Heaven Help Me Keep My Faith

 xXx   A Few Weeks Later   xXx

It had been weeks and still no sign of Stiles. Peter felt himself withdrawing from the pack more and more with each passing day. He could feel his wolf creeping into a feral state. Both Peter and his wolf needed their mate and fast.

Isaac looked at Peter worriedly. "He seems to be putting on a brave face." he whispered to Lydia. 

Lydia looked at Peter and back at Isaac with a blank stare. "He looks like a zombie. His mate is missing. It could be days, maybe even hours, before Peter turns feral again."

Aiden growled lowly. "You could be a little more sensitive on the subject, Lydia."

Scott looked at the three of them. "Look, guys, we're all just a little on edge. Our pack mate and mother is missing. It's affecting all of us, especiallythe pack bonds. No need to take it out on each other, okay?" 

"Scott's right you guys. If we're going to find Stiles, we need to work together." Isaac agreed.

"You're all aware I can still hear you guys, right?" Peter asked with a slightly annoyed voice that caused the rest of them to cringe a little.

A chorus of "Sorry, Peter." echoed around the room.

xXx   Meanwhile Across Town   xXx

Stiles looked down at his phone and slowly read through his texts from Peter.

"I see you around in all these empty faces.."

"Without you by my side, the world has lost all color."

"I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home.."

"I'm going crazy without you, my love. Please just tell me where you are.."

Stiles sighed deeply as he felt tears escaping his eyes.

"Oh dear, there's no need to cry." Lauren, the waitress, said. She sat down next to Stiles, wrapping her frail arms around him.

"Th-thanks Lauren." he stuttered. "I just.. I miss them so much. Especially P-P.."

"Especially Peter. I know.." she replied in a hushed tone. "It's okay to not be okay darling. Now eat up and let me finish my shift. Then we'll discuss things further."

Stiles sniffled and chuckled. "Always such a mother hen.." he jokingly scolded.

"Well someone needs to look after you, you were all skin and bones when you first wandered in here months ago." she said and smiled at him before walking away to tend to her other tables.

Stiles had been coming to this diner for months now, almost got caught by Peter and crew when he forgot to hide his scent. Thank God Lauren reminded him.

You see, this diner is very aware of the supernatural. Hell, half the staff are werewolves. The other half is split among humans, sparks, hellhounds, chimeras and even a banshee. Most of the customer base were in the know, the rest being completely oblivious. 

Lauren had become Stiles' anchor since he changed. She had been the one to discover him, hiding in an alley and growling to himself. She was a very powerful druid, now retired, but was very helpful in helping Stiles control his shift. She helped him fix up runes and talismans and all kinds of things, helped him become a better spark too. The thing about her was that she reminded him so much of Claudia, his mother. Maybe that's why they got on so well.

Stiles looked at her fondly and smiled.

xXx   Later On That Night   xXx

Isaac and Aiden walked into the diner and sat at the counter. "Two strawberry milkshakes please." Aiden requested when the waitress came over to hand them menus. 

"We don't really need the sugar Aiden..." Isaac's voice trailed off. 

"Shut up, I just need something to make me feel closer to Stiles. Okay?" Aiden hissed.

"Alright. Okay.. I'm sorry." Isaac replied, backing off.

The waitress walked towards them, putting down their shakes, and smiled brightly. "My name is Lauren and I'll be your server. Are you two boys ready to order?"

Isaac looked at her and smiled. He noticed she was older, maybe in her mid-sixties, and realized she was wearing a talisman similar to the one around his neck.

Aiden looked up at her briefly then back at the menu. "Uhm, I'll just have the breakfast burrito with a side of home fries. Please."

Lauren wrote that down and paused. "Will that be with steak or chicken, sweetie?"

Aiden bit his lip and furrowed his brow. Isaac looked at him with an eyebrow raised then turned back to her.

"He'll need another minute." Isaac said and chuckled. "I'll have the short stack of pancakes with bacon and scrambled eggs, please." he said with a sweet smile, showing his teeth.

Lauren turned to Isaac and studied his face for a moment before glancing at his chest. The talisman lay hidden underneath his shirt, but the necklace itself could still be seen, resting against his collarbones. She nodded and wrote everything down then turned to look at Aiden. "Have you decided whether you wanted the steak or chicken burrito?"

Aiden opened his mouth to answer but was cut off when someone sat next to him and said, "He'll have the steak. He always takes too long to consider the chicken but never actually eats anything other than steak in his burritos. That'll be all, thanks, Ren!" 

Lauren wrote it down, nodded at all three of them and walked off to the kitchen.

Aiden and Isaac looked at Stiles with alarmed expressions. Stiles held up his hand. "Before you say anything, I've turned your phones off so you can't contact anyone in the pack and I don't want to talk about anything until after you guys eat. Got it?

"Yes, mom." they said in unison.

Stiles leaned over and rubbed his cheek against Aiden's. "Mom.," he complained. "We're in public, people will stare."

"I just wanted to scent mark you, pup, I'm sorry.." Stiles said with a chuckle.

Aiden and Isaac looked around cautiously. 

"Oh honey, you don't need to worry about that." a waitress said with a laugh as she flashed her blue eyes at them.

Another waitress flashed her red eyes and a busboy flashed his yellow ones.

"This is a Were diner?!" Isaac exclaimed.

Stiles threw his head back and laughed. "Yes! You're telling me that you two have been coming here for weeks and didn't notice that?"

Aiden shook his head and looked at the shake in his hands. "Un-fucking-believable."

xXx   Peter, Lydia, Scott At Hotel   xXx

"Peter, you have got to stop pacing before you wear the floorboards down!" Lydia scolded and rolled her eyes excessively.

Peter turned to her, flashed his eyes, and growled loudly.

"Great, it's official. He's on his way to becoming feral."

"Lyds, you don't know that." Scott said shaking his head. Hope still filling his voice.

"Scott! Wake up and hear the fucking growls! He hasn't uttered a single word to us in weeks! All he does is shake and nod his head, growl, shift from full wolf to beta form. He paces back and forth in front of that stupid fucking window seat! So unless Stiles magically appears right this instant, he's - Lydia points angrily at Peter - not going to fucking get any better nor is he going to stop acting like that! He's feral and either you or I is going to have to tell Derek that he's lost his uncle once again. And to top it all off, we're going to have to be the ones to stop Cora from cursing Stiles all the way to fucking Antartica!" Lydia ranted angrily and loudly.

xXx   Back At The Diner With The Boys   xXx

"So let me get this straight, you won't come clean to the pack because you're now some sort of fox and can't control your shift? You won't come to your pack full of wayward animals who can shift into wolves and coyotes, but you'll trust Lauren to help you? You've been here for months but have been hiding your scent and Isaac of all people knows the truth? And if I wear this - he holds up a talisman on a necklace - then I will be in the know too?" Aiden asked in a clearly confused tone, with a look of disbelief.

Stiles nodded his head slowly. "Yup sounds about right."

Isaac looked at Aiden and then back at Stiles, looking like a puppy who was reunited with his long lost favorite toy.

"Oh what the hell.." Aiden chuckled and put the talisman around his neck, adjusting it to fit properly.

"Are you going to change his memories like you did mine?" Isaac asked softly.

Stiles shook his head no. "No pup, I've already done that to his talisman. SO if any of the alphas in the pack were to go into his head, like yours, they'd only see what I want for them to see. It's all altered, just like your head Zac. I've planned it all out."

Aiden nodded. "Okay.. So then, if I wanna contact you I just go to this clearing or I can just come here and ask Lauren?"

Stiles smiled. "Yes, pup. Now get back to your Alpha and girlfriend. It's been a long day."

xXx   An Hour Later   xXx

Aiden and Isaac walked into the hotel suite and saw Lydia and Scott in a heated argument. "We brought food!" Aiden called out.

Isaac walked over to Peter, who was laying on the window seat in wolf form. He leaned in to whisper in Peter's ear. "Stiles told me to tell you, and my Polish sucks but, utrzymać wilk w zatoce."

Peter looked at Isaac with wide eyes and his ear twitched. Isaac stared into Peter's eyes and nodded. "But you aren't allowed to know anything else."

xXx   In Peter's Head   xXx

"He knows where Stiles is?"

"Mate. Mate. Mate."

"Isaac. He knows. Stiles is safe. Mate is close."

It's getting harder and harder to separate Wolf and Man.

Fuck.

"Stiles. He knows."

"He's going to be mad I'm in wolf form and I'm not keeping my fur from getting tangled."

"Stiles, I need Stiles."

xXx   Outside Peter's Head, With The Rest Of The Pack   xXx

Peter was pacing once again, this time whining and yipping.

"What'd you tell him, babe?" Scott asked.

"God, make him stop!" Lydia complained.

"What'd you say in, Polish, was it?" Aiden asked.

"I don't even know, to be honest. I can't remember, all I remember is walking into the suite and then my mind blacks out and then I'm pulling back and staring into Peter's eyes. It's weird.." Isaac replied, voice trailing off.