Chapter 1

Come on Scott. Hurry up. Stiles rushed ahead of his friend pushing past the thicker underbrush that lined the preserve's pathway and working his way deeper into the forest. They only found enough pieces for one body.

So what makes you think there is another body out here?

They weren't the pieces for the same body. Two different bodies so therefore there has to be more parts of bodies out here. We're going to find them.

Scott dodged the branch that Stiles let swing backwards but was hit by the second and then the third. "Hey watch it!"

Stiles' mumbled sorry was muffled has he dropped to the ground. "Shit, my dad's out here." The lights from the police search could be seen at the top of a small rise in the forest. Without needing to discuss it both boys moved as one further down the slope and then dashed off the opposite direction of the police force.

"So what happens if we find the bodies?"

"We tell my Dad."

"And then you will be grounded for the rest of your life for breaking curfew."

"Huh? I hadn't thought of that actually."

"What if the killer is still out here?"

"Hmmmm. You know, that never crossed my mind."

"Remind me why I let you talk me into things like this?"

"'Cause I'm awesome, obviously." Stiles had turned to walk backwards, smiling at his friend when he tripped and fell backwards onto the leave covered floor. "Watch it Scott there's a….Holy Shit!" Sightless eyes stared back at Stiles, his mouth frozen in a soundless scream by death.

"Stiles? Are you okay?" Scott jogged forward the last few steps until he was forced to stop, leaning against a tree and wheezing as he pulled out his inhaler. "What is it?"

"I found a body."

Coming closer Scott leaned over to get a better look. "Shit, Stiles," he whispered. "We know him."

"Yeah. It's one of the guys from last night."

The past week had been rough on both of them. Stiles had built up a fairly strong skin against Lydia's refusal to acknowledge his existence but when Scott had fallen head over heels in love with the new girl, who then instantly became Lydia's best friend he couldn't help him build up the immunity to love's cruel cousin heartache fast enough. So he did what any good friend would do. Stiles took him out to get him drunk.

"They say it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all and as far as I'm concerned that's the fucking Rolls Royce of truth."

"What?" Scott rolled over and looked through bleary eyes at Stiles.

"Dude, you just met Alison. You can't be in anywhere near the pain that I'm in over Lydia. She's been the love of my life since third grade. You just met Alison Tuesday. At best your heart is just slightly cracked."

"She's never even going to look at me again. It was going so well."

"Yeah, and then you dumped your lunch tray on her white blouse. Don't worry she'll look at you, she'll look to see where you are and then avoid that place like the plague."

"Shut up Stiles, you're not helping."

"And that's what the Jack is for." Taking another long sip Stiles passed the half empty bottle to his weaving friend. The evening sky was clear and the tipsy boys leaned heavily against the half buried boulder as they drowned their collective sorrows in the bottom of the bottle.

"Well what do we have here? Some little boys playing grown up. That's not a slushy boy. You need to leave the drinking to real men." Two men stepped into the clearing and loomed over Stiles and Scott. Their smiles were cruel as they reached down to pull the boys to their feet.

The larger man dusted off Stiles' red hoodie and straightened his shirt. He took the bottle from Stiles' hand before shoving him violently back.

"Give us the bottle back," Scott growled but the men laughed and pushed Scott back and forth between them before shoving him down to the ground next to Stiles.

"I think it's past your curfew boys." Snorting at their own brand of humor the two men passed the bottle between them as they headed deeper into the woods.

"Shit Stiles. That could have been US." Scott stared wide eyed at the body. "Where's the rest of him?"

"At the morgue. I told you they found parts. I wonder where the other guy is." Stiles moved off to look just as Scott reached over and pulled him back.

"Are you crazy? The person who did this could still be out here. We need to tell your dad and get out of here. I actually like breathing and I am planning on kissing Allison before I die."

"Scott, you don't cut people into halves, drag their bodies out into the woods, and then stick around. The nut case that did this is miles away by now. You would think that finding a part of a dead body could pull your attention away from Allison for just a few minutes." Stiles' planned taunt about Scott's shallow goal in his life was cut short by a long howl from deep in the woods.

"What was that? Crap, I think that was a wolf?" Scott took another puff of his inhaler, fumbling it as he tried to put in back into his pocket and dropping it to the ground. Twisting, he turned rapidly as another howl cut through the night air. "That's definitely a wolf."

"Scott there haven't been wolves in this part of the country for like sixty years." Pushing his hands into his hoodie pockets Stiles tried to remain calm. He watched as Scott's eyes darted across the forest looking for signs of danger.

"So what was that?" Taking a deep breathe to regain his composer Scott glanced down to look for his dropped inhaler.

"Constipated coyote? Love sick poodle?" Stiles joked as he pulled out his phone to help Scott look. A third howl, deeper and closer, sent both boys scrambling to their feet, inhaler forgotten in the leaves.

"Let's not take any chances." Walking quickly back the way they came they boys kept looking behind them. Pushing his asthmatic friend ahead of him Stile glanced over his shoulder to see a pair of red glowing eyes moving through the trees. "Shit, did you see that?"

"What?" Scott gasped the word, each new breath becoming more of a struggle for him.

"Eyes, Scott, there was a pair of fucking red eyes over there."

Reaching over Scott lightly hit Stiles on the shoulder. He wanted to punch him but was becoming weaker with each shallow breath he managed to get into his lungs. "Stop playing. This is serious. I need to get my other inhaler."

A crash to their left had both boys jumping and stumbling backwards. Grabbing Scott by his arm, Stiles took off at a run toward his jeep. The sound of branches being trampled behind them pushes him to run faster dragging his sagging friend with him.

"Here." Stiles shoved his keys into Scott's hand. "Keep going. My jeep will make it this far in. Get the jeep, bring it here and I will…"

"What? Fight off some mangy wolf by yourself?"

Picking up a large branch from the forest floor Stiles turned and bared his teeth at his friend. "I'm sure it's just the poodle. Now hurry."

Mouth working to find the words to argue with Stiles, Scott fled heading for the jeep as fast as he could go between painful gasps for air. Behind him Stiles yelled in challenge, "The sheriff is my father, you really don't want to fuck with me."

Red eyes peered straight at Stiles, too high to be a normal…well a normal anything. Stiles gulped and took a threatening step as he swung his branch. The rumbled gave him a seconds warning before a huge ebony shape lunged out of the woods and directly at him.

The branch was knocked out of his hands as Stiles was sent flying, landing shoulder first, sliding through the leaves and twigs. He tried to twist onto his back just as something latched onto his hips and pulled him back. Stiles couldn't stop the scream that poured from his lips as powerful jaws bit deep into the flesh below his ribs. Kicking and flailing Stile fought back with everything he had in him. Managing to roll on his back he could make out drooling jaws and eerie red eyes before a wild punch landed a solid blow against the creature's muzzle.

The thick beads of his meditation bracelet caught the edge of the fang filled lip and Stiles thought he smelled ozone for a brief moment before the monster reared back with a pain filled scream.

Not wasting a moment of his chance, Stiles scrambled to his feet and ran toward the road. He struggled to remain on his feet tripping over feet that seemed two sizes too big, crawling a few steps on his hands and feet until he could regain his balance before jerking to a halt in front of the blazing lights of his jeep.

Scott pushed the passenger side door open and yelled, "Get in."

Stumbling the last few feet Stiles flung himself into the jeep, slamming the door and screaming "drive, drive, drive" as Scott peeled away sending a flurry of leaves and dirt into the air. Braising himself against the dashboard, Stiles notices how much blood is covering his hand.

"What happened" Scott cried as he pulled the jeep over to the side of the road to get a better look. Stiles pulled up his shirt to reveal a gapping double wound, an enormous bite that covered his side from his bottom rib to his hip. "What the hell did that?"

"A wolf bit me." Stiles could hear his voice rising with shock and panic.

"You said there were no wolves around here."

Stiles holds out his hand and looks at the blood that seems to glisten in the light of the full moon. "I guess the wolf missed the memo."