"What now?" I asked, looking between Mason and Liam. 

Mason shrugged, looking down at the bag containing the dead rat that was currently held in his right hand, "We wait until your mom isn't busy."

I shook my head, glancing back toward my mother to make sure she wasn't watching us, "She's an ER nurse in the middle of a 10 car pileup...she'll never not be busy."

Liam let out a sigh, "I guess we leave then...try to figure this out on our own?"

Nodding, I began turning toward the exit, "Guess so." I muttered, knowing the only thing I wanted to do right now was go home and sleep. But I didn't really get that option. 

The boys and I were just about ready to leave when a commotion broke out behind us, causing all of us to halt in our tracks. 

I spun around, as did Liam and Mason, to see two men, who presumably had been in the accident, in some kind of altercation. "Back off!" one of the men yelled as he shoved the other into a gurney. 

I took a small step back, my eyes wide as the my mom called for security, one of the men now threatening to charge the other with assault. 

Before I even had time to react, Liam was making his way in between the two men, putting his hands out to try and diffuse the situation, "Sir," he warned to the man that had just pushed the other, "You need to calm down."

The man did not react kindly to that, as within a matter of seconds he had driven his fist into Liam's face. I let out gasp as Liam stumbled backward slightly, his hand flying to cover his face. 

My mom's worried eyes met mine as before we knew it, Liam was transforming right in front of us- in front of everyone. His eyes began to glow that golden colour, and his teeth now barred fangs. 

My heart dropped as I watched Liam struggle to calm himself down, I had to do something. 

Mason had the same thought, as both of us began to move to Liam at the same time. The man that had hit Liam along with a few others were staring at him in disbelief. My mom looked equally as worried as Mason and I did, as she attempted to reach Liam from the other side of the crowd. 

Steps away from reaching him, we were intercepted by security who latched onto the two men, beginning to pull them away. In all this fuss, Mason and I were cut off from reaching Liam. 

"Hey!" I grunted, trying to push past the security but to no avail. I pushed myself up on my toes, trying to catch sight of Liam again. "Liam!" I called, hoping he could find my voice. 

But he was already gone. As the crowd cleared, I could see Liam sprinting down the hall, trying to find somewhere to calm himself down. 

My mom arrived at my side and I looked over to her in panic, "I'll go after him" I announced, looking between her and Mason. 

Mason nodded, "I'll meet you guys at the car."

"I'll text you!" I called as I took off down the hall, pushing through the crowds of people in search of my boyfriend. 

I sped up my pace as I got further down the hall, desperate to find Liam and ensure he was okay.

"Excuse me!" I yelled, trying to get past the numerous people that were littering the hall as a result of the packed ER.

I let out a small curse as I reached the end of the hallway with no sight of Liam. He must have taken the elevator to another floor. 

Although there was no Liam, there was a man who looked oddly out of place. He was tall, with buzzed hair and angry eyes. He stood in front of the elevator, almost leaning against it. However, he soon turned and his eyes landed on me. I felt a shiver run through my body as he began toward me, his eyes locked on me the entire time.

I felt my breath hitch as he arrived in front of me, giving one final look before he stalked off down the halls. 

I only released the breath I had been holding when my phone began to ring. Shaking my thoughts of the daunting man, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see Liam's name flash across the screen.

"Are you okay?" I was asking before the phone was barely pressed to my ear.

A small sigh came from the other end of the line, "Yeah," he promised, "I'm okay."

A sigh of relief fell from my lips as I glanced around, "Where are you?" I Inquired, "I'm by the elevators. Mason's waiting for us in the car."

"I'll come meet you." Liam answered, the sound of an elevator button being pressed sounding off through the phone.

Less than a minute later, the elevator doors opened to reveal Liam. A small trickle of blood had dried around his nose, but other than that he looked okay.

I gave him a small smile before pulling him into a hug, "Promise me you're alright?"

Pulling back, Liam nodded, taking a hold of my hand, "I'm good." he promised, giving my hand a squeeze, "Sorry if I scared you."

I shook my head as a teasing smile came to my face, "So, I think what we've all learned here, is not to get in the middle of the fights of grown men."

"Noted."

---

Thirty minutes later, the three of us arrived back at BHHS with the goal of attending the late night study hall. I had thought about just going home, but considering we had been on a rat hunt since school let out, I hadn't had a chance to get done any of the first day of school work I had been assigned.

"Hey," Liam spoke up as we exited the car, "What did you do with that rat."

Mason pocketed his keys, "I lost it in the fight." he explained.

"Shame." I muttered, happy to never see that rat again.

Liam let out a small laugh at me before looking back at Mason who let out a sigh, "Melissa's going to kill us."

"I don't think we can ever go back there again." Liam announced. 

Mason shook his head, "Yeah, that might work for you...but what about me."

"At least you don't have to live with her." I piped in, already picturing the lecture I was going to get from my mother about intruding at her work .

"Yeah," Liam sighed, "That could be a problem."

A smile came to my face as Liam pulled the doors open, allowing me to walk through, "Maybe she'll forgive us?" he offered, hopefulness in his tone.

"She will." I promised, "Just let me work my magic. She can't stay mad at her favourite daughter forever."

Mason and Liam let out a laugh as we entered the school. But soon enough other voices cut in from somewhere in the hallways. The voices were echoing, but one sure sounded like Parrish. 

I felt nerves bubble in my stomach as I took a step closer to Liam, the three of us sharing nervous glances as we walked further into the school. As we rounded the first corner, my suspicions were proven right. 

In front of us stood Parrish, his back was to us as he was facing a man. My heart dropped...it was the man from the hospital. The unknown man's eyes darted toward the three of us upon our arrival before he spoke, "Something you let out." he growled, "It must be stopped."

"Is he talking to you?" Mason whispered to Liam.

Liam shook his head slightly, "I hope not."

I felt myself involuntarily shrink away from the man for the second time tonight, as his eyes began to glow an orange colour, a growl emitting from his lips. Within seconds, flames engulfed his body...he was a Hellhound?

Parrish followed suit, flames soon covering his own body as the two men squared off. I had trust in Parrish, but this man was huge and towered over him.

Liam shoved Mason and I around the corner, positioning himself in front of us, "Stay behind me!" he ordered.

Mason glanced out around the corner, "Wait, that's a..."

"A Hellhound." I confirmed, my voice rattled in fear. 

Where did he come from, and why was he here? 

My panic only grew as Parrish and the other Hellhound ran at each other, the unidentified man quickly overpowering Parrish. He slammed Parrish into the lockers, through classroom doors and against the hard tiled ground. With each hit, I felt myself wince and push myself further into the wall, hoping to stay guarded.

Within minutes of the altercation beginning, the other Hellhound flung Parrish out of the school doors, his body harshly smacking against the exterior brick wall. My heart fell to my stomach at the sight. 

Liam and Mason wore the same shocked expression as I did, none of us really knowing what to do next, well none of us besides Liam.

"Run!" he yelled, already beginning to shove us back.

"No! We're not leaving you!" Mason yelled back.

"Liam, you can't take him on on your own, he'll-" Worried tears had gathered in my eyes as Liam cut me off, "He's a Hellhound, run!" he shot back, quickly shoving me into Mason's grasp. 

I let out a worried sob as Mason pulled me down the hall, my eyes locked on Liam until I could no longer see him. I hated leaving him, but realistically I knew there wasn't much we could do...except maybe get ourselves killed. 

Once we were outside, and presumably to safety, Mason realeased his hold on me. "I'm going back in there." he explained before running toward his car.

I spun around to look at him, "What? Mason, no! You heard what Liam said, he's a Hellhound. Those things could kill a werewolf, which means killing a human would be like snapping it's fingers."

Mason was already back his way back toward me, a metal bat in hand...the bat Stiles' had given him before he left. I felt like I was going to breakdown at the sight.

"I have to go." he explained, his eyes locking on the entrance door, seemingly hyping himself up.

"Fine," I succeeded, firmly planting my feet beside him, "If you're going in, then so am I."

Mason's head snapped toward, "No!" he argued, "No way. Liam will kill me if I let you come with me."

I shook my head, "I'm not letting you go in there alone." 

It seemed like he was trying to rack his brain for another reason why I wasn't allowed to re-enter that school, and shockingly he came up with a pretty good one, "You need to check on Parrish!" he explained, as if that had been his whole plan all along.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek. He was right, someone needed to make sure he was okay. As far as I knew, killing a Hellhound was impossible, or at least hard, so it was likely he was alive. But if I could get him and helping, that would be useful. 

"Okay." I finally whispered, my worried eyes locking with Mason's before I pulled him into a tight hug, "Be safe." I ordered, very well knowing that the minute I ensured Parrish was okay, I was headed back into that school.

He gave me a small smile before nodding, "See you soon, Syd."

I watched in worry as Mason ran back through the doors, leaving me alone in the cool night. I pushed my worries over Liam and Mason aside for the time being, focusing on my new task-Parrish. 

Wasting no more time, I broke out into a run as I made my way around the exterior of the school, in search of Parrish. I found him within a matter of minutes, still unconscious. My breath caught in my throat as I rushed toward him, kneeling down in front of him.

"Parrish!" I called, grabbing his face him my hands, "Come on Jordan, you have to get up!" I pleaded, lightly moving my hands down to his neck to ensure he still had a pulse-just to be sure. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders as the thumping of his heart beat pounded against my fingers.

"Open your eyes." I pleaded again, using all of my force to flip him onto his back instead of his side, "Wake up!" I yelled, willing for his eyes to open.

Luckily, they did. As his eyes sprung open, he let out a ragged breath, before a course cough ripped through his body. His wild eyes then met mine, "Sydney?"

I gave him a weak smile, "Hey."

"What's going on?" He questioned as I slowly helped him sit up. I glanced back toward the school, where faint growls could be heard, "Liam's in there with the Hellhound...Mason too."

Parrish's eyes grew wide as he sprung to his feet, "Stay here!" he ordered. 

Now, this was the third time I had been instructed to stay out of this whole ordeal, so obviously I was done listening to orders from these boys. 

I quietly followed after Parrish, hoping he wouldn't notice I was behind him. If he did, he didn't say anything. 

So, as he pushed open the doors to the school, I had a perfect view of everything going on...and to my complete and utter relief, that was nothing. 

The Hellhound was gone, and Mason and Liam sat on adjacent walls of lockers, both of them breathing deeply. "Liam!" I yelled upon noticing the blood seeping through his shirt. 

I shoved past Parrish who looked surprised to see me so close behind him, and made my way down the corridor. Quickly stopping to ensure Mason was okay before kneeling down beside Liam. He was whispering the montra Stiles and Derek had taught him that day we made the trip out to the desert to save Scott from the Berserkers.

He looked up at me, his eyes pained, revealing he was attempting to heal himself.

"Just breathe." I whispered, taking his hand into mine, "Breathe."

-an-

this was a pretty long chapter, but you guys deserve it!

hope you enjoyed and are all staying safe :)

-maddy xoxo