xxxi. THE UNVEILING

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THERE WERE SO many things Carter felt too frightened to talk about, even to Malakai.

First, the police still haven't found the person who or what killed the homeless woman beneath Dead Man's Bridge. And the fact that it occurred the same night her, Logan and Malakai were at the cemetery couldn't have been a coincidence. Carter remembered everything that happened to them that night, and she wondered. It scared her.

Everyone was convinced that a rabid animal must've killed the woman, but there haven't been any attacks since, so the excitement has died down. Scott and the others are almost positive that it must have been Raeven that did it. Carter wasn't so sure. For the past few weeks, they haven't seen any signs of Raeven or heard anything of bodies being drained of blood. In fact, Carter didn't know what Raeven was planning, and she didn't care.

There was only one thing Carter did care about. Stopping her thirst for blood.

Even Malakai didn't realize how important it was to her. She's afraid to tell him; afraid that him and the others would stop her. At school she wore a mask of calm and control, but on the inside—well, every day it just got worse. She could tell that she was making the others sad...worried and she hated it. She could see that they were masking the full extent of their worry—watching her jump at any loud sound, or how her face suddenly would go white for no reason that they could see. Lydia was especially worried about Carter. She kept saying that Carter doesn't eat enough these days, and she's right. Carter couldn't seem to concentrate on her classes, or even on anything but the fact that she's exactly like Raeven and that kills her.

Carter felt absolutely hideous that morning; rolled off the couch just as the sun started to peek through the curtains in the kitchen. It wasn't like she was sleeping anyways; couldn't bring herself to close her eyes for longer than a few seconds. Every time she let her mind and body relax, she'd feel that poor woman's blood rushing down her throat, hear her agonized wails. It didn't help her outlook that she was afraid of the time she'd spent unconscious, afraid that they were lurking in the dark watching her the others while they slept. The anxiety seemed to ratchet up the intensity of the pounding in her head.

Shaking her head, she stood from the couch and stretched her stiff neck and back. Glancing around the living room, her eyes immediately landed on the couch Stiles had been sleeping on, which was now unoccupied. He hadn't spoken to her much since that morning her confronted her; shouting that he remembered everything she did to him that night. Ever since the tragic incident that was Donovan, Stiles seemed to isolate himself from the others. And Carter knew that it wasn't just her that noticed the boy's odd behavior, but Malia had been the only one to openly question him.

"We'd better go," Malakai said, from behind her, quiet and serious.

Carter nodded and went with him to the car, her heart felt like ice in her chest. Thunder growled overhead as they drove to the high school, and Carter glanced out of the car window with dull dismay. The cloud cover was thick and dark, although it hadn't actually begun to rain yet. The air had a charged, electric feel, and the sullen purple thunderheads gave the sky a nightmarish look. She roused herself as they pulled up to the school and forced herself to swallow her dread.

Scott and the others were waiting for Carter at school, as usual, but their faces were wrong. There was something buried in their eyes that she couldn't be sure of—and it scared her. They knew that she had suddenly ran out of the house last night—of course—Malakai told Carter that he was going to tell them the first chance he got. She didn't want to bring it up, but she wasn't sure if avoiding the subject would be worse.

Stiles opened the door for her.

"How do you feel, Car?"

"Much better than last night," she lied, cringing as the sound of the slamming door echoed in her head.

They walked in silence, the boys shortening their strides to match hers. There were so many questions they wanted to ask, she could decipher that much, but most of those questions would have to wait. Outside, thunder rumbled again, and through the open door Carter saw a flash light the morning sky. There was another, louder clap of thunder a few seconds later.

"I hope it doesn't rain," Kira said.

The morning passed slowly. She was impatient to get the school day over with. And by the time AP Biology rolled around, Carter was ready to slam her head against her desk. While Mrs. Finch droned on about invasive species, Carter mindlessly doodled when she was supposed to be taking notes, but there was someone particular that kept catching her eye. A pale, brunette girl named Sydney was absently scratching the back of her head the entire class. Carter's eyes widened when Sydney pulled her hand away and a clump of hair came with it.

"So while introducing the African Cane Toad, sounded like a good way to deal with Australia's infestation of the Grey-backed beetle," Mrs. Finch explained. "Unfortunately, the toad also decided to eat everything else in sight."

Carter suddenly felt eyes on her and turned to see that Theo was staring at her. He pulled his eyes from her and nodded toward Sydney. He'd noticed it too. She watched as Theo pulled out his phone and began to type something—across the aisle from her, Lydia pulled out her own phone, looked to Sydney, and then back at her phone. Theo must've told Lydia about his suspicion of Sydney being a Chimera. Said girl stood up, slammed a paper onto Mrs. Finch's desk and ran out of the room.

"Wise decision, Sydney." Finch commented.

Lydia and Carter's minds were momentarily on the same wavelength; both girls stood up and quickly followed Sydney. And Scott didn't have the time to stop her since she was already walking to the front of the class.

Mrs. Finch called out to them. "You both know it's for the best."

They girls promptly ignored her and walked out, moving through the empty hallway. It was completely silent, apart from the sound of their shoes on the tile. Instinctually, they headed toward the guidance room and found Sydney sitting at an empty table.

Sydney immediately took notice of them. "I'm just waiting for your mother—I mean, Mrs. Martin."

"Are you okay?"

The distressed brunette pulled her hands from her scalp, more clumps of hair were collected in her palms. "Does this look okay to you?"

Carter's eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know what's causing it?"

"It's stress," Sydney sighed. "This has been happening for the past three years. I've tried medication, acupuncture, hypnosis...but nothing has worked."

Lydia's pale green eyes widened in disbelief. "Years? Maybe you shouldn't take the hardest classes in school." Carter nodded in agreement. "Can we see? Maybe we can help cover it up."

Sydney nodded and began to push her hair out of the way. They immediately noticed a small bald spot near her ear, but what happened next was quite a surprise. Lydia flinched back and gasped. The last thing Carter remembered was stumbling over a chair before she fell conscious to her hindered connection to Lydia, who blacked out as well and fell to the floor.

To Carter, it felt as if she were only out for a few seconds before she jolted awake with a gasp. She furiously rubbed her temples, trying to massage the migraine out of her skull. She startled when someone reached down and touched her hand.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked with concern in his voice.

Carter blinked once, twice. "Yeah. I'm all right. Just caught another backlash of being what I am."

"Did you remember anything?" Scott asked Lydia, whose hands were shaking.

Lydia shook her head and swallowed hard. "Not about the Dread Doctors. Nothing about them or my surgery."

"What was it then?"

"My grandmother—at Eichen House."

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Carter felt like a fish out of water.

As if she was suddenly submerged in water and was trying to breath. Impossible to do; surrounded by this terrible feeling of suffocation. A tickling sensation flared up in the back of her throat and she coughed. Her chest felt tight and heavy, like she was wearing a really tight corset while trying to breathe through a coffee stirrer straw. Her mind grew fuzzy. Her eyes closing.

An intense pain erupted in her skull, and it took all her will-power not to cry out. It felt as though her brain was being grasped by sharp talons and they cut deep into the soft tissue. Carter muffled her groans, pressing firmly against her temple, trying to mask her pain because all of the prying eyes around her. She heard, as if from underwater, footsteps pounding toward her. She could see, through the long tunnels her eyes had become, a dark shadow coming toward her. Her knees buckled, and she fell. Carter's back arched, mouth open in a silent cry as her head connected roughly with the tile. There was a heaviness in her chest, trying to breathe, but with everything covering her mouth and nose it was pretty close to impossible. She was trying her hardest not to panic, knowing that it only makes things worse.

"Carter!"

She tried to find him, but the water was so deep, it was pressing on her, and she couldn't breathe. It was as if she were reliving the night she drowned. It was all coming back in flashes. Her muffled screams. Her stomach in her throat. The ice cold water against her hot skin. It was in her mouth, her nose. She was drowning all over again.

She could see it.

She could feel it.

The angry water was black in every direction; there was no brightness to direct her upward. Gravity was all powerful when it competed with the air. She fought to keep what little breath she had in, to keep her lips locked around her last store of oxygen. The cold water was numbing her arms and legs. She didn't feel the buffeting so much as before. It was more of just dizziness now, a helpless spinning in her own mind. There was a band of pressure around her wrist. It hurt. Then, as that pain broke through the darkness to her, other pains came, stronger pains. She soundlessly cried out, gasping, breaking through the dark pool.

"Carter!"

Carter felt a stabbing at her chest. But the sharp pains were fading. There was a new pain, a scalding pain in her lungs that was overshadowing everything else. The fire in her chest blazed hotter as her body continued to tell her that something was wrong. Her mind was unbearably clear—sharpened by an ancient instinct.

It'd been when the pressure in her chest intensified did she realize who was suffering.

"Scott." She tried to call out to him, but her voice was so heavy and slow. She couldn't understand herself.

"Carter, you're going to be okay."

"I need to—I need to find Scott." Her voice was a little clearer.

And just as quickly the pain appeared, it vanished. She was so sleepy now. Something inside her felt tired. Very old—centuries old—and very tired. Opening her eyes, Carter found herself looking around at a circle of perplexed observers with wet eyes. She barely registered the fact that a concerned Theo and Mason were looming over her. Pushing herself off the floor, she felt a numbness in her body and a fullness in her throat. Scott. She couldn't stand to waste anymore time.

By the time Carter reached Mrs. Finch's classroom, the numbness was wearing off and the lump in her throat was trying to dissolve into tears. There was a large group of students crowded around the door and Carter instantly recognized the sound of Scott's wheezed breathing. She shoved her way into the classroom, without so much as an apology, to see that Scott was on the floor; Mrs. Finch and Liam were crouched down beside him.

She rushed forward and grabbed Scott's hand, watching as Liam placed an inhaler in the other. He was barely breathing, spacing out. She gripped his hand tighter. "Come on, Scott."

He wasn't responding. Liam leaned closer and his light blue eyes flashed a brilliant gold. Carter inwardly gasped, praying that none of the students had seen it. Liam lowly growled Scott's name—hoping to break through by communicating with Scott's animal side—and it worked. The True Alpha gasped sharply, shook the inhaler before pressing it to his lips and breathing in the chemicals.

Once the ability to breathe returned to him, Scott sighed and looked between Liam and Carter. "Thanks."

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As soon as he left Carter at the school, Malakai went to the woods.

He took Old Beacon Road, driving under the sullen clouds through which no patch of sky could be seen, to the place where he had parked upon his arrival to Beacon Hills.

Leaving the car, he tried to retrace his steps exactly to the clearing where he had last sensed Raeven's power. His natural spiritual instincts helped him, recalling the shape of this bush and that knotted root, until he stood in the open place ringed with ancient oak trees. In the center, under a blanket of dingy-brown leaves, was the enormous stump of the Nemeton.

Taking a long breath to still himself—to center himself with nature—he cast out a probing, demanding. And for the first time since he'd begun his search, he felt the brush of her mind against his. But it seemed distant and wavering, and he could not locate it in space. Malakai sighed and turned around—and stopped dead.

Raeven stood before him, arms crossed over her chest, lounging against the largest oak tree in the Preserve. She looked as if she might have been there for hours. "So, it appears as if you've finally found me."

"It's been a long time, Rae."

"Not as long as you think, brother." Malakai remembered that voice, that velvety, ironical voice. "I've kept track of you over the years," Raeven said calmly. She flicked a bit of bark from the sleeve of her leather jacket as casually as she had once adjusted her furs. "But then, you wouldn't know that, would you? Ah, no, your abilities are as weak as ever since you've renounced the dark forces and became a light-bringing-tree-hugger."

"Do not test me, Rae," Malakai said softly, dangerously. "Not tonight. I'm not in a tolerate mood after your recent escapades."

"You're distressed, I suppose, because of my little excursions into your mind. I only blinded you from Carter because I wanted a chance to be close to you. Siblings should be close."

"Carter killed because of what you did. And you try to act as if you've done all of this for us." Malakai sneered, eyes narrowed into slits. "Even before Father sacrificed you to the Nemeton, you were always a selfish bitch."

Malakai knew he'd hit a sensitive spot in Raeven; her death had always been something that none of her followers ever dared to mention, not if they wanted to keep their throats where they belonged. He was pulling on the tail of a snake, but he'd been born a wolf and did not fear such filthy creatures.

"That was very unkind, brother. Careful!" she said as Malakai stepped toward her. "My mood is not the best tonight, either. I only had a scrawny little homeless woman; you had my doppelgänger's powerful mind to feed off of."

The fury inside Malakai coalesced, seeming to focus in one bright burning spot, like a sun inside him. "I've had enough of your games, Rae. Keep away from Carter," he said with such menace that Raeven actually tilted her head back slightly. "I have ignored this for far too long. Stop torturing a girl who is going through the exact same thing you went through. I know you were the one who forced her car off Dead Man's Bridge, and that you lured her to the Dread Doctors. But no more. Continue of this path and you'll regret it."

Raeven mindlessly scratched the spot above her right eyebrow. "You know, I think you had it wrong, brother. You were always the selfish one. Your one fault. Never willing to share your toys, even when the toy isn't yours to possess." Suddenly, Raeven's lips curved in a singularly beautiful smile. "Your precious Caterina is only on this earth because I willed it to be. The Hale line would have ended with us, if I hadn't ensured it's survival before the massacre of our village."

Malakai quickly caught on to the hidden message in Raeven's words. "That's a lie!" He shouted, eyes locked on Raeven's lower abdomen. "Everyone in the village would've known! You never would've been able to keep—You're lying."

"I'm afraid not, dear brother. I never lie about anything important. I slaughtered our family by the hundreds, but our lineage continued through me. The Hale line had to survive to guarantee that another Pheanix would be born." As Malakai stared at her, trying to control his breathing, Raeven added, almost gently, "You're wrong about her, you know. You think she's sweet and docile, as I used to be. A poor replacement for your precious baby sister. She isn't. She's a Pheanix, through and through. There's a spirit and a fire in her that you wouldn't be able to contain."

"And you would, I suppose."

Raeven uncrossed her arms. "Oh, I don't wish to contain anything. I wish to extinguish that raging fire in her."

Malakai said, in a barely controlled voice, "You're right about one thing. She's strong. Stronger than you ever dreamt of becoming. She'll fight you and she'll win."

Raeven's eyebrows lifted. "Will she, now? We'll see about that. Anyhow, I'm not the only one that wants the doe-eyed girl. The Dread Doctors have been itching to get their hands on her again. They rather enjoyed carving into her, hearing her scream."

She stepped away from the tree and spoke. "I am warning you, brother, don't try to stop me. It doesn't matter what I came here for. What I want now is Carter. And if you try to stop me from taking her back to the Doctors, I will kill you, like I should've all those centuries ago."

"You can sure as hell try," Malakai said. The hot pinpoint of fury inside him burned brighter than ever.

"You think I won't do it? You never learn, do you, big brother?" Malakai had just enough time to note Raeven's weary shake of the head when there was a blur of motion and he felt strong hands seize him. He was fighting instantly, violently, trying with all his strength to throw them off. But they were like hands of steel.

He went limp for an instant, making himself a deadweight, and then he suddenly surged with all his muscles, trying to break free, trying to get a blow in. The cruel hands only tightened on him, making his struggles useless. Pathetic. Malakai looked into his sister's face, pale as snow, and at those black bottomless eyes. Then he felt fingers grasp his hair, jerk his head back, exposing his throat.

His struggles redoubled, became frantic, and then he felt the sharp rending pain of teeth. He felt the humiliation and helplessness of the hunter's victim, of the hunted, of the prey. And then the pain of blood being drawn out against his will. He refused to give in to it, and the pain grew worse—far worse than he remembered—a feeling as if his soul was tearing loose. It was then that the centuries had made Raeven immensely strong as agony flamed up his jaw and cheek and down his chest and shoulder. He felt a wave of vertigo and realized he was losing consciousness.

Then, abruptly, the hands released him and he fell to the ground. Gasping for breath, he painfully got to his hands and knees.

"I'm stronger than you. Strong enough to take your blood and your life if I see fit. Leave Carter to me, or I will kill you."

"Carter is not your toy," he ground out, getting to his feet, trying not to show what an effort it cost him. "And you do not stand a chance against her." Concentrating on each step, putting one foot in front of the other, he began walking away. His entire body ached. There were bits of wet leaves and crumbs of earth adhering to his clothes, but he did not brush them off. He fought to keep moving, to hold out against the weakness that lapped at his limbs.

He gritted his teeth and kept his legs moving. Another step. And another step. And another step.

Another step, and another step. The car couldn't be far now. Leave crackled under his feet, and then he heard leaves crackle behind him. He tried to turn quickly, but his reflexes were almost gone. And the sharp motion was too much for him. Darkness filled him, filled his body and his mind, and he was falling. He fell forever into the black of absolute night.

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Carter's attempt at keeping herself distracted was proving impossible. She was trying to occupy her mind by studying the cover of Gabriel Valack's book—since she still refused to read it—every time she looked at the masks, she was immediately consumed with exhaustion and plagued with haunting thoughts of Malakai. She just assumed it was her lack of sleep finally catching up with her and the pain in her head was nearly convincing her to take a nap.

In a sudden burst of anger, she swiped the book off the table and it landed on the floor with a thud. Screw that book, she thought distastefully. Making up her mind, she folded her arms and laid her head on the table and it didn't take long for her to drift.

"Look into the flame, and think about Malakai. Picture him in your mind. No matter what happens, keep on looking at the flame. And whatever you do, don't say anything."

Carter didn't know who was speaking, but nodded anyways, and then the only sound in the room was soft breathing. The flame flickered and danced, throwing patterns of light over Carter sitting cross-legged around it. The mysterious woman—faceless in the dark—eyes closed, was breathing deeply and slowly, like someone drifting into sleep.

Malakai, thought Carter, gazing into the flame, trying to pour all her will into the thought. She created him in her mind, using all her senses, conjuring him to her. The roughness of his calloused hands, the smell of his leather jacket, the color of his eyes...

The woman's lashes fluttered and her breathing quickened, like a sleeper having a bad dream. Carter resolutely kept her eyes on the flame, but when the woman broke the silence a chill went up her spine. At first it was just a moan, the sound of someone in pain. Then, as the woman tossed her head, breath coming in short bursts, it became words.

"Alone..." she said, and stopped. Carter's nails bit into her hand. "Alone...in the dark," said the woman. Her voice was distant and tortured.

There was another silence, and then the woman began to speak quickly.

"It's dark and cold. And I'm alone. There's something behind me...jagged and hard. Rocks. They used to hurt—but not now. I'm numb now, from the cold. So cold..." the woman twisted, as if trying to get away from something, and then she laughed, a dreadful laugh almost like a sob. "That's...funny. I came here to stop her and she killed me before I could. It's so dark here. And cold....blood...hurts..."

"I'm weak. My father always said that I was the weak one. She's strong...a killer. After everything that I've done, maybe I deserve to die..."

"No!" Carter shouted before she could stop herself. In that instant, she forgot everything but Malakai's pain. "Malakai—"

"Hey! Carter, wake up." Malia shouted, kicking the leg of the chair Carter was sleeping in.

Carter jolted awake, jumping back and gasping as she tumbled out of the chair and onto the floor. She blinked rapidly, trying to remove the haze from her eyes. "What do you want?"

"I want you to get up so we can go to the hospital. Scott wants us all to go find Lydia and Stiles because there's another Chimera." Malia retorted, narrowing her eyes as Carter pulled herself up from the floor.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

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not edited

im sorry it has been so long since ive updated this story (and all of my other stories...i will try to update those soon as well) ive been SUPER busy with getting everything situated with college and other adult stuff and i have completely neglected my fabulous readers and for that im so sorry...i also apologize if this chapter seems a bit choppy and if it doesn't really flow 🤷🏻‍♀️

anyways, a huge secret about malakai was revealed and i, myself, was quite surprised how it all turned out and if you refer back to INTERLUDE PART ONE, raeven briefly talks about her older brother who dabbled with dark magic. side note, carter's dream about malakai parallels back to an earlier chapter when raeven and logan help carter connect with malakai, so there's that. there's a small bit of my favorite hate-hate relationship at the end aka malia and carter 😂 but a bit thing that has (and will continue) been reoccurring in these past few chapters, is the fact that carter is still haunted by her death--anything tragic going on around her instantly reminds her of drowning. so, basically, she feels like she's constantly drowning.

well, as usual, let me know what you thought of the chapter and what you think is going to happen in the next few chapters!