"What a mess."
It was the only thought running through Trevor's mind. Over the past few days, most of his plans had crumbled — Derek and Scott no longer trusted him, he hadn't managed to find Peter in time to stop him from kidnapping Scott's mother, he hadn't been able to keep Derek from siding with Peter, and as if that weren't enough, Peter had forced Scott to join him, forming a complete pack right before his eyes, which meant their strength would now increase exponentially.
"Well, look at that. The Belmont decided to join us. Though you weren't part of my plans, the sooner I deal with a loose end like you, the better."
Peter turned to Scott with a smile.
"Why don't we test your loyalty, Scott? Fight Trevor."
Scott's eyes went wide, and he stared at Peter.
"I can't…"
He never got the chance to finish. Peter raised one finger, and Emma — still holding Scott's mother by the hair — brought one claw close to Melissa's neck and made a small cut, just enough for a single drop of blood to trickle down.
Scott clenched his fists even tighter.
"I'll do it."
He turned to face Trevor. Despite everything that had happened, he didn't want to fight him, but he had no other choice now.
"I'm sorry," Scott murmured, one last attempt to ask forgiveness for what he was about to do.
"Don't be sorry, Scott. I'm the one who's sorry for what's going to happen."
Trevor held no anger toward Scott. In the short time they'd known each other, he had grown to like that friendship. It was a shame that, after everything, he couldn't say whether they could still consider each other friends.
"That's a dirty move, Peter. Can't form a pack on your own, so you have to threaten someone to join?"
Trevor gripped the Vampire Killer in his right hand. This would be the first time he'd seriously used the weapon since undergoing the ritual and fighting his own ancestor.
Peter snarled in rage.
"Attack him, Scott."
Scott had no choice but to charge at Trevor. Although they'd fought a few times before, it had almost always been in training, and Scott had never experienced facing a Trevor who was giving it everything he had — nor had he ever seen him use that whip. Something about the weapon unsettled him, a gnawing sensation as if his most primal instincts were screaming at him to be careful and not let it touch him.
Scott never even got the chance to get close. Trevor began swinging the whip rapidly, aiming at his legs and keeping him from advancing. Scott tried to dodge as much as he could, but he couldn't fully avoid it. With every crack of the whip, wounds opened on his legs — a throbbing pain that, no matter how hard his healing factor tried, seemed unwilling to close.
Scott thought fast and attempted the only thing that came to mind: grabbing the whip to disarm Trevor. But the instant he tried to seize it, he felt a searing pain, as if his skin were burning just from touching the weapon. He couldn't keep his grip and had to let go.
Trevor laughed at the attempt and, deciding to end things quickly, used the whip to yank one of Scott's legs out from under him, throwing him off balance and sending him to the ground.
Peter watched everything, analyzing Trevor's fighting style, preparing for a possible confrontation. When he saw that Scott hadn't held up, he felt disappointed — but what could one expect from a clash between a Belmont, however young, and a newly turned beta who hadn't even reached the full hybrid form yet?
"You too, Derek," Peter ordered after a moment of reflection. He had realized that Trevor didn't want to kill, only incapacitate, and decided to use that to his advantage, extracting more information about his opponent's fighting style.
Derek didn't react right away. He paused for a moment, his eyes falling on Scott lying on the ground, and then he charged at Trevor. Unfortunately for him, his full hybrid form was too large, making it harder to dodge the whip strikes, but in return, he was fast enough to penetrate Trevor's defense — partly because he was fully transformed, and partly because of the newfound strength he'd gained from joining Peter's pack. Remembering that detail left a bitter taste in Derek's mouth.
Trevor managed to open a few wounds on Derek, but soon realized he was closing the distance and breaking through his defenses. He had to change his approach: he couldn't fight an experienced, fully transformed werewolf the same way he'd fought Scott. He took a step back and began attacking Derek mercilessly, even slashing an X-shaped gash across his chest, continuing to strike while keeping his distance and exploiting the full reach of the whip.
Meanwhile, Scott had been down since he was knocked over, lying there trying to go unnoticed. He didn't want to keep fighting — both because of the wounds that wouldn't heal and because he had no will to continue. Unfortunately, Peter noticed. The alpha let out a howl and, using his power, spurred Scott's werewolf side to take over and obey.
"Attack, Scott!" Peter roared after the howl.
Scott had no choice anymore. He stood up and joined Derek in the attack, trying to flank Trevor, who remained alert and managed to keep him at a safe distance, but with each passing second, he was getting more cornered by the two of them and decided to put an end to the fight.
Scott attacked from the right, and Trevor stepped back, wrapped the whip around his opponent's arm, and used the momentum of the movement to hurl him into Derek. Derek escaped, but Scott was thrown against a tree, hitting it hard and collapsing to the ground.
Derek, seizing the moment, went for a risky attack, throwing everything he had at Trevor. With nowhere to run, Trevor resorted to what he had learned from Mr. Hans: he couldn't match the brute strength of a fully transformed werewolf, but he could use his experience in hand-to-hand combat. Seeing Derek closing in with a claw strike, Trevor shifted his center of gravity and prepared a suplex, ducking to evade the direct attack — though the claws tore through the flesh of his back, Trevor endured the pain — then grabbed Derek by the waist, using the momentum to lift him off the ground and slam him down. Derek's head struck the ground hard, and combined with the wounds he already had, the impact was enough to knock him unconscious.
Trevor wiped the sweat from his forehead. Fighting two werewolves was exhausting. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the whip. It's almost over, he repeated in his mind, then lifted his gaze and stared into Peter's glowing red eyes.
"Is that all you know how to do? Send your betas to attack me? The alpha who's been terrorizing this town is nothing but a little dog with his tail between his legs?"
He used those few seconds to catch his breath. Peter grew irritated at the provocation, but instead of attacking, he decided to act differently.
"Put that weapon down, Belmont. You may have defeated Scott and Derek, but don't forget — you're the one at a disadvantage here."
He pointed at Melissa, still held unconscious by Emma, who caught the cue and slightly deepened the wound on the hostage's neck, sending a silent message.
Trevor gripped the whip tighter. He needed to make a decision. He knew they weren't bluffing: they would kill Melissa, and he wouldn't be able to stop them in time with the whip. He also didn't know if he could keep fighting an alpha and a beta, both fully transformed. He felt his breathing grow more controlled. He knew that at some point he would have to make a difficult choice — he just hadn't imagined it would be so soon. He made his decision: he would fight, even if it cost Scott's mother her life.
Without Trevor noticing, the ring he had received from Alucard glowed faintly on his finger, and in that instant, an arrow cut through the woods and buried itself in Emma's arm.
"Argh!" she screamed in pain and, by instinct, let go of Melissa.
Trevor looked back. There stood Chris, crossbow in hand, already reloaded and ready to fire again. Behind him, Kate appeared with a macabre smile on her face — like someone who had wandered a long time through the desert and had just found water.
"Look what we found, Chris. A whole pack and the alpha. This is our chance!" Kate said, her voice vibrating with excitement.
"Calm down. We're not sure about the others, but the alpha isn't innocent."
Chris kept the crossbow raised and turned to Trevor.
"Are you okay, kid? I thought I told you to stay home."
"I'm not very good with orders. The alpha and the other beta are enemies. The others are innocent."
"Don't give me that, kid. There's no such thing as innocent. They're uncontrolled beasts!" Kate shot back, raising her pistol and preparing to fire at the alpha.
Trevor said nothing more. He wouldn't interfere regarding the alpha. But if Kate tried to attack the others, then there would be a problem.
Peter, realizing he was at a disadvantage, analyzed his options. He was cornered. He wouldn't be able to beat three experienced hunters at once. He made a decision, grabbing Emma — who was still recovering from the arrow — and bolting into the woods. Her wound wasn't healing normally; she'd been hit by an arrow coated in wolfsbane, which hindered regeneration and would make healing much slower.
Kate tried to stop them with a few pistol shots, but she couldn't land a hit. It was night, Peter had already gained distance, and shooting from afar with a pistol was ineffective — especially against a werewolf's heightened senses. Chris, unlike his sister, aimed with his crossbow and managed to graze Peter's stomach, opening a wound. Still, Peter didn't stop. As he ran toward his backup plan, his mind boiled: This is all the Belmont's fault. If I'd taken him out without giving him time to breathe, I wouldn't be at such a disadvantage. He ran as far as he could, deep into the forest.
In front of the Hale house, silence fell heavy again.
"Damn it," Kate muttered, realizing she had emptied her magazine trying to hit Peter on the move.
"I managed to graze him. If the girl doesn't get treated soon, she won't make it. Maybe forty-eight hours," Chris assessed, still staring into the forest in the direction Peter had fled. Then he turned to Trevor. "You've got a lot of questions to answer."