YOUTH || Liam Dunbar [1]

TWENTY SIX

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let Katherine stay here with us?" Brett asked Scott quietly.

Scott turned to where Braeden was teaching Katherine self defense techniques, and making her practice on Derek.

"Kat's a quick learner, she'll be okay," Scott shrugged, though on the inside he was tearing himself apart with worry.

"But she's so small," Brett breathed, his attention focused solely on her small, thin figure.

"And she's perfectly capable of knocking someone unconscious at the very least," Chris cut in, folding his arms over his chest as he joined them in watching the lesson. "Katherine has one of the fastest working minds I've ever seen, and whatever law enforcement she joins is extremely lucky."

"She's going to be a cop?" Brett's eyebrows were raised as they watched Katherine land a perfect punch to Derek's stomach that almost had him doubling over. But Derek was too proud for that, so he simply grunted and folded in half slightly while Braeden let out a loud laugh.

"And F.B.I. Agent," Scott smiled proudly at the thought. Katherine jumped around doing a happy dance, then stretched her legs and began copying what Braeden was doing. "Her and Stiles are going to be amazing."

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Brett muttered, folding his arms over his chest.

And then Katherine grabbed Derek's arm and, without a moments hesitation, flipped him over her shoulder and pinned him to the concrete ground with her knee pressed into his throat. Derek let out a choked groan as Katherine then straightened up, giving Braeden a soft but excited high-five.

When she noticed the three watching, she offered them an over-enthusiastic wave while wiping sweat off her forehead.

Brett stared at her in surprise before hesitantly waving back.

Scott grinned. "I told you she's a quick learner."

•••

"Am I still the only one hoping this is all just a false alarm?" Kira asked quietly. "I mean, it's possible we could wait here all night and nothing happens, right?"

Katherine looked between Scott, Derek and Braeden, and let out a sigh. While she admired Kira's optimism, she knew that it wouldn't go the way she hoped it would.

It never did.

"Have either of you heard anything from Stiles or Lydia yet?" Braeden asked, leaving Kira's question unanswered.

"Lydia's still talking to Meredith," Katherine cut in. "Stiles and Malia are headed to the lake house."

"They're trying to stop it," Scott breathed, gently bumping Katherine's arm with his own.

"What if there is no stopping it?" Brett asked from a short distance away. "What if it doesn't end until were all dead?"

Katherine glanced back and let out a small sigh. He didn't look like he was trying to be rude about it. He just looked tired and scared.

"We can't afford to think like that," Katherine whispered. But she knew he could hear her. They're all werewolves; they can hear pretty much everything.

"Then let's send a message," Derek answered after a moment.

Katherine looked over at him with raised brows as she spun her bat on its head.

"Let's make tonight perfectly clear to anyone with a copy of that list. It doesn't matter if they're professional assassins, hunters, or an amateur who picked up a gun." Derek held up his own gun, and Katherine allowed a faint smile to form on her lips. "Anyone who things they can hunt and kills us for money, is going to be put on another list. Our list."