The Wolf Amoung Us
Summary: After having lost Peter to his obsession with power, Sydney was sure of one thing and one thing only: she needed to pull her life back together. With unexpected news that will change everything, will she become the strong alpha that she desires so much or will she struggle to keep it together until it's too late? Season 5: Peter Hale/OC
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf, Sydney however is all mine.
Chapter 10:
Sydney pulled into the parking lot on the side of the apartment building that she had once been all too familiar with. The sun was just starting to go down, which meant that they weren't going to be getting too much done until the next day. She put the car in park and glanced over at her road trip buddy, who had dozed off somewhere shortly after they had crossed into California.
Sydney hadn't minded a little bit of quiet, in fact it had given her some time to think about what she truly wanted to accomplish while she and Charlie were in Beacon Hills. Aside from meeting up with Stiles and Parrish, she knew she wanted to talk to some people about getting her parents' house rebuilt, or, at the very least, in the beginning phases of being rebuilt.
Ideally she wanted a place to live if she chose to head back to California in the near future. Staying in Peter's one bedroom apartment would work temporarily, and for her and Charlie it was just fine for their upcoming week, but in the long run, it wouldn't work out too well for her and the baby, especially when the baby got big enough to need its own space, so yes, getting her old house on the rebuilding track was a primary concern for Sydney this trip.
The other concern she wanted to deal with was letting Charlie meet some of the important people that she had left in Beacon Hills, mainly Stiles and Parrish. She wanted to check in with the sheriff as well but Sydney was very aware of how busy the man could be so at the very least, Charlie would be introduced to the man's spastic son.
Turning the car right off, Sydney freed the keys from the ignition and reached her hand over, nudging Charlie's knee with her knuckles and bringing the younger girl back to reality. Charlie woke up abruptly and glanced around, peering out the front window and looking directly at the outer brick wall of the apartment building.
"Where are we?" Charlie asked and lifted her hands into the air, stretching out her muscles. Sydney shook her head in amusement and opened her door, pausing in her seat and looking at Charlie.
"Peter's apartment, I figured we could just stay at his place." Sydney answered and made quick work of climbing out of the car, shutting the door behind her. She tucked the keys into the front pocket on her jeans after pushing the button to release the trunk.
Charlie met her at the back of the car and made a move to grab her suitcase, lugging it up onto her shoulder and watching as Sydney did the same. Charlie reached up and shut the trunk, falling in stride behind Sydney as she led the way to the front of the building, digging her keys back out and using a small silver one to unlock the door at the front.
Taking a few seconds to look around, Charlie took in the sight of the lobby. There wasn't much to it but a little chair was set up across the hall from the mailboxes, which were built right into the wall.
"Let me just check the mail." Sydney mumbled and stepped away from Charlie, shoving an even smaller silver key into the corresponding mailbox.
The little door opened and Sydney reached in, nabbing the small stack of envelopes and flyers that had been tucked away inside. She knew that anything important had been forwarded to her house in Colorado but that didn't mean that Peter wasn't going to continue to get any mail at all, especially if most of it was junk.
Tucking the mail under her arm, she shut the mailbox and motioned with her head for Charlie to follow her. The two of them headed for the stairs and wandered up them side by side, a comfortable silence hovering over them. It wasn't until Sydney approached the door to Peter's apartment that she said another word and she hadn't even meant to say it out loud.
"Peter…" She murmured and took in a deep breath, inhaling his lingering scent. Charlie didn't acknowledge that she had heard her and remained absolutely silent next to her alpha, although she too was taking in the scent of the wolf who had lived in the apartment not all that long ago.
Sydney jammed the key into the lock and twisted it, freeing the door from its hold and kicking it open. His scent was even stronger inside and Sydney rushed forward, looking around at the place that she had called home once upon a time. Charlie hesitantly stepped inside too but she paused and shut the door behind her, flipping the lock across as a safety precaution. She didn't know what sort of dangers lurked in Beacon Hills and after hearing of all the weird supernatural creatures that Sydney had encountered, she wasn't about to take any chances.
"Did you want to share the bed again?" Charlie asked, breaking the silence. Sydney immediately turned towards her and tilted her head to the side, clearly confused as to what Charlie was asking. "At night, did you want to share the bed again? If you want me to, I can take the couch."
"Oh." Sydney glanced towards the couch and smiled at the fond memories taking over her mind. "Uh, we can share the bed."
"You sure?"
"Yes." Sydney nodded her head and used her hand to motion Charlie forward, leading her into the bedroom that smelled even more like Peter. Maybe this was the reason Charlie was hesitant to want to share bed, maybe she had caught the scent earlier and figured that Sydney wouldn't want to interfere with it.
"Okay." Charlie muttered and when Sydney set her suitcase on the end of the bed, Charlie followed her lead and set hers right beside Sydney's. "What's the plan for tonight?"
"We can run out and grab some groceries and anything else you need." Sydney offered and took hold of the mail from underneath her arm. She began flipping through, looking at the flyers and coupons as she waited for Charlie's answer.
"Maybe grab something to eat while we're out too?" Charlie asked with a hopeful look in her eyes. Sydney glanced up from the mail and grinned at her beta before nodding her approval of Charlie's suggestion.
"Pizza?"
"Oh yes, that sounds amazing!" Charlie smiled right back at Sydney.
"You can go check the rest of the place out if you want." Sydney stated and waved her hand in the direction of the living room. "Turn the TV on too, if you're bored?"
"How long until we're going out to grab groceries then?"
"We can go whenever, you want to go right now?" Sydney looked at Charlie, who nodded her head yes. "Okay, let me just pee and then we can go."
"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea, I have to do that too."
The two girls took their turns using the facilities and Sydney had locked the door to the apartment as they headed back out. She had handed Charlie the car keys and told her that she could drive if she wanted to, which Charlie was quick to accept.
There was a little store not too far from the apartment building and Sydney directed her beta towards it, the two of them barely conversing in the car. It wasn't until they were parked in the lot that either girl made a move to say anything to the other.
"How does it feel being back here?" Charlie asked in a low tone and turned the car off, freeing the keys from the ignition and handing them over to Sydney.
"It's not as bad as I figured it would be. Peter's scent in the apartment was more soothing than anything." Sydney explained briefly and took her bottom lip in between her teeth. "When we're done here, I can drive you past Eichen House and show you where Peter's locked up, it's a pretty impressive building actually."
"Just a drive by though right? You're not going to take me inside or anything?" Charlie questioned and Sydney tried to stifle her laugh at how uneasy the girl got at the mentioning of the infamous mental institution.
"Yeah, just a drive by. If it makes you feel better, we can go tomorrow instead, you know, when it's light out." Sydney laughed and Charlie leveled a glare on her but soon joined right in with the laughing. "Come on, let's go get some food, maybe some snacks, then grab a pizza and head back."
Charlie hopped out of the car, Sydney following suit, and the two girls met at the front of the car. They walked side by side into the store and only paused so that Sydney could grab a basket, which she held onto in her hand, letting it dangle at her side. Charlie led the way into the store and headed down the first aisle, her eyes scanning the shelves of food and hoping that Sydney would get some good stuff.
She took a step forward and grabbed a can of chicken noodle soup before looking at the label. Sydney hadn't said anything to her and when she turned around, the girl in question was running her fingers over boxes of rice.
"Grab whatever you want." Sydney announced without even glancing in Charlie's direction. "If there's something you want me to make, speak now or forever hold your peace."
"Oh, I'm good with whatever. Dad and I don't do a lot of cooking so it's a delicacy just to have homemade food as it is." Charlie pointed out with a smile and Sydney finally glanced over at her beta, smiling right along with her. "But since you're offering, I've always wanted to try sushi."
"Good choice." Sydney let out a chuckle at the girl's request. "I think I can handle making that, although be forewarned, it might not look as pretty as the stuff you get at a restaurant."
"No way! That's cool, I don't care how it looks, not really anyways." Charlie snorted, knowing that even if their upcoming week itself wasn't very eventful, at least she'd be eating well. "I've never really known anyone who can handle food and cook like you, not even a little bit."
"What about your old pack? A boyfriend maybe?" Sydney countered and finally settled on one of the boxes of rice, picking it up and setting it into the basket. "Nothing like that?"
"Uh, no." Charlie shook her head and waited for Sydney to get close to her before dropping the can of soup into the basket. "I mean, I've dated before but not anyone that knew anything about cooking. My last boyfriend was part of my old pack, but then they were annihilated."
Sydney nudged Charlie's hip with her own and caught the sad expression on the beta's face. She nodded her understanding and looped her free hand through Charlie's arm, hanging on to her in an attempt to soothe her.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Sydney murmured and Charlie gave off an awkward shrug. "Losing pack hurts, real bad."
"Yeah." Charlie breathed the word out and straightened up next to Sydney. "On the bright side, now I've got you and you're a good cook."
"Well thanks." Sydney beamed over at her. "Did you want to talk about your old pack at all? You can tell me what your boyfriend was like, if you want."
"He was a good guy, we weren't dating that long but we were pack mates for a while before we got together. I liked him but I mean, we never made it past kissing."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I was never ready and then all of a sudden, one night I went looking for him and I found him mauled to death with the rest of them." Charlie explained in a low tone, cautious of prying ears that could be lurking around the next aisle.
"Wait, where were you when…when-"
"I was working with my dad. He needed my help at the office that day so I was there. When he closed up, I headed out to where my pack used to gather and found them all…dead. There was so much blood…"
"How long ago was this?" Sydney pressed and leaned over towards Charlie, resting her head against the top of hers. "How old were you?"
"It was a couple years ago, I tend to block a lot of it out though."
"Do you have any idea who did that to them?" Sydney pressed and the two of the rounded the end of the aisle, heading down the next one where Sydney focused in on searching for ingredients to make sushi, as well as other meals for the girl next to her. "Hunters maybe?"
"Honestly," Charlie paused and let out an anxious breath, "I have no idea. I kept a low profile after that and my dad kept his eyes and ears open for information, but he never got any and no one tried to come after me. I don't even think whoever killed them all realized that they missed me, if they did, they didn't care."
Sydney bowed her head and stayed silent for a minute in respect for Charlie's fallen pack. While her own parents had been slaughtered, she could understand the profound sense of loss that Charlie would've experienced knowing that her entire pack had been obliterated while she had no idea it was even going on.
"We had an alpha pack a while ago, the alphas within the pack had killed their own betas, I can't imagine the type of heartache you had to go through knowing…I'm sorry, I really am."
"Well it's not your fault, maybe the alpha pack had something to do with it, maybe it was hunters, at this point, I'm not about to go diving into an investigation."
"No, I wouldn't imagine that would've been wise, not as an omega anyways." Sydney remarked and hoped that their conversation wouldn't be grim the entire time they were in the store, on one hand she wanted to know what had happened in Charlie's past to make her the person she was today but on the other hand, Sydney knew how hard it was talking about such tragedies and she didn't want to make Charlie relive it if she was uncomfortable doing so.
"Definitely."
"If I hear anything though, I'll let you know. There's a hunter in Beacon Hills, at least he was in Beacon Hills, when I was here. His daughter passed away and his spirit was broken but he ended up taking on a different code. Remember the true alpha I was talking about?"
"Scott right?"
"Yeah." Sydney smiled. "So the hunter, Chris Argent, is a pretty good ally of his. He's not your typical bloodthirsty hunter, maybe he knows something about what happened to your pack."
"You think?"
"Maybe. If we run into him while we're here, I'll see if I can talk to him but I'm not entirely sure he stuck around. I promise you though that I will do anything that I can to help you find out why your pack was targeted." Sydney stated. "Maybe I can even talk to Deaton, see what he knows."
"You know a lot of people in high places, don't you?" Charlie leveled her eyes on Sydney, who merely smiled in response.
"Yeah, apparently the Vance name carries quite a bit of weight around here." Sydney chuckled and peeled herself away from Charlie. "Now, if you want me to make you sushi, you're going to have to help me find the right stuff."
"Yes, yes I will." Charlie smiled and came up behind her, hesitating before gently wrapping her hand around Sydney's bicep.
When the alpha turned to face Charlie, she cautiously moved in for a hug, Sydney tensing at the motion but relaxing once she realized what the hell Charlie was doing. Sydney let the basket drop to the floor before lifting her own arms up and reciprocating the action, even going as far as to run her hands up and down Charlie's back in an attempt to provide her with the tiniest bit of comfort and reassurance that she was right there. So long as Charlie stuck with her, she wasn't going to let anything hurt Charlie.
"You're a good person." Sydney murmured and Charlie reluctantly pulled away, looking into Sydney's eyes, which flickered red in the process.
"You are." Charlie countered and before Sydney had a chance to reply, Charlie headed off down the aisle in search of the ingredients they'd need to make sushi.
Sydney stood back and watched her move, taking in the sight of her newest addition to the pack. There wasn't a single thing that Sydney would change about her, so far she was turning out to be just the sort of beta that Sydney needed.
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Charlie had gotten the privilege of driving back to the apartment once the two girls had finished their shopping. Sydney had insisted on putting the groceries away, seeing as she was the one who would be doing most of the cooking and she knew where everything went.
Once they had settled into the apartment for the night, the two of them had grabbed a bag of chips and something to drink and had proceeded to relax on the couch, Charlie getting the remote control as she searched for something to watch to occupy them. Sydney wasn't going to say anything out loud but she was eager to find out if Batman was on, and if he was, would Charlie stop to watch it.
Twice through the channels and Sydney realized that there was no Batman, however the first Captain America movie was playing and Sydney couldn't help but smile as Charlie promptly stopped channel surfing at the sight of Chris Evans' face on the screen.
"A Marvel fan are we now?" Sydney teased and stretched her feet out, resting them on the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Duh!" Charlie shot back and turned her head towards Sydney, a giant grin present on her face. "The Cap is my favourite superhero. Do you have a favourite superhero?"
Sydney thought about the question for a few seconds and recalled the conversation that she had once had with Peter. She had always ended up cheering more for the villains but did that mean she didn't have a favourite hero?
"I don't really know." Sydney answered shyly and felt Charlie's gaze on her, clearly the girl was judging her.
"Okay, well, do you watch-"
"I like Batman, the show though, not Batman himself. I always had a thing for the Joker."
"Ah yes, I can see that."
"What do you mean by that?" Sydney scrunched up her nose but Charlie quickly lifted her hands up in surrender.
"I mean, for a cartoon character, he's definitely kind of not so bad looking."
"Ha!" Sydney threw herself forward, her feet dropping to the carpeted floor in front of the couch. "I knew it, he's totally attractive, for a cartoon."
"Yes. Why's this so important to you though?"
"Oh." Sydney's eyes fell to the floor and she sucked in a breath. There was no point in trying to hide it, plus Charlie seemed to understand her, for the most part. "Okay, well way back before Peter and I were a thing, we ended up watching Batman and I said that I always thought the Joker was attractive. He pointed out that he was a cartoon and that it was kind of weird-"
"No way! Cartoon characters can be attractive, just like normal people." Charlie cut in with a smile. "When was the last time you had a girl for a friend?"
Sydney tipped her head to the side and thought back into her past. She had had female friends before but none that she was all that close with. Her best friend had almost always been Derek and he certainly wasn't a girl.
"Well there was never anyone that I was particularly close to who was a girl. Derek and I were inseparable until I moved away, he's probably my only real best friend."
"Huh, that's okay I guess. I don't really have all that many friends either and I never really did outside of the pack."
"Then it's a damn good thing we've got each other now, huh?" Sydney teased and Charlie perked right up. "Just for future reference, I'm going to be telling you all of my secrets from here on out."
"Hey, same goes for you." Charlie chuckled and shifted closer to Sydney, her voice dropped down lower, "where's Derek now?"
She should've been anticipating the question, Derek had come up in conversation, it was only fair that Charlie have concerns about his whereabouts, right? Sydney lifted her one leg up and tucked it under her bum.
"I'm not really sure where he is at this exact moment. He tends to drift but he always seems to be around when I really need him."
"A drifter?"
"Yeah, a lone wolf more or less." Sydney pointed out.
"Pun intended?" Charlie cocked her head to the side and Sydney scoffed.
"He used to be an alpha, turned three teenagers. He had a pack and everything, I was a part of it until he said some things that I didn't totally agree with and decided to chance it on my own." Sydney explained, hoping that Charlie would understand not to dive too deeply into why she had left, at least not this early in their relationship.
"What happened to his pack then?"
"Two of his betas; Boyd and Erica, were killed when the alpha pack showed up. His third beta, Isaac, chose Scott over Derek for his alpha, but it doesn't matter, he's over in France now."
"France eh?" Charlie leaned forward, clearly intrigued by her explanation. "There's this guy I met online that lives in France, we talk all the time, his name's Isaac too."
"Isaac Lahey?" Sydney straightened up and leveled her gaze on Charlie, who was searching in her pocket for her cell phone.
Sydney waited patiently for a few seconds before her beta pulled out the device, hitting a few buttons and then turning it so that the screen was facing Sydney. She let out a small gasp at the sight of the one and only Isaac Lahey in the picture on the phone before shaking her head in disbelief.
"This is Derek's Isaac?" Charlie asked, Sydney nodding her head yes. Charlie then turned the phone around, smiling at the picture of the teenaged boy on the screen. "Small world huh?"
"How long have you and Isaac been talking to each other?"
"Six months, give or take." Charlie shrugged, stole one last look at the picture and then shoved her phone back into her pocket. "I met him on a site for grieving teenagers."
Shaking her head, Sydney considered the chances that her newest beta had met and befriended Isaac Lahey online. It was kind of funny, in a strange way, but at the same time, maybe it could be beneficial. At least this way Charlie would have someone to talk to who knew about Sydney, maybe Isaac could help Charlie trust her and believe in her.
"You ever thought about going over to France?" Sydney questioned and Charlie shrugged.
"I don't really have the money, plus I don't know, sure we talk online but meeting, in person, that's different. Up until now, I had no idea that this kid was even who he said he was."
"Right." Sydney nodded. "What about now then, would you consider going over there now, assuming you had the money?"
Charlie bowed her head down and considered the question. Part of her had always wanted to meet the mysterious Isaac from online and now that she knew he was at least somewhat who he said he was, then maybe it seemed like a better idea than it had been even minutes ago. If she had the money, and the means to get to France, would she go, would she want to meet Isaac in person?
"Maybe, but I don't think I'd want to go completely by myself, you know?"
"Yeah, I get that." Sydney smiled. "Well, maybe we'll sit down and talk to the twins about this when we get back to Colorado, how's that sound?"
"Why?"
"I don't know, they know him too, maybe they'll have more to tell you."
Charlie turned her attention back to the television screen and watched Captain America fighting the bad guys. It wasn't until Sydney stood up off the couch beside her that she tore her eyes away from the TV, and only so she could look up at her alpha.
"I'm going to put my pajamas on." Sydney announced, catching the concerned look on Charlie's face. "I'll be back."
With a nod of her head, Charlie focused back on the movie while Sydney stepped around the coffee table, heading right for the bedroom, which still smelled so much like Peter. As soon as she was inside, she shut the door about halfway and stepped up to the end of the bed, undoing the top flap on her suitcase before digging out her pajamas. Once she pulled out her flannel shorts though, she stopped and turned her attention to the dresser against the wall.
Peter certainly wasn't going to be using his clothes any time soon and she knew that she'd be able to wash them before he was free, plus they'd smell a lot more like him than the shirts that she had stolen the first time she left for Colorado.
Without putting it off for another second, Sydney pranced over to the dresser, pulled the second drawer open and reached inside, nabbing one of his t-shirts. She ran her finger over the material and felt the softness against her skin before lifting the shirt up and pressing her nose into it.
At the lingering scent clinging to the material, she let out a soft sigh and shut her eyes, basking in the familiarity of being in the apartment. Sydney gently stepped backwards and when her legs collided with the edge of the bed, she dropped her butt down and sat, and that's when she finally opened her eyes.
Making quick work of stripping out of her own shirt and bra, she pulled Peter's t-shirt over her head and hugged her arms against her body, loving how utterly relaxed she felt at that very moment. She leaned back and gingerly fell against the bed before rolling onto her stomach and crawling up to the pillows, where she promptly buried her face into the one that Peter had always used.
Yet again, his scent was still there, this time more potent than even the shirt and Sydney let her eyes fall shut as she let her mind drift back to the times that she had spent right next to Peter in the very bed she was laying on.
In the living room, Charlie had been watching, listening to Sydney as she moved within the room. Standing up, the younger girl tiptoed towards the bedroom and poked her head inside, immediately opening the door at the sight.
Sydney was curled up on top of the bed, her head in the pillows, a different t-shirt on than the one she had gone into the room with, but that wasn't what had Charlie smiling. No, the reason the beta was happy was because Sydney was sleeping and for the first time since the two had met, Sydney looked peaceful.
Without making another noise, Charlie retreated back into the living room, pulling the door halfway shut behind her. She wasn't going to disturb the woman, she was going to finish watching her movie and then curl up on the couch.
She knew how desperately Sydney needed a peaceful night's sleep and that was exactly what Charlie was hoping she'd get that night. Maybe all her alpha needed was to be somewhere where she didn't feel so alone, maybe all she needed was to be back home.
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2 reviews :( Aw guys, do you still like the story? How about hearing about Isaac and Derek?
Thank you to those that favourited and added this story to their alerts!
poorxbrokexcollegexkid: Ha, yeah right, Peter doesn't ever seem to learn his lesson.
WickedlyMinx: So is she lol. thank you so much for the review!
If this chapter gets 5 reviews, I'll post the next chapter sooner!