Chapter Text
Chapter 15
The Hale Pack is rushing through the preserve. They had been searching the woods for the Ghoul for about an hour when the wolves finally picked up its scent. Lydia, Stiles, and Kira quickly fall behind, not able to keep up with the werewolve's speed. Despite this, they know when their packmates reach the Ghoul's location, hearing the supernatural's growling and snarling ahead of them.
They enter a large clearing, coming to an abrupt stop at the edge. The wolves are standing in front of the creature. The Ghoul is hunched over, making threatening sounds in an attempt to scare off the enemy. They seem to be at a standstill, neither side willing to make the first move. Finally, Derek lets out a deafening roar. And then all hell breaks loose.
The cornered Ghoul lunges and the wolves return in kind. They meet every slash of the Ghoul's claws with a slash of their own, and soon there is blood marring their skin, glistening in the moonlight. Lydia and Stiles pull out their guns, waiting for a clear shot at the beast. Kira pulls out her katana and rushes into the fray, attacking from the side and cutting the Ghoul across its stomach. However, the attack barely slows it down.
Stiles notices that the Ghoul is surprisingly fast for its size, able to keep up with the werewolves' speed easily, dodging their attacks despite being outnumbered.
The werewolves back off for a moment, giving Stiles and Lydia the opening they need to open fire. Unlike in the previous confrontation, their bullets slow the creature down. The bullets covered in concentrated acid that Deaton provided work just as he said they would, and every impact of the acid bullets sends the Ghoul's skin sizzling.
The Ghoul falls into a crouched position and Stiles and Lydia cease their fire to give the others an opening. Kira rushes forward with her katana while Derek, Scott, and Malia launch themselves at the beast.
Derek ends up grasping the Ghoul from behind, keeping it in place as Scott hoes to position himself in front of it. However, before Scott can reach his position, the Ghoul fights its way out of Derek's grip and runs forward, directly at Stiles.
The next few seconds seem to go by in slow motion for Stiles. He sees Derek scramble to his feet and lunge at the charging creature, missing it by a hair's breadth. He watches as Scott, Kira, Malia, and Lydia take on matching expressions of horror, and he can clearly see the animalistic gleam in the Ghoul's beady, black eyes. Stiles quickly realizes that, if he stays in his current position, he will inevitably be ripped in half by the beast's massive claws. So, in a split second decision, Stiles ducks and twists, pulling himself out of the trajectory of the Ghoul's claws. He is still in the line of fire, but at least he will be able to avoid the worst of it.
Stiles feels a massive force ram into his back and he loses his breath as he is sent flying across the clearing and slamming into a large tree, immediately losing consciousness.
~~~Brief Time Skip~~~
When Stiles comes to, everything is muffled. His senses are subdued, vision hazy and everything seems to be happening underwater. Slowly, a tingling sensation spreads through his limbs, returning the feeling to his body. Once the tingling recedes, Stiles can feel his back leaning against the rough bark of a large tree.
Despite the distortion of the sounds around him, Stiles can tell that there is a battle raging around him. He tries to track the blurs moving around him, but he quickly loses focus as a full pounding starts up behind his temples.
Stiles carefully reaches up to feel at the back of his head, hissing when his hand makes contact with tender skin. Stiles' hand comes away wet with his own blood.
Gradually, Stiles' senses are returning to him, allowing him to take in the state of his pack. The blurred figure of Malia Tate comes into focus just in time for Stiles to watch her fly across the clearing and crash to the ground about 30 feet from him.
"M… Mal…" Stiles tries to speak, but the words won't come. Frustrated, he turns his attention back to the clearing where the rest of his pack is circling the massive beast.
The Ghoul is at least three times Derek's size, and it is obviously enraged. Its beady eyes are portraying malice, hatred, and fear.
Although Stiles can see now, his hearing is still subdued. 'Concussion.' Stiles hisses to himself.
Turning his attention back to the right, Stiles notices Derek signalling to Scott, who is creeping up behind the creature while Lydia, Kira, and Derek are trying to keep it busy.
Suddenly, Scott pounces, landing squarely on the creature's back, digging his claws into its flesh and establishing a relentless hold on the thing.
The Ghoul screams, bucking and shaking, waving its arms around in an attempt to knock Scott from its back. But still, Scott holds on despite the creature's efforts.
Derek takes the chance to rush the Ghoul, seemingly going in for the killing blow. But, just as Derek is about to sink his claws into the Ghoul's throat, he is knocked across the clearing by one of the creature's flailing arms, landing heavily on his back, unmoving.
In the next second, Scott is thrown from its back, landing in a heap next to Malia.
"Derek!" Stiles finds his voice, screaming his mate's name and rushing to his side, forgetting the pain in his head and the stiffness of his limbs.
When he gets to his lover's side, Stiles runs his hands over Derek's body, checking for injuries. He puts an arm to Derek's chest, praying to the gods that he will feel the shallow rise and fall of Derek's chest. 'He's alive. He's alive. He's alive.'
"But he won't be for long, Stiles. None of them will."
Stiles' breath hitches; He knows that voice all too well.
"It's time, Stiles. Time to stop running. Time to embrace what you really are."
"It's time to embrace what I am." Stiles lifts his head from Derek's chest, slowly letting his eyes fall closed as he allows these words to reverberate through him. And then, something snaps into place.
When he opens his eyes, they are glowing a brilliant silver. He meets Derek's frightened gaze, takes a breath, and finally lets go.
A blast of silver energy explodes from Stiles' chest, uprooting trees and sending debris flying away from him. The sky darkens and the wind picks up as Stiles slowly stands and turns to face the creature, his iridescent eyes glowing in the dim light. Silver runes begin to flicker along Stiles' alabaster skin, slowly solidifying.
The clearing is silent save for the howling wind and rumbling thunder.
"S- Stiles?" Lydia grabs Kira's hand and takes a step back. "What are you doing?"
Stiles fixes his gaze on the two women, eyes unseeing and expression blank. "I'm done running from who I am." Stiles' soft voice echoes through the clearing.
"What does that mean?" Lydia and Kira take another step back.
"It means that I'm going to finish this. This time, let me save you."
Lydia takes one more look at Stiles, her searching gaze meeting his. She nods, then takes Kira by the hand and runs over to Scott and Malia, who are now awake and staring at Stiles in confusion and fear.
Stiles turns his attention to the Ghoul, staring it down with ghostly, silver eyes. He turns his gaze to Derek briefly, and in that moment, the Ghoul rushes him.
As the beast's claws are about to slash at Stiles' stomach, Stiles whips out a hand, stopping it in its tracks with an invisible force.
"No." Stiles says simply, his voice ringing out in the clearing.
Suddenly, the lightning flashes and the beast is thrown into the air. It hangs there helplessly, struggling against Stiles' hold.
Stiles inspects the Ghoul for a moment, tilting his head slightly and narrowing his eyes. In a sharp movement, he closes his fist, thunder rumbling and lightning flaring in the sky as he does so.
Black tendrils begin creeping toward Stiles' closed fist, emanating from the Ghoul. The ghastly creature screams, writhing in agony, still hanging in midair.
The clearing grows cold as the Ghoul's life force continues to seep from its body. The wind picks up, howling through the clearing.
The Ghoul's screaming ceases abruptly, its body going limp as it takes its final breath.
The wind stops just as quickly as it began and the skies begin to clear, revealing a darkened sky, lit by the moon and dotted with stars.
Stiles uncurls his fingers and drops his arm roughly, the creature mimicking his motion and falling to the ground.
The runes on Stiles' skin, which had begun pulsing with light when the black tendrils appeared, slowly cease their thrumming, melting away into Stiles' alabaster skin without a trace.
Suddenly, there is an invisible flash of power that comes from Stiles. It is directed toward the ground, releasing the Ghoul's life energy into the Earth and completing the natural cycle of life.
Stiles turns to look at Derek, who is now on his feet and standing behind Stiles, staring with wide-eyes at his mate.
"Stiles?"
"I'm not weak anymore, Der. I'll never be weak again."
Once this is said, Stiles' world fades to black and he collapses as exhaustion overtakes him.