𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍
𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄
☽𓋼𓍊𓋼☾

"Lyla, you're up?"

The blonde's head snapped towards her sister, who stood in the dining room, adorning her coffee shop apron and uniform. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm going to Allisons. She's staying home, and I wanted to go be with her." Lyla trailed off, watching as her sister smiled, eyes looking over Lyla's outfit; another black skirt with sheer tights, and the navy blue sweater Jo had gotten her for her birthday last year. She loved that sweater, and she was happy to see Lyla finally wearing it, and with a skirt, nonetheless! She was also happy to see that Lyla had actually gotten out of bed. She had told her the night before she wasn't feeling up to going to school today, or even leaving her room, but here she was. "I'd like to meet this Allison, someday, if that's alright. She seems, nice."

Lyla nodded with faux happiness, "Yeah, yeah she's great. I'm gonna go. Have a good shift, I'll see you tomorrow, please be safe." The girl reached for the door, stepping out just as her sister said goodbye.

She could feel the war brewing in the air, the feeling of doom creeping up her neck. As if Deucalion was literally watching her every move, her every thought.

So, standing in front of the Argents apartment, in the same building the Alpha pack lived in may not have been the best idea. But she needed to tell Allison about her mom, about Peter knowing everything.

The cracking of her knuckles against the wood echoed in the empty hallway, her heart beating loudly in her ears as steps approached the door.

Her greeting smile dropped when Isaac swung the door open, a shocked look on his face at the sight of his friend. Her stomach was in shambles, anxiety seeping off her in waterfalls. Why was he here, at Allisons? She didn't see Argent's car in the parking lot, but she did see Allisons. Meaning it was just Allison and Isaac, alone in the apartment. Her mind went to the worst possible scenario; they were secretly together, keeping it on the low for Scott's sake. It was distracting, seeing Isaac standing in the Argent doorway. But not enough to not still want to tell Allison about her mom.

"Oh good, you're here. I have to show you this." Allison appeared behind Isaac, reaching out to grab her hand and pulling Lyla past Isaac into her father's study.

"Look at this. You see that?" Lyla furrowed her brows as Allison pointed her finger at her father's desk, an intricate design with five circles imbedded in the dark desk with lighter wood.

"Yeah, what is that?" Lyla mumbled, tracing her finger over the design. "It's a fivefold knot, a Celtic symbol. And check this out-" Allison grabbed the blacklight from the desk, leaning in closer to Lyla to showcase what she discovered. As the light shined over the design, Lyla's face softened at the words written inside the circles.

"Virgins, Warriors, Healers, Philosophers, Guardians." Lyla repeated the words written inside each circle, face falling at the final one. "Guardians. Is that the next sacrifice? The first three were virgins, then the warriors, then healers. That cop is missing, she's a guardian. Who would be n-" Lyla paused, looking up at Allison.

"Allison, why does your dad have this written on his desk? " Allison frowned at her friend, Isaac stepping further into the room and crossing his arms, eyes not leaving Lyla, "We think he's the Darach."

Lyla's eyebrows furrowed, "Sorry...Argent, your dad? You think he's the Darach?" Allison nodded, sitting down in the desk chair, "But I thought you guys gave up hunting? Your dad said so himself. He did it for you, why would he turn around and start sacrificing innocent people?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Isaac mumbled, stepping behind Lyla and reaching across the desk to grab the map, "He has spots circled on here, some of them are the previous sacrifices, and the others we believe are the future ones." Her breath hitched in her throat at the feeling of his chest pressed against her back. She knew it wasn't on purpose, she was just in the way.

Lyla breathed out heavily, nodding her head as Allison folded up the map and put it in her pocket, "Okay. So now what? Your dad is the Darach, he has a map of where people will die. Do we go to one of these locations? How would we even know which one was the correct one?"

Allison's phone dinged in her pocket, and she was quick to yank it out. "Mr. Westover is missing." She tossed her phone down on the desk, "I have to stop him."

"Is that really a good idea?" Isaa muttered, Lyla glancing down from Allison to the fivefold knot design. "I mean, if your dad is actually doing all this stuff-"

"If? Look at this. He knows everything. He's-" She gestured down to the desk, "He's planned everything." Allison paused, before yanking the map back out of her pocket. "What?" Lyla furrowed her brows, "What are you doing?"

"If Mr. Westover was taken from the school, there's gotta be another point in the telluric current." She spread the map out on the desk, Lyla quickly moving from Isaacs side to where Allison stood, "You mean where he'll be sacrificed?"

Isaac moved to stand next to Lyla as well, the blonde now sandwiched between the two as Isaac grabbed the blacklight and began hovering over the map. Lyla's eyebrows furrowed as she watched Isaac's finger follow the small circle from the school to an X on the map "There, that marks new."

Allison nodded, pulling her phone from her pocket and taking a picture, "Then that's where he is."

𓋼

Lyla frowned in distaste as they pulled up to the old building in downtown Beacon Hills. She leaned forward, sticking her head between the two front seats, looking to her left at Allison, "Are sure we shouldn't call Scott? This seems like a Scott problem."

Allison held up her dagger, looking over at Lyla, their faces mere inches apart, "Stay behind me, both of you, and stay quiet." She exited the vehicle, leaving Isaac and Lyla alone.

"Oh, this is so not gonna end well." He mumbled, turning his neck to look at Lyla, the blonde turning to look at him at the same time. Her breathing stopped at the distance between their faces, eyes flicking between his bright blue eyes and his flushed pink lips.

With a nervous clearing of her throat, she nodded, yanking her head back and stepping out of the backseat.

The night air was slightly cold, nipping at her legs through the sheer tights, but the chilliness quickly disappeared as her internal heater kicked in. She quickly caught up to Allison, Isaac hot on her tail as they peered around the entrance.

It was eerily quiet in the building, which was unusual as Lyla could hear almost everything around her for a mile. "FYI, if your dad tries to kill me, I'm gonna defend myself."

"Well, are you a guardian?" Lyla mumbled, looking up at Isaac with a smirk, but the boy just sent her an annoyed eye roll. "If my dad tries to kill you, you'll be dead." Isaac released a breathy laugh, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Lyla felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as they slowly made their way through the building, "Is it too late to go back to the car-" Lyla attempted to joke, feet stopping in place when the smell of blood passed through her senses. She put a protective arm out in front of Allison, "What? What's wrong?" Allison whispered, Isaac stopping next to Lyla, obviously smelling the same thing.

"I smell blood." Lyla mumbled, looking up at Isaac. "Yeah, I smell it too." Allison's heartbeat picked up, "Where? What direction?" Lyla shook her head, attempting to pinpoint its location with a deep inhale.

"Can you tell?" Lyla asked Isaac, who shook his head, "I don't know, I'm not very good at this yet." Lyla looked around the dark hallway, turning her nose up to the air before stopping in the direction of the door at the end of the hallway, "It smells like it's coming from there."

Allison moved past the two, flicking her knife out and slowly but swiftly moving towards the room. "Allison." Isaac muttered, the two werewolves trailing after the girl, "Allison, wait."

Lyla looked between the room and Allison, before her eyes flicked back to the room when she saw movement. There was a man, tied up to a fence with a cover over his mouth. The blonde took a step back when a figure appeared behind the teacher, face mangled and white glowing eyes. Before she could say anything, Allison was taking off in the direction of the room, "Allison, no!" Lyla took off after Allison, Isaac's eyes widening as he ran towards the two girls.

"Get down!" Argents voice came from behind them followed by gunshots, and Lyla grabbed Allisons arm, pulling her down to the ground with her as Isaac dropped to the floor next to them, covering the two girls' bodies with his own.

Lyla flinched as gunshots echoed through the empty hallway, hand gripping Allisons tightly as she looked up, watching as sparks flew from the gate, the Darach hissing before attempting to escape. Argent continued to shoot as he moved past the three teens, ceasing fire when he entered the room to reload his guns.

"Help him!" Argent shouted, continuing his shooting at the Darach as he disappeared.

Lyla was quick to her feet, Isaac and Allison hot on her tail. Her heart racing as she approached the teacher, mouth falling open at the now dead man. "It's Mr. Westover." Allison muttered, Lyla squinting as she looked at the wire around the man's neck, "Our history teacher."

"We were wrong. It's not guardians as in law enforcement. It's philosophers. They're the next sacrifice." Allison mumbled, yanking her phone from her pocket, presumably to call Scott.

"Isaac, help me." Lyla patted the boy's arm, the two teens slowly releasing the teacher from the bindings and gently laying him on the floor.

𓋼

"You've been tracking the killer on your own this whole time?" Allison asked her father, who was on the floor collecting the empty bullet shells. "Yeah, and I was this close." Argent spoke with frustration, Lyla running a hand over her face as she leaned against the wall. "Could've caught him if the three of you-"

"So, it's my fault?" Allison cut her father off, stepping closer to him, "That you've been lying to me for the past two months?"

Argent stood with a frustrated sigh, Isaac stepping over to Lyla awkwardly as the father-daughter quarrel intensified. "You wanna tally up the lies, Allison? I don't think you're gonna come out ahead on that one."

"Hey, just a thought." Isaac spoke up, "Maybe right now isn't the best time for a little family meeting? There's still one more teacher."

"The recital." Argent frowned, causing Allison to inhale shakily, "Guess we're going after all."

The drive to the school was nerve racking. Lyla sat in the backseat, hands in her lap and knee bouncing, her head shooting up with every turn or stop. When they finally pulled into the parking lot of the school, Argents car pulled in quickly next to them.

Lyla was out of the car before Allison had even turned off the engine, the three teens bolting into the auditorium as the sky began preparing for a storm. Lyla breathed heavily as they got to the auditorium door, Argent opening the door first, followed by Allison. Lyla looked up at Isaac nervously, the boy gently nodding in reassurance and holding the door open for her as he placed a hand on her back to guide her in.

She slowed her steps when her eyes landed on Scott, the boy looking back at the group. She sent him a silent nod, following after Allison and Argent.

The orchestra was playing an interesting song, it was intense, and slightly eerie. It set Lyla even more on edge that she already was. It made her nervous, her heartbeat speeding up as anticipation of the next sacrifice set in.

She looked back at Isaac, who was standing directly behind her and staring out at the orchestra. Her head whipped back curiously when the orchestra began chanting, face falling as the hairs on the back of her neck stood tall. The crowd began shuffling uncomfortably in their seat, whispering to each other as the orchestra continued the chants. It was almost like they were possessed. Lyla's eyes went wide as an excruciating scream pierced the air, bit her and Isaac almost doubling over with hands clutched over their ears from their enhanced hearing. Lyla knew it was Lydia; but she had no time to ask any questions,

The pianist missed a tune, before the music ceased all together and the woman fell to the floor, grasping her neck as blood poured from her. Lyla gasped, grabbing Isaac's wrist as people quickly stood up. The room fell silent for a moment, before the crowd erupted in screams and sobs and everyone began filing out of the auditorium erratically.

Allison took off towards the pianist, Argent shouting her name and chasing after her. Lyla couldn't move. It happened so fast, there was no saving her. She wondered if that was an accident, another sacrifice, or a distraction.

Isaac blinked in shock, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her in the direction of the stage, where Argent and Allison were.

Lyla almost gagged at the sight of the pianist on the floor of the stage, lying dead in a pool of blood and her own vomit. "Mistletoe." Allison muttered, Lyla's eyes catching the sight of the deadly plant among the woman's vomit.

"That-" Lyla muttered, holding back her own vomit, "Was that a sacrifice?" Argent stepped back, placing a hand on both Lyla and Allisons upper backs as he guided them away from the body, "God, I hope not."

Pushing through the students and teachers, they made their way to the exit. The four paused in the hallway outside the auditorium, watching as the crowd dispersed in different directions towards forms of cover from the storm.

"Lydia texted me earlier saying she didn't go home, which means she's here somewhere. Find her." Allison muttered to Isaac, staring up at him softly before turning to Lyla, "And don't die." She smiled at her blonde friend, before turning around and following after her father down the hallway.

Lyla inhaled deeply, sorrow filling her as she realized what was happening between Isaac and Allison. Friends don't look at each other the way Allison looked at Isaac.

Lyla knew that, because recently, she found herself looking at Isaac the same way.

Allisons emotions towards Isaac practically dripped off the brunette, and Lyla couldn't even blame Isaac for possibly taking action with her. Allison was beautiful; literally gorgeous. A badass, independent hunter who had such a warm heart. And Lyla was cold; a dark cloud looming over her as she entered their world without so much as a hello.

Allison was her friend, and Lyla didn't even realize she liked Isaac until a couple days ago. She didn't have a claim on him. And if Isaac liked Allison, she literally couldn't be upset that the two were together. She could, however, be upset that they didn't even tell her. They were both her friend, and they didn't say a word about it to her. Hell, Isaac was her best friend, she'd expect him to let her know if he was secretly seeing their other friend's ex-girlfriend behind his back.

The blonde boy sighed, looking around at the almost empty hallways. "Where do we start?"

"Well, probably in the direction the Argents didn't go." Lyla muttered, walking away from Isaac quickly, stepping outside of the auditorium. She gasped, the wind from the storm blowing intensely with a purpose in all different directions. "Do you think this is connected to the Darach?" Isaac asked, now standing next to Lyla as the two looked up at the looming storm in the distance.

"Yup." Lyla mumbled, walking away from him and in the direction of the main building. Isaac frowned, following after her, "Are you okay?" Worry laced his voice, which made the girl roll her eyes. "I can look for Lydia on my own. You can go help Allison if you'd like."

Isaac furrowed his brows, not even concerned with finding Lydia anymore. Lyla's tone was cold, she barely even looked at him. "Why would I go help Allison? I'm not gonna let you walk around alone with a rogue Alpha pack and a psychotic Darach on the loose, both intent on killing, by the way."

"I can take care of myself." Lyla spoke, glancing into different classrooms, hoping to find that beautifully styled head of strawberry blonde hair lurking inside one. "I'm well aware you can take care of yourself; doesn't mean you have to." Isaac spoke with frustration, rolling his eyes as she continued to ignore him as best as she could.

"You know," Lyla sighed, turning her head to look at him before looking into another math classroom, "You could've told me about you and Allison. It's not like I'd turn around and tell Scott."

Isaac stopped, eyebrows furrowing, "What?"

Lyla laughed, turning to look at him, "Isaac, I'm not dumb. I'm your best friend. I see the way you and Allison act. Also, you were in her apartment this morning. And trust me, if I can figure it out, Scott will too."

She spun back around, turning the corner and stomping up the steps to the second floor. "Woah! Woah, woah. Allison and I are not-" Isaac scoffed, following behind her, not even bothering to look in rooms anymore, leaving Lyla to check each one on her own, "There is nothing going on between Allison and I. And I was at her apartment because she didn't show up to school and Scott asked me to check in on her. I was getting ready to leave to come check up on you when she showed me Argents desk."

Lyla inhaled in frustration, realizing Lydia wasn't on this floor. "Fine, if you don't want to tell me, that's okay. I guess I had a twisted view of what friends told each other."

"Lyla!" Isaac shouted, grabbing the blonde by the elbow and pulling her back towards him. Her breath caught in her throat when her chest slammed against his, the girl taking a quick nervous step away from him. "You're my best friend, I would tell you if I was secretly dating someone behind everyone's back." Lyla nodded, "Isaac, we have to find Lydia. We don't have time to talk about your relationships."

"No offense, but I'm a little focused on the fact that you're so angry about this."

"I'm not angry! I'm-" Lyla paused, staring up a the boy who still had a hold on her arm. She debated telling him. But outright saying, 'Hey, you're my best friend but I'm falling in love with you, and it breaks my heart because I know you don't feel the same way, but don't worry I'll get over it!' didn't seem like the best way to ruin their friendship. So, she opted for something else.

She'd just say she was PMSing. That worked with her sister, why wouldn't it work on an awkward teenage boy.

Before she could voice her excuses, her phone dinged. Curiously, she pulled it from her pocket, eyes widening at the text from Allison.

Allison
found Lydia. It's Miss Blake. she's the Darach.

"Great. Derek's been banging the psychotic mass murderer."