. She wasn't even going to comment on the last part.

Astrid was about to retort something back at Lukas when his phone chimed. Lukas took his phone out and groaned. "God, my mom wants me to come back home to take care of Cassie. I don't know why it always has to be me and never Olivia!"

Lukas had told Astrid about his two sisters, Cassie and Olivia. While Olivia was only two years older and a senior at Beacon Hills high school, Cassie was only eleven. Astrid had seen Olivia once or twice, mostly when she would come to talk to Lukas about anything family-related while he was with her, but she had never met Cassie.

Lukas always complained about her because their mother was too afraid of leaving the eleven-year-old alone at the house and it was always Lukas who had to come home early and watch his little sister. "Well, I'm gonna have to go, then. But thanks for the coffee! And don't forget about the party. See you!" With that, Lukas and his joyful aura were gone, leaving Astrid alone in her room.

With a sigh, Astrid got up and put all her work away. She had studied enough today, anyway. She took her phone out and scrolled through her notifications. There wasn't anything particularly interesting. With a frown, she noticed Kol hadn't answered her text. Knowing him, his brother probably had lost it again. It happened more often than she would imagine. He had always been reckless on all levels of his life, after all.

The other option was that Klaus had already dealt with him but she hoped it wasn't the case. Once one of them was daggered, it could be as many as a few months or a few decades before Klaus decided to release them.

She didn't put too much thought into it. And, when Lana called her to tell her dinner was ready, she went downstairs, with her thoughts already gone to think about something else.

————✩ ————

Today was definitely a bad day. First, she had forgotten to set an alarm the night before and had to hurry to be there in time, meaning she hadn't taken her usual glass of blood. This meant she was feeling extra cranky. Her hunger made her more sensitive to the light and to everything happening around her, giving her a headache. And she had to be very careful not to vamp out on anyone.

Then, she had gotten a physics test back and she failed it. Badly. Either her study sessions with Lukas weren't working yet, either she was just a lost cause in the subject. It was annoying her as she could manage all the other subjects, just not this one.

But the cherry on top of it all had been Isaac. The little brat had managed to corner her and talk to her. He wanted to apologize to her and, in another context, she would have appreciated it but not this one. He had stolen from her and broken her trust, goddammit. So here she was, listening to him with her arms crossed as she could easily think of a thousand other places she would prefer to be.

"Listen, I'm very sorry, okay?" he told her, once again. She hadn't kept track of how many times he had tried to apologize but it was probably close to a hundred. Seeing as Astrid wasn't planning on answering, he went on. "I had to bring something back to Derek but he's my alpha, I had to," he tried to argue.

Astrid scoffed. He wasn't being serious, was he? She finally decided to break her silence.

"The problem, Isaac, is that you don't see where the real issue is. I don't care that you had to bring some information to your little wolf pack, okay? The problem is that I trusted you. I told you something vulnerable about me, I told you about someone I cared about and I welcomed you into my house! And what did you do in return? You went through my stuff and stole something valuable to me! Did you make your tragic backstory up too so that I let my guard down?"

With that, Isaac's face suddenly became gloomier. "I didn't make anything up. And that wasn't just a ploy for you to let your guard down. I thought we could become friends, okay?" he confessed in a low voice.

Again, maybe that would have flattered Astrid another time but, now, she was too pissed off by what he had done to even think about what he had just said. "Because friends do that kind of stuff to each other? You clearly haven't had a lot in your life, then. Why does everyone want to ruin my happiness? Can't you all see that I'm just trying to live my life quietly without some annoying werewolves always on my back?"

With that, Astrid stormed off in the opposite direction, not caring that she had class the other way. She didn't even wait to get his reaction. She was tired of waiting for people to try and make it better for her, only to use the very next opportunity to stab her in the back again. She was a little too used to that by now.

The universe seemed to be against her that day because, not even two minutes after this very enjoyable altercation, she bumped into none other than Stiles. "Sorry-" he started, half-heartedly but, when he lifted his head to find Astrid in front of him, Stiles jumped. "Oh! Astrid! Sorry, didn't mean to, it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going," he blurted, clearly panicking.

Astrid rolled her eyes. Now that people knew she was a vampire, -well, not everyone, of course-, she expected them all to have various reactions but she had spent most of the last few days ignoring Stiles and Scott. She was quickly reminded of why she had chosen so when seeing the state Stiles was in after simply bumping into her. "It's fine, Stiles," she sighed.

"Really? So... you're not going to drink my blood or anything as revenge?" he asked her cautiously. Oh, God. And to think she was going to have to deal with that all the rest of her high school years. She had debated compelling Stiles to forget everything but, by being friends with werewolves who knew the truth as well and couldn't be compelled by her, the ploy would quickly appear to be useless. This meant she just had to deal with Stiles' weird behavior with her.

"No, Stiles. I'm not going to drink your blood. But I'm having a very shitty day and I'm hungry so I would advise you not to mess with me," she told him, keeping a stoic face. Her goal wasn't to threaten him but she just wanted to be left alone.

"Oh, sorry about that then... Is it that time of the month? Actually... do vampires get their period? I mean, you're supposed to be dead, no? But, are you attracted to period blood?" when Stiles noticed the deadly glare Astrid was giving him, he blushed and his voice died down. "Yeah, got it, not messing with you."

Astrid rose her eyebrows at him. Stiles sure had a way of being subtle and just generally keeping some things to himself. "Thank you, Stiles, may I go now or you would like to know if ovulate as well?" With that, Stiles turned a deep shade of red. Embarrassing him a little was the least Astrid could do after he had the guts to ask her if she was attracted to period blood. God, what was going on in his mind for him to even consider asking that sort of question?

"You don't? Great, I'm gonna go to class, then, okay?" she asked sarcastically with a huge smile before walking past him and in the right way for her next class. She just couldn't wait for the day to be over.

————✩ ————

"You should definitely put this one. It brings out your eyes more." Lukas instructed Astrid while holding a dark red top in front of her. Astrid smiled and took the item of clothing. She had to admit the red of the top made her blue eyes pop.

"Thanks, Lukas! I like your shirt, by the way." Astrid told him before putting the shirt aside and turning her head toward her mirror again. She was currently sitting on the carpet in front of her mirror to finish putting some eyeshadow.

She had decided to leave her naturally curly brown hair untied, expecting it to be hot inside the rave, anyway. She had opted for a little glitter on her eyes. It's not like she was going to a rave every day. She could put on some extra effort, not to mention that she liked putting a little more care into how she looked.

Lukas beamed at the compliment before hopping on her bed. "Why, thank you. My mom bought it for me. She usually doesn't have that much style but I like it too! To be honest, I think she unconsciously buys me clothes a pre-teen would wear because she doesn't want me to grow up and leave the nest."

Astrid chuckled. She remembered Lukas saying he wasn't that close to his family during the first of the many times they had hanged out together. However, he seemed to always be talking about them so she guessed he couldn't be as insensitive about them.

Once Astrid was done with her makeup, she got up from the carpet and grabbed the red top, and went into the bathroom to change. After she had finished, she went back into her room and made a swirl in front of Lukas, for him to see how she looked.

"You look great!" he told her, "alright, let's go now, my car's in your driveway."

Astrid nodded and followed him downstairs. On her way out, she called out her fake parents, telling them she was leaving. "Have a good evening, you too!" she got in response from her fake father, George.

"Thanks, Mr. Greene!" Lukas answered before they both left the house. From the many times they had met up at her house, Lukas had met the Greenes multiple times and just thought they were cool parents who weren't always on Astrid's back, hence the fact she was never asked to go home early or anything similar to how his mother was with him.

Of course, the truth was a little more complex but the less Lukas knew, the better. Astrid always felt bad for lying to Lukas about all of that but she did not want to force him into the supernatural world.

The pair entered Lukas' car and began the drive to where the rave was taking place. On the way there, they talked about their expectations for the rave, whether there would be many people from school, and so on. The industrial zone wasn't too far from the center of the town so the drive wasn't too long.

When they got in front of the building, people were already queuing to go in. After parking, Lukas and Astrid quickly joined the back of the queue. A few people ahead of them, Astrid recognized the back of Allison's head. After another glance, she realized Allison was waiting with... Matt? Well, that was unexpected, she thought. Astrid would have thought Allison would have gone with Scott.

Then, after thinking of it, if Allison's family were hunters, it was probably for the best if she kept her distance from Scott. Wouldn't want a member of Allison's family to try and kill her boyfriend...

Astrid sighed, her gaze lost in space. Deep down, she knew it wasn't very plausible for the Argent family to be anything other than hunters, in reality. Considering the last Argent she had met, she doubted his descendants would be any less rigid on traditions and on hating supernatural creatures.

"Hey, you okay?" Lukas asked her concerned, making her leave her thoughts. She shook her head as if to shake off the last remaining bad memories she had from the Argents and smiled at Lukas.

"Oh, nothing. I was just lost in thought. I'm so excited for tonight!" she reassured him. At first, Lukas looked a little unconvinced but, seeing as Astrid had changed the subject so quickly, he guessed she probably didn't want to talk about it.

Instead, he did what he knew best; cheer her up. "Great! Because, believe me, I don't plan on leaving early tonight, alright? We're here to have fun and enjoy being teenagers and not having crippling debt from student loans, yet!" Lukas grinned as Astrid laughed, all her bothersome thoughts progressively leaving her head.

Thankfully for them, the line seemed to be going pretty fast and, soon enough, it was their turn to arrive in front of the woman checking on people's tickets. She had seen multiple groups having to turn away as they hadn't gotten one. At that moment, she was thankful for Lukas to have been able to find some for both of them.

As soon as they got inside the building, the pair was engulfed in a cloud of smoke and darkness. Astrid briefly looked around her. Streaks of colors flashed the room in a strobing effect, lighting the mass of people dancing close to each other. Many of them were wearing glow-in-the-dark accessories.

The room oozed with sweat, alcohol, and probably a few illegal substances. This was supposed to be a 'secret party', after all. She could remember similar parties in dark rooms in the 90s in which every corner was filled with people taking drugs. She had to admit she had tried some but her vampire abilities hindered most effects and she eventually gave up on it. Not that she was particularly hung up on being able to take drugs, anyway. She felt it wasn't necessarily glamorous like the media had tried to sell it. She had seen people overdosing and it had been far from pretty.

Her vampire senses were all over the place because of the loud music and the number of people packed into the room. It gave her a slight headache but it also meant she could dissociate completely and not hear every single thing happening in the room. She liked being a vampire, far from it, but sometimes her enhanced hearing became a little much.

"Come! Let's dance," Lukas told her while pulling her by the arm toward the middle of the room. Astrid gradually gave in to the music, swaying her hips in rhythm. She and Lukas laughed as they danced together, not caring about the likely hundreds of other people in the room.

While, another new song she had never heard -that had been the case for most of the night, anyway- Astrid felt like she was burning up. "Hey, I'm gonna go cool down a little, okay?" she practically yelled at Lukas, for him to hear her through the loud music. In response, Lukas nodded and put his thumb up to notify her he had understood.

Since they had been dancing near the middle of the room, Astrid had to push her way through the sweaty dancers. She was lucky to have her enhanced reflexes or else she would have probably received more than one elbow in the face.

When she finally arrived at the restroom, she was lucky she didn't have to pee because the queue was at least a dozen people long. Astrid sneaked past them and went straight to the sinks to wet her hands before putting them to her neck to cool down a little. She sighed when she felt the coldness on her burning hot skin. She eventually did the same to her cheeks, while trying to avoid messing up the minimal makeup she had put on before coming, and quickly left the restroom.

Apparently, bumping into people she didn't want to see had become her thing because, as soon as she got out of the restroom, she found herself face-to-face with none other than Isaac Lahey. The universe really had a way of making them meet all the time when she didn't want to talk to him.

"Astrid! Hi..." Isaac awkwardly greeted her. His left hand went to scratch the back of his neck but what was puzzling to Astrid was that he seemed to be trying to hide his other hand far behind his back.

"What do you have behind your back?" Astrid asked him, straight to the point, while raising an eyebrow. At first, Isaac seemed to stammer a little, obviously trying to hide something. Finally, he sighed and showed her his right hand. What was Astrid's surprise when she discovered that Isaac was holding a syringe. "What is that?"

"It's for Jackson..." Isaac confessed, maybe a little too easily. Astrid hoped for him it wasn't supposed to be a secret considering how easily he had given in to her question. "We're trying to find out who's controlling him."

"Oh, so you finally understood he wasn't acting consciously?" Astrid mused while crossing her arms. The goal wasn't to rub in the fact that she knew more than them but... maybe it was a little.

"Huh, yeah, actually," Isaac answered, visibly a little taken aback by the fact she knew that when he and the pack had taken a long time before discovering that information. "Have you seen him?"

Astrid shrugged. She gathered it would be more annoying than anything, having to keep on avoiding him -she was still pretty annoyed at him nonetheless- but she really hadn't seen him. "No, sorry." Isaac sighed before glancing at the syringe. It seemed like this particular task hadn't been his choice.

Isaac's head lifted back to look at her. He didn't have to lift it back completely as Astrid was notably smaller than him. Then, something caught the side of his gaze and his eyes lit up when he spotted Jackson in the crowd. Seeing that, Astrid turned her head to see what he was staring at and saw Erica dancing very closely with Jackson.

As Erica was starting to trail her hands down Jackson's torso, she glanced at Isaac with a pointed gaze. Immediately, Isaac went up to the two of them, joining the sensual dance. Astrid couldn't keep herself from spying on the trio. The way they were dancing suggested the next step be a bedroom. Then, Isaac slowly held the syringe to Jackson's head.

However, before he got to do anything with it, Jackson seemed to attack Erica and Isaac and, in a voice way lower than his usual one, Astrid heard him say, "He belongs to me."

Her eyes trailed to the syringe which fell to the floor and was pushed by other people obliviously dancing. The corner of her eyes caught Erica falling on top of Isaac so, without thinking, she grabbed the syringe and injected its content into Jackson's neck before he could get away.

Soon after that, Jackson's eyes seemed to roll back inside his skull and Isaac was quick to catch him before he fell to the ground. Erica soon followed to help drag him away from the dancefloor.

The place was ideal for this. To strangers, it simply looked like two people helping their drunk friend. She caught Isaac's gaze and he seemed to mouth a "thank you" at her while he slung his arm under Jackson's armpit to keep him steady.

When Jackson nearly slipped from Erica and Isaac's grasp, Erica turned to Astrid. "We might need a little help there. Even if the jackass doesn't look like it, he's pretty heavy." She managed to ask Astrid.

With a huff, Astrid took Erica's place and placed Jackson's arm around her shoulders. It didn't help that Isaac was way taller than her. Because of it, Jackson was nearly falling on her but, thanks to her enhanced strength, it was nothing she couldn't manage. For a moment she wondered what they would have done without her. "Where did you plan to keep him?"

"That way," Erica answered while nodding toward a door a couple of meters away. Once they arrived inside, Erica quickly closed the door behind them and a chair had been conveniently placed in the middle of the room. Astrid let go of Jackson and Isaac sat him in the chair.

Shouldn't they have brought some chains or something that would hold him back? They seemed to put a lot of trust into whatever they had injected him.

Once Isaac was done, he, Astrid, and Erica all stood in front of the chair, staring at Jackson. "And, so... What are we supposed to do now?" Astrid asked after about a minute of complete silence. Nearly getting maimed while trying to put him down was one thing, but what was the point of all of this?

"Well..." Isaac seemed to hesitate, "we wanted to lure his master."

Then, all three of them jumped when someone suddenly entered the room. "Uh, no, no, no! Just me, it's just me. Don't freak." Stiles quickly said when seeing Erica nearly jumping on him. Astrid looked at her arm. In a moment of surprise, Isaac had grabbed her wrist. They both shared a look before Isaac quickly let go of her. What was that?

Stiles took a few steps in the room before his gaze landed on Astrid and he furrowed his brows. "Astrid? You're here too?"

"She helped us with Jackson," Erica dismissed. As if Astrid hadn't been the reason Jackson hadn't gotten away. But as she wasn't one to brag, she kept quiet and didn't rectify Erica.

Stiles just nodded and looked back at Jackson's limp body on the chair. "He okay?"

Isaac took a step closer to Jackson. "Well, let's find out," he announced before getting his claws out. However, as soon as he got his hand close to Jackson, Jackson grabbed Isaac's arm and started twisting it while Isaac grunted in pain. "God!" he yelled out before taking a step back toward where Astrid, Erica and Stiles were standing. How had Jackson managed to do that while still being down?

"Okay, no one does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles told the three supernatural beings while looking at each of them. As if after what happened, any of them would want to.

"I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out," Isaac groaned, still holding his probably-broken arm. It was going to heal in an instant but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Yeah, well, apparently, this is all we're going to get. So, let's just hope that whoever's controlling him just decided to show up tonight." Stiles answered, looking warily at Jackson.

Then, Jackson suddenly seemed to wake up and opened his eyes. "I'm here. I'm right here with you," he said slowly in a distorted voice that sent chills down Astrid's spine. She wasn't one to get scared easily but it just felt weird to hear a voice like that coming from Jackson's body. It seemed as if he was possessed.

Stiles then had the brilliant idea to get closer to Jackson and knelt down in front of him. Was that really necessary? After what had happened to Isaac, Astrid felt like being close to Jackson wasn't exactly recommended. "Jackson, is that you?" Stiles asked.

Still in the same distorted voice, Jackson answered, "Us. We're all here." Stiles turned to look at Astrid, Isaac and Erica anxiously.

"Are you the one killing people?" he proceeded to ask. Well, the guy was devoted to finding out the truth, Astrid could give him that.

"We are the ones killing murderers," not-Jackson answered. The way he had of looking at the four of them really made it seem as if Jackson was straight out of a horror movie.

"So, all the people you've killed so far--"

"Deserved it," not-Jackson snapped back.

"See, we got a little rule book that says you only go after murderers..." Stiles told him. A book? Did he mean a kind of bestiary? If it was the case, it probably could answer how they had found out that the creature they were dealing with was a kanima. But, at the same time, it probably meant that they knew more about her than she originally thought.

"Anything can break if enough pressure's applied," not-Jackson cut him again.

"All right. So, the people you're killing are all murderers, then?"

"All. Each. Every one." But Isaac's father had been killed too, did that mean that he was a murderer? All the other victims seemed to be around 25, though, so the age gap was odd since the murderers usually had a connection to the master of the kanima.

"Well, who did they murder?" Stiles inquired.

"Me."

What? Jackson's master had died? Could that mean that he was a vampire too? Astrid thought she was the only one here. She glanced at Isaac who was looking at her, frowning.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Stiles asked him, as confused as everyone else in the room.

"They murdered me. They murdered me." Jackson started to repeat like a broken record. His eyes also turned yellow, but not like a beta's, no. Jackson's eyes looked like a snake's, like a kanima's.

Astrid glanced at Jackson's arm which had grown scales too. Jackson was transforming. The others seemed to have noticed too because the room suddenly felt way tenser and Stiles was visibly growing nervous, twitching his hands, and all. "Okay. All right, more ketamine. The man needs ketamine. Come on!" he urged Isaac.

"...We don't have any more," the beta answered while holding the empty bottle of what used to be ketamine. Great.

"You used the whole bottle?" Stiles asked him incredulously.

"I doubt using any less would have made a difference," Astrid argued. Seeing how so much ketamine had worn off so quickly, it seemed that the main problem was Jackson.

Jackson then slowly got up, his face now half transformed, before hissing at the four of them. Then, his head started shaking violently. What the hell? It was really looking like Jackson needed an exorcism now.

"Um, okay, out! Everybody out!" Stiles yelled before pushing Erica to the door. As quickly as possible, the four of them ran to the door and closed it behind them.

"Okay, find something to move in front of the door..." Stiles screamed at them in panic. Astrid looked around them. Her eyes scanned the room quickly but nothing held her attention. This was a party in an abandoned building, after all.

However, before any of them found something to hold the door, the now fully transformed kanima barged through the wall, tearing it completely apart.

"What the hell!" Astrid yelled in surprise. That had definitely not been in the plan.

"Fuck!" Stiles groaned before rubbing his temple. "Crap, where did he go?"

"We should go outside," Erica proposed. Everyone agreed and they quickly left the building. Once they got outside, Astrid had the pleasure to realize Derek was there. Exactly the person she wanted to see tonight... After Derek had stalked her and exposed her for being a vampire, Astrid wasn't particularly fond of the alpha.

"Hey, um, so, we kind of lost Jackson inside," Stiles started telling Derek. Astrid, Isaac and Erica walked up to them but, suddenly, Astrid felt something holding her back, she looked back and saw it was the same for Erica and Isaac. "but it's--" Stiles stopped talking when he realized what was going on. "Oh, my God! It's working! Oh, this is-- I did something!" Stiles yelled excitedly.

The feeling was weird, it was as if she was trying to enter a household she hadn't been invited to. It had never happened to her when leaving a place. Then, she looked down and saw a line of what looked like grey sand on the ground. Was that what was keeping her from going through?

"Scott?" Derek asked out of the blue. Astrid looked around but Scott was nowhere to be found.

"What?" Stiles asked, not understanding either.

Derek turned to him, "Break it."

"What? No way!" Stiles scoffed, Derek stared at him in annoyance, "Scott's dying!"

"Okay, what? How do you know that?" Stiles asked, apparently not believing Derek. Then Astrid suddenly remembered she hadn't come alone. "Shit! Lukas!" she muttered under her breath. Since when had she left to go to the bathroom?

Isaac looked at her in confusion as she stormed back into the building. With the kanima on the loose, it hadn't been the brightest idea to leave Lukas alone on the dancefloor. It also just wasn't a nice thing to do considering how it had been Lukas who had invited her.

She didn't pay any more attention to Stiles and Derek's bickering and went inside, trying to find her friend. She was pushing around in a sea of people when, finally, Astrid saw Lukas annoyingly staring at his phone in a corner of the room. Dammit.

She quickly walked up to him and, when he noticed her he sighed loudly. "Finally! Where were you? I was worried, I sent you like a hundred texts!"

Astrid took her phone out of her pocket and noticed Lukas had indeed tried to call her multiple times and she had about a dozen unread texts. "I'm so sorry! I'm so mad at myself right now, I ran into someone, and then... Well, I'm sorry," she apologized.

Lukas rolled his eyes "And you went somewhere to make out with them, or something? Because you've been gone for a while," he scoffed.

Astrid smiled apologetically at him, "I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you?"

"Yeah, yeah," Lukas answered half-heartedly. Then, he looked back at Astrid and smiled. "Don't worry about it, the party wasn't that good anyway."

Astrid sighed in relief. What she said was true, she did feel guilty for leaving Lukas alone. "Want to go back to my place? We can just chill and watch a movie instead," she suggested with a small smile. Lukas' face seemed to light up.

"Okay, I'm sold... but never do that again!" he told her with a genuine smile. Thank God Lukas was so nice. And she was glad she would be able to chill a little after the mess that had been this evening.

Astrid looked around the room, it looked less packed than when they first went in so it seemed as if the party was dying down. She just hoped whatever Stiles had done to the building was over so she could leave.

Lukas took her by the arm before leaving. "What should we watch?" he asked joyfully.

Astrid smiled at him, "You decide," she told him while leaving the building. Fortunately for her, there was no resistance when she went into the parking lot and the pair got to go home without much trouble, oblivious to the hunters surrounding the building or the woman who had just been killed by the kanima.

————✩ ————

【 NOTES ! 】

we're getting closer to the end of the season! 

i guess most of you have noticed by now but i plan on having isaac be astrid's love interest here (not saying when it'll happen though)

as always, i'm happy to hear your opinion on this chapter! lots of love :)