Soulmates | Derek Hale - Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Derek ran ahead, pausing in front of the empty loft as Maeve ran to where she hoped the kids would be. Derek froze as he spotted Luna stood in the doorway, staring ahead in confusion.
"Luna don't move," Derek called over, gently pushing her behind him as he looked into the loft.
Stiles stood by the windows, he didn't turn or talk. He was eerily silent and still.
Luna watched her uncle with a frown, "Whats wrong with uncle Stiles?"
"Thats not Stiles," Derek sighed, leading Luna away as Chris, Allison and Noah finally caught up.
They all breathed in relief spotting Luna, they stood in the hallway waiting for everyone to leave before they approached Stiles.
Maeve ran into now Talia's loft, the woman was nowhere to be found but luckily Elizabeth was in the sitting room, trying to chase after Florence who had learnt to toddle around - Freddie stubbornly stayed sat on the sofa, squeezing his stuffed elephant.
"Cora!" Maeve shouted, turning to her mother, "You guys have to leave. Go back to the house."
Elizabeth rushed into action spotting Maeve's expression, passing Florence to Cora as she thundered down the stairs, "Why?"
"Stiles is here," Maeve explained, picking up Freddie and passing him to Elizabeth.
They hurried out of the loft, Cora's mouth falling open in surprise as she glanced into the loft, spotting Stiles. With the kids out of the way they could finally focus on Stiles.
Noah and Maeve slowly walked into the loft first, Stiles turned to face them. It looked like their Stiles, but they knew it wasn't.
"Hi dad."
Maeve pulled out some handcuffs from her pocket, staring at Stiles sadly.
"You want to handcuff me?" Stiles asked, faking tears.
Noah further walked into the loft, "If my son is still here, if there's still a part of him standing here in front of me, then he'll put these on willingly and he'll come with me, because he knows I'm here to protect him from himself and from others."
Stiles held up his hands, avoiding Noahs stare as he approached the teen, taking the handcuffs from Maeve.
Noah clicked the handcuffs around Stiles' wrists, "You're not my son."
Stiles smirked, suddenly breaking the cuffs. Chris, Allison and Derek entered the loft. Stiles chuckled in amusement at them.
Allison shot her taser towards Void Stiles, but he easily caught it, twisting the electricity in his hands. Derek growled, going to attack him, but Stiles snapped Dereks shoulder, launching him across the room.
Chris pointed his gun at Stiles, Maeve instinctively stepped between them and her brother, but Derek reached forward, tugging her back. Maeve went to fight out of his arms, but seeing the murderous tint in Stiles' eyes, she knew couldn't fight this.
Noah stepped towards Stiles, "Argent, listen to me. Don't do this."
"Why not? I've done it before. Werewolves, berserkers. I can easily add a nogitsune to the list," Chris threatened.
Stiles' lips twitched in amusement seeing Noah pull out his gun, pointing it at Chris, "You're not going to shoot my son."
"You said it yourself, Sheriff. That's not your son," Chris reminded, his gun remaining pointed at Stiles.
"Put it down. Put it down," Noah demanded.
"Dad, he's going to shoot me," Void Stiles said fearfully, "He's going to kill me, Dad."
"Shut up, you!" Maeve hissed, "You're not his son!"
"Don't listen to him," Chris told the sheriff.
Noah looked around, holding up his gun fearfully, "Put it down. Now! Do it! Put it down!"
Stiles smirked over at Chris, "Pull the trigger. Come on."
"Listen to me, you put the gun down now!"
"Shoot me!" Stiles shouted.
"Put the gun down now!"
"Shoot me!"
"Put the gun down!"
"SHOOT ME!"
"Argent, you put it down!"
Maeve watched them argue, her gaze flickering between them as they shouted at each other until her focus landed on Stiles' amusement growing.
"Strife," Allison suddenly gasped, Maeve turned to her, eyes wide with realisation.
The sunset faded to dark around them, yet they continued to shout, "Put it down! Put it down!"
"Stop, stop it! This is what he wants. This is exactly what he wants!" Allison interrupted.
"Not exactly," Stiles corrected, "I was kind of hoping Scott would be here. But I'm glad you all have your guns out. Because you're not here to kill me. You're here to protect me."
Stiles backed away behind them as the oni appeared in the loft, drawing their swords. Noah and Chris shot at them but didn't make a dent. More appeared behind them, they were completely surrounded.
—
Maeve lay gasping for a breath on the floor, Derek looked equally as injured as she did. The oni didn't hold back on them. Allison helped Maeve to her feet, Maeve turned and helped Derek up, hugging him in relief.
Scott and Kira ran into the loft, looking around in alarm, "What happened?"
"They disappeared," Allison panted, "They literally just vanished."
Maeve rested her head on Derek's shoulder tiredly, she didn't know how much of this she could take. She just wanted her brother back.
"And so did Stiles," Noah sighed.
—
That evening Peter rolled his eyes at Derek sat in front of a chess board, a gaping wound on his back, "What are you doing? And more importantly, why aren't you healing?"
"It's from one of their swords. It'll heal," Derek informed him.
Peter sat in front of him, chuckling, "By playing chess?"
Maeve was upstairs trying to put Luna to sleep, who was not very impressed at the sight of her father sat with such a wound doing nothing about it.
"Back in his room, Stiles had a board with my name on one of the pieces. If this is a game to him, then I need to figure out the plays," Derek explained.
Peter stared at the board knowingly, "Not so easy to do when it's a game without rules."
"What does that mean?" Derek paused, glancing up at Peter.
"You're dealing with the kind of spirit that's lived too long to play by human rules. It's a fox spirit that chose to become human. And supposedly, that's something they can do only after about 100 years. If a kitsune is an annoying pain in the ass, then a nogitsune, which is a dark kitsune, is a freaking disaster," Peter warned, "Besides, chess is Stiles's game. It's not the game of a Japanese fox."
Maeve made her way down the stairs as Peter turned to leave, her called over to her, "Do yourself a favour and put something on that if he's not going to. Before it gets infected."
Maeve sat down opposite Derek, staring down at the board, "What if this is just another one of his distractions? Maybe the board doesn't mean anything. You need to heal, not obsess over this."
"You saw my name on the board, it was checkmate," Derek reminded, "I can't risk anyone close to me getting hurt if he's planning to hurt me."
Maeve frowned, moving across the couch to wrap her arms around him, kissing him softly, "You're only hurting yourself by not giving yourself a chance to heal."
Derek nodded slowly, resting his head against hurts. Maeve sighed contently, suddenly sitting up as a familiar buzzing filled her heightened hearing.
"Maeve?"
Maeve looked around frantically, "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Derek asked.
Maeve stood from the couch, scanning the room for sight of the tiny glowing firefly - she knew one was here.
Hurrying around, Maeve paused at the sight of Derek's wound, lurching forward at the sight of the green glowing flicker.
Derek jumped back as Maeve clapped her hands over the fly before it could fly into his wound, he stared at it with wide eyes.
Maeve held it up closely to her eyes, any other fly would've died at the impact. It continued to flicker, almost tauntingly up at Maeve. This was void Stiles making a point, his power was growing, he was watching the ones she loved.
Maeve honestly didn't know what to do.
Luna thundered down the stairs, a jar with another firefly clasped in her hands, "Look what was in my room!"
Maeve quickly took the jar from Luna, placing the fly she'd found from Derek inside. Derek made his way over, picking up Luna despite the pain in his back.
"Lu, these aren't normal firefly's, okay? Don't touch them, or let them go near you," Maeve instructed sternly.
Luna looked at the fireflys curiously, "Are they from bad Stiles?"
Derek shared a look with Maeve, "Yeah, Lu, we think they are."
"I miss uncle Stiles," Luna yawned, leaning her head on Derek's shoulder.
Maeve blinked back her tears, "We miss him too."
—
Maeve jogged up the steps to her fathers home, dragging Peter with her. She'd raced over as soon as she got the call that Stiles was home, unfortunately for Peter he happened to be with her. Running through the houses, Maeve stumbled back in shock at the sight of her brother, taped up on the couch.
"Why have you tied him up?" Maeve frowned.
"So he doesn't kill us," Scott sighed, watching in confusion as Peter approached Stiles curiously.
Peter circled around Stiles, "He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a werewolf."
"You don't think it would work?" Scott frowned.
Peter crouched in front of Stiles, "This is more a war of the mind than the body. There are better methods to winning this battle."
"What kind of methods?" Alan asked, sharing a concerned look with Maeve.
Void Stiles blinked as Peter flicked out his claws, "We're going to get into his head."
—
Maeve felt sick with nerves as she stood with Melissa and Alan, watching as they delved into Stiles' mind. Scotts eyes flew open, him and Lydia waking up with a gasp.
Scott stumbled forward, gasping as he whirled around to face Peter, "Did it work? Did it work?"
"What happened? Why didn't it work?" Lydia stressed, looking at an unconscious Stiles.
"Because it's not science, Lydia. It's supernatural. I did my part," Peter pointed out.
Stiles woke up with a gasp, tugging the tape off his mouth as he choked, Maeve hurried over in shock as he stared pulling bandages out from his throat, falling to the floor in the pile of bandages.
"Stiles?" Maeve reached out, trying to help him out of the bandages.
Stiles and Maeve scrambled back as the bandages started to grow, a hand forming from the bandages, growing into a body. The body lurched towards them, sending the adults and Lydia toppling back.
Scott and Peter tackled the body, struggling as it tried to fight back, "Hold him!"
"I'm trying!" Peter growled, holding him down into the couch.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Scott stopped, reaching to pull the bandages away from the body's face.
Stiles looked terrified as he stared back at him, the room fell silent at the revelation.
"Scott?" Stiles asked, his voice trembling.
"Scott," Alan said grimly, they all turned to find the room empty, the front door wide open.
Lydia and Maeve no where to be found.
Maeve blearily opened her eyes, blinking in confusion. Lydia was across from her in the damp corridor, lying unconscious on the floor.
"Hello Maeve."
Maeve jumped at the voice, sliding on the concrete as she whirled around. Void Stiles stood behind her, head tilted curiously. His brown eyes were filled with mischief, not the fun loving mischief that she saw in her brother, it was pure evil.
Maeve tried to stand, but she was on weak legs. She was certain she wasn't hurt, but she was so tired and exhausted.
Void stiles circled around her before crouching down, she couldn't fight him as he grabbed onto her chin, looking into her eyes, "We're overdue for a chat, don't you think?"
Maeve glared back at him, "What do you want with me? Why Stiles?"
"Ah, you haven't figure it out have you," void Stiles chuckled, "You and I have known each other for a very long time."
Maeve fell silent, staring at him in disbelief. She was finally going to get answers.
"You would be nothing without me, Diana," He chuckled loudly, "Nothing."
Maeve wriggled out of his hold, wincing in pain as her back slammed against the tunnel walls. The pain didn't subside like usual, it lingered.
"Oh, you don't believe me?" He grinned, sitting down in front of Maeve like a child, a sick grin on his face, "You were just six years old when I first saw you. You stumbled across the nematon. My personal jail."
Maeve felt her stomach drop, her eyes wide as it all suddenly clicked into place.
"A young girl in a hunting family, but so much potential. That was when you first saw your husband, wasn't it?" He asked.
Maeve refused to speak, nodding slowly. She glanced across the room, Lydia was still unconscious.
"He was there because I drew him there," he informed her, "You're a werewolf because I made you one. It was a mistake placing me in such a powerful jail, I had years messing up the supernatural balance of Beacon Hills."
"My power kept drawing you back," He grinned, "You kept stumbling across me and you never knew why. It was my power. Things that weren't supposed to happen happened because of me. Your daughter. Bringing back your dead family. Finding your dad."
"It's all because of me," void stiles said wickedly, "I can take it all away. I can make things happened that weren't destined to. I made you."
Maeve gulped, finding the courage to speak, "You chose Stiles because he was my brother, didn't you?"
"We have a winner!" He mocked, "How would the supernatural of Beacon hills try to beat me when I had it's two smartest under my grasp."
Maeve fell back against the concrete, gasping in exhaustion as he stood, strolling over to Lydia who was slowly blinking awake.
Maeve could barely process any of it, yet it all made sense. Before she could even plan an escape, her world flickered back to darkness.
—
Maeve woke to Stiles frantically shaking her awake. As her eyes opened she instantly knew it was her Stiles.
"Maeve?" Stiles gasped, "thank god!"
Maeve blinked back her tears as Stiles tugged her into a hug. He was safe. Stiles couldn't be more relived that she was okay, that the nogitsune hadn't hurt her. He wouldn't know how to cope if she was hurt, Stiles would feel responsible- Maeve was only here because she thought she was saving him.
"You need to get out of here," Stiles warned Maeve, helping her to her feet, "Everyone's outside, I need to find Lydia!"
"Stiles-" Maeve went to argue but he was already sprinting down the tunnel in search of Lydia.
He was always stubborn when it came to Lydia, it was always act first think later when it came to her. Maeve smiled slightly as she staggered out of the tunnel, young love always made her think of Derek.
—
It all happened so fast.
One moment Maeve was rushing out into the fight, the next she was shouting out for Allison, and after that it was a blur of grey and black and all Maeve felt was pain. Allison's scream silenced the group, all eyes falling on them.
Maeve stepped back, falling against Allison, blinking in shock as she stared down at her chest, blood pooling through her dirty dress. Everything seemed to stop around them, the oni vanished and the packs attention landed solely on Maeve.
"Maeve!" Isaac shouted, running across to help Allison hold her, slowly lowing her to the floor with panicked breaths.
Isaac had never seen Maeve truly hurt, he'd always seen her as invisible - She and Derek were the ones in charge, everyone turned to them when it turned bad. Isaac let out a shaky breath, who did they turn to when it was Maeve that was hurt?
The more blood that escaped from the wound Isaac knew there was a chance they could loose Maeve, he didn't know how they could have a world without Maeve in it. She was the only mother figure he'd ever known.
"Maeve?" Allison cried, gasping at the blood coating her hands, "Oh my god."
Maeve's vision blurred, she could barley see ahead, but a familiar car pulled into the lot, and Maeve was certain her chest burned more as her eyes locked with her uncle.
Chris didn't hesitate in sprinting over to them, he couldn't breathe - that couldn't be Maeve bleeding in the arms of Isaac and Allison.
"Why isn't she healing?" Allison cried, looking around frantically at the pack, "She's not healing!"
Allison couldn't breathe, it should've been her. Maeve saved her, and they had to save Maeve. Allison wished Maeve hadn't stepped in front of her, the more she cried the more she thought of Maeve's family, her kids. Maeve couldn't die.
Chris arrived to Allisons shouts, an awfully familiar sense of dread settling within him- it was like the night of the fire all over again, only this time Maeve's injuries were far more severe.
"Maeve!" Chris shouted, sprinting over to them, he dropped to his knees, gasping at the blood continuing to pool around them, "Maeve?"
Isaac pulled out his phone with shaky hands, blood smudging on the screen "I'll call an ambulance."
"Chris," Maeve wheezed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, "Tell- tell Derek a.. and the kids I l-love them."
Allison let out a sob at her words, guilt consuming her.
"No no you're not dying," Chris argued sternly, "Maeve, you're not dying."
Stiles and Lydia emerged from the tunnel, Lydia gasped in surprise, holding onto Stiles as he fell to his knees at the sight of Maeve.
She looked dead, pale as a ghost, blood surrounding her. Stiles couldn't go any closer, he couldn't see her like thy at - he couldn't watch his sister die.
He wanted to run to her, to assure her she'd be okay, that she'd survive, but he was frozen.
Maeve stared up at her uncle, all she felt was pain - part of her knew that this was it, her final moments.
"Chris," she said with a cough, speaking clearly for a moment, "Promise me you'll look after them?"
Chris couldn't deny the look in her eyes, nodding, "I promise."
At his words, Maeve smiled sadly and closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she let the pain consume her.
Allison halted, sharing a panicked look with her father as they searched for a pulse, "Maeve?"
"She's not breathing," Isaac said, his voice broken, "I can't hear anything."
—
Derek and Kieran sprinted through the hospital doors. Derek hadn't said a word since he'd gotten the phone call, he was functioning on pure panic.
He hadn't listened to a word Chris had said past it's Maeve. Laura had taken the phone from him, her cry's said it all. His family all wanted to come to the hospital, but Derek was on high alert and didn't trust his children with anyone but Talia and Laura.
Cora, Dean and Malia stayed to distract Luna, who knew something was wrong immediately. The moment her father had left she'd demanded answers, growing more frustrated when she didn't get any.
Kieran followed his brother through the corridors, his own pain over Maeve would have to wait, Derek was reckless in times like these and Kieran had to hold him back from doing anything stupid.
The first thing Derek heard was Stiles' sobs, it pulled Derek to a halt, his breathing going uneasy. Finally turning the corner, he found Stiles wrapped in Elizabeth's arms, consumed with guilt from today's events.
Noah, Lorraine and Chris sat side by side in silence, their pained looks were enough to show their struggles. Allison and Isaac sat opposite, Derek felt ill at the sight of Maeves blood drenching their clothes.
Lorraine noticed him first, for the first time in Derek's life he saw Lorraine look upset, "Derek!"
"How is she?" Kieran asked, knowing Derek couldn't.
"They got her breathing again in the ambulance, she has a collapsed lung, " Lorraine explained, smiling weakly, "She's in surgery now. We don't know why she's not healing."
"Have you called Alan?" Kieran questioned, guiding Derek over to a chair.
"He's on his way," Lorraine nodded.
"Stiles," Derek met Stiles' gaze, telling the teen softly "This isn't your fault."
Stiles' sobs silenced, he nodded slowly as he slumped down on a chair. He wouldn't stop feeling guilty until Maeve was better.
—
Melissa didn't have to say anything before Derek was running past her into Maeve's room. They'd all sat in the waiting room for hours, it was the next day before Maeve was out of surgery and allowed visitors.
Derek's heart lurched at the sight of all the wires hooking Maeve up to multiple machines, she looked so pale and frail, he had never seen her like this.
He slowly wrapped his hand around her cold fingers, lacing his through them. The chill that went through him was too familiar, his heart ached at the memories of the night his eyes turned blue. He couldn't let that happen again. He couldn't loose Maeve.
"Dammit, Maeve," He sighed, "You scared us."
Maeve blinked slowly up at him, still waking up from her anaesthesia, whispering "Derek?"
Dereks looked up sharply, his head falling back in relief at the sight of her blue eyes staring at him.
Despite the medication, she was still in pain, but she slowly lifted her hand from Derek's, tracing his cheek as she smiled sadly.
"Did we win? Is he gone?" She asked breathlessly.
Derek nodded, leaning into her touch, "He's gone, Maeve."
Maeve smiled, the assurance allowed her to fall back into her healing slumber. Derek watched her breath settle, holding onto her hand tightly, unsure if he could ever let go again.
—
Maeve watched Alan through blurry vision, her pain medication fighting with her to fall back asleep. It had been a few hours since she'd come too briefly, Alan and Archie had arrived to see if they could help her healing.
They'd been there a while, and couldn't come to any conclusions. They had one final theory, but it was a stretch. Alan glanced over at Derek cautiously, pouring the small vial of mountain ash onto Maeve's palm.
Nothing happened.
Derek blinked in shock, "That shouldn't of happened, right?"
"Correct," Alan whispered, shining a light in Maeve's pupils, Maeve blinked at the sudden light.
Archie took the mountain ash from Maeve's hand, sharing a knowing look with his father.
Maeve noticed their worried looks, "What? What's wrong?"
"Maeve," Alan started with a sigh, "From what I can tell, I believe you aren't a werewolf anymore."
Maeve looked down at her hands, trying with all her strength to transform, but no feeling was there. She felt human, she felt every pain, she couldn't hear past her room, her smell was drenched with the sterile hospital smell.
"I don't understand," Derek spoke up, "Did the oni do this?"
"No," Alan replied, "This would've been the work of the nematon."
Maeve gulped, going to sit up but the agonising pain in her chest said otherwise, "We can figure this out when I'm better... I just want to be home and healed with my family right now."
Maeve knew her encounter with void Stiles would lead to consequences, he'd said it himself. But so much had happened so quickly, and Maeve didn't know how much more she could take. She needed it to stop, she didn't even want to think about the supernatural happenings in Beacon Hills.
Alan smiled sympathetically, "Of course, I will look into this for you."
As his father left the room, Archie hugged Maeve gently, "Don't you jump in front of anymore swords while I'm gone."
Maeve let out a pained chuckle, "Not planning on it."
"Maeve," Derek said worriedly, "Are you sure you're alright about this? This is serious."
"I just want to be with my family," Maeve frowned, "I don't really care about anything else right now.
"Okay, we won't talk about it then," Derek kissed her gently, minding the oxygen tube in her nose, "i love you so much."
"Believe me, I love you more," Maeve whispered, resting her head against his.
—
Maeve smiled weakly at her brother, "No need to look so frightened, Stiles."
Stiles lingered in the doorway, hesitating to come inside. Despite her being awake for the majority of the day now, Stiles couldn't face her, he couldn't bring himself to walk into her room.
Noah led Stiles into an armchair, glancing at his son worriedly before hugging Maeve, "You really scared us, kiddo."
"Sorry," Maeve smiled innocently, colour slowly fading into her cheeks.
Noah smiled fondly, rolling his eyes as he sat. Elizabeth trailed in behind him, looking at her daughter sternly.
"I've had quite enough of your near misses with death, Diana," Elizabeth scolded, kissing Maeve's cheek as she added gently, "But I'm glad you're alright. Though idiotic, you did save Allison."
Elizabeth settled down on the chair beside Noah, smiling sadly at Stiles stood at the end of Maeve's bed.
"Stiles," Maeve looked at her brother encouragingly, "I'm okay. I'll get better."
"I saw you die, Maeve," Stiles stressed, "I stood there and I watched you dying and I did nothing."
Maeve sighed, wishing she could sit up and hug him, "I'm no stranger to injury, I promise I'm fine. I'd take this injury ten times over if it meant you were safe from that monster."
Stiles smiled despite his tears, "You're really okay?"
Maeve knew she was far from okay, but she nodded, "I'll heal, Stiles. Don't you dare blame yourself, this wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do."
Noah nudged another chair towards stiles with his foot, "You heard your sister, why don't you sit down and tell her what she's missed?"
As Stiles sat and rambled over the nogitsunes demise, Noah sent Maeve a thankful look. Noah didn't know how Stiles would've coped with the guilt if Maeve had died.
—
Laura and Jamie walked with Luna through the hospital corridors, she clutched tightly at their hands as they got closer to Maeve's ward.
Luna's godparents shared a look of concern, they'd never seen Luna so quiet. They hadn't hid the truth from Luna, she knew her mother was very sick, that if the surgery didn't go well she could've died.
Reaching the waiting room, Luna felt a wave of happiness at the sight of her uncle.
"Uncle Stiles?" She called over, letting go of Laura and Jamie's hands.
Stiles looked up, smiling weakly at his niece. He stumbled back in surprise as Luna shot across the room into his arms.
"You're back!" She exclaimed, practically cutting off his air supply with her hug.
Those still in the waiting room smiled, glad to see a glimmer of happiness.
When it came time for Luna to see Maeve, Luna looked up to her uncle in a panic. As much as she wanted to see her mother, she didn't want to see Maeve hurt.
Stiles sensed her hesitance, holding out his hand, "Why don't we go in together?"
Luna nodded, smiling sheepishly as she gripped onto Stiles' hand, letting him walk them into Maeve's room.
Luna paused at the sight of her mother so sickly, but the smile on her mother's face at her arrival told Luna all would be okay. She quickly let go of Stiles' hand, hurrying over to climb onto Dereks lap where he sat beside Maeve. Gently holding out her arms, Luna was the first to hug Maeve since she'd woken, and for Maeve it was the most important hug she'd ever get.
Maeve was alive, and her family was safe.