Fifty

"WHAT'S THAT?"

Liam spoke up from where he stood in the animal clinic. Hayden rested beside him on the examination table with Theo on the other side. Her pale skin dotted with sweat, and the red rings around her eyes told everyone she wanted to rest.

But Liam wouldn't let her. He was afraid if she fell asleep she wouldn't wake up again.

Scott remained quiet at one end, bracing his arms against the metal. His focus followed his mom, who started to prepare an IV for Hayden.

"It's called chelation therapy," Melissa explained as she pulled back the blanket covering the girl's body. "It removes heavy metals from the blood. The problem is that it can attack the kidneys, and Hayden only has one to begin with so..."

Melissa lifted Hayden's left hand and carefully inserted a needle into a vein. Liam, however, only noticed the painful wince from Hayden, leading him to snatch Melissa's wrist.

He dug his fingers into the nurse's skin in protest. "Hey, you're hurting her!"

However, Melissa remained calm and stopped her movements. She turned her head and said clearly, "And you're hurting me."

Scott quickly looked over in alarm.

Luckily, Liam let go of his mother before he had to fully step in.

"Sorry," Liam mumbled, moving his gaze to the floor.

"Guys, remember we're here to save a life," Theo entered the conversation, noticing the concerned looks Scott continued to give Liam. "Not kill each other."

Scott agreed with a small nod, "It's the full moon. We can feel it even during the day."

"And it's a super moon," Theo pointed out.

"What's that supposed to make you guys?" Melissa asked, picking up the IV bag. She moved to Hayden's other side and attached it to a stand. "Super strong? Super aggressive?"

Scott sighed, but answered truthfully. "Both."

A little bit later, Scott found himself sitting in an arm chair. He glanced around the clinic lobby, filled to the brim with complicated emotions that made him feel nothing but numb.

Deaton still hadn't made any contact, which brought more than worry into Scott. The vet at this point was more than his boss. Deaton was his family.

Then, the other members of his family he couldn't help but still be angry at.

Malia was avoiding everyone, Lydia found herself only focusing on Parrish. Stiles and Sierra...Scott didn't want to think about them.

Yet, the argument from the night before played like a broken record. He still felt hurt, betrayed even. But at the same time, he knew he missed them. After all, what kind of alpha was he if he didn't have them by his side?

Theo occupied the seat next to him, while Melissa and Liam remained in the examination room. Scott appreciated the company, but in all honesty just wanted to time to think.

Theo, on the other hand, started to speak the obvious. "You know we're going to need help with him?"

Scott himself was also scared about Liam handling the super moon. The beta already held incredible strength, but his anger (which seemed more fragile by the minute) set off warning bells. However, Scott brushed it off. "He'll be alright."

"He's sixteen and in love," Theo commented absentmindedly. Flashes of a young dirty-blonde entered his head as he continued, "First love...do you remember what that's like?"

Scott swallowed hard, the words hitting him like a ton of bricks. The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of Allison.

He wondered where she would be in this situation. Would she be ignoring him like Malia? Would she have fought with him like Sierra? Or lied like Stiles? Or, would she be standing by his side...fighting just like she did until the second she died?

Scott could practically picture her standing in front of him. If she was here, she would lean against the front desk, her arms stubbornly crossed over her chest. Allison wouldn't like him to be just sitting around waiting for the next bad thing to happen. She would help create a plan, a way to save everyone.

But she was gone. And no matter how many times Scott reminisced on his time with her, Allison wouldn't be coming back.

A quiet murmur escaped his mouth, to answer Theo's question.

"Trust me, I remember."

Theo didn't notice how Scott stiffened uncomfortably. He just went on thinking out loud, staring up at the ceiling. "All those emotions mixed with the super moon tonight is not going to be good."

"I know."

"We need help," Theo turned his head to see Scott fiddling with his fingers. He slowly sat up in his chair. "And I don't mean restraints or chains. I mean Malia, Stiles, Lydia...especially Sierra. You need your pack, Scott."

Scott continued to stare forward. However, his answer made him want to break down in tears again. "I'm not so sure I have one anymore."

"Then let me talk to them," Theo suggested. "Let me see what I can do, okay?"

Scott finally glanced Theo's way in surprise. After everyone else left him, he couldn't help but be shocked that Theo stayed. Scott's head dipped into a small nod to agree and Theo rose to his feet.

Theo headed to the door, but Scott's voice made him turn back around. "Theo?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

*^*^*^*^*^*

His jeep was in complete ruin.

Stiles watched a tow truck drive off, the faded blue vehicle attached to the hook in the back. His breath hitched as it disappeared from view, and he fought the urge to chase it down.

The jeep had been a gift from his dad when he first passed his driving test. His mom used to drive it all the time before she died, and always promised Stiles he could have it next. Though that happened sooner then later. Nonetheless, it was easily one of Stiles's most treasured possessions. And as it disappeared, he felt a piece of his heart go with it.

Malia offered him a small smile and motioned for him to get inside her car. He didn't know who else to turn to after Sierra walked off. Luckily, the werecoyote offered to pick him up.

Stiles was grateful, even though he knew Malia obviously was keeping secrets from him and Sierra. At the moment, he couldn't be mad at her for that. He had done the exact same thing and it cost him everything.

As Malia started to drive, neither of them spoke. Stiles stared out the window, his hand decorated with Sierra's watch fiddling with the prized possession hanging from his neck by a chain. Even though they weren't together, he couldn't bring himself to take either item off.

If he did, he knew his hope would be gone for good.

To keep Sierra's necklace safe, he had slipped it into his jeans. The weight seemed to burn a hole, and he tried to think of anything else.

Malia smelt his sadness and awkwardly spoke up to get his mind off his distress. "Can they fix it?"

"There's not enough duct tape in the world to fix that thing," Stiles replied honestly, his voice hoarse.

"Maybe you should try something other than duct tape," Malia suggested, her eyes focused on the road. Her grip slightly tightened on the wheel, but Stiles was too distracted by his thoughts too notice.

"It's got a bad alternator, you know, it needs all new belts, the transmission is going," Stiles listed off with a heavy sigh. "The brake pads are basically metal on metal...."

Malia asked softly, "How come you let it get so bad?"

Whatever happened, it was bad.

"There's been a few distractions if you haven't noticed," Stiles replied sharply.

"I notice," Malia swore, stealing a worried glance to him. "More than you think I do."

The senior hadn't released his necklace since he sat down; his knuckles were practically white. And, Stiles only got truly upset when something went wrong with Sierra. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together--even if the couple had started to distance themselves from her.

Stiles's gaze softened as he realized his mistake. "Mal, I didn't mean it like that--"

"Am I taking you home?" Malia cut him off, ignoring the tears starting to gather in her eyes.

Stiles pursed his lips for a moment, but ended up sighing. "No, the sheriff's station. I gotta talk to my dad."

The conversation died after Malia nodded her head and switched the road she was driving on. Neither of them were really in the mood for talking. Especially since Stiles was about to tell his dad everything--the complete truth about Donovan. He had lied to his father long enough.

He anxiously rubbed his palms against his jeans as Malia pulled into the parking lot. She parked the car next to the sidewalk that led up to the front doors and turned to Stiles.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" she finally asked.

"No, it's okay," Stiles declined her offer with a shake of his head. "It's probably going to take a while." His eyes shifted back to the station while Malia let a frown tug her lips down.

It felt strange to be at odds with Stiles. Ever since she turned back human, he had been there for her. After she forgave him about the Peter situation, their friendship grew. As did her relationship with Sierra. The couple acted as her extended family. But now it felt like she was losing them, just like she lost her adopted family in the car crash.

Stiles didn't like staying quiet either. Malia had turned into the sister he never had; he was protective over the werecoyote. And he hated the fact she didn't want to talk to him anymore, and that he couldn't bring himself to try talking to her.

It all just felt wrong.

Unable to take the tension, Stiles finally reached for the door handle.

"Are you going to tell him about Donovan?"

Stiles stopped, his head turning to Malia in disbelief. His lips parted and he found it difficult to answer her. "I, uh...you knew?"

"I guessed," Malia corrected. "I saw the bite on your shoulder when we were at Scott's house and you fell asleep. Smelled the blood too."

Stiles fell back against his seat, lifting his arm to cover the mark still present on his shoulder blade. Yet he stayed quiet.

"Does Sierra know?"

Stiles barely nodded his head. "Yeah," he forced out, his voice breaking. "But we're not, uh, exactly talking right now."

"I just wanted to tell you that it didn't matter to me," Malia said next, looking at him seriously. "That's why I never said anything."

"Yeah, but it matters to me," Stiles whispered back in disagreement. How could she be okay with what he did? He thought that after all the time she spent with him and Sierra, that she would understand.

There was a line, Scott said it himself. And Stiles crossed it.

He shook his head then, and opened his car door.

If Malia didn't understand now how badly he screwed up, he couldn't help her anymore.

Stiles climbed out without saying another word, Malia watching him leave with her tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth.

Only when did he disappear did she start to cry.

Everything was falling apart. And once she went on with the plan she already started, it would only get worse.

She would lose Sierra and Stiles forever.

*^*^*^*^*^*

A hellhound.

Lydia continued to scan the mythology book in disbelief, reading the page again and again.

All day she had stayed with Parrish at the station, where he locked himself in a cell. She had no idea about how much her friends had changed within the past twenty-four hours. Lydia held no clue as to what was about to happen.

During her discussion with Parrish, Lydia remembered a conversation with Kira.

This led her to the school library to hurriedly search the shelves for an old, worn leather book.

"Woden's Hunt, also known as the Wild Ride or Wild Hunt," the words popped out from the page. "A myth of devilish riders in the sky accompanied by black dogs, spectral beasts whose eyes glowed with fire."

Lydia's breath hitched. Last time she checked Parrish's eyes glowed pretty fiery.

"A Bearer of Death and Guardian of the Supernatural, the black dog is also known by its more common name... The Hellhound," she read quietly.

Lydia shut the book abruptly, her mind swirling with the new information. After months of digging, Lydia finally figured it out.

Parrish was a hellhound.

It made sense; he protected the chimeras' identities by taking them to the Nemeton after they died.

However, before Lydia could react, sudden whispers fluttered past her ears.

Her body tensed, her palms pressing against the table.

"Liam, stop!"

She heard Sierra scream.

"Scott!"

Sobs filled the air.

"Sierra? No, you can't be here—you gotta get out, now!"

"Why did you do that?!"

Her head spun and Lydia slightly stumbled from the familiar dread overtaking her.

"You know what's coming."

Lydia whirled around to see Theo standing eerily still behind her. His eyes slightly narrowed towards her accusingly. "Don't you?"

Lydia swallowed hard, forcing out, "Someone's going to die here."

"You're right," Theo confirmed with a small nod, and Lydia looked back at him with confusion. "But I can't let you tell anyone."

"Why?"

"Because I want you, Lydia," Theo stated vaguely, only puzzling the banshee further. The only thing she knew was that she did not like how his face seemed to darken. "I want all of you."

Lydia started to shake her head, "What're you talking about?"

"Don't worry." Theo attempted to soothe the senior. "I'll give you some time to think about it."

Without warning, he slammed his fist into the side of Lydia's head.

The banshee collapsed into a heap, the impact knocking her out cold.

And Theo just smirked.

So far, everything was going according to his plan.

*^*^*^*^*^*

Scott couldn't believe the sight before him.

The roof of the hallway completely caved in, broken tiles and air ducts hanging down. Cement crushed into a set of lockers and brick covering the floor. The sign, Beacon Hills High School, cracked right down the middle thrown in the midst of it all.

Another chimera. It had to be; no other creature Scott knew of would be able to cause that much damage. Except the ones Scott had run into were failures, at least in the eyes of the dread doctors. None of them had the strength to completely tear open the school.

Which made Scott believe the scientists finally found their success.

The sound of his phone buzzing made him snap out of his scared trance. He pulled it out from his pocket to see a text from Lydia.

From: Lyd

Library.

Scott glanced back up at the chaos in front of him and swallowed hard.

Maybe Lydia had more details about what they were dealing with. He didn't want to get his hopes up, considering the banshee was the only one of his friends actually talking to him at the moment. But, he still rushed to the other side of the school to check in with her.

When he arrived, the sunlight from the giant wall of windows was fading. The library looked to be in order from what Scott observed; chairs were neatly pushed in and the books were lined up perfectly on the shelves. However, he still frowned.

Lydia wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Hey, Lydia?" he called out to her in concern.

Silence.

Scott looked back at his phone to see over six missed messages from a panicked Liam. Hayden was getting worse, and based on the urgency from the beta, Hayden seemed to be on her death bed.

Scott sighed, and scanned the library again. He needed to find Valerie for the young chimera's sake. Valarie deserved to know the truth and to be at her sister's side. Scott didn't want to let Hayden down; not like how he seemed to let everyone else down.

Scott hesitantly chose to not respond to Liam, and instead called Lydia. The banshee had to be around somewhere. She wasn't the type to message him for no reason.

Almost immediately, he heard the familiar ringtone of Lydia's favorite song. Scott turned his head to his right, and tilted it in confusion.

His body became alert as he carefully moved forward, Lydia's phone continuing to buzz.

He only stopped when he spotted the device on a random shelf. Scott snatched it up, darting his eyes around to try and figure out what was going on. Only then did he see it.

A perfect line of black dust, stretching alongside the outer sides of the library.

Mountain ash.

Scott stepped back, a million thoughts running through his head. Though, nothing prepared him for the sight when he turned around.

Theo didn't say a word at first, keeping his back turned to the true alpha. He simply continued to pour the mountain ash onto the floor until his hand was empty.

"That's not," the words got caught in Scott's throat as he stared at Theo with astonishment. "That's not possible."

Theo finally faced him, a blank expression masking his true thoughts. "You're right," he merely shrugged. "A werewolf shouldn't even be able to touch mountain ash."

"You're a chimera," Scott realized.

Theo's lips curled into a smirk as he emphasized, "I'm the first chimera."

"It's the coyote part you don't notice."

Scott narrowed his gaze, his hands curling into fists as he slowly moved towards Theo. However, the chimera wasn't fazed.

"That's why Malia trusted me first, even though she probably didn't notice," Theo said, eyeing Scott. He took one step back, his feet right in front of the mountain ash barrier. "You found a perfect word though, Scott. Because a chimera isn't just a monster with different parts."

His voice grew deeper, almost growling as he spit, "It can also mean something impossible to achieve. An unrealizable dream."

"And they realized you?"

"They came close to me," Theo corrected him in reference to the dread doctors. "But we can't all be perfect. We can't all be true alphas."

Guess what, all of us can't be true alphas.

Scott snapped as he remembered similar words from Stiles just from the night before. And he charged.

Though, all Theo had to do was take a step back.

Scott collided with the mountain ash at full force, the impact throwing him into one of the desks. A groan escaped him while Theo stifled a laugh.

"Damn," he commented. "I felt that." Theo walked out of the double doors, talking to Scott over his shoulder. "No calls, Scott. No Stiles. No Malia. No Lydia."

Scott scrambled to his feet just as Theo switched on a cell phone jammer. "It won't matter," Scott tried to remain optimistic, his voice sharp. "Sierra will find me."

"Are we talking about the same Sierra you screamed at last night?" Theo recalled. "The one who you told to leave you alone?"

Scott's face fell.

Theo chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Even if she did come, how do you know that I didn't want her here? Face it, Scott. I've thought about this for months. She doesn't come, you die. If she does, she dies. Sounds like a win-win situation. Well, at least for me anyways."

Scott growled, throwing his fist into the barrier angrily.

Theo just laughed. "Yeah, have fun with that. You're going to have a lot of time on your hands as you wait alone for what's next."

"What do you mean?" Scott snapped. "What's next?"

"The super moon."

*^*^*^*^*^*

"Okay, what the hell are you doing here?"

Sierra stood right inside her front door, a scowl on her lips as soon as she saw the person standing in front of her. Her pale skin stood out among the black T-shirt adorning her torso. Her normal bright eyes were bloodshot and her nose tinged red. She held her water bottle in her hand and took a swig to help her dry throat.

"Well, hello to you too," Theo smirked at the true empath in greeting. His hands were shoved into the pockets of a leather jacket, his brown hair styled upwards. "Might I say you're looking as beautiful as ever."

"Shove it, Raeken," Sierra rolled her eyes in irritation. "What do you want?"

"I thought you aren't supposed to get sick," Theo commented instead, noticing the congestion changing her voice. He raised an eyebrow as she sneezed. "Like ever. Are you alright?"

Sierra didn't buy into his act. "Don't bother trying to pretend you care about me, Theo. Just tell me what you want before I blast you away myself."

"It's Scott," Theo revealed. "He doesn't think that you want to see him."

"He's right," Sierra confirmed with a curt nod. She moved to close the door, "Bye now!"

Theo stuck his foot out just before it closed, and he let out a sigh. "Sierra, listen to me, please."

"Why should I?" Sierra shot back. "You've been lying since you came here, and you got what you wanted. Go be Scott's best friend, I don't care."

"I'm not interested in being Scott's friend," Theo told her, matching her frustrated tone. "I know I've been lying but you have to listen to me. They're moving Hayden to the hospital because she's getting worse. Scott went to find her sister but he hasn't been answering any of my calls. I think he's in trouble."

"Scott can handle a chimera all on his own," Sierra replied, hiding the concern washing over her.

Theo questioned, "How about an angry Liam with the power of a super moon behind him?"

Sierra took a defensive step forward. "Liam would never hurt Scott."

"Are you sure about that?" Theo pushed her. "You've seen the way he's been acting over Hayden, Sierra. She isn't getting better and Liam blames Scott. And the super moon doubles the built up aggression he's already been experiencing."

Sierra's frown deepened as Theo spoke. She had seen Liam on a normal full moon and it wasn't pretty. Thinking about the super moon only made her feel uneasy.

And despite her being at odds with her best friend, Sierra knew she had to help him.

"Let me get dressed," Sierra decided, leading Theo to brighten. "I'll go with you to find Scott."

"Actually, Stiles texted me when I pulled in," Theo said, watching her strong facade crack at his name. "Parrish broke out of his cell. Stiles wanted to track him to find the Nemeton."

Sierra blew out a heavy breath.

She had to make a choice. Help Stiles with Parrish or protect Scott from Liam?

She was at odds with both boys, but she couldn't just sit around when they needed her.

Theo already knew what she was going to choose—she didn't even need to say anything.

By downplaying Stiles's need, Sierra would choose Scott.

"You go help Stiles," Sierra said just like he thought she would. "Parrish isn't dangerous if you just stay out of his way. Keep your distance and track him."

Theo feigned concern. "Are you sure? You look sick."

"I'm fine," Sierra waved her free hand before holding up her water bottle. "I've been drinking a lot of water."

She didn't catch the little upwards flip of Theo's lips and went on. "Do you have any idea as to where Scott would be?"

"I knew he was going to the school," Theo answered. "Apparently there were a lot of cops there earlier—the high school sign ended up crashed in a hallway."

"Of course it did," Sierra sighed. "Alright, you better go on to meet Stiles. I'll head to the school right after I grab a jacket."

Theo nodded, "Sounds good. I'll text you if anything happens." He then bid her goodbye with a wave and headed back to his truck.

Sierra kept her eye on him until he disappeared down the road, and then hardened her gaze into a glare.

"You read his mind, didn't you?" Jemma's voice entered Sierra's ears. Sierra turned her head to see her older sister coming to stand beside her.

Sierra replied sharply, casting a weary glance back to where Theo had been, "Of course I did. Out of everything that happened between Scott, Stiles, and I, I'm not taking risks anymore."

"So what'd you find out?" Jemma questioned with raised eyebrows.

"He wants me to go after Scott at the school."

"Why?"

"So Liam can kill Scott and keep me occupied."

Jemma's eyes widened and she looked at her younger sister in concern. "Sierra, you said that way too casually for me to not freak out. Why does he want Liam to kill Scott?"

"Because only Liam can take Scott's power," Sierra answered, and stepped back inside the house. Jemma followed suite, closing the front door. "Only then can Theo take it from Liam."

Sierra hurriedly ran up the stairs, Jemma rushing to follow her inside her bedroom.

"So you're going to do exactly what he wants?" Jemma clarified.

"If Theo's with Stiles, he can't hurt Scott," Sierra stated, but only confused Jemma more.

The older empath stood in Sierra's room, watching Sierra place her water bottle down and open her closet. "So you want Stiles to get hurt but not Scott?"

"Theo's not going to hurt Stiles," Sierra said as she shuffled through her jackets. "He wants Stiles to join his pack—same with Malia and Kira. Even Lydia. He just wants me and Scott out of the picture. That way, we can't stop them from reaching their true potential."

"To become what?" All of this was mind boggling to Jemma, since she only recently involved herself in the drama. "Homicidal killers?"

"Pretty much."

Sierra walked out of her closet, slipping her leather jacket over her black T-shirt. Luckily she was already wearing some grey joggers so she didn't need to change more.

Jemma looked at Sierra in disbelief as she calmly put on her Vans. "Can you at least act a little worried to assure me you're still alive?"

"Trust me, I'm alive," Sierra forced a grin, pushing the truth of Theo's intentions away from her mind. Jemma didn't need to know. "Just a little broken-hearted is all."

Jemma's face softened. "Sierra—"

"I know you were helping Melissa and Noah find the connections between the chimeras," Sierra went on, ignoring the pain in her chest. "You mind helping again?"

"What can I do?" Jemma immediately asked.

"Melissa took Hayden to the hospital," Sierra said as she raised to her feet. "I need you to be there because I can't be."

"She's dying, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Sierra whispered, and then cleared her throat. She didn't have time to be upset. "But there are two chimeras on the loose, and I need you to protect Melissa and Hayden."

"Of course," Jemma nodded, though her heart hurt. She knew how much Sierra loved Hayden. "I can drop you off at the high school and then head that way."

"Perfect," Sierra nodded. "Ready to go?"

"I guess," Jemma sighed, but cast her sister a worried glance. "But Sierra, you told me about Eichen and the last time you used your powers. Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I'll be fine."

Jemma heard her heart skip--even though it was quick. She looked at Sierra seriously and held out her pinky. "Promise me?"

Sierra offered her a weak smile, "You know I can't do that, Jem."

"You have been through hell and back," Jemma stated sternly, her voice cracking. "I am not going to lose you now."

Sierra didn't say anything for a moment. She just moved towards Jemma and wrapped her arms around her torso. Jemma hugged her younger sister back tightly, scared to let her go.

Sierra leaned back to see Jemma's face and smiled sadly. "You're not going to lose me, okay? Ever. But you know I have to protect my friends."

"Who's going to protect you?"

"You've always protected me, Jem," Sierra said as Jemma wiped her eyes. "Since the day that I was born, you were always there for me. It's time I be there for someone else."

Jemma hugged her again, tears running down her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing time could reverse to when Sierra was young again. When their parents were alive. When they were happy.

"I love you so much," Jemma cried out, burying her head in Sierra's shoulder.

Sierra clung to her.

"I love you too."

Sierra knew what she would be walking into; she knew Theo's plan. It was possible that it would fail, that he wouldn't get he wanted.

But Sierra felt a familiar ache in her chest, one that only burned when a certain banshee saw the future.

So, she simply squeezed Jemma tighter and didn't say a word.