"I don't know. I'm not the one who declared war."

That's all he has time for.

"Scott, so glad to hear from you again. Is there anything you'd like to say? Pleas for mercy? Last words?"

Right, Scott does not look like he's going to start things off well with how he's death glaring the phone, Yvette is going to try to not have this turn to something awful.

"Hello Mrs. Argent, my name is Yvette Lane, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Scott's asked me to mediate between the two of you while you talk about the future of Beacon Hills and its residents."

It would be have been so helpful if Scott had told her what he wanted from this conversation, but nooo. She had to neglect to ask. Because she's not good at this. Whatever, she'll - just - attempt to negotiate. With a grievous lack of information. And barely any experience. Why her.

"Well, Miss Lane. I am surprised to hear from you again. I hope you haven't been mistreated. Werewolves aren't the best hosts."

Okay she's trying to see where your loyalties are while sounding sympathetic. How to word this to sound neutral, without potentially condemning Scott, and how does she say she's human...

"I've definitely not been mistreated, but thank you for worrying. Scott promised me safety and he gave it, I'm happy to assuage any fears you have for the treatment of another human being."

Was that too stilted? That might have been too stilted. She has no practice weaving this kind of information into sentences, augh.

"I wouldn't worry too much about anyone under my care, Principal Argent. McCalls take care of our own."

There is a brief sound of shouting in the background.

"A son first and an animal second. How long can you keep up the act?"

"... Ma'am, I think focusing on what-ifs is a bad idea, everyone can potentially become a danger to the people around them. There are real, actual monsters running around, definitely hurting people. Do you know about the kanima?"

Scott flinches, but says nothing.

"Oh, we've heard. The Hale alpha insisted on recruiting, which is why this a concern to begin with. If he could have left humans alone, old rivalries could stay where they belong. Instead, he bit the most vulnerable teenagers he could find, and now they're violent, unstable killers."

Oh god damn it, how much is going on that she doesn't fucking know about, there were other bite victims? Scott would it kill you to talk about literally anything important. Augh, no, this is her fault for not asking enough questions, she'll have to do better.

"As I understand it, the Hale alpha was forced to bite the individual that became the kanima, and it isn't even actively going out and killing people by itself. It's being controlled by someone else, and we know who, and want to stop them."

"Give me the phone!"

There's a sound of a slight struggle, and a girl's voice, panting.

"Scott? What's going on over there? Is she okay, the girl?"

"Hey, Allison. You can talk to her yourself."

He gestures at Yvette to talk.

"Hello! Yes, I'm quite all right. I'm Yvette, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oh. She's there. Uh, hi, Yvette. I'm Allison. That was, that was my mom. She's currently going insane, so me and dad are trying to talk her down."

"Yep, I was trying to do that too, I have barely any idea what I'm doing. My method was trying to get her pointed at the guy controlling the kanima, what's yours?"

"Have her husband talk to her."

"Wait, you know who the kanima master is?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry I didn't mention this sooner, I should have called as soon as I knew. It's Matt."

"...Yvette, do you think stopping the kanima master is the right tactic here? We don't know much about how kanimas work, just that they get attached to someone nearby and do what they want. If you can think of anything we haven't, it could be a big help."

"Yes, if possible. We can see if we can get the kanima attached to Scott or you or something? As long as no one is giving it people to kill, it won't be killing anyone, is my understanding. And it'll buy us time to find a cure of some kind."

Allison doesn't answer.

Yvette and Scott can hear heated whispers.

A man takes the phone.

"Scott. Yvette. We might need to achieve a peace sooner than I expected. My father knows the family bestiary almost as well as I do, and he just left to kill the kanima master. That's how it's allegiance changes. I've been worried since he came to town that he would take things too far- I swear neither I nor my daughter will touch a hair on your heads. We need to work together."