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Pain. That’s the first thing Laura is aware of when she comes around. Or really, the absence of it. She knows there should be pain. She remembers the pain, the hot tearing sensation as Peter had ripped into her. It had only lasted a few agonizing seconds. She must have blacked out from it.
But no, that doesn’t make sense. She looks down at her body and lifts her shirt, not seeing even the hint of a scratch on her skin. She knows she feels fast, but what Peter did… she didn’t think anyone would heal easily from that. Not even the Alpha of the Hale pack.
Unless she hadn’t really healed. Which doesn’t make sense. If she hadn’t healed then how is she here?
She hears a sniffle and walks towards it, pushing her way through the trees. She knows the sound. She’s become far too familiar with it over the years, even when he tried to hide the fact that he was crying.
She’s not wrong. Derek is there, kneeling on the ground. His shoulders are hunched and his hands bloody. On closer inspection most of him is. But that’s not the most startling thing. Laying in front of Derek, eyes wide open but staring blankly at the canopy of trees above them, is Peter. He’s dead. She doesn’t need to listen for an absent heartbeat to know that.
“Derek,” Laura whispers, standing frozen as she takes in the bloody scene in front of her. “What have you done?”
“I had to,” Derek says, his throat raw with emotion. “I had to save you.”
“Save me?” Laura questions. It’s starting to click into place now. The absence of pain and her perfectly intact skin. The fact that she remembers dying but is clearly very much alive. “I died, didn’t I?”
Derek nods, and looks up at her. His eyes are wet. “He killed you. And they said if I killed Peter it would bring you back.”
“Who said that?” Laura asks. When Derek doesn’t say anything she steps forward, pulling him to his feet and away from Peter’s lifeless body. “Derek? Who told you that?”
“The trees,” Derek says. “There were voices, or I think it was voices, telling me to hurry. That if I didn’t Peter would go on to kill more people and you… you’d be dead. They said the only way to save you was to stop him.” He glances over at Peter and shudders. “So I did.”
Laura closes her eyes. She has to, just for a moment. Peter had killed her, and Derek… her baby brother had killed him to bring her back.
“There’s something else,” Derek says.
Laura opens her eyes, and looks at him, taking in the tightness of his jaw and shoulders. He’s nervous. “What is it?”
“He bit someone,” Derek tells her. “Before I got to him, he bit someone.”
“Shit,” Laura mutters, running a hand through her hair. “Do you know who it was?”
Derek hesitate a moment, clearly going over something in his mind before answering her question. “He was wandering around with another kid with asthma.”
“Do you think you could find him?” Laura asks.
Derek nods, “He reeks of anxiety and Adderall and…” Derek shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I can find him.”
“Good because the last thing we need is for some newly bitten wolf to be running around wreaking havoc,” Laura sighs.
It’s easy to fall back into leader mode, even if something does feel off to her. It hits her then. Something she subconsciously knew enough to realize what Peter biting someone would mean. Peter was an alpha. Because he’d killed her. She’s not the alpha anymore. She looks at Derek. “Show me your eyes, Der.”
“What?”
“Your eyes,” Laura says. “Show me them.”
Derek’s nods and takes a deep breath, a moment later his eyes are glowing. Not the blue she’s grown used to seeing on him, but a brilliant red. She’s surprised when she’s not upset by that, at least not on her own behalf.
“I didn’t want it,” Derek tells her, his eyes going back to their normal green. “I just wanted you back, Laur. I couldn’t lose you too.”
Laura takes him into her arms, and cards her fingers through his hair. It’s what she’s always done when he’s upset, ever since they were children. He was smaller then, not yet beaten down by the world and all the pain it’s thrown at them. She wishes she could block him from it now.
“Why don’t you go back to the motel?” Laura says when they bull back. She glances over at Peter. “I’ll take care of this.”
“I can’t let you do it alone,” Derek mutters.
"Don't worry," Laura says. "I have this covered. Promise."
Derek doesn't look convinced, so she sighs. "I've got this, Der. You might be the alpha now but I'm still your big sister. I need you to trust me to take care of you."
"I do."
"Okay, then go get cleaned up and try to get some rest. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Derek hugs her again, inhaling deeply against her neck. "I love you."
"I love you too," she says, gently patting his cheek. "Now go."
She waits until he's gone before turning to the dark expanse of trees to her left. "I know you're here. So you might as well come out."
A moment later Marin Morrell steps out of the darkness, into the dim light of the clearing. She looks down at Peter and shakes her head. "I didn't expect for it to get that bloody."
Laura shakes her head, "I should have known you were involved."
"Of course," Marin says. "I couldn't exactly let you stay dead." She looks down at Peter's body. "I can't say I'm all that upset to see him dead if it means having you here. He always creeped me out."
Laura sighs, "Marin."
"Are we sure he won't come back a zombie wolf?"
"Marin!"
It's Marin's turn to sigh, "Look, I'm sorry for using your brother to bring you back. If there was another way…"
"You still would have done what was quick and easy," Laura finishes.
"You make me sound so cold," Marin comes towards her, until she's close enough Laura could reach out and touch her. She doesn't. Not yet. "I might do what needs to be done, but you know I'm not made of ice, Laura." She puts a hand on Laura's hip and Laura has to fight not to close her eyes. "You know better than anyone how warm I can be."
Laura does. She’s seen so many times what Marin is like when her walls are down and it’s just them. But she’s also seen how ruthless she can be when it comes to protecting someone she loves. Laura has always felt lucky to be one of those people.
“Derek has never been a killer,” Laura says.
“Except when he killed Paige,” Marin points out.
Laura growls, “You know she was dying and he didn’t have a choice. That doesn’t make him a killer.”
“He’s not a little boy anymore, Laura,” Marin says. “You don’t always have to protect me.”
“Of course I do! He’s my family. And no matter how old he is, he’s my little brother. For years, we were all each other had. I’m still all he has. And the fact that he had to kill Peter to bring me back kills me. I haven’t seen him look that lost since the fire.”
“I’m sorry,” Marin says, her tone softening. She brings a hand up to Laura’s cheek, and brushes away tears Laura hadn’t even realized she’d been crying. “I am. I’m not completely heartless, Laura. You know devastated he would have been if you had stayed dead. How devastated I would be. And Peter… he wasn’t the same Peter you knew. He was ready to go on a murderous rampage. Clearly, if he had no problems killing his own niece so he’d become the alpha.”
“Peter was always a little off,” Laura sighs. “But not like this. He never was the same after the fire. None of us were.”
“But you didn’t go off and start killing people.”
“No, I didn’t.” She looks down at Peter and frowns. She wonders for a second what her mother would think and shakes her head. She can’t go there. It doesn’t matter. Her mother isn’t here. “We need to get rid of the body before someone finds it and starts asking questions.”
“If you suggest burying it, I’m going to dissuade you,” Marin says. “I do want to deal with a zombie wolf.”
“There is no such thing as zombie wolves,” Laura says, shoving lightly at her shoulder.
“No, but if anyone would be the first it would be Peter,” Marin replies.
“So what do we do?”
“You’re probably not going to like it,” Marin says. “In fact, maybe you should just let me handle it. The less you know, the better.”
“Marin…”
“I’m serious,” Marin says. “This way if anyone does start asking questions about where Peter went you can say you don’t know.”
She has a point. That doesn’t mean Laura likes it. “What makes you so sure we’re even staying?”
“The new wolf,” Marin says. “I know you enough to know you’re not just going to leave him to handle things on his own. Especially once you find out who it is.”
“How do you know?” Laura asks. “Derek didn’t even know.”
Marin raises an eyebrow, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. But you’ll see soon enough.”
Laura narrows her eyes. “Or you could just tell me.”
Marin smirks, “Now where’s the fun in that.” She places a lingering kiss to Laura’s lips. “Now go. I’m sure Derek needs you.”
Laura wants to bang her head against the nearest solid surface when she finds out just who the kid Peter bit is. Marin had been right, Derek did know. He’d just kept it to himself that night and wound up following him. Laura had come back to the motel to find Derek not there and had gone to find him, only to find him lurking across the street from a familiar house.
“Is there any reason you’re being creepy and stalking the Stilinski’s?”
Derek rolls his eyes, “I’m not stalking them. The Sheriff isn’t even home. Just Stiles.”
“Okay, then why are you watching Stiles? I mean I knew you were friends when you were kids but…” She trails off, taking in the way Derek’s shoulders are tense as he watches Stiles’ window. She can tell he’s listening more to what’s going on inside the house than to what he’s saying. Laura rolls her eyes, but does the same, hoping to get a little insight into what’s going on.
“I’m telling you Scotty,” Stiles is saying. “Werewolves are a thing.”
Laura’s eyes widen and she turns her head towards Derek, “It’s not.”
Derek sighs, “it is.”
“Peter did not bite Stiles.”
“He did.”
“What was he even doing out there?” Laura asks, turning her gaze back towards the house, where she can see Stiles’ shadow pacing around his room.
“Looking for a dead body, apparently,” Derek mutters.
“Great,” Laura sighs. “So he’s been putting the pieces together?”
“Seems like it,” Derek says. “But I don’t think his friend believes him.”
“You know we’re going to have to talk to him,” Laura says. “And give me a proper rundown.”
“I know.”
“Are you prepared for that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know,” Laura says. “You seem kind of on edge about it all.”
“Of course I’m on edge,” Derek mutters. “Peter killed you, then bit Stiles, and then was muttering shit about destroying the town, and I had to kill Peter to bring you back. Which you know, psycho or not, was not easy. And now I’m standing here listening to Stiles talking about being a werewolf and not even understanding how dangerous it is.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Laura says. “The threat is gone. He just has to learn control, and we can teach him.”
“The threat is never gone,” Derek grumbles.
“That’s not true,” Laura argues. “I know it seems like that because of how we’ve had to live the past few years, but there was a time when we were safe and happy. I have to believe we can have that again.”
“I don’t see how with her still out there,” Derek says. “And the Argent’s are back in town, Laura. I saw them. It’s not a good place for a newly bitten wolf to be right now. Maybe we should just take him and…”
“We can’t,” Laura says. “You know that. Stiles has his Dad here. He won’t want to leave him.”
“But the Argent’s…”
“Won’t hurt him,” she says. Won’t hurt you. “Some of them are psychopaths, but not all of them.”
“Name one,” Derek says.
“I’m not sure yet,” Laura says. “But that’s beside the point. The point is, we can do this.”
“We need Stiles in our pack,” Derek says. “It’s the only way to keep him safe.”
“I can’t disagree,” Laura says. “But we’ll have to go about this the right way. You can’t just force him to be in our pack. He has to want to be.”
“I know,” Derek mumbles.
“We can’t do anything tonight,” Laura tells him. “Let’s go get some sleep and we’ll figure the rest out in the morning.”
“What if something happens?”
“It won’t,” Laura says. “Come on, Der. You’re not going to be much use to anyone if you’re dead on your feet. You need sleep.”
“Fine,” Derek mutters. “Let’s go.”
Laura gets Derek into the shower as soon as they’re back to the motel, and then she calls Marin. It goes to voicemail, so she leaves a message telling her she’s just checking in and hopes everything is alright.
“Who was that?” Derek asks, toweling off his hair as he comes out of the bathroom.
“Marin,” Laura says. “Well her voicemail, at least.”
Derek studies her face for a moment, before lowering the towel. “It was her, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” Laura says. “I’m sorry, Der. I didn’t know she had followed me here. Or that she would…”
“It’s okay,” Derek says, giving a bitter laugh. “It’s not the first time someone has used me to do their will.”
Laura’s face crumples at that and she stumbles forward, taking Derek’s face in her hands. “Oh Derek.”
“I’m sorry,” Derek says. “It’s just being back here after everything.” He rests his head against hers. “I don’t regret it, Laura. Not if it means having you here.”
She pulls back and places a kiss to the top of his head. “And I’m glad to be here with you, little brother.”
Marin shows up at the motel a few hours later, looking tired and dirty, but otherwise fine. She also smells of smoke, something that has Laura wrinkling her nose and her throat tightening.
“I’m going to shower,” Marin tells her. “And throw these clothes in the dumpster.”
“I can do that while you’re showering,” Laura offers. “And I’ll put some clothes out for you.”
Laura takes the clothes to the dumpster and throws them in, trying to ignore the smell of smoke. She knows why Marin had wanted to go alone now. What she did to get rid of Peter's body.
She closes her eyes against the image of flames consuming her childhood home, but even then it's still there. She can still remember the screams and the terror she felt realizing she couldn't get to them.
She remembers how Derek had cried himself to sleep for months after that until he'd finally broken down and told her about Kate. How he'd begged her not to hate him.
Seeing him like that and knowing the guilt he must have been carrying had broken her heart. It still does. It also filled her with rage towards the woman who not only murdered her family, but used Derek the way she had.
"Laura?"
Laura goes still at the sound of Marin's voice. She hastily wipes at her eyes before turning to face her. "Hey."
Marin frowns and steps closer. She runs a hand through Laura's hair and sighs. "This is why I didn't want you to come."
"I'm okay," Laura says. "The smell just triggered some memories. But I'm fine. Really." Marin doesn't look convinced. Laura smiles tightly. "I found out who Peter bit."
"I know you're trying to distract me," she says. "But if you really don't want to talk about it, I won't push you."
"Thank you."
"So you know it's the Stilinski kid then," Marin says. "Did Derek tell you?"
"I tracked him to the Stilinski house so he didn't really have a choice," Laura says. "This is either going to go really well or be a complete disaster."
"He's smart," Marin says. "From what my brother tells me, at least. He should want to learn. I don't think you'll have many issues."
"I hope not," Laura sighs, leaning into Marin's touch. She's always been able to calm her. "Everything is stressful enough."
Derek is luckily still sleeping when they head back inside. Which Laura is grateful for. He needs his rest. They all do.
She doesn't expect to fall asleep that easily after the night she's had, no matter how much she needs it. But once she's in bed, wrapped snugly under the covers and in Marin's arms, she finds herself relaxing and her eyes drifting closed before sleep claims her.
"You know it would probably be easier just to talk to him," Laura says. They're sitting on the hood of the Camaro, once again outside the Stilinski house.
"And say what?" Derek asks. "Hey, Stiles. We know you're a werewolf and we're werewolves too?"
"That would be a start," It's not Laura that says it, but Stiles, who is walking towards them.
"Oh hey Stiles," Derek says. "You probably don't remember us but…"
"You're Derek and Laura Hale, I know. I also know you've been following me," Stiles accuses. He narrows his eyes as he looks between them. "You're not one of the ones that bit me, are you?"
"No," Laura says. "That was our uncle Peter. He's…"
"Dead," Derek finishes.
Sites nods, looking over Derek. "You are a lot less hairy. Except maybe in the—” he gestures to his own forehead, “—eyebrow area.”
“My eyebrows are fine,” Derek growls.
Laura smirks as she watches them bicker, before Derek finally throws up his hands. “Are you always this annoying?”
Stiles just shrugs, “I can’t help it if I’m curious.”
“And we’d be glad to answer your questions,” Laura says. “And help you. With the full moon coming up you’re going to need it.”
“Need help with what?” Stiles asks. “Learning to howl at the moon?”
“No,” Derek says. “Learning control so you don’t go out and hurt someone.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Stiles says, though he at least looks a little unsure.
“You’re a newly bitten wolf,” Laura says. “You don’t have full control of yourself yet. But we’re here to help you and make sure you’re safe, and everyone else.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about my dad,” Stiles says, looking towards the house where they can hear the Sheriff moving around in the kitchen. “I can’t just tell him I’m a werewolf. He’d think I was crazy. But I hate lying to him.”
Laura and Derek share a look. Finally, at Derek’s insistent nudge of his head, Laura speaks. “You might not have to lie.” When Stiles opens his mouth to argue, Laura holds up her hand. “Just listen. Your dad knows more than you think about our world, Stiles.”
“What are you talking about? How could he?”
Laura is wondering how much she should tell him. Some things she should probably let his dad tell him. “We knew your parents when you were younger. Knew you. I can’t get into all of it. Some things you should hear from him. But he knows about werewolves and everything else.”
“Okay, we’ll definitely be getting back to the ‘everything else’ later,” Stiles says. “There is no way my dad can know about werewolves though. No way.”
“Why not?” Laura asks.
“Well he…” Stiles looks towards the house and frowns. “He’s just a normal guy.”
Derek snorts, “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Just talk to him,” Laura says. “If you want, we could be there with you when you explain things.”
Stiles sighs, “Yeah that might help. At least there will be witnesses if he kills me.”
“He won’t,” Laura says, smiling at him. “I’m sure he’ll be completely understanding.”
Laura doesn’t realize until later just how wrong she was. Sheriff Stilinski doesn’t exactly freak out. Mostly because he spends a good five minutes staring at them, before excusing himself to go into the kitchen. The freezer opens and a second later they hear a muffled “mother fuck!” being shouted.
Stiles, Derek, and Laura share a look of concern before the Sheriff walks back into the room. He takes his seat across from where they’re sitting on the couch, and takes a deep breath. “So my son is a werewolf.”
Laura nods, “Yes sir.”
“Because your uncle bit him?”
“Yes.”
“And then he ran off?”
“That’s right,” Laura says. She doesn’t like lying about that part, but it felt safer than telling him that Derek killed him.
“If that’s what you want to go with,” he mutters, shaking his head. “So what now?”
Laura opens her mouth to answer, when Stiles cuts in. “Wait, that’s it? No denial about the existence of werewolves? Or freaking out?”
“Stiles, I’ve known about werewolves,” his father tells him. “Since before you were born. Your mom…”
“I swear if you’re about to tell me she was a werewolf…”
“I’m not,” the Sheriff cuts in. “But she did have magic. And was friendly with the Hale family. We spent a lot of time there when you were younger. You and Derek were practically inseparable.”
“I don’t remember that,” Stiles says, glancing over at Derek.
“Well you were only five when we stopped going over there,” the Sheriff says. “But boy did you adore him.”
Laura does remember. She knows Derek probably does too. He was always protective of Stiles as a kid. It’s not surprising that he’d want to be protective of him now, even after all these years. That connection isn’t something that just disappears.
Of course it can change. She doesn’t miss the looks they give each other in the coming months. Stiles is quick to learn, mostly because he’s the type of person that always wants to know more. He pores through books on lore, trying to figure out what’s real and what really is just a myth.
Derek helps him with it. He seems annoyed at first, but Laura is able to tell it’s just an act. One that quickly disappears the more time they spend together. And they spend a lot of time together when Stiles isn’t in school. Whether it’s going through the books or training or on the more frequent occasions watching movies on the TV Stiles insisted they buy for their new place. Stiles spends more time at their place than he does at his own most days.
Laura had been right about letting Stiles make the decision to be part of the pack. He’d been wary at first, but once he came around it was like he’d always been there. Like he belonged there. He’s been helping Derek in ways Laura hasn’t been able to. Something she is grateful for. It’s nice to see a little bit of the tension leaving him, replaced with a softness she hasn’t seen since they were kids.
When the time comes to face off with Kate, Stiles is there, mirroring Laura’s position at Derek’s side. Laura's grateful when it ends with minimal bloodshed, at least on their part. Kate isn't as lucky. This time it isn't Derek that handles her, but her brother Chris.
"It's over," Derek whispers. "It's really over."
"It is," Laura says. She teaches out and squeezes his hand. "It's over."
She takes Derek and Stiles home after that. She knows better than to try and bring Stiles back to his house. With the way him and Derek are leaning on each other she doubts she'd be able to separate them. Not that she wants to.
They're keeping each other calm. Anchoring each other. Like they always do.
She leaves them in the living room and goes into the kitchen with Marin to make some tea. She doesn't necessarily want tea, but it's become a habit after something stressful. It's something her mom always used to do.
"This worked out better than I thought," Marin says, leaning against the counter as Laura puts the kettle on.
When she's done, she goes to her, stepping into Marin's waiting arms. "I'm just glad it's over. Maybe now we really can have some peace."
"I hope so," Marin says. "We could all use it."
They stand there awhile, not speaking, just taking comfort in the others presence. Until the tea kettle whistles.
Laura peeks into the living room. Derek is lying on the couch with his head on Stiles' lap, as Stiles cards a hand through his hair, talking quietly to him. She decides to wait on the tea. It'll be here when they want it. For now, she gives them their moment. And she takes one for herself with Marin. The two slip out onto the back porch, sitting wrapped around each other on the swing as they drink their tea.
The sun is setting now and Laura smiles. It's always been her favorite time of day. A reminder that while things end, there's always another day waiting for them. A brand new happy beginning. All they have to do is take it. So Laura does.