We were all crowded into Derek's loft. It's spacious, don't get me wrong. It just seems so much smaller with all of us inside of it together.
"Before we get to business, here are copies of the extended dead-pool," Lydia announced. Klaus was sulking by the open front door. Color me crazy, but none of us trusted him enough to invite him inside of anywhere we wanted to be comfortable sleeping. Maybe he can room with Peter? A girl can dream – can't she? Ha, with my luck they'd turn into allies and try for world domination. That would be a nightmare. A shiver worked its way down my back.
I focused on what Lydia was saying when she thrust a piece of paper into my hands. I took a deep breath, before working up the courage to read through the second part of the list. There were some names that I had heard before, but I wasn't overly familiar with.
'Castiel
Marcel Gerard
Kate Argent
Davina Claire
Ash/Miles
Ellen Harvelle
Jordan Parrish
Peter Hale
Jo Harvelle
Meredith Walker
Liam Dunbar
Malia Tate'
My breath caught. Some of these names are just kids... Kids that I didn't even get supernatural feelings from at school. I'll leave Scott to warn them. God. We can't protect everyone. At this rate, it's going to end up being the entire freaking town.
"Why is Parrish on here?" I asked Stiles. He shrugged. He doesn't know, either.
"Who has something against all of these people?" Klaus asked from the hallway. I shrugged. It doesn't make sense. None of this makes any kind of sense. I just don't get it.
"There are more hunters on here." Dean said, grimly. I nodded. I don't know why.
"We've all seen Liam and Malia at school. They're not supernatural." Scott voiced. Stiles shrugged.
"Maybe they don't know what they are." Lydia suggested.
"How would they not know?" Jackson asked.
"Says the guy who didn't know he was a homicidal lizard," Erica quipped. That shut him up.
"You were a homicidal lizard?" Klaus asked – his voice was a mixture of confusion and awe. Jackson just nodded.
"Now I'm a werewolf. It was a busy year for me." He explained. Klaus just nodded, like he understood. Deaton cleared his throat and everyone quieted down.
"There is someone who would have a motive for wanting everyone gone, well, mostly everyone," Deaton announced. We all looked over at him, expectantly.
"Who?" We all chorused. Deaton looked pained like he felt ridiculous even suggesting whoever it was.
"Someone you know, two someones you know, actually," Deaton responded, looking at Klaus. Klaus looked just as lost as we did. "Esther and Mikael," he breathed. Klaus looked furious.
"That's not possible. They're dead." Klaus argued. I opened my mouth and closed it. I gnawed on my bottom lip.
"Actually, it is." I voiced. "It's totally possible, if you could find witches crazy enough to do it… or if Esther had the help of your ancestors. She was the Original witch. She could have done it. It makes sense. I mean, they hate what you and your family are more than anyone else. There isn't anyone else who has more motive… if they're working with Crowley that explains why the hunters are on the list, too."
"It explains Cas, too." Dean said. "I'm calling Bobby." He excused himself. I glanced around the room. Caroline looked floored. Chris looked vengeful. The werewolves looked thoughtful for the most part. Lydia looked hesitant. John looked lost. Stiles looked worried. I'm not even sure how I feel anymore.
"Why am I not on the list?" Lydia asked, changing the subject. I sighed. That's a question I didn't want to answer, but I'm pretty sure that I know the answer to.
"Lydia, you probably are." I told her, softly. "There's a third of the list that we still haven't decoded, yet." I breathed. She nodded, curtly and looked like I confirmed something that she was already worried about.
"I need to get back to work on that." Lydia took the laptop that she had been working on and walked away. Jackson went with her. Kira stayed, but she didn't look like she wanted to.
"Parrish better not be a kanima." The Sheriff spoke up. A couple of us chuckled. It was a nice change of pace from the seriousness of the situation that we were all trapped in.
"We're going to have to ask him." Stiles told him. His dad nodded.
"We need to notify the other hunters that are on the list." Chris announced, as he pulled out his cell.
"Marcel and Davina need to be told, as well." Klaus said, still clearly seething with anger. "Are you sure that they're behind this or are you just taking a guess? I need to know. We have to be sure."
"I'm afraid that it's just my best guess at this point. I can't know for sure, until I do some more digging. Unfortunately, enough hasn't happened for me to be sure. It would be wise if you would see what you can find out on your end. I will let you know as soon as I know something. If I am right, you and your family are one of the top priorities." Deaton told him. Klaus nodded and almost looked grateful – almost human – for a second.
"Thank you." He offered his gratitude before leaving.
"How can I help?" Sam asked Deaton.
"Research," Deaton told him, honestly. "The more we know, the better prepared we will be. I don't want to be blindsided, again."
"Consider it done." Sam agreed. Deaton nodded in thanks.
"We need to work out a better living arrangement. We're getting more people by the second." Isaac spoke up.
"Actually, I have some ideas about that." Derek told him. "Some people can stay here and there's always Peter's loft, too." Derek offered. We all cringed at the mention of Peter's name.
"Am I really that bad?" Peter asked. I looked at him, questioningly.
"I'm not sure who I would rather stay with you or Klaus." I admitted. He feigned hurt.
"There's my place, too." Chris offered, as he walked back into the room.
"That's one less problem to worry about." Scott sighed. He looked exhausted.
"When's the last time you slept?" I asked him. He shrugged. "You have to rest."
"I'll rest when things settle down." He replied.
"I have some room at our place, too." John added. We nodded.
"Look, I know I'm not the alpha here, but there is strength in numbers. I don't want anyone to stay anywhere alone. That's just asking to be attacked. We have to be smart about this." Derek told us. We all nodded. "Scott, you need to fill Melissa in on what's happening. She needs to know, in case someone tries to use her to get to us. Lydia needs to tell her parents, too."
"We'll take care of it." Scott promised him.
"Stiles, I want you and Bonnie at the house tonight. I'll have Parrish stop by and we can have a chat with him and ease him into all of this. Scott, you and Isaac are more than welcome, but I really don't want Melissa to be alone." John told us.
"I understand. I wouldn't leave her alone, either."
"Then it's settled. Go pack some clothes and head over. I'm sure Lydia will tell you the minute she finds anything else." John ordered. I nodded.
"I need to talk to her first. I'll only be a couple of minutes." I told them. Stiles looked at me, like he was trying to figure out if I was okay or if I was seconds away from a breakdown. Honestly, it could probably go either way, at this point. I knocked on Derek's bedroom door and didn't have to wait long for Jackson to let me in. I walked inside and went over to Lydia. Jackson shut the door behind me, but stayed in the room with us. "Are you okay?" I asked her, quietly. She let out a short, humorless laugh.
"I'm terrified." She whispered. I wrapped my arms around her.
"It's a good sign that you're on the list yet. Try to take some comfort in that. You're relatively safe, even if it's just for now." I told her. She nodded, against me. "No one will hurt you, if I can help it." I promised her.
"I just have this feeling like things are going to get a lot worse, before they can even begin to get better." She told me, softly. I nodded. I know the feeling. She's probably not wrong.
"They might. There's not much we can do about that. We're getting closer to solving this thing. When we know who's behind all of this, at least we'll know who we're going up against. It's not all bad, Lyds. Have a little faith. Okay?"
"You're right." She agreed.
"I'm staying with Stiles at his place tonight. We have some stuff to talk through with his dad. We're going to try and break things to Parrish." I told her.
"Do you need help?" She offered.
"Actually, help would be great. Let me run it by John and I'll let you know. Caroline and the Winchesters will be with you at the house tonight, so you won't be alone."
"I'll be there, too," Jackson assured her. She gave him a sad smile.
"You need to tell Carol and Adam about what's going on." I breathed. Lydia nodded.
"I will. I'll tell them tonight."
"Okay. I'll text you. Okay? Stay safe."