I swung the bedroom door open, greeted by total darkness. I guess Aaron really wasn't joking about getting black out curtains. I sighed, my vision turning red so I could see where I was going as I crossed the room. "Aaron." I reached the curtains and quickly parted them, letting in the morning's light.

I heard him hiss followed by the pillow flipping over his head. "Go away," he moaned.

"No." I walked up to him and grabbed the blanket. "First day of school. Get up." I pulled on the blanket. It made it half way down his body before he grabbed it and pulled. The action was followed by the sound of the blanket tearing in half. He half propped himself up and looked at it.

He scowled at me. "What happened to 'no supernatural powers in the house'?"

I scoffed. "That wasn't me! That was all 'supernaturally' your fault, Mr. 'I have it under control'." I tossed my half of the blanket on the floor. "I'll send your brother the bill." I walked to the door. "You have five minutes to get your butt in the shower."

"I wasn't going to take a shower."

I chuckled, stopping in the door way and looking at him. "You're taking a shower. You stink." I walked out of the room. "Five minutes!"

"Or what?" he called.

I spun on my heel and walked back to his door. I poked my head in the room. "'Or what?'" I laughed. "Technically you're my Beta, so…" I shrugged. "How does 'a living Hell' sound?"

He sat up. "Scott's your Beta, and you don't pull this with him," he sounded mildly offended.

"It's not a competition. And, was. Scott was my Beta. I had told him that when he was ready I'd let him go, and that's what I did."

"When?!"

"Not too long after the thing with the Kanima. Why?"

He grumbled something as he climbed out of bed. I didn't bother to try and figure out what he was saying. I just smiled and left the room. But thankfully that was all the prodding that I needed to do. I pulled up in front of the school, ignoring his request (demand) to be dropped off a mile away.

I stopped in front of the school, putting the car in park. Though, I know he wasn't embarrassed to be seen getting dropped off by his cousin. I've done this many times. No. It was the car we were in. The one I had been using, the one Chris gave me, quit on me.

And when I say 'quit' I mean something supernatural happened to it that made the vehicle unrecognizable to the untrained eye. Very long story. But I did have this bad boy in storage. It's an old (as old as Aaron) Ford Explorer XLT. You know, the fun one.

The problem is: you can tell I've had a little too much fun in it. Most all the paint on the roof has been replaced with rust, the front bumper is crooked on the driver's side, the driver's door handle is held on with duct tape covered in flames (it was all I had at the time) so the door can only be opened from the inside.

And, the hood: the paint is missing, like I'd been sanded off, and the parts where there still is paint are cracking like bad fingernail polish. Which makes the large dents total eye sores. And the car's black, which makes things worse. Every spec of dirt shows. And the bullet holes.

Aaron grabbed the handle and popped the door open like his life depended on it. I grabbed the sleeve of his coat. "Aaron," I said and he sighed. He looked at me. "Remember-"

"'Everything you've taught me'." He sighed. "I know."

"This is different," and I could tell he knew it. "Call me, for whatever reason."

"I know."

"Or Derek."

"I know."

"But if something's happening and you need help faster than I can get there-"

"Call Scott." He smiled, un-amused.

"And Isaac. Stiles and Lydia will help you, too."

He looked straight forward with a groan. Like I was over doing it. And I might be. I just can't help being over protective of him. I have since the day he was born. He finally looked at me. "Okay."

"Okay," I nodded.

He pulled out his phone and held it out to me. "Do you want to double check my numbers, I might be missing a digit."

I laughed and pushed him out the door. He laughed, too, grabbed his bag and then headed for the school. I sighed, hoping this really was a good idea. Just two weeks ago he was near death. Now he's walking up to the high school like nothing ever happened. Like he's the same Aaron he was when he left.

I sighed and put my hand on the key. Someone's reflection caught me in the eyes and I looked up to see who it was. I saw someone standing in the parking lot between a few parked cars. All I saw was a few blurred features but my heart leapt up into my throat.

I opened my door and stood, my eyes not leaving the person. I blinked a few times, seeing him clearly now. Tobias. A car horn blared behind me and I startled. I blinked and he was gone. But I never looked away from him. And yet someone he was gone. Or maybe he was never there.

The car honked again and I got back into mine. I started it and then drove around the parking lot. I parked near the back, out of the way. Once the students had all filed inside, I got out of my car and walked to where I had seen him. I had to know if it was really him.

But I was hoping it was just my head playing tricks on me. I stood in the spot where I had seen him. I inhaled, and his cologne instantly assaulted my nostrils. And along with it the memories.

I stood in front of the bedroom mirror. It was six feet by four. The prefect size for modeling my new dress. It was a vintage scoop neck, sleeveless A-line cocktail dress. The upper part was black. The skirt of it was white with black branches that stretched out across it from every which way.

The branches had a few leaves, and the outline of a few bunches of flowers. I wasn't sure what they were, though they looked familiar. But I was always terrible with the names of flowers. I spun, watching the skirt sway in my reflection. I haven't had something like this in a long time.

My eyes then went down to my shoes. Six inch heels, black, with a black puffy flower on the tops of each shoe. I haven't worn heels in years. At least thirty years, I want to say. Maybe more. I took a few steps, practicing. But carpet is never a good place to start.

My foot came down wrong and it twisted so I went falling. But I was caught feet from the ground. In fact, I had barely tipped over. Tobias spun me around in his arms. So now he was holding me at an angle. The action had taken my breath away. "Tobias!"

He chuckled, eyes locked on mine, his smile growing to each ear. "Yes?" As fast as he'd caught me, he'd straightened me so I was standing, keeping a hold of my hand and twirling it above my head, spinning me like we were dancing. I came to a stop and smiled at him.

He was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, his hair still wet. "What?"

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Catch me."

He stepped forward, each of his hands weaving their fingers into mine and holding them at our sides. His face suddenly turned serious. "I love you." His eyes darted between mine, searching. "Catching you when you fall is what I want to do for the rest of my life."

I stopped breathing, completely still. That was the first time he's ever said anything about a future together, outside of our jokes of me out living him. Then his care freeness returned. "Notice how I said 'my life'."

I nodded with a smile. "Yes. But…why did you say that?" Now, I was searching his eyes.

He sighed, and glanced around the room, mumbling, "I can't wait any longer." He looked at me, just as he got down on one knee. "Sara Grant," he began. But my body wasn't waiting for him to continue. My stomach was in the world's tightest knot and I felt like there was an elephant on my chest.

There was a moment of pause between his words. But I was willing to wait however long it took for him to spit it out. And then he looked down and swore under his breath. "That's as far as I got."

I started laughing. "It's perfect." I put my hand on his chin and then guided his gaze up at me. "Yes, Tobias. You can catch me when I fall for the rest of your life."

He let out a slight chuckle, like he was relieved I said yes. Tears brimmed his eyes as he stood, cupping my face and then kissing me. It was the softest, most passionate kiss I had ever felt.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I came back to reality. I pulled it out. It was a text from Aaron: Remind me. What's 2+2?

I sighed, my fingers ready with a witty comeback. But a drop of water fell on my screen and I froze. My hand went to my face and wiped away a couple tears. Why was I crying? That monster doesn't deserve anything. Especially my tears, of all things.

I put my phone away and then turned to go back to my car. But I stopped when the wind blew. There was a piece of paper under the windshield wiper of one of the cars. I walked up to it and pulled it out. It was a folded piece of thick paper. I braced myself, hoping it was just a parking ticket.

But what I saw took my breath away. It was a picture. A picture of me and Aaron in his room this morning. As in, just an hour ago. He was in the bed holding the ripped blanket while I stood, back to the camera, holding the other half. I flipped it over. Nothing. This can't be it.

I looked at the other car. Nothing was on its windshield. I looked back at the photo. My vision turned red and then I saw it. Two words in white hovering over the photo: Tick Tock.

I only needed to take two steps into the hospital before I found Melissa. She was waiting for me by the door. She casually took my arm to lead me further in. "Right this way," she said for whoever might be paying attention to what we're doing. Which is walking.

I lowered my voice to humor her. "Tell me what happened."

"He came in a few hours ago."

"Hours? Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"I wasn't aware you were on my list of people to call when stuff like this happens," she said defensively. We were out of ear shot of everyone so I started talking normally.

I sighed. "Remember when we had that talk a couple months ago…? The one where I explained what I am?" I stopped because she did. She tried to give me the 'unimpressed mom' look, but it wasn't working. It's been a good hundred or so years since my actually mother gave me that look. And it didn't even work for her.

"Fine. I will call you next time."

"Thank you," I nodded as we started walking again. "Did you call Derek?"

She nodded. "He won't answer."

"Me either. He and Isaac were continuing their search for Erica and Boyd, last night. But no one told me where."

"You weren't with them?"

"No. Multitasking is one of the things I'm working on but, these days, it seems to be working on me."

"Okay, well Scott's on his way."

"Why?"

"You didn't answer your phone. I wasn't sure if you'd get my message and something needs to be done. And soon."

"Isn't he healing?"

"Yeah, but I'm getting the impression that it's not supposed to take this long," she said as we stopped at a 'T' in the hallway. Her words, I heard. But my mind didn't process them. I looked down one of the halls, over Melissa's shoulder. My senses were going nuts. I wasn't the only Alpha in the building.

"Hello?" Melissa waved her hand in front of my face. I glanced down at her, then looked back down the hall. And this time I saw someone. A man walked out of a room and began down the hall, away from us. He looked over his shoulder and we locked eyes. But his scent gave him away. Tobias.

I growled, my vision turning red as I walked passed Melissa. She jumped back, startled by my actions. But she was the least of my concerns. Tobias rounded the corner at the end of the hall, disappearing from sight. I broke into a run to catch up.

I made it to the end of the hall and then rounded the same corner he did. I stopped, looking. He was gone. He can't be gone again. I spun, searching for him. Of course, I'm not even sure what I'll do once I find him. I walked to each door in the hall and looked inside. He wasn't there. Neither was his scent. It's like he was never here.

I looked in the last door of the hall. Nothing. I closed it, planning to head back where I came from. I turned around and there he was. Two inches from my face. I startled slightly, not expecting to see him right then. I sighed and took a step back. He laughed.

"I'm glad you find that funny," I said as I dug the photo out of my pocket. "But stocking people isn't funny." I slammed the photo into his chest and held it there. "What is this?"

He pulled it out from under my fingers and examined it as I stepped back. "It's a photo."

"It's a warning," I corrected. "What does it mean?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "The whole point of leaving clues is that you're supposed to figure it out. Not the one leaving them." He tried to give me back the photo but I wouldn't take it. I backed away like he was handing me poison. He sighed with annoyance and then threw it at me like a Frisbee. The photo flew past me and hit the ground.

"This is a game to you? You're playing with peoples' lives."

"I know," he laughed and tossed his arms, like what he was doing was some great and wonderful thing. "Isn't it great?"

I backed away, shaking my head. "I can't believe I ever loved you." He dropped his arms, looking like I popped his bubble.

"You just love sucking the fun out of it," he said with a disappointed tone. "But, that's okay," he smiled. "I knew you would."

"This the part where you threaten me?"

"No, you see, I know that won't work." He slowly walked closer. "You'd gladly die if it meant saving someone you cared about. It's one of the things I love about you." I backed away from him, coming to the end of the hall. My back pressed against the wall, my heart racing.

"So, then what? You're just going to randomly kill the ones I care about until I cave, do whatever it is you want?"

He stopped, the tips of his toes touching mine. "No, you see," he sighed, "I already did that. Once upon a time." He smiled like the devil. "I bet that whole time thing gets confusing for you. How old are you, again?" He was taunting me now. I gritted my teeth, not wanting to give in to his banter.

"The silent treatment? Really?" he scoffed. "Okay. Well. Let me put this as clearly as I can: I'm here for you. My father; he has another agenda. But I'm not him. Power, fame. Those just aren't things I want."

"Then what do you want?" I spoke without moving my jaw.

He smiled and looked me over. His hand brushed against the side of my face. "What I had before." His hand moved down my jaw line. And then his finger tips were on my neck. I held my breath, waiting for his claws to enter my flesh. "I will have you, again. And anyone who tries to prevent that from happening…they're as good as dead."

"Hey!" Before I knew what was happening, Sheriff Stilinski stepped in between us. "Get your hands off of her." He pushed Tobias back, who let me go and complied. But he kept his eyes locked on mine. He took a few steps back and then turned around, walking away.

I put my hand on the Sheriff's arm. "Let him go."

"Are you hurt?" he looked me over.

"No." I turned my head to the side, listening. Something on the next floor caught my ear. There was growling. Sounded like a fight. Scott. I looked back at him. "Thanks." I turned to leave, grabbing the photo off the ground.

"Who was that?"

I stopped and sighed. "An old flame. Nothing I can't handle."

"Yeah, it looked that way."

"He caught me off guard. It won't happen again." I turned and quickly walked down the hall. Once I was out of his sight, I ran to the stair well. I took the steps two at a time, quickly making it to the next floor. Once there, I went back to a fast walk trying not to draw too much attention.

I made a few turns and then stopped at the beginning to a long hallway that leads to the elevator. Just as I stopped, a body slid across the floor and came to a rest inches from me. I looked at it, confused. I looked up and saw Derek standing in front of the elevator.

Scott, fully shifted, was on the ground in the elevator with Isaac past out in a wheel chair next to him. I sighed and looked back down at the guy at my feet. He was getting up now. He got to a crouched position, when he stopped and looked at me. Our eyes locked. And they stayed locked as he rose to his feet, towering over me by at least a foot. Most likely more.

"Ennis," I sneered, as we slowly side stepped each other.

"Beckett."

Once my back was facing Derek, Ennis growled and then left. I could tell he wanted to do more, but something was stopping him. Probably Tobias. I bet he put out a rule that I was off limits. That might just come in handy. As soon as I couldn't see him anymore, I turned around and walked to the others.

Scott stood, normal again. "Where were you?" it came out like an accusation.

"I had a problem of my own," I replied. Derek was knelt down next to Isaac. He turned enough to look at me, one eyebrow raised. I waved it off. "Later." He nodded and then went back to what he was doing. I sighed. I can't be everywhere at once. Tobias was probably just a distraction.

They wanted Isaac and almost got him. Had I not followed Tobias, I could've stopped this a little sooner. But Tobias knows me too well. And all I know about him is the part I fell in love with. I don't know this new side of him. The darker side that turned on me and killed my old pack.

And, now, not only will he gladly do it again, but he wants me to love him. He still wants our happily ever after. And he wants it to be with his murderous half.

I hurried through the school, and then pushed myself into the right class room. I looked around at the scene. Crows covered the floor, along with feathers. The class room was completely trashed. The large panel of windows that made up the far wall of the class room was broken.

I looked to my left and saw Aaron. I walked up to him. "Hey." I hugged him and then looked him over. Of course, any injuries would've healed but I think it's just human nature to have to see it with your own eyes.

"I'm okay," he said. I glanced around the room, my eyes landing on Ben. He stood on the other side of the room in uniform, getting a statement from a kid. Then my eyes landed on Chris. He was a few feet from Ben, standing with Alison. I haven't seen him since he got back from London.

I looked back at Aaron. "Come on. I'll take you home." We started walking toward the door. "We need to talk."

"Great," he groaned.

"No, trust me. This time, it's not your fault." We reached the door when Stiles jumped in front of us. "What are you doing?"

"Where's Scott?" he asked.

"With Derek."

"Wha– Why?"

"Just call him, Stiles. It's a long story," I sighed and pushed Aaron out the door. Neither one of us spoke on the ride home. When we walked in the front door, Aaron went straight to the couch and plopped down. I shut the door and quietly sighed. "How was school?"

"Oh, great," he replied sarcastically. "You know, before the psychotic birds came smashing through the windows." I walked over and sat in the chair across from him. "So are you going to tell me what that really was about?"

"Yeah. The root cause is that there's a pack of Alphas here, in Beacon Hills. That's what's making all the ani-"

"Wait." He sat up. "Alphas? Like what's his face's pack?"

I grinned. "Yeah. Same pack."

"Well, when did they get here? Is he with them?"

"Yes, Tobias is with them," I said as he sighed and flopped back in the couch. "They got here four months ago. We've been-"

"Four months, and you're just now telling me?"

"We've been trying to find them because they have Boyd and Erica."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better," he sighed. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Never. We thought we'd have this done with before school started."

"And by 'we' you mean you and Derek."

"And Isaac and Peter," I nodded.

"Oh, come on!" He stood and started pacing. I sighed and let him work it out. He stopped and looked at me. "Does Sam know? Does anyone know besides your new pack?"

"Relax." I stood. "This is nothing to be offended by. I didn't tell you because I wanted you kept out of it. And, I don't have a pack."

He scoffed. "Yes, you do." He crossed his arms. "I guess you're the only one who doesn't know that you do, but you do. Whether you're in it or running it with Derek, it doesn't matter." He slowly walked a little closer, eyes narrowed. "Is that why you don't want to call them your pack? Because Tobias is back?"

I looked down. "I didn't know he was alive. But, yes." I looked at Aaron. "You know what he did last time."

"Yeah, but that was different."

"How?"

"Because this time you know."

"That won't stop him." I pulled the photo out of my pocket and gave it to him. He took it and then just stared at it. "I can't stop him." My voice came out more defeated than I wanted, but it was true. "Two weeks ago, he was standing in this very living room. This morning, he took that picture. He was at school when I dropped you off, he was at the hospital when I was there trying to help Isaac."

He swallowed hard, still looking at the photo. "What does he want?"

"He wants me."

He snapped to attention. "No. You can't do that."

"I know, I'm trying not to."

"What do you mean 'trying'? It's simple: just don't do what he wants."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is."

"Aaron, peoples' lives are at risk," I said.

"You mean mine."

"No, I mean everyone." I sighed.

"You don't still love him, do you?"

I turned around and took a few steps. "It's complicated."

"Oh, my goodness!" he exclaimed. "How can this whole thing possibly get even worse? Can it? I don't know, but I'm sure you'll find a way."

I whipped around. "Aaron Jesse!" I lowered my voice and retracted. "Yes, I still love him. But not the man who he is now, not what he's turned into. Or, rather, what he was the whole time." I sighed. "All I know is that I was young and stupid and I fell for the first guy who thought I was pretty. And, I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him, I wanted to so badly there are no words to describe it. But even though I thought I knew him inside and out, there are still a lot of dark corners I didn't know about.

"Or maybe I did know and I just over looked them. I don't know," I huffed. "We all have our demons, Aaron. I just didn't know mine would fall in love with me."