#stilinski! reader

He was forced to push aside those nerves when Kate Argent arrived in town and shot him with a wolfsbane bullet. He tried finding Scott first, but had a hard time with it and lucked out finding you first. You had driven Stiles to school that morning to make sure he actually went rather than spending the day disappointing your dad, and had come back that afternoon to pick him up. You had just caught sight of him approaching your car when Derek came stumbling into your hood, leaving Stiles to sigh in exasperation and throw up his hands.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. This guy’s everywhere!”

Derek crumpled to the pavement and you jumped out of your car to help. Scott ran over as well, kneeling down beside him. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I was shot.”

You looked over him quickly and furrowed your brow. 

“He’s not looking good, guys.”

Scott frowned at him as you started to help him up. 

“Why aren’t you healing?”

“Not the time, Scott. Stiles, open the door.”

You got Derek to his feet as Stiles ran around to open the back door of your car. Derek groaned again and tried to steady himself as his eyes flashed bright blue. 

“What are you doing? Stop that!”

Scott looked around as you forced Derek closer to the backseat.

“I’m trying to tell you- I can’t.”

You were quickly running out of patience. 

“Scott, you said you heard the one who shot him say something about forty-eight hours, right?”

“Yeah.”

Derek slumped into the backseat and you waited a second to close the door when he raised his hand. 

“I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used.”

“How do you expect me to do that?”

“She’s an Argent. She’s with them.”

“Why should I help you?”

You shut the door before Derek could answer and gave Scott a harsh glare.

“You’re going to help him because he asked you to. Scott, I don’t care what problems you have with him. I’m not letting him bleed all over my car for nothing, so go.”

He nodded slightly. 

“I’ll try. But I can’t make any promises.”

Scott’s eyes landed on Allison across the parking lot and he waved you and Stiles along.

“Get him out of here.”

“I hate you so much for this.”

Stiles glared at Scott for just a second before climbing into the passenger’s seat and waiting for you to start the car again. You gave a slight wave on your way out of the parking lot and tried to put your faith in Scott. 

Your first instinct was to take Derek back to his old house, which Stiles had confirmed he was still living in. The only sounds in the car were the werewolf’s intermittent groans of pain. Stiles tried to distract himself as you pushed the speed limit to get there in time. 

“Keep it together, Hale. We’ll be there soon.”

“Where?”

“Your house.” Stiles answered for you. 

Derek tried to sit up and moaned as he dropped back down. Your eyes flickered back to meet his in the rearview mirror.

“What?”

“You can’t take me there.”

“I can’t take you to your own house?”

“Not when I can’t protect myself.”

You sighed heavily and stopped on the side of the road.

“What happens if Scott can’t find the bullet? Are you dying, Derek?”

“Not yet. I have a last resort.”

“What do you mean?” Stiles turned around to look at Derek quizzically. “What last resort?”

You both gagged at the sight of Derek’s still bleeding wound and you turned back around, gripping the steering wheel and taking a deep breath to settle your nerves. 

“Call Scott, please.”

Stiles did as you asked and five minutes later you were changing route to the animal clinic. Derek and Stiles were arguing the whole way and while you were on the verge of ripping your hair out over it, you considered it a good thing that Derek was well enough to be annoyed with your brother. 

You let Derek drop down by a kennel just outside the door to the animal clinic when Stiles checked his phone and raised an eyebrow. 

“Does Northern Blue Monkshood mean anything to you?”

“It’s a rare form of wolfsbane.”

Derek mustered up the energy to stare at you and your brother did the same. 

“What? I took a botany class in college.”

Derek decided to focus on that later and instead spoke to Stiles. 

“He needs to bring me the bullet.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m gonna die without it.”

You both hurried to get Derek inside and he leaned heavily on the table in the middle of the room. His breathing was getting more labored as the minutes passed without an update from Scott. You tried to keep your mind off the possibility of your old friend dying in front of you as Stiles wandered around the room fiddling with anything he could get his hands on. 

“Okay, I have to ask. If Scott doesn’t get here in time, what’s your last resort?”

“One of you will have to cut off my arm.”

He said it in such a deadpan tone that you almost thought he was joking. 

“I’m sorry. What? No one is cutting off anyone’s arm!”

Derek rolled his eyes and grabbed the saw from its drawer. 

“What if you bleed to death? I’m not prepared to deal with a dead body tonight.”

“It’ll heal,” Derek sounded indignant. “If it works…”

You threw your hands up and looked at Stiles, who was completely on your side.

“I don’t think we could do that…”

“Why not?”

“Well, because of the sawing through the flesh…”

“The cutting of the bone…”

“And the blood!”

Derek looked up from the tourniquet he was tying with a vaguely incredulous expression. 

“You both faint at the sight of blood?”

“No, but we might at the sight of a chopped off arm!”

He sighed heavily, knowing that arguing with the two of you was doing no good. He’d rarely been able to win arguments with you as teenagers and you clearly hadn’t gotten any less stubborn since then. 

“How about this… you cut off my arm, or I cut off yours.”

You glared at him. 

“No more threats, Hale. You’re barely standing right now and I doubt you’re gonna get better in the next two minutes. Just hold on, Scott will be here soon.”

Five minutes later, there was still no sign of Scott. Derek keeled over and vomited, splattering a thick black liquid all over the floor. 

“Oh, what is that?”

“It’s my body… trying to heal itself…”

“Well it’s not doing a very good job of it.”

Derek let his head rest on the table as he looked up at you desperately. 

“Now. You gotta do it now.”

“I really don’t think I can-”

“Just do it!”

Stiles grabbed the saw and tried to psych himself up while you shuffled back and closed your eyes. Just as Stiles prepared to start up the saw, Scott came running in. 

“Stiles! Y/N!”

He stopped in the doorway to stare. You were huddled in the corner with your eyes shut tight, every muscle in your body tensed up. Stiles was across the table from Derek with the saw, terrified at the thought of actually amputating the irritable werewolf’s arm while the werewolf in question looked ready to pass out. 

“What are you doing?”

Stiles dropped the saw and ran a hand over his face as you relaxed slightly and sighed in relief. 

“You just prevented a lifetime of nightmares.”

“Did you get it, Scott?”

You brought Stiles back on track and Scott nodded, grabbing the bullet from his pocket and handing it to Derek.

“What are you gonna do with it?”

Your question was met with a thud as he finally collapsed. All three of you dropped to the floor around him and tried to wake him up. While Scott grabbed the bullet from where it had rolled away, Stiles shook Derek and called his name. When he still wouldn’t wake up, you shuffled closer. 

“Forgive me for this, Derek.”

You curled your hand into a fist and punched him in the face as hard as you could. It worked and he shot up a bit, gladly accepting the help back to his feet. Derek quickly ripped apart the bullet and dumped the wolfsbane onto the counter. He grabbed a lighter from his pocket but his hands kept shaking, so you snatched it from his loose grasp and lit the little pile for him. Once the smoke started to fade, he gathered the ashes in his hand and slapped it onto the open wound on his arm. He took a second to rub it in, then collapsed to the floor again, writhing and shouting in pain as the wound finally healed. 

When the pain started to fade, he sat back up. You knelt down beside him, looking him over to be sure he was okay as the boys watched behind you. 

“That… was… awesome!”

Stiles pumped a fist in the air as you looked back at him. 

“Stiles…”

“Are you okay now?”

Scott still looked worried as you helped Derek to his feet.

“Other than the agonizing pain…”

You nudged his arm. Now was not really the time for sarcasm. 

“Let’s just get you somewhere safe where you can rest.”

Unfortunately, Scott wasn’t done yet. 

“We saved your life, so you’re gonna leave us alone now. Got that?”

“Scott.”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll just go back to Allison’s dad and tell him everything-”

“You’d trust them? Really? You honestly think they can or will help you?”

“Why not? They’ve been a lot nicer than you.”

You recognized the look in Derek’s eyes. The pain and anger that the boys couldn’t understand. 

“I’ll show you how nice they are.”

You made Stiles stay in the car while you and Derek took Scott to see Peter. He wasn’t happy about it, but you made him promise to wait, so he did. You followed beside Derek while Scott trailed behind and looked around the hallways. When Derek slipped into a room, Scott followed and you closed the door behind you. 

“Who is he?”

You and Derek had the same sad expression on your faces. Scott hadn’t thought until that moment that the two of you could be anything alike. 

“My uncle.”

“Peter Hale.”

“Is he a werewolf too?”

“He was.”

Derek took a deep breath and you explained for him. 

“Six years ago, while Derek and Laura were at school, their house caught fire. Of the eleven people inside, Peter was the only survivor.”

“What makes you so sure it was the Argents?”

Derek glanced at you and thought of how things might have been different if you’d known what he was then.

“They were the only ones who knew about us.”

“Well… then they must have had a reason.”

You shook your head sadly. 

“What reason could possibly justify this, Scott? I knew the Hales; they were good people.”

“They say they’ll only kill an adult and only with absolute proof. But there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. This is what they do. And it’s what Allison will do.”

A nurse caught your attention and forced you all to leave then. You let Scott go ahead to the car, undoubtedly intending to fill Stiles in. Derek looked over to you again as the front door closed behind you. 

“Thanks for your help today.”

“I didn’t do much, other than let you bleed on my back seat.”

“You did more than that.”

You offered a lazy smile that took him right back to high school. 

“Either way, I’m glad to help.”

“Even when you don’t have to.”

“Hey. Once my friend, always my friend. If you need me, I’ll be around.”

“I don’t think you’ll want to be. Not for this.”

“I was there for you when Paige died. I was there for the fire until you left. I’ll be here for whatever werewolf business comes next. Think of me as your guardian angel.”

Derek had said the same thing once, when you first met. One of the other basketball players had been giving you a hard time, stealing your books when you tried to study and shoving your lunch onto the floor. When Derek saw it, he taught the kid a lesson and stuck with you for two weeks, walking you from class to class and sitting with you at lunch. You tried to tell him you were fine, but he insisted, telling you to consider him your own personal guardian angel.

“I think I’ll need one by the time this is over.”

“For now, just aim for some sleep. I’ll see you soon.”

You nudged his shoulder and smiled one last time before turning to see Stiles hanging his head out the window and looking thoroughly annoyed about waiting. Scott had climbed into the back seat, so you dropped him off at his house before going home. Stiles forced back the questions he wanted to ask you and instead went to his room for the night. You figured you’d have to open up about Derek eventually, but it could wait for now. 

When he slipped out the front door and snuck over to Scott’s house to recruit him, you followed. It wasn’t hard to hide in the backseat of his Jeep on the way to the woods, then pop up when he climbed out. 

“What exactly do you think you’re going to find out here, Stiles?”

 You nearly scared Scott into an asthma attack, but it was worth it. 

“What are you doing here?”

“Keeping my little brother and his friend from getting hurt or caught by our dear sheriff.”

Scott shuffled to let you walk between him and Stiles as you trekked into the forest. 

“I don’t need a babysitter, Y/N.”

“That’s what I thought too Sty, but apparently you’re incapable of making rational choices like, I don’t know, not running around the woods when a murderer could find you?”

“I want to clarify right now that he made me come.”

“Shut it Scott, I know you could have stayed home. And you should have.”

The brunette sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. You weren’t wrong; he probably could have gotten Stiles to go away. But what kind of person would he be, letting his best friend wander around the woods at night all alone?

“We’re just looking around. It’s not like we’ll get caught by anything.”

“Stiles, it’s only half of a body you’re looking for. Why do you think that is?”

He shrugged and continued on. It didn’t take long to run into your dad, though you both kept Scott behind you to take the blame yourselves. 

“Hold it right there!”

He pressed himself against a tree, trying to catch his breath as your dad pushed past another officer to give you both a disappointed look. You raised your hands in surrender while Stiles covered his eyes.

“These two delinquents belong to me.”

“Dad, how are you doing?”

You rolled your eyes at your brother and gave your dad an apologetic look. 

“Do you… listen in to all of my calls?”

“No.”

You answered first and Stiles just had to make it worse.

“Not the boring ones.”

Your dad nodded and dropped his eyes to the forest floor as he sighed. 

“Where’s your usual partner in crime?”

“Who, Scott? Scott’s home.”

“He said he wanted to get a good night’s rest for the first day back at school tomorrow.”

You weren’t exactly lying about that. Scott had wanted to get some rest. Before Stiles dragged him out to the woods.

“It’s just us, two siblings out in the woods. Alone.”

Your dad obviously didn’t buy it and pointed his flashlight out to the trees behind you. 

“Scott? You out there?”

You waited for a few seconds, barely holding your breath, before he sighed again and turned back. You followed closely behind as he grabbed Stiles by the back of his shirt. 

“You two get back to the car. We’ll have to have a talk later about invasion of privacy.”

“I’d like to clarify that the only privacy I invaded was his. Stiles is the one who listens to your phone calls.”

“Not helping, Y/N.”

“Got it.”

You were fully prepared to leave the experience in your memory and move on, but a few days later, you went to check on Stiles and found him researching werewolves on his computer. 

“Stiles, what bizarre fascination have you found now?”

“Uh, nothing.”

You fixed him with a stern look and he told you his theory about what had happened to Scott. You listened and thought about it, but had no real reason to believe him. 

“Look, I’m sure you both believe in what you saw, but werewolves don’t exist.”

“But what if they do?”

“They don’t.”

Stiles sighed. Then he popped back up with a look in his eyes that told you he had an idea you wouldn’t be able to shoot down. 

“Come to the lacrosse game, okay? Watch what Scott can do, because it’s not normal.”

Stiles had thought of telling you about running into Derek Hale, but decided against it. You’d known Derek when you were in high school, but never seemed willing to talk about him after the fire that killed his family. You’d visited his uncle Peter a handful of times, having had some distant sort of friendship with him before. Stiles figured bringing him up would only serve to upset you. 

Scott was no more willing to listen than you were. He was too preoccupied with Allison and figured Stiles was messing with him. Shortly after Scott left, you decided to go for a walk. Something about the woods seemed to call to you; it always had. Before you knew it, you’d walked deep into the preserve and only snapped out of your thoughts when you realized you could barely see ahead of you. 

As you turned in a slow circle, trying to get a sense of where exactly you were, you heard growling and pounding footsteps. You listened a moment longer and heard more footsteps and shouts. You weren’t sure what you were doing, but you took off after the noises, eventually catching sight of a group of armed men bathed in moonlight. Their attention was focused on a tree a short distance away, where Scott was trapped by an arrow sticking out of his arm. 

You didn’t have time to process the sight of his glowing eyes and fangs before another figure broke through the darkness and attacked the men. While the leader of the group turned to see their bodies crumpled on the ground, the figure ran to Scott and freed him before taking off further into the forest. 

Your worry for Scott was overridden by the distinct impression that you had to get out of there immediately, so that’s exactly what you did. You told Stiles where he might be able to find his best friend, so he got in his Jeep and went looking while you got what rest you could. There was no denying what you saw that night. Your little brother’s best friend was a werewolf and your life just got a lot more frustrating. 

On the night of the dance, you were out in the woods again. When you couldn’t sleep, which was every night now, you came here. Something was calling to you, you were sure of it. All your life, you’d walked through this forest, letting some deep sense of knowing guide you. You’d never gotten lost once, but you always seemed to end up in the same place. For the sake of your sanity, you’d ignored it. Now it had pulled you there again. 

“Excuse me, miss. What are you doing out here?”

You whirled around to see Chris Argent standing a few feet away with a man you didn’t recognize. They were both armed, but tried for calm expressions. 

“I’m just taking a walk.”

“Alone in the woods? In the middle of the night?”

You shrugged. “You’d be surprised how often I do.”

Argent glanced at his companion and took another step toward you. 

“The woods are a dangerous place. Why don’t we help you find your way out of here? I’d hate to leave a defenseless young woman alone without offering my assistance first.”

You weighed your options in your mind. From what you knew about Argent, his offer was genuine. He wasn’t interested in hurting an innocent person, especially a human. If you tried to take off on your own, you could easily run into more problems. And you weren’t sure where Peter was, so being alone was a chance you shouldn’t have taken to begin with. 

“Okay. Thank you…” You figured it would be smart to pretend you didn’t already know who he was. 

“Chris Argent.”

“Y/N Stilinski.”

You shook his hand and followed him through the trees. 

“Stilinski. Sheriff’s daughter?”

“Yep.”

He nodded and you both let the conversation end there.

It didn’t take long to reach the high school. You could hear someone talking, and Chris immediately stopped you. His friend led you in a wide arc around the sound while Argent went to investigate. Once you were at the tree line, you thanked him and watched as he turned back into the woods. 

As soon as you were in the clear, you ran for the open front doors of the school. You felt the slightest bit safer in the school than with the hunters and took a moment to gather your thoughts. One of these days, you’d have to get a handle on that urge to run into the woods every chance you had. It might get you hurt if you didn’t. A few minutes later, Jackson came stumbling through the doors and ran into Stiles. 

“Hey, where have you been? Did Lydia ever find you?”

“I- I was out behind the school…”

You came closer. 

“That was you?”

Stiles took a second to register that you were there.

“Y/N, what are you doing here? Where is Lydia?”

Realization dawned on both of you at the same time and you took off together to find her. You were just coming up on the lacrosse field when all the lights flicked on, illuminating the redhead in the middle, staring at the rapidly approaching figure of Peter Hale. Stiles tried to tell her to run, but she didn’t understand and in the next second, he had her. Her body dropped to the grass as you and Stiles slid down next to her. 

“Don’t kill her, please!”

You kept a hand on Stiles’s shoulder, reminding yourself that he was still there. Peter looked up at him and let his eyes flicker to yours for half a second. 

“Of course not.” You almost let out a breath of relief before he continued. “Just tell me how to find Derek.”

Stiles froze and stared up at him. 

“W-What?”

“Derek Hale. Tell me how to find him.”

“I don’t know that. How would I know that?”

Peter gave you a look like he expected you to agree with him. 

“Because you’re the clever one. Aren’t you?”

“Peter…”

“Tell me how to find him, or I will rip her apart.”

“Look- I don’t know! I have no idea!”

You squeezed his shoulder slightly and gave him a pleading look. 

“Stiles, tell him.”

“Y/N-”

“We both know you can figure it out, Sty. Lydia’s life is more important.”

Stiles looked down as Peter’s patience wore ever thinner. 

“I think- I think he knew…”

“Knew what?”

You answered for him. 

“Derek knew he’d be caught.”

“By the Argents.”

“Yeah.” You looked back to your brother. “Derek took Scott’s phone, didn’t he?”

“Why?”

“They all have GPS now.” You got to your feet as you realized it. “If the phone is still on and it’s with Derek, then you can find him.”

Peter got to his feet as well, leaving Stiles on the grass next to Lydia. He wiped the blood from his mouth and watched you try to still your shaking hands. 

“We can’t just leave her here.”

“You’re coming with me, Stiles. You don’t get a choice.” Peter waved a hand at you. “Your sister can look after her.”

“You aren’t taking one step out of my sight as long as my little brother is with you.”

Peter gave you a look of mock offense.

“You don’t trust me with his safety? I thought we were friends, Y/N.”

“That was before you were a psychotic murderer. Wherever you take him, I’m coming too. Stiles, call Jackson. Tell him where she is.”

You knew you should prioritise the injured girl, but you couldn’t leave Peter alone with him. You would do anything to keep Stiles safe, no matter the cost. Stiles pulled out his phone as Peter started walking away. You followed after him. 

“If you hurt my brother-”

“What? You’ll kill me? You don’t even know how.”

“I’ll figure something out.” You grabbed his arm and made sure he was looking at you before continuing. “Nothing is more important to me than my family and if you’re responsible for them getting hurt I can promise you this; the fire will seem like a fond memory compared to what I’ll do to you.”

Peter didn’t laugh. The look in your eyes told him you weren’t making an empty threat. No matter how powerful he was, nothing could beat the proper motivation. Your motivation, should Stiles not come out of this unscathed, would bring Peter’s world crashing down beyond the point of salvation. 

“I just need him to get to Derek. He’ll be free to go after that.”

You tilted your head slightly and he sighed. 

“You have my word, for whatever it’s worth.”

You let go then and climbed into the Jeep. Peter sat in the front seat and Stiles settled in the driver’s seat once he caught up. There was very little conversation during the drive. You were glaring at Peter the whole time and Stiles was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. You knew he was worried about Lydia. Peter knew it too. 

“Don’t worry. If she survives, she’ll be a werewolf. She’ll be incredibly powerful.”

“Yeah, and once a month, she’ll go out of her freaking mind and try to tear me apart.”

“Well, actually, considering she’s a woman-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence or I’m gonna punch you in the head.”

“I thought I was your friend.”

“Shut up.”

When you reached a parking garage, the three of you piled out and Peter led the way to another car. 

“Whose is this?”

“It belonged to my nurse.”

You were about to ask what happened to her when he opened the trunk, revealing her cold, pale body. Stiles grabbed your arm and flinched back at the sight. Peter simply grabbed the laptop case from her arms and looked at you blankly. 

“I got better.”

You lost focus on what was happening for a second when your phone buzzed. Your dad was texting, asking if you’d seen Stiles. 

Where’s your brother?

Why would I know where he is?

Because you always do. Have you seen him anywhere?

You looked up as Stiles tried to deny knowing Scott’s login. 

Can’t say I have.

“I can be very persuasive, Stiles. Don’t make me persuade you.”

“Peter.”

He took his hand off Stiles’s neck and stepped back a bit. 

“Just type, Stiles. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can leave.”

Stiles glanced over his shoulder at you. He could see the worry in your eyes, how desperate you were to keep him safe. 

“What happens once you find Derek? You’re gonna kill people, aren’t you?”

“Only the responsible ones.”

“Look, if I do this, you have to promise to leave Scott out of it.”

“Do you know why wolves hunt in packs?”

“Because their favored prey are too large to be brought down by a single wolf alone.”

“I need Scott and Derek. Both of them.”

Stiles watched you go back and forth. 

“I know Scott. He won’t help you.”

“He will to save Allison. And you’ll help, because it will save Scott.”

Stiles started typing and you watched Peter stare at the screen in disbelief. 

“His username is ‘Allison’?”

You almost snickered when Stiles continued typing.

“His password is also ‘Allison’?”

You and Stiles answered at the same time. “Still want him in your pack?”

Peter rolled his eyes. Teenagers. 

You all looked back at the computer and stared at the map. 

“They’re keeping him at his own house?”

“Not at it-”

“Under it.”

Peter glanced back at you. 

“I know exactly where that is-” He tilted his head as if he’d heard something, but you couldn’t catch anything. “And I’m not the only one.”

You had the oddest feeling, like you should go along with him. But Stiles was your first priority. 

“Give me your keys.”

Stiles groaned, but handed them over to Peter.

“Careful, she grinds in second.”

Instead of getting in the Jeep, Peter simply bent the keys in his fist and dropped them back into Stiles’s hand. 

“So, you’re not gonna kill us?”

“Stiles, I’m not the bad guy here.”

You got another text from your dad and missed Peter leaving. You had no faster way of getting to the hospital than running, so that’s what you and Stiles did. You promised to take him to replace his keys later, but said you could only do so much to cover for him with your dad. 

As soon as you arrived at the hospital, you collapsed into an open chair in the waiting room. Stiles had to talk to your dad, but you were in serious need of a moment to breathe. All your sleepless nights caught up to you and within a minute, you were out cold. Stiles went to get you, but turned back when he saw your closed eyes and steady breathing. He didn’t want to disturb your sleep, especially to drag you along to another dangerous encounter. 

You didn’t wake up until late morning. Stiles filled you in on everything you’d missed. Kate killed the Hales, Peter killed Kate, Derek killed Peter, and the Argents knew about Scott. Your dad had found Kate’s body, with the Argent pendant, in the burned husk of the Hale house and the case was closed. Lydia seemed to be healing at the rate of a normal person, which both confused and relieved you. A part of you mourned Peter’s death, but you were more focused on the peace of mind that came with knowing he was no longer a threat. It was the best you could do, really. 

“Okay, I think we all know I’m not getting a second of rest until we find Stiles. You two can track him by scent, right?”

Scott answered by ripping the door off Stiles’s locker and grabbing some of his clothes. He passed a shoe to Isaac while he held up a shirt. 

“How come you get his shirt and I’m stuck with a shoe?”

You all turned to go, but stopped at the sight of Derek. 

“We need to talk.”

You nearly screamed when Peter stepped up beside him. 

“All of us.”

Scott looked ready to faint. You took a few steps forward and Derek grabbed you just as you launched at Peter with your hands balled into fists. Peter simply stepped back and gave you a vaguely offended look. 

“I’m going to murder you with my bare hands!”

“Take a breath, Y/N. No one’s killing him yet.”

You turned your glare on Derek, but he just stared you down until you stopped fighting. 

“Can I let you go?”

“...yes.” You muttered your answer and he gently set you down. 

“What exactly is happening?”

Scott looked mad, so Derek glared at him. 

“You know, I was wondering the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the sherriff’’s station.”

“You did what?”

Derek felt the smallest measure of satisfaction as you demanded an explanation from your young friend. 

“He-he threatened to kill my mom! And I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?”

“I’m gonna go with Scott on this one.” None of you wanted to hear Peter’s opinion, but he shared it anyway. “Have you seen his mom? She’s gorgeous.”

The three of you turned to yell at him in unison, “Shut up!”

Isaac looked to you as he asked quietly, “Who is he?”

“Peter Hale. Derek’s uncle. Number one on my list of people to murder if I ever snap and go on a rampage.”

Scott offered a more informative answer. 

“A little while back, he tried to kill us. We set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat.”

Peter gave a friendly wave, which you rolled your eyes at. 

“That’s good to know.”

“How is he alive?”

“Look, the short version is this: he knows how to stop Jackson… and maybe how to save him.”

“Well, that would be great, but… Jackson’s dead.”

Derek and Peter tilted their heads. Under better circumstances, you might have laughed at how similar the two could be sometimes. 

“What?”

“Yeah.” You nodded in confirmation. “He just clawed himself in the guts on the field.”

Isaac looked around at the concerned expressions the rest of you wore. 

“Why is no one talking about this like it’s a good thing?”

“Because if Jackson is dead, it didn’t just happen.”

“Gerard wanted it to happen.” You ignored the look Peter gave you as you finished his thought. 

“But why?”

“That’s exactly what we need to figure out. And something tells me our window of opportunity is closing. Rapidly.”

You called your dad on the way to the Hale house. He told you Stiles was home, a little worse for wear, but safe. When he told you some kids from the other team had roughed him up, you knew Stiles was covering for something worse. You promised to be on your way home soon, then followed the boys into the burned out house for the first time in six years. 

“I told you, I already looked everywhere.”

Derek watched Peter walk up a few steps and pull a board aside, then reach for something hidden there. 

“You didn’t look here.”

Peter stood with a thick object in his hands, carefully blowing off the dust gathered on it. 

“What is that, a book?”

He gave his nephew a mocking look. 

“No, it’s a laptop. What century are you living in? A few days after I got out of the coma, I transferred everything we had. Fortunately, the Argents aren’t the only ones who keep records.”

You helped Peter and Derek look through the information their family had on kanimas while Scott and Isaac went to the hospital. 

“Y/N, maybe you should go home.”

Your head snapped up to look at Derek. 

“What?”

“Whatever’s going on with Jackson now, we can deal with it. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Derek, we had a deal. I’m your guardian angel, remember? I can’t leave now.”

“Stiles already got beat up by the hunters and he hasn’t even done anything. Your dad nearly got shot by an insane teenager. How do you think they’ll feel if you get hurt now? Your dad won’t understand, but Stiles will.”

“We share an inability to stay out of trouble. It runs in the family.”

“You’re adopted.”

“Irrelevant.”

Derek tried to argue further, but his phone rang. Scott tried to explain what they were seeing as Peter pulled up an image of what Jackson was turning into. 

“They say he’s in some kind of transparent casing made from the venom coming out of his claws.”

“That sounds sufficiently terrifying.”

“Not leaving.”

“They also say he’s starting to move.”

You stared in wonder at the alpha form of the kanima. If you were a more sane person, you might have run away screaming. Instead, you clicked on the animation to get a better idea. 

“Maybe it’s less terrifying if-”

A screeching sound came from the speakers and Peter snapped the laptop shut.

“Nope.”

“Not at all.”

Peter turned to Derek, who still had his phone out. 

“Maybe we should meet them halfway.”

“Scott, get him out of there now! Go!”

You were out the door first, barely taking notice of the Hales stopping to argue again. You had the car running by the time they joined you and you set off together. Peter kept you close while Derek tried to kill Jackson. As much as you hated agreeing with Peter, you believed that Lydia could save him. If he survived the night, you had some choice words for Derek. 

As the other Argents arrived and an all out brawl began, Peter nudged you behind him to keep you out of danger. You would have fought him on it, but your hand went to your necklace and your vision went blank. Peter was so focused on the fight and the reveal of Gerard’s plan that he didn’t notice what was happening to you. 

A blanket of white covered everything in front of you. The faint voices of your friends disappeared beneath a humming sound that grew louder each second until it seemed to rattle your brain. When you raised a hand to your head, it stopped. A figure appeared in front of you with a gentle smile. 

“Hello, dear. It’s been some time since I saw you last.”

You squinted into the light and shook your head. 

“It’s alright. I only want to help.”

“With Jackson…?”

You focused on the light laughter you received in response to your dazed question. 

“Oh, that’s none of our concern.”

“People are dying. My friends are getting hurt.”

“Well, that’s what people do, I’m afraid. It’s unavoidable. What you need to worry about is your grace. I can’t imagine why you haven’t opened it yet. Don’t you want to return home?”

“Who are you?”

You tried to take a step back, but you couldn’t move. 

“Your grace will remind you. I’m a very old friend.”

“That’s not enough of an answer for me. And where am I?”

The woman started pacing lightly, taking long elegant steps in her flowing white gown. She looked, simply put, angelic. 

“You’re in a state between the living and the dead. You’re home. But not for long, without your grace. So long as you’re human, you’ll be separated from where you belong. Humans cannot remain in the home of angels without severe side effects, so we have very little time.”

“Why would you bring me here now? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m in the middle of a dangerous situation.”

“You’ll be fine. Scott McCall is neutralizing the threat as we speak. All your loved ones will see tomorrow. I wanted to speak with you because you’ve been missed here.”

“Just let me go back. Please.”

“I have to. But we’ll see each other again. When you’re ready, your grace is waiting. And so am I.”

The light faded, taking the woman with it. You dropped to your knees as the warehouse came back into view. Behind you, the fighting had stopped. The warehouse was illuminated by the headlights of Stiles’s Jeep, showing Jackson alive and well with everyone staring at him in shock. Gerard had managed to disappear again. 

“Y/N!”

Peter finally seemed to remember he’d left you defenseless and ran back to get you. He helped you to your feet with a questioning look. 

“What happened?”

“You didn’t see?”

“I- I don’t know.”

Everything after Peter pushed you behind him was a blank space in your mind. You weren’t sure how you could have been completely unaware of what had transpired in the last ten minutes, but it was simply gone. You shook your head slowly and Peter led you back to the others.

After that night, your odd dreams started again. Most of them slipped away when you woke up, leaving only a deep sense of confusion. Others stuck in your memory and gnawed at the back of your mind all day. You knew one thing for certain as you pretended to return to normal. The necklace was far from finished with you and it wouldn’t let you forget it.

You sighed when Derek hung up and hoped that he was okay. He’d dropped your call when another car coming from the opposite direction made him skid across the pavement to turn and run into the iron works. You kept glancing into the rearview mirror at the car tailing you. Scott was driving, which you were starting to regret letting him do, while Stiles shouted at him from the passenger’s seat to go faster. 

“Scott, I don’t think you’re getting the concept of a car chase…”

“If I go any faster, I could kill us!”

“Well if you don’t go faster, they’ll definitely kill us!”

You looked back again and saw the car turn away. 

“Uh…  they’re gone.”

You grabbed the radio from the seat beside you and turned up the volume to hear your dad’s voice. 

“All units, suspect is on foot heading into the iron works.”

You sighed heavily as Scott turned to go pick up Derek. When you arrived, Mr. Argent was shooting at him with a crossbow. Stiles threw open his door, then dove into the backseat beside you as Derek jumped in. 

“What part of ‘laying low’ seems to escape your understanding?”

“I had him!”

You leaned forward to put a hand on his shoulder and he took a steadying breath. 

“Who? The alpha?”

“Yes! He was right in front of me, and the friggin’ police showed up.”

You swatted at the back of his head and frowned. 

“They’re just doing their jobs, Hale.”

“Yeah. Thanks to someone, who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire state!”

“We get it; Scott was dumb and now you have problems. Can we focus please?”

Scott spared you an offended glance but you ignored him as Stiles spoke up. 

“So how did you find him?”

When Derek hesitated, you groaned. 

“When are you gonna start trusting us?”

“I do trust you. It’s these two I’m worried about.”

“Well, I can’t make any promises for them, but I think it’s time you took a chance anyway.”

“Look, the last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. The first was a guy named Harris.”

Stiles leaned forward between the seats with a confused look. 

“Our chemistry teacher?”

“Why him?”

Scott was trying not to look over at Derek and instead keep his focus on the road. 

“I don’t know yet.”

“What’s the second?”

You hoped he had more to go on than the standoffish teacher who seemed to hate Stiles. 

“Some kind of symbol.”

He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to you. A vague wolf shape lay in the middle, with a sort of sunburst to the side. You were sure it was familiar, but you couldn’t quite place it. Scott took his eyes off the road for a second to look and groaned slightly. 

“What? You know what this is?”

“I’ve seen it on a necklace. Allison’s necklace.”

You leaned back in your seat and sighed. 

“Great.”

You saw Stiles off to school the next morning and spent most of the day working. Your dad tried to keep you out of the bigger cases at the station, but you were allowed to work the front desk and keep records in order. You’d spent so much time there growing up that you knew every officer and had plenty of fond memories with each of them. When school let out, you ran home with your dad to check on Stiles and make sure he wasn’t finding more trouble. 

“Hey, Stiles!”

You heard him start to say something, then trail off. As your dad reached the door, Stiles jumped forward and pulled it close so you couldn’t see into the room. 

“What’d you say?”

“I… said ‘yo, D-Dad’...?”

Your dad just sighed before pointing to both of you to get your attention. 

“Listen, I’ve got something I need to take care of, but I’m gonna be there tonight.”

“We both are.”

“Your first game.”

Stiles nodded, but you could tell his focus was elsewhere. 

“Yeah, my first game. It’s great!”

“Awesome!”

You nodded as well, patting your dad’s shoulder to beckon him away from Stiles’s room. 

“We’re proud of you, Sty. And so happy for you too.”

“So am I. Happy and proud... of myself.”

“So, they’re really gonna let you play, right?”

“Yeah, dad- I’m first line.”

“I really am proud of you.”

Stiles nodded and let him pull him into a hug. You patted both their shoulders and waited for your dad to leave before following Stiles into his room. You started to ask him what he was hiding, but cut yourself off when you saw Derek behind the door. 

“Are you kidding me? Derek, you have got to make more friends.”

He looked the slightest bit embarrassed for hiding in your little brother’s room. 

“Did Scott get the necklace or not?”

“No. He’s still working on it. In the meantime, I have another idea we can try.”

Stiles sat at his computer as Derek stuffed his hands in his pockets beside you.

“Don’t leave me in suspense, Sty. What are you thinking of?”

You could feel Derek getting frustrated as Stiles explained his idea, so you rested a hand on his arm. He wasn’t sure how you still had an effect on him, but he felt himself relax under your touch. Before you knew it, Danny Mahealani stood in Stiles’s room staring at him in disbelief. 

“You want me to do what?”

“Trace a text.”

Stiles said it like it was the most normal thing in the world to request. 

“I came here to do lab work. That’s what lab partners do.”

You sighed and gave the teen a pleading look. Danny was a good kid and you’d gotten along well the handful of times you’d met. 

“What even makes you think I know how?”

“I… I looked up your arrest report so…”

“I was thirteen! And they dropped the charges.”

Danny was clearly embarrassed to have that brought up, which you doubted was helping in getting him to trace the text for you. 

“That’s not the point, Danny.”

His eyes flickered to you, then back to your brother. 

“No. We’re doing lab work.”

Danny sat down and glanced back at Derek, who sat beside you with a book in his hands that you knew he was barely reading. He gestured toward him with his thumb as he whispered to Stiles. 

“Who’s he again?”

“Uh, my cousin… Miguel.”

You rolled your eyes as Derek glared at Stiles. 

“Is that blood on his shirt?”

“Yeah.”

“He gets bad nosebleeds. Nothing to worry about.”

You saw the look in Stiles’s eyes and tried to stop him from opening his mouth again, but he ignored you. 

“Hey, Miguel… I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts?”

If looks could kill, Stiles would have been dead on the spot. Derek snapped his book closed and tossed it to you as he stood up. He ripped off his shirt, angrily throwing it to the floor before reaching for one from Stiles’s top drawer. You stifled a laugh as he stared down at the shirt, which had to be at least two sizes too small for him. 

“So anyway, we both know you have the skills to trace that text, so we should probably-”

“Uh, Stiles…?”

Your brother turned back to see the glare on Derek’s face. 

“This?” He held up the shirt for Stiles and Danny to see. “No fit.”

“Then try something else on.”

You watched Derek grab another shirt and yank it on, grumbling to himself all the while. Danny was still watching him, which Stiles noticed immediately. 

“Hey, that one looks pretty good, huh Danny?”

“Huh?”

He looked uncomfortable at being called out for staring and tried to come up with something to say.

“The shirt?”

“It’s… it’s not really his color.”

Derek sighed, clearly trying to keep his cool, and ripped it back off. You were really struggling to keep your own composure as Stiles and Danny whispered back and forth. It didn’t take long for Danny to figure it out once Stiles gave him the information he needed. You all gathered around the computer to look at what he found. 

“The text was sent from a computer.” He pointed to the words on the screen. “This one.”

Derek leaned closer. 

“Registered to that account name?”

“No, no, no, no.”

“That can’t be right.” 

You couldn’t believe what you were seeing. It just wasn’t possible. You must have been reading it wrong. 

Account registered to: Beacon Hills Hospital- Melissa McCall

You waited outside the Jeep while Stiles called Scott. You needed a minute to breathe after spending all afternoon with your feuding brother and friend. You couldn’t hear their conversation, but neither of them looked happy. After Stiles put his phone down, Derek slammed his head into the steering wheel. You could almost hear his groan of pain, but you could only find a little bit of sympathy for him. Neither of them had been easy to deal with recently and you were ready to smack both boys yourself. 

Stiles stumbled out of his car and you grabbed his elbow for a second to get his attention. 

“You okay?”

“Other than your boyfriend slamming my head into my steering wheel, I’m great.”

“Sty.”

He sighed and nodded slightly. 

“I’m okay. Really.”

“Good. Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s fine. I can do it.”

You gave a single nod and went back to the Jeep to wait. 

Derek stayed on the phone with Stiles as he looked for Melissa but came up empty. He tried telling him to look for Peter’s nurse, but she was gone too. 

“He’s not here either.”

“What?”

“He’s gone, Derek.”

You looked at Derek, at a loss for answers as his eyes widened. 

“Stiles, get out of there right now! It’s him! He’s the alpha! Get out!”

You were out of the Jeep and halfway to the door by the time Derek caught up to you. You had no idea what you would do when face to face with the alpha, but your need to protect your little brother overrode everything else. You ran through the halls to Peter’s room and found Stiles standing between the nurse and Peter himself. Without another thought, you swung at the nurse, knocking her to the floor completely unconscious. Had you been less freaked out, you might have been impressed with yourself. 

“That’s not nice.” That was Peter’s voice. You’d recognize it anywhere. “She’s my nurse.”

“She’s the psychopath helping you kill people.” Derek nodded at you and your brother. “Get out of the way.”

You grabbed Stiles and ducked through the doorway. 

“You think I killed Laura on purpose? My own family?”

Peter grabbed Derek as he lunged at him. While he was distracted, you shoved Stiles back down the hall and ran after him. You could still hear the two growling and throwing punches, but it faded from your attention as you and Stiles headed for his Jeep. You couldn’t worry about Derek at the moment. All that mattered was getting Stiles out safely.

Allie nodded and carefully picked you up. Your dad held the door for her on her way to the car and she gently stood you up to open the car door. You were just awake enough to stand, then flopped into the backseat. 

“Where’re we going?”

“Home.”

Allie grabbed your phone from your jacket and called Parrish as she drove home. 

“Hello?”

“Pears, where are you?”

“Home. It’s four in the morning. Why are you calling me?”

“Sheriff needs you at the station. I’m taking Y/N home, then coming right back.”

You leaned forward between the seats to get closer to the phone. 

“Is that Parrish? Tell him I said hi. Hi, Parrish!”

“Is that Y/N?”

“Yeah. She’s a little-” Allie quickly put the phone on speaker and set it on the dashboard as you tried to reach for it. “She’s a little out of it right now. That’s why I'm taking her home.”

“Hi, Parrish.”

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Allie, I don’t want to go home. I want to help.”

“You can’t right now.”

“Why not? I’m an angel, I can do stuff.”

“Y/N, right now, we need you to rest.”

“Errapel made me better though! I’m okay now.”

“Pears, just get to the station. I might be a little while.”

“I’m already on my way. Do you want me to tell the Sheriff?”

“That’d be great.” You tried to reach for the phone again and Allie nearly jerked the wheel and ran off the road trying to stop you. “I gotta go, I have a five year old to deal with.”

“Bye, Parrish!”

Parrish hung up and hurried to the station while Allie carefully pulled over and gave you a stern look.

“He didn’t say bye back.”

“Y/N. Can I trust you to stay home until I get back?”

“I want to help!”

“I know, I know. But right now, there’s a lot going on and you aren’t at your best.” If you slipped up and complicated things further, your dad might actually have a breakdown. “Everyone needs you to stay home and focus on feeling better so that when the real fight comes, you’ll be ready. Okay?”

“Your hair looks really soft. How do you get it like that?”

Allie heaved a sigh and pulled back onto the road. In five minutes, she had parked in the driveway and corralled you into the house. Once you saw the stack of books on your shelf, your attention was captured. You sat cross legged on your bed and started reading one you’d told her was your favorite. 

“I have to go now.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll keep reading while I’m gone?”

“Yep.”

Allie grabbed a few more of your favorites and set them on your nightstand, making sure some lights were turned on before she hurried back to your car. By morning, she was caught up on everything she’d missed. Your dad was at the end of his rope with the supernatural, putting the whole pack on edge. 

While you and Allie had your run-in with the Dread Doctors, Hayden and Liam had been taken. Kira was possibly responsible for another death. Your dad sent Allie to look after the pack, feeling she could do more with them than at the station. 

She arrived at the McCall house while they all argued over who was going where to help. She walked in through the front door without knocking, a habit she never cared to break. Stiles was trying to convince Mason not to go with Scott and put himself in danger. 

“Liam’s my best friend- I’m going.”

“Oh, did you suddenly get super-wolf powers? I wasn’t aware of that development.”

“Well, if you’re not going, I could use the help.”

“You’ve got me.” Allie raised a hand and caught the group’s attention. She didn’t miss the way Theo tensed at her presence. “Where are we going?”

“Allie. Where did you go at the high school? We could have used you.”

“None of your business. Now, if someone’s putting their life in danger, I should be there. I can take the hits that you guys can’t.”

“Allie, you don’t have to come. We can bring Theo.”

Malia’s suggestion wasn’t meant to be rude, but it still struck Allie. This kid was sketchy at best and had only been in town for a few weeks. Why was Malia, or anyone else in the pack, more willing to trust and work with him than with her?

“Maybe I’d better stay here…” Theo couldn’t risk spending more time with Allie. She had been onto him from the start and he didn’t feel like taking his chances against a warrior angel. “You know, in case the Dread Doctors decide to make a house call for Corey.”

“Scott, Stiles is right. We need to slow down and think.”

Lydia looked between the two boys. Allie could feel that something had changed between them. The pair rarely agreed on any bad plan either of them came up with, but it was more than that. Stiles still hadn’t told Scott or you about what happened with Donovan in the library. 

“I am thinking- about how Liam and Hayden could already be dead.”

He’d called her that night, shaky and fighting back tears. She was there in an instant to comfort him. He walked her through what had happened and she waited with him for the police. When the car stayed for only a minute before leaving again, they ran back into the library together and stared in wonder at the clean space where Donovan’s body had just been. Allie had promised to keep it a secret on the condition that he told you when he was ready. Apparently he still wasn’t ready yet.

“You could have hurt him, Scott. Really hurt him.”

“I have to find Liam.”

“Then let’s go.”

Allie brushed past Theo and Stiles to follow Scott, Malia, and Mason. 

“If you guys need anything, text me. Got it?”

“Roger that.”

She gave a comforting thumbs up to Stiles as the group left. Allie told the others about what had happened to you, leaving out her own paralyzing fear when the Dread Doctors came. They all agreed to split up to search the tunnels at the water treatment plant. Allie could hear echoing shouts from the others as they all ran from hall to hall, but found nothing. Eventually, she stopped and closed her eyes. 

You had a sense for how to find people in danger. You always had. When someone you loved needed help, you always found your way to them eventually. If you could do it, maybe Allie could too. She at least had to try. So she focused on her admittedly few memories of Liam and Hayden. She thought of their faces, their attitude that got on her nerves, the fear they must have felt being taken by the Dread Doctors. 

A fleeting image came to mind. A crackling gate opening to reveal the missing teens. As quickly as it came, it was gone again. Scott and the others rounded the corner and reunited with her. 

“Allie, what are you doing?”

“Nothing. Did you find anything yet?”

“Theo texted. He got them.”

Allie nodded and followed them out of the tunnels. It was dark as she went home and found you curled up on your bed again. You were holding something in your hand, which you held out to her when she got closer. 

“He’s the one taking the bodies.” Allie gently took the smoke stained nametag. “And I think I know where he’s taking them.”

“How would you know that?”

“He told me about a dream he’s had. I think it’s the nemeton.”

“It always comes back to that stupid tree stump.” Allie muttered under her breath and set the nametag on your nightstand. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I was reading my fifth book when I got a feeling and went to the hospital. The body was gone already.”

“I told you to stay here.”

“You’re not the boss of me. And I really do feel better. Now, you owe me a rundown of what’s been going on. I feel totally out of the loop.”

Allie sat down with you and talked through everything she could think of. You groaned in embarrassment when she told you about the car ride home, but you both managed to laugh. Once you were caught up, Allie crashed for the night. She felt like she’d been running on empty all day and some rest was exactly what she needed in that moment.

The entire day, you’d felt odd. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but it was like getting sick. Your head felt fuzzy and your spacial awareness was off. You kept hearing a ringing noise that came and went. You were about to call it a day and go home to rest when you heard shouts and crashes from the main room of the station.

Things were bad when you got there. Your dad was on the floor and Lydia was leaning against the wall with blood staining her shirt. As she fell to the floor, Kira jumped onto a desk and caught Tracy’s attention. 

“Mom, run!”

You saw Mrs. Martin across the room and ran to help her. Kira was fighting Tracy alone, so you did your best to get Lydia’s mom out of the room as quickly as possible. The nearest escape was the basement, so you directed her there. You could still hear yelling behind you. 

“What’s wrong with Tracy? What’s happening?”

“Mrs. Martin, I’m really sorry, but I can’t explain right now. Just get behind that shelf and don’t move. No matter what you hear, stay there.”

She listened, if for no other reason than extreme terror. When you saw Tracy come down the stairs, the sick feeling got worse. 

“Tracy, listen to me. You’re not dreaming. You’ve gotta wake up-”

She lashed out at you before you could react. She no longer had a tail, but her claws dug plenty deep and you collapsed to the floor with your hand pressed to your side. Tracy was just moving to attack Mrs. Martin when Malia came down the stairs and lunged at her. She tried to wake her up, bring her back, but you missed what came after. 

As the Dread Doctors arrived, you got worse. The ringing in your ears got so loud you swore it would make them bleed. Your vision blurred and your hand slipped from the gashes on your torso. Malia could do nothing as the Surgeon killed Tracy and you bled out on the floor. 

Everyone was in a panic when they reached the station. Scott and Deaton had to focus on Tracy’s severed tail. Allie and Theo moved to help Kira take care of Lydia. Mrs. Martin came running in and dropped to her knees beside her daughter. Stiles froze when he saw her bleeding and Deputy Clarke helping his dad up. 

“Where’s Y/N?”

Scott grabbed his best friend and tried to get him to focus. 

“Stiles.”

“You have to help Tracy…”

“Stiles, I can handle her. Go find Y/N.” Allie waved him off and Scott got him to follow the trail of blood and mercury with him. 

Deaton and your dad were close behind when the boys got to the basement. Malia was kneeling beside you, trying to stop the bleeding. Scott’s attention was diverted to Tracy’s body, but Stiles was completely focused on you. 

“I didn’t do it!”

“What happened?”

Stiles dropped down beside Malia and tried to gently wake you up. It took a minute, but you began to stir. 

“...Who stabbed me…?”

You shifted slightly and moaned in pain. Your dad came closer, but you held up a hand. 

“Careful. Tracy got you pretty good.”

“Is she…?”

Stiles looked at Malia and she tried to explain. 

“There were these people… they had masks. There were three, I think…”

“What?”

“They were strong! And they had a weapon… Stiles, I didn’t do this.”

You tried to get to your feet, but dropped back down as you groaned again. Your dad and Deaton were trying to figure out what to do with Tracy’s body, but you could barely hear them. Malia kept a hand on your side to keep you from bleeding more and Stiles braced you against him to get you up. 

“There’s a line. There has to be a line we draw.”

“Dad, you’ve already crossed it, more than once. And right now, we need to help Y/N.”

Your dad gave a dejected nod and let Scott and Deaton start dealing with Tracy. He moved to help you up the stairs and out to the ambulance that had arrived for Lydia. The paramedic quickly wrapped the gashes to stop the bleeding until you could get to the hospital and your dad promised he’d meet you there as soon as he could. 

The ride there was uncomfortable to say the least. Lydia was mostly coherent, but neither of you could ask her mom not to say anything about what Tracy was with the paramedics in there with you. You were still in pain and didn’t look to be healing at all, which you still thought was an unfair advantage other supernaturals had. 

Once you got to the hospital, Lydia was taken to surgery. Melissa asked another nurse to start getting you cleaned up while she told the pack how you were both doing. You tried to hold still and be an easy patient, but it was difficult. Everything hurt and the nurse was having a hard time keeping you from wincing every few seconds. 

“I’ll take it from here. Thanks.”

Melissa sent her coworker back out and closed the door behind her. 

“Evening. How are you, Melissa?”

“I’ll be better when I know what happened to you.”

“Some nightmare creature caught me with her claws.”

“You’ve taken hits before. What concerns me is that Malia said you passed out?”

You looked down and nodded slightly as Melissa got to work on stitches.

“I don’t know what happened, exactly. Tracy came down the stairs, I tried to keep her away from Mrs. Martin, and she got me. I was on the floor before I could catch myself and it was like I was frozen. Malia is the only reason Lydia’s mom is alive right now.”

You never liked feeling helpless. You hated it when you were little and your dad wouldn’t let you walk to school by yourself. You hated it when your mom got sick and there was nothing for you to do but watch her slip away. You hated it when your brother lost friends and you couldn’t take the pain away. 

“I should have done more.”

“You did what you could, Y/N. None of you can fight everything alone. That’s why you’re part of a pack.”

“I did a lot alone for centuries.”

“But you don’t have to anymore.” You winced again when she finished the stitches and stepped back. “Now, you’re staying here at least until morning. I don’t want you ripping out your stitches or doing something reckless.”

“I can-”

“Nope. I’ll be telling your dad and the pack too, so don’t think you’ll convince someone to help you get out early.”

You leaned back and sighed dramatically. 

“Fine. I’ll just waste away here while my friends face down the next terrifying ordeal.”

“Good. I’ll check on you in the morning.”

Melissa gave you a smile and left. You didn’t expect to get much rest with all the thoughts running through your head, but you managed to fall asleep some time after midnight. You had dreams of your last conversations with the other angels before you and Alcmene hid in the in-between. You hadn’t left on very good terms, deciding to argue and shout and say things you now knew you didn’t mean. 

You only started to stir when Allie dropped her book. She’d come in around four in the morning to read while she waited for you to wake up. She was so deep in the book that she was startled when Parrish opened the door. The book hitting the floor made you flinch and start to wake up. 

“Pears, don’t scare me like that!” Allie was whisper-shouting as she leaned down to grab the book. 

“I just opened the door.”

“Well, think it through next time.”

Parrish rolled his eyes and stepped into the room. Your eyes were still closed and you were just starting to wake up, so you weren’t sure what you were hearing yet.

“How is she doing?”

“Melissa stitched her up. She’s been asleep since I got here.”

“Do you know what happened? All Stiles said was that she got hurt.”

“Tracy got her in the basement. She was trying to get Mrs. Martin out and couldn’t move fast enough, I guess.”

“Doesn’t she usually get better faster?” Parrish sat in the chair beside Allie. 

“It depends. Bullets just leave bruises. Claws can’t usually do much. But I talked to Scott. He said Deaton thinks someone made Tracy a cross between a werewolf and a kanima.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s not supposed to be. But we’ve seen a lot of strange things in our time. My guess is that because Tracy was something new, Y/N wasn’t prepared to defend against her. She’ll get better though. She always does.”

You groaned and slowly opened your eyes. Parrish and Allie were at either side of your bed immediately. 

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing you need to worry about right now. How do you feel?”

You shuffled to sit up and quickly moved a hand over your stitches. Parrish helped you up and only let go when you nodded. 

“I kind of feel like I got hit by a truck. How long was I out?”

“A few hours. I got here at four and you were dead asleep.”

“How’s Lydia?”

“Still in the ICU. I figured you’d want to know, so I checked on her first. Surgery went well and her mom hasn’t said anything about what happened.”

“Good. More people knowing about the supernatural is the last thing we need.”

You moved to get up, but Allie put a firm hand on your shoulder. 

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home?”

“No. You couldn’t sit up without wincing. You aren’t leaving.”

“Yeah, I am. I’m awake and I’m not actively bleeding.”

“Y/N, that’s not the defense you think it is.”

You looked between Parrish and Allie. 

“Since when are you two on the same side?”

“We’re on the same side all the time.”

“No, I still disagree with you whenever possible. We’re on the same side right now because you’re our friend and you’re injured.”

“I’m fine.”

You looked at Allie first with a defiant glare. She narrowed her eyes in return and you gave Parrish a pleading look. 

“I can help. If there’s more going on, I can do my part.”

“Your part right now is resting.”

Parrish and Allie took turns watching you all day. Melissa came by a few times to check on you and ensure you were actually resting. Your dad brought you breakfast and Stiles brought you lunch. Malia came to you that evening with a book. 

“I’m really sorry you got hurt.”

“It’s not your fault, Malia. And neither is what happened to Tracy.”

“Did you… did you see them too?”

“The people in masks? Only for a second. I passed out when they got there.”

“But you do believe me.”

“Of course. Masked kanima killers are hardly the weirdest thing in this town.”

Knowing at least one person believed her was a comfort to Malia. She knew she didn’t have the best reputation for keeping the dangerous creatures in town alive, but she really hadn’t killed Tracy. She took a deep breath and pulled out the book she’d found in Tracy’s room that afternoon.

“I found something in her room. I think it could help us figure this out.”

She handed it to you and you studied the cover. 

“The Dread Doctors.”

“I started reading it, but I don’t really understand it.”

You shifted a little and glanced at the back of the book. 

“Well, if you don’t have anywhere to be, we could read it together. My jailers aren’t letting me out of here, so I may as well try to help any way I can.”

“We’re concerned friends, not jailers!”

 You and Malia both laughed at Allie’s indignant comment. Malia pushed her chair a little closer to put her feet up on your bed and you started reading. You switched off reading each chapter and Malia drifted off once you finished. She got a few hours of rest before she had to go to school, but you wished she could have gotten more. 

Melissa agreed to discharge you late the next morning. Allie drove you home and stayed with you as long as possible. Once Scott texted her, she agreed to leave you be for a while. Apparently someone had taken the bodies of the chimeras from the clinic and the morgue. You wanted to help, but there was nothing you could do. Every time you thought you could get up and do something more, your headache got worse. Whatever was happening now, someone or something was determined to keep you out of it.