c h a p t e r t w e n t y f i v e
the weekend after

Harper Verum and Stiles Stilinski had been inseperable since the moment she had woken up in her hospital room, the pair of teenagers completely bathing in their honeymoon phase. Ever since those three magic words had escaped either of their lips, they had been like broken records-- feeling the urge to repeat them again and again and again.

Softly, happily, gently... Stiles was pretty sure he would never get used to hearing Harper tell him that she loved him in a way that wasn't platonic or sisterly. Never in a million years did he think he would ever get her to fall in love with him. The hazel-eyed boy was pretty sure that if he could go back and tell his twelve-year-old self what he'd be doing in the future then Younger Stiles would have a heart attack.

Now, she was sat up in her hospital bed in front of him. He decided that she looked as beautiful as ever, her skin a little paler than usual, her dark hair left natural and tucked behind her ears. The hospital gown she was wearing was a little big and it looked like it was swallowing her whole from where she sat cross-legged.

His large hand traced one of the bruises on her bare knees, slender fingers giving it a squeeze when Harper looked up from her phone with a small smile. She put the device down on the mattress and leaned forwards, meeting Stiles half way in a short kiss.

"Anything from your grandma?" Stiles asked, jerking his head towards her mobile phone.

"No. Nothing," Harper sighed. "Your dad's going over to mine to check on her, right?"

"Right," Stiles nodded, pressing a small kiss to her forehead. "I'm sure she's fine. She probably just forgot she has a phone or something."

Harper giggled a little, but it didn't stop the pit of worry at the bottom of her stomach. She'd been at the hospital overnight as well as Lydia Martin, recovering from what had happened to her on the field. Melissa insisted that it was most likely from the shock of seeing Lydia get bitten by an animal and that she had hit her head on the way down, which that part was true.

Rose Verum had yet to answer her phone. She thought Harper was supposed to be sleeping at Lydia's that night anyway, but it had been more than twenty-four hours. It was night again now, and nobody had heard from Rose. Not when Melissa called, or the hospital, or Harper.

Sheriff Stilinski was heading to the Verum household to check up on her and bring her to Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, where her granddaughter was anxiously awaiting her so she could sign for Harper's release.

Stiles sighed contently, shifting in the leather chair he sat in.He smoothed his hand around Harper's knee absentmindedly, his hazel eyes focusing on the wall behind her as he thought about everything that had gone down with Peter Hale.

"How's Lydia?" Harper asked, annoyed that she hadn't been able to leave her hospital room yet since she woke up.

"Still the same as the last time I checked up on her, Harps," Stiles chuckled a little, although he did feel bad since it was obvious Harper was really worried about her friend. "She's awake and her dad's there, so I didn't really want to interfere."

"I can't believe her bite isn't healing like Scott's..." Harper muttered under her breath, shaking her head in confusion as she thought about their entire messed up situation.

The couple remained in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Stiles spoke up, "Hey, I'm gonna go and get some candy from the vending machine down the hall. Do you want anything?"

Harper peered up at him through her long lashes. "Can I come with you?" She asked, stretching her legs out in front of her. "I haven't even left this stupid hospital bed yet."

Stiles' eyebrows furrowed together. "Are you allowed out of the hospital room yet?" He questioned, sitting up straight.

The petite girl shook her head. "No... But I'm fine and you know I'm fine, so who cares?" She gave him an overly enthusiastic smile.

The Stilinski boy considered it for a second before shrugging. "As long as you don't go fainting on me again." He replied, helping her out of the bed.

Harper's legs felt numb as soon as she stood, falling forwards and into Stiles' chest. His large hands immediately gripped her arms, keeping her steady she wouldn't fall over. He kept her close to him while she regained her balance.

"Hey, Stiles." Harper began to snicker before she had even finished her joke, "I fell for you."

Stiles shook his head, chuckling. "And you call me a dork." He teased, wrapping his arm with hers and then holding her hand, intertwining their fingers.

She leaned her head on his arm, giggling. "You are a dork. Adorkable."

Stiles rolled his eyes, smiling happily. He had never felt so lucky as he walked down the hallway of the hospital, his girlfriend clutched to his side as she fed him bad jokes and punny compliments.

They stopped at the vending machine, Stiles yawning as his hand reached into the pocket of his jean trousers, searching for some spare change. He dug out a few pennies, putting them in the machine and punching in the numbers he wanted.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Harper scanned the vending machine. "I'll pass, thanks. I don't really feel like chocolate."

Stiles shrugged, pressing enter on the machine. The Reeces began to come out but got stuck at the end, wedged so it wouldn't come out. Harper and Stiles both sighed in unison, Stiles a little more annoyed.

"Seriously? Come..." He muttered, pressing the button a few more times.

He hit the glass with his spare hand, trying to make it fall out. Nothing happened, much to the hungry boys dismay. Harper pressed the button a couple of times for him, but the chocolate wouldn't budge.

"Maybe we should get Melissa..." Harper suggested, but Stiles had already let go of her to shake the vending machine.

Harper watched with raised eyebrows as he wrapped his entire body around it, shifting up and down awkwardly. He let out grunts, his face squashed against the glass. His face scrunched up in annoyance when it didn't work, his hands wrapping around the top of the machine. Stiles gave it one last shake before the whole thing toppled forwards.

The brunette shrieked quietly as Stiles pulled her back and away from it. The glass shattered around it, creating a loud thudding noise that echoed across the hospital. Both the teenagers looked around worriedly to see if anybody was coming.

Harper suddenly felt a surge of panic rush through her, like it was ripping her apart. The brunette knew what was happening almost immediately, rushing forwards to the room where she just knew the panic was coming from.

Lydia's room.

"Harper?" Stiles called after her, "where are you-"

An ear piercing scream suddenly ripped through the hospital, Harper's entire body freezing up as she felt Lydia's terror. Stiles was by her side in seconds.

"Was that-"

"Lydia." Harper whimpered before taking off in the direction of the scream.

Stiles ran beside her as they barged in the room right behind Melissa and Lydia's dad. Harper ripped open the door to the bathroom and swiped open the shower curtain, only to reveal nothing. The shower was empty, void of the teenage girl who had been in it seconds before.

Melissa reached forwards, turning off the tap.

Harper's teary eyes ripped away from where her best friend had been just minutes ago, looking across at the open window where the cool night air was coming through from.

Where had Lydia gone?

...

Harper looked up when her hospital room door opened, her eyes widening when she saw her grandma walk in, a mixture of worry and guilt on her face. Stiles didn't stop stroking her back comfortingly. Harper had been a complete mess since Lydia had taken off, the guilt of not being their for her friend setting in.

"Harper, my dear." Rose moved forwards, clasping her granddaughter's hand. "What's happened?"

"Where were you, grandma?" Harper mumbled, upset, "the hospital called you so many times, so did Noah, Melissa, Stiles, and me."

Rose began to tear up. "I am so, so sorry, sweet pea. I fell asleep and my phone was downstairs and I- oh gosh, I'm just so, so sorry. Sheriff Stilinski foun- woke me."

Both teenagers could tell that what Rose was saying wasn't the full truth, which definitely confused Harper a lot. Why would her grandma ignore the phone? None of it made sense to her, and she didn't want to break down in front of her.

It was Harper's turn to be disappointed in her grandma. After all, even Lydia's dad had turned up to the hospital!

Harper nodded, swallowing thickly. "Can you sign me out? Stiles is gonna take me home now."

Rose closed her eyes momentarily, feeling her heart sink. "O-of course." She hesitated before letting go of Harper's hand, "I'll see you back home, I guess."

The old woman left the room and Harper sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You could tell that she was lying too, right?"

Stiles nodded from beside her sceptically. "Yeah... But I'm sure she had a good reason?"

Harper shook her head. "Doesn't matter. We have bigger things to deal with." The teenage girl climbed off of the bed and pulled Lydia's hospital gown out from where she had tucked it under the shirt she had changed into.

"Starting with Lydia."

...

Harper climbed into the back seat of Stiles' jeep, handing Scott the hospital gown on her way in. The werewolf looked down at the bunched up material in his hands, looking it over.

"This is the one she was just wearing?" He asked as Harper buckled up, nodding sadly, "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her." He looked straight into Harper's eyes. "Not again."

Harper nodded. "Okay, now sniff the thing and let's try and find her." She ordered, trying to sound confident so that her voice didn't crack and she didn't break down into tears again.

The engine roared to life and Stiles flipped on the head lights, letting out a strangled noise when Allison suddenly appeared in front of them. She was dressed in a long winter coat and had a beanie on, her nose red from the cold. Scott looked just as surprised to see her as the couple did.

"What are you doing here?" Scott frowned as Allison moved over to the window, "someone's gonna see us."

Apparently, while having a heated makeout session in the front of Allison's car, Allison's dad had ripped Scott out of it and held a gun straight to his face. If the couple ever saw each other again then he vowed to kill Scott himself, despite the hunter code.

"I don't care- she is my best friend, and we need to find her before they do." Allison spoke determinedly.

Scott leaned forwards, his voice low, "I can find her before the cops can."

"How about before my father does?"

"He knows?" Stiles asked while Harper inwardly groaned, closing her eyes momentarily as she let reality sink in.

"Yeah." Allison nodded, her eyebrows furrowed together in concern, "I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs."

Scott turned to face the two teenagers in the jeep. "Search party," He muttered, disbelief written all over his face.

Harper scoffed, "more like hunting party."

Scott opened the door, "get in."

Allison climbed into the back of the jeep beside Harper, giving her a small smile. Harper weakly returned it, feeling far too anxious to be happy. She could feel everybody else's anxiety radiating off of them and it was making her feel a little queasy.

"You okay?" Allison reached down and grabbed Harper's hand in her gloved one, instantly warming the shorter girl up.

Stiles pulled out of the parking space, the tires of the jeep screeching as he took off down the main road. The headlights shown on the road in front of him, the only way he could see in the complete darkness that surrounded them.

Harper nodded, swallowing thickly. "They won't kill her if she's turning, right?"

Allison sighed loudly, "I don't know. They won't tell me anything. All they say is 'we'll talk after Kate's funeral when the other's get here'."

Stiles frowned, "what others?"

Allison shook her head, letting go of Harper's hand to rest her head on it. "I don't know, they won't tell me that, either."

"Okay, sounds like your family has some serious communication issues to work on." Stiles muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Harper glanced across at Scott to see why he had been being so quiet, only to find that the werewolf had stuck his upper body out of the window as he sniffed the air like a dog. She would laugh if she wasn't feeling so bad.

"Scott, are we going the right way?" The Stilinski boy yelled, not taking his eyes off of the road.

Scott cocked his head, sniffing loudly. "Take the next right!" He yelled back over the sound of the rushing wind.

...

Harper's hand was in Stiles' as they slowly walked up to the Hale house. The brunette could hear insects buzzing throughout the woods and the sounds of Allison and Scott walking behind them, their steps crunching the twigs and leaves that they walked on.

The cold was starting to get to her as she shivered in her jogging bottoms and oversized t-shirt. Everybody else had coats on, but Scott hadn't brought her one when he delivered her clothes to the hospital. Harper couldn't bring herself to care too much, she was more worried about a certain strawberry blonde.

"Are you sure she came here, Scott?" Harper questioned, not exactly having much faith in the werewolf.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, this is where the scent leads." He sounded so sure.

Stiles sighed. "Has Lydia ever come here before?" He looked between his girlfriend and Allison.

"Not with me, " Allison replied, Harper nodding along with her. "Maybe she came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek," Allison mumbled quietly to Scott, though the couple in the front could still hear them.

Scott paused momentarily, a regretful look on his face. "You mean... looking for an alpha."

"Wolves need a pack, right?" Allison replied, a little louder.

The werewolf thought about himself. "Not all of them." He shrugged.

Allison pressed further, "but would she have been drawn to an alpha? Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah, yeah. We're stronger in packs."

"Like strength in numbers."

"No, like- like, literally," Scott corrected her, "stronger, faster, better in every way."

"That the same for an alpha?"

Harper stopped listening into the couple's conversation when Stiles began walking over to something near the ground. She followed close behind, peering over his shoulder as he looked at what appeared to be a trip wire.

"Oo, hey, look at this, " he called to Allison and Scott, his fingers barely touching the wire strung from the bottom of one tree to another. "You see this?"

Allison walked over, crouching down beside him. "I think it's a tripwire."

He lifted it up, and suddenly there was a noise from behind him. Harper whirled around, not knowing whether to laugh or be scared at the sight of Scott dangling from one of the trees.

"Stiles?" Scott snapped.

"Yeah buddy?" Stiles and Allison turned around, their eyes widening when they saw the state that the werewolf was in. "Oh."

Scott glared at him. "Next time you see tripwire..." He paused to give him a look. "Don't trip it."

Allison was trying not to laugh from behind Stiles, a smile on her face for the first time that night. Stiles nodded quickly.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Scott quickly hissed, stopping the three teenagers from coming over to release him from the trap. "Someone's coming. Hide. Go!"

Allison quickly darted backwards and Stiles grabbed a hold of Harper, quickly pulling her back to where young Argent was going. They hid behind a large bush just in time before Harper heard footsteps approaching Scott and then a loud sigh.

"Scott?" The deep voice belonged to Allison's father, Chris Argent.

"Mr Argent."

"How are you doing?"

"Good. You know, just hangin' out."

Stiles quickly put his hand over Harper's mouth before she could laugh, knowing fully well that his girlfriend laughed at most of Scott's lame puns. Sure enough, when he glanced across at her she was trying to stifle giggles against his palm.

"Is this one of yours?" Scott asked, his voice a little strained from being upside down. "It's, uh, good. Nice design. Very constricting."

Chris Argent clearly didn't find it funny. "What are you doing out here, Scott?" He questioned.

"Looking for my friend." The werewolf's voice came out softer.

Argent tutted, "ah, that's right. Lydia's in your group now, isn't she? Part of the clique? Is that the word you use? Or is there another way to put it? Part of your pack?"

There was an eerie silence for a couple of seconds before Scott replied, "actually, clique sounds about right to me."

"I hope so," Chris responded. "Cause I know she's a friend of Allison's, and one special circumstance, such as yourself- one I can handle." He shook his head. "Not two."

There was more silence as Scott whispered something that Harper couldn't hear from over behind the bush. Stiles had taken his hand off of her mouth a few seconds ago, peering through the thick leaves to get a good look. Allison was also trying to do the same, but Harper wasn't going to risk it.

She was even more clumsy than Stiles at times, so knowing her she would trip and fall straight into the bush, exposing all of them. Argent would shoot Scott for being with Allison, he might think that they were hiding Lydia. So many things could go wrong.

"Scott, do you know what a hemicorporectomy is?"

Scott muttered back, "I have a feeling I don't want to."

"A medical term for amputating somebody at the waist. Cutting them in half. Takes a tremendous amount of strength to cut through tissue and bone like that." Argent reached up, mimicking slicing Scott in half with his hand without touching him. "Let's hope a demonstration never becomes necessary."

With that, he stood up from his crouched position and began to walk away, two (or three, Harper couldn't see too clearly), of his fellow hunters following close behind him. As soon as they were gone, Scott let out a deep sigh of relief and the teenagers scrambled up to go and help him.

"You okay?" Allison asked, looking down at him.

Scott huffed, "it's just another life-threatening conversation with your dad."

Allison rushed over to where the trap had been tied to another end of the tree. "Stiles, Harper, help me with this."

The three teenagers began to try and figure out how to get it undone, only to hear the swipe of claws and the thudding of feet seconds later. Harper turned and saw Scott stood back up straight, panting a little.

"Thanks," he grinned cockily. "But I think I got it."

//

welcome back!

sorry that I keep changing the covers and my username a lot. i finished season two of this book, and as of two days ago i have started the second book (book three). i am so excited for some badass!harper.

anyways, i haven't proof read this entire second part, so sorry if there are mistakes or a couple of things don't add up. i'm going to try and proof read before i put a chapter up, but let me know if you find any mistakes or holes in the plots that i have come up with. constructive criticism is always welcome!

i really hope you enjoyed this chapter; i'll be posting the next one soon.

thanks for reading!

— vintagemalia
alisha xo