Chapter 10

Lydia was not happy. She was wet. She was cold. Her makeup was ruined and her clothes were soaked. For the second day in a row Beacon Hills had experienced a sudden thunderstorm in the middle of the day when everything indicated clear sun and not even a chance of rain. Stepping into the coffee shop she shook her umbrella angrily but still made sure not to spray any of her fellow soaked townspeople.

"Oh god this is ridiculous!" a woman's voice in front of her caused Lydia to look up and she sighed when she spotted the woman. Andrea Wellington was one of her mother's friends and she was the worst example of a trophy wife in Lydia's reckoning. The woman had bleach blonde hair, an outrageously expensive manicure and entirely too much jewelry. Not to mention that she was rude, judgmental, and a pain to be around. Hanging back Lydia hoped she wouldn't be spotted by the woman.

"Well it seems that it is probably only going to get worse" the other woman that she is talking to, who Lydia doesn't recognize, replies. "Apparently there is a whole bunch of these sudden storms coming up from Arizona and San Diego if you can believe it. There have been sudden storms all up California over the last three days and the people on the news can't seem to explain why no one is able to predict them. What's more, they seem to all be heading this way."

"I did not need this" Mrs. Wellington sighs heavily. "I suppose it isn't all bad. I mean maybe now we won't hear anymore about droughts and water restrictions. My lawn is not as green as I like it but the service keeps saying they can't do anything" she sniffs obviously unhappy.

"True…but if it is a good rain, then the wines this year will be wonderful" her friend says slyly and suddenly Lydia remembers her, her husband owns a winery that her parents visted once when they were traveling a few years ago.

"Wine? Really?" a tired voice says and Lydia looks behind her in surprise and sees a very wet, green eyed boy with his hair plastered to his side. "Hi again" he says looking happy she is alone.

"Billy? Right?" Lydia asks and Billy smiles happily.

"Yeah. Lydia?" he asks and she nods. "You are kind of hard to forget. Where is J. Crew?" he asks looking around with an unhappy expression and Lydia smirks.

"You might want to at least call him Ralph Lauren, J. Crew is a serious insult" she advises but stops as the boy's smile looks positively wicked.

"I know" he smirks and Lydia actually laughs. "This weather is crazy, but you know what's really crazy? There was a big storm in Arizona and Nevada three days ago. Rained almost six inches in some places. Really crazy storms, lots of wind and lightning" he adds excited and then pauses as he spots Lydia's expression at his energy. "Sorry, I just have been in a lot of storms and find them fascinating."

"Want to be a weatherman or storm chaser?" she asks airily.

"Definitely not. I prefer to be indoors during a storm. But it's always good to know when one is coming."

Lydia just smiles and then it is her turn so she places her order for her and Jackson and then Billy is ordering his. They chat a bit more but then her coffees are ready, she says goodbye, and takes advantage of a temporary break in the rain to make a dash for it. She got coffee, dried off a bit, and managed to avoid Mrs. Wellington. All in all, a good trip.

Satomi opened the door to the house and nodded respectfully to the Celestial Kitsune that she had known for so long. "Noshiko, thank you for coming" she said softly as she led the other woman into the sitting room. The alpha had ordered her betas out of the house in order to talk privately with her old friend but she had to admit that ever since her meeting with Hale and his mate, things had been changing.

Paying attention on the drive home, the alpha had started noticing things that she had not been paying attention to since the 'itch' had started, and since she had acknowledged Hale as High Alpha it had disappeared and in fact she felt better than she had in years. And it wasn't just her.

All of her betas appeared to also be feeling the increased connection with their territory and it was showing up in different ways. Brett had gotten faster, quite a feat considering how quick he was before. Several of the others had gotten stronger and almost everyone had felt their senses increase. Three of her most recent betas who had been struggling with control had made significant strides in that area and had started to settle down.

The land as well had begun showing signs. Her most recent run through the woods had showed trees, flowers, and grasses all looking healthier and more robust than ever. She had thought she might even have spotted some pixies darting through the shadows. The air was richer and the nearby lake was noticeably cleaner. The presence of the Arcanist was having an impact she didn't expect but she was thinking that things might actually beginning to be good for her pack. But for now, she needed to deal with her old friend and she was not sure how much Noshiko would accept. There were things that wolves knew and the bonds of pack that foxes just didn't share. However, she owed the woman some explanations.

"You said you have information" Noshiko said looking stressed. The last few days had not been easy on the kitsune and she had barely restrained herself from calling the Oni, even if the price would be high. The only hesitation she had was that she couldn't find the slightest trace of the void. If he was free, there should have been some sign.

"I do. I spoke with Alpha Hale a few days ago and he was there when the Nemeton was destroyed" she replied as they sat down.

"Then the beast was freed?"

"It does not seem so. There was a battle between the Hale pack and Deucalion's Alpha Pack as well as a dark druid, a Darach" she explained.

Noshiko looked confused. "I don't understand" she finally said.

"The young Hale's pack was able to defeat and kill Deucalion, Kali and most of the others. Three of the alpha pack had been banished by the pack's magic user earlier. Then the Darach struck but they managed to fight until the young mage called down lightning and destroyed the Nemeton, the power the dark one wanted."

Noshiko frowned. "If the Nemeton was destroyed then the power must have gone somewhere, that kind of power can't be erased."

"It wasn't. The boy became the new Nemeton."

The kitsune was stunned. She never heard of such a thing. How could any person become a nexus for a ley line, let alone the number that were flowing through that tree. "How?" she finally managed to get out.

"I am still a bit unsure about many of the facts, but apparently the Morgaine was present to assist the young mage. The magic overwhelmed him and would have consumed him but with the aid of all four of the Fae Queens who came to assist, they were able to aid the boy to become what they call an Arcanist" Satomi explained.

Noshiko frowned. This was too much information. "I know of the Queens, they are legendary, but the Morgaine?" The kitsune knew that there was more to magic than her own knowledge as she hadn't been very connected to most magics in her own life. She knew of Sorcery fairly well, and to a lesser extent the other domains, but she acknowledged that her own knowledge of it was lacking.

"For Druids, there are two greater powers, the Morgaine and the Merlin who represent the balance of their magic. They are the boy's mentors and friends, as well as the Sorcerer Supreme."

"The Ancient One?!?" Noshiko demands. "She was part of this?"

Satomi frowns. "I believe she is no longer living, at least the boy said the Sorcerer Supreme was named Dr. Strange. He helped teach the boy before he came into his true power, but now with his new connection to magic, it appears that young Mr. Stilinski is a peer of the masters of each domain of magic."

Noshiko just shook her head and sat back. Alpha Ito related the full story as she had learned it to the Kitsune to try and ease the other woman's mind that the threat of the void was eliminated. If it wasn't destroyed, she didn't think it would seek to return. Derek Hale had shared some of the details about that fight when his young mate had been out of the room and she was more certain than ever that the boy was something that no one, not even Noshiko or the Void, would be willing to face in a fight. Both Alpha Roberts and Alpha Flores had already reached out to her and shared their own experiences with the new High Alphas and both had been tentatively impressed. Hesitant a bit, but the Hale name, the endorsement by the Morgaine, and the destruction of the twisted ideology of Deucalion and his foul pack had made much more of an impact than she believed that either of the youths truly realized.

The destruction of a Darach as well? No, the Hale pack was not one to be trifled with and their offer of support, protection, and friendship for abiding by common sense rules that they all were doing anyway, not exactly difficult. Peter Hale? He would have been a cause for concern if he was the Alpha. That man was perfect as a pack's Hand, but he would have been too dangerous as a leader as he needed to be controlled. Derek's request for her advice also reassured the elder wolf that the boy would not abuse his position. He wasn't quite the Alpha his mother was, in fact he was more like his father but that was all for the better. The human was more wolf in temperament than most actual wolves as it was and she felt that he would be the one to respect.

The black SUV pulls up in front of the Beacon County motor lodge quickly followed by four more. Randolph Davies steps out and looks around. This will do for tonight while his team gets their bearings and locates an appropriate place to set up and start their search. He has been chasing these beasts for over two years and has lost over a dozen hunters already but those he lost had friends and family who were more than happy to join up to take care of these animals.

"Boss, Grayson is getting us some rooms for the night. Are you sure this is going to be a good location?" Trager asks. "Are we even sure that they came here?"

Randolph nods absently. He had sources, good sources, and they were fairly confident that Deucalion was headed this way. Apparently one of the Hale dogs that the Argents had failed to take care of had showed back up and was building a new pack right under the noses of those self-righteous snobs. He had met Chris Argent before and wasn't impressed. No, the only Argent that impressed him was Kate and she had warned him that her brother didn't really have the guts for the job.

Now she was dead and her memory tarnished. Davies had read the articles about her being killed and then linked to the deaths of the Hales, but since people didn't know better, all they saw was that she killed a family, not that she eliminated a threat to real people. And apparently her brother had even made friends with the pack that killed her! He had even heard from his father that word had come that the Argent Grand Matriarch was trying to get the Hunter's Council to lay an interdict on Beacon Hills for some reason!

It had been decades since anyone had even suggested something that extreme for a territory. Sure, Paris, Berlin, Los Angeles, Rio, Rome, Hong Kong, and Tokyo had all been cities where activity was seriously restricted and Hunters knew the risks. Taking any actions in those cities would be quickly and completely disavowed by the leadership. It was too public and there were other powers, more than wolves, that were around that were not forgiving of hunting. Ever since those damn Avengers showed up an honest hunter couldn't kill monsters without worrying about being attacked by freaks in tights!

But to attempt an Interdiction was entirely different. There were only three Interdictions currently; New York, London, and some remote place in Nepal. An interdiction meant that not only would the Hunters Council disavow any hunters who violated the restriction, but they would actively impede you. That meant no access to HC lawyers, no funds, and they could even offer you up to appease whoever they were trying to avoid. It was also clear that violating an interdiction meant that there would be no consequences if the monsters killed you.

But Deucalion and his pack of mutts were killing indiscriminately and them running and hiding in a small town in California which the Argents were trying to get declared 'off-limits' for some reason was not going to stop him from wiping out that entire degenerate pack of killers. And if he had to go through the Argents and the Hale dogs, then he would do so without a twinge of remorse. Besides, he owed Katie a little blood payback and he was fairly sure finishing off the Hales and making her brother pay would be a perfect way to honor her memory, one that she would have approved of.

"Find us a headquarters. Deucalion is after Beacon Hills and we can finally kill the bastard and anyone who's with him" he instructs and Trager nods and begins giving orders. They all knew about the restrictions on Beacon Hills but like Davies, Deucalion and his pack of killers had all cost them something and they were not about to let anyone stop their revenge.

"This is a waste of time!" Erica complains as they walk through the woods, still damp from the most recent thunderstorm. She had been willing, eager even, to go out and look for the thing she and Boyd had chased when Allison had broached the idea of it. But two hours later, sweaty, tired, and having her boots so caked in mud that it would take forever to clean them and trudging around wet woods had lost all of the glamor and she was just annoyed.

Allison just grunts and adjusts her bow and moves forward. She knew that coming out here was probably not going to get them much. The rain would have washed away any useful scents but the wolves had all said they hadn't smelled anything after both times. And while there were no tracks on those occasions, the huntress had hoped that maybe the muddy ground would show tracks a little more clearly than the dry ground.

But it hadn't. "It was worth a shot" she finally agreed looking over at the she-wolf whose hair was definitely not enjoying the humidity. Allison had tied hers up in a ponytail when they headed out but she was sure she probably looked even rougher than the beta. "I hoped we might see something out here" she sighed.

Erica echoed that sigh. She had just about convinced herself that she was imagining things after finding no traces and Stiles not detecting anything when the boys had their own encounter. The same situation happened to the others and still no traces but now most of the pack had seen…something. She also knew that both Derek and Peter drifted between ignoring it as unimportant and thinking it was one thing or another but every wild goose they chased turned up nothing.

"Let's swing by the lake and circle it and take one last look before heading out" Allison offers and Erica nods happy to have a plan that had an ending. They head out and in a few minutes were coming out of the woods in view of the water when she hears it, distant, but that same rhythm. "Allie!" she hisses and her eyes flash as she tries to focus.

Allison goes perfectly still. She hadn't heard or seen whatever triggered the beta but she figures that there must be something to cause such a reaction. She watches as the blonde sniffs the air, tilts her head to listen until finally she locks in and takes off, Allison just a few steps behind. As much as Erica would like to run all out, Derek had been drilling that you don't separate, especially when you don't know what you are facing. Her taking off and leaving the huntress behind would expose Allison to extra danger if this was some kind of trap. So she held back but unlike last time, Erica had zeroed in on the sound and it was definitely more than one. She thought it might be two or three or maybe even more based on the pounding rhythm.

"Hsst!" Allison whispers but it was enough for Erica to slow and look back and see the brunette pulling out an arrow and loading her bow. She had heard it finally! "It's slowing down" she says, barely a whisper and Erica is mildly impressed. She doubts another wolf, even ten feet away would have heard that. She nods and shifts to the right. If she remembers right, there is a clearing ahead with a small brook that runs through it before it empties into the lake. And if she is right, the sound is coming from that clearing.

Allison is moving quickly and quietly when she feels Erica slow almost to a crawl and realizes that they are just about at the clearing she had determined they were heading for. Erica looks back and nods and they move forward silently. A second later they left the trees and Erica freezes as Allison raises her bow aiming at the…horses? She frowns. Standing in the clearing were two large horses. The larger one was mostly brown with gray streaks in her mane. The second mare was more cream colored with a black mane and tail that was rather striking. There were also two foals with them, smaller than ponies, and besides the two…nothing else. Just horses.

Allison straightens up and stares at the horses and realizes that they were all staring at her and they seemed a bit overextended, their sides heaving and wet with sweat. There were no saddles or bridles however so she figured that they must have gotten loose somehow. "It was just horses?" she asks and turns to the blonde who still hasn't spoken.

Allison is shocked by the stunned expression of the beta who is staring incredulously at the horses and is muttering something that she can't pick up. "Erica?" she asks but her friend doesn't seem to hear her. "Erica!" she yells and this time the beta jumps but she doesn't pull her eyes away from the quartet.

"Tell me you are seeing this" she pleads and Allison looks back at the horses, seeing the two foals drinking from the little brook. Her voice is strained and for a moment Allison wonders if Erica was one of the horse-crazy little girls, but she doesn't think even she, at her most horse-crazy, would have reacted like this.

"Erica, they are just horses" she says and the blonde turns to look at her in shock.

"You don't see them!?" she whisper yells, tilting her head towards the small group.

Allison stares at Erica for a moment, seriously staring to worry when she glances over at the horses and catches the eyes of the larger one, still watching her. She pauses but doesn't sense anything except she is surprised that they are that interesting to the animals. "Erica I see two horses and two foals. They must have gotten away from someone's stable" she says softly and calmly, trying to avoid startling the other girl.

"Allison!" Erica whimpers and grabs her arm, luckily the one not holding the bow, and looks truly distraught. Allison decides she needs to call Derek and Boyd, now. Something is seriously wrong and she glances at the meadow and freezes. Everything slams to a stop and she feels the whole world pulled out from under her.

The four are still watching her and Erica, a fact made significantly easier now that they have faces. They also have arms, heads, chests, and the two mares have rather full breasts which normally wouldn't be an issue except that they are not wearing any shirts. The two foals appear to be a boy and girl since the girl has her hair in braids and now that she thinks about it, the little foal had braids in her mane, which was no longer there.

Allison had seen a lot. She had read her family's Beastiary and had been helping Stiles and Lydia with updating their records, but she wasn't prepared for the sight of four centaurs standing in a field. She was staring at them when Erica pulled her hand away with a squeaking sound and suddenly she was staring at four horses again.

"Erica, grab my arm again!" she demands and the beta looks surprised but does so and the centaurs are back. "You are seeing centaurs?" she whispers and the blonde's eyes widen and she nods her head. Okay, Allison has been studying things since she found out about Derek Hale and Scott and this past summer she learned a great deal from her cousins.

She doesn't see the centaurs unless Erica touches her. Erica is supernatural, ergo they are using some kind of magic to hide their appearance. They are watching the girls, but they don't seem to realize that they can see their true forms. "Erica…flash your eyes" she says quietly but with certainty.

Erica frowns but nods and looks back to the two female centaurs and her eyes flash gold and their reaction is immediate. The younger one, her human half looks only a few years older than them looks fearful and moves to block the two foals with her body. The older one, whose hair still has those grey streaks pulls out her own bow and has the arrow loaded in seconds just as Allison readies her own bow, now pointed back at the centaur. Stand off.

"Erica, shift to beta form…slowly" she orders and the blonde, never taking her eyes of the elder centaur slowly shifts. Her teeth turn to fangs, her claws pop out, and her face morphs into the wolfen features. Her ears are hidden by her hair.

The centaur's eyes widen in surprise at the sight of Erica but she doesn't lower her bow, though she does seem a bit less antagonistic.

"Identify yourself and your purpose in our territory" Allison calls out and the centaur's eyes shift to her in surprise and stares at the huntress aiming straight at her.

"You are not a wolf human" she says. Allison is surprised by the cultured nature of the voice. There is an accent she can't place exactly, but she is strongly reminded of her mother and the feeling that causes makes her swallow down the frog in her throat.

"No, but this is Hale pack land" she answers and the older woman's eyes shift to Erica. She doesn't reply but Erica growls just a bit though Allison knows that it was loud enough for the centaurs to hear based on the younger one's reaction.

"For the moment perhaps" she replies and Allison pulls back a bit on the bow as Erica crouches and her growls are louder. Threatening us on our land?!

"We have dealt with bigger threats that you" Erica snarls and shifts her weight but she doesn't move. The centaur's bow is still tracking her as she has obviously been determined to be the bigger threat. Erica has seen Allison's skill with the bow but she doesn't doubt that the centaur is probably at least as good of a shot.

"It is not us you should fear" the centaur replies. "There is one greater than any wolf pack" she tells them, a slight tremor in her voice like she wasn't entirely certain.

Allison pauses for a second. Centaurs were not in the Argent Bestiary nor were they in any of the ones she had viewed so far but she did remember her mythology and that they were often seen as teachers of heroes. Why would the two of them come to Hale land, which until recently had been left nearly abandoned thinking that someone else was…wait…why bring children to a fight? She relaxes her bow a bit and looks harder at the younger girl and the two kids whose body looks like they are both under 10 in human years. "Erica, shift back" she says while watching the older centaur.

"What?!" Erica yelps. "Are you kidding? They come here, threaten our pack and you want me to stand down?"

"I don't think she was making a threat" Allison says watching the women and sees the woman's eyes watching us. What she also has noticed is the shape of all four of them are in. Their hooves are rough, she sees cracks and chips in the hoof itself on all of them. Both of the kids and the younger woman's tails are all tangled to some degree. There is also an air of desperation and stress on their faces that tells Allison that they are not a threat. "I think they are running from one."

Erica looks uncertain but she can tell that Allison must have gotten it right based on the reaction of the younger she-centaur. "Running from something? Then why run here?" she asks looking at the quartet.

"They are looking for the Arcanist" Allison says with certainty and notes that the elder centaur's eyes widen in shock as Erica makes a strangled noise. "Aren't you? You are looking for the new power here and you know that it is the Arcanist."

The woman seems to relax a bit as her bow shifts just a bit off target but definitely able to be pulled back in a blink. "You know of the Arcanist?" she sounds truly surprised. "I thought humans had forgotten that truth if they ever truly understood it."

Allison nodded. "The Morgaine explained it to us. She is a friend of our pack."

The woman lowers her bow and stares at them. "Claiming such a thing is dangerous if untrue. The Morgaine would not suffer such a claim made falsely."

"Lucky for us it's true" Erica replies with a snort. "She left a few days ago but I am sure she will visit again soon if you want to ask her."

Finally the woman looks at the younger centaur and the two foals and seems to make a decision. She puts her arrow away but holds on to the bow. "I am Kreyna. This is my daughter Charyl and her foals Jaymin and Taleesa. We have come to seek sanctuary with the Arcanist" she states firmly.

Allison nods and puts her own weapon away. "Then you are in luck. The Arcanist is part of our pack."

Kreyna looks disbelieving at that but she doesn't challenge it. Erica pulled out her phone and sent off a text and gets a reply in a few seconds. "Derek is on his way" she tells them and smiles as she notices that both of the younger foals are staring at her from around their mother. She waves.

It only takes about fifteen minutes before they hear the sounds of movement and suddenly Derek, Peter, and Boyd all break through the bushes and slide to a stop. Derek stares for a moment before straightening up. "Next time" he growls softly at Erica "a bit more information than 'we need you ASAP!' would be appreciated."

Peter is staring at the women looking concerned. "Where are the others?" he asks Allison who looks confused.

"It's just the four" she replies.

Peter frowns and looks at his nephew who looks equally unhappy. He turns toward the she-centaurs. "Honored Mare. I am Peter Hale of the Hale Pack. Where is the rest of your herd?"

Charyl's face falls and both kids suddenly look like they are about to cry. Kreyna straightens her back and looks at Peter with determination. "We are all that remains" she says simply.

Peter and Derek looked equally shocked and Allison thinks that there is something else there. "What happened?" Derek asks softly, kinder than she would have thought he would sound.

"Hunters" Kreyna says tensely with a glance towards Allison who looks stunned. Peter growls and Derek looks sick.

"I don't get it" Erica complains.

"Centaurs herds are like a wolf pack, but they are larger. In my studies of our records, the smallest heard I've read about was two dozen members. Not four" he adds with a growl.

Erica and Allison both swallow nervously. "But why would hunters target centaurs?" Allison asks. "There is no danger there."

"Hunters rarely bother to justify their killing" Peter snarls but Derek cuts him off.

"I am Alpha Hale" he tells the women and then introduces the rest of present members of the pack. Kreyna introduces her family. "Why are you here?" he asks her in a respectful tone.

"We were fleeing the hunters when the lines shifted. While we do not use much magic, we knew that only something monumental could accomplish that. We were concerned but then heard that one of ancient power had been reborn. Others don't remember the past, but we do. My husband was a scholar of ancient magics and he knew. If correct, an Arcanist could mean true safety for our family."

Derek nods. He is about to continue when sparks start appearing to the side and suddenly one of Stiles' portals appear and Scott and Isaac jump through followed by the teen. "Holy shit! Is that a Centaur?!" Allison manages to control the growl she wants to let out at the other two boys reactions to the centaurs'….attributes.

Peter stifles a groan but Erica doesn't quite manage to contain her snicker. Derek looks at the teen and is obviously counting internally to avoid saying something. "Stiles this is Kreyna and her family. Kreyna, this is Stiles…the Arcanist."

Kreyna looks unconvinced. "The boy? But he is barely a child, even for humans. How can he be the Aracanist?" she asks even as the foals both maneuver for a better view along with their mother.

Stiles looks offended, especially when Boyd, Boyd of all people, snorts. Glaring at the beta he turns towards the centaurs and suddenly looks serious. His eyes go full white and the clearing suddenly goes deathly quiet. "I am Stiles Stilinski Kreyna. And this is my land." His voice is deeper and Allison looks at the teen and is instantly reminded of Lizzie when she goes full out.

Apparently Kreyna feels the same as she lowers her torso in a kind of half bow as she bends her front leg, the others quickly following suit. "Arcanist." Kreyna's voice suddenly sounds significantly less proud and more desperate. "My herd…what is left us…beg your protection and sanctuary in your land."

Stiles eyes return to normal and suddenly he looks less certain and turns to look at Derek who has obviously been moved by the woman's plea. "Let's talk" Derek says looking at Stiles as both of them walk over to the elder mare. Allison notices that Scott and Isaac are distracted from the older mares and are now totally enamored with the foals and she smiles. It seems their first refugees have arrived.