The Druid

Chapter 19

It took a little bit of time as they searched through a series of doors, staying on the path that led to Stiles with his scent growing stronger the closer they got. They finally came to a door where the strongest of his scent was lingering. Derek didn't initially notice it at first until the smell of it hit him so suddenly, cutting clear through the adrenaline, that it felt like a devastating punch to the gut. Derek doubled over, as did some of the other pack members. The agony drenching Stiles' scent was almost unbearable.

Derek managed to reach up and tried the door handle since he was the closest, cursing when it didn't open. It must have been locked. Derek took a few deep breaths before uprighting himself and took several steps back before he charged at the door and busted it open. The image that lay before the pack was one to haunt them: Stiles was curled in a tight ball and shivering like crazy, a kind of pain they hadn't seen before etched into his whole body and face. They immediately rushed to his side, assessing him for any other injuries. His scent was much worse than they had initially realised now that they could smell it completely. It was absolutely saturated in agony. Malia reached out to touch him but as soon as she laid a fingertip on him, he flinched.

"Please......... stop." He whispered, his voice full of pain. Lydia left the room. Derek's eyes followed her, sensing her own type of pain.

"Stiles, it's us." Scott said softly, his face contorted in empathy. Stiles opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Scott.

"Scott?" His voice was hoarse.

Scott smiled warmly. "I'm here, buddy. We all are. We're gonna get you out of here."

Stiles seemed to relax a little as he looked around, seeing his pack. When his eyes landed on Derek, he smiled despite his pain. Derek smiled back, shifting closer to him. Neither of them saw the suspicious look Scott gave them.

Scott leaned out to touch Stiles and breathed a sigh of relief when Stiles didn't flinch away. But as soon as his hand made contact with Stiles' arm, he yanked it back in alarm.

Derek frowned, watching Scott. "What is it?"

"The pain he's in. he's in more pain than what his scent's telling us, if that's even possible." Scott said quietly, reeling in shock. "We need to go now."

Derek nodded and carefully slipped his arms under Stiles, grimacing as he automatically began taking pain away. Scott was right, he was suffering worse than what his scent was telling them. He shouldn't have been able to take Stiles' pain straight away.

Stiles whimpered, leaning more into Derek. "It hurts." He whispered as he buried his face in Derek's arm.

"I know, I know. Just a little longer, Stiles. You'll be okay." Derek said softly. "I've got you." He whispered as he carried Stiles to his car.

"Take him to Deaton." Scott said, the pack following Derek close behind.

"Why?" Liam frowned.

"The amount of pain he's in is not natural. It's not normal for anyone to be in that much pain. It feels worse than after we got the Nogitsune out of him."

Scott had a point. This amount of pain was not natural, even for supernaturals. "We'll head to Deaton." Derek confirmed. Scott opened a car door for Derek to lay Stiles carefully in the passenger seat before he entered the driver's side. Scott got in the back, keeping a hand on Stiles to try and alleviate the pain, as the rest of the pack split into the other cars and followed Derek's to the vet clinic. No one was going to question how they broke the speed limit by miles as they drove. They arrived rather timely and as soon as he parked, Derek was out of the car and gathering Stiles in his arms and rushing straight into the clinic.