Chapter 15 || Stay With Me

Braeden sat listening as Lydia told them all about how she had located Stiles. Braeden interlocked her fingers with Derek and leaned their shoulders together, ever since Derek had “died” she had felt a need to stay connected with him in one way or another. The severity of her feelings for him were something that scared her. When she had thought he died she had lost her mind, he had so quickly became so important to her and she didn’t know what she would do without him. She now knew that he had evolved and was stronger than ever, but that didn’t alleviate the fear that she always felt.

“Lydia do you have any idea where Stiles is being held in the building? Chris asked.

“No, but I may be able to help locate him once I’m inside.”

“No way, we can’t risk taking you in there,” Parrish said, firmly shaking his head.

“Jordan you have too. We can’t waste time finding him, it’s a big building.” Lydia said in a tone that told everyone not to argue with her.

“Do we know how many hunters there are?” Braeden asked. She didn’t feel like they had nearly enough information to be storming the factory. Her mercenary brain told her to wait until she knew more before attacking. Unfortunately, she knew that the rest of them did not see things the same way. They knew that their friend was dying and they would go to any length to save him, the same way that Derek had been willing to sacrifice himself in Mexico to save Scott. They were all so infuriatingly sentimental. Although Braeden had to admit that if it was Derek that was kidnaped she might be less calculating.

“We know of at least 20 who attacked Dawson, Remy, and Olivia’s old pack. That being said, there may be more than what we know or they may have called in backup. Although some may have died in that attack.” Argent answered her question.

“From what I can tell there are 4 doors. The main entrance, a loading dock in the back, and two exits on the sides. There are 3 floors and a basement.” Remy looked up from his laptop. Braeden wasn’t sure how she felt about the new arrivals, but they certainly had been helpful and their added strength would be extremely useful. Letting them fight this fight with Scott's pack was a risk that they had to take.

“We’ll need to leave someone to guard each door so no one escapes. Then the rest can split into groups to cover each floor.” Braeden offered her plan, strategy was something she excelled in.

“Our number one priority is to find Stiles, we have to try to take down the hunters as quietly as possible.” Argent added nodding at Braeden’s plan.

“Why quietly?” Kira asked.

“Because their first reaction upon being attacked will be to kill Stiles” Argent said plainly, he continued ignoring the horrified gasps from the pack, “They won’t be able to take him with them as they try to escape and they wouldn’t take any chances, they leave no loose ends.” Braeden felt Derek squeeze her hand. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand, hoping to sooth him.

“My mom knows to expect Stiles at the hospital...but we have to fill in his dad,” Scott said, “He made me promise to let him know about any plans.” Scott looked uncomfortable about the idea and Braeden figured that it was out of respect for Stiles' wishes. She knew that Stiles would never want his father involved. Scott was choosing to go against what his friend would want. Braeden understood the decision, The Sheriff would be angrier at not being involved than Stiles would be if he found out his dad was involved. Plus they could really use any help they could get. The Sheriff might be a human, but he knew how to fire a gun.

“It’s alright, the Sheriff can hold his own.” Argent assured the worried boy.

“I’ll let him know,” Scott said pulling out his phone.

“Derek can I talk to you for a second?” Braeden asks him. He looks a little surprised but follows her up to their room.

“What’s the matter?” He says, a frown creasing his beautiful features as he looks at her.

“Are you sure we can do this? The is a lot of hunters and unknown factors to deal with.”

“We have to try, and besides, we have Isaac back and three new members of the pack.”

“We don’t know how well they can fight, Lydia will just get in the way, Scott refuses to kill people, and everyone will be distracted by their sentimentality for Stiles,” Braeden said in a rush, trying and failing to keep desperation out of her voice.

“I’ll be okay Braeden,” Derek said, recognizing what her real fear was. “You won’t lose me.”

“You can’t promise that!”

“It’s true we live dangerous lives, and there will always be new threats, but I can’t let that stop me from doing what’s right.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“Because helping them is my responsibility and what my mother would want me to do. Also, Stiles has saved my life before and I owe him the same.”

“I understand,” She said with a sigh “I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

“Besides, how could I ever get hurt with you watching my back?” Derek said, pulling Braeden in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close, his mouth gently touching hers. He tried to keep the kiss light and tender, but Braeden tangled her fingers in his hair and nipped at his lip. She had never been good at going slow. Derek growled and pushed her back onto the bed. She watched his muscles ripple as he took off his shirt. She quickly mirror his movements and tossed hers aside.

“God you’re so beautiful” He whispered as he looked at her.

“Shut up and kiss me” she muttered, pulling his body close. And he did.

*****

Jordan took Lydia’s arm and led her out onto the balcony. Everyone was busy with the plan so he thought it was an opportune time to get her away to talk to her.

“What’s wrong Jordan?” Lydia asked once they were outside.

“I don’t like the idea of you running into a place filled with vicious hunters.”

“I’ll bring Stiles’ bat,” She said sweetly and he scoffed.

“Right cause that worked out so well for him,” He said and then immediately regretted it as pain flashed across her face. “Look I’m sorry, I’m just worried about you, I’m worried about everybody. It’s one thing to send a bunch of werewolves into a factory with an unknown amount of enemies, but it is a whole other thing to send you in with them.” She didn’t seem to realize how fragile she was. Time and time again that little redhead had thrown herself into the middle of danger, she was as bad as Stiles.

“I am our best shot at being able to locate Stiles as quickly as possible. You heard Chris, they will kill him once they hear us coming, not to mention the fact that he is dying and I have no idea how long he has, every second could count.” Jordan suddenly realized how worn out she looked.

“Hey Lydia, are you okay?”

“Fine, I just keep getting flashes of Stiles’ pain. The come and go quickly, but they are intense. We have to find him, if this is what he is feeling constantly, I have to do whatever I can to find him.”

“Okay, I’m in,” Jordan said rubbing her arm and ignoring the slight tug in his stomach when she threw her arms around her. She was less than 5 years younger than him. In the future that might not make much of a difference, but when she was in high school and he was out of college it most certainly did make a difference. She would be legal soon, but Jordan still tried to keep himself from thinking like that. They had only gotten so close because they had been spending a lot of time together working to figure out what he was. Right? Jordan got so confused thinking about it that most of the time he chose to ignore the situation. Still he found himself pulling her tighter into the hug and holding on for a bit longer than he should.

*****

“This is going to work right?” Kira asked Scott nervously, unable to keep from nibbling at her thumb.

“Of course it is, it's a good plan.” He assured her, but his voice sounded unsure. Never the less he reached out and took her hand away from her mouth. One thing that she loved about him was how selfless he was. He was obviously as unsure as she was, but he was still taking the time to reassure her and make her feel better. Kira didn’t point out that they had thought their previous plan was a good plan and look how that had ended. Scott’s phone buzzed and they both jumped a little. He looked at the bright screen. “Argent and Isaac are in position. You ready?” Kira nodded and pulled out her Katana.

Isaac and Argent were the last people to move into place. They guarded the back loading dock, Derek and Dawson covered the East exit, Remy and Braeden covered the West, and Argent and Isaac covered the front. Kira and the rest were going to enter through the East exit. Malia and Scott and the Sheriff were staying with Lydia in the hopes of her getting some kind of feeling. Kira and the rest were going to go to the top floor and move down, hoping to flush people down and towards the people guarding the exits. It was as solid of a plan as any, Kira was just nervous about all of the uncertainties. They had no idea how many hunters they were against or where they were or where Stiles was.

“Kira?” Scott prompted

“Oh sorry” she climbed out of the car and exchanged a nervous look with Lydia. The girl had been eerily quiet and Kira knew she was worried about Stiles. Scott came around the car and drew Kira into his arms and gave her a quick but intense kiss. She hugged him close and wished she didn’t have to let go, but she knew every second was precious so she reluctantly did.

“Be safe please, and find him quickly.”

“That’s the plan, remember everyone, stealth is key here. We want to take down as many as possible before they raise the alarm.”

“Got it,” Malia said a bit tersely. Kira knew she was eager to get Stiles. Scott pulled out his phone to send the final text, signaling the start of the attack.

“Let’s save Stiles,” he said and they all began running.

- N x

Chapter 14 || Stay With Me

Chapter 14

Lydia woke to her own screams and a pain unlike anything she had ever experienced. She knew what it meant, she could feel it. It was a feeling she had experienced only once before and had hoped to never feel again. Try as she might she couldn’t avoid what it meant, the consequences were too dire. Stiles was dying.

“Lydia?” A sleepy voice next to her asked. Lydia had let Malia sleep over since she knew she hated going home and had slept a lot at the Stilinski’s, plus she didn’t really want to be alone either. In truth, Lydia had been just as surprised by her offer as Malia had looked when she accepted it. The two girls may act civil towards each other, but Lydia knew there was tension there. So she wasn’t sure why she invited Malia over, maybe because they had bonded a bit that day or maybe because Malia was pack and she was hurting for the same reason as Lydia and it didn’t make sense for them to be alone. Regardless, she was there and Lydia had just woken her up with her screaming.

“It’s fine, just a nightmare. Sorry, I woke you.” Malia sat fully up looking at Lydia with an annoyingly concerned expression.

“Just a nightmare?”

“Yes just a nightmare, I’m just going to get a glass of water” Lydia abruptly stood up. She knew Malia could tell that she was lying, but she couldn’t say it out loud yet. She would tell the pack tomorrow morning, not that the information would change anything. Knowing would only cause them more pain, not help them find him sooner, but still they deserved to know what she knew.

She walked downstairs to get some water, but instead was distracted by her keys on the counter. Knowing she wouldn’t be getting any more sleep that night she felt the need to go for a drive. It was almost 5am and she figured she could go grab some bagels and coffee for the pack, maybe by the time she had finished it would be an appropriate hour to go over to Derek’s.

Lydia opened the door of her house and found Malia leaning against her car.

“Malia” Lydia sighed, “I told you I was fine, now go back to sleep.”

“You think I was asleep? I don’t think I slept more than 20 minutes the entire night.”

“I’m going to get food and coffee for the pack and then head over to the loft. Do you wanna join?” Lydia asked, resigned to the fact that the girl was not going to leave her alone.

“Yes please, anything to distract myself from my thoughts.” The two girls got in the car and drove in silence for a while, then Malia began talking,

“When Stiles and I first went public in school everyone was less than pleased.”

“How do you know?”

“I love being a werecoyote most of the time, but sometimes it's more of a curse than a blessing. Especially when it means I can hear every little piece of gossip whispered about me.” Lydia couldn’t imagine it. She knew people talked about her, teenagers were not nearly as sneaky as they thought they were, but she would never want to hear exactly what they were saying.

“What did they say?”

“Some said I wasn’t pretty enough to be with Stiles or that Stiles wasn’t hot enough to be with me. I didn’t care so much about these because I know we are both attractive people and I think there are a lot of factors other than looks that are more important.” Lydia glanced over to see the girl looking at her hands and twisting them together. She wondered if Malia had picked up that nervous habit from Stiles or if she did it naturally.

“What talk did you care about?”

“Some people said I wasn’t good enough to Stiles, which was true. I mean I’m trying to be good enough for him, but I was worried that might not be enough.”

“Malia, you have to know that isn’t true. First of all you might be a little rough around the edges but you are a good person. And Second the fact that you are trying means that you are good enough. Bad people don’t try to be better, they are okay with being bad.” Lydia hoped she had explained it in a way that Malia could understand. She looked over and saw the girl give her a small smile.

“Thank you, there was one other thing that bothered me at the time, but now I know was silly.”

“What was it?”

“People said that Stiles could never fully love me because he had loved you for so long and part of him would always love you.”

“Malia that's…” Lydia tried to interject, but Malia pushed on.

“No, no it’s okay. Stiles explained it to me a bit and I figured some stuff out on my own. Stiles said that he loved you before he had gotten to know you, he knew what kind of person you used to be and loved you because of it, but he still didn’t really know you.”

“And after he had gotten to know me he didn’t like me anymore?”

“No, he just realized that he had to take you off the pedestal and once he did he realized that you may never love him in the same way and that maybe the two of you worked better as friends than you ever would in a relationship.”

“And then he met you.”

“Yes and it all happened so fast, and he told me that once everything had settled he realized that he loved you in a different way now.”

“Like he loves Scott.” Lydia guessed, like a friend or maybe even a sister.

“I think you are in your own special category, you were his first love and will always be his first love.”

“Does that make you nervous?” Lydia asked not out of spite but out of genuine curiosity as she put the car into park. They had arrived at the store, but she wanted to finish the conversation before they got out. Malia didn’t seem to notice as she continued to stare at her hands, struggling to find the right words.

“No, that’s why I’m telling you all of this. I know things can sometimes be tense around us, possibly because of my lack of tact or because of Stiles. But I just want to let you know that I completely understand that you and Stiles have a unique bond and that I am not threatened by it.”

“Really?” Lydia could not believe how understanding Malia was being.

“Yes, I don’t want yours and Stiles' friendship to change.” Looking back at it Lydia realized that maybe she had been a bit jealous of Malia, not of the fact that she was dating Stiles, but of the fact that she was now Stiles’ number one priority. It was incredibly selfish, but she had just lost two important people when Malia showed up to take a third away. Stiles would still be in her life, but Malia would always be his first priority where it used to be Lydia. Lydia saw now how petty that had been. Stiles was an incredibly loving person and he had room in his heart for both of them. He would still be there for Lydia no matter what.

“Thank you, Malia, that is incredibly understanding of you.” Lydia reached over and squeezed her hand. Malia gave her a genuine smile this time and then looked out the window.

“Uh Lydia, where are we?”

“The store, what…” But Lydia trailed off as she looked, really looked out the window. She had thought they were parked at the store, but they were instead parked in a parking lot next to a huge factory.

“Lydia is this…?”

“It’s where they are keeping Stiles," Lydia said turning the car back on and quickly reversing “We have to get out of here before anyone sees us.”

“You did it Lydia, you found him.”

“Now let’s hope we can rescue him in time,” Lydia said, trying to ignore the pain exploding through her body, she knew Stiles didn’t have much more time.

*****

Liam woke to his phone buzzing. He was immediately awake as he looked at a text from Scott.

Lydia found Stiles, come to the loft ASAP

“Mason get up! They know where Stiles is” Liam shouted. His best friend stirred on the floor,

“What? How?”

“Lydia found him.”

“But if Lydia found him then…”

“Yeah, it means he’s close to death” Liam finished the sentence for Mason. “Hence why I am shouting at you to get up with such fervor.” The two boys immediately got up and started dressing. Liam was so grateful that Mason finally knew what was happening. Keeping the secret from him had almost destroyed their friendship. Now it was stronger than ever before and Liam always had someone to talk about the supernatural with. He had finally broken down and told everything to Mason when Scott had come to him and explained how valuable Stiles’ friendship was to him.

“You should tell him, he saw the berserker with Lydia, he knows something is up.”

“What if telling him puts him in danger? Or what if he is disgusted at the thought of having a werewolf as a best friend?”

“He won’t be, Mason is a good guy and a good friend, he wouldn’t push you away for something like that. Besides you need your friends, I would’ve been lost without Stiles.”

“But that’s different, Stiles came up with the werewolf theory before you did.”

“Yeah and I was incredibly cruel to him, but he still stood by me and helped me out. I almost killed him when I lost control, but Stiles still stood by me.”

“If you are trying to say that Mason will stand by me I get it, but it’s still putting him in danger.”

“Stiles is a human, and yes he has been put in danger, but he has survived. And he has been invaluable to me in the process and not just because he is super smart and clever and figures things out. He has been valuable to me because having all of this, werewolf powers, a pack, everything, wouldn’t mean as much if I didn’t have my best friend to share them with.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Mason.”

And tell him he had, and he hadn’t regretted it for a second. Mason had already figured out that there were supernatural beings and he knew Liam had been acting strangely so he hadn’t been too surprised when Liam had told him.

Liam was brought out of his thoughts with another text from Scott.

Isaac will pick you up in 5

Liam had to stifle a groan. Did it have to be him? Liam just couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness whenever he was around Isaac. Mason didn’t understand Liam’s feelings as he and Isaac had really hit it off. The only one who seemed to understand had been Malia, but recently she had been spending more time around Isaac. When he questioned her about it she told him that she had made a promise to Stiles to give Isaac a fair chance.

Maybe it was time that Liam followed suit. Scott and Stiles both trusted him and Liam trusted Scott and Stiles above all else. Isaac may be a stranger who was absent for the whole Benefactor/Kate debacle, but he was here now and Liam owed it to Scott and Stiles to give him a chance.

Isaac pulled up in Mrs. McCall’s car and the two boys hopped in. Isaac sped out of the driveway and down the road at breakneck speeds.

“Whoa dude relax, you are going to get us killed,” Liam said tensely, then he noticed how tightly Isaacs hands were gripping the steering wheel, he heard his heart racing and smelled the fear. “Isaac, it’s going to be okay, we will make it to Stiles on time.” Liam softened his tone. Isaac slowed down slightly and took a deep breath.

“Lydia said she woke up screaming with excruciating pain, that was Stiles’ pain she was feeling. He’s dying.” Isaac’s voice shook.

“At least we know where he is, and I know we will get to him on time. What is a group of silly hunters against our fierce pack?” To Liam’s relief a small smile appeared on Isaac’s lips.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so rude to you man” Isaac said softly “It’s just that, I had nothing in life until I was bitten by Derek, and even then Derek cared more about having a werewolf than he did having me. Scott was the first person to really seem to care about what happened to me, at least since my brother died. Being a part of Scott’s pack was the first thing in a while to really feel right. I was the first werewolf to join you know, so I guess I was a bit territorial and jealous of you.”

“Why would you be jealous?”

“Because Scott bit you, I may be his beta, but you have a special bond with him being his bitten beta.”

“I do?”

“Yes, and I know I hadn’t been around and had no right to be so possessive, but I was and I apologize for that.”

“It’s alright, I think I was threatened by you as well, a strange werewolf whom Scott trusted and who had been a part of the pack for longer than I had.”

“I guess we both got off on the wrong foot,” Isaac admitted and Liam smiled at him.

“About damn time,” Mason said from the back and they both laughed.

“Now let’s go get Stiles,” Isaac said as he pressed down the gas pedal, this time Liam didn’t mention it.

- N x

Chapter 13 || Stay With Me

Chapter 13

Dawson watched as Olivia blatantly flirted with Liam. Any other time he might have found it incredibly amusing and teased her for it, but at this moment he just hoped Scott didn’t notice and get angry at them. It was hardly the time to be focusing on little crushes, not when Stiles was missing.

Still, Dawson had to admit that he enjoyed seeing Olivia filled with life again. He hadn’t known her that well before they were all bitten. Olivia had only slightly been on his radar because she was related to Remy, and everyone knew who Remy was. He had been one of the most popular kids in school. Dawson’s only memories of Olivia were of a cute young girl who was always laughing.

The Olivia he had met after they were bitten was considerably different. He was bitten first so he was already in the pack when they arrived. Over time the three of them had gotten close, along with a few other teenagers who had been turned. Olivia had gotten back a bit of her sunny disposition and chatter, but it wasn’t until they had become a part of Scott’s pack that she really seemed happy. Dawson knew they had Liam to thank in part for that, his attention and done wonders for Olivia.

“This is hopeless” Dawson looked up as Isaac threw down his laptop. They had all been searching for hours with no luck. Liam and Mason had returned from Deaton's with no new information, Scott had come back from telling the Sheriff without Malia looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and Lydia had stormed out of the loft a little while ago. Dawson looked around at the hopeless expressions on everyone’s faces. They had known searching for Stiles this way was a long shot, but they were all steadily losing faith that they would ever be able to find him.

Dawson could feel the pain coming from every member of Scott’s pack, even Remy, Olivia, and himself were in pain over Stiles’ kidnapping. They had only known Stiles for a short amount of time, but he had certainly made an impact. Dawson had found his sarcasm and wit utterly amusing, but the best part was that Stiles treated the 3 newcomers no differently than the rest of the pack. He bantered and interacted with them like he had known them for years. The entire pack was civil to them, but Stiles really had accepted them.

“It’s not hopeless” Remy spoke up, and Dawson was incredibly glad for him at that moment. Remy was always there to say the right thing to make people feel better, a skill that Dawson did not possess. “We've finished our list of all of the abandoned buildings in Beacon Hills, I know it's a lot but we can split up in pairs and search them. We will find him eventually.”

“Remy’s right, we can’t give up hope, Stiles is counting on us to find him, and we will find him,” Scott said. Dawson was in awe of the boy, he had no idea how Scott was holding it all together, but he was. Dawson could see that he was making a honest effort to remain optimistic for his pack, he couldn’t let them see him lose hope because then they would as well. It was the Alpha’s job to keep up pack morale, it was a hard job and one that was not usually given to a teenager. Scott McCall was an incredible human being.

"Isaac can you help me split the buildings into sections? You know Beacon Hills better than I do." Remy asked, giving Isaac a job to distract him. The tall boy nodded and pulled a seat next to Remy.

“It’s not a very solid one, but at least it’s a plan,” Kira said, “Maybe you should call Lydia and Malia” She suggested to Scott. The boy nodded and took out his phone, but before he could hit a button, the loft door began to open.

Everyone in the room snapped to attention and eyes began to glow. Three unknown figures stepped into the doorway. Dawson remained ready to pounce until he saw the reactions of those around him. Everyone suddenly relaxed, Scott broke into a smile and grasped the hand of one of the men. Isaac threw himself into the arms of the other man who gripped him back tightly.

Dawson quickly figured out that these must be the people who Scott had been calling in for backup. He was wary about new faces, but if Scott trusted them, then so did he.

“Guys this is Derek, Braeden, and Argent,” Scott said with his hand on the shoulder of the one whom he had called Derek. “This is Remy, Dawson, and Olivia” Scott introduced them in turn. The three people regarded them solemnly.

“You sure you can trust them?” Derek said bluntly.

“Absolutely”

“They are the ones who brought the Hunter’s here?” The other man named Argent said.

“Yes, but we didn’t mean to bring harm to any of you” Remy spoke up to defend themselves “We would have died out on our own and thought the hunters would give up sooner than they have.”

“These hunters are not playing by any hunters’ rules.” Argent said, his eyes softening a bit.

“Do you know who they are?” Isaac asked him. Dawson remembered that he used to be a hunter and part of a very powerful family of hunters.

“Have you heard any family name or any other names mentioned?” Argent asked.

“Remy has made a list of the ones we know about with pictures of the ones we could find,” Dawson spoke for the first time. Remy turned his laptop towards them in response. Argent walked quickly over and looked at the screen. They all heard his intake of breath as he stepped back.

“You know them?” The woman named Braeden spoke up. Isaac had said she was a mercenary that had saved his life once and almost gotten killed for it. He assumed that’s how she got those freaking cool looking scars on her neck.

“Yes I know them, they aren’t a family, more of a group who shares similar life views.”

“Like that everything supernatural should be killed?” Kira asked.

“Exactly. They are a rogue group that goes around and kills anything supernatural. They usually establish themselves within a town, identify every supernatural, and then eliminate them systematically leaving no survivors. They are not normally as sloppy as this.”

“I don’t think they expected us to run, we abandoned our Alpha when the fighting started because he was horrible and we were planning on leaving anyways” Remy explained.

“They are ruthless and their life goal is to exterminate everything supernatural. You guys may have brought them to Beacon Hills, but if they were so close they probably would’ve heard about it anyways.” Dawson felt a sense of relief at his words, a weight that he didn’t realize he was holding lifted from his shoulders. Maybe the three of them didn’t have to take all of the blame for the current situation.

“I’m going to call everyone who’s not here and then we can all fill each other in,” Scott said pulling out his phone.

*****

Scott was wholly overwhelmed by the amount of people in the loft, yet the missing presence was even more overwhelming. All he wanted to do was scream and then curl up into a ball until it was all over, but he couldn’t afford that luxury. His best friend was counting on him, his pack was counting on him, and he had to keep it together for all of their sakes.

The arrival of backup had lifted everyone’s spirits. Scott felt a lot safer with Derek and Argent around. They, along with Deaton, were the most experienced when it came to the supernatural. Although this time they were not fighting something supernatural, they were fighting men. Men who had seen fit to kidnap his best friend.

He couldn’t argue that Stiles was harmless, that mind of his could cause a world of pain to whichever foe he chose. But Stiles’ only weapon was his mind, and that silly baseball bat which never ended up helping anyways. Stiles was a defenseless human teenager who was currently at the mercy of an insane group of rogue hunters.

“Scott, you ready?” Argent’s question brought him to the present, reminding him that he had to get the pack meeting started.

“Right, so it all started last full moon when Deaton got word of 3 Omegas roaming around the Preserve…” Scott went on to explain the whole situation to Derek, Argent, and Braeden with the occasional help of his fellow pack members. Chris Argent grimaced at the mention of his father and Malia’s account of her conversation with him. After they finished Argent filled in the rest of the pack about what he knew about the group of hunters.When he had finished there was a moment of silence as everyone let the information sink in.

“Why would they take Stiles?” Derek asked

“He’s the easiest to take, plus Gerard knows that he is Scott’s best friend and probably knows a lot about the pack.”

“It was probably Gerard’s idea,” Malia said bitterly

“Why would you say that?” Isaac asked as most of the pack turned to her questioningly, but Scott could tell where she was headed.

“He did it once before, the night Jackson stabbed himself, Gerard kidnaped Stiles off of the lacrosse field.”

“He’s the one who beat Stiles up, not people on the other team,” Scott added and Malia looked at him in surprise.

“You knew?”

“Of course, it didn’t take too much to put it together. I kept offering to talk about that night, but he vehemently refused so I eventually dropped it.” Scott was a little hurt that Stiles hadn’t chosen to confide in him.

“It’s because Gerard did it to hurt you. He hurt Stiles to send a message to you and Stiles didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of delivering the message” Malia explained. Scott nodded, that seemed like something that Stiles would do, suffer through it alone to protect Scott.

“They are going to torture him aren’t they?” He asked turning to Argent.

“Yes.”

“How long do we have?”

“It’s hard to say. Stiles is stubborn and clever, so he will know to keep as much information as possible from them while keeping himself alive, but he’s also mouthy and obstinate which is going to cause him problems.” Chris told them plainly. Scott appreciated his honesty, although it stung hearing the words out in the open.

“We have to find him,” Liam said quietly. Scott felt the pain radiating from his beta. Scott was glad the two boys had finally put aside their differences and developed a friendship. Liam looked to Stiles for support and Stiles had grown quite fond of the boy.

“How do we find him?” Lydia asked and Scott flinched at the desperation in her voice.

“Actually, Isaac and I have been working on something” Remy spoke up.

“We made a list of all of the abandoned buildings and divided them into sections to search” Isaac put in.

“It will take a while unless we get lucky, but it seems like the only thing we can do right now,” Remy added.

“Chris?” Scott looked to the hunter for his thoughts.

“It’s as good of a place as any to start.”

“Okay, we will meet back here first thing in the morning,” Scott announced. He continued talking when they stirred as if they were going to object, “we are all exhausted and if we find where Stiles is being held we need to be ready for a fight. So go home, get some sleep, and we will all be fresh for the search in the morning.”

“Okay boss” Isaac responded, clapping him on the shoulder before standing up. The rest followed suit and slowly trickled out of the loft. Soon Derek, Braeden, Argent, Dawson, Remy, Olivia, Isaac, and Scott were all that remained.

“Uh...Derek, these three have been staying at the loft while you were gone, we didn’t think you would mind. They can crash at my house if you want until we find them more permanent housing.”

“That’s okay Scott, I don’t mind” Derek assured him.

“They can stay at my apartment if they want to sleep in real beds.” Argent offered “The place is too empty anyways, and the hunters won’t know to look for them at my place.”

“That’s true, what do you guys think?” Scott said. He didn’t want to put them in an awkward position considering they had just met Argent.

“I’m up for anything” Olivia piped up.

“You had me at real bed, I’m tired of that sofa,” Remy added “Dawson?” They turned to the boy who looked a little unsure, but he nodded his head nonetheless.

“I’m in.”

“Isaac you’re welcome to come as well” Argent added.

“Thank you, but if it’s okay I think I’ll go with Scott,” Isaac said, then he looked at Scott, “Is that alright?”

“Of course, you are always welcome at our house Isaac,” Scott said meaning it. In truth, he liked Isaac being at his house. It gave him great comfort knowing the boy was in the room next to his, it made him feel a little less alone.

Sleeping arrangements all settled, they all headed their separate ways for the night.

*****

Stiles had no idea how long he had been captured for. It felt like weeks, but he knew it was probably more along the line of days. The hunters were still continuing to take turns torturing him. So far he had met 5 of them, 4 torturers and the man who would patch him up and bring him food. The medicine man had told him that his torturers had been instructed to torture him but not to the point that they might kill him, those in charge were not happy with Clarisse’s aggressiveness.

Each torturer had their own unique style and each one had succeeded in eventually getting information out of him. Stiles hurt in so many places that his brain couldn’t really comprehend it, it just felt like his entire body was on fire. He wished he was past the point where he could feel new injuries, but unfortunately he wasn’t. He still felt every single new cut, bruise, and burn.

He felt water splash over him. Had he been asleep? Or were they just dousing him for fun?

“Wake up sunshine, it’s my turn” Stiles opened up his eyes to look up at the ginger man sneering at him. Stiles tried to think of a snappy response as the man pulled him up and chained him to the wall, but he couldn’t think of anything. “Let's play a game shall we Stiles? I’m going to give you a situation and you are going to tell me what your pack would do, understand?” Stiles stared back at the man, refusing to make this easy on him. As a reward for his stubbornness, the ginger shoved the object in his hand towards Stiles’ side. Stiles hissed and shook as the electricity pulsed through him. A Taser was the ginger’s favorite tool, set low enough that Stiles remained conscious but high enough that it caused searing pain. “Do you understand Stiles?”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth, his body still shaking no matter how he tried to still it.

“Okay then...So let’s say your pack was attacked at school, you end up getting separated from each other and cell phones aren’t working. Where would you go to look for them?”

“The loft” Stiles answered because it was obvious enough.

“What if they weren’t in the loft”

“The hospital”

“Not there either”

“Their houses”

“Nope.”

“I would go back and search the school again, check in the locker room. A lot of crap seems to happen there.”

“And what if they aren’t there?”

“I dunno, the morgue?” Stiles said tiredly.

“I’m glad you’re such a smart ass” The man said as he stuck the Taser into Stiles’ side again. He grinned in sick satisfaction as Stiles convulsed. After a few moments he asked, “Now where is the secret place where you would all meet up?”

“The Hale house, or least where it was.”

“Didn’t the county knock that old thing down?”

“Yes, but we still go there to do outdoor trainings and stuff, so if we ever got totally separated and had to stay off the grid that is where we would go.” The first part was true, but the second part was a total lie. The group agreed that if they were separated they would go to the lookout point, or if they had a Hale with them they would go to the vault. Luckily for Stiles the ginger was easy to fool. As long as Stiles resisted enough and told a convincing lie he would be believed. The other torturers weren’t as easy to fool, especially the woman Clarisse. She always knew when he was lying.

“Good, that’s good Stiles. Now I’ve got another situation for you…”

“Is this what you do during your free time?" Stiles interrupted him, " Do you sit by yourself and think of hypothetical situations to give me? What no one will talk to you? Are you a loner ginger?” Stiles taunted, his patience for this man’s games running thin. Unfortunately, it looked like he had struck a sensitive chord in the man. He kicked out and stomped on Stiles leg, colliding with the lower half in a sickening crunch. Stiles screamed as the pain exploded and spread up throughout his entire body. He vaguely saw the door crash open before he faded into blackness.

- N x

Chapter 12 || Stay With Me

Chapter 12

Stiles was confused and groggy when he woke up, but he was brought out of his haze fairly quickly by the pain in his chest. He looked down at his chest to see that someone had sewn up the new slashes. He knew they couldn’t have him bleeding out, he was so much more valuable to them alive. At least for the moment, he needed to be careful to make sure that he continued to be useful, because the moment he wasn’t, he was dead.

The door swung open and he jerked instinctively, the slight movement sending stabs of pain all throughout his body. He lifted up his head slightly and saw a man in glasses whom he had never seen before.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” He brought with him a glass of water and a plate of food. He knelt next to Stiles and helping him into a sitting position. A few painful moments later Stiles was leaning heavily against the wall looking warily at the new hunter.

“Are you the one who…” He gestured to his chest

“Stitched you up? Yes I am. We need you injured, not dead. Clarisse is a little knife happy. I’m sorry about your head, our supplies are running out, I had a small amount of sedative left but you still woke up before I was finished, screaming bloody murder, might I add. Cooper had to knock you out before you ripped all of your stitches out. You had some nasty wounds on your chest, side, cheek, and leg.” The man said with a grimace. Stiles thought that the man almost might feel bad for him and his tone suggested his disapproved of Clarisse’s methods or at least the extremity of them.

“What…” Stiles started, but his words got caught in his dry throat. He began coughing, each one painfully ripping through his body.

“Here drink” The man held up the glass to his mouth, which he gladly accepted. When Stiles had finished the man pushed the plate towards him. “Eat, you must be starving.” Stiles gladly took the food and even though he was starving he began eating it slowly because he knew going too fast could cause him to throw up and he wasn't sure when he would get food next.

“You’re different than the others.” He said with his mouth full.

“Well let’s just say that I don’t think kidnapping a human boy and torturing him is the most moral thing for a hunter to do.”

“Happened to me before...although that only included a few punches.” Stiles said bitterly

“Look I have to go, but I’d suggest you make this easier on yourself and just tell them what they want to know. They have almost all the information anyways and what they want they will get, one way or another.” The man in glasses gave him a grave look, something about the way he said that made Stiles do a double take.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if they can’t break you they will be forced to take someone else, perhaps the new little beta. Werewolves are a lot easier to torture because they are a lot less delicate, they can endure a lot more pain than you and survive.” The man took the empty plate and glass and left Stiles to his thoughts. Stiles knew that he would have to play it perfectly. He had to stay alive for long enough for his pack to find him, but he had to give enough information so that the hunters didn’t resort to kidnapping Liam or anyone else. Stiles couldn’t let anyone else go through this, he was suffering so much to protect his friends, not bring them harm.

He just hoped they found him soon. He didn’t know how much more he could take. Lydia would probably be able to find him when he was close to death, but he wasn’t sure how much time he had between being close to death and actually dead.

*****

Malia was sitting on Stiles’ bed when Lydia walked in. The girl looked a little startled to see her sitting there.

“Scott dropped me off here...I just didn’t feel like going to the loft yet.”

“I understand, I just came here to see, I just thought maybe being closer to him I could…”

“Get some banshee feeling as to where he is?” Malia provided.

“We weren’t having any luck with anything else, I might be Stiles’ best chance of being found, I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Lydia gave a shaky huff of frustration and sat next to Malia. Malia wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. She had tried before to help the banshee figure something out and had no luck. She decided instead to address the guilt she could feel coming from her friend, guilt for not being able to help enough.

“Lydia this is not your fault, no one blames you for not being able to find him.”

“I blame me!” She got up again and started pacing “What good are these powers if I can’t use them to save Stiles. God he’s normally the one who helps me figure this out. How am I supposed to do this without him?” Malia had no answer for her. She had been wondering the same thing since he was taken. Stiles was the clever one, the one who consistently came through and figured things out, now he was counting on them figuring something out and they were failing him.

“We’ll figure it out Lydia” She eventually said, she knew the words sounded empty but she needed to say something. Lydia walked around Stiles’ room, she looked at the clear board he had with all of the hunters’ information that Remy had compiled, she fingered through the school work on his desk, and looked at the posters on his walls, but Malia could tell that nothing was sparking any kind of knowledge. Lydia turned back to her with a hopeless expression on her face.

“I know I can do this, I’m just not sure how.”

“Maybe that just means that he’s not in incredible danger or near to death,” Malia said hopefully.

“Yeah...maybe,” Lydia said, but she didn’t sound convinced. She sat again next to Malia and for a while the two girls sat in silence. Malia stared at the board that Stiles had filled up with pictures of hunters, red tape, and his sprawling handwriting. Seeing his handwriting sparked a sadness in her, it was just so personal, so Stiles. His handwriting perfectly described his personality, it was hurried and messy but still legible. Malia looked at every single paper, memorizing the faces of the hunters. The faces of those who had hurt Stiles and whom she would hurt in return when she got the chance.

“Maybe we could go for a drive? Stiles said you once found him when he was dying by automatic driving.”

“I’ve never tried doing it on purpose...it might work, at any rate it's better than just sitting here.” Lydia stood up and picked up her jacket and Malia followed suit. But before either girl could move out of the door, Lydia’s phone rang. “It’s Scott,” She said to Malia, “Hello?” Malia tried to focus her hearing but could only hear garbled sounds coming out of Lydia’s phone. “I’m with Malia….they got your messages?...we will be right over.”

“What is it?” Malia asked the second she hung up the phone.

“We have to head over to the loft. They’re back?”

“Derek and Braeden?”

“Derek and Braeden and Argent.”

- N x

Chapter 11 || Stay With Me

Chapter 11

“I never want to do that ever again,” Malia said as she and Scott exited the Sheriff’s station. Seeing the Sheriff reaction to their news had almost broken her, especially since she was barely holding it together in the first place.

“Let’s hope that was the last time,” Scott said with a grimace. Parrish had offered to give them a ride back to the Loft, but they decided they both could use some fresh air. So they were walking to Scott’s house to get his bike. They walked without talking for a while, both immersed in their own thoughts. Finally, Malia broke the silence,

“How did you meet Stiles?

“He never told you?”

“Nope."

“He’s probably embarrassed. We met in the sandbox when we were around 3. I had built this incredible sand castle that I was extremely proud of. Enter Stiles, he comes racing into the sandbox, not even noticing as he runs right through my castle. Needless to say, I got upset and started yelling and crying which made Stiles start yelling and crying back. A typical 3-year-old meltdown where we both thought the world was ending. Our mothers came rushing over and quickly figured out what had happened. Trying not to laugh they encouraged us to build a castle together that was even better than the one Stiles had trampled. They even sat down in the sand with us and helped us. Stiles and I became instant friends and our moms also hit it off.” Scott told the story with a smile.

“You remember all of that?”

“No, not really, but goodness knows our mothers loved telling that story. I’ve heard it enough that it’s almost like I remember it.”

“Did you know her well? Stiles’ mom? He never talks about her.”

“Yeah, she was like a second mom to me. She was beautiful, Stiles gets his brown eyes from her. She also was one of the kindest persons I have ever met. She never got mad at us when we did something stupid, but she would give us this disappointed look that had us scrambling to make up for what we did wrong.”

“She sounds amazing.”

“She was, and she would’ve really liked you Malia.” Malia felt a sudden feeling of loss for the woman whom she had never gotten the chance to meet.

“I wish I could’ve met her.” She said quietly

“Losing her was one of the hardest things I had ever experienced, but my pain was nothing compared to what Stiles and his dad went through. They sort of lost her before she died you know.”

“Because of the Dementia?” Malia had researched it in length as it was one of the few things she knew about Claudia Stilinski.

“Yes, Frontotemporal Dementia caused Mrs. Stilinski to change a lot. The main way that it affects people is in their personality and behavior. At first the changes were not as noticeable, it almost just seemed like she had depression, but as she grew worse and worse it was a lot harder to watch. Mrs. Stilinski had always been such an incredibly kind and caring and compassionate person, but her disease took that away from her."

"It can cause lack of judgment and inhibition, apathy, lack of awareness of thinking or behaviors, which all contribute to overall increasingly inappropriate actions." Malia recited slightly mechanically remembering what she had read online.

"Yes, the hardest for Stiles was the apathy. He suddenly found himself with a mother that no longer had the patience or kindness to deal with her hyper young son."

"Poor Stiles" Malia had thought about all of this when she looked up the disease, but hearing Scott's first-hand account made it all the more real.

"He stayed with her though, even when she said something cruel or made fun of him. He made sure to go to the hospital as much as he possibly could. I would often walk in and see tears running down his face and Mrs. Stilinski obliviously watching TV. He wasn't crying because the words hurt him, but because they meant that he was losing his mother, more and more every day."

"Why does he blame himself?" Malia had sensed it a few different times, guilt washing over him when he brought up his mother, but she could never figure out why.

"I think he thinks he made it worse by staying with her. I think he thinks that he only antagonized the situation and caused her to regress faster. He thinks it was selfish of him to have forced his presence on her up until the end when it only made things worse."

"But that can't be true!"

"It's not, my mom says that he probably helped her stay herself for longer. She has told him that over and over, but even though his brain knows it to be true, his heart will not let go of the guilt. He refuses to talk about it." Scott shrugged his shoulders and gave her a helpless look that reflected her feelings. When they got Stiles back safe and sound she vowed to try to help him deal with his guilt, she had no idea how to go about it, but she was going to try.

*****

When they released Stiles from the shackles on the wall he fell to the floor in a heap. They didn't even bother tying him back to the chair because they knew he wasn't going anywhere. He slowly shifted onto his back to try to relieve the pain from the four new cuts across his chest. He took what remained of his tattered shirt and pressed it against them, crying out in pain as he did it.

He had once again ended up telling her what she wanted to know, explaining all of the relationships in the pack, even his and Malia's. He wanted to throw up at the thought of betraying them. He had no idea what he was going to do when they started asking him real questions. But right now he was too tired to care, every part of him burned and all he wanted to do was take a break from the pain for a while.

His eyes drifted shut and he fell into a fitful sleep.

"Good luck Stiles" Malia came up and kissed him on the lips "I know you'll do amazing tonight." She gave him a tight hug and whispered into his ear what her personal reward would be after the game. Stiles felt his face grow hot and was glad he had a helmet to put on. He sent her one last smile and ran over to join the team. Scott and Liam clapped him on the back when he got there. He looked at Kira to find her staring at him with a horrified expression on his face.

"Kira...what's wrong?" He asked nervously. He looked around to find the rest of his teammates including Scott and Liam looking at him with the same horrified expression. "Guys what's up?" He backed a few steps back from them. He looked towards the stands trying to find Malia, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Malia?" He asked trying to divert attention away from himself as they were all just looking at him. Finally, Scott lifted up his arm and pointed at Stiles.

"Stiles, I think you should lie down."

"What? What are you tal-" Stiles stopped when he looked down. His cuts on his chest were all bleeding, leaving a red X shape on his jersey. As soon as he saw the blood he began to feel the pain. The pain felt a thousand times worse now than it did when he had gotten the cuts. He fell to his knees and started screaming.

He woke up screaming and panicked when he couldn't move. He could see a few shapes above him. His chest was burning.

"Damn, I was hoping he'd be asleep for longer. I don’t have any left...Cooper if you wouldn't mind?" Stiles heard a voice say, but it sounded murky and far away, he didn't really understand what was happening. Then he saw a shape get closer, he had just managed to recognize him as his first torturer before his head was lifted up and slammed back onto the ground.

*****

"Why doesn't Stiles ever let his father help? I get that he's being protective, but he is the Sheriff and he can protect himself more than Stiles can." Malia said in a frustrated voice. Letting the Sheriff in on the plan would have saved them that awful experience, plus maybe the Sheriff could've helped save Stiles.

"Stiles was the only one with his mother when he died you know" Malia stopped in her tracks when Scott spoke. She hadn't known that and this was not the answer she had anticipated getting.

"Where was his father?"

"There was a motor vehicle accident at the same time and he was away dealing with that. My mom forced me to go home for the night, but she knew Stiles would not leave until his dad arrived. They had made a promise that every night the would both come to say goodnight to Mrs. Stilinski. They knew their time was limited and wanted to make the most of what they had left. My mom was doing rounds in the children's ward when she heard the call. She rushed to Mrs. Stilinski room as fast as she could. The doctors and nurses were already doing what needed to be done so she focused on Stiles. He was standing next to his overturned chair staring at his mom. He wasn't doing anything, not crying, not screaming, my mom wasn't even sure he was breathing."

"Oh my god," Malia whispered, she could not even fathom going through what he went through.

"He was small for his age so she picked him up and took him into the hall. For a couple terrifying seconds he just stood there staring at her. Then he dissolved into hysterics and had his first ever panic attack. My mom eventually managed to calm him down and while she was calling my father to tell what happened, Stiles' father arrived. My mom told me that she had never seen a hug that broke her heart more than the one they shared, both of them clinging on to each other as tightly as possible." Malia could almost see it in her mind's eye. She had certainly seen her fair share of Stilinski hugs, some filled with a certain amount of desperation and worry. Their hugs took on more meaning with what Scott had told her.

"No wonder he's so protective of his dad."

"His dad is his only remaining family member and he can't watch both of his parents die. That's why he will go to great lengths to keep his father out of harms way. He could never live with himself if his father got hurt because Stiles got him involved in a plan. He knows its irrational and he knows his father can protect himself, but he also knows the danger that goes along with our lives and he can't take the risk of bringing in his father."

"I understand," Malia said, and she did. She may not have fully understood before but after hearing Stiles' story from Scott she definitely understood now. "Thank you, Scott." She hooked her arm in his and they finished their journey in companionable silence.

- N x