Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone! My gift to you all is a new chapter! I hope you all enjoy and have an amazing day!
WARNING: Sexual Content
As the trio walked deeper throughout the neighborhood, the bass was getting louder and louder. The vibration was making Natalie's head throb, but she didn't want to even think about dying tonight. This is the first party she would be attending since she came back from Arizona. And with the way things were going for her, this could be one of the last. So Natalie needed to make each non-wolfy moment she had left on earth count. There were only three things she wanted to do tonight- drink, dance, and Stiles. And she was determined to make all three happen, goddamn it.
No matter how much of a buzzkill Scott was being or was going to be.
"What?" Stiles said to his best friend.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What, what do you mean, 'what'?"
"I mean 'what', and you know what."
"What 'what'?"
Refraining the urge to rip the hair extensions hidden underneath her beanie, Natalie groaned. "Alright, the next person who says 'what' again is going to get a big ass-kicking. By me."
"Sorry, sorry," Scott said, "Now wha- why did you say that word to me, Stiles?"
"The look you were giving," said boy explained.
"I didn't give a look," Scott argued.
"Yeah, you did," Natalie chimed in.
"There was a distinct look, Scott," Stiles continued.
"What look- ow!" the teen wolf rubbed his now sore bicep after Natalie punched him. He threw his hands up. "How else did you want me to ask that question?"
Stiles ignored his best friend's momentary pain. "Anyway, I'm talking about the look that says that the last thing you feel like doing right now is going to a party."
"It's not that. It just seems weird going to a different high school's party."
"What? Would you-" Stiles groaned at his friend's lack of optimism. Now he understood how Natalie felt when he did it. "God, one drink, alright? You'll be fine."
"Yeah, dude, trust me," Natalie said, "I went to nursery school with this girl. She promised to introduce you to all of her friends. So tonight, no Allison, no Delilah."
Furrowing his eyebrows, Scott asked, "Why would you mention Delilah?"
"Because you have a little crush on her," Natalie shrugged.
"Uh, no, I don't," Scott told her.
"Oh, yeah, you do," Stiles snorted. He patted his best friend's shoulder. "You just don't talk about it because she's taken by a guy that will happily hand your ass to you if you do anything about it."
Maybe his friends were actually right. Scott did catch himself sometimes staring at the hybrid a little too long. The infatuation isn't as deep as it was for Allison, but it was apparently noticeable. Aw, damn. Scott whined.
"But that doesn't matter tonight," Natalie said.
"Tonight, you're moving on," Stiles added.
"You're right," Scott nodded.
"That's right we're right," Stiles hyped him up. The trio came to a stop.
"Moving on."
"Onward-" Stiles pointed up to the sky, "and upward."
"Let's do this," Scott sighed.
Natalie smacked his arm excitedly. "That's what I'm fucking talking about! Now both of you no-look me." She raised both of her hands. When Scott and Stiles were about to high-five her, the trio swung their arms around so they could low-five her. "My tits and I really appreciate us upgrading from chest-bumps."
"Anything for you and your tits, pretty lady," Stiles smirked, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
"Okay, no more talk about Natalie's tits for the rest of the night," Scott begged.
"Can't guarantee that, Scott," Stiles told him, "Now let's get inside." The trio started walking up the steps of the house to the front door.
Scott exhaled. "How's my breath smell?"
"I'm not smelling your breath," Stiles told him.
"Do you have any gum?"
"No. No gum. You're fine."
"Can you smell my breath?" Scott asked Natalie. He let out a breath in her face.
"Dude, no, get away from me," she told him, pushing his face away.
"Fine," Scott gave up, "Can you at least tell us what kind of party this is?"
"It's her seventeenth birthday," Natalie explained, "She wanted to have a sweet sixteen last year but wasn't able to. So she decided to go all out for it this year. She's a doll, you guys will like her."
She opened the door for Scott and Stiles, letting them go in first. Only so she could pop in a painkiller for her headache from the tumor when Stiles wasn't looking. The party already seemed to be in full swing. Teenagers were dancing, booze was floating around, and the bass was thumping even more. Natalie shook off the inconvenience of her health so she could actually appear normal and enjoy her night with her boyfriend. And to put her plan of Operation Get-Scotty-A-New-Girlfriend (she was still working on the name) into action.
"Natalie! Hi."
Said girl looked in front of her to see a blonde strutting up to her. The blonde just so happened to be Heather, the one responsible for throwing this shindig. Her legs were a little wobbly, indicating that she was already a bit tipsy. Natalie smiled when she saw her friend.
"Hey, there's the birthday gir-"
Unexpectedly, Natalie's words were cut off when Heather pulled her in for a kiss. And it wasn't a friendly peck on the cheek or anything like that either. No, this was a full-on passionate kiss. Sensual, one might say. Natalie's eyes widened in fear and also confusion. She wasn't the only one caught of guard by the kiss. Behind her, Scott and Stiles's jaws were dropped as they watched the girl in their trio have a total lesbian moment with some random girl they didn't know. They didn't know whether to find it hot or cut in to break it up. Being the horny teenage boys they were, or at least Stiles was, they just stood there gobsmacked.
Heather pulled away from the kiss, leaving Natalie at a loss of words. The blonde giggled as she wrapped her arms around her friend's neck.
"I'm gonna lose my virginity tonight," she giggled in Natalie's ear.
"Uh… good for you," Natalie said, awkwardly patting Heather's arm.
"Also…" Heather lowered her voice so the boys wouldn't hear, "Your mom told my mom who told me about your cancer." She twirled a strand of red velvet hair with her finger. "So maybe one day after I finally lose my virginity, we could have a threesome with your boyfriend over there. Cross something off your bucket list."
Gulping, Natalie said, "I'm not exactly sure that's on my bucket list-"
The blonde kissed her one last time. "Find me later so I can spill the deets." She stumbled away. "Have fun tonight!"
All that came out of Natalie's mouth were stutters. She touched her lips, still unsure of what just happened. Then she turned to Scott and Stiles, who were still staring at her.
"I'm just as confused as you are," Natalie said.
"Clearly you're very confused," Scott teased, hinting at Natalie questioning her sexuality. She deadpanned.
"Can you do that again?" Stiles asked, still in shock.
Now both his girlfriend and his best friend were looking at him like he was an idiot. Natalie sighed.
"Whatever, I'm getting a drink," she said, walking away, "Since you boys enjoyed that so much, try making out with each other and see how you like it."
"Uh, no offense, Scott, but I'd rather make out with my girlfriend," Stiles said before following the redhead, leaving Scott dumbfounded.
Once the couple had some alcohol in their system, they started to dance with each other along with other partygoers in the living room. It was actually a pretty good night so far! There weren't anymore awkward kissing moments with Heather, which bummed Stiles out a little bit. Come to think of it, Natalie didn't see her old friend again for the rest of the night. Heather probably did find someone to take her virginity after all. Good for her. But all that did was remind Natalie how lonely she had been while she was in the hospital all summer in Arizona without Stiles there. And not just emotionally and physically.
Sexually as well.
Wrapping her arms around Stiles's neck, Natalie smiled. "You know, what happened with Heather earlier had me thinking."
"That you're actually into girls?" Stiles remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," Natalie scoffed. She stopped to think for a second. "Yeah, no. I was actually thinking about how you and I haven't really been alone since I've been back home."
Ohh, Stiles was liking where this was headed. He gulped. "And?"
"And…" Natalie continued, "this house has a lot of rooms in it. A lot."
Both of the human teenagers stared at each other. Then they sprinted up the stairs.
As soon as they found Heather's older brother's bedroom, Stiles pinned Natalie to the door, slamming it shut. She then grabbed him by the face and smashed their lips together. With ease, and surprising both of them, Stiles grabbed the back of Natalie's thighs and lifted her up. It almost alarmed him how damn light she was, but when she started kissing his neck, he remembered what his main objective was- to get inside this fiery redhead as soon as possible. Then he remembered a very important detail.
"Wait," Stiles said, making Natalie remove her lips from his neck, "I don't have a condom."
Natalie's doe eyes widened. "Why don't you have a condom?!"
"I didn't think we were gonna be doing it tonight!" Stiles exclaimed.
"Always assume we're doing it, dude!" Natalie shrieked back.
"Okay, okay! So what do we do now?"
"Uh…" Natalie snapped her fingers. "Let's check the bathroom. Her brother has to keep some in there."
She pushed Stiles out of the room and over to the bathroom. They shut the door behind themselves before going through the medicine cabinet and drawers.
"Come on, come on," Natalie grumbled as she tossed a tube of toothpaste over her shoulder, "How does a twenty-something year old guy not keep condoms around?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Stiles chanted in excitement, "I found them."
They read the front of the small box. XXL Large Size Condoms. With wide eyes, Stiles looked down at the front of his jeans and back at the condom. When he looked at his girlfriend, Natalie shrugged her shoulders.
"That'll do." She grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him again.
"Do you wanna… go back to… the bedroom?" Stiles asked in between kisses.
"No time," Natalie panted, "I need you here and now."
Didn't have to tell him twice.
Stiles had Natalie pressed in between his body and the bathroom sink as they continued to make out. Making it his new move, he lifted her onto the counter. He wasted no time in reaching under Natalie's Wednesday Addams-looking dress and moving her panties to the side. She was already dripping without Stiles having to do much to her. One of his long fingers slid into Natalie with ease, causing her to lull her head back and let out a drawn out moan.
"Ohhh… fuck, Stiles," she mewled.
"I can tell you missed me over the summer," Stiles smirked into her neck as he added another finger.
"Yes, I have," Natalie nodded. She gasped when her boyfriend curled his fingers upwards.
"Good, because I've really missed you too."
When Natalie looked into his eyes, there was lust, but also love. Genuine love and admiration for her. This wasn't just one of their heat-of-the-moment fucks like before she left. This was a reunion. A chance to show each other how much they belonged together. That despite all of the shit she was facing, just seeing his pale, mole-dotted face was enough to make all of the pain go away.
A hand made it's way to the front Stiles's jeans as the other raked into the back of his dark hair. It took a few tries, but Natalie was able to unbutton and unzip his jeans. She freed his already rock hard member from his boxers and started stroking it. He groaned against her lips as his hips thrusted into her hand slightly.
Neither of them could wait much longer. So hooking his fingers onto the hem of Natalie's panties, Stiles pulled them down her legs and tossed them somewhere behind him. As he took a condom out of the box and rolled it over his dick, Natalie shifted herself so her butt was right on the edge of the sink and it would be easier for him to have access to her. Stiles positioned his dick at her entrance and guided himself in. They both moaned at the feeling. Kissing each other, the boy began to thrust, gradually increasing his speed.
Whimpers and cries of pleasure slipped out of Natalie's mouth as her boyfriend drove himself deep into her like a jackhammer. She knew people could probably hear right outside the door, but fuck them. The only thing the redhead was focused on was her and the boy she loved. So she wrapped her arms around Stiles's shoulders as he groaned into her ear.
It wasn't going to be much longer for either of them to reach completion. Now Natalie understood why it was called a quickie. Anyway, she wrapped one of her legs around Stiles's waist, giving him a new angle that had Natalie almost screaming. "Oh, god, right there, right there, right there," Natalie encouraged. Stiles hit that spot just a couple more times and the girl was done. "Ugh, Stiles!"
Feeling her walls squeeze tight around him as she came was enough for said boy to follow after her. He brokenly moaned her name into her shoulder, hips still thrusting into her irregularly as he pumped out every drop of his seed. They were both breathing heavily as they came down from their high. Sweat was turning into condensation on their foreheads as they rested them against each other. It was a sweet moment between the two. But of course, it wouldn't be them without making remarks at each other.
"Thank you for growing your hair out."
"Thank you for wearing a dress tonight."
Apparently at some point while Stiles and Natalie had ventured of to go have some alone time, Allison and Lydia had shown up to the house. They told Scott that some guy and girl had gone up to the girls at the school looking for the teen wolf. The girl had gripped both of their arms, leaving very peculiar and distinct looking bruises. Of course they couldn't just be normal bruises. They had to mean something.
So that's why at the next day at school, Derek and Anabelle had shown up to take a look at the marks. The older werewolves along with the trio and Allison and Lydia were standing in an empty classroom. Earlier Peter had tried to retrace Isaac and Delilah's memories of when they had looked for Erica and Boyd. He couldn't detect much, so the mates were hoping that this was going to bring them a little closer to finding out where the betas were.
But when Anabelle had taken both of the girls' arms in her hands, it didn't seem like it was helping much.
"I'm still not really sure what I'm seeing here," she said as she looked at the bruises.
"Look again," Scott told her.
"How is a bruise gonna tell us where Boyd and Erica are?" Derek asked. He and Allison were staring each other down, having an obvious dislike towards each other.
"It's the same on both sides," Scott said, "Exactly the same."
"It's nothing."
"Pareidolia," Lydia said, "Seeing patterns that aren't there." The werewolves looked at each other. "It's a subset of apophenia."
Scott could see that Derek and Anabelle still weren't so convinced. "They're trying to help," he told them.
"These two," Derek said in disbelief. He pointed to Lydia. "This one, who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you. And this one-" he turned to Allison, "who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack."
"Okay, all right, now, come on," Stiles said, "No one died, all right?"
"Was there a bit of maiming and mangling?" Natalie asked. She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure."
"But no death," Stiles continued, "That's what I call an important distinction."
"My mother died," Allison directed at Derek.
Natalie scoffed. "Yeah, Stiles. So insensitive." Her boyfriend gawked and then glared at her.
"It was your family's honor code that killed your mother," Anabelle said to the huntress, taking a step in front of Derek, "Not him."
Then Allison stepped up to the she-wolf. Neither of them were backing down from each other.
"That girl and guy was looking for Scott," Allison told her, "I'm here to help him. Not you. And certainly not Derek."
"You wanna help?" Derek said, "Find something real." He grabbed his mate's wrist. "Let's go." Then they headed towards the door.
But Scott went after them. As he went to talk to them quietly, the other four teenagers slumped around one of the lab tables. Stiles let out a huff of air. "Well, that went well."
"Shut up, Stiles," Natalie rolled her eyes.
"Okay, what would a pack of alphas want with Erica and Boyd?" Stiles asked as he, Scott, and Natalie walked to their next class of the day.
"I'm not sure it's them they want," Scott said.
"Okay, what, like Derek?" Stiles asked again, "Like they're recruiting?"
But this time, Scott didn't answer. Instead, he was staring at the two new kids at the school.
Aiden and Ethan. They were brothers. Twins, to be exact. Scott had never really been in contact or have seen them before. But there was something off about them. Very off. He couldn't pinpoint what though. Maybe it was the way they carried themselves like they were super cool and ready to fuck up whomever came their way. Who exactly were these guys?
"Hey, Scotty?"
Said boy turned to his best friends. Natalie nodded her head towards the steps.
"Are you coming?" she asked.
Once again, Scott didn't say anything. But he did start walking ahead of his best friends. The two looked at each other with raised eyebrows, wondering as always what was going on with the teen wolf. Shrugging their shoulders, they remained hand in hand as they headed to their next class.
Which just so happened to be Economics II with none other than the fabulous Coach Finstock. Normally, Natalie would be pumped to spend another year with him as her teacher so she could pull the same nonsense as she always did last year. But today, she was feeling so tired. These chemo pills that the doctors had her take since Natalie didn't want to spend too much time at the hospital were killer. Not only were they making her hair fall out, they were super harsh on her body. Some days she felt like a zombie. So she had to rely on coffee (a crap ton of coffee) to keep her alert since she couldn't have her other pills anymore.
Right when she took a sip of her Starbucks, Coach slammed a book down on his desk. This made the redhead jump and splash a little bit of the hot liquid on her hoodie. Well that definitely woke her up. Glaring at her teacher, which he didn't even notice, she pulled off her hoodie, leaving her in her black mesh long sleeve top with a black tank top underneath, skinny jeans, and Doc Martens.
"The stock market is based on two principals," Coach said, holding up two fingers, "What are they?" Scott raised his hand. "Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom. Anybody else?"
"Uh, no, Coach, I know the answer," Scott said.
Then the man started laughing hysterically. He stopped when he realized that no one was laughing along with him. "Oh, you're serious."
"Yes," Scott nodded, "Risk and reward."
"Wow!" Coach exclaimed excitedly, "Who are you? And what have you done to McCall? Don't answer that. I like you better. I like you better. Does anybody have a quarter? A quarter."
"Yep," Stiles answered, reaching into his pocket to pull out a quarter.
Just his and Natalie's luck, when he pulled his hand out of his pocket, a condom flew out. One of the XXL condoms from Heather's party, to be exact.
Sweet baby Jesus. This is what Natalie gets for telling Stiles to always prepare for them to have sex. She didn't know whether to laugh or crawl into a hole and die. Especially when everyone's eyes were on her as well as Stiles.
With raised eyebrows, Coach bent down and picked up the condom. "Stilinski, I think you, uh... you dropped this." He smirked as he handed the package to Stiles. "And congratulations."
Natalie raised her hand, deciding to make the best out of an awkward situation. "You do know that I'm the one he's banging, right, Coach?" Stiles held out his hand and she high-fived it.
"Damn it, Henderson!" Coach groaned, "Why do you always have to ruin everything?"
Everyone just laughed. Even the trio chuckled along. The coach shook his head.
"Anyway," he continued, "Risk and reward. Put the quarter in the mug, win the reward." He set his mug down on the floor. He backed up a few feet. "Okay, watch Coach." He knelt down. Then he bounced the quarter on the floor, actually making it into the mug. The whole class applauded. Hell, even Natalie had to commend him on that skill. "Huh? Huh? That's how you do it. Okay. Danny." He tossed the quarter to said boy. "Risk, reward."
"What's the reward?" Danny asked.
"You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow."
"Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it," Danny pointed out.
Coach sighed in disappointment as he took the quarter back. "Danny, you know, I really expect more from you at this point. Really. McCall." He placed the quarter on Scott's desk. "Risk, reward. The risk: if you don't put that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop- the- the quiz. And-and you have to write an essay. Risk, more work. Reward..." he blew into his hand, "No work at all. Or choose not to play."
"But isn't this just chance?" Scott asked.
"No. You know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, past experience... all factors affecting the outcome. So what's it gonna be, McCall? More work, no work, or choose not to play?"
Scott stared at the quarter between his fingers, debating on whether he was going to participate or not. Finally, he set the quarter back down.
"No play," Coach announced, "Okay. Who's next? Who wants the quarter?"
After drumming her hands on her desk, Natalie raised her hand. "Put me in, Coach!"
"Ah, hell, why not?" Coach shrugged, "You think you're up for the task, Henderson?"
"Oh, I never turn down a gamble," Natalie said with a smile.
She plucked the quarter out of her teacher's hand and stood a few feet away from the mug. Just like she was pitching in baseball, Natalie kept her eye on the prize, not breaking her focus.
"Natalie."
"Yeah, Coach, I got it," the girl said, still keeping her eye on the mug.
"Natalie."
Her head shot up when she realized that the voice belonged to her dad. As she looked up to see Kurt and Noah, Natalie had already tossed the quarter. It landed in the mug with a clink, but when she saw the serious looks on the officers' faces, the gamble was forgotten about.
Now the three of them were out in the hall. Natalie had just been informed that Heather had been missing since her party last night. They questioned her if she knew anything about her friend's whereabouts.
"No, I wasn't even really with her the whole night," Natalie told them, "I was mostly with Stiles and Scott. I figured she went off with her other friends. Has no one really seen her since last night?"
"No, we put out an APB," Noah told her, "but Nat, all of her friends say you were the last person she spoke to."
One of Natalie's eyebrows raised. "Really?"
Kurt nodded. "We hope that it's just a series of bad decisions based on too much to drink. But if you remember anything else, you call me. Alright?"
"I… okay. And just please let me know if you find anything else on her."
"We will, kid," Noah promised her.
When they left after Kurt kissed his daughter on her forehead, Natalie slumped against the lockers behind her. Saying that she was worried about her friend would be a huge understatement. This was the last thing she needed right now.
"So you think they kidnapped her to turn her?" Scott asked as he, Stiles, and Natalie walked together after class."
"Derek did say it's easier to turn teenagers," Stiles remembered.
"But what would a pack of alphas need with a beta?" Scott wondered.
"Scott, I don't know and frankly, I don't care," Natalie quipped anxiously, "Look, Heather was my very first friend that was a girl. We used to take frickin' bubble baths together when we were three. I gotta find her."
Stiles wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "And we will, Nat." She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Then we need Isaac and Delilah to remember," Scott told them.
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Natalie questioned.
"Yeah, Peter and Derek couldn't do it," Stiles said, "You know any other werewolves with a better trick?"
Suddenly Scott stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Maybe not a werewolf. But someone who knows a lot about 'em."
And that was how the trio, Derek, Anabelle, Isaac, and Delilah ended up at the animal clinic after school. This had to be one of the weirdest (and also scariest) ideas ever made up. At least Natalie's job was easy. She just had to help fill two large metal tubs with water and ice. No, it was Isaac and Delilah who had the tougher task. The humans did not envy them one bit.
"Obviously, it's not going to be particularly... comfortable," Deaton told Isaac and Delilah, "But if we can slow both your heart rates down enough, you'll slip into a trance-like state."
"Like being hypnotized," Isaac said.
"Exactly." Deaton led him into the room as everyone else finished up their task, "You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."
Isaac knelt next to his tub, gazing down at the large amount of ice floating around. Delilah, on the other hand, never moved from the doorway. The look on her face was frozen, like someone had stopped time. She looked absolutely horrified at the water.
"Hey," Stiles elbowed Natalie lightly. He held up a rubber glove. "Wanna play doctor?"
The redhead rolled her eyes. "What are you, five?" Then she smiled. "Give me that."
She took the rubber glove from Stiles and pulled it down his arm with a loud snap. The two were giggling like a couple of children, not even noticing that everyone else around them was staring at them. They finally looked up.
"What?" Stiles asked dumbly.
Derek just gave them a stern look. Natalie smacked her boyfriend's arm lightly.
"Stop messing around," she told him. Glaring at the redhead, Stiles hastily ripped off the glove and threw it down to the side.
Isaac stood back up. He exhaled, still feeling nervous about this.
"Honey, if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this," Anabelle told the boy. Scott nodded in agreement.
But the beta didn't respond. He just pulled his shirt over his head and set it on the table behind him.
Derek noticed how quiet Delilah was and he looked over at her, actually looking concerned for her. "Delilah?"
"I, uh…" the girl sputtered, "I…"
"She's afraid of the water," Isaac told Derek, "Her stepfather would try to drown her in her bathtub as punishment."
Aw, crap.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Scott asked with wide eyes.
"I didn't think this is what you had in mind!" Delilah shrieked.
Stiles snorted. "It's a good thing we never thought you were the kanima then."
Both Isaac and Delilah shot dirty looks at the human boy. But Natalie was already pinching his arm before they could snap at him. Stiles yelped at the intrusion and rubbed his arm.
"I apologize for my idiot boyfriend," Natalie said.
"Like Anabelle said, we're not gonna make you do this if you feel like you can't," Derek told her.
She shook her head. "No. I h-have to do this. For Erica and Boyd. I have to do this." She then unbuttoned her cardigan, leaving her in just her bra and denim shorts.
"I'll be right here with you," Isaac said softly.
He took Delilah's hand and kissed it to help her relax. She nodded, taking deep breaths. Isaac helped her into the tub and she gasped as soon as the ice chilled her skin. Slowly, she sat down. She still looked petrified, but she wasn't backing out of this. She was brave. Natalie couldn't help but feel envious about that. Then Isaac got into his tub, gasping at the temperature as well.
Anabelle and Natalie pushed Delilah back deeper into the tub as Scott, Derek, and Stiles did the same to Isaac, causing the water to overflow. They were both finally underwater.
Soon the young couple were both struggling under everyone's grasps. The water was just way too cold and they couldn't take it. When they shot up from the water, both of them were starting to shift. Isaac's eyes turned yellow while Delilah's violet. They screamed, flashing their fangs.
"Get them back under," Deaton instructed. Everyone tried to hold them back down but they were both putting up a fight. "Hold them."
"We're trying!" Derek snapped.
Finally they were able to keep them still. Isaac and Delilah stopped thrashing and just lied at the bottom of the tub. Soon both of their bodies rose to the top. Their skins were now pale, almost blue. Their eyes were also shut. It was like they were in a deep sleep.
Deaton held up a finger. "Now, remember, only I talk to them. Too many voices will confuse them and draw them out. Isaac? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you," the boy responded.
"Delilah, can you hear me?" Deaton asked the hybrid.
"Yes," she answered shakily.
"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"
The young couple answered in unison. "Yes."
"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd. I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again."
Isaac began to panic and tried to free himself from the males' holds. "I- I don't wanna do that. I don't- I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that."
Thunder was clapping outside the building. Lights were flickering. All of this was just adding onto the suspenseful ambiance this experiment had. Natalie remembered seeing some shit like this in one of those old horror movies and she was not liking this one bit. Poor Delilah looked to be having it worse though. She was starting to hyperventilate as well. She could probably feel her boyfriend's energy inside her body and it was making her freak out too.
"Isaac, it's alright," Deaton soothed him, "Just relax. They're just memories. You can't be hurt by a memory."
But that wasn't helping. "I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that."
"No," Delilah begged, shaking her head, "No, no, please, no."
"Relax," Deaton told the teenagers, "Relax. If you need to, find each other."
Simultaneously, they both reached towards each other and grabbed each other's hands. That seemed to comfort both of them. Everyone in the room looked at each other in surprise. It probably would have been more adorable if they weren't in some freak show.
"Good," Deaton praised Isaac and Delilah, "Now let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"
"It's not-it's not a house," Isaac said, "It's stone. I think marble."
"That's perfect. Can you give me any other descriptors?"
"It's dusty… so empty."
Before Isaac could continue with his description, Delilah began to whimper again. Everyone looked over to her and her face was scrunched up, like she was in pain.
"Delilah?" Deaton tried to get her attention. "Delilah?"
"Someone's here," said girl panted. She dug her fingers into Anabelle's arm. Natalie kept her hold on Delilah's shoulders firm. "Someone's here."
"Delilah, relax," Deaton soothed.
"No, no, no, they see us!" Delilah cried, "They see us!" She let out a scream as she writhed in the water.
"Just memories. You won't be hurt by your memories. Just relax and hold Isaac's hand. Relax." Delilah squeezed her boyfriend's hand gently, bringing her back down. Deaton nodded in approval. "Good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."
Slowly, Isaac's eyes opened. "I hear him. He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."
"Is he talking to Erica?" the veterinarian asked.
"I think so, I can't-I can't see her, I ca- I can't- I can't see either of them," Isaac stammered.
"Can you hear anything else?"
"They're worried," Delilah spoke up, eyes now open as well. She had gained everyone's attention. "They're worried what they'll do during the moon. They're... worried that they're gonna hurt each other."
"If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart," Derek said softly enough so Isaac and Delilah couldn't get distracted but everyone else could still hear them.
"Isaac, Delilah, we need to find them right now," Deaton told them, "Can you see them?"
"No," Isaac answered.
"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of a marker? A number on a door? A sign?"
Furrowing his eyebrows, Isaac then said, "I hear other voices. They're talking about… they're talking about her. Talking about her fixing him. She's the cure."
Everyone gave each other weird looks. "Who are they talking about?"
"Me."
When Delilah spoke up, her eyes were dilated and glued to the ceiling. Her chest was heaving up and down. Oh no, she was about to freak out again.
"They're talking about me," Delilah breathed out.
Well, things were taking a turn.
Deaton focused on his adopted daughter. "Delilah, what are they saying?"
"I can't see them," she said, "but- but… they keep talking about how I can fix him… the leader… Deucalion. I don't know what it means…"
Suddenly Isaac shot up out of the water with a gasp. Everyone jumped back at the sharp movement. "They're here… they- they-"
"It's alright," Deaton said.
"No."
"Just tell us-"
"They see us," Isaac whined, "They found us. They're here!"
Impatience was kicking in Derek. "This isn't working. Isaac, Delilah, where are you guys?"
"I can't see them," Delilah cried, "It's too dark!"
"Just tell me where you are," Derek demanded.
"Derek, shut up!" Anabelle snapped at him, "You're confusing them!"
"I can't see!" Isaac yelled.
"Isaac, Delilah, where are you?" Derek continued, "Just tell me where you are."
"Stop!" Anabelle yelled at him.
"Their heart rates-" Deaton scolded the alpha, "They could go into shock."
"Derek, let them go!" Scott ordered when he realized he was now gripping Delilah's shoulder as well as Isaac's.
Of course, Derek ignored him. At this point, the lights had shut off after going crazy. The poor kids were having a nervous breakdown and if the alpha didn't stop interfering, he could possibly kill them. Anabelle released her hold on Delilah and tried to yank Derek off of her and Isaac. But he wouldn't budge.
"Isaac, Delilah, where are you?" he yelled, "What do you two see?"
"A vault!" Isaac finally answered, "It's a bank vault!"
"They got us!" Delilah cried, "They're taking us to a room-" She cut herself off with an agonizing scream, causing the windows to crack. "There's a body! It's- it's Erica! Erica's dead!"
Whoa… now Natalie didn't see that coming. She looked at Stiles who seemed to have been thinking the same thing. If that was really true then it was so tragic. Yes, Natalie would admit that she wasn't exactly Erica's biggest fan before, but she did eventually start to grow on the redhead. And she was the best friend of the girl who had already experienced so much loss. It was sad and Natalie really felt for the girl.
That was when Isaac and Delilah snapped out of their trances. They sat up with gasps.
"I saw it!" Isaac said, "I saw the name." He stood up from the tub, Scott and Derek helping him up. Deaton wrapped a towel around him as Anabelle wrapped one around Delilah, who was sitting on the floor. "It's, uh- B- Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's, um... it's an abandoned bank, and they're keeping them locked inside, inside the vault."
The room grew silent as they all processed the information that was released to them. They looked down at Delilah, who was shivering as she was struggling to breathe, probably due to her PTSD of being drowned by her stepfather. When she finally settled down, she noticed everyone's eyes on her.
"What?"
"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asked her.
She shook her head. "No."
"You said when they captured you that they dragged you into a room and that there was a body in it," Stiles said.
"What?" Delilah asked, "What body?"
"Erica," Natalie told her regretfully, "You said it was Erica."
A tear fell down the hybrid's cheek. "No…you're lying. That's not true… that's not-"
Then she broke down when she realized it was. Anabelle caught her before she could fall. The she-wolf held onto Delilah as the girl grieved over her best friend. She sobbed into Anabelle's shoulder as she tried to shush her.
Derek still refused to accept it. "She's not dead."
"Derek, she said, 'There's a dead body. It's Erica.'" Stiles said, pointing to Delilah, who was being held by Isaac, "Doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation."
"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" Derek wondered.
"Obviously it was someone else, dude," Natalie told him.
"And maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle," Scott suggested. He turned to Isaac and Delilah. "Okay, the one who saved you?"
Isaac shook his head. "No, she and her husband weren't like us. And whoever was in the vault with Boyd was."
"What if that's how Erica died?" Stiles questioned, "They, like, pit them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives."
"Basically like a werewolf battle thunder dome," Natalie scoffed, "How fitting."
"Then we have to get them out of there before the full moon," Anabelle said, "Tonight." Derek nodded in agreement.
"Be smart about this, Anabelle," Deaton told her, "You can't just go storming in."
"If Isaac and Delilah got in, then so can we," Derek said.
"But they didn't get in through a vault door, did they?" the veterinarian challenged.
"We need a plan," Scott said.
Sighing, Anabelle reminded him, "Scott, the full moon is in less than 24 hours. How are we gonna come up with a plan in that time?"
"Uh, I think someone already did," Stiles announced, reading off his phone, "'Beacon Hills First National closes its doors three months after vault robbery.' Doesn't say here how it was robbed."
"It shouldn't take too long to figure it out," Natalie shrugged.
"How long?" Derek asked.
Natalie snorted. "How long?" She nudged her boyfriend. "You believe this guy?"
"It's the Internet, Derek," Stiles told the alpha in a 'duh' tone, "Okay? Minutes."
Let's just say that minutes ended up being never.
The trio had been up all night, only fueled by Red Bull and sugary snacks. Stiles might have taken one or two (or five) Adderall as well but don't judge him, Natalie. No matter how much research they had done on that robbery, they were struggling to find any damn way that someone was able to break into the bank. Natalie even went as far as watching every single clip of heists in actions films known to man to give them some sort of hint. All that did was dry out her eyes and make the boys give her shit about not being realistic enough.
As if this entire ordeal was realistic to begin with.
Six in the morning hit when Noah walked into Stiles's room. It looked like a tornado hit in there! Candy wrappers, empty energy drink cans, and chip bags littered the room along with the papers that were still being printed out. Also on the floor was Stiles with his ass sticking up, snoring away. Scott and Natalie were sleeping as well with the teen wolf on the desk chair and the redhead starfished on her boyfriend's bed.
"Boys, Natalie," Noah said, "Hey, time to wake up." Neither of the teenagers moved a muscle. "Boys. Natalie." He sighed. "Boys! Natalie!"
The three of them finally woke up, jolting as they did so. Natalie even fell off the bed but she fixed herself quickly.
"I got to get to work," Noah told them, "You three get to school." He got ready to leave.
"Oh, hey, Noah!" Natalie called after him, making him stop, "Have you heard anything about Heather yet?"
The sheriff sighed sadly. "No, not yet."
Damn. Natalie fell back on the bed when he left. Stiles gave her hand a supporting squeeze and she returned the loving gesture. Where could her friend possibly be?
Stiles got up and started picking up the papers splayed out on the floor. "Ten hours and nothing."
"We'll find something," Scott told his best friends.
"Finding something doesn't make Erica any less dead," Stiles quipped.
"Or make Boyd any less about-to-be-dead," Natalie mumbled under her breath as she sat up.
"Well, we still have time," Scott said.
"Is this whole, like, 'remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster' thing a part of the 'be a better Scott McCall' program?" Stiles asked.
Scott chuckled. "Uh, not if it doesn't work."
"No, it works," Stiles sighed. His eyes widened as he looked down at one of the papers in his hand. He shoved it at Scott's chest before running out of the room. "Oh, Dad! Dad? Dad!"
"What, what is it?" Natalie asked, getting up from the bed, "Let me see."
She ripped the paper out of Scott's hand. On that paper was a photo of Noah pushing the guy responsible for the bank robbery into the back of the cop car. Holding the door open was Kurt.
"Oh, I'm calling my dad," Natalie said excitedly as she whipped out her phone, "Lord, we hit the jackpot!"
Not long after Stiles and Natalie talked to their dads, they got ready at the house and drove off to school. As soon as the jeep pulled up to the front of the building, the trio hopped out and headed towards the doors.
"All right, so we meet at Derek and Anabelle's at 5:00 to go over the plan," Scott told his best friends as he read the texts exchanged between him and the alpha, "and then we don't get started until dark."
"'Kay," Stiles nodded, "What do we do till then?"
"Well, boys," Natalie said, slinging her arms over their shoulders, "right now, we've got English."
Five o'clock came by quick. Before they knew it, the trio was over at Derek and Anabelle's loft. They were joined by Peter, who was sitting on the staircase watching them go over the plan. Natalie wanted to throw a nuclear bomb at the guy but she had a strong feeling that couldn't kill him off either. So she just flipped Peter the bird when she saw him, making him roll his eyes.
Natalie laid the blueprint of the bank on the table. "Alright, if you guys look up here, we have the rooftop air conditioning vent. This is how the robbers got into the building. It leads down into the wall of the vault, which we have here." She drew a circle around the word 'vault' with a red sharpie. "One of the robbers was lowered into that shaft. Got that?" She passed the sharpie to Stiles. "Take it away, babe."
"Thank you, pretty lady," he smiled at her, "Now, that space is so small, it took him about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall." He tapped the sharpie at the top of the blueprint. "Boom."
"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked.
"Yes, we can," Stiles answered, "but very, very barely. And they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit-"
"Look, forget the drill."
They all looked at Derek, who had interrupted the boy. Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Qué?"
"If I go in first, how much space do I have?" Derek asked.
The trio exchanged glances at each other, Stiles trying to hold back a laugh. "What do you- what do you think you're gonna do, Derek? You gonna punch through the wall?"
"Yes, Stiles," the alpha said, crossing his arms and smiling smugly, "I'm gonna punch through the wall."
"Okay, okay, big guy," Stiles challenged, "Let's see it. Let's see that fist. Big, old fist. Make it, come on. Get it out there. Don't be scared." Derek made a fist and held it up, looking annoyed as hell. "Big, bad wolf. Yeah, look at that."
Oh, this was gonna be good. Natalie lightly smacked Scott's arm.
"Hey," she whispered, "Ten bucks says Derek's gonna deck him."
"What?" Scott scoffed, "No way! I think they've grown past the 'wanting to kill each other' phase."
"Bet." Natalie held her hand out.
Scott shook it. "You're on."
"Okay, see this?" Stiles held his hand up a few inches away from Derek's. "That's maybe 3 inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid co-"
Just as Natalie predicted, the 'big bad wolf' punched Stiles hand hard. Almost hard enough to break it. But definitely hard enough to make Stiles hit the table. And to even make Anabelle laugh. Stiles cried out at the sudden hit and walked away as he held onto his hand.
"He could do it!"
Meanwhile, Natalie was holding her palm out to Scott, whose jaw was dropped. "Pay up, bitch."
"Aw, man," Scott whined as he slapped the ten dollar bill on the redhead's hand.
"I don't know how you guys haven't learned at this point," Natalie said, shoving the money into her bra, "It's just like I told Coach, I never turn down a chance to gamble because I always win."
"I'll get through the wall," Derek said, focusing back on the plan, "Who's following me down?"
The room became silent.
"Don't look at me," Peter said, "I'm not up to fighting speed yet, and honestly, with Isaac and Delilah out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself."
"We can't just let them die, Peter," Anabelle argued.
"One of them is already dead," the former alpha reminded her.
"We don't know that," Derek said.
"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here? A pack of alphas. All of them, killers. And if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're gonna be missed."
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Could someone kill him again, please?"
"Derek, seriously?" Peter said, ignoring the humans, "Not worth the risk."
"What about you?" Derek looked at the teenagers.
Shrugging her shoulders, Natalie said, "I mean, if you really want me to help-"
"Not you."
"Geez, alright," the redhead pouted, "So snappy." Everyone looked at Scott.
"I don't know about Erica," the teen wolf said, "But if Boyd's still alive, we have to do something. We have to try."
"But?" Derek questioned.
"Who's the other girl?" Scott wondered, "The one locked in there with Boyd?"
"Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Anabelle said, stretching her arms out in front of her and cracking her knuckles. She started to head towards the door but Derek caught her arm.
"Uh, what are you doing?" he asked her.
Anabelle raised an eyebrow. "Going to save Boyd and the mystery girl?"
"The hell you are," Derek scoffed, "Don't start with me, Anabelle. I'm not gonna fight you on this."
"Good, because I'm going with you."
Both of them looked at everyone else in the room and realized that they were staring at the best friends. A part of Natalie and even Stiles were hoping that they were going to start bickering like an old married couple but were instantly disappointed when Derek started pulling Anabelle away.
"Come with me," he told her. He pulled her outside the loft and slid the door shut behind him.
After exchanging looks at each other, Stiles and Natalie scurried to the door and put their ears up against it. Scott rolled his eyes at his best friend's normal but very not normal shenanigans.
"Really?" he questioned them, "You don't think that's an invasion of privacy?"
"Oh, like you don't wanna hear what they're saying," Natalie snorted.
Scott shook his head. "Not really."
"Honestly, I just kinda wanna see if they make out or not," Stiles shrugged. Natalie smacked his shoulder. "Hey!"
"Pervert," Natalie pointed at him.
"You were thinking the same thing," Stiles said, rolling his eyes.
The redhead smiled mischievously. "You guys wanna make a bet?"
"No," Scott answered while Stiles said, "Yes!"
"What's the bet?" Stiles asked.
"When Derek and Anabelle finally get together," Natalie said, "The losers owe the winner 25 each. I say he'll admit his feelings before the year ends."
Now Scott was intrigued. Damn it. "Nah, I say after we graduate. And she'll be the one to admit it first."
"Wow, you guys are being generous," Stiles said, "It's probably never gonna happen. They're both too emotionally constipated to actually say anything to each other."
"Gentlemen," Natalie smiled, "It sounds like we've got ourselves a friendly competition." Suddenly something banged on the other side of the door loudly, making her and her boyfriend hit each other's heads. "Ow!"
"Son of a bitch!"
It looked like Anabelle won the argument so she accompanied Scott and Derek to find Erica and Boyd while Stiles and Natalie stayed at the loft with Peter. The werewolves hadn't even been gone for long and the young couple were already feeling the anxiety build up. Currently they were staring out the large window while Peter was just chilling out on the couch without a care in the world. What a douche.
"I can't take waiting around like this, you know?," Stiles said after almost an hour of pure silence. It was probably a new record for the boy. "It's nerve-racking. My nerves are racked. They're severely racked." He turned to Natalie. "Are yours racked?"
"Oh, they are so racked," his girlfriend nodded. She flailed her arms a little. "Racked."
"I could beat you both unconscious and wake you when it's over," Peter offered.
Natalie turned around to glare at him. "How about I go grab Tina from the jeep and beat your ass to death?"
"Who's Tina?" Peter asked.
"Never mind," Natalie sighed. She leaned against the table. "Do you really think Erica's dead?"
"You think I really care?"
"I just... I don't understand the bank, though, okay?" Stiles said, "Wha- like, why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an Alpha pack, right? So shouldn't they have a lair?"
"They're werewolves," Peter reminded them, "Not Bond villains."
Holding a finger up, Stiles walked over to the open wall off the side of the loft. "Wait a sec. Wait a sec. Maybe they're living there. You know? Like, maybe the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens."
His girlfriend raised her eyebrows. "Wolf den? Now, I know I say some stupid shit sometimes but wolf dens is pretty high up there."
"Yes, wolf dens. They gotta exist," Stiles insisted. He turned to Peter. "Where do you live?"
The former alpha sighed. "In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods."
"Whoa, really?" Stiles asked, genuinely blown away.
But Natalie knew better that Peter was just fucking around with him. "Oh, dear god-"
"No, you idiot," Peter laughed, "I have an apartment downtown."
"Regardless," the redhead said, "there's still something weird about the whole bank thing. And don't you think at this point they would have killed Boyd and Erica a long time ago? Why wait until the full moon?"
"Maybe they think it's poetic."
"They've already had three full moons to be poetic," Stiles pointed out.
"And here you two have had one full hour to be so annoying…"
When Peter's sentence started to trail off, he sat up on the couch with a distant look on his face. Something must have popped up into his mind. Something probably important to the situation. Stiles didn't seem to notice as he continued to ramble.
"No, go ahead, finish what you were saying. We are... we're annoying."
"Stiles, shut up," Natalie said, lightly hitting him, "Why are you being weirder than normal?"
"What are the walls made of?" Peter asked as he got up.
"What?" Stiles asked. He thought about it. "Uh... I don't know, like, wood and brick or-"
Peter shook his head and walked over to the table. "No, the vault, the vault, the walls, what are they made out of? Where would it say that?" He started flipping the through the blueprints for the bank. "Doesn't say anything. Where- where would it say the materials, the type of stone?"
"Oh… oh, hang on." Stiles dug through his backpack. "Yeah, here, hang on." He pulled out a huge file on the bank's information and history. He handed it to Peter. "Here, it's gotta be in here." The three of them flipped through the pages, reading swiftly but thoroughly. Stiles stopped at a paragraph. "There, that's it."
"Hecatolite," Peter read out loud.
"I'm getting a sense that that's not a good thing," Natalie said.
"Get 'em on the phone," Peter ordered, "Call them. Now!"
Stiles and Natalie hurriedly pull their phones out. "Why? Why?" the redhead asked.
"'Cause Boyd and that girl aren't gonna kill each other. They're gonna kill Derek, Anabelle, and Scott."
Both of the teenagers' eyes grew wide. Okay, yeah, that sounded pretty damn bad. Stiles dialed Scott's number as Natalie did research on her phone on the mineral. All of them had moved away from the table and stood in the middle of the room as they waited for Scott to answer. It only took a few rings.
"Stiles, now is not the best time."
"Scott! Scott!" Stiles quickly said before his best friend could hang up, "No, listen to me, okay? Look, you gotta get outta there. Look, the walls of the vault are made with a mineral called hecatolite. It scatters the moonlight."
"What does that mean?" Scott asked.
"It keeps the moonlight out of the building," Natalie explained, "Boyd and whoever is in the vault with him haven't felt the full moon in months."
"Okay, think of it like the gladiators in the Roman colosseum," Peter told Scott, "They used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance to it."
Stiles added, "Scott, they're gonna be stronger-"
"More savage, more bloodthirsty, Scott, they're the lions," Peter continued, "They're the starved lions, and you, Derek, and Anabelle just stepped into the colosseum."
Grabbing the phone out of Stiles's hand, Natalie finished with, "Long story short, dude, you guys need to get the fuck out of there. Now." Scott never responded. Natalie furrowed her eyebrows. "Scott? Are you still there? Hello?"
Feral growling erupted through the other side of the phone.
"Scott?" Stiles said, "Scott, are you hearing this? Scott!"
The call ended. Everyone in the room looked at each other in horror. It was starting. The thunder dome has begun.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE leave a review and let me know what you think! Also go read and review my other two stories in the saga Scars and No One Else for more romance and drama. I'll be sure to update soon! Happy holidays, everyone! Xoxo, Maddie