Running with Wolves

Chapter 22

I was in Scott's arms, he was bouncing me, trying to keep me awake,
Derek said" I'm saying we need a new plan, because next time, one of us is gonna be too hurt to heal."
Scott said" I get it. We can't save Jackson."
" We can't seem to kill him either. I've seen a lot of things, Scott. I've never seen anything like his. Every new moon's just gonna make him stronger."
" Then how do we stop him?"
" I don't know. I don't even know if we can."
" Yeah, maybe we should just let the Argents handle it."
" I'm the one who turned him. It's my fault."
" Yeah, but you didn't turn him into this. I mean, this happens because of something in his past, right?"
" That's a legend in a book. It's not that simple."
" What do you mean? What are you not telling me?"
" Why do you think I'm always keeping something from you?"
" Because you always are keeping something from me."
" Well, maybe I do it to protect you."
" Doesn't being part of your pack mean no more secrets?"
" Go home, Scott. Sleep. Heal. Make sure your friends are safe. 'Cause the full moon's coming. And with the way thing are going, I've got got a feeling it's gonna be a rough one."

I was moved to Stiles' arms, I whined loudly,
Scott said" He's okay, Stiles. He's just gonna be tired for a little while longer than normal."
Stiles said" My little brother almost died, Scott... he-He's four years old, dude."
" Are you blaming me? Because you know I'd never let-"
" I'm not blaming you, just... why the hell did we bring him with us?"
" He would've come anyways, if he sense'd you in barely any danger, he would've come running. And that would have probably got him hurt more than this."
" He heals, right? Like you?"
" No... Derek says it's different with him, younger ones, his age... they heal, from simple things, cuts and scraps, broken bones... but he wouldn't survive a gun shot, and if he wasn't with us, if he came running to find us... he would've ran straight into the hunters."
" So having him with us all the time is the safest route?"
" Yeah, I guess."
" He's gonna be okay, right? Heal up and be right back to Riley?"
" Yeah, he is." I went back to sleep, I'm really sleepy.
——
I was on Stiles' bed, playing with Tigger and chewing at a laffy taffy,
Daddy said" Hey, whatcha doing?"
Stiles said" Homework."
" It's Spring break. What do you think you're doing?"
" Oh, you know, just satisfying my own curiosity."
" We brought Harris in this morning for questioning. They brought him in."
" And?"
" And they're working on a warrant to arrest him for the murders."
" For all of them?"
" Enough of them."
" With what proof?"
" You remember the couple at the trailer? Tire tracks nearby match Harris's car."
" W-That's not enough." Daddy closed the book again,
" Same car was also seen outside the hospital where the pregnant wife was killed. It's got some bumper sticker on it, a quote from Einstein."
" Wait, what quote?"
" Something about imagination and knowledge."
" Imagination is more important than knowledge, yeah. I saw the same car parked outside the rave."
" That means you're a witness. You're gonna have to give a statement."
" What about the concert promoter, Kara? She wasn't in Harris's class, right? I mean, what does Mr. Lahey have to do with Harris?"
" It doesn't matter. The tire tracks put Harris at the site of three murders. That's damning evidence."
" No, it's not enough."
" I-I thought you hated this guy."
" I don't hate him, all right? He hates me. And, you know, if he killed them all, then yeah, lock the psycho up. But there's something missing. There's gotta be something missing."
" Hey. Hey. You don't have to solve this for me."
" I have to do something."
" What?"
" Look at the swim team."
" Dad, the coach. It's Isaac's dad." I nuzzled my face into Stiles' blanket, rolling over.
——
I cried as Stiles buckled me in,
He said" Shh, shh, bubby, breathe." I breathed," Now I'm gonna close the door..." He closed the door, my eyes glowed, I cried again, he ran over to the front and got in. I stopped crying, he sighed," You know.. when you're older, I'm gonna look back at these easy full moons and wonder why the hell I didn't like it, because... full moons when you're a teenager, are going to be terrible."