009  — HUNTERS

Laura entered the boys locker room at Beacon Hills High School with Derek. He said that they were there to try and help Scott's Beta Liam with control.

Derek dragged a lacrosse stick along the floor as they neared the boy. He twiddled it around in his hands looking down at it before looking up at Liam who looked toward the two cautiously, he recognized Laura but didn't know who the man was.

"Is this yours?" Derek asks as if he didn't know.

Liam nodded slightly wondering where this was going. He didn't have the chance to do anything before the man broke his stick in half throwing it towards him causing it to clatter at his feet.

Liam started breathing heavily as he got more and more angry. He ran towards the two trying to get to Derek before Laura launched herself forward and wrapped her hand around his neck forcing the boy onto the lockers beside them, holding him up steadily as he continued to growl.

Laura knew that Derek was suppose to be the one to do so but she also knew that something was up with him ever since he turned back from being a teenager and knew that his strength wasn't the same and that there was a possibility that he wouldn't be able to hold the boy who definitely had some anger issues back.

He could hear Scott calling out to Liam which seemed to have calmed him down as his eyes changed back to blue. He stared at Scott before looking to Derek and then to Laura who still held him up against the lockers.

"You're right. He is angry." Derek told Scott before patting Laura on the shoulder letting her know that she could let him go.

Liam faced Scott as he pulled a lacrosse stick from behind him "This one's yours." He said as he threw the stick at the boy who caught it with ease.

He looked back at Derek and Laura glaring at them which Laura only smiled in response as Derek looked up as the school bell rung.

"Get to class, Liam." Scott told him. Liam took one last look back at Derek who raised his eyebrows daring him to defy his Alpha before he obeyed Scott and walked out of the locker room.

Scott turned to Derek as soon as Liam had left and saw the smile on his face.

Scott tilted his head in confusion "What are you smiling about?" He asked.

"You're gonna be good at this." Derek told him knowing that Scott was going to make a great Alpha, he was already an Alpha of his pack but now he has an actual Beta.

Scott laughed slightly "Are you kidding? I am totally unprepared. Remember how you said you could teach me a few things? I think, right now I could use a full-on training manual." He stressed, sharing his concern with Derek.

"I'll tell you one thing. That anger he's got. It'll make him strong." Derek confessed, looking over to Laura as he knew she was similar to Liam in a way. Their anger makes them stronger but only when it's controlled.

"And dangerous" Scott said, his eyes flickered towards the girl who meet his eyes before looking around the room trying to find something more interesting to focus on.

"Very." Derek admitted and Laura shrugged at them
both knowing it was true.

Scott sighed as he sat down on a bench. "This was supposed to be the semester I could focus on school again. But Kate's back, and I've got a Beta, and there's a dead pool." He said to Derek who could see him stressing out about it all.

"If all our names are on that list, then that's what we should be focused on. Do you think Lydia can get that second key?" Derek asks trying to get him to focus on one thing so that he could stop worrying about everything else.

Scott nods "She's working on it."

~

Metallic scraped across the ground as the entrance to the Hale vault opened. Laura followed Derek and Chris (who was a retired hunter) down into the vault.

Laura wondered around the vault curiously picking up all the different books, jars and trinkets eyeing them to see if they look interesting.

Derek who was looking at the triskelion with his back to Laura spoke up. "Put it back" Derek told the girl who looked at him shocked since he couldn't even see her before she placed a horse figurine back in its place.

"She was here for this." Derek told Chris as he showed him the triskelion. Chris took it from his hands looking at it carefully as Derek spoke again. "We use it to teach young Betas how to control the shifts on a full moon."

"Control was never one of Kate's strengths." Chris said as he passed it back to Derek.

Derek sighed before he asked "You knew she was alive, didn't you?"

"Not for certain" Chris admitted "But I'd been searching ever since you handed me the shotgun shell."

"What are you gonna do when you find her?" He asked interested in knowing what was going to happen to Kate.

"There's a place I can take her" He replied knowing exactly where he was going to put her. He walked over to the vault where the money was stolen from before stopping.

"You saying you have some kind of werewolf jail?" Derek asks as he puts back the triskelion before looking over to Laura and smiling slightly as he saw her now sitting down playing with the same horse he told her not to touch.

"Something like that" He replied.

"She won't go quietly" Derek said knowing what Kate was like.

"I don't expect her to. And I'll do what's necessary." He admits knowing that if it did come to it, he would have a hard time doing something like that to his sister.

Derek sighs "What if I asked you not to?"

Chris turned around and looked at him for a moment wondering why the one person who Kate had wronged the most asked him not to stop her.

"She took something from me." He told Argent as he flashed his eyes but instead of the blue that normally glows, a gold hue was in its place. "At first, I just thought it was a part of my past. I started to lose something else. My sense of smell. I'm losing my power" He tells Chris.

Laura who was now stood up walked over to Derek and held his hand hoping it would make him feel better. She used to do it to Charles before he died. Derek looked down at her and smiled before looking back up at Chris.

"I have something I have to do. Do you mind if Laura stays with you? I know that the Sheriff is busy and she'll probably be safer with you" He asks.

Chris nods "Yeah, I'll take her to my place" He agrees as he smiled down at the girl who smiled back.

Laura let go of Derek's hand as she offered him the horse back.

Derek shook his head "Keep it, you'll use it more than me" He said remembering who's horse it once was.

Laura surprisingly hugged Derek who hugged her back.

"I'll see you soon okay?"

Laura nods "Thank you" She replies as she follows Chris out of the vault.

~

Chris turns on a lamp in his basement where he keeps all of his gear before opening up his tool box and taking out a screwdriver. He loads his gun and looks through it as he hears a floorboard creak.

Chris motions to Laura who is stood beside him and she nods before hiding behind a crate. Chris flicks a switch beside him which lets electrifies one of the gates outside of the room before spinning around and pointing his gun at Serevo, one of the Calavera hunters.

Araya followed him into the room as the two kept their guns pointed towards each other.

"In Mexico, we just call this a standoff." Araya says as the men keep their guns up eyeing each other.

"The girl we hired to find Kate hasn't responded in days. You know her, don't you?" Araya asked.

"Braeden" Chris tells her.

"Well, maybe your sister got to her? Maybe killed her." She suggests. "Maybe, we should stop hiring other people to do our work. Maybe we do it ourselves." She spoke before grabbing both guns and lowering them. Chris sighs.

Araya stares at him intensely "Were hunters, Christopher. All of us. We follow a code." Araya pauses. "Severo, what is our code?"

"We hunt those who hunt us" He replied as Araya nodded smiling proudly.

"Christopher?" She questions. Chris looked over to where he knew Laura was hiding before back to Araya. He lived by a new code now but knew that he didn't have a choice when it came to Araya and he knew he had to keep the girl safe.

"What is our code?" She presses. "Say it with me." She whispers. "We hunt those who hunt us." Before raising her voice "What is our code? Remind him, Severo." She commanded

"We hunt those who hunt us." He repeated

"Say it Christopher. Say it for your wife, Victoria. For your daughter, Allison. Say the code, speak the words. Say it!" She yelled "What is our code?"

Chris paused before replying reluctantly "We hunt those who hunt us"

"Oh and Laura...the girl I know escaped with Scott and the others. I want her back, so if you find her, bring her to me" she told him.

"What do you want with her?" Chris asked curiously.

"I only want to reunite her with her father" Araya said as if it was obvious, but Chris knew this isn't what she wanted Laura for.

"You have her father?" He asks looking back over to the crate where he could see Laura slightly peeking over curious about where her father was.

"Not exactly, but I might know who does" Ayara replied vaguely causing Chris to look at her suspiciously.

EDITED