IN TOO DEEP || Liam Dunbar [3]

THIRTY

"Hey, it's me again. I, uh, don't know why you can't seem to call me back. Maybe it's because you think you're punishing me. But this is too long. It's — it's too much," the woman stammered. "And it's not about us. Something's happening in Beacon Hills, to the people here. I just—" a sharp inhale "—I just, I need to know everyone there with you is okay, so can you just, please, call me, please? One call, that's all I'm asking for, and if you can't call me back, then—" another sharp breath "—I'm going to get my answer, anyway. That means I'm coming up there myself. If I don't get a call from you, I'm coming up there. So just try, try to remember, it's my pack, too."

The message ended with a sharp inhale that sounded close to a sob, and Scott snapped the phone shut.

"You pulled this off one of the bodies in the woods?" Was the first thing Theo asked.

"Malia did," Liam confirmed.

It was two days since they found the bodies in the freezer and in that time, they'd made a discovery.

While Katherine had been training, Scott, Malia and Lydia had found another pack of wolves murdered in the same was as the teacher and two students. Eyes missing, streaks of blood, surrounded by terror.

There were six bodies found in the woods in total, but one of them was completely unrecognizable. It was that body they had found the phone on.

After listening to the message once, Scott called the rest of them to meet at the vet clinic to listen to it together. Katherine had come with Liam and Mason, and Theo had arrived on his own.

None of them quite knew what to make of it.

"There were six dead bodies in the woods," Scott said firmly, "and one of them had no face."

"Okay," Theo said slowly as he took a trio of steps toward them, "so the one with no face; you think that's the woman on the phone?"

"Maybe," Scott sighed as he leaned back against the desk behind him.

"It's the same thing that happened to Aaron," Mason cut in. "It took over his body, basically stole his face and his DNA. So that means whoever this woman is, she could be the other half of the Anuk-Ite."

Theo set his hands on the counter in front of him and leaned into them. "Which means she's just half of the problem...the other half we already know about; Aaron."

"We don't know where he is, though," Liam shook his head.

Theo waved his hands. "Okay, hold on. Aren't we supposed to keep both halves apart? If we know about one half, let's just go for that one, that's Aaron."

There was a moment of silence. "I'm not agreeing with Theo, but I do think it'd be easier to track down Aaron over a voice on a phone," Mason piped in quietly.

Liam stared at him. "That's agreeing with Theo."

"Yeah," Mason grimaced. "But I thought I'd try to soften the blow a bit."

Theo gaped at them all. "Is everyone completely shocked that I might be right?"

Kathrine rolled her eyes. "I completely agree with Theo; if we take Aaron out then they can't merge...or whatever the fuck it is they do. Conjoin. Oh, I hate that word." She shuddered.

"No, we just don't like it," Liam grumbled.

"Maybe we're all right," Scott frowned thoughtfully, "maybe we should be looking for both. Aaron and the woman on the phone." He glanced over to Katherine. "I mean, since you guys agree..."

"Wait," Mason frowned, "you mean, me and..."

"Him?" Theo finished for him.

Katherine's eyes were wide. "Us?"