Blood Runs Cold

Chapter Fifteen

Chris snarled and thrashed as he watched Stiles be carried off by a towering dryad. He had heard their conversation, knew exactly what was happening, but the dryad he was fighting refused to let him get any closer. All he could do was watch while vines tightened around his limbs and Stiles disappeared into the trees.

"Ilara will not hurt the boy, we wish your pack no harm," the dryad pinning him down said in their whispery voice. "So why must you struggle and fight, Christopher Argent?"

This was the problem with anything even vaguely related to the fey. They were utterly disconnected from reality; so high up in their bubbles that they never stopped to consider that maybe they didn't know best, not even for the briefest of moments. These dryads thought that him, Peter, and Stiles would be far happier in service of the unicorn — Cerys they called her — than they would be left alone and so to them that was the truth. Struggling and arguing would never do anything to sway their minds.

Sap-like, silver blood dripped down onto Chris's neck from where he had clawed the dryad across the face. "Your alpha has three days to return here to the forest, we will find you if you run." It wasn't a threat, just a simple statement of fact. Dryads saw through plantlife, there was no running from them. "All returns to the earth eventually, none of humanity's structures will stand forever. This town was fated to one day become forest once more, so why is this upsetting?"

"It would become forest in thousands of years after humanity has passed, not when there are still thousands of living, breathing humans inhabiting it," Chris snarled. "How many humans have you killed so far?"

The dryad paused as they moved away from Chris. "What do the lives of humans matter? Should I ask how many monsters you've killed as a hunter?" Their voice, like wind through the leaves, carried despite the distance and soft tone as they continued walking. "Tell your alpha that we're awaiting him. We'll accept any others that he chooses to bring with him. But understand, Christopher Argent, any human that remains here will die. They will become the trees in Cerys' forest, just like the woman whose corpse you tracked me from."

Chris snarled, so this was the dryad who had murdered the jogger. He wanted nothing more than to rip them apart, rend them limb from limb. His claws chewed up the asphalt underneath his hands in frustration. "I've got a term for you," the words were only halfway understandable, distorted by the roar in his throat and the fangs in his mouth. "No more humans die until these three days are up. You can disguise yourselves just like the hamadryads can; if a human stumbles upon you, do that."

The dryad tilted their head before they bowed deeply. "You have my word, wolfhunter, my brethren and I will leave the humans in this town alone." Although their time was monotonous and flat, Chris was fairly certain he was being made fun of, that the dryad was treating him like he was some toddler whose wishes you respected because it was amusing.

"If I find another body, there will be hell to pay."

"There is no need to worry, Isonei does not go back on their word," the dryad, Isonei, said and stood back to full height. "You have three days to return to the forest. Do not search for our home or for the boy unless you are coming to join us." They paused and wiped a drop of blood from their jaw. "He will be loved and cared for, as will all of your pack. You can let Alpha McCall know that if he surrenders to Cerys, his pack will be allowed to roam her forest, but only the Hale pack will be under her protection."

Lichen in the form of a long dress flowed as Isonei turned away from Chris and walked slowly into the forest. It was minutes later until the vines that bound him to the road loosened enough for Chris to pull himself free.

The way he saw it, he had two options. He could run into the forest and get his ass kicked by an untold number of dryads or he could return back to Peter's and break the news that he let Stiles be kidnapped to not only Peter, but also to Noah. Getting his shit kicked in sounded better than that. But unfortunately, there really was no choice.