Nothing Personal

Tabitha's eyesight blurred as she fought back the burn climbing up her throat. She let out a shaky breath as she desperately tried to put air back in lungs but it seemed to have the opposite effect as her lungs cried out for mercy. Unable to take the pain, she feel forward, hiding her head in between her knees as she let out the first of many gut-wrenching sobs. A pair of hands rubbed her back, silently comforting her as she shrieked. She could feel a pair of eyes gaze down on her, some cynical and some pitying as she collapsed.

The casket was closed and all she could remember was Todd's cold, blue corpse inside, lonely and dead. She wanted to go inside the dark little piece of wood and hug him, to reassure him she still loved him and that she would never forget him but that was impossible from her fifth isle pew. The monotone preacher dragged on with his sermon, telling the accomplishment of Todd's young life. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to go up there and tell it straight, how her brother was the best in the world, how he was there when she won the state championship, how he taught her how to use a racket… just the small stuff, she remembered.

His smile was warm and his laughter loud, the combination enveloping her into a hug whenever she was around him. He always brightened her world, always distracted her from the hard stuff, especially when her parents had announced their separation. He was the one who took her to the woods and talked it out because he knew she wouldn't open up to anyone else. He let her scream, he let her curse until her voice failed her and all she was left with was a red beaten face and an aching stomach.

He held her all night as she cried. He didn't tell anyone about it.

Todd had always favored her above the rest of his siblings –including his twin –because she was his only baby sister. She was the one he vowed to protect to the end, the one he put above himself. He'd take a bullet for her.

The reminder brought on another series of sobs that had her trembling. She felt like her chest would cave in on her any minute.

"Tabitha," Ellis whispered harshly in the pew ahead of her, "keep it down or take it outside," she demanded, narrowing her dark eyes at her granddaughter. Tabitha slowly looked up. She was in disbelief those words were uttered from the aged woman's lips.

Ellis simply raised a penciled-in brow and turned her head onward, returning her strict stare to the black plaid priest who was reading strictly by the bible in his hands, quoting a verb from St. Peter's section. Her cold eyes softened to approval as she took in the environment.

It was a dark setting, with silence blanketing over the three hundred plus gathering of distant and immediate family. Everyone was heavy with cries and wet eyes as many of women dabbed their eyes with tissues. The children looked around, confused and awkward in their formal attire. Ellis was satisfied with the fact it was the way a traditional Catholic ceremony should be instead of that festive party the mongrel of a gringo Victor had suggested. That was no way to honor a death.

But, she sourly thought, glancing to the other side of the church, not all was well, as some audacious members of Richard's extended family didn't get the memo. Some of the ladies flamboyantly dressed in blue and other contemporary colors –and as some were modest enough to keep the fabric to their necks and covering their assets –she did not approve of the fashion. This was funeral for heaven's sake, which last time she checked, was not a casual event. Some of their children were also audaciously dressed in bright colors, a few yellows here and a few reds and pinks there. Ellis was tense from the shoulders up and bitter about it.

It didn't ease her agitation that Tabitha hadn't followed her advice and wore something more appropriate to the occasion instead of the outfit she had dared wear into the God-forsaken church.

Tabitha owned on solid black outfit –a neck-lined, soft layered, short-sleeved, knee length dress completed with a rag belt –but that was deemed "inappropriate" by her image-obsessed grandmother, because it was too simple and "poor looking." So, within the short time she had, Tabitha made a quick trip to her dependable friend Madison and asked to borrow a more "fitting" outfit just to get her grandmother off her ass.

Madison though had a much different taste from the simple-loving Tabitha, as Madison devoted most of her inheritance on the most decorated and coordinated outfits she could get her hands on.

That's how Tabitha ended up with an elegant sweetheart neck-lined dress lined with decorative webbed lace that wrapped around her shoulders and extended down to her elbows. The glossy material formed around her body, wrapping around her curves and exposing her sun-kissed legs as the material stopped just above her knees. To add a touch of her own personality, Tabitha had wrapped a thin leather belt around her waist to give a simple touch. It was her only touch. Madison had insisted that if Tabitha was going to borrow that little number, she needed to do it justice by wearing a matching pair of shoes. No, correction, pumps. Just as she had imagined, Tabitha was forced into a frightening, unstable pair of five inch shiny black pumps that threatened her balance and dignity every time she stepped. Last but not least, Madison had assured her, to finalize the piece with a hairpiece.

Madison had showed her how to do her hair specifically, claiming a piece as elaborate as that dress she wasn't allowed any more room for creativity. She pulled Tabitha's hair into a tight bun before sliding a black rose into her smooth hair. When viewing herself in the mirror, Tabitha was stunned at her reflection. Gone was the simple girl but instead a classic beauty. Madison applauded her, grinning victoriously.

"I told you that you were beautiful," Tabitha remembered Madison's words distinctly. Madison was stunned at how alike they could be by just wearing similar outfits. She finished Tabitha by placing a thick black band over her head, a simple accessory that defined her hair's volume.

Returning to the present, Tabitha stared incredulously at Ellis who ignored her. She knew Ellis was displeased with her outfit, deeming it at too glamorous than fitting for a funeral. As much as Tabitha would agree, she narrowed her eyes at the never-pleased Ellis. She detested her grandma just as much as Richard did but at least her father had more grace not to show it.

Tori -on the other hand –was blind to the fact how arrogant Ellis was.

"Tabi," Tori hissed, "be nice to you great grandmother."

Tabitha shot her a vile look. Ellis didn't even look that young. She was barely eighty years old but the Botox she injected regularly into her face halted her age to look closer to sixty and even then she wasn't that attractive. Ellis had dyed her hair an awful blond color to hide the grays tainting her natural dark locks, cut it so it skimmed her shoulders and probably paid three digits each month at some brand name salon to have it permed and straightened so it would bounce. Ellis had piercing dark brown eyes that mirrored death itself, cold and frightened, and a southern tongue that came from ancestors who enjoyed lashing at slaves. (Ellis didn't hide her pride in her heritage as a granddaughter of a successful plantation owner.)

"Ellie," Ellis's husband Mark whispered. "You should give the girl a break, she just lost her brother," he insisted, sending Tabitha a sympathetic look. It was too late to alter her mind on them –even though all of it was based off of Ellis's actions –he still loved his eldest granddaughter, mixed race or not. He looked much more delicate than his matriarch of a wife. His eyes were a gentle blue as his hair softened to an almost snow white. He let his age show with rings of wrinkles lining his face. "Honey," he offered to Tabitha. "Are you okay? Do you want me to take you outside?"

"No," she declined, shrugging off his helpful hand.

"I'll go with her," Trent offered, getting up and pulling his sister's arms. "Come on sis," he pleaded, knowing she needed some air. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Auntie Dee is outside, too, you know," he pushed. Tabitha got up and stomped out of the pew, shoving past Tori who tried to reach out a helpful hand to her daughter.

As the young pair exited the church, Richard looked at Tori who hid back her tears at the painful rejection.

"What's wrong, dear?" He asked, laying a hand on her knee. She shook her head as her bottom lip trembled.

"Nothing," she whimpered, "Tabi and I got into a fight this morning."

"About what," Richard asked, surprised. He knew the two are distant but he thought after Tori's attack that the two had come to an understanding. Tabitha seemed especially protective of Tori since she was wheeled out of hospital, almost like a guard dog, anxious and nippy, ready to attack anything that had gotten too close.

"Nothing," Tori insisted, devoted to protect her daughter even if Tabi denied Tori were capable of it. That was just one of the subjects brought up that morning.

Richard didn't believe it and looked at his wife questionably but left it alone as the timing was inappropriate.

Delores Vasquez was sobbing to herself outside under the merciless sun. The bright rays reflected off of her dress as she fingered the ruffles lining her collar. She held herself, letting herself shed a few healthy tears before she would head inside so she would seem strong in front of her children. The door swung open and she glanced over to see her niece and nephew.

"Marcia?"

Tabitha turned around and spotted her aunt but made no effort to step towards her but at the distance though Delores could see the anger burning in Tabitha's eyes. She gasped, alarmed at the hatred vivid in her niece's exquisite emerald eyes.

"Marcia, what in God's name…." she mumbled.

Delores was one of the few Venezuelan family members who conquered the English language. She was a business and language professor at the local University, well qualified as she had taken in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese from the local cultures. It was right after one of her classes she had met a young Victor Vasquez when he sought her help to translate a piece of paper in Portuguese from one of his "trips" in Brazil. Unknown to her, Victor had planned to kill her in some way because she knew too much but he was taken to the young woman –as she been twenty four at the time –and her intelligence. She was too good of a resource to waste.

Victor started to take her on lavish dates, take her out of town to romantic beaches or historic towns, and there they began to beautiful relationship. It was four years later she told him she wanted to be married and that she wanted kids. She began to doubt Victor was that type of man after a few years and wanted to get that out there before she broke her own heart believing in the delusion. Surprisingly, Victor took her hand and said he'd get a ring, give her money for a dress, and take care of the church arrangements. Within months, Delores Valeria Costilla was walking down the aisle in her beautiful white lace dress only a day away from being Delores Valeria Vasquez. They immediately prepared their inner-city home for kids and welcomed their first daughter Amanda, then their second son, Sebastian, and then their youngest daughter Beatriz.

Knowing Victor for almost twenty years now, she knew what he did on the side (and stood faithfully by her husband as she knew it was best for her kids) and recognized the fire in Tabitha's eyes as the same fire Victor held. She was appalled someone so young and so protected from her families true nature could be tainted with revenge so easily.

"Niña," Delores began, taking a step towards Tabitha. "I know you're upset but you must think rationally. It's natural to be angry but you must not let it devour you. It will eat you from the inside like decay until you are nothing but skin and bones." Her thick accent slipped through.

"Don't worry, Dee," Tabitha promised, using Delores's nickname through her teeth, "don't worry."

It didn't ease Delores as she watched Tabitha stalk outside the church. Something in her eyes didn't seem right. Despite her size, she knew Tabitha could be capable of deadly damage. She was like a time bomb, ticking as each minute passed.

"Tabi," Madison asked, stepping outside. Trent gave her a curt nod. Madison was dressed in similar attire of that of Tabitha's, wearing a figure hugging dress that was cut too high above her knees. A thin sequenced belt wrapped around her waist under her breast while the hems of her dress circled tightly around her thighs. With a simple dress, she overly decorated her hair, letting her golden curls cascade down her chest while a branch shaped, diamond incrusted hair piece held back her banes. Her makeup was glowing, bright with blush and dramatic on the eyes with the help of soft brown eye shadow and a thick line of black liner above her bold lashes. Her lips were pale with a solid coat of pink lipstick.

Delores eyed the blond suspiciously. She wasn't judging Madison's beauty. Delores herself was a beautiful specimen, with wide hazel eyes, thick chocolate locks, and an athletic figure from her Swimming days, but something about Madison was brooding. She was too perfect, as her features were enhanced. Delores didn't know how to explain it. It didn't seem natural.

"I have to go," Madison excused, embracing Tabitha. "I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?" Tabitha had to ask, eyeing Madison suspiciously.

"I'm going to do some errands, you know, get some things out of the way," Madison waved off. With Jackson crossed off her to-do list, she would have less to worry about as time shrunk.

"How's your side?" Tabitha asked before Madison parted. She had noticed Madison wince when Tabitha had hugged her.

Madison strained a smile. She hid the fact the throbbing residing from the area bothered her greatly, how it restricted her movement because it stung every time her elbow skimmed it. If it were to come from any other being, the wound would've healed by now but because it was inflicted by an equal-or-even-greater individual, in a shorter term, another Alpha, she was just as dissectible as any other werewolf. She didn't like it in the least but hid her discomfort and agitation behind a smooth face and small smile.

"It's getting better." she persisted, shrugging it off. "I don't worry too much about it."

"All right," Tabitha let it slide, believing her. "Drive safely, okay?"

That was least of Madison's concerns but she smiled and thanked Tabitha anyways before parting way. As she slid into her driver's seat, she let herself relax for a moment, sinking into the smooth leather. Her fingers slid down to her wounded side. She felt the outline of the gauze under her dress, fingering the small patch until she was reminded of the intense pain when a burning wave coursed through her muscle. She clenched her teeth to hold back a curse but a hiss escaped her jaws as she dealt with the pain.

Damn you Derek, she cursed. Oh how desperately she wanted to extract retribution on the arrogant male. She should've taken the chance when she had it but no, she had to be the rational one in that moment and abide by her platonic rules. This is why she didn't deal with partners or alliances! She continued to mentally rant as she leaned forward to start the engine. If this had been anyone else, that idiot would be decaying in a dumpster by now, but she had to be a bit more careful with Derek. He was too close to her now. He knew too much. As much as she wanted to kill him, she also knew it would take much more effort than she was prepared for and she didn't want another complication to put a dent in her plans. She just had to adapt and if that meant tolerating Derek, so be it.

But at that moment she wanted nothing more than to take a swipe at the son-of-a-bitch and scar him for good. She hated feeling restricted and weak. She absolutely loathed it. She would not be the underdog. She refused to be! She's gotten this far by being ruthless and untouchable and then suddenly when she aligned with another Alpha for the first time in her life, (Excluding Peter as she had never participated in anything with him. He was just a mentor) she gets a disabling wound?

She clenched her teeth and tightened her hands into fists around the steering wheel as her claws began to protrude.

"Breathe," she reminded herself out loud. Her claws retracted and her eyes cooled down to her trademark gray-blue eyes. "You have more important things to focus on tonight." She didn't need to seethe about Derek. She needed to stay alert and focused on the Kanima, as she was rational enough to admit Jackson posed a greater threat to her than the Argents at that moment. It could kill her and she didn't need her mission stopped short.

She would've called Tabitha to take care of it but because of the funeral, Madison didn't want to stress her Beta out anymore. It wouldn't be fair to her. Tabitha needed her rest and Madison kept true to her promise to take over some of the shady parts of her operation. Plus, she needed to practice her physical skills anyways. It's been a while since she had broken a sweat or gotten her hands dirty.

When Madison had gotten home, she immediately slid off the dress to examine her wound. It stung more than usual. Even though it was inflicted by another Alpha, her genes allowed her to still heal abnormally. She couldn't explain why it hurt worse than the night Derek hooked his claws into her abdomen.

She carefully removed the gauze, wincing as it pried away from her gash, as it had embedded itself into her flesh in the early process of healing, and felt a new wave of blood seep through the cut before she even took it off completely. After prying off the last piece if tape, she had a full view of her wound but took the few steps needed to get to her mirror to get a better advantage. She gaped at the grotesque image, disgusted.

The wound was no longer red with rage but black and blue, as if she had been rammed into by a car. The broken superficial layers of skin were shriveled and yellowed as antibiotics kept any infection at bay but the gauze she applied on it regularly suffocated any oxygen it could've gotten. A small collection of puss lined the broken cuts and she dabbed some of it off with the clean side of her gauze, gagging at the mucus-like substance.

It was an atrocity on her skin and she detested Derek even more for inflicting it on her.

She anticipated the burn of the hydrogen-peroxide as she dabbed it on with a cotton ball. Immediately she felt the bacteria react with the alcohol-based substance and held back a hiss. It was as if someone had plunged a hot metal rod into her wound. She had to lean on her dressed to keep herself from collapsing.

After that long and enduring process, she searched her personal bathroom for her medical supplied, pulling out her bottom drawer where an abundance of cloth and cotton balls hid. She reached in and pulled out three squares of gauze, four strips of body tape, and some antibiotic cream.

She quickly smeared the clear substance over the open wound before pasting another set of layers of gauze to cover it and tightly secured it with extra tape before sliding on another shirt to hide it from anybody else's view. She adjusted the broad straps of her shirt, leaving the flowing material of the shirt alone. She matched it with a pair of yoga pants and a free-fitting Track jacket.

After pulling her hair up in a ponytail, she jogged down her grand staircase and headed to the door where her favorite pair of Nike shoes lay waiting for her.

"Hey Dad," she called out, "I'm going for a run. I'll be back in an hour or so!"

"All right sweetheart," Frank yelled from the kitchen, "be safe!"

"Always am Dad," she assured.

Tabitha was preparing the leave, too, as she slid on a snug tank top. She adjusted the hems of her jeans and shoved her phone in her back pocket. Picking up her jacket off of her bed, she shrugged it. She tucked her hair under a soft gray beanie Todd had given her, too. Set and ready to go, she opened her window and climbed on the ledge, balancing herself as she stretched her leg out, reaching for the ground.

"Where are you going?" Trent burst in. Startled, Tabitha yipped and lost balance, leaning outside until she felt the force of the fall vibrate throughout her body. It was a paralyzing force as her nerves reacted in overdrive. She ached all over until her body felt stuff. Slowly she lifted herself up, ignoring the throbbing pain radiating up and down her spine. "Sis, are you okay?" He frantically cried out.

"Keep it down," she demanded. "I'm fine." She tried to push herself up but couldn't hold back a hiss as her bones rattled. "Just go back to bed," she whispered. "It's like eleven o'clock and dad expects us in bed."

Trent was about to say something but looked back to the bundle of lined pillows she had hid under her comforter, mimicking a human body perfectly. "Dad is going to get mad if he catches you out again." He sighed, torn. "Why do you have to go out? Where are you going?"

Tabitha resisted revealing her baby brother her secret. It would make life so much easier if she could just tell someone she trusted by at the same time, she didn't want to drag Trenton into this mess. She looked up at Trent with dark, serious eyes.

"The less you know, the better," she insisted.

She reached her arm to grab the beanie that had slipped from her head. Lazily she propped it back onto her scalp, ignoring a few loose strands of her hair.

Trent looked at her questionably, unsure if he could trust her.

"You aren't going to kill somebody, are you?" Trent spoke up. The question on whether his sister was angry enough to kill the bastards who murdered his older brother itched at his mind since he saw the hatred in her eyes at the funeral.

Quite the opposite, Tabitha thought to herself. She was busting her ass to save some son-of-a-bitch that everybody else wanted to kill. She didn't know how the hell she was dragged into playing God and going against the natural current. If so many people wanted to kill this SOB, she didn't see why he was worthy of saving.

"No Trent," she assured him. "I'm not."

"You're doing something bad," Trent accused. "That's why you're being secretive. You can trust me, Marcy."

"I don't want you to be dragged down in this," Tabitha objected angrily, raising her voice. Trent jumped a little. "I don't want you to end up like Todd."

"What?" Trent bumbled out. "Are you saying the reason Todd is dead is because of you? What did you do Marcy?" He yelled angrily. To say he was upset was an understatement. Tabitha wasn't telling the whole story and it infuriated him that she was keeping him out of the dark. Whatever she was being elusive of got Todd killed.

"Just shut up!" She warned him, worried about her father hearing. "I'll tell you everything," she caved in, "after I come home, okay?"

Trent seethed. "What did you do?" He demanded again. "Do you know how stupid you're being?" Even if he didn't know what Tabitha was up to, if it got his brother killed, no matter what it was, was just plain idiotic and carless.

"Just keep quiet," she warned him, suppressing a snarl. She closed her eyes to hide her feral, glowing yellow pupils, quickly relaxing. "I'll be back soon."

She darted away, her dark silhouette blending into the cover of night. She made her way around the open pains to the backdoor of the garage a few hundred yards away. A dim light flickered above her as she struggled to get the heavy, dead-bolt door open. Frustrated, she pulled at it, dipping into her supernatural strength and it swung open. She staggered back, surprised how easily she could've broke her jaw if she was just a centimeter closer.

Trent continued to seethe as he stomped out of Tabitha's room, slamming the door behind him.

"Antonio," Richard demanded, turning the corner. Trent jumped at his father's angry voice. He spun around and gulped when he caught the worn glare of the aging man. Richard obviously was not happy. The ruckus had been so loud he could hear it in his study across the house. He had been forced to halt his work and investigate himself. Tori insisted on going herself but she was bedridden, exhausted from her healing wounds and heavy partying. She desperately needed her rest. "What is going on?"

Trent looked away for a second, torn from telling on his sister or facing his father's wrath himself. He then reminded himself of her betrayal, how she somehow caused Todd's death. Angry again, he faced his father with a burning set of spiteful eyes.

Tabitha snuck into the dark garage, flipping on a switch near the door which illuminated most of the detached building. Next to the switch was another, captioned #3 along a row of similar knobs. She flicked it up, initiating one of the large, heavy doors to pull up. She cringed at the volume. In the middle of two giant pick-ups was her smaller SUV. Fingering her set of keys from her back pocket, she pulled them out as she slid in between her father's pickup and her smaller vehicle, unlocking the driver side and slipping into her seat.

Outside her own house, Madison hesitantly slid into the passenger seat of a darkened car, nervous for once in her life as she realized the close proximity she was in with another Alpha. Derek glanced over, eyeing her physique. He didn't know if she knew but her legs were trembling, a sign of anxiety. He frowned. He didn't think she would still be upset over the other night's incident.

"Are you all right?" He asked, reaching a hand over to her knee, hoping to calm her. Her hand struck forward like a snake, grabbing his wrist before tossing it back into his lap.

"Keep your hands to yourself," she warned.

"Duly noted," he complied, ignoring the pain of his wrist. She had used her claws, he assumed, shaking off the burning pain of the superficial scratches lacing his wrist just above his watch.

He shouldn't ask, he warned himself. He shouldn't. It'll only rekindle her anger. He glanced at her, trying to read her face but her expression was blank, leaving him clueless. He had no other option but to ask.

"Is it your side? Does it still hurt?" He avoided her eyes so she wouldn't catch him in a glare but he felt her burning stare drill a hole into his head.

"No," Madison lied, trying to keep her voice even but a hint of agitation slipped through. Derek realized this and winced, cursing himself for even bringing it up.

Be a man, he told himself. Apologize!

"I'm really sorry about it," he said truthfully, shooting her a glance before returning his softened gaze to the road. "I didn't know what came over of me."

"I know," Madison replied. "I know what possessed you. It was your inner instincts. It was only natural for a male to feel dominant in that situation and your instincts said to court with me, as I lay unclaimed. It was purely instinctual. As flattered as I am about you considering me as an Alpha-female, I have to decline for future reference if you're stupid enough to repeat that little incident. I don't plan on adopting your pack or integrating mine with yours."

She stayed cool and reserved, watching the street lights pass by in her window. They had now entered the deep urban section of the city, concrete slowly dominating the landscape. Uncharacteristically though, very few people were out and the streets were void. It seemed to be only them on the road. She glanced back at the review mirror and spotted a dark SUV turn sharply on the street they had just passed but let it go. A lot of people owned Ford Escapes. Plus, last time she checked, Tabitha should've been passed out on her bed from all the festivities.

Ouch, that stung, Derek thought to himself. He tried to ignore the heavy news but it seemed to weigh down his heart. He massaged his chest with his fingers, hoping to sooth the pain but it stayed put.

"So," he changed the conversation to a much lighter note. "I was wondering how you plan on catching Jackson."

"Easy," Madison answered with ease, looking over to Derek with a smug look. He had to admit, her trademark grin stopped his heart. She turned her head again to look back to the sidewalks. "He is going to that nightclub, the one everyone is raving about? I plan on ambushing him."

"You're not going inside?" Derek asked incredulously.

Madison shook her head. She wouldn't incriminate herself by presenting herself in that club. She planned on staying in the shadows, away from wandering eyes that could place her there. She didn't need witnesses after what she anticipated would go down.

"Do you have tickets, I mean, just in case?" Derek questioned.

Madison shot him a dirty look. "I don't leave a trail, honey, and like hell I'm going to spent hundred something bucks on an even I'm not even going to. Talk about a waste of money," she berated him. "And why do I need tickets when I can just pry open a back door? Not like anyone would notice."

"What if there is a guard?" Derek persisted. Madison sighed, getting easily annoyed with Derek's doubt.

"Do you really want to know what's going to happen to that guard?" She rhetorically questioned back. Derek gulped. He didn't like the idea of killing people but with Madison, it came easily, as she felt no remorse whatsoever, barely affected by the shedding of blood. The small detail disturbed him as he looked over Madison with his peripheral vision.

She didn't look like a psychopath. She was vain, maybe, as she possessed a better blend of looks, bitchy, too, when she wanted to be, as she had this condescending air that people immediately bowed down to, as she looked down on them with scrutinizing eyes. He had seen it plenty of times, some looks directed at him and others at complete strangers. She was cruel and uncaring but could she be really unremorseful? No. She still grieved her parents' death so there had to be some emotion there. She still loved them. She was capable of love. That was the hopeful thought that kept Derek going.

"Have you ever considered…. Just disabling them?" Derek suggested. "Why kill them?"

"I don't like witnesses."

"You won't if you just knock them out."

"If I knock them out," she argued, "it takes more effort." Derek gaped at her explanation. "I mean," she continued, annoyed by his judgment. "A simple swipe of my claw can slit a man's throat. Easy as that," she snapped her fingers, "and I don't have to worry about him recalling my face. He wouldn't be able to say anything," she laughed at the humor. Derek stared, appalled. "But," she continued, her face serious. "If I spare them, then there is that itty-bitty chance that they could recall my face or even pinpoint a time, singling out where I came there or when I came in. I can't take that chance. With them dead, it leaves more questions than answers, and I like that."

"But… they're dead," Derek argued, "an innocent person dead!"

"Derek," she hummed along, playing with her hair, "people die every day. Hunters feel like they kill us for simply who we are. Why should we be the better people? Why is it okay for them to kill one of us and not one of them?"

"Them as in hunters," Derek pointed out, "not a bystander."

Madison waved it off. "They're all the same," she simply put it.

Derek shook his head. He realized it was people like Madison who the hunter's justified as a reason to shoot-first-ask-later. He pursed his lips to stop whatever comment that followed, knowing full well it could be his death warrant.

Madison was only 5'3 at the max and barely 120 pounds, he assumed, but she had years of training, years of planning… She had mastered her instincts, her nature, and has been able to use her full abilities. He envied her as much as he feared her. It was hard to believe a girl like she would be able to decapitate a man or degut him, or that she would have been able to swallow it, the bloodshed….But she wasn't a squeamish girl. The murder of her parents' hardened her core and made her skin thicker. She was resentful and angry but no one would suspect it under her flawless features. She was boiling with rage and unsympathetic to anyone else except for those she kept around her. Derek was still outside that ring of trust and had to tread lightly in those waters.

She had yet to prove her skills to him though, he began to doubt. She proved that she was a psychological terror and knew how to ruffle some feathers but he didn't know if she was experienced with physical labor, to put the term lightly. He claimed she could slit a man's throat and had the attitude where it wouldn't disturb her but has she done it before?

Unknown to Derek, Madison indeed had quite a few practice rounds with a few unfortunate hunters hat had crossed her path. Remembering one specifically, she subtly grinned. He was just a trainee, barely twenty, and was cocky as hell with his semi-automatic. He didn't see her coming, as he was in her element. She silently stalked him in the shadows as he followed a scared subject. (The truth was the juvenile was scared of Madison, sensing her dominant presence from a distance and instincts told him to get out before he would be slaughtered for entering her territory –something she wouldn't do but the kid didn't know that. The hunter was there by chance and jumped at the opportunity to hunt an innocent werewolf.)

She leapt on his back, pushing him to the ground. He only had a few seconds to process what was happening before she flipped him around onto his back. Straddling him, he looked up dazed, captivated by her serene beauty. Her hair was darker then and clipped into a short pony tail, leaving her face bare.

"What are you doing?" He asked before suddenly found himself gasping for breath as she pressed down on his throat with both her hands. He scratched at them, desperately needing air but her grip was like steel and his meek human strength was unable to pry them off. Slowly his body stopped shaking as his face returned to a pale white from the darkening blue it had once been.

Wordlessly she lifted her hands and gazed at her handy work.

From a corner, a curious soul had looked over to see what had happened and watched at Madison get off the cold corpse. She looked up at the kid –barely seventeen at the time. As they connected eyes, he gasped, stunned by her vibrant red eyes. It was that moment his fate was sealed.

Damn, she cursed herself. Curiosity killed the God damned cat.

He took off running in the opposite direction without a word.

She was faster though. He didn't even make it a block before he was slammed into a brick wall. He cried out as shock vibrated violently throughout his body. He slid onto the cold pavement, paralyzed and stunned by the trauma of the hit. He turned his head slightly, and all though his eye sight was blurred and unfocused, he could see clear as day her glowing red pupils.

This is it, he thought. The Omega never survives.

"Please," he pleaded even though he knew it was futile. "Let me go. I promise I won't come back. I didn't mean to come here."

"Unfortunately you won't learn your lesson," she said, dismayed. She prepared her claws and knelt down. "It's a shame, really," she said, running her finger down his cheek. He cringed at her touch. "Why couldn't you have continued running? Why did you have to look back?" She asked, honestly disappointed. She didn't want to kill him. She really didn't. He did nothing to her but…he saw her face and even if the likelihood of him conversing with her enemies were slim to none, she couldn't risk it. "I'm doing this for your benefit," she explained as she grabbed his throat. He coughed as she slowly applied pressure.

He tried to ask how on earth this was for his benefit but his voice was restricted as she pressed down on his trachea.

"Cause there will be people after me," she gave him the courtesy of an explanation, "very lethal people who will be desperate enough to go to any length to get to me, to get to know me, and if they ever came across you, well… I can honestly say that this death will be so much more merciful than the excruciating one they will give you after they're done interrogating you."

His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he took his last breath.

"I'm sorry," she said to him genuinely, leaving his body to decay in the God forsaken ally.

"Maddy?" Derek's voice snapped her out of her reminiscing.

"Huh?" Madison asked, minding his unapproved use of her personal nickname.

"We're here," he said as he rolled into a dark alley way. The car halted just as a group of teens crossed ahead of them, obviously intoxicated as they ranted about the scene. Madison and Derek exchanged looks. Derek was unsure. Madison was the exact opposite with a glowing grin.

This was going to be interesting, Derek thought. Oh yes it will, Madison added to herself.

"So what did you guys want me to do?" Tabitha demanded as she waited outside of her SUV. Stiles eyed with suspiciously, not liking the close proximity to his Jeep.

"I don't know," Stiles answered. He didn't say anything about Tabitha being 20 minutes late. "Scott went inside and hasn't come out. I have no clue what to do except lining the outside with this," he held up a heavy bag of powder.

"I can help," Tabitha offered, reaching for the bag. Before Stiles could object, she retracted her hand as a smear of powder burned her thumb. "Fuck! That hurt!" She cursed, cradling her hand as it stung.

"Oh my God," Stiles cried out, dropping the bag onto pavement to check her out. He grabbed her hand and examined her thumb, noting no physical wounds. "I'm sorry. I should've warned you. Doctor Deaton told me no one could touch but me. I think it is like wolfs bane, where werewolves can't touch it."

"What the hell is it? Why the hell do you have it?"

"It's Mountain Ash and it's supposed to trap the Kanima inside."

"Ash is going to stop the Kanima?" Tabitha doubted. She raised a thin brow skeptically.

"I don't know," Stiles doubted himself. He felt stupid that he was assigned to do this job but at the same time stressed he might be blamed for it if it went awry.

"Well," she changed her voice to a lighter tone, shaking off the throbbing in her hand. "We can at least try," she tried to feed hope in Stiles, guilty she hurt him. He already looked down as it was and she felt she had just kicked him when he was down. "Let's go."

The pair started to slowly walk around the perimeter as Stiles dragged the heavy bag. She glanced down at her hand, wondering if it really did work if it caused her hand to scorch like it did.

"Hey," she whispered to him. "If it hurt me, then maybe it works?"

Stiles nodded as he continued to line the perimeter. "You think?" He replied, hopeful. Tabitha smiled as she could see –even in the dark –a bright spark in his honey brown eyes.

"Yeah," she resisted to congratulate him by patting his back, scared she would screw him up.

"Does it still hurt?" He asked genuinely.

"No," she replied after a moment of examining her hand. It didn't throb like it did before and the pain had receded into nothing, leaving her hand numb and normal. "It's better now."

"That's great."

"Is something bothering you?" Tabitha finally had to ask. She couldn't shake off his voice. It was unnerving how cool and collected it was. It didn't sound like him. Even if she did know him for a few hours all together, she had been good at reading people. It was a gift she had inherited from her father.

"No," Stiles objected. Tabitha raised a brow when she heard his voice crack.

"Stiles," she called him out.

"What," he demanded, stopping midway and looking down at her. It was then he took advantage of the few extra inches he had on her, staring her down. She closed her mouth, unable to verbalize any words when he caught her in a memorizing stare down.

"You can tell me," she told him. "You can get it off your chest. I won't tell anyone. You can trust me on that."

Stiles contemplated on releasing his frustration, to admit his doings got his father fired, how he destroyed his father's career. He was so guilty but he felt that if he admitted it… He blinked away the moisture from his eyes.

"What is it?" Tabitha asked, wiping his face with her thumb. He jerked away, feeling weak and miserable as it

"Just forget about it," he demanded, turning away to return to the Mountain Ash.

Hurt and rejected, Tabitha sulked behind him as they made their way along. She hugged her jacket closer around her body as a cold breeze made its way around the building. Stiles watched her constantly through his peripheral vision. He could tell she too had something on her mind that was bugging her as she flitted with her nails and fingers, anxious for a distraction.

"Are you all right?" Stiles inquired.

"I told you," she snapped, "I'm fine. My hand doesn't hurt anymore."

"Not about your hand," he explained. "You seem….anxious. Is something bothering you?" He quit pouring the ash for a second to devote his full attention to his female companion.

Tabitha shrugged it off. "My brother is getting suspicious and no matter how many times I try to protect them, it always seems to backfire. Trenton is upset and thinks I, some for ridiculous reason, somehow got my brother killed." Her voice cracked as she thought back on the moment. "I would never Todd and I would never endanger him but Trenton doesn't believe and I can't believe my brother would think so little of me."

Her felt her throat constrict as her voice began to strain. Stiles frowned, feeling his heart tug. All he wanted to do was engulf her in a hug and say everything would be okay but he knew from personal experiences that didn't solve much.

"I WOULD NEVER," she finally exploded behind clenched teeth, her emotions too overwhelming, "EVR hurt my brother. I would die before I let anything happen to him. It infuriates me that Trent blames me for having this happen. I didn't know until it was too late. I was the one who discovered his body for heaven's sake and he has the audacity to blame?" She let out a shaky breath, watching her breath dissipate into the chilly air in a thin mist.

She was beyond upset that Trent silently accused her of putting her brother in harm's way, treading out of the deep disbelief she had been in for the past hour on her way to the inner city. Stiles could see that. He dropped the much-lighter bag and grabbed her elbows, pulling her into his chest as she let her strength fall. She nuzzled her face into his neck, resting her head on his shoulder as she clung to him for support.

"It'll be all right," he cooed, rubbing her back. He felt her uneven breaths as she trembled in his arms. "My dad…" Stiles began, feeling obligated to reveal what had been bothering him when Tabitha was willing to let her walls down. "He was fired because of me and Scott. We were trying to protect Jackson from everyone else. He –I'm not sure if Scott told but Jackson is the Kanima… He was a danger to himself and everybody around him and Scott was trying to help him stay alive. Everyone was out to kill him…I took one of the prisoner transport trucks from the police yard and locked him up while Scott and Allison stayed guard and Jackson escaped. He went to his dad who went to my dad and filed a restraining. The city council didn't like that I did that to one of the town's most respectable attorney's and fired my dad for some stupid reason."

Tabitha looked up and sighed when she could see a buildup of moisture lining his eyes. She reached up with her thumb and wiped them aside.

"You were doing what you could," she offered. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry that happened," she whispered into his leather jacket, taking in the smell. "It'll get better, I promise."

"You and I both know that's not the case," Stiles doubted but continued to hold her for her sake as she continued to tremble with guilt over her brother's death.

Outside the club, Madison waited outside the back door, noting how someone –Scott, she recognized the scent –broke the handle. All she had to do was pull at the void space and sneak in. She was hesitant to leave her fingerprints though or scrape her DNA in door slot. Looking around, she decided she would put use to Derek.

"Derek," she began, flashing him a stunning smile, "could be a dear and open this door for me?"

Derek was dazed for a second before getting a weird look on his face, scrunching his eyebrows together as he was confused why Madison would ask him to do such a simple task.

"Why?"

"What did I say about asking questions," she let her sweet face fall into genuine annoyance. She was slightly agitated Derek couldn't do a simple task without questioning her motives. Not that it wasn't smart of him…She just wished she hadn't gained an intelligent accomplice that had secondary motives, too. It made them possibilities to be equal enemies, especially if they got close enough to know your deepest secrets.

"Got it," he remembered distinctively and stumbled to open it for her. She thanked him silently with a curt nod and entered slyly, walking briskly in the strobe lights. Her eyesight burned, irritated by the unnatural display of lights. She felt a hand grab her elbow.

She spun around and launched her hand forward, grabbing the stranger by the throat. He gurgled as her claws dug into his skin, making it extremely difficult for him to breathe. He looked down at her, catching the swift movement of her flowing hair and glowing red eyes before passing out. Retracting her hand, she shook off the splatter of blood, eyeing it disdainfully. She shouldn't have done that.

She wiped the blood on her shirt but red still smeared her hand. She pulled the hundred-seventy-pound off the floor, grabbing him from under his arms and dragging him across the floor and to a dark corner, kicking his feet aside so no one would trip on them.

Derek watched from behind, awe struck by her carnage.

"What did I tell you about killing people?" Derek demanded, following her. Madison didn't even spar him a look as she continued on her way. Derek tried to stay focused but his eyes detoured to her natural sway, momentarily distracted by her feminine movement but quickly returned his harsh glare to the back of her head.

"What did I tell you about undermining my authority?" She snapped back. Derek stepped back, astounded by the ferocity in her voice. He clenched his jaw to hold back anything else he was itching to saw, knowing it could be a fatal mistake. "You know damn well my policy on witnesses. It has gotten me this far and I don't plan on changing it if it could mean risking my operation just to spare some stranger's life who means absolutely nothing to me."

Where the hell could the Kanima be? She thought to herself, scanning the crowd.

"There," Stiles announced with a 'whoop!' "I did it Tabi! I did it! Did you see me?"

Tabitha laughed. "I did. It was impressive." She was still somewhat in disbelief, nodding for no reason. She was sure Stiles' was empty of Mountain Ash and he had to still finish at least ten yards to complete the band of ash around the perimeter.

She had thought it was over until he took a brave step, mumbling something about believing. With only a handful of ash left, he was able to complete the line. "How the hell did you do it?"

"I don't know," he exasperated, still excited. "I don't know but I did it!" He engulfed her in a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. She squealed, laughing as he swept her off her feet. He set her down and helped her regain balance as she fell onto the concrete.

"Wait," she suddenly said, pushing him aside with a slight shove. He staggered to his Jeep and leaned against it for support.

"What?" he asked confused.

She shushed him as she listened attentively to her surroundings, distinctively hearing the click of a gun. She froze, trying to locate it, until she heard a second click of a rifle being prepared. She glanced at Stiles with wide eyes.

"What?" he asked again. Something in her eyes concerned him. She was off guard and nervous and it was obvious in her wide, naked eyes. He was frantic as he reached for Tabitha but she shrugged off his protective touch as she snaked her hand to her back and pulled out a piece of heavy steel from under the cover of her jacket. "Okay, what the hell is that?" He asked louder.

"Shut up," she hissed, backing up to shield him. He snaked an arm around her waist, holding her close but she snapped off his touch, needing to be as flexible as she could be to protect him from all angles. "We need to be covered," she analyzed, realizing they were out in the open. Stiles glanced around, spotting a dumpster to his side but before he could suggest it, Tabitha beat him to it. "It's too risky. We can't be cornered. Here, go around to the other side of your Jeep, it'll be a good shield and could give us time to run if we need it."

"Okay, I'm nervous now," Stiles admitted as they maneuvered around his hood and hid behind his giant wheel. "What the hell is going on?"

"I heard a gun, well, two actually," she whispered, looking passed the wheel to see if any bodies were heading their way.

"And that's why you pulled that out?" He motioned to the heavy piece of machinery in her hands. "What is it anyways? I mean, yeah it's a gun, but it looks like a big gun. Can you even work it?"

Truth be told, the Desert Eagle was her father's and fit better in his large palm but she knew it was only gun –a Magnum –that had to force to stop whatever the Kanima was. Scott had told her stories and she knew from those alone her revolver wouldn't do much. The Colt long barrel was made for accuracy, not much force, but the Magnum? She would've grinned if it wasn't the dire situation at hand. The piece was especially sadistic in the sense it could muster enough momentum to shatter bone and with the help of hollow points, the Kanima was as good as dead.

She knew Scott told her to keep guns aside, how he wanted Jackson alive, but if it came to decide who would live, she was most certainly going to put her life above a stranger's.

"It's a Magnum and I guarantee you that this big gun will kill even the Kanima if we need it to."

"But we need Jackson alive!" Stiles objected.

"I know, I know," she acknowledged, "but this was just a precaution if things went awry."

It seemed like they were waiting forever but she had to be sure as she stayed absolutely still next to his Jeep, clinging to the gun as her lifeline.

"Do you think they are gone now?" Stiles asked, glancing at his phone. It had been ten minutes and his body was growing stiff from the cold and his butt ached from the poor blood circulation. "Tabi," He reached for her but she jumped back, startled by her touch. "PUT THE GUN DOWN!" He yelled when she aimed it at him, as she was still in a moment of panic. She gaped before setting it down next to her side.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…I…I was just scared."

"Understandable," he accepted before breathing a sigh of relief. He glanced at her again, taking in her frightened expression.

She was too caught up in protecting him, scared they would be ambushed. Usually she was never this skittish but something was off. She couldn't describe it. The mood was strange and ominous and with them alone, she was more paranoid than ever.

"What are you guys doing?" Derek called out, stepping out of the shadows when he caught the pair's scent. Tabitha and Stiles exchanged a look. "Tabitha, are you there?"

"I'm here," Tabitha answered, getting up and grabbing the gun from the pavement and stuffing it back into her jeans, covering it with a jacket. Stiles eyed it wearily, unsure if it was safe.

"Why are you here?" Derek asked suspiciously.

"Scott asked me to help capture the Kanima and I came along just to get him to shut up," she answered. Derek gaped, confused. Did Madison know she was here? Did she know Madison was here? Why would they be on separate sides? Before he could say anything, a familiar click of a gun alerted him. He spun around to acknowledge a small gathering of hunters advance towards them.

Tabitha prepared her gun but Stiles stopped her from pulling it out, knowing full well it would mean fair-game to shoot. He was startled by a determined look in her eyes, as if she was waiting for this. She seemed set on something but what? He didn't know Tabitha was reminded of Todd's death when she saw the band of men behind Chris, ready to shoot on his command. She was instantly angry but at the same time, rational, just as her father taught her, and kept her gun hidden, giving herself the advantage of surprise.

"Stiles," she whispered to him, "get behind the car," she motioned to his Jeep. "This might be ugly."

Stiles gulped as he examined the showdown but oblige anyways knowing he as a human wasn't capable of much. He hated leaving Tabitha on her own though but was reminded she was just as much of a threat to them as they were to them when she traced the outline of her gun behind her back. He prepared himself by crouching behind his wheel, anxious and scared, shaking with anticipation as silence consumed the alley.

"Derek," Chris greeted the Alpha coldly. "And Tabitha…?" He asked, surprised by her appearance. He was startled that they could've paired up but grinned when he realized it made it easier for him now that they were like two birds sitting together. No longer was his attention divided. "I'm warning you, get out of the way."

"Really," Derek taunted. "I expected more from the big, bag veteran hunter."

Chris grinned, playing along. Tabitha eyed them suspiciously while she was growing more frustrated that they were mocking each other, not taking this seriously. She didn't say anything though as she examined the rifles the men behind Chris were supporting. She narrowed her eyes as she analyzed how quickly and accurately they could shoot them. They were bulky, more power than accuracy. She stepped aside, practicing, as she prepared herself to move aside when the anticipated the first bullet would be shot. She might be lucky.

"Fine, how about this," Chris mocked. "Don't bring claws to a gun fight."

Derek stepped back as the hunters aimed their big guns. Tabitha grinned as she stepped forward, careful of her position, glancing at Derek's figure and contemplating whether she should push him aside, too, or let it be every-man-for-himself.

"I didn't," she announced, pulling out her handgun and balancing it on her wrist as she aimed it at Chris. He stiffened as he recognized the powerful handgun as one of his veteran firearms. He would recognize a Desert Eagle anywhere. He knew firsthand what damage it could produce to the human body.

"Let's think this through," Chris suggested, motioning to his men, "five against two? I don't think you can shoot fast enough. You might want to reconsider."

Derek stepped back as he smelled another Alpha pass through from a distance. He eyed the darkness behind the hunters wearily, wondering how Madison planned to proceed. He looked at Tabitha who also registered Madison's scent, her eyes shifting from green to a blazing yellow as she felt Madison pull command over her body.

She closed her eyes for a second to focus on Madison's command and regained her sight after she realized what Madison was planning. She nodded towards Derek smugly. Madison never failed her and she wouldn't start now.

"We got you cornered," announced Chris.

Madison launched forward silently, aiming at the farthest hunter. She latched onto him by the collar of his coat. He wasn't able to muster a sound as she covered his mouth her with hand. Naturally, he dropped the gun as his instincts told him to claw at her hands and to pry them off. It was too late though as slashed her claws across his throat. He fell with a thud. She receded back into the darkness just as quickly, waiting for Tabitha to finish her orders.

His gun hit the pavement loudly, startling his companions who turned around. Distracted, Tabitha aimed her gun and fired. The kick of the powerful gun startled her and she staggered back to regain balance. The last pair of hunters besides Chris turned around away from Madison's direction to refocus on Tabitha.

Madison returned again and snagged another hunter, breaking his neck with her hands before letting him fall. She returned to the cover of darkness as Tabitha fired again, striking the last of Chris's companions in the shoulder. He cried in agony, as his shoulder was dislocated and shattered. He had lost all control of his left arm. His buddy was not so lucky. As Tabitha's first victim, he died instantly with a head wound… not that anyone could tell where the bullet entered because half his skull on the right side was caved in from the force.

Chris stared, amazed at the scene around him. Within a minute, his whole squad was disabled and dead, minus one who was screaming for help.

"It's not that fair of a fight anymore, is it Chris?" Derek taunted. Tabitha shot the other Alpha a dirty look, knowing his cockiness wasn't called for in the situation. Before Chris could reply, Madison snuck up behind him and pressed against his neck, a pressure point Tabitha was familiar with. He fell onto the floor with a thud.

"Is everyone all right?" Stiles demanded, jumping up from his position.

"Stay down Stiles! Stay down!" Tabitha cried, knowing he would see Madison and was very well informed on Madison's no-witnesses policy. Before Stiles' eyes caught anything, he crouched down again, honoring Tabitha's wishes.

"Thanks," Derek sincerely meant to Madison who simply disregarded him as she examined the three corpses, one unconscious Chris, and another witness. Practicing her cruel policy, she knelt down to the screaming man and extended her arm to Tabitha, her hand motioning for her gun.

Without any questions, Tabitha ran up and handed Madison the Magnum. She turned her head, knowing full well what Madison was planning. Just as she whipped her head to face Derek, Madison stood up and aimed the heavy piece at the man's heart. She pulled the trigger and was immediately splattered with a bounty of blood. She was undisturbed at the carnage, satisfied the man's voice was abruptly silence and his body fell limp.

"Derek," Madison directed lowly so Stiles wouldn't hear, "guide Stiles home. Tabitha and I will take it from here."

"What about Chris?" Derek had to ask.

"He'll wake up later. I need him alive for now," she explained with cold, unmoved eyes. "I have something more special planned for him." She added with a wicked smile as she handed the gun back to Tabitha.

Derek nodded as he accepted that answer and hurried to the Jeep, blocking Stiles's exit so he wouldn't see what was going on.

"Oh my God," Tabitha cried, "oh my God. This is going to be traced to me. They can trace guns all the time. They'll trace it back my dad and he'll know it was me. I don't want to get him in trouble. I don't want to get in trouble," she panicked, breaking down. Madison grabbed her and shook her back to reality. Tabitha was frozen under Madison's cool eyes.

"They won't trace this back to you," Madison insisted. "Not without the bodies."

Tabitha knitted her eyebrow sin confusion. "Where will we hide them? How will they go undiscovered? We don't have time to clean off the blood from the pavement and then we have Chris who is a witness and he'll pin it on me and you said it yourself, we can't kill him. I know you won't. You have too much planned."

Madison grinned. "Honey, leave it to me."

She knelt down, leaving Tabitha confused still, as she hovered over Tabitha's kills. She reached down before digging her claws into one of the man's blasted shoulders. The sound of flesh being ripped apart appalled Tabitha and she had to veer away, beginning to gag as she was reminded of her hunting trips, degutting her kills on the sight but this was different. This was a human and she found herself queasy. She steadied herself over a trash bin, reading to empty her stomach contents. She continued to hear Madison as she dug deeper into the bloody mess of the corpses shoulder before letting out a curse.

"You had to use hollow points, didn't you," Madison angrily as she flicked her bloody hand aside. "There's nothing left. They all scattered into his tissue and I don't have time to pick away all the pieces. There goes my plan on picking out the bullet and burning their corpses. Damn it!"

"Who is that?" Stiles questioned, hearing another voice in a distance but not enough to recognize who it belonged to.

"It is better you don't know," Derek told him honestly. "The less you know the better."

"Who is it?" Stiles persisted before his memory served him a helpful piece of information. "It's Madison, isn't it?"

Derek shook him violently. "Don't mention her, do you understand? The reason you are alive is because Tabitha told you to stay down! You aren't supposed to see anything! Got it? The fact you didn't see her saved your life! Play dumb! She doesn't know you know she exists! Forget about it!" He whispered, hoping Madison wouldn't hear. "You don't know anything about her!" He ordered Stiles.

Stiles could see the fire in Derek's eyes, the flurry of emotions that he had never seen before. Derek was on the edge but he was being honest and Stiles then understood the severity of the situation and realized how delicate his existence was. He nodded furiously when he realized he was only a few feet from death herself.

So it was her, Stiles thought. He slunk back down at Derek blocked his view, protecting him from death itself. He lost all curiosity to wonder what she looked like when he knew it would be his last image.

"This one I can worry about later," Madison thought out loud, motioning to the shoulder wound before redirecting her attention to the nearly headless man. "This one will be easy," Madison assured before pulling a large knife from her pocket. She began to saw away at the man's neck, further disgusting Tabitha who felt her stomach chug. She tasted a bitter mix in her mouth swallowing it back down, knowing Madison would not be happy if she left any remains at the scene. She turned away as she counted silently in her head.

Madison decapitated the man quickly and wrapped his head in a paper bag, holding it under her arms, as she examined the second body. "Can you fit this in your trunk?"

"Mine?" Tabitha asked incredulously, turning around to face Madison, upset at the thought of transporting a body in her car but her eyes trailed down to the plastic-wrapped head under her arm and her gag reflex set in. She turned away from it, disturbed and scarred. "Ye-ye-yeah, I s-s-supposed," she stuttered, trying to get the image out of her head.

"Good, I'll wrap him in a body bag and we can drop him off somewhere in the mountains," Madison explained. She looked over to the other side of the ally and saw Stiles's Jeep was missing. Tabitha followed her gaze.

"He didn't see anything, Derek made sure of that," Tabitha insisted passionately, desperate to keep Stiles alive. Madison hummed, skeptically but decided it wasn't worth to argue about it now. She was more focused on the bodies.

Suddenly a screech broke their attention as their eyes caught a movement dash across a rooftop.

"Was that the Kanima?" Tabitha inquired. Madison nodded. "Did you see it before?" Madison nodded before. "What does it want?"

"No one knows," Madison shrugged.

"And you aren't worried?" Tabitha stared at her wide-eyed.

Madison shook her head. "It's not my problem."

Tabitha was in disbelief as Madison walked away to retrieve a black body bag from Derek's trunk. Why wasn't Madison worried? Why was she here in the first place? She would've asked them sooner but she was currently full with the four corpses around her, consuming her full attention. She couldn't believe she had killed people, with her father's gun of all things. She didn't mean to drag him into this.

It was self-defense, she tried to justify it.

It was aggravated murder, 2nd degree murder in legal terms, her conscience argued.

Perhaps she could tone it down to manslaughter if she could manipulate the judge but she was doubtful.

"Hurry up, I don't have all night," Madison urged as she laid the body bag next to the messy corpse. She rolled it over into the bag and zipped it up, enclosing the heavy man inside. "Help me take it to the trunk." Tabitha complied and lifted his feet while Madison carried one of the shoulders as they made the short trip to the trunk of the small SUV.

"Do you need any help?" Derek offered from a distance.

"Nope, I got this," Madison insisted as she closed the trunk.

Derek watched them leave –Madison taking the wheel because Tabitha was too shaky to drive. He wondered how Madison got out so quickly when Erica and Isaac couldn't pass the line of Mountain Ash. Did she leave early before Stiles finished it? If that's the case, she wouldn't have encountered the Kanima like she intended to do.

Unknown to him, Madison thought back on her experience in the rave as she dragged the body up a hillside. She had realized that she didn't need to chase this thing. It hadn't come after her and to go search for it was stupid, especially when it distracted the hunters for her advantage. She had decided as she exited the rave early she wouldn't mess with it but respect it from a distance. If it did bother her in any distance though…. Well, it would end up just like the poor soul in the black bag. She looked down at the Magnum stuffed in between her flesh the rollover lining of her pants.

She knew that this was the gun that was most fit for her and set out to get her own when she had the time. It proved it was capable of inflicting the damage she certainly wanted to be done.

But for now, the Kanima was no longer in her interest and she would enjoy taking a break as she watched it contribute an extra dose of chaos for the Argents.

"It's not your fault," Madison told Tabitha after they buried the dismembered body parts into a deep grave. To hide its location, Madison placed a small tree over it, giving it the façade of being a newly planted tree by the community's Green Group nearby. It was the perfect cover. By now it was past two in the morning and Tabitha was getting anxious. "It was kill-or-be-killed."

Tabitha stayed silent throughout the rest of the night as Madison drove her back to her house, Derek trailing them. At the edge of her driveway, Madison hopped out as Tabitha –in autopilot as numbness took over her body –took over and finished rest of the short drive down the driveway.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Derek asked, the question burning his head for a while.

"She's strong. She's just frightened her dad will be pinned for this."

Derek looked down at Madison. "Will he?"

She looked at him with confidence. "No. Chris has so much to lose if he even dares point the finger at her. He knows what her family is capable of. Also, I don't think he'd appreciate the limelight spotted on his family. He'll make it go away just like he did with the truck at the last crime scene." She paused.

"What are you planning to do with Stiles?" Derek inquired, worried for his welfare.

Madison shrugged. "He's safe as long as he keeps his trap shut."