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CHAPTER EIGHT;

ASHES TO ASHES

A short, blonde girl rooming with two werewolves and a werewolf-murdering hunter get into a car together. Most people would immediately call out every single red flag in this situation; for instance, that said hunter's wife just happened to almost murder the blonde and her best friend. Not the mention the hunter's sister burned her whole family alive, all while that hunter also had his fair share of homicidal moments. Oh, you can't forget about the hunter's father, who single-handedly ruined the final months of their sophomore year. Clearly, Sage Connelly and Chris Argent were not going to have any chit-chat on how the weather was in Beacon Hills that night.

Which, by the way, it was cold as hell.

Because Sage and Argent weren't capable of running a marathon in under two minutes, they settled with a different kind of transportation. She didn't really see why she had to be stuck in a car with him, especially since running would give her a little heads up before she actually got into the full workout that Coach would be putting her through. Stiles signed her up for track this year, saying that it was only more hours that they could get to spend with each other during the day, when really it was his excuse to have someone to suffer with him. She didn't bother telling him that he was unintentionally calling her fat and lazy.

The lacrosse team was required to practice with the track team in order to build up muscle and stamina for the games; and because the number of people participating in track was so incredibly small, literally everyone was immediately on the team the second their name was written on the sign-up sheet.

She wasn't exactly excited about any required activity. She knew how extreme Coach got when he was directing his team, and sadly, he happened to be the track coach as well this year considering the old one got too old to work. Oh, the irony. The only good thing that is going to come out of her being a member of the track team is going to be her ability to run faster when wolves are chasing her and trying to kill her.

"I never got a chance to thank you," Argent spoke, breaking the silence in the car.

They were on their way to the high school after placing all of the emitters around the perimeter of the forest, leading Boyd and Cora straight forward with nowhere else to go. She was still trying to function properly after seeing Cora alive and breathing, and she was also still trying to deal with the aftermath of Erica's death. When Boyd and Cora were finally safe and not effected by the full moon, Sage would be doing damage control for Derek and Isaac.

But for right now, all Sage could do was stare at Argent, confused on why he was thanking her for something she most likely never did. "Thank me for what?"

"For being Allison's friend," Argent explained as his fingers tapped on the steering wheel. "Before we moved here, she didn't have any. We always traveled to much for her to ever meet anyone that would commit to staying by her side. I'm not saying I particularly enjoy her choice of friends and boyfriends, but thank you for not giving up on her."

Sage's eyebrows furred. "I would never leave her. Yeah, she did some bad things last year but you don't give up on your friends. I would have waited longer than a summer. I would have waited a whole year, and never given up on her."

"You sound like your father," Argent said, nodding as he pressed on the gas pedal to drive a bit faster. Sage was surprised at the words that fell from his lips, mostly because she had rarely ever been compared to her father. It had always been her mother or Luke that people saw in her. Her father had rarely ever been brought up, so that's why she was so surprised to hear that tonight.

"You knew my dad?" Sage asked, her voice softening as she looked over at him.

Argent nodded. "He was always the one that cleaned my hunters and I up after we got banged up a bit. I never told him that we were hunters, I assumed he figured it out eventually. He never said anything though; it was who he was. Murderers had walked into your father's room and he still continued to heal them."

"No one ever says that," Sage admitted, shifting around in the seat. "Normally I just get that I look like Mom or act like Luke. I've never really had any similar characteristics with my dad, apart from my eyes."

Argent shook his head, glancing over at her for a second. "Then they're wrong."

They didn't speak after that, and eventually it got to the point where the silence was comforting. It wasn't as tense between them, not after they practically bonded over Allison and Sage's father. Granted, neither fully trusted each other and they probably never would, but for right now, they could actually manage being in a car together without Argent feeling like he needed to pull out a gun and shoot her.

When they got to the school, Isaac, Derek, and Scott were already waiting. Cora and Boyd had to be following the trail still, considering none of them were being jumped at or murdered. Sage pushed herself out of the car, and went to walk over to the boys when her phone began to ring. All eyes turned towards her, Isaac and Derek watching as she stopped in her place, shoes scuffing against the gravel ground.

Everyone seemed to know who it was before Sage even checked her caller ID.

"Let's go talk about the plan," Derek announced, looking at the other two werewolves. Argent seemed to agree, and followed the Alpha to a nearby tree so that they could give Sage privacy.

She knew that she shouldn't answer the phone. She should just let it go to voicemail and drop her teenage life while she focused on her supernatural one. She couldn't, though, and she reached for her phone so that she could answer it before it cut him off. Standing by Argent's car, she took a deep breath before pressing accept. "Hello?"

"Are you okay?" Stiles' voice shuttered through the other end of the phone, and Sage's eyes squinted when she heard how it slightly cracked at the end. She has seen her boyfriend break down enough to know that he had either previously been crying before the call, or was about to cry.

Moving so she was fully aware of the call, she asked, "Stiles, what happened?"

"What? Nothing. I'm fine," Stiles tried to reassure over the other side of the phone, but deception had never been one of his many qualities, and she was able to see straight through his lies. "She's dead, Sage. Someone killed her."

Sage didn't need a name to know exactly who he was talking about. She opened her mouth, trying to form any words of comfort but none were coming out. She didn't know how she could possibly attempt to help her boyfriend when she felt nothing about Heather's death. A lump formed in her throat, but not from tears: guilt. She felt guilt. Heather was dead, and the last thing Sage had done was snap at her for kissing Stiles.

Sage's eyes shut tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"Are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sage questioned.

She heard Stiles let out a sigh from the other end of the phone, as well as a few hushed whispers. "You just left, Sage. You left me there with Peter as you went out on a mission to get yourself slaughtered. What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea how many times I called you?"

"Do you have any idea how many times I called you? The only thing anyone told me was 'Lydia found a dead body' and that was it! I tried calling both of you a thousand times and you didn't pick up!" Sage shouted, growing furious as her boyfriend tried to retaliate the situation back on her. She was just yelling back because she knew that it was the truth. Yes, she didn't answer his calls, but he didn't answer her's either.

"I'm sorry that Lydia finding a dead body was more important that answering your call," Stiles retorted. Sage fell back into Argent's car, running a hand through her hair as she tried to calm herself down before she said anything that would only make the situation worse. "Look, I've got to go. Another girl named Emily went missing tonight and I have to talk to her girlfriend. I think I know what's going on but I need to make sure. I'll call you later."

"Yeah, alright. I've got to go inside before Boyd and Cora get here. I'll see you soon."

"Be careful."

"Always am," Sage answered. She paused a second before adding, "I love you, Stiles."

There was a moment of hesitation on the other end of the phone. "You too."

The call cut short, and Sage slowly moved her phone from her ear and into her pocket. She didn't have a chance to think about what he said, and that he didn't actually answer her with the words she wanted to hear. Shaking her head, the blonde pulled the gun out from her back pocket so that she was prepared for the werewolves.

She found the other four boys crowded around a tree. Isaac and Scott shifted around immediately, like they were trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. She rolled her eyes, knowing that they were eavesdropping on her conversation the whole time. That was the worst thing about being friends with people who had supernatural hearing.

Derek glanced down at her. "You good?"

"Ask me tomorrow," Sage replied. Looking over at Argent, she shrugged her shoulders. "So, what's the plan? What am I supposed to be doing?"

Argent nodded over towards Isaac. "You're with him. The two of you are going to be outside and waiting for Boyd and Cora to come to you. As soon as I see them, I'll drive forward in the car and get them into the school, which is where Derek comes in. Once they're inside the school, we get them to the boiler room and keep them there until the sun comes up."

"And what if they attack us before you get here?"

Argent cracked a smile. "Why do you think I gave you the gun?"

"Oh," Sage nodded, giving a nervous laugh in reply. "Great."

"It'll work," Derek assured.

After the explanation of the plan, everyone split up to go to their designated area. Isaac and Sage stayed where they were, directly near the tree in front of the school. It wasn't going to be long before Boyd and Cora came, especially if the emitters worked like Argent said. For right now, all that the blonde could do was wait with the curly-haired boy and hope to god that her aim was as bad as her relationship status.

Isaac's hands shoved deeper into his pockets as he looked over at her. Well, it wasn't even over. It was more down, considering he stood at nearly a foot taller than her. Even with the boots she was wearing, he still continued to prove the dominance that he always teased her about. "So."

"Don't start," Sage dismissed. She knew exactly what he was going to bring up, and she didn't need another person commenting on how dysfunctional she has become with Stiles ever since junior year began. "Please, just don't."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Isaac denied, holding his hands up in surrender. He went against his word, though, by asking, "So, are you going to break up with him?"

"Why would I break up with him?"

Isaac's eyebrows furred. "Because he didn't say he loved you back."

Sage cracked a sad smile, turning to look over at the boy. "Just a lesson in love for whenever you get a girlfriend, Isaac. You don't stop loving a person even when they stop loving you. If it worked that way, then heartbreak wouldn't exist and love wouldn't be so terrifying."

"That is exactly why I'm never going to fall in love," Isaac answered, nodding his head as he inspected the outskirts of the school to make sure that they wouldn't be getting any surprise attacks whilst they were discussing how much love sucked. "With my luck, she'll just end up dying."

"You're so depressing," Sage gaped, shoving his shoulder.

He snorted. "It's true. Everyone I've ever cared about has died."

"Well," Sage started, "You've still got me. I'm not too sure about Derek. He can be bitchy sometimes."

Isaac went to tell her that she could be bitchy too, but he didn't have a chance. From behind the two teenagers, low growls emitted through the cold air. Sage's body froze, and she slowly pulled Argent's gun from out her pocket, taking off the safety. Isaac only let out an, "Oh, great," before turning around to face the rogue werewolves with golden irises ready to attack.

Before Boyd and Cora could charge forward, Argent came barreling through the parking lot with his horn blaring and headlights blinding everyone in front of them. Sage turned her head away, using her hand as a visor to block out the bright lights. When she looked back, she noticed that Boyd and Cora were gone and the plan to get them to Derek had followed through well enough.

Until they jumped onto the roof of the school rather than go inside of it.

Isaac and Sage looked at each other in distress, eyes widening before they ran over to meet the other three that were already discussing what they could do for plan B. Argent had immediately rushed the words from his mouth. "Somebody needs to get the rear doors open."

Derek nodded, rushing forward to leave without ever being asked. Scott, then, turned to look at Argent. "Someone is going to have to draw them inside."

"I'll go," Argent opted, his electric light saber buzzing to life.

"No," Isaac disagreed, shaking his head. "I'm faster."

They watched as the second werewolf took off, and Sage thought she was going to throw up from nerves. Derek and Isaac were both gone now, and she had no idea what was going to happen to them when they weren't in her sight. Looking towards Argent for guidance, she and Scott waited for him to tell them what to do.

He took in a deep breath, glancing towards the school. "Scott, go up on the second floor and wait for Isaac to get them into the school. Sage, come with me and as soon as you see them, you start firing the gun, okay?"

Sage swallowed hard but nodded, following after Argent. They took the front entrance, hiding in Coach's office as they waited for the two beta wolves to cross their path into the main hallway. She didn't know how Allison did this, how she could stay so calm while she was literally chasing something that could murder her at any waking moment. Argent was making her out to be a hunter, and she wasn't sure if she could give him what he wanted.

She wasn't sure if she could pull the trigger.

"Now!" Argent shouted when he heard a slam. Sage and him both moved out of the office, her head spinning wildly as she stepped right into a battlefield. Derek slammed Cora up against the locker, while Boyd stood growling and ready to attack up until something hard when into his leg. He glanced down, his rage blinded by confusion as he looked down to see that a bullet was lodged in his skin.

Sage hadn't even realized she pulled the trigger of the gun until Argent had moved past her a bit, his human light saber crackling and creating enough of a scare for the two to back up even more. Scott and Derek had stepped forward, trying to regain their balance after being thrown aside by Cora and Boyd.

With canine's baring, Derek growled out, "Come and get us."

Then, all of the werewolves disappeared as Scott and Derek lead them to the boiler room. Sage watched, her chest heaving as she backed up. They were rabid, clawing at the walls while they chased after her two friends. She only tore her eyes away when they disappeared, leaving her in the hallway alone with Argent as they both stared, stunned.

"You did it," Argent praised, looking over at her.

Sage turned to glare at him, still out of breath. "Next time you give me a gun, make sure it's not my friends that I'm shooting."

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Stiles had gone into Kaitlyn's room with Melissa, having realized what the pattern in all of the murders is. He was still jittery after getting off the phone with his girlfriend, but the last thing he needed right now was to worry about her safety as she ran around the halls of their high school. He was pissed; he had a right to be. She shouldn't have left in the first place, much less ignore his calls. He knew he probably should have answered her's as well, but he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to press accept.

He had to focus on the matter at hand, and that matter is the possible sacrifices of virgins. Heather was a virgin, he knew that much after she babbled on to him and Sage in an explanation of why she jumped him at her birthday party. The guy at the pool was a virgin too, his purity ring was still able to shine through all the blood on his body. Now, he just needed to find out if the girl that went missing, Emily, is a virgin too.

Because if she is, then she's already dead.

"Kaitlyn, what were you doing in the woods?" Stiles asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her. He couldn't help but empathize with her, mostly because he knew the overwhelming panic in your chest when you realize the person you love is missing or hurt.

The brunette picked at her fingers. "We weren't even doing anything that bad. We've camped out there before plenty of times."

"Right, but why tonight?"

"We wanted to be alone for just one night," Kaitlyn began to explain. "Emily lives with her mom and I live with my three roommates. It's not exactly the most romantic setting, so..." She trailed off, her words getting caught in her throat as she remembered all of her attempts to be with her girlfriend.

Stiles watched the broken girl. "How long have you two been together?"

"Three months," Kaitlyn admitted, her lips twitching into a frown. She glanced up at Stiles and raised her eyebrows. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Uh, yeah," Stiles said, nodding his head as he smiled lightly.

"How long have you been together?" Kaitlyn wondered, trying to ask anything that would take her mind off of her concern for Emily. If that meant asking the boy about his own relationship, then she would do it.

"A little over seven months."

Kaitlyn nodded, pursing her lips as she tried to keep her tears down. She didn't want to cry in front of them. "So you know why I did it?"

"You wanted to make it romantic."

"Yeah," Kaitlyn confirmed. "Because you know, because..."

Stiles got all of the information he needed, and it didn't exactly give him a euphoric feeling to know that he was right this time. Every single part of his being didn't want this girl's girlfriend to be the next sacrifice, but at this point everything is only becoming more and more realistic. "Because it was her first time."

Stiles could practically feel Melissa's eyes on his back, burning a hole into his skin. He didn't need to turn around to know that she was scolding him. She had been right beside him as he fought with Sage over the phone. She had glared at him when he gave the petty reply of, "You too," and she made him realize how much of a dick he had been over a situation that he didn't even understand.

He understood now.

Kaitlyn gave a single nod before turning to face Stiles. "They're going to find her, right? Aren't they?"

Neither Stiles nor Melissa could bring themselves to answer Kaitlyn's question.

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Sage had been making her way down to the first floor with Chris Argent when the whole school vibrated at the numbing growls of Cora and Boyd. She hesitated, her heart beginning to accelerate as she shared a look with Allison's father before the two took off in a sprint towards the sound. She was faster than him, having more motivation to get to the boiler room than the hunter ever would. Some part of her had an idea of what was happening; she knew already that this plan wasn't going to work without flaws.

She just prayed that the flaw she was thinking about isn't actually happening.

Her shoes skidded on the tile floor as she raced down the hallways, tripping and nearly falling into lockers every turn she took. She made it the stairs leading to the basement in a few seconds, and practically threw open the door before struggling to get down the stairs as quick as she could.

The first thing that she saw when she got down was an absent werewolf.

Scott was the only one standing on the other side of the door, leaning against the wall opposite of it as if trying to stray as far away as possible. Sage's eyes flickered from the door to Scott, and realization set in when there was another series of roars coming from the other side. Her eyes went wide, and she shoved past Scott so that she could move to unlock the door. Derek was in there, he was in there alone with Boyd and Cora.

She cared about nothing except for her best friend.

"You can't go in there, Sage! They'll rip you apart!" Scott protested, grabbing a hold of her wrists before she could open it. She struggled to get out of his grip, letting out a few cries in an attempt to break free. She needed to get in there, she needed to save him.

"Let go of me!" She snarled, trying to break away from him as she pounded on the metal doors. Her vision was getting blurry as her tears mixed in with sweat, still trying to break free of the werewolf. She didn't know why he was trying to hard to keep her out. "Scott, they're going to kill him!"

Scott moved her back even farther, and they eventually toppled to the ground as he held her to the ground, refusing to let go. He knew already that she would go in there and get herself killed for the sole reason of dying with Derek, or trying to save him in the process of killing herself. "He made that choice!"

"But I didn't!"

She made once last attempt to crawl away, but it had been ceased as she realized there was no point. The growls from the inside were growing more malicious, and Sage could only stare ahead at the metal door as she listened to the two werewolves tear apart her best friend. She listened, that was all she could do. She listened, and she waited for the pain to come in her chest when the moment came where he was gone. She wondered how much it would hurt. If the physical pain would hurt worse than the emotional ever would; if she could breathe when the moment came where Derek Hale no longer existed in her life.

Her sobs were blocking her hearing, and she couldn't feel anything as she continued to cry out, "I can't lose him," because she couldn't. She couldn't bear to lose Derek, because in the end it was always him. It's always been him. He was the one that picked on her when she was younger. He was the one that gave up his whole life just to create one for her. He was the only person that refused to leave her despite her giving him every reason to go. She would rather lose her family all over again than her best friend.

In one last wailing screech, she struggled to break free of Scott as she moved to bang on the doors once again. "Derek! You've got to listen to me, you asshole. I can't lose you, okay? You've got to stay with me. You've got to hold on. You've got to—" Her pleads cut short as her throat refused to let any more words come out . She gave one last frustrated scream as she shoved on the door.

It was then that Isaac broke through the boiler room door as he shouted Scott's name. Both the blonde and the werewolf turned their heads to see that light was shining from being the beta, and that was all the confirmation Sage needed before she was unlocking the door and ripping it open. She nearly fell on her face, but she pushed through the pain in her body as she turned around the corner into the boiler room.

Derek was on his knees, shirt ripped apart as he sat in the center of the unconscious bodies of Cora and Boyd. At this point, she wasn't sure what more she could take from this night's events. She had shot Boyd, she had seen how much Billy reminded her of Luke, her relationship with Stiles was foreign at this point, Aiden was following her around like she was his play toy all over again, and she wasn't even sure who she was anymore. She was completely and utterly falling apart.

But Derek was alive.

And right now, that was enough for her to keep breathing.

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"So Boyd and Cora might not have killed anyone?"

Scott stood next to Stiles as they stared at Heather's body. The werewolf came after getting the call from his best friend about the possibility of the two deaths not actually being werewolf-related murders. He was only capable of standing at this point from pure adrenaline, and he knew if he didn't find a bed soon he would be crashing. He could feel all of his muscles aching, mostly from being thrown around so much and Sage's hard hits on his body.

Stiles swallowed hard as he pulled the sheet back over Heather. "You're going to wish they did."

"Why?" Both boys turned at the sound of a new voice. Sage stood at the entrance of the morgue, clothes ripped and dirty as she looked as if she just survived an apocalypse. Stiles and her shared a look with each other before he returned back to his hypothesis on what was happening in Beacon Hills.

Clearing his throat, he began, "I'm not exactly sure yet, but the other girl who was out in the woods? Emily? Eventually they're going to find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool... all three were virgins. They're all going to have the same three injuries: strangled, throat slashed, head bashed in. It's called a three-fold death."

"So if these aren't random killings, what are they?" Scott asked, glancing over at Stiles.

Sage's eyes widened as she stepped forward, moving closer to the two boys. "Sacrifices."

"Human sacrifices," Stiles confirmed, pushing off the table as Scott looked around at the two bodies they were surrounded by. He tried to keep his attention off of Sage, but in reality all he wanted to do was talk to her. All he's wanted to do since she rushed out of Derek's loft was yell at her and scream, but he wasn't even sure what he could say at this point.

"I've got to go talk to my mom," Scott said, shaking his head at the new found information. "Can we talk about this more later?"

Stiles nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I'll see you later."

Scott turned to look at Sage. "Will you text me and let me know how Derek is?"

"As soon as he gets home," Sage agreed, smiling lightly. Scott nodded and pulled the blonde into his arms for a quick hug. She squeezed him tighter, and finally let go as she watched the werewolf leave the morgue. It grew tense in the room immediately, and she turned to look over at Stiles. "Do you think you can give me a ride home?"

Stiles nodded, not bothering to say anything as he led her outside. They got into his car, and drove in silence all the way to the loft. Isaac and Derek weren't home. Derek was still trying to do damage control with the teacher and Isaac said he was going to talk to someone important about what happened tonight. She didn't bother questioning who he was talking about, and quite frankly she was too tired to care at this point. She was so emotionally drained that all she wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up in two years when she could graduate high school.

Stiles walked her up to her apartment, staying behind her as he watched her slowly pull off her jacket. Immediately, he could see bruises begin to form on her arms as well as small cuts. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath so that he didn't overreact about seeing them. When he opened his lids again, he noticed that Sage had stopped in the middle of the loft, just standing there.

Then, slowly, her whole body began to tremble.

He took long steps forward, and wrapped his arms tightly around her as he felt his chest cave in at the sight of her breaking down. In the seven months that they've been together, there have only been rare occasions that Sage cried in front of him, and never had it been so serious that it couldn't be resolved with a couple of movies.

His hands tangled in her hair as he allowed her to cry into his shoulder, the only sound in the loft was Sage's choked sobs as she struggled to breathe all while crying. He understood when she gripped tightly onto his shirt that nothing could mend what broke inside of her today, whether it be her heart or her strength, she wasn't going to be the same.

And that scared the absolute hell out of him.

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kinda edited.

a lot of shit went down in this chapter, but im pretty sure that my favorite part was the ending. mostly because sage hasn't cried much in the series of the two books, and it was just so strange yet amazing for me to write her vulnerable like that opposed to her natural self, which is strong and independent.

if you were wondering, she broke down after everything that happened to her that night. argent practically forced her into a gun, she saw billy who reminded her of luke, she barely got any sleep that day, she shot boyd, she found out cora was alive, scott and derek nearly died on her twice, derek almost did actually die, and she got into the fight with stiles.

in case you were wondering, 3a is going to be the hardship season for stage as they try to put their relationship back together. i think that in this chapter, we got to see hope for them at the very end because he was the one that she cried in front of despite how he didn't say he loved her back. which, he does. he's just conflicted with all the lies and deaths.

alright, i love you guys. happy sunday. im in pain. ily.