[twenty four]
the divine move

ALEX, LYDIA, SCOTT, and Isaac sat in the Sheriff's station, all three of them glancing at the ground as they were still trying to process Allison's death.

Scott's hand was tightly gripping onto Alex's, mostly for comfort and reassurance, Alex gripping his hand too.

"Can you remember anything else?" Parrish questioned, however, none of the teens responded. "Anything else? Isaac?"

"I'm sorry." Isaac whispered. "It just happened so fast."

••••

"Stiles and Kira said it was the Nemeton that kept it trapped." Scott started as he glanced at Deaton, Alex crossing her arms.

"The problem is this isn't even a person you're fighting." Deaton responded. "It just looks like one. It's a spirit that's taken the shape of a human."

"The shape of our best friend." Alex scoffed, gesturing to herself and Scott.

"Someone caught it once." Lydia added. "Someone can do it again, right?"

"I don't know." Deaton replied truthfully. "This thing was trapped a long time ago, before the Nemeton was cut down, it doesn't have the same power anymore."

"Is there anything that does?" Scott asked.

"Possibly." Deaton replied.

"Possibly or yes?" Alex raised her eyebrows. "Because if so, we definitely need to use it."

"When the tree was whole, its wood was sometimes used to contain powerful objects. But those objects are very rare." Deaton explained.

"Wait a second." Lydia stopped him. "Powerful objects? Like an Alpha's claws?"

"Which Alpha?" Deaton frowned.

"Talia Hale." Lydia responded, Alex frowning in question. "Peter had them in this wooden box with a triskele carved on the lid. What if it was made from the Nemeton?"

"It was." Deaton answered with a sigh.

"How do you know?" Alex frowned.

"Because I made it." Deaton replied, glancing at Alex.

••••

"Derek's got the triskele box. He's gonna meet us." Scott informed the group as he hung up the phone.

Deaton nodded, Lydia suddenly stumbling a little.

"What's wrong?" Alex frowned.

"Something's happening." Lydia responded, glancing between the group. "I had this sudden rushing feeling. Like we're running out of time."

"Yeah." Stiles spoke as Kira guided him into the room. "Yeah, I kinda got that feeling too."

••••

Alex was helping Stiles walk to the front of the school, Stiles' arm around her, Scott, Lydia, and Kira walking normally.

"Scott, hold on." Stiles stopped the group. "I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?"

"The plan is to save you." Scott responded. "That's the plan I'm going with."

Scott opened the doors to reveal a snowy area, a small bridge and statues in the corner, dead trees around them. It looked to be some sort of Japanese dojo.

Suddenly, the doors closed behind them, all five teens turning to face the doors at the sound.

"This is definitely not apart of the plan." Stiles spoke.

The Nogitsune appeared, the group frowning as it walked closer to them.

Kira took out her sword.

"Like I promised, Stiles." The Nogitsune started. "We're going to kill all of them. One by one." A few Oni suddenly appeared out of thin air, walking towards the group slowly.

"What is this?" Alex frowned. "Where the hell are we?"

"Between life and death, Alex." The Nogitsune responded in a whisper.

"Bardot." Lydia spoke.

"But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia." The Nogitsune replied, glancing at Stiles. "You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying too."

Stiles frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

"I've captured almost all of the territories on the board, Stiles." The Nogitsune spoke. "The hospital. The sheriff's station. And now, the animal clinic."

Scott widened his eyes.

"Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?" The Nogitsune continued.

"No, and I don't want to." Stiles spoke as he wrapped his arm around Alex's waist, bringing her closer to him.

"When a samurai disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honour. But that's not the cut that kills him." The Nogitsune explained. "The killing stroke is made by his kaishakunin, who beheads the samurai with his own katana." The Nogitsune glanced at Scott and Alex, pointing at them. "Scott and Alex are both your kaishakunin. I'm going to make your best friends kill you, Stiles."

Alex and Scott frowned, Stiles glancing between them.

"And you're going to let them." The Nogitsune added, walking closer to Stiles. "Because just like you, they're all going to die. Everyone touched by an Oni's blade. Unless Scott and Alex kill you first."

"Why?" Stiles whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

"To win the game." The Nogitsune hissed, and suddenly, the Oni drew their swords, Alex and Scott turning into their werewolf forms, Kira getting her sword out.

Alex broke away from Stiles to fight the Oni, Lydia running to Stiles.

The werewolves and Kira began to fight the Oni, Alex growling loudly.

"How is this happening?!" Scott exclaimed. "How are we in this place?!"

"You're asking me? A month ago, I'd never even have touched a sword!" Kira exclaimed in response.

"Oh god." Alex breathed.

••••

"This can't be real." Lydia breathed as Alex, Scott, and Kira continued to fight the Oni.

"Yeah? Tell that to them." Stiles replied.

One of the Oni hit the katana out of Kira's hands and cornered her.

Another one of the Oni was about to slice Alex, the girl dodging the attack as she punched it in the face, scratching it with her claws.

Stiles grabbed the katana, positioning it so it was in front of his chest.

Alex noticed it, growling. "No! Stiles!"

Stiles didn't listen as he didn't move the sword.

"Stiles!" Scott growled.

"What if it saves you?" Stiles asked, glancing between Alex and Scott. "What if it saves all of you?"

"What if it's just another trick?!" Lydia exclaimed.

"No more tricks, Lydia." The Nogitsune hissed. "End it, Scott and Alex. Let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it, Scott and Alex. Be his kaishakunins. Give up the game."

Stiles frowned as he glanced in the reflection of the sword. He noticed a business book and a desk in the snow and realised they were in the school, not in a snowy dojo.

"You have no moves left." The Nogitsune sneered.

"I do." Stiles spoke, throwing the sword to Kira, who caught it successfully. "A divine move."

Alex then ran to Stiles, turning back into her human form, Stiles wrapping his arms around her waist again. Alex placed one of her hands on his chest, the other wrapping around his shoulders. Lydia was standing next to Alex.

"Stop fighting them. It's an illusion." Stiles voiced. "You have to stop fighting them. It looks real, and it feels real, but Scott, you gotta trust me, it's an illusion."

Scott and Kira began to walk towards the Nogitsune, the Oni beginning to cut their bodies. The two groaned in pain as they continued to walk to the Nogitsune, the Oni still cutting into Kira and Scott's bodies.

Scott pushed the Nogitsune back into the doors.

Scott, Kira, Lydia, Alex, and Stiles stumbled into the school, all of them completely fine, Stiles and Alex's arms still around each other tightly.

They looked around in confusion.

"We're okay." Scott frowned. "We're-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he got thrown against the lockers, Void Stiles knocking out Kira and Lydia too, Alex and Stiles widening their eyes in surprise.

"This was my game." Void Stiles spoke, walking closer to Alex and Stiles, the two stumbling back. "You think you can beat me at my game?"

He began to walk faster to the pair, Stiles pulling Alex back quickly as they both continued to walk backwards faster.

Void Stiles walked faster. "Divine move. Divine move. You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni, but me? Me? I'm a thousand years old, you can kill me!"

"But we can change you!" Lydia exclaimed from behind Void Stiles, Void Stiles stopping in confusion as Lydia ran up to Stiles and Alex.

"What?" Void Stiles asked.

"You forgot about the scroll." Stiles spoke.

"The Shugendo scroll." Alex added with a smirk.

"Change the host." Void Stiles spoke in realisation.

"You can't be a fox and a wolf." Stiles spoke.

Suddenly, Scott grabbed Void Stiles' shoulder, biting into his arm, Void Stiles yelling in pain.

As soon as Scott let go, Kira stabbed Void Stiles in the chest, Void Stiles falling to the ground, his mouth hanging open. A firefly flew out, trying to escape, however, Isaac caught it in the triskele box.

The group released relieved breaths at the sight of Isaac.

All attention fell back onto Void Stiles as his face began to crack, breaking and crumbling as he fell to the ground, disappearing.

Suddenly, the real Stiles fainted, falling to the floor, Alex crouching down next to him as the rest of the group did too.

••••

Stiles opened his eyes, gasping.

Alex closed her eyes, exhaling a relieved breath as she reopened them again.

"Oh, god, I fainted, didn't I?" Stiles asked.

The group nodded, Scott and Alex smiling.

Alex didn't care that Scott, Lydia, Isaac, and Kira were there. She was just relieved that Stiles survived. She leaned over Stiles and connected her lips with his, cupping his cheeks, Stiles' eyes closing as he kissed her back, his hand cupping Alex's cheek.

Scott and Lydia raised their eyebrows in surprise, Kira chuckling, and Isaac looking away.

"We alive?" Stiles asked as the two pulled away, glancing between the group. "We all alive?"

Scott hesitated as he thought of Allison. "Yeah. We're okay."

Suddenly, Lydia frowned and stood up, getting a Banshee feeling that someone died.

Aiden.

••••

Lydia ran into Alex's arms at the sight of Aiden dead in Ethan's arms, Alex hugging the girl tightly.

Alex frowned at the sight, Stiles' eyes going wide in surprise. Scott, Isaac, and Kira frowned too.

••••

"I don't know how much space, or how much time I'm supposed to give them." Kira started as Lydia closed her locker, Alex crossing her arms. "And I know I'm still just the new girl at school."

"You ever run track?" Coach asked as him and Malia began to walk down the school hallway. "I mean, you have excellent muscle definition."

"Not for long." Lydia responded to Kira.

"I sometimes ran from cougars trying to eat me." Malia spoke to Coach.

"I've had the same problem." Coach replied, thinking she was joking.

Malia sent Alex a smile, Alex smiling back. Malia then sent a small one to Lydia, who smiled back.

"So...you and Stiles, huh?" Kira started, glancing at Alex.

Alex chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yep."

"It's about time." Lydia smirked.

••••

Alex and Scott's claws shot out at their sides as they were teaching Malia how to control her transformation.

Malia tried to, however, it didn't work.

"It's okay. Don't think about it too much, just try to let it happen." Scott spoke.

Suddenly, Malia's claws shot out, Malia laughing, Alex smiling and engulfing her in a hug, Malia hugging her back tightly.

••••

a/n:

hey :)

this is officially the last chapter of my season three teen wolf book! I hope you all enjoyed reading it, because I definitely enjoyed writing it.

my season four book is on my profile if you want to add it, it's called lethal. some drama is gonna go down in that one, just you wait.

you'll definitely be getting more cute alex and stiles content now that they're dating by the way hehe.

anyways, let me know what you all thought about this book, feedback is much appreciated :)

for the last time (in this book), thank you all for reading, voting, and commenting 💜

—voidelmslie 💌✨