Scott and Stiles stepped through one of Scott's shadow portals and returned to the ranch. There, they found the rest of the pack waiting for them in front of the pack house—along with Alannah and her family.
Alannah rushed over to Scott and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Tears filled her eyes as she said. "Thank you. Thank you so much for rescuing my family."
Scott was surprised by the sudden hug, but he smiled and gently patted her back. "You're welcome."
After a moment, Alannah stepped back and wiped her eyes. "If something had happened to them… I don't know how I could have gone on living. I'm truly grateful to you and your pack. You didn't just save my husband and children, you saved me, too. Thank you."
Scott smiled warmly. "I'm just glad we found them alive."
"I don't know how I'm supposed to repay you for this." Alannah said.
"There's no need." Scott replied. "If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
Alannah looked at him, puzzled. "Why?"
"Because you told us about those two monsters." Scott said. "That gave us the chance to stop them before they could hurt anyone else. So… let's call it even."
Alannah chuckled and wiped her eyes again. "Well, thank you, son. Your mother must be very proud of you."
Standing nearby, Melissa stepped forward and hugged Scott with a smile. "I am very proud of him. Always."
Alannah smiled and nodded. "Alright, we should get going."
She turned to face the pack. "Thank you, all of you."
Then she and her husband helped their children into their car. But just before they could get in, Scott called out. "Alannah, wait a second."
She paused and turned back toward him.
Scott looked at Allison. "Allison, where are the books you brought from the trailer?"
She pointed toward the front door of the pack house. "Over there. We left them by the entrance."
Scott walked over and sorted through the pile until he found the book he remembered from the shadow fox's memories. He opened it, pulled out a folded piece of paper, then walked back over to Alannah and handed it to her.
She unfolded the paper. "What is this?"
"It's a hit list." Scott said. "Someone's put bounties on all the supernaturals in Beacon Hills. That's how those foxes found your family. I think it's best if you leave town, for at least a few months, until my pack and I figure out who's behind it and deal with them."
Alannah's expression darkened as she showed the paper to her husband. Then she handed it back to Scott. "I see. Thank you for telling me."
Her husband stepped forward and shook Scott's hand. "Thank you for everything you've done for my family."
Alannah gave Scott one last tight hug, then she and her family got into their car and drove off, choosing to leave Beacon Hills without even returning to their home and pack their luggage.
---
Scott and the rest of the pack were now gathered in the living room of the pack house.
Noah asked. "So, what's this about bounties you mentioned, Scott?"
Scott handed him the Deadpool list. "When I looked into that fox's memories, I found out they came to Beacon Hills because of this hit list. They were here for our heads, and for every other supernatural creature on that list. But they don't know what we look like, because they didn't recognize us when they saw us."
Chris raised an eyebrow. "Are we all on that list?"
Noah scanned the paper and shook his head before passing it to Chris. "No. Parrish, Rafael, Deaton, and you aren't. But the rest of us? We're on it."
Chris took the list and let out a low whistle. "Look at these numbers. Whoever's behind this has a lot of money."
Stiles snatched the list from him. "Let me see… Scott, you're worth thirty million. Lydia's next with twenty-five. Derek and Melissa are twenty each. Then the rest of us are worth fifteen, except for Kira and Aiden. You two are worth six million each."
He continued. "Peter, Noshiko, and Satomi are on here too. Peter and Noshiko are listed at six million each, but Satomi's worth ten."
Stiles suddenly looked over at Malia. "And babe, Whoever made this Deadpool knows your real name. It says Malia Hale, not Tate."
Malia grinned darkly. "Well, when we find whoever made this, I'll make sure they have a good time."
Stiles smirked. "You and me both, babe. I mean, fifteen million? That's all I'm worth? They're seriously underestimating me."
Melissa rolled her eyes, smacked Stiles on the back of the head, and said. "Give me that. Let me take a look."
Stiles handed her the list and turned to Malia again. "But this could actually be a good thing. We might finally find the Desert Wolf. Or more accurately… she'll find us."
Braeden, sitting beside Derek, nodded. "He's right. We should've thought of that sooner."
Malia blinked. "What do you mean?"
Braeden explained. "Corinne wants her powers back. But she couldn't find you when you were in the woods. Now that your name is on the Deadpool, she might get the list, see your name, and come straight to us."
Malia grinned. "I see. Well, if she actually shows up, I might forgive the person who made this Deadpool, and let Stiles have some fun with them alone."
Lydia looked thoughtful. "But how do you think the person behind the Deadpool even knows about all the supernatural beings in Beacon Hills?"
Scott said. "My guess is that they have a banshee. Or some other creature with a similar ability."
Erica tilted her head. "You think it's just one person? Or maybe a group, some kind of secret organization? Or maybe a banshee with a personal vendetta against supernaturals?"
Allison said. "Whoever they are, they've got access to a lot of money. Just the bounties on our pack add up to more than two hundred million."
Melissa nodded. "The exact amount is 242 million, and that's just for our pack. If you add in the bounties on the rest of the supernaturals in Beacon Hills, it's well over 300 million."
Scott let out a low whistle. "Wow. That's a ridiculous amount of money. Stiles, we need to find the one behind this Deadpool ASAP. They're wasting our money."
Stiles said with an evil grin. "Agreed. The longer this goes on, the more people get hunted, and the more money we lose."
Then he looked at Lydia. "Lydia, do you know who might be behind this Deadpool? Let's call them the Benefactor."
Lydia shook her head. "No. I don't know who it is."
"Too bad." Stiles muttered. "Those shadow foxes didn't know how to contact the Benefactor either. In their memories, they got the Deadpool via email, and the Benefactor sent them another email saying that whenever they killed someone on the list, he would know, send them the payment, and let them know whether he needed the body or not."
Lydia said. "Then this Benefactor is either a banshee themselves, or has one working with them, like Scott said."
Scott nodded. "Alright. We'll find them eventually. In the meantime, everyone needs to be careful."
Then he looked at Derek. "By the way, where's Peter? Has he come back to Beacon Hills yet?"
Derek replied. "He's on his way. I told him we've dealt with the vampires, so he's returning now."
Scott said. "Then you'll probably need to protect him. If something like those shadow foxes comes after him, he definitely won't survive."
Cora muttered. "Maybe we should just let him die."
Derek gave her a look. "We can't do that. And while Malia might not care, he is her biological father. So I'll look after him."
Stiles stood up, grabbed one of the books they had brought from the Sionnach Scáth trailer, flipped through it, and said. "Whoa. This whole book is about the price of the supernatural and their body parts on the black market."
Isaac blinked. "What? How much is a werewolf worth?"
Stiles flipped more pages. "Let me see… Here we go. A beta werewolf corpse can go for anywhere between fifty thousand and five hundred thousand dollars depending on condition. Alphas fetch way more—minimum one million. A True Alpha starts at two million, and a living one can fetch up to ten million at auction."
Boyd whistled. "That's… a lot of money."
Stiles nodded and turned to Scott with a mischievous grin. "How about we sell Scott?"
Immediately, Melissa and Allison both growled, their eyes glowing red as they looked at him like they were ready to rip him apart.
Stiles held up his hands. "Hear me out first! We tie him up with ropes soaked in wolfsbane, make him pretend to be weak, and sell him at one of those auctions. Once we get the money, we kill everyone there, and take all their money too!"
Melissa glared. "That's a good plan. But instead of Scott, how about we sell your stupid ass?"
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'm not a True Alpha. Besides, Scott will be fine. I don't think there's a creature in the world that could hurt your stupid overpowered son."
Melissa crossed her arms. "Either way, I'm not selling my son."
Still flipping through the book, Stiles muttered. "You people are no fun… Oh! Here's the price for a banshee's vocal cords."
Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Vocal cords? How much?"
Stiles read aloud. "Banshee vocal cords go for around five hundred thousand minimum."
Lydia frowned. "It's messed up when you think about it, someone out there is literally putting price tags on living creatures. Makes you wonder who's buying this stuff and what they're using it for."
Scott said. "There's another book over there that talks about how those body parts are used, if you're curious. As for who's buying them—people like the Darachs we've faced, or some crazy people who use them to make weapons, potions, to study how to gain powers or immortality… or just crazy collectors."
Victoria said. "Chris and I always knew this darker side of the world existed. I just didn't think you kids would have to face it this soon. But don't worry too much, we're strong enough to handle it."
Scott said. "Alright. Doc, look into those herbs we brought and deal with them. And if anyone here needs money—there's four million sitting over there. Take what you need. Now let's have dinner. I'm starving."
To be continued… 😊