Chapter Text
Not too long ago, a normal day for Stiles was...well pretty normal. Wake up, shower, eat breakfast, go to school, listen to Scott ramble on some “super serious” problem, go to practice, sit on the bench, go home, do homework, sleep. Rinse and repeat. Perhaps the random variation like going for a walk in The Forbidden Woods, or going to visit his mother’s grave. Maybe a party or two where he’d stare wistfully at Lydia and dream of the day she remembered his name. But, all in all he lived a pretty normal and boring life. That had pretty much been tossed right out the window the day he first ran into Derek. Literally ran into. To think, it really hadn’t been that long ago that he was digging into the mysteries of the Wolves and trying to find out just who, and what the hot guy who was following really was. That one decision had been what led him here...tied to a chair in a warehouse.
Stiles stared in shock at the father of his new best friend. The father that apparently used to beat his son regularly. This was the guy that was behind everything that had happened lately. Who’d hired Kate to kick the crap out of him. Who’d gotten the coyotes in under the radar. He looked normal enough. Wasn’t stroking a white cat or some other obvious bad guy cliche. He was in jeans and a flannel shirt and looked like...well, a normal dad from the suburbs. That was until you looked at his eyes. There was just something about them that screamed mean and nutty as a fruit cake. Great big billboards stating “I’ve gone round the bend and I’d cut you just as soon as look at you.”
“You don’t seem that special. Just some little human pet,” Mr. Lahey said. It felt odd to think of him as Isaac’s father, but Nutty McNutterson was a bit of a mouth full. “You seem rather quiet. I thought you said he talked a lot,” he growled at Kate.
“Sorry, I’m just not fluent in Crazy,” Stiles quipped. When in doubt, be sarcastic.
The corner of Mr. Lahey’s mouth edged up in what Stiles could only guess was supposed to be a smile. “We’re not crazy, you know. Just...”
“If you say ‘misunderstood’ you’re going to lose your Villain membership card.”
“Tell me, Stiles. What lies have they told you?”
“Can’t think of a one.”
“Just swallowed it all, hook line and sinker then,” he mused and started to circle Stiles slowly.
“Much like you have swallowed the a whole nut house.”
The banished wolf stopped behind Stiles. He could practically feel the nutter’s eyes boring into the back of his head.
“Allison has given me hopes that you’re not as stupid as you appear,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “For your sake, I hope she is not wrong.”
Stiles heard footsteps again and saw Mr. Lahey walking off through a side door with Matt and Kate. Allison, it appeared, had been left to watch over him.
“Allison,” Stiles hissed. “Get me out of here.”
“I can’t,” she said as she walked over to his side.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“You don’t understand what’s going on,” she insisted. “Derek has you brainwashed.”
“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...”
“There’s...there’s a lot you don’t know. You don’t know what Derek’s family has done.”
“I think I know a hell of a lot better than you. And speaking of, since when do you know any of this?”
“Aunt Kate told me.”
“Real paragon of virtue, that one,” Stiles grumbled.
“She told me everything my parents had been hiding from me. About how they were basically slaves to the wolves and how over the years they’ve just become blind to it. It’s...it’s Stockholm Syndrome.”
Stiles just blinked up at her. “Wow...when they offered you a cup of the special kool-aid you downed a whole keg, didn’t you?”
Allison’s jaw tightened in frustration. “Did you know that your precious Derek killed Isaac’s brother?”
“What?! He didn’t kill him! He was messing around and fell into a ravine!”
“That’s just the story he and his sister force fed everyone!”
“Like the story you’re gobbling up like Sunday dinner?”
“It’s the truth! Derek and Laura didn’t have kids so they knew that Isaac’s dad was next in line. They had to remove him as a threat so they were going to kill him and his sons.”
“You’ve gotta be joking.”
“He knew what was going on and he was going to fight them for control so they banished him from the pack.”
“HE WAS BEATING ISAAC!”
“That’s not true.”
“You’re taking the word of your crazy ass Aunt and a guy you just met as gospel? Have you just recently gone round the bend or were you born bat shit crazy?”
“She’s doing what she has to, to protect our family!”
“Like bouncing her foot off my ribcage?”
Allison shook her head and hugged herself at that. “You attacked her while she was trying to tell you-”
“WHAT?! I attacked her? Are you even listening to yourself? How does that even sound logical to you? Look at me! Do I look like someone that could take her down? Seriously? To the point where she’d land me in the hospital? She was going to KILL ME! Cocked the gun and everything!”
Allison shook her head and stood up a bit straighter. “They said you’d say anything to protect Derek. That he’s put some sort of spell on you. Confused your mind. You’ll see, we’ll save you.”
“Save me? Save me?! I’m tied to a freaking chair!” He bounced the chair up and down for emphasis.
“It’s for your own good. You're a danger to yourself right now. They’re going to help you.”
“I’ve seen the way they like to help. I’ll pass.”
Allison shook her head. “They’ve got a doctor that’s going to remove whatever mind control they have on you.”
A doctor? Maybe it was the shaman that was helping the coyotes mask themselves. And if it was a shaman, what if really could change Stiles’ mind? Work some hoodoo on him that got him jumping on the crazy train with Allison. Crap, he really needed to get out of there.
“I don’t need to be deprogrammed like I’ve joined some freaking cult, Allison. You, on the other hand, need to spend some quality time with that spinny disk and glowing lights. Say no to the special kool-aid, Allison. It’s not your friend. Now how about letting me go, huh? It’s all fun and games until I get dead.”
“I’ll check on you later,” she said and went off towards the far door.
“No Allison, Allison! Stop! Allison! AAAAHHHRRRGHHH!”
~*~
Isaac showed up at Stiles’ house at the same moment Lydia did. They smiled at each other as they came down opposite ends of the sidewalk.
“Coming to check on Stiles?” Lydia asked as they got to Stiles’ driveway.
Isaac nodded. “Thought he might like to come over to the house so he’s not alone.”
“Aww, that’s adorable. You guys really have that pack thing going, don’t you?”
“It’s in the blood. You coming to check on him too?”
“I wanted to see if he’d taken the bull by the horns yet. Or wolf by the collar,” she smirked.
“You mean with Derek?” he laughed and started up towards the front door.
“Unless you’ve got a thing for Stiles too,” she laughed. She knocked on the door and waited.
“No. I know better than to go after something that belongs to my Alpha.” He frowned when no one answered and knocked again. “I don’t hear anything inside.”
“Maybe he’s sleeping.”
Isaac took a step back and looked up at the house. That’s when a faint scent hit his nose. It took him a minute to place it. “Allison was here.”
“Allison?” Lydia frowned. “With Scott? Maybe they came to check on him too.”
Isaac shook his head. “I don’t smell him, just her.”
“Why would she come without Scott? Maybe you’re just smelling her from last night.”
Isaac shook his head. “Scent’s too fresh. Two hours, tops. I’m going to climb up to Stiles’ window to see-”
“Or we could try the door,” Lydia said and pushed it open.
That made Isaac worry more than anything else. No way would Stiles have left the front door unlocked right now. He hurried back up to the porch and sniffed the air. He growled darkly and stepped inside, keeping Lydia behind him. A couple things had been knocked off the hall table, but there wasn’t any other sign of disturbance.
“What is it?” Lydia asked quietly.
“I smell chloroform.” He took her with him as they searched the house. No sign of Stiles or Allison.
“Just because you smelled Chloroform and Allison doesn’t mean she did something to Stiles. She could have come by like us but left when he didn’t answer.”
“With her Aunt attacking Stiles, I’m not liking the odds.”
“Here, I’ll call her and you’ll see.”
“If she is involved I don’t want her to know we suspect her.”
“Yes thank you, I’m not an idiot.” She pulled her phone out and punched in Allison’s number. After a few rings Allison finally picked up.
“Hey Lydia.”
“Hey! Listen, I came over to check on Stiles but he’s not here. I was wondering if he’s with you and Scott or if you’ve seen him.”
“Stiles? No...no I haven’t even been to the house since last night.”
Lydia and Isaac shared a look. “No? Well do you want to come with me to see him?”
“I can’t, sorry. I made plans. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay...” she hung up and looked at Isaac. “There’s got to be a better explanation.”
“We have to tell Derek and the Hunter.”
“I’ll drive,” she said and led him off.
“It doesn’t make any sense for Allison to have taken Stiles,” Chris Argent said as he paced.
“Did it make sense for Kate to do...well anything she’s done?” Peter countered.
“Even if Kate went to Allison, Allison’s too smart for this. She saw what Kate did to Stiles.”
“Maybe she’s always been on Kate’s side,” Isaac suggested.
“It doesn’t matter!” Derek growled. “Stiles has been taken and we have to get him back.”
“Doc hasn’t finished with his mojo, yet. Can’t find the coyotes,” Peter reminded.
“But you can track Allison,” Lydia said softly. Everyone turned and looked at her. “Isaac smelled her at the house, so they must not be hiding her.”
“Derek, she’s my daughter,” Chris said softly. His eyes swam with a mix of emotions.
“And she took Stiles,” Derek warned.
“Or at the very least was there when Stiles was taken. She did lie about having been at the house,” Peter added.
“I know...just please, let me talk to her first when we find her. I stand by the code of my family and all Hunters. If she’s been involved this whole time she’ll be punished. But if Kate has gotten to her...”
Derek huffed and closed his eyes. If the girl was innocent that would be one thing. He knew how hard it was to lose family, and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone. “We’ll find her and see why she’s involved. I’ll leave the judgement to you.”
~*~
Stiles had tried to hop away on his chair, but it was a plan doomed to fail and he knew it. So he wasn’t overly surprised when Matt came in followed by two very large coyotes. They checked to make sure he was well tied up then placed heavy sandbags over the rungs of his chair.
“It was worth a shot,” Stiles quipped.
“Watch him,” Matt told the two coyotes and started to leave.
“So, are you a coyote or a skinwalker?” Stiles asked.
Matt paused and looked back at him. He looked a bit surprised, though Stiles wasn’t sure whether it was the fact he’d asked a question or if it was the question itself. “Does it matter?”
“Maybe. Dunno. I’m new to all this.”
“And yet you chose your side very quickly.”
“Yeah well, your side attacked me and Derek’s side didn’t. Soooooo not a hard choice.”
“That was a mistake. Some of the others were...tired of waiting.”
“So jumping me at my house-”
“Was also not the plan. But recent events have made us accelerate things.”
“Lucky me. Why are you working for a Wolf anyway? I thought you all hated each other.”
“The enemy of my enemy,” he shrugged. “We share a common goal.”
“To cause Derek pain? Seriously? What did he ever do to you?”
“He took something away from our pack leader.”
“He took something away...and so you’re going to kill everyone? Yeah...that makes total sense.”
“Not everyone.”
Stiles swallowed at that. “Okay, so what’s your side then?”
Matt furrowed his brow and tilted his head as he studied Stiles. “Why are you asking?”
“Well you guys brought me here to hear your side, right? Well so far I’ve only heard Allison being nutty. Unless you’re waiting for your shaman to go all Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on me.”
A strange look passed over Matt’s face that made Stiles’ stomach drop to his feet. Crap...what if that wasn’t the plan? What if they were just going to kill him?
“You should save your strength. You’ll need it.”
“Yeah...that’s not creepy at all.”
He watched as Matt all but vanished into the shadows. Yeah...not creepy in the least. The two large coyotes Matt had left as guards sat down and stared at Stiles. Looking at them now, it was easy to see how one could confuse them with the wolves at a quick glance. The coloring was similar to a couple of the wolves in Derek’s pack and they were rather large. You only noticed the real differences when you actually took the time to look. While they were big, they weren’t as big as the wolves. Their muzzles were more narrow and their coat seemed to be a bit fuller. For sure their tail was fluffier. The thicker coat gave the appearance that there was a lot more bulk to them, but Stiles was willing to bet they didn’t have the same sort of muscle that the wolves had.
“You know, I’ve got a friend I call fluffy. I think you could give him a run for his money with that coat of yours.”
The coyotes growled unhappily.
“There you go with that smart mouth again,” Kate purred as she crossed the the dilapidated warehouse. “It’s really going to get you into trouble one day.” She stopped in front of him and looked over at the coyotes. “Out.”
They looked at her in unison and growled a bit louder.
“I said out,” she snarled.
For a moment it didn’t look they were going to move, but they slid to their feet cautiously and vanished into the shadows as Matt had.
“They don’t seem to like you very much. Maybe they have better taste than I thought.”
“Cute,” she smirked. “They’re just stupid animals. And like all animals, you just need to show them who’s boss.”
“Yeah, well it wasn’t looking much like that was you, earlier. You were pretty quick to kowtow to Matt before.”
A flicker of anger danced over her face and something dark filled her eyes. “Ah yes. Well...there’s a time and a place for everything.” She pulled another folding chair over and sat in front of him. “So you look all healed up,” she said with that annoying smirk of hers. “Guess Derek didn’t like his toy all broken.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he wants to kill you even more now.”
“Yes well, wolves are never really that happy when you mess with their things. Territorial and all that. But still,” she reached out with her leg and ran one foot up the inside of his calf. “I suppose I can see what he sees in you. Reached the stars with me, so he’s had to understandably lower his standards.”
“Hey I’m not...wait, what?”
“Oh, didn’t he tell you?” she asked with a wide grin. “You’re hardly the first human to ruffle his fur.”
Stiles had never figured he was the first...but Kate? Ew. “Well I’ve heard of crazy exes before, but you grabbed that gold medal and kept on running, didn’t you?”
Her foot stopped at his groin and she pushed her heel in making him hiss in pain. “Remember what I said about that smart mouth of yours?”
Stiles tried to shift away as much as he could, but the ropes had him pretty much screwed. Her smile turned more wicked as she pressed her heel in a bit more.
“Lady, I am not into this kinda bondage,” he wheezed. “And crazy really isn’t my type.”
“No. No your type is big, dumb, and brooding. Too bad you didn’t know him before. He used to be a lot happier.”
“Yeah well, having your family killed by the chick you're banging will do that to you.”
She laughed at that and pulled her foot away. Her laugh was sweet and melodic on the outside, but there was something...wrong about it. A sickly sort of sweetness like a fruit rotting from the inside out. “What can I say? He really is a dumb oaf. Never saw it coming.”
“No one expects the Spanish Inquisition...”
“You know pretty, you and I could have a lot of fun,” she purred and got up from her chair. She circled him slowly and let her hand slide along his chest and shoulders. She stopped behind him and curled her fingers along his neck. “Derek isn’t going to be around much longer. And he’d probably get bored with you anyway.”
“When you’re done being a homicidal bitch, you should look into stand up. ‘Cause that’s just hilarious.”
She drug her nailed across his skin a little harder. It wasn’t enough to break the skin but it was damn close. For sure he’d have welting red marks on his neck. She moved around and straddled his lap. Her hand slapped hard across his face making his head snap to the side. He turned back slowly only to have her hand cut across once more. He felt his lip split and the warm copper tang of blood touched his tongue. He spat to the side and looked back at her.
“Going to beat me up again? You really need a new hobby.”
He heard the snicker snack of metal slicing through the air and looked down at the hand that hadn’t been slapping him. She’d pulled a black butterfly knife from her boot and was lazily flicking it open and close.
“Oh I have many hobbies,” she said far too calmly for Stiles’ liking. Somehow it was even more frightening than her maniacal laughter. “Beating you up is just...fun.” She flicked the open once more and brought it up to brush against his jaw. He flinched away which made her grin. “Now, what can the two of us do while we wait?”
“Parcheesi?” Stiles was rather proud that his voice only wavered slightly.
“Cute,” she smirked. The point of the knife glided down the side of his throat.
“I’m pretty sure killing me isn’t in your boss’ plans.”
“Well...maybe not now.”
Stiles swallowed at that. “And Matt didn’t seem to like the idea of you hurting me.”
A dark look slid over her face. She really didn’t like Matt, it seemed. “Who says I care what that fleabag thinks?”
“Well...considering you heal whenever he barks.”
She snarled a bit at that and poked the knife up into the soft flesh just under his throat. Stiles hissed and tilted his head up as much as he could. He still felt a small sting as the knife tip cut his skin.
“Aunt Kate?” Allison asked softly.
Stiles and Kate looked over at Allison; though Kate was able to turn her head much more than Stiles at the moment.
“What are you doing?”
“Reminding Stiles why it’s a bad idea to try to escape.”
“Well...I asked when the doctor would be here and they said that he won’t be able to get here for at least another day. They want you to help check the perimeter.”
Kate rolled her eyes and put her knife away. “Do you see the sort of incompetence I have to deal with?” she sighed and looked down at Stiles.
“My heart and chin bleed for you.”
“So witty,” she smirked and slid off his lap.
“Does this mean we’ll have to keep him longer? I mean...his dad’s going to notice he’s gone. And Lydia’s already called me wondering if I’ve seen him.”
“Has she now? No, no I think things are going to move along just as planned. Don’t you worry sweetie. There’s more than one way to skin a wolf.” Kate reached up and brushed some of Allison’s hair behind her ear. “This might get a bit messy.”
“I know,” Allison nodded. Stiles could hear a slight waver in her voice.
“But you know this is the right thing. This has to be done.”
“We have to save our family,” she nodded.
“Okay. You watch him and I’ll be right back.”
“You know she’s crazy,” Stiles said once Kate left.
“She’s not crazy.”
“She was about to fillet me before you came in.”
“You were trying to escape to your wolves again. I don’t understand why you’ve sided with them over us.”
“First of all, you haven’t been in this very long. You’re being awfully high and mighty for someone that’s only just found out what’s going on. What makes you think you’re right? You’ve hardly looked at both sides.”
“But they’re not even human!”
“Yes, because as proven by your saintly Aunt, humans are so very top notch. What could I have been thinking?” he drawled. “And before we forget, you and aunt are working with Coyotes and led by a Wolf. I can get you a great deal on window cleaning for that glass house you’re living in, Allison.”
Allison shook her head. “I hope one day you’ll understand why we had to do this.”
“And I hope we don’t end up dead in the process.”
She looked like she was going to say more but her phone started to ring. She pulled it out and turned to leave. Alone again, Stiles started to think of other means of escape.
“Stupid sand bags.”
~*~
Derek let out a roar of frustration and punched the blue mailbox so hard he left a dent.
"Feel better, sunshine?" Peter drawled.
They'd gone back to Stiles' house to pick up Allison's trail in hopes of following to wherever they'd taken Stiles. However, much as it always did, the trail eventually vanished. Scrubbed clean from the air itself. They'd only gotten about a block from the house when they'd lost the trail.
"They must have left their car here," Chris said as he knelt down to study a small pool of oil.
"Why even leave a trail? It's not like Stiles would have known," Isaac pondered.
"They've done it before when we've chased them in the woods," Peter said. "But I still think that was to lead us away."
"Maybe that's what they were doing here. Leading us from the house," Chris said as he stood back up.
"Or maybe they wanted us to know Allison was with them," Derek added.
"Why?" Isaac frowned.
Derek looked over at Chris and the two shared a dark expression. The muscles in Chris' jaw tightened as he pulled out his phone and called his daughter. Isaac frowned in confusion and looked over at Peter who only shook his head.
"Hey sweetie," Chris said when Allison answered. "Are you busy? I need you to do me a favor. I'm about to meet a client and I left some maps at home I need. No, no he'll be here any minute so I can't leave. No, mom's busy. I really need you to do this for me. Thank you, they're on my desk. No, it's pretty obvious which ones. I'll be in that coffee shop on Main. Allison...never mind. I'll see you soon." He hung up and looked over at Derek. "I need to call my wife." He didn't wait for Derek to say anything, just took a few steps away and made another call.
"I don't understand," Isaac said softly.
"We should get of of sight before she shows up," Peter said.
Derek nodded and led them off. They stayed in a secluded area where they could watch over Chris as he waited in the coffee shop. They didn't have to wait long, though. They surprised to see her pull up with Scott.
"Isn't that Stiles' friend? The one you threatened to eat?" Peter asked.
"Scott," Derek nodded.
"Do you think he knows where Stiles is?"
"Lydia doesn't have a car," Isaac chimed in. "She probably called him for a ride."
"This works for us," Peter said. "It will be easier to follow them. Doubt they're masking his scent."
"They're not," Derek growled after taking a deep breath. Allison had just stepped out of the car and walked into the coffee shop. "Or hers. At least not now."
Chris joined them as soon as Allison was clear. Isaac had gone ahead to follow them.
"She lied to me," Chris said quietly. "I asked her what she'd been doing and she said she'd been with Scott. Scott looked surprised for a second but then covered for her. It wasn't the Surprise that she'd admitted to being with him. He was surprised she lied."
"We need to go," Derek said and placed a hand on Chris' shoulder.
Chris nodded and they climbed into his SUV. They tracked Scott's car until dropped Allison off at a park. Chris parked a little ways back and they watched Allison as she walked out to the middle of the park. She was looking around, obviously trying to see if she'd been followed. Isaac came up to the passenger's side window and tapped on the glass.
"He wanted to know why she wanted to be left here," he told them. "She said she was meeting Lydia here for a project. He offered to keep her company but she insisted she'd be fine."
"Meeting Lydia?" Chris frowned. "Here?"
Isaac held up his phone so they could see the screen. It was a text from Lydia. "I asked. She's not coming."
They watched and as soon as Scott's car was out of view Allison started to leave the park. They got out of the SUV and followed her rather easily.
"This doesn't feel right," Chris frowned.
"No...no it doesn't," Derek replied darkly.
~*~
Stiles groaned as Kate came back with Isaac's father. "Heard your doc is running a bit late. However will you brainwash me now?"
"Who said we were going to brainwash you?" the wolf asked.
"Fine, deprogram me."
"Oh, I see what you mean. No, no there won't be any of that," he smirked and nodded to Kate.
Kate smiled wicked and flicked her knife out again before straddling Stiles' lap. "See, we just told Allison that so she'd do what she was told."
"Why lie to her? She seems to follow you pretty easily."
"She's naive and easily manipulated," Mr. Lahey shrugged. "This way was easier. Telling her we wanted to help her friend was the fastest way to earn her trust. It wasn't as though we could tell her the real reason."
Stiles swallowed and tried to ignore the feel of Kate's knife tracing the line of his throat. "And that is."
"Same as it's always been," Kate purred. "To hurt Derek. Best way to do that is kill you, I felt. But then they stopped our fun on the field. And sure, we could turn you to our side but then Derek would just save you and win you back. No. No we've something else planned for you now."
"You see, we've laid trap for your dear Derek. A trap that Allison is currently laying the path for."
"Not that she knows it," Kate smirked and cut an inch long gash along Stiles' jaw.
"Derek, ever eager to be the hero, will bumble in and try to save you."
"He'll know you're leading him here," Stiles winced as Kate cut him again.
"We know. Which is why he'll need more...incentive."
Stiles screamed as Kate's knife slide into his side.
~*~