Chương 45: Chapter 45: The Confrontation at the Argent Dinner Table

The clinking of cutlery and soft murmur of voices at the Argent dinner table fell silent as Allison descended the stairs. For the first time in three days, she joined her family for dinner.

Chris Argent's sharp eyes immediately locked onto her. "Allison, are you feeling better now? Can you tell me what's wrong? Is it Scott? Did he upset you?"

Allison rolled her eyes and sighed. "Let's talk after dinner, Dad. I'm starving. I haven't eaten properly in three days."

Chris opened his mouth to push further, but Victoria's stern glare stopped him. "Let her eat first," she said firmly. "She said she'll talk after dinner."

The tension was palpable as they continued their meal, the silence broken only by the clinking of utensils. Moments later, Kate walked into the dining room, her usual smirk plastered on her face.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Kate teased. "Princess Allison has come down from her tower."

She moved toward Allison, arms open for a hug, but Allison snapped, her voice sharp and loud, "Don't touch me!"

The sudden outburst startled everyone. Chris, Victoria, and even Kate looked at her in shock.

"Allison!" Victoria exclaimed, alarmed. "What's gotten into you?"

Allison pushed her chair back, her hands trembling slightly as she stood. "Fine. You want to know what's wrong with me? I'll tell you!"

Chris leaned forward, his brows furrowing. "Allison, if this is about—"

Allison cut him off, her voice rising. "I found out that my family are hunters, and none of you thought to tell me!"

Chris blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Are you upset because I hunt deer sometimes?"

Allison laughed bitterly, anger flaring in her eyes. "Deer? Really? Even now, you're lying to me, Dad?"

Victoria's voice turned cold and commanding. "Allison, that's enough."

Allison looked at her mother. "You're right Mom. It is enough—enough of your lies!"

Then Allison turned her fiery gaze toward her father. "No, Dad, I'm not upset because you hunt deer. I'm upset because you've been hunting humans with supernatural powers for God knows how long. Yes, I know about werewolves—not that any of you cared to tell me. Even when one came right up to my window, you said nothing!"

Chris, Victoria, and Kate froze, unprepared for the confrontation. Kate, however, broke the silence with a laugh. "I told you, Chris. I told you to tell her sooner."

Chris's voice faltered as he looked at his daughter. "Allison, I—"

"Don't," Allison cut him off, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and heartbreak. "Don't try to lie to me. Tell me the truth!"

Chris sighed heavily and sat down, his shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry, honey. I should have told you sooner. I just… I didn't want you to know about this world yet. I wanted you to have a normal childhood, a normal life, for as long as possible. I didn't have that. I was forced into this life, and it made me do things I'm not proud of. But they were necessary."

Allison's glare sharpened. "Oh, necessary? Like what? Killing innocent people because they were different? Because they had powers? Did you even bother to make sure they were evil, or did you just decide they were monsters because they were werewolves?"

Victoria slammed her hand on the table, her voice cutting through the room. "Allison! Watch your tone. We have a code. We only hunt those who hunt us."

Kate chuckled, leaning back in her chair. "I don't know who's been filling your head with this nonsense, princess, but let's be real—most werewolves are monsters. If not all of them."

She reached out to touch Allison's hand, but Allison recoiled, stepping back. Her voice was sharp with disgust and anger as she hissed. "I told you not to touch me! And there's no monster worse than you, bitch."

Victoria moved forward, her hand striking Allison across the face. The slap echoed in the silent room, and everyone froze. Victoria's hand trembled as she looked at the red mark on Allison's cheek. Regret washed over her face. "Allison, I… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—"

Allison's reaction surprised everyone. She smiled, a chilling, almost lifeless smile. "Don't worry about it, Mom."

Then her gaze turned to Kate, her tone venomous. "They don't know what you did, do they?"

Kate stiffened, her smirk faltering. "What are you talking about?"

Chris looked between the two women. "Allison, what did Kate do?"

Allison took a deep breath, tears welling up in her eyes. "She didn't do much, Dad. She just burned down the Hale house and killed Talia Hale and most of her family. Some of them weren't even werewolves—they were just children."

Chris and Victoria's faces went pale with shock.

Tears streamed freely down Allison's cheeks as she added. "Imagine my shock when I found out my beloved aunt—the one I trusted and looked up to—burned eight innocent people to death."

Kate's voice rose defensively. "That's a lie! Who told you that? Derek Hale? It must be him! He's manipulating you, Allison. Stay away from him—he's dangerous!"

Allison wiped her tears, her expression hardening. "Oh, it wasn't Derek. It was Harris, my chemistry teacher."

Kate scoffed, though her eyes betrayed her panic. "Harris? He was drunk that night! He couldn't possibly remember—"

Allison cut her off, her voice low but full of venom. "You just confirmed it, Kate. You really did it."

Victoria and Chris stared at Kate, their shock giving way to anger and disbelief. Chris's voice was heavy with betrayal as he asked, "Kate… is this true?"

Kate's face twisted with frustration. "It was necessary! The Hales were dangerous, Chris!"

Chris's eyes blazed with anger. "Kate, how could you do something like that? You know we have a code!"

Kate crossed her arms defiantly, her voice rising. "What do you know, Chris? Dad was always proud of you. Every chance he got, he praised you, but he never cared about me. So when he gave me that mission, I couldn't say no. It was my chance to make him proud of me."

Chris slammed his hand on the table, his voice trembling with disgust. "You killed innocent people just to make Dad proud? That's insane, Kate!"

Allison groaned and leaned back in her chair. "Oh, great! Now Gerard is a psychopath too. This just keeps getting better. I think if Marie-Jeanne came back to life, instead of hunting werewolves, she'd probably hunt your crazy ass and that psycho Gerard instead!"

Kate opened her mouth to retort, but Allison cut her off sharply. "You know what? I don't care anymore. I already mourned my aunt. You are dead to me."

Without another glance at Kate, Allison turned back to the table, grabbing her fork. "I'm hungry. I'm going to eat."

Chris shot a withering glare at Kate before saying in a low, controlled tone. "We'll talk more about what you did later."

Kate tried again, her voice softer. "Allison, listen—"

But Allison didn't let her finish. She held up a hand, her tone cold and dismissive. "Don't talk to me. You're ruining my appetite. And by the way, if I were you, I'd pack my things and leave Beacon Hills immediately."

Chris frowned, his confusion evident. "Allison, why would you say that?"

Allison swallowed a bite of food and said casually, "Because he's coming for her. The Alpha, I mean. You know, the one from outside my window."

Victoria's voice tightened with concern. "Who told you he's coming after her, Allison?"

Allison stabbed a piece of steak with her fork, her tone almost bored as she answered. "I was there when he was interrogating Harris. He knows Kate is the one behind the fire that killed his family. Oh, and by the way, his name is Peter Hale."

Chris's face paled. "Isn't he in a coma at the hospital? Wait—Allison, did he hurt you?"

Allison smiled sweetly, thinking of Scott. "It's too late to worry about that now, Dad. But don't stress. Even if I met him alone in the woods, he wouldn't dare touch a single hair on my head. Let's just say… I'm protected."

Chris leaned forward, his tone sharp. "This isn't a joke, Allison. He's dangerous. He's killed a lot of people."

Allison raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her chair. "In case you didn't realize, Dad, except for Laura Hale, all the people Peter's killed were Kate's minions. You can ask her yourself. What Peter's doing isn't random—he's taking revenge."

She finished her plate and stood, carrying it to the sink. Turning back to her family, she said with a calm smile, "Alright, try not to be too loud. I have school tomorrow, and I need to sleep. Oh, and Mom, I'm not coming home tomorrow. I'm spending the night at Scott's."

Victoria's voice turned stern. "No, you will not."

Allison paused, turning to face her mother with a challenging look. "What are you going to do? Slap me again?"

Victoria flinched at the words, guilt washing over her face. Before she could respond, Allison stepped closer and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Mom. Scott's mom asked me to come for dinner, and after that, I'll ask Scott to bring me home. I'll have my phone with me. You can always call if you need me."

Victoria held Allison close, her voice soft and trembling. "I'm sorry for earlier, sweetheart. I love you."

Allison smiled, her voice gentle. "I love you too. Just don't let me find out you're a murderer like her."

Victoria chuckled softly, brushing Allison's hair back. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I might be mean, but I'm no cold-blooded killer. I follow the code. Now go get some sleep. I need to deal with your dad and his crazy sister."

Allison gave her father a hug next, her tone softer but still laced with frustration. "I love you, Dad, but I'm still mad at you."

Chris smiled faintly, his voice heavy with regret. "I love you too, honey. And I'm sorry for everything."

Finally, Allison turned to Kate, her expression hardened once again. "Even though I hate you for what you did, I don't want to see you dead. So leave Beacon Hills because there's no way you can kill what you turned Peter into."

With that, Allison headed upstairs. She took a long shower, letting the water wash away the tension of the night. After that, she slipped into her bed, her mind already drifting to thoughts of Scott as she fell into a peaceful sleep.