Orphaned [ 4.6 ]
Brett spasmed on the exam table of the animal clinic, his chest heaving up and down with quick repetitions trying to fight off the poison that he was pricked with. Derek and Stiles tried with all their strength to hold him down against the table as they waited for Deaton to help the kid. Nova stood in the corner, only being able to observe and not wanting to get in the way.
"What the hell is happening to this kid?" Stiles questioned.
"He's been poisoned by a rare wolfsbane. I need to make an incision, and you need to hold him as still as possible." Deaton answered.
With much struggle, Stiles eyed Derek with desperation, "Hey Derek? How about a little Werewolf strength?"
"Yeah, I'm not the only one here with Werewolf strength..." Derek remarked back he knew that the reality of it was he was losing his power.
"If you can't hold him still, the incision might kill him." Deaton said to the two.
Bretts body only furthered to convulse, causing him to further slip from their grasps, "Derek, he's slipping! I don't think I can hold him!" Eventually their hold wasn't enough, and Brett broke free his strength pushing them off of him in all directions of the room.
His show of strength only lasted a few seconds when from out of nowhere, the oldest Hale came in with a hard punch to the boy's face, "I guess I still have a little werewolf strength myself." He looked down at his fist, as the rest shared shocked expressions.
Derek gave a wary look, "Yeah...maybe more than a little..."
"Hey, Doc? I don't think he's breathing." Stiles called to Deaton. The vet quickly hurried towards the young boy, he took the blade before dragging it down the middle of Bretts chest allowing him to release any sign of poison that entered his system.
"Is he okay?" Nova asked.
Deaton nodded, "I think he'll be fine, but probably out for a little while."
Stiles was still on the ground when he heard something muttering from Brett, "Guys, can you hear that? I think he's saying something..."
"The sun...the moon...the truth...the sun...the moon...the truth..."
Deaton leaned closer, ""Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." It's Buddhist."
The two Hales shared a look at the familiar sang, "...Satomi."
Satomi, the oldest werewolf that they knew of to date. Knowing they couldn't ask Brett about his pack now, that was still unconscious, they knew they'd have to wait until at least morning. Derek had planned to go out and look for them when he got an answer. Deaton agreed to stay with Brett and make sure he's alright until he does wake, the rest deciding to call it a night.
"Are you okay?" Derek came up to Nova, questioning with concern.
She nodded, "Just ready for this night to end. Are you alright?" It had been a long night for the two, dealing with their own things.
And stoic as always he replied, "I'm fine." Despite there being a lot wrong, he never wanted her to worry.
Nova smiled softly, a sense of relief that the night was over and things had come out with some good outcomes, "Good. I have to get home, but I will see you tomorrow."
"You don't want to stay at the loft?" He furrowed his eyebrows as he asked.
Shaking her head softly, she sent him a smile, "Maybe next time. I think it'll ease mine and my dads mind if I go home and sleep there tonight. Stiles is going to give me a ride. " She explained.
He nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips, "Call me if you need anything."
"I will." She assured him.
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As soon as Nova's head hit her pillow, she couldn't fight off the sleep that had been pulling at her all day. She needed it, she needed to rest and if she was being honest, it was all she craved and wanted. Her deep slumber of peaceful thoughts soon turned into a battle of trying to remain asleep.
She tossed and turned in her bed, "No...no..." She spoke still in her slumber, "Please..." She begged. Tears streamed down her face, as she continued to wince, "I'm sorry."
"Nova." Her father's voice boomed as he stormed in to see what was going on in his daughter's room, "Nova, you gotta wake up." He shook her gently trying to coax her awake.
It took several minutes but when her eyes sprung open, she sat up quickly in her spot. Her hands came up to her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She turned to face her dad with a confused and fearful expression.
His eyes softened at his daughter's distraught self, "What's going on?"
"I haven't been honest with you about something."
Nova and her dad sat at the dining table, the girl deciding that school was just not going to be in her plan today. They sat with mugs of teas set in front of them, Nova finding it more interesting as her dad waited for her to talk.
She took a deep breath before speaking, still not meeting his eyes, "After the whole Nogitsune thing, I started getting nightmares. I didn't think anything of it until they started getting worse. When Derek was gone they were just as bad and even when he wasn't, they're all the same."
"You've done that with Derek." He referred to the terrified screams that came from her as a result of her terrors.
She shook her head, "Sometimes I'll just stay awake, not wanting to bother him." She admitted shamefully, "I even tried spelling my mind but it only lasted so long."
"This has happened before?" He questioned, and he received the same timid nod, "And you were alone?"
Her head lowered as her eyes glistened with tears, "I thought I could handle it, I always wake up." A raspy undertone came from the softened voice, and it told that she was tired,
"And you've just now realized you can't?" He pressed. "Does Derek know about them?"
"I told him about the nightmares but he thinks it's just that–" She released a sad sigh. "I don't know what to call them anymore."
"It was only affecting my sleep before. Now it's become this constant ache in my head, and I keep wishing it was the kind where an aspirin could fix it but it's not." She finally lifted her head to meet her fathers equally distraught face, "It makes me feel like I'm going insane."
Grayson hated seeing his daughter in such a desperate state, "You think the two are correlated with each other. The nightmares and headaches?" He questioned, wanting an answer to help her, Nova nodded. "What are the nightmares about?" He further asked.
"People coming after me."
"Like assassins?" Just maybe the thought of being on a hit list was making her scared.
"No." She shook her head, a blank look crossed her face as she went on to recall the horrible visions, "These people aren't concerned about the kill, they want to torture me– they do torture me."
He wasn't sure what to do with the information, "Do any of them seem familiar to you?"
She scrunched her face, eyes closed as she tried to remember, "No...none of their faces are familiar in the slightest." She told him with honesty.
He sighed, "What now? You can't not just go to sleep." Frustrated, he couldn't come up with an answer, "Should we call Nona?"
"No. I just...I need to figure it out." Her voice was shaky, "It has to mean something. I just don't know what yet."
The two fell into a long silence until the sound of a buzzing phone from the kitchen counter caught their attention. Realizing it was her own phone, Nova walked over to pick it up, not even taking a look at the caller ID
"Hello?"
"Hey." Derek's voice was heard causing her to panic slightly, "You haven't answered any of my messages."
"Oh– sorry." She apologized, "I slept in and have been at home with my dad all day. I've barely checked my phone."
"It's fine. Just making sure you were okay." He reassured her, "I went to the school to get Malias help and she told me no one showed up."
A sigh escaped her lips, "Yeah...just a rough morning." She said but quickly changed the subject before he could question what was so rough about it. "Have you tracked down Satomi and her pack?"
"Not yet."
"Think you might need another set of hands– or another brain?" She volunteered her help.
"We're heading to the preserve." Derek told her.
"Okay, I'll meet you there." Nova said before hanging up.
From the otherside of the line, Malia turned towards Derek with a smile, "Novas coming?" He nodded, "Good. She's my favorite." She said as they continued down the road.
Nova had arrived no later than fifteen minutes later, just a few minutes short of Malia and Derek. Parking her car, by Dereks she stepped out to see them waiting for her.
"Hey." She waved to them. "Have you guys found anything yet?"
Shaking her head, Derek responded, "No, we just got here."
"So who are we looking for exactly? Who's Bretts alpha?" Malia questioned.
The three started their journey through the woods as Derek began to explain, "Their Alpha is a woman called Satomi. She's one of the oldest Werewolves alive, and she's learned a lot."
"What does that mean?"
"She's a bitten Werewolf." Derek said, "Learning control wasn't easy for her– she did something a long time ago that changed her. A quote, a mantra, help them with control"
They continued walking until Malia came to a halt, alerting the other two, "...What is it?"
Sniffing the air she looked around, "Gunpowder." She said.
She looked down signaling for Derek and Nova to follow her eye line, catching the same things she had. Kneeling down, Derek picked up the casing of a bullet, "If Brett's pack is out here, I don't think they're meeting...they're hiding." He concluded.
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The three spent until nightfall trying to find them but with them not wanting to be found, it made their job rather difficult. By nightfall they were ready to call it, heading to their respective cars. Malia and Derek went into his, still discussing the failed attempt they had made.
"I'm sorry..." Malia apologized to Derek, guilty that she wasn't able to be much help.
He shook his head, dismissively, "There's nothing to be sorry about. If they don't want to be found, then we're not going to find them. Some Werewolves have an ability...a kind of mastery over their bodies, where they can actually inhibit their scent."
"They can hide from other Werewolves?" Malia questioned.
"From anyone who's trying to find them." Derek shrugged.
"So that's why nobody knew about Brett..."
The older Hale nodded, "Same with Demarco."
Malia had a puzzled look before turning towards her cousin, "Maybe we need to try something different. Maybe we need to think like Stiles!"
Derek eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "...Like a hyperactive spaz?"
"Like a detective." She clarified, "If they're really Buddhists, then maybe, instead of asking where Werewolves hide, we should be asking..."
"...Where would Buddhists hide..." Derek looked at the small compass that was embedded with his car, "When Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree, he looked to the east for enlightenment."
"Is there some kind of eastern point in Beacon Hills?" Malia asked.
"Yeah... at Lookout Point..."
"I'll text Nova to meet us there." Malia pulled her phone, texting the brunette before turning her attention back to Derek, "Hey have you noticed Novas weird scent?"
With confusion, he turned to glance at the girl quickly, "Scent?"
"Yeah, it was so strong when I saw her the other day." The werecoyotes face scrunched up.
"Of what?" He raised his eyebrows in question.
She thought for a minute, "Mostly like anxiety." She said, "But also fear. A lot of it."
Derek wanted to question even more but knew now wasn't the time but also that Malia wouldn't have the answers. She was just making a claim on what she observed from the girl. Instead he just continued the drive through his head still spiraled with questions and many thoughts.
Nova had already arrived at Lookout Point before the two, she waited against her car for the two. They walked her way, beating Derek to it and greeting the girl with a hug.
"Hey." Nova smiled.
Though Malia wore a slight pout, "You guys left me all alone at school– in math." She emphasized that last part.
"Sorry, I just had some thing to take care of." She told the girl with soft eyes, "If I would have known everyone would be gone I would have been there."
Malia shrugged, "I know." She threw her head back before walking away from the girl.
Derek took his moment to come up tot he girl, "Hi." Taking her face in his gentle hands, he pecked her lips softly, "Everything alright with you?" He asked right off the bat.
"Yeah." Her voice said in a low tone, but her smile never faded, "Just having one of those days, you know."
"You can talk to me about anything, you know that?" She nodded, before reaching up on her toes to kiss his lips once more though the moment was cut short by the voice only a few feet away from them.
Malias head was tilted to the side, wearing a incredulous look, "When you're done making out, we have a job to do."
The two pulled away, Derek rolling hi eyes, "You know, she's starting to remind me of someone."
They didn't walk very far in till Malia started. to pull the scent and leading them through the woods. Nova was too distracted to even notice that Derek hadn't been trying to use his own abilities to pull one.
They stayed as quiet as possible, not wanting to alarm the wrong person or scare any of the werewolves off. They had continued towards the end of the cliff when Malia stopped them, "Malia...?" Derek questioned.
"You don't smell that?" She looked at the two who were confused.
"Wait for me..." He told the two girls, "Right here."
Leaving the two, he continued his way further into the woods, it wasn't a long walk as he came across the disturbing scene. Dead bodies piled on the ground, black blood surrounding their eyes and mouths.
Because he was taking longer than they thought, Malia and Nova had made their way to him instead of him coming back to them. A regret they had as soon as they found why it took him so long to go back to them.
The sight was saddening, Nova wasn't even squirmish like she'd usually be, she was just upset. Heartbroken, in other words.
"What happened?" Malia asked, her eyes scanning the area.
Shrugging unsurely, Derek answered, "I think they might have been poisoned."
Malia scoffed, "That's great...if assassins with guns don't get you, then the ones with wolfsbane poison will. Or maybe one with no mouth. Maybe we should all be running from Beacon Hills...running for our lives, as fast as we can." Nova couldn't blame her for thinking that way, she would be lying is she said she hadn't thought it a couple of times.
As they turned to leave a sudden noise caught all of their attention, they waited for it come come again and when it did, they saw a shaky hand lift up into the air.
"Someone's still out there." Nova muttered and she didn't even hesitate to rush towards where the noise was coming from, Derek and Malia were far behind her.
Finding the source of the noise, she was shocked to find the mercenary lying on the ground wincing in pain. Her bloodied hand and torso gave her a good idea that the girl was badly wounded.
As Derek and Malia made it to them, Nova turned with a worried expression, "She's gonna die if we don't get her to a hospital." Quickly picking up the mercenary, Derek and the other two raced back to where they had their cars parked. They situated her in the passenger seat of Derek's car as he got into the driver's seat. He looked towards Nova, waiting for her to join him.
"Go. Take her." Nova urged him, "I'll take Malia home. We'll tell Scott what's going on."
With no hesitation, he pulled out and began the drive to the hospital. Nova and Malia hurried into her own car as a sudden rainstorm emerged from the sky. Their drive to the McCall residence was somewhat silent as they were still in shock from what they'd witnessed earlier.
They didn't bother knocking, but instead barged through the house and towards Scott's room where he and Stiles were. The two girls were drenched due to the heavy rain as they looked at the two boys who were caught off guard by their presence.
"We found Satomi's pack." Nova told them, catching her breath.
"But, they're dead." Malia added.
Scotts eyes widened, "All of them?"
"All the ones we found..." Malia nodded.
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A/n: Sorry for the long wait and short chapter but I have been non-stop busy with work and catching up on other things. I have been writing and the hope is that I will be able to release the rest of the chapters for Act Three aka season four in chunks so that I make up for lost time. I love you all very much and thank you for being patient with me.