Chapter Text
Stiles doesn’t like where this is headed, he’s tried so hard to keep what he is a secret from everyone. But now it feels like everything is crashing down and collapsing around him. Where everything he’s ever known or thought ends up being wrong and coming back to bite him in the ass.
It doesn’t help that Stiles was right in suspecting something dark in Matt. The Halfling always knew there was something off about him, he tried to warn everyone but no one ever listens. No one ever listens to Stiles and it hurts.
Especially when he ends up always being right and he tells Scott, tells Derek , and tells basically everyone that he was right and I told you so.
But when he and Scott are presenting their evidence to his father, telling him that everything, that the pattern they uncovered all points to Matt… It’s a definite start for his father believing him once more…maybe. It feels like it is, especially when his father gives in to the remote possibly that it could all be true.
His father asks for a motive though and Stiles flails, he word vomits about the swim team sucking and admits that they in fact have not found a motive. Though if Stiles were to really think on it, he has some ideas of a possible motive but doesn’t want to show his hand just yet. Stiles doesn’t like being wrong nor admitting what he thinks without most of the evidence. Perhaps it’s his demon pride getting in the way, Stiles doesn’t know for sure. Perhaps it’s just his human pride, maybe he’s just prideful within itself.
Scott and Stiles states that they need to look at the evidence which of course is located at the station.
Stiles doesn’t admit it out loud but it fucking stings and hurts deep inside his heart that his father doesn’t trust him. That he exclaims “Trust you?!” with such an astounding amount of incredibly that it hurts so much. Does his father not trust him for all the lies that have slipped his lips since this whole werewolf business happened. Or has his father just never trusted him since he learned that Stiles wasn’t fully human?
Regardless it hurts and he has to think quick, so he points to Scott and says for his father to at least trust his friend. His father surprisingly agrees and says that Scott is someone that can trust.
He thinks that hurts even worse.
They make their way to the station and naturally that’s exactly where a trap was set and they walked right into it.
They discovered that Matt is in fact behind the murders, he’s the Kanima’s master and Stiles Is sent to go to the front desk.. What meets his eyes isn’t something he expected. But he had a feeling, he could smell it in the air, death. Something coils inside at the idea of death, of blood surrounding him. Thoughts of him swimming in it, biting someone, drinking down their life. It’s sickening yet he revels in the feeling, it makes him feel good…and sick to his stomach at the same time. Maybe he’s destined to be evil, to be bad. But Stiles is going to try his damn hardest to do something good before he gets there. Stiles sees the woman officer that his father had just talked to less than five minutes ago on the floor, slash marks on her front side, her eyes lifeless. It sends a small thrill through his very being and he forces himself to look away. When he turns, a gun is pointed at his face. Stiles makes himself look slightly surprised, but he’s not.
Stiles is pushed towards Scott’s side by the hard metal of Matt’s gun, Stiles goes willingly, he can’t show his power yet… or if at all. Only if his father’s life is in jeopardy and Scott’s.
They reluctantly give up their cellphones, Stiles rolls his eyes at the stupid boy in front of him. It would be so easy to put an end to this, to just snuff out the boy’s light, end his life.. bathe in his blood. Stiles tramps down those feelings again, the blood lust was never this bad before. He’s losing himself, losing a hold on his humanity. He doesn’t want to be a monster, doesn’t want to become what the demons want him to be… something of a general for Lucifer’s army for when the time comes. Stiles wants no part of it.
It’s funny how his father and Scott constantly raise their hands in defense, scared that Matt will shoot them, their hearts jack hammering in their chest like rabbits staring into the eyes of a fox. Stiles doesn’t bother with that charade, doesn’t bother to raise his hands and act so defenseless. The boy could easily disarm Matt, but he doesn’t… not yet.
Matt makes Stiles handcuff his dad, he leave it loose until Matt yells for him to do it tighter. Regretfully, Stiles listens to his father and tightens the cuffs, possibly too tight.
They’re led into the hallway and now that Stiles can focus without his father there to witness. Stiles inhales and smells more death in the air. Smells it before he sees it, there are at least three if not four other deputies there…ripped apart. Slashed from the Kanima creature, he hears Scott vaguely ask if Matt is going to kill everyone in here.
As Matt is proclaiming that that’s what Jackson is for, Stiles forces himself to exhale, trying to control himself, to get a grip and not just smile at the smell of blood. He tries to make a disgusted face taking in the sight of dead bodies.
He may or may not fail.
They’re destroying evidence when Stiles speaks once more. Tells him that everything is deleted that they can just move on now that all the people that killed him first are dead. Stiles doesn’t even really know what that statement means. Matt smells human, he doesn’t smell any different, he’s no ghost, ghoul, shape shifter or even a demon himself. They’re distracted by lights flooding the window, someone has arrived.
Matt proclaims that Scott’s mom is there now. Stiles rolls his eyes, frustrated. The last thing he needs is more innocent witnesses to see what he is.. Stiles has a feeling he’s being given no choice but to take control of the situation to save their lives.
Only it’s not Scott’s mom at the door, it’s Derek.
Stiles feels something else coil inside of him at seeing the older man, perhaps a kindred spirit? Desire? Lust. More than likely all of the above, but it settles and he feels horrified seeing Derek drop like nothing. It clicks for Stiles just then, that Derek is paralyzed and helpless just like he had been in the pool when Stiles held on to him for two hours to keep him alive… to protect him.
Derek speaks, “This is the one controlling him? This kid?” His voice is filled with disbelief and Stiles can’t blame him. Stiles thought the same thing when he came to the realization.
“Well, what did you expect? We can’t all be a big bad werewolf. That’s right, I’ve learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, Kanimas, it’s like a freak’n Halloween party every full moon.” Matt proclaims with slight disgust. If only the boy knew…
“Except for you Stiles, what do you turn into?” That really was the million dollar question wasn’t it?
Stiles is staring Matt into the face, Jackson, the kanima I off to the side lost to his otherself, serving like a good little dog to it’s master. Stiles knows that the Kanima is a twisted abomination in place of a wolf. That something from Jackson’s past is holding him back, poisoning the wolf and warping it into something it should be.
Stiles snarks quickly with a false seriousness, “the abominable snowman, but uh, it’s more of a winter time thing, you know seasonal.” Stiles doesn’t even have a chance to react, the kick jerk of Matt’s head has Jackson slashing at his neck and suddenly, Stiles can’t feel his body. He mumbles something like sonofabitch and feels himself fall…right on top of Derek.
How was this his life?
“Get him off of me.” Derek gets out roughly, now that’s just rude but Stiles can’t blame him. Scott has told him randomly of what he smells like. The fact that it’s a weird mixture of medication, blood, sulfur and flowers. Weird, but not exactly bad had been Scott’s words.
“Oh I don’t know Derek, I think you two make a pretty good pair. “
Matt says something about Scott’s mother arriving and how he won’t hurt her. Stiles doesn’t even stop to think about not speaking. “Scott, don’t trust him!” He feels a hand distinctly on him, dragging him away from Derek, tossing him on his back. He feels in the background that his hand is near Derek’s. He wants to reach out and latch on to it for comfort, but any thought he had is thrown out the window when he feel s a boot crushing his chest, the weight is constricting and making it so difficult to breathe. He knows his demon side comes to the surface then, feels the shift in his eyes, feels them filling up with black. Stiles wants to use his telekinesis but he can’t even bring himself to move. His eyes flicker back to normal when Matt looks at him once more. Scott says he’ll do what he says and Stiles feels air rush through his lungs.
He’s choking it down with greed, the air feels good, the oxygen. As soon as he’s able to move.. He’s going to kill Matt, kill the Kanima and put an end to all of this once and for all.
***
Scott and Matt come back in the room, it had been nothing but awkward silence as they both strained to hear what was happening in the other room. Derek had no problem, Stiles had increased hearing but it was severely lowered due to his human side. He had heard the gun shot but knew it wasn’t his father thanks to Derek saying that it had been Scott. His heart rate had went back down.
When Matt mentioned the bestiary, himself and Derek both shared a look as much as was possible in their position.
Then Matt reveals the scales, Stiles is shocked, his eyes light up. Matt was changing into a Kanima, balance… for all the lives he made Jackson take, balance needed to be restored.
Derek shares his belief in that this is the way that balance is trying to be restored, Stiles agrees and asks what they should do. Derek is stabbing in to his leg with his claw to trigger the healing process. Stiles exclaims at the grossness, but it’s to hide his pleasure in smelling the wolf’s blood’s scent hit the air. He’s working on his own solution of pushing the toxin out of his body quicker. He feels his eyes flicker black, fill with the inky black and fade away. He closes his eyes to hide it from Derek.
Something happens, Derek inhales and Stiles can hear his heart stutter for a second.
He knows…he knows there’s something different with Stiles. Whether he’s thinking about mentioning it now or he’s really taking in Stiles’ scent..he doesn’t know.
“You know, I always smelled the scent of sulfur in your room and around you. I never really bothered to think about it until now. You are something different, you’re human but you’re also not.” Derek states, stabbing into his thigh once more and inhales again.
“What are you Stiles?”
“That really is the big question isn’t it? Like you said, something human only more.” Stiles bites out, feeling the toxin ebb away faster. He’s excreting his energy, knows it will make him weaker than is ideal. But if he doesn’t hurry, his father could be killed or worse…everyone could be dead.
Stiles chances a glance in Derek’s direction and sees his eyes turned on him. Stiles feels his eyes flicker once more and then stay a solid black. Derek looks surprised and shocked, his eyebrows climb. Hears the skip of his heart, and then how it beats a little faster.
“You could kill me if you wanted to, kill anyone, but you let everyone push you around. Why?” Derek wants to understand, wants to know why this…thing acts the way it does.
“just because I was born this way doesn’t mean I want to give in to the beast and kill. I’m pretty sure you can relate. How do you think Scott learned how to control himself? Did you really think a spastic little human could really know how important control is?” Stiles scoffs and gazes back at the ceiling. His right hand twitches. Good, it’s working faster than Derek’s process is.