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”Peter – Peter, I know you’re in there. We need you to change back. Apart from anything else, brother dear, I would love to know how you managed such a transformation. The last person capable of going full wolf was grandmother – we thought the ability had been lost. So, maybe, if you turn back into human Peter, you can teach your sister your new trick, hmm? Not that it wasn’t excellent timing – I truly thought Deaton was going to shit his pants! And I’m not convinced that you hadn’t planned to eat him – you always did have an over-developed sense of revenge. But, we have him here – we can question him, find your Stiles. But to do that – I need to know that you’re still in there. So – change back, little brother – please?”
Talia gave a heavy sigh. Deaton was locked up in one of the rooms downstairs; Isaac, Derek and Boyd were busy trying to repair the door that Peter had smashed to smithereens escaping; Cora, Erica and Sheriff Stilinski were in the kitchen, going over everything they knew about Scott and his bases of operation; Melissa was still looking after Lydia. And Talia had been trying to convince her brother to return to his human form for the last two hours, with no success. Now that they knew Stiles was alive, they needed to question Deaton and find his whereabouts, thereby removing any leverage the Alpha Pack might have. It was time for them to be proactive and get this thing sorted out once and for all.
”Steer him towards the Preserve!” With a nod to his brother, Ethan flanked Stilinski, watching as he instinctively avoided his enemy and moved to the left. He was sprinting fast enough that Ethan and Aiden were struggling to keep up with him. And he didn’t seem to need much in the way of steering – something seemed to be calling to him, reeling him in, because as soon as they had cleared the bank vault, he was off and running and not towards his father’s place.
“Watch it!” Ethan jumped over a fallen log just in time to avoid face-planting, and he reminded himself that they both needed to be on their guard. They had no clue how the Hales would take their olive branch and couldn’t assume that sanctuary would be offered. Strangely enough, there seemed to be no guards in place – in fact, the entire woods seemed deserted.
It was too late to change their minds – they were committed to this action. Theo would have escaped his bonds and raised the alarm by now; Deucalion and Kali would not look kindly upon their betrayal. It was this or nothing. Reminding himself of all of the good he had heard about the Hale Pack over the years, Ethan put on a spurt of speed – he had to believe they were heading towards something better than where they had been.
There. The scent was coming from there – all he had thought about from the time he had woken up with his skin on fire, hearing and sight ultra-sensitive – was the desperate need to follow this urge. He barely acknowledged Theo’s sarcastic comments when he came into the vault; hadn’t even blinked when the terrible twins had come in and knocked Theo out and tied him up before hustling him out of the room with no explanation. He just needed to follow this sense that told him he needed to get – here.
He knew the house – part of him knew the house even if it had never been here. He knew that it represented safety. And that smell – that incredibly smell that made him want to roll around in it. It was coming from that house.
“WAIT!” He stopped, turning to look at his pursuers. He didn’t sense any danger coming from them – they were next to nothing in the scheme of things. And at the back of his mind, he recognised that they had facilitated his escape. But he wasn’t going to hang around – he needed to be inside.
The door was a challenge, solid and imposing, and despite his new-found strength, he couldn’t force it open. Snarling and growling, he banged and kicked at it. He needed to be inside.
“Stilinski! Stand back – we will find you a way in. Just – step to one side. Can you understand us?” He turned to the voice, nodding his understanding even as he continued growling beneath his breath. He was prepared to show some patience – but not much.
One of the twins took him by the arm and pulled him to one side; the other rang the doorbell and they waited.
And waited.
About to lose all patience, suddenly the door opened and he was faced with – his pack!
“Oh my God, son, how did you – “
“Grab them!”
“We’re here to surrender!”
The cacophony of voices came to a sudden halt as a huge black wolf ran down the stairs and threw itself through the door at Stilinski, knocking him off the front steps and to the ground. Snarling and growling, the two figures rolled back and forth, seeming to be fighting for dominance. Ethan watched as Sheriff Stilinski went to intervene and Alpha Hale pulled him back.
“NO! They need to establish this now!” For a moment, it seemed the gangly youth had managed to pin the wolf to the ground, but it was a feint, the wolf whipping its head around and clamping its jaws around the vulnerable throat. Stilinski whined and tilted his head back, accepting the wolf’s dominance, and as he did so, fur receded and he was pulled into the naked man’s arms.
“Oh my God, I thought I had lost you!”
It would appear the stories about Peter Hale were not quite up to date or terrifying enough. They had definitely chosen the right side – if they were accepted.