From their hidden vantage point in the darkness of the woods, a safe distance from the burned-out shell of the old Hale house, the group watched and waited.
Scott frowned, tilting his head. "What is that annoying high-pitched sound I hear?"
Jacob said. "That's coming from the Argents' ultrasonic emitters. They produce a frequency that's inaudible to humans but intensely painful and disorienting to werewolves and anything else with supernatural hearing."
Malia's nose wrinkled in irritation. "It's really annoying."
"Lydia." Jacob said. "Use your sound control. Block that noise from reaching us, and contain our voices and any sounds we make. We don't want to spook Peter's pack."
"Okay." Lydia replied. She raised a hand, fingers moving in a subtle, practiced gesture. A faint shimmer, like heat haze, briefly surrounded them. "It's done. I created a... well, a sound barrier, I guess you could call it, around us. Our noise won't leave it, but we can still hear everything from outside. And I muted those stupid emitters for us."
Scott blinked. "The sound really stopped. Is controlling sound that easy?"
"Yes." Lydia said with a slight smirk. "I can manipulate sound waves as easily as talking or moving my hand. I could even mute you if I wanted to."
"Now let's hide our scent, too." Jacob said. He waved a hand, channeling a minimal amount of energy. An invisible Quen shield enveloped the group. It wasn't meant to withstand an attack—just to contain and mask their collective scent.
Five minutes later, Jacob's sharp eyes caught movement in the tree line opposite the house. "Peter and his pack are here."
"Where?" Stiles whispered, squinting.
Scott, with his enhanced vision, pointed. "There. Behind those trees. Peter, Derek, Jackson... and four others."
Stiles shook his head. "That idiot Jackson is going to get himself killed."
Jacob said. "He'll probably run the moment the real fighting starts."
---
The Hale House
The hunters weren't all inside. Chris, Victoria, Kate, and ten other hunters were concealed in the woods behind the house, using the ultrasonic emitters and wolfsbane to mask their presence from supernatural senses. Ten more hunters waited inside the house, a trap within a trap.
Peter, scanning the silent house from the tree line, signaled to three of his Betas. "Sneak in. Find Kevin and Oliver (The two students that Peter turned) and free them. Kill any hunters you find—except Chris or Victoria if they're inside. We'll cover the outside."
The three werewolves blurred into motion, using their speed to dart across the open ground and slip through a shattered window into the house's dark interior. They moved silently, searching until they descended into the basement.
There, they found the two captured Betas—chained to the wall, beaten, and hooked to IVs dripping with diluted wolfsbane. The room was unguarded.
One of the rescuers, a Beta named James, stepped forward to free them. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, he screamed. The floor was covered in a shallow pool of water, and a high-voltage current surged through it. James convulsed violently, collapsing into the electrified water, his body seizing.
From the shadows, the ten waiting hunters emerged, weapons raised. Chaos erupted.
The two remaining rescuers, still in the hallway, were riddled with wolfsbane-laced bullets. They gritted their teeth, shifted into their werewolf forms, and launched themselves at the hunters in a frenzy of claws and fangs. The confined space became a slaughterhouse.
Outside, Peter heard the commotion. "Now!" He growled.
He grabbed Mike, a human he had brought with him, and used his Alpha speed to run toward the house. Derek gave a glance at Jackson—who was pale and trembling—before shaking his head and following Peter.
After Peter and Derek entered the house, Jackson didn't think twice; he turned around and ran away toward town.
Inside, Peter and Derek found a scene of carnage. Only one of their Betas was still standing, locked in a desperate fight with the last four hunters. Peter and Derek struck from behind. The hunters, overwhelmed, fell quickly. But the last standing Beta succumbed to his wounds, slumping to the floor with a final sigh.
Peter didn't spare his dead betas a glance. He strode to the electrified room's doorway, saw the two cables running from outside into the water, and ripped them free. He stepped inside. "James. Are you alright?"
James sat up slowly, his skin covered in livid electrical burns that were already knitting themselves closed. "I'll live." He rasped.
They moved to free the two captives chained to the wall. The blue-eyed Beta, Kevin—the student who had killed his parents—was dying. Dark, poisoned veins spiderwebbed from a bullet wound in his stomach that refused to heal. He coughed, a spray of black blood staining the floor.
"He's poisoned with Nordic Blue Monkshood." Derek said, his voice flat. "He won't survive."
Peter turned to the other captive, Oliver. "Who shot him?"
"It was a woman named Kate." Oliver stammered, eyes wide with fear. "She shot him a few hours ago. She wanted to shoot me, too, but a man stopped her."
Peter's eyes flashed a dangerous crimson. "Alright. Let's get out of here."
Oliver looked desperately at Kevin, who had now lost consciousness. "What about Kevin? Are we just going to leave him to die?"
"He was dead the moment that bullet hit him." Peter said, with no emotion in his voice. "We don't have Nordic Blue Monkshood, so there's nothing to be done." He turned to leave.
They left the basement. Mike, the human Peter had dragged along, whispered urgently. "Are you going to give me the Bite yet?"
Peter patted his shoulder, a cold smile on his lips. "Not yet, Mike. You're my secret weapon. Stay close."
But as they moved to exit through the front door, Peter stopped, his hand pressing against the charred wood of the wall. He felt the faint, repelling energy humming through it. He smirked. "Mountain ash. We're trapped."
Then he heard a click sound coming from outside.
"Take cover!" Peter roared, shoving Mike back toward the basement stairs and diving after him. Derek and James scrambled up the main staircase, taking cover on the second floor.
Oliver, confused and slow to react, remained standing in the central hallway.
A second later, the night erupted. A hail of gunfire tore through the old, burned walls of the house from all sides. Bullets ripped through the dry wood, shredding the interior. Oliver cried out as multiple rounds struck him, dropping him to the floor in a writhing, screaming heap.
After a brutal minute, the gunfire ceased, leaving an echoing silence filled with dust and the painful moans of Oliver.
Then came the grenades, flying through the gaps where the windows had been. They didn't explode with fire, but with a hissing release of thick, purple wolfsbane gas, rapidly filling the first floor of the house.
---
Outside, Chris, Victoria, and Kate stepped into the open, flanked by ten hunters; they kept their rifles aimed at the house. A few hunters continued to toss the smoke grenades inside.
Kate's face was lit by a vicious, triumphant smirk. "Alright, boys," She called out, her voice cutting through the night. "Pour the gasoline around the perimeter. Let's burn Peter and Derek and send them straight to meet the rest of their family."
---
Back inside the house, Peter tore his shirt off, ran back to the electrified room in the basement, and soaked the fabric in the now-deactivated water. He covered his mouth and nose with the wet cloth, a flimsy but necessary barrier against the wolfsbane gas still swirling on the first floor. He snatched up two rifles from the dead hunters.
"Mike, follow me." Peter ordered.
Upstairs, Peter handed the second rifle to Derek. "We need to drive them back from the front of the house first." He then turned to the terrified human. "Mike, listen carefully. When I give the signal, you go to the front door. Look for a line of black ash on the floor. Break it. Do that, and I'll give you the Bite."
Mike nodded, his eyes wide with fear and anticipation.
Peter and Derek moved to the boarded-up windows on the second floor. Using the butts of their rifles, they smashed holes in the rotten wood, creating firing ports. They took aim at the hunters visible in the moonlight outside and opened fire.
"Take cover!" Chris Argent's command rang out.
The hunters scattered, diving behind trees. Three of them, caught in the open while hauling gasoline tanks, weren't so lucky. Peter's and Derek's shots found them, and they fell, the tanks thudding to the ground beside them.
Still firing, Peter yelled over the gunfire, "Mike, now! Break the line!"
Mike scrambled down the stairs, coughing as he hit the lingering purple fog. He yanked the front door open, saw the line of mountain ash across the threshold, and scuffed his foot through it, breaking the circle.
Peter felt the repelling pressure vanish instantly. "Derek, James! Avoid Chris and Victoria and hunt the others down, and remember—Kate is mine."
With that, the three werewolves leaped from the second-floor windows, hitting the ground in rolls before exploding into motion. They became blurs in the darkness.
In the darkness of the night, the hunters stood little chance. Screams and snarls mixed with the sound of gunfire as Peter, Derek, and James tore through the remaining Argent forces with brutal efficiency. Peter alone accounted for four of the kills.
Derek killed a hunter with a swift snap of the neck, then melted back into the shadows. He waited for Peter to kill Kate—and for his own opportunity to take what he really wanted.
James, however, had the misfortune of running straight into Chris and Victoria after killing two hunters.
Chris and Victoria stood back-to-back, each holding an ultrasonic emitter. He tried to run away, but Victoria activated hers.
The high-pitched shriek hit him like a physical blow. He cried out, hands flying to his ears, he was stunned and disoriented for a brief moment.
It was all Chris needed. He raised both Desert Eagles and fired. Two thunderous booms echoed through the woods. James's head snapped back, two gaping holes blooming in his skull. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Just then, a woman's scream ripped through the night.
Chris and Victoria turned to see Peter in the clearing before the house, one hand clamped around Kate's throat, lifting her off her feet.
They ran toward them, weapons raised, emitters still whining. Peter gritted his teeth against the painful frequency but didn't release his grip.
"Let her go!" Chris roared, his fingers white on his pistol grips.
"No one is saving her tonight." Peter growled, his voice guttural. "She burned my family alive and left me broken for six years."
Kate, her face turning purple, struggled. With her last bit of strength, she rasped. "Chris… Victoria… tell Allison… I'm sorry. And I love her." Then, in a final act of defiance, she twisted, drew a concealed pistol from her jacket, and fired twice point-blank into Peter's abdomen.
Bang! Bang!
Peter grunted in pain but didn't release her. Instead, he slit her throat with his claws. Kate's eyes went wide, then blank, as Peter dropped her limp body to the forest floor.
---
From where Jacob and his group were hiding, a translucent screen appeared in Jacob's vision.
[You have witnessed Peter Hale turn Kate Argent. You may now sign in, Host.]
'Good, Kate isn't dead, just turned. That means Allison won't be sad.' He thought. 'System, keep the sign-in for later. Right now, I need to talk to Allison.'
Beside him, Allison stifled a gasp. She had heard Kate's final words and seen the blood gush from her throat. A wave of regret and fury washed over her, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Uncontrolled wind energy began to whip around her, rustling leaves and stirring debris.
Before she could launch herself at Peter, Jacob's arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her gently but firmly against him. "Allison, relax. Kate isn't dead."
She turned, her eyes glowing green. "What do you mean she isn't dead?!" She hissed, her voice trembling. "He slit her throat! I'm going to kill him!"
Jacob wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, his expression calm. "Believe me. She isn't dead. Remember what I told you about how Alpha werewolves turn people?"
Lydia spoke up softly. "An Alpha can turn someone not only by biting them… but also if their claws pierce deep enough, or if their venom enters the bloodstream from a grievous wound."
"Exactly." Jacob said, holding Allison's gaze. "So you can relax. Your crazy aunt is still alive. Tomorrow, she'll wake up—healed, and as something new. I don't know what she'll become, but she'll be alive."
"Are you sure?" Allison whispered, the green light in her eyes dimming.
"I'm sure." Jacob affirmed. "You guys might not feel it, but I can. Her life force hasn't extinguished; it's… changing."
Allison leaned against him, a shuddering sigh of relief escaping her lips. "I guess… this is for the better. Derek got his revenge, and even though Kate will survive, she'll become what she hated most." She straightened, a determined smile touching her lips. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go give Peter a good beating."
---
In the clearing, Chris stared at his sister's body lying still on the ground, blood pooling darkly around her neck. He raised his guns, aiming squarely at Peter, his finger tightening on the trigger… then slowly, he lowered them. The fight drained out of him.
Peter clutched his bleeding stomach—already beginning to heal—and smirked through the pain. "I have no grudge against you or your wife. I only wanted to kill Kate for what she did. So let's just go our separate..."
A blur of emerald light streaked across the clearing.
Peter was suddenly airborne, flung like a rag doll as something slammed into him with tremendous force. He crashed into the side of the Hale house with a sickening crunch of wood and bone.
In the space where he had stood, Allison now hovered an inch above the ground, green wind energy swirling around her like a miniature hurricane.
She calmly removed her jacket, walked over to Kate's body, and draped it gently over her. She met her parents' stunned gazes and gave a single, solemn nod. Then she turned, her focus locking onto the groaning Alpha struggling to push himself up from the rubble.
Jacob teleported, appearing silently beside Derek, who was watching from behind a large oak tree. The werewolf jumped.
"Relax, it's just me." Jacob said, patting Derek's shoulder.
Derek let out a sigh of relief. "You're here."
"You can take the Alpha spark from Peter after Allison is done with him." Jacob instructed, his eyes fixed on the scene.
Derek watched as Allison stalked toward the dazed Peter, her hands crackling with arcs of blue electricity. He nodded slowly. "Alright. But are you sure she isn't going to kill him?"
Jacob said. "Don't worry. She won't kill him."
To be continued… 😊