The Wolf Amoung Us
Summary: After having lost Peter to his obsession with power, Sydney was sure of one thing and one thing only: she needed to pull her life back together. With unexpected news that will change everything, will she become the strong alpha that she desires so much or will she struggle to keep it together until it's too late? Season 5: Peter Hale/OC
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf, Sydney however is all mine.
Chapter 35:
Sydney had Bruin in her arms, rocking the baby back and forth as she stood in the kitchen watching the rest of her pack, each and every one of them with a smile on their face. Steve was in the middle of telling them all about his trip to Beacon Hills, which had led into the first trip he had taken with Charlie as a werewolf. Charlie was laughing along with the twins, even if what her dad was saying was rather embarrassing, but nonetheless, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, which was a bonus considering the super moon was upon them and no one was entirely sure how it would affect them.
So far Bruin had been rather calm but that didn't mean that she would stay that way throughout the whole lunar situation, for now, Sydney would take it, she'd relish in the fact that Bruin was calm and seemingly happy. Sydney herself was already starting to feel the pull of the moon on her body but instead of letting her sexual energy take over total control, she focused on her child, her wee little baby who was in her arms at that very moment.
Aidan had already expressed that he was feeling antsy earlier and they had discussed potential ways to deal with him if he started to become angry or aggressive; after all, Sydney had just borrowed Derek's chest full of chains, she might as well use them if it came down to it.
Ethan seemed fairly unaffected by the moon's pull and for that, Sydney was grateful, because as the moments ticked on, as the calm continued to stretch out, she knew it wasn't going to last forever. So long as one of her betas had a good head on their shoulders throughout the lunar experience, then that was all she could really ask for.
Charlie wasn't showing too many effects either but Sydney was completely anticipating a change in her beta before the sun came up in the morning. Charlie had confessed that having her dad around presently would help her, at least that way she'd have someone who knew her well, someone who had been dealing with her and her full moon state since she was a tot.
"On the bright side, at least she didn't shift into a full blown wolf." Ethan teased and broke Sydney out of her little reverie. She had completely missed most of the story, but her thoughts were elsewhere, understandably so.
It had been a few days since there had been any word of what was going on with the chimeras, a few days without any drama, and as much as Sydney liked it that way, she knew that it was merely the calm before the storm.
"Like Malia?" Sydney added and tried to keep her attention on the conversation going on in front of her. "Stiles told me that she turned into a coyote and killed her family when she was in the car."
"Wow Syd, you just put a damper on the mood." Charlie mumbled and Sydney shot her a look but Charlie rolled her eyes. Okay, so either the super moon was affecting Charlie a little more than everyone believed or she was just a little more irritable than usual.
"Sorry." Sydney sighed and turned her back to the group sitting at the kitchen table. She paced towards the living room and let a smile take over on her face as the group fell back into a joyful, teasing banter. Maybe Charlie did have a point, maybe Sydney needed to calm herself and just enjoy the present moment.
She turned around to face the table once again and before she could even take a step towards them, she froze and listened to the scuffling noises coming from outside. Her hold on Bruin tightened the slightest little bit and the conversation at the table fell completely silent; apparently she hadn't been the only one to have heard the weird noise coming from outside.
"Did you want me to get it?" Aidan asked in a low tone and rose up to his full height, flashing Sydney a smile in the process. "Or if you want to get it, I can take Bruin for a second."
"Can you just…?" Sydney countered and nodded towards the door. She moved closer to her pack as Aidan headed for the door, at least if she was near her betas, and Steve, then she'd have more back up to help her keep Bruin safe.
Aidan sucked in a breath, inhaled a deep breath and shook his head as he pulled the door open, revealing a soaking wet, dripping Stiles standing there. His hand was up, his fingers curled into fists but Aidan had beat him to the punch, opening the door before he had a chance to knock. Stiles' eyes widened at the sight of Aidan in the doorway and Sydney snorted in amusement before striding forward.
"Come in, please." Sydney used her hand and waved him in, noticing the peculiar look on his face.
She took in Stiles' scent and furrowed her eyebrows together. Bruin's arm extended towards Stiles as he passed by but Sydney continued to hold her, keeping her in her grasp for the time being.
He smelled off though, something was wrong with Stiles, something was bothering him and she wasn't exactly sure what. Stiles marched into the kitchen and when Charlie patted the seat that Aidan had recently vacated, he dropped down into it with a huff.
"You here for your session?" Charlie jeered and let out a laugh, Stiles just stared at her in response. "Nevermind."
"Why so glum chum?" Sydney posed and watched for a few seconds as Aidan shut the door, flipping the lock across in the process. She then moseyed on over closer to Stiles and took up a stance behind him, looking down into his saddened eyes. "Seriously Stiles, what's wrong?"
"Scott, it's- it's Scott." Stiles breathed the words out and Sydney noticed that his heart was pounding in his chest, loud and with no signs of slowing down. Whatever had happened before he showed up at her place must've been bad, really bad. There was no way that anything good would warrant a state like the one Stiles was currently in.
"Okay, well, what about Scott?" Charlie leaned forward and offered him her hand. Stiles lifted his own hand up and made a move to reach out and take hers but he stopped halfway and let his arm drop right back down to his side.
"I uh, I don't- I told him about Donovan." Stiles stumbled over what to say before finally spilling the words. Sydney sucked in a sharp breath and held it, waiting for him to continue but when Stiles made no move to do so, she shook her head, glanced down at Bruin and tried to figure out the best way to handle the predicament in front of her.
"I take it he didn't take it too well." Charlie remarked and her body jerked as her dad rested his palm on her shoulder. "He didn't like the way you handled the situation, or was it something else?"
"He said…he told me that we can't- we can't kill people." Stiles answered and Sydney bit back a growl that was forming in her throat.
While Scott was starting to grow on her, and she no longer looked at him as a naïve child, she also knew that he wasn't as experienced when it came to werewolf stuff or the supernatural in general, which also meant that he wasn't necessarily aware that sometimes killing was the only answer.
Sydney wasn't too fond of the idea of killing people either, except for a select few that she wouldn't hesitate to hurt if the opportunity presented itself, but she was also fully aware that sometimes it all came down to taking someone else's life or losing your own.
"He's wrong." Sydney ground the words out and glanced around the table, taking in the blank faces of the twins as well as Charlie's somber expression. Steve shied away from her gaze when she looked at him and she knew, oh how she knew, that he didn't necessarily agree with her at that exact moment. Well, he was allowed to have his opinions, she wouldn't hold it against him, but until he experienced the same thing that she did, or that Stiles did, then he clearly knew better than to put in his two cents.
"Is he?" Stiles shot back and stared up at Sydney, searching her face for answers.
"Yes." She hissed and gave him a firm nod of her head. "He's wrong. If it came down to it, his life or someone else, he'd be stupid not to choose his own, especially if that someone else is as dangerous and threatening as Donovan was."
"You think so?" Stiles' voice was soft and laced with sadness. "Because if you really think so-"
"I do." Sydney cut him off and leveled him with a glare, silencing him for just a second.
"He has no idea." Aidan added in a mutter.
"Excuse me?" Charlie piped up and looked between Aidan and Sydney.
"Scott's never killed anyone, and I don't think he'd be able to if it was his only choice. He's too good for his own good." Aidan explained.
"Some of us have to make mistakes." Stiles mumbled and Sydney reached a hand out, gently resting it on Stiles' shoulder.
"Some of us are human." Steve whispered and looked over at his daughter. "Some of us aren't as strong, or as skilled, we don't have super healing abilities or intense hearing, we have to handle things the best way that we can."
"Dad?" Charlie tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"While I'm not saying I condone killing, I also know that in dire times, people do dire things." Steve said softly and shook his head. "Sometimes we don't always have a choice."
"What are you talking about?" Charlie groaned.
"I think he's talking about my mom biting you." Sydney piped up and when she looked over at Steve, he gave her a nod of affirmation. "It's messing with fate, it's setting someone on a different path than maybe they were meant to be on. You're a werewolf because of a choice your dad made. Stiles here is different because of what he did, and whether or not Scott agrees, he should stand by his friends, he should stand by the people closest to him."
The entire room fell silent and Stiles hesitantly lifted his hand up to meet Sydney's, their fingers tangling slightly as he gave her a reassuring squeeze. Charlie looked towards her dad who forced a smile in her direction before his attention fell on Sydney. Both Ethan and Aidan were looking up at her too, waiting for her to speak again.
"There are threats in this world that we don't always understand." Sydney continued but paused, sucking in a breath and letting it out slowly. "We handle them the best we can, even if other people might not see that it was the only option we had."
"Sometimes human methods aren't the answer." Steve added in.
"Scott's wrong." Sydney stated confidently. "He's wrong and you didn't deserve whatever he said, or did, to you."
Stiles bowed his head and slowly pulled his hand away from hers. Sydney gave him a pat on the shoulder once more before letting her arm come up and hug Bruin tighter against her.
The baby let out a low hiccup and Aidan stood up immediately, moving to stand in front of Sydney. Bruin reached an arm back and grabbed at Aidan with her tiny little hand, once Sydney met his gaze, she passed her baby over to him, watching with a small smile as Bruin settled into his hold.
"I will do whatever I can to protect the people I care about." Sydney murmured and crouched down in front of Stiles, drawing his attention towards her. "That includes you. Tell me why you came here, tell me what you want from me?"
"I don't…I don't know." Stiles shook his head.
"Is there something I can do to help you? Some-"
"I was going- I was headed to see my dad. I think- I think I need to tell him about Donovan."
"Is he at the sheriff's station?" Sydney pressed, hoping that she had reached Stiles. It was hard to tell, the sad look was still in his eyes, but his heart had significantly slowed down from the erratic pace he had been experiencing walked into her house moments ago. "I'll go with you, if you want."
"Syd you don't- you don't have to." Stiles sputtered but she shook her head.
"Nonsense." She waved a hand into the air. "I just said that I'd protect you."
"I'll go too." Charlie broke in and plastered a smile on her face. "I mean, if you want me too."
Stiles looked between the two females, then he glanced around at the other faces in the room. Steve gave him an encouraging nod, Ethan smiled back at him and Aidan glanced down at Bruin, getting Stiles to follow his line of sight. When Stiles studied the baby in his arms, he sucked in a breath and slowly nodded his head, accepting Sydney's offer to go with him.
"I'm sorry." Stiles said softly.
"Why?" Sydney countered and stood up straight, offering Stiles her hand. He took it quickly and hauled himself to his feet.
"I didn't know who else to come to."
"I'd say you came to the right place." Charlie chuckled. "You'll be okay Stiles."
"Yeah?" He sighed.
"Yeah." Sydney nodded her head with a grin. "You've got me."
"And that's all you really need." Charlie teased but a small bout of laughter echoed in the kitchen from the rest of the guys. "Come on, let's get going, I'm dying to get out and just feel the moon."
Sydney closed in on Aidan and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of Bruin's head. He nodded at her, signaling that he could handle the house, he could take care of Bruin while she was gone, and with his silent reassurance, Sydney lifted her hand up and waved at Steve and Ethan. Charlie took a few seconds and hugged her father tightly, even letting him press a kiss to the side of her head without being embarrassed.
"Be safe!" Steve called out to the trio as they headed for the door.
"If you need anything, you call!" Ethan added in.
Without hesitating for another second, Sydney grabbed her leather jacket from the front hall, Charlie following suit, and the three of them disappeared outside.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
Charlie was stuck in the back while Sydney was sitting comfortably on the passenger seat. Sydney had her elbow against the window and her eyes were locked on the scenery blurring by outside, Charlie had her elbows resting on the back of the seat while she studied Stiles' head from behind, wondering what it would be like to be him.
There was a lot about the guy that she didn't know but there was also a lot that she did know. Sydney had done a decent job in telling her what she needed to understand about Stiles and it hadn't taken long for Charlie to see exactly what Sydney was talking about. He was special, he was a good person and while sometimes he was a little quick to speak his mind, he had grown on her real fast.
"Remember that time we discussed superheroes and which one you'd be?" Sydney asked, breaking the silence and looking over at Stiles. "And you said that you saw yourself as more of a Nightwing type?"
"What?" Charlie grunted from behind them.
"Yeah, he totally said he'd be Nightwing if we lived in a world with superheroes." Sydney's eyes widened as she looked back at Charlie.
"What's that have to do with- what's it matter?" Stiles spoke and readjusted his hold on the steering wheel as they whizzed down the road. "Why are you even bringing that up?"
"Well I just want to know if your opinion's changed." Sydney tilted her head to the side and waited. Stiles stole a quick glance at her and lifted his one hand up in surrender, implying that he didn't understand what exactly she was asking.
"Stiles is more like Batman to me." Charlie offered up with a shrug before relaxing back into her seat. She tipped her head back and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for the conversation to continue.
"You think so?" Sydney shifted so that she was sitting sideways, which gave her a better vantage point to look at Charlie and Stiles at the same time. "I'm inclined to agree."
"Batman didn't kill people." Stiles muttered.
Sydney looked back at Charlie and lifted her hand up, wiggling her fingers at her beta as if to encourage her to field his objection. Charlie let her head fall forward and then proceeded to gently poke Stiles in the back of the neck, making sure that she had his attention even if his eyes were locked on the road ahead of them.
"That's not really true. I mean, I guess he had that 'no guns' rule or whatever but that doesn't mean that he didn't inadvertently cause some people to die."
"Plus there are lots of superheroes who aren't all that noble." Sydney tossed out and Stiles stole another quick glance at her, this time a little longer, just long enough to roll his eyes at her.
"And if we're talking Nightwing comics, right, like you think you are, he did beat the Joker to death-"
"He brought him back!" Stiles protested and Charlie raised her hands in surrender. "You've made your point."
"Maybe." Sydney shrugged. "But I still want to know if your opinion on who you'd be in the superhero universe has changed."
"I don't know, I guess…I mean, sure."
"See."
"Since we're on the topic, do you think of yourself as someone different than Harley?" Stiles shot back in the hopes that he could turn the conversation around on her. Sydney merely smirked in response and pointed at him.
"Harley Quinn is a hero in her own right." Charlie stated nonchalantly. "She was pretty badass too, aside from her mental lapse in being with the Joker, she's pretty much one of my favourites."
"Fine." Stiles grumbled. "You win okay. I get it, heroes aren't always heroic and villains aren't always heinous."
"Out of curiosity, who else was part of this debate back in the day?" Charlie asked with a smile of her own.
"Peter." Sydney nodded.
"Who was he?"
"The Joker." Sydney answered.
"Yeah, I mean, I've never met the guy but from what I've heard…definitely sounds about right." Charlie let out a contented sigh and relaxed in the seats.
Sydney smiled back at her beta and then locked her eyes onto Stiles, taking in the sight of him. He was still a good man in her books but it was obvious that he was starting to doubt himself, not that she could entirely blame him. When she had let her eyes fall from golden yellow to the cold steel blue of a killer, she had felt something in her break. It had taken quite a long time before she felt herself feeling confident again, and she could only imagine how hard it was for Stiles to deal with, and on top of everything, his best friend hadn't supported him.
She let out a soft sigh of her own and leaned against the door, letting her hands fall down so that her palms rested on the seat, but what she felt against her left hand didn't feel like the material she was sitting on, no, it felt like a hard, cold metal rod. Sydney carefully gripped the object in her hand and lifted it up, looking at the wrench that she held firmly in her hand. There was red and brown spattered on the surface and Sydney could smell the faint scent of stale blood.
"What you got there Syd?" Charlie questioned from the back seat and Stiles glanced over at his passenger, taking in the sight of the object in her hand.
"Wrench." Sydney answered simply and made a move to set it back down on the seat, but Stiles' heartbeat picked up in pace the slightest little bit.
Before she could open her mouth to ask him what was bothering him, smoke started billowing out from the dashboard of the jeep, filling the cab quickly. Charlie held her breath, as did Sydney, while Stiles maneuvered the vehicle onto the side of the road, where it promptly proceeded to make sputtering noises before stopping all together.
Sydney set the wrench down on the seat but noticed that Stiles looked down at it, staring at it as though it were evil. She shook her head and made a move to get out of the jeep and into the fresh night air, Charlie climbing over from the backseat and nearly falling to the pavement as Sydney stepped outside.
Stiles followed their lead but he slammed his door shut and marched to the back of his jeep, nabbing the case of tools that resided there. Sydney and Charlie both flinched as Stiles angrily threw the case onto the road not too far from the jeep, then he proceeded to lift the hood before stomping back over to the case and picking it up.
Sydney motioned for Charlie to get behind her and Charlie did just that, tucking her body behind Sydney's in case Stiles did something erratic. The two girls simply watched as he opened the lid on the case and went rigid, whatever was inside had thrown him off and when Sydney took a step closer so that she too could see inside, she realized almost instantly what the problem was.
There was an empty slot, an empty space in the case for the very wrench that she had her hands on not more than a minute earlier and it didn't take her very much more to deduce that Stiles' frustration, his uneasiness at what had happened to Donovan, between him and Scott, was taking its toll on him.
"Stiles!" Sydney tried to plead with him but Stiles whipped the case of tools across the road before she even knew what was happening. She took a step back, taking Charlie with her, as Stiles headed right for the passenger side, ripping the door open and grabbing hold of the blood covered wrench residing on the seat. "Stiles please?"
He paused for a split second and met her eyes, but he didn't respond, instead, he slammed the passenger door shut too and marched back into the middle of the road, retching his arm back and preparing to throw the wrench out onto the pavement with the rest of the case. He stopped with his arm in midair and turned towards the jeep.
"Stiles!" Charlie's voice cut through the crisp night air and he glanced at the two of them for a split second before letting loose and throwing the wrench as hard as he could directly at his jeep.
It impacted against the front windshield and sent pieces of glass shattering every which way, Charlie whimpering at the sight, flashes from the night that Parrish had broken Sydney's car window to get to her flickered through her mind. Charlie reached out and latched onto Sydney's hand, who gripped her fingers right back.
"Stiles you have to calm down." Sydney spoke softly and in what she hoped was a soothing tone. He met her eyes but then turned his back to her, rounding the front of the jeep and leaning his back against the driver's side.
Slowly and with immense caution, Sydney led Charlie around the jeep and shook her head at the sight of Stiles sitting on the ground with his back against the front tire of the jeep, clearly defeated, not that she could blame him. After what he had been through over the past few weeks, she was surprised that he had held it together as long as he had.
"Stiles, it's okay." Charlie's voice was still small but he heard her, he heard her loud and clear, looking up at the two girls with wide eyes. "We can fix this, we can fix all of this."
"She's right." Sydney added in and reluctantly let go of Charlie's hand before lowering herself down to sit next to him on the pavement. Charlie followed her alpha's lead and sat down on Stiles' other side, even going as far as to rest her head on his shoulder.
"I don't know that we can." Stiles muttered and Sydney reached out, taking his hand in hers. She squeezed it roughly and tried to draw out as much of his pain, emotional and physical, as she could. He simply remained silent as he watched both of their veins turn black, a far cry from the colour their veins had turned when he had been possessed by the nogitsune all those months ago.
"We can, and we will." Sydney murmured and felt Stiles relaxing the tiniest little bit beside her. "Trust me."
Stiles turned to face her and met her glowing red eyes. He let out a low sigh of frustration and looked out at the vacant road, taking in the feeling of the crisp cool air around him.
"There's always a way to fix things." Charlie whispered and felt the weight of his head resting against hers. She let her eyes fall shut as she took in the calming sounds of the night, as well as the feel of the fresh air on her skin.
"Come on, I can call the twins at home, someone there can come and pick us up-"
"Malia." Stiles cut her off. "I can call Malia."
Sydney clamped her mouth shut and didn't bother to argue. Stiles didn't sound like he was in the mood for arguing and as much as Sydney wasn't a fan of the werecoyote, she knew that maybe Malia was someone that could help Stiles, even if it was starting to feel like maybe no one really could.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
Syd and Stiles back in action! Please tell me you guys are still enjoying this?
Thank you to those that reviewed!
WickedlyMinx: Aidan and Syd would make an explosive pair ;)
poorxbrokexcollegexkid: Yes, yes the twins totally got a chance to see Peter putting someone else before himself (must've been weird lol).
Bleeding Blue Kunoichi: I will definitely agree with you. Aidan and Sydney would be great together but only if Peter was completely out of her life. Right now, he's merely the person that she goes to when she needs someone who will support her and also understand the things that have gone on. Thank you for the splendid review!