Peek-a-boo! Two chapters in less than a week? SCORE! Although there was that one time I posted two chapters in less than 48 hours...huh. Screw it, I won't be trying to top that record anytime soon. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: anything recognizable is not mine.

Crystal trailed behind Allison as the brunette marched through the woods, carrying a bag over her shoulder. Lydia picked her way delicately though the leaves.

"You know, Allison, when you said you wanted to stop for an errand before we went shopping, you could have at least mentioned we would be taking a five mile hike in the woods," the shorter girl complained.

Crystal looked down at Lydia's heels. "How can you wear those things?" She could wear heels on occasion, but three inch heels every day? She would probably break her neck.

"Practice," Lydia replied distractedly.

"Oh, Lydia," Allison called over her shoulder. "Before I forget, I want to ask if you're okay with something. Jackson asked me to the winter formal."

Lydia hesitated and almost stumbled. Crystal reached out to catch her, but Lydia held up her hand as she steadied herself. "Oh? He did?"

Crystal frowned. She had a bad feeling as to where this was going.

Allison nodded. "Just as friends. But I wanted to make sure you're okay with it first."

Lydia shrugged nonchalantly, but her tight voice gave her away. "As long as it's just as friends."

"Well, yeah." Allison scoffed. "It's not like I'd take him into Coach's office during lacrosse practice to make out with him or anything."

Crystal groaned. Allison walked faster. Lydia froze. "Yeah. About that…"

"Allison!" Crystal called. The brunette barely slowed. Crystal turned to Lydia. "You two better fix this; I'm not spending my day playing buffer. I've done that enough recently."

They caught up to Allison. The girl had her bow sitting on the ground next to her and had a sliver arrowhead in her hand.

"We came out here for target practice?" Crystal sighed in exasperation.

"This is a special arrowhead," Allison told them.

"How?" Lydia asked.

Allison shrugged. "Let's find out."

Crystal's mouth dropped. "Hang on. You have no idea what that arrowhead does, and you're just going to fire it into the nearest tree?"

"Sounds about right." Allison took her stance. Crystal rolled her eyes and backed away, pulling Lydia with her.

"Honestly," she muttered. "Why do I always get stuck with the idiots? Where did she even find that arrowhead, anyway?"

"I can hear you."

"Good," Crystal spat. A moment later, the arrow flew into a tree about thirty feet away. The moment it made contact, there was a slight flash and a bang. They jumped. As soon as the sparks had faded, Crystal marched over to the tree and yanked the arrow out of the tree, ignoring Allison's sharp cry of "Careful!"

"That was great," Lydia said. "Any more lethal weapons you'd like to try out now?"

Allison and Crystal both turned as they heard something moving in the woods. It was so faint it was barely audible, but Crystal was getting paranoid with all the hunters and werewolves around.

"Hold this." Allison dropped her bow in Lydia's hands.

"Why?"

"I thought I heard something."

"So?"

"I want to find out what it is. Don't worry, it's probably nothing." Allison was tense, making her words a little hard to believe.

"Well, what if that nothing is something and that something is something dangerous?" Lydia whispered.

"Shoot it," Allison told her friend firmly before walking off.

Crystal snarled softly. "Honestly," she hissed. "First we go into the woods to play Robin Hood, then Allison wanders off to investigate a noise."

"It's like a horror movie come to life," Lydia agreed.

She had no idea. Crystal went to unscrew the sliver tip but dropped it again as the metal burned her hand. "Damn it!"

"Are you okay?" Lydia asked instantly.

"Yeah." Crystal looked at the arrowhead warily. "It just burned me."

"What kind of arrowhead is that?"

"That's what I want to know." She took off her scarf and wrapped it around her hand before trying to remove the arrowhead again. This time, she succeeded in getting it off. She stuck it in her jacket pocket and put her scarf back on before she rummaged through Allison's bag, finding the arrowhead that originally went on the arrow and screwing it on. Then she put the arrow back in the bag and took the bow from Lydia. "It won't do you any good if it's not loaded."

Lydia's lips twitched.

"Lydia? Crystal?" They both sighed in relief when they heard Allison. She stepped back into the clearing, her necklace dangling over her neck.

"You've got your necklace back."

Allison's hand immediately went up to it, as if to make sure it was really there. "Yeah. The something that I heard was Scott. He found it and brought it to me."

Crystal raised her eyebrows. "How sweet." She wondered how much of his story was pure bull. Probably all of it. She handed the bow and the bag back to Allison. "Can we go now, please? It's almost lunch time and I have to be home by seven."

Lydia sniffed. "You have a curfew?"

Crystal narrowed her eyes at the strawberry blonde. "I have things to do."

Five hours later, they had been to several different stores and had found nothing. Well, that wasn't true. Crystal had actually found a couple of dresses, but Lydia had shot both of the dresses down. One was too "frumpy"—Crystal actually agreed with her, but it had been cheap—and the other was unflattering, in Lydia's eyes. The one that Lydia had found for her was way above Crystal's price range, and a little too slutty for her taste. The bottom of the dress had barely come down to her mid thigh.

"We have less than a week until the dance," Lydia groaned. Then her face lit up. "How about we skip school Friday and go shopping? Then afterward we can all get ready together."

Allison looked doubtful, but Crystal nodded. "It's not like we'll be the only ones," she mused. "And I'll be able to catch up. I'm in."

Lydia clapped. "Great! Give me your phone." Crystal dutifully handed it over, and Lydia typed in her phone number and sent herself a text. She handed it back. "Done."

They left the mall and Crystal drove back to Beacon Hills while the other two discussed their issues. She tuned them out, uninterested in their petty argument over Jackson and Scott. Jackson wasn't worth it, anyway.

She dropped the girls off and promised she would talk to them at school Monday. She was halfway home when she noticed a black SUV was tailing her. Her stomach clenched. Looking around, she realized she and the SUV were the only ones on the road.

"Not good," she muttered. She put a little more pressure on the gas pedal, hoping to get to the next turn and shake him. Right before she hit the turn, another SUV pulled up at an angle, cutting her off. A third blocked her path straight ahead. The first stopped behind her. Car doors opened, and hunters stepped out onto the pavement, guns in hand.

She was trapped.

Her brain began whirring. She didn't have time to send a text. She could lock herself in the car, but they would probably bust her windows to get her out. She hurriedly pressed a speed dial without looking and slipped her phone in her pocket before she snatched the keys from the ignition and got out of the car.

She would have to run.

"Nice night," one of the hunters said. He was about forty, with black hair graying at the temples.

Crystal didn't waste time with pleasantries. "What do you want?"

"You're coming with us." This hunter was older. He had completely gray hair cut short, a square chin, and a harsh look about him. He stalked around her car, closing in.

She looked around for an opening. "Easy way or the hard way?"

The third and final hunter was barely older than her, with spiky black hair sticking straight up. He was the tallest of the group, but also the leanest. "I'd prefer the hard way. It's more fun for us."

She sneered at him. "You're sick." There. Right between Spiky and the car in front of her. Gray was far enough that he couldn't reach her in time. The pleasant one was lurking back, probably waiting for her to make a move.

She bolted.

Spiky laughed loudly, moving to intercept her. She moved sideways, turning her body so his fingers just grazed her arm.

She heard a bang, and then a fiery pain erupted in her leg above her right knee. She screamed and fell. Her keys flew from her hand and landed in the leaves at the side of the road.

Crystal sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she rolled to her side to get a look at the bullet wound. A small hole on the back of her leg and the gaping hole in her thigh showed that at least it was a through-and-through. Her phone pressed into her side, and she prayed it hadn't broken.

Spiky laughed again. He sounded like a hyena. The first man knelt beside her. "Now, why'd you have to go and run like that?" He took a piece of cloth out of his pocket and wrapped it tightly around her leg. She screamed again as the cloth touched the wound.

Gray rolled his eyes. "It was her fault she got shot. We should just leave her."

"No," the first said firmly. "She wants her as bait." He lifted her up with a grunt. "Damn, girl, you're heavy."

Crystal bared her teeth at him, tears still leaking from her eyes. "You will live just long enough to regret this," she swore. "All of you."

Stiles collapsed on his bed, ready to fall asleep. His dad was getting really close to putting all the pieces together. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Bad, he decided after a moment. Definitely bad.

His phone beeped with a voicemail. Without looking, he moved his hand around until he found it and played the message.

"What do you want?" Crystal's voice came over the phone from a distance. Stiles had to strain to hear her. Somebody said something, but he couldn't make it out. "Easy way or the hard way?" A moment later, she spat, "You're sick."

There was movement, and someone laughed. Stiles shivered, still straining his ears. Crystal was in trouble and he couldn't help her. He jumped when a loud gunshot echoed in his ears, followed immediately by Crystal screaming. It sounded like she fell, and the message cut off. Stiles saved the message, already running to his dad like his feet had wings.

"Dad!" He stumbled into the kitchen and stopped. His dad wasn't there, but the nearly empty bottle of whiskey was. He cursed softly. He just had to get his dad drunk tonight of all nights, didn't he? He hesitated, and then grabbed his jacket and keys in one hand. His other hand was already dialing.

"Hello?"

"Greg! It's Stiles. Listen, I need you to grab a patrol and look for Crystal. She's in trouble."

"Stiles, I'm gonna need a little more than 'she's in trouble'. Do you know what kind of trouble and where she is? Where's your dad?"

Stiles gritted his teeth as he started up his Jeep. "Dad's out. I don't know where Crystal was when she called, but I know she was shot. It went to voicemail. It's still on my phone."

"Stiles, you need to come in so we can hear it."

"All right, fine! Just send someone out looking for her, please!" He hit the gas.

"Make sure that bleeding's stopped. We don't need her dying on us just yet."

Crystal blinked at Boss. No, that wasn't his real name. She hadn't had enough time or brain power to come up with a decent nickname. She was more focused on staying awake.

They had taken her jacket and smashed her phone. Her keys were gone, and she couldn't walk out anyway. All she could do was wait and hope that they wouldn't torture her. She was screwed.

The cops listened as Stiles played the message again.

"And you have no idea where she was?" Deputy Tara Graeme asked.

Stiles shook his head. "She said she was going shopping with a couple of friends, but that's all I know."

"Which friends?"

"Lydia Martin and Allison Argent."

She nodded. "All right. Patrols are already out searching. Greg, stay here. I'm going to talk to the girls."

"I'm coming with you."

Stiles knew that she knew he would follow her anyway, so he wasn't surprised when she sighed and gestured. "Come on."

Stiles was tense and fidgety all the way to Lydia's house. His thrill when Lydia opened the door, strawberry blonde hair flowing gently over her shoulders, was overwhelmed by his anxiety for Crystal.

"Can I help you?"

Stiles didn't even give Tara time to speak. "Crystal's in trouble, but we don't know where she is."

Lydia's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Where did you last see Crystal Braddock?" Tara asked.

"Less than an hour ago; she dropped me off and then left to take Allison home. What happened?"

"We don't—"

"Crystal called me. She didn't say anything directly to me and it was kind of muffled, so I'm thinking she put her phone in her pocket. But I heard a gunshot."

Lydia paled. "She's alive, though, right? She has to be."

"We don't know." Tara's voice was tense, and Stiles didn't even have to look over to know she was glaring at him. "Thank you for your help."

"Call me as soon as you know anything."

Stiles nodded jerkily, already halfway to the car.

Tara started the car and had barely pulled out of the Martin driveway when the radio crackled. "We have an 11-24 near the intersection of Tanner and Anderson. A blue Lexus, license plate—"

Stiles didn't even listen to the rest of the report. "That's Crystal's car."

It wasn't long before the license plate registration confirmed it. Tara sighed. "We have to tell Mrs. McCall."

Scott stood frozen in the doorway. "You."

Peter inclined his head slightly. "Me."

Scott moved to close the door. With a slight shake of his head, Peter reached out and held the door open. No matter how hard Scott pushed, the door wouldn't close. "Really? Slam the door in my face? Come on. Think that through for a moment."

"I'll tell her," Scott said like a child about to tattle.

Peter's lips curled up into a smirk. "Tell her what, that I used to be a catatonic invalid with burns covering half of my face? Good luck with that." Melissa hadn't recognized him, even though she must have seen him a few times when Crystal came by. He'd had Jennifer forge a death certificate so there would be no questions when he disappeared from the hospital.

"If you hurt her—if you so much as touch her—"

He scoffed. "Scott. If I may interrupt your list of incompetent sounding threats for just a moment, do try and remember I've been in a coma for six years. Don't you think it's possible that I just want to have dinner with a beautiful woman?"

It was quite true. He always had loved beautiful things, and Melissa was quite attractive. All right, so having leverage wouldn't hurt if it came down to it.

"Just one second. I'll be right down," Melissa called. Peter could hear her heart beating quickly with nervous anticipation.

"Or maybe you think I'm going to turn her, that it might be easier to convince you if your mother is part of the pack, too." Peter shook his head. "You need to understand how much more powerful we are together, Scott—you, me, and Derek." He examined the tense Beta. "Did you know that some of the most successful military operations took place during World War II? The German U-boats attacked in groups. That's why they were called wolf packs. Did you know that?" He frowned mockingly. "Or are you failing history as well as chemistry?"

"I know the Germans lost the war," Scott bit out.

"Most historians would argue that was due to a failure in leadership. Trust me, we won't have that problem."

Melissa hurried downstairs, breaking up their little stare down. "I'm ready—finally. Sorry again."

Peter smiled charmingly at her. "No problem. Scott and I were just discussing history. He's actually quite clever, unlike a lot of the jocks I knew in high school. They always thought they knew everything, but they never really knew anything. It got them into trouble quite frequently."

Melissa laughed. "I think everyone's thought that." Peter held out his arm, and she took it. He looked over his shoulder, but the door was already closed and Scott was gone. So the kid wasn't stupid after all. He led Melissa over to Jennifer's car and had just opened the door for her when a police car pulled into the driveway. He didn't recognize the driver, but he did see the Stilinski boy fidgeting nervously in the passenger seat. He gaped when he saw Peter.

The officer parked the car and stepped out. Stiles wasn't far behind. "Mrs. McCall?" the officer asked.

Melissa frowned. "Yes?"

Peter narrowed his eyes slightly at Stiles. Worry emanated off him in waves. The officer was concerned, and…was that pity he smelled?

"Mrs. McCall, it's about your daughter."

Melissa stiffened. Beside her, Peter stilled. Something had happened to Crystal. He didn't even have to hear her say the words.

"Can we talk inside?" the officer asked.

Melissa shook her head. "No. Tell me what happened to Crystal."

Stiles ran a hand over his shaved head but surprisingly kept quiet. The officer sighed. "All right. Stiles called us earlier after he got a message from Crystal. We sent out patrols, and they found her car abandoned not far from here." The officer paused minutely. "There was blood."

Melissa paled. Peter allowed all the worry he felt for Crystal to show on his face and reached out to steady her. "Hey. Do you want to go inside?"

She nodded shakily. The group went inside, and the officer sat next to Melissa on the couch. Peter offered to go make coffee. Without waiting, he turned his back on the women and glared at Stiles. He knew red flared in his eyes when he saw Stiles pale and retreat into the kitchen. Peter stalked toward him until they were practically nose to nose. "What happened?" he asked lightly.

Stiles held out his phone and pulled up voicemail before handing it to him. Peter listened to the message. It took all his willpower not to crush the phone especially after he heard her scream. He handed the phone back to Stiles and went back into the living room, dropping his angry expression. "I'm really sorry, but I've got to go." He looked directly at Melissa, ignoring the officer. "I'll call you?"

Melissa nodded. Peter knelt in front of her and curled his hand around hers. "She'll be all right." It took every ounce of patience and deception that he possessed to make it out the door, to the car, and down the road. He drove until he reached an empty playground. He parked the car, got out, and roared his fury at the sky. Collecting himself, he looked around the familiar playground.

Eighteen year old Peter groaned softly as he looked over at his niece and nephew. Talia had decided it would be good for him to babysit today. So here he was, stuck on a bench surrounded by screaming children. Did she know nothing about him? He couldn't stand children, especially in large quantities.

His ears pricked at Laura's and Derek's voices. They were arguing again. Derek stomped over to him grumpily, tears shining in his eyes. His thick blue coat was zipped up to protect him against the cold February weather, but his nose and ears were slightly red. The three year old had just opened his mouth when five-year-old Laura waddled up behind him in her puffy pink coat. Both of them started talking at once.

"Laura pushed me!"

"Derek wouldn't let me have a turn on the swing—"

"Mommy said it wasn't—"

"—and Mommy always says I have to share with Derek, so—"

"—nice to push people—"

"—he should have to share with me—"

Peter raised his eyebrows at them, eyes glinting dangerously. The two fell silent. "If you two keep fighting, we'll just go home."

Laura scowled at her brother and stuck her tongue out at him. Derek grimaced at her.

"Well?" An idea hit him. If he got them to go home early, he wouldn't have to play nursemaid for the rest of the day.

He felt her before he heard her. He turned his head, sighing in relief. Talia Hale had just stepped out of her car. Laura and Derek looked at him curiously, so he pointed over his shoulder. They moved around the bench, and their faces brightened. "Mommy!"

"Hey, sweethearts." Talia leaned down, kissed them both on the cheek, and faced Peter. He nodded and rose. Not because it was polite (although that was true) but because he wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Peter. How were they?"

He shrugged. "The usual."

A woman with curly brown hair and a baby bundled in her arms stopped beside them. "Excuse me, but do either of you know how to get to Carlton Street?"

Peter looked at the woman with surprised distaste. Talia silenced him with a quick warning glare before she turned to the woman with a smile. "Yes, actually."

As Talia gave the woman directions, Laura and Derek turned to Peter.

"What's that?" Derek whispered loudly, pointing at the baby.

Peter rolled his eyes. "It's a baby, Derek."

The woman smiled. "Her name's Crystal."

"Crys-tal." Laura sounded out the name. "It's pretty."

"Thank you. My husband and I thought so, too."

"How old is she?" Talia asked.

"Two months old today."

"I'm three!" Derek proudly declared.

"Can I see Crystal, Mommy?" Laura asked, looking between the adults.

"Me, too!" Derek cried.

The baby turned her head at the sound of their voices. The woman and Talia had a silent conversation. The woman chuckled and led his niece and nephew over to the bench he had just vacated. She adjusted the baby in her arms while Derek and Laura climbed onto the bench. He grimaced the whole time his family cooed over the "adorable" little baby.

"Uncle Peter, come say hi to Crystal!"

He shook his head. "I can see her from here, Laura."

Laura sighed dramatically. "That's my uncle Peter," she told the baby. "He's nice, but he can be a bit of a grouch."

He scoffed. "I'm not a grouch, Laura."

"Then why don't you want to say hi to Crystal?" Derek asked.

Laura smirked up at him. "Peter's scared."

Damn, she was good. There was no way Peter was going to let them think he was afraid of a baby. He was beside Laura in an instant. "All right. Show me."

Laura and Derek giggled. Baby blue eyes looked over toward him. Tiny arms reached out. Little fists clenched and unclenched in his direction. Peter held a finger out to her. She grabbed it and grinned toothlessly.

That was the first time he had met Crystal Braddock, but it certainly hadn't been the last. The more time he spent with her, the more she had wormed her way into his selfish heart. Now, he would do practically anything for that girl.

The hunters who took her would pay with their lives.

Crystal blinked down at the sloppy stitches that held her leg together. Thank God she had been unconscious for that part; otherwise she would have felt every prick of the needle. She shuddered, throwing that mental image out of her head. A circle of mountain ash surrounded her, far enough away that she couldn't break it. Her forearms were tied to a chair's arms, and her legs were attached to the chair's legs. Her chair was bolted to the floor.

The door slid open. She saw a disturbingly familiar figure saunter into the room and grin maniacally at her. "Look who's awake."

Somebody gasped from the doorway. "Kate, what the hell?!" Allison started forward, but Kate grabbed her arm tightly before she could ruin the circle. The girl glared at her aunt. "Why is she here? She's hurt!"

"Very good," Crystal hissed.

"She's pack friend." Kate sounded like that explained everything, but it only confused Allison even more.

"Pack friend?"

"It means I run with the werewolves." Crystal steadily glared at Kate, heart pounding rapidly in her chest.

Allison gasped. "You knew about Derek Hale?"

"How do you know about Derek?" she retorted, goosebumps erupting on her arms. They had Derek—that was the only way Allison would know.

"Oh, let's just say he's enjoying our hospitality," Kate replied before Allison could speak. She stepped over the line and pressed down on the bullet wound. Crystal bit her tongue so the bitch wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Blood filled her mouth. "Where's the Alpha?"

Crystal spat in her face. Kate barely flinched at the action, slowly wiping the blood off her face.

"I can't—" Allison's eyes filled with tears, and she backed away slowly. "I can't take this."

Kate rolled her eyes and lightly hopped over the ash to stop her niece. "What's wrong, honey?" Her voice sounded completely patronizing.

"She's a human!"

"So's Derek," Crystal muttered. Okay, so he wasn't human-human, but he was human where it counted.

"Derek's a monster," Kate hissed. "They all are. And she knows it. She's helping them." She tilted Allison's chin up until their eyes met. "Crystal's bait. The Alpha and the other Beta will come for her and Derek. That's the way packs work. And when they show up…" Kate bared her teeth. "We'll be ready."

Allison shook Kate off and ran.

"Aw, come on, kiddo!" Kate called. Another door slammed in the distance. She sighed dramatically. "Fine. She might not have the stomach for what needs to be done." She looked her victim over. "Luckily, one of us does."

Oh, yeah. Crystal was so screwed.

We are one chapter closer to the end of season 1. Hope you enjoyed it.