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EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

CHAPTER NINE

WHAT'S A WOLF TO DO

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A gunshot startled Meilani out of her sleep. Sitting up she moved the curtains aside and looked out to see if anyone was out there. When she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, she dropped the curtain back down to try and go back to sleep. It was two in the morning and Meilani was just happy she was able to have another four hours of sleep before she had to get ready for school.

Just as Meilani got comfortable again in bed, a loud howl that sounded a lot like Derek's caused her to scramble out of bed and grabbed the closest clothing items nearby. Which happened to be Stiles' lacrosse hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Running while trying to throw the both of the clothing items on, she tripped a few times but she eventually snuck out the front door and towards the sound of the howl.

A million different scenarios ran through Meilani's mind on what could be wrong with Derek. She wasn't too sure on how to fight yet so she didn't know how useful she would be to Derek. Meilani had to try though, especially now that they formed some kind of truce where he wouldn't kill her and she would try not to do anything stupid.

Meilani came to halt when she noticed Allison's father stepping out of his car and making his way over to a woman. She hid behind a trailer that was in front of her and stuck her head out a little to see what was going on.

"Get in," Chris ordered the woman, grabbing her arm and forcing her towards the car.

The woman in front of him ripped her arm out of his grip. "Not even a hello? Nice to see you?"

"All I've got at the moment is please put your salt rifle away before someone notices," Chris replied, looking around him to make sure no one lurked around.

"That's the brother I love," the woman scoffed, shaking her head. "Chris, there were two of them!"

"The Alpha?" Chris questioned, worry lacing his tone. Meilani wondered if they were related to each other if he was showing this much worry over the woman.

The woman sighed, running a hand through her curly, brown hair. "I don't know! One of them tried to kill me though."

"One of them will lead us to the other. He can't do that if he's dead," Chris snapped.

"Oh I'm sorry. I can't help kill one of them if it tries to kill me first," the woman countered.

Chris sighed, looking around them again as if he sensed Derek or Meilani were around. "How long is it gonna take?"

"I would give them forty eight hours," the woman replied, a smirk forming on her face. "If that." Without another word, she led Chris back over to the car so they could go back to the Argent's house.

Meilani's heart rate picked up as she leaned against the trailer. They had to be talking about her and Derek right? They're the only two wolves that Meilani knows of besides the alpha running around trying to find her. So now not only did she have two hunters after her, she also had the alpha coming for her.

Could this whole wolf thing get any worse?

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The next day, Meilani sat in class with Stiles and her brother. Meilani had just finished whispering to Stiles about what happened a few hours prior. Scott was sat in the desk next to his twin so the couple had to keep their voices extremely low so Scott wouldn't hear.

"So if Derek's not the Alpha or the one who bit you, then who did?" Stiles questioned.

"I don't know, Stiles," Meilani replied with sigh. Every time she thought something was going okay, a new issue seemed to pop up. Since she didn't know much about the whole being a wolf thing still, it was hard for her to even work out what was going on. She really wished there was a class on being a werewolf and what it entitles so she could stop being so damn confused all the time.

Stiles leaned back in his seat but quickly sprung back forward when another thought popped up. "Did the Alpha kill the bus driver?"

Meilani sighed and replied again with another "I don't know."

Stiles inwardly groaned and leaned back in his seat again. He softly tapped his pencil against his textbook in frustration. As another idea popped into his head, he tapped his girlfriend on the shoulder for a third time. "Does Allison's dad know about the Alpha?"

"I don't know!" Meilani yelled, causing the class to turn and look at her oddly. Scott raised an eyebrow at the couple but they both shot him an innocent smile. 

The teacher came around and passed Stiles and Meilani their tests. They both got an A as usual and high-fived each other. They were both determined to get all A's this semester so they could both have straight A's. It originally started out as a competition on who could get the higher GPA, but once they noticed it would be impossible since they both constantly got good grades, they changed it up.

Scott sighed when he got his test back and it had a huge D- minus in the top right corner.

"Scotty, mom's gonna kill you," Meilani commented which earned her a glare from him.

"Dude, you've gotta study more," Stiles added which earned him a frustrated groan from Scott. "It's a joke, Scott. It's one test and you can make it up. Do you want to study with Lani and I?"

Scott shook his head as he flipped his test over so he wouldn't have to look at the large D- anymore. "No, I'm actually studying with Allison tonight."

"That's my boy!" Stiles exclaimed, reaching across and patting Scott on the shoulder.

"We're just studying, Stiles," Scott said.

Stiles gaped at his best friend. What dude went to his girlfriend's house and actually studied? Him and Meilani certainly studied but they did take quite a few breaks. "Um, no you're not. I swear to God if you don't take advantage of this colossal opportunity I swear to God I will have you de-balled!"

"Alright! Just shut up okay?" Scott asked.

"Yeah and stop with the questions, okay?" Meilani whispered to her boyfriend. She hated that he asked her questions and she couldn't even answer them. It frustrated her to no end because she wanted to be able to give Stiles answers to ease the both of their worries, but she didn't have an answer. The lack of answers only made her more frustrated than she should be.

"Okay, fine, no more questions. No questions about the Alpha or Derek. Especially Derek, who still scares me."

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After school, Stiles lead Meilani over to her bike. Melissa needed the car that morning and since Scott was going to Allison's, Meilani was forced to take her bike. She could have easily called Stiles but it was too late to ask him to come when she had found out the car wasn't an option today.

"So I'll see you in a little bit, right?" Stiles asked, swinging the hand he was holding back and forth.

"I did promise I'd come by after mom and I eat dinner," Meilani replied, smiling softly at Stiles.

"I'll hold you to that then, Lani," Stiles leaned down and kissed Meilani softly on the lips. "I love you."

Meilani giggled and placed another kiss on Stiles' lips. "Love you too, dork."

Stiles squeezed Meilani's hand before he made his way over to his Jeep so he could head home.

Meilani turned and began to dig in her bag for the key to her lock. She glanced up when she heard the sound of Allison giggling. Scott and Allison walked hand in hand towards Allison's car. Meilani smiled as she watched the two flirt and talk with each other, completely happy and oblivious to the world around them. It was just a shame that Allison's father and aunt were now trying to kill her. Scott really knew how to pick them.

A loud honk caused Meilani to jump and she turned to see a huge line of cars behind Stiles' Jeep, which was sat right in the middle of the parking lot. She looked to the front of his Jeep to see Derek laid on the ground, looking pale and clammy.

"No no no, not here," Meilani whispered before rushing over to Stiles and Derek.

"You have got to be kidding me. This is guy is everywhere," Stiles groaned as Meilani approached his window.

"Stiles, what the hell?!" Meilani snapped before continuing over to Derek who looked like he could barely stay upright and breathing. She dropped down in front of Derek and checked him over, but didn't see any blood on him. "What are you doing here?"

Derek's breathing was shallow as he looked up at Meilani. "I was shot last night."

"He's not looking so good, babe," Stiles pointed out.

If Derek was shot last night, then he should be fine by now. His healing would have kicked in hours ago, if not a few minutes after he got shot. "Why aren't you healing?"

"I - I can't," Derek breathed, trying to catch his breath as best he could. It felt like he had run a 5K marathon over and over again. "I - it's a special kind of bullet."

"A silver bullet?!" Stiles exclaimed, knowing that silver bullets were what kryptonite was to Superman. Derek should be dead by now.

Derek glared up at Stiles. "No you idiot!"

Meilani's brain whirred with a bunch of different thoughts. One suddenly stood out to her when she noticed why Derek was so weak at the moment. "That's why they said you had forty-eight hours."

"What? Wh - who said forty-eight hours?"

"The one who shot you," Meilani answered in a "duh" kind of tone.

Suddenly, Derek's eyes flashed ice blue and he groaned, his eyes screwing shut in pain.

"Derek, what the hell are you doing? Stop that! People can see you," Meilani snapped, wondering how Derek could be so stupid.

"It's what I'm trying to tell you, Meilani. I can't," Derek retorted, groaning in pain again.

A bunch of car horns made Meilani kick into action. "Derek, you need to stand up. Now." 

It didn't do anything to move Derek, however. His eyes flashed ice blue again and his breathing became even more labored than it already was. Seeing that Derek wouldn't be moving on his own, she rushed around behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and lifted him up as best she could. "Stiles, help me get him into your car."

Stiles opened the passenger side door and Meilani placed Derek into the seat, helping him sit properly before shutting the door.

"I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used," Derek ordered.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Derek glanced behind him at Allison's car where both her and Scott had stepped out to see what was going on. Well, this is going to be awkward if Scott walks over to her. She wouldn't know what to tell him if he asked why Derek was here. "Allison's an Argent. She's your brother's girlfriend. She's one of them. Get in that house."

"Why should I help you?" Meilani questioned. They may be on some sort of truce right now, but that didn't mean she would bend to every single thing Derek asked her to do. He wasn't her boss or anything.

"Because you need me and you know it."

Meilani sighed and became nervous when Scott began making his way over to the Jeep. "Fine. I'll figure something out okay?" She promised and watched Stiles climbed into the driver's side and started his Jeep up again. "Stiles, get him out of here."

"You are in so much trouble when I'm done with this," Stiles warned before speeding off out of the parking lot.

Meilani turned to walk back over to her bike when she was stopped by Scott and he didn't look happy. "Oh, hey, womb-mate. What's up?"

"Meilani, why was Derek here?" Scott asked, crossing his arms. "Since when are you two close?"

"We're not, Scott!" Meilani defended and it wasn't necessarily a lie. They were acquaintances - if that. 

Scott looked to where Stiles' Jeep disappeared down the street and looked back to his twin. "I can tell when you lie. I don't like that guy and I only met him once that day in the woods. He screams bad news, Mei. You have to stay away from him."

"Stiles is just driving him home, Scott. It's a really long story." Yet, not another lie. Technically.

Scott stared at Meilani and it was obvious he didn't believe her at all. As his eyes looked her over, it felt as if he was silently judging her. Meilani could see the hurt in his eyes because she had lied to him not once, but a bunch of times since she got bit. She wanted so bad to tell him but there was no way she was putting him in harm's way. It was bad enough Stiles was apart of this whole thing. It hurt to know that she was lying to her twin and he was probably starting to pick up on it. She wasn't sure how much longer she could lie to him.

"Whatever. Just get home okay? Text me later," Scott mumbled before walking back over to Allison's car without another word to her.

Sighing, Meilani felt her heart break at the obvious dejection from her twin. They never hit a roadblock like this and now she knew why. Fighting with your twin was probably the worst thing you could ever do. Walking over to her bike, Meilani began to think of ways to sneak into Allison's so she could help Derek out.

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Meilani sat at the dinner table with Melissa. They never really got to eat together much anymore because Melissa worked a lot at night and Meilani had lacrosse practice late at least three times a week. It was nice to sit there with her mom and enjoy her company. She would be enjoying it more if she wasn't still upset over what happened between her and Scott in the parking lot after school. 

"Lani, are you okay, sweetheart? You're oddly quiet. Usually you're talking my ear off when we finally get to hang out," Melissa said, placing her fork down and giving all her attention to Meilani.

Meilani looked up from pushing her food around on her plate. She must have spaced off between trying to figure out what to do about Scott and how she was going to break into the Argent house once she finished her dinner. Might as well tell her mom part of the truth so she wouldn't feel like she was constantly lying, which she was. "Scott and I got into a little fight is all. We never fight so it's bothering me a bit, I guess."

"I'm sure it will all blow over, sweetheart. You and Scott can barely stay mad at each other for more than five minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if he was over it by now," Melissa assured Meilani but she couldn't be more wrong.

Meilani had texted Scott a few times since she got home just so he knew she was home and doing her homework before going back out. Each time she got back either a "k" in return or an answer that was basically brushing her off. Usually the two twins couldn't shut up and would send multiple texts in a row when talking to each other. Even sending each other stupid memes in response to what the other said or when one of them needed a good laugh. Getting detached answers from Scott hurt a lot more than she ever expected it to.

"Yeah... I hope so," Meilani sighed and continued to push her food around on her plate more. "Hey, Mom, I'm going to head over to Stiles' now to study. Is that okay?"

"Sure, honey. Just don't stay out too late. It's a school night," Melissa replied, kissing her daughter on the forehead before bringing her plate over to the sink and walking back upstairs to her room.

Meilani dumped whatever was left on her plate into the trash and placed her plate in the sink along with Melissa's. She didn't have much of a plan but she hoped whatever she did worked out or she'd be screwed. It wasn't smart to piss off the guy that was trying to hunt you down and kill you.

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"What the Hell am I supposed to do with him?" Stiles snapped into the phone. Extremely annoyed he still had to deal with Derek. He was seriously going to get his girlfriend back for this.

"I don't know, Stiles! Take him somewhere, anywhere," Meilani whispered as she walked around the perimeter of the Argent house, trying to figure out where she could sneak into. She needed an open window and a room that was far from the one that any of them were in.

"By the way, he's starting to smell."

"Like what?" Meilani asked, not really seeing how he could smell like anything.

"Like death!"

"You are honestly the most dramatic person I have ever met in my life," Meilani commented, running a hand through her hair. "Just take him to the animal clinic."

"What about your boss?"

"Deaton is gone by now. There's a spare key in the box behind the dumpster."

A groan was heard from the other line. "You're not going to believe what she's making me do."

The phone was passed over to Derek so he could take over the conversation while Stiles began driving again. "Did you find it?"

"I'm trying. I'm at the Argent house now. I'm going to try and sneak in through a window," Meilani explained, grinning when she finally found an open window on the second floor. She could probably use her wolf abilities to get up there. "How am I even supposed to find it? There's going to be a million in the house."

"If you don't find it, then I'm dead alright?"

"I'm starting to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing," Meilani remarked, walking over to the side of the house and began trying to figure out how she would get to the second window.

"Think about this: the Alpha calls you out against your will, and next time you either kill with him or get killed. So if you want to stay alive, then you need me. Find the bullet!"

Meilani pulled her phone away from her ear when she heard the dial tone again. CALL ENDED flashed across her screen before the phone locked itself. Sighing, Meilani looked to the side and saw a vine going up the side of the house. If she was careful enough, she'd be able to climb the vine and hop into the open window. 

Slowly, but surely, Meilani expertly climbed up the vine and quietly climbed in through the window. Thanks to her wolf abilities, she was able to land on her feet without making any noise. Down below, she could hear the voices of Allison, her family and Scott talking in the dining room. He sounded so happy to be with her and talking to her family properly for the first time. If she didn't have to search for this damn bullet, she would probably take a second to listen and see how he was doing with talking to them.

Meilani glanced around the room she was in and figured it was the guest room. There wasn't much in the room besides a queen sized bed, a small bathroom and a dark wood dresser set up in the corner. This must be where Chris' sister was staying while she was in town. Meilani mentally gave herself a pat on the back for hopping into the room she needed. Since she was the one who shot Derek, she would be the one to have the bullets.

Noticing a black duffel bag sticking out from underneath the bed, Meilani dropped to her knees and pulled the bag all the way out. She zipped it open to see a bunch of clothes and underneath them was a wooden box. Meilani pulled it out and pressed the button to open it. It popped open and inside was a row of long, golden bullets. Meilani quickly grabbed one and placed it in her back pocket. She couldn't believe it was this easy to get the bullet.

Closing the box back over so she could put it back in the bag and leave, she noticed the words "ACONIT NAPEL BLEU NORDIQUE" written on the top. Quickly grabbing for her phone, Meilani opened her translator app and typed the words into the app, clicking on the "FRENCH TO ENGLISH" translation option. Nordic Blue Monkshood appeared in the translated box.

Meilani copy and pasted the translation into a text to Stiles and sent it before shoving the box back into the duffle. She shoved the bag back under the bed and quickly made her way back down to the ground outside. Running over to her bike, she hopped on and pumped her legs as fast she could so she could get to the clinic in time. Meilani could only imagine how much longer Stiles could deal with Derek tonight.

Meilani swerved in and out of cars and she rode down the busy streets of everyone leaving work late or trying to get home from wherever they were coming back from. She sped into the clinic parking lot and hopped off the bike before rushing inside the semi-dark place. She called out Stiles' name and found him in the room, trying to cut off Derek's arm.

"What the hell are you doing, Stiles?!" Meilani yelled, rushing over and grabbing the saw out of his hand. "Are you insane?!"

"Oh you just prevented a life time of nightmares," Stiles replied, hugging Meilani close to him. Never had he been more happy to see her.

"Did you get it?" Derek panted and pushed himself up a bit to look at Meilani. He looked so ghostly pale and there was sweat running down his face and chest. Stiles was right, he did look and smell like death.

Meilani fumbled in her back pocket and handed it over to Derek who grabbed in between two fingers and looked at it as if it were the most beautiful thing in the world.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Stiles inquired.

Derek started to sway a bit, the bullet really starting to take effect over him. "I'm gonna.... I'm gonna..." The bullet suddenly tumbled out of Derek's hand and he collapsed to the floor unconscious. The bullet rolled its way under a table and fell into the grate underneath.

"No!" Meilani yelled, dropping to the ground and sticking her fingers into the grate to try and reach the bullet. Unfortunately, her fingers were too short and she couldn't quite reach the bullet.

"Derek?" Stiles called, tapping Derek lightly on the face multiple times. "Derek, come on wake up."  Derek remained motionless as Stiles continued to move his head and tap him on the face. "Lani, what are we gonna do?!"

"I don't know!" Meilani was still trying to get her fingers to reach just a bit more so she could reach the bullet. "I can't reach it!"

"He's not waking up! I think he's dying. I think he's dead."

Meilani groaned and yelled at Stiles to give her two more seconds. Closing her eyes, she urged her fingernails to grow. After a moment, her wolf nails grew in place of her regular fingernails and she was able to pick it up with her nails. "I got it!" She cheered as she held the bullet up for Stiles to see.

Stiles looked back down at the unconscious wolf next to him. "Please don't kill me for this," he mumbled before reaching his arm back and punched Derek square in the face.

Derek jumped up and the two teens helped the elder wolf up. Meilani handed Derek the bullet and he cracked it open on the lab table, shaking out the dust inside. Stiles explained to Meilani it was a special kind of wolf's bane and it was what the words meant on the box the bullet was in. 

Derek lit the powder on fire, the smoke emitting from it a light blue. He scooped the powder into his hand and stuck it into the bullet wound hole. Immediately, he howled and fell to the floor, rolling around as he continued to scream in agony. 

Meilani and Stiles watched as his right arm quickly began to heal itself and it was suddenly like the bullet wound was never even there in he first place. No matter how many times she saw how the wolf powers worked, it still fascinated Meilani to see the healing power do its thing. It was one of the very few perks of being what she was.

"That... was... AWESOME! Yes!" Stiles exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. 

Meilani gave him an odd look and he instantly quieted down. "Are you okay?"

"Besides the agonizing pain, yes," Derek responded, pulling himself back up to his feet slowly.

Stiles scoffed and leaned against the lab table. "I guess the use of sarcasm is a good sign of health."

"We saved your life okay? Which means you'll leave the both of us alone. If you don't, I - I'll tell Scott and then go to Allison's father with him and tell h- "

"You're really going to trust them?" Derek cut her off, glaring at her. "You think they can help you?"

"Why not?" Meilani snapped, throwing her hands in the air. "They're a lot freaking nicer than you are."

Derek and Meilani had a staring match for a solid minute before Derek spoke up again, "I'll show you how nice they are."

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After dropping Stiles off at his house, Derek sped off to where he wanted to take Meilani. Stiles had protested, saying he didn't want them being alone together. However, Derek somehow convinced Stiles that nothing bad would happen to Meilani and he would make sure to get her home in one piece. They would only be out for ten minutes at most.

They arrived at the Beacon Hill Medical Center. Derek lead the way inside and down a few corridors before entering a room. A man was sat in a wheelchair facing the window, staring blankly out of it. He couldn't be more than early forty's with his dark brown hair and barely had any wrinkles to make him older than that.

"Who is it?" Meilani questioned, looking between the man and Derek a few times.

"My uncle," Derek responded, staring at his uncle sadly. "Peter Hale."

"Is he... he like you? A werewolf?"

Derek nodded, not moving his eyes off Peter for a second. "He was. Now he's barely even human. Six years ago my sister and I were at school when our house caught fire. Eleven people were trapped inside. He was the only survivor."

Meilani felt her heartbreak at the story. She never really knew the full story behind the Hale house fire. Just whatever Stiles had told her in the woods that day and some rumors she had heard around Beacon Hills. She actually felt bad for Derek, and she never thought that would happen. "So what makes you so sure the Argents set your house on fire?"

"They're the only ones who knew about us," Derek responded, finally tearing his eyes away from Peter to look at Meilani.

"Then they had a reason."

"Like what?" Derek challenged, practically asking Meilani to give a dumb answer. "You tell me what justifies this." He stepped forward and spun Peter's chair around to show Meilani the left side of Peter's face which was all burnt and mauled from the fire. It would probably give Meilani nightmares for the next six months.

Meilani couldn't believe that someone would do something this horrible to someone. She knew that hunters were constantly killing off wolves but to leave someone in this state for over six years was just plain inhumane and horrible. Werewolves were people, too, not just animals or monsters as most thought them to be. They were being treated as if they were dangerous creatures. Meilani may not know the ropes of the whole thing yet, but she hasn't hurt or killed anyone.

"They say they'll only kill an adult and with proof, but there were people in my family that were completely ordinary in that house. This is what they do and what Allison will do one day," Derek explained. However, his continuous rant was cut off by a nurse popping her head in the room.

"Hey, how did you get in here? No one but the nurses are allowed in this room," the nurse snapped, gesturing for the two to leave.

"Don't worry, we were just leaving," Derek assured the nurse before grabbing Meilani by the arm and hauling her out of the place. "Just think about what I said. Your brother's girlfriend could be a potential threat to you. I would choose my moves wisely."

Meilani watched as Derek got into his car and started it up. This was becoming a much bigger mess than Meilani had anticipated. The Argents were cruel hunters who got rid of any wolf they saw without thinking twice about it. Without thinking about the family that werewolf could possibly have. It wasn't right and it made Meilani's blood boil that Allison's family were that hungry to kill. One problem seemed to stand out the most about this whole situation.

Chris Argent knew she was a werewolf and was part of Derek's pack, against her own free will of course. This meant that she constantly had a target on her back and so this would make Scott being Allison's boyfriend slightly difficult without him even knowing. It could give Chris an inside to what Meilani was doing and where she was because he could easily ask Scott or Allison about her.

What was she supposed to do now?

AUTHORS NOTE

I am so glad I was able to do this episode all in one chapter. It came out to be 5000 words but there really wasn't much happening in this episode where Meilani was concerned so I was able to compile it all into one chapter.

We are finally getting half way through SEASON ONE which means that BOOK ONE is almost over guys! I'm beginning to think things for BOOK TWO which will be coming out a month after this book finishes. Just to give me time to work on my other stories for a bit before I begin the next one. Hopefully, most will finish so I can put a lot more attention on this series because I really do enjoy writing this!

I promise Scott and Allison will be in this A LOT more once they both find out that Meilani is a werewolf. So look forward to that when that point comes! Protective Scotty will be coming out full force when that shit goes down. AND I AM SO EXCITED AND LIVING FOR IT!

ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU GUYS ALL ENJOYED THIS. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND VOTE SO I KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE THINKING OF THIS SO FAR! I LOVE HEARING YOUR OPINIONS AND WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN.

EDITED ON: SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2019