a promise to the dead

Late into the night, Scott McCall walked through the back door of his home, his helmet under his arm and a smile across his face. He felt victorious. For the past week, the wolf had felt as though he was on top of the world, with the dead pool behind them he couldn't help but feel as though the world was his oyster. All of the contracts had been terminated and the supernaturals of this town were able to live freely, no longer having to worry about their lives, questioning whether it would be one of the people around them who tried to kill them next. Ever since it had been over he had felt the need to celebrate the defeated obstacle, and tonight, inspiration had struck him, he finally knew what to do to celebrate the end of the dead pool. He and Nellie had talked about going on a date for a while, but with the hectic schedule of their lives during the dead pool, they could never find the time. Now that it was over, there was no excuse. He prepared to rush up the stairs to propose the idea to the girl, he had the perfect date planned in his head, all he needed was to make sure that she cleared her schedule for the night. Scott couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he closed the door behind him, he felt on a high, the best he had ever felt.

But all that came crashing down when he turned to see his mom and Noelle waiting up for him in the dining room. His mother had her back turned to him, while he couldn't see the look on his mother's face, the expression Noelle wore allowed him to come to a conclusion. Something was wrong here. Scott apologized for being late, explaining that he had been locking up the clinic, he had some good news for the two of them, Deaton had allowed him to work some extra hours for some more money. 

At the mention of money, Melissa stepped back, revealing the red sports bag on the table. It was already unzipped, allowing the thousands of dollars that he had been hiding to spill out. Now he didn't feel so great. How much more did you need? Melissa questioned the wolf, but his eyes had avoided his mother's stare, instead looking to the blonde at the table who mouthed an apology, she hadn't been able to escape it, she had tried to, but Melissa saw right through her excuses for why Scott might be hiding half a million dollars under his bed. 

His heart dropped into his stomach, just like Noelle's had when the woman called her down to see the sports bag of money. "This is payment from the dead pool. I found it in Garrett's locker." The wolf stammered an explanation, while Melissa was relieved her son wasn't a drug dealer, it didn't settle any better with her that the money belonged to Derek. She came up with a handful of excuses, such as her son was simply keeping ahold of it for him, making sure it was safe under his bed, perhaps the stupidest place to put a bag full of money. It soon became clear to the wolf that his mother was being sarcastic, but he didn't quite know what to say as he smiled at her, an uneasiness to his guilty smile. How long have you had it? Melissa asked. Too long, he answered. 

"You know you've gotta give it back."

"I was going to." Scott agreed, he wasn't lying, he had every intention of returning it, it had just been harder than he expected to give away such a large amount of money. His eyes digressed to the quiet blonde in the room, the girl who refused to speak, it didn't even feel as though it was a conversation she should witness, but Melissa had insisted that she stuck around, insisting that she was as much family as anyone else. This was her house too. 

"Do I even want to know why you haven't?" The woman asked. 

It took a while for the wolf to answer, treading carefully toward the topic. Money had never been something that the two of them discussed, he was just a kid, and his mother was too proud, and independent to admit that she needed help. But it was clear now the topic couldn't be avoided. "Because of you." The Alpha admitted lowly. 

The woman sighed, turning to the kitchen counter where envelope upon envelope rested, bills and final noticed everywhere to be seen. They weren't hidden, but she still had hoped that the stacks had gone unnoticed by the two teenagers, they had for a while, when the two had been under so much stress that they didn't have the time to notice those little details. But now that the stress was gone, it became clearer than ever. Melissa felt a tinge of guilt as she turned back to her son. "You mean because we've been struggling a little?" 

"Mom... we're struggling a lot." Scott deadpanned. Melissa knew that was the truth, she couldn't deny it, not when the evidence was everywhere. She turned to the blonde who sat behind her, a weak smile on Noelle's face, unsure what to say, so she bowed her head. 

"Guys." The woman sighed again, sitting down at the table, placing a hand on the blonde girl's as she squeezed it, hoping to reassure her, and to make sure her words were clear. "You can save people's lives. But you cannot save them from life. "Life is full of struggles."

But it doesn't have to be, Scott disagreed, picking up one of the stacks from the bag. Explaining that it could fix the roof. Another could pay for Stiles' MRI. Another for Eichen House. Another so she didn't have to work a double shift at the hospital and come home exhausted. Melissa smiled, the thought was lovely, her son's intentions were pure, as they always were, but it couldn't work like that. She handed him another pile of the cash, asking him what that one could do. The wolf took it from his mother's hand, the blood-stained money in his hand, reminding him how he had gotten it, the reason that this money was here, and how wrong it was. He nodded, he knew what he had to do. 

The following morning, the wolf stood before the Hale he had taken the money from for longer than he cared to admit, between them, the money itself. All of the money Garrett and Violet had collected from their careless killing sprees. He couldn't help but wonder if the wolf would have noticed if it had stayed gone, whether he would have cared, perhaps some part of him even felt a hint of regret for returning it. But he knew it was what had to be done. No matter how much he liked the idea of saving his and Stiles' family from crippling debt. 

Derek looked at the lump sum, shrugging at it, as though it was nothing to him, the Alpha's face contorted, confused as to why the Hale wasn't asking more questions. Why he didn't ask where it had been all this time, why it had taken so long for him to bring it back to him. But Derek knew why. Even when he didn't know, he knew. He asked the young boy a simple question, how much did he make at the clinic? Minimum wage, Scott confirmed his suspicions. And that was why. 

That was the power of money, everyone was tempted by it. Even true Alphas had temptations in life. Scott was in awe of the werewolf, surprised by his reaction, he had spent hours building up the courage to come here this morning because of the way he expected Derek to flip, even when Nellie had reassured him it would be fine, to take the word of an honourary Hale, he still thought that Derek would be ready to kill him. Scott stammered as he asked the wolf if he was mad, how he was so calm when he could have had his money back months ago. 

He shrugged, it wasn't his money anyway. Every dollar in that bag belonged to Peter. Instantly, it relieved the werewolf, his guilt fading slightly knowing it was Peter that he'd deprived, not Derek who he had expected. It was hard to feel so guilty when it came to the other Hale. Besides, it was Peter's fault there was a dead pool in the first place, maybe he even deserved to have his money stolen from him, and kept under a teenager's bed for a month. 

Without thinking, Scott asked where the older wolf kept his money if not in the vault, beside the fact Peter's had been stolen from there, it seemed like a safe place to put it. Only after it spilled from his mouth did the teenager realize how intrusive his question had been, but it was too late, and Derek was already willing to tell him. 

"You're standing on it." He stated plainly, although Scott still managed to understand him, rather than making the obvious guess of the building they were in, he assumed there was another vault right beneath the loft. Derek was amused by the wolf's stupidity, shaking his head with a smile. "I own the building. And I have my own bank accounts. All the money from the vault was Peter's. I think we'd actually be better off if the rest never came back." The Hale admitted, zipping up the sports bag, he had some ideas of where the money could be kept. 

Once the main topic was over, Scott couldn't help but digress to another, it was like the elephant in the room, they had all heard about it now, one way or another. He admitted to knowing Lydia had shown up here last night, she was with Deaton right now, trying to find out what Kate did to him, if anyone could figure that out it had to be him, he had all the answers, hopefully, even in a situation like this. They both knew what it meant. 

·❥·

Noelle Priestley sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she idly flicked through one of her magazines, supposedly, her only plans for the night. She had no plans, at least none she had made herself. She was prepared to stay here all night, in the comfort and warmth of a soft, plump bed. Only when her familiar werewolf housemate appeared at the door did she begin to suspect that her night wouldn't be spent alone in bed. Scott was dressed, his coat on, holding a set of car keys in his hand, waving them at her. 

She raised a brow, putting her magazine aside, giving him her undivided attention. Get dressed, he told her, telling her they were having a movie night at Stiles' with him and Malia. The blonde had no reason to suspect that he was lying, it was something they had discussed before, it was a completely viable lie. Just like the wolf had hoped for. Of course, it wasn't one he had created on his own, Lydia had helped him in that department. 

After throwing on her shoes and jacket, the two of them climbed into Melissa's car, but Scott had turned to her, insisting that there was something she had to do before they left. Confused, Nellie agreed, watching as he pulled out a makeshift blindfold for her, or more simply, a sock stretched to fit around a human head. The blonde couldn't help but laugh as she looked at it, unsure what question to ask first. But she settled for the most obvious- we aren't going to Stiles' are we? She asked, the wolf shrugged, no, he admitted, but he couldn't tell her where. 

He waved the sock slightly, her queue to put it on as she turned her back to him, allowing him to put the blindfold on while she smiled from ear to ear. She didn't know what made her so smiley. Perhaps it was the thought of knowing Scott had planned something. Or that their lives were so calm that he could plan something. Or perhaps she was just content with finally knowing that it was all over, and that she had a chance to catch up on the normal teenage years she had missed.

Keep your eyes closed, Scott urged the girl again, for the dozenth time since they had left home. Even with his hands over her eyes, poorly guiding her, he was sure that she could see, no matter how many times the two of them tripped over because she couldn't see, who was still anxious a peek could be taken, ruining the surprise he had planned. Noelle reassured him once again that she couldn't see, in fact, the blindfold had seemed to take away all of her senses, she struggled to figure out where they were. She couldn't help but want to guess, she was a curious sole, and surprises were not her favourite thing, at least up until now they weren't but she had a feeling it would be the first she liked. 

For a long time, she was left clueless, until she heard the sound of a familiar door opening, only then did she know where the two of them were. Her suspicions were confirmed when Scott had finally removed the blindfold from her eyes, giving her permission to open them, revealing the location of Derek's pitch-black loft. 

"Scott, I still can't see." Noelle laughed softly. "Can we at least turn a light on?" She asked him, a shadow beside her, though she could see the glowing of white teeth through the darkness that made it clear he was still right next to her. 

"Actually... I need you to do that." He proposed, picking up her hand. The blonde allowed him to  guide it until she felt a cold sphere of glass in her hand, the moment her palm touched it sparked a small light, revealing the bulb, and then another. One by one, the whole room illuminated, the strings of hanging bulbs he had hung up creating a warm, golden glow in the loft. Noelle was left in awe as she looked at the sea of lights in front of her, perhaps the most romantic thing she had ever seen. "Did I do okay?" Scott asked nervously, unsure how to take her silence, but Nellie had remained that way, she was speechless as she stared into the lights. "Nell?" He mumbled, slowly beginning to panic, worried that he had done something wrong.

"It's beautiful." She reassured him as she turned to him with a smile, planting a kiss on the boy's lips as her thank you for planning their first real date. One that she much preferred the idea of to the usual, everyday dates, ones that didn't quite suit the up-and-down relationship the two had formed. "So, what's next on this date?" She asked with a smile.

He pulled a movie out of his pocket. Star Wars. Stiles had recommended it, insisting that he had to finally watch it, and that he would kill him if he doesn't. The blonde shrugged, she thought it seemed fair, he had been dodging it for their entire friendship. Scott thought so too. Suddenly, Noelle's face dropped, scaring the wolf as she looked around the room.

"Scott?" She mumbled, he hummed. "I hate to break it to you. But Derek doesn't have a TV." The blonde said as she looked around the loft, she had forgotten that interesting, slightly scary fact about Derek. That he didn't own a TV. In his words, it made this place too inviting. And he didn't want that. It was bad enough that she showed up all the time, he didn't need to give her more of a reason to stick around. 

Fuck, Scott muttered as he looked around, that was part of his otherwise well-thought-out plan he hadn't thought out. Perhaps one of the most important parts. Without another word, Noelle walked away from the wolf, disappearing upstairs, leaving him standing confused in the midst of all of the lights he had set up, amazed by his own incapacity to notice that the Hale didn't own a TV. It was only the millionth time he had been here. No wonder it was always so quiet. Luckily, it was something Noelle found an alternative for as she returned with a laptop in hand and a smile of pride, proud of her quick thinking, and her ability to snoop out all of Derek's hiding places. 

The two settled down on the couch, placing the movie in. "So this is the fourth one?" The Alpha asked, already confused before the title sequence had begun. 

"No, it's the first one. Even though it says for." Noelle explained. She had once had the joy of the Star Wars explanation provided to her by Stiles, it had taken a few times of the boy going over it, but now, she was finally passing on the knowledge. 

"Then what's the first one?"

"The fourth one," Noelle told him, looking at the puzzled expression on his face. He wasn't going to understand it. That was clear. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't watched it all of this time, and especially with Stiles, who would be deeply offended by that expression. Noelle shut the lid of the computer. "You know what? Forget the movie." She proposed, watching the wolf's puzzled expression disappear as his lips pulled into a smile, that was an idea he preferred. 

Her hand reached for his cheek, brushing across his skin, their kisses growing deeper, more and more longing as the two became more used to it. With everything that had been going on, they found their time to be with one another was more sparse than ever, the two of them had learned to savor every moment like this now, unsure when the next would be. She felt her body warm up beneath his touch, her instincts reacting to him as her skin tingled, her eyes itching to glow, but Nellie held it back as she swallowed thickly, holding it back. Scott pulled back the girl's jacket off of her shoulder, his hands traced her skin reaching her back, allowing him to pull her in closer, it never seemed to be close enough. Noelle pulled away momentarily, smiling at one another, still as irrevocably consumed in each other as they had always been. His hands traveled to her legs, pulling the blonde onto his lap.

Scott felt as the girl slowly began to trail off, her mind in a different place, physically, she was in front of him, but he could see it in her face that her head was elsewhere. He pulled away slowly as he looked at her deeply, a hand on her cheek as he encouraged her to talk to him, to explain what she was thinking about. At first, she denied it all, shaking her head with a smile, as though it didn't matter, but he didn't let it go so easily, giving her a pressing look as he raised a brow, a small mumble of her name as he urged her to express her feelings. 

I'm sorry, she mumbled, confusing the wolf who was unsure what she had to apologize for, the blonde hadn't done a thing as far as he was aware. For saying I was going to leave, she said in a shameful tone, elaborating on what she meant, she admitted that she hadn't been easy to deal with lately, with everything that happened with her family, her emotions had been up in the air while she tried to both mourn a loss and handle all the things she had gained all at once. Scott interrupted the girl as she began to trail off about how bad of a person she had been over these past few months, shushing her gently as he brushed a blonde lock behind her ear. You're perfect, Nell. He told her. You always have been, Scott gushed, admiring the girl as he talked, telling her that he wasn't going anywhere, in fact he could promise that nothing would change between the two of them. 

Usually, Noelle would have doubted such a large promise, but this time she felt hopeful, the kind of optimist that he was known to be as she nodded and smiled, leaning back into their kiss.

·❥·

Stiles Stilinski walked into the locker room before practice, Liam followed closely behind him as he continued to hound the boy since the moment he had pulled up outside the school. The beta couldn't help but be worried about Scott, scared he would miss the game, and he couldn't lose another game against his old school, he would be utterly humiliated. They needed Scott. If they didn't have him, they were toast. Stiles reassured the beta that Scott was fine, Noelle had texted him just this morning to say they would be running a little late, leaving him to assume that they had gotten caught up in their first date, that time had probably slipped away from them, but the two of them deserved that. There was nothing for anyone to worry about. He was sure of it.

Even so, Liam wasn't reassured by it, his questions continued, all of this was unfamiliar to him, it was usually him wanting to get rid of Scott, not wanting to know where he was, he usually could rest assured that the wolf was lurking around the closest corner watching him, but when he had come to need the Alpha most, he was nowhere to be seen. How late would he be? Was he always late on game days? Tonight's the game against Devenford Prep, he told the boy for the dozenth time, Scott shouldn't be late.

As Coach passed the two boys, he caught word of Liam's hounding, his voice had gotten so loud in the midst of the panic that it had drawn everyone's attention to the two of them, suddenly he had a guilt-ridden expression, realizing that in front of the entire team probably wasn't the best place to discuss Scott's lack of presence. Game days were already a bad day to catch Coach on, the pressure made his usual anger a lot worse, and now, hearing that his captain wasn't here for practice, well, he was enraged.

Who shouldn't be late? Coach asked the two boys, while Stiles was prepared to lie, Liam already confessed the truth, he hadn't quite learned to lie to the man just yet, or how to come up with a good one. Scott might be late, slightly late, Stiles added. But that failed to satisfy Coach, if Scott wasn't here he wanted to know what reason he had to be late.

 "They're doing something that's going to make them slightly late," Liam mumbled, while Stiles rolled his eyes from beside him.

The man repeated his question, failing to understand what could possibly take priority over the Alpha being the captain of his team on game day. He stared at the two boys as he waited to hear the plausible excuse. He was with Noelle, Stiles began, the man still unimpressed, confused, the boy continued, they were just a couple of teenagers. With instincts. Teenage instincts, he said, a raised brow as he waited for the pin to drop. As it did, Coach threw his arms up with a disgusted groan, yelling for everyone to get ready to win the game, walking away without another word on Scott's tardiness or the reason for it.

In preparation for the game the bleachers began to fill, and even then, there was no sign of Scott or Noelle, and not a word from them all day, Stiles tried not to worry about it, trying to focus on the game ahead. Malia had arranged to sit with Peyton and Noah, certain that Noelle would stay on the sidelines as though she were a second coach to the game, screaming along with him the moment the referee chose not to play fair. 

Peyton walked up to Liam and Stiles as they sat on the bench, she could already sense the worry coming from both of them, no matter how much the two tried to deny it. "Have you heard from them yet?" She asked as she sat beside them, both of them shook their heads, nothing, and she hadn't either, she'd called Noelle multiple times on multiple numbers, Scott too. But nothing. It was as she looked at Liam longer she could tell that this wasn't just about losing against his old school and being humiliated, it was more than that.

"You have no reason to be worried." She reassured him, confusing Liam as he turned ahead, he quickly shrugged, I'm not worried he told her. "The full moon isn't for another 24 hours. You're going to be fine. You're doing really well." Peyton told him, Stiles nodded in agreement, but he did remind the beta not to rage out anyone, just in case.

"Are you worried?" Liam questioned her.

"About my sister or the full moon?"

Liam shrugged, either. Peyton hummed, a little. For both. She may not have had a sister for too long, but even so, it worried her when she wasn't around, she had already become accustomed to Noelle being in her life, just a phone call or text message away, and usually, she answered in an instant, of course she felt the need to worry about her a little. As for the full moon, she knew she was capable of controlling herself, but even still there was always a glimmer of doubt in the back of her mind, scared of the things she had been told about losing control, the stories Nellie had shared in confidence, using them to get to know each other better, she hadn't meant to try and scare her sister into keeping control of her abilities.

She shook the thought off, focusing on the game instead, telling him that even if Scott happened to not show up, the team would be fine, that they were as strong on their own as they were with him. A lie, that they all knew. But even so Stiles seemed to believe it to an extent, as though he'd be able to make up for the absence of his best friend.  "I've been practicing. And let me tell you something. I'm getting good." A sentence that failed to restore faith in the two teenagers. "Really good."

"Oh, this is not good," Peyton mumbled to Malia and Noah as they each watched him out on the field. It was the worst performance she had ever seen, she had heard how bad he was supposed to be, but nothing could prepare her for the reality of it. He had tripped over his feet more times than she could count, sometimes over thin air, he couldn't catch a ball, he was the worst player in the history of lacrosse.

By the time the game had hit halftime, there was still no sign of either Scott or Noelle. Everyone had tried calling them, every time Kira had the chance to she was on the sidelines trying to call them, Noah had tried, Malia had, nobody could get ahold of the pair, their phones going straight to voicemail, it was beginning to become clear that the two of them weren't just wrapped up in one another, but in trouble.

Stiles pulled himself off of the field, no longer able to play, he needed to find out where his two friends were, besides, with the way he played, it wouldn't be a loss to the team. Liam tried to get him to stay, insisting that he had to play no matter how bad he was, and what would he tell their aggravated Coach who'd already stomped on his clipboard tonight? Nothing, Stiles proposed, he needed to act like he wasn't even gone, to take someone off the bench, as long as they failed to score a goal, it would be like he never left. Liam hated the plan, but the idea of Scott and Noelle being in danger was worse, it was non-negotiable. 

Stiles scurried off to recruit his father in finding the missing teens, leaving Malia to babysit Liam and Peyton and see through the remainder of the game, only when it had been deemed that the two were in danger would they need to get involved. 

"Can nobody on this team play lacrosse?" Coach shouted, flailing his arms as he watched a field full of useless players fail to score for their team. He looked around. "Where's McCall?" He asked the two girls sitting on the bench. "Better yet, where's a Priestely when you need one?"

Malia grabbed the blonde girl's arm, raising it in the air. "She's a Priestley." She volunteered the girl whose face dropped. "Well, sort of."

"You. Blondie. Jersey. Field. Now!"

"But I've never even played-" Peyton tried to protest.

"Are you or are you not Noelle and Cole's sister?" The man asked with a pointing finger, Peyton mumbled a small agreement, unsure she wanted the title right now. "Then it's in your blood so hurry up and get on that field and save my damn game!" He demanded as the girl nodded, her protests rendered useless as she rushed off to find a spare jersey.

The whistle blew to commence the second half of the game as a nervous Peyton walked onto the field, buried by the maroon jersey that one sweaty boy from the team had given her, it was all that there was to offer, and she didn't dare say no and make Coach wait even longer. Malia's voice screamed through her ear as she cheered the girl on, trying to be supportive, it seemed to be the least she could do after volunteering the girl to get beaten to a pulp out there amongst a field of much larger players.

Peyton scanned each of them, all looking at her like she was a piece of fragile meat, building an unswallowable lump in her throat as she muttered a small prayer for herself. She couldn't be any worse than Stiles, but she could still end up with a broken bone or two. Her eyes moved back to Malia who held up two thumbs and an unwavering smile, hoping that Peyton couldn't read her as well as Noelle could, because even now she was worrying for the girl. She looked to the other side of her where Kira was knelt down, her smile much more genuine than that of the coyote's, Kira's almost provided her with some confidence. 

As the whistle blew Devenford Prep gained possession of the ball, running down the field toward Liam. At first, the beta was prepared to tackle Brett, the boy he claimed as his number one enemy from his old school, but then it happened. Just like he had for endless nights now, he saw a Berserker on the field, pushing down players as though the creatures were a part of the game.

Soon, the Berseker had caught up to Brett, skewering him with its boney hands. Liam stood still in the middle of the field, frozen with wide eyes as Kinsey stopped in front of him, shaking him, a string of players from Devenford ran straight past them, taking the chance to score. The cheering of the fans snapped the boy out of it as he finally noticed Peyton and Kira in front of him, the two of them sporting wide eyes as they asked whether he was okay, the answer much different from the truth.

"Liam, if you want to win this you need to snap out of it. Control yourself and win this thing. For your team. For Scott. For yourself." Peyton lectured the boy, holding onto his shoulders, shaking it out of him as he nodded, taking deep breaths, trying to pull himself together. "We've got this." She told him, giving herself the much-needed confidence boost as much as she was him.

The beta took a deep breath, riled up by her pep talk as he nodded, prepared to fight for the win. As the two got back into their positions, Peyton looked over the field again, Malia was still sitting on the sidelines, but this time, she wasn't alone. Peter Hale sat beside her with his usual smirk, one she thought she wouldn't see again after he had gotten away with the Deadpool, but alas he was here, seemingly terrorizing his daughter, probably up to no good.

"So... Who's winning?" Peter asked as he leaned closer to the disgusted coyote who kept an eye on the girl on the field. The man glanced in the same direction, even he surprised at the sight in front of him. "Little goldilocks on the field? That's a recipe for disaster." He mumbled, but Malia tried to refrain from commenting.

The game resumed, Liam gained possession of the ball as he made his way down the field, she'd made sure to keep up with him, to be as close as possible if disaster stuck again, he avoided the majority of Devenford's defenders, it had seemed hopeful until Brett appeared out of nowhere, a simple shove that knocked him onto the floor. He stood over the wolf, telling him that he'd smelt his fear from across the field. Are you hurt? Brett asked. No, Liam replied. Are you still alive? Liam furrowed a brow at him. Obviously. Then get up, Brett snapped at him, his second pep talk, a lot less inspiring than the one from Kinsey. Maybe he needed that.

"I told you not to come here." Malia lectured her father, refusing to even look at him.

"If you want to have a clandestine meeting you need to choose a clandestine location."

"After what happened with you and Meredith, I'm pretty sure I can do without any kind of one-on-one father-daughter time." Malia scoffed at him. 

Peter asked how she felt about mother-daughter time instead, she couldn't deny that it peaked her interest. He had found The Desert Wolf.  Malia had to ask if she was definitely her mother, Peter confirmed it with a simple yes. He knew that she was the one who'd birthed the girl, there was no doubt in his mind. But if she wanted to find her mother, he needed something in return. Something that he claimed had come naturally to her for a very long time.

"Do you always have to get something in return?" Malia asked lowly.

"When it's something I can't do on my own. Yes." The coyote was hesitant as she turned to him, considering the favour she might have to do to get what she wanted. Knowing she would regret even entertaining it, but there was nobody here to talk her out of it like Noelle usually would, it was just them, and he was the master manipulator. What do you want? Malia asked. Peter didn't mince his words, his request was simple, clear. "I want you to kill Kate Argent."

·❥·

"Scott?" Noelle mumbled weakly, looking around her, the dark abyss that surrounded her and an uncomfortable pain in her side. She tried to pull herself up, but she felt lifeless, as though all life had been taken straight from her, almost paralysing her. The blonde girl moved her head to the left, and then to the right, the wolf nowhere to be seen. She didn't know where she was, but it wasn't the loft she remembered being in last. She wasn't sure what had happened. It was all a blur. One minute it was just her and Scott, and then, the glass window smashing, after that, she woke up and was lying here, wherever there was. With a struggle, the blonde tried to gather her strength, adjusting on the uncomfortable rock-like texture beneath "Scott!" she yelled weakly, her voice echoing around her, taunting her as she weakly lay her head back down. 

For a few more minutes, she had remained still on the rock, feeling the blood gushing out of the wound on her side, still unsure how she had gotten it, her brain still felt fuzzy, her vision still kind of a blur, she assumed the blood loss was to blame for those effects. She knew she had to move, that she had to find a way out of this place, it was the actually doing it part that she was having difficulty with. Eventually, the girl mustered up enough strength to roll of the rock pedestal she'd been placed on, crashing onto the uneven, dusty ground with a pained cry, a hand on her bloody side as she began to crawl toward the small glimmer of light far at the opposite end of the room, at least that was all she knew to call this place. It seemed abandoned wherever it was, not just a few years abandoned, but perhaps centuries, this place was nothing like she had seen in Beacon Hills before. She wasn't sure she was even in Beacon Hills anymore.

As she crawled weakly she continued trying to call the Alpha's name, hoping she would hear the faint reply of his voice somewhere around her, providing her with some hope that she wouldn't die in this hellhole of a place that she didn't recognize. But there was nothing but the sound of a soft whimper, her own. 

Losing her energy, the girl stopped, laying still on the ground until she had another burst, a little more strength to carry her a bit further. She placed her hand back on her wound, raising it above her head to see the pool of scarlet red that covered it, almost acting as a clock. There was only a matter of time before she lost too much, she didn't know how long she had been laying down in this place, bleeding out like a ritualistic sacrifice. 

As she lay staring at the dark rural ceiling, she closed her eyes, allowing the darkness around her to consume her like a thick blanket, unable to fight it off in her state. Her breaths became heavy, sparse, every one like a tick on the clock.

"Nell." She heard a voice, her eyes quickly opening as she tried to look through the darkness. "I need you to stay awake, baby." The voice continued to call, a quiet whisper that still echoed like her own voice had. She couldn't make out where it came from, or who it came from. "Stay awake for me. Keep your eyes open."

"Who are you?" The blonde weakly mumbled, unable to keep her head up any longer.

"Stay awake, baby." It continued to ignore her question. "Everything's gonna be fine, Pumpkin. Just keep your eyes open." The voice became closer until it felt as though it was right beside her. As the blonde turned her head to the left, she found her father laying beside her, staring up at the ceiling, leaving her to stare at him in awe for a few seconds before he turned to smile at her, as though it were normal he was here. "Stay with me, Nellie baby. You're gonna be okay."