When Gabriela and Stiles reached the lacrosse field after Oliver took off without explanation, their eyes widened in horror upon seeing the scene before them. Lydia lying unconscious on the grass with her dress covered in blood. Oliver spotted her head in his lap with teary cheeks as he pleaded with Peter to allow him to call someone for help. Even with a far distance between them, Gabriela could see the outlines of teeth beneath Oliver's ripped suit.
"Ollie!" she screeched as she ran toward him with Stiles hot on her trail. Her feet ached as the heels sunk through the muddy ground and so she kicked them off, leaving them behind as she approached her brother.
Oliver snapped his head up at the sound of his name. "Gabbi!" he called back, desperation evident in his voice. "She's hurt I- I don't know what to do." he cried, carefully brushing Lydia's hair out of her face.
Peter growled as the teens approached, his blood-stained lips making Oliver's stomach churn. He shuffled backward, pulling Lydia with him to keep her out of any further danger. The adrenaline coursing through his veins had long before removed any ounce of pain he might've felt in his shoulder.
"Tell me how to find Derek, and I won't finish them off." Peter threatened as Gabriela stopped in her tracks, Stiles' hand on her arm keeping her from doing anything stupid in the heat of the moment.
Frustrated, the Pérez girl pulled at her roots. "What? How do you expect us to know that?" her eyes flickered between the alpha werewolf and her wounded brother. "Please just let me call someone, they need to go to the hospital." she tried but just like Oliver's pleas it was in vain.
Peter nodded. "I'll let you call Sofía... After you tell me how to find Derek." he negotiated as he looked to Stiles. "Tell me the truth... or I will rip them apart. Easy as that."
Stiles swallowed nervously, meeting the frightful eyes of his best friend. His heart raced beneath his ribcage and his hands shook at his sides. "Look-look, I don't know, okay? I sw-swear to God, I have no idea." he stuttered out, forcing back tears.
The Hale man grew impatient and his eyes flashed a vibrant red as he took a threatening step closer to them. "TELL ME!"
Gabriela sucked in a breath before exhaling shakily. "I think he knew!" she shouted, recalling how frantic Scott had been a few days ago as he searched for his phone. "I think Derek knew he was going to get taken by the Argents. He must've stolen Scott's phone so we could find him."
Confused, Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would taking Scott's phone help?"
"Because there's a built-in GPS in every device." Oliver piped up, his voice slightly cracked. "If he still has it, you can track it."
He clasped his hands together and forced a cheerful smile. "Wonderful." Peter turned to face Gabriela and Stiles. "You're both coming with me."
Instantly Oliver disagreed. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you take my sister with you," he remarked harshly, glaring at the Hale man.
Peter tutted. "Good thing I wasn't asking then." he mocked as he approached Gabriela. Carefully he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and she suppressed the urge to slap his hand away as she glowered. "You look so much like your sister did when she was your age, did you know that? Same snarky behavior, the same eyes, and the same reckless nature."
Gabriela snarled. "Go to hell."
He tilted his head with a taunting smile plastered onto his face. "Point proven." he glanced at Stiles. "We should get going unless you want me to change my mind and kill them both."
"Call, Sof, Ollie," Gabriela told him over her shoulder as she followed after Stiles and Peter. "She'll know what to do."
Helplessly, Oliver nodded as he watched them disappear from his line of sight.
🐺
"Oh, Ollie," Sofía said as she saw the tear marks on her brother's cheeks. She crouched down by his side, making sure to not accidentally grace his wound as he pulled him into her side. "What happened?"
She'd rushed to the school after receiving a frantic call from her brother. He'd been so despaired that he wasn't properly able to communicate what had happened over the phone. Her heart broke for him once she spotted the bite on his shoulder. He didn't want any of this. She knew how much he liked being human. And now the choice had been taken from him.
Oliver shook his head as he cried silently. "I tried to stop him but he bit her anyway. Peter. He took Gabriela and Stiles with him when he left and I couldn't do anything. They went looking for Derek." he explained through sniffles. "I'm so sorry, Sof."
Sofía pulled away from their embrace and pressed a quick kiss to his temple. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Oliver. You did everything you could. But right now, we need to get Lydia to a hospital." she said and hesitantly he nodded. "Can you help me carry her or does your shoulder hurt?"
"I can't feel it. I think I'm still in shock." Oliver mumbled as he stood, carrying Lydia in his arms as though she weighed nothing.
They began walking toward Sofía's car in the parking lot, a gloomy silence looming over them. Sofía had no idea what to say to make him feel better and Oliver just felt numb. He spared Lydia's unconscious body a look and his heart ached. If only he could've done more.
"Are you going to be okay enough to drive?" Sofía asked as she helped him lay Lydia down in the backseat. Her cruiser was parked a few spots down and she was hesitant to leave him alone. But she couldn't very well leave one of the cars behind.
Oliver simply shrugged as he closed the door. "I think so." he licked his lips and nodded slowly. "I'll drive behind you."
c
The ride to the hospital was a blur. Oliver could barely remember what happened. He could vaguely recall a nurse taking Lydia away from him on a gurney and rolling her away as they hocked an IV into her arm. Melissa had tried to get a look at the bite on his shoulder but he waved her away, telling her he could hardly feel it. She insisted he at least take some painkillers for the pain that would eventually bubble up.
He sat in a chair outside Lydia's room, his elbows propped up on his knees as he rested his face in his hands. Sofía stood by the reception, speaking with Noah briefly to prepare him for the shocked state her brother seemed to be stuck in. Her brows were furrowed in evident worry for his well-being and every now and then she spared him a look to make sure he was alright.
Oliver could hear Noah's hesitant steps approaching him and so he looked up from his hands and offered the much older man a forced smile. He stood from his seat and shoved his hands into his suit pockets, shuffling nervously on his feet.
"Sheriff." he greeted with a barely visible nod.
Noah smiled slightly. "Oliver." they stared at each other, neither of them really knowing what to say. Noah had no idea what had happened and was in desperate need of answers, but he had no idea how to approach the matter. "Look, you gotta tell me what happened, son. Who hurt you both?"
Oliver swallowed nervously and avoided his gaze, keeping his eyes on the floor beneath his feet. "Uh, it was too dark to see and I guess I was too busy trying to save Lydia to really get a look at him. I know it was a man though, Lydia mistook him for Jackson since she was out looking for him. But I met him inside and figured I'd better find Lydia before she got hurt. I was too late though. I couldn't save her."
He cleared his throat once he finished, hating how it seemed to crack as he spoke. He felt pathetic. He was supposed to protect Lydia and he couldn't even do that. It felt as though he'd failed her. He wouldn't blame her if she hated him once she woke up. But he hoped she could forgive him later on.
Noah furrowed his eyebrows as he grasped Oliver's shoulder. "You did everything you could, Oliver. That girl is here because of you. Who knows what would've happened if you weren't there at all? You are not at fault here, Oliver, but I can promise I will find whoever is."
They parted ways, Noah returning back to briefly speak with Sofía once more. He hoped that maybe Oliver had accidentally told her something that he no longer could remember when she helped bring Lydia to the hospital.
The doors to the elevator dinged open and Stiles and Gabriela rushed in followed by Jackson. Instantly she ran over and pulled her brother into a tight hug and he exhaled in relief to see that she was perfectly fine. A little tired maybe from the run there but fine nevertheless.
"How is she?" Stiles asked, looking at Lydia through the glass window separating them.
Oliver sighed as he too looked at her, fists clenching at his sides at the mere thought of why she was there. "Uh, they don't really know, partially because they have no idea what happened and it's not like I can tell them." he sniffled and ran a hand down his face. "Melissa said she lost a lot of blood but that there's something else too. It's like she's having an allergic reaction. Her body keeps going into shock."
Stiles lowered his head and his eyes closed momentarily as he sighed. "She's rejecting the bite," he mumbled and Jackson frowned, looking between the gloomy teens with pure confusion clear in his expression.
"What? Is that bad?"
Gabriela nodded. "It's very bad. It means she's going to die." his eyes widened and she arched an eyebrow. "You do know that your body can either accept the bite or reject it, right?" he remained confused and so she elaborated. "If it accepts it, it heals and you become a werewolf but if it rejects it, your body goes into shock and you begin bleeding black blood until you die a very painful and slow death."
"Oh." he swallowed nervously and Gabriela rolled her eyes.
"Oh." she mocked him, patting his shoulder condescendingly. "Perhaps you should get all the facts before you decide that you want it. How about this; if Oliver survives he can tell you all about the wonders of possibly murdering your friends and family every full moon. Sound good?"
🐺
"Hey, where are you going?" Jackson jogged after the trio of friends as they strode through the hospital corridors toward the exit. Stiles had talked with his father mere minutes ago and found out something interesting. Kate Argent set the fire that killed Derek's family.
"On a vacation to Spain," Gabriela replied sarcastically before scoffing dramatically. "We're going to find Scott, obviously. How stupid can you be?" she rhetorically questioned as she grimaced. After throwing her shoes away on the field, she was now walking around barefoot. It was not exactly comfortable.
Jackson tried to stop them. "But you don't have a car--"
Oliver piped up. "Actually, we do." he held up the keys to Sofía's car and forced a smile. "Just because you feel guilty all of a sudden doesn't make it okay, all right? Half of this is still your fault. She was looking for you on that field. Remember that."
The Whittemore boy sighed in exasperation. "You think I don't know that?" he snapped as he clenched his jaw. "Look, I'm offering my help. You can either take it or leave it."
Gabriela groaned. "Alright, fine! You can come if you just shut up. Your voice is giving me a headache and right now we're wasting valuable time. Besides, your Porsche is faster than Sofía's car."
Oliver nodded. "Great, now let's go safe our best friend." he clapped his hands together and went to continue walking when all of a sudden Chris Argent stepped in his way. He rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. "You've got to be kidding me."
Christ smiled an obviously fake smile at the four teens as he peered at them, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat. Two hunters stood behind him, most likely there in case they tried to run away.
"Boys..." he said and Gabriela shot him a look. "and girl," he added quickly. "I was wondering if you could tell me where Scott McCall is?"
Gabriela put on a confused facade as she wrapped her arm around Stiles, leaning into his side. He flushed deep red as she put a hand on his chest, keeping her eyes on the Argent man in front of them.
"Scott? Oh, I'm so sorry. We haven't seen him since the dance. Right, Stiles?"
The Stilinski boy nodded. "Uh, yeah. Gabbi and I just barely saw him as he was dancing with Danny, I think. And Oliver's been at the hospital for a while now so I don't think he's seen him either. Jackson, what about you?"
Jackson stood gaping like a fish out of water as sweat trickled down his forehead, staring with wide eyes at Christ. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, spluttering for a reply as he blinked rapidly.
Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, for the love of God." he slapped the boy's shoulder. "Really? Now your mind comes up blank?"
Chris chuckled but it was obvious he didn't find the situation funny at all. His friendly smile disappeared, replaced now with a look of pure seriousness. His jaw clenched, blue eyes boring into their souls.
"Let's try this again... Where is Scott McCall?"
🐺
Chris shoved Oliver through the door to an empty examination room as the other two hunters pushed Stiles and Jackson behind them. Gabriela rolled her eyes as she trailed after them, slapping one of the hunter's hands away when he tried to drag her.
"I can walk for myself, thank you. I'm a grown-ass woman." she snarled, and 'accidentally' hit his shoulder with hers as she walked past him.
"That's a nasty bite you've got there," Chris remarked as he pushed some material of Oliver's ripped suit off his shoulder to get a better look at it.
Oliver smiled sarcastically, gritting his teeth through the pain of Chris' fingers against his aching skin. "Gee, I didn't quite notice the throbbing blood wound that makes it impossible for me to raise my arm. Thank you for pointing it out for me."
Chris raised his eyebrows as he let go of the boy, allowing him to walk to his sister's side. "You do know what it means, don't you?"
Gabriela rolled her eyes once more and surprisingly they didn't get stuck in the back of her head this time either. "Of course we do. We've gone through this before, just a couple of months before. We're well aware that you're going to be hunting him every full moon too, as long as he survives."
"It's more than just us trying to kill you. Tell me, have you ever seen a rabid dog? Either of you?" Chris asked and Stiles tilted his head.
"No, but I can put it on my to-do list if you let us go." he couldn't refrain from using sarcasm any longer.
Chris nodded slowly, eyes flickering over all of them. "Well, I have. And the only thing I've ever been able to compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?" he inquired, making Stiles shake his head.
"I'm going to have to respectfully decline. No offense to your storytelling skills."
The Argent continued anyway, ignoring the Stilinski boy's words. "He tried to kill me, and I was forced to put a bullet in his head. The whole while that he lay there dying, he was still trying to claw his way toward me, still trying to kill me, like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath. Can you imagine that?"
Oliver shot him a look. "Obviously not. We don't exactly carry assault rifles with us everywhere we go."
Chris looked at him. "Did Scott try to kill you on the full moon? Did you have to lock him up?" his voice raised to the point where he was practically shouting as he slammed his fist against the examination table.
Startled, Jackson struggled against the hunter who held him in place as Gabriela yelped in surprise. She clung tighter to her brother's arm as Stiles replied in their place.
"Yeah, I did. I had to handcuff him to a radiator," he said before snarling. "Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?" he spoke through gritted teeth and if looks could kill, Chris would've been six feet under.
Chris began to chuckle dryly as he briefly looked to the floor. "I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that."
Oliver grinned, realizing that the man didn't know of his sister's actions. "Oh, right. Derek said you guys had a Code. I guess no one ever breaks it..."
"Never," Chris confirmed, although he sounded a bit hesitant. Maybe he knew more than he let on, or at least suspected it. Perhaps he already knew what they meant but hoped he was wrong. Oliver felt a tad bad for him.
Stiles raised his eyebrows from across the room. "And what if someone does?"
Confused, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Someone like who?" Chris asked them, eyes flickering between each and every one of them.
The tension in the room was palpable, and it would've been possible to cut it with a knife. Gabriela sucked in a deep breath, finding the courage to speak up and finally give the man a response.
"Your sister."
🐺
The engine of Jackson's silver Porsche revved as Stiles sped through the bumpy forest roads leading to the Hale house. The owner of said car ticked his jaw as he grabbed onto the handle above the door, glaring at the Stilinski boy.
"Hey! This isn't exactly an all-terrain vehicle, okay? It's valuable." he pointed out, obviously annoyed by the circumstances.
Gabriela slapped his shoulder from the cramped backseat. "It's not like you paid for it, jackass. It's your daddy's money and you know it, so shut up please because your consistent complaining is giving me a throbbing headache."
"Would you stop calling me that?" Jackson whined as he leaned back in his seat, resembling a pouting toddler more than anything else.
The Pérez girl groaned. "No."
They reached the Hale house and the scene before them was terrifying. Peter stood in his alpha form, completely transformed appearing as a mutated wolf. Oliver groaned loudly at the absurdity of it all as Stiles honked the horn to catch his attention, hopefully keeping him from murdering Scott.
Gabriela jumped out of the car, holding an Erlenmeyer flask filled with Molotov mixture in her hand. "Hey, wolfie!" she shouted, gaining his attention. "Catch!" A smirk blossomed on her face as she threw it as hard as she could toward him.
Her cocky demeanor deflated, however, when he did just as she said and caught it in his hand. With wide eyes she stepped back, ignoring the look she received from her brother.
"I didn't mean literally," she remarked snarkily and crossed her arms across her chest.
Scott spotted Allison's bow on the ground and threw himself toward it. "Allison!" he called out and flung it her way.
She caught it in her hand and nocked an arrow, aiming at the flask in Peter's hand. It soared through the air and they all watched stiffly as it hit the flask just as Peter tried to throw it at her instead.
His arm caught ablaze and soon enough the rest of his body followed along. The forest glade lit up in a flaming orange, illuminating everything around them. Desperately Peter tried to extinguish the flame as he waved his arms around manically. Allison watched with her eyes wide, the bow hanging limply in her hands.
Oliver snatched the other flask from Jackson's hand and threw it at Peter when the flames looked to be dimming. Once more a wave of flames erupted, this time straight at Peter's chest. Oliver saw it as his own form of revenge for the bite on both himself and Lydia.
"Take that asshat!" he called out with a grin.
Peter began growling and howling in pain, throwing his arms out in pure anguish as he stared up at the starlit sky. Determined he turned to Allison but Scott pounced before he could. He jumped at him, swiping and kicking at his chest until he stumbled back into a small ditch just by the side of the house.
The flames dimmed and left was Peter's naked body, bloodied and burned beyond recognition. His hair was gone completely from his head and he remained lying on the ground while the others took a moment to comprehend what just had occurred.
Allison stood from the ground and approached her ex-boyfriend as Gabriela threw her arms around Stiles. The Stilinski boy flushed dark red as he wrapped an arm around her waist to hug her back.
Scott attempted to hide his werewolf face from Allison as she crouched down by him but she offered him a soft smile and pulled him into a kiss instead. Oliver's heart warmed as the lovesick couple pulled away with huge grins on their faces.
While Allison declared her love for the boy Oliver turned when a car approached. Sofía stepped out of her cruiser and exhaled in relief to see her siblings perfectly fine still. Except for the bite on Oliver's shoulder.
Instantly she was at their side and pulling them into a tight embrace. Gabriela eagerly reciprocated the hug as Oliver grimaced and pretended he wasn't in agonizing pain from his little sister's arm around his shoulders. Stiles grinned from beside them before he yelped in surprise when Sofía pulled him into the hug and pressed a kiss against his temple.
"Thank you for keeping her safe," she murmured in his ear, referring to when he and Gabriela left the school with Peter.
Stiles nodded and smiled. "Of course."
But the moment took a dramatic turn when Derek emerged from the Hale house and approached his uncle's charred body with confident strides. Sofía's eyes widened as she stepped away from the embrace and hurried to his side.
"Derek." she grabbed his arm and pulled him back, her eyebrows knit together. "You know what will happen if you do this. Are you ready for that kind of responsibility?" she spoke hurriedly in a tone so quiet that even Scott couldn't make out what she was saying.
When Derek offered her a nod, eyes pleading with her to let go, Sofía sighed. "Sof, I need to do this. For Scott and Oliver... And Laura. He doesn't deserve to live after everything he's done." he stated, his expression softening when Sofía simply smiled at him and stepped back, allowing him to continue forward.
"Wait!" Scott called out as he left his now girlfriend to join them a bit away from the others. "You said the cure comes from the one who bit you. Derek, if you do this, I'm dead. Her father, her family... What am I supposed to do?" he asked hopelessly and Sofía smiled sadly.
"Oh, Scott. There is no cure..." she informed him in a soft tone. His expression fell as he realized he was stuck as a werewolf forever.
Derek stared at his uncle's body with evident hate in his eyes. Peter's eyes began glowing a vibrant red as he stared at his nephew, knowing what was about to come. A gurgled growl left his lips but there was nothing he could do as Derek ultimately raised his clawed hand and ripped out his throat.
As he stood and turned to gaze at them all, Derek's eyes flashed the very red color his uncle had worn just moments before. His voice was distorted as he spoke and Sofía swallowed nervously, hoping she had been right to let him do as he wished.
"I'm the alpha now."
🐺
Oliver, Stiles, and Scott snuck into Lydia's hospital room upon spotting the door to be open. They crouched down to not be seen from the door as Scott turned to look at Stiles.
"Shut the door!" he whispered and Stiles instantly obliged, shuffling across the door to do as asked.
But as he moved the door, it began creaking excessively and the trio grimaced at the shrill sound. Stiles attempted to close it slower as though it'd help but instead, the sound seemed to amplify. Oliver crawled over to his best friend's side and gave the door a shove, making it slam shut instead. Scott just shrugged, choosing to ignore the loud sound it made.
They crowded around Lydia's bed and Oliver frowned as he spotted her bruised arm. He carefully pulled a strand of her hair behind his ear as he watched her chest rise and fall as she took soft breaths.
He chose not to look as Scott pealed the gauze off the wound on her side, knowing he'd probably not be able to handle the sight. Stiles looked away too as he'd most likely either faint or throw up if he saw it.
"Is it completely healed?" Stiles asked, making Scott frown as he observed her still very much there bite.
"No, not at all," he told them as he stared in confusion.
Oliver scratched the back of his neck with a puzzled expression on his face. "I don't get it. The doctor said she'd be fine," he remarked and Stiles nodded in agreement. It was obvious neither of the three boys had a clue what was going on.
Scott tilted his head. "Yeah, but the bite's not healing as it did with me and Oliver... Which means she's not a werewolf."
At the mention of it, Oliver ran his finger over his shoulder where the bite had been located. The morning after everything with Peter went down at the Hale house, the wound had shortly healed, leaving not a trace of its existence behind.
Stiles frowned. "Well, if she's not a werewolf and she's not dying, then what the hell is she?"
Silence loomed over them and they shared looks of wonder before not so smoothly sneaking out of the room once more.
🐺
Sofía's boots echoed against the ground as she walked down the stairs leading to the abandoned railway Derek had taken over as his lair. Since the Hale house was seized by the government, he took what he could as a temporary place to stay, even though Sofía generously had offered up her couch for grabs.
Derek looked up from whatever he was doing as he heard her approach and stood to greet her, arms folded across his chest as he arched a brow. She smiled slightly, tapping her finger against the gun at her waist.
"I need your help," she said, breaking the momentary silence. "Peter bit Oliver the night of the formal when he tried to save Lydia. I need you to teach him to control it. I would do it myself but I don't have any experience with this sort of thing." Sofía explained and he nodded slowly.
"Is he alright? The bite healed, right?" Sofía offered a nod as a reply. "Alright, I'll help him," Derek said before a smirk formed on his face. "But only because you didn't shoot me even though you said you would."
Sofía rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the smile pulling at her lips. "How do you know I won't still shoot you?" she asked him teasingly as she crossed her arms over her chest. She tilted her head. "I might still do it."
"Nah," Derek replied cockily. "You like me too much."
A laugh bubbled from Sofía throat as she began retreating up the stairs once more. "Whatever you say, Der." before she could completely disappear from his line of sight, she shot him a grin. "By the way, I'd appreciate it if you didn't break Oliver's phone against the wall when you teach him."
He rolled his eyes before shouting back. "No promises!"
A/N
We are finally done with season 1 once and for all and it's only been... a little under two years, haha. I'm sorry about the long waits it sometimes took but I am so happy with myself for pushing through and getting at least the first part of this book done! I struggle with my mental health every now and then which makes it super hard to write.
For the next season I think I might write one chapter per episode instead of two because otherwise, this book will be way too long. It'll probably not take long until the first chapter of season 2 is out, especially since I have a break from school next week.
Thank you all so much for sticking with me all this time, my loves, and I'll see you all soon. Take care everyone! <3
-Jazz