[thirteen]
anchors

THREE WEEKS HAVE passed since the group saved Stiles' dad, Scott's mom, and Allison's dad.

Alex didn't tell anyone, not even Stiles and Scott, about the pain she experienced at the Nemeton, or at the clinic when Stiles, Allison, and Scott located their parents. She didn't see the need to, considering she didn't experience that same pain since those two occasions.

Alex's eyebrows furrowed as she turned her body around the other way. It was midnight, and the girl hadn't slept for three hours. She was only closing her eyes and hoping for sleep to take over. It didn't.

Alex groaned in annoyance as her eyes opened, the girl turning on her back so she was facing the ceiling.

Why can't I sleep all of a sudden? She thought to herself as she sighed. She glanced at her grey socks next to her bed. Maybe if I try wearing socks...

The girl frowned to herself, looking back up at the ceiling. What the hell is wrong with me.

She then stood up, getting out of her bed covers, putting on the grey socks, and walking down to her kitchen. She turned the lights on, walking over to the kettle and turning the switch on, the water beginning to boil.

Maybe all I need is tea. A nice, calming, sleep inducing cup of lavender tea. She thought to herself as she took out a tea bag and a mug. Hopefully this works.

Alex soon finished drinking her tea, the girl going back to her bed and taking her socks off, lying under the covers, her head resting on her pillow.

Alex tried to close her eyes, hoping the tea would work, however, her eyes opened almost immediately, the girl jolting up into a sitting position, gasping, her werewolf eyes flashing for a split second before going back to normal.

The pain returned, however, this time, instead of having chest pain, the pain shot through her head, Alex groaning as she held her hands to the sides of her head. Suddenly, she heard loud ringing in her ears.

The girl closed her eyes tightly as the ringing got louder.

Then, the pain suddenly went away. Alex removed her hands from her head slowly, opening her eyes again. What the hell just happened. Alex thought to herself.

••••

Stiles jolted up in his bed, gasping, Alex frowning as she sat up as well, still tired from sleeping. One of her arms was wrapped around Stiles' bicep, her other hand softly rubbing his forearm.

"You okay?" Alex's soft voice asked. "Stiles?"

Stiles exhaled a breath, calming down. "Yeah, I was just dreaming." His voice was raspy. "It was weird, it was like a dream within a dream."

Alex frowned, glancing at Stiles. "A nightmare?"

Stiles released a shaky breath, nodding as he placed his hand gently on top of Alex's, which was still on his forearm. "Yeah." Stiles intertwined his fingers with Alex's.

With her other hand, Alex began to softly rub Stiles' shoulder, Stiles frowning and glancing at Alex. "Wait a second, Alex...what are you doing here?"

The door suddenly creaked open, Stiles' head whipping around to face it, Alex looking at the door too.

"Hang on." Stiles whispered as he began to get up, Alex gently pulling him back.

"Stiles, where are you going?" Alex frowned.

"I'm just gonna close the door." Stiles replied quietly, his gaze set on the door.

"Who cares, just go back to sleep, Stiles." Alex mumbled, trying to bring Stiles back down to the bed.

"No, no." Stiles frowned, taking Alex's hand off his shoulder, still looking at the door. "I should close it."

"Don't worry about it." Alex whispered.

"What if someone comes in?" Stiles replied, still looking at the door as he stood up, Alex's hand falling onto the bed.

"Who the hell is gonna come in?" Alex frowned.

Stiles didn't answer her as he slowly made his way to the door.

"Just come back, Stiles. Go back to sleep." Alex spoke, her eyes set on Stiles.

Stiles gently shook his head. "No. What if they get in?" His voice came out as a whisper.

"What if who gets in?" Alex frowned as Stiles kept walking closer to the door. "Stiles, just leave it, please. Stiles, come back to bed."

Stiles' hand raised slightly to the doorknob.

"Stiles. Please." Alex's voice rose as she became panicked. Stiles twisted the doorknob. "Don't, Stiles. Don't! Don't go in there, please, Stiles, don't!"

Stiles walked into the room, the door closing behind him. The door led to the forest, the Nemeton in the middle.

Suddenly, the big lights turned on around him, revealing the lacrosse field. Stiles held up his arm to shield himself from the bright lights.

"It's a dream." Stiles told himself. "This is just a dream, get it out of your head, Stiles. You're dreaming, alright? So wake up, Stiles. Wake up Stiles. Wake up!"

••••

"And you couldn't wake up?" Alex frowned as her, Stiles, and Scott walked side by side towards the school entrance.

"Nope. And it was beyond terrifying." Stiles replied with a sigh. "You ever hear of sleep paralysis?"

Alex and Scott both answered at the same time.

"Yeah. I've had it before."

"Uh, no. Do I want to?"

"Well, have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're about to wake up but you can't move or talk?" Stiles explained to Scott.

"Yeah. Yeah, I've had that." Scott nodded.

"It happens because during REM sleep, your body's basically paralysed." Stiles continued. "It's called muscle atonia. That way, if you start dreaming about running, you don't actually start running in your bed."

"That makes sense." Scott nodded along.

"But sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does." Stiles added. "So for this split second, you're actually aware that your body is paralysed."

"And that's the terrifying part." Alex spoke, glancing between Stiles and Scott.

"It turns your dream into a nightmare." Stiles replied with a sigh. "You can feel like you're falling, like you're being strangled, or, in my case, like you're in the center of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices took place."

You think it means something?" Scott questioned as the trio walked into the school. "What if what we did that night...what if it's still affecting us, Scott?"

"Post traumatic stress?" Alex frowned.

"Or something." Stiles replied as the trio arrived in the classroom, sitting at their usual desks. "But you wanna know what scares me the most? I'm not even sure this is real."

Stiles yelled himself awake, thrashing in his bed, his father running in the room quickly, trying to get Stiles to stop yelling.

Noah ran behind Stiles, his arms wrapping around his son, Stiles gripping onto his dads arm for dear life.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay." Noah spoke once Stiles slowly stopped yelling and thrashing, tears staining his cheeks.

••••

"Hey, hey, you alright?" Stiles frowned as Scott bumped into him and Alex.

Scott released a breath as he glanced between Alex and Stiles.

"You don't look alright, Scott." Alex frowned.

"I'm okay." Scott lied.

"No you're not." Alex sighed, crossing her arms.

"It's happening to you too, you're seeing things, aren't you?" Stiles frowned at Scott.

"How'd you know?" Scott asked.

"Because it's happening to all three of you." Lydia spoke, the trio turning to face Lydia and Allison.

Allison, Scott, and Stiles shared a glance, while Alex frowned.

She was going to tell them about the pain in her head and how her werewolf eyes flashed randomly, but now that she knew they were all dealing with their own situations, she didn't want to burden them with her problems.

Plus, she didn't think it meant anything. She just thought it was because she didn't sleep at all the previous night and it was taking a toll on her mental state.

••••

"Well well well, look who's no longer the crazy one." Lydia smirked as she walked into the school, Stiles, Allison, and Scott following.

"We're not crazy." Allison replied.

"Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are fine." Lydia scoffed.

"We did die and come back to life." Scott glanced at Stiles and Allison. "That's got to have some side effects, right?"

"We keep an eye on each other, okay?" Stiles spoke to the group. "And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much."

••••

"Good morning everyone." The teacher spoke, catching everyone's attention. "My name is Mr Yukimura. I'll be taking over for your previous history teacher. My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure by now you all know my daughter, Kira. Or you might not, since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school...or brought home a friend for that matter."

A girl at the back of the classroom sighed in annoyance, her head falling onto the desk with a thud, some people turning to face her, including Alex, Stiles, and Scott.

"Either way, there she is." Mr Yukimura spoke, Kira raising her head slightly, sheepishly smiling.

Stiles and Alex turned back around to face the front, Scott's gaze still lingering on Kira.

"Now let's begin with American History at the turn of the twentieth century." Mr Yukimura moved on.

••••

"Maybe we just need a little more time to get back to normal." Scott spoke as him, Alex, and Stiles approached Stiles' locker, Stiles trying to open it.

"Yeah, try not to forget we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures." Stiles responded, focusing on his locker. "There's a pretty good chance things are never getting back to normal."

"Yeah..." Scott noticed how Alex wasn't saying much, and frowned at the girl, Alex crossing her arms and looking at the ground. "Alex, are you okay? You're quieter than usual...and not being sarcastic, which is not like you at all."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alex responded, not returning Scott's glance. "Just tired."

"You sure you're okay?" Scott raised his eyebrows.

"Mhm." Alex nodded, still not looking at either Scott or Stiles.

Scott focused on Kira, while Stiles frowned at his lock. Instead of numbers, Stiles saw symbols on it. "What?" Stiles muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, Scott's red alpha eyes flashed, Stiles seeing numbers on his lock again.

"Scott, your eyes." Alex frowned, glancing at Scott, Stiles glancing at him too.

"What about them?" Scott asked.

"They're starting to glow." Stiles responded.

Suddenly, Alex's werewolf eyes began to glow as well.

"Wh- Alex yours too." Stiles frowned.

"What? Right now?" Scott frowned as he glanced between Alex and Stiles.

"Yes, right now!" Stiles whisper shouted. "Scott, Alex, stop."

"I can't." Alex replied quietly. "I can't control it."

"Me neither." Scott added.

Both Scott and Alex covered their faces, Stiles looking around. "Alright, just keep your heads down, look down, let's go."

Stiles guided both Alex and Scott to a classroom, closing the door behind them, Scott shrugging off his jacket as he fell to the ground in the space between two desks, Alex falling to the ground on her knees.

"Get back!" Scott growled at Stiles.

"Stiles, get away from us." Alex growled as her canines forcefully shot out, her claws shooting out at her fingers. She let out a groan as she couldn't control her transformation, her werewolf eyes glowing.

"Scott, Alex, it's okay." Stiles replied, continuing to walk closer to the two.

"I don't know what's gonna happen, get back!" Scott growled in response, beginning to pant, Alex glancing at the ground, closing her eyes tightly. She began to heavily breathe, trying to stop herself from wolfing out completely.

Then, she remembered something Derek had said to her once when she struggled to stay in control.

"Find an anchor. Your anchor doesn't have to be an object. It can be a place, or even a person. Whatever, wherever, or whoever your anchor is, find it. Find your anchor, Alex."

"Stiles." Alex's eyes shot open as she spoke between breaths. "I need you."

Stiles didn't hesitate as he quickly ran in front of her at the words. Alex gripped onto his arm tightly, her claws piercing the tip of his skin.

With a few more heaving breaths, Alex turned back to normal, her claws and canines going away, and her eyes no longer being her werewolf ones. Her grip on Stiles' arm loosened as she released a few breaths.

Scott, however, was still struggling. His own claws shot out, his canines baring. He clasped his hands tightly shut, his claws piercing his palms roughly, blood starting to trickle out of his hand at the pressure. He grunted as he dug his claws deeper in his skin.

Stiles and Alex both looked at Scott, Stiles in shock.

Scott fell to his knees as his claws and canines went away, his eyes turning back to normal. He released heaving breaths as he calmed down. Stiles and Alex went up to him.

"Pain makes you human." Scott spoke in between breaths as he revealed his bloody hands.

"Scott, this isn't just in our heads." Stiles replied. "This is real. And it's somehow affecting Alex too."

Alex sighed, glancing at the ground before speaking. "I didn't tell you guys, but recently I've been experiencing this throbbing pain in my head. I hear ringing too. The pain only used to be my chest back when you guys technically died, and when Isaac, Allison, and I went to the Nemeton to get your parents. Last night, I couldn't even get a wink of sleep. On top of that, when I try to sleep, I automatically wake up and my werewolf eyes just glow. I can't control it."

Scott and Stiles frownedt at her, wondering how she was getting affected.

Alex frowned to herself as she continued. "I think...I think something happened to me too, because when I was holding Stiles in, I felt this weird surge of energy, along with my werewolf eyes glowing. I don't know what's happening, but it's bad."

"It's starting to get bad for me too. I'm not just having nightmares, I'm having these dreams where I have to literally scream myself awake." Stiles spoke. "Sometimes I'm not even sure if I'm actually ever waking up."

"What do you mean?" Scott frowned.

"You know how you can tell if you're dreaming?" Stiles spoke, glancing between his two best friends. "You can't read in dreams. More and more in the past few days, I've been having trouble reading. It's like I can't see the words, I can't put the letters in order."

"Like even now?" Scott asked as Stiles glanced up at the board, not understanding anything.

"I can't read a thing." Stiles spoke quietly.

••••

"Right at her head?" Scott frowned as him, Alex, and Isaac walked into Scott's room, Alex crossing her arms.

"Almost right through it." Isaac responded. "And she keeps saying the same thing, that she keeps seeing her aunt. Whatever's happening to you guys, it's getting worse. Alex, why didn't you tell me something was happening to you?"

"Uh, cause we rarely see each other. If you didn't realise, which you should because you wanted us to, we broke up. On top of that, I don't have to tell you everything." Alex replied with a shrug.

Isaac sighed, but moved on anyway. "If I hadn't been there, then Lydia would be dead."

"What were you doing there?" Scott frowned.

Isaac looked away sheepishly as he told Scott that he was there to admire Allison.

Scott pushed Isaac out of the room roughly, sending Isaac hitting the wall opposite Scott's room, the picture on the wall falling on the floor due to the impact.

Alex's eyes widened as she chuckled. "I've been wanting to do that for ages, hell yeah Scott!"

"Oh, you guys, come on." Melissa's annoyed voice spoke from downstairs. "This house does not have a supernatural ability to heal! So, stop it."

••••

"Stilinski!" Coach yelled, Stiles' head raising from the desk quickly.

"Uh huh?" Stiles replied, shaken up by his dream.

"I asked you a question." Coach replied, annoyed.

"Uh...sorry Coach, what was it?" Stiles asked.

"Oh, it was uh, 'Stilinski, are you paying attention back there'?" Coach spoke.

"Oh...well I am now." Stiles spoke quietly.

"Stilinski, stop reminding me why I drink." Coach sighed. "Every night." He muttered the last part.

Stiles glanced at Alex and Scott, finding the two already glancing at him with frowns.

"I'm okay, I just fell asleep for a sec." Stiles spoke quietly.

"Dude..." Scott started quietly.

"You weren't asleep." Alex finished, glancing at his page.

Stiles looked at his own page, finding it filled with the same two words over and over again. Wake up.

••••

Alex was sat between Stiles and Scott, the three facing Isaac, Allison, and Lydia.

"Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near death experience, and comes out of it seeing things?" Scott started.

"And is unable to tell what's real or not." Stiles added.

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives." Allison continued.

"What happens to someone who also somehow got affected by death but doesn't know how she did in the first place." Alex added, releasing an annoyed breath as she rested her chin on her hand, her elbow resting on the table.

"They're all locked up because they're all insane." Isaac spoke, Alex sending him a glare.

"Thanks for the compliment ex boyfriend of mine who said he still wants to stay friends." Alex rolled her eyes. "Keep up with those comments and your annoying ass is gone my 'so called' friend."

Lydia sent Alex a proud smirk, high fiving the girl.

Before Isaac could respond, Stiles added in. "Isaac, can you at least try to be helpful? Please."

Alex smiled. Go Stiles.

"For half of my childhood I was locked in a freezer, so being helpful is kind of a new thing for me." Isaac responded.

"Hey, are you still milking that?" Stiles replied sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at Isaac.

Scott's head fell on the table, as he was annoyed at the bickering.

"Yes, I am still milking that." Isaac replied, however, before anyone else could respond, Kira shyly came up to the table, Scott's head raising and everyone glancing at her.

"Hi." Kira spoke. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about. And I think I actually might know what you were...talking about."

When no one said anything, Kira continued. "There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called 'Bardo'. It literally means 'in between state'. The state between life and death."

"And what do they call you?" Lydia asked.

"Kira." Scott answered, everyone glancing at him, Allison frowning.

Scott and Kira smiled at each other.

Alex glanced between the two, and she couldn't help softly smiling at the pair. They would be cute together. She thought.

Sensing the glances, he explained. "She's in our history class."

"So, are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism, or Indian?" Lydia asked the girl.

"Either, I guess." Kira responded, sitting down next to Stiles, the boy shuffling over a bit, causing Alex and Scott to as well. "But all the stuff you guys were just saying, all that happens in Bardo."

She went on when no one said anything. "There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations, some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities."

"Wrathful deities." Isaac clarified. "And what are those?"

"Like, demons." Kira answered.

"Demons?" Stiles inhaled a breath. "Why not?" He added sarcastically.

"Hold on, if there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?" Allison frowned.

"Death. You die." Kira replied simply.

Alex's eyebrows raised as her, Lydia, Scott, Isaac, Stiles, and Allison shared glances.

"Lucky us, huh?" Alex whispered to Scott sarcastically.

••••

"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you." Deaton frowned, referring to Stiles. "And Alex is experiencing this too?" Deaton continued.

"Sort of." Alex blew out a breath as she explained. "I'm not sleeping, so essentially insomnia, I get these random, violent headaches, and I can't control when I turn. Especially my eyes. Can't control those most of all."

Deaton frowned.

"How do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?" Stiles frowned, confused.

"Do you remember what the sign language looked like?" Deaton questioned. "The placement and the movement of the hands?"

"You know sign language?" Scott raised his eyebrows.

"I know a little." Deaton responded, before turning back to face Stiles. "Let me give it a shot."

Stiles began to recreate the sign language he saw in his dream. "Uh, okay, the first move was like this."

"That's when." Deaton spoke.

"Then there was this twice." Stiles did another hand motion.

"That's door." Deaton replied, frowning.

"And then there's this in between them." Stiles added, doing another motion.

"That's it?" Deaton asked, Alex frowning in question, crossing her arms.

Stiles nodded.

"When is a door not a door?" Deaton translated.

"'When is a door not a door'?" Stiles repeated, narrowing his eyes.

Both Alex and Scott spoke at the same time. "When it's ajar."

"You're kidding me." Stiles sighed, growing more annoyed by the second. "A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?"

Deaton replied. "Not necessarily. When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of...super consciousness, you essentially opened a door to your minds."

Stiles and Scott glanced at each other.

"So what does that mean?" Scott frowned in question. "The door's still opened?"

"Ajar." Deaton answered.

"A door into our minds." Stiles blew out a breath.

"I did tell you it was risky." Deaton responded.

"What do we do about it?" Scott asked.

Deaton sighed. "Well, that's difficult to answer."

"Wait a sec, I know that look. That's the 'we know exactly what's wrong with you but we don't know how to fix it' look." Stiles responded, Alex widening her eyes.

"One thing I do know, is that having an opening like that into your mind...it's not good." Deaton responded. "I'm assuming Alex has one too, considering she got affected."

"Hold on, 'you're assuming'?" Alex raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'you're assuming', I need to know if I have a dangerous opening in my mind or not."

"You each need to close that door." Deaton replied, answering Alex's question. "And you need to do it as soon as possible."

"Wait, how the hell did I get affected in the first place?" Alex furrowed her eyebrows.

"When you pushed Stiles in, his mind and body were both holding too much energy. Some of it needed to be split into another vessel, therefore, the energy went into you." Deaton explained.

Alex frowned. "So that means Stiles and I are sharing this...energy?"

"You're somehow connected by it, yes." Deaton nodded, Alex and Stiles sharing a glance.

"Wait, but why did it go into Alex and not into Lydia or you?" Stiles frowned at Deaton.

"As I said, your body and mind couldn't handle it." Deaton replied. "And since Alex is a werewolf, she's stronger than a human, therefore, she's able to hold a large capacity of that energy. If it was me or Lydia, it would have killed us."

Alex blew out a breath. "Wow..."

••••

As Stiles, Alex, and Scott left the clinic, Noah pulled up and got out of his car.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Stiles frowned.

"I'm here because I could use some help." Noah released a breath, glancing at Alex and Scott. "Actually, your help."

"Why us?" Scott asked.

"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident. One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found." Noah explained. "There's enough evidence to have me thinking that...that a werewolf could have caused the accident and then dragged her body away. If either of you could somehow get a lock on her scent, if you could somehow help me find her body...it might provide the missing clue."

Scott shared a glance with Alex.

"What if it was a werewolf?" Stiles asked.

"Well, there's someone out there who murdered an entire family. Someone who still needs to be caught." Noah answered.

••••

Scott, Stiles, and Alex carefully walked into Malia's room using the back door, Scott and Alex trying to catch a scent by smelling Malia's stuffed animals.

"All I'm getting is some animal smell." Scott frowned.

"Me too." Alex added, frowning.

"What kind of animal?" Stiles whispered, Alex noticing a dog.

"Dog." Alex answered, Scott and Stiles glancing at the dog too.

The dog snarled at the three, Stiles, Alex, and Scott freezing in place.

"Hi, puppy." Stiles whispered. "Get rid of it."

"Me?" Scott frowned.

"Yes, you." Alex whispered. "I can't control my powers."

"Scott, glow your eyes at it or something." Stiles added as the three didn't take their eyes off the dog in front of them. "Be the alpha."

"I can't. I don't have control either." Scott replied in a whisper.

"Okay, buddy, you're gonna have to try something." Stiles spoke quietly.

Scott held his hand out slowly. "Nice doggy."

The dog barked. Loudly.

Alex widened her eyes as Scott jumped back, slightly falling against Alex's body, Alex's body gently hitting Stiles' chest from the impact.

Mr Tate yelled from the other room. "Apollo! Apollo, shut up! Shut the hell up!"

The dog, Apollo, snapped his mouth shut at the sound of his owners voice, then walked away.

Stiles went to one of the drawers and pulled out two books, handing one each to Scott and Alex.

"Anything?" Stiles questioned.

"All I'm getting is that dog." Alex sighed, Scott nodding.

"Me too." Scott added.

Stiles sighed, but then noticed a framed picture of Malia and her sister when they were kids, taking a photo of it with his phone.

••••

"We're sorry." Alex started, facing Noah and referring to both her and Scott. Scott and Stiles stood next to her.

"Yeah, we tried as hard as we could, I mean, if it wasn't so long ago, we might have been able to do it." Scott added.

Noah sighed. "It's okay, it was a long shot. In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you three here. I don't know what I was thinking. Thanks for trying, alright?"

"Yeah." Scott spoke quietly.

"See you at home." Noah spoke to Stiles as he got in his car and drove off.

"Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I just think this is one he felt he could've figured out right now." Stiles spoke with a sigh.

"Why is it so important now?" Alex frowned.

"Well, he wants to be able to solve one more while he's still sheriff." Stiles replied.

"What do you mean 'still sheriff'?" Scott asked with a confused frown.

••••

Alex and Scott walked into Stiles' room, Stiles sitting up immediately.

"Hey, what's going on?" Stiles frowned.

"You, me, and Alex." Scott started.

"We're gonna go out and find a body." Alex added.

"A dead body." Scott finished.

••••

"You know if my dad's right, that means there's another werewolf we haven't met yet." Stiles spoke as he, Scott, and Alex walked in the woods, Scott holding the flashlight.

"We know." Alex sighed.

"If it turns out to be, like, triplets that form into a three-headed hound of hell, I'm seriously not up for that." Stiles replied with a sigh.

"Yeah, me neither." Scott spoke.

"Same." Alex added. "Especially since I can't even control my own transformation anymore."

Suddenly, a coyote howl was heard, Stiles jumping slightly and gripping onto Scott's shoulder, causing Scott's phone, with the GPS on it, to fall into a puddle.

Both Alex and Scott sent Stiles a glare.

"Sorry buddy." Stiles apologised. "I hate coyotes so much, they always sound like they're mauling some tiny, helpless, little animal."

"Tiny animal, huh? So like you?" Alex replied sarcastically as the three began to walk again, Scott chuckling.

"Wh- no...I'm not an animal...or tiny..." Stiles mumbled, not knowing what else to say. He then frowned, glancing at Alex. "Hey, does that mean you think I'm helpless?!"

"Don't overthink it, bud." Alex smirked as she jumped down a mini hill, Scott doing the same, while Stiles slid down it, stumbling a little.

Scott took his phone from out of the puddle, drying it with his jacket sleeve. "It still works."

"Let me see the flashlight." Stiles spoke, taking the flashlight from Scott's hand. "I think we found it." He spoke as he began walking again, the other two following him. They came across the same car that crashed eight years ago.

"Why wouldn't they move it, isn't it evidence?" Alex frowned.

"Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out." Stiles replied as the trio walked closer to it.

The trio frowned as Stiles shone the light on the car.

"Look at this." Stiles spoke as they moved closer.

Three lines were scratched into the side of the car. Claw marks.

"See those?" Stiles asked. "Animal claws would be closer together, right? A lot closer."

"Then it was a werewolf." Scott spoke as he ran his hands over the claw marks.

"So your dad was right, Stiles." Alex spoke as she continued to look at the car. "What is that?" She frowned as Stiles went to take the doll that was poking out of the car seat.

It made a noise, causing the three to jump, Stiles yelling in surprise.

"I think I just had a minor heart attack." Stiles spoke with a sigh as Scott held his hand to his chest, taking a breath. Alex closed her eyes, inhaling a breath before opening her eyes again and exhaling.

Suddenly, growling was heard, followed by the coyote that made the noise, Scott and Alex frowning.

"Hey, Stiles, Alex..." Scott spoke. "Please tell me you see that."

"I see it." Stiles replied, his eyes set on the coyote.

"Me too." Alex added, her gaze set on the coyote as well.

Scott ran to chase it, the coyote running away.

"Hey, Scott, wait!" Stiles yelled.

"Scott!" Alex yelled after him as she began to follow him, leaving Stiles alone.

Scott's eyes flashed red as he kept chasing the creature, the coyote stopping.

Alex ran up to them, only to find Scott flash his alpha eyes at the coyote, the coyote flashing its blue eyes back at Scott.

"Malia?" Scott frowned. Before he could say or do anything else, the coyote ran away.

••••

a/n:

wow this was a long chapter. and the second one I've posted today. I'm being really productive and I'm proud of myself for once damn.

guyssss. so much drama is gonna happen soon (if it hasn't already happened lol). I'm excited.

also don't you just love alex. I do. especially when she sassed isaac. I also love how I'm lowkey fangirling about my own book lmaooo.

and as always, thanks for reading, voting, and commenting, I love you all 💓💓

—voidelmslie 💌✨