CHAPTER 42

A Toyota Prius pulled up to an old house, one that looked like it had weathered many a year. In front of the house were a few car parked, noting the number of people inside.

Tristan and Malia came out of their car, along with Lori and Brett who tagged a ride with them for the visit. 

The door opened and they were greeted by a head of brown hair that bolted into Tristan's embrace. 

"Tristan!" 

"Hey, Bree." He patted her lightly and she let go of him before enveloping Malia in a bone crushing hug. They all received a hug from her before they were allowed entrance. 

"Well well. Look who we got here, people." Jiang, an Asian teen based on his looks, said as he saw the new arrivals. 

A lot of people were gathered in Elias' home but the place didn't appear crowded. It wasn't some sort of party or get-together, just a regular visit, so not everyone was present. Though the huge numbers still present showed just how big and powerful the Buddhist pack was as a supernatural force. It was even rumored that Hunters usually steer clear of any wolf in association with this pack. 

"Oh, Tristan you're here!" Someone else called out to him as they walked in after a few hugs and shook hands. 

"Grandma." 

"Come here, child." Satomi beckoned to him and Malia and enveloped them in a warm hug that was just soothing to feel. "I heard you've been having quite the hard time in school."

They both chuckled as they broke the hug and started talking with Satomi.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's the best place, but I won't say it's the worst either." Tristan said. 

Satomi looked at him and smiled, "You're already changing. I'm pleased to see that." The others were surprised, but not Tristan as he knew her words were true. It hadn't even been that long that he started high school and yet here he was, changing faster than the number of times he's shifted. 

"Well, I'm best at adapting so I think it's only natural." Tristan replied. 

Satomi nodded and then turned to Malia. "I heard you've been rather restrained lately." She directed a look at Tristan before turning back to Malia. "At least you don't bother me with your tirades anymore so I guess that is a good thing."

Though she said it jokingly, she was very happy that they were already finding a path they could tread together. Though they've always been the independent sort, they used to rely on her guidance very much in the past since they weren't used to their new selves, Malia and Tristan both, and seeing them finally moving from her warmed her heart. 

She didn't feel sad because she's felt it way too much in the past when her children grew up but now all she felt was happiness. 

Malia snorted, a little awkward but too headstrong to let it sway her, "Nobody told me school takes away your energy to feel frustrated. And like Tristan said, it's not all that bad." She said and paused for a bit before reiterating her statement. "It's bad, but also uncomfortably bearable.. It just doesn't make sense."

Malia hated school, that much was very apparent since day one, but she'd still go if given the chance. 

"You've not been facing many problems, have you?" Satomi asked. 

"Well, it's not a problem per se, but more of complications." Tristan started. "Sandwiched between a raging Alpha and the Hunters can make even the most level-headed of people paranoid."

The mood around them changed as Tristan said those words. 

"Well, you're not wrong about that." Elias said as he walked into the conversation. 

"Tierney said you've seen the Alpha, how does he look like?" Brett asked. 

"Well, monstrous for one." Tristan answered. 

"He looked like this big black-furred wolf. His face looked more werewolf than an actual wolf, and it was fast. Very fast." Malia supplemented. 

"… How fast?" Someone reluctantly asked. "In comparison to Tristan."

Tristan was by far the fastest member of the pack and his speed, coupled with his killer instincts and natural predatory attributes, made him very dangerous… mostly at night. 

His strikes were always fatal, and he also wasn't scared of taking hits as his regeneration was likely on par with Satomi. He was among the most dangerous members of the pack if he lets loose which was why he always put extra care in restraining his urges. 

"We don't know, probably not. That doesn't mean it's not strong though. I wouldn't want to face whatever that is anytime of the day." Malia concluded. 

They spent the rest of the day talking about different things that had been happening since Satomi had been away from Beacon Hills, and also the supernatural community.

…

[An autopsy room] 

Chris Argent looked at the dead bodies of his men, specifically the body of the last two who died that night. 

The coroner had called Chris when he found out some oddities surrounding their deaths and Chris had to admit some of them just didn't make sense. 

He didn't let the new discoveries faze him, not that it could, as he'd seen some of the worst things in his younger days. 

The first thing that was called to attention was the four puncture wounds that had ripped out the carotid arteries in the neck, leading the two men to swift deaths. 

"Next is the nature of the wound itself. A normal werewolf bite won't be just four precise puncture wounds but a guttural bite with more marks."

A werewolf's bite was usually four large punctures with smaller bite marks from the other fangs. The sizes were just about right but the fact that the two wounds were delivered to the same place meant that it wasn't just a rescue attack but most likely a premeditated one. 

Chris couldn't see the attacker that night due to the surprise nature of the attack and the boldness the attacker had to strike twice. 

"That's not all. Look here – the area around the wound seems to be infected, poisonous no doubt, but the weird thing about it is that it's different from other werewolf poisonings I've dealt with over the years."

That was not good. The unknown was never good. 

He had thought it was another beta but it looked like maybe he had been wrong. It could have been the Alpha – that fact couldn't be overlooked, but he somehow wasn't confident in that claim. 

He left the coroner's office thinking about what this meant. The poison being unidentifiable reduced the likeliness of it being a werewolf, but he just wasn't comfortable with that thought outlook. 

… 

The week rolled by with Tristan doing nothing notable except the visit to Elias and just lounging around all weekend. He and Malia went for another hunt, which resulted in his win yet again. She just couldn't compare with his speed and method of tracking. 

Animals practically oozed fear when in his presence and that was always one of the most tantalizing emotions he ever sensed. It stoked the sadistic side of his vampirism. 

Like werewolves, his abilities were mostly instinctual as it covered the basic attributes of a supernatural, which also meant that he didn't need to put all that much thought into training them as they would grow over time. All he needed was control and he was pretty good at controlling himself, at least when Malia wasn't involved. 

The Alpha's attack increased during the weekend and though he didn't take part in it, two more people were mauled to death, increasing the ever rising tension in Beacon Hills with some people opting to leave the town as it apparently wasn't safe enough and the Sheriff's office was having a hard time catching the animal responsible for the attacks. 

Right now, Tristan and Boyd were hanging out, something that would have been impossible just a week ago. 

"Do you really think it's an animal attack?" Boyd asked out of the blue. 

"Yes. What else could it be?" Tristan replied and asked back. 

Boyd shook his head and looked forward. Right now both of them were just walking around after playing video games at Boyd's house, normal teen stuff. 

"I don't know man. Nana said animal attacks have always been periodic in Beacon Hills but this one is the longest she's known. It's kinda weird how it's always an animal attack and yet never the animal." He said. 

The clues were always left out in the open for anyone to see but preconceptions and the strong doubt that nothing could happen out of the ordinary made the people ignorant. 

"I saw the bus, you know. When that driver was attacked. The bus had all these claw marks that were too large to be a wolf's and too clean to be a bear's or even a mountain lion's. It looked a lot like a hand swipe than any wild animal I know of."

Tristan layered a look at Boyd before shrugging. The boy was right. The reason people believed it was an animal was because what else could it be? What else did they want it to be? An animal was the best thing they could come up with and they were more than happy to stick with it because they just couldn't think of anything else that could fit the description and what they've seen so far. No matter how outlandish it was, it beat having to explain something they didn't know. 

"What do you think? About everything that's happening?" Boyd directed at Tristan. 

"Nothing." He lied. "Whether it's normal or not is not something I can control. It wouldn't do to start assuming whatever theory we come up with is valid. If it's an animal, then it's an animal…"

"And if it's something else?" Boyd asked tentatively. 

Tristan turned and gave him a look. "… Then it's something else."

They then relapsed into silence and continued their walk in its coffin. 

… 

[In a mall] 

Allison was in a mall with Lydia, having no choice but to show up last minute after continuing and failing to convince Malia to come with her. She didn't have a problem with Lydia, but she also wouldn't deny that she didn't like a few things about the girl, one being how condescending she was. 

"Nope. Nope… nope." She rolled her eyes as Lydia once again took it upon herself to pick the clothes she thought would be better for Allison. "Allison dear, I'm beginning to think that abrasive girl, Malia, has a better fashion taste than you." She clicked her tongue in disapproval. 

"So you brought me out here to criticize my fashion sense?" Allison asked. 

"Non non." Lydia shook her head in mock hurt. "I just thought it'd be fun, and so far you are making it not."

"Right. Sorry for being the snarky girl with an inflated ego." She sarcastically replied with an apparent bite in her tone. 

"I'm the problem?" Lydia asked, not liking Allison's choice of words. 

"Am I?" Allison countered with a question. 

Both girls stared at each other before clicking their tongue and shaking their heads. 

"Then I guess this was a bust."

"Geez, it took you that long to figure it out?" 

"I was just being polite."

"That makes two of us."

They both said nothing else and took their bags to leave only to stop at the door as they saw Tristan walking with Boyd a distance away from them. 

The duo didn't seem to notice them as they continued their walk unimpeded. 

"Well, well, well.. Looks like it wasn't a complete bust after all." Lydia said with a smirk that irritated Allison as she began sauntering her way towards Tristan. 

Noticing someone coming towards them, Tristan turned and saw Lydia walking over with a smile and an irritated Allison following her. 

"Are you friends with Lydia?" Boyd asked as he saw Lydia waving at them, Tristan, with a smile on her face. 

"No." Tristan denied immediately. "She's… complicated." She really was a bother, surprisingly more so than Allison used to be. 

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