Does anyone even read these anymore? Well either way, after a five or so year hiatus, I'm ready to continue my Teen Wolf Saga! Please also check out the other two stories in the series, Scars and No One Else. I just updated No One Else and hopefully I can get Scars updated next week. Until then, welcome back to Awake and Alive!
"Ugh…"
Groaning, Natalie slumped onto her desk chair and clutched onto her throbbing head. After walking away from the dumpster, she and Stiles headed back to his Jeep. He had to hot wire it so it would start again, no thanks to freakin' Erica for destroying his engine. He decided to go take his vehicle to the auto shop but not before Natalie made him take her home. Her head felt like it was being jackhammered and she was in no mood to go anywhere else.
Now she was moaning and groaning in her bedroom and waiting for Zach to bring her something to soothe her headache. Soon the thirteen year old walked back into Natalie's room with a bag of frozen peas.
"Here," Zach said as he handed her the bag, "This should help stop that bump from growing."
Natalie grumbled her 'thanks' and placed the bag on the bump on the side of her head, making her hiss then sigh in relief from the cold contact.
Zach winced. "Geez. It looks like you've got some stiff competition when it comes to swinging around aluminum objects."
"I don't know if that's your way of trying to be supportive," the redhead quipped, "but it's not helping."
"I'm just saying that this whole thing is starting to get real, you know, aggressive."
"Oh, you think?!" Natalie whimpered as her voice made her head pound even more. She pressed the frozen bag firmly against the bump. "I mean, everything is just getting way out of hand. This whole town has gone from zero to a hundred in the span of ,like, a month! First Scott gets bitten by a psycho werewolf because apparently those are a thing, then we have to prevent him from being hunted down like a duck during open season, Lydia got bit but didn't die so we don't know what the hell is going on with her, and now Psycho Werewolf 2.0 is turning teenage social outcasts into Project Runway models! Like, who would've ever thought that Erica Reyes of all people had a body that makes you ask yourself if you wanted to be her or be on her?"
Wow, that was a lot for both of the Henderson siblings to take in. "Uh… I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond to that."
"Yeah, I don't blame you," Natalie shrugged, "but I don't wanna think about the supernatural for another second." She pointed to her duffle bag across the room. "Can you grab some Advil or something for me? I swear my head's gonna explode."
Her brother rolled his eyes but got up from the bed to grab her bag. Zach rummaged through all of the workout clothes and gear that Natalie needed for baseball. Nothing out of the ordinary. At least that's what Zach thought until he got to one of the side pockets of the bag. There were so many prescription bottles in there that if you didn't know any better, you would've thought that his sister was a drug dealer.
"Whoa." Zach held up a few pill bottles. "Are you running a pharmacy or something? Why the hell do you have so many pills in here?"
"Hey, don't be rifling through my shit," Natalie snapped, snatching the bottles away, "Besides, what's the big deal? You know I had to take quite a bit of medication after I got sick."
"Yeah, but it wasn't this much," Zach countered, "There's about eight different bottles in here. Look at this!" He shook one that only had a few pills left. "This one was prescribed to you only two weeks ago and it's almost gone!"
"It's nothing. I've just been getting headaches here and there, that's all."
Shaking his head, Zach threw the bottle back into her bag. "Do Mom and Dad know?"
"Nope. And they're not gonna." The pain in her head was starting to subside so Natalie put the bag down on her desk. "Because it's nothing to fuss over about. I've been running around with annoying ass werewolves. Of course I'm gonna get headaches! I just need something to give me a boost so I can keep up with them. Believe me, I already get enough spazzing out from Stiles. I don't need it from you and I especially don't need it from Mom and Dad."
God, that was the last thing Natalie needed on her shoulders right now. It was one thing to have her boyfriend constantly worried about her health and safety. She couldn't even sneeze without Stiles having a fit and thinking the sky was falling! If her parents knew about how much medication she was taking for her insomnia and aching, she would never hear the end of it. Not only would they believe that Natalie really was depressed and suicidal, which wasn't true, they would think she was now addicted to pills, which also wasn't true!They already thought she was acting strange. Well, stranger than normal. But she had a very strange life! It was hard to cope with sometimes.
Besides, even if she did talk to her parents, it wasn't like she could tell them everything. She would be forced to lie. They couldn't know what was going on. It was already putting a tear into her relationship with her parents which was hard for Natalie to not be in denial about too. And if she did tell the truth, they might send her off to the looney bin.
But there was nothing for them to worry about. Everything was fine… wasn't it?
The siblings both seemed to drop the subject and Zach went back to playing games on his phone. Natalie was about to kick him out so she could shower until her phone started to ring, the shrill noise making her head vibrate once more. With a sigh of exasperation, she answered the call.
"Hey, Scotty," she said, "just to let you know, we didn't find Boyd, but you are not gonna believe what fucking Erica did to me and Stiles earlier today."
"No, you're not gonna believe what happened to Stiles at the auto shop."
Natalie's phone almost fell out of her hands as she immediately began to fear the worst. "What? Is he okay? Where is he now?"
"He's fine, he's still at the shop," Scott assured her, "But they had to impound his jeep to see if they could find more evidence."
"Evidence? What do you mean, evidence? Evidence for what?"
"I promise I'll answer all your questions once I pick you up. I'll be there in five. Deal?"
"Alright, fine," Natalie agreed, "Just hurry up." She hung up and slid her phone in her back pocket. "Stiles is in trouble. I'm going with Scott to go pick him up from the auto shop."
A little too excited, Zach jumped up and went to go follow his older sister. "Alright, another adventure!"
"No, no. Not so fast." Natalie stopped him by pushing him back with his forehead. "You are staying here. Dad is most likely going to be there and he would have my head on a stick and barbecued if he sees you with me."
"But don't you think he would get even madder if he saw that you left your younger, poor, defenseless brother at home all by himself?"
Why did that have to make more sense then Natalie's logic? That wasn't fair! The redhead sputtered dumbly.
"Just- just stay here with the dog! Ah!" She threw her hands up before running downstairs and out the door.
"What?!" Natalie shrieked, "You're telling me that there's more than just you guys?!"
"Apparently," Scott said as he drove them in his mom's car, "All we know is that whatever killed the hunter at the animal clinic and even Isaac's father was definitely not a werewolf. And that it carries some sort of paralytic toxins or something like that. At least that's what Deaton said."
"Well, isn't that just awesome. What else is out there that we should be afraid of? Vampires?" When she looked at Scott so he could tell her that vampires didn't exist, all he did was purse his lips and kept his eyes on anywhere else but his best friend. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Scott shrugged. "Relax! Anabelle said that they only live in Romania, which is all the way on the other side of the world. They won't come over here."
"Yeah, for some reason that doesn't make me feel any better." Natalie drummed her nails on her thighs. "So, are they like Twilight vampires or Count Dracula vampires? Actually you know what? Don't answer that. I'm not sure which one is worse."
The teen wolf couldn't hold back a chuckle. "You think Twilight vampires are scary?"
"No, I just think that if they were like the Twilight vampires with they're sparkly bodies would be a huge embarrassment to the supernatural community. Like no wonder they won't leave their country. They'd be the laughingstock everywhere else."
Not even bothering to entertain her theory, Scott just shook his head and focused on the road.
They finally reached the auto shop, which was already surrounded by police cars and ambulances. Paramedics were pulling a gurney with what was clearly the dead body with a bloody cover over it out of the building. It sent chills down Natalie's spine. She and her friends have seen way too many dead people over the past month for their own comfort.
Natalie knew Stiles wasn't hurt, thank god, but it didn't stop her from worrying about her boyfriend. What if he did get hurt? Or worse, what if whatever monstrosity that attacked the place killed him instead of the mechanic it apparently did kill? Natalie didn't know what she would do if he died. Is it possible that she could also die from heartbreak?
Oh shit, now she understood what it's like to fuss over someone you love. What a weird feeling. It's so mushy. While she appreciated how Stiles was always making sure she was okay, that still didn't make him less annoying when he did it. But she still loved him.
Speaking of her boyfriend, she saw Stiles walk towards the car. She jumped into the backseat so he could sit in front. Instantly Natalie could tell that Stiles was just drained. Either physically or mentally, but he just seemed so over the night.
"Stiles, are you okay? Natalie asked, squeezing his shoulder.
He nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Scott. "You were right. It's not like you. I mean, it's eyes were almost… reptilian."
"You mean like a lizard?"
"Kinda. Like a mutant lizard. But there was something about those eyes."
"What do you mean?" Scott asked.
Stiles took a deep breath. "You know when you see, like, a friend in a Halloween mask, but all you can actually see are their eyes and you feel like you know them but you just can't figure out who it is?"
Both of his friends looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Are you saying you know who it is?"
"No… but I think it knew me."
Since it was already late, Natalie insisted Stiles stay the night at her house and that she would take him to school with her in the morning. Scott dropped them off then left, saying that they would talk more about this in the morning. When the couple went inside the house, they greeted Natalie's mom who seemed to have gotten home while they were out and went up to Natalie's room.
Stiles staying over at the Henderson's house wasn't anything unusual, even though now it was a little bit different and awkward now that he and Natalie were together. Was he supposed to sleep on the floor again like how he normally does or does being his best friend's now boyfriend mean he is allowed to sleep on the bed with her?
"Stop overthinking it, Stiles," Natalie said, rolling her eyes. Crap, was he saying all that out loud? "Just get in the bed. We're just sleeping."
"That's all?" Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows.
"What do you mean, that's all?! Yes! It's late and I'm tired, so bedtime. And don't try any funny business or your ass is going back to the floor."
The short-haired teen pouted but changed into some clothes that Natalie always kept on hand whenever Stiles would spend the night and slipped underneath the warm and soft blankets. Natalie followed suit then pulled on the lamp chain to turn it off. Enveloped in the warmth of the covers and each other's body heat, the two snuggled close together with their feet tangled and Natalie's head resting on Stiles's chest.
Neither of them could fall asleep though. The silence was making Stiles anxious as it caused him to be consumed in his thoughts about the events that played out at the auto shop. Those yellow eyes, the scaly skin, and let's no forget the dagger-like teeth that was enough to put the werewolves fangs to shame… but the part that was weighing heavily on him the most was when he became paralyzed. Stiles had never felt so vulnerable. Feeling stuck to the floor and hardly being able to call for help… not to mention the fact that it was so easy for whatever the hell was in that shop with him (it really was like a mutant lizard like Natalie said) to just kill him that instant.
But that was the peculiar thing… why didn't it kill him?
"Are you sure you're okay, Stiles?"
Breaking himself out of his wild thoughts (which lets be honest, when weren't they wild?), he looked down at his best friend. It may have been dark in that room, but Stiles would still be able to see the sparkle in Natalie's eyes even from a mile away. Even with concern evident in them and dark circles present from lack of sleep those bright doe-like eyes never failed to make him fall in love all over again.
Just in that moment, Stiles felt like everything really was going to be okay.
"Yeah," he said more confidently than he did earlier when she asked him that same question, "I feel great."
Before Natalie could ask anything else, she felt Stles's large but warm hand press against the small of her back and bring her body even closer to his. Slowly, he lowered his head to hers where they met each other halfway in a kiss. It may not have been hot and steamy like many other times they have kissed, but it was overwhelmed with the love and passion these two had for each other. Even for tomboy Natalie it was like she was starring in her own chick-flick. But she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Then the smile on Stiles's face became sly when they broke the kiss after what seemed like a good few minutes. "On second thought, I am feeling a bit traumatized after being attacked. I could use a little, you know, comforting. If you know what I mean." He then gave his girlfriend's butt a couple of pats.
And the moment was ruined.
Thud!
"Okay, ow!"
School was definitely interesting the next day. Because Scott and Allison had to hide their relationship from her family especially with her grandfather as the school's principal, they could not risk being caught seen together or even speaking to each other. It was incredibly hard to not be as open as they used to be, but it was the price they had to pay when Allison came from a family who made a living of going after supernatural beings.
Luckily for them, they had Stiles and Natalie to count on with communicating for them.
The former wasn't too thrilled about this, however, judging from the way he cursed underneath his breath. He looked miserable the entire time he walked into the school building with his less annoyed better half keeping up next to him.
"I don't wanna do this," he complained.
"We have to!" Natalie reminded him, "We're doing this to help our friends. It's our job."
"No, our job is to do research by watching movies and using google and making sure Scott doesn't go rampage on us. Not being their messenger pigeons."
"Oh, relax! I think it's kinda sweet that despite their different backgrounds, they would still do anything together." The look on the redhead's turned dreamy. "They really are the Romeo and Juliet of Beacon Hills. How romantic."
Stiles flailed his lanky arms around. "Okay, clearly you don't remember how that play ends. And when did you become such a girl? It's weirding me out."
"The summer before seventh grade when I first time I got my period," Natalie answered simply with a shrug, "I cried when I accidentally stepped on an ant and I was never the same since." Stiles groaned in disgust. Then Natalie spotted Scott waiting for them on some stairs. "Oh, there he is."
She grabbed Stiles's wrist and pulled him to where their best friend was sitting. Stiles sat down next to him while Natalie took the step above them. Clearly Stiles was hesitant on delivering this message as he kept opening his mouth to speak and then closing it. Giving him a little nudge, Natalie shot him a look that urged him to go on. After letting out an exasperated sign, Stiles proceeded.
"I'm so sorry about the other day… I'm trying. We'll get through this. Uh, I know, because I love you."
Natalie couldn't tell what was funnier, how painfully uncomfortable Stiles looked or the stupid lovestruck face that Scott had. She brought her fist up to her mouth to stifle her laughter but she just couldn't help herself.
"I love you more than-" Stiles stopped and shook his head. Clearly he had enough. "Oh my god. I can't- okay, why can't you tell him? I'm not doing it anymore!"
"No no, keep going, this is great," Natalie cackled, "I wanna hear more about you're undying love for each other. Do I need to give you two some alone time?"
"Ha ha, very funny," Stiles snapped, "now stop laughing. And you-" he pointed to Scott, "You and Allison just have to find a better way to communicate."
"Come on, you guys are the only ones we could trust," the werewolf pleaded, "Is she coming to the game tonight?"
"Yes! Okay, message complete."
"Great work, babe," Natalie patted her boyfriend's s shoulder but he swatted it away. "Ok Scotty, now tell us what happened when you talked to your boss about the Argents. He said there like a monster list or something?"
"Kinda," Scott said, "He thinks that Allison's family keeps some kind of, uh, records of all the things they've hunted. Like a book."
Stiles clapped his hands together excitedly. "He probably means a bestiary."
"A what?"
"You know, a bestiary?" Natalie helped.
But being the immature one, Scott giggled. "I think you guys mean bestiality."
"Nope, pretty sure I don't," Stiles said, "It's like an encyclopedia for mythical creatures."
"How am I the only one who doesn't know anything about this stuff?" Scott asked in defeat.
"Okay, you're our best friend. You're a creature of the night. It's kind of like a priority of mine."
"Plus every trio needs to consist of three things-" Natalie counted off with her fingers, "the brain, the beauty, and the brawn."
"And let me guess, you're the beauty?"
With a cheeky grin, the redhead answered, "Actually, I'm all three. You guys should be so lucky to have me in your lives."
"Oh yes," Stiles said, voice laced with his usual sarcasm, "we are so blessed to have you, Oh Mighty One."
"Let's not get off topic here," Scott interrupted before his best friends could start bickering, "Now back to this book. If we can find it, and it can tell us what this thing is-"
"And who."
"And what it wants."
"We need that book."
The trio exchanged looks at each other until Scott nodded his head back at the front doors of the school. Taking that as their cue to go find out more information, Stiles grabbed Natalie's hands and pulled her up and they ran outside to meet up with the hunter once again.
Just like Scott did, Allison laughed after they told her the funny name of the book they were looking for. "I think you mean-"
"No, we mean bestiary!" Natalie exclaimed, "Geez, it's like dealing with children!"
"Yeah, and the two of you, I don't wanna know what's going on in your heads," Stiles said.
Allison smiled apologetically. "Okay, umm… can you describe this thing?"
"Uh, it's probably like a book," Stiles answered, "Old, worn…"
"Something you would probably find in an evil scientist's lab," Natalie added.
"Like bound in leather?" Allison asked, the couple nodding afterwards.
Next thing you know, they were now racing to catch up with Scott inside.
"Yes," Stiles said, slightly out of breath, "seen her grandfather… with a book like that."
And now they were back outside and Stiles was not looking too good since he was so out of shape. On the other hand, Natalie was breathing just fine. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at her boyfriends lack of athleticism.
"Where does he keep it?"
And back to Scott. Stiles flung himself against the lockers, gasping for air like a fish out of water while Natalie remained completely unscathed.
"She says… has to be… office… Jesus, Nat, what is… wrong with you? Why aren't you… breaking a sweat?"
"Again, and I can't emphasize this enough- GO TO THE FUCKING GYM!"
For the last time, they found themselves back outside with Allison. The boy was doubled over in pain and his lungs felt like they were on fire. He pulled his inhaler out of his pocket, shook it up a few times, and puffed air into his mouth. That seemed to do the trick.
"You know," he said, "drug dealers have been using disposable cell phones pretty successfully for years."
"My parents check every call, email, and text message I send," Allison countered, "Trust me, they'd find it."
"Alright, so can you get the book?"
"Not without his keys. And they might as well be attached to his hand. There's no way I could get them without him noticing."
Snapping her fingers when thought of an idea, Natalie asked, "You said you're coming to the game tonight?" Allison nodded. "Bring him with you. I'm sure with him being right by your side the whole time you'll have easy access."
"You think it'll work?" The hunter asked.
"It's definitely worth a shot. You're smart. I have full confidence in you."
The two girls smiled at each other. All of a sudden, Stiles was getting lightheaded from all the running back and forth and he collapsed onto the ground. While Allison seemed more concerned Natalie was deadpanned. "Uh, is he alright?"
"Physically, no," Natalie answered, "Mentally… also no."
Baseball practice was something Natalie always looked forward to at school. She loved her boys dearly and always cherished every moment she was with them, but sometimes it was nice to have something that was just hers. Even though Scott and Stiles do like to watch her practice like she did with them, she needed something that was just hers. For about an hour or two, she could forget about everything that goes on in the outside world. No werewolves, no murders, none of that. All she needed was Tina in her hands and dirt underneath her cleats.
Her team was split into two for their own little game. One being led by herself and the other led by her co-captain, Megan Stephenson. Even though the two were supposed to lead the entire team together and get along, they were never really the biggest fans of each other. It always seemed that they were in competition with one another, but that was mostly on Megan's part. She always took credit whenever something good happened during the game and she was always quick to point her finger at Natalie went something went wrong, even when everyone knew it wasn't true. Natalie always tried to be civil with the blonde, but it was no use beating a dead horse when Megan was always going to be a stick in the mud.
Practice was almost over and they were on the last inning on their game. 4-4, a tie that needed to be broken. While Natalie would've been perfectly fine with that score, Megan would've thrown a fit over it. Someone had to be the winner, so the redhead was gonna make it so it was her.
Last one up to bat, Natalie stepped onto the field, twirling around Tina with one hand. Megan was pitching and the way she was staring Natalie down proved that she was not going to make it easy on her. Natalie stepped onto the base and parted her legs so she was balanced. She kept a tight grip on her baseball bat as she raised it up so she was ready to go. She kept her concentration on the ball in Megan's mitt as she waited for the blonde to make her move.
Then she faintly started to hear an unusual clicking noise. Natalie kept her stance but her brown eyes roamed around the field to figure out where the hell the sound was coming from. Almost behind the bleachers as if he was trying to keep himself hidden was Matt Daehler. In his hands was that damn camera he just could never seem to part with. Such a weird guy. What the hell was he always taking pictures of anyway?
"Natalie, watch out!"
WHOOSH!
Said girl instantly ducked her head down just in time to miss the ball that whizzed right past her head. As if Natalie wasn't already on edge due to all of the supernatural shit going around town, her heart seemed like it was going to beat out of her chest.
"What the fuck, Megan!" Natalie yelled at her go-captain, "You could've given me a concussion!"
"Next time you should start paying attention instead of daydreaming," Megan retorted, not even seeming the least bit sorry.
Coach Samson blew her whistle. "That's enough. You do anything like that again and you're benched from tomorrow's game, Stephenson!"
Natalie took a few deep breaths to slow down her heart rate. 'Everything's okay,' she thought to herself to calm herself down, 'Nothings out to get you. You got this.' She made sure to keep her attention one hundred percent focused on the game so she could win fair and square. Then Megan whirled her arm and hurled the baseball at Natalie.
Once the satisfying sound of her bat hitting the ball rang in her ears, Natalie dropped Tina and started running. She could hear Megan yelling at her team to get the ball so they could get her out, but Natalie was way too fast for them. She dodged everyone with ease and just kept running around the bases. As she got closer to home run, Megan had received the ball once again. For a moment Natalie thought she was going to make it. But then she lowered herself closer to the ground and slid on her side, caking her practice clothes with dirt. She kept sliding just until the bottom of her cleat hit home base just a second before the ball could reach the catcher.
"Safe!"
Natalie sighed in relief as she flipped over onto her back. While her teammates were cheering in victory, the girl just stayed where she was at, closed her eyes, and basked in the sun. It may have just been practice, but every moment she was on the field was so exhilarating. She wasn't even paying attention to Megan cursing at losing. All that mattered was that winning feeling of doing something right and not letting others down. Which wasn't something she didn't get to feel often.
"Need a hand?"
Natalie's eyes opened at the unexpected masculine voice. They traveled up the body standing above her and was met with Matt's smiling face. He extended his free hand to her.
She was hesitant but not rude so she placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. "Thanks."
"Wow, that was quite a game," Matt said as Natalie dusted herself off, "I know that lacrosse could be pretty violent but I don't think I usually see people who are on the same team try to actually hurt each other."
"Yeah well, you know," Natalie shrugged, "that's the spirit of friendly competition for you. Even though some people seem to have a much different definition…"
Matt chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that. So are you coming to the game tonight?"
"As always. Who else is gonna irritate Finstock? That's my designated job on the team- coach's pest."
"You're pretty funny," Matt chuckled again, "Not to mention a hell of an athlete. You really are the perfect girl, aren't you?"
"Oh, I wouldn't necessarily go that far… So!" She clapped her hands together. Nodding her head towards the camera, she asked, "You're not part of the yearbook committee, aren't you? Then what do you take pictures of anyway?"
"Everything really," Matt answered, "Nature, old buildings, animals… beautiful people." When he said that last part he was staring down the girl hard.
Uhh… Natalie wasn't sure what the perfect response was to such an unexpected comment. She really just needed to say something fast so she could leave the situation.
Thank god for her favorite gay boy, Danny, who came to her rescue. "Hey, Nat," he smiled at her, "Do you mind if I steal Matt away? I have a couple questions to ask him."
Red velvet hair flew around as Natalie quickly shook her head. "Nope! He's all yours!"
"Great, thanks." Danny gave her a kiss on the cheek like normal and gestured Matt to follow him. But not before the strange boy turned to the redhead.
"I guess I'll see you at the game tonight?"
"Yes, yes you will," Natalie said awkwardly, "See you then."
Matt followed Danny after shooting one last grin at Natalie. Instantly she got the creeps. Ok there was seriously something odd about that kid.
"Hey, Megan!"
Said girl was in the middle of packing up her gym bag when she looked up to see her co-captain jogging towards her. "Oh, great," she groaned, "What, are you coming over to gloat?"
"God, get over yourself already," Natalie grumbled, "I actually wanted to ask you about Matt Daehler. Do you have any classes with him?"
"Yeah, a couple," Megan answered, "What about him?"
"What's his story? I mean, I just feel like he's a little… mysterious. Like he doesn't want people to know about him."
"Well I definitely don't know anything about him. He doesn't really have many friends so nobody really knows what his deal is. Except for that scandal at the beginning of the school year but other than that he's kept a pretty low profile."
And now Natalie's interest sparked. "Scandal?"
"You don't know? That's not a surprise considering you associate with McCall and Stilinski." Natalie rolled her eyes but urged the blonde to continue. "He got caught taking pictures of girls changing in the locker room."
Oh, shit.
"And he didn't get expelled?" Natalie asked incredulously.
"Only a week suspension. He has a really good record and they didn't wanna ruin so he could get into good colleges. So typical. But I don't trust him either way."
Neither did Natalie, especially learning that disturbing fact. Those creeps that snuck up on her earlier had just come crawling back.
Ew.
Later that night, Stiles and Natalie brought Zach along with them to watch the game with them. The younger Henderson was pumped since it was the first lacrosse game he got to go to and he figured it was going to be a good lesson for him for when he tries out for the team next year when he becomes a freshman. He looked up to Scott and Stiles even though they hadn't really played before that year, which was kind of sweet. So Zach wanted to soak up as much information as possible so he could be just like them. Minus the werewolf powers.
What Zach didn't know however was the real reason why they brought him with them.
"You want me to do what?"
Stiles placed his hand on the younger teen's shoulder. "It's simple- you're gonna go over to Allison and her grandfather, distract him so Allison can give us his keys, and then we break into his office so can find the bestiary."
One of Zach's eyebrows rose. "Don't you mean-"
"No I do not!" Stiles exclaimed in annoyance that he had to keep having this conversation over and over again, "Why does nobody- ah! Ok. We need to go find a book that her grandfather keeps in his office so we can't have Allison get caught giving us the keys."
"We have to wait for her signal when she gets them," Natalie continued, "and that's where you come in. Do you think you can handle that?"
"I guess…" Zach hesitated, "But how do I distract him?"
"Just make a scene. It shouldn't be that hard. You're good at being a menace in public."
Like the child he was, Zach pouted and crossed his arms at his sister's offensive words. "Hurtful…"
The game started not long after that conversation. The Henderson siblings and Stiles watched among the bench as their home team get absolutely demolished by this guy on the other team that was an absolute giant. Since Gerard was sitting amongst the crowd, Scott couldn't risk using his wolfy strength and speed to help their team play better. It was starting to piss Jackson off, which was always a fun time for Natalie. But she couldn't tell who was funnier when they were angry- Jackson or Coach Finstock.
"Come on, is that thing even a teenager?!" Coach cried out when the player knocked over another member of his team, "I wanna see a birth certificate!" He sat next to Stiles as he continued to watch the game. "Who or what is that genetic experiment gone wrong?"
"Eddie Abramovitz, Coach," Stiles answered, "They call him the Abomination."
"Oh, that's cute," Coach said sarcastically. He looked down the bench and noticed an unfamiliar face. "You're not on my team. Who the hell are you?"
"Uhh, Zach?"
"Uh huh. So tell me, 'uhh Zach' why are you sitting on my bench?!"
Beaming proudly, Natalie slung her arm around Zach's shoulders. "This is my little brother. Aka, your next star athlete for next year."
Natalie swore the coach's throat was going to be damaged from how hard he just groaned. "There's more of you?! Well that's just great! Way to ruin my night, Henderson!"
Everyone else continued to watch the exciting while Stiles and Natalie were waiting for Allison's cue. Stiles gave her a thumbs up and she gave a nod in return. From what they could see they saw Allison rub her arms up and down like she was cold. They couldn't hear what she said but Gerard stood up, took it off, and placed it on his grandfather's shoulders. She felt around the pockets and she must have felt the keys because she nodded at them once more.
After she gave the signal, Natalie pushed her brother off the bench so he could do his job. Zach turned around to glare at her but she just wave her hands to get him to move. He shook his head but started making his way to where Allison and Gerard were sitting.
"You got this, Zach," he said to himself, "Just play it cool."
He took a deep breath and started walking up the steps. He then pretended to slip on a step and fell backwards with his arms waving around dramatically. Stiles and Natalie winced at hard impact when the thirteen year old landed on his back. That was definitely going to hurt in the morning.
The crowd on the bleachers's attention immediately diverted to Zach, who was crying out in pain. Although the couple wasn't sure whether it was part of the acting or not. A few people rushed to help Zach, including Gerard.
"Are you alright, young man?" Gerard asked.
"I think I dislocated my shoulder!" Zach groaned, "Can someone see if I broke something? My whole body hurts so this could take a while!"
Since Gerard was distracted, Stiles and Natalie were able to sneak past the crowd and Allison, who handed over the keys to Stiles. They kept looking around to check if they were being watched. Coast clear. So they made a run for it.
"You know, on second thought," Zach said as he sat up, "I'm feeling much better now." He patted Gerard on the shoulder and flashed him a grin. "You're a very kind old man." He scrambled to get up so he could run after his sister and Stiles.
The elder hunter shook his head in confusion as he walked back to his granddaughter. "I'm not sure I really understand your generation." Allison just laughed nervously and shrugged her shoulders.
Stiles, Natalie, and Zach ran through the parking lot towards the school building. But then Natalie halted suddenly, making the two boys crashed into her. They gave her questioning looks and she pointed to a car. Lydia was crying in the front seat. Natalie looked at her friend in pity but Stiles was not having it.
"Nat, we're on a mission."
"Just give me one minute, Stiles."
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"I'll be quick."
"Nat-"
"For god sakes, Stiles, one minute!"
"FINE!"
Natalie patted her boyfriend's cheek and jogged to Lydia's car, the boys grudgingly following suit. "Hey, Lyds. Everything ok?"
Sniffling, Lydia lightly nodded. "Y-yes. I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Because I'm getting the strange feeling that you're not."
"Look, I don't need anyone seeing my cry," Lydia said weakly.
"Good, because we don't have time," Stiles spoke up, "Now if you please excuse us-" His girlfriend smacked his chest. "Ah!"
Zach pushed them out of the way so he could rest his forearms against the car door. "Come on, Lydia. You shouldn't care if people see you cry. Especially you, the great Lydia Martin."
The strawberry blonde wiped her cheeks. "Why?"
"Because I think you look really beautiful when you cry."
All three of the older teens looked at Zach in bewilderment at his bold line. Stiles was the most amazed out of all.
"Ok, how is he so smooth for a freaking thirteen year old?" He wondered out loud to Natalie, who just shrugged her shoulders.
Lydia shook her head. "You're gonna think I'm crazy."
Natalie couldn't help but laugh. "Trust us Lydia. There's nothing you could say that could make us think you're crazy."
"Literally, nothing!" Stiles added.
Right then they could hear the crowd cheering, and they realized the game was going to be over soon. They didn't have much time.
"Lydia, I love you so much," Natalie told her friend, "but just give us five minutes." Lydia looked at them in disbelief. They were really going to leave her alone at a time like this?
"Just stay right here," Stiles said, "continue crying, or not crying, if you want, or whatever works for you."
"But we'll be right back in five minutes, I promise. And then we can talk about anything you want. In the meantime, Zach will stay and keep you company."
Said boy smirked as he adjust his hoodie. "You don't have to tell me twice."
"Just keep it in your pants, Casanova." Natalie smacked her brother's forehead and she and Stiles ran to the building.
They bursted through the front doors and ran until they found the principal's office. Stiles fumbled with the keys for a bit before finding the right one and unlocked the door. They ran in the office and he went to dig in the desk while Natalie went for the bookshelf.
"Book, book, book," Stiles mumbled as he searched. So far he was having no luck. "There's no book. Found anything, Nat?"
"No," Natalie answered as tossed a random book to the side. "These are all about history and literature. What a boring old man."
"Shit. Ok, I'll let Allison know." He pulled out his phone and began to type. "Nothing… here."
In came Erica, making the couple jump in surprise. Oh, now they were in trouble. Just once Natalie would like to complete a job in peace without the super hot blonde interrupting! Was that so much to ask for?
The beta smiled flirtatiously at Natalie's boyfriend. "Hello, Stiles."
Natalie waved her hand at Erica. "What, no hello for me, too? Now that's just rude."
Erica glared at the redhead, clearly not enthused with her snappy attitude. Before they knew it, she was dragging Stiles and Natalie by their ears throughout the school hallways. Man, did Erica have such a tight grip! Well, she was a werewolf so this shouldn't have came as a surprise. She continued until they entered the pool room and then she let them go. Natalie winced from the pain and rubbed her ear.
"Bitch," Natalie spat. She then looked up and her eyes widened when they landed on her least favorite person. Or wolf. "Oh, fuck."
Derek was standing in front of the two, holding a basketball in his hands. "Stiles."
"Derek," Stiles gulped.
"Natalie!" Said girl raised her hand when Derek didn't acknowledge her. "Hello! If we're gonna exchange pleasantries, can someone at least act like I'm here?"
"Shut up," the alpha snapped. He then looked at Stiles. "What did you see at the mechanic's garage?"
"Uh, several alarming EPA violations that I'm considering reporting," the lanky boy said in his usual sarcastic manner. Like the weirdo Natalie knew he was, Derek chuckled as he drummed his claws on the basketball. Then he pierced the ball, deflating it along with the couple's bravery. "Holy god."
Derek looked up at them. "Let's try that again."
"Sure thing," Natalie laughed nervously. She jabbed Stiles with her elbow. "Babe, give the man what he wants."
Stiles nodded and took a deep breath. "Alright, the thing was pretty slick looking. Um, skin was really dark. Kind of patterned. Uh, I think I actually saw scales."
"Ok, can we go now?" Natalie interrupted, pointing at the doors with her thumb, "I really need to go talk to my friend and get my brother home." By the death stare Derek was giving her, she was going to take that as a no. "Ah! Fine! Continue."
"Alright, fine, eyes," Stiles groaned, "Eyes are, um, yellowish. And slitted. Um, has a lot of teeth. Oh. And it's got a tail, too. Are we good?"
While he was describing the mystery creature, Natalie observed the expressions on both of the werewolves' faces. They had looked up at one point. Horror and shock were on both of them and Natalie was confused on what they were looking at. So she decided to turn around and immediately regretted doing so.
Up on the railings was a thing that fit Stiles's description perfectly, from the tips of its pointy teeth down to the tail Natalie had only seen on pictures of a t-rex. This thing really was like a mutant lizard. Or a snake. A lizard-snake thing that looked hungry for murder. Natalie remembered what Stiles had said the night before about the creature seeming familiar in a way, but she just couldn't figure out how. At this point it didn't really matter, they just needed to get the hell out of there.
Stiles noticed the change in everyone's demeanor. "What? Wait, have you seen it? You have this look on your faces like you know exactly what I'm talking about."
"Uh, Stiles…" Natalie grabbed his bicep and pointed up, not taking her eyes of the monster.
The thing roared when Stiles turned around, but it sounded more shrill then when werewolves roared. Stiles backed up in fear making sure that Natalie was behind him. It jumped off from the second floor and Derek crouched down so they were at eye level. He roared at the creature but it didn't seem fazed. Instead, it swiped at Erica, flying her against the wall and she knocked out instantly. Weak.
Derek pushed Stiles and Natalie. "Both of you, run!" Then the thing struck at him, and it got him.
"Derek, your neck!"
The alpha felt the back of his neck and surely he got scratched. His legs getting weak and were losing all feeling in them. They finally gave out from the toxins now in his body but Natalie was able to catch him and wrap his arm around her shoulder before he could fall.
"Whoa, I got you, big guy," she assured him, "Stiles, a little help here?!"
Her boyfriend grabbed Derek's other arm and the couple tried to escape with the werewolf in their hold. "Where is it?" Stiles asked, "Can you see it?"
"No, just hurry!" Derek ordered. They tried picking up the pace as the creature crawled and slithered around the pool, stalking it's prey. "Call Scott!" Stiles tried to pull his phone of of his pocket but it slipped out of his hand. When he reached down to grab it, he accidentally let go of Derek. "Stiles, you son of a-"
He fell into the pool before he could finish yelling his obscenities. Because Stiles's weight disappeared from the hold, Derek had unintentionally grabbed Natalie's wrist and pulled her into the pool with him. She shrieked as she came into contact with the freezing water.
Now Stiles was in a dilemma- does he go back for his phone and call for help, or does he help his girlfriend grab the moody alpha? He looked back and forth between the two and finally clumsily dived into the pool. He swam to the bottom where Natalie was already trying to pull up a drowning Derek. Seriously, what did this guy eat that made him so heavy? Stiles grabbed his other arm and together he and Natalie pulled him up to the top of the pool. They all coughed and gasped for air as their heads popped out of the pool.
"What the hell?!" Natalie yelled at her boyfriend, "Why did you let go?"
"I dropped my phone," Stiles said, "I thought you were gonna be able to hold him up!"
"Have you seen this guy? He's like a fucking rock! Did you at least get the phone?" Stiles kept his mouth shut. Now Natalie's face was as red as her hair. "You dropped us into the pool and you didn't even get the phone?!"
"Hey, it was either I got the phone or come save you from drowning! Which would you have picked?!"
"Enough!" Derek barked before Natalie could argue.
She groaned. "Whatever." They all looked around the pool as they searched for the creature. "Where did it go?"
"Where is it?" Stiles wondered, "Do you see it?"
"No," Derek answered.
"Okay," Stiles breathed out hopefully, "maybe it took off."
A hiss echoed throughout the room, alerting the three. Derek looked at Stiles. "Maybe not. Now will you get me out of here before I drown?"
"You're worried about drowning?" Stiles asked incredulously, "Did you notice the thing out there with razor sharp teeth?"
"Did you notice I'm paralyzed from the neck down in eight feet of water?!"
"Oh, yes! We noticed!" Natalie let out a grunt when she tried to fix herself to be in a more comfortable position, "And do you really think that if we do get you out of the pool in your state that you won't get yourself killed from the lizard?"
"I'll find a way to fight it," Derek told her, "It'll stay here all night waiting for us if we don't move now."
"Okay," Stiles said. He look around the perimeter a few more times until everything was clear. "I don't see it. Start swimming, Nat."
They both started to paddle their way to the edge of the pool, which was very difficult to do while holding a two hundred plus pound werewolf who was basically dead body weight at this point.
"Wait, wait, wait. Stop, stop." Derek said as he spotted the creature circling around the pool.
It was so easy for the thing to strike at any moment given how vulnerable the three of them were. But it wasn't making any sort of moves, which was weird. It was almost like it was taunting them.
"What's it waiting for?" Stiles asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind but no one had an answer for.
They all continued to watch as it stalked around the pool, as if they were afraid that if they take their eyes off of it for a split second that it would pounce. But it wasn't doing anything. At one point it stopped at the edge of the pool and reached for the water. Instantly it hissed as it drew its hand back, like the water burned it.
Natalie's eyes grew wide. "You guys just saw that too, right?"
"Yeah," Stiles answered, "I don't think it can swim."
Two hours.
They have been trapped inside the pool for two. Hours.
Natalie was getting so annoyed with this nonsense. She was tired, hungry, and even she was starting to feel numb from holding up Derek's body weight. Yeah Stiles was holding him up too but the redhead was two times stronger than her other half so she was doing most of the lifting. And the lizard-thing was still circling around them! Even that had to be bored with the three to give up and accept defeat!
She really wish she had a pill right now.
Clearly Stiles had enough of this as well. "Okay. Okay, I don't think I can do this much longer." He looked over to his phone which was still lying outside of the pool.
Derek followed his line of vision and began to freak. "No, no, no! Don't even think about it."
"Could you just trust us this once?" Stiles said.
"No!"
"You know, I don't think you're in any position to be barking orders at us," Natalie pointed out. Derek glared at her. "God, I wasn't trying to make a pun!"
"She's right though," Stiles said, "We're the ones keeping you alive. Okay, have you noticed that?"
"Yeah. And when the paralysis wears off, who is gonna be able to fight that thing, you guys or me?" Derek countered.
"That's why we've been holding you up for the past two hours?"
"Yup. You two don't trust me and I don't trust you two. You need me to survive, which is why you are not letting me go."
Stiles glared at Derek, debating on his next move. He looked over at Natalie and she shook her head when she realized what he decided. But it was too late. The boy pushed Derek off their shoulders and paddled towards the edge of the pool. Natalie panicked as she watched the alpha sink to the bottom and now she was debating on just leaving him there. At least she wouldn't have to hear his yapping again.
But no, she just had to be a good person. Whining, Natalie held her breath and swam to the bottom of the pool. She hooked both of her arms underneath Derek's this time and she was able to get them both back to the top of the water.
"Oh my god," Natalie coughed, "You know, you should be thankful that my phone's in my back pocket so I can't let you go and call Scott. But now you owe me a new phone."
"You're lucky I can't move or else I'd rip your heart right of your chest," Derek threatened.
"Well you're lucky I'm nice or I'd let your ass drown happily." Derek growled at her and she growled back at him. It wasn't as effective but it made him stop. "Yeah, I can do it too, buddy. Shut up."
Before Derek could tell at her more, Stiles swam back to them and helped Natalie hold the werewolf. "Tell me you got him."
The lack of words from Stiles indicated that the answer was no.
"Figures," Natalie grumbled, "Okay, well what about Anabelle?"
"I don't think she'd be quick to come to our rescue right now," Derek told them, "Besides, I don't have my phone either."
"What, you can't just howl as a signal for her to get here?" Stiles asked.
"That's not exactly how it works, Stiles!"
"Maybe you don't need to call her," Natalie said quietly as her doe-eyes gazed upwards.
The other two boys looked up and sure enough, the white wolf was up on the balcony, watching the three bob along the water.
"Anabelle, what are you doing here?" Derek growled lowly. Of course Anabelle couldn't respond. She just kept her eyes wandering around the area to see if the beast was nearby. "I don't need you getting hurt. You have to get out of here before it sees you!"
Natalie didn't miss the shocked look on Derek's face and the way the wolf tilted her head. She looked back and forth between the two. He was staring hard at Anabelle and when she nodded her head, Natalie almost dropped Derek when she realized what was going on.
"Wait, you can hear each other's thoughts?"
"Not until right now," Derek answered, not taking his eyes off Anabelle.
"So werewolves are telepathic," Stiles said with a little too much excitement. Then he remembered, "But Scott can't do that."
"Because they're not."
Oh shit. Stiles and Natalie gave each other knowing looks, remembering back on some research they had done not too long ago.
"Anabelle, get out!"
They didn't get a good view of what was happening, but they did hear the thing hiss at Anabelle and her growl back at it. Then it pounced on her and they both fell over the edge of the railing. Anabelle was quick to get up and charge at the thing. It whipped its thick tail at her and she slid across the floor. While the two were fighting, Stiles and Natalie were struggling to keep Derek above water.
Stiles panted. "I can't stay up anymore. I need something to hold onto."
He and Natalie tried to swim to the edge but their bodies gave out. They started to sink to the bottom of the pool until they felt someone grab onto their shirts and pull them out. The three began coughing out the water that filled their lungs and turned back to the fight in front of them. Scott was finally there, wolfed out. The thing grabbed Anabelle by the neck and it threw her far into the pool, yelping before she hit the water. It then whacked Scott and he flew across the room, crashing into a mirror and breaking it into tons of pieces. He got up and grabbed onto a piece of broken glass, ready to use it as a weapon.
But the beast did not attack much to everyone's surprise. Instead, it was staring at its reflection, almost looking confused on what it was looking at. Why wasn't it attacking? Scott was waiting for a strike to come at him, but it never did. It let out one final hiss before running up the wall, jumping onto the railings, swinging across the ceiling, and bursting out of the building.
What the hell was this thing?
They heard water splashing and they looked over to the pool to see Anabelle dog-paddle (get it?) her way back to the edge. She jumped out and shook the water off her fur, splashing Stiles, who was not too happy about that.
"Aw, come on!"
Anabelle barked at the trio and nodded her head towards the exit, signaling them to follow her. They looked at each other confused, but they ran after her anyway. She led them into the hallway and stopped when she found the janitor's closet. Her nose pointed to the handle. Still unsure of why she led them there, Scott slowly put his hand on the door handle, turned it, and opened the door. Sitting on the floor reading the back of a glass cleaner bottle was none other than Zach.
"Dude!" Natalie yelled at her little brother, "You're still here?!"
"Hey, you're the one who never came back to get me! Five minutes, my butt! And what was I supposed to do, walk home?"
Was he serious? "Yes!"
Zach just shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well. At least I got to see my first naked lady tonight. Ah!"
Anabelle growled and bit the boy's ankle. Not enough to break skin, but enough to teach him a lesson.
Yeah, Natalie regretted bringing him to the game tonight.
Everyone was outside of the building. Stiles, Natalie, and Zach were surrounding Scott, who had pulled out the bestiary, which was really just a USB. He had plugged it into a laptop and pulled up a chapter that featured the creature. Or at least they thought.
"Is that even a language?" Stiles asked incredulously.
"I think it might be Latin," Natalie said, cocking her head to the side.
"Well, can you read it?"
The redhead scoffed at her boyfriend's ridiculous question. "No, of course I can't. I don't think anyone can read Latin."
That's just great! "How are we supposed to figure out what this thing is?"
"It's called the kanima," Derek spoke up, Erica standing beside him.
The trio straightened up to face the alpha. "You knew the whole time," Stiles accused.
"No. Only when it was confused by its own reflection."
"It doesn't know what it is," Scott realized.
"Or who," Anabelle added, who had now shifted back into her human form and was fully dressed.
"What else do you know?" Stiles asked the two older wolves.
"Just stories," Derek answered, "Rumors."
"We've never seen one in real life though," Anabelle said, "To be honest, I never thought it was real."
"But it's like us?" Scott asked.
"A shape-shifter, yes," Derek said, "But it's… it's not right. It's like a…"
"An abomination," Stiles and Natalie finished together.
Derek and Anabelle looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Without saying any more, the alpha went to walk away with Erica following behind him.
"Derek," Scott said, making them stop in their tracks, "We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents."
Anabelle wasn't having it. "You've gotta be kidding me." She walked away from them, done with the conversation.
"You trust them?" Derek asked Scott in disbelief.
"Nobody trusts anyone. That's the problem. While we're here arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger, and faster than any of us and it's killing people! And we still don't even know anything about it!"
"I know one thing," Derek said sternly, "When I find it, I'm gonna kill it."
With that being said, he walked away along with Erica.
"He must be really fun at parties." Scott and Stiles glared at Natalie, who just shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just saying…"
The trio watched the werewolves fade away, unsure of what they were going to do about this so-called kanima. And how they were going to defeat it.
If they can defeat it.