Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf and neither do you.
The Demon Within
The door to Derek's new loft burst open abruptly, making Lydia jump in her seat. She looked up in shock at the sudden appearance of the woman in black.
She was dressed from head to toe in black clothes, from her black hair to the black boots on her feet. The woman was surprisingly short despite her demanding presence. Her high heeled boots added a few inches to her height but she couldn't have been any more than an inch taller than Lydia's unimpressive five feet three inches. A quick sweep of her face revealed pale skin, sharp features, bright red lips and, disturbingly, equally bright red eyes.
Lydia's breath hitched in her throat at the sight and she automatically grabbed Allison's arm in a death grip. Those were not the eyes of an alpha.
The woman stalked further into the room, her movements smooth and graceful, almost as if she was gliding across the floor. She scanned the room with her red eyes, lingering on each face for no longer than a fraction of a second, before settling on Scott.
"Where is he?" she hissed at him angrily.
Scott raised an arm. "Through there," he told her, pointing at the closed door behind him.
She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before walking around him and quickly slipping through the door.
"Do you know what she is? Do you know what she is capable of?" Derek snarled, breaking the silence. He stalked forward until he was nose to nose with Scott. "Why would you invite that thing in here with us, Scott?"
Scott straightened his shoulders and stood up straight, taking on a more commanding stance. His dark eyes glowed red in his face. "I know what she is, Derek. I invited her here so that she could help. You heard Deaton – he has never seen anything like this before so he can't help. She has. So, back off."
Derek scowled and glowered but walked away back into his little corner to sulk.
"I don't get. What're we missing?" Allison questioned. Lydia wondered the same thing but was too afraid to say anything. Something told her that the woman that just went into that room could hear everything that they were saying.
"She's a vampire," he sighed.
Lydia felt like the wind was knocked out of her. "What did you just say?" Her voice was sharp and disbelieving. She could not believe she had just heard that.
"Ruby is a vampire but she's not going to hurt him. She couldn't – she loves him too much. And besides, she's his godmother."
Her mouth dropped open in shock. He couldn't be serious right now.
Isaac chuckled uneasily and shifted his weight from foot to foot where he stood by the window. "Yeah, but vampires don't exist."
The door opened suddenly and the woman stepped back into the room. Her red predatory gaze settled on Isaac and Lydia watched as his eyes shifted to a bright yellow and the nails of each of his fingers turn into sharp claws. A low growl vibrated from his chest. The woman, satisfied with his reaction, smirked before facing Scott. Her entire expression shifted and a frown marred her beautiful face, adding creases and lines around her eyes and mouth that made her look much older than she appeared.
"It's worse than I thought."
Before Scott could respond Lydia stepped out from behind Allison until she stood a few feet away from her. "What do you mean? What could be worse than having that demon in him?"
"The demon – Malekeith – I've faced him before, many centuries ago. I thought he was banished for good, but he's obviously back. The only way he could have possibly taken over Stiles was if something terrible and dark had happened to him recently." She glared around at everyone before settling her gaze on Scott.
He swallowed uncomfortably under her gaze but held it. A few tense beats passed before he looked away.
"That's what I thought."
Scott sighed. "Did he tell you anything about what happened?"
She nodded stiffly. "Some, but obviously not everything. I know about the Darach and the sacrifices she had made to extract her revenge on a pack of alphas."
"Well we – me, Allison, and Stiles – were surrogate sacrifices for our parents. A consequence to our actions was a sort of darkness developing around our hearts."
Ruby scowled, baring her fangs, and shook her head angrily. "That brave, stupid boy. What happened in the days before the demon possessed my godson?"
"He disappeared for three days before we found him about to kill some campers in the woods. He saw us and ran and we didn't understand what was going on. Then he showed up at school the next day and I knew, knew deep in my heart, that something was wrong even though he was acting like he was himself. And then I saw it. I saw it in his eyes. I saw the demon and I saw the way Stiles was fighting to get him out." Lydia paused and bit back a sob as she let her tears fall. "The others didn't believe me until we found him holding a knife to the throat of a girl. He taunted us. Told us that we would never get to see Stiles again…" The sob she was holding back broke through and she crumpled to the floor, bringing her hands up to cover her face as she cried. Allison dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Lydia, whispering soothing words of comfort to her.
Ruby crouched down beside them and carefully brought a finger underneath Lydia's chin and tipped her head up. "I know this is hard for you. This is hard for me, too, little banshee, but I need you to tell me what happened afterward."
She sniffled before kicking her heels off and bringing her knees up to her chest. "Scott and Isaac tackled him and knocked him out. Then we brought him to Deaton. He couldn't do anything. He had no idea how to get it out of him." Lydia sobbed again and hid her face. "I just want it out of him."
"I know. I know, sweetie," Ruby cooed, running a cool hand through Lydia's long red locks.
Derek decided to break the silence a few minutes later. "You said it was worse than you thought. What did you mean?"
Without taking her eyes off of Lydia she answered him. "Stiles is dying. His body is healthy but his conscious is deteriorating into a little speck in the very back of his mind. The demon is trying hard to force Stiles into his vessel, but the boy is much stronger than he anticipated. What I'm trying to say is that Stiles will forever be lost to us if we don't get Malekeith out soon."
"What do you need us to do?" Scott asked, stepping forward.
She shook her head. "I don't need you to do anything. I trapped him in the room with a seal I drew on the floor and bound it with a little mountain ash for good measure just in case he tries to escape again."
Allison looked at her in shock. "How could you tell?"
Ruby chuckled humorously, her red eyes cold. "From the way you kids have him chained to that chair in there it's pretty obvious."
"How are you going to get the demon out of Stiles if you don't want us to help you or anything?" Isaac asked, eying the vampire warily.
"My godson is strong, emotionally and mentally strong. And from what I was able to tell from speaking with the demon for less than five minutes is that Stiles is much stronger than Malekeith had originally thought. The reason for that is because Stiles in love."
She paused to make sure that everyone was listening. "And she loves him back just as much."
OOOOOO
All eyes in the room settled on Lydia Martin where she sat crumpled on the floor of Derek's living room crying in the vampire's arms. From what Ruby had told them she was the only obvious choice. It was no secret that Stiles was in love with her, but no one had thought that his feelings for her were that strong. And what was even more shocking was the revelation that she loved him back.
No one had seen that coming.
None of them had even expected that to come out of her mouth. They had all thought it would have been something more along the lines of helping encourage Stiles to fight back or something.
"Lydia, I know this is hard but if you want Stiles back you're going to have to help me," Ruby whispered softly to her, stroking her hair back from her face. "Can you do that?"
Lydia sniffled a little before wiping the last of her tears away and nodding her head. "Yes. Anything to bring my Stiles back."
Ruby smiled before helping her to her feet. "Come, little banshee, we have much work to do." The vampire slowly guided her across the room before opening the door and ushering her into the other room. She paused before entering the room with Lydia. "No matter what happens, under no circumstances do you open this door if you know what's good for you."
Scott, Allison, Isaac, and Derek shared a look before nodding in agreement to the vampire's request. They didn't like it but if they were going to help Stiles they were going to have to listen to her. After all Ruby was the expert in this situation.
She gave them a thin smile. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright," she told them before stepping into the other room and closing the door tight behind her.
Lydia stood outside the circle of mountain ash, wringing her hands together. A part of her didn't want to be in the room but an even larger part of her craved to be of some help to him. These days she felt like a burden, like everyone had to swoop in and save her when she couldn't help herself. She hated feeling like that.
The cool touch of Ruby's hand suddenly on her shoulder made her tense for a moment before relaxing. The vampire wasn't the most dangerous thing in the room right now.
"Don't be afraid, little banshee. You have nothing to fear as long as I'm with you."
Lydia bit her lip and glanced at Ruby over her shoulder before nodding. For any of this to work she was going to have to trust the vampire.
A laugh from the middle of the room dragged her attention to the boy chained to the chair. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard and made Lydia want to cover her ears. It didn't match the face of the boy she loved.
"Her?" he sneered. "You think that this woman-child will be able to bring your precious Stiles back? What makes her so special?" Malekeith-Stiles glared at her in contempt and loathing.
Lydia could do nothing but stare. He looked like her Stiles but didn't sound like him. The voice sent chills down her spine and if death had a sound she imaged that that was what it sounded like. And the eyes! Stiles' beautiful chocolate brown eyes, normally filled with happiness and love when he looked at her, were pitch black and filled with what could only be described as pure evil.
Ruby sneered back in disgust. "She will be your downfall, Malekeith."
"We'll see about that." The demon turned his attention back to Lydia and gave her a terrible smile. He may have had Stiles' face but it most definitely wasn't him. "Lydia, I presume? You're all that he thinks about. It's Lydia this and Lydia that. I suppose I can see the appeal." He leered at her, making her skin crawl, but she refused to look away. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"I'm not afraid of you," Lydia told him. She was about to speak his name aloud but held her tongue. She remembered that speaking a demon's name was dangerous. Names held power and to use a demon's name meant death.
Malekeith-Stiles just smiled at her. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You should be afraid, Lydia Martin."
Lydia glared at him a moment longer before turning back to look at Ruby. "What do you need me to do? I'll do anything to get Stiles back."
Ruby grasped both of Lydia's hands tightly in her own. "I want you to close your eyes and think. Think of a very strong memory between you and Stiles, one that you hold close to your heart."
It was silent for a moment as Lydia thought back. She had one memory that she could think of, one that stood out from all the others.
"I have one," she whispered.
"Good. When I break the seal I want you to step into the circle and talk to him, to Stiles. Share that memory with him." Ruby released her and Lydia opened her eyes to stare into the blood red eyes of the vampire.
She felt her heart rate speed up in anxiety. It couldn't be that simple. "What if it isn't enough? What if I'm not enough?" she questioned.
"You'll be enough. Stiles loves you so much, Lydia. His love for you is what has kept him fighting all this time," Ruby murmured softly. "I know what love can do. I've seen it. It's the strongest of emotions and it'll be on your side. Malekeith will be defenseless against any and all of the emotions Stiles evokes. He's already weak from the love that Stiles holds in his heart for you."
"You said that you could tell that Stiles was in love with me and that I love him just as much. I don't understand. How could you tell?" It didn't make any sense. Nothing did right now if she was being honest with herself.
Ruby gave a wide smile, so wide that she showed off the long, razor sharp fangs in her mouth. The look in her eyes was soft and loving. She looked like a proud mother. "I said your name and Stiles broke free for a moment. For him to be able to break Malekeith's hold for even a second means that what he feels for you is strong and reciprocated. Only love and hope are strong enough to stave off the darkness."
Lydia nodded, accepting the vampire's explanation. It made sense in a way. The woman seemed to have a sixth sense that told her things that others couldn't see.
"Are you ready, little banshee?" Ruby asked after a moment. Lydia glanced at her one last time before stepping forward. She watched as Ruby crouched low to the floor and swept her fingers across the mountain ash. The circle broke and Lydia could automatically feel the difference. There was a faint chill of darkness in the room with them now.
Malekeith-Stiles cackled manically at that moment. "You will fail, Lydia Martin, and you will never see Stiles again."
She clenched her teeth painfully and held back the tears that threatened to fall. He was lying. She was going to get Stiles back if it was the last thing she did.
"I don't know where to start."
"Talk to him. Pretend like you're the only two people in the world."
Lydia nodded shakily before stepping over the broken seal. She raised her head slowly fearful of what she could possible see now that she was closer to the demon but unwilling to show weakness. He stared back at her in mirth, the wickedness within the boy she loved clear as day in the black, soulless depths of his eyes.
"Stiles," she whispered.
The demon gave a grating laugh. "Stiles isn't here right now. Call back never."
She scowled and stomped closer to where he sat, mindful of the symbols drawn in mountain ash on the floor, and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt. "Stiles, I know you're in there. I want you to listen and pay attention to everything I have to say to you because it's important.
"Do you remember the day after your father was taken? Do remember the complete and utter panic and fear that you felt? The thought of never seeing him alive again? I know you remember that feeling," she whispered. Lydia leaned in closer. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the soft lips she had tasted once before and longed to kiss them. A part of her wished that she could just kiss him and wash away their troubles but it wasn't that simple. It was never that simple.
Lydia looked back into the demon's eyes, unafraid. "I feel that way now when I think of you. A part of me is afraid that I'll never see you again. Afraid that I will never get to tell you how much you mean to me." She paused and looked away suddenly aware of how fast her heart was beating. "Afraid that I'll never get the chance to tell you how in love I am with you, Stiles," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper.
She looked back into the demon's dark gaze as he sneered at her watching for the soft, golden brown of Stiles' eyes to return. "I knew that day in the locker room. But I was too scared to admit it to myself. The moment our lips touched I knew something had changed something inside of me. Stiles, I love you so much." The tears that ran down her face were hot and thick. She didn't care that she was making a fool out of herself in front of the demon. All she cared about was Stiles and nothing else. She just hoped that she wasn't too late.
Hesitantly she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Lydia closed her eyes and poured all of her love and emotion for him into that one simple kiss. After a moment she pulled away.
Malekeith smirked at her, triumphant, almost as if he had just won something. But then the smug look washed away and was replaced by abject horror.
"NOOO!" he roared.
Suddenly the demon lurched and struggled against his chains. Lydia quickly stepped back and watched in open mouth horror as Stiles' body jerked and twisted against the bonds keeping him to the chair. The black eyes of the demon rolled back into his head. His mouth opened to reveal several rows of long sharp teeth that made Lydia cringe away in fear. A terrible roar of anger came from within and sounded throughout the entire room.
Lydia wanted to scream and cry for help but she could hear Ruby behind her, urging her to stay calm. But how could she when this was happening in front of her?
And then it happened.
A dark, thick swirling mist of cloud poured out of Stiles' throat and hung above near the ceiling. Stiles slumped over in the chair, his eyes tightly shut and his breathing heavy.
Lydia looked up at the black cloud above her head and she knew what it was. It was the demon that was in Stiles.
A low moan from beside her brought her attention back to the boy she loved. "Stiles?"
He slowly lifted his head and brown eyes met green. Stiles gave her a weak smile. "I love you, too, Lydia," he rasped.
She grinned and quickly unchained him before throwing her arms around his neck. "I thought I lost you," she whispered into his ear.
"For a few minutes back there, I thought I was a goner. But then I heard your voice and knew that everything was going to be okay," he told her.
"I know that you two are having a little moment, but you need to get out. Now." Ruby quickly broke the seal again and snatched the two teenagers over the edge of the ring of mountain ash before closing it again. She did all of this with inhuman speed and strength that made the werewolves look like they were moving in slow motion.
Stiles stared wide-eyed at her in shock. "Aunt Ruby?"
The vampire flashed him a quick smile. "Hey, kiddo."
"You look different. Did you do something with your hair or your fangs or something?" he questioned.
Ruby gave him a sweet motherly smile. "Later, kiddo. Later when I'm finished. We can talk then." He nodded before allowing himself to be dragged away from his godmother into the next room by Lydia.
OOOOOO
Stiles was greeted by a chorus of his name being shouted out in equal parts happiness and relief. One by one he was passed around the room to be hugged. He felt like the new baby that everyone wanted to hold for the first time. Eventually he found his way back to Lydia's side.
He sat down beside her on the couch as Scott, Isaac, Derek, and Allison all huddled around the closed door whispering to each other, occasionally shooting pointed looks at the offending piece of wood. She smiled at him and tightly held one of his hands in both of hers.
"I thought I had lost you to the demon," she told him.
Stiles frowned and ran his free hand through her strawberry blond hair. "There was a point when I thought that I was never going to be myself again. It was scary, Lydia. I thought I was done for. He was telling me all of these things to mess with my head and it was starting to work. And when he started to do all of those things like with that girl, I-I could barely tell who I was anymore. I was just holding on by a thread."
Lydia moved impossibly closer to him until her entire body was pressed against his. "But he's gone now, that's all that matters."
He nodded in agreement and wrapped his arms around her. They stared at each other for an immeasurable moment, oblivious to everything around them. "Lydia, I love you," he whispered before leaning in and pressing his lips against hers in a searing kiss.
They eventually pulled away, their breaths coming out in labored pants, and smiled at each other. Lydia pressed her lips gently against his for a moment before pulling away again. "I love you too, Stiles."
A terrible scream of pain shook the room and rattled the windows, shattering their moment. The door to the other room opened a second later. Ruby stepped out and Stiles couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about his godmother again. There was just something different about her but he wasn't sure what it was.
She gave a tight smile and ran a pale hand through her dark hair. "It's done. The demon is gone. By morning all of this will all just be a bad nightmare when you wake up."
Her last words seemed to reverberate throughout the room. Everyone froze and all Stiles could do was stare around in horror. Lydia slipped from his arms to the floor in a bloody heap.
She was dead.
He looked down at his hands in horror. They were stained red with her blood. A quick glance around him and all he could see were the bloodied piles of limbs that were once his friends and family.
Stiles shoved his blood covered hands into his hair and fell to his knees. "Wake up!" he screamed over and over again, fists pounding at the slick floor.
It wasn't real. None of it was. He knew that now.
The eyes.
They were red. Blood red.
His aunt Ruby's eyes weren't red.
They were supposed to be a bright mint green.
OOOOOO
"WAKE UP!"
Stiles sat bolt straight up in his seat, the words dying in his throat. He quickly pushed away from his desk and frantically looked around his room, unsure of what he was looking for. His heart was beating painfully fast in his chest and he could feel the sweat still running down his body and drenching the shirt he wore. His hands shook in his lap and he was relieved to find that they were not in fact covered in Lydia's blood.
He looked around his room again, the sight of an open notebook on his desk catching his eye. Hesitantly he pulled it closer to him before frantically flipping it closed and chucking it across his room until it hit the far wall.
Scrawled across every line of the page in his messy handwriting were two words over and over again in a never ending loop.
Wake up.
It had all seemed so real.
The feeling of the demon inside of him.
The way his friends were acting.
Lydia's fear and reaction to him being in trouble.
His aunt Ruby's anger and cold demeanor toward everyone because he was in danger.
It had felt real, all of it, but it was just a nightmare.
The door burst open and Lydia was suddenly there next him. Her hands were everywhere, frantically touching every part of his body. If he wasn't freaked out of his mind right then, Stiles would have cracked a joke about it.
"Stiles!" she cried out. "Are you okay? I just went out to my car for a second and then I heard you start screaming."
He slowly shook his head, watching as her beautiful face crumpled in sadness. "I'm not okay, Lydia. I think I'm going crazy." A few tears fell as he said the words aloud.
Lydia let out a strangled sob, hot tears blurring her vision. She violently wiped them away before tugging him to the edge of his unmade bed and crawling into his lap, wrapping her body around his. Her hands slid into his long hair and she pressed her forehead against his. "You won't. I won't let you, Stiles," she vowed.
He nodded. "Okay."
"I love you, Stiles."
"I love you too."
They sat like that for some time before Stiles went to shower. When he returned he was surprised to find Lydia fast asleep beneath the covers but didn't dare wake her. He crawled into bed beside her and wrapped his arms tight around her before falling into a dreamless sleep.
Everything was going to be okay for now.
I shouldn't have wrote this when I have another Teen Wolf story going on right now but I couldn't get it out of my head. In this AU, Stiles has a godmother named Ruby who is a vampire but no one knows that and so that's why she was there in his little nightmare. But that's a little piece of information that will be touched upon in another story that I'll eventually write if any of you are interested in it.
But anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing :)
Happy New Year!