✧☾ ATONEMENT ☽✧

━━━━ act one. full moon

five. the celtic conundrum ━━━━

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THE CHATTER IN THE GIRLS LOCKER ROOM FADED INTO BACKGROUND NOISE AS NOLA PUT ON HER SPORTSWEAR. She'd been lost in thought ever since waking up that morning. Last night the decision to help had been easy, but right now she felt more conflicted than she ever had before. She couldn't get the image of Derek seated on his knees, bloodied and bruised, out of her head. Along with Scott's eyes burning with determination to save as many lives as possible. And she just couldn't seem to figure out why their self sacrifice and compassion had shaken her so much. Maybe because their way of fighting required a kind of selflessness that Nola wasn't sure she was capable of.

She'd always been so sure she was doing the right thing by following her father. She'd been convinced that he only ever wanted to become stronger to protect them against their enemies. Never before did she think he would take such a dangerous risk of releasing two rabid Beta's into a town. Did that make her naive? Probably.

But mostly it just meant that this entire time, she'd been holding onto hope. Some tiny, fragile, sliver of hope that he wasn't really a monster. That some part of him was still the same man who read her bedtime stories and wanted to save the world. But last night proved that she couldn't afford to be naive anymore. Her hope, her inaction, had endangered innocent people. And that was a price she simply wasn't willing to pay. Not anymore.

However, Nola knew that if she were to say any of this out loud, she'd have the entire Alpha pack coming for her. Which was the reason she hadn't talked to Aiden. She had no idea where to even begin. She refused to apologize and knew that Aiden would too. But she feared talking through their differences wasn't an option either, not when he was still convinced their way was the only right way.

The sharp noise of Coach' whistle cut through her contemplations. She blinked, her surroundings coming back to her. At the start of the year she signed up for the Cross-country race. Running had always been one of her favorite ways to let off steam and so today's training session was perfectly timed...If it hadn't been for the fact that both Ethan and Aiden had signed up as well. Plus the race was also mandatory for the Lacrosse team, meaning Scott and Stiles would be present too. Nola would've preferred to avoid them all today but it seemed like she wouldn't get the chance to.

She followed the other girls out of the locker room and out to the running track behind the school. The track went through Beacon Hills reserve, around the parking lot and back to the school. Almost the exact same route they forced Erica and Boyd to take...

Ahead of the group she could see Aiden and Ethan and so she made sure to stay back. She searched the crowd for the others she was trying to avoid when her eyes landed on Isaac, seated on one knee tying his laces. But there was something wrong. She could all but smell the anger washing off of him. And only when she followed his line of sight did she realize why. His eyes were focused on the twins, he recognised them. Somehow his memories had been restored. And she wasn't the only one who'd noticed the sudden tensed form of Isaac. She watched as Scott walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey," he said carefully, worriedly.

Isaac turned to look at him, features drawn in an angry snarl. "It's them."

At that exact same moment, Coach blew his whistle and the group got into motion. The twins sprinted away with Isaac hot on their heels. It wasn't long before they'd disappeared out of sight completely. Scott headed after them, leaving Nola standing there with her doubt.

"Newcrest! Get a move on!"

"Sorry coach!" She shouted before taking off as well.

She gained speed fast, easily catching up with the others and soon she'd left them all behind. Her ears caught the sound of angry snarls and she ran towards it. She didn't have a plan, she didn't have a single clue as to what she was going to do when she caught up with them. All she knew was that she had to do something. Rounding the corner she was faced with four werewolves, all of them with their claws out and their eyes glowing. Her heart was racing within her chest, but not from running...

As luck would have it, she was spared the conflict of having to intervene by a high pitched scream. She couldn't help but wince, as the heartbreaking pain of whoever had screamed left a heavy tension filling the air. They all froze and for a moment no one knew what to do next. It was Nola who moved first, without so much as a look at the others.

She made her way towards the noise, following the path back to where she'd left the rest of the group behind. They were gathered around something, standing so closely together it was impossible to see what had them all so spooked. Though as Nola got closer, her other senses painted a perfect picture for her. The smell of blood and death hit her like a truck, nausea washing over her. Bracing herself she made her way through the crowd, coming to a halt next to Stiles.

"What the hell?" She muttered, eyes wide.

Bound to a tree was a dead boy. A wire around his throat, a wound on his head. Blood covered his entire body, making it look like he'd been dragged through it before he'd been bound against the tree. His eyes were staring at the ground, empty and lifeless.

Hurried footsteps came to a halt beside her as Scott and Isaac finally caught up with her. She could hear Scott's heart racing, his eyes glued to the teenager.

"It's him, isn't it?" Stiles said, looking at his best friend.

Nola frowned. "You knew him?"

Scott shook his head, having to gather himself before he could finally speak. "I- he brought his dog to the animal clinic last night and was reported missing a few hours later."

"Well, he's definitely no longer missing," Isaac said, looking as though he was about to puke.

"Hey!" A loud voice shouted and the crowd parted. The sheriff made his way through the group of shocked teenagers. "Get out of the way!" He turned to his colleague. "Get his area cordoned off before they trample every piece of evidence."

"Back up everyone!" The female police officer shouted.

Nola took a few steps backwards, though her eyes remained glued on the corpse. Like some morbid magnet pulling at her, forcing her to watch. All while a single question repeated itself over and over again through her head; who the hell was capable of something like this?

"Dad," Stiles said, gesturing for his father to come over. "You see?" He pointed at the three different wounds covering the boy's body. Throat slashed, strangled and head bashed in. Every single one of them could have killed him..."Same as the others."

"Others?" Nola said, eye-wided, as she turned to look at Scott.

He nodded, eyes filled with sadness and regret. "Two others, they had the exact same injuries."

It felt as though her lungs had been replaced with two stones, sitting heavy in her chest and preventing her from breathing. It appeared someone was ritualling killing people. And she didn't have to guess to know the purpose couldn't be for anything good.

"Yeah, I see it," the sheriff spoke, saddened. "Listen, do me a favor and get back to school. Coach, give us a hand here?"

Coach blew his whistle once again. "You heard the man! Get back, nothing to see here! Probably just some homeless kid."

"Coach, he was a senior," Scott said softly.

"Crap," the man sighed.

"Kyle!" A frantic voice cut through the crowd as a girl came running forwards. "Kyle!"

The female officer caught her, trying to calm her down but her sobs were loud and painful, making Nola's heart ache with grief for a complete stranger.

"Come on," Scott said softly, starting to walk away.

Nola followed him, suddenly wanting to be as far away from the sight as possible. Somewhere death wasn't the only smell invading her senses...

"Did you see the way the twins were looking at him?" Isaac asked as he followed them back towards the school.

"Yeah, you mean like they had no idea what happened?" Stiles replied.

She threw a look over her shoulder, eyes searching for Ethan and Aiden but she failed to spot them from this distance. She didn't know whether that should comfort her or make her even more nervous.

Isaac shook his head. "No, no they knew."

Stiles looked actually personally offended by the notion. "The kid was strangled with a garrote, all right? Am I the only one recognizing the lack of werewolfitude in these murders?"

"You think it's a coincidence? They turn up and people start dying?"

"Well, no but I still don't think it's them."

"Scott?" Isaac asked, raising a brow at the teenager. "How about you?"

He looked between his two friends, doubt clearly visible on his face. "I don't know yet."

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't know yet?" He repeated skeptically.

"Well, he's got a point," Scott said, gesturing at Isaac. "Seriously, dude, human sacrifices?"

Her nausea instantly returned at the mere mention of the word. But, considering she knew the twins had nothing to do with this, it wasn't that far a stretch...

"Scott, your eyes turn into yellow glow sticks, okay?" Stiles protested, frantically gesturing at his face. "Hair literally grows from your cheek and then will immediately disappear, and if I were to stab you right now it would just magically heal, but you're telling me you're having trouble grasping human sacrifices?"

Despite the situation, she couldn't help the amused smile from appearing on her face as she watched Scott sigh and turn back to look at Isaac.

"That's a good point too."

"I don't care, all right?" Isaac snapped. "They killed that kid. They killed the girl that saved me. And I'm gonna kill them too." And without another word he walked away.

"He's got some serious anger issues," Stiles mumbled.

"Agreed," she replied, then sighed; "I need a shower."

It was only partially true. She feared the rotten smell of death would occupy her nose for days, no matter how many showers she took. But mostly she just needed an excuse to get away from the two boys. As soon as she was out of their line of sight, she reached for her phone. She searched for Aiden's name and typed a quick message. For the smallest of seconds her fingers hovered above the keys in doubt. But then she clenched her jaw and pressed send.

Isaac remembers somehow. He thinks you killed that kid and the girl that came to bust him out. He wants revenge. Be careful.

As predicted the shower didn't help much and Nola was forced to surrender to an entire day trying to ignore her sense of smell. Luckily she didn't have much classes left because if she was being honest, all she wanted was to go home and sleep. It felt like ever since she arrived in Beacon Hills her brain had been working overtime. There was always some question to be answered or mystery to be solved. And she was getting real fucking tired of having to keep lying to so many people about her involvement.

And so, while she'd been getting out of her sportswear and back into her clothes, she'd made the decision to talk to Aiden. They simply couldn't afford a petty fight right now. If she was going to remain sane in this town, she needed to open up to the people she loved most. At the very least he deserved an explanation from her about the night before. She wasn't sure she was ready to tell him the whole truth, that wound would probably never fully heal, but she had to talk to him. Besides, he wasn't stupid, he knew the meaning of blue eyes. He'd probably figured it out himself by now. But still, hearing it from her might just make him understand.

She'd checked his schedule and knew he had history next hour and so she made her way towards the classroom. She heard him before she saw him, her ears so attuned to his voice that she didn't even have to try but heard him anyway.

"What about tonight?"

She picked up her pace, desperate to see him, only to feel her heart drop when she heard the person he'd been talking to reply.

"Nope, can't. I'm studying."

The stones reappeared within her chest, weighing her entire body down. Bracing herself for what was coming, Nola stepped into the hallway. Aiden was leaning against the lockers, a sly smile playing at his lips as he was talking to Lydia. No, not talking, flirting.

"I could help you," he offered.

Lydia frowned. "Do you have an IQ higher than 170?"

"Okay, you could help me. Tonight then?"

Lydia smiled, patted his chest and walked away.

If only jealousy was a monster so she could slash at it until it was dead. Part of her knew she was being childish but Nola was pretty sure she'd kill her boyfriend if she were to talk with him right now. And so she turned on her heels and walked away, before he'd notice her standing there. Of course she knew this was his part of the plan. He'd reassured her countless times of that fact. And yet seeing him smiling at Lydia like that awoke a wildfire within her bones. And so it was easy to use as an excuse to avoid talking to him right now...

The mission had been so simple; infiltrate Scott's pack and gather as much information as you can. But nothing was simple anymore and Nola could feel her grip on the situation fading with every decision she made. Luckily for her, a distraction in the form of Stiles Stilinski provided itself when she rounded the corner.

He was talking to a girl who Nola recognised as the one who'd screamed at the sight of the dead teenager. From the pieces she was able to put together from their conversation, she'd been his girlfriend.

"...and it's gonna sound really unbelievably insensitive," Stiles was saying, instantly fueling Nola's curiosity. "So I apologize in advance but um...was Kyle a virgin?"

Of all the questions she'd imagined him asking, this certainly wasn't one of them. And clearly Kyle's girlfriend had been thinking the exact same thing.

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

"Your boyfriend, was he a virgin or did you guys...you know what I- '' He was cut off by the girl slapping him right across the face.

Nola barely managed to bite back a laugh at the sight of Stiles' wide open mouth as he looked completely shocked. She didn't think he was ever at a loss for words, making his expression even more comical.

The girl was about to walk away but seemed to change her mind at the very last second. She turned back around, blinking away her tears. "No, he wasn't a virgin." Then she walked away without another word, leaving a rather dazed Stiles behind.

"That was definitely the highlight of my day," Nola spoke up with an amused grin, gaining Stiles' attention as he turned around to face her.

"Rude," he mumbled, rubbing his cheek.

"Did she slap all recent memories out of her head? Because the way I'm seeing it, you were the one being rude," Nola was quick to reply, still grinning. "Why the hell did you ask the poor girl that anyway?"

Stiles rubbed his cheek one last time before finally dropping his hand. "I'm looking for a pattern."

She frowned. "Go on."

"All three people who've been killed, all three of them were virgins," he explained, voice growing more serious as he went on. "One is an accident, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern."

"Okay, great theory but Kyle wasn't a virgin, so how do you explain that?"

She could almost hear the wheels in his head turning. "Assuming these really are sacrifices, ancient people always love the number three, right? So maybe they're murdered in threes."

Nola crossed her arms over her chest, her own thoughts working to catch up. "Wait, why are you sure they're sacrifices?"

"Ever heard of the Threefold death?"

"Yes," she said slowly, her mother's lessons about the supernatural world slowly coming back to her. "An ancient ritual right? Used to punish people, mostly by the Ancient Druids."

Stiles nodded, looking almost excited that she knew about this. "Exactly, so you have to admit it all looks very familiar, disturbingly familiar."

She sighed. "Too bad we don't have an Ancient Druid around."

Stiles looked up so suddenly she feared his neck might crack. "No but we do know someone who knows a lot about them."

"Who?"

"I'll explain on the way!" He shouted, already running towards the door before he'd even finished talking.

With nothing better to do, Nola followed him outside and took a seat beside him in his blue jeep. Her lessons were done for today anyway and she desperately needed the distraction. Besides, if her father wasn't going to give her answers to these mysteries, she figured she could at least try and solve them herself.

"So, where are we going exactly?" She asked as Stiles drove them downtown.

"Scott's boss, Deaton. He's helped us before. Dude knows a lot of things about things."

Her heart skipped a startled beat. The chances were so small, there were so many people named Deaton out there and yet, somehow, she knew without a doubt it was the same one. The same Deaton who cared for her when her entire life was turned upside down. Still, she had to be sure...

"Scott's boss?" She asked carefully. "Where the hell does Scott work?"

"Uh, animal clinic," Stiles said, sounding almost apologetic because he seemed to realize how little that actually explained the situation.

Suddenly jumping out of the car seemed like a very attractive option. But that wasn't exactly possible without becoming even more suspicious. If her identity became known right now, her father wouldn't be happy, at all. But it all depended on Deaton and what he would do if he were to recognise her...

"A vet? What does a vet know about Ancient Druids?" She asked, hoping her questions would distract Stiles from noticing her nervosity.

"One thing you should know about Beacon Hills if you're really planning on staying here, is nothing is as it seems. And I do mean literally nothing."

She turned to look at him, listened to the beat of his racing heart, the blood pumping through his veins. So completely human, exactly who he seemed to be.

"You are."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, even if it was the truth. Her ears caught the startled beat of his heart, making her look away from him before he'd notice her smile.

Though he recovered pretty quickly, his voice sharp as he replied. "Yeah, well, can't say the feeling's mutual."

She simply smiled. "I expected nothing less."

After all, she'd figured that was the reason he'd forced her to come along. A little alone time to size her up. Just because Scott trusted her, didn't mean Stiles did as well. And it had become pretty clear to her early on that Stiles felt like he had to protect Scott from his own instinct to put his trust in others. So he didn't allow himself to trust anyone he didn't know. Which she understood perfectly. She knew this world, and she knew trusting the wrong person was a mistake that could mean death.

The same mistake her father made.

The rest of the way was spent in tense silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. When they finally arrived, Nola was very quick to make her way out of the jeep and escape the lingering tension. She reached the door first, a soft bell ringing as she stepped inside. The clinic hadn't changed one bit in ten years and for some strange reason, it calmed her nerves somewhat. Even the mountain ash barrier still weighed heavily in the air, pressing down on her lungs. Nola could hear his approaching footsteps before he appeared behind the counter.

Alan Deaton, just like his clinic, hadn't changed much. A few more wrinkles perhaps but the years hadn't changed his calming presence and soul-piercing gaze. His eyes wandered between her and Stiles, all while Nola held her breath. But, if he did recognise her, it wasn't at all visible on his face.

"You two are out of school early," he stated simply.

"Yeah, free period actually," Stiles said quickly. "Oh, this is Nola by the way."

She smiled as she held the veterinarian's gaze, who greeted her with a smile as well. Still, his eyes betrayed nothing and yet, somehow, Nola had the strange feeling that he knew very well who she was. Or maybe she was simply paranoid.

"Well, I guess you kinda heard people are getting murdered again," Stiles got straight to the point. "And my dad, you know, it's his job to figure it out."

"I gathered as much from the sheriff title," Deaton said dryly,

"Yeah, um, but you know, it gets kind of hard for him to do his job when he doesn't have all the information. And we all know he's pretty much missing half the story here right? So, I started thinking and I remembered someone who does have a lot of information. Someone who always seems to know more than anyone else around here. You."

Deaton nodded slowly, then stepped forward and opened the gate. It felt as though Nola had resurfaced from spending just a little too long underwater and fresh air was finally filling her burning lungs again. She suppressed the urge to inhale deeply and instead followed Stiles and the vet into the back room of the clinic.

"All these symbols and things, the triskeles, the bank logo, the Mountain Ash, all of it is from the Celtic Druids," Stiles rambled on, slightly surprising Nola with how well he'd thought this all through. "And anyone who has ever looked up human sacrifice before knows that the Druids had a pretty big hard-on when it came to giving one up to the gods."

Nola leaned towards Stiles and mumbled in his ear: "Gross."

"Shut up," he replied softly, making her smile. He cleared his throat and continued. "You ever hear of the Lindow Man? 2000-year-old body found in England? He was found strangled, head bashed in, throat cut. Threefold death. They also found pollen grains in his stomach. Guess what favorite Druid plant that was?"

Even though it was a rhetorical question, Deaton reached for a glass jar standing upon his operation table and pulled out a small, green branch. Mistletoe.

"I'm just telling you everything you already know, aren't I?" Stiles said, though he didn't really sound surprised at that fact. "Then why aren't you telling us?"

Slowly, almost delicately, Deaton put the jar down. "Maybe because when you've spent every moment of the last ten years trying to push something away...denying it, lying about it, becomes a pretty powerful habit."

She could almost hear her mother's dying scream once again, his words an echo of every secret she'd been holding on to since that day...As it turned out she wasn't the only one left traumatized by the massacre.

Stiles tapped his fingers against the table while searching for his next words. He clearly hadn't expected this to be Deaton's answer. "All right," he finally said. "So, this guy, is he a Druid?"

"No," Deaton said firmly, almost defensively. "It's someone copying a centuries-old practice of a people who should've known better. Do you know what the world 'druid' means in Gaelic?"

"No," Stiles said while Nola shook her head.

"It means 'wise oak'. The Celtic Druids were close to nature. They believed they kept in balance. They were philosophers and scholars. They weren't serial killers."

"So, why is this one killing people using their rituals then?" Nola questioned.

Deaton opened his mouth to reply when Stiles' phone rang. With a frustrated sigh he answered. "Hey, I can't talk right now."

"Mr. Harris is missing," a female voice Nola recognized as Lydia came from the other side of the phone. She sounded pretty shaken.

"What, wait? What do you mean missing?"

"Not just missing, taken."

Stiles frowned. "How do you know?"

"I-I heard this chanting and there's something strange written all over his papers."

"What is it?"

"I think it says Darach."

Stiles turned to look at Deaton. "Does the word Darach mean anything to you?"

Deaton inhaled sharply, as if all the pieces of the puzzle suddenly made sense. "If a Druid went down the wrong path, the wise oak was sometimes said to have become a dark oak. There's a Gaelic word for that as well."

"Let me guess, it's Darach?" Nola commented.

The vet nodded. "Each grouping of three would have its own purpose, its own type of power. Virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors. Whoever is doing this, they're preparing for something. Something big."

Nola had an eerie suspicion she was very well acquainted with that something.

✧☾ NOTE ☽✧

I absolutely loved writing this chapter! Nola really went through a rollar coaster of emotions ;) It's the first time Nola and Stiles are teaming up as partners in crime (and it certainly won't be the last). While Nola is a badass werewolf, I've also been hinting at the fact that she's pretty smart. Which is why she and Stiles are such a perfect fit because she needs someone who challenges that side of her.

Anyway, before I get carried away with rambling about my love for these two, I just wanted to thank you guys for the crazy amount of support on this story! Your support means the world to me and I cannot put into words how much I love you all.

As always, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I love hearing from you!

xx nelly

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