𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Derek" Stiles snaps, slapping the unconscious man "Derek!"

"Derek, come on" He groans, slapping him harder.

"Move" I demand, shoving the boy off the Hale man.

Stiles pulls himself to his feet as I crouch down next to Derek, grabbing his face and leaning down until our noses almost touch.

"Derek!" I scream as loud as I possibly can.

His eyes snap open and out of pure reflex, he grabs me by the throat.

"This is not how I imagined you choking me" I joke and the man realises that it's me, letting me go.

"Where is she?" He asks, looking around as Stiles gently pulls me up.

"Jennifer?" I reply "Gone, with my mom"

"She took her?" Derek asks in disbelief.

"Yeah. If that's not enough of a kick to the balls, Scott left with Deucalion, okay? So we gotta get you out of here" Stiles rants "The police are coming right now, and we gotta get you the hell out of here"

"Whoa. What about Cora?" Derek asks, pulling himself up.

"She's safe" I assure him "Now let's get you out of here"

❦ ❦ ❦

"Heads up, your dad's here" I hear Stiles whisper and I look at him in disbelief.

"Where?" I ask, sitting up straight in my seat.

"Behind you" He answers and I turn my head, spotting my father immediately.

He sees me and starts walking towards us, causing me to look down at my lap.

"A Stilinski at the centre of this whole mess. What a shocker" My father declares and I look up at him with a frown.

"Dad" I snap.

"It's nice to see you too, honey" He replies in a dismissive tone, making me roll my eyes.

"Think you can answer some questions without your usual level of sarcasm?" He asks Stiles.

"If you can ask the questions without the usual level of stupid" Stiles retorts and I cover my mouth with my hand to hide my smile.

"Where's your dad, and why has no one been able to contact him?" My dad asks, obviously annoyed by the boy's previous statement.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in hours" Stiles shrugs.

"Is he drinking again?" My dad then asks.

"What do you mean 'again'? He never had to stop" Stiles replies, looking irritated by the insinuation my father is making.

"But he did have to slow down" My dad states "Is he drinking like he used to?"

"All right, how about this? Next time I see him,  I'll give him a field sobriety test, okay? We'll do the whole alphabet. Start with F, end with U" Stiles rants in clear annoyance, starting to lose his temper.

Without thinking about it, I grab the boy's hand and he seems to cool off a little as I rub my thumb over his knuckles. My father notices the interaction and his eyes narrow on our hands, frowning slightly.

"How about you just tell me what the hell happened here?" The man practically demands.

"We don't know what happened here" Stiles effortlessly lies "We were stuck in the elevators the whole time"

"You're not the one who put the name on the doors, are you?" My dad asks and I snap my head up in confusion.

"What name?" Stiles asks curiously.

"Argent" My dad answers.

❦ ❦ ❦

"The word is 'guardian', Allison" Chris Argent explains to his daughter as we enter their apartment "More than anyone, you know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to recently"

"But she took Scott and Natalia's mother, then Stiles' father. That's not a coincidence" Allison argues, walking into his study and we follow behind her.

"Yeah, I'd also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator doors. That kind of felt like a warning to me" Stiles tells the man.

"I think it might be Morrell. She knows a lot more than she lets on, and she might even be trying to help us" Allison suggests.

"Well, she needs to get on that a lot faster, okay? Seeing as that the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away" Stiles states in a worried tone and I sigh, worrying for my mother and the Sheriff.

"Stiles, don't give up hope" Chris tells the boy.

"He could already be dead" Stiles declares, making my heart drop.

"Stiles" I frown, not liking what he's saying and he shakes his head.

"I don't think so. There's something about Jennifer's tactics. It's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place" Chris explains, easing my worry slightly.

"And you're one of them" Allison retorts.

"Then let's not wait around to see her next move" Chris states, laying down a map "Everything she's done has been on a telluric current. So Melissa and the Sheriff have to be somewhere on one of those currents, right?"

"Stiles, Natalia, if we're gonna find them, we need your help" He adds.

"Sorry" I mumble and Allison gives me a reassuring smile which I'm grateful for, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"So you seriously wanna go after her?" Stiles asks in disbelief "I mean, what if she just takes you like the others, huh? No offence, but what's the difference between you and them?"

Chris lifts his gun off the desk and reloads the clip, looking at the Stilinski boy.

"I'm carrying a .45. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off" He declares and I raise my brows in surprise "We've got one priority right now, and that is to find your mom and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time. Which is why I need the three of you"

"I'm in" I reply, glancing at Stiles who lets out a quiet sigh.

"Where do we start?" He asks.

He gathers us around his desk and uses his blue light to show us the markings he's made on his map.

"The place where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found. I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current" Chris explains to us "So there's the school, the animal clinic, the bank"

"Wait a sec. She wouldn't use the same place twice, would she?" Stiles suggests.

"Surely not" I add.

"Only if she didn't succeed the first time" Chris answers, tapping his light to the bank where Scott and the Sheriff found Deaton.

"Scott's boss" Allison states.

"Deaton" I counter and the girl nods.

"It was her only failure. That could mean something" Chris says.

"That's just one place so far. We're gonna need a lot more help" Stiles states.

"What about Lydia?" I suggest.

"Lydia?" Chris frowns in confusion "What can she do?"

"Uh, Lydia's got sort of a talent. She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies, um, without actually looking for them" Stiles informs the man.

"Well, what is she? Psychic?" Chris asks.

"She's not psychic" I answer vaguely "But she's definitely something"

The Argents start laying out a bunch of weapons and I watch in awe, ignoring the fear installed by Cora at the back of my brain. Chris lifts a gun and I gulp when I see that it's aimed at me. Stiles nudges me with his elbow and I snap out of my trance, letting out a breath that I didn't realise I was holding in. My eyes drift over to Allison who is skilfully spinning daggers around before looking at them in satisfaction.

"I thought you guys retired" Stiles declares and I notice Chris has picked up a much larger gun.

"Retired, yes. Defenceless, no" Chris replies.

"I think I just peed a little" I whisper, looking at the weapons with a gulp and Allison laughs, reminding me that we are friends and she's not gonna kill me.

"Now, make sure your phone's on. If you hear from Scott, you let us know immediately" Chris tells us sternly and I nod in response.

"Yeah, I'm thinking that's gonna be kind of unlikely" Stiles comments as he turns his phone on.

"The three of you, try to remember he's just doing what he thinks is right" Chris says.

I hear the creaking of a floorboard and I spin around, noticing Isaac at the door.

"I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow, but...Well, I'm getting pretty good with these" Isaac declares, flicking out his claws.

We all share a look before Chris tells Isaac he can help, making the beta smile happily. Stiles and I leave to get ready for school before heading to Lydia's.

We stop off at the Stilinski household first and I wait in the car while Stiles gets changed. Once he's finished, we head to my house and it's his turn to wait in the car until I'm done.

I rush upstairs, practically throwing my clothes off as I scramble into the shower. Making sure to be quick, I wash myself and hop out, drying myself off. Leaving my hair to it's natural curls, I slip into a green underwear set before opening my closet and picking out an outfit. I slip on a pair of white jeans and a white crop top that has black details on it with a pair of white and green Nikes. Just as I'm walking out of my room, a green zipper hoodie catches my eye and I grab it, pulling it on. I exit my house and climb into the Jeep with a smile on my face.

"Let's hit the road, dork" I chirp, dropping my backpack at my feet.

"Is that my hoodie?" Stiles asks and my eyes widen as I remember him lending it to me at the motel.

"Shit, I forgot. You can have it back" I tell him, making a move to slip it off but Stiles gently grabs my arm.

"It's fine. You can keep it" He assures me with a smile "It looks better on you anyways"

Butterflies swarm in my stomach and I look down at my lap, hoping he doesn't notice the blush heating up my cheeks.

"Thanks" I mumble.