Forty

"HELLO?"

A gentle knock made Stiles tiredly lift his head from where he had been resting it in his hand. "Come in," he whispered, but didn't bother to get up from the desk chair he sat in.

Sierra had completely passed out on the way home from Eichen House, once she was sure Scott and Kira were alright. She found out the reason behind her pain earlier was from Scott getting electrocuted. He picked up Kira after she fell unconscious, to stay out of the Dread Doctors' way. In doing so, he suffered from some pretty heavy burns.

Though, now everyone seemed to be doing okay. At least, that's what Stiles kept repeating to himself.

Once Sierra fell asleep, he didn't have the heart to wake her up. He carried her inside her house about half an hour before, getting pestered by Jemma's questions. Stiles answered them vaguely since Sierra hadn't informed her sister much of what has been occurring, and took Sierra upstairs.

Since then, he had been sitting at her bedside too afraid to leave.

"Hey, Mal," Stiles greeted quietly at the sight of the werecoyote. He straightened his back as an accidental yawn escaped his mouth. "What's up?"

"Scott just told me what happened at Eichen," Malia explained the reason for her visit and she opened the door wider so she could come inside. Shutting it behind her, she looked concerned at Sierra already asleep. "Is she alright?"

Stiles followed her gaze to where Sierra was tucked under the covers, her normal bright eyes fluttered shut. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, creating a crinkle in her pale skin. She looked worn out.

"I, uh, I hope so," Stiles replied with a sigh and leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees. "I don't really know what happened. She was fine until she connected with Scott, but then it was like she couldn't get her energy back."

"Do you think the Dread Doctors did something to her?" Malia asked, crossing her arms.

"Let's pray they didn't," Stiles said, rubbing his shoulder. Malia eyed the movement, but let him finish.

"That's why we're all reading the book tomorrow night to find out. It's time to understand what game they're playing." He glanced back over to his girlfriend before looking at Malia. "Is there anything else you needed to talk about?"

Malia shifted the weight between her feet, telling Stiles there was something on her mind. He raised an eyebrow. "Malia?" he called out to her. "You okay?"

"Not really," she kept her eyes on the ground. "Earlier tonight, I was driving and...and I remembered something."

Stiles sat back up. "Driving?" he echoed. "Malia, you only have your permit. Why were you driving by yourself?"

"I wasn't by myself," she defended herself quietly. Stiles motioned for Malia to go on when she hesitated and she let out a heavy breath. "Promise me you won't get mad?"

Stiles winced at her words and said, "Okay, that's not the best way to start the conversation, but fine, I won't get mad. Who were you with?"

"Theo," Malia mumbled, daring to sneak a glance at his reaction. He opened his mouth but she cut him off. "Look, I know how you feel about him, alright? But he was studying with me at the library and I needed a ride home. So I accepted his offer. That's it. Nothing happened between us--though even if there was, I wouldn't tell you about it."

Stiles tried to not roll his eyes but kept his word. "So you were with...him," Malia made a face. "You said you remembered something. Let's just talk about that."

"I finished reading the book, and I think driving triggered a memory the book resurfaced," Malia wrung her hands together. "I remembered that night with my family...the car crash."

Stiles's face softened. "Oh, Mal, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'll, uh, I'll be fine," she said, glancing at Sierra. "I just wanted to tell you that because I think...I think that the memory triggered doesn't necessarily have to be about the Dread Doctors. It could be about anything."

Stiles offered her a small smile. "I guess we'll just wait till tomorrow then to find out. Are you sure you're okay? You know you can talk to me--and Sierra for that matter."

"No, I know," Malia replied with a nod, "but it's already late so, I'll, um, I'll just go home."

She turned on her heel and left the room abruptly, not giving Stiles a chance to get her to stay. "Mal," he tried, but she was already gone. Stiles sighed deeply, and rubbed his temples as he thought the conversation over.

Malia had already been acting distant, and though Stiles didn't know what he said wrong, he feared he made the situation worse.

"Stop thinking."

A soft voice grumbled from the bed.

Stiles turned his head to see Sierra waking up slowly, a yawn falling from her lips. "Hey, string bean," he greeted gently, moving closer to her side. He brushed a loose strand from her face and smiled. "Did you hear everything?"

"Everything from when she mentioned Theo," she answered and he winced.

"So basically everything then."

"Yeah," she breathed, resting her head against the pillow. "I know you're worried about her, Stiles. I am too. But she made a really good point."

Stiles looked at her, confused. "What point?"

"It's really late," Sierra stated and shifted to the right side of her bed so he could lay beside her. "Come on, you need sleep just as much as I do."

Stiles didn't bother arguing, and stood up from the chair. His muscles ached as he stretched his arms over his head and flicked off the lamp. Then, he accepted Sierra's invitation and climbed underneath the blankets.

Sierra opened her arms and he cuddled closer to her without hesitation. A content sigh escaped him as she pressed a kiss to his head and started to run her fingers through his hair.

"Stiles?"

"Yes?"

"I need you to promise me something," she said seriously, her gaze locked on the ceiling.

Stiles furrowed his brows from her tone. "Promise you what?"

"I need you to promise me," Sierra took a breath, almost afraid to continue. "I need you to promise me that you're going to tell him. That's you're going to tell Scott about Donovan."

Stiles tensed, and Sierra noticed. But she went on, "I know you think that he is going to be mad and won't forgive you, but you're underestimating just how much he cares about you. And I can't help but have this feeling...like something bad is going to happen because of the Dread Doctors. And if I'm right, the last thing we need is for all of us to break apart."

"I know," Stiles whispered, releasing a heavy sigh. He knew Sierra was right; she was always right when it came to situations like this.

"So can you promise me?" Sierra asked, her voice quiet. "Please."

The potential reaction from their best friend rattled Stiles with fear. He didn't want to lose Scott. And he didn't want to lose Sierra. He didn't want to get left behind.

Like his girlfriend, he felt things shifting—even in the most subtle of ways. Malia was just one example. And if things were changing, for better or worse, they needed to stick together.

So, he inhaled sharply and spoke as a man who kept his word.

"I promise."

*^*^*^*^*

"Chimeras."

Noah said the word in disgust. Since finding out about the supernatural, he dealt with darachs, blood thirsty alphas and assassins. Just once he wanted a case where his son and his friends didn't have to be involved.

A heavy sigh escaped him as he marked a red X over Tracy Stewart's photo he had posted on his crime board.

"Two dead chimeras," Stiles corrected, twiddling with his fingers. His leg bounced from next to Sierra, who didn't look too pleased to be back in the police station. They had just picked up Malia and were heading to school when Stilinski called and told them to stop by.

Last night, Deputy Clark had discovered eight, giant holes in the middle of the lacrosse field. Eight holes that matched the ones Liam fell into when he was in the woods, which meant eight more teenagers were now chimeras.

Sierra rubbed her temples at the unfortunate situation, trying to wrap her head around it. "Which means ten in total."

"I'm starting to think there's eleven," Noah told her, posting a head shot next to Lucas.

Sierra felt Stiles's breath hitch when he realized it was a picture of Donovan. She shot him a worried glance while the sheriff explained, "Our station tech guys confirmed something for me. They said that both the holding cell lock and the cameras could have malfunctioned because of something electromagnetic."

He turned around to face the three teenagers and crossed his arms. "The only person who has even the closest ability to that is standing in this room." His gaze shifted to Sierra momentarily before he glanced down at his desk. "And since it's obvious it wasn't you, it has to be them."

Noah picked up the novel Stiles had given him earlier and frowned. "Now, you said that these guys--"

"Dread Doctors," Malia interrupted.

"Are we really calling them that?"

Malia continued to stay on topic, "So you think they broke Donovan out."

"Well, that's how they got into Eichen, isn't it?" Noah asked them.

Stiles kept his gaze on the floor, swallowing hard. Sierra stayed facing forward with a neutral expression; if she continued glancing at Stiles, his dad would start asking more questions. She knew Stiles was going to tell Noah about Donovan and the library, but this morning was not the right time.

Malia huffed, stepping closer to the crime board. "Donovan is a chimera," she deducted, the sheriff agreeing with her by nodding.

"Yeah," Noah sighed again. "The question though, is he a failure like Lucas and Tracy?"

Malia and Noah turned their backs to Sierra and Stiles, who thought he was going to have a mental break down if they kept talking. He took a step back, facing the corner of the office to calm himself down.

His fingers trembled as Malia stated, "If he is, he's probably dead."

Noah caught Malia's arm as she went to cross his picture off. He shook his head. "Not until I've seen a body."

Sierra sensed Stiles's anxiety rise, hearing his heart beat against his chest, and turned to him with furrowed brows. "Stiles?"

Noah, having not heard his son's witty comments, glanced his way. Stiles looked completely lost in his thoughts. "You're uncharacteristically quiet."

"Sorry," Stiles murmured, and cleared his throat once he saw Malia studying him. "Uh, I'm just trying to think about it...uh. These were all teenagers right? So shouldn't be trying to figure out why these teenagers?"

"He has a point," Sierra agreed, taking a step closer to him. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it in assurance, taking some of his anxiety away. "If the Dread Doctors went through all that: burying them, killing them, breaking one of them out of jail...they couldn't have been chosen at random."

"They had to have something in common," Malia understood what the couple was getting at.

Noah nodded, the gears in his brain turning. "Something that made them right...right for their experiment."

"Something that made them special."

*^*^*^*^*^*

While Malia occupied Stiles and Sierra at the police station, Scott took it upon himself to start looking for the chimeras' identities. His eyes scanned the school quad, his arms resting on a railing that occupied an outside hallway on the second floor.

He saw students studying on the grass, others simply talking with their friends and enjoying the sunny morning. However, nothing suspicious stood out...yet.

"So basically we're looking for abnormal behavior?"

"Anyone acting a little off," Scott confirmed, but kept his focus on the first floor. "Or a little weird."

Theo, who decided to join the true alpha in the search, stood beside him, puzzled. He placed his elbows on the metal in front of them and asked, "Isn't everyone a little weird in high school?"

Scott's lips parted to disagree, but then he sighed. "Good point."

From all the interactions Scott had with Theo, the more he liked the idea of him joining the pack. There was an obvious shift among his friends that scared him. Nothing outlandish had happened, but Scott feared something bad in the future. Expanding his tight-knit group and adding allies seemed like a good idea--though it was one he hadn't talked about with Sierra.

Scott blinked, snapping out of his trance and heading towards the stairwell.

Theo followed, noticing how the true alpha held onto a copy of the Dread Doctors novel from Vallack. "You remember Tracy went on a killing spree after reading that," he pointed out, walking beside him down the steps.

Scott looked hesitant to reply. However, he was running out of options. They had never dealt with creatures like the Dread Doctors before. "Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"I think Malia almost getting run down by a car could've been bad," Theo stated. "That's why you guys haven't finished it, right?"

Scott sighed again. "We're going to," he replied, obviously now anxious to read the novel himself.

Theo pursed his lips, before making a decision to speak his true thoughts while they walked across the courtyard. "Scott, I came here to find a pack. I wasn't planning on watching one fall apart."

"The book is all we got," Scott replied stiffly, ignoring the last half of his comment. If even Theo could tell things were tense, it was worse than he thought.

"Then I'll read it too," Theo decided.

Scott looked at him, surprised, but then nodded. "Yeah, okay. Only if you want."

"Surely you guys aren't reading it at school."

"No, no, of course not," Scott disagreed, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. "We're meeting at my house around six thirty."

"Sounds good," Theo replied, and then went to head to his locker. "I'll see you later then."

He walked away without another word, allowing Scott to head towards AP Biology. He spotted Sierra halfway, holding her textbook in one hand. She gave him a soft smile when she made eye-contact and paused so he could catch up.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked, worried. He hadn't had a chance to speak with her since they left Eichen House, when they were both healing from the burns.

Sierra shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. But if I'm honest—" she cut herself off with a yawn before she continued, "I'm not really thrilled about reading the book."

"I don't think any of us are," Scott said with a frown, "but the sooner we get it over with, the better. Theo isn't too keen on the idea either, but once I said how it's our only idea he understood."

Sierra stopped walking.

Scott noticed and turned around, raising his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"I just," Sierra let out a heavy sigh. "I wasn't aware Theo was coming tonight. That's all."

"Yeah, he said he wanted to read the book with us so I invited him," Scott replied, one hand on his backpack. He watched Sierra press her lips into a thin line, and continued slowly. "But based on your face, I screwed up somehow."

Sierra didn't say anything at first, thinking with caution. Finally, she looked him in the eye, hugging her book closer to her chest. "Did you not think to ask me before inviting him? Or at least to shoot me a text about whether I thought it was a good idea?"

"I didn't think I had to," Scott said, furrowing his brows out of confusion.

"Scott," Sierra sighed again, "I thought we talked about keeping a distance from him."

"No, you said that," he pointed out, not liking how sour the conversation was turning. "Based on how everything is going, Sierra, you can't tell me it's a bad idea to bring in allies."

"I never said it was a bad idea." Sierra glanced around the hallway to make sure no one was listening, before focusing on Scott and lowering her voice. "But allies, Scott, mean people we know and trust. Like Argent or Derek and my sister; I know them and I trust them. I do not trust Theo."

"Why not?" Scott demanded, crossing his arms. "All he's done is help us."

"And you don't find it suspicious at all that the chimeras started the same time he showed up?" Sierra questioned, growing frustrated. "Come on, that is not a coincidence."

"How many times have we accused someone of being evil when they're not?" Scott didn't give her an answer, refusing to think about what she said. "We did it to Isaac, Kira and Lydia. But we were wrong."

"That is not the same thing," Sierra argued back, softening her voice at the thought of her friends.

Scott threw his hands up in defeat. "How the hell is that not the same thing? Theo has proved himself, just like they did."

"Can't you see that this goes deeper than Theo?" Sierra asked him, exasperated. "Scott, you're not listening to me. You're making rash decisions because of fear. Remember when we did that last time? Things didn't end well."

Scott narrowed his eyes. "Of course I remember," he snapped. "I lived through it; same as you."

"Then you should know that it isn't the right path," Sierra retorted. Though, her heart hurt from his anger in the air. "I know you want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but we've been burned too many times before. Especially since there are eight new chimeras, we need to proceed with caution--that includes trusting Theo."

"The only reason you don't trust him is because Stiles doesn't," Scott stated, making her inhale sharply. He knew he hit a nerve by bringing their best friend into the argument. But the words were falling from his mouth before he could think twice about them.

"Watch it, Scott," Sierra warned, gripping her book. "At least we're being careful."

He just scoffed, leading her to glare at him.

"Look, you want a new friend, that's great," Sierra stated sarcastically, waving her hand. "I won't stop you." She took a step towards him, hardening her gaze. "But if you want some advice, try trusting the people who were here when you were bitten," she stated angrily. "Otherwise more blood will be on your hands."

Sierra spun on her heel, walking away from him in a huff. Scott watched her go, completely stunned.

His mind felt like it was spinning, one thought ringing out above the rest.

What in the hell just happened?

*^*^*^*^*

Later that evening at Scott's house, the tension between Scott and Sierra remained thick. They hadn't spoken to each other since the argument and refused to inform any one else why they weren't speaking.

Lydia and Kira had an idea. They watched Sierra walk into AP Biology with her lips pursed and an angry spark in her blue eyes. Then, not even a minute later, Scott followed, wearing a deep frown as the bell rung. Some words were obviously exchanged, and the girls continued to sneak concerned glances to each other the rest of the night.

Stiles and Malia were just confused. Sierra seemed alright at the police station, but when Stiles saw her at lunch, she turned annoyed and cold. He thought she was going to break her plate from how she poked at her salad. However, at the same time, he feared Scott knew the truth about Donovan.

While Scott ignored Sierra, he also hadn't spoken much to Stiles either. He had a right to be worried.

Theo on the other hand, either wasn't aware of the situation or elected to ignore it. He chose to stay quiet while they stood around the coffee table, staring down at the copies of the Dread Doctors novel.

"Liam isn't coming," Scott spoke first, his eyes focused on the cell phone in his hand. "Apparently, he's working tonight."

Stiles made a face. "Where? He didn't tell us he had a job."

"I don't know," Scott shrugged and put his phone away. "He didn't say."

Sierra withheld from rolling her eyes, but muttered, "Like you would tell us anyways."

"Are you kidding me?" Scott questioned, hearing her with his heightened ears and making Kira jump from his loud volume.

Everyone followed his gaze to where he was glaring at Sierra. "You wanna do this now?"

"Well you obviously didn't get my point earlier," Sierra shot back.

Lydia, standing between them, interceded before things could escalate further. "Okay, that is enough!" She took a deep breath and glanced between her two friends, fear evident in her green eyes. "I don't know what happened with you two, but you need to set it aside. This is bigger than the both of you and we need to focus."

Sierra's face softened as she looked at Lydia, before she slowly nodded in agreement. Lydia then looked to Scott expectantly. "Yeah," he said quietly. "You're right."

The banshee sighed with relief. "Good."

A moment passed where no one moved; everyone just eyed the book, unsure. Lydia groaned, rubbing her temples, "I'm starting to wish this was my mom's book club. They at least had wine."

"Well they probably also didn't read books that cause violent hallucinations," Stiles commented wittily.

Scott glanced at the werecoyote who hadn't said a word and offered her a small smile. "That's why Malia is here."

She returned the gesture, giving a curt nod while Kira added, "In case one of us goes running into traffic."

"Or worse," Sierra breathed out.

"Like what happened to Judy." Everyone turned to Malia with questioning eyes, leading her to explain, "Chapter fourteen."

Lydia was the first one to grab the book. "Maybe I should have my mother read it," she said, Sierra catching onto her bitter tone. "She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone."

"Right, if it works," Stiles pointed out.

"It has to."

Sierra furrowed her eyebrows as she saw Lydia look dazed. "Lyd, what does that mean?"

The banshee released another sigh as she raised her head. "I think I saw them during my surgery." She noticed the concern grow on her friends's faces and pursed her lips. "When I look at the cover of the book...it's almost like a...."

"A memory trying to surface," Theo spoke, turning heads towards him.

"Yeah."

Sierra accidentally made eye-contact with Scott, giving him a pointed look.  He rolled his eyes.

Kira asked, "Isn't that what Vallack wanted when he wrote it?"

"If they did something to me," Lydia started, swallowing down her fear, "I wanna know what it is."

She went to sit down, choosing an arm chair and beginning to read. Stiles and Sierra picked theirs up next, the girl sitting on a sofa cushion while he sat on the floor in front of her. Kira joined Sierra on the opposite side, next to a lamp, as Scott and Theo took the other chairs.

Two hours flew by, the house silent unless someone flipped a page. Malia took it upon herself to make her friends coffee, working in the kitchen. Everyone else read, and even Sierra could admit it was difficult.

She never was super into science fiction growing up, and honestly found Vallack's writing too bland. A frown made its way onto her lips and it seemed like Scott felt the same way.

"Anyone feel anything yet?" he asked, giving his eyes a break from the confusing language.

"Tired," Kira answered, her eyes drooping.

"Hungry," Lydia said next.

"Annoyed," Sierra grumbled.

Theo bit back a smile from the girls' complaints, but spoke up. "I think he meant the book."

"Well, I think I need some coffee," Sierra stood up and tossed the novel on the coffee table. She glanced around her friends as she stretched her arms. "Anyone else?"

Lydia raised her hand. "I'll take one."

"Two cream, one sugar?" Sierra guessed and Lydia gave her a small smile. "Then I will be right back."

Sierra left the living room, walking into the kitchen to find Malia pouring two mugs of coffee. Normally, she preferred cappuccinos but knew the drink would be fine to keep her awake. "Hey, Mal, do you mind making two more?" she asked hopefully. "Lydia and I are dying in there."

"Yeah, of course," Malia replied, and went to grab two more mugs from the cabinet.

"Thank you."

Sierra's gaze fell on Stiles, who moved into the kitchen earlier to get away for softer light. She approached him from behind, resting her hands on the back of his chair. "Hey, how are you doing?"

He glanced up from the page he had reread twice. "Okay, I guess," he answered, his voice groggy from exhaustion as she pressed an encouraging kiss to his cheek. "How about you?"

"Stuck with a headache and unable to get passed chapter sixteen," she said with a frown.

"That happened to me too," Malia piped up from where she was pouring coffee. "I feel like I read it three times to understand it."

"At least we know why Vallack isn't a best-selling author," Sierra joked to ease the stress on their shoulders.

Stiles snorted, "You got that right."

Malia handed two mugs to Sierra, who smiled gratefully. She set them back down to add cream and sugar while Malia chose to lean back against the counter. Stiles went back to reading, out of habit rubbing his sore shoulder.

Malia tilted her head at the action, and watched him for a moment before speaking up. "What did you do to your shoulder?"

"What're you talking about?" Stiles asked her, dropping his hand instantly. Sierra slightly tensed from where she stood, luckily out of Malia's line of sight.

Malia looked at him knowingly. "I can smell the blood. What happened?"

"The jeep died on me again," Stiles repeated the story he created, making Sierra close her eyes. "Went to check the engine and the hood fell on it."

Malia squinted, not believing the lie as she listened to his heartbeat slightly rise. Sierra turned back around before she could question him further. "Hey, Mal, I meant to ask you something."

The werecoyote glanced over and raised her eyebrows. "What's up?"

"Well, Stiles told me you saw the car crash in your vision," Sierra explained. "How much did you remember? Like the accident. Did it play like a movie in your head or was it like being completely in it again?"

Malia thought about it, and then answered, "In it."

Sierra gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Mal. Was it just the crash, nothing else?"

"Nothing," Malia replied, a little too quickly for Sierra's taste. Her heart remained steady, but the energy surrounding her was all out of whack. Malia was lying.

But Sierra forced a smile on her lips. "Okay. You know I'm here for you, right? I mean, I've had my own fair share of flashbacks. I know how scary they can be."

"I'm fine," Malia nodded once. "I swear." She noticed the other mug in Sierra's hand and stepped forward. "I can give that to Lydia if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely positive," Malia said and took the cup from her before Sierra could get in another word.

Sierra watched her hurriedly exit the kitchen, and furrowed her brows together. "Something's wrong," she stated, catching Stiles's attention.

"Yeah, this book is a waste of paper," he retorted, glaring at the pages.

"No, not that." Sierra took a seat at the kitchen table beside him and rested her hands around her coffee mug. "Do you mind if I stay in here for a bit? I'm not ready to go back out there."

Stiles read between the lines, setting his copy down. "Because of Scott?"

Sierra stuttered out to disagree, but when he raised his eyebrows, she settled for a sigh. "Maybe," she muttered. "I can't help it; he pissed me off this morning."

"What exactly happened?" Stiles asked, concerned. "It's not like you two to be all snappy with each other." She fidgeted under his gaze. "Did he find out--"

"No," Sierra cut him off before he finished. "No, he didn't. We were fighting over how to make decisions together."

Stiles relaxed in his seat, but then grew confused. "Wait, what? You guys always make the best decisions together."

"Not recently." Sierra downed some of her coffee as if it would solve her problems. "I thought we were on the same page, but today showed me we're not even reading the same book."

"Well technically you are," Stiles pointed out but lifted his hands in defense as she glared at him. "Okay, my bad, I shouldn't have said that...even though I'm right."

Sierra cracked a smile, shaking her head at his antics. He grinned as well, happy to help raise her spirits.

"I guess I should start reading again, shouldn't I?" Sierra asked him.

"Depends if you wanted to go home tonight or not."

"Point taken," Sierra nodded and rose to her feet. "Let me go get my copy from the living room and I'll be right back. We can finish this tragedy together."

"Sounds like a plan."