The next day at the lake house, Scott woke up and found Allison already awake, standing near the window, watching the rain.
Scott got out of bed, walked over to her, hugged her from behind, and said. "Good morning, beautiful."
Allison smiled softly. "Good morning."
Scott studied her for a moment. "What's wrong? You're not in a good mood—I can feel it."
"Nothing." Allison replied.
Scott gently turned her around to face him, looking into her eyes. "Come on, tell me what's bothering you and I'll deal with it. Is it Stiles? Did he do something stupid again?"
Allison let out a small laugh. "No, he didn't do anything. I was just thinking about that Dread Doctor who got away—and what might happen if he really manages to bring back the Beast."
She sighed and turned to look out the window. "A lot of innocent people could die, right? That thing's favorite hobby is killing people."
Scott said. "So that's what's worrying you, huh? Well, all we can do is kill the Doctor and the Beast when they show up—and hopefully we'll stop them before they cause too much damage."
He gently turned her head back toward him. "And just because the Beast is connected to your family from centuries ago doesn't mean it's your responsibility, love."
Allison rested her head against his chest. "I know. I just feel like I should be the one to kill the Beast."
Scott smiled. "Then when we find him, we'll let you kill it for good this time."
Then he smirked and added. "Let's just hope he's the last evil member of your family to show up."
Allison pinched his side. "Don't jinx it."
Scott winced dramatically. "Ow! You bad girl, that hurts."
Then he picked her up.
Allison laughed. "What are you doing? Put me down!"
"Nope." Scott said, giving her a light spank. "I'm going to punish you for pinching me."
He threw her on the bed and pounced, tickling her until she laughed uncontrollably and begged him to stop. When he finally stopped, he kissed her—and that kiss soon turned into a morning lovemaking session.
---
After a shower, the two of them went downstairs, had breakfast, then stepped outside to sit on the porch. They cuddled under a blanket on the outdoor couch, watching the rain together.
The two giant wolves, Vesper and Luna, were happily playing in the rain with their two pups, Leila and Ghost, in front of the lake house.
Soon, the pups came running toward Scott and Allison.
Just before they could pounce, Scott raised a hand. "Stop! You two are soaking wet."
The pups halted, and with a wave of his hand, fire burst from Scott's palm—engulfing the pups in flames that didn't burn, only dried them.
"Now you can come." He said.
The pups eagerly climbed into Scott and Allison's laps, curling up and falling asleep as they gently stroked their fur, enjoying the peaceful morning.
But that peace didn't last long.
Stiles and Lydia arrived at the lake house, sharing an umbrella that Stiles held overhead.
"Good morning, lovebirds." Lydia said as she sat beside them, immediately reaching out to pet Leila, who was snuggled in Allison's lap.
Stiles dropped into a nearby chair and gave Scott a look of disapproval. "Seriously? Everyone's out searching for chimeras this morning, and you two are just sitting here, hugging each other and watching the rain like an old couple who doesn't care about the world anymore."
Scott smirked. "If you're jealous, Stiles, go find Malia and hug her too. Just don't come here and disturb my peace."
Stiles snorted. "You think I don't want to be like you two—snuggled up with Malia and enjoying a peaceful morning? But she's already out with Chris hunting chimeras. And you know how I am—I can't relax until we deal with all of them."
Scott raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you here? Go find them, no one's stopping you."
Allison asked. "Who went looking for the chimeras?"
Stiles replied. "Aside from Melissa, Victoria, and Deaton—who went to the company—everyone else went to the sheriff's station to help Dad, Parrish, and Braeden look for the chimeras."
Scott said. "Then again, why are you here? You already gave Uncle Noah the names of the chimeras we found in the memories of those Doctors we killed yesterday. So I don't think finding them will be that hard. Besides, almost all the pack members are helping—so why do you need me and Allison?"
Lydia said. "By the way, Stiles, I'm not going either. I'm staying here with Allison."
Stiles groaned. "Seriously? You too? Come on, guys, don't be lazy—let's go hunt the chimeras!"
Scott shook his head. "Nope. I'm not going. I'm the Alpha. I'm only responsible for dealing with enemies you guys can't fight. So finding the chimeras is your job—as a beta."
Stiles pointed at Allison and Lydia. "Then what about them?"
Scott replied. "Allison is my mate, which makes her the female Alpha of our pack. And Lydia is a banshee, which makes her my advisor."
Stiles frowned. "What? What about me? What status do I have in the pack?"
Scott said. "You're a beta."
Stiles protested. "Hey! I've known you since we were kids—we're basically brothers! And I knew about the supernatural before Allison. I should be the second Alpha of the pack!"
Lydia teased. "You want to be the female Alpha?"
Stiles winked at Scott. "I could be."
Scott shivered. "Gross! Stiles, you've just been demoted to Omega."
Stiles gasped. "You can't do that!"
Allison glared at him. "If you wink at Scott like that again, I'm telling Malia. Let her deal with your stupid ass."
Stiles quickly raised his hands. "Don't! I was just joking! But Scott, seriously—I should be third in command after you and Allison. Or at least an advisor like Lydia."
Scott waved him off. "Go away. Don't you have chimeras to find? Go find them and stop creeping me out."
Stiles smirked, gave Scott his best coquettish look, and said in a girlish voice. "But Mr. Big Bad Wolf… you haven't told me yet if I'm the third Alpha…"
Scott stood up so fast that Ghost nearly fell off his lap—but he caught him just in time. Then he snapped. "Damn it, Stiles! I swear, if you don't leave, I'm going to kill you!"
He kicked him off the porch, sending him crashing into the wet grass. Then he shouted. "Vesper! Come here and chase this dumbass away! And don't let him get close to my house from now on!"
Allison added. "Yeah! Whenever you see him coming here again, just bite his ass. And don't be afraid of him—if he hurts you, you let me know and I'll deal with him."
Vesper, who had been playing with Luna, heard them and came running—then bit Stiles right on the ass.
Stiles opened the giant jaws clamped onto him and ran away with Vesper chasing after him. "You stupid mutt!" He shouted. "If it weren't for the girls, I'd have dealt with you a long time ago!"
Scott sat down again and grumbled. "Damn it. Stupid Stiles ruined the nickname 'Big Bad Wolf' for me."
Allison smiled. "He's just joking."
Scott sighed. "I know. But if you call me Big Bad Wolf while we're in bed, and I remember the expression on Stiles' stupid face when he said it… that's going to ruin my whole day."
Lydia laughed. "Stiles really knows how to piss people off."
Allison asked. "Is it really okay not to help them with the chimeras?"
Scott nodded. "They're more than enough to find a few chimeras."
---
Throughout the day, the pack managed to catch a few chimeras and send them to Deaton and Morin at the company. Some of them were students, so they were easy to find, and others were teenagers or young adults working different jobs around Beacon Hills. But they didn't find all of them.
In the evening, Chris and Malia went to a chimera named Lucas's apartment after failing to find him at work.
But the moment they got close to the apartment, they smelled blood.
Malia said. "Do you think he killed someone, or is he dead?"
Chris replied. "We're about to find out."
As they reached the door, they found it open. They entered and saw the apartment was a mess. Following the trail of blood, they headed to the bedroom.
The door to the bedroom was broken, and even the wall around the frame was smashed—as if something big had crashed through it.
When they entered the room, they found shredded, bloody clothes, small pieces of flesh scattered across the floor, a severed hand, and a single foot still wearing a sneaker.
Malia stared at the scene and asked. "What do you think did this?"
Chris told Noah to come to them telepathically, then replied to Malia. "I don't know. But whatever it was—it was a cannibalistic creature."
Malia asked. "Was it a wendigo chimera?"
Chris shook his head. "I doubt that. Look at the door. Something big went through it and broke the wall. Wendigos can't do that. And honestly, I'm not even sure this was a chimera."
Soon, Noah arrived. After checking the fingerprints from the severed hand, he said. "The hand belonged to Lucas."
Chris nodded. "So now we know he wasn't the one who killed someone here."
Noah sighed. "I was hoping this mess was caused by Lucas. At least we knew what he looked like. Now we're looking for an unknown cannibal creature."
Just then, Derek's voice came through telepathically into Noah's mind. As he listened, his expression darkened.
"Derek just told me he and Braeden found another chimera—killed and eaten, just like this."
Malia said. "Could it be the Dread Doctor who escaped? Maybe he's eating them for some reason?"
Chris shook his head. "No, it's not him. The Dread Doctors can't shift. They're just humans with electromagnetic enhancements."
Noah rubbed his temples. "Then what did this? Another chimera?"
Chris said. "No. This was something else. Can't you smell it? Whatever did this is a real supernatural creature. It doesn't smell like a chimera at all."
Malia nodded. "Now that you mention it, you're right. The scent left behind here isn't chimera-like."
Chris said. "Alright, Noah—you handle the scene here. I'm going to Derek to check out the other one."
He turned to leave. "Malia, let's go."
When they arrived at Derek's location, they found the same carnage.
Malia said. "It's the same scent as the other place."
Chris nodded. "Let's head home and see if Lydia has any clues. If not, we'll figure something out to deal with whatever did this."
He then looked at Braeden. "See if you can find any security footage. Try to find out if the two victims knew each other, or went to the same place."
Braeden said. "Okay. I'll let you guys know what I find later."
After that, Chris and Malia went back to the ranch, gathered the pack in the pack house, and told them everything.
Scott said. "So there's a creature hunting chimeras and eating them?"
Chris said. "Yes." Then he looked at Lydia and asked. "Lydia, any clues?"
Lydia said. "Well, when I heard you talking about what happened to the chimera Lucas, and the other chimera that was eaten too, all I could think of was the name 'Blue Moon.'"
Victoria said. "Blue Moon? What's that?"
Lydia shrugged. "I don't know."
Scott said. "Stiles, check if there's a restaurant, a nightclub, or a bar by that name."
Stiles took out his phone and, after a quick search, said. "It's a nightclub downtown."
Chris said. "That's it. That's where we're going to find the cannibal creature."
Scott stood up. "Then let's go hunting."
Allison said. "Should we bring bait with us? I mean, we can't fight him in the club—we need to lure him somewhere with no people."
Stiles said. "Then I'll call Liam and ask him to bring Hayden. We'll use her as bait."
Victoria said. "Then let's go."
Chris looked at her. "Where are you going?"
Victoria said. "Hunting."
Chris said. "No, you're not. You're six months pregnant. No hunting for you until you give birth."
Victoria said. "I'm not fragile, Chris. I can still fight. The baby will be fine."
Chris looked at Melissa for help. Melissa smiled and said. "Victoria, Chris is right. Let them handle the hunting until you give birth. Then you can hunt all you want."
Victoria sighed and sat down. "Fine."
Scott said. "Alright, who's coming?"
Everyone except Melissa and Victoria stood up.
Scott said. "There's no need for all of us to go."
Isaac said. "I don't want to fight. I just want to see what that creature looks like."
Cora, Lydia, Erica, and Kira said. "Me too."
Scott said. "Then just stay here. We'll lure him back to the ranch. And if he tries to escape, I'll catch him and bring him by force. So you guys just wait here."
Then he said. "Stiles, Chris, and Malia—let's go."
Allison said. "I'm coming too."
With that, Scott and Allison got into Chris's car, and Chris drove to meet with Liam and Hayden. Stiles and Malia followed them in his Jeep.
To be continued... 😊