CHAPTER 84

[POV: With Malia and Allison…] 

Malia dragged Allison through the crowd of wiggling and sashaying bodies that humped and bumped to the loud music that the DJ delivered.

Allison had a frown all over her face as Malia tried leading her out of the party. 

"Stop!" She couldn't take it any more and shouted before pulling her wrist out of Malia's hands. "What were you doing here in the first place and where is Tristan?" 

"Listen Allison, calm down. We'll talk about that one we get out of here." She said and tried pulling Allison but the girl wasn't hearing it, proving stubborn as she refused to move an inch from where she stood. 

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck is going on." Allison said with tears already brimming in her eyes.

 Although she was a strong girl on most occasions, but what has been happening lately, especially tonight, unnerved her to the point that she had started breaking down after seeing how even her best friend was keeping things from her. 

"Really?! You want to do this now?" Malia was stupefied as she saw the defiant look in Allison's eyes. 

"Just tell me! What the hell is going on?... What are you not telling me?" She asked amidst chokes. 

Malia had no idea on how to answer that particular question. Her mouth was open but no words came out. Just as she was about to say something, anything, a few screams erupted inside the party and the sound of a gun firing was heard. 

Not just Malia, but Allison's face paled as they heard the gunshot that was followed by a very loud and clear roar. 

By now, the warehouse had dissolved into pandemonium as everybody started running outside. By the roar alone, Malia could tell that it was Derek's pack in a confrontation with the Hunters. 

Taking the chance, Malia grabbed Allison and they both broke into a run as they scrambled to leave the building to avoid anyone seeing them. 

"What's happening?" Allison screamed as she heard another roar that almost made her fall had Malia not held her up 

By instinct, she knew what it was. 

An Alpha. 

She shivered as the thought of being in close vicinity with such a monster pervaded her thought. 

Thankfully for her, she couldn't focus on it as Malia ran into a corner since she knew that the Hunters would probably be at the front and she didn't want to draw any amount of suspicion from them, especially with Allison with her. 

Allison on the other hand was glad that Malia didn't follow the front door because she had told her parents that she wasn't going to attend the rave, only for that fraud text to take her out of the house in haste. 

They finally left the building and were about to escape but something happened that stunned not just Allison, but Malia too. 

While Allison escaped the warehouse unimpeded, Malia fell backwards as if she just crashed against some invisible wall 

She got up and stretched her hand but no matter the amount of force she used, she couldn't pass the bluish field that suddenly came to life once her hand reached a certain distance. 

"Oh shit."

"Mountain Ash."

They both said at the same time making the two of them look at the other in the eye. 

"Malia..?" Allison was unsure on how she was supposed to feel and react to something she had suspected for a while now. 

All the repressed conflicted feelings she's been having since Kate died all bubbled forth as she stared at Malia. 

Anger, betrayal, envy, hatred, frustration, fear, sadness, grief and finally pleading. 

"… Malia, I-" 

"Seriously? When you need a guy." Malia sighed as she cursed Tristan for making her live through this alone. She was no good with emotions dammit. 

"I guess the jig is finally up, huh?" She said in a lighthearted tone that betrayed the gut wrenching emotion that was tearing up her insides. She contemplated on what to do, whether to call out to Tristan or to try and hide, hoping someone scatters the circle of mountain ash around the building. 

Allison claimed herself down like she was taught and asked Malia with a cold voice. "Is that all you have to say?" 

Malia was not in the least bit intimidated by Allison's cold voice and helplessly held her hands up. "What do you want me to say, Allison? I'm just as shocked as you by this, trust me."

Seeing how carefree Malia appeared, Allison was further incensed and raised her voice in a shout. "Why?!!"

Why. 

It was such a simple question but for Allison it asked a lot. 

Why did she lie? 

Why did she insist on being her friend? 

Why did she comfort her after Kate died? 

Why didn't she tell her? 

Why did they care for her? 

It was an endless series of whys that she had no idea which one she meant to ask so the only thing that came out was 'why'.

"Why? Why what?" Malia asked. "You are going to be a lot more specific than that, princess."

"Why me? Did both of you truly cared? Why did you remain my friend even after finding out who I was? Was it to spy on me and my family?" She could no longer keep her calm facade and burst out crying as she asked the questions she had been afraid to ask. 

Malia looked at her best friend, knowing fully well that their relationship will be drastically different that whatever it used to be after this night. 

Even if she wasn't good with expressing her emotions, faced with Allison's emotionally sincere questions, there was little she could do except answering her. 

"We had no idea, Tristan and I, that you were an Argent when we first met. When we later found out, Tristan had suggested that we cut all ties with you but I told him not to. You are our first friend and Tristan agreed with me because we wanted to see how far our relationship with you would go before you found out and drew your bows at us."

"And what would have happened after that?" 

Malia pointed to the demarcation line of mountain ash that divided the both of them. 

"Then we become enemies, standing on two different sides just like now." Malia said softly and then added as if she knew the next question Allison would ask. "When you finally turn your turn your wolfsbane-tipped arrows at us will be the same time we bare our fangs at you and aim to take your life."

She faced Allison's sincerity with hers, not putting any layer of filter on her words. 

Allison trembled as she heard her best friend casually talking about killing her should they fight against each other. 

Not caring for her inner turmoil, Malia continued. "I'm a werecoyote and you're a Hunter. We are enemies by nature, so you don't have to feel conflicted. The choice is yours to make."

Tears freely fell down Allison's cheeks due to the pain she felt in her heart as she saw Malia's cold and shining blue eyes complimented with vicious fangs that grew from their normal size. 

"Why? Why would you say that, Malia? Do I really mean nothing to the both of you? In your eyes am I just a naïve human girl you keep around to experience human relationships? Am I some kind of pet project for you?!! Answer me Malia‼" 

Her eyes bled crystal tears as she looked at Malia who stood in front of her indifferently and said words she couldn't understand. 

Seeing Malia staying silent, the rage and betrayal she was feeling eclipsed everything else she was feeling and she acted without thinking. 

In a single step, she crossed the mountain ash and stood in front of Malia and asked in between chokes and a tear-marred face. 

"Was I ever your friend Malia? If not then kill me now so that you can be done with it. You wouldn't have to deal with stupid annoying Allison anymore, right? Isn't that what you want? Then do it! Slit open my throat with your claws and kill the enemy‼"

Malia felt… shattered upon seeing how broken Allison was and the feeling in her stomach increased that she felt the need to throw up. 

"Or do you want me to attack you first? Is that it? Do you need a reason to fight back? Then take this as your reason!" She said and took out a kunai from her back waistline. 

Her hands trembled even more as she saw Malia still staring at her with those beautiful blue eyes of hers but she couldn't stop here. She couldn't fully trust her own family and the people she took like her own family, who she thought she could rely on turned out to be people she no longer had any idea of who they really are or how they felt about her. 

Closing her eyes, her teeth clattered against each other as she threw everything to the wind and plunged the kunai forward. 

She felt a jerk and her heart chilled as she thought that she actually had stabbed Malia only for a pair of strong arms wrapped around her with bone-breaking force. 

'Oh, she's going to squeeze to death, isn't she?' She trembled at that stray thought. 

She stood still, not even daring to take a breath as fear gripped every nerve in her body but after waiting for a few seconds, the crushing pain she was expecting never came. Instead she felt slight tremblings and heard some incomprehensible mumblings. 

'She's the one shaking? Is she…'

She felt scared at the thought but she was willing to grab onto any spark of hope, so she opened her eyes and holding her comfortably tight while sobbing was… 

"Malia?"

"Shut up!" Malia's croaked voice sounded out but instead of scaring her, it delivered a sense of warmth around her that reopened the floodgates of tears. 

"Of course I love you, stupid. You are my best friend and I couldn't give enough shits about you being an Argent. To me you are Allison, the naïve bipolar pale princess. I'm sorry, okay?"

Thankfully they were in a secluded place so no one took notice of them when everything was happening. 

They both stood there, even as rain started falling, sobbing softly as the final barrier between them was torn down. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes without any indication of separating any time soon, that is until a certain someone disturbed their peaceful moment. 

"Uhm… Are you guys going to be done with that any moment soon?" Tristan couldn't help himself after watching them for a few minutes. 

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