The news of another pack wanting to go to war with his own shocked Scott to his core. Curiosity, fear, anger, they all swirled inside him as his heart elevated and his eyes shifted rapidly with uncontrolled thoughts.
"Scott," Emma said, pulling Scott from his jumbled and rushing thoughts.
Scott turned to her, momentarily calmed. "What?"
"Before you get swept up in this news, we need to think of what to do with Araya's head," Emma replied. She knew Scott was great at planning, but needed him to be focused.
"We can melt it," Theo said.
"What?" All three girls asked.
Theo answered, "All we need is toilet bowl cleaner and Alum. The Alum will make the hydrochloric acid in the toilet bowl cleaner stronger and melt away the flesh and bone on her head, maybe even her hair."
"I'll get the cleaner," Brooke said and rushed upstairs to the bathroom.
Audrey went searching for Alum in the kitchen.
Emma grabbed Scott's face and made him look at her. "Now, we know what to do with Araya. You need to come up with a plan, okay?" Her voice was one of reassurance.
Scott sensed her belief in him. He smiled and nodded.
Brooke came down with the toilet bowl cleaner, but Audrey could not find any Alum.
"Okay," Emma said to Scott. "I'm going to help them. You come up with something."
They shared a smile, Emma quickly kissed Scott on the cheek and went into the kitchen.
"New anchor, huh?" Theo asked, remembering the conversation of being young and in love, before they became allies.
Scott chuckled. "No, I've been my own anchor for quite a while now."
Theo shrugged, wincing at the pain in his back from the movement. "Still nice to see you've got someone though."
"Since that was carved by an Alpha, it'll take longer to heal."
"Great. It's not like the asshole's brand has been on me long enough already," Theo said, sarcastically.
Scott's face turned somber. "So, Alec and the others are dead?"
Theo looked to the floor, defeated by his failure to protect them. "Yeah…and I'm sorry, Scott. You trusted me to keep them safe and alive, but-"
Before he could continue, Scott interrupted him.
"Hey," he said as he put his hand on Theo's shoulder, "it wasn't your fault. If you start blaming yourself for their deaths, then you'll never stop."
Theo looked up to Scott. "Maybe I shouldn't."
Scott gently hugged Theo and Theo returned the embrace.
Theo said, "I never thought this would happen."
"Me neither," Scott added.
The two of them realized they were more than just allies, they were friends.
In the kitchen with the girls:
"Got it," Emma said, grabbing the Alum from under the sink. When she came back up, Audrey was still pouring the cleaner over Araya's head. "Make sure it coats everything," Emma told her.
"Right," Audrey said with a nod.
Once the cleaner was covering all of Araya's head, Emma started shaking the Alum over it.
Steam came out of the two chemicals coming together.
The girls backed away, but Emma was still shaking the Alum.
"There's steam!" Brooke shouted to the boys.
"Don't breathe it in!" Theo shouted back. "Come back in here!"
The girls followed his advice and returned to the living room.
"Should we pour water on it?" Audrey asked.
"No," Theo answered. "That may dilute it."
"What's the plan?" Emma asked Scott.
"Rest and regroup tomorrow." Scott said. "I've got some phone calls to make."
When Margaret arrived at the James residence, she was immediately attacked by a young man.
A few minutes later, he threw her into the town precinct.
Margaret rose from the floor, blood dripping from her head, making her feel dizzy.
A female officer asked what was happening and tried to help Margaret up.
"Leave her alone!" The young man who threw Margaret shouted, as he stepped inside. (Imagine Max Thieriot)
The officer backed away from Margaret, but took aim with her sidearm; as did all the other officers.
"Margaret, my name is Walker," the young man said. "Tonight, you will learn what I and your daughter's boyfriend are."
Margaret turned to Walker and asked, "What?"
Walker grinned and his eyes turned Alpha red.
Back at Emma's home, Emma walked up to Scott, it being just the two of them for a moment.
Scott thanked who he was talking to on his phone and hung up. He turned to Emma and asked, "Hey, where is your mom at?"
Emma sighed and said, "She's probably at Brandon's house."
"What are you going to tell her?"
"Well, luckily, this wouldn't be the first time I was involved in a crime scene," Emma said, getting both of them to grin. "The only difficult part will be finding a way to either take you out of the story or keep out all the supernatural parts."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that."
Emma sighed again. "It's fine. I doubt she would believe me anyways."
Back at the precinct, Walker killed every cop.
Walker, completely nude and covered in blood, knelt down to Margaret.
Margaret pushed herself further back against the doors, but it wasn't enough to open them. The sight and smell of fresh blood on Walker's nude body made her feel nauseous.
"If hitting your head made you forget, all the cops at Brandon James' home are dead," Walker said, stroking Margaret's hair.
Margaret began sobbing, afraid of what he might do to her.
"Now, all the cops in Lakewood are dead and none of them can get in the way of my war." Walker stood and told her, "Go home, Margaret."
Margaret struggled to get up.
Walker roared, scaring Margaret.
Margaret jumped up and ran out the precinct, terrified for her town, for her life, and for Emma.
Theo walked into the kitchen and went over to the sink. He looked down and saw the puddle of Araya's melted head.
The mixture of red, white, pink, and hair bubbled in the drain as it slowly went down.
Theo began pulling the bone fragments out and then ran water over the grotesque puddle. He then told Emma to get a drain snake to clean out the hair.
Theo came back into the living room.
"What are you going to do with the bones?" Scott asked, having heard Theo pick up the bones.
"I'll bury them somewhere in the woods as a coyote," Theo said.
Audrey clapped her hands together. "Well, this has been another fun and disturbing night. I am going home."
Audrey stopped in the doorway.
"Audrey?" Scott asked.
"Scott," Theo got his attention and nodded to Emma and Brooke.
Brooke's eyes were solid white, while Emma's were back to the dual color from earlier that night.
The three girls then spoke in unison. They said, "We, The Three Fates. The Moirai. Will, from this point forward, stay together at all times."
Audrey turned to Scott and the three girls each took a step closer to him.
"However," the three continued, "if we, for whatever reason, are unable to be together, one from your pack must be with us. Do you understand?"
Scott nodded and said, "Yes."
Their eyes went back to normal and they started to groan, all covering their eyes in pain.
"You three okay?" Scott asked.
Before either of them could answer, Theo started shouting.
"That's just wonderful!" Theo shouted, looking at Scott. "Of course you become friends with THE MOIRAI and indirectly bring them into a battle between two packs! Do you know what will happen if either of them are killed!?"
Brooke asked, "Has that ever happened before?"
Theo shouted, "Yes! Each time a massive war was the result! The Napoleonic Wars, The Turkish War, Hundred Years' War, the Crusades, World War I, Vietnam, and World War II!"
The weight of this new revelation made the air feel heavier than before…
Emma cleared her throat, unsure of herself. "And that was just from one of them–us, being killed?"
Theo sighed. "Does it matter?"
Emma shook her head.
Scott and Emma decided her, Brooke, and Audrey would be safe staying at Emma's together.
Scott and Theo made their way to Scott's dorm room, stopping on the way, on the side of the road, for Theo to bury Araya's bones.
Theo returned in his coyote form and took his boxers from Scott, changing back to human and covering himself back up before getting in the Jeep.
When they pull up to the dorm rooms, Scott sees Gabriel rushing out to his car with a bag.
"Gabriel!" Scott yelled out. "Where are you going!?"
"He told me about my Abuela!" Gabriel threw his bag into his car and turned to Scott and Theo with red eyes wanting to shed tears. "He said it was his Alpha that had killed her and all of her hunters. I can't stay here, Scott, I'm leaving." Gabriel knew he couldn't fight a pack on his own, especially not without training.
Before Gabriel could close his car door and drive off, Scott asked him who let him know about Araya.
Gabriel looked to the door of the dorm rooms, his eyes widened, and he said, "Him."
Scott and Theo turned to the door and saw a Kanima on all fours with its tail swishing back and forth.
"What the hell?" Scott and Theo both asked.
The Kanima jumped away to the right and ran away.
Theo roared as he transformed his face and hands, ready to take chase.
"Don't!" Scott told him.
Theo turned to Scott, "Why not!?"
Scott shook his head. "Kanimas are too dangerous and you're still weak from your last encounter with that pack."
Theo growled and shifted back, knowing Scott was right.
When Scott turned his attention back to Gabriel, he was already backing out. Scott knew there was no point in trying to convince Gabriel to stay, so he just watched as his friend and roommate drove away.
Theo could sense the sadness in Scott. He put a comforting hand on Scott's shoulder and suggested they go inside to get some rest.
The next morning, Margaret barged into Emma's room, waking up Emma, Brooke, and Audrey.
"Mom!" Emma yelled and sat up quickly. She looked at her mom, her clothes were disheveled, covered in sweat, dirt and scratches covered her face and arms from running in the woods, and her legs were shaking from running all night. "What happened!?"
Margaret rushed Emma, squeezing her shoulders tight enough to hurt. "You tell me right now, Emma Duval, is Scott a monster!?"
Emma shouted, "What!?"