Chapter 6: Scars Run Deep
Scott pulled his bike into the parking lot at the school and yanked off his helmet as he took in everything. There weren't too many other cars or people around yet as classes didn't start for over an hour. Scott wanted to head in and do some serious last minute cramming before his Biology test. He and Kira wanted to get together last night to study but they…got lost in the moment. While he didn't regret it, he couldn't help the grin that seemed stuck on his face since he woke up that morning, he knew that he was in a bit of trouble. That's why he decided to skip breakfast and get here early. He hoped that being here at school would help his mind be better focused to prepare for that exam.
Scott headed off to the school quad to find a nice quiet place to sit and study. So far, there were just a bit over a handful of people there. But Scott's eyes narrowed as he was surprised at the sight of Theo, sitting alone at one of the tables, his face hovering over an open text book.
"Theo?" he called out as he headed for him.
Theo rose his head up and gave him a small smile. "Hey Scott."
"What are you doing here?" he asked as he moved to sit down in front of him.
He lifted his biology book with a small smile. "Just some last minute cramming. To make sure I'm ready for the test."
As he put the book back down, Scott saw that the pages of Theo's book had some writing here and there, like footnotes.
"How do you think you'll do?"
Theo shrugged. "I'm pretty confident. Science and I have always had a pretty close relationship," he said, giving a chuckle at his own private joke.
"Yeah, well I wish I could say the same but I don't think science has ever liked me very much," Scott said a little amusingly.
"Oh, well would you like some help?" Theo offered.
Scott smiled. "I would," he said gratefully. He then pulled out his own textbook and Theo's eyes widened a bit at all the highlighted passages and sticky notes inside the pages of the book. "Hey," he said as he began to turn to the right page. "About last night, at the bridge,"
Theo quickly held up a hand to stop him. "Scott, it's alright. I get it. Stiles, he was just trying to look out for everybody."
"I know, it's just…sometimes Stiles can go and get a little carried away," Scott trailed off.
But Theo smiled. "Well, better carried away than not caring at all, right?"
Scott stared off for a bit before he blinked and shook his head. "Right. Well, let's get started. Biology is our first class so we don't have a lot of time left."
"Yeah, right," Theo said with a nod.
Scott looked down to skim one of his book's pages so he didn't see Theo's face harden a bit, a ghost of a smirk appearing, before he looked down at his notes. The two of them went to work exchanging notes and then lightly quizzing each other until it was time for them to get to class.
Kira was at her locker, smiling widely as she moved to get her books ready for her morning classes. Right before she finished, Lydia had calmly walked up to her.
"Hey Kira, you ready for the Biology test?" she asked her.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I think so. I hope so. I'm good."
Lydia narrowed her eyes at her. "What's going on? You seem pretty happy this morning."
"Well, it's a good morning. Clear skies, bright sun, nice gentle breeze," she said as she kept her gaze at her locker.
Now Lydia thought Kira was being a little too perky, even for her. "Kira," she said to her, making her look straight at her. When she caught Kira's eyes, her own eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god. You and Scott finally did it, didn't you?"
"Huh, did what?" she asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she suddenly felt.
"You did," she said, nearly laughing. "Wow, finally. How was it?"
Kira turned away a bit. "Good, I think."
"You think?"
"I've never…done it before," she trailed off.
Lydia understood. Kira had been a virgin. Scott was her first. "Don't worry, it gets better."
Kira froze. "Wait, so I was bad?"
"No," Lydia quickly said to her. "Why, do you think you were?" she asked delicately.
"Uh, I don't think so. Scott seemed happy…after."
Lydia rolled her eyes. "He's a guy. As long as they go off, they're always happy after."
Kira then closed her locker and the two of them headed off for the Biology classroom. Just after they took off down the hallway, Liam and Mason walked through the front doors together as they moved through the sea of people in the hallways.
As soon as Mason found Liam on the bus, he quickly started firing off a whole bunch of questions. Liam tried to answer them calmly, and quietly, all the way until they finally arrived in school. Mason seemed to having trouble really taking it all in.
"Okay, so you've been a werewolf since you got transferred here?" he asked.
"Yeah," Liam nodded.
"Because Scott bit you?"
"Yeah."
"Because he is a werewolf too?"
"Yeah."
"And so is his friend Stiles?"
"Yeah."
"And his girlfriend is a werecoyote?"
"Yeah."
"And Lydia is a banshee?"
"Yeah."
"And…what is Kira?"
"A kitsune."
"I don't even know what that is."
"Yeah, I don't think I really do either."
Mason finally stopped walking and caused Liam to stop to look back at him. Mason was staring at him, his eyes blinking fast, as if he could barely hold it all in without going berserk. "Wow," he gasped out. "This is sick."
"Yeah, it's been pretty crazy," he mumbled as he moved to rub at his eyes.
"Crazier than a seven foot giant trying to rip me to shreds in the basement before the Sheriff came and blew him up?" Mason stopped as he saw Liam move to cover up a hard yawn. "Hey Liam, are you okay?"
He shook it away. "Yeah," he said with a trace of the yawn coming out in his tone. "I just had a bit of trouble sleeping last night." Bits of the nightmare he had flashed mildly back into his mind. "But don't worry, I'll be okay."
They made their way into their history class and Liam froze as he spotted Hayden already sitting down. Again, there were only two empty seats, including the one right beside her. Suddenly, any lingering drowsiness seemed to vanish and he was hyped and alert.
Mason noticed it too. "An angry wolf you can handle, but not Hayden?" he teased before going off to take his seat.
"I'll take a Berserker any day over Hayden," Liam sighed to himself as he walked over to his seat.
He checked to make sure that the seat seemed fine and not covered with gum again. He turned to look over at her and found Hayden's face blank until he made eye contact with her. She then gave him a smug smile and he turned to look away, rolling his eyes. As Mr. Yukimura started the class, he then thought about what Mason just said. He had almost forgotten all about the incident with the wolf last night. He knew that Scott and Stiles had a free period after this one, he would go find and talk to them about it showing up. Something didn't feel right to him about it.
Melissa McCall was taking a small break when one of her fellow nurses flagged her down.
"Melissa, I need to talk to you."
"Sure Nancy, what is it?"
"Uh, there's a patient here who says that he's here for getting his cast replaced because he bumped his broken hand against something. He claims that he broke his hand over a week ago, but the abrasions seem fresh. I think he might be trying to cover up an assault."
She handed Melissa the patient's file and her eyes widened at the sight of the name. Jonathan Raeken. "Nancy, why don't you let me handle this one. I got it."
"You sure?"
She nodded. "It's okay. I know them." Melissa went into the room and found Mr. Raeken sitting in a patient's bed with his wife right beside him. There was gauze around his right hand with spots of dried blood here and there. "Jonathan Raeken?" she asked as she stepped in.
"What happened to the nurse?" Mrs. Raeken asked.
"I'm taking over. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Meet us?" she asked, a little tensed up.
"Oh, I'm Melissa McCall."
"McCall?" Mr. Raeken squeaked out. "Wait, we know that name."
"Yes honey, don't you remember, the new friend Theo told us about? Scott? This is his mother," she asked, pointedly.
His face immediately lightened up and he smiled. "Oh that's right. It's nice to meet you Melissa."
"Nice to meet you both." She then moved to peel back the gauze and her eyes narrowed as she did. "You want to tell me how this happened?"
"Oh, I slipped and bumped my hand into the corner of the counter. It reopened my cuts. I didn't even notice until Gina gave a start when she saw the gauze turning red."
"I did tell him that he should get a full cast for his hand but he was too proud and embarrassed. Injured on the first day of us moving in. How would he ever live that down to our neighbors?" Mrs. Raeken said fondly.
Melissa let out a polite laugh. "How did your injure your hand?'
"Oh, I was trying to furnish our living room and the leg of our couch went and slipped away and my hand got caught."
Melissa finished removing the gauze and came upon the cuts in his hand. She narrowed her eyes as she saw the damage. She could see why Nancy was concerned. The scarring seemed fresh and it didn't look accidental. It looked like something or someone smashed his hand. Raeken's whole body tightened as he flexed his fingers out at her touch. "Does it still hurt?" she asked in concern.
Raeken shrugged. "Just a bit," he said, trying to sound dismissive.
"His hand is going to be okay, isn't it?" asked his wife.
Melissa moved to start cleaning his hand. "I think it should be fine. He just has to be a lot more careful not to damage it more. We'll have your hand put in a strong cast and I'll prescribe you something for the pain."
He sighed in relief. "Thank you."
"So…how are you two settling back into Beacon Hills?"
Mrs. Raeken quickly jumped into what she was made to rehearse. "Oh, it's nice to be back though it's not quite what we remember. It'll take some adjusting but I think it will feel like home again."
Melissa nodded. "I know what you mean. I was relatively new to Beacon Hills around that time so I'm sorry I couldn't get the chance to know both of you or Theo before you all moved away. And I'm sorry about Tara."
There was a small pause before Mr. Raeken cleared his throat.
"Yes, our daughter," he coughed up a bit. "It still hurts to think of her sometimes."
Melissa blinked a bit but lowered her head as she tried to finish disinfecting the cuts and bruises on his hand. "I can imagine. I don't have a daughter but if I had ever lost Scott, I don't think I would ever be the same," Melissa said sympathetically. "How about Theo? Is he doing okay being back here?"
The Raekens took a moment to share a small, nervous look. Melissa noticed but averted her eyes as quickly as they turned to look back at her.
"He's…adjusting," Mrs. Raeken stiffly said. "Having made some friends so soon seems to be helping. It's not easy to when you're the new kid, even if you are coming back to what used to be home."
"And I'm sure him being "special" always makes it a little harder," Melissa suggested pointedly.
Scott was standing off to the edge of the hallway with Lydia, Kira and Theo. They were just letting themselves relax now that they've just finished taking the Biology test.
"So, how do you think you did?" Kira asked him.
Scott let a small smile loose. "Uh, okay actually. Over half the questions didn't feel too hard. You?"
She nodded. "I think I did okay too. Lydia, how about you?" she said, turning to the girl in question. She just gave her a look and Kira shook her head. "Right, what was I thinking?" she said in a laughing tone. Lydia was a genius, of course she did okay.
"I just needed to do a little revising. How about you Theo?"
"I think I might've done pretty good," he said a shrug and a smile. His gaze then went over to Scott. "Some last minute revising helped."
He smiled at him. "Well, I've got a free period so I could use a bit more help."
"Sorry, I've got to head over to Econ, so I guess I'll catch you guys later?" He then took off down the hall.
"Yeah, I have to get moving too. I have history next and since the teacher is my dad, I'll be missed. You heading out again?" she asked Lydia.
Since AP Biology was her one and only class, she was actually done for the day. But Lydia shook her head. "No, I'm going to stick around. I want to check up on Tracy."
"Cool, we can see each other at lunch."
"I'll be there," she told her.
Kira then took off and Lydia took off for towards the library. Scott decided he might go and do some reading off in the quad when he saw someone heading for him quickly at the corner of his eye.
"Stiles?" he said as his friend skidded to a stop next to him.
"Good, I thought I would have to scale half the school before I found you," he gasped out. But Stiles suddenly stopped and seemed taken aback for a second. "Something happened."
Scott tensed up. "What? Is something wrong?"
But Stiles shook his head. "No, with you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Something's changed. You look…brighter."
Scott was lost. "What? What are you-"
But he stopped as he saw Stiles looking him left to right and then saw him sniffing the air. His eyes sharpened as he seemed to catch something.
"You and Kira. You two finally did it, huh?"
Scott realized that Kira's lingering scent might still be on him from their time together the previous night. "That's creepy Stiles."
"But I am right, am I?" Stiles said, raising his eyebrows appraisingly at him.
Scott turned away but he couldn't stop a big grin from stretching onto his face. "Yeah, last night."
"Oh, well congrats dude." Stiles knew it must not be easy for Scott. After all, he's only ever been with one person before now.
"Thanks," Scott said before he shook his smile away. "But, can you not keep a look out on my scent unless it's an emergency." It was times like this where he was starting to worry more and more about Stiles' state of mind.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I'm sure you can't help but catch it when Malia and I, you know."
"Yeah, I try to block it out whenever I can," he said tensing up as he tried not to have any mental pictures. "So…why were you looking for me?"
Stiles blinked as he remembered why he originally came for him. "Oh, it's Liam. He sent me a message. He wants to meet with us in the parking lot, by the buses. He said it's important."
"Yeah, okay."
They then started to head off in that direction. About halfway there, Stiles broke the silence.
"Hey, your biology test, scale of one to ten, how do you think you did?"
Scott smiled. "I'd say about an eight."
"That's great. I guess you were worrying over nothing."
"How'd you know I was worrying?"
"C'mon, do you think I don't monitor your chemo signals as much as you do mine?" He gave Scott a side glance.
"I did have a little help."
"Yeah?"
He nodded as his face fell a bit. "From Theo. He helped me get some studying in before the test this morning."
Stiles' face blanked a bit. "Oh," he simply said as he just kept walking off.
Scott half expected Stiles to say something but he guessed that he might be starting to give the guy a break. After last night, maybe he was seeing that he had been overreacting and was too quick to judge Theo.
The two of them made it outside where Liam had been waiting. He quickly told them both of how he and Mason had run into a wolf in the parking lot last night after Stiles had dropped him off. They quickly asked if he was okay, looking over him in concern, and he told them that he was fine.
Stiles was crutched down a bit over the spot where Liam told him it had been. "It's faint. It didn't stick around. Probably long gone by now."
Scott caught Liam's eye. "And it just showed up?"
"Yeah, just came out of nowhere. I didn't even notice until Mason warned me."
"So much for California not having wolves anymore," Scott mumbled Stiles' way.
Liam's eyebrows rose. "Wait, it doesn't?"
"No, which is funny considering its steady population of werewolves," Stiles threw in as he ran his hands across the pavement, eyes narrowed in thought.
"Then how did it get here?" Liam asked them.
"I don't know." Scott then sighed. "What about Mason? How's he doing?"
"He's okay. Besides, he was more caught up in fact that I had to shift in order to send the wolf away."
Scott and Stiles froze up and looked at him.
"So, you really told him," Stiles mumbled. Liam had said he was going to tell him last night but he still felt a little shocked that he actually went through with it.
"Well, how's he handling it?" Scott asked him delicately.
Liam surprised him by cracking a wide smile. "Mason's great. He's actually great, with everything. All of it."
"Yeah?" Stiles asked, still crutched down next to the floor. "He didn't freak out or try to stab you with something silver?" he joked, remembering Liam's scared rant.
The young beta let a small laugh loose. "No, at least not yet," he joked back.
Stiles nodded. "Well, I'd say that's a good sign."
"That's great Liam," Scott said, placing his hand on Liam's shoulder. "I'm happy for you. Just ease him into it. Don't try to overwhelm him with everything at once."
"Overwhelm? If anything, I'm having trouble keeping up with how much Mason wants to know."
Scott could believe that. He didn't know Mason that well but from what he could see, he seemed to be excitable and curious, almost as much as Stiles. Speaking of which, he looked over to see Stiles was moving around the floor, letting his hand lightly caress across the pavement, his eyes full of focus. Scott took a moment to wonder if he should be worrying about Stiles for a whole different set of reasons. "Stiles, what are you doing?"
Stiles stopped right there. He suddenly realized that he never really did get around to explain to Scott some of the things he'd been up to in the last six months with Satomi. He hadn't told anyone actually. But Liam knew what Stiles was up to.
"You can't pick up anything?" asked Liam. "Mason and I were scared, so there should be an event scar for you to tap."
Stiles got up and looked straight at Liam. "Wait, how do you know event scars?"
He shrugged uncomfortably. "I kind of overheard you and Satomi talking about them a few times when we were over at her place."
"Hold on, what are you guys talking about?" Scott asked as he looked between them. "What are you trying to do? What's an event scar?"
Stiles cleared his throat. "Scott, do you remember those times where after I touched something I went and saw things that I shouldn't have been able to?"
Scott thought back. "You mean like with the door at the Hale House and with the twins?" After he had done that, Stiles had seen the Alpha Pack leaving their mark and the twins killing their pack.
He nodded. "Yeah, well I told Satomi about them and she said that it's a rare ability that a couple of werewolves have. When something happens that made or left strong emotions behind, the event leaves an impression, a scar. I can then tap into them and see what happened to leave it. I was checking to see if what happened to Liam and Mason left one."
Scott's eyes widened. "Are you serious? So wait, you can just see what happened anywhere or with anyone just by touching them?" That sounded like it would be a pretty handy thing to have around.
Stiles shook his head. "No, there has to be emotions behind them. Powerful ones. Those times with the door and the twins, I saw them because they were full of hate, rage and bloodlust as those things happened. I can see what happened to make and leave those emotions behind. It's a lot like how we can read into chemo signals that are left behind, but stronger."
"And you're trying to learn from Satomi? She can do that too?"
"Oh, no, she can't but she did know a werewolf that was able to do it. So, she's been trying to help me get a handle on it these last few months but, it hasn't been easy."
"Really?" Scott was surprised. Before, when it came to werewolf stuff, Stiles had gotten things down pretty quickly.
Stiles shrugged. "Yeah, the hard part is trying to find enough to practice on. Satomi suggested places where many adrenaline high things happen. So, two months ago I decided to try looking in the Sheriff's Station. You know, because a lot of fear, hate and anger is felt around there constantly. I caught some flashes of things here and there that were left by some of the deputies, visitors and people who get arrested, especially around the holding cells. Even saw memories of…that night, back in sophomore year," he trailed off.
Scott's face softened. He knew which night Stiles was talking about. Matt's attack at the station with the Kanima. That was definitely a night that had a lot of fear, anger and anxiety coupled into it from them, their parents and Matt. Enough to leave scars for him to tap into.
Liam then jumped in. "But Mason and I were scared when that wolf appeared. Why can't you see it?"
Stiles had almost forgotten Liam was there. "Well, maybe you two didn't feel enough fear to make a scar."
Liam didn't know if he should be feeling relieved or insulted by the fact that they basically weren't scared enough last night to make an impression.
"So, what are we going to do about the wolf?" Liam then asked.
"Well, I could talk to Deaton about it when I get to work. See what he thinks," Scott answered. "It's probably nothing."
Stiles sighed deeply. "When is it ever nothing, Scott?" he asked him rhetorically.
Christopher Argent was sitting on an examination bed in a doctor's office, waiting for his test results. He had gotten an X-ray and given a sample of his blood and damaged tissue and now was waiting for the official news. He was still having a bit of trouble grasping the fact that he even could go to a doctor now. Until recently, he was a wanted man in the FBI's database due to him being framed for murder by the Nogitsune when it possessed Stiles last year. But he was granted immunity thanks to Scott's father, Agent Raphael McCall when he helped to bring in the Calaveras six months ago, as well as provide evidence against a handful of other rogue hunters since, like his old friend Richard Baxter who had been caught during the Deadpool incident.
He ran his left middle and forefingers across the deep claw marks that were scarred across the top part of his right arm. He clenched his teeth if he pressed too hard on them. The pain in his arm had started up a few days before Allison had been killed. Mild at first, only when he overexerted his arm for too long but it had been slowly growing worse. Now, if there was more than simple pressure, he would feel some pain. At his wince, the door opened and the doctor finally came back into the room in time to see it.
"Mr. Argent," he said in concern as he closed the door behind him. "You okay?"
"Yes doctor," Chris politely said back, as he pulled his sleeve down. "Just a mild itch. So how is it looking?"
The man sighed as he brought up the clipboard with the notes. "Well, I still have some more questions to ask you before I give you the final results."
"Okay," he nodded.
"Now, you said that you had been attacked by a wolf and it managed to maul at your arm?"
Chris nodded. "That's right," he said unflinchingly. A memory of Stiles digging his claws into his arm and then throwing him off replayed in his mind. "Over a year ago."
"By any chance, do you know if this wolf might have been rabid?" asked the doctor.
"I couldn't say," Chris answered evenly. "Why?"
"Well, there are trace amounts of organic toxins in your arm's muscle tissue. One of them seems to be…aconite."
'Wolfsbane,' Chris thought to himself.
The doctor continued. "It's as if the wolf's claws had been laced in it. Not too uncommon with animals suffering diseases or poison to have it in their claws or teeth."
Chris guessed it was from when Gerard had poisoned Stiles with that wolfsbane cocktail of his to diminish a werewolf's strength and powers. Stiles' body must've burned and pushed out the toxin from his pores and claws in an effort to heal himself that night, which would explain how he ended up with it after Stiles attacked him.
"I see," he managed to say.
"That explains why the pain is escalating. The toxin embedded in your muscle tissue has been slowly spreading and eroding the surrounding tissue and has started killing some of the damaged tissue."
"It can't heal?"
"Well, it could, if it was given time to. The strain and stress you've been putting on your arm hasn't been helping. In fact, it's been helping to accelerate the extent of the damage far more than a year should've progressed. May I ask what exactly is it you do?"
"Security," he simply answered like he had been trained to since he was a teen.
"Well, I think you should seriously consider a career change. One that isn't so physical."
Chris' jaw tightened. He didn't believe that would be an option. "Is it possible for me to have some surgery done on my arm to remove the toxin and repair my arm?"
The doctor sighed. "I'm afraid I can't recommend that. It's not just your arm though. Your bloodwork came back and I need you to be honest with me Mr. Argent. What have you been taking?"
"Taking?"
"Yes, what drugs have you been taking Mr. Argent? There is a substantial trace amount of narcotics in your blood. Some oxycontin mixed with a few other substances made for relieving pain. From the quantity found, I'd say you'd been regularly taking it for a few months now."
Chris averted his eyes. Six months ago, Peter Hale had found out his little secret when he tasted some of his blood. The injury of his arm had started to make it too painful to fight or even fire a gun without his focus becoming divided between his targets and himself and during his missions, he needed his focus undivided or it would prove fatal.
"It's nothing major," he simply said.
"I'm afraid it is Mr. Argent. Addiction is always a major thing."
"I'm not an addict," he stressfully spat out.
The doctor just stared at him. He had heard that before, many times. "Mr. Argent, I need you to understand what is really going on. Whatever it is you're taking, not only is it affecting your arm, I have reason to believe it's starting to seriously affect your overall health as well."
Malia was flipping through a textbook in her Economics class, with a red highlighter firmly between her lips. She took it out to highlight a complicated looking term when she felt someone sit in the seat beside her. She looked over to see that it was Theo, and he smiled at her.
"Hey," he said lightly to her as soon as her eyes met his.
Malia quickly looked back at her book. "You changed your seat," she mumbled.
"Yeah well, seeing as how you're the only member of the pack here it would make sense for us to be together, wouldn't it?" he finished with a smile creeping up on him.
Malia let her eyes follow that smile and couldn't help but feel that it was a bit predatory. She found her stomach twisting a bit at the thought as her insides seemed to heat up somewhat. She moved her gaze up to catch him in his eyes and they seemed to focus right back at hers. She raised her eyebrows up at him before she shrugged. "Fine. Do whatever you want, I don't care," she said airily before turning back to her book. She could feel his eyes still on her and she focused on keeping hers on the book and away from him.
As Malia went back to finish highlighting the passage she was working on, Theo continued to watch her. He could sense that Malia didn't seem to really be concentrating in reading as she was pretending to be. It seemed like she was trying very hard not to look at him. Animalistic pride welled up in him as he turned away to give her a small reprieve.
Theo turn his head around and gazed upon Tracy, who was sitting at the back of the room, by the door. She was staring straight ahead, with a somewhat tense stance. It looked like she was struggling to stay awake. It seemed as if the mental side effects of the transformation from the Doctors' treatment. Her mind was in a malleable state right now. And that was giving him an idea that wouldn't just help push his way into Scott and the others' confidence; but help push Stiles out of theirs.
Cora was in the cafeteria, nibbling on her lunch as she was reading a novel for her American Literature class. As she finished a chapter, she dropped it to let her eyes go over the room where there were at least a hundred other kids there, talking with each other or each doing their own private thing as they enjoyed their lunch period. Cora still wasn't used to having an education in this kind of setting. After the fire, when she escaped to South America, she would study independently or have private tutoring from pack emissaries. After Derek had left her with Maggie, she learned under her but she kept insisting that she go and enroll herself in the local high school. When her pregnancy began to progress, she dropped it but after Jason's birth, she brought the issue up again. It might not have worked any better than before but then Derek moved and took her side in the argument and she found herself caving in.
She would admit, high school wasn't as bad as she pictured it. Classes weren't unpleasant and the course work was interesting enough. It was her classmates though. She didn't know any of the other kids here and they didn't know her. On some points, that was a good thing. No one would hear her name and automatically connect her to the fire and all the other stuff that happened that was connected to the Hale name. She wouldn't have to bare putting up judgmental looks and blocking out conversations about her behind her back.
Her train of thought was interrupted when someone suddenly just sat down in front of her.
"Jane Eyre," he read off the front cover. "Is that your pick for our presentation assignment?"
Cora raised her eyebrows at him. "Really? That's what you're going to start off with?"
The guy shrugged. "Seemed like it was a good way to start, at least in my head it was," he tried to jest.
Even though he was sure to see it, Cora didn't hesitate to make the need to roll her eyes obvious. "I've seen you around. You're in my lit class, aren't you?"
She gave him a once over and thought that he did seem cute, in an awkward sort of way. He had black eyes and the hair to match that was complimented by his fair complexion. His hair was slightly messy, like the way it is when you run your hand through it a couple of times. He was somewhat tall and it looked like he was fairly fit.
He smiled at her. "That's right. You're the new girl. It's Cora, right?"
She nodded. "That's right. And I'm sorry, but I'm drawing a blank on your name."
He smiled at her. "It's okay. I'm Ruben. You just moved here, right?"
"A couple of months ago," she answered.
"I know. I kind of seen you around the community center pool a few times over the summer. You love the water?"
It went like this for a few minutes. Ruben seemed to keep trying to trade small talk with Cora, about things that didn't matter or have any interest to her. She was finding that this was the flipside to going to school in a place like this. Everyone else would assume that she was like other high school girls. That she was interested in pop idols, social orders and other stupid teenage stuff. A part of her wished she was, as it would probably make this whole thing so much easier. And she couldn't help but wonder that if she had stayed in Beacon Hills with the Stiles, Scott and the others, would she have learned to?
After Ruben brought up a party that was going on that weekend, he asked if she would be there. Cora told him that she would think about it so this could be over. Ruben seemed hopeful as he heard her answer, and she could feel the interest that he seemed to have in her as he went off to sit with a few other guys. She then sighed as she went back to her book.
Jordan was sitting in his van, parked off in a street corner as he patrolled an area of downtown Beacon Hills. There had been some sounds of shooting around this area earlier that week. It turned out that it had been Donovan Donati who did that as he was breaking into a pharmacy but luckily Deputy Clark had managed to catch him without anyone getting hurt. The Sheriff wanted him there to make sure there wasn't any more trouble lingering around there. Jordan didn't mind having patrol duty; at least it wasn't directing traffic or organizing the files down at the station. His eyes fell upon the nearby bar and he saw someone heading for it. Someone that might not belong in a place like that.
Virgil was pissed. Before he left work at the garage today, his boss told him that he would need to cover some of the late shift all next week. Naturally, he pointed out to his boss that he said he wouldn't ask him to do that anymore but the man reminded him that he only said that he wouldn't ask him to do that for no pay. For a wild second, Virgil actually thought that meant that he would be paid overtime for the extra hours. And he was, but he also told him that, unfortunately, his normal pay had to be cut a bit. This meant that the extra hours barely did anything, and he would no doubt have to work a few extra hours regularly to make up the difference. His boss apologized and said it couldn't be helped but Virgil talked to one of the other mechanics at the garage and learned that the others weren't having their hours cut at all. Virgil thought it was official, his boss was out to get him. When he got home, he felt he needed something good and hard to dull this day away so he decided to walk down to the local bar.
He was just about to reach for the door but he was flagged down by a deputy.
"Hey there," he said stopping him. "You mind if I talk to you for a second?"
Virgil sighed and he headed over for the deputy. "Is there a problem officer?" he sighed out.
"I hope not. But, you seem a little young to be going to a bar. Mind if I see your ID?"
Virgil seemed taken aback. "Really?"
"Yeah. Why, is there a problem?" Jordan asked, readying himself a bit.
But Virgil just blinked at him. "Uh, no." He then reached into his pocket and handed him to him. After he did, his eyes fell on the name PARRISH written on the name plate pinned to the uniform. "Parrish? You're new to town, aren't you?"
Jordan nodded. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I transferred here almost a year ago."
"That's explains it. Most of the deputies around here pretty much know me."
"Well, Virgil," Jordan said reading the name off his license before giving it back to him. "If you regularly try to sneak into bars because you're a minor then I don't doubt that."
"I'm old enough," Virgil said indignantly. "I turn 21 in six months."
"Which makes you 20 so you're still underage," Jordan pointed out.
Virgil ran his hand furiously over his face. "Look, can't I just a pass? All I want one crappy drink after a really crappy day."
"Well, it's been my experience that people who want to dull and forget what they're dealing with usually need more than one drink. And yeah, you'll feel fine now, but it usually doesn't do anyone any good in the long run."
"Honestly, I'm good with feeling fine now."
Jordan let a small chuckle loose but still shook his head. "Sorry there Virge but-"
"Virgil," he quickly cut in. "Sorry, but I don't like anyone calling me Virge," he quickly explained when the deputy rose his eyebrows at his quick outburst.
"Right, well Virgil, you're just going to have to wait. If you really want to go to into that bar, then I can't stop you. Six months from now. But, right now I still can but I'm hoping that I won't have to."
Virgil sighed as he looked the deputy up and down. His tone was gentle and kind but he could feel that the guy was serious with his last comment. He didn't want more problems to add on so he took a step back. "Alright," he sighed. "You win."
Virgil started to walk away, heading back for his apartment.
"Hey Virgil," Jordan called out to him, making him stop to turn back to him. "In the meantime, try coffee. A black Medium Americano always seems to brighten up my day."
Virgil stared at him for a moment before a hint of a smile crept on him a bit. "Maybe I'll give it a shot," he said to him before walking off.
"And Liam and his friend are okay?" asked Deaton.
Scott nodded. "Yeah, Liam managed to scare it off so no one was hurt."
"That's good."
Scott was off to the side of the animal clinic's examination room as his boss Deaton was listening as he was preparing medicinal shot for one of the animals.
"I thought California wasn't supposed to have wolves." When this all started, it was one of the first things that Scott had learned.
"It used to, but urbanization and seismic activity pushed them to migrate to the east. The farthest western point in the country you normally find wolves like this are Yellowstone and sometimes Idaho. It's a little unheard for one to be spotted this far west, though it might possible that it might have wandered here or pushed out of its home."
"So, there might not be a connection to that werewolf that attacked me with the talons?"
"As to that, I can't say for sure. That being said, I will say this is strange. These kind of wolves are skittish and generally try avoid people by staying in the forest. Unless it was rabid, I can't think of any other kind of reason for this to have even happened."
"Maybe it was sick?"
But Deaton nodded. "If it was then there would've been a trace of it for you or Stiles to easily pick up on."
Scott couldn't help but think that Deaton was thinking that the attack on Liam and Mason might have been deliberate. "So, what do we do?"
"For now, I think the only thing you can do is just be careful and for you and your friends to look out for one another." Scott nodded though Deaton could see that something was still on his mind. "Scott, is there something else?"
"Uh, well, I was wondering if you knew anything about event scars?"
"You mean, like what Stiles sometimes gets?"
Scott's eyes widened. "How did-"
He smiled at the young Alpha. "I've known about them for a while, and I know that Satomi has been trying to help him get control of them. She and I had started keeping tabs on one another after what happened six months ago," he explained.
"Stiles tried telling me what it is but, I don't think I quite get it."
"Basically, it's reading and putting together events that took shape in a certain place by what emotions had been made and left behind. I think Stiles' natural observant and puzzle solving mind made him more open and receptive to this ability. Since detectives often need a mind like that to put together and work a crime scene. Tapping into event scars is one of the more rare, as well as difficult, abilities for a werewolf to tap into. I've heard stories but personally only ever come across one werewolf that had successfully mastered it."
Scott narrowed his eyes. Stiles said that Satomi had told him the same thing. He wondered if Deaton and Satomi were talking about the same one. "Who was it?"
The smile on Deaton's face fell a bit and his expression became blank though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "A man by the name of Jason Conley. He was Talia's lover."
Now Scott's eyes nearly popped out. "You mean, Derek's father?"
Deaton nodded. "Yes. Jason had been quite a strong and gifted Alpha. Like Talia, he also had the power to shapeshift into a wolf. An ability that both Laura and Derek seemed to have inherited from them. Tapping into event scars was just one of Jason's own separate talents. He had tried to teach Talia how to do it when they were together. She showed promise but thought it was too frustrating for her so she abandoned it. Satomi and even Deucalion once asked Jason for help teaching them but they didn't seem to have the skill and mindset for it. Satomi does remember some of the tips and lessons Jason gave her so she's trying to help Stiles as it looks like he might have a real chance of harnessing and bringing it under control."
Scott had no idea. Not once, in the two years he'd known him, had Derek ever once mentioned his father. But he noticed something. "Wait, you said he was Talia's lover. Don't you mean her husband?"
"No. Though they did have Laura, Derek and Cora together, Talia and Jason weren't married."
"Why not?"
"They were in a complicated position. Jason had come to Beacon Hills a little less than 30 years ago tracking an Omega that killed one of his betas. That's how he and Talia met and they ended up falling in love. But he was an Alpha of a pack over in Virginia and she was getting ready to take over as the Alpha in charge of Beacon Hills. They had responsibilities to their packs so the two of them knew they couldn't stay together. Though, before he left, he ended up fathering Laura with Talia. He would make occasional visits to see Talia and their child over the years, two of which ended up with Derek and Cora coming along," he zoned out.
Scott was thrown. He had always just assumed that Derek's father was one of the people who had been killed in the Hale Fire. But, he wasn't even living here. In two minutes, he learned more about this man than he did in the last two years. He was curious to know more.
"What happened to him?"
Deaton didn't answer right away. His gaze fell a bit as the memory of Talia during that time, hit him. "When Derek was almost 12, Jason and most of his pack were killed."
"Was it hunters?" he quickly guessed.
But Deaton shook his head. "No, they had been killed by a rival group of shapeshifters. Since it happened at the other end of the country, Talia was never able to find out who had done it. She never really got over it."
Scott could hear the pain in Deaton's voice. He was starting to regret bringing the topic up. Still, he now understood what Stiles was talking about with Event Scars now. He just hoped that his friend's story ended up being better than the last one that could use this rare werewolf ability.
Tracy was strapped to a chair in the Doctors' lab though she wasn't struggling. Her face was loosely shifting back and forth with fangs and claws extending and retracting at her fingertips every other minute or so. She seemed to be getting used to the sensation of the transformation. Off to the side, Theo was standing there, his hands were holding Tracy's records.
"Wow Tracy," he said softly as he shuffled through them. "It looks like you've been suffering from insomnia for a while now. Since your mom left right before you started high school. Then when it all started, right? Depression, night terrors and even panic attacks. But, your dad went and quickly got you into therapy and the best prescribed anti depressant drugs he could, all to help you. What a caring guy. Sure sounds like he loves you." Theo then moved to hover over her. "Just as long as you keep what was happening to you private, right?"
Tracy's eyes widened a bit at that. Theo kept going.
"I mean, your dad was a rising defense lawyer so that made him a strong public figure in town. He was under a lot of pressure especially going up against Mr. Whittemore quite a few times before he left town. Now he's number one in Beacon Hills and he can't risk anything ruining his reputation, especially you. What would people think of him if he has a daughter with mental problems? That's why he always asked you not to tell anybody at school what you were going through outside your guidance counselors and why you couldn't have any body come over and risk seeing all the medication you had. He even weather proofed your room, right? To make sure your screams didn't get heard by the neighbors. Can't risk anyone finding out about his freak of a daughter."
Tracy had her claws out again and she clenched her fingers to dig into the arm of the chair, scratching right into it. Theo then dropped his tone and started to speak a bit more…seductively.
"Maybe that's why your mom left? Maybe she just wasn't worthy enough to be a high class lawyer's wife like he felt he needed and that's why she had to leave your family. Leave you. Because of him."
A loud spark off to the side made Theo look over to two more chairs at the side where two others were strapped to them like Tracy. They had needles and tubes full of DNA and mercury running into them but were both unconscious. The Surgeon was observing the two of them before he nodded over to the Pathologist and the Geneticist. The two of them slowly stomped over and started to remove the instruments from them before picking their slagging bodies up and started to carry them away. No doubt to bury them for the second phase of the transformation process.
The Surgeon followed their movements before turning to look back at Theo. "Her condition shows promise."
A smirk crept onto Theo's face. "I'm counting on that. I just need to borrow her for a bit."
The Surgeon's breathing seemed to quicken a bit. "Do not interfere with her condition," he warned him with his deep, distorted voice.
"I'm not. I'm just treating her mental condition a bit," he defended. The girl had emotional scars. Scars that he could manipulate and use to his advantage. "She could really help with my plan for Scott and his pack." And maybe he could find ways to use their two newest creations too.
"There is only one plan." The Surgeon then moved to walk off after his two colleagues.
Theo glared after him for a moment before turning back to Tracy.
"Now, where was I?"
Stiles was driving Malia home after school in his jeep. Her nose crinkled as a funny smell started to seep into the car.
"Stiles, do you smell something?"
He sighed deeply. "Yeah, it's coming from the engine." The heat was starting to burn through the layers of tape he had in there.
"Well, it smells really bad."
"Yeah…I know."
"Maybe you should take it to someone. Get it looked at," she suggested.
"No, that's okay. I…I can handle it," he mumbled. Roscoe was his baby and he was to be the one to take care of it. And, he would. Besides, he remembered what happened the last time he tried to take it to someone. Stiles wanted to change the subject. "So, I thought we were going to my house to study. Why did you want to come back home first?"
"My dad sent a text to me. Said he had a surprise for me and that I should come home right after school."
"Any idea what it is?"
She shook her head. "No clue."
Soon enough, Stiles was pulling up next to the Tate's house. As soon as he stopped, Stiles' nose crinkled as he detected a frightening scent.
"Blood," he mumbled. Malia smelled it too and she quickly threw herself out of the car. Stiles was a second behind her. "Malia, wait," he called as she rushed to the front door.
But Malia didn't slow down until after she threw herself passed her unlocked front door. She froze when she found a familiar scent drifting though the house, mixed with the blood. Together, it was a scent that she hadn't come across in almost a year. Stiles had called for her again as he made it to the door but she surprised him when she turned around to look at him, with a smile on her face.
"Dad?" she called out.
"In the kitchen," they heard Henry Tate call back.
They headed for the kitchen and found him hard at work cooking. Stiles saw splashes of blood in the sink. From the smell, he guessed that there was a lot, but as he was calmly sifting through it, he realized that it wasn't from Mr. Tate, or anybody. It wasn't human, it was animal blood. After all this time, he knew what human blood smelled like. He followed where the scent was strongest and saw some bloody entrails peeking out from a semi-open garbage bag.
"Wait," Stiles said, narrowing his eyes. "Is that-"
Henry nodded. "Yep," he said before smiling over at his daughter. "It's deer meat."
Malia looked over and saw some fillets of meat on a cutting board. At the sight of it, her stomach actually growled. "How did you get it?" she asked.
"It wandered onto our property late this morning. I was going to chase it off but…I remembered how you said deer was your favorite so I decided to give it a shot, so I brought down."
Malia immediately went over and gave her dad a hard hug. He let out a small laugh before he moved to return it. Stiles watched them with a calm smile coming over him. He knew that Malia was getting better and more adjusted as time went on, but she couldn't discard all the years she spent living as a coyote in the woods. Her dad seemed to know that and was trying to show support for her feelings.
Malia looked at the pot to see some slabs of it already seasoned and simmering. "You know, I never had it cooked before," she mused.
Stiles shrugged. "Yeah, I'm not really surprised. Don't think too many coyotes carry around ovens when they hunt."
Malia let a small chuckle as she turned back to look at his joking face. As she looked into his eyes, Malia felt herself feeling warm inside. Her insides were turning, kind of like back at school with Theo, only they were tugging at her chest rather than her stomach. The feeling made her smile at him.
Henry moved over to the fridge and opened the freezer door to show that there were some bags filled with some more deer meat. "Well, I have some more saved for you if you ever want to have it the way you like. But today, let's try it this way, okay?"
"Okay?" Malia nodded.
"Stiles, would you like to stay for dinner?" the man asked his daughter's boyfriend.
"Uh, yeah I'd love to. Let me just call my dad and let him know."
"You're sure that Oscar doesn't know?" asked Derek.
"Know? I'd say not. Suspect? I'd say he does," said Maggie as she rocked baby Jason in her arms.
Derek started pacing. "But if he is really watching us, he might know you're here, right now."
"Maybe, but what can he do? He knows that I'm close with you and Cora."
"Yeah, which means he can already guess you're trying to warn us about him. I know how Oscar deals with people that get in his way and give him trouble. Maybe you should stay away for a bit. It might be safer that way."
But Maggie shook her head. "If I'm suddenly avoiding you two, especially after we've been spending more time together after Jason, don't you think that would only help tip Oscar off that he's on the right track? Besides, I'm still the apprentice to the emissary of his pack. He won't risk doing anything that would cost him the access he thinks I can give him if I seem loyal."
"Which he might know you fully aren't if that new bitten blabs to him. I can't believe you told him about Jason's father."
"Relax, Charlie won't say anything. He's a good, decent guy and he won't do anything to endanger an innocent child. I'm pretty sure he's someone I can trust."
"Oh, that's comforting," he snorted.
"Derek," she said pointedly.
He stopped pacing and looked straight at her. Then he just sighed and threw himself to sit next to her. "I just don't want anything to happen to you," he said softly. They stared lightly at each other for a few moments before his eyes flew off for the door. "Cora's coming."
Cora took out her keys and opened the door to the apartment to find a pleasant surprise. She found Maggie sitting on the sofa, with Jason in her arms laughing, as Derek sat next to her. From the lingering emotions, it seemed like they had just been in the middle of an intense conversation but it stopped as they both looked up to see Cora making it home.
"Maggie, I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.
"Oh, I decided to come for a visit. And I always like seeing this cutie here," she said gesturing her baby who let out a small giggle at the squeeze.
Cora moved to set her bag to the side and went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
"How was school?" her brother asked.
"Same old, same old," she said before taking a sip of her water.
"Did anything happen today?" asked Maggie.
Memories of Ruben and his invite rang in her head. She turned around to see Derek looking right at her and she shrugged her shoulders. "Not really."
Maggie rose her eye at Cora before getting up from the couch. "Hey Derek, I'm going to put Jason to bed now. Cora, why don't you come with me?" she asked as she started heading upstairs to the nursery.
"Sure," she mumbled as she followed after her.
When they made it to the room, Maggie moved to put Jason in his crib before flipping on his baby radio to play and fill the room with light jingle music, to give them privacy from a certain burly werewolf's super hearing.
"Alright," she said lightly. "What really happened in school today?"
"What? Why do you think something happened?"
Maggie rolled her eyes. "Please, I saw the hesitation when you answered him and the attempt to casually brush it off. I used to do the same thing too. So, out with it."
Cora breathed heavily out of her nose but let an amused grin loose as the reason for bringing her here and playing the music came to light. "A boy talked to me today."
"A boy?"
She nodded. "From one of my classes. Gave me a lame attempt at flirting before he invited me to a party this weekend."
Maggie looked her up and down. "Really? You going to go?"
"I don't know. I mean, I have homework, and Jason." She looked down at him as he moved to start biting into the ear of one of his stuffed toys.
"I can come over and watch Jason and you could always take care of homework before and after the party. Sounds to me, you were hoping to use them as excuses."
"Excuses? For what?"
"For not being a teenager. Cora, the whole reason why Derek moved you here was so that you could settle down and start to live your life with some stability."
"I know," she sighed heavily. "But, I don't if that's what I want. This whole, going to high school and dating, party going thing."
"I can understand that. But, how could you know if that's not what you want, unless you give it a chance?" She then tilted her head a bit. "Unless that's not really it either?"
Cora rolled her eyes. "How do you emissaries always read us so well?"
Maggie smiled. "It's our gift. Is it the boy? The one who asked you oh so lamely?"
"Ruben…as he was talking, I couldn't help but think of-"
"Stiles?" Maggie guessed.
She sighed. "He's the one guy I've ever really connected with and I couldn't help but compare Ruben to him. I can't help but feel annoyed that anyone else I come across, I'm always going to compare them to him."
Maggie dropped her head. "I know what you mean, believe me," she said, her mind going to the guy down the stairs.
"Oh, I do," Cora said, this time reading her just as well.
Noah Stilinski was taking a moment to just sit at his desk, silent in thought. His son had called him a while ago to tell him that he was having dinner at the Tates' house with Malia and her father. He was happy for his son to have a day to just enjoy being with his girlfriend like he should be. In two days, he would be going out on his first date in years. He hadn't been on one since Claudia and he was feeling both excited and a bit anxious. Sure, he'd shown interest in some women over the years but he never really acted on any of it. He would always look down at his hand, toward his wedding band. His date had been married and had a child just like him too, but she didn't keep her wedding ring on.
He told Stiles when he called that he had a date lined up for that Friday night. Noah figured it was time to tell Stiles as he couldn't just keep holding it off and with the topic of dinner with his girlfriend and father, it seemed like a good opportunity. He had been putting it off, as he didn't know if Stiles could handle it. He knew he loved his mother just as much as he did and didn't want for him to feel hurt. Stiles, though, seemed happy. More than happy, he sounded excited. He thought it was good for him to start dating again and had quickly wanted to know who the lucky lady was. Noah would hold onto that for the time being. It was one thing for his son to accept he was dating again. Who he was going to date, that might make things awkward considering who her daughter was.
A knock pulled him out of his thoughts. It was Parrish.
"Hey Parrish," Noah said, straightening up.
"Hey Sheriff," Jordan said back. "You're still here?"
"Oh, I'm heading out in a bit. Run into any trouble out there?"
"No, not really. Most action I got was keeping an underage kid from going into the bar around there. He seemed surprised that I didn't know him off the bat. Said that all deputies in this station should know him."
Noah sighed. "What's his name?"
"I think it was, Virgil?"
"Virgil? Edelman?"
"Yeah, that's right. So, you do know him. He the local troublemaker or something?"
"No, that title proudly belongs to my son. Virgil…I actually think what happened with you today was probably the most trouble he's caused since the kid's been here. I think he lived in a low income area of San Diego before he and his father came to Beacon Hills a little over two years ago. The reason I remember is because there was a bit of an uproar with the parents of the community about him enrolling at Beacon High."
"Why?"
"Well apparently, Virgil had been recently released from juvenile hall after serving around four months. The story was that he had thrown bricks through the back window of a restaurant after it closed. It seemed one of them damaged a gas main and it set off a small explosion. An employee had still been in there and was killed in the blast. Virgil had been charged with arson and second degree manslaughter. He was a minor so he was sentenced to be in juvenile hall until he was 18 and then spend a year in jail."
Jordan thought back to the young man he met earlier today. While Virgil had seemed like he was troubled and had a bit of an attitude, he didn't seem like he was capable of that. Perhaps you didn't know with some people. But, something didn't seem to fit with the story.
"Wait, why would they let him go after four months with charges like that?" he asked the Sheriff.
"The charges were dropped for some reason. After that, his father packed them up and moved them here. Turns out, the man lived here when he was a kid and his mother still did, so they moved in with her. He registered for school but word had gotten out about his history and many parents didn't want their kids to go to school with a killer. I remember that Whittemore sent a petition saying that the only way for him to attend school here was if it was agreed that there would be an officer watching him during school hours. It was done but Virgil never did anything before, during or after school. That's how most of us know him, from having to watch him."
"Wow…wait, how have I never heard of this?"
"Well, it was two years ago, a year before you arrived. And the duty of watching him at school only lasted for little over his first semester when all that stuff with Peter Hale and the Argents started to happen. After that, people's focus went off Virgil and onto all of that. When that stuff started escalating, I pulled watching that kid off our itinerary. Thought it was a waste of time and eventually, he fell into the background. I even started to forget about him, until the accident."
"Accident?" asked Jordan.
"Yeah, a pile-up on the road. Caused when a few drivers witnessed a giant man shaped lizard running onto the street." He shared a look with Parrish as they knew that it was the Kanima. "His father and grandmother had been in it and were killed. I went to tell that kid the news myself. Last I heard, before he graduated, he found a job at one of the auto shops in town."
Jordan just stared. No wonder that kid wanted a drink.
A/N: I hope you like this original chapter. Slowly, things are starting to deviate and stuff from the main 'episodes' will be greatly different as a result. Right now, Malia is fighting between her genuine human feelings of love for Stiles, and emerging animalistic lust for Theo. And I wanted her father to get some more screen time because I realized that the first episode of Season 5 was the last time we ever saw him again with no explanations. I also hope you liked some further insight into the Hale family, especially seeing Derek, Cora and little Jason. And some insight into Virgil's past and how it fits in the background of the Teen Wolf story.
