A/N:Hi guys! Hope everyone of you had a lovely holiday!
Chapter 20: My past is an armor I cannot take of, no matter how many times you tell me the war is over.
Triggers are like little psychic explosions that crash through avoidance and bring the dissociated,
avoided trauma suddenly, unexpectedly, back into consciousness.
-Carolyn Spring-
...
Opening her eyes she is confronted by two small feet right in front of her face, trying to roll the other way she is stopped by another small being, this one thankfully facing up the right way. She listens to their soft snores trying to sit up, careful not to squash the boy behind her while also staying aware of the tiny feet in front of her very capable of kicking her in the face if spooked.
It's still pitch dark out so she uses her coyote eyes to observe the boys, snorting a laugh when she sees Ethan curled up to her, mouth wide open and snoring ever so slightly. Aiden somewhere during the night shifted his entire body to position his head to the foot end of the bed and his feet on the pillow next to her face, lovely.
Carefully extracting herself from the puppy pile she picks her picture frame of the ground, and grabs her notebook as quietly as the creaking drawer of her nightstand allows. She opens the bedroom door just enough to let her pass and quietly tiptoes downstairs. Once downstairs she turns on the light and grabs a glass of water. sitting down at the kitchen table. She lays the picture frame and notebook down on the wooden surface, she traces the picture with melancholy in her eyes.
Turning the picture frame upside down she extracts the picture, the only tangible evidence of her family's existence, and folds it slowly before carefully tucking it in the notebook. Opening the notebook she is faced by her past and the already changed future. Grabbing a pen she adds to it anything that comes to mind.
November 2002
By saving Paige Krasikeva I've prevented the reawakening of the Nematon which in turn has changed the life of Theo Raeken, currently seven years old. Without the Nematon's reawakening, the Dread Doctors won't be drawn to Beacon Hills and thus Theo won't be turned into a chimera which poses another problem; If Theo doesn't get his sister's heart at the age of ten he will die from heart failure… And without the Dread Doctors manipulation he won't get it.
The peace summit failing was a given but at least Deucalion wasn't blinded this time, preventing the Alpha pack from forming… for now. The alpha pack consisted entirely of alpha's; Deucalion, Ennis, Kali, Ethan and Aiden. All of whom had to kill their own packs in order to join. The pack was started by Deucalion after he was driven mad by a series of events, starting with Gerards blinding of him, killing any hope of his vision of peace. His state worsened when one of his own beta's by the name of Marco, attempted to kill him in his weakened state; that's when Deucalion felt the power an alpha could gain from killing one of their own beta's. A lesser man would've snapped as his pack betrayed and abandoned him in lieu of his blindness, and maybe he would have had Talia Hale not welcomed him into her home. Had she not offered him refuge.
Keeping the Hale pack alive is of the utmost importance, for better or worse they're at the center of it. After Paige's death, Kate Argent weaseled her way into Derek's broken heart, manipulated him into giving her all she needed to then betray him and burn his entire family alive. With their Deaths in 2004 barring a comatose Peter, fleeing Laura and Derek, and a missing Cora it started a new age for the supernatural and humans of Beacon Hills alike and to an extent the entire world. Their demise opened the door for Supernatural evil's to roam free, it left hunters unchecked, it left those who knew them simmering with rage and fear, and some previously protected vulnerable to attack.
After Hale fire Deucalion formed the alpha pack, their policy being that you either join them and kill your own or die along with your pack. And though I never encountered them it was clear by the reputation that outlived the pack itself that they were not to be trifled with and if they somehow come to form despite my best efforts remember these words; beware of the demon wolf for he is not always blind.
As a result of the Hale and the surrounding packs' demises, The Desert Wolf would see her opening to kill her daughter; Malia Tate born Hale. Without the Hale family guarding the territory Corrine was able to not only find me but also execute her plans to kill me. One fateful night in 2005 with the full moon at her back she would shoot up my adoptive mothers car, forcing her to drive our car into a deep ravine killing both her and my adoptive sister. Escaping her wrath I then lived as a coyote in the preserve for the next eight years, trapped by the guilt of causing my family's deaths, until a True Alpha called Scott McCall turned me back into my human form.
By changing the past I am also changing the future which means that some of the events in here will either never come to pass or will happen in a different way, only time will tell. I don't know if I'll live long enough to see them all come to pass but I do know that I'll do everything I can to assure a better future for my family.
If you ever need to reach out to a hunter for help I'd like to suggest Chris or Chistopher Argent, though he isn't the man I once knew, he is an honorable man nonetheless and will abide by the code. Depending on her age and subsequent training I'd also like to name the huntress Allison Argent, though she can be unpredictable depending on her mental state. I am certain that without Gerard's influence she will flourish as a hunter and human being, hopefully into the huntress that gave us the code we lived by;
''Nous protègons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protèger eux-měmes''
Closing the notebook she softly walks to the door leading to the basement, she'd planned to turn it into a training area but maybe it could double as an office of sorts as it already had a rickety desk in the corner. Locking the door behind her she quietly walks down the steps. Once down she looks at the windowless room, feeling the cold cement floor under her feet she quickly steps onto the training mat she'd dragged down there. Some training equipment filled the left side of the room while the right side housed a single desk and one enormous, fugly painting; it wasn't even hung on the wall, it simply balanced against it from its place on the ground.
Walking to the wall above the desk she spots a loose brick, taking it out she places her notebook in the now vacant spot in the wall. Grabbing the ugly painting she plans to balance it on the desk to hide her notebook but when she moves the painting she is faced with wooden planks instead of the brick wall that should be there. Putting the painting aside she knocks on the wood, the sound and feel telling there is an empty space behind it.
She takes a step back and proceeds to kick her way through the wooden planks, afterwards she listens to the boys upstairs. Sighing in relief when she hears their even breaths and soft snores indicating that they were still sleeping, thank god they're heavy sleepers.
Pushing the broken planks aside she steps into the man made hole, her blue eyes lighting up the dark tunnel. Hunched over she walks through the small passageway, she's walked for about a hundred feet when she finds the end. A small steel ladder leading to what must be a hatch to the outside. Climbing up she finds herself stepping out into a part of the preserve she knows well, meaning she can't be too far from the house. Closing the hatch she covers it with leaves again before trekking her way back to the house.
Walking through the forest she feels a sense of calm come over her for about ten steps before reality literally stabs her awake as she steps onto a sharp branch.
''Shit!'' Lifting her foot up she tears the branch out, throwing it a few feet away from her. She really should've put on some shoes before entering the tunnel.
Walking up to the house she realizes it was much closer than she'd originally thought, couldn't have been more than 65 feet. Hand on the doorknob she seizes her movements.
Thud thud thud…
Loud heartbeats, much too loud to belong to either of the boys. Focusing on the sound she shifts her stands, knowing that whoever it was they were behind her, ready to attack in order to protect what is hers.
''Have we come at an inopportune time?'' An annoyingly polished voice asks.
Turning around she's faced with Deucalion, Dean, Clara and for some absurd reason they've brought along that snake Marco.
None too amused Malia turns around barefoot, wearing nothing but black sweatpants and a sports bra. ''You think? Visiting hours usually start after dawn-break.''
Clara holds up a bag, smiling hopefully. ''We brought coffee and croissants?''
Licking her lips the smell does entice her, rolling her eyes she waves them in. Stopping Marco at the threshold, ''Traitors who'd sell their own kin for a corn-chip stay outside.''
She sees the anger rise in him, but unlike last time he controls it. He's learned from their last encounter, nodding he makes a move to walk back to where presumingly they're car is parked.
''I said traitors couldn't come in, are you a traitor?''
Marco shakes his head in a dismissive manner, ''I wouldn't sell my own kin in exchange for a corn-chip.''
''That's not what I asked though now is it? And until you can answer that question to my satisfaction we're gonna have a problem Marco, and you don't want me to think of you as a problem.'' She says making sure the meaning of her words land in that thick skull of his.
Gritting his teeth Marco nods before retreating.
After closing the door she leads Deucalion, Dean and Clara to the kitchen. Grabbing a towel she cleans the blood off her foot before joining the others at the table.
''He's young, he'll learn.'' Deucalion says before sipping his coffee.
Malia scoffs into her own drink. ''Are you kidding me? He's the kind that given the chance would step on your neck to raise himself a few inches, simply because he could.''
Swallowing audibly, Clara nervously looks between Malia and Deucalion.
Deucalion face doesn't give anything away, ''You think him so out of control that he poses a danger to his own pack, to my pack?''
Dean watches the exchange with some unease, it wasn't often that someone implied that Deucalion was a bad alpha let alone to his face. He's glad that someone other than himself has brought up concerns regarding Marco but he wishes that she'd worded them differently.
''I think he has a larger than usual willingness to engage in violence and I don't think I'm the first person to ever tell you that.'' she counters, ''As to whether he poses a threat to your pack I'd say not yet, but we both know what he could grow into if left unchecked.''
Surprisingly Deucalion nods in agreement. ''Like I said he's still young, he'll learn.''
''And he'll stay young if he doesn't learn quickly.'' Malia states, propping her bare feet up on one of the empty chairs.
The threat was spoken so casually, one would think they were discussing the weather and not her murdering one of his beta's. And oddly enough Deucalion allows it.
Biting down on one of the croissants, she watches in confusion as Deucalion starts to smile at her. ''Wot?'' she asks with a mouthful of croissant.
''Do you always go for morning walks barefoot? If so, is that a coyote thing or an affliction that ails you in particular?'' he asks.
Dean next to him disguises his laugh as a coughing fit when she glares at him. Clara sits as still as a rabbit in the eyes of a fox. Deucalion however is not intimidated by her glare in the least.
Swallowing her croissant she purses her lips. ''You know I've changed my mind, in this house we not only refuse entry to traitors but also British assholes that come to visit for no apparent reason at ungodly times of the day.''
Snorting Clara quickly covers her mouth and nose with her hands, eyes wide, horror filling her face as the rest of the table's occupants turn to her. It's quiet before Malia bursts out laughing, soon joined by Deucalion, Dean and eventually Clara herself.
After the laughter subsides Malia takes another bite of her croissant. ''So why are you here anyways?''
''Simply checking in.'' Clara shrugs, smiling at the other woman.
Malia smiles and nods before turning to Deucalion, ''No but really, why are you here?''
Deucalion frowns a little in return, ''To visit you. See how you're doing, is that so strange?''
''Uhm yeah, pretty strange in my book.'' Malia sips her coffee, ''And a clear lie, so tell me what you're doing here. You need my help or something?''
''It is not a lie, we have come to check up on you. And-''
Making a sweeping motion with her hand Malia interrupts Deucalion, ''There we go.''
''I've been informed that you seek information regarding the Desert Wolf.''
Straightening in her seat Malia listens to him with rapt attention. Gone is the joking atmosphere. ''You can help me find the Desert Wolf?''
Deucalion responds evenly, ''Depends on why you seek her. You are not the only one who's interested in the Desert wolfs movements.''
Frowning Malia tries to figure out who could have requested him to keep tabs on Corrine when it dawns on her. ''Talia.'' she breathes out, ''Do you know why you're tracking her?''
Shaking his head Deucalion narrows his eyes at her, ''I do not but it appears you do.''
''She poses a threat to me and my family, I intend to kill her. Tracking her has been challenging but with or without your help, I will kill her. It's only a matter of time. So the only question remaining is; will you help me find her or not?'' she says pushing him to give her the location, seeing his incoming rejection she doubles down. ''Let's not forget that you owe me.''
''You mean to collect on a debt?'' Deucalion asks calmly, though his voice is tinged with something.
''I saved your life and those of your men, I think that should count for something yeah.''
Nodding something shifts in Deucalion's demeanor, like a door closing in response to her words. From the look in his eyes to the position of his arms, he suddenly closes off. Whereas his arms were previously casually rested on the table they are now crossed over his chest. His eyes that minutes ago shone with mirth are now cold unfeeling pools of blue staring her down without any emotion.
He gets up from the table nodding, ''My apologies for visiting you unannounced so early in the morning, rest assured it will not happen again. As for the debt I seem to owe, the Desert Wolf is currently in San Ysidro, New Mexico.''
She watches as he leaves the house, closely followed by a silent Clara. Springing up she grabs Dean's arm lightly, looking at him in question.
''Did I say something wrong?'' she asks, frowning in confusion. She'd kind of been enjoying their banter, their company…
Eyeing her he shakes his head sadly, ''You really don't know, do you? We- He came here hoping to forge a friendship with you yet you've taken this opportunity to turn every past meeting, every action between you two into a transactional exchange, where anything and everything one does for the other is owed compensation.''
Letting him go her eyes lower to the ground. He pats her shoulder before quietly departing as well, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Standing there in the hallway her shoulders sag in defeat, she'd gained information on Corrine but in doing so unwittingly burned a bridge with Deucalion and his pack… Would she ever fit in here? Among these people, among people in general? The only ones that seemed to have truly understood her were members of her own pack and she'll never fit in with them again.
''Great job Malia…'' She mutters angrily at herself.
…
''You called in the FBI, what for?'' William asks, disgust clear in his voice. ''The case is closed isn't it?''
Sighing the sheriff addresses him, ''It's just for logistical reasons since Baylon crossed state lines it unfortunately makes it a federal case. They'll simply send over an agent or two in the coming months to look over the case and sign off on the closing, nothing more. Hell knowing the bureau they might never send anyone over, wouldn't surprise me in the least.'' he scoffs.
Nodding William turns to walk out of the sheriff's office when he spots Noah's empty desk, ''Hey sheriff, Stilinski finally take a sick day? Cuz I swear that man could have a gaping gunshot wound and still show up for his shift, so if he didn't clear it with you we might have to send out a search party.''
''Deputy Stilinski has the week off and before you ask, no you may not know the reason and I'd recommend leaving him be. Oh and also Matthews, behave yourself around the feds whenever they choose to grace us with their presence, that's an order.''
''Yes sir.'' William responds, walking out he passes Noah's desk wondering what would get him out of the office for a whole week.
…
''Noah, please calm down.''
''No. He is going to run the tests again right now.'' Noah points at the doctor, a dangerous tone in his enraged voice.
The doctor to his credit doesn't falter, ''Sir I am very sorry for your situation-''
''My situation? My situation is that an incompetent doctor has misdiagnosed my wife and convinced her that she's dying. My situation is that you sir, are going to get me another doctor more competent than yourself who can actually help my wife.''
Sitting in one of the chairs in the doctor's office Claudia starts to break a little, face crumbling as tears cloud her vision. Noticing his wife's distress Noah stops his tirade against the doctor and squats down in front of her, trying to console her.
Tears filling his own at his wife's clear distress he turns to the doctor, tone drastically different. ''Please, she's the love of my life.''
…
That afternoon Malia finds herself in a waiting room avoiding eye contact with every other person there, the twins wiggling in the seats next to her.
They fly up when the lady behind the desk calls out, ''Stitch family?''
''That's us.''
The older woman smiles kindly at them before leading them to an open office door. There they are greeted by Marin Morrell.
She squats down to the boys' level. ''My name is Marin what's yours?''
Ethan shyly hides behind Malia's leg while Aiden bravely steps forward, ''Aiden and that's Ethan, my little brother.'' He says confidently, even shaking Marin's hand.
''Nice to meet you both Aiden and Ethan. This is my office. It's pretty cool if I do say so myself. I have this big fluffy couch for my friends to sit on but I also have a very fluffy carpet you could play on. Here I have a whole box of toy cars and building blocks, and in this drawer I have all sorts of coloring books, do you maybe want to go play with them while I talk with your aunt?'' Morrell asks the boys.
Nodding the boys tentatively explore the office before settling down near the box of toy cars and building blocks. Marin takes this time to invite Malia to sit while she herself takes a seat behind her desk.
''As we've discussed over the phone this is simply an intake, a meeting to gain a clearer picture of your family's needs after which we'll determine whether or not I am the right therapist to treat your family. It is my policy to start with a little tour followed by letting the children explore and get comfortable with the room and my presence in it. Usually we start with a conversation with parents or guardians present to make the children feel safe, after a while I'll request you to leave the room and I'll talk with the children alone.'' Marin explains.
Nodding Malia feels herself calming at the sound of her voice. Marin Morrell was one of the few people that made her feel justified in her feelings after the pack turned her human. Hell she'd helped her to give name to what she was feeling back when feelings might as well have been math to her. Back when the guilt was eating her alive and she couldn't explain why she felt sick when her father did anything nice for her, why even a simple smile made her stomach twist and turn.
''You've already expressed some concerns about certain areas in Ethan and Aiden's lives in our phone conversation that's really helpful. Looking at the boys' history, '' She says, opening a file on her desk. ''I've determined that it would be best to start with sessions in which both boys will be present and work towards individual sessions.''
Scratching her temple Malia nods, ''Yeah sure, whatever is best for them.''
''Good.'' Getting up Morrell leads Malia towards the carpet where the boys seem to be playing with some blocks and toy cars.
Malia sits down quietly observing their play and Morrell's interaction with them.
''You have a nice car there Aiden where are you going?'' Marin asks quietly, holding one of the little cars in her hands herself.
Aiden eyes her for a short bit before turning back to his play and answering. ''Home.''
''Home, and where is that?''
Aiden shrugs and continues to make car noises. Ethan is busy building multiple structures, houses if looks were anything to go by when Aiden suddenly crashes his toy car through one of the houses, knocking over the toy people and destroying it in the process.
Morrell doesn't respond to the destruction, observing it and Ethan's reaction with keen interest.
Ethan smiles a little and turns to remove two of the toy people from the now destroyed gray house to the blue one. Bypassing an empty pink house and a green one with seemingly the most toy people in and around it.
''Blue.'' Ethan mumbles shyly.
Morrell smiles kindly, ''The blue house seems like a lovely home. What about the gray house was that a nice home?''
Aiden and Ethan shake their heads, not elaborating any further.
''The green house seems very busy, why don't some of them go live in the pink house?'' Marin asks.
Aiden frowns, looking at the empty pink house. ''They can't, no one lives there.''
''Yeah and they like the busy, it's nice. They all like each other.'' Ethan adds about the green house.
''Do they like it when people from the blue house visit them in the green house?'' Marin asks, taking in the proximity between the green and blue house, noting that the gray house seems the furthest removed from the others.
Aiden and Ethan look at Malia in question. Smiling Malia nods, ''Yeah they like that right boys?''
Aiden nods confidently, ''Yeah they like that.''
''What about the gray house would you like to visit them?'' Morrell asks, seeing Aiden ball up his fists and Ethan nervously bite his lip at the question before they both shake their heads negatively.
''Alright what don't you like about the gray house?''
''People''
''Pack''
''Quiet time''
''Lessons''
Nodding Morrell observes everyone in the room, the boys' but also their guardians' reaction to her questions, noting them. ''Now what do you like about the blue house?''
''Malia''
''Playtime''
''Cora''
''Bedtime''
''Breakfast''
''Derek''
''Our room''
''The woods''
''School''
The boys trail off into playing again, completely immersed in their play. An interesting fact for children with their recent history, to feel safe enough in a strange environment with a new person was a big achievement and testament to their current guardian. Looking at said guardian she sees the posture of a tense warrior ready for anything at any moment. Rigid shoulders, straight back and alert eyes.
Feeling eyes on her Malia turns to look to Morrell, taking this as her que to leave the room. She approaches the boys explaining that she'll be leaving the room for a bit and that she'll be just outside while they play and talk with Marin.
The boys nod, their eyes only briefly lingering on the door when she leaves the room, before going back to playing.
Marin watches her go and for a second she wonders if she just let the person most in need of therapy walk out of her office.
…
That evening Malia lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to find sleep. Sighing, she reluctantly sits up. Getting out of the bed she steps towards the window, moving aside the curtains she looks at the starry night sky, the moon peeking through the clouds.
Wrapping her arms around herself she closes her eyes for a moment, listening to the even breaths of the boys. Quietly she gets dressed and leaves her room, stopping at the twins' room she opens it slightly to check on them. Once open she smiles seeing them curled up together on the bottom bunk.
She proceeds to make her way downstairs, putting on some sneakers and quietly exiting the house. She hesitates after a few steps, turning back to face the house. Was it safe to leave Aiden and Ethan here unattended?
Closing her eyes she focuses on her immediate surroundings, listening for any movement that wasn't natural to the preserve. Having made her decision she starts running, she'd be back before they even knew she'd left.
Her feet pound against the forest floor sending leaves flying. Blood and excitement rush through her entire body as she lets loose. Smiling as she dodges the oak trees, jumping over large rocks like an excited puppy, ducking underneath small black walnut trees as if she were playing parkour.
Feeling exhilarated as she runs through a grove of sycamores. Jumping over a fallen trunk she makes her way to the rushing water nearby, never slowing her stride. Once there she slows hovering over the water with her foot, holding onto a branch of a small water birch she marvels at the sparkling blue, basking in the moon's reflection.
Bending down she places one hand in the cool water, touching the sandy bottom. The shallow stream she was at now was nowhere near as magnificent as the river down the path leading to the lake near the house but it was mesmerizing nonetheless.
Carefully she crosses the stream skipping from one slippery rock to the next completely immersed in the beauty of it all. And then she's off again, running as fast as she can until she's fully out of breath. Pausing, she bends over, hands on her sides as she heaves heavy breaths.
Loud bangs sound somewhere in the preserve, gunfire? No, they sound more like fireworks. Relaxing, she's broken out of her reverie by the sound of a branch snapping a few steps behind her.
Upright at once her head snaps in the direction of the noise. Seeing nothing she scans the area coming up with nothing, but when she looks down at her chest she sees a red dot and then another and a third.
Hunters.
And then she's running again faster than before, the forest blurring as she whizzes through it. Adrenaline racing through her body as she runs for her life, abandoning her jacket when it gets her caught on one too many branches. Branches that slice into her exposed skin when she runs through.
She's forced to zigzag when the gunshots start, slowing her down significantly. It's pure luck that they've missed her so far but hearing their advance her luck is quickly wearing out.
She holds in a cry as her foot gets stuck in a rabbit hole, ripping it out she is forced to abandon the shoe. Her chest heaves as panic begins to set in, if she kept running like this they'd eventually catch up to her.
Another gunshot rings through the area making her ears ring. Jumping sideways she dodges the bullet but by doing so sends herself face first into a large oak tree, stumbling her feet tangle up in its roots sending her tumbling down a hill behind it.
She rolls down desperately grasping for leverage, hands clawing at the ground grasping leaves, sticks and clumps of dirt. Unable to get a strong hold she stumbles further, her body scraping against stones and other debris on the way down. Once her descend comes to a stop she scrambles up and takes off again, ignoring the stinging of her body.
Eventually hiding behind a tree listening to their fast approaching footsteps. Shit there must be five of them at least… Looking around she calculates a clear path leading to the house knowing she must shake them first, she can't endanger the others nor expose the location of their safehouse.
Turning her head around the tree, she's forced to pull it back immediately as a bullet blasts right at her face sending tree bark flying through the air. The footsteps are closing in on her, steadying her shaky breath, she assesses the situation.
There are at least five of them with semi-automatic weapons, probably other artillery too. Looking at their methods, their choice of weapon, she'd say they were Virginian hunters of the Venator family. Five was too many to face alone exposed like this.
They should've never crossed into their territory, facing the Mectators would've been better. Quickly she takes her clothes off shifting into her coyote form. They were expecting a woman, aiming high so if she runs in her coyote form they won't be able to change aim fast enough to hit her, hopefully.
Her paws hit the ground running, ducking under any bushes and undergrowth she finds trying to shake them. Panting she ignores the stinging of her paws and the copper scent that tinges the air. Eventually she reaches the river jumping straight into its cold embrace, not the best choice but the only one other than biting a few bullets.
This part of the river has a strong current that immediately starts to drag her down and towards the lake. She lets the current drag her for as long as she can hold her breath, hoping it'll carry her far away from her pursuers and then she kicks out her paws as hard as she can to get to the surface.
Breaking through the surface she gasps for air but her relief is short lived as the current drags her down again, the icy water penetrating her coat of fur weighing her down even more. Kicking out her paws her mind starts to get foggy as the adrenaline abandons her. Black spots dance in her vision as the icy cold slowly seeps away and the ache in her paws becomes no more.
…
Groggily Ethan sits up rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Aiden sits up as well yawning as he rubs his hand over his serious bedhead. After going to the bathroom, they brush their teeth and get dressed.
Sniffing Aiden frowns, ''I don't smell anything…''
Ethan steps out of their bedroom. ''Guess we're eating cereal today.''
''No, Malia said we'd eat waffles today.'' Aiden disagrees, following his brother.
Ethan shrugs, ''Maybe we're getting waffles at Sheila's?''
Walking down the stairs they expect to be greeted by Malia at the kitchen table, stopping in their tracks when they are not. Faced with an empty table the boys turn to each other, confused. They race back upstairs, bursting into her room even going as far as checking the shower. But no Malia.
''Toilet?'' Aiden asks.
''Toilet.'' Ethan agrees and off they go, tripping over themselves to get downstairs.
Disappointment swirls through the air when she isn't there either. Panic building as the boys' can't find her anywhere.
Ethan swallows nervously before speaking. ''Malia?'' he calls out quietly, no response.
''Malia?'' Aiden says a little louder, no response.
Tearing up Ethan calls out desperately, ''Malia?!''
Standing there the boys' cries became more and more desperate as the minutes went by, wondering if maybe she'd abandoned them.
Sitting on the couch Ethan fiddles with his fingers. ''You think she left us?'' his voice rough from all the yelling and crying.
Aiden sounding no better shakes his head, ''The car is still here so maybe she went on a walk and got lost.''
Ethan's eyes widen, ''Or she got hurt!''
Aiden and Ethan look at each other in horror. What if she was attacked and they've just been sitting here?
Springing up they quickly pull on their shoes and rush out the house.
…
''Guys look what I've found?!'' Stiles yells, poking the animal with a stick.
Scott runs up, ''Is it dead?''
''Cora, come on! I've found something super cool!'' Stiles yells, whining a bit at the end when Cora doesn't immediately run to join them.
''Yeah, yeah, another worm or something? I keep telling you, I live here there's creepy crawlies everywhere it's not spec-.'' Cora halts when she's made it up the bank, seeing exactly what her friends have found. Running up she drops down on her knees next to them. ''Is it alive?''
Shrugging Stiles pokes it again, ''I don't know it hasn't moved since I found it.''
The kids jump back when the animal in question moves, opening its eyes and whining in response to the poking.
''Stop that, you're hurting it.'' Scott says, frowning when Stiles moves to poke it again.
''What is it anyways?'' Alexander asks, joining them.
Scott looks between him and the animal, ''I think it's a coyote.''
''A dangerous animal which you shouldn't be near.'' A man's voice states from behind the children.
Getting up Malia feels herself swaying, looking at the blurry figures before her she tries to make out what they are. And then suddenly she's off the ground, being held in the air by the scruff of her neck.
''Back to the house kids, there is a reason you aren't allowed to wander out this far.''
The children grumble a little before racing back to the house, excitedly announcing that they've caught a coyote.
Peter eyes the animal in his hands with concern as it whines, ''Malia, are you okay? Can you turn back?'' no response.
He speeds up as she goes limp in his hold running past the children straight into the house laying her down on kitchen island.
''Hey heard you found a- holy shit'' Darius exclaims as he too recognizes her scent. ''I didn't know she was a full shifter.''
Walking into the house Talia heads towards the kitchen talking all the while, ''You'll never believe who me and Laura found wandering in the preserve by themselves.''
''Let me guess, Ethan and Aiden?'' Peter responds, hearing her enter the dining room.
''Yes, how'd you-''
Abandoning her sentence she rushes to the kitchen island, scanning her for injuries. ''What happened?''
''The kids found her by the lake. She seems okay, no serious injuries, probably just exhausted. My best guess? She fell into the river on a run, couldn't climb out in her coyote form.'' Peter answers, softly brushing her head.
''It's close to a full moon, could've made her underestimate the dangers'' Darius adds.
Nodding Talia eyes the coyote, ''I want you to go to Adelaide house and track her scent from there, there's no way she couldn't have made her way out of the river by herself even Laura can do that under normal circumstances.''
''You think something nefarious happened. There's no way we wouldn't have heard a fight.'' Peter countered.
''What about a chase?'' Talia counters, ''She's been an omega for months, you know what omega's don't do during a chase that others would?''
''Call for backup.'' Darius answers.
Peter shakes his head, clearly disagreeing. ''Even if that's the case she could easily take someone in a fight as she's demonstrated multiple times. The amount of people or weaponry needed to send her running, straight into the river I might add, would have raised our alarms. Any growl or gunfire, even strangers' voices so close to the house would have woken half of us.''
Malia shifts back into her human form, catching only the tail end of their conversation, shocking all those around her.
She addresses Peter, ''You didn't hear anything?'' confusion tainting her voice.
Shaking his head Peter places his large coat over her, ''Nothing out of the ordinary, just some fireworks.''
That's bad, really bad and also entirely logical… because the Venators don't hunt in California, they've never hunted outside of Virginia. Shit, if the Hales didn't hear the gunfire then that means there was no gunfire. No gunfire means no hunters and no hunters means she almost drowned herself running from ghosts.
Sighing she draws the long coat tightly around herself.
''What happened?'' Talia asks, voice so soft you'd think she was talking to a child.
Shaking her head Malia laughs it off, ''It's stupid.''
''Tell us anyway.''
Sighing she doctors the truth a little, ''I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a run, heard some noises and uhm embarrassingly freaked out and ran, ending up in the river.''
''You sure that's what happened?'' Talia asks, concerned eyes boring into her.
She shrugs, ''Yeah what else could have happened? Anyways I really need to go, the twins must be freaking out.''
''No worries, your boys are here.'' Darius says.
''Oh.''
Caroline walks in carrying a set of clothes, ''Hi, how about I show you the shower and you can put these clothes on before you get the boys. They know you're here and we've explained that you had a little accident while on a run so they're all calmed down. Don't worry about hurrying or anything, they're having a grand time playing with the other kids.''
Following Caroline an unsettling feeling fills her stomach as one question toiled in her head; was she going insane?