Scott sits in the dark locker room in just a towel. He had been visited by Peter, who he found out was the Alpha, and Derek who is now on his side. Peter had shown Scott some of his memories by sticking his claws into the back of his neck. Stiles and Y/n burst into the room and stop when they see Scott. "Dude, we have a huge problem." Stiles panted.

"Trust me... I know."

...

Jackson speeds around an empty lot, presumably to vent some frustrations, until his car suddenly squeals to a stop, the check engine light beeping at him. He slams his hands on the wheel in frustration, the Porsche giving a small honk in protest. He gets out and looks around before leaning against the car with a sigh. A black SUV pulls up and Mr. Argent steps out of the vehicle. "Car trouble?" He asks.

"Uh, it's okay." Jackson tries to deny as the man puts on black gloves. "I'm just gonna call a tow truck."

"Oh, I know a few things about cars." He opens the car door to open the hood in the back of the car to get to the engine. "Could be something simple."

"I don't know. It's a pretty expensive car and they pull all this warranty crap if you do your own repairs, right?" Jackson tried to get him to leave but Chris is determined to stay.

"Well... I won't tell if you won't." He went to the back of the car. "It's Jackson, right? Come here. I'll show you what to look for." He lifts the hatch and Jackson hesitantly goes to him, looking around for anyone near by, but there's no one. Chris grabs him by the arm and directs him to lean over to look at the engine. When he's doing that Chris looks at the marks on the back of his neck, lowering the collar to see more. When Jackson feels the shifting of cloth he looks at the man a bit startled. "Oh, sorry."

"What?"

"Your neck. You hurt yourself?"

Jackson straightens up but Chris keeps his hold on him making him face the other way. "Um... No. I mean, it's just- just a scratch." He idly gestures trying to play it cool.

"Well, it looks like more than a scratch. Kinda looks like claw marks." Jackson flinches away involuntarily, his hand going up to the marks. Chris chuckles a bit and gives a smile. "You alright?" He's better at playing it cool than Jackson.

"Yeah, look, I'm just gonna call for a tow truck, okay?" He pulls out his phone.

Chris glances around. "Is there any reason you're so reluctant to tell me what it was that did that?" Jackson pauses his dialing and looks at the man. But they're both distracted by another car squealing to a stop near them, a certain blue Jeep.

"Yo." Scott waves from the passenger seat.

"What's up." Stiles tilts his head up in greeting.

"Heya." Y/n pokes her head out from between them and smiles.

"Is everything okay?" Scott asks.

"Hey, Scott." Chris greets. "Your friend here was having car trouble. We're just taking a look."

"Wow." Stiles comments.

"There's a shop right down the street. I'm sure they have a tow truck." Scott offers.

"Yeah. You want a ride?" Scott opens the door but Jackson still hesitates.

"Come on, Jackson." Y/n encourages. "You're way too pretty to be out here all alone. Never know what can happen." Scott gives him a meaningful look with Y/n's gentle warning and Jackson finally starts to walk to them. Scott gets out to let him in the back with Y/n.

Chris reaches down into the engine and pulls the small device he had planted from it and pockets it. "Hey, kids." Chris calls and goes over to the driver side of the Posche and turns the key, the engine roaring to life. "Told you I knew a few things about cars." He goes to his own car and drives away.

"What are you following me now?" Jackson asks Scott agitatedly.

"Yes, you stupid freaking idiot. You almost gave away everything right there!" Scott yells. Stiles and Y/n had gotten out and now stand to the side looking between the two.

"What are you talking about?"

"He thinks you're the second Beta."

"What?" Jackson questions confused.

"He thinks you're me!" He slams his fist into the Jeep in frustration.

"Dude, my Jeep." Stiles lightly complains.

"I can hear you're heart beating from a mile away- literally!" Y/n's brow slightly raises in silent agreement. His heart was beating so loud it was hard to ignore. "Now he thinks that there's something wrong, and now I have to keep an eye on you so he doesn't kill you too!" Scott's stress levels build and, sensing another undeserved assault on the poor Jeep, Y/n caught his fist just as he went to hit.

"Okay, let's back away from Stiles' poor car." She directs Scott back to where he was standing before.

"You know what, this is your problem, not mine, okay? I didn't say anything, which means you're the one that's gonna get me killed, okay? This is your fault." Jackson shoves Scott in to the Jeep.

"Can we stop hitting my Jeep?" Stiles exclaims just as Scott pushes Jackson back.

"All right, all right! Knock it off!" Y/n yells, stepping forward and holding a hand up to both boys. She gave them both a look and when she was sure they weren't going to lunge at each other again she stepped back.

"When they come after you I won't be able to protect you." Scott warns angrily. "I can't protect anyone." He glances at his friends.

"Why are you looking at us?" Stiles wonders.

The two boys only glance at him before Jackson speaks up again. "You know what? Now you have to do it. Get me what I want, and I will be fine protecting myself."

"No, you won't!" Scott insists. "Just trust me- all it does is make things worse."

"Oh, yeah, really? You know, you can hear anything you want and run faster than humanly possible. Sounds like a real hardship, McCall."

"Yeah, I can run really fast now... Except half the time, I'm running away from people trying to kill me! And I can hear things like... Like my girlfriend telling people that she doesn't trust me anymore right before breaking up with me. I'm not lying to you! It ruins your life."

Jackson shook his head with a smug smirk. "It ruined your life. You had all the power in the world, and you didn't know what to do with it. You know what it's actually like? It's like you turned 16 and someone bought you a Porsche when they should have started you out with a nice little Honda. Me? I drive a Porsche."

Y/n raised a brow at his analogy. "Right," she dragged out the word, "because driving skill has any correlation to supernatural capabilities. That makes perfect sense." He didn't answer her sarcasm with anything but a quick glare before he walked off to his car and sped away.

Later Stiles drops Scott off for him to possibly run into Allison on her running trail. Y/n slightly leaned out the open window after the door was closed to talk to Scott. "Hey," she caught his attention, "take it easy on her, okay? She's still trying to work stuff out. I know she still cares about you, but she needs time. For now, just be her friend." She gently advises.

He nods with a small appreciative smile. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." And then he was off leaving Stiles to drive Y/n home before going home himself.

...

"The Alpha is Peter Hale and Derek is now working with him on some misguided trust thing." Y/n says to Alan as they sit in the kitchen. Since the incident at the school she had been a bit more withdrawn from him and not telling him what's been happening. Of course he's been worried but he knows better than to press her about the situation lest she lash out or withdraw from him completely. "And I'm scared." She admitted with a frown. "The night we were in the school... We were being hunted and it felt like that night. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking and I couldn't think of anything to do but get away." She covered her eyes with her hands to block everything out.

"That's a perfectly reasonable response." He tried to make her feel better.

"But I could have done something to help us. What good is being a witch if I can't bring myself to actually do something. I was just so scared. Scared of the Alpha, scared of them finding out about me."

"You're 16, Y/n. It's okay to be scared. But I know you can be better than that. You're stronger than your fear. You just have to believe it yourself."

"How?" She looked at him. "I freeze and-"

"Y/n. When the time comes, you'll find it's easier than you think. Until then don't stress about it. You'll be okay."

"But I'm... I'm, uh... I'm starting to like... Someone." She admitted a bit shyly. Normally she's very confident in who she likes, but it's always a bit strange admitting to your parent figure that you have a crush. "And I'm worried that if he finds out what I am that he won't want me anymore."

Alan smiled knowingly. "If he really cares about you, it won't bother him that you're a witch. And if I know Stiles, you could secretly be a three headed vulture and he'd still find a way to deal with it."

Y/n's eyes widened slightly. "I didn't say it was Stiles!"

"But you didn't deny it." He smirked. "Everything will work out." He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze and left the kitchen, leaving her to her thoughts.

"Yeah... It'll work out." She repeated quietly, but part of her didn't believe it. She sighed and closed her eyes again, resting her head on her arms that were folded on the table, letting that night play through her head again.

Y/n had been peacefully sleeping in the bed she shared with her mom. Their house was very small but it was homey. The seven year old was suddenly woken up by M/n's frantic voice. "Y/n. Y/n! We need to go! Now!" Her voice was quiet but urgent.

"What's wrong?" She rubbed her eyes, her mind still a bit foggy from sleep.

"They're coming." With those two words, any tiredness Y/n felt was suddenly vanished as fear replaced it in her bones. Hunters were coming. Hunters had arrived in the town where they had lived. Normally M/n wouldn't be too worried about them, she would just lay low and stop teaching Y/n until the Hunters moved on, but these ones were different. These Hunters didn't follow a code, they just killed any supernatural creature they came across whether they were innocent or not. Man, woman, child, no one was safe from them.

M/n had a small bag in her hands and she quickly put a coat on Y/n and put her shoes on her before she took her hand and they slipped out of the bedroom window, booking it for the woods that sat behind the building. They ran through the woods, hoping against hope that they weren't being followed. A sudden flash bang to their far left told them that they were. M/n urged Y/n the other way but there was another bang to the right, forcing them to run straight. M/n quickly pulled Y/n behind a large tree to conceal them a bit and shoved the bag in her arms.

"Y/n. I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" Y/n was confused but shakily nodded as she panted. "I want you to run. I want you to run and keep running and don't stop. I want you to go to Beacon Hills and find Alan Deaton. Remember I told you about him? My old friend. He'll keep you safe."

"I-I-I don't understand." Y/n started to cry.

"I love you. I love you so much. Please, run."

Y/n took a shuddering breath and realized with horror that the bag her mother gave her was only big enough for one person. "No." She whispered.

"You have my grimoire. Learn from it and make your own when you come of age. You know what to do with it then."

"Mama, no!" She was sobbing now. "Please, don't leave me!"

Tears trailed down M/n's cheeks at her daughter's pleas, but this was the best bet at making sure she got away. "There is nowhere you can go where I won't be with you. In here," she pointed to Y/n's heart, "and here." She pressed a kiss to her forehead. A twig snapped and leaves crunched alerting them to the Hunters. "Go." She urged and Y/n shook her head. "Run! Just run!" She gently pushed Y/n in the direction away from the danger and she reluctantly started to run away. M/n took one more look at her daughter before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and steeling her resolve. When her eyes opened they blaze violet, a protective light making them brighter. No one will touch her daughter.

Y/n did as she was told. She ran and ran. When she heard shouts and the sound of the trees reaching for the Hunters, she kept running. When she heard the faint sound of her mother scream and glanced back to see the glare of fire in the distance, she kept running. She didn't stop until her legs were too tired to hold her up anymore and she tumbled to the ground. Her breathing was labored as she looked around for a hiding spot, finding a large tree with roots that rose a bit above ground making a small space for her to crawl in to. She stayed there until the sun was high in the sky and she was sure that no one was coming for her. She stayed there a bit longer still crying her eyes out at the loss of her mommy.

She was so emotional that she had no control of her abilities, her eyes glowing against her will and the tree was trembling from her sorrow. After a while she climbed out of her hiding space and looked around. She had no idea where Beacon Hills was or how to get there. The only people she could trust to ask was the lingering spirits that wandered the world. She looked around for a nice looking person and asked them, but they didn't know so she had to ask someone else. She kept asking and following their directions, avoiding anyone living, until she finally reached the town her mother spoke of, the place M/n lived in until a bit before Y/n was born. She followed a few more people until she found the house that Mr. Deaton lived in.

She knocked on his door and looked around fearfully until the door opened and she looked up at the man M/n told her to find. Confused he took her in and it took a few hours, and some gentle persuasion from him, before she could tell him what happened. He was heartbroken to say the least, his good friend dead and her daughter having to endure this tragedy, traveling who knows how far before she finally found him. He took Y/n in without question and did everything he could to help her. He helped in her training as best as he could, helping her go through the grimiore and figure things out, and teaching her what he knew as well, both medicinal and defence wise. When he felt she was okay enough to be around other people as well, he enrolled her in school and that's where she met and became friends with Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski.

She's snapped out of her reverie by her phone going off. She pulled it out of her pocket to see Stiles was calling. "Hello?" She answered.

"I'm picking you up. Peter has Scott's mom on a 'date'." He rushed out.

"Wait, what?"

"Just come out. I'm pulling up now." He hung up and she took just a moment to look at her phone in confusion before she headed outside, and, true to his word, Stiles had just pulled up, speeding off once she was in the car. He filled her in on what happened and they drove the streets looking for Melissa and Peter.

"There!" She spotted the silver car just up the road.

"What do I do?" He panicked until he thought of something. "Brace yourself." He warned and when she held on he rear ended the vehicle.

"Oh, are you kidding me? Stiles!" Mrs. McCall exclaimed as she stepped out of the car.

The said boy tumbled out of the Jeep, Y/n climbing out right behind him. "Mrs. McCall?" He questioned.

"Yes!"

"Wow, this is- this is just crazy. What a coincidence, huh?" He chuckled a bit.

"Ha ha." Melissa laughed unamused.

"I mean... I do not know what happened. You guys just came out of nowhere."

"Came out of nowhere! We were parked on the side of the road, Stiles."

"How crazy is that?" He tried laughing again until Y/n stepped in.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. McCall." She winced apologetically. "This was really my fault."

"How could it have been your fault, Y/n?" Melissa asked skeptically.

"Well, we were just talking and I... Sorta distracted him. He's just so cute, lately it's been hard to keep my hands to myself." Y/n took his hand in both of hers and smiled affectionately at him before looking at Melissa again while Stiles gaped at her, his cheeks sporting a pink tint. "I'm very sorry about all this."

Melissa looked between the teens before sighing in resignation. "It's fine. Just... Just pay attention to the road better next time."

"Will do." Y/n smiled and she cautiously eyed Peter, now without the burn scars, as he stepped closer to the trio.

"I mean, we should probably call the cops, you know, do like an accident report thing." Stiles finally recovered from Y/n's 'act'.

"I don't think that's necessary." Peter spoke up.

"Are you sure? I think I'm feeling a little whiplash." He winced and rubbed his neck with his free hand.

"Whiplash?!" Melissa exclaimed. "You hit us!"

"I don't know- there's something definitely wrong with my neck." Y/n mentally rolled her eyes but kept her outward façade. Her eyes following Peter as he went down the road a few steps and she focused on his voice as he spoke to Scott who was hiding behind a car down the road.

"I know you're there, Scott, and I'm impressed. It's too bad most teenagers aren't that smart. It's like that one on the lacrosse team... Jackson. Thinks he knows all about us. You know how they say knowledge is power. Not in his case." She barely catches Scott running away to save the blonde jock and she just hopes Scott makes it out okay.

...

After saving Jackson from Derek and getting shot by Hunters Derek saves Scott by distracting them as the teens ran away. Scott tumbles to the ground in the woods, hand gripping his abdomen as black blood drips down his chin. He falls onto his back as he wheezes, the wolfsbane poisoning him. He looks up at the night sky and utters one name before becoming unconcious. "Allison." He wakes up again to the trees moving past him. Someone was carrying him away. "Stop." He weakly tries to protest but it comes out little more than a whisper.

"It's all right, Scott." A familiar voice assures. "You're gonna be all right." Pretty soon Alan drops the bullet into a pan and gently dabs at Scott's wound. The boy lays shirtless on the metal table in the back of the animal clinic. Scott suddenly gasps and his eyes fly open, coughing a second later and Alan gently eases him back down. "I wouldn't get up just yet."

Scott looks around in a daze. "Where am I..."

"You're fine. And I've given you something that should speed up the healing process."

Scott looks down at Alan tending to his wound. "But you're a vet."

"That's very true. And 90% of the time, I'm mostly treating cats and dogs."

"Mostly?"

"Mostly." Alan smiles and Scott lets his head fall down again and drifts into the unconsious once again.

~~~
Published: 1/6/21
Edited: 4/12/22