Chris Argent placed the old leather book on Scott's kitchen table and opened it, reverently, to the first page. He turned to the second page, the third, then just opened the text in eight more different places. "It's Latin. It's all in Archaic Latin."
Half of the room turned to Lydia. "I'm on it," she said. Scott walked around the kitchen opening drawers until he found a pencil and a pile of yellowed printing paper.
Chris got out of his chair so that Lydia could sit in it. "Where are you going to start?"
"Isn't there an index?" Stiles asked.
"Not in a book this old."
Ethan looked over Lydia's shoulder. "Is it at least divided into chapters?"
Lydia looked. "Yeah – I'll transcribe the chapter headings first." She looked up at Deaton, who stood at the sink washing his sister's blood off of his hands. "Is there anything I should look for first? Something I should focus on?"
"If you find a section called 'How to Defeat a Darach and a Demon Wolf,' I'd start there," Isaac offered with his usual sarcasm.
"We need to help Stiles figure out his powers," said Derek. "That's the priority. Look for key words: Optimalpha, healer, warrior—"
"Virgin," said Stiles with a tall roll of his eyes.
"Hey. It's almost time." Scott pointed at the clock above the sink. "We need to get to the Hale house before Gerard does."
Stiles put on his red hoodie and zipped it up. "All right. Let's go." He got two steps closer to the living room when Derek's arm dropped down like a guillotine and blocked him.
Stiles glared at him. "I'm going to help Allison, Danny and Cora. We don't have time to argue about this." Expecting Derek to start yelling, Stiles flashed his red eyes at him.
But Derek's expression wasn't angry, it was worried. "Someone needs to stay here with Lydia," said Derek.
Stiles' cheeks flushed. "Don't do that," he whispered. "Don't use my feelings for Lydia to get me to do what you want."
"He's not wrong," said Scott, joining them. "She has to stay here and work on that book, Stiles. Someone should stay with her."
"What about Deaton? He'll be just as useless as me on the battlefield."
"We're not saying you're useless, Stiles. Lydia needs someone with werewolf strength."
Stiles glared at Scott and Derek for a minute more, then finally relented. "Fine." He dug deep into his jeans pockets and took out the keys to his jeep. "Good luck," he said, and handed the key ring to Scott.
"We'll be back as soon as we can, all right?" Scott squeezed Stiles' forearm, then tugged him into a quick hug.
"Be careful," Stiles said. He looked up at Derek from over Scott's shoulder. "All of you."
Derek nodded. He held Stiles' eye contact for a moment more, then called to the others, "Let's go." Scott, Derek, Isaac, Deaton, Ethan and Chris piled into Stiles' jeep and Derek's car and headed for the Hale house.
If Stiles had turned around instead of watching the two cars go down the street, he would've seen Lydia take a black cell phone out of her jeans pocket and send a text message.
Kali's phone beeped. She read the message and then looked at Deucalion in the passenger's seat of the van. "They're on their way."
The Demon Wolf savored the final swallow of his tea before speaking. "Excellent. We should be on ours, then, don't you think?"
Kali climbed out of the driver's seat and held the door open for Gerard to go in. "Thank you, my dear," said the elderly man. He carefully adjusted his seat and the mirrors. "We'll see you and Aiden tomorrow evening, then? If you're both still alive, of course."
Kali forced a patient smile. She looked like something nearby smelled awful. "Assuming you are, too."
Gerard gave her a sweet, grandfatherly smile. Without another word he and Deucalion drove off.
Stiles opened up the McCall's pantry and scanned it from top to bottom. "Spaghetti?" he asked Lydia. "Macaroni and cheese?"
Lydia didn't look up from the book. "No cheese. Too fattening."
Stiles shifted to the fridge and freezer. "Leftover lasagna? Oh, right, cheese. Um... Tater tots? Lydia?" Stiles turned to see if she was listening.
He walked right in to the tip of a knife. Lydia plunged it hard into his stomach the rest of the way.
Scott parked Stiles' jeep fifty yards from the Hale house. They were late. Kali and Aiden were already in the front yard with Cora, Danny and Allison. Although they could only see by the headlights, Scott was sure that Gerard and Deucalion weren't there. The True Alpha shared a worried look with Derek, then led the way into the yard.
Cora was unconscious. She lay on her side in the short space between Aiden and Kali. Allison and Danny were awake but gagged. Allison's eyes were wide, pleading. She'd be shouting if she could. Danny was sweating, shaking, staring up at the rising moon. While Allison was tied with rope, he was in chains. He'd made it through the transformation and now the werewolf was facing his first full moon. As Derek, Scott, Isaac, Deaton, Chris and Ethan approached, Kali flicked open her claws and pressed them to Allison's neck. Aiden did the same to Danny.
The Hale pack marched forward until they were within twenty yards of the Alphas. Scott broke the ice: "Where's your boss?"
"Where's your Optimalpha?" Aiden asked.
Kali bared her teeth. "And where's your little sister?" she asked Deaton. "I hope she didn't bleed to death too quickly. I wanted her to suffer for betraying us."
The Druid opened his mouth to speak but Ethan stepped in. "Kali, Aiden, listen to me. Deucalion lied to us. Ennis didn't die because of Derek. Deucalion killed him. He murdered him – I saw the memory myself."
Kali rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on Allison. "This is your brilliant plan to save your friends? Lying to us?"
"Listen to my heartbeat." Ethan risked taking a few steps towards them. "Deucalion. Killed. Ennis."
Everyone's attention was on the Twins, so no one noticed when Allison managed to use her teeth to get around the gag. "Get to Stiles!" she shouted at Scott. "Gerard went to—"
Kali smacked Allison so hard into the dirt that it knocked her out.
Then it all broke loose.
Chris Argent pulled out a pair of .45s and shot Kali in the shoulder. She roared and retreated into the woods with Isaac chasing after her. Ethan growled and dove at Aiden. He tackled his brother, and they rolled across the yard. Deaton ran to Cora, Danny and Allison and dropped a protective circle of ground mountain ash around them. Derek sprinted for the jeep and Scott, after making sure that Mr. Argent was taking care of Allison, followed.
While Derek drove like a thief to the McCall house, Scott tried to call both Stiles and Lydia. "No answer," he reported.
"We shouldn't have let him out of our sight," Derek said between clenched teeth. "This was a diversion."
Stiles stared, confused, at the knife Lydia stabbed into his gut. His limbs prickled like they'd fallen asleep. Shock, he realized. Blood soaked through his sneakers. She was smiling at him. Sweetly, politely, strangely. Eerily. "Lydia, what—" She yanked the blade out and he screamed. His body was healing, quickly, but that didn't stop the pain. He tried to speak again but Lydia grabbed his throat and slammed his head against the fridge.
"Haven't you people learned," Lydia sneered, "that I don't stay dead?"
"Peter?" Stiles whispered. He tried to pry Lydia's hands off of him but she had werewolf strength. "Get out of her!"
Peter used Lydia's plump pink lips to smile. "I would love to," he said. "I don't want me to be in this body anymore than you do but my real body is dead, thank you." Peter winced and shook his head. "God, I'm starving – does this girl ever eat?"
"What do you want?" Stiles stared at the ceiling, unable to stand the look of pure evil in Lydia's eyes. "Whatever it is, whatever you want, just leave Lydia out of this."
"What I want I can't get from you this time." Peter turned Stiles around and shoved him face first against the fridge. He twisted his wrists to hold him still. "But you can help me get it." Using Lydia's arms, Peter wrestled Stiles through the living room and out the front door. Gerard and Deucalion stood outside a black van at the end of the driveway. Peter and Stiles moved to the center of the yard and then stopped. "Here's your Optimalpha, just like I promised," said Lydia's voice. "Now, Gerard, use that Druid mojo to resurrect my body. Keep your end of the bargain or I'll twist Stiles' head off right here and now."
Stiles struggled but Peter kicked the muscles behind his knees and made him kneel.
Gerard casually stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We did have a deal, didn't we? You give me Stiles, I give you your life back. But tell me, Mr. Hale, after you leave the poor girl's body and return to yours, what's to stop you from coming after us to reclaim your prize?"
Lydia pressed the knife to the back of Stiles' neck. In her sweetest voice she said, "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, won't we?"
Gerard turned to his son. "Do you like that answer, Deucalion?"
The Alpha's face twitched. "I do not." Faster than any of them could conceive, Deucalion ran between Stiles and Peter and lifted Lydia into the air by her neck.
"No!" Stiles yelled. "Don't kill her – don't kill her!"