56 Chapter 30
The world seems to slow down for Erica as she stares at Derek and sees fear for her in his eyes, full of pain because he can't stop this. Gerard's words are almost comically slow as he gives the order and she wants to look at Boyd but she just can't, she can't watch him die! Then she feels a spray of something warm against her hair, wet and hot, and she can't help it, her eyes dart over towards Boyd and sees him looking at her with fear, blood streaked on his face. His eyes are full of love, confusion, and regret but still with life. She watches his eyes blink so slowly, the blood moving like molasses as the drop of blood slowly runs down his face and then she sees, just behind him, the hunter who was standing behind Boyd falling to the ground, impacting it with a loud thud, a large hole through his head. She feels a rush of air to her side and turns just as the hunter named Grayson falls on the ground, a similar bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.
Derek watches in confusion as both hunters fall, shot in the head, and suddenly realizes that Boyd and Erica are unharmed.
"What?" Gerard says looking stunned.
Erica hears footsteps behind and turns back and sees a man step out of the shadows behind them. He is dressed in a nice black suit, short black hair, and a rather solid jaw. He is still holding his gun, the smell of the gunpowder almost overwhelming still coming from the barrel, as he steps forward with a satisfied expression. "I really hated that bastard."
"DAD!" Scott screams seeing his father.
"McCall!" Gerard roars looking at the agent standing there. But then his eyes shift to the other man stepping forward, holding his gun steady after killing the hunter who had been about to shoot Boyd. "YOU!"
"Sheriff" Derek whispers in shock as Noah steps forward, a look of furious determination on his face.
"Gerard Argent. You and your men are all under arrest. For kidnapping and attempted murder. Surrender now."
Gerard stares for a second before he barks out a laugh. "I don't know how you two survived Sheriff, but you surely don't think I am going to just give up?"
Noah shrugs. "No. But I had to give you a chance. Now my conscience is clear" he says as he steps forward, McCall right beside him as they move to stand are right behind the two betas.
"KILL THEM!" Gerard orders and a dozen hunters turn their weapons on the four and open fire.
A sudden blue glow appears surrounding Noah and Raphael that expands to cover Erica and Boyd and they watch in amazement as the bullets bounce off. "Nice" Raphael says and starts firing at the hunters, quickly followed by Noah. They both manage to hit several hunters before they have to reload, but no shots reach them. The hunters scramble for cover from the two lawmen.
"Enough!" Gerard screams. "I don't know how you are doing this, but you can't protect all of them" he points to the others.
"But I can" a voice that Derek knows better than any says from behind him and Gerard spins around to see Stiles standing there, his clothes singed and torn, smoke and ash smudges on his face, with a look of fury that would cause the hunters to run if they only realized the danger they were in.
"I see my agent failed me utterly. She was supposed to make sure that all of you were dealt with, but I will deal with her failure later. Now I get to kill you in front of your friends."
Stiles smirks with a sinister edge and suddenly two pairs of red eyes appear behind him, one on either side, snarls loud enough to hear coming from the shadows. Gerard looks angry but Randolph Davies just laughs. "Well, there they are. You brought Deucalion's twin runts? I was afraid that they ran away when they disappeared this morning. But I am so happy that I don't have to chase them down. he was a bastard, but at least he was worth my time. You two are just loose ends to clean up and I will finally see the end of Deucalion's freak show."
Stepping forward, eyes still burning crimson, the merged form of the Carver twins moves out of the shadows, fully shifted into their massive form. "You think that little trick will save you? I've killed scarier monsters than you boy" Davies laughs but Gerard's eyes shift to the other set of red eyes.
"If they are already merged, then who is that?" he snarls looking into the shadows.
The man who steps forward, partially shifted and eyes still glowing red snarls at Kate who had just moved to be better situated to attack. "Marshall?" Gerard says with surprise. He knows all about the Alpha from Redding, but he wasn't a priority. He was on Argent's list to deal with eventually, but his pack was very closed off and getting in someone to get intel had not been successful.
"All of you violated the Council's edict and my territory. Your lives are forfeit" Stiles says with a coldness to his voice that surprises almost everyone.
"Your territory?" Kate says with a laugh. "It seems your toy has gotten delusions of grandeur Derek. Could it be you have developed feelings for this kid?" she glances over at the Alpha but is caught off guard by absence of fear or concern on his face, he doesn't even smell afraid anymore. She looks back at the teen who inhales and his eyes burn with white fire.
"Fuck you bitch" he says and flings out his hand, tattoos that weren't there suddenly flaring with light and Kate feels the air hit her with the force of a moving train. She flies back over thirty meters, bouncing across the ground like a rock skipping across the water before slamming into a tree.
"What the hell? Kill him!" Gerard snaps and the hunters all move their weapons towards the teen.
"ANSWER MY CALL!" Stiles roars in a magically enhanced voice that shakes the trees and both Alphas behind him flash their eyes. But all of the Hunters start yelling because they suddenly see other red eyes in the woods surrounding them. Eight new sets of crimson appear in the woods around them and the hunters start aiming at the trees, trying to figure out what is going on. No longer worrying about the teenager as they prepare for a horde of Alphas.
"It's a trick!" Davies screams and fires at the twins, but they have already started moving and he misses widely. Ethan and Aiden's merged form doesn't miss and they knock him away before grabbing ahold of a hunter and using him as a club against several of the others.
Alpha Marshal lets out a roar that shakes the ground and suddenly it is not eight sets of red eyes flashing, but many, many, more. Mixed among the red are gold and blue eyes. Dozens of sets as the alpha is answered by howls and the woods explode with wolves from multiple packs all launch themselves towards the hunters.
"What the hell?" Erica says in surprise and then she feels the metal of a knife suddenly slice open her ropes and Scott's dad is pulling them off.
"Stiles called in some friends" Noah says freeing Boyd as well.
"How did you stop their bullets?"
Raphael holds up his badge. "Do you think I could convince him to make that spell permanent? Being bulletproof is pretty amazing" he asks Noah.
The sheriff snorts. "Just shoot someone" he says and signals the betas to join the fight.
Severo Calavera is furious at the turn of events. There are dozens of wolves attacking and everything is falling apart. But he is going to kill a True Alpha at least. He only manages to take a single step forward when the ground shifts and the McCall boy suddenly drops into what appears to be a sink hole. "Dammit!"
He moves forward and sees a reflection of something in the dark and is about to lean in when he feels a rush of fear and he jumps back. His instincts save him as a large axe slams into the ground in front of him, barely missing where his head was moments before. Severo jumps even farther back and suddenly a large, heavily armored, little person comes out of the hole screaming. He manages to duck the next ax swing but then he spots several more of them coming out. All of them wearing metal armor, helmets and carrying shields. "Dwarves!" one of the hunters yells right before he screams as a metal hammer slams into his knee, shattering the bone and sending him to the ground. He doesn't scream for long as the dwarf follows up with a blow that smashes the man's head to a pulp.
"FUCK!" Severo yells and begins firing at them but his bullets bounce off their armor as he retreats while more of those bastards start pouring out of the hole.
Kate manages to stagger back up, pulling her arm back in the socket, before she looks over and decides to start running back towards that brat to gut him while making Derek watch when she is almost blown over and sent rolling on the ground by what appears to be a blast of rainbow colored bubbles heading for her brother and niece all coming up from behind her. She watches in shock as the little balls of light knock over several of the hunters guarding them and suddenly surround both of the Argents. "Kill them!" she screams but then she feels it, the ground is vibrating, like a train is heading for them. Extending her senses, she figures out that the noise is coming from the woods behind them. Spinning around, she sees the trees shake and then the woods explode with a rain of arrows that kill a half dozen of the hunters around her. Kate however manages to scramble and move as she ducks and dodges the arrows avoiding taking a single hit. But what follows the arrows shocks her, Kate stares in disbelief at the sudden appearance of a dozen armored Centaurs tearing out of the woods, putting away their bows and pulling out swords and attacking their men.
She moves to attack one of the females, planning to gut the mare with her claws but her leg explodes in fire and she screams as an arrow tears through her leg. She looks back in shock at the sight of Allison, no longer tied up, bow in hand and getting ready to fire another arrow! How the hell did she get free? And Chris too! Her brother is pulling open a gun case as she watches the last of the glowing lights fly back into the sky. She moves away and behind some of their cannon fodder to consider her next attack.
Paul Rogers knows that Gerard wanted all of Hale's pack to die in some particular order, for dramatic effect he guesses, but now he doesn't care about the old man's plans, they all just need to die. He is going to kill that lizard abomination and the other beta next to him so he signals several hunters around him to ignore the fighting and focus on killing the Hale pack members. But there is a sudden shift in the dirt and the ground opens up and a hairy body rises up and up and up until a giant is standing there. Rogers is actually stunned by the sight but then he shakes it off and remembers what he is doing and he moves his gun to shoot. But it's too late and he isn't able to duck the arm that swings and knocks him, along with three other hunters, down with one swipe.
"Now little ones" a deep voice rumbles and Rogers scrambles to get back in position so he can shoot the damn thing when a ping pong ball of glass shatters against his hand. He has a second to stare before the liquid that was inside it explodes in a ball of green fire and he screams in pain. A doll like man dances back happily as several other little men dressed just like him with leather aprons, strange glasses, and lots and lots of belts and pouches all over them, start flinging various devices at the hunters that all seem to explode in different ways. Two more large monsters step out of the hole and seconds later he finds himself staring in shock at a pair of ice blue eyes. Rogers manages to actually grab his fallen gun with his uninjured hand but just as he does he feels a scratch on the back of his neck and his whole body goes numb and he collapses, watching, unable to move, as the blue eyed wolf slowly moves towards him, a reptile tail twitching behind in the air.
"You hurt Lydia" Jackson snarls in a low voice and Rogers' eyes widen in fear.
William Parker isn't stupid. He hasn't lasted this long fighting wolves not to know when to cut his losses and run. Argent fucked up royally. He thought he had everything covered, everything done perfectly, playing like some kind of master manipulator pulling all the strings but it turns out that they didn't know shit about the kid who is actually magical somehow. Nope, he is getting out of here! He orders the hunters near him to deal with the wolves and sees an opening for himself to get the hell out when they do.
He moves towards the woods when one of his men, who he thought had been taken down hard by the wolves slowly stands back up, facing away from him. "Ryan! Good, you can fight. I need you to cover…" he freezes as the man turns around. His cousin is standing there, glassy-eyed, with his throat torn open and half of his intestines hanging out. He starts moving towards William who starts backing up quickly. "What the hell?!" he screams and turns to see two women staring at him.
The raven-haired woman is looking at him, her eyes completely black, as her lips moving in a constant stream of whispers. Seeing her causes his guts to tie up with fear and terror he can't describe. The red head beside her, the banshee he suddenly remembers, opens her mouth, inhaling, and moves his gun and is firing before he can even aim.
It's not fast enough. Lydia Martin is pissed off! She has been hit by an SUV and rolled down the highway, tied up, gagged, and she is done with every last one of these bastards. She pours every bit of fury into her scream and sees the hunter's bullet get smashed by her wail in mid-air before it hits the man and blows out his eardrums and eyeballs before sending his body smashing through the zombie behind him, leaving both of them a mass of parts, most no longer connected.
"Lydia! That was my zombie!" Yvette complained coming out of her trance.
Lydia just glares back, there were plenty of other options for the Necromancer, and instead she looks around for Kate or Gerard. She wants to make someone pay!
"Martin, open fire" Gerard roars into his phone as he ducks around the fighting moving towards the cars parked closer to the road. He hears the screaming of engines in the air and smiles. His connections with Hydra has paid off when he was able to get ahold of one of the jets. And while this whole thing has gone sideways, he still didn't know how his people had messed up so badly and missed all of these creatures coming to rescue Hale. And most infuriating of all, 'how the hell did that idiot kid get magic???' But Gerard isn't done. His allies can still shift the fight. It won't be elegant or neat, but he will kill every last one of them!
Lights turn on over the treetops as the aircraft Hydra stole from S.H.I.E.L.D. drops down and flips on the search lights before opening fire with its machine guns. They may not be 'magic' bullets, but they still manage to hit dozens of the people on the ground, not distinguishing between hunters, wolves, dwarves, and even some centaurs.
Gerard laughs manically at the scene of destruction when suddenly a disc of light appears and then rapidly expands as it rises up, shielding more and more of the clearing, bullets bouncing off, as it expands large enough so that everyone on the ground is no longer in danger. A woman in robes is standing there apparently holding the light shield up. Wolves surrounding her to keep anyone away.
Turning to the cars, Gerard decides that his intel has utterly failed him. Hale has more allies than they realized, and he trusted his sources too much. Using Hydra agents was a mistake, even if he was sure that they would be unnoticed by Hale and his pack, which did in fact work. The problem was that they missed seeing the other non-humans, so they didn't tell him, and he didn't know to plan for this. But Gerard has survived worse. He will regroup and strike when they least expect it.
Davies managed to escape the monstrous form of the twins' joined wolf, who has managed to kill several hunters as well as several of Gerard's new allies, but that leaves him free to circle back and deal with Hale. He figures that if he can take out the sister first, then he will be able to bring down the alpha while he is still reeling from the loss of her. He spots the three of them still chained up and gets a smile that suddenly disappears as he watches five miniature people pop into the air behind the Hales and seconds later the posts they are chained to disintegrate, freeing all three of the Hales. "NO!" he yells and opens fire at Cora Hale, catching her in her shoulder and spinning her around before she drops to the ground.
"We are here High Alpha!" Derek hears the familiar voice.
"Usilis?" Derek says in shock just as he feels the post he is attached to turn to sawdust. He stands up just as he hears a scream. He turns and sees Cora get shot and collapse and then he looks at the Hunter who shot her, now coming at him, and he ROARS. The sound resounds across the entire clearing and Derek feels as well as sees the flashes of red, gold, and blue that respond to his call and he feels a rush of strength and power that he has never felt before. It's clean and pure and right and it is his, his to claim and claim it he does. He shifts and his chains shatter when he does because he doesn't shift to his beta form. No, he shifts to an Alpha form, what his uncle wanted to do when he was on his rampage, but Derek doesn't look like the misshapen monstrosity that his uncle was. Derek grows to nearly eight feet tall, black fur covering his humanoid shape that is easily a thousand pounds of pure muscle. The claws on his hands and feet are razor sharp and nearly three times longer than normal. Derek realizes that this was what Deucalion was trying to become, but he never would have managed it. But Derek can. The Hunter stumbles to a stop, looking at the Alpha in front of him in terror. Derek roars and the man turns and runs.
There are many things you shouldn't do when you are facing a wolf. The most important thing you shouldn't do? Run. Derek launches after his prey with a snarl and he barely notices the hunters, wolves, and others getting out of his way as fast as they can.
Cora is pissed off. She can feel the wolfsbane in the wound just as there is a pop in the air beside her. "Skeip?" she says in shock at the young Brownie that had adopted her and Peter.
"Here Ms. Cora!" Skeip says handing the beta a flask of purple liquid. "The great one said to give to any wolf who needs it" he says and then disappears again. Brownies do not like combat or fighting she knows.
Trusting the small Brownie who has invaded her life and her house, she pops the cork and drinks it down quickly as it tastes terrible. Once done, she spits trying to remove the taste but feels a burning in her shoulder. Looking down she watches as the black lines of the wolfsbane quickly retreat back to the wound which is giving off purple smoke before closing as if never having happened.
Cora smiles and looks after Derek chasing the Hunter and spots several others firing at Erica and Boyd and races in that direction. The hunters don't see or hear her coming until its too late and she is among them and finally, finally, she let's loose. She is NOT going to lose her family again.
Seconds later Erica takes out one of the Hunters Cora is fighting and then Boyd is also there and suddenly she is fighting alongside both of the other Betas. Cora has something worth fighting for again.
Kate Argent is seriously pissed off. Not only is her damn brother and brat of a niece picking off their men from some fortification that wasn't there moments ago, she has been having to fight several betas she has never seen or heard of before. But she managed to get free and that's when she sees an open path to Peter Hale and finally, finally, she is going to rip the head off the man like he deserves. Still chained up she runs for him, dodging the fighting all around her and managing to kill one of the dwarves that cross her path. She is less than twenty yards away when all of sudden several things happen at once. A bunch of tiny men pop up. The posts disappear in puffs of sawdust. Cora Hale is shot. Derek turns into a fucking giant wolfman. He tears off after Davies, who is now running for his life. Leaving poor dear Peter all alone trying to help his niece. She smiles and races towards him, not even trying to hide it.
Peter sees Skeip deliver one of Stiles' wolfsbane healing potions and feels a bit of relief. The teen had come up with the potion several weeks ago; apparently Stiles had been working on it even before his ascension, when he was trying to teach himself different kinds of magic. He had managed to create a potion that was supposed to use the particular strain of wolfsbane in the wound to actually cure itself so you didn't need a sample of the stuff to deal with the poisoning. He was rightfully pleased and had made a stock in case of need, though he hadn't done much testing on it. Deaton and Peter had helped out, with Peter as test subject, and found it worked on both one the most common strain as well as the Argent's preferred Nordic Blue variety. It worked great on both and Stiles had been planning to stash caches of the stuff around the town so there would always be some close by. It seems that he planned this assault well figuring they would need the potion in the fight.
'But how did he do it?', that is what Peter really wants to know. He had feared for the boy when Gerard and Kate were bragging about their plan and he wanted to kick himself at their own stupidity. Almost all of Stiles' detection systems depended on magical or supernatural triggers. A regular human wouldn't trigger anything. He had investigated Deaton's intention wards, but they required centering on a magic user so while it would work for their new home once they were all living there, it wouldn't help much now. And even the best they had were useless beyond more than a couple of dozen yards. And even if they had some of Deaton's intention wards, they only reacted if someone was coming to directly harm them, it wouldn't react to surveillance efforts. It also seemed that a good third of Gerard's men appeared to be mercenaries of some kind, not real hunters, who might not even have known about the supernatural before today. No, they had slipped up, secure in Stiles' power and the belief that the hunters' fear of angering the Council would be enough to keep them at bay.
Not anymore. After this, Peter and Lydia would put their heads together and the next set of protections would be substantially more diabolic. But they still had to win this fight and that's when he hears the snarl and turns and spots Kate racing towards him and he smiles. How often do you get the chance to kill someone twice?
Stiles is watching the fight, tipping the scales when needed with the barest applications of his magic, watching over it all, coordinating. He knows he will need to step in soon, but he can't afford to be distracted. He needs to see everything but then Gerard calls in a…is that a Quinjet? Jesus! The aircraft starts opening fire on everyone, killing several of Gerard's men before Master Lyra steps up beside him. "Were you expecting that?" she asks looking at the damage being done.
"No. Can you create a shield while I call in our air support?" Stiles says and she nods, running forward as she summons a mystic shield and coming to a stop, she centers herself and starts expanding the shield above her.
Stiles spots Alpha Reynolds and Alpha Perkins nearby, both finishing off their foes. "Alphas. Protect Master Lyra" he says knowing they will hear him and based on their reactions, they both do. They move to the Sorceress' side along with two additional betas, enjoying the shield from the gunship as well as keeping her safe from ground attacks as Lyra's shield protects the people on the ground.
Holding up his hands, Stiles concentrates on his sling ring and the portal he is opening almost 60 feet in the air, a very large portal off to the side of the gunship. The fiery circle expands fully and then there is a thunderous roar followed by a column of fire that engulfs the aircraft cutting off the gunfire, exploding it's ammunition, and causing the pilot to peel off in order to escape the attack as he appears to no longer be worried about the fight on the ground and more worried about the fires burning on his aircraft. Seconds later Frommenth flies through the portal, significantly larger than he usually is having grown to about twice the size of the knock-off Quinjet, as he takes after the aircraft desperately trying to escape. Stiles laughs at the reactions from Gerard's men at the sight of the large dragon. He thinks that several should of them have been more careful and watching the portal as Yndriesdi flies through right after her mate, and although she is barely more than her normal size, that just means that she is not as noticeable as the larger dragon. Unnoticeable that is, at least until she flies down and grabs one of the hunters in her talons and takes off with him screaming into the air.
Turning back to the fight he nods at Lyra, trusting she will make sure the field stays safe just as he hears two roars before a loud crash. Looking over he sees Kate and Peter fighting, claws out and blood pouring from quickly healing wounds from both of them. Peter is fighting well, but Kate is a killer from the cradle as far as Stiles is concerned. He looks at the were…jaguar? with disgust and wants to fry the bitch, but he made a promise, and he isn't about to break it. Instead he waits for his moment and it doesn't take long before it happens. Kate manages to get inside Peter's guard and gouges his back and side badly, sending the beta crashing to the ground. She snarls and leaps for him, but instead slams into a rock wall that suddenly rises up in front of Peter and she hits it like a bug on a windshield before falling backwards with a shake.
"Stay out of this! She's mine!" Peter roars looking at Stiles furiously while trying to hold his skin together to speed up the healing. Kate turns to see Stiles standing there with his glowing eyes but he doesn't make a move, doesn't attack.
"No Peter, she's not. You are not going to kill her; I won't allow it" Stiles says firmly and Peter looks furious at his alpha but the compulsion in the teen's voice is strong. He snarls and looks at the hunter with burning hatred.
"What's wrong kid? Afraid to get a little blood on your hands? Daddy's baby boy worried about showing him that you are as much a killer as the rest of us?" Kate taunts shifting her feet to get close enough to disembowel Peter.
"It's just that I made a promise Kate. And I always keep my promise" Stiles says but his words are strange, echoey and cold. Kate stares as Stiles' shirt dissolves leaving him bare chested with a strange tattoo on the front that somehow terrifies Kate. Peter is staring in shock at it as well.
They both watch as the wolf tattoo comes stalking around his torso and they see it turn and glare at Kate and then the impossible happens. The tattoo turns to smoke and it comes pouring off of Stiles' body. Growing and expanding in front of him, a ball of smoke and darkness that expands and expands and expands. In seconds the ball takes shape and the wolf, once a small tattoo on his skin, is now standing in front of him, full sized and no longer made of smoke. Black as night fur and gleaming white teeth. Peter stares in absolute shock at the wolf, almost half again as large as Talia ever was.
Kate snarls but her growl is nothing next to the wolf, teeth flashing as it slowly stalks forward. Kate doesn't wait. She lunges, but spins away at the last second, dodging the wolf's bite by inches but setting herself up in the perfect position with her jump so that she is able to strike and she brings her claws down with all her strength at the wolf's unprotected neck. Peter's heart stops but Stiles doesn't move or intervene, not even when Kate's claws drive into the wolf's neck…and right through it and into the dirt.
"What the hell?!" Kate screams as her claws go right through the wolf like she is trying to fight a shadow. She sneers looking at Stiles. "Nicely played kid. You almost had me with that trick. But illusions are not going to…" her scream is piercing and full throated as she stares down at the wolf, jaws clamped around her arm, it's teeth having nearly torn it off at the elbow and the metallic smell of her blood washing over all of them.
Kate stares for a second in confusion and terror, but the wolf doesn't wait. It twists its weight, tosses its head, and spins, throwing Kate several feet away. Unfortunately for the hunter, the wolf didn't let go. Stiles had never heard the sound of an arm being ripped off before, but he has now. "YES!" Peter roars in sheer exhilaration.
Kate staggers up and stares at the wolf in confusion that quickly moves to terror as she stares at her own arm in the beast's mouth. "Did I forget to mention that spirit wolves are only tangible when they want to be?" Stiles asks sarcastically. "It seems that she is only interested in her teeth being real at the moment" he adds helpfully.
The were-jaguar stumbles up, cradling her ruined arm as the wound slowly closes, much slower than any wounds should normally heal. "Oh, yeah" Stiles drawls out slowly "Alpha inflicted wounds heal slower, but you know that, don't you?"
Kate flinches when the wolf's eyes flash crimson. "She? Alpha?" she stammers.
"That's right" Stiles says, his chest tattoo glowing a deep, dark green "You two never met before, did you? Allow me to correct that oversight" he says in a deadly tone as the wolf drops her arm and stalks forward and Kate starts backing away. "Kate…meet Laura Hale."
Peter lets out a whimper but Kate…Kate pales and runs. She doesn't hesitate or stop, she tears off for the trees much faster than any human could hope to achieve, all of her adrenaline driving her speed to the fastest possible supernatural levels. The wolf, Laura, looks back at Stiles and flashes her eyes at him for a second then glances over at the stricken Peter for a second before turning back. "Goodbye Laura" Stiles says sadly.
Laura lets out a howl that causes half the wolves fighting to respond to before she takes off following the trail of Kate Argent and then she's gone into the woods. Stiles walks up and stands next to Peter. "There is still a fight going on Peter" he reminds him.
Peter looks at the teen, almost scared of him and the cold aura that surrounds him, but he realizes it is the power of a Necromancer so he just nods and rises. Scanning the battlefield he sees Derek has reached Randolph Davies and a cluster of men. But then he spots Lydia and Yvette fighting on their own and looking overwhelmed so he heads that way just as Alpha Flores joins him, smiling as she attacks a hunter with gleeful abandon. He will deal with all of…'that' later, now is the time to fight!
Yvette is really pissed off. She is not trained for this by any means. Her one zombie was taken out seconds after she raised it and without her meditation stone that she lost at the grocery store, it is hard to focus with all of the chaos going on. Necromancers usually come along after the battle is over with! "Duck!" Isaac says grabbing and pulling her out of the way of the gunfire from the hunters they are facing. Jackson and Isaac had joined with her and Lydia and they had been making progress but then some of the hunters had started using what could only be called ray guns or something. They had killed several wolves, a centaur and even two of the gnomes before the betas had gotten them to some cover, but now they were pinned down and it seemed that everyone else was too busy to notice.
"We need help. Lydia?" she asks.
Lydia pants. Her throat is hurting, she has never used her scream this much and she is almost tapped out. Not to mention that if it wasn't for Jackson throwing her to the ground and covering her, she would have been shot several times by that damn helicopter or whatever it was. Jackson had been hit pretty badly, but he was healing from the bullet wounds and is recovering, but they are all a bit worn down after the attacks and then the fighting. She looks over at the beta but then she suddenly feels something in her throat, an urge to scream when she looks at Isaac and she pales. She looks around but it isn't until she sees one of the hunters spot the curly haired wolf, his back to the man as he is helping Yvette, that she realizes the danger.
The hunter, along with two others rush them and Lydia, exhausted and her throat sore, yells a warning and Isaac spins around right as the hunter fires at them. The beta moves to cover Yvette, just as Jackson does with her, and Lydia feels and smells the bullets hit both of the wolves, the stench of wolfsbane clear even to her as the three men glare down at them with gleeful abandon.
"Guess we are gonna get to kill Hale's dogs after…" whatever else the man on the right was going to say is lost. A flash of silver and his head is flying away, his body collapsing as the other hunters slowly turn to react. Too slow.
The guy who shot Isaac screams as a silver blade punches through his chest, coming out right as a flash of orange lighting envelopes him and Lydia smells the man burning as he dies. The third man screams as a pair of red eyes rises up and an alpha rips through his back, killing him almost instantly. Lydia stares in shock before her mind finally clears enough to recognize Kira, her mother, and Alpha Ito all standing there.
"Isaac! Jackson!" Kira yells dropping down and pulling out a flask of purple liquid and forcing Isaac to drink it. Alpha Ito does the same to Jackson and Lydia feels the pressure to scream fade away. She recognizes the potions and relaxes enough to take in the battle and sees that it's almost over. That's when she spots a hunter turning to attack a sasquatch…oh dear god, is that Derek?!" She can't worry about that, not when several men apparently decide to use the chaos to attack them. Right up until Peter and Alpha Flores take them out giving all of them a chance to breath.
Randolph Davies always considered himself the best the hunters had to offer. He didn't have the pedigree of the Argents, but they were a bunch of elite snobs too afraid to get their hands dirty. He liked Katie because not only was she a tiger in the sack, but she liked getting messy with the kills. Her father was probably crazy, but the good kind. He hated anything not human and enjoyed making anything that he caught suffer. Randolph could respect that.
Over the years he had met several of the hunters high in the esteem of the Council. He had even worked with Jonas Jäger, who was well placed with the Silberer Family in Germany. Jonas was a good hunter, a bit too refined for his preferences but the man was generous with his money when it came to killing wolves. The Parsons were as snobby as the Argents, but they had a number of families like the Parkers who were the right kind of hunters as far as he was concerned.
When he had declared his intent to hunt down and kill Deucalion and his so-called Alpha Pack, Davies had more than a few hunters who were more than happy to help him out. Money, resources, people, safe-houses, and weapons were his for the asking to take down the bastard. And in that time, the Parsons came through in one very critical way. Information.
The Parsons' Matriarch had been collecting information on Deucalion and his cronies for some time, a lot more than anyone realized, and Davies knew that the man was trying to become a super-wolf. One who's power would exceed any normal alpha. Hell, he even called himself the 'Alpha of Alphas' and the 'Demon Wolf'.
Parsons had even managed to get them some actual photographs of the man when he shifted to his Alpha form and the guy was nuts. Bigger than the Frankenstein version of the twins and with significantly more power. Trager and he had discussed numerous ways to bring the man down when the time came, but all of that was worthless. Hale had somehow managed to turn into something that Deucalion couldn't hope to be. He was bigger, stronger, and faster than any wolf Davies had heard of, let alone seen personally.
And Randolph Davies, had just shot the one of the beast's only living relatives and had only managed to piss him off. He had almost unloaded his clip into the guy and of the bullets that actually hit him, only three seemed to break the skin and, although they were wolfsbane, they didn't seem to be doing shit to him.
Spotting one of the Hydra guns, Davies jumped for it just as Hale finished one of the men who had been trying to stop him and, unfortunately for them, two of the Hydra guys decided that was the perfect moment and decided to attack him, actually thinking they had a chance. Davies watched as Hale gutted both men with one swing, barely slowing down as he came for him.
Dropping to one knee, he clicked the charger on the rail gun and smiled. The rifle was a thing of beauty. Using magnets, it propelled a fragment of metal at Mach 6, or six times the speed of sound. The military has them mounted on naval vessels. Hydra has them reduced down to hand-held. The little dart didn't need any explosives as the kinetic energy would rip through steel like paper. He smiled. 'Fairy-tale monster meet technology' he thinks as he pulls the trigger and fires.
All in all, it was a good plan. If it had hit, it probably would have ripped the Alpha apart, but even with all the technology, it still had a human user. And Derek, High Alpha, and supercharged with the power of eleven Alphas all linked to him, saw the hunter moving in slow motion. By the time Davies had pulled the trigger, Derek had already moved out of the way and the hi-tech weapon missed him completely. And with technology that impressive, you didn't get a second shot without a recharge and Randolph Davies did have that kind of time.
The hunter's smile dropped off his face as the Alpha moved out of the path of the bullet so fast it was basically a blur and then he was on him. Davies tried to reorient his gun but Derek grabbed the arm holding the gun and lifted the hunter into the air and then grabbed the man's legs.
Davies had enough time to realize what was about to happen and screams before the massive Alpha simply pulls and rips the man into two pieces and tosses them aside. Derek feels a momentary satisfaction when he thinks back to his return to Beacon Hills. He will send his own message.
Gerard slipped behind a tree, panicked. This could not be going worse. He had just watched Hale rip Davies in half and if the explosion he heard a short while ago is any indication, his gunship was also gone. How the hell did a dragon show up!?! Those damn things were supposed to be extinct! He had only moments to get away, but he was finally here. Less than 30 feet from the cars, he started running when he felt the hair on his neck and arms rise up. A sudden drop of the wind came and there was a stillness in the air that he didn't recognize, but he wasn't going to see what new hell that kid came up with, so he kept running.
In hindsight, he should have paused. Then he wouldn't have been as close to the SUV when the lightning bolt came down and hit the car, turning it into a fireball and flinging it into the air. Gerard was blown back, landing on his back and staring up at a creature he didn't recognize but which terrified him anyways. The huge bird had four wings along which lightning danced around the blue and white feathers. It's eagle-like head was filled with two large, glowing blue eyes that were staring down at the ground as Gerard watched lighting gather and shoot down from the beast repeatedly. He watched as one bolt after another hit each of the SUVs on the ground, turning each one into a flaming wreck before it flew off over the field, shrieking into the wind, thunder roaring behind it.
Severo Calavera knows he completely screwed up. He should never have come here. He now realizes that it was never Hale that was the reason they were banned. It was the boy. The hunter had seen him summon the dragon and the wolf that went after La Loba, who he was hoping to 'accidently' kill tonight during the madness, but he never flinched. The Calavera heir had seen hunters and mercenaries go after the boy and most of them died at the hands of the wolves, dwarves, centaurs, or other creatures that were tearing around the place. But several did get close. Not that close as the kid just flicked his hand and they were gone. One hunter was incinerated with a fireball while a second was flung several hundred feet in the air. Severo assumed he came down somewhere even if he didn't see it. The teen also used a whip made of light(?) and flung two of Gerard's mercenaries into the path of an ally to take care of. No, it wasn't Hale that the Council was afraid of. It was him. And now, he had to face the fact that his actions today may have doomed his family. If he calls vendetta, Severo didn't think the family would survive this Brujo.
Instead, Severo has gathered three of his men, all that survived, and they will make a run for it. Through the woods, and to their back up vehicle about two miles away. They have managed to already escape the field but they barely get into the woods when suddenly two figures appear before them. He recognizes the betas as the blonde woman and the black man. Two of Hale's weaker pack members. Killing them is risky, but they are in his way and he needs to escape to warn his mother.
"Running away?" Erica taunts. "I thought all of you hunters were fight to the end types" she sighs sadly "so disappointing."
"Kill them" he orders rather than reply, and all of his men aim their guns at the two, but then he hears a growl and it's behind him. He spins around and stares into a familiar face with a pair of red eyes. "Delgado!" he says in shock.
"Calavera" Alpha Delgado growls deeply in a very unfriendly tone as he stalks forward.
Severo suddenly realizes that the alpha isn't alone and it's not just the two Hale betas here. There are at least five wolves facing the four of them. "You have an agreement with our family" he reminds the alpha.
"No more. You violated the Hunter's Council's own laws by coming here. Your family declared war on the High Alphas and I have sworn my allegiance to them. Any agreements we had are done and your family will pay the price" Javier snarls happily. He has been forced to swallow down any number of insults from the Calaveras over the years to keep the peace. He is done putting up with hunters and their cruelty.
Severo pales. If the packs have truly united, his family won't survive. "My mother did not know that I came here. She ordered me not to."
Alpha Delgado's eyes narrow, listening to the man's heartbeat that remained steady. "Really?"
"I and my men defied our Matriarch's orders and left in the night. She did not know of our plans or intentions. I take full responsibility" he says and drops his gun. His men suddenly look panicked, but also somewhat resigned.
Javier can tell the man is telling the truth. "I will share this with the High Alpha." Severo nods just before Alpha Delgado rips his throat out. The other Calavera men try to react but the Delgado betas kill them before they can even put up a fight.
Erica walks up and looks at the dead hunters before looking at the Alpha. "What was all of that about? Why did he give up?" she asks.
Javier looks at the beta and nods respectfully. He knows that she and the others don't realize it, but rank is very touchy with born werewolves. Hale's pack are mostly bitten wolves with barely a year's experience, not counting his sister and uncle, and normally that would mean that they have little standing with other wolves, but that doesn't matter because they are the true betas of the High Alpha. That gives them status, prestige, and respect. Technically he outranks them as an alpha, especially one with as many connections as he has. But in the most ancient ways, Hale's betas actually stand before any other pack, alphas included. So Javier Delgado gives the teens the respect they deserve, even if they don't realize it. "He took full responsibility for coming here against his family's orders or knowledge. By doing so he attempted to prevent us, or the Council, from blaming his family for his actions here and attacking them in retribution."
"Will that work?" Boyd asks the alpha.
Javier shrugs. "I cannot say, only give my report to the High Alphas. It will be up to them to determine what price they will extract from the Calaveras for this action."
"I really wish this wasn't necessary" Chris says looking down at the body of the hunter.
"Did you know him" Allison asks only mildly curious. They had been fighting ever since the pixies had not only freed them but had also delivered their weapons. She had managed to nick Kate before her aunt ran off and Allison was suddenly occupied fighting someone else. By the time she had dealt with him, Kate was gone. Allison and Chris had set themselves up in a good spot and had picked off nearly a dozen of the enemy before Scott had joined them, jumping up from a sudden hole in the ground followed by the sasquatch Peggy who had reshaped the ground into barriers around them giving them great cover and position. Chris and Allison were able to fire at their enemies while Scott and Peggy kept anyone from getting too close.
"Trager. He was a good hunter before he fell in with Davies" he says looking at the dead man with the arrow sticking out of his heart. He pulled out the arrow and wiped it on the grass before he handed it over to her.
She nods politely while taking the arrow but Chris knew that she wasn't particularly forgiving of the man and honestly, he really wasn't either. He had truly believed that his father was actually going to kill them all, even Allison, before Stiles arrived with an entire army! The only problem was he hadn't actually seen his father or sister dead and until he saw their bodies, he wasn't going to drop his guard. If they didn't find them soon, he was going to have to call in every favor he can to hunt them down.
"Don't think Davies will be an issue anymore" Allison notes dryly and Chris looks up to spot Derek tossing the two parts of the man away.
"Hell" Chris whispers.
"Dad…Gerard and Kate, they were already rejected. But Davies, Calavera, Parker, the others? Could the Council have authorized this attack despite what they told us?" she asks quietly.
Chris looks around but no nearby wolves seem to be unoccupied and listening in on their conversation. "I don't think Clarrisant would have agreed to this, but the others? Severo Calavera is Arya's son. If this was an action by the Council, or even some of them acting independently, then it could be significantly worse than we think." He glances over and sees Allison looking confused. "If they ordered this attack, do you think Stiles will let it go unanswered."
"But he can't leave here."
Chris looks around the clearing. "Ally, he can open portals anywhere. He can't go personally, but he can send an army through them, ignoring any defenses. And after this? I would not be surprised if he and Derek don't end up as High Alphas over all of North America. If the Councils families did do this, then I am sure that he will pay it back and they are not ready for him."
Allison looks around the field before spotting Lydia, Jackson, and Isaac all looking pretty battered and her eyes go cold. "Good. Then they won't see it coming."
Staggering to his feet, Gerard stares at the burning wrecks of vehicles in stunned disbelief. What the hell was that thing. A giant bird made of lightning? He shuffles away from the fires burning towards the woods, hoping to slip away but he hears a sound from the trees and swings the small machine gun he has been saving towards the sound. He stares, looking into the shadows, when all of a sudden a pair of crimson eyes flash. Gerard Argent doesn't hesitate, he fires several shots centered right between the eyes but he sees no effect. No change from the bullets striking, the eyes don't even blink. But then he realizes that they are too low for even a werewolf. They could be crouching down, but his bullets are steel with silver tips loaded with yellow wolfsbane. They would kill anything. The eyes start moving and Gerard moves to the side but they follow and then he sees the black wolf step out of the shadows, eyes glowing red, and a some mess of yellow clutched in its mouth.
He aims and fires again, but there is no effect and he knows he is too good a shot to miss at this range. He holds his fire, not wanting to waste the invaluable bullets. The wolf drops the yellow something and Gerard watches the thing roll on the ground, seeing but not seeing, until it finally comes to a stop, Kate's dead eyes staring at him as he finally realizes it's her head. He feels disappointment, after everything he went through to get her out of Beacon Hills and protect her when she turned, she couldn't even do a good enough job and kill that thing. He would have had to kill her eventually, but she was still useful to him for a while yet. And now she's finally dead and leaving him staring at the wolf…who is dissolving into smoke. Argent watches as the creature becomes less and less substantial until it is completely gone.
Gerard smiles. Finally, something goes his way. He takes a step forward when he hears the deep growl and he spins around and sees Hale, in his monstrous alpha form, and he raises his weapon and pulls the trigger without hesitation. At least he will get to kill the whelp.
Before it can fire, the gun explodes in his hand and he falls back. Derek rears back as well smelling the deadly wolfsbane. "I'm so glad we didn't miss this" Alpha Delgado says walking out of the woods, his eyes glaring at the old hunter. Erica and Boyd, in their beta shift are right behind him and looking at Gerard with fury.
"Don't even" Peter says coming up beside Derek looking at the other Alpha. "This one is ours. He owes us blood."
"That is a claim shared by many" Alpha Ito says walking up with Lydia, Yvette, Jackson, and Isaac, all four of them looking exhausted but okay.
Gerard looks around and realizes that all of his men have been defeated. He is the only one standing. That damn dragon has even returned and he knows for sure that the ship, his last hope for a fast getaway, is gone. He glances over at Derek and snarls. "What? You think I'm going to beg?" he shouts defiantly.
"Beg or not, it won't matter" Peter says with a deadly voice. "You will still die screaming" he says with an evil smile as he steps forward but Derek growls and every wolf takes a step back automatically, even the other alphas though they look concerned the moment they realize what they did it.
"High Alpha?" Alpha Marshall asks carefully. His own pack has not been untouched by Argent's actions and he would be happy to kill the man, but he recognizes the other Alpha's greater claim.
Derek shifts back to his human form and is glaring at Gerard, his eyes burning red. His claws are still out and he takes one step forward. "STOP!" a voice booms out and everyone looks in shock at Stiles who walks up, everyone quickly stepping out of his way. More than a few bowing heads or baring necks.
"Stop?" Peter asks incredulously. "Why?"
Stiles looks over at Peter and his eyes flash pure white and Peter lets out an involuntary whimper and he bares his neck before he even realizes what he is doing. Stunned at himself, he looks at the teen, but Stiles isn't even paying attention, he is staring at Derek.
"Derek. His life is not yours."
Derek's eyes widen and based on the similar reactions of the majority of the wolves, Stiles' words are a shock.
Derek however doesn't respond. At least not verbally. His face, however, speaks volumes and it is demanding answers.
Stiles stares for a moment at Derek before he turns to Gerard. "You attacked my mate. You attacked and threatened my pack. You violated my territory. You broke the Hunter's Council Interdiction. You brought murderers into my town." All of this was said almost without emotion. "You tried to kill my dad." That statement caused more than a few of the foreign werewolves to bare their throats in submission at the intensity of his words as there was suddenly a lot of emotion there.
Noah and Raphael are both watching, and they see Gerard's eyes dart to them and there is a flash of hatred in his eyes that they survived.
"Then let's kill him!" Jackson yells and more than a few nod in agreement.
"Wait" Chris steps forward leaving Allison looking surprised at his actions. "There is another option."
The others stare at Chris in confusion. "What option?" Alpha Reynolds demands.
"Let me take him to the Council for judgement. My Grand Matriarch has declared him Anathema. Let them deliver justice for all hunters to see" he says looking at Derek.
"Hunter Justice!? Alpha Bouvier spits. "Hunters have never policed their own. They allow scum like him and his daughter to kill without cause or mercy. He wasn't acting alone here. The Council probably sent them here to help him while promising peace." She looks at Gerard with contempt. "It wouldn't be the first time Hunters did that."
"I don't believe Clarrisant would do that" Allison says carefully stepping forward, looking at the alpha. Then she frowns "but I cannot speak for the rest of the Council. One or more may have acted unknown to the others. If he lives, we could find out the depths of his treachery and all those who have ever helped or aided him. We could root out those hunters who should be dealt with. If we kill him, we won't know."
"We will if we kill them all" Peter mutters.
Several small arguments break out as everyone tries to argue for what they should do. Gerard might have thought he could slip away but when he shifts his weight just slightly, four wolves suddenly appear around him snarling. He looks over and sees Alpha Delgado watching him with a smirk. The Los Angeles Alpha had never been distracted. He had taken on the task of watching their prisoner with his betas while the others argued.
"We can't just kill someone in cold blood" Scott says quietly, looking around at the rest of their pack. Lydia and Jackson both looked annoyed at his comment. Isaac was thoughtful, while Boyd and Erica were both disgusted at their packmate. Cora and Peter wouldn't even look at the teen.
"Scott, son, arresting him wouldn't work" Noah says softly and surprisingly he sees the elder McCall nod in agreement.
"Argent has too many friends in wrong places Scott" his father says sadly. "He would disappear, either rescued or dead, before we could make him answer for his crimes."
"He attacked wolves. Let us have justice!" Peter yells. Many of the other wolves roar in agreement.
The other non-humans seemed less invested. They observed, but then Daython stepped forward, bloody but still whole. "It is not just wolves who have been hunted. This one is known to our kind as well. Do the herds not also deserve justice?"
Scott and several of the pack finally look over at Stiles to see what he is doing and why he's been so quiet.
Stiles, however, is just looking at Derek. The teen is asking, testing, even challenging his mate, all without words.
Finally, Derek's claws retract. "The Arcanist is the ultimate authority in his territory. Gerard's fate is his to decide" he says tonelessly.
Peter doesn't snarl, Cora does, but it is more sarcastic than truly angry.
Stiles turns towards Gerard as the clearing goes completely silent save for the sound of burning cars. "Gerard Argent. Oathbreaker. Kinkiller. Murderer. I banish you from my territory. From this moment until the sun crests the horizon, no member of my pack, nor any person, being, or entity living within my territory who has submitted to my authority, shall do you harm or act to affect you in any way. Once the sun rises, my forbearance ends and if any find you, your life is forfeit" Stiles pronounces his judgement and the clearing goes silent for a full five seconds before it explodes in anarchy.
Cora, Peter, and Jackson are all yelling in disbelief. Several of the Alphas are also roaring their disapproval. Stiles sees the disbelief and uncertainty on every member of the pack, even Chris and Allison.
Gerard however laughs. He laughs loudly. Loud enough that everyone else goes quiet, one by one. "I always knew you were weak boy. A fool and a coward. But I didn't realize you were stupid." He walks over and picks up one of the Hunter's guns. He barely stands up when Stiles blasts it out of his hands.
"I did not say you could take a weapon. I will give you no aid Argent. But no one will stop you."
"I can" Chris steps forward. "I can take you to the Council Gerard."
"Do you wish to remain in Beacon Hills as the voice of the Council?" Stiles asks looking at the hunter. Chris looks confused. "You submitted to my authority as well Chris. My orders bind you as well. You cannot act against your father." Chris looks about to argue but Allison pulls him back and shakes her head and he yields, looking unhappy.
"Stilinski" Jackson starts to argue, along with several others but then a roar goes out that drives every wolf to their knees in shock. Derek, eyes burning, is glaring at everyone.
"Enough!" he roars. "You will obey!" he demands and every wolf, from the youngest to the oldest, Alpha to beta, all bare the neck. Many of the others all show similar signs of respect and obedience to the High Alpha.
Stiles looks at Gerard who is laughing at Derek when they all hear a long, low note of a horn sounding in the distance. The teen feels a deep sense of joy when he sees the confusion and glimmer of uncertainty in the old man's face. Gerard looks around, but the horn's sound is fading. Several of the dwarves start shuffling nervously as do the Centaurs. Dave and the other sasquatch look concerned.
"What was that?" Erica demands looking around.
Stiles doesn't answer and instead is watching Gerard when the old man finally makes the connection and watches as the blood runs from his face and real fear appears. Peter spins around and looks at the old man in surprise, smelling the terror coming off of him. Other wolves start smelling it and start to move away almost instinctively.
"You couldn't. You wouldn't" Gerard mutters looking at Stiles in terror as he starts to move away from the teen and directly opposite of where the horn sounded.
"From this moment until the sun crests the horizon, I will withhold my justice. I promised nothing else. It appears that you have made many enemies Gerard. Do you think you can outrun them?" he asks with a smirk.
Gerard doesn't wait. He runs. There are back up vehicles nearby he knows. He will get to them. He has to!
The packs all watch the hunter, the monster in the dark for so many, run away, the stink of fear thick in the air. "You are letting him live?" Peter demands looking at Stiles.
Stiles however is watching the woods when that horn sounds again. But this time it is closer.
"I think there's a fire" one of the wolves on the far side of the clearing calls out as he moves away from the sound of the horn.
"Clear a path" Stiles orders as he walks away, making a channel on the clear line between the horn and Gerard's direction of retreat.
"Stiles, what did you do?" Lydia asks staring at him with a calculating expression. The meaning of all this is right on the tip of her tongue. Something Ancient and Powerful. Something…her eyes widen in shock. "You didn't!" she yells.
"LOOK OUT!" one of the Centaurs yells and the whole group turns and looks and sees orange and red flames flickering in the woods, racing towards them on the ground, smoke rising up behind it as it moves among the trees. But the trees do not seem to be catching on fire as it passes them. It takes several seconds for the fire to break the tree line and it runs out on four legs before stopping, the large head coming up. Standing in the clearing is a huge Mastiff, nearly as large as full grown wolf. Only this Mastiff was on fire. Literally. Flames dancing in its fur as it lowered it's head to the ground sniffing and moving quickly towards Derek and Stiles. The packs all brace themselves for attack but then it stops and looks at Stiles before pausing, bending a knee, and lowering it's head in a bow.
"He went that way" Stiles says pointing into the trees in the direction Gerard ran.
The fiery dog's head pops up and turns sharply the direction Stiles is pointing and suddenly it lets out a howl that makes even the werewolves nervous before it takes off along the trail.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?!" Erica screams.
"Exactly" Lydia says looking impressed, but she is staring at Stiles.
"What?" Isaac asks looking confused.
"It's was a Hellhound" Yvette answers before Lydia can looking completely flabbergasted. "But I never thought I would actually see one."
"Clear a path!" Stiles yells and starts moving back when a second Hellhound breaks the tree line and races past them, not even pausing as it chased after the first, barking and yipping as it runs through the startled crowd who all look back at him for answers. "Not yet."
Everyone looks at him like he is crazy but then the horn blows for the third time and it is right on top of them. Suddenly riders burst through the trees, racing after the hellhounds and several people scream and run. The riders are dressed in exotic armor, hauntingly beautiful, but also the stuff of nightmares. At least a half dozen people faint right there. There are six riders and they all race past save the last. He pulls his horse to a stop right in front of Derek and Stiles.
Sitting atop a black horse that is larger than a Clydesdale but slimmer than a racehorse, eyes burning with intelligence, is a Fae warrior, the stuff of legends. His face has an unearthly beauty, that promises pain and death. His armor is elegant but designed to strike fear in his foes. He is not friendly, welcoming, or kind. He is hard. Cruel. Uncompromising. He is the Huntmaster.
"Eithlyndar" Stiles nods respectfully.
"Arcanist. My compliments human. You bargained very well, better than any I have known."
"You have only until the sun crests the horizon" Stiles reminds the Huntmaster firmly.
The Fae Lord laughs. "We need no more time than that. He will live to see the first hint of morning before I snatch his hope of escape away" the laugh holds no joy, only the promise of retribution. "I am instructed to bring his skin to my Queen, along with the rest, though not she did not indicate that she wanted it still attached" he laughs again, nods respectfully to Stiles and then to Derek, before the horse leaps forward and in seconds is gone, not even the sound of the horses hooves to be heard.
Everyone is looking after the Rider with stunned expressions. "I can't scent them" Boyd mutters and several of the wolves all look upset when they realize the beta is right.
"Stiles" Lydia says looking at him and glancing after the Rider. "That was the Wild Hunt. The real one. Not the imitations or second-rate imposters. They are the ones who Hunt those that the Fae Courts decree deserve Fae Justice."
Stiles smiles at the redhead. "Yes. It seemed that Gerard pissed off a lot of people, including some rather unforgiving ladies."
"You were able call down the Wild Hunt?" she demands in shock, but Stiles shakes his head.
"No. I have no authority over the Hunt. I was asked for permission. They bought the time from his defeat until the morning. If they don't deal with him by then, then he's mine to deal with" Stiles explains.
"Bought how?!" Lydia is still confused. She has researched the Hunt and it doesn't add up. "He said you bargained well."
"I demanded one favor from each Court in exchange for stepping aside and letting the Hunt have Gerard."
Lydia almost passes out. One favor from each Queen!?! Oh, dear god. A single favor could empty Fort Knox of all it's gold and Stiles has four?!
"You could have told me" Derek says looking at Stiles with a slight frown.
"I'm sorry Derek, but this was something I had to do as Arcanist. If I am to truly be that, I needed you, all of you, to accept that."
"Stiles!" Boyd suddenly looks distraught. "The hunters attacked my family!" Erica suddenly pales as the memory returns after the rush of battle.
"They are fine" Stiles reassures them quickly. "Tipsk sent word to me and then managed to whack the guy in the head when he went back in after they took you and Erica. He was trying to free your family when the hunter woke up and was going to attack but by then I had got word and portaled the twins in. He's taken care of and everyone is fine." Boyd and Erica both look at the twins with gratitude and relief when they see confirmation that his family is safe.
Stiles then looks over at Scott. "Eddie and his witch friend are with your mom at the hospital along with Deaton and Morrell who got some minor injuries when the hunters burned down the vet clinic, but they are okay too."
"Stiles, how did you survive? They said they blew up the Sheriff's station" Scott asks looking both relieved and overwhelmed.
"Later Scotty. First, we have to deal with a bigger problem." Stiles looks around the clearing and sees many of the non-fighters, the dryads, pixies, and brownies all rendering first aid to the wounded. "I think it is time I formally met the Hunter's Council."
