EDITED:: I got several PMs saying that all the text was all scrunched together, so this chapter was taken down and reuploaded.
A/N: So it's been forever. I know, and I'm sorry it took me this long to update. Family issues and school and everything.. ugh. But I finally finished this chapter and I think it's decent. I changed the color of the Faidh's eyes because of an idea I had that wouldn't go away. I'm going to try to keep Allison and Aiden in this story, although I will gladly say that Allison's death made me happier than I care to admit. If you like Allison, it's fine, but I never did. Aiden's death was sad though, and the fact that Danny knew cracked me up. Anyway, Imma shut up now.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf. MTV does. I just play with it a bit when my mind goes to it's dark place.
Warnings: Some cursing. That's about it in this one.
Other: Unbetad all mistakes are mine.
"Oh my god."
Priest's ears rang as the profound and horrifying thought solidified itself in his mind. His hands shook slightly, and he scrubbed them up and down his face so Stiles and Isaac wouldn't notice the miniscule tremors.
Tobias knows. The thought shook him to his very core as his mind tried to wrap itself around what he had just been told. It didn't make sense. It was impossible. Well, clearly it wasn't impossible, but it sure as hell was taking it's sweet time computing in his mind. There should be no way for Tobias and his group to know about Arrow Creek. They'd taken so many measures! There were backup plans for the backup plans to ensure that it was never discovered. He sucked a shaky breath through his teeth.
"I need a phone." His voice was abrupt and the tone left little room for argument - or so one would think. Stiles and Isaac stared at him with matching wary expressions. His eyes narrowed slightly and he stifled a growl in his throat, muffling it before it could escape. "I need to use a phone." He repeated, with more emphasis. Rubbing his neck impatiently, he waited as Stiles fished a cell phone from his pocket and unlocked the screen.
"Thanks." he muttered quickly, dialing the long since memorized number. As the droning sound of the dial tone came from the speaker the first time, he stepped away from Stiles and Isaac, moving as far away from them as he could while staying in the same room. Two rings later, and he heard the static that meant the phone had been answered, but there was no voice. He counted to five before finally speaking. "Tá sé Sagart."
"Priest?" It was a woman's voice, and her tone was colored with relief. The sound of a familiar voice lifted a weight from his shoulders that he hadn't known was there as the corners of his lips turned upwards in a smile.
"Yeah, it's me." He replied, though nearly as soon as he did, the reason for his calling her reasserted itself in his mind, and the grin faded. "Listen, I need you to put my brother on the phone. It's important."
"Where the hell were you!?" She demanded, her relief fading and giving way to anger. "Out of nowhere you just dropped off the map. What happened? You didn't meet up with us.. we thought.. we thought.." On a better day, when he wasn't concerned with Tobias knowing the one thing he wasn't supposed to know, Priest would've understood. He'd have been sympathetic, given her the answers she wanted, then would've politely asked to speak to his brother. There could be no such consideration during this call.
"Keira!" he snapped, forceful enough to cut off the phrase that had made it's beginnings and to make Stiles' and Isaac's hearts jump. "I don't have time for this right now. It's an emergency. Put. My. Brother. On. The. Phone."
The line went silent for a moment, and he heard muffled talking in the background as Jo set the phone down to go find who he needed to talk to. He turned his neck to look at the two behind him. He wondered absently if either of them knew that neither one of them were any good at pretending they hadn't been staring.
"Silas?" Priest jumped at the sound of his real name, the name that only a few people ever actually called him. He pressed the phone to his ear and couldn't help but to smile. Merely hearing his brother's voice calmed him. Perhaps it was ingrown as childish faith, but to him it felt as if it would always be okay now, just because of that sound, the one that meant safety and protection.
He in no way missed the way Isaac's head snapped toward him upon hearing the voice. Moving his finger, he turned the volume on the phone down to barely audible.
"Yeah, it's me. Look, we have a serious problem." He started, but was interrupted by a sardonic, bark-like laugh that his brother had adopted in the past few years.
"I think it'd be faster if you listed the non-serious problems we have right now."
"Good point. But this is the most serious one right now. We need to evacuate Arrow Creek as soon as possible. Tobias knows where it is, and since he knows that, it's a safe bet that he knows what's there." Priest practically felt the tension on the line, he certainly heard the sharp intake of breath. His mind filled in the images of the way the other man's muscles no doubt tensed up, that little line forming along the scar on his clenched jaw. When he replied, his voice was terse.
"Alright. I'll send John and Jayce to get them out of there. Then we'll head south and try to find a new location."
"No good. Tobias caught up with me. One of his group got my bag, which means he got my maps. And if you haven't already, you guys need to change the radio frequency. It'll be best if you loop back and head for Longview. Saw it when I was scouting things out. 'S kind of shady, but people won't ask questions."
"Alright. You said Tobias caught up with you. Are you okay?" Though the concern in his brother's voice was genuine, Priest couldn't help but to snort.
"Aww.. You worried 'bout your baby brother?" He teased, which earned him a soft growl through the phone. "I'm fine now. Wasn't so sure for awhile, but I've lived through worse. Had some help and was unconscious for about half a week, so I'm told. I actually have stitches, so yay for new experiences. I should be able to take them out in a few hours or so. Got some new scars though, really wish that the bastards would stop using Wolfsbane laced weapons, but what are ya gonna do?" He knew full well that he was rambling, mainly because he was steeling himself against what was coming.
"Well once you're able to travel again, you can meet up with us."
"You aren't going to want me to leave here." The reluctance practically rolled off him in waves as he braced himself.
"And why not?"
Priest took a long, slow breath. "Because I'm in Beacon Hills." He heard the hitched breath, and he wasn't sure if he was hearing his brother's heartbeat speed up, of if it was his imagination. He decided to withold trying to figure it out in order to speak before the request turned into an order."That's where Tobias caught up with me. I was trying to get to Westbrook and was running out of time so I went for the straight shot. According to the people that helped me, I've been unconscious for four days. And Tobias just showed up. Did his signature not-so-veiled threat and left."
"Even more reason to get you the hell out of there." Came the insistant reply, a blended tone of anger, concern, and agitation. Then an order: "Silas, I want you out of there as soon as you're fit to travel."
"Think about it for god's sakes!" Priest nearly yelled into the phone, biting the bullet. When he spoke again, his voice was gentler, but still firm. "I understand the clouded judgement, I do. But just stop and think about it, what I've told you and what you already know. I've been unconscious for four days according to the people who helped me, and Tobias just made a little show a few minutes ago, which means that he's been in town for four days." He paused, letting it sink in a bit before he continued.
"Now, there's a lot you can say about the psychopath, but he's a smart sonofabitch. Why would he tell us that he knows about Arrow Creek. If he wanted to take it out, he would've just done so and we never would known what happened. Instead, he gave us warning, knowing full well we'd rush to defend it. It's a distraction. He's been in Beacon Hills for four days. If he hasn't already, you and I both know that it's not exactly a stretch for him to put two and two together. You and I both also know that he would not hesitate a second to decimate this town to get to you. If he puts the pieces together, then this town is going to need some protection" He ignored the sound of Stiles snorting behind him "and someone to tell them what's going on. If you make me leave, then you risk putting dozens of people in the path of a lunatic with absolutely no defense and they wouldn't have a clue why. So if you want to order me back to the rest of the group, then do it. But if you do, I'm telling you, you will regret it."
There was silence for at least a full minute before he heard his brother heave a sigh that mingled with a growl.
"Why this? Why now? There' a reason I didn't want you going through Beacon Hills. Every single person in that town is now in danger." Priest was silent. How was one to respond to that anyway? No apology in the entire world would cut it, and he felt safe in the assumption that pointing out that had he not got stuck in Beacon Hills, Tobias would've just launched an undoubtedly fatal surprise attack on Arrow Creek instead of giving them this short heads up was a less than stellar idea. He was spared trying to talk again by the sound of Stiles' behind him.
"Hey. Uhm. Just curious, but you mentioned all of us being in the path of a lunatic?" Priest turned toward him, face taking an odd expression of amused disbelief and awkward confusion. "Any elaboration on that bit?"
"Silas..." His brothers voice, filled with an unfamilar tension he could scarcely identify, drew his attention away from the human. "Where are you, exactly? Who... who was that?"
"W-well.. that'd be.. see.." All of the sudden, words didn't seem to make any sense to the young alpha. "The people that helped me.. Saved me, really... It's the local pack here. I'm at the Beacon Hills Veterinary Clinic with these two guys.. Isaac and Stiles."
There was a long silence in which everything was silent, to the extent that all Priest could hear was the hum of the AC and the sounds of three hearts beating.
"Fine. Stay in Beacon Hills. Keep an eye on things and keep Tobias in the dark as long as possible. But I'm sending Keira and Alex to you. Do what you would do for a safe zone. Set up a perimeter, and keep someone running it at all times."
A small voice in Preist's mind, mainly the part that was controlled by the alpha inside him, wanted to growl and retort with something along the lines of "I know how to set up a safe zone. I'm not an idiot." Instead, he caught himself and replied in a respectful manner. "Alright. Tell them not to howl when they get here though. I don't want to have to go another round with Tobias quite yet. Have them go to the hospital, and I'll come to them. I'll work it out after that."
There wasn't a reply, just a gruff sound of agreement and silence as the call was ended. Priest licked the corner of his lip before wiping the number from Stiles' phone and handing it back to him.
The semi-awkward silence in the room was almost palpable, so when Stiles spoke for the first time since the call ended, his voice cut through the examination room air like a hot knife through butter.
"So, tell me. You're an alpha, and you seem to take orders from your brother, so he must be an alpha too, right? So is he your twin or..." The question dangled in the air for a moment, and during that moment, it appeared as if Priest hadn't even heard the question, before he finally answered, angling his body back toward the two.
"No, he's not my twin. He's actually several years older than me." He threw in a fond sort of smirk, "But even before he was an alpha, he was always the boss of me." He felt a flash of guilt for the way he'd referred to the brother that he'd disobeyed and, in a way, betrayed. So he shut his mouth and leaned against the examination table, rubbing absently at the stitches on his hip.
"You mind sharing whatever all that was about?" Isaac asked, his tone skeptical and his eyebrow arched in a quizzical expression that was, in an odd sort of way, almost comical. For a second, Priest was worried. Had Isaac picked up on his guilt? It took him a moment to realize that he was talking about the yelling and aggression on the phone.
"I can't do that." Was his short reply as he scrubbed his hands over his face once and turned his back to the pair, glancing at his slightly distorted reflection in the mirror.
"And why not?" The timbre in Isaac's voice shifted from curious inquisitive to distrustingly interrogatory. Priest made a slow about face and replied in a steady voice:
"Because, right now, all this information is on a need to know basis. And as of right now, you don't need to know. The less you know, the safer you, your pack, and everybody you've ever cared about are. Listen to my heartbeat and you'll know I'm not lying to you. Knowing is dangerous."
The silence that followed had the feel of a rubber band stretched tight and about to be snapped. The snap came from the jingling bell of the front door followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Well, you're up and moving already, so I suppose that's good." Priest's eyes snapped toward the man. He was dark skinned, early fifties, human, the other scent he'd caught earlier, but none of that really mattered. His mind abolished conscious thought for a few seconds as he lost himself in the peculiar look in the man's eyes. They were kind, abundantly so, but behind them was so much knowledge and experience, so much so that for a brief moment he was both afraid and calmed.
There was no doubt in his mind that this was Dr. Alan Deaton. He blinked once, twice, before regaining his senses and nodding.
"Yeah." He coughed and swallowed roughly. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks."
"I'd hardly classify you as 'fine.'" Deaton replied as he set his car keys on a hook above the counter and turned to face him.
"What do you mean? I'm a whole hell of a lot better than I was a couple days ago."
"I didn't say you weren't better. I said you weren't fine." Priest tilted his head as the vet stepped toward him, a kind smile in place. "You blacked out at the hospital because of internal bleeding that hadn't healed properly. When you were brought in here, I had to stitch the artery closed. There was evidence of several past bleeds that were never treated that managed to heal on their own.."
The alpha nodded slowly, unsure of how he was expected to react to this news. "While you were still unconscious, I took the liberty of doing some x-rays and found at least eight fractures that never healed properly. To be quite honest, I have no clue how you're functioning, let alone taking on whatever hunters did this." The genuine concern in the older man's voice was alien to Priest, and he reacted with the defensive sarcasm he was so used to using as he threw on a smirk.
"It's not so much functioning as it is being held together with duct tape and glue." He chuckled lowly, ignoring the stab of pain in his abdomen. It wasn't as severe as it had been before, so he decided to take it as a positive and did his best to not flinch. "Thank you for the help but.. I have to go."
"You just came out of a mini-coma. Are you sure taking off is a good idea right now?" Isaac asked, arching an eyebrow at Priest and tilting his head slightly.
"Don't have much of a choice."
"Then I hope you don't mind company." He said simply, shrugging and stepping forward.
"Think you can keep up?" Priest asked, a playful smirk puling itself across his lips as he straightened his shoulders some and met Isaac's advancement.
"With a guy who weights a buck fifty soaking wet and just regained consciousness? Yeah, I think my odds of keeping up are pretty good."
"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?"
So... the chapter that took me forever and a day to write. I'm sorry for the delay. Anyway, message me, leave a PM, tell me what you think, tell me what you want to happen. They make me feel all fuzzy. As always, thanks for reading and see you next chapter.
~TheFallenArchangel