Chapter 16

Lydia hated Theo Raeken. The boy had been nothing but trouble for her and her friends since he'd arrived. The fact that he set Stiles' villain radar off, even if Scott didn't believe him, made her wary of him, and now…now that he'd put her in this vile place, just proved her suspicions correct. When she got out of here…if she got out of here, she'd be sure to tell Stiles he'd been right.

Her screams deafened her, shaking the walls and making the lights flicker. The torture was never-ending. She wasn't sure what their end-game was, but she had a suspicion it involved her banshee powers. They were making her scream. They wouldn't let her stop screaming.

She'd been there for hours when she finally heard commotion outside of her room. It was faint, muffled by the sounds of her torturers, by the sounds of her screams. But when they paused and the only sound was her labored breathing, she could hear them. Finally, one of her captors sent his assistant to check out the sounds.

The man never made it past the door. The door flung open and he was thrown into the wall. Lydia was pretty sure he was dead upon impact. A familiar alpha walked into the room, eyes blazing with fury as he took in the battered banshee before him. Growling, he stepped further into the room, and his pack poured in behind him.

Malia's claws raked the face and chest of one of the orderlies who was making sure her restraints stayed tight, and Peter stepped up to punch another assistant and send him into the other wall. Stiles' bat, however, made intense contact with the face of the doctor who was still holding the electric paddles. The man's head turned almost all the way around from the force of the blow and he crumpled where he'd stood.

Stiles immediately began loosening her restraints. A shadow loomed over him, and Lydia tried to speak, but her voice was gone, lost to her screams. She needn't have worried. Peter stepped up behind the final orderly, and threw him bodily from Stiles. Lydia wondered for a moment if she should be concerned that Peter was an alpha again, but Stiles face moved into her vision, and he soothed her, telling her it was all going to be okay, and that he was getting her out of there.

"Oh, and Peter's an alpha again. But it's okay because I'm in his pack now. Let's get you out of here," he rambled.

Lydia blinked in confusion, but she trusted Stiles, so when he looped her arm around his neck, she let him help her off the bed where she'd been restrained, and leaned into him until Malia stepped in to support her other side.

"Stay close," Peter said, leading the way back out the doors.

Phoebe moved into position behind them, eyes glowing bright green. Lydia leaned more heavily on her friends, focusing on picking up her feet and moving them as quickly as she could. Peter led the way back down the hallways toward the back door. Stopping, he motioned his pack through.

"I'll be right back," he said, meeting Phoebe's eyes only briefly.

She nodded as he turned around. "We'll wait for you out here," she said, ushering the pack toward the shadows.

Stiles and Malia led Lydia to a tree where they eased Lydia down, Stiles immediately sitting down beside her and drawing her into his embrace. "We'll get you home soon," Malia said, kneeling to brush some sweaty hair off the forehead of her first female friend.

Lydia gave a tired smile and leaned further back into Stiles loose embrace. His arms tightened minutely as he held her closer, trying to give her some of his strength.

Phoebe stood guard, not more than a foot from her pack, eyes blazing in the dark as she fought to keep her energy levels up. The fight had taken more out of her than she'd expected. When they got safely back to the apartment, she'd have to heal Lydia's wounds, but she might have to use more salves than spells this time. For now, she would reserve her magic, and use it only if another threat emerged from Eichen House.

Peter returned in no time, nodding at Phoebe and helping Stiles to get Lydia on her feet. "Want me to carry you," he asked.

Lydia frowned, considering. While they'd waited, Stiles had explained that they'd be going to Peter's apartment so Phoebe could heal her wounds, and she wasn't sure how close the cars were, or if they'd even brought any.

"I can carry you," Stiles offered shyly.

Lydia nodded. "Okay."

Lydia relaxed as Stiles lifted her into his arms, gently draping her own arms around his neck. She'd considered Peter's offer, but all she'd wanted was to be in Stiles' arms again. She'd never felt so safe before.

As it turned out, they had brought a couple cars, and Stiles helped Lydia carefully into his passenger seat while Malia climbed into the back, before he got behind the wheel, following Peter and Phoebe back to the apartment. Lydia's mother was out of town and she didn't have to worry about getting home yet, so Peter and Phoebe made sure she was comfortable in their apartment for the night. Phoebe fussed, using as much magic as she dared on her wounds, and using salves for the rest. With the promise of a bath full of healing powders the next day, Lydia allowed herself to sink into the pillows of the bed they'd laid her on, falling asleep easily now that she felt safe. She would have more questions tomorrow, but for now, she understood that this was her pack. She had noticed that Stiles trusted Peter enough that he hadn't protested her staying here, and Malia no longer looked at Peter with hatred. It was enough for now.

As Lydia drifted off to sleep, the rest of the pack moved into the living room, seating themselves on the comfortable furniture, finally able to rest for a moment.

"So what did you do," Stiles asked, finally bringing up Peter's trip back into Eichen House.

"I spoke to the man in charge, of course," Peter said.

They waited a minute before Stiles finally sighed. "And? We're all tired, Peter. Don't play games."

"But he's so good at them," Phoebe quipped.

Peter smirked back at her. "I don't think he realized exactly who Eichen House's new donor was," Peter said. "It's lucky for us it's a for-profit hospital. I now have the controlling share in Eichen House. I also have it lined up to buy out many of the other shareholders. I also may have revealed a sliver of the knowledge I have, and he knows I could get them shut down altogether."

"You have a share in Eichen House," Stiles exclaimed, eyes wide.

Peter nodded. "It's a start. Before long I'll own the place, and we can shut it down or run it ourselves. But for now, it's enough that he's scared and that I have access to a whole lot of information."

Malia gaped at Peter too. "You aren't going to burn it to the ground? You put money into it?"

"We may still burn it to the ground, but you have to admit it makes an effective supernatural prison. If we can make them stop doing experiments, that is," Phoebe said.

Stiles and Malia took a moment to consider this. They were right, but neither of the teens was ready to admit it yet.

"I'm still not sure I like it," Stiles said.

"That's fair," Peter said, looking at his human beta. "What would you suggest?"

Stiles shook his head, wiping a hand down his face. "I'm much too tired to even tell you right now."

"Then you and Malia should go home for the night," Peter said, standing, and ushering his pack toward the door. "Lydia will be here tomorrow and you can both stop by again. We'll discuss it more then."

They stopped at the door and Stiles turned toward him. Malia stopped halfway out the door.

"I may question this some more," Stiles said. "It just isn't what I was expecting."

Peter nodded. "Running Eichen House wasn't my original plan either, but it isn't feasible to kill everything, and your dad may want a safer place to lock up supernatural offenders if we can prove they aren't going to be tortured." He cupped the back of Stiles' neck. "Go home tonight and get some sleep. Think about it. We'll talk more later," he promised.

Stiles nodded, moving away only after Peter's hand had dropped.