┌─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┐
chapter sixteen!
WHO LIVES, WHO DIES
└─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┘

( currents )

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

IF THERE'S ONE thing that's weirdest about this entire situation, it's going to school with Cora again. Both of them had been ten years old when the Hale house fire occurred. While Vera, Dom, Laura, and Derek had all been at school on that fateful day in January 2005, Cora had stayed home for an unknown reason. Vera can't get it out of her even today. She supposes the memories are too much for her sister to bear, so she doesn't push, instead warily checking in on her during the day and making sure she doesn't decide to punch anyone in the throat.

By lunchtime, Vera is thoroughly impressed that Cora has managed to keep calm. Vera hands her a packed lunch once her sister sits down at the table that Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Boyd, Lydia, Allison, and Dominic all share with her in the cafeteria. Since their school's lunches are abysmal, Vera had cooked the night before and packed the homemade food into containers for both her and Cora to eat. She figured it would help ease Cora back into the stress of attending an American school.

"Moro de Habichuelas," Vera explains as Cora eagerly opens the lunch bag. "Rice and beans. Not as good as Mai makes, but I think I'm getting better."

A small smile works its way onto Cora's face. "Where is she?"

Vera's cheerfulness dims. "I'm not sure. She doesn't usually tell me."

She used to be angry at her mother for this. How was she supposed to feel safe at home if she didn't know where her mom was? But now, she's almost grateful for her own ignorance. If someone like Deucalion tried to interrogate her about Ana's whereabouts, they would be shit out of luck.

Vera hasn't told her mother what's going on in Beacon Hills. Ana has no idea that the man who killed her husband is back in town, they'd thought Derek was dead for almost two days, Cora is alive, or that Erica was murdered. She's oblivious to the human sacrifices raging through the city and the people who are going missing left and right. Vera supposes it's her way of protecting her mother. As their only source of income now — aside from what Vera makes from dog walking — she has to work extremely hard. It would be better for her to think that everything is fine.

Speaking of human sacrifices...

"How's Danny?" Vera asks Scott.

"Stable for now," he replies vaguely, brown eyes out of focus. "Doctor Hilyard is still missing, though."

His eyebrows are pinched with worry, mouth pulled into a frown that carves harsh lines into his tanned skin. Last night, Ethan had carried Danny into Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, where he'd not only stopped breathing, but had also thrown up mistletoe — a poisonous plant to both humans and the supernatural. It can't possibly be a coincidence; he had to have been a target.

In addition to that scare, one of the hospital's most prominent doctors had gone missing that night. Her car had been found empty with only a single moth inside. Given the strange occurrences with the deer, Hades, and the birds at the beginning of the school year, they've determined that bizarre animal behavior is a sign of the Darach's human sacrifices.

But those aren't the only reasons for Scott's worry. His mother is a nurse at the hospital, and if the Darach is seeking to sacrifice doctors or other medical professionals...

"It'll be okay, Scott," Allison says to him, also sensing his worry. Her face is pinched as if seeing him in pain hurts her as well.

"Yeah," he mumbles in reply, though he doesn't seem convinced. Vera can tell that it's killing him to be going through the tedious motions of school instead of protecting his mom, the only parent who's around. She faintly remembers his father attending elementary school events when they were little, but she hasn't seen or heard about him since. Losing Melissa would break Scott.

"Well, Boyd and I are planning on faking illnesses so we can leave early," Isaac announces with a motion toward the dark-skinned boy, who's busy eating his fries. "I was thinking about a migraine. Boyd?"

"Explosive diarrhea," Boyd replies without missing a beat.

Lydia wrinkles her nose. "Thank you for mentioning that while we're eating."

"Why are you leaving early?" Dominic questions.

Cora answers through a mouthful of rice, "The Alphas left their symbol on the loft window. They'll be coming any minute to force Derek to make his choice."

Vera's gut twists to the point where she doesn't feel hungry anymore. She sets her fork down and replaces the lid on her own container of moro de habichuelas, storing it back in her lunch bag. She's been trying not to think about it. She knows that Derek would sooner offer himself up than kill one of his Betas, but the thought of losing anyone else is enough to make her miserable.

"We're going to the loft after next period because Boyd has a test," Isaac adds.

Boyd continues chowing down on his fries with a shake of his head, mumbling, "I gotta get an A."

"Good luck," Vera tells him. "I'd join, but I've already missed enough school, and it hasn't even been a month. My mom will fly back and kick my ass if she finds out I've been as careless as last year. I don't feel like getting a shoe thrown at me."

Cora nods. "I have to make it through my first day so I can officially be enrolled. Derek said, 'Blah blah school, blah blah be a teenager, blah blah don't skip or I'll force you to spend time with Peter.'"

"Wow, Cora." Dom blinks. "You've got your Derek impression down pat. Can you say, 'Dom is my favorite sibling and he's not even related to me'?"

Cora gives him an obscene gesture in response, shooting him a glare that could cut diamonds.

Vera's next class is art. She coincidentally shares the class with Isaac, so when she walks in, he's already sitting in his assigned seat across the room from her. The expression on his face makes it apparent that he doesn't plan on doing anything in this class. While Boyd is attempting to ace his test in another room, Isaac is going to do nothing productive.

Their teacher, Miss Morris, begins talking as soon as the bell rings, clasping her many-ringed fingers together in front of her lithe frame. "Since we finished up our impressionist paintings, it's time to announce our next project. We will be moving onto realistic portraits."

Some kids in the class groan in distaste at the thought of having to actually do work. Most kids take art as a blowoff class since Miss Morris is a so-called "generous grader," believing that art is subjective and passing people as long as they seem to put effort into their work. With a realistic portrait, though, it will be considerably harder for those people to bullshit their way through the project. Vera, as someone who actually enjoys the class, can't help but feel smug.

The tall teacher pretends not to hear the displeased students and powers on through her explanation. "You will not be making portraits of yourselves, though. This is a partner project– and, before you get excited and start looking at each other, I've already picked them out." She casts a warning, dark-eyed gaze around the room. "I paired you with people across the room from you so you can socialize with other classmates. You will pick an artist of your choice and create the portrait in their style. Grades will be distributed based on effort as well as how well you imitated the artist's work.

Today, you'll pick an artist. I have many books for you to choose from for inspiration– you can find them on the table in the center of the room. Your actual work won't start until tomorrow, which is why easels aren't set up. For now, introduce yourself to your partner and sit by them. Here they are: Tracy and Donovan, Sarah and Kiara, Vera and Isaac, Simon and Gabrielle..."

"God dammit," Vera mutters under her breath. Out of all the people she could have been paired up with, why him? Especially on the day when he's the least inclined to do any work?

She glances over at him. He taps on his ear as a signal he'd heard what she'd said, his lips turning up into an assholish grin. Her stare hardens into a razor-sharp glare.

Miss Morris must have finished reading the list, because the students begin rearranging themselves to sit near their new partners. Since each table seats four people, two people have to move while the others stay. Vera hadn't been paying attention, so she stays sitting as two girls at her table begin to move. Well, at least that forces Isaac to come over to her.

"Is this the part where I ask you to draw me like one of your French girls?" he questions as he slides into the seat across from her. He rests his elbows on the table, leaning on them and clasping his hands together.

Vera gives him a falsely sweet smile that exposes none of her teeth. "Maybe I'll choose Picasso."

"Why?"

"So I can have an excuse to draw you as abstract and obscure to the point where nobody can recognize you."

Isaac rolls his eyes, shifting his jaw to the side in annoyance before he quips back, "I thought you were one of the few people in this class who actually cared about their grade?"

"I can paint you with some lines and circles and still get an A."

"God, shut up or get a room," the boy next to her – Donovan Donati – cuts in with a snarky tone. Vera gives him an incredulous look. Though they've sat beside each other since the first day, they've never spoken. It's mostly because Donovan has known anger issues and Vera doesn't want to be on the receiving end of his unnecessarily hateful comments.

"Sorry that some of us are capable of socializing without threatening to kill someone," Vera shoots back.

The mousy-haired boy's expression darkens. She knows he already doesn't like her because of her friendship with Stiles. Donovan's father had been Sheriff Stilinski's partner when they were both deputies. They'd both been in the running for Sheriff, but since Donovan's father had gotten paralyzed in a shootout, the boy has held a grudge against the Stilinskis and their associates ever since. Vera has witnessed him threaten the Sheriff multiple times.

"We'll see how you talk to me when I become a cop someday."

Vera raises her eyebrows. "And I'll become President. But for now, I have a project to do."

She gets up and retrieves a random book from the table in the middle of the room. When she sits back down, Donovan is dutifully ignoring her while his partner, Tracy Stewart, gives Vera a shy smile of support.

Vera glances at Isaac, who hasn't moved from his spot and is instead picking at an invisible thread on his black quarter-sleeve shirt. She shoots him an unimpressed look. "Are you going to do some work or sit there the whole time?"

"I've been told 'sit still, look pretty' is kinda my specialty," Isaac retorts.

"Well, whoever told you that was lying," she says. "Come on. The class isn't going to go by any faster if you refuse to look at a book and find an artist."

He still doesn't move. Instead of agitating him further, which part of her wants to do, she takes a mental step back and actually looks at him. She's known him long enough to realize that his expression matches the one he wears when he's distracted. The tension in his shoulders means he's bothered– she's seen that directed toward her more often than not. But something tells her it's not because of her, this time.

He's worried about Derek.

"Here," she says, sliding her book to him. "At least open it and pretend to read. It'll keep your mind occupied. But please don't squander this; art is the only class I seem to be good at."

It's true. In all of her classes, letting her mind drift is a dangerous thing. But in art, she seems to be able to daydream and still move her pencil or paintbrush at the same time. It's the only class where she isn't criticized for looking "out of it." In fact, she's found that she isn't half-bad at the whole drawing thing (though her pottery last year had been a bit of a disaster), so that helps.

She also realizes one glaringly obvious fact: she and Isaac are polar opposites when it comes to how they deal with their worry. For him, it seems like a goal of his to do as little as possible while his mind is preoccupied. He appears to think that nothing he does in this class will matter because more important things will occur later. But as for Vera, she can't do nothing. It's physically impossible. And even if she's working hard, the knowledge that Isaac isn't will be enough to distract her.

When she returns to their table with another book, she finds Isaac lazily flipping through the pages. His nimble fingers turn page after page with robotic movements. The blue of his eyes is clouded with boredom, not seeming to absorb anything he's looking at. Then, he abruptly snaps out of it right as she sits down, his spine straightening and eyes clearing with a single blink down at the book.

"What?" she questions.

"I think I found my artist," he says with a hint of excitement in his voice. Carefully angling the pages away from her, he gets up to confirm his choice with Miss Morris.

The dark-skinned woman nods in approval, her dangling sunflower earrings swaying with the movement. "Interesting choice, Isaac. I'm looking forward to seeing how you pull it off."

His smug expression makes Vera frown. She becomes more determined than ever to find an artist, refusing to look at Isaac as he sits down across from her again. Her eyes pore over person after person, desperate to find someone she likes, then finally makes her decision and gets it approved by Miss Morris.

She isn't quite sure how this project will go, but she can admit that she's thrilled to see what's going to happen.

— ✯✯✯ —

The rest of the day ends up being full of chaos.

After art class, Vera finds Scott standing near his locker, eyebrows pinched and a tiny slip of paper clenched between his fingers. She approaches him, curiously eyeing the paper as she asks, "Hey, what's up?"

"Healers," is his reply.

"Huh?"

Scott wordlessly aims the paper toward her face. There, scrawled on the paper in dark ink, letters pointy and messy as if they'd been written in haste, is the word HEALERS. Vera's forehead creases in confusion.

Luckily, Scott starts speaking before she can ask her question. "I've been getting these notes ever since I was bitten. They're random, but helpful, and almost always right. Like, when we thought Lydia might be the kanima last year, I got one pointing to Jackson. I thought it couldn't be true when he was paralyzed by his own venom, but... " He trails off, his eyes going unfocused as if something else is on his mind. "Now I think it's talking about the sacrifices."

"But we knew the Darach was going after medical professionals," she points out.

Scott shakes his head. "Not just medical professionals. Healers are much broader. They could be talking about therapists, counselors, emotional healers..."

"Scott," Vera cuts in, catching him as he's about to fall into another trance. "What else is wrong?"

"It's Deaton," he replies as he shoves the note into his pocket. "He called me and said he's going to be taken. He wants me to find him."

Vera's face crumbles. Alan Deaton – Scott's boss and close confidant, a man who has helped them through so much over the past several months they've all been involved in the supernatural together. Not to mention that he used to be the pack emissary for the Hale family. The loss of him would be disastrous. And for Scott to have to find him... that's a heavy burden for him to carry.

She opens her mouth, about to reassure him, when his ears perk up like a dog's. His head automatically turns to look behind her. She listens, but can't hear anything unusual over the sounds of chatter from the students heading to class and the banging of lockers closing.

Scott places a hand on her shoulder. "I need to go look at something."

"What do you hear?" she asks.

He starts walking toward a sound only he can hear, expression determined. "Tapping."

After that comes a useless series of tests done on Lydia in an attempt to activate her seemingly spiritual abilities. Stiles seems hell-bent on getting her to find something about Deaton – having her hold a set of his keys to the animal clinic, use an ouija board, and connect to the spiritual realm as Cora and Vera watch. In the end, all they get Lydia to do is draw a tree.

By the time Vera finally reaches Derek's loft, the entire floor is flooded. She heaves the heavy door open and stares blankly at Derek, Isaac, and Boyd, who are all standing on elevated surfaces and have their glowing eyes directed toward her. Despite their growls, the first thing she notices is the triangular Alpha pack symbol painted on the large window across the room. The sight of it alone forms a pit of dread in her gut. It's not only a symbol, but a promise of death.

Boyd sighs, relaxing a fraction once he recognizes her scent. "We thought you were Kali."

"You could have knocked," Derek grumbles. When he blinks, his ruby-red eyes shift back to their normal green. He's sitting on top of the table near the window, legs dangling over the water that completely covers the floor.

Vera reaches behind her and raps on the metal door with her knuckles. "Happy?"

The expression her Alpha gives in return shows he is very much not happy, but he lets her sarcasm slide, probably because he can smell the nervousness wafting from her and knows it's only a coverup. "Just don't touch the water. We electrified it."

Vera gives him a duh expression and closes the door behind her, leaving her with about three feet of elevated concrete in front of her. She braces herself.

Isaac, seeming to catch on, asks from where he sits on a crate near one of the pillars, "What, are you gonna jump?"

Vera ignores him. She releases a slow breath and then charges, using a burst of her partial flight just as her foot pushes off the edge of the concrete. Her body turns intangible at the next second. She's weightless for a moment, moving so fast her head spins as she makes a beeline straight toward Boyd, who's the closest. She realizes her mistake too late – she can't stop. It's either shoot past Boyd and allow her momentum to cease, then drop through the floor and land downstairs, or crash straight into him.

She chooses the second option.

Boyd's eyes widen as she barrels toward him as a barely-visible outline. The moment she becomes tangible again, he opens his arms and allows her to slam into his chest, wrapping his arms around her back and easily stabilizing the both of them before setting her onto her feet.

Vera pushes a section of hair away from her face and says, "Thanks."

Derek's disapproval is palpable. "You shouldn't be here."

"Not this again," Vera groans with a roll of her eyes. "I'm a big girl, Derek. I can handle myself."

"These Alphas are stronger than your average wolf."

"Good thing I was trained by Peter, the Big Bad Wolf himself."

"Guys," Isaac interrupts their argument, causing the siblings to fall silent. He's sitting now, but his posture is rigid and his eyes are locked onto the alarm system next to the door. "Isn't the light on that supposed to be on?"

Derek tenses. "Yeah."

"What does it mean if it's not?"

"Someone cut the auxiliary power."

"What about the main po–?"

Before Isaac can finish his sentence, the entire loft goes dark as every light cuts out at once. The faint light coming through the window hits the spiral staircase in the corner, casting angular, irregular shadows around the spacious room. Everything looks worse in the dark. With the aid of light, the loft seems warm. Now it feels like the cold hands of death are crawling over her skin.

A chill goes down Vera's spine. She glances down at the wire near hers and Boyd's feet. It feeds directly into the water, but without the power on, their advantage is gone.

Derek hesitates before pushing himself down from the table and landing so his boots splash into the water. Just as Vera expected, nothing happens.

"Der," she hisses in a whisper. "They could just turn the power back o–"

He holds up a finger to shush her, his ears detecting something she can't. Vera swallows down her fear and grabs onto the sleeve of Boyd's hoodie. His presence is comforting, and if he can be here after nearly getting killed by the Alphas at the mall, then she can handle this, too.

The Alpha keeps walking until he's standing in the center of the room. He'll be the first person the others see when they arrive, and somehow, it makes Vera feel worse. They're supposed to be protecting him, not watching him sacrifice himself like a lamb.

"Derek?" Isaac asks, voice laced with trepidation. "What do we do now?"

Derek's eyes shift back to their crimson hue. "We fight."

The door slides open with an ear-piercing grating sound. It reveals Kali standing in all her barefoot and leather jacket-clad glory. Her confident posture doesn't show an inkling of concern for this battle's outcome, even as Isaac, Vera, and Boyd cross the room to stand alongside their Alpha, who has already fully transformed. She simply regards them with disinterest as she walks closer, claws already flicked out at her sides.

"I'm gonna be honest, Derek," she drawls. "When Ennis died, I thought to myself, I'd just go for it. Find you and kill you, wherever you stood. Then I remembered how you surround yourself with these teenagers, hiding behind them, and I thought, 'What's a girl got to do to get you alone?'"

Kali glances back to the doorway. The twins appear with Jennifer Blake in their clutches, Ethan's claws at her neck, ready to slice open her flesh at a moment's notice. Aiden has one of her arms bent at an uncomfortable angle. The woman's pale face is twisted in a cringe, both pain and alarm at war for dominance in her expression.

Kali smirks in satisfaction, turning back around to face them with one eyebrow raised. "You and me, Derek, or they tear her apart. What do you say? You think you can beat me one-on-one?"

Derek jerks his head at the three teenagers flanking them. Isaac and Boyd immediately retreat, but Vera hesitates, staying for a second longer and casting a worried glance at him.

The female Alpha finally regards her with a smile as sharp as a knife. "What's the matter? Don't have faith in your brother?"

Vera shoots her a hate-filled glare. Boyd reaches out and takes her by the wrist, gently tugging her away. She winces as his hand closes over the same spot where he'd bruised her on the bus. She's careful to hide it, though, not wanting him to start worrying about her and apologizing again, even as Isaac catches her grimace and sends her a confused expression.

"I'm gonna rip your throat out," Derek threatens Kali, his voice half-slurred by his enormous fangs, "with my teeth."

Kali roars in response, exposing her own razor-sharp fangs. Derek copies her action and lunges toward her with a vicious downward slash of his claws. She swiftly dodges it, crushing her fist into his exposed back and causing him to slam to his knees. Water splashes everywhere, momentarily blinding both of them, but Derek isn't down for long. He swipes his foot out and connects it with Kali's shins. She falls, allowing him to shoot back to his feet, only for her to bounce back as well.

It's like a game. Slash, dodge, repeat. Around and around they go like toys, teeth gnashing and souls thirsting for blood. It's almost entrancing– a game with no winners or end in sight.

Vera fidgets. She hates standing there, doing nothing, as her brother battles for his life. She glances back toward the twins as Miss Blake heaves a distraught sob. At the sight of them wholly focused on the fight, an idea dawns on her.

The Alphas have never played fairly. They'd allowed them to find Cora and Boyd with the knowledge that they'd likely tear the town apart. Scott had said that only he and Deucalion were supposed to meet at the mall, but the entire Alpha pack had shown up instead. It seems too simple for the terms to be a one-on-one battle to the death. What if they have something bigger up their sleeves?

Vera, standing between the boys, yanks them by their sleeves until their ears are closer to her level. She speaks as quietly as she possibly can. "While they're distracted, I can phase downstairs and go outside from there to see if the power can be restored."

Isaac frowns. "But there's no way to warn Derek."

Vera gnaws on her bottom lip. That's true.

She's about to say something else when someone yanks her backwards, secures both arms around her back, and clasps a pair of what feels like handcuffs around her wrists. She cranes her neck to see a smirking Aiden wrestling her toward where Ethan still has Miss Blake in his clutches in the doorway.

"Just in case you have any ideas about cheating," he sneers.

Vera rolls her eyes. "Please. Did you not learn your lesson when I cracked my fist into your jaw?"

She phases out of them. Or, actually, she doesn't. When she tries to make herself intangible – something that is usually as easy as breathing – she finds herself still handcuffed, still in Aiden's rough grip, and still being shoved toward the door. Her legs scramble to keep up in the ankle-deep water as her heartbeat skips in fear.

"You see, we supernatural creatures are unable to cross this barrier called Mountain Ash," he explains to her like she's a child in need of lecturing. "These restraints were made with it. So, try all you want, but you won't be able to get out, and nobody here can break them."

Both of Vera's pack members release threatening growls. Aiden tells them, "Not hurting her, just playing fairly."

Vera swings her bound fists upward and smashes them into the only place she can reach – his groin. While he's momentarily stunned, she lifts her foot out of the water and strikes her heel into the top of Aiden's foot. He's too tall for her to headbutt, so she squirms, dropping her weight, only for the Alpha to dig his claws into her biceps until she cries out in pain.

Aiden forces her onto the concrete platform and turns her so she's facing the ongoing battle between Derek and Kali. Her shoes are absolutely soaked, making her cold as she continues to writhe in his grasp until she feels the tips of his nails against the back of her neck.

"You can't kill me," she says, her voice nearly drowned out by the sound of Kali's roar.

"Maybe not," he muses in a tone that makes her want to punch him even harder than last time. "But nobody said anything about a little paralyzation. Now shut up."

Vera turns her focus back on the duel. Kali is standing on the table, towering over a fully-shifted Derk and yet still matching his strength without trying. She slams her feet onto his fingers, which are clutching the table, causing him to release it. It gives her enough leverage to kick him hard in the chest. He collapses into the water, sending a tidal wave into the air.

She leaps off and kicks him down again every time he tries to get back up. His clothes, now waterlogged, are likely heavier and more difficult to move in. It costs him a considerable amount of speed that he can't afford to lose. If this is what Kali is like only half-shifted, how powerful is she as a full wolf?

"Derek!" Miss Blake shrieks. Isaac turns at the sound. His eyes drift over Vera, still bound and trapped in Aiden's clutches. The Alpha places his claws more firmly against her neck in warning once he catches Isaac's gaze. Vera briefly flickers her eyes toward Ethan and their teacher, hoping he'll get the message.

He does. Isaac takes one step forward as if to bolt, only to come screeching to a halt once Derek sharply orders, "No!"

Isaac whirls around and places a hand on Boyd's chest to stop him from doing the job himself. "Wait!"

Derek manages to get to his feet. Kali slashes his stomach, causing him to instinctively jerk back, but he retaliates just as hard with a swipe that almost shreds her face. It becomes a game of strike and dodge again, neither gaining much ground, but neither losing any, either.

Then something either goes right or horribly wrong.

Isaac cracks into motion, abruptly speeding toward Miss Blake with all of his might, knocking Ethan out of the way and cradling the woman in his arms just as the power turns back on. The overhead lights had shorted out, but their previous plan works. Electricity crackles in the water. Boyd, who hadn't made it to the concrete yet, convulses with a pained cry and collapses face-first into the water. Kali uses the moment of surprise to wrestle Derek's claws behind his back.

Vera is snapped out of the horrifying scene when Aiden clasps restraints around her ankles as well. He then shoves her to the side, leaving her with nothing to catch herself with as she falls hard onto her arm, barely managing to keep her head from smacking onto the concrete. The pain hardly registers due to her adrenaline rush. She's forced to lie there, useless, as the twins straighten up.

"Take him!" Kali orders.

Aiden and Ethan obediently grab hold Derek while she handles a fully-immobile Boyd. Despite the electricity in the water, none of them seem very affected by it. They simply work as a unit to force Derek onto his knees with his claws out in front of him. Kali lifts Boyd.

It dawns on Vera. And that's when she begins screaming.

Her position on the floor hardly gives her any breath to spare, but that doesn't stop her voice from pleading with the Alphas to stop. Tears spring to her eyes and the lump in her throat nearly chokes her. She doesn't even know what she's saying– all she knows is the endless pit of dread that her heart is falling into.

Someone grabs her again. She knows it's Isaac because he's the only other one around, and allows him to take her backward until she's sitting slumped against him along with Miss Blake, her entire body paralyzed with shock and grief yet unable to tear her eyes from the scene.

The twins' combined strength has Derek holding up his claws despite his best efforts to resist. Kali holds Boyd like a rag doll. Then she slams the boy down until Derek's claws are completely buried in his chest, causing him to heave a choked breath, a strangled and futile gasp for air.

Vera goes far away from this place. It's like she's seeing through someone else's eyes, her body completely still, no longer trembling or screaming or wracking itself with rib-splintering sobs. Everything in her just stops.

She can't feel anything. Not the warmth of Isaac's chest against her hands and back, not the pain due to the awkward twist of her arms, not the water still sloshing in her shoes. No sound is registering. Her ears are ringing, but it sounds like a hoard of bees is buzzing around her head, growing louder and louder, blocking out any sound–

Vera doesn't notice when Boyd falls limp. She doesn't notice when Cora rushes in and kneels over his body, sobbing. Or when Dominic arrives and breaks off her restraints, tugging her into his arms. She has no reaction, does nothing to indicate she even realizes he's there, trapped in an almost catatonic state of shock.

Nobody said anything about a little paralyzation, Aiden had said. Maybe he hadn't dug his claws into her neck, but he had done something that was a million times worse.

________

a/n:

as a boyd stan, i, for one, am extremely upset

i feel like this chapter was all over the place, but i couldn't find a place to split it that would make both chapters long enough, so i just made it all one chapter and condensed a bunch of scenes from the episode. please let me know your thoughts! i know the fact that vera and isaac are art partners is ~predictable~ but i will include the tropes that i like or so help me GOD i will explode. plus i have some fun stuff planned for that & it will help their development hehe

thank you so much for 40k reads!! i'm so happy you guys seem to be liking this book! i've always struggled with writing teen wolf fanfics (notice how my other one is only 7 chapters long) so your support TRULY helps & means the world to me🥺💗

—kristyn

( word count: 5.7k )