The night didn't feel right.
Not quiet—never quiet anymore—but tense in a way that didn't belong to the preserve. It felt… organized, like something had entered the territory and knew exactly what it was doing.
Kate Argent drove through the outskirts of Beacon Hills like she owned the road.
The radio played softly in the background.
"In other news, local authorities remain perplexed by the animal attacks plaguing Beacon Hills—"
She scoffed under her breath and switched the station. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."
Music replaced the voice.
Her fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel, perfectly in rhythm. On the surface, she looked relaxed, but nothing about her attention was casual. They moved constantly, scanning reflections, mirrors, shadows. Every turn of her head looked casual, but nothing about it was careless.
She checked the rearview mirror again, adjusting her lip gloss without breaking focus.
Something moved behind her—fast, low, and gone before it could be fully registered.
Kate didn't react outwardly, but her grip tightened slightly.
"Come on…" she murmured, almost amused.
A moment later, she missed the stop sign.
Tires screeched as a truck blared its horn. She slammed the brakes, and the SUV jerked to a halt.
She leaned back into the seat, closing her eyes briefly.
"Nice driving, Kate. Nice."
Then something heavy landed on the roof.
Her eyes snapped open.
No panic.
Just action.
She reached back—
The glass shattered.
A clawed hand burst through the driver's window, grabbing her arm and yanking hard.
"No—no—no!"
She twisted violently, breaking the angle just enough to reach behind her. Her hand closed around the shotgun.
One clean motion.
She fired upward.
The blast echoed through the street, and the grip released instantly.
Kate didn't hesitate. She unbuckled, rolled out the passenger side, hit the ground, and came up aiming.
"Come on!"
Silence answered her.
She fired again.
"COME ON!"
Still nothing.
A slow smile spread across her face.
She was enjoying this.
I woke up instantly.
The gunshot didn't just wake me—I felt it.
Then came the howl.
That sealed it.
I was already moving before I fully processed it.
By the time I reached the industrial district, it had already started.
The air felt wrong—sharp, metallic, and tense in a way that didn't belong to normal violence.
And underneath it—
Movement.
I didn't step into the open.
Not this time.
I stayed back and watched.
Kate stood by her SUV, opening the trunk.
She wasn't rushed or panicked. Every movement was deliberate, practiced. Weapons lined the compartment—guns, ammunition, things I didn't even want to identify.
She picked up a rifle like it was routine.
Like she'd done this a hundred times.
That alone would've been enough—but I recognized her immediately.
Kate Argent.
Movement pulled my attention upward.
Across the rooftops, two figures moved—fast, controlled, almost blending into the dark.
Derek.
And the Alpha.
They crossed buildings like it meant nothing, their movements too precise to track normally.
I forced my focus, filtering everything else out.
[Perception +0.04]
[Sensory Filtering +0.03]
Derek leapt across a gap—
Kate moved.
No hesitation.
No warning.
She fired.
The shot echoed sharply.
Derek jerked mid-air and lost momentum, falling hard onto the concrete below.
I felt that—not physically, but enough to register.
My hands tightened instinctively.
Too far. Too exposed. If I stepped in now, I'd only make it worse.
So I stayed where I was—watching, learning.
Kate lowered the rifle slightly, satisfied—not like she'd won, but like she'd completed a step in a process.
Headlights cut through the street as another SUV pulled up.
Chris Argent stepped out.
He wasn't calm.
He was controlled.
And that was worse.
He grabbed her arm.
"Get in."
She rolled her eyes. "Not even a hello?"
"Put the rifle away before someone sees it."
That was his priority—not Derek, not the Alpha.
Kate smirked. "That's the brother I love."
I shifted slightly behind cover, focusing on their conversation now.
This mattered.
"Chris," she said, more serious this time. "There were two of them."
"The Alpha?"
"I don't know. But one of them tried to kill me—"
"One of them is going to lead us to the other," Chris cut in. "He can't do that if he's dead."
That confirmed it.
They weren't just hunting.
They were tracking.
Using one to find the other.
Kate scoffed. "I can't help kill either of them if one kills me first."
Chris didn't argue.
He just asked—
"How long?"
Kate didn't hesitate.
"Give him forty-eight hours…"
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"…if that."
That wasn't confidence.
That was certainty.
Wolfsbane… or something worse.
They got into the SUV and drove off.
Silence returned.
But it wasn't empty.
I moved.
Carefully.
I stepped closer—and stopped.
For a second, I didn't move.
Derek was still alive.
Barely.
He had dragged himself back against the wall, his breathing controlled but strained.
I stepped closer—and stopped.
The wound wasn't healing.
It was smoking.
A faint purple-blue vapor curled from the injury.
Wolfsbane.
That confirmed it.
Derek noticed me immediately.
Of course he did.
"You gonna stand there," he muttered, voice tight, "or help?"
I stepped forward.
"Don't move."
"Wasn't planning to."
I crouched beside him, not touching the wound yet.
Thinking.
I paused, thinking. This wasn't something I could brute-force—not like before.
And rushing it would make it worse.
"They said forty-eight hours," I said.
That got his attention.
"…what?"
I met his gaze.
"That's how long you have."
Silence.
Then he exhaled sharply.
"Then we don't waste time."
Good.
Still thinking.
Still fighting.
I stood.
"We need to move."
He didn't argue.
That was new.
As I helped him up, one thought stayed locked in my head.
Kate Argent.
Way more dangerous than I expected—and a much bigger problem than I planned for.
To be continued…