Asher, Allison, Scott, and Stiles are crowded around in the corner of the classroom as they go over what the boys found out about Malia.
"Here's where we found the den. It's right in the middle of the hiking trails." Stiles points at the map on his tablet.
"Well, that could narrow it down. Coyotes travel in fixed trails." Allison adds on. "But, I think you're right about her not going back to the den. Coyotes don't like wolves." She looks at Scott.
"Yeah, they don't like lions either." Asher grumbles, making everyone look at her. "I know from experience, and I don't wanna get into it, okay?"
They look away.
"And they're really smart. If they don't wanna be heard, they actually walk on their toes." Allison tells them.
"Coyotes tip-toe?" Stiles furrows his brows.
"They tip-toe." Allison rolls her eyes.
"That's so cool." Asher smiles.
The teenagers look up as the school bell rings.
"I got to go, but send me the pinned location." Allison turns to leave.
"See you later, Alli." Asher waved.
The girl looked at her with a smile. "Bye, Asher."
The three that were left start to walk to their seats. They all go down their separate rows, Scott getting stopped by Kira.
"Hi. I'm Kira. You knew that. I knew you knew that. I don't know why I just told you again." Kira rambles, visibly nervous.
And it makes Scott smile.
"Anyway, I have something for you." She takes her bag off her back.
"For me?" Scott watches her.
"Yeah." She answers. "About the bardo. My explanation was sort of all over the place, so I did some research and printed it out for you." Kira digs through her bag.
Scott chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, you didn't have to do that."
"It only took a couple of hours." Kira shook her head.
He raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Then you really didn't have to do that."
"I swear I printed it out." Kira stares down into her backpack, not finding the pages as she flips through everything.
"Kira." Mr. Yukimura calls, making her turn around. "You forgot all the research you did for that boy you like." He walks up, holding out the papers.
Kira, stunned, slowly takes the pages from her dads hands. From behind her, Scott's jaw drops and his eyebrows raise. And from beside Kira, at her desk, Asher has to cover her mouth to stop the audible laughter from sounding through the air.
Mr. Yukimura gives the kids a tight-lipped smile before going back to his desk. Kira sighs and spins back around to face Scott, whos jaw is still dropped. She holds out the papers for him to take. Which he does. With an adoring smile. She gingerly looks up at his face, smiling at his smile. She quickly turns and takes a seat, putting her head in her hands out of embarrassment.
"Alright, everyone. Let's get started." Mr. Yukimura calls out. "We were just talking about internment camps and prisoners of war."
Asher leans back in her seat, which is in front of Kira's, with a smile. "That was so cute." She whispers to the girl.
"It was so embarrassing!" Kira whisper-shouts, leaning closer to her.
Asher chuckles. "Not really. Did you see the way he smiled at you? Kira, he's gonna be wrapped around your finger in, like, a week."
Kira smiled in amusement. "Sure he is."
"Ah, mark my words." Asher smirks.
The two zone back into the lesson.
"Who would like to come up and read aloud for us?" Mr. Yukimura asked the class. "Mr. Stilinski, how about you?"
Stiles looked up at him, knowing he couldn't. "Uh, maybe someone else could." He offered.
"Everyone participates in my class, Mr. Stilinski." Mr. Yukimura told him.
Asher watched in worry. She wanted to volunteer for him, but she couldn't. All the eyes on her and the fear of standing there in front of them. She couldn't do it.
"Okay." Stiles sighs, standing up and walking to the podium.
He puts his hands on either side of the podium, staring down at the pages of the book. The words start to blur together, causing him to shut his eyes as if they would go back to normal. Stiles grips the wood tighter. The letter slowly fall down the page, sweat beading on his brow and his breathing getting heavy.
Asher sits up straighter, hearing his heartrate speed up. She watches as Stiles looks like he's about to pass out. He looks out at the students, making Scott look up. His brows furrow and he lets go of the page of the research he was reading. Scott pushes himself up.
"Stiles, you okay?" Scott asks.
Asher shoots up out of her chair as Stiles sways, almost falling over. Her and Scott walk up to him. She puts her hands on the sides of his face, trying to get him look at her.
"Stiles." She says, but he doesn't look at her. "Stiles, hey."
He looks her in the eyes and she takes a deep breath.
"We should take him to the nurses office." Scott tells Mr. Yukimura, who nods immediately.
Stiles stumbles into Scotts arms, Asher holding him up from behind so he doesn't fall. They lead him out of class. Everyone's eyes are on them.
Scott opens the door to the locker room, Stiles fumbling inside.
"Stiles, look at me, man. Is this a panic attack?" Scott questions as Asher walks in behind them.
Stiles ignores him, walking up to the sink and grabbing it to balance himself. He looks himself in the mirror, repeating the same phrase.
"It's a dream, it's a dream. This is just a dream." He tells himself.
"No, it's not. This is real. You're here. You're here with us. With me." Scott tries to get through to him.
Stiles pants, looking himself in the eyes.
"How do you tell? If you're dreaming?" Asher asks.
"Your fingers... You count your fingers." Stiles throws his hand out. "You have extra fingers in dreams."
Asher nods at Scott, telling him to get on it.
"How many do I have?" Scott holds his index finger up.
"Hey!" Asher gets his attention.
"Look at me. Come on, Stiles. Look at my hands and count with me." Scott tells him.
Stiles slowly looks over at his best friend. His vision is slightly blurred.
"One... Two." Stiles starts before gasping and looking down.
"Keep going!" Scott encourages him.
"Three. Four." Stiles continues.
"Five." Scott says for him.
"Six. Seven." Stiles says.
"Eight." The wolf nods.
"Nine. Ten." Stiles finishes, panting. "Ten." He repeats, looking at all of Scotts fingers.
"Ten." Asher nods, getting him to look at her. "It's not a dream, Stiles."
The boy's breathing slows down. He backs against the wall before sliding down it. Scott slowly walks in front of him and crouches down. Asher crosses her arms, staring down at him.
"What the hell is happening to me?" Stiles' eyes are wide in panic.
"We'll figure it out. You're going to be okay." Scott assures.
"Am I? Are you?" Stiles looks at him. "Scott, you can't transform. Allison's being haunted by her dead aunt. And I'm straight up losing my mind. We can't do this. We can't... We can't help Malia. We can't help anyone." He doubts them.
Scott glances away, adjusting himself to a seating position. "We can try. We can always try."
"But... Should we?" Asher shakes her head. "I mean... What if all this good we're trying to do... It-" She sighs. "What if it isn't that good after all?"
The boys look up at her. Scott has a thinking look on his face, processing her words.
"Some of it has to do good." Scott says.
Asher nods. "Yeah, yeah. Just forget I said anything."
She lowers herself to the ground beside them.
--------------------
The school bell rings again, everyone getting up and out of their seats in a hurry.
Mr. Yukimura stands up. "Do not forget the chapters on President Carter and the commission of Wartime Relocation."
Kira slings her bag over her shoulder, seeing Stiles', Scotts, and Ashers all left on the floor. She looks to the door, not seeing them come back in. She decides to grab them all and go find their respective owners. She walks through the school, eventually coming to double doors and pushing them open.
Kira slows to a stop, narrowing her eyes as she sees something on the stairs. She gingerly takes a step back when she realizes it's a coyote. The coyote bares it's teeth, snarling.
"Oh, my God." Kira gasps.
The coyote starts to run for Kira, making her drop two of the bags and run into the nearest room. Which is the locker room. She shuts the door quickly, dropping the last bags she has. She runs through the room, weaving around lockers. She pulls herself in front of a set, putting her back against it and dropping to the ground.
The glass on the door smashes as the coyote jumps through it. Kira's breathing gets heavy, fear taking over. The coyote looks around, searching for the girl. It lifts it's nose in the air, smelling everything. The coyote starts to walk again. It comes up behind Kira, the locker being the only thing between them. It growls harshly.
Kira peaks around the corner, spotting the coyote. After a moment, she stands. She slowly walks to the other end of the lockers, jumping as a hand grabs her shoulder. Kira turns around to see Scott. He pulls her away from the lockers before glancing down at something on the floor.
Lion-Asher flashes her golden eyes at him to tell him to do it. Scott puts his hands against the lockers and pushes. Lion-Asher darts around them as Kira's distracted. She growls when the coyote comes into view. Lion-Asher glows her eyes and bares her teeth, scaring it away from the bag it was chewing on. She quickly runs across the room, shifting back into human before meeting up with Kira and Scott.
The three slowly walk forward, realization coming to Scott when he sees the a dolls head peeking through Stiles' bag.
--------------------
"A couple of students said they saw it running across the field and into the woods." Stilinski said as he and Stiles walked down the hallway. "Thank God, nobody got hurt."
"What happens if she does hurt someone?" Stiles asks.
Stilinski sighs. "Most likely they'll have to put it down."
"Put her down. Dad, try not to forget there's a girl in there, one that you'll be killing." Stiles gestures around with his hands like usual. "Come on, you aren't back to not believing are you?" He asks as they start to walk up to the locker room.
Stilinski stops, turning to face his son. "You know what? I believe there are a lot of things I don't understand yet." He looks around before dropping his voice to a whisper. "But that doesn't mean that everything and anything imaginable is suddenly possible. Now, are you one hundred percent sure that this is a girl and not an animal?"
"Yes." Stiles answers immediately. "Because Scott's sure."
The two look down the hallway, seeing Scott standing there.
Stiles turns around. "Scott, you been listening?"
He glances behind him. Scott nods his head slowly. Stiles looks back to his father, who's eyes are slightly wide.
"All right, let's get this figured out. Come on." Stilinski nods.
--------------------
"Dad, seriously, I'm okay." Kira reassures her dad.
She's leaning against a wall near the back of the room, Mr. Yukimura directly beside her.
"Why were you not headed to lunch like everyone else?" He asks.
"They left their bags." Kira shrugs. "I was just trying to do something nice. You do something nice and you make friends. Or so I've heard."
Scott's watching and listening from a bench across the room, Asher beside him. She takes notice of the look on his face.
"This wasn't our fault, Scott. It wasn't your fault." She catches his attention.
He sighs, turning back to Asher. "Yeah, but this happened to her because of me."
"No. She's just a good person, Scott. She wanted to do something nice and that isn't on you. And if you're gonna blame someone, then blame all of us. We all left our bags in the classroom, not just you." Asher shakes her head.
He shrugs as Stiles walks up to them.
"Hey, I think I know what she was looking for." Stiles has his bag in his hand.
Scott and Asher stand up to see what's talking about. Stiles unzips his bag and pulls out the doll from the car wreck. Ashers jaw dropped in shock. She brings her hand up to her mouth. Scott looks up at him, jaw clenched.
"You took the doll from the car?" Scott stared at him.
"Stiles, I swear to any God that exists, if this girl kills one of us because you stole a doll..." She sighs. "I'm going to kill you."
"Uh, yeah... I thought you could use it, you know, for her scent." Stiles answers.
"Where did you get that?" A voice asks, entering the room. "Where did you find this?" Mr. Tate asks aggressively, snatching the doll from Stiles' hand.
Asher pushes through the boys, staring the man in his eye. "Calm down."
Mr. Tate slowly looked down at the doll. "It belonged to my daughter."
Asher steps back as Stilinski walks up, whispering a small "sorry."
"Mr. Tate, I don't know how you heard about this, if you got your own police scanner or what... But you can't be here." He told the man.
He goes to softly push him out of the room, but stops as he feels something against the mans belt. Mr. Tate sighs, closing his eyes momentarily. Stilinski moves his jacket, revealing a holstered pistol.
"I have a permit." Mr. Tate tries to justify.
Asher sunk down onto the bench, spacing out as those words caused a flashback.
"California schools are gun free zones, permit or no permit. You need to leave, Mr. Tate. Now." Stilinski shuts him down.
Mr. Tate stutters, but doesn't say anything. A deputy attempts to grab his arm from behind, but he pulls away. He looks Stilinski in the eye. "You find that animal. You find that thing." Then he leaves.
Scott and Stiles look at each other before Scott realizes Asher isn't there. He looks down, seeing her look at the wall. She has a distant look in her eye.
"Asher?" Scott tries to get her to snap out of it. "Are you okay?"
She doesn't answer. Her eyebrows slowly furrow as a tear drops from her eye.
"Hey, Asher?" Stiles snaps his fingers in front of her face.
The girl jumps with a gasp. She quickly wipes the tear away and stands up. "Sorry."
The boys look at her, Stiles in confusion and Scott in worry.
"Sorry? No. Are you okay?" Scott persists.
Asher nods, a look on her face as if it had never happened. "Fine."
She shrugs, pushing past them and walking out. Stiles sighs, watching her leave.
"What just happened?" His mouth his open in shock and confusion.
"I don't know, but I don't think she's fine." Scott shakes his head.
"Really?" Stiles asks sarcastically.
Scott shoves his shoulder playfully.
--------------------
Scott, Stiles, Isaac, and Asher have met up at the Animal Clinic after school. Scott looks up from a text with a nods as Deaton walks in.
"Xylazine. It's a tranquilizer for horses." He announces, setting down three bottles on the metal table where Asher was sitting. "For a werecoyote, expect it to work in seconds."
"Fun." Asher raises her eyebrows playfully.
"I only have three. So whoever's shooting needs to be a damn good shot." Deaton reminds them.
"Allison's a perfect shot." Scott says.
"Well, she- She used to be." Isaac adds.
"She can do it. I wouldn't worry." Asher shrugs.
She hasn't been acting the same since the moment in the locker room. Everyone could tell, but no one dared to tell her. They sort of wanted to live.
"If we manage to find the thing." Isaac continues.
"Okay, what is the point of him?" Stiles points at him, getting an eye roll from Scott. "Seriously, I mean, what's his purpose? Aside from the persistent negativity and the scarf?" Isaac smiles sarcastically at him. "What's up with the scarf, anyway. It's sixty-five degrees out."
"Look, maybe I'm asking the question here no one here wants to ask." Isaac ignores him. "How do we turn a coyote back into a girl, when she hasn't been a girl for eight years?"
"I mean, and this isn't agreeing with you. I would never. It's a good question." Asher shrugs, side-eyeing Isaac before her gaze lands on Scott.
He pauses a moment. "I can do it."
"You can?" Stiles asks with hope.
"You remember the night Peter trapped us in the school?" Stiles nods. "In the gym, he was able to make me turn using just his voice." Scott explains. "Deucalion did the same thing in the distillery."
Asher visibly tenses at the name. Only Deaton notices, putting his hand on her knee. She smiles at him.
"This is a werecotote, Scott. Who knows it'll even work if you can find someone who can teach you." Deaton tells him.
Stiles comes to a realization. "That's why you called Derek first."
Scott sighs. "Yeah, I could try it on my own. But right now, I'm too scared to even change into just a werewolf."
Asher rolls her neck. "Even if you could do it, Scott, she's not in the pack. It's different from just knowing how to do it. There is no guarantee it would work." She swings her legs a little.
"We need a real alpha." Stiles groans.
His head shoots up when he notices what he says. Scott gives him a look of offence.
"You know what I mean. An alpha who can do alpha things. You know, an alpha who can get it going. You know, get it..." Stiles tries to explain.
"Up?" Asher chuckles.
Isaac does the same thing beside her. Stiles throws a hand up in their direction, agreeing.
"Great. I'm an alpha with performance issues." Scott says.
"Is there anyone besides Derek that could help?" Deaton asks.
"I wouldn't trust Peter." Isaac says before anyone even suggests him.
Asher thinks for a second. "Maybe Ethan and Aiden could?" She shrugs.
"They're not alphas anymore. After what Jennifer did, almost killing them?" Deaton looks at her.
"Yeah, I know. It broke that part of them." She sighs. "They could still teach you though, Scott."
"Nobody's seen them for weeks." Scott reminds them.
Asher looks at him like he's stupid. "Dude. They're my brothers, do you seriously think I'd ghost them? Plus, Lydia still talks to Aiden."
Everyone looks at her.
"What? They tell me things." Asher defends herself.
"Which one?" Stiles asks.
"Both." She shrugs.
--------------------
Stiles pushes open the door to Derek's loft, stepping aside. Lydia walks in first, Asher behind her, Scott and Stiles behind them. Lydia gets to the bottom of the steps, her heels echoing throughout the room. She looks around in confusion.
"They said they'd meet us here." Lydia says.
Asher walks up beside her. She has her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "They probably have something dramatic planned. You know, typical werewolf things."
Hearing a punch behind them, Asher grabs Lydia by the wrist. They look back as the twins appear, both punching the boy before grabbing him by the arms. He gets thrown down the stairs. Asher gently, but quickly, pulled Lydia to the side of the room. Stiles follows them, throwing Asher a small glance.
The twins stare down at him, both with smiles on their faces.
"I fucking knew it." Asher scoffs.
Ethan does a side flip off the top step while Aiden just casually walks down. Ethan lands with a thud. Aiden punches Scott again, Ethan following.
Stiles flinches, not liking his friend being hurt. Asher grips Lydia's wrist tighter, her pointer finger gently hovering above her palm.
Aiden sends one punch to the boys stomach and then one to his face. The push Scott between them like middle schoolers before Ethan grabs him under the arms to hold him in place. Aiden sends punch after punch to his gut.
It's been a few minutes and Scott's now on the floor. One of the twins kick him in the face. Asher closes her eyes and looks down. She's disgusted.
Scott groans on the floor, blood dripping from his mouth. "I thought you guys were gonna teach me to roar."
"We are." Aiden says, an annoyed tone in his voice. "You do it by giving in."
"Giving in and letting go. That's how Deucalion taught us control." Ethan tells him.
He steps by him and grabs him by the shirt and pulls him up.
"Hey, you know, that's funny. I actually tried something just like this one time using a heart monitor and lacrosse balls." Stiles rememebers. "But you're right. Beating the living crap out of him is probably a lot better."
"Stiles?" Asher speaks up.
"Yeah?" He looks over.
"Stop talking." She says bluntly.
"Yup." He nods.
Scott looks back at the twins. "That's actually the plan? You kick my ass?"
"You're afraid to turn. We're gonna make you." Aiden corrects.
"You turn. Then you kick our asses." Ethan smiles.
"Wish I could kick your asses." Asher mutters.
Lydia leans closer to her. "I thought you could?"
"Oh, yeah, no, I totally can. Just don't wanna hurt 'em." She nods at her.
Lydia nods back before turning back to the "show".
"And then you roar." Aiden states.
His eyes glow blue, his fangs sprout and his claws exit from his skin. He lets out a loud roar like growl.
"You don't think you can let go with us?" Ethan asks.
"You think you're gonna hurt us?" Aiden, now back to normal, comes up behind him and shoves him forward.
Ethan pushes it back. "Come on, McCall. Give it your all. We can always heal."
Asher smiles, chuckling. "Huh, that rhymed."
Lydia looks over at her, her eyes wide. Asher mutters a small "sorry."
Scott takes a deep breath then attempts to punch Aiden in the face. The omega blocks his hand and sends a punch to his stomach. Ethan punches him while he's recovering.
"You're an alpha. You want to roar like one? You've got to give in full throttle. You've got to be the monster. Become the beast. Become everything you're afraid of." Aiden stares down at him.
"That's what gives you power. It gives you strength." Ethan adds on.
Scott misses as he punches again, Aiden elbowing him in the back. Scott groans and lands on the ground.
Stiles winces. Lydia sighs, looking down.
"Giving into it doesn't make you the bad guy." Aiden tells him.
"As long as you can control it." Ethan adds.
"Sometimes control's a little overrated." Aiden continues as he's leaning down next to him.
Aiden kicks him in the side, getting a groan.
"Come on, Scott. Fight back." Stiles mutters.
Scott pushes himself up to his knees. "What if I can't control it? What if I can't turn back?" He groans.
"Then it takes over. You become Malia." Ethan says as if it's no big deal, taking a few steps forward. "You get further and further away from being human. You turn into an animal. Or worse."
"You turn into Peter." Aiden finishes.
Scott looks down, the words giving him motivation. He remembers everything Peter's done, what he looked like, how he acted. He furrows his eyes in determination before slowly pushing himself to his feet. He wipes the blood off his mouth then lets out a scream. He runs at the twins. Aiden grabs his body and slams him down on the table.
Lydia flinches, shutting her eyes and turning towards Asher. The lion rubs her shoulder for comfort.
Aiden jumps on the table, straddling Scott. He sends punch after punch to the poor guys face.
Lydia puts her forehead against Asher's chest. Asher brings her hand up to the back of her head, holding her in a hug.
"He'll be okay." Asher reassures her.
Ethan suddenly reaches out and grabs Aidens fist before he could punch the boy again. Aiden fights against his brother for a moment.
"What?" He snaps. "I thought we were helping him."
"You help too much." Ethan looks up at him.
Aiden pauses, his gaze moving back down to Scott. His face is bloody and his eyes aren't focusing. Ethan helps his brother off the table. They look over at the other three walking towards them. Scott leans his head to the side, spitting blood out his mouth. His breathing is heavy.
Asher walks over him, holding her hand out with her eyebrows raised. Scott blinks, nodding just barely. She places her hand on the side of is face, her veins taking a rusty orange color. Her jaw clenches as she takes his pain.
"Jesus Christ, Aiden. Why do you punch so hard?" She groans.
Scott weakly grabs her wrist, removing her hand. He smiles at her.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, Scotty."
--------------------
Stiles' jeep, Ashers mustang, Scotts bike, and Allison's car all pull into the Preserve. Asher gets out of her car, going around to open the door for Lydia. Stiles hops out of his jeep as Allison and Isaac get out of hers. Scott steps off his bike, pulling his helmet off.
All six of them crowd around each other, similar looks on all of their faces.
"Anyone else think we might be doing more harm that good?" Lydia asks.
Asher sighs, rubbing her hands together. She sort of agreed, but she didn't want to voice it again.
"We're keeping a father from killing his own daughter." Scott tells her.
"Actually, we're trying to keep a guy from killing a coyote who is actually his daughter, who we don't know how to change from a coyote back into his daughter." Isaac adds.
Asher turns to him, a blank look on her face. "Isaac-"
"And again with the not helping." Stiles grumbles.
Scott exhales, tired of the bickering. He looks back at Allison with a nod. "Did you bring it?"
Allison, who's standing by her trunk, opens it up and pulls something out. She shuts her trunk and reveals a giant dart gun. She takes a deep breath.
Asher looks at her. "You can do it, Alli. Don't worry."
Allison gives her a smile.
A gunshot is suddenly heard deep in the woods. Everyone turns towards it, concern on their faces. Another gunshot sounds through the air.
Scott jumps on his bike, quickly speeding off. Stiles steps after him.
"Wait, wait. Wait, wait!" He yells, but Scott's gone.
Isaac and Allison start to run after him. Asher decides to stay back with Lydia and Stiles. Just in case.
Stiles calls his father.
"It took the doll again? What the hell is so important about this doll?" He turns around to face them.
"I don't know, but listen to me. There are traps all over the woods. Near the trails. Probably near the car crash." Stilinski says from the other end. "And Tate is out there with a rifle. I want you to stay out of those woods. You got that?" Stiles doesn't say anything. "Stiles?"
Lydia looks at him while Asher's playing with an old bracelet on her wrist. She suddenly looks up.
"It's the doll." Her and Stiles say at the same time.
"Stiles?"
He puts his phone down, looking at the girls.
"It's the doll?" Stiles questions, confused.
"Who's doll was it?" Asher asked.
"Alright, but why would it go all the way to the school and then all the way back to the house just for a doll?" Stiles tries to figure out.
"It likes the doll. Who cares?" Lydia says.
"It likes the doll a lot." Stiles adds.
"Stiles! Was it hers or her sisters? Show me the picture you took." Asher grabs his jacket, pulling him up from the ground.
Stiles fumbles with his phone. "Here."
He holds his phone out, Asher examining the picture. Her hand goes to her bracelet again.
"Look. It was her sisters doll. Not hers." Asher tells them, Lydia coming up beside her. "She wants it to remember her."
Lydia notices her fiddling with her bracelet but doesn't say anything.
"I know what she's doing." Stiles reveals.
"What?" Lydia asks.
"I know where she's going." He says.
--------------------
Asher, Stiles, and Lydia are walking through the woods. A loud scream of pain enters Ashers ears. She brings her hands up over them, falling to her knees. She groans in pain.
"Asher?" Lydia kneels beside her.
Her eyes are glowing a bright gold. She pushes her hands harder on her ears.
"Asher, whats happening?" Stiles asks.
"It's Isaac. I-" She winces. "I think he got caught in a trap."
The scream dies down, making her lower her hands. She takes a few deep breaths.
"Asher, your eyes." Lydia tells her as she stands up.
"What? Are they glowing?" Asher blinks.
"Big time." Stiles nods.
She shuts her eyes, focusing on her heart rate. She opens them again, but nothing happened.
"Come on, Asher. We got to go." Stiles rushes.
"I'm trying! You know I've been having trouble. I don't have an anchor, Stiles." Asher glared at him.
"Asher, take your time. Scott's got this." Lydia tells her.
Asher mutters a few "okays" as she tried to get her eyes to stop glowing.
"Asher! Come on!" Stiles claps.
She feels her fangs poke against her gums and her hair grows tan tips.
"Ash-" Lydia notices.
The lioness lets out a growl, her fangs showing. She swipes her claws at Stiles, who jumps back just in time.
"You guys should go." She mutters. "I don't want to hurt either of you."
Stiles pants, flashbacks from when Scott first got bit.
"I'm not going anywhere." Lydia denies.
Asher turns to her. Her face is completely transformed and her eyes are glowing even brighter. Lydia takes a step backwards, running into a tree.
Asher growls lowly, tilting her head at the girl. Stiles grabs her arm, pulling her away. She bares her teeth at him.
"Asher. I know you don't want to hurt us. It's gonna be okay." Stiles holds his hands up.
She just growls again. Her head snaps behind her as Lydia makes a noise. She closes in on her. Stiles is frozen in fear behind her.
Lydia looks her in the eyes. She knew Asher would never hurt her. She just needed some comfort.
"Asher..."
Asher growled in her face. Her eyes were disoriented and she didn't even know what she was doing. She was staring at the redhead in the eyes as she raised her clawed hand towards her face. And just before she attacked, she just... stopped. Lydias eyes were wide in fear and tears were forming.
Ashers face contorted back into her normal one, her fangs disappeared and her claws went back into her skin. She lowered her hand.
"I'm so sorry." She whispers.
Lydia tackles her in a hug. She was just happy she was okay. Asher slowly hugs her back. She waits until Lydia lets go to turn around to Stiles.
"It's okay." He says before she could.
"Let's just go. Call Scott." Asher walks off.
Lydia and Stiles look at each other before following after her.
--------------------
"Scott, it's me, you got to call me back as soon as you can." Stiles speaks into his phone. "It wasn't Malias doll. It was her sisters. Malia left it at the car for her sister. It's like bringing flowers to a grave. Okay, and we stole the flowers..."
Stiles keeps walking as Asher trails behind him. She quite far behind and she doesn't realize Lydia isn't there.
"Asher?" Lydia calls, her tone fearful.
"Hmm?" She turns around.
Her eyes widen when she sees Lydia's foot on a trap.
"Oh, my God." She mutters.
Asher hurries over to the girl. She looks behind her, not seeing Stiles.
"Where the hell did he go?" She asked.
"Asher." Lydia panicks.
"Lydia, don't move." Asher holds a hand out.
She closes her eyes and takes a breath before opening them again. "Look for a warning label."
"A warning label?" Asher questions.
"Instructions on how to disarm it." Lydia groans.
"Lyds, why in the actual hell would they put the instructions on the bottom of the fucking trap?" Asher exclaimed.
"Because animals can't read, Asher!" She answered.
"Okay, yeah makes sense." Asher crouches down to read the label. "Uh, Lydia.. Yeah, I can't read this."
"What? What do you mean?" Lydia looks down at her.
"The label. It's covered in dirt, mud, and- It looks like it's been scratched off." She says, meeting the girl eyes.
"Okay, then.. Don't use them." Lydia looks back up.
"What? Lydia, I don't know how to do this." Asher furrows her brows.
"Asher, I know you can do this. You do everything people say you can't, right? So.. Screw the instructions. You can do it." Lydia encourages.
Asher sighs and looks back down at the trap. She takes notice of the knob attached to the bottom, squinting her eyes. She tentatively takes hold of it, trying to get the courage to turn it.
"I can't- Lydia, what if I'm wrong? What if I'm the freaking reason you have to amputate your foot!" Asher looks back up at her.
"Remember when you said that you'd never let anything hurt me?" Lydia asks, getting a nod. "I always knew that. I knew that when you were losing control. I knew that when you were with the alphas, I just, I always knew." She tells her. "And I'm not going to let your thoughts hurt you."
Asher nodded, looking back down at the knob. She closes her eyes. "Okay. Three, two, one!" Asher turns the knob and shoots up to catch her.
Lydia falls into her, wrapping her arms around the girls neck.
"I got you, Lyds." Asher mumbles.
Lydias cheek brushed against hers and they both gasp as the trap shuts.
"What the hell?" Stiles comes running back. "What's going on?"
Asher squeezes Lydia tighter. Lydia took a few breaths as she tried to recompose herself.
"Everything's fine." Asher assured him. "She's okay." She stopped, glancing down at the face pressed against her cheek. "You're okay, right?"
"Mhm." Lydia nods, taking another deep breath.
She pulls away slightly, looking Asher in the eyes. They stare at each other for a moment, forgetting about Stiles.
"Oh, my God. Can you not?" Stiles groans, making them look away from each other.
Asher awkwardly removes herself from Lydia, squeezing her shoulder before they start to walk again.
--------------------
Scott runs through the woods. He's chasing Malia. He turns his head, spotting her running just ahead of him. He increases his speed, flicking his claws out as he runs. His fangs protrude from his gums and his eyes glow red. Scott lets out a loud growl as he chases the coyote.
He stops for a moment, watching where she's going. He quickly decides where he needs to go. Scott gets around the car wreck, seeing the animal coming around the front. He stares for a second before running and jumping across the wrecked car.
He lands in a superhero position in the leaves, dirt rustling up as he hits the ground. Malia's paws come into view as she runs towards the car. She slows to a stop, coming face to face with Scott. His head is down and his breathing is heavy. Malia bares her teeth, growling at the boy. She runs her paw against the dirt as if she's about to attack.
Scott snarls lowly, his head slowly lifting up. He looks at Malia, now fully transformed. Malia opened her mouth, her teeth on full display and a growl like noise coming out.
Scott takes one final deep breath before letting out one of the loudest roars he's ever done.
--------------------
Isaac looks up from the trap his ankles in, his eyes glowing bright yellow. He grips the sides of the trap tighter, letting out a yell as he snaps it apart.
Isaac grunts, falling slightly.
--------------------
Asher, Lydia, and Stiles all turn around as they hear the roar echo throughout the woods.
Asher's eyes shine gold, a smirk coming to her face.
"Oh, that's what I'm talking about." Stiles praises.
"Hell yeah!" Asher smiles.
Lydia looks at her. "And your eyes are glowing." She smiles.
Asher scoffs in surprise. "I never actually believed I was I was in the pack. Cool." She smirks.
---------------------
Scott's roar trails on, Malia's growl slowly stopping. Her eyes glow a brilliant blue and she stumbles back. Her eyes fade back to normal. Scott's roar comes to an end when he sees Malia fall to the ground.
He stares in wonder as the fur dissipates, tanned skin coming forward. A teenager girl lays there on the ground. Scott watches as she breaths heavily, moving her head to look back at him.
Scott looks taken aback. As if he didn't believe he could do it. As if he just... couldn't believe it at all.
Malia furrows her brows, looking around the woods in confusion. She slowly pushes herself up to lean on her hands. She stares at Scott, who stands up. Malia picks one of her hands up, looking at it in amazement. She's trembling as she examines her skin, wiggling her fingers and twisting her wrist. She looks back up at Scott.
He sighs in relief, closing his eyes. He opens them again, the red faded away.
Malia smiles ever so slightly, but it goes away just as fast. She turns around and just... looks.
--------------------
It was later that day and Asher was at home. She was sitting next to Deaton on the couch and she had somehow convinced him to watch New Girl with her.
"It's good, right?" Asher smiles at him.
Deaton chuckles, looking at her. "It's... Not terrible."
She pumps her fist in the air. "I call that a win!"
Deaton laughs at her before pausing the show and pushing himself up. "We can watch some more later, but I should really make dinner."
"Okay, Doc." Asher watches him go.
She decided to sit there on her phone for a while. And she did, well until she heard a knock on the front door.
"I'll get it!" She called, getting an "okay" back.
Asher hops off the couch and walks over to the door. She turns the knob and pulls it open, her face contorting into confusion.
"Danny? What're you doing here?" Asher smiled.
"I wanted to see if I could hang here." Danny answered.
His hair was ruffled, eyes were slightly red, and his lips looked chapped. He had an old bag slung over his shoulder.
"Is it that douche bag Jonathan again?" Asher tilted her head.
"Kind of..." He answers.
Asher shakes her head, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him inside. He shuts the door behind him.
"Stay here. I'll be back in sec." She tells him, getting a nod back.
She runs to the kitchen to talk to Deaton. He looks up as she walks in.
"Who was at the door?" Deaton asked, turning to rummage through the cabinets.
"Danny. He was wondering if he could hang out here for a bit." Asher shrugged.
Deaton looked back at her, his eyes holding a slightly angered look. "Is he fighting with his boyfriend, um, Jonathan, again?"
Asher nods. "Yes! God, I hate that man."
"Is he staying for the night?" Deaton leaned against the counter.
"I dunno, but he has his bag with him." She sighed. "Can he?"
Deaton smiles. "Of course. Just make sure he gets to school in the morning."
Asher smiled brightly, running over and giving him a hug. "Thank you!"
Asher turns back around and goes back to the living room where Danny is standing awkwardly. He looks up as she walks in. She waves her hand, gesturing for him to follow her upstairs. He smiles and quickly follows after her. They walk up the stairs, turning the corner and she opens her door. She lets him go in first and then follows.
He groans and falls back on her bed. "He's just so stupid, Ash!"
Asher chuckles, getting comfortable on the bed beside him. She brings her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "Just cut him off, Danny! He's always doing these things. Like, so much that even Doc knew why you were here. Oh, and he said it's cool for you to stay for the night."
Danny sits up. "Thank God. Knew I packed this bag for a reason." He smiles at her. "Thanks, Ash."
"For what?" She furrows her brows.
"For letting me crash here whenever Jonathan does a stupid thing. For always being there. And for giving me free coffee when your coworkers aren't around." He laughs at the end.
Asher laughs at his laugh. She puts her knees down. Asher puts her legs across Danny's lap. "You can always come over. And I still firmly believe you should be with Ethan."
"He ghosted me, though. And then came back and then ghosted me again." He reminded her, backing against the wall to be more comfortable.
"And he'll probably come back again. He's like that." She shrugs. "And I'm not saying you should take him back every time, but that dude's head over heels for you, man. He might not show it a lot, but he likes you a lot."
Danny sighs. "Yeah, I know. And I like him a lot, too, but God, he gets on my nerves."
Asher chuckles. "Mine too, Dan. Mine too."
The two sit there and talk for hours. Deaton had called them down during the time and they ate dinner before they came back up to her room. They laughed and even teared up a few times. Danny complains about his boy problems and Asher tries to give him her best solutions. He eventually moves to a position where his head is in her lap and she's leaned against a pillow.
"Hey, Danny, uh... I have a question." She says out of the blue.
They hadn't spoke in a few minutes, both on their phones.
"What's up?" He answers.
"How do you know that you... like a boy?" Asher says slowly. "Not that I like a boy, gross, but you know what I mean." She corrects herself.
Danny shoots up, an excited look on his face. "Ash, do you like a girl? Is it Allison? She seems like your type."
Asher laughs abruptly. "Oh, no! Alli's more like a sister to me." She smiles. "And I'm not sure if I like her or not. I just need to know how I'm supposed to figure it out."
Danny smiles. "Okay, how do you feel around her."
Asher smiles. "Comfortable? Like I wish I'd met her sooner, you know? She doesn't judge me for past things I've done and she knows when I need to stop talking. She makes me laugh and whenever she's with someone else, I feel... nauseous?" She tries to explain.
"Asher! You like this girl! And it seems like you like her lot." Danny smiles. "I think you should go for it."
"No! No, I can't." Asher quickly denies.
"What? Why not?" Danny furrows his brows. "Is it because you have fangs and claws and she doesn't know?"
Asher does a double-take. "I- I'm sorry?"
"What, you think I don't know about werewolves? Dude, this is Beacon Hills." Danny laughs.
Asher nods with a small smile. "Well... I'm not actually a werewolf. It's cool you know about it, though."
Danny looks at her in confusion. "What? What are you then?"
Asher smirks. "A were-lion."
Danny scoffs in amazement. "No way." She smiles at him and he leans back down onto her lap. "So, why can't you ask this girl out?"
"Uh.. She's sort of having a thing with my brother." Asher says hesitantly.
Danny shoots up again, his eyes wide. "WH-"
authors note:
sooo asher kind of admitted to liking lydia... but lydia doesnt feel like that for her... or does she??
DANNY AND ASHER BEST FRIEND MOMENT YESSS
DEATON AND ASHER FATHER-DAUGHTER MOMENT YESSSS
lowkey like this chapter, sort of.
thanks for reading!! hope you enjoyed!!