Payment (revised)

Chapter 29

It was as Derek was about to assure Stiles he could take his time deciding that a soul piercing scream shattered their ears.

It was unmistakable.

Erica was back.

~~~~~~~~~~

Stiles had thrown on the first clean clothes his hands landed on.

Derek had already raced from the room to get to their pack mate.

Something was very wrong. Erica wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow night, which was the time the rest of the pack would be arriving. Then again, with the day Stiles had survived so far, was it a surprise that it had ended this way?

Stiles had hid it from Derek, but he had been terrified the moment he had stepped into that room with The Alphas. The only thing that had kept him putting one foot in front of the other was knowing that Derek was counting on him.

Derek had agreed to let him help.

Stiles wasn't going to mess it up, but the amount of strength that had radiated throughout that room had been suffocating. It had taken everything in Stiles to keep his own air of superiority in place.

Stiles had willed himself to be strong; he had ensnared one of the most influential men in the city to do his bidding. He could do anything.

This time around, he had chosen to become a beautiful lie to ensure a partnership. He'd been striking, unmissable, a shiny new toy to play with, but it hadn't been enough. Stiles knew it deep down.

Though the one with glassy eyes had given Stiles his full attention, it was like he had been talking to a brick wall. They all heard him, all of them were giving him the floor to speak his piece, but no one was listening to him. It had been like pulling teeth with a spoon.

He had tried everything to generate some sort of response in them.

Playing on their humane, empathetic side hadn't given him more than a bored yawn from the big one. So he had gone to the next weapon in his arsenal. He provoked them, slashing them with sharp words before pulling back just as quickly, trying to entice them in a game of words. It was what he did best after all, but none of them had yielded, even the girl who had been eyeing Stiles like she wanted to crush him.

He had given them his story, real and exaggerated.

First, how he had come to meet Derek and his pack; then how he had worked his way up the chain of command until he had climbed all the way to the top. He had explained the situation with The Argents, how the offenses made against The Hale Pack would not go unchallenged any longer. Then he asked The Alphas for their support.

None of them had seemed mildly interested. It was as if they had already made up their minds before they had even taken a step into the building.

Derek said it was natural for them to keep stoic, but it was eating him alive.

Nonetheless, Stiles forced the probing thoughts to drop as he made it down the last flight of stairs. He had something more pressing to deal with.

Derek and Erica were sitting in the foyer. Derek was blocking most of the girl from view, but Stiles could see her blonde hair peeking out around the man's frame. Stiles found it odd they were sitting on the front entrance's decorative couches instead of the private lounge for the pack. That was the room that was the real heart of the building.

As Stiles drew closer, he need not question it further.

Erica was shivering.

Not shivering, that made it seem as if she had been rattled in some way which wasn't the case. Whatever thinly layered control Erica exuded normally seemed to have vanished. What had been unleashed was not meek, but a hunter. Erica wasn't shivering, she was shaking with built up rage.