Human is Just a Word 79/85
Chapter 79
Stiles adjusted his clammy grip on his bat while he followed Lydia through the woods. By now they were surrounded by trees and Stiles had no idea where they were going but he trusted Lydia to know the way.
His dad was walking right next to him, gun loaded with wolfsbane firmly in his hands, and if he had something to say about the useless bat Stiles was carrying around he kept it to himself. Stiles would love to bash in Peter's face with it and he knew that Lydia was fantasizing about killing Peter as well but if he was honest, it would be most likely one of the wolves who would get the honor. Or his dad would just shoot him.
But Stiles still stood by his weapon of choice, you never know when it might come in handy.
"Over there." Lydia pointed in what to Stiles looked like a random direction but Erica squinted her eyes and nodded, so there probably was something there.
A minute later Stiles stood at the well hidden entrance of Peter's escape tunnel. A metal door with no way to open it from the outside. According to Lydia this was the only way out of the tunnels, every other entrance had been blocked off completely to prevent intruders.
"Okay, stay back." Stiles gestured for them to get some distance between them and the entrance, they didn't want Peter to notice the trap too soon. There was nothing they could do to hide their scent expect for at least trying to stay out of the wind but even if they managed to do that, they couldn't conceal their heart-beats.
They hid as best as they could, hoping that Peter would be confused enough so that they could overwhelm him.
"Don't bother with questions." Stiles was crouched in some bushes right next to his father with Lydia at his other side but he knew that the wolves were able to hear him as well. "Just shoot him as soon as you have the chance."
Erica had her gun with her as well and that might give them an advantage. Nobody expected a werewolf to carry a gun.
On some level Stiles hoped that they would just shoot Peter and be over with it but he knew that even wolfsbane bullets might not be enough to stop a werewolf. Especially an alpha.
Waiting had never been Stiles' strong suit and the longer he sat there, waiting for something to happen, the more antsy he got.
"What's taking them so long?" He asked, chewing on his bottom lip.
His father shifted next to him, probably to say something, but then a fireball erupted in the night, followed by a second one only a moment later.
"Whoa." Stiles made in surprise and landed hard on his ass. He had known that this was coming, had been waiting for it, but it still took him by surprise. The orange glow of a fire shone through the trees but it was too far away to see what was burning. Hopefully only the walls of the mansion and the fire should die down once the liquid had all been used up but they were in the middle of the preserve. Stiles wasn't sure how dry everything around here was. He had checked the weather report but only to make sure that it wouldn't rain today.
Fascinated he stared at the flickering light and for a moment he felt like he had when he'd been speeding up to Laura's house.
The fire was already dying down but it did bring back memories. And not only for Stiles. From across the clearing he felt Mark who was fighting to keep it together and if he dropped some fangs in the process, Stiles didn't judge him. Over the bonds he felt Derek, Stephen and Ellen as well, all three of them fighting with their own demons.
But if this was this bad for them from the outside, how bad did it have to be for Peter who had been in the middle of the fire then and was now trapped in a building with flames licking up the walls again?
Especially with Lydia's call earlier there was no way that Peter wouldn't panic.
"Get ready." Stiles whispered, while he scrambled back to his feet as quietly as possible. The bat lay heavy in his hands and he let the weight comfort him.
To Stiles' human ears it was still quiet, the only noise his own blood rushing in his ears so he kept his eyes fixed on the door where Peter should appear any second now.
Or he was already fighting with Derek. That was a possibility, too.
They didn't speak but then Stiles saw some eyes flaring up across from him, Erica's way of telling him that she'd heard something.
"Showtime." Stiles mouthed to himself.
The door opened.
Peter stood there for not even half a second before he leaped into the air, eyes glowing red and claws out, a black figure against the orange glow behind him.
Stiles had only enough time to recognize their target before his father fired his gun and across from them Erica did the same. This was not the time for proper werewolf fighting etiquette. If they hit, Stiles couldn't tell because Peter was just gone.
A moment later Mark crashed into a tree right next to him and even Stiles heard the sickening sound of cracking bone at the impact.
The alpha let out a roar, a call for his pack, and if they wanted to win this, they had to do it fast. Ignoring Mark for now, he would check on him later to find out if he was even alive, Stiles dashed forward, swinging his bat.
Peter was on Erica now, shaking her like a rag doll. She had lost her gun but was making good use of her claws.
John fired again and again, all shots finding their target, but Peter didn't even flinch. He just dropped Erica who went down and didn't get up again and then he tackled John.
They hit the ground in a heap of limps but the human stood no chance against a werewolf. They rolled around until Peter was on top and he raised his clawed hand for the final blow.
Time slowed down for a second but then Stiles brought down his bat right on Peter's temple.
The werewolf rolled off his father with a pained growl but he was on his feet in a swift move and then the bat was ripped out of Stiles' hands.
"Stiles." Peter said in a calm tone, almost as if this was some kind of social meeting. "A pet shouldn't do a wolf's work."
"I'm not a pet." Stiles gritted out and stepped back, now painfully aware of the fact that he stood here without a weapon in front of an angry alpha werewolf. His dad was still on the ground and even Stiles smelled his blood.
Which left only Stiles and Lydia standing, neither of them posing a threat to Peter.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Peter said. His shirt was wet with his own blood, at least some bullets had hit him right in the chest, but he didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest.
"But I thought being Derek's pet would be punishment enough." He continued without a care in the world. But Stiles didn't let himself get fooled by that. Peter kept an eye out for his surroundings and he stood with his back to the entrance of the tunnel, the only direction he knew was safe for him. The werewolves may be down for now but he wasn't stupid enough to fall into Hollywood villain stupidity.
"Surprise, Derek treats his humans like people." Stiles said, trying to keep Peter's focus on him. So far Peter had failed to acknowledge Lydia and he wanted to keep it that way. Stepping a little to the side and with that forcing Peter to turn with him to keep him in sight, he even managed to get his father out of the line of fire.
Knowing about their last trump, John scrambled away on his own and Stiles forced himself to not think about the fact that John wasn't just running.
"Derek has always been weak." Peter said, also playing for time. His pack was coming and once they were here, it would be over. Peter wanted to say more but he was cut off by Lydia.
She didn't say a word, she didn't let out a battle cry. She just threw the bottle with all she had. It hit Peter on the shoulder and burst into a ball of flames.
Screaming Peter went down.
Stiles watched in grim satisfaction while Peter fought a losing fight against the flames.
He thought it was over.
But then Jackson burst out of the bushes and when he saw his alpha on the ground, he had the sense to use his jacket to put out the flames. If it was doing Peter any good, Stiles didn't know but he was too stunned by the werewolf's sudden appearance to do anything about it.
Once again it was Lydia who reacted. She picked up Stiles' bat and didn't hesitate to beat the living shit out of Jackson. He didn't even see it coming.
Then all hell broke lose.
Suddenly Derek and his betas where there as well along with the twins and more of Peter's pack. In the brawl Stiles lost sight of Peter but he stumbled over his father, who had managed to get out of the worst and was now sitting with his back against a tree. He was holding his side and even in the poor light Stiles saw the blood.
"I'm fine." John assured him but his breath was too labored to make it sound convincing. He needed a hospital, they both knew it, but that would have to wait until they had won this fight.
With their alpha down or even dead, Peter's pack was only an uncoordinated bunch of wolves, lashing out at everybody.
On the other side was Derek, an alpha, who had five strong betas with him and they fought like one. Even Erica was back on her feet and not taking prisoners.
Stiles didn't see Mark among them but he did feel the bond to his beta so at least he was alive and being a werewolf he would most likely stay that way.
What Stiles, however, did see, was Peter. Heavily burned but still alive, the alpha was crawling back to the entrance of the tunnel.
"That bastard." Stiles yelled, already on his feet to go after him but then he stopped. He couldn't just leave his father. Not like this. He could die while he was gone.
"Stiles, go." With a bloody hand his dad waved him off.
"I'll be back." Stiles promised before he sprinted after Peter.
Nobody else seemed to notice the escaping alpha and Stiles had to doge more than one clawed hand. If Peter managed to get inside and lock the door, it would be over. By the time they would have broken down the door he would be healed and the rest of his pack would be here.
Somebody crashed into him and Stiles had to catch himself on a tree to stay on his feet which cost him precious seconds.
Peter was right at the door.
Stiles cussed under his breath but he was too far away.
But then another figure appeared in the entrance of the tunnel. It was just a silhouette against the darkness and Stiles didn't recognize him but Peter did. He let out a pleading sound that Stiles even heard over the growling of the werewolves fighting around him. Peter stretched out his hand for the man to help him.
Instead the man raised a gun, it might be Erica's, with shaking hands, aiming straight at Peter's face. Even with the shaking, at this distance it was impossible for him to miss.
For a second Peter just stared up the barrel or into the other man's eyes, Stiles couldn't tell, and then the back of Peter's head exploded.
Chapter 80
Masterpost