A/N: Thank you all for the continued support! I seriously appreciate it way more than you can imagine! Also, I trie to put a little bit of Derek in this as was requested, but the reason he isn't really around in the story is because during this time, he was so focused on training his pack and laying low to avoid the Argent's. I just don't think he really had time for anything else. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!
Chapter Four: Srian
"If you bow at all,
Bow low."
I woke up very early in the morning the next day and, after my run and a quick breakfast, I started to paint a mural on the wall of my spare room upstairs. I worked for a few hours, lost in the motions of painting. I frowned when I saw that the sun had already risen,so I jogged to my bedroom and put on a pair of jeans and a thin cotton shirt. I got into my kitchen and frowned when I picked up my cell phone, noticing that not only did my first class begin in fifteen minutes but I had two missed calls from Scott and three from Stiles as well. I grabbed my messenger back from where it was laying in my chair, and walked out of the door with my cane in hand. After I locked the door, I dialed Stiles number.
"Finally!" Stiles said, annoyed
"Are you alright?" I asked, deciding to ignore his tone. I would make sure the sound was on and nearby in the future, I was not used to carrying a phone around all the time so I often forgot until I needed it.
"I'm fine." Stiles replied, and I heard Scott ask in the background who he was talking too. "It's Cian."
I heard Scott say something but I could not make out what it was. I was walking as fast as I could with my limp in the direction of the school, waiting patiently for Stiles to start speaking again. I heard Stiles tell Scott he was not going to ask why I called Stiles first, and I smiled a little at that.
"So you missed a lot." Stiles said, I could picture the exasperated look on his face.
"Such as?" I asked unsurely
"Cliff notes version - that means long story short, by the way." I grinned at the fact that he knew I was going to ask what cliff notes meant and pre-emptively explained it. The grin quickly slid off my face as he continued talking though. "Jackson escaped and got his lawyer dad to put a restraining order on us. So, we can't go within fifty feet of him or we get arrested."
"Do I need to go to the station or anything?" I asked, not sure how one goes about dealing with getting whatever a restraining order was. "Is it like a document? Or verbal?"
"Actually, it didn't include you or Allison. Which is some serious discrimination, by the way." said Stiles, making me roll my eyes. "Are you coming to school?"
"Yes, my estimated time of arrival should be about ten minutes." I told him
"Okay. Good. Allison got Lydia to translate some of the bestiary."
"Wait. Lydia knows Archaic Latin?" I asked, whistling low appreciatively. "Well, I am impressed."
"The point is!" Stiles continued "Ms. Morrell got it wrong. The Kanima doesn't seek a friend, it seeks a master. Which means-"
"Someone is controlling him, not protecting him." I finished "and keeping him clueless furthers their cause, that must be why they stole the video."
"Exactly. So get to school." Stiles demanded
"Stiles, I walk with a limp. I am going as fast as I can." I responded
"That limp is fake!" Stiles exclaimed, and I heard Scott telling him to be quiet in the background. "Why do you fake that, by the way?"
"Helps me maintain a normal, human speed. It's also somewhere to keep a sword with easy access." I replied, before looking around to see if anyone was around. There was a patch of woods I could short cut through, and go a little faster at my normal speed. "I'll be there in five."
"Okay. See you soon."
"So much for peace and quiet." I muttered, before entering the woods and running at a breakneck speed. I dodged trunks and foliage, attempting to not get any stains on my clothes. I cannot believe I missed so much in just a few hours. I finally made it out of the woods, and it was a minute walk to the school. I went to my first period, and waited as patiently as possible, before I got a text from Stiles telling me to go to the library after class. As soon as the bell ended, I walked out of the door and turned to walk towards the library.
Scott and Stiles were there first, ironically in the mythology section, and they told me they were grounded and how their parents freaked while we waited on Allison. I heard Allison's footsteps in the opposite aisle, and Scott eagerly went up the the hole as her face came into view.
"This is everything Lydia could translate." Allison said, handing Scott some papers through the gap in the bookshelf. "Trust me. She was very confused."
Scott smiled sympathetically at his girlfriend for having to deal with all of this and lying to her best friend. "What did you tell her?"
Allison chuckled "That we were all apart of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures."
Scott giggled a little at the lie and Stiles shot the couple an affronted look before informing them that he was apart of an online community that did exactly that. Allison face switched from amused to one of surprise.
"O-oh. Great." She said unconvincingly with a tentative smile
"Does it say how to find out who is controlling him?" I asked, to break the awkward silence that followed.
"No." Allison said, shaking her head "Stiles was right about the murders though."
"Yes!" Stiles exclaimed victoriously. I shot him a bemused expression and raised my hand towards him. He looked at me for a minute before he understood and high fived me like I saw people do on the television.
"It calls the Kanima a weapon of vengeance." Allison said, glancing around to make sure no one was around. "There's a story about this South American priest who uses the Kanima to execute murdered in his village."
"All right! See? So maybe it isn't all that bad." Stiles said optimistically
"Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted it to." Allison finished
"All bad." Stiles said, defeated "All very, very bad."
"Why is it always the priests?" I asked rhetorically
"Here's the thing though." Allison said "The Kanima is actually supposed to be a werewolf, but it can't be-"
"Until it resolves that in it's past which manifested it." Scott finished for her, reading from the papers in his hand Allison had given him.
"Okay, if that means Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself." Stiles said sarcastically
"What if-" Allison started with a contemplating look "it has something to do with his parents? His real parents."
"Does anyone know what actually happened to them?" Scott asked
"Lydia might." Stiles mused
"What if she does not know anything?" I asked
"Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me." Allison said "So- I'll talk to him myself."
"Okay." Scott said, looking like he wanted to argue but was suppressing the urge. "What do I do?"
"You have a makeup exam, remember?" Allison reminded him gently, eyes pleading "Promise me?"
"If he does anything, you run the other way."
"I can take care of myself." Allison said defiantly
"Allison, if you get hurt while I'm busy with some stupid test, someone is going to need to take care of me." Scott said, pleading with his girlfriend. "If he does anything-"
"Like what?" Allison interrupted
"Anything - weird or bizarre." Scott said earnestly "Anything."
"Anything evil!" Stiles exclaimed, pushing his head through the gap that the couple were talking through to emphasize his point. Allison shoved his face back through at the exact same time I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back, rolling my eyes. "Ah-ow!"
I walked out of the aisle with Stiles in tow, giving the young pair a moment to say a more proper good-bye in private. As soon as we left the library, Stiles informed me he was going to hunt Lydia down to ask about Jackson's parents. I watched Stiles walk down the hall before sliding down to the ground, my back against the lockers, and pulling my sketch pad out of my messenger bag to draw and pass the time.
I had been sitting there for a little over an hour when I heard Scott growl, followed by the sound of breaking glass. I hurriedly shoved my things into my bag before making my way to where all the noise was coming from.
I turned the corner and saw a crowd of people standing around. I moved forward, pushing my way to the front, until I came to stand next to Stiles. I saw Jackson and Scott grappling on the floor, Allison behind them with her hand over her mouth and wide eyes. Stiles ran forward to try and grab Scott off of Jackson, while Erica restrained Jackson herself.
"Scott, Scott." Stiles was saying "Scott! Guys!"
"What the hell is going on?" Mr. Harris, our Chemistry teacher, asked, walking up to see Scott and Jackson. "Hey! Enough! Enough! What do you think you are doing? Jackson! Calm down. Mr. McCall, you wanna explain yourself?"
Nobody said anything while Mr. Harris angrily looked over the two boys, Allison, Stiles and I. I started inching away from the crowd, trying to be unnoticed, just as a dark haired boy gave something to Scott, telling him that he had dropped it.
"Where do you think you are going, Mr. Hyland?" I froze, grimacing at being caught. Mr. Harris pointed at Scott first, and then Jackson. "You and you- Actually, all of you. Detention. Three O'clock."
I groaned but did not object when Mr. Harris glared at me, daring me to say something. I would not give him the satisfaction. Stiles grabbed my arm and we both walked down the hall, pausing to wait for Allison and Scott to catch up.
"What the hell happened?" I asked, irritated about the detention. Unlike Scott, I did not even get the satisfaction of punching Jackson in the face for my trouble. "I thought Allison was going to talk to him, so how did that end with you two duking it out in the locker room?"
Stiles gave me a weird look. "Duking it out?"
"I heard it in a movie last night." I said absentmindedly, looking at Scott expectantly.
The werewolf looked only slightly guilty, and I could hear his heart racing out of anger. Allison laid a hand on his arm and he calmed down a little, taking a deep breath. "I walked in because I could hear Allison's heart beating like crazy. Jackson was pulling up his pants, so I freaked out."
"Are you alright?" My eyes softened as I turned to look at Allison, who tilted her head, jaw clenched, before nodding.
"He didn't hurt me." Allison said "It was like he was in a trance. Suddenly, he was himself again. It was really weird."
"Really weird is a recurring theme in our lives." Stiles muttered
"I have to go before Gerard or my mom see us." Allison said apologetically, touching Scott on the arm on more time before she walked down the hallway and turned the corner. Before our last class of the day, Stiles filled us in on how Erica had approached him and told him Jackson's biological parents were dead, buried in the cemetery.
"How does she know?" I asked
"She didn't say."
"I don't trust her." I said, thinking. Why would she suddenly be trying to help us? Derek made it clear he wanted to kill the Kanima. No way the young beta was going against her Alpha's wishes, which meant Derek had told her to help us. Why would he do that? Maybe he needs our help for something?
"We need to find out what she knows." Scott said, looking at me. "I don't like it either, but if she knows something, maybe we can use it to save Jackson."
"Well, we can always ask her in detention." Stiles said bitterly "They better not tell my dad we violated the restraining order."
I walked away from the pair, going towards my English class, still thinking on Derek. We were reading the Crucible in class, which I had read already, so I patiently waited for the class to end so I could meet the others outside of Mr. Harris' office. As soon as the bell rang, I gathered my belongings and made my way to the chemistry classroom. Everyone else had already gathered outside the door, and Mr. Harris told us to follow him. We trudged along the locker lined hallways, Mr. Harris sneering at us the entire time, until finally he brought us to the library. He held the door open wide as we all filed into the room.
"Oh, uh- we can't be in detention together." Jackson said haughtily, looking at Stiles and Scott. "I have a restraining order against these tools."
"All of these tools?" Harris asked, gesturing at Erica, the dark-haired boy from earlier, Allison, Scott, Stiles and I.
"No, just us tools." Stiles said snarkily, indicating himself and Scott.
"Fine." Harris said, glaring at Stiles. I made a mental note to ask Stiles about the hostility between himself and our Chemistry teacher later. The teacher pointed to a table that was the farthest from the one the rest of us were sitting at, besides Erica. I sighed to myself, pulling out a book to read and pass the time.
"Cian." I heard Stiles mutter under his breath, causing me to look over at him. He was gesturing for me to come over. When I looked at Harris and shrugged, he rolled his eyes and gestured more. I sighed, before thinking of an idea.
"Mr. Harris?" I asked
"What, Mr. Hyland?" Harris responded tiredly
"I need to move." I said, faking a small cough. "This tools" I gestured at Jackson "perfume is making me sick."
"It's Tom Ford." Jackson sneered "and it's Cologne."
"It is disgusting." I replied, looking towards the teacher once more. "Mr. Harris?"
"Fine." Mr. Harris said, exasperated "Just move."
I got up and went over to Stiles and Scott, who both had grinned widely when I said that Jackson was wearing perfume. Stiles held out his fist towards me with an expectant look on his face as soon as I took a seat, and I gave him a confused look in return.
"It's a fist bump." Stiles said, rolling his eyes. "You put your hand into a fist and we bump them together."
Confused, I formed a fist and punched his. He made a pained noise, making me frown at how much strength I had accidentally used but Scott just snickered at his friend's discomfort.
"We'll work on it." Stiles said lowly, shaking his sore hand out. I threw him an apologetic look his way. I honestly had not meant to hit him so hard. Why would two people bump fists in the first place? I filed the question away for later when I heard Stiles continue to speak in a low voice. "What if it's Matt? I mean, it all comes back to the video, right?"
"Danny said Matt was the one who found the two hours of missing footage." Scott said
"Exactly!" Stiles exclaimed quietly, gesturing "He's trying to throw suspicion off of himself."
"So he makes Jackson kill Isaac's dad, one of the Argent's hunters, and the mechanic working on your Jeep?" I asked
"Yes!"
"Why?" Scott asked doubtfully
"Because.." Stiles said, obviously thinking "He's Evil!"
"You just don't like him." Scott said
"The guy bugs me. I don't know what it is." Stiles said, and all of us looked over to the table Matt - the dark haired boy - was occupying, only to see him eating a packet of crisps casually. "Just look at his face."
"Yes, the way he eats those crisps is definitely malevolent." I said sarcastically, and Stiles turned to lightly glare at me.
"Those are called chips. And I'm telling you, he's evil." Stiles responded indignantly
"Any other theories?" Scott asked, ignoring our bickering
Stiles did not say anything because Jackson had stood up, holding his head, and told Harris that he had to go to the restroom. The three of us all looked at eachother disbelievingly.
"Are you alright?" Harris asked, looking uncharacteristically concerned. "You don't look so good."
"I just need some water." Jackson said, walking out of the doors. Mr. Harris looked at all of us, told us that no one was to leave their seat, and followed after Jackson. As soon as the door closed, Stiles and Scott jumped out of their seats to go to Erica, asking about Jackson's parents.
"Talk." Scott said just as I walked up to the table and took a seat.
"It was a car accident. My dad was the insurance investigator, and everytime he sees Jackson drive by in his Porsche,, me makes some comment about the huge settlement he'll be getting when he's eighteen." Erica explained
"So not only is Jackson rich now, but he's getting even more rich at eighteen?" Stiles asked with a disgusted look on his face. "There is something so deeply wrong with that."
"You know what?" Erica said, pulling her laptop out of her backpack. "I could try to find the insurance report on my dad's inbox. He keeps everything."
The loudspeaker crackled to life at that exact moment and a female voice called for Scott to go to the principal's office. Scott's eyes widened, looking at us with a panicked expression on his face.
"What do I do?" Scott asked, looking between Stiles and I.
"Show no fear?" I said questioningly, shrugging my shoulders helplessly.
"Right." Scott nodded, reassuring himself before going out the door and making his way towards the office.
"Found it." Erica said triumphantly, gesturing to her laptop. Stiles craned his neck to look, and I absentmindedly admired the constellation of moles on his skin. I watched as his tongue poked out of his mouth, wetting his lips and his eyes darted across the screen as he read the report. My attention snapped back to the situation at hand as he called for us to look at the dates on the report. They arrived dead at the hospital on June fourteenth. I frowned to myself, not seeing the relevance, and Stiles must have seen the confused look on my face because he leaned closer to me as he spoke.
"Jackson's birthday is on June fifteenth." He informed me and my eyes widened in horror at what he was implicating. He was in his dead mother's womb hours before he was born. At that moment, Mr. Harris walked back in - not commenting on Stiles and I changing seat - before he began to pack up his belongings. We all got up, prepared to leave, freezing as Mr. Harris let out a cold chuckle.
"Oh, no." Harris said, a slightly sadistic look of joy on his face. "I'm sorry. Yes, I'm leaving, but none of you are. You may go when you're done with the reshelving." He gestured towards three carts, overflowing with books, before striding towards the door with a pleased smirk on his face. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."
I glared a hole into the back of his skull until the door swung shut behind him. Complaining, we all got started shelving books. Allison joined Stiles and I; As soon as Scott returned from the office, shaking his head and mumbling about pencils under his breath, we told the other two what was in the report.
"What does that mean?" Allison asked as Stiles finished, putting a book from the cart onto the proper shelf as she spoke.
"It means he was born after his mom died." Stiles told her, talking quickly. "By c-section. They had to cut him out of her dead body."
I shivered at the thought, and Allison had the same horrified look on her face that I had earlier.
"So, was it an accident, or not?" She asked, still putting books up.
"The word all over the report is inconclusive." Stiles said
"Then his parents could have been murdered?" Scott wondered out loud
"That could fall in line with the myth." I pointed out, Stiles nodding his head in agreement.
"It seeks out and kills murderers." Stiles quoted forebodingly
"But for Jackson?" Allison mused "Or the person controlling him?"
We all paused for a moment, considering her words, and then Scott was moving forward to leave the aisle we were all standing in. Stiles grabbed his shoulder with a questioning look, wondering what his best friend was doing.
"We have to talk to him." Scott said adamantly "We have to tell him."
"He's not going to list-" Allison started, but was interrupted by a loud thud. All of a sudden, it was as though the ceiling were caving in. The lights were flashing and I vaguely saw a shape blurring above our heads. I dove at Stiles, pulling him out of the way as one of the lights fell from above, landing on top of him as shattered glass rained down around us. Stiles brown, honey eyes were wide, looking into my gray orbs, back to the glass, before they finally settled on me. I heard his heartbeat increase suddenly, looking at our proximity, and I hurriedly rolled off of his surprisingly firm body before I stood up, offering him my hand. He took it, using it to pull himself off of the ground, and we both stood there awkwardly for a moment.
"Erica!" We heard Scott shout, and we both rushed over to the next aisle, where the blonde werewolf was convulsing on the ground.
"Whoa, hey, hey, hey!" Stiles said, panicked "I think she's having a seizure."
"Turn her on her side." I advised calmly, grabbing her legs and helping them turn the girl. I held her there just in case she vomited. Stiles supported her, hands on her back, while she shook uncontrollably.
"We need to get her to a hospital." Stiles decided, looking at me.
"Derek." Erica said shakily, her body still trembling "Only to Derek."
"Scott!" Stiles yelled fearfully, and the teen wolf was by his side a minute later, evaluating the situation with his eyes.
"Okay, when we get her to the hospital-" Scott started to say, only for Erica to cut in.
"Derek. To Derek."
Erica's eyes were pleading and fearful, her body trembling underneath my hands. Scott went to check on Allison and Matt, and I heard them debating about if Scott should stay or go. Finally, Scott came over to us and picked Erica up into his arms delicately, and Stiles scrambled after him. I threw one last look at the board that Jackson had written an ominous message on before heading after the other two.
The ride to Derek's was tense and silent. Stiles was driving well over the speed limit, glancing in his rearview mirror at Erica periodically and muttering to himself. When we finally arrived at Derek's hideout, the Alpha came out of some cart and I saw a look of concern pass over his face when he noticed his beta in Scott's arms. Derek gingerly took Erica from Scott, and laid her down on the floor of the cart he had exited carefully.
"Is she going to die?" Stiles asked, his heart beating wildly in his chest while he awaited Derek's answer.
"She might. Which is why this is going to hurt." Derek replied bluntly, putting both of his hands on Erica's arm before moving them forcefully, snapping the appendage easily with his supernatural strength.
"You broke her arm!" Stiles accused him angrily
"It'll trigger the healing process." Derek aid tersely, worry on his face. "I still have to get the venom out. This is where it's really going to hurt."
Derek extended his claws and punctured Erica's arm, the scream she let our was deafening. I barely flinched, watching as he twisted his claws into her arm to get as much of the tainted blood out as possible. Erica whimpered in pain throughout the entire process, but slowly she stopped shaking and Derek removed his blood covered hands from her arm. Erica relaxed slightly, opening her eyes and looking at Stiles dazedly. "Stiles. You make a good Batman."
Confused at the reference, I watched as Erica closed her eyes and fell asleep, letting her head fall gently to the ground. I grasped Stiles shoulder, squeezing reassuringly, and he sighed, getting off of his knees. We both watched, standing silently, as Derek and Scott spoke to one another. They had decided to team up and take on the Kanima together. I studied Derek as he agreed to do things Scott's way, and knew deep down that there was no way he was going to listen. He would try to kill Jackson. People like Derek did not just do a complete turnaround in opinion like that, and they definitely did not let themselves be told what to do by a sixteen year old.
"Come on." Stiles said, gesturing to the door leading to the exit where his Jeep was parked. "Do you want a ride home?"
"I'll catch up." I told him, noticing the perplexed look he gave me I waved him off. "I'll be right there."
"Okay." Stiles said unsurely, and left with Scott.
Derek eyed me as I leaned against the wall evaluating him. We were both silent, sizing the other up, and finally I walked towards him slowly. He cocked his eyebrow at me, a silent question asking why I had stayed behind, and I hardened my eyes slightly.
"You do not want to save him. You want to kill him." I said, not asked him.
"It's the safer option." Derek replied, his green eyes still watching me.
"If they get hurt because of this, I will kill you." I told him warningly, watching his eyes narrow as he took me in. Derek walked up to me so we were only a few inches apart, me staring up at him and refusing to break eye contact, and I took in his musky, earthy smell.
"What makes you think you can?" He asked me tauntingly, eyes flickering downwards and back up to meet my own.
"Experience." I replied levelly, and his eyes turned from mocking to steel after I said that.
"I guess we'll see." Derek said, nostrils flaring and eyes flashing red in response to my challenge.
"I hope we do not have too." I told him honestly, backing away a little. "I will be watching though."
Derek remained silent, and I could feel his eyes on me the entire time as I walked away. Normally, I would not turn my back on a werewolf, but I knew he would not dare to attack me. I met up with Stiles and Scott, who both gave me questioning looks that I studiously ignored, before we all got into the jeep. Stiles dropped me off first this time, and I spent the rest of the night painting the mural I had started in my guest bedroom. The only other thing in the room was a huge cabinet opposite of the wall I was painting, and it remained closed at all times. There was nothing in there but bad memories. Memories I could not quite let go of yet, it would seem.