Hello! Sooo… did anyone else kinda think last night's episode was… weird? I dunno… Maybe it's just me. Also, this is a little shout-out to my reviewer Witchpencil… Please, oh please, review as much as you like! I love reviews and they always encourage writing… I only ever get a few reviewers, so it's always fun to get one that gives me such lengthy and awesome reviews. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE any review, even if it's just the small plea to 'write more'! But it's always fun to get one with a few sentences in it. I like feeling my readers' excitement.

OoooO

The world seemed to float past him; Stiles welcomed the numbness that surrounded him. He had survived the morning with his father, the two of them discussing the crime scene and potential leads, as well as how Scott and his pack might be able to help. They briefly discussed Clyde and the maagrim herself, but Stiles did his best to avoid talking about the subject in detail. He hadn't even noticed the time fly by until he was walking out to his car and bidding his father farewell… now he was wandering the halls as he made his way through the school and eventually to his first period class. He had yet to run into any of his usual crew, especially Scott.

"Stiles!"

He spoke too soon.

Stiles slowed to a stop as Scott ran towards him. "Stiles! Man, where have you been!?"

"Sorry, dude, it's been crazy on my end, too," Stiles began, halfheartedly defending himself.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you since yesterday!"

"Dad and I have been going through ridiculous amounts of evidence… He found three bodies and it's been hell ever since!"

Scott frowned. "I thought so…"

"You're… not surprised?"

Scott then proceeded to explain the events that had transpired the night before; everything about Clyde and the bodies and how he had managed to talk the others into holding off until the full moon… Stiles listened with as much interest as he could muster. Admittedly, Scott was killing the high that was making his pain bearable. "But I don't get why you didn't call me immediately! I thought being on the level was practically all you cared about! There're people being found, torn to bits… and you just forgot?"

"Forgot?" Stiles asked, feeling something inside him snap. "Forgot!?" He wasn't sure what came over him, but Stiles felt all care for social acceptability fall away from him and he finally let the frustration he'd been hiding well up, over-flow, and bowl Scott over. "Sorry if I've been a little distracted! I guess my cousin just died, I hardly ever sleep, and my father has been waist deep in bodies sine this whole werewolf shit-storm hit us! Not to mention that my only other surviving cousin justattempted suicide and is now being hospitalized under intense care, further cutting off the only living ties I have with my mom…and you and Allison and everyone else are running around fighting evil while I'm stuck here in my totally mortal shell, waiting on your word while you hide behind some… potential bad guy with cheeto-hair!"

A few people had stopped in the hall to observe the rant, but a single dark look from Stiles sent them the other way. Scott just stared at his best friend, his mouth slightly agape. "Stiles… I didn't know… why didn't you say-"

"Why didn't you ask," he growled, shoving past him. Scott outstretched his hand, but Stiles was already several paces away. Admittedly, the werewolf was completely dumbfounded. He had never been on the receiving end of what little rage Stiles had… and he had never seen it so… vehement before. He had been so wrapped up in the ongoing investigation with the bodies and the maagrim that he had been more focused on using Stiles than paying attention to how he was. Immediately, the guilt washed over him.

He had all but forgotten about Stiles' recent trip to his relatives' house and the loss that he had suffered… And he hadn't even considered attributing Stiles' recent checked-out attitude to further family problems. It was a terrible mistake that no best friend should do. He wanted to make up for it, but he wasn't quite sure how.

"You alright, man?" came Isaac's familiar voice. He clapped a hand on Scott's shoulder.

The alpha took a moment to respond, deciding that airing Stiles' family drama and emotional issues wasn't the best decision. "Yeah… yeah, let's go. I've got news from Stiles."

They continued on to class while Scott relayed what little information he gleaned from his best friend. He had already made a resolve; obviously, Stiles was pissed at him… and for a good reason, too. He'd give him some space for the time being, then do whatever he could to apologize.

OoooO

She wasn't sure how long she sat there and watched as fellow students walked past her into the high school. Lydia meant to go in a long time ago, but she feared that her composure would break… like it had a habit of doing when she was temporarily losing her sanity.

The young woman closed her eyes again, only for a second too long, and the images of her horrific nightmares flashed before her once more. Her nails dug into the soft rubber of her steering wheel cover as they ran rampant through her mind – dark, disturbing thoughts that did not belong to her. Most of them were filled only with flashes of blood and teeth, but a few of them showed her a glimpse of some place… a place she knew… a place she had been before… But it wasn't the images that scared her.

The paralyzing pain and fear that permeated these images did.

A sharp knock on her window startled her badly enough to elicit a small cry. "Lydia?" Allison mouthed through the window. Her face showed a surprising amount of concern. When Lydia looked into her review mirror, she realized that her face was streaked with tears. She quickly yet carefully wiped them away so as to not further smudge her makeup and then proceeded to exit her car as gracefully as possible.

"Are you alright?" Allison asked, slowly reaching out. The strawberry blonde shrugged away from her touch.

"I'm… I'm fine," she forced out. "Just had a rough night."

"Tell me about it," Allison said with a sigh. "You won't believe who showed up bloody and dying on my doorstep."

"The fact that anyone showing up at your doorstep, bloody and dying… is more believable than you think these days," Lydia replied as she stalked towards the school.

"It was Clyde."

Lydia stopped in her tracks. "…Clyde?" she asked quietly, not turning around.

Allison launched into the tale of how Clyde had nearly bled out on her bathroom floor. Lydia listened quietly, her eyes on the ground as her friend explained the entirety of their situation. "Basically… there isn't much time left to find the maagrim. Either she'll kill more people or she'll find her feeder."

"I need to talk to him," Lydia blurted out. Allison stared at her for a moment before replying.

"You want to see him? I did just tell you how he sucked the poison out of three different corpses…"

Lydia turned to her with a determined expression. "I need to see him… My dreams… I think he's messing with my dreams again."

"…is this why you had a rough night, Lydia?"

"Please, Allison. Just let me ask him why I keep dreaming about teeth, and fear, and… "

"How about no."

Both girls turned in surprise to see Ethan and Aiden standing behind them. Aiden took a step towards Lydia, his expression hard. "The last thing someone like you needs to do is go anywhere near that guy."

"Excuse me?" Lydia asked with surprising venom. "A girl like me?"

"Your bond… with the dead… with creatures of our… nature…" Ethan began, but his brother interrupted him.

"We don't know what he might try, especially since he's gotten into your head in the past… and now he's in your head again? No… just let us go talk to him. We'll straighten it out."

Lydia stared at the twins – mostly Aiden – incredulously for a moment before her sleeplessness and irritability final got the better of her patience.

"Listen to me, macho," she said, poking a finger in Aiden's chest. "I'll have you know that I was running around with these lunatics since before you two came around! And even then!? News flash, but you both used to be the bad guys! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to class, all by myself… to study and learn, all by myself… then walk back to my car after school, all by myself… and then drive to the Argent's and demand answers from my most recent tormentor… ALL. BY. MY. SELF."

With that, she turned on her heel and cat-walked into the school. Allison looked at the twins for a moment before turning and walking into the school as well. Ethan and Aiden just stared at each other.

Finally, Aiden let out a low growl.

"Women."

OoooO

The alpha werewolf set his lunch tray on the table and waited patiently for the rest of his crew, his pack, to arrive. His mind was a muddle of mixed emotions; not only were his friends and family and the rest of the town under attack from a seriously bad guy – or girl, as it were – but Scott just pissed off one of those people… all through sheer ignorance.

He released a sigh as Isaac took a seat next to him. "Rough morning?" the beta asked, not really caring what the answer was. As a result, Scott didn't respond.

"I don't suppose you've been able to pick up on a feeder yet, have you?"

Isaac took a big bite of his burger and shook his head. "No… I've hung around every dark corner I could think of in between classes, but there're a lot of kids here." He took another bite and spoke around the food in his mouth. "Ish imposshibul t' tel."

"What is?" Allison asked, taking a seat across from them.

Scott folded his hands under his chin and sighed again. "It's going to take too long to try and find the feeder in this whole school."

"I think we might have a solution to that," Allison commented.

Isaac and Scott looked at each other, then the beta asked, "…what?"

"Me."

Everyone turned to watch as Lydia crossed her arm and looked at them intensely. "You?" Scott asked. "But…"

"You look terrible," Isaac blurted out. He shrugged at the scowls that followed. "Sorry, you just look… tired."

"Yeah, I suppose that would be the case when a monster keeps invading your dreams," Lydia replied as she sat down.

"Clyde's been in your dreams again?" Scott asked. Lydia sighed and rubbed her temples.

"It's like… every time I close my eyes I see blood and sense fear… and those teeth…" She stopped at everyone's bewildered expressions. "Well? You asked?"

"Do you think it has anything to do with the bodies they found?" Scott asked. His friends stared at him a moment before he realized that no one knew about the police. "Oh, right… Stiles told me that the police found the bodies… they were at the station all night."

"Where is Stiles? I though he was supposed to get back to us?" Allison asked.

Immediately, Scott felt guilty all over again. Isaac gave him a sideways glance, but otherwise didn't react. "I think he's still trying to catch up on the school work he missed, so coach might have him now." It was a pathetic cover, but the others bought it.

"I suppose he knows what to do… to look out for… We're just stuck searching, then?" Allison asked.

"Just keep an eye out… Let Isaac or I know if you see anyone that fits the profile, okay?" Scott instructed. She nodded. "Lydia…?"

"Yes, oh, dear, prodigious leader?" she asked, not looking up from her makeup mirror.

"Let me go with you… to see Clyde. Just in case, alright?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, "…fine." Everyone at the table visible relaxed.

"Good. Glad we got that out of the way," Isaac commented. "Now, let's just hurry up and find the monster's bitch."

Their conversation carried on in much the same manner, but Scott let his mind wander to Stiles, suddenly making a connection: the maagrim was attracted to those of emotional despair… and that made him a potential target. His heart skipped a beat at the thought and a sudden panic washed through him.

Isaac slowed down, mid-sentence, noting Scott's sudden change in behavior. "…Scott?"

"It's nothing…" he mumbled, but he knew he had to find Stiles and warn him… he just hoped that his dearest friend wasn't too mad to listen.

OoooO

It had been surprisingly easy to avoid his friends for the day. No matter if they were only a foot away before he noticed them, he was able to vanish right back into the crowd. More than once he had spotted Scott peeking through the throng of students in an attempt to locate him – most likely to apologize… But Stiles was still able to disappear.

He contributed part of it to how little like himself he seemed. He didn't walk, talk, even feel the same, so it would almost be impossible for the wolves to pick him up on vibes and posture alone. That and he really didn't care to be found. The painkillers had waned until he no longer felt them, making way for the pain to resurface… and boy was it resurfacing.

Each step was worse than the next. He couldn't even muster the energy to make it to his final class for the day. In his previous classes, his friends were finally able to pick up on the fact that he was ignoring them all… especially Scott. However, they let him be and he was thankful for it… But it wasn't going to make the rest of the day any easier.

So, sparing not another second, Stiles slipped through a group of students and into the men's restroom. Thankfully, it was unoccupied. A few moments later, the bell rang. Stiles was in a stall, his bag open, and pills in his hand before it stopped ringing. After swallowing them and waiting yet another handful of moments, the ringing in his head stopped as well.

"…" Admittedly, Stiles knew that this wasn't going to work forever. As he sat on the floor of the bathroom stall, all he could think as numbness fell over him was that he couldn't hide from his friends or his father, not like this and not for very long. They truly had no choice but to find Daliah – to find that she-devil that had killed his cousin and was trying to kill him… It was time to talk.

A slight weightlessness filled him as he came to that resolve, though he couldn't deny that it might just be the drugs. However, Stiles was ready to confront the others about what had been happening since before he come home from his relatives' house, that the bodies were a result of his own stupidity, that Daliah was taunting him even now… He was sure the guilt would hit him later, but not now. Now, he just wanted to ride that euphoria a little while longer…

He stood... only to sway as dizziness overtook him. "Woah…" he whispered. As much as he hated to admit it, Stiles couldn't talk to his friends in his current state. Whether or not they were going to be furious about Daliah, Stiles was sure that this would only worsen that fury. "I need to sleep it off…" he mumbled.

With that, he decided to skip his last class and head home for a power nap. His father wouldn't show up too much later and he could tell him, then Scott and the others about his ordeal. Again, he felt relieved to finally be rid of his burden. He didn't even bother fetching his homework, instead opting to drive straight home to the comfort of his living room couch… where the sounds of his father coming home not two hours later would wake him – before nightfall – and all would be resolved.

OoooO

"He left early again?" Allison asked. Scott didn't reply. "Scott… is everything okay with you two?"

"…I don't know," he finally answered. At that point, Lydia stepped in to save him from talking about it.

"Sooo… are you all coming with me?" she asked. Scott and Allison glanced back to see that Lydia was not only accompanied by Isaac, but also by the Twins.

"…looks like," Aiden said, putting his helmet on. Both Lydia and Ethan sighed heavily, but no argument was made against him. Instead, they all drove off to the Argent house in a nearly comical procession. They lived not too far from the school, so it didn't take long.

Clyde didn't seem too surprised to see them all gathering before him in Argent's study. "Quite the 'get well group' you've assembled here," he said, the words lilting in that odd accent of his.

"Why are you in my dreams again?" Lydia asked, stepping forward to get straight to the point. Clyde blinked at her sudden interjection, but sighed quietly in resignation.

"I was just… sharing information."

"You really think that filling my dreams with fear and violence is going to make me feel better?" Lydia asked sarcastically. Clyde narrowed his eyes. Scott glanced at the other wolves with him, but they remained calm.

"I pick up things from her sometimes… I thought that you would share what you saw with the others. With me. That you would see something I didn't."

"How about you just tell us what you know and what you want!?" Lydia finally exclaimed. Everyone else fell silent. It was the same question, the same problem that had come up since the moment Clyde came into their lives. His secrecy had been a minor issue before, but now that he was tapping into Lydia's brain yet again, there was no avoiding it. And Clyde knew it. The others sensed his seeming defeat.

"You're right," he conceded. "I'm sorry for the secrets… I was only trying to protect myself. I didn't… I didn't want you to…"

"To what?!"

"I DID NOT WANT YOU TO KILL HER FIRST!"

Again, silence filled the room. The motive was finally clear to Scott and the others.

Clyde spoke, quietly this time. "I wanted to kill her… to be the one to end her life for all the life she's destroyed around her… including mine. She made me this… killer… and I had no say in the matter." He stopped to glance at the werewolves, lingering on Scott. "I'm sure you can understand."

"But, because you were withholding all of this information," Allison said tersely, "people have been turning up dead… and some poor soul is out there, slowly being drained to death."

"It was a sacrifice I was willing to make," Clyde replied.

Scott felt anger flare up inside of him. "No more secrets. Ever again. You either help us, or we remove you from the equation," he stated. Surprised expressions colored everyone's faces, though none spoke out against his words. He was right; Clyde was causing more problems instead of helping them solve the big one at hand. He either changed his game up, or he had to get out of town.

Clyde lowered his head a moment, as if in contemplation. "….you're right." He raised his head, eyes glowing their strange amber color. "I think I'm strong enough now to help you… Tomorrow, I'll return to the school, we'll find the feeder, and we'll end this misery before it gets any worse than I've already allowed it to. Besides," he paused, looking directly at Lydia. "I think we could very much use your help."

Lydia blinked, obviously not liking the sound of that at all. "…how so?"

"If you allow these visions to continue," Clyde explained, "there's a chance you can figure out where the maagrim is hiding… It will be unpleasant, as your dreams will be riddled with horrible images, but… it could be of great use."

"…fine. I'll do it."

Allison stepped forward, gently laying her hand on Lydia's shoulder. "Are you sure…?"

Lydia nodded. "The sooner we kill this thing, the better, right? I didn't already endure countless sleepless nights for nothing."

OoooO

Fear pierced Stiles' mind as he awoke in darkness. Already disoriented from the sudden awakening, the fact that it was dark made it even worse. How!? he screamed at himself. He had planned it perfectly… and his nap was only supposed to be a couple hours at the most… and his father was supposed to wake him… The blinking green light from his phone caught his eye and he slowly reached for it. The time read 9:15. Damnit.

He flipped it open and listened to the voicemail from his father explaining that he'd be out late, catching up on the weekend's paperwork and such. Stiles' heart dropped into his feet. He was home alone. At night. In the dark. Without any means to defend himself.

Thinking quickly, the teen reached for his backpack. His head didn't even hurt, but he wanted every reason on the planet to refuse what he knew was coming for him. Unfortunately, he was too late.

"Stiles…"

He froze. Slowly emerging from the darkness, Stiles could barely make out the curvy shape that belonged to Daliah. Moonlight peeked through the curtains and a single beam revealed her blood-stained feet. "Stiles, it's been a long time."

He shook his head and closed his eyes as he attempted to put her sultry, southern voice out of his head. "No," he said. "I… I want nothing to do with you."

"I can tell," she said. Stiles could practically hear the smirk in her voice. "How are those pills working out by the way?"

"Get out of my house," Stiles forced through his teeth.

"You know, pills are dangerous. I mean, sure, they helped you, but… They got three people killed the other night."

Stiles' heart seemed to stop in his chest. "The other night…"

"That's right," she cooed, taking a step closer. "Those bodies? Their blood? It's on your hands."

"…liar," he whispered.

"Stiles," she sighed, taking yet another step closer. "I'm not a monster… What you made me do to those people? I don't want to do that… I only hunger for you."

"Please. Get. Out," he said again.

"If you had just been there for me, like how I've been easing your pain…"

"I'll tell everyone," the teen suddenly stated. He kept his gaze to the ground, but managed to straighten up and square his shoulders. "I'll tell the wolves, the hunters… everyone."

"And I'll go on a violent warpath," Daliah replied. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut as a stab of pain tore through them. "I don't want to, Stiles… but you're the only one strong enough to feed me… to help me…"

Maybe it was the darkness. Maybe it was her voice. Maybe it was the comedown from the pills. Maybe it was everything all wrapped up in one. Or, maybe he was just weak. Pathetic. In any case, the walls seemed to collapse in on Stiles' resolve. There was nothing he could do, now… He had let the misery progress to an unstoppable point; either he refuses her and let everyone around him die or he could just accept his fate and save innocent people.

Daliah knew she had him, too.

"I can make it easier," she whispered, stepping up to him. Gently, she touched his arm and a tingle ran across his skin. "I want to ease your pain, not make it worse…"

A tear fell down Stiles' cheek. She wiped it away, sending more shivers through the teen's body. Without saying another word, she grabbed his hand ever so tenderly and led him out of the living room and up the stairs. Stiles never made eye contact, but no matter how hard he tried, he just could not turn away. Eventually, they made it to his room where Daliah closed the door behind them. In an instant, her arms were around him.

"Just relax," she whispered. "Let me help you forget…"

She placed a gentle kiss upon the nape of his neck. A small sensation of weightlessness overcame Stiles as she did so again and again. "Relaaax," she whispered. He did.

And she took her bite.

OoooO

Scott sighed in frustration. A week since Clyde returned to school and the wolves had started putting in double time on finding the feeder and nothing. The trails of blood outside the school had tried up as well, though Scott couldn't say that was a bad thing. The lack of bodies only confirmed that the maagrim had found her feeder and was slowly gaining strength… and slowly killing whoever it was that was under her spell.

It was obvious that Clyde was weakening, day by day, though he had yet to show up like he did in previous weeks; sickly, near death… It was frustrating him, that much was obvious, but his cooperation was greatly welcomed. Even if they were getting nowhere, at least they could stop questioning Clyde as well as keep a closer eye on him.

Derek, Peter, and Deaton also had little luck locating the maagrim as well. Despite prowling the streets in shifts they had turned up empty. Altogether, they weren't making as much progress as they had hoped.

And, to add to it all, Stiles seemed to have all but vanished. Scott and the others, even Lydia, had called and texted the boy, tried to hunt him down at school, at home…but he was never to be found. After a while, Scott was able to deduce that his best friend was actually avoiding them all. It was so unlike Stiles to distance himself during the midst of one of their supernatural investigations…

The bell rang and Scott packed up to leave class. As the week had progressed and he noticed Stiles' antisocial behavior, he began to notice something else, too. The other teen seemed sleepless, yet on high alert, as if someone might attack him at any moment. Then, at the drop of a class period, he'd be totally relaxed, almost out of it. The circles under his eyes and paleness of his skin troubled the werewolf and he couldn't help but think of the feeder they were so desperately trying to hunt down. "It can't be him," he whispered to himself as he left the classroom. "It's never Stiles."

As if on cue, the students cleared the halls and Scott spotted his friend slowly trudging his way to math. Realizing that he may or may not have another opportunity, he ran to Stiles. "Wait!" he called out. "Stiles, please!"

The teen glanced backward for a split second, but continued onward. Scott growled quietly in frustration. Without caring if anyone saw him, he poured on the werewolf speed and managed to get around Stiles and slam him against the wall. "Jesus, what the hell, man!?" Stiles shouted in alarm. Scott just stared him down with glowing red eyes.

"No, you," he said, his voice low. "What the hell is up with you?"

"I dunno if you know this, but that's a really vague question. Can I go, now? I'm late and you're giving me a compound fracture."

The alpha suddenly realized how hard he was holding Stiles' shoulder against the wall and released him. The other teen's shoulder slumped forward disjointedly. "Jesus! Let me see it… Stiles, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't worry about," Stiles grumbled. "It's probably just bruised."

"We should go to the nurse… I'm so sorry…"

"Please, just forget about it!" Stiles plead with his friend, but Scott wouldn't have it.

"Stiles, what is wrong with you!?"

Deciding to ignore him, Stiles tried to walk away, but Scott barred him with an arm. "Scott…"

"Stiles, please… I'm sorry about your shoulder… just talk to me… what's wrong?"

"Just leave me alone!"

With a strength that did not match his ever-slight frame, Stiles shoved Scott back several feet and stalked off. Scott was too stunned to stop him.

In that moment, however, Scott caught it… a faint scent.

Honey.