Tether ⌲ Stiles Stilinski [2]

twenty-five

We had spent more time in the past few weeks looking for Stiles than finding him. I wasn't sure who I had reached on the phone at Eichen House or if it was actually anyone real, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. The place had sparked concerns over whether or not it was safe for even a short-term stay, but we had been reassured by some vague history told by Deaton that Stiles would be safe.

Unsurprisingly, the trickster didn't follow the rules. The Nogitsune had found Stiles again last night, the lichen poison wearing off, and he was gone. Again.

This time he didn't stay away completely. He was making appearances out in the open, clearly on some sort of hunt with enough dedication to be so bold as to reveal himself to people in public. Before the school day had even begun, the fox had shown up and threatened Mr. Yukimura, which I had heard from Scott.

I told Scott everything, although 'everything' in my case wasn't much. Regardless, I explained about the voice and urged him to check with the Yukimura's again about Oak Creek and a connection to fireflies. As if it wasn't enough that they controlled the Oni, Scott reported back even more troubling information that he got from Malia Tate, who was the last one to see Stiles at Eichen House before his escape. They had been held in the basement at one point, and when the Sheriff had sent investigators to check the scene, they had recovered an old saya with broken pieces of a katana blade and an ancient photograph - a photograph of a woman with a striking resemblance to Kira and her mother.

While Scott and Kira both worked to get to the bottom of things and crack open the 'whole story' the voice on the line had murmured about, Allison and I awaited our father's release at the police station.

Sheriff Stilinski was back in town. And with his return, breaking down Agent McCall's control over the place, the murder charges against both my father and Derek Hale were dropped.

When Chris and Derek both emerged from their holding cells, my sister perked up with relief and excitement as she ran over to meet our father. "Dad!"

As she embraced him in a tight hug, I locked eyes with Derek Hale. His stare was cold but he offered me a cordial nod anyway.

"Eleanor," my father smiled gently.

I tightened the grip I held on the duffel bag around my shoulders, using it as some physical excuse in front of my body to reject a hug. Even though he didn't offer one. We were both extremely tense and hesitant with each other, but I plastered on a grin in return. My priorities were beyond instigating a bickering match with my father.

"Okay," a familiar young deputy exclaimed from his desk. He took out two trays of belongings, one for each of the newly freed men. It was obvious whose was whose. Derek's included a basic key ring, a small leather wallet, and a cellphone. You didn't need to carry weapons on you when you had enough firepower built into your skin. Chris's on the other hand included multiple heavy weapons that must've been stashed in each of his pockets at his time of arrest. The deputy grabbed one of the high voltage electrocution batons that each of us had used on many occasions. "Sorry, I can't let you walk out with this."

"Why not?"

"It's way above the legal voltage limit."

"I only use it for hunting."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure you could use it to jump-start a 747."

Chris narrowed his eyes. "This property belongs to me and the charges were dropped."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly sure who's responsible for that," the young deputy muttered.

"I am." Sheriff Stilinski marched over to the desk, greeting each of us quickly before waving his junior officer off. "I'll take care of this, Parrish."