CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
WOLF'S BANE, PART TWO
When Brooke arrived at the Stilinski household, she realized she wasn't the only one with an invite.
"Uh, hey, Danny," she said, confusion in her voice as she greeted her classmate.
"Hey, Brooke!" Danny responded. "Are you here to study too?"
Brooke nodded. "Right, yeah, I'm here to study."
She led him to the front door, and they let themselves in. They climbed the stairs in silence and Brooke led the way to Stiles room.
She knocked softly and the door quickly swung open, revealing a flustered Stiles. Derek sat in a chair beside his bed, a book in his hand but his eyes looking at the teenagers.
Brooke threw herself on the bed and texted Stiles.
What the hell is Danny Mahealani doing here?
"Why did you text me? We're in the same room," Stiles said, clearly not understanding that Brooke was trying be inconspicuous. She threw her head back in frustration and collapsed onto the bed.
"So are you two, like, a thing now?" Danny asked, fingers gesturing between Brooke and Stiles. Brooke immediately sat up and shook her head.
"Wha- no. Me and Brooke? Yeah, no, not a thing. I don't know what you're talking about," Stiles stuttered out, his face turning a bright red.
"Sure," Danny said, his face showing he clearly didn't believe them. "So, are we going to study or what?"
"Actually," Stiles said, trying to recover from the thought of him and Brooke being together, "I need you to do me a favor."
Ten minutes, and a lot of Stiles sexualizing Derek later, Danny was sitting on his bed with his laptop in his lap, Brooke and Stiles on either side of him.
"There," Danny said. "The text was sent from a computer at the hospital—that one."
"Registered to that account name?" Brooke asked for clarification.
"No, no, no. That can't be right," Stiles said. Derek got up from his seat and joined the teenagers, looking over Brooke's shoulder to see who the text was from.
Melissa McCall.
******
As the sun set and the town was prepping for the night's lacrosse game, Stiles, Derek, and Brooke were driving in the opposite direction of the school.
Brooke sat in the back seat of Stiles' jeep, Derek was in the passenger seat, and Stiles was driving them to the hospital. The car was filled with an awkward silence, but it was soon broken by the sound of Stiles' phone ringing.
"Did you get the picture?" Scott asked as soon as Stiles answered.
"Yeah, I did. It looks just like the drawing," Stiles answered. Derek grabbed Stiles' wrist, pulling the phone towards him.
"Is there something on the back of it?" Derek asked, ignoring Stiles' whimpers as he held his wrist painfully. "An opening, an inscription, something?"
"No, the thing's flat," Scott answered. "It doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing."
Brooke knocked Derek harshly on the shoulder, making him let go of Stiles' wrist. Stiles smiled at her gratefully and rubbed the sore joint.
"And where are you?" Scott kept talking, "You're supposed to be here, you're first line! You're not gonna play if you're not here to start."
"I know," Stiles said. "Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him I'll be there? I'm just gonna be a little bit late, okay?"
Stiles hung up the phone. Immediately, Derek said, "You're not gonna make it."
Brooke hit him on the shoulder. "Derek!"
"No, it's okay, I know," Stiles said. He rubbed his hands over his head in frustration.
"And you didn't tell him about his mom, either," Derek said. Brooke smacked him on the shoulder again.
"Not until we find out the truth," Stiles said. His car pulled into a stop in front of the hospital, his headlights lighting up the LONG-TERM CARE sign.
"One more thing," Derek said. He grabbed the back of Stiles' head and shoved it violently into his steering wheel. Brooke instantly flew forward, cradling Stiles' face in her hands to make sure he was okay.
"Oh my god," Stiles groaned in pain, trying to suppress the blush forming under Brooke's touch. "What the hell was that for?"
"You know what that was for!" Derek replied, alluding to Stiles using his body earlier to get Danny to trace the text. "Go!"
Stiles climbed out of the car and Brooke followed him, but turned to give Derek a hard glare before leaving the driver's seat.
"Don't worry, there's no permanent damage to your little boyfriend's face," Derek said.
"Shut up," Brooke said, leaning over to punch him across the shoulder once more before leaving the car.
She quickly joined Stiles in the trek to the hospital, her phone vibrating just as they reached the doors, causing her to stop.
"What is it?" Stiles asked.
"Just a text from my dad," Brooke answered. He was currently in Mexico, somewhere in the Yucatan. It was a short text, simply him telling her he was going to bed and to wish her friends good luck at the lacrosse game.
Brooke didn't feel like explaining that she wasn't going to be able to make the game, so she just shoved the phone into her back pocket. She nodded at Stiles when he silently asked if she was okay, and he opened the door for her as they entered the hospital.
They made their way to the receptionist desk, only to find it completely deserted. Brooke leaned over the counter, trying to see if she could see anybody. Stiles copied her actions, but leaned too far forward and fell onto the desk behind the counter. Brooke quickly pulled him up, trying to arrange the items on the desk as if nothing had been touched.
"Uh, hello?" Stiles called out. Nobody answered his call.
"This definitely isn't the way to run a hospital," Brooke remarked at the ghost town of a lobby. "Where is everyone?"
Her phone buzzed again, only this time it was a text from Derek.
Do you have anything yet?
Brooked rolled her eyes at his impatience—they had literally only been inside for two minutes. Instead of texting him back, Brooke pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.
"Well?" Derek asked. Brooke rolled her eyes again. Stiles was standing next to her, trying to lean in so he could hear the conversation. Brooke pushed him away.
"There's no one here," Brooke said. Stiles tried leaning in again, and instead of pushing him away again, Brooke just sighed and put the phone on speaker.
"What do you mean there's no one there? Where's Melissa?" Derek asked.
"I mean no one is here, Der," Brooke said.
"As for Melissa, we can't find her," Stiles said. He leaned in closely towards Brooke's hand. She just shook her head at his behavior and handed him the phone.
"She might be at the game," Brooke suggested. Down the hall, she heard the sound of a chair rolling and immediately turned towards it.
"Where are you going?" Stiles asked as she walked down the hall.
"I think I heard something," Brooke answered, walking further towards the noise further away from Stiles.
"Wait, Brooke!" Stiles said franticly. "Don't leave me alone, this silent hospital thing is really creepy!"
Brooke somehow kept her eyes from rolling. "I'll be right back."
She walked down the hallway further, still hearing Stiles on the phone with Derek.
"Tell Brooke to find Jennifer. She's the nurse that's been taking care of our uncle," Derek said through the phone. Brooke came to a room that the sound appeared to have come from, but frowned when she saw that it was empty.
"Yeah, he's not here either," Stiles said from across the hall. Brooke turned sharply. How was her uncle not there? Last time she had visited, he had been completely catatonic. According to Derek, he hadn't approved much the last time he had visited either.
The only way he could've healed in such a short amount of time is with an extreme amount of power; one that only an Alpha had.
"STILES!" Brooke yelled at the realization. She quickly ran towards the teen boy, hearing Derek yell through the speaker.
"Get out of there, Stiles! It's him, he's the Alpha!
Brooke skidded to a stop in the middle of the hallway, finding Stiles stood frozen in fear as her uncle stood before him, burn scars covering half of his face.
"You must be Stiles," Peter said. His gaze rose the blonde girl behind him. "Brooke! My, how you've grown."
"It's been six years," Brooke said dumbly, taking a step forward to grab the back of Stiles' jacket. Peter's eyes immediately went to her hands, eyes narrowing.
Brooke pulled the back of Stiles' jacket, tugging him towards the door. When they turned around they found a red headed nurse standing in front of them.
"What are you doing here? Visiting hours are over," she told them.
"Wait, you're the one who sent the—" Stiles cut himself off. He turned back to face Peter. "And he's the... oh my god I'm gonna die."
"No one's going to die," Brooke said confidently, trying to find a way to put herself between Stiles and both people staring them down.
Luckily, she didn't have to worry long. Derek appeared out of thin air, knocking the nurse out with his elbow. Brooke stepped firmly in front of Stiles so she was between him and Peter.
"That's not every nice," Peter said. "She's my nurse."
Brooke scoffed. "She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people."
Brooke and Derek looked at each other, and Derek slightly moved his eyes to the side, signaling her to duck. Brooke pulled on Stiles' wrist, bringing them both to the ground and against the wall.
"You think I killed Laura on purpose?" Peter asked, making his way towards Derek. "My own family?"
Derek quickly shifted into his wolf form, letting his anger get the best of him. Peter grabbed him by his shoulders, shoving him against the wall and knocking him to the floor.
Brooke pushed Stiles backwards, trying to get him to hide behind the receptionist's desk. She tried to move forward to help Derek, but Stiles pulled her back.
"My mind and personality were literally burned out of me," Peter said, grabbing Derek by the neck and dragging him towards Brooke and stiles. "I was being driven by pure instinct."
Peter grabbed Derek once again, throwing him down the hall. "Do you even know what it was like for me all those years? Slowly healing, cell by cell." Derek spit out blood onto the floor, causing Brooke to try to reach him, to heal him, but Stiles pulled her back once more.
"Stiles, let go!" Brooke whisper yelled to him.
"No, no way," Stiles said. He wrapped his arm around the front of her shoulders. He could feel her heartbeat against his arm.
"Becoming an alpha—taking that from Laura—that pushed me over the healing process," Peter said, still slowly walking towards Derek. He turned towards the two teenagers on the floor, Stiles slightly cowering behind Brooke. "Speaking of which. I need a favor, Brooke."
Brooke shook her head and crawled backwards, practically putting herself on top of Stiles. Peter didn't hesitate to grab her by her arm, yanking her to stand in front of him.
"Come on, Brooke. For your uncle?"
"Technically we're not even related," Brooke quipped. "Just by marriage."
Peter rolled his eyes at her remark, shoving her backwards harshly. She landed on her back with Derek right beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Stiles tempted to run to her. She made eye contact with him and shook her head.
"Fine," Peter said. He walked towards the two cousins, stepping on Derek's hand. Brooke could hear the bones in his hand break. Brooke winced, but didn't respond and looked at Peter defiantly.
"Oh, that's not enough incentive for you?" the Alpha asked. Peter removed his foot and took a few steps back, closer to Stiles. He flicked his hand and sharp claws appeared out of his fingers, his talons only a foot from Stiles' face. "How about this: you help me heal the rest of my face, or your little boyfriend loses his?"
Brooke's eyes flashed nervously between Peter and Stiles, the latter's eyes widening at the claws in front of him. She shakily stood up, walking towards Peter.
"No, no, Brooke, you don't have to do this," Stiles tried to bargain. He slowly stood up, hands out in front of him.
"Shut up, Stiles," Brooke said, gaze never moving from the Alpha in front of her. Slowly, she raised her left hand and placed it on Peter's face. Her uncle wrapped his hand around her wrist, not giving her the chance to move.
In a split second, Brooke felt like she was on fire. She tried desperately to pull her hand away, but Peter kept her locked in position. She let out a scream, and Stiles and Derek watched in horror as the burn mark slowly faded from Peter's face and appeared on Brooke's.
Once Peter deemed the process complete, he let go of Brooke's wrist and she fell to the ground in front of Stiles.
"Holy shit, are you okay?" Stiles asked, lifting her up into his lap. Brooke grimaced as she felt the burn remove from her face. Once she was healed, she sat up and saw Derek trying to attack Peter again. The alpha grabbed the beta and flung him over their heads, crashing through a glass wall.
"You need to leave," Brooke turned to Stiles.
"No, I can't leave you," Stiles said. He shook his head rapidly, his breath quickening at the thought.
"Don't argue with me. Not now," Brooke said. She stood and looked over shoulder, watching Derek crawl through broken glass. "Please, Stiles, leave. I need to help Derek—I can take care of myself."
Stiles nodded quickly, and flung his arms around Brooke before he could comprehend that he was hugging her. Brooke found herself hugging him back. She took a quick moment to take in the peacefulness that came with hugging him, then quickly pulled back.
"Go," she said to him once more, pushing him towards the door. She didn't give him a chance to argue and ran towards the area Derek and Peter had disappeared to.
Once she arrived she found Derek laying against a wall, Peter menacingly walking towards him. Brooke ran around and stood protectively in front of her cousin, chin raised at Peter. "I may not be a werewolf, but I still know how to fight."
Peter shook his head. "I don't want to fight, Brooke. I want to explain. After all, we are family. Even if it is by marriage."
******
yo....... they h u g g e d