CHAPTER 177

They gathered themselves in the cafeteria for lunch, a normal lunch, not one centered around rituals, dead bodies, or psycho-murdering beasts of nature.

A normal lunch and a discussion of normal problems.

"But why me? This isn't fair, and I feel like shit just thinking about it."

The person currently having an emotional mental breakdown was surprisingly Boyd, who was halfway in tears after receiving the news that Erica was leaving town.

It wasn't a hard decision for Derek to make when it concerned the safety of his sister and his pack. And it wasn't as if they were moving across states, no.

Derek decided they were migrating to London, where he and his eldest sister lived before the whole misfortune of Beacon Hills drew them back.

"Yeah, sorry man. And things were just getting good for you guys." Allison consoled him by patting his back. "C'mon cheer up. I know you crushed hard for her but you guys weren't together that long. I'm sure you'll get over her completely when you meet someone else."

They had their work cut out for them, as in Malia and Allison, because Boyd wasn't someone who'd listen to naïve or hopeful consolations so they had to hit him with the cold brutal truth, and that hurt Boyd even more.

"Shit, now he's depressed." Tristan, their emotional scanner, grumbled under his breath.

"It's alright, guys. I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Malia stated with a deadpan on seeing him struggling to manage a weak smile.

"Yeah, I'm a wreck." His confidence was so low that it was almost pitiful. "Just give me a few days and I'll be back to normal."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and stepping on your creeping confidence, but you're not getting over this in just 'a few days'." Tristan said, much to the girl's consternation. "If you were a werewolf, you'd be just a step away from imprinting your one-sided infatuation on her. That's how strong your feelings for her is, and conversely how fucked you are."

He looked up to see Allison looking greatly alarmed and sending a scathing glare his way.

'Shut up, Tristan. You're making it worse!' Her glare seemed to say.

Seeing her glare and Malia's signal for him to keep quiet forced him to change the words he'd been about to follow up with.

"On the bright side, you've got the coolest friends in your corner. You've got a trio of Dracula, a female Van Helsing, and whatever fits as a description for Malia, who are able to fight apex predators, witches, a submissive lizard and deranged grandpas," He earned a smack for that. "We'd be incompetent as friends if we could fight all that and not beat a case of a love-struck teenager in depression."

Boyd did manage a slightly strong smile at that, earning Tristan an appreciative nod from Allison and a thumbs-up from Malia. He would have rolled his eyes and given a sarcastic retort had Boyd's case not been this delicate.

"Somehow Tristan saying that makes it sound more convincing." Boyd said, causing them to chuckle. "But why London? That's like another continent away and I don't understand why–"

"How about you stop thinking of London or anything farther than the borders of Beacon Hills, hmm?"

They did manage to leave him in a stabilized mental state by the time the school rang the closing bell.

Since they were best friends, it was Tristan's job to take him home and help him out of his funk and this time Tristan did so without muttering a single complaint.

"I feel like shit, man." Boyd said drowsily as he collapsed on his bed. "This wasn't even a breakup, just an inevitable happenstance, and I'm all crapped up in my head."

"I know how you're feeling, trust me."

"Oh yeah, empath." Boyd muttered. "That ability must be annoying at times; making you understand shit a crapped up person is feeling."

Tristan nodded in agreement, having had his fair share of complaints and frustration after becoming an empath.

"It has its perks that makes it worth having. No one can ever truly understand another, but I can. At the very least I can express how they feel."

Tristan's words struck a chord in Boyd's addled mind and he gained a new understanding of his vampire friend. It was truly the silent ones that had the most to say.

"You're a real fucking chad, dude." He said those words as genuinely as he could muster. Here he was wallowing as a depressed heartbroken teenager, oblivious that this chad of a bloody leech was reading every bit of his emotions and willingly becoming a passenger of the crappy ride that was Boyd's current emotions.

"If there was a chart for cool as fuck cold bastards I don't think anyone could top yours." Boyd slurred.

"You're delirious. Just close your eyes and go to sleep."

"Haha, of course you'd know." Boyd managed to say before his eyes closed and he fell silent.

"I miss her like fuck, bro."

He heard Boyd's silent mutter but said nothing and watched as the huge silhouette of muscles fell asleep.

Seeing how mentally shaken Boyd was by the sudden separation, he wondered how worse his would be if a day ever comes where he permanently loses Malia. 'I'd probably kill anyone stupid enough to come close and try to console me.'

Glancing at Boyd fast asleep, Tristan swallowed an audible gulp as he felt his fangs twitching temptingly. And not just any fangs but the four pairs of canines he grew after becoming an Alpha – the source of his vampire venom.

"I should probably wait until he wakes up." He relaxed into the living room couch and picked the remote control to find a show to pass the time.

…..

Derek was loading his trunk when his phone started ringing, sighing even more as he saw the caller ID.

"I don't remember giving you my number just for you to drop a social call."

[Check the images I sent you.]

Putting the call on hold, Derek checked his messages and saw the bizarre image Chris sent him.

"I have no idea what that is, or what caused it if that's what you're asking." Derek informed.

[I had a feeling you don't but that wasn't why I called. I need your senses to help make sense of something.] Chris revealed his reason for calling.

"I have a flight in three hours, Chris."

[I know. I'm assuming you sent the others ahead?]

"Their welfare is of no concern to you, but if you must know then yes I did. I can't risk them staying even a week longer in this cursed town."

[Wise choice. That aside, all I need are a few minutes of your time.]

Derek slammed his trunk close and snarled into the phone's speakers. "You've got a giant pair to use me as some sort of tracking dog."

Chris groaned audibly in annoyance at Derek's words that seemed to complicate everything. [Are you helping me out or not?]

Derek snorted and told him to send the location and couldn't help but curse upon seeing where it was.

"The sewers? That ungrateful fucker."

Driving to the sewer entrance, Derek's face was in a perpetual scowl as he had to change for his sewer dive. "This better be worth me taking another bath after this."

He had barely climbed down the ladder when the oozing scent of fear and madness violently assaulted his nostrils and made them scrunch up at how unpleasant it smelled.

"Your pristine expression tells me you can already smell it. Can you tell what it is?" Chris arrived in Derek's periphery by the time he climbed down.

"What kind of creature got it in here? The fear practically suffocated them to death." Derek said, his nose already picking up faint scents of blood amidst the putrid waste.

"It's bigger than that. This is not just some creature scaring some sewage rodents to death. Come."

The more Chris showed Derek some parts of the sewer, the more the Alpha was convinced that his choice to leave as soon as possible was the right one.

"I need to remind you again that I have a flight in a little over two hours." Derek said, letting him know that regardless of what this turned out to be, nothing was stopping him from leaving tonight.

Chris didn't react to the reminder and simply said, "Let's get started then."

It didn't even take up to ten minutes before Derek cursed again with a scowl on his face. "I hate Beacon Hills."

"Got anything?"

"Only dried blood. No trail, no scent. Nothing. From a normal point of view, nothing came here." Derek remarked.

Chris however prodded. "And from a 'para'-normal viewpoint?"

"Some fucking shit happened here and I know whose headache it's not gonna be. Me." Derek said and turned around to leave. He'd entertained Chris enough as it was and he wasn't about to dip his feet into this obvious trench.

When they got to his car, both he and Chris following behind narrowed their eyes upon seeing Derek's vandalized car.

Chris immediately pulled out his gun and warily looked around and after ascertaining that whoever was the culprit was likely gone.

His following bland remark was sarcastic in nature but it didn't contain any bit of humor. "Well it looks like whoever they are wants to be your headache."

"I truly hate this town."

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