FOR A MINUTE I HAD NO IDEA WHERE I WAS. I had no recollection of what had happened. My mind was blank and my body was numb .. but like I said, only for a minute. The soft sobs that echoed behind me was what coaxed my mind out it's shelter of protection. My head felt heavy as it hung forwards and I struggled to even lift it but a sharp and dull pain shot down the back of my neck and all the way down into my spine.

I could feel my brain pulsating against the walls of my skull and with every throb I winced in constant pain. My pulse ricocheted behind my ear and a tired groan spilled from my lips. I rolled my head to the side, opening my heavy eyes once, twice and then a third time before I could manage to keep them open. The space around me was dark and I found myself facing the wall of a classroom yet my brain couldn't tell me why I was here.

The back of my head rested on something and a bead of sweat rolled slowly down my face yet I'd never felt more cold in my entire life.

"Alex?"

The voice registered in my mind but it took me some seconds before I could comprehend who it was.

"Lydia?"

"Oh, god." She exhaled deeply, her breathing was loud — almost like she was hyperventilating. She was behind me and I realised then that what my head was leaning on was her shoulder.

I started to come to my senses somewhat and I looked down to see my hands were tied to the arms of the chair I was sitting in and a rope was wrapped around my upper body, constricting both Lydia and I to the chairs we'd been tied to. I clenched my fists as panic seeped through my veins and I tried to pull my arms free but I'd never felt weaker in my life.

"You're not going anywhere."

My heart stilled in my chest and out of the corner of my eye, a figure approached me. Miss. Blake walked into my eye line and she stood in front of me, smiling down at me in such a chilling way that it caused a shiver to creep up my spine.

"What are you doing?" I asked her hoarsely, my voice sounded scratchy and my throat felt like sandpaper.

"What's necessary." She replied, "You're like my insurance policy, if you will."

My brows furrowed weakly, "Insurance policy?"

"A lot of people want me dead, Alex, almost all of those people would do anything to save you." She said to me, crouching down in front of me, "You're my pass to staying alive because I'm the only one who can save you from dying."

My blood ran cold as my jaw slackened. For a minute I didn't think I was hearing her properly but her facial expression didn't change, her heart didn't skip a beat. She was completely composed and she was telling me the truth.

"Dying?" I squeaked out.

She gave me a smile as she patted my knee, "I honestly thought the mistletoe would've affected you before now but all it did was slow down your healing process."

"That was you?" I asked her, "How?"

"You left your water bottle in my class." She replied, "At first I couldn't believe my luck. I'd been trying to figure out ways to get mistletoe into your system for days but there you went and handed me the answer. I took it and laced the inside in mistletoe before putting some into the water filter. It mixed with your water for weeks, poisoning you with every sip."

"Oh, my, god." I mumbled tearfully.

"Now, your immune system is strong." She chuckled, "Your body has built quite a wall when it comes to poisonous and harmful toxins. I expect it's from years upon years of wolfsbane being injected into you, preventing you from shifting, but it made my life ten times harder. Not to worry though, the amount of mistletoe I've just injected into your body will kill you before the sun comes up."

Tears welled in my eyes as I dropped my head back against Lydia's shoulder and squeezed my eyes shut. I could feel her shoulders shake as her breathing grew irregular upon hearing what Miss. Blake had just said to me. This woman had basically just handed me an imminent death sentence if she didn't get what she wanted before the sun came up. Who knew if whatever she required from us was feasible. Was it a get out of town free card? Protection from the Alpha pack? I didn't know, but she had learned that I had people in my life who were willing to do anything to protect me.

I hated the fact that she had outsmarted us. All the time she'd been ten steps ahead of us, playing us for a fool by migrating into our lives in the most mundane way. Who ever would've thought that our English teacher who was attacked by a flock of birds on her first day would've turned out to be the same person who was committing these sacrifices — these murders.

It almost made sense. The missing teachers, the wolfsbane in Coach's whistle .. she constantly had access to us and her unconventional relationship with Derek made her even less suspicious. None of us would ever of guessed that it was her, yet now she'd outed herself to us it was too late. Lydia and I were trapped, my best friend about to die now and me before the morning.

I opened my eyes and saw her standing in front of me, "You're a monster."

"No." She sighed softly, "I'm not."

"You won't get away with this." Lydia said from behind me as I tested my bonds again, desperate to escape.

A chuckle poured from Jennifer's lips as she walked out of my line of vision and stood in front of Lydia, "But I already have. In a minute, you'll be dead and I'll have Alex and Cora as my gateway to survival."

"Cora?" I asked her then, "What did you do to Cora?"

"Nothing I haven't done to you." Miss. Blake told me, "It'll be interesting to see who Derek chooses .. but then again, I can imagine the twins wouldn't let you die either."

"I can't believe this is happening right now." I mumbled to myself, looking up to the ceiling as my stomach twisted painfully. I felt incredibly nauseous and sweat collected even more on the brow of my forehead. I felt claustrophobic, trapped with absolutely no means of escape. I could barely hold myself up and talking was an effort which was something I was sharply running out of. My body felt as if it was getting weaker by the second and I couldn't even extend my claws, it was like everything had been suppressed.

I couldn't howl to let Scott, or the twins, or even Issac know where we were. I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything. I was absolutely useless and I hated it.

I thought that when I became a werewolf I'd never have to feel powerless again, that I'd always be able to protect myself and yet here I was.

Would Scott even realise that Lydia and I had disappeared? I groaned quietly to myself as a dull ache pulsated through my body, why didn't I tell Scott where I was going?

"You don't have to do this." Lydia pleaded with Miss. Blake then.

"Trying to bargain with me?" I heard her say apathetically, "Sway me into changing my mind? It's clever Lydia but not clever enough. Don't you think I've heard it a thousand times by now?"

She was a mass murderer and she didn't see what she had done wrong. It was harrowing how twisted it was.

"Well, easy enough to bargain for yourself." She chuckled then, "But it's too late for poor, poor, Alex."

"Stop talking about it." I managed to spit out lowly.

"I'll remind you about it every minute if I have to, sweetheart." Miss. Blake said to me.

"Then at least leave Lydia out of this." I tried to convince her.

She shook her head, "No. I'm doing what's necessary. I'm still surprised none of you seem to get that. You call them sacrifices, but you're not understanding the word. It's derived from the Latin sacrificium, an offering to a deity, a sacred rite. A necessary evil."

It's definitely evil.

"Stop." Lydia exhaled weakly.

"Oh, I wish I could .. but you don't know the alphas like I do." She replied and out the corner of my eye I saw her pick something up off the desk closest to us. It looked like a short skipping rope, two big handles and one short rope connecting them but as she began to wind the rope in I realised what it was .. a garrotte.

"Please, stop." Lydia cried from behind me.

"But you, Lydia, you're not a sacrifice. You're just a girl who knows too much. Actually, a girl who knew too much." She said.

"She doesn't know anything." I cried, tears pushing down my face as Miss. Blake disappeared behind me. Absolute panic consumed me and when Lydia gasped my heart hammered in my chest. I wracked my brain for a way out of this but I couldn't think of anything until at the very last second an idea came to me.

"Lydia!" I yelled hoarsely, "Scream."

"But—"

"Scream!" I shouted over her.

"Wait!" Miss. Blake yelled, "Lydia, don't!"

Not a second later did Lydia's wail interrupt her. Her voice bounced off the walls at such a pitch I thought it would shatter my eardrums completely. I screwed my eyes shut as her scream split through my ears at an impossibly high pitch. It forced it's way into my brain and it reverberated off every surface inside my head. It hurt. It hurt so fucking much and I dropped my chin against my chest to try and pull myself away from it but the rope tying my body to Lydia's stopped me from moving as much as an inch.

And then it stopped .. but silence didn't consume me like I had hoped for. Her scream still echoed in my head and my ears buzzed in the minutes that passed. A short groan spilt from my lips as I felt a warm, gooey, substance trickle slowly down the sides of my neck. My ears were bleeding and the trail of blood tickled me in a sickening way.

My friends attempt at saving our lives knocked the air out of me and I took deep breaths, trying to regain some sort of control after she'd destroyed my hearing and when I opened my eyes the room was spinning. I vaguely registered Lydia's body slumping back against mine in exhaustion as Miss. Blake's shadow strode across the floor.

"Unbelievable." I heard her mutter in astonishment, her words moulding into the continuous deafening ring in my ears, "You have no idea what you are, do you? The wailing woman .. a Banshee, right before my eyes."

A what?

"You're just like me, Lydia." She said, "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it."

Lydia whimpered behind me and I wished I could reach back and grab her hand for comfort but I couldn't. My wrists were locked against this chair in a vice grip — no match for the little strength that I had.

"It's too bad though .. and too late." Miss. Blake told her.

"No, no, please." I heard Lydia whimper, clicking the heal of her shoe on the floor over and over again before I vaguely heard the garrotte tightening and the sound of my best friend choking.

"Stop." I tried to plead with the woman one last time as I heard a knife being pulled from her pocket, "Please, please, don't do it."

"One last philosopher." Miss. Blake exhaled and only the sound of Lydia and I's sobs could be heard.

I bounced my feet off the floor, using every once of strength I had to break free but I just couldn't and every movement made the nausea ten times worse. My vision failed me again, the room spinning and just when I thought Lydia was going to meet her end, a familiar yet entirely unexpected voice boomed through the room.

"Drop it!"

Air stormed out of my lungs as I turned my head weakly to see Sheriff Stilinski standing by the back of the classroom, his gun in the air and aimed at our captor.

The knife Miss. Blake had been holding soared through the air and it pierced the Sheriff's shoulder, embedding itself in his skin. A strangled cry tumbled past my lips as he fell to his knees, dropping his gun to the ground and clutching his shoulder and as Miss. Blake walked past Lydia and I to add the Sheriff to her list of murders, a loud, threatening growl echoed out across the classroom.

I exhaled in relief as Scott stood there, shifted into his werewolf form and I dropped my head back against Lydia's as our friend charged for Miss. Blake, jumping over the tables to get to her.

But we had severely underestimated Miss. Blake's strength as after just one hit to the chest Scott was hauled across the classroom, his back slamming into the stacked up tables and chairs. He fell to the ground like a brick being dropped from the sky and when the door was edged open I pulled my head up to see Stiles standing in the doorframe.

Before he could walk in though, Miss. Blake pushed the desk forwards and it scraped across the concrete flooring until it barricaded the door shut, trapping us inside and keeping Stiles outside. He shoved his weight into the door immediately, trying to pry it open before he banged on the glass repeatedly.

I met Stiles' gaze through heavy eyes as they threatened to close again but I forced them open after each slow blink. I'd only ever seen the look in his eyes — on his face — once in my life and that was the night at the motel when I tried to take my own life. Incurable fear and panic consumed him and it was as if time had stilled for a minute, stealing his every thought and process. He was completely still — paralysed by the extreme emotion he had been succumbed to — until he regained control over his body and actions where he began pounding his fist against the small glass window in the door.

I could only imagine the raw look in Stiles' eyes now was the very same look that consumed him the night Matt had shot me and the night of my car accident — both two separate occasions where my life had been mercilessly hung in the balance by a slim thread.

Here we were again though — or rather, here I was. Was this really the path my mom had told me about? A life where I'd have to face death and skim it by mere inches each time? If it was why couldn't she of warned me about it. A small heads up would've been greatly appreciated in times like this. But what if I was never destined to steer down this path? What if my life was supposed to end at the hands of Kali that night in the loft and this was just a second attempt to force me to meet my fate?

Was this truly the end of the line for me?

If it was I had several regrets and not fighting harder to patch things up with Stiles was my biggest one. I hated myself for leaving things the way they were between us — weird and awkward. I hated that the last time I'd seen him I had stormed away from him because I was jealous that he was taking my cousin home. I hated that my last words to him were nasty. I hated that I hadn't had the chance to kiss him, hug him or touch him since the night at the motel. I hated that I'd never told him that I loved him.

Distinguishable words echoed in my ears, the faint sound of a gun firing but it wasn't enough to keep my body awake and reactive. I felt as if I was slipping, like my hand was falling out of the weak grip it had with reality. I couldn't hold on anymore, no matter how hard I tried and as the room span again it swept me away, forcing my eyes into the back of my head and thrusting me into darkness.

Complete and utter darkness.

__________________________

My body was swaying. I felt as if I was floating on a cloud .. as if I weighed nothing. Whatever world I was in it felt like it had been warped and moulded to create a sickening illusion. My brain was somewhat alert, as where my ears but everything else almost felt dead — like I had no control over it anymore. I heard faint whispers or maybe they were't faint and I just couldn't hear them very well. I felt dizzy yet my eyes were closed but the need to vomit had never been greater.

"Derek." Scott's voice echoed in my ears. It sounded like I was standing in a large yet empty room and his voice just echoed for miles. It sounded odd.

"What happened?" I heard the voice of my cousin then though I didn't know where we were. I didn't know how I was here, who had brought me, who was holding me. I couldn't feel my feet on the ground so I assumed someone was holding me but my body was still slowly reviving itself.

My thought process and brain activity came back first, then my hearing. Everything else was slowly filtering through but after a minute more I felt a pair of arms around my body and my head cradled between the arms of the person and their chest.

"Lydia said the Darach poisoned her with mistletoe." Scott said softly, "That she won't even make it until the morning unless we help her."

"Help who?" I heard Derek ask.

"Miss. Blake." Stiles' voice filtered through my brain then and I could faintly make out the chest of the person carrying me rumble. Was it Stiles' arms I was in?

"Jennifer?" Derek echoed in disbelief, "She—no. She can't be."

"She is." Scott told him, "She's the Darach and tonight she tried to kill Lydia. She poisoned Alex to use her as a lifeline because she knows she needs one. She's been using you and her all along."

"She took my dad, Derek." Stiles mumbled then and I could hear the distress behind his tone. He sounded heartbroken, "She's going to sacrifice him if we don't get to him in time .. but if we don't help her Alex is going to die and I—I don't think.."

As Stiles' words caught in his throat I found the strength to pry my eyes open for just a second. My lids fluttered but I still could barely make anything out. It was still incredibly dark and I tried again to hold them open for longer.

I was slowly stirring back to life, regaining control of my body once more .. but for how long I wasn't sure. My fingers twitched as my hand rested over my stomach and a short, heavy, breath tumbled past my lips before it moulded into a quiet groan. As I broke free from what I could only describe as paralysis, a dull but painful ache spread through my entire body. It made moving an inch hurt.

I managed to hold my eyes open for sometime but my vision was unfocused and incredibly blurred. I could barely make out Stiles' face clearly but what I did notice was that it was swirling into different shapes.

I suddenly felt exceptionally nauseas and sweat worked it's way onto the top layer of my skin and sat there. My stomach bubbled and churned and as I felt the bile rise I tried to force myself out of Stiles' arms.

My feet hit the floor with an echo and my knees gave in immediately but before I could fall to the ground, Stiles wrapped his arm around my waist and supported me. I gripped to his hand on my hip as I doubled over and I felt him holding my hair back as I retched.

I was sick all over the floor in front of me but I didn't feel better for it. In fact, I felt worse. It wiped out what little energy I had and as I breathed heavily to recover from the strain on my lungs, I glanced down to see a pool of black liquid on the floor by my feet. It was decorated by white specs — something I realised to be mistletoe as my body tried to expel it.

I closed my eyes briefly, collapsing into Stiles in exhaustion though he held me steadily before he hooked his arm under my legs again. He lifted me off the floor, scooping me up into his arms almost effortlessly and he held me protectively.

My head lulled to the side and I opened my eyes somewhat to see Derek walking over to the two of us, a deep expression of concern morphed on to his face. He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, grazing his finger across the sweat that coated my temple as he did so.

"Her ears are bleeding." He mumbled in concern.

"Lydia screamed." Scott said to him, "She couldn't protect her ears from the sound."

"Why is her blood black, Derek?" Stiles asked him, "What's happening to her?"

"It's the infection the mistletoe is creating." Derek replied quietly, remorse heavy in his tone.

"So.." I heard Stiles gulp deeply after his voice quivered, "So Miss. Blake wasn't lying. She's dying?"

I saw as Derek nodded his head silently, looking to me with tears in his eyes as he gently placed his hand on top of mine. I inhaled deeply in relief as the overbearing pain subsided somewhat. It allowed me to be able to breathe pain free and it allowed my body to relax for a short amount of time. I exhaled as I sunk into Stiles' arms.

"She's in pain." Derek muttered then and when he removed his hand from mine my face contorted in pain again as I shifted my body in Stiles' arms.

"Is there really nothing we can do for her?" Scott asked Derek then and I opened my eyes briefly to see my older cousin looking at me deeply in concern.

Derek shook his head as he swallowed deeply, "I've never heard of any antidote. Not for mistletoe."

"So we have to do what Miss. Blake wants?" Stiles said in hostility, "What if she still doesn't give us the answer to save her life?"

"Deaton might know something as a last resort." Scott replied.

"Alex.. Alex, look at me." Derek called my name then, coaxing me to open my eyes. I tried to give him a brief smile as I met his gaze but even my facial muscles ached terribly, "What did she say to you, Alex?"

"She's been trying to poison me for a while." I mumbled quietly, "I'm her insurance policy."

"What for?" Derek asked me as he furrowed his brows.

"Survival." Was my quiet response as I inhaled deeply before releasing. I looked to my cousin again, "Derek, it hurts."

"I know." He nodded softly as he picked up my hand again and began to take more of my pain away. His veins ran black until they disappeared under his shirt and he inhaled sharply, his face twisting in discomfort as he tried to take as much of my pain away as possible. The relief was instantaneous and while it helped me to relax it made me feel funny. My body felt as if it was numb when the pain disappeared and that scared me. I didn't want to lose consciousness again because I didn't know if it would be the last time before I died.

This wasn't something I had the ability to fight through. It was impossible .. absolutely impossible.

"Wait—" Scott said then causing Derek to drop my hand, "Do you hear that?"

Slowly the ache in every crevice of my body returned and while it hurt it helped me to keep a check on reality. It kept me awake and conscious.

Though I couldn't hear what Scott was talking about. All I could hear was the faint beat of Stiles' heart as my head was pressed against his chest and the slight buzzing in my ears. I looked to Derek though and I could tell that he could hear it too.

"Footsteps." He murmured before he looked to the three of us, "Hide behind the wall, quickly."

Stiles moved swiftly, bringing me behind the wall and gripping to me tightly as we hid and Scott followed us, placing his hand on my shin for comfort. I could feel Stiles' eyes burning holes into the top of my head as he looked down at me but I barely had the energy to look up. Instead, I buried my head further into his chest as I fisted his shirt — a sickly feeling creeping up my windpipe again.

I whimpered in pain, "I think I'm going to be sick again, Stiles."

"It's okay." I heard him say to me softly, "You'll be okay, try not to think about it — think of something else, something happy."

"Something happy." I mumbled as I nodded weakly. Immediately a surge of memories surfaced to the forefront of my mind though some of them weren't particularly happy. They were memories I held close to my heart and they were all of Stiles and I. They distracted me from the pain, from the sickness, from what I was facing and they pre-occupied my mind. I thought of the night on the roof of the motel, the night he comforted me in the hospital after my dad had died. I thought of the time when he'd kissed me so passionately the night I'd left to fifth wheel on a double date with Lydia and Allison. I thought about the night we told each other we had feelings for one another, when he'd kissed me so soft and delicately in his bed.

All of these memories found me in a time of need and they eased my mind as I heard the loft door opening.

It didn't work for long though as I shivered in Stiles' arms, my teeth chattering together as I froze. A cold sweat coated my body and I gripped my stomach as it rumbled in discomfort.

"Oh, god." I whispered, "Stiles.."

"Shh." He soothed me quietly as Miss. Blake's voice echoed across the loft, "I know. It's okay."

I heard Derek's voice before it went silent and a second later Miss. Blake spoke again, "They're already here aren't they?"

I knew Stiles was moving, presumably out from his cover behind the wall but as I opened my eyes I saw the ceiling above me moving in circles. For a minute I was able to focus my gaze and I saw Stiles above me already looking down at me but his eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

"So .. they told you it was me?" Miss. Blake said then, "That I'm the one taking people."

"We told him that you're the one killing people." Scott corrected her.

"Oh, that's right." She chuckled in disbelief, "Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour. That way I can get back to teaching high school English for the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense."

"Where's my dad?" Stiles asked her then, a tear dropping from his eye.

"How should I know?" She replied with.

"Because you're the one that took him." I groaned, pushing myself out of Stiles' arms again.

He lowered my legs to the ground gently, calling my name in confusion as he held me by my waist tightly. I doubled over and vomited again, more black bile and mistletoe hitting the floor by our feet and when I was done I managed to straighten myself up though I leaned predominately into Stiles' chest as he steadied my weight.

Miss. Blake turned to Derek then with wide eyes, "Derek, I don't know what they're talking about. Please, you have to believe me. I don't know what happened to Stiles' dad .. or Alex."

"Who said anything about Alex?" Derek asked her then.

"Isn't it obvious?" She said incredulously, "Black vomit just came from her mouth, her blood is black. Please tell me you don't believe this."

Derek looked over at us for a second before he looked back to Jennifer, "Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?"

"No." She lied tearfully.

"Ask her why she almost killed Lydia." Scott said to Derek then, "Why she's poisoning Alex."

"Lydia Martian?" She exasperated in shock, "And Alex, I—I don't know anything about that."

"She's lying." I croaked out hoarsely.

"Then what do you know?" Derek asked her.

She turned back to him, "I know that these three, for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story .. and one they can't prove, by the way."

Scott held something in a bottle up in his hand then, "What if we can?"

I faintly saw the way Miss. Blake's face faulted, "What is that?"

"My boss told me it's a poison and a cure." Scott said, walking away from Stiles and I. Stiles wrapped his arms around my waist as I swayed on my feet slightly and he pulled me tightly into him. I rested my head back against his body, folding my arms around his as we watched Scott unscrew the lid of the bottle he was holding, "You can use it and it can be used against you."

"Mistletoe." She said then as her face hardened and without any hesitation Scott threw the ashy substance towards her. We watched as she gasped as the brown powder consumed her and she fought to get way from it as it dispersed in the air, though it didn't work. Her face shifted into one of horror as a different body became her own. Her skin was almost as white as paper with a yellow tinge and only her eyes and mouth were distinguishable from the deep, scarred, claw marks that littered her face.

She roared before she became what I could only describe as her human self again and she breathed heavily in recovery as we all looked at her dumbfounded. No one moved as much as a muscle and she took that as her chance to escape, rushing forwards towards the door of the loft but before she could make her third step Derek grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air — choking her.

"Derek, wait, wait!" She gasped, "You need me."

He extended his claw, "What are you?"

"The only person who can save Alex and your sister. Call Peter, call him." She replied, urging Derek.

Derek kept his grip on her neck as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called my biological father. He didn't even greet him before he asked, "How is she?"

My supernatural hearing, along with every other ability, had been suppressed by the mistletoe so I couldn't make out what Peter was saying to Derek. All I could do was look at his face and try to read his expression until me muttered, "Mistletoe."

He lowered his phone from his ear immediately and tightened his grip around Miss. Blake's throat and choking her. She gasped for air then, her mouth open wide as she tried to inhale but failed.

"Derek. Derek, what are you doing?" Scott asked him in alarm then as he showed no sign of letting Miss. Blake go.

"Their lives, they're in my hands." Miss. Blake grunted and Derek lifted her even higher in the air in response causing her to grunt and splutter in pain. Had I not of been dying or if we knew a cure for the mistletoe I'd of stood back and watched Derek strangle her to death because god knows she deserved it. But we didn't know how to reverse the effects of the mistletoe and at the end of the day she still had the Sheriff, waiting to ritually sacrifice him in an undisclosed location.

We needed her, as much as it pained me to say it.

"Derek." I tried to warn but my voice was barely audible.

"Stop, Derek. Stop!" Stiles tried to call out to him.

"Stilinski, you'll never find him." She said to Stiles then, gasping for air.

"Derek." Scott said lowly but he continued to ignore him until Scott snapped again, "Derek!"

The four of us watched Miss. Blake fall to the ground in a heap, exhaling heavily as she regained her composure and in the silence thunder rumbled in the sky.

"That's right." She said then, lifting her head up, "You need me .. all of you."

___________________________

The trip to the hospital was hazy and I spent the better part of it lying in the back of Stiles' Jeep drifting in and out of consciousness. Every time I thought I wasn't going to open my eyes again Stiles took an erratic turn, jolting the car enough to keep me awake. I had a small feeling he was doing it on purpose but I wasn't in a position to say anything.

He pulled to an abrupt stop outside the entrance to the emergency department, parking parallel to Derek's newer and more updated Jeep and I could hear the rain hammering off the top of the car. The rain was coming down thick and fast and the wind shook the four wheel drive back and forth somewhat, thunder and lightening plaguing the dark sky.

Stiles turned his car off, pulling the keys out as he and Scott turned back to look at me lying across the seats. I barely managed to lift my head up to meet their gazes when Stiles addressed me with concern, "Alex, are you okay."

"I think we both know the answer to that question, Stiles." I responded meekly, my voice barely audible over the thunderous rain. I wanted to smile at him and make a sarcastic joke but I couldn't even comprehend humour right now. It was hard enough getting normal words out.

When his heavy sigh echoed throughout the Jeep I met his gaze briefly as he looked at me with fear in his eyes before he glanced fleetingly to Scott. My friend clenched his jaw somewhat, pressing his lips together in silence before he leaned forwards somewhat. Scott wrapped his hand around my arm and Stiles followed suit as he looked at me, "Come on, sit up."

I buried my head into the car seat and shook my head, "I don't think I can." I replied honestly, "Just leave me in here."

"I'm not leaving you in this car to die, Alex." Stiles said to me then somewhat firmly.

I whimpered in a mixture of exhaustion and pain as I shifted my arms underneath me to push myself up. I barely had the strength to lift my chest off the seat but Scott and Stiles helped me, guiding me up slowly. I grimaced as my muscles screamed for me to give in and collapse back down but I tried my hardest to carry on, pushing through the pain with hot tears in my eyes and a clenched jaw.

Once I was predominantly upright Scott gripped my hand tightly and he held me up while he took a fraction of my pain, though I barely felt the difference as he moved to help me into the front of the Jeep before I could feel any type of benefit. He and Stiles had what felt like a death grip on my body as they helped me into the front and as soon as my feet were on the passenger seat my knees gave in and I fell against the chair.

The ferocious wind whipped us mercilessly and I had to hold my hair back to stop it from getting in my face. Scott — the poor boy — was stood next to me outside and the rain lashed down on him, absolutely soaking him to the bone, while Stiles sat in the Jeep next to me. He reached back as Scott ducked into the Jeep and he grabbed a spare coat he kept in the back, pulling it over my body and covering my head with the large hood to protect me from the rain. Once it soaked me and my clothes I wouldn't ever be able to build my body temperature back up and it was low enough already.

I sank into Stiles' huge coat as Scott zipped it up for me and he leaned forwards, hooking one arm under my legs while I sat forwards for him to hook his other around my back. He carefully manoeuvred me out of the Jeep and I turned my face into his chest to try and protect myself from the rain. It soaked my jeans and legs in a matter of seconds and both he and Stiles ran up towards the hospital, following Derek and Miss. Blake.

Scott tried to carry me through the hospital but I shook my head defiantly and tried to wriggle out of his arms as Derek marched throughout the overly crowed and crazed hallway with Miss. Blake.

"Alex, stop it." Stiles said to me as he strode alongside Scott and I.

I shook my head again, "I'm fine, I can walk a little bit."

Scott sighed knowing he wasn't going to win the battle and much to Stiles' dismay he put my down on my feet though he wrapped my arm over his shoulders and held to my hand while he put his arm around my waist. He took the majority of my weight but it was better than having him carry me. I already felt helpless enough and him and Stiles carrying me everywhere made me feel ten times worse.

The five of us strode through the overcrowded hallway swiftly and I just prayed to god that no doctor or nurse saw me and my dried black blood that stained the side of my face and my neck from my ears. My hands were paler than ever that they boarded on grey and I could only imagine my face looked the same.

Though our mission was intercepted as we heard Melissa shouting Scott's name down the corridor. We were all forced to stop and Scott and I turned to face Melissa but before she could say what she was planning on her jaw dropped and her face fell slack when she looked at me, "Alex, what the hell is going on with you? Are you all right?"

"I'm okay." I lied while I smiled tiredly at her. I didn't want to tell her that I was literally dying so instead I opted for a rather big and obvious lie.

"You don't look okay." She shook her head worriedly.

"I'll heal." I tried to convince her but she didn't believe me.

"You guys shouldn't be here, the hospital is evacuating." She said to us then.

"We're here for Cora." Scott said to her.

"What all of you?" She asked us before she looked sideways to Stiles, "Why does Stiles have my bat?"

"Mom, just trust me on this. You need to get out of here." And as thunder echoed outside he added, "Right now."

Melissa's eyes lingered over in Derek's direction and I had a strong feeling she was looking at Miss. Blake. She turned her attention back to Scott after a moment and said, "The building is supposed to be clear in 30 minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back, one's 10 minutes out, the other is 20. Cora needs to be on one of those .. and so does Alex by the looks of things. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."

"Got it." Scott nodded and the five of us turned away from Melissa to continue our journey to the elevator. We piled in, Scott, Stiles and I walking in first and Derek and Miss. Blake following. I leaned back against the wall of the elevator and I dropped my head into Scott's shoulder, closing my eyes as the artificial light practically burned them.

"You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek, I'm going to help you." Miss. Blake said to him.

The only response was the amused scoff that tumbled past my dry lips but I didn't open my eyes. I kept them closed until the elevator dinged and the doors opened where we walked out on to our floor and allowed Derek to guide us to our room. The overhead lights began to flicker and as Derek came to a sudden halt I poked my head around both him and Miss. Blake to see an empty bed with black vomit on the floor in front of it.

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this." I groaned.

"Are you sure you just don't need to be sick again?" Derek asked me.

My stomach twisted, "No .. but now that you mention it."

"Derek." Scott said then and I turned to see him looking at the floor, following a small trail of black blood before it ended behind a set of closed wooden doors. The five of us stared at the brown doors before we heard a few muffled groans and grunting. What sounded like wood breaking echoed through my ears but what was behind the door we didn't know.

We watched in apprehension until the doors burst open and Peter skidded across the tiled floor on his back, coming to a stop just by our feet. I looked down at him as he groaned in what seemed to be slight pain before he looked up at us and narrowed his eyes, "We've got a problem." And then he lifted his head off the ground and looked down the hallway he'd just skidded down, "Big problem."

The five of us lifted our gazes from the floor and I saw Ethan and Aiden merged into their werewolf form as they roared at us threateningly. I pressed my lips together and dropped my head to the side somewhat before I groaned, "I told you I had a bad feeling about this."

______________________

A/N; Now tell me if you don't want this because I haven't started writing it yet but I'm thinking on writing chapter 59 in third person for reasons you'll find out about in chapter 58. I do want to trial this because my plans for season 5 involve — I'd say — a quarter of it being written in the third person but I'm unsure.

I don't know if I'll be able to get a full 6800/7000 worded chapter in the third person but I don't really want to skip out a large part of what happens to Alex but as I said, let me know your thoughts please!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the twists, I really loved writing it and it's definitely helped me get my mojo back! Much love❤️