?????? ?????? ∴ ???? ???? ?

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

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After spending the rest of the afternoon with Scott and Derek, they ended up at Isaac's old house with flashlights in their hands. The three of them trekked up the walkway in silence before the alpha forced the front door open. They looked around the living room to find nothing out of the ordinary then walked further into the house. Against every limb in her body telling her to get away from the man, Peyton stood next to Derek with Scott in front of them while the beta used the flashlight in his hand to scan every inch of the house.

"If Isaac didn't kill his father, who did?" the McCall boy asked, finally breaking the silence that surrounded them.

"I don't know yet," Derek admitted, causing a small wave of annoyance to wash over the blonde girl next to him.

"Then how do you know he's telling the truth?" Peyton retaliated as the three of them continued walking through the completely normal-looking house.

"Because I trust my senses. And it's a combination of them," Derek told the girl while he sent her a look that she couldn't decipher before his eyes fell back on Scott, "and not just your sense of smell. "

The McCall boy came to an abrupt stop after hearing the alpha's words, causing Peyton to slam his back. The Burns girl stumbled back a bit before an arm snaked its way around her shoulders to steady her. Her eyes landed on the hand then she looked up to meet Derek's gaze, making goosebumps form on her arms. Peyton felt like a statue as she just stood there unable to move out of his grasp.

"You saw the lacrosse thing today," Scott said, drawing Derek's intense gaze away from Peyton and to Scott while his arm stayed tightly wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yeah."

"Did it look that bad?"

"Yeah."

The beta let out a sigh before he continued through the house, leaving Peyton alone with the alpha. After a moment with his arm still around her shoulders, the Burns girl looked away from where Scott disappeared and up at Derek to meet his eyes. The two of them just stared at each other for another moment before the witch snapped out of her daze. She instantly pushed his arm off of her and took a few steps away from him while fighting the urge to wrap her arms around her body.

"Never. Touch me. Again," Peyton hissed without even attempting to hide the venom in her voice.

Before the alpha could respond, the Burns girl turned away from him and followed Scott into the kitchen then down a hallway with Derek right behind her. As soon as she caught up with the beta, the raven-haired man walked past them and went to one of the doors in the hall. The alpha just stared at the two teens for a moment before slowly opening the door to reveal a staircase that led to the basement.