Secrets in the Hunt (Book 2)

Girl Talk

I squeeze Stiles' hand as we walk into the police station.
     "It's going to be okay." I whisper. He doesn't say anything, but he squeezes back before glancing at the officer at the front desk.
     "Could you buzz us in? I gotta see my dad." He says and the woman nods before hitting a button and letting us by. The three of us walk back to Sheriff Stilinski's office. My eyes widen and the three of us freeze as we look in and see Jackson sitting on the couch, a man leaning up against the wall.
     "Boys. Perfect timing. Have you met Jackson's father, Mr. David Whittemore? Esquire." Sheriff says, the annoyance clear on his face.
     "That means lawyer." Jackson says with a smirk. Well shit.
     "Was Tori involved?" Sheriff asks, turning to Jackson. He looks at me, and for a second, I think he knows I was there. But then he shakes his head.
     "No, it was only those bozos." He says. Sheriff nods and gestures towards the front.
     "I'm sorry Tori, but you're gonna have to leave." He says. Stiles gasps and shakes his head, pulling me forward slightly as he argues with his dad.
     "Dad, please. Where's she supposed to go?" He asks, flailing his arm that isn't connected to me.
     "Home?" His dad suggests and Stiles sputters for a minute. I squeeze his hand quickly before letting go. He turns and looks at me with a frown.
     "It'll be okay. Call me, okay?" I say and he nods, his eyes flickering down to my lips. Ignoring the fact that there is literally a crowd of people, I lean in and kiss him quickly on the lips. His mouth drops and he gapes like a fish for a second. I give a quick wave to the Sheriff, ignoring the blush rising up on my face as I turn and walk out of the station. I start walking towards the Argent's house, thankful for the warmth from Stiles' hoodie. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I grab it, frowning when I read the caller ID.
     "Didn't I just leave you with your angry father?" I ask and Stiles scoffs.
     "Okay, yes, but Allison called me and I thought you should be involved in this conversation too." He says and I smile.
     "Okay, what's happening?" I ask.
     "Ms. Morrell was wrong when she translated the pages. The kanima doesn't seek a friend, it seeks a master." Allison says and I freeze. This changes everything.
     "So someone isn't protecting him." I say.
     "They're controlling him." Stiles confirms my fear. I exhale loudly, glancing around before walking a little faster.
     "So what are we supposed to do? Stiles, you said that Jackson didn't believe you when you told him that he was the kanima." I point out.
     "If Jackson doesn't know what he's doing, then he probably doesn't know that someone's controlling him." Allison points out.
    "Or he doesn't remember." Scott suggests. I wrack my brain as I try to think of anything that may help me. Jackson can't be the only shifter in the world that doesn't know what he's doing while he's shifted.
     "What if it's the same kind of thing that happened with Lydia when she took off from the hospital?" Stiles says, and I nod even though he can't see me.
     "So, a fugue state?" I ask.
     "He'd have to forget everything." Scott points out. "The murder-" 
   "Getting rid of the blood." Allison adds.
    "Yeah, he had help with one thing though - the video. And someone else helped him forget that." Stiles says.
    "Whoever's controlling him." I sigh. I look around as I continue to walk towards the Argent's house. Walking home was probably not my best idea.
     "Are you sure Jackson has no clue about any of this?" Allison asks.
     "I'm pretty sure. If he knew he had supernatural abilities, I'm sure he would've ratted me out for being there with Scott and Stiles. He had to see me with Stiles when he broke out of the van." I say.
     "He thinks he's still becoming a werewolf and that being with Lydia somehow delayed the whole thing." Stiles adds.
     "So do we try and convince him he's not?" Allison asks, the doubt clear in her voice.

    "If it helps us find out who's controlling him, then yeah." Scott says.
     "He seemed pretty pissed. Are you sure he'll talk to you guys?" I ask. There's silence for a moment before Stiles answers.
    "Yeah, it's us. He'll talk to us. Right?"
***
Spoiler alert, Jackson would not talk to Scott and Stiles. Instead, he got a restraining order against the two of them. And Scott was apparently grounded and supposed to stay away from Stiles. Just your average week before Spring Break. I pretend to look at the books on the shelf in front of me, glancing over at Allison as she talks through the shelf to Scott and Stiles.
     "It's everything Lydia can translate. And trust me, she was very confused." She says, passing her tablet through to the guys.
     "What did you even tell her? I thought you said we weren't going to tell her about this stuff?" I ask and she grins.
     "I told her that we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures." She laughs. Scott joins in, but I wince, glancing over at Stiles.
     "I am part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures." He says, his face flat as he looks between the two laughing.
     "O - oh. Great." Allison says with an awkward smile. I grin at Stiles and he smiles back at me.
    "Does it say anything about how to figure out who's controlling him?" I ask and she shakes her head.
     "Not really, but Stiles was right about the murderers." She says and Stiles pumps his fist in the air.
     "Yes!" He cheers. I laugh, stopping myself and clearing my throat when I notice Allison staring at me with a smirk.
    "It calls the kanima a weapon of vengeance. There's a story in there about this South American priest who uses the kanima to execute murderers in his village -" Allison explains and Stiles nods.
     "All right, see? So maybe it's not all that bad." He says and Allison shakes her head. Of course it isn't that clear.
     "Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted it to." She adds. Well shit.
     "Yeah, that's bad. Um, definitely bad." I huff, running a hand through my hair.
     "Here's the thing, though. The kanima's actually supposed to be a werewolf. But it can't be -" Allison starts, Scott finishing her sentence as he reads the tablet.
     ""Until it resolves that in its past which manifested it."" He says, turning it so that Stiles can see it.
     "Okay, if that means that Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself." Stiles says, his hands on his hips. I nod in agreement.
     "What if - It has something to do with his parents? His real parents." Allison says and I frown.
     "He's adopted?" I ask and Scott nods.
     "Yeah. Does anybody actually know what happened to them?" He asks and Stiles shrugs.
     "Lydia might." He says.
     "What if she doesn't know anything?" Scott asks, ever the defeatist.
     "Jackson doesn't have a restraining order against me. I'll go talk to him." I say, and Stiles frowns.
     "We'll go." Allison says, nodding at me. I grin back at her.
     "What do I do?" Scott asks and Allison sighs.
     "You have a make-up exam, remember? Promise me." She says and Scott frowns.
     "If he does anything, run the other way." He says, his eyes locked on Allison's.
     "I can take care of myself." She assures him.
     "Allison, if you get hurt while I'm busy with some stupid test, someone's going to need to take care of me. If he does anything-" Scott rambles and Allison cuts him off with a frown.     "Like?" She asks.
    "Anything - Weird or bizarre - anything." Scott says. I roll my eyes, but jump back as Stiles shoves his head through the bookshelf.
     "Anything evil!" He yells, Scott grabbing him and pulling him back through the shelf. "Ah, ow." He grumbles. I laugh and nod towards the end of the bookshelf.
     "Give me a second." I say to Allison and she nods. I walk to the end and grin at Stiles who looks back at me with a grin as well.
     "I don't have anything cheesy to say, 'cause I know you. And I know you could kick Jackson's ass much better than I could. Maybe even better than Scott." He says.
    "You flatter me, Stilinski." I say with a chuckle, standing on my toes to give him a quick kiss.
    "Good luck." He whispers. I grin before turning and walking back to Allison, biting my lip when I notice the look on her face.
     "We'll talk about it later." I mumble to her, ignoring her giggling. The second we leave the library, Allison grabs my wrist and makes me stop. She raises an eyebrow and nods towards the library.
     "So, what was that?" She asks with a wide grin.
     "Oh, that. That was um. Yes." I say and she laughs.
     "That's all? Um, yes? Since when did you kiss Stiles?" She presses and I wince.
     "Well, technically, I kissed him after the formal. And then I ignored him for a while because I'm a wreck. But the other night when we were watching the police van, we finally talked. And I realized I don't wanna push people away anymore. And I really, really don't want to push Stiles away anymore. I don't know how long I get to stay here, but really like him, Allison. I don't want to waste all of this time acting like I don't." I ramble on, my face getting warmer the bigger Allison's smile gets.
     "This is so great! You guys are so cute together! I knew that-" She starts to ramble, but I shake my head, cutting her off.
     "We've gotta got find Jackson." I say and she nods.
     "Right. Jackson first, then we can talk more about you and Stiles." She grins, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along behind her. I could get used to girl talk. 

***
Four chapters? In two days? Who is she? Okay, but seriously though, this will be the last update for today (I think). I'm so excited for the rest of season two! It really picks up a lot once they know the kanima is Jackson. We're now halfway through season two and things are gonna get serious. A little more Stori action for you guys, because I love them so much. Also, I don't know how many of you watch tiktok, but the sound that goes "Anarchy! Anarchy!" "I don't even know what it means, but I love it." is literally Tori and Stiles. Anyway, leave a comment and a vote!

LydiaRoseMartin