CHAPTER 118

With the exams currently underway, everyone found themselves busy and had less time to hang out like they usually do. Even Derek's betas were invested in their studies as the threat of Gerard was no longer looming over their heads.

For students like Allison, Lydia, Boyd and surprisingly Isaac, exams were never a concern and the only thing they worked towards was keeping their grades consistent.

Tristan and Malia were in the lower middle stages with Malia failing more subjects than Tristan.

The former ever since their visit to the vet's clinic, had his mind split between two things. His normal life which consisted of being a high schooler – friends and exams – and being a vampire.

His control over his blood had gotten to a point that there was nothing else he could do to improve it. While they were pretty solid to an extent, they quickly became brittle as seconds ticked by if they weren't directly connected to his bloodstream.

As for the other abilities his instincts thrummed with, he had no clue what they were or how to use them, so he left it for now.

Satomi said it'll come in time so he shelved it for whenever nature deemed it the right time.

The exams quickly came and left, ushering the few weeks of reprieve - holidays - to the excited teens.

For Tristan, this only meant more free hours in a day to laze around and other than the frequent sex marathons with Malia, hunts every now and then, his days remained the same… until they came that is.

It had been in the middle of the night, but perhaps because of a vampire's intrinsic connection with the night which was different from a werewolf's connection with the moon, Tristan couldn't fall asleep that night and ended up sitting on the roof.

Due to her body pillow not sharing the same bed with her, Malia climbed the roof following Tristan with a blanket and fell asleep atop Tristan's body with the blanket over them.

The longer the night went on, the longer Tristan started getting the feeling that something was up. It got to the point that his eyes inadvertently turned blue without his willing it, which ended up waking Malia as soon as she sensed the feeling of danger Tristan emitted for a brief second, a testament to her sharp senses even when comfortably asleep.

"What's up, Trist?" She asked as the sleep completely bled out of her system upon seeing Tristan's flickering eyes.

"I don't know, Malia, but…" His eyes were wide open and a bead of sweat fell down his face.

Malia's eyes widened in shock as she felt the goosebumps all over his body as she touched him.

She shook him and turned his head to face her from the he had been intently staring at. "Talk to me, Trist. You're scaring me."

It was the first time she had seen him like this so it rattled her a bit. Even more baffling was that despite what his body was showing, his emotions were the same.

.. As if his body knew/felt something he didn't.

"Something is wrong, Malia. Very very wrong." He said before grabbing Malia and jumping down the roof. He and Malia took in sniffs of the surrounding air but still they couldn't tell anything until they heard a very loud roaring howl.

"That's Derek." Malia noted. Hearing Derek's howl made them certain that something was going on, and seconds later they heard Erica's.

Malia was the first to react and moved in the direction of Erica's howl while Tristan lagged behind for a few seconds, remaining stationary as he felt like he was on the cusps of understanding what the night was trying to say but soon gave up and followed after Malia after failing to understand anything.

It was deep in the woods and the closer they got, the colder the air was that brushed against his skin, turning his goosebumps rigid.

However when they got to the place Erica's howl came from, they failed to find anyone there, except a very visibly distraught Derek whose red eyes were staring at the slash marks on the bark of a tree.

"FUCK!!!" He shouted and punched a hole through the tree and uprooted the whole thing and swung it to the side.

Tristan, knowing something bad had happened tried sniffing the air but quickly frowned as he noticed something weird.

"Don't bother, you won't get their scent. They aren't your average wolves in any way." Derek said, stopping him from asking himself why he failed to get their scent.

Turning to the raging Alpha, Malia asked tentatively. "Seems like you have a clue of what went down, and you also mentioned wolves. Is there a new pack in town?"

They watched as Derek went through different emotions but the one that was most apparent was the simmering rage and both teens keenly noted how wholly different he currently felt compared to before the incident with Gerard.

A stark difference.

"Derek? Is there a new pack or packs in town, and why would they kidnap Erica? That's a blatant provocation." Tristan supplemented, prodding Derek for answers the Alpha clearly had.

"Pack. A single one, at least that I am aware of." Eventually Derek answered their questions after taking huge breaths to calm himself down.

Seeing the Alpha calmed down, Tristan asked again. "How big of a pack are we talking about? Up to ten betas or more?"

Surprisingly Derek shook his head, saying something even more surprising. "No, no betas. Alphas."

"Alphas? But you just said only one pack." Malia said frowning but Derek nodded solemnly.

"Yes. One pack."

"…One pack, no betas?" Tristan asked just to make sure of what they were both hearing.

"Yes."

"If the pack doesn't have betas then what does it have to be called a pack?" Malia asked.

"Alphas." Derek replied.

"… Right. A pack, but with Alphas instead of betas?" She asked again and Derek nodded but that made her completely lose it. "What the fuck is that? A pack of Alphas?! What the hell kind of shit is that!?"

Derek sighed grimly, fully understanding how absurd the mere nothing of that might have sounded but unfortunately he wasn't joking. He hardly ever joked.

Even Tristan, the visual representation of being stoic, couldn't remain completely calm and stop his eyes from twitching upon hearing Derek's words, but he still managed to bring in the main focus.

"Wait, Derek. What would an Alpha, a pack of them, want with Erica?" He asked

Instead of answering, Derek's frown deepened and he asked a question in turn. "What do you think?"

Just at that moment, Scott and Isaac arrived at their location and a quick look around painted someone's plain missing picture.

"Where's Erica, Derek?" Isaac asked immediately, he and Scott not liking the atmosphere they arrived to.

Derek roughly explained what had transpired and the cause of Erica's abductions which left the two teenage newcomers shocked, speechless and slightly fearful.

"Maybe they kidnapped her to force you to join them given the fact that you are an Alpha just like them." Tristan suggested but Derek's silence told how utterly unamused he was by that thought.

"How about we table the discussion of the Alpha pack to another time and find a way to get Erica back instead." Isaac's anxious words portrayed just how worried he was for Erica.

Knowing what they both went through the last time they were abducted when someone wanted to get to Derek, the traumatic memories started creeping back and he instantly shivered, scared witless for Erica.

Scott held his shoulder in comfort as the atmosphere came down colder as everyone knew exactly what had Isaac so terrified.

Seeing his own beta relapsing back into healing traumas, Derek's eyes got even colder but Tristan said something before he could make a heated decision.

"Do you know how many Alphas are in the pack?" He directed at the sole Alpha in their midst.

"From what I've heard, either five or six, including their Alpha." Derek answered.

Tristan exhaled with a hard expression on his face and squared a look at Derek who squarely returned it until he relented. "That's a lot of Alphas, not mentioning what kind of monster they'd have leading them as an Alpha. An Alpha of Alphas. It doesn't look good anyhow you flip it."

"That was obvious from the get-go, but how does that help us get Erica back?" Isaac asked.

He obviously didn't get the implications of it and Tristan simply refrained from clarifying how frightening the reality of that was for them and everyone else. "This is too serious for us not to tell our Alpha if we are to get involved or get dragged into it. As for Erica, either we wait or try finding her. Either way, it's clear we are being dragged into a likely trap, or at least Derek is."

Malia interjected at that point. "And both ways lead to a confrontation with a pack of Alphas, not just a loose group of them. A pack of them. Best case scenario for everyone is if they can be reasoned with, unless we will find ourselves plunging down a steep slope."

"Derek, how long have you known about the Alpha's pack arriving in Beacon Hills?" Tristan asked.

"A few weeks." Derek said truthfully. "And apart from painting my door in their symbol as provocation, they've done nothing so far despite me trying to find them all this while."

Not just Tristan, but Malia and the others frowned as they heard Derek's words.

A pack of bonafide Alphas had been in Beacon Hills for a few weeks and yet no one knew.

Tristan looked up at the night sky, a fleeting thought crossing his mind, making him wonder what the night was trying to tell him.

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