"HAYDEN!"
Liam yelled, trying to find where she disappeared.
The projector at Sinema only provided little light, and from the many hits he took to the head, Liam could hardly see straight.
Scott and Theo had appeared minutes before to help, but now they were even becoming drained. The dread doctors acted incredibly strong, blocking every swing or kick in their way. The teenagers were fighting a losing battle.
And it only got worse when Liam finally found Hayden.
Scott had been flipped onto his back, Theo knocked out of submission. The dread doctors surrounded Hayden before Liam could even blink.
He saw her face fill with fear. The needle being jammed into her neck. Silver clouding her eyes.
"NO!"
Liam screamed as Hayden collapsed to her knees. He sprinted over, as the dread doctors faded--glitching out of the room. Catching her as she fell, he worriedly placed his hand on her cheek. "Hayden?"
All the projectors shut down, the house lights slowly flickering to normal. Scott finally managed to get back up, and panicked from only seeing Theo groaning on the ground. "Where's Hayden?"
"I'm okay," Hayden whispered when Theo and Scott ran over, Liam staring at her in disbelief.
He couldn't believe it. Seeing her fall like she had, he was sure she had--Liam shook his head. He didn't even want to finish that idea.
"Really," Hayden forced a small smile to Liam, seeing his wide eyed. "I think I'm okay."
Liam turned to Scott. "I saw the needle go in," he said quietly, his voice breaking. "And her eyes just filled up with mercury. They turned completely silver."
"She looks okay," Theo observed, seeing Hayden stand up. However, she instantly leaned against a wall for support. He glanced at Scott. "Maybe she'll heal?"
"Or maybe she won't," Scott disagreed. He hated being the pessimistic one but after seeing Corey die, he didn't find it plausible that the dread doctors would leave her alive.
Liam stared at him...but he knew Scott was right. "What if something's happening to her on the inside?"
Instead of answering, Scott turned to Theo. "Get them to the animal clinic," he ordered. "I'll meet you there."
Quickly, Liam helped Hayden get into Theo's truck, while Scott climbed onto his motorbike. Then, they all took off.
Theo looked anxiously in the rear view mirror, the rain pounding against the windshield as he drove. He saw Hayden moments away from falling unconscious. "Keep her awake," he instructed sternly, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel. "I don't think it's a good idea for her to fall asleep."
Liam nudged the girl in his arms. "Hayden." He held her up, concerned by how she kept closing her eyes. "Hayden, you've got to stay awake."
"I'm so tired," she mumbled drowsily, her words slurring. Every breath hurt and exhaustion clawed at every part of her body. All she wanted to do was make the pain go away.
"I know, but you can't go to sleep." Liam tried his best to stay calm as he looked back to Theo. "How do we help her?"
Theo answered honestly. "I don't know. If it was wolfsbane's poisoning you could just burn it out. But I don't know anything about mercury. Especially about a kind that's been altered by them."
"Is she going to heal?""
"Maybe, but the problem is she isn't really like us, Liam," Theo explained, glancing at him. "None of them are. They're more like...like cheap knock-offs. She might not be as strong as we are."
"They heal like we do," Liam pointed out, tightening his grip on Hayden.
"She's not a real werewolf."
"Well, what if we turn her into one?" Liam suggested in exasperation. They were running out of options, and Liam didn't want to lose her.
Theo replied sarcastically, "Nice idea." He huffed, adding, "Except you and I can't do that."
"Scott can."
*^*^*^*^*^*
The sky looked like tar. Black, billowing and disgustingly stretched for miles. Heavy clouds blocked the stars and thunder cracked, echoing across the city.
Scott's clothes were already completely soaked from his ride to the animal clinic, the rain pouring down with a might roar. His skin felt like ice, but that didn't compare to how he felt when he saw Sierra and Stiles climb out of the jeep.
"Hey," Stiles greeted loudly to be heard over the storm. "Sorry we're late, I just had trouble starting the jeep again. The thing's barely holding on."
The two met him a few feet away from the front door, drenched in seconds.
"Where were you?" Scott questioned, almost accusatory as his eyes settled on Sierra. "You told me you were trying to find Hayden."
Sierra looked at him, puzzled. "I was trying to find Hayden," she replied, shivering in her coat. "But then Lydia found me and we were trying to get Parrish out of the police station. Stiles picked me up and then we came here when I got Theo's text about Hayden."
Stiles nodded in agreement, squinting to see Scott through the rain. "She's right. But neither of us could contact Malia. We haven't seen her since school ended. Is Hayden okay?"
Scott just stared at them. He wanted to ask them so many questions, demand the truth. But nothing came out.
"Scott?" Sierra called out to him, exchanging an uneasy glance with Stiles. The two hadn't really spoken since their abrupt conversation in the hallway, but they had pushed their feelings aside and focused on helping Hayden. However, now they felt like everything was about to be brought to the surface.
Scott remained quiet, but slowly pulled an object from his jacket.
The wrench.
Stiles froze at the sight of it, instantly thinking back to the night at the library. He had lost it in the scuffle, when Donovan pulled him through the bookshelf. But now, Scott held it out with a heartbroken expression on his face.
"Where did you get that?" Stiles asked, lowering his voice.
"This is yours?"
Scott wanted to cry. Everything Theo said was true.
Sierra stared in astonishment, watching Stiles reluctantly take the wrench back from Scott. He knew.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Scott asked next, too scared to even move.
Stiles cast his gaze to the ground, guilt washing over him like the rain rolling down his skin. "I was going to."
Scott shook his head; that answer wasn't enough. "Why didn't you tell me when it happened?"
"I couldn't."
"But you told her?" Scott choked out, pointing to Sierra who couldn't even look him in the eye. "You told Sierra?"
"Scott," Stiles's voice got caught in his throat. "Scott, you know I can't lie to her."
Scott cried out, "So you decided to lie to me? How is that any better?!"
"Scott--"
"We're supposed to be best friends," Scott snapped, cutting Sierra off. "Meaning no secrets--ever. Especially about stuff like this." He then looked at Sierra. "Is this what you were trying to tell me in the locker room that day? Why didn't you tell me?"
Sierra swallowed hard, but croaked out, "It wasn't my story to tell."
"Did you really kill him?" Scott demanded, turning back to Stiles. Sierra winced at the anger and hurt radiating off him. "You killed Donovan?"
"H-he was going to kill my dad," Stiles didn't answer him directly, his heart pounding in his chest, "and Sierra, Scott. What, was I supposed to just let him?"
Scott argued, "You weren't supposed to do this. None of us are."
Stiles looked at him in disbelief. "You think I had a choice?"
Tensions rose as Scott's face fell further, him stuttering, "T-There's always a choice, I--"
"Yeah, well, I can't do what you can, Scott," Stiles snapped, his voice growing louder as his anger got the best of him. "I know you wouldn't have done it--you probably would've just figured something out right?"
"I'd try," Scott nodded, a frown etched on his lips.
"Yeah, 'cause you're Scott McCall!" Stiles shouted, unable to keep his feelings hidden any longer. "You're the true alpha. Guess what, all of us can't be true alphas. Some of us have to make mistakes. Some of us have to get our hands a little bloody sometimes--"
Stiles was screaming at this point, all of his frustration pouring out. "Some of us are human!"
Scott didn't back down. In fact, now he was just as broken as the people standing across from him. "So you had to kill him?"
"Scott, he was going to kill my dad," Stiles stressed, bewildered from how Scott wasn't listening to anything he said.
Scott remembered the gory details Theo told him and started shaking his head. "The, the way that it happened...there's a point, that it's just not self-defense anymore--"
"What're you even talking about?" Sierra sharply spoke up for the first time in a while, her voice making both boys turn. She felt completely overwhelmed, experiencing all of their deepened emotions plus her own. It was too much. "How is what he did not self-defense?!"
"Are you kidding me?" Scott gave her an incredulous look. "Sierra, even between all the crap going on, I figured you'd be on my side with this."
"I didn't have a choice, Scott!" Stiles shouted, his voice becoming raw. His chest heaved up and down and staring at Scott made a realization strike him. "You don't even believe me, do you?"
Sierra didn't even have to look at Scott to know what he was thinking. "I want to," he said honestly.
"Alright, so, believe me then," Stiles pleaded desperately, watching Scott stare at him with betrayal and disappointment in his eyes. "Scott, say you'll believe me....say it. Say you'll believe me."
"Stiles, we can't kill people we're trying to save."
Stiles tried one more time, clinging to the hope that Scott would understand. "Say you'll believe me."
But it was the small step Stiles took forward that showed him the truth.
Scott flinched back and Sierra's could feel her own heart breaking at the sight. He thought Stiles was going to hurt him.
"We can't kill people!" Scott repeated his words, as Stiles's mouth parted from the hurt. "Do you believe that?"
Stiles felt his fingers trembling and his chest tightening. And he knew it wasn't because of the freezing rain.
"What do I do about this?" he asked, his voice cracking. He couldn't lose Scott. "What do you want me to do, okay? Just...Scott, just tell me how to fix this, alright.
"I mean just tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Scott didn't know how to respond. He never thought he'd be in this position--one where he lost his two best friends in a span of minutes.
"Don't worry about Malia," he finally spoke, already backing away from Stiles and Sierra. "Or even Lydia. I'll find them. Maybe, uh, you should talk to your dad."
Stiles crumbled apart even more. He couldn't do anything; Scott already made up his mind.
"Scott, wait!" Sierra called out, Scott stopping in his tracks before he could make it inside the clinic. "This isn't okay, you can't just--"
Scott whirled around, cutting her off. "You know what Sierra, you're right," he nodded his head multiple times, his anger rising again and covering the true hurt he felt. "This isn't okay. Nothing that happened was okay. We always said to never cross that line; we promised we wouldn't. Yet you did. You both did. Do you remember how you said people change?"
Scott dryly chuckled, and Sierra's tears that she had been holding in finally spilled over.
"Shame on me for thinking you two never would."
*^*^*^*^*^*
Hayden was getting worse.
When Scott walked into the animal clinic, completely soaked from the rainstorm, he found her collapsed on the ground.
Liam tried to hold her up as her eyes squeezed shut, the pain ripping through every part of her body. "I think she's dying," he nervously called out, looking between Theo and Scott in fear.
"It's got to be some kind of mercury poisoning," Theo stated.
But Scott just stood there. His mind still spun from his fight with his best friends, seeing their heartbroken expressions repeatedly.
"Scott," Liam grabbed his attention. "Remember what you promised me? You said you'd do everything you could to save her. If she's a real werewolf, we can save her."
"You gotta give her the bite."
The bite was a gift. That's what Derek told Scott a long time ago. In some ways, the wolf was right. It brought enhanced senses, extra strength and speed. However, it also brought risk.
Just because you got bitten, didn't mean you would turn into a werewolf. Jackson turned into a homicidal kanima, Gerard practically died, and Lydia nearly lost her mind. Not only that, the bite placed unwanted targets on everyone it impacted.
Scott learned that from his experience with hunters, Deucalion and the dead pool.
He saw the desperation on Liam's face. The beta was in love with Hayden and he didn't even know it. Scott knew...because he went through the same thing with Allison.
And even though he felt guilty, the cons profoundly outweighed the pros. So, Scott took a deep breath, looked straight at Liam and whispered:
"No."
Liam instantly rose to his feet, allowing Theo to kneel down beside Hayden. "What do you mean no?"
"Liam, look at her," Scott said softly. "She's too weak. It'll kill her."
The girl's face was flushed, sweat dotting her forehead. Her lips remained pursed, slow breaths escaping her every few moments.
Scott then pointed out, "We don't even know what the mercury is doing to her. Actually, we don't even know if it's actually mercury." Scott shook his head. "This can't be the only way to save her life."
"It saved mine."
"That was different," Scott sighed. "You were hanging off a ledge."
"You promised," Liam's voice hardened, his eyes narrowing. "You said you would do anything you could."
"Which is why I'm not going to do something that I think is going to kill her," Scott matched his volume, defending himself. "There has to....There has to be--"
Scott's chest tightened and his eyes went wide.
"Scott," Theo spoke up, recognizing the signs of his asthma. Without waiting, he pulled an inhaler from his pocket and tossed it to the alpha.
Scott quickly used it like he should, shoving it in his mouth and tried to focus on getting air into his lungs. Liam's gaze fell to the floor as he calmed down.
"There's another way to save her," Scott repeated once he could breathe.
Theo brought both of their attentions back over to Hayden. "Guys, I don't know what the statistics are for surviving a werewolf bite, but she's definitely not surviving this."
"We need to do something!"
*^*^*^*^*^*
Sierra and Stiles rode in silence.
Mostly because they didn't know what to say.
Stiles kept his eyes on the road, his jaw locked and his hands gripping the steering wheel. His mind was buzzing at a mile a minute, but overall he just couldn't forget how Scott stared at him.
Like he was a murderer.
Sierra, on the other hand, tried figure out how Scott found out. Her gaze stayed trained outside the passenger window, aimlessly watching houses and dark trees whiz by, while she fit the pieces together.
It only took a few minutes.
Theo.
It had to be. He was the only other person who knew about Donovan besides herself and Stiles. Given that he had been with Scott all day, it made perfect sense. What Sierra couldn't understand is how angry Scott became during their fight.
He said Stiles didn't act in defense. Yet when Sierra thought about the incident, she couldn't claim it as anything else. Especially murder.
It made her frustrated that Scott never listened, however, she was more upset that he basically stated out loud he didn't trust her anymore.
And even though she hated casting blame, she couldn't help but think it was Stiles's fault.
If he had just told the truth from the beginning--if he had listened to her--neither of them would be in this mess.
She snuck a glance at the boy, but her eyes got caught on the object sitting in the cup holder. It acted as a wedge between the two, carrying the weight of all their emotions. The wrench.
But before Sierra could say anything, the jeep started to sputter.
Stiles moved for the first time in minutes, leaning forward to see grey smoke escaping through the hood. "No, no, no," he muttered, instantly putting the vehicle in park on the side of the road.
Sierra started to cough, bringing her hand to cover her mouth at the sight of silver wisps spurring into the jeep. Stiles heaved, accidentally inhaling the poisoned air as he hit his fist against the wheel.
Both of them clambered out. Sierra caught herself from stumbling as her eyes burned. Stiles slammed his door shut, hunching over to breathe.
"Sierra?" he called out to her, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Are you alright?"
"I'm," Sierra cut herself off with another cough, but answered. "I'm fine."
Stiles curled his fingers into tight fists. Of course on top of everything that happened, his car had to break down. He stalked to the back of the jeep, where he kept an emergency tool kit.
Sierra remained on the sidewalk, moving away to see through the hazy air. Her hair was matted against her head, her skin cold. Luckily, the rain had subsided, but the night chill made her tremble in her soaked jacket.
However, Sierra knew luck wasn't on their sides. Not that night.
Stiles waved his hand at the thick fog erupting from the jeep's engine, huffing as he chucked the tool kit up on top of it. He only looked at the open contained for a few seconds, but whatever he saw made him flip.
With a sudden burst of anger, Stiles threw the kit across the wet road. Sierra jumped from where she stood shivering, knowing the boy had reached his breaking point.
Stiles slammed the hood back down, marching back to the side of the jeep. He flung open the door, his hand grasping onto the bloodied wrench that haunted him. He went to launch it, just like he did with the kit--but stopped.
"Stiles?"
Stiles didn't reply to the worry in his girlfriend's voice, but he did act. Whirling around, he launched the wrench at the jeep.
Sierra's jaw dropped as it crashed into the windshield--broken glass spraying everywhere. If she had still been inside...
No. Stiles would've never thrown it if she was in the jeep.
The empath closed her eyes at the feeling of a headache starting, and pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth to keep herself from shouting at Stiles.
He stood there, his chest rising and falling quickly. He didn't know what to do next.
"Stiles--"
"Please, don't try and tell me everything is going to be fine," he cut her off coldly, shaking his head. His gaze shifted to where she had moved off the sidewalk. "I don't feel like being lied to right now."
Sierra's eyes narrowed. "You don't feel like being lied to?" she echoed. "Did those words seriously just come out of your mouth?"
"You told me Scott wouldn't get mad," he reminded with a huff. "Well, guess what, Sierra? He got mad--he thinks I'm a murderer!"
"He got mad because you didn't tell him the truth," Sierra shot back. "Not because of what happened with Donovan."
Stiles stared shaking his head again, "You saw how he looked at me, Sierra. And you felt his emotions. We both know he thinks I'm a killer."
"Only because you lied about it!"
"Would you forget about the lying for one second?"
"I can't!" Sierra flung her hands into the air out of defeat. "I can't forget how easy it was for you to build up excuses. After everything we've been through, I thought by now you'd realize how much I can't stand dishonesty."
Stiles scoffed. "As if you've never lied to anyone."
"Not about stuff like that!" Sierra shouted, her hands balled into fists at her sides. "In case you forgot, my whole life had been a lie until I became an empath. My parents were murdered, Stiles. For ten years I was told it was a car crash, an accident."
Stiles watched her with saddened eyes, guilt rushing over him. He didn't want to make her upset. Not after he already lost Scott.
The rain started to fall once more, but neither of them noticed. They were too focused on each other.
"Then, you and Scott roped me in on that stupid night to find a stupid body in the woods," Sierra continued, feeling her heart pound against her chest while raindrops hit her skin. "And suddenly, we were lying all the time. To Melissa and your dad, my sister, our friends, teachers--everyone! Our lives became about pretending everything was fine, that the world wasn't full of terrifying creatures wanting to kill us!"
Sierra let out a deep breath, her voice softening with hurt evident in her tone. "And then, there's you. You lied to me about Liam being bitten...you lied to me about Malia being Peter's daughter. And now, because you wanted me to lie to Scott—our best friend—he doesn't trust us anymore."
"Sierra, please, we can fix this. We just gotta talk to him—" Stiles tried this time get her to listen. But she ignored him, just like he had ignored her.
"The only reason you want to talk to him right now is because Theo beat you to the punch," Sierra snapped, unable to stop herself. "Only when you've been exposed do you ever want to confess the truth."
"Scott didn't hear the truth," Stiles argued with her, getting louder to match her volume. "You were there, Sierra. I told you what Donovan wanted to do to you...what he wanted to do to my dad. I didn't have a choice!"
"Yes you did!" Sierra screamed, her nails digging into her palms as she exploded. "You had a choice for once in your life to be goddamn honest and you didn't take it!"
"Stiles, you acted in self-defense, okay? And I will defend with you every day about that. No one in their right mind would ever blame you! But then, instead of trusting in our friends and your dad--and me-- you created this whole web of lies. You let your fear keep you from doing what was right!"
Sierra glared at him, enunciating her next words perfectly clear. "All you had to do was tell Scott. But now it doesn't even matter. You heard him at the clinic, Stiles. He. Doesn't. Trust. Us. And that's not on me, that's on you."
Sierra spun on her heel to walk off, not even caring she was a few blocks away from their homes. She just needed to get away.
But his voice made her freeze. "Are you fucking serious?" he asked incredulously. "You're just going to leave, running away from the problem like you always do?"
Sierra whirled back around to face him, her eyes swirling in anger as she narrowed them. "Excuse me?"
"You're acting like I'm the only one who messes up," he met her gaze with pain in his eyes, his heart twisting with every beat. Stiles hated fighting with her, but he couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. "You're a true empath, Sierra, but that doesn't make you immune to imperfections."
"When Peter was the Alpha and trapped us at the school? You left me," he recalled, Sierra falling quiet. "Running off to Tennessee without even telling me goodbye? Or how about how you left me in the school after finding out about Malia?"
Stiles pushed the subject, his voice thick, "Instead of talking everything through and hearing me out, you always leave. Every damn time."
"I wouldn't have to leave if you didn't lie to me."
"You're really going to walk away?" Stiles asked her, hurt. "From us? From me? Again?"
Sierra's hands trembled as she shook her finger at him, biting her tongue. Instead of responding, she turned back towards her road.
Stiles, desperate, called out to her. "Sierra!"
"You promised me!" Sierra couldn't hide how she truly felt anymore. She couldn't stop herself from turning to him once more, stopping only a foot away from him.
Stiles watched with wide eyes as she unclasped the chain from around her neck and held up the ring between her fingers.
"You promised me," she repeated barely above a whisper, her voice wavering while another tear rolled down her cheek. "And you know what I've learned? People are shitty with promises—especially you. And...I can't be with someone who doesn't keep his word. It goes against every fiber in my being."
Stiles stared back at her, feeling his heart stop. "What're you saying?"
"Maybe..." Sierra swallowed hard, adverting her gaze. "Maybe this was a mistake."
"What?"
"Every time we fight, it's the same thing," Sierra said, ignoring the pained look on his face. "You said it yourself...so maybe it's just time to stop kidding ourselves."
"No," Stiles shook his head as his own tears fell. "Sierra, please don't—whatever you're about to say, don't."
"You think I want to walk away from you?" she whispered, her voice cracking in two. "You were my best friend, Stiles—way before you became my boyfriend."
"Then don't," Stiles stated desperately, moving to hold her hands with his own. "Don't leave me."
Sierra forced herself to raise her head, feeling her heart break when her blue eyes met his brown ones. "I'm...I'm sorry," she choked out, gripping his hand tightly. "I just...I can't do this anymore."
Sierra stepped back, turning away and leaving Stiles speechless. She started crying harder as she walked off, hugging herself tightly.
All she wanted to do was turn around. Feel his arms wrap around her. Hear his comforting whisper in her ears. See the loving look in his eyes before he kissed her.
But she couldn't. Not this time.
Sierra had escaped death multiple times. Each moment brought agony and true fear to Stiles for the thought of losing her.
He wasn't prepared to lose her this way.
Stiles couldn't breathe, blood pounding in his ears as Sierra faded away. He looked down at his hand--the one she had held-- and started to sob.
Because right in the middle of his palm, sat the silver ring. Her ring.
Sierra had truly left him. And this time she wasn't coming back.