CHAPTER 6

CLASS HAD JUST BEGUN and Rosyln was already bored. Her books were neatly set aside on her table as she waited for her teacher to get on with it. The night before had been- fun- in want of another word. Finn has not reacted badly to the news but had not reacted the way she wanted him to. He had been, excited? Excited that he had power, that she understood-but excited to be hunted down because of that power? Now, that was confusing to her, Or maybe she'd just taken it the wrong way.

"You can't tell anyone" She'd made him promise. And by anyone she meant anyone. The girl had left out the Liam Dunbar bits of the story. She figured the boy could tell Finn when he was ready, it wasn't her place. Finn had promised to do some research for both of them, beginning with the information she had given him. Rosyln trusted him, he was smart enough to figure out what they were.

The bell rang and her eyes refocused. The teacher walked to her desk, looking at her register. "Has anyone seen Stiles, Lydia or Kira today?"

Nobody answered.

The teacher looked at a girl in the middle of the class. "Malia? Any idea where your friends are?"

"I could try catching their scent?" She said, completely serious. Rosyln stifled a laugh. She'd always thought Malia was a bit... well, Odd. But when Stiles told her she had been a Coyote for almost eight years, the image came together a bit easier. Now, she sympathized with the girl, it sounded like she didn't have it easy.

"Right..." the teacher sighed. "How about I just mark them down as absent?" She looked Malia up and down and then began to scribble in her notebook.

"Okay everyone, let's begin with last night's homework!" The teacher announced. Of course, Rosyln had completed the assignment while a killer chased her brother and her around the halls. These were really great times for school and education.

From where Rosyln sat, she saw Malia pack her bags and get up to leave. The teacher stopped her at her desk. "Malia? Do you need to be excused from class?"

This was meant to be taken sarcastically but Malia was Malia so.... "yeah" she said as she shook her head like it was a stupid form of a question. The teacher only looked at her.

Shortly after, Rosyln's books were in her bag. She wasn't sure why because Malia didn't know her all too well but she found herself making her way to the top of the class without hesitation. Rosyln wasn't one for rebellions but taking Malia's lead, she followed.

"Miss Marie?! Where do you think you're going?!"

"Uh, out of class- bye!"

It hadn't been as smooth or comical as Malia's but her teacher hadn't stopped her which wasn't a bad thing, she supposed. She followed Malia until the girl stopped abruptly. Rosyln spotted a man standing at the top of the stairs and decided it was better to hide. She recognized him.- But from where? He was still in the shadows slightly, but once he began to walk forward she got a clear view of his face.

Derek Hale, from the animal clinic. Stiles hadn't told her much about him but she did know that he was a werewolf. Hidden behind a pillar, she tried to listen but couldn't hear them very well.

Malia looked him up and down. "What are you doing here?"

Derek held something in his hands. It looked like a jersey of some sort and he waved it around in one hand as he spoke. "Bretts still out of it. I need to find his pack and warn them about the Dead pool."

"So what do you need me for?" Malia asked.

Derek stepped forward. "I know a little something about his pack. They have a kind of secret meeting place in the woods. No one's spent more time in the woods of beacon hills than you." Derek said. "This is Brett's," He told the girl throwing a green Davenford prep jersey to Malia. "Breathe it in"

"I-I'm not good at that yet." Malia defended as she caught the piece of clothing.

"Try it," Derek said seriously. "I'll teach you". Malia slowly brought the t-shirt to her nose. "Focus on the different scents. Some are tied to identity. Others give off an emotion"

Malia lifted her head but then immediately averted her eyes from Derek and to Rosyln's chosen hiding place. The girl's eyes narrowed. Malia walked forward rapidly and looked behind the pillar only to find a rather chubby rabbit. "The hell?" Malia questioned, picking the animal up by its neck fat. She turned to look at Derek. "A rabbit? Huh, nice". The girl slowly brought Rosyln closer to her mouth. Two seconds later and Malia was thrown halfway across the room by Rosyln's powerful transformation.

Derek looked confused. Malia just looked peed off. Her claws extended and she approached. "Who are you?!"

Rosyln put her hands up. "I followed you, that's it. I want to help"

"Prove it!" Malia seethed as her eyes glowed a powerful baby blue.

The girl turned to Derek who she hoped remembered her. "Shit, Derek, do something!"

He put his hand over Malia's clawed-out one. "It's okay, she helped with Brett, we can trust her"

|| SATOMI'S PACK ||
|| SATOMI'S PACK ||

THE WOODS WERE BRIGHT and lively, especially considering that the last time Rosyln had been there, it had been dark and she, alone. Derek had parked his car at the side of the road and both he and Malia jumped out quickly. Rosyln followed but a tad slower.

Derek spoke up. "Their Alpha is a woman named Satomi. She's one of the oldest werewolves alive and she's learned a lot."

Malia walked one side of Derek as Rosyln trotted on his other side. Malia turned to him, her brows close together. "What does that mean?"

"She's a bitten werewolf." He sighed.

Rosyln had to say, she was learning about all this supernatural stuff super fast considering she had only found out less than a week ago. A lot of terms were still unfamiliar but she was getting there. "Learning control wasn't easy for her. She did something a long time ago that changed her."

Rosyln did know what he was talking about but didn't ask. She felt somewhat, awkward between the two. Derek continued. "The quote is a mantra. It helps them with control"

Rosyln nodded along. Everything was interesting to her even if was old news to them. Malia stopped suddenly and looked around.

"What is it?" Derek asked also stopping.

"Gunpowder" she replied and then stepped forward, looking at the ground. Derek knelt down and scanned the forest floor. Ros wondered why Derek, a werewolf, needed another supernatural creature to help him. There must be more to the story than Rosie was getting.

His hand went out and he picked up a gun shell. "If brett's pack is out here, I don't think they're meeting. They're hiding"

|| SATOMI'S PACK ||
|| SATOMI'S PACK ||

THE DARKNESS AROUND the car surrounded them. The sun had long gone down and only moonlight was left to guide them. Rosyln sat in the back, her entire body stretched across all three seats. She felt useless. Derek and Malia in the front had been chatting about Satomi's pack for a while and hadn't come to any conclusions. Rosyln's theory's hadn't been much help either. She knew nothing about werewolves and their habits or habitats.

"I'm sorry," Malia said as she settled into her seat properly.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. If they don't want to be found then we're not going to find them. Some werewolves have an ability, a kind of mastery over their bodies, where they can actually inhibit their scent"

"They can hide from other werewolves?"

"From anyone who's trynna find them," he answered.

"So that's why nobody knew about Brett"

"Same with Demarco"

Rosyln sat in the back staring at the car's ceiling. She was thinking about her. If werewolves had all these other things they could do, what else could she do? How far did her shifting abilities go? Now wasn't the time, but she felt the urge to try some of them out. Not that she could control it or anything. She thought that Malia might still be upset about the rabbit incident.

"Maybe we need to try something different" Malia offered. Rosyln sat up and poked her head through the seats. "Maybe we need to think like Stiles"

"Like a... hyperactive spaz?" Derek said and Rosyln snorted.

"Like a detective," She said. "If they're really Buddhists, then maybe instead of asking where werewolves hide, we should be asking..."

"Where would Buddhists hide," Rosyln said, finishing Malia's sentence. She hadn't spoken since they'd left the school building. Each time she opened her mouth, Malia had cut in and after a while, she had given up.

"When Buddha sat under the Bishop tree, he looked to the east for enlightenment." Derek began.

"Is there some kind of eastern point in Beacon Hills?" Malia asked.

"Yeah. A lookout point"

Derek started the ignition and the car began to stroll down the road. The journey was mostly silent until Malia turned her head into the backseats where Rosyln was, again, spread across the backseat. Rosyln looked at her confused. "So, you some kind of were rabbit? Is that a thing?"

Ros sat up. "Uh, I don't think so, No"

"Oh" She replied innocently. "What are you?"

Rosyln leaned back in her seat, resting her head against either of her arms."If you find an answer, it'd benefit me a great deal, because I haven't got a clue " Rosyln told her, grinning.

Malia looked confused. "So you can turn into a rabbit but you don't know what you are. Sounds like a were rabbit to me"

"I can promise you, even if they are a thing which I hope they're not because that would be so sad, I am definitely not a were rabbit"

"Okay" Malia replied as she shrugged her shoulders.

Derek braked and the car stopped. The trio hopped out and followed Derek to the lookout point. It was something of a cliff that overlooked the entirety of beacon hills. Rosyln found it fascinating that she had never once been up there, having lived her last and only, seventeen years in the town. Malia stopped suddenly and put both of her hands out to stop the two on either side from going any further.

"What's wrong?" Rosyln asked, worried.

"You don't smell that?"

"Well no, I can't-"

"Wait for me," Derek whispered as he walked past Malia and Rosyln. "Right here" he walked away further into the woods as Rosyln took a seat on a large, dry rock. She looked at her feet for something to do as she waited but when she looked up Malia had already begun walking again.

"Malia!" She whisper-shouted. "Derek said to wait- Ah fuck it!"

Rosyln followed Malia until they reached Derek. The three stood in a large clearing where the trees were spaced apart graciously. Leaves were scattered across the ground which prevented anyone from seeing the actual muddy floor. Body after body littered the area, all scattered inconsistently. Some were supported by each other and lay upright, back to back, while others were hung from trees or sprawled facedown across the ground. It was horrific and Rosyln wondered how she managed to remotely hide her petrified scream. It was like nothing she had ever seen in her life. Life was just meaningless to some people. As her eyes scanned the empty, 'void of all happiness' faces, her words were eaten up by a lump in her throat.

Malia, too, scanned the area. "What happened?"  She whispered sorrowfully.

"They might have been poisoned" Derek muttered.

"That's great. If assassins with guns don't get you, then the ones with wolfsbane poison will or maybe the ones with no mouth" Malia chirped sarcastically.

Don't forget a thermo-cut wire disguised as a necklace, Rosyln thought although she couldn't bring herself to say it. Suddenly she wretched and vomited to the side. She couldn't handle seeing this much death again. Not this soon after Demarco. She felt a gentle hand on her back from Derek as the last of her lunch made its way up.

"Maybe, we should all be running from Beacon Hills. Running for our lives. As fast as we can" Malia observed. Dully and inwardly, Rosyln agreed still hunched over. What was the point in fighting all these different things if all they did was for nothing? The way Stiles had described and retold all his supernatural anecdotes made her wonder, how many more times could things like this happen before eventually, there was no one else to stop them?

Putting her head down and her words deeper, the girl turned and began to walk the other way. Rosyln stopped unexpectedly, as did Malia when they heard rapid footsteps in the opposite direction. Spinning around, they caught sight of Derek approaching a figure on the ground. She was covered in blood but her hand slowly raised itself into the air. The woman was alive.

|| SATOMI'S PACK ||
|| SATOMI'S PACK ||