Katarina marched into the animal clinic later that day, demanding that Deaton set aside time to speak to her. Annie flanked her, ready to step up to her best friend's aid if Deaton tried to derail the conversation or keep information from her. Kat had been thinking about what Annie told her that morning, how Deaton had found more journals and that he had the information she needed to know more about what she was. She had realized that she was sick of being left in the dark about her kind and wanted answers.
"Deaton, finish up with whatever dog or cat you're with and get out here," Kat called as soon as she opened the door. She knew she had only a small amount of time before Scott and Stiles came to ask Deaton for help at the rave that night. "I'm giving you time to explain things."
Deaton came out from the back room, wiping his hands clean with a cloth. "I've been wondering when you'd want answers."
Kat stepped closer to him, "Then give them to me."
"Follow me." Deaton nodded, turning and walking into the back room. Kat looked back at Annie before going after Deaton. She went back into the examination room, where Deaton was placing old and tattered journals on the silver table. They glared at Kat under the harsh light, taunting her with the information they withheld. She came up to the table, itching to reach out and snatch the journals for herself.
Deaton picked up a journal, the oldest looking one of the collection. "This journal is the first of Bernadette Paulson's that I own. It holds most of the information I know about eternimas. The rest of these hold her time with the Reynolds pack. Among these journals are a few more from her daughters, Seraphina and Reyna, her brother Emmett, as well as his daughter Eloise."
"Great, now what did you need to explain to me?" Kat shortly asked, eyeing the journal in Deaton's hand. It held everything she longed to know about herself.
"Eternimas are the root of every supernatural being. Your soul, Katarina, is thousands of years old. I believe yours is the oldest. The souls of eternimas are passed down chronologically, so if yours is the oldest, it doesn't quite add up." Deaton started, carefully choosing his words. "Bernadette Paulson was a very special eternima. Usually, one eternima is born from another, rarely does one pass their powers to each of their kin."
Kat didn't understand, "What does that have to do with my soul being the oldest?"
Deaton took a deep breath, as if preparing for an explosion of anger after his next statement. "Bernadette Paulson was your mother, Katarina, making Seraphina and Reyna your sisters, Emmett your uncle, and Eloise your cousin."
"My what?" Kat sputtered. Her face had paled considerably, her hands started shaking, and suddenly her vision was turning red with anger. She rounded on Annie, eyes wildly glowing their alternate mint green, "Did you know?" Annie was silent, and Kat's eyes only glowed brighter. "Did you know that she was my mother? That I was related to any of them?"
Annie opened and closed her mouth, trying to find a way to explain that she knew and didn't tell her. Explanations started tumbling from her mouth, "Bernadette wasn't a good person towards the end, and I -- "
When Annie didn't respond, Kat continued, trying her hardest to shift her eyes back to their normal brown and calm herself down, "What about Seraphina and Reyna? Or Emmett and Eloise? Where are they? Were they in your pack with Bernadette?"
Annie thickly swallowed, trying to find her voice. "I don't know where Seraphina, Reyna, or Eloise are, Emmett took them and fled before you moved to San Francisco. Bernadette died a few months after they left."
Deaton stepped in before Kat could jump on Annie for more information, "I can give you any answers you may have about your family, or if you would like to discuss that at a separate time, I can start helping you understand your powers -- "
Kat narrowed her eyes at him, feeling as if he were patronizing her. "Let's talk about my powers."
"First of all, if I am correct about your soul being the oldest of eternima kind, then your powers will be much stronger and more intense than those of a normal eternima. It will be much harder for you to control them." Deaton tried to sway her from talking about her powers, afraid it would be too much for her to handle.
"What exactly are my powers, Deaton? No more beating around the bush, I want straight answers, and I want them now."
Deaton nodded, "Okay. Well, I assume you already know that eternimas get visions. Those visions stem from past experiences the soul has had or something that aids the eternima in their current situation. They may seem as if they're predicting the future, and sometimes they are, but most of the time it's a similar situation that can be applied to what's happening in your life.
"But, aside from visions, the most important thing to know about your powers is that every supernatural being stems from you. Your soul, as I believe it, was the first supernatural soul in existence. Therefore, you have a part of every supernatural species and their powers. Fortunate for you, you don't have access to all of them right now."
"Wait," Kat cut the veterinarian off, "Is that how Bernadette was able to turn into a werewolf? How did she do that?"
Deaton smiled slightly, "Think of it as a video game. With each new beast you battle, you get new abilities. For eternimas, you get new abilities each time you come in contact with a new supernatural being. I assume you have some werewolf abilities, like enhanced hearing and smell, am I correct?"
Kat nodded, "But how was she able to fully transform? We found a journal that described how she could transform into a wolf, like Derek's sister."
"That is a special skill only acquired by few werewolves. Bernadette was a very powerful eternima, and I'm sure that, over time, you could build your abilities to higher levels. As you interact more and more with different supernatural beings, your powers will grow, becoming stronger and easily accessed. However, this could be very dangerous for you.
"If you're not careful you could unintentionally force your body to shut down. Because you have so much untapped power within you, using and developing too much at a time could eventually kill you." Deaton informed the McCall girl, giving her a serious look.
Annie suddenly spoke up, "That's how Bernadette died, isn't it?" She was looking directly at Deaton, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Kat couldn't decipher the look on his face as she stared at him. "There were too many supernatural beings around her at one time, and it became too much."
Deaton let his head bob from side to side, as if physically weighing her words. "In a sense. But I'm sure there was something else that contributed to it."
"Tell me." Kat sternly said. "She was my mother, I want to know how she died."
Just then, the bell above the door of the clinic rang, and Scott's and Stiles's voices floated back into the examination room. Deaton looked back at Kat, "In due time, I will explain everything she left with me. For now, I hope these journals will be of use to you."
Deaton started stacking the journals into a tattered box on the floor near the table as Scott and Stiles entered the room. Scott jumped straight to the point, "Alright, Deaton. What've you got for tonight?"
As soon as the vet was done packing away the journals, he turned and grabbed something from a drawer before holding it up for the four teens to see.
"Ketamine?" Annie questioned, sharing a slightly confused look with Scott.
"It's the same stuff we use on the dogs, just a higher dosage," Deaton informed, setting the bottle and injection needle he grabbed on the now clear examination table. "If you can get close enough to Jackson, it should slow him down enough to buy you some time."
Scott picked up the ketamine and needle as Deaton picked up another jar with a symbol that looked like a sideways T on it, filled with a sort of glittery black powder. "This is some of what you'll use to create the barrier. This part is for you, Stiles. Only you."
"Uh, that sounds like a lot of pressure," Stiles said, somewhat nervously as he picked up the jar. "Can we find a slightly less pressure-filled task for me?"
Kat smirked up at her boyfriend while the rest of the group gave him blank stares. She shook her head and leaned it against his shoulder as a way of telling him he could handle it.
"It's from the mountain ash tree, which is believed by many cultures to protect against the supernatural," Deaton explained, leaning on the examination table. He was done handing out gifts for the group's plan that night. "This office is lined with ashwood, making it difficult for someone like Scott or Annie to cause me any trouble."
Stiles slowly nodded, placing the jar back on the table. "Okay, so then what? I just spread this around the whole building and then either Jackson or whoever's controlling him can't cross it?"
"They'll be trapped."
Scott glanced at his best friend, "That doesn't sound too hard."
"Not all there is." Deaton continued, "Think of it like gunpowder. It's just powder until a spark ignites it. You need to be that spark, Stiles."
Kat's face dropped, staring at Deaton as if he meant it in a literal way. "If you mean him lighting himself on fire, I'm gonna have to object, Deaton. I like my boyfriend how he is, thanks."
"Yeah, I don't think I'm up for that." Stiles agreed, shaking his head.
Scott, Annie, and Deaton looked at them as if they were crazy for taking him literally. Kat huffed, somewhat ashamed and amused by her initial thought. She didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that she was thinking more and more like Stiles.
"Let me try a different analogy," Deaton began, chuckling under his breath. "I used to golf. I learned that the best golfers never swing before first imagining where they want the ball to go. They see it in their mind, and their mind takes over. It can be pretty extraordinary what the force of your own will can accomplish."
"Force of will." Stiles sighed, not at all believing what Deaton was saying.
Deaton knew what he was thinking, "If this is going to work, Stiles, you have to believe it."
Stiles stared at him, his nostrils flaring slightly, before he decided to humor the vet and deeply inhaling. "Mmm-hmm."
--
After Katarina had rushed home to get ready for the rave, she made her way over a few blocks to the Stilinski house. She made sure to knock on the front door this time instead of entering through the always-open kitchen door, chuckling slightly when she heard Stiles curse after a loud thump on the floor. He opened the door, adjusting his flannel over his shoulders.
"Hey," He greeted, slightly confused by why she was there. "I thought I was picking you up?"
Kat shrugged, "Wanted to take a look at those journals before everything got too crazy tonight." Stiles gave her a look that told her he didn't believe a word she had just said, causing the truth to come tumbling from her mouth, "I'm kind of upset with Annie right now."
Stiles nodded, opening the door further and motioning for her to come inside before leading her upstairs to his room. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Let's get those journals first, that might help explain a few things." Kat sighed, following Stiles through his bedroom door. "By the way, should I not mention the possible spill you took down the stairs or . . . ?" She trailed off, sitting on Stiles's bed and smirking up at him. Stiles gave her a slight glare, earning a giggle from Kat, before moving to his closet. She had had Stiles take Bernadette's journals since most supernatural research had been taking place at his house.
Stiles grabbed the box and placed it on the floor in front of Kat before sitting beside her. Kat reached in and picked up the first journal she touched, which happened to be the first one of Bernadette's that Deaton had.
"Bernadette's my biological mother," Kat said, letting the words hang out in the open. "She had two other daughters, Seraphina and Reyna, and they live with their uncle and cousin, Emmett and Eloise. Annie knew the whole time, they were in her pack. She never told me."
Stiles didn't know what to say, but his mouth formed words anyways, "That's intense."
Kat dryly chuckled, thumbing through the old and worn journal. She dropped it back in the box before looking at Stiles, adjusting herself so her legs were criss-crossed and she was fully facing her boyfriend. "Why do you think she didn't tell me? We've told each other everything for years, but then she keeps one of the largest parts of my life a secret."
Though Kat would never admit it out loud, she always felt her heart ache when she called Melissa "mom". She definitely thought of Melissa as her mother, the woman raised her as if she were her own child since she was one week old, but it hurt that Kat never knew her real mother. The mother she got her nose, her thick, dark brown hair, and her thirst for finding out the truth from. A whole side of her was a mystery, and she needed to solve it.
Stiles shrugged, "Maybe she thought it wasn't her place to tell you?"
Kat sighed, resting an elbow on her knee and letting her head fall into her hand. Her brain was running marathon after marathon in her skull, creating scenarios and replaying conversations as she tried to figure something, anything, out. "I don't know. My head hurts so much right now, I don't think I can handle a rave on top of everything else tonight."
Stiles scoffed, "You definitely look like you could. I haven't seen anyone make a Metallica shirt look so hot -- ah, I mean . . . shoot."
Kat sat up, giggling as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. She reached out and gently grabbed his face before planting a kiss on his lips. "I think you look hot too, Stiles. Even in your normal clothes."
The usually pale boy became red, nervously licking his lips before glancing at his phone. "We'd better get going, Scott said he and Annie are almost ready."
Kat stood, making her way to the door and opening it, "After you."
Stiles laughed and grabbed his jacket before slipping his hand into Kat's and leading her down the stairs. He locked the front door and they moved through the kitchen to the garage door, where he stumbled and fell down the few stairs onto the concrete. The couple was a mess of laughter as Kat helped her boyfriend up and made her way to Roscoe the Jeep. They passed Sheriff Stilinski, who had just pulled up in his own vehicle rather than his police cruiser.
"Hey, can't talk, gotta run," Stiles rambled, opening the passenger door for Kat. The McCall girl looked at her boyfriend's father, her smile falling from her face. She made Stiles meet her eyes before nodding towards Noah. Stiles quickly looked at his father, noticing something Kat didn't. "Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Noah shortly said, shoving his hands into his Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department jacket. Kat noticed the familiar piece of metal that signified the man's title was missing from the left shoulder.
"Where's your gun?" Stiles questioned.
"And your badge, sheriff?" Kat asked, sensing something was really wrong with Noah.
Noah took a deep breath, "I left them both at the station."
"What?" Stiles's voice had shifted from inquiry to confusion and sadness so quickly Kat didn't quite catch it.
Noah shook his head, "It's all right. You know what, we'll talk about this later."
"Dad," Stiles said.
"Don't worry about it," Noah said.
Stiles was more stern than the first time, "Dad!"
Kat slipped her hand out of Stiles's, quickly mumbling that she left something in the house, and left to give them privacy. She stepped into the kitchen and focused her hearing to listen to the conversation even though she knew she shouldn't have.
Noah sighed, preparing to deliver the news. "It was decided that the son of the 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."
"They fired you?" Stiles asked, sounding more depressed than before.
"Nah. Look, it's-it's just a leave of absence. It's temporary."
"Did they say it was temporary, or . . . ?"
"Actually, no," Noah informed his son. "You know, it's fine. Don't worry about it, though. We'll be fine."
"Dad," Stiles started, "I don't get it. Why-why aren't you angry at me?"
"I don't know." Noah lightly said, "Maybe I just don't want to feel any worse than I already do by having to yell at my son."
Kat slinked through the house and waited on the stairs, listening for the opening of the garage door before coming back down the last few steps. She gave Noah a grim smile, "Have a good night, Mr. Stilinski."
"You too, Kat," Noah said, patting her on the shoulder as he passed her. Kat sighed and exited the house through the garage again. Stiles was leaned against Roscoe, looking completely defeated.
"We'll figure out a way to help him, Stiles," Kat said, standing in front of the Stilinski boy and looking up at him. When Stiles grumbled a response, Kat reached up and wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowed her head into his chest, and squeezed him as reassuringly as she could. "It'll be okay, Stiles. He's the best sheriff this town has ever seen, they'll realize that soon."
Stiles rested his cheek on Kat's head and his arms held her against his chest. He let out a deep breath before pulling away. Almost as if he had timed it, his phone rang, signaling that he had a new text. He sighed, "Let's go, we've got a kanima to catch."
--
Hello! I am so pumped to finally have this chapter out! We now know more about what Kat is and how her powers work, and that her family has now nearly doubled on her mother's side. What do you think she's going to do with this new information? Let me know in the comments! I love each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart, and I will see you all in the next chapter! :) <3