Vengeance

Chapter Fourteen

"What about this?" Lydia shoved one of the hundreds of pages of the bestiary at her.

Laurel took it, glanced at it briefly before putting it in the 'no' pile.

"You're not a necromancer, your brought Peter back to life necromancer's just raise the dead," she said certainly.

Lydia Martin had inserted herself into Laurels life and she couldn't do anything to deter the girl, and she had certainly tried. With Allison away for the summer break the red head had turned up at her new apartment at the beginning of summer brandishing folders and telling Laurel that she needed help figuring out what she was.

With some reluctance at the beginning she had helped, but as the weeks went by and Lydia stayed an ever-present figure in her life, she realised she didn't mind having her around. She was much smarter than Laurel had imagined she would be, quick and determined and very, very persistent.

Laurel was on her laptop, something Lydia had insisted she needed. After her failed attempts with technology she was pleasantly surprised she hadn't broken it yet. As Lydia and Isaac, who also was becoming a regular fixture in her life, sat around her small table rifling through pages upon pages of weirdly wonderful and terrifying creatures, she found herself once again looking at the face of the people she had killed.

She had read every article she could find on the fire and read them all ten times over. The obituaries of the people who had died were burnt to her memory and when she closed her eyes at night she saw their faces.

Laurel had forgiven herself for the mistake she had made, for the child she had been who had lost control but she didn't forget, couldn't forget and she didn't want to. Their deaths were her burden to bear and she did it with a heavy heart.

"What are you looking at?" Isaac asked her.

She wasn't quick enough to close the tab and Isaac sighed, shutting the laptop and giving her a sympathetic look.

"You need to stop torturing yourself," he said softly.

She sighed and let him take the laptop from her, he placed in on the table underneath the vast amount of paper.

"It was an accident," he said.

Laurel bit her lip and grabbed a handful of pages off the table, she stared at them but didn't really see them.

"I know, but it still happened, they are still dead," she muttered sadly.

"Well Peter isn't and I for one would like to know how I did it," Lydia interjected.

She had a habit of doing that, whenever the subject was raised Lydia would steer the conversation away, to a different topic. Laurel didn't know if it was because she didn't want to think about what her new friend had done or if she was trying to help, in her own way.

She smiled at Lydia as the girl eyed her, "sorry, I just, I don't know what you are." Laurel said feeling helpless.

Lydia tried to hide it but she could tell the girl was bothered by what she had done, by what she was or might be. The truth was Laurel had no idea what she was, had never heard of someone bringing someone back from the dead.

"Maybe you aren't anything, maybe it was Peter and you just helped him, he bit you so you shared a connection that he exploited." Laurel suggested.

"It was a full moon that night," Isaac added before taking a bite of a sandwich he had made himself.

It seemed everyone was at home in her tiny apartment besides her. She didn't admit it out loud to anyone but she missed living under the same roof as the Stilinski's, the house had a warmth that her tiny apartment just didn't have.

"But I was bitten and I didn't turn into a werewolf and I didn't die. It means something, it has to." Lydia said riffling through the pages of the bestiary furiously.

Laurel reached out her hand and placed it over Lydia's stopping the girl from her frantic searching.

"We will figure it out Lydia," she said softly and with certainty.

Because it was bugging her to, not as much as it was Lydia but still, Laurel wanted to know what her new friend was, to satisfy her own curiosity and to put Lydia's mind at ease.

She watched Lydia's body deflate as she let out a long breath and slumped in her chair.

Before she could say anything else the door swung open and Stiles tumbled in, his hands full of takeaway bags.

"Oh, hey guys," he said seeing Lydia and Isaac sitting around the table with her.

He walked over to her and kissed her cheek sweetly making her smile before he set the bags down on the merger counter space in the kitchen.

"I didn't grab enough for everyone, sorry," he said before taking a seat next to her and wrapping his hand around hers.

Stiles had been the light in her darkness over the summer, there to always pick her up, hold her while she cried and make her laugh when she least expected it. She still didn't believe she deserved him but she was working on that and she didn't think she could give him up even if she wanted to.

"I gotta go anyway, stuff to do with Derek," Isaac said shoving the last mouthful of sandwich into his mouth before standing up.

"Plate," she said sternly as he began to walk away leaving his plate on the table.

He grinned sheepishly and grabbed it before washing it up in the sink quickly. She didn't own a dish washer, no way in hell was she getting any machinery that wasn't necessary.

"See you tomorrow," she called to him as he took the few steps to the door.

"Have fun," he said grinning as his eyes flickered to Stiles and he threw her a cheeky wink before he raced out the door.

She rolled her eyes, Stiles was oblivious to Isaac's comment.

"Still not found anything?" he asked Lydia while he flicked through the rejected pile.

"No," Lydia muttered dejectedly.

"We'll figure it out," Stiles said echoing her sentiment from earlier.

Lydia huffed before gathering all the pages up.

"I'll leave you guys alone," she said shoving the papers into a folder.

"You don't have to go Lydia," Laurel found herself saying despite the fact that she did really want to spend some alone time with Stiles.

Lydia gave her a grateful smile, "its ok, I've got plans this afternoon," she said vaguely.

Laurel sensed the shift in her emotions. She frowned slightly, confused by her friend's sudden bout of guilt.

"What are you doing?" Stiles asked helping her gather the pages together. He couldn't sense her emotions like Laurel could.

Lydia glanced nervously at Laurel, she was intrigued, what is she hiding? She thought and why did she feel guilty about it?

"I, erm, I have plans with Allison."

And there it was.

Laurel felt her body stiffen automatically. Over the weeks Allison, or any Argent, had been a topic off limits. It was an unspoken agreement between the two that they just didn't bring up that family.

Feeling Lydia's nervous gaze on her Laurel tried her best to smile, she knew they were friends and didn't expect Lydia to stop being friends with Allison. But that didn't mean that Laurel had to be. She hadn't thought about Allison much over the summer, out of sight and out of mind, but the times when she had she still felt the sting of the young huntresses betrayal.

"Its ok Lydia, have fun," Laurel managed to say her voice far more convincing than she had expected.

Lydia gave her a small smile and hugged her tightly. It was one of only a few times the red head had hugged her and it always surprised her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Lydia said as they walked to the door.

"Yeah, have fun," she said softly and then locked the door behind her.

She leant against the door for several seconds, letting out a long breath. Laurel was still amazed at Lydia's and Isaac's determination to be her friend. It was confusing but not a terrible feeling.

"You ok?" Stiles said walking towards her and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to his chest.

She rested her head on his shoulder for a few minutes, relishing the warmth that emanated from him. She pressed her lips against the side of his neck and kissed him before smiling as she felt him shiver.

"Come on, lunch is getting cold," she said pulling away with a wicked grin.

She knew what she had done.

"You Laurel Sorrell are wicked."

Vengeance

Her legs were draped over Stiles lap as the end credits rolled.

"He reminds me of Jackson," she muttered.

Stiles gave her a quizzical look. "Because of the whole not heart thing?"

She shook her head. "No, because he doesn't have a nose."

Stiles laughed; a deep belly laugh that shook the entire tiny sofa.

He had been appalled when she had mentioned she had no idea who or what Harry Potter was and so he had made it his mission to make her watch all the movies. Laurel didn't mind, in fact she found she quite enjoyed them.

She watched him with a warm smile as he laughed; it was a beautiful sound, one she would bottle and keep forever if she could.

"Oh Laurel, I love you," he spluttered between laughter.

She felt her eyes go wide and her mouth drop open. I love you she repeated the words in her mind. They hadn't said those words to each other yet.

It took a few minutes for Stiles to realise what he had said. She saw his own eyes widen and his cheeks blush crimson.

"I mean, oh god, I just meant-" he began to stutter.

Laurel knew there was going to be an onslaught of rambling and so without thinking she dove for him. Sitting in his lap she pressed her lips to his feverishly, silencing him. She kissed him until she felt his panic fade, he had thought he had said something stupid but it was quite the opposite.

She pulled back, still sitting in his lap she smiled at his frazzled expression. He always looked a little dazed after they kissed, it made her smile.

"I love you to," she said softly, meaning every word.

He took in a large breath, eyes widening once again. "Really?"

Her smile was small and soft, "yes, really." She leant forwards and pressed her lips against his softly.

"You are wonderful, kind, funny, handsome and you are everything good in my life and I need a little good, your my light in the darkness and I don't know how I would have got through these months without you," she said softly, pouring her heart out was an uncommon occurrence but with Stiles, for Stiles; it was easy as breathing.

She loved him and they were mates after all.

"I love you," Stiles said softly, no laughter that time.

She rested her forehead against his, "say it again," she whispered with a smile.

"I love you," he replied, she could hear the smile in his voice.

Laurel felt her body tingle with his words, a fire completely different to the one within her coursed through her. A warmth only Stiles could summon in her.

She stood up and saw Stiles pout, his soft lips puckered irresistibly. She stretched out her hand and he placed his in hers, entwining their fingers together as she pulled him to his feet. She walked backwards eyes locked on his, it didn't take more than a few steps until she felt the edge of her bed hit the back of her legs.

Her apartment was small after all, one room with everything in and then one other that had a small bathroom.

Laurel swallowed thickly, watching Stiles eyes darken.

"Say it again," she whispered.

"I love you," he said stepping closer, his body pressed against hers, hands still entwined as he bent down to capture her lips.

They fell back onto her bed a tangle of limbs and Laurel smiled up at Stiles as he hovered above her.

"I love you."

Vengeance

Laurel lay nestled into Stiles side, he had a giddy smile on his face as he lay beside her eyes shut.

"That was-" he paused, trying to search for the right word. "amazing."

She smiled, "yes," she whispered back placing a soft kiss on his shoulder.

He was stronger than he looked, beneath his plaid shirts and jackets he had quite the physic, not that it mattered to Laurel but it was a nice surprise.

"Is it always like that?" he asked his voice sounding dazed.

"No," she replied, thinking back to her first time. "Maybe is because we are mates." She said laying a hand over his heart, his skin slightly damp as she felt the steady beating of his heart on her palm.

Stiles kissed her forehead, his lips grazing her skin softly. His touch always sent shivers down her spine; he was addictive.

Reluctantly she rolled out of bed, grabbing his shirt that lay discarded on the floor, she pulled it on, inhaling his scent as she did so.

"Where are you going?" she couldn't see him but she could hear the pout in his voice.

She looked over her shoulder, he was sprawled on her bed, the duvet nestled around his legs while his chest was uncovered and very distracting.

"Rehydrating is important," she said grabbing two glasses and filling them with water before covering the short distance back to her bed.

They both drank greedily, and smiled at each other as they sat their glasses down. She shuffled up the bed until she was leant against him, her back pressed against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"So, who was your first?" he asked curiously.

She shook rolled her eyes, it was such a guy thing to ask.

"I'm not jealous or anything," he added quickly. "I mean, you just said that was way better." She could hear the pride in his voice and stifled a laugh.

She turned in his arms to face him.

"You really want to know?"

He nodded.

She sighed, "he was a werewolf."

"A werewolf!" he exclaimed, surprised. "I'm better than a werewolf," he added, grinning proudly.

She slapped him softly in the chest.

Stiles grinned sheepishly.

"So, who was he?"

His image danced in her mind for a few seconds. He had been handsome and he'd had the same anger burning inside of him that she'd had.

"Aiden," she muttered. "His pack brought him and his brother to the Fae community, they needed help and I was offered as said help." She continued.

"Help with what? Control?" Stiles asked, he was genuinely interested.

"In a way, they were twins and well," she paused, wondering how best to describe what the two could do. What they could become.

"They were different, it must be because they were twins but they could shift together, merge into one, become bigger and stronger than most werewolves." She remembered the first time she'd seen them in their unified form, their handsome faces melded into a face that looked so unlike them, not handsome but truly the face of a beast.

"Hold on, they literally became one person?" Stiles asked shocked.

She nodded.

"That's," he paused, "terrifying," he said slowly.

"Its a sight," she said remember the awe she had felt at seeing them transform together.

"Where are they now?" Stiles asked.

She shrugged; the twins had stayed with her kind for five months learning to control their shifting. Their pack had drifted in and out, Deucalion their alpha made a point of checking on them often.

The thought of Deucalion brought with it memories of Gerard. It had been the alpha of alphas after all that had told her when Gerard had come out of hiding. He had been the reason she had gone to Beacon Hills, for the chance to get justice for her family.

That justice never came.

Laurel didn't know much about Gerard's whereabouts and she didn't want to. Stiles had told her what had happened that day, how Gerard had wanted the bite to cure his cancer; it hadn't worked. She remembered the black blood that oozed from his lips. It been Scott's plan of course that saved the day, that had Gerard's body rejecting the change thanks to the mountain ash he had placed in his pills.

She hated to admit it and would never say it out loud but it had been a good plan.

Remembering that night brought with it darkness, a darkness she had worked so hard to keep at bay.

She pushed all thoughts of Gerard and that night from her mind. She didn't want to fall back in to the darkest pits of despair.

Stiles thankfully spoke, pulling her from her internal struggle.

"Do you still talk to this Aiden guy then?" she heard the slightest hint of jealously in his voice.

She shook her head, her grin crooked as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"No, not for a long time, don't worry."

He blew out a hot puff of air, trying to be casual at which he was failing at miserably.

"Me, worried, never."

She laughed and rolled on top of him, pulling his shirt over her head and throwing it back on the floor.

"Definitely not worried," he purred before capturing his lips with her own.

All thoughts of Aiden vanished from her mind. She didn't need to worry about him, or his brother.

All she could think about was Stiles.

Vengeance

The next morning Laurel woke to the smell of bacon, she rolled over and opened her eyes to see Stiles hovering over a frying pain and cursing quietly as grease spatter onto his bare chest.

Like the day before she shrugged on his shirt and padded over to him, wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Morning," she whispered into her ear.

"Morning, ouch," he said, cursing as another but of oil spat out the pan.

"Maybe I should take over," she suggested, worried he was going to give himself third degree burns.

"Oh no, don't go all Edward Cullen on," he said seriously.

She rolled her eyes.

"I don't get that reference either." She said leaning against the counter and admiring him.

"Don't go all over protective, I may be human but I can make my girlfriend a bacon sandwich," he said.

She smiled, "well this girlfriend is hungry so hurry up."

After breakfast and a lengthy goodbye Stiles left and Laurel texted Lydia. They had plans to go shopping before the start of school the next day. Pulling on any old clothes she could find she was grateful for the chance to go shopping, be normal; she was also in dire need of some more clothes.

"Who is Edward Cullen?" she asked as she slipped into Lydia's car.

She received a peculiar look from Lydia.

"Twilight."

Laurel frowned perplexed.

"Oh my gosh, we need to get you into the twenty first century." Lydia said aghast.

"I know I know," she said, "at least I know what Mean Girls is," she said with a grin.

Lydia had forced her to watch it, along with many other movies including the very depressing The Notebook. She still wanted to cry when she thought about.

"Allison coming over this evening, you could come over and watch Twilight," Lydia suggests her tone light though Laurel could sense her nervousness.

She glared at Lydia who sighed.

"It would be really great if you two could get along," she said throwing her a pleading look.

"She nearly killed me," she said calmly, trying not to let her angry seep out.

"I know," Lydia replied with a soft sigh.

"Would you want to sit around with Peter and watch movies?" she retorted a pointed look on her face.

"No," Lydia said her tone deflated and seeming to understand Laurels perspective.

"I have plans tonight anyway," Laurel added, trying to change the topic.

She succeeded.

"With Stiles," Lydia said with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.

She laughed, "yes and Scott."

"Kinky."

Lydia laughed while she shook her head.

"Sorry, but on a serious note how are things between you and Scott?" she asked her voice holding genuine concern.

Laurel shrugged, "awkward, tense. But we are both trying for Stiles sake."

She watched as her friend nodded in understanding.

"He's not a bad guy, the opposite in fact, but he just so," she paused searching for the right word.

"Noble, annoying, self-righteous," she said listing off all Scott's qualities that got on her nerves.

Lydia snorted. "So, you'll have fun tonight then, what are you doing anyway?"

"The poster boy for all things heroic wants a tattoo." She said still finding it bemusing that goody-to-shoes wanted to get something so rebellious.

"Sounds riveting," Lydia said dully.

"Oh please, watching Scott get stabbed with needles thousands of times. It might be my new favourite activity."

Laurel grinned wickedly as she and Lydia laughed. She was trying to be a better person sure; but she was still her!

So a few people wanted this story to continue so fingers crossed you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Let me know what you think.