Lone Wolf

Friday passed quickly and soon Keegan found herself outside her house, loading supplies into Stiles Jeep. Her father stood on the porch, keeping a close eye on the two, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows were furrowed, but his expression was worried.

Keegan could sense her father's tension. Though he knew she was capable of taking care of herself, he still believed the Preserve wasn't the placed for four teenagers to be spending the weekend there alone; things went bump there that shouldn't and with an Alpha on the loose, he didn't have trouble keeping his opinions to himself, but he was a good father and let his daughter go with her friends.

They finished packing and Keegan hugged her father tight, "Be careful and stay safe," he whispered into her ear, "I love you."

It wasn't the fear of what resided or hid in the woods the scared Keegan, it was the thought of her mother's death that made her wary. She said goodbye to her father and climbed into the Jeep. Stiles pulled out of the driveway and started the trip to their camping destination. When they arrived at the Preserve, Stiles found a shaded area, tagged it on Allison's GPS and sent the tag to Allison and Scott, who planned to join them later. They began to unpack the essentials and Stiles told her not to worry about the tent.

Keegan laughed at the boys determination and grabbed the food coolers from the back. As they worked, she couldn't help but mentally curse the boy. She adamantly declined to partake in this adventure, but Stiles managed to to sweet talk her into going, whining about being a third-wheel and she gave in. Keegan took a deep breath, shook her head and turned towards the center of camp, where by now a tent should have stood, only to nearly fall over in laughter.

Stiles had been hard at work trying to set up the tent for the last fifteen minutes, at least she thought he had been. A bundle of sticks lay on the ground next to a haphazardly unrolled tent. Keegan smiled, "Let me help." Naturally, he protested, but she quickly had the poles snapped together, and minutes later the tent was up, the air mattress was inflated and inside the tent along with their belongings.

Since the Preserve was a national state park, there were a few campsites that allowed campfire rings and Stiles' managed to snag one such site. With the help of half a bottle of lighter fluid, Stiles got a fire going and set up the chairs around the edge of the pit. Keegan checked her watch, the bright green numbers read "6:30" and through the clearing they watched the sun slowly begin to set, the sky turned a light periwinkle and the first stars of the night began to sparkle. She let out a sigh, surprising herself at her calm state, "What time are they supposed to be here? I thought they said 6:30?" She glanced over at Stiles, worried.

He blinked a few times at her before smiling, his eyes twinkling in the firelight, "Don't worry, they'll be here soon. Do you not bring it?" Keegan shook her head, "It's not that.. a bigger group will scare away animals easier." He nodded, and reached between them, gently taking her hand. He traced the back of her hand with his thumb, attempting to calm her, "They'll be here soon." She let out another deep breath, "Does your Dad know you are up here?" Stiles shrugged, "Kinda. I come up here often with Scott, so I guess he would assume so."

Keegan opened her mouth to speak when a twig snapped behind her. Without warning, she dropped Stiles' hand, and was out of her chair, pistol drawn, trained at the area behind her. The leaves rustled an inch to her left and she heard a voice.

"It's just us, Keegan."

Scott and Allison slowly emerged from the trees, Allison a step behind Scott, who shielded her from the gun, his hands raised showing her that they weren't going to harm her. Keegan lowered her weapon, holstered it, took another deep breath and placed her hands on her knees. Stiles stood from his chair and slowly rubbed her back, trying to ignore the fact that she was shaking.

"I'm sorry."

Allison waved her off, being around weapons was something she was used to, Scott on the other hand exchanged looks with Stiles, who mouthed 'Alpha', earning a nod from Scott in return. He followed Allison over to the empty chairs, "Hey, I see Keegan got the fire started." Stiles feigned hurt, holding a hand over his heart, "Excuse you! She may have got the tent pitched," Scott laughed, earning the middle finger from Stiles, "but I got the fire started. I capable of doing manly things, I swear!"

They laughed for a few moments when Scott's stomach broke the laughter, "Can we start dinner? I am starving!"



After they had their fill, Allison and Keegan ducked into their tents to change into more comfortable clothing, while the boys searched for nearby sticks to roast marshmallows. They all returned to the campfire and quietly discussed anything they could think of that didn't relate to werewolves. A calm quiet fell and they all stared at the fire as the flames danced. Keegan couldn't help but smile at the sight of Allison and Scott, bundled up together holding hands.

The sounds of the outdoors: the crackling of the fire, the chirp of the crickets and the soft hoot of the owls slowly began to put Keegan to sleep. She yawned loudly, stretched and found herself standing, "I'm exhausted, I think I'm going to turn in." Allison stood too, "I was waiting for you to go to bed, I didn't want to be the first!" Keegan stuck her tongue out at the girl and said goodnight to Scott.

Keegan settled into the mattress and pulled the blankets up over her chest as she listened to the boys talk in hushed whispers over the dwindling crackle of flames.

"So, you guys are really sharing a tent?" Scott questioned, a playful tone in his voice. Keegan couldn't hear Stiles' reply but she could hear Scott laugh, a dull thump and a slight hiss, "Really Stiles? Hitting?"

Keegan smiled to herself. They bantered back and forth for a few minutes, when the clearing filled with the sound of water hitting hot embers, and they quietly said goodnight to each other. She heard Stiles kick off his shoes and watched him unzip the tent. He plopped down on the mattress, and excused himself as he changed. Keegan watched the few surviving embers glow through the fabric of the tent. Cautiously, Stiles lay down next to her and she could feel him watching her.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? Because four hours ago I watched you pull a gun on Allison and Scott. Keegan, I have never seen you this anxious before..."

Keegan exhaled, "Yeah, I'm okay Stiles. This place gets under my skin and with everything that's going on, I am on edge. I feel terrible for doing that." She felt him nod and smiled when he placed his hand on her cheek, gently stroking, "What about you?" She whispered.

Stiles hesitated, and Keegan knew he was calculating his answer, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Keegan giggled and grabbed at his hand, "Because you are shaking."

"Just a little cold, that's all."

Keegan pushed her body in closer to his, placing her hand on his chest, causing him to momentarily freeze before he wrapped his arms around her. He took a deep breath and lightly kissed her forehead. She felt her cheeks flush and all she could muster was an almost inaudible 'goodnight Stiles'. Keegan closed her eyes and before sleep overtook her, she heard Stiles whisper, "Goodnight Keegan."



When Keegan woke the next morning, Stiles still had her nestled in his arms. She smiled and laid there, listening to the steady beat of his heart and watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. It felt like hours, when he finally began to stir.

"Mmm, good morning." He took his free hand and rubbed at his eyes, turning his face towards her, a sleepy smile played at his lips. Keegan bit her lip, "Good morning."

Without warning, he leaned over her and kissed her. Keegan knew her cheeks were flushed and she bit her lip, earning another smile from the boy.

"Did you sleep well?" Stiles watched her closely as she nodded, her shy smile made him smile wider.

Months ago Keegan would have felt embarrassed to show that she had feelings for the always awkward Stiles Stilinski, but in that moment, she no longer cared. Keegan glanced back at him for a few seconds before throwing her hands over her head and wiggled her fingers, "We should probably get up." She sat up from the bed, just as she heard the sound of Allison and Scott exit their tent. Unzipping the tent, she slipped on her sandals and slowly blinked in the sunlight and slid onto the bench seat next to Allison, and rested her head on the girl's shoulder.

"Tired?"'

Keegan nodded and was met with a wink from Allison, "Oh shush." The girls laughed behind their hands, causing the boys to look their way. Keegan rolled her eyes and lowered her voice, "Let me say this, if we had fooled around last night, you wouldn't have been able to hear us over you two!"

Allison gasped loudly, causing Scott and Stiles to turn again, "You heard us?" Keegan giggled, "I have really good hearing and Scott isn't as quiet as he thinks he is." She watched as Allison's face turned bright red and she gently smacked the girls arm, shushing her. They began to giggle, up until the boys moved to join them at the table.

"What are you girls laughing about?" Scott asked, taking a seat next to Allison. They glanced at each other, covered their mouths and shook their heads, "Nothing." Scott raised his eyebrow at them and shook his head, "What's the game plan for today?"

Keegan shrugged and Scott looked from Stiles to Allison for ideas. When they couldn't contribute, Scott shrugged, "How about a hike?" Stiles groaned, dropping his head on the table, earning a laugh from Keegan. She smiled at him and reached across the table to ruffle his hair.

Eventually, they agreed on a hike, and prepared for an afternoon hiking through dense forest. The group hiked for miles, deeper and deeper into Beacon Hills Preserve, making sure to follow the clearly marked paths; Allison's GPS served as a helpful guide for the way home. Keegan brought up the end of the group, spending time with Stiles who was barely keeping up.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she watched him gasp for air. He flashed her a thumbs up, before suddenly stopping and placing his hands on his knees. Keegan rolled her eyes and chuckled, "I don't mean to laugh, but you really need to start running with me. It'll help you get better at lacrosse too.." Stiles glared up at her, an incredulous expression on his face, "Bite me."

She shook her head and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a standing position, "Deep breath." Stiles groaned but listened to her advice. He leaned over and kissed her, before taking her hand.

They moved to catch up with Allison and Scott, when Keegan couldn't help but feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and the overwhelming feeling they were being watched crept into her mind. She visibly shivered, and Stiles offered her his hoodie, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"What time is it?"

Stiles glanced down at this watch, "It's almost two, why?"

Keegan stopped dead in her tracks, "If it's only two, why is it so dark?" Stiles stopped a few paces in front of her, and glanced at his surroundings, "Wait, where's Allison and Scott?" Panic began to build in Keegan's chest when something made her sniff at the air.

"Are you okay?" Stiles questioned, noticing her sour expression.

"Do you smell that by any chance?"

Stiles narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows knitting together, opening his mouth to speak when a black mass quickly appeared just to their left, "What the...?"

Keegan dashed forward and grabbed his hand, "RUN!"



They ran deeper and deeper into the woods and Keegan felt unsafe with every step. Suddenly, Stiles grabbed her arm and pulled her into a small circular clearing; trapping them inside. Out of nowhere, a dense heavy fog slowly began to roll in, like a fog machine had been turned on somewhere. The fog made a perfect circle just inside the clearing but never made it into the middle, where Keegan and Stiles stood, huddled together. His grip on her hand tightened, reminding her that she wasn't alone, but Keegan knew what was about to happen and this would probably be her only chance. Whispering to Stiles to get behind her, she drew her pistol from her back and firmly pressed it into his hands.

Stiles declined and attempted to hand it back to her.

"Stiles, just take it." She whispered over her shoulder as she returned to scanning the area. Immediately, the black mass ripped through the fog and instinctively pushed Stiles out of harms way. The creature hit Keegan hard, sending her to the ground, knocking the air from her lungs. She stood, keeping her eyes on her attacker. The black dog-like creature's glowing red eyes never left hers and she could sense unwarranted hatred burning in them. The creature circled her and tightened the circle, snapping at her occasionally.

Stiles picked himself off the ground and went unnoticed to the two as he moved safely out of the way. He nervously stood there, a loaded gun weighing heavily in his hand and on his mind. He knew how to shoot, he wasn't the best, but he didn't want to make a mistake either way. He continued to watch, barely able to make out Keegan's figure, but those glowing eyes were constantly visible. At that moment, Keegan managed to separate herself from what Stiles assumed was the Alpha, and he took action. As he stood, getting the sights trained on the creature, Scott leapt into the clearing from over Stiles shoulder.

The creature hesitated, it knew the girl was easy prey but another werewolf could spell trouble. The creature let out a deep, eerie howl into the night sky and bound back into the depths of Beacon Hills Preserve. Scott stood over Keegan's now crouching, seemingly unharmed figure, making sure the beast disappeared. Keegan hunched forward, attempting to catch her breath, calm herself and rid her body of the want to vomit.

Tears began to fall from her face when she realized Scott was standing just behind her, and she only nodded when he asked if she was okay.

"Keegan?"

She shook her head and sobbed loudly. Scott crouched down beside her, his face filled with worry and Keegan could feel his soft hands on her cheeks, cradling her face, forcing her to look up at him, his shocked gasp told her, "Oh, Keegan."

Keegan's glowing blue eyes burned brightly and after a few seconds, they slowly began to fade back to their normal crystal blue color when tears started rolling down her cheeks. Scott gently wiped away the tears and continued to talk her down, calming her heart rate, before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Please don't tell Stiles?"