𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄
𝐋𝐀 𝐈𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐀

Lyla sighed, leaning her shoulder against her door frame and looking up at Stiles through tired eyes, "So what if Derek's missing? He disappears all the time." Stiles glared at her, pressing his thumb to his bottom lip in frustration, "Not-" He sighed, "Not missing. Kidnapped."

"We found a bunch of these in his loft." Scott piped up, holding a golden bullet shell out to her. The streets were dark, calm, illuminated by nothing but street lights. The metal glimmered under the yellow lighting of her porch light, the girl grasping the cold metal between her fingers and twisted it to see the sugar skull imprinted on it. It was similar to the one Argent made all those years ago. She raised a brow, "What is it?"

"It belongs to a group of hunters in Mexico called the Calaveras. We think they kidnapped Derek." Lyla sucked in a deep breath and passed the shell back to Scott, "Okay, so tell the police."

"We're actually gonna...go get him. Ourselves." Scott mumbled, Lyla raising a nervous eyebrow at him, "We?"

"All of us."

Lyla frowned and dropped her head against the doorframe, "All of us? As in-"

"You're coming." She groaned, looking over at the Alpha, "You can do it without me." He shook his head, Stiles smiling and reaching out to place his hands on her shoulders, "We leave Friday morning. Told my dad we're going camping."

Lyla frowned in exhaustion, looking up at the boy, "Great."

Lyla hated clubs. She'd never been in one, obviously, but she only needed this one experience to know she hated them. Maybe clubs in Mexico were more intense and crowded than ones in America, but either way, she doesn't think she'll ever step into another one after this. Especially not when it reminds her so much of the Halloween party. And dancing with Isaac.

She took a sip of her water, looking behind her at the crowd of dancing drunks, Malia right in the middle of the crowd dancing to the music. The blonde clenched her fist, reaching up to scratch her eyebrow anxiously and turning back to the bar. Malia had done well over the past couple of months, learning, albeit slowly, how to control her claws and shifting. Stiles had mentioned their budding relationship, which made Lyla smile at the idea. He deserved someone, and Malia was great.

Lyla huffed, downing the last of her water and moving out into the crowd towards the were-coyote. "You're having fun!" Lyla muttered, stepping in front of the dancing girl. "I am!" She shouted over the music, grabbing Lyla's hand and spinning the blonde. Lyla gasped, world spinning in her eyes as she stumbled to compose herself. Her eyes shot behind Malia, watching as guards, so obviously part of the Calaveras, scanned the club looking for them, speaking lowly into their radios.

"Something's happening." Kira appeared in front of the two girls, Malia nodding inconspicuously, "I know." Kira swallowed thickly, looking between Malia and Lyla, "What do we do?"

"Blend in!" Malia shouted, continuing her dancing as Kira looked up at her in confusion. Malia laughed, "Dance with me, dumbass."

Lyla huffed, ready to walk back to the bar when she made eye contact with a guard, mumbling into his radio. Lyla quickly jumped into dancing, removing the claw clip that held her hair up and ruffling the blonde locks. Lyla watched curiously as Kira began jerking her body awkwardly, Lyla looking over at Malia, who was watching her with the tip of her thumb between her teeth to hide her laugh.

Lyla raised a brow when Malia pulled Kira in, pressing their chests together, the were-coyote guiding Kira into a sensual dance. Lyla watched wide-eyed as Kira gained her footing, the Kitsune pulling back from Malia and reaching out to Lyla. She pulled the blonde girl between them with a yank and a bright smile, Malia and Kira essentially sandwiching her. Lyla laughed nervously, moving her body to match the two girls.

She looked at Kira as Malia grabbed Lyla's hips, the Kitsune smiling widely as she almost forgot about why they were in the club to begin with. Lyla looked around them as a crowd began to form, throwing her arms loosely over Kira's shoulders.

They continued their movements for a few more minutes before Lyla's eyes locked on the small woman approaching them, gun in hand. Lyla nodded behind Kira, the Kitsune glancing back before turning to Lyla with a nod. She gestured to Malia, who tapped Lyla's hip. Lyla looked to her right, where another woman was approaching with a taser baton in hand.

"You ready?" Malia's voice echoed beside Lyla's ear, both her and Kira nodding in preparation.

They separated quickly, Lyla turning to the woman approaching her and grasping her by the front of her shirt. Before the woman could fight back, Lyla spun around her and locked her arm around her throat. Lyla looked past her at Malia, who had slammed a man to the floor, Kira taking out the other woman with her glowing red nunchucks.

The woman struggled under her grasp, Lyla holding her tighter. Her resistance fell slack, signaling she had lost consciousness. Lyla quickly dropped her to the floor, looking around her to take in the unbothered crowd around them.

Scott appeared from the crowd, taking out an approaching guard and throwing him into the wall. Scott looked back at Malia, who was standing to her feet, then to Lyla, who was stepping away from the unconscious woman at her feet, and finally to Kira. He nodded at the Kitsune. He turned around, the three girls following behind him closely.

They moved through the crowd towards the empty back hallway. Lyla looked around at the red-painted walls, lined with pipes and seemingly never-ending. She followed mindlessly behind Malia as they attempted to figure out the hallways and where exactly to go.

They stepped through a doorway slowly, Scott looking back to ensure they were all behind him, just as smoke began flowing from the bottom of the hallway walls. Lyla frowned, looking down at her smoke-covered feet, "What the hell?"

She gasped as more smoke began shooting out of the ceiling, the blonde inhaling the smoke on instinct. Her throat began closing, eyes going foggy as she dropped to the floor in a coughing fit beside Malia. "Wolfsbane! It's wolfsbane!" Scott shouted, Lyla attempting to see through the smoke and her cough triggered tears, "Kira, get out of here! Kira! Run!"

She heard Scott fall to the floor in a fit of coughs, Kira's heels drawing not too far away before Scott began shouting again, "Look out! Look out!"

Lyla choked back her coughs, gripping the floor as tight as she could as shoes appeared in her foggy line of vision. Lyla looked up, eyes locking on the outline of a woman and a man behind her, "Someone who has been an Alpha only a few months should be more careful when facing a hunter of 40 years."

Her accent was strong, Lyla unable to focus on any single thing as her vision worsened. Scott huffed out a wheeze, "All we want is Derek." Lyla coughed once more, more wolfsbane entering her lungs by the second. "My Lobito. You're a long way from home!"

"You don't know where he is either," Scott mumbled in an accusing tone, Lyla grasping Malia's hand desperately when it landed next to her knee. The woman scowled at him, shoving her taser baton into Scott's stomach, the last thing Lyla hearing being Scott's roar before she passed out.

When Lyla woke, Malia was hovering over her. Lyla groaned, blinking away the fogginess as she took in the were-coyote above her. "Lyla's up."

Suddenly, Stiles was hovering above her, "Up. Up, up." He muttered, reaching out and grasping her hands. Lyla groaned, gripping Stiles' hands tightly as she stood to her feet. When she was standing, her vision went blurry and her knees buckled below her. "Woah, woah woah. Are you okay?" Stiles stuttered, holding her up by her back. Lyla nodded, rubbing the back of her head with a groan. "I'm fine."

"Guys! Guys, he's awake."

Lyla sucked in a heavy breath, rushing over to where Scott lay on the floor, eyes fluttering open and glancing around at them. "Scott? You okay?" Stiles spoke, bending down in sync with Kira to help the alpha sit up, "Yeah." He grunted out, more than likely in similar pain to Lyla. "They don't have him. They don't have Derek." He panicked as he sat up, Kira nodding with a heavy sigh, "We know, but right now, they've got Lydia."

Scott frowned, turning to look at Stiles, "Lydia? What do they want with Lydia?"

"My best guess?" Stiles sighed, leaning his arms against his knees, "They want a banshee."

Scott hopped up quickly, rushing over to the door to attempt to pry it open. Lyla raised an eyebrow, watching as Stiles nodded with a wince. Scott paused when he realized it wouldn't budge, Kira walking over to him with hands on her hips, "We already looked for a way out." Scott grazed his fingers over the claw marks in the cement, "I think a lot of people have."

"I say when the door opens again, we take out whoever's standing in the way and run for it." Malia shrugged, Lyla, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She was definitely a coyote for a long time, no doubt about it.

"What about Lydia?"

"What about her?" Malia looked at Kira curiously, Lyla stifling her chuckle. "We're not leaving without her." Scott approached Malia, the brunette raising an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"Cause we don't leave without people. Remember? We talked about this. Rules of the wild kingdom don't apply to friends." She watched as Malia remembered, tilting her head down towards the floor. She felt for the girl, truly. Being forced into a life that you have no idea how to live.

"Is that what you would do as a coyote?" Kira questioned, "Leave her for dead?" Lyla's gaze flickered back to Malia, the brunette shrugging. "If she was weak and injured, yeah. If hunting had been bad that season, I would eat her." Lyla's brows jutted upwards in shock, "Then I'd leave."

Lyla rolled her eyes, running a hand through her hair, fingers getting stuck on a few of the tangled blonde strands. "Mm, believe it or not, that's progress." Stiles quipped scratching his chin awkwardly.

"All right, guys, we're not dead yet." Scott attempted to up their spirits, Lyla tilting her head to the side, "Yeah, yet."

Scott sent a side eye at the girl, "That means Araya wants something." Lyla huffed, turning to the alpha, "Well, if the Calaveras don't know where Derek is, it means they didn't take him from the loft." Stiles sighed, glancing at the blonde girl and then to their Alpha, "Maybe he left on his own."

"Maybe someone else got to him."

The doors of the room loudly slid open, revealing the hunters from before. But this time their weapons were trained on them as they charged for the pack. Before any of them could react, they were tasing Scott and Kira and yanking them from the room. "No!" Lyla panicked, surging forward in an attempt to fight back, but one of the hunters brought the end of his gun down against her forehead and stuck a taser against her stomach. Then she was out.

When Lyla opened her eyes again, she blinked quickly and turned her head to look around the room. It was void of Kira and Scott now, and Lyla internally groaned. Looking over to her right, she sat up with a raised eyebrow as Stiles and Malia kissed.

"Ew." She mumbled, rubbing the back of her head as she stood to her feet, Malia and Stiles pulling away from each other at the sound of her voice, "What the hell happened?"

Lyla turned to look at Stiles, watching as he huffed in defeat, "We've been trying to listen in on what's happening." Lyla furrowed her brows, tuning into the sounds around them. Her hearing soared through the sounds of pipes, thumping music, and talking, before they landed on the sounds of Scott's grunts of pain. Lyla sighed at the sounds, focusing on it for a moment.

"They're torturing him, got him hooked up to electric wires. Lydia is tied up too and-" Lyla frowned, shaking her head at the cruelty of the hunters, "And they're making Kira electrocute him." Stiles grunted in frustration, "What else?" Lyla peered over at him, rolling her eyes and focusing back in just as Scott's roar echoed through her mind. She winced, focusing in on the sounds once more, closing her eyes and raising an eyebrow, "He said..." She huffed, turning to look down at him in confusion, "Kate?"

Stiles' face fell, the boy softly shaking his head, "No, that's impossible. That can't be what he said." Lyla frowned, placing her hands on her hips, "Why? Who the hell is Kate?" Malia softly raised her hand, "I-I'd like to know as well."

Stiles bit his lip, hand falling against the cement by his foot, "She's a hunter. An Argent."

Lyla leaned back against Stiles' Jeep in exhaustion, eyes closed and skin soaking up the warm sun they had been deprived of for several hours. Her eyes snapped open as Scott appeared near the back entrance of the club, standing with Araya.

"Now I know what kind of Alpha, you are. And where your next step lies." Araya spoke to Scott, the alpha tilting his head in confusion, "What next step?" Araya nodded at him, "When you take the bite of an innocent, when you make a wolf of your own, when you do that. Then, I will cross your border and come knocking at your door."

Araya walked away, her goons following her as Scott turned and approached his friends. "So what now?" Stiles asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "She thinks she knows where we can find Derek."

"She gonna tell us where?" Malia sassed, arms crossed across her chest. Scott nodded, "Uh, actually she's giving us a guide."

Before Lyla could voice her concern, a figure covered by a helmet approached on a motorcycle. She raised an eyebrow as they came to a stop, watched as they pulled off their helmet. "You know her?" Stiles asked Scott, the alphas face falling in surprise, "Braeden." It was the girl who saved Isaac, apparently. She never actually met her, but she was supposed to be dead. "Who is she?" Kira mumbled, and Lydia sighed, "She's a mercenary."

"Right now I'm the only one who's gonna take you to la iglesia." Braeden spoke, Lyla furrowing her brows, "The church?"

Stiles titled his head, "What's the church?"

"It's not a place you'll find God." Braden shrugged, Malia turning to Lyla, "Dibs on not sitting in the back again."

They had been following behind Braeden for about 15 minutes before Malia finally spoke up and broke the silence, leaning between Stiles and Scott's seats, "Okay, I'll ask. Who's Kate Argent."

Lyla lifted her head up, shifting uncomfortably in her spot. On the way to Mexico, she had sat in the backseat between Kira and Lydia, and Malia sat in the smaller-than-preferred trunk space behind the seats. And now Lyla was stuck back there. It wasn't necessarily awful, the space wasn't too excruciatingly small, and she got to sit sideways with her legs bent up in front of her, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. Especially not with the makeshift seat Stiles had made back there with an old pillow and blanket.

Kira raised her hand, "Uh, I'd like to know, too."

Lyla smiled, "Yeah, me three."

"Well, we were at her funeral. So, I'd like to know how she got out of a casket that was buried 6 feet underground." Stiles sassed, making Lyla smirk down at her chipped polish.

"She was never in it." Scott mumbled, and the car fell into an uncomfortable silence. "She was Allison's aunt." Lyla's head perked up at the mention of their deceased friend, chest tightening as memories flooded in. "And a total sociopath."

The blonde raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder at Lydia.

"You don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to." Kira reassured Scott, who was looking down sadly at his lap. "Um, yes he does."

Lyla agreed with Malia, unfortunately. Talking about Allison was hard, yeah. But if her psycho aunt was coming back to kill Derek, he did need to talk about it.

"No, she's right. You guys should know, you need to know." Scott looked back at the girls, eyes locking with Lyla's for a moment. "Alright, Kate was the one who set the fire that killed most of Derek's family." Lyla's eyes went wide with shock, adjusting herself in the back to look at the back of Stiles head.

"Some of them survived, like Cora and Peter."

"A very angry Peter." Lydia muttered, making Lyla release an amused breath from her nose. "Yeah," Scott scoffed, "He's the one who bit and turned me."

"And the one who finally caught up to Kate and killed her."

"Yeah, but we saw her buried." Stiles tried to reason, but Scott shook his head, "We saw a casket buried. Remember? She wasn't in it. The Calaveras heard that Kate had been killed by an alphas claws. wanted to make sure she was really dead." Lyla's eyes went wide at a bump in the road, gripping the back of the seat tightly.

"Her body was healing more and more as she got closer to a full moon. She was coming back, so they switched out the bodies. They took her. If a hunter is bit, they have to take their own life before they change. The Calaveras, they treat the code like law. They make it their responsibility to enforce it."

"Good for her," Malia shrugged, "I wouldn't do it either."

"Would you kill half a dozen people to get out? Because that's what she did." Lyla raised an eyebrow at Malia, who slowly sat back.

"So, Kate's a werewolf now?" Kira questioned as she sat forward. Scott shook his head, "I don't know. You know, there's a saying. Sometimes the shape you take reflects the person you are."

"What kind of shape is sociopathic bitch?" Lydia spoke, making Lyla stifle a laugh, her face falling flat as the car skipped and began skidding across the road.

When Stiles had managed to get control of the car, bringing it to a fast stop, Lyla groaned. "What the hell was that?" She rolled her eyes, rubbing the back of her neck and popping the trunk open, stretching her arms above her head as the others filed out of the Jeep.

"What happened?" Braeden questioned as she approached, Lyla rounding the Jeep to look down at the tires for any sign of popping. "I don't know, it felt like we hit something." Stiles grunted, checking the car for damage.

"Scott, we have to get there by night, it's too dangerous otherwise."

Lyla looked over at Scott, who was clearly contemplating whether to go or not. "Go." Stiles spoke, the blonde girl waving the off before going back to the trunk to grab the tool bag.

When Lyla came back, Kira and him were talking while Braeden got on her bike.

"And I know be careful sounds kind of lame and-"

Lyla chuckled at Kira's awkwardness, plopping the tool bag down on Stiles' open hood. Opening the bag, her face fell, looking over at Stiles. The boy glanced over at the blonde, raaising a curious eyebrow as she reached in the bag. "What the hell are these?" Stiles' face fell as she held up three different sized wrenches and a single roll of silver duct tape. "That's...to fix my..car."

"I really don't need much to fix it, there's only-"
"Oh, Stilinski, I could kill you right now-"

"Hey, Stiles!" Malia interrupted the two bickering friends, both of them looking down at her, "I don't think we hit something-" She held up an arrowhead dagger, "I think something hit us."

Stiles reached out to grab the dagger, him and Lyla glancing at each other before she nodded, "Duct Tape will do."

"Maybe we should just walk." Lydia huffed from her spot against the side of the Jeep. Stiles clicking his teeth and pointing the screwdriver in her direction, "Hey, I will never abandon this Jeep. You understand me? Ever. Ever." Stiles stuck the screwdriver back between his teeth and went back to the engine.

Lyla sighed, blinking rapidly to shake away the sleepiness.

"Work faster, Stiles."

Lyla and Stiles both raised an eyebrow, looking over at Malia, who was canvassing the mountains around them, "There's something out here with us."

Lyla nervously laughed, nudging Stiles' leg, "Move fucking faster Stilinski before we get gutted like pigs."

15 Minutes later, and they weren't much closer to fixing the Jeep, but they were ingulfed by the night sky. And Braeden said it wasn't safe at night.

"Lydia, could you please hold the flaghlight still, for a second? It's really hard to see anything when you keep shaking it like that." Stiles sassed Lydia, Lyla glancing back at the two before going back to patrolling the area on the other side of the Jeep. Malia had the front while Kira had the other. It was their only idea to keep Lydia and Stiles safe. "I'm shaking like this because we're in the middle of nowhere with your broken down Jeep and we're being attacked by yet another razor-clawed monster. And I'm terrified."

"Well just be slightly less terrified."

Lyla playfully rolled her eyes at her bickering friends, ears perking up at the sound of bushes moving. She couldn't see a thing, not with how dark the shadows were, but she could hear it, and that alone was terrifying.

Her shoulders jumped at a roar, looking back as Malia tok off in the desert, "Malia, wait!" Kira went running after their friend.

Lyla's eyes went wide as Stiles moved to get down from his car, "Malia-"

"Kira, go, You, fix the Jeep."

Lyla went to run after them, but Lydia shined the light at her, Stiles growling in frustration. "And you, you stay for our protection. Now hurry, Stiles."

Lyla huffed, glancing over at Kira and Malia's disappearing figures, but turning back to the Jeep.

A few minutes later, the Jeep engine roared the life, Lyla gasping in surprise, "Oh, thank God, Lydia, get in the car, go." Lyla rushed, Stiles closing the hood.

"Malia! Kira!" Lyla shouted out as Stiles got in the driver seat, their figures appearing and rushing at the Jeep.

Lyla let Kira get in first, before hopping in next to her and pulling the seat back to its position for Malia. Once they were all in the car, Stiles sped off.

"You, you -" Stiles pointed at Malia.
"What?"

"Don't do that ever again."

"Do what?"

"I-I thought you just took off. I thought you were running." Stiles calmed himself, looking back at the road. "I was running."

"No I mean like- I thought you were leaving."

"I wouldn't leave without you." Malia mumbled, "I would never leave without you." Lyla smirked, glancing over at Lydia, who was rolling her eyes. Lyla raised an eyebrow at that, making a mental note to nag Lydia about it later.

Malia glanced back at Lyla, Kira and Lydia, "Them I'd leave." Lyla sent the girl a tight lipped smile, "Nice."

"Yeah," Stiles glanced back at the three, "Uh, It's progress."

"That doesn't look so good," Lyla looked over at Lydia, who was staring at Malia's hip. The blonde furrowed her brows, curiously leaning over Kira's legs to look at the bloody gash on her side.

"It's okay." Malia reassured, "You sure? That looks deep." Lyla questioned, Malia glancing down at the blonde girl, "Yeah, I can feel it healing."

Lyla nodded, not believing the girl but leaning back in her seat anyway.

"You didn't see anything?" Lydia questioned, Malia shaking her head, "Barely. It had a strong scent though."

"Like what?" Stiles worried, Malia turning back in her seat, "Like death."

The group soon came up on ruins, Stiles making as many turns as he could until they came to a screeching stop outside of what looked like the old church. A few figures emerged, Scott and Braden, and they all quickly filed out of the Jeep.

The two were carrying someone, and Lyla blew out a breath of relief at what looked like Derek.

Emphasis on looked like. The blonde came to a halt as they got closer. "Is that him? Is that Derek?" Malia mumbled, Stiles shaking his head, "Uh, sort of."

The boy looked up, and Lyla's mouth fell. It was definitely Derek, but a good 8-10 years younger. "What the hell?"