chapter seventy-nine
❝ they told me all of my cages were mental
so i got wasted like all my potential ❞
the beast of beacon hills

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"I am so over being related to the villains."

Malia and Braeden looked at Kennedy. Lydia was still chasing down Parrish, but she had stopped by the McCall house just in time to tell everyone the news. That Kennedy was related to the Beast of Gevaudan, and that the Argents were also related to the Beast. Kennedy had read the journal, including the small note that Allison wrote.

Stiles looked towards Kennedy. "I mean, not everyone-"

"I'm related to Peter, Kate, Gerard, Deucalion was my almost stepdad, Valack was my mom's cousin, my mom raised Theo Raeken, and now I'm related to the Beast." Kennedy listed off as she looked between them. "I even dated a Nogitsune!"

Stiles saw the look on Malia and Braedens faces. "What?" Kennedy turned around, seeing their expressions. "What? What did we do?"

"Tell them."

Malia glared at Braeden before looking at her sister. "You know how my mother wants to kill me? I think she might want to kill you too. Both of you, maybe."

The expression on Stiles's face changed as he shook his head. "Okay, uh, that's disconcerting. I should probably have a gun." Stiles looked at Braeden. Malia and Kennedy slowly turned towards the mercenary.

"I'm not giving you a gun."

Stiles narrowed his eyes. "You have a gun. The Desert Wolf who is trying to kill me and my girlfriend has a gun. I think I should probably have a gun." He made the argument, causing both Hale sisters to look over at Braeden.

The mercenary looked at Stiles expectantly. She reached back, pulling out a hand gun. She held it out, unloading it. Kennedy watched as Braeden tossed the gun, only for Stiles to fumble with it in the air, before letting it fall to the floor of the McCall hallway. Stiles scratched his chin, looking back at Malia.

"I probably shouldn't have a gun."

༺❀༻

The night ended and the following day began. Kennedy walked through the hallway and into the living room of the Stilinski house. "Babe, where are the car keys!?" Stiles called out from his bedroom.

"Check the guest room!" Kennedy replied. Kennedy had been spending the night with Stiles. After finding out about being related to Chris, she didn't really want to go home for the night. Her mom was still looking for Peter, but would be checking in soon.

The Hale walked towards the kitchen, seeing a pile of mail. Kennedy sighed as she leaned towards it, looking through the different letters. Kennedy saw things sent to both her and Stiles, mostly college brochures. Stiles came out of his room, slowing down as he saw Kennedy looking up. "You already applied, didn't you?" He asked her as he walked over.

"Of course I did. Lydia and I applied to our colleges before the school year started." Kennedy informed as she leaned against the counter. "I just hate the not knowing stage."

"Ken, you'll find out in like, three months." Stiles chuckled as he reached for his girlfriends hand. "Plus, you have an insanely high GPA, you have so many referrals and colleges knocking at the door ready to snatch you away." Kennedy hummed as he pulled her in, his arms wrapping around her waist. "Even if its only for a few years."

Kennedy grinned, "Come on, Stiles. We have to save the world, remember?" She hummed as she pulled away, heading towards the front door.

"Batman and Catwoman, though Catwoman's actually a werewolf," Stiles mumbled, rushing towards his blue jeep.

The couple, along with Lydia, Kira, Liam, and Malia were already in the McCall kitchen when Scott came downstairs. Stiles was the one talking, standing next to Malia with Kira on his left, Kennedy standing in between the kitsune and Liam. "My dad's got an APB out,"

Kira cut into the conversation "For a 5'8 16-year-old?"

"I recommended a nine-foot tall rampaging werewolf." Stiles mumbled.

To catch up, Mason Hewitt was the Beast of Gevaudan. Or the host for the Beast, rather. Kennedy hated it. She liked Mason. He was sweet and smart, and he had a good heart. So knowing if the Beast remembered who it was meant Mason would be gone, it made her feel sick. She knew Liam felt worse. After all, Mason was his best friend. But Corey took Mason before they could find a way to help him.

Liam was sitting on the barstool near Lydia. "It still might not be him." He pointed out. Everyone looked at him, or each other. Liam nodded his head, fiddling with his hands. "But, Hayden's at the school looking."

"I can keep checking the woods." Malia pointed out, looking towards Stiles.

"My mom can check all the hospitals in the county." Everyone turned around to see Scott walking in. "We can find him."

Kennedy shrugged her shoulders, "What happens then?" She asked with a look of uncertainty.

Scott looked at Liam, who seemed worried about his answer. "We figure out a way to save him."

"Okay. Where else could we look?" Lydia asked as she looked over.

"Let's ask Corey."

Kennedy's eyes moved to just behind Scott. Scott grabbed what looked like air, sut Surely enough, the boy appeared out of nowhere. Everyone shot up, Kennedy grabbing the countertop. Corey held up his hands. "Wait. Wait. It's not my fault. They took him and I couldn't do anything. They took him-"

"Who?"

Corey's fear-filled eyes looked at Scott, "The Dread Doctors."

༺❀༻

Theo Raeken and the last of his pack watched Deucalion pry off the weapon they had formerly believed kept him to their advantage. Clearly, they were wrong. "Okay. What now?"

"We teach you what you've been so desperate to learn." Theo and his pack spun around, seeing Sloane Valet at the top of stairs. Sloane smiled, "Deucalion,"

"Sloane, my love," Everyone watched as the blind man smirked. "How nice of you to join me," The sound of a roar caused everyone to jump back as Deucalion shoved Theo into the wall. Sloane stuck her leg out of the railing, pinning the Chimera down as Deucalion snapped the boy's wrist. "Feel that, Theo? That's the secret to taking power. Pain." Theo hissed in pain as he looked at his wrist, the bone nearly breaking the skin. Deucalion looked down, using his abilities to do exactly as he said. "Take their pain, take their life, take their power." Black veins trailed up Deucalions arms as he looked at Theo. "It's all or nothing." Sloane lifted her leg, letting the blind alpha push Theo to the ground aside his two pack members.

The Valet jumped over the stairs, landing next to Deucalion as she stood. "You take until there's nothing more to give," Theo grunted as he pushed his arm back into place. "That's where you find the spark of power. And then, you take that as well."

"Pain. Life. Power. In that order and only that order." Deucalion told the chimera, "Do you understand?"

Theo looked at the ground, adjusting his arm. "Perfectly." Theo stood up, looking over at Deucalion and Sloane. The Valet rose a brow, watching Theo flick his claws. He should know, by now, that he was no match for the descendant of the Beast of Gevaudan and a bloodline of Seers. So she didn't flinch as he spun towards Josh, sticking his claws into the other chimera's stomach.

Electricity strikes around the two boys as Sloane looked at Deucalion. "I've missed you, Darling. How has my heir been?"

"Kennedy is well, aside from losing her Alpha eyes," Sloane deadpanned as they watched Josh scream for dear life. She tilted her head, "But she is not your heir, you do realize that?"

Deucalion chuckled. "Don't tell me you got back with that husband of yours," He hummed as he looked towards the woman he once loved. Sloane and Kennedy had many things in common, one of them being the girl that got away for many men. Deucalion had loved Sloane, after all they were similar in many ways, but she always loved Peter Hale, even if she never confessed it herself.

Sloane scoffed, watching Josh Diaz take his last breath. "Never."

༺❀༻

Kennedy and Lydia stood next to each other in the Sheriff's office. Stiles walked in, quickly closing the door. "Still nothing from Scott and Liam. Sloane said she's in with the Chimera's,"

"Are we really sure this is a good idea?" Lydia asked, looking at everyone.

"Uh, no. No one thinks this is a good idea."

Sheriff Stilinski raised a brow. "But you're trusting Theo, anyway?"

"We're not trusting him. We're using him."

Lydia looked towards Stiles, tilting her head, "What if he's using us?"

"That's a given." Kennedy hummed, "But that's why my moms there. She said she can use her past with both Deucalion and with Theo to her advantage. If anyone can manipulate Theo, it's my mom."

"Look, we're just trying to cover every place Mason could show up." Stiles explained to Lydia and his dad. "Malia and Braeden are at Scott's house."

"Melissa's got the hospital."

Lydia adds on. "Hayden and Corey are at the school."

"Somebody's got to find him." Noah finished, shaking his head.

Kennedy leaned back, crossing her arms, "Let's hope they find Mason, and not the Beast." She told them matter-of-factly.

༺❀༻

"I hate waiting," Kennedy mumbled, walking back and forth. "What if someone already found the Beast and is getting turned into a human sandwich?" She asked as she looked at Lydia, who was reading from one of Eloise Valet's journals.

"Ken, your mom had these journals, right?"

Kennedy shrugged, "Yeah, they were passed down from my grandfather. Eloise talked all about her life as a werewolf, but never mentioned Marie-Jeanne or Sebastien." She explained as she leaned onto the desk.

Stiles sat at the next one, Haigh's old desk. "She didn't, but she talked about when she transformed. She even drew a picture." Lydia and Kennedy stood up from their spots, making their way towards the Stilinski boy. It was a drawing of a wolf. Not like Peter or the Beast. An actual wolf.

"That's not what I expected," Kennedy deadpanned as she tilted her head. "I mean, you can definitely do that, but I just don't think the Beast's sister is one of those people,"

"Well, she was. She never killed anyone either." Stiles explained as he flipped through the pages. "She controlled it. She kept her promise to her sister and lived a peaceful life as a werewolf in America,"

Lydia rose a brow, "Sebastien is the worst of the worst when it comes to being a werewolf, but Eloise was the best of the best. Two opposites sides of a scale." Lydia said as she looked at Kenendy.

The Hale girl shrugged, "Okay, and where am I on this scale?" She asked with a frown.

Lydia sighed as she lifted her hands. "Anywhere in the middle." The Martin said pointedly. Kennedy exhaled sharply. "Kennedy, you are related to the Beast, what if Gerard is right and you can stop him?" Kennedy looked up, a frown on her face.

"Then we better figure out how the hell I'm supposed to do that if we want to make it out of here alive."

Hours passed, Stiles eventually fell asleep whilst Lydia and Kennedy did more research on the Beast of Gevaudan and Seers. "The Theroux bloodline and the Valet's have no history with each other before Diana Theroux and Quinton Valet."

"My grandparents," Kennedy confirmed.

Lydia nodded her head, "However, Theroux's are originally druids before some of them branched off with the power of only seeing the future," Lydia explained as she pointed at another book she had gotten from Sloane. "What if you being related to the Beast isn't the only reason the Dread Doctors and Theo wanted you?"

"Well that's ominous." She said lowly. Kennedy looked at the books, "Theo wanted me because I could find out who the Beast was-"

"But only if you wore the mask that Valack was going to use on me." Said Lydia, "Or, if you became stronger, like Diana."

Kennedy shook her head, "I am so over this future-seeing werewolf drama. After this I am taking Stiles and Noah on vacation. How would they feel about the Bahamas?"

The two girls walked into Noah's office. Kennedy patted her boyfriends cheek awake. He jumped up, looking around. "What? What happened? Who's dead?" He rambled quickly as he sat up. He scooted over, leaving enough room for Lydia and Kennedy.

"No one." Lydia chimed. Kennedy sat down, her hand linking with Stiles's. Lydia tilted her head. "Well, at least not yet." She sat down, pulling out her phone. Kennedy and Stiles quickly did the same. Nobody had any messages from anybody.

Kennedy put her phone in her lap, watching Stiles sigh as he put his away in her pocket. She pursed her lips, running her thumb along his knuckles. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm still thinking. Still trying to figure out why Mason?" Stiles told the girls. Lydia listened closely. "I mean, he wasn't even on the Genetic Chimera list."

"He is now." All three of them turned around to see Melissa McCall. She walked in, approaching the sherrifs desk. "Mason was born with twin embolization syndrome."

"You mean fetal resorption?" Asked Lydia as she walked over. Kennedy's eyes widen as she looked down at the files. "He had a vanishing twin in utero?"

Melissa replies, "Which accounts for two sets of DNA." She told the Martin.

Stiles chimes in, clearly lost. "Can someone please say it with words that have less than three syllables?" He asked as he looked between the three.

"He ate his twin." Melissa deadpanned. Stiles mumbled under his breath, now disturbed.

Lydia looked away from the file, "But does it help?" She asked Melissa.

The McCall had a hand on her hip. "I don't know. But it's just bizarre enough to sound like it might be important, right?"

"It has to help." Lydia replied quickly. "There has to be something." Melissa turned to the files, pulling up a sheet of paper. They all looked at the file themselves. The photo of Mason's ultrasound.

Kennedy groaned, stumbling into Stiles. "Kennedy? Kennedy, what's wrong?"

The Hale girl yelled out as she fell to the floor. Lydia and the others kneeled to her. Kennedy's eyes shined white. "It's a vision." Lydia whispered. "Kennedy, what do you see?" She asked. Kenendy was breathing heavily, clutching to the ground.

"I see the Beast," She whispered out. "Mason is the Beast. He knows who he is." Stiles had his hand on Kennedy's back as he looked up at Lydia. "Parrish and the Argents. They're all there." Kennedy yelled out in pain again, clutching her side. Her eyes turned hazel, the teenage girl looking up slowly.

"Sebastien Valet is alive."

NATALIA'S NOTES
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hello my loves. as i'm writing this authors note,  it is october 27th, 2022 at 12:17 am. today is officially the two year anniversary since i started starting line. two years since kennedy dawn stallard/hale came out of my wee little brain and became so much more than just a character.

kennedy as a character & this story has grown so much since two years ago. face claims have changed, her storylines have changed, her & stiles's story has changed, and the writing has changed. i'd like to think i've became a better writer in the last two years (though this chapter sucks ignore it).

i wanted to say thank you, to you guys. as of today, starting line is at 574K reads. thats absolutely mind boggling. i cant thank you all enough for the love and support you have given me the last two years, new and old readers alike. your comments make my day. even the ones ranting about how kennedys too kind to people who don't deserve it (a flaw she & i both have).

this book honestly changed my life. which is so stupid because it's a fanfiction of a random tv show, but it's true. it opened the door for me to meet so many people i care about. i mean, it's literally the reason i've met people like avery & nova, who are my favorite people i've met on this app. it's the reason i fell in love with writing again. it was a source of happiness when i didn't have it in my real life. it's my safe space to help myself cope with things that aren't easy to deal with in real life. it still is that space for me now, and i'll never thank you all enough for enjoying reading this story as much as i've enjoyed writing it.

so, happy birthday, starting line. and happy birthday (kind of), to kennedy dawn stallard/hale, my absolute favorite character i've ever created. i love you all, and i'll see you all tonight for the final chapter of season 5. toodles.

xoxo, nat