Through the Dark // S.S. [Book One]

Chapter 38

Scott runs into us and Stiles says, "I think Meg and I found something."

"So did I." Scott informs.

We walk up to the den and I state, "It's a coyote den."

"Werecoyote." Scott corrects.

"You see this? This is Malia's. Remember, it's the same one as she was wearing in the photo." Stiles says, pointing to clothes and toys.

I roll my eyes at Stiles' excitement. "Guys, we shouldn't be in here."

"What do you mean?"

Scott sighs. "She's not going to come back now. We just invaded her home. Our scent's going to be everywhere."

Stiles frowns. "If she's not going to come back here, where's she going to go?"

Scott shakes his head. "I don't know."

"Do you have her scent, Scott? Can you track her?" I ask.

"Maybe." Scott replies. "But I'm better at this when I'm a full wolf. And I'm still worried that if I do it, I won't be able to turn back."

Stiles sighs. "The door's still open."

"If I can't get to Derek, we're gonna have to find someone else to help. This is basically a crime scene, right? I think it might be a little out of my boss's league."

"And more in my dad's." Stiles realizes.

We call in the sheriff and he walks over to us. "You're sure it was her?"

Scott nods. "I looked her right in the eyes. And they glowed just like mine."

"It makes sense, Dad."

Sheriff Stilinski frowns in confusion. "But it wasn't a girl. It was a four-legged coyote, right?"

"Yes, it's a coyote, but it's also a girl. We're kind of still working on figuring that part out." I reply.

"Okay, but if it was a full moon and she did change while her mom was driving, then anything could've happened." Scott says, glancing to me.

Stiles nods. "Horrible things could've happened. Ripping, shredding, tearing things."

"Which is presumably what caused the accident." I add.

Stiles turns back to the sheriff. "Think about it, Dad, alright. They're driving, Malia starts to change, she goes out of control, the mom crashes and everybody else--"

"Except for Malia." Scott interrupts.

Stiles frowns and continues, "She blames herself, alright, goes off running into the woods and eventually becomes trapped inside the body of a coyote."

"That makes sense." The sheriff answers.

Is he--

Stiles sighs as his dad continues, "In a Chinese folklore. Boys, Megara, this is, this is insane. I need this kept quiet. The three of you, not a word. I don't want anyone hearing about this. I especially don't want Mr. Tate hearing about this." Scott blanks out causing the sheriff to yell, "Scott? Scott!"

Scott shakes his head, coming to. "Sorry. What did you say?"

At school the next day, Stiles shows Allison everything we'd found. "Here's what we found in the den. It's right in the middle of the hiking trails."

Allison nods slowly. "Well, that could narrow it down. Coyotes travel in fixed trails. But I think you're right about her not going back to the den. Coyotes don't like wolves. And they're really smart. If they don't want to be heard, they actually walk on their toes."