I'm actually looking forward to the challenge of writing a season where the love interest isn't constantly present.

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"His trap didn't work," Malia pointed out as we walked in the direction Liam and Lori had gone.

"Maybe this hunter is not such an amateur," Scott suggested.

"Or maybe he's learning."

I pursed my lips, beginning to walk faster. "Either way, we need to get to Brett before they do."

We managed to catch up with Lori and Liam who had stopped in a small area where the trees weren't as dense. One quick scan of the area, and I knew Brett wasn't here.

Trying to catch onto a scent, Malia shook her head. "The trail's gone."

"He could've just stopped bleeding, right?" Isaac shrugged. "Started healing?"

"Not if they put something on whatever they stabbed him with," I countered.

"I think we should split up," Liam said quickly, turning to Scott. "Lori and I go this way, Riley and Isaac that way, and you and Malia that way."

Lori was beginning to grow even more concerned for her brother. "Or maybe we go in six different directions?"

"We should stick together," Malia told the two.

Liam shook his head, "We have the advantage, it's six against one."

"Is it?" I asked, looking over to him. "Have you seen that it's just one person? Because if you make a decision based on an assumption, you risk getting people killed."

"You know," Liam said, frowning. "I've been doing this the past three months without help from any of you. I think I can make a decision."

"Well, if you're deciding to do something stupid and die, then go ahead," Malia told him, agreeing with me in her own way.

"It's one hunter, one amateur who doesn't know what they're doing."

"Scott?"

The Alpha was examining the ground, Isaac by his side. Our argument with Liam had distracted me enough that they had been whispering between themselves, both with grim looks on their faces.

Scott moved somewhat, shifting a branch to show us what they'd found. Underneath the fallen leaves and branches were footprints.

"The hunter. He's covering his tracks," Liam realised.

"There's another," Scott informed us, shifting more leaves to show another set of footprints.

I turned to Liam, not hiding my frustration with the boy. "Still think it's just one amateur hunter?"

Liam looked away, keeping his anger bottled as if that would stop me from seeing how my question had gotten to him. It probably came off as me questioning his ability to do this without our help and if I were honest, maybe I was.

After all, I had barely been back a few hours and the things that they told me had happened while we weren't here was just crazy.

"And there could still be more," Isaac sighed, standing up and patting down his jeans.

"How many hunters have you seen out here before?" Lori asked.

Scott thought for a moment back to any of the countless times we had been running from people trying to kill us in these woods.
"A lot."

"Still wanna split up?" Malia asked Liam.

The beta shrugged as if it were nothing. "We can deal with it. We just need to find Brett's trail."

"No we don't," Lori said suddenly. She pointing down to the ground where there was a vertical pile of rocks.
"Rock balancing. Satomi taught us. It's him, and I know where he's going."

We all followed Lori who led us towards the tunnels below Beacon Hills.

"Why aren't they listening? We know about hunters," I whispered to Isaac.

He shrugged, "We were like that once, too; thinking that we knew better. We learnt the hard way."

He had a point, we used to do reckless things all the time. But Liam usually took what we said to heart, listening to what we had to say.

I understood that he wanted to show that he could make a decision, but he also needed to understand that he didn't have to do it alone. Scott had to learn that once, also.

"Well, let's hope he doesn't have to," I said, before climbing down into the tunnels.

The six of us moved through them quietly, trying not to draw attention to ourselves. Thankfully our steps weren't causing any echoes so we were managing to stay under the radar for now.

We turned a corner, to see a puddle of black liquid on the ground. Lori went over, kneeling and dipping her fingers in it.

She moved her fingers under the tunnel lights, turning to look at the rest of us. "He's been poisoned."

"That's why he's not healing," the Alpha stated.

"What if he only has a few hours to live?"

Liam spoke up, "Well if we howl, we can find him."

"We've been through this, Liam. It too risky," I said carefully.

"Who cares about the risk?" Lori asked, her voice rising. "He could be dying."

Malia moved past the girl, examining the trail left by the black blood. "He's still moving."

Scott sighed, sounding somewhat frustrated. "We just need time to think."

He was right that we needed to think, but the longer we waited, the less chance we had of actually finding Brett alive. This wasn't a thought that I was about to voice in front of Lori, however.

"I need him to know that I'm here, that I'm coming for him," Lori told the Alpha.

"Yeah, Lori's right," Liam said, standing up straighter. "He has to know we're here."

He then turned to the tunnel, and we all began to realise what he was about to do. Malia tried to get him to stop but was too late.

Liam let out a loud roar that echoed through the tunnels and made my ears ring.

Part of me wanted nothing more than to hit him over the head for not listening to us. It reminded me of the night we had been in the school and Scott had growled over the PA system.

But we didn't have time to discuss how bad an idea him growling was, because now we were on an even stricter time limit to find Brett.

"Why didn't he answer?" Lori asked as we moved through the tunnels at a much faster pace.

"Maybe, maybe, he didn't hear us," Liam suggested.

Isaac scowled at the boy, "You'd be lucky if the whole of Beacon Hills didn't hear you."

"Or maybe he couldn't answer," Malia said, providing the last option.

"Lori, no!" Scott suddenly shouted, pushing everyone out of the way and stepping in front of the young girl as a spear shot out of the wall.

"Scott? Are you alright?" I asked quickly, rushing over to him.

"I have a stick poking out of my stomach, Riley, so yeah, I could be better," he grunted.

"Good to see your sense of humour is still intact," I muttered. "Liam, Isaac, hold him against the wall so that we can take it out."

The boys did as asked, standing on either side of Scott and grabbing an arm each. I stepped in front of Scott, taking a breath.
"Alright, Malia, come and give me a hand with this."

My sister nodded, standing beside me. We both grabbed ahold of what had impaled him. Counting down we both used our combined strength to rip it from his body.

Scott grunted, trying not to yell in pain as he collapsed to the ground. I turned the projectile in my hands to see that it had spikes along it; it was no wonder it had hurt him so badly.

Malia knelt down and began to apply pressure to the wound. It was a safe bet that if what they hit Brett with was poisoned, then so was this.

"They knew we were coming," Scott groaned.

"What gave it away?" Isaac asked sarcastically, which received a glare from Scott.

Malia put her free hand on the Alpha's shoulder, "Don't talk, just heal, and let us figure this out."

"They've been a step ahead of us the whole time," Scott said, shaking his head.

Lori looked down the tunnel, "I'm sorry, but I can't wait around. We have to go."

"We still have the numbers," Liam said quickly. "Five-to-two. We're faster, and we're stronger."

If I didn't want to hit him before, now I definitely did. "Yeah, well they're smarter."

"I don't care who's smarter or faster or whatever, my brother's going to die," the blonde almost yelled.

"Something's not right," Scott said through strangled breaths. "The arrow, the tripwire, the poison. These aren't amateurs."

"But they've never fought us before," Liam said, straightening up.

"And you've never fought hunters, Liam. We need to stick together."

Lori shook her head, "I need to go."

Scott's Beta stepped towards her, "No, you're not going alone. I'll go with you."

The Alpha looked up from where he sat on the ground, "Liam, you don't know who they are or what they're capable of."

"Look, I know who we are. We never give up, especially when it's someone innocent, when it's someone alone, when it's one of our friends."

Scott gave a sympathetic look, replying softly, his voice shaking. "Okay, go, go. All of you, I'll catch up."

Lori and Liam headed away and Isaac prepared to do the same. Malia and I hesitated, staying by Scott's side.

"You go with Isaac, I'll stay with Scott," Malia offered.

I pursed my lips in thought but realised that we didn't have time to be sitting around. "Okay. Be careful."

I got up and then Isaac and I jogged after Lori and Liam. The way he was going, the beta was going to end up getting us all killed.

It didn't take us long to catch up with Liam and Lori. When we found them, they were standing at a fork in the path, trying to decide which way to go.

"Come on, Lori, think," I told the girl. "He's your brother. What would he do?"

Liam nodded, "Did he leave you some sort of signal? More rocks?"

"I don't see anything," she stated as she glanced around the tunnel. "I don't hear anything."

"We'll find something. He's gonna be okay."

"How do you know?" the girl asked tears in her eyes.

Isaac and I shared a look. We had been in a situation like this enough time to know that not everyone got out alive, and I wasn't about to give her false hope.

Liam struggled for a moment, the words faltering at his lips. "'Cause, 'cause he's strong. He's really strong. He's knocked me down on the lacrosse field more than once. Now, when I see him coming, I do everything I can to get the hell out of the way."

"Alright, we're running out of time, so how about this? You two go that way, we go this way," Isaac suggested, pointing the two separate directions.

Lori and Liam didn't hesitate to agree, wanting to find Brett desperately. "Alright, we'll let you know if we find him," Liam said as they began to head down the way Isaac had told them.

"And don't do anything stupid like a howl," I told him as they ran off.

Liam said a quick 'yep' over his shoulder, but I trusted him to listen about as far as I could throw him.

"Come on," Isaac said, beginning to jog down the opposite way. I followed behind him quickly, not wanting to fall behind.

We ran side-by-side listening out for Brett. The tunnels only sounded empty, so either Brett wasn't here anymore, or he was hiding really well.

Isaac looked to me as we headed down the tunnel, "I'm sorry that you had to come home to this."

I tried to smile as I looked at him, "It's fine. Like Scott said earlier; we'll find Brett, sort this all out and then we'll all catch up properly. And then Stiles and I will be back next month, so the whole pack will be here. Well, everyone except Kira."

"She's still with the Skinwalkers?" the beta asked.

"Yeah, as far as we know," I told him. "I just hope she's okay."

Isaac chuckled, "If she can survive being manipulated by a dark fox, then I think she can survive some desert people."

"I hope so," I sighed as we went.

We continued down the tunnels, still trying to listen for Brett. It wasn't looking good. We still hadn't heard anything from Liam or Lori, and as far as I knew, Scott was still on the ground in pain.

"Wait, hang on a second," Isaac said quickly, grabbing my arm as he stopped.

I stumbled to a stop beside him, looking around. "What?"

"There's a smell. Distant, but it smells like something's rotting."

"Could it just be Scott?" I asked, not wanting to waste time going the wrong way.

Isaac shook his head, "No, this is different. I think it could be Brett."

"Alright. Which direction?"

The boy's jaw clenched as he looked down at me, "The one we sent Liam and Lori down."

My stomach suddenly felt hollow as I stared back at him. What were the chances?

Without another word, we both broke into a run. I followed just behind Isaac since his sense of smell was what was leading the way. We had to find them before it was too late.

Running as fast as we could, we turned corner after corner in search of Brett, hoping to come across Liam and Lori on the way. We had just reached the end of another hall when we heard it. The sound of a howl.

"Liam," I said as I found myself stopping.

My hand reached my mouth at the sound. This wasn't just him trying to find Brett, this was a howl of anger that tore through the tunnels. Something had happened.

"Shit," Isaac muttered.

We both followed the sound, finally coming to another stop at a ladder. Looking up, we saw the manhole was open and Liam was standing above.

I went to climb the ladder, but Isaac grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to the ground. "You can't go up there."

"Why not?" I asked, completely confused by his behaviour.

"Listen," he replied simply.

I did as I was told, listening carefully. The sound of scared whispers and gasps filtered in from above the ground. Apparently, Liam had company up there; lot's of company.

♧♤♢♡

Lori and Brett had died that night. Liam told us how a car had run them down once they had exited the tunnels through the manhole.

Liam had gone up to see what had happened, only to find them dying. He had roared in anger at the driver, shifting to his werewolf form. But unfortunately, he had an audience while he had done so.

Several normal citizens of Beacon Hills had been present and had seen the teenager shift from human to supernatural monster. And with the circumstances of his surroundings, there was no way to play it off and lie like they usually did. These people had seen his werewolf form, and they weren't about to believe otherwise.

Malia had taken Scott to see his mum at the hospital to do something about the poison. Apparently, Melissa had become quite skilled with herbs and remedies over the past few months. I couldn't help but be impressed by the woman ingenuity.

Isaac and I had dropped Liam home, the boy silent as he mourned his friends. I told him how sorry I was about what had happened to them, but it didn't seem to help.

I didn't think it would, but I also didn't want to say nothing at all. I had lost people before - we all had - and the worst possible thing you can do after that is think you're alone and isolate yourself.

After making sure at least one of his parents were home, Isaac drove us to Scott's to grab my bags and then to my house since I didn't have a car. I planned on asking Charlotte if I could borrow hers while I was here since mine was back in Washington with my boyfriend.

"This is way more serious than we thought, Isaac," I said as he pulled into the driveway out the front of my house.

The boy nodded as he put the car into park, looking over at me. "Yeah. This isn't just some amateur hunter, that's for sure."

I bit my lip in thought, tapping my fingers anxiously. "Do you think it's wrong that I still don't want to tell Stiles?"

Isaac let out a light sigh, shaking his head, "That's not up for me to decide, Ri."

"You're a part of the pack," I reminded him. "You have a say."

"I know I'm a part of the pack," he said flatly. "But you almost lost him last time, right? So, if I say 'yeah, you are wrong, tell him to come here,' and then something happens, that's on me. And if I say 'no, you're right, don't tell him' and something happens to you and he finds out I agreed, that's still on me."

Shaking my head, I met his gaze, "No, it wouldn't be."

"But it would feel like it," he insisted. "This isn't even a decision for Lydia or Malia, either. This is between you and Scott, and you know it."

I pursed my lips as my eyes fell to my hands, "You're right."

"I usually am," he said with a soft smile, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. "We're going to meet with Argent tomorrow morning about Gerard. Do you want me to pick you up?"

I smiled, nodding my head before leaning over and wrapping my arms around him. "Thank you, Isaac."

"You know I'll always have your back, Winters," he chuckled as he returned my embrace.

Separating from him I got out and grabbed my bags from the backseat. I stood in the driveway and waved to him and he drove away before heading over to the front door.

I knocked on the surface and waited quietly. Eventually, the front light turned on and the door opened to show Iris looking quite alert.

I noticed her hand at her side, fingers rigid and ready to warp the air. I quickly put my hands up so that she wouldn't think it was a threat, "It's just me."

"Riley?" she said, her shoulders relaxing as she looked at me. She then laughed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around me. "It's almost one in the morning, what are you doing here?"

"I spoke to Scott and the others after I spoke to you and Char. They can't keep a secret as well as you two, clearly."

Iris sighed as she let me go, helping me carry my bags into the house. She closed the door behind me, shaking her head.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked as I put the bag down.

"Because you and Stiles were out," she explained. "You were both starting school, living together, happy. Do you really think we wanted to take that from you?"

"Riley?" A voice said from behind me.

I turned around to see Charlotte standing in the hallway. A smile spread across my face as I rushed over to hug her. She embraced me tightly, taking a deep breath of relief. "It's so good to see you. But what are you doing here? We thought you were coming next month."

"Come on, Char, you know me better than that. I wasn't just going to sit around the apartment when I knew my friends were in danger," I replied.

"I know," she sighed. "Who spilled? Was it Scott?"

"Malia," I laughed lightly. "She didn't mean to, though. I practically forced it out of them."

"Well, it's still good to see you," she smiled. "We kept your room for when you and Stiles visit."

"Really?"

Her smile widened as she took my bag from me and began to walk down the hall, Iris and I following after her.

"Your sister insisted," Iris laughed. "That way, you wouldn't have an excuse to not visit."

I laughed also as we reached my room. Opening the door, I walked in to see that it had barely changed since the day I had left. All of my school things had been thrown out after we graduated, and then I had taken nearly all of my belongings to Washington. The only things left in here were my bed, desk, dresser and my old television.

Charlotte and Iris had taken the liberty to keep the bed made and the room tidy, as well as leaving the photo frames I had left behind sitting on the desk and hanging on the walls.

I sat my bags down beside the dresser as I looked back at them. "Thank you," I smiled as I hugged my sister again. "And you know I would never not visit you."

"I know," she smiled as she hugged me back.

"Considering how late you got here, I'm sure you had a busy night. Get some sleep, and we'll talk things through in the morning," Iris offered.

I nodded, saying goodnight to them both as they left the room. Shutting the door behind them, I pulled open one of my bags and got my pyjamas out, getting changed and climbing into bed.

It felt so strange being back in this room and in this bed. And being here alone. I had been sharing a bed with Stiles for almost three months, and this was our first night apart.

Staring at the time on the alarm clock, I gnawed at my lips trying to make a decision. Reaching over to my phone, I unlocked it and dialled his number.

It rang a few times before he answered, "Riley? What happened, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

He sounded worried, but I could hear the tired huskiness in his voice. I stared up at the ceiling as I replied, "Nothing's wrong."

I heard him let out a heavy breath, swearing beneath his breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out," I tacked on quickly, feeling bad. "I'm sorry for waking you up. I know we were going to talk in the morning but I just. . . I miss you."

"I miss you, too," he said. "But you'll be back soon."

This gave me pause. Would I be back?
Lori and Brett had died, what's to stop that from happening to the rest of us?

"You still there, Ri?"

"Yeah," I said quickly. "Sorry, I'm still here."

"Did something happen?"

Brett and Lori are dead.
"No, it's just been a really long day."

There was a moment of quiet, and I knew he was trying to decide what to say. Could he tell I was lying?
"You sound tired. How about you get some sleep and I'll call you after school?"

"Okay," I agreed. "I love you, Stiles."

Why did it feel like a goodbye?

"I love you too, Ri."

Something was different this time. We weren't all going to make it out alive.