[BOOK 2] "𝙞 '𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝."
As Junior Year begins, lies are unravelled, truths are revealed, and no one ever expects an angel to set the world on fire.
A...
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"ALRIGHT. What did you bring?" Deaton asked Scott, Stiles and Allison— the three who had to become surrogate sacrifices in order to save their parents.
"Um, I got my dad's badge." Stiles said weakly, "Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a little bit. Still doesn't look right..."
"Well, it doesn't have to look good if it has meaning." Deaton replied.
Aspen noticed what Allison was holding in her hand, growing intrigued.
"Is that an actual silver bullet?" she asked the Argent girl.
"My dad made it" Allison answered. "It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a Hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the Code."
Aspen just hummed and nodded her head a bit, her eyes then darting back to the floor in avoidance of meeting Stiles' gaze.
"Scott?" said Deaton, turning to the McCall boy.
"My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital." Scott explained, "She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked."
"Okay," said Deaton, "The three of you will get in. Each of us will hold you under until you're essentially... well, dead."
Aspen wasn't one hundred percent clear on this plan, so hearing those words sparked her to lift her head up with a worrisome expression, and of course—her eyes immediately locked with Stiles.
"But," Deaton continued, "it's not just someone to hold you under—it needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone with a strong connection to you. A kind of emotional tether."
Everyone in the room knew exactly who Stiles' emotional tether was. Him and Aspen may be going through the ringer right now, and sure, the future of their relationship was looking as bleak as ever—but the love they had for each other was one of a kind. No one would be able to bring Stiles back except her. She knew that, and he did too.
She had to put her personal feelings aside right now. Of course she was upset about this kiss, and now her worst insecurities were telling her that his feelings for Lydia weren't as historic as she thought them to be. But that didn't mean she doubted his love for her. They were each other's emotional tethers—
each other's anchors.
Aspen walked over to the third ice bath where Stiles stood, not exchanging any words as she slipped her hand into his and clasped onto it. It was what she did next that made Stiles finally feel like he could breathe again.
She squeezed it three times.
She was upset, but she loved him regardless. She didn't know what sort of fait that the future held for her after this, but it was looking pretty damn dark.
