"So, what do you have to tell us?" Chris asked Trevor.
Trevor froze in that moment. He stared at Chris, thinking of the best way to say it — but he was interrupted by Kate, who reloaded her weapon and walked toward the unconscious Derek and Scott.
"This isn't the time for that. We've got two more here to deal with."
"No!" Trevor exclaimed, stepping into Kate's path.
"What are you doing, kid? Get out of my way."
Kate tried to push past him, but Trevor wouldn't let her, staying firmly in her way.
"We're going to follow the code. And I say these two are innocent."
Kate was about to snap back, but Chris intervened before anything could happen.
"The kid's right. We should follow the code."
He stared at Kate, stopping her from acting, then glanced at Melissa, who was already showing signs of waking up.
"We've got a civilian here. We need to get her out before she wakes up."
"Chris, think for a second. We have two unconscious werewolves right here!" Kate protested.
"No. We're following the code. I'll let everyone know to come here — we've got a trail on the alpha, and we can't waste time with this squabbling."
Then he continued, "As for the woman, we'll take her to the station. We'll say we found her unconscious. And the two werewolves — we'll take advantage of the fact that they're out cold and bring them in for questioning. Does that sound fair?"
Chris looked at Kate and Trevor, waiting.
"I'll take them. They'll die if they don't get proper treatment," Trevor said.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Kate snapped.
"Where do you want to take them?" Chris asked.
"I know a guy who can help. But you need to trust me."
Chris looked directly at Trevor, weighing whether to let the kid do what he wanted or to refuse — but as if one image had overlaid itself onto the boy in front of him, Chris saw the face of a younger Lucius Belmont.
"Alright. Do you know how to drive?"
"What's going on in your head, Chris? You're making nothing but bad choices!" Kate exploded.
"I know what I'm doing," Chris answered firmly.
"Won't you be stranded without a car?" Trevor asked.
"No. I already called other hunters to come here. I'll catch a ride with them. Come on, I'll help you get them into the truck."
Chris said this as he walked toward the bodies of Derek and Scott, already shifted back to human form. The problem was that Chris hadn't seen who the werewolves were. He'd already suspected one of them was Derek Hale, but when he got closer and saw that one of the werewolves was Scott McCall — the boy who was dating his daughter, the one he'd invited to dinner at his house — he didn't like it one bit.
"What is he doing here?!" Chris demanded, his voice thick with anger.
"Look, I know you're angry…" Trevor began.
"Trevor, this is my daughter's boyfriend! What if something had happened? He could have killed her!"
"Scott's not like that. He wouldn't do that."
Chris stared deep into Trevor's eyes.
"You're not the least bit surprised. You knew about this?"
Trevor didn't answer. He lowered his gaze, avoiding Chris's eyes.
"You knew and you didn't tell me?"
"Look, I know this looks bad, but we can talk about it later. We have to get them out of here."
Chris couldn't believe what he was seeing. A moment ago, he had been trusting Trevor, believing he should give the kid a chance — but now that trust had crumbled. Trevor had known about Scott and hadn't told him. If something had happened to Alisson… no, he didn't want to think about that now.
Chris looked at Trevor again and said, his voice low and grim, "We'll talk about this later. For now, let's get them to the car."
Kate said nothing, but a small smile stayed on her face — she hid it the moment Chris looked at her, while she thought, That's it, Belmont. Dig yourself a grave. Soon enough you'll have no one left to trust.
Trevor picked up Scott and carried him to the car, while Chris lifted Derek and placed him in the back seat as well. Chris grabbed the keys, handed them to Trevor, and said, "Return it when you're done," then turned to check on Melissa without even looking Trevor in the eye.
Trevor felt a weight in his chest. Over the past two days, he had lost the trust of countless people. He had disappointed them, but he couldn't have done anything — or at least, he hadn't been able to see another way out. It was the burden of knowing too much. When you know things you shouldn't, you carry a responsibility, and Trevor had thought he could bear that responsibility lightly, but now he felt it heavier than ever.
He stopped thinking about it. He had to get to Deaton's clinic. In fact, he needed to call Deaton — at this hour of the night, it was very unlikely Deaton would be there.
Trevor grabbed his phone while driving and made an urgent call.
"Pick up, pick up," he muttered, listening to the phone ring until finally a sleepy voice came through on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Deaton, it's me, Trevor. I need you to come to the clinic. Derek and Scott have been hurt and they need help."
"What?! What happened?" Deaton answered, the sounds of someone scrambling to get up coming from the other side of the line.
"It's too much to explain over the phone. Just listen to me: I need you to go to the clinic right now. I'm on my way there with them unconscious in the car."
"Alright. I'll be there in five minutes," Deaton said hurriedly.
"Okay. See you there," Trevor replied, hanging up.
"Uhh…"
Trevor heard the sound coming from the back seat.
"Mom!"
Scott shouted as he woke up, the shock making Trevor lose control of the car for a few seconds before he quickly tightened his grip on the wheel and steadied the vehicle.
"Are you trying to kill us?!" Trevor shouted back.
"Where's my mom?!" Scott asked again.
"She's fine. She's being taken to the station and then to the hospital."
Trevor answered while glancing in the rearview mirror and seeing Scott, still agitated, lean back against the seat.
"What the… argh…"
Scott groaned in pain, mostly from the battle wounds that hadn't healed.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"I'm taking you to someone who can treat both of you."
When Trevor said "both," Scott finally noticed Derek beside him, with a large wound across his chest.
"Derek!" he exclaimed.
"Careful with him. He's in worse shape than you."
Trevor kept his eyes fixed on the road. There was something relaxing about driving — it seemed to muffle all thoughts, and in that moment, Trevor needed a break from everything running through his mind.
As silence settled in the car, Scott also stayed quiet, replaying everything that had happened in his head. All the memories from the last few hours — and even from the days closer to the full moon — seemed hazy. The last few hours had been a mountain of emotions: enduring the moon's influence, having his mother kidnapped, being forced to follow Peter, fighting Trevor…
"Argh." Just remembering that fight made his body ache.
"Are you okay?" Trevor asked, looking at Scott through the rearview mirror.
"The best I can be," Scott replied as the car fell silent again.
"I'm sorry," Trevor said suddenly.
"Huh?" Scott responded.
"I'm sorry for everything. I should have trusted you. If I had, maybe none of this would have happened…"
Scott remained silent after that, reflecting, until finally he asked, "You knew the alpha was Peter?"
"Yes," Trevor answered honestly.
That caught Scott off guard. He grew angry at Trevor, thinking, He could have done something. He could have dealt with Peter. He…
Scott clenched his fists in rage.
No…
He was angry at Trevor, yes, but as he reflected, he realized he was angrier at himself. He had felt powerless against Peter. Powerless, unable to do anything to save his own mother.
Scott said nothing to Trevor. They spent the rest of the drive in silence.
Realizing his apology hadn't had the effect he'd hoped for, Trevor decided to stay quiet. There wasn't much he could do now.
A few minutes later, Trevor and Scott saw the clinic approaching.
Meanwhile, in the forest near Beacon Hills…
Peter ran through the woods, no longer concerned about being followed by the hunters. The place he was heading — only someone who knew about it would find the way.
Emma lay over Peter's shoulder, being carried. She felt her hand burning with pain, her regeneration trying to close the wound but failing because of the wolfsbane.
Peter finally stopped when he reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. At the center of that clearing stood an enormous, severed tree trunk.
"Are we here, sir?" Emma asked.
Peter didn't answer her. He walked slowly toward the tree trunk.
"Nemeton," he murmured, his voice low, carrying something more in its tone.
"Huh? Where are we?" Emma asked.
Peter still didn't speak to her. He took her off his shoulder and sat her down on the tree stump, looking at her with something like pity as he observed her hand wounded by the arrow poisoned with wolfsbane.
"I'm sorry, dear. It's not me… it's you."
Emma didn't have time to react. Peter drove his claws through her stomach.
She tried to breathe but couldn't. She felt a sharp pain, and in her last moments of agony, she asked, "Why? I always took care of you…"
She died at Peter's hands, her blood spilling over the Nemeton.
"My revenge is more important than you, Emma. You were useful while you served me."
Peter hadn't hesitated because of who Emma was. She had indeed taken care of him when he was in a catatonic state, but that was her job, and she was only loyal to him not out of love or trust, but because she was afraid of him. And, as he had said, he only had room in his mind for revenge. Now that his plan had failed, he would resort to plan B.
A mist rose around the clearing. A dark mist emerged from within the Nemeton and entered through Peter's nostrils. An intense pain covered his entire body, but the only thing that escaped his mouth was laughter. It was a mere sting compared to everything he had already suffered.
"Hahahaha! First it'll be you, Kate. Then it'll be the Belmont's turn. There's no way to stop me now."
The mist grew thicker, so dense that Peter could no longer be seen. Only his laughter could be heard.
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Hey everyone, how's it going? Chronos here.
I need to take a break from the story for a while. Some things have happened in my life that will prevent me from continuing to write right now.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you've given me. I don't know when I'll be back yet, but you can be sure that when I do, this story will be finished.