So this took me a ridiculous amount of time to post and for that I'm super sorry. Since I've kind of turned this story into a mystery, I wanted to make sure everything fit into place for the next few chapters and ultimately the rest of the story.

My apologies for the delay.

Check out my Tumblr account "mslydiastilinski" where I do frequent updates on the progress of my stories.


Chapter 7:

Stiles had never considered himself a patient man. He wasn't very fond of letting things fall into place or waiting for the best option to arise. He believed in instant action, instant gratification and easy accessibility.

So you can imagine his displeasure when Scott refused to help him with the Rafael case until he talked to his pack. The wait was excruciating and it was needless to say Stiles was slowly going mad. Since his conversation with Scott, Stiles had gone through six packs of cigarettes in the span of two days and had successfully bitten down his fingernails to the numb.

He really didn't know if Scott was going to help him or not. He certainly hoped Scott would help him because at this point, with ten people missing, he was scared he was going to either lose his job or lose his mind (again). Stiles knew that the Rafael case had taken over his life in every possible way. No matter what he did or what he said, the case would always slowly creep back up into his mind and consume all of his thoughts. He was determined to solve this case even if it killed him.


It was three dates after Stiles' plea to Scott when he finally learned the pack's decision. He had been sitting on the front porch of the McCall house smoking yet another cigarette when he heard Scott drive up to the house.

"Hi." Stiles said nervously when he saw Scott make his way to the front porch.

Scott's eyes were glued to Stiles' cigarette, a look of disgust plastered on his face. "Hey."

Stiles gulped nervously as he quickly dropped the bud from his hand and smashed it. "Everything good?" He asked stupidly. Of course things weren't good. He had asked his former best friend to help him solve a murder case!

"We have a pack meeting at Derek's place tonight. You should probably come by." Scott said, refusing to make eye contact with Stiles.

Stiles looked at Scott questioningly, unable to read his friend's expression. "Yeah sure, I'll be there."

Scott finally met Stiles' gaze. "Seven o'clock. Don't be late, alright." He demanded as he pushed past Stiles and went inside the house slamming the door behind him.

Relief washed through Stiles like a tidal wave. At least he was getting somewhere on this case. Stiles looked up at the sky and smiled slightly. "Thank you." He whispered to whoever the hell was up there giving him a little leeway.


Contrary to belief, Derek's loft wasn't near the police station. Stiles had to drive a good thirty minutes from the station to the loft and during that time he had thoroughly convinced himself that this was a terrible idea. The pack hated him. Why by any means would they want to help him?

When he had finally reached the loft, Stiles paused before he knocked on the door. He took a deep breath and tried to brace himself for the potential disaster that this moment could be.

What if the pack didn't help him? What would he do then?

"Aww, screw it." Stiles breathed out before knocking on the door bravely and standing his ground. He had to do this. He had no choice.

He was unhappily surprised when it was not Scott or Derek who answered the door but Isaac who was glaring at him with such furiosity that Stiles could swear he saw his yellow eyes flicker.

"What are you doing here?" Isaac growled, crossing his arms and blocking the entrance.

Before Stiles could respond with a sarcastic remark, Scott was quickly by Isaac's side, shoving the door open enough for Stiles to enter. "I invited him." He said casually, ignoring Isaac's blatant scowl.

"Why?" Isaac said angrily, glancing at Stiles' work uniform.

Stiles shifted awkwardly at the door, unsure of whether to enter the loft or not. He knew Scott was still the alpha of the pack and that his approval mattered, but he also knew Isaac hated his guts and would easily rip his throat out if given the chance.

He decided it was best to stay still for the time being.

"Because the pack voted and we all agreed to help him." Scott replied, sending Isaac a menacing glare.

Isaac scoffed. "Are you kidding? You, Lydia, Kira and Malia agreed to help. Derek and I-" Isaac said, gesturing towards him and Derek who stood stiffly by the window, "said no…repeatedly."

Scott rolled his eyes and looked at Stiles uncomfortably. "You can come in but I can't promise you this will be pleasant." Scott warned.

Stiles nodded silently as he mustered up a quick smile and entered the room quietly. The minute he got into the room, he could feel the tension thicken around him. He knew they were all staring at him, hearing his rapid heart rate.

After sharing a few more words, Scott and Isaac followed Stiles through the loft. It was then that Stiles noticed who had all been included in the pack. There was Derek who stood by the window brooding, Malia, Kira and Lydia who all sat together on the couch next to the staircase, and Isaac and Scott who both stood on the opposite wall from Stiles.

Stiles caught Lydia's gaze for a second and she smiled softly at him, her eyes filling with concern and possibly pity. Stiles quickly averted his eyes from her gaze and looked at the floor feeling sick to his stomach.

After her whole drunken love confession, Stiles had done his best to avoid Lydia at all costs. He felt awkward and uncomfortable about the whole thing and he wasn't sure if he felt the same way anymore. He knew he still cared about her but did he love her? He wasn't so sure. Five years of self-hatred and bitterness didn't make ones belief of love very strong.

Scott was the first to break the silence in the room by awkwardly coughing at Stiles, silently gesturing for him to start the conversation somehow.

"Look I know you guys all hate me but-"

"Hates an understatement." Isaac interrupted irritably.

"But I'm desperate." Stiles said hastily. "I've been working on this case, your dad's case Scott, and then more I Iearn about it, the worse I feel about this town." Stiles said. The way Scott's father died, the amount of missing people, the lack of bodies found, it was all adding up to something way too familiar and way too horrible.

"Scott, before your father died he was working on the disappearance of a man named Benet Rogers. Benet was last seen in his dorm room by his college roommate on a full moon. Then one week later, your father gets another missing person's case. This time it was a girl named Eliza Henley, last seen by her mother in her bedroom. Then the next week he gets a case about a little kid named Fred Carter. Fred's last known whereabouts were also his room. Today we have a total of ten people missing, all of which who have taken from their bedrooms in the middle of the night."

Isaac shrugged. "And?"

Stiles took a deep breath before answering. This is where the story got tricky. "Two days ago I was looking through Rafael's personal notes in his office and I found something strange. It turns out, after searching one of the homes, Scott's dad found a hair sample on a window. He sent it to the lab and got it tested and it turns out it was animal hair. Except, it wasn't normal animal hair. Whatever species of animal this hair came from doesn't exists."

A look of panic crossed Kira's face and she swallowed nervously. "You think this animal is taking these people?

Stiles shook his head. "I think it's something stronger. And the case gets worse, before Rafael could report his findings, he was murdered. I think that whatever is taking these people, killed Rafael so he wouldn't talk." Stiles said adamantly.

The room remained dead silent for a few moments and Stiles frowned in confusion. "You all aren't acting the way I thought you would." He said.

Scott looked noticeably uncomfortable as his eyes shifted from Isaac to Derek to the rest of the pack. "Scott? What's going on?" Stiles asked.

"You know how Rafael died, right?" Malia suddenly asked.

Stiles nodded uneasily. Of course he did. When Parrish made him talk to the medical examiner, he almost threw up when he found out the news. "Yeah….his heart was ripped out of his chest." Stiles whispered. That was the other part of the case that made is so damn surreal. The way Rafael died was definitely from something unhuman. There was no possible way otherwise. "Clearly not by human hands."

"Yes, but there's something else you don't know. We couldn't find another scent." Malia replied, looking directly at Stiles. "When we investigated the scene, all we picked up was Rafael's. Whatever it was that killed him, didn't have a scent. Last time I checked, all animals and people have a scent of some kind." She continued.

Everyone stared at her in shock, both Derek and Isaac sending her angry glares.

Malia looked up at them and glared straight back, looking unfazed. "What? He said he was desperate. And I thought we all agreed to help him. Obviously this thing that killed Rafael has something to do with these missing person cases."

Stiles couldn't help but scowl. "Were you seriously not going to tell me that?!" He yelled at Scott. "That's clearly important information!" How could this thing not have a scent? What animal, what creature doesn't have a scent?!

Derek took a step towards Stiles menacingly. "We don't know if we trust you yet." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Stiles rolled his eyes. Was he serious? "I'm trying to protect this town! I need you guys to be honest with me!"

Scott frowned at Stiles. "We didn't think it would matter. We weren't even sure you were going to stay long enough for us to tell you."

"Of course it fucking matters! Your father was murdered by something that you can't even identify and you don't think that matters? God Scott, this thing-this creature or whatever the hell it is has killed your father and ten innocent people!" Stiles screamed.

"Stiles, calm down. We don't know if these people are actually dead. You said so yourself that you haven't found the bodies." Kira said.

"And I haven't felt the need to scream in years." Lydia added.

Stiles pulled at his hair in frustration. "They all didn't just leave town. It's not a coincidence that Rafael died investigating these exact cases. And it's definitely not by chance that his heart was ripped out of his chest by something without a scent. Maybe this thing killing these people knows how to block supernatural senses like smelling any hearing. "

Isaac snorted "This is so stupid." He spit. "The reason Lydia's not screaming is because these people aren't dead!"

Stiles shook his head. It wasn't that simple. It couldn't be that simple. He knew something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. "Explain what happened to Scott's dad then and the animal hair left at all of the scenes." He retorted.

"Who cares?! It was an animal attack, not a robbery. We all knew that. And the reason we didn't pick up a scent at the scene was because it was raining the night he died. The scent would've washed away before we got there. Beacon Hills isn't dangerous anymore. We haven't had another supernatural problem in years. Why are we questioning it?"

Stiles resisted the urge to scream. God, Isaac was so clueless sometimes. "Look-"

"We live by a forest, of course you're going to find animal DNA in houses. You come back here acting like we owe you our honesty or something and it pisses me off. This little investigation of yours is waste of all of our time. We don't miss Rafael and we don't care about these people who decided to make a statement and leave town. We have spent the last five years making sure this town is safe and I refuse to let you come back here and screw it up for us."

Isaac took a step closer to Stiles, invading his personal space and chuckling. "You're still the same coward you were back in high school, Stiles. I can smell it on you, you know? The fear, the anxiety, the guilt. Why do you feel so guilty, Stiles? Is it because you killed those police officers? Tortured your best friend? Or is it because you killed Allis-"

Before Stiles could think about what he was doing, he felt his fist connecting with Isaac's jaw. He knew it was a mistake immediately after he did it, but he still couldn't deny the joy he felt when he heard the crackling of bones beneath his fists. Isaac shrieked in pain and immediately staggered back in surprise, covering his jaw. He could feel the broken bones rapidly trying to repair themselves. Stiles had broken his jaw.

"Stiles!" Lydia screamed as she covered her mouth in shock.

Stiles didn't wait for a response from Isaac or the rest of the pack. He ran towards the front door, ignoring his throbbing hand and closed his eyes, begging his heart to calm down. "I can't do my job without you guys telling me the truth. I know I'm not wrong about this. There is something taking these people and whatever it is, it killed Rafael. " He said at the door, finally looking at everyone. They stood there, staring at him in shock and maybe in slight fear.

"If you all refuse to help me, I'll find a way to do it myself. I won't let someone else be taken." He said adamantly. He looked at Lydia for a moment, his heart dropping out of his chest at the sight of her tears. "I'm sorry." He muttered, looking directly at her. "I'm sorry."

He didn't really know what he had expected from this meeting, but it certainly wasn't this. He knew they wouldn't happily welcome him back in the group but he at least thought they'd be honest with him.

Whatever. If he had to find this creature all by himself, then he would. After all, he always was the brains of the pack, right? He didn't need them.

One way or another, he was solving this case.


Was this okay? I'm sorry if it sucks. There's not much Stydia in this chapter and to be honest, there won't be in the next one either BUT after that, Lydia will become a huge part of the story and will have at least one scene with Stiles every chapter.

Reviews would be lovely!