(Author's Note: I am so sorry that it took this long for me to post another chapter. I apologize, this chapter is very long overdue...I really hope that you guys are still interested in the story because it is going to get really intense very soon...I have big plans for it...anyway, life kinda got in the way for a while, and for the past two weeks and five days I've been binge-watching Supernatural (finally started watching it! :D)...so yeah...I'm really going to start making an effort to write, and I'll really try and post more consistently...so, enjoy the chapter :))

Lasting Cessation

Chapter 2

The house is eerily quiet, despite the fact that the entire pack, human members included, is currently inside it. There had always been a weird sort of silence, something unexplainable, but we could all feel it, since Stiles died, but this is different. Because, despite our silence, we're also as loud as we could be. There's a sense of anticipation in the air, of a bloodthirsty hunger, a sense of pride and adrenaline, and it's been lingering ever since Peter gathered everyone here early this morning.

I had been sleeping, because god knows that I need my beauty sleep, when my phone kept going off, thus waking me up. Usually it doesn't end well for the person that dares wake Lydia Martin up early, but this was an exception. After I had muttered an annoyed 'What!' into the phone, Peter's rough voice informed me that they had a plan to retrieve Scott, and they wanted to go over said plan with all of its participants before Melissa or Isaac happened to wake up.

So, I was out of bed, dressed and on a coffee buzz by five thirty in the morning. Turns out, I could have guessed the plan and got it right, because it's the most obvious solution. Peter and Derek go in first, duh, followed by Monica and I, again, duh, we're the weakest links, it makes sense, and Allison brings up the rear, which is a huge, DUH, because she's the best shot out of all of us, so she should be the one to cover our backs.

After I wasted two hours when I could have been sleeping, there was nothing better to do than sit around the McCall house and watch TV; nobody feels like going to school, especially with what's going to go down tonight. I sigh inwardly; my perfect grades are starting to slip, but then I remember what I'm doing instead of going to school, which is much more important in the long run.

Melissa slaps her hands down on her knees and stands up from her spot on the couch. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you," she says, oddly cheery, considering her mood the past few weeks, "but I'm starving. I'm going to cook something for lunch, hopefully the smell will draw Isaac out of his room."

By his room, she means Scott's room, we can all hear the slight tremble in her voice at that moment, but we've learned to ignore it. Derek, who had been looking through the Argent's beastiary, despite the fact that he can't read it, looks up and smiles, yes, actually smiles. "Want some help Melissa?" He offers, "I've been meaning to brush up on my cooking skills."

I shake my head slightly, what is happening? Melissa is acting like nothing's wrong, and Derek's smiling and offering help with cooking, of all things. I pinch my wrist to make sure that I'm not dreaming, but this seems to be real. Ethan and I both give each other a 'what-the-hell' look, so I'm not the only one to find this interaction out of the ordinary. "Yes, I'd love some help, thanks Derek." Melissa smiles.

The two swiftly leave the room, yapping about something, leaving Peter, Monica, Allison, Ethan, the new girl, Kayla, and myself remaining in the living room. Monica is half asleep in Ethan's lap, and Ethan is holding one of Kayla's hands, stroking the back of it with his thumb, despite the fact that she's still unconscious. He seems happy right now, and I briefly wonder just how it feels to experience the full impact of the bond of a pack. Sure, I feel some of it, but not to its full extent, because I'm only human.

My good mood drops slightly; I'll never be able to feel the full bond of a pack, not ever. I'm immune to the bite, which makes me even more of a freak than the werewolves themselves. The bite is supposed to either turn you or kill you; the fact that neither happened to me proves that there's something wrong with me. Its been killing me, I've been dying to know why I wasn't turned, but none of my research has been useful, and I'm too nervous to ask anyone else for help.

Ethan turns to me, "What's wrong Lydia?"

I shake my head, "Nothing, just thinking."

"Nervous about tonight?" He asks, grinning slightly.

I shrug, "Lydia Martin is never nervous."

"Oh really?" Peter says. "Now, then, if that's the case, why haven't you voiced your concerns about your immunity to the bite?"


Scott's screams echo painfully in my ears. I've heard plenty of people in his position before, but none have ever affected me like this. I can't help but feel bad for him; the poor guy just wanted to keep his friends safe, and when he killed Deucalion, he crossed a bridge that we all thought he would never cross. He was supposed to join us, not tear our leader away from us; we had greatly underestimated how much he cared for Stiles.

I put my head in my knees and cover my ears, but it does little to block out the awful noises coming from the other side of the wall. I hear someone approach me, Ennis, but I don't bother to look up. "Hey, Aiden, you okay?"

I shake my head. "No."

There's a slight shuffle as I feel him sit down beside me. "What's wrong?"

I take a deep breath and look up. "Are you sure that we're doing the right thing with Scott?"

He shrugs. "Why? Do you think that we should be welcoming him after what he did?"

I look down at the floor. "Ennis, we killed Stiles, we made the first move, all he did was react to what we did. I really think that we're in the wrong here."

There's a moment of silence between us, when all of a sudden Scott's screams cease. I look over in time to see the door open and Kali walk out, covered in Scott's blood, smiling. "It's your turn Aiden."

I slowly get up and approach the half conscious werewolf in the next room, despite the fact that every bone in my body is telling me to flee. "Hey Scott." I whisper.

He lazily lifts his head up, wincing in pain. "So, what do you have in store for me today?" He gives a small, pain-filled smile, before looking back down.

I hesitantly grab a bloody knife from the floor and slowly drag the tip up and down Scott's bare torso. "I," I whisper to him, "am going to get help."


I'm almost asleep when my phone starts buzzing loudly on the coffee table beside me. I groan and sit up on the edge of the McCall's couch, reaching blindly for the stupid phone. "What?" I ask.

"Ethan, it's me."

My eyes flash open, my body suddenly wide awake. "Aiden?" Just saying his name makes my blood boil in anger.

"Yeah, it's me little brother. I need your help." He whispers.

I snort. "And why would I help you?"

"Because I have Scott and he'll be dead in a matter of days if somebody doesn't come save him." He pauses. "Ethan, you guys need to come get him now. Kali and Ennis are torturing him, and he can't last much longer."

"And how do I know that you're not leading us into a trap?" I whisper-shout into the phone.

"You don't." Aiden says, voice getting angry. "But you're my brother Ethan, listen to me, I'm telling you the truth, Scott needs your help."

"We were going to come tonight, but Melissa got called into work and we can't leave Isaac by himself. I have a new beta that has yet to wake up, and another one that's eager for a fight. Why can't you just bring him here yourself?" I say, testing him to see how he responds; I don't believe for one second that he's telling me the truth.

"Ethan, if I see you, I'm going to kill you." He spits. "Besides, I'd never be able to get past Kali and Ennis with him, there's no way. Ethan, please, I need your help."

I close my eyes and pinch my nose. "Aiden, there's nothing that I can do right now. We'll get him tomorrow, everyone's already gone home and they need their sleep, we're all exhausted."

Aiden growls. "Scott's dying, Ethan. He needs help now."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Ethan, I don't have time to explain it to you right now. Just, trust me, okay." He pauses. "Come here. Come back, convince them that you're back with us and we'll figure out how to get Scott out from there."

My fists clench in anger. "I knew it!" I yell at him. "You just want me to come back to you. You probably don't even have Scott at all!"

There's a moment of silence and then the unmistakable sound of Scott screaming. "Ethan, I'm done playing nice. Scott needs help, and the only way that we'll be able to get him out alive is for you to come back."

I look down at the floor, tears dangerously close to spilling over. They have Scott, my alpha, and they're hurting him, torturing him. I feel my claws come out and dig into my palms as I clench my fists even harder. There are no words to describe how much I hate my brother right now; he's given me no choice, I have to go back. If not, Scott will die.

I know Kali and Ennis better than anybody, and they won't let Scott out of their sight, they would never risk losing him while I'm still over here. I slowly open up my hands as I release a shaky breath. "I'm on my way."


I feel my body slowly start to go back to reality, finally deciding to leave the floaty, dream-like state it had been in. But the closer to reality I get, the sharper the pain in my head becomes; all the yelling going on around me isn't helping. I feel a pressure in my hand, "Kayla?" A girl's voice calls out from the loud and pain-filled reality.

I groan, the pain in my head flaring up to its worst point yet. "Kayla? Hey, open your eyes." The voice says.

"My head." I moan again, not moving a muscle.

"Melissa," the voice calls out, "bring me a glass of water and some Advil." I feel another pressure in my hand before the voice speaks to me again. "Hey, Kayla, come on, I need you to open your eyes."

I attempt to do what she says, but even opening them a crack sends my brain into a painful frenzy. "Too bright." I moan.

I feel a hand touch my forehead. "She's got a slight fever." A woman says.

"Is this supposed to happen?" The girl asks.

There's a pause, and then, "I don't know. It might just be her body's reaction to the bite and the cancer being in her system at the same time." The woman says.

"But I thought that the bite was supposed to cure her?" The girl points out.

"Yes, Monica, and if you look at her, it has. But the cancer was killing her, I'd expect her to feel a bit off for a few days while her body heals." The woman explains.

The girl, Monica, sighs. "She'd probably get better a lot faster with her alpha here."

"I know, but she has you, she'll be just fine and we'll have Ethan and Scott back in no time, I promise." The woman assures.

I attempt to open my eyes again; the lights aren't as bright this time around. My eyes take a moment to adjust, but two faces come into focus. One is a young girl, Monica, who has long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and full, pink lips. The woman, who I don't know the name of, has dark, curly hair that just reaches her shoulders, and soft brown eyes. Her lips are curved up in a smile as she looks down at me, and it takes a moment for my brain to catch up to my eyes. I actually do know her; its Nurse McCall, from the hospital. "Where am I?" I whisper, my voice much weaker than I feel.

Mrs. McCall brushes my hair back from my forehead, "You're at my house sweetie." She says softly, "Do you remember how you got here?"

I'm about to shake my head 'no' when a brief memory surfaces. "You saved me." I murmur. "You got that guy to come and take me away."

"Yes, sweetheart. Do you remember what he did?"

I think hard, back to when he had come into my room. I had been half-asleep, but I do vaguely remember him grabbing my arm, and then a sharp pain in my wrist. "He bit me." I whisper. "Why would he do that?"

"Listen, sweetie, in order for me to get you out of there and away from your parents and your cancer, he had to do something. You can't change it, but the way I've heard you talk about the books you read, I'm sure you won't mind too much." Mrs. McCall's voice mimics the voice my doctor gave me when she diagnosed me with cancer.

"What did he do to me?" I ask.

"Well, he did bite you, and now you're a . . .a werewolf." Mrs. McCall says.

I freeze. A what? Did I hear her right? A werewolf? That's not possible, things like that aren't real, but it suddenly dawns on me that she has to be right. I mean, why else would somebody bite me, and the aches and pains from treatment are almost gone. I'm not stupid, but I can also see the truth when someone is telling it. "How did you get me out?" I whisper.

"Jesus!" Monica says. "You just found out that you're a freaking werewolf and all you wanna know is how you got out of the hospital?"

I shrug, but wince at the movement as my temple throbs with new pain. Mrs. McCall holds out two white pills and a glass of water. "Here, take these. They'll make you a bit drowsy, but it'll help with your head. Either Monica or I will be here when you wake up."

I nod, no longer in the mood for conversation, and take the pills quietly, washing them down with the water and settling more comfortably into the couch. I close my eyes, willing sleep to take me, and I soon find myself drifting into blissful unconsciousness.