IT WASN'T LONG before I started to feel groggy, my head aching uncomfortably from my shot. In fact it had only been an hour and I was putting it all down to the increased dosage. I normally made it through until the next morning before I usually felt any type of side affects from the treatment — if any — but this time I was quick to fall sick.

I was sat in the back of Stiles' Jeep my eyes closed as I leaned against the back seat while Scott kept me company. Lydia had vanished into thin air, no where to be found, and my werewolf friend had heard her piercing scream all the way from Allison's house. He met Stiles and I outside the hospital after the cops had been called and we grouped in the Jeep to devise a bad plan to find her.

It was why we were waiting for Stiles now to return from retrieving Lydia's hospital gown. Why we'd elected him to go I wasn't sure but I wasn't feeling up to the task at the moment anyways. Scott was going to use Lydia's gown to get her scent and then we were going to try and track her down that way. It was a really weird plan, using someone's scent and to be honest it reminded me of something a dog would do, but it was good enough.

When I heard Stiles' Jeep door open and close I opened my eyes, lifting my head fractionally to see him getting into the vehicle with the gown in his hand. He passed it over to Scott silently and I watched as my friend took it, "This is the one she was just wearing?" He asked.

Stiles nodded, "I think so."

I pulled myself up to sit in between the two front seats, "You can find her, right?" I asked my friend worriedly. I knew we weren't under threat of a murderous Alpha werewolf anymore but the thought of Lydia out there alone didn't settle well with me.

Scott met my eyes and he nodded, "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her. Not again." He said to me.

I nodded my head silently as Stiles started the engine of the Jeep. He turned to Scott and said, "All right, just shove the thing in your face and let's find her."

I glanced out the front window as the lights of the Jeep flashed on and jumped back in shock at the same time as Stiles. An incoherent mix of words tumbled from his mouth in shock as Allison ran round the side of the Jeep to Scott's open window.

"What are you doing here? Someone's gonna see us?" He asked her.

Stiles turned in his seat to face me and I met his eyes fleetingly before looking over to Scott and Allison. I knew exactly what he was thinking when he looked to me. Allison and I hadn't spoken since the whole Kate ordeal but she had called me several times. I'd ignored every one of her calls though because I couldn't bring myself to answer. I was still angry with her and I think I had the right to still be angry with her too. She'd followed Kate so willingly and allowed her to do what she did to me. She didn't try to stop her and the words she did utter didn't stretch very far because after a few words from Kate she sharply changed her tune.

I was nowhere near ready to forgive her. I knew that much.

"I don't care. She's my best friend and we need to find her before they do." She said.

"I can find her before the cops do." Scott responded.

"How about before my father does?" She retaliated with.

"He knows?" Stiles asked then.

"Yeah." She nodded, "I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."

"Search party." Scott muttered.

"It's more like a hunting party." She corrected.

"You're not making this any better, you know?" I asked her while narrowing my eyes.

"I'm telling you the truth." She replied to me.

I didn't respond and I watched as Scott opened his door for her, "Get in."

Allison climbed over him and I scooted over in my seat as she joined me in the backseat. As soon as her bum was on the seat Stiles was reversing quickly out of the space and speeding off towards the outskirts of town. I did my best to ignore Allison's presence though I could feel her eyes on me.

As we drove I noticed the way my stomach started to twist but it wasn't in apprehension of something of that kind. It was more in sickness as I started to sweat.

"Stiles, can you open your window please?" I asked him. Scott's window was already open but the air coming in wasn't enough. I needed more to try and rid myself of the sickly feeling developing in my stomach.

He complied straight away and asked me, "You feeling okay?"

"Just a bit sick." I told him, "It should pass."

He nodded while turning his head back fractionally to see me, "Tell me if you need me to pull over."

I shook my head, "I'm fine. I just want to find Lydia before they do."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked me, "If you're sick you need to tell us."

"I'm fine." I repeated, "It'll pass."

I didn't know who I was trying to convince though as the urge to vomit grew with each passing second. I was rarely ever sick but when I was going to be I knew it. I had a strong feeling I was going to be within the next ten or so minutes.

"All right, so, if Lydia is turning will the hunters kill her?" Stiles asked then, breaking the topic on my sickly feeling.

"I don't know. They won't tell me anything." Allison said, "All they say is 'we'll talk after Kate's funeral when the others get here'."

"Are you kidding, what others?" I asked her.

"They won't tell me that either. Did your dad not tell you?"

I narrowed my eyes at her as if questioning whether she was being serious or not, "What? I haven't seen my dad in about a week. He doesn't tell me anything, the man doesn't trust me as far as he could throw me."

But before I could take a harsh jab or say anything else Stiles jumped in with a wry comment of his own, "Okay, your family's got some serious communication issues to work on. Scott are we going the right way?"

I glanced to my friend as he hung out of the window with his head out, trying to find Lydia's scent amongst the thousands of other scents around us at this moment in time.

"Take the next right!" He called back loud enough for us to hear him over the wind.

Stiles did just that and he pulled a sharp right, continuing on down the road until Scott told him to stop. He pulled over quickly and turned the Jeep off, getting out and holding the door for me to follow. He put his hand on my waist to help me as I jumped out and it wasn't until my feet were on the floor and I looked around did I recognise my surroundings.

The dark area was familiar for all the wrong reasons and had I not felt ill before I surely would've now. The memory of Kate Argent hauling me out of the trunk of her car flashed to the forefront of my mind and absentmindedly I reached for my wrists and rubbed them gently.

"I know where we are." I muttered in disdain.

"Where?" Scott asked me and while I felt his and Stiles' gaze on me I looked to Allison and met her eyes. They were hooded with guilt as she looked at me but her expression didn't change anything. She could express the deepest level of sympathy for her actions through her gaze and it wouldn't change what she had done.

Scott and Stiles seemed to understand what was going on as they both tried to diffuse the growing tension between Allison and I.

"It's this way." Scott said then, turning and guiding us into the dense trees that marked one of the many entrances to the preserve.

Allison followed him as Stiles took my hand and squeezed it to comfort me.

"You okay?" He asked me.

I nodded in response before I tugged him to follow after Scott as he led us towards Lydia's scent. We followed him in silence the entire time but I could feel an eerie chill fall over us creating a shiver to fall down the back of my spine. I was uncomfortable for more than obvious reasons but there was something I couldn't pin that was causing my apprehension.

When the Hale house came into view we all tensed but none of us said anything. It was clear we were all still facing what had occurred here in our own way.

"She came here?" Stiles asked Scott then, "You sure?"

"This is where the scent leads."

"This has to be some sort of sick joke." I murmured, "Why would she come here of all places? How would she even know that it was here?"

"Exactly." Stiles agreed with me, "Has she ever even been here?"

"Not with me." Allison said while Scott shook his head.

The four of us continued walking slowly up towards the house as if we never wanted to get there.

"Maybe she came here on instinct like she was looking for Derek." Allison suggested.

"You mean.. looking for an Alpha." Scott replied.

"Wolves need a pack, right?"

"I thought we said she wasn't a wolf?" I murmured.

"We don't know for certain." Scott said to me.

"Would she have been drawn to an Alpha?" Allison asked Scott, "Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

"Yeah, we're stronger in packs." Scott nodded.

"Like strength in numbers?"

Scott shook his head, "No, like, literally stronger.. faster, better in every way."

Stiles dropped my hand as he started to wander around while I turned to Scott and Allison's theoretical analysation of werewolves.

"That the same for an Alpha?" Allison asked him.

"Yeah, it'll make Derek stronger too."

I sighed, looking around into the dark but I didn't see anything at all. The only logical explanation for Lydia being here was that she was looking for Derek — or so it seemed. Allison's point was that she was searching for an Alpha in order to build her strength and perhaps if she was a werewolf her instinct had driven her to come here.

It wasn't until Stiles spoke did I turn my attention back to my companions, "Woah, hey, look at this. You see this?"

I turned to see him couched down by what looked like a tripwire but why one had been set up I wasn't sure. Derek wouldn't of put one in place and I doubt the police would've either so how exactly did this get here.

"It looks like a tripwire." Stiles said as Allison crouched down by him. I watched as he pulled it then, waiting for it to do something and I heard the rustling of leaves behind me.

I glanced back to see Scott hanging upside down by his ankle as he called Stiles' name.

"Yeah, buddy?" Stiles asked as he turned to see Scott hanging. His face fell, "Oh."

"Next time you see a tripwire, don't trip it."

"Yeah, noted." He replied as he stood up.

"I'll help you Scott." I muttered then, walking over to him to help him down.

My words seemed to entice Stiles and Allison into helping and just when I got my hand around the wire Scott stopped us, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.... someone's coming. Hide."

The three of us looked around but we couldn't see anything and Scott snapped again, "Go!"

Stiles grabbed my hand and tugged me away quickly, pulling me away from where Scott was hanging and Allison followed us. He shooed us over the brow of a small hill and behind a thick tree, shushing the both Allison and I as we heaved somewhat for breath from the rush of the quick getaway.

I tried to poke my head around the thick bark of the tree to get a look at whoever was approaching us, bending down as Stiles had his hand on my back to keep me hidden.

"Who do you think it is?" Stiles mumbled quietly.

I cast Allison a fleeting side glance as I grumbled, "A few names spring to mind."

She didn't say anything and I returned my gaze to Scott and his surroundings, looking for the person. After a few short seconds a faint group of figures came into view and I saw them approaching Scott. Under the scatter of the moonlight I managed to make two of them out as one crouched to the floor, matching Scott's line of gaze as he hung from his ankle. My suspicion was right and it was Chris Argent. I couldn't say I was surprised to be honest given Allison had told us her dad was also out looking for Lydia but what did surprise me was the man stood above Chris.

"Are you kidding me?" I growled in annoyance.

"What?" Stiles whispered as Chris struck up a conversation with Scott.

I leaned closer towards the tree as Stiles poked his head around me to get a look while I brooded in annoyance. I thought that after everything that had happened my dad would've cut his ties with Chris and the Argent family but here we were. He was too occupied looking at the Hale house to take an interest in what Chris was saying to Scott though.

"Oh." Stiles muttered then and he ducked back behind the tree to continue hiding. The three of us listened to Chris' words to Scott in silence until he, my dad and the two other guys that accompanied them disappeared — ready to continue their search for Lydia.

Once we were sure that they were completely out of ear shot the three of us rushed back over to Scott as he continued to hang and Allison asked him, "You okay?"

"Just another life-threatening conversation with your dad." Scott remarked as he looked up to her.

The three of us looked to the rope tied around Scott's ankle, trying to find a way to get him down when Allison said, "Stiles, help me with this."

I turned to see her running over to a pulley that had been fixed on to the tree opposite us and watched as she and Stiles tried to loosen the rigg to lower Scott to the floor. Our friend however elongated his claws and reached up, cutting the rope around his ankle in a swift motion before landing on his feet and standing up with a faint smile, "Thanks." He said, "But I think I've got it."

Stiles nodded then as he said, "Yeah." The three of us not at all surprised by his quick action.

Scott began walking up to the Hale house and I followed him but he turned his head back to glance at an awe-struck Allison, "Coming?" He asked her and the four of us began our search again.

___________________

We failed last night in our search for Lydia and the four of us separated in defeat. We had no idea where to go from our failure because her scent had disappeared at the Hale house. The weather was on a steep incline to below freezing tonight as well and if no one found Lydia she would be sure to freeze to death. What made matters worse was that apparently last night she'd dug into someone's grave and taken their liver. I didn't have to think twice to know what she probably would've done with said liver.

The day at school had dragged but that was only because I wanted to be out looking for Lydia. I hated that I had to sit in school all day and suffer through the classes knowing she was out there somewhere, probably stuck in the transformation between human and werewolf. I hated that she would be terrified beyond belief and utterly perplexed at what was going on and that there was no one there to help her either.

I hated it.

I hated chemistry too and after Stiles had acquired himself a detention with Harris after school I deemed myself done for the day. I wasn't feeling too great to start with either — after the both of us had gotten home last night I puked my guts up for a solid 15 minutes for a reason completely unbeknownst to me. I was exhausted though and it wasn't that I couldn't be bothered to sit through the rest of the school day it was that I genuinely didn't have it in me to do so.

I'd noticed during chemistry that my table partner had been abnormally quiet too and that was something that played on my mind throughout the class. It was a pop quiz so talking wasn't really permitted but Isaac normally greeted me whenever he or I sat down at the table and he normally held a conversation with me until Harris started the class. He normally bid me goodbye when we were dismissed as he packed his things away but today he didn't do any of that.

I thought it to be out of character for him and there was a large part of me that didn't feel comfortable letting him leave like that. I felt like there was something wrong with him as he left the room with his head ducked down and so when Scott and Stiles came over to me to walk to our next lesson I shrugged them off and chased after Isaac.

It didn't take me long to locate him in the hectic hallways because his tall frame caused him to stand out somewhat above the crowd of people. If you were looking for him — like I were now — you'd be able to locate him easily as he towered over most of his peers. His height really was an advantage point to someone like me as I manoeuvred my way through the crowd of my peers to reach him.

I had to duck and weave in between people but after a few short minutes I reached his side and noted how quickly he was walking. Wherever he was heading he was on a mission to arrive there and I struggled to keep up with his fast paced strides.

"Isaac." I muttered loud enough for him to hear, "Slow down, man."

He glanced sideways to me and his blue eyes widened in surprise, "Alex.. uh, what are you doing?"

"Well you didn't say anything in chem so I thought something might've been up." I said to him, "Just checking in."

He strayed from our path of walking straight ahead then, manoeuvring in and out of people to stop by a locker and I followed him. I watched him open the top locker he stood in front of and I nodded, "So this is where your locker is, good to know."

"I'm all right." He told me stiffly then, refusing to meet my eyes, "Thanks for checking in."

"Are you sure?" I pried, "You're never this quiet."

"Yeah." He nodded, "Just tired."

I stepped to the side to lean against the locker that neighboured his and it was only then did I get a glimpse of the side of his face — the side he'd been hiding from me. A strangled gasp of horror tumbled past my lips as I saw the stained and marked skin under his eye, a fading black bruise.

Immediately Isaac's eyes widened and he hurried to turn away from me but in my shocked nature I grabbed his jaw in my hands and forced him to look back at me. The lesion was more noticeable now and it looked to be unforgiving — painful in nature to touch and I recalled how just a few weeks ago I found Issac's face tainted with a bruise.

Judging by his reaction — or rather his instinct — to pull his jaw out of my grasp and look away I figured this had to be a frequent occurrence. He just wasn't used to people finding out or paying heed to the injuries on his skin.

"What— Isaac, what happened to your face?"

"It's nothing." He shrugged, returning his attention to retrieving the books he required from his locker, "From lacrosse practice."

I frowned then, my brows furrowing, "That's funny because I don't remember practice being on recently."

"It was on this morning." He responded bluntly.

"And yet a bruise of that nature can't come out so quickly." I told him but he only remained silent. I sighed then, seeing I wasn't going to get anywhere going down the path I was on and so I decided to switch my tactics, "Look, Isaac, I don't mean to pry—"

He shocked me by slamming the door of his locker shut, the loud bang of the metal clattering echoing across the hall. I became suddenly very aware of the way the hallway quietened, people turning to look at us curiously. I figured Isaac realised too as he glanced around fleetingly before leaning closer to me somewhat. The look in his eyes was one that was unfamiliar to me, they were hard, depicting annoyance perhaps and his jaw was tight. He lowered his voice significantly as he said to me, "—Then stop prying."

My lips parted then and I was stuck on how I should respond to him. He'd always been kind hearted in my eyes even if we only shared one class together. It didn't cross my mind that perhaps he had a darker side, one that didn't stand for people nosying into his private life. But then the thought that he wasn't used to people paying this much attention to him crossed my mind. He was unsure of how to react when someone displayed genuine concern because he didn't have many friends who would do that. Perhaps he was unsure of how to react and so his first instinct was to snap to scare me away, or perhaps I'd genuinely stepped on something sensitive here.

Regardless, as I tried to spare his actions in my mind by coming up with a reasonable excuse as to why his mood had changed so suddenly, I didn't form a reply. Much to my dismay, Isaac took my silence as his cue to leave and he left me standing there. I was aware of the people gawking at me in Isaac's wake, wondering what was going on between us and I glanced around fleetingly at them. As soon as I laid eyes on those staring they sharply turned away from me, returning to their business while trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

I shook my head, a sigh pouring from my lips as I readjusted the strap of my bag over my shoulder, readying myself to leave. I didn't mind that I'd have to walk back to Stiles' house, I could do with the exercise and the fresh air if I was honest. It would give me a good opportunity to think and reflect — something I was in dire need of doing just to process everything that was happening right now.

When I resumed my walk, heading towards one of the many exists of the school I ignored the nosey stares of my peers and continued in my path. Thankfully, I didn't have far to walk and I found the front exit within a minute, about to reach for the push-bar of the door when a hand appeared in front of my eyes. They held the exit closed, clearing their throat somewhat knowingly and I glanced to my left to see who was preventing my great escape.

"Miss. Anderson." A woman called my name. Her skin was of a dark colour and she had black pin straight hair that I was quite openly jealous of. The shine that bounced off her hair under the light was amazing and I wondered what she used to get her hair to look so silk looking like. I recognised her though and I knew her to be one of the faculty members here.

I internally cringed somewhat knowing my demise would shortly be coming to bite me in the ass. Trying to skip the remainder of the day usually was an easy feat though today I had failed.

"Planning another one of your great escapes I presume?" She asked me, her thinly shaped brow arching.

Had I built a reputation of skipping classes amongst faculty teachers here? Well, that was good to know.

"Getting some air." I lied, feigning a polite smile.

While I knew she was a teacher I didn't know what class she taught, surely not one of mine otherwise I'd of known her name. Perhaps though, she did teach a class of mine and it was a class I neglected to attend? Saying that though, I was doing pretty well with my attendance — or so I thought anyways. I hadn't skipped a class in a while.

She gave me a tight lipped smile, "Well in that case I'll accompany you."

"No need." I shook my head. I didn't need a babysitter.

"I've actually been meaning to catch you, so this should be a good time to talk." She replied, opening the door and holding it open as she offered for me to step out first.

I remained hesitant though as I furrowed my brows, "Catch me about what?"

She only ushered me out the door before following me and we walked in silence until she spoke, "I know you've been having a hard time but skipping school isn't the way forward."

"Who says I'm skipping?" I asked her curiously.

She didn't seem fooled as she looked to me, "You know if you're caught skipping I'll be forced to call your dad."

At the mention of him I scoffed and I shrugged my shoulders, "Feel free to, I don't live with him anymore."

She nodded, "Then perhaps I'll call the Sheriff." She told me, "Inform him when I speak to him next regarding you."

I halted in my steps then as I looked to her. The Sheriff had spoken to her about me? Why? What did she have to do with anything.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not just a French teacher, Alex." She told me then and I could finally place a name to her face. She was Miss. Morrell, Allison's French teacher. Allison had rarely spoke about her except the times I'd asked what class she had next. She'd only reply with 'French with Miss. Morrell' or 'I've got Miss. Morrell, what about you?' and I didn't ever know her face to pin her name to.

Now I did.

"I'm the school counsellor." She informed me and I couldn't hold back the groan of disdain that spilled from my lips then. Why was the Sheriff talking to her about me in terms of counselling, I didn't need counselling. My problems were not one that you could 'counsel' it was physically impossible. They stretched so much further than what Sheriff Stilinski thought they did but it was his thought that counted. Obviously he had to have been worried about my well-being to have enlisted the help of her, or at least confined in her for advice.

Immediately though, I responded, "I don't need counselling."

She nodded once but she appeared far form convinced, "Well why don't we have a chat? If I see that you don't need my help we can leave it at that."

I shook my head, "Thanks, but no thanks. You can't help me."

She chuckled, "On the contrary."

"My problems go far beyond being afraid of the dark, Miss. Morrell. To understand why I'm afraid of one thing you need to know what triggered that fear and that's something I'm not willing nor want to talk about."

"Well then it seems you do need my help." She said to me, "Because accepting and talking about what you fear the most is the first step in overcoming what holds you back."

I clenched my jaw hearing her words and I noticed a small glimmer in her eyes. It was almost like she knew something — that maybe she could see straight through me and my lies. She couldn't know what I was afraid of surely? No, how would she even figure that out. I was being paranoid.

It seemed she had stumped me though and I didn't have a better argument than my unwillingness to discuss my fears. I was stuck and she seemed to take my silence as a triumph.

"I noticed you have a free period." She said to me, "Why don't we head to my office and have a chat?"

I wanted to say no but I didn't have a genuine excuse as to why I was turning her down. It wasn't a suggestion either, so turning her offer down was off the table. It was her way of politely telling me that I'd be accompanying her to her office. It was non-negotiable.

I didn't reply. Instead I begrudgingly walked away, back towards the doors we'd exited from minutes ago and she followed me in triumph.

_________________

I still had to walk home after the school day had ended because of Stiles' detention. The door to the Stilinski household was locked but Stiles had given me his key so I could let myself in. Sheriff Stilinski had made a point of getting me a key cut and so he'd removed the spare one from underneath the plant pot to take to have a replica made of it. I had to use Stiles' key to allow myself in because of that.

Speaking of Stiles, he was going straight to the cemetery after he'd gotten out of his detention with Harris to meet Scott. The both of them were going to watch Kate's funeral from afar — or something like that — and I passed on the opportunity. It wasn't something I wanted to do in my spare time and I had a lot to reflect on.

Miss. Morrell had queried a lot during our talk in her office and there had only been so much I could give her. Around half way into the session I'd realised that I did need her help and so I quit my stubborn act while I was ahead. It remained hard though because while I wanted to rid myself of the fear that was clutching to my back — haunting me constantly — I had to give her the truth and I couldn't do that.

So how could I do this? How could I figure out a way to work around this. I suppose I had to compensate — replace the things I couldn't tell her with things that I could. That night in the video store where — in my opinion — this whole thing started was easy. An animal, it was just an animal. The night in the school? Kate. It was Kate Argent. The night of the formal.. Kate.

That would work. Right?

I had taken a seat at the kitchen table to try and figure out my story — to set all the kinks in it straight — when the front door suddenly burst open. I jumped back in shock, returning to the land of the present instead of in my head and I saw Stiles standing in the doorway. It was pitch black I noticed though, when I'd sat down it was daylight and the brightness had been pouring through the windows.

How long had I been thinking and moreover, how long had I been sat in the dark unknowingly?

"Alex?" Stiles questioned then, his voice hesitant but concerned as he flicked the living room light on to see me sitting at the table, "Are you okay?"

"Fine." I nodded then, staring at the table in bewilderment. I looked up to the clock on the wall and saw it was past eight now, well into the evening. Time had ran away with me hadn't it?

Stiles' steps echoed through the silent house as he walked tentatively over to me, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I shook my head then, forcing myself back into the present, "I'm all right, I swear. I was just trying to set a few things straight in my head."

He crouched down in from of me, placing one hand on the table for support and the other on my thigh, "Sure?"

I nodded then, flashing him a small smile. I'd have to tell him about his dad setting me up for counselling with Morrell but at the minute I wanted to know why he was only just returning home. The funeral can't of lasted this long, surely?

"Where've you been?"

He sighed then, "My dad busted us at the funeral and he got a call about a disturbance in a car, apparently something had hit an ambulance when they were transporting a heart-attack patient."

I furrowed my brows, "Okay?"

He only continued, "Well, the officer on the radio said that there was blood everywhere and he'd never seen anything like it—"

"—Lydia." I muttered over him. My heart fell uncomfortably into the deepest pit in my stomach. Why was she doing this?

Stiles only nodded solemnly in response, "We're trying to find her for you, Alex." He said to me, "I came back for you, to take you to where the ambulance was found."

"Why?" I asked him then. The scene he described to me sounded horrid, I didn't want to see that. It sounded like one of my worst nightmares and I didn't need to give my brain anymore ideas on how to plague my dreams when I slept.

"Scott went looking for her but I said I'd stay at the site incase she showed up." He told me, "I wasn't really supposed to leave but you weren't answering your phone and I panicked."

Upon hearing his words I looked down to my phone as it laid on the table in front of me and I pressed the home button of my iPhone four and saw that Stiles was right. I'd had numerous missed calls from both him and Scott and it led me to wonder how in depth I'd been with my thoughts.

I frowned, "I'm sorry, I didn't even hear it ring."

"It's okay." Stiles assured me, rubbing my shoulder, "But we should go."

I nodded then, rising from my seat and following Stiles to his front door. He reached up to the coat rack hanging by the door and grabbed my beige trench coat Lydia had given to me and handed it to me. I took the thick coat from him and met his eyes where he said, "It's freezing outside."

I put the coat on after nodding and took his hand as he led us outside and into his Jeep. The both of us were silent as he drove us to wherever this disturbance had been reported and it didn't take us long to arrive with Stiles' quick driving.

In the dark sky the blue and red flashes that belonged to that of a police vehicle illuminated the sky from a distance — informing road users of their presence. The headlights on the vehicles lit up the road in natural light and as Stiles rolled the Jeep to a stop I saw the ambulance he was talking about.

The back doors were open and the man who had suffered the heart attack had also suffered a second fate. The scene was almost exactly like the one I'd imagined on the drive, horrific and nightmare inducing. I hadn't expected his blood to have splattered across the white walls of the ambulance however and it nauseated me.

I looked away quickly as I got out of the Jeep, closing the door behind me and meeting Stiles round the front. I took his hand absentmindedly, slotting my fingers into his and squeezing them somewhat tightly for reassurance and he squeezed back with the same pressure.

Just then the annoyed and scolding yell belonging to Sheriff Stilinski caught us by surprise.

"Stiles!"

The two of us turned to the direction his voice came in and we saw him walking briskly over to us, an expression of anger on his face.

"Oh, Jesus." Stiles mumbled under his breath, preparing himself for the scolding his dad was about to dish out to him.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Stilinski quizzed him then, "You think it's all right to jump out of the back of my car when I'm busy and disappear?"

"We—" Stiles hesitated under his dad's furious glare and I squeezed his hand to support him. I knew it killed him to go against his dad like this, he hated feeling like he'd made him disappointed. He shrugged in his silence and sighed, "We just wanted to help you find Lydia."

Sheriff Stilinski sighed too and he rubbed his forehead, "And I get that Stiles but you can't just disappear all the time."

"I'm sorry, dad." He apologised, guilt and regret becoming him.

His dad nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, "It's all right .. but don't think I've forgotten about catching you and Scott at Kate Argent's funeral."

Stiles sighed again and kicked the ground. While he was silent I looked around, surveying exactly what was going on. I looked at the amount of police officers that were here, noticing what jobs some were doing and others were not. I turned behind me to look at the ambulance but as soon as I saw the splatter of blood running down the door I turned away.

I looked around the tree line, narrowing my eyes to see clearer as I searched for anything out of the ordinary but I couldn't find anything. I didn't know why I was disappointed because I didn't know what I was looking for in the first place but I was. I swallowed harshly, glancing fleetingly around one last time before I turned my attention back to Stiles and the Sheriff but at the last second something caught my eye.

It was a figure — a small and petite figure and I narrowed my eyes further to get a better look. They lurked in the trees, moving slowly and it prompted me to take a step forwards, dropping Stiles hand while doing so. I watched as they pushed a tree branch aside and stepped passed it, the lights of the cars around us illuminating them.

My eyes widened once I saw who it was and while immense relief flooded my body I was cemented to the ground in shock. The air stormed out of my lungs and in my shock I did the only thing my body was capable of doing at the time.

"Lydia?"

She was shaking, her whole form trembling as she walked unevenly. She didn't hear me though and I saw her eyes were fixated on the ground. Her hair was frizzy, dry leaves stuck in it and making it look similar to a lions mane. She was still naked I noticed — covered in dry mud — and she held her arms over her chest to cover herself.

"Lydia?" Stiles muttered from beside me in confusion but I didn't look back to him in fear I was hallucinating. I was scared that if I took my eyes off her she would disappear but when I heard Stiles next words of 'What in the holy hell.' I knew I was seeing her.

"Lydia!" I shouted her name again and it seemed I'd pulled her out of whatever trance she'd been stuck in.

She met my eyes and I noticed how tears dripped down her cheeks, "Well.." She muttered, "Is anyone gonna get me a coat?"

I hurried to take my coat off, slipping out of the long item that would cover her fully as I rushed towards her. I was thankful Stiles had told me to put it on because otherwise she'd be stuck in a Sheriff's jacket that wouldn't cover much nor provide her with much warmth.

I held the sleeves out for her, helping her into the coat and as my fingers brushed somewhat over her forearm I gasped at how cold she was. It was lucky she'd found us when she did because if she'd stayed the night out she quite possibly could've died from hypothermia. I fastened my coat up quickly, ensuring she was completely covered before I wrapped my arms around her tightly in an embrace.

"I'm glad you're all right." I said to her then and it took her awhile to respond to me embrace.

After a minute or two though, she wrapped her arms around me — just as tight as I was squeezing her — and she exhaled shakily, burying her head into my neck.

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A/N; I can barely remember anything that happened in season 2 so as I'm writing it's like I'm re-watching it for the first time again