Chapter 14:
Malia Lewis
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"Are you going to say anything?" Malia stared at Imogen with a furrowed brow and frown on her lips. The witch hybrid had said nothing on their drive to her house. "You told me you had to tell me something important that had to do with my name on the list. So what is it?"
Imogen swallowed thickly, glancing at the girl who stood in her living room and handed her the list with the name that would change her life. She watched Malia take the list.
Malia Lewis, the name was in bold letters and was hard to not notice.
She watched as the different emotions that played on the girls face, "Scott told me last night and I wanted to wait until after the test to tell you."
"So, I'm your cousin?" Malia breathed out, finally looking back at her. "Is this why you've been staring at me all day? I noticed by the way. You weren't exactly subtle."
Her cheeks tinged pink, "I just couldn't help but notice that you look like him."
She noticed the way her eyes seemed to tear up and remembered that this man, her real father was dead. "Really?" She muttered, feeling a tight feeling in her chest. She wasn't sure what it was, she was still adjusting to the feelings that came with being human again.
"Um, yeah." Imogen walked over to pick up a picture frame, "Here."
Malia stared down at the picture of the man who was her biological father. He had blue eyes and dark hair, a wide smile on his face. From the bit she heard from Isaac, he was a doctor at the hospital that Scott's mom worked at. Or had been.
"I uh, here." She handed the picture back. She felt strange. He looked familiar.
"Are you okay?" Imogen asked softly, her face concerned. "I know this is a lot and I get it if you need time. I've been there."
"It's just weird because I had parents who raised me. At least until the accident and only recently my dad, I mean, Mr. Tate..." It felt strange to say that. "We've just started to get comfortable around each other after all these years that I've been gone and now..."
"It's overwhelming. I get it. My uncle was the closest thing I had to a father and then I found out that Peter Hale was my real father. A man whose done a lot of terrible things and who was also a stranger. Uncle Ben is a stranger to you and Mr. Tate is the man who raised you those years before you turned into a coyote."
"I always thought my biological parents didn't want me. It's why I didn't want you to help me find them." She scoffed to herself, "Turns out, my real dad is dead and who knows who my mother was."
Imogen pulled out the picture she had found and showed it to her, "I don't know exactly if this is your mother but I think she is. You have her eyes."
"Do you think she's alive? Actually I don't want to know. It's obvious she didn't want me." She muttered bitterly. It would explain her being put for adoption.
"I know for a fact that if Uncle Ben knew about you, he would have raised you. If he had, we would've grown up together." Imogen said quietly, a sad look in her eyes. "I might not have any answers on your mother but if you want to know anything about Uncle Ben, I can tell you."
Malia could smell the grief and sadness coming from the girl who was her cousin. She bit her lip, contemplating it for a moment. As much as she cared about Mr.Tate, there was this tension between them that was somewhat noticeable. She knew that he loved her like a daughter but the truth of the matter was that she wasn't his real daughter. Malia had killed her along with his wife all those years ago. The memory was faint but she knew she had killed them.
It was why her eyes were blue. So with those thoughts in mind, she looked at the girl who was the only other person aside from her mother who shared her blood. Imogen was right, perhaps in another life they would've grown up together. They'd probably be a lot closer than they were.
It wasn't that she didn't like Imogen, it was just that she didn't really know her all that well. Considering that when she joined the pack, she was dealing with her grief and adjusting to coming back to life.
Malia cleared her throat, making her decision. She wanted a family. She wanted to form a bond with someone aside from Isaac and Stiles. She wanted a familiar bond, "I want to know about him. As much as you can tell me." She knew this was hard on her, it was obvious that she hadn't really actively spoken about him.
Imogen felt old wounds reopening but it was better for her to open them. It didn't hurt as much because this girl in front of her was her last remaining connection to Ben. She owed him to not only look after his daughter but to tell her about him. Her lips quirked up slightly and began to tell her about the beginnings of her meeting Ben.
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"Hey." Scott greeted her as he walked into her room, finding her sitting on her bed with her grimoire in front of her.
Imogen looked up, managing a tired smile. "Hey, what are you doing here?" She has spent almost all night talking with Malia, the girl was asleep in the guest room.
"I texted you last night but you didn't respond so I thought I'd drop by." He said, dropping down on the bed beside her. "Also, Stiles and I came up with a plan that might help us figure out who the benefactor is..."
She stared at him, noticing his unease and she frowned, "What is it?"
He swallowed thickly, afraid of her reaction but this was the only plan that they had to find the benefactor. "Well we know that Benefactor needs visual confirmation, right?"
She nodded, "Yeah, so?" Her eyes bore into him and caught the scent of fear. "It's not like we have a body for the benefactor...." She realized now why he looked so uncomfortable telling her the plan. "No way!" She got up the bed, staring at him in disbelief.
"Im, it's the only way." He pleaded, following her. "We need to put a stop to the dead pool before someone else dies."
"Why does it have to be you?" She cried out.
"Because I'm the one who is the highest on the list." He told her gently, grasping her hand in his. "We have a plan. Kira is going to electrocute me and I'll only be dead temporarily and then she'll shock me back to life."
Her eyes flickered with unease and fear, "What if it doesn't work?" She whispered. "You made me promise that I wouldn't risk my life again and I hoped that you would promise the same thing."
"I don't want to do it but I have to." He felt responsible for everyone even if he wasn't. But he was the alpha and it fell on him to take the risk.
She opened her mouth to argue but Omar walked into her room, "Sorry to interrupt, but I think I can help you." He offered, glancing between the two. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop..."
Scott eyed his brother, "What do you mean, help?"
"Well, nothing against Kira but do you really think it's safe for a new kitsune to have that much responsibility. You have to remember that if this fails, she's going to feel guilty for killing you." He reminded his younger brother. "Not only that, but you don't even know if she'll be able to pull it off."
Scott frowned, "What am I supposed to do? Our plan was for me to die and have the benefactor come in order to get visual confirmation."
"Well I think I have something better and probably a lot safer." Omar glanced at Imogen who looked completely wary of the plan his brother had. "It's a type of linking spell. I'll need a doll and some of your hair. I'll stick a pin into the dolls heart, stopping your heart. When the time comes, all I need to do is pull the pin out and your heart will start beating again."
"That seems a little too easy." Imogen said, staring at her guardian with apprehension.
He exhaled, "I need to make a strong enough protection spell on the doll so when the time comes, Scott won't actually be dead. You have enough magic power that we should both be able to make one strong enough between us both." He said, "But it'll take a while before it's ready."
She glanced at her boyfriend, "I'd feel better if you didn't do this at all." She said, fearing something bad could happen but she knew that it didn't matter what she said, he has already made his mind up. "But I know you, and I know that you'll do this no matter what I have to say."
"Thank you." He whispered, holding her hand. He knew how hard it was for her but he couldn't helplessly watch another person die. He turned to his brother and gave him a grateful look.
Omar nodded, "Alright, Imogen and I will start on that protection spell and you should probably tell your friends about the change of plan."
Scott pulled out his phone to call Stiles while his brother and girlfriend left to work on the spell.