Hello! Sorry for this odd little disclaimer, here… just wanted to bring something to light! I dunno if y'all have been keeping up with the newest season of Teen Wolf, but… Kinda seems like my Stiles and the TV Stiles have a serious correlation… In any case, I mentioned earlier that I had thought of this entire story before Christmas (which is actually why I'm so good at foreshadowing XD) and I just wanna say that I'm not pulling my ideas from the show! Promise! They may be similar, but I promise they are not the same! Anyways… carry on.
OoooO
"I don't suppose you can… possibly free up your evening?" Aidan let his eyes wander shamelessly over Lydia's body.
She smirked. "I don't know if you noticed, but… we've kind of got a missing body on our hands."
"Well... the only body I'm missing is yours," Aidan replied. Lydia couldn't suppress the smile that touched her red lips.
"Hmph… Maybe later, big guy… Talk to Ethan and find us a body snatcher first… Then I'll think about it." With that, she whipped around, her air leaving a fresh scent in the air as she walked away. Aidan grinned and moved to chase her, but another sweet yet strange scent wafted through the hallway. He couldn't figure out what it was, but it was definitely sweet… syrupy, like honey. Or liquid sugar.
And just like that it was gone.
OoooO
"Scott!"
The alpha turned at the sound of his name and was pleasantly surprised to see Stiles jogging towards him. "Stiles! Man, you look… well, a lot better."
"Yeah, I finally managed to get some sleep last night. Holy hell, whoever invented Nyquil was a genius," he replied. "Oh! And, uh… sorry about missing all your calls and stuff… I was pretty much comatose until this morning."
"No worries, man," Scott said as he slapped a hand on Stiles' shoulder. "I'm just happy to see that you are indeed alive. Sans coma."
Stiles' smiled, but his expression quickly became serious. "So, tell me everything. I feel like I've missed half of a movie or something and there's only four minutes left for everything to get resolved."
"Well, a lot has happened, but basically… Lydia was visited by some dream dude, right? Well, turns out that our new classmate? Clyde Duke? He's the guy. Also, Derek found him standing over a corpse in the woods… and then they both vanished." He came to a stop. Stiles just stared at him expectantly. "…what?"
"That's it?" he asked. The teen sighed dramatically and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. "Phew! I was genuinely concerned! I thought you were gonna tell me that you hadn't found any bodies or that Derek and his creepy uncle had moved away or that, y'know, nothing horrible had happened at all and that everything was just freaking fine."
Scott rolled his eyes. "Look, I know it's not very much information to go off of, but we can't ignore it… It's not just Lydia and her dreams about Clyde Duke… There's a body. And a potential threat to everyone here."
"Yeah, I usually associate bodies with a threat to my life," Stiles replied. Scott narrowed his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward. Stiles looked warily at his best friend. "…that… was a strange look… what? Did I say something?"
The alpha chuckled. "No, no, it's just… good to have you back. You've seriously been a wet blanket the past couple of days… I was starting to get worried! It's good to have your endless sarcasm back, too."
"…I can't believe you just called me a wet blanket."
Scott shrugged. "I'm sure you can handle it." He slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Besides… we might've missed you a little bit…"
Stiles frowned. "Just a little, huh? That's what I've been reduced to? A little?" He sighed. "I knew it… there's someone else, isn't there…"
Scott let out a laugh as the two of them made their way towards first period. "Okay! Okay! If I promise that you're the only one in my life will you please help us figure out what to do about Clyde Duke?"
"Promise!" Stiles replied.
"Good… because if his warnings about this mysterious 'she' are real… and she's responsible for the chewed up corpse that Derek found… we might be in some serious trouble."
Stiles almost stopped in his tracks. "Sh… she?" he asked, quickly trying to calm his heart rate.
"Yeah," Scott continued, "that's what Derek said. The corpse he found was bitten pretty badly by something venomous. At least, that's what Clyde told him. Who knows if he's reliable, but if he's really here to warn us, then I'd rather try talking to him first. The last thing we need is another killer running around, let alone two."
No… it can't be related…
He shook his head. It had to be. The odds of two she-devils running around and draining people were… well, in Beacon Hills, that didn't really prove to be an accurate statement. However, Stiles suddenly felt incredibly nervous and… guilty. He knew that he had to resolve the situation with Daliah, but he had hoped to do with without involving anyone else.
But… if she was responsible for this body…
"STILES."
The teen jumped as Scott waved a hand in his face. "Woah, zoned out for a second there."
"Yeah… You sure you're okay?" the alpha asked.
"Hey… what if this Clyde guy is really the one responsible for the body?" Stiles asked, ignoring the question. "Like… he was just finishing up chewing her head off in the wilderness when Derek found him so he had to cover his tracks? And even the Dark Crystal dream-fasting business… what if it's all just a countermeasure?"
Scott sighed. "Yeah, I've been considering that option myself…"
"So you can't just go in there unprepared… Do you even really have a game plan for confronting this guy?"
"Well," Scott said quietly, scratching his head. "No, not really. Like I said, I just wanna talk to him first. Isaac will be with me, so he won't be able to try anything. Allison and Lydia are looking through the bestiary… Allison's dad might be able to help, too. I'm hoping you could put your research skills to good use and see what you can find."
Stiles bowed dramatically to mask his inner panic. "Yes, my liege… Although, you're not really giving me much to go off of."
"I know, I know," Scott growled, running a hand through his hair. "It's annoying how little we know… Oh! But, Derek did say that Clyde mentioned venom."
"Venom?"
"Yeah, that the corpse smelled weird and Clyde said it was because whoever bit it had injected their venom into her… probably what killed her." He opened the door to their classroom and stepped inside, completely oblivious to the relief that Stiles was feeling.
'Daliah didn't kill me… it can't be her… I'm… I'm safe...'
Stiles shook his head, trying to shake the memory of Daliah from his mind and he followed Scott into class. There, sitting in the front seat, was the new kid. He gave Scott and Stiles a small nod and a smile as they walked in. Both boys noticed that he had a sickly look about him. Scott stopped at his desk. "After class…"
"Of course," Clyde replied in that strange accent of his. His voice was thicker than usual, as if he were being forced to speak through water.
The two boys just looked at each other a moment before they found their seats. "Anything?" Scott asked, leaning back towards Allison.
"Nothing so far," she whispered. A moment of silence passed between them. "Scott, if things don't go well, we don't know anything about this guy or how to…"
"Allison, I'll be fine. Isaac will be with me," he replied. His words seemed to only worsen her expression; his darkened. Another silence – albeit more awkward – followed. The others just looked away.
Stiles hardly paid any attention. His mind was a torrent of thoughts and emotions as he contemplated his situation. Admittedly, the horrible pain in his head and chest had faded after Daliah's visit… and the darkness deep in his heart that had so horribly twisted his thoughts and emotions was seemingly gone as well. In essence, he had a darkness in him that was finally brought to light… and it seemed like Daliah had the only fix-all for it.
He closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts. Now was not the time to think about Daliah, but he couldn't deny that there were some questions to be asked. Maggie… Reaching a small resolve, Stiles decided that the best way to get answers was through his cousin… it was either that, or ask the source herself.
OoooO
The sheriff sighed through his nose as he inspected the poor corpse. Whoever the woman had once been, there was nothing but a rotting, tattered, bloody mess left of her. The mottled color of what Sheriff Stilinski could only assume was her flesh emitted a fairly ripe odor, one he had to hold his breath against when he leaned in close to inspect the various bite wounds littering her body. A disgusting sight to behold.
"Look at these," he said, pointing to the bite wounds around her neck and collarbone. "They cover her, but… it doesn't make sense."
"What do you mean?" asked one of his deputies as she stepped closer. She wrinkled her nose at the stench.
"This bite here…" The Sheriff pointed to the large one on her neck; it was really the only discernable thing left to look at. "This has to be what killed her."
"You think the rest of these are just… wildlife?"
The sheriff frowned. "It definitely seems like someone tried to make it look like wildlife…" he mumbled. The deputy strained to hear him, but ended up walking away with a shrug.
"Certainly not the first time the critters around here have gone crazy," she commented. Sheriff Stilinski's eyes narrowed: she was right.
He knew that he had to get the corpse bagged up and to the coroner's office as soon as possible. Even if she wasn't identified, the sheriff knew of a few kids that might be able to do a special kind of identification on their own. One thing was absolutely certain to the sheriff; this was no wild animal attack. Unfortunately, for the sake of not appearing totally insane, he had to keep his theory to himself.
OoooO
The students wasted no time in gathering their things to move on when the bell rang. Scott, Stiles, and Clyde moved slower than the rest. Allison and Lydia walked past the two boys with concerned expressions, but eventually left the classroom. Moments later, Isaac was at the door.
"Stiles," Scott began, but was silenced with a look from his best friend.
"Scott, I know you've got Captain Damaged Goods over there to have your back, but I'm not going anywhere, either. Besides… I'm waaay too far behind to miss this. And your explanations suck."
"Gentlemen," said Clyde, startling the both of them with his sudden proximity. Up close, the both of them got a good look at just how sick the new student appeared to be. Clyde closed his eyes for a moment and swayed on his feet. "Not… not here…" With that, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.
"Woah!" the teacher shouted from the front of the room. "What's going on!? Is everything alright? Mr. Duke?"
"We'll take him to the nurse's office," Isaac said as he slid by to help keep Clyde upright.
"Good idea… Thank you," the teacher replied. Isaac and Scott slowly limped out of the classroom with Clyde, Stiles following close behind.
"No, no, not the office," Clyde mumbled. He gently pushed himself away from the two werewolves. "Where… Where can we talk?"
The three boys looked at each a moment before Stiles spoke up. "This way. The locker-room should be empty."
They all followed his lead as Stiles lead them to the dark locker-room not too far away. As he suggested, it was empty. They all filed in and Clyde quickly separated himself from the group. The werewolves watched with morbid curiosity as he made his way to the showers and quickly wretched up whatever it was that was making him sick. A thick, black substance splatted on the floor before him.
"Oh… my god… that's nasty…" Stiles commented, looking away.
"What's wrong with him?" Isaac asked.
"And is it contagious?"
"Guys," Scott said shortly, walking over to Clyde's side. "Are… you okay?"
After a moment of gathering himself, the new student nodded and pushed himself upright. An odd black stain barely showed on the inside of his lips, like a kid who had eaten too much black licorice. "I'll be fine… It'll pass." He wiped his mouth, sighed, and continued. "It's just a side effect."
"Of what?" Scott asked.
Clyde leveled a strange gaze at him. "Look, I have to explain a couple things first." The other three boys waited patiently. "I'm sure Derek informed you about the body… And that I took it." No response. "Well, I couldn't very well just leave it somewhere for anyone to find. One giant bite in the throat is not really a common thing."
Stiles burst into laughter for a second, but was quickly silenced by him comrades. "Right… ahem… go ahead."
Clyde closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tiled wall. "I needed to disguise the corpse… I had to drain her of the poison that filled her body… which is why I am like this…"
It took a few seconds for what he implied to sink in. Once it did, three disgusted expressions quickly followed. "You… sucked the venom out?" Scott asked. Clyde nodded.
"Oh, my god… I'm… I'm gonna…" Stiles breathed out, but managed to regain him composure.
"It was the only way to hide her condition from the police," Clyde explained.
"Wait," Stiles said, stepping forward. "The police? They found the body?"
Clyde nodded. "Yes, this morning, I imagine. I tried to destroy it beyond repair, but… I cannot be sure of whether or not they can tell what the true cause of her death is."
"You mutilated the body of some poor girl you found in the woods?" Isaac asked. "And then left her there?"
"I had no choice!" Clyde said forcibly. "If suspicions arise… if she thinks she's being attacked…"
"Okay, stop there," Scott interrupted. "You and Derek and everyone else in this mess keeps talking about this 'she'… who is 'she'?"
"And, more importantly, what is 'she'?" Stiles added.
"She is maagrim."
"…what?"
Clyde sighed in frustration. "This is why I said nothing to Derek. Maagrim are secretive and you know nothing about them!"
"So tell us," Scott pled. "We already have one body. Now you're here and giving out cryptic messages… what exactly are we fighting? Who ripped out the girl's throat? Why are you so afraid of her?"
"I am NOT afraid!"
Everyone was stunned into silence. When Clyde had spoken, his voice sounded layered, like a legion of demons had burst forth to make that statement. His eyes burned their amber-ish color, peering into the souls of each teenager in that room; both Scott and Isaac had their teeth bared and claws out, ready to fight.
The redhead finally relaxed. "I'm sorry, but it is not the maagrim I am afraid of… it is you."
Scott and Isaac looked at each other. "…us?"
Clyde nodded. "I'm not protecting her, I'm protecting myself."
Once again, silence fell between them. It was Stiles that spoke up this time. "Her poison… it didn't kill you."
"No," Clyde replied. "It can't."
"So you…"
"Yes… I am also maagrim." He sighed again, as if some serious weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "But we are not the same maagrim, she and I… and I am here to help you stop her. But… I can't trust you. Not yet…"
Stiles rolled his eyes. "But-"
"But," Clyde interrupted, "I want to… I've been tracking this maagrim for a long time… and I don't think I can beat her alone. So, please… give me more time… She is very strong and I need to know if she's found her little… pet yet."
Stiles gulped loudly and ignored the looks the others gave him. "P… pet?" he asked. "That sounds… bad."
"It is," Clyde affirmed. "She is strong on her own… especially when she kills like this… but if she has a feeder to supply her with strength time and time again… then she will be virtually unstoppable."
"How to we find her feeder?" the alpha asked. Clyde shook his head.
"You don't… not yet, anyways. It's too soon to tell. If she only recently came to Beacon Hills, then the only clue we will have is the trail of bodies she leaves until her feeder is strong enough to sustain her all on their own." Clyde closed his eyes as another wave of nausea hit him. "But, even feeders do not last. Most die, after a time… that or go insane."
Stiles willed his body to be still and his heart to stop pounding. He desperately hoped that Isaac and Scott were too preoccupied with the stranger before them to bother with listening in to his muscle twitches.
"So… we find the feeder… we find the maagrim," Isaac surmised.
"You really can't tell us anything else?" Scott prodded. Clyde shook his blood red hair.
"No… I can't have you rushing off into battle without my help… and as you can see," he waved a hand over his torso, "I'm not in combat condition."
"But, there're more of us. More werewolves," Isaac argued.
"And she'll tear you apart. She and her pet."
Scott's eyes narrowed. "So what do you expect us to do? Just wait?"
"No," Clyde replied. "And yes. It shouldn't be long before the feeder surfaces… Try to sniff the poor soul out… Before it's too late and there's no turning back." He took a step towards the door. "I should be better before then… and we can try to take her out together."
He stepped past Scott, but the alpha gripped his arm to stop him. "…how can we trust you?" he asked. He paused and took a deep breath. "How can we find this feeder or the maagrim if neither of you have a scent?"
"The feeder will, when it's time," Clyde replied, jerking his arm away. "When they stop fighting her… when they succumb to her… they will smell sweet, like honey."
OoooO
"That sounds… disturbing," Allison stated as they walked quietly through the halls. Scott looked around to make sure no one was listening. They were alone. Except for-
"It was," Isaac piped in, wedging himself between them. "But I still don't see why you let him afterwards."
"I agree. From the sounds of it, he only made things more complicated," Allison added.
Ignoring the discomfort he suddenly felt with Isaac and Allison, Scott smirked. "True… but he doesn't know one thing."
Allison and Isaac looked at each other before asking, "What?" in unison.
"We have Deaton."
"You think he knows what these things are?" Isaac asked. "I mean, sure, he seems on the level with most things, but-"
"He's pretty much our last shot," the alpha replied with a sigh. "If he doesn't know what they are… or what they're capable of… Then I don't know. I guess we're stuck waiting like Clyde wants us to."
"No offense," Allison said sourly, "but I'd rather not wait around for more bodies."
Scott nodded. "After school. We'll talk to him then."
OoooO
Stiles found himself more shaken than he'd like to admit after their encounter with Clyde Duke. His mind was reeling from what little information they had managed to glean from the guy and now he was left with even more questions. What if Daliah was the one killing people? What if he had to tell the others? And would they ever forgive him for keeping it a secret if he did? It was almost too much to handle.
However, he knew that before he jumped to conclusions about anything he had to do a little bit of research on his own. The teen already decided that he was going to hold out against his new tormentor; all he had done was refuse her and she had left. If he did the same thing, perhaps she would leave him be. And if she came back, he would just refuse her again. If Daliah really was this monster running around, ripping people's throats out, then wouldn't she have just done that to him? Sure, she threatened his father, but… in the end, she had just run off like a vain school girl when he told her 'no'.
It wasn't just refusal that Stiles had to do; even if she left and he was safe, he would have to squash down the awful emotional and physical pain that would follow… It was the reason for his weakness the first time… so if he just rode it out… He nodded to himself as he trekked down the hallway to the men's room.
Stiles had thought about it a long while and an idea finally occurred to him: Maggie. Obviously, she had been resisting Daliah's nasty sway and even nastier bite. In fact, she had even tried to warn Stiles about it. Obviously, she had been too late, but if he could go see her, talk to her, try to learn about Daliah and how to resist her… then he could tell the others when the time came and they could vanquish her. Or, if Stiles was lucky – which he never counted on – then perhaps Daliah would go away of her own accord.
Finally reaching his destination, Stiles dialed his aunt's number and patiently waited for her to answer.
"Hello?" came her familiar voice through the receiver.
"Heeeey… Um, it's Stiles…"
"Oh, Stiles! How are you?"
"I'm fine," he replied, then quickly jumped into it. "I was calling about Maggie."
There was a pause, then, "What about Maggie?"
"I know that she was… having a rough time, to put it lightly… when we left… I was just hoping to talk to her. See if she's okay, y'know?"
The pause was longer this time. When his aunt's voice finally came through the receiver, it was strained and Stiles swore she was trying to hold back tears. He instantly regretted making the phone call. "Stiles… Maggie's been hospitalized."
"…what?"
"She tried… tried to kill herself. Twice. Th-the doctors said she's been doing drugs a-and… and she's been in the Caldwell Institution ever since…"
Stiles' mouth gaped open. "I… I'm sorry. I had no idea…" He felt his eyes stinging slightly.
A choked sob came through. "I-I… I can't talk about this right now, Stiles… I'm so sorry. I have to go…" A split second later, Stiles heard a click followed by a dial tone. Slowly, he lowered his phone and shoved it into his pocket.
He hadn't even known… He was so busy being wrapped up in his own issues, dealing with Daliah and ignoring everyone around him, that he had almost forgotten who was really in trouble… A guilt he hadn't felt in a long while bubbled to the surface as he thought of his mother, his father, the pain he had caused the both of them, and now Maggie and Bastian… This poor, mutilated girl in the woods…
The warning bell rang. A sickening feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly unwilling to participate in school, Stiles slowly made his way towards his final class. He knew he'd have to buck up in order to convince Scott, who sat in front of him, that nothing was amiss, so he took a deep breath and shoved all of his negativity even further into that pit. It was surprisingly easy, but Stiles chalked it up to years of practice.
With a small grin on his face, to walked inside and plopped down behind his best friend. "Hey, man. Talk to Allison? Lydia?"
"We're going to Deaton's clinic after school. If anyone might know anything off the top of their head about these maagrim… it'd be him… Hey, you okay?"
Stiles quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"
Scott was silent a moment, staring at his friend, then shrugged. "Never mind. Thought I…" He shook his head. "Never mind. Coming to the clinic with us?"
"As much as I wanna learn more about the horrible things that go bump in the night, sending me into a vicious spiral of anxiety and nightmares," Stiles commented, "I can't… I hafta run a couple errands for my dad after school… I owe him for being a sick bum all week." The lie just rolled off of his tongue without effort.
"I see," Scott replied. "Just call me when you're done and I'll fill you in… if there's even anything to report…" he added pessimistically.
"Well, Deaton's come through for us in the past… let's just hope his vast knowledge isn't limited to killer tree stumps and hairy teenagers."
The class went by uneventfully and the two teen parted ways soon after. Stiles watched as all of his friends took off in or on their respective vehicles, all headed towards the animal clinic for answers that Stiles was afraid he might already know. He, however, knew that he couldn't waste time worrying about them. He had his own mission to gain intel on the enemy… and it didn't involve running errands for his father.
Walking to his jeep and thinking up another lie to tell his father, Stiles mentally prepared himself for the long drive to Caldwell.