I mean, there were worse trips to go on. I could have been stranded in a snowstorm in some remote location in Canada, I could have been stuck in vacation house on some tropical island during a hurricane. Instead, I was in the middle of the Mexican desert with Stiles and Lydia. We were walking around waiting for night to fall, waiting for our plan to commence.

"You sure you guys don't want a bite?" I tried again, munching on the delicious elote I got from a street cart a few paces back. I seemed to be the most calm out of the three of us, despite how we were all pretty sure we were walking into a death trap. Stiles wrinkled his nose at me.

"We're good, June, thanks. You know what could you possibly pay more attention to what we're doing, actually?"

I stopped mid-chew and looked at him. Swallowing, I said, "I am paying attention. We're waiting for nightfall, and if you haven't noticed, it's the middle of the day."

"I noticed, thank you," Stiles bit back, wiping sweat off his brow. I raised an eyebrow at my two friends.

"You shouldn't have worn a jacket if you're so hot, Stiles. We're in the middle of the desert,"

"Noticed that too," He said sarcastically. "I don't get it, why are you so comfortable?"

I thought for a moment, "Probably because I dressed for the weather."

"I'm not sure what you dressed for," Lydia commented, and my gaze turned to her.

"I dressed for a party, Lydia, not for school like you two clearly did." I took another bite of my elote.

"You didn't dress for a party, I've seen you at parties, June. You're dressed like you're going to Coachella. And the flower crown, seriously?"

I swallowed, "Alright, I'm just going to chalk up your attitude to early onset heatstroke. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

We walked around the town a bit more, Stiles and Lydia begrudgingly stopping whenever I saw a neat shop I wanted to stop into. The locals were incredibly nice, and even gave us some tips about good food. Stiles and Lydia didn't seem all that interested, but having been crammed in a jeep for twelve plus hours worked up a serious appetite on my end.

"Where did you say you learned Spanish, again?"

"I picked it up on weekends with some of buddies from the Bronx that were also in my coven," I replied, nearly inhaling my first of two tamales.

"Aren't you worried about food poisoning?" Stiles asked as I munched on my second tamale.

I shook my head, "Nope. I have an immune system comprised of steel, I haven't had a food-borne illness since I was a toddler."

"Is that like a witch thing, or something?" Lydia asked me.

"Kind of. It's just that sometimes people in my coven didn't exactly put away their potion ingredients, and naturally as a curious toddler, I'd get into them. Let me tell you, there are some weird things that I have ingested-"

"Okay, you know what, enough said," Stiles said, and I smiled brightly at him. "C'mon, it's getting closer to dark. We should head over there."

We walked down the dirt roads that lead back to the city center. Stiles and Lydia were growing more tense, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't either. People were bustling about in the city center, and as far as we could tell, no one was trying to threaten our lives.

"This doesn't seem so bad," Stiles said, clasping his hands together.

"It's not the town, Stiles. It's the plan," Lydia said from next to him.

"What's wrong with the plan?" Stiles asked.

"Stiles," I said, "This could be the stupidest plan we've ever come up with. You're aware of that, right?"

"I'm aware it's not our best," He said, not making eye contact with either of us.

"We are going to die," Lydia said. We all started walking down the street Scott told us to earlier, moving somewhat closer together. I got a few unwanted stares that warranted Stiles pulling me slightly closer to him.

"Are you saying that as a banshee? Or are you just being pessimistic?" Stiles asked.

"She's saying that as a person who doesn't want to die," I said plainly, staring ahead.

"Okay, great! Maybe Lydia could now restrict any talk of death to actual banshee predictions, so..."

"This plan is stupid, and we're going to die," I cracked up at Lydia's remark.

"Oh, thank you!" Stiles said sarcastically, scratching the back of his head.

Night fell, and we started walking down one the street where the party was supposedly being held. I glanced over to see Lydia holding her purse close to her, and had to refrain from rolling my eyes.

"Lyds, take it easy with the purse. No one's gonna mug you."

"I'm not taking that chance, it's Tory Burch. Plus, you got it for me as an early birthday gift."

"I just said that so you'd take the bag. I'm not going to get you just a Tory Burch bag for your birthday, Lydia. What am I, tasteless?"

I saw her eyes widen, and before she could say any more on the matter, we walked up to the building. Two men were leaning against either side of the doorway, and when we stopped in front, they walked closer to us.

"Estamos aqui para la fiesta," I said. They shook their heads at me, and I looked over to Stiles. He dug out the candy-skull-decorated card from his pocket, and held it out for the two men to look over. Once more, they shook their heads, but this time they pointed to a security camera that was hidden in the corner of the doorway. Stiles lifted the card up for the camera to see, and we all heard a buzzing come from the door.

The door swung inwards, and the two men parted for us to walk through. Cautiously, I stepped inside, with Lydia and Stiles following close behind me. When we were all a considerable distance down the hallway, we heard the door from which we entered shut and lock up again.

"Well that's not foreboding," I said, turning an accusatory stare to Stiles. He sighed, then nudged us forward. We all walked down to the end of the hall, and opened up a door. We were immediately hit with a wave of loud music, and the smell of tequila burning our nostrils. We glanced around, and from above us we located Severo. He was side-eying us and speaking into a walkie-talkie.

Stiles' hand slipped into mine, and I looked over to him. He nodded, and I started pulling him along to the bar on the left-hand side. We sidled up to some free counter space, and immediately after we got there the bartender slid tequila shots our way. We were all hesitant to take them, and eventually Stiles started digging out his wallet.

As soon as he did, however, I was met with a firm squeeze on my shoulder. I saw from the corner of my eye Stiles stop in his tracks.

"No," Severo said from between us, "On the house." When no one moved, he simply looked between the three of us. "Most American teenagers don't cross the border to refuse a drink."

"We didn't come to drink," Lydia argued, then fished out the engraved bullet from her bag. She promptly dropped it in the tequila, and Severo nodded at us.

We were escorted to a room off of where the party was taking place. There sat a woman with a knife and a piece of cloth, tearing at the sewn seams. We were sat down in front of her, and she smiled. I had no doubts that this was Araya, as she was heavily guarded by men surrounding all of us.

"Severo hates this music," she began, "Me? I've always loved the music of youth. This kind, especially. It has a savage energy."

"We're here for Derek Hale," I said, not feeding in to her distractions.

"Is that so?"

"We know you have him," Lydia elaborated, shrugging off her jacket. When Araya didn't reply, she continued, "We've heard you can be bought."

At that, Stiles fished the money out of his jacket pocket and laid it out across the table. "It's fifty thousand for Derek."

Araya smiled in a cruel manner, "Now," She set the knife down on the table, "Where does a teenage boy get money like this? The Japanese mafia?"

Around us, the guards started cocking their guns, sending Lydia jumping almost out of her seat. I slowly started chanting familiar spells in my mind, ready to use them at a moment's notice if necessary.

Araya leaned forward, "Not smart to come alone."

Stiles leaned forward in his chair as well, not showing any signs of intimidation, "What makes you think we came alone?"

Araya frowned openly at this, and a brief flash of panic danced across her eyes. "You brought a wolf into my home?"

I smiled, "We brought an alpha."

Araya hopped up from her seat and walked over to Severo. She started muttering in Spanish, loud enough for me to catch a little.

Stiles leaned over from his seat next to me, "What is she saying?" He whispered. I leaned over to him.

"I'm only catching bits and pieces, but it's mostly just alerting security to be on the lookout at the party." Before Stiles could reply, Araya turned back to us.

"My friends," she sighed, walking over to the windows behind her desk, "I don't think you're aware of your poor timing. Do you know what the dark moon is?"

"The part of a lunar phase when the moon is least visible in the sky."

"But do you know its meaning?" Araya pressed.

"Some people say it's a time of reflection," Lydia elaborated, "Or grief."

"Grief and loss, mija. I wonder why, when you and your friends have suffered so much loss you would risk it again for someone like Derek Hale."

"Because we don't like to lose," Stiles said. At that moment, chatter came over the radio perched on Araya's desk.

"Front door clear."

"South clear."

"North?" Severo asked. There was silence that followed his question. "Norte? A donde esta norte?"

"Stiles," We heard Scott's voice over the airwaves, "Take ten off the table." He did just that, taking a stack of bills and tucking them away in his pocket.

"Maybe you should just take the deal," Lydia suggested.

Araya smiled, "While I'm keen to follow the warning of a banshee, I'm going to have to decline."

"Alright come on," Stiles said, slightly desperate, "Just give us Derek. You don't want him anyway. Haven't you noticed how much of a downer he is? No sense of humor, poor conversationalist. Just come on, take the money."

Araya grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Severo? Show them how the Calaveras negotiate."

Before the three of us could even react, I felt a rod jab into my side. I was just as quickly hit with volts of electricity. I could hear Lydia let out an exclamation of surprise and fear, and Stiles yelling my name. When I could properly think straight, I was a convulsing mess on the floor. Above me, Lydia was rooted to her chair, and Stiles was being held back by another guard. I was still twitching horribly when Araya came to stand over me.

"Llevar estos dos," She pointed to Stiles and I, "abajo al sotano. Este se queda conmigo."

"No, Lydia!" I tried, still jerking slightly. To no avail, unfortunately, as I was hurled over some man's shoulder. I was carried out of the room, and if I glanced up just enough, I could see Stiles being walked down to wherever we were going. He kept his eyes focused on me, and my eyes flickered between him and the shotgun pointed directly at him.

I heard a door slide open behind me, and I was carried inside. We were inside what was once I'm sure a white tiled bathroom, but was now victim of neglect. Everything about this place screamed dirty and overall just icky. I heard Stiles be shoved in by the other guard, and I was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. A painful feat, as the man carrying me was very tall. I moaned at impact, and hoisted myself over onto my back.

"Hey, easy!" I heard Stiles say. I looked over at him to see the guard grabbing onto his arms, as he struggled towards me. "Hey, what are you doing? Stop, hey, STOP!"

I glanced over at the guard who dropped me to see him take out a syringe. Too weak to even move, I twitched as he injected what I now realized to be mistletoe in the side of my neck. It wasn't enough to knock me unconscious, but I could definitely feel my magic slowly start to slip from my control. The guard stood back up, and was about to walk out with his buddy that was previously holding on to Stiles.

"Perra." I spat drowsily, and the guard froze. He turned back around slowly, and I saw he was smiling. In an instant, he whipped out the huge taser and jabbed it into my side once more. I cried out in pain as he jammed it further in between two ribs.

"STOP IT, HEY!" I sighed in relief when I felt I was no longer being electrocuted, and saw Stiles being shoved roughly to the floor. The guards exited the room, and slid the door shut. We soon after heard a resounding click, meaning we were locked inside for the time being.

Stiles was quick to get to his feet, and wasted no time in rushing to my side. I was still twitching horribly when I felt his hands on my face.

"June, are you okay?"

"O-obviously not, Stil-Stilinski," I said.

"Do you know what he injected you with?" Stiles said, stroking my hair, and letting the electricity run its course through my body.

"M-mistletoe. I can't - I can't u-use my m-magic."

It took about a solid five minutes for me to be able to sit up entirely. He half-carried me to a pillar, and propped me against it. He continually put his hands on my face, making sure I was alright and conscious. I kept assuring him I was fine, and after about ten minutes, the doors opened once again.

Malia, Kira, and Scott were all thrown inside before the doors shut and locked once more. Kira and Malia were slowly looking around as they woke up, while Scott was basically an unconscious heap on the floor.

"What is this place?" Malia looked around, then her gaze fell onto me. She immediately scrambled over, "June, are you okay?" She glanced up at Stiles, "What happened to her?"

"When the deal went south they tazed her. I guess because she's a witch, so it was easiest for them just to take her out first. We were dragged in here where they injected her with mistletoe, then tazed her again."

"I'll be okay, Malia." I said. As if to disprove my point, my foot twitched along with my hand. I winced at the pain, then shook my head. "Besides, I'm not the priority here, they kept Lydia with Araya."

"Lydia's with them?" I noticed Kira looking at the exit, and looking around for an escape that likely didn't exist. Her head turned when she heard something.

"He's awake. Guys, he's awake!" Kira exclaimed. With Malia's help, I got to my feet and walked over to Scott. She kept a cautious arm around my waist as we went along.

"Scott, you okay?" Stiles asked. Scott nodded, and together with Kira's help, they sat him up.

Scott looked around in sudden realization, "They don't have him. They don't have Derek."

"We know," Kira said soothingly, "But right now they've got Lydia."

Scott's head snapped to Stiles, "Lydia? What do they want with Lydia?"

"Not entirely sure of that either," I said. His gaze snapped to me, and how I was leaning against Malia.

"What happened to you?" He asked me.

"You should see the other guy," I said. Stiles looked over at me.

"June, the other guy literally walked away. You're the only one who got hurt."

I glared at him, "And now you just shrank my cool-factor down to zero. Thank you for wounding me further, Stilinski."

"Can you - I mean - are you able to get us out of here?" Scott asked, bringing me back to the situation.

I sighed, "Unfortunately, no. They knew I was a witch, and I was given a pleasant shot of mistletoe. I'm not much use to you guys."

"Just as long as you're okay, that doesn't matter," Scott said as he walked over to the door. I assured Malia I could stand on my own, and she gently let me go. I watched as Scott slid his fingers along where the door opens, only to be met with no success of opening it.

"We've already looked for a way out," Kira said, "I think a lot of people have."

"I say when that door opens again, we take out whoever's standing in the way and run for it," Malia said. I stared at her.

"Uh - no, Malia," I told her.

"What? Why not?"

"What about Lydia?" Kira asked.

"What about her?" Malia asked, genuinely confused.

"We're not leaving without her," Scott defended.

"Why not?" She repeated.

Stiles and I let out a collective sigh, "Because we don't leave without people. Remember, we talked about this? Rules of the animal kingdom don't apply to friends." Stiles reminded her.

"Is that what you would do as a coyote, leave her for dead?" Kira asked disbelievingly.

"If she was weak and injured, yeah," Malia answered without hesitation, "If hunting had been bad that season, I would eat her. Then I'd leave."

I shared a look with Stiles, who started biting his nails, "Yeah believe it or not that's progress," He told the rest of the group.

"Alright guys, we're not dead yet," Scott said. "And that means Araya wants something."

"But if the Calaveras don't know where Derek is, that means they didn't take him from the loft, right?" I asked.

"Maybe he left on his own," Stiles said.

"Maybe someone else got to him," Scott guessed. As soon as he said it, the doors opened, and in marched several Calaveras. Severo lead the charge, and Stiles immediately brushed me behind him. It seems I was not in fact the target, however, as he tazed Scott and effectively knocked him unconscious once more. Kira was grabbed again, and Scott was carried out. Malia growled at the guards, but they pointed their large guns at us, and left the three of us alone after walking back outside.

We sat there for about ten minutes. Well, Malia sat. I leaned on the sink next to her and watched Stiles pace the room.

"If he keeps pacing like that we might not even have to think up an escape plan, Malia. Stiles'll just burn a hole right through the floor for us to escape through."

"You know June you're so funny, I forget to laugh sometimes," Stiles said, continuing to walk the length of the room. I rolled my eyes at his behavior and walked over to him. I put my hands on his shoulders.

"Hey listen to me, we need to think. Let's think instead of worry."

"Easier said than done," Stiles said, beginning to mess with his hands just so he could move. He turned to Malia and asked, "Do you hear them? Do you hear Scott?"

Malia, who had her eyes closed in concentration for the last five minutes shook her head slowly.

Stiles began to pace again, "Okay, okay. Do you hear Kira, Lydia, anybody? What are they saying?"

"I - I can't. I can't concentrate. I - there's too many sounds and - and voices." I crouched in front of her when I started to hear her panic.

"Okay. It's okay, just breathe. Breathe with me," I started gesturing as I took deep breaths. She wasn't having trouble breathing, but her lack of focus wasn't helping. "You practiced this with Scott before, remember that?"

She nodded, eyes wide and genuine, "I - I'm trying."

"And you're doing great," I encouraged, "You just need to focus on something. Uh - here, look at my eyes," she did and I nodded, "Very good. Or just focus on the sound of my voice, anything you have to do. Just try to concentrate. Concentrate on-" I couldn't get anything out after that, for Malia slammed her lips on mine. My eyes widened in shock, and I stilled. When she pulled away, her eyes were glowing.

"Um - what? What - what was that for?" I stuttered.

"You wouldn't stop talking. I couldn't concentrate with you talking," She said simply.

"Oh right," I said, scratching the back of my head. "Right that's - I do that. I tend to overtalk when I don't really know what to say-"

"You're doing it again."

"Right, sorry," I said, standing up and walking away. When I turned to look at Stiles, his eyes were wide. As wide as I'm sure mine still were.

"Not a damn word, Stilinski. Not a damn word," I said, and he slowly nodded.

I stared at Malia for several minutes more as she listened in on the Calaveras. She looked like she was about to say something when the lights in the room started flickering dramatically. She locked eyes with Stiles and I and nodded frightfully.

"They're killing him!" Overhead, in the very distance, we could all here a faint yell. Then everything seemed to stop. The lights stopped flickering, and Malia stilled once again, listening.

"Wait he - he said a name."

"Who?" I asked.

"Uh - Kate. He said Kate." Stiles and I locked eyes with each other.

"Kate as in-"

"Yeah, no that's impossible. That's impossible, that can't be what he said."

"Why? Who - who's Kate?"

"Well I'm not entirely sure, but I'm pretty sure she's supposed to be dead," I told her, and Stiles nodded.

"She's a hunter," He elaborated. "An Argent."

As soon as he said it, I felt a familiar tug in my stomach before I was sent flying several feet back into the post in the middle of the room."

"June?" Stiles rushed over to me, "What the hell was that? Are you okay?"

I rubbed my head and clumsily stood up, "I'm completely fine."

"What? No you're not, you literally just flew several feet in the air. Is this - is this a new ability?"

I scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, Stiles. The mistletoe just wore off. My magic came back."

"What - why does it do that?"

"It helps if you think of mistletoe as like a suppressor. Magic isn't supposed to be held down like that so when that substance wears off, it just kinda comes back full swing."

"Full swing as in sends you toppling to the floor every time?"

"Accompanied with a couple punches to my body, or so it feels like," I agreed. I looked up at his bewildered expression and smiled, "Magic isn't always nice you know."

As I was brushing off the grime from my shorts, the doors opened again. I thought it was going to be the Calaveras returning Scott and Kira, but instead it was just the Calaveras. They held the door open and gestured down the hallway.

"Ustedes pueden ir," They said and I scrunched my eyebrows. Stiles looked back at me as slowly moved around him to face the men in the doorway.

"What did they say?" He asked me.

Not taking my eyes off of them, I answered Stiles, "They said we can go."

Stiles raised his eyebrows, "Go as in - as in leave? Like we're free to leave?"

I nodded, "Yep. Malia, Stiles, stay close to me." They came closer to me, and I cast a shield around them. We slowly made our way out of the room and made our way upstairs and outside. It wasn't until we were back in the public eye did I even think about lowering the shield.

"Stiles, let's go grab the jeep," I offered. We quickly made our way back to where we parked it, and pulled back around to the Calaveras' headquarters. I hopped out of the jeep and leaned against it, waiting for my friends.

The first to come out was Lydia, and I immediately rushed over to give her a hug. I checked her over, and when I was satisfied that she was in tact, I hugged her again. She made her way over to the jeep.

Kira came out next, and walked over to stand next to Malia. Scott came out last, following Araya, and was followed by two other guards. Araya said her piece and made her way back inside. Scott walked over to the five of us, and sighed. It was quiet for a moment before I decided to speak up.

"Well all in all, it's not the worst party I've ever been to."

Here it is! I'm genuinely so excited about this story y'all cannot believe. I just wanted to clear some stuff up, there is a reason I haven't mentioned what happened with that cliffhanger yet. Don't think I just left it out, it'll come into play later. Also no, June and Stiles are not together (yet?). Thank you again Linnanpiha for the absolutely gorgeous cover of this story as well as the last. I love them like they're my children. As always, vote and comment, I love hearing from you guys. Let's get cracking on this one, shall we? Xx.