𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝘎𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘋

The next morning, Meilani stood in the living room once again with Liam, Mason and Corey as the four of them stared up at the massive stain in the ceiling that resembled something that looked dark and charred. The true alpha tilted her head to the side, her hair that had been pulled up into a pony tail swishing to the side as her brown eyes took in the sight. According to Mason and Corey, this had been where the Ghost Rider had entered through and Meilani was still confused on how the whole thing went down.

"So . . . this is where he came in?" Meilani questioned, turning her gaze over to Mason and Corey for more information. "What is it?"

"It's a point of impact from a lightning strike. Usually you'd find charred spots like that on the ground after a violent thunderstorm," Mason explained to the group.

Meilani's face fell in realization, remembering how the night before had been stormy and glum. Lightning had continued to beat down along the town while Meilani was out with Isaac and Lydia back at the retirement home. "That's how the Ghost Rider is doing it. He's riding the lightning."

Liam's blue eyes flickered from the charred ceiling and over to his alpha, his brain visibly working as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "If they can use lightning to get past the mountain ash . . ."

"No place is safe," Meilani finished for Liam quietly, running a hand over her hair with an exhausted sounding sigh. If Meilani were honest with herself, she didn't know how she still stood on her own two feet after the lack of sleep she'd been getting, the mystery hazel eyed boy plaguing her dreams the past few nights. She knew now that her dreams must be erased memories, but she couldn't figure out how she was the only one remembering all these things while the rest of the pack struggled still to come up with an answer.

"What about the others? It's my fault they're marked," Corey said, his voice straining with guilt and sadness.

"We'll find a way to protect them," Meilani assured the chimera with the best encouraging smile that her tired body could muster. "All of them."

"It's a relic."

Meilani blinked a few times from where she stood between Scott and Malia with Isaac behind her and Lydia stood before the four as she gripped a random student's ID in her hand. The boy's face was set into a smirk as he stared at the camera, his brown hair flipped over to the side and the name JAKE SULLIVAN was written across the top of the photo with BHHS next to it. According to the sticker at the top of the ID, the student had been a sophomore.

Lydia had come running towards Meilani, Scott, Malia and Isaac the second they entered the school and they all reared back when the strawberry blonde had pulled them into a quiet hallway so they could talk. Her green eyes bounced around the confused faces and groaned. "It's an object with a fixed association to the past. Jake's ID was left behind after he was taken. Gwen found her sister's bracelet on her bedroom floor."

"Okay, but how can someone be erased and still leave something behind?" Malia inquired, sounding just as confused as the rest of the pack felt. "That doesn't make any sense."

"A conservation of mass. The total mass of any isolated system remains constant."

"So even the Ghost Riders have a weakness," Isaac spoke up, seeming to catch onto what Lydia was saying and earned himself a nod from the strawberry blonde. "So we would need a relic that proved Stiles existed, right? Then maybe we'd be able to bring him back."

While the rest of her pack continued to speak about how they could find a relic of Stiles', Meilani ran off to find Liam and Mason so she could get them caught up. Maybe if all of her pack members were able to look into this relic situation, they'd be able to find something from Stiles that kept his memory around like how Gwen was able to remember her sister because of the bracelet. She'd eventually found them in the library, heads ducked close together as they conversed quietly even though Meilani heard them loud and clear talking about a " them ".

"Who's them?" Meilani asked the second she walked over to the duo, scaring them both with her sudden appearance. The sight of Liam jumping was rather amusing since the boy should have heard her coming from down the hall with his enhanced hearing. She really needed to help him work on keeping his ears open even when in the middle of doing things. Especially during times like right now when they needed to constantly be focused for the next time the Ghost Riders showed up.

"The Ghost Riders," Liam informed his alpha, turning away from Mason and facing Meilani as he rested his arms on the table to lean closer towards her where she stood on the other side of the table. "We could get a lightning rod. Attract the Ghost Riders and catch them off guard."

Mason rolled his eyes and huffed, shooting Meilani an exasperated look to show he and Liam were not on the same page. "But since everyone from the party is now in danger, all we need to do is find them a safe place to hide until the storm passes."

"The Ghost Riders ride the lightning. Nowhere is safe," Liam argued, as if he'd said the same thing to Mason over and over again before Meilani even showed up.

"It is if we're underground. The Earth can ground the lightning's electrical charge. Everyone would be safe," Mason countered.

"Okay . . ." Meilani whispered, running a hand over her face as she dropped into the chair across from the boys. She swore sometimes she really did feel like the pack mom, defusing arguments left and right and making sure everyone didn't do anything stupid. "Here's what we're gonna do. We take everyone into the Argent bunker. It's underground. It's lined with mountain ash."

Liam whined and leaned forward more against the table, a determined expression crossing his features as he stared down Meilani. "Lan, we stopped the Ghost Riders last night. We can do it again!"

Meilani frowned and shook her head at Liam's words. "No, Li, you didn't stop them. They just retreated. We don't know why either. So my plan is the safest course of action right now until we can figure out the why, okay?"

Liam slumped in his chair, pencil falling back onto the notebook that rested before him and sighed. "Okay, okay. How do we get everyone inside the bunker? You, Malia, Isaac and I can't get past the barrier."

"I always have a plan, don't I?"

You know, at this point . . . Meilani really should not be surprised when one of her plans gets a tiny hitch in it. When wrangling up all the students that had been present at the party, Liam had pointed out that three kids plus Gwen had been missing from the round up after taking a headcount in Chris' bunker. That meant four of the students that could be possibly taken within the next few hours were still out running about like their lives weren't on the line, even after Meilani and the pack warned them about it.

So now Meilani ran through the high school with Liam, Corey and Mason while she still waited for word from Lydia and Isaac about their own adventure at the Stilinski house. Apparently, Noah had shouted out Stiles' name the night prior when an old baseball bat tumbled down from a shelf in the garage almost like it was a natural thing. Lydia had practically begged Noah to let her and Isaac search his house so they could find Stiles' relic, showing off the kid Jake's ID to him to show him that relics were being left behind of every person taken. They'd arrived at the house a few minutes ago and Meilani kept waiting for the buzz in her back pocket to show they at least got something done right that night.

"Okay, so we need to convince Okafur, Steinbach, and Wallace that playing tonight is a bad idea," Meilani announced to the trio that followed closely behind her, turning to face Mason once they made it outside the boys' locker room. "Mase, you read everything there is to know on the Ghost Riders. You're the only one of us who's figured anything out. Have you come across anything that can stop them?"

"Um, not yet, but I can try," Mason promised Meilani, shoulders squaring up as he no doubt took the whole thing seriously. Ever since he'd found out that Meilani bit Liam few months back and wanted in with the pack, Mason had always done everything he could to help Meilani in every single way that he could. Meilani was, admittedly, heavily grateful for Mason.

"Do that. I have faith in you, okay?" Meilani encouraged the boy, squeezing his shoulder once before motioning for Liam and Corey to continue following her into the boys' locker room. 

However, before Meilani could even try to look for Wallace, Okafur or Steinbach, a helmet — her helmet — came hurtling towards her and Meilani caught it effortlessly in her hands. Thank the lord for her werewolf reflexes or the helmet would have no doubt smacked her right in the face.

"You're late, Better McCall!" Coach bellowed at her, annoyance clear on his face as his eyes bounced between her, Corey and Liam. "You, too, Dunbar and Bryant! Why aren't you people dressed? Get your asses moving. Everyone on the filed! Hustle! Hustle! Hustle!"

Meilani blinked as Finstock brushed past the four teens to make his way out of the locker room and towards the field to get the other boys ready and pumped for the first game of the season. She brushed her thumb along the helmet when she realized that the three boys were missing from the locker room and no doubt dressed and ready to play outside where it was dangerous. There was only one thing to do now. "Get dressed, Li. There's only one way to keep them safe and that's to play the game."

Once Meilani, Liam and Corey had finished throwing on their jerseys and uniforms for the game they rushed their way out to the field. The crowd of students and parents from Beacon Hills High School were already loud with cheers and hollers, standing on their feet as they clapped excitedly for the players. It didn't take long for Meilani to catch sight of the boys that had been missing while Gwen stood further along the bench, fiddling with her helmet. She could also see Scott and Kira sat on the bench together while Scott helped Kira fix the netting on her stick.

"Okay, I'll take Steinbach and Wallace. Liam, you take Gwen while Corey takes Okafur," Meilani instructed the two boys next to her, motioning to each person as she said their names.

"What if I see a Ghost Rider?" Corey questioned, hands fiddling with his helmet nervously over the thought.

"Yell."

"Then get ready to fight," Meilani added on when she realized Liam wouldn't be saying anything else encouraging to the boy. She shot him a look to be civil with the boy that clearly still rubbed Liam the wrong way before offering Corey an encouraging smile and thumbs up. Even though she didn't necessarily feel confident, it didn't mean she could let the boys get their hopes down. Everyone needed to be at their best and if that meant Meilani acting like the current situation didn't lowkey scare her, then so be it.

The referee blew the whistle two seconds later and the game was set to begin. It didn't have a good start whatsoever with Liam, Corey and Meilani sticking a bit too close to their respective person. Meilani could hear Finstock yelling at her, Liam and Corey about he was gonna strangle them if they didn't pull their heads out of their asses. Probably the tamest Finstock had ever been if Meilani were honest and she shared an uneasy look with Liam and Corey as the game continued to go downhill from there.

Beacon Hills didn't score once in the first period and the other team already lead by four goals. The other team even played a bit more aggressively than they typically did and it caused Meilani to closely examine her surroundings. Everyone around them appeared to be acting just the tiniest bit different as Beacon Hills played like they'd never seen a lacrosse ball in their life and the other team kept picking fights with everyone they came into contact with.

"What if it's the Wild Hunt?" Meilani hypothesized to Liam when her beta jogged over to her after narrowly avoiding a fight with someone from the other team. "What if it's affecting everyone around us?"

As if on cue, a harsh sound of thunder sounded above their heads and Meilani and Liam both tipped their heads back to glance at the even darker sky. A sharp wind blew through the field, blowing Meilani's ponytail wildly that was currently free from her helmet that she clutched in her hands. Liam barreled away from Meilani as the sky above them opened up and rain slaughtered down on the occupants of the lacrosse game, trying to talk to Gwen and get her to leave the game.

Not a moment later Corey appeared at Meilani's side and warned her that the Wild Hunt had showed up to the game, much to Meilani's sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shouted to Liam over the high winds to warn him, but he already saw them. Three dark, shadowy figures walked from the other side of the field, sticking to the shadows as they walked at a slow and ominous pace. The lights around the field began to burst out, leaving the field in darkness while Liam frantically ran Gwen back over to Meilani and Corey and the other two boys ran to them in search of protection.

"We got all three of them right?" Meilani shouted over the rain and wind, earning a nod from Corey  who had glanced behind him to double check the four were safely tucked behind them.

"Wait!" Liam waved his hands, earning both Meilani and Corey's attention. "Lan, there were four."

Meilani mentally cursed in her head, realizing the Wild Hunt must have taken someone without Meilani, Corey or Liam seeing. Shooting her hand out, Meilani wrapped it around Corey's as a green shimmer surrounded them. Her eyes finally focused on the Wild Hunt that rode around on horses as they ran in circles around Meilani, Liam, Corey and the trio they still tried to protect. One of the boys was attached to the back of one of the horses, his foot wrapped up in a lasso and dragged along the wet, muddy field as his screams echoed in Meilani's ears. 

Before Meilani could step forward and run after the boy, him and the Ghost Rider disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and Meilani slowly dropped Corey's hand in defeat. 

Yet another person Meilani couldn't save.

"Oh my God, they're real!" Wallace yelled from behind Meilani, Corey and Liam.

"Just stay together and we'll protect you!" Liam promised, shaking his head from side to side to try and rid the rain water from his eyes as the rain continued its relentless downpour over the game.

Meilani gasped when the three Ghost Riders suddenly appeared a few feet from them and she started to back up, yelling at the others behind her to run. Keeping her hand on Corey's wrist again, she came to a halt when the Ghost Riders blocked them in a circle. Gwen, Wallace and Okafur were all pushed behind Corey, Meilani and Liam once again as the trio now surrounded them in a half circle to try and keep the Ghost Riders back. 

Everything slowed down after that as the Ghost Riders rode in a circle around the smaller circle of the teens they surrounded. One raised its gun and shot off a round at Wallace, sending him away from sight in a puff of green smoke. Meilani cried out for him and stumbled forward and her eyes widened slightly when she realized she could still see the Ghost Riders even though she was no longer holding onto Corey. Judging by the look on Liam's face and the way he growled, he could see them as well.

Meilani barely had a second to stop Liam before he leapt forward and knocked the Ghost Rider off the horse. He straddled the supernatural being, clawing and slashing at the Ghost Rider's chest. It eventually got its bearings back together and effortlessly shoved Liam off him before he got back to his feet. Meilani was two feet from grabbing back Liam with her red alpha eyes flashing when the Ghost Rider raised its gun again, shooting the final boy remaining in the chest and sent him away in a puff of green smoke.

"Protect Gwen!" Meilani shouted to Corey and Liam as the two joined Meilani in keeping a tight circle around the girl. She roared loudly at the Ghost Rider before her, practically daring it to try and take Gwen from her. She couldn't save Okafur, Wallace and Steinbach, there was no way she could let them take Gwen also.

However, things never went Meilani's way and Gwen broke free from the circle and yelled at the Ghost Rider to shoot her. Meilani darted forward to tug back Gwen, but just as her arms wrapped around Gwen to save her, the Ghost Rider shot her and Gwen disappeared into a green smoke in Meilani's arms.

Then, the Ghost Riders along with the rain, thunder and lightning were gone and left behind Meilani, Liam and Corey alone on the lacrosse field. Once again, Meilani failed to save someone.

Turned out that Meilani wouldn't have been able to save anyone from the party since as soon as she'd made it back into the high school near the boys' locker room, Chris had called her to let her know everyone in the bunker had been taken. No matter how hard Malia and Chris fought, the Ghost Riders still got through and were able to swipe up everyone else that had been on the list. She sighed and banged her forehead lightly against the wall she stood in front of and turned at the sound of Liam, Hayden, Corey and Mason walking over.

"Everyone at the bunker was taken," Meilani glumly informed her pack members, hanging up the phone with Chris and stuffing the phone into the pocket of her lacrosse shorts. "Malia's at the hospital because Chris is hurt. My mom's with them and Scott and Kira are on their way over there now to try and get some answers out of Chris and Malia."

"Lan . . . " Liam called to Meilani, seeing