Summary: The winds of change are coming to Beacon Hills and the newly united Hale Pack Alphas must adapt to survive or suffer the consequences as they face deadly challenges from both sides of their world.

Prologue

Six years earlier …

Peter struggled to carry his 9 year old niece, Cora, through the underground tunnels of the Hale Family home. He was unsure of Talia's fate but hopeful that she had managed to lead everyone else out on the main floor. He had grabbed his youngest niece and ran to the basement stairs that lead to their underground tunnels.

When he arrived at the tunnel opening, he was surprised to find that the old wooden door had been replaced with steel bars. He placed Cora on her feet and attempted to pry the bars apart with his hands. Cora tearfully sobbed as she held onto his waist, squeezing him tightly between her little hands as tears slid down her dirty cheeks and she coughed from the smoke.

"I don't feel her, I can't feel Mama anymore."

Peter stopped struggling with the steel bars to kneel before his niece. "Are you sure? May-maybe, she got out and you can't feel her because she's gone far away from the fire."

"No… no, sh-she's gone," Cora shook her head. "I want my Mama," she cried clutching onto to Peter as she dissolved into a mess of tears and heaving coughs.

Peter lifted her up on his hip and hugged her to him tightly, realizing that for the first time in his life he couldn't feel the ever present link to his older sister. And one by one he felt each of the family members slip away until the only links that remained were those of his nieces and nephew, Talia's children.

"Peter," a hauntingly familiar voice whispered to him. He hadn't heard that voice in two maybe three years. But, it was instantly recognizable to him but as he glanced around he saw nothing just the steel bars and grass.

"Who's there?"

"You know who I am Peter," the voice answered. "I came back, Peter I'm here for you."

"Ju-julia?" Peter stuttered as he examined the area in front of him searching for her, the woman he'd loved who'd left him and had been savagely murdered. "They told me that you died. That you were gone."

"I told you, Peter, I would never leave you. I'm here now, my love. I'm here for you. Only for you and I can help you."

"How? I can't see you."

"I'm bound to this earth. But, if you pledge yourself to me I can break the boundary."

"I can't see you. I don't know where you are." Peter's half-crazed eyes narrowed as he searched for any sign that he wasn't losing his mind. But, still he could see no one in front of him. Seconds later he felt a change in the air around him, he could feel the presence of another and he knew that he wasn't alone anymore.

"You're the Alpha now, Peter. Do you feel it? The power of the Alpha runs in your veins." As she spoke, Peter felt the change within himself, he felt stronger, more powerful than he'd ever been in his life. His eyes flickered from blue and settled on a fierce red of an Alpha. "Cut your palm, let your blood saturate the ground then pledge yourself to me."

Peter flexed his hand allowing the claws to grow before closing his hand into a fist. He hissed as he felt his claws sink into the palm of his hand. He held his hand out from between the bars watching as the blood dripped onto the ground before him. "With this blood, I pledge my will onto thee, Julia Bachari." Within in seconds, a soft glow appeared before him as a figure in a black hooded cape took shape before his eyes.

"Thank you, Peter," the husky dissembled voice wavered as the hooded figure walked toward him reaching between the bars to caress his cheek. "Your sacrifice will not be in vain and I promise you this, you shall have your vengeance when the time is right, my love."

"What do you when the time is right?" He growled at her. "Talia is gone. My family is dead! They deserve to pay for killing them! They burned us alive, like animals!" He yelled chest heaving in anger as he struggled to remain calm and not upset the Cora. "You said you would help." He snapped.

"And I will, I promise you. But, I am not strong enough yet." The hooded figure turned away briefly before glancing back at Peter. "My time here grows short. The Alpha Pack is coming, give me the young one."

"No! No, I don't wanna go. Uncle Peter, I wanna stay with you." Cora cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

"Give her to me, Peter and I will see that no harm comes to her." The hooded figure shifted closer to the bars with her arms out.

Peter could smell the fire; feel the intensity of the heat on the back of his neck. He couldn't bear the thought of his youngest niece being separated from him; he knew that he could not trust Deucalion and his pack of Alphas. They had long wanted a Hale amongst their pack and to have a young one, a child that Deucalion could groom into his image is just what he'd always wanted. There was no choice; he had to let her go with Julia to give her a chance to find Laura and Derek. Julia would never let any harm come to her because she was of his blood. He slowly kneel down, gently unraveling Cora's tight hold on him.

"No. No, Uncle Peter—," Cora cried as she fought to get back into his hold.

"Cora!" Peter stalled her using his Alpha voice. "There isn't time to—," he held her hands within his squeezing them in earnest. "Cora, you have to go with Julia. Derek and Laura will come for you, I promise." He gently swiped at the tears that slid down her dirt-smuggled cheek. "Don't ever forget how much, I love you Cora."

Cora sniffled with a quiet cough as she nodded before throwing her small arms around Peter's neck and squeezing tightly.

Peter closed his eyes and committed the scent of his niece to memory as he held her tightly. He felt the gentle breeze of wind and smelt the heavy taint of magic in the air. He opened his eyes to see the bars bend forming an oval small enough for a child to slip through. He pressed a kiss to Cora's temple and dropped his arms from around her. "Go Cora," he commanded quietly.

Cora stepped back swiping the tears from her face as she stepped through the small opening to the hooded figure that held a hand out for her to take. Once she was finally through the bars that bend back to their previous shape.

Peter slowly rose to his feet unaware of the tears that slid down his face. "What now?"

"This," the hand to the hooded figure touched his forehead and instantly Peter dropped down unconscious.

"Peter," Cora screamed as she attempted to reach back for her uncle on to be restrained by the hooded figure.

"Don't worry he's only sleeping. He needs his rest because there is work that has yet to be done." The hooded figured wrapped herself around Cora and they disappeared leaving Peter to the raging fire that had finally caught up to him and ravaged half of his face and body.

Kali approached Deucalion as he exited the guest bedroom of his condo easing the door closed.

"What is the status?"

"The news is reporting that it was arson, eight dead including Talia. Ennis called and said that Peter is in the hospital in a self-induced coma, partially burned."

"What of the children?"

"Derek and Laura were away at the time of the fire. School mostly likely but they are unharmed. Cora is believed to have perished in the fire."

"Interesting," Deucalion said as he led the way down the hall to his living room with the tapping of his cane. He walked over to his bar and got out two tumblers and a bottle of whiskey. He poured them each a finger of whiskey. Even though, the alcohol had absolutely no effect on him, he had developed a feeling of the burn of the alcohol going down his throat.

"I thought you might think so." Kali replied as she took a seat at the bar. "So," she paused with an arch of her brow. "What's the plan of action?"

Deucalion swallowed his whiskey and placed the tumbler back on the bar. "We wait. We want to see what our little guest will do. I warned Talia that trusting those hunters in this town was tantamount to signing her own death warrant. She was playing with fire and it's of no surprise to me that she got burned. But, still I've always wanted a Hale in my pack and now we have one."

Kali sighed. "She's young and with Laura and Derek still alive it's unlikely that she'll inherit the mantle. Not to mention, that bastard is still alive. We should kill him and I'd like that honor personally."

"While your willingness for brutality is delightful but its' not necessary and your bitterness is unbecoming." Deucalion drawled with an arch of his brow as he stared at her with unseeing eyes. "Peter Hale is danger to no one. The love of his life is dead and his child gone. He is … broken."

"My bitterness is unbecoming, that's a bit of an understatement coming from you. Your obsession with Talia with is unbecoming. Letting Talia die because she refused your countless overtures is unbecoming. So don't lecture me about my bitterness. Besides being broken is not dead," Kali growled. "And Peter Hale deserves nothing less than death. What if he awakens? Recovers? What then? By all rights, the mantle will cede to him if he's stronger."

"The Hale family hierarchy for the Alpha's mantle is no different than ours. Peter was born an Omega not a Beta. There is only one way for him to take the mantle from Talia's daughter who was born a Beta and that's death. The Peter Hale I know would not kill his own blood for that mantle. We only need one Hale not three."

"And the girl?

"Let's give her time, see what little Cora is made of. Did she tell you how she got out of the fire or why she was roaming the woods?"

"No. She escaped virtually unscathed except for a slowly healing scar on her palm—and she doesn't know how she got that."

"Good, then we'll leave in the morning." Deucalion ordered.

"I'll let Ennis know." Kali nodded as she rose and left the living room.

Six years later …

In an underground root cellar a hooded figure sat on the ground chanting quietly before the Nemeton praying before the roots with a piled of dried leaves coated with blood. As the chanting gradually faded away, the figure eased a hand out of the robe and smiled, marveling at the image of unlined, youthful hands and skin.

"Thank you Hecate, for granting me youth and beauty. I will not fail you. I will avenge the wrongs done against us ... against me."

The petite nurse quietly entered the room of the sleeping patient. It had taken her a few days to find him since they had moved him into hospice care as they didn't expect him to wake up. Little did they know his coma wasn't self-induced; it was spell that only she could undo. It had taken six long years to build up enough power to undo the spell and retain the youthful visage that would allow her to hide in plain sight indefinitely.

With his help, she would be able to seek her vengeance and exact her revenge. But, first she needed all the players back on the board. She placed her palm his forehead and channeled her strength.

"Awaken Peter; your time has finally come."

Peter's eyes snapped open.