CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE YOU

     "I'M NOT JUST LEAVING her." Stiles argued.

     "You don't have a choice, Stiles. You're coming with me." Peter told him before glancing towards the witch. "Both of you."

     "Just kill me. Look, I don't care anymore." Stiles snapped. Elaine bit her lip, looking at the boy before looking down at her best friend

     "Call your friend. Tell Jackson where she is. That's all you get." Peter told him. And reluctantly, Elaine was the one to do so before the duo followed the Hale. Once they got on the road, Elaine sat in the backseat, her jaw clenched as she thought of her best friend.

      "Don't feel bad. If she lives, she'll become a Werewolf. She'll be incredibly powerful." Peter Hale spoke.

     "Yeah, and once a month, she'll go out of her freaking mind and try to tear us apart." Elaine seethed.

     "Well, actually, considering that she's a woman. . . Twice a month." Peter spoke.

     "I ought to snap your neck with that comment." Elaine growled. The wolf only smirked in amusement. They pulled up to a parking garage, getting out and walking up to a car which Peter used the keys of to get into.

     "Whose car is this?" Stiles questioned.

     "It belonged to my nurse." Peter answered.

     "What happened to your n―︎OH MY GOD!" When the trunk of the car was opened, the dead body of the nurse lay in it. Elaine placed a hand over her mouth, feeling her stomach twist at the sight of it. Peter lifted the nurses arm, removing the bag that was under it and quickly throwing it to Stiles.

     "I got better." Peter answered.

They put the bag on top of the car, getting ready to trace wherever Scott's phone was with the computer that was supposedly inside it. And Elaine was hoping it wasn't far, because she didn't know how much longer she could be with Peter without possibly killing him. Or rather, him possibly killing her at the attempt to do so.

     "Good luck getting a signal down here." Stiles sighed. That's when Peter pulled out another device, handing it to Stiles. "Oh, MiFi." Peter pulled out his computer, immediately making Stiles say, "And you're a Mac guy! Does that go for all Werewolves, or just a personal preference?"

     "Turn it on. Get connected." Peter simply ordered.

     "You know, you're really killing the whole Werewolf-mystique thing here." Stiles sighed, turning the MiFi device over. "Look, you still need Scott's username and password, and I'm sorry, but I don't know them."

     "You know both of them." Peter deadpanned.

     "No, I don't." Stiles argued.

     "Even if I couldn't hear your heartbeat, I would still be able to tell that you're lying."

     "Dude, I swear to god―︎" Peter quickly slammed Stiles' face into the computer, making Elaine's eyes widen.

     "Stop!" She snapped at the wolf.

     "I can be very persuasive, Stiles. Don't make me persuade you."

When Peter let go of the boy, Stiles quickly started to type. The girl felt so useless, just standing there. She wished that there was something to do. A way to get them out of this situation. Maybe if she knew how to control her magic, then she could do something. But she hadn't practiced enough. She had barely touched what she could truly do when it came to the power that truly ran through her veins.

     "What happens after you find Derek?" Stiles asked.

     "Don't think, Stiles―︎type."

     "You're gonna kill people, aren't you?" Elaine whispered, her jaw clenching at the thought.

     "Only the responsible ones." Peter assured the girl. It didn't make Elaine feel any better.

     "Look, if we do this, you have to promise to leave Scott out of it." Elaine begged the wolf, only wanting the safety of her brother to be assured.

     "Do you know why wolves hunt in packs? It's because their favorite prey are too large to be brought down by one wolf alone. I need Derek and Scott. I need both of them." Peter explained to the girl.

     "He won't help you." Stiles intervened.

     "Oh, he will, because it'll save Allison. And you will, because it will save Scott―︎your best friend, and her brother, whom you know so well, you even have his username and password." Stiles sighed before typing in the username. "His username is 'Allison'?" Stiles then typed in the password. "His password is also 'Allison'?"

     "You still want the idiot in your pack?" Elaine asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she cocked an eyebrow at the man.

     "Wait, what the. . ." Stiles spoke, grabbing their attention. "That's where they're keeping him? At his own house?"

     "Not at it―︎under it. I know exactly where that is." Peter told the two. The sound of a howl from far away in the distance could be heard, making the man say, "And I'm not the only one." Peter grabbed the stuff, packing it all up before throwing it inside the nurses car. He looked around for a moment before looking at Stiles. "Give me your keys."

     Stiles sighed before reluctantly handing the man his keys. "Careful. She grinds in second." That's when Peter bent the keys, handing them back to the boy. "So, you're not going to kill us?" Peter turned towards the boy, taking a few steps closer making him mumble, "Oh god."

     "Don't you understand yet? I'm not the bad guy here."

     "You turn into a giant monster with red eyes and fangs, and you're not the bad guy here?" Stiles asked with disbelief.

     Peter smirked. "I like you, Stiles. Since you've helped me, I'm going to give you something in return. Do you want the bite?" Elaine's heart seemed to plummet at the question, her eyes going wide as she looked at Peter before turning her attention towards Stiles.

     "What?" Stiles frowned.

     "Do you want the bite? If it doesn't kill you―︎and it could―︎you'll become like us."

     "Like you?"

     "You're not seriously considering that, are you?" Elaine asked, looking at the boy she loved in disbelief.

     "Yes, a Werewolf. Would you like me to draw you a picture?" Peter stepped closer to the boy. "That first night in the woods, I took Scott because I needed a new pack. It could've easily been you. You'd be every bit as powerful as him. No more standing by his side, watching him become stronger, and quicker, more popular, watching him get the girl. You'd be equals. Maybe more." He grabbed Stiles' wrist, pulling it closer to him. "Yes or no?"

     Right before Peter could bite him, Stiles ripped his arm from the man's grasp. "I don't want to be like you."

     "Do you know what I heard just then?" Peter asked, smirking. "Your heart beating slightly faster over the words 'I don't want.' You may believe that you're telling me the truth, but you are lying to yourself. Goodbye Stiles." Peter turned and got into his car, quick to drive away leaving the two standing there.

     "Come on. We have to get to the hospital." Elaine breathed. "And we're gonna have to run." And that's exactly what they did.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎

The two were quick to exit the elevator, preparing to go see Lydia only for the sheriff to stop Stiles. Elaine frowned, but decided to give the son and father a moment as she walked over to the window where she could see Lydia laying. Her heart pounded at her chest, tears filling her eyes. She could've done more. She was standing right beside of Lydia. It should've been her. She hadn't even realized Jackson had been standing there until he placed a hand on her shoulder. A tear trickled down Elaine's cheek as she looked at the boy.

     "What happened?" Jackson whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. He watched Stiles walk away with his father before turning towards Elaine once more.

     "I-"Elaine stuttered. "I was right there, Jackson. I should've done something. Anything. I should have protected her."

     "Elaine, this isn't your fault." Jackson shook his head at the girl. "There wasn't anything that you could have done."

     "I―︎" Elaine closed her eyes, letting out her breath, only to open them again when she saw Stiles walk by. The two quickly exchanged looks before following after the boy.

     "Hey, where are you going?" Jackson asked.

     "To find Scott." Stiles simply answered.

     "Not without me you aren't." Elaine scoffed, quickly stepping in front of the boy and stopping him in his tracks. Stiles looked at the girl before turning her around and moving her forward, making the trio start walking again.

     "You don't have a car." Jackson told him.

     "I'm aware of that, thank you."

     "Here, I'll drive. Come on―︎" Jackson put a hand on the boys shoulder but Stiles quickly pushed it off, stopping in his tracks in order to face the boy.

     "Look, just because you feel guilty all of a sudden doesn't make it okay, all right? Half of this is still your fault."

     "Stiles." Elaine frowned.

     "Look, I have a car. You don't. Do you want my help, or not?" Jackson snapped.

     "All right. Did you bring the Porsche?" Stiles asked.

     "Yeah."

     "Good. I'll drive." Stiles snatched the key from the boys hand and started forward again, Elaine and Jackson quick to follow. However, they were quickly stopped when Christ Argent appeared in front of them, two other men standing behind him.

     "Boys. Elaine." He greeted the girl with a smile, to which she barely returned. "I was wondering if you can tell me where Scott McCall is."

     "Scott McCall? Umm, I haven't seen him since the dance. Jackson, El, you?"

      "No, I haven't." Elaine answered truthfully, frowning as she wondered where exactly her brother was.

     "I―︎" Jackson stuttered.

     "Oh for the love of god." Stiles mumbled.

    The three were quickly grabbed and thrown into a separate room where Argent was quick to lock the doors to. Jackson and Stiles were held down whilst Elaine obliged with the fear of her friends getting hurt. "Let's try this again, where is Scott McCall?" Argent was quick to grab Stiles, pinning him against the door, another of Argents men grabbing Jackson and the other grabbing Elaine. "Let me ask you a question, Stiles. Have you ever seen a rabid dog?"

     "No. I could put it on my to-do list, if you just let me go." Stiles answered.

     "Well, I have. And the only thing I've ever been able to compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?"

     "Not really. No offense to your storytelling skills. . ."

      "He tried to kill me, and I was forced to put a bullet in his head. The whole while that he lay there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me, still trying to kill me, like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath. Can you imagine that?" Argent quizzed.

     "No. And it sounds like you need to be a little more select―︎" Argent slammed his hands against the door, making Stiles shut up.

     "Did Scott try to kill you on the full moon? Did you have to lock him up?" Argent snapped.

     "Yeah, I did. I had to handcuff him to a radiator. Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?" Stiles snapped back. Elaine winced at the boy's words.

     "I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that."

     "Oh, right. Derek said you guys had a Code. I guess no one ever breaks it."

     "Never."

     "What if someone does?" Stiles asked.

     "Someone like who?" Argent quickly turned his head back towards Stiles.

     "Your sister."