Prologue
The very last thing Derek ever expected was to be returning to Beacon Hills. He thought he'd left this hell hole behind along with all the pain and heartache this cursed place had brought to him and his family.
"This is a mistake." The woman sitting next to him muttered angrily. "Not to mention, stupid."
Derek's grip on the steering wheel tightened. She'd been spouting the same line for the last two weeks and while he agreed with her to certain extent, her haranguing was really getting old. He tried to remember that all of this was just as stressful for her as it was to him, so he made an effort to keep his tone even when he answered.
"You didn't have to come with me. I could've figured this all out on my own."
"I didn't want to," she countered with a frown that Derek could see from out of the corner of his eye. "But, I get that you need me and so, I'm on my way back to that damned place whether I want to be or not."
"Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated," was Derek's sarcastic reply. "I'm well aware of your reservations and I get them, okay? I just… I can't leave them on their own. They need my help and from what Chris has said, they're not dealing well. It's hard to lose someone…"
Derek's voice broke off, and against his will, he felt the sharp sting of tears behind his eyes. He just couldn't believe it. He knew what had happened was part and parcel of being a werewolf, but it still hurt like a bitch. He slapped his hand against the dash, startling Braeden. Wisely, she didn't rebuke him. If she had, he would have done something stupid, like growl or roar or maybe something even worse. Derek was grieving and when a werewolf was grieving, their control wasn't at its finest.
"This isn't your fault, Derek," she whispered. "What happened is just one of those things that ultimately happens when the supernatural is in the playing cards, and it doesn't get much more supernatural than Beacon Hills."
She was right, Derek knew this. Hadn't he just thought very nearly the same thing himself? Still, it was different for her than it was for him; she wasn't a wolf. She'd never truly get the loss, the terrible aching loneliness, the deep, bottomless chasm left behind when a Packs' Alpha dies.
