GETTING FROM THE LOFT TO THE ANIMAL CLINIC WAS A BLUR. The only clear memory I had was the array of emotions that consumed me as Cora drove. The possibility of the twins surviving made my heart race but their unresponsiveness and the blood that trickled from their mouths diminished my hope. Would they survive or were they just suffering? My mind wasn't really working, it was like I was running in overdrive. The adrenaline that coursed through my veins allowed me to continue going on autopilot — or at least it did until we got to the animal clinic.

I almost broke the glass in the door from knocking on it so hard. I vaguely remember seeing Deaton's face through the glass before I ran to the Jeep to help Cora with Ethan. The veterinarian rushed out to our aid and he took Ethan over his shoulder and ran into the clinic with him, lying him down on the table.

I'd noticed in our absence he'd had the time to rearrange the treatment room again though I feared now we'd just undo all his work with the chaos we were about to instil upon him.

I remained in the back room with Ethan as Deaton went back outside to bring Aiden in. He had him slung over his shoulder and it was then that I truly noticed how strong he must've been.

Lydia and Cora followed him in and Deaton pointed over to the spare table pushed up against the wall, "Cora, grab that table."

I watched as she swiped everything that resided on top of the table on to the floor, messing it up again. She pulled it out from the wall and towards Deaton as he began to lower Aiden on to it, "Hold his head."

"Hang on." Lydia mumbled softly as she reached out to help from the opposite side.

Deaton placed him on the table and as I looked over I saw the droplet of blood that rolled from his mouth.

"Can you save them?" Cora asked Deaton then.

"Only if they start healing on their own." He responded.

"How do we do that?" Lydia panicked, "Can we help them in any way?"

"Normally the only way to trigger the healing process is by triggering the healing process." Cora said to her.

Lydia looked between us all, "So..?"

"We break their bones." I mumbled uncertainly, holding Ethan and I's intertwined hands to my mouth and pressing a kiss to the back of his hand.

"I'd like to hope they can heal on their own." Deaton said to us, "Though if we have to."

"I can't help but feel like this is partly my fault." I said aloud then before I looked up to Deaton, "If they didn't heal me they would be fine."

"We don't know that, Alex." Deaton reassured me.

"They're not getting any better." I choked out then, "Look at them."

Deaton continued to look at me for some seconds before he exited into the store room. I didn't know where he was going and I didn't shout after him either but when he returned with two cylinders of oxygen I understood what he was doing.

He passed one of the masks to me and I slotted it around Ethan's face, holding it over his mouth and nose as Deaton turned it on. He rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a vial and a syringe before attaching the needle to the end of the syringe.

He drew the drug up quickly and held it to the light, expelling the top contents and ridding it of air bubbles before he leaned over and injected it into Ethan's arm first. I watched the entire time, holding my breath in anticipation with the hope that it would work.

He used it all before he withdrew and pulled a second needle out of the box and drew up the rest of the contents of the vial before he did the same to Aiden. We could only stand there and wait — hoping that whatever he had done had worked.

I felt as if I couldn't truly breathe. I could take a breath but it didn't fill my lungs entirely and the anticipation made it so much worse. I was praying that the twins survived but I was yet to hear from Stiles too. I wondered what was taking so long to save them when they knew exactly where they were going.

Had something happened? Was that why he hadn't had the chance to call me.

Oh, god.

I closed my eyes as panic seeped through me at a record speed and I focused on my breathing. I inhaled through my nose and I held it for three seconds before I exhaled. I knew that panicking would get me nowhere. I had to stay calm.

I'd reached the fourth inhalation when suddenly a strange feeling overcame me. It was like I'd been pushed into an alternate universe — that was the only way that I could describe it. I was taken aback by the sudden change and I glanced to Cora curiously.

She looked how I felt however as she stood opposite me wiping the blood from Ethan's mouth and I took a deep breath.

"The lunar eclipse." She mumbled.

We no longer had power. Everything that made us supernatural had been stripped from us and if it had been stripped from me and Cora it would've been stripped from the twins too.

"But the twins," Lydia said then, "How can they heal if they don't have power?"

Alarm flashed over Deaton's eyes for a split second but I noticed it. He sharply forced a reassuring smile to his lips but it didn't matter much when I'd already seen exactly what he was thinking. He didn't know how the twins were going to fare and that scared me. He'd done all he could for them, to try and kickstart their healing process but it was all on them now and with the eclipse in place I feared they wouldn't be able to fight.

Cora wiped a piece of gauze over Ethan's chin again, catching the spill as I continued to hold his hand and pray. I looked over to Aiden before I met Lydia's worried gaze. She had her hands on his chest, standing by his head.

"Do you feel anything?" I asked her. I didn't know if she would but it was worth a shot in asking.

She shook her head but I realised then I didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. Perhaps good because she didn't feel like they were going to die? I honestly didn't know.

She just continued to keep her gaze on Aiden and I swore I recognised the glint in her eyes. I couldn't of been imagining it because I knew the look so well. I was no stranger to it, especially when I'd seen it firsthand in her eyes.

Lydia had once looked at Jackson like that — the night we saved his life and spared him from the curse the Kanima instilled upon him. Admiration, care and affection. I didn't think she had feelings for Aiden but I'd never considered that she'd caught them. I'd assumed that because it wasn't her intention she wouldn't of allowed herself to develop such things but then I was reminded of how we never really had much say in the matter of feelings.

Did Aiden have feelings for Lydia though? I didn't know. Perhaps that was something I'd have to ask him about.

I looked at the clock on Deaton's wall and saw we had nine minutes left of the eclipse. The twins showed no sign of recovery, of healing .. of nothing. The only indication they were still alive was the shallow rise and fall of their chests. There wasn't anything we could do for them. There was no pain to take and no strength to give. Cora and I weren't Alphas so we had no additional power to give them.

We just had to wait.

It felt like hours were passing but it was only seconds and it was painful. I'd began to lose hope the longer we waited though and in the silence that consumed us my thoughts ran wild and free. They were so loud and they destroyed my hope that the twins would survive. I didn't want to give up on them but as we reached six minutes left of the eclipse I didn't know what to do.

I dropped my head and tried to collect myself but when I felt Ethan's fingers curl into my hand I looked up quicker than a flash. His hands twitched and his eyes had closed whereas before they were open. I held my breath in anticipation until I saw his lids flutter twice before he opened his eyes. At first he shied away from the bright, overhead, light and he blinked several times as he groaned.

My breath hitched in my throat as a grin claimed my lips and it was some seconds before I took a sigh of relief.

Ethan met my gaze and though he looked exhausted he smiled before he asked, "What happened?"

A breathy laugh of disbelief pooled from deep within my gut, "Jennifer kicked your ass." I said to him.

He closed his eyes and shook his head in slight disappointment before he said, "Is Aiden okay?"

I looked over to his brother to see him looking up at Lydia, his hand over hers. She looked smitten and my heart warmed as I glanced back down to Ethan, "He's fine, don't worry."

He nodded tiredly and Deaton gave them a few more minutes with the oxygen masks while they recovered completely and pulled around after their ordeal. He turned the tanks off by the wall and Ethan removed his before he moved to sit up slowly. I took his hand and helped him just incase knowing the eclipse was still in motion and as he hung his legs over the side of the table I hooked his arm over my shoulder while Cora did the same.

I gave my cousin a grateful smile and she nodded once at me in response. I didn't ever think Cora would do anything for the twins or help them yet here we were and that meant a lot to me.

My phone began to ring in my back pocket and I pulled it out as the storm outside subsided drastically — the power and strength restoring into my body and the eclipse ending. Scott's contact name flashed on my phone and I accepted his call immediately after Cora told me to take it, reassuring me she'd be okay with Ethan.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alex." Scott's voice filtered through my speaker, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, are you? Did you get to them in time?" I asked him eagerly.

"Yeah, they did. I just got off the phone with Stiles, he said everyone's okay."

Relief flooded me and I exhaled deeply as the weight was lifted from my shoulders. I'd never been so happy to hear those words. They were like music to my ears.

"Oh, thank god."

"Yeah." Scott agreed, "It's all over. Jennifer is dead."

"We did it?" I asked him then.

"We did it." Was his response, "Derek and I are going to the Nemeton now, Stiles said something about a ladder, do you want us to pick you up?"

"Yes, please." I nodded.

"I'm gunna swing by my house and pick my moms car up so we can fit everyone in but we shouldn't be long." He said to me.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me, "Text me when you're outside."

"Will do." He replied and the call cut before I could think to say anything else.

I lowered my phone from my ear but I didn't expect everyone's eyes to be on me. They were all waiting anxiously to hear what had happened and I nodded to put them out of their misery, "It's over." I said to them, "We won."

____________________________

The Nemeton was not what I was expecting but I imagined in the past it would've been extravagant. It remained unharmed from the wild storm but the earth some feet away from it had collapsed. Derek, Scott and I approached with caution — Derek holding the ladders under his arm — and we stopped before the large hole in the ground. Curiously, we peered into what looked like a root cellar and I saw everyone gathered together tightly around a baseball bat that seemed to be the only thing keeping the structure from caving in completely.

"Did someone order a ladder?" Derek quipped then and smiles broke out on their faces as they looked to each other and chuckled. They manoeuvred around in the short space as Derek lowered the ladder into the cellar and he and Scott held it sturdy. Melissa was the first one to climb out and she was slightly unsteady on her feet but I caught her arms before she lost her footing.

She let out a breathy chuckle as she met my gaze and smiled at me, "You look better than the last time I saw you."

I chuckled in amusement, "Yeah, it's amazing what the power of an Alpha can do to you."

She pulled me into a brief embrace before she hugged Scott tightly and I helped Allison out of the cellar next. She took my hand as she climbed out and Derek placed his hand under her arm for support and once she was steady on the ground she looked to us both, "Thanks."

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She nodded, "You?"

"Never better." I replied with a small smile.

A pressed smile appeared on her lips and she moved out of the way of the ladder as the Sheriff climbed up. Derek and I helped him to his feet and he thanked us both before he turned to me. His hand still held my forearm and with this other he patted my shoulder as he looked at me. I saw as relief pooled his irises and he smiled at me before he surprised me by pulling me into an embrace. I stiffened for a split second, unused to the affection, before I relaxed and wrapped my arms around him.

The Sheriff had been like a father to me since I'd moved back to beacon Hills — just like Melissa had been a mother — and I'd been worried sick about the both of them. I was just glad that they were okay.

He sighed, "Thank god you're okay."

We pulled away as I laughed breathily, "I could say the same about you."

He rubbed my shoulder as he smiled, "You don't need to worry about me."

"Except we do." Stiles quipped then and I turned to see him standing besides us.

I looked to him but immediately my eyes were drawn to the blood on his head. I gaped as my eyes widened and I grabbed the back of his neck to pull his head down so I could inspect the source in which the blood was escaping from. He grunted in shock somewhat as I pulled him forcefully towards me, "What the hell happened to you?"

He managed to straighten himself up under my grip and he dusted his trousers off, "I crashed Roscoe into a tree."

My brows raised incredulously before I shook my head, "What is it with us and crashing our cars into trees, eh?"

The Sheriff hooked his arms over both of our shoulders and pulled us in, "I think you're just trying to give your old man a heart attack."

"I didn't do it on purpose." Stiles defended in exasperation, "It was an accident."

I chuckled as I looked at him and his pouty face. He looked like a child who'd just been scolded for eating a cookie from the jar when they'd specifically been told not to. It was amusing to say the least and the Sheriff joined in with my laughter.

Stiles scoffed, "Oh, yeah, laugh at my expense."

"Oh shut up." I said jokingly as I reached for his hand and curled my fingers around his. I gave him a sly smile, "We love you really."

"You better." He replied.

The Sheriff rubbed our shoulders again and he looked between Stiles and I, "I think the three of us need to have a long chat about this when we get home."

Mine and Stiles' eyes widened in horror as we looked at each other. The last thing either of us needed from the Sheriff was the talk. That would just be entirely mortifying.

"Yeah, I think we'll pass on that one dad but thanks anyways." Stiles said to him then.

His dad only laughed in amusement as he shook his head, "Not that." He said, "Though I hope I don't have to have that talk with you yet." He added as an afterthought.

My brows furrowed in slight confusion as I looked at him, "Then what?"

"Stiles here told me all about werewolves and druids and darachs." The Sheriff responded, "I didn't believe him at first and I'm sorry for that."

He shook his head dismissively, "It's okay, dad."

"It's not." He replied, "I should've believed you. It was just a lot to take in .. and you didn't exactly tell me at a good time."

Stiles nodded in understanding though I depicted somewhat of a weary expression in his eyes as he look at his dad, "And do you believe me now?"

The Sheriff nodded in response, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it though. I don't understand how Jackson turned from a werewolf to a kanima."

Stiles groaned in despair as I laughed heartily, "Dad, no, he was the kanima first—"

"I know, I know." The Sheriff nodded as he smiled in amusement, "I'm just messin' with ya'."

"Well, I'm glad you finally know." I said to the sheriff. The thought of him knowing I was a werewolf was a little daunting, I did have to admit but I'd rather him know the truth and Stiles and I continuing to lie to him day after day.

Stiles had been dying to tell him for a long time — especially when we were in the height of the kanima malarkey. It wasn't too bad during the summer because we had nothing to worry about but once Jennifer started committing these sacrifices the Sheriff had never felt such pressure before. He had people in his town dying and there was nothing pointing towards an answer — now he had it.

I hoped it would bring him closure. It was just a shame we couldn't tell the truth to the families who had lost their loved ones.

He nodded at me and gave me a pressed smile, "I have to admit, it's a bit of a daunting thought but I know it'll be okay."

I smiled at him and nodded as he pulled Stiles and I into him for a second embrace. I closed my eyes and released a content sigh, feeling Stiles squeeze my hand slightly. A smile danced across my lips as around me the sound of everyone talking softly echoed through my ears. I really didn't think we all would've survived but here we were and the feeling was amazing.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott asked us then. He was stood next to his mom, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, as he looked around in concern. His worried eyes flickered over every single one of us as we turned to one another, creating a sort of circle.

"We're good." Chris nodded in response as he stood opposite us. He had his arm wrapped around Allison's shoulders and she looked up to her dad with a smile. Besides her, Isaac stood there and he nodded at Scott. Derek stood between Isaac and I and Scott and Melissa stood on the other side of Stiles.

We all just looked at one another in awe, so thankful that we were all okay and that we'd survived this together.

"Is anyone hurt?" Scott checked.

"Got a cut on my head but it doesn't hurt." Stiles said as he pointed to his forehead causally, "No complaints."

Scott met my gaze then, "Everyone still alive?"

I nodded with a smile on my face, "Deaton managed to save the twins. They're fine."

"And Deucalion or Jennifer won't be bothering us anymore." Derek added.

"That's a bonus." Isaac quipped.

We all started to laugh heartily and the sound made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It was hard to explain but I truly felt amazing. We'd gotten lucky with stopping Peter as the Alpha and stopping Jackson before summer. There was a small part of me that didn't think we'd get through this together — especially when Jennifer was always ten steps ahead of us.

Chris was the first who came down from the high we were all on and when he did he looked to Allison and frowned in confusion, "How did you find us?"

Somewhat of a thick silence filled the air as we all glanced to one another fleetingly. What Scott, Stiles and Allison had done was brave but it had it's risks. There was no certainty that they would ever recover. Deaton had told me when they were unconscious that one of the implications of their sacrifice was that it would permanently scar them — not physically but mentally. They would always have this blanket of darkness looming over them, sitting around their heart.

There was only the Sheriff, Melissa and Chris who didn't know what their children had done and yet none of us wanted to tell them the truth.

"Why do I have a feeling this is going to be bad?" Melissa asked us all wearily.

"It's not bad." Scott reassured his mom, "It's just.."

"We, uh.." Allison tried and failed, looking to Stiles.

"Deaton said we could be surrogate sacrifices for you." Stiles finally said, "We gave the Nemeton the power and found you."

"You sacrificed yourselves for us?" Melissa asked then, her eyes narrowing somewhat as she looked between us all, "What—what does that even mean? Did you..?"

I pressed my lips together and remained silent as Melissa questioned them. Her assumption that the three of them had died was correct but none of us had the heart to tell her that. We didn't want her to worry anymore than what she already did and if we told her that their hearts had stopped she'd panic. They'd all panic.

"No, mom." Scott said to her — lied to her. He looked to us all, meeting our gazes fleetingly to confirm whether we'd go along with his lie. I was in no place to tell their parents the truth and I saw why Scott chose to lie. He wanted to spare his mom from worrying about the consequences they were going to face.

No one objected to his lie. Instead we remained silent as he reassured not only Melissa but the Sheriff and Chris also.

"How did you act as a sacrifice if you didn't die?" Chris asked then.

"Deaton had a method that would slow our hearts down just enough to make it seem like we were dead." Stiles replied, quick on his feet, "But our hearts never stopped."

I forced a reassuring smile on to my face when in reality the fresh memories from the sixteen hours they'd spent unconscious flooded through my brain. It pained me to relive them because of the fear that had consumed me throughout the experience.

I hoped that eventually I'd be able to put it behind me along with both mine and the twins near miss with death. The last few days had been traumatic for us all but I believed it was nothing we couldn't overcome together.

"We're okay." Allison said, "We're going to be fine."

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement, "All of us."

I savoured this moment because it was so unlike anything we'd ever experienced before. It was perfect — bliss. No one had suffered a loss and we were all okay. We'd made it out alive despite everything that had been stacked up against us. I had no idea how it'd ended up working out in our favour but it had. Somehow all of the pieces fell into our hands and we managed to one-up the woman who had always been ten steps ahead of us.

"If there's anything I need to know — any other supernatural creatures out there or threats — now is the time to tell me." The sheriff said mainly to Stiles and I but he looked at those who surrounded us too, "No more keeping me in the dark."

"You know everything we know." I replied with a small smile.

Stiles nodded in agreement, "We might have to sit down and go through it slowly but there's nothing else to it."

The sheriff nodded and I saw him glance sideways to Derek beside me. He and Derek had a bad sort of relationship really. He'd done nothing but arrest him and hunt him down thanks to Scott and Stiles some time ago but now at least we'd be able to clear his name properly. 

I looked around as a yawn rippled through my body, "Can we go home now? I can't remember the last time I showered and slept in a bed."

Around me everyone laughed. We were all in the same situation. The days had blended into one since the night of the recital however many days ago that was. We were all a mess, covered in dirt and sweat and blood and although we were happy to be alive and in one another's presence we were all absolutely exhausted. I was certain I'd be able to sleep for two solid days after all of this.

"That sounds like a plan." The sheriff said to me as he smiled, "Are there any takeouts open at this time of night? I'm starving."

"Mmmh, I'm in the mood for Chinese." I replied.

"Oh, I could murder a Chinese right now." Allison groaned in delight.

My stomach grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear and it wasn't long before other people's stomachs started protesting in hunger too.

"So .. Chinese it is?" Melissa asked us all, "I know one that's open 24 hours."

I nodded, "Lead the way mamma McCall."

She smiled brightly at me after I called her mamma McCall and together we all walked towards the two cars we'd brought and abandoned with Chinese food on our minds.

____________________

There were somethings I hated, school was one of them. I hated conflict with those most dearest to me. I hated feeling powerless .. but there was one thing that I hated above all else and it wasn't Kate Argent or Jennifer Blake.

It was goodbyes.

I couldn't stand them because deep down it was a reminder that you might not ever see that person ever again. The world worked in funny ways. I'd learned that since the Hale fire. One day — one minute even — you could be talking to someone and the next they were dead. I spoke to my mom seconds before the fire broke out. She told me to go upstairs while her and Talia spoke in private, minutes later a blazing fire separated us forever. I leaned the whole truth from my dad, I forgave him, and three days later he was shot in our family home — murdered in cold blood without any clue as to who it was. The sacrifices couldn't even cover his death because it would've been something Jennifer would've rubbed in my face.

Goodbyes didn't always have to mean you were bidding farewell to someone dead though. That person could very well be alive when you parted with them but they could die before you had the chance to reconcile again. It was life and it was harsh.

I really didn't think I'd be saying goodbye to Derek and Cora today. I didn't think I'd be saying goodbye to them ever. I thought that they'd stay in Beacon Hills with us but I couldn't blame them for wanting to leave. The only thing that gave me hope that they would come back was that Derek kept his apartment and he gave me a key for it incase I ever needed to escape. It was essentially mine which was weird considering I was only 16. He told me it was an early birthday present — somewhere permanent so I didn't have to sofa surf the next time Stiles and I got into a fight.

I was grateful for it.

"You know you can come with us, don't you?" Cora said to me, hope collecting in her eyes. She'd spent days trying to convince me to join her and Derek but I couldn't. I couldn't leave Stiles behind, or Scott or anyone else. It was hard saying goodbye to them but Beacon Hills was my home.

"I know." I nodded, "But even though I slate the place to the ground, I need to go to school."

She rolled her eyes, "Who needs an education?"

"Me." I replied.

She pressed her lips together in defeat and nodded before she sighed and reached out towards me. Cora wasn't big on physical affection so her action surprised me somewhat but I reciprocated her embrace immediately. I squeezed her tightly but not tight enough to break any ribs. I'd miss her. We'd only just reconciled after thinking one another had died and I loved having her back in my life but if this was what she truly wanted I couldn't stop her.

"I'm really going to miss you." She said to me as we pulled away.

I nodded, "I'll miss you, too."

"You know, Alex, I may of lost one sister but at least I've still got another." She said to me sincerely as she held my shoulder.

Hearing her words brought tears to my eyes. It was so sincere and it was amazing to hear. Cora might've been my cousin biologically but I'd never had any brothers or sisters so hearing her say that meant more to me than I'd ever be able to explain.

Laura had been a massive role model for Cora and I and losing her was hard but we still had each other.

"Don't cry." She said to me as tears welled in her eyes, "You'll make me cry."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I said quickly, drying my eyes before the tears had a chance to run down my cheeks, "I'll stop."

Once we had both calmed down Cora looked to me and she pulled me into another short embrace. I rubbed her back before we pulled away and smiled at each other, "Take care of yourself."

"You too." I nodded.

She pressed her lips together and nodded to herself before she waved at Scott and Stiles as they stood behind me. They waved awkwardly back and she got into Derek's Jeep and shut the door.

The owner of the vehicle closed the trunk and looked at me as I stood there. He glanced fleetingly down to his feet as he walked over to me before silently pulling me into an embrace.

I wrapped my arms around him and tucked my chin over his shoulder as he rubbed my back and I savoured it. I didn't know when he'd be back or even if he would be coming back but I hoped he did. He was still my guardian after all though that didn't really account for much. All I needed him for was to sign my permission slips for trips with school but we never went anywhere anyways .. and hey, worst case scenario I could just forge his signature. It wasn't hard.

"Be careful." He said to me as we pulled away, "I know what their sacrifice did and if I'm not back and things start going haywire I don't want Scott to have to tell me you died."

"I won't." I replied and I watched as his brow raised before I corrected myself, "Right. I will be careful and I won't die."

"Good." He nodded.

"Though if things do start going to shit you'll probably have to come back. I don't think we can deal with it on our own."

"You can." He reassured me, "You've got a pack and a good Alpha and you're all stronger than you think."

I nodded as I pressed my lips together. I was apart of Scott's pack now, we all were and you didn't have to be a werewolf to be apart of this pack. You could be anything.

Derek patted my shoulder twice but he hesitated before he said, "I'll see you later, Alex."

I nodded, "See you later."

He gave me a pressed smile before he climbed into his Jeep and as he started the engine Scott and Stiles walked up behind me, the latter taking my hand while Scott slipped his arm over my shoulder. Derek waved at us as he pulled away and we reciprocated his action, watching as the Jeep slowly rolled out of view. What Derek had said wasn't a goodbye — it wasn't permanent. It was a promise that I would see him again and I would forever hold it to him.

I sighed as Scott rubbed my arm, pulling me into a small side embrace and the three of us looked between each other before we began a slow walk back to Stiles' newly fixed Jeep.

"It's gonna be weird without him around." I noted.

Both boys nodded in agreement with me, "Yeah." Stiles said, "And I can't even believe I'm saying this but I think I'm going to miss his moody werewolf ass."

"Me too." I chuckled in agreement.

Scott bumped into my shoulder purposefully then, trying to catch my attention. I looked to him and rose my brows as he tucked his hands into his pocket, "So .. I was thinking. I need a Beta and while I trust Isaac I've known you a lot longer so I thought you'd maybe be a perfect fit."

My brows climbed up my forehead in shock, "You want me to be your Beta?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "Of course I do."

"Wow." I mumbled in astonishment. I was shell shocked. I didn't see it coming whatsoever and so I didn't know how to reply. I wanted to say yes of course but I didn't know how to be a Beta. I barely knew how to function as a werewolf let alone someone who was secondary to the Alpha.

"Say yes?" Scott asked me then.

"I mean .. I'd love to but I don't know the first thing about being a Beta."

He arched his brow at me, "And you think I know how to be an Alpha?"

A slight chuckle poured from our lips in humour before Stiles said, "I think you'll both be fine. You've got me after all and we all know I come up with the best plans."

"Yeah, right." I scoffed.

Scott knitted his brows together as he said off the back of me, "No you don't."

Stiles turned to us both as he gaped incredulously in offence, "What? Yes, I do— you know what? I find it incredibly hurtful that you both think that."

"Stiles, you have the worst plans." I said to him before I looked to Scott, "In fact, you both do. We all know it's me who comes up with the best ideas."

"Uh, no." Scott disagreed then.

"Yeah, definitely not." Stiles chimed over him.

"Oh, whatever. At least I didn't come up with the idea to make Derek the most wanted fugitive in the state or .. I don't know practically kidnap Jackson and hold him hostage in a police van in the middle of the preserve."

"That's—that doesn't count." Stiles fired.

"Yes they do. Admit it, admit that I'm right."

"Absolutely not." Stiles bickered.

Scott hesitated as he looked to Stiles in defeat, "Actually—"

"No." Stiles cut him off, "No, no, no. You are not right." He said to me, "I do not suck at making plans .. you know what? You two can walk home."

"What?" I gaped then.

"Yeah, that's right." He fired. I couldn't prevent the laughter that bubbled in my throat as he worked himself up. We were messing with each other obviously but the way Stiles took offence to it was just classically him, "You two supernatural asses can walk home."

"Oh, Stiles, come on." Scott chuckled.

And we continued on like that, messing around with one another without a care in the world as we walked towards his Jeep. We were happy and we made the mistake of not savouring it because none of us were prepared for what hit us next but if we had of been this moment was something we would held on to tightly for a very long time.

___________________________

END OF SEASON 3A

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A/N; I know I suck at updating atm but I'm trying I swear! Also, 3B commences in the next chapter and I don't think I'm ready for the ✨trauma✨ alex is about to endure