Changed

Alive and Thrive

A huge gasp for air filled the room and Deaton and I whipped around. Stiles sat up in the tub, his shoulders shaking, his eyes filled with fright.

Deaton and I looked at each other and then sprinted across the room, kneeling next to Stiles's tub.

He had his head in his hands and when he looked up, he looked straight into my eyes.

"I figured it out, Cora," he said, a smile threatening at the corners of his mouth, "I know where my dad and the others are."

I let out a laugh of relief and laid my head on the side of the tub.

"They're in the root cellar of the Nemeton," came a hoarse voice from behind us.

All three of us turned to see Isaac and Scott emerging, grabbing towels and shaking off their wet hair.

Isaac spoke again, "The root cellar, Deaton."

Stiles frowned. "I was just gonna say that! You took my answer!"

Scott laughed and patted Stiles's back as he stepped of his tub. "My bad, bro."

Deaton stood up and stretched his arms. "So, my friends, are you going to-"

Scott interrupted him. "Oh, absolutely."

Stiles and Isaac nodded along with him. "We have to. We leave first thing tomorrow morning." Isaac said.

Scott agreed and they decided to go back to the Argent's apartment to get some things for the journey.

Derek ran through the door at this point, his black hair sticking up in odd angles, his green eyes anxious, his face glistening with sweat. "What did I miss?"

Deaton looked at him. "Everything," he said, winking.

Derek's eyes landed on Scott and he visibly relaxed. He sent an expressionless look to Isaac, I guess his idea of a smile.

Derek's eyes darted to my face, locking with mine for a millisecond.

But that was long enough.

All of his emotions ran through my body.

Relief.

Sadness.

Sorrow.

Guilt.

Disappointment.

Stress.

Anxious.

They're all negative, and I realized in that millisecond that maybe my brother has had to go through some hard times, but that gives him no right to completely ignore me and pretend I haven't been missing for as long as we can both remember.

And that's why I looked away.

*****

After breaking into Chris's apartment and snatching a gun each, we piled into the black Porsche and drove to the woods.

Stiles, Scott, and Isaac got out, standing at the edge of the forest, strategizing.

Who knew what they're up against.

They talked in hushed voices, their heads inches from each other.

And then they broke apart, nodded back at Lydia, Deaton, Derek and I, and broke into a sprint, the trees and darkness of the woods enveloping them completely.

But before Deaton could pull away, Stiles came rushing back toward the car, already breathing heavily.

I immediately hopped out of the car and reflexively thought something had gone wrong. "What's wrong, Stiles?" I asked anxiously.

He shook his head. "Nothing...I want you to...come." He choked, in between gasping breaths.

I stood there, shocked, until Lydia cleared her throat loudly and waved her hand forward, telling me to go.

"We could...use your smartness." Stiles stated breathlessly.

I nodded reverently. "Yes. Yes, of course I'll come. Let's go, we need to hurry."

And without thinking, I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the forest.

We jogged side by side until we caught up to Isaac and Scott, sitting on tree stumps.

They jumped up at the sight of us and Scott took a deep breath. "Ready?"

I looked at Stiles, who nodded encouragingly. "Yep," I say bravely.

Isaac sent a grin in my direction. "Thata girl."

His smile sending adrenaline coursing through my veins, I stepped in between Stiles and Scott and we sprinted onward.

I wasn't not sure if they knew where they're going or where they needed to be, but they seemed to just be walking in a "general direction."

So I followed along, my hand brushing Stiles's with every left step that I take.

When finally, after what felt like hours of trekking through the woods, we reached a giant leave less tree with long, thin branches that swayed in the California night breeze.

"This is it," Scott said, stopping me with a hand on my arm. "Everybody behind me."

But nobody moved an inch.

Because just at that moment, a trap door in the sand opened and a tall, black haired lady stepped out.

Jennifer Blake.

The darach.

Who played with my brothers emotions.

And even though I was furious with Derek, I felt the hatred building up inside me, the fire I hadn't felt since the last fool moon aching in the pit of my stomach.

"Well." Stepped toward us. "Well." Another step. "Well." Crossed her arms, standing right in front of us. "What do we have here?"

Isaac, Scott, Stiles, and I all exchanged nervous glances, all of us silently agreeing to attack her on three.

One, I said to myself.

Two.

And then my heart stopped and my mind went blank and nothing in the world could have be better than that moment.

Because as I whispered, "Three," Stiles slipped his hand into mine and intertwined our fingers.

A/N-OMG sorry it's so late! And sorry I skipped yesterday I was out of town for a basketball tournament. Love my readers and my fans and my followers and especially my voters! I'll try to consistently update at least every other day. Okay, see you tomorrow hopefully and goodnight chickens💚💜💙💛❤️