"Scott, no!"
"Stiles, yes!"
"No!"
"I don't have a choice!" Scott argued.
He tightened his grip on the straps of his backpack as the pair walked down the hallway. They passed by other students who were rushing to go home.
Stiles pulled on his friend's arm to get him to stop, "Anyone would be a better choice than her! Peter would be a better choice! Okay? And that's coming from me."
"You heard her, Stiles. She said we would need her and we do."
"She's a liar! Not to mention, I giant pain in the ass!" he groaned, "I swear to God, the next time she does that hot little villain wave thing or smirks at me one more time, I don't know if I'm gonna kiss her or shove her down a ravine."
Scott sent him a quizzically look. The Stilinski could feel the judgement so he refocused.
"Besides, you're a true alpha! You can handle a rogue wolf!"
They both pushed through the doors, walking down to where the parking lot was.
"Look, it's not just a rogue wolf. It has to be an alpha. The Sheriff found a whole bus filled with dead people," Scott stated, "If the wolf can do that, then they're dangerous."
"What if Maia did that?" Stiles questioned rhetorically, "What if we already have the murderer in our hands?"
"We don't...I just know it."
Stiles tried to argue more but both of their backpacks were pulled back. Their feet abruptly stopped and they shot back to where the bags were held.
Coach shoved his head between the pairs faces, "Where do you two think you're going?"
"Uh...home?" Scott guessed.
"Wrong!" he shouted. They both flinched as he yelled into their ears, "We've got practice for the game with Devenford on Friday."
"Oh come on, Coach," Stiles whined, "We're gonna lose anyway. Can't we just miss one practice?"
"Are you a loser, Stilinski?" he asked lowly. The hand clasped around his shoulder tightened, "Are you?"
"N-no, I don't think so."
"Because losers don't talk like that!"
Both boys flinched at the shout.
"Losers don't whine about practice!" Coach continued, "Losers are people who sit on the bench and annoy me!"
A specific person passed by the trio at the time. Coach pointed to them as an example, "I'm talking about you Greenberg."
The poor kid kept walking, hanging his head to avoid any further insults.
"But Coach...I do sit on the bench," Stiles reminded.
"Then be the team cheerleader for all I care. But no one skips practice!"
He blew his whistled loudly. The shrill sound pierced everyone's ears. When the noise died down, Coach huffed and stormed off.
The pair turned to each other with annoyed looks.
"We talk to her after practice," Scott stated, "That's the plan."
He trudged after Coach, leaving his friend to grumble in frustration behind him.
"This is why your plans suck!"
-
After practice, Scott and Stiles went to check in on how Argent and Derek were doing. They had been assigned to watch and interrogate Maia. The interrogation didn't happen until the Sheriff had texted them in the morning about the bus full of dead bodies.
When they arrived at the warehouse, they saw the two men tiredly sitting in the two chairs that were in front of the cell bars.
They both looked exhausted. Derek was resting his arms on his knees and hunching over. Argent was literally holding his head in his hands.
But Maia barely seemed affected. She was out of her chained chair, which was expected. She knew she could've easily broken down one of the bars, but she didn't.
Instead, she casually leaned against the cement wall in the back of the cell. Her legs stretched in front of her as her head rested on the cool wall.
She held the same smirk she had the days before. They had all come to know her natural facial expression over the three days she had been in their captivity.
The only thing that seemed to be wrong with her was the paler skin and sweat. She almost looked sick, but there was barely a difference. They wouldn't have caught it if they hadn't moved closer.
"How's it going?" Scott asked.
The two men tiredly lifted their heads up. They couldn't even bring themselves to speak, instead glancing at each other for the other to do it.
"That bad, huh?"
They nodded and went back to their original positions. Maia chuckled at their reactions.
"We tried electricity," Argent stated.
"Didn't work," Derek finished.
"Pain."
"Useless."
"And we've shot her with enough wolfsbane to take down a mega alpha," Argent finished, "She should be paralyzed at least."
"Or better yet, dead," Stiles muttered. His gaze fluttered over to where Scott stood at the door of the cell.
"You guys suck at torture," Maia teased, "I grew up being poisoned by wolfsbane. I'm practically immune to it."
They two grown men looked so annoyed and tired that Scott thought they might cry. They slouched back in their chairs as the two new interrogators stepped into the cell.
Stiles squatted in front of her. She lazily watched as he pulled a small lighter out from his pocket. He flicked the flame on and held it close to her face.
"You can't escape the fire," he whispered dramatically.
She smiled lightly before simply blowing out the flame.
Stiles' mouth fell open and he flicked it back on, only for her to do the same thing.
"W-what? You can't do that!" he whined, turning to aim his complaints at Scott, "She can't do that!"
"Just did."
She cackled and smirked victoriously. He huffed and stood back up, standing by Scott's side.
"Three days of this," Derek sighed, "Welcome to the club."
"Aw," she whined, "And here I thought you were enjoying our precious time together Derek."
He glared at her.
"Okay, what other methods could we try?" Stiles asked.
He moved out of the cell to converse quietly with the other two. But Scott stayed inside, engaged in a battle of wills with the girl.
He leaned down in front of her, twisting his hands nervously. She watched with a flicker of amusement as he formulated a plan.
"Did you kill those people on the bus?" he asked lowly.
She shrugged innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I don't think it was you. But I do think that you know more than your letting on. So tell me who is killing these people, and I'll let you go."
She kept her lips sealed and scanned his face for lies. He could tell what she was doing, so he pushed his point further.
"Tell me who the other alpha is," he demanded.
Her smirk grew and she pushed her face closer to Scott's. She spoke slowly, "I don't know."
"But you know how to find them."
"Maybe."
"How?"
She sharply inhaled, "Information like that costs you."
"Name your price."
"Seriously?" she scoffed, "Just like that?"
"Yes, just like that," he said simply, "Just help us save innocent lives."
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't particularly care for innocent lives. So why should I care about these ones?" she questioned.
"Because it gives you your freedom and it makes sure I owe you a favor. It's a hard bargain to refuse."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. It was his turn for a victorious smile to creep into his face. He knew that she couldn't refuse the deal, so he helped her stand up.
They shook hands before walking out of the cell. The other three's attention turned to them, instantly noticing how Maia was out.
"What are you doing?" Derek asked.
"Don't worry," Scott assured, "We made a deal. She's gonna help us."
"How?" he scoffed.
Maia smiled and stepped closer to the man. He didn't move away but he tensed. She could feel his heartbeat rise and his breathing become uneven. She moved close enough to his body that he could smell her subtle perfume.
She raised her lips up to his ear, whispering teasingly,
"I've got many talents...one of them just so happens to be finding alphas."
---