CHAPTER THIRTY
LOWENMENSCH
valencia slowly made her way up the steps of the stilinski house. she placed her hand on the handle of the front door. she hesitated for a moment, closing her eyes tightly and releasing a heavy breath.
after noah and valencia's last conversation, she didn't exactly want to see him. she was mad, upset, confused. he didn't believe her, it was like he was trying to push everything she was saying away. she couldn't understand what he was thinking.
she wanted stiles back, she couldn't see why noah was finding it so hard to believe her. stiles was his son, he should at least want to remember, or try to remember.
valencia pulled the door handle down and pushed the door open. she stepped into the house, it was quiet. more quiet than usual. she could hear a pair footsteps upstairs rushing about. valencia furrowed her eyebrows at the footsteps.
she walked through the living room to the kitchen, looking for either claudia or noah but neither of her parents were there. valencia walked back over to the stairs, walking up them carefully and quietly.
the footsteps stopped and valencia raised an eyebrow, her eyes lighting up an amber, crimson to be safe. she continued to creep up the stairs until she reached a massive hole in the wall, a hole which wasn't there the last time valencia was home.
valencia stopped in her tracks, sucking in a deep breath. valencia stepped out infront of the hole in the wall, spotting a figure on the bed, head in their hands.
"dad?" valencia called quietly, noah instantly looked up at the voice. his cheeks were damp, eyes bloodshot from crying. valencia's face fell into realisation and she let out a sigh of relief, tears building up in her eyes. "dad, you remember... you remember stiles."
valencia walked through door and looked around the room, stiles room. his bed, his crime board where he solved supernatural cases, the clothes he never folded, his lacrosse ball, his photos of the pack and the family.
"i'm so sorry, val." noah's voice broke and valencia immediately stopped looking around the room at stiles furniture. "i should've believed you. but i never thought you were crazy." noah shook his head with tears running down his face. "i have a son."
the room fell into quiet sobs and valencia rushed to her dads side. she dropped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around noah who returned the gesture. valencia rested her head on his shoulder, biting tightly down on her lip to stop herself from crying.
"you told me. scott told me. lydia told me. i don't know why i found it so hard to believe." noah's tears dampened valencia's t-shirt as he held onto her. "but- but i couldn't stop thinking about it and- and i just had this bad feeling, this very bad feeling."
noah started to shake more, his sobs becoming more heartbreaking for valencia to listen too. she rubbed his back comfortingly, her heart aching for her father.
"i have a son..."
•••••
"you're going to bite stiles?" lydia stepped forwards, asking scott with an unreadable expression resting on her face. the pack had been awfully quiet since valencia arrived.
after noah had calmed down a bit, valencia had to change shirts, due to hers being soaked in tears. when valencia arrived at the station everyone was in a intense silence and didn't speak a word to the girl who walked in late with red puffy eyes. though, everyone kept their concerned eyes on her.
"to get him through the rift," scott nodded his head after hesitating to answer the question from the redhead. he knew what everyone was thinking, but it was the only good plan he could think of. scott pushed off the wall with a sigh and walked around a desk. "it's the only way."
"just to clarify." peters deep voice entered valencia's ears and the girl threw her head back against a wall. "are you planning on biting everyone in the train station?" peter asked, sounding genuine.
"with stiles back, he'll be able to help us figure out a plan." scott announced and peter made his way from the door over to the teenagers who were surrounding a desk. meanwhile, valencia stood against a wall, isolated from the rest.
"he's good at that." malia added to scott's statement, knowing her father would have something snarky to say.
"so the plan is to get stiles to come up with a plan." peter summarised and the pack fell quiet again, knowing that everything he was saying was technically true.
"you can shut up now!" valencia and malia both exclaimed in-sync. malia and valencia both smirked proudly at each other.
"girls, look around. we're the only ones left in beacon hills." peter glanced between the were-coyote and phoenix. "if they take us, lydia will be the only one left to haunt the place." valencia stared daggers at the tall man, seeing lydia try to ignore the heartache the sentence gave her.
"that's why i'm the only person that's going in," scott gazed up at peter. "liam, hayden and valencia will stay here with mason. as long as somebody is left in beacon hills. the wild hunt can't move on."
"we never discussed this," valencia shook her head at scott. she was upset that he hadn't informed her of this. stiles was her brother and she was upset she didn't even get a say in the plan. scott look at valencia sympatheticly before directing his eyes back to peter.
"i like your plan, scott. i really do. especially the part about turning stiles." peter told the true alpha sarcastically, exaggerating his voice. valencia scowled at him angrily. "but it can't work."
"how do you know?" malia asked her father with a low voice, staring directly into his cold eyes.
"logic. life experience." peter deadpanned as if it were the most obvious answer. "what are the odds that he'll get taken? what if stiles isn't there? what if there's no beacon hills for you to come back to?"
"you got a better idea?" liam asked before peter could list any more theoretical questions. valencia pushed off the wall and moved to stand beside malia at the desk. all the pointless arguing was giving her a headache, their conversation wasn't going anywhere.
"yeah, it's called run like hell." peter raised his voice, his eyes bouncing off each of the supernaturals with furrowed eyebrows. everyone fell into a silence again, their emotions everywhere. "so, leave in five?"
malia stepped forwards with annoyance, stopping directly infront of peter. "you promised you would help us." she looked up with wide eyes. "we still need to find the rift."
"i didn't promise i'd help you commit suicide," peter muttered to his daughter.
"if you can't help, we can find it ourselves." scott tore apart the father-daughter conversation, knowing it would only end in malia wanting to tear her own obnoxious father to shreds.
"scott, i admit that you have a flair for beating odds." peter started with a nod of his head and a quiet sigh. "but, this? you don't away from." peter began to back up towards the door, "you run." with that, peter hale left the station, the door swinging closed behind him.
malia continued to stare at the door, where her father stood seconds ago. valencia stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on malia's shoulder. malia leaned into valencia's touch.
valencia and malia returned to the rest of the group but scott motioned to speak to valencia. scott stepped aside, away from the rest of the pack, followed by the phoenix.
"stiles said on the radio, not to let you leave beacon hills. like it was a warning or something ." scott started and released a deep breath. "i know you're probably the most powerful of the pack, but i can't risk losing you. we're this close to getting everyone back," scott gestured with his fingers, a tiny gap. "please just promise me. you'll stay here, promise?"
valencia watched as scott brought out his fist, sticking his pinky out. valencia let a soft smile fall onto her face. valencia hesitantly lifted her hand and slowly linked her pinky with scott's.
"i promise."
•••••
hayden peeked through the closed blinds of the station. they were trying to keep hidden from the ghost riders, if the ghost riders found them, they'd be taken and the rest of the pack were counting on them to be safe.
"so we should stay here. is that what you're thinking?" hayden asked the three of her friends who were all sat down on the bench, waiting for time to pass by.
"it doesn't matter where we are." liam shook his head, watching hayden sit down beside him on the wooden bench. "we still need to figure out how to fight them." liam told his girlfriend.
"douglas can." a deep voice entered the conversation, all four teenagers heads turned to look at the cell theo was being held in. the boy was stood on the other side of the bars with a smug smirk, his arms folded over his chest.
"does he need to stay in there?" mason leaned over and looked at his friends, fiddling with his thumbs nervously. it was obvious he was still worried about corey who'd been taken the previous night without him knowing.
"he's still theo." hayden raised her eyebrows at mason, still holding a massive grudge against him for killing her.
"theo saved scott, remember?" theo called out again, leaning against the metal bars. valencia avoided eye contact with the raeken, knowing she'd feel tempted to let him out. instead, she focused her gaze on the wall on the other side of the room.
"he can still hear you." mason murmured to hayden, moving to put his elbow on his knee. liam copied valencia's action, staring at the wall ahead, trying his best to ignore the bickering between all of the teenagers.
hayden turned her head in annoyance and looked into the cell. "then he can hear me say he needs to shut up." she tilted her head to the side, "so we can figure out how to fight the ghost riders."
there was a slight pause and hayden continued to stare at theo. "you don't need to figure it out." theo informed her, but she only shook her head and looked away, wanting nothing more than for him to shut up.
liam sat up straight on the bench and his eyes widened in realisation. "because douglas already did."
"if he knew how to fight them, then he might know everything about them." hayden added, coming to a realisation beside her boyfriend.
"and guess who knows all about mr. douglas?" theo shrugged his shoulders, his smirk growing even larger. the four on the bench all turned to look at him. hayden, annoyance. liam, impatience. mason, curiosity. valencia, revenge.
revenge. she wanted revenge on the ghost riders. they took stiles away from her. the person that mattered the most to valencia. she wanted revenge for zoey. she wanted revenge for corey. she wanted it for them all, everyone the wild hunt had ever taken.
the younger teens of the pack, plus valencia, moved to stations cell and stood on one side, waiting for theo to speak. valencia stood furthest away from the pack. she felt useless. usually she was out with scott, stiles, lydia, saving people.
this time, she stood waiting for her friends to get back, with her brother who was taken and forgotten about. she felt like she needed to do something, something to help her pack. she didn't like standing around and doing nothing.
"that's never going to happen," mason shook his head and looked at theo with widened eyes. valencia could feel the guilt radiating off of him. he felt guilty he'd left corey alone, because corey was taken, he was gone. and mason blamed himself. "we're not making that deal."
"i hold all the cards," theo sat down on the bench at the back of his cell, his elbows resting on his knees.
"you're locked in a jail cell. you have no cards," mason pointed around theo and shook his head. hayden and liam stood close together, as usual. but mason and valencia both stood away from everyone, feeling lost.
"you want me to tell you about douglas," theo spoke in a low and calming manner. "break the sword," he smirked slightly. he knew they hadn't much of an option. he knew that they would break the sword. theo could just tell by their faces that they would do it willingly for the information.
mason pressed his lips firmly together, unsure of what to say. "does anyone else want to do the negotiating?" mason spun around and glanced in between the three supernaturals.
mason stepped to the side slightly, uncovering liam from theo's eyeline. "break the sword." theo repeated and nodded his head again.
"i'll break the sword," hayden stepped forward with a scowl. valencia leaned back against the cold, stone wall with a sigh rolling off her lip. "i'll break the sword right in-"
"hayden." liam cut her off sharply, figuring where the conversation would lead them to. liam walked forwards so he was stood in between both mason and hayden, valencia still stood far back leaning against the wall.
"you break, i talk." theo instructed to liam, sparing a glance at valencia aswell. nobody responded and theo sighed quietly. "come on, guys." theo stood up from the bench, "look, i don't want in anyone's pack." theo stepped up to the bars. "i don't want anyone's power. i just want to stay alive."
"how do we know if we let out out, you won't run?" hayden asked and rested her hand on her hip.
"because we're not letting him out. he's going to tell us from in there." liam declared, holding the sword tightly in his hand. theo looked down at the sword.
"i'm still going to need some incentive," theo pressed his lips thirmly together. liam slowly turned around and lifted the sword so he was holding it horizontally. he pulled the sword from out of the case and straightened it, looking down at it carefully.
liam turned around again, breathing heavier than normal. he was worried, he didn't want scott to be mad at him again, but this was his only option. liam held the sword facing the ground, his fist tightly around the handle.
valencia grew impatient, waiting for the boy to break apart the sword. but he didn't, he was too scared for what his alpha was going to say for going behind his back once again.
liam shared a gaze with valencia, one she knew too well. valencia took long strides forward and grabbed the sword from out of liams hand. he let go instantly. theo watched proudly as valencia moved to the same position liam was in seconds ago.
valencia wrapped her hand around the handle tightly, holding the sword so that the blade was facing the ground. her other hand was under the handle where the sword would break into pieces. and without another moments thought, she twisted it. the sword broke apart, separating into metal pieces.
the metal all fell to the ground, clattering loudly as it slightly bounced off the concrete floor. everybody watched it fall. valencia held up the last of the sword, the handle, before handing it back to liam without sparing him a glance.
"he's a lowenmensch." theo didn't break eye contact with valencia, still satisfied that she was the one to break the sword for him
"what the hell is a lowenmensch?" hayden scrunched up her face in confusion, having never heard of the name. hayden looked to valencia for an answer but she only shook her shoulders in response.
"it's part-wolf, part-lion." mason answered for hayden, having done his research. mason only joined the pack recently, he wasn't a supernatural but he started to research the supernatural a lot more to be helpful and he thought it would be good for knowledge.
"he was a part of the ahnenerbe, himmler's personal project to use the occult to win the war." theo began.
•••••
"douglas didn't beat a ghost rider. he ran." liam spoke as theo finished his story from 1943.
"we broke the sword for nothing," hayden claimed. she held her head down low, she was disappointed with the story they'd been told, the story about douglas and the ghost riders.
"wait, if that was back in 1943, where's he been all this time?" mason asked, raising his eyebrow.
theo was stood at the far side of the jail cell, he turned and he looked at the group of people. theo wrapped his hand around the metal bar. "douglas kept looking. he found a scientist that he thought could help him. three of them."
"the dread doctors." valencia murmured under her breath, the memories of the dress doctors clouding her mind, memories she wished she could bury. valencia grabbed theo's attention, the boy nodded his head at her, feeling guilty.
"the ghost riders whip didn't go deep enough to take him, but left a gash on his back. he was thrown into the tank and the wound infected the water. it mixed with the fluid from the vat and actually made him stronger. soaking it in, absorbing the power for 70 years."
"so he came out with the power of the alpha, a lowenmensch and a ghost rider." liam listed and turned away from theo and began to walk away but then he turned around again and stopped.
theo nodded his head. "a side effect no one could expect."
"so he can fight them." hayden began and walked backwards over to mason, liam and valencia. "he could stop them."
"the nazi's lost the war." liam shook his head at the ground. "why is he still obsessed? what does he want an army for?"
mason lifted his head from the ground, "he doesn't want it for them." mason stated, staring at the wall infront of him. "the nazi's were just a means to an end. he wants it for himself." mason looked at his friends. "his own personal, supernatural army."
"we need to warn scott." liam announced at the new discovery.
•••••
literally so tired
my tiktok account starkeyedts got hacked and i've had it for two years.
i'm in shock, they changed the password and everything :(