...
Noah buttoned up his nice blue and grey shirt, then fixed up his black tie before putting on his jacket. He checked his hair in a little mirror, grimacing slightly and trying to fix it to his liking. "Oh, I should've got a haircut." He groaned.
"Well, you know, someone your age should be happy you still have hair to cut." Stiles smiled at his dad. Noah gave him an unimpressed look.
"I think you look great." Scott said.
"Any one would be lucky to go on a date with a handsome Sheriff." Y/n agreed.
"Well, thank you, son I should of had and daughter I hope to have one day." Noah gave Scott and Y/n a smile, the friends returning the gesture while Stiles lightly gaped at them. Noah suddenly sighed as he started to remove his tie. "Oh, what the hell am I doing? This is a terrible idea."
Stiles was quick to stop him. "What, Dad- Dad, it's one date, okay?" He fixed his fathers tie. "The town of Beacon Hills won't implode while you're out with one woman. Or man." He added, suggesting that wasn't a bad thing.
"It's a woman, Stiles."
"Okay."
"A very beautiful woman."
"What beautiful woman, by the way?" All three seemed to lean in slightly, hoping to get any information on the mystery lady that caught the older Stilinski's eye.
"None of your business. Any of you."
Stiles narrowed his eyes and glanced at Y/n and Scott. "I want to know."
"Stilinski!" Someone suddenly yelled from out in the bullpen, catching their attention. "STILINSKI!" The four walked out to see Jordan and a new deputy, Valerie Clark, holding a cuffed teen by the arms, and Mr. Stewart, his lawyer, standing in front of him with a worried expression. "I'm going to kill you." The boy threatened.
"Donovan, if you think that shocks me, remember it was well-documented in your Anger Expression Inventory. Deputies, escort the prisoner out."
"I'm not angry like I'm gonna throw a brick through your window. I'm angry, like I'm going to find you, I'm going to get a knife and I'm going to stab you with it until you're dead. And when you look at me and you ask me why, remember right now. Because this is why." There was silence after his threat.
"That's the best you can come up with?" Y/n suddenly asked, arms folded and head tilted as she gave him a bored look. "That's so unoriginal. At least think of something new that didn't come from any basic crime show."
"No, no, that was awesome." Stiles disagreed sarcastically. "That was awesome. That was great. Can we do one more? Give us another one, maybe like Christopher Walken this time, you know. Okay, you know what? It's fine. You'll have plenty of time to work on it when you're in your tiny, little cell, you know. Just stuck in there, forever." Stiles smirked.
Donovan quietly laughed with a nod, making to turn away before he lunged at them, Y/n taking a protective step forward, only for Donovan to be held back by the deputies. "Get him out of here!" Noah ordered, and they did as told, Mr. Stewart following his client.
"What the hell's an Anger Expression Inventory?" Scott asked.
"It's a test you take when you're applying to become a deputy." Stiles answered.
"That guy wanted to be a cop?" Stiles nodded.
"Oh, that would have been lovely." Y/n rolled her eyes.
"At least now he's getting the full law enforcement experience." Stiles said. On that lovely note Noah suggested that the three go ahead and go home while he headed out himself. When Stiles tried to turn on the Jeep the engine sputtered yet again making Stiles groan. "Oh." He glanced at Y/n and Scott, seeing their concerned looks. "It's anxiety."
"What is?" Scott asked.
"The chemo signals? Oh, I'm well aware of how you all monitor my emotional state. Yeah." He tried the key again but the engine still wouldn't turn over. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel in frustration.
"Are you okay?" Y/n asked. She knew something was going on, and she didn't want to pry, but she also wanted to help.
Stiles looked over at her, and her soft expression with brows drawn in concern for him made him cave. "All right." He fished in his pocket for his phone, pulling up a photo to show them. "I got this from Braeden a few hours ago." He handed the phone to her and she held it up so she and Scott could see the screen, both of them looking at the photo in shock. "That's the first real bit of information we've gotten on the Desert Wolf in months."
"The Desert Wolf did this?" Scott asked, still staring at the phone.
"Yeah, and I'm the one who's been pulling on this thread."
"Then, you should stop pulling on it." Y/n suggested.
"No, it's not up to me." He tried the engine again and this time it started up.
Y/n shook her head as Stiles began to drive. "Malia appreciates your help on trying to find this woman, but she wouldn't want to put you in danger to do it."
"Well, I'll keep pulling for now, just in case."
"Just in case my a-" She's cut off by her phone ringing. She gives Stiles a look, letting him know this wasn't over, before she answered it. She listens as Lydia tells her that, while she and Kira were helping teach Malia to drive, they found the prison transport van in an underpass in downtown with a few bodies. Stiles changes course to the scene and they find several police personnel on site already. The three walk over to the Sheriff, passing a bloodied man who was being wheeled away by EMTs.
"Kids." Noah greets as they stop in front of him. "Y/n, Scott, you saw this kid, Donovan. He... He wasn't like you, right?"
"I don't think so."
"Not that know of." They answered together.
"Unless he knows how to hide his scent." Stiles pointed out.
"Well, human or otherwise, this kid might have just murdered his lawyer and mortally wounded two officers." Noah said. "We've got an APB out on him, but you think you can find him faster?"
"I can try." Scott nodded and Noah handed him a walkie-talkie.
"All right. Keep it on channel two." Scott took off, following Donovan's scent to try and find him.
"Dad, what if it wasn't Donovan?"
"I'm guessing you've already got a theory?"
"Yeah, I think do." Y/n frowns a bit as she rubs the back of her neck. They moved to stand with the girls and Jordan, and not long after the deputy's radio made a noise.
"Scott, is that you?" Jordan called into the device.
"Yeah, I found Donovan. He's completely freaked out. He keeps saying some name."
"What name?" Noah asked.
"Theo." Stiles muttered his suspicion, but he was wrong.
"Tracy. He keeps saying Tracy."
"Tracy who?" Noah wondered, only for Lydia to answer.
"Stewart. Tracy Stewart."
...
"Tracy wasn't just having trouble sleeping. It was a real disorder. It was night terrors." Lydia explained, her and the pack standing around the Jeep behind the school buses to discuss the current situtation.
"Well, now she's the night terror. Especially since no one can find her." Stiles quipped.
"Okay, I know we're all tired and miserable..." Scott trailed off, glancing to the visibly excited Mason next to him. "Except for you."
Mason met the Alpha's gaze. "Oh. I'm sorry." He grinned. "This is all just mind-blowing. You're a kitsune." He pointed to Kira. "I don't even know what that is." He huffed a laugh.
"I'm still learning." She smiled.
"And you're a witch!" He excitedly looked to Y/n who gave a short nod and an amused smile. "Was Salem an actual thing?"
"No, Salem just had a bad case of mass hysteria. Although a lot of the witch trials were held by actual Hunters who burned actual witches." She shrugged nonchalantly while Mason just listened with an amazed expression.
"Liam, we said you could tell him. Not invite him to the inner circle." Stiles said.
"Uh, I'm in the inner circle?" Mason asked. Liam and Stiles both said 'no', at the same time Y/n said, 'technically'.
"Guys, look, back to Tracy." Scott stepped in. "She's just one lone wolf. We can find her."
"One lone serial-killing wolf." Malia added.
"Uh, she only killed one person, you know. The other two were mauled." Stiles pointed out.
"If the other two had died, then she would be a serial killer. Three or more is what does it." Y/n informed, making most of them give her a strange look while she just shrugged. "I watch a few crime shows, sue me."
"All right, what do we do when we catch her?"
"I say we put her down." Malia said.
There weren't any verbal agreements or disagreements with that statement, but there were a few looks that spoke each opinion. Mason looked around at all of them. "Intense."
"Guys, let's concentrate on catching her first." Scott said. "We'll figure out the rest later."
...
"Now, I wanted to show you first, but considering my lack of self-control..." Stiles trailed off as he and Y/n wait for Malia's reaction to the photo he got from Braeden.
"My mother did this?" She finally asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, Braeden said these guys were pretty bad. You know, really bad."
"So they deserved it?"
Stiles tilts his head in thought. "Yeah, I'm not sure anyone deserves that, per se." 'That' being the men were practically gutted, blood soaking their clothes and the ground around them.
"I guess we know one thing now. She's good at her job."
"Good enough to where we should be careful." Y/n said. "She could easily find out what we're doing, if she doesn't know already." They couldn't discuss any more as just a few minutes later they were rushing down the halls to find Scott. Tracy had shown up in History class and collapsed with a silvery substance pouring out of her mouth. Scott carried her and they all hurried to the Jeep to take her to the animal clinic where Alan could examine her and try to help.
She was laid on the examination table, pale and sweaty with labored breathing. "Pupils dilate under normal conditions." Alan said after he shone a light in her eyes. Then he pressed two fingers to her neck. "Heart rate is 250." He pulls her sweater down slightly to look at a mark on her shoulder. "Evidence of an allogenic skin graft on the right shoulder. Now, this silvery substance on her lips is not something I've seen. It almost looks like mercury." Tracy's body suddenly jerked making everyone lean away for a moment.
"Can't you just give her a shot of something?" Malia asked.
"She doesn't look to be in any pain."
"I meant a shot to kill her."
"We're not gonna just kill her, Mal." Y/n denied.
"I generally prescribe to a code of ethics that frowns on such measures." Alan added.
"Malia, you know we're not going to do that." Scott said.
"How do you know she's not gonna kill us?" Malia wondered.
"She makes a decent point." Stiles agreed, earning a pointed look from Y/n, before continuing. "Either way, eventually I'm going to have to let my dad know she's here."
"Agreed. And while I may argue against euthanasia," Alan glanced at Malia, "I'm not opposed to a little..." He grabbed a glass bottle of mountain ash. "Extra security." He twisted the lid off before throwing the contents towards the door, the ash forming a perfect line and sealing the barrier. While Alan continued to examine Tracy, Stiles looked apprehensively at the ash line. Alan noticed this and smiled gently at the teen. "Don't worry, Stiles. Tracy won't be able to cross a line of mountain ash. She's not going anywhere."
"Yeah, that's kind of what I'm afraid of." Stiles admitted.
"Well, Y/n, you and I will be able to get out of here no problem." He looked at Malia and Scott. "You two. Not so much."
Malia looked mildly curious, and turned to the barrier. She pressed her hand forward, only to immediately retreat it as the barrier pushed agaisnt her. "Weird."
"Y/n, Scott, would you mind holding her down." Alan asked. "I'm going to be trying a few more invasive tests." Scott and Y/n both placed their hands on Tracy's arms, bracing themselves for any type of force she may exude. Alan took a scalpel and pressed it against her forearm experimentally. The tool slid harmlessly against her skin and the blade even snapped in half, Alan holding the broken instrument up for everyone to see.
"I think you're gonna need a bigger blade." Stiles said, earning an unamused look from the vet.
The sun steadily set as Alan continued to look over Tracy. He turned her head and saw something seemingly press against the side of her neck from the inside. "Now, this is interesting." He muttered, Malia moving closer to watch the doctor's actions.
Scott looked at his phone after it buzzed, stepping to the side with Stiles and Y/n following. "What's up?" Stiles asked him.
"It's my mom. It's about the driver of the prison transport. She's saying he's awake and talking."
Alan grimaced as he looked at Tracy's neck, moving to touch the spot, yet flinching when it moved again. "Malia, help me turn her over, please." He asked of the werecoyote, and together they flipped Tracy to her stomach. Alan cut down the middle of her shirt to look at her back.
"Driver didn't have a stroke or heart attack. Says it was more like his body just locked up." Scott turned his phone to show his friends.
"Like he was paralyzed." Stiles said.
Y/n sighed, sharing a look with Stiles as she spoke. "I think we know what she is, now."
"Do you care to enlighten the rest of us?" Alan asked her. "Because, this doesn't look too good." The three moved over to the table to see what he was talking about. Something was moving along Tracy's spine, under the skin. Alan gently pressed around it.
"Alan, I wouldn't do that." Y/n warned. Suddenly Tracy's back split open, black blood spraying out and hitting Alan and Scott in the face. The giant wound revealed what was moving around inside her. A tail as long as her back twitched in the open air. And then it whipped out, hitting Stiles and Alan, sending them to the ground as Tracy hopped up and pushed herself to a crouch. She whipped her tail again, hitting Malia and Y/n this time as the witch tried to pull Malia away. Tracy then clawed at Scott before she jumped off of the table. She hissed at the group and took off towards the exit. Instead of being stopped by the mountain ash like expected, the line was instead broken as Tracy crossed over it and made her escape.
"It wasn't a werewolf." Stiles panted from his face down position.
"She's a kanima." Y/n groaned as she lowered herself to the ground, her hand hovering over the cut on her chest.
"Hey, Deaton, how the hell did she get through the mountain ash?" Stiles called.
"I don't know. It's a barrier no supernatural creature should be able to cross."
"Scott did it."
"Once, but it almost killed me." Scott said.
"We should've killed her." Malia growled.
"Meanwhile, she's probably on her way to killing someone else." Stiles commented.
"Alan." Alan frowned at the tremor in Y/n's voice. "I can't- I can't move." Her breathing turned to shallow gasps in growing panic, her body now refusing to move properly.
"What?" Stiles' voice raised in confusion and worry.
"Tracy cut me and now I can't move."
"It's okay, Y/n. It's gonna be okay." Alan assured, trying his best to calm his daughter. "Listen, everyone. We need to concentrate. Y/n, Scott, Malia, you three will probably be able to move long before Stiles and I can."
"I thought I was immune. Alan, what's happening?"
"I don't know. But you can still heal. And right now you need to focus. Scott and Malia too."
"Focus on what?" Malia asked.
"Healing." Scott answered.
"That's right." Alan said.
"I don't know how to tell my body to heal." Malia yelled.
"Malia, calm down. It's okay." Stiles called.
"I can't calm down. I can't move."
"It won't last long. We're going to be okay." Scott assured. "Doc, how do we focus?"
"Think of a body part. Your hands, your feet, even just the tips of your fingers. Imagine them moving. See it in your mind and your body will follow." Y/n closed her eyes and did her best to steady her breathing. She didn't understand why she was suddenly affected by kanima venom, but that wasn't important at the moment. Alan was right, she should still be able to heal herself so she needed to focus on that. Her eyes lightly glowed as her magic worked to try and heal her as fast as possible.
It felt like days, but was actually no more than an hour or two that they all laid there, unmoving. "Okay. I'm pretty sure I just felt my right leg move." Stiles said, grunting with his efforts to move. "Uh, yep, definitely felt it. Like a twinge, spasm, something."
Alan, who was in the perfect positon to see the teen's feet, spoke up. "I'm going to have to disagree. And I think I hold an informed opinion."
Scott had his head turned in the sisters' direction and he saw Malia's fingers and Y/n's foot twitch. "Malia. Y/n."
"I don't think she cut us that deep." Malia said.
"Keep going. Keep moving." Alan encouraged the girls. They groaned and grunted in effort as they made their body move again. Y/n closed her eyes as she moved her arms to push herself up, trying to ignore the tingling in the back of her neck and fingers. She figured it was something like the pins and needles feeling you get when your hand or foot falls asleep. Malia was able to move her arms and legs now and, with some diffuculty, began to push herself to stand up.
"What's happening? I can't see." Stiles said, voice laced with worry. All he could hear was their attempts to move again. "What's happening?" He heard Malia as she finally stood up, using the exam table for support. "Malia? Malia, wait for us."
"There's no time." She argued.
"Look, she's not a werewolf."
"But she has a scent. I can find her."
"Malia, wait." Y/n tried to get her to stop, at least long enough for her to be able to get up again.
"Malia." Malia looked down at Scott. "Save her." She huffed before she stepped over the boys and followed the scent.
"Malia!" Y/n yelled, finally becoming stable on two feet. She pushed herself forward, stepping over everyone as she followed Malia, ignoring Stiles' calls for her to wait. She had to help Malia, make sure she didn't get hurt and stop Tracy.
The sisters followed Tracy's scent to the Sheriff's station, and when they got there they found furniture knocked around, blood on the floor, and Noah paralyzed on the ground. "Careful." He whispered.
"Y/n." The witch turned towards Lydia's voice, and quietly gasped at the sight of her friend on the ground, blood soaking her shirt from a deep cut in her side. Kira looked up at her with frightened eyes as she pressed her hands to the wound.
"Lydia?"
"Okay. Hey, it's not as bad as it looks." Her voice shook as she spoke.
"Yeah? Well, from where I'm standing it looks pretty bad!" She rushed over, kneeling in front of Lydia to help until Lydia spoke again.
"Y/n, Listen. Tracy- she thinks- she thinks she's asleep. She thinks she's dreaming. It's a night terror."
"What does that mean?" Malia asked from the doorway.
"She thinks she's in a night terror." Y/n explained. "You need to get her to understand that she's awake."
"What about you?"
"I'm gonna help Lydia. You go help Tracy." Malia hesitated. "Malia, go!"
"Malia!" Noah called. "Basement. They're in the basement."
"They?"
"Tracy... And my mother." Lydia answered. Malia hurried off and Y/n turned back to Lydia. Carefully she placed her hands around the wound, closing her eyes as she focused on healing her friend. After a moment her eyes opened to look down at her hands, brows furrowed in confusion. For some reason she couldn't heal more than just a few bits of tissue. She tried again, but got the same result, her magic not wanting to work like it's supposed to. As she looked down at Lydia's pale face she began to realize she wasn't going to be able to help her and the thought scared her.
What the hell is happening?
~~~
Published: 4/27/22