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Kate’s body hit the floor with a loud THUMP. The blood pouring from the gashes on her neck quickly spread across the burnt and ashy floor, slipping through the cracks between the wood panels. Eventually it would drip down and make its way into the basement. Peter thought it was an ironic justice. The last of the blood that needed to be spilled would join together with the first blood that was spilled.
It was over, ending where it began six years ago. He watched the young Miss Argent back out of the room slowly before running out the front door, not bothering to close it behind her as she ran. He wiped his bloody claws off on his red button up shirt before cracking his neck with a sigh. He sat down on the blackened staircase, running a hand through his hair and trying to ignore the heavy scent of blood in the air. Still, this was far more pleasant than the musty scent of ash and death that permeated the air in what was left of the Hale House.
He heard cars coming up and parking in the driveway, a few doors opening and slamming shut and soon Allison was nearly hyperventilating as she explained what had just happened in the house to whoever had just arrived.
She may have be scared beyond all reason (though, she does have very good reason) but, Peter had to give the young woman credit where it was due, she was holding up much better than most would if they’d just witnessed what she had. She was a resilient type, strong and stable. He expected nothing less from an Argent woman.
He glanced up as his nephew ran in, his blue eyes shifting between Peter and Kate’s dead body in the living room. His claws twitched at his sides, a deep growl resonating throughout the house as Chris Argent ran in after him with Scott right on his heels.
Chris shoved his way past Derek, pulling his gun out of his holster and pointing it at Peter’s chest.
“What the hell did you do?!”
“As sorry as I am for the loss of your sister Argent, it’s over. It’s finally over.” Peter tells him quietly. “Six years and it’s finally over. If you want to shoot me, then by all means, go ahead and do it. I’m not sorry that she’s dead or that I’m the one that killed her. There has never been anyone who deserved their fate more than her.”
Derek growled, storming over to Peter and grabbing him by his collar, snarling in his face angrily. “And what about Laura, Peter? Did she deserve it too?!”
Peter tried to flinch away from him at the reminder, his eyes flashing for a moment before he turned back to Derek.
“I didn’t know…” Peter tells him. “She wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither of you were. You don’t understand it Derek… You don’t understand what it was like. Trapped in my own head in a body that I couldn’t move. For six years I laid there! Watching our family burn to death around me over and over and over again! Unable to stop it, unable to change it!”
Derek shoves him back down on the stairs, a grimace on his face as his eyes flash with the guilt he feels from his own involvement in what happened to their family.
Peter knew it was cruel to remind him of what happened, but he needed Derek to understand. He had to make him understand why he did what he did, even with all the pain that his methods caused.
“For six years Derek, all I thought about was avenging the family; my sister, your father, your sisters, your cousins, Uncle Avery, Grandmother Louisa, everyone. Six years of seeing the same faces flashing through my mind over and over. I was alone Derek, as alone as anyone could possibly be… and the only people that I’d had left in the world had left me.”
Derek glared at him and opened his mouth again to say something but Peter cut him off with a flash of his red eyes and a snarl.
“I don’t blame you two for leaving, nephew. You had to get away from this place, and from the pain. You had to protect yourself and what was left of the pack. But I still resent you for leaving and not talking all of your pack. Even if I was comatose, unable to talk or move or even open my eyes, I was still family. I needed you, and I resent you for leaving me here like you did. But no matter how much I blamed you, no matter how angry I got about it, Laura and you were the only thing I had left.”
“If you cared about them so much, then why would you kill your own niece?” Scott asks him angrily.
Scott’s anger was completely understandable as well. A few months ago he was just a normal boy with normal teenage problems. Now, he was standing here because Peter had bit him and turned him into a werewolf, forcibly dragging him into the supernatural world.
“I never wanted to hurt my niece, Scott. That night was one of the first nights where I was healed enough to connect with my wolf again, and finally shift. But I overestimated myself, and it was too much. Being locked away from such a huge part of myself for six years... Suddenly it was like someone opened the floodgates and all of these aspects of my wolf just poured inside me again. It was like I was drowning in my own instincts.”
“So what? You’re telling me that Laura just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?” Derek snapped.
“That exactly what I’m saying.” Peter tells him with a groan, running his hand down his face. “I was so focused on revenge Derek. It was all I could think about. So, that night, when my wolf took over again, and it sensed an Alpha in our territory, well, you know what happened next… When I came to the next morning and I still had her blood on my hands… It smelled so familiar and for some time I couldn’t figure out why, and when I finally did…” Peter took a few deep, calming breaths, staring at his hands as if her blood was still covering them.
“I will never forgive myself for what I did to Laura, Derek. Even if I accomplished what I’d dreamed about for years, she was not a price I was willing to pay.”
Peter tried to ignore the lump in this throat and watched as Derek turned away to hide his own. He glanced behind his nephew, looking from Scott and then to Argent, who were, fortunately, silent during his explanations and confession.
Another vehicle was making its way up the driveway, probably the Calvary. Although Peter wasn’t sure who’s Calvary it was. It could be back up for Derek or Scott or Argent. He really hoped they weren’t here to backup Argent; he really didn’t feel like dealing with that right now.
He heard someone talking with Allison and it took a few moments before he recognized the voice: Stiles. Although, he didn’t’ know who that third heartbeat belonged to.
Stiles burst in, baseball bat in one hand and an unlit Molotov cocktail in the other. Peter glanced down at it before looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Really, Stiles? I almost died in a fire and spent six years in a coma in the burn ward and you’re going to set me on fire? That’s a bit sadistic, even by my standards.” He hoped he kept the tremble going through his body out of his voice. He really, really, really didn’t want to be set on fire again. He’d much rather die a thousand other ways, as long as it wasn’t fire.
“Half a reason, no, give me an eighth of a reason, and you’ll see how sadistic I can get.” Stiles mutters in reply, watching him closely. In reality though, he would feel pretty shitty if he had to set this asshole on fire. He deserved to die! Well, maybe he deserved to die… but fire? After what Kate Argent had done? Stiles was more than happy to do whatever he could not to turn out like Kate Argent.
“So, ah… Are we not doing the whole ‘kill Peter’ thing?” Stiles asks, looking between Derek and Scott. The former stared at his uncle before he shifts back to his more human form and clears his throat.
“No, we’re not.”
“What?!” Scott demands angrily. “Wait, Derek! I have to! I can’t say like this!”
“Killing me won’t change you back, Scott.” Peter informs him. “Killing me will only make you an Alpha.”
“You’re lying!”
Chris sighed, placing his gun back in its holster. “No, he’s not Scott. Trust me, if there was a way to reverse lycanthropy, my family would have found it years ago.”
“So… I’m stuck like this? For the rest of my life, I’m going to be this… this…” Scott snarled angrily, not bothering to control his shift as he punched through the foyer wall.
“I am sorry, Scott. I didn’t think the need to be stronger and build a pack would outweigh so much else in my mind. I would have preferred to turn the willing, build a pack with those who want the bite, those who would choose to be loyal to me.” Peter said as he stood. “Despite that, you have, and will continue, to make an excellent werewolf. Your loyalty, and strength, and compassion for those around you are remarkable, and trust me when I say that you most definitely instill the same loyalty in others.”
Peter’s gaze shifted to Stiles, who glanced back at him and gripped his bat tighter. The defiance and the challenge in the young man’s eyes made Peter grin. He hadn’t had an enjoyable challenge since his younger years.
“There’s really nothing I can do, is there?” Scott asked quietly.
“I’m afraid not, Scott. Not when it comes to making you human again.” Peter ran his fingers through his hair before straightening out his - regrettably - blood stained jacket. “However, if you’d let me, I would still like to be your Alpha. I can’t promise you that I’ll be the best Alpha, or that I’ll always know what to do as your Alpha, but, a Pack can be family and trust me, you don’t want to be an Omega.”
Argent shifted uncomfortably at Peter’s words, knowing that he was right. You absolutely did not want to be an Omega.
“Hale.” Argent suddenly says, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I don’t like this. You’ve threatened my family, turned some teenage boy without consent, brutally murdered quite a few people, including my sister and your own niece, and you’ve attacked a group of kids on more than one occasion.”
Chris groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration.
“However,” Argent continues. “I think that killing you would only start the cycle over again, and you’ve had more than enough reason to do what you’ve done. If it had been me and my family, I don’t think I would have stopped until everyone was dead either.”
Peter looked at him in surprise, as did Derek and Scott. Stiles just seemed to nod in silent agreement.
“We’ll be talking about boundaries soon enough. I brought my family here to wrap this all up and get them away from this lifestyle.” Chris groused, narrowing his eyes as he glanced over at Scott, who at least has the insight to look at him like he was an innocent boy instead of the teenage werewolf that frequently makes out with his daughter. “I’m going to take Allison home. I’d like to come back and deal with my sister myself, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course. She won’t be disturbed until you return.” Chris gives Peter a curt nod before leaving with Allison in tow.
They were all silent for a moment, and at some point Jackson had joined them and was now leaning against the doorframe awkwardly.
“Okay, well, now that Allison and her dad are gone, what happens next?” Stiles asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“That is entirely up to Derek and Scott.” Peter replied. “Derek, you and I are the only family that each other has left. Scott, you have so much potential, and I would be lucky to have you as one of my Betas. However, I’m not going to ask either of you to join or remain in my pack if you truly wish not too.”
Peter sent them both a tired but hopeful look before frowning. “However, I’m not leaving Beacon Hills. This is still Hale Territory and a Hale Alpha will protect it. Regardless of the decisions the two of you may make, I will be expanding the pack. Take all the time you need to decide, but at the very least, you should consider it. “
Scott stormed off angrily, not saying a word to Peter. That was all right though, because that also meant that he hadn’t immediately said no. Peter supposed he should be grateful, since that was more than he’d hoped for.
Derek stayed behind and for a moment it looked as if he might say something to Peter but chose to shake his head and keep silent instead. He glances at Jackson and Stiles before he finally turns away and started to head towards the back of the house.
Although, he does pause just long enough to brush his shoulder against his uncle’s before he continued towards the back door.
Peter took a deep breath, happy to have Derek’s scent around him again. Even if it was filled with anger and grief and guilt, it was still a familiar and comforting scent. It left him with a pleasant hum in his head and a warm feeling in his chest.
Yes, even if they’d both lost everything and everyone else that they’d had, he still had Derek. Albeit, he felt guilty for not being able to offer his nephew more in return, and he was sure he didn’t comfort Derek in the same way. But, there was still time to work through all they needed to work through.
Peter watched Derek disappear around the corner at the end of the hall before he turned back to face Stiles.
“I don’t suppose you’ve reconsidered my offer?” Peter asks.
“Not on your life you damn Psycho-Wolf.” Ah, there it was again, that flash of defiance- that streak of tenacity that Peter was starting to thrive for.
Peter shoots him a toothy grin, his eyes flashing as he takes a step towards the boy. Stiles immediately takes a step back and Peter can’t help but notice the subtle way that his stance changes. His footing has moved, just slightly, and the new angle of his body will allow him to put every ounce of force behind a good swing, if he has to take it.
Peter might have to watch him just a little more closely than the others.
“Do you really think you could do it? Be a good Alpha to Scott and Derek and whoever else?” Stiles demands before he takes a quick peak back at Jackson, who is staring at Peter intently.
“I’d certainly do the best I can.” Peter replies honestly. “I wasn’t born to be an Alpha, I wasn’t trained with all the instincts and knowledge that they are, but I had a fairly good role model.”
“And Beacon Hills?” Stiles continues. “You’ll do anything and everything in your power to protect it and everyone who lives here, right?”
Peter chuckles softly as he nodded. “Yes, Stiles. I will do anything to protect my territory. Does that change your mind?”
“Hell to the no! I’m just making sure- here.” Stiles tossed the Molotov cocktail to Peter, who caught it with a grimace and held it away from himself. “Keep it as a souvenir, a little reminder of how this can end at any time if you mess this up.”
Peter bites back a snarl as Stiles flashes him a toothy grin of his own before turning and chasing after Scott. Peter throws the bottle down the hall, where it rolled into the rubble that was once the kitchen, before taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
He was definitely going to have to keep an eye on Stiles, especially if it was so easy for the little brat to get under his skin.
He finally turned to the quiet, and rather shaky looking boy in the doorway, a smirk forming.
“Well now, Jackson… Is there anything I can do for you?”