Chapter Text
Stiles spat out a glob of blood, head hanging with his chin to his chest. The shackles around his wrists were chafing terribly, carving red rings into his skin as he hung suspended by the chains holding him up. “That all you got?” He huffed, the corner of his lip twitching, trying for a smirk that his exhaustion wouldn’t allow.
His captor growled in frustration, dropping the wooden bat that she’d repeatedly taken to his body. “Why won’t you give up?” She asked, reaching the end of her rope. “I’ve beaten you to a pulp, yet you still refuse to tell me what I need to know.”
Stiles chuckled, the sound more air than laughter. “I’ve had worse.” He said, groaning when his stomach churned. Sick splattered on the ground alongside the blood, and he tried to spit the taste away, grimacing.
“And yet you still remain loyal to that bumbling alpha?” The hunter asked, her mouth twisting with displeasure.
“I do.” He muttered, eyes closing as he savored the moment of rest. “I always will.”
“Doesn’t it seem foolish to risk your life for an alpha who obviously can’t protect you?” She asked, trying to wheedle cooperation out of him.
It wouldn’t work, and Stiles weakly lifted his head to smile at her. “I would willingly give my life for Scott.” He told her, remembering the sharp scent of gasoline and a flare burning in his hand. “I’ve already given a part of my soul for the people I love, so in truth, nothing you do could convince me to betray them.” He could practically feel the icy water he’d been held under, the freezing burn of the water entering his lungs, and the darkness that had ripped into him, leaving the pathway for the Nogitsune wide open. His captor looked confused, but Stiles didn’t care to explain as he continued. “You could feed me poison, fill me ‘til I drown from it, and I still wouldn’t help you.”
The female hunter wrinkled her nose in distaste for his loyalty to the werewolf. She readjusted her grip on the bat in her hands. “You talk a big game, but let’s see if you can be so brave with all your bones broken.”
“Be my guest, but it won’t work,” Stiles said before crying out as the bat made contact with his side, a sickening snap filling the air as white-hot pain flared in his side. His chest heaved, exacerbating the injury as he tried to catch his breath. “I just have to hold on... A little longer.” He whispered, only making her more furious as she swung the bat again.
He screamed through his teeth as he absorbed hit after hit, but the torture wouldn’t be last long. Already, he could feel the pack drawing closer through their bonds. All he had to do was just hold on. Just a little longer.