𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"I cannot believe I'm letting you idiots drag me to Mexico" I complain, crossing my leather clad arms over my chest as I sit in the back seat of the Jeep next to Lydia and Kira with Malia happily sat on my lap.

"You literally begged to come with us" Stiles states, glancing back at me in disbelief.

"Yeah, but I didn't know we were taking this scrap metal. We're gonna end up breaking down in the middle of the desert" I retort and he gasps, looking at me in utter shock.

"He can hear you!" The Stilinksi boy shouts at me.

"He can? Great. Roscoe, buddy, you're a heap of junk wrapped up in duct tape" I pretend to speak to the car and Lydia slaps my jean clad leg "Ow!"

"Thank you, Lydia" Stiles says to the strawberry blonde and I stick my tongue out at him.

"Don't disrespect the jeep in front of Stiles, witchie. Have I taught you nothing?" Scott tuts, shaking his head and I roll my eyes.

"In front of Stiles? You talk shit about the jeep when Stiles isn't around?" Stiles talks in third person and Scott shares a worried look with Lydia who avoids the Stilinski boy's gaze "Natalia Mae McCall! Do you talk shit about my jeep when I'm not around?"

My eyes widen and Malia squeezes me tightly as Lydia and Kira slyly shake their heads at me as I fumble for an answer.

"I-I, uh, no! No, of course we don't" I awkwardly laugh and Scott face palms himself.

"Nice one, Nat" Lydia scoffs and I shoot her a glare.

"You guys know that I can't lie to Stiles! He's like a puppy" I groan out in protest "A spastic puppy with ADHD, but a puppy none the less"

"I kinda see it" Malia agrees with me, tilting her head a little like a puppy herself and I smile up at her in appreciation.

"This is why you're my favourite" I grin and she wraps her arm around my neck.

Malia smiles happily at my praise and I lays her head on top of mine with a tired sigh.

"I can't believe you guys" Stiles mutters, shaking his head as he keeps his eyes on the road.

"Yeah, guys" I add sarcastically.

"Shut up, Nat!" Everyone but Malia yells at me and I pout like a child.

The rest of the journey is complete silence, other than the odd comment from Stiles or glares from the others.

❦     ❦     ❦

We arrive at our destination and hop out the jeep, hot air hitting me like a suffocating hug. I follow Stiles and Lydia while the others with claws and katanas go their own way. I opted to go with the others but Lydia protested, keeping me at arms length like she does very often now.

I think since losing Allison she's afraid I'll do something stupid and she'll lose me too.

"This doesn't seem so bad" Stiles states as I take in the surroundings of the Mexican town we're currently in.

"It's not the town, it's the plan" Lydia replies.

"What's wrong with the plan?" Stiles asks.

"Stiles" She huffs.

"What Lyds means is 'This could be the stupidest plan we've ever come up with'. You are aware of that, right?" I tell the boy.

"I'm aware it's not our best" Stiles shrugs.

"We are going to die" Lydia groans.

"I second that" I nod in agreement.

"Are you saying that as a Banshee, or are you just being pessimistic?" Stiles asks as we start walking towards the club.

"I'm saying is as a person who doesn't wanna die" Lydia answers.

"Okay. Would you just mind restricting any talk of death to actual Banshee prediction" Stiles huffs.

"This plan is stupid and we're going to die" Lydia chirps cheerily in his face.

"Oh, thank you!" He retorts sarcastically.

"Mmm" She hums in response.

I roll my eyes at the bickering duo and shove my hands into my leather jacket's pockets, strolling along behind them.

After a bit of walking, we reach the entrance of the club and we're greeted by two men. Lydia rambles something I don't understand in Spanish and one of the men shake their head. Stiles then pulls out a card and the same man looks up to a security camera in the corner of the doorway. Lydia and Stiles share a look before the boy holds up the card to the camera.

The door abruptly clicks open and the two men step out the way for us to enter. The duo in front of me hesitate, so I huff and push in front of them, strutting into the club. I enter a dark hallway and pause, Stiles and Lydia catching up to me.

The door closes behind us and the walls shake slightly as we slowly make our way to the next door. As we reach the door, Stiles looks back at us for confirmation and we both nod. He then pushes open the door and my ears are filled with loud music.

"Hell, yeah" I smirk, watching as people bounce up and down to the loud music with drinks in hand.

I take a step too close to the crowd and my arms are grabbed, both Stiles and Lydia yanking me back to stand in between them.

They both usher me to the bar and as we're standing around, a guy slams three shots down in front of us. I grin widely and Stiles puts his hand in his back pocket, searching for cash. A hand suddenly lands on my shoulder and I freeze up.

"No. On the house" A Mexican sounding man explains "Most American teenagers don't cross the border to refuse a drink"

"We didn't come here to drink" Lydia replies.

"Speak for yourself, Lyds" I scoff, grabbing one of the shot glasses.

"Ah, ah, ah" Stiles tuts, taking the small glass from my grasp "I refuse to deal with drunk Natalia right now"

I pout like a scolded child and watch as Lydia drops a bullet into one of the shot glasses.

The man escorts us away from the clubbing crowd and takes us through the back, where we are sat down in front of a woman who I assume is their leader, Araya Calavera. We sit in silence until she finally speaks.

"Severo hates this music. Me? I've always loved the music of youth. This kind, especially. It has a savage energy" She explains.

"So you're a cool grandma?" I question, but I get no reply because Lydia buts in.

"We're here for Derek Hale" Lydia replies bluntly.

"Is that so?" The woman replies.

"We know you have him" I retort and the woman just smiles at me in a way that does not scream kindness, in fact, it screams the opposite.

"We've heard you can be bought" Lydia explains and Stiles places money down onto the table.

"It's 50,000 for Derek" The Stilinksi boy tells her.

"Now, where does a teenage boy get money like this? Japanese mafia?" Araya smirks and a girl next to me cocks her gun, making Lydia jump so I glare at her "Not smart to come alone"

"What makes you think we came alone?" Stiles asks smugly and the woman's face morphs into an angry expression.

"You brought a wolf into my home?" She spits.

"We brought an Alpha" Stiles counters.

"A true Alpha" I smirk widely.

Araya Calavera gets out her chair and paces a little before chuckling, shaking her head.

"My friends...I don't think you're aware of your poor timing" She sighs, looking out of the window "Do you know what the dark moon is?"

"The part of the lunar phase when the moon is least visible in the sky" Lydia answers smartly.

"But do you know it's meaning?" Araya asks and I look to Lydia.

"Some people say it's a time of reflection" The strawberry blonde haired girl replies before adding "Or grief"

"Grief and loss, mija" Araya corrects "I wonder why, when you and your friends have suffered so much loss, you would risk it again for someone like Derek Hale"

"Have you seen Derek? Like, actually taken a look at those abs?" I ask in disbelief and Stiles elbows me.

"Cause we don't like to lose" Stiles retorts.

"Front door clear" A voice says over the radio and I rub my sore side with a frown.

"North?" Severo asks but gets no reply.

"Stiles" Scott's voice suddenly comes through the radio "Take ten off the table"

Stiles does just that and Lydia smirks as Severo rushes out the room with a couple other men.

"Maybe you should just take the deal" She advises the hunter.

"While I am keen to follow the warning of a Banshee, I'm going to have to decline" Araya declares.

"All right. Come on. Just give us Derek" Stiles huffs "You don't want him anyway. Haven't you noticed what a downer he is? No sense of humour, poor conversationalist. Just come on, take the money"

Araya shakes her head and grabs the radio with a sinister look that has my stomach twisting in worry.

"Severo? Show them how the Calaveras negotiate" She orders.

Stiles and I are abruptly grabbed and yanked out our chairs. The man holding me starts to drag me away from our friend and her eyes widen as my heart thumps widely against my chest.

"No! Lydia!" I scream, struggling as I wildly thrash around "Let me go!"