chapter forty four
the only exception

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SELFISHLY, LIAM and Hayden's capture wasn't the first thing on her mind at the moment. While Scott and Malia were out trying to track their scents, Odessa Stone jumped in her car and raced to the Animal Clinic to check on her boyfriend and Theo. The plan at the school went horribly wrong so she could only guess how their plan at the clinic went.

While she drove to the clinic, Odessa's hands clenched so hard around the steering wheel, her knuckles turned white. Her thoughts were plagued with her hallucination she went through not that long ago.

She hadn't spoken or seen Silas in almost 7 months. Though, it was just another hallucination the Dread Doctors graced her with, seeing him the way he was, his face beaten, his eyes cold and dark, rubbed her the wrong way to put it lightly.

Odessa wondered why the Dread Doctors used Silas as a means to distract her. Why didn't they use Stiles? Or literally anyone else in her life? Her thoughts were already so jumbled, she nearly missed the parking lot of the clinic. But once she pulled into it, the sight before her made her heart drop to her feet.

Turning off her car, the Stone didn't waste a second before getting out of her car and running toward her boyfriend, who was sitting on the sidewalk, face covered in blood, "Stiles," she called, gaining his, and Theo's, attention, "Stiles, are you okay? What the hell happened?"

The Stilinski sighed, getting up from his spot just in time for Odessa to crash into his arms. He stumbled back slightly at the force but held her to him nonetheless. Stiles didn't know he needed her embrace until he was actually in his arms. She hadn't been in them in so long, it felt like.

"I'm okay," he whispered into her hair, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Are you sure," the couple pulled away, only slightly, to look at Theo, who was watching them with raised brows, "we should get you to the hospital, Stiles. You took in a lot of smoke."

Stiles stepped fully away from the embrace with his girlfriend, "I'm fine," he looked toward his badly damaged Jeep and sighed deeply at the sight.

"What happened," Odessa asked quietly as she followed his gaze, rubbing his arm affectionately.

"The body's gone."

Just as Theo relayed the information to Odessa, information she already guessed as to what happened, Stiles' police radio sounded from his Jeep, miraculously.

"Suspect in 1-8-7 is in custody and en route to the station. Suspect's name is Yukimura, Kira."

Just by hearing her friend's name, Odessa widened her eyes, though she did not know what any of the police talk was.

It seemed Theo was in the same boat as her, "what's a 1-8-7?"

"Homicide."

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Odessa Stone had not slept for over 24 hours, and it was starting to take a toll on her. Seeing how late, or how early, it was, the blonde offered to drive them back to her house to wait for Scott to find out what exactly was happening. They were hoping Scott could give them some information as to why his girlfriend was just arrested for murder.

By the time they got to the McCall residence, the Sun was starting to rise. During their wait, Odessa took it upon herself to shower and change clothes, since this was her house. She also forced Stiles to do the same. He was severely on edge and she had an inkling as to why. And she didn't think it was because his Jeep was just totaled to the mechanics shop.

The reason for his agitation was obviously Theo and his two faced words. The words spoken during their time alone at the clinic before the body was taken and the Jeep flipped.

Odessa wondered often when the boy would take the hint to see he would not become a member of the McCall pack, but seeing as the Alpha of the pack seemed to trust him, his leaving wasn't going to happen as soon as the blonde hoped.

When the Sun was fully out and it was the official start to people's days, everyone in the pack, except for Scott, was in the McCall residence. Odessa, Stiles, Malia and Theo were in the living room waiting for Scott while Lydia and Mason were with Corey, a suspected Chimera, upstairs so Corey could read a copy of the Dread Doctors.

Odessa bit her thumb nail in anxiousness as she waited for Scott to get home. The mindless conversation around her was muffled to her ears. Little did she know, she didn't have to wait any longer for Scott to come home.

The front door shot open as the McCall entered his home. The four teens that were downstairs waiting for him in the living room turned around in surprise at the sudden noise. Odessa sighed in relief of seeing him, but quickly grew confused at the hardened look in his eyes.

"Hey, is Kira okay?"

Stiles was ignored as the Alpha made his way up the stairs. The four teens glanced at each other before following after him. Odessa led the way up the stairs to Scott's bedroom and gasped quietly at what she walked into.

Scott had his claws sunk into the back of Corey's neck. This method was usually a last resort because of how dangerous it was. Odessa shook her head, remembering how she too had had Scott's claws in her neck in order to save Stiles from the nogitsune. But she did not see a purpose for this method in this situation.

"Don't get too close," Lydia warned her friends who entered the room.

Odessa watched with a clenched jaw as Scott and Corey began to wince and cringe while still in their positions.

"What is he doing?"

"Tapping into Corey's memories," the Banshee answered Theo as she watched the pair carefully, "it's usually something only Alphas do."

Theo moved away from the door entry to observe from a closer spot in the room, "is it as dangerous as it looks?"

"Why so many questions, Theo," Odessa broke her silence, malice in her tone. She had no time for his games today, "it's not like you'll be doing it anytime soon."

Stiles sighed quietly, placing his hands on her shoulders from behind her to calm her as Mason asked, "does anyone know if it's working?"

No one had time to answer. All of a sudden, Scott gasped loudly, pulling away from Corey, who stumbled off of the bed. Despite her annoyance with him, Odessa was the first one to reach Scott to steady him as he was weak on his feet. Scott steadied himself on his desk, all the while grasping a notepad and a pencil.

"Is he okay," Scott asked Odessa and Stiles, who caught him, out of breath.

"What the hell did you do to me," Corey shouted, grasping the back of his neck.

The Alpha leaned sharing the desk, "you'll be alright."

"There's blood," Corey observed his red stained fingers.

"You'll heal."

Odessa's features hardened once more, angered by Scott's way of handling things lately, "Scott, are you kidding me?"

"He'll be fine," the McCall shouted at her, causing her face to drop completely. He disregarded her reaction and started to write on the notepad, "listen... I think it worked. I saw something. There were tunnels. Pipes along the walls. There were these huge blue pipes at the entrance. Two on both sides."

Stiles narrowed his eyes in thought at the drawing Scott showed him, "wait a second I know this. I've seen this before. That's one of the tunnels I used to skateboard in. Remember my Dad caught me one time and told me to never go back?"

Note to self, Odessa thought with slightly raised brows, force Stiles to teach me how to skateboard.

"It's the water treatment plant," Lydia nodded, the drawing clear to her.

Scott sighed, his body calming after what he did to Corey, "that's where they are. That's where we'll find Liam and Hayden."

With the sudden knowledge, Scott didn't want to waste any time. He started his way quickly out of his room and down the stairs, prompting his friends to follow closely behind.

"Scott," Stiles called to his best friend as they all traveled down stairs after him, "Scott, slow down. Just think for a second, okay? Mason shouldn't be going."

Mason kept walking to stand next to Scott, as opposed to everyone else who stopped, "Liam's my best friend. I'm going."

"Oh, did you suddenly get super wolf powers," the Stilinski sarcastically asked, "I wasn't aware of that development."

Scott almost scoffed, feeling too antsy for the conversation at hand, "well, if you're not going, I could use the help."

"No, I'm coming just as soon as I talk to my Dad," Stiles shook his head, missing the certain look his girlfriend gave him from next to him. She was not aware he would be going somewhere so potentially dangerous. And she didn't like it, "they're moving the body and he wants to make sure that this time no one steals it."

Odessa crossed her arms over her chest, "and how is he gonna do that?"

"I don't know. But whoever took the last one was strong enough to flip my Jeep."

Malia and Scott exchanged glances of thought before the former spoke, pointing to someone behind Odessa's eye line, "we can bring Theo."

The Stone gave a look of offense, not that anyone noticed. They seemed to have forgotten all about her and how she too was a werewolf. It only gave her reason to have no motivation to help them at all if they didn't want her to.

"Maybe I better stay here," Theo shrugged, "you know, in case the Doctors decide to make a house call for Corey."

Odessa rolled her eyes at how noble he tried to sound as she leaned against the dining room table next to her, "I guess I'll stay here, too," when seeing her boyfriend give her a questioning glance, she reiterated with a shrug, "what? It's not like I'm wanted anywhere else."

"Scott, Stiles is right," Lydia sighed, taking the attention away from her friend, "we need to slow down and think."

"I am thinking," Scott defended himself instantly, desperation in his tone, "about how Liam and Hayden could already be dead."

Tired of his excuses, Lydia snapped, surprising everyone, "you could've hurt him, Scott. Really hurt him."

Though there was remorse for what he did to Corey in his tone, his words did not show the same, "I have to find Liam."

As she watched Scott leave the house, with Mason and Malia in tow, it just started to hit Odessa that she would be in the same room with Theo Raeken for multiple hours straight without her boyfriend to distract her. Great. She couldn't wait.

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Once Stiles left the house, Odessa could only count on Lydia to keep herself sane while being in the same room as Theo for so many hours. For the first two hours of doing absolutely nothing, Corey then asked Lydia to look at the back of his neck where Scott's claws were previously.

Corey was an okay kid, from what Odessa had observed. Maybe his attitude would be different if he wasn't in a life or death situation or turned into a Chimera. The two hadn't had a conversation with just the two of them. There wasn't much conversation in the McCall house in general. There wasn't much to say, if Odessa was being honest with herself. Something was changing in the pack. The dynamic had shifted. Odessa couldn't wrap her head around how or when it shifted, but it did. And she didn't know if she was the only one who felt it.

"It healed, didn't it," at Corey's question, Lydia looked up from her gaze on the back of his neck to lock eyes with Odessa, who was standing in front of them with her arms crossed. The Banshee gave her friend a slight nod to confirm it did in fact heal, coming to terms with what that meant.

Theo raised a brow, "yeah. Completely."

"Okay, then," Corey got up from his seat, "it's been fun. Especially the part where a werewolf forced his way into my brain with his claws."

As the younger boy started to make his way toward the front door of the house, the three older teens followed him, knowing his leaving would only cause more problems than they already have.

"I don't think leaving is such a good idea, Corey," Theo expressed, stopping the boy in his tracks, "you know, Lydia's a Banshee. It means she can tell when someone's close to death. Lydia, what happens if he walks out that door?"

The Martin shifted in her spot, pursing her lips, coming to stand next to Theo, "it's bad. Very bad."

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

"Then how about you give us a chance at finding our friends," Odessa broke her silence, unamused by Theo's attempt to keep Corey here. The blonde walked up to the trio by the door, keeping her arms crossed in front of her as an automatic defense, "what else did you see? There had to be something else."

Corey shrugged, looking around in thought, "there was the hospital and... they took me out of my room."

"And then where?"

"The tunnels," the boy answered Lydia, not seeing how what they already knew was going to help, "like I already told you. That's it."

Theo almost rolled his eyes, "yeah, nothing after that?"

"No."

"Well, there has to be more," the Raeken's persistence stopped Corey from reaching for the door handle, "think. Corey, for one minute, just... just think."

Corey sighed heavily, shaking his head. He avoided the eyes watching him as he looked to the floor in thought. The three older teens watched him carefully, trying to decipher an realization in his eyes if he remembered anything else. And after a few moments, it seemed he did.

"There was a basement," Corey nodded, recollection in his eyes.

"Where," Odessa asked, glancing at her friend and Theo beside her, "like, in a building?"

"A house. It was old, covered in dust and... there was a broken stone wall with a large hole in it. Like a bomb went off."

At Corey's description, Theo lowered his voice to speak to the two girls directly, "guys, the werewolf with the talons... the one that attacked Scott. Didn't Parrish say that he smashed through the wall of a basement? Wasn't it something like that?"

While Odessa shrugged, not knowing anything about it, Lydia answered firmly, "no. It was exactly like that."

Theo nodded firmly, that was all he needed to hear, "I'll go."

"And I'll join you," everyone paused at Odessa's words, surprised they came out of her mouth willingly. The blonde shrugged at the features surrounding her, unbothered, "what? I'm not completely useless."

Not waiting for anyone to respond, the Stone grabbed her car keys and headed out the door, calling back to Theo.

"You're sitting in the back, Raeken, you don't deserve shot-gun in my car!"

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It was so dark on the way to the abandoned house, Odessa could barely see what was in front of her while driving, and while walking closer and closer to said house. Thankfully, there was no conversation during the drive there, only Theo giving directions as to where she was going. The Stone thought Theo finally got the message that she did not like him at all, and he seemed to accept that because of the lack of forced conversation.

Odessa parked her pride and joy a block away from the house, wanting to make sure that if anything went down, her car would not suffer the consequences. In simple words, Odessa didn't want anything to happen to her car, selfishly.

The blonde let Theo take the lead because she knew that if anything were to pop out, he would take the first blow. Odessa shrugged mentally to herself at the thought, she couldn't care less about her selfish thoughts she had been having lately. It wasn't like anyone was looking out for her anymore.

Coming closer to what looked like a hole in a wall, the two teens glanced at each other with wide eyes before picking up their pace toward the hole.

"Liam," Odessa called as they grew closer and closer, "Hayden?"

"Theo, wait. Don't!"

Liam's warning was too late. Because Theo was the one in front out of the two, he gripped the fence in front of him. Instantly, the fence in his grip started to spark, shocking him with bolts of electricity, knocking him to the ground. Odessa moved out of the way to let him fall to the ground, not wanting to get electrocuted himself.

She kneeled down next to his unconscious body cautiously. She slowly moved her pointer finger to his cheek, poking it to make sure his skin wasn't going to shock her. Seeing it was safe, Odessa did what she had been wanting to do since he came to Beacon Hills. Slap the hell out of him.

"Wake up, idiot," Odessa hissed, slapping the other cheek, sending an echo through the air and Theo's head to the other side. After one more slap, the boy groaned lowly, coming to.

Theo lifted his head with a pained expression, his hand coming to palm his cheek, "did you slap me?"

"Multiple times," the Ember smiled sarcastically, sounding exactly like the boy she was dating, "come on, drama queen. We got kids to save."

Odessa moved closer to the fence, not bothering to help Theo up from the ground. The blonde turned her attention to Liam and Hayden, who were watching the whole thing, trying to hide their amusement at Odessa's behavior, "you two okay?"

"We're fine, Odie," Liam answered, his face covered in soot and sweat, "do you think you could get help?"

Theo walked up to Odessa's side slowly, "we are the help."

Without another word about a plan, the Stone walked closer to the electrocuted fence and inhaled deeply, "get back," she instructed the Beta on the other side, who didn't hesitate to listen to her, going in front of Hayden to protect her from the fence that would be activated again.

Glowing yellow eyes, sharp claws and fangs produced from Odessa Stone, readying herself to take on the electrocuted fence. She glanced to the side of her, locking glowing yellow eyes with Theo, who followed her lead. Giving each other a nod, the two grabbed hold of the fence, using their advanced strength and healing to block the waves of electricity trying to break their skin.

Sparks appeared from the bottom of the fence as the two werewolves pried the doors open. Odessa grunted at the fighting force the fence gave in resistance but she didn't let up, and neither did Theo. With a deafening roar, the two teens forcefully opened the fence. The fence short circuited once it was pried open, losing its power. Liam and Hayden were freed.

It was time to bring them home.

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Odessa could hear everyone come back from their separate journey's from her room. After bringing an exhausted Liam and Hayden back to the McCall house, she gave Lydia a small hug then went straight to her room. No doubt no one would even care that Odessa helped save the two younger teens. No doubt Theo was taking all the credit, all the hugs of thanks. No doubt they all thought she didn't do anything to help.

Let them think that way, Odessa heard her conscience as she tried to hold back her tears that wanted so desperately to fall on the covers of her bed, it doesn't matter what they think of you.

And usually, the only people's opinions that mattered to her were her friend's. Now it seemed she couldn't care less. Or at least, she didn't want to care. She was trying not to.

Odessa heard faint footsteps coming to the stairs and down the hall, but she ignored them. Everyone from the pack was downstairs either thanking Theo or checking on Liam and Hayden, who were no doubt asleep. Who would be checking on her? Did they even know she was home and just a floor above them?

When her door opened, Odessa looked up in slight surprise. The surprise turned into content when her brown eyes locked with hazel. Stiles let himself in, closing the door behind him to give them privacy.

The Stone stayed in her spot on her bed, simply watching her boyfriend walk over to her, seating himself in front of her, "I heard you helped."

"Really," Odessa raised a brow in shock, though it was lazy and truly uncaring, "I thought he was gonna take all the blame."

Stiles exhaled a chuckle, bowing his head, "he told us all about you slapping him around when he got himself electrocuted, that's for sure."

"That was just for my pure enjoyment."

The couple shared a small laugh at the back and forth. They hadn't been so relaxed or laid back with each other in a while, it seemed. Once it died down, Stiles observed his girlfriend silently. Her brown eyes were dull with no thought behind them, though it seemed she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Why are you up here and not downstairs," Stiles asked quietly, though he felt like he already knew the answer.

The blonde shrugged, avoiding his eyes while playing with her comforter, "just didn't feel like seeing anyone. Except you, of course. You're the only exception."

"I'm honored," Stiles' rasped voice gave her comfort he would never know he gave her, "what's on your mind?"

Odessa wasn't oblivious. She knew he was watching her every move. He could read her like a book. It was a blessing and a curse to have a boyfriend who knew her better than anyone else.

"Something's changing," was the answer she gave him. It was a vague answer, but he understood completely because he felt it, too.

Stiles saw her face crumble when Scott yelled at her. He saw how disappointed she felt when she wasn't picked to help find Liam and Hayden but tried to hide it with nonchalant. He noticed her missing presence as soon as he walked into the house and saw how nobody seemed to notice or care that she wasn't with them. He heard Theo give her the credit she deserved but watch everyone brush it off and praise him instead. He saw it all. And it made his blood boil for her. She should be mad or sad or however she wanted to feel. And he wasn't going to stop her from feeling anything she wanted to.

Odessa Stone had quickly become one of the key members of the McCall pack that kept everyone together. She did everything for them, including staying behind with them instead of going with Satomi to learn about her parents. Including stopping her own research and investigation into who she was to help everyone else's problems. It seemed the pack was taking her for granted. Stiles just hoped he wasn't starting to.

"You have to promise me that no matter what happens, we will never change," Odessa continued after a while of silence. She reached out for his hands and squeezed them tightly with hers, loving how his big hands enclosed hers completely, "promise me we'll always be good."

Stiles brought their enclosed hands together and pressed them to his lips, kissing her fingers that were in laced with his, "I promise."

As Odessa moved closer to him to press her lips against his, cupping his cheeks, all the doubt and self deprecating thoughts left her mind instantly. At that moment, it was only her and him. Nobody else. Nobody else and a promise sacred to them and them alone.

If only they knew that promise would not be kept.

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*slowly backs into a corner to hide*
hope u guys enjoyed
next chapters are a lot and so is the start of 5b which is only 2 chapters away... comment & vote my babes <3