Stiles' POV
It had been a week since Deaton joined the pack, and now Scott and his pack were leaving school when Stiles received a telepathic message from his father. [Stiles, meet me in my office after school.]
After saying goodbye to Scott and the rest of the pack, Stiles hopped into his Jeep and drove straight to the sheriff's station.
---
The station was quiet, save for the hum of fluorescent lights and the occasional shuffle of paperwork. Sheriff Stilinski sat at his desk, a mountain of case files stacked in front of him. His brow was furrowed, and his coffee sat untouched, long since gone cold.
The door swung open as Stiles strolled in, a bag of curly fries in hand. "Hey, Dad. What's up?"
Noah didn't look up. "Sit down, Stiles. I need your input on something."
Stiles plopped into the chair across from him. "What are we dealing with? Another mysterious animal attack? Oh, wait, let me guess. Someone saw Bigfoot?"
Noah sighed, sliding a folder toward him. "Five cases in the past week, a bank robbery, a jewelry store heist, and three murders. All different suspects, but here's the kicker: the descriptions and video footage match people who couldn't possibly have committed these crimes."
Stiles flipped through the pages, his brows furrowing. "Okay, so… the bank robber looked like Mr. Harris, our chemistry teacher? The jewelry thief was a retired firefighter? And the first murderer looked exactly like the victim's best friend? And the other two killers were both nurses?"
He glanced up. "Why do you think these people couldn't have done it?"
Noah leaned back in his chair. "Because fingerprints, DNA, alibis, none of it matches. It's like these people have perfect doubles running around committing crimes."
Stiles froze mid-chew, his eyes widening. "Doubles, you say?"
Noah nodded. "That's the only explanation."
Stiles sat up straight. "Then we're dealing with a shapeshifter."
Noah exhaled. "That's what I was afraid of. Do you know what it is?"
Stiles frowned, thinking. "I can't say for sure, but it sounds like a Mimic."
Noah's eyes narrowed. "What's a Mimic?"
Stiles tapped the table, recalling what he had read in Scott's supernatural books. "Mimics are shapeshifting entities that can perfectly copy someone's appearance. The strong ones can even mimic other shapeshifters like werewolves."
Noah stiffened. "So, if one of them mimics Scott in his werewolf form, would it have the same strength as him?"
Stiles smirked. "They wish. From what I read, the strongest Mimics can copy the form of a supernatural creature, but not its power. So if one of them turns into Scott's werewolf form? It might look like him, but it won't have his strength."
Noah relaxed slightly. "So they're not very dangerous?"
Stiles shook his head. "Physically, no. But their real danger isn't strength, it's how hard they are to find. They can turn into anyone."
Noah groaned, rubbing his temples. "Well, we need to find this thing before it causes more damage."
Stiles leaned forward. "Did you catch any unusual scents at the crime scenes?"
Noah shook his head. "No."
Just then, a knock on the door interrupted them.
"Come in." Noah called.
A deputy stepped inside. "Sheriff, we got a tip. The suspect who looks like one of the nurses was spotted at a motel on the outskirts of town."
Noah said. "The real nurses, they are still in custody, right?"
The deputy nodded. "Yes, sir."
Noah sighed. "Alright. Release them. I'll go handle this myself."
The deputy nodded and left.
Noah turned to Stiles. "Let's go."
---
Stiles and Noah pulled into the parking lot of a rundown motel. They checked the room number against the tip they received and moved cautiously toward the door.
As they got closer, Stiles said. "I can feel it. She's definitely supernatural."
Noah's eyes darkened. "Yeah… I feel it too."
Stiles glanced at him. "So, what's the plan? You do realize you can't just arrest a Mimic, right? They can change faces in a heartbeat. No matter how much evidence you have, they can just slip away."
Noah exhaled. "We have DNA evidence."
Stiles raised an eyebrow. "And what if they can change their DNA, too?"
Noah sighed. "Let's catch the Mimic first. We'll figure out how to handle it later."
He and Stiles approached the motel room and knocked. After a moment, the door opened, revealing a woman in her thirties. It wasn't the nurse, but both Stiles and Noah could feel it, she was supernatural.
Noah's expression hardened. "You're under arrest."
The woman didn't resist as he cuffed her, a smirk tugging at her lips.
"You're making a mistake." She said, voice dripping with amusement.
"We'll see about that." Noah replied.
Then, he stepped inside, searching for any stolen money or jewelry, but the room was clean, too clean.
---
Back at the station, they identified the Mimic as Mara Voss after verifying her ID, confirming that it was genuine.
Proving her guilt, however, was another matter. Fingerprints and DNA evidence didn't link her to the crimes, and within the hour, her lawyer arrived.
"My client has been falsely accused." He said smoothly. "There's no evidence linking her to these crimes."
Mara flashed Noah a smug smile. "Told you, you're making a mistake."
Noah sighed, rubbing his temples before finally giving in. "Let her go."
As she walked out of the interrogation room, she spotted Stiles waiting for her. With a playful wink, she said. "Goodbye, handsome."
Stiles smirked. "Goodbye. And be careful out there. There are wolves in Beacon Hills, big ones with glowing red eyes."
Mara's smirk faltered. She stopped in her tracks, eyes narrowing. "What do you mean, kid?"
Stiles shrugged. "Nothing."
Turning to his dad, he said. "I'm heading to the ranch."
As he walked away, he sent a telepathic message to Noah.
[Don't worry about her, Dad. I'll take care of it.]
Noah tensed. [Stiles, what are you planning?]
[What's necessary. We can't let her keep hurting and killing people.]
Noah let out a sigh but didn't argue.
---
Mara's POV
Mara stepped outside the station, watching as Stiles climbed into his Jeep and drove off. Something about the kid unnerved her.
She turned to her lawyer. "Take me to the storage facility."
As they drove, the lawyer glanced at her. "You look tense. If this is about that stupid kid and his 'wolves' comment, don't worry. There haven't been wolves in California for over sixty years."
Mara scoffed. "You have no idea what he was actually talking about."
The lawyer frowned. "Then what was he talking about?"
"Nothing." She muttered. "Just drive."
At the storage facility, she went to her storage unit grabbed a backpack stuffed with cash and jewelry before hopping onto her motorcycle and speeding toward the outskirts of town.
Her plan was simple: get out of Beacon Hills as soon as possible.
But as she rode down the road near the Beacon Hills Preserve, something in the forest caught her eye. A massive brown wolf, easily the size of a bull, was running alongside her.
Her heart pounded. "What is that?."
She twisted the throttle, pushing the bike to its limits, but the wolf was faster. In a blur of movement, it leaped and slashed her tires with its claws.
Mara lost control, crashing violently into the woods.
Dazed, she groaned, pulling off her helmet, only to freeze.
The enormous red-eyed wolf stood before her, towering, powerful, and terrifying.
"Who... what are you?" She whispered.
The wolf spoke. "I told you, there are wolves in Beacon Hills."
Mara's eyes widened. "You… you're the kid from the station."
The wolf grinned, an eerie, human-like smirk.
Mara's mind raced. She had encountered supernatural creatures before, but never like this. "Why are you attacking me?"
The wolf growled, stepping closer. "Because this is my pack's territory, and we don't take kindly to supernatural creatures killing innocent people."
Mara scoffed. "I didn't kill anyone. You've got the wrong person."
The wolf's glowing eyes burned into hers. "Bitch, please. I can tell when someone's lying. And I know exactly what you are, Mimic."
Her expression darkened. "Then you can die."
In a flash, she pulled a gun and fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets hit their mark, square in the wolf's chest.
For a moment, she felt relief. "Got you."
But then she noticed.
The wolf wasn't bleeding. It wasn't even flinching.
The bullets had bounced off.
Her blood ran cold. "No… no way."
Before she could react, the wolf lunged.
A massive paw struck her, sending her flying. She crashed into a tree with bone-rattling force, the impact knocking the air from her lungs. Pain erupted through her body, and darkness crept at the edges of her vision.
She tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond.
Stiles shifted back to his human form and walked toward her, his red eyes glowing in the darkness.
Stiles crouched beside her, his claws elongating. With a swift, precise motion, he plunged his claws into the back of her neck.
Mara gasped, her body convulsing as her strength drained away. A wave of memories flooded Stiles' mind.
After confirming that she was the real killer and that she was alone, he exhaled deeply before gripping her head and swiftly snapping her neck. As her lifeless body collapsed, he muttered under his breath. "Taking a life doesn't feel good... but Scott makes it look easy."
Turning his attention to her backpack, he unzipped it and found stacks of stolen cash and jewelry. He sent his father a telepathic message. [Dad, come pick up the stolen goods.]
A short while later, Noah arrived. Taking the bag, he looked down at Mara's corpse before shifting his gaze to Stiles.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked, concern evident in his voice.
Stiles hesitated before replying. "Taking a life for the first time… it doesn't feel good. But it had to be done."
Noah sighed, nodding in understanding. "Alright. So, what are we going to do with the body?"
"I'll take it to the ranch and ask Scott to burn it." Stiles answered.
Noah nodded. "Alright." Without another word, he turned and headed back to the sheriff's station, while Stiles carried Mara's body back to his Jeep. And he drove straight to the ranch.
---
When Stiles arrived, he decided to test his new ability. His features shifted, his body morphed, and within moments, he looked exactly like Scott. Smirking, he walked into the living room, where Allison, Lydia, Erica, Malia, and Cora were sitting together, chatting.
He strolled up to Allison with a confident grin. "Hey, babe."
Allison barely spared him a glance before rolling her eyes. "Stiles, I don't know how you look exactly like Scott, but you do realize we're werewolves, right? I can tell by your scent that you're not Scott. Plus, thanks to our pack bond, I don't even have to look at you to know who you are."
Lydia smirked. "And even without all of that, we could tell it was you the moment you walked in with that creepy smile on your face."
Stiles groaned. "You girls are no fun."
Before he could say anything else, Malia stood up, grabbed him by the ear, and tugged hard. "Why do you look like Scott? Turn back into my Stiles. And why did you just call Allison 'babe'?"
Wincing, Stiles quickly shifted back to his normal self. "I was just joking, Malia! Please, have mercy, you're gonna rip my ear off!"
Malia snorted but let go of him. Stiles wasted no time pulling her into a quick hug. "I was just trying to prank Allison, okay? I love you."
Malia huffed but let it slide, especially when he kissed her.
Lydia leaned forward, intrigued. "So… what's with the new ability, Stiles?"
He grinned. "Let's go see Scott and the others, I'll explain everything."
The group made their way to the backyard, where Scott and the rest of the pack were gathered around a bonfire. Once everyone was settled, Stiles began recounting the events of the night, from capturing the Mimic to absorbing her abilities.
To be continued... 😊