𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚔 ❦「𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚔𝚒」

𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚈 𝚃𝚆𝙾

𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Is that too tight?" I ask Malia as I tighten the cuffs around her wrists and she lifts her head, looking up at me through bright eyes.

"Tighter" She growls at me and so I tighten them a little more.

Once the restraints are secure, I shuffle back out of the girl's reach and take a seat on the cold concrete, crossing my legs.

"You can leave, if you want" Malia tells me and I frown, shaking my head.

"We're not going anywhere. Right, Stiles?" I turn my head to the boy who is sat behind me on a bucket.

"Right. And, to be honest, we're probably safer down here than in a party with fifty freshmen and a very pissed off Lydia" Stiles explains and I let out a short laugh, nodding in agreement.

"I wouldn't want to be in Lydia's way tonight" I comment, turning back to Malia.

My friend growls angrily as her chains clang when she tries to reach out and grab me, but I'm just out of reach. I can see the mental gymnastics she's doing because it's written all over her face, she doesn't want to hurt us but her body does.

Stiles tugs me back a little by my shoulder and my temple is laid against his leg, causing me to look up at him. The boy smiles down at me reassuringly and gently runs his fingers through my hair, messaging my scalp.

I lean into Stiles' kind gesture but my eyes immediately turn back to Malia, resisting the urge to go to her and let her tear me apart while I try to comfort her.

"Guys, please go" Malia begs between heavy breaths.

"It's okay. I hate parties. It's a social anxiety thing. You ever had a panic attack?" Stiles tries to reassure her and I smile at the effort.

"I'm having one now!" Malia retorts in anger.

"You're going to be okay, Mal" I tell her sympathetically "Remember what we practiced?"

She lets out a pained groan but nods her head in confirmation, placing her hands on the ground and taking a deep breath. I mutter a quick spell under my breath, the sweat disappearing from the girl's skin and she exhales shakily.

"What did you just do?" Stiles whispers.

"I just cooled her down" I explain to him, glancing up at him "There's not much else I can do"

"You're doing enough" He assures me and the comment causes me to pause, my heart swelling because of something I didn't know I needed to hear.

I'm broken from my daze when Malia growls loudly, her chains rattling as she tries to grab me again.

"What if I hurt you?" Malia grits out with a pained expression on her face.

"You're not going to" Stiles counters, still playing with my hair as I do my best to keep the girl calm.

"But I want to. Ugh! I look at your face and I want to slash at it! I want to tear at it! I want to feel your bones crack between my hands!" Malia snarls maliciously and I whistle lowly.

"That's gotta sting" I turn to Stiles and he smiles in amusement.

"Surprisingly enough, she's not the first person to ever say something like that" He tells me jokingly and I suddenly find no humour in the situation.

"Who else said something like that?" I demand in all seriousness and Stiles raises his brows in surprise.

Before he can reply Malia lets out an aggressive howl and I shoot him a warning look that he'll be answering that question later before I turn to Malia.

"Malia, we're not leaving you. I'm going to sit right here and you're not hurting anyone because I won't let you" I declare in a stern tone and she whines loudly, the sound of tearing catches my attention.

"You're not going to have a choice" Malia counters, showing me the large tear in her cuffs.

"Oh, that's gonna be a problem" Stiles points out, standing up and pulling me with him.

"No, it's not. Everything is gonna be fine" I argue, but I am forced to eat my words when I hear the loud sound of the cuff tearing right off.

Malia lunges towards us and without thinking about my own safety, I push Stiles with all my strength. A claw catches my arm, causing me to wince in pain and I stumble away from the angry were coyote.

"Tali!" Malia cries out and Stiles grabs my arm, inspecting the bleeding wound.

"It's okay, Mal" I reassure her with a warm smile "I'm okay"

"I don't want to hurt you" She whines, struggling to hold her self back.

"It's just a little scratch, basically nothing" I counter, trying not to freak her out anymore "Just listen to my voice, okay? Focus on me"

"Listen to mine- run!" Malia roars, yanking on her chains more aggressively.

"Natalia" Stiles gives me a worried look and I shake my head, refusing to leave her here.

"I'm not just going to run away! I know you're scared that you'll hurt us like you hurt your family, but I know you won't" I state determinedly and she pauses her struggling to look at me "You're not the only one who has hurt people, we all have. I regret the things one done every single day, but all I can do now is try to find a shred of control to stop myself from hurting anyone else"

"I know what that's like" Stiles speaks up and I look to him in surprise "I remember everything I did- and the worst part is, I remember liking it. Because I felt powerful. I felt fearless. And most of all, in control"

"But, when I came through it, I learned something else..." Stiles explains, walking right up to the werecyote and unclipping her cuffs fully "Control is overrated"

A powerful roar escapes Malia's lips and she pushes Stiles, lunging at me. Instead of shrinking away from her advance, I catch the girl in my arms and she immediately stills, panting heavily.

I look down at her hands between us, completely clawless and she then looks up, her brown eyes meeting mine.

"You did it" Stiles smiles, coming to stand by my side.

"You're in control, Malia" I assure her and she beams at us in joy.