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Every good story has a villain. Sometimes the villain is just pure evil, so very obvious. Other times, the villain has that evil forced upon them through some outside agency. Sometimes they can hide it, appear neutral if not good. Sometimes they just run rampant over the world.
Peter Hale has always been the villain. He's not downright evil, the complete black hat. In his life, people have loved him and he has done good things, but there's always been a wicked twist inside him. During the years of his marriage to a good and wonderful woman, when he fathered two beautiful cubs, he shoved all the villainy aside. He held a job, he was a good husband and father. He loved them with all his heart.
And villains can have hearts.
Whatever darkness he needed was expressed through his actions as Talia's enforcer. He was good at it. Brutal and efficient, but never pushing it to the extent that anyone worried about him. He grew out of overdoing it and being so blatant after his college years.
But, then the fire destroyed both his life and his mind and those six long years of healing only brought him back so far.
Being the villain was so much easier. He could shut down his heart and soul and kill his niece. He could slaughter without remorse, turn teenagers who stumbled into his path, all in the name of an understandable revenge. Even his heroic nephew joined him, if only briefly.
But, then, he burned again, and when he came back--through villainy, of course, mind-raping a pretty young thing who still draws him to her on occasion--he's not as strong. Yet, his mind is healed. The madness has retreated and he does feel remorse over Laura.
Not the others, though, and there's even pride in his first Beta becoming a True Alpha--even while he plans to steal that power from him.
He's not really welcome in first Derek's Pack and then Scott's, but they both seem to know that keeping your enemies close to you is better than letting them run wild or just stew in their own dark plans. And they do need his knowledge, his wisdom, his experience. So, he keeps to the fringes and watches and plans.
And he keeps his eyes on Lydia, his Queen of Death, and Stiles, who should have been his if only he'd accepted the bite. When they migrate together, it only pleases him more. With the two of them, he could be unstoppable.
But...Peter's not quite ready to make his move yet. His plans and manipulations are coming together but there are always anomalies to be dealt with. He got rid of Derek's Alpha power and his nephew himself without killing him, but there are rumors he's returning. That could throw a wrench into the works. And there's always Scott's innate goodness which nauseates him but also gets in the way.
And Stiles himself is an x-factor. Inside the boy is the potential for as much wickedness as Peter bears, but Stiles wants to be good. His heart is big, if slightly cracked.
Peter thinks he can use that, though. If he can make himself a project for Stiles...
He'll need to be careful around Lydia. She's too smart for her own good. And he's not sure she can die so subverting her as well will be necessary.
More plans and manipulations, strings to pull and twist and cut.
Peter's a villain and he's a damn good one.
He's going be one of the rare ones who wins.
End