𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓

"𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵? "

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╰┈˚ · ° .   THE SCHOOL DAY PASSED IN A BLUR, my mind was totally confused by my senses. The wind murmured into my ears as the earth whispered words of concern. For a witch, following nature, feeling its call, it's something that it's in our blood, our magic based on it. Like a wolf and the moon. I knew it was warning me. Of what, I couldn't tell, but it was starting to become more and more stronger as the hour passed.

"Back to planet earth, Flora" Lydia called, her fingers snapping in front of my face

I focused back on my surroundings, pushing her hand away with an annoyed look "So, we were saying?"

"That Scott is coming over tonight to study." Allison answered

"Sure, just studying" I snorted at her

"Exactly what I said," Lydia smirked. " 'Just studying' never ends with just studying. It's like getting in a hot tub— Somebody always cops a feel" She shrugged

"She ain't wrong"

"Well, so what are you two saying?" Our brunette friends asked

"Me, nothing. Lydia on the other hand-" I trailed off motioning with my hand to the strawberry blonde

"I'm just saying... make sure he covers up"

The look of confusion on Allison's face made me burst out laughing

"Hello, Snow White! Do it with him with a condom" Lydia said with amusement in her tone

"Yes. I'm in no rush to be an aunt here" I agreed.

"Are you kidding! After one date!"

"Don't be a total prude. Give him a little taste"

"Well, I– I mean. How much is a little taste?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Ali" I assured the nervous looking girl

"Oh god, you really like him, don't you?" Lydia said astounded

"Well, he's just different. When I first moved here I had a plan— no boyfriend till college. I just moved too much. But... then I met him, and... He was different. I- I don't know. Can't explained"

"I can. It's your brain flooding with phenylethylamine."

"What!" Allison laughed

"If it helps... I think he really likes you too"

"Really?" The Argent girl asked with a hopeful look

"Definitely" I softly smiled at her. Scott McCall really cared about her. That much I knew. Maybe the boy was even in love with her.

"When he is coming over"

"Right after school"

Lydia and I said our goodbyes to Allison as soon as the bell rang since we usually drove together to school, and of course, we did not leave without sending the girl a suggestive wink. The two of us laughed all the way to the front school door until nature called to my senses. The murmurs became shouts and whispers. The familiar scent of my cousin, Derek, drifted up my nose. But it was mixed with the one of blood and the unmistakable stench that made me know that death was nearing. Crossing between those, another smell was tangled. It was similar to the one of wolfsbane, but I couldn't recognize what it really was. Probably because of the distance or the fact that I never smelled it before.

Panic freezed the blood in my veins, breath caught in my throat. I took my phone from my pocket, faking receiving a message. "I have to go. Grams is here. She needs me for something apparently." I said to my friend covering my panic with a shaky laugh

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion but she covered it with a nod

"Maybe she needs help to choose the wool for one of her projects." I added with fake annoyance "Again"

I smiled at her and sprinted towards the parking lot following Derek's scent who's now joined by the one of Scott, Stiles and Alec.

"What the fuck happened!" I yelled as I saw my cousin, white as a sheet sitting on the ground. Alec was kneeled next to him, Scott in front of him.

They four guys looked at me "I was shot" Derek answered breathlessly

"He's not looking so good, dude" Stiles commented

My eyes flashed gold as I snarled at the boy who took a step back in fright. I focused back on my cousin, sending waves of magic though his body trying to find what was wrong with him

"Why aren't you healing"

"He can't" I said not daring to look away from my dying relative

"It was a different kind of bullet"

"A silver bullet?"

"No, you idiot." I snapped at Stiles

"Someone shut him up before I kill him" Alec growled

"That's what she meant when she said you had 48 hours"

"What?!" I shouted panicked

"Who– who said I had 24 hours" Derek asked

"The one who shot you." Scott replied.

Fucking Hunters—

Derek's eyes started to shift colors, flashing bright blue of his werewolf form to his normal and then back again

"What are you doing! Stop that!" Panicked Scott

"I'm trying to tell you. I can't"

"Put him in Stiles' car" I commanded

"What?! No!"

"Now!" I yelled. The control on my magic slipping making the ground shake slightly

"Fuck!" Alec yelled "Do as she said. Now!" With Scott's help the two positioned the male into the back seat. I was near him, Alec in the passenger seat. I placed both my hands on his arm. Using spell after spell to help him, my werewolf side absorbed what bit of pain I could. But in the end, I knew that without the bullet he would die.

"I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used." I coldly said to Scott

"​​How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Scott asked with confusion

" 'Cause she's Argent. She's with them." Derek answered

"Why should I help you?" The teen wolf asked

"Because you need me." Derek said back but as he saw the look in my eyes, he knew. He knew that I wouldn't let any Argent kill more of us without any consequences.

"Fine. I'll try. Get him out of here." Scott said to his friend

"I hate you for this so much." Stiles commented with a whine

"You have to find it" Alec stressed. He grabbed the boy's forearm. From my peripheral view I could see the glance that he sent me before focusing again on Scott.

"I said that I will try." He answered

"Scott" I said without looking away from Derek. The teenager stopped from walking away. "He dies" I gestured towards my cousin. Scorching hot flames and the scent of burning flesh appeared in my mind. "They all die." I loosened the leash on my magic just enough for everyone in the car to feel the presence. Even a human like Stiles "Don't make an enemy out of me, Scott. You don't want a Warren witch against you." I said in a cold voice. Freezing and gelid "Ask the Di Luna's family" I added without a single ounce of compassion. I rein back my magic as looked at Stiles "Go"

───── ⋆⋅⋆｡ ﾟ☽𖦹☾ ﾟ｡⋆⋅⋆ ─────

╰┈˚ · ° .   I directed Stiles to my house, Derek was getting worse by the minute. His complexion was abnormally pale, sweat covered his forehead trailing down his temple and dampening his dark gray shirt. The drive was as short as it could get, Stiles driving like a maniac. As soon as the car stopped in front of my house, Alec helped Derek's out and to walk. I was in front of them already running to the front porch and opening the door.

"Grams! Grams!" I yelled frantically as I entered the house, "Put him on the couch." And Alec didn't waste another second to do as I said.

"Hello, hello!" Chirped Citrine, my grandmother familiar. She was resting in her wooden bird house, humming and eating fresh berries.

A fearful shout was followed by the words of the familiar. Stiles jumped back as Citrine flew out of her house and stood on perch. Her yellow colored eyes flickering between the four of us "What happened to Der?" Her usual chirpiness fading as the words escaped her mouth

"A hunter shot him." I replied to the hummingbird-butterfly hybrid.

"What the fuck is that?!" Stiles shouted, eyes wide and hands waving around "Is it talking?! Oh my god, I'm hallucinating, aren't I"

I completely ignored the boy again calling for my grandma as I observed the wound on Derek's arm. Alec handed me some towels, probably taken from the kitchen alongside with a bowl of water.

"Oh, my God. What is that?" Stiles whines as he saw for the first time the older werewolf wound "Oh, is that contagious? You know what, I should probably just get out."

"Shut up!" I yelled back at him. I tried to clean the blood staining his skin, the normal red color was now mixing with black. It only worsened my panic. I quickly collected some supplies that we had around the house, anything that I could think could help my cousin. I fell on my knees in front of the coffee table where I dumped everything on, still having Derek in my line of sight. "Citrine, where are Grams?"

"She went grocery shopping, but I'm sure she will be here soon" The familiar said earning another yelp from the Stilinski boy

"Alec" I said "Help Derek drink this, please" I said as I passed him a glass jar with a cork lid. The liquid inside was of deep olive color, herbs still floated in it. It didn't look any good and it even had a worse taste "It's for the fever. It should help lowering it" I explained

I felt the itch in my right forearm as I called forward Hex out from her domus. Her hissing could be heard even over Derek's pained groan and Stiles' whines. The three of them snapped their heads towards me. Eyes trailing the snake's body who coiled itself around my neck before with her dragon-ish facial feature hissed them. "Leave them." I said to my familiar.

"What. The. Hell"

"They are familiars" Alec explained to the frenetic boy. His eyes darting between the two weird looking and talking animals "Witches companions and protectors" I could feel his eyes me then, never stopping his staring "They help with magic and act as a guide"

One of the things that he used to always tell me, using against me when we were little, was my lack of familiar. Witches get theirs as soon as their magic manifests. Mine did when I was only four, earlier than usual but even after years, there was no trace of my familiar. Familiars are not created, not handed down from mother to daughter. You can not force a bond with one. They appear to you, they find their way to you. Hex appeared the morning after the fire.

"This is Hex" I said then then nodded towards the hummingbird-butterfly I added "She is Cetrine"

"Of course you called your familiar Hex" Scoffed the shadow wolf.

Hex raised her head hissing, venom dripping slightly from her fangs.

"Don't mind him." I said to her, "I need your help. Can you look at the wound, please?" I felt her body slithering down to my arm and then to the table

"She will not hurt you, just let her take a look" I said to my cousin who nodded.

"It's a rare form of wolfsbane. That is what I can tell" Hex hissed her words

"This is too freaky" Stiles anxiously as he watched the serpent-dragon came back to me

"What in the name of the gods is going on here!" Grams voice echoed through the house as her figure appeared from the front door

"A hunter shot him," I explained. I swallowed the lump in my throat "They said he had 24 hours left, now probably only half of them." I lowered my eyes back to the couple grimoires that I had in front of me as I continued "It was a wolfsbane bullet. A rare kind that I nor Hex cannot even recognize."

Grams nodded. "Alright" she said. The groceries bags left at the entrance. Her face was filled with determination. She kneeled next to the hurt wolf, she too examined his wound. "What did you already do?"

"I gave him a tonic for the fever, absorbed his pain and used my energies to help accelerate his healing. Nothing major so far. I'm searching for a spell to use on a healing paste of some kind but..."

"You need the bullet for having any chance to cure him" Grams finished for me

"Scott is working on it" Stiles told her

"There is always the last resort" Derek weakly said

A look of understanding passed between him and my grandmother "What do you mean? What is the last resort?" Stiles asked as he paced back and forth

"No need to worry about it now, kids" Grams got us "Follow me, Elle. Let's start preparing some of the pastes and tonics"

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╰┈˚ · ° .  Night quickly came and between my grandmother and I, we used all the knowledge that we had to try and slow the effect of the rare wolfsbane, probably only giving him just a couple more hours.

Northern blue monkshood. That was what was in the bullet. Thankfully Scott had found the bullet but there was still no trace of him yet.

Grams sat on the armchair with a tired and worried look on her face. Both for Derek, who was on the brink of death, and for me, who I continued to use my magic to help him.

"Stop" Derek weak voice said "Your using too much energies"

"Shut up" I weakly said back

"Please, Ellie" Derek pleaded emotion clouding his tone and tears filling his eyes

"I'm trying to save your life" I snapped but it was without any bite. I was too exhausted for that

"You are going to kill yourself if you continue"

"I'm not losing you too" I whispered back trying to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks "I can't"

"I'm not going to die," He said. With a groan he sat up and looked at my grandmother "Time for the last resort"

But before my grandmother could make a step, the door burst open "I got it, I got it!" Scott shouted

With a sigh of relief I took the bullet from his hand, opening it and dampening the powder inside of it in a mortar.

"Ignis." I said the spell. The Northern blue monkshood and gunpowder burst into flames. The mix of the two produced a blue smoak. Now an antidote for the bullet. Safe for my hand to touch, I poured them on my palm and quickly applied to Derek's bullet wound. My magic flared again, even in a weaker state, I sent everything that I could into him, helping his healing with it.

Yells and groans of pain were joined by roars. Derek's body twitched in agony until the wound closed up. Before I could fall down from exhaustion, two arms wrapped around me, pushing my body onto their as we both collapsed near the couch. The unmistakable scent of leather and citrus with hints of tobacco drifted up my nose, his arms caging me against him. His scent, his body, his entire presence. Alessandro Di Luna was the only thing that I could feel at that moment. And I didn't hate it.

"That...Was... Awesome! Yes!" Stiles exclaimed and even if I couldn't even move a finger, I found myself laughing at his enthusiasm.

"Are you two okay?" Scott asked switching his sight between my cousin and I

"Except for the agonizing pain?" Derek answered him. I tried to get up, seeing that Alec helped me. One of his arms still around my waist stabilizing me.

"Perfectly fine." I said to Scott with a small smile. Well, more a grimace. I was tired and my magic was very depleted, just like all my overall energies. I felt Hex coiling her body around my neck, her nuzzle caressing my neck. Hex wasn't really cuddly familiar most of the time, these moments were rare. That showed me how worried she was for me.

"I'm guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health." Stiles said

"Okay, we saved your life, which means you're gonna leave us alone. You got that?" Scott said to Derek before turning towards Alec and me "All of you. And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad, and I'm gonna tell him everything."

"You gonna trust them? You think they can help you?" Derek scoffed

"Why not? They're a lot freaking nicer than you are!"

Scott's words caused rage to travel through my body. Nice?! The Argent are nice?!

"Yeah, I can show you exactly how nice they are." Derek looked towards me. His jaw clenched.

I swallowed the emotions in my throat, scoffing. I kissed my grandma's cheek before nodding my head at Derek, agreeing with his idea.

"I'm coming with you" I said

A choir of three voices of 'no' was heard "You did enough for tonight" Derek said

"And you need to rest. You used a lot of magic and energy to help him." My grandma voiced "You go straight to bed" Her stern tone didn't leave space for argument.

I didn't dare to look at Alec, the last person who didn't agree with me going. I was still too shocked by the fact that I didn't hate being in his arms before.

I gritted my jaw turning towards the new wolf " Then I hope you enjoy the story Scott. Spoiler alert, it doesn't have a happy ending. Goodnight."

With a scoff I started climbing up the stairs slowly without glancing back only now becoming aware of how tired I really was again after the burst of adrenaline slowly left as my anger started to recede.

Steps followed after me, climbing the stairs until he was next to me. I looked up to see his dark chocolate eyes with confusion. He didn't say anything, he just picked me up bridal style continuing up the stairs.

"What are you doing?!" I whisper-shouted at him. Not gonna lie, I was embarrassed. And annoyed.

"You can barely even stand and you can't even keep your eyes open for more than a second" He grunted with an eyeroll following the hallway down to the last door on the left, probably following where my scent was the strongest. He opened the door of my room and with more care that I thought he had, Alec placed me on my bed and looked down at me.

"What?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows. He rolled his eyes and crouched down to untie my shoes "Alec! What the fuck are you doing?"

He was really confusing me right now. He didn't say anything and just continued to take off my shoes. "I'm fine, Alec. I can do this on my own" The male ignored me. I followed his lead with a small huff of annoyance and took my leather jacket off leaving me in just my graphic tee and black jeans. "Can you at least turn around so I can take off my pants?" I asked a bit snarky.

"And why would I do that?" His cocky smirk was back but nonetheless he turned around. I quickly shed my jeans, bra and exchanged my tee for the shirt resting on my pillow that I used as pajamas. "I really don't know why you are still here" I said to the shadow wolf as I got under the covers of my bed, Hex still cuddling my neck. "But I'm too tired right now to kick your ass out"

Chuckling Alec turned around "Don't worry little witch, I'll be out of here in a minute" He sat down on the bed next to me, his smirk slowly fading into a soft smile. "Seems like in the end you got your familiar" his dark brown eyes on Hex. "A mythical hybrid"

"Black mambas and a dragon" I explained, patting her head with my finger earning a content rumble from her.

"When did you get her?"

"She appeared the morning after the fire" I revealed escaping eye contact

"Give me your hand" Alec said after a brief moment of silence. I didn't question him, I just did what he asked me to. My mind was too clouded by tiredness and body aching from exhaustion. He took my hand between his own, cradling it gently. I felt the moment he started to drain the pain from my body. A gasp escaped my lips as I stared at his now total black eyes. The veins in his hands and up his forearm colored in black, pulsing under his skin. Alec groaned in pain and I tried to take my hand away from him but he only just strengthened his hold. Seconds, minutes passed before he finally stopped. Without looking at me he got up and walked away.

"Alec" I said stopping him before he could get out

He didn't turn around as he answered me."Sleep, little witch. You need it" He flicked the lights off and closed the door behind him, leaving me more confused than ever.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

Oh I love this chapter! The scene at the end>>>

Alec didn't help Derek because he knew that Elizabeth was going to overdue. Of course, the little shit would never say it outloud but he basically preserved his energies so he could take the pain from Elle.

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Saturday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾