Return of the Hale || Stiles Stilinski

4

"How does this whole basement retreatment usually go?"

"Depends on which time you're asking about," Stiles mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

Neriah groaned in annoyance, pushing open the basement door. "Remind me to teach you more about the turn after tonight," she muttered. "This is exactly something I really should've been informed on."

"I'm starting to realize that," Stiles mumbled as Malia growled and the three of them halted. "Okay, we gotta chain her up and fast."

"Yep," Neriah said, helping Malia sit down on the floor. "You know Liam's gonna be worse, right?"

"Why do you say that?" Stiles asked, starting to connect a chain to a hook in the wall behind Malia.

Neriah helped, connecting the second chain as Malia continued to growl. "Anger gives you strength and that boy has anger issues. Have you ever wondered how I was stronger than Derek before I became a Hybrid?"

"Well, not really," Stiles mumbled. "I just thought some werewolves were naturally stronger than others."

"You thought wrong." Neriah tightened the wrist brace around Malia's wrist. "Too tight?" she asked the girl.

"Tighter," Malia growled, lifting her head up to show her turned face covered in sweat.

"Tighter it is," Neriah whispered, doing exactly that before checking that Stiles made the other one tighter. "This shit better hold or you're gonna end up with something broken."

"Do it if you have to," Malia mumbled, tugging on the restraints that kept her held back as Neriah stood up, taking a few steps back with Stiles. "You can leave if you want."

Stiles and Neriah looked at each other with a silent agreement. "We're not going anywhere," he said, pulling out a crate for him to sit down on with Neriah. "And to be honest, we're probably safer down here than in a party with fifty freshmen and a very pissed-off Lydia."

Malia looked at Neriah, tilting her head. "Do you not have control of your turn?"

"I do," Neriah hummed. "But the full moon still heightens my bloodlust and I stopped feeding on living humans a few weeks ago. So down here keeps that crave down."

"Wait, you stopped feeding on humans?" Stiles questioned with a proud smile as Neriah nodded. "That's great, Riah!"

Electronic music started blasting upstairs, sending the vibrations down to them and Neriah cringed with Stiles as Malia snarled, trying to claw at them.

"I don't remember Scott being this bad," Stiles quietly said to Neriah.

"Because Scott had help from the moment he got bitten," Neriah pointed out. "Malia's been a werecoyote most of her life, feeding on that instinct to survive like an animal."

"Oh great," Stiles groaned.

Malia lurched toward them again and Neriah threw an arm out in front of Stiles, nearly making him fall off the crate. "Please go," Malia panted, dropping her head.

"I've got nothing better to do but watch over your ass," Neriah admitted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's okay," Stiles assured Malia after sending Neriah a pointed look. "I hate parties. It's a social anxiety thing." Malia tried to claw at him again but failed due to the restraints. "You ever had a panic attack?"

"I'm having one now!" Malia snapped, throwing her arm forward, trying to reach him.

Neriah sat forward, staring at Malia. "Just breathe, okay? We're not going to leave you."