I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, trying to find anything wrong with my appearance. I was ready for the rave, dressed for style and for movement. I figured I'd be able to blend in more if I actually looked like I was there to enjoy myself, not to prevent the death of yet another human from the supernatural beast called the Kanima, also known as Jackson Whittemore.
My phone gave a little ring, no doubt Stiles texting me he was here. I grabbed my phone, confirming it was actually Stiles, and headed downstairs, avoiding all Argents on my way. I found Stiles' jeep a few streets over and got it, noting how quiet Stiles was.
"You okay?" I asked him as he started driving, heading to Scott's house where we'd pick him up and then go to the rave.
Stiles sighed, tightening his grip on the wheel. "My dad got fired."
I blinked, startled. "What? Why?"
Stiles rubbed his face with one hand, guilt radiating off of him in waves. "It was decided that the son of a police chief stealing police property and having a restraining order filed against him by one of the town's most respected attorneys did not reflect well on the county."
"That sucks," I said quietly, "but don't blame yourself for it."
Stiles scoffed, looking at the road. "I did it though."
"You did it to keep people safe. Your dad might not understand that, but I do. You do. Just remember that."
Stiles glanced at me, thinking, before shrugging. "Yeah, maybe."
I knew he still felt guilty, but I also knew I couldn't do anything else about it so I let the subject drop, staying quiet as we picked Scott up and drove to the rave. The ride was silent, and when we got out Stiles went straight to the boot, opening it up to reveal bags full of mountain ash, a substance that supposedly trapped supernatural creatures within its confinements.
"Stiles, you okay?" Scott asked when we opened the boot.
Stiles cast him a wary glance. "Yeah, why?"
"You didn't say anything the whole way here."
Stiles looked at me, a silent plea not to tell Scott anything. He knew Noah much better than I did, so the news was only bound to upset him and distract him from the task at hand. I gave Stiles a shallow nod, agreeing not to tell Scott as we surveyed the bags of mountain ash.
"No, I'm fine. Let's grab the bags," Stiles said, heaving one of the bags out of the boot.
Scott and I shared a look.
"We can't, remember?" I said gently. "Deaton said you had to do it alone."
Stiles dropped the next bag onto the floor. "Okay this plan is really starting to suck."
Scott's gaze snagged on something in the distance and he frowned, as if concentrating on something before cursing. "No, not here. Not now."
Before Stiles and I got the chance to ask him what was wrong he sprinted off, running much faster than the average human.
"Wait, Scott! What am I supposed to do-"
Scott turned a corner, disappearing from view and leaving Stiles and I alone, the boy letting out a frustrated sigh as he stared at the bags at his feet.
"I'd better go find him..." I said reluctantly, not wanting to leave Stiles alone when he was obviously struggling with the news of his dad.
Stiles nodded, focusing on the bags in front of him as he said, "yeah, yeah, go on." I started walking away when I heard him mutter under his breath, "plan officially sucks."
I couldn't help but agree.
I followed Scott, my pace slower as I arrived at the entrance of the building, a sliding door guarded by a man in all black, his arms crossed. I flashed him my ticket and he opened the door, letting my through.
As soon as I entered I was assaulted with the sound of music blaring from speakers. I blinked, covering my eyes as I got used to the blinding lights flashing everywhere. Everywhere I looked there were bodies, people dancing, talking, making out. Some had glowing items that you could buy from a stand set up against the wall. Some had nothing but themselves, throwing their bodies left and right to the beat, bumping and shoving into anyone and everyone.
I looked through the crowd, spotting Scott in a heated argument with Allison.
Allison? What was she doing here. I didn't know she was a part of the plan. Except, from the way Scott was yelling at her, maybe he didn't either. And if she wasn't here with us then she was here with...
Them.
The hunters.
I couldn't see anyone other than Allison there, but they were somewhere, hiding, waiting, biding their time. They could ruin our plan completely.
I looked away from the fighting couple, trying to find anyone else of interest when my gaze snagged on Isaac. He was leaning against a pole, observing the crowd with his arms crossed. I wove my way through the crowd, arriving in front of him breathless and smiling.
"Hey," I greeted.
Isaac's lips twitched into a smile. "Hey."
I opened my mouth to say something else when someone pushed me. I felt myself lurching forward, saw the ground rising up to meet my face, when a pair of sturdy arms wrapped around my waist, lifting me upright.
I smiled sheepishly at Isaac, who was now a lot closer thanks to my fall. He grinned back, moving a hand to brush a stray hair from my face.
"Falling for me?" he asked teasingly.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes, but couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face.
It felt like we were at the party as us then. Just us, I mean. There was no witch or werewolf business. It was just us, hanging out like normal teenagers on a date, enjoying each other's company. There was no violent supernatural creature on the loose. No war.
That was until Scott found us, interrupting whatever precious peace we had going on to inform us that the Argents were here, like I suspected, and that we needed to be on guard, ready to fight, and get this over with quickly.
Scott pulled out a syringe gun full of ketamine, which was supposed to be used on the Kanima to get him unconscious. He passed it to Isaac, the werewolf holding it carefully as he looked at Scott, confusion written across his face.
"Why me?" he asked.
Scott glanced around to make sure no one was looking at them. "Because I need to make sure that the Argents don't completely ruin the plan and Y/n needs to cast a protection spell on you to make sure you don't get hurt."
Scott gestured to the syringe. "Look, you need to do it intravenously, which means in the vein. When you find him, you pull back on this plunger right here. " He tapped a piece of the tool. "In the neck is going to be easiest."
Isaac looked at the weapon in his hand. "So you find a vein, you jam it in there, and pull back on the trigger."
Scott nodded. "Be careful."
Isaac laughed humourlessly. "I doubt I'll even slightly hurt him."
"No, I mean you," Scott said, grabbing Isaac's arm to make the boy look at him. "I don't want you getting hurt, and even with Y/n's protection, you still need to be careful."
I raised my eyebrows at the surprisingly emotional scene. I'd be a bit worried about them if I didn't know that Scott was madly in love with Allison. I watched as they stared into each other's eyes, understanding passing through the both of them before I coughed awkwardly, grabbing their attention.
The two boys looked away from each other and I grinned, knowing in another life they'd be great together.
Isaac cleared his throat. "Well, come on my lovely witch. Let's not keep Jackson waiting."
I nodded, secretly pleased by the words 'my witch'. Not that I'd let him know that of course.
We walked through the crowds of people until we got eyes on Jackson. He was slowly making his way across the dancefloor, eyes fixed on something at the back of the room. I stood back while Isaac and Erica moved forwards, the girl brushing her hand over Jackson's neck, catching his attention.
I focused on performing the spell, muttering a few words under my breath here and there to make sure it would stay as I watched the three of them dance, mouths on skin, hands on bodies. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy as I watched Isaac's hands roam Erica's body, pushing up her shirt just enough to drag his fingers along her bare skin.
It was getting too hard to concentrate in the spell when I could see them all over each other, so I moved closer, behind Jackson who was preoccupied with my friends, feeling the magic get easier as I got closer.
I kept muttering the spell over and over, needing the chant to keep the spell going, since I was obviously failing at ignoring the jealousy as I watched the three of them, Isaac's hands on them, his mouth on their skin, their hands on him.
It was fast, the way Jackson lashed out. His claws were unsheathed as he made a sudden movement, slicing skin with them. It was so fast I wouldn't have known it happened, except for the long claw marks now torn into my flesh, blood slowly escaping the wounds.
I'd been protecting Isaac and Erica with the spell, just like I was supposed to, but I hadn't thought about myself. Jackson had seen that, sensed the shield over the two of them and the lack of one over me, and had used that weakness to his advantage.
I gasped, hands going to the wound. They started shaking, and I knew the paralysis would take over if I didn't do something quick. I closed my eyes, murmuring feverishly under my breath, and after what felt like hours but were only mere moments, the paralysis stopped.
I'd extracted it from my bloodstream, but at a great cost. I'd depleted a lot of energy, and I wasn't sure how much magic I had to fix the gaping wound in my side, if any. All this happened so quickly, Isaac and Erica weren't even aware of what had happened until they scented the blood, until Jackson started pushing past them.
Isaac's eyes darted to me, widening when they behold the bloody mess my side had become. Instantly Isaac was upon me, moving behind me to let me lean on him as the pain came in at full force. He held the good side of my waist and chucked Erica the syringe, the girl following after Jackson as Isaac stayed with me.
I gritted my teeth, but a whimper still slid past, my side burning as if being held over flames. It was like being stabbed over and over and over again, my flesh being continuously shredded, claws digging into my skin and pulling.
I was faintly aware of Erica managing to stab Jackson with the syringe, of her dragging his body away. I was too busy trying to breathe through the pain. It had dulled slightly, but the bleeding was still heavy, and I knew it needed to be stopped lest I die of blood loss.
"Come on," Isaac whispered into my ear. "Let me take you out of this chaos."
He was soft, his hands cradling my body with gentleness as he urged me forward. I stumbled but Isaac made sure I didn't fall.
"I can walk," I managed to bite out, but Isaac ignored me, carefully picking me up.
Even with being careful I still let out a hiss of pain at the movement, and Isaac murmured apologies as he moved through the crowd, avoiding some very energetic dancers as he got me to a quieter, calmer place in the building. It was a plain, empty room, except for a chair in the middle where Jackson was being held unconscious. Erica stood behind him, just finishing with tightening the ropes, and stared at me with a hint of concern in her gaze. Isaac set me down on the floor oh so carefully, his hands going to my wound where I let out a yelp when he made contact with it.
"I'm sorry darling," he whispered, "but I need to apply pressure to the wound." I whimpered, the pain intensifying under his touch, and Isaac barked at Erica. "Get me a med kit, will you?"
Erica nodded and left, and I struggled upright, breathing heavily.
"I'm fine," I insisted. "I just need to gather enough energy to heal myself."
Isaac scowled. "You are clearly not fine, and it'll take a while before your energy comes back. Until then, we heal you the normal way."
I shook my head, attempting to push Isaac's hand away from my wound. He shot me a glare, and at my persistence bared his teeth, warning me to back off.
"Y/n I'm serious," he hissed. "You're hurt and you need help."
I let out a huff laced with pain. "I'm okay. I need to help others, and I can't do that when you're fussing over me."
Isaac laughed mockingly. "I'm fussing over you because you're currently bleeding out, Y/n. You need to sit tight until we get some bandages to stop the bleeding, and even then you can't use your body like normal because you'll just stop the healing process."
"But I need to help-"
"You need to stop," Isaac said, cutting me off. "I'm not going to let you throw your life away for this. You're hurt. Just let me help you."
I stared at Isaac's pleading face, at the boy who so obviously cared for me, and sighed in defeat, slumping a little.
"Fine," I muttered, "but only until I can perform a healing spell."
Isaac sighed in relief, just as Erica came back with a first aid kit, handing it over to Isaac silently before leaving, telling us she was going to find Stiles.
Isaac started lifting up my shirt and even while in pain I managed to feel flustered, trying to ignore the intimacy of the act. He started winding a bandage around my waist, fingers brushing my good side more than needed.
His eyes flicked up to me, noticing my nervous state, and leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "you're beautiful, you know that?"
I swallowed, staying silent as Isaac finished bandaging me up. He also gave me some painkillers and I took them eagerly.
"The bleeding has died down," he murmured to me.
I nodded and started struggling to get up. Isaac glared at me, putting a firm hand on my shoulder to keep me down.
"I'm not going to stay sitting down when he could wake up at any moment," I told him, gesturing to a still unconscious Jackson.
Isaac noted my determination and sighed, helping my stand upright before ordering me to lean against him. A compromise, he called it.
Erica came back, Stiles in tow, and he took one look at me before panicking, rushing over as he glared at Isaac.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
Isaac glared right back at him. "She got hurt."
"I'm fine," I said to Stiles. "I just need to gather some energy before healing myself."
Stiles glanced warily at Isaac before nodding, turning to face Jackson, his head lolling back as he sat in the chair.
"Is he okay?" he asked.
Erica moved forwards. "Let's find out."
She unsheathed her claws, walking towards him slowly. She didn't even manage to touch him before his hand shot out, grabbing her arm in an iron grip as he started to twist. His eyes stayed closed.
Erica gasped before wrenching her arm away, clutching it to her chest as she rubbed it, breathing heavily from the pain.
"Okay, no one does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles warned, pointing fingers at everyone.
Isaac's arm went around the good side of my waist, getting a better hold of me.
"I thought the ketamine was supposed to knock him out," he said.
Stiles sighed, gesturing to the unconscious, or rather half conscious, Jackson. "Yeah well apparently this is all we're going to get, so let's just hope that whoever's controlling him decided to show up tonight."
I stared at Jackson warily, keeping an eye on him. My breath hitched when I watched his eyes open, his gaze landing on me.
"Uh, guys..."
I trailed off, the others turning to look at Jackson. Stiles cursed, all four of us keeping a safe distance away from him. Isaac held me tighter, positioning me away from Jackson.
"I'm here," Jackson rasped, his voice distorted. "I'm right here."
Stiles hesitantly crept forwards. "Jackson, is that you?"
"Us," was the warped reply. "We're all here."
Stiles glanced at us nervously, before back at Jackson. "Are you the one killing people?"
Jackson's eyes were glazed, unseeing, as his mouth moved, seeming not of his own accord. "We are the one's killing murderers."
"So then all the people you've killed so far-"
Jackson cut Stiles off. "Deserved it."
"Well, we've got a little rulebook that says you can only go after murderers," Stiles explained, bending down to be face to face with Jackson.
"Anything can break if enough pressure is applied," he snarled.
Stiles glanced back at us. "So the people you're killing are all murderers?"
Jackson's mouth contorted into a sneer. "All. Each. Every one."
"Well, who did they murder?"
Jackson's eyes slid to Stiles. "Me."
Stiles looked back at us, seeing if any of us understood what he was saying. "What do you mean?"
"They murdered me," Jackson repeated, his eyes flashing as they turned into the Kanima's eyes.
Isaac cursed, taking me a step back, arms going around me protectively as he shielded me from view. I tried to move forward but Isaac shot me a glare, using his werewolf strength to keep me back.
The Kanima's hand started drifting upwards, sharp elongated clear claws decorating each fingertip, one slice of them enough to paralyse an adult werewolf. There was a crimson tinge to the right-hand claws, remnants of my blood no doubt. I tried not to flinch.
We all shuffled back in unison, staying quiet and holding our breath as the Kanima flexed his hand, his claws glinting in the harsh fluorescent lights above us.
"More ketamine," Stiles demanded. "The man needs more ketamine, come on!"
Isaac fished something out of his pocket with his free hand, and I craned my head to get a better look.
"We don't have anymore," he said, holding an empty vial.
My stomach dropped, and my eyes darted back to the Kanima; already his hand had started changing colour to a dark green, scales replacing human flesh. Stiles and Isaac started to bicker, but their voices were distant to my eyes as I zoned in on the transforming Kanima. His scales started spreading, the whole of his arm covered in them. It crawled up his neck, the side of his face, turning human into beast.
"Guys?" my voice came out even, thankfully. "Jackson."
They turned to look at Jackson, who had recovered movement in all of his limbs and stood standing, his chair toppled sideways on the floor beneath him. Isaac's grip tightened even more, and I felt his claws emerging, digging into my skin enough to make me uncomfortable.
Noticing our attention, Jackson's eyes flashed and turned a sickening yellow, giving himself fully over to the monster inside. It snarled, bearing it's razor sharp teeth at us and we were quick to flee the scene, Stiles ushering everyone out of the room.
Isaac, noticing the need for haste and my lack thereof, looped his arm tightly around my waist and pulled me up, eliciting a startled gasp out of me. I clung onto him, ignoring the throbbing pain in my side, as we all rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind us. Erica put her body in front of it, using her supernatural strength to block the exit from the Kanima.
Isaac gently put me down, pressing me against the wall with his back to me, hiding me from view. Stiles was looking all over the place, muttering about finding something to block the door, when there was a crash.
I flinched, Isaac leaning into me, and caught a glimpse of green scales before Isaac moved forward, letting me see the whole picture. There was a gaping hole in the side of the room, the Kanima having forgone the door in favour of running through the brick wall.
Lovely.
Stiles bolted, running for the Kanima or for Scott beyond me. Erica quickly followed and I sighed reluctantly, gaze going to my bandaged side. This would be one hell of a sprint. Before I could take a step however, Isaac was there, one hand on my back and other under my legs, sweeping me up bridal style.
I hissed through my teeth at the pain from the sudden movement, glaring at Isaac.
"Put me down."
Isaac laughed dryly, already jogging after the others. I muffled any sounds of pain that tried to escape, refusing to show pain. Isaac could see it anyway, probably smell it too, and ignored my relentless demands to be put down, carrying me like I weighed nothing more than a feather.
He only put me down when we arrived at the edge of the building, standing behind a line of dark coloured dust. I knew better than that though, identifying the substance as Mountain Ash, the thing supposed to keep all supernatural creatures inside its confinements, the Kanima included.
Back when it had been contained in a small vial at Deaton's work, I'd felt nothing, sceptical about this so called 'magic powder'. With my feet mere inches away from the line of glittering back dust, on the receiving end of it, it didn't seem so fake to me.
I knew, even before trying, that I would not be able to pass. Something in the ash called to me, possibly a fraction of magic hidden inside the powdery substance. Like calls to like, and all that. I could sense it though, the invisible barrier before me, circling the building, trapping me inside like an animal.
I hated the feeling.
"Oh my god!" Stiles exclaimed from the other side of the mountain ash. "It's working! Oh this is so cool. I did something."
My gaze narrowed in on Stiles. Something unfamiliar rushed to my head as I stared at the boy. My captor. The reason I was trapped inside here. It started spreading, my wound once laced with pain unfeeling, all my strength, all my energy, rushing towards the surface.
"Scott."
My gaze flittered towards the alpha that had spoken, but he was of no use to me. He could not break this cage around me.
"What?"
"Break it," Derek ordered Stiles.
I gritted my teeth at the alpha, distracting me from my goal.
My gaze went to Stiles again, anger bubbling up under the surface. How dare he call himself a friend one minute and trap me here the next? It was as if a thick fog had descended upon me, my only goal being to escape this cage.
"Break it Stiles." Stiles looked bewildered, as if unable to understand the situation at hand. I eyed Derek with new interest. Maybe he was of use after all. "What? No way."
Derek yelled something, something about Scott, but the fog was getting heavier. I needed to get out. I snarled, my energy nearly up to its limits, and spun around, eyes searching for any way out. Instead they landed on a boy. My boy.
Isaac.
I was dimly aware of who he was, distantly heard his voice talking to me, but all I could see were his eyes. His eyes that I once described as foggy, covered by a dark filter, were clear, a vibrant startling blue in their stead.
It stilled me, calmed me down for a moment in time, enough for Stiles to destroy the barrier and for the fog around me to lift. I turned around and blinked, disoriented, as everything started falling back into place. I felt hands on my arms and found Isaac staring at me, his blue eyes once again covered in mist, hidden from all.
I remembered my feelings, what I had thought towards Stiles, towards Derek, and shivered. It had been me but not me. My thoughts but not mine. I wasn't scared of it, whatever had emerged inside me. Whatever part of me had emerged, because with it I'd felt powerful, more than what I felt with the power in my veins now.
"Y/n, are you okay?"
Derek stood in front of me, his eyes scrutinising me. No one else had noticed my outburst I didn't think, had noticed what had gone on inside my head, but from the way Derek was looking at me I knew he had.
I managed a nod and he hesitated for a moment before leaving, running off into the warehouse.
Isaac held me tighter and we all waited in silence for Derek to return, wondering if Scott was okay, if Derek had arrived in time. I still felt strange after before, but as more time went on I was grounded more and more. Enough to realise the pain in my side and let out a hiss, Isaac's attention darting to me.
"You alright?" Isaac asked.
I looked at my side, where the bandages had turned scarlet. Gathering all that energy must have reopened the wound, or at least damaged it more. "It'll be fine once I have my spell book."
Isaac's mothering was cut off when Derek returned, carrying an unconscious Scott in his arms. Stiles jerked, moving forwards, but Derek didn't slow his stride until he was face to face with me.
"What was that?" he demanded. "Earlier. You looked like you were about to kill someone."
I swallowed thickly. "I don't know.
He narrowed his eyes. "But you admit it happened?"
I nodded and Derek stared at me, scanning me, figuring out what was wrong with me. I found enough of my voice to ask, "do you know what happened?"
"You were trapped. You went into survival mode. Witches are cold blooded killers at their core. They're at the top of the food chain and they know it. You were scared, so you went to your roots. You let your instinct take over."
I knew he was right. Knew as soon as he explained it to me it was what happened. That I had gone back to my roots, my instincts.
"I'm getting him help for him," Derek said, gesturing to Scott in his hands. "Control that instinct. Don't let it control you."
Derek was entering his car, Erica hurrying to the front seat, before I could say anything else. Stiles tried to object but Derek was already driving off by the time Stiles finished his sentence. It was just the three of us, staring at where Derek had drove off, worry in each one of us. And pain, on my account at least.
"I need to get home," I said, breaking the silence.
Stiles nodded. "I'll take you home."
Isaac was already leading me towards the blue jeep. "I'll come with you."
Stiles glared at Isaac, and I worried he might refuse to drive with Isaac in the car, but he relented, getting into the front seat without another word. I went in the passenger seat, forcing Isaac to go in the back, which he did after a lot of muttering.
The car ride was silent, though only partially because of the awkward air. Everyone was so wrapped up in their own thoughts they didn't bother for small talk, which was relieving, because I wasn't sure Stiles and Isaac new how to talk civilly with one another. I knew they both wanted to ask me what Derek had talked about, but I knew they wouldn't unless I said it was okay, so I stayed silent.
When we got to my house, Isaac leaning forward. "I'll meet you in your room."
He exited the car and disappeared, and I turned to Stiles. "Thanks for the ride."
"No problem," Stiles said, before waving a finger at me, "and hey, no funny business with him."
I scoffed, batting his finger aside before exiting the car, walking up to my house as quietly as I could. I unlocked the door and eased it open, careful to smother any noise as I snuck upstairs. The last thing I needed was for Chris and Victoria to find me with a gaping wound in my side.
When I entered my room Isaac was already there waiting, leaning against the wall. He snapped to attention when I closed my door, hovering over me like a worried mother hen. I ignored him and his antics, grabbing my book and sitting on the floor, though I was warmed by his concern.
Isaac sat across from me, observing silently as I flicked through the pages. When I found a healing spell that would help with my specific injury I closed my eyes and began chanting. I'd become better at magic, so much so that I didn't need to chant for every spell I did, but healing spells were particularly difficult and required a lot of energy, which meant chanting was my best option to getting the spell right.
I knew I'd done the spell well when I felt all my energy sapped from my body. I felt like nothing more than a bag of bones, my blood turning sluggish as I slowly unwrapped the bandage around my waist. As I expected, my wound was gone, raw flesh the only proof of it in the first place.
Without another thought I staggered upright, Isaac hurrying after me, and crawled into bed, my eyes already drooping. Isaac stooped over and pressed a kiss against my forehead, murmuring goodbye, when I grabbed his hand, my grip weak.
"Stay with me?"
Isaac hesitated a moment, staring at me, before smiledsoftly and nodding, moving me over slightly so he hand enough room to lie onthe bed as well. With Isaac by my side, his scent filling my mind, I let myselffall asleep, my consciousness drifting away.