Stiles wasn't laughing anymore. Usually when he got hurt in a situation like this, he would say a snide comment and laugh it off. This was not one of those times. He was watching his friends stand in fear of his father. This person in front of them was so not his father. He didn't want to hurt him but he knew he couldn't let his friends get hurt.
Keilani looked smug from across the fire. None of them understood what her endgame was but they knew she was gunning for them. Stiles looked at Isaac as he pulled Thierry to her feet. They were talking to each other. It seemed Isaac was trying to convince Thierry to do something but she was having none of it. They walked back to the group as they kind of assembled together.
"What should we do?" Scott asked.
"Kill him," Deucalion said.
Stiles felt his mouth fly open as he tried to wrap his head around what was just said. Scott looked the same and he bet he felt the same. John Stilinski had been the father he had never had. His dad had walked out on him and his mom several years before so it had been just Scott and Melissa. John helped discipline the kid whenever het got into too much trouble. Killing him would be the worst thing for either kid. It would hurt Scott but it would kill Stiles. He would also be an orphan.
"We're not killing John," the older twins said together. The power behind those words made everyone stop.
Deucalion smiled. "Then what do you suggest we do?"
The twins turned in on themselves and began talking in some sort of babble that even Stiles couldn't understand. Everyone tried to listen in but it was all Greek to them.
"So what you're thinking is if we call his name, we'll know where he derives his power," Thierry asked. Terrence nodded.
She got this look on her face as she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. She tapped her fingers along her arm, the leather making a noise. Stiles was hoping that she could figure out a way to save his dad without killing him.
After what seemed like an eternity, Thierry grabbed Ethan and hauled him over to the fire. Stiles had a moment to wonder when the two Alphas had become friends. The last he remembered Ethan was mad at her for putting Danny in trouble. Why would they ban together now and fight for his dad.
Then he realized she had made a deal with the Alpha Pack for their help. He wanted to punch a tree. She was always doing stupid things to make sure they were all safe without any thought about herself. His mind went back to Terrence's earlier statement about putting the needs of the many above the needs of the few.
He ran his hands through his short cropped hair then yelled, "I don't understand you!"
"You're not meant to!" she called back. It was as if she knew he was going to call her out on it.
They watched the two walk around the fire. Aidan looked pained as his twin worked with someone other him. It was the same with Terrence. The twins didn't usually work with other partners, but that was what expected. If they could kill expectation, they might have the upper hand.
Terrence started pairing people up. Derek was paired with Stiles. The two looked at each other as the meaning hit them hard. Terrence wasn't expecting his sister to live through this. He was pairing them together so Derek would protect the man who could control his mate's wolf. Stiles felt his throat clog up with cotton.
They were making a plan when the fire fanned higher. Ethan landed first and skidded to a stop. He left a nice skid mark in the dirt. Thierry had more grace as she was thrown back. She turned her body in midair and landed on her feet. Her blond hair was messy when she tossed it over her shoulder as her head came up. She pivoted on one foot and looked at Ethan. He nodded then moved to stand up.
"We have a plan," he said as he turned to the rest of them.
"Does it involve groups?" Scott asked. He'd been paired with Kali and didn't like it one bit. He just didn't trust her.
"Partly. He's Welsh," Thierry said.
Terrence nodded. "Arawn, the god of the underworld. Hellhounds are supposed to listen to him. What are you going to do?"
"I haven't thought that far yet."
"We need to take Keilani out," Derek said. "She's the source of his power."
"No, we can't do that just yet. We have to send him back. We have to get Stiles close enough to lay his hands on his father. It's the only way."
Stiles shook his head. "I can't do this."
"You can face down a Kanima in a pool of water but you can't face down your own father?"
"It's not my dad. It's some idiot taking over his body. Plus the girl killed my mother."
"Then avenge her," Terrence said. "Thierry's already going to kill her for making our brother her pawn in a sick game. You might as well jump in the fun."
"I don't want to kill anyone. I just want my dad back. I want to go home and take care of him after this because he won't believe that he was taken over by a crazy god of the underworld. I didn't ask for any of this and neither did he."
"No one asks for it. We're just thrown into it."
Thierry shook her head and turned back towards the fight. Ethan stood with her. They still hated each other but they had people they wanted to protect. Scott and Kali stepped up with them. Deucalion and Terrence moved as well. Isaac and Aidan hung back with their backs to Stiles and Derek.
As a group they jumped into battle. It reminded Stiles of the Power Rangers he used to watch when he was a kid. There were two women and six men. It was exactly like the action adventure show he watched. Except this group of people was a rag tag team who had teamed up to stop someone who threatened all of them. In a few days they would return to being enemies.
They looked as if they were getting beaten but the teams didn't stop what they were doing. They kept going back for more and defending each other. Stiles made a sound in the back of his throat when Ethan grabbed Thierry's hand and slung her around. It looked as if he had done it because he was mad at her. When she snapped her foot out and connected with his dad's face, he understood. They were using each other to battle the idiots.
Stiles wanted to help but there was nothing he could do. He had been told to stay back and wait until the time was right. What was the right moment? How was he supposed to know? Was he supposed to wait until one of them turned on him? That couldn't be good. He didn't want his friends to kill him. He didn't want his dad to die. He didn't want to die.
He heard all the sounds of battle. He hated those sounds. He'd grown to familiar to them in the last few months. Hell, the last year. He was losing his touch if he couldn't even figure out how to save someone he loved.
The mismatched twins were thrown back. Derek shoved his face down into the dirt as they flew over him. They both turned as the two struggled to get up. Thierry looked at Ethan but the teen couldn't lift his head. She was having issues standing up as well. A couple of their limbs were at odd angles but they were healing as quickly as they could.
The other groups were also thrown back. There was a collective groan as everyone tried to pull themselves to their feet. The Alpha Pack and Derek's pack were outmatched.
"Get up, Thierry," a random voice said from behind them. Thierry threw her head back and looked upside down. There was a guy sitting in a nearby tree. "Terrence, up." The twins looked at him. "Get up! No Alexander goes down without a fight."
"What are we supposed to do?" Terrence asked. "He's too strong."
"Use it."
"You always told us that it would kill everyone in the vicinity. You said to never do it," Thierry replied.
"Forget what I said! Do you want to lose your lives? Do you want to lose your mates? Think of them. What would happen if you died without a fight? Do you think they could face your dead corpses in the funeral home? They'll think of you as the twins who couldn't save the ones that mattered most."
Stiles had no idea what to think. He had no idea what was going on. Who was this guy? And why was he provoking the twins? They had fought hard for this pack. They had tried their hardest to get his dad back, so why would someone yell at them.
"Stiles?" He looked over his shoulder at Thierry as she pulled herself up using a tree. "When we say, control the fire. Make a barrier then go after your dad. Save him. Only you can do it."
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"You're the spark, kid," Terrence said.
Stiles looked up into the tree. "This makes no sense! Why are you doing this?"
"Have you ever wondered where werewolves originated? Have you ever wondered what happened to the first one or who he was?"
Derek stood, holding Stiles by the collar. "You're Joseph. You're the Alpha that raised Terrence and Thierry." The other man inclined his head in acknowledgement. "What are they doing?"
"The original werewolf that brought on the legends that aren't actually legends was born in the Middle Ages. He was of Slavic descent. He is also the ancestor of the two you see before you. The original werewolf had a second skill set. The twins were born with the same thing."
Stiles turned. Terrence and Thierry had stopped and were listening to Keilani and the man who was supposed to be his dad laugh. They were focused. He watched as they looked down at the ground then at each other. Terrence held his hand out to Thierry. She smiled slightly then took it.
A bright light erupted around them as they took a step forward. The ground rumbled and vines exploded from its depths. They raced towards Keilani, wrapping around her legs, arms, neck and waist. They started to squeeze. With a dramatic snap, she was torn into seven pieces.
Thierry broke the chain first. When her hands snapped down to her side, the vines wrapped around her wrist and formed a blade. Stiles nearly yelled when she took a shot at the shell of his dad. She missed his vitals, going for the arm instead. Terrence came in with his own weapon, a lance.
"They're harnessing nature," Ethan said. He had finally pulled himself up and was sitting at Stiles' feet. "I didn't know werewolves could do that."
"Only a select few can. They're usually descended from a werewolf who was able to do so."
Stiles flinched when his dad flung Terrence away from him. He lost his cool when Thierry was slammed against a tree and her weapon was shoved through her right shoulder. Stiles figured it was time that he stepped up to help his friends. He tied to wrench his shoulder from Derek's grip but the werewolf was stout. He wasn't going anywhere.
"Let the boy go, Hale," Joseph said from his perch.
Derek looked up at him, frowning at the one leg he had brought up to his chest. "Why should I? You've seen what this guy can do? Why would I watch the kid get killed?"
"Let him go. Let him know that he can defend himself."
Stiles was surprised when the pressure on his shoulder was gone. Derek had dropped his hand. Scott made a noise and tried to pull himself up. Stiles shook his head at him. He needed to do this on his own.
"Wait!" Cora and Boyd bounded out of the trees and stopped beside him. "Everyone else is down. Let us be your backup."
"Derek's safe. He didn't fight and I won't let him fight for me. Go stand with him," he replied.
"You need someone to help you take the twins down from the trees they're pinned to. Let us help."
He looked at Cora's face then at Derek's. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was terrified of losing his sister ad mate at the same time. He fidgeted enough for Stiles to know that he was itching for him to say no. In reality, Stiles could use the backup so he could get close to the creature controlling his dad's body.
"Isaac, can you stand?" he asked.
"If you're asking if I can help, yeah. I can help," the other guy replied. He pushed to his feet, wobbling a little. He grabbed the tree and balanced himself. When he was able to walk a little ways, he cracked a smile. "Cora, stay with Derek. I don't think he can take you getting hurt when he's helpless."
Stiles watched the female werewolf look at her brother. He was certain she could read Derek's emotions clearly. Then she looked at Thierry and Terrence pinned to their respective trees. They were trying to pull their weapons loose but failing. She gasped when they finally gave up and slumped against the trunks. She walked up to him and braced her hands on his shoulders.
"Bring them back to us in one piece," she said.
Stiles nodded. He turned to Isaac and Boyd. They nodded at him and flanked him as he walked past. The thing controlling his dad's body looked at him and laughed. The flames rose higher as if he were protecting himself. With his attention on the kid, it gave the werewolves time to get their pack mates. Derek, Cora and even Joseph winced when the twins screamed as their weapons were wrenched from their bodies. Boyd pulled Terrence down by his tree as Isaac did the same with Thierry. They watched Stiles continuing his advance on his dad.
"Dad?" he said cautiously. "Dad, it's me Stiles."
The guy laughed at him. "I'm not your dad. Although he is in here. He wants you to leave and forget about him."
"I refuse to leave you. Do you remember the night Mom died? You left the hospital and came to Scott's house to tell me. We went for caramel sundaes. You told me mom had died. You said there wasn't anything we could do. She had been too sick to fight it off. You said you did all that you could."
His throat felt as if he had stuffed four cotton balls down it. He was having a hard time talking but he had to get it out. He had to bring his dad around so he could do what he needed to do. He took as deep a breath as he could get and went on.
"I was devastated. You let me stay home a week from school because you knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate. You even let me eat what I wanted. But it couldn't last. I had to go back to school and you had to go back to work. You and Scott were the only two who understood. Every night you'd pick me up from Scott's. You'd let me go over there so I wouldn't be alone all day. Even when I had panic attacks, you were right there for me."
Stiles was inching his way closer as he spoke. When his mouth fell silent, the flames in front of him leapt even higher. He held his hands up to keep his face from being burnt. He wanted to save his dad.
Thinking the flames were going to burn him alive, he stepped right up to them. The heat was unbearable, but instead of making him feel as if he were going to burn alive, he felt invigorated. He opened his eyes and looked around. The fire wasn't burning him at all. In fact it was pulsing like it was reacting to him. He lifted his hand and the flames followed his hand. He made a noise of shock then laughed.
"Stiles!" Isaac yelled from his left. "Hurry up! I think he may have done something to their weapons."
He looked to his friends. Even from his vantage point, he could see the fine sheen of sweat on his friends' skin.
"Did you poison them?" he asked.
The man who was supposed to be his dad smiled. "It's amazing what a little mountain ash can do to werewolves."
Angry, Stiles flung his hands out. The fire followed his circular motion. When the circle was closed he walked up to the man. He landed one punch square on his jaw. That was it. His dad's body grabbed him and held him in a full nelson. He fought to get out but it only got tighter.
"Stiles!" It was Isaac again. He sounded desperate. "Call his name! Names have power! Call his name!"
"I don't know it," he choked out. He wasn't certain anyone could hear him. He could barely hear his own voice as he tried to break out of his hold.
"Arawn! His name is Arawn!"
Stiles felt the arm around his throat flex and he knew they had him. "Release me now, Arawn."
With a roar his dad released him. He fell to the ground hard then turned. His dad had been used as a vessel for a god just so he could be brought to earth to exact his vengeance.
"Not your vengeance, but the Keilani's," he muttered to himself. "What did Keilani want done?"
"Why should I tell you?" Arawn asked.
There was growling behind him and to the side. Like the scene from the Lion King, the hellhounds stepped through the flames. They bowed their heads and growled at the god they once served. Thierry must have been controlling them to the best of her ability.
"Because you owe me that much."
"I don't owe you anything."
"You're using my dad's body. You owe me."
"Keilani summoned me because of your mother. Your mother knew what she was and got her family kicked out of the town. She blamed Charles' death on her. She was right of course but Keilani and her mother didn't want them to know that."
Stiles understood too well. "They wanted Charles to be your vessel. Their sacrifices didn't count though, did they?"
"No, they gave me crappy people. I wanted pure innocents."
"Then why kill Harris?"
"He was the one who told them how to summon me. I couldn't allow him to live after that. Just like I can't allow you to live now."
Stiles rolled under the man's arm as it came over his head. He winced as he dug his shoulder into the ground, but he didn't have time to think about it. He pivoted then shot up. His hands splayed over his dad's heart and face. He felt his hands heat up as the marks went to work.
The god inhabiting his dad's body fought and snarled at him to dislodge him, but Stiles held firm. He pressed his hands even harder into his dad's body. He could feel the power of the fire flower pulsing through him. The flames leapt even higher and the hellhounds growled. He felt the power flow through his hands and into his dad's body.
"Arawn, I send you back to the pits of hell from whence you came," he said.
There was a loud rumble and the earth opened up once again. His dad's mouth opened and a silvery mist emerged. It hovered for a few seconds then was sucked down into the abyss. The earth closed up once again. The flames died down as John fell forward. Stile caught his dad and held him close. He took a deep breath and held back a shuddering sob. Now wasn't the time to lose it. He had saved his dad. He should be happy, but something felt off.
Boyd walked over with one of Terrence's arms slung over his shoulder. Terrence was smiling at him, eyes bright blue as his body healed. Isaac came over with Thierry cradled in his arms. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not. The rest of the group filtered over. Joseph was a pleasant surprise. He was tall, maybe just a little south of six foot five, with sandy blond hair that was touched with silver. He had bright blue eyes that looked like Terrence and Thierry's wolf eyes but his were completely human.
Deucalion and his group walked immediately over to Isaac. The kid shied away, turning his body to protect Thierry if she should need it.
"Now that we've helped you, hand the woman over," Deucalion said.
The curly headed werewolf stared at the blind werewolf then looked at Derek. In fact everyone was staring at the Alpha like Deucalion had lost his mind. Even Joseph seemed a little perturbed.
"Why would we give you my sister?" Terrence asked. He tried to move but Boyd jerked him to the side, gluing him against the teen.
"I made a deal with her. Now it's her time to pay up."
Stiles' mouth worked. He had worked so hard to get his dad back and now he was going to have to work to get Thierry. "Derek, you can't let him take her."
Derek looked torn. Stiles knew Thierry had been living by her code when she made the deal. She was trying to save their lives. It had been her only shot at getting the Alpha Pack to help.
Derek finally looked at his Beta. "Give her to them."
Isaac's mouth worked as he tried to figure out something to say to keep her with them. When he came up with none, he looked at Joseph. The other Alpha couldn't do anything. Though he technically had jurisdiction if he needed to, he wasn't going to interfere. Finally Isaac handed Thierry over to Aidan. The other werewolf held her as gently as he could. He was still healing his injuries.
Derek grabbed Ethan's arm as he passed by. "If you so much as hurt one hair on her head, I will rip you limb from limb."
Ethan jerked his arm back and smirked. "As long as she doesn't attack me first."
Stiles didn't have time to think much about what was going on. His dad needed help and he was getting tired. Joseph seemed to recognize it and walked over to help. With a slight smile, he lifted John with ease and started for his car. Stiles watched the Alpha pack walk away with his friend. Derek clapped him on the shoulder in a silent way to keep him from going after them. He followed him back to the car so they could go to the hospital.