[eleven]
alpha pact
ALEX WATCHED WITH a frown as Stiles slapped Derek's face in order to wake him up.
"Derek!" Alex exclaimed, wanting Derek to wake up.
Stiles hit Derek again, the unconscious werewolf still not waking up.
"Derek, come on!" Stiles yelled as he hit him again.
"It's not working, Sti!" Alex exclaimed. "Hit him harder."
Stiles curled his hand into a tight fist, about to punch Derek, however, before he could, Derek grabbed the boy's fist and opened his eyes.
Alex let out a relived breath. "Thank god."
"Where is she?" Derek asked with a frown.
"Who, Jennifer?" Stiles replied. "Gone with Scott's mom."
"She took her?" Derek frowned, still lying down, his head slightly raised.
"Yeah, and if that's not enough of a kick to the balls, Scott left with Deucalion." Alex added, Derek glancing at her from his place.
"So we gotta get you out of here, the police are coming right now, and we've gotta get you the hell out of here." Stiles continued hurriedly as he grabbed Derek's hand and pulled him up.
"What about Cora?" Derek frowned.
••••
Alex and Stiles were sat next to each other, Stiles' eyes travelling to the hospital doors. His eyes widened in surprise at the person who stood there.
"Lex, look." Stiles whispered, Alex glancing in the direction Stiles was glancing in, only to find Scott's father in an FBI uniform.
The teens sighed in annoyance as Rafe McCall glanced at them.
"Just perfect." Stiles mumbled to himself as Rafe walked up to the teens.
"A Stilinski at the center of this whole mess, and a Carter by his side. What a shocker." Rafe started, causing Alex to roll her eyes.
Alex and Stiles both hated Scott's father. He abandoned Scott as a child, along with Melissa, and on top of that, he's a dickhead to the Stilinski's.
"What's wrong with a power duo?" Alex sarcastically responded, slightly narrowing her eyes at Rafe.
"Think you two can answer some questions without the usual level of sarcasm?" Rafe replied, glancing between the teens and ignoring Alex's comment.
"If you can ask the questions without the usual level of stupid." Stiles responded sarcastically, Alex smirking at his words.
Rafe gave Stiles a fake smile and continued on, ignoring the comment. "Where's your dad, and why has no one been able to contact him?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen him in hours." Stiles answered truthfully.
"And Alex? I'm assuming you haven't seen him either, due to you always being with Stiles?" Rafe continued, glancing at Alex.
"Your assumption is correct. And what's wrong with being around my best friend? It seems like literally everyone is mad at me for having one, so sue me and see how that'll pan out." Alex snapped, fed up at how people had a problem with her and Stiles being close as friends.
"Is he drinking again?" Rafe continued, ignoring Alex's response once again as he faced Stiles. Alex frowned.
"What do you mean 'again', he never had to stop." Stiles replied, sighing in annoyance.
"But he did have to slow down." Rafe fired back. "Is he drinking like he used to?"
Alex tensed up, getting pissed off at how Rafe was talking about Noah and his drinking. She was about to stand up for Stiles and his father, however, Stiles spoke first.
"Alright, how about this? Next time I see him, I'll give him a field sobriety test, okay? We'll do the alphabet, start with 'F', end with 'U'." Stiles snapped.
Rafe huffed a fake chuckle. "How about you two just tell me what the hell happened here?"
Alex sighed. "We don't know what happened here. We were stuck in the elevators the whole time." She lied.
"None of you were the ones who put the name on the doors, are you?" Rafe questioned.
"What name?" Stiles frowned, Alex mirroring the frown.
••••
"The word is guardian, Allison, more than anyone, you know that's a roll I haven't exactly lived up to lately." Chris Argent started as he guided Allison, Alex, and Stiles in his office.
"But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father, that's not a coincidence." Allison replied with a frown.
"Yeah, I'd also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator doors." Stiles agreed. "That kinda felt like a warning to me."
"Yeah, I wouldn't exactly call it a peace treaty." Alex added Stiles sat down in one of the chairs opposite Chris' desk, Allison and Alex remaining standing up. Alex crossed her arms.
"I think it might be Morrell." Allison spoke. "She knows a lot more than she lets on, and she might be able to help us."
"Well, she needs to get on that a lot faster, okay?" Stiles replied angrily. "Seeing as how the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away."
"Stiles, don't give up hope." Chris tried to relax the boy.
"Yeah, we'll find them." Alex nodded, agreeing with Chris.
"They could already be dead." Stiles spoke, shaking his head.
"I don't think so." Chris replied. "There's something about Jennifer's tactics, it's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place."
"And you're one of them." Allison replied, swallowing.
"Then let's not wait around to see the next move." Chris spoke as he laid out a map. "Everything she's done has been on a telluric current. So Melissa and the sheriff have to be somewhere on one of those currents, right?"
Alex glanced at Stiles, only to find him looking at the ground sadly.
"Stiles, if we're going to find them, we need your help." Chris spoke as he noticed the boy's attitude.
"You seriously wanna go after her?" Stiles questioned, glancing at Chris. "What if she just takes you like the others, huh? I mean, no offence, but what's the difference between you and them?"
Chris loaded a gun. "I'm carrying a .45. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off."
"Lovely." Alex spoke sarcastically.
"We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad." Chris spoke, glancing at Stiles and then to Allison and Alex. "We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need all three of you."
Stiles sighed, then glanced at Chris. "Where do we start?"
••••
"The places where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found." Chris began, shining the LED light on the map, the three teens glancing at it. "I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current. So, there's the school, the animal clinic, and the bank."
"Wait a sec, she wouldn't use the same place twice, would she?" Stiles frowned, Alex crossing her arms.
"Only if she didn't succeed the first time." Chris answered.
"Scott's boss." Allison realised.
"Deaton." Alex spoke. "It was her only failure, right? That could mean something."
"That's just one place so far." Stiles replied, glancing at Alex. "We're gonna need a lot more help."
"What about Lydia?" Allison asked, turning to face Stiles and Alex.
"Lydia?" Chris frowned. "What can she do?"
"Uh, Lydia's got, sort of a talent..." Stiles started.
At the confused look on Chris' face, Alex explained. "She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies...without actually looking for them."
"What is she? Psychic?" Chris frowned.
"She's something." Stiles sighed.
••••
Chris and Allison got out their weapons, Stiles watching with wide eyes while Alex stood there with her arms crossed.
Allison twisted her knives in her fingers while Chris took out his gun.
Stiles glanced between Chris and Allison. "I thought you guys were retired..."
"Retired? Yes." Chris answered. "Defenceless? No. Make sure your phones on, if either one of you hear from Scott you let us know immediately." He spoke to Alex and Stiles.
"Yeah, I'm thinking that's gonna be kinda unlikely..." Stiles blew out a breath, sharing a glance with Alex.
"All three of you, just try to remember he's only doing what he thinks is right." Chris responded, glancing between the three teens.
"I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow..." Isaac's voice spoke, everyone turning to face him as he was leaning against the doorframe. "But I'm getting kinda good with these." His own claws shot out at his sides as he raised his hand, revealing his claws.
"Join the club." Alex smirked, raising her hand to show off her claws. Isaac sent the girl a small smirk.
Stiles glanced between the two, frowning.
••••
"I don't believe it." Lydia started as she faced Alex and Stiles. "Scott can't really be with them, he can't be."
"You didn't see the look on his face, though." Alex blew out a breath.
"Then what can I do?" Lydia asked. "I mean, I get that I'm some kind of like, human geiger counter for death. But...I don't know how to turn it on and off yet. All I know is that she tried to kill me because of..." Lydia cut herself off in realisation.
"Because of what?" Alex frowned at how Lydia stopped talking.
"Hey, Lydia, what?" Stiles frowned.
"When she called me a banshee. She was surprised by it." Lydia glanced between Alex and Stiles. "What if that's not why she tried to kill me?"
"Then why did she?" Stiles asked.
"That's what we need to find out." Lydia spoke with a sigh.
••••
"Aiden's not texting Lydia back." Alex blew out a breath as her and Stiles were walking in the hallways. Stiles stopped, Alex stopping too. "Lydia said she'd catch up with us later. She's trying to call Aiden."
Alex stopped as Stiles' phone vibrated in his pocket. He took out his phone and checked it.
"What?" Alex frowned. "Oh god. What is it now?"
"It's from Isaac." Stiles replied quietly. "Jennifer, she t- she has Allison's father. She took him." Alex's eyes went wide as Stiles continued. "She's got all three now." Stiles' hands began to tremble as he put his phone in his pocket. He inhaled a shaky breath.
"There's still time, Sti." Alex replied, not noticing how his behaviour changed. "We still have time, right?"
Stiles gasped, glancing around. Alex frowned. "Stiles? Are you okay? What is it? What's wrong? Stiles?"
"I think I'm having a panic attack." Stiles breathed.
••••
"Okay, come on...come on..." Alex guided Stiles into the locker room quickly, Stiles practically collapsing on the floor, his back to the lockers as his breathing got heavier. Alex sat right in front of him, trying to calm him down.
"Just think about something else." Alex spoke hurriedly, trying to stop Stiles' panic attack.
"Like what?" Stiles asked between panicked breaths.
"Uh, positive things, happy things, good things...friends! Yeah, that always helps me. Just think about friends." Alex replied nervously, Stiles' gasps getting quicker. "Oh god...just try to slow your breathing."
"I can't- I can't." Stiles spoke in between gasps.
"Shhh, Stiles, look at me." Alex spoke, cupping Stiles' cheeks and beginning to softly rub them with her thumbs, Stiles glancing between her eyes as he continued to hyperventilate.
"Shhh, Stiles..." The girl coaxed, her eyes flickering between Stiles', Stiles' breathing slowly beginning to go back to normal at the sound of her voice, but still at a fast pace.
Suddenly Alex leaned in, connecting her lips to Stiles' quickly, her soft grip on the boy's cheeks slightly tightening, but not too much, her eyes closing tightly.
Stiles' eyes went wide at the feeling of Alex's lips pressed against his. Butterflies wildly flurried around in his stomach at the action, ecstatic about the fact that he was finally experiencing the one thing he had wanted to experience since he met the girl. His eyes fluttered closed as he relaxed into the soft kiss.
The two eventually pulled away slowly after a few seconds, both their eyes still gently closed. Alex's hands retracted from Stiles' face as she finally opened her eyes, Stiles opening his eyes as well, the two glancing at each other.
For both Stiles and Alex, the moment felt like it was in slow motion, the world around them frozen in place.
Stiles' breathing was back to normal. The boy swallowed, his admiring gaze flickering between Alex's eyes. "Woah...how'd you do that?"
"I- uh...I know that holding your breath stops a panic attack." Alex replied softly, her eyes flickering between Stiles'. "So...when I kissed you...you held your breath."
"I did?" Stiles asked quietly, not being able to take his eyes away from Alex's.
Alex nodded gently, a small smile appearing on her face. "Yeah. You did." Her voice came out as a whisper.
Stiles huffed a small chuckle, his lips pressing into a small smile. "Thanks." His eyes flickered from Alex's eyes to her lips. "That was really smart."
Alex huffed a soft chuckle, finally breaking the eye contact to glance at the ground. She adjusted her position, crossing her legs, a small blush appearing on her face at his words. "Yeah...I go through them sometimes, so...I guess I've had a lot of experience..."
Stiles adjusted his own position, not taking his eyes away from Alex as he stretched out his legs in front of the girl. He took a few seconds to process what had just happened. He was actually kissing her. He was actually kissing Alex Carter.
"And if I was really smart, I would tell you to sign up for a session with the guidance counsellor." Alex spoke, giving Stiles a small smile, Stiles releasing a soft chuckle as he glanced around the locker room.
"Morrell..." Stiles realised.
Just then, Lydia ran in, immediately running up to the two.
"There you guys are." Lydia released a breath. She frowned at how Stiles and Alex were sitting on the floor. "What happened?"
Stiles stood up, Alex standing up as well. The two didn't answer her question as they began to walk to the guidance counsellors office, Lydia following.
••••
"Are you here for Ms Morrell?" Stiles asked a girl that was seated at the desk across from where Morrell would usually sit.
"No, I thought this was gym class." The girl replied sarcastically.
Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Sweetheart, we're not in the mood for funny." Lydia snapped. "Do you know where she is?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be waiting here for twenty minutes." The girl replied, releasing an annoyed breath. "So how 'bout you three back out the door and wait your turn?"
"We're not here for a session." Alex replied, crossing her arms.
"Well I am." The girl replied annoyedly. "And I've got some serious issues to work on."
"Hey, wait, you're Danielle." Stiles realised. "You're Heather's best friend."
"I was Heather's best friend..." Danielle replied sadly. "We've been working on that issue three times a week."
"Hold on, did you say Ms Morrell's twenty minutes late?" Lydia frowned.
"And I don't know why either, she's always on time." Danielle spoke.
Lydia glanced at Alex and Stiles. "I was seeing her at the beginning of the semester. She was never late."
"Then she's not late, she's missing." Stiles sighed.
"What if we're not the only ones who thinks she knows something." Alex spoke, glancing between Stiles and Lydia.
"Then I want to know what she knows." Stiles replied, beginning to go through Morrell's drawers.
"What are you doing?" Danielle frowned as Stiles continued to go through the drawers, Alex going next to him and helping.
"Trying to find her. Clearly." Alex responded, rolling her eyes.
"Those files are private." Danielle spoke with raised eyebrows, speaking to the two.
"Yeah...she's kinda right..." Lydia sighed.
"That one's yours." Stiles spoke, holding out Lydia's file.
"Let me see that." Lydia frowned and took the file. Lydia began looking through her file, seeing many drawings of the same tree over and over again.
Alex looked up for a second, noticing how many drawings of the same type of tree there were. She frowned and stood next to Lydia.
"Hey, Lex, why'd you-" Stiles frowned at Alex, however, he saw what she saw, his frown deepening at Lydia's file.
"Wait, Lyds, that's your drawing." Alex realised.
"Yeah I know." Lydia replied. "It's a tree."
"Yeah...it's good too." Danielle spoke, also looking at the drawings.
"Thank you." Lydia glanced at Danielle.
"No...that's the same one though." Stiles frowned as he stood next to Alex and leaned over her shoulder slightly to see the drawing better.
"Same as what?" Lydia frowned in confusion.
"Same as the one you always draw in class." Alex responded.
"It's a tree." Lydia replied, not understanding the pattern. "I like drawing trees."
"No, but it's the exact same one." Stiles spoke, comparing the tree drawings.
"Yeah, he's got a point, don't you see?" Alex frowned.
Stiles took out Lydia's notebook from her bag, opening it to a page with the exact same tree drawing. Alex flipped the pages, the same tree drawn on every page.
"Okay, you can have my session..." Danielle spoke, her eyes wide as she began to leave the room. "You got bigger issues."
"What is this?" Lydia asked, slightly scared.
Stiles frowned, flipping the page upside down so it looked more like roots and a stump. "I know where they are."
••••
"It's the Nemeton. That's where she's keeping them, it has to be." Stiles spoke as him, Alex, and Lydia walked out of the guidance counsellor's office.
"I think so too." Alex nodded.
"Stilinski!" Rafe exclaimed from the end of the hallway.
Stiles sighed in annoyance and turned to Lydia. "Alright, look, go to Derek, okay? He and Peter, they've been there before so they'll know where it is."
"I'll go with her." Alex spoke, Stiles nodding. "It's the root cellar, right?"
Stiles nodded again. "Yeah."
"Let's go, Lyds." Alex spoke to Lydia, Lydia nodding as the girls began to walk off.
••••
Peter opened the sliding door, coming face to face with Alex and Lydia. He raised his eyebrows at Lydia.
"You." Lydia spoke as the situation got awkward.
"Me." Peter replied simply.
"You." Lydia repeated.
"Me..." Peter sighed. "Derek! We have visitors."
••••
"You don't know where it is?" Alex frowned.
"Stiles said you'd been there." Lydia added.
"I know you have." Alex continued.
"We have." Peter responded. "But after a few memorable experiences there, Talia, Derek's mother and my older sister, decided that she didn't ever want us going back. She knew how dangerous it was, and took the memory of its location from us."
Alex sighed in annoyance, crossing her arms.
"But then how are we supposed to find it?" Lydia frowned.
••••
"It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two, or where they all intersect." Stiles spoke to Alex, Lydia, Isaac, Allison, and Deaton as he leaned his forearms against the table.
"It's where Derek took Paige to die." Alex added, crossing her arms from her place next to Stiles.
"My dad and Gerard were there once." Allison spoke up. "But Gerard said it was years ago, and he couldn't remember where it was. And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now."
"Yeah, mine either." Stiles nodded, Alex glancing at him.
"Then how do we find this place?" Isaac questioned.
Deaton sighed. "There might be a way."
Everyone's eyes casted to him, Alex frowning in question.
"But it's dangerous." Deaton added as he glanced at the group. "We're gonna need Scott."
••••
"How'd you guys find out?" Scott asked Deaton, Alex, and Stiles.
"Lydia." Stiles replied. "You?"
"Morrell." Scott answered. "None of the other alphas know where it is either."
"So if this works, are you gonna tell them?" Alex raised her eyebrows.
"I can't stop Jennifer without them." Scott replied, glancing at the girl.
"How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?" Deaton spoke up.
"What's the plan?" Scott questioned.
"Essentially, you, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents." Deaton explained, Alex glancing between Scott and Stiles.
Alex didn't like the idea at all. She didn't want anything bad to happen to her best friends. Especially temporarily dying.
"We die for them?" Scott raised his eyebrows.
"But he can bring us back." Stiles added before Scott could freak out.
"You can bring them back...right?" Alex turned to face Deaton.
"You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?" Deaton replied. Alex raised her eyebrows as Deaton continued. "If it goes right, Scott, Stiles, and Allison will be dead for a few seconds. But there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one."
"You'll be giving power back to the Nemeton. A place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power will be like a magnet. It attracts the supernatural. The kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill the pages of a beastiary with." Deaton explained, not missing the worried glances Alex and Scott shared. "It will draw them here. Like a beacon."
"It doesn't sound any worse than anything we've already seen." Stiles frowned.
"You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see." Deaton replied, glancing at Stiles.
"Is that it?" Scott asked.
"That's what I'm wondering..." Alex added.
"No." Deaton replied, glancing at Scott. "It'll also have an effect on you, Stiles, and Allison. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it every day. For the rest of your lives."
"It'll be kind of a...darkness around your heart. And permanent. Like a scar." Deaton continued.
"Like a tattoo..." Scott realised.
"That doesn't sound eerie and terrifying at all..." Alex spoke sarcastically, blowing out a breath.
••••
Alex poured some ice into one of the baths, Lydia, Deaton, and Isaac doing the same to the other two.
"Alright." Deaton started. "What did you bring?"
"Um...I got my dad's badge..." Stiles replied, his voice wavering slightly. Alex and Scott glanced at the boy with sympathy. "Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so...I tried hammering it out a bit..." He shook his head. "Still doesn't look great..."
"It doesn't need to look good if it has meaning." Deaton replied, sending Stiles a small smile.
"Is that an actual silver bullet?" Isaac frowned as he asked Allison.
"Yeah, my dad made it as a kind of a ceremonial thing..." Allison replied, frowning at the bullet in her hand. "When one of us finishes learning all of the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."
"Scott?" Deaton asked.
"My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital." Scott spoke, holding the watch. "She used to say it was the only thing in her marriage that ever worked."
"Okay. The three of you will get in." Deaton started. "Each of us will hold you down until you are essentially...well...dead."
"But it's not just someone to hold you under...it needs to be someone who can pull you back." Deaton explained, Stiles glancing at Alex. "A kind of emotional tether."
Alex glanced at Allison, the girls giving each other small smiles. Alex began to walk to Allison, however, Deaton stopped her.
"Alex, you go with Stiles."
Alex stopped, glancing at Stiles, Stiles giving her a small smile, Alex smiling back.
"Are you sure, I mean, Scott and I both have to go under." Allison frowned at how Deaton stopped Alex.
Lydia glanced at Allison, walking up to her. Isaac leaned against the table, crossing his arms.
••••
Allison, Stiles, Scott stood in front of the baths, holding their items. Lydia stood behind Allison, Alex behind Stiles, and Deaton behind Scott.
Stiles glanced at Alex behind him for reassurance, Alex sending him a soft smile. Stiles turned to face the bath again, slowly and carefully getting in, holding the sides of the bath tightly as his legs entered the water, followed by his body. He inhaled a sharp breath at how cold the water was.
Allison and Scott were already in their baths, the water freezing. The three began to shiver, releasing gasps.
"By the way...if I don't make it back and you do...you should probably know something." Stiles spoke to Scott. "Your dad's in town."
Deaton rolled up his sleeves, Lydia and Alex already wearing short sleeved shirts. Deaton gently placed his hands on Scott's shoulders.
Alex and Lydia glanced at Deaton, Deaton nodding at the two girls.
The girls gently placed their hands on Allison and Stiles' shoulders.
Allison, Stiles, and Scott inhaled a big breath as Lydia, Alex, and Deaton pushed them further in the baths so their heads eventually sunk.
Isaac didn't take his worried eyes off Allison as Alex and Lydia glanced at Deaton.
Alex turned her head back to face Stiles, a worried frown placed on her face. Suddenly, she felt a surge of energy pass through her.
Her eyes tightly closed as in a split second, her veins flashed a black colour, the girl immediately opening her eyes again with a gasp, her werewolf eyes flashing briefly. The girl frowned to herself, not knowing what had just happened to her. Her grip on Stiles slightly loosened.
"What's wrong?" Deaton frowned. No one had noticed what happened. Lydia and Isaac frowned as they glanced at Alex. Lydia and Deaton kept holding Allison and Scott down.
"I- I don't know..." Alex responded, still frowning.
"Maybe it was the temperature of the water." Isaac frowned. "Did you put extra ice in?"
"I think so..." Alex shook off the feeling.
"Hold him, Alex." Deaton spoke, as Alex's grip had loosened again.
"Sorry..." Alex replied, still shaken up by the feeling she just experienced. Her grip on Stiles' shoulders tightened.
••••
a/n:
this is definitely my favourite chapter I've written so far.
my faves finally kissed 🥺🥺 I love them so much. if y'all ship stalex and freaked out over their first kiss, me too...and I wrote it lmaooo.
anyways, I hope you liked this chapter :) x
thank you (as always) for reading, voting, and commenting 💓💓
—voidelmslie 💌✨