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I do not own Teen Wolf

Chapter Nine

As weeks went by, River and the boys tried every restaurant on Chris' list. River met most of the chefs and cooks at each place they went to, learning different recipes and techniques from each of them. She and Isaac began working at a diner down the street from the apartment, River cooking and Isaac bussing tables. Isaac liked having something to do and River liked learning. They both liked making their own money.

River got Theo into online schooling after a few faked legal documents with Danny's help. Theo was quick to catch on to his lessons, excelling quickly. Isaac still needed help with a few classes but River was more than willing to tutor him. River herself had already almost completely finished her assignments, getting all of her quizzes and tests done as soon as they were available. They would all need to go to Beacon Hills at the end of the school year to sit any finals that were required but it would only be for a week at most before they were back in New Orleans for the summer.

Magic lessons were a different story.

"Concentrate, Brook," Shauwnna told her for the fifth time that morning.

"I'm trying," River told her as she stared at the broken vase.

"Don't try. Just do. It's about intent."

"Can we take a break?' River asked, her concentration breaking completely.

"No," Shauwnna sighed. "We've barely begun."

"I don't understand why this is so difficult," River rubbed her eyes.

"We are trying to use your magic without aid of the crystals that you have come to rely on," Shauwnna explained. "You won't always have crystals on you or use of your hands, though. You have to learn how to use your mind as well. You've mastered every other thing that I can teach you already. Whatever is weighting down your mind needs to be resolved before you can do this."

"If you're saying that I need therapy, I'm aware," River sighed, hands on her hips as she looked at her feet.

"Child," Shauwnna said softly, waiting for River to look up at her. "You have been through so much. Don't push away all of that pain or hide it. Use it. Don't let it control you. If you do, then the darkness wins."

River nodded before taking a deep breath and looking back at the vase. She stared at it, thinking of everything she had been through and willing the vase to piece itself back together. The pieces began to shake but River didn't move, didn't look away or change expressions as the pieces began to form together.

Jackson throwing her across the room.

The crack in the bottom disappeared.

Erica and Boyd chained to a wall and Stiles on the ground as Gerard stood over him with a knife.

The whole left side stood straight.

Derek killing Peter, her alpha, her father.

The right side slowly attached.

Stiles denying their bond.

The right side completely healed, as if never have been cracked in the first place.

Kali holding Derek's hand, claws digging into her chest.

The lid began piecing itself back together.

The cellar under the Nameton collapsing on top of her, sending her into darkness and pain.

The vase was completely sealed and the lid floated towards the top.

VOID.

The vase was shining, clean, brand new as the lid sat atop it. There were no cracks, no blemishes. River stared at the vase before falling to her knees, sobbing. Shauwnna was kneeling beside her instantly, holding her and brushing her fingers through her hair, speaking in a soothing but firm tone and telling her she was okay, she was safe, she had done so well.

Once River was able to breath again and had no tears left to cry, Shauwnna helped her to her feet. They walked over to the vase and River picked it up, staring at it.

"Again," Shauwnna told her, backing away. "Do what you need to, and then fix it. I'll be in the sunroom when you're ready to join us."

Shauwnna left to join Elliot, Theo and Isaac in the sunroom as they were eating lunch and drinking iced tea. River tossed the vase from hand-to-hand a few times before throwing it as hard as she could against the wall. She threw the table, using her magic to force it to shatter against a different wall. River screamed, her magic thrumming through the room, shattering picture frames and windows. A crack formed in the marble floor under her, splintering across the entire room as it shook as if an earthquake had suddenly hit.

River took deep, hard breaths as she looked around the room at the damage she had done. The release had felt amazing and River smiled before sitting down just looking around. She felt Stiles through the bond, felt him reaching out at her distress with worry and concern, a small bit of panic thrown it. She sent reassurance back, rubbing her chest for a few moments before standing again. Slowly the damage began fixing itself, the windows reassembling as the frames flew back into place. The table and vase appeared next to her as the cracks in the foundation of the house disappeared.

River picked up the vase again. She smiled at it before letting it drop to the floor. As she walked toward the sunroom, the vase flew back to the table, good as new once again. River sat on the floor, leaning back against Theo's legs as she took a glass of tea from Isaac.

"You good?" he asked.

"Yeah," River smiled, her voice sounding lighter than it had in a long time. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Your phone's ringing," Theo spoke up.

River rolled her eyes as Stiles' name popped up on the screen. She answered quickly.

"I'm okay," was the first thing she said.

"That didn't feel okay," he said. "What happened?"

"Magic lesson got a little person today was all."

"You didn't beat anyone up, did you?" Stiles asked in a joking manner.

"No," River smiled. "Just let some stuff out with my magic. I promise I'm okay."

"You sound better," Stiles almost whispered.

"I feel better," she admitted. "I'll call you later tonight, okay?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Was that the mate?" Shauwnna asked once River hung up.

"Yes, ma'am," River smiled before receiving an ear flick.

"Thank you, Theo," Shauwnna smiled.

"What was that for?" River asked, offended.

"No 'ma'am's, remember?"

"I was raised correctly!" River defended. "I call people 'ma'am' and 'sir'! Dad would come for me if I didn't!"

"Is that a tone?" Shauwnna asked with a raised brow.

"No, ma'am."

Flick.

"Ow!"

River went to work that night, standing straighter than she had in a while and with a smile on her face.

"Who is this beauty?" Craig questioned as River walked into the kitchen. "You seem like you had a good day."

"I did," River smiled as she tied her apron and went to Diane. "Where do you want me?"

"With a smile like that? Right beside me," Diane smirked, bumping River's hip with her own.

River did prep for the dinner rush before joining Diane on the line. They worked well together, dancing around each other in a way that reminded River of herself and Stiles when they made dinner together or when they were sneaking something pass Noah. Once dinner reigned down and River had cleaned her station, she did some prep for in the morning and headed home.

River found Isaac and Theo asleep on the couch and she smiled, snapping a picture of them cuddled against each other and sent it to the group chat back home, immediately getting emojis from all of the girls.

'I swear he looks familiar.' Stiles claimed yet again.

River got changed and climbed out on the fire escape. She called Stiles and he picked up on the second ring.

"Did you just get off work?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah," River told him. "I stayed late to do some morning prep ahead of time. I think Johnny likes when I help close solely because I do prep."

"I bet," Stiles laughed. "How was your day?"

"Good," River smiled. "Thought of you during the dinner rush."

"Because I eat so much?" Stiles inquired.

"Because of how Diane and I move around each other in the kitchen," River explained. "It made me think of us."

"Yeah? Remember how we would hide the cookies where we knew dad wouldn't find them?"

"Remember that we kept having to find different hiding spots because he would get suspicious every so often?"

Stiles and River laughed a bit at that before growing quiet.

"Hey, are you okay? That was a lot of pain earlier."

"Yeah," River told him. "Shauwnna said I should use my pain rather than push it down. I used it and it all kind of came out at once."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I shouldn't hold on to that type of stuff honestly. I should let it out more often. Now that I know how to control it, I can direct it with my magic rather than having to rely on things like crystals. I won't be able to do it all the time at first or it'll wear me out but in the future it'll be a lot easier."

"I'm proud of you," Stiles breathed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," River could hear the smile in Stiles' voice. "You're doing really well. You said that Shauwnna told you that you're coming into your magic really quickly. I know you were having difficulties not using your hands but you did it today, right?"

"I did."

"I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," River blushed. "So, what's going on with you?"

"Not much."

"Stiles, I don't need to be a werewolf to know you've been lying. What's been happening? I mean, I'm going to be there for finals next week anyways. You should tell me so that I at least know what I'm walking into."

"Well, if it's still a problem next week, I'll fill you in on the way home!" Stiles half-yelled.

"Sti. I can feel your anxiety. I've been feeling it for weeks now. Tell me what's going on. Please?"

Stiles just huffed.

"Mieczyslaw."

"That's cheating."

"I call it good interrogation tactics," River smirked.

"Learn that from dad?"

"I learned what deflection is from you," River offered.

"That you did," Stiles sighed. "Alright. I'm going to regret this. There's a Deadpool. It's a list of supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills that people can kill for money."

"What?" River asked, confused.

"We've been dealing with assassins coming in and trying to kill us for the past few weeks now."

"The pack is on it? Are you on it?"

"No. I guess whoever the benefactor is, doesn't know that I'm a spark. Scott's on it though. He's got the second highest amount."

"Who's first?"

"You are."