Chapter 12

''You- are really- sniff - saving angels, - sniff - my boyfriend and I - sniff - were attacked. We were just picnicking, and Xander-'' She then pats Stiles's chest like she is talking about him. ''- the lovable goofball he is, proposes! He proposes it was like a dream came true!'' Tessa says this with teary eyes and a soft smile, and if Stiles couldn't hear her heartbeat, he would've bought it instantly. She even has put on a southern accent.

She sniffles again and turns her head in Stiles's chest, who looks really apologetic towards the two women in the car who are hanging on Tessa's lips. He pats Tessa's back awkwardly until she pinches him with a clear sign, 'do better!'

He pulls her into a big hug while she continues the story.

''And then when I was thanking Xander, and it got a little heated if you know what I mean-'' Stiles certainly knows what she is meaning, and it's hard to keep a straight face, so he just buries his face in her hair.

''A man suddenly jumped out! He took everything! The car keys, our phones, Xander's shirt-'' Tessa pats his chest again and lets out a sob. And really, she must be an actress because Stiles is taken aback by how real it sounds.

''And my engagement ring! And now we need to walk back for eleven hours to go home, and I'm so tired, and my heart is broken-'' Stiles looks back at the car and sees tears on both woman's cheeks.

They're really buying it. Stiles feels thrilled. He is tired and hungry and could sleep for about a week.

''Oh my! You poor, poor souls! Please! Get in the car. I will take you where ever you want!'' The driver says, hiccuping with emotion.

''You are an angel, an absolute angel! Xander isn't she an angel!?'' Tessa says while hitting Stiles on the shoulder.

''Yes! Yes, she definitely is. We are so grateful, it was getting a little cold.'' Stiles says quickly. He then gives the women a soft smile, trying to play his part.

They both blush, and when they get into the car, Stiles can smell their arousal. Tessa scrunches up her nose before rolling her eyes when the women aren't looking. He just smirks. Stiles never was the hot guy when younger, and while at college, he started filling out and had enough 'dates.' But with the whole werewolfy extras, he is definitely hot.

The women ask them a lot about themselves, and Tessa keeps up appearances. She lies so fluently that Stiles is reminded of himself for a moment. He had learned to lie around the pack because they're human lie detectors. The only one who doesn't buy his lies is Derek.

After just an hour, they already reach Tessa's home. She thanks the women profusely, and they trade numbers, but Stiles is pretty sure it's a fake number.

Tessa leads Stiles onto the stairs by the front door before standing on her tiptoes to get the spare key from the ledge above the door. She then let them in the house, and Stiles lets his shoulders sag, feeling relieved and drained.

Tessa smiles softly at him before pulling him into the kitchen. She makes grilled sandwiches, and Stiles moans. So glad he finally can eat something normal. The food he got from the captors was the same, every day and every meal—some kind of rice with mashed vegetables.

After eight months, it came out through his nose.

They don't talk until everything is gone, not a single crumb left.

''Wolves eat more, don't they?'' Tessa muses. Stiles let out a bark of laughter.

''Yeah, you could say that.''

''Come on, I show you the shower, you really need one, and then we can go to bed.''

''Are you saying I smell bad?'' Stiles can't help but counter with a smirk.

''Yeah, yeah, you really do, Alpha.'' Tessa teases back with a flash of her golden eyes.

Stiles can't help but laugh. She shoves him into the bathroom and gives him some other sweatpants and a large hoodie. It smells like Tessa.

''Dude, do you swim in this thing because it has to be at least 5 times your size.''

''No, it's my ex-boyfriends, I stole it from him like four years ago, so it's mine now,''

Stiles growls a little at the mention of her ex-boyfriend, but he quickly scrapes his throat and thinks of his dad to pull his wolf back, to get back under control.

Tessa seems nonplussed and leaves him alone in the bathroom, saying that she needs to do some other things before they can sleep.

When Stiles finally steps into the shower, he groans. It has been so long, he could only wash himself by the sink in his cell, but nothing feels like a shower. It's amazing, and all his muscles seem to relax at the moment.

He just let the water cascade over him for at least half an hour before he washes quickly and gets out.

He sees that Tessa has left a toothbrush on the sink, still in the wrapper, so he knew it's new. He could cry right now, so long has it been that he just could brush his teeth. He looks into the mirror and sees someone he doesn't recognize. His hair is so long, it curls around his head and seems wild now it's dry again. He has a beard but doesn't like it. He looks like a savage.

He looks into the cabinets until he finds a shaver, it was probably Adam's, and Stiles feels a pang of sadness but pushes it away. He leaves his head alone, feeling that he can pull off the long hair. He then starts the shaver and get's working on his beard.