Stiles fidgeted, leg bouncing and hands rubbing together. His mother was making notations on a piece of paper. He wanted to touch her more, wanted her to touch him more. He still couldn't believe he wasn't dreaming, wasn't dead.
"Stay here and rest. I'm going to put some things in order to close the bakery for a few days while we get this all figured out. Okay?" Claudia gathered up the notebook she'd been writing on. She ruffled his short hair with a gentle touch.
Stiles nodded. He didn't want to stay, but he would do as he was told. He tried to always do what he was told. He could be good. Stiles watched his mother head through a door at the back. He missed her already.
He glanced down at the empty plate in front of him, used his fingers to gather up the crumbs from the three sandwiches she'd made him. Stiles sighed happily, licked his fingers clean. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so full, so warm.
He closed his eyes and let the scents of the bakery sink into him. So much sugar in the air, so much love, there wasn't any other place like it. There was no blood, no gasoline. Everything was clean and fresh. He leaned forward, rested his chin on the table. The glass of water was so clear. There was no mud, no dirt. He wanted to splash it on his face. He wondered if he'd be able to take a bath later, even though he'd just taken a shower the night before. He found himself wanting things, hoping for things, and tried to keep the fear that it was all a mistake at bay.
The door at the front of the building rattled. He tilted his head at the sound. He thought it might have been Derek. He scrambled to his feet, nearly knocked the chair over in his rush to get to the door. He couldn't see through the curtains that covered the door. He was too excited to get Derek's scent back in the room. Derek and sugar together, there had never been anything so sweet.
He unhooked the chain, unlocked the deadbolt. The door opened easily, but the smile on his lips died when he saw who stood on the other side of the door. Allison grinned at him, clapped her hands in delight. Stiles took a step back, shook his head. It wasn't possible, she couldn't be there. The scents of the bakery had masked her approach, he hadn't been paying attention.
"Chocolate!" Allison squealed with delight as she stepped into the building. "I knew I'd find you here. Did you miss me, boy?"
Stiles opened his mouth. He wanted to scream for help, for Derek. Nothing came out. Just seeing her again stole all the words he'd fought so hard to get back. He was being punished, it was a game. She'd just let him go, gave him the illusion of freedom just so she could see him when he realized it had all been a dream.
Tears started to stream down his face, he sucked in a ragged breath. Allison stepped forward, seized him roughly by the ears. She pulled his head forward, ran her tongue along his cheeks. She always told him she loved the taste of his tears. He started to sink down to his knees. She didn't let him go easily, held him up until he felt like his ears were going to rip off. Her eyes lit up with amber light, she'd always loved it when he was on his knees.
"Good," Allison whispered, "I see you still remember your place." She reached around behind his head. Human fingernails brushed against the scars at the back of his neck.
Stiles's head slammed into the tile floor of the bakery. He didn't even wince, she hadn't pushed him. He'd done it on instinct, so she wouldn't have to. She laughed. It was an ugly sound that tore open his guts, made it feel like his insides were boiling under the hideous fire from Laura's gun again.
Sharp nails sprouted against his neck, spiked through his skin. She'd partially shifted, familiar pain lanced through him. Familiar images seared his mind. She loved her trips down memory lane. Stiles opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He saw her memories. They wrapped around his mind like a hideous spider's web. It started with the coal. That was one of her fondest. He could smell the burning flesh of his mouth, felt the exaltation she felt at watching the skin blister. He closed his eyes, but the images didn't stop.
Rusty spikes were driven into his palms, pinned him to the wooden floor. She must have been feeling sentimental. That's how she'd restrained him when she'd used him for her pleasure for the first time. She'd climbed on top of him, ridden him as he writhed in pain. She'd opened gouges in his chest with her nails, lapped at the blood as she sought her pleasure through his pain.
He heard her gasp, both with his ears and his mind. He knew what she must look like, lost in the sensation, head back as though she were howling out her pleasure. She would be lost in the memories too. If only Derek were there, he would have protected him. Allison would have been vulnerable, lost in the sensation.
He took a deep breath, already the moment of being Stiles was fading away. The soft scent of lavender and vanilla filled his lungs. He wanted to smile. He didn't know how long he'd be able to remember his mother's smell. Surely Allison's memories would wash them away.
"Get your claws out of my son, bitch!"
Stiles had never heard his mother swear before. He wondered why he would hallucinate her saying that. Normally he just thought of the song. Pain faded from his body abruptly, claws withdrew from his skin and took the memories of horror with them.
He sucked in a ragged breath. Lavender and vanilla so close. Stiles risked Allison's wrath by turning his head slightly. His mother's shoes were right next to him. He sat up. His mother was holding a shotgun. She was aiming it at Allison's head.
"What did you call me?" Allison's voice was like acid burning his ears. Her face was full of rage. She flexed her claws. "I'm going to chop you up, feed you to your son. I can't wait to hear what sounds you'll make for me."
Stiles's mother didn't waver. She simply pumped the shotgun, pushed it closer towards Allison's face. "Tell me," Claudia said, "how will you do that with no head?"
Allison laughed, it was just as high pitched and ugly as it always was. "That gun can't kill me. I'll tear your arms off before you can pull the trigger. You're just a pathetic human."
Fury boiled through Stiles, a fire that for once he welcomed. Allison threatened his mother. His vision went red. He saw the moment Allison's claws twitched. Stiles leapt to his feet, put his body between his mother and Allison.
Claws dug into his stomach. Pain lanced through him. It was irrelevant. Pain like that he'd gotten used to when he was still a child. He reached out, got his fingers around Allison's throat. Her yellow eyes went wide, the light slowly faded as he began to crush her windpipe. He leaned forward, roared into her face. Allison had threatened his mother. He was going to rip her throat out with his teeth.
"C-chocolate," Allison choked out. She reached out with her other hand, sank her claws into his wrist.
It was nothing, she'd wound barbed wire around that arm when he was ten. She'd lead him around by it, even when he couldn't walk anymore. She had just yanked. The metal had gotten stuck in the bone. His skin had healed over it. She'd torn it off the next day.
"Stiles, baby?" His mother's voice was distant. He could barely hear it through the blood pounding in his ears. "Don't do this. Let me take care of it."
Allison dug her claws in deeper. He laughed in her face. Allison's eyes bulged out, he didn't know if it was shock that he could make the noise or because he was strangling her. He didn't care. The pain didn't matter. It was pathetic next to the lifetime of torment she'd given him.
"Stiles Stilinski!" Claudia said. "Let her go now! You are not a monster like her!"
Stiles blinked. He released his hold, glanced back at his mother, head tilted low in submission. He didn't want to make her angry. He wanted to be a good boy for her.
"I'll kill you both!" Allison gasped. "That shotgun can't kill me. I'll decorate my dollhouses with your eyes!"
The door opened again. Stiles was afraid to look, afraid to see the Alpha. He kept his head down even as he put his body between the door and his mother, pushed her back to try to make sure Allison couldn't reach her either. He brought his arms up to shield his face, waited for the pain. He held his breath, afraid to catch the scent of Allison's mother.
"That gun won't kill you, but this one will."
Stiles glanced up, it was Derek. Derek had come back. Stiles took a deep breath, sucked in his scent. It was wonderful, made him light headed. Derek pointed the gun he'd once pointed at Stiles at Allison, not taking his eyes off her for a second.
"Give me your phone," Derek said.
"Why should I?" Allison asked.
Derek shifted the angle of the gun from her head, pointed at her knee and pulled the trigger. His expression didn't change in the slightest. Stiles didn't even hear his heartbeat waver. Claudia mother gasped, took a step back. She got a hold on the back of his shirt of Stiles's shirt. She tried to pull him away as Allison collapsed on the floor with a cry of pain.
"I'm going to call your father. If my sister is alive, we're going to make a trade tomorrow night," Derek said.
Allison looked up at him, venom in her eyes. "If the bitch is dead?"
Derek knelt, grabbed Allison's hair. He wrenched her head back. Her mouth fell open in shock. He placed the barrel of the gun in her mouth.
"If she's dead, then I'm going to see if I can make you scream as many times as Stiles did before the poison in these bullets makes its way to your heart." He pressed the gun further into her mouth. She made a gagging noise around the barrel. "If you don't, then I'll clear the poison from your system. Then we'll start all over to see how far we get."
Allison's eyes got wider. Stiles had never seen that look on Allison's face. Not even when he was crushing her windpipe. She was terrified of Derek, of what he promised to do to her. She must have known. Allison must have heard it too. Derek's heartbeat hadn't wavered. He'd meant every word he said. Allison slowly reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone and gave it to Derek.
"Mrs. Stilinski?" Derek didn't take his eyes off Allison as he addressed Stiles's mother. "I need you to go out to my car, get the duffle bag in the back. I've got some restraints."
"Are you going to kill her?" Stiles's mother asked.
"Yes. It might not be tomorrow though. I need to get my sister back. Once that's done, I'm not going to stop until all of them are dead. They killed my family." Derek leaned in closer to Allison. He pulled the gun out of her mouth, tucked the barrel under her chin.
Claudia stepped out from behind Stiles, moved up to Allison. "Are you one of the ones that hurt my son? Did you help kill my husband?"
Allison grinned. "I didn't kill him, I was too little then. Chocolate though, he's my masterpiece. I trained him perfectly. My mother gave him to me after he turned. He's my playmate, my property."
Stiles's mother leaned in closer to Allison too, looked her right in the eyes. "You had better hope that this man kills you before I get my hands on you. My husband taught me how to use this." She patted the shotgun. "Make no mistake, I didn't keep Stiles from killing you because you deserve to live. I stopped him because he doesn't deserve to be a killer. I'll carry that for him."
Stiles's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe what was happening. Derek and his mother had captured Allison. She was never going to be able to hurt him again. They'd done what they said they were going to do. They'd kept their promise.
Derek flipped open the phone, scrolled through the contact list and dialed a number.
"Chris Argent?" Derek asked. "I want to make a trade tomorrow night. My sister for your daughter. I'll send you the details later. Laura had better be perfectly healthy. If she is, you'll get your daughter back in one piece." Derek hung up the phone without waiting for a response.
Stiles covered his ears, in the far distance, beyond the range of human hearing a horrifying sound broke through the air, the Alpha's cry of rage.
"W-we h-have to g-go," Stiles stammered. "She's going t-to come. The A-Alpha is going to c-come."
Derek nodded at Stiles. "Mrs. Stilinski, I still need you to get my bag."
Claudia nodded at Derek, calmly walked out the front door. Stiles shook his head. They weren't afraid. They should have been, but they weren't. No fear smell came from the humans. He could smell it on Allison, could smell it on himself.
Derek reached out with the hand that wasn't holding the gun to Allison's chin, patted Stiles on the head. "Don't worry, Stiles. We're going to keep you safe."
Allison opened her mouth, seemingly unable to keep herself from making a threat. Derek didn't wait to hear what she was going to say, just slammed his pistol hard enough into her temple that she collapsed to the ground.
Claudia came back into the building with the duffle bag. Stiles watched them both in shock. Their heartbeats were so steady. He wondered if everything was going to work out after all.