Medicinally, nutmeg quells nausea and soothes digestive problems (although it can be toxic in large doses). It is associated with psychic abilities, happiness, love, money, and health.
Blue flashing lights illuminated the car park as ambulances and police cars rolled in one after the other. I stood alone. Once again Lydia had been whisked off by paramedics and I was left standing in the middle of the tarmac wondering what to do. Hopefully this wasn't becoming a yearly event.
I had every intention of returning to school. Of working my way through the traumatised crowds of students until I could find a quiet play to process what had just happened. That was until I saw a run down jeep reverse out of its spot. With five long strides I had crossed the few spaces between us and as the car turned to straighten up I slammed my palms onto the bonnet.
Scott and Stiles stared back at me with two very different expressions. While Stiles glared, his eyes narrowed at my hands, Scott quirked an eyebrow at me. No words needed to be exchanged. He knew what I wanted. The passenger door swung up despite Stiles' protests. Scott maneuvered his way into the back as I pulled the door shut behind me.
Sure I hadn't been keen to get involved before, hell I had actively avoided getting involved. But that was before this. Standing alone in the car park had helped me realise that I was always going to be involved. I'd been involved since that day in the woods. Crossing my arms over my chest I silently dared Stiles to say anything. I could tell he wanted to shout but for once he stayed quiet and we left the high school in the rear view mirror.
Very little was said during the drive but between us, that would be me and Scott as Stille was still sulking, we figured out a way to reveal her to Derek. With a quick detour to the vet clinic and a short talk with Scott's knowledgable boss, we were ready. When we finally arrived at Derek's he didn't look impressed. His eyes narrowed and arms crossed as he glared at each of us indvidually before asking Scott why we were there.
Stiles didn't hesitate as launched into an explanation,"she took my Dad, your girlfriend, she took my Dad. You know the englished teacher. Yeah she's a monster, surprise."
Derek didn't react as Stiles pushed forward to shove him, the older teen barely moved as Stiles ricocheted backwards. Scott pulled Stiles further into the room and away from the termermental wolf before he could say anything else. Derek quirked an eyebrow at me, clearly confused by the entire exchange.
With a heavy sigh I looked up to meet his stare. "Ms Blake, Jennifer, yeah she's the Darach."
His eyes widened. I was ready to wait and let the new information settle but without any warning Derek grabbed my arm and pulled me into the loft. He didn't even bother explaining to me why I was being dragged across the room toward the others and I didn't demand an explanation. I was busy thinking about the last time we had all been here. I was thinking about Boyd.
As we reached the others Derek pushed me forward with a little too much force. Sending me straight into Scott, who caught me gently by the shoulders like the gentleman he was. Turning back the door Derek gestured for us to hide. He didn't utter a word as he moved into the centre of the room.
The three of us huddled behind one of the few walls in the room listening carefully for the tell tale sounds of high heels and sure enough there it was. Followed swiftly by the door reopening and a frantic Ms Blake throwing herself into Derek's arms. His poor attempt to remain neutral crumbled when she kissed him. Her shoulders tensed and she stepped backwards slightly before glancing around.
"They're already here, aren't they? So... they told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?" The boys moved to reveal themselves as she spoke.
I followed tentatively. How could this woman, this beautiful very alive woman, be the same one I had found in the woods all those years ago. Sure I had seen Scott heal from horrific wounds but she had been mutilated beyond recognition. I hadn't even realised she was human until I'd gotten closer!
"We told him you're the one killing people," Scott confirmed.
"Oh, that's right. Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it during my lunch hour. That way, I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense."
Even though she had literally just tried to kill Lydia in front of my brain was still struggling to make the connection. A quick glance toward Derek confirmed he was just as conflicted as me and Jenifer knew it. Her hand twisted around his upper arm in a loving manner and her head tilted slightly as she pleaded with him silently. The perfect display of innocence. Stiles finally spoke. His words were thick with emotion and even though I couldn't see his eyes from my place behind him, I knew they had begun to fill with tears as he asked where she had taken his father.
"How should I know? Derek, tell me you don't believe this," she paused knowing she almost had him. Turning to look at is her eyes passed the boys and landed on me almost instantly. "Emma? You don't believe them. You know I'm not a murderer."
I froze. All eyes had shifted to me. Ms Blake looked back at me like she was waiting for an answer in class. As if nothing was wrong. My stomach started to churn as I found myself staring back at her. Maybe we had gotten it wrong. Maybe she really was trying to help. It was only when Scott took my hand that I was able to break eye contact with her. Glancing round I found a confused looking Derek. Stiles on the other hand looked furious, his eyes narrowed and the distrust glaring through. Scott gave my hand a squeeze and I finally managed to find my words.
"You almost killed Lydia," the words came out as a whisper but everyone heard them. Just like they could hear the tremble in my voice as I said Lydia's name aloud. Why had that been so hard to say? Why wasn't I shouting, screaming at her for hurting my friend. Instead a part of me wanted to help her. Part of me felt like I had to protect Ms Blake to protect myself but there was no logic in that. She was a monster, a murder and I did not owe her anything!
She didn't answer me. Instead she turned back to Derek with large doe eyes and declared, "I don't know anything about that."
"What do you know?"
"I know that these boys," I couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't including me, "for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story. And one they can't prove, by the way"
"But I can," my voice didn't tremble this time.
"Emma," her eyes narrowed fractionally as she turned to face me and spotted the small jar of power I had pulled from my bag, "don't do this."
"You told me it's a poison and a cure... which means you can use it... and it can be used against you."
Flicking my wrist sharply I sent the power through the air. The moment the ground specks of mistletoe reached her everything went still. The boys gasped audible at the sight of her true face and Derek's muscles tensed. As for me? I stared. It was true. The mangled and scared face that had been locked away in my darkest memories was right in front of me. The face that had hidden in the flames back at the hotel and haunted my nightmares.
I stood still contemplating whether Ms Blake had been a bad person all along or if what happened to her had twisted her into something new, something horrible. I couldn't stop myself from making comparisons to Matt. Maybe no one was born evil, maybe it was just the way we dealt with the world. Derek's sudden movement jolted me from my thoughts before I could spiral even further. His hands curled around her neck and lifted her off the floor.
"What are you?"
I'm not sure what she had said to him. Her words had been inaudible to the human ear as he gripped her throat. But whatever it was had him recoiling almost instantly and pulling his mobile from his pocket. Derek's expression darkened as he listened to the person on the phone. Whatever was being said was not good and the moment the call ended his hand had shot out and caught Ms Blake by the neck. He lifted her upwards until her toes hovered just over the ground. Scott and Stiles short forward trying to remind him that we needed her. We needed her to find the Sheriff and now it seemed we needed her to save Cora.
Finally he let go. Her body crumbled to the ground and I had to stop myself from moving to help her back up. Rubbing her neck she finally dropped her act, "That's right. You need me. All of you. You should know I'm not doing this because I have to. I want to. I could still run, and you wouldn't have an easy time stopping me. But I don't want your sister to die. I'm only doing what I had to do."
The jeep ride to the hospital had been silent. My mind was still trying to work out how someone who had once been the victim of an horrific attack could go on to cause so much hurt and pain. Part of me understood, no understood was the wrong word, part of me sympathised. While the other part reasoned that she could have been a bad person from the beginning. Just because that wolf woman had hurt her didn't mean she had been an innocent victim.
Stiles and Scott seemed to be just as caught up in their own thoughts. It was only when we were exiting the car that Stiles finally shared what had been troubling him. "I'm not sure about this. I don't know, something just feels wrong about this. You know, we proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all still going according to plan."
"That's because it is," the words had tumbled from my mouth before I could think about how badly they could be interpreted.
Hazel eyes narrowed and for the second time that evening Stiles had grabbed my shoulders and shoved me backwards. This time into his precious jeep. With Scott already on his way into the hospital there was no one to pull him back. Not that I needed them to. Stiles was human like me and after spending the summer training I was confident that I would win any altercation he might start. Plus I knew he would never actually hit me, his father had raised him too well for that.
"If I find out you have anything to do with this I'll…"
I didn't let him finish. Instead I swatted his hand away from my face and pressed my own finger into his chest. Pushing him back to emphasise my words, "get it through your thick skull, I'm… not… the… bad guy"
"Sure." He'd left before I could bite back with a witty remark. Not that I'd thought of one yet.
Once in the hospital, the seriousness of the situation became clear. I'd only heard the tail end of Mellissa warning but I could work out that a building wide examination was a bad thing. But when was anything ever straight forward for us. We'd be lucky to find Cora on our first try.
We traveled in a closely packed group as we meandered through the deserted hallways. Derek's hand tightly wrapped around Ms Blake's arm and Scott, Stiles and I following closing behind. As we settled in the lift there was an almost comical silence, each of us unable to take our eyes of the English teacher as if she was able to vanish spontaneously.
I'd been right in thinking we wouldn't find Cora on our first try. The room she had been assigned was empty and thick puddles of black blood pooled in the hallway. She was clearly not in a good way. Mistletoe was clearly a much worse poison for werewolves than I had originally thought.
Before we set off in search of Cora, a monstrous roar echoed through the corridor and the doors before us swung open. A body was sling through the double doors and it landed ungracefully before us. Peter. Peter bloody Hale. Was laying on the floor before me.
I stayed mouth agape as the previously dead ex alpha struggled to his feet. None of the others seems as surprised by his sudden reappearance which made me wonder if this was something I had missed when I was ignoring their texts and calls. Though this seemed like a pretty big something to miss.
I didn't get time to question them as a looming figure emerged through the doors. Scott rushes forward and it was only when he started trying to calm the situation that I realised this was the joint form of Ethan and Aiden. Why did the monsters keep getting worse? One Alpha had been enough now there were twin hybrid creatures twice the size? Why had I decided I wanted back in?
Whatever my reason was for trying to help it kicked in as I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. Ms Blake had started moving backwards towards the lift. The anger that I should have felt earlier in the loft raced through my veins. Did she really think she could run away after what she had put Lydia through? For whatever she had done to Cora?
Without much thought as to what I would do next, I darted after her and slid into the lift just as the metal doors started to close. My eyebrows furrowed and my words coated in a venomous rage, "It was you, in the woods with that other woman,"
"Yes it was me and that werewolf is called Kali."
I faulted. My confidence waned with each reply. I hadn't expected her to answer so freely. Her entire demeanor was off. I was meant to be chasing her, stopping her but the overwhelming feeling of being cornered had started to settle in. This woman had killed people, murdered and kidnapped people. And I had thought it was a good idea to lock myself in a lift with her, alone.
"You knew her?"
"I was part of her pack."
My mouth went dry and I struggled to get my words out, "if you, were part of her pack, then why did she…"
"You still don't get it," she laughed fondly at my half formed sentence. "They are monsters."
"monsters?"
"They kill the weak and climb to the top on the bodies of their packs. They think they are untouchable. Not anymore. I'm stronger now, better in every way. I can show you how to control it. The nemeton's power. I can help you harness it, you'll never have to feel powerless again."
"No, I'm good," I replied quickly. A light bell sounded and the doors began to open behind me. Instinctively I stepped backwards trying to put more space between myself and her. I had thought she would follow me but she didn't. Her eyes were focused on something behind me. Though that didn't stop me continuing. My confidence rising now that I wasn't trapped. "Don't want any of you murder fuelled whatever it is. We just need to find…"
"Get in the lift."
When I didn't follow her command straight away she reached forward and pulled me by the collar back into the metal box. I had been ready to protest until I caught sight of the two ominous figures lurking at the end of the corridor. The woman set off into a sprint as I sunk backwards into the wall. Kali was going to get us. She was going to kill us both, again. But she never made it. Instead of cowering away from the door, Ms Blake stood her ground. With a surge of what I could only describe as energy she slammed her palms into the door and sent a wave of something out into the air. Sending Kali ratcheting backwards.
She drew herself back from the door and let it slide shut just as Kali pulled herself to her feet with a scowl. I gasped at the sight of her. Her irises were a vibrant blue and her pupils had vanished completely. She looked otherworldly as she stared down at me. I couldn't find any words and before I'd managed to regain my composure the lift had settled on the next floor. The doors opened and Ms Blake was gone.
I couldn't bring myself to chase her again. Not when I had just seen her best a werewolf. Curling up into a tight ball I stayed inside the lift. I hadn't realised that waiting inside the metal contraption would cause more issues. It was only when the lift jerked and shuddered that I regretted not getting out when I'd had the chance.
I paced and panicked for a while. Unsure on how I was going to get out of this situation. I was torn. Part of my self safe locked away from the fights and carnage that would definitely be filling the halls. While the other side of me knew I was trapped and knew just how easy to kill that made me.
Wedging my knife into the middle of the lift doors and started to push. Whether my continued training had made me stronger or my sheer desperation spurred me on I'll never know. But after a while I had managed to pry open the lift doors. Luckily the lift had stopped just after a floor and a second set of gleaming doors revealed themselves. Though I only had about a foot to work with and this proved more difficult.
I'd been so focused on getting the door open I'd missed the footsteps stalking towards me. I hadn't even thought about the negatives of escaping and the amount of noise I was making. I just wanted to get out. It was only when five black claws slid between the metal doors that panic set in.
Trembling I held my knife upward ready to attack whatever came through the hole first. Praying it would be something soft. If I could take out their eyes I might stand a chance. Yeah I'd aim for their eyes. I'd get rid of those vile red..
Amber?
Peering down at me through the small gap was Isaac.
My body relaxed instantly, " Oh thank god it's you."
I let the young wolf pull me out of the lift with ease before wrapping my arms around him in thanks. It was only then that I noticed the others behind him.
Allison frowned in confusion as I untangled myself from the boy and approached her. Before I could say anything though her father ushered us into a vacant room. In case the noise of the lift had attracted anyone else.
As he closed the door he found on me, "you told me you didn't plan on getting involved."
I pouted childishly at his scolding. He was staying through the hospital with to teeneagers why was I the one in trouble? "I hadn't planned on getting involved. Have you seen Scott? Ms Blake is the…"
Allison placed a hand on my arm, stopping my rambling mid sentence. "We've seen Scott. He explained it all and he has a plan."
I couldn't help but wonder about the sanity of whoever had created this plan. Sure it seemed stupid enough to work but that was only if everything tiny action was exicuted with perfect procision, which was unlikely with our track record.
Issac and I shared a tentative look before settling into the seats of the Argent's car. I rested my phone into the car's holder while Issac was busy getting to grind with the keys and settings, why he was driving was beyond me. I mean did he even have a car?
"You both ready?" Allison chimed as he face filled the phone screen.
Isaac gave a short reply that did little to install faith into either Allison, maybe I should have stayed with them. The plan needed two people to speed up the retrieval of Cora and Stiles. Who were currently trapped in an ambulance in the basement according to Allison. She had wanted to go with Isaac originally but Chris hadn't liked the idea of her leaving his side, which I understood. He had already lost his wife. I doubt he would be able to cope with losing his daughter as well.
"You're not nervous, are you?" Allison questioned.
"Do I look nervous?"
I grinned at his sudden defensiveness. And rolled my eyes dramatically so Allison could see the action through the phone lense. "Do you actually want us to answer that?"
She chuckled lightly in response before chastising in an attempt to keep Issac on side, "Emma stop it. no not at all, you look fine."
"Did he look nervous?," Mr Argent asked from somewhere behind the truck. He was probably busy assembling his asonary for the fight.
Allison disappeared from sight to help her dad. Not realising her phone's microphone was so sensitive she continued to talk openly with the older hunter. "Terrified but it's fine Emma's there so,"
Isaac cut her off, "Yeah, I can still hear you, very, very clearly."
Allison's body moved back into sight and she looked sheepishly at the camera. To her credit she didn't let the embarrassment of being overheard lessen her authority. Instead she barked out her orders and remembered us once again of our jobs. "Just go as soon as you see them, okay?"
I saluted the brunette while Isaac waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah. Yeah, I got it."
"I'm really not sure why you're so nervous wolfboy, at least you can heal," I added, my eyes returning to the phone. Ready to tell Isaac to drive the moment the twins came into sight.
Isaac snapped back with a sharp, "I'm not nervous." His response pulled a chuckle from me and I'm almost positive I could hear Mr Argent snort in from somewhere behind Allison.
We didn't need to wait long. The moment the twins appeared on camera Issac flooded the accelerator. We sped through the ambulance car park and never slowed even when the route bent sharply to one side. Instead Issac powered through. The car sliding into the open ambulance port side wides and my knuckles white.
There in the centre of the large room was a single ambulance. A bloodied body lay limply by the drivers door and while I would never enjoy seeing dead bodies, I was glad it wasn't someone I knew.
As Issas slowed the car I jumped from the passenger seat and rushed towards rear doors. To my surprise Stiles beamed back at me as I swung the door open. How could someone who had spent the entire car journey to the hospital glaring at me suddenly be this happy to me? I had been ready to remind him of his incessant and completely unnecessary distrust when I noticed the other occupants of the ambulance. Peter has swung Cora up into his arms and was already stepping out of the vehicle and heading toward Isaac. As much as I disliked him at least his appearance meant I would have to man handle Cora into the car myself.
Turning back to follow them I paused. Stiles had stopped. His smiles had dropped and a look of morbid understanding had settled in his eyes. I reached out for his raised hand. Trying to spur him on, "Stiles, let's go, Please."
Fear flashed across his face and he pulled his arm from my grin and darted for the exit. Away from the car. I called after him but he didn't look back. My eyes finally focused on the paper he had been examining so carefully and I realised what he had figured out. Guardians. Stiles' dad wasn't a Guardian because he was the sheriff, he was a Guardian because he was his dad.
My heart wrenched as I remembered Allison explaining the plan. Explaining to us that Melissa, Scott's very own Guardian, would be working on getting the power back on. Alone.
sorry this has taken so long! not 100% pleased with this one but i couldnt keep delaying and changing it.
thanks for the favs and follows: monkeefive, brooklynsfinesthufflepuff (go hufflepuffs !) Ellsv, nightcerulean12, Elle.l, deathisnotcool, heichou, storybrooke38248, crazy pumpkin witch98, lazy potato queen,maderthanthehatter, jvk2,i dont feel so goodmrstark 3000, aidentrash, lykaioski, luthien faye, heyitsleelee, sevviiebabbiie, thgloverD, ravenLynn174,k920313,spud329, books and cleverness 394,
Min 234 thank you for the review! Im glad you found my Fic and like Emma. sorry for the long wait between updates.
To the guest that reviewed thank you. Yeah this will be a super slowburn. I still plan for Stiles to date Malia so it might be a wait for sole Stiles/Emma fluff. Im happy you think so highly of Emma!
thank you for the review itsjustme94! yeah that reviewer can do one. the extra long gap between posts is more a 2020 is one hell of a year. Not a response to some kid online. Im so glad you like it. Im excited to write more with Julia now she is all powerful and can not wait for Void stiles!
odie.18 thank you for the review! it makes me so happy that people are enjoying it!
Thank you all again so much! it really means the world to me that people take the time to fav/follow/review. Struggled a lot this year ( but who hasnt!) so they really brighten my day. On the note of struggling in 2020. my DMs are always open if you need to someone. Im not suggesting an alternative to professional help but if you just need someone to 'listen' I'll do my best.