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Deucalion seemed – troubled. Stiles would have said he seemed hinky but Scott was trying not to filter everything through what Stiles would have thought or said. He’d been hurt by Stiles’ defection – had thought he might try to get in touch and apologise, but he hadn’t heard anything from Stiles – or Lydia for that matter – since he’d asked Theo to see him out. Theo kept making excuses for him – had said that maybe the Hales were keeping him away but Scott knew Stiles better than that: Stiles did what he wanted when he wanted, and if he had wanted to see Scott to sort things out, he would have done so by now. When he had seen Stiles’ jeep in the car park of Peter Hale’s apartment complex, it had solidified everything that Theo had told him – Stiles had made his choice, and however much it hurt, he hadn’t chosen Scott.
The meeting at Deaton’s office had been a surprise, but he appreciated how much the vet was looking out for him. Deaton had been searching for someone who could act as a real mentor for Scott ever since the Hales had failed to help him when Brody had initially attacked, and he had finally found someone trustworthy. He was surprised that the other werewolf was blind – he had thought that they could heal from anything, but when Deucalion told him how Talia had blinded him using a special blend of wolfs-bane, his heart had bled for the older man. To be left to wander, homeless and without a pack, simply because he disagreed with something the Hale Alpha wanted him to do – it was disgusting. Deucalion had been lucky to find packmates in similar positions. Scott was happy to accept Deucalion’s mentorship in exchange for sanctuary – it would be good to have someone he could rely on, a fresh perspective on things within Beacon Hills. Deucalion had said that he would bring with him three new pack-members for Scott, which would make him stronger; and a final bonus was that Deucalion had said if Scott wanted to travel, he would be prepared to deputise as his back-up Alpha. Scott didn’t have to be stuck in Beacon Hills forever! It would all have been perfect if only Stiles hadn’t turned his back on him.
And now this!
“So, what are you saying?”
“Theo has been taken to hospital. Apparently, as part of his relationship with Peter Hale, Stiles agreed to the bite. Unfortunately, when Alpha Hale bit him, she didn’t supervise things the way that she should have and he escaped. It would appear that in a jealous rage, he attacked Theo – didn’t allow him to defend himself – and we’re not sure he’s going to make it.” Deucalion put his hand onto Scott’s shoulder, offering comfort. “I’m sorry, Scott, but it looks like your friend Stiles may have gone feral. I know that it’s difficult, but as the Alpha for this territory, you may have to be the one to put your friend down.”
“NO! I could never do that! Killing is wrong! There must be another way!”
“I don’t think there is, but Kali and I are trying to find a way to make things right. If it’s alright with you, we were going to request a meeting with Alpha Hale to discuss what can be done.”
“Meet with Alpha Hale? I didn’t think that was possible – whenever I tried to talk to her, Derek, Laura and Peter always said she was busy in New York.”
“Yes – she has been very busy away from Beacon Hills. I don’t understand how she can claim to be protecting the town when she is so rarely here and hasn’t got an adequate deputy in place. It’s – troubling.”
“But I don’t know what I would say to her – she’s never going to listen to me!”
“Well – she can be quite arrogant in her belief that her way is the right way. Look what she did to me simply because I questioned one of her decisions. I, too, believe that killing is not always the solution but Talia can be far more of a blunt weapon.”
“I can’t believe that Stiles would accept the bite from the Hales!” For a moment, Deucalion’s grip on his shoulder became almost bruising and Scott winced.
“I would have thought he would have wanted the bite from you, his best friend. Did you never discuss it?”
“Stiles always said he didn’t want the bite, that he was perfectly happy being part of team-human – so much for that.” It was a bitter disappointment that Stiles had chosen to accept the bite from Talia Hale. Was he so determined not to be Scott’s sidekick that he would join another pack? Was that what was really behind all of this? It made a sick kind of sense – who would choose to remain human when they were surrounded by people who were so much stronger, more capable all of the time? Scott wondered just how long Stiles had been planning all of this. The Sheriff was going to be so disappointed. “Does Sheriff Stilinski know?”
“Hmm?”
“Does the Sheriff know what’s happened to Stiles? He deserves to know the truth.”
“You are right – the Sheriff does deserve to know what has been going on with his son. Unless – “ Deucalion stopped mid-sentence.
“Unless what?”
“Well – can we trust him? After all, he’s bound to take his son’s side in things. What if he chooses not to believe what’s happened? That could make things very difficult when we are merely trying to do the right thing.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Scott gave it some thought. “Maybe we should sort things out with Talia first? Get to the bottom of things and then fill the Sheriff in – that way, he can’t deny the evidence that’s in front of him. Or we could speak to Parrish instead? He won’t be biased in Stiles’ favour.” Deucalion smiled and nodded at him.
“As my Alpha commands.”