c h a p t e r t w e n t y s e v e n
new werewolves, new hunters

Harper spotted Allison and Lydia walking towards the school and rushed to catch up with them. She hadn't seen Lydia since she put her in hospital, so she really wanted to know if she was okay. Harper's shoulder collided with somebody, but with such force that it felt like she had walked into a brick wall.

"Ouch." She mumbled, frowning.

"Hey, are you okay?" Harper looked up to see Isaac Lahey stood there, a small smirk on his face as he towered over her. "I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry."

Harper had never seen Isaac smirk before- or even smile for that matter. He also looked different in a way that Harper couldn't quite describe. Everything about him just seemed improved, but in such a subtle way that nobody would notice unless they looked close enough. Isaac was just radiating confidence.

"Oh, um, it's fine." Harper gave him a soft smile. "You look... different. Did you get a hair cut?"

Isaac hesitated before shrugging and smiling. "Something like that."

Harper didn't get the chance to ask him what he meant before he had walked away. She rubbed her shoulder, muttering a few words under her breath before moving to catch up with two of her best friends.

"Hey, guys." Harper chirped, stepping in the middle of her friends to link arms with them. "How are you Lydia? Sorry I couldn't visit you while you were in hospital."

Lydia swatted the air, "it's no big deal. I can't even remember anything about while I was in the woods, or much before that."

Allison frowned deeply, "you really don't remember anything?"

"They called it a fugue state." Lydia explained. "Which is basically a way of saying 'we have no idea why you can't remember running through the woods naked for two days'."

Harper rubbed the strawberry blonde's comfortingly as they stopped outside the main entrance, Lydia turning to beam at them.

"But personally, I don't care." She grinned. "I lost nine pounds."

Allison chuckled while Harper smiled at her friend, taking her arm off of her back to briefly pat her arm. "Are you ready?" Harper asked sweetly.

Lydia scoffed, looking at Allison. "Please, it's not like my aunt's a serial killer." She flipped her hair, opening the doors and waltzing inside.

Harper's heart fell when she saw the look on Allison's face. She grabbed Allison's hand, sending the taller girl a comforting smile. Allison returned it weakly before they went in after Lydia. As soon as they walked inside, they found their favourite strawberry blonde frozen in her spot as the entire hallway stopped to stare at her.

The shorter brunette moved up onto her toes, "maybe it's the nine pounds." She whispered in Lydia's ear.

Lydia pursed her lips together before nodding, walking as confidently as she could onwards. Allison and Harper both smiled at each other before linking arms and following a little less dramatically.

...

The brunette walked towards the bleachers, taking her seat at the top so that she could see past the other people sitting on the bench. Stiles was actually in practice today, so she decided she would do her English homework instead of talking.

Like an ocean with no boundaries,

Harper didn't even get to finish the second half of her sentence when she heard someone go down on the field. She quickly looked up, hoping it wasn't Stiles. Instead of Stiles being on the ground in a very awkward position, she saw Scott, who was meant to be in goal, on top of another lacrosse player.

She snickered, shaking her head as she wondered what the hell he was doing. He helped the kid he pushed over up and Harper saw him visibly sniff him, even going as far as to smell down his chest. Harper raised an eyebrow, slowly closing her English book.

She'd be stupid to think she was getting any homework done when Scott, and probably Stiles, were doing something so ridiculous.

"McCall!" Coach Finstock yelled, pointing at him and the goal. "Usually the goalie stays somewhere within the vicinity of the actual goal."

Scott nodded, "yes, Coach." He replied, running back to stand in the goal.

Harper leaned forwards, resting her chin on her hand and her elbow on her knee as she watched in complete confusion and amusement. What were her best friends up to?

"Let's try it again!" Coach yelled, blowing the whistle loudly.

Scott got ready as the next player came up. Harper inwardly cringed when she saw that it was Matt. She honestly took him as the nerdy type, she had no idea that he was on the team. Coach threw the ball and Matt caught it, darting forwards.

The werewolf suddenly came out from his area within the goal, running in front of the defence to smack straight into Matt, sending the boy flying over his shoulders and onto his back with a thump. Harper cringed as Scott bent down, sniffing right over Matt's helmet.

"McCall!" Finstock practically screamed this time. "The position's goal keeper. Not goal abandoner."

"Sorry, Coach." Scott didn't sound too sincere as he stepped back into goal.

The next guy went up and Scott did exactly the same to him as he had done to the first two guys. He sent him flying, and then bent down to sniff him. Why was he doing it for everybody to see?

Danny was next and Harper felt herself quickly loosing her patience and sanity. Of course, Scott knocked Danny down, landing right in top of him as he sniffed him. Her face fell into her hands and she shook her head.

"Why do I even bother coming to your lacrosse practice's at this point?" She muttered under her breath.

Jackson stepped out of the line, saying something about his shoulder hurting, leaving Isaac next. Stiles was behind him, staring at him oddly. Harper squinted  her eyes, trying to get a better look. No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't catch on to whatever the bos were trying to figure out.

She. Was. So. Confused.

Coach blew the whistle, throwing the ball at Isaac who caught it effortlessly. He then began to run at the same time as Isaac took off, both running straight at each other. The collided, both their equipment rattling as they went flying through the air, landing on their hands and knees right in front of each other.

The whistle blew just as Harper looked up, seeing three police officers, including Sheriff Stilinski, walking over towards Isaac and Scott.

...

"His father's dead." Scott whispered to Stiles and Harper as he listened into the conversation that Isaac was having with the police across the field.

Harper's heart plummeted at the words, remembering exactly how it felt to be told by police officers that a parent had died. It also meant that Isaac was an orphan now, just like her. She frowned and Stiles placed a hand on her shoulder from where she stood in front of them.

"They think he was murdered."

Sheriff Stilinski muttered something before his hand went up to Isaac's shoulder, leading him away from the field.

"Do they think he did it?" Harper questioned, a million thoughts running through her head all at once.

"I'm not sure, why?" Scott replied, not taking his eyes off of the scene occurring in front of them.

Harper bit her lip. "Can't they hold him in a holding cell for twenty four hours?" She looked up at her boyfriend for confirmation who nodded proudly at her, despite the situation. "That means during a full moon."

The boys had informed her that Scott had smelt another werewolf on the team, so he had been trying to figure out who it was. Much to Harper's surprise, it was Isaac.

"How good are these holding cells at holding people?" Scott's voice was barely above a murmur as he turned to face Stiles.

"People, good." Stiles hesitated before adding, "werewolves, probably not that good."

Scott didn't look away as he kept talking lowly, "Stiles, remember when I said that I don't have the urge to maim and kill? He does."

Harper's eyes widened as Isaac turned his head to face them, clearly having had listened in on their conversation with his brand new hearing abilities. She shook her head, feeling her hands get a little clammy.

"Are you guys sure? Isaac Lahey?" Harper's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

Scott nodded. "I'm sure. Why, do you know him?"

Harper shrugged, "we're friends. Kind of..." She watched as the police disappeared with him. "It's just... Isaac's one of the nicest people I've ever met. Why would he-"

Stiles cut her off, "yeah, well he's not too nice anymore." He dead-panned. "Which means you shouldn't be hanging out with him, right Scott?"

Harper watched as Scott nodded, agreeing with Stiles. "Yeah, it's too risky to be around him, Harps."

"All of a sudden, he's a new werewolf and his dad ends up dead. Does that not sound the slightest bit off to you?" Stiles added.

Harper sighed, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She was annoyed that they were right. "I won't hang out with him. He talked to me today and he was fine, though."

Stiles grew angry with jealousy. "Okay, well ignore him next time."

Harper glanced up at him, "okay." She mumbled. "Let's get to Chemistry."

...

Harper had convinced Mr Harris to let her sit in between Stiles and Scott, claiming that if she didn't then she would probably have a nervous breakdown. After Lydia and Harper had been found unconscious on the school field, the school kind of had to let them have their way, since Mrs Martin had threatened to sue them.

So, of course, he had to let her, which was why Harper was now sat in the middle of her two best friends, doodling in her notebook as the two boys talked on either side of her.

"Why would Derek choose Isaac?" Scott questioned as Harris wrote on the chalk board, his back turned to them.

Harper didn't look up from where she was drawing. "Peter told us that if the bite doesn't turn you then it will kill you. I don't know, maybe teenagers have a better chance of surviving." She guessed, not noticing the look of admiration Stiles had when she spoke.

Stiles not so secretly loved it when Harper spoke smart. When she picked up on things that he had said before and figured things out like a detective. Or even when she would read her English essays to him or correct someone with facts- he loved it all.

"Does being a teenager mean your dad can't hold him?" Scott asked Stiles, snapping the hazel eyed boy out of his trance.

"Well, not unless they have solid evidence." Stiles shrugged. "Or a witness."

Something seemed to snap inside him and he gasped, "Wait." He whirled around in his seat, seeing no signs of Jackson. "Danny." He hissed. "Where's Jackson?"

"In the principal's office talking to your dad." Danny replied, clearly a little confused as to why he was asking him.

"What? Why?"

"Maybe because he lives across the street from Isaac." Danny rolled his eyes, turning back to his book as he continued to take notes from the board.

"Witness." Harper whispered to herself as Stiles faced them again.

Stiles nodded, "we gotta get to the principal's office."

"How?" Scott asked.

Harris suddenly spoke up, not turning back around. "Everybody please turn to page seventy-three."

Harper thought quickly, panicking as she ripped out the page she had been doodling on, scrunching it up and throwing it. It hit Harris right in the back of his head and everybody began to laugh. Stiles and Scott stared at her in shock and she placed a hand over her mouth, not quite believing that she did that.

Harris turned around. "Who in the hell did that?"

Scott quickly pointed at Harper, who pointed at Stiles, who pointed at Scott.

...

"I can't believe you did that." Stiles snickered as they sat outside the principal's office, high fiving his girlfriend. "You've never done anything bad before! Remember when I got us that detention and you were pissed at me?"

Harper shrugged, a small smile crossing her face. "I took one for the team."

Scott rolled his eyes, "then why is the whole team in trouble?" He glared as he sank down in the seats.

Harper shrugged, "didn't think of that."

Stiles was about to talk again when Scott hushed him, his ear practically pressed against the glass window of the office as he attempted to listen into the conversation that was taking place. Harper and Stiles tried to listen in too, but without any werewolf powers, they couldn't.

Harper could feel Jackson's slight anxiety and Noah's confusion and disappointment, however.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you knew Isaac's father was hitting him?" Sheriff Stilinski questioned, sounding a mixture of shock and disappointment.

"Hitting him?" Jackson scoffed. "He was kicking the crap out of him."

"Did you ever say anything to anyone? A teacher, parents, anyone?"

"Nope. It's not my problem."

There was a heavy silence before Noah replied, "no, no, of course not. You know, it's funny that the kids getting beaten up are always the ones who least deserve it."

"Yeah." Jackson sighed. "Wait, what?"

"I think we're done here." Sheriff Stilinski replied.

The door suddenly opened and Stiles freaked out, grabbing a magazine and throwing it over his face in an attempt to hide from his father and the other police officer that walked out. Noah didn't say anything but stared at them for a few seconds, the most 'done' look ever on his face.

Harper smiled sheepishly while Scott just stared, Stiles still 'hidden' behind a cheesy teen magazine.

"Hi, Scott. Hi, Harper." Noah stared at Stiles the entire time, though of course he wouldn't know that.

Scott sent him a small wave while Harper pursed her lips together and gave him a short nod. Noah walked away and Stiles put the magazine down, sighing in relief. Harper rolled her eyes at the fact that he thought he had gotten away with it. Stiles was so, so smart and yet so, so not.

"Boys and girl." A familiar deep voice came from the doorway, causing the three of them to turn their heads. "Come on in."

Stood in their principal's office, with a cocky smirk, was none other than Gerard Argent.

I accidentally published this before it was meant to, but I didn't really proof read so there's no changes other than the title chapter.

thanks for reading!