A/N: I might be falling sick.
========================
Gerard dropped the bloody metal pipe on the ground and regarded the brutally beaten and strung up Derek with a huge scowl on his face.
"I've run out of my patience for this little game of ours, Derek." He held up Derek's bloody face roughly and said. "Make your choice now. Give me what I want and I'll let both of your betas go free in whatever state they are currently in."
The thing that frustrated him the most was that no matter how he tortured him or made him watch his betas being tortured, Derek refused to shift form, much to his chagrin.
The most he had gotten from him was his eyes flickering red for a brief moment but that was it. Neither his fangs or claws grew a centimeter despite the bubbling rage Derek felt.
"So what will it be, Derek? Are you willing to throw away the only chance of survival your innocent betas will get from me? Or will you still stubbornly hang on to your foolish pride and watch them die?"
Derek struggled to open his eyes halfway through the burning pain he felt and looking at Gerard's eyes told him that Gerard was no longer torturing him out of spite. If he refuses here, Gerard will kill his beta in the next minute.
"… Y… our… ord."
Gerard scoffed at that. "You don't have any right to bargain as you are, Derek. But I will give it to you this time, you have my word that your betas will be spared. You on the other hand are a whole different story." He sneered.
Derek closed his eyes at that, knowing fully well that whether or not he agreed, Gerard could do anything he wanted to his betas without any restrictions holding him back.
Summoning his last wisp of strength, Derek took on what could very well be his last time shape-shifting. He stared at Gerard with his face all scrunched up and hairy in his werewolf form.
He could practically smell the greed oozing from the man at the prospect of him acquiring his long sought power
"Yes.. That's it. Just a simple bite. You'd find that there was no need for you to be this difficult for this long."
Gerard was inwardly salivating as he tenderly brought his old weary hands closer to Derek's maw, already anticipating the power that would flow through his veins the very next minute.
Unfortunately, fate had another thing planned out for Gerard Argent.
Just as the old patriarch was about to step into a higher height of evolution, a slight tremor vibrated through the iron pipes in the building.
And before he could question what the hell that was, the unmistakable howl of a wolf resounded through the entire building, making his blood run cold because he knew just what that could do werewolves in particular.
As if answering his fears, he whipped his head back to Derek who looked stunned for a moment questioning his ears and as soon as he understood the meaning of the howl, his eyes flickered to Gerard staring at him with a threatening look on his face.
"Don't you dare!" He shouted, albeit a moment too late as Derek undid his transformation instantly before he could force his hand into his mouth.
Derek faced him with a weary smirk that looked extra sinister with his bloodied mouth and swollen face.
"You'll have to try harder, Gerard." He said.
"Arghhhh!!" Gerard shouted in frustration and hit Derek across the face with the metal pipe to vent out his turbulent emotions.
"I'll be back for you." He said and left a half-dead Derek as he angrily made his way towards the source of the disturbance with murder in his mind.
°°°°°°°
[Tristan Hayes POV]
Tristan will be the first person to say that he sometimes regrets making some emotional connections with people outside of his pack.
After being irritated by his new position as co-captain of the lacrosse team, when he had expected to relax by resting his troubled head on Malia's lap, he instead had been met with Allison asking him to help Scott in rescuing Derek.
She seemed to be sure, scared even, that something would happen if Scott manages to find Derek that will spur Derek into killing Gerard.
His instant response had been a resounding no and while it hurt her, she still begged him, but this time as a favor.
And this was where it got complicated.
Malia joined in, well not outright, but she worded it in a way as if convincing him that it wouldn't matter anyway if they went or not.
But unfortunately for her, this was one of those rare times when he rejected her wishes.
The three of them remained staring at each other, Allison and Tristan not relenting in theirs, while Malia winced when she noticed she was being the odd one out.
Even though he knew she would always side with him whenever the situation calls for it, he couldn't help but wonder if Malia really cared this much for Allison.
Can she bear to raise her fangs against her if their safety depended on it? Probably, but he doubted she could do it without hesitation.
Stuck in an impasse, he referred to the one person that would make the best decision in his stead.
He called Satomi and told her everything, including how Allison hid a tracker in Gerard's car after school and was currently tracking him to where Derek was probably held up.
"I couldn't do anything when Talia's family were burned alive, despite me calling myself her friend." Satomi said.
"I had no idea when her daughter, Laura, came back to Beacon Hills, nor when she died. I left Peter to carry out his revenge because I believed it was rightful of him but whereas Derek chose the path of least bloodshed by only killing the person responsible, Kate Argent, Peter wanted an equal blood payment. And he died due to it."
Though she spoke over a phone call, Tristan and Malia easily noticed how heavy she felt as she spoke those words.
"Being old doesn't always make the decisions that one makes the right one. It only helps in using experience to foresee consequences. And when it finally comes to it, I can't find it in me to idly stand to the side and watch as Talia's last blood die due to an old blood debt. Follow the young Allison and help rescue Derek, Tristan."
Even though he had expected it from the start due to her initial words, Tristan still sighed as he agreed to her decision.
He wanted to cut the call there but Satomi's last words entered his ears as he disabled the loudspeaker.
"Send me the location, Tristan. I'll be making my way over as soon as possible."
Those words alone caused goosebumps to spread over his body but he said nothing and ended the call.
"Well, you heard her." Allison beamed as she saw that he no longer hesitated. "Send the location to McCall. Tell them we'll meet them there in a few minutes."
Allison sent over the location of Gerard's car that was still stationary to the duo of Scott and Stiles as she drove Tristan and Malia towards Gerard's location.
It took them a few minutes to arrive and Allison parked her car a healthy distance from where Gerard's was parked.
Scott and Stiles were already in hiding waiting for them, keeping watch of the abandoned building in front of them.
"Can you feel anything, Tristan?" Malia asked as she saw him sniffing the air but he shook his head.
"Gerard is definitely inside that building but other than a few people lazing around, I can't pick up on either Derek or his betas' presence. I can't even sense Gerard." He said with a frown.
"Maybe there's something like a bunker underneath the building? We have a few of these types of buildings. My family uses them as underground storage."
Hearing Allison's explanation, they all nodded at how plausible it sounded and made their way towards it with Tristan making sure that nobody inside the building saw them as they approached.
"How are we going to get to the underground bunker with those Hunters keeping watch? There are quite a few of them after all."
Malia looked weirdly at Stiles which confused the boy until he understood what the silence meant.
"Oh, you will… Good. I'll wait out here until you guys are done… Blood makes me queasy." His face twitched as a gory mental image played out in his head like a premonition.
"Malia, let's go." Tristan simply said and cut himself in the back of his waist much to their confusion but he ignored it and stormed the building with Malia, with Allison and McCall following their lead.
The bored Hunters who were on lookout failed to notice them until it was too late as the group of vampire, werecoyote, werewolf, and their own heiress attacked them and quickly took them out.
The ones who fought Allison and Scott had it better as the only thing they suffered were some injuries, broken bones, and losing consciousness. While the ones that were targeted by Tristan and Malia weren't so lucky.
… In a way, it could be said that they had it best because they won't be feeling any more pain after this… forever.
.
.
.
=================
Don't forget to vote
Read up to 20 chapters ahead on my patreøn
Patreøn*com/Draul_TheOminous