Chapter Seven

"Courage"

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The tires of Stiles' jeep screeched to a halt in front of the animal clinic. Stiles didn't bother to park in the lot, but left the vehicle running by the side of the curb. He jogged over to the door and knocked on it, then rang the bell for emergency assistance, rang it again, and went back to knocking on the door.

Deaton's face appeared on the other side of the glass. The older man looked baffled and a little annoyed as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. He watched Stiles silently, awaiting an explanation.

Stiles cleared his throat, trying to appear more casual. "Uh - hey, uh, how's it - uh..." He rubbed a hand over his short hair, smiling awkwardly. "I'm a friend of Scott's, I need to see him. Family emergency..." Stiles trailed off as he held up his phone for a second.

Deaton took a good long look in both directions, up and down the street, before looking at Stiles again. "Look..."

"Stiles," supplied Stiles impatiently.

"Stiles," obliged Deaton, opening the door more fully and pushing his hands into the pockets of his white lab coat. "The hours are posted on the door, eight to seven-thirty. I'm sorry, but we're closed."

"I know, I get it - I just have to see Scott," said Stiles with increasing urgency.

Deaton shook his head. "Scott doesn't stay here after hours, Stiles. You wouldn't have been able to find him here at this hour. You wouldn't have had any luck earlier, though, either. Scott didn't show up for work today."

Stiles felt his heart sink. "What, you mean... he called out sick or something?"

"No, I didn't get a call from him. It's not like him at all." The gaze he levelled on Stiles was almost like an X-ray.

Stiles took a step back, nodding his head. He felt cold and clueless. Something was very wrong.

"So you haven't heard from him at all tonight..." he said apprehensively.

Deaton gave him a strange look. "Is something going on, Stiles? Something I should know about?"

Stiles looked down at his phone, and scrolled through the texts from Scott's number. His breathing was a little uneven.

"Stiles," pressed Deaton calmly.

Stiles looked up again. "I don't know where my friend is," he blurted out in an undertone. "I have to go." Without waiting for a reply, Stiles turned, raising his phone to his ear as he jogged back to his Jeep.

On the other end of the line, he heard the phone ring three times. Finally, there was a click as the call was answered.

"Hello?"

"Allison," breathed Stiles with a flood of relief. "You have to listen to me, ok - ?"

"Stiles?" Came Allison's voice, sounding confused. "What's going on?"

"Listen, Allison," said Stiles urgently. "Are you listening?"

There was a pause. Then Allison's voice returned, sounding even more bewildered. "Yes..."

Stiles jumped into the front seat of the Jeep, and turned the key. The engine roared to life. "I need to see your dad, Allison. Right now, tonight."

Another pause. "My... my Dad? Stiles, what on earth are you - ?"

"Allison!" Stiles barely refrained from shouting. "Tell him to meet me at the park, tell him it's about Derek. He'll know what I mean. Allison, please."

There was a small, incredulous chuckle on the other end of the line, but Allison sounded worried. "Okay," she agreed. "Alright, I'll go get him. Stiles - is Scott with you?"

"Tell him to step on it," said Stiles grimly, and he hung up the phone.

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The weakening effects of the wolfsbane had subsided.

Scott made a sharp grunting sound as Peter lifted off of him. When he felt the sudden relief, he kicked himself back into go mode. His feet shot under him and he jumped up. Peter's arm came out of nowhere, circling tightly around his chest and he was thrown backward against the staircase.

Scott hit the stairs hard. Wood splintered around him, flying in different directions. He tried to roll, but Peter's legs were blocking his way. He reached blindly for the railing and grabbed onto it, using it to lift himself up. His legs swung around in a wide arc into Peter, fast as the blink of an eye. Peter went flying backward. He hit the wall and tumbled to all fours.

That was when the alpha's real shift began.

Peter's already-broad frame lengthened, his muscles bulging against his jacket. The strong fabric of his shirt and jacket ripped, and the garment fell off him in tatters. His shoulders elongated and the length of his arms extended quickly with painful snapping sounds.

It all happened in the span of a breath.

Suddenly the alpha crouched before Scott in all his glory: black, fur-covered skin stretched across broad, rippling muscles; the alpha's eyes glowed red in his dark, elongated face. He raised his head to the ceiling and opened his jaws in an ear-splitting howl.

Scott tried to disentangle himself from the shattered stairs, with a gasp in Derek's direction. "Derek, what's taking so long?"

"The laces!" Yelled Derek. He had stopped caring whether Peter found out, and he wasn't bothering to hold his free hand behind his back anymore. "They're broken, both ends - they're useless! Just get out of here!"

Scott cursed inwardly, his eyes shooting back to the alpha. He scrambled a few steps back and lowered down, his claws digging deeply into the floor. His eyes pulsed gold as he squared to Peter, his heart beating a violent tattoo against the inside of his ribs.

"GET THE HELL OUT!"

But Scott ignored Derek's command.

The alpha charged.

Scott was as ready as he could be. He ran forward at the same time as Peter, lowering his shoulders and catching Peter around the middle in a violent clash. The two of them spun in a whirl; Scott trying to get Peter off his feet, and Peter toying with Scott a little, keeping him slightly at bay.

Scott tore into Peter's torso with his nails, taking great swipes as he fought to get to him.

Peter gave a mighty shove, and Scott was hurled backward. Scott landed on his back and skidded along the floorboards, raising his head just in time to see the alpha's enormous form launching toward him from above.

Scott bent his knees and arched his back, kicking hard as he could as Peter lunged. He caught the alpha in the groin, sending him flying past in a tumble of limbs.

Scott's kick flipped Peter in mid-air, and he hit the opposite wall, landing on his head. Quickly righting himself, he gave his head a little shake, and turned around to face Scott again. His lips twitched with a loud, dangerous growl.

Scott knew the only way out of this was to keep fighting, or he would be killed.

This time, it was Scott that charged. With an angry roar he launched toward Peter's dark, hulking form.

As Peter leaped to receive him, Scott jumped high into the air, avoiding Peter's flashing claws. His nails dug into Peter's shoulder from the air and the beta swung around, fastening himself to the alpha's back. He clung with his legs and slashed at the back of Peter's neck with his hands, twisting his body sharply to try to unbalance his opponent.

Peter roared, reaching over his shoulder and slashing at Scott, trying to dislodge him. Scott felt the slashes and he felt the blood, but not the pain.

Peter grabbed onto Scott's legs, his nails puncturing muscle, and slammed backward into the wall. The wall gave in, and Scott and Peter fell into the thick cloud of dust and ash behind it. Scott rolled away from Peter and whirled around to face him again, blood streaming from his injuries. His eyes were sharp through the fog of ashes, and he could see the gleaming streams of blood on the alpha as well. But those injuries were already healing before his eyes... his own were not.

The alpha didn't give Scott a chance to recuperate. He attacked again, and Scott found himself forced backward through the hole in the wall. He tripped on the broken wood, and scrambled back to his feet just in time to avoid a vicious strike to his face. Peter jumped back into the basement and attacked in earnest. He ran toward Scott, who jumped backward onto a table.

But Peter was a step ahead of him. The alpha swiftly kicked the front legs out from under the table, sending Scott flying toward him.

Scott used his sudden momentum to jump again, trying not to collide with Peter. He almost cleared the alpha, but Peter grabbed onto one of his legs, forcing him out of the air and slamming him to the ground.

Scott kicked with his free leg, adrenaline and fear pumping through his veins.

Peter lifted him by the leg again, and slammed him down once more. Then he jumped over him, landing with his feet on either side of Scott's shoulders. He grasped the boy by the neck and heaved him off the floor.

With supernatural strength, Peter flung him backward against the wall. When Scott hit the wall he almost fell forward, losing his bearings, but Peter was already on him.

The alpha raised his arm and delivered a lightning fast strike, his nails gauging deeply into the boy's stomach, and ripping through.

Scott gave a choked-off cry of pain and doubled over, wrapping his arms around his middle. He dropped to his knees, curling inward, his breaths catching in his throat as he fell forward, barely catching himself on one arm. He could feel warm blood rushing past his other arm from the deep wounds, trickling heavily to the floor. He groaned, trying to look up, turning halfway onto his side to see the alpha. He tried to push himself along the floor.

The alpha drew nearer. Even on that wolf-like, alien face, Scott thought he could see a smirk of victory.

The alpha bent over him, kneeling. He put a long, clawed hand on Scott's chest and pushed down. Scott's arm was pushed from under him and he collapsed to the floor under Peter's hand. He kept his arm curled tightly around his deep wounds.

Peter brought his unrecognizably shifted face close to Scott's, looking him in the eyes. Then, he broke eye contact, raising his head and opening his mouth. The victory roar that followed was just like the one that had followed Derek's defeat.

The power of the sound made Scott's bones vibrate and his head spin. He dropped his head to the floor, trying to focus on breathing. The resounding howl caught him in the chest, capturing his mind momentarily. He felt so drawn to it, and so commanded by it. He needed to fight it, he needed to end it... that roar wouldn't take him...

Another roar joined the alpha's, and it was a moment before Scott realized it was his own roar. A rough, keening roar that rose from his lips in desperation.

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Derek had exhausted the option of picking the locks. He had broken the ends of the laces... his touch didn't have as much finesse as Scott's apparently did.

As the roars of the other two filled the room and echoed off the walls as they fought, Derek's eyes were searching frantically around him. The pipe was too strong, and the cuffs weren't giving him an inch. He would have to find another way... and soon.

He tugged hard on the cuffs, jerking them roughly, drawing blood from his wrists. He turned around and sat back, leaning away, and kicked at the pipe with his feet, looking for weaknesses.

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Thank you for your wonderful reviews! Hugs and kisses! ; ) Please keep them coming, they keep the wheel spinning! Warning: next chapter will contain attempted noncon that involves a minor. Aka sexual assault. If this is a trigger, please avoid! I love you all.