◤ chapter four: ❛ scattered
moonlight ❜ ◢

✧

AFTER EVERYTHING THAT ALREADY HAPPENED AT SCHOOL, COOPER WAS SURE THAT THE REST OF THE DAY WOULD BE A BREEZE. Oh, how wrong he was. Why would he get an easy day at school when the universe could be against him and make it so Stile's old friend who they went to the party for ended up dead?

          Yeah, Heather whatever her last name was, got killed on her birthday. Unfortunate, really, Cooper would hate to die on the day he was born, even though it would be really ironic and at least as a ghost he could crack a joke about himself. But not everyone was like Cooper and could see that irony, especially the police who pulled Stiles out of class to tell him then interrogate him, and Scott who was down in the dumps that a person died.

          It was a natural part of life really, so Cooper didn't understand why Scott and Stiles were trying to figure out what happened to her. It could be anything, some guy thought she was hot and went psycho, hit and run, anything really. But no, because this was Beacon Hills and Scott and Stiles, they went straight to werewolves.

          "So, you think they kidnapped Heather to turn her?" Scott asked, if a bit skeptically.

          "They? What kind of they are you talking about?" Cooper asked, because he was feeling a little left out, especially if what they were talking about concerned him and his safety. He was too young to die – and too pretty. He needed to continue to grace the world with his beautiful face and he couldn't very well do that if he died! How could they not understand the stakes here?

          Scott shuffled uncomfortably, "A pack of alphas is coming here."

          "And none of you though to tell me this?" Cooper blinked at them before scoffing and looking away, "Wow, what friends you are."

          "I kinda had other things on my mind," Scott rolled his shoulder uncomfortably before adding, "Sorry, though..."

          Cooper waved it off, because honestly it wasn't the end of the world, just the end of his life potentially, and Scott did apologize for it, so that was something.

          "But come on, Derek says that it's easier to turn teenagers, so maybe?" Stiles said, and Cooper thought he was grasping at straws now. Not that he would voice that, because then they would get mad, and he didn't need to get them any more sour towards him than they already were.

          Not like it was his fault that Allison got manipulated by her family and tried to kill him, that's her own damn fault, and he could hold a grudge about it as long as he wanted because it was his life she almost ended.

          "But what would a pack of alphas need with a beta?" Scott asked him, poking more holes in his story.

          "If they're this all-powerful alpha army, they might just want some fresh meat to tear into," Cooper shrugged, looking over to see the shocked looks of dumb and dumber, "What? They might be cannibals, we don't know."

          "I don't want to think about that, I just – I don't know, I don't know about anything and I don't care. Alright? This girl...our moms were best friends before mine died, okay? We used to take frickin' bubble baths together when we were three. I gotta find her!" Stiles ranted, and for a moment Cooper could see how much this was tearing him apart.

          Now he felt a little guilty for tossing their feelings aside and taking the piss out of everything. She meant something to him, and he disregarded that. Fuck.

          "Then we need Isaac to remember," Scott said, patting Stiles on the shoulder softly in a sort of move of comfort. Because, oh right, Isaac had his memory swiped or something by this pack of alphas and he was the key to everything!

          Just wonderful.

          "How? Peter and Derek couldn't do it," Stiles said, a bit dejected over everything now, "You know any other werewolves with a better trick?"

          Scott went silent for a moment before saying, "Maybe not a werewolf, but someone who knows a lot about them."

          It seemed to click in Stiles head who Scott was talking about, but Cooper was still completely clueless. "Okay, and who might that be exactly?"

          "Deaton. I work at his vet clinic," Scott answered him.

          "And Deaton the vet knows about werewolves?"

          "Yep," Scott nodded.

          Cooper blinked, looking between them, so many more questions formulating in his head, but none of them seemed appropriate for now. They had bigger things to take care of before Cooper unloaded all his questions on them, and boy did he have a lot, but for now he just nodded his head and let it go.

✧

          WHILE DUMB AND DUMBER HEADED TO THE VET CLINIC, WHICH WAS STILL WEIRD, COOPER WENT TO JULIA'S. She needed to be informed about what was coming, if not just to prepare Cooper accordingly but herself and Penelope as well. She was right before, with the birds, when saying that he needed to be prepared for what happened next, and now with some concrete bad thing coming along, he needed training more than ever.

          Julia was sitting on her front porch when he pulled his car into the driveway, almost as if she knew he was coming around. She always had this way of sensing when he was close, and while it freaked him out at first he was now used to it, looked forward to it. It was something he found comfort in, and something he wanted to learn if he could in case he needed it in the future.

          "Cooper," she greeted him, standing up from her chair when he stepped out of the car, "Wasn't aware we had anything planned for today."

          "We don't," he told her, though it was obvious she knew that already and was waiting for him to tell her the exact reason why he was there. "I know I should've texted and picked Penelope as well, but I'm not really in the right state of mind right now, I don't think."

          Julia nodded. "That's alright," she assured him, taking him inside and to the living room where she already had tea waiting for them. He didn't like tea very much, but he was starting to appreciate more because of her. "What's going on?"

          "You know how I told you about the birds? And you said that something bad was coming?" he asked and she nodded, "Well, I think I know what that big bad thing is now."

          "Oh?" there was a tone of surprise in her voice before she took a sip of her tea, "And what might that be?"

          "A pack of alphas," Cooper told her before taking a sip of his own. Jasmine, he noted. "Apparently they left a mark for Derek and Isaac got taken by them for some weeks or something. But they're here, and we don't know what they want."

          Julia hummed, placing down her tea before her eyes trained to him, and she saw him trace of fear in them. "I need you to listen to me, Cooper, when I say that a pack of alphas is no laughing matter. This is dangerous, more so than hunters. Whatever they want, they will get. Don't stand in their way."

          For a moment, he felt torn. If he knew what they wanted, it might be easier to just nod along and take everything Julia said in and do as told, but he didn't. It was a big old mystery he didn't have the answer to, so he couldn't say one way or the other that he would completely stay out of their way. Before anything, he was a part of Scott's pack, and he wasn't willing to just give up any of them. Lydia, definitely not. Scott, no. Stiles, on some days. And Allison...well, if she died then she died. It was just be payback if you asked him.

          So he didn't know. And he couldn't say for sure that he would stay out of their way, but still he nodded, if only to appease her. "I won't," he told her, and she seemed to ease up after hearing him verbally confirm it.

          He felt guilt pool in his gut for lying, but he couldn't say anything for sure yet. He had to lie and he would decide whether or not he would actually be lying to her or not when he found out what the pack wanted.

          "Good," she nodded, "Now, since you're here, let's continue your training. If they come after you, you're going to need it."

          He wanted to groan, but he didn't because he knew that was necessary as she was saying, so he let himself be lead outside into her background where she had already prepared some bottles to be broken by his voice.

          Right now, he wasn't involved, and he wasn't standing in their way, so it was fine and he wasn't lying.

✧

          EXCEPT, WELL, HE WAS LYING NOW. Technically, probably, because he wasn't directly standing against the alpha pack and getting in their way, but he was sure that knowing a plan to free other captives from the pack and not disagreeing with it was getting in the way and doing exactly what Julia didn't want him to do.

          Probably, anyway.

          It wasn't like they knew he was partially responsible or anything, and it wasn't like Julia knew he was doing this, so did it really matter? In all of their eyes, he was clean. Doing exactly what Julia told him and a nobody high schooler to the alphas. He was definitely doing nothing wrong and not making anyone mad – definitely not.

          And, well, what Julia didn't know didn't hurt her. At least, for now that was. Did he feel slightly guilty for lying to Julia and telling her that he wasn't going to get in their way and then that night get in their way? Yes, absolutely he did, but also it wasn't like they were going to stop if Cooper objected anyway, so there was nothing he could do.

          Which was why he was standing there as Stiles laid out a map of Beacon Hills Bank and began to plan their rescue mission. "This is how they got in – it's a rooftop air conditioning vent, leads down inside into the wall of the vault which is here. Okay? One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, that space is so small, it took him about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then, throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall."

          "Can we fit in there?" Scott asked, looking at how small of a space that would actually be.

          "Yes, we can, but very, very barely. And, they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond-bit..."

          "Look, forget the drill –"

          "Sorry?" Stiles stopped, looking incredulously at Derek who had the audacity to interrupt him. Cooper snorted quietly to himself.

          "If I go in first, how much space do I have?" Derek asked, crossing his arms.

          "What do you – what do you think you're gonna do, Derek? You gonna punch through the wall?" Stiles asked him. Cooper thought it was a fair thing to do, seeing as he had super strength and super healing, so it wouldn't be that bad.

          In a patronizing voice, Derek agreed, "Yes, Stiles. I'm gonna punch through the wall."

          Stiles scoffed at him, and Cooper groaned knowing exactly what Stiles was going to do next, "Okay. Okay, bug guy, let's see it. Let's see that fist. Big old fist. Make it, come on! Get it out there! Don't be scared, big bad wolf. Yeah, look at that."

          Intervening, Cooper placed himself between the instigating Stiles and the impatient Derek. "Maybe let's not egg him on. If he says he can punch through the wall, let him," he smiled sweetly at Stiles, pushing him away from Derek slightly because he was sure that if he didn't Stiles was going to be knocked out.

          "I'll get through the wall," Derek agreed, "Who's following me?"

          All of their gazes collectively turned toward Peter. Cooper didn't know much about Peter other than that he turned Scott, kill Allison's aunt, got killed by Derek only to be brought back to life by Lydia and now was the resident pain in the ass for everyone. "Don't look at me!" Peter held his hands up, "I'm not up to fighting speed yet. And honestly, with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds yourself."

          "So, I'm supposed to just let them die?" Derek incredulously asked his uncle, and Cooper could see his nostrils beginning to flare.

          Peter shrugged. "One of them is already dead."

          "We don't know that!"

          Peter rolled his eyes at Derek's denial, "Do I have to remind you what we're up against here? A pack of alphas, all of them killers. And, if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant alpha."

          "They do what now?" Cooper interrupted, "Oh, fuck that. I agree with the psycho guy – there's no way in hell this is gonna work."

          Peter leaned back. "I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're gonna be missed," he finished. Cooper didn't quite agree with that assessment. Boyd was fine, but Erica was a fucking bitch. Oh, well, not like it mattered now anyway.

          "Could someone kill him again, please?" Stiles looked around at them and Cooper's lips twitched upward a little.

          "Derek, seriously? Not worth the risk," Peter said and Cooper was really beginning to agree with them. It was one thing to be an alpha pack, it was another to have two who could become a super alpha beast. Cooper did not want to fuck with that. At all.

          "What about you?" Derek turned to Scott before his eyes flickered to Cooper, "And you?"

          "I may be a siren, but I'm kinda new to everything. Besides, I already told Julia that I wasn't going to get involved...at least right now, anyway. You're on your own," Cooper shook his head.

          Scott bit his lip. "I don't know about Erica...but, if Boyd's alive, we have to do something. We have to try."

          "But...?" Derek hesitantly asked.

          "Who's the other girl?" Scott looked to the older alpha, "The one locked in there with Boyd?"

          Derek didn't answer, didn't want to answer, and no one else could answer it either. The question remained open even after they left to go find Boyd and, potentially, Erica at the bank.

          He thought about going home after, but now that he was involved, at least in this, he thought it was only right to see it through to the end, so he stayed even though there was absolutely nothing to do in Derek's loft. Like, nothing. At all. Jesus, what did he do for fun? Brood?

          With only his phone to entertain him, he scrolled through Instagram and Twitter, anything really, while Peter did whatever he wanted and Stiles paced. And paced, and paced. It was getting a little annoying actually.

          "I can't take waiting around like this, you know? It's nerve-wracking. My nerves are wracked. They're severely wracked. Wracked!" Stiles rambled.

          "We get it; your nerves are wrecked, now shut up about it," Cooper complained.

          "I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over..." Peter offered, and Cooper pointed at him. That could be a good idea, actually, and he might ask him to do it if Stiles kept pacing and rambling.

          Though, he did stop, looking at the two of them and sighing. "You think Erica's really dead?" he looked almost scared, fearful because he didn't want her to be maybe.

          "You think I really care?" Peter scoffed.

          Cooper shrugged, though, "I don't know. You guys said that Isaac remembered seeing her dead body, and while I don't exactly trust Isaac, he was the one who saw her dead body, so yeah. I think she's dead. Boyd probably is too."

          Stiles shook his head, turning away from them. "I just – I don't understand the bank, though, okay? What...like, why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an alpha back, right? So, shouldn't they have a lair?"

          Peter blinked, looking at Stiles as if he was the dumbest person ever. "They're werewolves, not Bond villains."

          "Wait a sec, wait a sec – maybe they're living there, you know? Like, maybe the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens!" Stiles guessed.

          "Um, I don't think werewolves live in wolf dens. I mean, Scott doesn't, neither does Derek," Cooper disagreed.

          Stiles turned to Peter. "Where do you live?"

          Incredibly sarcastic, Peter answered him with, "In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods..."

          "Really?" Stiles asked excitedly.

          "No, you idiot," Peter scoffed, "I have an apartment downtown."

          Stiles slumped, upset that Peter was just joking with him. Cooper thought it was actually pretty funny, so he snorted, though he did feel a little bad that Stiles got his hopes up for nothing more than a little prank. "Okay, fine, but still, that just proves that there's something up with the bank," Stiles insisted, "And why wait around for the full moon, huh? Why not just kill them whenever they want to?"

          "Maybe they think it's poetic," Peter suggested, feeling a little annoyed now.

          "I don't know, because they're more feral on a full moon?" Cooper shrugged.

          Stiles shook his head, dismissing them. "They've already had three full moons to be poetic...or feral, I guess."

          "And here, you've only had one full hour to be so annoying –" Peter stopped himself, as if something dawned on him.

          "No, go ahead. Finish what you were saying. I'm an-I'm annoying? What were you gonna say there?" Stiles egged him on.

          "What are the walls made of?" Peter asked instead of falling into Stiles' trap.

          "What?" Stiles asked, confused by the question, and Cooper had to admit that he was confused as well. What did it matter? They were walls. "Uh...I don't know...like, wood and brick, or..."

          "No, the vault!" Peter shook his head, "The vault. The walls, what are they made out of? Where would it say that?" He stood up, going back to the map Stiles had of the bank, and looking through all the pages, "Where would it say the materials? The type of stone?"

          "Oh! Hang on. It's gotta be in there," Stiles took more pages out of his bag and all of them started to look through the papers to see what type of stone would be used.

          "There! That's it!" Stiles pointed when he found it. The three of them crowded around the paper to read it.

          "Hecatolite..." Peter muttered, but the way he said it made it seem like the worst thing in the world.

          "Is that awful? That sounds awful," Stile said.

          "Get them on the phone!" Peter exclaimed, "Call them, now!"

          Stiles scrambled to get his phone out. "Okay, why?"

          Cooper looked back at the material, still confused though he felt his heart beating quickly at the insinuation that something was going to go wrong.

          "Cause Boyd and that girl aren't gonna kill each other...they're gonna kill Derek and Scott," Peter told them.

          "Fuck," Cooper cursed and Stiles scrambled even faster to call Scott.

          It took a moment, an agonizingly long moment for Scott to pick up, and Cooper could feel his nerves beginning to jumble together.

          "Scott! Scott! No, listen to me, okay? Look, you gotta get outta there. Look, the walls of the vault are made from a mineral called hecatolite – it scatters the moonlight," Stiles rambled an explanation out to him, "Look, it keeps the moonlight out, okay? They haven't felt the full moon in months –"

          Peter wrestled the phone out of Stiles' hand and said, "Okay, think of it like the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. They used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three months, diminishing their tolerance to it."

          "Scott, they're gonna be stronger –"

          "They're going to try and fucking kill you," Cooper broke in, because honestly these people had a hard time just getting to the point, "They're starved lions and they're going to try and kill you."

          Cooper watched as Scott ended the call, and all of them looked at each other. "They're in deep shit there," he commented, feeling himself become worried for the first time. Before, it was bad. Now, it was life-threatening.