Two weeks passed since Derek returned to Beacon Hills. Two weeks of him trying to figure out how to deal with Kate's sudden disappearance, she left everything and nothing behind at the same time, and the newfound information of her being involved in the fires.
She is the one responsible for the death of his entire family. For all the lives that had been devastated after the fire. Her and her group of co-conspirators, that seemingly had no actual hunting relationship upon his research. He wasn't surprised to discover that they were all dead. Died within the past decade in various ways that didn't seem suspicious.
But Derek didn't care about the other conspirators' involvement as he did with Kate's.
She is exactly as the Community made her out to be.
He finds himself thinking about the same questions the families asked during the aftermath.
Did she find a way out just before the fire got bad? If so, why didn't she try to let others know? How is it that she claims to be in the fire when no one recalls ever seeing her during the event?
Derek shakes his head, trying to rid the questions that plague his mind. He remembers seeing her before the fire, they had met in the locker room just before his basketball championship game, and after the fire, she was dirty and covered with soot just like everyone else.
He was lucky, having to forget his jersey in his car, not being in the fire. But still, it changed his entire life.
He needs something to take his mind off the impending situation.
He is thankful when his phone rings, "Hello?"
"Derek?" Stiles' voice questions almost softly from the other end, "Hey, I'm glad I reached you."
He hears the trembling in her voice almost as if she had been crying, "Stiles, are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, don't worry I'm fine." She answers, quick and casual. "My Dad just woke up and I'm on my way to see him." She makes a sniffing noise, "I was wondering if you and Kate would like to meet him considering…"
Derek feels his stomach drop at the mentioning of Kate. He didn't want to tell Stiles what he found out about Kate just yet. She was just now in the middle of her second trimester and he didn't want to add more stress on her than she needed.
"Kate is still out of town," Derek informs her. "But I would love to meet your father."
Stiles enters Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital to find her father's primary physician, Dr. Geyer, waiting for her in the lobby, "He's awake now, huh?" Stiles questions him with hope, "That's a good sign."
"Yes and no," Dr. Geyer shares as he leads her into his office. He offers her a seat, "I fear this might be a last burst of energy before the end." He takes a seat at his desk across from Stiles, "It's not uncommon, but we don't know how long it may last, but we can only do our best to keep him comfortable while he is here with us."
Stiles is silenced by the news. When she had received the call about her father waking up, she nearly hurried out the house without any shoes on. She had been so excited to receive the news that he had finally woken up after being in a coma for the past six months.
"Stiles?"
Dr. Geyer's voice snaps her out of her head, "Sorry," She apologizes, rubbing her hand on her bump, a gesture she picked up after she and Derek shared a moment weeks before. "I was just thinking."
He gives her an understanding smile, "On sharing your news?"
"Yeah," Stiles says, giving a weak smile. "Last time, he saw me I wasn't sporting a baby bump." She takes a breath. She needs to see her dad before Derek arrives, "Can I see him now?"
"Before you go," Dr. Geyer tells her. "There's something else that you need to know."
"Dad," Stiles says, voice gone of the infliction that she is feeling. She kisses his forehead before taking a seat in the chair beside his bed. Happy as she is to see him awake and alert again, she keeps reminding herself that this was only temporary. That her father has as little as three months left to live, almost a whole two months before the baby is born.
"How are you feeling?"
Her father, the former Sheriff of Beacon Hills now the only source in keeping Gerard out of Beacon Hills, gives her a knowing smirk, "I should be asking you that question."
Stiles gives him a nervous laugh, "I guess there's a lot we need to talk about," She admits. "But I don't have a lot of time to say it."
"The father is on the way, isn't he?" He questions her lightly. Stiles gives him a nod. "Does he know?" Stiles shakes her head this time. "I'll tell him."
Stiles eyes widen at his statement, "Dad-"
"It's fine," He interrupts her gently. "More than fine. My only regret is that I put you in this position. I should've done more in handling the restoration of the Academy like I promised when I had the chance."
Stiles gives him a small smile as she places her hand over his, "You should know-"
A knock on the door interrupts her, catching their attention as the Stilinskis turn in time to see Derek walk into the room.
Stiles gives him an appreciative smile, but before she tries to introduce them, her father beats her to the punch, "Alpha Hale," His tone somewhat cheerful. "A pleasure to finally meet you in person."
Derek gives an embarrassed smile, "Please call me Derek," Derek says as he takes Stiles's father's hands in his own. "The pleasure is all mine. You have no idea how grateful I am to you both, Mr. Stilinski."
Her father laughs, "Call me Noah," He instructs him. "Stiles was just about to invite Scott and Lydia over while you and I have a little chat about this arrangement that the three of you have going on."
It's two, but Derek doesn't bother correcting him.
"Don't tire yourself out too much," Stiles tells him with a teasing smile as she gets up. "I'll be down the hall."
"Make sure you eat something," Derek advises her.
"I will." She gives them both an expression of hesitation before she exits the room.
A beat of silence passes over the two men before Noah breaks it with his comment of, "Ah, please have a seat." He gestures toward the chair, Stiles had previously occupied. Derek follows the suggestion. "There is a matter has been brought to my attention we need to discuss."
Derek has only been scared maybe two times in his life. The first time being when he was just a teenager when a hunter had an arrow trained on him after having just killed another shapeshifter. Thankfully, Kate managed to ambush the hunter, saving Derek's life. Which was also happened to be the first time they met, and their relationship only flourishing from there.
The second was him learning about how he was the sole survivor of his family after the fire.
Meeting with Noah Stilinski makes it the third time.
Walking into the room, the first thing Derek noticed was how much Stiles looked like her father. Same dark hair and same intelligent brown eyes. But he senses the difference between the father and daughter on another level.
While Stiles didn't have a scent, Noah had the scent of sickness emitting from him. But there is something else in the room with them. Something powerful, that Derek can't quite put his finger on.
Derek's heart beats hard in his chest as he opens his mouth to answer, unsure how to navigate this minefield. "Sir, I, uh…"
As if reading his thoughts, Noah gives him a break, "Deaton told me about the contract first. Felt I should know what my only child has been up to while I was in a coma."
The mention of Deaton confuses him, "I'm sorry?"
"There's a lot of things you don't know about what it takes to keep Beacon Hills safe from hunters," He sighs. "And I'm afraid that's my fault." He looks at Derek with a sympathetic expression, "I guess, I should start from the beginning." He sits up slightly.
"Your family isn't the only family that keeps shapeshifters and other creatures safe from hunters," Noah reveals. "You see, I married into the Stilinski family, a family that also was part of the founding of Beacon Hills, and just like the Hale family and all the other families with supernatural abilities and connections, the Stilinski members exhibited unique abilities that were different from other families that allowed them to maintain the balance of nature."
Derek stares at him in understanding, "You're a family of druids," He realizes, finally getting the answer to a question he has been wanting to ask. "That's the reason why Stiles doesn't have a scent."
"Yes and no," Noah answers. "Yes, because all members of the Stilinski family were born with druidic abilities and no because Stiles circumstances are different than most druids." Noah takes a deep breath, "The reason for that being is because of the fire of Beacon Academy."
"I thought there weren't any casualties in that fire?"
"Officially no," Noah answers, leaving the rest unsaid.
"How?"
"If you're asking how Stiles died, that's not answer she or I could give you," He tells him. "If you're asking how she is alive," He pauses for a moment. "I'm sure Deaton had told you about something called a Nemeton."
Derek nods, "It's what draws shapeshifters and others to Beacon Hills. Some can't describe it as more than a feeling like they were drawn to come here."
"The Nemeton is more than just that, it is a source of untapped power that had remained dormant for many years," Noah explains to him. "But on the night of the fires, Claudia made the ultimate sacrifice, human sacrifice, to save your schoolmates and gave the Nemeton back its power. Thus, bringing Stiles back."
Derek lets out a breath of disbelief, "She's the Nemeton?"
"Not exactly," Noah tells him. "When Stiles came back, she was different," He explains. "She became more than just a druid. She became a Spark, due to possessing Nemetonic powers, that hunters, like the Argent family, don't know much about, but would love fill their bestiary with."
Derek questions, sitting back in his chair, "Who else knows?"
"Scott, Lydia, myself and Melissa. We kept didn't want to endanger the Community's safety," He answers. He notices Derek wearing a peeved expression, "Please, don't be mad at Stiles. She's only doing what our family has done for years." Derek stares at him, "Which is providing aid to you and your family, and other families, from the shadows."
"That's the real reason she interviewed for the surrogacy," Derek says more to himself rather than to Noah. It kills him a bit knowing that information, but at the same time, he remembers her words from her interview with Boyd.
"This is a business transaction, anyone who states otherwise really hadn't thought the whole situation through."
She had been right. He hadn't thought about the whole situation. He didn't expect his now psychotic ex-girlfriend to turn on him or be responsible for the very thing that nearly destroyed everything and everyone.
He didn't expect to feel the things he did for Stiles either…
"Derek," Noah calls to him. "Are you alright?"
No, he wasn't.
"If you know about the surrogacy then you know about Gerard."
Noah nods his head, "From what I understand they are just rumors."
"I'm afraid they might just be more than rumors," Derek tells him in a soft voice. He shares what he has learned from Deucalion and his former chemistry teacher and Kate's timely disappearance. "It can't be a coincidence."
"I'm willing to bet that it's not," Noah agrees in a worried tone. "Does Stiles know?" Derek shakes his head, "She'll find out," Noah warns him. "She always finds out these types of things. And trust me, Derek, she will find out and try to handle it on her own."
Derek shakes his head, "No, she won't." His voice serious, "Because I'm going to take care of Gerard and Kate myself."
Stiles isn't surprised that she hadn't heard from Derek after meeting her father. Though, she supposes that it is fair. She had kept something big from him and she wouldn't want to talk to her either. She'll wait when he's ready, right now she just wanted to spend as much time with her father she had left.
She stays at the hospital that night, but come the following morning, she leaves to repack her overnight bag to discover two twin werewolves standing guard just outside her father's room.
"Uhhh…"
"Morning Stiles," One of the twins tells her. "Alpha Hale sent us to escort you home."
There is something about how the werewolf used Derek's title that made her feel uneasy.
"Okay…" She says, unsure what to say in the situation. "Why would-"
The ding of an elevator catches her attention as Lydia and Scott get off, "That will be unnecessary," Lydia informs the twins in a business manner, "We can take it from here."
The twins exchange glances with each other before nodding their heads.
"Let me know if anything changes," Stiles tells them as Scott and Lydia lead her in the opposite direction that they entered.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" She questions unable to bear the tension and silence between her two friends. "Who were those guys?"
"Derek will explain everything at the house," Scott tells her. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."
Scott and Lydia told her little to nothing about what Derek wanted to see her for. At her home no less, when the hospital was legit closer to him.
She walks into her home to find Erica and Boyd carrying bags through her home, "He's outback," Erica informs her before looking to Lydia and Scott, "We should let them have their space."
Stiles expects her friends to argue with the idea, but to her surprise, Scott and Lydia both comply as Boyd and Erica escort them out her home.
So, Derek must be pissed then.
Stiles makes her way through the living room and out the back porch with Derek sitting at the table that had been left out since the first time he met Stiles' friends with his back facing her.
"You know after the fires," Derek says to the air. "Everyone warned me about Kate, but I didn't listen. I mean, how could I? I just lost my entire family and then my girlfriend was being accused of being the reason behind it all. I thought it was just a crazy conspiracy considering who her father was." He takes a breath, "But if I were honest, I had some suspicions myself. Many things happened that night that didn't make sense. People in the fire claimed to have never seen her…" He faces her, revealing his red eyes. There's a hint of anger in them, the sadness long gone. "Two weeks ago, I discovered that the woman I've spent most of my life with has been lying to me for the past 10 years. And just yesterday I found out the woman carrying my child has been hiding secrets of her own."
Stiles takes a seat next to him, entwining her hands together, "What do you want to know?"
"If she doesn't inherit my power, will she inherit yours?"
"It depends," Stiles answers. "Due to the lycanthropic gene being more dominant, there's a slim chance that she will have druidic abilities," She clasps her hands together. "If you are asking if it's possible for her to get Nemetonic powers, then I don't know." She wrinkles her nose, "We think there's a chance, but there isn't a manual on inheriting powers genetically that came from a sacrificial tree."
Derek thinks about the answer for a moment, "How long have you been doing this?" He gestures around them, "All of this."
"Since you became the Alpha with Deaton's help of course," Stiles answers. "Deaton focused on making sure that you were ready to handle your new status; Dad and I focused on rehabilitating shapeshifters and other creatures affected by the fire, which was probably best considering the whole Nemeton thing." The wind blows a cool breeze on them, "I'd understand if you don't want to tell me, but who knows about Kate?"
"Only a handful of people," Derek answers honestly. "I don't want word to get out and cause an outbreak of panic."
"Probably for the best right now," Stiles agrees. "So, how do you want to handle it?"
"You aren't going to be handling anything," He tells her in a stern tone. "You're going to focus on the pregnancy while I track Kate and her father down before they do any damage to Beacon Hills." He gives her a pointed finger, "You aren't going to fight with me on this either, understand?" His eyes then go the Alpha red, but even though he is asserting his authority over her, his voice is gentle, "You can fight with me on anything else, but not this."
Derek knows he is breaking Stiles' rule in her home. But he doesn't care if she is giving him a stoned stare right now.
Kate is his problem that he needs to solve.
"Okay," Stiles finally agrees, much to his surprise.
Her willingness to agree with his terms comes as a surprise considering what her father had told him, but Derek takes it as a win.
Over the week, Derek spent most of his time focusing on the search for Gerard and Kate with no results, while Stiles focused on spending as much time as she had left with her father and planning the lacrosse scrimmage that Scott and the others thought would be a good idea in celebration of the reopening of Beacon Academy in the upcoming month.
"I don't get lacrosse," Derek comments as he and Stiles make their way to BHHS's lacrosse field.
"There's nothing to get," Stiles tells him with her phone in her face. "It's a sport that Scott and the others, who didn't transfer to Devenford Prep, played attending here." She looks up to him and smiles at him, "Besides this will be the perfect thing to get your mind off the situation, at least for a while. You deserve a break."
"I still don't think we should've moved forward with this," Derek tells her. "This is the exact type of place Gerard would use to attack or at least a give warning."
"Gerard's smart, but he's not stupid." She places a comforting hand on his arm, "If he tried to pull something now, he'd be caught." She starts pulling him towards the stands, "Now come on, we need to find a good seat," Stiles declares as the warning whistle for the beginning of the game blows.
"Ready for us to kick your ass?" Brett questions, his rival, and friend, Liam Dunbar, as they positioned themselves in the ready position for the game.
Liam gives him a cocky smile, "Bring it on."
"I thought you said they were supposed to be good?" Derek questions Stiles in the middle of the second quarter. While he knows that the game is just a scrimmage with no real victory, he is expecting to see what Stiles had constantly been bragging about. But according to the scoreboard, Scott's team was losing badly.
"I never said they were good," Stiles laughs beside him just as they watch a player get knocked to the ground. "I said they didn't suck." She bumps her shoulder to him, "If you want, I'm sure they'd love to have you out on the field."
Derek sees a smirk on her, suggesting that she is teasing him, "Maybe next time."
He watches as the same lacrosse player from before ramming another player, who doesn't even have the ball, to the ground. "Isn't that player playing a tad aggressive?"
"Brett and Scott will handle it," She tells him even though a small piece of her prayed that Scott and Brett would handle the situation in an orderly fashion.
On the field, Liam, Scott, and Brett watch from the other end of the field as the player that Derek questioned about runs down another player who has a hard time getting up, but they see something that the others don't. This player has glowing orange eyes.
"That needs to not be happening," Brett tells him.
"I got this," Scott answers as he runs up to the player as everyone reset themselves for the game. "Kira, I know that you're possibly the youngest player, but maybe you should ease up on the other players."
Kira defends herself, "I'm trying to win."
"But you didn't even have the ball."
This statement triggers a change in Kira, "Stay out of my way." She warns him, in a voice that wasn't her own.
Brett walks up to Scott after witnessing the exchange as Kira stalks away, "You got a plan?"
Scott looks to the bleachers and sees that Stiles is watching them intensely, "I'm going to need your help with it."
The whistle blows again, and the game is back in play as the players line in their ready positions, "Down... Set..."
Another whistle is blown, but before Kira can make a move to ram into any more of his teammates, Brett knocks her down to the ground.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Brett teases her.
Kira takes the bait very well, getting up from the ground in retaliation and knocking Brett in the head using her stick.
Once more a whistle is blown and a referee comes out onto the field, "You!" He points to Kira, "You're done. Get off the field!"
"That was perfect." Scott praises Brett at his side as they watch Kira stalk off the field, "Thanks, dude."
"See? I told you they would handle it," Stiles says as she giving Kira a concerned expression. "I better go check on her though, she seems highly agitated."
"Stiles relax," Lori tells her as she sits on Stiles' other side. "I'll go check on her, you just enjoy the game."
Stiles gives her a suspicious glance, but Lori's face betrays nothing, "Fine."
As Lori takes off to follow Kira, Stiles looks to the field and see that Brett and Scott are proud of themselves, seeing that they fist bump each other.
She thinks that maybe she should start taking her own and Lori's advice as well and enjoy the game.
Kira storms through the double doors of BHHS muttering in Japanese with Lori hot on her trail. Lori tries calling out to Kira speaking Japanese herself, "Daijōbudesuka?"
This seems to get Kira's attention as she turns to face Lori. She repeats the question back at Lori in a mocking accent as if to make fun of Lori's accent just before swinging her lacrosse stick at Lori, causing the young werewolf to slam into a door.
Lori bounces back quickly and punches Kira, who doesn't appear to be affected by the assault.
Instead, Kira swings her lacrosse stick again at Lori's head. Luckily, Lori dodges the swing, making Kira lose her footing.
Lori grabs at the lacrosse stick, but Kira doesn't let go and the two try to push the other back.
Lori manages to overpower Kira, slamming her into a wall. This doesn't prompt Kira in releasing the stick as she pushed against the wall, but Lori maintains her footing and swings both Kira and the stick into some lockers and onto the floor.
From the floor, Kira glares, "Kira, snap out of it!" Lori cries out to her, nerved by the glare.
Kira stands up from the floor and kicks Lori right into the Girls' locker room.
Outside on the bleachers, Derek picks up the sound of Kira and Lori fighting. He looks to see if Stiles notices the disturbance, but Stiles is apparently into the game as she yells at Liam to hurry down the field.
Kira slams Lori into one of the metal fences in the locker room, "Kira..." Lori tries as she uses a lacrosse stick of her own, pushing Kira off her. It is enough for Lori to get her footing back as Kira pulls apart her stick, throwing the net to the side.
Lori takes a swing with her stick and Kira blocks it with her own. She goes for a swing to Kira's head, but Kira ducks, causing Lori to lose balance and letting Kira roundhouse kick her into a fence.
Kira then pushes her stick against Lori, who manages to use her stick and block the attack.
Just like in the hallway, the two try to overpower each other to a point where Kira's eyes give off their orange glow and Lori's eyes flash yellow with her fangs retracting.
With a roar, she pushes Kira back, but Kira doesn't falter much, bringing her stick down on Lori, splitting the girl's lacrosse stick into two.
Lori is shocked momentarily but moves when Kira tries to jab her with the end of her lacrosse stick. It gets stuck in the fence temporarily, but she rips it out as she tries to swing it at Lori, who blocks her attack with the two pieces of her stick.
Lori manages to hold down Kira's stick with one piece of her lacrosse stick and uses the other to swipe it against her face, knocking Kira off balance.
The two girls eye each other carefully, but Kira then snaps her stick into two, copying Lori. Kira gives her a little smirk as Lori stands ready.
The two then start fighting with both pieces for their sticks, blocking each other's attack.
Lori goes in for a kick, but Kira jumps back causing the girl to fall to the ground. Not giving Lori a chance to recover, Kira swings down a piece of her stick, while Lori manages to fight off the attack with a part of her own.
Kira then moved to slam both her sticks into the ground, but Lori manages to do a backward roll, right back onto her feet. She uses one hand to hold the sticks, going for a punch. However, Kira blocks it and punches Lori instead.
Kira grabbed a hold of Lori, forcing her back right into a desk, that the two roll over it and onto the ground. They continue rolling through the door into the hallway.
Kira gains the upper hand, slamming Lori into the ground, now bearing down on her.
Lori moves back on the ground as Kira stalked her way closer to her.
However, Kira is shoved forward to the ground and Lori sees that Derek is standing in front of her, "Friend of yours?" He questions her as he helps Lori to her feet.
"Kira, she hasn't been like that in a while," Lori answers her. "Something must've-"
She is interrupted when a low growl echoes through the hall. Derek turns slowly and sees that Kira's eyes are now orange and she has an aura shaped like a fox and electricity emitting all around her body.
"Don't hurt her," Lori begs him.
Which is funny to Derek because Kira looks ready to murder them.
"Kira," Derek says in a gentle tone. "Can you hear me?"
Instead of words for an answer, Kira charges at him, shoving Derek into Lori's arms as they fall to the ground.
Derek knows talking isn't going to work and does the one thing he knows that can deescalate the situation.
He lets his eyes go red and lets out a loud growl, "Kira!"
This seems to work as Kira stills as the aura disappears, "Oh, my God." She gasps confused and frightened, looking between Derek and Lori, "What did I do?"
A roar, much bigger and louder than Derek's, echoes through the hallway. Kira and Lori still at the sound as the double doors from the outside, burst open with people running and screaming, "What the hell is going on?"
Kira and Lori don't answer him as they pull Derek aside, from the stampede closing on them, into an empty classroom. For a moment, it is silent until they hear a low growl and a large shadow run past the room following the screams that now filled the school.
Derek waits a few seconds more before opening the door and seeing that the door across from them to another room has large claw marks across it.
In another part of the school, Scott is supporting a severely injured Liam with Stiles chastising him as she leads them inside, "That was probably the dumbest thing you have ever done," She leads them to an empty classroom, "Put him on the desk."
Stiles shuts the door just as a wave of screams echoes through the halls. She immediately locks the door before walking back to Liam, getting a clear look at the wounds that Liam had obtained.
Claw marks are running alongside his chest and abdomen appearing to be deep and ragged. Despite his injuries, Liam tries to sit-up, but Stiles pushes him back down gently, "Stay down."
Liam grunts in protest, "I'm okay." He claims, "I'm fine." However, he notices that Scott is making an expression that tells him otherwise, "What? Is it bad?"
"No," Scott lies.
"Very," Stiles comments, eyeing the wounds. She stands over Liam, hands outreached over his body, "God I hope this works," She mumbles as she closes her eyes as if to focus. As she does, she can feel a comforting sensation run through her arms.
She opens her eyes to see a green aura emit from her hovering hands. She then sees Liam's wounds beginning to close slowly and his breathing begins to slow down.
When the wounds finally disappear, the aura from her hands disappears, "Whoa." Stiles huffs out a relieved laugh, "Didn't think that would work."
"You good?" Scott questions as he helps sit Liam up.
"Yeah," Liam answers. "What are we going to do?"
"We need to contain Mason while we wait for Lydia," She tells them. "I'm not sure how much I can do, Brett is handling people outside the school, we need to handle people on the inside. Liam, you go and help Brett outside, Scott and I will handle the inside."
"Someone want to explain to me what that was," Derek questions between Lori and Kira.
"That was the Beast," Lori explains. "Or as we know him as Mason. He's not exactly a shapeshifter, but he can turn into a supernatural being that has its own personality. A personality that is very different from his own."
"Like me," Kira shares. "But we've had control over that side of us for years. I'm not exactly sure what triggered me."
"We can worry about that later," Derek decides. "The plan is to get everyone away from here as quickly and safely as possible." His mind immediately goes to Stiles wondering if she was okay through the chaos of the school. If something happened to her…
He shakes his head ridding the negative thought. He isn't going to think like that. Not when lives were at stake. And knowing Stiles, she is probably already working on handling the situation.
In another part of the school, people are still trying to run away from the Beast. One of them happens to trip over her own feet and fall to the ground. While she doesn't get up, she does begin backward crab-walking away from the sound of the Beast closing in on her.
She then feels a hand on her shoulder as Scott throws her roughly into a classroom and barricaded the door with his body. While looking at Scott she can see that he is bloodied, but the sound of the Beast nearing the door is heard just from the other side.
Neither tries to make a sound as they hear the steps of the Beast before a blanket of silence falls over them until the Beast suddenly starts banging against the door, just as the sound of glass shattering catches their attention, "Over here!" A voice calls out to her.
The girl turns to see Stiles urging her to move it. Scott continues barricading with his body as Stiles quickly help her out. Liam instantly takes the girl, once she's outside away from the building, while Stiles waves her hand at Scott to move.
The glass window of the door shatters, causing Scott to lose his balance just as the arm of the Beast rips through the door, "Scott!" Stiles cries out just as she witnesses the Beast rips the door and Scott out of the classroom.
The last thing Stiles hears just as her friend disappears in front of her eyes is his screams.
In the halls, Derek, Kira, and Lori still as they too hear the screams that seem to echo through the school, "What was that?" Derek questions, looking alarmed.
"It's Scott," Kira answers, looking worried.
"What's the matter with Scott?"
"The Beast." A voice answer suddenly behind them. They turn to see Lydia wearing a calculated expression. "We need to find them, and we need to find them fast."
She looks to Kira and Lori, "You two go outside and finish up rounding any stragglers from the game. After that, get to Eichen and inform them that they'll need to get a room ready." She looks to Kira specifically, "Two, if you want."
Kira nods her head, taking Lori by her hand and leads them to the closest exit.
When they are alone, Derek gives Lydia a questioning expression, "She's with him, isn't she?"
Lydia remains neutral, but she does give him an answer, "Don't ask questions, you already know the answer to."
She takes off in a fast walk with Derek matching her speed, "Do you even know where they are?"
Lydia tilts her head, "I follow the voices."
Stiles and an injured Scott run into the school library where they discover more than a dozen students hiding. Not far behind, the roars of the Beast close in on them, "Out the emergency exit!" Stiles instructs them in a whisper.
Not questioning her, but hearing the Beast getting closer, the students move to the only exit, Stiles embraces Scott tightly, her eyes close as she concentrates, "Give me five minutes," She whispers to him before she takes off running to the bookshelves.
As she does so, the Beast barges in, letting out a roar.
Scott's eyes flashed yellow as he roars back.
Stiles tries not to wince when she hears Scott's body gets thrown into a bookcase as the case topples over, sending books and other bookcases crashing to the ground. She gave him a boost in his healing ability just before leaving him behind, but it is only a matter of time before it wears off.
The Beast's roars fill the library as Stiles is forced to hear to the fight between Scott and the Beast.
She skims the shelves looking for a book, but nearly screams as Scott's body drops near the case she is searching. She hears Scott groan in pain just before his body is dragged away.
She must hurry.
Scott is then thrown into a small study area, his body crashing into a table. Scott groans in impact but still manages to muster up the strength to stand and jump towards the Beast.
Scott is now completely bloodied as he tried to get back on his feet. But his attempt appears to be useless as he no longer has the strength. Despite the fact, in knowing that he doesn't have a chance, Scott sits up to face the Beast, baring his teeth showing that he is unafraid.
As the Beast leaps at him, claws ready, Scott closes his eyes to brace for impact, but instead of pain, he feels himself being cradled in someone's arms. He opens his eyes to see that he is in Stiles's arms, his face practically in her neck, "Don't move cause, this didn't work the way I thought it would."
He moves his head slightly what she is talking about, spotting a dark powder with a hint of yellow on the ground surrounding them. Mountain Ash mixed with Yellow Wolfsbane.
"Mason!" A voice shouts.
At the call of its true name, the Beast turns away from Scott and Stiles, allowing them to see Derek, and Lydia standing by the doors.
Derek tries to remain calm at the scene before him. The Beast or rather Mason, hasn't moved to attack them yet which he should consider themselves lucky.
But seeing Stiles on the ground just behind the creature sends a chill down his spine. He needs to get to her.
Almost as if the Beast senses Derek is about to move it starts charging at them and Derek feels his body ready to fight back, but to his surprise, Lydia jumps in front of him hands clench, as waves of power emanate from her hands as she lets out a piercing scream, sending the Beast to the ground as it reverts from its giant form to a cloud of smoke before finally transforming into an unconscious Mason.
Scott wakes up, finding himself on the examination table at the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic with Lydia replacing the bandages on his torso, "Hey."
Lydia looks up from her medical aid giving him a softened smile, "Hey, yourself."
He looks around to see that they are alone in the clinic, "Where's-?"
"She's fine," Lydia answers knowingly. "You know she hates seeing either of us hurt, but Derek's with her right now. They went to figure out what happened to cause Mason and Kira's alter egos to come out." She pats down the last piece of the bandage, "They should be back in a minute." She looks at her handy work, "I'd say a goodnight's sleep and you'll be brand new tomorrow."
"You're okay," Stiles' relived voice enters the room. Scott and Lydia see Stiles and Derek standing by the threshold that separates the lobby from the room, "Oh thank God."
As she hurries to him, for a moment, Scott thinks that she is going to hugging him, but instead, Stiles's face turns into annoyance as he receives a flick to the head, "You didn't seriously think you were gonna have a chance, did you?" She questions.
"Ow!"
He gets another flick, "That was the dumbest plan, you've ever come up with." Stiles tells him, flicking him one more time.
"Are you done?" Scott questions with his hands up.
Stiles gestures at his injury, "That is why I always come up with the plans. Your plans suck."
"Now are you done?"
"Yeah," Stiles says, seemingly calm, focusing her attention on Lydia. "Thanks for taking care of him."
"Of course," Lydia gives a smile of her own before she flicks Stiles' on her forehead.
"Ow!"
"That's for going along with his plan," Lydia tells her in a stern voice. "Sit down," She orders, pointing to one of the chairs that in the room. Stiles does as she is told, "I know that you have a job to do-"
"Before you yell at me," Stiles says with her hands in defense. "Derek and I already talked it out and reached an understanding."
"Which is?"
"Starting now, you and Scott will be handling any or all situations that pertain to dealing with out of control shapeshifters or other creatures," Derek answers, getting Lydia and Scott's attention, in a rather authoritative voice. "That will include helping me find Gerard and Kate if you want to." Lydia looks to Stiles for confirmation, but she sees that Stiles is seething as he speaks. She is rather amused by Stiles' behavior. Derek continues, "Stiles will stick with focusing on the pregnancy and the restoration of Beacon Academy."
"Well, I'm glad you were able to talk some sense into my friend," Lydia says in a grateful tone. "How did you manage to do that?"
"I'm right here," Stiles says, not impressed at the tone. "So rather than picking on me, we should tell you what we learned from Kira and Mason."
"Which was nothing," Derek inputs. "Did Brett and Liam manage to get everyone else out safely? No injuries or death?"
"Physically, aside from Scott and Liam, no injuries or death." Lydia sighs, "Lucky for us, the few humans that were at the scrimmage, couldn't recall exactly what they saw so with the help of the connections we have at the Sheriff's station, we've spun off as a bear attack."
"Bear attack?" Derek questions in judgment.
"It's not great," She admits. "But it was the best thing we could come up with. We'll send out a notice tomorrow saying the animal was caught and been released safely back to the woods."
Lydia notices Scott looking rather uneased, "What's going in that head of yours?"
"Fighting the Beast felt different," Scott reveals to them. "With what history we know about it, it didn't feel like it was going on a murderous rampage. It felt the exact opposite."
"How opposite?"
"It was scared," He answers. "It was completely and utterly terrified."
Lydia furrows her brow in confusion, "What could've caused Mason to be terrified?"
"Don't know," Stiles tells them. "But he and Kira have both agreed to stay at Eichen at least just for tomorrow to make sure that everything else is okay." She looks to Derek and sees that he is wearing a peeved expression on his face, "You think Gerard or Kate has something to do with this, don't you?"
"And you don't?" Derek questions back, looking at the three of them. "We have no idea what they have been planning or doing for the past ten years."
"He's got a point," Scott tells them.
She gives him a thoughtful glance, "Dad always said, One's an incident, Two's a Coincidence…" She thinks silently for a moment, "If you truly think that Gerard and Kate have something to do with this then it's time you tell the others about what happened before they cross a line."
Derek gives her a serious expression of his own, "They crossed the line a long time ago."
Stiles nods her head in agreement just as the back entrance of the clinic opens with Boyd, Erica, Liam, and Lori, who is holding onto a lacrosse stick that has blood on it, "It's Brett's and we haven't seen him since the scrimmage, but we heard gunshots."