Chapter Text
It would take another four days before Jordan was allowed to leave. Both the hospital and London. Well, he had been discharged the same day that she and Malia arrived but they had to get permission to take him back to Beacon Hills considering he was part of an ongoing investigation. Jackson hadn’t been happy about housing him as well. Lydia completely ignored all of his complaining and Jordan’s. Even Malia bared her teeth at the werewolf-kanima hybrid and likely would have snapped more than words at him if he pushed any harder.
The few nights that they stayed in the flat Jordan had tried to sleep on the couch in the living room but she wasn’t having it. Or, well, Malia had the habit of being blunt to the point of offending someone. Apparently Jordan reeked of anxiety each time that he was faced with the prospect of sleeping alone or was left alone for too long. He didn’t act any different and was clearly putting on a brave face. It didn’t stop Malia from catching his wrist and physically dragging him into their room.
“You have to know that this is inappropriate.” Jordan sat on the edge of the bed with his gaze politely elsewhere as Malia changed. Lydia rolled her eyes at him for what was becoming the hundredth time. He did something like this every night and three days of it was getting annoying even by her standards. “I’m perfectly fine sleeping in the living room or at least the floor.”
“Shut up,” Malia said.
“Malia-”
“Give it up,” Lydia said without looking up from her phone, “you’re sleeping in the bed, Jordan.”
“I really don’t feel comfortable with this arrangement.”
“If you were that uncomfortable,” she glanced over her phone at the man, “then you wouldn’t still be sitting in here.”
“I sleep with people all the time,” Malia said while climbing onto the bed.
Lydia watched the were-coyote grab Jordan’s shoulders and tug him back on the bed despite his helpless protests. The girl was dressed in only a sport’s bra and shorts but in the same vein, Jordan was only in sleep pants. He put off an intense amount of body heat during the night to the point that she questioned how he could sleep in clothes at all. She knew all of this did make him uncomfortable on a certain level but she also knew that he needed this. Something had happened during his time in that facility that had him subconsciously seeking out any physical presence. Like he needed to know at all times that he wasn’t alone.
There was a struggle from Malia to climb under the covers and keep Jordan pinned to the center of the bed between them. Lydia sent one last text to the group chat before setting her phone on the nightstand. For a single moment she watched the were-coyote drop her head onto the hellhound’s shoulder with her arm over his chest in a likely attempt to soak in the heat. Jordan gave her a pleading look that she completely ignored to shut off the bedside lamp. Malia’s hand patted at her arm when she slid down in the bed that she knocked away to sleep on her right side, face almost pressed into Jordan’s skin. He shifted in the bed to pull his arm out and set it across the pillows with an annoyed sigh.
“Quit moving,” Malia mumbled, fingers curling into Lydia’s night shirt. “Just go to sleep.”
For a moment she thought Jordan would open his mouth to protest again but all he did was tentatively brush through her hair. Even without the keen sense of the others, Lydia could tell that he was calming and relaxing. The steady rise and fall of his chest brought her a source of comfort. Simply knowing that he was actually there and alive. It made it easy to fall asleep with the sound of Malia’s and Jordan’s soft breathing.
The morning of their flight to Beacon Hills was full of separating Malia’s things from her own and confirming the girl’s own flight back to Paris the next day. Ethan was at work which left an annoyed Jackson to do the driving again. Their bed had been made by Jordan despite Malia’s logic of her sleeping in it again before he disappeared to take a shower. Another thing that had Malia trotting behind him with a joyful bounce to her step. Lydia had listened to her argue with Jordan about having showered with Stiles before that it was more efficient while packing both of their bags. The girl was sent back out of the bathroom with a pout on her lips and mutter about personal space being bullshit.
Jordan’s hair was still wet when they left the flat. Lydia had showered the night before and she knew Malia would likely be showering after Jackson dragged her back from the airport. They left the pair at check-in with the girl yanking Jordan into a tight hug quickly followed by herself. It was nice and she knew the deputy appreciated it as much as she did.
Unsurprisingly, Jordan slept most of the flight. He was clearly still exhausted from what he had been through and done to bring down an entire building despite brushing it aside. She worried for him but there was nothing she could truly do for him. It would be hard to leave Beacon Hills in a few days for MIT when Jordan was finally home but she couldn’t put it off for much longer. In fact, only the juniors would be left of the Pack by the middle of September. Scott had his own college to start and had been putting it off like she had been to find Jordan. They had looked and worried for almost a month and now that he was finally home, they had to leave.
But she didn’t think she had to worry all that much. Scott was there to pick them up at the airport and didn’t bring them to their own places. Jordan opened his mouth to ask what was going on when Stiles’ jeep carried on towards the reservation. There was still smoke rising into the sky, painting it gray over the setting sun. A guilty look settled on the hellhound’s face at the sight of it. It didn’t disappear even after Scott parked behind Mason’s car on the road.
“Who all’s out here?” Jordan asked as they all climbed out of the jeep. Lydia knew Mason’s car along with Mr. Stilinski’s and Scott’s motorbike, though she didn’t know who had driven it.
“We all wanted to welcome you home,” Scott said as he led them past the cars, “and the Nemeton is still on fire. This seemed like the best idea.”
“Ah.”
They traveled the familiar path to the raging fires. Lydia caught Jordan’s hand on the walk and laced their fingers in an offer of comfort. A small, grateful smile was given to her for the effort. It dimmed a little at the first glimpse of flames through the trees. She squeezed his hand before letting go when they reached the gathered Pack. There was no point in announcing themselves when Liam broke away from Mason and Corey to nearly trip over a branch or two on his way to Jordan. The Beta slammed into the hellhound with enough force to knock him back a step.
“It’s great that you’re back, man,” Liam said with a heavy pat to Jordan’s shoulders.
“Having trouble with the law again?” The wry question had Lydia covering her grin and Liam pulling back from Jordan with a scowl.
“No.” Liam’s offended reply got a soft laugh from the deputy. The first Lydia had heard from him.
“It’s alright,” Jordan said softly while setting a hand on Liam’s shoulder and leaning in to whisper in his ear, “I’m not going anywhere again. I’ll always be in Beacon Hills.”
“How did you…”
Lydia had to strain her ears to catch what they were saying but had a fuzzy warmth curling in her chest. “When you touched the Nemeton,” Jordan was whispering, “Cerberus knew. We’re supposed to guard this place. That includes everyone here.” There was something so gentle about how he was being with the boy’s fears that she could almost feel his relief. “This is never going to happen again. You have my word.”
“I don’t think you can make that promise,” Liam muttered while crossing his arms.
“I already did.”
Jordan pulled away from the junior and after getting a nod from him, he looked at her. She gave him an encouraging smile and tilted her head to where the rest of the Pack was waiting for him. They were there to see him and make sure he was alright. Liam came up to her side while Jordan walked towards the others. It was Mr. Stilinski that next pulled the hellhound into a tight hug followed by Corey and Mason welcoming him home.
A few minutes later Jordan broke away from them all to face the rising wall of flames blocking the Nemeton. Lydia winced at the orange fire burning through his shirt as he stepped up to the edge of the ring. Cracks ran down his spine with living embers within and spread over his shoulders. The hellhound coming out to clean up the mess. She didn’t know if it was Cerberus or not but a sweep of his arm had the wall of flames dying. All of the flickering light through the trees disappeared. There was an antsy shift from Liam at her side before both of them were following the man with the rest of the Pack on their heels. He was heading straight for the Nemeton.
Smoke trailed him and ash was kicked up by all of them. It swirled at their feet in the light of the setting sun. When they reached the Nemeton it was impossible to miss out it was still glowing. Jordan stepped up to the stump and leaned down to place both hands on the edge, causing the rings to flare brighter. Lydia held her breath as she waited for something to happen. But to her surprise all there was was the dimming of the embers and sealing of the cracks put in the wood and ground. Slowly but surely the Nemeton returned to its normal state.
“Is it over?” Corey asked, looking at Mason then Scott.
“Don’t be a fool,” Cerberus said. His voice startled the juniors and even Mr. Stilinski frowned at the hellhound’s back. “This was merely one attempt at gaining the Nemeton’s power.” Blazing orange eyes flicked between them when he turned around. “There will be others in the future.”
“How many people are going to die to protect this place?” Scott asked with a deep frown. “Wouldn’t completely burning it away be the safer option?”
“As many that are willing to take what is not theirs.” The ancient scratch of the hellhound’s voice had more than one person bristling. “The Nemeton is a conduit for power. Burning it away would simply disperse the magic within elsewhere. In potentially more dangerous areas.” There was a head tilt from Cerberus as he watched them. “Beacon Hills is a single resting place out of many and I will move on when something else of bigger importance to my mission comes.”
“And Jordan?” Lydia already knew in her heart how the hellhound felt about his human counterpart. “This is his home and he has a life outside of protecting this place.”
The ember bright eyes focused on her. Intently searing through to her soul. “He is home,” Cerberus said, “and here he shall remain if I am called elsewhere.” She didn’t know if anyone else knew what that meant but it twisted her heart. “For now, we remain.”
There would be no telling for how long though. Lydia knew that Cerberus would drop Jordan the moment he was needed someplace else and the human stopped being useful. It broke her heart to know that at any moment he could be left for dead. But as she watched the hellhound recede and Jordan return, she knew that he was safe for now. That he was home and returned to the Pack.