Chapter 22

Noah Stilinski shook his head in negation at the Deputy's question and he walked back towards the clearing. The forensics team had finally finished with the scene and the coroner had taken the three bodies away which left a few minor details before he could leave as well. Tara had headed back a while ago to prep the station since he had gotten word that the FBI would be arriving soon to 'consult' with the department on the entire case. Twelve killings screamed serial killer and he wasn't exactly in a position to correct the Bureau's assumptions with a 'no, it's actually human sacrifices' as the truth.

"Sheriff?" Jordan asks as he walks up to his boss looking concerned. "We have several reporters at the end of the road. Apparently the word got out about all this" he says looking a bit angry.

"Parrish" Noah says with a heavy sigh "with the entire force, the coroner, and the emergency vehicles all coming here, there was no way we were going to keep a lid on it. Don't worry. I imagine that the feds will prefer to handle the press so we will let them." He looked around carefully before asking "have we heard from the pack?" he asks in a whisper.

Jordan shakes his head. "No sir. Tara said they took off a while ago after they caught Ms. McCall's scent, but we haven't heard anything since. Have you heard anything from the others?" he asks.

"Stiles told me that they think they have identified what they think is Blake's target and that they are going to try and prevent her from using it, but nothing else" he says with a sigh. "Head back to the station, help out Graeme."

Deputy Parrish nods directly, just shy of a salute, before he heads back to his cruiser. Noah instructs his other deputies to finish up and secure the site before heading out, reminding them no communication with the press. They both nod in agreement just as a police cruiser pulls up. Noah watches as Deputy Murray steps out of the car and he looks around nervously. Spotting the Sheriff, the man makes a direct line for him and Noah can see that the deputy looks really off.

"Sheriff" Andy says looking sick. "I just heard what happened and, and I don't get it. Why is this happening?" he asks forlornly.

"Son, are you okay? We have been dealing with this for a while" he says carefully not understanding the man's behavior.

"I went out with Tracy about four months ago" he admits and Noah suddenly feels sick again at the memory of the young nurse. "Nothing came of it, I mean she was nice and all but we just didn't…click" he adds quickly. "But this, along with everything else…" he trails off looking around nervously.

"Everything else?" Noah prompts the man when he stays silent.

Andy takes a deep breath. "I was on patrol and I saw these guys and I figured they were bikers or maybe gang or something based on how they were dressed but then I swear I saw their eyes glow. I mean not like a reflection, but really glow" he says looking very skittish. Noah quickly glances around and pulls them away from the others.

"Son, tell me what you saw" he says carefully.

Andy looks scared but he shakes his head. "You will think I am crazy sir and I am not" he says sounding worked up. "I don't want to be that guy!"

"I won't think you are crazy Murray, I promise you. But I need you to tell me everything you know about these people" Noah urges.

Deputy Murray looks conflicted, staring at the Sheriff and then out at the woods for a few moments before he finally nods. "Can we, maybe talk somewhere more private?" he asks looking around them. "I really don't want to be overheard if I am going to tell you the rest of it" he tells Noah.

Noah nods and they both walk along the trail. The Sheriff waits while they pass into the woods and in a few minutes are out of sight or hearing of the rest of the department still in the clearing. "It wasn't just their eyes sir, they had claws and fangs, like some kind of animal" he says sounding really off kilter.

"Werewolves" Noah says simply and the deputy looks at him in surprise. "There is a group of them here in town to cause trouble but we are handling it…quietly" he explains. "But if you can tell me anything. Where they were? Numbers? Descriptions?" Noah prompts and sees the young deputy start to relax.

Noah hears the sudden snapping of a twig and when he turns he sees a brunette woman standing there watching them. It only takes a second before he recognizes Jennifer Blake and he is pulling his sidearm when he feels the sharp piercing impact on his back right before the taser discharges. Noah grunts as he drops to the ground barely able to focus on his deputy who is holding the stun gun, finger still on the trigger.

"That's enough my boy" Jennifer Blake's voice is dripping false concern as she walks over to them. She reaches for him but a sudden spark leaps from the Sheriff to her hand causing her to snatch it back with a snarl.

"Take him" she orders the deputy who moves, puppet-like, to pick up the Sheriff. "I may not be able to touch you but your deputy can. He has no intention to harm you but he will do whatever I tell him to do so your protections will not protect you" she says with a vindictive laugh. "Come my Guardian, only one more to go." Noah starts to lose consciousness as he watches the woman lead them further into the woods.

"What are we doing in the house?" Lydia asks as they step through the front door, the smell of smoke is still pervasive despite the years. Ever since Stiles dragged her to the basement, Lydia had been determined that she wouldn't set foot in the place again.

"Talia didn't want any magic on her home, she didn't trust magic users near her pack unless they were truly pack" Deaton says with a sigh of regret.

"But isn't the Emissary part of the pack?" Stiles asks confused by the way the man had said it.

Alan takes a deep breath. "It...depends. Some Emissaries are full pack members, often the partner of a pack member or born into the pack. You would be surprised how many human born members that end up with the potential to use magic. But Talia's grandfather, who was Alpha of the Hale Pack, had an Emissary, a witch, who betrayed the family. She had become obsessed with Raphael Hale and actually attempted to kill his wife in order to take her place" he explains.

"She tried to kill her rival" Lydia said with a judging look that spoke volumes. Her own family had ended over her father's infidelities.

"She tried, but failed. The pack was able to rescue Mirabelle in time and they quickly discovered their Emissary's plan" Deaton told his avid audience. "Helen, the witch, had planned to come running at the 'news' of Mirabelle's death so she arrived all concerned but found an alive Mirabelle and a furious Raphael who confronted her. She was unhinged and tried to argue that she was doing him a favor" Deaton said with a raised eyebrow.

"So what happened?" Stiles asks the vet despite the slightly 'icky' feeling of learning about Derek's family from him.

"Raphael killed her" Alan said which didn't surprise either of the teens. "After that, the Hales have only had one Emissary who wasn't kept at arm's distance and he was married to Raphael's niece. The rest, including myself, have worked mostly with the Alpha, not the pack. I don't fault her decision or those of her father and grandfather, but it meant that she did not want me using magic on their home because she saw it as a vulnerability."

"Which exposed the family to Kate's plans" Stiles adds unnecessarily. "They probably didn't count on how advanced the hunters would get with their weapons."

Alan nodded sadly. "To be honest, I am not sure any effort of mine would have prevented the tragedy, my magics are more subtle, but I think it could have given them some warning at least" Stiles sees the regret on the man's face. He shakes his head like he is trying to clear the memories away. "But that's not what's important. The Nemeton is tied to the land, as is the Hale pack. This has been their territory for centuries, before even the Spanish arrived, when the original natives that lived here were a wolf pack" Alan says surprising both of the teens.

"So what are we doing?" Lydia asks as Deaton looks a bit unhappy and slightly guilty.

"To create protections, we need to remind the Nemeton of its ties to the Hale Pack. Lydia I need you to go upstairs to the bedrooms and bring me a piece of wood from each room. We will used them to create protective runes to link to the Nemeton" Alan says and just nods and hands the redhead a heavy knife with a serrated edge. "They should be about the size of a playing card but that's the minimum. Just pry or cut it out" he tells her before turning to Stiles. "I need you to go to the basement and in the walls there are stones that were used in the construction. If you can, use your magic to free them, we will need eight stones about the size of a ping pong ball or larger" he instructs and Stiles just nods and heads out.

"What will you be doing?" Lydia asks looking very displeased at this job.

"I will be harvesting several plants and trees that I know have been here for a very long time. Wood, Stone, Leaf, Vine, and Stem. I would prefer if they had a well where we could draw water, but it collapsed during the fire and we don't have time to dig it out" he says with a sigh. Lydia nods and heads upstairs with her knife/saw thingy while she started planning how exactly she was going to explain vandalizing Derek's house…again.

Allison adjusted the focus on the night scope that she was using to watch the warehouse Stiles had identified as the base of the Alpha Pack. Chris, Allison, and Jacqueline had planned out tonight's mission and she could tell that her cousins were excited about the plan while Allison felt distinctly uncomfortable with how it reminded her of Kate and Gerard. "It isn't normally like this" Chris said to her as he looked over the side of the building on whose roof they were standing. "Usually it's more tracking a feral, not a rational pack, especially not a pack with multiple Alphas."

"Then it's probably good that we are not trying to directly engage them" she says with a slight trace of bitterness. She had been outvoted by her father and Jacqueline on several of their ideas, and while she admitted, deep inside, that these werewolves weren't like her friends, it still felt a bit too easy to slip down that slope of rationalization.

Chris sighed. He looked at his daughter and sighed "If we get the chance, we need to eliminate them. All of them are code breakers, even Derek agrees with that. Tell me, what would Peter or, more importantly, Stiles say about it?" he prodded.

Allison frowned. "Peter would probably just blow up the building with everyone inside. Stiles" she paused and remembered the time they spent in England together and she sighed "he would probably have come up with even worse stuff to do to them" she finally admitted "or not, but he wouldn't hesitate to remove the threat."

"He is protecting his pack and he is totally committed to it" Chris says a trace of admiration sneaking into his voice. "You know, I think I will always regret we didn't get to him first. He would have made an amazing hunter" he says and chuckles at the look of shock on his daughter's face. "And don't think I don't realize that there is a whole lot more going on there that I don't know about. I have seen Derek and the others look to him before making decisions. That doesn't happen normally. The pack, even Hale, sees him as someone to listen to and he has managed to bring us and the Sheriff's Office to his side and help keep his pack safe."

"Dad…" Allison says carefully but he just cuts her off with an easy gesture.

"I have my suspicions but I don't expect you to betray anything. If he can contain his pack then I will be happy enough with that" Chris says easily. He pauses as he watches the building. They had arrived shortly before dark but their advance team had been in place long before and had reported seeing at least three pretty rough looking guys going in about an hour ago. "Something's going on" he says and alerts the others by their radios.

Allison moves closer to the edge of the roof, adjusting her bow and the arrow that's already notched and stares at the main door of the warehouse. She watches as two large men in leather and jeans and looking like bad extras in a biker movie come out when a woman with long black hair comes out after them and they both move quickly out of her way. That must be Kali she thought and then another woman comes out right after, probably Lisa, and she was followed by four other men. Allison glances at her father and nods, those are definitely the female Alphas that Isaac described. And based on the looks, she is betting those are the betas with them.

The lead guy gets about twenty feet from the door when he slams into the mountain ash line that Enzo had managed to lay down shortly after they arrived. Allison saw the other wolves react but she wasn't waiting and her first arrow was already in the air as she grabbed her second. Her arrow hit the guy at the barrier right in the shoulder causing him to grunt in surprise and the other wolves to start looking for the archer but Allison was already out of sight.

The crack of several shots rang out from another building and Allison smiled. Jacqueline had demanded second blood after Allison got first shot and it sounded like she was cutting loose. Stepping back to the edge she saw another two wolves were hit and bleeding and since her father had supplied the weapons and ammo, they were now dealing with wolfsbane poisoning.

Allison glanced at the group of wolves that were spread out in front of the warehouse. Two of them ran along the side of the building heading for the alley there but Louis was waiting with several hunters and they opened fire cutting down the two betas before they got very far. Allison really wanted to take down Kali, the bitch that had hurt Isaac so bad, but the Alpha was flanked by a beta and some debris that prevented her getting a clear shot. She spotted the other Alpha female when she moved to join Kali and Allison fired and felt a surge of satisfaction when her arrow went right through the woman's neck, sticking out through the other side as she dropped to her knees.

Allison was reloading just as Chris' rifle fired and the struggling Alpha roared as his bullet hit close to her chest. The Alpha stumbled but then one of the betas jumped at her and slashed her neck, killing her as she dropped to the ground. Allison and Chris both startled but it was only for a second when Kali, screaming in rage, jumped the former Beta and tore his head off him before he could even react.

The door suddenly burst open and a harsh voice roared and Kali dove back inside just as the door slammed. "Status?" Chris called on the radio.

"Two betas down" Louis reported instantly.

"Two more by us" Jacqueline said happily from her position.

"One Alpha and two betas down by the door" Allison added looking down at the scene before them. She suddenly looked up in surprise "there are only three left" she tells her father.

He nods but frowns "Unfortunately it's the most dangerous three." He starts off to rejoin the others and they finally regroup at their secondary location. He steps up to the team he has watching the back of the warehouse "Any sign of them?" he asks.

"Nothing. We got all the exits covered" the man says with certainty but Chris doesn't like it. He radios in Jacqueline who joins them few minutes later and gets updated.

"We are still watching the front and if the back entrance is covered, they are trapped" she says with a frown. "It is not like wolves to trap themselves so easily" she looks concernedly at Chris and Allison.

He debates but nods and signals the others. "We're going in. We will hit front and back at the same time. Enzo, line the rear door with ash now so they can't escape." The Argent cousin nods and heads out.

It takes another fifteen minutes before they are ready but Chris has organized things well and they go in carefully. It takes another ten minutes before they realize that no one else is in the building. Chris is furious but when Enzo finds the tunnel in the basement he realizes that they fled underground from them, they had never been trapped. He turns to Allison "Let Stiles know what's happened" he orders.

"I will call him, but I think I should go join the pack. If Stiles, Lydia, and Deaton are doing something magical, I can protect them" she informs her father and though he grimaces, he doesn't protest.

"Go cousin" Jacqueline says with a happy smile. "We will track these wolves for you and maybe we can get a few more, no?" she hugs Allison who wishes them luck before heading for her car, phone out.

Derek has had enough of this crap and stops the pack. "This is ridiculous" he growls and sees the frustration on the faces of the other wolves.

"We can't stop!" Scott pleads looking desperately at the Alpha. He glances around and sees the faces of pity on the others.

"We are just chasing our tails" Erica snarls in exasperation. "That witch has screwed with the scent trail and we are running in circles" she tells the teen. The others express similar thoughts and Derek can see that the teen isn't handling it very well.

Scott looks ready to argue when Derek cuts them off "We need help" he says looking around at the suddenly surprised faces. Derek Hale admitting they need someone else? "Stiles and Deaton are at the house, we will head there and see if either of them can give us any help in tracking her" he looks over at Scott trying to be supportive "we can also call Chris and Allison, they may have some ideas" he adds and sees the beta suddenly look hopeful at the Alpha's willingness to ask the hunters for help. The pack takes off and heads for the Hale House and they make pretty good time and arrive about twenty minutes later.

Coming into the clearing, Isaac and Jackson are in the lead and they stop and glance over at the Jeep parked by the house. By the time the rest of the pack as arrived, Deaton is coming around from the back of the house with a bag full of leaves and plants.

Deaton sees them and frowns "What are you all doing here?" he asks just as Lydia and Stiles come out of the house with their own bags.

"Blake used magic to mask the trail and lay down a false one" Derek growls and the vet looks tired and unhappy. "We hoped that you might be able to help us…magically" he admits and doesn't fail to see the look of surprise on Stiles' face. He frowns and growls just as Stiles cell phone goes off.

The teen pulls out the phone and looks concerned before he answers "Everything go okay?" he asks.

The wolves all hear Allison's reply "Really okay. Are you still at the Hale House?" she asks and when Stiles confirms that they are "I will be there in fifteen, can you wait for me?" she asks and then hangs up when he promises that they will wait.

"Mr. Stilinski. Ms. Martin. While we are waiting, we can prepare your items" he takes their bags and empties the wood pieces and rocks and sees the pack look confused.

Deaton pulls out a black bottle and a paintbrush. "We will need to add the Hale Triskelion to each rock. We will also need to carve or burn it onto the pieces of wood" he tells them and takes Lydia's knife back and starts laying out the different items.

"What are those?" Derek asks looking confused and a bit suspicious. Deaton explains about the connection between the Hales and how he is planning to use it in their wards. He turns to the first of the wood pieces that he has laid out when he jerks back as he smells smoke. "What?!" Derek snarls and Deaton looks on in shock when a Triskelion slowly appears on each piece as if drawn on by a wood burning tool.

"This is…" Deaton says but stops and looks over at Stiles causing the rest of the pack to look at the teen and the vet looks resigned and barely smiles at the shocked gasp from one of the wolves at the sight. Stiles' arm, held out in front of him, is glowing red and his eyes are lit with a green fire as he magically marks the pieces of wood in just a few moments. Once he finishes the glows disappear and he looks back at the vet.

"Not sure how to do that with the rocks doc, sorry" he says with a shrug and a barely concealed smirk that the vet didn't miss at all.

"I think I can manage them" Deaton says easily and turns back to the task.

"I am not sure I am ever going to get used to that" Jackson mutters and Lydia, who has moved to stand next to him, elbows him causing the teen to 'oomph' at the blow.

"Allison" Scott says spinning around and looking at the road to the house. The other wolves hear her car before Stiles or Lydia do but in a few moments, Allison is parking and getting out as Scott steps over to her. She grabs her bow and quiver as the group closes in on her.

"Details?" Stiles asks pointedly and sees the sudden smile that lights up the girl's face and feels himself relax.

"Better than expected. We went to that warehouse you identified and were set up before nightfall. We were originally planning to just watch and wait to see what they were doing but it appears they were planning something major" Allison gloats.

"Wait…who are we talking about?" Scott asks nervously.

"The Alpha Pack" Allison says easily causing the rest of the pack to startle.

"Stiles" Derek growled suddenly as his eyes flashed "what does she mean you told them that?"

"Is this the errand you ran while Deaton and I were preparing earlier?" Lydia asks offhandedly and Stiles flinches a bit at the look of fury on the Alpha's face.

"I swiped a bit of Morrell's clothes and used a tracking spell to find her when she went to deliver your message" he defends himself to Derek. "The hunters were just sitting around so I sent them to do what they do best, deal with out of control werewolves. I figured even if they didn't manage to stop them, it would cause enough of a distraction so we could deal with Blake without having to fight on two fronts" Stiles says staring right back into Derek's blue?…green?…gray? eyes, dammit what color were they?

Derek and Stiles stared at each other angrily for a few moments, neither looking away, before Derek snarled "so what happened?" he asks Allison without ever taking his eyes off of Stiles.

"We managed to take out all the betas and the Alpha female, not Kali" she says proudly and now Derek and Stiles both turn to look at her in surprise.

"You took out six betas and an Alpha?" Peter said in shocked surprise before either Stiles or Derek could react.

"Well, my cousins from France are visiting and dad had called some friends so we had nearly two dozen of us and my cousin Enzo laid down an ash barrier in front of the main door so they came out and slammed right into it. They froze in surprise and we were able to take them down. Kali made it back inside but when we went in to the place, they were gone. We finally found a tunnel that they used to get out underground. Jacqueline and a team are tracking the remaining three Alphas" she says looking exceedingly proud of herself.

"Allison! That is so awesome" Stiles gushes and pulls the brunette into a crushing hug. "I just hoped you would annoy them but this is so much better…you were amazing!"

Derek growls for a moment before he looks at the huntress and nods in appreciation. "Thank you" he manages to say but then he glares at Stiles who is looking way too proud of himself.

"Oh. Oh! OH!" Lydia gasps suddenly and everyone turns to look at her in surprise. She is staring at Derek, eyes shining, before she composes herself again. "Sorry about that. Just realized something that's completely unrelated to our current situation" she says and then smiles wickedly. Derek looks confused but Stiles has a momentary flash of fear. "Carry on" she waves at them with a truly terrifying smile.

Chris is driving in a grid around town hoping for any sighting of the remaining wolves. The tunnel turned out to be an access to the steam tunnels that crisscrossed that part of Beacon Hills. Jacqueline and her team had managed to track them for a few hundred yards when they finally lost the trace. There were just too many turns and tunnels for their team to explore so he recalled them back to the surface where he broke the hunters into smaller teams to try and spot any sign of the Alphas on the streets.

When his phone rings he doesn't even pause to check it but answers immediately "What have you found?" he demands.

"Chris? This is Deputy Graeme" the woman's voice sounds like she is trying not to be overheard and Chris startles at both the caller and her manner. It screams problem.

"Deputy, what's wrong?" Chris asks cautiously.

"The Sheriff isn't responding. He was at the crime scene and Deputy Murray showed up and they were talking according to the deputies with him, but now neither of them are responding to their radios" she says sounding desperate. "I also have the FBI at the station so I can't leave and if I send someone to officially check on them, it will be noticed" she says obviously frustrated.

Turning the car around Chris makes the decision "I am not far from there. We will check it out and I will call you back" he promises and heads out. Making a quick call he lets Jacqueline know that he will check on the Sheriff and the other SUV with him will continue searching. He briefs the other two hunters that they will need to look like civilians since they are going to be dealing with the police and he doesn't want to risk alerting the Feds to their presence.

Fifteen minutes later Chris parks his black SUV next to two police cruisers, one he recognizes as the Sheriff's, and gets out followed by the other three hunters. He glances around and spots a deputy coming out of the woods. Chris thinks it is the younger kid he met the other day. Tara said he wasn't in the know though so they will need to be cautious. "Can I help you gentlemen?" the deputy says looking at the group of hunters.

"I was hoping that I could catch the Sheriff, I heard he was still here" Chris says with a smile and the deputy appears to relax.

"Yeah, he is at the scene where we found the bodies. I know you are some kind of consultant" he says hoping for more information but Chris just smiles.

"It's really important" he says and Deputy Murray just nods and leads the man into the woods, the other three following behind them. They get to a clearing with lots of crime scene tape and step into it but there is no sign of the Sheriff. He turns to the deputy who looks confused.

"He was just here" Andy says looking around. Chris looks anxious and signals to his men to spread out and look for any sign.

"Maybe he went back and we missed him. Maybe you should go check?" Chris suggests and the deputy just nods and smiles as he heads back the way they came.

"Okay, look for anything, especially signs of a struggle" Chris orders his men and they start looking around the clearing, flashlights out and sweeping when there is a sudden drop in the air pressure and Chris hears his man scream as the guy is thrown across the clearing to slam into a tree, the cracking of the man's bones from the impact clear in the still night air.

Chris doesn't have to signal, the others have already pulled out the weapons and are moving back together when the second of his men yells. Chris barely sees the man go flying before he slams into ground, rolling over and over again until he ends up in an unmoving heap. "Fire" Chris orders as he unloads several shots in front of him, his remaining hunter doing the same as they attempt to flush their opponent.

"Chris!" the man screams and Chris turns just as dozens of roots burst out of the ground and shoot forward, impaling the man from all sides and Chris watches as the man chokes out his last breath before he spins around looking for anything. He decides to retreat just as he spots a woman stepping out of the woods.

Despite the fact that the woman looks harmless, like she got lost on a nature hike or something, Chris doesn't pause and fires at her aiming for dead center. The flare of light that stops his bullet is a surprise but he doesn't slow as he empties his gun trying to get through that shield. Once empty, he drops it and pulls his taser and is about to fire when he hears someone running up behind him.

Glancing back he spots the deputy and shouts for the man to get away. He turns back to the woman who is smiling at Chris and he knows this must be the Darach. He aims the stun gun but before he can fire he feels the sudden change in air pressure behind him and tries to duck but the deputy's baton strikes the back of his head and Chris goes down. The last thing he sees is the woman, walking towards him, looking exceedingly pleased.

"Are you insane?" Ricardo growled at the woman across from him. He was so done with this crap. "I didn't kill my entire pack to be wiped out by some pack in the middle of nowhere. Hale's pack has wiped out four Alphas and six betas. The only reason we are alive is we ran from those damn hunters" he snarls.

"You coward" Kali snarled back at the man. "You just want to run. These bastards killed our pack, they must die!" Kali's fangs and claws were fully extended as she glared at the other Alpha, her eye mad with fury.

"And when you attack, they are going to kill you as well. They haven't lost a damn member of their pack yet and we are down to just us three" he waved at the three of them. "Go ahead. Attack them like you have been doing and Hale and his allies will have your head on a stake!"

"Enough" Deucalion roared and both of the other Alphas quieted down. "We underestimated Hale. His willingness to use the hunters to attack us is unheard of. No legitimate wolf pack would ever sink so low as to align themselves with hunters like that." The Alpha walks around the other two as they begin to argue again.

"We should leave" Ricardo demands.

"No! They think they have us on the run, now is the time to attack" Kali snarls and Ricardo mutters something rude causing the female Alpha to roar and jump him. They tussle for a few seconds before Deucalion roars again and they both flinch and jump apart. We need to act like Alphas" Deucalion says in an icy voice as he steps between the two Alphas and he looks at Kali "we need to be take advantage of our own strengths" he says and Kali's eyes narrow just as Deucalion spins and around and tears Ricardo's throat out with a single slash. The alpha stumbles backward, hand desperately trying to stop the bleeding, his eyes wide with shock and fear as he crashes to the ground. "You were always a disappointment Ricardo, I really should have gotten a better wolf from your miserable pack. You were weak, you never embraced your power" Deucalion says with a sad shake of his head before he turns and walks off without looking back at the dying Alpha.

"So we attack?" Kali asks with a wicked grin as they leave the building.

"Yes. Hale sent the hunters after us so they could focus on the Darach who has stolen the boy's mother. They will think we are either running or dead so they won't expect us to attack. We can start by returning the favor to those hunters who attacked us. They are no doubt out patrolling the city looking for us, so we will take one group and I am sure that you will be able to convince the survivors to tell us whatever we want to know. Once we know where Hale is, we can pick off his pack before they even know we are there." Kali's smile of excitement may be unseen by the Demon Wolf but he knows it's there. They walk out and head for a position to watch for those black SUVs.

Allison feels her phone vibrate and steps behind a tree before she pulls it out and sees Jacqueline's name pop up. Rather than answering, she shoots a quick text What? It only takes a second before she gets an answer back Call me – your papa and Allison feels her heart accelerate and she hits call.

"Allison?" Jacqueline's voice sounds decidedly too delicate.

"What's wrong with my dad" she cuts her cousin off. She hears the sigh of the French hunter before she starts talking.

"He got a call from the gendarmes, the police? The Sheriff wasn't responding so he was going to where he was last. His team radioed that they arrived but then nothing. He has missed two check ins" she adds and Allison pales.

"Allison?" Scott is beside her from out of nowhere. The others have all stopped and are coming back to the huntress.

She looks at Scott for a moment before shifting her attention to Stiles and he sees the fear in her face. "Allison? What happened?" Stiles asks sounding more than a little concerned.

"My dad is missing. He missed his check ins after he went to try and find the Sheriff who is also missing" she says.

Everyone looks sick at Allison's news. This means that the Darach has all three Guardians. The pack seems to turn to look as one at Stiles in sympathy but instead of a panicked expression on him, they see a predatory smile that causes several of them to take an involuntary step backwards.

"We have her" Stiles says with a smirk and he takes out a crystal on a chain and his eyes ignite.

The man's breathing is liquid and fading as Kali pulls back her bloody claws. The two Alphas had found one of the Hunter vehicles and had quickly overpowered the four men and one woman who were riding in it. They killed two outright but the other three were subdued and subjected to the memory ripping power of the claws of an Alpha. Learning that Allison was meeting the pack at the Hale House and that the Sheriff and the elder Argent were both likely dead by the Darach, Deucalion saw his moment. "Quit playing with them Kali. It is time to end this once and for all" he says, his voice thick."

"You want us to attack them now?" she asks looking confused.

"Are you afraid of Hale and his pack of children?" Deucalion taunts and the Alpha growls at his words. "They have been successful I will grant, because they are cowards and fools. They hide and strike and run. Which worked, but facing us in direct battle? They will try to run away and we will gut them and their druid" he says with a laugh.

Kali grins at the thought of more blood. Her desire to plunge her claws into the heart of that fool of an Alpha gives her a rush of excitement. Perhaps she will kill his pet human while he watches or turn him in front of the Alpha eyes before he dies. They will pay for the insults the Hales have given to their pack!

"We will go but on the chance that this so-called Darach might be of some concern, we will bring our own druid to deal with her. After all, it is the duty of a druid to destroy any Darach" he sneers and Kali's laughter rings out as they two Alphas walk away from the blood stained alley where the hunters fell.

FLASHBACK TO THE STILINSKI HOUSE AT THAT STRESSFUL BREAKFAST

Scott was breaking down in the living room after his dad had told the pack that Melissa was missing. The problem with fighting Blake was only she knew who she was targeting for her sacrifices so they couldn't protect everyone who qualified but she had finally made her mistake. Targeting the pack's parents for her Guardians meant that they knew who her next two targets were. Stiles waited till everyone was distracted and he motioned to his father to follow him into the elder Stilinski's office.

They had barely stepped in the door when Stiles held up his finger indicating silence. The Sheriff looked uncertain but he nodded. Stiles reached for his dad's hand and drew a rune on it before focusing on the matching one on his back. "They can't hear us for the next few minutes so we need to be fast" he tells his dad.

"Stiles…what is it?" he asks looking suspicious.

"Is there any chance I can convince you to stay at the house, behind the wards, where she can't get you?" Stiles asks his father with a determined look.

"Stiles" his father still had the ability to load an unhealthy amount of meaning to just his name, totally unfair. "I have a job to do and I am not doing it by hiding at home."

Stiles sighed heavily but didn't really seem surprised. "I kind of figured that you would say that. But, you need to be sure. Unless you are willing to stay by my side while we deal with this, you are going to be out of my sight which means that she will probably grab you and take you no matter what protections I give you" Stiles tells his father unhappily. He sees the older man tense up to argue but Stiles just barrels on "I mean if she used Tara or threatened to kill Melissa if you didn't come with her, would you refuse? Would you let her kill them to stay safe?" he prompts and sees that he struck a nerve.

"So? What's the solution Stiles? Because all of this? This is out of my expertise and I am trying as hard as I can" his father finally asks sounding way too close to the edge for Stiles' comfort.

Stiles gets a calculated look on his face. "If we can't stop her, then we take steps so that when she does take you, we are ready. I can use our blood to enchant a tracking crystal that will find you and what's great, her Druidic magic wouldn't be able to stop it since I will be using an entirely different kind of magic." Stiles pulls out a piece of quartz and holds it up. "I can enchant this, with our blood, so that I will be able to find you anywhere. If nothing happens, no problem, but if she does grab you, then she won't be able to hide from me!"

Noah looks at his son in surprise. "So if she takes me, she will probably take me to where she is keeping Mel" he adds and his son nods in agreement. The boy was becoming more and more like his mother with every day. He knew that Noah would never hide away in the house so he had a plan B. Noah agrees and Stiles uses his knife to get some blood and he casts a spell on the piece of quartz. "Now, this is important. You have to stay alive till we get there" his son's voice waivers when he says that and the Sheriff pulls him in tightly. "I can't lose you too dad" he whispers but the Sheriff still hears it.

BACK TO PRESENT

"What is that?" Derek asks suspiciously but he starts as the crystal starts to glow and it rises up and tries to move off into the woods, held back only by the chain Stiles is holding.

Stiles smiles hugely. "This? This is how we are going to find our parents. My dad is that way" he points the direction the crystal is indicating. He turns to Derek with a triumphant expression and quickly explains what he did and less than two minutes later the full pack is tearing off, following the crystal's directions. Only Deaton seems to realize that they are headed straight towards the Nemeton.

Erica and Isaac are the first to break into the clearing with the large stump in the center, Derek, Scott, and Jackson right behind them. Stiles stops Lydia, Deaton, Boyd and Peter before they get there and motions them to wait. "Stiles?" Lydia whispers at him.

"Peter. Boyd. I want you to go back and circle around the clearing. My dad and the others are somewhere close, I am sure, but let the rest of us distract her. You get them out of there." Stiles says seriously as he hands the glowing crystal to Boyd who looks distinctly uncomfortable holding it but he swallows it down and they leave. "Allison" he turns to the huntress, "Give me your hand" he demands and when she does he draws three runes on her arm. "We need you to be our surprise weapon. Stay out of sight and get somewhere that you can act when the opportunity arises. The runes will help hide you from magical or werewolf senses" he smiles at the look of determination on her face. After the three have left Stiles turns to the last two. "I need you trust me on this, but I can't go in there yet, I need you two to try and counter Blake to buy me time. Can you two do that" he asks and they both nod in agreement and follow after the main pack leaving the teen behind.

"I don't see or smell her" Scott says with a growl. The wolves are looking around them when Lydia and Deaton enter the clearing behind them looking determined.

"Well, well, well. So good to see all of you" Jennifer Blake says, her voice dripping with scorn as she steps out of the shadows across the clearing from the pack. The wolves growl and flash their eyes at the woman who only laughs. "How cute, you think you still have free will. Submit!" she says in a voice thick with power and compulsion as her eyes go completely black. But the power she emits washes past them leaving them untouched.

Derek roars his defiance at the woman and the pack answers loudly causing the Darach to startle at their resistance. "How are you resisting? You are mine!" she snaps but is cut off by the haughty laugh from Lydia Martin who walks up to the rear of the rest of the pack.

"We broke your spells you second rate hack. We are free and you will pay for every evil thing you have done" she throws the challenge into the woman's face and Blake's eyes turn icy.

"Nimhe Bréan stailc mo foes agus sruthán a gcuid fola" Blake calls out and throws out her hands, fingers wide as a half dozen balls of sticky darkness, like they are made up of living shadows, that fly out aiming for the various pack members.

"Carraig, bláthanna, agus vine, tarraing an olc as an áit seo" Deaton yells out as he tosses a handful of stones that flash brightly and the shadow balls suddenly fly away from the pack and head for the glowing stones instead, stones that seem to suck in the Darach's spell before falling to the ground cracked and smoking.

"You dare?!" Blake screams at the druid. "How are you free?"

"I freed him" a woman's voice calls out and everyone turns and sees Marin Morrell step out of the woods, but she is not alone. Deucalion and Kali both are right behind her, Kali fully wolfed out with her fangs and claws extended while both of the Alphas' eyes are glowing red. "You will answer for your broken oaths" Marin says darkly.

"Kali!" Blake's voice is cold and deadly as she looks at the woman ignoring everyone else. Her eyes flash that black darkness again as she stares at the Alpha with fury and hate pouring off of the druid so thick the wolves can smell it even over the rotting scent of the fallen druid.

"My dear, you have irritated my plans for this territory for the last time. You should never have come here" Deucalion's voice is smooth and calm, like he is at some high society mixer or luncheon. "You have no idea of how annoying you have been. I don't know or care why you showed up here but now? Now you are just going to die with the rest of them" Derek frowned at the Alpha's offhanded manner. His complete lack of concern about the Darach is what convinces Derek that the man is truly insane.

"I will be your death monster!" she says to the blind wolf. "I am Vengeance. Returned three fold to pay you back for your crimes" she says with a smirk and then the illusion drops and everyone is able to fully see the scarred and terrifying creature in front of them. Several of them actually take a step back at the horror of the truth of their English Teacher. Both druids looks sick and disgusted at the ultimate perversion of their order.

"Julia" Kali whispers looking stricken and sick. Her words however are clear to the rest of the wolves and Deucalion looks stunned.

"You were supposed to kill her!" he demanded of the growling female Alpha.

"She tried. Oh yes! My Alpha, the one person we were supposed to be able to trust above all others, the one I should have been able to trust, betrayed our pack and our bond to claim power for herself on your orders" the Darach's raspy voice grates "I can still remember how it felt when she tore me into me with her claws, the cruelest betrayal ever as she left me to die. But she failed." She turns to look at Derek and his pack "And he has come here to do the same to you. To twist you to commit murder and betray your pack. This is what he does!" she screams at them.

"And he failed" Derek says, his voice confident and certain. "He sacrificed everything for his vengeance, just like you. They are all that's left of his so-called Alpha Pack" he says looking at the two Alphas. "Release the Guardians, you don't need to harm them. Deucalion and Kali are already beaten" Derek tells her. He waits, tense and ready to act, but giving her the chance to step back from the edge.

Julia's lip curls in derision. "You are no better than them" she yells at Derek, her eyes dancing with fury and insanity. "I have made nearly all the sacrifices necessary to bind me forever to the Nemeton, I will be able to draw on the power of this place and be more powerful than you can ever imagine" she gestures around the clearing. "And I have you to thank for that Hale, you twisted the energy of this place, corrupted it by your virgin sacrifice in the very roots of the Nemeton" Derek pales at her words and he looks stricken. "I survived thanks to that awakened power and it will be mine to control. If you will not submit to my glory, then you will die for your very existence is an insult!" she roars and raises her hands with a flash and the clearing explodes.

Thick, twisted roots and tendrils explode from the ground and seem to attack everyone simultaneously. Deaton and Lydia both flung backwards from the same root that slams into them, flinging them to crash into the ground and land and roll into two unmoving piles. The wolves, both Hale and Alpha Pack, dodge that first assault but the roots appear to be able to target them and they are all jumping and dancing around desperately trying to avoid the grasping tendrils that are seeking them with amazing speed and accuracy. Kali races towards the Darach, her claws extended as she roars at her former lover. The Alpha slams into a barrier of mountain ash that surrounds the dark druid and is flung back hard only to be grasped by seeking roots.

Derek snarls as a branch wraps around his ankle and starts to tighten, thorns extending and tearing at his foot until he manages to pull free, leaving a chunk of blood and flesh behind for his efforts. "Isaac, Lydia and Deaton! Everyone, Attack" he roars at the rest and the pack surges forward, trying to find their way to the dark druid, while Isaac moves back to help the unconscious Lydia and Deaton.

Jackson sees a root shoot towards him like a spear and he dives sideways and rolls, barely dodging it, when he hears a piercing scream from right behind him. Looking back he spots Erica clutching the root he dodged that has impaled the beta through her thigh, bringing her to the ground with blood pouring from the jagged wound. He doesn't pause but leaps for the root and rips it apart with a roar of fury. He grabs the blonde she-wolf and starts moving just as another root narrowly misses grabbing them.

"Scott!" Derek yells a warning at the beta who barely slows in his rush to the Darach but Derek's warning gives him enough warning to look up and his eyes widen as he sees the feet of Kali, now free and with the claws on her feet fully extended and razor sharp, coming right at his chest. Derek is stopped from helping as he barely manages to dodge and deflect the other Alpha's attack, as Deucalion, in his hideous Demon Wolf form launches himself at the Alpha

"Die! Die! Die!" Julia Baccari cackles happily as she watches them from safely inside her shields.