TREACHEROUS 🪐 STILES STILINSKI {2}

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

His words sent an ache through her heart, he had never spoken to her about what he went through last year. She knew it must've been difficult for him, but he had been doing so well since then that it felt like he had forgotten all about it already. Her body draws back from him, her palms moving to cup his face.

"You know all of that, all that happened, it wasn't you. It wasn't your fault. You know that, right?"

"Most days, yeah."

"Do you, um, do you ever see-"

Stiles cuts her off, knowing who she was referring to. "Sometimes. I guess it's easier to deal with because of your reassurance but I still killed him and I know it'll always stay with me."

"It means your human." Venus whispers, her thumbs brushing across his cheeks as they spoke. Stiles gives her a soft smile, pressing his lips against her forehead before pulling her to lie down again.

Her head rests against his chest with her hand wrapped around him tightly, scared that if she lets go he'll disappear. He could tell something was still on her mind but he didn't want to push her further, placing one of his hand in her hand and the other holding her own that rested against his chest, the two eventually being pulled back to sleep.

•••

     The next morning Stiles, Venus and Isaac had met Lydia at the preserve in order to head into the woods again to find the Nemeton. They had been venturing out almost regularly since their discovery of Parrish stealing the bodies and the relation to his dreams. Venus had been more than vocal about her hatred for the stump, making the situation all the more frustrating.

The four had been searching for a while before stopping in a wide clearing, Lydia and Stiles giving Venus a little space as she stood in the center while Isaac ran around the perimeter. Her eyes were closed, arms raised lowly to her side as she called upon her surroundings. The wind slightly picked up, blowing her hair into her face as she beseeches the Nemeton, but her arms fall limp to her sides for the third time that morning.

"It's almost like this thing doesn't want to be found." Stiles huffs, his feet kicking at the fallen leaves by his feet, earning his a smack on the arm from his girlfriend.

"Maybe it knows we're late for class." Lydia speaks sarcastically, turning to look at them.

"More like gossiping about Sheri and Jakes engagement." Venus mumbles, earning herself strange glances from the other teens as they catch her glaring at a tree ahead of her. None of them had ever come to understand her power.

Isaac come to a stop a few steps ahead of them before letting out a loud groan. "We've been her twice." he points at the crosses they had drawn on one of the trees. The group curses as they take notice, all of them evidently fed up with this whole thing.

"Maybe we should just talk to Parrish." Venus groans, looking up at her boyfriend.

"If the Nemeton's covered in bodies, shouldn't you be able to find it?" he points to Lydia, disregarding the Nymphs statement. "That's what you do. You're the Banshee, you find the bodies."

"Well, the Banshee's having an off day," the strawberry blonde huffs, rolling her eyes at him. "so how about we talk to Parrish?"

"We can't."

"Why not?" Isaac presses.

"Because one of the bodies..." he trails off, fingers fumbling together in anxiousness. "One of them could be, like, a clue."

That's when it clicked for Venus. He didn't want anyone to find the tree until he knew if Donovan was there or not. It seemed like with every passing day, everyone was getting closer and closer to finding out about the boy and it scared Stiles.