Chapter 61

Cora scratched her head, causing some of her hair to stick up.

"You want me to do what?" she asked again.

She leaned against the SUV and pressed her fingers into her temple as a headache threatened to break through from all of the information he unloaded on her. Her breath was frosty across the night. As Derek told her his plan she couldn't help but wonder if some of Stiles's stupidity had rubbed off on him. He sounded completely daft.

"I'm going to need help," she said rather than objecting. Derek continued to talk over her. She huffed at his ignorance. He kept on talking in her ear about the importance of what he was asking. "Derek!"

He quieted instantly and his eyes widened at the uncharacteristic outburst. His worry about this plan was understandable. It was crazy and Scott wasn't going to like it. If anything this plan would infuriate him.

"I can do it, but I'm going to need help. Don't worry about me. Make sure you put that bitch in the ground," Cora said.

Cora called Stiles after the meeting, needing somebody who could come up with an idea or two that was just as stupid. It rang three times before he picked up. His voice was coarse with sleep.

"Cora," he said.

"Are you okay," she asked. He sounded anything but.

"Not really, no."

"They're here, aren't they?" she asked, meaning the alpha pack.

"Yes," he replied.

"Are they nearby?" she asked, hoping they weren't.

"No. I went home." He sighed. "It's quiet here." The line was silent for a couple seconds. "Too quiet."

"I'm coming over there."

"Is everything okay?"

"Not really. I'm coming over to talk about it actually." Cora said. "I'll see you soon."

She hung up and pulled out of the parking lot across from the graveyard. Derek was still there. She hadn't gotten out of the car once, though she wanted to. The drive was long and anxiety ridden. She didn't climb through his bedroom window this time. She hurried up to the front door, avoiding the step that had a huge chunk broken off its edge. She knocked once then went inside. Stiles was lounging on the couch, asleep. His mouth hung open a little. He must've went back to sleep after the call.

Cora stood beside him for a moment, staring at his seemingly peaceful features that were so relaxed as if there was no trouble biting at their heels. She sat down on the very edge of the couch and it pressed against her tailbone painfully.

"Hey," she said softly, running the back of her hand along his cheek gently.

Stiles jerked awake and then let out a sigh of relief. He stretched his arms up over his head. Cora hadn't noticed the defined muscle of them until now. She felt a warmth of pride at knowing she had something to do with it. He sat up and placed his arm over her thighs. His fingers curled loosely in relaxation as he pulled his cell phone out with his other hand and looked at the time. 12:37am. He yawned. His mouth widened large enough to eat a small nation. His eyes widened and lips smacked, taking the rest of the grogginess away.

"Ready for the ultimate challenge?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Derek is going to help Jennifer," Cora said.

"What!? Oh my god!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "Is everyone around here high on stupid or something?"

"He has a plan," she continued and put her hand over his mouth to silence him. "We have to find your Dad and the others before this whole fight. She promised not to hurt them, but we know she needs them for the final part of her ritual or whatever."

"This is a bad plan. If Scott finds out…" Stiles trailed off.

"He's not going to find out until it's absolutely necessary," Cora said.

The tone in her voice was law. Stiles nodded in agreement.

"Derek knows what he's doing. You have to trust me," Cora said. Her eyebrows furrowed desperately.

He gave her leg a light squeeze.

"I do, but it doesn't make me any less queasy about this whole ordeal."

Cora nodded.

"So, how do we find them?" she asked.

Stiles huffed out a long gush of air that made his cheeks blow up like a tired blowfish.

"I have no idea," he replied.

Cora smacked him while also giving him a pointed look.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "I don't know why you think I would have any ideas as to where they'd be."

She got up and went upstairs to his room. His footsteps loudly followed after her. She blocked the doorway with her arm, stopping him instantly as she pointed at all of the research that was taped and pinned, covering every empty space on his wall.

"That's why," she said. "You have the most information on her."

Stiles pushed her arm down in a trance by the wall. She wasn't wrong. There was a lot of information there. Some of it was completely irrelevant and some of it wasn't even his. Finding what was important was the difficulty.

Stiles's eyes lit up suddenly and he wen tot his desk and shoved some of the papers around. Cora remained glued to the doorway and watched as he went to work. She could picture his brain working furiously in overdrive with little sparks flinging out here and there.

He licked his lips and spun around to face her, holding a stack of papers. A few of them looked like they'd been crumpled up.

"I've heard Deaton talk about it a few times…" he trailed off. He handed her one of the papers.

"Nemeton?"

"It's a safe haven, a meeting place, a center of magic for druids," Stiles explained.

"This is brilliant," Cora said breathlessly.

Stiles nodded in agreement. Cora snatched the rest of the research from his hand. A smile pressed across her softened features. It was something Stiles hadn't seen in a while now. She looked up at him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"You really do have some amazing moments," she admitted.

"These aren't mine," he told her. His eyes fell and shoulders sank.

She looked back down at them. He was right. The writing was completely different than his. The letters were small and scrawled closely together. Cora pressed her lips tightly together.

"After looking at that, I did scour the town for landmarks that are extremely old. Places where the land is large enough to hold a sanctuary like that." Stiles said, turning away and gesturing at a list on the wall. There were four places.

"Then we search all of them, but not right now," she said.

"You're suggesting we wait?" Stiles guffawed.

"I'm not suggesting it. If we go now, then she will kill them and all of this will go down the drain. We have to wait until the night of," Cora said.

"We have to tell Scott," Stiles said, shaking his. "He needs to be prepared."

"He's working with the alpha pack, Stiles," Cora exclaimed. "We're not going to say anything. He could tell them and ruin this whole plan."

"Cora, we cannot keep something like this from him or rather I can't!"

"Well, you're going to have to if you want to get your dad back," she argued.

Stiles's face crumpled with conflict and he released an angry sigh.

"I hate this." he grumbled.

"Me too," she said and took his hand in hers. "It's going to end."

"Yeah," he said glumly. "We just have to wait four days."

He turned away and scoffed.

"And think, if we make it we get to graduate high school."

Any chance at a normal life was burned to the ground. The words rang clearly in his ears as if they'd been spoken in his ears with the same tenacity again. His chances weren't burned to the ground, but they weren't too good at this point. It pretty muchly sucked.

The days passed with the utmost slowness. While Cora and Stiles were held up in his room, and Danny and Derek were still working a suitable plan with Jennifer, Scott was working his regular hours at the animal clinic. It was all that could keep him sane while knowing what was going to happen. He'd meet up with Stiles after work and the two would roam around town to old spots they used to hang out at. The clearing where the two had gotten drunk two years ago was a spot they visited a few times. Scott couldn't get drunk, but the two shared laughs about Stiles's antics.

Allison and Lydia went shopping for sundresses for graduation. Allison would've rather been doing anything else but. Though Lydia tried, it wasn't distracting her.

"No," Lydia said bluntly.

"It's cute," Allison protested, pouting. She held the dress up to her front and looked at herself in the mirror.

The length stopped mid-thigh. The sleeves would cup her small shoulder and lead to a heart shaped neckline. The bodice was pleated and the skirt portion was layered lace. All in all, the clash of the two cloth patterns was daringly beautiful.

Allison frowned and looked back at Lydia hoping she would change her mind. Lydia shook her head, raising her eyebrows in dismay towards the dress.

"No," she said again.

"But why?"

"It's black. Are you going to a funeral?"

"…maybe," Allison replied after a few thick seconds of silence.

She sighed and put the dress back on the metal rack it came from then picked up a deep green-blue dress that was short in the front and long in the back. Her brown, mid-calf boots hidden in the back of her closet would work with the dress. The straps were thin and blended into an array of crisscrossing ones that stopped mid-back. The material was light which was good. The temperature was supposed to be high on graduation.

"That is perfect," Lydia said, smiling in approval. A short coral, floral dress hung over her arm.

"This isn't distracting me, you know," Allison said, holding the dress up with emphasis.

"Me either," Lydia said.

They went to the checkout and paid for the dresses.

"I keep looking at my phone wondering if I'm going to get a text. My throat is always dry because I feel nauseous as if something bad is going to happen," Lydia continued as they exited the store.

The sunlight was bright and untouched by all of the trouble. It was making Allison wish that she was anticipating the summertime with excitement. All she felt was dread. She missed her dad deeply. Spending nights forging arrow heads and training alongside Scott was nearly all she could do to remain sane. It certainly wasn't normal to be doing such activities with your boyfriend. You were supposed to go out on dates, hang out, live romantically.

"Have you noticed Stiles acting strange?" Lydia asked suddenly.

"You've noticed Stiles?" Allison asked with a chuckle.

"Not like that," Lydia scolded. "I just mean that he's not himself."

"Take a close look at everybody. Nobody is themselves right now," Allison said.

There was a nagging in the back of her mind, making her feel like they were being watched. She stared straight ahead, watching the distance, though her ears remained alert. She didn't hear any footsteps but her heart raced in her chest and she felt unconnected to her body. Slipping her hand into her purse, she felt the cool handle of her ring dagger. She spun around quickly. Lydia jumped back in alarm. The sidewalk was empty.

"Allison?"

Allison turned. Lydia stared at her with a look of worry. Allison looked back one more time before they continued to her car. After dropping their dresses off at Lydia's house they went over to Stiles's house. Stiles and him were watching the news. A family of four had been found murdered in their beds. Across town, a house had been burned down to the ground.

The police scanner was on in the kitchen. The reception was scratchy, but they could hear everything. The police were still looking for Chris, claiming he was the prime suspect in all of this.

Parrish was the acting sheriff at the moment. He wasn't terrible, but he was really enforcing his job. There was a new curfew for those under eighteen. It wasn't uncommon to see a police car riding through the neighborhood over the last week and a half. The whole town was scary.

Allison dropped into the space between the arm of the couch and Scott then laid her head on his shoulder. Lydia walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Stiles's lopsided gaze followed her as she took it upon herself to look for food.

"All you have is old pizza and I think it's growing," Lydia said.

She gripped the handle of the door tightly right then and turned ghostly pale.

The speakers of the scanner crackled. She swiveled around and settled in front of it. Her nose almost brushed the old machine. A female voice spoke and a male replied, both officers.

We have an 11-71. Repeat: 11-71.

I'm on my way. What is the address?

214 Glass Rd.

Alright, send back-up.

"That's where Isaac lives," Lydia mumbled to herself. Her face slackened completely. Her lips trembled.

Stiles rushed in, sliding into the table. His eyes were wide and terrified. He placed his hands on the machine, waiting for it to speak again. It repeated the code. His exhale shuttered.

"That's a fire." He muttered.