"She didn't give me a choice, she was going to kill me, it was self-defense." 

My lips trembled as the words tumbled out. I had decided that going with the truth was my best option. Scott is going to hate me, but he would hate me even more if he found out that I had lied to him about it. I'm not so worried about how Stiles and Malia will see me, I have total confidence that they can comprehend the self-defense part of the situation, whereas Scott will assume that I had a better option at the time. 

Malia appeared in front of me and when I saw her my eyes widened considerably. She was glancing between Tracy's body and myself in confusion, "What the hell happened?" 

"I killed her," I said quietly, finally admitting to my wrongdoing out loud. 

She sucked in a breath and blinked rapidly, "You killed her? Why? What happened?" 

"I didn't have a choice, she was going to kill me and it was either kill or be killed and I chose to kill." my voice was faint, barely a whisper and I knew that if it was this hard for me to say it to Malia, it was going to be a million times harder to say it to Scott. 

My eyes traveled back over to Tracy's body, each time I looked at it the heavier my chest became. I don't think Stiles' dad will charge me with murder, because he can't use all of the facts. For example, she was trying to kill me with her claws that were dripping with paralytic goo and if I didn't act quick enough she would have murdered me by ripping my throat out. He couldn't exactly put that in his report, now could he? 

Malia smiled faintly, "I thought rules of the Wild Kingdom didn't apply in real life?" 

I laughed despite the anxiety I was feeling and I felt tears welling in my eyes at the irony. Why is it whenever my life is sort-of coming together, something always has to happen that screws it up? My knees were pulled to my chest, my forehead resting atop them as I tried to get my breathing under control. Scott would be here any minute and that meant my death sentence was coming down the steps with him. 

Even if I did decide to lie, he would be able to tell because my heart would be beating erratically. Scott would know right off the bat that I was lying and then he would call me out and that would make the situation even worse. 

"If you're worried about Scott, he'll have to understand. You said it was self-defense." she tried to assure me, but I know my brother a hell of a lot better than she does. He's going to be so upset with me. 

I blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill over, "He won't, not right away at least. He's gonna hate me for a little while." 

The sudden sound of footsteps racing across the floorboards above us revealed to me that Scott and Stiles had arrived. It sounded like more than just two people, so I assumed that Deaton came with them as well. I'm not exactly sure how this is going to go down, but I'm praying for the best. Malia blinked as she glanced over her shoulder, "I'm gonna go check on Lydia, you coming?" 

"I can't move just yet," I said quietly, earning a nod in response from her. 

I watched her ascend the stairs and my stomach dropped, because I knew the next person to appear in the basement with me was going to be Scott. I took a deep breath and readied myself for his presence. I don't think I've ever been this nervous to see Scott in my entire life. 

"Kase?" 

The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up as his voice echoed down into the basement. I attempted to stand up, but my legs felt like jello. Scott quickly made his way over to me, his eyes taking in the scene and widening in shock. Stiles appeared behind him, shoving my brother to the side and collapsing onto his knees in front of me, grabbing me with his arms and holding me tightly. My eyes were locked on Scott as he kept his gaze focussed on Tracy. I noticed Stiles' dad struggling to stay upright at the base of the staircase. 

"What the hell happened?" my brother asked in astonishment. 

I took a deep breath, "I killed her." 

Stiles jerked backwards, nearly tumbling to the floor as he took in my face with surprise lacing his features. Scott blinked once and glanced at me in confusion, "You killed her?" 

"I didn't have a choice." 

Scott's eyes narrowed slightly, whether or not it was intentional, I'm unsure. His lips slightly pursed as he said, "Kasey, there's always a choice."

Stiles was silent, not having a clue what to say in this moment. I swallowed thickly and pushed myself up into standing position, despite the numbness in my legs. I have to stand up for myself, literally and figuratively. My eyes glanced at Tracy hesitantly, "Scott, I didn't have a choice. How many times do you want me to say it? She was going to kill me, it was self-defense." 

"What the hell happened to her?" Sheriff Stilinski asked from the back of the room, struggling to get a glimpse of the body laying on the ground. 

Deaton appeared out of nowhere and began examining Tracy's body, "She's not changing back. We're going to need to get her out of here." 

"What, hey-- absolutely not. This is a crime scene. We call the coroner." Stiles' dad said quickly, his judgement being replaced with God knows what. 

Stiles' eyes widened as he stood to this feet, "You can't be serious, what are you going to say? That Kasey killed her?" 

"Either way, I think the coroner is going to be very confused by this girls severed reptilian tail." Deaton spoke over Stiles, trying to get his father to understand that this was not the best decision to be made at the moment. 

I bit down on my lip, "Guys, we have another problem and you're probably not gonna believe me but three people came here to kill Tracy. They showed up out of nowhere and while Tracy was on top of me she got distracted by them, like she recognized them. They had some kind of weapon with them, and they said her condition was terminal." 

"What... what are you talking about?" Stiles asked in confusion, his eyes focussing on my face. 

I blinked rapidly, "They were like, I don't know scientists almost. They looked strong, and they just disappeared into thin air."

Sheriff Stilinski was shaking his head from side to side, "I don't care." 

"You should, unless you're prepared to hold a press conference announcing the presence of the supernatural in Beacon Hills." Deaton said quickly. 

Stiles nodded, "Dad, you know he's right." 

"Maybe at the clinic we can figure out how to change her back and then call the coroner?" Scott suggested, trying to keep the peace as usual. 

Stiles' dad was pacing back and forth, shaking his head from side to side frantically, "There's a line... there's a line that we have to draw." 

"Dad, you've already crossed it. More than once." my boyfriend said with a tone that I don't hear from him often. 

Deaton glanced at him pleading, "Sheriff please. Let me help. I've dealt with things like this before." 

"Just do it fast," Sheriff Stilinski snapped as Scott and Deaton scooped Tracy up off the ground. 

He then glanced at Stiles and myself, "And get her the hell out of here before I change my mind." 

Stiles shot his father a heated glance before he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me out of the basement. I noticed that Stiles had a cut on his chest from Tracy's tail, his shirt had a slit that revealed the gash and blood was staining his skin around the wound. 

"They're gonna take Lydia to the hospital, I'm taking you to my house and cleaning you up and then we are gonna meet them at the hospital, okay?" Stiles said to me as he led me through the cluttered mess in the station. I could hear Lydia crying out in pain and I jerked in my movement. A sliver of pain rushed through my skull and I knew it was because of her. 

I swallowed thickly and glanced at Stiles, "I can help her." 

"Her mother's in there, you can't do anything other than make the situation more complicated. Kasey, we need to go." he instructed me as he tugged me away from the room where Lydia was laying down on the floor, in her own blood, because we couldn't keep Tracy away from here. 

A sigh escaped me but I did as he said and followed him outside to his jeep. I felt disgusting, like I needed to wash the filth of murder off of my body. The evening air felt sticky and only added to the dirty feeling I was having. I have Tracy's blood staining my clothes and my skin and I just wanted to crawl out of my skin to leave the evidence behind me. 

Stiles assisted me in climbing into his jeep and once I was seated and buckled in, I let out a heavy sigh. My hands were shaking, and as I glanced at them my stomach dropped. They were red... because I killed somebody. I killed Tracy and Stiles' dad was actually considering charging me with it. Stiles clambered into the jeep and surprisingly it started up without giving him any trouble. I'm not exactly sure how he feels about what just happened, because it appears as if he's avoiding talking about it for the time being. 

"Don't you want to know what happened?" I asked him quietly, glancing at him fearfully. 

He kept his eyes glued to the road and shook his head from side to side, "I don't need the details, all that matters is that you're okay." 

"Then why do you look upset?" I responded, not bothering with small talk and getting straight to the point. 

Stiles' jaw clenched, "Because it's taking every ounce of strength I have to not turn this jeep around and rip into Scott for what he said to you." 

My eyes widened at his answer. Never in a million years would I have thought that he was angry with Scott over me. I mean, I can understand why he's upset I just never thought that he would turn his anger to Scott rather than me. It's usually me that he takes his aggression out on because I push his buttons... but it appears that I'm not the only McCall that knows how to push said buttons.

"Theo showed up at the animal clinic shortly after you and Malia left. He put a tourniquet on Lydia before I came down in the basement to check on you." he informed me, his response was cold and I could tell that speaking of Theo alone was making him angry. 

I blinked rapidly, "He showed up? Why?" 

"Who the hell knows," he breathed out in frustration, "not only do I have his evil ass to deal with but now you just killed somebody and I have to get my dad off your ass about it." 

You could tell that he was stressed. I swallowed thickly, "Stiles, I'm sorry--" 

"Don't apologize, I'm not angry. You're the priority now, alright? We'll get through this, we always do." he assured me, finally tearing his gaze away from the road to look at me. 

I nodded slowly, "We do." 

We arrived at his house shortly after, and I racked my brain for the type of clothing that I had at his house to change into. I do keep some clothes here, but I haven't had to change here in awhile so I can't exactly recall what I had, nor was I sure that it would be appropriate attire for me to wear to the hospital. Stiles parked the jeep in the driveway and we climbed out simultaneously, making our way to the front door together. I was grateful that none of his neighbors were outside, because they would have been highly confused seeing a girl covered in blood and this silvery substance that I still have no idea what it is.

Once we were in Stiles' room, I dug through his drawers and found a pair of black skinny jeans and a long sleeved dark red shirt. It would have to do, considering I didn't feel like wasting more time trying to find an outfit. I was worried about Lydia and I wanted to see how she was doing. When I got to the station, she looked terrible. I wanted to help her so badly, but I had to try and save her mom from Tracy. I don't even remember her mom getting up and leaving the basement now that I think about it, how the hell did she get past me and up the stairs? It must have been when Tracy was on top of me.

I quickly made my way down the hall to Stiles' bathroom, so I could wash my hands and my face. I wasn't sure what to do with the blood clothes, but I didn't think that Sheriff Stilinski would take kindly to the fact that I left them on the floor in his bathroom so once I was changed, I scooped the bloody clothes up off the floor and carried them back into Stiles' room with me. 

He was seated on the bed, his attention on his phone as he waited for me. I cleared my throat to announce my presence, he glanced up and smiled at me. The familiar sight warmed my insides and I thanked my lucky stars that I had him in my life. I stepped over to the bed and sat down beside him, "I look better?" 

"Yep, totally don't look like you just murdered someone." he chuckled, and I stiffened at his attempt at lightening the mood. 

Stiles sighed, "Too soon?"

"Uh, yeah a little." 

⬘ ⬘ ⬘

"Theo, nice going on that tourniquet you probably saved her life." 

I winced as the words tumbled out of my mother's mouth. We were at the hospital now, waiting on hearing some news about Lydia. Malia, Theo, Kira, Stiles and myself were gathered together in a sort-of huddle. Scott and Liam had just made their way over to us, my brother still in the shirt that Tracy had gotten the black gunk on. 

My mom glanced at me, "Alright, she's about to go into surgery so it's going to be awhile. Any other supernatural details that I need to know about or do we just stitch her up and hope for the best?" 

"It was the tail," Kira spoke up.

Scott nodded, "Tracy cut her with the tail, if that makes a difference." 

I winced at the mention of her name. Stiles glanced at me briefly before settling his narrowed eyes on Theo. My mom nodded in response and then made her way back to Lydia, my guess was that she was going to perform the surgery on her. 

"Okay," I said quickly, "what about the guys with the masks? The ones I was talking about earlier." 

Malia nodded, "I'm interested in them as well, seeing as how they just showed up out of nowhere." 

"We'll get to that, right now we are worried about Lydia." Scott said with finality. The bitterness in his tone was evident and I could tell that he was shutting the idea down simply because he was angry with me for what I've done. 

My brother then glanced at Liam and walked off, with his little Beta following behind him. I sighed and plopped down in the seat that was beside us. I have no idea what I'm even supposed to say to him anymore. It doesn't matter what I say or how I say it, he's going to shoot it down because he's angry. I don't know how else to explain it to him, Tracy left me no choice. 

Theo glanced at me, "Am I missing something here?"

"Don't worry about it," Stiles said quickly, not wanting Theo meddling into our business. 

Kira sighed, "I'm gonna go talk to him."  

With that, she scampered off after my brother. Malia rolled her eyes, "I need some air." 

And just like that, it was Stiles, Theo and myself left with an awkward silence hanging above us. I could tell that Stiles wanted to pull me away from the situation quickly, but I didn't want to move. I just wanted to sit here and sulk because I'm tired of fighting. When I decide that death is the answer because it keeps other people safe, Scott get's mad at me. When I decide to fight and try to survive, he get's mad at me. I can't win. 

"I get that you two don't trust me, but I'm just here to help." Theo said after a moment of tension filled silence. 

I nodded, "Thanks but no thanks." 

He glanced at me and smirked to himself, "Just remember that I offered to help." 

"Okay, now I need some air." I muttered before standing from my chair and making my way towards the exit.

Stiles nodded in agreement, "Me too." 

⬘ ⬘ ⬘

"You sure you don't want to stay the night at my place?" Stiles asked nervously as he glanced at my house. 

I nodded, "I'm gonna have to talk to him about it at some point, might as well get it over with."

"Yeah, but I really would prefer if you did it with me in the room." he said with a sigh.

I was nervous, because Scott has never been this angry with me before. We are already on thin ice with one another because of the Theo fight and now this has happened. Our relationship is being put to the test and I honestly don't know if we can pass it. 

"I know, but I have to do it alone. I'll be okay, I promise." I assured him as I pressed a swift kiss to his lips before climbing out of the jeep. 

Honestly, I would like to have Stiles with me as well but I have to do this alone. I have to get Scott to understand that it was self-defense and if I had the choice I wouldn't have killed her. I'm not like that and the fact that he's refusing to acknowledge that is rather upsetting. 

When I walked through the front door, I could feel the tension in the house. I took a deep breath and made my way into the kitchen, where Scott was standing. I had assumed that he had just came in through the back door, more than likely trying to avoid me. We made eye contact and he let out a sigh, which meant that an argument was about to commence and I was trying to prepare myself for his verbal beating. 

"We obviously need to talk," I said awkwardly. 

Scott narrowed his eyes, "Talk about what? The fact that you killed somebody?"

I let out a labored breath, "Scott--" 

"Kasey, you know most of the time I can understand your reasoning for things because usually you end up saving someone in the end, but this time... this time I just can't because instead of saving her like I told you to do, you killed her." he cut me off before I could even get a word out. 

My eyes widened and I gasped at his words, "I didn't have a choice? What do you mean?" 

"I mean that you always have a choice, you just happened to make the wrong one." he dead-panned. 

Okay, my blood was beginning to boil. Who is he to tell me what is the right and wrong choice? I didn't have a choice at all, that's what I'm trying to tell him. It was either die or try to survive and for once I was thinking about myself and I wanted to save myself so I did what I had to do in order to ensure that I would make it out okay. I don't see why that's such a bad thing. I mean, yeah I can see that it's bad because we lost Tracy but aren't I more important to him than his damn morals?

I shook my head from side to side, "I'm not like you, okay? I didn't have the strength to fight her off." 

"That has nothing to do with it, Kasey!" he shouted, my ears began to ring from the volume of his voice. 

"Are you kidding me? It has everything to do with it, Scott! I'm not a True Alpha, okay? I'm not a freaking werewolf that can defend myself against almost anything! I'm a pathetic excuse for a supernatural creature and I couldn't protect myself." I yelled back at him, finding no pleasure in letting the anger inside of me boil over. 

My brother's face went red, "You made the wrong call." 

"There wasn't a call to make, Scott! That's what I'm trying to get you to understand, I literally had no other option!" I screamed, tears were brimming in my eyes and I didn't care that I was on the verge of a breakdown. 

Why can't he just believe me? Why is he so damn adamant on thinking that what I did was wrong? It wasn't wrong, it was the only option I had. If I could go back in time I think I'd let the bitch kill me because then at least I wouldn't have to deal with Scott looking at me the way that he is right now. 

Scott laughed dryly, "I know what you did, Kasey." 

"What are you even talking about?" I asked in astonishment, having no idea where this conversation had gone. 

His eyes narrowed as his face contorted into confusion, "I know that you killed Tracy because you didn't think that she was worth saving." 

"That's not true!" I snapped defensively. 

I had thought about the fact that maybe Tracy dying would be better for us, but that doesn't mean that I would actually follow through with it. I would never intentionally kill a person, because that goes against what I try to do everyday. I try to prove to myself that I can fight off the darkness and not conform to it's beliefs and actions. Murder is definitely giving into the darkness, which I try so damn hard to not do. 

My eyes widened considerably as he just stared at me, his face void of emotion, "Scott, you can't be serious right now. Do you honestly think that I would do that?" 

"I don't know what to think about you anymore, Kasey." he stated evenly. 

His words cut right through me and I could feel the burn in my chest, warning me that a fit of tears was about to occur. Not only does he think that I killed Tracy because I didn't think she was worth saving, but he isn't even budging from that belief. I have no idea who put that damn idea into his head but it's not true. I didn't want to kill Tracy. God, I wish I could go back in time and redo it. 

What does he mean he doesn't know what to think about me? I'm the same person that I've always been, well mostly. I mean, yeah, I'm a little more rough around the edges now because of all the crap that we've been through but I'm still his damn sister. He should still take my word as it is and believe me. 

I swallowed down the anxiety and took a step forward, "I'm sorry that I'm not more like you, alright? I'm really trying to do better, I swear. I know that lately I've been against trying to save everyone because you always feel the need to and I'm just tired of losing people along the way, but Scott, you have got to believe me when I tell you that I was going to try and save Tracy." 

Scott glanced at me and the look in his eyes told me that he didn't believe me, "You didn't try hard enough." 

We were both silent, just staring at each other. I could feel my heart shattering in my chest. This is not how I wanted this conversation to go. I wanted to calmly discuss this so I could get him to take my side. Why can't he be more like Stiles? Why can't he stop living in such a black and white world? The real world is not black and white, it's shades of gray and people aren't all good or all bad and he needs to wake the hell up and accept that before he loses everyone. With his logic, he's going to push away everyone in his life and he'll  end up alone. 

"Sorry to interrupt," 

I spun around to find Deaton standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a black duffle bag by his side. I'm assuming he had finished his assessment of Tracy and was now coming to speak to Scott about what he had found. Did he hear out entire argument? Is he going to say something about it? 

Deaton pulled a jar out of the back and placed it on the table, "A werewolf with the talons of an eagle. Possibly a shape-shifter, known in easter mythology as a Garuda." 

The jar clanked as it hit the table, my eyes traveled to the object in side the jar which happened to be the aforementioned talons. They were extracted from the werewolf that attacked Scott the other night. I'm guessing Deaton had been looking into them. 

"Tracy's claws," he added as he pulled another jar out of the bag, "the unmistakable claws of a werewolf." 

I winced at her name, and I wondered if that would ever stop happening. I already know that I'm more than likely going to have nightmares about it for weeks. I watched as Deaton placed the second jar on the table. Her claws looked identical to Scott's. Deaton then pulled a third jar out of his bag, "But... a werewolf who also bears the venom and scales of a Kanima." 

He placed the last jar on the table and I glanced at him, "What do you even call that?" 

"Personally, I call it terrifying. But at the moment, I'm more interested in how Tracy was able to get across the mountain ash." Deaton responded with wide eyes. 

Scott looked to his boss, "I thought nothing supernatural could do that?" 

"As did I, so if Tracy was able to cross the mountain ash and no one supernatural can do that..." Deaton trailed off.

I blinked once, "Tracy wasn't supernatural." 

"Exactly," Deaton responded, "if she wasn't born and she wasn't bitten, she had to have been made." 

This conversation was taking a turn for the worst. What the hell does he mean by being made? Like, in an evil laboratory or something? How do you even make supernatural creatures, what kind of doctor can even perform that type of surgery? 

"Made?" I echoed in confusion.

He nodded, "Someone is trying to make supernatural creatures with non-supernatural means. And whoever they are, they're somehow managing to blur the lines between science and the supernatural."

"But there's more," Scott spoke up, "Liam said he found another hole in the woods." 

Another hole? What the hell does that have to do with anything? What am I missing? I don't recall ever hearing anything about the hole being anything important. If anything, Liam just fell in it but what does that have to do with Tracy?

"Burying them could be part of their process, a kind of incubation." Deaton said, completely throwing me further into a loop of confusion. 

I blinked rapidly, "Well, what are we supposed to do?" 

"Same thing you've always done, protect your friends. Protect each other." he responded with a shrug.

It was going to be really hard to protect each other when Scott won't talk to me, or won't even look at me the same way. Scott hates me at the moment for doing what I had to do to survive. I'm dreading telling Stiles about how Scott handled this, because that's only going to light his fuse. 

"So, what about someone like Tracy?" Scott asked in confusion. 

Deaton sighed, "I wish I could tell you. Hopefully, I'll have more answers soon. I'll be gone a few days." 

"You're leaving?" Scott responded quickly, a slight panic to his tone. 

His boss nodded, "Just a few days."

"How scared do we need to be?" I asked him slowly. 

Deaton grabbed one of the jars off the table, "I've lived in the supernatural a long time. But, I'm still a doctor. Still a man of science. Something like this happens, it rattles the foundation of everything you believe. Something like this shakes you to the core." 

"Something like what?" Scott inquired. 

He blinked once, "The rules... the rules have changed." 

_____________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER SEVEN WOOOO

WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ON SCOTT AND KASEY? I'M SO EXCITED TO WRITE THE DYNAMIC WITH SCOTT, STILES AND KASEY WITH THE WHOLE TRACY/DONOVAN/THEO THING. I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE BIG SCILES FIGHT BECAUSE KASEY IS GONNA BE IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GONNA BE AWESOMEEEEE.

BE SURE TO FAN, VOTE AND COMMENT WHAT YOU THOUGHT. 

ALSO SORRY IF THERE ARE MANY MISTAKES I'M SICK AND DIDN'T FEEL LIKE TRYING TO EDIT THIS CHAPTER.