High Tide
Mara's eyes fluttered, as light melodic music drew her from the warmth of sleep's embrace. As her eyes finally opened for good, they slowly drifted in the direction of the noise.
She reached out lazily for her phone catching the 5:30 at the top of her screen before hitting accept a bit more urgent when she saw who was calling.
"Cora?"
"They're coming."
"How long?"
"Today, I assume. Who knows when. Derek's planning to face them alone."
'That's not really going to solve anything." Mara muttered.
"Please. We need help."
"I'll figure it out. We'll be over in a few hours."
Mara let the phone drop back on her table. She rolled over with a sigh, letting her head sink into the pillows they'd paid an obnoxious amount for. It was worth it. If she let herself, she could fall right back asleep without problem.
She suddenly registered that she was being watched. Her eyes opened slowly, as she looked over to her side. Peter sat with his head propped on his arm, staring at her with a barely noticeable frown.
"That's creepy, you know. You and Derek are always staring and brooding."
He gave a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Runs in the family. That's the one thing Derek got from our side. The rest was all his father."
Mara looked at him curiously. He didn't speak about the past a lot, especially not Derek's father. She could tell behind his baby blue's, thoughts were running rampant through his head. She turned onto her side so she could face him.
"What are you thinking?"
The smile seemed to reach his eyes this time, as he exhaled in an amused fashion. He knew there wasn't much hope for hiding from her. His smile fell then. She knew the turmoil he'd dealt with was because he was going to say something she didn't like.
"You should stay back."
Mara almost laughed at him. After the last time Derek faced off with the alphas, he'd been lucky to survive. Scott too. She wasn't going to allow another blood bath. Before she had a chance to respond, he continued.
"Cole messaged us that two more people disappeared last night. Doctors. One of their friends was poisoned too. The darach is moving faster now. Someone should be here if they need anything."
"So I'm supposed to sit here on call to babysit, while you go protect the pack?"
"Don't be like that. You know something is bound to happen. The alphas and the darach are getting restless."
"Fine then. I'll stay here." She bit.
"I promise things will be fine. Me and Derek at full strength won't go down easy."
Mara rolled her eyes at that.
" Two versus four aren't my favourite odds. Take Isaac and Boyd with you. Call me if anything happens."
"Fine. Maybe you'll have a chance to do some more research. We have to figure out why the druid is here."
Peter was proven right soon after everyone had left the manor. Not long after classes had started, Cole had called her to say Deaton had been taken.
The darach was smart, going after their own druid. Mara had never considered an emissary might join the sacrifices, but it made sense. Deaton was certainly a form of doctor, and he was their best line of information to finding the bastard.
She raced down to the vet office, knowing she'd already find Stiles and Scott. The sheriff had already arrived as well. She watched him walk all around the room, searching desperately for any clues, as she approached the two younger boys.
"Have you found anything?"
The teens jumped, whipping around to find her standing right behind them.
"Jesus. Where the hell did you come from?" Stiles nearly shrieked. She looked at him with raised brows.
"My car, Stiles. Now what have we got?"
She snipped back shortly, the pressure of the time crunch beginning to reach her. The boys looked between each other before looking out at the office again.
"Nothing. Not even a trace." Scott said lowly, watching the sheriff shuffle through the mess on the desk.
Mara sighed, following the gaze of the teen. She knew he was right. The room was clean. They couldn't even smell Deaton's normal scent that should have permeated the workplace along with Scott's. It had been wiped, magically. She looked back up at the boys.
"Head back to school. I asked Cole and Leila to speak with Lydia. You guys should try and help."
"Lydia?"
"She's more deeply connected to the supernatural than you all could understand. She's the best chance we've got."
