chapter fifty three
a charity game

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LOVE.

LOVE was something Odessa Stone wasn't sure she would ever feel toward someone so strongly. Don't get her wrong, she loved everyone in her life.

She loved Melissa because the woman was basically her Mom at that point. She loved Scott because he was pretty much her brother. She loved Lydia, Liam, Kira and Malia because they were her closest friends. She even held love for Silas, but strictly in a friendly way. Odessa held so much love for everyone.

But she never thought she would ever fall in love with someone.

Being in love was something out of fairytales her own Mother, Alina, used to read to her before going to bed at night. How the princess fell in love with the brave prince who saved her and they lived happily ever after. It was every girl's dream—she could only guess.

Odessa would have never guessed, however, that she would find that kind of love in her life. A true, passionate, almost addicting love. But she found it in the most unlikely kind of person.

Stiles Stilinski was, to put it quite plainly, a jerk to Odessa the first week and a half of her being at Beacon Hills. He didn't trust her and made sure she knew it, he made snide comments, he made assumptions about her, he tried to leave her out of things with the pack. Classic untrusting Stiles.

But something blossomed from that. When Stiles saved her at the Glen Capri and apologized on the bus the next morning, something... shifted. One little apology changed everything between them. It finally allowed them to explore a friendship that sprouted into an undeniable attraction, to eventually... love.

At least for Odessa.

Truth be told, the blonde was terrified to even utter the words in and love to another human being. Because there was always the nagging feeling of painful and dreadful rejection. Odessa didn't think Stiles would shoot her down, but even the softest of trailed and confused oh's could ruin everything. Her relationship with Stiles was everything. She didn't want to jeopardize what they had—she couldn't. Stiles and Beacon Hills were the best things that had ever happened to Odessa.

She'd be damned if she was going to let a confession she could keep to herself destroy it all.

It had been a week since the McCall pack saved Lydia from Eichen and it had also been a week since Odessa used her powers to wake Lydia up at the Animal Clinic. During the week spent not chasing after anything supernatural, the blonde used her free time looking up anything that had to do with Embers, and even Ember Wolves. She knew she was the last one, possibly the only one in existence, but she needed answers.

Did the Dread Doctors unlock new abilities she didn't know she could have? Odessa did extensive research her junior year and didn't find anything regarding beams coming out of her palms or producing a glow out of her hands that could wake someone up from impending death. She also couldn't find anything about manipulation except for the power to manipulate emotions but it seemed whatever the Dread Doctors did, they didn't seem to achieve what they wanted to. In trying to unlock her manipulation abilities, or strengthen them, they unlocked others that it seemed only Odessa could have due to her being a hybrid of two supernatural creatures.

The Stone didn't know how to feel about her manipulation powers. She never would want to control anyone, but would those powers ever come in handy? How did they even work? These were the kinds of questions Odessa knew she would never get the answers to.

Alas, the relatively quiet week felt like only 2 days for the McCall pack. And just like the week prior that was utter chaos, Odessa was in the back of her boyfriend's Jeep, following another supernatural creature while tracking its movements. Instead of the Beast, it was Parrish. The teens finally discovered what Parrish was, and their trip to Eichen helped them figure it out. Parrish was a Hellhound.

Odessa wasn't really knowledgeable on what a Hellhound actually was, but she did witness Parrish's powers first hand so she didn't try to dwell on her ignorance. The blonde didn't think she had to know everything and anything about Hellhounds, simple as that.

What she did know, however, was that when Parrish is succumbed to his Hellhound state, he had no control over his movements. It was as if he was trapped in his own body when his Hellhound took over. That was why it was so important to keep track of Parrish and follow him wherever he went. The pack wanted to make sure he didn't cause any harm to anyone or damage to anything. Hence the following Parrish all around Beacon Hills at midnight on a school night.

"He's headed to the school," Scott relayed the text he received from Argent from the passenger seat of the Jeep.

Odessa felt someone from behind her push her slightly into the side of the driver's seat. She looked to her side to see Liam now sitting up front next to her from the back seat. She wasn't used to someone being with her in the back seat so she usually just sat scooted at the end of the backseat to essentially be in between the two boys in the front seats.

The Stone made room for the younger teen as he glanced between the older boys in the front, "why's Parrish going to the school?"

"It's not Parrish," the Alpha reminded, putting his phone away, "at least not right now."

Liam sighed, head still between the seats, "okay, why's a Hellhound going to the school?"

"Cause he's got a yearning for higher education," Odessa pursed her lips to keep her chuckle in at her boyfriend's casual sarcasm, "Liam, Hellound's at the school, so, we're going to the school. Okay?"

Stiles then shifted his gear to make his Jeep go down the dark, streetlight lit, road. The girl in the car leaned forward more to rest her chin on her boyfriend's shoulder, wanting to revel in the silence that was inevitably going to be broken with more supernatural drama. Of course, Stiles didn't mind the weight of her head on his shoulder as he drove. If anything, it gave him a sort of comfort with knowing she was still with him.

The Jeep slowed to a stop outside the school with the older teens getting out of the Jeep as quietly as possible, not wanting to spook anything or anyone, more so Parrish, if he was around the area. Liam didn't get the memo.

Odessa whipped her entire body around at the sound of a door slamming. She narrowed her eyes with an 'are you kidding me?' expression, no doubt matching the faces the two boys were sporting from each side of her.

"Sorry..."

Sighs and shakes of heads were produced before the four teens made their way toward the school. Walking further into the courtyard, they found Argent coming toward them, his gun tightly gripped in his grasp.

"Where's Parrish?"

Argent shook his head at the Alpha, "I lost him. He's moving too fast."

Odessa pursed her lips at the set back they were facing as she unconsciously reached for her boyfriend's hand. Their fingers intertwined casually as Stiles accepted her grip without hesitation. Looking around, the call of Scott's name from the youngest of the group caught their attention.

"Scott," Liam called, a certain wariness in his tone, "that guy's not moving at all."

Turning to look where Liam's eyes were, Odessa felt her heart dangerously pulse at the body laying on the ground a few feet away from them. Because it was so dark, the body was almost invisible, almost blending into the sidewalk that was shadowed by the starless night sky. The group made their way over to the body to see it completely mutilated. Different organs were laying casually on the sidewalk as the man laid motionless.

Almost unaffected by the sight, the group stepped over the body and continued their way further through the courtyard. Turning a slight corner, they came across another body ahead of them.

Liam nodded ahead of them as they stopped on their tracks, "look."

The Stone felt her stomach lurch at the sight of a bus full of bodies. She wished she was just seeing things. Ahead of them, only being shown by a single streetlight, was one of the school buses with its back doors wide open for everyone to see. Body upon body covered in blood were stacked on top of each other without care. Her state of shock only increased tenfold when she saw someone moving by the opening of the bus.

The group stifled their gasps as the supernaturals of the group heard a faint, "help me."

Walking forward, mainly Scott was stopped by a flaming Parrish, "it's a trap," his voice was distorted with a growl as he walked toward the bus. As another weak plea sounded from the bus, the Hellhound looked back at the Alpha, who was growing antsy on his feet, "you can't help him."

A louder growl was heard from inside the bus as the boy who was pleading for help was dropped from the bus, his lower half missing. The group stepped back with surprise and fright as the Beast made its appearance. His white eyes were bright in the night air as he crawled through the seats of the bus.

"That's big," Stiles muttered with a slight tremble in his tone. He felt his own hand grow clammy in his girlfriend's grip, "no one said it was that big."

"I did."

The Beast roared, cutting through the tense air, its anger seemingly directed toward someone in particular. Parrish lit up in flames as he roared back just as powerful. The Beast started to run toward the front of the bus, causing Parrish to follow him. The group jogged closer but stopped, shocked at the sight of the Beast bursting through the front windshield of the bus, shattering the glass, and running into the woods with Parrish hot on its trail.

As the Beast's roar faded into the trees, Scott breathed out, "what the hell is happening?"

"It's getting smarter."

Great, Odessa thought bitterly to herself after hearing Argent's words, just what we need.

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Just because there was a raging Beast running around Beacon Hills, that didn't mean the McCall pack didn't have school to attend. The next morning, Odessa, Stiles, Scott, Liam and Lydia got together in the library during their free period to discuss their next move. Malia was currently at the McCall house with Braeden and Kira was in another part of the school with her Dad.

Tonight was a very important night. Beacon Hills lacrosse was hosting a charity game for Cancer and Cancer research. It was a game they found very difficult to try and cancel. In fact, it was impossible to cancel because of how important it was. Odessa always tried to get excited for lacrosse games, seeing as her boyfriend played and she would use any excuse to see him in his jersey, but every game seemed to be overshadowed by a supernatural threat.

The thought of Stiles in his jersey was now prominent in Odessa's mind as she sat next to him in the library. Her brown eyes couldn't seem to leave her boyfriend's figure as they roamed down his crossed arms that were covered in one of his flannels. She silently raised her brow at how toned they looked, more than usual. Gaze leaving her boyfriend for a split moment, her eyes locked with the amused green hues of Lydia, who was watching her with a knowing smirk.

Odessa quickly looked away, shifting in her seat to sit up straighter as Liam shared what he knew, "Mason said it's not just a transmitted frequency. It's high-powered. Like it has to be a really strong signal."

"And that's causing it to shift," Lydia asked with furrowed brows.

"No," Scott breathed while denying, coming to his own theory, "I don't think it's just that. Last night Argent said that it's getting smarter. What if the Dread Doctors are trying to make the Beast grow faster?"

Stiles narrowed his eyes, glancing at his girlfriend who listened quietly from her seat next to him, "with frequencies?"

"No, by shifting. The frequency is just the trigger. The important part is when it shifts into the werewolf," the McCall explained the best he could.

Lydia perked in her seat, "like Peter."

Scott's eyes lit up when he realized at least one person was understanding what he was thinking, "Right. Yeah, when Peter was an Alpha, he got stronger every full Moon. Eventually, the burns healed and he was back to normal."

"So," Liam trailed, trying to understand, "the Dread Doctors don't want to wait for the full Moon."

"They want the Beast to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible."

"Because of Parrish."

Odessa broke her silence, giving everyone a small sarcastic smile, "okay, great. So the Dread Doctors are helping the Beast for their own selfish gain," much like they did to her, but she kept that to herself, "if whatever is happening tonight, actually happening, what's the plan?"

"Well, we've got one clue to go on," Stiles silently thanked his girlfriend as she introduced his part of the conversation. He also felt his chest swell with pride at how strong she was while talking about the Dread Doctors directly, knowing not that long ago she couldn't talk about them or hear about them without flinching. The boy reached inside his book bag to bring out a laminated picture and placed it on the table for everyone to see, "this came from the hospital. Whoever's lurking inside the Beast is wearing a size 10 of indeterminate make."

The Martin cocked an unimpressed brow, "indeterminate?"

"Means, it's a partial print," Stiles pursed his lips, tone flattening in his own disappointment at the small amount of evidence they had to help them, "basically, it was all we were able to get considering all the fire, blood and carnage."

Scott tapped his finger against the wooden table as he listened to his best friend intently, "how many size 10s are out there?"

"Only one with Parrish's blood on the sole."

Liam brought up another issue they were facing, "so are we going to try to get the game cancelled?"

"No, no, we're going to play," Stiles sat up straighter in his seat, placing a casual hand on his girlfriend's thigh, "but we're just going to hope really hard that it doesn't turn into a blood-soaked massacre."

The Beta sighed, "okay, but um," he trailed, looking up at his Alpha as the latter got up from his seat, "aren't we kind of missing out on a chance to catch this thing? We don't have the who, but we have the where and the when."

The older teens sent Scott an almost impressed glance at the younger teen's words because he had a point. There had to be solutions or more elaborate plans that could be taking place later that night, but most of them would be too risky to execute them without someone getting hurt.

Odessa could understand the internal struggle Scott was facing as he pursed his lips, "there's too many people."

"And we still don't actually know if it's going to happen," Lydia tried to chime in with optimism, "it might just end up being a regular lacrosse game. It's possible, right?"

"That's absolutely possible."

The Stone looked between the strawberry blonde and her boyfriend with narrowed eyes, "oh, really? Because I have yet to attend a lacrosse game where something didn't go wrong."

The table grew silent at her point—knowing it was the stronger point anyone had made during their time in the library. Something was bound to happen.

"So we're still getting the game canceled," Liam asked, glancing around the table for confirmation.

"We're getting the game canceled."

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Stepping Stones Rehab Center. Out of all the places Odessa thought she would end up at after school, it was definitely not there.

After a visit to the Sheriff's Station, it was clear that the game getting canceled would be near impossible since it was a charity game, according to the Sheriff himself. He told his son that the best way to get the game canceled was to forfeit it. But the replacement coach wouldn't be so lenient. So that was how Stiles, Scott and Odessa found themselves outside of a rehab center where Coach Finstock had been residing for the last seven months.

The three teens exchanged wary glances before walking inside the building. It wasn't hard to find Coach, seeing as he was lying limp on the couch right by the front door for anyone to see. As the three teens came closer, they widened their eyes in sincere concern when seeing Coach in such a state. His eyes were open and not blinking, looking completely out of it. Scott and Stiles quickly sat on either side of the man on the couch while Odessa sat on the coffee table in front of them.

She knew it was pretty rude to sit on a place where people place their things or food but she couldn't care less at the moment.

"H-Hey, Coach," Scott stammered, trying to get the man's attention, "it's Scott, Stiles and Odessa."

Bewildered by the state he was in, Stiles waved his arm in front of Coach's face to try and get a reaction, but nothing worked, "Coach, you're in rehab. You didn't get a lobotomy," the Stilinski sighed, looking down at the checkers board on the table next to his girlfriend. Curious, he reached for the board, only to have someone catch his arm before he could come even close to touching it.

"Don't you touch it," Coach hissed, still holding Stiles' arm firmly. He slowly sat up on the couch, "I've got Nurse Gonzalez by the balls of the last three moves and she knows it."

Odessa couldn't help but barely hold down a snort at the man's words. He would always be her favorite teacher. Hearing her small slip up, Stiles gave her an incredulous glance before exclaiming, "let it go. You're checking out of this place now."

"Not a chance."

"Okay, Coach," Scott shifted in his seat, trying to keep the conversation civil, "but, we know you're fine."

The teens' eyes widened at the excessive amount of shushing they received from Coach as he looked around the room to make sure no one was listening to the conversation, "I have a debilitating disease. It's called 'I'm not going to take another arrow to the stomach-phobia'. Look it up."

"Nobody's shooting arrows at anyone, okay," Odessa ran a frustrated hand through her hair, "we just need you to coach the charity game."

Coach scoffed, "charity? Not a chance."

"How exactly have you been conning them into letting you stay here," Stiles asked while glancing around the room but didn't see anyone present beside them.

"I, uh," Coach trailed off, glancing around at the teens, nodding excessively, "I have relapses. It's... it's serious. I've had seven of them."

Scott narrowed his eyes at the excuse, "so once a month?"

"Yeah, you see, uh, every time they are just about to discharge me, I relapse," Coach clicked his tongue in feigned disarray.

Stiles could almost feel his eye twitching in annoyance, "and no one's noticed that pattern?"

"I have phenomenal health insurance," the man stated matter of factly, glancing pointedly between the three, more so the two boys, "so why don't you guys get the hell out of here. I hate charity games. They're meaningless."

"I don't think the charities would agree," Stiles sighed, looking toward his girlfriend, who only shook her head, telling him she didn't have any idea what to do to get through to the man.

"What's it for this year?"

"Cancer."

"For or against?"

This time, Stiles one hundred percent felt his eye twitch, "against, Coach. Deeply against."

"Yeah, okay, well, I'm deeply not interested," Coach shook his head before whistling to signal the teens to leave, which was ignored.

"Coach, we need you."

Despite the McCall's statement, Coach placed a hand on each of the boys' shoulders, "I will never coach there again."

Odessa perked in her seat, leaning forward, "that's okay. Because we don't actually need you to coach the game."

Scott nodded at her point, "we need you to forfeit."

And though Coach didn't give them a solid answer, the lack of an answer was enough for them. He didn't give them an immediate no or tell them to leave.

He was on board.

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The lacrosse game was going to start soon. But as soon as it starts, it will be over. That was their hope, at least. The McCall pack, everyone besides Lydia, resided in a classroom inside the school and away from the growing commotion outside at the lacrosse field.

Odessa had her arm around her boyfriend's shoulders as he held a lazy arm around her waist to keep her next to him as they both watched Scott lead the pack meeting.

"Mason, you know your part..."

The boy nodded from his place next to Liam, "Corey and I break into the Devenford Bus and search their shoes."

"I take out the TV vans," Malia chimes in, stepping forward with her arms crossed.

"Right before the whistle, Coach forfeits the game," Stiles' grip on his girlfriend's waist tightened as a reflex as he spoke.

Liam nodded, glancing around from his seat on top of a desk, "the rest of us are looking for a size 10 with a bloody sole."

"Just out of curiosity," the Tate started carefully, not wanting to shed a negative light on the plan, "what if it doesn't work? What if we have to go up against this thing? I mean, I hate to bring up bad memories but Scott and Odie are still healing from what Theo did to them."

"No, he's not."

Scott smiled lightly at his girlfriend, "she's right," he lifted up his jersey to show his friends his perfectly healed stomach, "it happened the night we got Lydia out of Eichen House. I healed. When we were all together again, when we were a pack."

Feeling eyes on her, Odessa looked up from the sight of her dirty white high-top converse to see her friends looking at her expectedly. If she were being honest, she was surprised that she was included in Malia's statement. The blonde hadn't really talked about what happened to her during her capture with anyone besides Scott, Stiles and Melissa.

Giving them her classic go-to answer she had used often with them, Odessa nodded, squeezing her boyfriend's shoulder as if on instinct, "I'm fine."

"The Beast doesn't have a pack," Liam brought up, smiling at the two older teens he had fought beside multiple times.

"Not like us," The Alpha nodded in agreement, "we can do this, guys. No one dies tonight."

As the pack started to leave the room, Odessa was held back by Stiles' grip on her waist, keeping her at his side. Once they were alone, Stiles moved her so she was standing in between his legs, circling her waist with both hands instead of one. Odessa's arms naturally wrapped around his neck, lightly caressing the nape of his neck as she raised a brow in question as to why he held her back.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Smiling down at him, Odessa leaned down to press a firm kiss on his lips. She felt Stiles press her body against his to bring them closer as the kiss deepened. Before things could get too heated, the blonde pulled away, reveling in the feeling of his arms around her.

"As long as I'm with you, I'll always be okay."

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Coach blew the whistle.

The game was happening.

A charity lacrosse game could mean a lot of things—a lot of factors. Bigger crowds, higher stakes between the teams, and the biggest factor, TV crews everywhere you turned. Add in the possibility of a gigantic man-eating werewolf and you have a recipe for disaster. Awesome.

Odessa was on the hunt for the bloody size 10 shoe when she heard Coach's whistle. The crowds were louder than she had ever heard before from previous games as the Beacon Hills High team and the Devenford Prep team went on the field and to their positions. She looked around to observe everything, only to catch the sight of her boyfriend and his Dad by the sidelines. Using her hearing, she heard Stiles try to get his Dad to find an excuse to stop the game due to safety concerns, but there was nothing the man could do.

The Stone watched Stiles sigh, looking out at the field. After a moment, they locked eyes. Stiles shook his head, silently telling her there was nothing they could do but resume the plan, but have the game go on around them. So that was what they did.

While Scott, Liam and Kira played on the field, Malia did her part with the TV vans and Odessa searched the shoes of the people on the bleachers with Brett's sister, Lori. The two blonde girls didn't know each other in the slightest but were doing the same task. They decided to split up and each take a bleacher, agreeing to report anything they found to Scott.

During her search, Odessa noticed Kira leaving the field, then Scott following soon after. She wondered what was going on but knew Scott had everything under control. With the McCall leaving the field, that meant Stiles was up to play. She couldn't help but stop her search to watch him, no matter how much he sucked at playing. Admiration filled her chest while she watched him pass the ball to Liam, who eventually scored, causing the crowd to cheer and get on their feet.

Furrowing her brow, Odessa watched Stiles leave the field during the commotion and celebration Liam's score caused. The Stilinski made his way toward her and the two resumed the search for the shoe together. Luckily, the shoes Odessa was searching already had their soles facing her, showing off exactly what she was looking for. If only any of them had blood on them. She couldn't say the same for her boyfriend, however.

With wide eyes, Odessa turned her head in surprise at the sound of something hitting the metal bleachers. She watched her boyfriend hold his forehead woozily before he fell to the ground.

The blonde couldn't help but sigh as she simply looked down at the passed out boy, shaking her head, "I'm in love with an idiot."

Odessa slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes stilling on her boyfriend's figure that was still not moving on the ground. He was still breathing, just passed out for a moment, he would be fine. But that didn't stop her from freaking the hell out over what she just admitted out loud. She had thoughts about her feelings toward Stiles, but she never said anything like what she just did out loud. The Stone internally scolded herself for being so reckless with not only her words but her saying them out loud in front of the person she was in love with! Not only was her boyfriend she was in love with an idiot, but so was she!

Moving away from her thoughts, Odessa crouched down to wake her boyfriend up, hoping he didn't hear anything she had just said, though she doubted he did. She leaned him against the bleachers and got him a small ice pack for his head. The blonde stayed by his side while he was gaining more and more of his strength while the game went into overtime because of the tie game between the two teams, courtesy of Liam scoring again and again.

Suddenly, a piercing sound rang through the air, stopping the cheers and the game in general. Odessa winced as her advance hearing didn't hold her back from hearing the high pitched sound clearly and loudly. She guessed the sound had something to do with the feedback of the microphones of the remaining news people at the sidelines. Malia did her part of the plan and succeeded.

Without the cheering or commotion of the game, Odessa was able to hear more around her, freezing in her spot when she heard a faint growl coming from the parking lot. She could faintly hear her boyfriend ask her what was wrong, probably due to her panicked expression, but she ignored him, locking her eyes on Liam's figure that was starting to walk in the direction of the same parking lot the growling was coming from.

Grabbing Stiles' hand, Odessa ran with him to where Liam used to be before he moved and watched the Beta run faster toward the buses.

"Liam. Liam, wait!"

"Liam!"

The couple's warnings were ignored as Liam jumped through the air to meet the Beast on top of the bus. Then, chaos ensued. And the night was just getting started.

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hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! next one might be short because it's the one with all the flashbacks w
< crystal reed 3 so it won't take that long to write :)
comment & vote babes <3