✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*3.05*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

'of course, nobody in beacon hills ever listened to reason, so it was inevitably going to go to shit'

✧༺♥༻✧

"Lotts? Lotts? LOTTIE?!" Stiles called out to his girlfriend as she laid across the long backseat on the obscenely bright yellow school bus. Clutching her abdomen, she blinked her eyes slowly open and looked up at her boyfriend who was looking down at her, concern flashing across his features. "You good? It's just you went very still?"

Groaning lightly, Lottie lied through her teeth, "I'm fine, Batman. Just thinking." Lottie sighed, shutting her eyes again, listening to Stiles and Scott prepare for the upcoming exams.

"Anachronism." Stiles stated, reading off his tablet to the sweaty looking werewolf.

"Something that exists out of its normal time." Scott grunted out a response.

"Nice. Next word: Incongruous." Stiles congratulated, moving swiftly on, mildly masking his annoyance at Scott hiding his pain from the events of the night before.

"Um... can you use it in a sentence?"

"Sure. It's completely incongruous for us to be on this stupid bus headed to some useless cross country meet after what just happened." Stiles scoffed.

Lottie let out a dry laugh that resulted in a chesty cough as Scott sighed and answered, "Out of place. Ridiculous. Absurd."

"You got that right." Lottie mumbled as she tried to adjust herself into a more comfortable position.

"Perfect. Next word: Darach." Stiles tried as Scott sent him a warning look as Lottie flinched slightly at the word: flashbacks entering her mind. "We gotta talk about it sometime. And we're going to be here for the next five fucking hours." Scott ignored him and just looked out the window at the passing landscape. "Fine. Next word: Intransigent."

The bus hit a bump in the road and Scott sat up with a gasp whilst Lottie let out a huff of air, trying to control her breathing.

"You okay?" Stiles asked Scott, unaware of his girlfriend's discomfort. Scott stiffly nodded his head, a pained expression on his face. "We shouldn't have come."

"We had to. There's safety in numbers." Scott grunted out.

"There's also death in numbers. They call it a massacre." Stiles responded sarcastically. "Bloodbath, carnage, slaughter..." Stiles trailed off when he saw Scott was dazed, barely interested or listening. "I'm getting Coach to stop the bus." At this point, tears had made their way to Lottie's eyes, threatening to spill over.

"I'll be fine by the time we get to the meet." Scott argued.

"Let me take a look at it." Stiles reached for the hem of Scott's shirt, tugging it as Scott placed his hand over Stiles', stopping him as he panted out his protests which Stiles ignored. "Look, if you're okay, then stop being so intransigent and let me see it."

Scott reluctantly nodded and lifted his shirt, revealing three slash marks, covered in crusted blood. "I know it looks bad, but it's because they're from an Alpha. It'll take longer to heal." Scott tried to argue, he knew there was one thing that would make Stiles leave him alone, it involved his best friend laying behind them - but he didn't want to drop her in it - not yet anyway.

"Then how come Boyd and Isaac are fine?" Stiles asked.

Scott ignored him, having no answer, turning back to the window and watching the world blur past with one thought on his mind. "I can't believe he's dead." Lottie let out a whimper. "I can't believe Derek is dead." A silent tear fell down the young girl's cheek at the statement as the three were cloaked in a heavy silence. A silence that was eventually broken by the shrill sound of Coach's whistle.

"The two of you! Back in your seats. And, Jared, honestly? Car sick every single time? Every time?" He scolded students lingering in the aisle before turning his frustrations to Jared. "Just keep your eyes on the horizon line or something. McCall, you too?" Scott shook his pale and sweaty head back to Coach.

"No, Coach. I'm all good." Once Coach turned his back to the trio at the back, Stiles began to scold Scott again as Lottie sat up, wincing as she leaned closer to the werewolf - ignoring her own issues.

"You're bleeding again. And don't say it's just taking longer to heal because I'm pretty sure still bleeding means not healing." Stiles said, looking at the blood that had begun to seep through Scott's shirt. Lottie noticed Ethan peer back at the three of them, a curious glance on his face.

"Listen up Scrotum One and Two, Evil Twinevil is listening." Lottie panted out as a light layer of sweat made its way onto her forehead. Stiles and Scott glanced at each other before turning to look at Ethan.

"Is he gonna do something?" Stiles asked, staring Ethan down.

"Not if he wants to remain a twin he's not. It'd be a real shame if something were to happen to Aiden." Lottie threatened, meaning every word. Lydia would forgive her eventually. Lydia couldn't hide her little rendezvous with Aiden from Lottie. Whilst Lottie disliked Aiden, she adored Lydia, so as long as her Lydipad was safe, she keep quiet. A concerned look fell upon Ethan's face as he pulled back out of sight.

"What about the other two ticking time bombs sitting right near him?" Stiles asked, nodding to Isaac and Boyd who were both sitting on the edge of the seats, highly strung.

"They won't. Not here." Scott decided.

"What if they do? You going to stop them?" Stiles asked rhetorically. "Does this mean you're their Alpha now? Because of Derek?"

"I'm not anyone's Alpha."

"Since you're looking kind of half dead too, I'm gonna' hope you're right." Lottie lay back down across the back seats and closed her eyes as flashbacks began to dance across her mind.

✧༺♥༻✧

Two Nights Before

"They're living in the penthouse. Right above Allison's apartment." Derek explained to the group of supernaturals before him.

"So kill them first? That's your great plan?" Scott asked, confused, he'd just entered Derek's loft surprised to see Lottie there as she waved at him.

Boyd shrugged, "They won't see it coming."

"Vernon, I think that's exactly what they're expecting. They're pushing and pushing, antagonising us until we hit breaking point. They want us to attack." Lottie explained, it was all quite simple really, the best plan of action would be to let the Alpha pack make the first move - of course, nobody in Beacon Hills ever listened to reason, so it was inevitably going to go to shit.

"Why's the default plan always murder? Just once, can somebody try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?" Scott complained as Lottie nodded at Derek to lift her up onto the table.

"Oh but it is fun to think of all the ways one can be destroyed? No? Just me?" Lottie asked as the room stared at her, all slightly scared.

"You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you?" Peter Hale questioned Scott, holding his hands up in surrender as Lottie sent him a murderous look. "Not that I disagree with him."

"I do. And why do we need this kid?" Cora Hale asked.

"She's violent. I like her." Lottie grinned as Cora sent her an hesitant smile. Lottie dropped the smile when Scott sent her an offended look.

"This kid helped save your life." Derek defended Scott, smiling internally at the thought of his sister getting along with his chosen sister. He turned to Scott, "You know we can't sit around waiting for them to make the first move."

"But you can't win. You can't beat a pack of Alphas." Scott argued.

"I reckon I could." Lottie interrupted as the group once again turned to look at her, perplexed. "What? Promise me a lifetime supply of gummy worms and I'd tear the heads off of all of them. One. By. One." She winked as Isaac threw a bag of said gummy worms at her.

"You terrify me sometimes. You know that?" Scott whispered to her.

Closing her eyes with a smile, "My work here is done." Derek chuckled, drawing attention back to the matter at hand.

"We're going after Deucalion. Just him." Cora explained.

"Cut off the head of the snake and the body dies." Boyd added as he shared a look with Cora that had Lottie's eyebrows raising.

"Except this isn't a snake, it's a Hydra. As Scott just said, they're all Alphas–" Peter began, only to be cut off by Derek.

"Deucalion's still the leader."

"Oh I hope you're right Toto. Have you ever seen the Disney hit, Hercules? That bronzed little God cut off Hydra's head and what happened? Two more grew back. I don't know about you but I can't be arsed with that." Lottie sighed as the room chuckled at the girl's comment, how she managed to make the most dire situations humorous was beyond them.

✧༺♥༻✧

Present Day

Screeching tires snapped Lottie out of her daze as the bus jolted forward, stopping abruptly. A sea of red lights showed that there was no sign of moving any time soon.

"There's a jack-knifed tractor trailer a few miles up. We could miss the meet." Isaac explained to Boyd, further down the bus. Boyd kept twitching his clenched fists, glancing back to where Ethan was sitting. "Boyd?" The sound of his pounding heart made its way to the back of the bus as Scott struggled to stand.

"Scotty, I'll go." Lottie grunted, wrapping her jacket around her waist.

"But you're-"

"I'll go." Lottie slowly made her way down the bus, making sure to hide her growing limp as much as possible. Sending a glare to Ethan she made her way to Boyd's seat, smiling at Isaac before a dark glare made its way onto her face. Then, without a thought, she sat herself on Boyd's lap.

"Charlotte, I don't want to be rude. Please get off me." Boyd spoke through gritted teeth.

"Hmmm. Let me think." Lottie pondered, tapping a finger to her chin. "No. Now what exactly is your plan? Wolf out on a bus full of people? Don't be stupid Vernon, it doesn't suit you."

"I don't care-"

"Watch your tone. What are you going to do? Kill him? Right here? And then what? What do you do after that? What do you do with a bus full of witnesses?" Lottie questioned, making him flustered. Boyd went to argue, when both he and Isaac sniffed the air, noticing the same thing at the same time.

"Lotts, you're hurt." Isaac stated, panic seeping into his voice as Lottie shook her head.

"Nope, I'm totally fine, absolutely fine. Great even-" Lottie protested.

"Lotts." Isaac scolded, sending a warning look her way.

"Fine. I'm a little hurt. But Stiles doesn't know. And!" She raised her voice off as Isaac turned back to look at said boy, "And! He won't find out. I'm just taking a little longer to heal." She grunted as Boyd moved, ending her an apologetic look to her. "Boyd, can you just give me a minute to think? Give me a chance to figure something out. Actually, let Scott figure something out. He'll be better at figuring out something that doesn't have to end with anyone else dying."

"Okay." Boyd agreed, helping her up. "Charlotte, take it easy?"

"Easy?" Lottie asked with a grin. "Never." As Lottie stumbled her way back to her seat she heard some news that gave her hope.

"Ennis isn't dead. Not yet." Stiles told his girlfriend as she almost fell into her seat. "Hey, are you okay? I'm getting major 'not okay' vibes off you right now."

"Baby, I'm fine." She smiled tiredly as he looked at her unconvinced.

"Jared, I'm warning you. I'm an empathetic vomiter. You throw up and I'll throw up right back on you. It'll be profoundly disgusting." Coach practically shouted as the thunder rumbled outside, a wicked storm making its way to the bus. He turned to face the student body, "None of you start thinking we're going to miss this Meet. A little traffic and minor tornado warning won't stop us--Stilinski, what the hell are you doing in the aisle?" He paused as Stiles had got up to convince him to pull over.

"There's a food exit half a mile up. We should stop. Maybe traffic will lighten by the time–"

"We're not stopping." Coach denied.

"Stiles." Lottie called out, summoning the boy as he made his way back to his seat, frustrated.

"Did you call Deaton?" Stiles asked Scott.

"It keeps going to voicemail."

"Call Lydia. Or Allison." Lottie muttered.

"How are they gonna help back in Beacon Hills?" Scott asked.

"First of all, with that logic, how would Deaton be able to help? Second of all, they're behind us. They've been following us since we left the school." Lottie slumped back in her seat as Stiles turned from concerned to purely panicked. "Stiles- don't even start, call Lydia."

With shaky hands he dialled her number, "Hey Stiles, we were just headed to a movie–"

"I know you're right behind us. Put me on speaker." Stiles demanded, determined to get off the phone and figure out what Lottie was hiding. "Scott's still hurt."

"What do you mean still? He's not healing?" Allison asked.

"No, and I think he's actually getting worse. The blood's turning black." Stiles almost gagged at the thought.

"Well, what's wrong with him?" Lydia pondered, curious about all things werewolf as she was newer to the supernatural then the rest of them.

"Do I have a Ph.D. in Lycanthropy? How should I know?" Stiles retorted.

"We have to get him off the bus. Stiles, there's a rest area coming up in a mile. Tell Coach to pull over." Allison instructed as if it were that simple. "Wait." Allison paused, as a shiver of fear trickled down her spine. "If Scott isn't healing, is Lottie?"

And the penny dropped. Stiles dropped his phone onto the carpeted floor with a thud as bile rose in his throat. Scott reached for the phone as Stiles climbed behind their seats to Lottie as she lay half asleep, sweaty and almost grey. "Take your jacket off."

"Stiles? I know we are in the backseat but this is a bit public-" She croaked out a joke.

"Take it off." He demanded, moving to move her jacket himself with shaky hands. She eventually complied and moved her jacket, revealing a large blue patch on her grey t-shirt, the wet patch covered nearly her entire torso, from her sternum and practically all of her chest. "Oh my God! Wha- what happened?" He gulped for air as Lottie held his hand and smiled tiredly at him.

"I'm okay, it's just a big one. Taking a bit longer than I thought." Scott turned in his seat and somehow went paler at the sight of Lottie's wound as flashbacks hit him with the force of a truck and the weight of guilt crushed his already delicate soul.

"Let me see it." Hesitantly Lottie lifted her shirt to reveal her wound, and despite how squeamish he felt, Stiles couldn't vomit - for all the air had left his body. There on Lottie's chest, two inches below her sternum were four claw marks, deep and angry, but what worried Stiles most - excluding the fact the wound seemed dangerously close to her heart - was blue blood and wiry veins escaping from the outskirts of the wounds, clawing their way around her body. "Lo-" He choked, gasping for air. He was having a panic attack. His girlfriend was dying and there he was having a fucking panic attack, he kept repeating in his head. Useless, useless, useless. That was until a calming hand reached over, squeezing his hand three times, grounding him.

"I'm here Stiles. I'm fine. It's healing, I can feel it. Look closely, the wounds are closing. It's just taking a while because it was done by an Alpha and I'm not a werewolf. I'm different remember." She reassured, still not telling the complete truth whilst clutching his face with one hand and stroking away the tear that had escaped him.

"How is it you're comforting me? You're in agony and I'm the one crying." Stiles spat out quietly.

"Because I love you. And you love me. I comfort, you care. You comfort, I care. All swings and roundabouts my love. Now, please. Calm down, and get Coach to stop this fucking bus." She grinned as he wiped the sweat off her forehead, taking a closer look at the wound not entirely convinced it was healing. Then a new thought entered his mind - if this was the wound healing and smaller, just how big were the cuts before?

"I'm on it. Next time, don't keep this from me. Promise me." Stiles held out his pinky for her, smiling when she intertwined her own.

"Promise." Stiles felt more at ease then, at least until Lottie tried to move and winced in pain.

"That's it. I'm stopping this fucking bus." He vowed as he made his way to Coach who was standing in the middle of the bus. "Coach, we really need to stop." Stiles started as Coach sighed with his whistle between his lips. "It's five minutes for a bathroom break. We've been stuck in this thing for hours–" Coach blew his whistle shortly. "The next rest stop isn't for another sixty miles–" Another blow of the whistle, Stiles began to grow more frustrated, wanting to get help for Lottie and Scott. "This is false imprisonment-" Whistle, "Coach, just-" Coach blew the whistle for as long as his breath let him, directly in Stiles' face as the boy practically had steam erupting from his ears, "OKAY!" Stiles shouted.

"Back to your seat, Stilinski." Coach instructed, turning his attention back to Jared who was about to projectile everywhere. "And Jared, for God's sake, eyes on the horizon line." Stiles turned to glance between Lottie and Jared, clenching his jaw in anger as an idea came to mind - he was getting that bus to pull over - no matter what.

Jared let out a pained groan as Stiles slid into the empty seat next to him. "Hey Jared." He greeted as a malevolent smile crept onto his freckled face. "How ya doing?"

The next few minutes were filled with squeals and retching as Coach lost his mind and demanded the bus be pulled over as a satisfied smirk fell upon Stiles' face as he made his way back to Lottie, helping her get comfortable as they prepared to leave the bus.

"​​Somebody get towels. Or a mop." Coach shouted as the bus pulled into the gas station, before peering back into the bus. "Or a new bus."

Stiles gently guided Lottie off the bus as Allison approached Scott, when she nodded Stiles knew that Scott would be okay, so his full attention turned to the brunette in his arms and the restroom ahead. Stiles sat Lottie on the floor, immediately kneeling next to her as two figures entered behind him. Stiles peered back at the figures before nodding at them as the strawberry blonde shut the door. Slowly he lifted Lottie's shirt again.

"God, why didn't you tell us Lotts?" Isaac practically whined as he saw the girl he considered family, sliced up on the restroom floor.

"I'm fine." Lottie panted as a wave of pain hit her. "It's... healing." She informed him as Lydia rummaged through her bag.

"Why is it healing so slowly?" Isaac asked.

"You know, it could be psychological." Lydia theorised out loud, pausing her rummaging to look at Lottie sadly.

"What do you mean? Like psychosomatic?" Stiles asked as Lottie whimpered as she adjusted herself.

"Somatoformic. A physical illness from a psychogenic cause." Lydia rolled her eyes as everyone looked confused. "Yes, it's all in her head."

"Okay, I know I'm half out of it but can we stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Lottie grunted, annoyed.

"Lottie, you're not letting yourself heal. I know you're in pain and you're hiding it but it's killing you. Please-" Stiles broke off.

"Right," Lydia started as she pulled a mini-bag out of her bag. "Isaac, you're going to grab Stiles' bag and stall the bus. Don't let it leave." Lydia began barking instructions as Isaac nodded, dazed, backing up to the door and sending one last panicked look at the his sister before leaving. "Stiles, you're going to hold her hand and wipe away the blood with the other."

"And what are you going to do dear Lydipad?" Lottie grinned tiredly.

"I'm gonna stitch you up." She smiled, opening up her sewing kit and kneeling on the floor the other side of her. Lydia went back into her bag and found a lighter, letting the flame sanitise the needle as Stiles ripped every sheet of paper out of the dispenser and began gently wiping away the blue blood.

"You know what you're doing, right?" Stiles asked Lydia.

"I know the theory." Lydia replied, sighing at the look Stiles gave her. "Like I'm gonna do anything to hurt her. We can't take Lottie to a hospital, her blood is fluorescent blue!" When Stiles nodded hesitantly, they both turned their attention to the girl laying between them, panic filling them as her eyes began to flutter.

"Lotts, stay with me, come one. Show me those pretty eyes." Stiles encouraged as she blinked them open.

"Sorry, I'm so tired." She replied sleepily.

"I know. Just keep those baby blues looking at me."

"Always."

Lydia began the artful task of stitching Lottie up, taking more care than she would with anyone else, a tear falling down her face as Lottie grimaced in pain. Each stitch Lydia gave, hurt Lottie more than the last, not because of the needle but because those stitches weren't stitching the cracks that the events from the night before had left.

Stiles clutched Lottie's hand so tightly he thought he'd break it. He told himself that if he held her tight enough, he'd fix every crack and wound, patching her up so that she'd never feel any pain again. "You're doing so well baby." He mumbled over and over in her ear as he brushed away a stray hair that had stuck to her forehead. Lydia watched the couple as she slowly finished the repair work with a small smile on her face. A love like theirs, so pure and true, was so rare.

"It's all my fault." Lottie mumbled sadly as Lydia put the needle away, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?" Stiles asked.

"Derek... he's- it's all my fault. I- he-" It was as if Lottie's sadness was a sponge that had absorbed too much pain and needed to be wrung out - and by God did it as she let out a choked sob that cracked the hearts of the two people sitting next to her.

"What happened to Derek wasn't you're fault Lotts." Stiles swore as he looked down at his girlfriend.

"He's g- I could've saved him- I-I-" A sob clawed its way out of her throat, a heart-breaking sound that echoed in the restroom, bouncing off the walls and hitting Stiles and Lydia deeply. "He's go- God I can't even-" She hiccuped as tears ran down her face, hitting the floor as scenes from the night before took over her mind.

✧༺♥༻✧

The Night Before

Isaac put on his jacket as quietly as he could, intending on leaving the house unheard. Of course he underestimated Lottie's ever-growing super-hearing and let out a groan when she turned on the hall light.

"Going somewhere?" She grinned mischievously, crossing her arms across her chest as she leant against the door frame.

"I'm hungry." He lied, forgetting Lottie was practically a human lie-detector, also an expert liar.

"No you're not. I cooked for us earlier and you had seconds. So where are we going?" She asked as she reached for her trainers and pulled them on. "Am I going to need a coat?" She asked mockingly.

"Why do you always make everything so difficult?" Isaac sighed as he threw a hoodie at her from the coat rack and turned away from her - leaving Lottie with ample opportunity to jump on his back - which she did.

"It makes life far more interesting, don't ya think?" She joked as she clung to his back. "Onward, my chariot."

"Scott texted me, he wants to talk to Deucalion."

"Ah, the leader of the fearsome Alpha pack. If he wants to just talk, why'd he need backup? And why didn't he ask me?" Lottie rambled as Isaac put Lottie down, opening her car door for her before climbing into the passenger seat.

"Just in case, is why he texted. And he probably didn't text you because he knew Stiles would have his head and probably all other limbs if you got hurt because he asked." Isaac typed in the location - an abandoned mall - as Lottie began the drive.

"Rude but true." She grinned. The drive was over quickly and Lottie took great pleasure in the look of annoyance on Scott's face.

"What are you doing here?" Scott groaned.

"Hello to you too Scotty. Here I was thinking you'd be grateful for the extra pair of hands." Lottie chuckled as she hugged the boy who held her tightly.

"We're going to talk to him. Try to reason with him. That's it." Scott explained to the two supernaturals.

"Then it should be no biggie right?" Isaac asked.

"Well you've just jinxed it, that's the kiss of death." Lottie sighed as they entered the mall. The trio made their way into the belly of the mall, Lottie skipping as she held Scott and Isaac's hands, swinging them as she skipped.

"Why are you so happy?" Scott asked.

"Because I'm with two of my favourite people. And there's a chance of violence. I'm on my period, I need to let out some existing anger." She grinned at them both as she skipped ahead. "This mall is massive, like never-ending. I'm getting bored."

The two boys shook their heads with a smile at the girl, before those smiles fell as they followed Deucalion's scent, taking them to the abandoned third floor. The trio's shadows bounced off the floors as they spotted Deucalion standing on the broken escalator, cocking his head, listening to their approach.

"You didn't come alone." Deucalion called out.

"Yeah... this is Isaac and Lottie." Scott informed the blind Alpha.

"I'm not talking about those two. Although Lottie, it is a pleasure to finally meet. I've heard so many things." Deucalion grinned.

"Ooo, like what? Me nearly gouging out your friend's eyes?" She joked, inappropriately. The crunch of boots distracted them as Derek, Boyd and Cora stepped into the light. Lottie beamed at the trio, waving at her friends - a rare ray of a sunshine in the dark and dreary mall.

"You knew I'd do this." Scott concluded, talking to Derek.

"I need your help, Scott." Derek admitted, stepping into the shadows and emerging back into the light, transformed into his werewolf form with his fangs bared and red eyes glowing. Boyd and Cora transformed behind him, following his move and approaching, steady and fearless.

"Derek, don't. You can't do this and no one gets hurt. If someone dies–" Scott started before Derek interrupted.

"Him. Just him."

"Just me?" Deucalion taunted. "Now, how's a blind man supposed to find his way into a maze like this all alone?"

This caused everyone to pause as the sound of claws scraping against concrete echoed around them. Lottie winced at the noise as she turned to see an Alpha she had never seen before - with claws extended on her hands... and her feet. Kali.

"Now WHAT in the actual fuck is that?" Lottie asked, looking in horror at the clawed feet whilst the rest of her friends looked at her like she was crazy. "No, I'm serious, it's like $40 to get a pedicure and she's out here with actual trolls' feet." She continued, repulsed, not caring that she'd likely be antagonising the Alpha.

Slowly Ennis, Ethan and Aiden emerged from the shadows too, as the Alpha Pack stood united against Derek and the collection of supernaturals he had accumulated stood amongst them. Isaac sent a worried glance to Scott before focusing his fear on Lottie who had begun to let the blue veins appear under her eyes with a wicked smile as she stared Ennis down.

Derek lunged first, aiming for Deucalion but being stopped by Kali as she lept in the air, cutting him off. The two began to fight as Boyd joined him, swiping his claws in the mix.

The twins lept off their ledge and landed as one conjoined into their singular Alpha form, Isaac barely let them stand before he lunged at them. Scott sent Lottie an annoyed look as he transformed, nodding at her as she smirked.

For the first time in a little while, Lottie let herself transform. Her hands webbed as her claws came out. She rolled her teeth over her fangs as her eyes glowed white. Letting her eyes scan the scene she found her target, beating Cora to a pulp... and she lept. Ennis knocked Cora to the floor, setting his sights on Lottie. He had a thirst for vengeance after she beat his ass last time. Smirking up at the man, she waited. And waited. Until he swung.

Lottie let a chuckle escape as Ennis missed her and she swiped her claws across his stomach savouring the sound as he let out a roar. Lottie didn't wait for him to recuperate, she punched and slashed until Ennis finally landed a hit across her temple, sending her flying into a concrete wall. She hit the floor with a thud.

Dazed, she took in her surroundings. Cora was on the floor as Kali pinned down her with her clawed foot. Isaac lay too still for Lottie's liking, a fair distance from the fight.

The fight wasn't a fair fight, a pack of new werewolves and a pack of experienced Alpha's. What chance did they have?

The twins held Scott in place as Ennis and Kali knocked Boyd down in front of Derek who stood still, looking around the bunch of teenagers, hating himself for what he'd brought them into.

Lottie lay on the floor panting out breaths as Ennis headed for her, picking her up by the hood of her jumper - choking her slightly, as he dragged her to Derek's feet. The pack was facing defeat.

"You're beaten. Do it, Derek. Take the first step." Deucalion instructed, glancing between Derek and Boyd, who lay looking up at Derek helplessly. Lottie looked up at Derek, shaking her head so subtly he almost missed it.

"Are we serious with this? Look at him. He's an Alpha? To what? A couple of useless teenagers?" Kali spat, looking between Derek and her Alpha.

"Some have more promise than others." Deucalion replied simply as he turned slightly. Lottie thought that if Deucalion could see, he'd be looking at Scott - not Derek.

"Let him rise to the occasion then. What'll it be, Derek? Pack or family?" Kali smirked as her eyes glowed a fierce red and applied a bone-crunching amount of pressure to Cora's neck as Ennis picked Lottie up and held her by her throat in one hand, digging the claws of his other hand into her lower sternum, sticking the claws deep until a scream erupted from Lottie's lips, the pain becoming too much. Derek looked from his sister, to the girl he thought of as a sister, to Boyd who looked terrified.

"Don't. Derek." Lottie croaked out as Ennis dropped her to the floor. Lottie rolled onto her back, looking up at Derek as he met her gaze, utterly lost as he was faced with an impossible decision. That was until he heard a familiar sound. The sound of a bow being drawn. He ducked as a flashbolt arrow whistled past them all, hitting the Twin Alpha, exploding against them in a blinding flash. Scott slipped free as Ethan and Aiden broke apart becoming two again as they fell back, hitting the floor.

"Your eyes– cover your eyes!" Deucalion shouted as more arrows flew, blinding everyone as Lottie stood to her feet, weakly. Lottie looked up as she saw a silhouette behind a pillar, smiling when she saw Allison, who looked at her worried before she disappeared into the shadows. Ennis had run at Isaac who had only just started to stand whilst Lottie turned her attention to Kali, grinning at the woman in such a sinister way that had the older woman rolling back her shoulders in nervous anticipation.

"Kali, is it?" Lottie coughed out. "You're going to take your foot off Cora and you're gonna take those claws of yours, and stick them in your gut." Lottie compelled as Kali's red eye's faded back to their obsidian shade and she followed Lottie's orders. "Perfect."

"Run!" Scott shouted as Derek pulled Boyd to his feet and Cora rushed to his aid, pulling them out of the firing line. Ennis dropped Isaac and charged at Scott like a battering ram as Isaac flew back. Lottie went after Ennis but stopped short when Scott rammed his shoulder into Ennis, sending him scuffing across the floor, knocking her over as Ennis slid into her. Then the strangest thing happened. Scott's eyes flashed red - like an Alpha. Lottie blinked her eyes quickly, trying to see if it was a blip, but when she opened her eyes again they were back to their normal colour.

Derek gunned for Ennis, engaging in a one on one as Scott and Lottie scrambled trying to get to their feet, rushing towards the two. Scott swiped his claws at Ennis' Achilles' heel harshly before pulling back, away from the two Alphas who were dancing along the edge of the lingering abyss. Ennis staggered forward gripping tightly onto Derek. And as Ennis stumbled, Derek went with him.

Lottie's face began to drop as she locked her eyes onto where they were heading. The edge of the third floor that they were standing on. It once would have been a full floor but as time normally does, it had torn away at its foundations, leaving a massive hole in the level. All that lay below them was another rundown escalator... three floors down. Lottie clawed at the floor, scrambling to reach for Derek. She was inches away. And then Ennis stumbled over the edge. Lottie grabbed Derek's shirt, holding it with everything she had. But her claws were still extended. And Derek's shirt ripped from her grasp so he fell; plummeting to his death.

Scott grabbed Lottie, holding her back from going over the edge with them as a guttural roar of agony left her throat as she watched Derek falling, until he finally hit the floor with a terrible cracking sound that would haunt Lottie's dreams forever.

"No!" Lottie roared, the word dragging out every last bit of energy she had as she felt the loss in her soul. She had him in her hands, and she lost him. It was all her fault.

✧༺♥༻✧

Present Day

"It's all my fault. Derek- I had him in my- I let go. He- I- I can't breathe." Lottie panicked as the pain she'd been hiding all day hit her like a tsunami. "I-I It's all my fault." She kept repeating like a mantra.

"Everybody, back on the bus!" Coach could be heard shouting outside as Lydia and Stiles shared worried looks, glancing back at the still shaking Lottie as silent agonising sobs left her mouth.

"Lydia, delay them. Now." Stiles demanded, not even looking at the girl as Lydia nodded, running out of the restroom.

"Lotts, baby please. It wasn't your fault. I promise it wasn't your fault." Stiles swore, running his hands over her face. "Please, I need you to breathe. I can't- Lotts please." Stiles himself began to panic, racking his brain for anything that could help. Suddenly Stiles found himself thinking back to something Lydia once told him when she was explaining the technicalities of panic attacks and methods of stopping them - some were more conventional than others. "Okay, this feels mildly inappropriate but, needs must and all that." He mumbled before he pulled Lottie in and kissed her. He held her lips to his until he felt her release a breath.

"I-I'm so sorry." Lottie mumbled as he pulled away.

"Don't you ever apologise for needing help. Ever. Remember what you said?. I comfort, you care. You comfort, I care. All swings and roundabouts baby." Stiles told her, looking her in the eye as he wiped away the remaining tears on her face.

"I love you so much." She mumbled, smiling sadly at her boyfriend.

"I love you."

Coach blew the whistle again as shouts were heard outside, drawing the two out of their moment.

"Lotts, baby I'm so sorry. We need to move you. Can you stand?" Stiles asked as he guided himself under her shoulder. Nodding shakily, Lottie stood to her feet, sucking in a deep breath.

"I need a second." Lottie mumbled as she walked over to the mirror, stumbling slightly. Grimacing at her reflection she took one of the few unbloodied tissues and wiped her face, brushing her hair away and trying to remove the tear tracks. Settling her gaze on her eyes, she let a mask of indifference fall onto her face - a look that worried Stiles more than her breakdown, how could she turn her emotions off like that? And why did she feel the need to do it?

Placing his arm back under Lottie's shoulder the two made their way out to the parking lot, approaching the raucous crowd. A fight had broken out. The duo made their way over to Scott, Allison, Lydia and Boyd who were watching Isaac relentlessly beat Ethan.

"I tried to stop him. But when he didn't see Lottie come out he-" Boyd explained as Lottie stood to her full height, wiping her face and unwrapping Stiles' arm from her.

"Isaac!" Scott shouted. Isaac paused his attack on Ethan, briefly tempted by the tone of Scott's voice before he fought the demand and he continued his assault, too distracted by the sounds of Lottie's cries that still echoed in his ears, not noticing that she was standing behind Scott. He swung at Ethan, as the twin smiled up at him disturbingly whilst Danny tried to hold Isaac back. Lottie pushed her way forward.

"Isaac Lahey-Bailey." Lottie shouted, pulling all the strength she had to stop the boy. The crowd of students fell silent as they stopped to glance at the small girl, surprised not only by her outburst, but also the name she called the boy. That surprised everyone, including herself. "Stop it. Now." She demanded as Isaac immediately ceased his attack as he felt all the tension in his body leave as he saw Lottie was okay. Quickly he pushed through the crowd until he reached her, scanning over her figure, ensuring she was okay.

"You're okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. That however-" She replied, panting slightly, pointing to the dispersing crowd and the bloody Ethan, "Not okay."

"I'm sorry." He put his head down as he felt ashamed of his actions, knowing now she was okay and he'd overreacted massively.

"It's okay just- it's okay." She replied as another wave of tiredness hit her and she stumbled into Stiles. "Let's just get back onto the bus. I'm exhausted."

The group made their way onto the bus, slumping into their seats as Stiles pulled Lottie's head onto his shoulder gently, sighing in relief when she closed her eyes. Allison and Scott sat in the seats behind them whilst Isaac and Lydia took the seats in front of them.

"It's the sacrifices. Everything has to do with them and someone who thinks they're some kind of Dark Druid." Stiles theorised to Lydia as she turned to face him.

"Or actually is a Dark Druid." Lydia added.

"Darach." Stiles confirmed.

"You know, some ancient cultures sacrificed people in preparation for battle." Lydia began to explain.

"So Alpha werewolves against a Dark Druid. What nightmare parallel dimension did we get sucked into?" Stiles sighed as he relaxed back into his seat, glancing down at the love in his arms.

"Lydiapad?" Lottie mumbled, causing the strawberry-blonde to look at her with a soft smile. "Thanks for stitching me up. Nice job."

"For you. Only the best." Lydia grinned before turning back in her seat and making herself comfortable.

The six all stayed quiet for a little while after that, all lost in their thoughts. This was only the beginning. And it was only going to get worse.