Chapter 9 – There Has To Be A Way
"So where exactly are we going? Where does he even live?" I ask from the backseat of Stiles' jeep. We were heading to explore Peter's place that he was currently living at.
"He lives in an apartment downtown . Though for him, a network of caves would have suited him better. He even said that to me once...though he was being sarcastic," Stiles comments.
From the passenger seat, Lydia snorts at the idea.
"So who tracked him here anyway?" I ask curiously.
"Uh, well it was Scott and Isaac first and then Aiden and Ethan did as well. Just to make sure that Peter went to the same place."
Ever since the new discovery that Peter may be targeting me, all of the werewolves have been following Peter and have been on high alert for anything to happen. I have practically had a body guard ever since.
I look out the window and watch as the houses and stores rush by us. It was a nice day out today. It's been raining for the past few days, so a sunny day is very welcoming. More stores past us, and I watch as groups of teens walk down the busy sidewalks.
I can faintly hear Stiles' tapping his hands on the steering wheel and Lydia typing away at her phone. I begin to fidget as it becomes clear that we were getting closer to Peter's hideout. The jeep stops at a few more lights before Stiles' turns down another street. A few minutes later, he pulls up to a curb and cuts the engine. Silently, the three of us climb out of the jeep and make our way towards the building that we pulled up in front of. The building looks fairly normal from the outside. The paint doesn't seem to be rusting or anything. I'm pretty sure I spotted a garden as we walked inside the front doors. So far, it doesn't seem like a place Peter Hale would even live. I don't even know the guy and this doesn't seem to suit him. But, then again, you have to keep up appearances, don't you. I've found that out the hard way.
The elevator ride was short and we soon made it to the third floor, where we were told he lived.
"How do we know he is not here?" The last thing I'm looking forward to, is Peter coming back and finding us in his apartment. It's not like Lydia, Stiles or I have super werewolf hearing. We wouldn't hear him coming until it was too late.
"Peter apparently went to see Derek and Cora today. Scott and Isaac are following him though." Stiles says as we make our way down the hallway, looking for apartment number 304.
"On Scott's motorcycle, which Peter will probably be able to recognize?" I ask. If that was the case, then Peter will be on to us very fast.
"Actually, no. They are borrowing Allison's dad's car," Stiles replies.
"Oh. So do they know we are here?"
I had a feeling they didn't.
"Uh, not really. Scott told me not to come here. And Isaac agreed with him as well."
"Then what are we going to do if Peter does come back and they don't know we are here?"
"Allison knows." Lydia speaks up.
"You told her!" Stiles exclaims. I swear I hear someone tell us to shut up from inside their apartment.
"What?" Lydia raises her eyebrow. "I wasn't about to walk in here blindsided and not knowing if we would run into him. I did it for safety precautions." Lydia says, returning to her phone.
"Ugh," Stiles grunts.
"That's the most you have spoken this whole time. You texting Aiden?" I nod to Lydia's phone in her hands.
She looks towards me and smiles. "I'm texting Allison. She actually went with them to spy on Peter."
"Really? That should be a joyful ride," Stiles comments. We stop in front of room 304 and stare at the door.
"How are we supposed to get in?" Lydia questions Stiles.
"Why are you looking at me?" he asks.
Lydia arches her eyebrow at him and waits.
"Any ideas, anyone?" I ask knowing that we shouldn't be wasting any time.
Lydia searches through her purse and takes out a bobby pin.
Classic breaking and entering tool.
It takes a few moments, but we hear the lock click and Stiles turns the door knob and makes his way inside. Lydia and I follow him and close the door behind us.
"Well, it sure looks nicer than the loft. Must hand it to him, he has better taste than Derek," Stiles comments once we are inside. Though I have never seen Derek's place; Stiles has mentioned his previous living conditions. This apartment actually looks in good condition. There's not much furniture, but it's actually clean and newer looking than what we had expected.
"Anything in particular we are looking for?" Lydia asks. I run my fingers lightly over a few books that we laying out on the coffee table. They looked old and rusty.
"Anything that proves he is up to something," I hear Stiles reply. I look around and see that he isn't even in the room. I glance at Lydia, who I see is wandering around the living room as well. She meets my eyes and shrugs her shoulders. I hear feet pounding and I see Stiles emerge from somewhere else in the apartment.
"Where were you?"
"His bedroom. Nothing too exciting in there."
"Okay. Nothing out here so far." We continue to search in silence, hoping to find any clues. All the apartment seemed to contain was his laptop and old books. I catch Stiles eyeing me as I look at the laptop sitting on the coffee table.
"Do you think-"
"No."
"What, why not? Come on!"
"No. It's too risky."
"What is?" Lydia glances up from her spot near the kitchen.
"Stiles wants me to hack into Peter's computer."
"Oh. Well why not?"
"Well, for starters," I walk over and open up the laptop to see that Peter left it on, but he logged off. "He logged off, and the only way I can get on at the moment is by typing in his password. I can only hack into a system if I have a computer already logged in."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Besides, we're already pushing it with being here in the first place."
"I don't really see what would be on there anyway. Peter seems to already have a plan, and I don't think it involved internet research. Probably some spying, but no research." Lydia comments.
"Spying. How comforting," I mutter under my breath.
Stiles sighs, obviously getting frustrated. "There has to be something that will tell us what he is up to."
"Well..." I begin, thinking. "What does Peter want a lot?"
"Well, besides being alpha again, I don't know." Stiles replies. I few seconds past and he turns to me again. "Oh my god! Scott!"
"What?" I ask confused.
"Scott's the True Alpha. He's the only alpha Peter will dare to go after," Stiles exclaims.
"We need to warn Scott then." Lydia says, coming up to stand beside me.
"Yeah," I agree. I wait for Stiles to agree, but when I look at him, he seemed to be in deep thought.
"What is it?"
Stiles doesn't reply.
"Wait." A thought just occurred to me. "What would Peter want with me."
"That's what I am trying to figure out," Stiles replies. "Maybe – maybe he's trying to complete his mission from before."
"Before what?" Lydia and I ask at the same time. I look at her and we exchange a smile.
"Before, when he was the alpha. Peter had a plan to build a pack. That's why he bit Scott. He spent all that time trying to get Scott and Derek into his pack. He even asked me if I wanted the bite."
"He did?" Lydia asks.
Stiles nods his head. "Yeah. So, maybe that is what he is trying to do."
"He wants to be an alpha again. So once he steals it back, he's going to build his pack," I say. "He wants me apart of his pack, doesn't he?"
"I think so," Stiles replies. We were all trying to think of our next course of action when we heard a loud bang from outside. I run to the window and glance out of it. There was nothing there. I turn back to look at Stiles and Lydia, who both are on alert.
"We should get out of here," Lydia tells us. Stiles and I both agree with her and we quickly make our way towards the door, while making sure that everything was how Peter left it.
"Wait," I call to Stiles as he is the first person out of the apartment.
He turns back to me. "What?"
"Isn't Peter going to know we were here? Our scent is probably all over the place."
"Right." Stiles reaches inside his pocket and pulls out a baggy of powder. The powder was a clear colour and it was hard to see it. He puts his hand inside, grabs a handful and starts throwing it over the floor of the apartment.
"What are you doing?" Lydia questions from the doorway.
"Deaton gave this to me. It's supposed to hide a human's scent from a wolf's nose. He shouldn't know we were here, if this actually works," Stiles explains. Once he is finished, he stuffs the baggy in his pocket again and follows us out the door. We make sure the door is locked again before heading to the elevators. The elevator ride was short and fast, which was comforting since I can tell we all wanted to get out of there.
"You sure are picking up on all this stuff pretty fast," Lydia comments to me. "I'm impressed."
"Thanks," I reply. "It's all coming together and becoming easier to understand.
"You'll get used to it in no time," Stiles tells me from his place on Lydia's left. I take note of how close they are walking together and make a note in my head to ask Stiles about it later. Something has happened with them. I don't think that Lydia would tell me anything. She would probably deny anything I asked.
As we came to a stop in front of Stiles' jeep, something seemed off. "What happened to my car?" Stiles demands as we steps closer to the hood. He pulls it up and looks inside.
I move to stand beside him and look over his shoulder. "I think someone messed with your brakes."
"I see that," Stiles replies shortly.
"No need for the attitude now," I retort back though I know he is just getting more frustrated by the minute.
"What are we going to do?" Stiles asks us, exasperated.
"Call someone I guess," Lydia tells us, with a tone like it was an obvious solution.
"Okay, but who? Everyone thinks we are at home. We are not even supposed to be here!" Stiles exclaims. He slams the hood back down and leans against it.
"Calm down," I tell him. We didn't need him getting any panic attacks or anxiety attacks right now. We needed to figure out a way to fix this problem and get home.
"I know who we can call," Lydia says. I take on look at her and know who she is suggesting.
"No," I deadpan.
"They are our only option," Lydia reminds me. I look at Stiles for help, but he just shrugs. Sighing, I turn back to Lydia.
"Fine." She smiles and pulls her phone out to text Aiden.
25 minutes later, Aiden pulls up on his motorcycle with Ethan sitting behind him. I was surprised that he wasn't on his.
"Hey," Aiden greets us as they get off the bike and make their way towards us. Aiden goes straight for the hood of the jeep and gestures for Stiles to move. I watch as he does as he is told and Aiden lifts up the hood. I hear Ethan walk up beside me. I turn and see him smile at me. I smile sadly back at him and then turn back to watch Aiden continue his work.
"Why didn't you take your bike?" I blurt out to Ethan. I feel his gaze on the side of my face, but I keep my focus on Aiden, Stiles and Lydia.
"We figured that one of us should ride back with you guys, in case something happens. Two motorcycles with 5 people wouldn't work out really well. So, I'm going to ride back with you guys."
"Oh." I didn't know how the car ride was going to go now that I was going to be stuck in the same car as Ethan. This was why I didn't want to call them.
It takes only a few more minutes before Aiden finishes up fixing the jeep.
"We think it was Peter." Aiden tells Ethan and I.
"Seriously? So he knows we were here," I exclaim.
The twins nod at us.
"Well, we should go before he comes back," Stiles tells us. I could tell that even he was anxious to leave the area.
"Are you going to tell Scott you were here?" I ask Stiles.
Stiles looks at me and groans at the mention of Scott. "Yeah. I guess I have to, don't I? He's going to be so pissed that we came here."
Nobody says anything and we all move to our cars. Lydia goes with Aiden to his motorcycle and Ethan follows me to Stiles' jeep. He gestures for me to get into the front seat of the jeep as Stiles' make his way to the driver's side and Ethan opens the backdoor for himself.
I catch Aiden smile at me and Ethan together before he gets on the bike with Lydia and they take off. I hop into the front seat and shut manage to get the door shut before Stiles turns on the engine and pulls away from the curb.
The car ride was awkward, to say the least. For once, Stiles has chosen not to say a word. He doesn't have convenient timing. He is just sitting there humming away at nothing in particular. He wouldn't even let me turn on the radio! Ethan is quiet as well. I assume it is because Stiles is there. Seconds turns into minutes of Stiles humming and tapping his fingers on the wheel and it is starting to get to me.
"Stiles!" I snap. I see him flinch and he quickly stops tapping and humming.
The look on his face makes me begin to feel a little guilty. It's not like he can help it. "Sorry," I apologize.
"Not a problem, Danny Boy."
"Soo..." Stiles begins as soon as I turn my face towards the window to look out and distract myself. I didn't know what to say to Ethan. I didn't want to be alone with him, and it seemed even weirder being around him with Stiles around.
"You two seem friendlier," Stiles comments. I turn and give Stiles a glare and I feel Ethan looking at us as well. Stiles glances in the rear view mirror and takes note of Ethan's expression, and without even looking, I can tell that it is similar to mine.
"Okay, then," Stiles says when it appears neither Ethan or I are going to comment on Stiles' statement. I didn't feel like discussing my relationship with Ethan at all, much less with Stiles and definitely not with Ethan present in the backseat.
"Why does it have to be weird? Why can't we be friends?" Ethan pipes up from the backseat. Stiles spares me a glance and I look down at my lap.
"Maybe because of everything you've done and have attempted to do," Stiles states. I smile at him appreciatively for answering.
"I haven't hurt anyone," Ethan says.
I turn my seat and look at him in disbelief.
"Really?" I snap at him. Ethan flinches at my tone.
"Not physically at least."
"Did you remember Boyd and Erica? How about Isaac? He was pretty bruised up from you guys," Stiles remarks coldly.
Ethan doesn't reply and leans forward towards me. "I'm sorry," he whispers to me.
"For what? Danny finding out about your plan?" Stiles questions. I give him a glance and silently thank him for his help, which he smiles at me in return.
I turn back to look at Ethan. "I know. It doesn't change anything though," I tell him. Ethan frowns and I turn back in my seat so that I don't have to watch him absorb what I said. The car stretches into a long silence. Stiles is dead quiet from the front seat, and so is Ethan from the backseat. I look out my window again and notice that we were pulling onto a street that I didn't recognize. The jeep passes by a few small houses before it gets to an apartment building and Stiles stops the jeep at the curb. I look and notice Aiden's motorcycle nearby. This must be their apartment. I feel a little annoyed that I have never been here before, but I sit in silence and wait for Ethan to get out of the jeep.
"So, thanks for the ride Stiles," Ethan says.
"It's fine," Stiles replies shortly and looks at me. I glance back at him as Ethan opens the jeep door and moves to get out.
"See you later Danny," Ethan tells before shutting the door and making his way towards the building.
"Yeah, see you," I reply quietly, already knowing that he will hear me.
"You okay?" Stiles asks me carefully. I look at him again for a moment and then at my lap.
"Yeah," I nod my head. "I will be."
"Okay, take you home then?"
"Yeah, thanks." Stiles nods and once again the jeep is moving through the streets.
