"What? How did that happen?" Trevor asked.
Stiles answered, "I don't know, man. Derek called me from Scott's phone and said the alpha kidnapped his mom."
"Damn it," Trevor exclaimed. "And Scott? Is he still with Derek?"
"No. It looks like when he got the message, he lost control so badly he managed to escape. Derek said that right after the message, he heard a roar coming from the forest."
Crap, Trevor thought, because with another out-of-control werewolf on the loose, he had no idea what could happen — especially with the hunters patrolling the town, and if they caught Scott, it could be the end of him.
"By the way, I already asked the police to keep an eye out, in case they found something suspicious or some teenager running around," Stiles added.
Trevor replied, "I forgot your dad is the sheriff. Do you have the police radio at home?"
"I do. If I get any news, I'll text you. But what are we gonna do now?"
"We, nothing. I need you to stay there, safe, and keep an eye on the radio. I'll figure out what to do. Actually, you said Derek has Scott's phone, right?"
"Come on, man, I wanna help too. And yeah, he has the phone."
"Good. Keep me posted. You're already helping a lot this way."
"Fine, then," Stiles agreed, not wanting to argue.
Trevor hung up and asked himself, What do I do now? He wondered where Peter would take someone — in the original story, there was a fight at the school, but he couldn't rely on his prior knowledge anymore — until an idea came to him: I know. Derek said he heard a howl coming from the forest. The only significant place out there is the Hale house. I hope he's there, or it'll be hard to find him in the middle of the whole forest. He thought back to how he'd already experienced what it was like to search for someone in the woods when he was looking for the coyote — only now there was no time to spare, and Scott's mother's life could be in danger.
As hard as it was to swallow, Trevor picked up his bike and started pedaling toward the Hale house, shouting out loud, "I swear I'm getting rid of this bike after this."
Meanwhile, at the Hale house, Peter said — in his human form, wearing a simple shirt and pants, his red eyes glowing intensely and his short brown hair contrasting with the huge burn scar that covered half his face — "Perfect, Emma. You managed to control the full transformation faster than I expected."
"It was all thanks to you, sir. Even though it's only been a few months since I was turned, with you teaching me it becomes easy," she replied. Emma had been Peter's primary nurse, spending a long time caring for him while he remained in a catatonic state, and when Peter regained consciousness, he managed to manipulate her into luring Laura Hale, killing her, and stealing her alpha power. Once he obtained that power, one of the first things he did was turn Emma into a werewolf, just as a few months later he turned Scott, though that one had been an accident. Emma had already learned how things worked, knowing the best path for her was to flatter Peter, and honestly, she didn't mind having to submit in exchange for the powers she had acquired.
"Of course. Now that you've reached the full hybrid form, we're one step further in my plan."
"And now, sir?"
"Well, now we wait. Little Scott should be coming this way, looking for her."
Peter pointed at Melissa, Scott's mother, unconscious, tied up, and gagged, then crouched down and held her chin. "A shame to have to hurt someone so beautiful, but I needed to make Scott lose control. And I couldn't get to his little Argent girlfriend."
Emma watched Peter without much reaction. Then both of them pricked up their ears — rapid footsteps were coming from the forest.
"It's time. Stay here and bring her out unconscious when I give the order," Peter commanded.
He opened the door of the old Hale house and stood in front of the entrance, waiting. Fortunately for him, it only took a few seconds for someone to appear.
It was Scott, visibly shaken, his eyes glowing yellow, his face more animal-like, and his claws already out, as if he were ready for the confrontation.
"Where is she?" Scott demanded, completely out of control.
"She's fine… for now," Peter answered.
"Tell me where she is! Who are you?"
"You make me sad, Scott. Don't you remember who turned you?"
In a flash of sanity, Scott realized who he was talking to — the full moon was messing with his head, and the worry for his mother's safety had kept him from thinking straight until now.
"You…?! Aren't you Derek's uncle? What are you doing here?"
"Bingo. That took a little longer than I thought, but that's fine."
"Why did you kidnap my mother?"
"I need you, Scott. I need you to truly join my pack. You've seen what the hunters are capable of." Peter turned the burned side of his face for Scott to see. "When they find out you're one of us, they'll hunt you. We need to unite. We werewolves are stronger in a pack. If we join forces, there's no way they can defeat us."
"They wouldn't do that," Scott shot back.
"Are you sure, Scott? Think a little. They killed countless people. When the fire happened, they didn't just kill werewolves; they killed children and adults who hadn't done anything. They're crazy, with a corrupted sense of justice."
Scott thought. He looked at the burned house, at Peter's face deformed by scars. He remembered Trevor, who knew something about the alpha and could have done something earlier but didn't tell him. Can I really trust the hunters? He shook his head. He wasn't there for that. He needed to make sure his mother was safe.
"Give me my mother," he said.
"Not so easy, Scott. I already told you: join my pack."
"I'm not joining you. You're a murderer."
Peter gave a scornful smile. "How naive, Scott. I only killed those who deserved it, those who had to pay for what they did to me."
Seeing that Peter wouldn't hand over his mother, Scott howled and charged at him. At least he had learned from his sessions with Trevor that a direct, anger-driven attack could be easily avoided. He feinted as if he were attacking head-on — the expected move from an untrained beta.
Peter quickly transformed into his full hybrid form: a two-meter-tall werewolf with dark fur and red eyes, part of his face still disfigured by the burn scars, most likely because his subconscious made the marks remain in the transformation without him even realizing it. He prepared to block the attack, but before he knew it, he received a blow from the left, feeling Scott's claws near his ribs. In a fit of rage — a mere beta daring to wound an alpha like him — Peter threw a violent punch, hurling Scott far away as the crack of breaking ribs echoed. Fortunately for Scott, Peter hadn't used his claws, because wounds made by an alpha's claws took longer to heal, and often even if the surface closed, the internal injuries remained.
"How dare you? When this is over, I'll teach you to respect me," Peter growled as he walked slowly toward Scott, thinking of countless ways to make him regret it.
That was when new footsteps sounded in the forest.
It was Derek, running in his full hybrid form, just as tall as Peter at two meters with dark brown fur, but his eyes blazed an intense blue. Peter smiled in an unhinged way, the full moon affecting even an alpha's mind, let alone the troubled mind of someone who had endured years of suffering.
"Perfect! The whole pack gathered here. That'll save me the trouble of having to find you later," Peter said.
"You? What are you doing here?" Derek demanded.
"Ha ha, yes, it's me. Are all of you going to ask the same question?"
"You were in a wheelchair the last time I saw you. You couldn't even speak, Peter. How are you here?" Derek tried to process the revelation as countless questions flooded his mind — until he remembered his sister, killed by the alpha, who he now discovered was his own uncle. "What did you do? Why did you kill Laura?"
A flicker of remorse crossed Peter's expression, but it didn't last long. He returned to what he was before and said, "It was an unfortunate accident, Derek. She died to pass the alpha status to me, so I could recover."
"That's not possible. She wouldn't do that. Not while she was pregnant."
Those words opened a wound in Peter's conscience. Despite all the atrocities he had committed, driven by a sick desire for revenge, he believed he was doing justice. He believed he was better than the hunters who had murdered his family. But upon remembering that he had killed Laura, a sliver of doubt surfaced — and was immediately pushed to the back of his mind, smothered by hatred and the thirst for vengeance.
"Emma," he called.
At the sound of the name, the nurse — Peter's first beta — emerged, dragging Melissa McCall by the hair and holding a claw to her throat.
"What's it going to be, Scott? Are you joining my pack or not?" Peter asked.
Scott froze at the sight of his mother being dragged by the hair. A small part of him felt relief at seeing her still alive, but now he stood at an impasse. He clenched his fists without retracting his claws, drops of blood falling to the ground. He turned to Derek and whispered, "Sorry." Then he walked slowly toward Peter, still with his fists clenched.
Derek watched it all, trying to keep calm. He wanted to feel anger at Scott, but he couldn't. He would have done the same. If he could, he would sell his own soul for family.
Peter watched with a smile as another part of his plan fell into place. Only one more piece was missing to begin his revenge. Everything he had done so far was just an appetizer. The main course still walked around out there, alive — but not for much longer. He turned his eyes to Derek.
"Well then, only you are left, Derek. Are you going to keep up this silly little fight or focus on our real enemy? Join me. Let's put an end to the hunters who killed our family."
Derek froze, finding himself at a crossroads just as Scott had — join Peter and postpone his personal revenge, channeling it against his family's murderers, or fight him, even at a disadvantage, to avenge his sister. He chose neither. Instead, he found a third option: he would join Peter's pack, and when he finally took revenge on those who killed his family, he would kill Peter and become the alpha. With the plan in mind, he made his decision. He raised his head and walked toward Peter.
"That's it… I'm glad you chose well. Finally, we'll be able to take revenge, together, as a family," Peter said with a satisfied smile.
"Yeah… as a family…" Derek repeated, his expression heavy, as if those words had taken on a new weight the moment they were spoken.
At that moment, new footsteps echoed through the forest.
Trevor ran like a madman toward the Hale house, having been forced to abandon his bike in the middle of the woods because there was no way to use it among the trees. When he was getting close, the Hale house appeared before him. Right after, he saw Melissa McCall being held by a woman who kept a claw next to her throat. Then he spotted Scott, transformed, fists clenched, who glanced at him sideways as if he didn't want to face him directly. Next, Trevor saw a werewolf in full hybrid form with blue eyes — he assumed it was Derek — who, unlike Scott, looked straight at him without a shred of remorse. And finally, he spotted a fully transformed werewolf with glowing red eyes and a burn scar on part of his face, a grin from ear to ear showing all its teeth, like a predator eyeing its prey.
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Hey Chronos here, please tell me what you thought. I've already tried making some changes in this chapter, and I'll be releasing more chapters throughout the week. Have a good week everyone, and thank you very much.