It was Sunday afternoon. The Argents were in their living room, having just finished lunch, when a firm knock echoed from the front door.
Chris walked over to the security monitor and saw an old man with a powerful build standing there, flanked by two others. The old man looked directly into the camera and said. "Argent. Open the door. We come in peace."
Chris didn't respond. He moved silently to the garage, opened a specific case in his armory, and retrieved three rusted iron daggers and three small pouches. He then loaded three handguns with bullets that had rusted iron heads. Returning to the house, he handed two daggers, two guns, and two pouches to Victoria and Kate.
Kate and Victoria quickly hid the daggers and pouches on their persons. Victoria's voice was tense. "Which Bogatyr family are we dealing with?"
"The worst." Chris replied grimly.
Kate's eyes narrowed. "The Zimas?"
Chris gave a single, sharp nod. "Yes. Prepare for the worst."
He then went and opened the door, his expression stony as he looked at the old man. "It's a long way from Poland, Bartek."
Bartek offered a thin, humorless smile. "You're rude, Chris. I'm a friend of your father, after all. I can be considered your elder. Shouldn't you at least invite me in?"
"Sure." Chris said, his voice flat. "Come on in."
Bartek and the two men behind him entered. Chris led them to the living room, where he, Kate, and Victoria sat opposite them.
"Why are you here, old man?" Chris demanded, skipping any further pleasantries.
Bartek ignored the question and gestured to the man on his right, who was about Chris's age. "This is my son, Piotr. I'm sure you've heard of him."
"Nothing good, but I've heard the name." Chris acknowledged coldly.
Bartek smiled and pointed to the young man on his left, who had a strong, athletic build. "And this is my grandson, Antoni. He's seventeen, about the same age as your daughter. I heard from Gerard that she is a beauty. Perhaps we can let the kids get to know each other. Where is she?"
"There is no need for my daughter to know a bastard from the Zima family." Chris stated, his voice dripping with contempt. "If that's why you're here, then you can leave, old man."
Antoni jumped up, angry. "Watch your tongue, you weakling!"
Bartek sharply scolded his grandson. "Shut up, Antoni! They may be weakling humans, but they can still kill you. So, sit down and shut up." He turned his deceptive, kindly smile back to Chris. "Don't mind him. He is still young and has much to learn."
"I don't like you or your family." Chris said, his patience gone. "So tell me what brought you to this town, and then leave my house."
Bartek's facade of friendliness finally dropped. "We were passing by when we heard about the wendigos in this town. We came to take a look. I saw the dead wendigos in the morgue. Three were shot, probably by you and your hunters. But one was definitely cut by magic. And there was an alpha wendigo that was beaten to death. For something to kill an alpha wendigo with brute force… it must be extremely powerful. Even the three of us together couldn't have done it."
Chris remained impassive. "And your point is?"
"My point," Bartek's voice grew deeper, more threatening, "is that you had the help of a powerful supernatural creature. I want to know where it is."
"So you can kill it?" Chris asked.
"Yes." Bartek confirmed. "All supernatural creatures must be killed, especially the strong ones."
Kate sneered. "Then why don't you kill yourselves first? Aren't Bogatyrs supernatural, too?"
Piotr leaned forward. "We are chosen humans, blessed with power! Our duty is to purge the filthy monsters that roam our world!"
"Sure." Kate retorted sarcastically. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, you freak."
Piotr shot to his feet, ready to lunge at Kate, but Chris was faster, his gun now aimed squarely at Piotr's head. "Get out of my house."
"Piotr, calm down!" Bartek ordered his son. He turned his cold gaze back to Chris. "Don't forget that you are a hunter, Chris. I might be willing to look the other way and forgive you this once for working with a supernatural, but..."
Before Bartek could finish his threat, Victoria acted. In one swift motion, she flung the contents of the pouch Chris had given her—a cloud of fine, rusted iron dust that engulfed Piotr's head.
Caught completely off guard, Piotr inhaled the dust. He began to choke violently, his body seizing up before collapsing to the floor. He was completely paralyzed, able only to cough and choke helplessly.
Bartek and Antoni tried to stand, but Chris and Kate aimed their guns at them.
"Don't move." Chris commanded, his voice cold. "Or we'll blow your heads off. And believe me, you can't heal from that."
Bartek glared, pure hatred in his eyes. "You used rusted iron..."
"Take your son and get lost." Chris said. "And if you come near my family again, I will kill you."
Kate smirked, enjoying their fury. "If I were you, old man, I'd leave this town as soon as possible. The people you're looking for hate bastards like you more than anything. If they find out you're here, you won't leave this town alive. And death would be the least of your concerns. If the guy who killed that alpha wendigo catches you, you'll experience something far worse than death. Believe me, he's a psychopath."
Bartek slowly stood, his body trembling with suppressed rage. "Antoni. Get your father. We're leaving."
Antoni, shooting them a venomous look, hauled his paralyzed, choking father off the floor and followed his grandfather out of the house.
Chris followed them to the door, watching until their car sped away. He locked the door and returned to the living room, his expression grim.
He sank into a chair. "We need to warn the kids. Allison can handle herself, but Bartek is said to be as strong as an alpha. And they'll know she's supernatural the moment they see her. They can sense it."
Victoria was already on her feet. "Then let's go. Now."
They got into their car and drove straight to Jacob's mansion. Cogman opened the gate for them and guided them to the living room. Inside, they found Allison snuggling with Malia on the couch watching TV, while Lydia sat nearby scrolling through her phone.
Allison stood up and greeted her parents with kisses on their cheeks. She then looked at Kate and said, simply. "Kate."
"Where's my kiss?" Kate asked with a smirk.
Allison ignored her and sat back down next to Malia. "Cogman, could you make some tea and bring some snacks, please?"
"Right away, my lady." Cogman replied before heading to the kitchen.
The Argents sat down, and Chris got straight to the point. "Where's Jacob?"
"He's sleeping." Allison said. "Do you need him for something?"
"Yes." Chris said. "Wake him up."
Allison raised her voice toward the staircase. "Jacob! Wake up! My dad wants to talk to you!"
They waited, but there was no response. Allison shouted again. "Jacob, I know you heard me! Come down or I'll come up and drag you down myself!"
A muffled shout came from upstairs. "Allison! You're too loud! Believe it or not, I'll spank you in front of your parents!"
Allison blushed as Victoria raised an eyebrow.
Soon, Jacob came downstairs, grumbling, and slumped into the recliner.
"Didn't you get enough sleep?" Allison asked.
"And whose fault do you think that is, huh?" Jacob retorted. "You and Lydia woke up so early this morning and started training in the backyard. And if that wasn't loud enough, stupid Lydia started screaming."
"Hey!" Lydia interjected. "That wasn't my fault! She asked me to attack her with my sonic scream. Besides, when are you going to get enough sleep? You're like an old man. You sleep in class, you always have to take a nap in the afternoon. I mean, you're a supernatural creature; you can go days without sleep if you want."
"What do you know?" Jacob shot back. "I'm still in my growing stage. I need a lot of food and sleep. And you know what I am; my kind is known for laziness, too."
Lydia said. "Then use earplugs or something, and stop complaining whenever we make noise in the house."
Jacob snorted. "I'll deal with you girls later."
Lydia winked at him. "Do your worst."
"Alright, that's enough, you two." Allison said, ending the bickering.
Just then, Cogman returned with tea and snacks.
Jacob sighed, took a sip of tea, and looked at Chris. "What's up?"
"The news about the dead wendigos brought something bad to town." Chris said grimly.
Allison leaned forward. "What came to town?"
"Hunters." Chris explained. "But not normal hunters. They're supernatural humans called Bogatyrs. The ones who came here are three members of the Zima family, a hunter family from Poland. They're known for being extreme; they kill every supernatural creature they can find. They don't care if the creature is innocent or not. They even kill normal humans who help or are in a relationship with supernatural creatures."
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "And where did you meet these guys?"
"They came to my house asking about the creature that helped me kill the alpha wendigo."
"Do you know where they are now?" Jacob's voice was cold. "They won't live past tonight."
"No." Chris said. "I kicked them out. I don't know where they went, or how many of them are actually in Beacon Hills."
"I see…" Jacob turned to his butler. "Cogman, tell me what you know about Bogatyr."
Cogman straightened. "Bogatyrs are supernatural hunters from Slavic mythology. They believe all supernatural life is a disease to be purged. They possess supernatural strength and speed, and can channel energy to defend or attack their enemies. They are immune to compulsion, and their eyes can identify supernatural creatures on sight—they may not know what the creature is, but they know it's not human. Their fanaticism is absolute, showing no mercy to the innocent or guilty. Their primary weakness is rusted iron, which acts on them like Wolfsbane, burning their skin and crippling their powers."
Lydia frowned. "Aren't those idiots supernatural themselves? Why do they hate supernatural creatures so much?"
"Who knows?" Jacob shrugged. "Cogman, you can track them and kill them all."
"With pleasure, sir." Cogman said, a dark gleam in his eye. He turned to Chris. "Can you describe their appearance to me?"
"I can do better." Chris said, pulling out his phone. "I have a doorbell camera connected to this." He handed the phone over.
Cogman took it, connected to the feed, and watched the video of the Zimas' visit. He handed the phone back. "Thank you. That's perfect. Finding them will be easy now."
Cogman closed his eyes, connecting to the internet. Moments later, his eyes snapped open. "Sir, I've found them. They're at a hotel on a busy street downtown. I can't kill them there."
"You mean you don't want to kill them there." Jacob corrected him. "Because you can't torture them properly."
"You are right, sir." Cogman admitted without shame. "While I could torture them and keep them quiet, it wouldn't be as... satisfying. I need to hear them scream. I want to tear their limbs and break their bo..."
Jacob cut him off. "That's enough, you psycho. Just lure them to the woods. You'll need bait for that."
"I'll be the bait." Allison volunteered immediately.
"No." Jacob said. "They know your parents, so they might know what you look like and choose not to follow you. Cogman, use Scott. Tell him and Stiles what's going on. The three of you go to the hotel where these guys are staying. When the Bogatyrs see Scott, they'll know he's supernatural. Lure them out to the woods."
Cogman gave a sharp, eager nod. "Then I'm leaving now, sir."
"Go." Jacob ordered. "Bring them to the place where I killed those hunters a couple of weeks ago. I want to see how these guys fight."
After Cogman left, Chris turned to Jacob, his expression a mix of curiosity and concern. "What kind of creature is your butler? When he took my phone, the thing started working on its own. Then he closed his eyes, and a moment later he said he'd found Bartek and his men."
Jacob shook his head. "Believe me, you don't want to know. That would just freak you out. Ignorance is a blessing sometimes."
Victoria pressed the point. "Why couldn't he be the bait for the Bogatyrs? Isn't he a supernatural creature?"
"He is." Jacob said. "But he's not like us. The Bogatyrs' sight might not identify him as supernatural. That's all I can tell you."
Kate leaned forward. "Then why didn't you or Lydia go as bait?"
Jacob said. "I'm sure you know what Lydia is by now."
Chris said. "We didn't know at first, but after she predicted the death of the werecoyote girl, we figured out she was a banshee."
Jacob nodded. "And as you know, banshees can step through mountain ash like normal humans. So, I don't know if the Bogatyrs can tell she's supernatural or not."
"And you?" Victoria asked, turning her gaze to Jacob.
"I can hide what I am." He said simply. "I can mask my energy and appear completely human. So, unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't want to expose myself in the middle of town—especially now, when it's filled with strangers and investigators for the wendigo case. Who knows what kind of creatures I might end up drawing to me? I don't want that kind of attention."
Allison, who had been listening quietly, changed the subject. "Dad, how do you know the Zima family?"
"I don't, not really." Chris confessed. "They're Gerard's friends. But I know what those bastards do. They leave massacres in their wake. They don't even bother to hide the bodies; they just kill and leave them for the cops to find."
Lydia's face showed her disgust. "I'm starting to think all hunters are crazy, evil killers. I mean, we've never met a good one. No offense, Mr. Argent, but the Argent family has Kate and Gerard. To me, your family doesn't seem like a righteous hunter family."
Chris sighed, a heavy weight in the sound. "Every family has one or two crazy, evil members. I doubt you'd find an entire family that's purely good and righteous, even if you searched the whole world."
Lydia crossed her arms. "We don't have an evil member in our family."
Kate smirked. "What about Cogman?"
Lydia didn't hesitate. "He's a crazy psychopath, but he's not evil."
Kate just shrugged. "If you say so."
To be continued... 😊