To : I know, I'm sorry. School is just insane.
To Phoenix Crest: I'm glad! and yup, he did, I just didn't put it in the last chapter.
To wayneximoff: As much as I adore Scott and Loki, I have to agree. Scott and Loki were tumultuous at the best of times and a disaster at the worst XD
To Merrick Whitlock: Thank you so much!
To Mackenzie McClain: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf
Jordan rapped lightly on the door to Loki's room in the hospital before letting himself in. She smiled at him as he came in, and he grinned back, relieved at how much healthier she looked.
"Hey," she said, sitting up in bed. The sheets pooled at her waist.
"Hey," he replied, walking over to her. He sat down on the foot of the bed and took her hands, pulling her towards him slightly and looking her up and down. "How do you feel?" She smiled softly, rearranging herself so that she was pressed up against him.
"I'm okay," she murmured against his neck. She pulled back enough so that she could pull down his collar. She gently tipped his chin back, and he obliged, baring his neck to her. She frowned slightly, brushing her fingers lightly against his throat, making Jordan shiver. "The bruises are gone," she commented, referring to the marks he'd received when Jay had choked him. Jordan shrugged, pulling her hand away and covering it with his own.
"I heal quickly, I guess." She frowned at this, for some reason. "I need to talk to you." She nodded, motioning for him to continue, but Jordan had to pause to gather his thoughts. He thought back to just after Loki had shot Jay. He pictured her, gun in a trembling hand as she stood with one hand pressed against the wall in order to support herself, eyes glowing a cold, bright blue. "Why do your eyes glow?" He finally asked. He had meant to make it sound more elegantly phrased than that, but it hadn't turned out that way. Loki stared at him for a minute, and burst out laughing.
"Jordan, what the hell?" He glared at her, and she sobered up, a grin still pulling at the edges of her perfect lips. "Sorry. Sorry. I just – I don't know what you're talking about." She leaned towards him, touching his temple lightly. "Did you hit your head?" Her eyes were soft with concern, but Jordan pulled away from her touch, irritated.
"I feel fine." He said snappishly, and she sat back, looking slightly hurt. Jordan's chest twisted. He hadn't meant to sound rude. "I know what I saw. Just like I know that for some reason, someone wants both of us dead. Why the hell are you worth twenty-three million dollars? Who wants you dead that badly?"
"All the past lovers that I've scorned?" She offered, and Jordan shook his head at her. She chuckled. "I'm kidding. I have no idea. But at the moment, I think you should get checked for a concussion. You hit the back of your head pretty hard last night, and now you're seeing things." Her eyes sparkled with a gentle mirth.
"I'm not seeing things!" He insisted. "And I don't have a concussion." Loki raised her eyebrows.
"If you say so," she said, sounding dubious. Jordan gave up. It was clear that Loki had no idea what he was talking about. She looked at him again. "So, is this purely a social visit, then?" Loki asked. "Because I thought you didn't like being seen with me in public." Jordan shrugged.
"You almost died last night," he whispered, taking her face in his hands. He brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. "And afterwards…the Sheriff told me he knew something was going on between the two of us." Jordan fell silent, and Loki's eyelids closed slightly.
"I see," she said, sounding disappointed. "So this is goodbye?"
Jordan glanced back to make sure the door was closed, pressing her lips together. "It should be," he muttered, more to himself than to Loki. "But – whatever." He leaned down and kissed Loki full on the mouth. Loki was still against him for just a moment, shell-shocked, and Jordan smirked against her lips. It felt good for her to be the one surprised for once, when most of the time, she was the one getting the jump on him.
Loki made a pleased sound, as he trailed across her jawline and down to her clavicle.
"Finally," she muttered, voice a little husky. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him back up so they were face to face. Her green eyes were shining at him, and he smiled back, kissing her again. "It took you long enough."
Jordan left the hospital room quickly, insisting that she needed rest, and that he 'shouldn't be there anyway.' Unfortunately for him, someone else knocked on the door of the hospital room only minutes after the deputy had left - an awkwardly close call. Loki sat up wearily. The wolfsbane had seriously done a number on her system.
"Agent McCall," she greeted the man as he pushed the door open. "May I ask why you're here?" He nodded.
"I'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's okay," he said. Loki nodded, carefully arranging herself in bed so she was in decent position to talk in. She hope fervently that he would assume that marks on her jaw and neck were from last night, and that her cheeks were flushed from fever, not from the last fifteen minutes of activity that she and Jordan had engaged in. Luckily, he made no comment about having seen Jordan leaving her room in any similar state, and simply sat down in a chair, pulling it closer to the bed as he did so.
"Have you recovered?" Loki was a little startled by the question, but she nodded.
"More or less. I'm a little tired, still…apparently I'm more sensitive to aconite than the average person – I'm allergic." Loki motioned to the IV drip. "They're just trying to flush it from my system." The FBI agent nodded, glancing down at the notes in his hand.
"Are you missing the PSAT?" he asked, out of the blue. Loki blinked.
"Oh," she said. "That is today. No, I've already taken it – I've already taken the SAT too, in fact." Now it was McCall's turn to be surprised.
"You have?" Loki nodded. "Huh. Why so early? You're only a junior." Loki shrugged, twisting one of the rings on her index finger around absentmindedly as she leaned back against the pillows.
"Dunno. My guardian moved us around a lot, and homeschooled us most of the time. The last place we were at offered tutoring and the test, so I took it and got a good score."
"'Us', being you and the two boys." The man glanced down at his notes again. "The – Steiner twins?"
"Ethan and Aiden," Loki agreed, eyes softening at the mention of her best friends. "Yeah."
"Where is your guardian now?"
"Duke?" Loki asked, using the name Deucalion most often put down for official records. Legally, he wasn't her guardian. But when he'd had the twins and her enroll in high school, someone needed to claim responsibility to them, so Kali had forged some documents, and voilà. "Not sure, exactly." The agent raised his eyebrows, and she continued. "He and I had a, ah, falling out."
"About what?" McCall was watching her, not exactly suspiciously, but with a concentrated intenseness. Loki didn't bat an eyelash. Lying to police wasn't any different in semantics than it was to lying to anyone else. The fact that it was illegal intimidated most people, but it had never thrown Loki off.
"I'm eighteen," Loki replied. "And I'm a junior in high school. In fact, I'll be nineteen almost before before junior year ends." This wasn't strictly true. Her newest official birthday was in June, and she knew that she was actually eighteen already, but Loki had distinct memories of having birthday parties in late November when her parents were still alive, so she was pretty sure that she was almost six months younger than her current birth certificate and school record stated. Deucalion had often changed her and twins' birth dates around based on what was convenient for the situation they were in. But, hey, having those extra six months was pretty convenient for this conversation.
"I've been to so many different high schools," Loki continued. "I just – I wanted to graduate here. Duke wanted to move again, and I refused. I was eighteen, so he couldn't force me to go with him." Loki shrugged. "So I stayed."
"And the twins?"
"London," Loki responded. "Duke grew up there, and brought us there a few times. They always liked it there." McCall nodded, still looking mildly dubious, but he changed the subject.
"The woman told Parrish her name – Jay Lewis." Loki nodded, looking thoughtful. "Does that name mean anything to you?"
"No." Loki shrugged. "Should it?" The lie fell from her lips as easy as anything, and Loki winced inwardly, briefly remembering her promise to Scott that she'd never lie to him. She hoped he hadn't thought that would extend to everyone else. Her face betrayed none of the warring emotions inside of her. Sighing, the agent opened up the manila folder and pulled out a picture. He handed it to Loki.
"You tell me. This is a picture of a little girl named Elizabeth Carter," Agent McCall said said, carefully watching Loki's expression. "She disappeared over a decade ago from a small town in Maryland. Right after her parents died of an animal attack." He handed Loki another photo, one of the crime scene of the parents. "Careful, it's graphic."
Loki flipped the photo over without hesitation. She grimaced when she saw the photo, and turned it over again quickly, but she didn't look more bothered by this case than the average person would. Not like the picture triggered painful memories. Agent McCall frowned again. This theory that he had had seemed highly plausible when he'd first thought of it, but now that he was here questioning Loki he felt less confident. Something about her calm, confused demeanor was shaking his assurance.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, frowning. The agent tapped the photo that was still facing upwards, the one of Elizabeth Carter. The little girl was grinning at the photographer, her green eyes shining with a sort of innocent happiness.
"This little girl's aunt was Jay Lewis," the agent responded. Loki stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open as she put the pieces together. She wasn't stupid.
"You think – you think I'm Elizabeth Carter? And that, if I was Elizabeth Carter, my aunt crossed the country last night to come kill and torture me?" she said, her voice pitching upwards incredulously. "That's – ridiculous. No offense."
"Maybe so," McCall said carefully. "But several things point to it being a plausible theory. You are around the same age as Elizabeth would be, you look similar, and Jay Lewis poisoned you with aconite - something you have an allergy to." He shuffled some papers, avoiding eye contact. "There's no record of Elizabeth having that allergy, but if there were, her aunt would know about it. I'd like to take your fingerprints anyways, just to see if they match the ones we lifted of her toys when she disappeared." He pulled out a pad of ink and a sheet of paper, pushing them across the table to her. Loki shook her head in disbelief.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" The FBI agent stared at her, surprised. Loki allowed her placid, confused mask to fall slowly from her face, revealing an expression of resentment and anger that she didn't feel. "I mean, forgive me is this sounds selfish, but someone tried to kill me last night, and I don't know why. Can't you figure that out first?" As soon as her anger appeared, it faded, and she slumped against the pillows, eyes dull.
Loki then dropped her head into her hands as if chagrined, blinking fake tears out of her eyes as they ran down her cheeks. She sniffled convincingly.
"Sorry," she added in a small voice. "I didn't mean that." She wiped her cheeks, eyes shining brightly. McCall looked slightly surprised at the sudden mood change, but didn't seem suspicious of it. It seemed to be the natural response to a traumatizing event for most people. He placed a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner.
"I know this request seems inane and callous to you right now," he began soothingly. "But this is the first step to figuring out why you were attacked last night, I promise you. Admittedly, seven years old is a bit old to have no memories of being Elizabeth Carter, if you are, but it's a possibility. We need to rule out all of them." Loki took a deep, shuddering breath, and nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Shit.
For the third time that day, there was a knock at Loki's door. This time, there were two people who came into her room – Derek and Melissa.
"Loki," the nurse said. Her patient was blinking as though she'd just awoken. "I'm going to take your IV out, okay? We need your help." Loki sat up.
"What's wrong?" She asked, immediately concerned.
"A disease that infects our kind has been weaponized," Derek told her as Melissa pulled out the needle. Loki slid out of bed, almost falling as her knees buckled beneath her. Derek caught her before she hit the ground. He pulled her into a standing position, and Melissa winced.
"This was a bad idea," she muttered to herself, looking down the hallway to make sure no one else saw her taking an ill patient out of her room with no explanation.
"I'm fine," Loki said, but she made no move to try to stand free of Derek's grasp. She set her jaw in stubborn determination, lifting her chin. "Let's go - explain on the way."
Derek and Melissa led Loki to the morgue, filling her in on what happened. When Loki reached the morgue, Deaton was there with an elderly woman and a body of a werewolf. The body was covered in dried sweat and black goo. His scalp had been peeled back and was flopped across his forehead. Even so, Loki was made more nervous by the other living werewolf.
"Satomi," Loki greeted the woman warily. The Alpha regarded her with guarded disappointment.
"Loki." The elder werewolf nodded at the Beta. Deaton ignored the awkward greeting, covering the body of the werewolf in a sheet. Melissa pulled a chair over for Loki, and she sat down on it, grateful.
"If your pack was infected, then who was doing all the shooting at the entrance to the woods?" Derek asked.
"Apparently another assassin," Satomi said, crossing her arms. "Personally, I'd rather face a gun than a variant of smallpox."
"Sounds like you're going to get plenty of chances," Melissa said, rubbing her neck. Satomi didn't seem to be paying attention. She was staring at Derek. It took him a few moments to notice, but he turned to her, blinking in surprise. Satomi dropped her gaze, seeming slightly embarrassed.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I was just noticing how much you remind me of Talia." Loki recognized the name of Derek's mother from Deucalion's stories. He'd always told Loki about her, the powerful Alpha with the ability to shift fully. The werewolf Beta dropped his head, smiling slightly and nodding at the mention of his deceased mother. "I used to visit her a lot," Satomi continued. "Do you remember me?"
"I remember the tea," Derek responded, sounding slightly nostalgic. "You always brought that tea that smelled terrible." Satomi chuckled quietly.
"I brought that tea as a gift," she told him. "Your mother loved it."
"What kind of tea?" Deaton asked, suddenly. Satomi turned back towards her old friend, blinking in surprise.
"What?"
"The tea with the smell," he pressed. "What kind was it?"
"Reishi," Satomi answered, sounding bewildered. "Wild purple reishi. It's very rare."
"It's a remedy for sickness," Loki realized, looking up. Deacon nodded at the young werewolf. "A powerful one." Satomi looked at Loki, eyebrows raised, and Loki shrugged. "Deucalion used to drink it," she explained. Loki didn't add that he often drank it because it reminded him of Talia, who Loki had always suspected he had feelings for. Satomi's lips pressed together in a disapproving manner at the mention of Loki's former Alpha.
"Satomi, you didn't get infected because you've been inoculated," Deaton added. The tea was a cure.
"Okay, okay," Melissa said, sounding motivated. "How rare is it? Can we get some?" Derek was shaking his head.
"We don't have to," he said. "My mother kept some of it – it's in our vault."
When Loki was finally discharged from the hospital later that night, she was surprised to find Derek waiting for her.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, walking towards him. Derek nodded.
"I thought you might want a ride home," he said, leading her outside. Loki laughed slightly, surprised. She and Derek had never been friends.
"Uh, thanks." As she climbed into the passenger seat of Derek's car, she looked over at him, confused. "I thought that you hated me," she said bluntly. Derek shrugged.
"Scott trusts you," he replied, as if it explained everything. "Besides, my memory from when - whatever Kate did to me is fuzzy, but I remember enough to know that you…you were there. Trying to help." Derek shrugged again. "This is the least I can do to thank you." Loki snorted.
"You're welcome?" she offered, not quite knowing how to respond to that. Derek laughed, his smile changing his whole demeanor.
"How do you know Satomi?" Derek asked suddenly. Loki looked up in surprise, before dropping her gaze. She shook her head.
"I came across her when I was with Deucalion," Loki admitted. "Right after he'd broken me out of Eichen. She told me that I shouldn't trust him, she told me that she thought that I was better than that." Loki looked at the other werewolf. "My grandmother on dad's side, his mother – she was Satomi's emissary before she died. But I was angry and scared, and still half-insane."
"And?" Derek prompted. Loki shrugged.
"I don't know. Satomi offered me a place to heal, a place where I could find peace," she said. "Deucalion rescued me from a hell-hole and offered me power." Loki was quiet for a moment, and when she looked up, her eyes were shining. "I think she was disappointed in me – in my choice."
It was only when Loki reached her home that she remembered that she'd never figured out how to stop Agent McCall from figuring out that she was Elizabeth Carter. As it turned out, she didn't need to.
He was waiting for her when she reached her apartment door. Loki placed her hand on the doorknob, unsure how to react.
"Would you like to come in?" The agent shook his head.
"No, thank you. This will be quick." He cleared his throat. "I've reviewed your finger prints with the Elizabeth Carter's, and it was found to not be a match. Not only that but, a few hours ago I got a call. Local police in Maryland just discovered the remains of a yet to be identified young girl. But based on preliminary findings, it is assumed to be the body of Elizabeth Carter."
Loki rocked back on her heels, mind reeling. All of this was terribly convenient. Too convenient.
"Okay," she heard herself say. "What now?"
"Now," the agent said. "I have to go to San Francisco. But when I get back, I promise we'll focus on why Jay Lewis wanted you dead. Are you sure you feel safe staying here alone?" He asked, motioning to the penthouse behind him. Loki shook her head.
"Not really…I was going to go to a friend's, I just wanted to get some stuff." It wasn't true, but it seemed like the correct response for the average person, given what had happened. McCall nodded, and murmured a goodbye as he walked towards the elevator.
As Loki pulled out her keys to unlock the door, she realized with a spark of fear that it was already unlocked. Pushing the door open, she moved quietly into the entry hall, hands curled into fists. Her claws pricked at the delicate skin of her palms.
There was no one waiting for her, and to her immense surprise, the place was spotless. No sign of the blood or shattered furniture that had marked the fight that she and Jordan had engaged in with her aunt. The only thing out of place was a piece of paper on the floor.
Crossing the room, Loki narrowed her eyes at the folded sheet. She bent to pick it up, reading the handwritten note. There were only two words on the page.
You're welcome.
It wasn't signed, but Loki had recognized the slanted scrawl instantaneously.
Deucalion's.
Loki squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to scream. Her mind was moving too fast for her to comprehend what was happening.
Relax, a voice - Deucalion's voice - whispered in her mind. You'll never be able to see what's right in front of you with your mind that loud. Heeding his order, Loki took a deep breath. It shuddered in her chest as she let it out, and she inhaled again, even slower this time.
Okay. Okay. So. Deucalion had somehow heard about her situation. He'd...what? He'd cleaned the apartment so she wouldn't have to? Had someone - one of his many resources - hack into FBI files for her? He'd...killed a small girl to take the suspicion of something that wasn't a crime away from her.
Loki's stomach twisted, and hot tears threatened to spill over. She composed herself, and then she called the twins, of course. Loki tried Ethan first, and when she didn't get a response, she called Aiden. He picked up on the fifth ring.
"Loki, what?" He asked, sounding sleepy and a little annoyed. A flash of guilt went through Loki as she realized that it was the middle of the night in London.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you. I can call you back later."
"As long as I'm up, you might as well talk," Aiden muttered. Loki picture him passing a hand over his eyes to clear them of sleep, his bangs plastered to his forehead and his hair spiky in the back, and her chest tightened with longing to be with him and his brother. "Well?" Loki bit her lip.
"Just – is Deucalion keeping tabs on you two as well?" she asked. Aiden was quiet for a minute.
"I assume so," he responded. "We get money every now and then from an anonymous source. We just guessed it was him, his way of trying to apologize." Aiden snorted derisively. Loki's fingers curled around the phone. "Why?"
"I just – I think that he did something for me," Loki said. "But I don't know how far he went or what he did, exactly. I want to talk to him." There was another pause on the end of the phone.
"Can't help you there," Aiden told her. "And I wouldn't, either. You don't need to thank him, or return a favor to him."
"It's not that, Aiden," Loki insisted. "I think he killed someone, a small child, to cover something up for me – something that might not have been a big deal. I don't want him doing things like that." God, Loki hoped it had been fast for the child.
"It won't lead anywhere back to you," Aiden reassured the other teenager. Loki growled in frustration.
"That is not what this is about," she snapped, running her hands through her hair. Her fingers snagged on a knot and she scowled, dropping her arm again. "I don't want him killing for me."
"What, because you never did for him?" Aiden asked sarcastically. Loki winced, but before she could protest, Aiden was plowing on. "None of us owe Deucalion anything, not anymore. We all paid that debt a hundred times over. Let him do as he pleases. And just – leave the past where it belongs, Loki. Okay?"
The next afternoon, Loki stood in Scott's bedroom with Kira, Noshiko, and Liam, trying to forget about the body in the woods of Maryland. The terrible plan that they were about to engage in kind of helped with that. Scott was lying on his bed with his shirt un-buttoned part of the way. The room reeked of anxiety, most prominently from Liam.
"Are we totally sure about this?" the freshman asked, pacing the length of the small room. Kira looked down at Scott.
"I think Liam's kind of nervous," she said, her own terror displaying plainly on her face. "Maybe you should tell him it's going to be all right." Scott smiled gently, not taking his eyes of Kira's face.
"It's going to be all right," he repeated obediently.
"I still think I should be the one to go under," Loki said. "I'm the second highest on the Dead Pool, and I have less to lose than Scott does." Loki was certain that if given a choice between saving Scott's life and saving her own, everyone in the pack would save Scott's. And she couldn't blame them. She would save him over herself any day.
And besides, she was projecting her guilt of the events of last night into their current situation.
"You have the twins," Scott said to her. He locked eyes with her. "And the rest of us." Loki looked down.
"Still," she heard herself say.
"It had to be Scott," Noshiko corrected. "Only an Alpha can survive this."
"I was an Alpha for over a decade," Loki replied coldly. "I'm sure I could handle it."
"Not right now you couldn't," Noshiko said. Loki scowled at the woman, opening her mouth to snap something.
"She's right." Scott cut in. "You're still weak from that hunter's attack. You need more rest." Loki sighed, scowling in frustration. She waved her hands dismissively, motioning for them to continue as the guilt coiled in her gut.
"So, have you done this before?" Liam asked the older Kitsune. She turned towards him.
"I've seen it done," she said. Liam shifted uncomfortably; looking from his Alpha sprawled across the bed back to the Kitsune.
"Is that just as good?" he asked hopefully. Noshiko shook her head.
"No." Liam's eyes widened, and his fear scent spiked again, almost enough to make Loki choke.
"Mom!" Kira scolded. "You're not inspiring confidence."
"Good," the older woman replied. "This is a terrible idea."
"Well, we'll do it without you, so…" Loki left the sentence open-ended, allowing Noshiko to fill in the blanks. She sighed in acquiescence, stepping forward.
"Put your hand over his heart," she directed her daughter, motioning. Kira took a deep breath, and reached out a trembling hand toward Scott's chest. Before she could touch his pectoral, he grabbed her hand, sitting up as much as the space would allow.
"Hold on," he said, looking to Noshiko. "What happens while I'm out? Am I going to feel anything?"
"It might feel like you're dreaming," Noshiko told him gently. Scott nodded, licking his lips nervously.
"Good dreams or bad?"
"I suppose that depends on you," she said. The Kitsune looked across the bed to Loki. "Another reason why you couldn't do it." Loki's eyes narrowed, and her chin jutted up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Noshiko smiled coldly at the werewolf.
"If you can't even come to terms with who you are awake, how do you think you'll fare when the only thing to do is look into your own mind?"
Loki was waiting in the morgue with Scott's unconscious body, Kira, Noshiko, Liam and Stiles when Melissa pushed through the swinging doors. She was sniffling and wiping tears from her cheeks. She took a deep breath as she observed Scott's still, pale body.
"I still hate this plan," she said, voice rasping in her throat. "I mean, this is pretty significantly terrifying. He looks dead." She choked back a sob as she looked at her son, and Loki's heart clenched sympathetically. Noshiko watched the other mother from across Scott's body.
"Give me your hand," she said, holding out her own. Melissa blinked, looking at her in confusion. She looked at Stiles, who nodded encouragingly at her.
"It's okay," he reassured the woman. He rubbed her back gently, and Loki looked away, something about the gentle moment bringing up the painful memory of the twins and Kali after Ennis's death. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to look back to Melissa. Noshiko had placed her hand on Scott's chest. Loki watched Melissa's face crumpled as she held the cold skin.
"Wait for it," Noshiko insisted. Loki could hear the slow thump of Scott's heart, and relief broke out across Melissa's face.
"Oh," she whispered, shoulders relaxing. "Is that enough to keep a werewolf alive?"
"Enough for an Alpha," Noshiko corrected.
"How much time do we have?" Melissa asked, regaining her composure.
"Forty-five minutes," Noshiko responded.
"What happens after that?" Melissa asked.
"I bring him back the same way," Kira said quietly. Melissa shook her head. This wasn't the answer she wanted.
"No, I mean what happens if he stays like this for longer than forty-five minutes?" There was an awkward pause as no one answered and every one steadfastly avoided Melissa's eyes.
"No one's told her?" Noshiko asked unnecessarily. Melissa's eyes widened and the cryptic note in the other woman's voice, and she looked around, panicked.
"What? What happens after forty-five minutes?" She demanded. By the look on her face, it was clear she knew the answer to the question, the answer that she didn't want to hear but needed to know.
"He dies."
Four MacBook computers were set up on the bed of a hospital room that Melissa had procured for them. They were set up on the bed. Liam was still jumpy, starting at every creak of a floorboard.
"Liam. Try to relax," Loki soothed. He looked over at her, blue eyes very wide.
"I'm fine," he insisted, and Loki shook her head.
"No, you're not. But it's okay. Scott's your Alpha – feeling this anxiety is natural." Liam bit his lip.
"So – all Betas feel like this towards their Alpha?" Loki cracked a grin.
"I killed my first Alpha after two weeks, so no." She had to laugh at the shell-shocked expression on Liam's face. "But…" Loki remembered Deucalion, his steady voice talking her through the pain of her first complete shift after Eichen, his quiet, somewhat encouraging demeanor in the background as she trained with the twins and Kali and Ennis. She remembered the unadulterated hatred she'd felt towards him the last time she saw him, replaced now with a sense of calm nostalgia, despite her fear of the act he'd committed for her. "Most of the time." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Take a deep breath, and try to relax," she repeated herself. Liam did as he was told, inhaling deeply.
Stiles phone rang, and he picked up the call. Loki could hear Argent's voice on the other end. As he listened, Stiles reached out, hitting the space bar on his computer. The screen flickered on, and the others followed suit, displaying the four of the hospital's security cameras on each screen.
As they watched, one of the cameras flickered out, going completely dark. The words 'no signal' appeared in the corner.
"Is that supposed to look like that?" Liam asked nervously. Stiles leaned over to check, and he shook his head.
"Where is that?" Loki asked.
"Uh, the roof," Stiles supplied. "Someone should go check it out." Loki nodded, moving to leave, but Kira grabbed her arm.
"I'll go," the Kitsune volunteered quickly.
"Whoa, whoa. This might not be just a malfunction," the human cautioned. Kira nodded, holding up her sword.
"That's why I'm bringing this. And," she continued, slinging it over her shoulder. "Why Loki needs to stay. You're still recovering." Loki growled, leaning back against the table behind her sullenly.
"You guys can only use that excuse for so long," she muttered.
"Yeah, well, might as well milk it while we can," Stiles said, nodding at Kira. The Asian girl left, and Liam straightened up.
"I'm coming with you!" Liam called, running after Kira.
"Okay, and you're both coming right back! Immediately!" Stiles yelled after the two supernaturals. He sighed. "Kids." Loki snorted, and Stiles grinned at her, and Loki realized with surprise that it was the first time he'd ever smiled like that at her. Like he was actually comfortable being with her.
Maybe Scott's earlier words held some water after all.
"Stiles!" Loki pointed at the computer screens as all the cameras flickered off, reading 'no signal.' Before he could react, the lights in the room flickered out as well, leaving the teenagers in darkness, illuminated only by the screens of the computer.
Loki and Stiles's eyes met, faces glowing unnaturally under the bright light of the laptop display. The ghostly cast highlighted the apprehension on both of their faces.
"Morgue," she said, and he nodded.
"Yeah, yup. Now, immediately." The two rushed for the stairs, feet pounding as they pushed through the doors that led them to the floor of the morgue. When they got into the room, Loki sighed in relief as she saw Scott's still body.
"He's still here," she said, stating the obvious. Stiles had already whipped out his cell phone and was making a call. As it rang, he muttered to himself.
"Come on, come on. Answer the phone. Answer the phone, Argent." He paced wildly, the lights flickering on and off. "Answer the phone! Why are you not answering the phone?" As if on cue, a body was thrown through the doors of the morgue – Argent. He groaned, rolling over.
"I was right," he gasped out. "Stiles, Loki, get out of here." A woman pushed through the still swinging doors. She was young, blonde, and smelled of a supernatural creature that had yet to understand their power. Somehow Loki knew that it was Allison's aunt – Kate Argent.
Argent pushed himself to his feet, standing next to Loki and Stiles. Together, they blocked the cubby that contained Scott's body.
"Get out of the way," she commanded. "I'm taking the body."
"Why? Visual confirmation?" Stiles demanded, shuffling backwards slightly. Kate shook her head once, a slow smirk spreading across her face.
"Don't worry, handsome. I'm not the Benefactor."
"Then why the hell do you want his body?" Loki snapped, moving into a defensive stance in front of the two humans. Kate shook her head.
"I wish I could tell you." Argent rushed forward suddenly, gripping his sister's forearm in one hand and holding a gun to her chin with the other. She grunted, baring her teeth as she growled.
"I always forget you carry two." She murmured to her brother.
"Back off!" He yelled, his finger curling around trigger of the gun.
"You sure you can pull the trigger fast enough?" Kate asked her brother tauntingly. Her eyes were cool and disinterested, and there was no fear.
"I don't want to," he told her. Loki could feel his pain, his grief and anger as clearly as if it were her own. She could also sense his certainty deep below that, barely wavering.
"You're not going to kill me," his sister said.
"I'm not going to let you take his body!" He responded through gritted teeth. But his hands were shaking. Stiles scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Well, obviously you guys have a lot to talk about," he quipped. "So I saw some coffee – I don't know, a vending machine outside."
"Listen, Kate," Argent pleaded, cutting Stiles off. "We have a plan." The turned huntress regarded her elder brother coolly.
"And if killing Scott was part of it then you're worse than me."
"He's telling the truth," Loki said quietly. Her voice was like a stone striking the surface of the water. One small action that rippled through out the room, drawing attention to her. Kate looked to the other supernatural. "We're trying to get to The Benefactor. And," she continued, calmly, stepping forward. "If you hadn't noticed – you're on that list as well. And you're worth a lot."
"That's why I'm here," she insisted.
"Then leave," Loki said. Her green eyes were intense, like two pieces of icy jade. "And let us continue what we have planned." Kate gripped her brother's arm, turning so that the timer that was counting down faced her. There were only three minutes left before Scott died.
"Leave," Argent pleaded his sister. "Take the Berserkers and go."
"Kate." Loki's negotiating skills were as steady as they'd always been, and her voice was as convincing as always. "We have a plan."
Loki wiggled through the window of Scott's room, sliding onto the floor as gracefully as possible. He smiled at her.
"You could have knocked," he said. "I have a door." Loki grinned back, crossing the room.
"Yeah, well, what's the fun in that?" She sat on the edge of his bed. "You called?" Scott nodded. He looked distracted, and concern rose in Loki. She touched his cheek gently, and he turned towards her. "Hey. What's up?"
"I just – I – " Scott paused, sounding frustrated. "I don't know. My dreams while I was out – the last one was kind of disturbing. I mean, more so than the others." He looked at Loki, and he closed his eyes. "I dreamed that I had the Mute's tomahawk. I was killing – I was killing Liam. My Beta." Loki realized immediately why Scott had called, and a cold rush ran through her body. Scott looked up at Loki, eyes shining with fear. "I felt this rush of power, this kind of glee."
"The power boost of becoming an Augmented Alpha," Loki murmured. She closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Why are you scared? It was only a dream." Scott blinked, rubbing his temples.
"I'm not sure. But I just – Deucalion was once a good man, and then he killed his Beta, and that was the beginning of his downfall. What if – what if that's me? What if those dreams are things that will happen in the future?" Loki knew that Scott wasn't just talking about killing Liam, he was talking about killing in general.
"Scott," she said. "Scott, look at me." When her ex turned towards her, Loki took a deep breath and let her eyes shine. The deep blue glowed at Scott. "The saying 'the eyes are the window to the soul' hasn't been true for me since I was seven. Now that it is, I am completely terrified. I can't – in Noshiko's words, I can't come to terms with it. But you, your eyes will always show who you are. You are a True Alpha. You are not a killer. You are most definitely not Deucalion." Loki took his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to his. "You are Scott McCall," she told him, sounding more assured and convincing than she ever had. "And you are only goodness."
idk the second half of this chapter was kind of difficult.
the feedback i got on the last chapter was brilliant! thank you so much! i would love to hear more of it hint hint. :)
(please leave a review)