𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

My eyes flutter open and my head aches slightly, causing me to groan in pain. I turn away from the light streaming in through the window, only to find that the other half of my bed is occupied by a sleeping werewolf.

"Aiden?" I mumble out in confusion, rubbing my eye sleepily.

He peels his eyes open and yawns, his eyes scanning over my form before he pulls me into his arms.

"You're okay" He smiles, sounding relieved.

"Just a little achey" I murmur, laying my head on his chest.

"You gave me a scare, gorgeous" He tells me, running his fingers through my hair.

"Oops" I smile softly and he smiles back, tugging my hair playfully.

"I feel like I haven't seen you properly in ages" Aiden states and guilt creeps into my chest.

"I'm sorry. My mind has been all over the place lately" I admit.

"I think we need to talk" He says vaguely.

"Arent we already talking?" I joke.

"Natalia" He sighs, looking up at the ceiling.

"I know. I'm sorry" I breathe out "We probably should talk"

"There's something I have to tell you" He declares.

"What is it?" I question curiously.

"I know that we haven't known each other for all that long and you might think I'm crazy, but..." He drawls off and I look up at him to see him staring at me with adoration swimming in his eyes "I love you, Natalia"

"Aiden, I-" He cuts me off with a shake of his head.

"No, you don't have to say anything. You don't love me back, and that's okay, I completely understand that" He assures me firmly and I tear up as I sit up to kiss him softly.

He kisses me deeply and I cling onto him, knowing that this is a goodbye. Our lips part and I look at him through teary eyes, his palm gently cupping my jaw as he strokes my cheek with his thumb.

"I wish I could love you the way that you deserve to be loved" I tell him sadly.

"Hey, I'm not the one for you, but that doesn't mean you should feel bad. Maybe I should have met you sooner" He chuckles weakly.

"What do you mean by sooner?" I frown in confusion.

"I mean, before you met Stiles again" He explains.

"What's Stiles got to do with it?" I ask, my brows furrowing.

"Come on, Natalia. I've seen the way you look at him. There's no use denying something that everyone can see" He tilts his head slightly with a knowing smile.

"I'm sorry, Aiden" I apologise guiltily, confirming his suspicions.

"Don't be. It's not your fault" He sighs in defeat.

I lay my head down on his chest and he strokes my hair gently as I draw patterns on his arm.

"In another life, I think this would have worked out for us" I mumble.

"That sounds nice" Aiden hums.

❦ ❦ ❦

After getting a text message from Allison and racing over to the Stilinski household, I enter Stiles' bedroom to find Allison, Noah, Derek and Chris standing together.

Allison notices me first and I walk over to stand by her side, looking down at the chessboard.

"What is all this? What are these sticky notes for?" Chris questions.

"This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about... all of you" Noah answers.

"Well, maybe it's a message from Stiles. The real Stiles" Allison suggests, causing hope to swell in my chest.

"Do you think there's any reason my name's on the king?" Derek asks curiously.

"Well, you're heavily guarded. Though, I guess the alarming detail is that...you're one move from being in checkmate" Noah explains.

"It's not a message from Stiles. It's a threat from the Nogitsune" Chris declares.

"He's at the loft. That's what he's trying to tell us" Allison states.

"And he wants us to come there" Chris adds.

"Night's falling" Derek points out.

"This couldn't sound any more like a trap" Chris then says.

"I don't think it is..." Noah argues.

"I don't care if it is" I breathe out.

"I think your opinion might be slightly biased" Chris counters, his eyes flitting to me for a moment.

"Hear me out! What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive- No rhyme or reason, right?" Noah starts.

"Meaning what?" Chris asks.

"Our enemy is not a killer... It's a trickster. The killing is just a by-product" Noah answers simply.

"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that" Derek speaks up.

"It won't. It wants irony. It wants to play a trick- It wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punchline" Noah tells us.

"The sun is setting, Sheriff... What do you have in mind?" Chris questions the Stilinski man.

❦ ❦ ❦

Derek, Allison, Chris and I let Noah go ahead of us to the loft in hopes that he can reason with his son, if it's really Stiles that is waiting for us.

"How is your head?" Allison asks me as we head towards the building, Derek and Chris trailing behind us.

"A lot better, thanks for asking" I smile at her.

She looks like she wants to say something else but she swallows her words down and shakes her head. I reach out and gently grab onto her hand, causing her to look at me in surprise.

"Talk to me, Alli" I plead.

"I was going to stay and wait for you to wake up, but when I went to your room Aiden was already there. He had his arms around you and you were curled into his chest with a stupid smile on your face" She tells me, looking a little uncomfortable "I didn't want to bother you both, so I left"

I frown softly and she strokes her thumb along my knuckles, glancing back at her dad and Derek. I glance back too and the two men both suspiciously look up at the sky, the Hale man whistling a soft tune. Allison squeezes my hand and I turn my gaze back to her as we enter the building.

"Even though I knew you were safe with Aiden, I couldn't sleep a wink because all I could think about was you and how happy you looked in his arms" She admits quietly and my heart hammers against my chest.

"Aiden and I ended things this morning" I blurt out and she looks at me in surprise.

"Why?" She asks me.

"He told me that he loves me...but I don't feel the same way" I answer truthfully.

"You don't love him back?" She questions, relief clearly shining in her eyes and I shake my head 'no'.

We near the open door of the Hale loft and Derek places a hand on my shoulder, stopping us from getting any closer.

"You're not my son" I hear Noah declare and my heart drops.