Human is Just a Word 55/?
Chapter 55
"I have to go, they found a body in the woods." His dad said and then he was gone before Stiles could even comprehend that statement.
For a moment there was stunned silence in the hospital room, Melissa lying quietly between them, and over her bed Stiles and Isaac shared a glance.
"You think ..." Isaac started but didn't dare to finish the question.
"I'm calling Laura." Stiles had his phone out and was dialing her number and then he was listening to one unanswered ring after the other. Eventually it went to voicemail, a cheerful Laura telling him to leave a message.
"Laura, it's Stiles." He said. "Call me."
Dread settled in his stomach but he didn't know what to do. Across the bed he saw the same emotions flashing over Isaac's face.
"Maybe just a hiker." Stiles said but didn't believe it for a second. Nobody hiked in these woods.
Isaac nodded as if he believed him anyway.
Melissa had become more restless over the last few minutes and Stiles should probably stay with her in case she woke up but he couldn't just sit here and wait.
"Let's go home." He grabbed his things. "If they are in trouble they might come there."
Wordless Isaac followed him out of the room and if the beta was hovering closer than necessary, neither of them commented on it.
The Stilinski house was empty but Stiles hadn't expected his dad to be there anyway.
However, a little part of him had hoped to find Laura and her betas here.
"Should we call somebody?" Isaac asked, standing awkwardly in the living room.
"Who?" Stiles shot back, pacing up and down. "And tell them what? We don't know what happened out there."
The only thing they knew for certain was that Laura had met Peter and now there was a body in the woods.
He was about to say screw it and to go out there to have a look for himself, when his phone rang.
"Dad?" He asked, clutching the phone to his ear.
"Stiles." He sounded tired. "We found a female body." He paused and Stiles knew what he would say next. He wouldn't have called if it was anybody else. "We don't have official confirmation yet but it's Laura."
"That can't ... it can't be her." He tried to deny it but deep down he had known since she hadn't answered her phone.
"I'm sorry, Stiles." His dad said. "Have you heard from Stephen or Ellen? They were with her when …" When Laura went to have dinner with Peter.
"No." Stiles shook his head.
"Are you at our house?"
"Yeah, me and Isaac." He glanced over to the werewolf who heard every word his father said.
"Good, stay there." He ordered and before Stiles could even form a protest he added: "I don't know what Peter will do, please Stiles, stay safe."
Stiles got it. So far Peter had killed Scott and was responsible for Melissa's coma. He had almost killed Stiles and would have claimed him if Derek hadn't intervened.
His dad couldn't lose more people and he couldn't do his job if he was worried about Stiles, he go that.
"We'll stay here." He promised. "Besides, maybe Stephen and Ellen show up here."
They promised to keep each other posted and then they ended the call.
A second later Isaac was behind him, his strong arms around him and his nose buried in Stiles' neck. Stiles leaned into him and just wished that Derek was there.
Derek.
"I have to call Derek." He said but for a long moment he didn't move to get his phone back out.
"What are you going to tell him?" Isaac asked.
"Hell if I know." Stiles let out a sigh.
In the end he did call Derek but he wasn't sure if his mate registered anything of what he said after he had told him that his sister was dead. For sure he didn't know what to do either.
After the call Stiles pondered his options. He should just sit tight and wait but that wasn't in his nature.
"Fuck it." He turned on his heel and indicated Isaac to follow him.
"Where are we going?"
"We need to find Stephen and Ellen. Would you recognize their scent?"
"Yes."
Armed with only his trusty baseball bat, at least Isaac didn't comment on how useless that would be against a werewolf, they left the house. The plan was simple. Drive out to the preserve, find Stephen and Ellen and don't run into Peter or one of his pack members.
However, they didn't even made it to his jeep before Isaac jumped in front of him, claws out and a deep growl in his throat.
Stiles didn't know who was attacking them so he just grabbed the bat tighter and tried to stay between his beta and the jeep.
A figure stumbled around the corner of the house.
"Ellen." Stiles recognized her and shouldered his way past Isaac who was still on high alert. "Shit, Ellen." He fell to his knees next to her, taking in the blood and dirt, she looked like she had fought with a bear and lost. Or with an alpha werewolf. And his pack.
There were more noises coming from around the corner. Stiles didn't even need to tell Isaac to investigate, the beta ran by him, still wolfed out and ready to take on every threat coming their way.
"It's Stephen." He said a second later.
"Let's get them inside." Stiles' eyes darted around, expecting an attack any second now. "Ellen, can you walk?"
Isaac basically carried Stephen inside but Stiles wasn't strong enough, he needed Ellen to at least help a little bit.
"C'mon, just a few steps." He tried to encourage her but he had to more or less drag her the short distance back to the house.
When the door fell shut behind them, Stiles breathed in relief. Not that a door would be a problem for a werewolf but for now he felt safe.
"The couch." He ordered, adjusting his grip on Ellen's arm over his shoulder. A minute later Stephen and Ellen were sitting on said couch, both slumped in on themselves and not really there. But at least they weren't bleeding any longer and so far Stiles hadn't seen anything a werewolf couldn't heal from given a little time. If they had the time, though, he didn't know.
"What happened?" He crouched in front of Ellen, she seemed to be more aware than Stephen.
"Peter." She brought out with gritted teeth. "He ripped her throat out."
"Didn't even warn her." Stephen spoke up. "He just fucking walked up to her and ripped her throat out."
"We know." Stiles said. "They found her body. I'm sorry."
They just nodded, heads hanging. Stiles didn't even want to know what it felt like to lose his alpha. Losing the connection to Derek by distance was bad enough but actually losing the bond? He didn't dare to think about that.
"Here." Isaac came back into the room. Stiles hadn't even noticed that he had left. He had a bowl of steaming water in his hands and washcloths and towels under his arm. "You should clean up a little."
Mechanically they washed their hands and faces.
"What happened to you?" Stiles asked.
"After Peter …" Ellen cleared her throat. "After, he told his pack to teach us a lesson."
Stiles knew first hand what that kind of lesson looked like, they were lucky to be alive.
"He took over Laura's territory." Stephen said with his eyes fixed on the washcloth in his hands. "He gave us two days to either leave his territory or join him." It was clear in his voice what he thought about joining Peter.
"We bring the pack over to our territory." Stiles offered without even thinking about it. It was the obvious thing to do. "You can join my pack or stay until you've figured out what you want to do."
Isaac threw him a glance at "my pack" but Stiles couldn't tell if it was an approving one or not. At the moment he didn't care.
It might be harsh but Stiles didn't want Ellen and Stephen to idle long enough to comprehend that their alpha was gone so he kept them buys with making phone calls while he and Isaac packed their things and brought their bags out to the jeep.
Isaac stayed alert but so far it looked like Peter's pack was leaving them alone.
Stiles gave his dad a quick update and told him that he and Isaac would leave with Stephen and Ellen. His father didn't even try to hide how relieved he was that Stiles was leaving Beacon Hills.
A minute later Stiles had two traumatized werewolves in the backseat, a vigilant one next to him and in his mind he was already planning the logistics of uprooting a whole pack. The loft was big enough, most of them could squat there, and they had the betas' places. At least until they had figured out a more permanent solution.
He was so distracted that he almost ran over Lydia when he left his driveway.
Hands on the hood she glared at him and for a moment he could just stare at her in disbelief. She was the last person he had expected to see.
Fangs and claws out Isaac was already half out of the car but Stiles grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to hold him back but he still tried to shake him off.
"Isaac, no!" Stiles barked and his beta went still. But he kept his fangs out.
Ignoring the hostile werewolf Lydia made her way over to the driver's side.
"I hear fire." She said, her eyes wide. "And a pack screaming. Stiles, you don't have much time."
"Lydia, what?" He didn't know what to make out of that but one look at her face told him that she was dead serious.
"You have to hurry." Her gaze went distant as if she was listening to something only she could hear. "He's going to do something really bad."
Stiles didn't know what to make out of her warning but one thing he knew for certain. Peter would kill her the second he found out that she had warned them. He couldn't let that happen, not to Lydia.
They were in the middle of a fucking pack war.
"Lydia." He tried to get her attention. "How are you bonded into the pack? Did he claim you?" If Peter had claimed her, he couldn't do a damn thing for her.
"No, no he didn't claim me." She shook her head, a haunted expression on her face. "He tried but no. I'm not even Jackson's mate, no matter what he likes to say."
"Get in." Stiles ordered. If she really was only pack by association, she could just leave. And no way was he letting her go back and get killed.
To his surprise she climbed in the back of the jeep.
"Thank you." She said and didn't look back when they left Beacon Hills.
The ride was surreal.
Ellen was on the phone most of the time, arranging everything for a quick retreat to Derek's territory. After Lydia's warning they didn't trust Peter to actually give them two full days.
Isaac called Boyd to tell him the news. He and Erica would prepare everything for the arrival of Laura's pack.
Lydia and Stephen didn't speak much, both looking out of the window, too shell-shocked to actually comprehend what was happening. Or in Lydia's case, listening to something nobody else could hear.
Stiles probably should call Derek and tell him that they were leaving Beacon Hills but his jacket with his phone had ended up somewhere in the back of the jeep and he decided to call him once they were at Laura's. Which wasn't Laura's anymore but he didn't want to think about that.
They made it in record time.
Stiles followed Ellen's instructions towards the house when suddenly Isaac sniffed the air.
"Do I smell smoke?"
Chapter 56
Masterpost