Chapter Text
Disclaimer: Teen Wolf does not belong to me in any way, shape or form. I really hope you enjoy this next chapter :)
As attentive as ever, Stiles had cleaned her up and tried to help her back into her underwear and fishnet tights, but after spending way too long trying to detangle the flimsy material, he gave up, bundling them up and throwing them to the floor of the jeep.
She had giggled, half pushing herself to sit up so she was leaning back against the side of the jeep, watching as he awkwardly tried to dress himself in the cramped space, accidentally banging the top of his head more times than she could count. Once he was dressed back in his damp clothes, minus the blue plaid shirt that he had hung over the back of the driver's seat to dry, he had sat back down and she had manoeuvred herself to lay her head on his lap, her knees curled against the back of the seat as he lovingly played with her hair.
The rain continued to pelt down around them, battling off the mental roof. It was loud and obnoxious, but somewhat relaxing. The repeated melody soothed her somewhat, at least until Stiles seemed to freeze underneath her and she opened a single eye, peeking up at him.
"What?" she wondered, meeting his panicked gaze.
"Uh... you, uh... you don't want to kill me, do you?"
"Why would I want to kill you? You made me cum".
"Last time we had sex, you almost ripped us all to shreds".
"True" she acknowledged. "But I was also in heat, which seemed to then trigger something. I feel fine now".
He relaxed a little, his body stilling underneath her. "Are you sure?"
"Almost 100%".
He gulped, tensing again. "A-Almost?"
"I'm joking. Relax" she giggled, moving his hand back to her hair so he could play with it. "I promise I definitely do not want to kill you".
He let out an audible sigh of relief, tangling his fingers through her wet hair and massaging her scalp.
"Good" he remarked, "because once was awkward enough".
She felt herself nodding off, curled in his lap and against the small bench in the backseat, feeling safe and loved in his presence. Her mind and body always relaxed when she was with him. She didn't need to be protected physically; she needed to be protected emotionally, and he had always done that for her. Nurturing her delicate and fragile mental state in such a kind and loving way, helping her feel at peace.
She found she could barely keep her eyes open, falling into a somewhat deep slumber. She felt him move slightly to reach for his almost dry shirt, placing it around her body and covering her bare arms. The warmth chased away the chill of her skin, and she fell asleep.
When she woke, the rain had stopped, and the overcast, grey sky was now a darker blue with rays of red and orange as the sun began to sink. She blinked hazily, meeting Stiles' gaze, who was smiling softly down at her, his hand still threaded through her hair.
"Hey" he greeted, his face lighting up when he realised that she was awake. "You okay?"
"Yeah" she mumbled a little groggily, rubbing at her eyes. "How long was I out?"
"Only an hour. You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to wake you".
"The fact you stayed still for an hour amazes me" she remarked playfully.
"Me too" he chuckled, "but I feel less fidgety with you. You work better than Adderall".
She sat up, stretching her body in the cramped space. "Sorry that I fell asleep on our date".
"Never apologise for that. If you need sleep, you need sleep" Stiles said kindly, before frowning. "Did you not get much last night?"
"I never sleep well at home" she snorted. "But no. I keep having nightmares".
"About what?" Stiles asked curiously, his voice tinged with concern.
"Peter" she said, even saying his name made a twinge of guilt and sadness pang at her heart. "It feels so real... like he's actually talking to me..."
"What does he say? In the dreams?"
"I don't know. I can never remember much when I wake up, except for feeling... uneasy".
Stiles' frown deepened, and she could all but see the cogs turning in his head.
"What?" she asked knowingly, well aware of his overactive inner workings of his brain by now.
"This may sound stupid, and don't laugh at me, but could he actually be trying to communicate with you?"
She couldn't help it; she burst out laughing, much to Stiles' disapproval.
"Sorry" she snorted, biting back more chuckles. "And I highly doubt it. I mean... he's dead".
"But he was also a werewolf" he pointed out. "And this freaky supernatural stuff is clearly unpredictable".
"I mean... maybe" she mused, "but I don't know. I've never heard of it. Usually, once people are dead, they stay dead".
Their pondering was cut short by Stiles getting a notification on his phone. He briefly glanced at it, barely looking at it and dropping his phone back to his side before taking a double-take and bringing it back up to his face.
She watched as his eyes widened, his gaze zigzagging quickly across the screen.
"What?"
Stiles gulped, giving her an unreadable, hesitant look. "Uh... so remember how Derek manipulated Scott by telling him he would help cure him, but it just turned out he wanted to become the Alpha instead?"
She scowled at the reminder. "Vividly".
"Okay, well, I've been looking into it, y'know, trying to see if there was some truth to it".
"That there was a cure?"
"Yeah" Stiles nodded, "and there is so much superstition out there, it gets hard to determine what's fact and fiction. But I found this guy, his name is Doctor Fenris-"
"Fenris?" she interrupted, having heard that very same name just earlier today from Melissa. "Conrad Fenris?"
Stiles, already in a rambling state, stopped short and sent her a curious look, taken aback that she seemed to know who he was going on about.
"Yeah. Have you heard of him?"
Only by name, which she explained to him. Telling him what Melissa had discovered from her medical records.
"So, after the fire, your family made you a shrink appointment with him?"
"Seems so" she shrugged, "but nothing was documented from it".
Stiles' brows creased together, forming a harsh line in the middle of his forehead. The mystery getting more and more complex.
"Well, years ago, he went public about the discovery of werewolves. The guy was basically ostracised, both personally and professionally, and since then, he's worked at Eichen House. I thought, maybe, if we spoke to him, he might know if there was a cure out there, but Eichen House is like a fortress and, quite frankly, it gives me the creeps. So, I did some digging and found out that he delivers special seminars at the local college every month – and there's one going on right now".
"On a Sunday?" she asked dubiously.
"Crazy what people will do for extra credit, huh?"
"So, you want to speak with him?"
"Is it a stupid idea?" Stiles winced, his expression visibly cringing.
Possibly, but she knew how much Scott had wanted a cure, even though, to her, it was out of the realm of possibility – but what did she know? She wasn't an expert, and if she had a chance to find out if she could be changed back to a regular human, even with the pain of a full moon every month, she would do it. Plus, maybe she could ask this Doctor Fenris a few select questions of her own.
"It wouldn't hurt to check. Turn over every stone" she agreed, and she was sure she saw Stiles' eyes flash with the excitement of a new adventure.
He put his shirt back on and grabbed a cap that had been tossed to the back of the jeep and put it on backwards, the look surprisingly devilish. So much so that it made her ogle at him more than usual as he drove them to Scott's, eagerly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
Scott, his interest piqued, was already waiting out front of his house. She went to climb into the back, but he told her not to worry, and that he would take the backseat as it was the least he could do after ruining their date.
As soon as he climbed into the backseat and got settled, he let out a noise of indignation, and they both turned around to see him holding up her underwear that was twisted with the fishnets, a single eyebrow raised like a disapproving parent.
"Oh. Thanks" she grinned, "I forgot about those".
She untangled them quickly with nimble fingers, pulling her underwear up her legs and then threading the fishnets back up, well aware of two pairs of eyes watching her in surprise.
"What?" she shrugged, "it completes the fit".
"Did you two have sex in the jeep?" Scott asked, before his expression twisted into mortification as he glanced at the bench he was sitting on, putting two and two together. "Did you two have sex right where I'm sitting?"
"Do you want me to lie to you?" Stiles asked. "If so, then no. We totally didn't have sex where you're sitting".
Scott's nose crinkled in disgust. "You're both freaks, you know that, right?"
She grinned. "Thanks for the compliment".
Scott slid over to one side, nearly hugging the interior metal of the jeep, throwing suspicious looks to the seat below as Stiles drove across town to the small campus that she didn't even know existed.
"So, he knows we're coming?" Scott asked as they all climbed out of the jeep and gathered by the hood of the jeep.
"Uh... not exactly" Stiles winced, much to Scott's confusion. "He's sort of a recluse. Not really the kind of guy you can set up a meeting with if you get my gist".
"Who even is he?"
Stiles pulled his phone out of his pocket, loading up a video. "It's better if I just show you" he muttered, and then hit play.
A middle-aged man with greying hair appeared on the screen, writing things on a whiteboard. His eyes were wide with discovery and excitement, a formal-looking long white coat thrown over a smart shirt and tie.
"The term Lycanthrope is derived from the Greek myth of Lycaon, the king of Arcadia, renowned for his cruelty. He was later transformed into a wolf by Zeus. Turned into a monster as punishment for his own monstrous actions. The lycanthrope, as we all know, is just another name for werewolf".
Scott seemed surprised, looking at them both in alarm.
"He told people about werewolves?"
"Pretty stupidly" Kayla agreed. "There's a well-known understanding that the supernatural community remains hidden. It's to stop panic and war. I'm surprised no one tried to silence him permanently after this".
"The half man, half wolf legend-" the Doctor continued, "-which appears in dozens of different cultures, from the volcanoes of Lithuania to the kulaks of Russia, to the most commonly known Rougarou of France. Now, contrary to some belief, the werewolf's abilities are not beholden to the full moon. Rather, they can be called upon at will. Now, those abilities range from incredible speed to remarkable agility, able to move in the bipedal run, whilst equally adept as a hunter".
"Yes, I'm aware of lycanthropy. The psychological disorder in which a person mistakenly believes himself to be a wild animal. I'm not here to discuss that. I'm not talking about the disorder of the mind. I'm talking about werewolves. The actual and proven existence of werewolves".
The Doctor turned around, as laughter and snorts of disbelief spilt into the video. She understood why – this guy sounded like a complete and utter headcase.
"This is the guy" Stiles claimed. "This is the guy who could know about a cure".
"Who exactly is he?"
"Well, his real name is Doctor Conrad Haberlind-"
"His real name?" she asked in surprise, "he changed it?"
"Yup. He legally changed it to Doctor Conrad Fenris" looking at Scott as if to say 'you get it, right?'
"Are you serious?" Scott muttered sarcastically.
"Yes" Stiles exclaimed, but his smile faltered. "You have no idea what that means, do you?"
"No".
"Right, well, Fenris was the son of Loki in Norse mythology. Okay, here, see?"
He showed them both a picture from the internet, and she 'ah'd' in realisation.
"The guy on the horse?" Scott frowned.
Stiles rolled his eyes. "No, dumbass, he's the wolf. He's meant to be the influence for the story Little Red Riding Hood".
"So, why did he change his name?"
"For his own safety" she guessed.
"That, and he ruined himself. Everyone thought he was nuts" Stiles explained. "Shortly after, he moved to Beacon Hills. That was about ten years ago".
"What are the chances he just so happened to move to a town full of the supernatural?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Very slim" Stiles agreed. "Outside of Derek, and the Argents and your creepy boss-"
"My boss isn't creepy".
"-This is the only other person who seems to know more than we do" Stiles continued, as if Scott had never interrupted. "It couldn't hurt to find out what he knows".
"Unless he's actually out for supernatural blood and will try to kill us all" She remarked with pursed lips, and her boyfriend sent her a playful glare.
"That's not helpful".
"It's a possibility, though".
"He changed his name to a giant wolf. He wouldn't do that if he were hunting them" Stiles pointed out, and she had to agree with him on that.
"So, what makes you think this guy will know about a cure?" Scott asked.
"Well... I don't, exactly, but I watched all these guys' videos and he knows everything that there is to know about werewolves and more. Look at this".
He showed them the rest of the video, which had Doctor Fenris discussing berserkers.
"He's right about that" she nodded. "Berserkers do exist. Real strong, nasty, sons of bitches, too. You don't want to get in a fight with them".
"See?" Stiles insisted, "he's legit. He's the closest thing we have to a certified expert".
"Apart from Derek" Scott pointed out reluctantly, making both Stiles and Kayla cringe at the name.
"There you go, just mentioning his name again" Stiles whined, "do you enjoy hurting me? You are aware he wants to de-ball me, right?"
"That's because you do nasty stuff with his little cousin" Scott snorted, before remembering what happened in the jeep. "Really nasty stuff".
"He hated him long before that, don't worry" she said, much to Stiles' offence.
"How are we even going to find this guy?" Scott asked, steering the conversation away from their sex life that he was, clearly, still traumatised by. "If he's as paranoid as you say, he's not going to be in the yellow pages".
Stiles looked over his shoulder, and both she and Scott followed his gaze towards a man who had just exited the building, and immediately, even from a distance, she recognised the same guy from the video.
"I already did" Stiles shrugged. "I emailed, pretending to be a student wanting to audit his seminar. They got back to me and told me the time and place".
Her little detective.
They watched as Doctor Fenris, briefcase in hand with his suit jacket thrown carelessly over his shoulder, slowly walked down the steps and towards the car park, passing by the back of Stiles' jeep. Both Scott and Stiles went out of their way not to look like stalkers, which just made it more obvious that they were, indeed, stalking.
"Subtle," she snorted at their inability to remain calm and collected.
"Come on" Stiles whispered in a hushed voice, already taking off after the man. Scott joined him, walking not so inconspicuously. Scott looked awkward and guilty, whilst Stiles had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and, to her, they both looked like complete and utter hooligans.
Cute hooligans, but hooligans nevertheless.
She rolled her eyes and sauntered behind them, just as Doctor Fenris glanced back over his shoulder, clocking that he was being followed and beginning to look a bit nervous.
"I think he saw us" Scott whispered.
"Oh jeez, ya think?" she chuckled, "you both look like thugs right now. Especially you, bubs. The backwards cap is hot and all, but anyone could easily assume you belong to a gang".
Stiles glanced over his shoulder, an expression of surprise twisting his features. "Bubs?"
She went a little pink at the sappiness that had just accidentally escaped her. "I don't know, the nickname just slipped out".
Doctor Fenris looked over his shoulder again, panicked that they were still on his trail.
"I think he thinks we're following him" Scott muttered.
"No, he doesn't" Stiles denied.
"I mean, we kind of are, aren't we?" she asked, just as the Doctor glanced back at them and seemed to pick up his pace.
"He's walking faster".
"No, he's not" Stiles denied again.
"Then we're definitely walking faster".
Stiles winced. "That's because he's walking faster".
"He probably thinks we're going to mug him" Scott groaned in panic.
"We're not going to mug him; we're just going to talk to him" Stiles said.
"I think he thinks we're going to mug him".
"I have a headache" she groaned, not bothering to keep her pace behind them.
"No, he doesn't. If he thought we were going to mug him, he'd be-running" Stiles realised, watching as Doctor Fenris began to run – and by run, she meant a very light jog. He wasn't exactly going to win any gold medals at the pace he was going.
She hung back and watched as the two boys suddenly broke out into a sprint, chasing the poor unsuspecting Doctor across the car park and brutally knocking him to the ground just as he got to his car. All three of them went 'splat' to the tarmac, making her question every single one of her life decisions that had led to this one singular moment.
"Oh boy" she sighed, sauntering over to them slowly whilst she rubbed her temples, arriving just as Doctor Fenris exclaimed, "About what?"
The two boys never said anything, looking at each other in quiet panic.
"About werewolves" she cut in bluntly, much to Scott and Stiles' mortification. "And everything else that goes bump in the night".
No one said anything; the echo of the doctor's shout still rang in the air as three pairs of astonished eyes stared at her in shock.
"That, uh... that wasn't very subtle, Kaylz" Stiles muttered.
"And chasing the poor guy across the car park and assaulting him was?"
Her boyfriend winced. "Good point".
Doctor Fenris struggled to his feet, and Scott rushed to help him, but the man denied it, looking at them in distaste.
"I don't talk about that anymore".
"Why?" she persisted shamelessly, causing him to stare at her in unease. His gaze seemed to flicker with a little bit of recognition, a frown pinching his brows, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. The doctor visibly shook himself free of that thought.
"Because it's nonsense. All of it".
"Please?" Scott continued, "it will only take a few minutes-"
"I said no" Doctor Fenris repeated, giving them a death stare. "Now leave me alone".
He got in his car and began to drive off, much to Scott's dismay.
"Should we kidnap him?" she asked.
"We're not kidnapping him" Stiles said, internally facepalming.
"People always break under torture".
"We're not going to torture him either".
"Oh" she muttered in disappointment.
"But-" he continued, breaking out into a devious smile. "-We are going to follow him".
"So, torture is off limits, but apparently stalking is A-okay?"
"Stalking is harmless" Stiles insisted, hurriedly waving at and urging them all to hurry back to the jeep. "Torture isn't".
Despite the delay, Stiles soon caught up with Doctor Fenris' sedan, tailing it along the dark, nearly empty road.
"You're riding his bumper".
Stiles scoffed at his best friend. "I am not".
She couldn't help but chuckle because Scott was dead right. "You're so far up his ass, you can see his tonsils".
He tapped the brakes, slowing down a little. "Better?"
"Marginally" she shrugged, "but also, you don't exactly have the most inconspicuous vehicle".
Stiles looked at her in offence. "Are you calling Roscoe weird?"
"I'm calling her one of a kind. He's going to remember your jeep from the parking lot".
"You didn't seem to mind her weirdness when I was fucking you in it".
Scott groaned from the backseat. "Don't remind me".
Doctor Fenris' car turned into a side street, and Stiles chose then to slow a little, hanging back and watching as he parked by the side of a house at the end of the street. A simple bungalow that looked a little weathered and in need of maintenance, but cosy. Probably a bachelor living pad. She didn't notice a wedding ring on his finger.
Stiles rolled to a slow stop opposite the house, keeping low and switching off the engine. They all sank beneath the windows as the Doctor grabbed his briefcase and headed indoors, shutting the door behind him.
"Now what?" she asked, unsure what Stiles' plan was.
"Now we wait" he said. "Then we break in".
They waited an hour, and by then the sky was black and gloomy, late evening fast approaching.
Kayla checked her phone, the screen lighting up. It was only 9.12pm. Not quite curfew time yet.
She sighed again, for what felt like the millionth time, and pocketed her phone. "Can we break in now?"
"Not until he leaves or goes to bed" Stiles repeated for the same millionth time.
"And if he does neither?"
"Then we have his address. We'll come back another time".
Luckily for them and their sanity, a couple of minutes later, Doctor Fenris left his house and headed to his car, driving off. They waited a minute or two to check the coast was clear, then they all bounded out of the jeep and beelined straight for his house.
As this was Stiles' idea, he went first. Skirting around the outside of the front of the house, and when he realised there were no windows open, he pushed open the gate into the backyard.
"Do you even know how to break into a house?" she chuckled, sauntering behind the two best friends who were looking like guilty little criminals.
"I know how to pick a lock" he insisted.
"Do you have anything to pick a lock with?"
He shot her a glare. "I seemed to have left my hardened criminal kit at home".
She snorted under her breath in amusement.
"I still think this is a bad idea" Scott groaned.
"You say that about all of my ideas".
"Your last bright idea got him bitten by Peter and turned into a werewolf" she said.
"Not my fault that his asthmatic ass couldn't run quick enough" Stiles insisted.
"Point proven" Scott nodded in agreement. "They're all bad ideas".
Stiles stopped and turned back to look at them, his gaze flicking between the two now standing side by side. "I don't like it when you two gang up on me".
"Get used to it" she winked, nudging Scott and playfully fist-bumping him.
"Well-" Stiles snarked sarcastically, "-you learn more from failures than successes".
Scott smirked, unable to hide his amusement as Stiles walked off. "Is that what Kayla tells you in bed to make you feel better?"
She hid her laugh behind her hand, stifling her chuckles as best she could as Stiles slowly turned around, like a God damn Dalek, and narrowed his eyes at them both.
"This team-up needs to stop, for the sake of my mental health" he declared. "I can't have my girlfriend and my best friend emotionally beating me up and chipping away at my already fragile mental state".
Scott pursed his lips thoughtfully, turning to look at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "I think he just agreed he was bad in bed".
"Werewolf thinks he's got jokes now" Stiles smirked, "Well, just remember, girls talk. About everything".
Scott frowned, not understanding what Stiles was getting at.
"And then girls tell their boyfriends, aka me, so..."
Scott's eyes widened, looking between them both in morbid panic. "You know about...?"
"Yeah" she smiled, "but it happens to every guy at least once".
"Not me" Stiles cut in proudly.
"Can we just break in already?"
Stiles flashed one more cute, obnoxious smile, knowing he had one up on Scott, and bounded up the steps to the back door, trying the handle, but it was locked. He removed his shirt, leaving him in a white tee, as he began wrapping it around his hand.
Scott quirked a brow at the bold move. "You sure about that?"
"Yeah" she agreed, "you could break your hand".
"Both of you need to have a little more faith in me. It's just glass".
"I could pick the lock with my bra wire" she offered, making both boys frown at her. "Trust me, it works. Bras are very multifunctional, you know. That's how I dug the bullet out of Isaac's leg after I shot him".
"Keep your bra on" Stiles insisted, before glowering at Isaac's name. "Especially around Isaac".
He finished wrapping the shirt around his fist, took a deep breath, and sent it careening towards the glass panel on the door. Unfortunately, as expected, the glass did not break or even rattle in the pane.
Stiles winced, trying to hold in his shouts of pain. "Son of a mother freaking bi...."
"Can I try my bra wire now?"
Stiles shrugged his shirt back on, rolling his eyes. "Scott is right there".
"Scott has also seen my boobs before".
"D-Don't remind me about that".
"Or I can kick the door down?" she suggested.
"That makes a lot of noise. Maybe I could climb up and into the attic and-"
"Just let me kick the door down" she groaned.
"Or we could use the key?" Scott cut in, and both of them turned around to see Scott holding the key between his fingers, having found it under the doormat.
"No wonder people keep being murdered here" she said. "Who the hell hides a key under the doormat?"
"You hide yours in your plant pot" Stiles reminded her.
"Better than a doormat".
As they were bickering, Scott opened the door, and they all filtered inside.
The kitchen was small and cosy, but homely nonetheless. A little outdated, but she supposed interior decorating wasn't at the top of the Doctor's priority list.
"So what is it we're looking for again?" Scott asked.
"He said he had done tons of research, so he's bound to have books, journals, photos, that kind of thing".
"If we steal it, he'll know we've been here" she said, "and it won't be hard to guess who stole it, considering you two tackled him in the carpark".
"We're not going to steal anything" Stiles replied, holding up his phone. "I'll take pictures".
"Good plan".
"Thank you" Stiles responded, thinking it was one of them that spoke, but it wasn't. They all glanced to the side to see Doctor Fenris emerging from the hallway and into the kitchen, holding a gun that was pointed at Stiles.
From beside her, Scott froze, and Stiles stumbled backwards so they were all in a line, facing off against one man and his gun.
"Get out" the Doctor demanded, shaking the gun, threatening to prove he meant business. "Get out of my house. Right now. Get out".
"Uh... absolutely" Stiles agreed, gulping as he grabbed her hand and turned around, but she pulled him back, making him stumble. It was only a gun, and she doubted he could shoot all three of them at once, so the odds of not getting shot were three to one – or 66.333333%. She'd survived worse.
"Just five minutes. Please?" Scott asked breathlessly, "then we'll go".
"If you can't see the gun in my hand, then I can recommend a good eye doctor; otherwise, get out of my house or I'll shoot you".
"Well, your first mistake is not aiming at our heads. People survive bullet wounds all the time".
"Kaylz?" Stiles whispered, "I love you, but please shut the hell up".
"Five minutes is all we need" Scott persisted, "please?"
"I changed my name and moved to stop getting harassed by nutjobs like you".
"So, you still believe?" she asked, his eyes falling on her. "You didn't deny it".
"What I believe is none of your business".
"We believe too," Scott said, "and I don't think you're going to shoot us"
It must have been Scott's puppy dog eyes that sealed the deal, because the Doctor hesitated, the gun lowering a little.
"And why is that?"
"Don't Doctors take an oath? To do no harm?" Scott plucked out of thin air – risky, but worth it.
Doctor Fenris sighed and completely lowered the gun. "I hate that oath. You can have your five minutes".
"Huh... I guess you were right" she said, "we didn't have to torture him".
Stiles sighed in exhaustion whilst Scott looked at her in panic, as the Doctor sent her an alarmed look, his finger twitching around the trigger on the gun.
"We... We were never actually planning on torturing you" Stiles gulped.
"Speak for yourself," she scoffed, "I was thinking about it. I know all the pressure points".
After that, Doctor Fenris kept a special, close eye on her. Every time he did, she could tell he was remembering her face from somewhere, but he couldn't place where from. She made a mental note to ask him once they had gotten Scott the answers he wanted.
He led them through to his office, filled and cluttered with books and stacks of paper, articles and pictures pinned to the walls.
"So, what is it you three want to know?"
"What made you believe?" Scott asked, as they all sat down on the sofa, Kayla squished in the middle.
Doctor Fenris bent down, searching through his filing cabinet. "I was living in Wisconsin, and a woman was rushed into my ER, unconscious. I was told it was a hunting accident. That an arrow intended for a white-tailed deer hit her instead. I removed the arrow, and then she woke up. Thirty minutes later, the wound was gone".
"You mean healed?" Stiles asked.
"As if it never happened" the doctor replied in awe, grabbing a file and standing up. "I learnt two things that day. There are some people in this world who can heal in a way that science can't explain. Imagine what that means to somebody who has dedicated his life to healing? It's like catching a glimpse of a holy grail. It's fascinating".
"And what's the second thing?" Scott asked hopefully.
"There are some people who want to kill them".
"And which one are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Like humans, there are good ones, and there are bad ones" Doctor Fenris replied. "I believe the good ones, with these extraordinary abilities, can be an amazing addition to this world. But I also believe that the bad ones – the ones that hurt people, need to be stopped".
"You mean killed" she corrected.
"Not killed. Locked up" he clarified. "There are still so many things we could learn from them. We can't let that go to waste".
"So, you're proposing experimenting on them? I don't think that's exactly ethical, Doctor" she added sarcastically.
"You've misunderstood me. These incredible creatures are unfairly feared and have been hunted and persecuted because of ignorance and fear of the unknown. But the more we learn about them, the less frightening they seem" he explained. "This is why I went public with my findings. Because I believed the world, and the people in it, deserved to know the truth".
"And you don't think that now?" she guessed, because a man in hiding, sitting on years of research and findings, did not scream pro truth.
Doctor Fenris sucked in a breath between his teeth, the question seeming to torment him a little. "I do. However, I don't think the world is ready for that just yet".
Fair. She didn't think so either. The world was too full of hate and obnoxiousness to ever fully accept the supernatural.
"The woman ran off as soon as she was healed" he said, continuing with his story. "I spent five years tracking her from just one photograph of her and this young man... who I found out later was her son".
He dropped the file on the table, and almost immediately, she recognised her aunt, Talia Hale, and a young, prepubescent Derek in the background.
What the hell were the chances of that?
"I eventually found her here, in Beacon Hills, but I didn't get a chance to talk to her. Then her son disappeared too".
It didn't take long for Scott and Stiles to make the connection, either, all of them shooting each other horrified and surprised glances. Suddenly, she wished she wasn't sitting on the couch of this guy. Something about him was off, and she didn't trust his story entirely.
She picked up the picture, a pang of sadness sitting her square in her chest. "Did you find out her name?" she asked, seeking clarity and confirmation.
"I did. Her name was Talia Hale, and that is Derek Hale. She died in a house fire before I got the opportunity to speak with her. The son, I believe, moved to New York with his older sister. It was a terrible tragedy. Ten people died, with only two survivors".
There was his first slip-up. Two survivors. He definitely knew more than he was pretending to. Officially, there was one survivor, and that was Peter. No one outside her family knew she was there. This Doctor Fenris did, though, which was another puzzle piece fitting into place. The hazy picture of her past was slowly starting to make more sense, with still lots of unanswered questions.
"Two?" she asked, dropping the picture to the table and turning to face him as he searched desperately for something. "The official reports state there was only one survivor".
"Officially, there was" Doctor Fenris continued, still a little distracted as he moved some things about on his desk. "Unofficially, there was a young girl. The middle brother of Talia and Peter Hale's little girl. My theory is that they all gathered for the Wolf Moon, which just so happened to be the night of the fire, to perform these rituals and rites of passage to draw power from one another. And, although it made them more powerful, it also made them more vulnerable and susceptible to attacks being together in one place. The hunters took advantage of that".
She felt Stiles reach out to cup her thigh, silently reassuring her.
"And what happened to that little girl?" she asked, finally this-close to getting the answers she had been searching for.
"I treated her as best I could, within my scope of practice. Unfortunately, my... remedies proved ineffective. Surviving a fire that killed ten members of your family, can you imagine?"
Unfortunately, she could.
"The next time I saw her, her memories had been wiped. That's another ability werewolves – more specifically,Alphas – have. They can steal and alter a person's memories, even going as far as planting fake ones. A truly remarkable skill, if I do say so myself. However, it's a very surface-level treatment. The effects of trauma are still there, and don't ever get erased".
She knew that, too.
"She would be a very fascinating case study to explore" he added, and she frowned at the curiosity in his voice, narrowing her eyes. No one was going to experiment on her, that was for sure.
She remained quiet, not pushing the topic any further. Unsure if she wanted him to know that the same girl he treated and was so 'fascinated' by was actually sitting on his sofa right now.
Doctor Fenris seemed frustrated, slamming his open palms on his desk.
"Is everything okay?" Scott asked.
"Yes, my housekeeper doesn't like me smoking, so she hides my cigarettes".
Stiles' hand remained curled around her thigh protectively, his gaze a little nervous as he flitted his eyes between her and the Doctor.
"You're a doctor and you smoke cigarettes?"
Doctor Fenris sent them an agitated glare. "I think your time is up".
"Okay, but just one more question, please" Scott said, yearning to know the answer he had been searching for this whole time.
"What is it?"
"Is there a cure?" Scott asked hopefully, still aching for a normal life.
"A cure for what?"
"For bitten werewolves, ones that don't inherit the werewolf gene... is there... is there a cure? A cure to not be a werewolf anymore?"
She didn't think there was, but she didn't know everything. Maybe, out there, somewhere, there was.
"Yes" Doctor Fenris said, much to all of their surprise. "Cut them in half. Death cures all ailments".
She snorted, rolling her eyes. "We mean a cure to return to being human again. Not a cure that puts you six feet under".
"I researched this for fifteen years, and I've never heard of a cure" he replied. "Unless... Unless, I suppose, theoretically, there are ways to drain power that could sap all of the supernatural essence from one's body".
"How can that be done?" she asked.
"My primary focus was on werewolves, but along the way, I discovered the world is full of so many more things out there that many people could never comprehend. Strigoi's, for example. A rare, but incredibly dangerous creature. The folklore is rooted in Romanian mythology, in which a troubled spirit rises from the grave. Similar to vampires. But what I found was so much worse. These creatures are... vengeful. They are born from a violent death, by the hands of a supernatural creature, and can only sustain living by draining their victim's life force. Not blood, but their actual life source. In theory, creatures such as that could potentially drain someone's power enough to return them to human, but it could also kill them".
Sounded like something out of a twisted fairytale told to children to make them behave. Like the Boogeyman.
"Why do you three want to know all this?" Doctor Fenris asked. "You're just kids".
Unfortunately, they weren't. Not anymore.
"Maybe we believe" Scott answered honestly, "and maybe we just wanted some answers".
Doctor Fenris looked between the three of them, clearly unnerved and a little unsure of the interaction they had just had, unable to put his finger on exactly why the three teens were sitting on his sofa.
"Well... be careful what you choose to believe in and pursue. In some ways, it ruined my life. Sometimes I wished I had left well enough alone".
"Sometimes people don't have a choice" she replied.
The Doctor blew out a long breath, extending his arm to the door. "I believe your five minutes are up. Don't let me catch you here again".
They stood, accepting defeat. The answers they got for now would have to do.
Stiles left first, then Scott, with her just behind, but Doctor Fenris gently touched her elbow, coaxing her attention back to him.
"Do I know you?" he asked, a deep crease between his brows. "Have we met before? You look familiar".
She wanted answers. But she also wanted not to get pursued because some overly curious Doctor wanted to play with the inner workings of her brain. Her brain had been fucked with enough in her short life, and she wasn't going to let it get toyed with anymore.
"No... No, I don't think so" she lied smoothly, hoping the story of the Hale fire and the 'young girl' hadn't jogged up some memories for him. "Thanks for your time".
A/N) I rewatched that webisode, and I couldn't NOT put it in haha. I know it's meant to be between seasons 1 and 2, but I made it fit here. Plus, I don't think its canon, because in the webisode they make out that Doctor Fenris is still only speculating about the supernatural, but in later seasons, he actually works in Eichen House in the locked ward, so clearly knows about supernatural creatures and has done for some time, so I adjusted it a little where, in this, he is already working at Eichen house and knows about the supernatural... also, he's linked to Kayla's past. We'll definitely find out more in later chapters, because, oh boy, there's SO much to do with the fire, and thereafter, that got wiped and she doesn't know about. Any guesses? Haha.
Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Episode 4 is definitely next, I just LOVE adding in so much detail to this story haha, hope that's okay. Eager to hear your thoughts, and I'll see you all super soon :)