~~~~~

It was early in the afternoon the next day when Lydia came back. "How are the two of you?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"We're both good," Stiles answered, Lydia almost pouted. She glanced at Derek, a question in her eyes. Derek gave her a small shake of his head. He knew she was rooting for them (she wasn't trying to be subtle) so was he, if he was being truthful. And he was; he'd given up lying to himself the moment Stiles had told him... the moment he burst into Stiles' room unannounced and found out that Stiles was a vampire.

"What have you found, Lydia?" Derek asked – he knew she must've figured something out. The look on her face spoke volumes. So did her slight bouncing.

"Remember that I said most of the characteristics mentioned in the book aren't physical?" Both Stiles and Derek nodded so Lydia continued, "Well, a few of the things Stiles mentioned about... what was her name?"

"Evalyn." Stiles spat, stepping closer to Derek who instinctively wrapped an arm around him. Feeling the incessant need to protect and hide Stiles from the vile creature that had hurt him so, so much.

Lydia rose an eyebrow but went on nonetheless, "Evalyn. Yes. A few things you mentioned about her: the extremely pale skin, her serpent-like attributes, and intense beauty – they all seem to point to one vampire type." She shifted.

"And that is?" Derek asked, nervous about Lydia's behaviour. She studied them both for a moment; analysing and curious. It made Derek even more uncomfortable, and if Stiles stiffening was anything to go by, Stiles was edging that way too.

"Ophidian. Its root word 'Ophidia' is Latin but it most likely originated in Ancient Greece from the word 'óphis' meaning 'snake'." She was stalling, Derek could tell. They didn't need to know this, but what was so bad that it got Lydia, of all people, to try to postpone telling them – blunt as she was. Stiles moved from foot to foot, hands dancing with each other. He gestured for her to go on. "You probably haven't shown all the physical traits yet because you haven't been a vampire for long enough."

"Lydia, what's the catch?" Stiles interrupted.

Lydia's face softened, "I read over the way to change an Ophidian back to human and it involves getting the blood from the one who turned you." Derek's stomach fell.

The Pack hadn't managed to kill many of the vampires. They had repeatedly succeeded in slipping through their fingers and running to safety. Which meant that Evalyn was still out there, wandering around killing and potentially turning others, with her coven. Derek had considered going after them but they had fled in the night and could have been anywhere by the time Derek was informed of their departure. He might have been able to capture their scent but it appeared as though they had split up and, since they had no longer really been a threat to his Pack, it didn't seem worth the chase.

Now, though, he regretted it. Maybe if he had caught her and her coven, she would've told them about Stiles and they would've saved Stiles a lot of internal turmoil – everyone knew he had been through a lot as it were. But Derek hadn't. And it was too late now.

How were they supposed to find her?

Lydia looked conflicted. There was something else that she wasn't telling them and Stiles seemed to notice too, as he said, "Lydia, what is it? We really need the whole picture here otherwise we can't fix me." Derek growled low in his throat and tightened his grip; Stiles was not broken, just in the wrong form. There was nothing to fix they just had to return him to his human self, "Alright, change me back, then."

"You need a bite... from a true alpha."

The silence in the room seemed to be mocking them. They stood, letting the words sink in, but it was like they refused to. Sitting on Derek's skin, singing with laughter. This could not be right. After Scott's betrayal and the tests and Stiles' panic attack and everything: this had to be some sort of mistake. Stiles didn't deserve this. Not this. He'd been through so much – too much.

Yes, Scott hated Stiles being a vampire but they knew that, in his eyes, there was no saving Stiles now. He had fucked everything up so he was no longer worth the effort. It appeared Scott's "everyone can be saved" attitude did not apply to Stiles. Maybe it never had.

Getting Scott to help was less likely than finding and taking Evalyn and her blood. They all knew that to be true, no one had to say it but Stiles did nonetheless. When Lydia just nodded, Stiles pulled away from Derek to sit down on his bed. "Why couldn't it have been something – anything – else? Like, it literally would be easier to get a frog to bite me!" Stiles laughed though it sounded more like a choked sob.

"We'll figure something out Stiles," Lydia said, stepping forward. Stiles let his head rest against her stomach as she ran her fingers through his hair soothingly.

"It's not like we can just find another true alpha meandering through the forest."

"I know, Sti. I'll talk to Scott, see if we can work something out, and if not then I have some of The Pack already looking for other solutions. Your dad and Parish are keeping an eye out for any activity that may mean an alpha is nearby; I know true alphas only come once every one hundred years but it's worth a look. And if none of that works out, Derek will have to bite you and we'll have to hope for the best." It wasn't the best plan but, at the moment, it was the only one they had.

"Alright, but how are we going to find Evalyn?" Derek asked, ignoring the fact that Lydia nominated him to bite Stiles. The idea scared him: what if it turned Stiles into a werewolf, or it killed him, or... no, he'd think about that if the time came. And only then. Hopefully.

"We'll need to talk to Deaton about that, I think. I've looked into it but can't find any good location spells that we'll be able to do, and as it was months ago the wolves won't be able to scent-track her." Stiles nodded and stood up. Lydia stepped back, and Derek let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding.

*****

They arrived at Deaton's soon after, the vet was out back organising shelves. He didn't turn around when he asked: "What can I do for you?" Stiles shivered slightly. Though he and Deaton may get along better now than they used to, the guy still gave Stiles the creeps. Yes, he had helped – and still did help – Stiles a lot over the past few months but the guy was odd. And slightly too cryptic.

"Deaton." Finally, he faced them.

"Ah, Stiles, do you need more blood?"

"No, actually, we need your help." Deaton's eyebrow rose. "We need to track down the vampire that turned me." He hated saying her name – refused to if he could help it; the words "lost boy" rang in his head every time he did. The words shouldn't mean as much as they did, except maybe they were true; maybe he was lost. A vampire hanging around a bunch of wolves? It was unheard of. But even before that, when he was human, he was so fragile, so very breakable.

He could play tough and pretend to be one of them but he never truly fit. Even now, as a supernatural, he didn't fit. But it had given him a new appreciation for being human – it was true he'd never wanted to be a werewolf but that didn't mean he never envied their power. This, though, had shown him he wasn't missing out on much and for that he was glad.

Maybe he would miss the strength and the healing but being human had its perks, too. Like being in control. He didn't feel lost in his own body as a human either.

Still, the words hurt; feeling like an unfair brand that he only contributed to every time he said that name. It was a too-thick feeling that – now that he remembered everything – could suffocate him one day... if he let it. Never let it.

"We found a way to turn him back." Lydia clarified after Deaton had said nothing for a prolonged stretch of time.

They had talked about it so many times that it seemed unreal – maybe it was if Scott decided not to help. Talking about something and actually doing something about it are two completely different things. So those words said so damn confidently made it all seem palpable. Finally in reach.

Stiles leaned closer to Derek and the arm he got around his waist in response made him wonder if Derek liked vampire Stiles more than he liked human Stiles. Vampire Stiles could keep up, Vampire Stiles would become even more beautiful as he aged, Vampire Stiles was the one Derek had kissed. He didn't want to think about that right now. He wished it was that easy.

"That's good, I believe I have a way to find her if that is what you want." Stiles thought that was an odd way to put it and said as much, "I merely mean: are you sure that you are prepared for this?"

Derek spoke up, "Lydia will need to talk to Scott..." he trailed off, eyebrows raised at Lydia as if to ask, "What else is there?"

"We also need a few ingredients." Lydia handed a list to Deaton.

"Lavender, calendula, sage and... hemlock?" Lydia nodded.

"You didn't say anything about poison," Derek said, voice betraying him slightly. Stiles had to agree; he had never signed up for poison. Then again, he hadn't signed up for any of this.

"It's all mixed with her blood before he consumes it," Lydia informed them as if that fixed everything. It seemed to for Deaton though, as he nodded and started sorting through to see what he did and didn't have.

"Can someone please explain how that excuses the fact that I will be eating poison. Because last I checked that was highly dangerous, and though it might have no effect on me now, as a vampire, won't it harm me when – if – this works? You know because I will be human." Stiles would have paced but that would mean leaving Derek's side and, right now, he couldn't find the willpower to do that. So he opted for tapping his fingers against his upper arms, counting – a force of habit.

"No, the vampire's blood will prevent that." Stiles, now curious, had to ask how. Deaton took a moment before answering, "the same factor that changes and keeps humans as vampires will stop the hemlock from harming you in any negative way."

Deaton went on to explain that, in theory, the combination of ingredients added to the blood used at just the right time will cause the vampire "factor" to break down, eventually, disappearing altogether. That right time being on a new moon – when the moon would be at its weakest and, therefore, wouldn't be able to aid the vampire (a creature of the night) in any way. But it had to be done at night otherwise the vampire would burn because it couldn't be wearing any other magic. Lydia said that it would interrupt the spell and could injure Stiles' chances of being human ever again. Just the idea of that had Stiles' stomach churning.

Deaton set down three of the four ingredients. The hemlock wasn't there but that was probably for the very reason they were discussing.

"In theory?" Derek growled after they finished their lengthy explanation. Though Stiles found it interesting to know what was going to happen to him and why, that part had made him uneasy. Stiles pressed into Derek's side.

Lydia answered him, "Yeah, it has only been done a few times before and that was a long time ago. Stiles, the ophidian are a stereotypically anti-social breed. They tend to keep to themselves and with their mate, even when they're in covens." She gave them both a significant look, Stiles opted to ignore its meaning. "Which also means people don't see the need to turn them back." She went on to explain that the person who figured out the way to convert them to human had known the vampire before their forced turn and had wished to help. It was an eerily similar situation to Stiles' own.

Deaton placed a book on the table and opened it, flicking until he found the correct page. Stiles pulled away from Derek, feeling a cold tickle briefly replace him, and leaned over to see what it was.

The title read "Tracking" and underneath: "Vampire Fledgelings". And under that, it explained how to track out of control newborns. Deaton said it should work much the same since Stiles was still technically a young vampire, therefore, would still have a blood link with Evalyn.

Stiles hoped he was right.