Chapter 20 - The Alpha
BEACON HILLS' HOSPITAL
After having seen Allison off, Mickey went back up to wait for Stiles to arrive at the hospital. A while later he'd been joined by Stiles who'd walked straight past him to speak with his father, so Mickey just studied him from a distance. Stiles seemed alright, no wounds but although shaken up. It was expected from Stiles, he'd always been the strongest out of the three of them. Not strongest as in muscles but strongest in the sense of willpower and always being able to bounce back. He'd been Mickeys' rock for ages now, someone he'd always been able to rely on whenever he felt weak.
So when Stiles slumped down on the chair next to him, his expression thoughtful in that way when someone thinks they might have made the wrong choice. Mickey raised his brow at his friend as he removed his headphones, giving him his full attention.
''If you got the offer, would you've taken it?'' Stiles suddenly asked, his voice restrained as if he was unsure he should have even asked the question, to begin with.
Studying his friend's face for a moment, taking note of the was Stiles's leg was shaking in a nervous jumping motion. Mickey relaxed against the wall, his gaze stuck on the wall across from them, ''I think being a human is your strength, not being able to rely on your strength makes you rely on your head and wisdom can be just as powerful as pure strength.''
''So you'd choose humanity?'' he pushed making Mickey smile, Stiles in return lightly punched his shoulder for not taking him seriously, ''I'm trying to be serious here.''
''Who said you could choose? You are what you're born as you can't change who you are,'' he said before quickly avoiding another punch bu pushing himself off of the chair, he gave his friend a toothy smile. Stiles shot him an unimpressed look as he followed his lead, the two of them taking off down the corridor to find Scott.
They were on their way to the elevator when Jackson found them, his hand grasping Stiles's shoulder to keep them from walking away, ''Hey, where are you going?''
Both teens turned around to face the other male, the two of them sharing a look before Stiles turned his stare back to Jackson, ''To find Scott.''
''You don't have a car,'' Jackson reminded them, his eyes shifting between the two as he was trying to figure out who'd be the easiest to convince.
''I'm aware of that, thank you,'' Stiles countered, his voice slightly strained at the reminder of his poor jeep.
Tuning the two of them out, Mickey let his eyes roam the other end of the corridor. Their bickering becoming just a muffled sound as he focused on the approaching footsteps, his eyes quickly finding the owners. He tried to get Stiles's attention by tapping his arm but the other male was deep into his arguing with Jackson who was doing his best to make up for the fact that he'd outed Scott to the hunters, the two of them unaware of the approaching threat.
''Good. I'll drive,'' Stiles finally concluded as he grabbed the keys from Jacksons' hand, the both of them finally turning around but got stopped by the group of hunters blocking their way.
''Boys,'' Mr. Argent greeted as his eyes roamed over the three of them, his expression friendly but none of them were fooled, ''I was wondering if you can tell me where Scott McCall is.''
Dumbfounded, Stiles glanced at Mickey, ''Scott McCall? Uhm, haven't seen him since the dance. Mickey, Jackson?''
''No clue,'' Mickey said with a shrug before turning his attention to Jackson, eyebrow raised as they waited for him to come up with a good excuse.
The teen was rendered speechless, unable to come up with any good excuse, ''Uh, I-.''
''Oh, for the love of God,'' Stiles cursed under his breath as the hunters moved forward, grabbing hold of their arms as they led them into an empty corridor.
Once they'd reached the end of the corridor, all three boys got shoved through an unlocked door. All hitting one of the hospital beds with a grunt. The door was quickly looked behind them as Argent turned towards them, ''Let's try this again. Where is Scott McCall?''
Slowly turning around, Mickey shot rubbed at his abdomen that had been hurt as it hit the bed. He glanced at Stiles who met his gaze, the two of them sharing a long look until Argent grabbed hold of Stiles and forced him against the wall.
''Let me ask you a question, Stiles. Have you ever seen a rabid dog?'' Argents voice was an angry growl, wanting Stiles to understand the importance of what he was dealing with.
The teen grunted as he hit the wall before he glared at the man in front of him, ''No. I could put it on my to-dodo - list if you just let me go.''
''Well, I have. And the only thing I've ever been able to compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon,'' he said before tightening his grip on Stiles shirt, ''Do you wanna know what happened?''
''Not really,'' Stiles breath was heavy as he spared a glance at Mickey who remained still where he sat on the bed, ''No offense to your storytelling skills.''
''He tried to kill me, and I was forced to put a bullet in his head,'' he told before smaking Stiles forehead to get the meaning through, ''The whole while that he lay there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me, still trying to kill me, like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath. Can you imagine that?''
Their eyes once again met and Mickey could tell the hunters words were getting to Stiles who fought to remain unfaced as he turned back to the hunter, ''No. And it sounds like you need to be a little bit more select -.''
The hunter had enough as he slammed his fist against the wall, ''Did Scott try to kill you on the full moon? Did you have to lock him up?''
''Yeah, I did,'' Stiles admitted, his voice wavering, ''I had to handcuff him to a radiator. Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?''
That took the hunter off-guard, Mickey frowned as he watched Argent take a step back with a tired smile on his lips. The accusation seemingly old to his ears as he tried to remain calm as he faced the teen, ''I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that.''
''Oh, right. Derek said you guys had a code,'' Stiles continued to taunt as he dropped more hints, ''I guess no one ever breaks it.''
The hunter spared a glance at his men, his eyes locking with Mickey who raised a brow at the man who turned his gaze back to Stiles, ''Never.''
''What if someone does?'' Stiles kept on pushing the subject, clearly knowing something the others in the room didn't know.
''Someone like who?'' Argent finally asked the question Stiles had been waiting for, all eyes in the room was turned to him.
He took a deep breath before he locked eyes with the hunter, ''Your sister.''
It was quite obvious to all of them that the hunter had already suspected his sister since along while back, the look on his face said it all. Realization dawned on Mickey who pushed himself off of the bed, his eyes on Argent, ''Allison's with Kate.''
''Shit,'' the hunter cursed as he motioned for the rest of the hunters to head out, he too disappearing from the room.
Looking after the hunters, Mickey felt the worry rise in his blood as he thought about what Kate could be putting in Allisons' head. He glanced at Stiles who was trying to catch his breath, the teen gestured for him to go before him. Giving a curt nod, Mickey hurried after the hunters.
He managed to catch up right as Chris Argent was steering his car towards the exit of the parking lot, so he did the only thing he could think of and blocked the road with his body. The breaks screamed as the hunter pressed down hard on them, his eyes set in a glare as he stared at the teenager in front of him. Mickey gave him a small smile as he hurried to the passenger side, getting in without waiting for the hunter to speak.
''Sorry but let's cooperate only for this time,'' he said as he fastened the seatbelt around his body, Argent merely sighed to show his displeasure before he resumed the drive.
HALES' HOUSE
They arrived in the woods and Mickey watched as the hunter picked up his gun, the man giving him a pointed look which in return Mickey rolled his eyes. They didn't speak as they moved through the trees, their eyes set on the target. The sound of a gunshot fueled their pace, Mickey cursed under his breath as the house appeared in the distance. Scott was on the ground, Kate and Allison stood over him.
''Kate!'' Chris called just as she was about to pull the trigger, Mickey couldn't help the relieved sigh he let out as the both of them slowed their pace knowing Scott had been saved, ''I know what you did. Put the gun down.''
His eyes locked with Allison's, the unshed tears showing her panicked state as she tried her best to keep herself together. Mickey wanted to drag her into his arms, to keep her safe from all of this but knew he couldn't.
''I did what I was told to do,'' Kate argued as his finger played on the trigger of her gun.
''No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house, ones who were human. Look what you're doing now,'' Chris gestured at the scene in front of him, ''You're holding a gun at a 16 - year - old boy with no proof he spilled human blood. We go by the code - Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent.''
As he spoke the last words, the hunter glanced at Mickey, the teen shifted uncomfortably but had to admit that the hunter sounded much better while saying the words.
''We hunt those who hunt us,'' Allison whispered as she stared at her father, understanding her aunts' wrongful teaching.
''Put the gun down,'' Argent said as Kate was still refusing to lower hers, a warning shot to the tree, ''Before I put you down.''
She finally lowered her gun, Mickey let out a breath he'd seemed to have been holding since he arrived at the burnt down house. His eyes once again locked with Allison but didn't remain as the door to the house creaked open, all attention turned towards it. The hairs on Mickeys' skin raised and he once again felt that weird feeling boiling his blood, he didn't think much about it though as he quickly strode across the grass until he could reach Allison. He pulled her close to him just as the alpha left the house as he ran around in the shadows, quickly choosing its first target.
First, one to hit the ground was Chris Argent, Mickey held Allison back as she called out for her father. He wasn't prepared for the sudden push from the alpha and both of them fell to the ground, Mickey cursed as he slammed against the ground but efficiently managed to turn so Allison landed on top of him. As Scott hit the ground, Peter finally stopped as he grabbed his final target by her neck. Throwing her onto the porch of the house before dragging her by the hair into the darkness, Mickey gripped his arm as pain shot through his shoulder. It allowed Allison to escape his hold as she hurried after the alpha and her aunt, quickly disappearing into the house.
''You alright?'' Scott's voice was suddenly right by him, his hand gently touching Mickeys' shoulder as his brown eyes watched him with worry.
Brushing away the hand, Mickey gave a curt nod towards the house, ''Keep her safe.''
The other male mimicked his curt nod and quickly took off, Derek suddenly appearing behind him and the two of them entered together.