Chapter Twenty-Four: Tooth and Nail
Stiles supported most of Alex's weight as the pair stumbled past the wreckage of the doorway and the staircase, the living room wasn't exactly in pristine condition as the pair burst into it. Alex untangled herself from Stiles' grip despite his obvious disapproval and let herself drop unceremoniously to the ground. She got painfully to her hands and knees and began to crawl as best she could.
"Alex, Jesus - what are you doing?" Stiles asked, arms grasping for her even after she had slumped to the floor. His vision was still a little hazy from being choked and he faltered a little in his steps. He followed closely behind while still keeping an eye out for Isaac, who knew how long they had to come up with some kind of plan before he descended on them in a fury of teeth and claws.
She ignored his inquisition, only being able to focus on one thing at a time while she crawled towards the far wall of the living room and reached out to grab at the vent situated near the baseboards. She twisted methodically at the top left screw while Stiles muttered unintelligible things at her from over her shoulder. When the screw finally dropped to the floor, the sound it made rang painfully loud in the eery silence.
Alex adjusted herself on the floor, well aware that she must look like weak and abused. She was trying and failing to relieve the pressure from the wood protruding from her back, while simultaneously itching to pull it out. She knew well enough not to chance that and simply let her legs lay limp on the ground while she twisted slightly to lay on her hip. She dug her fingernails into the metal of the grate and pulled it free easily because she'd had the foresight to leave all the other screws loose.
"What are you doing?" Stiles asked again, watching her closely with scrunched eyebrows.
"More fire power." She growled through clenched teeth, the pain blossoming in her back was about to knock her on her ass so she desperately moved her hand around in the blackness of the opened vent, hoping for Stiles' sake that she didn't pass out. She was getting a little desperate now - Lydia was upstairs and Alex had no idea what was happening to her or what she'd seen. Her sister was on her own with Erica, she guessed. Jackson wouldn't be of any use to her, the selfish bastard.
And here she was, nearly dead weight, scrounging around in the dark for a last ditch effort that may or may not even work. The difficult and unusual thing about this attack was that she didn't want to kill Isaac or Erica, she wanted to knock them out - maybe shove a wooden spike through Isaac and see how he would like it, but ultimately leave them alive. They, however, didn't feel the same way. They would kill her and her friends without a thought.
Though, a fleeting thought entered her mind. One she hadn't ever considered before about any of her other partners - she trusted Stiles. Implicitly. If she succumbed to her injuries, there was a surety about Stiles in particular that made her more relaxed about the outcome. Stiles would figure something out, he would save her and himself, and probably everyone else in this godforsaken house.
Alex had never felt that way when she'd hunted with her father, Jonathon or anyone else. It was an unspoken law between hunters that it was every man for themselves. A hunter had to be quick thinking, resourceful, and cunning because you knew no one else would save you even if they had a chance. It forced you to act out of survival instinct, to not rely on anyone else but yourself. It had been so isolating and lonely - it had left her cold and distrustful.
Stiles, she realized, had somehow changed that without her even knowing.
"Alex," Stiles' voice was urgent. "Whatever you are doing, do it quick because he's coming over here - and he doesn't look happy."
"Duck!" Alex shouted, flooded with relief when her fingers grasped around the taser she'd stashed in the vent. She twisted around, a scream of pain forced its way out of her throat as she did, the raw skin on her back ripping and tearing with the power she needed to angle her body the right way. Stiles ducked just in time as Alex fired the military grade taser to life, the blue buzz of the electricity lit up the room and Isaac's malicious face.
He soared through the air, jaw practically unhinged, teeth aimed right at her throat. The sharp shadows created the illusion of things straight out of her childhood nightmares and for one terrifying split second, she faltered. Her hand slipped from the power button and plunged the room into a pitch black void.
Isaac slammed into her with the force of a train, effectively knocking the breath from her lungs. The impact forced them both back into the wall, cracking the plaster and embedding the large splinted of wood even farther into her back. A silent scream tore through her, her mouth opening with the white hot pain that made her unable to make a sound. The pain woke her up, it made her stronger and her fingers, though wet with the slick of sweat and blood found the trigger and the taser roared to life once again.
The device made contact with the side of Isaac's neck and fired 10,000 volts of electricity through his body. The room was on fire with a brilliant blue light again and she watched Isaacs face transform back to its human form - the muscle and tissue vibrating with the painful effects of the taser.
Alex kept her finger on the trigger a little longer than necessary, for posterities sake, and then shoved his limp body off of her.
"Asshole." It came out as a whimper, the pain nearing an unbearably threshold. Isaac thumped to the ground.
She unclenched her fingers from the taser, knuckles white with the desperate way she'd been holding on to it and let herself slump to the floor with a tired sigh. Her hand knocked the metal grate and sent the screws scattering across the floor but she couldn't bring herself to care. Stiles slumped down beside her looking worse for wear. His wide eyes were trained on Isaac but he slowly turn his head to fix his wide brown eyes on her.
"When did you put that there?" His face was pale, but he was impressed and it was written all over his face.
"Beginning of summer." She answered, her eyes falling shut. She ached all over.
"Smart." He commented.
"Thanks."
"You should probably keep it there." He advised after a beat of silence.
"I was just thinking the same thing." She opened her eyes to find him looking down at her with a small little smile pulling at his mouth, almost like he wasn't sure he should be smiling at a time like this but couldn't help himself.
A noise from upstairs caught their attention and Stiles' face snapped back into a concerned grimace. Alex braced herself with her hands on the floor and tried to pull herself up. A white hot and searing pain that felt like it might split her in half made her arms buckle and her abs clench.
"Fuck." She moaned, gently laying herself back down. "I need assistance."
Stiles was on her in an instant. "Here, I got you." He said, jumping onto his haunches to get a grip around her waist. She released a shaky breath while he, as gently as he could, maneuvered her in his arms to swing her on to his back, hosting her up so her arms were around his neck. She squeezed her eyes shut when she choked on a groan as the pain continued to throb.
"I fucking hate that guy." She sneered down at Isaac as best she could, being almost too tired to muster up enough energy to glare, and rested her forehead on the skin between Stiles' neck and shoulder. "There is a piece of the banister lodged in my back." She informed him and she felt him stiffen underneath her body. A vein in the side of his neck became more pronounced and Alex fleetingly wondered how he'd react if she licked it.
"Can you move your legs?" He asked wearily, trying to mask his concern with casual interest.
"Yeah," She wiggled her legs to prove it. "Let's go save the stragglers and then I'll let you take me to the hospital."
Stiles stiffened again, knowing exactly how hurt she would have to be to suggest she go to the hospital herself. Under any normal circumstance she had to be coerced, or bartered with. He tempered his concern for the moment know that they might all need hospitals if they didn't find Erica and neutralize her before Isaac woke up.
Stiles walked swiftly, yet quietly up the stairs. Erica was still lurking around somewhere and the top level of the house had been suspiciously quiet during their own epic scuffle on the main level of the house. They peered around corners and checked darkened rooms all while Alex silently marvelled at the ease with which Stiles was hauling her around.
The creaking of the floorboards in Scott's room drew their attention and Stiles stepped carefully in that direction. A dark head of hair emerged from the confines of Scott's room and Allison looked relieved to see them. She let her travel sized cross bow drop to her side and let out a shaky breath.
"You good?" Alex asked from over Stiles' left shoulder. Allison didn't say anything, just nodded her head to gesture into the bedroom. Stiles took a few steps forward, allowing them to peer curiously around the door frame.
They spotted Erica immediately. Her light hair splayed around her face as she lay on the floor, eyes open and trained on the ceiling.
"Is she . . .?" Stiles trailed off, seemingly unable to finish voicing his question, but both sisters knew what he was asking.
"She's still breathing." Alex commented, seeing the slight movement of Erica's chest and twisting to look back at her sister who had a small smirk on her face. "Kanima venom?"
"On the arrow." Allison replied triumphantly.
"Genius." Alex muttered, her chest expanding with pride. A quick thinking and brilliant move that probably saved her life. She was an Argent, after all. "Otherwise unharmed?" Alex questioned.
"Who cares?" Replied Allison, crossing her arms over her chest, her smirk morphing into something more akin to a sneer. Alex felt the pride in her older sister deflate a little at the comment. It was easy to fall into the Argent way of thinking - that life only mattered if it was human. Alex had lived in that exact reality her whole life but something had changed and shifted within her since moving to Beacon Hills. She recognized the look in Allison's eyes because it had been reflected in her own for years. It was a look that made her weary.
Instead, she said:
"She may be on Team Derek, but I kinda like the chick." Alex scanned the room, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion and concern. "Where is Lydia?"
"I told her to hide." Allison answered.
"Let's get them out of here before she comes in her demanding answers and we have to make up some bullshit story she's too smart to believe." Stiles interrupted, shifting his weight slightly and adjusting Alex's on his lower back. Allison seemed to realize, with the movement, that he was carrying Alex.
"What happened?" Allison questioned, her eyes narrowing in to scan what she could see of Alex's body. Stiles shifted to give Allison a better view of her sisters back and when the large splitter of wood became visible Allison gasped. "Jesus!"
"Got anymore Kanima venom kicking around?" Alex quipped, avoiding the frightened look that tightened Allison's sharp features. Alex knew the injury was bad, she didn't need a reminder. "Seriously though - we should probably dose Isaac, to be safe."
Allison quickly got to work, gripping Erica's feet and dragging her none too gently out of the room. The loud thuds coming in quick succession from the wrecked staircase made Alex think that Erica was going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow. Stiles deposited Alex on a nearby couch and after dosing Isaac with heaping helping of venom, they tossed the teen wolves right out the door and on to the front lawn.
Stiles helped Alex to her feet and supported her while they joined Allison at the door.
On the street, beyond the paralyzed bodies of Isaac and Erica, Scott and Derek looked both startled and impressed as the trio stood defiantly on Scott's front porch.
"You already have your own pack." Derek said to Scott, conceding. Boyd stood next to Derek looking like an angry semi-truck, whilst Derek surveyed his unresponsive beta's who were out cold in the dirt. Derek lifted his head, catching a scent in the air and his eyes immediately zeroed in on Alex. "Alex," He growled out, low and dangerous. "You're bleeding."
"Courtesy of your little orphan beta." Alex scowled, which turned out to be more of a wince than anything else when she tried to gesture to Isaac. Her arms fell lifelessly to her side and Stiles' grip tightened around her waist protectively.
Derek growled low in his throat and stepped froward with concern, "I told them not to -"
"You told them what?" Stiles' tone almost matched Derek's as he maneuvered to position himself between Alex and Derek. "Not to impale her on the fucking banister?" The question was deadpan, but Stiles' anger was unmistakable. Derek made another move forward. "Don't you dare!" He shouted, startling even Alex with the loudness of the command. "You've done enough, now get the fuck out of my way so I can take her to the hospital before she bleeds the fuck out."
It was unclear whether Derek was going to challenge Stiles because before anyone could make another move a giant crash sounded from the house drawing everyones gaze to the giant lizard scaling the side of the McCall house. The Kanima stood at it's full height on the roof and snapped its head to look directly at them with its cat-like yellow eyes, a terrifying sound came from its mouth before it leaped away, disappearing into the shadows of the night.
Everyone stood motionless for a moment and then lowered their gazes from the roof to the front door where the loud clacking of high heeled booties signalled Lydia's sudden appearance.
"Somebody needs to tell me what the hell is going on."
.
"I think he really feels bad about the whole thing." Alex said, sprawled out on Stiles bed. "He's less broody and more . . . mopey."
Stiles wheeled around in his computer chair to look at her, exasperated. "Well, it's not like he nearly paralyzed you from the waist down or anything." He rolled his eyes, turning back to his computer screen which was chock full of Wiccan websites and nearly fifty different similar tabs.
"Well, he didn't." Alex sing-songed, flipping a worn copy of The Scottish Witch Hunt In Context closed. "Besides, the doctors said I've made a miraculous recovery, almost magical." She grinned at his back and stood from his bed, making her way over to stand behind him, peering at his screen. "Whatever Deaton gave me really did the trick, I wonder if he has any magical druid potion for making my hospital bills go away."
Derek had offered to pay them but she'd declined, loudly.
While throwing a glass at his head.
"You should let Derek pay." Stiles said, he'd been trying to convince her to move out of his loft, too. Stiles didn't think she was safe, but the truth was that Derek hadn't made any kind of move since the attack at Scott's house. It had become obvious that the Kanima was Jackson, so Lydia was safe. Broody Brows also felt terrible about what had happened to Alex and was being the picture perfect roommate - well, for the most part. He was still Derek Hale after all.
Alex shrugged, "If I let him do that, he might stop all of his grovelling - and I'm enjoying it too much for that." She wrapped her arms around Stiles' neck and leaned forward pressing herself into his back, his typing ceased and his fingers began to tremble almost imperceptibly on the home keys. "Have I thanked you today?" She whispered into the shell of his ear.
In another new development over the last two weeks, Alex had been more tactile with Stiles. He'd shown her true loyalty during the attack and had faced down Derek for her, too. During her recovery he'd been by her side during every doctors appointment and all of her physical therapy in a show of doting that she would have once found suffocating and annoying. He'd been beside her every step of the way, and she was grateful. Alex was no longer denying herself the physical closeness that she wanted with him. She hugged him when the mood struck her, kissed his cheek for no other reason than wanting to, and held his hand when she wanted to see his neck flush.
Maybe it was because she had almost bled out and he'd saved her, maybe it was because no one had ever wanted to take care of her like he did, or maybe it was because he was so selfless when it came to her that it was staggering.
Stiles cleared his throat and took a deep breath, inadvertently pressing himself back into her. "You have." His voice was strained and she couldn't help but smile.
Maybe it was also because she got a little thrill from teasing him like this.
Alex pressed her lips to the freckle on his cheek that she'd grown so fond of, her blonde hair falling in a silky curtain over his shoulder and she smiled against his skin. "Consider this one a fringe benefit."
She pulled away from him and straightened up, pretending not to notice that he needed to take a second to compose himself before turning in his chair to look up at her. The look he would give her when she'd done something to surprise him, or something he admired almost always knocked her off of her feet. It shone so brightly in his eyes sometimes that she needed to look away because if she dared look back, they might not recover.
He was giving her that look now and she felt her heart constrict in her chest with the magnitude of all the things it conveyed.
She was playing a dangerous game, she knew.
Was it fair to touch him, kiss his cheek, light that fire in him that burned so hot for her when she didn't know if she would ever be ready for anything more than tension filled banter and easy touches?
She smiled, light and breezy, breaking the thick layer of tension they were so familiar with. The smoulder in his eyes dimmed as it always did when she pulled away from the knifes edge they had been teetering on for so long.
"Have you packed yet?"
"I've thought about packing - hasn't actually happened yet." He shrugged with a smile.
Because even when he could feel her pulling away, leaving him behind to drown in his own feelings for her alone, he understood. He understood how hard it was for her to reconcile what was happening between them, to let someone in, to let someone help and be there when the weight of their lives was too much for one person to bare. Stiles wore his heart on his sleeve like a badge of honour, proud to love fiercely and unconditionally. Alex felt like she had only recently discovered that she possessed a heart, and had no idea how to work it.
"We leave for Scotland tomorrow." Alex sniggered, gathering her things and shoving them into her bag. "You might want to do more than just consider it."
"All we need is my brain and your brawn - what are clean clothes compared to that?" He smiled, standing from his chair to hand her the book she'd left on his bed. "Going to Lydia's? Can I give you a ride?"
She accepted the book with a grateful smile and shook her head. "I'm headed back to the loft. Lydia is mad at me - I believe she used the words 'hideously ungrateful' and 'dead to me'. I told her we'd be in Scotland over her legendary birthday party."
"And did she leave a Lydia shaped scorch mark on the ground after she spontaneously combusted?" He questioned.
Alex nodded gravely. "I've tried everything I can to get it out, but I think I'm going to have to retile the floors. Thanks for the offer, but I think I should walk. The Doc says the more I do the sooner I can get back to running."
"If you're sure. Text me when you get home?" He followed her out of his bedroom. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at five." He chuckled at the defeated look she gave him over her shoulder. "I'll supply the coffee."
.
The loft was dark when she slid open the doors. She let her bag drop to the ground and stretched her arms above her head with a groan. She was mostly recovered from her back injury but after an hour of walking her spine was twinging - annoyed at her with the exercise.
"Are you okay?" Derek appeared out of nowhere, peering at her with concern etched deep into his forehead. His hand was reached out as if he were going to steady her with a hand on her hip but had thought better of it.
"I'm fine." Her reply was curt, they had been for weeks and she walked past him briskly without a glance in his direction. She made it to the stairs before he managed to hurdle himself over the rounded railing and land in front of her, looming above her a few steps.
"Are you ever going to talk to me?" He demanded, arms crossed over his broad chest.
"I'm talking to you right now." She argued petulantly. She knew what he meant.
"You know what I mean." He huffed. "I've apologized, as hard as it was. I've bent over backwards making sure you don't have to strain yourself too much, I moved all the whiskey and tumblers to the lowest shelf for fucks sake!"
"You think because you moved a few things around in the kitchen that I should be over the fact that you nearly got me killed?" She said, unusually calm. More often than not, when Alex and Derek fought, the results were explosive and volatile. It made Derek wary of just how much he might have actually screwed up.
"I want you to see that I'm trying to make up for it!" He ran a hand through his ink black hair and when he looked at her, he looked absolutely wrecked. "I feel fucking terrible about the whole thing. I never meant for you to get hurt."
"You just meant for Lydia to die."
"I thought she was the Kanima."
"I know you did." She sighed. "That's the problem, Hale. You're the Alpha now, and we all understand that. I was on your side when you changed Erica, Isaac and Boyd because I knew that any life you could give them would be better than the ones that they were already living," She paused, "Well, I'm not sure about Boyd, I don't think anyone really knows what that guys deal is, but the point is that despite the way you went about it, I understood your decision. You were being the Alpha - the big wolf on campus."
She pushed past him and continued up the stairs, turning around to look down at him.
"The decisions you've been making lately aren't the kind a leader would make. They are the kind a scared little boy with no impulse control would make." He had the decency to look ashamed at the accusation. "Scott is a leader because he listens to to others. He fights tooth and nail against the animal instinct that tells him to run in to situations with guns blazing and questions poised for later. Be better, Derek."
"I'm sorry." He said quietly.
"Not to me." She amended. "To your betas. Those scared high schoolers who look to you for guidance. You wanted to be an Alpha - so, be one."
Alex blinked and he was gone.
He'd left her alone on the staircase and she found herself thinking that he'd taken something else with him, too. The potential she'd felt simmering between them, the idea that in another life where they'd both made different choices things might be different. If she hadn't gotten hurt, if he hadn't been so antagonistic to the people she cared for most. If her feelings for Stiles hadn't grown so unavoidable since she'd felt his absence so strongly in her life over the summer.
She fell asleep easily and with her blood thrumming with excitement in anticipation of the new adventure that awaited her in the morning.