I do not own Teen Wolf
Chapter Fourteen
Derek doesn't think he's ever been so scared in his life. He'd been ashamed when the house burned down. He'd been worried when Laura didn't answer her phone. He'd been seething with anger when facing Peter. He was scared in all of those instances, but not like this, when fear was the only thing he could feel as Lydia stood over River, panting as she spoke in Latin, crystals and stones glowing around her.
Isaac was able to move now, his paralysis finally wearing off over the past hour. He had been on the ground, yelling for River with tears streaming down his face when Derek had slammed into the door, unable to hear her heartbeat. There was a puddle of blood by her head and she was staring towards Isaac with vacant eyes. Lydia had shown up then, terror on her face as the rest of the pack followed, even Scott.
Lydia had ordered everyone around, grabbing crystals and a spell book as she moved around the room. Derek had gently rolled River, putting her on her back but keeping her beside the blood. He folded her hands over her stomach and stared down at her. He didn't move until Lydia screamed at him.
Lydia made a ring of salt and mountain ash around them, candles lit outside of the circle. She held her hands over River, chanting over and over again as the lights in the room went out and the crystals and stones began to glow. Erica and Boyd moved Isaac so that he was sitting up, watching as Lydia worked her magic. The blood that had stained the hardwood was seeping back into River's head and her heart slowly started back up, beating once a minute at first before getting back to a normal pace.
Finally, River gasped for air and Lydia fell to her knees, grabbing River and holding her close.
"You're okay," Lydia told her, her voice stern through the tears. "I've got you. You're okay.
"Kanima," River whispered before passing out.
The candles went out, the lights came back on, and the circle was broken. Derek lifted River and laid her on her bed, pushing her hair from her face and pulling a blanket over her. Isaac moved slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed and just staring at her.
"What happened?" Derek growled out as Stiles helped Lydia to her feet.
"We were asleep," Isaac answered. "We woke up when that thing hissed at us. It hit me with its tail and I couldn't move. River threw a bottle of something at it. It threw her and…"
Derek placed his hand on the back of Isaac's neck, trying to calm him.
"It's okay," Derek told him. "She's okay."
"What's a Kanima?" Scott asked.
"It's someone who was bit but it didn't turn out right. Something went wrong. She must have read about it in the bestiary," Derek turned to Lydia. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Lydia nodded as she leaned against Stiles. "Tired. That took a lot."
"I'll take you to your room," Stiles told her leading her away and ignoring Erica's glare.
"When will she wake up?" Derek asked as they reached the door.
"I don't know," Lydia shook her head. "A couple hours, a couple days? It didn't say."
Derek nodded, dismissing the human pair to watch as Isaac crawled into the bed next to River, just staring at her as she slept. Derek shut the window, locking it before turning around. He saw the rest of the pack just staring at River, each rubbing at their chests from having felt the bond break when she had…
Derek didn't want to think about it. He grabbed the bestiary and sat in the desk chair. He looked around again before realizing something.
"Where's Jackson?" he asked.
Jackson dried his hair after the shower and blinked, feeling like he had just woken up from a long nap. He felt pain in his chest, a bond that had broken weaving itself back together. He gasped from the pain, rubbing at the spot near his heart. He could feel that it was River and panicked, running to his phone and dialing her number.
"Where are you?" Derek asked.
"At home," he stated. "What happened? Is River okay? The bond hurts."
"Get to the house," Derek told him and hung up.
Jackson threw on some clothes and ran from the house. He drove to the house as quickly as he could, parking half in the driveway when he got there and running inside. He saw Lydia and Stiles talking at the top of the stairs but ignored them as he rushed to River's room, stopping in his tracks when he saw the rest of the pack around her bed. He stepped forward slowly, worried about what he was about to see. When he heard her heartbeat going steady he breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank God. I thought she was dead," Jackson said, climbing into the bed with everyone and finding a spot where he could reach her.
"She was," Derek told him, still sitting at the desk as the rest of the pack had piled onto the bed. "Lydia saved her."
"What happened?" Jackson asked, anger in his voice.
"Something called a Kanima," Derek told him. "I'm reading about it now. Once I'm done, we'll figure out a plan."
Jackson nodded; eyes still glued to River as he laid there. Stiles came in a few minutes later, sitting with his back against the bed. Derek stared at him before speaking.
"Let Stiles in the bed," he told them. "They have the strongest bond. It'll help her heal faster."
Boyd scooted over, pulling Erica with him and frowning at the soft whine that came from Erica's lips at the action. Stiles kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed, wrapping an arm around River like he normally would. He didn't hear the soft growl coming from Isaac, nor did he notice Derek growl in response to shut him up. He didn't even feel the tears streaming down his face as he stared at her, the fear of losing her causing him to stay still for longer than he ever had in his life.
When morning came, Derek sent most of the kids to school. Isaac stayed, refusing to leave River's bed as she slowly healed. Derek taught each of the wolves how to take pain the night before but River hadn't had any to take. Lydia had stated that she was just resting and would be back to normal soon.
Derek left the house, running perimeter checks and keeping a close eye on the pack bonds. He mostly felt sadness and fear, worry and distance. He could hear police sirens coming from one side of town and decided to follow the sound. He was happy that he had as he watched the police examining a crime scene, the body with their throat ripped out and a scratch on the back of their neck. He smelt the area and found no scent but did see a few tracks. He followed the tracks back to the road where they ended, a very human footprint left in the mud beside the road next to the other tracks that must belong to the master.
When Derek made it back to the house and took a hot shower before checking on River and Isaac. Staring at them, he wished that it was as simple as Isaac being her mate. He didn't understand why Stiles had lied about not wanting River but he didn't want to get in the middle of it. He sat at the computer chair, going over the pages about the Kanima again before everyone got home.
The house filled quickly come three-thirty, all of the teens coming up the stairs to see River themselves. They piled onto the bed again, leaving Stiles a spot beside River. When Stiles laid down and rested his arm on her, more color returned to River's face, showing a significant improvement already.
"Any leads?" Stiles asked Derek.
"Another victim," Derek told him. "Police found a body this morning. The master was there at some point. There were footprints left behind and tire tracks on the road."
"I can sneak a look at dad's files later," Stiles nodded. "Speaking of dad, where's River's phone?"
Derek passed the phone over and Stiles unlocked it easily. After sending a few texts back and forth between 'River' and Noah, Stiles locked the phone and put it on the shelf behind the bed.
"The password is 0408 if you need it. River typically texts dad multiple times a day."
"0408?" Derek confirmed.
"Your birthday," Scott nodded, looking to Stiles from the foot of the bed.
Isaac held back the growl that threatened to come out of him.
"Of course, it is," Derek sighed, thinking back to the conversation about Zodiacs with River.
"I can take the phone and text him for you," Stiles offered. "I know how River talks to him."
"That works," Derek nodded. "Thank you."
Stiles simply nodded, still staring at River.
"I can feel her bond healing," Lydia stated. "If it continues healing like this, she should be awake tomorrow."
"Is it because Stiles is here?" Scott asked. "Because they're so close?"
"I think so," Derek nodded, not wanting to say more. "The pack being here helps, too. Provides comfort and safety. I'll go order some food."
"Should Scott be near her, too?" Stiles asked. "They're close."
"Do they have a pack bond?"
"Yes," Scott nodded. "It formed after I broke up with Allison earlier today."
"How strong is it though?" Derek asked.
"Not very yet," Scott told him. "We hadn't gotten to talk about it yet."
Later that night, Stiles headed to the station with a diner bag in hand. He sat in his dad's office with him, definitely not reading the board behind his head as his dad argued about what was and wasn't considered reading.
"They're all the same age except for Mr. Lahey," Stiles stated, making sure not to mention River. "Which mean they were probably in the same class."
After finding that all the students had Harris, Noah had a lead. He just needed to find a way to connect everything. Stiles left his dad alone, telling him to call if he needed another set of eyes. He sent his dad a text from River's phone, telling him she was heading to bed and loved him. Noah responded back with his own love and an emoji, which Stiles rolled his eyes at, a fond smile on his face before heading home.
Once he finished his homework, he started looking up Kanimas on his computer, seeing what else he could find. He oriented a few pages, gathering them all into a folder to take to pack house the next day. He answered his phone quickly when he saw Scott's number flash across it.
"Yo?" Stiles answered.
"Should we get tickets to the rave?" Scott asked.
"Where would we get tickets at?" Stiles asked.
"We could ask Jackson."
"I'll text him," Stiles nodded.
"Great. Can you help me study? I'm failing chem," Scott explained.
Stiles let out a laugh before agreeing, quizzing him on the homework and helping him find the correct answers. Stiles shot off a text to Jackson before lying down for bed. When it took him an hour of rolling around, Stiles sat up, took an Adderall, and started researching more. After the folder was filled with information about Kanimas and other supernatural creatures and he figured he could cross reference with the bestiary later and add anything that actually seems reliable, Stiles sighed, noticing the sun had begun to rise in the distance. He headed down the stairs and started the coffee machine as his dad walked through the front door.
"Morning," he called out.
"Morning," Noah responded, rubbing his face with bags under his eyes.
"Have you eaten?" Stiles asked.
"I had something a few hours ago," Noah told him. "I'm just going to head to bed. Maybe see if River wants to have dinner with us tonight."
"I'll ask," Stiles told him. "I'm going over there to see her later anyways."
"Okay," Noah nodded. "Love you."
"Love you, too," Stiles called before drinking down a cup of coffee.
Stiles took a shower and got ready for school, drinking two more cups of coffee before heading out the door. At school, Jackson waited for Stiles to pull up. They walked towards the locker room together, getting ready for morning practice and going out to the pitch before everyone else, running a few drills together. Coach shouted at them, catching their attention.
"What are you two doing?" he asked.
"Practicing," Stiles smiled.
"Practice doesn't start for fifteen more minutes Stilinski," Coach responded.
"Stiles needed some help," Jackson shrugged. "We've been practicing every day."
"Really?" Coach asked before smiling to Stiles. "Because it's paying off! We'll see during practice."
Stiles smiled brightly as Jackson patted his back. Once coach was out of ear shot he turned to Jackson.
"I might make first line," he said.
"Might? For all the work I've been doing, you better," Jackson rolled his eyes. "Let's get back to it."
"Your work?" Stiles asked and Jackson rolled his eyes and ran back onto the field. "What about my work? Jackson? What about… Whatever."
Stiles and Jackson continued running drills as the rest of the team joined them. Scott and Danny joined their group, Scott going to Stiles' side as Danny went to Jackson's. They played two-versus-two with no goalies for a bit until coach came out, blowing his whistle.
"Let's go!" coach yelled and everyone came together.
Once coach had finished yelling what he thought was encouragement, everyone broke into two teams. Jackson and Scott fought for the ball and Scott passed it to Stiles. Stiles ran down the field and threw the ball, smiling when it went pass Danny and landed in the goal. Lydia cheered from the bleachers and everyone started again. Halfway through practice, coach blew his whistle and called Stiles over.
"Congrats, Bilinski. Welcome to first line!"
Stiles' first thought was to look for River in the bleachers but his eyes met Lydia's instead, giving her an excited smile before getting back to practice. After school, the pack headed to the pack house, Danny tagging along so that Derek could help Jackson tell him the truth. Stiles ran up the stairs, going to River's room and lying down beside her and smiling to Isaac.
"I made first line," he told him.
"Good for you," Isaac rolled him eyes.
"What?" Stiles asked confused. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Isaac sighed, looking back to River.
"Do you want to go get a shower?" Stiles asked. "I'll stay with her until you get back."
"Okay," Isaac nodded. "Thanks."
Isaac stood, stretching before heading to the bathroom where his shower stuff was. Stiles pulled River close and sighed.
"I made first line," he told her. "I wanted to tell you as soon as it happened. I need you to wake up so you can roll your eyes and tell me to tell you something more interesting. I need you to wake up so that we can go get ice cream to celebrate."
When River didn't move, Stiles just rested his head against hers, kissing her forehead before letting a tear slip down his cheek.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I'm sorry for lying to you that day and for hurting you. I didn't mean it. I need you to wake up so I can tell you that I didn't mean it."
Downstairs, Danny was staring at Derek in disbelief. He turned to Jackson and Lydia.
"Do either of you do that?" he asked.
"I'm a banshee," Lydia told him. "River narrowed down what I was and I figured it out the other day."
"What is a banshee?" Danny asked.
"I can sense death," she explained. "I can also turn my scream into a weapon and do magic."
"You can sense death?" Danny asked.
"It's how I figured out what I am," she told him.
"What?"
"Shit," Derek whispered out.
"Wait, who died?"
"River," Jackson told him. "She's fine now. Well, we think she is. She's upstairs resting."
"So, what are you?" Danny asked.
"We don't know," Jackson told him.
"Possibly a kanima," Derek stated.
"What?" Jackson asked.
"You were bit. You didn't turn or die. Something weird is going on with you but we don't know what. You might be the kanima."
"What's a kanima?" Danny asked.
"It's someone who's supposed to be a werewolf, but something is holding them back and it damages their transformation. Turns them into something else."
"The kanima attacked River," Jackson whispered.
"We need to figure out who the master is," Derek told him.
"Stiles said that he was going to look at his dad's cases. We can ask if his dad has an idea yet."
"Until then, we need to keep Jackson safe," Derek nodded. "Make sure the master can't get to him."
"Master?" Danny asked.
"Someone is controlling him and forcing him to kill people."
"Possibly," Lydia stated. "We don't know for sure that it's him."
"I killed River?" Jackson asked, his voice breaking slightly.
"No," Lydia told him. "Even if you are the kanima, whoever is controlling you did this. It isn't on you."
"We should go ask Stiles if his dad found anything," Derek stated and they all headed up the steps, finding Stiles holding River, his eyes closed and his breathing even.
"He didn't sleep last night," Scott said from the desk chair. "I think being away from her when she's like this makes him too antsy. All the victims were in Harris' class besides Isaac's dad and River. Stiles is going to look into it more, see if he can find anything that connects them all."
"You said she was resting but she looks like she's in a coma," Danny said, staring at River.
"She basically is," Lydia told him. "She was dead for ten minutes already when I got here. It took a lot of magic to bring her back. Her body is healing. Her mind will probably take longer."
"What do you mean?" Derek asked.
"Well, people who were dead and brought back by medical officials or CPR typically have some sort of brain damage or PTSD from lack of oxygen. I healed any brain damage when I healed her body. The PTSD will probably be an issue though. We'll need to figure out her triggers and she'll probably need therapy."
"Good thing she's rich," Scott shrugged. "Therapy is expensive."
"What?" Danny asked confused.
"This is River's house," Scott told him. "She gets an allowance every month as well."
"How?"
"Her father died and left her everything," Jackson stated. "When she wakes up you can ask her about it."
Danny nodded, staring at her for a few more moments until Isaac went around him and climbed into the bed next to River. Danny raised an eyebrow and looked over to Jackson and Lydia, both of whom shrugged. Danny smirked and stared at the three before Derek sent everyone down the stairs and to the living room.
"Do you have any questions Danny?"
"Do I have to have the bite?" he asked Derek seriously.
"No," Derek shook his head. "Stiles is human and in the pack. It's up to you if you want it though. I feel like that needs to be a longer discussion though and you all need to do some homework. River isn't awake to boss you all into doing it, which leaves that responsibility to me. Has anyone been getting her assignments?"
"I have. Isaac's, too," Lydia told him. "I'm doing some of it for them since she's resting."
"Remember to do your own work," Derek reminded her.
"Mine's done," Lydia smirked. "You're talking to the smartest person in our grade."
"So, River's pack contains nerds, dorks, two geniuses, and a hacker?" Danny asked.
"What am I?" Jackson asked, ready to be offended.
"Dork," Danny shrugged.
"What is she?" Lydia asked, referring to River.
"Good at picking people," Danny smirked.
Everyone got started on their homework as Derek started on dinner. Having grown up in a large household, Derek was used to making enough food for an army. He knew River liked to cook and would have to tell her a few tricks for cooking for so many people at once. He wondered what everyone else liked doing before realizing that Danny had called it River's pack. He wondered why he wasn't offended by the statement before shaking it off and getting back to the food and thinking of having a pack day to get to know everyone better.
After food was eaten and Danny was given a room, everyone either headed to their homes or camped out in River's room, covering every available surface of her bed. Derek smiled at the scene before going to his own room, but not before taking a picture on his phone so be framed at a later date. He heard a strange hissing coming from Jackson's room and opened the door in time to see a lizard going out the window.
"Fuck," Derek cursed before running to River's room. "Jackson's loose!"
Erica, Boyd, Isaac, and Scott jumped into action, waking Stiles.
"Stay with her," Derek told him as they all ran out of the room, following after Jackson in his kanima form.
They chased him through part of the woods, finding him standing outside a trailer in the woods. The power got cut and Jackson threw a man through the window after tearing through his throat. Derek and the betas ran forward as Jackson ran from the scene, leaving a pregnant woman screaming in the trailer. They followed Jackson through the forest again, not even noticing the car driving away from the scene.
Jackson ran to his house, swinging into his room and turning human again. He went into his bathroom turning on the shower and cleaning the blood off of himself before putting on sweatpants and coming out of his fugue state. Derek was sitting on his bed when he walked into his room, causing Jackson to jump and curse.
"What are you doing here?" Jackson asked.
"I followed you here from a crime scene," Derek explained. "It's you, Jackson. I saw it."