CHAPTER 2- UNLEASHED

"Witch's Oath" Bennett read aloud from the large book, the words written in ornate letters by one of his many ancestors. It had a plain black cover, its pages were aged yellow, and it was written in a language only known to witches. The book itself hummed with the power of centuries old Protection spells that had been placed upon it to keep the information from prying eyes. Bennett recalled the morning after his vision when his mother decided they would be moving to Beacon Hills. She'd made him take The Witch's Oath that he would not reveal their heritage to Lydia or any of her friends.

"The Witch's Oath is a powerful binding spell performed between two witches for many purposes. The spell binds one witch to another with an oath that if broken, results in the offending witch's death. When making the oath, wording is everything. If a witch doesn't phrase the oath properly, the other witch can easily find loopholes within the limitations of the oath. In order to perform the oath both….." Bennett closed the book with the sigh. He had read and reread the same passage eight times and still he found no solution to his current conundrum. The problem arose from the fact he came to Beacon Hills to save the boy with the dog but he cannot ask for help without revealing to his cousin he (and inadvertently she) is a witch. His next problem was that he had no clue when the boy would be attacked, if it had not already come to pass.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Bennett threw himself back into the plush pillows of the bed he was occupying. Glancing up at the light beige ceiling of his aunt's guest room, he racked his brain trying to figure out what his next plan was. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft tapping on the bedroom door. Sliding the Book underneath the mountain of frilly pillows behind him, Bennett answered with a clear, "Come in!"

Lydia, clad in a light blue silk short nightgown, entered the room with a smile on her face, her strawberry blonde hair piled atop her head.

"Hey Ben, I couldn't sleep and I know you're an insomniac so I knew you'd be awake!" She said, sliding underneath the covers and snuggling close to Bennett.

"What's up Didi?" Bennett replied, wrapping his arms around his favorite cousin.

"Firstly, don't call me Didi, no one's called me that since I was a kid! Secondly, I can't sleep because I miss Jackson. Truth is I haven't slept well since he left for London. I don't know if it's because I miss lying next to him or if I just miss him period, y'know? And it sucks because before he left, I really felt like we were on the road to being good and then he just up and left. I keep calling him but he won't answer and I'm starting to feel like the clingy ex-girlfriend now and with things getting weird lately and people have started dying, I just…..god, look at me running off at the mouth again. We've been talking about me since you got here. How are you? Is there a special guy I should about? Oh, how's Vartan?!"

Bennett, sporting an amused look on his face, leaned back and looked at his cousin before speaking. "Ok, well I should first tell you I'm going to call you Didi whether you like or not. Actually the fact that you hate it makes me like it ever more! Never apologize for expressing your feelings to me! Especially after all the crap I called and complain about all these years! Ummm…I've been good. There have been no special guys unfortunately. I've hooked up with a few guys at my old school but you know how it is, none of them are really looking for a relationship. It's whatever. Vartan is Vartan. He's a freshman this year; he's on the football team, baseball, wrestling, the whole nine yards. Dad just eats that shit up but Vartan has always been dad's favorite. I'm sure if he had moved here he would try out for the lacrosse team. Speaking of, what kind of school doesn't have a football team but has a lacrosse team?! Can your school get any whiter?"

At this Lydia burst into laughter and proclaimed, "Oh, I'm sorry our schools not cool enough for you and your urban sensibilities! I always forget how impossibly ethnic you are!" sarcasm dripping from her every word. "By the way, why did you move here? My mom said it's because you were having trouble with the kids at your school but I know you Ben, you are the trouble."

Bennett gave a small chuckle before collecting himself and remembering the lie he and his mother had worked out earlier. "My mom just felt like I was falling into the wrong crowd, but you know how my mom is, anyone who doesn't recycle or eat organic is the 'wrong crowd'!"

"That does sound like Aunt Aly!" Lydia replied, before releasing a loud yawn. "Unfortunately while you still have a week of sitting on your ass around the house, I have school in the morning. And before you say no, I am sleeping in here so turn off the lights."

Rolling his eye, Bennett leaned over Lydia's form and switched off the lights before pulling the blankets up his long body and slowly drifting off to sleep.

"….and why are you talking like he's already dead?" Scott said in the emptying locker room, the smell of sweat and testosterone lingering in the air. "He's just missing."

Stiles gave Scott incredulous look as if he was missing the big picture. "Missing and presumed dead because he was probably a virgin, Scott, and you know who else is a virgin?! Me! I'm a virgin, ok? And you know what that means?! It means my lack of sexual experience is now literally a threat to my life, ok? I need to have sex like right now! Someone needs to have sex with me like today! Like someone needs to sex me right now!" Stiles rambled on slamming his locker shut.

Danny, whose locker was close by, looked over at Stiles and Scott, face completely devoid of a shred of humor. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Ah!" Stiles turned around in utter surprise, staring at Danny as if he had grown an extra head. Stiles' thoughts were racing with questions he had been wondering about for a while now.

Smiling Danny replied, "Come over to my place at 9. Plan to stay the night. I like to cuddle."

Stiles' look of shock morphed into a look more akin to relief as he looks at Scott, who is wearing a similar look of disbelief.

"Awww that's so sweet, are you kidding?

"Yes, I'm kidding!" Danny replied, walking away from the slack-jawed duo.

"You don't toy with a guy's emotions like that Danny! It's not attractive, alright?!" Stiles shouted at Danny's retreating back.

And despite the fact Danny wasn't his type; Stiles felt a longing in his heart for what Danny was offering. And the offer wasn't at all as unpleasant to Stiles as it should have been.

Alyssa Rosenberg stepped out of her car, her red hair curled to perfection. The sound of her bright red stilettos could be heard as she walked across the empty parking lot of the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic. Opening the glass door, her senses are assaulted by the smell of industrial cleanser and animals. Lifting her jeweled fingers to her face and removing her sunglasses, a smile plays across her lips as she looked at the man sitting at the reception desk.

"Hello Alan. It's been a long time."

Deaton looked up from the reception desk, surprise written all over his face at the woman who has just entered his office. A visitor he had not seen in many years.

"Alyssa Stevens, to what do I owe this pleasure to?"

"It's Rosenberg now…. Let's see, what has it been, 10 years since the last time we saw each other? But I'm not here to socialize with you; I'm here because my son has been having terrible visions lately. Visions about murder. So naturally, we had to come back to his lands and figure out what is going on. Am I making a vast assumption by thinking you have an idea about why 2 people have been found dead?"

Deaton glanced over at the sprigs of herbs on the windowsills of the waiting room, looking back at the woman in her stylish black sheer blouse and white and gold brocade pencil skirt, completely out of place in the small and ordinary space.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I knew of the murders but I don't know why you would assume I would know of any foul play. I thought they were just ordinary murders."

Raising her manicured eyebrows, Alyssa replied. "Deaton, lying is not becoming and lying to a witch is not wise. Now, for as much as I abhor the use of force, the need to know what is going on here is much greater. I know you know. You know everything…. Please don't make me hurt you."

Deaton looked at Alyssa's genuinely pleading face and back at his windowsill. This time Alyssa caught the movement. Turning her eyes toward the windowsill she saw what Deaton kept glancing at.

"Really Deaton, vervain?! I was under the assumption we were friends yet I come to say hello and you strip me of my magick?" Alyssa's features soften and the tension in her body leaves her as she looked at Deaton's stiff form. "Please, I just want answers. For my son's sake. Maybe we could stop whoever's doing this if we knew what we were up against."

Sighing, Deaton turned and gestures for Alyssa to follow him to the backroom. When they enter, he turned to Alyssa and offered her the seat in the corner of the room. Leaning against the large steel table, he looked over at the woman.

"I'm sorry Aly, it's just lately I don't know who to trust. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt me and I know how important your kids are to you. I honestly don't know a lot. From what I can tell, the 3 murders share a connection with the sacrifices in England back in '84. The 3 victims were all virgins, and just like last time, there were mistletoe seeds found within their stomachs and they were killed in the same manner- bludgeoned, bound, and throats slit. I believe this to be the work of Druids…well, someone who's copying the Druids"

Alyssa crossed her legs, placing her elbows on her knees, and her chin on her steeped fingers. Her eyebrows shot up as she registered what Deaton had just told her.

"Wait, 3 murders? Bennett only said he saw a boy murdered by a swimming pool and another girl getting snatched from a wine cellar. Who's the third?"

"A girl named Emily. She was taken from the woods. She's not originally from Beacon Hills, which is probably why Bennett didn't see her abduction. The other 2 were born here."

Nodding her head, Alyssa began to speak, "The reason we're here in the first place is because last night Bennett said he saw a boy get taken. He said the boy had a dog named Bullet and…."

"Wait. A boy with a dog named Bullet? I treated that dog last night. Scott brought the dog back in 10 minutes after the boy left. The owner is missing."

Alyssa stood from her seat, her jeweled bracelets jingling as she rises.

"Then I'm afraid we might be too late. Victim number 4 has probably been claimed." Alyssa turned towards the door, placing her sunglasses back onto her slim nose, "I must get going and tell Bennett about what I've found out. I'll keep you updated as well…and Deaton? Get rid of the vervain. My patience only extends so far."

Deaton made a slight nod as Alyssa glided through the doors of the backroom and out into the waiting room. As she's walking to her car, a tall teenage boy is entering. They lock eyes for a moment, both offering cordial smiles before continuing on their paths.

Bzzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz!

Throwing his arm and swiping it across the bedside table, groaning Bennett grabbed the offending device. Pulling it under the refuge of his blankets, Bennett looked at the brightly glowing screen of his phone. On the face read he's received a message from Lydia.

I kno ur probably still sleeping (lazy) but I just found out another guy was murdered. They found him tied to a tree this mrng. Also, really hott guy at school named Aiden asked me out today. I said no. Gtta make him work for it!

Bennett smiled reading the message but he suddenly felt as if a bucket of ice water was dumped on his head. The pit of his stomach dropped and his throat got incredibly dry. Bennett began to notice the tell tale signs that accompanied him when he knew another person had been killed- his head was pounding and his neck felt tender.

Great! Just great! I come here to save lives and people are still dying!

Sighing and throwing back the blankets, Bennett threw a quick glance at the clock on the bedside table- Noon. He made his way down the stairs of the lofty home and walked towards the kitchen, being greeted by the sight of his aunt in a form-fitting dress and blazer, sitting at the kitchen table with papers strewn across its grainy surface.

"Hey Aunt D, where's my mom?" Bennett threw himself into the nearest chair after having grabbed a box of Pop-Tarts. Opening a package, he took a large bite and waited expectantly for his aunt to respond.

Looking up from the mountain of papers, Dahlia smiled at the disheveled appearance of her nephew before responding, "She said she was going to look at houses today. You know, I never noticed before how handsome you are Bennett, it's a shame you hide behind all that hair!"

Giving his aunt a death glare, Bennett stood up from the table and placed the box back on the counter. At the doorway, Bennett turned and gave his aunt a sly grin. "Sometimes the boys need a little something to hold on to." As he left the kitchen, he could hear his aunt chuckle. He smiled as he made his way back up the stairs to his bedroom.

Pulling his suitcase from under the bed, Bennett rummaged around his countless number of black clothing and finally settled on a loose sheer shirt and a pair of drop-crotch pants. Picking up his phone and finding his cousin's name, he replied to her earlier message.

If he's the same Aiden you told me about a week ago, sounds like he's working too hard! Just remember, no one likes a prude! Gonna explore town today. Hurry home, I'm bored!

Throwing the phone back on the bed, Bennett headed to the attached bathroom. Everything's so white in here he thought to himself before turning on the shower, makes me feel like I'm in a mental institution! Bennett, Interrupted….I kinda like the sound of that.

Stepping under the spray of the hot water, Bennett closed the glass shower door and his eyes as the water cascaded over his lithe form. The water drew his pain away as his headache slowly began to disappear. Pouring a dollop of organic shampoo into his fingers, Bennett worked up lather as the room began to fill with steam and the smell of vanilla. Rubbing it into his red hair, Bennett hummed in contentment.

Maybe today won't be as bad as I thought it would be….

"…..This could be one of many possibilities! He could have simply left for the day." Deaton said, trying to rationalize the situation. He, Lydia, and Stiles had just arrived at Mr. Harris' empty office. Stiles was searching around his desk while Lydia was idly gazing around the desolate classroom.

"Yea, well…not without this." Stiles replied, picking up Mr. Harris' computer bag. Stiles was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this whole situation. It was then that he noticed the graded papers on the Chemistry teacher's desk.

"What?" Deaton asked, looking at Stiles' inquisitive face.

Stiles flipped the paper he was holding over to allow Deaton and Lydia to see what he was looking at. Written on the top right corner of the page in red ink was the letter "R".

Coming around to his side of the desk, Deaton and Lydia also began going through the papers, next finding the letter "H". Laying all of the graded papers out onto the table, they began to spell out a word.

Deaton, taking a deep breath, looked forward, foreboding pouring from his body. "Stiles, do you remember I told you that 'Druid' is the Gaelic word for 'wise oak'?"

"Yea…."

"If a Druid went down the wrong path, 'the wise oak' was sometimes said to have become 'the dark oak'. There's a Gaelic word for that as well- 'Darach'"

Lydia, who was silent through this exchange, looked over at Deaton whose eyes were still gazing at the bold red letters. "What does this all mean?"

Finally pulling his eyes from the papers, Deaton looked into her eyes, "I honestly don't know. What I do know is something big is happening and it seems we may all have a role to play in it. I need to go back to my office and do more research."

Gently pushing past Lydia and heading towards the door, Deaton turned and looked at the pair of them. "There's nothing any of us can do right now, it would be best if you both just go home. I'll keep you posted."

Lydia turned towards Stiles who's also wearing a look of confusion. "Well, what are you up to for the rest of the day?"

"Ummm… not much. My dad's working late, so it's just me at home. I would call Scott but he said he'll be studying tonight and I apparently do nothing but distract him. Why, what's up?"

"My cousin Bennett has moved to town and he's staying with us so I was wondering if you would like to come over and hang out with us? I think you two will hit it off, you both unfortunately, have a lot in common."

Stiles had been waiting for an opportunity to go back to Lydia's house ever since he took her home after the swimming pool incident. "Yea, sure! I'll just go home and make a quick dinner for my dad and I'll be right over!" He said, almost too enthusiastically.

Hey, I'll be home in 20. My friend Stiles is coming over to hang out.

Bennett smiled reading the text message his cousin had just sent him. He knew that Stiles had a crush on Lydia. Everyone knew about the crush, even Bennett's friends in San Francisco. Bennett was aware of who Stiles was. He had seen him many times in the visions Bennett had last year but he had never seen the boy in person. Bennett had thought the skinny boy was attractive when he saw him in the visions but with the knowledge of his love for Lydia, he was not going to waste his breath.

Bennett had returned from exploring the small town a half hour ago and had just settled into his bed after feeding Semanti. His mother had returned while he was out and when he came home, she and his aunt were once again chattering away while cooking dinner. Knowing his mother, it would be all organic and free-range.

Pulling out the family's Book of Shadows from underneath the pillows where he put it last night, Bennett began searching for a spell that could help him discover who was killing the people in his visions. He looked through Clarity Spells, Truth Spells, even Tracking Spells but all of them required him to have more information than he had. At this time, he heard Lydia pulling into the driveway and walking up the walkway, chattering noisily on her phone. Walking towards his bedroom door, Bennett took a quick look at the open book on his bed. Opening his mind, Bennett's eyes began to darken as he felt his power reach out towards the book. Using his thoughts, he closed the book and slid it under his bed.

Lydia walked into the kitchen as Bennett was walking down the stairs. Turning towards her cousin, she gestured upstairs. Bennett and Lydia walked into Lydia's bedroom and Bennett threw himself on her bed as Lydia began to change.

"So when is Stiles getting here?" Bennett asked, looking up at the ceiling, his hair fanning around him like a flaming halo.

"He had to do something at home first" Lydia replied, sticking her head out of the closet. She changed from the blue button-up and burgundy leather skirt she had been wearing earlier into a purple ruffled floral dress.

"So tell me about this Aiden who's apparently dumb enough to ask you out." Bennett said, propping himself up on one elbow.

Rolling her eyes, Lydia replied, "Well, he has a great body, very muscular. He's very cute and has that strong, silent thing going for him. Oh, he has a hot twin brother, I could totally introduce you….although I think he might have a thing with Danny."

"Nah, I'm good. Muscles aren't really my thing. Besides, I'm taking myself off the market for now. I wouldn't want to take all the cute guys from the rest of the school."

The conversation continued on for an hour when Stiles arrived at the Martin house. Shortly after his arrival, they all ate dinner and enjoyed Alyssa and Dahlia's retelling of their childhoods under the roof of their hippy parents. After dinner was over, the three teens walked up to Bennett's bedroom. Stiles and Bennett were chatting away about comic books while Lydia was tapping away on her phone. 20 minutes later Lydia left the two boys to talk when Allison showed up and the two girls went to Lydia's room, the boys oblivious to her departure.

"Dude, you cannot honestly say Marvel is better than DC!" Stiles said for the fourth time. He was sitting on the floor next to Bennett's bed while they were watching a movie. Bennett was on top of the bed, leaning over the side.

"C'mon Stiles, Marvel has the best characters- The X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, Spiderman! There's no contest! Not to mention, I have a girl crush on Storm." Bennett retorted.

"Ok, true but you can't deny the appeal of Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow!"

"Yea but how great can Batman be if he doesn't have powers?! He's just some rich dude with too much time on his hands! That's the definition of vigilante. And Superman is way too overpowered. His only weakness is a rock that's not even that easy to find!"

"Ok, but what about Iron Man, he's also a super rich dude who…"

The conversation ultimately ended with both of them agreeing to disagree. From there, they debated Classic Star Wars vs. Modern Star Wars, the war between vampires and werewolves, and the likelihood of a zombie invasion. By the time Mrs. Rosenberg came upstairs, Allison had left, Lydia was preparing for bed, and it was already 11:30 at night. They also hadn't noticed it had been raining.

"Sorry to interrupt boys, but it's pretty late and Stiles has school in the morning." Alyssa announced. She had long since abandoned her blouse and pencil skirt and was now wearing a matching red silk pajama set, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, face devoid of makeup.

"Yea, she's right dude. My dad's probably home by now and pissed I didn't call. Maybe we could hang out again after school tomorrow? Scott has to work so I'll be alone again." Stiles said, putting his shoes and jacket on.

"Yea, cool, I'll see you tomorrow." Bennett answered.

"Sweet! Thanks Mrs. Rosenberg for dinner, I've never eaten free-range chicken and organic vegetables before. Can't say I taste a difference but it was still pretty good. Oh! And tell Lydia I said sorry for ignoring her, Bennett and I were having a super important debate. And tell Mr. and Mrs. Martin that I said thanks for letting me come over tonight. And also…"

"I will most certainly spread the word, Stiles," Mrs. Rosenberg replied, cutting off Stiles' rant. "See you tomorrow."

Alyssa Rosenberg waited at Bennett's door and listened as Stiles made his way down the stairs and out the door. It wasn't until they could hear the sound of Stiles jeep starting and pulling out of the driveway that she turned toward Bennett and said,

"Bennett we need to talk…"

I can feel the ropes tightly securing me to the tree. I'm struggling but it's futile, the ropes are just too strong. My heart is racing and my breath is coming out in small gasps. The rain is pelting my face, making it hard to see. I can hear him around me above the pattering sound of the water. I'm not too confident to say, I'm terrified.

"Please" I try and reason with him, "don't do this!"

I begin coughing as the thread around my neck tightens and it begins to get harder to breathe. I can feel the tears sliding down my face as I continue to struggle but they just mingle into the rain.

This is over I begin to think. My life is over.

"I did what you asked! I did everything!" I screamed at him but still, no response. "They'll figure this out and they'll find you! You still need me!"

And before I could utter another word, darkness enveloped me…..

Bennett awoke coughing, the rain hitting his window like a song, the thunder accompanying with rumbling bass. He couldn't breathe, his vision was blurry, and his throat was on fire. As his vision began to clear and his breath began to even out, Bennett knew deep down that it was too late. He had lost another one.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Well, finally the two meet. The first draft was more detailed in their first meeting but nothing big really happened so I summarized it as it made this chapter rather long. There was no heart stopping, world spinning moments between them so you're not missing much. I knew from the beginning I wanted them to be friends first, so no attraction yet.

I hope I didn't make Mrs. Rosenberg sound like a bitch during her meeting with Deaton cuz she's not. She's just a mama bear type and doesn't like her kids to be hurt but she's also a businesswoman so she's tough when she needs to be.

If you need better visuals, Google these people:

Bennett- Bartek Boroweic

Alyssa Rosenberg- a younger Julianne Moore (she's supposed to be like 43-46)

Darrin Rosenberg (his father)- Paul Bettany

Vartan Rosenberg (his brother)- Jake Shortall