Chapter One: Lake
When Laura Hale was 8 years old, she almost drowned.
That was something she would never forget.
It was in late summer and the family was spending the afternoon by the lake. Her mother, pregnant with her third child, was lying on a deck chair, sipping a mix of juices. Her cousin Logan was screaming loudly, being chased around the lake by his older brother Apollo and Laura's younger brother Derek.
She remembered seeing something across the water, a fish maybe, jumping out once as if to see what was happening, who that family was that had gathered here.
"A fish!" she had called out, pointing excitedly. But aside her cousin Athina, no one seemed to pay any attention. Her mother was laughing with Duke. Her grandparents were conversing with the older generation of Hale's, her father was trying to get the barbecue running – and failing at it. Everyone was distracted except Athina.
Athina Hale was one year older than Laura and already, she was everything Laura wanted to be. She was pretty, she was graceful, she was clever – she was like a Princess. Next to her, Laura always felt clumsy, stupid, inferior in any way. Athina had seen the fish, of course she had. And now she looked around at the adults, who had not noticed. Then she turned towards the younger cousin.
"No one saw."
"You saw!" Laura declared.
"Yeah but no one else. You'll have to catch the fish so they'll see," Athina suggested.
"I can't catch the fish. It's too fast and slippery."
"Pfff!" Athina scoffed. "You're a wolf. A fish is no match for you. Or are you scared?"
"I'm not scared!" Laura protested, puffing up her cheeks. She got up from the towel she had been sitting on and marched over to the shore. As she approached the dark water, almost black before her, she did feel a tingle of doubt. Maybe she was scared. She looked back at Athina, who was standing behind her, hands at her hips, and nodded.
"Go on then."
Okay, yeah, she was scared. Her teeth were clattering when she stepped into the water. It was cold, but the ground – fine sand and tiny rocks – felt nice between her bare toes. Her arms clutched to her torso, she waded further into the water. To her knees, to her hips, past her navel, then to her shoulders. She spread her arms to keep herself above water and began looking around, looking for the fish. She was moving slowly to not scare away the fish.
"Here fishy... here fishy fishy..." she whispered.
And she lost the ground beneath her feet. It happened so abruptly, she forgot everything she had learned about swimming. Her head was under, her toes treaded water. She gasped, water filling her mouth, her lungs. Panic welled up inside her. Her arms were flailing, she wanted to scream for help. She-
The next thing she remembered was lying on the ground, people yelling at each other, crying, and someone pressing her chest, forcing her lips apart, pressing air into her lungs. She remembered gasping, gurgling, rolling over and spitting out water.
"She's fine! She'll be fine!" she heard Peter call.
Talia Hale screamed, pushed her younger brother out of the way and fell to her knees next to her daughter, cradled her in her arms. She was crying. Laura could not tell the water from the lake on her apart from her mother's tears.
"Don't do that again. Don't ever do that again, Laura, don't ever-"
She was rocking her daughter in her arms while the rest of the family stood around them, silent. Only Peter still held his niece's hand.
Eleven years later, Laura Hale stood at the shore of that same lake. It was a rainy night early in the year, freezing cold, the forest silent. She had run all day, was exhausted, the cold burning in her lungs.
She took off her shoes, her jeans, pulled her shirt over her head and waded into the water. Once deep enough, she took a dive, letting the icy water wash over her. She broke the surface, drew in a deep breath and went to dive again, swimming in the darkness in long strides until she was halfway across the lake. Here, she let herself sink, deep into the blackness. Her hair was floating around her, she watched white bubbles dance between her slender fingers. The pressure was building in her lungs, painful from holding the breath so long and she tested her limits. Only when she was beginning to get dizzy, almost tempted to breathe down here, did she return to the surface. She brushed her hair back, took several breaths and watched the almost full moon in the sky.
Tomorrow was the night. Her mother's official inauguration. Her coronation, for what it was worth, as Queen of all wolves. After Richard's death, they had been struggling, trying to keep the pack and the Alliance in balance but eventually, it was clear, they would need a new leader. And Talia Hale had been ready for that role all her life. Nothing would really change for Talia. Everything would change for Laura. Because with her mother becoming Queen, that made her the one the packs would turn to. That meant the Alpha's would contact her when they were seeking an audience with Talia – just like people would contact Talia before, when they wanted an audience with Richard.
Laura had been terrified of this responsibility all her life, although she had never known any different. She had always been raised for this, but now that it was happening... she was scared. She remembered the day at the lake.
You're a wolf. A fish is no match for you. Or are you scared?
She was scared. As a child, she could not admit that, but now that was all she could admit. That she had no idea what the future would hold, that she was terrified of the unknown. Maybe that was why she had come out here tonight. Facing the darkness of the lake, the unknown. Just to see if she could.
She turned aroung, swam back to the shore where she had left her clothes and climbed out of the water. As she reached for her shirt, there was a sound nearby, making her freeze in the movement. One hand reaching for the shirt on the ground, her gaze was fixed at where the sound had come from, eyes flashing amber.
"Who's there?" she asked into the darkness.
There was a moment of silence and then a figure stepped out from the shadows onto the shore. A broad shouldered young man with slick, dark hair, wearing a leather jacket, dark trousers and shoes. The moon was reflected in his piercing blue eyes. Laura relaxed. "Peter."
"Everyone's looking for you. The Alpha's will arrive soon."
"I needed to clear my head, I was dealing with things," Laura said, putting her shirt on again, wringing the water from her hair.
"So you decided to go swimming in the middle of the night. Halfway across the state?"
She looked up, a brow raised.
"I was dealing with a lot of things."
"What things then?" he kept pushing.
"I don't know! Things, Peter!" she declared.
He smirked – enjoyed winding her up way too much – and waited for her to put on her jeans, before he tossed her his jacket.
"Wouldn't want you to catch a cold now."
She smiled, wrapped the jacket around her shoulders – she was almost disappearing in it. Then she took her shoes and walked over to her uncle. "You come out here often?" he asked, looking over the lake.
"Sometimes. It takes me back... reminds me how quickly things can change," she said, looking back at the very spot on the shore where she had almost died eleven years ago. Then she looked up at her uncle. "How did you know where to find me?"
He put an arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss on her wet hair.
"I always know where to find you, Laura."
She laughed and leaned against him as they began their way back home.
"Peter..."
"Hm?"
"Things will change now, won't they?"
He stayed quiet for a moment, then she felt a nod. She looked up at him, her chin half resting on his chest. "But you'll always be there, right?"
He smiled.
"Always."
She smiled back and then straightened up.
"Race back to Beacon Hills?"
His eyes were flashing cool blue.
"Way ahead of you."
And before she knew it, he was gone. She gasped.
"Ah! No fair!" she called out. But there was a smile on her lips. Her eyes began glowing their deep amber and soon they were both running, returning home. They were both taking detours, she could tell. Maybe because neither of them really wanted to go back. Neither of them really wanted things to change. Yet both of them knew that things had already changed and all this upcoming ceremony would do was make these changes official.
When Laura and Peter returned to the house (It had not really been a race in the end), it looked inviting. Light in every window, the lawn cleaned and a party tent put up, the porch freshly painted and the cars washed. Everything was shiny, everything promised prosperity and actual joy. She heard music playing in the living room and saw silhouettes through the windows. And already, she did not want to do this. She did not want to put on a nice smile and look like a responsible adult when there was a knot in her stomach the size of a shoe. Because this was not right. None of it. They should not be celebrating. There were hunters out there, killing every wolf accidentally crossing their paths. Packs had been ripped apart, friends lost. And they were throwing a party.
"How many are there?" she asked in a whisper as they approached the porch.
"At least five packs. But the ones Talia wants us to be especially alert for are Ennis' pack, Kali's pack, and the Italians."
"The Italians?" Laura repeated sceptically. Peter nodded.
"After the Boston pack fell, a New York based pack is beginning to storm forward. We're not sure yet if they'll remain loyal or if they'll try to get the foot in the door with a change of management. They're crafty, keep your guard up."
She looked up at him.
"Sounds like you don't like them."
"I don't," Peter confirmed grimly. They took the three steps up the porch and entered the house quietly, to not catch anyone's attention while Laura's shirt was still practically see through, she was barefoot and her hair in a mess. Not exactly the ideal first impression the new consultant should make on the alliance.
She rushed upstairs, heard just hushed conversation in the living room, no real context, then she was in her room.
It was quiet here, brightly lit, a dress was lying on her bed, probably picked by her mother for the occasion. She tossed the still drenched jeans and shirt aside, changed her underwear, blew her hair dry in front of the mirror and then slipped into the dark green dress with a pair of ankle boots and an elegant cut short leather jacket.
And when she was about to leave her room again, her hand just froze on the doorknob. She was shaking. She missed support, she missed someone telling her things would be alright. She missed the kind of confidence only one person in her life ever really had.
Lyka.
It had been months since the young Beta had left Beacon Hills, months since they had averted the crisis of having Deucalion tear this town apart brick by brick to find her. The only news they heard was a short message from Donovan McCall in the south, saying that Lyka had indeed arrived there in a healthy condition and was now living among them.
Laura had to admit she was a little bit disappointed. She had hoped Lyka would contact them herself, would at least call once, to let them know she was fine. Let her know she was fine. Laura did not have many friends her age, not many friends outside her family at all. Hale's kept to themselves, they always had. But Lyka was different. She had shared something with the other girl and now that she was gone... Laura missed her. More than she would like to admit. And right now, she needed Lyka. She needed the confidence that girl had, that strength. She needed her friend to tell her everything would be fine, that she would be able to handle all of this, that she would do the role meant for her justice.
Peters support meant a lot to her, yes. But he was her uncle, it was kind of his job to support her, was it not? Lyka on the other hand was a friend; family one was not born with, but chose. And now she was gone, Laura was alone and she felt... like she had that day out in the lake. Falling, drowning, scared.
She drew in several breaths to steady her heartbeat.
"Come on, Laura. You're a wolf! A fish is no match for you," she told herself. But if it's a very big fish? Like... a shark? She shook violently, squared her shoulders and pulled open the door to finally leave her room.
Author's note:
As promised, today the first chapter, picking up where Blinding put things down a few months back.
While writing this and the prologue, I realized Peter and Laura must have been close. We have seen him with Cora, I believe he really does care for her a great deal and I think he honestly also cares for Derek (he just cares about his own ass more than about everyone elses). And I now decided that, of the three, he cared most for Laura. I'm interested to see what layers that will add to his inevitable betrayal as we approach that moment and already now I can tell that the Peter and Laura dynamics in this fic will be quite central! I look forward to see where these two are going as characters!
In other news: ASFHJVAJDASJLAFDALFSGHLSDHJAHAFS! Braeden is back and she's badass and she's alive and she's working for Duke and she has badass scars OMG THERE IS SO MUCH POTENTIAL IN THIS! 'Unblinding' is already looking amazing and I haven't even started writing it!
Now, first, fun with the Hales!
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