Blood Runs Cold

Chapter Sixteen

The loft was a ball of tension, heavy and suffocating. It made Chris twitchy in a way he wasn't used to, all of the scents and smells so overwhelming. Everyone there smelled of anxiety and fear, fear that all of them were too young for.

When Chris looked at Scott's pack all he could feel was a deep sadness. They were children whose innocence was stripped away before they could even understand what was happening. All of them were poisoned by loss and the thought made even the simple act of swallowing difficult.

"Hey, dad," Allison wheeled over to him and the same guilt that always twisted his insides when he saw her reared its nasty head. She was lucky to survive, Chris had been told by countless doctors and nurses after she had been stabbed by the Nogitsune's Oni.

If Chris had been a better father, she would have been far away from that danger. She should have been far from the danger that was currently haunting Beacon Hills.

"Hey, kid." Chris buried the guilt as well as he could with an overgrown dog that liked digging up every repressed emotion in his head. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Allison in an embrace and inhaled the familiar scent of her hair. It grounded him, keeping the wolf calm in his mind. She was his daughter and its pup. She was his anchor.

Before he could stop himself, Chris closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against hers, scenting her briefly. The first time he had done that, he had been mortified, he hadn't been able to control himself. But it was a type of weirdness that Allison was used to, as surrounded by werewolves as she was.

Chris pulled away when he heard Peter walk into the loft. They had driven together but Peter had gotten a call from a contact who had dealt with dryads in the past as they pulled into the lot.

"Anything helpful?" Chris asked.

The frustrated look in Peter's eyes was enough of an answer. "She said that we'd have better luck abandoning Stiles and running." He let out an annoyed growl and his eyes flashed alpha red for a brief moment. "I told her she could take her advice and shove it up her asshole."

"It's a wonder you still have contacts willing to work with you."

Peter gave him an unimpressed look. "I'm highly effective at what I do and most of my contacts would refer to me as quite charming."

"I'm sure that they do." Chris scanned the room, counting heads. Allison must have gotten a ride from Lydia because the only ones there aside from her were Noah, Parrish, Lydia, Malia, and Derek. Surprisingly enough, Melissa was there as well, standing with Noah and Parrish. He checked his watch with a frown, there was still half an hour until the meeting was supposed to start, but he wanted everyone there sooner rather than later.

"Scott's picking up Isaac, Liam, and Mason." Allison must have noticed the way he was looking around. "Kira texted me ten minutes ago that she was on the way."

Chris grunted out a noise of acknowledgement and watched as Allison wheeled back over to Malia and Lydia. Peter had walked to Derek and they were talking in low enough tones that Chris would have needed to strain to make out the words. He didn't try, whatever they were talking about, he'd probably hear about later.

So Chris joined Melissa, Noah and Parrish. Parrish looked mildly uncomfortable being there and Chris couldn't say that he blamed him.

"I didn't expect that you'd come, Melissa," Chris said by way of greeting.

"I didn't just want to sit at home and tear my hair out in worry so I had Noah pick me up," Melissa said with a nervous laugh. "Stiles is pretty much my kid, I think Noah could say the same about Scott. So I just wanted to be here in case I could do anything to help."