( EIGHTEEN )
maid of gevaudan

Alex, Stiles, Lucas, and Hayden stumbled into Beacon Hills High School, an incredibly injured Liam limply between Alex and Stiles as the two dragged him inside.

The group came to a sudden stop as a mass amount of students ran out in front of them, all of them screaming in fear and trying to desperately escape the beast that roared a fair distance away from them.

Sharing quick glances, Alex, Stiles, Lucas, and Hayden carried on, Lucas opening the door to an empty classroom as they all ran inside, Alex and Stiles releasing Liam and lying him down on a desk.

Liam yelled in pain as they did so, Alex wincing at the sight. "Sorry, Liam!"

Liam groaned again as he released pained pants.

"Okay, okay." Stiles reassured the boy.

"Liam?!" Hayden exclaimed panically at the sight of her boyfriend in such a painful state.

"I'm okay, I'm fine!" Liam groaned again, Lucas frowning a little as he pulled apart Liam's jersey, revealing three deep, bloody scratches in his stomach.

Hayden and Stiles almost gagged at the sight, Alex and Lucas widening their eyes at the injury.

"What?" Liam panted as he glanced between the group. "Is it bad?"

"No!"

"Very."

Stiles and Hayden spoke at the same time, Hayden trying to reassure her boyfriend, while Stiles went with the truth.

Stiles and Hayden shared frowns at each other's conflicting responses.

"Liam, just look at me." Alex started, the girl catching Liam's attention. "You're going to be fine, alright?"

Liam just panted as he glanced at Alex, his eyes slightly widening in fear.

Alex noticed the expression, the girl's eyebrows raising as she added. "No, no, no, none of that. We're not gonna panic right now Liam, you need to stay calm, okay?"

"Alex I- I can't!" Liam just released a pained whimper as his gaze remained on Alex.

"Staying calm, Liam." Alex nodded slowly as she tried calming Liam down a little. "It won't hurt as much if you stay calm, trust me."

The boy hesitated for a moment before quickly nodding at Alex's words, letting them sink in.

"Okay, good, that's good." Alex reassuringly nodded once again.

"What do you guys usually do when this happens?" Hayden questioned, her tone full of alarm as she glanced between Alex, Stiles, and Lucas, Liam releasing a cough as he groaned in pain again, the boy squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he did so.

"Uh, Alex does that, I usually pass out...and I think I still...might do that..." Stiles hesitated as he tried not to look at Liam's deep wound.

As Stiles' eyes reverted to the wound, he felt himself grow slightly lightheaded, the boy widening his eyes a little at the sight.

"Stiles, please try not to faint right now." Lucas exasperatedly glanced at Stiles from his position next to Alex and Hayden.

"Okay, okay." Stiles hurriedly nodded as he tried to focus. "Scott did this with pain, he could trigger it. Pain makes you human."

"He's already in pain!" Hayden infuriatingly yelled at him.

"Right, okay, but maybe adding a little more can help take away the pain." Stiles suggested with raised eyebrows, Alex nodding at the words.

Liam yelled loudly as he tried sitting up, Hayden frowning as she helped him. "Hey, stay with me."

As Liam glanced at her, Hayden pulled him into a longing kiss, the girl beginning to take his pain as black veins appeared on her face, Liam's pain transferring to her through the kiss.

Stiles, Alex, and Lucas widened their eyes as they watched the sight, Stiles glancing at Alex as he remembered the time she took his pain before the whole 'vault' ordeal.

Hayden and Liam slowly pulled away, Liam releasing breaths as he slowly laid back down on the table, his pain reducing slightly.

"Okay, next time I'll kiss him." Stiles spoke sarcastically, Alex huffing a chuckle as she glanced at the boy, Lucas smirking at the joke.

Suddenly, the sound of Scott's growling alarmed Alex and Lucas, the two turning to glance at the door at the sound.

Without a warning, Alex quickly ran out, Stiles widening his eyes at her hurried actions. "Alex, wait!"

Stiles almost followed after her, Lucas grabbing his arm roughly and pulling him back as he did so. "No, dude, you can't go after her."

Stiles frowned at Lucas. "She could die if she goes after that thing, what do you expect me to do?!"

"Nothing. Alex can handle herself. Plus, she's got Scott with her. No offence man, but you're no match for that thing." Lucas raised his eyebrows, his grip on Stiles' arm tightening as he prevented Stiles from blindly following after Alex. "And if she comes back to your mangled corpse, I'll never hear the end of it."

Stiles' frown deepened as he hesitated for a moment, the boy rethinking Lucas' words and realising he was right.

Stiles angrily tore his arm away from Lucas and walked a little further away from the group, the boy taking a moment to distract himself from the thought of what Alex could possibly go through at that moment.

••••

Alex turned the corner, the girl widening her eyes as she came face to face with the beast, the creature a fair distance away from her, its large canines baring angrily, and its eyes glowing a blinding white shade.

"Oh fuck." Alex whispered under her breath as she suddenly felt her heartbeat involuntarily quicken out of nerves. "Here goes nothing."

Turning into her werewolf form, Alex roared loudly, her eyes turning a yellow-gold colour, and her claws shooting out from her fingertips.

The beast growled in response, beginning to quickly charge at Alex.

Growling again, Alex ran towards it, the girl jumping up high and quickly clawing at its eyes violently, the creature roaring in agony as it stumbled back out of shock.

Alex took advantage of this, the girl using her enchanted strength to aggressively kick its stomach, sending the beast flying into the opposite wall and cracking the bricks.

Alex snarled as she advanced forward, the girl not expecting the beast to regain its footing that quickly as she stumbled backwards in fear, the beast roaring loudly as it ran towards her.

Not getting the chance to attack it first, Alex was met with a jarring scratch to the side of her neck, the girl yelling in pain as she felt blood already emit from the wound, the girl growling at the beast again as she tried to hold onto her strength, despite the immense pain coming from her neck.

The beast roared even louder as it sunk its teeth into Alex's shoulder, the girl crying out in agony at the action.

She could feel herself begin to turn back to normal, the girl managing to use enough strength to punch the beast's face violently as her werewolf features quickly shifted back into her human ones, the girl involuntarily turning back to normal as the beast snarled in pain, the creature pulling away from her as it stumbled back.

Alex took the opportunity to run, despite the blood trickling out of her shoulder and neck.

She panted as she reached a corner, the girl releasing breaths as she stumbled, her back hitting the wall for stability.

Alex groaned in pain as she glanced down at her shoulder, her jacket now torn up, the sight of the beast's large bite mark on her skin making the unbearable agony even worse.

She moved her trembling hand to rest on it, the girl hissing at the pain and immediately taking her—now bloody hand—off her shoulder at the feeling.

Alex winced as she gently touched her neck, more blood coating the same hand as she did so.

This was so much worse than a normal werewolf attack.

Usually, she'd heal much quicker, although this werewolf was significantly bigger, and stronger.

"Fuck!" Alex groaned as she took her hand off her neck and rested her head against the wall, her eyes briefly closing for a moment as she allowed herself to process her pain, the girl releasing involuntary pants as she did so.

Too consumed by her pain to notice, Alex didn't realise Scott approached her, the boy catching her attention as he widened his eyes. "Alex!"

Alex's eyes snapped open as she met Scott's worried gaze, the girl trying to remain calm as she spoke between breaths. "Oh...hey Scott."

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Scott exclaimed, his gaze reverting to her injuries. "Oh my god, that's bad. You won't heal for awhile."

"First of all, I'm helping you." Alex panted, the girl trying to ignore the pain as she distracted herself by keeping her gaze on Scott. "Obviously."

"Alex." Scott sent her a brief glare at her sarcastic tone, despite the events currently occurring.

"Second, I'll heal just fine." Alex continued, her light-hearted tone shifting into one of seriousness as she understood that humour wasn't everyone else's method of coping in serious situations.

Alex furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed Scott's jersey torn up in a few places, blood trickling down his arm. "Looks like it got you too."

Scott glanced down at his arm before shifting his gaze back to Alex. "I thought you were with Stiles, Lucas, and Liam."

"I was." Alex nodded as she released a pained groan, Scott's worried gaze shifting into one of concern at the action. "I thought I could help you instead, considering Stiles, Lucas, and Hayden have Liam handled."

"Hayden?" Scott's eyes widened at the words. "And what do you mean 'have Liam handled'?!"

"Doesn't matter, can we just go?!" Alex exclaimed as she groaned again. "We need to heal, and the beast is probably coming after us right now."

Scott nodded, the boy wrapping his arm around her waist as he helped her up. "Let's go."

The two began to run towards another corridor, Scott's arm still around Alex's waist as the two held onto each other for stability, Alex noticing an open classroom just ahead of them. "Scott, in there."

Scott followed her gaze, the boy nodding as him and Alex hurried into the classroom, the two breaking away from each other as Scott leant his back against the door securely, the boy holding the sides of the wall to stabilise himself.

Alex crouched underneath one of the desks to prevent her from being seen—although she knew the werewolf could still catch her scent, especially considering all the blood staining her neck, hand, and shoulder.

The sound of the beast prowling outside the classroom caught Scott and Alex's attention, the two widening their eyes as they shared terrified glances.

The beast's footsteps stopped right outside the classroom they were in, Alex squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she tried to force herself to heal faster.

A brief, eerily silent moment passed before the beast roared loudly, banging on the door and completely smashing the glass on top of it.

Alex widened her eyes as she witnessed the beast claw into Scott's shoulder tightly, Scott yelling in pain as the beast flung him outside the room.

"Scott, no!" Alex angrily yelled as she stood up, the girl groaning a little as she was still reeling from the previous attack she experienced from the beast moments before.

Groaning again, Alex forced herself to try and follow after him, the girl hesitating for a moment at the pain that shot through her neck and shoulder.

She needed to get back to Stiles, Lucas, Liam, and Hayden.

Scott could handle himself.

He was a true alpha, after all.

Releasing a determined yell, Alex forced herself to move, the girl stumbling into a run as she made her way back to the classroom she was in before.

••••

Alex stumbled into the classroom as she opened the door, Lucas, Stiles, Liam, and Hayden's attention immediately shifting to her as she did so.

Their eyes widened at the sight of her injuries, Stiles and Lucas running to her first as they guided her to another desk, Alex leaning against it as she took a minute to catch her breath, Liam and Hayden approaching her, too.

"Alex, what happened?!" Lucas exclaimed as he surveyed her shoulder and neck.

"The fucker got me." Alex panted as she glanced between the group. "But I'm healing. Slowly, albeit, but it's happening."

Stiles was beyond relieved she was okay, although he let his visible anger get the better of him as he glared at Alex. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

The whole group was taken aback by his reaction, a frown overtaking Alex's features as she glanced at him. "What?"

"You left, just like that!" Stiles yelled furiously. "You could've died, Alex! Do you get that?!"

"Of course I get that, but I had to help Scott." Alex responded, her frown deepening as she maintained her bewildered gaze on Stiles.

"You did the same thing back in Mexico!" Stiles exclaimed, his harsh gaze set on Alex as he continued his angry rant. "I get that you have a tendency to be selectively impulsive Alex, but you can't just throw yourself into any life or death situation like always, just because you wanna play the hero!"

Alex raised her eyebrows at his rant, the girl rendered completely speechless as she grew offended at the words.

He had never talked to her like that before—let alone, yelled.

Lucas and Liam widened their eyes as they glanced between Alex and Stiles, Hayden's eyebrows raising at Stiles' hurtful remarks.

Changing the subject, Lucas cleared his throat, the boy approaching his sister as he spoke up. "Alex, are you healing more?"

Alex sent a final glare towards Stiles before casting her attention towards her brother, the girl nodding as she spoke up. "Yeah, my strength is coming back."

Lucas nodded in relief. "Good."

Alex sent him a small, tight-lipped smile as Stiles' words flurried around her mind.

••••

AUTHOR'S NOTE

give alex a break challenge, go!

there's only two more chapters left until I finish writing season five :(

I have some interesting plans for season six, specifically alex's character, so stay tuned!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!