"THIS IS WHERE THE SCHOOL sign is, so the vault's got to be right about here." Stiles said as we all looked at the blueprints of the school on Mr. Yukimura's desk.

I was currently leaning against said desk feeling weaker by the second. This virus was wiping the three of us out in completely different ways. Malia's claws were still out and Scott's eyes were still flashing but thankfully my canines had disappeared. I still felt all kinds of sick though and I wondered why this virus was affecting me like I had been poisoned.

"I suppose if there's a second entrance, it would probably be accessible from the basement." Mr. Yukimura said in response to Stiles. They were really the only two capable of finding the vault. Kira had been oddly quiet since we'd left the locker room.

Stiles pointed to the map, "It's probably somewhere in this hallway. West corridor." He leaned into the desk, presumably to follow the path of the corridor he was talking about, but he fell suddenly as his arm buckled under his own weight. I reached out to him with wide eyes as Mr. Yukimura caught and steadied him. Stiles's eyes were vacant for a second, as if he had blacked out, and when he stood up again he muttered, "Whoa."

I put my hand on his arm worriedly, "Stiles?"

Mr. Yukimura pushed the sleeve of Stiles's jacket upward, showing us the back of his hand where that same rash Sydney had was on his skin, "It's happening to you too. You're getting sick," then he looked at Kira, "you all are."

"I don't feel sick." Kira replied.

"I think it's affecting you differently...neurologically." Her father told her, "I found your test answers here in a pile with the others."

I glanced at Kira's test sheet, seeing that she hadn't actually ticked any boxes, rather ticked next to them. Not a single box was marked correctly.

"That's weird." I mumbled.

Scott's eyes flashed red again and he groaned under his breath, "We need to find the vault."

I nodded in agreement with him as we prepared to leave. Mr. Yukimura guided us to the basement itself, walking ahead down the corridors to make sure we were clear to pass. When we made it to the door he promised us he'd try to find some answers for a cure and then we left, heading into the basement of the school.

I hadn't been down here very many times but it was very eerie. The last time was probably the day Stiles turned up the first time he had gone missing as the Nogitsune for all those days. The day he tricked us over and over again, rigging the arrow to shoot Coach, setting a bomb off in the Sheriff's Station before he finally twisted that sword in my stomach in the Animal Clinic and took all my pain, nearly killing me.

The five of us navigated our way through the dim basement, looking for anything out of the ordinary that could be the hidden exit we were looking for. I moved slowly, too much making me dizzy and just so happened to be clinging to a storage rack for dear life when Stiles said, "Hey, guys... Over here!"

I looked over to see him stood before a storage rack down the corridor and walked over slowly as he and Scott pushed it out the way. The full wall came into view and I saw the triskelion engraved in the wall, a small port in the centre of it. How they had gotten away with hiding it down here all these years was absolutely beyond me. Surely someone had seen it before and questioned the importance of it? It was physically engraved into the wall, not even paint could cover it.

"Look at the cracks in the wall. It's like the entrance outside, it only opens with claws." Stiles said before he looked back at us and asked, "Anyone's claws, right?"

I pursed my lips, "I don't know." I responded skeptically. I doubted my family would make something anyone with claws could get into. It didn't seem like something they would do. Knowing it was potentially all on me I looked down to my hands, my manicured nails to be exact, and tried to wish them away. Tried... and failed. Not that long ago I couldn't put them away, now I couldn't get them out.

"Shit." I swore under my breath in frustration.

Silence fell over us and I swallowed, looking back up to see Scott and Stiles talking silently in some kind of code before Scott turned and looked at Malia as she stood next to me, "Um... Malia, can you try?" He asked her.

The air around us shifted and I didn't have to be supernatural to sense it. I figured Malia sensed it too when she eyed Scott suspiciously and asked, "Why me?"

"I don't have control." Scott responded, holding his hand up to show his finger nails, "And neither does Alex."

Malia was silent for a brief moment. As the only one who could produce claws at this moment in time she was our only other opinion, even if I was skeptical about her being successful.

"Okay. I'll do it." She agreed after a moment before she added, "But first tell me what you've been hiding from me."

The tension grew thicker and in that moment in time I had never wished to be at my full strength and capacity more than I did right now. Malia had struck a nerve and it was evident by the way Stiles stammered in response. She was on to something... something I wasn't aware of.

I focused my gaze on Stiles and asked, "What's she talking about?"

"I know you think you're trying to protect me, but I can handle it." Malia argued her case, glancing briefly at me. Scott and Stiles started fidgeting, a clear sign that they were indeed hiding something and I didn't know how to feel about it because it meant they were hiding it from me, too. I was just about to question them when Malia sighed and said, "I know I'm on the list."

The tension seemed to lighten somewhat. As if relief was pooling from them. Scott and Stiles shared a fleeting glance before they both looked back at Malia and Stiles said, "Yes..."

"So how much?" Malia asked.

Stiles frowned, "How much what?"

"How much am I worth?"

"Four million." Scott told her.

She went silent for a moment and I glanced over to see her looking at the floor in thought. Stiles's voice echoed out, "Are you okay?

"Yeah." She nodded after a minute, "Alex is worth thirty-five. Scott's worth twenty-five, Kira, six. They'll take you guys out way before me."

She left me utterly speechless and I pursed my lips before nodding. Meanwhile, she walked forward past Stiles and inserted her claws into the port.

"That's progress," Stiles muttered, "that's progress."

And I knew it was but it didn't make it any better. Instead, I watched as she shifted her claws in the port to the left once and then back to the right before she pushed it. The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed out around us and the wall began to slide open, revealing the Hale vault.

______________

I had lost count of the hours we had been down here. It was hard to keep track of. At one point I had fallen asleep whimpering in Stiles's arms after throwing up in the far corner of the vault. He had carried me back and cradled me to his chest, running his fingers through my hair in a comforting way to lull me to sleep. It had been a dreamless sleep, one that felt like I had only been asleep for mere minutes before I had woken up again in more pain than I had fallen asleep in.

I was sick again but that third time all I brought up was black bile. That's when I knew things were starting to get worse and Stiles had clutched to me tightly in fear when we'd both looked at each other after it had happened. He had helped me over to Malia and eased me to the ground beside her. She had taken a turn for the worse, her breathing was harsh and irregular and she was struggling. Kira and I had sat with her while Scott and Stiles tried to listen for anything outside, their ears pressed up against the wall of the vault.

I had lost my supernatural hearing. I'd lost all my supernatural senses.

After a while Malia had calmed down enough to fall asleep. She rested her head against my shoulder as her breaths evened out and I rested my head against hers. I wasn't used to this level of physical contact with her but there was something about it that felt oddly familiar... that felt right.

She and I had both left our jackets upstairs. I'd discarded mine when I had first started to feel sick and she had taken hers off during the beginning of the exam. It was cold down here in the vault though and it seemed to be getting colder by the second. It was getting harder and harder to fight the way my body shivered but Malia was full on shaking next to me. Even if we were huddling for warmth, she wasn't getting much of anything from me.

When I heard shoes scuffing on the ground nearby I opened my eyes and saw Stiles walking over to the both of us with an unfamiliar expression in his eyes. I tried to offer him a brief smile as he crouched down in front of us but I felt my dry lips stretch and split.

"Hey." I said hoarsely, my voice a mere broken whisper.

"Hey." Stiles replied somewhat solemnly.

I watched his eyes shift and change and worry gnawed at my stomach. The smile dropped from my face as I said, "What is it?"

He reached out to me and pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear, caressing my cheek as he said, "I gotta leave for a few, okay?"

"Leave?" I echoed, "Where are you going?"

Malia shifted against my shoulder, waking up with a small groan.

Stiles continued to cup my cheek as he said, "Whatever's happening, it's worse for you guys, and that means it's not just people getting sick.. it's another assassin."

My heart clenched in fear hearing his words. The same words I'd thought the second I collapsed in that bathroom stall. Instinctively, I reached for Stiles's wrist and grasped it softly. I wondered if this was how those who had been killed felt when they were being hunted down. Did they feel this fear? This overwhelming want to survive even though there was nothing you could do to save yourself? Did they feel the frustration?

"Stiles..." I muttered, my fear shining through.

"I know." He nodded softly, "I know."

He peeled his jacket off leaving him in his zip up and t-shirt and moved to sling it over my shoulders but I stopped him with a shake of my head, "Malia needs it more."

A small frown tugged at his features but he nodded in compliance nevertheless. Together, we helped Malia put the jacket on and when it was on I pulled her into me, desperate for some of that new warmth she'd just found. She opened her eyes briefly and looked at him, "You're comin' back, right?"

I was reminded of their bond when she spoke to him. Stiles had told me she was like the sister he never had. Mind-numbing, often pointless, fights that was overshadowed by a friendly love and want to protect her in the same way he and I both loved Scott.

He nodded at her, "Yeah."

I looked at him and swallowed the lump in my throat to say, "Promise?"

His eyes fixed on me, full of pure love that made my heart burn, "I'd never leave you behind." He replied.

I nodded, pressing my lips together to stop them from trembling. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against my forehead firmly but softly, taking my hand while he did so. I closed my eyes, savouring the feel of his lips and when he pulled away I leaned forward into him, begging for more.

But he pulled away and I collapsed back against the crate I was leaning against when he stood up and began to walk away. I held on to his hand for as long as I could, my arm stretching outward as his fingers slipped out of mine and my arm dropped to my legs like a weight.

He walked away to the vault door as tears pricked my eyes and as it opened for him he stepped out and looked back once more... one fleeting glance that somehow felt final and that terrified me.

When Malia shifted next to me, resting her head against my shoulder I kept my gaze on Stiles until the vault door closed again, sealing him shut outside. Then I stared at the wall until my eyes stung and I had no choice but to close them. I was acutely aware of Scott and Kira watching me and I was aware of the tear that slipped down my face when I dropped my head to rest against Malia's as a rush of fatigue and cold ran through my blood.

My body shivered, teeth chattering. Malia swept closer to me and I clung to whatever warmth she emitted but even that wasn't much. She was just as cold as me in a pair of shorts and a top than I was in jeans and a top. I suddenly regretted taking my jacket off upstairs when that hot sweat overcame me in the classroom. What I would give now for the warmth that would've offered me. Instead, all I had was what little Malia offered and even then it was no where near enough to keep my temperature regulated.

I could do nothing but sit against the crate with my eyes closed and pray that whatever Stiles was going to do worked. Pray that there was a cure for us and that I wasn't going to die like this.

"Alex." I heard Malia murmur softly.

"Yeah?" I whispered, my voice breaking.

"We're gonna be okay aren't we?" She asked. Vulnerability crept into her tone. I'd never heard it before and I never wanted to hear it again. I'd gotten so used to her being so brazen that this new emotion took me completely off guard.

The honest answer that came to my mind was 'I don't know' but even with the absence of my ability to read and scent emotions I knew she was scared. That edge of vulnerability in her tone was everything I needed to understand it. I didn't know if we were going to be okay. I hoped we would be but...

I'd been in this position too many times to count now. Staring death in the face, that was. How many more times could I evade it? But Malia had never felt this fear before. She'd never had her life threatened like this. She needed reassurance, not honesty. Even if that meant I had to lie to her to give her comfort.

"Yeah." I said after I cleared my throat, "Yeah. We're going to be fine, Malia."

She barely nodded and I felt her body relax against mine. A wave of exhaustion pushed over me and ensnared me, pulling me into the bottomless pit and I had nothing inside of me to fight it. I was left with no choice but to succumb and I fell down, down, down.. my body slipping with each second until I could no longer feel anything.

That unconsciousness kept me captive until a far away voice came to me.

"Malia."

A warning. It washed over me, so close.. yet so far away. The familiarity of it though.. it stirred something inside of me. It made me reach out with both hands, looking for the owner. Responding to that sense of urgency, that warning it carried.

"Malia, don't."

It was closer. Right there, yet... I couldn't find the owner. All I could see was a dark abyss yet I could've sworn I was awake.

Movement against my body made me reach my hand out. My fingertips ran over what felt like crumpled paper before I felt... skin? I thought I turned my head, thought I tried to order myself to open my eyes and look but...

"Alex..." That voice said.

My brows furrowed as I turned to the sound I thought it came from, "Scott?" I asked, "Scott, where are you?"

"I'm right here." He called back just as my fingers ran over the feel of paper again, "Look, I can—"

And then someone exceptionally close to me said in sheer panic, "I can't see."

Malia... that was her.. but.... I.. I couldn't see her.

My hand reached out blindly once more and my fingers clasped around what I thought might be a wrist as panic seized me and I rushed out, "Malia, is that you?"

"Alex?" She responded, sounding like she was right next to me, "I-I don't know I can't see you."

A tearless sob worked its way up my throat and out of my mouth as I shook my head, "Scott," I cried, "Scott I think I'm blind.."

I clung to the person next to me with all my remaining strength—which wasn't much. I was sure it was Malia. She and I had been clinging to each other for warmth before I closed my eyes and that wave pulled me under. It couldn't be anyone else. Scott and Kira had been over by the opposing wall. We were leaning against an old crate, the door to the vault was fifty-something feet ahead.

I tried to paint a mental picture of what I remembered the layout of this vault to be. Anything to ease the growing panic that was nipping at my heels and pulling me under the rising wave that was currently sloshing around my hips. My chest felt heavy and breathing was hard.. as if someone was sitting on me. The sound of strained breaths echoed in my ears though I wasnt sure if they were my breaths or Malia's... or even a mixture of both.

Somewhere nearby I thought I heard a door slamming closed making me jump out of my skin. Terror pulsated through my bones as a feeling of impending doom consumed me. I couldn't see, nor did I have the faintest bit of energy to crawl on my hands and knees to look for an escape. We were trapped.. and if Stiles was to come back with a cure he wouldn't be able to get in. The thought pushed a string of tears down my face and I sobbed, my breaths laboured.

"What's happening to us?" Malia asked in a panic.

"The.. deadpool." I managed to choke out.

"Scott?" Kira's panicked voice bounced off the vault walls, "I can't... I can't see."

Water was splashing nearby followed by heavy footsteps. The only person I thought it could be was Scott and I cried, unable to stop my tears. I hated this. I resented this feeling. This helplessness.. this feeling of being weak. I thought being a werewolf would change that but it didn't. It never did.

"Scott," I sobbed, "help us."

I begged my Alpha. It was all I could think to do. He was stronger than me.. maybe he still had something left of his vision. Maybe that was him stumbling around.

"I—" my voice broke, "Scott, please."

Water continued to splash and all I heard was staggering footsteps. They were heavy and uneven, falling..

We were going to die down here. No one would find our bodies for days. It would all be a waste.. whoever orchestrated this murder plot wouldn't get their money. We would die for nothing. Alone, scared and in pain.

Even if I did have Malia right next to me.. even if we were clinging on to each other for dear life I still felt alone. It didn't ease my fear. I didn't want to die. I wasn't ready to die yet I could feel my body shutting down. I could feel it giving up. The only thing I didn't feel was the presence of my mother. I normally saw her but sitting here, blind, I knew that wasn't something I'd get. She was my only comfort when I faced these situations. She was what made it easier. The one who took that edge off my overwhelming fear. Now... she was robbed from me.

Did that mean she was here and I just couldn't see her because this mysterious virus had made me blind or was I not as close to death as I felt? Normally her presence consumed me and distracted me from everything I was feeling.. everything my body was succumbing to. This time she wasn't here and I was forced to deal with it on my own.

Or that's what I thought until a familiar hand curled over my shoulder making my breath hitch in my throat. The sensation swept through my body, forcing me to relax somewhat as that hand gave me everything I needed and more. Love and warmth fought the terror and panic that gripped my heart and it waged against the darkness flooding my body. It took me to a lighter place, even if I still was blind.

I knew it was her. I knew she was here.

My mom...

"Hey, Scott!" A voice I recognised all too well called from a far away place, "Scotty?"

I thought it was a figment of my imagination. My brain helping me live out my last few moments in peace rather than blind panic. My head dropped back and rested against the back of the crate I was leaning against. I lost absolutely all control of my body. It was floppy and tired, a sign that the end was approaching for me. I couldn't even lift my pinky finger and I knew that my hand had gone slack in hers.

I was paralysed... my body shutting down.

Malia's heavy breaths barely registered in my head, "Alex! Alex, what are you—no.... I think she's dying, Scott!"

I didn't have the ability to tell her she was right. I could only listen to the floating voices around me while feeling the comfort from my mom. I thought I could still hear Stiles in the distance somewhere, shouting my name from afar but it couldn't be anything more than a hallucination because he wasn't here. He had left to find us a cure and he hadn't made it back in time.

I hoped he would forgive me for doing this to him. I couldn't help it. I wanted to survive for him but... I just couldn't.

"That's it sweetheart," I heard my mother say, "You're okay... I'm right here with you."

I thought I might've been nodding. I thought I felt my body leaning toward that warmth, thought I saw a bright light somewhere in the near distance but something foreign and strong invaded my sense of smell. It burnt my sinuses as I breathed it in but something inside me commanded me to do it again.

"Keep going, Alex." My mother's voice echoed in my ears, "Keep breathing for me."

So I did. I kept inhaling, breathing in greedy lung fills of air, while letting that strange smell consume me wholly.

And then a rush of sensation flooded my body starting in the tips of my fingers and going all the way through to my toes. I was able to pull my head upward off the crate it was leaning against and most importantly I was able to open my eyes and look out at my surroundings.

Darkness still swept over me in the depths of the vault but I could see and that was the most important thing. With every passing second I could feel my body regaining its strength. It pushed out the virus that had almost killed me mere minutes ago and reinstated my power.

At the same time, Malia and I sat up and uncurled ourselves from one another. I ran my cold fingers over my sweaty face, getting rid of the mixture of tears and sweat before I cradled my head in my hands gently. I focused on my breathing for a moment, re-tuning my body.

Paper rustled next to me, pulling me out of my thoughts and I turned my head to see Malia sitting beside me still. She was wrapped in Stiles's jacket, looking down at a single sheet of crumpled paper that I assumed was what I'd felt when I was trying to find her hand when I went blind.

My eyes barely danced over her face before I heard Stiles call my name in sheer relief.

My head snapped to his direction and I saw him rushing over to me. My heart clenched in my chest when I saw his white t-shirt was stained with a suspicious red colour, the stains splattered on his teal zip up as well. It looked like blood and alarm pounded through me.

I didn't even get to my feet before he was crouching in front of me. On his knees, he flung his arms around me and gripped me so tight he took my breath away. I had no choice but to let him hug me, his hand running over the back of my hair, "You're okay. You're alright." He kept mumbling to himself over and over again, sheer and utter relief lacing each syllable of his words.

But that was blood I smelt on him and that didn't bring me comfort. Instead, I grabbed his arms and forced him backwards, meeting at his confused hazel gaze before my eyes danced over his person and his clothes. The blood was dry but it was splattered all over his pale skin, up his neck and on his face.

"Stiles.." I breathed, "this is blood. Why is this blood?"

He shook his head, "It's a long story." He responded and he must've seen my question in my eyes when he nodded and said, "I'm okay. It's not mine."

Relief reigned down on me, temporarily knocking me breathless and I sat back on my knees with my hands still clutching his arms.

But then movement out the corner of my eye stole my attention away and I looked to my left to see Malia still staring down at that same piece of paper. This time I got a look at her face. It was carefully blank... almost shocked and confusion swept through me. Betrayal hit me hard in the gut, almost winding me and I furrowed my brows, "Malia?"

She fixed her gaze on me and her eyes hardened. Betrayal, hurt, anger and hate struck me down and shackled me to the spot. I couldn't move under her excruciating glare. All I could do was feel her emotions and wonder why she was looking at me like I'd just stabbed her in the back.

"Malia?" Stiles tried to ask her but she didn't say anything. She merely looked at us both before she dropped the sheet of paper she was holding and stood up silently, walking away from us.

She left the vault and I stared at her back until she was gone, completely and utterly confused, "What?" I muttered before I looked back down to the paper she had left behind.

I reached out for it but I didn't expect for Stiles to also reach for it, attempting to snatch it before I could get my hands on it. That made me move quicker and the paper crumpled in my fingers as I beat him to it.

"Alex, wait," he hurried to say, "I can explain."

My eyes danced over what I realised was the last third of the deadpool. The first thing I noticed which was a punch to my gut was that the key word had been Derek's name. I thought maybe that's what Stiles wanted to explain until I began to read the deadpool itself and my eyes halted on the second name from the top.

Malia Hale.

Malia Hale.

For a minute the world stopped moving. My entire surroundings disappeared and I became numb as I just stared at the name in sheer and utter shock. I... no. It wasn't remotely possible. Malia... a Hale?

But if Peter had fathered me and not remembered it because Talia had taken his memories what's to say he hadn't fathered another child and my aunt had done the very same. What's to say the mother hadn't put her daughter up for adoption explaining how she was the born supernatural creature we knew her to be?

Malia... my sister..

A hand squeezed my shoulder and my head snapped up to see Stiles in front of me. His face was twisted with guilt, an unspoken apology dancing in his eyes.

'I can explain...'

Fury washed over me and I pushed his hand off my shoulder, recoiling away from him, "You knew about this?"

His breath caught in his throat but his hesitation was my answer. Yes. He did know about this and he hadn't told me. A heavy sigh poured out of his chest as he said, "I'm so sorry—"

"Sorry?" I scoffed, glaring at him, "Sorry?"

He winced hearing my anger, "Alex—"

"I have a sister Stiles!" I yelled, "And you knew and didn't tell me!"

I couldn't even fathom it. The betrayal that had flashed through Malia's face when she looked at me suddenly made sense. She thought I knew about this and had kept it from her. The revelation explained so much. Why I was so determined to help her when we first found her in the woods. Why she trusted me so willingly after she shifted back into her human body. Why we formed a fast friendship when I came back from Mexico.... She was my sister.

I was sure that same betrayal Malia shot me down with was glimmering in my eyes as I glared at Stiles. After everything we had been through, all the secrets and lies that had almost tore us apart... we had promised one another there would be no more lies between us. He promised me we would be alright and now...

This was something I couldn't over look. Lydia had cracked this part of the deadpool days ago. He had known about it for so long. In fact, all of them had and none of them had ever thought to sit me down and tell me that I had a sister. What gave them the higher power to decide I didn't deserve to know was beyond me. It just infuriated me.

It suddenly made so much sense. I thought his change in behaviour had been because of the PSATs looming over our head. Not because he was sitting on the secret knowing I had a sister and wasn't going to tell me about it. No wonder he never pinned this last third of the deadpool on his board. He didn't want me finding out I had a secret sister.

I didn't feel hurt when I looked at him. I just saw sheer red. Betrayal was something that would come later. But what I did know was that I had nothing left to say to him. Not anymore. Not after this.

"Alex, please say something." He begged me, his eyes glossing with unshed tears.

I didn't feel sympathy for him when I looked at those tears. I didn't feel forgiveness. I felt numb. He deserved to feel like this. He deserved the guilt. He deserved to cry over it.

He lied to me again.

He betrayed me again.

He fucked up again.

Silently, I stood on steady legs and dropped the list in his lap without looking at him. I walked away from him, not once looking back as I exited the vault.

___________

A/N; well...