The pair quickly left the house. As Stiles started the jeep and sped toward the address of the big party, the silence inside the car was broken only by the tension of the approaching full moon.
The loud music and flashing lights rising from Lydia's house stood in total contrast to the darkness of the forest outside. Sean and Stiles lay in wait inside the jeep, in a dark corner some distance from the house.
"There they are," Stiles said in a whisper.
Scott and Allison entered the party holding hands. From the outside, everything looked normal; Scott just seemed like an excited teenager. But Sean could see that uncanny speed in his brother's movements and his eyes constantly scouting the surroundings.
As the music sped up inside, Scott and Allison began to dance. However, as the minutes passed, Scott's condition changed. Every bass hit of the music, the scent of people's sweat, and the bright lights were like an assault on his newly developed senses. From a distance, Sean noticed his brother's face contort in pain and saw him suddenly move away from Allison.
"He's getting worse," Sean said, reaching for the door handle. "Stiles, get ready."
Scott burst outside, tearing through the crowd like an animal. Allison ran after him in confusion, but Scott had already gotten into his own car and roared the engine to life. As Allison looked helplessly after the car, that familiar, cold figure emerged from the shadows: Derek Hale.
Sean paused just as he was about to get out of the car. Derek went over to Allison and said something to her. Although they couldn't hear due to the distance, Derek's manner was clear; he calmed the girl down by telling her that Scott wasn't well and that he could drive her home himself.
"That guy is there again!" Stiles hissed. "What business does he have with Allison?"
"Allison looks safe, but Scott doesn't," Sean said, fixing his eyes on Scott's car as it set off down the road. "Stiles, drive! We're following Scott. Whatever Derek is planning, we can't let him get to Scott until he reaches home."
Stiles turned the ignition, and they began to follow Scott's car without turning on the headlights. Scott was swaying along the road, fighting himself to keep from losing control at the wheel.
When Sean looked behind them in the rearview mirror, his heart raced. "Stiles, step on it. We aren't the only ones following... Derek might be behind us too, or Scott could go off the road at any moment. I'm not letting anyone die tonight!"
Scott parked the car as if throwing it into the driveway and bolted into the house, leaving the door open. Sean and Stiles entered right behind him seconds later.
Following the violent sound of footsteps from the stairs, they reached the door of the upstairs bathroom. The moment Scott locked himself inside, sounds of water and pained growls began to rise.
Sean started pounding on the door. "Scott! Open this door! Scott, we're here, we're with you!"
Stiles was shouting from the other side: "Buddy, what happened? What did you see at the party? Talk to us!"
From inside, Scott's voice came in ragged, wild tones: "He... He was there. Derek Hale! He's an Alpha, Sean! He's the thing that bit me; he's a werewolf!"
Sean and Stiles looked at each other in shock. Sean leaned against the door, gritting his teeth. "What are you saying? Derek did this?"
Stiles cut in frantically: "Scott... We saw Allison. Derek went to her and told her you weren't well, that he'd take her home. Allison went with him, Scott!"
These words had an explosive effect inside the bathroom. "What?!" a voice roared. A second later, the bathroom door shook with a massive force from within. In a state of total loss of control, Scott leapt out of the bathroom window into the darkness of the night.
When Sean ran to the window, he saw Scott running toward the depths of the forest with incredible speed. Sean immediately turned to Stiles, his gaze sharper and more commanding than ever.
"Stiles! Go to Allison's house right now. You have to check if Derek actually dropped her off or if he's planning something else. Make sure Allison is safe!"
Stiles stammered: "But what about you?"
"I'm going after Scott," Sean said, preparing to jump down from the window. "I can't leave him alone in the forest like that. If he faces Derek, it'll be the end of him tonight. Go!"
The scene turns back to Sean in the pitch black of the forest. Sean paused when he heard growls coming from the bushes. "Scott? If this is a joke, it's not funny!" he shouted.
But it wasn't Scott in front of him. From among the trees, a massive shadow rose, much larger than Scott, its eyes glowing red like embers. The Alpha. At that moment, Sean realized he was facing a level of pure savagery he had never seen in his life.
The Alpha had picked up the scent on Sean. With instinctive fear, Sean began to run without looking back. "Shit, shit, shit!" he cursed, trying to dodge through the branches, but the Alpha was much faster than him.
When there was nowhere left to run, the Alpha lunged at Sean and sank its teeth into Sean's shoulder. Sean let out a cry of pain. As he fell to the ground, he grabbed a heavy stone in a desperate struggle and brought it down on the creature's head with all his might. The Alpha recoiled and roared in fury; this daring attack had enraged it further. Swinging its claw, it left a deep and bloody gash across Sean's chest. As Sean writhed in pain, the Alpha disappeared into the darkness.
At the same minutes, in another part of the forest, Scott fell to the ground, groaning in pain. A shock bolt lodged in his arm had paralyzed him. Before him stood Chris Argent and his men. Just as he was about to be shot, Derek Hale appeared and pulled him out of there. When they reached safety, Derek began to tell Scott about the full moon and control...
When the sun rose over Beacon Hills, the traces of the night's events were still fresh. Scott was walking down the empty road, his clothes in tatters and his mind a mess. From a distance, the sound of Stiles' trusty jeep was heard. Stiles slowed down next to Scott and opened the door.
"Get in!" Stiles said, his voice trembling.
As Scott collapsed into the seat, he was still thinking about the night, Derek, and the hunters. However, the look of terror on Stiles' face whispered that something worse than his own experience had happened.
Stiles looked at Scott and asked the first and most painful question:
"Scott... where is Sean? I haven't been able to reach him since last night. He went after you... Where is Sean, Scott?!"
Scott went cold at Stiles' question. The animalistic chaos he experienced throughout the night, Derek's warnings, and the hunters' attack had so clouded his mind that the thought of Sean having followed him had remained in the dark for a moment.
When he looked at Stiles' trembling hands and bloodshot eyes, a heavy stone settled on his heart.
"You said he came after me?" Scott asked, his voice coming out like a whisper. "Stiles, I... I didn't see him. There was something else in the forest. Someone else... They hunted me, Stiles! Sean can't be there!"
Stiles punched the steering wheel. "He told me to go to Allison's house, then he said 'I can't leave him alone like that' and jumped out the bathroom window after you, Scott! If he was in the forest last night and you didn't see him..."
They were both thinking the same terrible possibility. Scott's enhanced senses now fell upon him like a curse. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the night; the howling of the wind, the smell of gunpowder, and... sharp smell of blood.
"Stiles, we need to go back to the forest right now," Scott said in horror. "There was a scent... I thought it belonged to Derek or another hunter, but..."
The Jeep's wheels spun rapidly, and when they returned to the forest, Scott opened the door and bolted out before the car had even fully stopped. He knelt on the ground, tilted his nose up, and sniffed the air. Among Sean's usual perfume and the scent of home, he caught a metallic and heavy smell.
"Here!" Scott shouted.