Braeden drove Elena to the ranch and gathered Scott and the others in the pack house. She told them everything about Elena's story before heading back to the station.
Scott turned to Elena and asked. "Where and when are you supposed to meet John?"
"He sent me a location." Elena replied. "We're supposed to meet at midnight."
Stiles held out his hand. "Let me see the location."
Elena handed him her phone. After a quick look, Stiles raised an eyebrow. "The location is the abandoned mansion that used to belong to the vampire, Victor."
Scott nodded. "That makes things easier. I've been there before—I can open a shadow portal to the woods nearby."
Elena looked uncertain. "Can you really save my siblings? Can you handle two alphas and their entire pack? They might even have three alphas now… after they killed my... my dad."
Allison gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Your siblings will be fine. We can handle John and his pack easily. After all, we're all alphas."
Elena's eyes widened. "All of you are… are alphas?"
Allison's eyes glowed red as she replied. "Yes."
Stiles smirked. "Should we call Liam? Might be a good chance for him to gain some experience."
Scott shook his head. "Nah. He's enjoying time with Hayden. Let him have his peace."
With that, Scott waved his hand and opened a shadow portal to the woods near Victor's mansion. He stepped through, followed by Stiles, Elena and the rest of the pack.
---
Meanwhile, near Victor's abandoned mansion...
John and his pack sat outside around a fire, using chairs they dragged from inside. They were roasting a whole deer and chatting, while Elena's younger siblings sat on the ground nearby. The fourteen-year-old boy clutched his little sister protectively, his yellow eyes glowing as he glared at the pack in anger.
One of the pack members grumbled. "Hey John, remind me why we're out here freezing when we could be inside?"
John scoffed. "I don't like that mansion. Gives me the creeps—feels like something bad happened there, or something evil used to live in it."
Another pack member chimed in. "I think we should leave this town after we catch that little brat. I really don't want to mess with the pack guarding this place."
John laughed. "We're just passing through. We haven't caused any trouble, so I doubt they'll come after us. Besides, we've got three alphas now. We're not exactly easy targets."
John's younger brother, newly turned alpha and riding high on his power, said arrogantly. "How about we fight the pack guarding this place? I think we can take them and make this town ours. After all, there's a nemeton here. What do you think, bro?"
John grinned. "I like the way you think."
One of the men roasting the deer suddenly panicked. "No, I don't think that's a good idea, John! You heard what those guys said yesterday in the bar. They said Deucalion and his alpha pack came after the McCall pack, but the McCall pack survived in the end, and no one's seen Deucalion and his pack since then."
John's wife, sitting beside him, placed a hand on his arm. "He's right, honey. We should grab the girl and leave this place."
While John and his pack were talking, Scott—who had arrived with his pack in the nearby woods through the portal—used his shadow teleportation and appeared right next to Elena's siblings.
His sudden appearance startled John and his pack, and they jumped to their feet.
John narrowed his eyes. "Who are you, kid?"
Ignoring him, Scott turned to the children. "Are you two okay?"
The boy stood protectively in front of his sister. "Who are you?"
"A friend of your sister Elena." Scott replied calmly.
"Where is she?" The boy asked again.
Scott pointed toward the woods. "She's right over there."
Just then, Elena, Stiles, and the others walked out of the woods and joined Scott.
One of John's pack members drew a gun and aimed at Scott—but before he could fire, a shadowy hand rose from the ground, snatched the gun, and delivered it straight to Scott.
Scott inspected the gun and smirked. "Nordic Blue Wolfsbane bullets… nice."
Without warning, Scott turned the gun on the werewolf he'd taken it from and fired every round into him. The werewolf collapsed to the ground, black veins crawling across his body as he screamed in agony, and died moments later.
Scott pocketed the gun. "I'm keeping this."
Elena rushed over and hugged her siblings tightly, tears running down her face.
Scott looked at Malia. "Hey Malia, they have a whole roasted deer."
Malia grinned. "I smelled it the moment we got here. Is it cooked?"
"Let's find out." Scott said.
The two of them walked past John and his pack, completely ignoring them, and went straight to the deer that was roasting on the fire. They took two chairs and sat next to it.
Scott tore off a piece of meat and took a bite. "We got here just in time. Needs salt and seasoning, though."
Malia took a piece herself, chewed, and said. "You're right. It's perfectly cooked—but yeah, needs some salt."
Scott laughed. "Let's take it home after we deal with these idiots."
Malia turned to the rest of the pack. "Guys, finish this up quickly. I'm hungry."
Stiles raised a brow. "Babe, you're not gonna fight? You usually love to maim people."
"They're weaklings." Malia shrugged. "And since they prepared this deer for us, I won't kill them… you guys do it."
"Fine." Stiles said. In a flash, he used his speed to appear next to one of John's betas, grabbing him by the throat and jamming his claws into the back of his neck to read his memories.
John and the rest of his pack froze, shocked by how fast Stiles had moved. They instinctively backed away.
John stammered. "Who are you people? Why are you attacking us? We haven't done anything to offend you."
Cora stepped forward. "Didn't you just say you wanted to take over our territory?"
John's face paled. "You… you're the McCall pack?"
Erica smiled coldly. "Yes. We are."
John cursed internally, glancing toward Elena. 'Damn it… how did that little bitch get in touch with the McCall pack?'
Stiles, now finished reading the beta's memories, looked visibly angry. He turned to Elena and her siblings and said. "You might want to close your eyes."
Allison glanced at him. "What did you see?"
Stiles' voice was low and cold. "Nothing good. They're a bunch of rapists and murder-loving bastards. Kill them all. Leave none alive."
Elena gently placed her hands over her little sister and brother's eyes, but her brother pulled away and said. "I want to see them die, Elena."
She nodded and hugged her sister tightly to her chest but said nothing to her brother. She understood. She wanted to see John and his pack die too.
After absorbing the beta's powers, Stiles drove his clawed hand inside the beta's chest without hesitation, crushing his heart. As he pulled his hand out, he ignited it in flames, burning off the blood. Then, he walked to the fire, and casually took a seat next to Scott and Malia, as if he hadn't just killed someone.
Aiden, Boyd, and Isaac attacked the remaining three betas. After a quick fight, they each absorbed the betas' powers and killed them. Now, only the three alphas—John, his wife, and his brother—were still alive.
Scott turned to his pack. "One of you absorb one alpha's power, and beat the other two to near death"
John, though afraid, looked at his wife and brother. "Let's fight." He said. "We might die, but we'll take a few of them with us."
Allison gave orders. "Cora, you can absorb the powers of one of them. Erica, let's handle the other two."
Cora lunged at John's brother. He was no match for her. She quickly broke his arms and legs, then punched him hard in the head, nearly crushing his skull. Then, she absorbed his power and ended his life.
John saw his brother fall and, consumed by rage, shifted and let out a furious roar. He charged at Cora, but Allison stepped in front of him, kicking him to the ground. Using her ice ability, she froze his legs in place. Then, with brutal efficiency, she shattered his frozen limbs, making him scream in agony. Then, she stomped on his head hard a few times until he lost consciousness.
Seeing both her husband and brother-in-law defeated, John's wife panicked and tried to run. But just as she turned around, Erica used her plant control ability—tree branches grew from the ground and entangled her, then sharp wooden spikes pierced her body in several places until she too lost consciousness from the pain.
Scott stood up and walked over to Elena's brother. "What's your name?"
The boy looked up. "William."
Scott nodded. "Do you want to get strong and keep your sisters safe?"
William didn't hesitate. He nodded firmly. "Yes."
Scott pointed at John's unconscious body. "Then go ahead. End his life and become an alpha."
"No!" Elena stepped in, alarmed. "He's just a kid. I won't let him take a life!"
William looked at her with determined eyes. "Sis, he killed our parents. I want revenge. And if I become an alpha, I can protect you and Lizzie. Please… let me do this."
Elena sighed deeply. "Fine."
William walked over to John and turned to Allison. "What do I do? I've never killed anyone before."
Allison looked at him calmly. "Use your claws. Aim at his heart and pierce his chest with all your strength. And don't pull it out until you become an alpha"
Nodding, William did exactly as instructed. He plunged his hand into John's chest, killing him. Moments later, the transformation began—his eyes glowed red. He was now an alpha. Staggering back, William pulled his hand out and immediately ran to the side, and started vomiting.
Scott's gaze shifted to the little girl still clinging to Elena's chest. Elena noticed and immediately panicked.
"No! Absolutely not." She said. "She's only ten. I'm not letting her kill anyone. She's too young—and she hasn't even awakened her powers yet."
Scott raised a hand calmly. "Don't worry, I won't let her kill."
He walked up to the girl gently. "Your name is Lizzie, right?"
Lizzie peeked out from her sister's arms and nodded shyly.
Scott smiled. "Would you like me to help you awaken your powers? You can be strong like your brother and sister. What do you think?"
Lizzie hesitated, then slowly nodded.
"Good." Scott said. "Now look at me. I'm going to roar, but don't be scared, okay?"
"O-okay…" Lizzie whispered.
She looked up at Scott. His eyes glowed red as he let out a powerful alpha roar. A few seconds later, Lizzie's eyes glowed yellow, and sharp claws extended from her fingers.
Scott spoke telepathically to Lydia. [Lydia, paralyze her, please.]
Lydia didn't ask why. She simply nodded, appeared in front of Lizzie in a blur, and scratched her gently with her talons.
Lizzie was paralyzed almost immediately. Scott stepped forward and carefully took her from Elena's arms.
Everything happened so fast that when Elena came back to her senses, Lizzie was already in Scott's arms.
Elena's eyes glowed red. She growled at Scott. "What are you doing?!"
"Don't worry." Scott said calmly. "We just paralyzed her to stop her from shifting back into human form. Just watch."
Then he looked down at the paralyzed Lizzie in his arms and said gently. "Close your eyes, and don't open them until I say so. Okay?"
Lizzie obediently closed her eyes.
Scott walked over to John's unconscious wife, still tangled in the tree branches. Without hesitation, he slit her throat with his claws. Then he took Lizzie's small hand and guided her claws into the woman's fatal wound.
Once the woman died, Scott withdrew Lizzie's hand, tore a strip of cloth from the body, and carefully wiped the blood off her fingers.
He returned to Elena, gently placed Lizzie back in her arms, and said. "Lizzie, open your eyes now."
She opened them—and they glowed red. She was now an alpha.
Scott smiled and nodded, handing her fully over to Elena.
Elena hugged her sister tightly, then looked at Scott with softened eyes. "Thank you... And I'm sorry for growling at you earlier."
Scott smiled back. "Don't worry about it."
There was a pause before Elena hesitated, then said. "You helped me and my siblings so much... Should I pay you? My parents left us a few million. I'm sure Braeden told you after reading my memories."
Scott shook his head. "You don't have to pay us. We helped you because we wanted to. That's all."
Elena nodded. "Thank you. Then... I should go."
Allison stepped in. "Are you sure? You can stay with us for a few days."
Elena smiled faintly. "No, I have to go back and clean up the mess at home. Then I'll move in with my grandmother—on my mom's side. She has a large pack in Canada. I can't control myself well yet, and my siblings just awakened their powers. We'll need someone to teach us."
Allison nodded. "Alright, take care then."
After thanking them one last time, Elena took her siblings and left.
Once they were gone, Aiden spoke up. "Did you guys smell that? She was scared of us... or more like terrified."
Lydia nodded. "I don't blame her. We do kill people like it's the most normal thing in the world."
Malia stretched. "Okay, let's stop chit-chatting. I want to go home and eat that roasted deer."
Scott chuckled. "Stiles, help me take care of the bodies first."
Scott and Stiles used their fire abilities to reduce the bodies to ash.
When they were done, Stiles glanced at the abandoned mansion nearby. "By the way... should we do something with that place?"
Scott shrugged. "Do what with it? It's probably not worth much. You can have it if you want. Use your flies to control whoever can make the place legally yours."
Stiles smirked. "Nah, that sounds like too much trouble."
Scott laughed. "Alright, let's go. Like Malia, I'm starving for that deer."
Scott opened a shadow portal leading back to the ranch. They picked up the roasted deer and stepped through—back to the pack house.
To be continued... 😊