[ At Beacon Hills Animal Clinic ]
A group of three people walked out of the clinic's front door and headed toward a blue Jeep parked outside.
Those three were Elena Gilbert, Stiles Stilinski, and Scott McCall.
They climbed into the car in silence, each of them lost in thought about the insane events they had gone through in just one night.
"I still can't believe Alex is adopted," Elena said in a trembling voice while staring out the window at the forest, tears filling her eyes.
"Seriously?! After all the craziness with Lycans, werewolves, vampires, weird witches — that's the part you can't believe?!" Stiles said sarcastically.
"Stiles," Scott said, giving him a warning look to shut up.
"What?! I'm just saying what we're all thinking," Stiles muttered defensively.
Elena flinched at his tone, then glared at him. "What I can't believe is that Scott has such a terrible friend like you."
"A terrible friend?! You should be thanking me, because if it wasn't for me, Scott wouldn't have found you and saved you," Stiles snapped.
Elena smirked bitterly and shot back sharply, "First, Scott didn't save me — Derek and Alex did. Second, if it weren't for you, Alex wouldn't have turned into a Lycan, my life wouldn't have been in danger, and we wouldn't be in this mess at all!!"
Stiles flinched, then yelled, "Okay, I'm sorry I didn't expect a half-dog man to show up and bite Scott and Alex!!"
He shouted in frustration — he was exhausted from being blamed nonstop for two days straight. Hell, Alex had even punched him in the hospital because of these accusations.
Elena opened her mouth to continue, but Scott suddenly interrupted.
"Guys!! Enough! We already talked about this. Blaming each other isn't helping!"
Elena snorted. "Easy for you to say, you're just avoiding responsibility."
Scott clenched his jaw. "They shoved a spear into my mouth and cut my tongue out because I wanted to help Alex, Elena. So can you please shut up for once?!"
He shouted, and Elena froze, staring at him in disbelief — it was the first time Scott had ever spoken to her like that.
Scott inhaled deeply and tried calming himself when he saw her expression.
"Look… I know this is a lot for you, and I get it. But Stiles and I suffered a lot tonight too. So can you try to be considerate and understand our side?"
Elena nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Scott, but Alex… he's—"
"We'll save him. We'll bring him back. I promise. But I need you to keep this whole thing a secret from your parents and my mom, okay?"
She nodded and stayed silent.
Stiles turned the key, started the Jeep without a word, and drove toward the McCall house. Stiles Stilinski was a very smart kid — but sometimes intelligence is more of a curse than a gift. After everything he saw tonight, he was convinced that Alex would never return to normal.
Even if, by some miracle, they turned him human again…
How many lives would he take before that happened?
Thirty minutes later, the Jeep stopped in front of the McCall house. Elena jumped out immediately.
"Mom!! Dad!!" she cried as she ran to the door.
Inside, Miranda and Grayson Gilbert were sitting in exhaustion — the location they received from the Augustine agents was wrong, and neither Elena nor Alex had been there.
**Melissa McCall** approached them carrying two cups of coffee, sat next to her sister, and said, "Coffee?"
Miranda sighed, took the cup, and whispered, "Thanks, Melissa."
Melissa offered the second cup to Grayson, but he only stared at her coldly, stood up, and left the dining room.
"Grayson! What do you think you're doing—" Miranda began angrily, but Melissa rested a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Miranda. It's been a rough day for him."
Miranda exhaled shakily, then broke down, covering her face as tears streamed.
"First Alex… then Elena… I don't know what to do, Melissa."
Melissa wrapped her arms around her. "Hey… hey… don't worry. They'll be okay. I'm sure Elena and Alex will come back to us safe."
Miranda sobbed harder in her sister's arms.
"Mom!! Dad!!"
Elena's voice echoed from outside.
"Elena!!" Miranda choked out and bolted toward the door with a speed Melissa didn't think humans were capable of.
Melissa followed quickly.
Grayson was already at the door, hugging Elena tightly with his uninjured arm.
Elena clung to him, crying loudly, her voice hoarse.
"Elena!!" Miranda cried, tears of joy spilling down her face as she rushed in and joined the embrace.
Melissa covered her mouth, trembling, tears of relief falling. She turned and saw Scott and Stiles standing behind Elena.
"Scott!! Where were you? And why are you with Stiles?!" she snapped, rushing toward them.
Scott answered quickly, "I was at the Dayton Clinic, checking some equipment for work. Then Stiles picked me up and we went looking for Elena."
Melissa frowned. "And you actually *found* her? How? Even the entire Beacon Hills police couldn't do that."
Scott gave a small smile. "We tracked her phone using the last location she dropped it. Thanks to Stiles."
Grayson stepped forward. "Wait a minute. Elena, where were you this whole time? How did you disappear from the hospital without anyone seeing you? Were you kidnapped?"
Elena dropped her gaze and whispered, "I… I needed the bathroom. The hospital bathrooms were closed, so I went outside to use a public restroom… then I got lost in the woods coming back."
The three adults exchanged confused looks.
Stiles and Scott shared a tense glance — this was the best lie they could come up with.
"I'm sorry, Mom, Dad, Aunt Melissa… I didn't mean to get lost or scare you," Elena said, voice trembling as tears fell again.
Melissa and Miranda immediately rushed to hug and comfort her.
Grayson still looked unconvinced. "Elena… if you left through the hospital entrance, how did none of us see you? And why didn't the cameras pick you up?"
Stiles and Scott stiffened.
"Maybe… the cameras malfunctioned at that exact moment? And you were too distracted to notice her leaving?" Scott said nervously.
"Nonsense," Grayson shot back instantly.
Scott went silent.
Grayson turned to Elena. "Why don't you tell me what *really* happened?"
She shook, whispering, "I did tell you… Dad."
He opened his mouth to continue, but Miranda cut him off sharply.
"Grayson Anderson Gilbert! Stop interrogating her! Be grateful our daughter is back home safe!"
He shut his mouth, though his eyes still burned with suspicion.
At that moment, Stiles stepped forward, bowed his head, and said,
"Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert… I'm really sorry for everything that happened to Alex. I never meant for any of this. I didn't expect some bear-thing to show up and attack us… but it was my fault, and I truly hope you'll accept my apology."
Grayson and Miranda shared a painful look — Elena was back…
but Alex was still missing.
Miranda stepped forward. "It's okay, Stiles. You made up for your mistake by finding Elena and informing your father and the police about Alex's kidnapping. I forgive you. Right, Grayson?"
Grayson glared at Stiles, jaw clenched hard.
He strongly disagreed — part of him wanted to yell that Stiles was responsible for almost getting Alex killed.
But for Elena's sake, he just nodded silently.
"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert," Stiles said softly. He turned to leave — but froze when he saw Melissa.
He bowed his head, remembering her harsh words earlier.
Melissa's expression softened. She stepped forward and pulled Stiles into a gentle hug.
Stiles trembled violently, then hugged her tightly. "Aunt Melissa… I…"
"Shhh… it's okay," she whispered, pulling back with a warm smile.
"It wasn't your fault. None of us could have predicted this. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier… But promise me you won't run off into danger at night again, okay?"
"I promise," Stiles whispered.
Scott smiled at the scene, saying nothing.
Grayson's lips twitched, almost as if he wanted to shout — but Elena hugged him tighter, shaking.
He swallowed his anger.
Whatever happened… his daughter was home.
That was all that mattered — for now.
Stiles left for home.
Half an hour later, Elena fell asleep in Grayson's arms, exhausted from the nightmare of a night she had endured.
Scott collapsed onto his bed and passed out immediately — it was 4 AM, and he had school in four and a half hours.
Grayson stared at his sleeping daughter until Miranda sat beside him.
"Alex is still missing," Miranda whispered, voice cracking.
"But we got Elena back," Grayson answered softly.
"But what if David… what if he—"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Grayson turned to her. "No. He won't hurt him, i won't allow it."
"How can you be so sure? What if he wants revenge on you… through our son?"
Miranda's voice trembled as tears filled her eyes.
Grayson pulled her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and said with quiet steel:
"Don't be afraid, Miranda. We will get our son back. I promise you.
Even if it's the last thing I ever do… I will bring Alex home."
Miranda sobbed into his chest. He stroked her hair with his good hand — but his eyes were cold, dark, and burning with fury.
"Wait for me, David… because when I find you… you'll wish you were dust."
He thought to himself, rage boiling in his chest.
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Note:
I found a bit of free time to write today, so here we are — a new chapter for you. Don't get used to it, because I'm extremely busy with my university exams and I might not be able to update any chapters before the end of September.
Share your thoughts and ideas about this chapter and the story in general so I can improve its overall quality.
That's all. Goodbye.