t h r e e

DEREK'S HOUSE WAS a bit cold.

And with the sun gone, replaced with heavy rain, the place looked a lot gloomier than it already was. The large surface of windows behind his hunched form revealed the depressing weather.

It didn't really feel like home, but it was better than nothing.

The beta, who she greeted with a startled scream when they entered Derek's house, dampened her mood even more.

When Astrid saw the teen, who was one year younger than her, she felt anger and frustration burn inside of her.

Isaac was young, having a long life ahead of him... And now, because of Derek, he was condemned into a world of death and fear.

But she kept her mouth shut, knowing it wasn't her place to judge. Astrid wanted to be on Derek's good side, in case she decides to join Derek's pack later on.

Besides, Isaac's endless questions annoyed her to the point of death. She'd rather ignore his existence, instead of starting a fight with an alpha.

Derek, who gave his uncle an urgent voicemail in the car, helped Astrid think of places Arielle and her boyfriend might've ran off to while they waited.

Yet, in the midst of all the jumbled thoughts and random ideas, Astrid couldn't help but let a bit of nervousness slip through. Time was running out, like sand in a hourglass. And with the impending full moon... She knew things were going to get a lot worse before any good news is told.

"They could be in Canada or something," Astrid deadpanned, her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest. "We can't check every city and country in the world."

Derek glanced up from the map on the table, his red eyes flashing dangerously with irritation. His knuckles were white from his intense grip on the edge of the wooden table.

"We could've slowed down the hunters if you checked the fucking bullets."

His first plan was to track down the hunters and destroy their base, or something similar. Unfortunately, they couldn't make the first move without knowing who the hunters were.

And apparently, hunters had significant symbols carved into their bullets and arrowheads.

"I didn't know!" Astrid exclaimed. "It's not the first thing someone thinks about after seeing their family..." She stopped, unable to continue the sentence.

They were dead.

"Maybe I shouldn't be the one alive," she finally said, in response to Derek's silence. "If... If Arielle isn't dead already, she'll be dead in a couple of days," her voice broke at her own words. "My whole family will be dead because I can't do anything to save her. A-And then..."

They'll come for me.

She didn't realize how hard her hands were shaking until Derek wrapped her small hands in his.

"Astrid." He didn't sound angry anymore. Instead, he almost seemed like he understood. "I can keep you safe, but you have to trust me."

Tears were beginning to slide down her cheeks, despite her efforts to keep them at bay. She pulled her hands back from his, furiously wiping away the salty liquid.

She spent years without crying, forcing herself to be opposite from what people thought of her. But now, everything was unraveling, because the very people she wanted to prove herself to were gone.

"They'll come for me," she replied weakly, ignoring his question. "Because I'm not even supposed to be alive."

"Astrid-"

"No," she interrupted him sharply, a crazy thought entering her mind. "What if I let them know I'm alive now?"

He connected his green eyes with hers. His eyebrows furrowed with worry when realization set it. "You want to be bait?"

"That's actually the first good idea I've heard in the past two hours," Isaac declared from the couch.

Astrid gave him a once-over, rolling her eyes in annoyance. His body was sprawled on the big couch, his hair brushing the ground while his head dangled.

He held a half-eaten apple in one hand, while the other contained his phone. Isaac's fingers glided across the screen at a rapid pace.

"You could help, you know."

"I just did."

Derek exhaled loudly. "You have to understand how dangerous it is to be bait."

She turned her attention back to the alpha with an overexcited grin. "But you'll keep me safe. Your words."

"Derek," Isaac sat up from his previous position, looking annoyed. "We still need to find Erica and Boyd. You can't leave."

"I know." Derek snapped, looking extremely bothered.

"Let's just wait for Peter," Astrid suggested. "If he doesn't know where Arielle is... Then we'll do my plan."

"And what about my friends? Your betas?" Isaac fumed, betrayal in his voice. He glared at the two older werewolves.

"If I help you," Derek began, his eyes locking with hers, "you'll have to stay and help us find Erica and Boyd."

She nodded with determination. "Deal."

☺☹☺

The rest of the day passed by torturously, for Peter Hale was nowhere to be seen.

Derek said he was still in the pack, for protection purposes, but they barely talked. Apparently it was 'complicated', which pretty much meant that Astrid shouldn't pry.

It's not like she really cared, too much was on her mind anyway. This would be her first full moon as an omega, and everyone knew omegas were weaker than betas in every way.

And although it'd be wise to automatically join the pack, Astrid wanted to be careful in choosing who to commit her loyalty to.

A pack consisting of a teenage boy, a creepy uncle, two missing teens and a stone-faced alpha doesn't seem particularly... safe.

Nevertheless, Astrid still asked the two for their help, in fear of going into full werewolf-mode and slaughtering innocents. Not like Evan.

"Jacob Driscoll."

She snapped her head up to Derek with narrowed eyes, her brain trying to process the name. "Why does that sound familiar?"

He'd been occupied with something for hours, leaving Astrid with no one to talk to except for Isaac.

The two teens sat on each end of the couch in an uncomfortable silence, occasionally giving each other suspicious glances while they ate their take-out fries and burgers.

The view of the sky behind Derek told her she had less than a hour before the moon fully appears.

"He's the human."

"The human...?" Isaac waited, expecting Derek to finish the sentence.

Astrid's eyes lit up at the news. "That means we can find him!" But her optimism faded when Derek refused to answer. "Right?"

"I sent him a friend request on Facebook. We'll need a hacker to figure out where he lives."

Isaac snorted. "You have Facebook?"

Astrid sighed, dragging a hand down her face.

"Can't we check the newspapers in the area?" She got up from the couch, walking to where Derek was. "See if he's..."

"Alive?" Isaac interrupted, suddenly interested in the conversation. "Who are you guys talking about?"

"Jacob Driscoll," Astrid replied in a matter-of-fact tone. She didn't bother to give him her attention, knowing he only cared because he wanted them to hurry up and look for his friends.

He'd probably be glad if Arielle was dead like the rest of them.

"I know that," he retorted. "Why is he so important?"

"Seven years ago, Arielle fell in love with a human," Derek intervened, after letting out a deep sigh at the rising tension in the room. "Her father, as the new alpha, forbid the relationship from continuing because of his pride. But, instead of breaking up with him, Arielle decided to accompany Driscoll to college."

"Wait," Isaac's expression was full of genuine confusion. "Why is it such a big deal that she left? She's an adult that can make her own choices."

He trudged over beside Astrid, as if he's actually interested in the conversation, and towered over her and Derek with his lanky frame.

Astrid let out a scoff at the teen's question. "She was only fifteen, far from the mature woman she wanted to be." She sighed, "My parents also had high expectations, believing she could be the first true alpha after a hundred years."

"What's a true-"

"Let's just find the newspapers online," Astrid interrupted, fed up with their questions. "If we can't find his name on the back, with the deceased, then there's still hope. And if we can't..."

No one needed to fill in the blank this time.

Isaac stifled a yawn before brushing back his curly hair with a hand.

Although it didn't look like it, with the way Astrid treated him, she pitied the guy.

Isaac had his eyes trained on his phone the whole day, even while they ate, trying to figure out where his friends are. And whenever he placed his phone down, out of frustration, Astrid could almost hear his mind continue to think.

She studied the beta beside her with a raised eyebrow. "You don't have to stay."

"Well..." He cocked his head slightly, a smirk ghostly his lips. "I kind of live here."

"Well-"

Derek waved a hand in front of them, annoyed. "Astrid, we don't know if Arielle's still with him. Do you really believe young love can last for seven years?"

She shrugged. "We can hope."

"And not all deaths are reported in the newspaper."

Astrid shot him a scalding glare. "Then why even bother telling me his name? You're shooting down every idea I have. Do you even care what happens to her?"

"Of course I do," Derek responded, returning her anger. "But we need to be realistic."

"Whatever," she scoffed, not wanting to admit he was right.

Astrid subtly let her claws grow in her left hand before impaling her palm, drawing blood. The pain flared, but she refused to unclench her fist. She didn't want to lose control now, or kill the very people who agreed to help her with the full moon.

"Can't we ask Stiles to ask his dad about this? He'll probably know something."

"Are they werewolves too?" Astrid queried, wondering if there was more than one pack in Beacon Hills.

The corner of Derek's lip twitched upwards at the thought. "Far from it."

"Stiles' dad is the sheriff," Isaac explained. "And Stiles is the best friend of another werewolf here."

"So there's other packs in Beacon Hills?"

"... No." Derek shook his head. "Scott isn't in a werewolf pack."

"But..." Astrid prompted, hearing the hesitance in his voice.

"A new pack is here. An alpha pack."

"A pack... full of alphas?" Her eyes were wide in astonishment.

"Yep, and they're here for the big, bad alpha-Hale," a new voice drawled.

They whipped their head towards the opened door. Astrid studied the man's chocolate-coloured hair, then the stubble on his face. She trailed her eyes down to judge him through his outfit.

He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, but she could sense his overly cocky attitude as soon as he began to prance in the living space as if he owned the place.

His scent was unrecognizable, but Astrid had a feeling she already knew who he was.

"Peter." Derek sounded really bored. "Nice of you to join us."

A sly smirk grew on the shorter man's face as he tilted his head arrogantly. His eyes ran over Astrid's body lazily, flashing blue for a split second. "What's the emergency, boys?"

Astrid took a step back after seeing his blue eyes glow, feeling her tailbone against the table. He was a killer, and that made the attractive man dangerous.

"And girl," he then added, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. The smirk only grew when he saw her actions; he seemed to find amusement in her obvious terror. "Who might you be?"

"Astrid," she answered tentatively.

She locked eyes with Derek, hoping to find some kind of assurance. Unfortunately, he seemed to be on edge as well.

"Do you remember Arielle Van Tousen?" The alpha's voice was sharp. It was clear he didn't want to spend any extra time with Peter.

"The runaway?" he replied, amused.

Astrid didn't like the looks he was giving her, nor did she like the tone of his voice when addressing Arielle. He made her sound like she was unimportant, a mere figure in the shadows of someone's mind.

She straightened her back almost immediately, her facial features becoming tight. "My sister," Astrid stated firmly with a frown.

Peter made a disdainful noise of realization at the back of his throat. "So you're the baby Van Tousen... Where are your little bodyguards? Or your mummy and daddy?" A mocking pout slid on his face.

"Peter..." Derek trailed off warningly, his voice straining in anger.

The image of her family in such a horrid state was still fresh in her mind, since it literally just occurred last night. With Peter mocking Astrid as if she were a child... His words felt like salt to a wound.

But she won't give him the satisfaction to see her be upset. She won't let him win.

A part of her wanted to bite back, talk about his home being gone, about his family being dead. Another part, though, knows the pain and knows her words will not only affect Peter, but Derek as well.

"Do you know where she is or not? People are trying to kill her."

A flicker of surprise appeared on Peter's face at her bluntness, but it disappeared as quick as it came. He looked bored again, his eyes gliding lazily from person to person.

"And who gave you the idea that I'd have this information in the first place?"

She turned her attention to a stone-faced Derek, giving him a scorching glare. Even Isaac seemed uncomfortable with the rising tensions in the air.

The glare was fuelled by more than just annoyance and frustration, for the fully-round moon in the sky had finally rose. With Derek's large window, the moonlight easily shone into the area, and onto Astrid's skin.

Although there were bigger things to get mad at, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Astrid began to change before her mind could register what was happening. Blackness creeped at the edge of her vision, engulfing her sanity like quicksand.

The last thing she heard was a crash and an animalistic howl in their hollow home.

– A/N –

is this story going too slow? too fast? is this chapter too long?
please give me some feedback in the comments!

anyway, i won second place in an award for my story 'Lost', which makes me reallyreallyreally happy (and also sad because i haven't updated that in forever)

'Meliorism' won the title 'hidden gem' for another award too!! but that was awhile ago

i like updating people on my life, even though most of u prolly don't care ahahaha. whatever though, i'm always here to listen too

thank you for reading!

don't forget to vote if you like this chapter and want the next one up soon :) i won't post the new chapter until this one has at least 3/5 votes

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