The howl still echoed through the trees when Derek burst into the clearing.
He came out of the darkness like a storm finally breaking—eyes glowing a furious blue, claws already extended, every line of his body coiled with lethal intent. The moment he saw Kate, something feral and deeply personal ignited in his expression.
For the first time since Aiden had met him, Derek looked less like a controlled predator and more like a man staring at the ghost of his own worst memory.
"Kate."
Her smile sharpened.
"Derek. You're looking better than the last time I saw you."
The words hit like poison.
Allison's face went pale. She looked from Derek to her aunt, then to the hard hatred burning in Derek's eyes, and realization slowly began to settle in.
Aiden caught it immediately.
She was putting pieces together.
The Hale fire.
The hunters.
Kate.
Before anyone could speak again, Peter stepped out from the shadows at the edge of the clearing, hands in his coat pockets, grin as infuriatingly calm as ever.
"Well," Peter said, voice smooth, "this is unexpectedly nostalgic."
Derek's head snapped toward him.
"You knew."
Peter's smile widened. "I suspected."
That single line made Scott's voice ring out from behind the trees.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Scott and Stiles came rushing into the clearing, breathless. Stiles took one look at the lineup—Kate, Derek, Peter, Aiden, Allison—and immediately threw his hands up.
"Nope. Absolutely not. This is way above my pay grade."
Nobody paid him any attention.
The air in the clearing had become a powder keg.
Kate slowly reached for another arrow from the quiver strapped to her back. "Family reunion's getting crowded."
Aiden stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of Allison again.
This time she noticed.
This time she didn't move away.
Kate's eyes flickered between them, amused. "Still playing protector?"
Aiden's voice was flat. "Still hiding behind weapons?"
Kate laughed softly. "Sweetheart, weapons are what keep monsters in line."
That was enough.
Derek lunged.
He moved in a blur of blue-eyed fury, crossing the clearing in less than a second. Kate rolled aside at the last moment, Derek's claws ripping bark from the tree behind her instead.
The fight exploded.
Kate was fast—far faster than a normal hunter had any right to be. She ducked beneath Derek's second strike and drove a silver knife toward his ribs.
Aiden intercepted before the blade landed.
His hand caught her wrist mid-motion.
For a heartbeat, the entire clearing seemed to freeze.
Kate looked genuinely shocked.
Aiden's grip tightened just enough to make the knife slip from her fingers.
It hit the forest floor with a dull thud.
"You talk too much," he said coldly.
Then he shoved her backward.
She stumbled several steps before regaining balance, boots digging into the dirt.
Peter chuckled from the sidelines.
"Oh, I do like him."
Derek shot Peter a murderous glare. "Shut up."
Scott stepped beside Derek, claws out, jaw set. For once, the fear was still there—but it was controlled.
Aiden noticed.
The training was starting to show.
Kate's smile faded as she looked around the clearing.
Derek.
Scott.
Aiden.
Even Allison with her bow drawn and aimed directly at her aunt.
For the first time, the odds no longer favored her.
"Allison," Kate said, voice almost gentle, "put the bow down."
Allison's hands trembled, but her aim never wavered.
"No."
The single word landed harder than any arrow.
Kate's expression darkened. "You're choosing them?"
Allison's eyes flashed with hurt and anger. "I'm choosing what's right."
For a brief moment, something colder replaced the playful confidence in Kate's face.
Then she smiled again.
A dangerous smile.
"You sound just like your mother."
Before Allison could react, Kate pulled a flash grenade from her jacket and slammed it to the ground.
Light burst through the clearing.
Scott cursed, throwing an arm over his eyes.
Stiles yelped somewhere behind him.
When the brightness faded—
Kate was gone.
Derek snarled, scenting the air, but Aiden lifted a hand.
"Don't."
Derek turned sharply. "She needs to die."
Aiden met his gaze without flinching. "She wants you chasing her."
Peter gave a slow, approving nod. "He's right."
Derek's lip curled. "Since when do I care what either of you thinks?"
Peter's grin sharpened. "Since your survival depends on it."
That shut him up.
Not because he agreed.
Because he knew Peter wasn't entirely wrong.
Scott looked between them. "Can someone explain why Kate is suddenly back in the main plot of my life?"
Stiles, still rubbing his eyes, muttered, "Honestly, your life stopped being normal like twenty disasters ago."
Allison lowered her bow slowly.
The anger in her expression had shifted into something heavier.
Betrayal.
"Aiden," she said quietly.
He turned toward her.
"You knew."
It wasn't accusation.
Not exactly.
But it was close.
Aiden's voice softened, just slightly. "I suspected."
She looked away for a moment, trying to steady herself.
"My family…" she whispered. "What happened to the Hales… was it really her?"
Derek answered before Aiden could.
"Yes."
The word hit the clearing like a blow.
Allison stared at him.
Derek's face had gone cold again, but beneath it was something raw.
"She burned my family alive."
Silence.
Even Stiles had nothing to say.
Allison's grip tightened on the bow until her knuckles whitened.
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"She wouldn't—"
"She did," Peter said smoothly, stepping closer. "And if you're smart, you'll stop pretending your family name automatically makes them the heroes."
Scott immediately moved toward Allison. "Hey—"
But Aiden was already there.
Not touching her.
Just standing close enough that his presence grounded the moment.
Her breathing steadied.
Slightly.
The forest fell quiet again.
Then Aiden's eyes narrowed.
He looked toward the ridge above the clearing.
Something was wrong.
A scent.
Fresh blood.
And something else.
Fear.
He moved first.
By the time the others realized something had changed, Aiden was already halfway up the slope.
Scott followed.
Derek right behind him.
At the top of the ridge, the moonlight revealed a body slumped against a tree.
Jackson.
Alive.
Barely.
His shirt was torn, chest marked by deep claw wounds that had already begun to heal in a way no human should.
Scott crouched beside him.
"Oh no."
Derek's eyes flashed blue.
"He's turning."
Stiles arrived seconds later and immediately paled. "Okay, nope, no, this is bad."
Aiden looked down at Jackson, then at the blood trail leading deeper into the woods.
There was another scent mixed with his.
A woman.
Human.
Hunter.
Kate.
His expression darkened.
"She didn't come here for Derek."
Scott looked up sharply.
"Then why?"
Aiden's gaze turned toward Allison below in the clearing.
"She came to start a war."
The realization hit all of them at once.
Kate hadn't returned just for revenge.
She had returned to split the town apart.