Stella Argent - Stiles Stilinski

Chapter 22

"Stay down!" Ethan yelled.

"So who wants to go first?" Jennifer taunted.

Kali stepped up first, attempting to kick Jennifer, but she effortlessly blocked every move and pushed Kali to the floor. Then Aiden rushed in, attempting to scratch her with his claws, but she dodged easily and subdued him.

"Aiden!" I yelled, starting to get up, but Lydia pulled me back down.

Ethan stood up, growling, and started removing his shirt, while Aiden did the same. The twins began to morph together, but Jennifer quickly intervened, pulling them apart. Kali managed to get up from the floor.

"That's right, Kali. Look at me. Look at my face. Do you know what it takes to be able to look like this, to be able to look normal?" Jennifer taunted.

"I don't care," Kali snapped.

"It takes power. Power like this," Jennifer made the glass shards rise up into the air, every shard pointed at Kali.

"I—I should've—I should've ripped your head off!" Kali screamed.

A shard of glass pierced Kali's body, causing her to collapse on the floor, blood flowing from every wound.

Jennifer then turned to me and Lydia. I grabbed Lydia's hand and positioned myself in front of her.

"Oh, Stella, always saving your friends," Jennifer mockingly lamented.

I looked behind Jennifer and saw the twins separating. Jennifer noticed them too. The twins hurried toward Jennifer, but she effortlessly turned them around and snapped their necks, causing them to fall to the floor.

"What's the line Coach likes to say? 'The bigger they are...'" Jennifer trailed off.

I pushed past her and looked at both of them, no longer in their merged form. Ethan and Aiden were now separate individuals. Tears welled up in my eyes, and one fell on Aiden.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Oh, not from you. I want Lydia to do what she does best. Lydia, I want you to scream," Jennifer said, addressing Lydia.

Lydia began to scream, and I covered my ears to muffle the sound.

A few minutes later, Cora and Derek entered the room. I was comforting Lydia to keep her calm.

Cora rushed over to us to make sure we were okay.

"You did this for me?" Derek asked, looking around at Kali and the twins.

"For us. For anyone who's ever been their victim," Jennifer responded, addressing Derek.

"Bullshit, you've been nothing but trouble," I blurted out. I got up from Lydia's side and started charging at Jennifer, but Cora held me back. Hot tears streamed down my face.

Derek looked at me and then back at Jennifer, his face revealing that he had snapped.

"Stop talking to me like a politician. Stop trying to convince me of your cause!" Derek snapped at her.

"Fine, I'll convince you of someone else's. Scott. You can save his mother, Stiles's father," she said.

"How?" Derek asked, his arms crossed.

"I need a guardian, and that's a role that can either be filled by the three parents I was forced to take or by you," she explained.

"I can't help you. I'm not even an alpha anymore," Derek shook his head.

"All I need is for you to help me get Deucalion in the right place at the right time," she said.

"You just killed three of them on your own. What do you need me for?" Derek looked around the room again.

"You haven't seen him at his strongest. I have. And if he's got Scott with him, I don't stand a chance unless I have you," she told him.

"Derek, don't trust her," Cora warned.

"I have the eclipse in my favor, but the moon's only going to be in the earth's umbral shadow for 15 minutes. That's the extent of my window. There's no decision to struggle with. Help me kill him, and the others live. Just help me," she pleaded.

____

Derek reluctantly agreed to accompany Jennifer.

Derek's decision to go with Jennifer was solely to save the parents, not to assist her. Meanwhile, Lydia, Cora, and I rushed to Deaton's side.

"Cora, grab that table," Deaton ordered as we entered.

"Grab his hand. Here you go. Take his hand," Deaton instructed me.

"Can you save them?" Cora inquired anxiously.

"Only if they start healing on their own," Deaton mumbled, his attention focused on the injured twins.

We waited anxiously for signs of healing, and it took a while. I glanced at Aiden and noticed his chest was moving up and down. Quickly, I shifted my gaze to Ethan, who was also showing signs of life. I approached Aiden and waited as his eyes slowly opened, locking onto mine.

"I knew," he mumbled to me.

"What?" I asked, a bit puzzled.

"I knew you liked me," he said with a grin.

I couldn't help but pat him gently on the chest.

"Okay, lover boy," I said, returning his smile.