Rekindle The Flame || Stilinski || Book Four || WATTY's 2022

Forty-Six

USING THE JEEP, SIERRA TOOK SCOTT AND LIAM BACK TO THE HIGH SCHOOL.

The train tracks stretched straight by the building, near the entrance sign. It confirmed Sierra's theory, in which she believed the station was now appearing all over Beacon Hills.

The moon and stars were still covered by dark storm clouds, the ground under their feet slick from the rain. Sierra walked up to the tracks beside Scott, thinking over everything she learned from him and Liam in the drive over.

They caught her up to speed about who had been taken, their failed plans regarding the ghost riders and Douglas, and how they brought her back.

"Okay, but how the hell does he plan to merge worlds?" Sierra questioned Douglas' goal, Liam trailing behind her and Scott. "Nowhere in the manual does it say that werewolves can do that. And Stiles, Scott and I pretty much wrote the manual!"

"We can't even move between them," Scott pointed out, frowning. "Look what it took to break you out."

The best friends noticed an unusual silence coming from Liam, and simultaneously stopped walking to face him. Feeling their stares, Liam raised his head and explained his current thought process. "We can't move between worlds, but Corey can. He can exist in both."

"And he can take people with him," Scott agreed.

Liam shifted his gaze to Sierra and said, "At Scott's house, Corey pulled a ghost rider into our world. And at the lacrosse game, he brought us into theirs. What if that's how Douglas is doing it?"

"So you're saying Corey's the key?" Sierra tried to keep up with the conversation despite her three-month absence. Liam nodded, prompting her next words. "It's an interesting theory—solid logic. It is, but he's in there and we're out here."

"I mean, I can do some cool things but I could never break through the barrier," Sierra said next, glancing at Scott. "And we know how to stop them, right? Shouldn't we just focus on diverting the train?"

"We have to find Corey," Liam persisted.

Scott asked, "How?"

"I'm going into the Hunt."

"No, no, no," Sierra disagreed at once, taking a step closer to the beta and softening her voice. "I think you're confused, we're trying to get people out of the Hunt. Trust me, I've been there—not really a place for a sophomore werewolf."

"He could get taken by a ghost rider," Scott said, tilting his head as he thought Liam's plan through.

"I'm just saying it's not a pleasant option," Sierra told Scott. "I'm speaking from experience."

Liam, who had been staring at the grass, listened to both of them. Truly, he did. But once he saw hoofmarks along the ground, an idea quickly sparked in his brain.

"I don't need to get taken to get into the Hunt!" he exclaimed, cutting off Scott's words about how they might need everyone on this side of the battle.

"Okay," Sierra acknowledged Liam's sudden enthusiasm with a nod. "Seems like you've got an idea, let's discuss it—"

Liam didn't wait for her to finish. He broke out into a sprint, running away from the duo towards the high school.

Scott and Sierra exchanged bewildered looks from his action. "Where are you going?" Sierra demanded as he disappeared into the nightly fog.

"I'll be back!"

Sierra huffed, crossing her arms. "That kid is going to be the death of me," she said to Scott. "You know why?"

The true alpha wore a small grin at her aggravation and asked, "Why?"