Chapter 16
"Where do you think Stiles ran off to?" I ask as we continue walking through the forest.
"That way?" He points to the side with a shrug before we run off. My eyes land on a light shining in the trees. Suddenly Scott and someone else screams from next to me. I scream as well and fall to the ground. I look up and glare up at the person responsible.
"Stiles!" I exclaim clutching my heart.
"Oh." He breathes. "It's you."
"No, it's the Easter Bunny." I roll my eyes as Scott helps me back to my feet.
"I think I found something."
"So did I." Scott adds. I follow after them to an opening in the side of a big pile of rocks. I crouch down and look inside. There are clothes and stuffed toys covered in dirt and leaves in the cave.
"A coyote den." Stiles states.
"Werecoyote."
"A were-what?" I ask, furrowing my brows. "Wait, Scott that coyote. It was Malia, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was. Its eyes glowed blue."
"You see this." Stiles picks up a blue faded jacket. "This was Malia's. Remember, it was the same one she was wearing in the photo."
"She's been staying here as a coyote. This is her den." I murmur.
"Was her den." Scott says holding a teddy bear of Malia's. "We shouldn't be here."
"What do you mean?" Stiles asks.
"She's not going to come back now. We just invaded her home. Our scent's going to be everywhere."
I put down the jersey in my hand, "Oh yeah, you're right."
"If she's not going to come back here, where's she going to go?"
"I don't know." Scott says.
"Can you track her now?" Stiles asks looking at Scott, then at me. "You think you got her scent?" I pick up the jersey again and give it a sniff. I furrow my brows. I can't pick up anything.
"Maybe. But I'm better at this when I'm a full wolf. And I'm still worried that if I do it, I won't be able to turn back."
"What about you?"
"No, I can't smell anything." Scott turns his gaze to me.
"What about Derek, have you heard anything from him?" Stiles asks.
"Uh, not yet." Scott looks back over to him.
My eyes snap to Scott's, "What do you mean? Derek's not responding?"He shakes his head. I bite my lip as my stomach starts twisting.
He should be answering his phone...
"If we can't get to Derek, we're gonna have to find someone else to help." Scott looks around before turning his gaze back to Stiles. "This is basically a crime scene, right? I think it might be a little out of my boss's league."
"And more in my dad's." Stiles pats his back before we get out of the den. Stiles quickly calls his dad while I pull out my phone to call Derek.
"The number you have-" I hang up the phone before trying again.
"The number-" I stuff my phone in my pocket as I let out a deep breath.
"Have you tried Peter?" Scott asks walking over to me. I pull out my phone again and dial his number.
"Same thing." I breathe out as I run my hand over my face.
"I'm sure he's okay." Scott grabs my hand. "Maybe he turned off his phone or something." I nod my head as my stomach still twists in knots.
A few minutes later the Sherriff's car pulls up into the clearing. Stilinski gets out and walks over to Stiles who eagerly begins filling his dad in on what happened. He looks over at us before him and a few deputies inspect the den. He comes out shortly after with a blanket in his hand.
"You sure it was her?" Stilinski looks over at Scott.
"I looked her right in the eyes and they glowed just like mine."
"It makes sense, dad."
"But it wasn't a girl. It was a four-legged coyote, right?"
"Well, okay. But yeah, see that's the part that we don't exactly have figured out yet." Stiles stumbles.
"It's kind of a girl in the body of a four-legged coyote." I add.
"And if it was a full moon and she did change, then anything could have happened." Scott says.
"Horrible things could've happened. Ripping, shredding, tearing things."
"I think he gets the idea, Stiles." I say patting him on the shoulder.
"Which is probably what caused the accident." Scott concludes.
"Think about it, Dad, all right. They're driving, Malia starts to change, she goes out of control, the mom crashes and everybody dies"
"Except for Malia."
"She blames herself, all right, goes off running into the woods, and eventually becomes trapped inside the body of a coyote."
"That makes sense." Stilinski nods slightly. I let out a breath.
At least we made sense...
"In a Chinese folktale."
Nevermind
"Guys, this is- this is insane. I need this kept quiet. The three of you, not a word. I don't want anyone hearing about this. I especially don't want Mr. Tate hearing about this." He turns his gaze to Scott. "Scott?" He asks. My eyes glance over to see him staring out in the distance. I furrow my brows and glance over at the area he was looking. Nothing
"Sorry. What did you say?" A bright light appears to the side. A black car pulls up and a man with an FBI badge steps out. Scott stiffens from next to me.
"Oh hell." Stilinski groans. Someone else appears from the trees next to the FBI agent. "Mr. Tate." Stilinski greets him. Mr. Tate walks over and takes the blanket from him. He stiffens as his gaze stays fixed on it.
"It's hers." His voice hardens.
"Alright, wait here." The FBI agent speaks up.
Scott turns to him, "Dad."
My eyes widen. That's Scott's dad? That's the guy who walked out on him and his mom all those years ago?
"I'll talk to you in a minute. I wouldn't mind hearing how your mom's okay with you running around in the woods this late." His eyes meet mine. "And you? Where are your parents?"
I cross my arms over my chest, "Dead."
"Oh, um... excuse me." He stutters before walking away. I turn my gaze over to Scott.
"So... that's your dad."
"Biologically."
"Here's where we found the den. It's right in the middle of the hiking trails." Stiles points to the spot on the tablet. I glance my eyes to Mr. Yukimura at the front of the class as he gets everything set up before turning to Allison.
"Well, that could narrow it down. Coyotes travel in fixed trails. But I think you're right about her not going back to the den. Coyotes don't like wolves. And they're really smart. If they don't want to be heard, they actually walk on their toes."
Coyotes can walk on their toes?
"Coyote's tip toe?" Stiles questions.
"They tip-toe."
"Seriously?" I chuckle. "They're awesome."
"Except for the maiming and ripping part." Stiles states. I roll my eyes as the bell rings.
"I got to go, but send me the pinned location." Allison says as she walks out of the classroom.
"Okay." Stiles replies as he begins to walk to his seat. Scott grabs my hand and turns me around to face him.
"Can we talk later?"
An amused smile forms on my lips, "That's usually not something you wanna hear."
He smiles, "It's not a 'we need to talk' kind of talk."
"Then I will see you later." I walk over to my seat but stop as Kira blocks my way. "Kira, Hi."
"Hey, I have something for you." She opens her bag and looks inside.
"For me? Really?"
"Yeah, about Bardo. My explanation was sort of all over the place, so I did some research and I printed it out for you and your friends."
"What, really?" My eyebrows raise. "That's great. I think everyone understood you perfectly but thanks. They'll really appreciate it."
"I swear I printed it out." She mutters still searching her bag.
"Kira!" Her dad calls. She turns around and looks at the stack of papers in his hands.
That can't be the research she did. It could be like 50 pages
"You forgot all that research you did at home." Kira grabs the stack and smiles sheepishly at me.
She hands it to me, "Sorry. I always forget things."
"You did all this for us?"
"It only took a few hours."
My eyes widen, "Kira, you didn't have to do that. My friends already like you."
"Really?"
"Of course. But thank you so much for this." She smiles before sitting down in her seat. I sit behind Scott and begin paging through the notes.
It's so detailed and thorough... it must've taken all night.
"All right, everyone. Let's get started. We were just talking about internment camps and prisoners of war. There's a passage in our reading that I'd like to go over in more detail Who would like to come up and read-aloud for us?" I look back down at the notes as he begins looking around the classroom. "Mr. Stilinski, how about you?"
"Oh, um... maybe someone else could." Stiles stutters. My stomach drops.
Stiles can't read.
I raise my hand.
"Can I read?"
"You can read the next passage, Miss Hale."
"But-"
"Everyone participates in my class." He turns back to Stiles. "Mr. Stilinski?"
"Okay." He mutters before he gets up and walks to the podium. He looks down at the book for a while. His hands tighten on the podium as his eyes snap shut. He looks up at the class with dazed eyes.
Scott stands up, "Stiles, you okay?" He stumbles and almost loses his balance. Scott rushes over to him and helps him up. "I should take him to the nurse's office." Scott grabs onto him and leads him out of the room. I bite my lips as I watch Stiles stumble away.
I hope he's okay...
I slowly raise my hand, trying to diffuse the tension in the room. "So...does that mean I can read?"
The bell rings. I pack up my things as Mr. Yukimura shouts out the homework assignment he knows no one will actually do. I zip up my bag as my gaze falls upon Scott and Stiles' bags by their desks. I look back to the door but they still haven't returned yet. I begin to grab their bags but a hand interrupts.
"I can help too." I smile and pass her Stiles' bag.
"Thank you." We make our way out of the classroom and into the hallway. "You know, I don't understand why you had no friends. I mean you're so ni-" I stop as Kira freezes. "What?"
"Over there." Her voice shakes as she points further up the hallway. I squint my eyes as it starts snarling.
"Go!" I push her toward the door on the side as the coyote starts charging forward. She opens the door for me but I close it quickly and turn back to the coyote.
"Malia, come on." I put my hands out and kneel down to her level. "I know you're in there." I attempt to glow my eyes but it doesn't happen.
The familiar feeling in my eyes isn't there...
"What the-" The coyote lunges forward and knocks me to the ground before jumping through the glass window into the room. I quirk a brow.
That's a first...
I jump to my feet and open the door. The coyote turns around and growls at me, "I don't wanna hurt you, but you leave me no choice." I flick my wrist. I bring my hand forward but freeze.
There are no claws.
I try again but my claws don't come out. The coyote growls again and bares its teeth. I have a feeling she's getting annoyed at me now.
How am I supposed to fight her if I can't shift?
Why can't I shift?
I push a bench in front of her before running away and hiding behind a set of lockers. I turn to the side to see Kira a few lockers away from me. The coyote jumps over the bench and begins slowly walking forward. Closer to Kira.
I have to protect her. I heal, she doesn't.
At least I think I can heal...
Her wide eyes meet mine, "Move around." I mouth to her. She nods and moves around the locker in the other direction. I get up and shimmy myself behind a locker closer to the coyote. I let out a breathe "Over here!" The coyote whips her head towards me. I place my hands on the locker and push it over. The coyote moves out the way just in time before it falls on her. Kira runs over to me as I watch Malia jump out the window again. "It's gone." I breathe turning around to a frazzled Kira. "It's okay. We're safe now." Footsteps suddenly sound as someone runs into the room. Scott looks over at us with wide eyes.
"What happened?"
"Coyote." I say pointedly. "It's gone now." I point to the broken glass on the floor. Scott follows my gaze but his body stiffens. He nudges my side and motions to Stiles' bag. My eyes catch onto a creepy-looking doll poking out from it. The same creepy doll that is etched onto my mind.
"Ah, Stiles you idiot." I mutter.
The police show up a few minutes later to investigate. Mr. Yukimura walks into the room and wraps his daughter in a hug. I slowly move away from them and join Scott on the side as Stiles walks into the room.
"I think I know what she was looking for."
"The doll." I deadpan as Stiles pulls it out.
Scott lets out a breath, "You took the doll from the car."
"Yeah, I thought you could use it, you know for like her scent."
"Where did you get that?" A hard voice asks. I turn my head around to see Mr. Tate standing by the doorway staring right at us. He stalks over and rips the doll out of Stiles' hand. "Where did you find this?" His hard eyes soften as he stares at it. "It belonged to my daughter." Stilinski walks past us and up to him.
"Mr. Tate, I don't know how you heard about this. If you got your own police scanner or what, but you can't be here." He gently pushes him to the door but stops. He looks at him before opening up his jacket and revealing a gun.
"I have a permit." Mr. Tate defends.
"California schools are gun-free zones. Permit or no permit. You need to leave Mr. Tate, now." Stilinski pushes him towards the door.
"You find that animal." Mr. Tate's voice hardens. "You find that thing." He gives one last cold look before stomping away. Stiles walks over to his dad as I turn back to Scott.
"This can not end well." I run a hand through my hair. Scott furrows his brows before grabbing my arm.
"You're bleeding." I follow his gaze and see three scratch marks on my inner forearm, ranging from my elbow to my wrist.
"Huh, it must've been when she knocked me over."
"You should've healed by now." I run my fingers over the scratches and they came back crimson.
"It'll heal. Maybe it's because it's from a werecoyote?" I let out a breath before turning back to him.
"Can we have that talk now?" He asks after a while.
"Uh... sure." He grabs my other arm gently and leads me outside away from all the crowds. "What is it?"
"You never got to tell me what's been happening to you."
"That's what you wanted to talk about?" I let out a breath. "You had me worried for a second."
"What would there be to worry about?"
"Nothing..." I drawl out as my eyes shift away from his.
We're not actually in a relationship... Remember? Then what are we in?
"Look, I'll tell you everything but first I need you to tell me something." He nods. "What happened to me the night that I shifted? The night of the lunar eclipse."
Season 3B
Episode 2 (More Bad Than Good)
Part 1/2
State: edited
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think!
Stay safe and healthy! â¤
Until next time my fellow wolfies!! :D
-Nicole ^.^