North Starr

77

Scott read a text on his phone. "He's headed to the school."

Liam spoke from the back next to Tessa. "Why's Parrish headed to the school?"

Melanie glanced at him. "That isn't Parrish right now."

"Okay, why's a Hellhound going to the school?"

"'Cause he's got a yearning for higher education," Stiles answered sarcastically. "Liam, a Hellhound's at the school, so we're going to the school. Okay?"

Melanie frowned. "Stiles, that's enough. We have bigger issues."

They arrived at the school parking lot and got out as quietly as possible. Liam was the last to get out and slammed the door behind him, causing the older teens to wince and glare at him. "Sorry."

Argent appeared, gun in hand, and Scott asked, "Where's Parrish?"

He shook his head. "I lost him. He's moving too fast."

Liam walked to a figure on the ground. "Scott, that guy's not moving."

The pack joined him and knelt next to the guy. He had a bloody wound on his chest.

Liam pointed to another body. "Look..."

"Help me," a boy said as he raised a bloody hand.

Melanie followed Scott to the bus, but they were stopped by Parrish. "It's a trap. Please... You two can't help him."

She ignored him and pushed past the Hellhound. Half a body was thrown from the bus. The Beast let out a low guttural growl.

Stiles winced as it appeared. "That's big. No one said it was that big."

Liam looked at them. "I did."

The Beast growled and ran in the opposite direction. Parrish roared, burst into flames, and chased after the Beast.

"What the hell's happening?" Scott wondered.

"It's getting smarter," Argent said.

The pack gathered in the library at school. Melanie was sitting to Stiles' right as Liam said, "Mason said it's not just to transmit frequency. It's high-powered. Like it was to be a really strong signal."

"And it's causing you to shift?" Lydia wondered.

Scott shook his head. "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?" Stiles asked.

"No, by shifting. The frequency is just the trigger. The important part is when it shifts into the werewolf."

"Like Uncle Peter," Melanie remembered.

Stiles nodded. "Right. Yeah, when Peter was an alpha, he got stronger every full moon. Eventually the burns healed and he was back to normal."

"So the Dread Doctors don't want to wait for the full moon," Liam said.

Melanie nodded. "They want the Beast to be as strong and as fast as possible."

"Because of Parrish."

Lydia frowned. "So if this is happening tonight, what are we gonna do?"

"Uh, we've got one clue to go on," Stiles replied as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a piece of paper. He placed it on the table for all to see. "This came from the hospital. Whoever's lurking inside the Beast is wearing size ten of indeterminate make."

"Indeterminate?"

"Mean's it's a partial print. Basically, it was all we were able to get considering all the fire, blood, and carnage."