CHAPTER 09

Halftime was called for the game, giving the heavily taxed players some respite and well deserved resting time.

Lori dragged them towards Brett who had finally pulled himself away from their team planning for the last half. 

"Hey guys. Didn't think you'd come." Brett waved at them as they made their way closer. 

"Well Lori said she'd drag us out if we didn't show up before the opening whistle so we had no choice. Not to mention that I had to convince the emotionally deficient teen by my side." Malia's snarky comment gained a look of surprise and sarcasm from Brett and Lori while Tristan just glared at her only for her to shrug it off like air. It was hard to say which one was the emotionally deficient one out of the both of them. 

"Well, I'm glad you guys could come. I'm pretty sure we can win this thing so I'm kinda stoked. It also helps that gives us more ammunition over those fuckers from Beacon Hills High." Brett held his lacrosse stick over his shoulder while gazing at the herd of players from Beacon Hills as he listened in on their conversation. 

Malia beamed and glanced at Brett "Whoops. Looks like you're being targeted." They all listened in on the conversation between the coach and the squad of Beacon Hills High since there were no rules against or stopping them from doing so. 

Instead of being intimidated, Brett laughed it off while looking smug. "If they are seriously planning a formation around me means they consider me that much of a threat. It just means I'm that good. Well see you guys after the game. Looks like the final half is about to start, wish me luck." He put on his helmet and jogged back to the field to take his position with the rest of the players. 

"Are you sure he's gonna be okay? I don't think the other team is going to be that lenient with taking him out of the game." Lori voiced her concern as they made their way back to their seats, which hopefully had not been taken. 

"He's a born werewolf. He'll be fine." Tristan said as a matter of fact. What were a group of teenage human lacrosse players going to do to a werewolf like Brett? The most they could do was break a few things and he'll heal it back right up. 

"I know that, but it wouldn't be pretty if he gets irritated for a moment and fouls one of them aggressively." Wolves weren't the most passive of animals, so it was a valid concern. Regardless of how many years of training and experience they've had with controlling their urges and emotions, at the end of the day they were still a wolf and as such was bound to behave like one when threatened. 

"I for one think he'll benefit from it if he were to mildly injure one of them. Maybe a few broken bones and ankles. Should be enough for the rest to know not to fuck with him." Malia chimed in and said the most ridiculous thing with the most nonchalant expression she had. 

They went back to watching the game with gusto, at least one of them did while the other two just stared on as if they could come up with a more fun activity within that time frame. 

Unfortunately, Beacon Hills High ended up winning the game by a few narrow goals which made the hyper girl slump her shoulders, a reaction shared by the other Devenford students. 

"Come on, it's just a game. There's no need to get that down." Malia being the one with the lowest EQ poked the girl at her back while her partner in crime nodded along. It's not as if this was the only game they were going to play since they still have a few years before graduation - was the thought process of the duo. 

Unlike the downcast Lori, Brett looked pretty normal despite the fact that his team lost. Though it wasn't just a game to him, he did try his best without tipping the line so there was nothing else he could do than wait for their next game. 

"How about you guys come to our place? Tristan wanted to make fried rice before we came but there was no time so we scraped it until after the game." Malia suggested and since it wasn't school night they didn't need to worry about waking up late tomorrow. 

"Yeah, let's go." The drive back home was filled with conversations about a lot of things and for once, Tristan didn't mind the long talks. 

… 

"Devenford Prep might have some stringent rules and workload but it's not that bad and I honestly think it's much better than Beacon Hills High." They were seated in the living room, each with a plate of fried rice and chicken and a few drinks to go with it. 

"Study." Tristan grimaced at the thought of being forced to score above a certain point just to keep up with the grades. Though Beacon Hills High still stressed grade, it wasn't as cutthroat as Devenford Prep. 

"Well you're right about that. And here I was thinking you'd choose Devenford so I could force you into playing lacrosse." Brett sighed at what he considered a misfortune. 

Malia though didn't seem to share his sentiment. "I don't think I can spend an entire month in that stuck up place without ripping someone's throat out."

"Speaking of ripping someone's throat out, I heard a body's been found and they're saying it's an animal attack." The joking atmosphere in the living room receded and was replaced by a somber one. 

"It could very well be anything." Lori said. The implications of this meant a lot of things if their assumptions were right. 

A stray werewolf. 

An Omega. 

They doubt it was a pack because they would have heard word of one coming to Beacon Hills. If it were a pack, then it would have to be a scarily stealthy one and also one of killers. Hopefully it was the former and not the latter. 

"You guys are all the way over here in Beacon County so try and stay grounded and don't forget to call if you sniff out anything suspicious." Though they were not one to go looking for trouble, it still wouldn't hurt to remind them. 

"What if it's an Omega? Are we killing him?" Malia asked only for her to be shot down unanimously by the siblings. 

"No!"

"Why?"

"Because Beacon Hills is Hale's territory." 

"But the Hales' been gone for a while. No one even knows if any of them survived the fire."

"Regardless of reason, we shouldn't be looking to confront whoever it is that's causing the killings. Hopefully they move on away from here quickly or it might draw the attention of the Hunters." That was Brett's major concern. Beacon Hills had been rather quiet after the Hale fire which made both the Hunters of then and the resident supernaturals move out of the territory because of the lack of a leader of the hills which in turn was the reason why the Hunters left because the normal populace were no longer under the shadow threat of the packs that once roamed the area, but if word were to get out that an Omega or an unscrupulous werewolf pack were back and were killing innocents then they'll have no been choice but to come back and wipe out or chase out the pack. 

Rather than placate her thoughts, Brett's words only made Malia more curious. "What's the deal with the Hunters anyway? They're just a group of humans, right? Why do we have to be cautious of them?"

"I really don't know, but according to Satomi, the Hunters have been around since the emergence of the first werewolf and though they've branched out throughout the years, the main family still exists to this day. They know every weakness of a werewolf and unlike us who most times than not lose ourselves to our urges," Malia didn't even bat an eye at the low jab and just continued listening, "they are trained from a young age to be cold, precise and lethal at every moment notice when dealing with our kind. So yes, even Alphas as old and strong as Satomi are bound to be cautious when they are in the same territory as a Hunter family. Lucky for us, they do live by a strict code to only go after those who've taken a human's life."

*GRRRRL*

Brett released a sigh of frustration as two pairs of blue eyes stared at him with fangs bared as if daring him to repeat what he just said. Unlike Malia's bright blue, Tristan's were of a more darker shade that signified something more in his supernatural status that only a few people were aware of. 

"Now you know why I said you both should keep your distance. If you were to come across a Hunter, we'll need Satomi back here in order to clear your names since they are not the most amicable bunch when supernaturals are involved." Brett's explanation made the glow in the two pairs of eyes recede, giving him more breathing room to continue. "While it's advisable to keep our distance, if we were to come across whoever it is, it should be our priority to stop them. No sane supernatural community will condone random killings."

"Soooo, we can just kill them to prevent the Hunters from coming back here then?" 

Brett outright ignored her for the sake of his sanity and also to make sure not to lose the leash on his emotions and go on a rampage. 

"What do you know about the hunters and the Hales?" Tristan asked in a bid to change the subject and also curb Malia's rising murder tendency. 

"Not much I'm afraid. All I know is that Satomi seems to be somewhat familiar with the Hale Alpha when they were alive and some rumors that there were apparently a lot of Alphas in Beacon Hills when they were alive. Due to the fact that a lot of supernaturals were in Beacon Hills, an agreement was made between the Alphas and the Hunters with the Hales as the mediator between the two groups. You'll have to ask Satomi if you want to know more about how Beacon Hills was a few years ago."

Though he was born a werewolf, he'd never met a Hale due to the fact that his family was just a normal werewolf family and he had no idea if they were even part of an active pack. Not to mention that he was still a child then with explosive outbursts. 

He had reasons to be worried because he understood just how messy werewolves who gave into their urges could be. He and Jiang had almost killed themselves a few years back after they got into a heated argument and that was just a squabble when compared to werewolves who got hung up on the taste of blood. 

At this point, they were still in the clear since its only two killings so far but the more it piles up and the more the news and rumors spread about it being an animal going on an hunting spree, it won't take long before Beacon Hills become a hub for hunters wanting to protect the human populace from a rabid werewolf. 

He would have preferred it if they stopped such activities from going too far but Satomi's pack had been known, even by Hunters, to stay away from other supernaturals which was also the reason why he wasn't that fearful about Tristan and Malia being under the scopes of the Hunters. Even renowned hunting families across the continent knew or have heard of the reclusive Buddhist pack. 

It wasn't their problem so it was in their best interest and that of their Alpha not to interfere, not even if a pack found guilty were to be wiped out. Going against the core tenets of the Buddhist pack was synonymous to betrayal. 

And if there was one thing the Hunters hated most among the supernatural community more than werewolves were Omegas. 

The lone wolf. 

The one who prefers betrayal to family. 

The taint of a wolf's pride. 

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