Forty-Six

THE PLAN FAILED.

In the absolute worst way possible.

"They're gone," Sierra whispered in horror, her eyes sweeping the abandoned locker room. "Liam and Hayden...they're both gone."

Her heart hurt, memories of Garrett kidnapping Liam last year flickering through her mind. Except this time it wasn't just a teen with a sharpened lacrosse stick. It was the dread doctors--meaning it was much, much worse.

Liam and Hayden; two sophomores who meant the world to her. She had known Hayden since the girl was in middle school and Liam....Sierra was his first true friend in Beacon Hills. But now they were both gone.

Scott matched her crestfallen expression, frozen in place. His hands curled at his sides, anger growing inside him because once again, he let Liam down.

The only reason he left the locker room to begin with was because Sierra never returned. Lydia made a decision to go after her, as Scott would best protect Liam and Hayden if the dread doctors attacked. But then Lydia never came back either.

In the intensity of the moment, Scott made a decision to find his friends. If the dread doctors attacked them, and he never took a step, he would've never forgiven herself. Turns out he didn't know he was being attacked as well.

The dread doctors used his fear for Kira as a weapon, warping his reality to one where the kitsune stabbed him from behind. They did it to the girls too. Malia swore she was pinned to the ground by bear traps, and Sierra thought she had been battling Jennifer. Even Lydia imagined Tracy ripping her tongue out and leaving her to bleed out. Yet everything was simply a trick, a way to get them out of the locker room.

And it worked.

Guilt spread across the four seniors before Mason brought up another problem. He had shown up to the school just in time to snap Scott out of his nightmare, before finding out his best friends had been taken. Again. Plus, he found one--another chimera.

Corey Bryant; the boy who Lucas infected with his stingers.

Mason had picked up on Corey's strange behavior, catching him healing faster than normal and reading books about the supernatural. The pieces fell together pretty quickly.

However, Scott and Sierra were too busy thinking about Liam and Hayden. They needed to find them before the dread doctors committed the unthinkable.

So, Scott took Malia and left the school to scour the city. They even searched the woods, back and forth to find the slightest trace to follow.

Sierra stayed behind with Lydia to get in contact with Theo and Stiles. No one had heard from the pair in hours.

Since the dread doctors destroyed the cell phone jammers, the girls finally could use their phones again to call them.

"Come on," Sierra muttered, her leg bouncing from hearing the ring. "Pick up, Stiles. Please pick up."

Across town, Stiles sat on the gravel outside the animal clinic while Theo sat his jeep back upright. The roof was obviously damaged, as well as the side window. Physically, the boys were fine--only dried blood on their faces. But neither knew who attacked them and stole Josh's body.

Stiles pulled his legs closer to his chest, resting his elbows on his knees. In his hand, he turned his phone back on. After he went inside to grab the device, he found it shut off on the ground. He wanted to check the footage to see if anyone had been caught on camera.

"We should get you to the hospital," Theo spoke up, making him glance away from the black screen. "You took in a lot of smoke."

Stiles brushed off Theo's concern with a shake of his head. "I'm fine."

Finally, his phone lit up and he looked back down at his home screen. "Shit," he swore under his breath, multiple missed calls and worried texts from Sierra popping up.

Stiles scrambled to his feet while Theo looked at him worriedly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Hold on," Stiles told him, raising his phone to his ear. "I'm about to find out." He held his breath, anxious to see if his girlfriend would answer his call.

"Stiles, please tell me that's you."

Stiles sighed with relief at the sound of her voice and gripped his phone tighter. "It's me, string bean," he breathed. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Sierra lightly hit Lydia on the shoulder from where they were in the school parking lot with Mason, to let her know she reached Stiles. Lydia nodded and ended the call she had been trying to get out to Theo.

"Too much, unfortunately," Sierra replied honestly, her voice thick. "I've been trying to get hold of you for over half an hour. Scott and Malia are trying to find them now, but Lydia and I didn't know if you were okay--"

Stiles cut her off, "Scott and Malia are what? What're you talking about, what happened?"

Silence.

"The plan didn't work, Stiles," she finally stated. "They took them...the dread doctors got Liam and Hayden."

Stiles closed his eyes at the news. "I know you don't want to hear this right now," he started quietly, "because I know how much they mean to you. But, Si, our plan failed too."

"What do you mean?"

Stiles stole a glance at Theo, who crossed his arms over his chest. It was obvious he was listening to their conversation. "Someone stole Josh's body," he reluctantly said to Sierra, "and we still don't know who. All we remember is fire and someone flipping the jeep."

Sierra lowered her phone from her ear for a moment, giving time to swallow down her anger. She had hoped at least one group would succeed tonight. Yet in a span of a few hours, everything fell apart.

"Sierra?" Stiles called out. "You still there?"

Sierra apologized, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, sorry. I just...you're okay, right? You're safe?"

"The jeep's busted but Theo and I are fine for now," Stiles replied truthfully.

Before Sierra could say anything, Stiles's police scanner went off. He and Theo exchanged concerned glances as a police officer reported, "Suspect in one-eight-seven is in custody and en route to station. Suspect's name is...Yukimura, Kira."

Stiles widened his eyes, while Theo looked at him in confusion. "What's a one-eight-seven?"

"A homicide," Stiles whispered, not believing what he just heard. Remembering Sierra on the phone, Stiles quickly asked, "Honey, did you hear that?"

Sierra let out a shaky breath, informing Lydia that something else had gone wrong.

"Every word."

*^*^*^*^*^*

There's nothing anyone can do right now.

That was the sentence Kira uttered to Scott in the police station.

Somehow, a girl's body ended in the McCall kitchen, with Kira's katana sticking out of the rib cage. And even though Noah swore to Melissa and Jemma he would leave his badge at the door, he called it in.

Both women had yelled his ears off, the nurse even slapping him for going against his word. But it didn't matter. It was too late.

Kira had been found wandering the middle of highway one-fifteen, lost in a daze. Then, Deputy Clark found her and brought her into custody.

However, Kira's father wasn't about to let his daughter go to prison. He surrendered himself, taking the fall for the murder of the girl. His excuse of a story wouldn't hold for long, but the sheriff wasn't prepared to tell another one.

When Scott found his girlfriend at the police station, she was exhausted and scared. She couldn't remember anything, and sounded hopeless.

There's nothing anyone can do right now.

But Scott was done feeling hopeless.

He marched into his house the next morning with her words ringing in his ears. His mouth stayed shut, even as he noticed his pack gathering in the living room.

"Hey, is Kira okay?" Stiles questioned in concern, standing between Sierra and Malia.

Scott ignored him, barging past the others to head up the stairs.

"Scott!" Sierra shouted his name. When he didn't stop, she quickly followed him. She sensed some sort of determination; however, it dangerously mixed with his fear. Put them together and you get one feeling: desperation.

Scott burst into his room, making Lydia, Corey and Mason jump in surprise.

Corey sat on Scott's bed, the dread doctor novel in his hands. He had been told by Mason and Lydia to read it, hoping to spark memories of how he was changed.

In a chance that he couldn't remember anything, Sierra was going to use her powers to find the answers herself. Either way, it was a chance to find out where the dread doctors were operating--meaning they could find Hayden and Liam.

"Sorry, I'm a slow reader," the boy apologized.

Mason just smiled at him in assurance, "It's okay, Corey."

"Yeah, what he said," Scott didn't stop walking towards Corey, his claws sprouting from his fingertips. "We don't have time for that anyway."

Lydia knew immediately what he was about to do. "No, Scott, don't--"

He didn't listen.

Corey gasped from the pain of Scott's claws digging into his neck. His head jerked back, his body shaking.

Scott's eyes burned red just as Sierra made it into the room. Stiles, Malia, and Theo rushed in behind her but Lydia held up her hand. "Don't get to close," she warned.

"This wasn't a part of the plan," Sierra stated angrily, trying to keep herself from lashing out. Scott already risked Hayden's life and now he was pulling another horrible move by risking Corey's. If he hadn't been in a trance, Sierra would've punched him in the face to get some sense back inside his brain.

No one said anything. Stiles pulled his girlfriend closer to him, resting a hand on her lower back to keep her calm. Malia and Lydia exchanged distressed glances. Mason and Theo were the only ones who didn't understand the dire situation.

"What's he doing?" Theo asked, seeing the true alpha's eyes squeezed shut in concentration.

"Tapping into Corey's memories," Lydia answered, barely above a whisper. "It's normally something alphas can do."

Theo moved to the corner of the room. From there he noticed the blood coming from Corey's neck. "Is it as dangerous as it looks?"

"Probably more," Stiles said.

"Which is exactly why we agreed a long time ago any mind reading would be done by me," Sierra pointed out with a huff. "Using trance manipulation is much safer than having Scott dig into his neck."

Theo quirked up an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, trance manipulation? What is that?"

"Before I became a true empath, one of my abilities was connecting to people," Sierra explained, crossing her arms. "If I focused, their memories would flash through my brain as if I was in their shoes. I could only see what they saw in the past."

Stiles nodded in agreement. "Right. After running some...tests, we discovered she can now read present thoughts. And the past played like a movie now," Stiles said. "Her newer abilities give her more range to find details in the memories. Now she isn't stuck in only seeing through their eyes. Now she could see everything going on in the room the person was in."

"So kind of like a three hundred and sixty degree camera?" Mason clarified.

"Exactly."

"Awesome."

"And it's much safer than the method Peter taught Scott," Lydia piped up from Sierra's side.

Theo tilted his head. "Who's Peter?"

Malia replied this time, her voice sharp, "He's just another story for another day."

Mason studied Scott and Cory. "Does anyone know if it's working?" he asked.

"Not until Scott comes back."

*^*^*^*^*^*

At the police station, Noah leaned back against one of his cabinets. In his hands, he held the written reports of Jemma and Melissa.

Jemma sat still on the couch in the office, her lips pursed and her legs crossed. She had been a witness to the discovery of the body, as Melissa invited her over for a relaxing cup of tea.

The horrendous sight greeted them when they walked through the kitchen, blood dripping everywhere. What alarmed them most was the katana sticking up in the middle--one they knew belonged to Kira.

Melissa decided to call Noah to help figure out what to do, but he ruined everything by calling for backup.

Now, Melissa matched Jemma's  frustrated expression as she remained in one of the chairs. Both of them glared at Noah as he read what they had written.

Minutes later, a heavy breath escaped him. "These are your official statements?" he raised his eyebrows.

Melissa feigned innocence. "Is something wrong?"

"Well the part about you two finding the body in your kitchen works fine," Noah said first, before lowering his voice to a hushed whisper. "But then it gets a little confusing when you describe the body as a monstrous chimera and then go on about werewolves, empaths, banshees and kanimas."

"You're right," Melissa nodded, leaning forward in her seat. She hardened her gaze. "I forgot about the dread doctors." She snatched her paper from the sheriff and moved to sit in the chair behind his desk.

"I think I filled up a whole page about them," Jemma commented with a forced chuckle. "Even went into detail about their breathing tubes and gas masks."

"Good point," Melissa shared a smirk with the empath. "I'll do that too. I mean, we must tell the absolutely truth on these things, right? Why leave important details out?"

"Exactly what I was thinking, Mama McCall."

Noah sighed in exasperation. But before he could say anything, Deputy Valerie Clark walked in.

"Sheriff," she said immediately, wearing a proud smile. "I got the report in about the prank call the other night. The one from the school library? I was going to file it when I saw the names."

Jemma moved so she was standing behind Melissa, both of them looking at the sheriff expectantly. He stared at them with pleading eyes, but Jemma just crossed her arms.

"Clark," he forced himself to turn to his deputy. "What do you need?"

"I was...I, uh, checked on the key cards from the library. They're for after hours use," she said slowly, noticing the daggers Melissa sent her boss. "Um...should I come back later?"

Noah ignored her question. "Why the hell are you telling me about library key cards?"

"The system logged two names right around the time of the nine-one-one call," Valerie explained.

"What names?"

"Theo Raeken and...your son. Stiles."

Noah froze, his lips parting. Melissa and Jemma exchanged glances, before carefully watching the sheriff. He cleared his throat and motioned to the form in Valerie's hand. "Let me see that."

His eyes scanned the document as Valerie piped up, "I mean, obviously Stiles isn't making prank calls to the station."

"I'll deal with it." He flicked his gaze to Jemma and Melissa, and expressed, "No more bending the rules for anyone."

Jemma scoffed as Melissa stood up. The nurse walked over to him, stating in warning, "Maybe you should learn to bend a little before someone breaks." She shoved her witness statement against his chest while Jemma waited for her.

Both of them held their heads high, Noah wincing from the door slamming on their way out.

*^*^*^*^*^*

Scott gasped.

His body stumbled backwards, his eyes springing open as he disconnected from Corey. Stiles caught him just before he fell.

Sierra could hear both his and Corey's hearts beating a mile a minute. The sophomore looked terrified after he jumped off the bed towards Mason. His hand clamped over the wound on his neck as he cried out, "What the hell did you do to me?!"

"You'll be alright," Scott panted, bracing his arms on his dresser. The room spun and he blinked several times to stop his vision from blurring.

"There's blood!"

Scott snapped, "You'll heal."

The rest of the teenagers looked around at one another, concerned by Scott's behavior. It wasn't like him to dismiss someone's well being.

Sierra stepped forward, her voice low. Even if she was angry, she needed her best friend to take a breath. "Scott--"

"He'll be fine!" Scott shouted, jerking back from Stiles, who tried to help him stand straight.

Not wasting a second, he explained what he witnessed. He didn't catch the uneasy glances being shot between his friends or the sweat dripping down his forehead.

He just grabbed a notepad. "There were these tunnels, pipes along the walls. Two huge blue pipes at the entrance--two on both sides."

Stiles and Sierra looked over his shoulder, the only ones daring to get close to the werewolf. "Wait, I know this. I've seen this before," Stiles said, quickly turning to Sierra. "Do you remember when I used to skateboard? I'd take you with me sometimes and one day, we went to those tunnels."

Recognition flitted across Sierra's face and she nodded, "Yeah, that's right! Your dad caught us and told us to never go back. It's part of the water treatment plant!"

Scott took deep breaths, trying to calm his heart rate. There was an ounce of hope in his words as he declared, "That's where they are. That's where we'll find Liam and Hayden."

Without another word, he threw the drawing on his bed and ran out of his room. Stiles called after him, Sierra hot on the true alpha's heels. "Scott, hold on! Just slow down and think for a second!"

Scott kept walking, all the way into the kitchen.

Luckily, Sierra grabbed his arm. "Scott, would you just stop for a minute?!"

Scott whirled around, narrowing his eyes. "We don't have a minute, Sierra," he snapped. "I know where they are, so I'm leaving now. End of story."

"You can't go alone," Stiles told him seriously, standing behind Sierra.

"Liam is my best friend," Mason spoke up, moving to join Scott's side. "I'm definitely going with him."

Stiles looked at Mason in disbelief. "I'm sorry, did you suddenly get super wolf powers? I wasn't aware of that development."

"Well, if you two aren't going, I could use the help," Scott told him and Sierra.

"No, I'm coming," Stiles sighed. "Just as soon as I talk to my dad. They're moving the body and this time he wants to make sure no one steals it."

Malia furrowed her brows. "How is he going to do that?"

"I don't know," Stiles replied honestly. "But whoever took the last one was strong enough to flip my jeep."

"What exactly is your plan when you get there?" Sierra questioned Scott, desperately trying to get him to plan ahead thoroughly. "You can't just run around the plant."

"There's not exactly a set in stone way to search tunnels, Sierra."

Sierra inhaled sharply, about to snap back until Malia interrupted.

"We can bring Theo."

Scott and Sierra turned their heads to the quiet beta, who had been watching the intense interactions from afar. He looked surprised, and Scott raised an eyebrows at him. "Well, you wanna?" Scott asked.

Theo glanced between the two leaders, and then decided. "Maybe I better stay here, you know? In case the doctors decide to make a house call for Corey."

"Scott," Lydia's calm voice filled the air. "Stiles and Sierra are right. We need to slow down and think."

"I am thinking," Scott defended himself. "About how Liam and Hayden could already be dead?"

"You could've hurt him, Scott," Lydia emphasized.

Scott started to shake his head, but Sierra burst, unable to take his attitude anymore.

"Why the heck are you shaking your head?" she angrily inquired, stepping towards him. "It isn't up for debate—you hurt Corey. I tried to warn you in the locker room the other day about this very problem, but did you listen? No. Now, you're only hurting more people because you're rushing around trying to fix the mess you created. If you had listened to me, Hayden and Liam would still be here!"

Everyone stared at Scott, waiting to hear what he was going to do. If they didn't know Scott and Sierra were fighting, they definitely did now.

Scott only looked back at Sierra, obviously hurt by her words. But he swallowed them down. "I have to find Liam," he chose, already backing away towards the door. "Are you coming with me or not?"

Of course, Sierra wanted to go with him. The two of them were stronger when they fought together, mentally and physically. Plus, she needed to make sure Liam and Hayden were alright. But if the dread doctors did come for Corey, there was no way Lydia and Theo could protect him on their own. Then, he would be kidnapped and they'd be right back to square one.

Sierra pushed her feelings aside, thinking of the best option for everyone's safety.

"Not."

Scott's face fell.

"Alright, fine," he muttered, turning to open the door. Mason walked through it, Malia hesitating while Scott looked back at Sierra over his shoulder. "You know, he's your beta too," he reminded her harshly.

Sierra blinked back tears. "I know."

The two looked at one another, both completely heartbroken. Scott couldn't handle the disappointment in her eyes, just like she felt like crying from seeing his filled with anger.

Scott finally shook his head, not saying another word while he slipped out through the door.

As soon as he disappeared, Sierra blew out a shaky breath to try and get rid of the stream threatening to run down her face. She turned around, wiping her eyes and heading upstairs to calm herself down.

Stiles caught Malia before she left, speaking quietly, "Text me if anything happens?"

Malia nodded, and then shut the door behind her. Stiles sighed, running a stressed hand through his hair. Theo, Lydia and Corey remained quiet, too shocked at the interaction between Scott and Sierra.

"I'm going to go check on her," Stiles said after a minute, to Lydia. "Then I'm going to go talk to my dad."

Lydia agreed, worried about her dirty-blonde friend. "Sounds good."

As Stiles walked up the steps, Lydia offered a comforting smile to Corey, who still looked scared. "I guess I should say settle in," she started, exchanging glances with Theo.

"We're going to be here for a while."

*^*^*^*^*^*

Stiles knocked quietly on the door in front of him. Since it was the only one closed on the second floor, Stiles deducted his girlfriend was hiding on the other side.

"Lyd, I'm fine," her voice called out, confirming his suspicions. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"It's me, sweetheart," Stiles replied. "I was hoping to see your face before I headed to the hospital."

Leaning closer to the wood, he heard her feet shuffle across the floor. Then, the doorknob turned. Stiles offered her a small smile when he saw her.

However instead of talking, Sierra stepped towards him. Her arms wrapped around his torso that was clothed in a black sweater. Stiles moved his hand behind her head as she rested it in the middle of his chest, the other rubbing her back. He pressed a gentle kiss to her hair.

They stood there for a moment in each other's embrace before Stiles mumbled, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sierra breathed out. "I just needed one of your hugs."

Stiles's lips quirked upwards, but he stayed quiet. Sierra held onto him, squeezing him a little tighter and then letting him go. "Text me updates about everything, okay?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Of course, as long as you do the same," Stiles promised.

"Deal."

Sharing a quick kiss, they then left the guest room hand in hand. Walking down the steps they saw Theo, Corey and Lydia gathered in the living room. Stiles waved goodbye to Lydia, nodding at the other two boys before heading out the front door. Sierra let out a small sigh once he was gone, but then focused on Corey.

He sat on the couch, Lydia cleaning his wound from Scott with a rag. Theo stood off to the side with his arms crossed.

"Uh, Si?" Lydia grabbed her attention, looking worried. "You might want to see this."

Sierra furrowed her brows but walked over to the banshee. "What--is it infected or something?"

"Not exactly."

Sierra's eyes widened to see the claw marks completely gone, not even a scar remaining. "It healed, didn't it?" Corey asked, Sierra feeling his nerves grow.

"Yeah," Sierra replied, exchanging glances with Lydia. "Completely."

"Okay, then." Corey stood up, facing the girls as Theo joined their side. "It's been fun," he said sarcastically. "Especially the part where a werewolf forced his way into my brain with his claws."

Sierra winced, Corey spinning on his heel to head towards the door.

"I don't think leaving is such a good idea," Theo spoke up in warning, stopping the boy in his tracks. Sierra studied Theo carefully, listening to him lie to Corey. He easily convinced him he was in danger with a few words and the mention of their strawberry-blonde banshee.

It made her really think on what else Theo had lied about.

"I'll take my chances," Corey decided.

Sierra persisted in trying to get him stay or help in the slightest. "Okay, then give us a better chance of finding our friends. What else did you see? Come on, Corey, there had to be something else."

Corey sighed, shaking his head. "There was the hospital," he recalled first, "and they took me out my room."

"And then where?" Lydia questioned.

Corey answered, "The tunnels. Like I already told you, that's it."

"Yeah," Theo scoffed in disbelief. "Nothing else?"

"No."

"There's got to be more," Theo pushed the subject. "Think. For one minute, Corey, just think."

Sierra held her breath, searching Corey's face for any kind of sign. The second his eyebrow twitched, she asked, "What?"

The sophomore looked back up at the seniors, pupils dilated. "There was a basement."

"Where?" Lydia tried to get the specifics. "Like in a building?"

Corey nodded his head, scrunching his nose as he remembered. "A house...it was old, covered in dust. And there was a broken stone wall with a large hole in it. Like a bomb went off."

Sierra repeated the words under her breath, her leg bouncing impatiently. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Because of the werewolf with the talons!" Theo figured it out quickly, everyone turning to him. "Remember? Parrish said he smashed through the wall of a basement. Something like that, right?"

"No, it was exactly like that," Lydia responded.

Sierra pulled her phone. "I gotta call Scott. Now. He, Mason and Malia can go to the house."

"Wait," Theo held up his hand and Sierra looked at him with questioning eyes. "There not going to have service down in the tunnels," he explained. "It'd be easier for me to go."

"You?"

"Yes," Theo confirmed, holding up his car keys. "I brought my truck, so if you text me the address I can go get Liam and Hayden."

Lydia looked unsure, "I don't know, Theo. Maybe Sierra should go with you too. There's safety in numbers."

"Corey said he wanted to go home," Theo reminded her, pointing to the kid who had fallen quiet. "And if the dread doctors are after him, Sierra is the most powerful out of the three of us. She can protect him."

"And what about you?" Sierra inquired. "What if the dread doctors are with Liam and Hayden?"

"It's just a risk we have to take," Theo shrugged, "but we're running out of time."

Sierra sighed; Theo was right. They didn't have any more time. The sun had already set and she didn't think Liam and Hayden wanted to spend the night with the dread doctors.

"Fine," she reluctantly stated, making a grin spread across Theo's face. "But you bring them straight here, you understand? And if you even think for a moment you need help, call me."

"Understood," Theo nodded once, moving behind Corey to reach the door. "I'll hurry back, I promise!"

Sierra turned to Lydia, "You don't have your car keys, do you?"

"Luckily, yes," Lydia replied, tossing them over to her. Sierra caught them swiftly. "I thought you were saving for a car?"

"I am, but this supernatural crap is making me lose my shifts," Sierra grumbled, before shifting her gaze to Corey. "Let's get you home, dude."

"Please be safe," Lydia pleaded to Sierra. "I'll be here in case Scott comes back with the others."

"I'll be careful," Sierra swore. "I should be back in ten minutes tops. Corey, where do you live?"

"Eastview, in the neighborhood by the bowling alley."

Sierra winced, sending Lydia a sheepish smile.

"Make that half an hour."

*^*^*^*^*^*

Circles.

Scott felt like he had been running in circles.

Up and down he sprinted, turning random corners and calling out for his beta. He inwardly cursed at the chemicals filling the air, blocking his enhanced sense of smell. It was impossible to find Liam or Hayden's scent in the maze.

His chest tightened when he abruptly came to a stop. Whipping his head around, his eyes widened at Malia almost stumbling into his arms. "Anything?"

She found her footing in time, but looked worn out. "Nothing," she shook her head, seeing his frown deepen. They had been searching for over an hour to no avail.

"Hayden!" The two turned to see Mason fly by, but the boy quickly backtracked to join them.

Realizing they all came from different directions of the same tunnel, Scott declared, "Okay, we need to make sure we're not covering the same area."

He leaned against some pipes, coughing when he couldn't take a breath.

Mason recognized the sharp wheezing as a sign of a potential asthma attack. "You need to use your inhaler, don't you?"

Scott shook his head in refusal. He might've carried the inhaler in his pocket but that didn't mean he had to use it. He wasn't weak; he was an alpha.

"Quiet," he instructed instead, his ears perking. "I think I hear something."

"It's just the lights, isn't it?" Malia guessed, worried about her friend. She had never seen Scott this distressed before.

Scott's face fell when he recognized the electric buzz, but quickly masked it with determination. "This way," he muttered, walking forward and leaving Malia and Mason no choice but to follow.

Half an hour later, the teenagers couldn't run anymore--not even the supernatural ones. Mason stopped for a breath, resting his hands on his knees while Scott and Malia caught up. All of them were tired, and not finding any clues only caused dread to build in Scott's stomach.

He couldn't lose Liam. The sophomore was his first beta, the first person Scott attempted to mentor. Scott almost lost him once, and he didn't know if he could handle losing any more people he cared about.

"I'm telling you guys," Mason started with a gulp. "We've been down this one before."

The familiar ache in Scott's chest tightened again. "What the hell are we doing?" Scott asked, his voice breaking as sweat dripped across his forehead. His heart rate picked up, and he couldn't stop himself from panicking. "We're running up and down this place...up and down tunnels. And there's no way," he gasped, "There's no way that we're gonna find--"

He cut himself off, unable to finish his sentence. His pupils went wide, his throat closing up before he could blink.

"Scott, you need your inhaler," Malia told him seriously, but the true alpha shook his head like he did before. He leaned over, forcing his eyes shut. "Scott, use it--use your inhaler!"

Scott collapsed to his knees, his hand shooting out to press against the concrete floor. Out of options, he decided to listen to Malia. Within seconds he shoved the inhaler in his mouth, pumping the medicine into his airways.

Every time he blinked he saw Liam's angry scowl. Sierra's disappointed eyes. Even Hayden's terrified expression. He let them down. All of them.

Scott managed to breathe, but his mind wouldn't let him relax.

"This is all my fault."

His heartbreaking whimper pierced through the tunnels. Mason looked at Malia, but neither of them said a word. Scott figured because they knew he was right.

"We're never going to find them," his voice cracked. "Sierra was right--it's my fault."

He acted lost in his memories, leading Mason to simply call out his name.

"Scott?"

Scott's brown eyes flickered up to the boy, who offered him a hand and a small smile. Reluctantly, he let Mason help pull him to his feet.

"We should keep looking," Mason said, not wanting to lose hope. "We should keep trying."

He knew the situation looked grim, but refused to let grief consume him. Spending time with Scott and Sierra, as well as the others, taught Mason an important lesson--one he knew he would carry with for the rest of his life.

Giving up? Never an option.