As promised, here is the second part of the chapter! Enjoy!
Raf's POV:
I slowed to a jog as I walked up the porch steps to the old Hale house. It surprised me a little that he would come back here. I followed Derek's scent until I found in him a small back room that looked to have avoided the fire. He was skimming quickly through books. I noticed a large pile of them as he cast the one in his hands into it. I didn't say anything as I wordlessly walked over next to him, pulled a book off the shelf, and began skimming it for any mention of a Kanima. We were quiet as we read, not saying anything. Both our heads lifted as Boyd and Erica's scent came to our nose.
"You decided," Derek spoke up, turning to face the two. I turned as well, looking between the three in confusion. "When?"
"Tonight," Erica said, looking ashamed of something.
"Everyone's gonna be at the game. And we figured it was the best time," Boyd spoke up.
"It's not like we want to," Erica confessed. Where they leaving? I could feel Derek growing tenser by the minute. Derek took a few steps toward them.
"What do you want?" Derek asked them.
"Since I just turned 16 a month ago, I wouldn't mind getting my license," Erica confessed. "I can't do that if I'm dead, you know."
"Well, I told you there was a price," Derek defended himself. They were definitely leaving. My stomach coiled at the fact that they were abandoning their Alpha, abandoning Derek.
"You didn't say it would be like this," Boyd countered. I rolled my eyes at them.
"Oh boo hoo. Why don't you grow up and face life already," I snapped. Boyd and Erica turned their gaze on me but Derek didn't stop facing them.
"Yeah, but I told you how to survive. You do it as a pack. And you're not a pack without an Alpha," Derek snapped at them, turning to head back to the books.
"We know," Boyd said, making it sound like he'd already found a replacement for Derek. I narrowed my eyes at them. When Derek turned back to study him, Boyd couldn't keep his gaze.
"You wanna look for another pack?" Erica turned her gaze away as well. "How are you even gonna find one?" Derek asked. Erica and Boyd exchanged a look.
"We think we already did," Boyd answered. Derek's face fell a little at the omission.
"I haven't smelled any other packs in the area," I spoke up.
"We haven't either but we heard them last night. Like all of a sudden we heard all this howling. It was unbelievable," Erica answered me.
"There must have been a dozen of them," Boyd spoke up.
"Maybe more," Erica added.
"Yeah, or maybe only two. You know what the Beau Geste effect is? If they modulate their howls with a rapid shift in tone, two wolves can sound like 20," Derek snapped.
"Bears can do it, too. My brother does it all the time," I told them. Erica shook her head at me.
"Look, that doesn't matter, okay? There's another pack out there. There's got to be. We've made up our minds," Erica told us.
"This isn't about wanting safety, you just want to switch packs," I accused them. Neither of them met my gaze.
"We lost, Derek," Boyd tried to make their abandonment seem legitimate. "And it's over. We're leaving."
"No. No, you're running. And once you start, you don't stop. You'll always be running," Derek told him. I could tell he was trying to come off angry, which he was a little. But mostly he was hurt. I could see it in every move he made. Erica and Boyd didn't respond. Erica grabbed Boyd's hand, dragging him out of the house. Derek turned back to the bookshelf, leaning against it as he studied the top. I walked over next to him, not saying anything, but letting our arms brush. I felt his tense body relax a little before it went even tenser. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but Derek suddenly grabbed a large glass shard, turned, and threw it with all of his might. I turned, surprised that I couldn't smell Peter as he stood in the doorway, holding the glass shard right beside his neck where Derek had thrown it. Derek shifted his stance, on guard as he waited for Peter to make his move and in the process blocking half my body.
"I expected a slightly warmer welcome. But…point taken," Peter drawled. "It's quite a situation you've got yourself in here, Derek." Well at least death hadn't gotten rid of his amusingly cocky attitude. "I mean, I'm out of commission for a few weeks and suddenly, there's lizard people, geriatric psychopaths, and you're cooking up werewolves out of every self-esteem-deprived adolescent in town."
"What do you want?" Derek asked, his voice low as he glared at his uncle. Peter dawned a fake surprise look.
"Well, I want to help. Maybe take Raf on a date if she'll let me," Peter sent me a wide smile. I made a barfing noise. Peter shrugged as if he knew that would be my answer and it didn't bother him in the slightest. "Gonna take that as a no." Peter turned back to Derek, walking slowly toward us. "You're my nephew, the only relative that I have left. You know, there's still a lot that I can teach you." Derek's face was softening as he listened to Peter. He wasn't actually falling for this was he? Peter put his hand on Derek's shoulder. "Can we just talk?" Derek turned to look at Peter's hand.
"Sure. Let's talk," Derek said in a calm voice as he still stared at Peter's hand on his shoulder. Next thing I know, Derek's throwing Peter through the door and into the stairwell.
"That's what I'm talking about," I mumbled under my breath. Derek sent me a smirk before walking back over to Peter. "This should be fun." I watched as Derek picked up his uncle, tossing him around as he beat him. "I should have brought popcorn and cookie dough bites." I chewed absentmindedly on my thumb as I followed the boys around the house as they fought. Derek seemed to be having a really good time. I noted that the sun had finely set. "Oh, I was gonna go see the boys play tonight…" I trailed off in thought. I brought my eyes back around to Derek as he threw his uncle down the stairs, following Peter so he could give him a good punch and kick. I sat down on the stairs, resting my head on my fist as I watched on.
"You don't actually think that I want to be the Alpha again, do you? That wasn't my finest performance, considering it ended in my death," Peter spoke, causing him to cough on the blood in his mouth. "I mean, I'm usually more…" Derek grabbed the front of Peter's shirt, bringing his arm back to punch him again. "Okay, go ahead! Come on, do it. Hit me, hit me. I can see that it's cathartic for you. You're letting of of all the anger, self-loathing, and hatred that comes with total and complete failure." Derek dropped him, but I couldn't stop myself as I jumped forward, grabbed Peter's shirt, and punched him. Peter groaned as Derek looked at me in surprise.
"What?" I shrugged. Derek raised an eyebrow. "He talks too much for his own good and I wasn't letting you have all the fun."
"I may be the one taking the beating, Derek, but you've already been beaten," Peter spoke again. I raised my fist to punch Peter again, but Derek grabbed it. "Go ahead, let her hit me. After all I did say that I wanted to help." Derek brought my fist down to my side.
"You can't help me," Derek panted, slightly out of breath from the beating he had given Peter. Derek sat on the stairs and I leaned against the railings next to him. Derek stared at his knuckles as he flexed them.
"See? Prime example right here. I'm not healing as fast. Coming back from the dead isn't easy, you know. I'm not as strong as I used to be," Peter told us as he inspected his reflection in the broken piece of a mirror.
"Aww, you poor thing. Let me just pull out how many cares I don't give from my bag full of who gives a –" I drawled.
"Anyways," Peter interrupted me, sending me a glare. "I need a pack, an Alpha like you. I need you as much as you need me." Oh, please. Derek scoffed at Peter, not even glancing in his direction.
"Why would I want help from a total psycho?" Derek asked. I snorted as Peter turned his glare back on me.
"First of all, I'm not a total psycho," Peter answered.
"You sure about that?" I asked. Peter glared at me but pretended like I hadn't said anything.
"And by the way, you're the one that slashed my throat wide open. But we're all works in progress, right? For instance Raf could use some help in her wardrobe," Peter sassed. I glanced down at my blue jeans and the large t-shirt I stole from Garrett that came to mid thigh. What's wrong with baggy clothes? They're comfy as hell. "So. We need each other. Sometimes when you need help, you turn to people you'd never expect. You tried to build your pack. You tried to prepare for the worst. You weren't ready." Peter squatted down in front of Derek as he tried to weasel his way under his skin. "Because of it, Gerard is winning. He's taking his time. He's toying with Scott. He's going after your wolves, one by one. He's relishing in his victory."
"How about you tell me something I don't know?" Derek cut him off, looking up to glare at his uncle.
"Oh, I'm going to. And it's gonna prove why you should trust me. Why you need to trust me. Because I'm going to tell you how to stop Jackson," Peter told us.
"What do you mean?" Derek asked, eyes never leaving Peter. "How to kill him?"
"Actually, how to save him," Peter deadpanned. I stared wide-eyed at Peter before glancing at Derek. He looked to me, his face etched with the skepticism I knew my own face displayed. "There's a myth that you can cure a werewolf simply by calling out its Christian name."
"It's just a myth," Derek dismissed the idea easily.
"What even is a Christian name? Like is it supposed to be your true name…like in Eragon?" I questioned. Derek and Peter both gave me a strange look. "Never mind."
"Sometimes myths and legends bear a hint of truth. Our name is a symbol of who we are. But the Kanima has no identity. That's why it doesn't seek a pack," Peter explained.
"So it was like in Eragon," I whispered. Derek's eyes cut over to me but he pretended he didn't hear me.
"It seeks a master," Derek finished for Peter.
"And who else grows up with no pack?" Peter quizzed us. The urge to say 'your mom' was overwhelming, but I held it in. "No identity?"
"An orphan," I said instead.
"Like Jackson. And right now, his identity is disappearing beneath the reptilian skin and you need to bring him back," Peter told us everything we basically already knew.
"How?" Derek snapped.
"Through his heart. How else?" Peter spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You know, in case you hadn't noticed, Jackson doesn't really have too much of a heart to begin with," Derek replied in his annoyed voice.
"Not true. He'd never admit it, but there is one person, one young lady with whom Jackson shared a real bond, one person who can reach him. Who can save him," Peter told us.
"Lydia," I answered. Derek glanced at me as the cogs began to start turning in his own brain.
"Your best ally has always been anger, Derek, but what you lack most is heart. That's why you've always known that you need Scott more than anyone. And even somebody as burned and dead on the inside as me knows better than to underestimate the simple yet undeniable power of human love." Peter told us.
"We need to get to the lacrosse game," Derek spoke up, standing as he made his way to the door. Peter turned to follow but I caught his arm.
"Just because we're working with you right now, doesn't mean we trust you. Double cross us, cause one of my sleuth to get hurt, I will triple that hurt on you. If you even think about trying to get your power back from Derek or hurting him, I will shove your face in a trash compactor. Comprende?" I said in a low voice. Peter smirked at me before shoving off and walking out the door. Derek waited for me to go out the door before he too walked out. I could have sworn I saw a small smile on his face.
Madison's POV:
I sat in the stands next to Garrett, who insisted on sitting with me at the game. I sat next to Melissa and the Sheriff as we waited for the game to start.
"You didn't have to come with me to the game. It's not like Stiles and I were gonna make out in the car or something," I snarked. Garrett gave me a disbelieving look.
"Suuure you weren't." I blushed. Garrett's face grew a little more sober. "But that's not why I insisted on coming. I'm here, cause he's here." Garrett pointed over to Jackson as he stood on the sideline. Lydia pranced over to us, sitting next to Garrett.
"Oh, no. Why is my son running on the field?" The Sheriff asked. Our heads snapped to the field. Sure enough, Stiles was fumbling as he attempted to put on his helmet as he ran out to the field.
"Because he's on the team?" Melissa reminded him. A dawning look came over the Sheriff's face.
"He is. He's on the team. He's on the field. My son is on the field!" The Sheriff yelled as he stood up and cheered. Garrett and I snickered under our breath as the Sheriff sat back down a little embarrassed by his out burst.
"Yeah, Stiles!" I yelled along. I saw Stiles head turn toward us as he looked at us a little uncertainly. "How nervous is he?" I whispered to Garrett.
"Well, his heart sounds like he's about to have a heart attack," Garrett smirked at me, but it quickly fell away. "Gerard is here."
"Well…he is the principal," I answered back. Garrett shook his head as he continued to listen.
"No. He wants Scott to turn Derek over to him by the last 30 seconds of the game or he's going to have Jackson kill someone," Garrett explained as he wrapped a protective arm around my back and pulled me closer.
"Have Jackson do it? Does that mean that Gerard is controlling the Kanima?" I whispered. Garrett gave me a frightened look. We both jumped as the whistle blew. I focused in on the game to distract myself. So far most of the first quarter had happened and Stiles hadn't seen much action. Finally, the ball landed in his net, right as another player tackled him hard to the ground. Melissa and I winced as Lydia shooed Garrett over so she could sit next to me. She grasped my hand tightly.
"He's probably just warming up," Melissa reasoned. Lydia and I nodded as we shared a worried look. The ball was thrown to the ground in front of Stiles. We watched as he stumbled to scoop the ball up in his net. Right as he scooped it up, two players from the opposing team plowed over him.
"Oh, he's just a little nervous. Plenty of time to turn it around," Lydia offered up for him.
"I don't even watch this game and I know that that's bad," Garrett mumbled. I reached around Lydia, smacking him on the back of the head.
"Come on Stiles! You got this!" I yelled out. We watched as the ball was passed to Stiles, only for it to bounce off his helmet. I chewed on my lip as Garrett hid a smirk behind his hand. I was startled from watching Stiles by Garrett smacking my leg. He nodded his head toward the bench. Sitting next to Scott, was Isaac. I looked at Garrett, who looked like he had a little more hope in his eyes.
"This is about to get interesting," Garrett whispered as Isaac walked out onto the field. It was toward the end of the second quarter when Isaac knocked down one of our own players so hard that he would definitely need to sit out of the game. Not even a few seconds later Isaac did it to another player. I sucked in air as Isaac took out two more players. Garrett jumped up as Isaac knocked down another player and got knocked down himself…by Jackson. I stood up so Garrett could lean over me to whisper in my ear. "Jackson nicked him. He's starting to get paralyzed."
"Follow him. You should make sure he's ok. I'll yell for you if anything happens," Garrett hesitated for a second before nodding and running after Isaac. I watched as Scott joined the players on the field. I briefly wondered in the back of my mind where Raf was. I watched as Stiles was once again plowed into the ground. I groaned with Melissa and Lydia as we watched. We were in the final quarter of the game, only minutes left. The ball rolled in front of Stiles, with no other players around him. Stiles quickly picked up the ball, shuffling backward as he broke into a run toward the opposing teams goal. Even my human ears could hear Stiles shrieking as the other players began to charge toward him.
"Oh, crap," the Sheriff mumbled. I gripped Lydia's hand tightly, chewing on my lip and rubbing my thumb over my fingernails. Stiles stopped in front of the goal, looking around in a panic.
"Shoot it!" I screamed loudly. Stiles shot the ball, making his first goal. Lydia and I jumped up from our seats, screaming for joy as the Sheriff basically lost his mind from cheering so loud. The game was set back in motion. Stiles caught the ball easily as it was thrown to him, but this time he was able to dodge around the players. Turns out all he needed was a confidence boost. Stiles shot for another ball, making his second goal. The Sheriff and I jumped up cheering again. Our score was now tied. Stiles caught the ball again, weaving through the defense as he made his way toward the goal, throwing it and making the last, and winning goal. Lydia and I jumped up and down, screaming as loud as we could. I watched as Stiles' teammates ran up to congratulate him. I moved to stand on the seats of the bleachers so I could see Stiles better. I caught his eye during the cheering, smiling and blowing him a kiss. He gave me a crooked grin as he watched me scream and cheer loudly for him. The buzzer sounded, ending the championship game. Suddenly all the lights went out. People started screaming and running off the bleachers. I was shoved down from where I stood, knocking my knee against the bleacher in front of me.
"MADISON?" Lydia screeched in a panicked voice a few feet away. I got up, shoving through people as I tried to run to her.
"LYDIA! I'M OVER HERE!" I yelled. I was shoved to the ground in the panic, people stepping on me as they tried to get away. I felt strong arms wrap around me as I was dragged into someone's chest.
"Madison?" Lydia whimpered from next to me. I could barely make out the form of Lydia and a man holding the both of us to his chest.
"You good?" Garrett's voice asked. Since when did Garrett look so much like an adult?
"Yeah, I'm good," I replied. Garrett dragged us around the crowd, shouldering his way through everyone. The lights suddenly came flashing back on. I winced at the light, catching sight of Scott and his mom a few yards away. Lydia burst from Garrett's grip, running away as I shared a terrified look with Scott.
"Jackson?" Lydia's scared voice made me snap my head toward her and the fallen body. I ran toward it with Garrett hot on my heals. "What's happened to Jackson?"
"We're gonna need a medic!" Coach yelled. Melissa kneeled down next to Jackson as he lay still on the ground. I saw Scott and Isaac come and stand behind Scott's mother as I stood behind Lydia, rubbing her arms in comfort.
"He's not breathing. No pulse," Melissa told the Coach. They lifted his shirt, revealing open wounds.
"Oh my God. There's blood," Lydia cried as she shook. Garrett leaned his head in close to my ear behind me.
"Look at his hands. He did that to himself," He whispered. I glanced at Jackson's bloody hands in horror.
"Get down here," Melissa said to Lydia. Lydia however didn't move. "Get down here and hold his head. Tilt it up," Melissa said in a firmer voice. Lydia stayed frozen, so I moved down to Jackson, tilting his head as instructed.
"Where's Stiles? Where the hell is my son?" The Sheriff yelled.
Fun Fact: Raf has only dated three guys. One is dead, and one makes an extremely short surprise visit at the end of Season 4.
