𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

Stiles, Scott and I sneak around the back of the Tate household while the Sheriff speaks to Mr Tate. We reach the back door and the Stilinski boy grabs the handle, slowly opening it.

It creaks and we all freeze, cringing at the noise. Stiles pushes it again and this time it creaks even louder, causing me to grimace as Scott face palms himself. We all slip into the home and Stiles quickly closes the door to avoid it creaking again.

"Which way?" Stiles whispers.

"Follow me" I reply, tiptoeing through the house with the boys on my tail.

We reach what looks to be a small girl's room and I grab the nearest person to me, pulling them inside. Stiles lets me drag him into the room, grabbing Scott and pulling him in too.

I pick up a stuffed bear from the bed and turn to the boys, handing it to my brother. He sniffs it and shakes his head, nothing. Stiles grabs a stuffed elephant, handing it to Scott as I place the bear back on the bed.

"All I'm getting is some animal smell" Scott states.

"What kind of animal?" Stiles asks and I hear a growl from behind me.

"Dog" Scott says, looking behind me in worry.

I turn and slowly back up, in between the boys, as I see the large Rottweiler growling at us.

"Hi, puppy" I coo.

"Get rid of it" Stiles hisses at Scott.

"Me?" Scott asks in disbelief.

"Yes, you. Glow your eyes at it, something" Stiles explains.

"Be the Alpha, wolfie" I add and the dog snarls at us viciously.

"I can't" Scott says "I don't have control"

"Okay, buddy, you're going to have to try something" Stiles huffs.

Scott takes a step forward and reaches his hand out.

"Good doggy" My brother coos and I roll my eyes.

The dog starts barking loudly, causing Scott to jump back and Stiles to pull me behind him.

"Apollo!" Mr Tate yells "Apollo, shut up! Shut the hell up!"

The dog immediately goes silent and tilts it's head at us cutely before running away.

"Holy shit" I breathe out as Stiles grabs a book from the bookshelf.

"Here. Try that" The Stilinski boy says, handing it to Scott.

"Anything?" I ask hopefully.

"All I'm getting is that dog" Scott says defeatedly.

Stiles abruptly takes out his phone and snaps a photo of a picture that is framed on the desk of two little girls.

"Just go!" I hear Mr Tate scream and my eyes widen as I look at the boys.

"We gotta go, now" I snap and they nod at me quickly.

We head out the house the way we came in and sneak around to where we parked the Jeep behind the Sheriff's car.

"I'm sorry" Scott tells the man "I tried as hard as I could. If it wasn't so long ago, I might have been able to do it"

"It's okay. It was a long shot" The Sheriff shrugs "In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you guys here. I don't know what I was thinking"

"Thanks for trying, all right?" The man adds.

"Yeah" Scott nods.

The Sheriff pats Scott and I on the shoulder, looking at his son as he gets into his car.

"See you at home" He says and Stiles nods.

The Sheriff drives off and I let out a sigh, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?" Scott asks.

"Yeah, I just think this is one he...felt like he could've figured out right now" Stiles explains.

"Why is it so important now?" I wonder aloud.

"Well, he wants to be able to solve one more while he's still Sheriff" Stiles answers and I frown deeply.

"What do you mean, 'still Sheriff'?" Scott asks curiously.

Stiles gives us a sad look and my chest fills with anger.

"Hell, no" I snap.

❦ ❦ ❦

"That doesn't make any sense, Dad! Who are you helping?" I ask in anger.

"Just get out!" Scott yells.

"Kids-" I cut our father off.

"What?!" I shriek.

"I can't believe that you'd do this to my best friend!" Scott shouts.

"I'm not doing anything to your friend" Our dad argues "I'm doing my job"

"Your job sucks!" I retort.

"Some days I can't argue that" He sighs.

"Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" I hear our mom and I turn to see her looking at us in confusion.

"He's trying to get Stiles' dad fired" Scott tells her.

"No. That's not true" Our dad huffs.

"What are you doing?" Our mom then asks.

"Conducting a case for impeachment" He answers.

"That sounds a lot like getting him fired" She replies in annoyance.

"The lack of resolution and ability to close cases is what's going to get him fired. My job is just to collect the information. And it's the job my superiors have given me" He explains.

"Your job sucks" Our mother repeats my earlier statement.

I hear heavy breathing next to me and I turn my head to see Scott glaring holes into our father's head, his body practically shaking in anger.

"Scott...Sweetheart. Calm down" Mom coos and I look down to see claws growing from his fingers.

I immediately grab his hand and turn to stand in front of him.

"Scotty, you have to come with me, okay?" I tell him and he nods.

I usher him out the room, glancing at my mom who hurries after me. We take him into the hall and mom tries to calm him down.

"Let it go. Just breathe and let it go" She tells him.

"I'm trying" Scott says shakily, his eyes shining a bright red.

He groans loudly and his fangs grow, making me step slightly in front of our mom.

"Baby, it's okay" She assures me and I move out the way to let her see Scott.

"You told me you and Stiles learned a way to control this. You find an anchor, right?" She asks and Scott nods "Find your anchor"

"My anchor was Allison" Scott groans in pain "I don't have Allison anymore"

"Then be your own anchor" Mom snaps.

"You can do this, wolfie" I encourage him.

He pants heavily, clenching his eyes closed as his fangs and claws retract. He lets out a shaky breath and nods at us reassuringly, making us both sigh in relief.

"Sweetheart...Let me tell you something no teenager ever believes, but I swear to you is the absolute truth. You fall in love more than once. It'll happen again. And it'll be just as amazing and as extraordinary as the first time. And maybe just as painful. But it will happen again. I promise. And until then...be your own anchor" Mom rants passionately and I find myself smiling softly.

❦ ❦ ❦

I throw Stiles door open and find him laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He looks at me in surprise and I giggle, jumping onto his bed and pulling him up.

"Am I dreaming?" He asks.

"Do you often dream of me, dork?" I question him with a wide smirk.

"Yea- I mean, no!" He stumbles over his words, making me laugh.

"It's okay to think about me, Stiles. I don't mind" I tease him and he gulps.

"Okay, let's say this is a dream. What do you want to do to me?" I joke and Stiles stares at me in awe.

Just as he opens his mouth to answer me, he looks behind me to the door and I frown.

"Stop toying with him, bitch" I hear a scolding voice and I roll my eyes, turing my head to see Scott at the door.

"I almost had a reply, asshole" I pout and Scott shakes his head at me.

"What's going on?" Stiles asks.

"You, Natty and me. We're going to go out and find a body" Scott declares "A dead body"

I grin at Stiles and he returns the gesture, jumping out of bed. He grabs his jeans to get changed but then pauses, turning to me sheepishly and I smirk, leaning back on my elbows.

"Natalia" Scott snaps in a warning tone and I roll my eyes, pulling myself up.

"I was only teasing" I huff, sending a sly wink to the Stilinski boy and grinning when I see his cheeks heat up a bright pink.

My brother flicks my nose and I whine, pouting all the way outside.