Chapter Ten: The Broken

A/N: Hey everyone, I've been rewatching some Teen Wolf, and I need to make a little note. I named Jackson's mother Natalie, COMPLETELY forgetting that also happened to be Lydia's mother's name. I did not intend for it to seem that Lydia and Jackson were secret siblings, so let's just say the two women had the same name by complete coincidence. OK? And, as always, enjoy and leave a review!

Danny didn't get out much these days. After Aiden's death and Ethan's departure, he felt himself slipping into a depression. He quit the lacrosse team, which prompted a visit from none other than Scott McCall. Yes, he was adorable, but even his overly optimistic attitude wasn't enough to dissuade his decision. In fact, Danny wasn't sure why everyone was always swarming around one teenager. So he made it part of his choices to drift out of that orbit and enter a much more solitary one.

Since that night Lydia and he found that hand in the woods, he stopped going out at all, unless prompted by his parents. True, the police never found anything once they had been called, but he knew what he saw. Too many people were dying around him, so he thought the only way to avoid that pain was to just avoid people in general.

He was lying in his room the day Scott and Liam ran around in the forest seeking out Derek, thinking about the photo album he kept tucked under his mattress. There was nothing pornographic in its plastic sleeves, but it was a private matter.

"I'm everyone's type."

The words still echoed around his brain. That day, the way Jackson's eye twinkled, the way his body moved, all of it. Jackson would always be his best friend, but those words hinted that something could be shifting between them, and Danny was excited to see where that could lead. Then Jackson disappeared, and only Lydia was there to support him in the claim that he wasn't actually in London.

But Lydia was dealing with her own issues, which left Danny alone with his photo album.

He rolled off the bed and rose on one knee, pushing his hand between the mattress and box spring, feeling for the cool plastic book. His fingers found purchase on it, and he pulled gently, easing it out.

The daylight was just beginning to fade, but there was more than enough to see by. He flipped open the cover and was greeted by a picture of Jackson, smiling after some lacrosse victory or another. The locker room stood behind him, peppered with their teammates in varying states of undress. While the other boys' bodies were nothing to scoff at, Danny never needed to look in their direction, not when he had Jackson always putting on a show.

The next couple entries were more of the same: pictures of Jackson, twice with an arm around Danny, but always smiling. That was one of the few rules about which pictures made it in – smiling had to be a part of it. The whole purpose of this book was to remember the happier times, before all the death and killing, before everything went dark.

When he turned the page again, he saw Matt's grin flashing up at him. Of the three people in the book, Matt was the most difficult to see. He used to think of the time they spent together, fixing that video of Jackson's first transformation. Matt was the one who put the loop in the first place, but Danny had been blind to that. He only saw the other teen's charming smile and bright eyes.

It upset him when he found out about Matt's obsession with Allison. There had been too many times, too many brief contacts between them, too many lingering glances for Danny to think of him as just a friend.

A few days ago he had taken flowers to his grave, but it was more of an afterthought than anything else. He had really been there for Ethan, and pulled a few extra flowers on the way for Matt. Someone had to remember him – he wasn't always a monster, the events of his past made him that speaking.

Speaking of Ethan, he was the last entry in Danny's book, and the only one Danny had actually dated. He was also, of the few boyfriends Danny had over the past couple years, the one to last the longest.

Ethan had been shocked when Danny revealed he knew about his supernatural status, but honestly it was something he had been working out on his own since helping decode the video of Jackson. When he told his best friend that he hadn't watched it, that had been a lie. He totally watched it, and then watched it again. He spent the majority of the next year seeking out answers, which he obtained from a combination of extensive online research and spying on the people around him.

Sometimes, he would send Ethan a text, wondering how he was doing. These texts were never answered. As far as he knew, Ethan had dropped off the face of the earth.

He was shocked out of his reverie by a tapping at his window. The sun was almost gone, and that side of the house faced east, so the space outside his window was wrapped in shadows. He was aware, however, that there was no part of the roof there, and no trees stood close enough for someone to have climbed.

His stomach churned, and he moved away from the glass, moving into the darkest corner of his room. Whatever lurked out there knew he was inside, it had to, but his instincts were taking over.

Another tap at the window, and Danny could have sworn he saw a talon disappear from view.

Danny jumped when glass exploded inward, sprinkling along the floor. The photo album slipped from his hands and bounced away.

Something distinctly reptilian flew in through the window and landed next to the bed. Danny screamed in terror, but it was swallowed by a gigantic roar ripping through the room, bouncing down the hall. His parents were out for the night, and for that, he was thankful. Whatever was happening, it would have been worse had they been here.

The beast stood around eight feet tall, its head missing the ceiling by only a foot. Its eyes glowed like a pale green fire. The most frightening feature was the wings. In all his searching through the supernatural, he had not once found anything with wings, especially huge, leathery ones with a twelve-foot wingspan. It took one long step towards Danny, breath exhaling in a hiss.

Danny fell to the floor, pushing himself back into a corner.

The thing took another step towards him, then its body began shaking. The vibrations began to peel away the scales. Danny wanted to scream again, but he found he could only stare in wonder.

A minute later, Matt stood naked in front of him.

He was speechless. Matt's eyes were filled with rage, and the expression on his face was hard to read. It looked as though he was trying to control himself, but at the same time wanting to let loose his emotions.

"Matt," he said in disbelief, struggling to his feet, "how are you alive?"

Matt moved in close. "I don't know."

"What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, Matt slid a hand down Danny's arm until it reached his hand. Then he guided the hand to his abdomen, and Danny released a gasp when they connected. "I need help, and I'm pretty sure everyone else is going to try to kill me."

"How can I possibly help you?" Danny didn't know where this conversation was going, but he was certain he wasn't going to like it. "And-and what was that thing?"

"There's no time to explain that now. I need to talk about Allison."

Danny pulled his hand away. "Matt… Allison's dead."

"I know that," Matt said. "But since I came back, I've seen her."

"Matt, that sounds insane."

"I know how it sounds, okay?" Matt growled, and Danny sensed him losing control. "But it's true. She keeps appearing to me, and she needs me."

"Needs you for what?" Danny asked.

Matt took a couple steps backwards, his hands balling up. In the dim light Danny saw tears working their way down his cheek. "I know you have no reason to trust me, and I know how I've acted in the past, but listen to me now: I can bring her back. I can bring Allison back."

Parrish had been waiting for about twenty minutes, and he knew that he wouldn't have to wait much longer. Derek had exceeded his expectations, and his confidence at peak levels. His fight neared, and between Derek's strength and Jackson's connection, he would be able to take down the kanima with no effort from him.

Derek was ready, that much was obvious. All he needed now was the break down the last barrier between Jackson and that dark place inside of him, and as always, his plan would work. The morning after Derek's latest transformation, the wolf slept soundly all day. Parrish grabbed Natalie and dragged her back down to the basement. He tied her up, and then whispered in Jackson's ear that he wanted to two of them to bond, so the "stay silent unless spoken to" rule went on a temporary hiatus. And it didn't take long for the two of them to build a connection.

That took him to today. He would have preferred letting Natalie and Jackson continue their bonding activities for a longer time, but time was something he didn't have much of. New bodies had been sprouting up around Beacon Hills, clearly the work of the kanima, and he knew that Scott and his pack were both seeking out the human named Matt, as well as trying to track down Derek. They were several miles outside of town, but eventually those werewolves would be able to pick up his scent, and it would lead them straight to this place.

So he had nothing else to do except move up the timeline, which led to Derek's current hunt. Completely under Parrish's control now, and his strength exponential, he decided to test the extent of his abilities. Of course, he really didn't have much to test in the way of strength, but that wasn't the most important thing.

So he waited, rocking back and forth in the chair on the small porch, sipping on some hot tea. Soon Derek would return with the item Parrish ordered him to bring, and then they would have a nice little chat with Jackson.

He smiled, knowing in advance how Jackson would react, or at least, how he had better react. If this didn't work to break down that last shield, the things he would have to do next were almost unthinkable. So he smiled at that too. Either way, he'd have his fun.

Twigs snapped to his left, and he cocked his head to the side, his face beaming with pride as Derek walked out of the woods into the small clearing surrounding the cabin, holding in his hand the object Parrish had tasked him with returning. "Derek, you magnificent creature," he said, standing from the chair. "Bring the prize to daddy."

They walked inside and went to the secret entrance to the basement.

Parrish went down first, and when Jackson looked at him, wishing his mother would trail behind, he wagged one finger in the air.

"Now!" Parrish shouted.

Derek took the cue and tossed the thing he obtained from the woods down the stairs.

For Jackson, time slowed to a crawl. He heard the bouncing sound, and then he felt it. It felt like something was breaking, shattering even, but he didn't know why. That was about the time his mother's head fell into view, landing at the base of the stairs, her eyes staring blankly at him.

Jackson reared back and unleashed a howl unlike any he had ever had before, and he realized what had shattered within him.

Parrish looked on and smiled again.