Eliana's POV:
When we got to the clinic, Brett started convulsing, and there was a strange yellow substance foaming at his mouth. "What the hell is happening to this kid?" Stiles muttered.
Deaton frowned as he focused on Brett. "He's been poisoned by a rare form of wolfsbane. I need to make an incision and you need to hold him down."
Stiles turned to the older Alpha. "Hey, Derek. How about a little werewolf strength?"
Derek and I helped Stiles hold Brett down and Derek protested, "Yeah, I'm not the only one here with werewolf strength."
Deaton looked at him. "If you can't hold him still, the incision might kill him."
"Derek, he's slipping," I warned. "Stiles and I can't hold him by-"
I got pushed back and hit the counter.
Derek winced and muttered, "Ow."
"Sorry," I apologized.
Brett ran towards the exit and was knocked unconscious by Peter. "I guess I still have a little werewolf strength left."
Derek scoffed. "Yeah, maybe more than a little."
I placed a hovering hand over Brett's mouth and frowned. "Guys? I don't feel a breath."
Deaton nodded and pushed a scalpel into Brett's breast bone and sliced down. Brett let out a gasp. Yellow smoke flowed from the wound before it dissipated. "I think he'll be fine, but he'll probably be out for awhile."
Stiles frowned and leaned closer to Brett. "Guys, can you hear that? I think he's saying something."
She took a moment to listen to Brett's words. "The sun... The moon... The truth... The sun... The moon... The truth..."
Deaton caught their attention when he said, "Three things cannot long be hidden. The sun, the moon, and the truth. It's Buddhist."
"Satomi," Peter stated.
---
We headed to the station and Parrish looked up at us. His gaze turned to me and Stiles. "Your dads should be back within the hour. You want to wait in his office?"
I gave him a light smile. "Actually, we're here to talk to you."
"Privately," Lydia added.
She showed Parrish the list and he frowned. "This is a hit list?"
"We call it a deadpool," Stiles explained. "Recognize any of the names?"
Parrish nodded slowly. "Yeah. The sheriff had me run a bunch of these through the system last night. But we couldn't find any of them."
I turned back to Lydia. "Show him the other thing."
She flipped it over for him. "Okay. That's kind of terrifying. What's the number?"
"That's how much you're worth," Lydia told him.
Parrish frowned. "I'm worth five dollars?"
"Five million," Stiles corrected.
"I only make $40,000 a year. Maybe I should kill myself. I don't get it. Why... Why am I on this?"
Stiles shrugged. "Honestly, that might be a question for another day. Right now, there's still another third of the list we gotta crack."
"We need the third cipher key," Lydia said. "But we need help getting it."
Parrish frowned. "From who?"
"Meredith."
"The girl from Eichen? The last time you saw her, you almost gave her a nervous breakdown."
"Uh... Almost," Lydia said, defending herself.
I frowned at Lydia wondering what she was talking about and she shrugged innocently.
---
We got to Eichen House. Much to Stiles' and Lydia's protests, I'd insisted on going with them. As soon as we got to the front desk, an orderly started unlocking the door and Stiles saw another orderly and frowned. "Oh, no, not this guy."
Said orderly frowned. "What the hell are we running here? A bed and breakfast? We do not just open the door for anyone with a badge."
Parrish took charge. "We need to talk to Meredith Walker. It involves a murder investigation."
"Well you can talk to her all you want but that one..." He pointed to Stiles and glared at him. "He's outta here."
I flicked my claws and growled quietly as Parrish explained to the orderly, "They're crucial witnesses in an ongoing investigation. I wouldn't have brought them here if it wasn't absolutely... Crucial."
The orderly glared. "Okay, Deputy. How about you come back with a court order, then I'll listen. As for you, Mr. Stilinski, how about you come back with a payment in full. That's right. Daddy may be the sheriff, but he's late on the bills. I guess those government jobs aren't as reliable as they used to be, huh?"
Parrish continued, "But they do help when you need a favor. Like, how a month ago, Canaan P.D. helped you get home after blowing a 0.1 on a breathalyzer."
"No..." Stiles breathed.
The orderly sighed. "Alright. I'm not against a little quid pro quo. Not at all. Not at all."
Stiles smiled at Parrish. "You. You. I like you. I'm gonna keep you."
I glared at the annoying orderly and quietly growled.
Stiles frowned. "Ella, if you keep doing that, you're gonna have to wait outside."
"Like I'm a dog?" I scoffed. "Not a chance."
"Then stop growling at the orderly."
"But he's rude and annoying."
"You're not wrong, but please, just stop, okay?"
"Fine. I'll stop."
"Thank you."
We reached Meredith's room and she was sitting cross-legged on her bed. Lydia asked her what we needed to know and Meredith shook her head. Lydia frowned. "Meredith, what do you mean you can't tell us?"
Stiles took on a gentler tone. "We just need the third key. You can give it to us in numbers, letters, hieroglyphs. Whatever you want."
Meredith's head shook faster. "I can't."
I crossed my arms and stared down at her, probably more menacing than I meant. "Why did you help us, Meredith? Why'd you give Lydia the second key?"
She looked up at me. "I wanted to help. That's what I want to do. I want to help."
Lydia rolled her eyes. "Great. So help us now. Okay? Give us the third cipher key."
Meredith suddenly shrunk into herself. "Things have changed. I... I can't."
"Why not?" Stiles asked.
"Guys, go easy on her," Parrish told us.
Meredith looked back up at us. "I'm sorry. I can't. He... He doesn't want me to."
My ears perked up at the newfound information. "Who is he?"
Lydia's tone became sharper. "Meredith, who doesn't want you to tell us the third cipher key?"
"The Benefactor," Meredith answered.
"What's his name?" Lydia asked. "You could just tell us his name."
"Okay, you're shaking your head," Stiles stated. "What's that mean? Does that mean you don't know? Or you don't want to help us?"
"I can't... I can't help anymore," Meredith repeated.
Lydia frowned at her. "How do you know about him?"
"Guys, I think we should stop," Parrish warned.
I nodded. "Agreed. We should stop."
Lydia continued. "Meredith, a lot of people are going to die if you don't tell us."
"I don't know... I don't know. I don't know," Meredith repeated again.
"Please... Meredith, it's okay. You're gonna be all right. Please."
"I don't... I don't... I don't know."
"Meredith," Parrish said in a calming tone.
"I said I don't know!" she screamed.
I put a hand to my ear and frowned. When I pulled it away, a drop of crimson liquid was on my finger.
I made my way home to be intercepted by Evan. "Why did you not tell me or Dad that Mom was back in town?"
I frowned. "I've been a little busy trying not to die!"
"El, you should've said something. We can protect you."
"Are you saying I can't protect myself?"
"Don't put words in my mouth, Eliana."
"I don't have the energy to fight with you. Goodnight." I made my way upstairs and flopped onto my bed, soon falling into a reasonably restful sleep.