Saving Stilinski

Banshees Come In Handy

Lydia wished she was useful for more than picking up pizza for Chris and Alan. The window of the pizza shop looked dark from the parking lot but the neon "open" sign was still on. Lydia shrugged and got out of her car. She'd rather pick up the pizza, anyway. Better that than loading wheelbarrows of ground up mountain ash into the Argent's truck.

Lydia knew that something was wrong the moment she stepped through the door. The floor of the pizza shop had tiles but this building had carpet. It didn't smell like pizza. It smelled like yellowed paper and soured ink. Everything felt old.

A used bookstore. It happened again. Lydia aimed for the pizza shop and ended up downtown in a small building overflowing with decaying books. She took a step forward, knowing what she was about to see.

The body was slumped over the cash register. A woman no younger than sixty, sixty-five. Claws stuck out of her still fingertips and a spark of yellow remained in her sightless eyes. Scabs had started to form over a bite mark on her shoulder. Lydia realized with a start that the woman hadn't been a werewolf long before she was sacrificed by Gerard or Peter. Not even long enough for the bite to heal.

Lydia screamed.

•••

"Wait, what? Say that again," came Deaton's voice through Scott's cell phone.

Scott put Deaton on speaker so that Derek and Isaac could also hear. "I said that Stiles' eyes are red!" he repeated. "Like, Alpha red."

"That's impossible." The three boys could almost see Deaton shake his head. "When a human is bitten by a werewolf he either becomes a beta or he dies."

"Or turns into a kanima," Chris added behind him. "And there are plenty of other shape-shifters we've never encountered."

"Are you sure it isn't just the light? Maybe he has golden eyes that look a little... orange?"

"It's red," Isaac insisted sarcastically. "Want us to send you a picture?"

"How is he feeling?" Deaton asked.

Derek stepped closer to the phone. "He passed out again. But I've been watching him and I swear he's healing quick."

"Is there still black blood?"

"Yes but not half as much." Derek looked at the two betas beside him in the hallway. "He's getting better – we can all feel it."

There was silence on the other line for a long minute. And then Deaton said, "I'll do some research, boys. But remember, we have to get this trap at the Hale house set up by tomorrow night. That's when the Alphas will go after Scott."

Isaac's left eyebrow lifted. "How do you know that?"

Scott answered for Deaton. "It's the full moon."

"Exactly."

Suddenly the McCall's front door burst open. So engrossed in the conversation were the werewolves that none of them heard the person's approach until he or she was inside. "Stay here!" both Derek and Scott barked at Isaac, who took a defensive position outside of Scott's bedroom where Stiles slept. The two wolves raced downstairs. Scott reached the bottom step first and a pale, sobbing Lydia Martin threw her arms around his neck.

"Dead body," she hiccuped against him. "D-Dead werewolf. They're still going after werewolves – they're making people werewolves and then killing them, Scott!"