Derek drove to the sheriff's station in the morning, heading straight to Noah's office. He entered without knocking.
Nodding to Noah, Derek said. "Sheriff."
Sitting behind his desk, Noah greeted him. "Morning, Derek."
Derek sat down and got straight to the point. "So, I assume Stiles filled you in on what we found yesterday?"
Noah nodded. "Yeah, he told me."
Derek leaned forward. "So, where is this new deputy we're looking for?"
Noah grabbed a file from his desk, passing it to Derek. "This is the new deputy who joined our department a month ago. His name is Jordan Parrish."
Derek flipped through the file. "So, how are we going to handle this?"
Noah hesitated. "Are you sure what Lydia said is true? What exactly are her powers? Can she see the future?"
Derek sighed. "I don't know how her powers work, but Scott and the rest of the pack trust her completely. I believe in her too."
Noah said. "Well, I hope she's right. As for Parrish, we need to talk to him somewhere else. We have to tell him about the supernatural, and what he is. I don't want him panicking and burning down the entire building."
Derek raised an eyebrow. "Alright, so where are we taking him?"
Noah thought for a moment. "Let's go to the ranch."
Derek scoffed. "You could've just brought him there this morning and spared me the trip."
Noah shrugged. "I didn't think about it at the time."
Derek stood up. "I'll drive there first and wait for you to bring him."
With that, he left the station and drove back to the ranch while Noah called Parrish and followed shortly after.
---
When they arrived at the ranch, they stepped out of their cars. Parrish eyed Derek suspiciously and turned to Noah.
"Sheriff, who is he? And why are we here?"
Noah studied him for a moment before asking. "Parrish, do you believe the supernatural exists?"
Parrish frowned. "No."
Noah asked. "Then what do you think froze those dead bodies we found?"
Parrish hesitated. "I don't know... Maybe someone used liquid nitrogen or something like that?"
Noah nodded. "That would make sense, but unfortunately, that's not what happened."
Parrish's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Sheriff? Are you seriously telling me you believe something supernatural did that?"
"Yes."
Parrish let out a short laugh. "You're joking, right?"
Derek, losing patience, stepped forward. "This is taking too long. Your name's Parrish, right? We don't have all day, so let me show you what Noah is talking about."
Parrish started to reply, but his words died in his throat as Derek's eyes suddenly glowed red. His fangs extended, and a low, guttural growl escaped his throat.
Parrish stumbled back, eyes wide in shock. Instinctively, he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Derek. "What... What are you?"
Noah remained calm. "He's a werewolf. And put the gun down, it won't do anything to him. Oh, and by the way, I'm a werebear."
Parrish turned to Noah just in time to see his eyes glowing red as well. He took another step back. "What is going on?! Why are you telling me this? And why did you bring me here?"
Noah raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Relax. We're not here to hurt you. We brought you here because we believe you might know who froze those people."
Parrish lowered his gun slightly, still tense. "No. I don't know anything about that."
Noah studied him carefully. "Are you sure you haven't encountered anything… strange lately? Any monsters? Anything unusual?"
Parrish scoffed. "You two are the only monsters I saw."
Derek crossed his arms. "Maybe he forgot. Or whatever that thing is, it made him forget."
Noah nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe."
Just then, Deaton and Melissa, who were at the pack house, came outside and walked toward them.
Melissa looked at Parrish and frowned. "Derek, Noah, what's wrong with your new friend? He reeks of fear."
Derek sighed. "He's the deputy Lydia was talking about. He's scared because we just told him about the supernatural world."
Deaton nodded. "We should probably explain everything to him properly before we expect any answers."
They proceeded to tell Parrish about the supernatural, explaining the existence of shapeshifters, monsters, hunters. They also told him about the Nemeton.
Hearing about the Nemeton, Parrish frowned. "Wait… I moved to Beacon Hills because I felt drawn here. Does that mean I'm supernatural too?"
Derek nodded. "Yes. We believe you're a Hellhound, a shapeshifter with fire-based abilities and a harbinger of death."
Parrish's eyes widened. "That… doesn't sound good."
Deaton reassured him. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Hellhounds are guardians of the supernatural world."
Parrish hesitated before shaking his head. "I don't think I'm a Hellhound. I mean, I've always been normal… except for the occasional blackouts. Sometimes I wake up in weird places without any clothes."
Deaton's eyes sharpened. "Wait, you blackout and don't remember anything?"
Parrish nodded. "Yeah, but I always thought it was just sleepwalking."
Deaton's expression darkened. "No… I'm afraid you weren't born as a Hellhound. You're possessed by one."
Melissa's eyes widened. "So when Lydia said Parrish knew the ice monster, she didn't mean him, she meant the thing inside him."
Deaton sighed. "That's likely."
Derek crossed his arms. "Then how do we talk to whatever's inside him? And what if it's evil?"
Deaton considered this for a moment. "Drawing it out is easy… but are you three sure you can handle a Hellhound?"
Derek smirked. "Noah and I are both abnormally strong Alphas. Melissa is the strongest after Scott. Plus, you're a mage, Doc. I think we can handle a Hellhound."
Deaton smiled. "Just making sure."
He then turned to Parrish. "You might want to take off your clothes."
Parrish blinked. "What? Why?"
Deaton answered casually. "Because I'm going to set you on fire to draw out the thing inside you."
Parrish took a step back. "Are you insane?! What if there's nothing inside me?!"
Derek interrupted. "How about I check your memories first? I just need to place my hand on the back of your neck."
Parrish hesitated before nodding. "That sounds better than being burned alive."
Derek stepped forward. "Relax." He placed his claws at the back of Parrish's neck.
Suddenly, Derek and Parrish found themselves in a space filled with fire and ash.
Parrish said. "You said you were just going to put your hand on my neck, not stab me with you claws!"
Derek smirked. "Didn't want to scare you."
Parrish looked around, confused. "Where are we?"
"Inside your mind." Derek explained. "Now, try to focus. We need to find any memory of the ice monster. Think back to the last time you blacked out, what were you doing before that?"
As Parrish concentrated, a memory surfaced.
A week ago, after leaving work, he had been driving near the woods when he saw a woman dressed in a white Japanese kimono. He stopped the car and walked toward her, but she turned and began walking deeper into the forest. Without thinking, he followed.
When he caught up to her, he asked. "Are you okay?"
The woman smiled. "Now that you're here, I'm better than okay."
Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming cold as the woman touched his hand.
Before Derek and Parrish could see what happened next, Derek was violently expelled from Parrish's mind. He yanked his claws away as Parrish's body ignited in flames.
Deaton stepped forward. "What happened?"
Derek gritted his teeth. "The Hellhound inside him doesn't want me in his mind."
Parrish's flames burned brighter before suddenly extinguishing. His entire body turned black, with glowing orange cracks resembling molten lava. His eyes flared with an eerie, fiery glow.
Deaton took a step closer. "Who are you?"
Parrish's lips curled into a smirk. "I've had many names. But you can call me Cerberus."
Melissa frowned. "Cerberus? But aren't Hellhounds and Cerberus different creatures?"
The Hellhound Parrish chuckled. "No, they're the same thing."
Melissa narrowed her eyes. "No, they're not. We fought a Cerberus before, you don't give off the same feeling as him. And by the way, he felt stronger than you."
Cerberus growled at her, but Melissa's eyes glowed red in response. "I don't like you." She said coldly. "Now tell me, what will happen to the real Parrish if you keep possessing his body?"
Cerberus's expression darkened. "That's none of your business."
He turned to leave, but Melissa immediately blocked his path. "Where do you think you're going? I don't trust you, and you're not leaving until Scott gets back from school and decides what to do with you."
The hellhound's body ignited again, his anger flaring alongside the flames as he lunged at her.
Melissa snorted, then raised her hand, summoning a powerful gust of wind that sent him flying backward, crashing into the ground.
The hellhound stood up, warily eyeing Melissa. "What are you?" He demanded.
Melissa crossed her arms. "That's not your concern. What matters is that you're staying here until my Alpha returns."
Snarling, the hellhound prepared to attack again, but Derek stepped in his way and struck first, landing a solid punch that sent the fiery creature crashing into the ground again.
Derek smirked. "Melissa, let me have some fun with him."
Melissa sighed. "Fine, but try not to kill him. Deputy Parrish seems like a good guy."
Derek grinned. "I'll do my best."
The fight began. The hellhound's flames burned Derek, but his accelerated healing quickly repaired the damage. Seeing that the hellhound was strong, Derek shifted, fur sprouting along his cheeks as his strength increased. Now, the tables had turned, the hellhound struggled to keep up. Derek quickly overwhelmed him, landing a powerful punch to his face and knocking him unconscious.
Noah looked down at the unconscious deputy and sighed. "What are we going to do now?"
Melissa folded her arms. "We leave him here until Scott gets back."
Derek said. "By the way, I found out what the Ice Monster is. She's an Asian woman in a white robe. I assume she's the creature Victoria told us about, a Yuki-onna."
Noah frowned. "How do we find her before she kills again?"
Derek shook his head. "I don't think she'll strike again anytime soon, not now that she knows there's a hellhound in town."
Deaton nodded. "Derek is probably right. If Parrish is still alive after encountering her, that means she couldn't kill the hellhound inside him. She likely got hurt in the fight, which would explain why she killed three people in one night, she needed their life force to heal."
Melissa thought for a moment. "Maybe Lydia can help us find her."
Noah exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Alright, I need to get back to work. And please, don't kill my deputy, he's a good man."
Melissa smirked. "Don't worry, I'll ask Scott to help him control or get rid of the hellhound inside him."
To be continued… 😊