┌─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┐
extra number three!
TO CAPTURE A KANIMA
└─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┘

─ ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─

context:
now aware that jackson is
the kanima, the hale pack is
at a party to try and figure
out who its master is.
scott, stiles, and
allison are also a
part of this scheme.

─ ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─

( 2x08: raving )

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

THE LIGHTS ARE nearly blinding as Vera maneuvers her way through the crowd in search of Jackson. The white flashes of the strobes cause her to squint, pushing her way through the horde of dancing bodies. The people here are oblivious to the danger lurking right beneath their noses. They're carefree for the moment, but they have no idea that a homicidal man-lizard with paralyzing venom is lurking in their midst.

The music is so loud and bass-heavy that she can hardly think straight. The floor shakes with every thump of the speakers that pulse to the beat of the current song— some electronic melody that encourages people to dance. Vera winces at the deafening sound, feeling a headache coming on as she cranes her neck around the dance floor in search of her target.

A hand encloses around her wrist. She turns with a jump, instinctively raising her fist to strike the person, but it's just Isaac. She keeps her arm up even as she hisses, "What?"

He pauses for a moment, his gaze appearing to linger on the fishnet tights beneath her black shorts, complete with her black boots that barely make a difference in her height. She clears her throat as a prompt for him to continue. He snaps out of it after she raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"We found him," he tells her, leaning down so she can hear him over the noise. She belatedly notices that Erica is standing behind him and that he has a syringe in his other hand. When he realizes she's staring at it, he explains, "Ketamine. It should knock him out. We have to distract him."

"You've come to the right place, then," Vera says, finally lowering her fist back to her side. "Where is he?"

Isaac leads her through the throng of dancing people with Erica in front. At first, Vera can't tell the difference between the passing faces until the blonde girl saunters closer to a familiar brunet boy, placing a hand on the back of his neck and wasting no time in moving her lips toward his ear. Though Jackson had clearly been focused on something prior to her arrival, his head turns in response to the distraction.

She realizes Erica's intentions almost immediately. What's more distracting than pretty girls?

Vera slips from Isaac's grip and moves to Jackson's other side. Her hand trails over the broad planes of his chest, a seductive smirk pulling up the corners of her lips as she meets his eyes from beneath her lashes. She turns around so she's facing Erica and Isaac, grasping Jackson's hand and placing it on her body to roam wherever it pleases. His palm grazes the bare skin of her abdomen where the fabric of her skin-tight tank top ends. Wherever he touches sends shivers down her spine, her back arching against him so her backside grinds into his hips.

She never thought she'd be dancing like this with Jackson Whittemore of all people, but life loves to throw her curveballs.

Erica gives her a subtle nod of approval. That must mean it's working. Jackson's hand gradually drifts upward until it cups her breast, his hot breath fanning over her neck and followed by his lips. Her mouth drops open in a sigh that isn't necessarily for show as he kisses the sensitive skin. Erica's grin is all glittering teeth as she presses herself against Vera's front, sandwiching her between them. Vera half pays attention to her, half to Isaac, mostly unsure of who her hands are touching and where.

Vera's senses are overloaded from the strobe lights and deafening music. She sees Erica's mouth, painted dark pink, and her dark eye makeup. A flash and then she's looking at Jackson's face. His hands explore both of the girls in front of him, his expression clouded with the lustful desires of the teenage boy trapped inside a monster.

Her eyes turn heavenward— only to snag on Isaac's dark gaze from over Erica's shoulder. She sees a glint of silver in the corner of her vision.

Shit. If he moves now, Jackson will definitely be able to see the syringe coming. She needs to amp it up.

Before she can think twice about it, she's grabbing the nape of Jackson's neck and pulling him down until their lips connect. This is another thing she'd never expected to happen. Yet here she is, with their mouths moving in slow synchronization as she subtly waves at Isaac to hurry up with her free hand.

Then she's being ripped away from Jackson's grip so quickly she topples onto her backside with a grunt. Her eyes snap open to see Erica with the boy's kanima claws deep in the flesh of her shoulder, his other hand embedded in Isaac's arm. Erica had pulled Vera out of the way before she could get hurt.

"He belongs to me," Jackson growls in an inhuman voice that's audible even over the blaring music. He yanks his claws out, the two Betas subsequently dropping to the floor at the sheer force. The syringe clatters to the ground as well. Vera and snatches it before it can be crushed by Jackson's shoe. Then he moves on, paying them no mind as if the entire ordeal hadn't happened.

Well, good to know she'd done all that for nothing. Vera wipes the remnants of Jackson from her mouth and cringes at the smears of lipstick that come off on her hand.

The mostly drunk, dancing people around them don't seem to care about three teenagers sprawled out on the ground. Isaac fights against the pain and holds a hand out to Vera, his face contorted in determination. She grits her teeth as she strains to pass the ketamine to him without getting stepped on. Eventually, the metal syringe makes it into his hand and he clumsily rises to his feet, stumbling after Jackson.

Vera doesn't see what happens next. Isaac is swallowed by the crowd almost immediately, so all she can do is stand and help Erica up as well. She slips her way past a few people until she reaches her friend. Holding out a hand, she waits for Erica to accept it before hauling her to her feet.

"You okay?" Vera questions over the music. She quickly examines Erica's bare shoulder. The puncture wounds are already beginning to close, her pale flesh knitting back together without even a speck of blood left behind.

Erica nods, flicking a strand of straightened hair out of her eyes with a huff. "I'm just glad I didn't break a heel."

Vera crooks a grin at the typical Erica response. "Thanks for the save, too."

"No problem. I thought we had him, though." Then, her head abruptly snaps to the side as she listens to something Vera can't hear. Her brown eyes illuminate with excitement. "He got him. Isaac got him. Come on!"

She tugs Vera along, her werewolf strength causing them to shove through the cluster on the dance floor easily. The still-healing claw marks in her shoulder don't seem to bother her as the two girls head straight for a nondescript door on the side of the warehouse. Erica yanks it open to reveal Isaac plopping a seemingly unconscious Jackson onto a metal folding chair near the far wall. The room is as dark as the rest of the building and just as disgusting, with a rust-covered sink in the corner and grime-coated pipes lining the walls.

Vera closes the door behind her and nonchalantly fixes her top along with the army green jacket over it. Erica gives her a smirk as she tames her blonde locks. Isaac rolls his eyes, joining them on the other side of the room from the slumbering beast trapped in a boy's skin.

A moment later, the door whisks open with a loud bang! that causes Erica to raise a fist to knock the intruder out. Before she can, though, the panicked voice of Stiles Stilinski screams.

"AH! No, no, no! It's just me! It's just me!" he exclaims, giving the wolves a moment to relax before letting himself in. The music fades as he shuts the door behind him. "Don't freak." The boy runs a hand over his buzzcut before turning to an unresponsive Jackson. "Is he okay?"

Isaac steps forward curiously. "Well... let's find out."

He flicks his hand out, extending his claws. However, when he reaches down to slash the boy across the chest, Jackson's hand instinctively snaps up and seizes Isaac by the wrist. Isaac's supernatural strength usually shields him from the pain of most injuries, but since the kanima is known to be stronger, it's no surprise when he begins to double-over in pain and releases an agonized cry. He bends with the sickening twist that Jackson is doing with his arm, the tendons in his neck turning prominent with strain.

Then he's released. Isaac stumbles away with a gasp, clutching his fractured wrist and breathing heavily through his mouth.

Vera raises her eyebrows. "Guess he's still a bit lucid."

Isaac shoots her a glare and huffs wolfishly through his nose, perching on the edge of the sink as he groans in pain.

"Okay, no one does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles scolds him like an angry mother.

Erica nods in understanding. Though Vera doesn't have the supernatural means to even try something like that on a murderous kanima, she copies the motion if it'll make Stiles feel better.

Isaac continues moaning and groaning. "I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out."

"Yeah, well, apparently this is all we're gonna get," Stiles sighs. "So let's just hope that whoever's controlling him just decided to show up tonight."

Vera jumps when Jackson's eyes snap open, his green irises glaring up at them venomously. She seems to be the only one to notice. Her voice comes out full of alarm when she says, "Uh, guys?"

All three of their heads jerk up just as the same demonic voice as before comes out of Jackson's mouth. "I'm here. I'm right here with you."

Stiles holds a cautious hand out to the rest of them as he carefully inches forward until he's standing in the middle of the room, slowly crouching down like Jackson is a rabid animal. "Jackson, is that you?"

"Us," he replies, his eyes glittering with so much fury and yet his expression so blank that it's unnerving. The ominous downward tilt of his chin sends chills down Vera's spine. "We're all here."

Stiles turns his head to share an alarmed glance with Vera, who urges him on with a wave of her hand. The boy wets his lips anxiously before turning around and continuing the interrogation. "Are you the one killing people?"

"We're the ones killing murderers."

"So all the people you've killed so far—"

"Deserved it," Jackson — or the person controlling him — continues with more poison in his voice than before. It comes out hissing through gritted teeth.

"You see, we got a little rule book that says you only go after murderers."

"Anything can break if enough pressure's applied."

Vera has to admit that it's a pretty good point. There must be some loophole that the kanima master has figured out, because the chances of every victim so far being a murderer are low. Most are in their early twenties. Beacon Hills has a lot of problems, but that many murderers is unrealistic even for the hellish town.

Stiles forges on, struggling to make sense of the fragments of information he's being given. "Alright, so the people you're killing are all murderers, then?"

"All," Jackson confirms. "Each. Every one."

"Well, who did they murder?"

"Me."

Vera's brow pinches in confusion. She shares a look with Erica to see if she understands, but the tall blonde looks just as perplexed by the revelation.

Stiles doesn't get it, either. His head tilts in confusion as he asks, "Wait, what do you mean?"

"They murdered me."

Isaac rises to his feet, the traces of pain on his face replaced with grim determination as he and Erica raise their guards. Vera sets her feet in case she needs to fight.

Jackson's eyes glow orange and reptilian-like, the shape of his pupils transforming from circles to slits. His face and shoulders contort inhumanely. Bones crack and shift with each movement, causing her to wince at the nauseating sounds.

The voice comes out in a roar this time. "They murdered me!"

"Stiles, get back," Vera orders apprehensively, noticing with dismay that the short-haired boy is way too close to the shifting kanima for comfort. When he doesn't move, she reaches forward and grabs the collar of his jacket, yanking him back. His legs struggle to keep him upright as she drags him to the corner of the tiny room.

"Okay, more ketamine," Stiles says, eyeing the venomous claws now protruding from Jackson's nails. "The man needs ketamine, come on."

Isaac holds up the empty vial without taking his eyes off of the threat. "We don't have any more."

Stiles closes his eyes in exasperation, turning to him incredulously. "You used the whole bottle?"

Erica jabs Stiles and Vera's shoulders to gain their attention, nodding toward Jackson. Vera turns to him, her heart struck with cold terror as he rises slowly from the chair. The right side of his body is already beginning to cover itself in gray scales. When he roars at them, his teeth are razor-sharp.

"Um..." Stiles stammers, coherent words seeming to have fled his vocabulary. When the rest of Jackson's bones begin to shift, he seems to find his bearings. "Okay, out. Everybody, out!"

Isaac is already shoving Stiles toward the door, propelling Vera into motion so she doesn't get trampled by all three of them. His fearful voice shouts over the furious pounding of her heartbeat. "Go, go, go, go!"

Vera bursts into the open air first. Once they're all out, each of them slams against the door in an effort to block Jackson from escaping.

"Okay, find something to move in front of the door," Stiles orders.

Before any of them can react, the wall bursts open when the kanima breaks right through the metal. Vera ducks to cover her face from the shrapnel that flies out at them. Erica's arm circles around her, tucking Vera's head in so she doesn't get impaled.

Vera glances up once it's safe to do so, banging her head against the door with a long-suffering sigh of, "Fuck."

______

a/n:

here is the inspo behind vera's club fit:

queen of fishnet tights fr

i have been waiting AGES for you guys to read this and im so excited to finally publish it! i hope you liked the verica content because i love them🥹 and also the stera content because stiles is reluctantly becoming her friend LMFAO.

this scene invented bisexuality and i'm glad i got to publish it during pride month🩷💜💙 isaac x erica x vera x jackson best quartet ever

also pour one out for vera for committing to the bit and kissing jackson😔

— kristyn

( word count: 2.5k )