( SEVENTEEN )
a credible threat

Lucas comfortingly stroked Lydia's arm as the two were sitting on the edge of Lydia's bed, Lydia's head resting on his shoulder comfortably, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of being Lucas' arms.

"Thank you Lucas." Lydia softly started as she opened her eyes, the girl slowly moving her head up as she turned to face him, Lucas meeting her gaze as his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"For what?" Lucas quietly asked.

"Everything." Lydia whispered, a small smile appearing on her face as she spoke, Lucas exhaling a breath as he smiled too.

A brief moment passed, their gazes flickering between each other's eyes as they admired one another.

Cupping her hand on Lucas' cheek, Lydia slowly leaned in and connected their lips in a soft kiss, both of their eyes closing at the feeling.

Lucas cupped her cheek as the kiss deepened, the two melting into it.

Lydia felt her heart skip a beat at the action, Lucas smirking against her lips.

After a moment, they slowly pulled away, their eyes flickering open as they did so.

"That was..." Lydia started, her voice barely a whisper as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Amazing." Lucas finished, a smile already taking over his lips as his eyes flickered between hers.

Sending him another smile, Lydia leaned in and connected their lips once again.

••••

Scott glanced at his phone, the boy reading a text message from Chris Argent out-loud. "He's headed to the school."

"Why is Parrish going to the school?" Liam questioned as he glanced between Alex and Stiles in the front seats, Scott sitting next to him in the back.

"He probably wants something educational." Alex sarcastically answered with a shrug.

Stiles smirked a little at the words as he glanced at Alex briefly before shifting his gaze back to the road again.

"It's not Parrish." Scott glanced at Liam as he added. "At least not right now."

"Okay, why's a Hellhound going to the school?" Liam corrected his own words as he glanced between the older teenagers again.

"Cause he's got a yearning for a higher education." Stiles answered sarcastically, his tone shifting into one of annoyance as he continued. "Liam, the Hellhound's at the school, so we're going to the school, okay?"

With that, the boy sped up the Jeep.

••••

Alex, Stiles, Scott, and Liam got out of the Jeep, their gazes falling to the school, which was now trashed, a banner on fire lying on the ground at the entrance.

Liam slammed the car door shut loudly, Alex, Scott, and Stiles slightly jumping at the sudden sound, the trio slowly turning to face Liam at the action.

"Dude, seriously?" Alex raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry..." Liam glanced between the trio, the boy releasing a small sigh as he spoke.

Alex just blew out a breath as she shared brief, exasperated glances with Stiles and Scott before beginning to walk towards the school, the boys following.

The group eventually met up with Chris, who tightly held a gun in his hand.

"Where's Parrish?" Scott spoke up.

"I lost him." Chris sighed. "He's moving too fast."

Liam noticed something in the distance, the boy widening his eyes as he caught the group's attention. "Scott? That guy's not moving at all..."

Scott, Chris, Liam, and Alex began to approach the dead body, Stiles hesitating briefly before catching up to them, the boy sticking close to Alex.

As the group took a closer look, they realised the man's heart was ripped out, blood coating his whole body.

"Ah, that's just great..." Alex mumbled sarcastically as the group hesitated for a moment before walking around it.

Suddenly, Liam widened his eyes as he caught the group's attention. "Look..."

The group followed his gaze to the school bus a few metres in front of them, Chris squinting a little to see it better.

Several dismembered dead bodies were piled on top of each other in the back of the bus, Alex widening her eyes as she shared a glance with Scott.

Catching the group's attention, one of the bodies slowly moved, the boy whispering a "help me" as he limply reached out to them.

As the group began to approach him, Parrish walked out of the school and stopped them. "It's a trap."

"Please..." The boy muttered weakly.

Without a warning, he was flung out of the bus, the group stumbling back a little in brief surprise as a large werewolf appeared in the bus corridor.

"That's big." Stiles blurted in fear. "No one said it was that big."

"I did." Liam corrected, his tone terrified as his gaze remained on the creature.

"Holy shit." Alex breathed as the werewolf slowly moved closer.

It growled loudly, Parrish snarling in response as his skin lit up on fire.

He charged at the werewolf, the werewolf running to the front of the bus as Parrish chased after it.

"What the hell's happening?" Scott questioned in utter shock.

Alex raised her eyebrows as she responded. "Honestly, I have no clue anymore."

"It's getting smarter." Chris frowned, referring to the werewolf.

•

"Well, that was a horrible experience." Alex started as she released an exasperated breath, the girl walking into Stiles' room and falling onto his bed, lying on her back.

She faced the ceiling, her hands interlocking together as she placed them on her stomach.

"Y'know, it's not the worst thing we've come across." Stiles shrugged as he took his jacket off and placed it around his chair.

At his words, Alex's head raised to glance at him, the girl hesitating in thought.

She raised her eyebrows briefly as she slightly nodded. "Yeah, you're not wrong."

With that, her head lowered back down to rest on his bed, Stiles lying down next to her, the boy turning his head to glance at Alex.

His eyes slowly shifted across her face, the boy taking a moment to admire her as if he was falling in love with her all over again, the corners of his lips tugging upwards into a small smile as he felt his heart swell.

"You're staring." Alex spoke up, the girl breaking the comfortable silence that passed between the two as she turned her head to meet his loving gaze, a small smirk on her face as she did so.

"I- what? No I wasn't." Stiles scoffed as he glanced at the roof again. "I wasn't staring, I don't stare."

Alex laughed at his reaction. "Stiles, come on."

"Okay, fine, I was admiring you." Stiles sighed as he met Alex's gaze again, the boy not being able to hold back the small smile that overtook his features at her words.

"Aw, that's sweet." Alex smirked teasingly as she turned her body so she was more comfortable, the girl resting on her side as she shifted closer to Stiles.

Stiles huffed a chuckle as he mirrored her movements, Alex cupping his cheek with her hand as she smiled at him. "You're adorable."

A small frown appeared on Stiles' face as he responded. "'Adorable' isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe myself..."

Alex laughed at his words, the girl cutting him off as she did so. "Shut up."

Stiles couldn't hold back a chuckle at her reaction as he grinned, his hand comfortingly squeezing her wrist as he nudged closer to her.

Smiling, Alex leaned closer to him, the girl connecting their lips in a soft kiss, Stiles kissing her back at the action.

After a moment, the two slowly pulled away, their foreheads resting against one another's as they savoured the moment.

Hesitating, the two pulled away, their gazes flickering between each other's eyes, Alex gently stroking Stiles' cheek with her thumb.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Stiles' lips as he slowly moved to hover over Alex, his hands resting on either side of her body as she shifted to lie on her back.

Alex took her shirt off, the girl slipping it over her shoulders as she threw it to the side.

Stiles did the same thing, the boy glancing at Alex again as soon as he finished.

Alex met Stiles' gaze, a smile appearing on her face as she cupped his cheeks again and brought him into a more passionate kiss, Stiles immediately kissing her back once again.

He continued to kiss her, his lips disconnecting with hers as he began to kiss her cheek, then slowly moving to her jaw, his head soon dipping as his lips then trailed down to plant sweet kisses to her neck, Alex releasing a content sigh as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

As Stiles continued to kiss her neck, he moved one of his hands to interlock with Alex's, the boy squeezing it comfortingly as Alex squeezed it back, his other hand slowly trailing down to the waistline of her jeans.

••••

Stiles' fingers slowly trailed up and down Alex's arm, his own arm around her shoulders as her head was resting on his chest.

Stiles' gaze remained on her as his other hand was lightly brushing through her hair, Alex grinning at the feeling.

Alex took his hand—the one trailing up and down her arm—and slowly interlocked their fingers, Stiles stroking her hand with his thumb as she did so.

Squeezing his hand gently, Alex turned her head to gaze up at him, the girl slightly shifting her position to get more comfortable as she did so, Stiles' other hand moving to rest on his bare stomach at the movement.

"Hey." Stiles started, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he spoke, his voice slightly raspy from what occurred moments before.

"Hi." Alex responded softly, a smile appearing on her face as she met his gaze. "You've got the game tomorrow night."

Stiles released a sigh as he nodded. "Yeah..."

At his reaction, Alex slightly furrowed her eyebrows. "What's wrong? You love playing lacrosse."

"When I can actually avoid getting hit in the face constantly, then yeah, I love playing lacrosse." Stiles scoffed, Alex huffing a chuckle at the words.

"To be honest, it's super entertaining." Alex raised her eyebrows, Stiles incredulously frowning at her at the words.

"Thanks Lex, that makes me feel so much better." Stiles sarcastically quipped.

Alex smirked at his words. "Anytime, Stilinski."

••••

"Mason said it's not just a transmitted frequency." Liam started quietly as he glanced between the group intently. "It's high-powered. Like, it has to be a really strong signal."

"And that's causing it to shift?" Lydia questioned with a frown, the girl referring to the giant werewolf.

"No, I don't think it's just that." Scott shook his head as he caught the group's attention. "Last night, Argent said it's getting smarter. What if the Dread Doctors are trying to make the beast grow faster?"

"With frequencies?" Stiles frowned in question.

"Scott's right." Alex spoke up in realisation as she glanced between the group, who glanced at her as she continued. "The frequency is just the trigger. The most important part is when it shifts into a werewolf."

"Exactly." Scott nodded as he glanced at her.

"Like Peter." Lydia frowned.

"Right. Yeah, and when Peter was an alpha, he got stronger every full moon." Scott explained as he glanced between the group. "Eventually the burns healed, and he was back to normal."

"So, the Dread Doctors don't wanna wait for the full moon." Liam suggested.

"They want the beast to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible." Alex furrowed her eyebrows.

"Because of Parrish." Liam nodded at the words.

"So if this is happening tonight, what are we going to do?" Lydia glanced between the group with a small frown.

"Uh, we've got one clue to go on." Stiles pointed out as he reached into a bag and pulled out a photograph of a bloody shoe-print, laying it out in front of the whole group. "This came from the hospital. Whoever's lurking inside the beast is wearing a size ten of indeterminate make."

Lydia unconvincingly glanced at Stiles. "Indeterminate?"

"It means vague." Alex answered simply.

Glancing from Alex, then back to the rest of the group, Stiles added. "Basically, it was all we were able to get, considering all the fire, blood, and carnage."

"How many size tens are out there?" Scott frowned in question.

"Only one with Parrish's blood on the sole." Stiles raised his eyebrows.

A brief moment passed between the group, Liam speaking up. "So, are we gonna try and get the game cancelled?"

"No." Stiles answered. "No, we're gonna play, but we're just gonna hope really hard that it doesn't turn into a blood-soaked massacre."

"As a realist, I think I speak for everybody here when I say; that is going to be very hard to do." Alex raised her eyebrows as she glanced at Stiles.

"Okay, but, uh, aren't we kinda missing out on a chance to catch this thing?" Liam frowned as he changed the subject. "We don't have the 'who', but we have the 'where' and the 'when'."

The group glanced at Scott expectedly, the boy hesitating for a moment before speaking quietly. "There's too many people."

"And we still don't actually know if it's going to happen." Lydia added with raised eyebrows. "It just might end up being a regular lacrosse game. It's possible...right?"

"Not really."

"That's absolutely possible."

Alex and Stiles glanced at each other as they spoke at the same time, the two slightly frowning at each other's responses—Alex being the first one, and Stiles being the second.

Glancing between the two, Liam spoke up. "So, we're still getting the game cancelled?"

Scott nodded as the group stood up. "We're getting the game cancelled."

"Looks like you might not be playing, after all." Alex glanced at Stiles as the two began to walk to their next class.

"Looks like it." Stiles smirked.

••••

"Kids, I'm- I'm not so sure I actually have that authority." Noah started with a sigh as he turned to face Alex and Stiles.

Alex slightly narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean you 'don't have that authority', you're literally the County Sheriff."

"Exactly!" Stiles exclaimed as he pointed to Alex. "You can't cancel a high school lacrosse game?"

"It's a charity game, which generates tens of thousands of dollars." Noah frowned as he glanced between the two. "I'd have to go to the school board with evidence of a credible threat."

"A giant werewolf might rampage across the field, killing people!" Stiles whisper-shouted. "That's an in-credible threat!"

"Look, we're going to have a presence at the game already. I'll double it, I'll triple it." Noah suggested.

"No offence Noah, but police officers don't exactly have a higher skill-set than a huge, homicidal werewolf." Alex raised her eyebrows.

"Quadruple it, octuple it!" Stiles added in exclamation.

Noah sighed as he ignored their protests. "There's always a person who could forfeit the game. The coach."

"Not when you're stuck with a substitute who's strictly by the book." Stiles scoffed as he glanced away.

"What about Finstock?" Noah frowned in confusion.

"Rehab for the last seven months." Stiles answered simply.

"Maybe it's time to check on his progress..." Noah narrowed his eyes at his son.

Stiles opened his mouth to respond, although he soon shut it once he realised he didn't have anything to respond with, the boy glancing at Alex, who just raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

••••

Alex, Stiles, and Scott approached the rehab centre Coach was admitted into, the trio hesitating for a moment as they tried to see where Coach was from the doorway.

"Oh my god." Alex stated as she pointed to one of the couches, the top of Coach's head only being visible to them.

Stiles held the door open for Alex to go first, the girl walking in as he did so, Stiles and Scott quickly following after her.

"What's he doing?" Stiles frowned as they approached Coach, who was limply lying on the couch, the man almost completely motionless—aside from his slow breathing.

"Hey Coach, it's Scott, Alex, and Stiles." Scott started as both him and Stiles sat either side of him, Alex sitting opposite them.

Stiles furrowed his eyebrows as he waved his hand over his face—a method to catch his attention.

His confused expression shifted into one of annoyance as he realised it was an act. "Coach, you're in rehab, you didn't have a lobotomy."

"Coach?" Alex frowned as she slightly leaned forward.

Sharing exasperated glances, Alex, Stiles, and Scott began to give up.

Stiles reached over to touch the chess board on the table next to him, Coach grabbing his hand quickly at the action, causing Scott and Alex to slightly flinch back in surprise. "Don't you touch it."

The group turned to glance at Coach as he sat up, the man chuckling as he continued. "I have Nurse Gonzalez by the balls the last three moves, and she knows it."

"Coach, what the hell?" Alex glared at the man.

"Let it go." Stiles added as he glared at Coach too. "You're checking out of this place, now."

Coach just scoffed at his words. "Not a chance."

"Okay Coach, but we know you're fine." Scott sighed, Coach shushing him loudly as he cut him off.

Alex raised her eyebrows as she shared glances with Scott and Stiles.

"I have a debilitating disease." Coach spoke loudly. "It's called, 'I'm not gonna take another arrow to my stomach phobia'. Look it up!"

Alex and Stiles shared an awkward glance at the words, the memory of their connected possession taking over their minds for a quick minute as they remembered their sinister plans—one of them involving shooting Coach in the stomach with an arrow.

"Nobody's shooting arrows at anyone, okay?" Scott corrected with raised eyebrows. "We just need you to coach the charity game."

Coach scoffed at the words. "Charity? Not a chance."

Alex glared at him, the girl unimpressed at his words.

"How exactly have you been conning them into letting you stay here?" Stiles furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced at Coach again.

"I, uh...I have relapses." Coach stuttered. "It's- it's serious, I've had seven of them."

"So once a month?" Scott frowned.

"Yeah, you see, every time they're just about to discharge me, I, uh...I relapse." Coach shrugged, feigning sadness.

"And you're telling me that no one's noticed a pattern?" Alex raised her eyebrows unconvincingly. "Not one nurse?"

"I have phenomenal health insurance." Coach frowned at Alex, the man then glancing between her, Stiles, and Scott again as he continued. "So, why don't you guys get the hell outta here? I hate charity games. They're meaningless."

Stiles slightly raised his eyebrows in disbelief as he responded. "I don't think the charities would agree."

"What's it for this year?" Coach scoffed, disregarding Stiles' words.

"Cancer." Scott glared at Coach.

"For, or against?" Coach questioned with a frown.

"Against, Coach. Deeply against." Alex furrowed her eyebrows at the man, as her tone was dead serious. "In what world would it be for?"

"Yeah, well, I'm deeply not interested." Coach scoffed as he then gestured to the door behind him.

"Coach, we need you." Scott protested.

Coach patted Scott and Stiles' shoulders as he smirked. "I will never coach there again."

"That's okay, because we don't actually need you to coach the game." Stiles started, the boy then glancing at Scott expectedly.

"We need you to forfeit." Scott finished.

Coach frowned, the man glancing at Alex, who sent him a hopeful, tight-lipped smile.

••••

"Oh, shit." Alex blew out a breath as her, Lucas, Scott, and Liam walked towards the field, the girl glancing at the various news vans that were setting up their recording equipment.

Scott, Lucas, and Liam followed her gaze, Scott and Liam quickly losing hope for the game being a success.

The four exhaled breaths as they shared glances, their attention reverting to the opposition's bus, the team getting out of their bus as they began sizing up the field.

••••

"Lex, Lucas, you guys know what you're doing?" Scott began as he glanced between Alex and Lucas, Alex leaning against a desk, her arms crossed over her chest, and Lucas standing next to her.

"Of course." Alex nodded simply.

"Observe from the stands, and make sure none of them try anything." Lucas added with a smirk. "We'll know if one of them's the beast immediately."

"Good." Scott nodded at their words as he then glanced at Mason "Mason, you know your part?"

"Corey and I break into the Devonford Bus, and search their shoes." Mason nodded in confirmation.

"I take out the TV vans." Malia nodded.

"Right before the whistle, Coach forfeits the game." Stiles added simply.

"The rest of us look for a size ten with a bloody sole." Liam spoke up.

Scott smirked as he nodded.

Everything was going according to plan.

"Just out of curiosity...what if it doesn't work?" Malia questioned as she glanced at Scott. "What if we have to go up against this thing? I mean, I hate to bring up bad memories, but Scott's still healing from what Theo did to him."

"No, he's not." Kira shook her head as she caught Malia's attention.

"She's right." Scott smirked.

At his words, the group frowned at him in question, Scott lifting his shirt up briefly to reveal his completely healed torso before dropping it back down. "It happened right after we broke Lydia out of Eichen House. I healed when we were all together again—when we were a pack."

A proud smirk tugged at the corners of Alex's lips at the words.

"The beast doesn't have a pack." Liam stated simply.

"Not like us." Scott glanced between the group.

Alex glanced at Scott as the same smirk remained on her face, the girl adding sarcastically. "Inspiring."

Scott huffed a small chuckle as he met her gaze briefly before shifting his gaze between the whole group agin. "We can do this, guys. No one dies tonight."

••••

Alex glanced at Stiles and Coach from her position as she approached the stands and sat next to her brother.

"Time to observe." Lucas whispered, Alex nodding at the words as she held her gaze on Coach and Stiles.

"Coach, now is the time to forfeit the game." Stiles spoke as he glanced at Coach.

Coach didn't respond, Stiles frowning a little as he spoke up again. "You gotta...Coach?"

"Stilinski...I've never forfeited a game, and I never will." Coach smirked, Alex and Lucas widening their eyes from their position as they overheard the conversation. "Now, get on the field."

"You had one job!" Alex exclaimed angrily, a few audience members turning to glance at her confusedly at the mini outburst.

••••

"It's fine, Malia's still going to take out the wiring on the TV vans." Scott spoke to Liam from the field, Alex and Lucas listening in as they observed from their position.

"Then we have an hour and a half to try to find someone with blood on their shoes." Liam nodded simply.

"One person out of four hundred." Scott shrugged, Alex rolling her eyes at the words.

"My sister's got the bleachers." Brett—a werewolf on the other team—started, Scott sending a thankful nod towards him.

The game started, both teams eventually gaining control of the ball at one point.

Kira scored a goal, Scott and Stiles frowning as they glanced between her and three boys she knocked over.

"Don't you think she's being a little aggressive?" Stiles narrowed his eyes.

As Kira met their gazes, her eyes shifted an amber glow, revealing her kitsune status.

"We might have a problem." Scott stated as he noticed the action.

As the game progressed, Kira continued to violently knock down anyone she came across from the opposing team, Alex raising her eyebrows from her position, while Lucas widened his eyes.

"That girl is damned serious about charity." Coach furrowed his eyebrows.

"Kira, maybe you should ease up on the other players." Scott whispered to Kira as he approached her.

"I'm trying to win." Kira glared at her boyfriend.

"But you didn't even have the ball." Scott frowned.

"Stay out of my way." Kira simply warned as she walked away, pushing past Scott as she did so.

"Great, so now we have to, not only watch out for a gigantic werewolf, but we also have to babysit Kira." Alex blew out an exasperated breath, knowing Scott could hear her from the field. "Just great."

••••

Stiles glanced at Alex and Lucas, the boy catching their attention as he approached Liam. "Something's wrong, I don't think Malia's got all the vans."

Alex and Lucas quickly approached them at the words.

"We'll do it." Alex spoke up, Lucas nodding at the words.

"Alright, but it has to be now." Stiles responded as he glanced between the siblings, Alex and Lucas sending him nods as they ran towards the vans.

Jumping on top of them, Alex and Lucas pulled out the wires successfully, the two sharing smirks as they jumped down and ran back to join Stiles, who was now holding an ice pack to his forehead.

Alex furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, Stiles just shaking his head at the look. "Don't ask."

Suddenly, one of the other vans that Malia had missed still worked, the news anchor turning the power on.

As a result, a loud ringing sound was heard, the lightbulbs on the field blowing out.

The members of the audience cringed at the sound, the werewolves groaning and holding their hands over their ears in pain, as the sound was magnified for them.

The brief moment was over as soon as it occurred, everyone frowning as they glanced around in confusion.

Liam growled as his eyes turned bright yellow, the boy beginning to sprint towards the bus, Alex, Stiles and Lucas widening their eyes as they watched him run.

"Liam, wait!" Stiles exclaimed.

••••

AUTHOR'S NOTE

hey!

sooo it's been awhile...

sorry I've been so inactive in updating this book, but I've just been focusing on other books and personal stuff, so I hope you guys still like this series lmao.

hopefully now I can start a regular schedule for this book, but no promises!

in other news, I've started an 'oc one-shots' book on my account, and basically it's a mini book featuring cannon/non-cannon scenarios and one-shots of my original characters (alex included), so if that's something you're interested in, I recommend taking a look!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. let me know what you thought about it, and I'll see you in the next one!