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 36:
By the time Stiles had called Malia and she finally showed up, the sun was up high in the sky. Sydney hadn't realized how late it had been when Stiles had shown up at her house the night before but seeing as it wasn't too long of a wait before Malia did show up, she figured that it hadn't been as early as she originally thought.
Charlie had fallen asleep next to her as they had sat on the pavement waiting for not only Malia but the tow truck to get a move on. Once the tow truck took off down the road, the busted jeep attached to the back, Sydney had woken Charlie up, who was laying on the grass on top of Sydney's leather jacket.
"We're heading out now." Sydney said softly as she crouched down next to her beta, who was waking up and stretching her limbs, feeling the muscles pulling and uncramping from her uncomfortable position on the ground. "That is, of course, if Malia will let me in her car."
Charlie glanced past her alpha and met Malia's gaze, which was locked on Sydney's back. Stiles was standing next to his girlfriend and he turned away from the three of them, watching sadly as his jeep disappeared around the corner.
"It's fine." Malia threw her hand into the air nonchalantly, waving off Sydney's concerns. While it was evident that there was still tension between Sydney and Malia, Peter's daughter, it seemed that whatever they had between them wasn't as big as helping Stiles. Perhaps if circumstances were different, Sydney could've put aside her issues with Malia and actually accepted her for who she was.
"All right." Sydney nodded and extended a hand to Charlie, who took it in her grasp and used it as leverage to haul herself to her feet. Once she was standing, she bent over and grabbed Sydney's jacket off the ground, using her hand to brush it off before holding it out for Sydney to put back on.
Slipping her arms into the sleeves and shrugging her shoulders as the jacket situated itself against her body, Sydney let out a soft sigh and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Come on, let's get a move on." Charlie announced with a yawn and headed for the back of Malia's car. She pulled the door open and hopped in, Sydney following suit on the opposite side.
Malia climbed into the driver's side while Stiles reluctantly clambered into the passenger side. He didn't look anywhere except straight, obviously upset over the whole jeep incident, and that wasn't even getting into the pent up emotions from his confrontation with Scott.
Sydney slid closer to Charlie and let her beta rest against her, relaxing into Sydney's hold as she let out another yawn.
"Did you call Aidan and ask him how Bruin's doing?" Charlie asked in a mumble and Sydney forced a smile onto her face, catching Malia's gaze reflected in the rearview mirror.
"I did." Sydney answered in a soft tone but it was too late to avoid. Malia had clearly heard every word.
"Who's Bruin?" The werecoyote questioned and Stiles' body stiffened at her inquiry.
"Um, she's my daughter." Sydney murmured.
"You have- you have a daughter?" Malia glanced over her shoulder and stole a look at Sydney before turning to face the road in front of them.
"Yeah, she's a few weeks old." Sydney stated vaguely and felt Charlie curl up closer to her.
"Well…" Malia trailed off and Sydney couldn't tell what was running through the young woman's head. It wasn't hard to conclude that Malia was probably trying to figure out who Bruin's father was, maybe she was concerned for Bruin's well-being.
"She's technically your half-sister." Charlie pointed out.
"So Peter's her dad too?" Malia pressed but it was clear by the look on her face that she wasn't pleased with this new information.
"Yeah, much to my dismay." Sydney mumbled and straightened up in the seat. "Trust me, she was just as much of a surprise to me as she is to you right now."
Malia fell silent and sucked in a breath, digesting the information. Stiles looked into the backseat and caught Sydney's gaze, who was trying to keep her own emotions in control. She hadn't really expressed out loud that Bruin wasn't nearly as easy to accept as she had made it out to be, finding out she was pregnant had been one of the most terrifying things she had ever had to deal with, but now that Bruin was here, now that Bruin was a part of her life, Sydney couldn't imagine her world, her life, any other way.
"How's the jeep?" Charlie asked, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over them.
"Can they fix it?" Malia added, evidently thankful for the topic change.
"There's not enough duct tape in the world to fix that thing." Stiles replied as he slunk down in the seat.
"Maybe you should try something other than duct tape." Malia pointed out and Charlie nodded her head in agreement.
"Maybe you can come with me when I go get Syd's car fixed." Charlie offered and looked to Sydney, who nodded her agreement.
"What?" Malia barked.
"It's just the window, it's busted." Sydney replied nonchalantly, purposely leaving out the part where Jordan Parrish had broken it to get to Charlie, which had resulted in Charlie's claws ripping and shredding Sydney's arms as she tried to keep her beta inside the vehicle.
"What's wrong with the jeep? Do you know?" Charlie added in, looking between Stiles, Malia and Sydney.
"It's got a bad alternator, you know, needs all new belts, transmission's going, the brake pads are basically metal on metal." Stiles explained and Sydney winced at everything that was wrong with the vehicle. The poor guy hadn't even managed to take care of his jeep, the same jeep that he had vowed never to give up on when they had traveled to Mexico all that time ago.
"How come you let it get so bad?" Malia's voice was soft and laced with sadness. If she was feeling anything even remotely similar to what Sydney was feeling, then the girl was probably broken hearted over Stiles and what he was going through.
"There's been a few distractions, if you haven't noticed." Stiles fired back calmly.
"I notice." Malia pointed out. "More than you think I do."
Stiles looked over at Malia and Sydney relaxed into the backseat, hoping that for the present moment she could drift away and not bother them. She knew that things weren't as smooth or as nice as they had once been with Malia, but she had no idea how much everything was starting to take a toll on Stiles. Sydney was starting to miss the Stiles she had first met, the happy, excited teenager who was willing and ready to do whatever he could to help those around him.
She knew that there was no going back to that person, not for Stiles anyway, but that didn't make it any less sad having to watch him spiral further and further from who he had been once before.
"Uh, I didn't mean it like that-"
"Am I taking you home?" Malia cut in and Sydney sucked in a breath, trying to figure out if there was something more she could do to help either of the two in the front seat.
"No." Stiles answered. "Sheriff's station, I got to talk to my dad."
The remainder of the car ride was silent, the only sounds were from Charlie who continued to try and get more comfortable, even letting her eyes fall shut from how tired she was. Sydney made a mental note to find the poor girl some coffee when they got to where they were headed.
After a few more turns and a long, awkward silence, Malia pulled into the parking lot next to the Sheriff's station. She put the car into park and glanced over at Stiles. Sydney promptly gave Charlie a shove and then proceeded to make her own way out of the car, quickly walking around the trunk and coming up behind Charlie just as her feet were solidly on the ground.
Charlie let Sydney slip her arm around her and the two females took a few steps away from the car, giving the two inside a little more privacy, which wasn't much at all considering Sydney could still hear every word exchanged between Stiles and Malia.
"You want me to go in with you?" Malia asked.
"No, it's okay. It's probably going to take a while." Stiles replied and hesitated.
Sydney watched him from outside of the car, Charlie still standing right next to her, as they waited for Stiles to say what he needed to say. She wasn't going to rush him, not by any means, but she knew that sometimes it was easier to handle situations like Band-Aids and just get to the point, rip the Band-Aid off so that it only hurt for a few seconds.
Stiles pushed the door open a few inches but Malia spoke before he could go anywhere.
"Are you going to tell him about Donovan?" Malia pressed and Stiles' eyes widened slightly in surprise as he pulled the door shut once more.
"You knew?"
"I guessed." She motioned towards his arm with her head. "I saw the bite on your shoulder while you were sleeping. It didn't matter to me, that's why I never said anything."
"It matters to me." Stiles responded softly and before Malia could get another word in, before she could think of what to say in response, Stiles popped open the door and made his way out, gently shutting the door behind him before heading right for the front doors. Sydney and Charlie trailed along behind him, Sydney pausing before they went inside to wave at Malia, who, much to Sydney's shock, waved right back at her.
Once the trio was inside, Sydney led Charlie over to the side and let Stiles head to the front desk on his own. She wasn't going to let him out of her sight though, no, she was here to protect him, to keep him safe, and she knew how 'safe' the sheriff's station could really be, which wasn't always very safe at all.
The blonde deputy behind the desk was unfamiliar to her but then again, the only deputy she really knew was Parrish and she figured that with everything going on with him, he wouldn't be on desk duty anyways.
"I'm here to see my dad, the uh, the sheriff." Stiles stated and the deputy behind the desk gave Stiles a nod of understanding.
He lifted up the phone on the corner of the desk and pushed a few buttons, resting the receiver against his ear. Sydney tuned out the conversation that the deputy was having with whoever was on the other end of the line, but she never let her eyes fall away from Stiles, the poor, saddened, broken boy in front of her.
"You okay?" Charlie asked in a hushed tone and Sydney glanced over at her friend.
"Yeah." Sydney nodded solemnly and the two girls merely watched the two in front of them, waiting for Stiles to move again so that they could follow him.
Charlie ran her hand down Sydney's arm and intertwined her fingers with her alpha's giving her a reassuring squeeze. Whatever was going to happen from that moment on, Charlie needed her to know that she was right there, she'd be right next to her alpha for as long as she needed her.
The deputy behind the desk set the phone back down on the cradle and met Stiles' eyes but managed to steal a quick look at Sydney and Charlie behind him. He gave a slight shake of his head before speaking.
"Sheriff left half an hour ago." The young, blonde haired deputy explained to Stiles as Sydney and Charlie hung back. "He said he was on his way back."
"Okay, thanks. I'll just wait in his office."
Without another word between anyone, Stiles glanced back at the two girls and waved them forward. Whatever was going to happen, whatever Stiles was going to say to his dad, Sydney was going to be right there with him, for as long as he needed her. Charlie was going to stick right by her alpha too and until they did what they needed to do, no one was leaving anyone's side, not any time soon anyways.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
Stiles was sitting comfortably in his dad's office chair while Charlie was sprawled out in the chair across the desk from him. Sydney was pacing around the room, looking at anything she possibly could, which included the occasional file folder, the front only of course, but nonetheless, it was enough to keep her from being bored.
They had already been waiting for a little while and none of them had really said much to each other. Sydney figured Stiles was too caught up in his own head, trying to figure out the best way to tell his father, the sheriff, about Donovan and what had happened to him. Charlie looked tired and it was easy to see, from the way her eyes kept drifting shut, that she was ready to head home and climb into bed, but that wasn't something she wanted to do. Sydney had offered to call one of the twins, or even Steve, to come and pick her up but Charlie had insisted that she was sticking by them, no matter how long it took.
Stiles leapt up from his chair and leaned against the edge of the desk, letting out a loud sigh, apparently he was growing bored, and maybe it had to do with the fact that his father hadn't shown up yet, but Sydney could tell that he was anxious, rightfully so.
"I don't- I don't get it." Stiles muttered and dropped his gaze down to his feet. He sucked in a nervous breath and Sydney stopped in her pacing before locking her attention onto him.
"You don't get what exactly?" She pressed, slightly confused as to the exact concern that he had. There were a few things that she didn't get at that very moment, she didn't get why Scott had so easily thrust his best friend aside for the reason that he did, she didn't understand the obvious tension between Stiles and Malia, who were supposed to be a couple and she mostly didn't understand why everything was playing out the way it was.
Something was happening to Scott's pack, something bad and if it hadn't been for Charlie there to keep an eye on everyone for her, Sydney wouldn't really have known about anything at all: the Dread Doctors, Theo and even the idea that there were strange abominations to the supernatural world running around Beacon Hills.
"I just- I don't get…I don't get all of it. I don't understand why this is happening." Stiles let out a sigh and dropped down into the chair once again. Charlie straightened up in her seat and shook her head, trying to force away the tiredness creeping through her body.
"Because Scott doesn't see the bigger picture maybe?" Charlie offered with a shrug and Sydney looked at her, giving her a nod to continue speaking; her theory was interesting and she definitely wanted to hear more. "Maybe…he's too busy trying to protect and save everyone that he's not looking at the bigger picture. There's more to all this than the Dread Doctors turning teenagers into chimeras, there has to be, right?"
"Uh yeah, I uh, I guess so." Stiles tipped his head up and met Charlie's gaze.
"They're experiments, they're failing experiments, which means that at some point, they're going to create a success and, not to freak you guys out or anything, but what happens when that happens?" Charlie glanced between Stiles and Sydney. "Why are they doing what they're doing?"
Sydney kept her gaze locked on Charlie and out of the corner of her eye, she caught Stiles' movement. He stepped around the desk and leaned against the front edge of it, letting out a huff of frustration at the entire situation.
"And you think that Scott's distracted by the 'here and now', so much that he's not looking far enough into the future?" Sydney questioned with the hopes that maybe it would spark something in either Charlie or Stiles.
"Their motive is more than just creating chimeras you mean?" Stiles spoke up and both girls looked at him.
"Exactly." Charlie smiled softly but quickly dropped it. "They're here for a reason, they have a purpose, but we have no idea what it is, we have no idea what they want."
"And Scott's too busy trying to protect their failing experiments to focus on their end game." Sydney added in with an encouraging nod. She studied Stiles quickly and found herself wondering why Scott would ever let him walk away. Even if Stiles had done something that he didn't agree with, Stiles was brilliant and didn't Scott need someone to back him up, someone who was as good as Stiles was at figuring things out?
"I get it, from his perspective though." Charlie remarked. "I don't like seeing people get hurt either, especially innocent people, but there's something bigger at play here."
"So if we can figure out what the Dread Doctors want, maybe we can figure out a way to stop them?" Sydney suggested, Charlie giving her a nod of approval while Stiles lifted his hands up, resting his palms on the top of his head and letting his elbows stick out the side.
"Is it that simple?" He asked and sucked in a breath, holding it while the two girls held each other's gazes.
Sydney considered Stiles' question, as did Charlie. It couldn't possibly be that simple but at least that would give them somewhere to start, a point at which they could try to come up with another theory on how to stop them from doing whatever it is they were trying to do. A starting point was definitely better than their current situation, which involved a lot of running around and trying to help people only to have them taken right out from under them.
Charlie rose up from her chair and took a few steps closer to Stiles, Sydney following her lead but going one step further and placing her hand on Stiles elbow, signaling for him to lower his arms. He did as she silently requested and crossed his arms over his chest before letting out a low sigh.
"How do we figure out what they want though?" Stiles posed the ultimate question.
"Well, maybe if we start with the idea that they're trying to create the ultimate chimera-"
"What would the benefit of that be though?" Charlie cut off her alpha and Sydney narrowed her eyes on Charlie, but Charlie raised her hand in defense. "I mean, what's the use of having a genetically modified supernatural creature when they, themselves, are as powerful as they are?"
Stiles turned his attention towards Charlie but didn't respond. Before Sydney could say anything either, the lights within the entire station fell dim and a loud, irritating siren began wailing through the rooms.
Sydney focused her ears in on the chaos outside of the sheriff's office and listened to almost everyone's heart picking up in pace. Charlie leaned forward and took a deep inhale, trying to get a scent on anything that seemed out of place.
"I can smell burning." Charlie murmured and moved to stand in front of Stiles while Sydney immediately took a stance in front of her, using her body to shield the two of them in case something dared to threaten them.
"Wait, maybe we can…maybe we can get a good look at-"
Stiles didn't bother to finish his sentence, instead, he gently shoved Charlie out of his way, then he stepped around Sydney and bee lined it for the door to the sheriff's office, the siren still blaring loudly in the building.
Charlie and Sydney darted forward and took up a stance behind him, the three of them standing in the closed doorway, watching as the lights flickered and the smell of burning got more and more potent.
"What the hell?" The same blonde deputy as before, the one that let them in, moved around the desk and drew his weapon, leading the charge as a few others followed his movements.
Stiles spotted the root of the chaos and ripped the door open, darting forward. Sydney quickly followed his lead but she pushed Charlie back into the room in an act of protection; whatever was happening, Charlie would be safer in the sheriff's office, which is exactly where Stiles would be heading as soon as Sydney laid her hands on him.
"Look!" Charlie shrieked and stumbled backwards from the force of Sydney's shove.
Sydney turned her head to face down the hall and her eyes landed immediately on Jordan Parrish, who was walking almost robotically towards them, his eyes glazed over.
"Hey!" Sydney yelled but Jordan didn't budge, he didn't even flinch, instead, he just kept coming at them, the deputies all with their weapons drawn and panicked expressions on their faces.
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Get back!" Stiles screamed and waved his arms at the deputies frantically, trying to get them out of Jordan's path. "Stay out of his way!"
The deputies hesitantly lowered their guns and moved out of Jordan's way as he continued to push forward. Sydney held back and took her place behind Stiles as he retreated towards the door to the sheriff's office, moving to the side to let Deputy Parrish pass them by without engaging him.
She cocked her head, glanced back at Charlie and watched Jordan keep walking until he walked right through the front doors. Stiles took off after him and Sydney waved her hand at Charlie, motioning for her to come along as she too took off though the front doors, pausing once they were outside in the darkening night sky only to make sure that Charlie was right behind her.
"What the hell's wrong with him?" Charlie called out to Sydney and Stiles as she ran along behind them, slowing down to match Sydney's pace once she finally caught up.
"It's almost like he's in a trance, maybe it's the same sort of thing that happened the night he attacked you." Sydney offered up and when Stiles' pace decreased, she closed the distance between him and her and then slowed down to match his pace. "He didn't know what he was doing that night, at least he claimed he didn't, if he's in a trance, it would explain why he attacked us all."
"So how do we stop him?" Charlie asked and the three of them stopped running, taking up a quickly paced walk instead. Jordan Parrish wasn't moving very fast himself and Stiles seemed to have a plan on what to do with him, which left the girls to fall in behind Stiles, hoping that he knew what he was doing.
"If he's the one stealing the bodies, we have to follow him." Stiles stated and slipped slightly closer to the building, falling into the shadows so as not to catch Jordan's attention. Stiles had been there that night, he had been attacked too, his jeep had been overturned, he knew what the deputy was capable of.
"He looks possessed." Charlie pointed out and made a grab for Sydney's hand, who let her take it without skipping a beat.
At the conclusion of her statement, a bright orange flame erupted from the deputy's body and Sydney stopped dead in her tracks, Charlie following suit. Stiles continued to move forward, apparently unaffected by the fire enveloping him. Sydney watched for a few seconds, taking in the sight of her friend on fire before Charlie gave a rough tug on her arm, breaking her out of her state of shock.
"What the hell?" Sydney grumbled and matched Charlie step for step, the two of them catching right back up to Stiles, who hadn't even missed a step at all.
"Whatever he is, he's unaffected by fire." Charlie remarked in a low voice.
Deputy Jordan Parrish, now nearly naked in front of them after having burned off most of his clothing, was headed right for the impound lot. He barely even slowed down as he closed in on the gates, breaking the chain with a hard push of his hands.
"Jesus Christ!" Sydney exclaimed and let out a low growl, forcing her canines out, as well as her glowing red eyes.
"What's he doing?" Charlie hissed.
"He's after the body, it's in the- the van." Stiles called back to them and hugged the nearest car inside the lot. Sydney and Charlie ducked down behind him and watched as Jordan marched to the back of a white van, larger than a normal van, but small enough to hold the body in question.
Charlie clutched Sydney's hand tighter and squeezed her eyes shut, silently praying for something good to happen to them, surely luck would eventually have to fall on their side, right?
Jordan pulled open the back door of the van and hesitated for a few seconds before slamming it right back shut. Sydney gave Charlie's hand a reassuring squeeze and rested her free hand on Stiles' forearm, letting him know with just a gesture that she was right there with him, ready to back him up if he needed her to.
Seconds later, while they continued to watch, Jordan climbed into the driver's side, turned the van on and drove away, leaving the three of them stranded inside the impound lot, merely reduced to watching as their only real lead disappeared.
"The fuck do we do now?" Sydney cursed and turned so that her back was flush against the side of the vehicle they were hiding behind. Charlie reluctantly let go of her alpha's hand but immediately leaned into her chest, relishing in the feel of Sydney's protective embrace.
"I don't- I don't know." Stiles murmured, a slight bit of defeat laced with his tone.
"Maybe we could…" Charlie trailed off and leaned back just enough to look up into her alpha's face. "Maybe we need to call someone, maybe we need backup."
Stiles tensed at her suggestion and Sydney listened as his heart thrummed wickedly in his chest. Did he have an idea, did he have someone they could call?
"Theo." Stiles huffed and produced his cell phone. Sydney watched him carefully as he dialed a number and then lifted the phone up to his ear.
She listened to him conversing with the very person who seemed to be at the root of their problems but if Stiles was calling Theo, then who was she to judge? Maybe there was something Theo could do, maybe there was something he knew that would help them. Worst case scenario, Sydney would get a chance to show him that she hadn't forgotten their little melee on the roof.
Maybe Stiles needed Theo to help them, for some odd reason, but that didn't mean she had to like it, not one bit.
She still didn't trust Theo and at that moment, she wasn't going to drop her guard. If Theo was a threat, if he wasn't on their side one hundred percent, then she wasn't going to go easy on him and with the super moon looming in the sky overhead, she was growing a little restless.
Maybe having Theo around wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, she'd just have to wait and see.
XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX
So Malia found out she has a half sister...and the adventure continues with Syd, Stiles and Charlie
poorxbrokexcollegexkid: they are the best duo!
WickedlyMinx: I miss Peter too!