Lydia woke with a start and found herself in unfamiliar surroundings, well not that unfamiliar she had come here to poison Derek that one time but bygones and all. The carriage she was sitting in however was definitely unfamiliar as was the face staring at her from the opposite end.

A young girl with long brown hair and striking green eyes was looking at her warily, like a lion protecting its kill. She couldn't have been any older than 15 but she had sharp cheekbones and fair skin which together somehow strived to give the girl an immensely fierce look, one which reminded Lydia of herself at that age, striving to control the situation and ensure things went the way she wanted.

It suddenly dawned on Lydia that they weren't the only two people at the station.

"Scott! Is he still here? I have to see him, could you please take me to him…?" Lydia trailed off, unsure of the young girls name.

"Flo. And he's coming here, or he will be as soon as I tell him your awake. So I have to go now, sorry."

Lydia just smiled at her and watched as the young girl walked away. She may only have a couple minutes before Scott arrives so she needed to prepare herself. How was she meant to deal with this, with the reappearance of their Alpha? It would be so much easier if Allison or Stiles were with her, then again maybe it wouldn't, things would have gotten emotional quickly.

It struck Lydia that it had to have been Scott Allison saw when she was hit by the car. And he hadn't come to help, did that mean he didn't care? It was possible that Scott had changed; it had been five years could anyone really stay the same after all that time? Were they still the same in Beacon Hills since he left?

All thoughts of Scott and his presence in Beacon Hills were put on hold as she remembered what else happened last night. The werewolves with black eyes. The remains of the two people they had eaten. How close she had come to dying. It didn't matter how why Scott was in Beacon Hills, all that mattered was stopping that from happening again.

The opening of the train door stopped Lydia from reminiscing, something she was grateful for, she looked up and met the gaze of Scott McCall.

With so much to take in Lydia was surprised that the first thing she thought was that he had finally gotten his hair under control, it was shorter on the sides and back but still thick on top, a sign of the scruffiness which she remembered a younger Scott wore along with Stiles and his buzz cut.

Five years had been good to him, his facial features were sharper, more mature and he was certainly bulkier and taller than she last remembered him, however Lydia was struck by the bags under his eyes, which were far heavier than what was to be expected of a twenty-one year old, a sure sign that Scott McCall was still trying to bear everyone else's burdens plus his own.

Without realizing it Lydia's legs had closed the short distance between them until she threw herself at Scott and enveloped him in a hug so tight it seemed as if she was trying to convince herself that this was real and not some sort of illusion. Lydia wasn't too sure that it wasn't, but then she felt Scott's arms wrap around her shoulders and his head next to hers.

It was real, after five years Scott McCall was back in Beacon Hills.

They stood there like that for several moments and for a time Lydia forgot about the werewolves from the night before, all she was concerned with was the return of her friend, but like dark clouds on the horizon last nights events could not be ignored and so Lydia pulled away from Scott. She looked up at Scott and his eyes were still closed and he was inhaling deeply.

"Scott?"

The True Alpha opened his eyes and took a step back, a warm smile plastered across his face.

"Were you just smelling me?"

Scott looked down sheepishly "Oh, err yeh, sorry it's just you smell"

Lydia raised her eyebrows, being told she smelled was not something that happened regularly to the banshee and this was not what she imagined the first thing Scott would say to her and quite frankly after last night she was allowed to smell a little.

Scott, cottoning on to how his words must have been interpreted quickly spoke up "Not in a bad way, of course not Lydia it's just that you carry scents, like a lot of them and its been a long time.

Realization dawned on Lydia and she almost hugged him again, "You mean I smell like the others, like your Mom or Stiles"

"Don't forget Allison" a new voice chimed in.

Lydia looked past Scott to see where the newcomer was and she saw a girl who wouldn't look out of place in a Swedish swimsuit calendar with her blonde hair and blue eyes plus her excellent figure. Lydia wasn't above admitting when she was jealous and she was certainly jealous of how this girl looked. She walked down the carriage to where Lydia and Scott were stood and plopped herself down on a seat next to them.

"Thank you Katie, I thought I was going to have some time to explain things to Lydia alone?"

"You thought that, I didn't, plus you'd probably explain it wrong, you're terrible at telling the story."

"But it's my story, I'm supposed to tell it"

"Yeh but you never take the credit for what you're doing, Scott McCall and his martyr complex." The girl looked at Lydia, "I'm Katie, it's my job to call Scott out on all his crap and you are Lydia Martin" Katie had this huge beaming smile which Lydia was finding it hard to ignore.

Lydia took seat for herself before looking from Scott to Katie.

"Are you-"

"A werewolf? Yes. We all are, well except Dee but he's a special case, kinda like you actually"

"Excuse me?"

"Well you know, supernaturally inclined, part of the pack but not a werewolf. But he isn't a banshee either, more of a seer. By the way what's the deal with being a banshee? Scott didn't know too much about it apart from being kinda psychic and finding dead bodies all the time, which must suck. And we barely learnt anything from the other druids and shamans we consulted over the years"

Scott looked like Katie's laidback attitude and questions was stressing him out and he decided to intervene, "Katie let's hold up on the Q & A's for now ok? It's Lydia who should be asking the questions first."

Katie nodded in agreement and smiled at Lydia as if to say sorry before pretending to zip her lips shut.

Lydia decided she liked Katie; she was confidant, straight to the point and seemed to be sincerely nice. She looked up from her seat to where Scott was still standing.

"You were consulting druids and shamans?"

Scott looked sheepish for the second time that afternoon, looking around the carriage before back to Lydia. "Well yeah, we had only just found out what you were before I left and I wanted to make sure you were going to be ok, and if I found anything out important I would've let you know."

Lydia herself had also searched high and wide for answers about her abilities but had come up with nothing, the fact that Scott had surprised her but it shouldn't have done, Scott looked after his friends.

"Did you find anything?"

Scott's face visibly fell, obviously he didn't have any good news, "No, nothing that we didn't already know you could do. There were a few other myths and legends that may be worth exploring but there wasn't a lot of common knowledge. I'm sorry"

Lydia tried to reassure him with a smile, "There's nothing to be sorry about, you tried to help while you were away and that's all you could do. I didn't find anything either. The fact that you were looking means a lot to me, it shows you didn't abandon us."

As soon as the last few words left Lydia's mouth she regretted them and it was very unlike Lydia to get her words wrong. Scott's eyes went to the floor and he drew back while Katie's head immediately swung in Scott's directions and it looked like she wanted to get up and comfort him. Lydia beat him to it.

"Scott I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that, I know you didn't abandon us, we all know you didn't abandon us, that's not what I wanted to say" Lydia stood up and hugged Scott again, this time more in a manner as a mother would comfort her son. Lydia made note of how much the idea he abandoned his pack affected Scott. "None of know what happened, but we all believe you did what you had to do."

Scott lifted his head from her hold and fixed her with a focused gaze, "No, you don't know what I've been doing and its time one of you did."

Scott took a seat opposite Katie and Lydia returned back to her position on the back of carriage, a momentary pause fell upon the room, Lydia sat in anticipation, Katie leant back in wait and Scott gathered his thoughts.

"So as you know I left three days after Deucalion and Jennifer fled, I'd made my decision on the second day. I found Dee waiting for me, he's a seer".

"Which means?"

"They get visions, we don't know who from or why, but at certain times a seer will receive a vision and they are always about something that's going to happen. Dee gets visions about werewolves who are in trouble and need help. His first one was about me, he didn't know what it meant but a druid who knew Deaton did." Scott stopped to look at Lydia, as if to check whether she was following all of it.

Lydia tilted her head in amusement, "Really McCall? Have you forgot who you're speaking to? Keep going".

A small laugh burst from Katie who then ducked her head in apology.

Scott looked embarrassed before continuing, "Part of being a True Alpha is to act as an Alpha for all werewolves, to lead them. They would travel all over to help werewolves in need. The Druid told Dee this story and he came to find me. The werewolves Dee sees are in need and I'm the True Alpha. I had to go with him"

Lydia took a moment to consider what she had just been told. So this was it, this was what Scott had been doing in the years since he had left; he was giving for more than just Beacon Hills. This was bigger than Lydia had thought it was going to be, sure he had a good reason but she wasn't expecting this.

"So what happened next?"

Katie leapt over to sit next to Lydia, "He saved us all that's what". Katie was beaming at Scott who had that sheepish look on his face for the third time today.

"No it wasn't anything like tha-"

"It pretty much was Scottie" Katie interjected. She looked at Lydia, "Look he's going to play the rest of this story down, he always does, so let me assure you to add twice the amount of savior to this"

Lydia turned to Scott in anticipation of what came next. "Go on".

"I could hear Dee's heartbeat throughout the entire conversation, he wasn't lying. So we left and travelled amongst packs until Dee had a vision. It was of Connor and we went to help. He decided to join us and that's how this started out."

"Connor who saved me last night?"

Scott nodded, "That would be him".

"And what exactly is this?"

"My pack", Scott spoke with a look on his face similar to that of a proud father gushing about his children. "Everyone here except Dee is a werewolf, we find others like us and help them. So far everybody we found joined us, it wasn't meant to be like that but I'm not going to turn anyone away".

Lydia had kept up with the story so far, but she wanted to know a little more to understand Scott's task fully, "What kind of help did you all need, and why were you the only one helping?"

"Because we didn't have anybody else." There was a distinct drop in Katie's tone that made Lydia regret asking the question, Katie turned to face her fully.

"I said Scott saved us all and I mean that literally Lydia. My dad and I used to travel the country from state to state; we usually stuck up north near the forests. It wasn't a safety thing so much as we preferred it, the space, peacefulness, being part of nature, it's something that we as werewolves relished in. Four years ago we were trekking in the mountains, there was a landslide and my dad was caught in it. He died." Katie paused to swallow while she tried to blink back the tears that were beginning to pool in the corner of her eyes.

"I couldn't leave him, I didn't want to. He was all I had, everything I had ever known lying beneath those rocks. I stayed in that same spot for a week, didn't move, didn't eat, barely slept. That's when Scott found me, he didn't say anything or try to console me, he just started moving boulders. Connor and Sam helped, Dee sat down with me. They cleared the rocks away from my father's body and dug him a grave. That's when Scott told me it was time to say goodbye. I buried my dad and left with them. I told myself it was only until we reached the nearest town and I'd split. But in the week until we reached it they took care of me, made sure I ate and slept, would sit with me when the nightmares woke me up and they waited until I couldn't cry anymore. Scott helped me take each day one at a time until I realized that I couldn't last on my own."

Katie lifted her head to make eye contact with Lydia, she had managed to subdue her tears but the pain on her face reflected how she was currently feeling. "You know I didn't even have to ask him to join the pack, I was going to, I walked over to him one day to ask and before I could say anything he told me yes. And it's the same for all of us here, without him we'd still be lost"

Katie stood up after that, put her hand on Scott's shoulder and squeezed before leaving Lydia and Scott in the carriage.

Lydia felt awful, she hadn't wanted to delve into so personal a matter or to upset Katie and all the while she was struck by what she had said. 'Scott saved us all'. In Beacon Hills they had spent years hurt over his absence whilst he was out there saving people, putting the needs of others above his own. True Alpha or not that made Scott a hero and he needed to know so.

The werewolf in question was sitting opposite her in silence, seemingly lost in his own train of thought.

"Scott I'm sorry, I didn't want to up-"

"Don't worry about it, she would have told you anyway. Someone always does when I'm trying to explain us."

"So why are you back in Beacon Hills, are you here to help us with these werewolves?"

A pained look flashed across Scott's face, almost a grimace. "No, that isn't why we are here. Dee got a vision, there's going to be a werewolf here who needs us. Its not one of the pack, someone different. We just go where the visions are"

"Where do this new pack come in, and what are they? Their eyes…they aren't like yours, I've never seen eyes like it".

"They're called the Apex Pack, we had a run in with them when we found Eli, we killed three of their own. So they've followed us for the last four months, we came close to losing them a couple times but somehow they find our trail. Their Alpha is called Kane; he thinks werewolves are better than humans, a literal step up on the food chain. All the werewolves that join him subscribe to that view. You saw what they did, what they are. That's why their eyes are black, doing these horrific things over such a long time it stains the soul and as Derek likes to point out, the colour of your eyes reflect the person you are. I really thought they wouldn't find us this time, I brought them here, it's my fault."

A silence stretched out between the two old friends as Lydia processed everything. In the space of two weeks the tranquility that Beacon Hills had enjoyed for the last three years had been destroyed and replaced by events that could turn into the bloodiest fight yet. In addition to this Scott had returned, he was interlinked with everything, he had become something bigger than just a werewolf. Seriously she wondered, why does anyone live in Beacon Hills anymore?

Lydia remembered the two werewolves from the last night and the people they had killed. These werewolves saw humans as a source of food and nothing more, which meant anyone is Beacon Hills could be in danger. It had to end.

"So how are we going to stop them? If we all come together we can stop them right?"

Scott's head snapped up to look at Lydia, eyes wide open in surprise. "No. You aren't getting involved, any of you."

"What do you mean, how can we let these monsters go round eating people? We have to stop them!"

"I will stop them, but you and the others can't get involved, the Apexes don't know about any of you and it has to stay that way, you have to stay safe"

"Scott how can you ask us to stay out of this? It's our home; we have always protected our home. Besides we already know about the werewolf attacks, we are already involved"

Scott shook his head and stood up, walking over and kneeling down before Lydia, "I'm asking you as a friend Lydia, I can't have you and the others in danger, we've already lost too much. My pack and I can handle the Apex Pack, they won't travel into town its too much exposure, after last night the Sheriff will close the Preserve to the public, we will patrol it and when we find them we will do what is necessary. I will do what is necessary."

Lydia thought back to why the Apex Pack were chasing Scott, 'we killed three of their own', Scott had killed? The grim expression on his face suggested that he was troubled and that came as no surprise to Lydia, he had to be going through a lot right now, coming back home, his mission and the threat of the Apexes, this was more than any man should have to bear.

But Scott McCall was no normal man and this was just the latest weight to the burdens the True Alpha shouldered, even Atlas would have wavered when faced with Scott McCall's load. Surely she and the others should do whatever they could to help lighten his load?

As if reading Lydia's mind Scott spoke; his voice heavy with desperation "Lydia please… they wont hesitate to kill you if you interfere, they almost killed you last night. Isaac, Allison, Stiles… I need you all to be safe."

Lydia had never seen Scott like this and it was all the more unsettling, if Scott was right and someone got hurt she didn't know how he would take it, hell she didn't know how she would take it. If Stiles was hurt…

"Ok. I wont tell anyone what I know or that your back." Scott looked visibly relieved after her agreement, his shoulders sank and he let out a deep breath. "But the others are still going to go after them, and my scent will still be all over the preserve last night."

"I know but I have a plan. The Apex Pack will know we are here after last night, knowing how much Kane wants me dead they will keep a low profile from here, avoid killing anymore humans until he finds me. So Derek and the others won't find them. As for your scent, we will take you back to where you found them; you call it in so there is a reason for your scent to be there. I will wait in the preserve until I know your safe."

"So what now?"

Scott managed to summon a smile despite the dark atmosphere in the carriage, "Now you come and meet my pack".

Scott led her off the train carriage and into a makeshift living area in the station, there were seven people sat around a fire in a circle. Lydia recognized Flo sat with two boys that she would have guessed were sixteen, Katie and Connor were sat next to a man of around Scott's age, and there was one more boy sat at the edge of the circle looking at Scott as if he were awaiting instruction.

"Ok everyone so if you haven't guessed this is Lydia Martin. Lydia this is my pack, next to Flo are Wallace and Eli. That's Sam near us, you know Connor and Katie", at the mention of his name Connor nodded at Lydia, she mouthed a silent thank you to him, inwardly she cringed at what was definitely not the way to thank someone who had saved your life but what else could a girl do?

"And the scrawny human sitting in between them is Dee"

"Hey at least I only have to shave once every two weeks, isn't it time for your hourly trim boss?"

"I said stop calling me boss Dee"

"And I say I'm going to stop smoking but it isn't happening anytime soon is it?"

Lydia was fascinated as she looked at them all, trying to remember everything about Scott's new pack, Dee in particular as in a roundabout way he was responsible for Scott leaving although it would be unfair to blame him for anything.

She was struck by the seven mirrored expressions on the faces opposite her, Scott picked up on it, "Oh don't worry about the stares Lydia, it's just that they never met anyone from my life before this"

Three hours passed before Scott said it was time to leave, in that time she learnt a lot about Scott's pack. She saw that Wallace and Eli were peas in a pod reminding her of a young Scott and Stiles, as the middleman age wise Sam tried to be more mature than the younger werewolves as if it was his duty to be responsible for them. Dee and Scott were very good friends and bounced off of each other, takings playful digs at one another, Connor wasn't content unless everyone in the pack was happy, every time someone moved or left the space Connor would stay alert until they were settled.

What was most obvious to Lydia however was that Scott and Katie were incredibly close, like a brother and sister she noted but she could think of one girl who would have been unsettled by their relationship. But Lydia was glad Scott had someone like that, she seemed to help lift some of the weight on his shoulders, and she managed to do the same for Lydia.

Lydia decided that she definitely liked Katie.

When it was time Scott, Katie and Lydia got into Lydia's car and they started off back to the preserve. Lydia was apprehensive about going back there and when Katie offered to join them she was definitely a little relieved. On the way back there was one thing weighing down on her mind.

"Can I come back and see you? I mean it's been five years, and I know its dangerous but I haven't seen you in five years. I missed you".

Scott smiled and reached down to grab hold of Lydia's hand, "Of course you can, I'd love that. We'd need to make sure the others can't pick up my scent but all you really need to do is shower lots"

"Trying to say I smell again McCall?"

"I never said you smelled in the first place, you just carry scents."

Katie's voice chimed in from behind them "I don't know what you're talking about, I can't catch anything of her, I think you should give the girl a break."

Lydia made eye contact with Katie, "And you, when was the last time you went clothes shopping? Because honey those clothes are definitely too small for you"

"Err I don't know, maybe a year or two? It's not like clothes shopping has ever been high on the agenda"

Lydia shook her head, no this would not do. "Well then its decided, you are going to come shopping with me and while we are out we can pick up Flo some clothes too"

Scott was now positively beaming "I think that's a great idea."

"Please, you're just happy that your old pack is mixing with your new one" Katie replied.

"I never said that wasn't the case".

Their jovial conversation was brought to an end when Lydia parked up at the front of the Preserve; a heavy silence fell amongst the trio.

They got out of the car and walked through the forest, barely making a sound to avoid detection. Reassuringly the birds of the forest were in full song and after fifteen minutes solid walk they reached the place of the previous nights attack.

Katie gave Lydia a firm hug before running off to take a position to watch her from afar leaving just Scott and Lydia. Sensing her apprehension Scott put his hands on her shoulder and this small action managed to calm Lydia down despite herself.

"You don't need to move from here and you definitely don't have to look at the bodies again. Just make the call and stay here, I wont be far until the others arrive ok?"

Lydia gave an affirmative nod, "Won't they smell you on me or around here?"

A shake of the head answered Lydia's question, "No they wont, the only thing they will be able to pick up is the stench of the bodies and the anger coming off of the werewolves here last night. It's so thick it's the only thing I can smell. When you get to the station ask for a shower, that'll take care of the rest."

"Are you sure you don't want the others to know? They'll want to see you, they'll want to hel-"

"No Lydia, they can't know. I'm trusting you to keep what you know to yourself, I know you will and I'm sorry that you have to keep this secret but it's the best option."

Lydia embraced Scott and squeezed him tight, recollecting how earlier she felt that holding onto him was the only way to reassure herself he was real, she tightened her grip on him, still real. For his part it seemed Scott didn't want to let go of her either, after five years he had found one of his pack and it was an emotional moment for the Alpha, five years without a pack member is hard for any werewolf.

Before letting go Scott took in a deep breath, just like he had done before. Katie's comment from earlier chimed in Lydia's head 'Don't forget Allison'.

"You still love her don't you?"

Scott didn't seem surprised by Lydia's deduction; he simply broke away from the hug and looked Lydia dead in the eye "I love all of you. See you soon", with that Scott turned and stalked off into the forest.

Now alone Lydia sighed before taking her phone out and typing in a number she had called far too often for these types of circumstances.

"Stiles get your dad, I found more bodies".

A.N. Hey guys, super sorry about the long time between chapters, just had a lot on atm. But here it is, hope this was worth the wait and explained any questions you've had about the plot. Its about to pick up now so please stay with it. Reviews are always welcome.