Chapter 76

The cemetery was still, washed in the pale gold of early morning. The grass was wet with dew, and the air carried a chill that had nothing to do with the season.

Silver stood in front of Allison’s grave with his hands buried deep in his jacket pockets, his shoulders drawn tight like he was holding himself together through sheer force of will.

He stared at her name for a long time before he finally spoke. “Hey.” His voice was rougher than he expected. “I don’t really know how to do this.”

A slow breath left him. His hand slipped beneath
his jacket, fingers brushing against the chain around his neck.

“Things are… different,” he said, letting out a tired laugh. “I know that’s probably a stupid thing to say. Things are always different around here.”

His eyes drifted back to the headstone. “Scott’s asthma came back.” The words sounded wrong out loud. “I didn’t even think that was possible. It feels like somebody reached back into our lives and started undoing things that were already fixed. We’re just avoiding each other to make things easier.”

His jaw tightened. “I think he’s scared. I just don’t think he knows how to say it. Or maybe he does and he thinks saying it out loud makes him weak.” Silver shook his head.

“He carries everything. Every problem. Every mistake. Every person. Like if he puts it down for one second, the whole world falls apart.”

He laughed quietly. “And maybe that’s my fault.” The admission surprised even him.

“I spent years leaning on him. And lately… ” The words caught in his throat. “Lately I look at him and I can’t find the boy I fell in love with underneath all of it.”

The confession lingered in the cold air. “I hate saying that. But ever since Theo showed up and started talking about wanting to join Scott’s pack… it’s like he’s trying to become this Alpha everyone expects him to be.” He looked down.

“And I don’t know if anyone else notices it, but I do.”

The wind moved softly through the trees. Silver rubbed a hand across his face. “I haven’t seen dad in a few days but he left me a voicemail last night.” He laughed once under his breath. “I just stared at my phone for twenty minutes. I kept thinking that if I didn’t listen to the voicemail, then whatever he had to say wouldn’t be real. He said he had a promise to keep. He said he trusted me to take care of things here. I don’t even know how to keep myself together anymore.”

His boots shifted against the gravel. “Ren’s been sleeping on my couch. His parents told him this was the best thing for him. That he deserved a normal life.”

Silver looked around the empty cemetery. “I don’t think any of us know what normal is anymore. We spent the whole summer trying to fix me. My nightmares. My family. My stupid problems. And while we were doing that… everyone else started falling apart.”

He pulled the ring free from beneath his shirt and looked down at it. “I wasn’t supposed to have this yet,” he whispered as a quiet breath escaped him.

“I took it.” He let out a faint, self-aware laugh.

“Which I’m pretty sure isn’t how engagements are supposed to work. But I needed something. Something that made it feel like I didn’t lose everything.”

He crouched down, brushing his fingers across the engraved letters of her name. “If you were here…” His voice cracked. “…Dad wouldn’t have almost drunk himself to death. Michael wouldn’t be in Eichen House.”

Silver closed his eyes. “I’m out of ideas, Allison.” The words were barely a whisper. “I’m tired.” His voice broke completely. “I’m really tired.”

He laughed softly, but there wasn’t any happiness in it. “You know what the worst part is? I spent so much of my life wishing people would notice me.” His fingers curled tightly around the ring. “And now… I think I’d give anything to go back to being invisible.”

The wind stirred the trees above him.

Silver looked down at the mark on his hand. “I’ve been trying to figure out what’s happening to me.” His thumb traced the strange lines beneath his skin. “At first I thought I was losing my mind. Every time I touched something… I saw things.. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m awake or if one of those visions just hasn’t ended yet.”

He swallowed.

“So I started looking into it.”

A quiet laugh escaped him.

“You would’ve made fun of me. I had about thirty tabs open on my laptop. Conspiracy forums, old folklore, medical journals, anything I could find.”
His eyes stayed fixed on the mark.

“I found stories about people.” The word sounded strange in the empty cemetery. “They’re supposed to be able to see what other people can’t.”

Silver’s shoulders tensed. “”I’ve been reading everything I can find about the kids they’re targeting now. Anyone who’s a genetic Chimera – anyone who’s got two sets of DNA.”

“I built it up in my head . Like there had to be something inside me that mattered to them. Something important.”

“But I don’t think I was special.”

The words landed harder than anything else he’d said.

“I think I was just… a baby whose lungs stopped working.”

A pause.

“And if they failed – I would be dead anyway.”

🎭

Silver came home from the cemetery just before sunrise. The house was quiet.

He stood beneath the shower longer than he needed to, letting the hot water beat against his shoulders until the ache in his bones dulled into something familiar. Steam filled the bathroom, fogging the mirror completely. When he finally reached up and wiped the glass clean, his reflection stared back.

His left eye was the same lifeless, clouded blue it had been for years. The scars running down the left side of his face caught the morning light, pale against his skin. Around his neck hung a thin silver chain – his engagement ring. His fingers brushed over it for a moment before he looked away.

By the time he was dressed for school, the migraine had settled in behind his damaged eye. It always did. A slow, relentless pulse spread from his temple down his neck and into his left arm. The pain traced its familiar path until it reached the mark on his hand, where it burned beneath his skin. Just another morning.

He slipped his sunglasses on and headed downstairs. The living room was empty.
Silver stopped. The blanket that had been thrown over the couch the night before was folded neatly across the back cushions.

“Ren?”

There was no answer. He pulled off his sunglasses and looked around before spotting movement in the kitchen.

Ren stood at the counter with a mug of coffee clasped between both hands. He looked like he hadn’t slept.

Silver leaned against the doorway. “Are you coming to school today?”

Ren hesitated. For a second, it looked like he might say yes. Then he shook his head. “No.”

Silver frowned. “I don’t really want to leave you here alone.”

“I’m not going to be alone.” Silver waited for him to elaborate. “I’ll be with Lydia.”

Silver nodded once. “Okay.”

The silence that followed wasn’t comfortable. Ren kept staring into his coffee. Finally, he spoke. “Can I ask you a blunt question?”

Silver blinked. The question itself caught him off guard. Ren had never been the type to ask permission before speaking his mind, and the hesitation alone made Silver uneasy. Still, he gave a small nod. “Yeah… of course. What’s up?”

Ren looked down at the mug in his hands and said quietly, “How do you live without your family?”

The smile that had started to form on Silver’s face faded completely. He leaned back against the counter, his eyes dropping to the floor. After a moment, he said, “You don’t know that they aren’t coming back.”

Ren let out a sharp, humorless laugh and shook his head. “They packed up the house, Silver.” He looked toward the window. “They left pictures behind because they couldn’t fit them in the truck.”

Silver opened his mouth, but Ren cut him off.

“Ren – “

“No.” The word came out harder than either of them expected. “No, don’t make excuses for them.” A bitter laugh slipped out of him as his grip tightened around the mug. “I’m angry. I’m angry that they left. I’m angry that they didn’t take me. I’m angry that I keep waiting for my phone to ring like some stupid little kid.” His voice cracked at the end, and he looked away.

Silver stayed quiet. After a long moment, Ren looked back at him and said, “You’re my best friend. Just be honest with me.”

Silver didn’t answer right away. Then, he pulled out the chair across from Ren and sat down. “I don’t know if I’m the right person to answer that.”
Ren frowned. “Why not?”

Silver’s eyes dropped to the thin silver chain around his neck. “Because I never stopped wanting mine back either.”

Ren’s expression shifted.

“I know that’s stupid,” Silver added softly.
“No,” Ren whispered.

Silver gave a tired, fragile smile. “I still catch myself wanting to tell Allison things.” His voice dropped further, and he swallowed before continuing, “And some days… I still wonder if my mom would have loved me differently if I’d been easier to love.”

Ren looked away, his jaw tight, saying nothing. The silence settled between them again.

Then Silver looked up and said, “But here’s the difference, Ren.” His voice was quieter now, steadier in a way that didn’t match the weight behind it. “My family is dead. Yours are still alive.”

A pause stretched out. Ren flinched slightly, but didn’t interrupt.

“And they love you,” Silver said, leaning forward just a little. “I can tell you this is hurting them just as much as it’s hurting you.” He exhaled slowly. “Even if they aren’t here physically, they will always be right here.” He tapped lightly against Ren’s chest.

Ren stared at him for a long beat, then huffed a short, broken laugh. “Thank you for your kind words,” he said, his voice rough but trying, “E.T.”

Silver blinked. A beat passed. Then he let out a quiet, reluctant laugh through his nose. “Excuse me?”

Ren gestured vaguely at him with the mug. “You know. ‘Phone home,’ Spielberg. Bike with a basket.”

That finally broke something in the room. Silver exhaled a real laugh this time, shaking his head as he stood. “Screw you.”

🎭

Silver caught Scott walking out of the locker room and stepped into his path immediately. “Did you talk to Liam?”

Scott didn’t answer. He adjusted his bag and tried to move past him.

Silver followed a step behind him. “He’s a smart kid. Maybe he already has a plan for the Supermoon?”

Still nothing. Not even a glance. Scott’s silence wasn’t confusion or hesitation. It was deliberate, like every word he refused to say was another thing he could keep from breaking.

Silver stopped walking. Scott kept going. That was it. Something in Silver’s chest tightened sharply – an ugly, rising frustration mixed with something worse he couldn’t name fast enough to stop it.

“Don’t do this.”

Scott slowed, but didn’t turn around.

Silver’s voice cracked just slightly at the edges. “Don’t do this to me, Scott.”

That made Scott stop completely.

Silver took a step forward, then another, closing the distance just enough that he didn’t feel like he was talking into empty space anymore. “I’m running out of ways to get you to talk to me about this.” The honesty in it surprised even him. He exhaled through his nose, trying to steady himself. “I’m not asking you to fix anything. I’m not asking you to be okay. I just – ” His jaw tightened. “I just need you to stop shutting me out like I’m not even here.”

Scott finally looked at him.

Silver held his gaze, but it didn’t make him feel better. If anything, it made it worse. There was distance there – not physical, but something quieter and harder to reach.

“I can handle it,” Scott said.

“That’s not the point,” Silver snapped, then immediately softened his tone. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

A pause stretched between them.

Silver rubbed a hand over his face, dragging in a breath that didn’t quite settle his nerves.
“I don’t like this,” he admitted quietly.

Scott frowned slightly.

“I don’t like not knowing where you are in your head,” Silver continued, his voice dropping. “I don’t like talking and feeling like I’m hitting a wall every time. “

Silver swallowed, eyes flicking away for half a second before forcing them back.

“I’m not mad at you,” he said, quieter now. “I just – ” He exhaled. “I just want to help..”

Scott didn’t respond.

And the silence between them didn’t feel empty.
It felt full of everything neither of them were saying.

🎭

“Hey… I need to talk to you guys about something,” Theo said, turning to Scott and Silver in class and pulling both of their attention away from their work.

“You okay?” Scott asked.

Theo nodded, though he didn’t look convinced himself. “It’s not really about me… but it’s something I probably should’ve told you a long time ago.”

Silver frowned. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s about Stiles.”

Silver narrowed his eyes at him. But before Theo could continue, Scott’s head tilted slightly.
“Wait…” Scott said. “Do you hear that?”

The three of them fell silent. In the distance, sirens echoed across the school grounds.

“Is that the police?” Theo asked.
Scott shook his head. “No,” he said, already pushing his chair back. “It’s an ambulance.”
Scott was out the classroom door before either of them could react, with Silver and Theo close behind. They burst outside just as a stretcher was being wheeled across the courtyard. Corey was strapped to it, his body streaked with black blood and silvery mercury.

“Hey, Mason!” Silver called, rushing over and grabbing the other boy gently by the shoulder.
Mason looked completely panicked. “He just started bleeding everywhere. I don’t – “

A terrified scream cut through the chaos. “Don’t let them do it! Don’t let them kill me!”

Theo looked at Scott. “Scott, we have to follow them. We have to protect him, right?”

But Scott didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at Corey in stunned disbelief.

“Scott.” Silver reached over and grabbed his hand, forcing Scott to look at him. “We have to go,” Silver said. “We have to follow them.”

Scott blinked, the shock slowly fading from his eyes. Then he gave a small nod. Without another word, the three of them turned and ran after the ambulance.

🎭

“Hey, what did you want to talk to me about?” Scott asked as they sat in Theo’s truck.

“It can wait,” Theo said.

Scott shook his head slightly. “If something’s wrong, you should tell me. We’ve all got to start talking to each other again.”

Theo sighed, looking out the window. “This might not be the best place to start, Scott.”

“You think I’m going to be angry?”

“Not with me…”

Silver frowned from the backseat, leaning forward slightly.

“Theo, you can talk to us.” Scott said.

Theo looked down, staring at the steering wheel for a long moment before speaking. “Open the glove compartment.”

Scott reached over and pulled it open. Inside was a bloody wrench.

“It belonged to Stiles,” Theo said quietly. “He dropped it at the school.”

“Dropped it when?”

Theo looked directly at Scott. “When he killed Donovan.”

Scott stared at him, completely frozen. In the back, Silver’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you talking about?” Scott asked, his voice tight.

“You know he hurt his shoulder, right? You smelled the blood.”

“That was the Jeep,” Scott argued, shaking his head. “He said the Jeep’s hood fell on him.”

Theo shook his head. “No. That was Donovan. He went after Stiles at the library. I only saw the end of it. And when I saw what Stiles was doing…” He swallowed hard, his voice trembling. “I couldn’t stop him. I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t be telling you this. You should hear this from him.”

Silver was about to say something, but Scott cut him off. “Tell me.”

Theo looked visibly sick. “I saw Donovan go down. Stiles hit him with the wrench, and then he just…” He looked away, clearing his throat. “He just kept hitting him. Maybe it was because he threatened to kill his dad. Maybe Stiles thought he had to keep going to defend himself, but he just… he kept hitting him…”

“That’s not possible,” Scott whispered.

Theo’s voice cracked. “He crushed that kid’s skull. I heard it cracking and splintering. By the time I pulled Stiles off him, half of Donovan’s head was caved in. It didn’t even look real. I keep telling myself that it was self-defense… it was self-defense… But… Scott, I’m sorry. I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ve never seen anyone that angry.”

He let out a ragged breath and looked back down. “You should talk to Stiles. You have to talk to him.”

Silence settled heavily over the truck. Scott sat frozen, the bloody wrench still resting in his hands, while Silver couldn’t stop staring at it from the backseat.

They pulled up outside the hospital and everyone piled out of the vehicle. Silver instantly grabbed Scott’s arm. “Do you actually believe what Theo said?” he asked.

Scott sighed, pulling away from him. “Silver, I don’t know what to believe right now. All I know is that we need to focus on finding Corey right now.”

Silver scoffed and shook his head, watching him walk away. “You’re so unbelievable,” he muttered, quickly catching up as they ran into the building.
The interior of the hospital was a total mess.

“They’re already here,” Scott said, looking around at the chaos. They turned the corner only to find that the next hallway was just as badly destroyed.
“This wasn’t them,” Theo noted, examining the wreckage. “It was Corey.”

They split up and ran through the hospital, trying to locate Corey or the Dread Doctors before finally meeting back up in a main corridor. “I found nothing,” Silver reported.

Scott nodded grimly. “Security’s still looking.”

“I haven’t seen anything, either,” Theo added.
Suddenly, the overhead lights began to flicker violently, and a nearby elevator’s doors started opening and closing on their own. “I’m guessing this is them making an entrance,” Silver said, taking a deep breath and pausing as they braced themselves.

Following a sudden hunch, they hurried back outside to the parking lot where the ambulances were parked. Scott and Theo followed close behind Silver until they stumbled directly upon Corey’s body.

“We better go,” Theo said urgently.
Scott nodded slightly, his expression tightening. “We need to find Hayden.”

🎭

Scott and Silver sprinted into Sinema, bursting through the doors only to find Liam knocked to the ground. Two of the Dread Doctors were standing over Hayden. Scott let out a fierce roar and charged forward, while Silver instantly ran past the fray, pulling Hayden off to the side to stand protectively in front of her.

Both Liam and Scott fought aggressively against the Dread Doctors, but they had little to no luck. Once the creatures managed to throw both Liam and Scott to the ground, Silver took a deep breath and stepped up to shield the others.

One of the Dread Doctors turned toward him as he lunged forward, shoving the massive figure. Silver swung his arm, knife in hand, trying to find a weak spot, but the creature caught his wrist in a vice-like grip, making him wince.

“Success,” the Dread Doctor rasped. It spun Silver around and violently tossed him across the room into the wall, causing him to groan as he hit the floor.

Theo suddenly ran into the club, rushing over to pull Silver and Liam back to their feet. “Get Hayden out of here. Go!” Theo yelled, stepping in to block the creatures.

Silver grabbed Liam’s shoulder and nodded quickly. “Let’s go!”

They grabbed their things and ran past a heavy bead curtain, only to freeze in their tracks. Hayden was already there, trapped by a third Dread Doctor who was pressing a massive needle into her neck. She screamed in agony as a silver film washed over her eyes. The Dread Doctor pulled the needle out, leaving her to collapse to her knees.

Liam and Silver rushed forward, catching her before she hit the ground.

A second later Scott and Theo ran in, “I’m okay. Really, I think I’m okay.” Hayden said looking at Liam and Silver sighed and shook her head, “We saw the needle go in, and her eyes just filled up with mercury. They turned completely silver.” Silver said, turning to Scott and Theo.

“She looks okay,” Theo said, glancing back at Hayden. “Maybe she’ll heal.”

“Or maybe she won’t,” Scott answered. The words were enough to make everyone look at him.

Liam frowned. “What if something’s happening to her on the inside?”

Scott looked over at Hayden. She lay motionless, her breathing shallow, the silver in her eyes catching the dim light. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. Then he looked back at them. “Get her to the animal clinic,” he said quietly. “I’ll meet you there.”

He turned and started walking away.

“Scott.”

The single word stopped him. Silver hurried after him, catching his arm before he could get too far. Scott turned around. Silver opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He didn’t even know what he was asking. Maybe he wanted Scott to stay. Maybe he wanted him to trust him. Maybe he just wanted to know that whatever was happening wasn’t pulling them further apart.

The silence stretched. Finally, all Silver could manage was a quiet, “Please.”

Scott’s expression softened. For just a second, the weight he had been carrying seemed to crack. He stepped forward and pulled Silver into his arms. Silver held onto him a little tighter than he meant to. His mark burned faintly beneath the skin of his hand, and for a brief, dizzying moment, a wave of fear rolled through him.

Not his – Scott’s.

It hit him so suddenly that his breath caught. Fear. Guilt. The crushing certainty that he was about to lose someone.

Silver’s fingers tightened against the back of Scott’s shirt. Scott pulled away just enough to press a gentle kiss to the top of Silver’s head.
“I’ll meet you there,” he promised.

Then he let go.

🎭

The drive was quiet except for Hayden’s uneven breathing. Theo kept his eyes on the road, one hand tight on the steering wheel. “Keep her awake,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to fall asleep.”

Liam looked down at Hayden, gently shaking her shoulder. “Hayden? Hayden, you have to stay awake.”

Her eyelids fluttered. “I’m so tired…”

“I know,” Liam said quickly. “I know, but you can’t go to sleep. Just stay with me, okay?”

Hayden didn’t answer, and Liam looked up, panic creeping into his voice. “How do we help her?”
Theo’s grip tightened on the wheel. “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “When it’s wolfsbane poisoning, you burn it out. But I don’t know anything about mercury… especially a kind that’s probably been altered by them.”

The truck fell quiet again. Theo glanced into the rearview mirror. Silver was sitting against the window, sunglasses hiding his eyes. He hadn’t spoken since they loaded Hayden into the truck, his gaze fixed on the dark road rushing past them.

“Liam,” Theo said carefully, “the problem is… she’s not really like us.”

Liam frowned. “What do you mean?”

“None of them are.” Theo sighed. “They’re more like… cheap knock-offs.”

Silver’s jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.

“She might not be as strong as we are,” Theo continued. “She might not heal the way we do.” He looked back at the road. “She’s not a real werewolf.”

Liam’s eyes dropped to Hayden. “What if we turn her into one?”

Theo let out a quiet breath. “Nice idea. Except you and I can’t do that.”

Liam looked up immediately. “But Scott can.”

Silver looked down out the window, completely ignoring and refusing to entertain Liam’s idea.

🎭

Silver watched as Scott walked outside to go meet up with Stiles. He couldn’t hear much; the rain was coming down hard now, pelting against the clinic. But Silver wasn’t an idiot – he could see how quickly the conversation escalated.

Silver glanced behind him at Theo. Nothing he said about Stiles made sense.

“He went after Stiles at the library.

Silver grabbed his left hand and remembered his pain in the library. It was the first time he had just heard voices and felt someone else’s feelings. Silver looked down at his hand, seeing it almost crispen.

Scott walked back in, making Silver look up at him. “Where’s Stiles going? Scott? What happened?” He was about to say something else, but Liam spoke up.

“She’s getting worse,” Liam said, panic creeping into his voice. “I think she’s dying.”

Silver looked over at Hayden. Her breathing was shallow, her skin pale beneath the fluorescent lights. “It’s mercury poisoning,” he said quietly. “That’s why her eyes went silver.”

The room fell silent as everyone looked at him. Theo frowned. “You’ve seen something like this before?”

Silver shook his head. “No.” A beat passed. “But I’ve seen what mercury does.”

Liam stepped forward. “Scott, remember what you promised me. You said you’d do everything you could to save her.” Hayden whimpered weakly, her body trembling against the exam table. “If she’s a real werewolf, we can save her.” Liam looked directly at Scott. “You have to give her the bite.”

Scott stood perfectly still, his eyes dropping to the floor. The room waited. Slowly, he looked back up to see everyone watching him.

His answer was quiet. “No.”