Earlier…
Craw, craw…
A raven soared over the mountains, its cry echoing through the cliffs—an omen marking the arrival of the second brother to the First Sister.
Aurora sat still, eyes closed, resting in quiet meditation as her squadron completed their sweep of the area. But a rhythmic crunch of approaching footsteps on snow pulled her from her thoughts.
"Sister," a man in a dark outfit approached, his face hidden behind a mask.
Aurora opened her eyes, narrowing them slightly. "What are you doing here, Thrain?"
"We are to meet with the Volturi," he said, his voice calm beneath the mask. "A summit to establish order among the supernatural factions."
She sighed, clearly unimpressed. "Why waste my time on politics?"
"It's a gesture of goodwill," Thrain replied. "And a warning—to remind them of the true strength of the Valentines' coven."
Aurora slowly rose from where she sat, extending her arm as the raven landed gracefully upon it. She gently stroked its feathers, eyes distant.
"The wolves," she murmured. "They're leaderless. Without guidance, the Volturi will hunt them down. That's what this meeting is really about, isn't it?"
Thrain met her gaze. "Only one way to find out."
Before she could reply, a sudden jolt hit her senses—she felt the life force of one of her men vanish, ripped away in an instant. Her eyes sharpened, locking onto the distant location of the attack.
"Somone just killed my soldier," she said coldly.
Thrain stepped forward. "Do you want me to deal with it?"
She shook her head, her voice firm. "No. I'll handle it myself."
Aurora lifted her arm, letting the raven take flight once more, its wings slicing through the air as it soared into the sky.
Around her neck, the sun pendant she wore began to hum softly, ancient symbols etched into its surface glowing faintly—as if resonating with her resolve.
Back in Beacon Hills, Iván moved from student to student, struggling to get anyone to sign up for the soccer team. In the end, he only managed to get Zack and a kid named Isaac to sign.
With a groan, he threw himself onto a patch of grass on the school grounds, letting out a weary sigh. "This is way harder than I imagined."
"Well, people love lacrosse here," Rowan replied, standing over him. "But can we focus on our actual mission, Iván?"
"I am focused," Iván said, staring up at the sky. "But I'd like to have a normal life too. Hunting down some Alpha werewolf isn't exactly going to pay my future bills, you know."
"Actually…" Rowan shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "My dad gets paid by the church to deal with dark spirits."
"Wait—ghost hunting?" Iván asked, sitting up a bit.
"Yep," Rowan nodded. "Old-school exorcist style."
"That actually sounds kind of cool," Iván said, raising an eyebrow. "Wait—where's Charlotte?"
"She's hanging out with Olivia. But honestly, she doesn't want to get too involved. Says she doesn't have any powers or anything. Still, she did tell me something interesting."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"That some werewolves' bloodlines have unique gifts. She mentioned it casually, but after talking to Derek, it sounds like it was hale that attacked them. Which narrows down our list of potential subjects."
Rowan glanced around, lowering his voice as students passed by. "But I don't think this is the best place to talk about it."
"Fair," Iván nodded. "But before we go somewhere private… Can you sign this?"
Rowan blinked. "What is it?"
"It's a sign-up sheet. I still need players for the soccer team."
"You said your dad might coach, right?" Iván grinned. "And look—I already got Zack's and some kid's name Isaac signature. They're solid."
"Oh right, I forgot," Rowan said with a nod. "Yeah, sure—I already agreed to help, after all."
Iván smiled after getting the signature. Maybe I can get Scott to sign too, he thought. Stiles… yeah, maybe not. He doesn't exactly scream 'soccer material.'
Pushing himself up from the grass, he and Rowan headed back into the school, stepping into the crowded hallways.
They were making their way through the corridor, looking for Scott, when—out of nowhere—someone grabbed Iván by the collar and slammed him against the lockers.
"Where do you think you're hiding, huh?" a voice sneered.
It was Jackson, towering over him with a smug grin.
"Let me go before I press charges!" Iván snapped, struggling.
"Oh? Can you afford a lawyer?" Jackson smirked, looking him up and down.
Iván's eyes began to shift, a subtle glow flickering in them. "Is this guy calling me broke?" he muttered under his breath, his voice low and dangerous.
"Jackson, let him go."
Scott's voice cut through the tension as he stepped in, eyes locked on Jackson.
Jackson hesitated, then shoved Iván away. "Watch yourself, McCall," he growled, brushing past Scott and bumping his shoulder on the way out.
Iván straightened his shirt, fuming. "What the hell is wrong with that guy?"
Rowan and Scott both stared at him, alarmed. Scott quickly stepped in, lowering his voice.
"Dude—your eyes!"
"What?" Iván asked, confused.
He pulled out his phone, catching his reflection on the dark screen—his eyes were glowing, just for a moment, before fading back into their normal silver color.
"Wow," Rowan muttered. "If that were Scott, he'd be halfway to clawing someone's throat out by now."
Scott shot Rowan a glare. "not helping."
Rowan held up his hands. "Yeah, well—you two need to be careful. If anyone catches on, especially the wrong people, the Argents might start organizing hunting parties."
"Huh?" Iván blinked, confused. Both he and Scott turned to Rowan.
Scott scratched the back of his neck. "I… might be dating one of them."
"Wait—what do you mean?" Iván asked, his eyes narrowing.
Rowan crossed his arms. "Of course Derek left you in the dark. Some mentor. The Argents are a family of legendary hunters—monster hunters. And let's just say… your kind tops the list."
Well, he did mention hunters… just didn't say they were in town, Iván thought.
"Say, Scott—you said you're dating one of them? How did that even happen?"
Scott rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed. "Uh… well, besides her dad shooting an arrow at me the day after I was bit—I asked her out. And now we're going to a party this weekend."
This guy really has a death wish, Iván thought.
"Hey, where's Stiles?"
"He's in the library, doing all kinds of research… on us," Scott replied.
"Okay, anyway," Rowan cut in, "since you're here, Scott, I might as well let you both know—the full moon isn't going anywhere, and it looks like I'm stuck babysitting you two." He smacked his forehead. "My dad won't be around, so it's up to me to make sure you don't go on a killing spree."
"But what about Derek?" Iván asked.
"Yeah, Derek's big plan was to let you run off into the woods and hope you don't stumble into a group of campers. Brilliant, right? Well, I'm not letting that happen."