[3x02; Chaos Rising]

May 16, 2011

Olivia folded her arms over her chest as she stood next to Derek, glaring at the old, beaten down and fire-warped house in front of her. Hopefully it would be the last time she would ever have to see it; any day now she and Derek would sign it over to the county so they could start to demolish it and reclaim the land back for the reserve.

However, before then there was some work they had to do.

The symbol painted on the rackety front door was still there, looking the same as when Derek showed her a picture of it the day before. It was some sort of triskele but the arms were straight and angled. Personally, Olivia thought that it was ugly and way too close to a swastika to mean anything good. The fact that Derek called a pack meeting, which included Peter now, didn't bode well either.

"You haven't told them everything yet, have you?" Peter asked Derek from behind her.

Both Olivia and Isaac turned to their alpha expectantly.

"What do you mean?" Isaac was the one to speak.

Peter smirked and leaned against the tree he had stopped next to. "Why do you think Derek was in such a hurry to build his pack? So eager to strengthen his power and his number?" he nodded at the door. "When there's a new alpha people take notice."

"People like who?" Olivia's gaze switched from Derek to the symbol on the door. "That has something to do with this, doesn't it?"

Isaac glanced at the symbol, his eyebrows furrowing. "What does that mean?"

"It's their symbol," Derek told him. "It means that they're coming."

"Who?"

"Alphas."

Olivia reared back, giving her cousin an incredulous look. "More than one?"

Derek inhaled deeply. "A pack of them."

"An alpha pack," Peter said dramatically. "and they're not coming. They're already here."

-

-

"I'm telling you, Al, I don't see it," Olivia sighed as she and Allison followed Lydia down the sidewalk to head Heath's house down the street.

She raised her bruised arm and squinted at it in the dark, trying to see the pattern that Allison was talking about. The taller brunette was adamant that the bruises that the random woman gave them were identical and completed some kind of mark when they put their arms together but Olivia thought that she was going crazy. How would anyone be able to control what a bruise looks like?

"It's a pattern," Allison insisted, pulling her phone out of her purse to call Scott yet again. "It means something."

Olivia eyed the phone, watching as it went straight to voicemail. "And you think Scott's gonna know what it is?"

"No but he might know someone who does."

Lydia sighed heavily from in front of them and turned around to face them, walking backward. "How are you so sure this so-called pattern means anything at all?"

Allison's face screwed into a frustrated expression. "Because that girl wasn't just looking for Scott, it was like she needed to find him. And she knew you, too, Liv," she pointed out; Olivia pursed her lips. "That means something."

Olivia wasn't convinced but she wasn't going to disagree with Allison about something so minor. She would rather that Scott answer his phone so that they could go talk to him than continue on to Heath's house so they could celebrate his seventeenth birthday. It wasn't her idea of a fun night, especially when she and Lydia hadn't seen Heath in such a long time.

"Okay, so the bruise means something," Lydia conceded for now. "but can we focus, please? Tonight's supposed to be fun."

Olivia and Allison exchanged frowns; neither of them wanted to be there.

"Ugh," the redhead groaned and pointed at Olivia. "don't give me that look."

"What look?"

"The look you always give me when you don't want to socialize," Lydia stated. Somehow, she was still walking backward in her heels and she hadn't even stumbled. Even though she wasn't clumsy, Olivia really envied her cousin's balance sometimes.

"I don't want to socialize," Olivia shrugged.

"Why are we even going to this party?" Allison spoke up in her defense. "We don't even go to school with these people."

"My dad and Liv's mom were best friends with Heath's parents so we were all passed around for babysitting when we were kids," Lydia informed her.

"We haven't seen him in years," Olivia added with a roll of her eyes.

"So? Heath promised that he'd introduce us to his hot friends," Lydia grinned. "They're on the soccer team."

"I told you—"

"I have a—"

"Yeah, yeah," Lydia cut off Olivia and Allison as they spouted off their excuses. "but I don't have a boyfriend and I'm looking for a distraction, remember?"

Olivia sighed as they came upon Heath's house. It looked the same as it did when she and Lydia were kids except it was a light blue now and there were a bunch of cars parked in the driveway. She could already hear the music blasting from inside and she could tell she wasn't a fan of it.

Now that they were here, they couldn't exactly leave. Well, they could but she doubted that Lydia would let them. She turned to Lydia with a sigh. "One drink?"

Lydia beamed at her. "One drink," she confirmed, grabbing Olivia's hand to drag her up the pathway that led to the front door. Olivia took Allison's hand and took her along too. If she was going down, Allison had to go with her. "Here we go."

They entered the house and surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people hanging around. There were twenty or thirty of Heath's classmates, both boys and girls, but the house wasn't as full as one would expect when you're used to Lydia Martin's parties. There wasn't anything interesting about it, either, except the huge cake that sat on one of the food tables. Now that caught Olivia's eye.

"Lydia, Liv!" Heath, a tall blonde with warm brown eyes, bounded up to them with a happy grin on his face. "You made it."

Lydia excepted the hug that Heath offered. "Thanks for inviting us."

"Happy birth—" Olivia forced herself to say as Heath moved onto her, only to be cut off when he smashed his lips against her. She quickly pushed him off of her, jostling his drink onto her shirt in the process, and glared up at him with shocked and angry eyes. "What the hell?"

"Liv," Allison touched her shoulder to steady her, her own eyes wide. Lydia looked just as shocked with the turn of events. "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Olivia assured her before turning back to Heath for an explanation.

"Sorry, sorry, I can explain," Heath said hurriedly, awkwardly holding his hands away from her. "Uh, here...let me—let me help you dry off."

Olivia gaped at him and he frantically corrected himself. "No, I meant that there's towels in the kitchen. And you—you can dry yourself off and I'll get y-you a shirt."

The last thing Olivia wanted was to go anywhere with Heath but her blouse was sticking to her torso and it was white, which was not a good combination. Plus, she could smell the alcohol on Heath's breath. It was clear he needed some water and she wasn't a complete monster.

"Fine," she huffed and walked off, already heading to where she remembered the kitchen was located.

Heath ducked into the laundry room to grab a shirt from her and entered the kitchen when he was done. "Here," he handed her a neon pink t-shirt with the name of his school on the front. "It's my mom's."

"Thanks," her voice was the flattest it had ever been. "You should probably drink some water."

"Yeah, I had some beer," Heath went to the fridge and pulled out two water bottles, handing one to her. "Listen, I'm sorry about earlier."

Olivia untwisted the cap from bottle and quirked an eyebrow at him. "You mean when you kissed me?"

"Yeah," Heath blushed in embarrassment. "My friends found out that I used to have a crush on you so they dared me to, you know, kiss you when you got here."

"I have a boyfriend."

Stiles was in the front of her mind and it made her stomach churn with guilt. Yeah, Heath kissed her but she didn't want him to and she certainly didn't kiss him back. She would never in a million years cheat on Stiles and just the thought of her lips pressed against someone else's while she was with Stiles freaked her the fuck out.

"I'm really sorry," Heath looked like he was about to burst into tears, he was so regretful. "They've just been teasing me because I don't have a girlfriend yet and I'm not interested in girls right now so they all think I'm gay—which isn't a bad thing but I have no idea what I may or may not be into! And when Ritchie found out I'm a virgin everything just got so much worse—"

"Heath, it's okay," Olivia felt bad for the guy now. It sounded like he was being bullied because he was still exploring his sexuality. She really wished he wouldn't have kissed her, especially while she was dating Stiles and without her permission, but it wasn't big of a deal. She would explain to Stiles and he would be fine.

Who was she kidding, Stiles would freak. He was jealous of Isaac when he joined Derek's pack just because they were walking and talking together.

"You should really get new friends," she continued, taking a sip of her water.

Heath laughed bitterly. "Yeah, probably. Anyway, I'm really sorry, Liv. I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have," Olivia agreed. "but it's fine. I forgive you, so..."

"Well, thank you."

An awkward silence started up and it made Olivia's twitch, like she wanted to run far, far away. And she did want to, to be fair. She also really needed to change her shirt.

"I'm gonna go change," she held up the t-shirt he had given her.

"Yeah," Heath nodded. "Um, I'm gonna get some more beer from the garage, so...um, have some cake before you leave."

"I will," Olivia said as she left the kitchen and hurried to the downstairs bathroom.

Once her beer-stained blouse was traded out for the t-shirt, she left the house to meet up with Lydia and Allison, who told her that they were out in the front waiting for her. To her surprise, they weren't the only ones; Stiles and Scott were there, too.

"Hey!" Stiles' eyes lit up when he saw her, making her stomach clench guiltily. "Lydia said you had a little accident. Nice shirt."

Olivia smiled weakly. "Thanks," she needed to tell him now before she lost her nerve. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course."

Their talk lasted more than a minute. In fact, it lasted the whole ride back to Olivia's house. Just like Olivia predicted, Stiles did freak out about Heath and what had happened. In the four months that they had been a couple, they had two previous fights and neither of them were as bad as the one they were currently in.

It wasn't even that they were mad at each other, really. Stiles was angry and when he was angry, he was a sarcastic little shit and Olivia couldn't hold back her own comments, which set them off in an endless cycle.

"The fact is that you were lying," Stiles told her angrily.

"Lying about what?" Olivia scoffed. "Heath kissed me literally two minutes before you came, Stiles. How the hell was I lying to you?"

"I'm not even talking about that fucker now, God."

"Well, how was I supposed to know? God, you're so infuriating," Olivia gritted her teeth.

"I was talking about the alpha pack," Stiles continued like she hadn't said anything. "You knew about this for what, four months?"

"It's more like three, really..."

"And you didn't even tell me," Stiles waved his hand in frustration, his eyes narrowed as he turned onto her street. "You didn't tell me that some weird pack of alphas—what the fuck is up with that, anyway—is in Beacon Hills and they're doing god-knows-what!"

Okay, he had a point there. Olivia didn't tell him about the alpha pack but she didn't want to bother him with it. He and Scott had made it clear that they weren't part of the Hale pack and she was, so didn't tell him.

"You're not supposed to lie to the people you're in a relationship with!" Stiles exclaimed, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. "I mean, I know you have a heart of stone and everything, but—"

Olivia winced at his words, the corner of her eyes starting to sting. "Wow."

Stiles, out of anyone, knew that she didn't have a heart of stone. She had as much feelings as everyone else. Just because she could hide them well didn't mean anything. He knew that. Hell, he had told her that himself many times before—he always sounded so proud when he talked about the fact that he could read her even though other people couldn't. And he knew how much she loved him. So, the fact that he was throwing that in her face hurt her.

"What?" Stiles looked over at her, like he hadn't realized what he had said. Apparently, he hadn't because he looked like he had slapped himself when he remembered his words. "No, I didn't mean that, Olivia."

Olivia pressed her lips together and looked out her window, grateful that he was pulling up to her house. "Sure Stiles," she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. "Night."

"Wait, no, Livvy," Stiles reached for her hand, grabbing it just before she jumped out of his jeep. "I really didn't mean that. You know that—"

"You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it," she snapped at him, ripping her hand away from him.

"Come on," Stiles groaned, growing irritated again; she slid out of the passenger seat and slammed the door behind her. "Olivia!"

Olivia kept walking toward her house, not allowing her tears to fall until Stiles drove off.

-

"You know, I'm starting not to like this idea. It sounds kinda dangerous," Isaac admitted as he paced in front of the huge window in Derek's loft, his hands clenched into fists. "You know what? I definitely don't like this idea and I definitely don't like him."

"You should be fine," Olivia tried to reassure him before pausing, twisting her lips. "Well, I think you will."

"You'll be fine," Derek told Isaac while sending Olivia a shut-up-you're-scaring-him look.

Isaac turned to Derek just as the alpha went back to reading his book. "Does it have to be him?"

"He knows how to do it. I don't," Derek didn't even bother looking up from his reading. "It'd be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself."

Isaac exhaled out of his nose and walked over to the table where Olivia and Derek were sitting. "You know Scott doesn't trust him, right? You know, personally, I...well, I trust Scott."

It was hard not to trust Scott but that didn't mean Isaac couldn't trust Derek, too. Derek was trustworthy, even if Peter wasn't. And Derek—nor Olivia—would let Peter do anything to Isaac.

Derek looked over at him. "Do you trust me?"

It took longer than Olivia expected for Isaac to answer. "Yeah," he confirmed lightly. "I still don't like him."

"Isaac, he's my father and I don't like him," Olivia sighed. "I don't know anybody who does."

The large metal door to Derek's loft slid open, revealing Peter. He looked better now that he had cut his hair into an acceptable length and gained some color after his two-month stint with death. "Boys, cupcake," he greeted Olivia, Isaac, and Derek. "FYI, yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired but the hearing still works. So, I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is that you're feeling straight to my face."

Derek gave him a flat look and slammed his book shut. "We don't like you," he stood from his chair. "Now shut up and help us."

Peter shrugged. "Fair enough," he dramatically finished his statement by growing his claws. "Let's do this."

Soon enough, Isaac was situated in Derek's previous seat, almost curled in on himself from his nerves. Peter had an unimpressed look on his face as he watched the younger beta, slowly walking around him.

"Relax," he advised Isaac. "I'll get more out of you if you're calm."

Isaac glanced back at Peter as he stopped behind him. "How do you know how to do this again?"

It was a good question because Olivia didn't know the answer, either. All she knew was that Peter knew how to do it. He had used this method to give some of his memories of his comatose years to Scott when he was terrorizing Beacon Hills and Olivia had thought it was interesting since.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by alphas since it's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice," Peter said as he studied the back of Isaac's neck, lining up his claws at the appropriate spot for penetration. "One slip and you could paralyze someone...or kill them?"

"You've..." Isaac swallowed nervously. "You've had a lot of practice, though, right?"

Peter smiled creepily at him. "Well, I've never paralyzed anyone."

Olivia cocked her head. "Uh..."

"Wait, does that mean that you—"

Isaac wasn't able to finish his question as Peter forced his claws into the back of his neck; he flinched violently and Peter wrapped his arm around his throat to hold him still. Jumping to her feet, Olivia winced at the frantic whispers flying through her head.

Derek stood up in alarm, worried for his beta's safety but it seemed that even Peter was having trouble with the ritual. His eyes glowed an icy-blue as he grunted, his head jerking back from whatever he was seeing in Isaac's memories.

"Derek..." Olivia looked at her cousin nervously, standing from her chair.

Derek went to stop Peter from continuing the ritual but Peter finally spoke up.

"Wait, I see them," he said urgently.

He went silent again, struggling with everything he was seeing. After another moment, Peter ripped his claws from Isaac's neck and threw himself away from him, shoving himself into the table.

Olivia steadied him while Derek asked, "What did you see?"

"Uh, it was confusing," Peter panted, shaking his head. "Um, images...vague shapes."

"So you saw something," Olivia stated, glad that the ritual worked and that he hadn't done it for nothing.

"Isaac found them."

Olivia perked up at Peter's statement; if Isaac found Erica and Boyd that meant that they were one step closer to getting them home safe and sound.

"Erica and Boyd?" Derek checked.

"I-I barely saw them. I mean—g-glimpses."

"But you did see them?" Derek asked firmly.

Peter glanced down at his hands, tightly holding them together. "Worse."

Derek's face fell in realization. "Deucalion."

Olivia's shoulders slumped as she walked toward Isaac, settling her hands on his shoulders to try to give him some calming vibes, though she needed some herself. Deucalion was the leader of the alpha pack and even though he was blind, he was the most vicious out of all of them, according to Derek and Peter. Even thought they already knew that Erica and Boyd were with the alpha pack, it was hard to hear it confirmed.

"He was talking to them," Peter reported. "Something about time running out."

"What does it mean?" Isaac looked to Derek for answers.

Derek sat down on his couch, his face grim. "He's gonna kill them."

"No, no, no, he didn't say that," Peter disagreed. "He did make them a promise that by the full moon that they'd both be dead."

Shit, Olivia thought as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"The next full moon?"

Peter nodded at Derek. "Tomorrow night."

-

-

"You guys are late," Stiles' voice was dry and disapproving as Olivia and Derek made their way into the empty classroom that they were supposed to meet Stiles, Scott, Lydia, and Allison in before school started.

Olivia gave him a blank stare; she wasn't mad at him anymore but she was still a little irritated with how they both handled the night before. She also didn't like the way he was speaking to her now, as if it was such a big deal that they were three minutes late. "Do you know how hard it is to sneak a grown man into a school without being suspicious?" she narrowed her eyes at him while making her way to Allison and Lydia. She didn't give him time to answer, "I didn't think so."

Stiles rolled his eyes at her while Scott sighed and addressed Derek, "Yesterday someone was at the school looking for me. She spoke to Allison and Olivia—we think it was the girl who saved Isaac."

"The one he was looking for?"

"I described her to Isaac and he said that the description matched the girl," Olivia told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyway, she bruised me and Allison and now we have matching bruises."

"We think it's a hint to where Erica and Boyd are being kept," Allison's gaze was cool as she spoke to Derek.

It was the first time they were in the same room after everything went down with Jackson and Gerard. The tension was very obvious; they could all feel it in the air.

Allison held out her bruised arm and so did Olivia, placing hers right next to Allison's to complete the pattern. Olivia was still having a hard time seeing it, but she did know it was there after Allison drew out the pattern she saw on a piece of pattern.

Derek studied it for a moment. "I don't see anything."

"Look again," Scott urged.

"How is a bruise gonna tell me where Boyd and Erica are?"

"It's the same on both sides," Scott sighed in exasperation. "Exactly the same."

"It's nothing," Derek glared at Allison; she readily returned the vicious stare.

"Pareidolia," Lydia spoke up from the other side of Allison; Olivia cocked her head in acknowledgement as everyone else looked at her in confusion. "Seeing patterns that aren't there. It's a subset of apophenia."

Derek raised his eyebrows at her and then turned to Olivia expectantly.

Olivia pressed her lips together. "We're trying to help, Derek."

Derek scoffed and nodded his head at Allison. "She wants to help?" he scoffed. "She shot about thirty arrows into our pack, Olivia."

Allison raised an eyebrow but didn't argue with his point; she knew what she did but she wasn't going to apologize for it.

"Okay, all right, now, come on," Stiles tried to mediate. "No one died, all right? Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay, a little mangling but no death. That's what I call an important decision."

Olivia rolled her eyes at him while Allison glared at Derek. "My mother died."

"Your family's little honor code killed your mother, not me," Derek said tensely.

"That girl knew Olivia and was looking for Scott," Allison didn't back down. "I'm here to help them, not you."

"You wanna help? Find something real," Derek turned away from Allison and headed for the door.

Scott quickly stopped him. "Derek, give her a chance," he said quietly. "They're on our side now."

"Well then maybe you should tell her what her mother was actually trying to do that night," Derek retorted.

Olivia glanced at Allison and was relieved that she had turned away to talk to Lydia and wasn't listening to their conversation. She didn't need to learn that her mother was actually trying to kill Scott the night that she was bit in the middle of an argument—or at school, for that matter. Preferably, Scott would tell her in private where she could react however she wanted to.

-

Olivia only jumped a little bit when Coach slammed his teacher copy of their textbook unto his desk. She turned away from her conversation with Lydia, who was sitting beside her and behind Stiles, to get her notebook ready and pay attention to Coach's lecture. Her need to take precise notes extended even into the easy classes.

"The stock market is based on two principles," Coach spoke as he went to his spot in front of his students' desks. "What are they?"

Olivia knew the answer but she didn't bother to raise her hand to answer him; she was more interested in the fact that Scott had raised his hand in front of her and he was very confident about it.

Does Scott know the answer? Stiles did say that he had buckled down this summer when it came to school.

"Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom," Coach said casually as he looked for another hand. "Anybody else?"

Scott lowered his hand. "Uh, no, Coach, I know the answer."

Coach looked at him for only a second before bursting into laughter. When Scott didn't react in anyway, he sobered up. "Oh, you're serious."

"Yeah," Scott confirmed. "It's risk and reward."

Olivia raised her eyebrows and shared an impressed look with Lydia. Scott really was taking his studies seriously now.

"Wow!" Coach was shocked by the correct answer. "Who are you and what have you done to McCall?" he advanced to Scott desk to happily point his finger in his face. "Don't answer that. I like you better, I like you better," he stood straight again and looked around the room. "Does anybody have a quarter?"

"I do," Stiles answer, shoving his hand into his pocket to grab the coin.

In what felt like slow motion, a small foil packet flew out of his jeans and through the air, landing on the floor right in front of Coach's feet. When Olivia saw what the packet actually was, her face grew hot in embarrassment and irritation.

It was a fucking condom. What the hell was Stiles carrying around a condom for? He had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to have sex with her yet but he was carrying around a condom in his pocket? Was he breaking up with her because of their fight? Was he looking for another girlfriend?

Olivia was fully aware of how pathetic her thoughts had turned and she really didn't like it. She knew that Stiles loved her but the insecure and whiny part of her—a part that she didn't know she had until then—was throwing a fit and silencing her common sense. She couldn't stand how her relationship with Stiles had turned her into such an insecure and jealous little girl.

She loved him and their relationship but she certainly didn't like this part of her. This wasn't the real Olivia Martin.

The whole class went silent as Coach bent down to pick up the condom. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lydia give her a suggestive look but she was too busy staring at Stiles and the flush of his mole-speckled cheeks. He was frozen as Coach cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Stilinski," Coach coughed weakly. "I think you, uh, I think you dropped this," he handed the condom back to Stiles before he lowered his voice to add, "and congratulations."

It was only then that she saw the condom displayed itself as extra-extra-large. If her cheeks could heat up any further, she was sure a thermometer would show that she had a fever.

And then Stiles looked back at her with mixed emotions on his face. She could see that he was embarrassed and apologetic but there was also something else burning in his gaze that she couldn't decipher. She didn't know how to respond to his gaze; was she supposed to glare at him or smile?

In the end, she turned away as Coach started his lecture again.

"Risk and reward," he declared, turning to walk back to the front of the classroom to pick a mug up from his desk. "Put the quarter in the mug, win the reward. Okay, watch Coach."

He put the mug on the floor in front of his desk and then backed up five feet. Crouching down, he exhaled sharply and focused on the mug. Then, after a few seconds of lead up, he bounced the quarter off the floor and into the mug.

Olivia clapped with the rest of her classmates as Coach celebrated.

"That's how you do it!" Coach cheered before throwing the quarter over to Danny, who was sitting in front of Scott. "Okay, Danny. Risk or reward?"

Danny looked at the quarter in his hands. "What's the reward?"

"You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow."

"Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it," Danny reminded him.

Coach ripped the quarter from his hands. "Danny, you know, I really expect more from you at this point. Really," he moved onto Scott. "McCall, risk and reward. The risk; if you don't put that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop—the quiz—and you have to write an essay. Risk, more work. Reward, no work at all...Or choose not to play."

Scott picked up the quarter that Coach put on his desk. "But isn't this just chance?"

"No," Coach disagreed. "You know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, and past experience—all factors affecting the outcome...So, what's it gonna be, McCall? More work, no work, or choose not to play?"

Scott stared at the quarter for a few seconds before firmly setting it down on his desk.

"No play," Coach said aloud for the people who hadn't seen Scott's decision. He took the quarter back and looked around the room. "Okay, who's next? Who wants the quarter?"

Stiles rapidly drummed on his textbook, catching Coach's attention.

"There ya go! There's a gambling man! Come on. Step up, step up!" he handed the quarter to Stiles and allowed him to head to the front of the room. "All right, Stilinski."

Stiles took his position five feet away from the mug and bent his knees to get better aim. He was so focused on getting the quarter in the mug that he didn't even notice that the classroom door opened and his father stepped into the room.

"Olivia."

Olivia was shocked to hear her name come from the sheriff but Stiles had misinterpreted it. He thought that Coach was getting Olivia's attention. "I'm Stiles, actually."

"Stiles, no," Noah shook his head at his son, who finally looked up and saw him standing there. He turned to where Olivia was sitting and nodded solemnly. "I need to speak with you, Olivia."

Olivia bit the inside of her cheek but steeled herself as she got up out of her seat. The few feet between her and the sheriff felt like miles but in reality, it took her less than ten seconds to join him and his deputy in the hallway.

"Sheriff, what's going on?" she asked worriedly. She was pretty sure she hadn't done anything to warrant a visit from the police and if it was about Thomas or Natalie, they would have called Lydia out, too. That meant that something had to have happened to Peter or Derek. That was the scope of her relatives.

"Olivia, I'm sorry to tell you this here but your friend, Heath Sommers, was reported missing," Noah told her; Olivia raised an eyebrow, shocked by what he revealed. "Now, we heard from some of his friends that you interacted with him at his party last night. Do you have any idea if Heath was going to go somewhere and he might not have told someone?"

"N-No, he didn't—he didn't mention anything," Olivia stammered as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that Heath was missing when she just saw him less than twenty-four hours ago. "He spilled a drink on me last night and he gave me one of his mom's shirts. Are you sure he's missing?"

"We're sure," Noah confirmed with a nod. "Did you talk about anything that may have been suspicious?"

Olivia thought back to the conversation she had with Heath. "He told me that he was struggling with his teammates," she recalled. She wasn't sure if she should reveal Heath's struggle with his sexuality or not. She decided not to; that was Heath's business to share. "They were teasing him."

"Do you know what they were teasing him about?"

"No, sir," she shook her head, her mind racing. "Am I in trouble? I told you everything that I know."

It was a lie but they didn't need to know about that particular part of their conversation.

"You're not in trouble," Noah assured her. "We just needed to follow through since his friends said that you were the last person who saw him."

That surprised her. "Really?"

Noah nodded. "We hope that it's just a series of bad decisions based on too much to drink but if you remember anything else, you should call me."

"I will," Olivia promised.

"All right," Noah sighed and shared a nod with his deputy. "Well, I'm sure I'll see you later, Olivia. Have a good rest of the day."

"Thanks, you too."

She stayed in her spot as Noah and the deputy left the hallway to head back to the office. Once she was sure they weren't coming back, she walked over to the wall next to the classroom door and slid down onto the floor. After she pulled her knees up to her chest, she rested her forehead against them.

Not only were Erica and Boyd still missing but now Heath was too. It was odd that three people that she knew were no where to be found...Unless it wasn't odd and it wasn't a coincidence. The alpha pack had taken Erica and Boyd, who's to say they didn't take Heath, too? She didn't know why the alpha pack was targeting people she knew, but she was admittedly the closest person to Derek, so if they were after him, maybe they were after her too.

It made her feel like she was having a heart attack just thinking about it. Because if they were targeting people around her, not only was she responsible for Heath's disappearance but the other people she loved and cared for might be next. She couldn't handle that.

She pressed her hand flat against her heart and inhaled deeply, trying to relax. She wished that she could have a calming effect on herself like she had for werewolves. She really got the raw end of the deal on that.

The door opened beside her and someone walked out of the classroom, coming to stand in front of her. When she removed her head from her knees, she saw that it was Scott kneeling in front of her with worried eyes. He must have heard her freaking out.

"Hey."

"Hi," Scott smiled slightly. "You okay? I heard what the sheriff said."

"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted. "but Scott, I think the alpha pack took Heath."

"You think that they kidnapped Heath?" Scott raised an eyebrow in surprise. "To what, turn him?"

"I don't know," she said honestly; what else would alpha werewolves do with a human? "but Derek said that it's easier to turn teenagers."

"A pack of alphas with a beta?"

"I know it sounds crazy," she acknowledged. "but I've known Heath since I was a baby and I feel like it's my fault that they took him."

"Okay, okay," Scott nodded calmly. "So we need Isaac to remember where he found Boyd and Erica then."

"Peter couldn't even do that and he did that weird mind-meld thing," she sighed, leaning her head against the wall. "Do you know any other werewolves that might know something different? Because I don't."

"I don't either," Scott said. "but maybe we don't need another werewolf. Maybe we need someone who knows a lot about them."

-

-

The bag of ice in Stiles' hands was freezing and borderline painful but the more he handled the frozen cubes, the less he noticed. Deaton must have bought thirty of the ten-pound bags of ice in preparation for the little ritual he was going to do to Isaac. He, Scott, and Derek dutifully poured them into the tub of water that was full of some special herbs that Deaton wouldn't really explain.

Yeah, like that wasn't creepy at all.

Meanwhile, Stiles also kept an ear out for Deaton's conversation with Isaac and Olivia. He was giving them a little information about the ritual and for some reason, Olivia had to join the beta. It annoyed the fuck out of Stiles that Olivia had been stuck to Isaac's side since they all arrived at the animal clinic but that the jealous side of him. Logically he knew that she wanted to be there for her friend and pack mate. He just didn't like it—then again, he didn't like Isaac much.

"Obviously, it's not going to be particularly comfortable," Deaton told Isaac. "but if we can slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trance-like state."

"Like being hypnotized," Olivia offered.

"Exactly," Deaton confirmed before addressing Isaac again while they walked into the exam room where Stiles, Derek, and Scott had finished up, "You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."

"How slow does his heart rate need to be?" Scott wondered as Isaac crouched down near the tub of ice water.

"Very slow."

"Okay, well, how slow is very slow?" Derek asked, annoyed with how cryptic the veterinarian was being.

"Nearly dead."

Stiles didn't like how casual Deaton's tone was and by the looks everyone else was giving him, they didn't like it either.

Isaac cautiously put a hand on top of the freezing water and hissed when his skin made contact. "It's safe, though, right?"

Stiles turned away from the conversation, a little bored—it was Isaac, all right? —and wandered over to the counters. They were in the only exam room in the animal clinic which meant that this was the same room he, Olivia, and Derek were in when the werewolf was shot with that wolfsbane bullet. Stiles had seen some pretty interesting stuff when he was cleaning up the counter but he hadn't had time to explore then. Now he had time.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?"

Stiles found the protective gloves first; there were three different boxes on display, each one of them a different size. He was most interested in the long gloves. He had seen Dr. Pol before so he knew that they were the ones that vets wore when sticking their hands up an animal's butt.

He scrambled to put one on.

"No. No, not really," Isaac sighed flatly.

The end of the rubber glove snapped the inside of his elbow painfully but he didn't wince. The sound had gotten the attention of everyone else so he smiled at them, proud of his actions. No one else seemed to be.

"What?"

Olivia and Derek raised their eyebrows in unison—and, of course, the expressions were identical. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and ripped the glove off his arm, throwing it to the side.

"Look," Derek turned to Isaac as the younger werewolf stood to his feet. "if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this."

"If it helps, you won't be doing this alone," Deaton offered to everyone's surprise. "Olivia will be joining you."

"Excuse me, what?" Stiles interrupted, looking at Olivia worriedly. He really hoped that she wasn't getting in that tub with Isaac because he definitely didn't want her in a position where her heart was beating so slow that she was nearly dead.

"You didn't mention anything about that," Derek glared at the vet.

"Relax," Olivia soothed them. "I'll just be guiding him through the process."

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest, uncomfortable. "Why does it have to be you?"

"As an anchor, Olivia has a unique relationship with each member of the pack that not even the alpha has," Deaton informed them. "She's connected to them on a mental level, where most people wouldn't be able to connect. She's the most likely to access Isaac's subconsciousness."

Stiles nodded slowly, coming to an understanding. Olivia wouldn't be in danger, she would just be guiding Isaac through the ritual. He wasn't going to tell her what to do, anyway. She never listened to him so what was the point? She was an independent woman who was free to make her own choices, Stiles understood that.

Olivia glanced between him and Derek. "Are you satisfied with that explanation or do you want to protest more?"

Stiles scowled at her while Derek rolled his eyes. She was so prickly sometimes—it was the Hale in her. He was sure of it.

Ready to start, Olivia took a seat on a roll-y stool at the head of the tub while Isaac removed his shirt. He inhaled deeply before stepping into the tub and sitting down into the water. The icy water must have seized his lungs, as he started panting right away.

Scott and Derek stood on either side of him with their sleeves rolled up, ready to force him into the water. Stiles took his place at the foot of the tub as they shoved him underwater, water and ice splashing everywhere.

With a roar, Isaac came springing from the water, fangs bared and eyes gold. Stiles hurriedly ducked his hand under the water and grabbed onto his legs, ignoring the cold to use all of his strength to keep him still.

"Get him back under," Deaton ordered him, Derek, and Scott.

"Isaac," Olivia's voice was almost like she was singing as she reached for his head to press her fingertips against his temples. He calmed only a little, still thrashing beneath their hands.

He went under the water again but only a second later he popped right back up.

"Hold him!"

"We're trying," Derek hissed at the veterinarian.

"Isaac!" Olivia raised her voice while Derek and Scott ducked him back under. Her eyes were purple now and even though she was staring in Stiles' direction he knew that she wasn't seeing him.

Isaac stilled under the water and when he, Scott, and Derek removed their hands from him, he slowly floated to the top, only his face peeking out.

"Now, remember," Deaton spoke softly as to not disturb Isaac. "only Olivia should talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out."

Stiles, Scott, and Derek all nodded in agreement. No talking for them.

"Olivia."

"Isaac," Olivia's voice was calm and soothing while still being clear. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," Isaac spoke like he wasn't actually awake. Which, Stiles knew, he wasn't. He was hypnotized—at least, that was what Deaton said.

"It's Liv."

Stiles raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend; since when did Isaac call start calling her Liv?

Not really a time to get jealous, Stiles! He reminded himself harshly.

"I need to ask you some questions. Is that all right?"

Isaac's voice trembled; whether it was from the cold water or his nerves, Stiles couldn't say. "Yes."

"I have to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd," Olivia stated. "You need to remember it for me as detailed as possible. Like you're actually there again."

"I-I don't—I don't want to do that," the lights started blinking on and off as Isaac started to freak out. "I don't want to do that."

"It's all right, Isaac," Olivia almost cooed. "I'm right here with you. You just need to relax. They're just memories. You can be hurt by memories."

"I don't want to do that."

"It's all right."

"I don't want to do that."

"Relax, Isaac," she shushed him and her purple irises seemed to brighten for a moment; Isaac calmed down, going still again. "Good, good...Okay, let's go back to that night where you found Erica and Boyd. Can you show me what you see? Is there some kind of building or house?"

Olivia's eyes started darting around the room as if she was seeing the same thing that Isaac remembered. Thankfully, Isaac clued the rest of them in on what they were seeing. "It's not...it's not a house. It's stone. I think it's marble."

"Perfect, Isaac. I can see it," Olivia confirmed. "Can you give me anything else?"

She must have been seeing things only as Isaac started to remember them.

"It's dusty, so empty."

"Like an abandoned building," while Olivia spoke, Stiles exchanged looks with Scott and Derek. This was much weirder than any of them thought it would be. "Isaac?"

Isaac started to shift nervously again. "Someone's here," he whispered frantically. "Someone's here."

"Isaac, relax," Olivia ordered.

"No, no, no, they see me, they see me!"

"It's just a memory," she reminded him. "You can't be hurt by it. Just relax."

Isaac whimpered in fear but eventually calmed down again. Stiles actually felt sorry for the guy; even if he didn't like Isaac, he didn't want to see him hurt.

"Good, good...Show me what you see. Show me everything."

"I hear him," Isaac stated. "He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?"

"I think so. I can't—I can't see her. I can't...I can't...I can't see either of them."

"Can you hear anything else?" Olivia asked patiently.

"They're worried," he murmured. "They're worried what they'll do during the moon. They're worried that they're gonna hurt each other."

Derek looked at Scott worriedly. "If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart."

That was definitely not a good thing.

"Isaac, we have to find them right now," Olivia said urgently. "Can you see them?"

"No."

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of marker, a number on a door, or a sign?"

Isaac gasped deeply and sat up; he almost pulled Olivia into the tub with him if it wasn't for Derek grabbing her in time. "They're here!" he whimpered. "They...they..."

"I know. It's okay..."

"No!"

"Just show me—"

"They see me, they found me," Isaac said breathlessly. "They're here!"

Derek looked at Deaton in disapproval. "This isn't working," he declared before turning back to Isaac. "Isaac, where are you?"

"I can't see them. It's too dark!"

"Just tell me where you are!" Derek ordered.

"You're confusing him," Deaton interjected.

"I can't see!"

"Isaac, where are you? Just tell me where you are!"

"His heart rate! He could go into shock!"

"Derek, let him go," Scott pulled Derek's grip away from Isaac.

"Isaac, where are you?! What did you see?!"

"They got me! It's so dark. I can't see! Oh, my God, there's a dead body! It's Erica!"

Olivia gasped loudly, the purple in her eyes rapidly fading to their normal cobalt-blue state. She fell back from the stool and landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Stiles let go of Isaac's legs and rushed over to her, kneeling down next to her to see if she was okay.

To his shock, she was crying.

"Livvy," he gathered her into his arms and crushed her to his chest. "Are you okay? Babe, are you all right?"

"It was Erica," she whimpered shakily, digging her face into his shirt.

Stiles winced and looked up at Derek, seeing that the alpha had gone still in shock. His gaze to Scott, who was staring back at him with a sad look. If what Olivia and Isaac said was true, that meant that Erica was dead.

"It's a bank vault!" Isaac chose that time to startle awake, blinking the water from his eyes. "I saw it! I saw the name," he stood up and Scott immediately handed him the towel they set out for him earlier. "It's, uh...B-Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's, um, it's an abandoned bank and they're keeping them locked inside the vault."

Stiles grimaced and looked back down at Olivia, leaning his chin on her head to provide any comfort that she could take. Isaac noticed how uncomfortable they all looked and almost blanched when he saw the upset state Olivia was in.

"What?"

"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asked him.

Isaac shook his head. "No."

"You said when they captured you that they dragged you into a room and that there was a body in it."

"What body?"

"Erica," Stiles sighed sadly. "You said it was Erica."

Isaac was shocked into silence, just like Derek and Olivia, but he had enough in him to sit down first. While Scott and Deaton cleaned up the huge mess of water, Stiles grabbed Olivia her own towel, as she had gotten the most wet while dealing with Isaac. When she was settled on the same table as Isaac, he jumped up to sit next to her and allowed her to nestle her head into his shoulder.

Any anger that he had with her was gone. Yeah, she lied to him about the alpha pack and they needed to work on that but that was old news now. There were more important things to worry about; Erica was dead and Boyd was still with the alpha pack, bound to lose control during the full moon that was coming up in twenty-four hours.

"I don't think you saw Erica's body," Derek finally spoke up; it was clear that he was deep in denial. "It could've been your imagination."

"It was her," Olivia croaked, her bloodshot eyes turning to her cousin. "I saw her, too."

Derek shook his head and raised his voice. "She's not dead!"

"Derek, he said that there was a dead body and that it was Erica," Stiles tried to get through to him. "That doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation."

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?"

"Someone else, obviously."

"Maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle," Scott piggybacked off what Stiles had said. "The one who saved Isaac."

"No, she wasn't like us," Isaac shook his head. "and whoever was in the vault with Boyd was."

Stiles blinked thoughtfully. "What if that's how Erica died?" he mused aloud. "They, like, pit them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives. It's like werewolf Thunderdome."

"Then we get them out tonight," Derek decided.

"Be smart about this, Derek," Deaton interjected. "You can't just go storming in."

Derek stood his ground. "If Isaac got in, then so can we."

"But he didn't get through a vault door, did he?"

Stiles dug his hand into his jeans for his phone; he quickly booted up his internet app and searched for Beacon Hills First National Bank to see exactly why it was abandoned in the first place. Maybe it would be something that would help them get Boyd and the mystery girl out of there.

"We need a plan," Scott sighed.

"How are we gonna come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than twenty-four hours?"

Stiles smirked at the information he pulled up on his phone. "Uh, I think someone already did," he answered Derek before reading the article's headline. "Beacon Hills First National closes its doors three months after vault robbery. It doesn't say here how it was robbed but it probably won't take long to find out."

Derek looked at him with a firm gaze. "How long?"

"It's the internet, Derek, okay?" Stiles scoffed and smirked at the alpha werewolf. "Minutes."

-

-

"Okay," Stiles whipped open the blueprint plans for Beacon Hills First National Bank and set it on Derek's table, spreading out until it was flat against the surface. He pulled out a red sharpie from his pocket and hovered it over the plans. "See this?" he marked an 'X' on a small box on the paper. "This is how they got in. It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. It leads down inside, into the wall of the vault, which is here," he marked the large square that acted as the bank vault. "Okay?"

Olivia pressed her lips together as she listened carefully, paying strict attention to everything that Stiles said. This was going to one of the most important things she would learn in her life; Boyd's life and the life of the girl that was stuck in the vault with him depended on them and their ability to remember the layout of the building and the plan they were coming up with.

"One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft," Stiles continued, marking a smaller box right off the vault. "Now, that space is so small it took him about twelve hours to drill into that wall—which is stone, by the way. Then, throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall," he slapped the blueprint and capped his marker. "Boom."

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked on Stiles' left, leaning over the blueprints.

"Yes, we can, but barely," Stiles told him. "And they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit..."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Olivia couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend. She loved how passionate he got about things, especially when it came down to law enforcement or crimes and how they happened.

"Look, forget the drill," Derek sighed, already fed up with Stiles despite the fact that they only started this little meeting ten minutes before.

Stiles looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?"

Stiles looked at Olivia to see if Derek was serious; when she nodded, he turned back to Derek. "What do you...what do you think you're gonna do, Derek?" he demanded. "You gonna punch through the wall?"

Derek straightened up and folded his arms over his chest; Stiles stood up to his full height, too, only an inch shorter than Derek, as to not be deterred by him.

"Yes, Stiles, I'm gonna punch through the wall," Derek almost looked amused as he confirmed Stiles' suspicions.

"Okay, big guy, let's see it. Let's see that fist," Stiles dared him. "Big, old fist, make it, come on. Get it out there, don't be scared. Big, bad wolf."

Olivia sighed in exasperation and looked toward the spiral staircase where her father was sitting. It was no secret that Peter disapproved of her relationship with Stiles—even if he didn't mind the kid—so to see him roll his eyes so heavily at Stiles' antics didn't surprise her.

Stiles was hard to get used to, she knew that from experience.

Derek finally held up his right fist. "Yeah, look at that," Stiles smirked and put his hand up, palm splayed open, only three inches away from Derek's hand. "Okay, see this? That's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid con—"

Derek quickly pushed his fist forward, harshly connecting with Stiles' palm. Stiles was forced back where he fell onto the table, groaning in obvious pain. He clutched his injured hand with his other and jumped up to start pacing, as if that would help him overcome it.

"He could do it," he wheezed.

"I'll get through the wall," Derek declared, his gaze flickering over to Peter. "Who's following me down?"

"Don't look at me," Peter said quickly. "I'm not up to fighting speed yet and honestly, with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself."

Olivia wasn't surprised with Peter's little speech. He didn't care about Erica or Boyd so he wouldn't be bothered to do anything to help them. He didn't know what it was like to have a pack—he didn't care about anyone but himself.

"So I'm supposed to just let them die?" Derek demanded.

"One of them is already dead," Peter reminded him.

"We don't know that."

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here?" Peter shook his head in disbelief. "A pack of alphas, all of them killers. And if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids, they're gonna be missed."

Stiles scoffed. "Can someone kill him again, please?"

Peter glared at him before looking at his nephew once more. "Derek, seriously? Not worth the risk."

"Okay, look," Olivia spoke up, trying to move on from her selfish father's perspective. "Allison and I will be going around the front so that we can meet you in there. If I can calm Boyd and that girl down, we don't need as much manpower."

"True," Derek nodded and looked over at Scott. "What about you?"

Stiles thought that he was talking to him. "Yeah, if you want me to come—"

"Not you."

Stiles clicked his tongue in realization and pointed to Scott. "Got it."

"I don't know about Erica but if Boyd's still alive, we have to do something," Scott stated. "We have to try..."

"But?" Derek sensed that there was more he wanted to say.

"Who's the other girl? The one locked in there with Boyd?" he wondered.

"Right now, I don't think it matters," Olivia said bluntly. "The moon is gonna rise soon, so we need to get going. Once this is all over, then we can focus on this mystery girl."

Derek nodded at her in approval. "Ollie's right. Let's get ready."

There wasn't much in the way of getting ready but Stiles did come over to Olivia while Scott and Derek spoke a little more about their part of the plan.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered to her; she could hear the worry in his voice and it made her stomach fill with butterflies. "You could get hurt."

"Allison's gonna be with me," she reminded him. "and it's not like we're gonna go storming in. This is a covert mission, Stilinski."

A smile made its way to Stiles' mouth. "Fine, fine," he conceded. "but be careful, all right? If you get hurt, I'll lose my fucking mind."

Olivia laughed lightly and pulled him into a tight hug, using her tiptoes to lay her chin on his shoulder. "I'll be careful," she promised; she knew he was serious about losing his mind if anything happened to her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Livvy."

Olivia hid her smile in his shoulder; she couldn't let him know that she actually looked forward to hearing him call her by that name.