𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

Thanks to Stiles' speeding, we make it to the hospital quickly and I climb out the Jeep first, slamming the door shut.

"Watch the Jeep!" Stiles scolds me.

"I swear to God, Stiles, if you tell me what to do one more time I will castrate you" I retort and he rolls his eyes, causing me to punch him "And don't roll your eyes at me, Stilinski"

We rush into the hospital and I see my mom at the reception, looking through a file.

"Momma!" I call out and she smiles, turning to us.

"Mummy's girl" Stiles mutters.

"Daddy's boy" I retort, elbowing hun.

"Enough, you two" My mom scolds us and we both glare at each other before looking at her "Over here. And if you tell anyone that I showed you this, I swear to God, I will kill you painfully and slowly"

like mother like daughter

"Why do you want to show us a body we've already seen?" Stiles asks.

"Because you haven't seen everything" She states.

Stiles and I share a look of concern before following my mother into the morgue. She pulls on some latex gloves and pulls down the sheet covering the victim's face.

I grimace in disgust, my stomach twisting and making me feel sick. Stiles notices my pale face and hesitantly reaches down to grab my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. I'm taken aback by his actions and my eyes widen, but he looks straight at the body.

"See this around his neck?" My mom asks, pointing to a bruise "That's a ligature mark. That means that he was strangled with something, like cord, or rope"

"Ah, okay, wait a second" Stiles speaks up "What kind of werewolf strangles someone? You know, that's not very werewolfy"

"My thoughts exactly" My mom nods "And then there's this"

She turns the victim's head to the left and I gag when I see the hole in his head, letting go of Stiles' hand to cover my mouth. They both look at me in concern but I wave them off, taking a deep breath.

"God, man, what is that? Is that brain matter? Yeah, it's brain matter, of course" Stiles mumbles, almost to himself.

"See the indentation? He was hit in the back of the head, hard enough to kill him" My mom explains and I turn my head, looking at her in disbelief "In fact, any one of these things could have killed him. I mean, someone seriously wanted this poor kid dead"

"Wait, so that means this couldn't have been Boyd or Cora" I declare, perking up "They wouldn't have done all this"

"So maybe this is just one murder. I mean, maybe it's just a random coincidence" Stiles suggests.

"I don't think it was just one" My mom replies.

"How not?" I ask curiously.

"Because that girl over there" She answers, nodding to the body on the table behind us "She's got the exact same injuries"

We turn behind us and I look at Stiles, frowning at the worry swimming in his big brown eyes. My mom pulls down the sheet and my stomach drops when I see Heather on the table.

"The ME said this one wasn't just strangled" My mom explains and Stiles starts tearing up "Whoever did it used a garrotte, which is a stick that you put through the rope, and you just kind of keep twisting-"

"Mom, stop talking" I warn her and she looks at Stiles.

"Oh, my God, did you know her?" My mom asks and Stiles nods weakly, causing my mom to recover Heather with the white sheet "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think"

"I was-" Stiles chokes up and I grab his hand, trying to comfort him "I was at her party. It was her birthday. Her name is Heather"

He wipes his tears on his sleeve and I frown, my heart breaking for the dorky boy.

"Okay, we need to call your father, cause you're a witness" My mom explains.

He abruptly lifts his head and looks back at the guy's body with a distant look on his face. His hand falls from mine and he leans on the metal table, breathing heavily.

"Stiles" I speak, concerned for the Stilinski boy.

He stands up straight and turns, looking at my mom.

"Has anyone else been through here tonight? Any other bodies, or even anybody missing?" Stiles questions her.

"Uh, no, no bodies, but, um...Two girls. They brought the first one in, Caitlin, for a tox screen, and then I overheard that her girlfriend, Emily, just disappeared. I mean, they were out in the woods and-" My mom's explanation is cut short.

"Nobody's found her yet?" Stiles asks.

"I don't know" My mom answers.

"Okay, first one" Stiles speaks.

"Caitlin" I but in.

"Yeah, is she here? Is she here right now?" Stiles asks frantically.

"I think so" My mom answers hesitantly.

"Okay, where?" Stiles snaps, trying to walk past her but she stops him.

"Okay, okay, wait. Just wait a minute" She tells him.

"I have to talk to her" Stiles says desperately.

"Why?" I ask in confusion.

"Because I think I know what's happening" He answers and I share a look of uncertainty with my mom.

❦ ❦ ❦

"We weren't doing anything that bad" Caitlin tells us "I mean, I've camped out there plenty of times"

"Right, but why tonight?" Stiles asks her.

"We wanted to be alone for one night. Emily lives with her mom, and I have three roommates. Not exactly romantic settings, you know?" She explains and I nod understandingly.

"How long have you two been together?" I ask her.

"Three months" Caitlin answers.

"And you wanted to make it romantic" Stiles repeats.

"Yeah, you know, because..." She trails off.

"Because it was her first time" Stiles finishes and Caitlin frowns down at her hands.

"They're gonna find her, right?" She asks "Aren't they?"

Stiles looks down at his feet and my mom frowns, glancing at me.

"They're doing everything they can" I assure her.

I give her an encouraging smile and tug on Stiles' sleeve as I turn to leave behind my mom. We exit the room and my mom turns to me with her phone in her hand.

"Your brother is on his way here" She tells me "I should get back to work, but you two can wait in the morgue for him"

"See you later, Mom" I smile, giving her a quick hug.

Stiles walks beside me with a distant expression on his face and I feel my heart sink at the frown tugging at his lips instead of his usual mischievous smile.

We reach the morgue and Stiles reaches out to turn the door handle, but I grab his arm. He turns to me in confusion and my arm drops back to my side.

"What's wrong?" He asks me in concern.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about Heather. I know she was your friend" I sigh and he looks down at his feet with tears in his eyes.

"It's okay" He shrugs.

Without giving it a second thought, I step forward and wrap my arms around his lanky frame. He freezes for a second before easing up and wrapping his arms around me. I lay my head on his chest and he gently lays his chin on top of my head.

"I'm here if you need to talk, Stilinski" I assure him.

"Thanks, Natalia" He mumbles.

"Always" I smile.

❦ ❦ ❦

Stiles pulls the sheet back over Heather's face after explaining the situation to my brother and I put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look at me. He smiles gratefully and places his hand on top of mine.

"So Boyd and Cora might not have killed anyone?" Scott asks and I remove my hand, shoving them in my pockets.

"You're gonna wish they did" Stiles answers vaguely.

"Why?" Scott asks in confusion and I gulp, not liking the answer to his question.

"I'm not exactly sure yet" Stiles explains "The other girl who was in the woods, Emily, eventually they're gonna find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool, all three were virgins. And they're all gonna have the same three injuries, strangled, throat slashed, head bashed in. It's called the threefold death"

"So if these aren't random killings, then what are they?" Scott questions.

"Sacrifices" Stiles answers, sending chills down my spine "Human sacrifices"