CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
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Elena sits in the back of Stiles's jeep with Liam on her left and Marcos on her right. Scott's phone buzzes from the passenger seat, causing all eyes to fall on him as he reads over the message, "He's headed to the school." The alpha announces, making the Dunbar boy lean forward before asking.

"Why's Parrish headed to the school?" His tone lacing with confusion as he looks between the two older boys in the front. After Elena had finally gotten her memories of the pack restored, the group instantly caught her up on everything they knew about the Beast and The Scarlet Witch — which was pretty much everything she already knew.

Things were moving so rapidly with the Beast in Beacon Hills, she hasn't even gotten a chance to tell her siblings about how she saw her mother in Eichen House. The Calavera girl instantly perks up as she hears the McCall boy answer the underclassmen, "It's not Parrish. At least not right now." He explains, slowly shaking his head while Liam leans back into his seat.

"Okay, why's a Hellhound going to the school?" The beta rephrases, glancing at the twins who simply shrug their shoulders in response as the Stilinski boy looks at him through the rear view mirror.

"Because he's got a yearning for higher education," Stiles says, his tone lacing with sarcasm and earning an eye roll from the Dunbar boy, clearly not happy with his response. A sigh escapes the human's mouth before he continues speaking, "Liam, Hellhound's at the school, so, we're going to the school. Okay?"

The beta simply nods as Stiles presses his foot down even more on the gas. In a matter of minutes, the group arrives at the school, everyone slowly gets out of the car, an eerie atmosphere radiating from the building in front of them. Elena glances towards Marcos, giving him the look to stay behind her.

Before he can respond, Liam slams the Jeep door, causing the four teenagers to instantly turn around and look at him, "Sorry." He mumbles, earning an eye roll from Stiles while Scott, Marcos, and Elena simply shake their heads in response.

The alpha leads the teenagers towards the front of the school, instantly running into Adriana and Chris, "Where's Parrish?" Scott asks, noticing the deputy was no where in sight.

The Argent man takes a deep breath before speaking, "We lost him. He's moving too fast." He admits, causing Elena to bite the inside of her cheek, an uneasy feeling appearing in her gut. Something about this didn't seem right, she felt almost as if this was some sort of trap.

"Scott," Liam announces, making everyone whip their heads around to look at the beta. His eyes focusing on a body lying directly in front of them, "That guy's not moving at all." He states, the group shares a few glances between each other before they slowly start walking forward.

A lump forms in Elena's throat when she sees the man's heart had been ripped from his chest. She tightly shuts her eyes as she follows the alpha and walks over his body. As they continue their journey, the group spots another body in front of a group of buses. The Calavera girl can feel her brother tense beside her, "Look." He mumbles, causing everyone's eyes to widen when they see a ton of dead bodies in one of the buses.

A man slowly lifts his head, connecting eyes with the alpha before speaking, "Help me." He pleads which immediately makes the McCall boy step forward to acknowledge his request. However, he quickly stops in his tracks when he sees Parrish enter the scene.

"It's a trap," The Hellhound states, his body radiating a few sparks as his eyes glow a familiar orange.

The man uses what strength he has left to speak again, "Please." He begs, his tone full of desperation and pain as he stares at the group in front of him.

Scott tries stepping forward again, earning a head shake from Parrish before he says, "You can't help him." And as soon as those words leave the deputy's mouth, half of the man's body falls from the bus.

Argent and Marcos instantly raise their guns while Scott, Liam, and Adriana unleash their claws. Elena steps in front of Stiles, her eyes glowing red as they watch the Beast reveal itself in the bus. His eyes immediately connecting with the Scarlet Witch, "That's big. No one said it was that big." The Stilinski boy mumbles, causing the Dunbar boy to speak, however, his eyes never leave the creature in front of him.

"I did," Shortly after Liam spoke, the Beast lets out an ear deafening roar, causing Parrish to instantly go up in flames as he roars back. Elena can feel her power flow through her veins while she watches the Beast turn his back towards the group as it makes its way through the bus. Parrish instantly follows after the creature, determination written all over his face.

The Beast jumps through windshield of the bus and heads straight into the distance with Parrish not too far behind. Elena begins to take a step forward, wanting to help the Hellhound in defeating the monster but she is instantly pulled back by her siblings, "We're not losing you again." Adriana tells her, her tone firm and strict as she makes eye contact with her sister.

Elena simply nods, her eyes returning to her normal brown as she tries her best to calm herself down, "What the hell's happening?" The McCall boy asks, clearly unable to believe what he just witnessed.

The Calavera's glance towards Chris, his eyes still focusing on where Parrish and the Beast were last seen, "It's getting smarter." He announces, making chills run down the pack's spine, all of them knowing that was most definitely not a good thing.

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Elena crosses her arms over her chest, a small smile forming on her lips as she sees Brett finish up his interview for tonights charity lacrosse game. The Talbot boy notices the Calavera girl watching from afar, causing him to offer her a small wave. The huntress laughs softly as she returns the gesture, her thoughts instantly going back to the night she had died.

The night she expressed her true feelings, and the night where they shared their first kiss. And despite everything that's happened these past couple of weeks with Theo and his pack — she knew it was always going to be Brett. It was just a matter of time when. Interrupting the Calavera girl's thoughts is Mason and Corey, who come speed walking towards her.

"It's frequency," The Hewitt boy states, earning furrowing eyebrows from Elena as she glances towards the other Chimera who simply just shrugs his shoulders, "Every time the Beast shows up. You, Liam, Hayden, and Marcos saw it at the cell transmission towers. The attack downtown happened right near the radio astronomy observatory. Deaton was attacked by the Beast at an army base which has huge radar arrays."

Mason tries explaining, however, neither of the Chimera's understand what he's talking about, "Still not getting it." Corey mumbles, earning a nod in agreement from Elena which causes a frustrated sigh to escape from the human's mouth before he begins to speak again.

"The Beast always shows up near a transmission source. What if that's how the Dread Doctors are doing it? By broadcasting a high-frequency transmission," He rephrases, causing Elena to nod her head as she finally knows what he's trying to say

"So we should be looking for some sort of transmission?" Corey asks, also understanding the Hewitt boy's statement which instantly makes Elena slowly turn her head to look back over at Brett.

"We don't have to look," Elena mutters, making the two boys follow her line of sight and earning a nod from Mason as he glances towards the two Chimera's.

"The local news always covers the game. There could be two, maybe three vans. All of them transmitting," The Hewitt boy adds, creating fear from Corey as he swallows the anxious lump forming in the back of his throat.

"Are you saying that thing's going to be out there tonight?" The Bryant boy questions, glancing towards the huntress who simply turns to look at Mason.

"I'm saying, people are going to die," He begins before diverting his attention back towards the news vans. An uneasy feeling forms in Elena's gut, causing her to take a deep breath to try and get rid of it as Mason continues speaking, "A lot of people."

The Hewitt boy brings his attention back to Corey and Elena, "We need to tell Liam." He states, earning a nod in agreement from Corey and causing the two boys to instantly rush off. However, Mason stops in his tracks when he realizes the huntress wasn't with them, "Are you coming?" He asks, making the Calavera girl slowly shake her head, her eyes connecting with Brett's as he heads over towards her.

"Tell the pack to meet me at the library," She tells them, earning a nod in response from the two boys before they quickly leave to go find Liam. "Hey," She greets, a small smile on her face as the Talbot boy stands in front of her.

He returns the gesture with a smile, his eyes softening when he spoke, "Hey, how are you?"

Elena slowly nods her head as she takes a deep breath before beginning to walk towards the front entrance of the school, "I'm alright, just overwhelmed with everything going on. First the Dread Doctors, then the Beast, and now my mother."

Brett furrows his eyebrows after hearing the last bit of information, he turns his head slightly as he asks, "Wait, your mom's in town?"

"Yeah, I saw her when we were in Eichen. She's the one who helped Valack give me my memories back," She explains, causing the Talbot boy to instantly stop in his tracks. Elena turns back around, noticing the confusion written on his face, "What? What is it?"

"Nothing, it just seems weird," He says, slowly shaking his head and continuing to move forward. The Talbot boy sighs before speaking again, "I mean, why did she do something that allowed you to keep your sanity? If she wanted you to be this abomination, why didn't she just let you live without your memories."

"What? You think she was trying to help me?" Elena asks, turning her head slightly to look at the werewolf.

Brett simply shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know, but maybe there's more to the story." He pauses, shifting his gaze to make eye contact with the Calavera girl before asking, "Have you talked to Marcos or Adriana about it?"

The brunette swallows a guilty lump forming in the back of her throat before answering, "I haven't even told them she's in Beacon Hills yet."

Brett slowly nods his head, grabbing the entrance door for the huntress before opening it while saying, "That may be a good place to start." He tells her, earning a nod from the huntress as she enters Beacon Hills High School with the Talbot boy not too far behind.

The two make their way towards the library where they instantly spot the rest of the pack. Elena and Brett stand beside Scott while Liam continues speaking, "Mason said it's not just to transmit frequency. It's high powered. Like it has to be over a really strong signal."

Lydia raises an eyebrow, "And that's causing it to shift?" She asks, glancing around towards the pack as she looks for her answer.

Her eyes land on the alpha, who slowly shakes his head before speaking, "No. I don't think it's just that. Last night Argent said that it's getting smarter. What if the Dread Doctors are trying to make the Beast grow faster?"

"With frequencies?" Marcos questions, earning another head shake from the McCall boy as he continues.

"No, by shifting. The frequency is just the trigger. The important part is when it shifts into the werewolf," He explains, causing a light bulb to go off in the banshee's head.

"Like Peter," She announces, making the alpha finally nod his head in response.

"Right. Yeah, when Peter was an Alpha, he got stronger every full moon. Eventually, the burns healed and he was back to normal," He recalls as realization paints itself on Elena's face.

The Calavera girl inhales sharply, "So the Dread Doctors don't want to wait for the full moon." She concludes, a hint of worry lingering in her voice which is instantly caught by Brett and Marcos.

The Talbot boy places a comforting hand on her back, causing Elena to slowly turn to face him. A reassuring smile forms on his lips which almost immediately calms her down. Marcos watches the interaction with a knowing smirk while Scott spoke up, "They want the Beast to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible."

"Because of Parrish and Elena," Liam adds, earning nods from the pack as all eyes fall onto the huntress.

Elena simply ignores their concerning gazes as she begins to ask, "So if this is happening tonight, what are we going to do?"

"Uh, we've got one clue to go on," Stiles begins, pulling out a crime scene photo from his backpack, and placing it onto the table for everyone to see, "This came from the hospital. Whoever's lurking inside the Beast is wearing a size ten of indeterminate make."

Lydia rests her head in her hand before looking up towards the Stilinski boy, "Indeterminate?"

"Means, it's a partial print. Basically, it was all we were able to get considering all the fire, blood and carnage," The human boy explains, causing Marcos to furrow his eyebrows before asking.

"How many size tens are out there?" His tone full of skepticism as he makes eye contact with the Stilinski boy.

Stiles cocks his head to the side as he answers the Calavera boy's question, "Only one with Parrish's blood on the sole."

Liam leans forward, scanning over the older teenagers, "So are we going to try to get the game canceled?" He inquires, making everyone look towards the huntress and alpha.

However, before either of them can reply, Stiles spoke up, "No, no, we're going to play, but we're just going to hope really hard that it doesn't turn into a blood-soaked massacre."

"Okay, but, um," Liam begins, stumbling over his words as he tries finding the right ones to ask, "Aren't we kind of missing out on a chance to catch this thing?" He asks, his eyes falling directly onto Elena and Scott as he adds, "We don't have the who but we have the where and the when."

Everyone acknowledges the beta's point, causing everyone else to shift their gaze towards Elena and Scott. The Calavera girl turns towards the alpha as well, watching as he anxiously bites the inside of his cheek, "There's too many people."

Lydia shrugs her shoulders slightly, "And we still don't actually know if it's going to happen. It just might end up being a regular lacrosse game. It's possible, right?" She asks, causing everyone to turn towards her with questionable looks on their faces.

"That's absolutely possible," Stiles answers, making Elena raise her eyebrows since she knew very well that with their luck, it was highly unlikely of it being a regular game.

Brett taps his hand on the table, noticing the pack's facial expressions before asking, "So we're still getting the game canceled?"

Scott firmly nods his head, "We're getting the game canceled." He confirms, making everyone grab their things before exiting the library to head their separate ways. Determination on their faces as they think of a plan to get tonight's game canceled.

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Elena sits at a table in an empty classroom with the rest of the pack, except for Lydia Martin, who was helping Adriana and Parrish with something to possibly defeat the Beast. She fiddles with the bracelets on her wrist, sitting in between Malia and Stiles. The alpha stands in the front of the room, scanning over his friends before finally landings on the Hewitt boy, "Mason you know your part?"

The human nods his head, making eye contact with the McCall boy, "Corey and I break into the Devenford Bus and search their shoes."

"I take out the TV vans," Malia adds, raising her hand as she spoke.

Elena nods her head, remembering the plan the pack had came up with throughout the school day, "I keep an eye out for any signs of the Beast." The Calavera girl continues, causing the Stilinski boy to speak when she was done.

"Right before the whistle, Coach forfeits the game," Stiles mentions, making the Calavera boy step forward and stand next to Liam.

"The rest of us are looking for a size 10 with a bloody sole," Marcos finishes, motioning towards himself and the others apart from Malia, Mason, and Elena.

Everyone slowly nods their heads as the Tate girl glances around the room before finally landing on Scott, "Just out of curiosity." She begins, causing all eyes to fall on the werecoyote as she spoke again, "What if it doesn't work? What if we have to go up against this thing? I mean, I hate to bring up bad memories but Scott's still healing from what Theo did to him."

Kira furrows her eyebrows, stepping forward before blurting out, "No, he's not."

"She's right," The alpha announces, making the pack turn towards him as he continues, "It happened the night Elena got her memories back and when we got Lydia out of Eichen House. I healed. When we were all together again, when we were a pack."

A small smile forms on Liam lips before he chimes in, "The Beast doesn't have a pack."

"Not like us," Scott confidently states, connecting eyes with his best friend, both boys exchanging a reassuring nod. The alpha takes his attention away from Stiles and scans over the rest of the pack, "We can do this, guys. No one dies tonight."

Everyone slightly smiles at the McCall boy's words, feeling a sudden surge of optimism hit them after his last few words. However, Elena can help the negative thoughts lingering in her mind. She follows the group out of the classroom, her head held down which causes her not to see a certain werewolf who was clearly waiting for her.

Brett notices her actions and immediately steps forward, "You okay?" He asks, making the huntress instantly lift her head and connect eyes with the Talbot boy.

Elena slowly nods her head, fidgeting with her bracelets again as she drops her eyesight to the ground, "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little worried about tonight." She admits, causing the Talbot boy to place his hand on hers to stop her from messing with her jewelry.

The Calavera girl instantly brings her gaze towards him, his eyes softening almost instantly when she looks back at him, "I'm still just hoping it's going to be a normal lacrosse game." He jokes, earning a slight laugh from Elena as she simply shrugs her shoulders.

"When is anything ever normal in Beacon Hill?" She questions back, making the werewolf nod his head with a smile on his face as if he was saying 'fair point'." The two fall silent as Brett swallows the nervous lump in the back of his throat. Elena notices his actions and raises an eyebrow before speaking, "You have this look on your face like you're going to say be careful."

A laugh escapes his mouth, "Maybe I was." He admits, making the huntress's cheeks instantly turn a shade of pink. Brett smiles at her reaction, nudging her arm slightly before adding, "Can't blame me for wanting you to be safe, Elena."

The words instantly cause the Calavera girl's smile to widen, missing this feeling only he could make her feel. The way she always knew he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. The warm feeling in her chest that was reserved only for him.

Elena opens her mouth to say something, but her brother calls out from down the hall, "Come on lovebirds! We have a charity game to crash!" Both teenagers laugh at the hunter's words and quickly follow after the pack as they head towards the lacrosse field.

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The first flaw in the pack's plan is when Coach Bobby Finstock ended up not forfeiting the game. The huntress knew Malia would take the TV vans out with no problem while Corey and Mason would look for the bloody shoe in Devonford Prep's bus and Lori and Marcos would search the bleachers.

So Elena finds herself sitting in the crowd with Hayden, her foot anxiously bouncing up and down as she keeps a look out for any signs of the heinous creature. She bites the inside of her cheek as she watches the referee wave his hand in the air and blow his whistle to signal the game to start.

Elena can feel the Romero girl's gaze focusing on her instead of the game. The two girls have barely spoken to one another since the Calavera girl had gotten her memories back, mainly due to the fact that Hayden still felt guilty for not telling her the truth about the pack. But in all honesty, the huntress knew it wasn't her fault.

"I'm sorry," Hayden says, snapping the huntress out of her thoughts and causing her to slowly turn her head to look at the other Chimera. The Romero girl takes a deep breath before continuing, "I should've told you about Theo. I know that now. I just..." She pauses, making the Calavera girl finally turn to look at her.

Elena instantly notices Hayden's gaze focusing on the Dunbar boy on the field, "You just needed someone to help you realize that." The huntress mumbles, her eyes traveling the field as well before finding Brett. The Romero girl's facial expressions shift from guilt to realization as she waits for the huntress to continue, "You don't need to apologize. I get it. You were just doing what you were told."

The huntress returns her sight towards Hayden, who was already looking at her, "We all trusted, Theo. He manipulated us at our lowest to create his picture perfect pack. We thought he was the one who saved us, but in reality, he was the one who destroyed us." She explains, earning a slow nod from the Romero girl with a small smile on her face.

Before Hayden can respond, the two girls watch as Kira uses her lacrosse stick to slap the Talbot boy across the face. His helmet flies through the air as he falls to the ground. The referee runs up to the incident, looking directly at the kitsune before shouting, "You! You're done! Get off the field!"

The Yukimura girl looks directly at her boyfriend before storming off the field. Scott does his best to catch up with his girlfriend but he can feel the anger radiating from her body. He stops in his tracks as Lori and Marcos pop their heads from behind the bleachers. The two glance towards each other before looking back at Scott, "We'll go check on her." The Calavera boy tells him, earning a firm nod in response as the three teenagers part ways.

The game continues on with Devonford Prep scoring relentlessly against Beacon Hills. Elena watches as Liam harshly falls to the ground as Brett scores yet another goal, making the score five to one. The Talbot boy looks back into the bleachers, making eye contact with the huntress which causes a wave of nostalgia to wash over her.

She remembers when the first lacrosse game she attended — just after she met the Talbot boy at the party at Lydia's lake house. Elena smiles back at the werewolf before giving him a nod in reassurance to let him know she was cheering for him. However, the huntress furrows her eyebrows when she sees the alpha rush off the field.

Hayden and Elena share a look with one another as they watch the referee call a time out. Brett and Liam exchange a few words as they walk off the field. The huntress notices Hayden's gaze stuck on Liam before placing a hand on the Romero girl's shoulder and motioning with her head towards the beta, "Go talk to him." She advises, causing a small smile to form on the other Chimera's lips as she stands from the bleachers and makes her way towards the Dunbar boy.

Elena can feel the intensity of the game rise as the clock continues counting down. She can feel the nerves creep down her body with no signs of the Beast. If anything were to happen, the Calavera girl knew that she would do anything to protect her friends. And if that meant sacrificing herself, then so be it.

The huntress's thoughts are quickly interrupted when Hayden makes her way back towards her spot on the bleachers, "Everything okay?" The Romero girl asks, smelling the anxiety lingering all over her body. Elena quickly nods her head as the two teams take their spots on the field again.

As soon as the referee blows his whistle, Liam manages to get the ball and score a goal against Devonford. The two girls cheer loudly, knowing that's exactly what they needed. They needed more time. The Dunbar boy continues to score shot after shot, eventually making the score even at the exact time the clock went out.

The referee blows his whistle with his hands in the air, "That's overtime!" He announces and not even a few seconds later, a loud ringing sound blares out across the field which causes everyone to cover their ears.

Elena and Hayden look towards one another once the sound eventually dies down, "That can't be good." The Romero girl mumbles, her eyes landing on Liam as he takes off his helmet and begins running.

The huntress quickly rushes off the bleachers to try and reach the beta, "Liam! Liam wait!" She pleads, watching his eyes change from their familiar blue to a beautiful golden. However, Brett instantly pulls her back behind him, both of their eyes widening when they see something emerge from behind the school buses.

The Beast.

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AUTHORS NOTE

Hey guys and welcome to chapter twenty nine of Howl !! I missed Brett & Elena so much and I'm so glad they're reunited again. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and get ready for a backstory in the next chapter!

Now, I did look over this chapter before publishing, but if there are any mistakes I should know about please let me know. And thank you guys so much for all of the love and support, it means the absolute world to me !!

Please don't forget to vote and comment, it helps me out a lot, and it gives me even more motivation to continue writing <33

— Brooke

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