The Dark Road – Part Three

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Part Three

Dot entered the Beacon Hills sheriff’s department and stopped at the front desk. “Dorothy Miller for Sheriff Bradford.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Not specifically, but I was called to come in as soon as possible. Apparently, deputies had been to my home and left a message with my houseguest.” It had been four days since they’d rescued Peter. He was still unconscious, but Jesse was making huge strides with the healing, even if it could only occur every other day. Deputies had finally reached out to her yesterday at her main residence. The message had been passed along by Leah.

“I’ll let the sheriff know you’re here.”

She caught sight of Noah as he rose from his desk and came to the counter. “Ms. Miller,” he said cautiously.

“Deputy Stilinski. I was asked to come in. I assume to discuss Peter’s disappearance…?” She feigned ignorance.

“It’s been all hands on deck looking for him.”

“It’s shocking that he vanished in such a way.”

“Yeah,” he said dryly.

“Noah,” Sheriff Bradford said as he came up. “You know Ms. Miller?”

“We’ve crossed paths a time or two.”

Bradford made a negligent wave. “You handle taking her statement, then. Thanks for coming in, Ms. Miller.”

Noah sighed and gestured to the front door. “I’ll buy you a coffee.”

“Informal?”

“Seems best,” he said as they stepped outside. “Bradford wanted you called because you were listed as Hale’s emergency contact.”

“And I’m sure Bradford knows I’ve been denied any access to Peter based on the orders of his next-of-kin.”

“Orders you probably could have sued to have overturned since she vanished and has been ignoring all contact from this department or the hospital.” He stopped at the edge of a small park near the coffee shop and crossed his arms. “Since there was ample paperwork that Peter had named you his emergency contact, a judge would have ruled in your favor and given you conservatorship.”

“And how long would that have taken, Noah? Months?”

He sighed and glanced away. “Yes.”

“There are things you don’t understand about the way he was suffering in there. We’re not meant to be alone and cut off from pack. Every day was driving him toward insanity, and I wasn’t going to tolerate it a moment longer than I had to.” She took a deep breath. “However, officially, Deputy Stilinski, I’ve been dismayed, of course I have, that Laura denied me access to Peter, but I have no idea where he is.”

“All right, Dorothy. A few official questions: why were you listed as Peter’s emergency contact?”

“Peter and I worked together.”

“He’s an architect, and you are…employed by his firm?”

“No. Peter hired me to do research for him. I’m self-employed, but I specialize in finding things people don’t want me to know.”

He gave an amused huff. “The nurse in the burn unit remembered you from the day after the fire, but you never tried to get in to see him again.”

“I called and tried to obtain information, but they would never tell me anything. Laura’s orders, you see.”

“And you have no idea where he is or how he left the hospital?”

She shrugged. “Maybe he woke up and walked out.”

“In that case, have you heard from him?”

“I have not.”

“And you’ll contact the department if you do hear from him or hear anything about him?”

“Of course, Deputy.”

“Right.” He started walking. “Let’s get that coffee, and then I’ll have you sign a statement back at the station.”

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“Well, I do, and you’ve given me a headache.” He huffed a bit. “I don’t suppose you heard how the town vet dropped dead a week ago. Apparent heart attack.”

“I hadn’t heard. But I don’t have animals, so I don’t know the man personally.”

He shot her a speaking look. “Unofficially, do you have any insights?”

“In theory, when it comes to magic, when you’ve been naughty, and someone undoes your worst spellwork, the magical backlash might not be recoverable. It could certainly cause someone’s heart to fail.”

“So, he brought that shit on himself is what you’re saying?” Noah considered. “I can live with that.”

“How’s Stiles?” Dot asked, trying to be polite.

Noah smiled. “Good. Better than he has been in a long time, I think.” He gave an exasperated huff. “Did you have to start his training with the garden?”

“Why?”

“My back yard looks like a jungle. It’s February and flowers are blooming everywhere. I’m going to have to put up a taller fence to keep people from being suspicious.”

They got their drinks and began walking back as Noah continued telling her about Stiles’ progress.

“You seem better yourself. Lighter,” she observed.

“Maybe.” He flashed her a half-smile. “Leah is a force of nature, in a really subtle way. We’ve only been on this road for a week, but things are getting better for us.”

“I’m pleased to hear that.”

“Unofficially, I’m glad things are better for you, and yours, as well.”

* * *

“I want to come home,” Cora insisted.

“I know, but not yet, sweet pea.”

“Aunt Dot. He’s already been home more than a week.”

“Cora, don’t try to manipulate me. You know I’m impervious on a good day, and on this day, I’m tired and out of sorts.” She blew out a slow breath. “I know you want to see him, but he’s still injured and unconscious, and taking care of him takes all our focus. You don’t deserve to be ignored while we tend to him; you’re only ten.”

There was a bitten back sob. “I miss Uncle Peter.”

“I do too.”

“But you’re there!”

“He’s still in a coma, kid. Just let him wake up before you come home.”

“Okay.”

“How about I put you on speaker and let you talk to him for a little while?”

She set up the phone and left Cora to talk to Peter alone. When she closed the door, she found Booker waiting for her. She’d heard him arrive about ten minutes ago. It was an off day for Jesse, who was resting at her house, so Booker had been working with Stiles after school.

“You look tired,” she observed as she headed for her bedroom to change.

Booker followed and collapsed on one of the armchairs. “He’s exhausting.”

She smiled as she pulled off her trousers and grabbed her robe. “Does he make you feel old?”

“Ancient, but he has so much potential.” He shook his head, smiling faintly. “He’ll easily surpass me someday.

She blinked in astonishment. “Truly?”

“Sparks have limitless potential only in theory. Very few, historically, have ever exceeded the workings of your average witch. They often do one or two big things and then not much else. But Stiles, after only a week, is practicing beyond what most sparks will ever achieve. He seems very attuned to nature in a way that makes me think…” he trailed off and shook his head.

“Yes?” she prodded after a long silence.

“It’s nothing.”

“Booker.”

“His affinity for the land is almost unnerving. I think he already has a connection to the nemeton.”

She hesitated. “Which means what?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“How is the nemeton?”

“Almost regrown.”

She nearly tripped inelegantly over her own feet. “The same size?”

“Not yet. That will probably take a few years, but it’s already bigger than an old oak tree. Leah is visiting it every day.”

“So, the nemeton is going to be fine?”

“It is. She agrees with me that the nemeton is reaching for Stiles. He was conceived and born here. His magic resonates with the nemeton in a profound way.”

“He’s eleven.”

“Leah is working on soothing the node so that it’ll give Stiles time to grow and come into his own.” He hesitated. “It could be that your plan for Peter is what will allow Stiles the time to grow up.”

“Meaning?”

“If the nemeton has a real protector again, it won’t be so anxious for a magical guardian.”

“Hmm.” She cocked her head. “Are you implying some connection between the future pack and Stiles?”

“I think your paths have already crossed and you’re on the same road. The Hale pack will be better for having the Stilinskis.”

“Fortunately, that won’t be my call. It’ll be up to my alpha when he’s recovered.”

Booker scoffed. “As if he won’t consult you. Just think about it. Where are Josh and Matt?”

“They were with Peter all day, so they’re with Cora and their…alpha tonight.”

“Whoever it is, they’re a stand-in for Peter, aren’t they?”

“Yes. And he knows that Josh and Matt are likely to want to return to Peter if this works. But they’re young and need an alpha bond to be stable.”

“And you don’t?”

“I learned how to manage my wolf a long time ago.”

“I guess you did.” He got to his feet then surprised her by sweeping her up in his arms and tossing her on the bed.

She laughed. “Is this a hint?”

“Let’s forget about everything for a while.”

* * *

Dot’s eyes shot open, something pinging her senses. She slipped out of Booker’s arms and pulled on both a nightdress and her robe.

She pulled the bedroom door closed softly, listening intently. Jesse wasn’t due back until morning, and Leah hadn’t been here in a few days. Matt and Josh were in their room down the hall, heartbeats steady. Peter’s heartbeat was a little faster than she’d heard it since they brought him home, and she wondered if he were dreaming.

When she opened the door to his room, she collapsed against the jamb, her knees feeling weak.

Peter was sitting up in bed, claws out, staring around with wide eyes. “Dot,” he rasped when he saw her.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Her eyes were wet. “It’s good to see you awake.”

“How long?”

“Nearly a month.”

He nodded and the claws slowly receded. The burns had begun to heal—to such a degree that she thought they’d likely be gone in another week or so. After a few seconds, he held out his hand.

She was across the room in an instant, taking his hand in hers. “Hi.” Her voice sounded wobbly to her own ears.

“Who’d we lose?”

“Everyone in the family except Laura, Derek, and Cora.”

His brow furrowed and he rubbed his chest. “I feel like I knew that already.”

“I’ve been talking to you. Jesse thought maybe you could hear us.”

“Jesse?”

“He’s a witch who—” She broke off and shook her head. “It’s a long story, but everything has been to help you.”

“There’s no alpha bond.”

“Laura chose to leave. She took Derek with her. Cora’s staying with a neighboring pack until you’re better.”

“Sonya.” Peter’s respiration picked up and he glanced away. “Mom and Dad…”

Dot’s eyes burned. “I’m so sorry, Peter.”

He made a little wounded sound in his throat, and Dot gave in to her impulse to pull him into her arms. He shuddered as his arms closed around her.

“I’ve got you, baby, I’ve got you.”

Peter falling apart broke her heart in ways she couldn’t have predicted, but it firmed her resolve to see him made alpha of the Hale pack so that she could exact revenge upon those who’d hurt him. She pressed a kiss to his temple and rocked him back and forth, riding out the storm.

* * *

Dot found Peter sitting in the back yard, near the gate that opened to the preserve. He’d been awake for several days, remaining quiet and introspective the entire time. She knew he’d had a couple of phone calls with Cora, though he’d declined to let her come home yet. He’d asked that she wait a little longer until he was in better shape in order to be able to be a real protector.

She knew from Matt, who saw Cora at least three times a week, that Cora was unhappy with the situation, but was accepting Peter’s directive.

Peter glanced over his shoulder and then gestured for her to join him. He was smoking, which was a wretched habit he’d given up years ago. Werewolves didn’t suffer the negative repercussions of tobacco use, but the smell was dreadful.

She set the cup of coffee on the small table between the chairs and then sat curled up with her own tea and a lap blanket.

Smiling faintly, Peter exhaled a cloud of smoke then picked up the coffee. “You make the best coffee.” He took a sip. “Strange since you hate the stuff.”

“I see you’ve picked up some old habits.”

“Mm.” He took another drag. “I find the rhythm of it soothing.”

“I’ll find you a brand that smells better.”

He snorted. “You do that.”

She studied his profile. The scars were greatly improved, not that she’d care if Peter were left with scars, but the positive change was evidence that his healing was progressing.

“Jesse said only a few more sessions before the damage from the wolfsbane and rowan ash is reversed and my natural werewolf healing will completely take over.” He stubbed out the cigarette. “Healing that would have been faster with a pack bond.”

“You’re angry,” she observed.

“I’m furious.” His tone was flat, almost belying the words. He stared out at the trees. “Laura was always a selfish twat, and I can’t say I’m surprised by her behavior, but my anger toward her is disproportional. It’s simply easier to direct all my ire her direction.” He looked at her askance. “The one piece in all this you haven’t told me is who was behind it.”

“Are you ready for that?”

“Do you think I’m not?”

“Honestly? No. I told you my plan to make you the pack alpha, and that we have two months to prepare, and you shut down.”

“How do I plan for the future when I can’t reconcile the past?”

Dot sighed. “I think the nemeton is going to exact a very strict covenant from you, Peter, and that will probably preclude haring off on revenge schemes.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time, jaw muscles flexing as he worked through whatever he was bottling up inside. “I can’t be the alpha.”

“And why is that?”

“Talia was the alpha for a reason.”

“Talia was the alpha because you were twelve,” she snapped.

He shook his head. “I’m supposed to be a left hand—”

“Oh, what a load of a shite.”

His head was like it was on a pivot as he turned to look at her. “Pardon me?”

“You’re actually terribly suited to be a left hand.” She sighed and stared up at the grey, overcast sky, pulling her jacket more snugly around her. “There was no blood Hale suited to the role in your generation. Your father knew that. He suggested that I continue on in the role and train Matt to eventually be my successor.”

Peter looked stunned. “Dad didn’t think I could do it?”

“Of course you could, you did, but that’s hardly the point. You molded yourself into something you’re not for the sake of your pack, but you were never really geared toward protecting from the shadows and acting as pack enforcer.”

“But…I’m just like you,” he said sounding bewildered.

“That’s dogma from your mother, sweetie. Honestly, you’re just like your father.”

Peter’s eyes were instantly shiny, and he blinked rapidly, glancing away. After a beat, he said, “Really?”

“So much like Joseph. I’m not saying you and I don’t have a fair bit in common intellectually and in matters of taste, but you’ve never been truly ruthless the way I am, and I wouldn’t want that for you.” She put her cup on the table and leaned forward, trying to catch his eye. “I loved Adele, but she had a huge blind spot with Talia’s name all over it. For whatever reason, she wanted Talia to be the alpha. She wasn’t willing to break the pact with the nemeton to achieve it, but she got around it by persuading your father to give up the spark when you were too young to inherit.”

Peter shook his head.

“Yes, Peter, that’s exactly what happened. It wasn’t about you; it was about Adele’s ambitions for Talia. But I was there, and fully grown when the nemeton chose the next alpha—it nearly stalled trying not to pick her.”

“Talia wasn’t a bad alpha.”

“To the pack? No. But for the territory? We both know she was crap. You need to use that formidable intellect to think through everything I’ve told you about Deaton, Talia, and the nemeton without the filter of your own insecurities. Talia let him cut it down. That was a complete betrayal of her duty to the territory, and she knew it was wrong or she wouldn’t have forbidden you and me from speaking of it. Adele and Joseph would have been furious if they’d known, and Joseph would have been able to petition to have the spark removed.”

Peter rubbed his forehead. “Mom always said I’d be a poor alpha.”

“Oh, Pete.” She sighed. “You need to accept that your mom was flawed and move on. She loved you, I don’t doubt that—”

“I do.” Peter shook his head. “I don’t think she ever wanted me.”

“You were unexpected, that’s true. She didn’t want another child at that time in her life, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t love you.”

“She just didn’t have a use for me.”

“I don’t think…” She paused to consider. “That may have been my fault a little bit.”

He glanced over sharply.

“Adele was going through a time of her life where she didn’t want to focus on little kids, and she left you with me quite a lot even though, by any reasonable measure, I’m a terrible influence.”

Peter’s lips twitched.

“And then Talia had Mark just a few years after you, and suddenly Adele had baby fever again and woke up to the fact that she had a toddler of her own. But you weren’t particularly interested in her.”

Brow furrowed, Peter shook his head. “I don’t remember that.”

“You were still in Pull-ups, so it’s not too surprising. She and Joseph had it out about her suddenly remembering she had a baby, and how it wasn’t fair to you to expect you to change gears like that. Which made your mother resentful for a time, but your father made sure that you and your mother developed a relationship that wasn’t going to harm you.”

“You’re trying to be diplomatic, and it’s freaking me out. What you’re not saying is that Mom wanted you out of my life?”

Dot pursed her lips but nodded.

“I can’t believe her.”

“We all got over it. Your mother was flawed. So was your father and so am I, but it was your dad who said that your mom didn’t get to correct her mistake by making a bigger one, meaning, cutting me out of your life. You and your mom eventually had a good relationship, and you were always close with Joseph. But it doesn’t change the fact that your mom perceived you as being…influenced by me, which she thought made you a poor choice for alpha. I know Joseph disagreed, but he figured if Talia didn’t cut it as alpha, they’d do the ritual again when you were older. Your father was pragmatic and naively assumed that everyone in the pack would do what was best for the pack.”

“And you don’t think Mom and Talia did.” It wasn’t a question.

“Not really. Adele had aspirations for Talia. Talia had aspirations for herself and her family. Her responsibilities as alpha for the territory were a distant concern. And she didn’t like hearing any criticism, as you damn well know.”

He winced. “I’m glad though. If you hadn’t been pushing her about Derek, she wouldn’t have sent you to Sacramento and you’d have been at the house.” He shook his head. “I can’t lose you, Dot. I feel guilty that losing Dad is what’s tearing me up inside. I’m sad about Mom and Amelia and the others, but I should feel more about Sonya than I do. She was my wife, and she should be mourned. But I just…” He waved it away. “But I can’t lose you. Even more than Dad, and I feel shitty about that too. Because though I never doubted Dad’s love for me, it was you I always knew I could depend on.”

He met her gaze squarely. “My own niece shattered my pack bonds and left me in a hospital to die while you moved heaven and earth to bring me home. So I’m glad Talia was a shitty alpha that day and sent you away.”

She didn’t say anything, just reached out and took his hand.

He squeezed it, almost too hard. “Our worries about Derek… Was that related to what happened?”

“You sure you’re ready for this discussion?”

“I need to understand the past to move forward, Dot.”

“One of his teachers was preying on him.”

“Sexually?”

“I think so, mostly based on Derek’s reactions.”

“Damn.” Peter rubbed his forehead. “I told Talia over and over something was going on with him, but she blamed me for his state…”

“You did not tell Ennis to bite that girl. Ennis made that choice.”

“Regardless, she wasn’t wrong that I failed to protect the pack in that instance.”

“You’re not omniscient, Peter. And even if you want to claim some culpability for the situation with Paige, it doesn’t obviate Talia’s negligence before, during, and after Paige. She chose to deal with Derek’s pain by not dealing with it, and the whole pack paid for her inattention. She paid the worst possible price for her mistakes. I’m not saying she deserved what happened, because none of us deserved this, but this was Talia’s failure, not yours. And Laura’s defects of character are certainly more Talia’s responsibility than anyone else’s.”

“To be fair, Mom had a hand in that.” He blew out a breath. “Which I never understood.”

“I’ve had this theory that Adele secretly admired the matriarchal structure of most old hunter families. In werewolf packs where the alpha chooses their successor, it does tend to go either straight on gender lines, male or female depending on the pack—”

“Though more are patriarchal than matriarchal,” Peter interjected.

“True. Or they go on birth order. The oldest tends to inherit regardless of gender. But in packs where an outside magical force chooses the succession, there’s no statistical preference for gender that I’ve ever heard.”

“You really think Mom had a secret yearning for…” He shook his head. “Never mind. Now that you’ve said it, I can see it. How invested she was in Talia and then Laura. I thought it was because Talia was the oldest, but Laura is several years younger than Mark, and they both latched onto Laura as Talia’s successor from the moment she was born. I just never thought Mom’s issues with me as alpha was about my dick.”

“You’re personalizing it. I think Adele had aspirations for a legacy she didn’t even want to admit to herself. She nurtured that in Talia in a way that became something ugly. And we can rehash history as much as we need to if it will help you clear your head, sweetie, but you need to know that I believe with every fiber of my being that the nemeton wanted to choose you. And I have faith that you can be the alpha of not only this pack but of this territory.” She got to her feet and knelt down next to his chair, ignoring the chill that seeped through her trousers, and took both of his hands in hers. “How do we get you there? If you need time to grieve, you’ve got it. If you need to talk to the shaman about your Mom’s shenanigans and how they were never about you, we can arrange that. If you want to commune with the magical tree, it’s a date. Whatever you need, it’s yours. And if you really just don’t want to be the alpha, that’s okay. We’ll figure out a plan B.”

“Dot.” He blew out a shuddery breath. “How can you have so much faith in me?”

“Because you’re my son.”

He pulled her into his arms, holding on fiercely.

* * *

“How do I re-enter my life?” Peter asked as he entered the makeshift office she’d set up in the healing safehouse. He’d gone back to moody contemplation for the last day, so Dot was glad he was seeking her out so soon.

“The most straightforward approach, I think, would be to request Booker’s assistance with an illusion to simulate the burns. Make yourself known at the sheriff’s department and tell them you’ll be seeking treatment elsewhere. Don’t be seen around town for a few months while you’re supposedly healing.”

“And how I left the hospital?”

“Well, you don’t actually have any recollection of that event.”

Peter snorted, obviously amused. “I’ll come up with something.” He gave a negligent wave. “So… We never finished talking about what happened with the fire. Tell me what you’ve uncovered.”

She gave him a speculative look.

“I’m not asking,” he said firmly.

“Very well.” She got to her feet and went to the desk, opening the attaché she kept her research in. Passing over the folder, she began, “Kate Argent has used this ruse several times already. She comes into a small town with a stable pack under a false name, gets close to a pack member through some means, though I suspect sexual relations with a young male member of the pack is her preferred method. I can’t confirm she’s been having sex with the young men, but a teacher in a school with a teenage pack member is quite the common ploy.”

“And a teenage boy who believes he’s in love will say the most unfortunate things. Particularly if sex is involved.” He flipped through a few pages. “Sanctioned by the Argent family?”

“I doubt it, though I suspect at least her father knows. We both know what a bastard he really is. The current matriarch, Aline Argent, Kate’s mother, is fairly well known for strict adherence to the code, but she has failing health and has been leaving the family in Gerard’s hands, according to my sources.”

“You think Kate was working alone but her father knows what she’s up to?”

“Probably. And only alone in the sense that I can’t find any records of any other known affiliated Argent in town in the last year. She’s clearly well funded, however, so she has the family support after a fashion.”

“These two…?” He tapped the folder.

“They’re with her in more than one town. Not oath-Argents that I can tell but attached to her in some fashion, even if only financially. Apparently loyal.”

“And these two? You’ve put them separate from the others…”

“Arsonists for hire. Both have an extensive criminal history and were seen in Kate’s company. I believe she paid off the fire inspector, or perhaps threatened him. She likely bribed the sheriff to at least not ask questions about the speed at which the investigation was ruled accidental.”

He held up a picture of a teacher at the local high school. “Harris?”

“I’m not sure he’s involved. Or if he is, probably not knowingly. She used an unusual accelerant for the fire—nothing I’ve ever smelled before.”

Peter rubbed his nose. “Agreed. It burned fast and hot.”

“He helped her, but I’m not certain if he knows he helped her.”

At Peter’s arched brow and look of incredulity, Dot shrugged.

“It’s likely he figured out that he’d inadvertently helped her when he saw the news, but he’s a coward and not the sort to come forward.”

He closed the folder and tapped it on his knee. “Anything else?”

“I’m still digging. It’s been important, but…”

“It wasn’t the most important?”

“No, Peter, of course not. The living before the dead.”

He nodded tightly. “And you don’t want me to do anything about this?”

“I want you to sort yourself out and be ready for the ritual.”

“Have you had any luck tracking Laura?”

Dot blinked at the change in conversational tack. “No, but you’ll have more success as one of the executors of the family trust. I had no authority to get financial records.”

He glanced at the closed folder, running his fingers along the spine. “Are you my left hand, Dot?” He met her gaze, eyes filled with something she couldn’t name.

“If that’s what you need, Peter, of course.”

“Will you resent me if I ask this of you?”

“Never.”

He rose to his feet and handed her the folder. “When the time is right.”

She smiled faintly as he walked out of the room. “Yes, Alpha.”

* * *

Dot needed some time away from Beacon Hills, so she volunteered to take Jesse to the airport in San Francisco. She’d be stopping to get Cora on her way back, but she planned to stop at a spa in the city before heading back.

Jesse was the person she’d spent the least amount of time with, and he would be the first to leave. His part in the whole scenario was the most limited. He’d helped out with the nemeton, but he’d always been on this mission for the purpose of healing Peter. It had taken three weeks to get Peter completely healed, the process slower for lack of real pack bonds, but it was the last major hurdle they had to cross before the ritual in a little more than a month.

Leah was staying somewhat long term for both Stiles and the nemeton. Booker had obligations beyond Beacon Hills, but Leah did not. At least, her obligations were more easily managed, and she was able to remain. She lived at Dot’s house but spent a fair bit of time at the Stilinski residence or Peter’s safehouse. After Jesse had finished the physical healing, the type of spiritual healing Leah could provide was something Peter desperately needed. He was reluctant to accept at first, but after a couple of conversations with her, he’d stopped resisting. He’d even started seeking her out.

Dot wasn’t good with banal social interactions, but she was making an effort to converse with Jesse. They’d practically been living together for six weeks, so it wasn’t as if he were a stranger.

They’d been talking about tourist attractions in San Francisco when she decided to ask a question that he been plaguing her. “Why did you drop everything to come here and help us?”

“Because Booker asked.”

“That’s it?”

“The man saved my life. If he needs me, I go.”

“Six weeks is a long time to abandon your life.” She glanced over briefly.

He was smiling at her. “It is, but I have no regrets. What was done here was criminal. I’d like to think I’d have come without Booker if I’d known.”

She nodded, accepting the sentiment. “You’re a very talented healer. Is that how you make your living?”

“Not really. I’m a nurse.”

“An actual nurse?”

“An actual nurse. I use my magic to nudge some people along, but magical healing doesn’t work as well on mundane humans. Also, it draws the wrong kinds of attention.”

“What about on the side?”

“I help those who need it. I try not to advertise too much or draw the wrong kind of attention.”

“The length of time you spent with us didn’t affect your work?”

“I’m on leave, but they may not have a position for me when I get back.”

She glanced over sharply. “You didn’t mention that—”

“It wasn’t an issue. What happened here, what could have happened, could have affected all of us. I did what I needed to do.”

The only proper thing to do was accept that he’d made his choice and honor him for it. Still, she’d talked to Peter about the compensation for Jesse. The man had never been willing to ask for a specific amount for his healing services. When she’d pressed the matter a few days ago, he’d given her a very low number of $10,000, saying it was what he’d have made in that time back home.

Peter had cut a check for a different amount, which was easy enough to do since he’d made contact with the sheriff’s department and had them come to him at a hotel. He’d used the illusion from Booker and spun a tale about leaving under his own steam, though the departure was hard to remember, just that he’d woken up confused and so he’d left.

There had been a lot of questions and the police had wanted him to go back to the hospital, but Peter had his lawyer present and managed to cut that off. The hospital had pro-actively contacted him to offer a settlement—due to the fact that he’d supposedly walked out of the hospital and no one noticed. Peter had declined, stating he didn’t remember the incident and doubted anyone was at fault other than the person who’d set his house on fire.

That remark had set off a gossip chain in Beacon Hills, and Peter’s statement to the deputies that the fire was arson, had reopened the investigation. Sheriff Bradford was obviously uncomfortable, but not obstructing. The fire investigator was under arrest, and the investigation was ongoing.

Dot was amused that Laura was a person of interest in regard to the fire because she’d vanished so quickly, cut ties too thoroughly, and was completely unreachable. It was practically poetic. Though Derek didn’t deserve that suspicion being fielded anywhere near him, so she hoped the police never found Laura in order to posit the questions.

Dot pulled up into the departure lane and turned to Jesse. “Thank you. He would have healed eventually on his own, but I can’t begin to imagine how long it would have taken without your skill. And your compassion.”

He nodded. “It was my pleasure.”

She held out an envelope. “Peter insisted.”

Brow furrowed in confusion, he opened it and pulled out the half-million-dollar check. “Oh. No.”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t do this expecting—”

“We know that, Jesse. Just take it how it’s meant, as an expression of gratitude from a pack that has more than enough money but was lacking something vital. Something you helped give back to us.”

He still looked flummoxed but eventually nodded. “I wish you all the best, Dorothy Miller.”

“You too, Jesse. And if you ever have need of me, I’ll be there.” She rarely made that offer, but he’d earned a favor from her. “Safe journeys.”

* * *

“Do I need to give Booker the shovel talk?” Peter asked from the doorway to her bedroom.

Shocked by the question, the book she’d been reading dropped from her fingers. “Pardon me?”

He stepped into the room and sat in one of the armchairs. “Do I need to threaten him?”

“Good god, Peter, what has come over you?”

“Clearly you didn’t want anyone saying anything about this thing between you, and your stress relief is none of my business.”

“Damn right it’s not.”

“But then he had to go back to New York for a couple of weeks, and you’ve been out of sorts since he left. Which makes me think there might be more going on than letting off steam.”

“Peter,” she said in a warning tone.

“Dorothy.”

“Go bother Cora. Or go over to the Stilinski house and let Stiles chew your ear off.”

Peter smiled then immediately schooled his expression. Despite Peter’s initial aversion to having Cora come home, having the kids around was the antidote to Peter’s melancholy. Stiles almost more than Cora. Cora was inherently a reminder of Talia and Steven and the rest of their children, including Derek and Laura. But Stiles was something else entirely. Very much like Peter in terms of intellect and curiosity, the kid was all energy, all the time. Booker and Leah had worked to wean him off his ADHD meds because they were interfering with his spark, and it was his spark that was actually the cause of his hyperactivity. The pack had become integral in keeping Stiles Stilinski thoroughly worn out.

Though his magic apparently wasn’t the cause of his ADD, and the person who seemed to best handle Stiles’ incessant and multi-track curiosity was Peter.

Stiles and Cora had become fast friends, which Stiles desperately needed because his magic studies had taken time away from his one semi-close friend, who had apparently thrown a major tantrum about the whole thing. Dot wasn’t remotely interested in the friend drama of children, but Peter, Cora, and Josh were deeply invested in it. Cora spent as many nights at the Stilinski house as she did here with the pack.

Despite Booker’s commitment to mentor Stiles and to help with the ritual, he had other obligations, so he’d left, promising to be back at least a week before the solar eclipse.

Dot considered retaliating by poking at the interest she could smell on Peter whenever Noah Stilinski was around—and there was reciprocal interest as well—but she wasn’t cruel. At least not to Peter. Neither man was ready to acknowledge that interest. Noah because he’d loved his wife, and Peter because he hadn’t loved his.

Instead, she folded her hands in her lap and gave Peter a look. “I’ve had a completely inadequate sex life for years, Peter Joseph Hale. Due in no small part to the meddling and controlling of my pack alpha. Booker St. John fucks like it’s his job. I’ve enjoyed his company immensely, so I’m out of sorts, as you put it, because I’ve very quickly gotten used to working out my stress by riding his ample dick every night.”

“Oh my god.” He jumped to his feet.

“Stay out of my sex life, son.”

“Noted!” he called back as he took off down the hall.

* * *

Dot placed the next load of books she wanted to be moved back to her house in the box and taped it shut. She’d been spending most of her time since rescuing Peter at the safe house she’d arranged specifically for his healing and recovery, but it was never intended to be a permanent change for her. With the ritual less than a week away, something would be changing soon. Either they’d have realized their goals or they’d be making new ones. Either way, this house had served its purposes for her.

The pack might still find it useful in terms of moon runs because of the way it abutted the preserve, but Peter felt the official pack house would be better served to be closer to town and less isolated, at least until they were certain the threats had been contained.

Then there was the issue of probate for the Hale properties. Laura, Derek, and Cora would inherit their parents’ estate in its entirety, but the Hale home and lands actually still belonged to Joseph and Adele at the time of the fire, to be split amongst their three children equally. The way the will was written, all of the land and businesses that weren’t explicitly in Talia or Steven’s names would go to Peter as the sole survivor of their three children. It would be up to Peter to give Talia’s portion of the inheritance to her children, which Peter would not do as long as Laura remained in any sort of position of power over them. Everything was in limbo until Peter could reasonably make a public return. He was supposed to be out of the country seeking medical care, so the plan to keep Laura from inheriting the bulk of the Hale estate was pending.

Which house the pack would ultimately dwell in was up to Peter, but Dot had always needed her own space, which she still had. It just wasn’t going to be this space.

“You almost seem eager to leave,” Peter remarked as he strolled into the room, opting to take up the window seat overlooking the barren garden. Dot missed the garden at her house, which was still thriving from Stiles’ magical escapades.

“You know me as well as anyone.”

“You’ve always needed your own space.”

She raised a brow. “Who was it who kept a secret condo in town?”

His lips quirked up. “Leah’s coming over; we wanted to talk to you if you have a few minutes.”

She sat in her chair. “Oh?”

“She’s got some interesting information about werewolves and the full shift.”

That wasn’t at all what she’d been expecting. “All right.”

Peter fiddled with the pen she’d left on the window ledge. “I spoke with Alpha Chen earlier. He’s definitely keeping Kyle and Kristen, which is for the best, I think. They’ve had enough to deal with in their lives.”

“Haven’t we all?”

“They’re not ready for what we’re doing here.”

“Agreed.” She cocked her head. “I assume you talked about Matt and Josh.”

“He said he’d known all along that Matt and Josh had no real desire to stay, but he did make a very generous offer to welcome any of us here into his pack if the ritual doesn’t succeed.”

“Is that what you want?”

“That isn’t my plan B, no.”

“And what is?”

He pulled a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to her. “Alphas west of the Rockies that are known to be corrupt or just abusive.”

Dot tucked the scrap of paper into her bra. “We’ll get there one way or another, Alpha Hale.”

“He made another generous offer. To shelter Cora whenever we need, though once she’s known to be alive, I think it becomes harder to hide her there in a way that keeps his pack’s anonymity intact.”

“Agreed. But it’s a good backup plan in an emergency.”

Peter nodded. “I’d prefer to work up several other contingency plans for her safety.” He hesitated. “And for Stiles’ safety.”

“How does Noah feel about that?”

“I told him he doesn’t get much of a say.”

Dot burst into laughter. “I’ll bet you that went over well.”

“There may have been an argument, but I pointed out that they were both already part of this world and were both pack adjacent at a minimum. That he needed to look at what happened to my family and let us take precautions.” He blew out a breath then ran his hands through his hair. “It was a sobering conversation.”

“I can see you’ve been taking notes from Joshua on how to properly understate a situation.”

He gave a bark of laughter then became serious again. “I plan to offer Noah the bite. Someday.”

“And the risk?”

“Turns out we don’t know as much as we think we do about our own history. Leah says she can easily tell who’d reject the bite and who wouldn’t. She also said any alpha should be able to do the same. That while it’s almost a vision for her, it’s an instinctive thing for an alpha.”

Dot’s brow furrowed as she thought back.

“Have you ever heard anything like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“My mother was the pack alpha, and I seem to recall that she’d make definitive statements about who would or would not reject the bite, but I never learned much about it. It would have no doubt come up someday but, as you know, my pack was broken up, and then I was living here. Most of what I know about werewolves is based on what I’ve learned as part of the Hale pack.” Peter knew more than most about her past, though not all. Booker knew some of the more sensitive bits that she’d never felt comfortable sharing with anyone other than Joseph. Joseph had only known some of those things because he’d been the one to literally pull her from a hunter’s cage.

“Leah said there’s been a disinformation campaign going on for hundreds of years that’s been more successful here than in Europe, though it’s caught on there as well. Though they’ve never made inroads with the packs in China, Japan, and the rest of Southeast Asia.”

“Disinformation by who? Hunters?”

“Mostly. So much of our lore is handed down. The Hunters Council doesn’t officially sanction this crap, of course, but if we know less, if pack elders are dead before they’re able to pass down the rites and knowledge…” He shrugged. “It certainly doesn’t hurt the hunters. Plus, some alphas have little interest in sharing knowledge as they feel it erodes their power base.”

“It makes sense that an alpha would know at an instinctive level if someone wasn’t compatible with the bite. Is that what she wants to talk about?”

“No. It’s about the full shift.”

“You mean that nonsense that it’s super rare?”

He blinked a few times. “You know how to achieve the full shift?”

“I didn’t say that. I knew of packs in Europe where almost every member could achieve the full shift. Both my parents could. It was something they worked with the pack members to achieve as they got older, though I believe packs who actually started the training younger had more success. Still, I knew the idea that it was rarely achieved and only the strongest could manage it wasn’t true, but I didn’t have the explicit knowledge when I moved here to counter it. I did some research on it over the years, and the knowledge of how is pretty lost. I have to think those that manage it do so accidentally. The knowledge is fading in Europe too, I’m not sure about Asia. Cutting us off from our own history and lore has perhaps been one of the more successful campaigns the hunters ever embarked on.”

“Maybe we should just create a website.”

She laughed. “There’s this tiny little anarchist in you, and it always delights me.”

“Shut up,” he muttered, his cheeks turning pink.

“I hear her car. Let’s meet in the kitchen. Tea?”

“You have chai?”

“Oolong or black?”

“Oolong.”

* * *

“There’s an interesting misstatement I hear when werewolves teach one another about anchors,” Leah began, leaning forward earnestly. “They speak about using the anchor to keep them grounded in their human side. I think it’s this, more than any specific lack of information, that keeps most therianthropes from ever achieving a full shift.”

Dot assumed that Leah was alluding to the problem affecting every kind of shifter and not just those with lycanthropy. “And what’s inaccurate about the statement?”

“Therianthropes, of any kind, are not human. But they’re also not animals, so what is the function of the anchor? Why would you need to keep ahold of a side of you that…isn’t you? The real function of an anchor is to keep hold of the rational mind, which can be easily subsumed by the instincts of the type of supernatural creature you are. It’s not the animal mind, it’s your natural instincts, which are harder to balance when you’re in any sort of shift, particularly partial shift or the alpha form. I think you often refer to the partial shift as the ‘beta’ shift, but it was a partial shift derived to help in times of combat. Which is why it’s the hardest form to maintain the rational mind. Your instincts say you’re supposed to be prepared for combat in beta shift, so the method you call anchors was employed to help keep hold of the rational mind. To allow a therian to remember why they were at war and what they were coming home to.”

Dot sat back in her chair. “Huh.”

“She’s never that ineloquent,” Peter murmured to Leah.

“I’ve noticed.”

Dot flipped Peter off. “The full shift would be a more natural form, then?”

“Yes, and one where anchors shouldn’t be needed as much, or no beyond the first few seconds of the shift. Yes, you can fight in the full shift, but despite what people might think, the beta or alpha form are much more efficient for killing. The two most natural forms express the full duality of being a therian. Lycanthrope in your case. Because therians are shifters. You lose your sense of self in the hybrid form, and hence why you need anchors. It’s a valid tool, I’m not saying don’t do it—”

“No, I see the issue. It’s teaching us to hold on to our human selves when we’re not human. At least, those of us who were born this way have never been human. It’s a form of denial of self.”

“Correct. Which is why it’s harder for a bitten wolf to achieve a full shift. They have to accept the loss of their humanity and embrace their therianthropy. The disservice done to born wolves is this mantra you set up in your own minds every full moon about holding on to your humanity instead of embracing your lycanthropy. You are not humans, you are not wolves. You’re lycanthropes. It’s to be celebrated, and yet there’s the insidious message from the time you’re children that you should try to hold on to something…human.”

Dot considered for several seconds. “Why tell us? Peter has no questions bubbling away, so I gather he’s already heard everything.”

“After such profound loss, and with the challenges ahead, I think it would serve this pack well to be in better harmony within yourselves and with each other. Each of you has the potential for the full shift, and it’s a boon that you all deserve that I might be some help with. Also, at the time of the ritual, the nature of the bond to the Earth you’ll experience through Peter—”

“If everything works.”

“If everything works,” Leah agreed, “will allow for an easier first shift. My impression from talking to each of you is that you and Cora will have the easiest time with this.”

“Me?” Dot echoed.

“You are remarkably settled into who you are. And in your way, regardless of what words you use, you don’t see yourself as human.”

Dot could concede the point.

“Cora is young. Her mind is flexible, and if the two of you tell her it’s possible, I don’t think she’ll have any issue achieving her wolf form. But I didn’t want to talk to any of the pack members about this until I’d spoken to Peter and obtained his permission.”

“Which I’m obviously giving,” Peter added. “I wanted to talk to you first and get your thoughts.”

“What about Josh? He’s the only one of us who was a bitten wolf, though he was bitten fairly young.” Josh had been bitten at nine by a feral alpha who had been tortured and released by hunters to give them a reason to hunt werewolves in the area.

“Josh is almost as in harmony with his wolf as you are. Even more so than Peter or Cora. It’s quite remarkable, really. The person who is most likely to struggle is Matt because he’s so rigidly in control all the time. I think for him it will be a matter of accepting that surrendering to his nature is not giving up control.”

Peter leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table. “I was thinking that it would be a good gesture to maybe impart this knowledge to Satomi and Jason when things have settled down.”

“If it works for us, and considering their services to the pack, yes.”

“I can help with that,” Leah offered. “I think perhaps the magical community has had its head buried in the sand for too long just because the hunters don’t usually target us. We need to help change things.”

Peter just nodded, and Dot didn’t say anything either because her opinions were rather acerbic. Most magic users just blended in seamlessly with the human population and were never exposed to what hunters put supernatural creatures through. On the other hand, humans had done their best to exterminate magic users even if they mostly got their own people and missed the actual magicals by a country mile.

“The other factor leading up to the ritual is that there are some ritual meditation practices that can help with achieving the full shift. Magically speaking, doing the meditations for the three days prior to the ritual petition is the most effective, so that gives us a couple of days to talk to everyone, and then you’d start the meditations three days before.”

“As a group?” Dot asked dubiously. She hadn’t remotely enjoyed the 60’s, and that’s what “group meditation” made her think of.

“Solo and as a group, yes.”

Peter shot her a grin. The little sadist.

* * *

The nemeton was about 50 percent of its former size, so it was already bigger than any tree in the immediate area. Dot hadn’t been back to the nemeton since she’d taken the trio of magic users there back in January. There had been no reason for her to be there, but she couldn’t deny how much better the land felt now that the taint had been purged and the node was nearly back to its former glory.

They’d all been over the ritual in-depth with Booker in the last few days, which had been filled with ritualized meditation and endless conversations about how today might go. It was just after lunch and the clearing was bright, the sky clear, and the moon was just beginning to edge in front of the sun.

Since the would-be pack was so small, all five of them were present and part of the ritual circle. Booker had laid out an eight-point circle, both the cardinal and ordinal points involved. Peter and the nemeton were at the cardinal points of north and south, respectively. Matt, Josh, Cora, and Dot occupied the ordinal points. Dot was at the northwest and Cora at the northeast next to Peter, with Josh and Matt occupying southeast and southwest closest to the nemeton. When it was time to actually begin the ritual incantations, Booker would stand in for the eastern cardinal point and Leah for the west.

Peter was wearing nothing but jeans. His torso and arms were covered in runes and symbols which were painted on by Booker. The “paint” was a mixture of blood from each of the would-be pack members who supported Peter’s efforts, ash made from the fallen leaves and twigs from the nemeton, and the various ingredients Booker had been gathering. The triskelion, the Hale family symbol for many generations, was the most prominent symbol in the middle of Peter’s chest.

Booker was murmuring in Latin as he painted, and Dot could translate it if she wanted to, but what little she’d paid attention to so far was bordering on earth-harmony nonsense, pleas to magic to restore the Hale pack.

He finished his part of the ritual just as the moon had crossed the half-way point in obscuring the sun, and he stepped to the eastern point of the circle. Peter took over making the appeal to magic, reciting the Latin phrases he’d learned over the last several weeks. It sounded natural and fluid, and there was no artifice in Peter’s tone or manner. To Dot’s every sense, his appeal sounded right, but something felt off.

Booker was frowning, and after a couple of minutes, so was Peter, but he finished the phrases and then knelt to wait as the lunar eclipse advanced, and the clearing became darker. She felt the tug of the moon almost exactly the way it was during the full moon, such an odd feeling in the middle of the day.

At the totality of the eclipse, nothing was happening, but no one moved. Booker had explained that magic would act in its own time and they only needed to worry if the eclipse ended and nothing had occurred.

The sounds of footsteps approaching caused the pack, almost as one, to look away from the clearing. A familiar rabbit-fast heartbeat was approaching along with the slower, steadier beat of his father.

Noah and Stiles appeared at the edge of the clearing. Stiles looked nervous and was practically hiding behind his father.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Stiles has been adamant for the last hour that the tree was calling him, and I didn’t want to see your efforts today get messed up because I wouldn’t let him come.”

“Do whatever the nemeton is telling you, Stiles,” Booker said gently. The tone was something she’d never heard from him. The cold elemental mage was starting to care about someone.

Stiles hesitated, but Peter smiled at him and nodded, so Stiles smiled back then pulled away from his father and approached the nemeton, staring up at it with awe. He slipped into the middle of the circle then crossed right to the tree, setting his hands on it.

Leah gestured Noah over and had him switch places with her, saying softly, “I was standing in because it was needed. You have a longer connection to this town and will have at least some connection to the pack. You’re better in this place than me.”

Noah hadn’t wanted to be involved in this part of things, so they’d honored his wishes and not discussed it with him other than advising him that they’d be doing a ritual today. But he gamely stepped into the spot and asked, “Is there anything I need to do?”

“No. Just lend your support in your heart to this pack’s desire to be made whole.”

He nodded, looking uncomfortable but didn’t say anything else, eyes on his son, who was deeply engrossed in the magical tree.

Finally, Stiles said, “I don’t understand the pictures it’s giving me, Booker.”

Leah waved Booker off and went to kneel down next to Stiles and help interpret the vision the nemeton was sending the eleven-year-old spark. Dot wasn’t pleased with the nemeton placing such a burden on a child, but the situation was out of her control. She glanced up at the sky and saw about a quarter of the eclipse remaining.

Leah cleared her throat. “The nemeton has called Mieczysław Genim Stilinski to be her guardian. Stiles will remain at the southern point in the circle as the representative of magic.”

Noah sucked in a sharp breath but said nothing.

“You have renewed the old vow, Peter Hale,” Leah said, “and if I’ve deciphered Stiles’ vision correctly, you were always magic’s choice as the next alpha of this territory, but because the Hale pack has broken its vow through two generations, most recently through overt acts, but also by intent in the prior generation, magic demands more.

“It has called a guardian to also protect the territory and because he is young, the Hale pack is charged with his safety. Further, the Hale alpha must agree that the pack bond to an emissary must be blessed by the nemeton. Candidates may be presented, but know that they may be rejected. Deaton’s crimes have scarred the land, and the pack is entrusted to ensure it will be healed and not allowed to happen again.”

Stiles tugged on Leah’s sleeve until she leaned down so he could whisper in her ear in a way that was audible to every pack member. “And she doesn’t want him leaving to go kill people.”

Dot bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Peter shook his head. “I’m not going to leave my territory to go on a revenge spree. I promise.”

“Okay, then,” Stiles said, sounding uncertain but also pleased.

“I vow that I will seek the blessing of the nemeton for any future emissary for my pack, and that the protection of the guardian will be the sacred duty of my pack along with the protection of this territory,” Peter said strongly.

The vow was so informal, Dot didn’t expect that to work. She thought he’d have to add it to his formal appeal in Latin, but the clearing flooded with magic and all the marks on Peter’s body lit up white in a way that was blinding before vanishing as the eclipse passed completely.

Peter’s eyes flared red and, a second later, a black wolf with red eyes stood in his place.

Dot’s breath caught. He was perfect—everything she’d hoped he would be.

He managed to get out of his jeans with little effort and then padded across the circle to Stiles and licked the kid’s cheek, getting a giggle. Then he moved to Cora, who dropped to her knees and tilted her head. The bite of a new alpha only needed to draw blood, not be brutal, and he bit gently. When it was done, Cora threw her arms around the wolf’s neck and held on tightly for long moments. The air seemed to waver while she was holding him and then another black wolf was standing there, much smaller than Peter, but similar in every other way. She had a harder time wiggling out of her clothes, but her shirt seemed to have her the most trapped, and Leah stepped in to help get it loose.

Peter went to Josh next, who repeated Cora’s actions by dropping to his knees and baring this throat. “Alpha,” Josh murmured as the bite settled their bond, but he waited and didn’t move until the process had been repeated with Matt. She wondered if they’d be able to shift as easily as Cora, even with all the meditation preparations, but as soon as Josh crossed the circle and took Matt’s hand, they both shifted. Josh was a tawny color and Matt was a classic grey wolf.

Then her new alpha came to her. She dropped to one knee and looked him in the eye. “I’m so proud of you.”

He headbutted her and they stayed pressed together for a long moment. Suddenly, the pack bond flared bright and hot. He hadn’t even had to bite her. For the first time in three months, she felt that magical connection that was everything to a werewolf.

“Alpha,” she murmured. The shift was easy, she’d been feeling it at the edges of her consciousness since the first meditation. Since she’d expected the shift, she wore clothes that would fall away easily. Her fur was as white as it was in her beta shift.

The pack all made a point of scent-marking Stiles, getting laughs from him.

Peter tipped back his head and howled, and the pack howled with him. There was so much in front of them, so much more to do, but today was their day to rejoice in being together again. In being pack.

“Well, that’s not subtle,” Noah muttered.

But the pack was off, running together for the first time with their new alpha.

* * *

The phone ringing jolted Dot from the most restful sleep she’d had since long before the fire. She was disoriented for several moments, and it took her an embarrassing amount of time to realize it was because she was still in her wolf form. The whole pack was still shifted, sprawled out on the living room floor with one another.

Peter was lying next to her, while Cora was draped over the both of them. It was a good thing she was small. As Dot disentangled herself, she saw Matt and Josh on the other side of Peter, more curled around one another, but pressed up against Peter in a combined tangle of wolfy limbs.

The phone stopped ringing just as Dot got free of the pack pile. She shifted back to human form and checked the display, finding a New York area code. Concerned it might be something for Booker, who was asleep up in Dot’s room, she dialed *69 then pulled on the robe that was folded on the end of the couch.

She glanced over and smiled faintly at Peter, the only one who seemed awake. He seemed disinclined to move, content to stay in his wolfy shape, curled up with his pack members.

“Hello?” a tremulous, but familiar voice answered.

“Derek?”

“Aunt Dot?”

Peter immediately shifted to his human form and grabbed for one of the other robes, watching anxiously.

“Yeah, sweetie, it’s Dot. Where are you? Are you safe?”

“I think so. I’m at a payphone.”

“You’re in New York?”

“Yeah, um, yeah. This is pretty much where we’ve been the whole time.”

“What’s happened, Derek?”

“Laura’s not an alpha anymore.” He took a shuddery breath. “She flipped out, Aunt Dot. She was screaming and lashing out.”

Dot closed her eyes and felt Peter press close. She could tell he was practically itching to take the phone from her. “Are you hurt?”

“No. Not anymore.”

“But she did hurt you.”

“I don’t understand what happened.”

“Derek, I need you to listen to me. It’s time to come home. I understand why you felt you had to leave, but you belong with your pack.”

“You don’t understand what I did—”

“I understand everything, Derek. I know all about your teacher, and none of this was your fault.”

There was a sound like a muffled sob.

“You need to come home, kid.”

“I can’t. I don’t even have anything. I just ran away from Laura with nothing. I don’t have my ID card or any money, and I’ve got bloody clothes under my hoodie. I’ll be lucky if I don’t get arrested.”

Peter was gesturing for the phone.

Dot nodded. “Derek, I’m going to give the phone to Peter while I go arrange for someone to come get you. We will get you home, okay? Bloody shirt and all.”

There was a long pause. “Peter’s okay.”

“Yes, he’s fine, and he really wants you to come home, so talk to your uncle while I make arrangements, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Tell me what part of the city you’re in before I give you off to your uncle.”

“I’m at a payphone near Central Park.” He hesitated. “That’s where I slept last night.”

Dot handed off the phone, leaving Derek in Peter’s hands. Everyone else was awake and had shifted back and donned either robes or sweats. Dot went to go wake Booker. Dot could easily make arrangements for Derek on her own, but it would take time, and he was scared and alone now. Booker’s home base was New York, so he might be able to do something faster.

He didn’t even grumble too much about being woken early after she explained what she needed. He simply scribbled down a name and an address in Manhattan then got on the phone. She took the opportunity to dress while Booker was making arrangements for someone to shelter and feed Derek until they could make travel arrangements.

When she got back downstairs, Peter was on the sofa, still talking to Derek, with Cora pressed close to his side. “Laura is not your responsibility, Derek,” Peter said gently and with great patience. “She has choices, just like any werewolf without an alpha. She can find another pack to join or she can find an alpha to kill.”

Dot had to strain to hear Derek’s reply. “But it’s my fault she became an alpha when she wasn’t ready, and now she’s all alone.”

She handed over the piece of paper with the details Peter needed.

“It is not your fault. You need to remember that she left sixteen people behind in Beacon Hills without an alpha, and another five around the country, suddenly in difficult straits. She may not have been ready to become an alpha, but that level of selfishness and cruelty existed in her before she inherited the alpha spark. You didn’t make her that way.”

“I just don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

“She has choices, Derek. She may not like her choices, but she’s still going to have to make them. It’s not your responsibility to force her to make good ones. Your only responsibility is to go to the address I’m about to give you and stay away from Laura until I can arrange for a private plane to bring you home.”

“But—”

“Der, please come home,” Cora pleaded loudly, crowding her uncle to get closer to the phone.

After a long silence, Derek gave in. “Yeah. I’ll come home.”

Peter met Dot’s gaze. “Good. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. We’ll take care of everything else once you’re back with your pack. The address I’m going to give you is only about a mile from your location. You’re going to go there and ask for Damian. Eat and rest. We’ll have you home soon.”

Peter let Cora talk directly to Derek for a couple of minutes but insisted the call be kept short so Derek could get to a more secure location.

Peter got up and pulled Dot into a one-armed hug. “That was the last piece we needed to make us whole.”

Their pack was small, but it was about to be complete again.

* * *

June 2005, Two Months Later

Dot exited the hotel from the side door where she’d disabled the security camera the day before. This exit was ideal because it dumped straight into a small, wooded park, and she’d planned her exit from the park to be in an area with no security cameras. She’d scouted all the security issues in this little Arizonan town weeks ago. Dot wasn’t here, after all, she was in the Bahamas. She’d arrived three days ago for a much-needed vacation. Then she’d promptly left by boat and been smuggled back into the US. She had eighteen hours to meet back up with the boat for her return trip to her alibi.

Peter was very publicly in San Francisco with Stiles, Cora, and Derek this weekend. Cora had just been miraculously “found” two weeks ago, and they were “celebrating” Peter being given custody of both Hale kids.

Dot exited the park at just after two AM and was both surprised and…not to find Booker leaning against her vehicle.

“Dorothy,” he murmured. “Nice night for a walk in the woods?”

She glared at him and unlocked the car, sliding into the driver’s seat.

Without a word, Booker took over her passenger seat.

“Did I invite you?”

He said nothing, just stared out the window, and Dot finally put the car in gear and began to drive. She needed to be out of this town, and hanging about to find out why Booker was here wasn’t safe.

“Do you have luggage somewhere?” she finally asked.

“My stuff is in the Bahamas.”

She shot him a sharp look. “Pardon me?”

“What are you doing, Dot?”

“You know damn well what I’m doing.”

“So, Kate Argent is dead?”

“Did you really have any doubt?”

He sighed. “Peter vowed—”

“Right. Peter vowed. I didn’t.”

“Semantics.”

“Semantics can be important. Was I supposed to just let it go? Let her keep killing?”

“The FBI was looking into it! You could start a war. Does Peter know what you’re up to?”

“Peter doesn’t not know, but I’m certainly not going to put him in a bad position by giving him explicit information. Also, give me some credit. I didn’t claw her throat out. I shot her in the back of the head with a .50 caliber Desert Eagle I picked up off a Calavera who tried to kill me a decade ago.”

“In the back of the head with a .50 caliber?” he repeated incredulously. “The exit wound… God.”

“She’s been using her pretty face to rape young men. I obliterated it.” It hadn’t taken long to get the whole story from Derek about Kate Argent, and Peter had been murderous, but he’d managed to dial it back and focus on his pack and his duty to the territory. But he’d given Dot a meaningful look. Neither of them had any intention of letting the human justice system take its sweet time getting around to Katherine Argent. Derek was seeing a supernatural-aware therapist twice a week and talking to Leah Sofer almost every day.

“Remind me to never get you mad at me.”

“I’m mad at you right now,” she said snippily.

“No, you’re not. Not really.” He sighed. “So, you framed a Calavera for murdering an Argent. How could that possibly go wrong? The gun’s not on you, so I assume you left it at the scene…?”

“I’ve been covertly sending information about Kate and the other Argents to the FBI since before the ritual. They’ve been looking for her for six weeks now. While this might start a brouhaha with the Calaveras and the Argents, I think they’re both going to be too busy with the FBI on their ass to give anyone grief.”

“And what about the local pack that Kate was targeting?”

“I sent them anonymous information about Kate’s intent and that she was being dealt with. I warned them that the FBI, the Argents, and eventually the Calaveras could all be crawling all over this town in no time. They have plenty of warning to get the hell out.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Did you really think I was going to let it go?”

“Maybe. That arson investigator is facing criminal charges. Those two thugs for hire got arrested because someone filmed them committing crimes and sent in some anonymous tips.”

She glanced over and batted her eyelashes.

“Why not just kill them?”

“I thought about it, but they’re human firebugs. Nasty little criminals who never seem to get caught. Thirty years in prison is a lovely, lovely idea. Plus, I do believe the FBI got a tip about those two being co-conspirators in the Hale fire. I think they’ll fold like cheap tissue paper under interrogation. That’s multiple counts of murder in the first. I don’t need to kill them when the state of California will do it for me.”

“And what about the other two? The Kate loyalists who were following her around. The police are still looking for them…” he trailed off when she snorted. “What did you do?”

“I may have used them as part of negotiations with some mermaids in Half Moon Bay.”

“Negotiations,” he repeated, tone Sahara dry.

“They were a gesture of goodwill.”

Booker was silent for a long time. “You gave them to the mermaids to eat.”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

He burst out laughing. “You’re unbelievable. In exchange for what?”

“Nothing, really. It was more of a down payment on a future favor.”

“And mermaids don’t leave anything behind, so there’s no evidence to connect you to their disappearance.”

“Human is a delicacy they don’t get to indulge in often because they have strict rules about not eating innocent sapient life. We had to go through this whole exhausting trial to prove how many they’d murdered. Then the mermaids were delighted to put them on their menu.”

“I really think I’m in love with you.”

Dot pulled to the side of the road and slammed on the breaks. She turned in her seat and glared. “We promised no feelings.”

“I’m pretty sure it was too late for me after the first night.”

She stared at him, completely speechless.

“When I found out you’d taken a vacation, I thought I’d surprise you and try to talk this out. I’ve missed you.”

“We see each other all the time. You’re teaching Stiles how to be the bane of Peter’s existence on a weekly basis.”

He shook his head. “You’ve been distant since the ritual, and now I know why.” He grinned and shook his head. “Murder spree. It’s really quite sexy.”

She pointed a finger at him. “We can’t have sex until we get back to the Bahamas. I’m driving straight through to meet the boat.”

“So that gives us plenty of time to redefine the nature of our association.”

“You mean an actual relationship?”

He wiggled his eyebrows.

She sighed. “Very well. But I still have people on my list who need killing.”

“I’ll help.”

Dot couldn’t help but smile as she pulled back onto the road. She didn’t even put up a fuss when he reached out and took her hand.

The End

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