Once in a Lifetime

12

Stiles let out a sigh. "Yeah, we would have to freeze you in carbonite to get you down there."

Liam glanced between them. "Okay, then where do we get carbonite?"

"Oh, my god," Tabitha muttered.

Stiles glared at Liam. "Seriously? You haven't seen it either?"

Liam's eyes widened. "Wait! What if we put me in the trunk?"

Malia shook her head. "You'd get out of that, too."

Tabitha crossed her arms, standing across from him. "You've been a werewolf for a month. You don't have to do this. Even the Howling Commandos had more time."

His eyes met hers. "I know, but I want to. There's gotta be bigger chains, a bigger trunk or something. There has to be."

Tabitha could almost see the wheels turning in Stiles' head. "Maybe there is."

He shot her a smile; the smile he gave when he was planning something.

---

They drove to meet up with someone and arrived at an old plane hanger. A black van pulled up at the same time.

Tabitha frowned, glancing at her boyfriend. "Stiles? What is-"

He glanced to Tabitha. "Braeden. She arranged all this." He hopped out of the Jeep and turned to Braeden. "How did you manage to get a prison transport van?"

Braeden gave him a smile. "I'm a U.S. Marshal."

Stiles nodded slowly. "Yeah, I just thought that was just a cover."

Derek stepped out of his car and saw Liam. "Are we really bringing him?"

Stiles, in turn, saw Peter. "Are we really bringing him?"

Peter moved closer to them. "We're bringing everyone that we can. And considering Scott and Kira were taken the night before a full moon, we should probably get going."

"What's that mean?" Malia questioned.

Peter turned to her. "If Kate took Scott back to the same temple she took Derek, how do we know that she's not planning to do the same thing to him?"

Liam frowned in confusion. "What? She wants to make him younger?"

"Or take him back to when he wasn't a werewolf," Derek said.

Peter nodded. "A werewolf can't steal a True Alpha's power. But maybe a Nagual jaguar, with the power of Tezcatilipoca behind her... Maybe she can. So, if everyone is sufficiently freaked out, I say we get going."

Stiles shook his head. "Not yet. Not without Lydia."

Tabitha called Lydia and got no answer. She noticed a frown from Derek and shot him a questioning eyebrow to which he answered, "What's she doing at the school anyway?"

Stiles turned to Derek. "Well, we got Kira's sword, but we needed something with a stronger scent. Lydia went to get a jacket out of her locker." He attempted to call her. "Nothing."

Braeden shrugged. "If she has a car, she can catch up to us."

Peter turned to her and nodded. "That's a good point. We'll call her from the road."

Tabitha narrowed her eyes at Peter. "I don't like that idea. What if something happens to her?"

"Would you like to stay?"

Liam's eyes flicked to Tabitha. "I could call Mason. He has a study group at school."

Without taking her gaze from Peter, Tabitha said, "Good idea. I'm in back."