'Why did you let Kali kill the beta?'

Deucalion's grip on Maia's forearm didn't falter as they left the Veterinary, his emissary, Mallory, had been briefed on their next steps. Deliberately, of course, he knew she'd tell Scott his plans.

'She needed to blow off a little steam, you know better than anyone she can be a loose canon when her temper isn't at least minorly sated.'

His cane softly tapped against the concrete, and with his casual tone he inched his head slightly towards Maia. 'You should know, better than anyone, what it's like to want everyone who is responsible dead for killing your lover.'

Maia's body stiffened at his words, she knew exactly what he was doing. She knew why he had asked her to join him on his visit to the emissary today. Why'd made her miss school. He knew exactly why she'd been so MIA the last few months, and he knew with. He wanted to corner her, in a way that only Deucalion could make you feel cornered. Remind her exactly what she owed him.

'You should be more mindful of not making the same mistakes again, little one.'

'What's that supposed to mean, exactly?'

He stopped, releasing his grip on Maia and turning to face her. He took of the sunglasses, and despite his eyes being unfocused, and the fact he couldn't actually see her, he still had the same effect of looking directly into her eyes. He'd done this move hundreds of times, like a father attempting to show that he was being firm and that it came from a place of care.

'You waste your energy on humans that are merely temporary, the feelings that they evoke are a fleeting moment in what will be decades of time for you.' He pursed his lips. 'I pulled you out of that hell hole a broken, and feral cub. The training you underwent was in order to ensure your survival. So that you could never be in a position of vulnerability ever again.'

'I know, Deucalion, you tell me this-'

'Kali will die because of the attachments she made, that is inevitable. You had a lucky escape once before, but I will not aid you in repairing or saving yourself should you stupidly make that same mistake again.'

Maia was silent, there was no point arguing or nodding in agreement. Deucalion's stance on attachments had always been the same, it created messes. He liked perfection. Strived for it. Regardless of how many years he spent caring for Maia, he would not allow her to make a mess.

'You cut your attachment to the human now, Maia.' He repositioned his sunglasses, taking her arm once again to continue walking. 'Or I'll kill him myself.'

She didn't think she needed to tell him that she'd essentially already done so. Well, that she'd been dumped. God, just thinking about it still stung. Deucalion never particularly cared for the details, just that it was done quietly. So, technically, she'd already done as he'd asked.

'I always love our bonding sessions.'

A corner of his lips twitched upwards. 'Yes, they do prove to be joyful and moving.'

'Just say it once, please.' A laugh broke out at the end of Maia's statement, and she manueved her arms so that it linked with Deucalion's. 'Go on, we both know it's what you're thinking.'

'I don't have favourites, little one, you know that.' Deucalion sounded only slightly bored. 'It contradicts my statement of attachments.'

'But, butttttt, if you had a favourite it would be me, wouldn't it?'

'Why don't you focus less about who is in my good books, and more on doing your job above the scope of average? I need you to attend the god awful school recital this evening with Aiden and Ethan. My suspicions about this . . . creature may be correct.'

'And if they are, what would you prefer I do?'

'Kill it.'

Beacon Hills always seemed like a made up town from a cliched horror movie to Maia. At least, with the weird creepy winds outside the school, and the darkening sky just that little bit grey, it felt like it. The weather always seemed to be bad when bad things happened here. Despite that cold air, she still turned up in shorts and vans. It was easier to fight it, and at least she didn't run around barefoot like Kali did. Her toenails gave her the creeps.

She spotted Ethan and Aiden in the seats down below, giving them a brief nod while she watched people be ushered in. Lydia stood at the back, not far from her. The girl gave her an uneasy feeling, her ability to always find the dead without trying to was something that always sent a chill down her spine.

Maia had a feeling that Deucalion was right, though. Something wasn't right about this evening. Everything felt off to her, like the space she occupied was out of balance, and waiting for a pin to drop.

She blended into the standing crowd at the back easily, and as the recital began to start that unsettling nausea in her stomach had started to crawl up into her chest. It set her instincts of fight or flight into overdrive, she felt the Alpha inside her growl at the overbearing feeling of a threat not to far. Her claws pleading with her to come out, eyes on the brink of turning red. She bit down on her lip, refocusing her attention on the room.

She caught onto the long locks of red hair, moving quickly away from the recital and towards one of the exits. Instinctively, Maia followed Lydia, knowing she was going to find something.

She lost her in the halls of the school, unsure of where she went, but attempting to track her off of a lose scent she had gained. It was like catching a ghost, and it pissed her off. If anything happened to Lydia, she'd bet that both Aiden and Stiles would have her ass for not doing anything faster.

She released her claws, her back tensing as she moved on her feet lighter. Refusing to let her steps make a sound, shifting into the predator that Deucalion had taught her to become. She drowned out the distant sound of the orchestra from the hall not too far off, trying to focus on heartbeats close by, or any laboured breath. The shadows in the darkened halls almost grasping at her as she began climbing up the stairs to the second floor.

A shriek pierced her ears, feeling as if it were penetrating her skull and bursting everything inside of her. Maia covered her ears, gritting her teeth at the sound. It was unbearable, unlike any other scream she'd heard before. Almost as if she could feel every single piece of terror that was going through the person who had emitted it.

She guessed she found Lydia, and she wasn't that far off from her either. She broke into a run.

'You have no idea what you are, do you? The wailing woman. A banshee, right before my eyes.'

Jennifer's tone was disbelieving, and as Maia stood just outside the classroom she made sure to lock onto to her scent. In case she managed to escape. She didn't expect this type of plot twist, though she appreciated Jennifer's need to talk, it had stalled her time to get to Lydia.

'You're just like me, Lydia. Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it. It's too bad though, and too late.'

'You know, I really appreciate your dedication to English Literature, despite doing your big reveal as the villain.' Maia leaned on the doorframe with her arms crossed, her fangs and claws expanding as her red eyes stared at Jennifer. 'Lady Macbeth is a personal favourite for me, too.'

Jennifer only looked momentarily surprised. She took in a deep breath, standing tall again and smirking. Maia returned it.

'Maia, isn't it? I was hoping it would be a little while before we met like this.'

'I'm surprised you like to monologue so much before you make a kill, haven't you seen literally every movie ever? That's a dumbass move.'

Maia stepped into the class, growling as she went in for the first move. Jennifer dodged easily, though Maia expected her to, she hadn't gone undetected this long for no reason. Swerving out of the way from a punch from Jennifer as spun on her foot before extending a leg to kick out at her.

She didn't let Jennifer recover from the blow as she moved forward once again, both of their moves mirroring each other. It intrigued Jennifer. Maia grab hold of her neck with both hands, claws digging into her skin as smashed her into the board behind, lifting her up off her feet.

Jennifer yelled out at the pain, and pushed her palm into Maia's chest. The powerful wave knocked the wind of Maia, but her iron grip sent them both propelling backwards into the desks and chairs behind. It took Maia a moment too long to recover, the magic in Jennifer's move had disorientated her slightly. It was old, ancient magic.

'You know,' Jennifer said breathlessly, attempting to recover before Maia came for her again, 'you were always the Alpha I sympathised with the most. Didn't want to be an alpha, didn't even wanna be a werewolf. To just be with your family again. I can see your hunter training is still very much useful to you, though.'

'You love to talk to avoid getting your ass handed to you, huh?'

Maia jumped onto one of the still intact desks, propelling herself off of it to launch straight into Jennifer. They collapsed to the floor, and Maia quickly rose to grab Jennifer by her shirt, lifting her up with one hand and slamming her back into the floor. Repeatedly.

The last time she lifted her, threw her into the wall across, the concrete cracked as she slid down it. Momentarily knocked out.

Maia took that moment to turn to Lydia, known she'd have seconds to get her out.

'You okay?' Lydia barely nodded as Maia ripped off the tape binding her wrists and ankles to the chair. 'I know you're probably massively traumatised, but I'm gonna need you to pull yourself together real quick and get the fuck-'

Maia let out an echoing howl as Jennifer grabbed onto Maia's head to bite into the crook between her neck and shoulder. Tearing at her flesh, only letting go when she stepped away from Lydia and fell to her knees. Maia managed to turn just enough to briefly catch Jennifer's real form.

'Fucking hell,' she chocked out, her blood seeping down her torso and back, 'you're ugly ugly huh? Which one of us did that to you? Was it Deucalion? Kali?'

She could feel the wound begin to heal, but it would take longer than she hoped. This was a supernatural hit, she couldn't take Jennifer while this disorientated from the blood loss, and Jennifer knew it. She blinked, and Jennifer returned back to her human state, a glare directed at her. She hit a nerve with her comment.

'Oh, it was Kali? She's always been a bit sadistic.'

Jennifer lifted her up by the collar of her shirt, uncaring of the growl of pain Maia emitted as she did so. She hoped to god that the Twins had heard her howl.

'Drop her!'

That voice, she recognised it. Jennifer and Maia turned in unison to the back of the class to stare at Sheriff Stilinski, Stiles' father. His gun pointed at Jennifer.

Maia smiled through her blood stained teeth, though she supposed it looked rather menacing to Stilinski as he took in her red eyes and fangs. Jennifer did as she was told though, throwing Maia to the floor as she pulled out a dagger from her belt, throwing it to Stilinski as it lodged into his right shoulder.

He fell backwards, and Maia let her anger and adrenaline pulse through her and numb out the pain of her wound, pushing herself back up to her feet as Scott entered the room. Fully shifted, and growling towards Jennifer.

This must have looked like a sight to Stilinski, seeing two werewolves for the first time. One with the red eyes, the other with yellow.

Maia and Scott briefly made eye contact with each other, a silent truce between them as they circled Jennifer. One facing her, the other behind her. Scott jumped forward, and as if they were in synch Maia did the same. Scott swiped with his claws as he jumped high in the air, just missing as Jennifer leaned back and dodged his blow. Maia crouched down, sliding on her knees to swipe at Jennifer's calves. Her claws dug into the flesh, and Jennifer let out an angry growl as she pushed her palm against Scott. The blow sent him flying backwards, and Jennifer repositioned herself to deliver the same blow to Maia who circled on her foot to face Jennifer again. She really needed to be better prepared to dodge those damn palms.

It knocked the wind out of her. Again. Deucalion was going to kill her. She landed on the floor by Lydia's feet, and as she looked up she briefly saw Stiles' look of horror as her reached the door. Jennifer used her power to propel the desk to jam it shut, leaving him locked outside and banging on the door.

Jennifer turned back to Stilinski, who picked himself, and his gun, off of the floor. He balanced on his knees, his right arm and shoulder out, the dagger still lodged into it.

'There was a girl,' he said breathlessly, pointing his gun at her, 'years ago, we found her in the woods. Her face and body slashed apart. That was you wasn't it?'

Maia's vision began to spot, but she managed to make out the back of Jennifer's figure.

'Maybe I should've started with philosophers,' she said bitterly, 'with knowledge and strategy.'

She moved towards Stilinski, and he automatically shot at her thigh, hoping to slow her down. Jennifer let out an angered grown of pain, but the bullet did nothing. Stilinski watched in awe, and horror, as the wound healed quickly, like there was nothing there.

Jennifer stood back up to full height. 'Healers.' She continued saying.

She grabbed the handle of the danger in his shoulder, and lifting him up to her height. He let out a yell of pain as he dropped the gun. She pushed him backwards and into the desks propped against the wall. Enjoying his pain.

'Warriors.' She ripped off his Sheriff badge. 'Guardians.' Crushed it in her palm, letting it drop to the ground. 'Virgins.'

Maia refocused her vision. Forcing her head up as Jennifer planted a kiss on Stilinski's lips. Seeing her shift back into her real form, and drag him out, bursting through the window.

Stiles forced his way into the class as Scott came to, pushing himself up as Stiles came to stand at the window. 'Dad?!' He called out, fear dripping in his tone. Leaving him to stand there, realising the magnitude of what Jennifer had just done.

The twins weren't far behind Stiles, both of them barrelling into the room. Aiden and Ethan took in the scene, the both of them simultaneously heading towards Maia and Lydia. Ethan lifted Maia up by the shoulders, worry etched into his features as Aiden checked on the silent and shaking Lydia.

'Fuck, Maia are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' she grit out in pain, her skin burned from Jennifer's bite. 'It's that fucking english teacher, the one Derek's sweet on. Jennifer Blake. She's the Darach.'

'We gotta get you to the vet, you're losing too much blood.'

'I want her head, Ethan. I want her fucking head.'

More profanities left Maia's lip as Ethan pulled her into him, uncaring of the fact that her blood stained his shirt. He placed one arm under her knees, and another behind her back, lifting her up.

Scott met him as Maia buried her head into Ethan's shirt, growling in pain. She blinked rapidly, eyes going in and out of focus as she fought to stay awake.

'We gotta' get her out of here before the cops show up.' Scott nodded as he slowly shifted back into human form, noticing that Maia was still bleeding. 'She's not healing fast enough.'

'Maia. . .' Stiles' voice trailed off as he stared at her, though her gaze was unfocused, as if she couldn't decipher who was around. 'Is she okay?'

'Aiden, we gotta go!'

Ethan moved quickly, carrying Maia out of the door as Aiden whispered something to Lydia, watching her nod in understanding. He turned away from her, heading out the door until Scott grabbed onto his elbow.

'Tell- tell Maia I said thanks.'

Aiden nodded stiffly, casting one last look at the fractured trio before him, and left.

Tadaaaaa! Another chapter. This one was fun to write, I hope you enjoy reading it!