"Wait, bound to Rowan's life?" Stiles asked, pointing to the unconscious brunette laying in front of them. "This one, right here?"

"Yes, that would be correct." Deaton nodded, adjusting her head into a more comfortable position and taking off his gloves.

"So, what does that mean?" Scott looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to go on.

"It means she is extremely important." He explained. "Like I said, the anchor is the Nemeton's life force. If the anchor is destroyed, the Nemeton dies. Essentially, the drawing that you guys feel will be cut off and potentially every supernatural creature in Beacon Hills will be weakened."

"That's why she's worth so much." Lydia murmured, staring at Rowan curiously. Stiles's eyes widened in realization, catching on to what she was saying.

"Why would you attempt to go through every single creature on the dead pool, when you could get one and wipe them all out easily?"

"That means she's always in danger." Malia concluded, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Exactly."

"Liam, he said that she goes to the hospital constantly, right?" Lydia recalled, glancing over at Scott. "Call your mom."

"Yeah," Scott nodded, pulling out his phone and dialing his mom's number. She picked up on the third ring, and he put it on speaker phone. "Hey, mom?"

"What is it honey?"

"Do you know a patient, Rowan Sinclair? Gallagher, maybe?"

"Yeah, is this," A door shut on the other line, her voice becoming hushed. "Is this a supernatural issue?"

"It is."

"I was actually thinking about telling you. I have her file right here." She flipped through some papers, clearing her throat before speaking again. "She's been having these strange attacks, and they're described as extremely painful, like she's dying. And Scott, the first one-it was the night Allison died."

● ● ●

"So, what do we do now?" Stiles chewed on the skin next to his thumbnail, glancing between Deaton and Rowan.

"We wait until she wakes up, and then-"

They all looked down when Rowan shifted on the table, her face crumpling in fear and pain. Her breathing became labored, murmuring to herself.

"What is she saying?"

Scott leaned closer, listening to her whispers.

"This is where it ends, this is where it ends, this is where it-" Rowan sat up abruptly and took a sharp breath, looking around with wide eyes. "Don't touch me, please. I don't know what the hell you are, but leave me alone."

"Miss Sinclair, I know you're scared, but you need to calm down." Deaton spoke in a calm voice, holding out a hand. "You know me, I took care of Aries."

"Aries is dead." She blinked bluntly, looking around the room. "Someone tell me what's going on."

"You're here so we can help you." He soothed, glancing around the room. "I can tell you why you've been having your attacks."

This caught her attention, Rowan swallowing nervously as she clenched her jaw.

"When is the last time you had one, be honest."

"Yesterday." Her voice cracked, the girl wetting her lips. "I had one yesterday."

● ● ●

"So, I'm a tree?" Rowan asked slowly, tilting the jar of mountain ash in the light.

"Actually, you're like, a supernatural battery." Stiles attempted to explain, his hand waving around a bit. "To a magic tree."

"You're the first human anchor to the Nemeton, so your abilities are still somewhat unknown. While Lydia can sense death," Deaton nodded towards Lydia, the girl wiggling her fingers in response. "You feel it."

"But only supernatural, right?"

"Correct. Every supernatural death in Beacon Hills passes through the Nemeton, and since Rowan is the anchor," He sighed, giving the girl an apologetic look. "It passes through her as well."

"Allison was human." Scott spoke up. "How could she feel it?"

"If I'm assuming correctly, Rowan's connection was sparked by your sacrifices." Deaton took the jar from Rowan, who was soaking in every word. "Since Allison was connected to the Nemeton, she felt her death. Just like she would feel Stiles's, even though he's human."

"Comforting." Stiles nodded, clasping his hands together. "Real comforting."

"Stiles." Malia caught his attention, nodding towards the door. He followed her out, shutting it behind him. "We should show her the list."

"Are you-" Stiles whispered, eyes wide. "Seriously? It has her real name on there."

"That's exactly why we should tell her." She replied in a hush tone, looking up at him with guilt inducing expression. "Wouldn't you want to know if you were adopted? I know I would."

Her words made him sick to his stomach, reminding him of the other secret he was keeping.

"Yeah, alright." Stiles ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

When they walked back into the room Rowan was listening to Scott explain the deadpool, the girl's eyebrows furrowed.

"Can I see it?" Rowan asked slowly, trying to wrap her mind around everything that she was being told. Everyone went silent, making her roll her eyes and go to get up. "If you don't have proof, then I'm not going to believe you and this was the biggest waste of-"

"Here." Everyone turned to stare at Stiles, who was holding out a folded copy of the deadpool. "What? She deserves to know."

"Thanks." She leaned against the table, carefully unfolding it. "Wow, that's a lot of money."

"Wait, so you knew about-"

"Being adopted?" She questioned, keeping her breathing steady. "Of course I knew, I'm almost eighteen. My parents obviously told me."

Scott wasn't paying attention but Malia was, hearing the skip in her heartbeat over the words 'of course I knew'.

Rowan was lying.

● ● ●

Rowan waved goodbye to Stiles and quickly stepped into her house, shutting it behind her. She took a deep breath, running her hands over her face and pushing back her hair.

"Mom?" She winced at the way her voice cracked, the girl clearing her throat and trying again. "Mom?"

When she received no answer, Rowan dropped her bag on the couch and made her way down the hall, pausing at her parent's study. It was hardly a study, just more of an excuse to bring work home with them.

She bit down on her bottom lip and slowly opened the door, wincing when it squeaked. The brunette straightened up and mentally smacked herself, it's not like her parents were actually home.

Her mother was most likely at the office nursing her third cup of Arabian roast and scanning documents, her case was really stressing her out.

Her father, however; last time she checked he was in South America, researching for his next novel. He wasn't a huge author-unless you enjoy reading conspiracy theories and mythology. He was supposed to be coming home the upcoming weekend.

Rowan's eyes scanned the multiple filing cabinets, pausing when she came upon the personal one. The very bottom drawer was labeled 'Rowan', but when she pulled on the handle it didn't budge.

Searching her hair for a stray Bobby pin she pulled one out, jamming it into the lock and twisting it around until it clicked into place.

Hey, when your closest friends suffers from parasomnia and you have to stay away until three am, you google.

Rowan flicked through the folders until she came upon the one with her birth certificate, taking a deep breath and pulling it out.

Her shoulders slumped and she leaned against the cabinet, letting the thick paper fall into her lap. Sure enough, the last name Gallagher was right in front of her eyes, confirming their story.

She sat up when headlights flashed in the window, quickly grabbing her phone and taking a picture of the document and shoving it back where it came from.

Rowan shut the filing cabinet and jumped up, slipping out of the study and into the laundry room just as she heard the front door begin to open.

"Rowan, honey?"

"Just checking to see if there was anything to wash." She called out, hugging herself as she walked out to greet her.

"I'll do that, don't worry." Her mother grinned, setting down her briefcase and clapping her hands together. "Now, how was your date?"

"It was," Rowan hesitated for a brief moment, letting out a short huff of air and forcing a smile. "It was nice. Stiles was really sweet."

"Sweet enough for a second date?" She yawned slightky, heading towards the fridge and opening it, muttering something about needing to go shopping. "I told you to keep an open mind."

"Yeah, I don't see why not."

"I expected you to be out much later." She shrugged, grabbing a tub of ice cream from the freezer and a spoon. When she saw the look on Rowan's face she pointed her spoon at her. "A woman's gotta eat."

"He had to get some sleep before the SAT's."

"You should too, young lady. You may only be helping out, but you still have to get up early."

"Alright, goodnight." Rowan gave her a small smile, starting towards her room. "Love you."

"Love you too."

_____________________________________________

Not edited

#THISISTRASH

THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE AND I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH IT SINCE I SLASH UPDATED

And then I had to do homework and I suddenly found inspiration? Nice.

Thoughts so far?

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