Episode 6: A Matter of Chemistry - Part 1

Stiles hated hospitals. This was nothing new and Melissa never held it against him. It all started when he'd watched his mom whither away in a hospital. It was not rational but then again love rarely was rational. He'd watched someone he loved die in one and he didn't want to suffer that pain again.

As a youngster he had a simple defense mechanism. His mind had linked death and hospitals together so chose not to step inside one. In fact the only time he would was a dire emergency. In all honesty he hated the idea of going to even have a passing chat with Melissa. She was one of his favourite people and never kept him long knowing his issues. She had been there for the bad day of panic attacks and would never do anything that could trigger one.

As much as he hated hospitals right now you wouldn't be able to keep him away. His pup was ill with a mysterious illness. There was no way he would leave the golden pup without anyone to comfort him. A whole pack of Alphas could descend and he would blast them back before he left. Isaac looked so sick and pale. It was not right. Stiles gripped his hand trying to heal him with his Fae magick.

The Doctor entered the room. "I'm Doctor Geyer and you need to let him rest."

Stiles got that it was procedure. He did snort at the request. It was never going to happen in a million years. There was only one person he would listen to right now and he would fight even his mate at the idea of leaving Isaac alone. He couldn't help it his instincts were running rampant.

The doc was old school and was standing his ground. His dad made sure he raised him to be polite and respect people. This doctor though was dreaming if he thought he would leave Isaac. He had to hide the smug grin, "I'm the second proxy."

Stiles saw the frown on the doctor's face. It was like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Stiles would prefer that he focus on his golden pup than him. Isaac was the one who was thrashing about on the bed. Stiles forgot the doc to hold Isaac's hand and bring the wash cloth to his head. He was excellent at following the instructions laid down by the nurses. You see he got it. If you make yourself useful then there was no reason to ask him to leave. The fact that he could use it as a tool to hide any tell tell signs of magic was just handy.

He was doing his best to use his magick to bring down Isaac's temperature. He had to be careful. He couldn't afford Isaac healing too quick. It might raise too many questions. Well, for now. If it came to it. If he found a way to heal Isaac he would take it and ask a few of the Fae to come and help him with the memory charms.

Isaac calmed only as his fever dropped. It was the first bit of good news they had had all day. Stiles sat back on his chair, just taking a moment to relax. He had to wait for Isaac to wake up. He guessed that when the tests came back they would know more. The only trouble was that Stiles was certain the cause was a supernatural disease. Now the doctor had gone to check on other patients he could phone Deaton.

"Hey doc. What viruses could affect werewolves?"

He heard the vet sigh, weighing the problem up in his mind. "Explain."

Stiles told him everything including his suspicions. There was no one here. He needed someone to help reason this out. He may not always like Deaton's neutrality but he was good to sort things out in his mind.

"The one virus that comes to mind would be a form of canine distemper. There was an outbreak a few years ago."

Stiles didn't want to know the answer but asked it anyway. "What happened?"

"It affected 40% of population with deaths in over 95 percent of the wolves."

Stiles looked at how sickly Isaac seemed. "In our wolf population?"

Deaton didn't know the answer. "I do not know. I need to consult with Satomi she may know more."

Stiles asked one final question, "Could it be weaponized?"

"Anything is possible."

Stiles finished the phone call with frustration. He said aloud in the empty room, "That was not the answer I was looking for."

Lydia had read the text from Stiles. It was light on details but that was because she suspected there were no details. Just a lot of worry. It left her with a terrible decision. She didn't know what to do. On the hand, Danny had a right to know about his mate but they needed the list decrypted. It was the big clue they were missing.

She knew if it was Jackson in Isaac's place - She would be pissed if she didn't know.

Lydia knew her decision with that thought. "Danny ... it's Isaac he's in the hospital."

The cute teen shook his head, the furrow of concentration on his face not leaving. He had a job to do and he was fighting his instincts to go to his mate as it was. His powers were pretty passive on normals day but with the threat to Isaac they were going haywire.

"I can't ... We need the list. You said it yourself it is the key to the whole mess. I need five more minutes."

If it had been any longer, he doubted he could have stayed. There was only so far he could stretch his senses and instincts. He just needed to check something he was certain was true, "Stiles is with him?"

There was no doubt in Lydia's mind as she said, "No one will get him whilst Stiles watches over him."

Danny was shaky as he smiled, "I know."

He needed to crack this yesterday.

Lydia could admire the determination. She would stay with Danny and make sure he was okay. She knew that Stiles would have Isaac in hand so she would do the same for her friend. She cracked her fingers,

"Let's crack this thing."

Not five minutes later, the two geniuses working in tandem - did just that. The lists itself had three layers and each of the layers held a different cipher key. What neither of the teens liked were the particular keys required to unlock the lists. There was nothing good to come from a list that uses - Hale, Council and Eradicate as ciphers.

The list was a group of names with a single number next to them. Lydia knew why the list felt like death. It was a hitlist! When she read the names she figured out the layers. It was a recognition of threat. It made the most sense as the third layer of the listed was just the Hale pack.

D Hale 75

G Stilinski 75

P Hale 50

C Hale 50

M Hale 50

L Martin 40

I Lahey 30

V Boyd 30

E Reyes 30

D Mahealani 30

J Whittemore 30

J Parrish 40

Lydia smirked seeing just how threatened they felt by their Alphas. She smirked, their whole goddamn pack was just as dangerous. She was going to make sure that whoever instigated this begged for death but never received it ever. She looked at Danny seeing the look of fear flash across his face. She was firm, they needed a plan of action. "We need to find Derek and Stiles."

There was no disagreement from Danny as he was just grabbing his jacket. He wanted reassurance as well as a plan. Failing that, Stiles and Derek would destroy anyone coming at their pack. They had proved it time and time again.

Back at the hospital Stiles looked up as the door to Isaac's room opened. He wasn't threatened. The only reason he wasn't alarmed was because the bond told him who was approaching. Stiles didn't even know how much he needed to see Derek until he was up and wrapping his arms around him. He need the comfort and reassurance that only Derek could give him. He sunk into the contact, breathing in Derek's scent. He may not be a wolf but it helped.

Derek was doing much the same. He had been at the station when he'd got the school from the school about Isaac going to the hospital. He wouldn't lie and say he hadn't freaked. When he bit his betas he'd never expected such phone calls. The werewolves didn't get sick - they got injuries but never illness. In fact, on hearing the news he'd sat back in the chair in shock. John had insisted on driving him to the hospital. He would be here himself soon enough, he was parking up but Derek couldn't wait.

"Hey Sourwolf."

Derek purred at the close contact. His instincts and wolf were begging him to take it further than a hug. He knew though that such a public forum was not the place. Instead he asked, "How's the pup?"

It may seem like an odd phrase but both were running deep on instincts at the moment. Stiles shrugged as they just didn't know,

"He is calm for now but they don't know what is wrong."

Derek could feel Stiles' worry through the bond. "They'll figure it out or we will."

Stiles took a shaky breath, wanting to believe Derek. "I know big guy."

They took a moment to just feel their love through the bond. It was a calm they needed with the metaphorical storm raging around them.

Lydia cleared her throat, hating having to disturb the moment between her Alphas'. She kept it simple, "We have a serious problem."

Well serious problem was one way to describe a hit list with their names on it. She was also well aware of how wide and far this list had circulated. This was going to be hell to contain. She watched as the couple absorbed the enormity of the list. A silent conversation of epic proportions occurred between the Alphas.

Stiles knew it immediately, he hated being right. It meant this was a deliberate attack on his pup and the school. There was an assassin there aiming to collect on several bounties. What he disliked was the coward's way this assassin was going about it. The worst part was he was somehow in the school. That was what made the most sense as that was where all the students were getting sick.

Stiles eyes glowed bright with power as Derek's bled red. Their voices were indistinguishable as they said,

"Not in my territory!"

His Dad was there, "What is going on?"

Stiles told him straight up what they knew. He gave his report as his mind was already spinning with potential plans. "The list is the names of every supernatural person in the local county with a bounty by their heads. Derek and I are worth 75 million, the rest of the Hales 50 million and the rest in the pack between 30 and 40 million."

It was distasteful. Lydia sneered, "I prefer my enemies to come at me and be a man about it."

Stiles grinned, but it was far to feral to be anything close to human. "Me too, this stinks and they are at the school."

His Dad joined in here, "How sure are you?"

Stiles shrugged, "No proof you could take to court but enough that I want to go back to school and start a hunt."

That told John all he needed to know. "Parrish is there, phone him and let him know what you know. It would help him find the culprit."

Stiles was getting angrier about the whole affair the longer he thought about it. Some one had dared to set a whole bunch of assassins on his pack and others. The only reason? ... It would be because they were different. This had hunter stink all over it. They were the natural suspects considering the victim pool.

"This is the hunters somehow."

His Dad had served before. He understood what this was, "No this is a declaration of War."

Derek snarled, "If they want a war we're not going to roll over and die. We'll take the fight to them."

Mab's demented cackle filled the air as she flitted into the room, "Oh darling. Is it time to fight back?"