TAINTED HEART | D.HALE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

chapter twenty six
( I.E.D )

          Chris, Sofia, and Derek had arranged to meet at the Hale vault sometime the next night. Sofia had excitedly greeted Argent with a tight hug. She scolded him for not reaching out and he apologized.

The three had made their way into the vault, Derek immediately searching one of the shelves, "She was here for this. We use it to teach young Betas how to control the shifts on a full moon."

Argent grabbed the metallic object from Derek's hand. Sofia observed it from her spot between the two, "We had a talisman similar back in Mexico. It's what my grandmother believed would bring about my powers."

Sofia reached for the object before continuing, "The Calavera talisman is different from this though. It dates back centuries ago, believed to hold some sort of enchantment from ancient energy work. If you ask me, it was just an excuse for the crazy to come out."

Argent gave Sofia a sympathetic look before glancing back at the talisman, "Control never was one of Kate's strengths."

Sofia handed Derek the symbol back. His fingertips lightly traced hers as he pulled it back. Derek looked over at Chris, "You knew she was alive, didn't you?"

"Not for certain," Argent looked between the two. "But, I'd been searching ever since you handed me the shotgun shell."

Sofia scrunched her face in confusion, "What shotgun shell?"

Derek and Chris exchanged a glance before looking away. Sofia scoffed and fully turned in front of Derek, "Derek?"

The man in question reluctantly looked back up at the woman, "When Ethan and Aiden were attacked, I found a gun shell. We thought there could be a chance that it belonged to your family so we didn't want to tell you."

Sofia's eyes widened in anger. She swiveled her head around to meet Chris's eyes, "Is that true?"

The man slowly nodded. Sofia quickly turned back around and swatted Derek's shoulder angrily.

"Um, ow," Derek took a step back and held his bruised shoulder. "Argent kept it a secret too."

Sofia shoved an accusing finger in his face, "Chris is the closest thing I have to a father, I'm not gonna hit him."

"Sofia," Argent smiled, trying to get the girl's attention.

Sofia whipped around, "No. I'm still mad at you."

Derek reached around the angry girl from behind and pushed her hands down, holding her in place, "What are you gonna do with Kate when you find her?"

"There's a place I can take her."

"Are you saying you have some kind of werewolf jail?" Derek jokingly asked while Sofia squirmed around, trying to free her hands.

Argent looked around the vault, "Something like that."

"She won't go quietly."

Sofia scoffed, "No shit."

Argent faced away from the two as he examined the walls, "I don't expect her to. And I'll do what's necessary."

Derek sighed before finally releasing Sofia so he could move closer to Chris, "What if I asked you not to?"

"She took something from me. At first, I just thought it was a part of my past," Sofia and Argent watched as Derek's eyes flashed yellow. "I started to lose something else, my sense of smell."

"That's why you couldn't smell the blood at the high school," Sofia pieced together.

"I'm losing my power."

The room went silent for a moment, no one knowing what to say. Eventually Argent sighed, "We'll figure it out when the time comes. For now, we should probably get out of here before someone finds us."

Sofia walked behind Derek as they climbed the stairs to the exit. She slowly stuck her hand out and blasted the man's feet, causing him to fall forward. Sofia snickered and stepped over the man, "Whoops."

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Argent was in his workshop, organizing his tools when he heard the smallest creak. He quickly pulled his gun out and turned around as Severo Calavera entered the room, mirroring his position. The two stood their ground, the gun's ready to fire.

"In Mexico, we call this a standoff," Araya Calavera said as she entered the room.

Argent's eyes never left Severo's weapon, "Araya."

"The girl we hired to find Kate hasn't responded in days. You know her, don't you?" Araya stepped into the room.

Argent only glanced over, "Braeden."

"Well, maybe your sister got to her. Maybe killed her. Maybe we should stop hiring other people to do our work — maybe we do it ourselves."

Argent finally placed his gun down, "Maybe it's not best for you to be here. Maybe I seem to recall a threat placed on your presence by your own granddaughter."

Araya sighed, choosing to ignore his words, "We're Hunters, Christopher, all of us. We follow a code."

After Chris refused to say anything, Araya continued, "Severo, what is our code?"

"We hunt those who hunt us," Severo grunted.

"Christopher? What is our code?" The older woman pushed.

Araya stepped closer as Argent started to step away, "Say it with me — 'We hunt those who hunt us.' "

Argents steps paused but he refused to turn around, "What is our Code? Remind him, Severo."

"We hunt those who hunt us."

Araya stood behind Argent, "Say it, Christopher. Say it for your wife, Victoria. For your daughter, Allison. Say the Code. Speak the words. Say it! What is our Code?"

Argent finally turned around, "You wanna talk about family? Fine. What about Mireya? Hm? I wasn't aware she tried to hunt you. But I mean, if you went out of your way to kill your own daughter, she must have done something. Right?"

Araya's face slightly faltered but she refused to show any weakness, "Do not bring my own business into this. Everything I have done, every choice I have made, has been to protect the Calavera legacy."

Argent gritted his teeth, "We hunt those who hunt us."

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haleshoe is typing...

hii i'm so sorry for the delayed update!
i was planning to update twice today to make up for it but the next chapter isn't ready yet so sorryyyy

i have so much planned for the end of
season 4 and i'm excited :)

thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed <3