❛ Not anyone, you're the one, more than fun, you're the sanctuary. ❜

SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
season 2, episode 5

"LAUREL, BRIDGETTE!" WILLOW exclaimed, rushing out of their last class of the day, Latin.

⠀⠀⠀She had been half paying attention to genitives and datives and whatever else their teacher had been going on about. She just sat, nervously shaking her leg waiting to talk to her sisters. Unlike economics or chemistry, Latin was a small class of fifteen students so she couldn't as easily or discreetly try to talk to them about the issues now affecting all of them.

⠀⠀⠀"We have a problem," she explained, her voice falling into a hushed tone.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel sighed, turning to look at her, asking, "What kind of problem?"

⠀⠀⠀"The kind where you can't say, 'Sorry, but I don't feel like saving the world anymore' kind of problem'," Willow explained, leading them outside. "Remember when we were talking about the kanima earlier?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Bridgette said, her eyes growing wide in worry.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, Derek thinks it's Lydia," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀"Why would he think that?" Laurel asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Because in class they tested to see if it was her," Bridgette said in realization.

⠀⠀⠀"And?"

⠀⠀⠀"She didn't react," Willow stated. "That doesn't mean anything."

⠀⠀⠀"Doesn't mean anything?" Laurel scoffed. "It seems like it does."

⠀⠀⠀"Derek wants to kill her," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀"If she is the kanima, and she's killing people, why not just kill her?" Laurel asked, raising an eyebrow.

⠀⠀⠀They approached Laurel's car and she unlocked it. They all opened the doors to their seats but continued to stand outside the car to finish their conversation.

⠀⠀⠀"Laurel, she's still a human," Bridgette chided her softly.

⠀⠀⠀"She's a killer," Laurel retorted.

⠀⠀⠀"Kanima's don't know who or what they are. Even if she is, that doesn't give us or Derek the right to kill her," Willow told her sternly with a frown. "People didn't believe witches were human, and look where that got us."

⠀⠀⠀"Dead," Laurel sighed, then got into the car. Willow and Bridgette followed her. "Alright, what are you trying to tell us? What do we have to do?"

⠀⠀⠀"We need to get home. I have to tell mom before Stiles gets there," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel sighed, but nodded and pulled out of the parking lot.

"MOM!" WILLOW EXCLAIMED, slamming the door open with a loud bang and her sisters trailing slowly after her.

⠀⠀⠀Starla jumped from her seat in the dining room, glasses on the edge of her nose and she hissed as she pricked her finger with the needle in her hand. She sighed, shaking her hand out before wiping it with a cloth. She looked up to Willow worriedly, pushing her glasses into her hair.

⠀⠀⠀"What's wrong?" Starla asked her.

⠀⠀⠀"A lot!" Willow exclaimed and Starla stood in concern by her statement. "Okay, I know you don't really like me helping Scott and Stiles—"

⠀⠀⠀"I never said that," Starla frowned, crossing her arms while she watched Bridgette and Laurel walk in behind her. "I just don't want you to get in over your head."

⠀⠀⠀"Well, too late," Willow stated bluntly, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, Derek is an Alpha now, like you know, and has his own pack and whatever! They've been a real pain in our ass. Then, there's this thing that's been in Beacon Hills for a while and it's been killing people and paralyzing—"

⠀⠀⠀"What did you say it was?" Starla interrupted her, walking the distance between herself and Willow to stare worriedly down at her.

⠀⠀⠀"A kanima," Willow explained, her shoulders falling in defeat.

⠀⠀⠀"A kanima?" Starla asked, her eyebrows knitted into worry. "Oh, God, and what's wrong other than the fact it exists?"

⠀⠀⠀"Derek wants to kill it," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀"Right, okay, but it doesn't know who it is."

⠀⠀⠀"But Derek thinks it's Lydia," Willow continued.

⠀⠀⠀Starla shook her head, pushing her hands through her hair as she walked back to the dining room to think.

⠀⠀⠀"I knew I should've tried harder," Starla muttered to herself, sitting down and leaning back to close her eyes. "This is all my fault."

⠀⠀⠀"Mom?" Laurel asked, moving to stand beside Willow to give her mom space. "What do you mean?"

⠀⠀⠀Starla opened her eyes, staring ahead of herself rather than her daughters, and let out a long breath. She waved her hands at them and shook her head.

⠀⠀⠀"For another day," Starla sighed.

⠀⠀⠀A car screeched into the driveway and Starla turned to her daughters.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, and Stiles is bringing pretty much everyone over in order to protect Lydia because Derek will be here to kill her soon," Willow explained, smiling as wide as she could to play it off but it only looked anxious and forced to her mother.

⠀⠀⠀Starla looked exhausted when Willow said this.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, I'm glad you did," Starla relented, standing again. "This is the safest place in Beacon Hills with the amount of wards and protection spells cast over the house. No one can get in without a spoken invitation."

⠀⠀⠀Willow nodded, thankful her mom wasn't angry as the doorbell rang a second later. Willow ran across the hall to the door, slamming it open again and smiling the same anxious smile at her guests.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, hi, welcome, welcome," Willow greeted breathlessly, looking quickly between the group as she ushered her hands inside. "Please, come in."

⠀⠀⠀Lydia looked at her in disgust, her eyebrow raised high nearly reaching her hairline, and her lip lifted into an annoyed grimace. She stepped inside behind Stiles with Allison and Jackson behind them. She looked around and the unimpressed expression that then followed had Willow slightly annoyed. However, Willow couldn't say much since when she looked at Lydia's house she had the same expression.

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't know we were studying with the Weird Sisters," Lydia whispered to Allison, not trying to be very subtle about it.

⠀⠀⠀"Can I get anyone anything?" Starla asked the group and they all turned to her without a word. Lydia was still confused about what was going on and the others were anxious about what was about to happen. Starla looked over them still getting nothing and nodded her head, trying to keep up a kind façade for Lydia. "I'll make a snack tray, don't worry."

⠀⠀⠀Starla left the teenagers to make a snack tray, or as Willow and her sisters knew, to create protection charms into the snacks.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles walked over to the door that was already closed, noticing the locks, and turned them all frantically. He caught the strange look Allison sent him and paused as he looked back at the group.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, there's been a few break-ins around the neighborhood," Stiles explained, to Lydia rather than the rest of them.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles, it's fine," Willow tried to tell him.

⠀⠀⠀However, Stiles grabbed a nearby chair and propped it up against the door handle for added measure to an already impenetrable house.

⠀⠀⠀"And a murder," Stiles shrugged. "Yeah, it was bad."

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles!" Willow hissed.

⠀⠀⠀He looked at her with wide eyes and shrugged.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow," Jackson called and walked quickly over to her. She looked back at him in annoyance as he stood a little too close to her like he had in the hallway. "Is there somewhere Lydia and I can talk?"

⠀⠀⠀"What? Already tired of playing cat and mouse with Laurel?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not that I'm complaining but—"

⠀⠀⠀"I don't care," Jackson cut her off, frowning. "Can you just—" he said, throwing his hands out toward her house.

⠀⠀⠀Willow rolled her eyes dramatically so he saw but pointed to the stairs anyway.

⠀⠀⠀"Last door on the right is my room," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀Jackson let out an annoyed breath before turning to Lydia. He nodded his head at her to follow and the ex-couple walked up the stairs for Willow's room. Willow didn't want to know what Lydia had to say about that.

⠀⠀⠀"Seriously?" Lydia muttered, annoyed as she trailed after Jackson. "What is going on with everyone?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow walked over to Stiles, Allison, and her sisters at the front door waiting for Derek and his pack to show up.

⠀⠀⠀"We'll be okay," Willow assured the two that hadn't lived in this house for years and knew that it could resist just about everything. "My mom has wards all around this house so even if they want to get in to kill her, they won't be able to."

⠀⠀⠀"But what do we do after that?" Allison asked, deflating as she realized this couldn't be forever. Especially since Lydia didn't even know what was going on. "We just keep coming here for study group every day?"

⠀⠀⠀Starla walked into the room with a tray of pizza bits, veggies, and day-old brownies. She held them out to the teenagers, only her daughters taking something off of it.

⠀⠀⠀"Eat something," Starla told Stiles and Allison. "They have protection charms, eating them will make them more effective."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles and Allison stared at the tray for a moment but nodded, both taking a brownie and began eating it.

⠀⠀⠀"Worry about Derek coming, I'll worry about Lydia," Starla stated, going to the stairs and heading up to talk to the two teenagers and make sure they weren't doing anything they weren't supposed to.

ALLISON AND WILLOW stood at the windows pulling back the curtains to watch as Derek and his pack waited outside. They were patient and didn't move forward, Derek knowing it was no use to try. Stiles paced in front of the door worrying about what would happen next while Bridgette and Laurel stood at the back door along with Starla just in case something happened.

⠀⠀⠀Starla was a thousand percent sure that the wards would hold up, but that didn't work for someone voluntarily trying to leave. If Lydia attempted to get out and found herself blocked in and went for the back door, they were ready.

⠀⠀⠀"What do we do now?" Allison sighed, staring at them just waiting.

⠀⠀⠀"We wait," Willow whispered, glaring at Derek as he returned her gaze.

⠀⠀⠀"For how long?!" Allison exclaimed frantically, shaking her head as she shakily pulled her phone from her pocket.

⠀⠀⠀"What are you doing?" Stiles asked, stopping in his tracks and turned to Allison.

⠀⠀⠀"I think—" Allison said hesitantly as she looked up for her phone. "I think I have to call my dad."

⠀⠀⠀"No," Willow told her with a frown. "Your dad doesn't know what my family is, he will if he comes here."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, he does," Starla sighed, standing in the entryway of the hall, frowning.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Willow asked, turning to her mom.

⠀⠀⠀"Allison's dad and I used to be... friends in high school," Starla explained, frowning as she crossed her arms and it seemed that all three of them understood her hesitation. "I told him what I was, stupidly, and then I learned what he was. We weren't 'enemies' like the Hale's but I was different. If he comes here, now, I don't think he'll be as understanding as a lovesick sixteen-year-old would be."

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Allison asked with a small laugh, growing nervous as she stared at Starla. "He wouldn't kill you guys, there's a code."

⠀⠀⠀"For killing werewolves," Starla stated with a shrug. "What does it say about anything else?"

⠀⠀⠀"I mean, we've been here for more than six months, he has to know you're here," Allison said with a small laugh.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, well... what magic can do for you is a funny thing," Starla sighed. Allison looked back at her, bewildered but didn't respond further to the comment. "I can handle this myself. For now, trust me. We wait. There's no way Derek is getting inside. He'll give up sooner or later and when his pack is doing their homework, I'll talk to him."

⠀⠀⠀"They're not here to just scare us," Allison retorted, still astounded by Starla. "They're here to kill Lydia."

⠀⠀⠀"I know why they're here," Starla assured her. "I also know that boy standing outside of my house. He won't do anything, not here."

⠀⠀⠀"Here's an idea!" Stiles exclaimed, clapping his hand and looked between Allison and Starla. "Why don't we just shoot one of them?"

⠀⠀⠀"Seriously?" Willow asked him, raising an eyebrow.

⠀⠀⠀"We could at least give it a shot, right?" Stiles retorted with a shrug. "What's the worst it can do?"

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Allison nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"What is shooting one of them going to do?" Willow asked the two with a frown.

⠀⠀⠀"It'll take them off guard," Stiles explained. "They don't think we're gonna fight. We're inside an impenetrable fortress and they know that. Or at least, Derek does."

⠀⠀⠀"You're lucky I've fixed a few broken windows in my time," Starla muttered, pressing her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose. "You can try."

⠀⠀⠀Allison said a soft thank you and moved over to the window, pulling it back again and looking out.

⠀⠀⠀"Which one?" Allison asked, looking them over.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, Derek. Yeah, shoot him, preferably in the head," Stiles said quickly but retreated when Starla slapped him in the arm to stop. "Fine, fine, just shoot one of the other three then."

⠀⠀⠀"You mean two," Allison corrected him.

⠀⠀⠀"No, I mean three," Stiles stated.

⠀⠀⠀Willow looked back outside to see only Derek, Boyd, and Erica with smug smirks on their faces. Stiles pushed against Willow so they were both crammed into the window to see that one was missing.

⠀⠀⠀"Where the hell is Isaac?" Stiles exclaimed.

⠀⠀⠀Hard footfalls came from the hallway behind them, Isaac swiping Starla out of his way and to the ground before she could react. He reached for Allison, forcing her to the ground then followed by catching Stiles by his collar and throwing him across the room.

⠀⠀⠀"Aqua, mutat cum mea palmea sicut diriget te," Willow said, drops of water from the air moving to her hands and forming gloves over them.

⠀⠀⠀She held her hands out in front of her, waiting for Isaac to advance. His eyes glowed a bright yellow, his canines coming out but he didn't fully change. Willow smirked, raising an eyebrow as she noticed that.

⠀⠀⠀Willow stood up, moving her hands into a circular movement by her side then back out to Isaac, the water shooting forward and forcing him back. Isaac flew backward, crashing into a vase and smashing it against the wood floor. She pulled the water back into her.

⠀⠀⠀Allison managed to get up and run for the stairs to warn Lydia not to come down. Stiles sat up, glaring at Willow.

⠀⠀⠀"I thought you said you didn't know how to get water out of clothes!" Stiles exclaimed.

⠀⠀⠀"Shut up!" Willow yelled back at him as Isaac stood back up, panting as he glared at her. "I learned it since then!"

⠀⠀⠀Isaac charged forward, Willow sending another blast of water toward him but this time he was able to move through it. He tackled Willow backward, the two rolling back into a display case.

⠀⠀⠀Willow forced her hands out, and without uttering a spell, made a force field around herself and Isaac as the cabinet fell forward. Isaac looked up, seeing the cabinet settle on top of nothing just above them, ready to crush them beneath. Isaac would be fine but Willow, not so much.

⠀⠀⠀"MOM!" Willow screamed.

⠀⠀⠀Starla was getting back to her feet with the help of Stiles. She turned to the two and raised her hands, forcing the cabinet back onto its feet. Willow sighed, keeping the force field for as long as she could to keep Isaac trapped for the time being.

⠀⠀⠀For a minute, Isaac didn't seem to realize he was trapped and that he was here in order to kill Lydia. He tried to stand but snapped back to the floor when he was forced back by the force field. Willow let out a small laugh but regretted it immediately.

⠀⠀⠀Isaac turned to her while Stiles ran out of the room when Allison yelled something down at him. He growled, eyes back to their yellow glow and he rushed her again forcing her back but as they rolled again the force field, while smaller, stayed.

⠀⠀⠀Willow could feel her limbs begin to strain and shake while Isaac made another attempt. This time, straddling her hips and his hands moving to press against her neck. She could see the black dots begin to appear but when Stiles screamed at her, barely able to realize he told her to release the force field, she did. She fell back and Stiles used a piece of glass to cut against Isaac's neck before he moved.

⠀⠀⠀There was a second of Isaac still around her neck and then Stiles kicked him off before he was stuck like that. Isaac didn't move, eyes wide in the realization that Stiles had used the kanima venom against him.

⠀⠀⠀Willow let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes as she pressed her palms into her eyes.

⠀⠀⠀Not long later, Scott had arrived without anyone noticing and Starla had both Isaac and Erica in her hold and levitated them outside and threw them at Derek's feet.

⠀⠀⠀"I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott," Derek told Scott, who stood in front of the rest of them. "You're not an omega, you're already an Alpha of your own pack but you know you can't beat me."

⠀⠀⠀"I can hold you off until the cops get here," Scott stated.

⠀⠀⠀Derek considered his claim, sirens wailing in the distance, then said to Boyd, "Get them out of here."

⠀⠀⠀Boyd gathered the two and started to head out with Derek by his side but Starla stopped him before he could.

⠀⠀⠀"How?" she asked him with a frown.

⠀⠀⠀Starla had always been sure her house was secured and the fact that it wasn't had all of the Gallagher's on edge. Derek turned back to her and smirked.

⠀⠀⠀"Don't worry, only I knew about it," Derek explained with a small smile. "It's in Rowan's room."

⠀⠀⠀Starla frowned at him while Derek waved pleasantly just to annoy her but something caught his gaze before he left. They all followed it to the roof where a creature slinked across, turning to them with the burn of their sight, and hissed back at them. Willow would never forget the creature that trapped her in the pool, possibly ruined her relationship.

⠀⠀⠀Then, Lydia rushed out of the house, angry as she looked at everyone.

⠀⠀⠀"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" she hissed at them, their heads turning from her and then to the roof as the creature leaped off and ran.

⠀⠀⠀"It's Jackson."

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

I debated very hard if Isaac should try to choke out Willow because they do become... friendly later (not this season) and I don't want this scene to fully affect their relationship which is very casual, more so like friends you have in school that you don't hang out with outside of school.

Anyways, I really loved writing this chapter and the last although I struggled with the end fight. I knew how Isaac would get in but I wasn't sure how to do the fight since... this episode is a bit of a mess.

Anyway, ROWAN IS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!! Or, at least the next episode!!! I'm so excited for you guys to meet him, I love he.

SONG: Sanctuary by Joji

Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.