Walking in the forest in the general direction that I remember the house being I tried to think of what I would say to my brother.

Hi Derek, thought I would tell you I wasn't dead. Can I stay with you for a while? No. That wouldn't be right.

Hey bro, how you been? I've been great and alive as ever! Well, at least he would appreciate how straightforward I can be. I stopped and took another look around but all I could see were trees. Damn, if I was like most of my family I could just smell my way but no. I was born human and boring.

Peter had sent me on a bus and told me who to find and to try to live normally. I was only 11 and he was worried cause if Derek had his way he would drag me into a big mess but I knew I would come back and here I am. Thinking about having left any family, any connection I ever had and letting everybody think I was dead made me feel guilty. There was even the chance of Derek telling me to get lost though.

AGH! Why couldn't I have a norma life? Living away from everyone had it's consequences. After all I was only young and had to toughen up. Since I was 15 I was getting into fights. I'm sure Derek would be proud but I knew Peter wouldn't be. He sent me away to get away from all of this and I was running back into the thick of it.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move in the trees. It was late and beginning to get dark so I instantly thought the worse, especially in werewolf infested woods. I let my gaze linger for several seconds before turning to keep walking. I let out a small scream before a hand covered my mouth. Standing in front of me was Peter. Peter Hale, my uncle who I hadn't seen in years. 'Glad to see your back but you chose the worse time.' I pulled his hand from my face.

'Glad to see you missed me.' A smile broke through his serious expression and he tugged me to his chest giving me a bear hug.

'Of cause I missed you. Derek has too but he's buried it all, you know, he thinks your still dead.' I drew away from Peter and brushed my hands on my jeans.

'How did you know I was coming? How did you know where I would be?' Peter grabbed my upper arm and led me into the trees in a totally different direction from which I had been walking.

'You do know I'm a werewolf, yes?' I nodded my head and let him lead me further into the thick green forest. 'Well, I smelt you. You smell like a Hale and there are only three of us. And trust me the other two never come out here.' I frowned.

'So I guess Derek and Laura don't come here.'

'Laura? She's dead. Long dead. I'm talking about Cora.'

'But Cora was in the house. She was in that fire! How is she alive?' I ripped my arm out of Peter's grasp and faced him, eyes wide with disbelief.

'The same way you and me survived, sweetheart. And wolves heal over time. Speaking of which, do you still have scars?' To tell the truth I shouldn't have been that surprised that my sister had made it out of the fire but when Peter mentioned my scars my chest tightened and my heart sped up.

'Ah, so you did get burned.' I cocked my head to the side.

'How do you know that?' He tapped the side of his nose with his finger and started walking again making me follow him.

'I heard your heart jump. Pretty upset you missed out on being a wolf now, aren't you?' I shook my head again.

'I've gotten over that now.' He laughed under his breath.

'You're lying. No point lying to me when I can tell anyway.' Damn, I had forgotten about that...

'Oops. I'll have to get used to that.'

After walking for a few minutes I heard the sound of cars speeding past and we made it to the road I had left my motorbike on.

'This is where I draw the line. You are not driving my baby.'

'But I know where to go and you don't.' Peter stated, grinning from ear to ear as I cursed and handed him the keys. Climbing on behind him I held the safety bars on the back of the bike instead of wrapping my hands around his waist. He might be family but he was the one who had made me leave.

20 minutes later...

We finally made it an old industrial looking apartment block. A moment before Peter had even stopped the bike my feet had hit the ground.

'You are never driving my baby, ever again.' I spat at him and waited for him to offer me the keys before snatching them from his fingers. I almost stormed off but I quickly remembered that my uncle had to show me the way to my brother's apartment.

'Well, look who wishes she was a wolf, yet again.' I rolled my eyes.

'Shut up.' He just grinned and led me through the doors to the elevator. Once the doors had closed he turned to me with his serious look and I swear I could feel his eyes boring into my soul.

'What made you come back? And be honest, I can tell.' I cast my eyes down and shuffled my converse covered feet. I had come back to see my only living family but I had also come back because whatever I did I couldn't fit in anywhere. I would always get in fights, get in trouble and had almost been arrested a couple of times.

'I don't fit in anywhere. Let's just say that I'll tell you when I can trust you.' Suddenly his eyes glowed blue and his hand came flying up to land right beside my head, bashing into the wall of the small metal box.

'Until you can trust me?! I did so much to get you away from this life, risked my own, and you say you can't even tell me why you came back to this hell hole!' I was actually scared of him. No matter how much time I had spent with them when I was younger the reality of a werewolf shifting in anger aimed at me worried me.

'Well, I didn't lie.' My words caught in my throat as I said the last word making the whole sentence sound rushed. Slowly his claws turned back into nails and his eyes returned to their normal human state.

'Alana, I'm so sorry. It's just all these years I thought you were fine. I thought you were living a normal life. So much has happened that –' The doors opened. What I saw shocked me. Derek was on the floor doing one-handed push ups and Cora was doing chin ups on a bare pipe that was built into the roof. Them being used to Peter's scent I thought that they wouldn't notice mine but both my siblings look at me mid task.

'Hi.' It came out more like a question than a statement. Suddenly Derek was in front of me and threw me out of the elevator and I slid on my back across the floor. Cora stood above me and bared her sharp canines at me with her eyes the same blue as Peter's had just been. Now I was really scared, practically shitting myself.

'Cora, it's me. It's Alana. Please!' Her eyes seemed to glaze over and Derek took the opportunity to snatch me from under her and pin me to the wall by my shoulders, my feet a good metre from the ground.

'Derek, you know me! You know it's me!' That was when I noticed his eyes. They were red. He was an alpha. His claws started to rip through my shirt and puncture my flesh. 'Oww, your hurting me.' I desperately tried to make him realize with real urgency in my voice. A blur ripped my brother from me and protectively crouched in front of my fallen, bloody frame.

'Don't you dare touch her again.' Peter's commanding voice rung through the concrete room. Derek's growl that had been forming in this throat slowly died as his eyes widened.

'It really is you, Alana.' I breathed a sigh of relief.

'About time you remembered me, brother.'