Asher was woken up later that night by Isaac calling her. Which was weird in itself because Isaac literally never called her. She was sure he didn't even have her number saved.
"Isaac? Who died?" Asher sat up.
"What? Asher, no one! But Stiles is missing and we need all the help we can get. He called Scott and he's in trouble. Meet us at his house." Isaac explained.
"What? How much trouble?" Asher was already out of bed now.
"His leg's hurt and hes freezing. We have no idea where he is. So just get there!" Isaac hung up.
Asher made her way to her closet. "Jesus Christ, Stilinski. Always doing something stupid."
--------------------
The three were now walking up the stairs to Stiles' bedroom after they'd met up. Scott pushed the door open and they faltered when they saw Lydia and Aiden standing there.
The two turned to face them and Aiden's eyes met Asher's. She clenched her jaw and looked at her feet. Yeah, she was still pissed.
"How'd you know? Did he call you too?" Scott pressed.
"I felt it." Lydia answered.
"Don't ask. It gets more confusing when you ask." Aiden shook his head.
Asher nodded. She knew that all too well.
"Not as confusing as this." Lydia turned around to Stiles' bed.
Asher tilted her head in curiosity. "He uses red for unsolved cases."
She was referring to the scissors that were stabbed into his bed with red yarn attached to it. Which was coming from all around his room.
"Maybe he thinks he's part of an unsolved case?" Aiden suggests.
"Or is an unsolved case." Isaac adds.
"Hold on." Lydia darts around to look at them. "Is he still out there? You don't know where he is?"
"He said he's in an industrial basement somewhere." Scott tells her.
"We came here to get a better scent." Asher rubs her hands together.
"What else did he say?" Lydia asks.
"Something's wrong with his leg. It's bleeding." Scott continues.
"And he's freezing." Isaac says.
"Tonight's the coldest night of the year. It's going to drop into the twenties." Aiden reminds them.
"Yeah, we actually solved that mystery already, weatherboy." Asher says, her voice on edge.
"What did his dad say?" Lydia looked down.
The three look at each other before Scott speaks up.
"We kind of... We didn't tell him yet." He said.
"Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?" Lydia scoffs.
Asher holds her hands up in surrender. "We had a very good reason, Red."
Lydia narrowed her eyes at her.
"He made me promise not to." Scott finishes for her.
Asher gestures over to him.
"We can find him by scent." Scott says. "If he was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gotten far, right?
"You guys didn't notice his jeep is gone, did you?" Aiden asked.
Lydia now had her phone out. "You promised you wouldn't call his dad. I didn't."
"Wait, Lydia, hold on. I can get more help. I can call Derek, Allison..." Scott attempts to stop her.
"Everyone except for the cops! Great idea!" Lydia exasperates.
"You guys remember she only gets these feelings when someone's about to die, right?" Aiden snaps.
Scott looks down slightly. He swallows like he's trying to come up with something to say.
Asher turns to her brother with look that's calling him stupid. "What a wonderful thing to say, right now, man."
"You don't have to call his dad." Scott finally says. "It's five minutes to the station."
They all go to leave, except for Lydia, who stops Aiden and Asher.
"We'll catch up."
"What? Why?" Scott turned back around.
"Yeah, why?" Asher looked down at the hand around her wrist.
"There is something here." Lydia presses.
"Yeah. Evidence of total insanity." Isaac looks around the room.
"You two are just rays of sunshine tonight, aren't you?" Asher scoffs, looking between him and Aiden.
"We can figure out what's wrong with him after we find out a way to keep him from freezing to death." Scott says.
"Go." Lydia says, releasing Asher's wrist. "I know you want to go too. We'll be right behind you."
Scott and Isaac dart out of the room, but Asher stands there for a minute.
"Asher?" Lydia furrows her brows.
"I'll stay if you want me to." Asher says, her head tilted to the right just a little.
"No, it's okay." Lydia smiles up at her. "I've got Aiden."
Asher glances at him, then looks down. "Yeah, you do." She whispers.
"What?" Lydia asks.
"Nothing. See you later, Red." Asher squeezes her shoulder before running after the two wolves.
Aiden watches her leave. He took a deep breath when he realized why Asher's heart was going a mile a minute and she smelt of anger.
She had feelings for Lydia. And he was ruining it.
--------------------
The three supernaturals had made it to the station, and succeeded in telling Stilinski about his son. It was safe to say that the man wasn't all too happy about it.
Asher watched the man with concern. His breathing was heavy and it looked as if he was holding back tears, which wouldn't surprise anyone. Asher took a breath, internally cringing at the smell of anxiety and sadness that radiated off the man.
"Come on." He muttered, composing himself. Stilinski turned to the teenagers. "If his jeep is gone, that's where we start." He turns to Deputy Parrish sitting at his desk. "Parrish, let's get an APB out on a blue 1980 CJ-5 jeep." The man turns to another Deputy. "Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building that he could've gotten into while sleepwalking. It's the coldest night of the year so far. So, if he's out there barefoot, in just a t-shirt, he could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast. Let's think fast. The three of you, come with me."
The four migrated into the Sheriff's office, the door getting shut behind them. Stilinski turned back to face the kids.
"Okay, is there anything you need to tell me that I can't tell anybody out there?" He asks.
"Lydia knew he was missing." Scott said.
"Can she help find him?" Stilinski replied.
"She's trying." Asher nods.
"Anything else?" Stilinski pressed.
"I called Derek and Allison for help." Scott answered again.
"Can you find him by scent?" The Sheriff continued his questions.
Before anyone could answer, Parrish knocked and opened the door.
"We got it sir. We found the jeep." He said.
--------------------
Asher's mustang pulled into the Hospital parking lot after Stilinki's SUV. Usually, Scott would be on his bike, but the teenagers decided it would be faster to take one vehicle.
Stilinski bounds towards the blue jeep, immediately pulling the door open. Scott, Isaac, and Asher all follow the man. He attempts to turn it on but the engine doesn't budge.
"It's dead. He must've left the lights on." He said.
"Why would he come here?" Scott questions.
"Let's find out." Stilinski says before stomping towards the entrance.
Deputies and the teens follow. Entering, Melissa runs up to them.
"Security's doing sweeps of every floor. Nothing yet." She tells them.
"What about the basement?" Stilinski asks her.
"Follow me." Melissa says.
The three watch the police walk away before making their way to the roof. Asher spots Derek quickly, and is the first to get close to him.
"He's not here. Not anymore." Derek says when he hears them.
"You mean the entire building?" Asher scoffed.
"Gone." Derek says bluntly.
Everyone is silent for a few seconds before Isaac speaks up. "I'll go tell Stilinski."
Scott turns to face him. "And see if you can find Allison. She's not answering her phone."
Isaac nods, glances at the other two and then runs off.
Scott waits for him to be out of sight before jogging over to Derek and Asher.
"Notice how strong the scent is up here?" Derek questions the boy next to him. "You ever hear of chemo-signals?"
Scott shakes his head.
"Chemical signals that communicate emotion." Derek explains. "And just our sweat can give off anger, fear, or disgust."
Scott furrows his brows and looks over at Asher. "Is that why you're always telling Stiles he stinks? Because he's always anxious?"
Asher half nods. "And because I like teasing him."
"Take a deep breath." Derek gets the conversation back on track. "And tell me what you feel."
Scott does what he says, his eyes shutting. He speaks again after reopening his eyes. "Stress."
Asher nods. "And anxiety. Classic Stiles."
A ghost of a smile made its way to her face. She hated to admit it, but Asher was worried about the boy. She seemed to be feeling that a lot lately. Now, Asher wouldn't say the two were good friends, but they knew quite a bit about each other, spent time together, and even studied together at one point. Asher cared about the annoying boy, she did. As much as she disliked him, she also liked him. She just wanted him to be okay so she could punch him. Hard.
"What was he doing up here?" Scott looked around.
"I don't know." Derek shook his head. "But there was definitely some sort of a struggle."
"With who?" Scott looked up at him.
Asher also glanced over at the older man. She held a sort of respect for him. He always kept going and trying his hardest after everything he'd been through. She thought it was admirable.
"Himself." Derek answered.
Asher nodded, her lips pursed. "Ominous."
Derek gave her a look.
"Trying to bring some light to this awful situation, is all. It's what Stiles would do, and you know that." Asher defended herself.
Scott smiled lightly to himself.
--------------------
Asher stood beside Lydia at the entrance of Eichen House, which was somehow a medical establishment. She could feel Aiden's eyes occasionally land on her, but she didn't meet them.
Her head turned as Stilinski rolled up beside them. He stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him.
"Lydia!" He called, the redhead quickly looking at him. "I don't want to say "are you sure about this", but..."
"No, he's here. I swear to God, he's here." Lydia said.
Stilinski let out a sigh.
Asher, deciding she had enough of the waiting, pulled the gate open with force. Sure, they were supposed to be buzzed in, but the strength of an angry, stressed, anxious, and frustrated werelion worked a lot better.
Stilinski raised his eyebrows at her. Asher shrugged.
"Well, it's open." She said, crossing her arms.
Stilinski blinked before entering. Asher held out her arm, gesturing for them to follow. Which they did.
Stilinski barreled inside. He spotted the front desk and rushed over. The man's hands pressed down on the counter before he addressed the dude behind the desk.
"I need access to all basement rooms in this facility." He urged.
The dude nodded and led the way.
Lydia got in the front of the group as they made it down there. She ran into the basement, slowly coming to a stop. "It's here! It's right here."
Asher narrowed her eyes. She didn't hear any heartbeats, or smell Stiles' scent. Which was always a mix of stress/anxiety and vanilla, for some reason. She never knew how or why he smelt of vanilla, but he did.
Lydia started towards a door, the group following. Stilinski got ahead and kicked the door open, his flashlight shining.
The five of them rush down the stairs, eager to find the boy.
"Stiles?" Lydia calls.
"Stiles, you dumbass, are you here?" Asher adds.
They make it to the bottom of the stairs, and they see nothing. They all look around the small room, but they still don't see anything.
Asher could feel her stress levels rising. The girl ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down. She stopped walking around and stood beside the red head.
Scott turned towards them. "Lydia?"
The girl's brows were furrowed and her mouth was open slightly. Her body snapped around as if she missed something. "I don't get it. This has to be it."
"Then where is he, huh?" Stilinski asked. "Where is he?"
The tone made Asher look at him warily.
Stilinski darted around to Lydia. "Where is he?!" He yelled, getting in her face.
Lydia's eyes shut in panic, taking a few steps back. She ran into Asher's chest, and the werelion didn't hesitate in wrapping her arms around her.. friend.
Asher sent the man a glare. "I know you're upset, stressed, or whatever. But you need to chill, man."
Stilinski nodded slightly at her. He realized what he had done immediately, hi face softening. "I'm sorry."
"I don't understand." Lydia whispered again.
Aiden slowly came up behind them, setting his hand on Asher's shoulder. Not having the energy to be pissed at him, she let him lead them back up the stairs. Scott and Stilinksi slowly followed.
--------------------
The amount of relief that ran through Asher when she found out McCall and Melissa found Stiles, was unexplainable. She now sat next to Lydia inside the hospital, waiting with her, Scott, and the other McCall's to hear something about the boy.
Asher leaned her head on Lydia's shoulder. She was utterly exhausted. And she has work in just a few hours.
Lydia reached over and entangled their hands. She found comfort in Asher's touch, but she didn't understand why. Lydia felt Asher relax more after she did this, smiling just a little.
The group looked up as Stilinski walked towards them. Still holding onto Asher, Lydia stands up. Which causes Asher to as well. Scott follows their actions.
"He's sleeping now." Stilinski tells them. "And he's just fine."
Asher let out a sigh of relief. She brought a hand up and rubbed her eyes, attempting to get the tired to go away.
"He doesn't remember much. It's a bit like a dream to him." Stilinski says before turning to McCall. "Thank you."
"It was the repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out." McCall said casually. "I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing he mentioned it over the phone."
"No, it was more than that. Thank you." Stilinski urged.
"It was a lucky connection." McCall, once again, downplayed it.
"McCall, can you shut up please and accept my sincerest gratitude." Stilinski groaned.
McCall paused and then put his hand out. "Accepted."
Stilinski grabbed the mans hand and shook it.
"Alright, you three. You've got school in less than six hours. And Asher, you've got work in around three." Melissa speaks up. "Go home. Go to sleep." She pulls Scott into a hug.
Asher groans and rubs a hand down her face. "Maybe I should just call out."
Stilinski nods at her. "Yes, you should. You need rest."
Asher smiled at him.
Scott started to walk away, grabbing Lydia's wrist to pull her along. The redheads hand was still wrapped up with Asher's and she had no intention of pulling it away.
"I don't know what happened." Lydia said as they walked down the hall. "I was so sure."
"Yeah, I wasn't much help either." Scott sighed. "Doesn't matter, if he's okay."
"All I did was crack jokes, so I'm pretty sure I made everything worse." Asher let out a half-hearted chuckle.
Lydia suddenly turned around like she heard something. Asher looked where she was, not seeing anything of importance. The redhead turned back forward with her head tilted slightly.
"Lydia, do you hear something?" Scott asked.
Asher notices her eyes darting around carefully, like she's trying not to give anything away. But Asher can read her incredibly well.
"No." Lydia answers, shaking her head a little. "I didn't hear anything."
Lydia started walking again. Asher and Scott glanced at each other before following her.
--------------------
Asher was now sitting in the car with Scott, considering she needed to take him back to Stiles' house to get his bike. They had sat in silence for around five minutes before Scott decided to interrogate her.
"How is it living with Deaton?" He asked.
Asher sighed. "It's good. He's a really good man."
Scott smiled. "Yeah, one of the best."
"How long have you known him?" Asher looked over at him for a moment.
"Since I was fourteen." Scott said.
Asher nodded. "Great."
They were silent again for a few minutes.
"You, uh, you like her don't you?" Scott asks suddenly.
Asher's hands grip tighter against the wheel. "Who?"
Scott looked at her like she was an idiot. "I don't know, maybe the girl you're always holding in some sort of way, the girl you spend almost all of your time with, the girl you about took an arrow to the back of the neck for? Like... Lydia Martin?"
Asher took a breath. "No idea what you mean, Scotty."
"Asher, it's not like I'd tell anyone. Plus, anyone with our abilities could have figured it out." Scott chuckled.
The girls eyes widened. "Wait, so you think Aiden knows?"
Scott raised his eyebrows. "It would be crazy if he didn't."
"God damn..." Asher muttered. "He definitely hates me now. First i yelled at him and kicked him out of the house, gave him the cold shoulder and now he knows I have feelings for the same girl he does."
"Aha! So, you do like her?" Scott points at her.
"Yes, I do. Damnit!" Asher shakes her head.
"Wait, why'd you kick him out?" Scott turned to her, wanting to know all the gossip.
Asher's entire body tensed as all the feelings of the past few days came rushing back. "Um... I don't really want to talk about it, so I'll just say... He was trying to get me to do something I didn't really wanna do, like being a real bitch about it. I got pissed off and kicked him and Ethan out."
Scott nodded slowly. "Well, I'm not going to pressure you to tell me what's going on. Because I know something's been going on, everyone does. But I am here to talk or listen if you want too. I am the alpha, Ash."
Asher smiled softly. "Okay, Scotty."
She pulled up in front of Stiles' house, parking her car. "Well, here we are."
Scott smiled at her. "Thanks for your help tonight. I know you and Stiles don't get along."
Asher shrugged. "He's alright sometimes. And... I think I'd lose it if something happened to that idiot. He's like my little brother."
Scott laughed, opening the door. "Yeah, well you do threaten him a lot."
He stepped out and paused for a second.
"I'm glad you're a part of the pack. You're a good friend." Scott says, shutting the door behind him.
Asher watched him adjust himself on his bike and put his helmet on. She waits for him to leave before she pulls out of the driveway.
"I'm glad I am, too, Scotty." Asher says to herself.
--------------------
"Scott, hey..." Kira calls after the boy.
Scott ignores her, turning and walking through the halls.
Kira looks down in disappointment.
"He's a little preoccupied. But I can help you." A voice says.
Kira turns to see Derek Hale. "Why would you want to help me?"
"Because I want you to tell me everything that happened at the power station with William Barrow." Derek tells her. "Actually, I want you to show me."
"Dude, you're starting to sound like pedophile." Asher comes up beside Kira.
"Asher." Derek nods at her.
"What's up, Der-Bear?" Asher smiles playfully.
Derek rolls his eyes at her, turning back to Kira.
"How about I come with you guys? So Kira knows she's not getting murdered?" Asher rocks on the balls of her feet.
Kira nods. "I'd like that."
Derek nods. "Okay, let's go."
--------------------
The three carefully walked into the substation. Asher watched Kira carefully, making sure she was doing okay.
"It was around here, I think." Kira said. "But everything kind of looks the same now."
Asher nods. "Yeah, pretty sure this is where Stiles and I met up with you and Scotty."
Derek's focus landed on something on the floor, catching Kira and Asher's attention. His brows furrowed at the light scrape mark on the concrete.
"What is that? Is that a baseball bat?" Kira's eyes followed the scrape to a piece of machinery, a baseball bat connected to it.
"One of Stiles'." Asher says, looking confusedly at the bat. "He never would've left it, though. It's metal and he just got that one after leaving his last one at the Nemeton."
Derek nodded, agreeing with her. He walked up to the bat and was about to grab it.
"Careful, Der-Bear." Asher warned.
The man ignored her, pulling on the bat. Which didn't budge. Derek paused for a second, confused. He pulled on it again, eventually yanking it off. He came back out of the gate, feeling the bat.
He looked back at the girls. "It's magnetized."
Kira raised her eyebrows, watching him.
Derek set the end of the bat at the start of the scrape. It pulled him forward a little, and he walked with it. It suddenly pulled him back to the machine, attaching itself once again.
"You just got it off, man." Asher grumbled.
Derek took a few steps back, a certain look in his eye. "Kira..."
The girl looked up from the floor.
"I'm going to need you to tell me everything you know about foxfire." Derek said.
Asher looked at him. "Foxfire? What are you getting at, Derek?"
The man met her eyes, telling her something.
"Really?" She scoffed.
--------------------
"Wonderful to see you, Kira, but Stiles is having tests and I gotta go see him." Asher patted her shoulder.
"Is he okay?" Kira asked.
"We don't know. We hope so." Asher nodded. "Sorry about grumpy gus, by the way."
Kira smiled. "It's okay. Text me later?"
"'Course." Asher smiled.
She turned and ran towards the entrance of the hospital, which was where they ended up. She rushed through the halls, up the stairs, and to where Stiles was getting his MRI.
Asher slowed to a stop as Scott came out of the room. "Is he going in, already?"
Scott shook his head. "You got a minute." He wiped tears from his eyes.
Asher faltered, putting her hands on the sides of his face. "Hey. He'll be okay. I swear he will."
Scott nodded with a sad smile. Asher patted his cheek before running into the MRI room, startling Stiles that was just sitting there.
"Asher?" He looked at her.
"Hey, dumbass." Asher took a few breaths.
"Why are you here?" Stiles asked.
"I was worried." She shrugged.
Stiles laughed. "Wait, your serious?"
Asher punched his shoulder. "I'm trying to be nice here, man."
"Sorry, sorry. I just didn't think you cared that much." Stiles said
Asher sighed. "Yeah, I didn't either. But when you were missing, I was so scared. I couldn't even think about something bad happening."
Stiles just started at her. He cared about her too. But they both had hard times showing it, especially with each other. Stiles definitely saw her like an annoying sister that wouldn't leave him alone, and he appreciated it at times.
"You'll be okay. I don't know the conversation you and Scott had, but if it was promising you that he'd do something, then he's got the right idea. I don't care if I have to turn you into a lion, man. You're not going away that easily." Asher chuckled.
Stiles laughed softly. "What, are you an alpha werelion?"
"Uh, something like that. But not yet." She finally told someone.
"Really? Like Scott?" Stiles asked.
"It's different for werelions. Tell you all about it when you get out of here. Healthy." Asher smiled.
Stiles nodded, a matching smile on his face. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug.
Behind the glass, Scott let out a gasp. "Wow."
Asher stumbled slightly, but hugged him back. "Tell anyone we hugged and I'll murder you, Stilinski."
"Same goes to you, Lewis." Stiles sassed back.
They pulled away. "See you later, man."
Stiles nodded.
Asher walked out, joining Scott and the parents behind the glass. She took note of the look on Scott's face. "Tell anyone I was soft with Stilinski, and I'll murder you, too."
Scott shrugged.
"Come on, Derek's here." Asher pulled him with her.
--------------------
Asher sat next to Scott and across from Derek in the waiting room. She had her right leg pulled up to her chest while her other leg dangled down.
"You know the stuff you were telling me about chemo-signals earlier?" Scott asked. "It reminded me of the time you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift."
"I think you ended up teaching me more about that." Derek smiled at him.
Scott smiled back before meeting his eyes. "Are you teaching me again?"
"Think of it more like, sharing a few trade secrets." Derek said, getting a nod. "You know, I took Cora back to South America, right? It's where she spent most of her time after the fire. But that's not the only reason I left."
Asher looked at him finally, curious.
"I needed to talk to my mother." Derek said.
"Your dead mother?"
Scott and Asher asked at the same time.
"She told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things." Derek explained. "She said my family didn't just live in Beacon Hills. They protected it." Scott nodded. "This town needs someone to protect it. Someone like you." He looked at Scott.
Scott paused. "And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets."
"And someone like me to make sure you don't get yourself killed." Asher nudged Scott.
Scott smiled at her, but it slowly fell. His face changed to realization and he shot up to his feet. "He was trying to protect us. Stiles was protecting us."
Derek's eyes widened when he understood. "From himself."
Asher nodded. "Roof?"
"Roof." Scott nodded, running off.
"Well, wait!" Asher darted after him.
--------------------
"Uh, what are we looking for?" Asher asked as they rolled out onto the roof.
"I'm not sure." Scott answered.
Asher stopped and just looked at him for a minute.
"But I think Stiles wasn't just up here struggling with himself." Scott continued. "I think he was struggling not to do something."
Asher sighed and followed the guys further out onto the roof. She saw Scott hop onto something, making her walk closer. Scott reached his hand on top of another part of the roof, pulling something down.
A bag filled with tools clattered onto the ground.
"Wire cutters..." Asher mumbled. "Oh, yeah, he did something bad."
Scott nods, his eyes landing on something up there. Asher and Derek follow his eyes, seeing a cut wire.
"Fucking knew it." Asher said as it started to spark.
Suddenly Asher's hands flew up to her ears, a loud high pitched scream ringing out.
"Asher, are you okay?" Scott asked.
Asher looked at him. "You don't hear her?"
"Who?" Derek questioned.
Asher winced. "It's Lydia! She's screaming."
"What? Is she hurt?" Scott panicked.
Asher removed her hands from her ears as Lydia's scream died down. "No, no, I don't think so. She's been overwhelmed, probably had to get it out."
"Why couldn't we hear it?" Derek furrowed his brows.
"I- I don't know." Asher's eyes landed on the wire. Her eyes widened as it started to spark even more. "Maybe something's about to go down."
They jumped back as the wire let out a few big and loud sparks. It suddenly unattached from the roof and the open wire started swinging around. It snapped around, getting closer and closer to the edge of the roof.
"Kira's down there." Asher gasped.
She turned on her heel and darted for the stairs.
authors note:
i dont actually know when scott and deaton met, so i made it up lmao
lots of drama and feelings in this chapter, i love it hahhah
thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed!
please vote and don't forget to comment! i love reading and responding to them so much!!