McCall [Peter Hale]

Chapter 40

Astrid's pov

I finally arrived at my destination and now I'm in front of a huge house. 'Balmy Alley, nr 10' I look again at my papers then I knock at the door. A young girl opens the door and looks at me with curious eyes. "I'm sorry, can I help you with something?"

"Actually yes, Agent Astrid McCall" I say and I show her my badge "I'm here to have a little chat with you about the death of your best friend. Sorry for your loss, my condolences." I say adding a little smile.

"Sure" she responds with a sad voice "Come inside agent...?" she asks unsure.

"Astrid, call me Astrid" I say and I follow her inside. "I'm sorry for coming unannounced but I came here as soon as I saw the file, may I ask you some quick questions?"

"Sure, ask away..." she said while grabbing two glasses of water.

"So... um this might seem strange" I said while opening my notebook "Did you ever notice anything strange in her behaviour?" I asked and I get a confused look from her "Like sudden anger or anxiety, like she wanted to be left alone?"

"Um kinda? I mean she was always reserved, even from her family, I think I was the only person to ever be trusted by her, she had some moments when I could feel that she was afraid, you know? like scared of something, like she had a secret that nobody could find... I always assumed that it was nothing serious but then she started saying all this weird stuff about a place called Beacon or something" she said while taking a sip of her water and a tissue to wipe some tears away"she was strange, I admit, but she wasn't always like that. She had a boyfriend named Aiden, I think, Aiden Steiner? Yea, I think I got it right" she says sadly and my breath cuts off. Aiden turned her, most likely by accident and since he is with Duc, he left her without explaining anything to her. 'Idiot' "But I don't think that it's his fault, you know? After some time in their relationship I noticed that she became more insecure but as time passed by, she became mostly like her old self" she adds while wiping the tears again.

"Were they still together you know, when all happened?" I ask regarding to her death.

"Yeah, they were, but they didn't talk that much the week before her... yeah... he said that he and his twin had to train with their dad for some sport competition, at least that's how I remember it". She lets out a deep sigh, in order to continue. "He was always sweet to her, the perfect boyfriend if you know what I mean, but the distance between them had its costs" she adds with a sad voice and I feel the need to break that tension and make a call.

"I get it" I say while fake writing the last part of the conversation. "I'll make a call, be right back" I say and I exit the house while I get my phone out of my pocket "Come on Aiden, answer" I say to myself then I lean on the hood of my car.

"As, hi gorgeous, how are you and who do I own this pleasure?" he asks with his typical level of flirt.

"Enough with the flirting Aiden, we need to talk about someone named Stefany Herma" I say and he goes silent, like silent silent, Aiden is never silent.

"You know?" he asks and I roll my eyes

"No, I don't, I just invented her name and somehow it actually means something for you. Of course I know, do you know how?" he goes dead silent "She came in one of my cases..."

"No- No! She can't! I made sure for her to be safe! You must be ki-" he begins to argue but I cut him off.

"I'm not kidding Aiden, Stefany is dead" I say and suddenly the silence is so loud. "Aiden, I need to know exactly what happened. I know the part when you turned her, which I assume was by accident"

"No, it wasn't " he responds firmly. "We got together when we were in 7th grade. She had something special, I couldn't find in any other girl. Nobody liked me but she found some kind of attraction towards me. We clicked instantly but 2 months after that I had that feeling, you know, that sense or smell when someone is dying" he says and he makes a short pause "I asked her about it and she had a brain tumor, it wasn't affecting her thinking but it was incurable and mortal. I felt so bad for her As, you have no idea. I didn't want to watch her fade so I..."

"You offered her the bite..."

"Yeah... I told her anything that she needed to know, about the hunters, about my pack being dangerous, everything. And she accepted. All doctors were amazed by the tumor that suddenly went off and disappeared. I taught her control, how to keep calm and she was natural, like she was born a werewolf. She was reserved when she was angry, she was anxious when she needed space to stop her from transforming. She was good..." he took a little break "she was a great girlfriend, may I know how she died?"

"In the crime folder? As an animal attack... In the pictures? Werewolf." I want to say more but my phone beeps and I look at the message.

Laura: "You were right"

Then it all goes black. I scream, the pain in my body is impossible to describe and I fall to the ground. Every muscle hurts just like millions of glass pieces are penetrating my skin and are twisting around. Images of the forest from Beacon Hills start showing before my eyes and I can't make them stop. The Hale house, the tracks, everything keeps appearing just like an unwanted memory. I started crying beside my car knowing that she was gone. Laura just died.