On My Own | Hale - TVD/TO/TW [4]

30 | Most Beautiful Flower

Surrounded by a circle of knocked over trees, Lexi sits in the center; her eyes flicker blue in the darkness with red lining her lids. Taking a deep breath, she tries to calm her heartbeat, but it threatens to burst from her chest.

She stands up, running a hand through her tossed hair to reveal blood dripping from her chin. Wiping it away, she looks down at the dead deer by her feet as she digs into her pocket to retrieve her phone. "Sorry," she says. "Better you than someone human."

A snapping twig causes Lexi to tense. She narrows her eyes at the darkness as a girl steps into the clearing. Recognizing the eyes, Lexi relaxes and sighs. "Malia Tate. To what do I owe this meeting?" She asks.

Malia narrows her eyes, now glowing blue. "How do you know me?"

"Scott McCall told me about you," Lexi replies as she crosses her arms. "Said you had been a coyote for years."

"Yeah, well, screw Scott," Malia growls. "He hasn't done anything." Her eyes flicker to the deer.

"He's been busy watching his first love get brutally murdered," Lexi says without a hint of emotion on her face. If it wasn't for the clench of her jaw, one could think she had turned it off again.

The coyote narrows her eyes. "Do I look like I care? Stiles promised that he and his pack would help. They haven't done anything."

Shrugging, Lexi says, "Well, I can teach you once this is all over. Scott is not, shall we say, the greatest model of self-control."

Malia frowns. "Who even are you? Why would you help me?"

"I'm Lexi Adams." Malia takes a step back. "I see Stiles told you about me. All you need to know is that I am willing to teach you control after the Nogitsune is gone."

Narrowing her eyes, Malia tilts her head to the side. "I thought you were supposed to be some sort of legend. You don't look like much."

With a chuckle. Lexi wipes away any excess blood remaining on her lips. "Well, I apologize for not meeting your standards." She turns around as she inhales sharply. "Feel free to finish the deer. I've had my meal for the day."

Without waiting for a reply, Lexi races through the woods until she makes it to a large apartment complex. She climbs in through the windows, scaling the building easily and slipping through without setting off any alarms. Carefully placing her feet within the office, she avoids the charged walls and slides into the office chair. A picture of the Argent family smiles at her; she places it face-down against the desk.

When the door to the apartment opens, Lexi looks up. She can hear two sets of footsteps enter, but she does not speak. The words get caught in her throat as she sits in Argent's chair a few feet away from the grieving man and Isaac.

"I appreciate the concern," the old hunter says. "but you don't have to stay. I'll be all right." Lexi hears his voice crack. "I've dealt with this before. I have a capacity and a-an ability to compartmentalize my emotions."

The next words Lexi hears breaks her.

"I don't," Isaac replies.

Lexi waits silently in the chair. She hears Argent let Isaac into Allison's room. She hears Isaac slump into her desk chair with Argent beside him. She hears Isaac's breathing slow as he falls into sleep, leaving Argent alone.

She picks her head up when he walks in. "I am so sorry," she says, pure pain on her face.

Argent simply leans against the threshold. "I never thought you'd care."

"Neither did I."

Inhaling sharply, Lexi presses her lips together tightly as Argent runs a hand down his face and approaches the desk. "Why are you here, Lexi?"