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“I think that's his plane right there,” Lydia mumbled as she saw another plane touch down.
“You said that about the last three planes that landed,” her roommate groaned and slumped over onto the table they were seated at. “We've been here for an hour,” she grumbled against the table top.
Lydia looked away from the window to her roommate. “Do you want another coffee?”
The girl lifted her head off the table to make eye contact with Lydia. “If I have another cup of coffee, we may have a serious accident on our hands.” Her head hit the table again with a soft thud.
Lydia made a face. “What kind of accident?”
“I don't know yet.” She shrugged without looking up. “It could be one of many. Caffeine has strange effects on me.”
Lydia smiled and looked toward the window. A moment later, her own coffee cup began to vibrate, as the table rattled slightly.
The banshee sighed. “Lizzy...”
Her roommate sat straight up with an exasperated sigh. “This is so boring, Lydia!”
“Then why did you come with me?”
“Well, for one, I thought your text said your boyfriend had a fight. I figured we'd be seeing some action. Even still, I thought we'd at least be having a conversation. You've just been staring out the window, saying-”
“I think that's his plane!”
“Exactly!”
“No, I really think that's his!”
“Well praise Jesus and pass the potato salad!”
Lydia's phone dinged with an incoming text.
Just landed! :)
“It was his!” Lydia smiled brightly.
Lizzy sighed contentedly. “Well, good. Maybe the past hour was worth it to see that. I don't think I've ever seen you smile that big before.”
“You don't understand. I haven't seen him in person since our best friend was temporarily blinded!” she told her before running toward the gate.
Lizzy stood there a moment in confusion before calling after her, “I'm assuming there's a story behind that?”
She followed slowly behind the strawberry-blonde, and people were already coming out by the time she reached her.
“Do you see him yet?” Lydia didn't reply and Lizzy looked at her roommate's expression. She knew the moment Lydia had seen him because a smile slowly took over her entire face. Lizzy felt a gust of wind and suddenly Lydia's legs were off the the ground and wrapping around a tall guy's waist. “Oh there he is!” Lizzy said sarcastically, as Lydia kissed the guy. “Well, at least I hope that's him. Otherwise you'll have a lot of explaining to do to your boyfriend, am I right?”
She took a step back and looked around her. “Wow...you guys are really going at it, aren't you?” People around them started to slow down and stare at the couple, and Lizzy rolled her eyes, and yelled, addressing the passersby. “Okay, move along, people! Nothing to see here! Just two lovers reuniting after months apart. Yes, yes, it's a beautiful story! Pictures are not necessary!” Finally, she turned back to Lydia and her boyfriend. “Okay, guys seriously?! You're attracting a crowd.”
Lydia's feet planted themselves back on the ground.
“I've missed you so much.”
“I've missed you so much.”
“Hi!” Lizzy said, sticking her head between the two. “I've missed stimulating dialogue for the past hour, so...maybe we should head out?” she said as she hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “Although, I do have to say, that that made it worth it. I mean. It's not everyday you see two people dry humping in an airport, am I right?”
“We weren't dry humping,” Lydia told her.
“Ehh...” She cocked her head to the side. “I think your boyfriend would beg to differ.”
Her boyfriend adjusted the pillow he was carrying in front of him, as he blushed and cleared his throat.
“I'm Lizzy by the way. Lydia's favorite roommate. You've probably heard of me.”
“Stiles.”
“Oh yeah. I've heard of you... believe me.” Then she staged whispered, “I share a wall with this one.” She pointed at Lydia through her hand.
“Okay!” Lydia said quickly, as she linked an arm with Stiles and used her free hand to spin Lizzy around. “That's enough of that.”
“Oh, and don't worry, Stiles.” Lizzy continued as they began to walk away, “I'm staying with a friend tonight, so you don't have to worry about me interrupting any alone time.” Then she winked.
Lydia's head was resting on Stiles's bare chest while he ran his fingers soothingly up and down her arm.
“I love you,” he told her and felt her smile against his skin.
“I love you too. Phone calls and FaceTime just aren't enough.”
“I know,” he agreed. “School has just been kicking my ass. It's like all of my professors got together and decided to make this semester just ridiculous. I'm hoping next semester will be better and maybe give me more time to see you. Oh! We should plan something for Spring Break! Me, you, Scott, Malia....Lizzy and...someone for Lizzy.”
Lydia giggled, and Stiles chuckled.
“That would be fun,” she told him. There was silence for a moment, before she asked. “Do you like Lizzy?”
“Well, not in the way I like you.” Lydia laughed again. “But yeah, she's nice. Blunt. She kind of reminds me a bit of Malia.”
“You know, I got a Malia vibe from her too,” Lydia agreed and continued, “Well, I invited her to Beacon Hills for Christmas.”
“What do you mean?” he asked as he slowed his actions.
“Her family is out of the country for the holidays so I said she could come with us. Don't worry. Isaac's coming home too.”
Now his movements stopped completely. “What?”
“I've been match-making, and I have to say I'm pretty good at it.”
“Huh,” he mused as he resumed his movements. “Well, then I'm proud of you,” he said, before dropping a kiss onto the top of her head.
It wasn't long before they'd fallen asleep.
“There's my son,” Noah Stilinski said as he wrapped Stiles in a tight hug. When he let him go he looked over at Lydia, “And there's my future daughter-in-law.”
“Dad!” Stiles scolded. “Don't say things like that!”
“Son, do we not remember the whole opening time and space with your love thing? I think it's safe to say she's the one.”
Two hands poked through between Stiles's and Lydia's shoulders, and then came a head as she made room. “Time and space? And, hi! Lizzy!” Lydia's roommate extended her hand to the Sheriff.
“Oh..uh...Noah. I'm Stiles's dad,” he said as he shook the girl's hand.
“I'm Lydia's roommate. So...time and space?”
“It was a game,” Lydia told her.
“A very long game,” Stiles added.
“Oh, like Dungeons and Dragons?”
“Exactly like Dungeons and Dragons.” Lydia told her as the group began to walk off. “Except not like that at all,” she mumbled to herself. “So, Sheriff. My mom's been talking about this Christmas Market that opened up.”
“Yeah, it's been drawing a nice crowd from all over.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Stiles asked.
“Why would tourism be a bad thing?” Lizzy asked.
'Normally the kinds of tourists we get....” Lydia began, “We'd... rather do without.”
“Yeah,” Noah agreed, “But so far, it seems like a good thing.”
“Well, then we'll need to check it out.” Stiles draped his arm around Lydia's shoulders and they continued walking.
Lydia and Lizzy stayed with her mother, while Stiles stayed with his father. They hadn't had a chance to see Scott or Malia yet, but they all made plans to go to the Christmas Market the next day. Isaac was coming in later the next evening.
Scott pulled up in the jeep the next morning, and after greeting his best friend since pre-school, tossed Stiles the keys. Malia had already sat herself in the backseat while the boys had exchanged their hellos, and when they pulled up to Lydia's house, Scott climbed in next to her.
“Well...this is cozy,” Lizzy commented as she climbed into the back next to the were-couple. “I'm Lizzy.”
“I'm Scott, and this is-”
“His girlfriend, Malia. I'm also Stiles's ex-girlfriend, but we don't talk about that.”
“Huh...” Lizzy said thoughtfully as she nodded once.
“Hey, how was your night?” Stiles asked when Lydia climbed in and leaned over to give him a peck on his lips.
“It was okay,” she told him between kisses. “It would have been better if you were there.”
“Okay, guys!” Lizzy interrupted. “You can do this when we get there,” she turned to Scott and Malia, and added, “They did this yesterday at the airport. I thought I was going to witness the conception of their first child.”
“It wasn't that bad,” Lydia defended herself.
“Well you didn't have to watch it.”
“Oh, look! They have ice skating!” Lydia pointed. “I haven't been on ice skates in years! I think the last time was our double date.”
“Wait! We're calling that a date?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“Well, then that means our first date, wasn't really our first date...it was our second...unless we're calling other things dates too now. Was being surrogate sacrificed a date?” Stiles smiled to show he was only joking, and Lydia laughed.
“Surrogate sacrifice?” they heard behind them. They hadn't realized Lizzy was right there. “Oh, wait, is this part of your D&D game?”
“Yeah.” Lydia nodded. “Totally.”
“Wait, was the club in Mexico a date?” Stiles asked.
Lydia turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “One, you were with Malia at that time, and two,” she lowered her voice, “that so-called date ended with Scott getting electrocuted and me watching a man die. I would not call that a date. If it was, it was not a very good one.”
“You guys went to Mexico?” Lizzy asked. “What for?”
“Camping trip.” They answered at the same time.
“Oh...interesting... I thought you were going to say it was part of a cruise or something. Oh! Hot chocolate!” She got distracted easily and ran off to the booth.
“So,” Stiles began. “Ice skating?”
“Let's go!”
“So, wait,” Stiles started as the two began skating hand in hand. “Was Winter Formal a date?”
“Mmm....I don't think so. Taking someone as a date to a dance and going on a date are very different things.”
“Well, is it a date if both people don't realize it is?” he asked, referring back to the ice skating trip.
“Okay, Stiles. Be Honest.” Lydia turned around and began skating backward so that she could look at him. “Did you want it to be a date?”
“Well, I don't know...at the time yeah...I convinced myself it was, so that years later, if the 10-year plan failed, I'd be able to say that I'd gone on a date with Lydia Martin.”
Lydia shook her head. “I still can't believe there was a 10-year plan.”
“Well, it worked didn't it?”
Lydia shrugged. “So... what if I told you that Allison took me with her, specifically saying we were going on a double date?”
“She did?”
Lydia nodded.
“Oh, Allison Argent. I hope you paid attention, Lydia. She was the ultimate match-maker.” Lydia smiled, before turning around and skating away from him. Gaining a momentum, she launched herself off the ground and twisted in the air before landing on one skate.
Stiles was left slack-jawed, just like he always was.
“You know,” he said when Lydia approached him again. “You never cease to amaze me.”
She smiled and grabbed his hands and began to pull him along the rink.
After they changed out of their skates, they began to walk around the market, looking at all of the decorations. Lydia was wrapped around Stiles's arm, and when she shivered, he suggested they get some hot chocolate.
The person at the counter handed the cups over. Stiles took his no problem, but when Lydia reached for hers, it fell.
“Oh, I'm so sorry. Let my get you another cup.”
“Are you okay?” Stiles turned to his girlfriend with concern. He'd noticed that it wasn't the cashier who fumbled the cup. Lydia's hand never fully gripped it, and she froze the moment she'd touched it.
“I'm okay,” she said slowly. “But somebody isn't.”
That's when they heard the scream.
It was a body.
At first glance, it didn't look like it was anything supernatural, and Sheriff Stilinski had asked them to go home, saying he'd call them if anything came up, but to 'enjoy their holiday'.
They ended up back at Scott's house, all preoccupied with the body that was just found...all except one.
“So, what do you guys do for fun around here?” Lizzy asked as the group of friends sat around the living room.
“Uhh…” Lydia began, then looked over to Stiles, who then looked at Scott.
“We solve mysteries,” Malia said bluntly.
“In…” Lydia quickly tried to correct, “…our…Dungeons and Dragons game.”
“Right…well what do you do when you’re not playing D&D?”
Stiles laughed over-exaggeratedly. “Malia, you’re so funny!”
The doorbell rang and Stiles sighed in relief. “I’ll go get it.”
Lizzy leaned over to Lydia and whispered, “What’s wrong with your boyfriend?”
“Isaac!” Scott said suddenly, then stood up to give his beta a hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you?”
“I’m good,” he said and scanned the room, eyes falling on the new face. “And who is this?”
“Isaac,” Lydia began, “this is my roommate, Lizzy. Lizzy, this is Isaac. He lives in France.”
“France, huh?” Lizzy smirked, and held out her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you.”
“Enchanté, mademoiselle.” He took her hand in his and kissed the top. Stiles rolled his eyes. Isaac looked around again. “Where’s Kira?”
“She’s in the desert with the skin walkers,” Malia told him.
“In our game!” Lydia’s words rushed out. “But…in the real world…she’s uh…visiting family…in…the….desert.”
Malia raised an eyebrow and turned back to Scott. “How is that any different than what I just said?”
As the week went on there were two more attacks at the Christmas Market, and the Sheriff was still trying to keep the kids out of it. They were all getting antsy though.
“Why can’t we just get a nice, relaxing holiday?” Lydia groaned as she laid her head on Stiles’s chest. “You know, one where the whole town doesn’t fall apart just because we’re back?”
“I used to think it’d fall apart without us,” Stiles admitted. “Maybe we were the problems.”
“I think Lizzy’s getting suspicious of this so-called D&D game we claim to keep playing.”
“You think? I think we’re way past her getting suspicious.”
Stiles’s phone began to ring and he shared a look with Lydia when he saw who was calling. “It’s Scott.”
“What are we doing here?” Lizzy asked as she climbed out of the jeep.
“Why did you bring the human?” Malia grumbled to Stiles as he got close to the coyote.
“Hey, I’m human!” he replied, offended.
“Yeah, barely,” Malia rolled her eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, but Malia was walking quickly ahead of him. Stiles sighed before jogging to catch up with her. “Well, to answer your question,” he began, “we brought her because Lydia feels responsible for her. She feels better if she’s with us than at home alone.”
Malia turned to look at Stiles, “Were you still talking?”
He let out a huff and stopped walking. “Nope.”
“This place is deserted,” Lizzy noted as she walked up with Lydia. They were back at the Christmas Market, but there wasn’t anybody there. The sun was beginning to go down.
“No one wants to come to place where three murders happened,” Lydia told her.
“You know, I’ve been doing some research on Beacon Hills,” Lizzy said.
“You have?” Lydia’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, a lot of animal attacks seem to happen here. Have you guys ever seen anything super crazy?”
Lydia, Stiles, Malia, Scott, and Isaac all exchanged looks before shaking their heads. “No…”
“Oh,” she said, almost disappointed.
Lydia turned back to Scott, “Hey, why are we here?”
“Something that Deaton found on one of the bodies.”
“Wait,” Lizzy stopped walking, “bodies? You mean we're out here investigating?”
Malia shrugged. “It's kind of our thing.”
“You mean... your solving mysteries joke...wasn't a joke?”
“I got them all into it,” Stiles (fake) confessed. “I mean... my dad's the sheriff and I-”
The werewolves (and werecoyote) all stopped in their tracks and shushed him.
“Do you hear that?” Malia whispered.
“Something's running,” Scott replied.
“And it stinks,” Isaac told them as he took a whiff.
“We're going to go this way,” Scott finally said loud enough for the three without super-hearing to understand him. “Lydia, stay here...just in case.”
Just in case it comes back this way.
Lydia nodded.
“Do you always do everything he says?” Lizzy asked.
“When it comes to this kind of stuff, yeah,” Lydia retorted without hesitation.
“So...we just...what? Stand here?”
“Until Scott comes back,” Stiles nodded.
Lizzy hugged herself close as a chill settled in the air.
The three heard a 'snap' behind them and they all turned to look.
“Did you guys hear that?” Lizzy asked with concern.
“It was probably just the wind moving the tarp or something shifting in one of the stalls,” Stiles suggested.
Lizzy laughed at herself. “Look at me, I'm freaking myself out over nothing."
“Maybe,” Lydia began, “it would be a good idea for you and Stiles to go back to the jeep.”
Stiles gave his girlfriend a look, and she'd given him one back in a silent argument that lasted for several beats, before Stiles finally conceded with a sigh.
“Yeah, okay... come on, Lizzy.”
“I'm sorry,” Lizzy apologized once they were back in the jeep. She sat in the back, while Stiles took the driver's seat.
“For what?”
“For making Lydia put you on baby-sitting duty just because I got freaked out.”
Stiles sighed. “It's fine. They're always trying to protect me as of late.”
“But isn't this what you're going to school for?”
“Yeah...it's...complicated.” Stiles sighed. “A while back....I was....taken hostage at a train station.” He was fibbing only slightly.
“You mean, like for real? Like not in a game?”
“Yeah, for real.” He thought about his next white lie carefully. “It happened while we were investigating something, and they...well, Lydia especially,..she remembers what if felt like when she thought she was going to lose me, so she tries to keep me out of it now.”
“Well, she's got to know that she can't do that all the time. Especially when you start working for real.”
“She does.” Stiles nodded. “It's different though, because then I'll have a gun.” Then he mumbled, mostly to himself, “I better have a gun.”
“Is that a cat?” Lizzy pointed out the windshield.
Stiles followed her finger, and watched the creature slink around. It moved like a cat, but it did seem oddly shaped.
Suddenly, it lifted its head and glowing red eyes stared back at them.
“Holy shit!” Stiles exclaimed, and slammed on his horn.
The cat-like creature hissed, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and looked like it was about to attack.
All of a sudden there were several growls that Stiles recognized as his friends, then he saw Lydia appear as she ran back toward the action. When he saw her raise her hands, he quickly turned around in his seat.
“Get down!” he yelled to Lizzy as he pushed her down.
A loud scream reverberated through the jeep, shaking the windows, before one in the back shattered.
When the scream stopped, Stiles sat up and let Lizzy up too.
“What the hell was that?!” she exclaimed.
The passenger door swung open, and Stiles and Lizzy both jumped.
“It's just me,” Lydia told them as she climbed in.
“Where did you come from?” Lizzy gasped. “Did you hear that? Did you see that?! What was that thing? It was like..possessed or something!”
Lydia exchanged a look with Stiles. “We're going to the clinic. They're meeting up with us there.”
Stiles nodded, and turned the key in the ignition.
“I mean,” Lizzy began, “I'm all for getting the hell out of here, but we're just going to leave your friends when that..thing...is out here.”
“Yeah, pretty much,” Stiles replied as he threw the jeep in reverse and slammed on the gas.
Lizzy shrugged. “Okay...wait, oh my God! Lydia! Are you bleeding?”
“What?!” Stiles looked over at his girlfriend.
“Eyes on the road, Stiles!” Lydia snapped, then sighed once he'd complied. “It's just my hand. It's a scratch. Deaton will bandage it and it'll be fine.
“I should have been out there,” Stiles grumbled.
“No, you were where you needed to be,” she argued.
He sighed and looked at the rear view mirror, seeing the window that was broken. “I'm going to have to clean that up when we get there...and somebody owes Roscoe a new window.”
“Who's Roscoe?”
Lydia sighed. “This is Roscoe. He named the jeep Roscoe.”
“Cars are normally girls,”
“Yeah, well...this one's a boy,” he replied.
“Jólakötturinn,” Deaton said matter-of-factly.
“Yo what?” Stiles blinked.
“Jólakötturinn,” Deaton repeated while he continued wrapping Lydia's hand. “It's an Icelandic Yule Cat, or Christmas Cat.”
“Oh, well why didn't you just say that to begin with?”
“What does it do?” Lydia asked.
“The stories say that he kills people who don't have any new clothes to wear for Christmas Eve.”
“You mean, he kills poor people?” Stiles asked, flabbergasted.
“No,” Deaton shook his head. “It was more that he killed lazy people.”
“Well,” Lydia started, “what is an Icelandic cat, doing in California?”
“Change of scenery?” Deaton shrugged. “I don't know.
“Okay, well, how do we stop it?” Stiles asked.
“Well, some legends say the Yule Cat is the house pet of a few other Icelandic myths, Grýla and her sons, the Yule Lads. The Yule Lads are sort of a Santa figure, delivering presents to good children and leaving rotten potatoes for naughty ones. Although, some stories say they ate naughty children, which, for the record is what Grýla is known for.”
“But you have a theory?” Lydia asked as Deaton finished bandaging her hand.
He nodded, “I do. I think they're shape-shifters. I think they're both human and cat.”
“Do you think the one with red eyes that we saw is the alpha? Do they travel together? Is it possible we're just looking for one, or are we looking for a whole pack of them?” Stiles laid out a string of questions.
“Also,” Lydia cut in before Deaton could answer, “you said a lot of them kill naughty children, but none of the people that died were children. The youngest was 21, the oldest was 43.”
“Well, to answer your questions... Stiles, I don't know what we're looking for. I don't know if it's an alpha or a beta, the only way to find out is if we catch one. Maybe Scott's howl...could change it back, then we could ask them. As for you, Lydia...I noticed that too.. But we were all children once, and...upon further investigation, there's one common link between all three victims.”
“What's that?”
“They cheated on their significant others this past year.”
“Well, that means I'm safe.” Stiles shrugged, then glanced at Lydia.
She crossed her arms in front of her, “I am too! Don't give me that look!”
“I wasn't giving you any look...but I am glad that you won't be cat nip.”
“Mmm hmm,” she glared.
“Okay,” Lizzy said as she walked into the exam room. “Those dogs are so cute! I want to take one home with me!”
“Lizzy,” Stiles began,"this is a vet not a shelter. These dogs have owners.”
“Yeah, I know...so what are you guys talking about in here?”
“Well,” Lydia answered, looking back at her boyfriend. “Stiles thought that I was cheating on him.”
“I did not!” he said defensively.
“For the record,” Lizzy began, “just don't do it. It leaves you feeling guilty as hell.”
Lydia and Stiles exchanged glances with each other, then with Deaton.
“Uh..” Lydia started, “you cheated on someone, Lizzy?”
She sighed. “Technically, yes. It was basically over between me and my boyfriend, because he cheated first, but we were still together when I hooked up with this guy at a frat party.”
“When was this?” Stiles asked.
“Uh...August. Right after school started.”
Lydia groaned and sighed. “It wasn't there for no reason; it was there for Lizzy.”
“Wait, what?” Lizzy's ears suddenly perked up. “What about me?”
“We could have gotten her killed,” Lydia finished.
“Yeah, but if we're going to catch it...” Stiles said slowly, then the couple and Deaton looked over to the human.
“Okay, you guys are really starting to freak me out.”
“Lizzy?” Deaton said slowly. “You should sit down for this.”
Then Stiles added, “We need to talk.”
Lizzy sat in a chair in the exam room, biting on a thumbnail, while Scott, Malia, Isaac, Lydia and Stiles stood around her.
“So..there's no Dungeons and Dragons game?” she asked.
The group shook their heads in unison, while Malia leaned over and whispered in Scott's ear, “I still don't know what that is.”
“I'll explain later,” he replied.
Lizzy nodded slowly. “So...werewolves are real. And my roommate is a banshee?” Lydia nodded. “What does that even mean?”
“It means she's a screamer,” Isaac said, and Stiles lifted his fist to his mouth to hide the smirk on his face.
Lydia rolled her eyes. “It also means that I can sense when someone's about to die. But my screams have power.”
“You're the scream we heard in the car? The one that shattered the window?”
Lydia and Stiles both nodded.
“And Scott, you're the leader?”
“Alpha,” he corrected.
“That's why everybody listens to you.”
“Well,” Isaac began. “That's one reason. Personally, I think it's his charm.”
Stiles rolled his eyes and Lizzy looked over at him. “And you're just human.”
“Well now he is,” Isaac added. The rest of the group turned to look at him and he nodded slowly. “I'll shut up now?”
“I think that would be wise,” Stiles told him.
“What does he mean?” Lizzy asked.
Stiles groaned, “Ugh... evil Japanese fox spirit possessed me, then threw me up, walked around with my face and kidnapped Lydia, killed a bunch of people, and took control of these creatures that tried to kill all of us.”
“They succeeded in killing two,” Scott said sadly.
“And that's when Isaac left,” Stiles shrugged, “so..there's that.”
Lizzy nodded again. “Were you really held hostage in a train station?”
“Uh..” Lydia said slowly, “It was a...supernatural... train station-”
“-In another dimension,” Stiles finished. “And everyone forgot I existed...” He paused to look at his girlfriend. “Except for Lydia.”
“Her memories of him opened a rift, and he was able to get out,” Scott told her.
“Oh my God, that's so sweet!” Everyone turned to face Isaac. “Sorry! Nobody tells me anything!”
“Okay...” Lizzy was still trying to wrap her head around all of the new information. “And now you're saying that there's a cat person out there, who wants to kill me because I cheated on my scumbag boyfriend?”
“Yes..” Lydia said after a beat.
“Well, merry freaking Christmas to me.”
“Are you okay?” Isaac asked Lizzy as they walked through the Christmas Market. It wasn't super crowded, but it wasn't completely deserted either.
“Are you seriously asking me that question?”
“Sorry. You're right.”
The pack had split up and gone in three different directions; Isaac and Lizzy, Scott and Malia, then Stiles and Lydia. They were all hoping (not to sound morbid) that the cat would come after Lizzy again, but since the market had more people there today, they wanted to make sure it didn't go after somebody else, especially since it had been chased off when it had gone after Lizzy the night before.
Fortunately (for the rest of the pack, not so much for Lizzy), Isaac was the one to see it first.
“There it is,” Isaac whispered. “Guys I found it.”
“We're getting in position now,” he heard Scott say.
The cat began to stalk toward them, and Isaac pushed Lizzy behind him as he transformed, and growled.
Lizzy stepped back slowly, before she felt someone grab her wrist. She gasped and turned around.
“Come on!” Lydia said, before pulling her away. Isaac took off running toward the cat creature, and the girls began running in the opposite direction.
“Where's Stiles?” Lizzy asked as they ran.
“He's got a job to do.”
The Yule Cat was running away from Isaac, and Malia came at it from the left, while Scott came at it from the right, pushing it toward the woods.
That's where Stiles was waiting with the mountain ash. He tossed it at the cat, stopping it in its tracks. When Scott came up on it, he roared, bringing Isaac and Malia to their knees as well.
They waited a moment, as the cat laid down.
Slowly, the creature began to stretch and shift, until there was a girl in the ring of mountain ash.
Lydia got off the phone and sat down on the couch next to Lizzy in the common space of their dorm.
“Was that Scott?” Lizzy asked.
Lydia nodded. “She finally talked.”
“What'd she have to say?”
“The jólakötturinn are a species like Deaton thought. Around Christmastime, they become the Good Samaritans that make people's lives a little easier or the ones that punish the people who do wrong. Her name's Viktoria. Her fiancé cheated on her this past May, so naturally, she chose to punish the naughty ones this year. The ultimate punishment...”
“Death.”
Lydia nodded. “So, who are you texting?”
“Isaac.” She smiled.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” she shrugged. “He's cool.”
“Yeah...maybe we can all go on a Spring Break trip together.”
Lizzy looked up slowly, “I don't know...I mean...Christmas...is that what it's always like with your friends?”
“Well...I mean...yeah....but that's really just how it is in Beacon Hills...and we wouldn't go to Beacon Hills.”
Lizzy smiled. “I'll think about it,” she told the banshee before getting up and walking to her room.
Lydia pulled her feet onto the couch and called Stiles.
“Hello, Beautiful,” he answered.
“So, Spring Break,” Lydia smirked, “I'm thinking Hawaii.”