Chapter 37: Banished

Theo was leaning quite casually against the wall of his new lair while Tracy, Josh, Corey and Hayden were all tensely giving the place a look around. They were underground, in a room within the irrigation tunnels. The floor was a little damp from drips leaking from the overhead pipes and had dim lighting. Theo had just announced that this was were they were staying.

"You can't be serious," Josh said after he stepped in a small puddle off to the side. "You want us to stay here?"

"No, but we don't exactly have a lot of options. Sheriff Stilinski went and locked down my old place and is looking for my "parents"," he said gruffly.

After he had finished his meeting with Malia, he had tried to go back to his house but there was a pair of deputy squad cars waiting right in front of it. From what Hayden just told him, Stilinski was being released from the hospital tonight and her sister was meeting him there, which was why she could come here right now without her sister finding out. With his cover blown he had already seen to having those two loose ends...dealt with before he dumped the Sheriff off that night.

His place probably wasn't safe regardless, with Satomi and her betas hunting him and would no doubt be watching his place. Their ambush at the high school was completely unexpected. He didn't have to wonder why it happened and could only guess that someone must've told Satomi and her pack of his part in Wilson Grant's death. No doubt that Stiles was the one that told them.

He continued. "And Tracy is still wanted for murder. You...well, you kind of lost your place when you were declared dead. Here, at least we'll be safe from Scott, Stiles or those other wolves from the school finding us."

"Yeah, what happened back there?" Corey jumped in. "You never said anything about another pack out there."

"Because you didn't need to know. Honestly, I didn't think that they would get involved in any of this."

"Why were they there?" asked Tracy. "Why are they after us?"

"They're not after us." That wasn't Theo answering her, but Hayden. "They were after him." Theo narrowed his eyes at her. "I overheard them talking to Liam and Mason after you all got away. They want him and because we helped him get away, they want all of us now too."

"Did you hear them say why?" Corey asked.

Hayden cast a look over at Theo, who was eyeing her quite intensely and she found herself shaking her head. "Oh, no. They didn't say anything about that but they made it clear that anyone who gets in between them and Theo, well-"

She didn't need to finish. They all got the picture perfectly.

"Oh, that's just great." Josh was starting to freak. "That's just what we need, over a dozen werewolves now out for our heads because we stuck our neck out for you." He had already pissed off two werewolves that had taken him down. Now, there was a whole pack of them after him. Especially after they had all died once and come back from the dead. He was not eager to go back.

"Watch yourself Josh," Theo said, stepping over to him. "Or I'll give you a real problem." That made Josh bow his head and back down a bit. Satisfied, Theo turned his attention to Hayden. "Are we going to have a problem?"

Hayden was silent staring back at him for a moment before she shook her head. "No."

He nodded appreciatively. "Good. Tracy? Corey?" Theo turned his focus over to them. Both of them shook their head. "Alright then. Now Corey, did you learn anything from Mason?"

Corey didn't say anything immediately. He was nervous about doing something that would pull Mason in any further but Theo said his name again, sharper and harder than before to show his impatience.

"Uh, they don't know anything," he mumbled. "They didn't even know that what the Dread Doctors brought back was Gevaudan until I told him the name."

Theo let himself smile for the first time since they'd come down here. "Good. Anything else?"

Corey then thought of what Mason told him of the research he said he did for Stiles on Gevaudan weeks ago. He knew that Theo would want that research and if he can't get it from Stiles, then he would get it from Mason. And Mason was involved enough as it was. Not trusting himself to talk, he just shook his head.

Theo seemed to accept that though. "Fine," he muttered. "In the meantime, we focus on gathering more information on Gevaudan ourselves."

"How are we going to do that?" Tracy asked him.

"We just need to find the right source. Luckily I know one that would have the answers we need."

"Who?" asked Hayden.

"A powerful werewolf that came to Beacon Hills once before trying to get power just like this. He's an alpha."

"Are you kidding?!" Corey all but cried out in fear of dealing with more. "There's already two alphas after us, you want us to go after another one?!"

"Relax," Theo pointedly snapped at him. "He's blind. And he's without a pack."

"And how do we find this blind, packless alpha?" Josh asked, folding his arms at him.

"I already have that covered, don't worry. And I already know how to bring him down. It helps that Scott and his friends did it once already, and they couldn't do what we can." He then looked up as an overhead light began to flicker a bit before it stopped. "For now, we go about as usual." He looked to Hayden and Corey. "You two better head on back before you're missed."

Being dismissed, Hayden and Corey wasted no time getting out of there. Theo giving them both a lasting look as they left. The two of them didn't speak until they were back outside to where Hayden and Corey's cars were parked in wait.

"You lied back there," Corey suddenly said. "About not knowing why that other pack are after Theo. You know exactly why they're after him, and now us."

Hayden stopped and turned to see the tense look on Corey's face. "And you lied about Mason. He does know more but you didn't want Theo to know that."

Hayden and Corey just stared at each other for a moment before they moved to break eye contact. They didn't say another word to each other after that, reaching an unspoken impasse. Corey was the first to walk off and hop into his car before he went and rode off. Hayden watched him go off for a moment before she went and threw herself into her van. She didn't start the engine right off though. She reached over for her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she hit Liam's name.


Night had just fallen by the time that they had made it back to Beacon Hills and pulled up to Scott's house. Scott saw that Kira's father was already there, waiting for them outside his car. Noshiko had called her husband and informed him of what had happened and arranged for him to meet them back here. As soon as the car stopped, Kira threw herself out the door and ran over to give him a hug while he tightly squeezed back, relieved that his daughter was safe. Scott looked on contently as her mother moved to join them.

"Let's go home," she told them.

"Actually mom," Kira said a little hesitantly. "I was wondering if I could stay here for a bit?"

Both her parents looked over at Scott before they looked at each other. They caught each other's eye before her father deflated.

"Of course," he told her.

"Don't stay out too late though," her mother added.

Kira gave her parents a grateful smile before she went off and took Scott's hand as he led them into his house. His mom wasn't home, she was no doubt working her shift at the hospital, so it was just them. They moved to just sit on his couch in the living room, just holding each other. Soon, they began talking and Scott moved to begin catching Kira in on everything that had happened after she had left Beacon Hills. The truth about Theo, Lydia's injury, Liam's attempt to kill him, the resurrected chimeras and wrapped it up with him throwing Stiles out of the pack.

After explaining their fight, Kira's eyes widened. "So, that's what happened," she muttered more to herself than to him.

"What happened?"

"Uh, that night, before the Supermoon, I was just sitting out by myself, thinking about everything, and...all of a sudden, I felt this pain. It lasted for about a moment but it just hit me-

"In the heart," they both said at the same time.

Kira nodded. "How did you know?"

Scott sighed. "Because Malia, Lydia and Liam felt the same thing. Theo also said he felt it but he was probably lying about that too. But they all said they felt it at that time too."

"Everyone in the pack," Kira realized. "Did you feel it?" Scott shook his head. "Why? What does it mean?"

"I don't know," he trailed off.

Scott began to stare off a bit as Kira moved to lightly pet him at the fringe of his hair. Kira could see he was feeling bad about the whole thing. She was too. From the moment she first came here and met them, she could see that you couldn't get one without the other. It was breaking her heart to see Scott look so lost without having his best friend at his side. Kira could just imagine the same kind of look on Stiles right now.

After a few minutes, the strain of the last day started to catch up with him and Scott started to drift off to sleep. He didn't know how long he was out when he was brought out of it when Kira shook him awake.

"Wha-" he started before he noticed that she wasn't alone. "Liam, Mason," he said, looking between the two younger boys.

Both Liam and Mason had urgent and worried looks on their faces. Any tension between the alpha and his beta was being overridden.

"We know what Theo is up to," Mason told him.

Scott went and straightened himself up to a solid sitting position. "What? How?"

"Hayden," answered Liam. "She told me that he's been looking for someone since after the Supermoon. Another alpha. One who's blind."

Scott's jaw tightened. He only knew one blind alpha. "Deucalion."

"And Hayden just told you all this?" Kira asked them. "I thought she was supposed to be with him along with the other chimeras."

"She's not," Liam quickly spoke out. But then Mason gave him a look and he deflated a bit. "Alright, she is but it's not her fault."

"Or Corey's," Mason said, going to his crush's defense. "It's all just complicated. I'm sure the attack at school didn't help," he muttered.

"Wait, what?" Scott sharply asked. All his earlier fatigue vanished immediately as he went and moved to sit straight up. "What happened at school?"

Liam and Mason shared another uncomfortable look as Scott stood up and stared them down. Liam let out a heated sigh before he decided to just decided to get it over with. Soon enough, Scott threw on his jacket and yanked his helmet off his hook before he stomped out of his front door. Kira, Liam and Mason were staring off after him.

"Took that better than I thought," Mason mumbled.

Liam and Kira moved to throw exasperated looks his way.


"It's done. I've already been processed and I can head on home as soon as I finish here and sign some final forms."

"You're sure that you're not feeling any aches and pains? No sudden spots of burning or itchiness, because that could mean internal bleeding."

Sheriff Noah Stilinski was sitting at the side of the bed, changing out of the hospital gown and into his regular clothes as Stiles stood over him, scanning his father adamantly to pick out the tiniest indication that he was other than okay.

He looked up from tying his left shoe to give his son a small but tired smile. "Stiles, I've already gone through this checklist. Twice. I do feel stiff in a few places and have some mild aches here and there but I'm fine."

"Fine? Dad, you were practically mauled and poisoned by a chimera. Over a week ago you were hooked to a respirator and couldn't stop bleeding. Now, you're moving around with no problems, that doesn't seem a little too fishy to you?"

Noah rose an eyebrow at him. "Says the guy that was attacked with his best friend by a killer werewolf and was out and about the next morning with not a mark on him."

Stiles blinked. "Uh, actually it was by the next late afternoon." He then blinked and shook himself out of it. "I'm happy that you're feeling better dad. I am. I just don't...we can't have false hope. Okay, not again," he trailed off a bit at the end there.

Noah's jaw tightened a little. False hope. That was what Stiles had back in this same hospital when Claudia had been here. It was back in the height of her condition, when her dementia kept getting a little worse every growing day. Until, one day, Claudia seemed fine. A whole day where there was no loss of memory, mood swing, or any sign of frantic behavior. He, and especially Stiles, were overjoyed. His young son had believed that it was a sign that things were going to get better. The very next day, Claudia condition not only returned back to its bad state but got worse. So much that there was rarely a moment she was her old self. Noah guessed that Stiles didn't want to have to go through a repeat of that here with him. He went to go and pull his son in for a soft hug. Stiles didn't move his arms but he seemed to lean himself into him, taking in his warmth and his scent.

He went and laid a gentle, calming hand on his shoulder. "Stiles, I am okay, really," he said, catching him straight in the eye. "If it helps, listen to my heart. You are not going to lose me," he said, in a steady voice.

Stiles let his eyes go out of focus, hearing that his father's heart beat was stone cold steady. It was beating firm and strong, with no ticks or anything that would signify a problem. To further prove it, Noah moved his hand down to his shirt and lifted it out of his pants to reveal his wound. Stiles saw that it seemed like a wound he might've suffered weeks ago instead of days. The stitches were barely visible and there was barely any scent of blood. Overall it seemed better than Stiles had let himself imagine.

But, Stiles couldn't resist the urge to move his hand and let his shaky fingers graze over it. As soon as he made contact, his dad stiffened a bit and Stiles grit his teeth at his reaction. The veins in his fingers started to run black and Stiles quickly felt some bile churn up in his gut but he pushed it down. It only went on for a moment before his dad took hold of his hand and pushed it aside as Stiles started to barely feel an itch come around his own side.

"Dad," he muttered.

"Stiles, no. I said I'm okay. You don't have to."

Stiles let out a sigh before he backed away with a nod. "I'm going to go and get some air."

He then moved to leave the room and let his father finish dressing up. Noah just watched as his son's back vanished off around the door closing behind him and his gaze kept going off moments after it finally did.

But the door soon reopened and Parrish stepped in and gave him a smile which Noah returned.

"Glad to see you up and about again Sheriff," Parrish said.

"Glad to be up," Noah told him, buttoning up his shirt. "Thanks for finding and bringing my son tonight."

He nodded. "I was happy to do it. I knew he wouldn't want to miss you getting out of here."

"Thank you Parrish. It means a lot to me. To us."

"I'm happy to help."

"I know you are." He then sighed. "Parrish, I know it must look I don't trust you enough or that I don't think you can handle much these days.

Parrish sighed as he remembered accusing Stilinski of not trusting him. "Sheriff-"

But the Sheriff cut him off. "No, you need to know, Parrish...Jordan, I find myself trusting very few people these days. But you're definitely one of those people. In fact, I think I trust you the most, just underneath my own son." He couldn't read the emotion that fell on the young deputy's face. He didn't seem to know how to feel at that. "When this all started for my son and his friends, I couldn't be there for any of them because I didn't know what was happening. Then, you found out that were something supernatural but didn't know what it was. But this time, I was there for the start of it. When I gave you those seemingly pointless jobs, I was only trying to keep you out of any trouble. Anything that might I guess trigger what you were."

Parrish's eyes fell down a bit. "You were trying to protect me."

"I guess...some part of me, wanted to make up for not being there for Stiles by being there for you."

"Sheriff, I...thank you. But, I think what's happened is proof that I can't just hide from this. Not more than Lydia, Stiles, Scott or any of their friends were able to. And you know what, I don't want to."

Noah let himself close his eyes and sigh. "You're a good man Parrish. I never doubted that for a moment, and neither should you. Especially now when this town is going to need us."

Parrish suddenly tensed up. "That might be sooner than you think."

That made Noah tense. "What do you mean?"

"There have been a sudden rush in disappearances. They seem to have started over a week ago. Right around the time of the Supermoon. Since then we've got over two dozen reported missing but I can't help but feel its actually more than that. And its starting to escalate. About five were reported just the other night."

"Any patterns?"

"No, they seem random."

"One thing I've learned about this town in the last year, nothing is random. It's got to be those Dread Doctors. Or whatever it is they were making, this Last Chimera my son told me about. I know he's been trying to track it down but hasn't had much luck looking by himself." Noah's face hardened a bit as everything that's happened came rushing back to him. And what set it off. Well, namely who. "How did it go at the Raekens? Any sign of Theo or his parents?" he said, slurring on that last word.

Parrish shook his head. "None. When the federal warrant came in, we went straight to the house to bring them in but didn't find any trace of the parents. And we waited well over ten pm but Theo never came back home even though it was confirmed he went to school that day. He must've seen that we were waiting at his house and stayed away."

Noah sighed. He was disappointed but not truly surprised. "His cover is blown so Theo would've cut his loses by now."

"What do you think he did to them?"

"The parents? I don't know. I have some ideas but nothing that can be proven." He then sighed. "Okay. Make sure a car is at the school every morning. And notify the principal. Tell him that the Raekens have gone missing and to tell the school that if anyone sees him then they are to call the station immediately."

"You really think he's would try to show back up like nothing's wrong?"'

Noah shook his head. "I doubt it but at least this helps to hinder him a bit. Any inconvenience could only be a help."

With Theo now being sought after like this, he wouldn't be able to move about as freely as he had been up to this point. Being restricted to being out of public sight would give Scott, Stiles and all their friends a better chance of stopping whatever he was trying to do. It might not be much but it was the best that they could do right now.

Parrish seemed to agree as he nodded. "Yeah. By the way, that warrant...how did you get it?"

Noah let his lips curve a bit. "A surprising helping hand that I, and I'm sure my son, never ever thought we'd be happy to get."


The waiting area had just a half dozen people around and Stiles went to sit himself down over at the quietest and emptiest part of it. He listened in as Parrish went and updated his dad of the situation in town. New disappearances, a cluster reported during the night he happened to have had his "blackout" and woke up in the alley outside Virgil's building. Try as he might, he can't remember what happened. Was he responsible? He couldn't help but think back to that sudden burst of rage and loss of control back with Zach in the woods. Did he shapeshift and do something to those people? Or was it the work of the Dread Doctors' 'success'? Or...was it both of them?

His hands were folded in front of him as he stared from them down to his feet. He wasn't sure what he should be thinking right now. This day seemed to be a rollercoaster of emotions. From his time with Virgil and Zach to everything going on with his dad.

His nose then gave a twitch as he picked up a familiar scent. Stiles looked over towards the opposite hall and saw that it was Melissa. She seemed to have spotted him too and headed over for him.

"Oh great," he muttered to himself as he moved to pick himself up.

"In a hurry to take off again?" she called out before he could start walking away.

That stopped him cold. "What?"

Melissa made it over to him and gave him a look. "Stiles, don't treat me like I'm an idiot. I know you've been trying to avoid Scott so you take off every time I seem to show up so you'll be gone before I could tell him. Or why you haven't been going home in case Scott tries to look for you there."

Stiles winced as she called him out. "Yeah, sorry. It's just...can you just not say anything right now," he quietly pleaded. "I need to be with my dad tonight."

She just gave him a sad look. "Well Stiles, you don't have to worry. It wouldn't matter if I called and told Scott right now, he isn't here."

That made him narrow his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"He left Beacon Hills sometime last night."

"What, why?"

"Kira," she simply answered. "He left to go bring her back."

"He found Kira? And he went to go get her? Alone?"

"Well, the only one he probably would've let himself take along wouldn't answer his phone," she said a bit scolding. That made him wince again. "They should be back here maybe tomorrow, if everything goes right."

"How is she? Is everything alright?"

"I don't know. You could always try calling and find out." She had half a mind to leave him standing there on that note but she let herself calm down and her features softened. "I'm sorry Stiles. And you know, he's sorry too."

He nodded. "Yeah I know. But...I just can't."

"Okay but, word of advice. Hiding and trying to avoid each other is not going to make it any better. And right now, I think that's the last thing we all need."

"Yeah," he muttered off. But then Stiles looked off towards the direction of his father's room. "Um, hey is everything really okay with my dad?"

"Oh, yeah," she nodded. "I checked over his results myself. Wanted to make sure probably almost as much as you do," she added with a lighter note, making Stiles' lips curve a bit before they fell again. "Your dad's recovery, it's been, well for lack of a better term, remarkable."

Stiles narrowed his eyes at Melissa's tone. "Why do you sound concerned about that?"

"Because it's not normal. Well, not 'normal' normal but it's seems more like your kind of normal," she said pointedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Your father went through X-ray and it seems his wounds had healed themselves in a way we wouldn't normally see until maybe after two months or so. The other doctors don't know what to make of it and believe that maybe the damage hadn't been as severe as they first thought but me and your father are sure it was."

"So, what happened?"

"It looks like he was healed. And, I think you might have had something to do with it."

"Me? Why do you think that?"

"Because every time you were around to visit your father, he seemed to have gotten a little bit better."

Stiles thought back to his early visits. Seeing his father broken, or in pain, he fought through his impulse to gag and forced himself to try and help his dad any way he could.

"Uh, are you saying that you think I was healing my dad? But, I can't. I mean, we can't. Werewolves take pain away, we don't really heal."

"Well, if what I hear from Scott is anything to go by, maybe that rule doesn't apply to someone like you anymore."

And the emotional rollercoaster went on.


Scott brought his bike to a stop and ripped his helmet off as he gazed up at the giant house up at the hill. The first time that Scott had seen this place was about a week after he and his friends had come back from Mexico. At first glance, Scott was immediately reminded of the old Hale House. While he never actually got the chance to see it before the fire Scott had seen some old archive photos that Stiles had dug up back when all this started for them. Stiles had thought it would be good for their packs to know each other better since they all lived in the same county. Scott had thought it was a good idea so he, Stiles and Liam had come by where he and Satomi went and moved to make a formal alliance between their packs. Though as Scott walked up to the steps leading to the house's front door, the emotions he was picking up were far for formal.

Two of Satomi's betas were standing out by the front door and when they spotted him, they moved to block his path to the door. Both of them had hard, pissed looks on their faces. One of them, Scott recognized.

"Trey," he said, simply.

"McCall," Trey answered back, gruffly. "What brings you here?"

"Satomi," he answered. "Is she here?"

"She is."

"Well, I need to talk to her."

Scott moved to keep going but instead of them moving aside, Trey and his friend held their ground and blocked the way.

Trey's jaw had tightened as Scott looked back up at him. "Hate to break it to you but she's already busy with another visitor."

"Who?" Scott then took another step forward. "It's not Stiles, is it?" He then looked over towards the driveway, scanning for any sign of his friend's jeep before he quickly remembered that it had been hauled away. "Is he here?"

"Whether he's here or not, it's not any of your damn business."

'To hell it wasn't', Scott thought as he glared at them. He then tried to move around to keep heading up the stairs to the front door but Trey moved to block him. "Well, I still need to talk to her so let me through," he huffed. Trey didn't budge so Scott moved to try and go around him.

But his fellow beta moved up and blocked him.

"You think you can just come on down here, start barking at us and expect us to just jump?" his friend said after him. "Screw you McCall."

"Guys," Scott impatiently hissed. "I'm not in the mood for this."

"Oh?" Trey said, before giving Scott a quick, hard shove.

Scott lost his footing and he tumbled down a few steps until he got to one of the large, flat steps. He was dazed for a bit but could sense Trey and the other beta take a few steps down before stopping just a few from him.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Scott groaned heatedly out at Trey.

"You're our problem McCall," the beta savagely said, taking another step down.

Scott picked himself up and he moved to flash his red eyes at them. "Look, you guys do not want to piss me off right now."

"Yeah, and what if we do?" Trey threatened as he flashed his gold yellow eyes at him. His fellow beta followed his lead and brought out his blue eyes.

"Trey!" The three of them looked up to see Brett up at the top of the stairway. "Satomi says let him in and you and Royce to go back to your post."

Scott moved to walk passed the two of them and went to give Brett a grateful look but it fell quickly when he saw that Brett didn't look any happier at seeing him then Trey and his friend did. There was a subtle hint of bitterness leaking off him too.

"Brett-"

"She's waiting for you in the parlor," he said, not letting him say another word before he moved to head up the main staircase.

Scott watched him go off for a moment before he went and headed off for the parlor where Satomi was sitting off in a tall armchair, taking a sip from a teacup but she was not alone. There was someone sitting in an identical chair beside hers. For a moment, he thought it was Stiles until they went and stood up and faced him. It wasn't Stiles but Scott still recognized them.

"Ms. Ramsey?!" he gasped out, taking in the sight of his AP Biology teacher.

"Hello Scott," she said simply back to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"She's my emissary," Satomi answered.

"Your...you knew who I was the entire time, didn't you?" he asked, turning from Satomi to Ramsey.

"I did," Ramsey nodded.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" she said back to him. "Scott, our ties are meant to stay inconspicuous and private. Alan Deaton's limelight with your pack is the exception, not the rule."

"Not to mention, she is my emissary, not yours," Satomi threw in. "And something tells me you are not here to confront me on this."

Scott blinked a bit before he worked through the shock and remembered why he had come in the first place. "Did you know that some of your betas came after Theo at the high school today?" he petulantly asked.

"Scott, you came all the way, to my home, to scold me and my pack? You could've done this over the phone." Satomi said to him, straight faced. Scott just kept his stare down at her and she sighed. "Yes, Scott. I had told them to bring him in. When Ramsey informed us that he had come into school my pack moved in to try and catch him before he could slip away. Though, it seems he did due to combined efforts of his chimeras and your friends."

He sighed. "This is about Wilson, isn't it?" He took her stern poise and silence as a 'Yes'. "Look, I understand you're all upset but you can't do this."

"Upset?!" Satomi all but screamed. "Wilson was not just some acquaintance or friend Scott, he was my Beta! And Theo Raeken killed him. This was no accident or an act of self defense. It was murder." she said, nearly growling the last three words. "Theo had consciously recruited two chimeras, Donovan and that girl that Kira had struck down, to help him hunt, attack and kill him. Because Wilson was helping Stiles through unraveling his deceptions."

"He was a threat," Scott mumbled. "Look, I understand how you feel but you can't-"

"That's just it Scott!" Ramsey cut in, forcefully. "You don't understand." It made Scott flinch a bit as she was using the scolding tone he had been on before back at school. "Wilson wasn't just some friend and loved one to Satomi and the rest of the pack. He was the Second. His connection to them can't be put into words. You, or your friends, can't know what it means because your Second wasn't taken from you. Their Second was taken, yours was thrown away."

"I...I didn't...it wasn't like that," Scott started stammering. "Theo lied to all of us and tricked me. I just, I need just need time to get everyone back."

"Scott," Ramsey said, speaking up again. "The fact that you just said that shows that you have no idea what being an alpha really means. What a pack truly is. You don't understand just what has happened or what you've done. To be honest I am not too surprised that you have found yourself here, it was only a matter of time."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sorry Scott, that's not something I can answer for you. But I will say that your mistake was letting yourself come to believe that by becoming an Alpha, a True Alpha on top of it, that was the end. It was just the beginning. Much like how you put in so much work the last summer to be able to make it into my AP class. Scott, once you got in, you only kept at it for a month before you gave up and dropped the course."

"Ms. Ramsey, look around," Scott gestured around desperately. "How am I supposed to focus on the work with all this going on?"

But Ramsey impatiently sighed and shook her head. "Scott, do you really believe that's an iron clad excuse? Is that what you think you have now for why your pack has fallen apart? Because you were lied to? That Theo Raeken played being a sheep in wolf's clothing and wasn't even a real wolf, pulling the faux wool over your eyes?" Her tone was so sharp that Scott stiffened right up. "Because Peter Hale, Gerard Argent and Deucalion all have made similar ones, involving a dewy eyed boy named Scott McCall. Tell me, how did that work for them?"

With that, Ms. Ramsey went to pick up her bag from beside the armchair and headed out of the room after giving Satomi a farewell nod. Scott watched her leave before Satomi gestured over to the chair that Ramsey just left before she moved to sit back down at her seat. Scott moved to sit down as he just stared down as he folded his hands into each other.

"Do not think ill by her Scott. She can be blunt and even quite fierce at times, but there is no doubting her sincerity and passion, especially when it comes to trying to reach young minds." Satomi moved to refill her teacup and moved to pour tea into an empty cup and hand it to Scott, who accepted it.

"Yeah, right," he mumbled, turning the heated cup around in his hands.

"But," she firmly injected. "Her criticism is never without weight or merit. You came here, to my home, to another alpha's home, one whom your pack is an alliance with, an alliance that you seemed to show little regard for, and tried to throw your weight around like a petulant child. That is hardly alpha behavior, let alone a True Alpha."

Scott sighed as Satomi talked at him like he was a whiny, spoilt child. Letting himself take a moment, he realized that Ramsey was spot on about one thing in particular. "I'm sorry about Wilson. I...I should've said that first, before anything."

Satomi ducked her gaze. "Thank you," she muttered. "But Scott, if you're looking for me to return that apology or to try and excuse my pack's assault against Theo at the school, you will disappointed. Theo Raeken murdered Wilson. That would not stand if he was just my beta. He was my pack's Second."

"How do you know he did it for sure?"

"Stiles," she answered. "He told me about confronting Theo the night of the Supermoon."

Scott then looked around and noticed a chess set on a table by a set of glass doors at the opposite end of the room. He could pick up Stiles' scent lingering by. "So he has been here?"

"He came by the other day. And before you ask," she said, sensing his eagerness. "No, I don't where he is. He didn't tell me and I didn't ask."

Scott closed his eyes as he bared through the pressing heat rising to his temple. After a moment, he let out a deep breath. "How is he?"

"He's struggling, Scott. He's a werewolf without a pack now. A lone wolf. An Omega."

"But he doesn't have to be. I said I was sorry and tried to to take him back but he wouldn't come back with me."

"Of course not Scott. You banished him. What do you expect?" She looked him square in the face for a moment before her expression fell a bit into shock. "Oh god, you don't know do you?"

"Know what?"

"If a member of the pack chooses to leave, the alpha can take them back if and when they so choose, if the beta wants to return. But Stiles didn't leave your pack Scott, you banished him. When a wolf is banished by the alpha, it's permanent. They never return."

"What?" he gasped. "No, that can't be right."

"I'm afraid so. Scott, alphas don't banish their pack members with the hope they can come back again one day. Packs are not after school clubs. Its members share a metaphysical bond that is to be respected and not taken lightly. When you banished Stiles, his connection to the pack and its members was severed. When a banished werewolf has that connection severed, they feel pain when they are around any of their former pack members. That pain is meant to serve as a reminder that they are now unwelcome."

"No, that's not true. It can't be."

"I'm afraid it is Scott. Stiles can never be part of your pack again. The fact that he's your Second only makes it worse, for everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"It not just hurts him, but the other members of his pack as well. It meant to remind everyone that Stiles failed the alpha and the pack and proved untrustworthy as a successor, usually due to ineptitude or treachery. The other betas are made to remember that he no longer has any place with them. It's meant to force them to shun him per the alpha's wishes."

"But I don't want-" Scott started to trail off as his mind flashed back to seeing Stiles flinch a moment every time he saw him. And, he remembered seeing Malia flinch when they caught up with Stiles at that condemned depot. He then recalled his own reactions to seeing Stiles. "What about the alpha? What happens when they see the one they banished?"

Satomi's jaw tightened. "Nothing. They feel nothing, literally. Because that is what the banished wolf is to them now. Beneath their notice or concern. It's as if they don't exist to them anymore."

And Scott realized that was what happened every time he'd seen Stiles since after the Supermoon. He always felt...nothing. He was never relieved, upset, angry or sad when he saw him. He felt blank, like Stiles wasn't worth any of it. "Wait, if this is true, then why don't we feel it all the time? We all might be feeling those things, but it seems to go away after a bit."

"Really?" Satomi said, at a loss. She then started to rub at her chin in thought. "Well...I do know there is only one way the effects can be reversed."

"What, how?" Scott jumped at eagerly.

"The death of the alpha," she said sternly. "It's can only be lifted when the alpha who banished the beta dies. Usually, Omegas feel the weight of their banishment lift after their death and they seek the new alpha to see if they could come back. Or, if the banished wolf decides to challenge the alpha and kill them to claim the rank and re-claim their bonds with their pack. Though, what commonly happens is the Omega goes and looks for a new pack to become a part of. Or, they stay a lone wolf and tend to die sooner rather than later."

"So, what's happening now? Why is this severed bond coming and going?"

The older Alpha leaned back into her chair as she went into thought. "Well Scott, you did die. For quite a while if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps that might have diminished the effect somewhat but since you came back, it didn't reverse it completely."

"So, could there still be a chance that I can get Stiles back?"

"Scott, I don't want to give you false hope. While these series of events are unique, it doesn't mean that they're exceptional."

"That doesn't mean they aren't," he argued back.

"That's a nice thought to have Scott but I'm afraid it's a naive one. I don't think you truly grasp the scope of the damage that's been done. And I'm not talking about the supernatural element." She then looked down at the cup that Scott was still playing around with. "Drink," she told him. "It's time we had a real talk, Alpha to Alpha."

Scott's body tensed up as he stared the older alpha down. He raised the cup to his lips and took a sip.

Over an hour later, Satomi moved to walk with him back to where he parked his bike in front of her property. Scott seemed tapped from everything that had gone down there tonight.

"I hope you understand my position a bit better now Scott." She watched the young man sigh but didn't say anything in response. "You aren't required to like it Scott, just understand and respect it."

Scott moved to sit down on his bike's seat. "I know. But, we still have a deal, right?"

"We do," she nodded. "Provided that you follow up on your end. I'm being generous with you on this. Don't make me regret it or I will ensure you will." Scott stiffened as he stared down at his helmet being held in his hand. He didn't say anything but Satomi took that as confirmation. "There is one more thing I feel I should tell you." He finally moved his gaze back to her. "Many of my betas are suggesting that I move to offer Stiles a place in my pack."

"Are...are you going to?"

"I'd like to," she told him honestly. "Stiles has proven himself capable and he's someone my pack and I trust. Not to mention that I did just lose a very valued member of my pack. And...the fact that he has managed to acquire a very rare and powerful form of shapeshifting is a very strong plus." Scott dropped his gaze. "He is someone who needs a pack Scott," she tried to explain.

"I know," he sadly mumbled with a nod.

Scott knew that Stiles would probably take Satomi's offer. It was clear that he liked her, given how he'd been spending so much of his time with her during the summer. Sparing and learning from her. And Scott couldn't deny that Satomi was a good and wise alpha. Maybe Stiles would be better off with her.

Satomi's jaw stiffened a bit. "But, I won't ask him just yet." Scott looked up at her. "Even though I truly don't believe it's possible, I will give you some time to try to re-claim your friend and beta. But, I will only hold it off until the next full moon. You have until then. Scott, if he decides to take me up on my offer, then he officially becomes part of my pack and will be out of your reach. Do you understand?"

Scott looked from her to up at the house where he could see some of Satomi's betas standing there, Brett and Lori among them, looking down at them. He didn't let himself say anything. He just went to thrust his helmet on and then started the engine of his bike. Quickly, he rode himself out of there, heading for home with Satomi solemnly watching after him.


Derek was sitting on his couch, staring off a random spot on the coffee table in front of him, thinking about what to do. Maggie had informed them that Oscar was returning to the area tomorrow from wherever he'd been over the last week. He was almost considering that they all try to make a run for it if he wasn't sure Oscar's pack wouldn't just track them down. From what that beta Charlie was able to leak to them, it looked like Oscar still had one or two betas watching their building. It was best that he not act too soon and force Oscar to accelerate whatever he seemed to have planned for his sister, and his nephew. He and Maggie had ideas on why he wanted them, especially after they learned of Ruben being recruited to try and learn the identity of Jason's father.

Ruben...Derek knew there was something he didn't like about that guy. Even before the spy revelation. Boys in his sister's life always seemed to bring their own brand of trouble. Especially considering the last one that became too friendly with her.

The sudden ringing of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over at the caller id and he narrowed his eyes. 'Speak of the spastic devil', he thought as he answered it. "What do you want Stiles?" he sighed out.

"Hey Derek, it's nice to see that being away hasn't made you any less of a sourwolf."

Derek rolled his eyes, even if Stiles couldn't see him. "Stiles, are you calling for something serious or just to annoy me?"

"What doesn't annoy you?" he quipped out before Stiles let out a tired breath and settled a bit. "I need your help."

Derek's face fell a bit as he noticed the tone in his voice. "What's going on?"

For the next half hour, Stiles went on and informed Derek of everything that had happened. Starting with the Dread Doctors and their chimeras and ending with Scott throwing him out of the pack due to the word of the chimera Theo Raeken. While Derek had heard rumors of what was going on back in his home town, he could never have imagined things getting this bad. Not just the fact that there really were mad doctors making hybrid like shapeshifters but now there was the fact that Scott's pack was completely divided and he had gone on and banished his best friend, his pack's Second. Derek didn't think that Scott realized the scope of what he had done. And, even if he was starting to, was appreciating what impact it was now going to have not just on his friend but on everyone else, including himself. Not to mention, what was now happening to Stiles after the full moon.

"How many times has it happened?" Derek asked him, leaning his back further into his couch.

"Twice. Once during the Supermoon, and again the other night. I completely blacked out and the next thing I knew, I wake up and I'm somewhere else. I can't remember anything when it happens. It almost feels like when I was sleep walking but I feel so tired and weak when I wake up."

"Your body is trying to adjust and adapt itself to your evolved powers. The full shapeshift can be draining in the beginning and takes a while to get used to."

"Is that how it was for you?"

"Yeah," Derek sighed. "Took me a handful of transformations before I got myself used to them. Now they don't drain me. You just need practice."

"Practice? How am I supposed to practice if I can't control it? I don't even know how I did it."

"I might have a guess."

"What is it?"

"Well, when Scott kicked you out of the pack, your connection to everyone else was severed. Stiles, you have always used your friends as your anchors, right?"

Stiles was silent for a moment as he let himself stew in that fact. "Yeah," he finally mumbled. "Well, them and my dad."

"When you were thrown out of the pack, you lost them as your anchors. All you had left was your dad. But, when he was in danger, and you felt that you lost him, that seemed to be the final push. Add in the full moon, a Supermoon at that, the Beast was finally free and able to come out. And with your growing loneliness and spiking anxiety, you might start to have random transformation flashes."

"So, what am I supposed to do?"

"I...I don't know."

"You don't know? How can you not know? You can shapeshift too!" Stiles hollered.

"Stiles," Derek barked back. "What happened to me and what's happened to you isn't the same thing. You were brought to a breaking point and it triggered your shift. A very powerful and still unstable one. And it looks like you're locked in trauma. You got to find some way to get yourself out of it or you can't even start to get control. I honestly don't know where to even start."

Stiles felt hopeless for a moment before a thought came to him. A very unsettling and gut twisting thought. "You don't...but I think we know someone else who does. Somebody who was also locked in trauma and used it to tap into a powerful shift but still was able to gain control, in his own insane way."

Derek's eyes widened. "No. Stiles, not him. It's crazy."

"Yeah, well, its a crazy time right now. And I can't afford to just add to it. Believe me, going to ask him for help, ugh, just the thought makes me want to vomit. But if I want to control the Beast, my best bet is to go to the guy that we know came the closest. And that's Peter."

"Even if my uncle could, what makes you think he'll even want to help you?"

"Nothing, but, I don't see any other choice."

"Stiles, no wait!"

But he didn't answer because he had hung up. Derek then let himself look over at the empty basket crib set up a few feet away from him. This was bad and couldn't happen at a worse time.


Virgil was turning a feather around in his hand, analyzing it with mild fascination. It was one of the feathers from Zach's wings that he went and brought out back in the woods last night. It had fallen off him as he landed back on the ground as Stiles ran off away from them.

Zach himself was sitting off to the side and drinking some coffee but noticed Virgil looking over at his own feather and tensed up. "You know, it's really creepy you looking at that thing so close."

"It's just a feather."

"Yeah, one of my...feathers. Ugh, its crazy for me to even say that. I've already been probed and cut on a science table by mad scientists. And now it's like you're oggling over one of the samples."

"Yeah, right," he said, setting it down. He would look at it later. "Sorry, it's just...this stuff still kind of blows my mind."

"I know. Me too. You think Stiles is okay? He seemed pretty...out of it when he left."

Neither of them had heard from him since he ran off after his 'tantrum' last night.

"You went out of it yourself yesterday too, remember?" he asked, referring to Zach's own anger bout at the shop during his training. "You just needed to walk it off. Maybe Stiles needs the same."

"I think he's going to need more than a walk. Didn't you see him last night? He was scary."

Virgil imagined a demon like face, big teeth, bright, solid blue eyes staring down at him, ready to rip him to pieces. "Believe me, I've seen scarier. Still, he did help finally get you to bring out your wings."

Zach sighed as he moved to pull off his shirt. He moved off to the open space of Virgil's living room and let himself focus a bit before two great feathered wings sprouted free from out of his back. He flapped them for a moment before he then focused and made them disappear again. He then moved to grab his shirt and throw it back on.

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled. "So, what do we do now?"

Before they could answer, a knock went off at the door. The two of them looked over it with a tense look on their faces. Virgil didn't get any visitors and Zach was staying with him to help in avoiding being surprised by Theo again. Stiles had made a special knock for himself and that wasn't it, so it couldn't be him. Virgil silently told Zach to go and hide around the corner while he made his way over for the door. He let himself look over at the peephole and his eyes widened at who he saw through it.

"No way," he said, moving to quickly open the door. He then came face to face with Sheriff Stilinski, Stiles' father, in full uniform. "Sheriff," he muttered.

Stilinski gave him a smile. "Hey Virgil, it's good to see you."

"I thought you were still in the hospital?"

"Well, not anymore. Mind if I come in?"

"Oh," he blinked before moving aside to let the man in.

At the sight of the Sheriff, Zach started to move out of his hiding place and came out into full view. The Sheriff took quick notice of him.

"Zach, right? Yeah, Stiles told me about you."

"What did he say?"

"Enough. I'm sorry that this happened. You didn't deserve any of this," he told him, in a soft, caring tone.

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

"Stiles isn't here," Virgil told him.

"Oh, I know. He was picked up by one of my deputies last night. He brought him to the hospital so that he could help take me home. Thanks for letting him crash here," he said to Virgil gratefully. "And for moving to fix his jeep yourself."

"Yeah, well it was the least I could do."

"I seem to recall saying that many times to a certain man and he would always reply 'the least a man can do is nothing'."

Virgil let himself smile a bit. That line was one that his dad would always go and say. It was like a cheesy joke he would bring out whenever he got the chance. Virgil had half forgotten that. "Yeah, I guess it is."

The Sheriff then noticed that Virgil was dressed in his mechanic overalls and Zach also seemed fully dressed himself. "Were you two heading out?"

"Yeah, we were about to head to the shop. That's where I was working on Stiles' jeep and we were thinking that Stiles might be over there."

"I hope not considering that school has started up again and he can't be skipping. However, maybe we should all head over there. I have some questions that I'm going to need you to answer."


Parrish was sitting at his desk, looking over the pictures of people that have been reported missing in town. He was so focused on them that he nearly jumped when someone came over to his desk and called out his name.

"What? Stiles?"

"Hey," he said, giving him a wave.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

He sighed. "You're lucky your dad isn't here right now."

"Where is he?" he asked, casting a look through the window into his father's empty office.

"Stiles, he just got back. He's probably checking out the scenes where those people died or went missing when he was in the hospital. If that's why you're here-"

"Actually, I needed to talk to you. I need help getting into Eichen House."

Parrish's face fell. "Eichen? Look, I know you want to see Lydia but it's not going to be that easy. Her mom forbade her daughter from having any visitors outside herself. Believe me, I tried to get in to see her. They wouldn't let me passed the lobby. Ms. Martin went so far as to put my name, as well as yours and the rest of your friends on a watch list."

Stiles' jaw stiffened. He knew that Lydia's mom was worried about her but he couldn't help but feel she was taking it too far. Especially when she didn't know what was happening. Or...did and just wanted to try her hardest to try and deny it.

"Great, but Parrish, the truth is, she's not who I was planning to go there to see. And maybe we could use that."

That made the deputy blink. "Whoa, wait, who do you need to see?"