Chapter 7

Noah Stilinski is starting to think seriously about retirement. He wanted to be a sheriff, to help people, in a community where you knew the people you served. But the last few weeks were so beyond his pay grade! He was still adjusting to the whole 'werewolves are real, magic is real, my son is Merlin' thing but it seemed that it was never going to end.

The other day he came home to find his son and Derek sitting at the dining room table with two men he didn't recognize and papers covering the table. Being introduced to them didn't make it any easier. What are you supposed to say to the most powerful sorcerer in the world? Stephen Strange was actually what he would have expected from that title, he made Deaton seem open. Luckily the other man, Wong, was a lot easier to deal with, especially after he offered to take Noah with him to get pizza for dinner. Of course, going to New York was unexpected, but when he finally got to visit the place Stiles had been getting their pizza from he managed to get a slice of their meat lovers and it was even better than he had imagined was possible.

They had returned with food whereon Noah learned that apparently the four of them were working on plans for Derek and Stiles' new house and that was a bit of a shock as well. Sure he had known that they were mates, and he had even gotten used to the idea of them dating, but hearing them talking about building a house together was a surprise even though it shouldn't have been. And that was before they started talking about magical defenses and doorways and things that left Noah thoroughly lost. When he had finally left to go to bed they were talking about sigils and runic embellishments and it was all beyond him. But now he could focus on things he knew.

Sighing he stopped the car when he spotted Parrish's cruiser and got out. At least this was something he could deal with without any craziness. About an hour ago they had gotten a call about possible illegal hunting going on and Noah was happy to deal with just regular normal hunters, nothing supernatural here! Parrish had been dispatched and called in that he had found the men's car but no sign of them. Noah came out to join him.

"Any sign of them?" the Sheriff asks as he looks at Parrish who is staring at the trees. "Son?" he prompts.

Jordan shakes off his distraction and looks at the sheriff. "Sorry. It's just…" he fades out as he looks at the woods again and Noah gets a chill down his spine. "Sorry. I stayed close to their car, but so far I haven't seen any sign of them."

Noah stares at the man closely but whatever was disturbing him seems to have passed. "Well, we ran the plates so we know who they are."

Suddenly the sound of gunfire echoes in the still night and both officers draw their guns. "That way!" Jordan says and barely starts moving in the direction when another shot rings out. Both men speed up when they suddenly hear yelling.

Seconds later they break into a small clearing and see two men in camouflage lying on the ground yelling. Splitting up Noah approaches the man, gun drawn, as he scans the area. "What happened?" he yells and the man looks up in shock.

Noah sees the gunshot wound in the man's shoulder, and the rifle lying next to him. "Who shot you?" he demands.

"I don't know" the man wails. "I was shooting a deer and right after I fired I got hit. Arthur fired on it but he was shot too."

"You were hunting deer? Out of season?" Noah asks clearly and the man groans in pain but nods.

"It was beautiful. Biggest rack I had ever seen, must have been 40 pointer at least" he moans and Noah looks over at Jordan and goes over to the deputy.

"I called for ambulances" Parrish says as he approaches. "He says they were hunting deer and both took a shot but both were hit by someone else out here" he pauses for a moment before looking at the man and the weapon beside him. "It appears to be same caliber as his rifle if I had to guess."

Noah frowns but looks back at the other man. Could they have shot each other? It appears that's what Parrish is implying. Noah sends the deputy back to meet the EMTs and gathers both rifles. They can test them and the bullets to see if they did actually shoot each other. But the guy seemed genuinely concerned about his partner.

A few moments later and Jordan was returning with the teams and both men were loaded and transported away leaving the two officers alone. "I want to see that clearing again" Noah muttered and headed back, the deputy following quietly.

Staring at the ground Noah didn't get it. If they fell where they were shot, it would be really difficult to shoot each other. "Sir, what are you thinking?" Jordan asks.

Noah shakes his head, he doesn't know but a sudden rustle of leaves and the soft snap of a twig causes him to look up and he freezes. "Do you see that?" he whispers and hears Jordan's whispered agreement.

Standing on the opposite side of the field is a deer like nothing he has ever seen in his life. The animal was huge, at least seven feet tall not counting the incredible antlers. His coat was dark, almost black but there was a deep red visible in the moonlight that suggested blood. And in the middle of that large rack of antlers was what appeared to be a very large bee's nest!

The animal was standing there looking at the two men with wine dark eyes that made Noah shiver as he felt himself being judged…evaluated…measured by this being. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was intelligent. "Sir" Parrish whispered with a pained tone. "What the hell is that?"

Before Noah could answer the deer turned and leapt into the trees, disappearing instantly and moving without even the trace of a sound. "I have no idea but I am pretty sure that this case just got really complicated." So much for normal.

Scott grabs the door to the coffee shop and smiles as Allison walks in, Isaac right behind her, before following after them. The last few days have been busy, but luckily no major crisis or problems. Allison has not only been patrolling with the pack, but she has been training with them and even Chris has helped out. The truth is that with the exception of Stiles, everyone has been meeting up and training. It has only been two weeks, and Scott misses his bro but understands how busy he has become with training, meeting the nearby Alphas and now planning on rebuilding the pack house though he isn't quite sure why that would take all that long since Derek still had the plans to the original house.

"You know, things have gotten strange when I am looking forward to school starting" Isaac says with a sigh as they approach the board. A young girl, about their age is ordering in front of them.

Scott smirks and is about to respond when he catches the scent of ozone, like right before a storm, something heavy and energetic. He inhales sharply and realizes that the scent is coming from the girl in front of them. A quick glance at Isaac and he sees that the beta has also caught the smell. Isaac glances at them just as the girl turns around and slams into the teen, spilling her tea on him.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she says looking mortified. She starts babbling and grabs a handful of napkins to try and dry Isaac off. "I am such a klutz!" she moans.

Isaac is stunned, trying to figure out what to do when he hears snickering and looks up to see Allison smiling and laughing at the scene before her. "Thanks" he says dryly before turning to the girl "Its okay, I'm fine."

"This is not how I wanted today to go" the girl groans sadly. "Can I buy you something to say sorry?" she asks and Isaac just shakes his head.

"I haven't see you around here before" Scott says tentatively and the girl looks up with a resigned huff.

"We just moved here" she tells them.

"Oh good" Allison says happily and the girl looks at her in surprise. "I was the new girl in town when my family moved here last year. Glad someone else gets to be that. I'm Allison" she says holding out her hand.

"Kira" the girl says. "Do you go to Beacon Hills High?" she asks nervously.

"Yes" Scott says with a smile. "Will you be there as well?" he asks and she nods. Isaac interrupts as the barista is staring at them and everyone puts in their order. Allison and Scott insisting that Kira get a new tea and sit with them.

They sit down and chat and are surprised to find out that not only she is in their grade, but her father is the new history teacher. Scott and Isaac both share a glance at that but despite her strange scent, Kira seems totally like a totally sweet, really nice girl.

"You know, there are some really nice little shops if you are looking to check things out. Lydia, Erica and I are going shopping this afternoon if you want to join us?" Allison offers and the girl's smile lights up.

"That would be great" she replies eagerly and looks at the boys "are you coming too?" she asks them.

Both of them laugh. "No. We definitely avoid shopping with Erica and Lydia. Too dangerous for mere mortals" Isaac replies with a snort.

That causes Allison to tease them about their lack of stamina and the teens exchange numbers as Allison lets the other girls know that Kira will be joining them. They finally break up and Allison promises to text her after lunch with the details. Kira then leaves as the three walk to their cars.

"So…what was that back there? You two were acting like you smelled something" Allison says seriously looking at them.

Scott and Isaac both frown. "Not sure…but I don't think she is entirely human" Isaac finally says.

Scott nods. "She's not a wolf, I know that, but she smells like…something" he explains unhelpfully.

Allison nods. "Good. Then Lydia, Erica, and I will see what we can discover this afternoon."

Scott watches her with admiration as she gets in the car. The Huntress is smart and Scott still has trouble believing that she picked him.

Stiles looked down at the phone and smiled when he saw Martinique's name on the screen. He hadn't talked to her in weeks and he felt a stab of guilt about that. He had a brief thought about why she would be calling but he couldn't think of a reason unless she had something new in so he answered with a hint of excitement. "Hey M!" he answered happily.

"Stiles" Martinique sounded concerned and he frowned. Something was wrong. "I was hoping you might be able to help me with something?" she asks him and he doesn't like how uncertain she sounds.

"Of course" he replies quickly and forcefully. "You know that you can count on me to help out. Did something happen?" he queries.

"I am not completely sure to be honest. I was contacted by the High Witch a few days ago. Apparently something magical happened in the area but none of us know anything. I didn't feel anything, but she said that she had felt it on the other side of the planet" Martinique's voice showed her nerves. "Stiles…I have never spoken to the High Witch…no one I know has! No one in my coven or any others that I have spoken to know anything, but everyone who I called within a few hours of here have all felt some pressure on them…like we are being watched. Even Kiran has sensed something but he didn't feel whatever it was either. I am not sure what to do. I don't suppose you have felt it?" she finally asks, desperation clear.

Stiles freezes for a few moments before closing his eyes about this. He really isn't ready to deal with this but Martinique sounds really upset and Stiles owes her for all of her help. "Oh, uh sorry about that. Lizzie mentioned that some people might notice what happened here and might reach out. I didn't expect anyone to bother you though."

"I don't understand Stiles. Who is Lizzie and what happened up there?"

"It's a long story, I mean really long. Lizzie is actually the Morgaine, have you heard of her?" he asks and gets his answer at the gasp of surprise he hears over the phone. "Okay, that's a yes. I met her some time ago when she was helping us with a problem we were having with a Darach."

"A Darach! You are dealing with a Dark druid?" her voice has gotten very shrill.

"Well, not anymore. It was part of the whole thing with the Alpha Pack and Deucalion" he starts but stops when he hears her squeak over the line. "I didn't mention that before did I?" he says lamely.

"Stiles…." She trails off feeling completely out of her element. She had heard of Deucalion and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with that man.

"Okay, real quick…the issue has been dealt with, but there are some ramifications happening that is affecting the ley lines, nematon, etc. I am surprised you haven't felt anything yet" Stiles adds at the end sounding surprised.

"Wait…do you mean that itchy feeling of being watched that has been affecting everyone nearby? Is that part of all of this?" she demands.

"Er…well yes" Stiles says after a moment trying to figure out how much he wants to say, especially over the phone. "Look, I want to explain, but maybe it would be better if you came here to Beacon Hills and we can talk in person. I would come there but I kinda can't travel too far at the moment" he offers tentatively.

Martinique doesn't like that idea. She is a minor witch, all of this is far beyond her skill or experience. "Stiles…if things are that bad there…" she starts but he quickly cuts her off.

"Oh no! No, sorry. Look both of those problems have been dealt with, honestly. There is no danger, but I can't say too much on the phone. You will totally okay to come and visit, I promise" he assures her.

She pauses but he sounds sincere. She doesn't think that he would put her in harm's way and if the Morgaine had been there, she truly doubts that any Darach or wolfpack, alphas or not, would still be bothering them. It probably was safe for a short visit. "Can I bring some others?" she asks cautiously knowing that she would feel better with some backup, not to mention that others are feeling the effects.

"Sure. Like I said, it's safe now so there is no problem. You can invite Kiran too…I would love to see him as well" Stiles offers. Stiles agrees to send her directions and she promises to call back with her plans once she talks to the others before they hang up.

Staring at the phone for a few minutes after hanging up with the teen Martinique finally starts making calls. There are three other covens that she knows in the area who she wants to invite along with two of her own members before calling Kiran. With the High Witch's instruction to investigate, she is certain that the others will quickly agree and Stiles can finally tell her everything. She doesn't know what, but she is certain that the youth definitely knows a whole lot more than he said over the phone.

Tara was happy that they were finally going to get the station back to themselves. She had managed to not snap at the feds, but it was hard. Hearing them talk about the serial killers, knowing it was all for nothing, wasn't easy. But she also knew that there was no way that Jones and her team would be able to handle the truth that is Beacon Hills.

Jones wasn't too bad, nor were most of the others, but McCall? The asshole had relished needling the sheriff and the deputies, constantly looking down on them and the work they did, even blaming them for the 'animal attacks' and not the rangers who in any other town would have been responsible for the wild animals. Sure they weren't actually animal attacks, but what town has a department assigned to deal with supernatural forces of darkness?

"Tara?" Jordan says hesitantly and she turns to see the deputy staring at her nervously. "You okay?" he asks gently.

"Yeah" she replies and clears her expression. "Just ready for things to get back to normal" she says with a sigh that the other deputy shares. "You need something?"

"Mrs. Clark called again" he says with a crooked smile that widens at her groan. Mrs. Clark was an 85 year old widow currently engaged in a full scale war with her neighbor Mr. Toombs over their yards. The last two years had seen a dozen calls to the station from the two of them complaining about the other. Apparently they had never gotten along but Mr. Clark had managed to keep the peace until he died and then everything went nuts. The Sheriff had declared that he wasn't to be called unless one of them was dead and told his deputies to handle them.

Everyone managed to take their calls in rotation unless someone screwed up. The Sheriff's idea for staff discipline was creating a new punishment, Clark/Toombs duty, which meant that if you were in the dog house, you took all of their calls and no one had been punished more than once. "What now?" she said while she thought about whose turn it was to deal with the two octogenarians.

"Mrs. Clark called to say that Mr. Toombs has been walking in his house without the curtains fully closed" he says trying not to smile. He takes pity on Deputy Graeme "after his shower" he adds and sees her groan.

Tara immediately decides to send Sanders to talk to the man and is about to do so when McCall and Jones walk in the station and she suddenly feels sick. Jones had been gone for several days tracking leads so her return was ominous and McCall looks way too happy.

"We need to speak with the Sheriff?" McCall says brusquely and Tara sees the flinch on Jones' face that the agent can't fully hide. It appears that she has developed the same distaste to the man that the rest of them had, but since he wasn't directly under her command, she was limited in what she could do about him.

Before she could respond the Sheriff comes out of his office and frowns at the two agents. "What is it McCall?" he asks fully professional but still managing to display his desire for the man to be gone.

"The Bureau wanted to inform you that a prisoner was going to be brought to Beacon Hills Hospital for needed surgery. Your office will be responsible for security" he tells the man with a smirk.

Noah stares at him and can tell he isn't going to like this. There is no prison nearby that would need to use Beacon Hills. The only facility that might would be…crap! "Who" he demands looking pissed off and Agent Jones looks surprised at the sudden shift in the sheriff's demeanor.

"A patient at Eichen" McCall says airily like it doesn't really matter.

"Who" Noah growls out and McCall just smiles.

"William Barrows" he finally says and both Stilinski and Graeme blanch.

"Are you insane? What the hell are you thinking?" Noah demands, obviously furious.

"Sheriff, I know this is unusual, but the man is a prisoner in need of medical care" Jones says trying to calm things down.

Noah turns to her and the Agent actually steps back in shock at the look of fury on his face. "I don't want that bastard anywhere near this town. It's bad enough he is in Eichen but as long as he is locked up there I haven't complained, but you want to bring him here? Have you lost your damned mind?" he barks at McCall who seems to be happy with the sheriff's reaction.

"I disappointed in you sheriff" McCall says oily. "I would have thought that you remembered your responsibility to all the people in town, even the criminals. Seems like you are not quite so honorable as you claim."

Noah glares but its Tara who actually snaps. "You mean the son of a bitch who attacked the high school, several students, before trying to blow it up and kill all the kids inside?" she yells and Jones' eyes widen. That was not in McCall's briefing.

"Apparently he forgot that Barrows wanted to wipe out all the teenagers that he claimed were demonic, was going to 'purify' the school…the school his own son attends by the way, not to mention sending him to the hospital where his ex-wife works" Noah adds and finally there is a flinch from McCall while Jones closes her eyes in disbelief. The man arranged to have an attempted mass murderer sent to his ex's work place! Jones understands the locals' fury and realizes that McCall may have just managed to finally turn the entire force against them with this crap.

McCall just reminds the sheriff of his responsibilities and informs him that the matter is settled before turning to leave. Noah and Tara watch the man leave before turning to Jones, glaring at the woman making her sigh.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have all the facts and when he brought it up, I didn't see any major issues. Unfortunately I have already been ordered down to San Diego to look for our killers, we have gotten word that she might be trying to cross the border" she says apologetically. "McCall pulled rank as my team are not stationed here. I will share this with my boss" she promises before leaving.

Both officers watch the senior agent leave, hopefully for the final time before Tara turns back to the sheriff. "So, what do we do?" she says after a moment.

"You and Parrish start working on a plan. I want no less than three officers on him from the moment Barrows leaves Eichen till his return. Every possible thing the two of you can think of…do it." He frowned before looking at the deputy. "I will handle the hardest part" he adds.

Tara looks confused before Noah replies. "I get to tell Mel and the hospital staff" he informs her and she steps back. She did not envy the sheriff for that one little bit.

Stiles looks up from the tome he was reading and opens another browser. He had managed to find some time to actually do the research he loved and he was currently trying to identify the deer that his dad and Parrish had seen in the woods.

"Eat" Derek's voice caused him to flail as the wolf put a sandwich down beside him. Derek rolled his eyes at the teen's reaction. "You have been working for hours, you need a break" he prods the teen.

"I think I figured out what dad and Parrish saw in the woods" Stiles says happily as Derek raises an eyebrow before sitting down.

"What was it?" Derek asks.

"If I'm right, it was a Yumilekax" he says with a smile and Derek's eyes widen.

"Right. What is that supposed to tell me" Derek says with a smirk.

"Ha ha" Stiles rolls his eyes. Two can play that game! "The Yumilekax, according to Mayan legend, are spirit guardians of the forest. They are also called the Renowned Deer. The herd stallion is called Nohock Ceh, and apparently they showed up whenever hunters were abusing or overhunting the local deer population. One of its tricks was turning weapons back on the owners so that explains why the hunters were shot with their own rifles."

"What is a Mayan deer doing in Beacon Hills" Derek asks after a few moments.

Stiles stops and looks confused by the question. Finally he shrugs "Makes as much sense as anything else that has happened here lately" he finally says.

"Do we need to worry about it?" Derek asks cautiously.

Stiles leans back for a moment before looking serious. "I don't think so. As a spirit of the forest, the Yumilekax is pretty much about balance. It doesn't have a problem with hunters, just ones that abuse the natural balance. Those guys were hunting out of season so they were breaking the rules I guess."

"I have never even heard of these beasts Stiles. Why now?" he asks but then stops as the realization hits him. "You. Your territory is magically enhanced" he says at the teen's look of surprise.

"So you think that it's here for me?" Stiles asks looking concerned.

Derek sighs. "I think it's like you said. It is a forest spirit and the forests here in Beacon Hills are suddenly more magical than ever, maybe even more than anywhere else. Maybe they sensed it and have come here to protect the woods."

"Mab did say that many beings thought lost and forgotten might find their way here" Stiles pondered.

"Can you sense it?" Derek asks.

"Not so far. I mean I only tried once right after dad told me about it, but I couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary" Stiles replies.

"Maybe it's time that you figured out exactly who and what is in our territory" Derek suggests and Stiles' eyes widen before nodding. Time to work!