Chapter 54
Scott and I stood at different ends of the office as we spoke to our mothers. One of them must have noticed Matt. As I waited for my mother to answer the phone, I kept my arms closed around me as I tapped my foot on the ground making a constant clicking on the floor. It took till the third call for her to finally answer me.
"Oh thank god," I sighed.
"Honey? What's going on? You usually don't call me so many time back to back," she asked.
"Mom," I jumped right to it, "I need you to recall the night that I stayed at the hospital after the library incident. Do you remember Matt coming by the hospital late at night? He talked to you and Aunt Mel."
"I mean he was there for a check-up in the morning, but-" before she continued I cut her off.
"Mom, he was wearing a black hoodie," I told her, "It was late at night around maybe midnight. It was the night where the pregnant lady died. You have to recall that night. He was talking to you!"
"You mean the night of the pile-up?" she asked, "I recall going to Mel to see if she has eaten when I saw her talking to someone, now that I think about it, I think it was Matt. What's going on, Juliette?"
"I'll explain everything," I told her looking over my shoulder to Noah, "I just need you to come down to the station. Noah might need your statement as a witness for all the murders."
"You mean the one that the Kanima is doing?" she asked back going into a whisper herself.
I nodded, "Yes, we found the master. Just come to the station as soon as you can and I'll explain everything to you."
"Alright," was all my mother said before hanging up the call.
With a deep breath, I turned back to the others and announced, "My mom is coming to the station."
Noah nodded and smiled over to me, "Good, thanks."
"So is there any other evidence that could point to Matt?" I asked him back.
"We've got shoe prints alongside the tire tracks at the trailer site," Noah answered.
"And if they match, that puts Matt at the scene of three murders," Stiles spoke up, "The trailer, the hospital, and the rave."
"Actually four," Noah announced making us all looked at him confused, "A credit card receipt for an oil change was signed by Matt at the garage where the mechanic was killed."
"When?" Stiles asked, causing me to reach out to hold his hand.
"A couple of hours before you two got there," Noah answered cautiously.
Stiles and I glanced at each other before Stiles turned back to his father and asked, "All right, dad, if one's an incident, two's a coincidence, and three's a pattern, what's four?"
"Four's enough for a warrant," Noah answered seriously, "Scott, call you mom back, see how quick she can get here. If I can get an official ID, I can get a search warrant. Stiles, Juliette, go to the front desk. Tell her to let her mother's in when they get here."
"On it," stiles and I announced.
Stiles took my hand and dragged me along to the front. The station was oddly quiet now. I have been here late nights with Stiles when we would visit his dad on his late shift, but it was never this quiet. It was a bit off which only worried me. Once we made it to the front, we found it empty. Confuses, Stiles called out to the room only to be met with silence as well.
"Something isn't right here," I whispered tightening my hold of Stiles' hand.
As soon as I said those words, a familiar voice says, "Always so observant, aren't you Juliette."
"Matt," I breathed out, feeling Stiles go stiff beside me.
"No sudden movements," he hissed when I tried to look behind us, "Or I put a bullet in his head."
My eyes went wide, making me freeze.
"Come you two," Matt laughed, "Walk."
Stiles and I continued to hold hands as we walked ever so slowly to the Sheriff's office. Stiles was holding on to my hand for dear life as I tried to send him mentally words of reassurance. I knew he wouldn't be able to hear them but it eased my mind thinking that he is. This is what I have always feared. To have him in a situation where doing something to save him would only cause him harm.
As we got near the office I heard Scott talking to the Sheriff, "She's on her way here. Sheriff?"
Stiles and I slipped into the room revealing Matt to both Scott and Noah. We didn't separate out hands even though I could feel Matt's eyes burning holes into them.
"Matt?" Noah asked raising his hands up and getting up slowly from his seat, "It's Matt, right? Matt, whatever is going on, I guarantee you there's a solution that doesn't involve a gun."
"You know," Matt smiled, "It's funny you say that, because I don't think you're aware of just how right you are."
"I know you don't wanna hurt people," Noah tried to reason with him.
"Actually," Matt's tone turned darker as I felt his eyes move over to Stiles, making me angry at his next statement, "I wanna hurt a lot of people. You four weren't on my list, but I could be persuaded. And one way is to try dialing somebody on your cell phone, like what McCall is doing."
My eyes flew to Scott as I looked at him as if he was crazy. Stiles is being held by gunpoint and he thinks to make a sneaky call is going to help?
"That," Matt glared at Scott, "That could definitely get someone hurt. Everyone! Now!"
Stiles and I finally let go of each other's hands as we reached for our phones and tossing them onto the desk. The gun now pointed to me, Matt began to make his orders to the rest of the boys. I had no other choice but to stay still as Matt held my arm tightly and his handgun was pointed at my head. I was vibrating from anger, not being able to help those I saw as my family. I knew very well that the moment I do anything it would only cause them to get hurt. Maybe Scott would come out of it okay but not Noah and Stiles. They would be badly hurt if Matt had his way with them, angry.
Matt ordered very one to the holding cells as he ordered Stiles to handcuff his father to the wall. I wanted to say something but when Matt placed the gun painfully to my temple, I had no choice but to shut my mouth.
"Come on," Noah tried to reason with Matt but nothing was going to stop Matt from doing what he wanted.
"Tighter," was all he responded with.
"Do what he says, Stiles," Noah told him.
Stiles wanted to argue but did what he was asked without another word. Once Matt was satisfied and happy with the work, he motioned all of us back to the office once. In the office, he made the boys delete all of the evidence on him as I continued to be used as his hostage.
"What," Scott asked as he worked beside Stiles at the desk, "Are you gonna kill everyone in here?"
"No," Matt laughed, "That's what Jackson's for. I just think about killing them, and he does it."
With that said, the Kanima slipped into the room ready to follow orders. I closed my eyes, trying to not allow my eyes to shift, ready to beat the hell out of Matt. I would have done so earlier, but Noah didn't need to see that. Now with Jackson in the mix, I can't risk anyone getting hurt. I was essentially shaking from anger, unable to do anything to help.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I jumped at the sudden voice right at my ear from Matt, "You don't have to be afraid."
"You have a gun to my head," I tried to make my voice sound shaky and scared, instead of the instinct to growl at him, "How do you expect me to react? Please, Matt, don't hurt them."
"You have a gun to your head and the only thing you are asking it to keep them safe?" Matt asked, confused by my train of thought, "Why?"
"At the end of the day," I answered him, "Those two are family to me... I would never forgive you for hurting them. You can hurt me, just not them."
I heard Matt scoff as he leaned a bit away from me for a moment before leaning back in and saying, "You're too good for anyone, aren't you? Always the selfless girl willing to put herself in the line of others."
"Please..." I whispered.
"Deleted. And we're done," Stiles spoke up glaring over to Matt as he leaned close to me, "All right, so, Matt, since all the people you brutally murdered deserved it because they killed you first - whatever that means - I think we're good here, right? So I'll just get my dad, and we'll go, you know? You continue on the whole vengeance thing. Enjoy the Kanima."
Matt was about to reply to Stiles' sarcasm when we heard a car outside. I knew that car. It didn't have the same sound of either my mother's smooth turns or Mel's slightly beaten down motor. No, it sounded well taken care of. I only knew of one person with a car like that.
Derek.
"Sounds like your mothers are here," Matt smiled.
"Matt, don't do this," Scott begged, "When she comes to the door, I'll just tell them to leave. I'll tell them we didn't find anything. Please, Matt."
"Don't hurt them," I played the part as I forced tears to my eyes, "I have no one..."
"If you don't move, now," Matt hissed at Scott, "I'm going to kill Stiles first and then your mothers."
"No!" my tears were finally real, "Please!"
"Move!" Matt pushed me toward the boys as we shuffled slowly to the front.
Stiles pulled me into his arms as we all shuffled out of the office and back to the front where Jackson had to kill everyone in the station. I held onto Stiles as we walked. I wasn't going to let go of his this time. We all stopped before the door as Matt Pointed his gun toward us.
"Open it," Matt ordered.
Scott turned to him and begged once more, "Please."
"Open the door," Matt ordered once more a bit more aggressively than before.
With shaky hands, Scott did as asked and opened the door to reveal Derek. We all let out a sigh of relief but we all deflated when he collapsed to the ground revealing a cut behind his neck. Stiles pushed me behind me to keep me out the way of everyone, wanting to block me from Matt's gun but Matt was more focused on looking smug at a paralyzed Derek.
"This is the one controlling him?" Derek scoffed, "This kid?"
"Well, Derek," Matt squatted down to before him, "Not everyone's lucky enough to be a big, bad werewolf."
We all looked at Matt as if he grew a second head. We all had the same thought of how the hell he had figured out the supernatural world. Let alone the fact that Derek was a werewolf.
"Oh, yeah, that's," Matt laughed sarcastically, "That's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, Kanimas. It's like a frickin' Halloween party every full moon. Except for you, Stiles and Juliette. What do you two turn into?"
"I'm just a human," I answered, lying straight threw my teeth, "I come from a family of a Hunters."
"I turn into an Abominable Snowman," Stiles answered calmly, falling into his first protective instinct, sarcasm, "But, uh, it's more of, like, a wintertime thing, you know seasonal."
Matt frowned and Stiles' neck began to bleed. I gasped at the sight, taking a hold of him as I tried to catch him but when Matt pointed his gun at me and Scott, we had no other choice to stay still. I raised my hands up at him as I looked straight down the barrel of the gun.
"Hey!" Scott exclaimed.
"You bitch," Stiles whispered out as he fell on top of Derek.
With a grunt, Derek growled, "Get him off of me."
"Oh," Matt laughed, "I don't know, Derek. I think you two make a pretty good pair. It must kinda suck, though, to have all that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless."
"Still got some teeth," Derek stated, his anger clearly in his tone of voice, "Why don't you get down here a little closer huh? We'll see how helpless I am."
"Yeah," Stiles grunted, "Bitch."
"Babe, please," I began to tear up again, "Stop making Matt angry!"
At that moment, another car came into the parking lot. Scott and I turned to the door, noticing that it was my mother's car followed by his mother's. My tears began to cascade down my face as I began to break down. Almost all of the people I cared about were here and are at the mercy of Matt. As much as I want to wolf out, I could cause them to get hurt thanks to Jackson.
"Is that them?" Matt asked with a smirk on his face, "Do what I tell you two, and I won't hurt them. I won't even let Jackson near them."
"Scott," Stiles called up to us, "Juliette, don't trust him!"
Anger fulled me as Matt pulled Stiles off Derek and proceeded to put his foot on Stiles' throat. All I could see if red as I let out a growl through my teeth. At that moment all I could think was my need to get Matt off Stiles. Fury was all I could feel as I feel my shift happen. I didn't know what happened. One moment I was rushing toward Matt, ready to rip his throat out, but then I was knocked on the ground. My head was heavy and it hurt from where it landed on something sharp and hard.
"Juliette!" Scott called out.
My vision was blurry as I tried to focus and get you, but my head was clouded. Something was blocking my view, ready to reach out to me, but I didn't know who it was.
"Okay!" Scott exclaimed, "Just stop! Stop!"
"Then do what I tell you," Matt hissed at him, "I'll start with Juliette this time as she seems to be lying to me."
"Okay," Scott sighed, "Alright, stop!"
"You," I heard Matt's voice get fuzzy, "Take them in there. You with me."
I felt someone take a hold of me as the through me over a shoulder before heading away from the front. I didn't know what was happening. All I know at that moment was how much my heard hurt. Even when I was dropped to the floor, my head was pounding. All I wanted was to close my eyes and sleep it off, but in the back of my head, I could hear Stiles calling out to me. That was all that kept me awake. I had to stay awake to heal faster.
I'm not sure how much time passed. Now that I think about it, this was starting to be a trend with me. I wonder if I allow everyone to know of my Identity, would I hurt like a human? I can't keep those I love safe if I keep being put down as I have.
"Juliette?"
My eyes flew open at the sound of my name. It was Stiles' voice. I slowly turned my head to look at him. It was weird to do so. My hair stuck to the ground from the amount of blood that had come out from the injury that I got. When I finally did turn toward him, I noticed him laying beside me, stiff from his paralyzes.
"Baby?" he spoke up a bit worried again.
I couldn't speak. Words were hard to say, so I did the next best thing. I reached my hand toward his. Once my hand brushed his arm, he let out a sigh of relief. He knew right away that it was me.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"She's bleeding..." I heard Derek announced, "A lot."
"Babe, I need you to talk to me," Stiles began to panic from what Derek said.
"Mmm," was all that came out from my mouth.
"There you go," Stiles smiled, laughing a bit as well, "Come on, stay with me."
"O-okay..." I sighed, "Hurts..."
"I know," Stiles groaned as he tried to move from his paralyzes, "Just stay with us."
I closed my eyes as I groaned at the sudden pulse in my head. The smallest sound was making the pain worse. I held on to Stiles' hand even harder as I groaned at the sound.
"Hey," Stiles called out, "You know what's happening to Matt?"
Derek sighed before answering, "I know, the book's not gonna help him. You can't just break the rules, not like this."
"What do you mean?" Stiles asked back.
"Universe balances things out. Always does," Derek answered him calmly.
"Is it because he's using Jackson to kill people who don't deserve it?"
I was just listening to them now, trying to focus on anything besides the pain.
"And killing people himself."
"So if Matt breaks the rules of the Kanima, he becomes the Kanima?"
"Balance."
"Will he believe us if we tell him that?" Stiles asked, noting the worry in his voice.
"Not likely," Derek answered dryly.
"Okay, he's gonna kill all of us when he gets that book, isn't he?" stiles was starting to accept his fate.
"Yep," Derek answered, he was also giving up a bit.
"All right, so what do we do?" Stiles asked, "Do we just - do we just sit here and wait to die?"
"Unless I can figure out a way to push the toxin out of my body faster," Derek answered.
"Blood," I breathed out.
The boys paused their conversation as Stiles asked, "What? What are you trying to say?"
"Blood," I breathed out again recalling what my mother had to do to take the toxin out of my system, "You have to drain out the toxin out of your system. My mother did a blood transfer on me because it was messing with my hybrid genes. Derek would just heal through it."
"Wha?" Stiles began before I heard Derek groaning, "Oh, what are you doing? Aw, gross."
"You heard your girlfriend," Derek hissed, "I have to trigger my healing."
"So why aren't you healing?" Stiles asked me.
I breathed out a bit before answering, "I don't know. It's like my healing has stopped. It's not healing at all..."
"That's bad right?" Stiles asked back, "I mean if you aren't healing wouldn't you continue to bleed?"
"I don't know," I answered him, "I'm getting sleepy..."
"Juliette!" Stiles called out to me, "Don't you close your eyes. Stay awake."
"I'm trying..." I told him, my eyes drooping again, "The pain is too much..."
"Come on, babe," he begged, "Stay with us, just keep talking to us."
I tried to say something else, but nothing came out of my open mouth. I wanted to talk to them, try to stay awake, but my eyes were getting heavier and heavier. Tightening my hand in Stiles I closed my eyes. I focused on the pressure I felt from our hands. I focused on the warmth that came from where we were connected. But that only pushed me over the edge.
"Juliette?" Stiles' voice began to fade in and out, "Julie-!"
Stiles' worried voice and call out to me was the last thing I heard before I gave into the darkness.