Chapter 21: A Glimpse Beyond

My eyes flew open. I shot upright without thinking, my fists raised and my claws halfway out.

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I searched the room. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready for another attack. Looking for Deucalion.

“Easy!” A familiar voice broke through the panic. “Back from the land of the dead?”

I turned toward the voice. Mike stood near the door with a grin on his face. It took me a second to realize where I was. The fight… the school… Deucalion… they were gone.

I looked around again. The room smelled of medicine. Cabinets filled one wall, and several bottles sat neatly on a shelf. Then my eyes landed on Ryan. He was standing beside the bed. For a moment I simply stared at him.

“Ryan…”

He smiled faintly. “Hey bro.”

Relief hit me harder than any punch Deucalion had thrown. I got off the bed and wrapped my arms around him.

“I thought he killed you.”

Ryan patted my back. “I’m harder to kill than that.”

I let out a shaky laugh before stepping back. “You really scared me.”

“You didn’t exactly make things easy for me either,” Ryan replied.

Mike folded his arms. “So… can someone tell me what the hell all this was?”

Ryan looked at me. I looked at Ryan. Neither of us answered.

Mike sighed dramatically. “I knew it.”

“What?” I asked.

“You’re both ignoring me.”

Ryan chuckled. “Believe me, It’s safer that way.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “I nearly got eaten the other night. I think I deserve at least one answer.”

“You’ll get one,” I said. “Just… not today.”

He shook his head. “I’ll remember that.” The doctor entered the room carrying a small notebook. “You’re awake.”

“I feel… better,” I replied.

He nodded. “You’ll still need to take it easy.”

Ryan looked at him. “Thank you.”

A few minutes later, the three of us stepped outside. “Get in I'll drive.” Mike said immediately.

Ryan nodded. “Thanks.” I climbed into the back seat while Ryan sat beside Mike. As soon as the engine started, Mike spoke again.

“So…”

Ryan sighed. “Here we go.” Mike laughed. “Hey man don't blame me, it's a lot to take in right now so I’ve got questions.”

He looked at us. “First question. What exactly are you people?”

Neither of us answered. He tried again. “Fine. Second question. How many creatures like Deucalion exist?”

Still silence. Mike glanced through the mirror. “You guys are really good at this.”

I smiled. “It’s nothing personal.”

“It feels personal like it's some sort of secret something.”

Ryan laughed quietly. Mike shook his head before focusing on the road again. After a few minutes I looked toward Ryan. “The house…”

He understood immediately. “It’ll be repaired.”

I frowned. “That won’t be cheap, thank God they are lesser neighbors in the area.”

“I’ll call a few people.” He looked out the window. “They’ll start first thing tomorrow.”

I nodded slowly. Then another thought came into my head. “The school.” Ryan became quiet. I already knew he didn’t have an answer.

“The hallway… the field. It really looked like something really happened there. How do we explain all that?”

Ryan rubbed his forehead. “We don’t.”

I blinked. “What?” He smiled a little. “The school will come up with something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Maybe they’ll blame it on an earthquake.”

Mike laughed. “An earthquake inside the hallway?”

Ryan smiled. “What kind of explanation do you have for People to believe.”

I leaned my head against the window. “I hope you’re right.”

At the clinic.

The doctor stood outside the clinic as the Jeep disappeared down the road. The smile on his face slowly faded. He folded his arms.

“I hope you survive this…” His eyes remained fixed on the road long after the vehicle was gone. “…because he will be back.”

The old man turned back toward his clinic. Deep inside, he feared the treatment had only delayed what was coming.

Several miles away from the clinic. several wolves rushed toward Lila. They shifted back into their human forms the moment they reached her.

“Lila! What happened? Are you hurt?”

Another wolf walked around the area, carefully studying the ground. “There are tracks everywhere. I smell blood. An Alpha scent too.”

Lila swallowed. She forced herself to stay calm. “Deucalion.”

Every wolf froze. “What?”

“He came into town.” She pointed toward the damaged trees. The wolves immediately spread out. Some searched the forest. Others followed the scent. Their leader looked back at Lila. “Did you see where he went?”

She slowly shook her head. “No. I was hiding, this is Deucalion we are talking about here.”

It wasn’t the full truth. But it was enough.

As the pack continued searching, Lila lowered her eyes. Please be alive… Please…

Eli’s words echoed in her head. “Jax will survive.” She wanted to believe him. More than anything.

After nearly thirty minutes, the search ended. “We’re returning to the Guild,” one of the wolves said. “Lila, you’re coming with us.”

She nodded quietly. Without another word, she followed them into the darkness.

The Jeep finally stopped outside the house. I climbed out and stood still. The place looked even worse than I remembered. Broken windows. Damaged walls. Pieces of furniture were visible through the front window.

I let out a long breath. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Ryan nodded. “We do.” He unlocked the front door. “I need to take care of something inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He disappeared into the house. Mike leaned against his Jeep. “I should get going.”

I looked at him. “So soon?”

“My mom would probably be worried right now.”

I laughed. “ Feel free to come around whenever You feel like. You don’t need an invitation.”

Mike nodded. “I’ll hold you to that. See you at school?”

“If the school is still standing.” We both laughed.

Mike climbed into his Jeep. A moment later he drove away. I watched until the headlights disappeared down the street. Then I walked inside.

The house was quiet. Ryan was somewhere upstairs. I was too exhausted to ask what he was doing. I slowly climbed the stairs and pushed open my bedroom door. The room looked exactly as I had left it.

I walked over to the small shelf in the corner. My eyes landed on the artifact I had stolen from the Shadowfang quarters. It was glowing.

For the first time, I saw it glowing.

A soft, eerie blue light pulsed from deep inside the stone. It grew brighter the longer I stared at it. My heart beat faster. I reached out slowly with curiosity, I touched it with my fingertips.

The moment I made contact, a rush of images flooded my mind.

I pulled my hand back, breathing hard.

It showed me what kind of dark future awaited me. And from what I saw, Deucalion was the least of secrets the beacon hills held.