Scott POV
My heart feels like it is in my throat. I can't believe what I am seeing right now! Tears rapidly roll down my cheeks. Suddenly, Stiles' eyes roll into the back of his head and he starts to fall. I rush forward and catch him before he hits the ground. I'm careful to not touch any of his wounds. I cradle Stiles in my arms as I start sobbing. How the hell could this happen to him? I should've followed my gut feeling when I had the chance! Maybe then Stiles wouldn't be in this condition right now. I'm finding it hard to breathe. I feel hands on my shoulders, but I don't care. I can hear people talking to me, but I drown their voices out. All I care about right now is Stiles. I examine the bite marks on his leg, shoulder and arm. His arm is most definitely the worst. I feel like I'm going to be sick just by looking at it. There is a huge chunk of flesh missing. I can see the muscles and tendons of Stiles' arm as the blood pours out. I can even see a tiny bit of white bone, which makes my stomach drop even further. I can't imagine how much pain he is in right now. I quickly try to take some of it away. The veins in my arms turn black. Almost straight away, I'm in agony. I cry out and look towards the ceiling, trying to ignore the crippling pain. As I look down again, I notice Malia, Liam and Isaac kneel down around Stiles and I as they gently touch his chest. Their veins also turn black as they take some of his pain. It lessens the strain for me, but it soon becomes excruciating for the others as well.
"Let go," I tell them after another minute.
"But-" Malia tries to interject as her eyes glow blue.
"No. It's enough. You can let go." I tell her. Malia sighs and lets go of Stiles, as do the others. I continue holding on, but I slowly stop taking Stiles' pain. I feel like I might pass out myself. At least Stiles won't be in as much pain now. Well, I hope so. I look back up around at everyone else. Their faces are only showing horror. "What the hell could do this to him?" I yell to the group. Derek kneels down and examines the wounds.
"Well, we can't know for certain until he wakes up, but for now, I'm going to say a wendigo. It did try to eat him, after all." Derek says. I hold back another sob. A wendigo almost ate my best friend alive. How could this even have happened? Why did this happen? Why couldn't it have been me? "Scott, we need to let him heal." Samantha tells me urgently. I can see panic and horror in her eyes, but she's acting calm, which is great. With everyone freaking out, it's making me feel worse. I need someone who is calm. I need someone to tell me that it's going to be okay.
"Someone get some water." Samantha tells the group. Chris nods and rushes into a smaller room. I look back down and stroke my hand through Stiles' thick brown hair. "It's going to be okay, Stiles. I promise. You're going to be okay." I whisper to the pale boy. It breaks my heart to see him like this. I'm suddenly reminded of the times when he was poisoned by Daniel and stabbed through the chest by Daniel. He had looked so fragile and helpless, just as he does now. I thought I was going to lose him both of those times. However this time, I know I won't lose him. I can't lose him. "I don't understand... Who could be so cruel to want to do this to him?" I whisper, but everyone in the room hears me. "Unfortunately there are a lot of terrible monsters out there, Scott. It's our job to stop them so things like this don't happen." Derek answers.
"Well, we are doing a terrible job at stopping the monsters if we somehow let this happen to Stiles!" I yell back at the older werewolf. I look back down at the merman in my arms. My heart aches seeing him like this. I think back to what he said to me before he passed out. Somehow, Stiles must have fought off the wendigo, but in doing so, he killed it. I have a feeling Stiles is horrified by what he did and will have a hard time forgiving himself. I hope he knows that none of us will blame him for it. In my opinion, he has nothing to forgive himself for. If any of us were in his boat, we all would have done the same thing. Stiles was just trying to survive and thankfully, he did. Besides, a cannibal like that should be killed. Wendigos make me sick. I wish that I was the one attacked by the wendigo, not Stiles. I look up to see Chris walking over to us carrying a bucket of water. "Will his arm heal?" Isaac asks worriedly.
"Yes, I am pretty sure it will." Samantha nods.
"Put him on the sofa. It might be easier." Liam suggests. I stand up and carry Stiles over to the sofa. I gently lie him on it. I kneel down by his side. Chris quickly pours water all over him. Some of it splashes onto me, but I don't care. For a second, I look down at my clothes. I am covered in Stiles' blood. Especially my hands and the front of my shirt. I look back over to Stiles again, hoping and praying that he will heal. "Get some more water." Lydia suggests. This time, Derek, Chris and Liam run off to get more water. Suddenly, Stiles transforms into a merman, his tail hanging off the end of the sofa. Slowly, his wounds start to heal back up. "Come on, Stiles. Heal. Please. I can't lose you." I whisper quietly. The wounds continue to heal, Stiles' arm taking the longest. When the others get back, they throw more water on him. This helps speed the healing process up. I watch with fascination as the wounds slowly close over. Stiles' arm obviously takes the longest, but soon enough, it looks as good as new. The color quickly returns to his face and body. I breathe a huge sigh of relief, as does everyone else in the room. I shuffle closer, listening to the sound of Stiles' steady beating heart. Now all we can do is wait for Stiles to wake up.
Lydia gently starts to dry Stiles off. Kira and Malia quickly get up and help her. Soon, Stiles is dry again, lying in his blood stained clothes. I sigh sadly at the sight. I start pondering about how I was feeling like something was terribly wrong before. It must have been about Stiles being attacked. I frown. How could I feel or know that? Something doesn't add up. I don't even know if I should be worried about that. If I can tell when he's in trouble, that means I can get to him quicker, if this ever happened again, which I hope to god it doesn't. Maybe it's a True Alpha thing. Maybe I can sense when my pack members are in danger. This makes enough sense, but why hasn't this happened before? We have all been in danger before, many times actually. So why would I develop this ability now? I feel so confused.
As I continue to sit in silence thinking about things, I suddenly notice Stiles' eyes start to flutter open. This pulls me back to reality. Stiles groans as he opens his eyes fully and looks over at everyone. "Stiles, are you okay? How are you feeling?" I ask quickly and worriedly.
"What... What happened?" He mumbles as he slowly sits up. No one answers. Suddenly, Stiles' expression changes as he remembers all the events leading up to him passing out. Stiles looks around at us fearfully, his eyes filling with tears. I can hear his heart speeding up. Finally, his eyes land on me. "I'm really sorry... I didn't want to do it... I shouldn't have done it..." Stiles sniffles. I shake my head and quickly sit on the sofa next to my friend.
"Don't apologize, Stiles. You have nothing to apologize for. Any of us would have done the same thing as you. All you did was survive. That thing was nothing more than a cold hearted monster." I assure him. I notice everyone else nodding in agreement. Stiles still looks unsure. "I just can't get it out of my head. It feels like murder..." Stiles admits. My stomach twists at the fact that something could make Stiles feel like a murderer. "Stiles, listen to me. You're not a murderer. You're anything but that. What happened tonight is not your fault and it was not murder. You should not beat yourself up over it. If I was in your position, I would have done the exact same thing as you and I'm sure that everyone else in this room would also do the same. It's no use dwelling on something that can't be changed. Just be glad that you're okay and got out of there alive. I sure as hell am." I tell him seriously. Stiles nods in acknowledgement.
"Thanks, Scott. I needed that." Stiles grin at me gratefully. I smile back.
"No problem." I reply.
"Thanks for healing me by the way." He turns to everyone and smiles.
"All we did was pour water on you. The rest was... magic." Malia laughs. I chuckle at the fact that the only term that Malia could come up with to describe Stiles' healing was 'magic'. "So, maybe you could tell us what happened?" Liam asks gently. Stiles nods.
"Yeah, I guess so. Before we start though, I want to ask Derek and Chris something." Stiles replies. Derek and Chris step forwards with curious expressions. "What is it?" Chris asks.
"Do you know an alpha called Michael?" Stiles questions the two. I frown, having no idea who the hell Stiles is talking about. I glance over to Chris and Derek. Recognition dawns on Chris' face. He doesn't look happy. As for Derek, he looks as confused as the rest of us. "I know him, yes. I tried hunting him down many years ago. He always slipped out of my grasp. He's very dangerous and not to be trusted. He's hungry for power. He's known for tricking people into working for him. How do you know of him?" Chris asks Stiles seriously.
"The hybrid mentioned him briefly." Stiles answers.
"Wait, what? I thought a wendigo attacked you." I frown.
"I thought so too. That is, until it morphed into another person. It turned into you, Scott." Stiles admits as he turns to look at me. I feel my eyes widen in shock.
"W-what?" I ask in disbelief.
"Yeah, I don't think wendigos can completely change what they look like." Stiles adds.
"Why would it change into me?" I ask worriedly.
"Maybe we should let Stiles explain what happened?" Samantha suggests. I nod in agreement.
"Sorry. Go ahead, Stiles." I say.
"Well, I was just leaving the grocery store. I was bringing back snacks for the meeting tonight. I was about to get into my jeep when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I walked over to have a look. Something bit my leg and dragged me into the woods. I soon found out it was a wendigo. Well, I thought it was wendigo anyway. He then pounced on me and bit into my shoulder. I noticed he wasn't tearing me apart. It was like he was playing with me. When he let go, he called me weak. Before he could attack again, I used my powers and flung him high into the air. He smashed down onto the ground again. I was preparing to fight again. However, when he got back up, I saw a completely different person. It completely threw me off. The wendigo had turned into Scott. I know it wasn't really him, but I didn't want to fight him. I was also shocked because I knew that wendigos couldn't turn into another person. That's when it told me it was a hybrid. He then attacked me again, starting to bite my arm. He then turned to me and said that he'll forget Michael's orders because apparently I tasted too good." Stiles explains. Everyone listens with horror and curiosity.
"Did he mention anything else about Michael?" Chris asks urgently. Stiles looks worried, but at the same time, uncertain. "Yes, but I don't know what it means. The hybrid admitted that Michael wanted a perfect hybrid. He seemed to think that I was that hybrid, but decided that Michael could find another. Clearly they know a lot about me if they knew my name and knew what would upset me and make me not want to fight, but I'm not a hybrid! I'm just a merman!" Stiles answers, fear lacing his voice. Everyone goes silent. I don't think any of us know what this could mean. Well, maybe except Derek and Chris. Their expressions turn grave and they walk away to have a private conversation. Stiles places his head in his hands. I try to assure him that everything is okay. I glance over at Samantha, who looks terrified. I slowly get up and walk over to her. I pull my girlfriend into a tight and comforting hug. She gratefully hugs back. "Nobody else is going to get hurt." I tell her.
"Don't make a promise you can't keep, Scott." Samantha sighs. That comment reminds me of something that Stiles told me not that long ago. I let go of Samantha and walk back over to the sofa. I sit down and hang an arm around Stiles. He looks over at me. "Are you okay?" I ask him.
"I guess so. It's not every day that you're almost eaten alive." Stiles smirks. I roll my eyes. I'm glad his sarcasm and humour hasn't changed. "You still owe me." I comment with a grin tugging at my lips. Stiles frowns.
"What?"
"You still owe me a hug." I explain. Stiles rolls his eyes and playfully punches me in the arm.
"You're an idiot sometimes, you know that?" He asks me. I shrug nonchalantly. Despite the name calling, Stiles pulls me in for a hug. He rests his chin on my shoulder while I rest my chin on his. We stay in the hug for a few moments before he pulls away. "There. Happy?" Stiles smirks. I nod in satisfaction.
"Yep." I reply. Stiles chuckles and rolls his eyes.
"Stiles, Derek and I need to talk to you for a minute. Alone." Chris speaks up. Stiles frowns, but agrees to it anyway. I watch as the three walk out of the main room of the loft. I wonder what they possibly needed to talk about in private. Samantha quickly sits by my side on the sofa. I wrap an arm around her waist and lean my head against her shoulder. "Well, that meeting was a fail." I groan.
Stiles POV
"Guys, what could possibly be so bad that you can't talk to me in front of the others about?" I ask in confusion. Derek and Chris exchange a look.
"It's not that bad, but we really feel like you should be the first to know." Derek shrugs.
"Okay, spill." I sigh.
"Well, there are two things we need to talk about. Let's start with the hybrid thing." Chris begins. I nod in understanding. "This pack meeting was supposed to be about hybrids anyway. Over the past few weeks,I've been tracking down many hybrids. Usually, hybrids are quite a rare occurrence, but in the past few weeks alone, I've found five hybrids in Beacon Hills. This does not include the wendigo hybrid you found in the woods today. If what you said is true and this wendigo hybrid was using Scott's body, I'm going to need to take the body away from Beacon Hills after the pack meeting and before the police think that the real Scott has been killed." Chris explains.
"Okay, so what does the increased amount of hybrids mean?" I fold my arms and lean against a wall.
"That alpha you were talking about must be sending those things here. My guess is that he wants to scope the place out before he sets his master plan into action." Chris continues.
"He wants a perfect hybrid..." I realize.
"But I'm not a hybrid!" I protest with wide eyes.
"Not yet, but you could be. Think about it. Michael could try and change you into a werewolf. If it works, then you would both be a werewolf and a merman, thus making you a hybrid." Derek explains. My heart starts hammering against my chest. I'm sure Derek can hear it. I wouldn't even be surprised if Chris could hear it. "So that's what the alpha wants? To make me a hybrid? Why?" I ask in confusion.
"As you mentioned before, he wants the perfect hybrid. Do you even know what that means?" Derek begins. I shake my head in response.
"A perfect hybrid is the combination of two very powerful creatures. A perfect hybrid is said to be unstoppable. It's not hard to believe that adding werewolf abilities to your existing abilities would make you a powerful weapon. Especially if Michael forced you to become an alpha. Michael would definitely use you to his advantage. He might even try to kill you to gain your powers. Once you have been turned into a hybrid, that is." Derek explains.
"Is that even possible?" I ask shakily.
"Yes, I'm afraid so." Chris sighs.
"I wouldn't go evil, would I?" I ask fearfully.
"Not intentionally, no. However, Michael would have a way of manipulating you to do his bidding. Trust me, he's no good guy." Chris replies. I nod slowly, trying to not let my worry get the better of me, but it's hard.
"Don't worry, we won't let Michael get his hands on you." Derek squeezes my shoulder comfortingly. I smile at the sour wolf gratefully, suddenly feeling a lot calmer. I know the pack will protect me from this guy. I don't need to be worried. "It's up to you if you want to tell the others about what Michael wants to do. We have to warn them about the hybrids though. That's what the meeting was originally going to be about anyway." Chris says. I nod in response.
"So, uh, is there anything else you need to talk to me about?" I ask curiously. Derek and Chris exchange knowing looks.
"Yes. This is something that we thought you wouldn't be comfortable sharing with the group." Derek turns back to me.
"Um, okay?" I say and tilt my head questioningly.
"Tell us about what happened out there. Did you do anything to make the hybrid change into Scott?" Derek asks.
"Um..." I look away in embarrassment.
"Stiles, we need to know." Chris says gently.
"Okay. I might have yelled out Scott's name while I was being attacked. I didn't even completely realize that I was doing it. I knew that he was too far away to help me. It's just a habit, I guess." I sigh. I look over to Chris and Derek, who are exchanging another knowing look. "What?" I ask in confusion.
"There's something that you should know. While we were waiting for you to arrive, Scott started to freak out. He wouldn't tell us much, so we didn't know what was wrong with him. I don't think he did either. That was until he realize that you should have been here by that point. We managed to calm him down a little bit, but I don't think his panic went away until you walked through that door. I have a feeling Scott got that terrible feeling when you shouted his name." Chris explains.
"Uh, so what does that mean?" I frown.
"Well, clearly you two have a strong bond together. I think most people can see that." Derek begins. I think back to all the times where we have been there for each other, the times where we protected each other and even the times where we fought. We always made up and kept up a strong friendship. "Okay. So what?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Well, for anyone to sense that someone is in danger, even for a True Alpha like Scott is very rare. That ability is usually left to the banshees." Chris continues.
"Maybe as True Alpha, he'd be able to sense if any of his pack members were in danger." I reply.
"No, that's not the case, Stiles. It's something more than that." Chris sighs.
"The only time that this is possible of happening is when someone truly loves another. This creates a special bond between the two of them. If they are apart from each other and one is in danger, the other will be able to feel that, particularly if the person in danger cries out the other's name in desperation. The love doesn't have to be requited. Considering that you're a merman who creates special bonds with anyone you trust, this gives this reason all the more plausibility. I have a feeling that with Scott, you have got a stronger bond to him than anyone else. He's your anchor, isn't he? And maybe you're his anchor. However, for this connection to work, there has to be true love woven into it. Someone has to confess their feelings as well, even if the other doesn't feel the same way." Chris explains.
"And I get the feeling that Scott isn't the one that confessed anything." Derek stares at me seriously. I feel my heart beating rapidly as my nerves increase. "How... How do you know all of this?" I ask in a quiet voice.
"We've done our research. Besides, our families really know their stuff." Chris answers.
"Stiles, this is really important. Do you love Scott?" Derek asks in a deadly serious voice.
"W-what?" I ask shakily. My heart rate seems to sped up again. I know I can't lie to Derek and Chris. With my heart going through the roof, Derek would be able to tell I'm lying straight away. Even then, I think even Chris would be able to tell that I'm lying. One of us has to be in love with the other and it clearly isn't Scott. "Stiles, it's okay. Just tell us the truth." Chris puts a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I look down at my shoes.
"Y-yes. I-I love Scott." I admit quietly. I look back up to Derek and Chris, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Neither man looks too surprised. They both simply nod. "Okay. That settles that situation then." Derek comments.
"Wait, what does this mean?" I ask.
"You told Scott you loved him, didn't you?" Chris questions me instead of answering my own question.
"Yes, but he wasn't conscious. He was in a coma. I never expected for him to hear it. I confessed because I didn't think I would see him again." I reply. Derek and Chris look at me sympathetically.
"I'm sorry, Stiles. I really wish that things could be easier for you." Derek sighs.
"But what does this connection mean?" I ask desperately.
"Nothing, really. All that will happen is that you both will probably be able to sense when the other is in terrible danger. There's no downside to that." Chris shrugs.
"We just wanted to make sure we knew what was happening." Derek adds.
"Oh... Okay." I mumble.
"I'm sorry to say this, but just because you two have this connection, it does not meant that he's going to love you back." Derek informs me. I glare at him.
"Thanks for that unnecessary comment, sour wolf. I already knew that much myself." I snap. Derek raises his hands in defeat. "Okay, I'm sorry, you hyperactive spaz." He chuckles. I roll my eyes at Derek's comment.
"Whatever. Do you guys have anything else to tell me?" I ask, losing my patience quickly.
"Just... Stay safe, Stiles. Watch your back. Call us if you feel like you're being watched or feel that you're unsafe." Chris says.
"I'm not five anymore." I roll my eyes.
"Yeah and neither is Michael. He means business. I'm sure he'll send more hybrids to Beacon Hills to look for you. Eventually, he'll try to come and meet you too. You don't want that, trust me. He's evil and twisted." Chris warns me seriously.
"Okay, I'll promise I'll be careful. I'll let you know if I think something isn't right." I sigh.
"Good. Now, if you really want to, you can explain the special connection stuff with the rest of the pack, but I doubt you'll want to." Derek smirks.
"You're right about that." I comment.
"What about Michael? Do you want us to explain that? Do you want to explain it? Or do you want to keep it under wraps for now?" Chris asks curiously.
"I don't want people to worry, so just tell them about the increasing amount of hybrids arriving in Beacon Hills." I answer after a moment. Derek and Chris nod in response. I turn around and leave the room. I walk back into the main area where everyone is waiting for us. Kira rushes over to me. "Are you okay? What did Derek and Chris want to talk to you about?" She asks me worriedly as she grabs my arm.
"It's fine, Kira. Don't worry about it." I smile gently at her.
"Stiles is fine. We just needed to talk about a couple of things, that's all." Chris says from behind me. I turn around to see him and Derek walking back into the room. "Is everything okay?" Isaac asks in concern.
"Yes. Well, as okay as things can get in Beacon Hills anyway." Derek sighs.
"So, what did you want to talk to us about in this meeting before this hybrid thing happened?" Liam asks curiously.
"Funnily enough, I was going to talk about hybrids. There has been an alarming rate of hybrids in Beacon Hills. They are very rare supernatural beings, so for me to track down about five hybrids in Beacon Hills alone in the past few weeks is very concerning." Chris begins.
Samantha POV
As Chris explains the hybrid situation to us, I start to zone out. I start thinking about the events that happened only minutes ago. When Stiles staggered into the room covered in blood, I was scared. What the hell could do that to him? I know Stiles well enough to realize that he would be able to fight off some supernatural monster. This made me worry about my own safety. Whatever tried to eat Stiles might want to eat me too. Of course, I still had a little bit of concern towards the merman, but it's hard, considering I don't like him one bit.
Then there's the fact that Scott could somehow sense that something was wrong. Turns out there was. I tried to be calm about this whole situation, as I know that panicking only makes things worse. Scott seemed to appreciate my effort to keep calm, which I'm happy about. However, my mind starts to wander down a different path. Images of Scott hovering over Stiles, crying and holding onto him as if he's going to lose him at any moment pop into my head. I hold back a sad sigh. It doesn't matter what I do, I can't compete with Stiles when he's hurt. I could see the worry and love in Scott's eyes as he held onto Stiles. I felt jealous, but I had to conceal it. I also had other emotions going on, so it was easy to slip jealousy to the back of my mind. If Stiles has almost died and been in this sort of situation before, I don't know how Scott hasn't thought that his feelings might be slightly more than brotherly.
Still, I know that Scott loves me. Everyone in the pack knows that. Especially Stiles. However, I feel like I need to up my game. Sometimes, I think that Scott seems to forget a little bit that I'm his true love and I'm the one that he can trust more than anyone, even Stiles. I need to make him see that somehow. I need to show him that Stiles isn't the person that he thinks he is. Even if I have to twist the truth a bit, I will do anything in my power to make Scott realize that I'm his true love and not forget it this time. Even if it means I have to end Scott and Stiles' friendship. I think I know what to do. I just need to take my take my time so I can get it right.