◤ chapter sixteen: ❛ to keep
a promise ❜ ◢

✧

LATE NIGHT NEVER STOPPED BEACON HILLS FROM ATTACKS. The pieces on the board still moved, people still went missing, and the clock ticked too quickly with time running out before they had a chance to get rid of Jennifer Blake or Deucalion. No, the night sky didn't stop Cooper from joining Scott and Stiles to warn Derek about the darach's true identity.

         There was no truce; only the clock ticking and Cooper's growing dread for what came next.

         Derek grew solemn at the knowledge of Jennifer's identity but didn't argue. He heard, acknowledged, then accepted with a grim expression. It was only a matter of time before Jennifer showed up at the loft, and they would be ready. Hiding in the shadows with his two...friends (were they friends? They had to be, this had to be friendship, but the revelation still made him grimace) they waited for Jennifer to appear.

         Of course, she didn't disappoint.

         Rushing in, Cooper could hear her heels tapping loudly and wildly across the floor and her out of breath voice calling out, "Derek?"

         "Right here."

         "Thank God! Something happened at the recital, at the school, okay? I need to tell you before you hear it, before you hear it from any of them," Jennifer explained in a rush. Cooper rolled his eyes. Stiles echoed the sentiment.

         "From who?"

         "Scott, Stiles, Cooper..." she listed, "They're gonna tell you things – things you can't believe. You have to trust me, okay? You trust me."

         "What is it?"

         "Promise you'll listen to me," Jennifer stressed.

         So manipulative; the act of you can't believe what you hear and you know me as the version I've presented myself so you have to believe me. God, Cooper hated people like her. He learned a long time ago that if you have to stress your character to others, that character was a lie.

         "I promise."

         Scott made a face of disgust for reasons Cooper couldn't hear or see. Still, there was silence on the other side with Derek and Jennifer. Then: "They're already here, aren't they?"

         Scott started his walk, so Cooper followed with Stiles behind. Jennifer sent them a glare before turning back to Derek, laughing a little. "So, they told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?"

         "We told him you're the one killing people," Scott corrected.

         Jennifer scoffed. "Oh, that's right. Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour – that way, I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. Makes perfect sense."

         Cooper rolled his eyes. They had the same schedule as her, and yet they managed to fight multiple werewolves after school. There was time, she was just deflecting in an attempt to save herself. How he wanted to corrupt her eardrums.

         "Where's my dad?" Stiles asked instead.

         "How should I know?" she shot back, "Derek, tell me you don't believe this?"

         Derek looked at her, no expression on his face. Cooper knew that whatever support she was hoping to gain from the Alpha wasn't going to work. "Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?"

         "No!"

         "Ask her why she almost killed Lydia," Scott interjected.

         "Lydia Martin? I don't know anything about that!"

         "What do you know?" Derek posed.

         Jennifer huffed. "I know that these boys, for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story – and one they can't prove, by the way."

         If she was hoping to sound innocent, Cooper would give her an F. No, she didn't sound innocent at all with that last little jab.

         "I wouldn't be so sure of that," Cooper spoke up.

         Scott lifted up the bottle he was holding, starting to untwist the cap. Jennifer eyed it warily. "What is that?"

         "My boss told me it's a poison and a cure," Scott explained, "Which means you can use it...and it cane be used against you."

         "Mistletoe?" Jennifer snarled before Scott threw the powder over her. Cooper's eyes widened as he watched her figure shift. Switching from one to beast – clawed face and white skin – back to the human form he knew as Jennifer Blake.

         It was all the confirmation Derek needed to bring out his hand and tighten it around her neck.

         "Derek, wait! Wait! You need me!" she implored.

         "What are you?" he growled.

         She gasped, "The only person who can save your sister. Call Peter...call him!"

         Cooper raised his eyebrows. He didn't know Cora was sick, but Derek took her words seriously, taking out his phone and dialing Peter. He missed the first part of the conversation, not able to hear Peter talking, but then Derek said, "Mistletoe."

         Finishing the call, he tightened his grip even further, pulling Jennifer up from the ground.

         "Derek – Derek, what are you doing?" Scott questioned.

         "Here life – it's in my hands!" Jennifer managed.

         "Stop!" Stiles took a step forward, "Derek, stop!"

         "Stilinski," she gasped, "You'll never find him..."

         "Derek! Derek!"

         Cooper didn't want to do Jennifer any favors. If he had his way, Derek would kill her now, but he didn't like the thought of Cora or the sheriff dying because she had the information to save them and they kill her anyway. So, he pursed his lips together, and sang a gentle tune, forcing Derek to groan and grow weak, letting Jennifer free.

         She chuckled at the sight. "That's right. You need me – all of you."

         "I won't save you again," Cooper vowed. She only smirked.

         Cracking her neck, she kept the smirk on her face as Derek led her to the car. The three followed in Stiles' Jeep, pulling out in the pouring ran as they rushed to the hospital. Nothing good every did happen on a rainy night; they should've known.

         Stiles didn't turn on the radio, the only sound coming from the pour and bouts of thunder. Halfway there, Stiles broke it, looking over to Scott.

         "I don't know – something feels wrong about this, you know? We proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all going to plan. You saw it, didn't you?"

         "She was smug," Cooper agreed, "I fucking smug people."

         "Cooper, you're smug," Scott pointed out.

         "Okay, yes, but now is not the time to point out my traits and instead focus on Jennifer's."

         Scott was silent for a moment before nodding, "There's more than she's letting on. I just don't know what yet."

         Pulling into the hospital, they jumped out of the Jeep. Stiles came wielding a bat, and Scott couldn't help but ask, "What's that?"

         "Well, you got claws, you gotta voice, I gotta bat," Cooper shrugged at that reasoning, surprised but agreed.

         Derek held Jennifer by her arm, keeping her close as the three teenagers followed. They wound corner after corner, and Cooper took note of the panic the hospital employees had on their faces. Not many patients, but lots of rushing workers.

         "Scott!" they turned around, Melissa McCall coming towards them, "Scott! What are you doing here? The hospital's evacuating."

         Well, that explained that.

         "We're here for Cora."

         Melissa looked between the group, frowning. "What, all of you?" Then her eyes squinted, "Why does Stiles have my bat?"

         "Mom, just trust me on this – you need to get out of here, right now," Scott interrupted.

         Melissa looked like she wanted to argue or probe for more information, but looking at the state of them and back to her son, she sighed. "The building is supposed to be clear in thirty minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back – one's ten minutes out, the other's twenty. Cora needs to be on one of those. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."

         "Got it. Okay."

         Melissa turned and walked away, and they continued to the elevators. Scott piled in first, Cooper following, and Stiles third. Derek and Jennifer took center, directly facing the doors. Cooper crossed his arms, looking directly at the darach.

         "You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help," Jennifer commented before eyeing the three behind her. The eyes watching her made her grimace and look forward, not attempting anything again.

         The elevator doors opened, and they piled out. The wing was eerily quiet, empty but still bright. Cooper sucked in a breath at the sight of black blood pooled on the ground near a bed.

         "Derek...?" Scott motioned for him to look at the trail of blood spots leading back a pair of doors. A moment passed and then the doors flew open, Peter sliding on the ground, stopping in front of them.

         "We've got a problem," Peter grunted, "Big problem."

         Past the now open doors, Cooper's heart began to beat wildly at the sight of the Alpha twins in their merged form. Bigger than any wolf he had seen, angry, and ready for blood.

         Derek didn't hesitate, growling and growing into his wolf form, charging at the twins. He swung but the twins were stronger, throwing him aside. Scott joined the fray, pummeling them, but unable to overpower them.

         Cooper pursed his lips together – but nothing. He left his footing – he already used so much today, hadn't he? He hardly realized, swept up in everything, until now. But he couldn't stop, and couldn't let his exhaustion keep him from helping. Pursing his lips again, he whistled, tuned into the twins' ears, forcing the sound to eject from his voice. He saw the soundwaves echo from him to them, watched them stumble, crumbling.

         Once down, he stopped. Catching his breath, he grasped the wall, but it kept spinning.

         "All we want is her!" he heard, but the voices sounded different, distorted, and far, far away. He swayed, looking behind, seeing Jennifer in a closing elevator.

         "Cooper!" Scott called out, but the voice didn't resonate as it should. He felt himself being scooped up, legs moving forward and running down the hallway, leaving the twins behind.

         He felt his balance sway but Scott held him up, and how did he not realize how strong Scott was before? He should've known; werewolves were strong, he had seen them fight, saw how Derek picked up Jennifer early like she weighted nothing, but now with Scott supporting him, he saw how strong the beta was.

         Scott sat him down, and he leaned against the back of the wall. Looking to his side, he saw Cora in the same position.

         "Where's the big guy?" he could identify Stiles' voice, but it still sounded elsewhere.

         "He's close."

         "What about Miss Blake? What do you mean? What do you mean? Like she's gone? Scott, are you kidding me?"

         "Shh! Quiet!"

         "Me, be quiet? Me? Huh? Are you telling me what to do now? When your psychotic, mass-murdering girlfriend – the second one you've dated, by the way – has got my dad somewhere, tied up, waiting to be ritually sacrificed?"

         "Stiles, they're still out there..."

         "And...and they want her, right? Which means now, we don't have her either, so my dad and Cora are both dead."

         "Not yet. Is she really dying?"

         "She's definitely not getting any better."

         "There has to be something that we can do. We have to help her –"

         "You can't. Only I can." Cooper blinked, looking blearily around to see Jennifer. Again. He groaned. "I can save her, and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But, there's a pack of Alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So, I'll help you – but only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."

         Cooper looked at Stiles. "How much do you love your father? Because from where I'm sitting, I don't think it's worth it."

         "Cooper!"

         He raised his hands up. "So you lose a dad, or a sibling...they're not really worth it in my experience..."

         Derek growled. Cooper watched as he raised Jennifer up again.

         "Wait!" Scott called out.

         "She was trying to get out!"

         "I was trying to keep from getting killed! You can't blame me for that," Jennifer defended herself.

         "If you want to show you're one of the good guys, then heal her," Stiles crossed his arms.

         "Not until I'm safe."

         Peter raised his hand. "I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion...let's torture her."

         Derek shrugged. "Works for me."

         A screech, then, over the PA system, they heard Melissa McCall's voice, "Um, can I have your attention...? Mr. Deucalion...excuse me, just Deucalion...requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the ER reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes."

         Scott looked conflicted, distressed with Deucalion's proximity to his mom.

         Jennifer sighed. "He's not gonna hurt her."

         "Shut up!"

         "He won't! Scott, you know why. Tell them it's true."

         Scott looked away, but Derek stared at him. "What does she mean?"

         Jennifer stared at the beta, waiting for him to explain, but when it didn't come, she sighed. "You're not the only one he wants in his pack."

         Cooper looked away as well. The True Alpha and the Siren – rare beauties to behold. As his grasp on reality tightened, he failed to see the beautiful aspect of his kind. Use too much, and an overwhelming sickness follows. He could use more now than when he first presented, but there was still a threshold he crossed. And it had a reckoning.

         "Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha Pack – he wants perfection," Jennifer continued, "That means adding the rarest of Alphas to his ranks."

         "A True Alpha," Peter breathed out, stunned.

         "What's that?" Stiles looked around.

         "The kind that doesn't have to steal power from another. One that can rise by the force of his own will," Peter's eyes flickered to Scott, "Our little Scott..."

         "It doesn't matter," Scott shook his head, "We still need to get her out of here."

         "Scott, your mom –"

         He cut off Stiles. "My mom said there's one more ambulance coming in twenty minutes. And I don't think we've been here that long, so if we can get down to the garage, get to the last ambulance, we can get out of here."

         Derek shook his head. "The twins aren't gonna let us just walk out."

         "I'll distract them," Scott volunteered.

         "You mean fight them."

         "Whatever I have to do."

         "I'll help you."

         Jennifer interjected, "Um, sorry, but I'm not going anywhere without you, Derek."

         Peter rolled his eyes. "I'll do it. But, I'd prefer to be out there with an advantage. What's better than a siren? I'm a little surprised Deucalion doesn't want you for himself."

         "I'm a little tapped out at the moment," Cooper didn't acknowledge the rest of what Peter said, "If I do anything else, I'm gonna faint."

         "Fine, then a different advantage," Peter frowned.

         "Like what? You mean, like, a weapon?" Stiles questioned.

         "Something better than a baseball bat," Peter jested, starting the search around the room for anything that could help them against the twins.

         Cooper stumbled to his feet, grounding himself before going to be near Stiles. He watched the wolves open drawer after drawer, throwing the insides around as they searched.

         "Epinephrine?" Scott asked, holding up a large needle – too large of one, in Cooper's opinion. He shivered at the thought of that needle going into his arm.

         "That's only gonna make him stronger," Derek shook his head.

         At that, Peter gave the needle another look. "How strong?"

         Easy enough, Derek jabbed the needle in Peter's chest, injecting him with the epinephrine. Peter and Scott went out first, already in their wolf form, They watched until the twins were engaged in the fight before running out.

         Down in the garage, he got into the back of the ambulance with Stiles, standing over Cora's unconscious figure.

         "Derek...?" Jennifer called out, "Over here..."

         The Alpha gave them a look before following after the darach. Cooper shut the doors of the ambulance, waiting until he saw Derek and Jennifer running, Kali chasing them.

         "Shit," Cooper breathed out, "She has the keys, doesn't she?"

         Stiles nodded. "We're stuck here."

         Looking to make sure no one was still down there, they turned their attentions to Cora. "Okay, okay, okay..." Stiles muttered, trying to calm himself, "We're okay. We're alright. You okay? How you doing? Why do you look like you're breathing?"

         Stiles placed his ear to her chest. "Because you're not breathing, are you?"

         Cooper brought his hands out, starting compressions on her chest. "I really should've paid more attention during CPR lessons," he said, "Come on, Cora, you are not dying because if you die, Derek and Peter will kill us."

         "Mouth to mouth!" Stiles said, taking over and bringing his lips to Cora's, trying to breathe live in her.

         "It's not working!"

         "Just keep going!"

         His heart beat rapidly in his chest. "Cora is not going to die, Scott is not going to die – no one is going to die tonight, I won't allow it," he gritted out, pounding into her chest again, "We haven't come this far."

         "She just needs to hold out a little longer," Stiles said, trading off to do compressions, "Scott's gonna get us out of this, he always does. I mean, I actually come up with most of the plans, with at least a plan B, but – now? I don't know. Now, I'm thinking, maybe you were right, Cora. You know, maybe we are pretty much useless. Maybe all we really do is show up and find the bodies. I don't want to find my father's body."

         Cooper swallowed at Stiles' soft confession. "We're gonna find your dad, Stiles, before he's dead," he promised.

         Stiles laughed. "You don't know that."

         "I have to believe it. I know I was joking earlier, but – but I know your dad matters to you, and we're gonna find him. He's not gonna die. Not like this."

         Cora stabilized, so they stopped. Waiting around in the darkness of the ambulance, praying for the best case scenario. He didn't know what that was, but he had to wish for it.

         Minutes passed before they heard footsteps again. Cooper and Stiles traded panicked looks and he held his breath. A hand outstretched, hitting the window and Cooper jumped, eyes widening in fear until he saw Scott holding a beaten-up Peter.

         "Open the door!"

         Stiles rushed, doing as Scott told him to. "Sorry –"

         "Help me get him in."

         Cooper and Stiles outstretched their hands, loading Peter in. He didn't look good.

         "Where's Derek and Jennifer?"

         "I have to back for them, and my mom."

         "Okay, two problems – Kali's got the keys to this thing, and I just saw the twins, like, thirty seconds ago."

         "Stay here," Scott turned to leave.

         Cooper shot out. "Wait! I'm coming with you."

         "Cooper, no. You've done too much today."

         "I don't care," he said defiantly, "I'm not leaving you alone."

         Scott hesitated, looking at him up and down. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

         He nodded. "Yeah," he lied, hoping that Scott wouldn't catch it in his heartbeat. He couldn't leave Scott alone.

         The beta relented, motioning for him to follow. He didn't waste a second before going along. They walked the dark hallways, eerily quiet and stale. Cooper eyed his surroundings suspiciously, not trusting the shadows or corners.

         Out of the darkness, the twins' merged figure shot out, grasping Scott and banging him against the wall. He sucked in a breath to sing but Scott gave him a look. "Don't!"

         He let it go.

         "Where is she? We're trying not to hurt you!" the twins' distorted voice roared.

         "Try...harder..." Scott gasped.

         "Hey!" all eyes turned at Melissa McCall holding defibrillator paddles, "I'd like to try something..."

         She charged them together before forcing into the twins' chest, watching the electricity course through them before they fall. Cooper watched in awe and mild fear.

         "Sweetheart, get up! Come on!" she outstretched a hand to Scott, pulling him up as they ran away.

         Far enough away, Scott asked, "How did you get away?"

         "I didn't. He just let me go. Said it was a 'gesture of goodwill'. No other reason," Melissa explained.

         "He had to have a reason," Scott disagreed, "I don't think he does anything without a reason."

         "Well, if that means I should continue to be profoundly terrified, then don't worry about it. I got that covered."

         Scott stopped and motioned for them to as well. He stepped forward cautiously, ears attuned for a noise Cooper couldn't hear. Looking around a corner, the tension lifted from Scott so he took that as a sign to follow. Seeing them, he could understand what Scott heard: it was Chris Argent holding a gun, Allison and Isaac behind him.

         With more allies, Scott wasted no time explaining the precarious situation they faced. Cooper added in details that Scott missed and Melissa provided her perspective.

         "So, they're essentially trapped?" Argent asked, referring to Stiles and Cora.

         "Yeah. Right. There's no way of getting them out without turning the power back on," Scott confirmed.

         "But, wait, wait, wait – if the power's back on, they're gonna hear the elevator moving, right? And they'll be on Jennifer and Derek as soon as it stops," Isaac said.

         "We can't get in a fight with them."

         "You've got us now," Argent disagreed.

         "All of us have been fighting all night, and we've gotten nowhere," Cooper interjected, "Three more people isn't gonna change that."

         "It's too much to risk," Scott agreed, "They want her dead, and if she dies, there's nothing we can do for Stiles' dad or Cora."

         Allison looked around before facing them again. "I've got an idea."

         Everyone's role explained, Cooper piled into the car with Isaac. FaceTiming Allison, they waited for the signal to pick up Cora.

         "Stop being nervous, it's making me nervous," Isaac said.

         "Well, sorry that I'm not exactly calm right now. I think I deserve not to be calm after the night I've had," Cooper snapped.

         Isaac glared so he glared back. The contest went nowhere, only building up more silent tension. Eventually, they nodded for a truce and watched Isaac's phone.

         As they watched Allison run down the hallway on the screen, the twins following, Cooper switched off the phone as Isaac began to drive, swerving into the garage with the ambulance.

         Cooper got out, helping Stiles and Peter get Cora into the car. He went to get back in, stopping when he realized Stiles wasn't following. "Stiles?" he called out.

         Stiles looked back at them, eyes wide in alarm before he broke out into a run. Cooper looked back at Isaac before tailing after Stiles.

         "Stiles!" he yelled, "What's going on?"

         "Guardians!" the Stilinski boy called back, "Parent or guardian – Jennifer's going after Scott's mom!"

         Cooper sped up at that revelation.

         "Scott!" they both called out when they saw the boy, but Scott didn't stop, only broke out into a run down another hallway. Cooper looked into the elevator, seeing Derek unconscious on the ground. He knew. Scott had to have known now who Jennifer was going after next.

         They ran upstairs and to the roof of the hospital. Finally getting outside, Cooper watched Scott defeatedly walk towards Deucalion.

         "Scott!" Stiles called out desperately.

         "Don't!" Cooper added, heart pounding as he stretched as much suggestion as he could, "Come back! Don't do this!"

         The wolf stopped in his tracks. Turning to face them. The power of suggestion washed over him, but it wasn't strong enough to properly influence him.

         Deucalion's head titled. "The Siren," he put together, "What a beautiful voice you have. So...enthralling."

         Cooper ignored him, trying again, "Come here, Scott. Don't go with him."

         "I have to," Scott disagreed, but his feet were still planted firmly. A sign that it was working, but not enough. Never enough.

         "Scott, there's gotta be something else, okay? We always – we always have a plan B," Stiles pleaded.

         "So powerful," Deucalion mused, "My original deal included Scott, but now I'd like to change that. Come with me, Cooper and Scott, and we'll save Melissa and the sheriff."

         Cooper stopped. He didn't want this, he promised he would never go with Deucalion, but he couldn't stop Scott. No matter how suggestable he tried to be, it wasn't working. He was too weak, or maybe Scott's will was too strong. And if he didn't go with, what then? What would happen to them?

         Scott would lose his mother, Stiles his father.

         He couldn't do anything on his own, and he didn't have the brains to figure it out with Stiles. But he could influence Deucalion.

         "I'm gonna find your dad. I promise," Scott vowed to Stiles.

         "We're gonna find him," Cooper swallowed, walking forward, guilt and shame filling his gut.

         "Cooper, no," Stiles pleaded, "Don't do this – please don't do this."

         "I told you, we're not gonna find their bodies," Cooper shook his head, defeated.

         Scott waited for Cooper, and they followed Deucalion together. Julia was right; there were other ways Deucalion used to get him and Scott. The worse ways.

         The rarest ruby, a diamond in the rough, breaking under the pressure of the expected perfection. But he would rise – and they would find the guardians before they died. He wouldn't let Jennifer win.