Stella Argent - Stiles Stilinski

Chapter 22

All three of us burst out of the water, desperately gasping for air, our expressions wrought with urgency.

"I saw it. I know where it is," Scott declared, scrambling out of the water in haste.

"We passed it. There's-- There's a stump, this huge tree. Well, it's not huge anymore. It was cut down. But it's still big, though, very big," Stiles began describing the Nemeton.

Scott added a vital piece of context, "It was the night we were looking for the body."

"Yeah, the same night you were bit by Peter," Stiles reminded him, exchanging a meaningful glance with Scott.

Allison, too, recalled her involvement, saying, "I was there too, in the car with my mother. We almost hit someone."

Scott, connecting the dots, gasped, "It was me. You almost hit me."

"We can find it," Scott suggested, casting hopeful glances at his friends.

"What?" Allison questioned, seeking further clarification.

Isaac looked at me, and I remained silent, prompting him to say, "You guys were out a long time."

"How long is a long time?" Stiles asked, concern creeping into his voice.

"16 hours," I muttered, delivering the disconcerting news.

"We've been in the water for 16 hours?" Scott echoed, visibly shocked.

"And the full moon rises in less than four," I added, leaving us all in a tense silence.

"Ok, then I need Deucalion," Scott said, his determination apparent.

"No, dude, you are not going back with them," Stiles objected strongly.

"I made a deal with Deucalion," Scott revealed, causing further apprehension among the group.

"Does anyone else think that sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?" Stilinski mused, voicing our collective unease.

"Why does it matter, anyway?" Isaac inquired.

"Because I still don't think that we can beat Jennifer without their help," Scott reasoned.

"He trusts you more than anyone. Tell him he's wrong," Allison urged Deaton.

"I'm not so sure he is. Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies," Deaton tried to convince us, emphasizing the dire circumstances.

"So you're telling me we're gonna trust him, the guy that calls himself death, destroyer of worlds? We're gonna trust that guy?" I interjected, my sarcasm tinged with skepticism.

"Thank you," Stiles muttered in agreement.

"I wouldn't trust him, no, But you could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be the bait," Deaton explained before our discussion was interrupted by an unexpected guest at the front door.

As we made our way to the door, I followed behind, and when the visitor was revealed to be Ethan, I couldn't help but step closer, my curiosity piqued.

"What do you want?" I inquired, my gaze locked onto Ethan's.

"I need your help," Ethan replied, his eyes locked with mine.

"With what?" Stiles chimed in, stepping up beside me.

"Stopping my brother and Kali... from killing Derek," Ethan disclosed, laying bare his urgent request.

It took some convincing, but eventually, Stiles agreed to let me go help Derek, with the understanding that Lydia would accompany me. Our shared goal of finding our missing loved ones ultimately trumped any other reservations, despite Stiles' flimsy excuses.