Chapter 7: Dreamcatchers
A car pulled up in front of the station and, from the passenger seat, Jordan Parrish sighed as he caught sight of it before turning back to Lydia.
"Thanks for the lift," he said calmly to her. "Sorry I had to cut today so short but I completely forgot that a prisoner is getting transferred tonight."
"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm sure we probably would've had another day of nothing."
Like usual, after school, Lydia and Jordan met together at his place to try and work through all the lore and supernatural literature they could to try and unravel the mystery of what he was. And, like what had been usual for the last couple of months, they found nothing.
Jordan could see her distress but he quickly gave her a small smile. "It's alright Lydia. You know, they say that one more day of dead ends really means you're one day closer to finding the way you're looking for."
Lydia rose an eyebrow at him. "By they, do you mean the Chinese because that sounds like something you read off a fortune cookie."
He let out a chuckle. "Okay, you caught me. Still, it is good advice though." That made her drop her gaze and chuckle amusingly to herself too. Jordan let out a deep breath as he sobered himself. "It's okay. We'll know when we know. I just hope it won't be something bad."
"It won't be," she said sternly.
"How do you know?"
Lydia moved her right hand over to be on top of his. "Because you're a good man Jordan Parrish," she told him as if that settled the matter.
Jordan found his hand moving to take hold of hers and they moved to stare square in each other's eyes. Lydia felt a warmth coming from his hand and she wasn't sure if it was from whatever Jordan was or if she was imagining it. They didn't know how long they kept their shared gaze. It could've been a few seconds, or a few minutes, but it all ended when two hard beams of light shined on them. They let go of each other's hands and looked away to see it was from the headlights of a van.
"Oh," Jordan's eyes widened. "It's the transport van. I have to go."
Lydia waved as Jordan hurriedly got out of the car to head into the station. Her eyes followed after him as he went for the front door. She then let out a hard flustered breath and looked up to her mirror to see that her face had gotten a bit reddened.
Deputy Clark was standing in wait in front of the reception desk. She had her arms folded and narrowed her eyes as soon as she caught sight of Jordan coming into the station's front entrance.
"It's about time Parrish," she huffed. "We're about to transport the prisoner."
"I know, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized.
Clark narrowed her eyes at him. "You okay? You seem a bit flustered."
He cleared his throat as he tried to get his mind at what just happened a moment ago. "I'm fine."
"Well, then c'mon. Let's go."
The two deputies headed off for the cells, passing by the Sheriff's office where he was getting himself ready too for a dinner date. Clark already had the cuffs and transport chain jacket prepared Jordan moved to carry them. They met with Mr. Stewart and his escort.
"Let's get him ready," the lawyer told the deputies.
Donovan lifted his head up as his cell door was opened and he saw the small group.
"Stand up straight and keep your hands in front of you," Clark told Donovan.
He sighed but did what he was told. Jordan handed Clark the cuffs and they were thrown on him before he was fitted with the prisoner chain jacket over his chest. Clark then led Donovan out of the cell and Jordan moved to cover his other side as Stewart led them out of there.
In his office, Noah was putting on a necktie over a plaid dress shirt before moving to throw on a light brown dinner jacket. His son Stiles was helping him out and Scott was sitting off to the side, watching. As soon as he was fully dressed, he pulled out a mirror and began fussing on his hair. Scott and Stiles didn't need super senses to tell them that he was nervous.
"Gah," Noah coughed at as he ran his other hand on some out of place strands. "I should've gotten a haircut."
"Well, someone your age should be happy you still have hair to cut," Stiles quipped.
Noah gave him a bit of a sour look but Stiles just smiled enthusiastically back at him.
"I think you look great," Scott chipped in.
"Well, thank you son I should've had," Noah breathed out at him.
Scott smiled and saw as Stiles and his dad suddenly switched expressions as they looked back at each other and Scott fought the urge to laugh. Stiles was annoyed but not as much as he let himself look. His father wasn't so nervous, though it only lasted for a moment as he then went back to fussing, this time over his tie.
"Wow, dad," he said quickly going to try and settle him down. "Dad, it's only one date, okay? The town of Beacon Hills won't implode while you're out with one woman…or man," he playfully threw in.
"It's a woman, Stiles," he told him.
Stiles smiled. "Okay."
Noah smiled too. "A very beautiful woman."
Scott and Stiles shared a look. They've never got many chances to see that look on the Sheriff's face. They couldn't help but both wonder who was responsible for putting it on him.
"What beautiful woman, by the way?" Stiles asked for the both of them. "You still haven't told me who you're taking out."
"Because it's none of your business. Either of yours" he said switching his gaze between either of them. "So keep those super noses of yours out of it."
Scott's eyes widened as Stiles bit down on his bottom lip a bit. But, they were brought out of their conversation when they heard someone shouting from outside the office.
Donovan getting led out through the station by Parrish and Clark, with his lawyer trailing behind them.
"I'm going to be blunt, it's not good, but the DA's offer is still pretty reasonable."
"What's reasonable?" Donovan asked him but was cut off by Clark.
"Talk in the van guys. Let's go."
But Donovan yanked himself out of her grip to look his lawyer square in the face. "No, tell me, what's reasonable?"
Jordan moved over. "Mr. Stewart, are we going to have trouble with your client?" he said sternly as he glared a bit at Donovan.
"No deputy." He then paused as Donovan took a breath and settled a bit. Then he moved to answer him. "They want you for three to five. So, why don't we get to the van and we can discuss a plea bargain that gets you out in two."
Donovan stared at Stewart for a moment as he let it all sink in. Three to five years in prison. Three to five years of his life, gone. A fire began to stir in him and he just let it explode.
"STILINSKI!" he roared.
The door opened and Noah walked out with his son and his friend behind him. His face fell at the sight of Donovan being held by both Parrish and Clark while Stewart was wordlessly trying to get Donovan to be quiet.
But the young man didn't care as he glared at him. "I'm going to kill you!" he spat out.
Noah sighed. "Donovan, if you think that shocks me…remember it was well documented in your Anger Expression Inventory. Deputies, escort the prisoner out."
But Donovan dug his heels in to keep himself from getting taken out as he kept his gaze locked on the man. "I'm not angry like I'm gonna throw a brick through your window. I'm angry, like I'm going to find you, get a knife, and I'm going to stab you with it until you're dead. And, when you look at me and you ask me why, remember right now. Because this is why."
Parrish, Clark and Stewart were all watching Donovan all looking a bit stunned at his declaration. Noah stiffened as they looked at Donovan who was wearing a smug expression on his face.
Scott narrowed his eyes as he picked up the chemo signature Donovan was giving off. Pure hate mixed in with a hard desire for blood. This guy wasn't just ranting. He meant every word he just said. And, no doubt, Stiles could feel what this guy was giving off about his father too and sent a concerned gaze his way.
They were all silent for a moment before it was broken with the sound of slow, hard clapping.
Stiles let out a handful of claps, shaking his head with a smile though it didn't seem to reach his eyes. "Wow. Awesome. That, that was just great," he said mockingly. Everyone turned to look at him as he moved a bit forward to stand at his dad's side. "Beautiful, could you do one more? Give us another one, maybe a bit like Christopher Walkien this time, you know." He smiled widened as Donovan's smug look flattened as he turned to look at him instead of his dad. "No? Oh, don't worry. It's okay. You'll have plenty of time to work on it when you're in your tiny, little cell. You know, like forever," he finished with a shrug and smug look himself.
Donovan just kept staring at Stiles for a moment as his gaze looked over to see that the Sheriff was fighting to smile. That caused him to snap and he tried to throw himself for them but the deputies grabbed and pulled him back before he could get a foot closer. He then started roaring out in rage as the Sheriff flinched while Scott moved to hold the man's shoulder and Stiles quickly glared at Donovan as he jumped ahead to block his father from his view. He couldn't help but clench his right hand tightly as he felt an itchiness around his fingertips as his claws were crying out for him to bring them out but he resisted the impulse.
"Get him out of here!" Noah ordered them.
Donovan persisted in kicking and screaming as Parrish and Clark pulled on his arms and started dragging him out the door. He caught Stiles' eyes as they glared at him and he moved to match as he was pulled out of sight.
"You alright?" Scott gently asked as he let go of the Sheriff and saw he was still giving off a hard stare at the doorway.
"Yeah," he nodded. "When you've been around pissed off werewolf teenagers enough times, things like that don't really get you that much."
Scott turned to look over at Stiles who was still glaring off at the door as they could hear Donovan wasn't stopping in kicking and screaming as he was taken to the van. Scott saw his best friend's right hand shaking a bit at his side as he tightened it into a hard grip and went over to him. It was a good thing that Donovan didn't get closer to the Sheriff or he had a feeling he would be heading for the Beacon Memorial instead of County Jail.
"Hey, what the hell's an Anger Expression Inventory?" Scott asked.
"It's a test you take when you're applying to be a deputy," Stiles answered for him.
Scott's eyes widened. "That guy wanted to be a cop?!" he asked incredulously. The very idea of Donovan being in a police officer's uniform was unbelievable and after everything he'd seen and been through, that was saying something.
Stiles scoffed. "Well, at least now he's getting the full law enforcement experience," he said with petty satisfaction.
"Why don't you boys head on out now?" Noah told them. "And Stiles, I know it's been a rough day today but try to relax and take it easy tonight, okay?"
Stiles let out a small sigh but he nodded and Scott followed him out of the station without a word. They got to the jeep but didn't leave right away though it wasn't by choice. Stiles kept turning the key but the engine just kept refusing to start.
"C'mon," Stiles moaned as he kept trying. This was starting to get aggravating for him to deal with all the time. His eyes went up when he felt that Scott had his eyes on him. "It's anxiety."
"What is?" asked Scott.
"What I'm giving off. We're all acutely aware how often you monitor my chemo signature."
"Well something is bothering you. Even your dad said so. Is it about what just happened with Donovan and your dad?"
"It's not about Donovan," Stiles sternly breathed out.
"Is it about your dad dating again?" Scott guessed next.
"No, it's not. I'm happy for him, really. Okay? You can relax." He then turned the key again but the engine still refused to start. "Damn," he grit his teeth and slammed his hand down on the wheel.
Scott stayed silent for a moment as he watched Stiles move to take a deep breath and just move to grip the wheel with both of his hands as he let his back lean into the seat. "So, what is it about?" he asked after a moment.
Stiles sighed as he looked over at him before shaking his head. "Alright." He then dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "A few hours ago, Braeden sent me this. It's the first solid lead we've had on The Desert Wolf in months."
He handed Scott the phone as soon as he got to the picture. Scott's jaw dropped as he looked at it. There were half a dozen bodies there, mauled and their blood was all over the surrounding walls and floor. And on the floor, there was a word written in their blood. It said FOUND ME.
"The Desert Wolf did this?"
"Yeah," Stiles huffed out. "And I'm the one who's been pulling on this thread."
For years, the Desert Wolf has been silent and hidden. Stiles knew that in order to find anything, he had to put some feelers out. He not only asked Braeden for help, but had asked Derek, Satomi and even Scott's dad if they could use their resources and connections to help look for any sign of her. Now, she suddenly shows up and begins leaving a trail of bodies behind. He knew that couldn't be a coincidence, especially with that blood message attached. Word must've gotten to the Desert Wolf, this Corrine that he was digging around for her. Malia's mother was trying to send him a message.
"Maybe you should stop," Scott suggested, unknowingly saying the message out loud.
But Stiles shook his head. "It's not up to me. I showed my dad when I got it and he said that I should go and tell Malia."
"Are you going to?"
He was still for a moment before he closed his eyes and nodded his head. After all, he learned his lesson when he tried to hide the truth about Peter being her father from Malia. "But tomorrow. Right now, she's having a girl's night with Lydia and Kira. She doesn't need this spoiling it."
He then turned the key again and the jeep finally roared to life.
The transport van was in full speed on the somewhat empty road. Donovan was cuffed and sitting across from a guard while Mr. Stewart was in the passenger seat. He was glaring slightly at the road in front of him.
"Well done," Stewart said before turning to look at Donovan through the metal grate. "Threatening the Sheriff in front of his entire department and his son. I'll be lucky to get you three to five decades, you realize that?"
He let out a huff as Donovan was silently glaring to the distance. He cursed Donovan's timing. If only the guy had been this quiet as they were leaving the station.
Donovan barely registered what Stewart was saying. His mind was on the Sheriff…and his son, Stiles he liked being called. He remembered seeing Stiles a few times in high school before he graduated two years ago. He remembered halfway into his senior year when word spread about the sophomore who had helped Derek Hale expose Kate Argent as the one that committed those murders and caused the Hale Fire. Not only that, but he heard the kid had been caught a few times trying to sneak his way onto crime scenes for years. Donovan remembered his dad telling him that word was going around that the Sheriff's son wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Seeing that mouthy brat standing there, coming out of his dad's office and then smugly run his mouth like he helped his dad run the place made his blood boil. No doubt Stilinski was going to help his son become a cop while he was off, stuck in a cell. His fingernails started to dig a little into his palms. Donovan wanted to kill the Sheriff even more now.
The van started to speed up a little bit and Stewart looked over at the driver. "You mind slowing down? I don't think this kid's in any rush to get to prison." But the driver blinked rapidly and flinched when he raised his arm and hissed in pain. "You alright?" he asked him.
"No," he grunted. He pulled his hand free from the wheel and it was stiff. "My hand…I think I'm having-"
The next second, the van started to dart around, and speed up even more.
"Whoa, alright slow down!" Stewart screamed.
"I can't!" the driver screamed back.
Donovan started darting around in his seat and snapped out of his thoughts. "What the hell is going on?!" he spat out.
"He's having a heart attack!" the guard next to him choked out.
The driver grunted as he tried to regain control and stop the car but his body was going numb. He couldn't lift his foot to hit the brake. "My legs! I can't move my legs!" he desperately cried out. He managed to swerve the car a bit to just avoid hitting a pillar as they went into an underpass. "Grab the wheel!" he cried to Stewart.
Stewart moved to grab the wheel to try and steady the van but they didn't slow down.
"Can't you hit the brake?!" Donovan spat at them. But he stopped when he noticed something dripping down onto the nearby shotgun. He looked up and saw that it was coming from three holes on the roof of the van. It didn't look like water, but some kind of clear ooze. "What's happening?"
Stewart was fighting to keep control but the driver's other hand was still on the wheel and was tugging it into the opposite direction. "I got the wheel, let it go!"
"I can't," the driver cried.
"Get off the road!" the guard in the back cried out to them.
"Hit the brake!" Donovan roared at them just before the van started to rub against some asphalt and create sparks.
They were now in a narrow tunnel and were hitting it side to side. The two in the back kept screaming for them to get off the road and hit the brake. Stewart kicked the driver's foot away as he then managed to slam his own foot on the brake and finally stop the van. The four of them took a moment to catch their breath and slow their heartbeats down but they all suddenly heard something. Above them.
The guard in the back went to grab the shotgun. "There's something on the roof."
Donovan's eyes went up. He could hear it. Something was walking on it and causing the van to shake with every step it took. Soon there was some hissing and snarling.
Stewart was darting his eyes around before he saw something outside the driver's side window. "Tracy?"
Tracy eyed her father for a moment before she let out a growl and threw her claws right through the window and tore the driver's throat out. Her father got sprayed with his blood as Donovan started to freak out and panic. He called for his daughter as the guard behind him aimed the shotgun and started to shoot at her. The next minute, Tracy pounced off into the van.
Shotgun shots and snarls filled the van and Donovan threw himself out of the back door a moment later. He grunted as he landed on the hard pavement but quickly got to his feet and started to run off, not looking back as the sounds started to echo in that tunnel.
After a moment, it all stopped. Stewart started to make his way out of his seat and crawled a bit before he pulled himself to his feet. He looked over at his daughter who was calmly staring at him, covered in blood.
"Tracy?" he breathed out.
"Don't worry daddy. I won't let anything happen to you." She smiled as she used the line that he always used on her right before he always left her alone. Tracy had to admit, Theo had been right. This all was fulfilling…and satisfying. And she knew this next part would be just as so. She revealed her fangs to her dad and pounced.
Donovan managed to get to the edge of the tunnel just before he heard Stewart's last scream and he then lost his balance. He lifted his head as he heard something. He looked up and dimly made out The Surgeon standing a few feet away from him. He was carrying something in his hand and as he started to move for him, Donovan saw it looked like an injection gun. He managed to get up and started to run but he was grabbed by the other two doctors and restrained. The Surgeon then moved and brought the gun to Donovan's head where it drilled into his ear and began pumping the Quicksilver compound into him. Donovan screamed as his eyes went completely silver.
"It's okay if you don't know where he is, it's enough to just put the word out. Hopefully it finds it way back to him and he decides to give a call. I appreciate it, thank you."
Satomi sighed as she hung up the phone. She rubbed at her eyes as she heard someone outside in the hall.
"Satomi?" Wilson's voice called out.
"In here Wilson," she sighed out. A moment later, the door opened but Satomi didn't look up from staring at her phone. "It's a good thing you're here Wilson, I have something I need to share-" She finally looked up at him and saw that he looked frantic. She quickly tensed up. "What is it?"
"Something's happened," he said breathlessly.
Lydia was driving to pick up Kira with Malia sitting next to her in the passenger seat with some low music playing.
"Are you okay?" Malia suddenly asked her as they started to pull into Kira's neighborhood.
"Yeah, why?" Lydia asked, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
"You seem anxious about something." And Malia had been around Stiles long enough to know the scent of anxiety off the bat. "Your car reeks of it. And it's not just from you."
Lydia guessed it was from her earlier time with Jordan, which she didn't really want to get into right now. "Maybe you're just smelling yourself? Being anxious about getting behind the wheel."
"No." Malia looked away and shrank into the back of her seat. "Smells like…Parrish."
"Yeah, I dropped him off at the station before I picked you up." Lydia straightened a bit in her seat and her fingers fidgeted on the wheel. She could still the heat from his hand holding hers. "You say he was anxious too?"
Malia nodded. "Very anxious. I'd say as much as you were."
Lydia stiffened up. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," she nodded before she narrowed her eyes curiously. "Why?"
"No reason," Lydia sighed before she started to pull in to the sidewalk. "We're here." She then took her seatbelt off and honked her horn to signal Kira. "And you're going to drive."
"What?"
"You heard me. C'mon." She then got out of the car.
Malia blew at the front fringes of her hairline stressfully but got her seatbelt off to get out of the car herself. She stepped out in time to see Kira lightly jogging over to them with her usual smile.
"Hey," she breathed out. But she stopped when she saw them out of the car. "What's up? I thought we were going to mall."
"We are. But Malia's going to drive us there."
Kira's face widened a bit. "She is?" Her dad had told her all about his crash course lesson with Malia, emphasis on crash.
"Yes," Lydia told her sternly. "So, c'mon. Let's go."
Malia got into the driver's seat as Lydia went to sit in the passenger seat and Kira got in the back.
"Okay, let's get going" Kira said, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. "Just put your hands on the wheel at 10:00 and 2:00."
Malia moved to do just that. Lydia though shook her hands.
"Actually, the recommended position is now 9:00 and 3:00. Prevents you from breaking your thumbs when the air bag is deployed.
"Mine would heal," Malia said bluntly.
Lydia gave her a look before moving to adjust her hands. "Just move your hands, and start it up. We don't want to be too late."
For the first few minutes, the drive seemed to go quite smoothly. Malia managed to get them out of Kira's neighborhood without much incident. Though when they got to the main roads, that's when things got a little…interesting, to say the least. Lydia was giving her directions but Malia was barely starting to register her voice.
Seeing the dark and lonely road, Malia found her grip on the wheel tightening. She blinked and, for a second, found herself on a different road but it had a similar setting. She blinked again to find that she was making the car zig zag through the street, unable to stay in a single lane.
"Malia," Kira said as she gripped her seat hard to steady herself. "You're heading off the road."
Malia gasped and tightened her grip on the wheel even more when there was a sudden beeping noise. "What's that sound?"
"It's warning you that you're to hit that tree," Lydia told her. "Turn. Get back on the road Malia."
Malia just managed to turn them away from hitting a tree and got them back into the road. But, she had gotten so flustered that she was starting to drive them in circles.
"Malia?" Kira asked after the third circle.
"What? You said turn."
"Maybe you could put more gas into it," Lydia said, gripping the headrest of her seat.
Malia then sped the car up as they turned and got them to be somewhat straight again as they headed back down the road.
"Good, good, there you go," Kira said enthusiastically.
"Please shut up," Malia said stiffly.
"Okay, shutting up," she said quickly. It was clear to her that Malia's nerves were only getting more hyped up.
And they acted again when she started to speed them up.
"Okay, just turn left right here," Lydia said, pointing at the turn right up ahead. "Slowly, slowly," she quickly added when she heard the skid of the tires.
Malia slowed down a bit and they managed to get steady again, somewhat. She looked around. She didn't recognize where they were at all.
"Wait, where exactly are we?" she asked them.
Kira leaned forward and frowned. "Yeah, this doesn't look like the way to the mall."
"It is. The mall is downtown and that's where we're going."
"Lydia, if we were going to the mall then shouldn't we have made a right turn back there?" Kira asked her.
Lydia stiffened. Kira was right. Lydia was leading them the wrong way.
"So, I should turn us around?" asked Malia.
"No," Lydia mumbled. "Keep going."
Malia and Kira gave her a look and saw the expression on Lydia's face. It was one that was all too familiar to them at this point.
About ten minutes later, they began to pull into a tunnel and Lydia told Malia to stop the car. The three of them then started to get out of the car.
"I smell blood," Malia told them as soon as she stepped out. "And gunpowder."
They walked down the road a bit before they came across the prison transport van that Lydia had seen with Parrish earlier. It was wrecked and there were bodies lying around. One of them, still moving though barely.
"Call 911," Lydia said as she stared the carnage.
Brett and Lori Talbot were calmly walking off together into the woods with some crickets going off around them.
"Why do you think Satomi suddenly called for the pack to have an emergency meeting?" Lori suddenly asked.
Her brother gave her a look as they kept walking. "I don't know, and to be honest, I'm kind of scared to know."
Satomi didn't call these things lightly. The last time a meeting like this was called was back during the whole Deadpool crisis. Brett didn't want to think that they were about to face something equally as bad as that again.
After a few more minutes, they made it to the meeting spot where they saw that everyone else was already there. Their pack had once been around over twenty in number but over six months ago had been reduced by roughly half. There were only three others that were Brett and Lori's age while the others were all adults. One of them being the pack's Second Wilson and he called for Satomi at the sight of them.
"Everyone's here now," he told their Alpha.
"Good, then we can get started." She went off to be in the center of them as everyone else all moved to form a circle around her. "I'm sorry that I had to call this meeting so quickly but it seems that there might be a situation."
"What kind of situation?" Brett asked. He knew them both long enough to tell that Satomi and Wilson were both concerned and stressed about something. Whatever this was about, it couldn't be something small.
"Recently, some things have happened in the last few days. I was given word that an unknown rogue werewolf had been found in Beacon Hills, barricaded into the wall of a house. It broke free and attacked friends and members of Scott McCall's pack, including the Alpha himself. They're alright," Satomi quickly said, as she saw alarm come over their faces. "They managed to chase him away."
"If they chased him away then why are you nervous?" asked one of the betas to the side.
"This particular werewolf was not normal. He didn't possess claws, he was armed with talons." She was silent for a moment to let that thought sink in with everyone. She saw her betas start muttering to themselves or look at one another. Brett and Lori shared a shocked look. "The talons were broken off and recovered from this rogue. And that's not all. I was just told about a wolf being spotted at Beacon Hills High School the other night. It attacked Liam and one of his friends."
"Is Liam okay?" Lori quickly asked her.
"He's fine," Satomi assured her. "He managed to chase it away. But wolves are not indigenous to this area and for it to show up right after this strange rogue appeared, I have reason to believe that something might be in the works."
"But you said that this is happening in Beacon Hills, around the high school," said one of the older betas. "Doesn't that make this Scott McCall and his pack's issue? Maybe we shouldn't get involved."
Lori narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, you mean like how Scott and his pack shouldn't have gotten involved when my brother was about to lose his head or when we were all about the be gunned down?" she asked savagely as her brother glared at him beside her.
He quickly held his hands up in defense. "I didn't mean it like that," he quickly said as everyone's eyes went a little sharp. "I know that they're our allies and they helped with those assassins six months ago, but that was their problem too. This doesn't have anything at all to do with us. Maybe we should just leave it to them and not get involved."
"Settle down," Wilson barked at them.
"He's right. Stop that, right now," ordered Satomi. They all quickly went silent and Lori backed off when Satomi went Alpha and looked directly at her. She waited a moment before continuing. "Yes, under normal circumstances, you would be right that it would be wiser to leave it to them. However, I think that has changed given what Wilson found this afternoon."
"What was it?" asked Brett.
"One of our territory markers…Wilson found it had been wrecked."
"Wrecked?" asked one of the older betas that had been silent until now. "What, you mean it fell or something?"
"It was destroyed," Wilson stressed out. "It was the eastern stone Satomi marked and it was completely reduced to a pile of rubble."
There were a few gasps at that and Brett moved to take his sister's hand and squeeze it a bit. It was one thing to ignore the marker, that meant trespassing. But to go and flat out destroy it, that could be taken as an act of war.
"Could that rogue have done that?" asked one of the younger betas.
"No," Wilson told the kid. "There were no traces or scents that I could pick up or track anywhere around. And I could feel something that felt like…electricity around."
"So maybe lightning struck it?" the young beta suggested. "There was a storm just a few days ago."
"Lightning just strike a rock out of nowhere?" one of the older ones said. "Get real."
"I was just asking."
"Enough," Wilson stepped in before the betas could get into an argument. "Look, we don't know exactly what is going on but with so many things happening at once, it would be foolish to believe that they aren't connected. Or to think that they're going to limit themselves to Beacon Hills and the McCall pack. We are practically next door. If whoever or whatever is behind all this gains momentum, what are the chances it'll decide to come after us next. We have to nip it in bud."
"Thank you Wilson," Satomi said, giving him a look. He nodded and took a step back to let her take over. "He's right, whatever is going on, it's not something we can just ignore and think it'll go away on its own. I called you all of you to warn you that you need to stay on your toes as you go about your day to day routines. Keep a sharp eye on everything and everyone around you and report anything strange you see, hear or feel. Understood?" All of her betas nodded. She then looked over at Brett and Lori. "And for you two, I have a little favor to ask."
Lydia, Kira and Malia didn't have to wait long before the police arrived. The first one that did happened to be Jordan and he rushed to them as soon as he got out of his police van.
"You three alright?" he asked the three of them though he was looking at Lydia as he did. Malia and Kira nodded but Lydia still had her gaze on the bodies. "Lydia? Did you-"
He didn't have to finish his question. Lydia knew what he was asking.
She nodded. "Yeah. I felt it."
Jordan then looked over to the headlights of approaching police cars. He told them to stay off to the side and let him take care of it. In ten minutes, the area filled with activity as police, coroner and EMT's covered the place. Jordan had been surprised when he saw the Sheriff arriving, still in the suit he left the station in.
"I came as soon as I heard," he said before he pulled Parrish aside. He chanced a look over at the girls. "Did Lydia-"
"Yes," his deputy nodded. "Something attacked this van. I found claw marks on all three them." Jordan then sighed. "Stewart's dead. And the guards of the transport, it's not looking too good. EMT's think there's a good chance they might be comatose."
"God," the Sheriff sighed. "What about Donovan?"
Jordan shook his head. "No sign of him. Do you think he might've done this? Could he have been a werewolf or something?"
He went to grab at his hips as he looked over at the attacked van. "I don't know. We'll have to wait to find out for sure, though if I know my son, we won't have to wait very long."
Scott and Stiles had been driving off in the jeep when the police scanner in there picked up the call about the transport. They arrived just in time to see the last of the officers still barely alive being led off on a gurney. Parrish caught sight of them and told the officers to let them through. The two of them saw the girls to the side but they saw that Stiles' dad was heading over for them. Stiles frowned at seeing him as that meant he had to skip out on having his date tonight.
"What happened?" Stiles asked him.
"Not sure, but it looks like something attacked them. Now, you boys were there at the station and saw Donovan. Do you think he could've been like you two?"
Scott and Stiles shared a doubtful look.
"Don't think so," said Scott, shaking his head. "He didn't smell like us."
"Yeah, besides if he was a werewolf then he wouldn't have been carried out of the station as easily as he was," Stiles said as he remembered how Donovan got carried out during his meltdown at his dad. If he had a werewolf's strength then he would've easily broken free.
"Well, human or not, there's a chance he might've just killed his lawyer and mortally wounded two officers. We've got an APB on him." He looked a bit uneasy at Stiles before quickly turning to Scott. "Do you think you can find him faster?"
"Yeah," Scott nodded.
Stiles rose his eyebrows. "Not me?"
"Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea for you to go and look for Donovan," his dad said hesitantly.
Scott understood the Sheriff's worry. He was too. Stiles was staring at his dad and Scott put a hand on hiss shoulder. "It's okay, we both don't need to track him. Why don't you stay and see if you can find anything with the van?" he suggested.
Stiles narrowed his eyes as he stared at the wrecked vehicle for a moment before he let out a deep heated breath. "Okay, I'll stick around."
Stiles' father went and handed Scott a radio. "Keep it on channel 2"
Scott took the radio and headed off. He picked up Donovan's scent leaving the tunnel and went in hot pursuit. He found it heading for a fence and he jumped over it and landed firmly on his feet at the other side. His red eyes glowed for a moment before he took off after it.
Back at the van, Stiles was sniffing around but couldn't get too close to the van with the coroner still around. The smell of blood was mixed in with gunpowder as it all drifted through the air of the broken down van.
Up above, Theo was watching from behind a pillar, downwind, so that Stiles didn't pick up his scent. He was surveying the aftermath of Tracy's attack on the transport. Apparently, this Donovan guy was a candidate to be a test subject for the Doctors. The Surgeon wanted for Theo to give them access and he managed to convince Tracy to help him out. She was eager to finally let loose all the aggression she had built up on the people who treated her like a weak and helpless thing and wanted to start on her father. Theo couldn't help but be impressed at the damage she did after only having her powers unlocked for two days. He smirked down at where Stiles had been left behind by Scott but quickly backed around the column a moment later when he noticed Stiles turning around.
Stiles had felt a prickly feeling at the back of his head and turned to look up on the overpass. There was nothing there but he couldn't help but glare slightly regardless. His father started to come over and stand right beside him. He noticed Stiles looking up at a spot of the overpass with a small degree of focus.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Noah asked him.
Stiles let a hard puff out from his nose. "Maybe…probably not." He then looked back down at the van.
Noah could only guess his son might be a little hurt he turned to Scott for his help instead of him. "You know, Stiles…I wasn't trying to upset you or anything back there. It's just that Donovan is pretty angry with me and I know you're still upset about what happened back at the station. Now, with all this, I didn't want things to get more out of hand by having you and him get close so soon after which is why I asked Scott to go after him."
Stiles held his hand out to him. "Dad, it's fine. I get it. You can relax, I'm okay."
He nodded. It was clear that he wanted to move passed this as much as he did. "So, smell anything?" he asked his son.
Stiles' frown flattened a bit and he took a few more sniffs. "The only scents I'm picking up at this van are Stewart's, the two officers and Donovan. Just the four of them."
"So, then Donovan really could've done this?"
But Stiles shook his head as he crutched down in front of the open back doors. "No, I don't think so. His scent, I smell it perfectly. He was terrified. Just as much as the other three were."
Stiles let his hand go down on the pavement and as soon as his fingers made contact, he found everything around him disappear and found himself staring down at Donovan on the ground. He had a look of terror on his face as he struggled to get to his feet as there were sounds of growling coming from inside the van. But he couldn't see inside and everything around them was foggy. Stiles then snapped out of it before he could see or hear more.
"Stiles?" his father said in concern. "You just froze up. Is something wrong?"
Stiles blinked. It might not have been too strong but he knew he just tapped into an event scar. Probably from Donovan's fear mixed with the other three. "They were attacked, all four of them. By someone or something else. I just can't tell who it is."
"Why? Shouldn't they have left a scent for you and Scott to pick up?"
He shook his head. "There are shapeshifters who are able to mask and hide their scent from being picked up. Whoever attacked the van probably wants to make sure we can't track after them."
"You sound like you might already have an idea of who that might be," Noah said knowingly as his son got firmly to his feet.
"Yeah, I think I might."
Up above them, Theo was chancing sticking his head out for another look at them.
Over in the alleys, Scott was still tracking Donovan's scent and it led him to a condemned building. He was looking around when he suddenly heard shouting coming from the side. He saw someone moving for him and he quickly grabbed and threw them to the ground. He looked down to see Donovan, shaking and looking at him in complete terror.
He then pulled out the radio. "Guys," he called in.
Parrish picked up Scott's voice and he called everyone to him. "Scott, is that you?"
"Yeah, I found Donovan" they all heard him say. "He's completely freaked out and he keeps saying some name."
Noah grabbed the radio. "What name?" he asked him.
"Theo," Stiles mumbled.
Malia heard him. And so did Theo from his hiding spot.
"Tracy. He keeps saying Tracy."
"Tracy who?" Noah asked.
"Stewart," Lydia answered. "Tracy Stewart."
Over in the forest, some recently dug ground was rising. A few seconds later, the ground broke as a young woman was digging herself out. She took a deep breath as her head hit the air before she began to cough and spit out some dirt. In the meantime, she was being watched up in the trees by Theo. He knew where the doctors had buried their two most recent experiments and it seemed he had arrived just in time for one's incubation process to be finished. He already had Tracy, and after tonight, he might potentially have another after Donovan's injections kick in, but right now it didn't seem like it would be quite enough.
Once the girl was out of the hole, she started to move and clean the dirt that clung to her. Yet, she flinched as she cut herself. "Ow," she hissed as he brought her hands up and then gasped as she saw there were sharp long nails growing out of her fingertips. They were like some kind of needles. Her eyes began to let off a dim orange glow as she started stumbling a bit with every step she took as she kept her startled gaze on them. "Wait…what is this?" she gasped as she kept backing up until her back hit a tree.
"They're your new claws."
She quickly turned around to find Theo standing up on the branches. She backed away a bit and he smirked down at her. After a moment, he jumped down and landed firmly on his feet, in front of her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm like you," he said with a smirk.
Theo then revealed his glowing yellow eyes and she glared at him.
"Did you do this to me?!" she cried. "What have you done to me?!"
Theo held his hands in a slight calming gesture. "Hey wait, just calm down."
But the girl didn't seem to settle down in the slightest. The glow of her eyes brightened and she charged for him. Theo darted off to the side to dodge the slash she attempted to make on him. Her claws missed him and struck at the tree he had jumped off from and five deep lines were carved into it. She froze as she surveyed what she had done to that tree. Theo's eyes rose in amazement too at how deep those carvings were.
She was now looking at her new claws again. Not with fear, but with awe. She had cut through that tree like it was butter and it felt…good. "I did that?"
Theo straightened himself back up. "You did. What's your name?"
"Courtney," she answered. "You said you're like me. What are you?"
"I'm a werewolf." He then emphasized it by extending his hands to bring out his claws.
Her eyes widened. "You're a werewolf? Like, a real werewolf?"
He shrugged. "Real enough."
She then dropped her gaze from him back to her hands. To her needle like fingernails. "Are you saying that I'm a werewolf too?"
"Not exactly."
"But you said you're like me?"
Theo shrugged again. "Part werewolf, yes. But…with a little something, extra."
He knew the Doctors used werewolf DNA as the base of their projects. Yet, they were mixing components and features from other creatures and animals as part of their research. That first guy, Belasko, he had been infused with both werewolf and crow DNA. He also had been surgically given the talons from a garuda that was killed by hunters over ten years ago. And Tracy no doubt had Kanima DNA and venom mixed within her. For this one, Theo couldn't be sure as he couldn't think of what animal or creature had sharp, needle like claws but it was clear they were quite strong.
Courtney held up her hands to show her claws to him. "Are my hands stuck like this?"
He shook his head. "Just calm down. You can retract them back into yourself. Breathe and clear your mind." He then demonstrated by holding out his claws and letting her watch as his hand shifted back to normal before her eyes.
Courtney followed his example and took a deep breath as she cleared her mind. After a moment, the long nails started to fold in on themselves and pretty soon, her hand was back to normal. She flexed her fingers and touched the fingertips, as if to make sure they were truly gone.
"Whoa," she breathed.
"Impressive," Theo mumbled.
It truly was. While creations of the doctors were quicker to rein in their shifts and power faster than natural supernaturals, Courtney had managed to gain a good handle on it faster than normal. Could it be because she was a mature subject? As Theo was now looking at her up close, he saw that this girl didn't seem very familiar. He couldn't recall seeing her around at the high school but didn't seem too much older so she probably finished school maybe one or two years ago.
After spending about a minute looking at her hands and at what she did to the tree, Courtney looked back at Theo. "What else can I do?"
He let a smile creep up on him. It looks like this might be easier than he thought. While he was slowly making progress with Scott, Malia, and the others, Stiles was still suspicious as he had been ready to accuse him of the attack on the transport by impulse. The guy was tenacious, Theo would give him that. Stiles would be watchful of his every move, word, and be on the lookout for his scent the whole time. He would need help to make the moves that he couldn't make if he was going to end up with the ultimate pack.
It was the morning before school and the whole pack was there. Scott, Stiles, Kira, Malia, Lydia, Liam and now Mason. They were there to talk about Tracy and what their next moves would be.
"Tracy wasn't just having trouble sleeping, it was a real disorder. She was having night terrors," Lydia explained to them.
"Yeah, well now she's the night terror," Stiles mumbled to them as he unconsciously drew spirals with his finger. "Especially since no one could find her."
"And you couldn't pick up her scent anywhere?" asked Kira.
Stiles moved to aggressively rub at his eyes. "No, not a trace. It was like she wasn't even there."
"So, she can hide it?" Liam asked. "How can she do that? I thought that was supposed to be hard to learn. I mean it took you and me over two weeks of practice before we finally got it."
Scott's eyes shot up. "Wait, you two can hide your scent now?
Liam nodded. "Yeah, we picked it up over a week ago. Satomi and Wilson helped us."
He then looked over at Stiles. "You didn't tell me that."
"Huh? Oh yeah, it must've slipped my mind in the wake of all the death starting up in town again," he said glumly.
First Stiles and his event scars and now both him and Liam being able to hide their scents. Made him wonder what else they have been up to together in the last six months while he'd been studying and working at the hospital.
Malia rose her eyes as she looked at Stiles. "Well, if we get through this, then you're going to teach me."
Scott cut in. "Look I know we're all tired and miserable…" He looked at each one of them but froze as he looked upon Mason and found that he was the only one smiling amongst them. "Except for you."
He jumped at the sudden attention. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is all just mind-blowing." He then looked over at Kira. "You're a kitsune. I don't even know what that is."
Kira blushed a bit. "I'm still learning."
Stiles rolled his eyes before he looked over at Liam. "Liam, we said you could tell him. Not invite him to the Inner Circle."
Mason's eyes nearly popped. "I'm in the Inner Circle?" he asked excitedly.
"No," both Stiles and Liam said sharply.
"Guys," Scott said breaking this up. "Back to Tracy." He then looked over at Stiles and Liam. "Do you think Satomi turned her?"
Both Stiles and Liam shook their heads. They knew every single member of Satomi's pack and Tracy was not one of them.
"We've never seen her with the others. And Satomi would've said something, right?" Liam asked Stiles.
He nodded. "Yeah, if she were going to turn someone she knew went to school with us then she would've given us a heads up."
"Then who turned her?" Kira asked. "Could there be another Alpha hiding somewhere?"
Scott shook his head. "I don't know. But the best way to find out is to find Tracy. And we can. There's six of us and she's just one lone wolf."
"One lone serial-killing wolf," Malia said.
"Uh, she only killed one person," Stiles pointed out. "The other two were mauled." He then looked up to see Scott giving him a short look. "Well, when do find her, what happens after that?"
"I say we put her down," Malia threw in.
Everyone went silent at that. Scott's jaw tightened a bit as he didn't want to consider that option. Stiles looked to be considering Malia's suggestion, Scott wasn't too surprised there. But it also seemed that Liam, Lydia and even Kira were giving it some thought, even if they seemed a bit uncomfortable at the idea.
Mason's eyes widened at the air that came over the group. "Intense," he said, breaking through the silence.
Scott shook his head. "Guys, let's just focus on catching her first. We'll figure out the rest after that. Okay?"
They all sighed but nodded just the same. They all then started to head off into the school and Mason took off with Liam.
"So, this is what you and those guys do all the time?" he asked his werewolf friend.
Liam shrugged. "More or less."
"Sick," Mason muttered breathlessly.
Noah was at his desk, letting his head rest in between the palms of his hands. A long opened envelope was in his hands and he was staring at it as his mind went a mile a minute. He had just gotten off the phone with his old partner just a few moments ago. He thought it would be best for him to give the latest news about his son.
"I guess we all can't have a son as smart and heroic as yours, can we, Sheriff!"
Those had been the last words Donati had sarcastically screamed at him before the man had hung up on him after he finished telling him about what had happened with his son the previous night. Things between him and his former partner Donati hadn't really been too good since the night he'd been hurt on duty. Noah always felt a little guilty for what happened. Donati hadn't really talked to him much since then and the times they had were tense when Donovan had started acting out. But, now with all these new events with his son Donovan, they seemed only to have gotten worse.
"Sheriff?" Noah looked up and saw Parrish standing there. "He's awake."
Noah sighed and placed the envelope into one of his drawers before getting up. It was time to see what Donovan knew from last night.
Donovan was sitting up against the wall of the holding cell back at the station. He was staring at his hands as he was rocking slightly and not saying a word. He barely reacted when Noah and Parrish opened his cell and he moved to stand a few feet in front of him.
"I want my lawyer," he said, not tearing his eyes away from his hands.
"Your lawyer's dead," Noah reminded him.
Donovan rolled his eyes. "I want another lawyer."
"I know you saw something," he said gently to the kid. "Tracy killed her father and mortally wounded two officers. One girl against three grown men. No matter how unbelievable you think it's going to sound, I promise you can tell me."
Donovan snorted. "I like that tone of voice Sheriff. It's nice. Makes you seem like someone who wants to help." He was starting to get pissed off again, like he usually did when the Sheriff was in his airspace for too long. But he stopped with his tirade when he felt pressure in his inner right ear and started to hear a deafening ringing sound. He moved to grab his ear as both the Sheriff and his deputy looked at him curiously. But, it went away after a moment and Donovan looked up to glare at them. "I want a new lawyer."
Noah sighed and he nodded before he started to back away from the cell. It was clear that if Donovan did see something during Tracy's attack, he wasn't going to tell him.
"I found out why we couldn't find Tracy last night," Parrish told him as soon as he got out of there. "She was in the hospital?"
"Doing what?"
"Killing her psychiatrist," he answered.
Noah let a deep and tired sigh loose. "Alright, I'm going to head on over there. You let Scott, Stiles and Lydia know but tell them that I don't want them to getting into this just yet."
Jordan had a feeling that they would be doing just that if they weren't already. "You sure we shouldn't be putting them on the payroll?" he suggested half-heartedly.
"I'm starting to wonder."
Noah then took off and Jordan left the holding area behind him. Donovan glared as they left. He didn't hear too clearly what they were saying but he heard the Sheriff mention his son's name. He tightened his hand into a fist just as the ringing started up again, but this time, it didn't hurt.
Before they could separate for their respective classes, Stiles pulled Malia aside and showed her the picture that Braeden had sent him. She quietly stared at it for a while, without moving a muscle.
"I wanted to show this to you as soon as I got it, but my lack of self-control," he said, trailing off pathetically.
But Malia didn't move her eyes from the photo. "My mother did this?"
"Yeah. Braeden did tell me that these guys were bad. Very bad." She had told him that they were hitmen for hire. Some of the shadiest in the business.
"So, they deserved it?"
Stiles took a moment to think. "Well…yeah, I guess. Not sure if anyone deserves that, per say though."
She nodded. "Yeah, well I guess we know two more things."
"What?"
Malia finally tore her eyes from the phone to look at him. "One…she's good at her job."
Stiles couldn't help but nod. "What's the other?"
Malia moved to zoom in on the message written in blood. "She knows you are too."
Liam and Mason headed into history class just as the bell began to ring. Liam took a moment to stop and look upon Hayden, who was giving him a blank stare. It looked like the seat next to her was taken though. This meant that he might be able to find a seat a good distance away and be relaxed during history class for once. But Mason grabbed him before he could finish making his way to the nearest empty seat.
"What?" he asked him.
Mason pointed to the seat that was next to Hayden. Liam took a closer look and his eyes widened when he realized just who was the one sitting in it. It was Tracy. Liam took Mason and pulled him back out of the classroom.
"What do we do?" Mason asked him.
"I got to find Scott. He has to know."
"What about me? What do I do?"
"Uh, find a way to get everyone out of there." Liam then took off to head for Scott's AP Biology class.
"But, how am I supposed to do that?" Mason hissed after him but Liam was already gone.
Mason started pacing as he didn't know how he was supposed to clear a room of kids away from a werewolf that went and killed her own father last night. His eyes then fell on a fire alarm on the wall.
In the Biology classroom, Scott, Kira, Lydia and Theo were getting back their exam results back from their teacher Ms. Ramsey.
"Scott, good to see where your priorities are," she said to him as she handed back the test.
Scott looked down and saw that he had gotten an 86. He couldn't help the relieved smile that came on his face.
Ramsey noticed it as well and looked right at him as she got back to her desk. "Since you have a good grasp of the subject, how about you lead us in a review of last night's reading?"
Scott's face fell a bit as his teacher gave him a pointed smile. "Uh…sure," he said, quickly opening his textbook.
He hadn't done last night's reading as he had gotten distracted by that business with Donovan and Tracy. He wasn't even sure what page it was and was frantically looking for it. As he was flipping through the pages, he caught sight of Liam through the door. He was frantically waving at him.
"Scott?" Ms. Ramsey asked, pulling his gaze away from Liam to see that she was getting impatient.
"Sorry," he jumped. "Just looking for the page."
He went back to flipping through the book but Liam was still at the door, trying to wave him over. Now, Scott wasn't the only one looking at Liam but Kira and Theo noticed him too.
"Scott?" Ms. Ramsey, said again, more sternly.
"Yeah, one sec. Sorry." Scott then quickly pointed at his ear to let Liam know he was listening.
Liam ducked around the corner and began to speak. "Scott, she's here. She's in history class right now. Tracy."
Theo listened in as well. He smiled to himself. Tracy was sticking to the plan.
They were all snapped out of it when the fire drill began to ring.
Back in the history classroom, Mr. Yukimura had begun writing his notes on the board, oblivious to who was in the back of his class. Tracy was breathing hard as she started hearing distant echoes of people screaming. The sounds of them making her claws start to come out from under the desk, eager to tear into more people.
Her heavy breathing drew Hayden's attention. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked her. But as she got a good look at the girl, she frowned. "Are you even supposed to be in this class?" She then noticed that the girl wasn't even wearing shoes.
The fire drill then sounded and everyone started to get up.
"No rushing please," Mr. Yukimura told them. "I'm sure it's just a drill."
Hayden got up herself but saw that Tracy wasn't moving, still grasping onto her desk tightly as she stared off into space. "Hey, we need to go," she told her. "You alright?"
She finally started to look up and noticed that Scott McCall had walked in and was standing with Liam Dunbar, Mason Hewitt, and Mr. Yukimura. They were looking at her in concern but weren't moving as there were still one or two people still leaving the room. It was just like Theo told her. They were concerned for her and she now had to reel them in. Tracy looked over at Hayden and went to grip her arm, sinking her claws in a bit, making her gasp in pain.
"Tracy," Scott said, slowly going for her. "Tracy, let her go."
She let a hard hiss out but she blinked as everyone around her disappeared. Suddenly, she was seeing those people in masks that took her from her home. She was growing hotter and started to feel dizzy. She blinked rapidly but it only started getting more intense.
"They're coming," she gasped, before she just passed out.
Scott looked down at her to see that her mouth was bleeding out, not blood, but some kind of silvery goo.
A/N: The chimera Courtney isn't really an original character. It happens to be the chimera that Melissa McCall found dead in her home with Kira's sword stuck in it. That happened to be the only appearance of this chimera so she's a character that I'm completely free to play with and one that Theo will make use of in this new turn of events.
