Chapter 55

As the door closed behind Stiles and his father, a heavy silence settled over the room. Isabelle broke it, her voice slicing through the tension like a knife. "Mom called. They've traced and found Jocelyn Fairchild, her child Clary and Lucian Greymark."

Alexander sighed, the weight of the revelation pressing down on his shoulders. "Let me guess—they're in New York now."

Isabelle, unsurprised by Alexander's intuition, nodded. "They're in Brooklyn, hiding in plain sight. Jocelyn's taken the name Fray, and Lucian's going by Garroway and is working as a detective, he seems to havr connection tonpack nearby."

Alexander's brow furrowed as he processed the information. "Do they keep in contact with the supernatural world?"

Shaking her head, Isabelle replied, "No. The pack is isolated, and Jocelyn seems paranoid, keeping very low contact with anything supernatural. Her only contact was with a warlocks named Elliot Nourse and Dorthea Rollins, the later had a relationship with Magnus.While Elliot moved away years ago. They keep anything about Supernatural as taboo around them. And Clary... she knows nothing about her lineage."

Alexander hummed thoughtfully. "Jocelyn must have removed her memories. Otherwise, Clary would be dead or insane by now."

Isabelle frowned, the thought troubling her. "I don't understand Jocelyn's idea of keeping Clary in the dark. It makes her vulnerable, especially when something dangerous happens."

Alexander agreed.

Outside the Hale house, it's eerily quiet and serene, with the charred remnants of the home adding a grim backdrop. Gerard Argent steps forward, flanked by two hunters. The first, Leveque, is handsome and carries an air of unsettling calm. The second, Ulrich, is a tightly muscled young man in his twenties, looking eager to kill.

Leveque questions, "Why did we switch from the original plan?"

Gerard responds, "The original plan was to wait and lead him to the Alpha. But with Alexander here, we have to move fast."

Ulrich interjects, "And that means we're not allowed to kill him."

Gerard nods, the hint of a cruel smile on his lips. He relishes the thought of torturing the beast before its demise.

Inside, Derek Hale's muscular torso moves up and down as he does chin-ups from an exposed beam. He drops down to pump out push-ups and then--STOPS. Halfway through a push-up, his muscles tensed, he slowly raises his head, sensing something.

The door bursts open. Gerard enters calmly, followed by Leveque and Ulrich. The space where Derek had been working out is now empty.

Leveque remarks, "No one home?"

Gerard, emerging from the shadows, says, "He's here. I kept an eye on him."

Ulrich sneers, "Maybe he's out burying a bone in the backyard." His laughter is cut short by a withering look from Gerard.

Gerard's annoyed and thought. "I wanted to bring Henry, Marcus, and James, but Alexander's interference changed the plan.Instead of these idiots."he then said,"We need to provoke him."

He raises his voice, taunting, "Heard your sister is a vegetable now. Too bad—I wanted to finish her off like your mother."

The hunters nod in approval, their eyes gleaming with malice.

Gerard smirks, turning towards the house. "Too bad I couldn't find her first."

Suddenly, Derek hurtles out of the darkness with a feral growl. Ulrich draws his gun, but Derek disarms him in a flash, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Gerard watches, unfazed. He's faced these creatures before, and a young one like Derek doesn't scare him.

Derek, his teeth fully fanged, leaps at Leveque. A moment later, Leveque's unconscious body hits the floor, rolling to Gerard's feet. Derek then turns his fury on Gerard.

Gerard calmly raises a dart gun and fires. The dart hits Derek, who crashes to the floor, his vision blurring and strength fading.

Gerard slowly approaches, looking down at Derek with contempt. "You and your sister should have died in that fire."

Derek glares up at him, seething with hatred, even as his consciousness slips away.