Author's note: I put the song below on loop while I was writing. Just FYI, in case you're interested.


Nicky Romero & NERVO - Like Home


The penthouse was, once again, eerily quiet. Deucalion leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. Kim's scent was still lingering in the air and every breath he took reminded him of her. Through his sunglasses he had watched her, seeing her face again in infra-red. Under the confusion and slight anger she looked almost happy, not like the last time he met her in the elevator. Back then the woman he loved was scared of him, but there was no happiness, even below the mask she wore now. He knew it wasn't him that made her feel this way because he listened to her heartbeat.

Kimberly lied to him. Lied when she said it was only a physical relationship between her and Peter Hale. She obviously felt more for him even if she hadn't realized it yet. This tiny little fact was enough to push him into an emotional turmoil he hadn't felt for a long time. He might have lost his sight, only seeing as a werewolf, but he could still vividly recall the night they talked about, remembering every little detail as if it had happened the day before. He wanted to blame the upcoming full moon for what happened. There was no excuse for his actions and he was aware of that because giving in to such primal need wasn't like him.

But her scent was intoxicating, a unique mix of her favorite perfume, the shampoo she used and, of course, her skin. The soft, nicely tanned skin that was a little bit salty when his lips trailed down from her mouth to the hem of her yellow panties. Then the moans, those low, satisfied sounds that escaped her lips whenever he touched her drove her insane even years after it happened. He missed these times, when she wasn't afraid of him, when she trusted him without the merest hint of doubt.

Love of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. The same sentences, one of the most overused quotes returned to dominate his thoughts over and over again around that time. Of course back then he had no idea how sleeping with her would change his life and his fate forever, turning that young girl, his little protégé into the most important person in his live, the one he would protect at all costs. Even now, when she was openly on the side of his enemies, he felt the urge to keep her away from this war.

For a werewolf the pack is maybe more important than family, but losing her was much more devastating than losing a member of his family or pack. However ridiculous it sounded, it felt like he had just lost a part of himself, and the moment she told him to leave he lost the person who turned out to be his mate.

And now Peter Hale, that insignificant piece of his strategic chessboard was officially a threat when it came to Kimberly. That man, as he heard, had killed his own niece to become an alpha, turned Scott into a werewolf to start a pack for power, forced his nephew to join the said pack and even found a way to be resurrected. If he could do these things, he could also hurt Kim in one way or another, and he didn't want to let it happen.


She had been gone for too long. Peter tried to find something to occupy himself with, quickly ruling out cleaning or watching some stupid TV show while leaving the apartment was not an option either. The clock was ticking louder with every second and he was going insane, his werewolf hearing picking up every little noise around him by late afternoon. Once he tried to call her but there was no response. Maybe she was already dead; Deucalion had killed her for no particular reason.

The thought drew a low growl out of him and he punched the nearest wall. His fist left a small hole behind. With a roll of his eyes Peter looked around to find something that could cover it until he called someone to repair the damage he had done. As he was pacing in the living room with his hands folded behind his back, Peter's eyes caught sight of an old frame, hidden behind the couch for a few months now. It was a picture of the old Hale house, a not exactly friendly reminder of the past, the real reason why he was still sticking around.

After carefully dusting it off, Peter put it on the wall. At least it now looked pretty normal, as if nothing had happened. To the wall, that is, because the picture itself was still too dark and depressing for someone who didn't know the meaning. Not like he was planning to invite anyone over for a nice dinner anytime soon. His gaze turned to the kitchen at the thought of dinner and, since he had nothing else to do, he decided to spend the time with something useful: cooking.

The front door closed with a light click, followed by the sound of Kim's keys landing on the table next to it. So she was alive and it was good. With things about to get worse in the near future they needed someone like her around. She stepped into the kitchen right when he was flambéing the chicken. A really long time ago he had seen Talia using this technique and, since it involved something that could be considered awesome by a teenager, he learned how to do it.

"Are you planning to burn down the house?" Kim asked with a small laugh as she walked up next to him. When she noticed the shocked look he probably had on his face, she said, "Sorry, it came out wrong. But seriously, what are you doing?"

"Believe it or not, I'm cooking."

"No way," she said incredulously, playfully punching his upper arm. "I don't want to end up in hospital with food poisoning, though."

Peter put the pan down, leaving the chicken while he turned his attention to her. "Ha, I'm really good at this, don't worry," he said as his hand sneaked around her waist and pulled her close to him. She laughed and for some reason he was happy to hear that sound after being alone in the strangely quiet apartment for hours.

"Can I help?"

He thought for a second while he looked around the kitchen but then said, "No."

Kim raised her eyebrows, giving him a look that was supposed to make him feel bad about saying no, but it didn't work on him. "Why?" she finally asked innocently.

"Because of reasons," came his vague reply with a smirk. Actually, he didn't want her to screw up what he had done so far and cooking also happened to be some kind of a therapy for him. Not to mention women liked it so he was kind of used to hearing the compliments from them.

"Come on, Peter."

"I said I'll handle it. Get out of the kitchen, please."

She laughed right into his face as she sat on the kitchen table and crossed her legs as her eyes followed his every move. "Nah, I'll just sit here and watch the masterchef at work."

"Fine," he said with a tired sigh before raising his forefinger, "but you won't say a word."

"That will be pretty boring."

"Nothing about cooking," he corrected himself.

"Yes, sir," Kim replied as she saluted. "No wait. Why are you even cooking?"

It was obvious, really, why someone would start cooking in their own kitchen. Why else would people have a kitchen in their homes if there was no real purpose for them? But he decided not to say these things out loud; all he did was rolling his eyes. Then he looked at her and noticed the look on her face. She wasn't okay. She was probably far from being okay, but finding him in the kitchen maybe helped averting her thoughts for a while.

"We have to eat, right? And you've just met Deucalion after quite a long time so you probably deserve it," he added, having a feeling the alpha was the reason why she wasn't entirely herself.

He hadn't expected her to laugh at this but she did. "I probably deserve it? Well, thank you, Peter."

They left the food behind as he gently pushed her towards the living room. She had been away for so long he now desperately wanted to know every little detail he could get; doing it, of course, without her noticing his real intentions. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked casually when they sat on the couch. "You know, I'm interested and we have some time now. For example I don't even know how you found him."

"What?"

"He only said he wanted to see you, but never said a word about where," Peter repeated calmly. The woman's eyes widened and her heart rate suddenly jumped. It was suspicious but he didn't want to force the truth out of her yet. Maybe she wasn't so stupid to try and lie to him about what had happened when she met the alpha. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Kim shook her head. "No I just-"

"You're lying," he interrupted her, trying to make it sound like a simple statement without the merest hint of accusation.

"I didn't even say anything."

"But your heartbeat did," he informed her angrily.

He couldn't believe she was trying to lie. She was, or at least had been a hunter with a good knowledge of werewolves, yet she was stupid enough to ignore one of the most obvious advantages they had. When he leaned forward, Kim jumped up and walked away, turning her back to him as she looked out of the window. Peter let out a sigh as he followed her but he didn't say anything.

Her silence meant she had been hiding something important from them, just when the need for any kind of information about the alpha pack was vital. After all they didn't only capture Boyd and Erica, they had Cora as well. And Cora was family, even if he hadn't spent much time around her. Peter knew that Derek was slowly but surely falling apart under the pressure of proving everyone including himself that he was a good alpha, especially after Isaac had moved to Scott.


Author's note: Thanks for every review, fav and alert. Sorry for not replying, but I'm way too lazy. I know this chapter is quite short but I really wanted to post an update and the other half of the last scene will be written from Kim's POV. Still, I hope you liked it!