Warning: This chapter is quite long. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 12- LUNAR ELLIPSE

Loss.

Mortals lose people and things everyday and for them, it is a brief second; a moment when something is taken from them. Something special, something important. For them, it is something they mourn and eventually, they will move on.

For a witch, every emotional connection they make becomes a part of themselves. A part so deeply ingrained that it's sometimes hard for them to distinguish themselves from what's theirs and what isn't.

Thoughts.

Emotions.

Memories of love and lose.

These are all things a witch takes into themselves when they decide to share themselves with another.

But when these things are taken from them; when they lose that part of themselves that they have grown attached to, how can they mourn the loss? How can you mourn a part of yourself?

If a person loses an arm, their mind will trick their bodies into believing it still exists. It will try and act out the functions that would have been made possible if the limb was never severed. When a person loses another person, their mind cannot trick them into believing that the person still exists. They cannot go through the motions of showing love and affections to a ghost. This makes emotional loss so much more powerful than physical loss.

Bennett had never once felt the loss of another human being. He was fortunate enough to have never felt the cold pain of death. His grandparents had died years before his birth and he was never allowed to get close enough to another without risking the family's secrets.

In the last 24 hours, Bennett had fallen in love, forged an emotional bond with the boy he loved, felt the stab of betrayal, the relief of reconciliation, and now the emptiness of loss. Bennett felt the exact moment Stiles died. He felt it in his very core. One moment, Stiles' presence was there with him and the next moment, there was dead silence. And sometime later, Bennett shut down.

He held on for hours, hoping and praying Stiles would come back to him; that his warm, familiar aura would return and make him feel whole again. But when he looked at Lydia and asked her for the third time how long they had been out, she looked at him in sympathy and answered.

12 hours.

In 12 hours, Bennett had not eaten a meal. He barely left Stiles' side. He prayed. He cursed the Gods. But he never gave up hope. The sun had risen some time ago and still Bennett didn't move. He could feel Lydia and Deaton's thoughts and emotions on the wind but unlike before, he wasn't surrounded by them. They blew across his face like a whisper and disappeared entirely.

At 14 hours, Bennett finally allowed his eyes to close but Bennett knew he wasn't going to sleep. He could feel as his spirit tore itself from his body and entered the Astral Plane.

Bennett looked around the room of the animal hospital and the subdued Astral Plane reminded him of how close yet so far away the two worlds were from each other. Every color was a pale, muted imitation of the vibrancy that the real world held. The only bright spots in the room were Deaton and Lydia's dark purple auras, pulsing sharply against their pale skin, the light spilling from their bodies like paint on a canvas. Isaac's black aura seemed to draw all other light in the room into it, sucking it all into himself.

Bennett looked at the three bodies floating in the water. They had no aura at all. Bennett expected to see their Shades clinging to the place of their deaths, their murky grey auras weighing down the lightness of the astral plane but there were no Shades.

Bennett closed his eyes and channeled happiness and light. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the center of Beacon Hills Park. Even the mid-afternoon light felt less than it should be on this plane. Children laughed and played, enjoying the fleeting moments of their adolescence before the pressure of adulthood consumed them. Teenagers gossiped and smiled, replaying the events of the day and the possibilities of the future. Mothers watched their children in adoration, their hearts swelling with thoughts of love and warmth.

Bennett smiled at the ordinariness of the scene. His whole life he had always been so proud of being a witch. His mother had always taught him to love himself and who he was. But looking at the smiling faces, Bennett envied them. He envied how simple their lives will always be. Many of them will go their whole lives without ever knowing what lurks in the dark. They will grow old and die and so will their children and their children after.

Bennett didn't know how long he watched them but he suddenly felt a pain in his center, a tugging feeling he knew was his body calling his spirit back to it. At first, Bennett resisted the pull but he finally just let go.

He let go of his pain.

He let go of his anger.

He let go of his envy.

He let go and opened his eyes. And the first thing he saw was the smiling face of the man he loved, wet and grinning back at him.

So Bennett let go and kissed him.

"You are not going back with them." Stiles said to the room. He was still dripping wet but it concerned him a lot less than the fact his best friend had just announced he was returning to the enemy's side.

Bennett could feel a heaviness in his limbs. He didn't know if it was because he was out of his body for 2 hours, if it was because of the loss of his emotional connection, or the fact that the eclipse was only hours away. Whatever it was, it felt as if the Earth itself was reaching up and dragging him down. Despite this, Bennett was happy again. Stiles was back. And although it worried him that his existence was so wrapped up in this one mortal boy, he pushed those worries aside and held on to his boyfriend's hand.

"I made a deal with Deucalion." Scott replied.

"Does anyone else think that sounds like a deal with the Devil?" Stiles said. Bennett could feel the anger rising in Stiles but the feeling was so distant and detached from the strong sensations he usually felt from the boy.

Isaac who had been silent most of the time spoke up.

"Why does it matter anyway?"

"Because I still don't think we can defeat Jennifer without their help."Scott replied looking Isaac in the eyes.

"He trusts you more than anyone, tell him he's wrong." Allison piped in, directing her statement towards Deaton.

Deaton looked at the teenagers in the room before answering.

"I'm not sure he's wrong. Circumstances like this sometimes require you to align yourself with those who you'd normally consider enemies."

"So we're just supposed to trust him?" Bennett asked, pulling himself closer to Stiles. He was still shivering and Bennett wanted to offer as much as he could for him. "The guy who calls himself 'Death: Destroyer of Worlds? I mean, what is that anyway? We're not living in some comic book."

"No," Deaton replied. "But we can use him to our advantage. He may be the enemy but we can use him as bait."

Deaton was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Everyone looked at each other in question. When they walked to the entrance, they could see one of the twin Alphas, Ethan.

"I need your help."

Kali was pacing in Derek's loft scolding Aiden for allowing Derek to escape. Lydia and Bennett decided to go with Ethan to the loft to convince Kali and Aiden not to kill Derek while Allison, Scott, and Isaac went to Allison's house to find something of her father's to use to track him with. When they arrived, they tried to talk Derek out of fighting Kali head-on, especially now that he no longer had the power he use to have.

Kali was just finishing her verbal lashing about his feelings for Lydia when glass began to rain down on them and Jennifer's body came falling from the sky, landing neatly in the midst of the wolves.

"So, who's first?" She asked, looking at everyone in the room.

Bennett knew that for as much as everyone else wanted to be the one to end her, it was up to him to kill her. It was why he had come here in the first place. And he knew he would have to do it before the eclipse or he would have no chance of beating her. Bennett sharply inhaled and prepared himself for battle, calling his magick to the forefront, ready to use at any moment. The closer they came to the eclipse, the more he could feel his magick draining from his body but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

Before Bennett could make his first move, Kali stepped up to Jennifer, delivering a swift kick towards her head but Jennifer easily dodged it. Kali tried 2 more times to use her clawed feet to take off Jennifer's head but again Jennifer dodged both blows, parrying them with a blast of telekinetic energy, knocking Kali to the ground.

Aiden then stepped up to her, lashing out with his claws but again, she blasted him back. Ethan, who had been standing in the back with Lydia and Bennett, pulled his jacket and shirt off and charged past Jennifer to his brother just as Aiden was picking himself up from the ground and ripping his own shirt off. When he made it to his brother, Ethan grabbed Aiden's arm and the two of them began merging, their muscles rippling as their bodies attempted to reconstruct themselves into one singular being.

Jennifer charged at the two of them mid-transformation and Bennett could tell they weren't going to change in time, they were changing much too slowly. Jennifer grabbed them both by the neck and ripped them apart, tossing each of them to the side like rag dolls.

Bennett grabbed Lydia and pulled her towards him but she wrenched herself from his embrace and ran over to Aiden's prone form.

Behind her, Kali began pulling herself up from the ground as Jennifer paced towards her. Kali flipped past Jennifer as Jennifer attempted to strike out at her. The two of them stood face to face, Jennifer with malice and vengeance in her eyes but Kali wore a different expression. She seemed almost calm.

"That's right Kali," Jennifer said, staring Kali down. The tension in the air was palpable and everyone could feel the power Jennifer was releasing into the atmosphere. "Look at my face. Do you know what it takes to make myself look like this? To be able to look normal?"

"I don't care." Kali responded, a smirk playing across her lips.

"It takes power. A lot of power. Power like this."

Bennett could feel the rippling effect of magick's influence on the physical plane. The way the air almost stands still and the electricity moves through the atmosphere. He knew the woman had grown powerful but in the midst of her, Bennett never realized just how powerful she had become. She should have never been able to get this strong. He knew that her kind were unaffected by the power negating influence of the eclipse but a cold fear slide down Bennett's spine. He didn't know if he could stop her. His worry was no longer if he could bring himself to kill her but if he would be able to slow her down.

Jennifer raised her hands, the glass from the shattered skylight shaking beneath her feet. Slowly the glass began to rise, circling around her body as if suspended by invisible wires. The sight was both terrifying and beautiful to Bennett, his heart quickening from the sudden rush of power. The wind began to pick up, blowing Bennett's hair back at the sheer force she was exerting.

"I should have…" Kali began. Her calm was gone but she wasn't afraid. "I should have ripped your head off!"

The glass froze for one moment. A moment where a person's life and future could be decided with one gesture. Every piece of glass floating around Jennifer twisted and turned until its sharp edge was pointing directly at Kali, each point a deadly weapon. With one final battle cry, Jennifer released the force of her magick, driving the shards of glass into Kali's body.

For once Bennett was happy he could not feel the wolves. Because if he could, he would have felt the pain of each piece entering Kali's body as if it were his own. He would have felt Kali's life as it slipped from her. And that was a feeling he couldn't bear to experience again.

As Kali laid dying, blood pooling under her, the twins had somehow managed to crawl towards each other and their merged form climbed to his feet, intent on killing the woman who had just murdered their pack mate. The hybrid swung out at her with enough force to break an oak tree in half but Jennifer easily dodged it, twisting around the hulk's body and grabbing him from behind by the neck. Bennett could hear the bones as they cracked in his neck and he could feel the vibration of his limp body hitting the floor, blood shooting from his mouth as the twins too slipped away.

"What's the line that Coach says? The bigger they are…" Jennifer said, stalking towards Lydia and Bennett. Bennett pushed Lydia behind him but he could hear the sounds of her heavy breathing, could feel her panic tickling his back. He would die before he let this abomination hurt his cousin.

Angling Lydia away from Jennifer, Bennett faced Jennifer, pushing Lydia back and out of the crossfire.

"Jennifer, I'm sorry for what they did to you but you will not touch Lydia!" He said. He willed his eyes to go black, hoping the spectacle would instill intimidation in the woman.

"And you think you're the one to stop me? Especially with the eclipse so close…"

Jennifer pushed her power towards Bennett but before it could hit him, he latched on to her magick and commanded it to hit her instead, sending it back in her direction. He could feel the darkness in her magick and it felt so different from his. When he used his magick, he could feel its connection to the Earth but with hers, it felt cold and empty. Like death.

Jennifer flew back, landing on her back as Bennett walked towards her.

"You can't beat me Jennifer. No matter how many sacrifices you have, you are still nothing but a pale imitation of a witch."

Jennifer climbed to her feet with a growl. Again she threw her magick out at him, the cold emptiness temporarily washing over him before he pushed it back at her. She was ready this time, absorbing the blast back into herself.

"You witches always thought you were so much better than we are." Jennifer said with a sneer. "Just because of your connection to your lands but that's what makes you weak."

Jennifer lifted a large shard of glass behind Bennett and aimed it at his head. She released the shard but right before it struck Bennett, it hit an invisible wall and shattered, falling like dust to the ground.

"You say we're weak but at least we have a connection to something. Druids are nothing but witches who can't feel the embrace of the Earth. You walk around feeding off the strengths of others but you have no strength of your own. But now I'm going to show you the strength of the Earth." Bennett said, closing his eyes.

For a minute, everything stood still. Bennett found his inner peace and nothing else seemed to matter. Bennett sent his magick out, opening his mind to everything around him. He let the thoughts and emotions of the world fill him. Bennett latched onto the echoing voices of the wind, twisting around the room, waiting to be claimed.

I bind you to me he told the winds. I bind you to work for me, for I am your master.

At first, the wind spirits raged against his command, their free nature pushing against the bonds of Bennett's magick. But they couldn't deny the contract they forged with him so many weeks ago in a forest clearing with his mother. Finally they relented and bowed to his command.

Bennett, using his mind and force of will, threw his arm towards Jennifer, lifting her off the ground. Here was his moment of truth. The moment when he had to decide whether to allow her to continue hurting people or when he would end it all.

He commanded the air inside of her body to come to him, slowly drawing it from her lungs. He could hear the gasping noises of Jennifer attempting to breathe, her hands uselessly clutching at the invisible force choking her. Bennett didn't have time to wonder if he could bring himself to kill her; the time for thought was over. Now is the time for action.

Bennett tightened his hold on her, making the winds do the job even they didn't want to do. It was not in the nature of the spirits to kill but Bennett tried to push the truth of his crusade into them; tried to make them understand the importance of her death.

Bennett was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't see Jennifer flick her hand in his direction. If he had, he would have been able to counteract her power but he didn't. The only indication Bennett had that something was wrong was the immense pain spreading from his chest to the rest of his body. He saw Jennifer leave the hold of his magick, her body dropping to the ground, a smile on her face. Bennett looked down and saw a huge pole osticking out of his chest.

For a moment…one single moment, all he felt was pain.

Until the moment passed and he felt nothing.

Nothing at all.

Elesshroa! Elessutinu!

Bennett felt weightless; more weightless than he had ever felt in his life. Even when he astral projected and left his body, he could still feel the gentle bonds of his body connecting the two. But now it was as if he was adrift in nothingness. He couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, and couldn't feel anything. The memories of what happened to him were there on the periphery of his mind but it didn't seem important to him.

Umbar yel lie vand!

The voice he had heard so many times in his life was invading his empty reverie.

Tul n'alaquel nae amin!

Mom? Bennett asked the voice.

Bennett, I don't have much time…can only keep you…for a minute. Her voice was fading in and out of existence, faint but insistent.

You must not give up. You…have…chance to defeat Jennifer…

What? How?!

Look…in you…the answer…

Mom, I don't understand.

You're dead! But…come back…find the spiral…

What do you mean!?

Find…spiral…find the spiral…

Bennett could hear the voice fade from him as his soul began to fade. He could feel the familiar tug of his body calling him home. His mother gave him what he needed most- hope. Bennett refused to die now. He still had a job to do.

Bennett shot up, his body propelling him forward as his lungs seized in protest. The suddenly intake of air in his lungs caused him to cough, pain blooming in his chest. Bennett looked down at his shirtless body. The hole that should have been there from the pipe was gone. There was a deep gash in his chest but nowhere near the damage that should have been done. The area around it was red and tender, a pained gasp coming from his lips when his fingers brushed across it. His breaths were labored, coming in small gasps but even the pain this caused, gave Bennett a feeling of happiness. He was alive.

Bennett could hear the tapping of heels coming from outside the room he was in. The room itself was familiar to him. He was lying on a metal table in Deaton's animal hospital, the sterile smell of cleanliness hitting his nose and sending a burning through his sinuses.

The door opened and Lydia walked in, closing the door behind her. She glanced around the room, her red eyes shifting across everything in the room as if she was trying to memorize every detail. Bennett realized what she was doing. She was trying not to look at him.

Lydia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, turning her body towards the table Bennett was lying on. She slowly opened her eyes and her expression betrayed nothing. The look on her face shifted from sadness to confusion, finally settling on surprise.

"Bennett?!" She screamed. She ran over to him and threw her arms around him, the smell of the room replaced by Lydia's signature lavender scent. "I thought…Bennett, you were dead!"

"Yea, I know." Bennett replied, pushing her away and looking in her eyes. It was clear she had been crying, her usually immaculate makeup running down her cheeks. "What the hell happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Lydia said staring at the place the hole used to be.

"I don't really remember. I remember being at Derek's place and fighting Jennifer but then…nothing."

"She shoved a pipe through your body. After that, Derek arrived and we brought you here. She…Jennifer convinced Derek to go with her."

"What?! How?!"

"I don't really know…"

"Lydia…how long was I…incapacitated?"

"You were dead for 2 hours."

Realization shot through Bennett's mind. He hadn't missed the eclipse; it wasn't too late.

"Didi, I have to go!" Bennett said, climbing off the examination table.

"Go?! Where?" Lydia said, surprise twisting her features. "You just got back from death and you're trying to leave?!"

"I can't explain it, but I have to go. I promise I'll tell you later."

Bennett raced through the halls of the hospital, making his way through the lobby and out the front door. His car was luckily sitting in the parking lot, the keys still stuck in the ignition. Bennett climbed into the driver's seat and glanced at his leather jacket sitting in the passenger's seat, the smell of metal hitting him like a ton of bricks. He turned in his seat, glancing at the backseat. His entire backseat was soaked in blood and if Bennett had to guess, it was his own.

Bennett didn't have time to dwell on the cost of cleaning his car. Instead, he threw his car into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot, his destination unclear even to himself.

Bennett was racing down the long highway to parts unknown, the mighty wind making his car rock with every blow. He could barely see through the thick blanket of fog that had fallen on the town and a major storm was kicking up, throwing leaves and twigs against the windshield of his car. This storm was dangerous; he could feel the evil intent behind it and Bennett prayed that Stiles wasn't driving in this weather. Bennett himself would have been in trouble if he hadn't had magick to command the winds to protect him but he didn't know how long that protection would last. Through the fog, he could clearly make out the glow of the moon and it was slowly drawing closer to the eclipse. He could feel the winds struggling against his weakening hold and he hoped it would last long enough for him to get where he was going.

He was following the magick of the Darach, wishing that whatever Kali had said would happen during the eclipse had not happened yet. Bennett thought about the life he would be able to lead once Jennifer was dealt with and he imagined the life he would have if she wasn't. There was no comparison, the bitch had to go.

Bennett could see the white glow of the moon suddenly grow darker, turning a deep amber. The entire world seemed to shift. Just as suddenly as they had come, the winds stopped and Bennett felt himself lose them completely. His magick faded away and Bennett knew he was mortal. He felt that familiar heaviness he felt when he was under the influence of vervain, the weight of mortality. The world seemed to drag him in and swallow him whole. There was no more magick in this world for 15 minutes.

Bennett's desolation deepened as he realized what this meant; the eclipse had begun. He had failed. His only chance to be done with Jennifer had been lost. He could no longer track her so he didn't know where she could be and even if he could; she had probably already succeeded in killing all the wolves and gaining more power.

Bennett pulled his car over, pushing it into park and climbed out. The storm had all but stopped as dread sank into Bennett like a stone in a lake. It was over. He was a failure. He had gone to death and back and still he had failed to stop Jennifer. He knew Cora had been correct when she said they were just kids.

For the first time in a long time, Bennett looked up at the sky, the moon hanging heavy in the air, taunting him; laughing at his inability to save those he had come to care for. He could feel water hitting his face but when he glanced to the sky, there was no rain. It was then that Bennett realized it wasn't rain, he was crying. Once his tears began to fall, a flood was opened and Bennett sobbed. He cried for those who had died at Jennifer's hands, the one he had failed to save. He cried for those who Jennifer would kill. And he cried for his lack of strength.

Bennett could feel something strange happening to him. It was the same feeling he had that night at the school when Jennifer took Stiles' father. That same power began flowing through him, stronger than it was before. Bennett's eyes went completely black and when he looked down at his hands, red lightning was jumping from his fingertips, dancing in a magickal tango. He could feel its magick, so raw and old.

No, Bennett thought to himself this can't be happening. The eclipse is still happening. How can I use magick?

Bennett looked at the lightning in his hands. It looked hot and mad but it only made him feel warm and comforted but intensely powerful. The lightning held magick Bennett had never felt before. It was so strong; stronger than the magick Jennifer wielded and Bennett could feel the darkness within it. This type of magick was so old the bonds of morality were merely words to it. It was something outside the realm of good or evil; a force that called to the days of Pagan gods and ancient ritual.

Use the power…

Bennett spun around, the lightning in his hands dissipating and his eyes returning to normal. He knew before he turned, he wouldn't find anyone there but still he twisted around, squinting into the surrounding trees but nothing was there.

"Mom?" he uselessly called to the darkness.

Find the spiral…

Something inside of Bennett snapped and instantly it all flooded back to him. 'Find the spiral' his mother had told him and suddenly he understood what she had meant. He thought back to whispered words in the embrace of friends; the memories of stories told. Stories of lost love and sacrifice. Stories that had been told since the dawn of time that time and age had cast as fiction.

Stories of death and sadness.

Bennett knew where they were and he was determined to end this tonight.

Bennett trudged through the woods, thorns and bramble catching on the bottom of his jeans. He pulled his leather jacket closer to himself, against the blowing of the cold wind. The moon cast an eerie orange glow over everything, turning the forest in a sepia jungle. The fog hadn't lifted but Bennett didn't need to see where he was going to know he was going in the right direction. Something deep inside of him was guiding him.

Bennett glanced at his watch; he had been walking for almost 10 minutes. He knew that this meant the eclipse was almost over. The dread he felt before was replaced by determination. He knew that she hadn't killed anyone yet and this thought propelled him forward.

Bennett looked up at the sky just as the eclipse was beginning to fade, the amber glow of the eclipse drifting away, back to its normal silver hue. He could feel all of the magick coming back to the world; he own magick lifting him up and renewing his sense of inner calm. But Bennett knew he didn't need this kind of magick to win this battle. He didn't know what the red lightning would do but his mother had told him to use this power and that's what he was going to do.

The warehouse came into Bennett's sight, the spiral Ennis had scratched into its wall a foreboding beacon. Bennett looked at the innocuous symbol and then at the building. From the outside they both looked harmless but he knew inside there was a battle being fought. Bennett walked closer to the open doors, the sounds of voices rising as he drew closer.

""How did you do that?" Jennifer's panicked voice asked. There was true fear in her words. Fear that crippled her ability to speak and to breathe. Bennett moved closer and he could see she was on the ground in the center of a broken line of black mountain ash, Scott standing over her. Derek was leaning against the side of a wall and Deucalion was also on the ground, his eye miraculously healed.

"I'm an Alpha now." Scott said, staring down at Jennifer as she tried to retreat away from the wolf boy. "And whatever you're doing to cause the storm, make it stop or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it'll do to the color of my eyes."

"It won't change the color of mine." Deucalion said with a snarl. He pulled himself off the ground and charged at Jennifer, his sharp claws raised in attack.

"Stop!" Bennett yelled, calling forth his magick and knocking Deucalion back.

Everyone in the room turned to Bennett as he walked through the fog into the warehouse, making his presence known.

Jennifer looked at the boy in utter shock.

"But I…I killed you."

"Then let me return the favor."

Bennett closed his eyes and found his calm. The wind blew around him and in the moment, nothing mattered. Not Jennifer. Not Deucalion. Not even Stiles. Bennett looked into himself and found that ancient magick like a bright red ball against the stark whiteness of his soul. He reached for it and pulled. He yanked it from his core and brought it towards himself. The magick no longer felt raw and unbridled. He felt in control of it, nowhere near the submission he felt towards it before. Its presence was like a familiar friend you hadn't seen in a long time. He knew that it had been there all along, waiting for him to use it.

Bennett opened his eyes and he could hear Jennifer gasp at their dark depths. The same red lightning jumped within the palm of Bennett's hand, moving from fingertip to fingertip. Bennett looked down at Jennifer, a new fear on her face and he felt nothing but pity for her.

"No…you shouldn't be able to do that!"

The lightning grew bright, casting a scarlet glow over the room as Bennett walked towards Jennifer, his face a mask of determination. Jennifer tried to back away from him but ran into Scott's legs. She was trapped.

"No! Don't touch me!"

Bennett stood above her, his inky black eyes boring into her soul.

"You once said to my cousin that both of you were the 'innocent flower with a serpent hiding under it' but I think you were wrong. I'm the serpent and you…you are nothing."

Bennett placed his hands on Jennifer's face as her screams reached a fever pitch. The lightning shot through her body, jumping from place to place, her body writhing from the force. Her eyes went white as they rolled into her head and her screams lost their tone. Her mouth was opened wide in a silent wail as her form flitted between her human visage and her warped, gnarled face. And just as quickly, the lightning vanished and Jennifer's body dropped to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Scott looked over at Bennett in surprise.

"What was that?" He asked, searching Bennett's now green eyes for answers. "Did you kill her?"

Bennett looked at the three other men in the room, the weight of what he had done settling on his shoulders.

"Honestly," he said. "I don't know. I've never done that before but I do know she's no longer a problem."

"Good enough for me." Derek said drawing his injured body towards himself and limping to where Scott, Bennett, and Deucalion were standing.

Bennett reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, intent on calling the love of his life to insure his safety.

"Bennett?" Stiles answered.

"Hey. Are you ok?" He replied, hoping Stiles could hear Bennett's love through the phone.

"Yea, I'm ok…we're all ok. What about you, are you ok?"

Bennett let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"Sort of."

"You think you can come get us?"

"Yea babe, of course."

"Ok, and Bennett? Bring a ladder."

Bennett could hear laughter on the other end of the phone and it was infectious; he found himself smiling. The smile never left his lips as he hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket.

Bennett looked at the sky, at the moon that caused some much trouble; an object that had the ability to render him powerless but also the power to make him stronger. Bennett's victory was short-lived as a sharp pain shot through his entire body, like a fire brand consuming his entire being. Bennett could vaguely hear Scott yelling at him but he could hear nothing. Bennett looked up at the moon once more in prayer as a shadow crept along his vision.

And Bennett was consumed in darkness.

Bennett cracked open his eyelids, groaning at the brightness invading his eyes. His head hurt so badly. He tried to lift his arm to shield himself but his arms wouldn't move. Panic ran through his mind as he forced his eyes open, the light making the pounding in his head intensify. Suddenly a wave of calm swept over Bennett, making him complacent.

"Calm down sweetie."

Bennett knew that voice.

"Mom? Are you really here?"

"Yes honey, I'm here.

"What happened?" Bennett asked, turning his body towards the sound of his mother's voice. "Where am I? It's so bright."

"Oh sorry hun." She replied. He could hear her shuffling around the room and then the room wasn't so bright anymore. Bennett still couldn't see clearly but he could make out the features of his bedroom. "As to what happened, you did what you came here to do."

"Where have you been? I needed you!" Bennett tried to muster up anger but he didn't have the energy for it.

"I know but I couldn't help you. It was for your own good." Bennett must have had a look of confusion on his face because his mother continued. "The night we unbound Lydia's magick I had a vision; two visions actually. In the first one, I stayed here with you and help you and you died that day in, your friend, Derek's loft. The second showed what happened if I left and you died the night in the warehouse, completely powerless under the eclipse."

Bennett's eyesight began to clear and he could finally see his mother fully. Her usually glamorous façade had cracked and she looked terrible. Her normally silky, shiny red hair was dull and stringy, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her usual mask of makeup was gone. She looked much older than her 45 years.

"I didn't know what to do Bennett. No matter what I did, you died. So I cast a powerful Clarity Spell. I called the Spirits, I consulted the cards, I read the leaves, and I even asked our ancestors. I made deals with people I long thought dead just for answers. Finally, after all of that, I compiled all the information I was told into a plan. A plan for you to defeat Jennifer and stay alive. I could only help you at certain times or risk you dying."

Bennett laid in silence, trying to wrap his head around what his mom was telling him.

"So what happened last night? When Jennifer killed me in the loft."

For a moment, Alyssa Rosenberg looked at her son in confusion but as quickly as it had come, the look disappeared.

"I brought you back."

"But isn't that dark magick?"

"No. When a witch dies, their soul doesn't move on until their funeral when a spell is cast that Sends their soul to wherever it needs to go. I healed your body and pulled you from Limbo."

Bennett could feel the feeling returning to his limbs and he experimentally flexed his fingers. After a minute, they began to respond to him.

"Mom, what did I do to Jennifer? What was that power?" Bennett asked. He was taking in a lot of information at the moment but he needed answers.

"It was Quintessence."

"Quintessence? What's that?"

"Quintessence is the fifth element; the force that binds all things to this world. It's what makes a body work. A person could create a body but without a soul, without Quintessence, it is just a hollow shell. It is the power of life and death, good and evil. Quintessence is the force of pure magick. I only know of 2 other witches in the world who has this power. It's a very unpredictable power to have."

"Ok, so I'm this uber powerful witch, great but it doesn't explain what I did to Jennifer? Did I kill her?"

"No, you didn't kill her." Alyssa said with a smile. "But you did kill a part of her. You took away her magick. Stronger than any binding spell because they can be undone. She will never again feel the touch of magick. It's also why you're lying in this bed. In order to use Quintessence, you had to use some of your own magick so you'll be pretty weak for awhile as your magick slowly returns."

Bennett let this sink in. He had taken away her magick, something he never thought he would ever do. For people like them, whose lives revolve around magick, a life without it was death to the soul. Bennett's self deprecation was interrupted by his mother's voice.

"So…Stiles? It must be serious; the boy has never left your side." Alyssa said, glancing to her right.

Bennett hadn't noticed before but when he turned his head, there was Stiles. He was asleep in an uncomfortable looking chair, his mouth hanging open as a line of drool dripped from it. Bennett looked at his boyfriend and smiled, he couldn't help it.

Alyssa could see the love and adoration her son had for the sleeping boy and it made her happy. Her son had found love.

"I'm going to go." Alyssa said pulling herself out of her own chair with a groan. "I need to shower and I'm sure you two would like to…talk."

Alyssa silently stood and placed a kiss on Bennett's forehead before quietly closing the door and leaving the two boys alone.

"Stiles?" Bennett said to the boy but got no response.

"Stiles!" He said louder, causing Stiles to leap from his chair comically.

"Bennett! You're awake!" He shouted, jumping out of the chair and wrapping Bennett in his arms. "I was so worried!"

"Well, I'm fine now…and Stiles? Baby, you're crushing me."

Stiles blushed as he pulled away from Bennett.

"Sorry…it's just these last 4 days have been hard especially now that my dad's back and…"

"4 days?! I was out for 4 days?!" Bennett exclaimed.

"Yea… I thought I'd never see you again."

Bennett could feel Stiles relief but also his sadness. He had honestly thought he was going to lose Bennett. To reassure him, Bennett grabbed the sides of Stiles' head and pulled him closer, capturing his lips in a loving kiss. There was nothing sexual behind it, but it was filled with all the love Bennett could give. As they pulled apart, their eyes met and in that gaze Bennett could see past all the jokes and witty remarks, behind all the pain and sadness. He saw Stiles.

"Ben? Why can't I feel you anymore?"

It took a moment for Bennett to realize what Stiles was talking about. Their emotional link.

"When you died at the vet's office, it severed our connection. We won't be able to get it back until we…reestablish the bond."

"Oh. Makes sense." Stiles said blushing. "You know, your brother has been breathing down my neck since he got here. Keeps telling me he's going to kick my ass if I hurt you."

"Vartan's here?!" Bennett said, pulling himself into a sitting position.

"Yea and all of your friends from San Francisco are here too. They're not here right now but their hotel isn't far from here. I like Melanie and Skye…they're very funny but I don't like Robbie. I think he likes you."

"Robbie doesn't like me, we're just friends!" Bennett said, laughing at the disbelieving look on Stiles' face. "Now, get off the blankets, I'm gonna go say hi to everyone."

"Oh no you don't!" Stiles replied pulling the blankets Bennett was trying to take from underneath him. "You're staying right here."

"But Stiles!"

"No 'but Stiles'! You and I are going to stay right in this room for the next 2 hours and we're going to 'reestablish our bond." Stiles replied with a wicked smile.

Bennett looked at the boy crawling above him and nothing in the world felt as perfect as this moment.

Bennett would look back on his life and it's this day he would always remember as the day everything changed.

It was the day he realized just how powerful he is.

The day his life found its purpose.

The day he truly fell head over heels in love.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

And there you have it! Hopefully I tied up all the loose ends and I hope you all enjoyed Bennett and Stiles' journey. I am clearly a fan of repetition in my writing! I think it makes things sound more dramatic. Lol.

There is a short epilogue that I'm going to write but I think for the most part, Bennett is done. I'm going to be moving on to my next story, a Supernatural story called "Sex and Sexibility" that I've already started writing so check it out when I post it.

Originally I was going to have Bennett kill Jennifer but I thought that would change who he is too much as it went against his personal beliefs and morals so I made her powerless. The scene of Peter killing her still happened.

This story has been such a journey, especially trying to tie each episode in with my story. That was probably the hardest part.

There were a lot of things I concluded in this chapter. The reason why Ben's mom had been missing and the mysterious power he exhibited at the school. And I also threw in his friends from San Francisco cuz I didn't want his relationship with them to completely disappear just because he moved.

I know I said I didn't want Bennett to be the strongest witch but my plan had originally been to give the title to Lydia but since she became a banshee, that didn't happen.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted there to be a connection between Witches and Druids but I could never find a good place to put it in, so I alluded to their connection in this chapter. To clear it up, in my story, Druids are a sub-class of Witch who don't get their magick from the land but from the people they associate themselves with. They like vampires, feeding on the strengths and weaknesses of those around them and pulling it into themselves. Witches kind of look down on them for this reason.

Here's what Alyssa Rosenberg said while Bennett was in Limbo:

Elesshroa!- Heal body

Elessutinu!- Heal son

Umbar yel lie vand!- Fate calls you home

Tul n'alaquel nae amin!- Come back to me

Thank you all so much for your support!