Chapter Text
Evelina sat with her niece and nephew, waiting to hear what the doctors had to say about her twin brother. She was trying to calm them, soothe the feeling of the bonds that had been ripped apart. Derek was a shell of himself, sitting curled up against her, while Laura tried to remain stoic and calm. She was still waiting for the Alpha spark to come to her, not knowing that it had already been passed to her aunt.
“Miss Hale?”
Evelina stood up and stepped over to the doctor.
“How is Peter?” She asked, wringing her hands.
“He has burned on fifty percent of his body. We have him in a medically induced coma at the moment, trying to keep him from feeling all the pain of the burns. We are going to watch him for the next 48 hours, and we will go from there,” The doctor said. He paused for a moment, taking in the remains of the large family that had lived in Beacon Hills longer than he had. “If you or anyone need grief counseling, the hospital has some. I am so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” She whispered. “Can I see my brother?”
“Of course. I will have a nurse come and escort you three to his room once they have him settled.”
Evelina nodded, turning back to her niece and nephew. Derek immediately settled back into her side, taking a deep breath.
Not long after, a nurse came to take them to the long-term care rooms. Derek stayed latched to his aunt’s side, while Laura dragged her feet behind them. When they arrived in the room, it took everything in Evelina not to start sobbing. Her brother was completely still, a first for him, and she couldn’t help but look at the terrible burns on the side of his face. She could smell the wolfsbane from the door, and it made her want to howl. She took a seat next to the bed, letting Derek sit on the ground and press his head against her leg.
“I’m right here Peter, I’m not going anywhere,” She said, taking his hand.
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Chris stood in the doorway of the hospital room, anxious. He watched Evelina as she whispered soft words of comfort to her nephew. He had always had a weakness for the youngest Hale sibling, even after his arranged marriage to Victoria and the birth of his daughter. He could tell the moment that she registered his presence at the door, her entire body relaxing. She patted Derek on the head and stood up. When she was facing him, he had to hold back his own emotions at the broken expression on her face.
“What are you doing here, Christopher?” She asked, pulling the door mostly closed.
“I heard about the fire. I brought samples of wolfsbane, to see if any of them are a match to the one that was used to burn your brother,” He explained, handing her a box.
She looked down at it, looked up at his face, and took the box.
“Thank you,” She whispered, hugging the box to her chest.
“Evie…”
She let out a sob, unable to hide her emotions from him. He didn’t hesitate to pull her into a tight hug, letting her cry into his chest. He buried his face in her hair, taking a deep breath. He wanted nothing more than to stay there with her, but the burning of an entire pack was a big thing in the world of hunters, and he had made it her own personal mission to see who had killed the Hales.
Once Evelina had calmed down, she took one last deep breath and stepped away from the hunter.
“Thank you, Christopher. I will let you know when Peter is awake,” She whispered.
“Evie, I will find out who did this to you, I promise,” He said, reaching out to cup her face before he could stop himself.
She leaned into the touch, sighing.
“I will hold you to that, and I will let you know if Peter knows anything,” She said, taking a step back from him.
His hand dropped back to his side as she stepped away.
“Thank you.”
She nodded and went to step back into the room. She froze for a moment before turning around to look at him.
“Promise me something, Christopher,” She said.
“Anything, you know that,” He replied.
“Don’t get yourself killed while you look for my vengeance. I care too much about you for you to die.”
He met her eye and nodded.
“I promise.”
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It took two weeks for her to match the wolfsbane to the one that was poisoning her brother. During those two weeks, she got Derek into therapy and Laura ran off to New York when she realized that she was not the Alpha that she had been raised to be. Evelina had come to the realization that Derek blamed himself for the fire, and had told her about his teacher seducing him. She had assured him that it wasn’t his fault at all, that hunters had been the cause of the fire.
She waited until Derek was in his therapy appointment before she started the process of burning the wolfsbane from her brother. Her bonds to her brother, twin and pack, twinged with his pain as she started at his legs and worked her way up. She winced at a particularly bad burn, sighing in relief as it started healing. She knew that she would need to get him transferred home as soon as he woke up, to hide the fact that he was healing much faster than he should have been.
It wasn’t until she reached his face that she needed to pause. It had been hard for her to process the burns on her vain brother, so she would be happy to see his face again. She took a deep breath and finished burning. As soon as she was sure that it was a success, she sat down in her chair.
“Thank you, Christopher. The wolfsbane worked, he should wake up soon,” She texted before putting her phone back in her pocket.
A few moments later, it vibrated with his reply.
“I’m glad. Take care of each other.”
She sighed, turning off her screen. He always said that at the end of his messages, especially lately. He had told her that he knew Peter would protect her the same way he would, so he trusted her brother before anyone else.
“Take care of yourself, Christopher,” She whispered into the air.