"I should have known it was you. That first night, you even told us how you'd do it. 'I get in the house for a 'meet the boyfriend' dinner…and slaughter them all while their hands are full of appetizers instead of weapons.' When did you plant that rat poison, the night you came to visit Allison? Did you plan to kill the whole family along with Kate?" Derek grabbed Jackson by the neck and slammed him up against a tree.

"Did it occur to you that Allison could have eaten one of those damned cookies?" Scott growled. "Or that Kate could have killed her if she saw those pictures?"

"My dad almost died because of those pictures, Jack-ass. I have a personal law about people that put my dad in danger: I eat them!" Stiles grabbed hold of Jackson's ears, the claws digging painfully into the soft cartilage. "Look, now my hands are full of appetizers! Who wants one? You, Scott?"

"Yeah, I'll have one." Scott answered. "You, Derek? I'll share."

"Nah, you go ahead Scott. I don't want to spoil my appetite for the main course." Derek slammed the claws of his free paw into Jackson's stomach. If Derek was expecting a scream, he was disappointed.

"Anyone…ever tell you…not to play with…your food?" Jackson gasped out when the pain receded.

"Oh my god, he's right…can we just kill him already?" Stiles pulled back, sniffing the air. "Shit." Stiles yelped as he was suddenly yanked backward.

"Shit is right, son. What the hell are you three doing?" Sheriff Stilinsky looked his son up and down as he dangled him in the air. "Explain, Stiles. Derek, Scott…leave Jackson alone."

"I'm not your son, Sheriff. You can't tell me what to do." Scott glowered at the older man.

"No, but I can. Do as he says Scott." Melissa McCall joined the older man. Scott gaped, then backed slowly away from Jackson.

"And you, Derek. Jackson is not to be harmed." Peter stepped out from behind the very tree Jackson was held against, startling Derek so much he dropped Jackson to the ground.

The Sheriff walked over and examined Jackson. The boy had a blank look on his face, like he was in shock.

"Your parents called the police, Jackson. They sent me over to Danny's, and he was outside yelling that you turned into a monster and ran into the woods. Peter and Mel were with me, and we tracked you down…along with you three!" he turned and glared at the trio of younger Betas.

"Why are you trying to save him? Look what he did! He can't go to jail as a werewolf, we'll be exposed! We have to stop him!" Scott was furious.

"He may have sent those pictures…but he did not poison Kate and her men. Vivian confessed to everything when she found out we suspected Jackson."

Scott and Stiles were stunned, Derek bewildered.

"Her own sister-in-law? Why?" Derek kept looking back and forth from Jackson to the Sheriff.

"She decided to do it as soon as she found out Allison was bitten. She knew Kate would want to kill Scott and Stiles, and eventually Allison. Chris' men would have turned on him if he tried to stop them."

"But that night, we asked her and she denied it! Her heartbeat didn't skip!" said Derek.

"She didn't do it to save Allison, which is what we asked. Vivian feels perfectly sure Allison could have taken care of herself, especially now. Vivian did it to save Scott…and to end the war between her family and ours, so that Allison could be happy. She knew Chris would love his daughter, no matter what…but Kate and her crew…they would just never let it go. Vivian suspected Kate was responsible for the Hale fire, and knew that Scott wouldn't last long as Kate's prisoner despite that he was a teenager and had never killed anyone. Scott being dead would make Allison very unhappy, so she acted."

"Why would she care about me?" asked Scott.

"It seems Allison inadvertently made a very convincing case for you as the 'right one' in Vivian's mind. Something about you being just as over-protective as Chris himself. Then during that run-in with your mother, something Melissa said hit home with her…what was it you told her?"

"I said 'We are both mothers, and we are both protective of our children. I will not drive my son away by interfering with his personal life, much as I would like to. You might want to do the same.' I guess she took that advice to heart…she didn't interfere, and didn't let Kate interfere either." Melissa looked steadily at Scott as she said this.

"I remember that, and didn't she say something like 'You'd be surprised at how fiercely we Argents can defend what we hold precious to us'? Holy crap, I don't think I'll be ready for parenthood anytime soon. What about Chris?"

Peter answered that question. "Chris would have shot Kate himself to protect Allison. He's pretty upset, as you can imagine…but he understands what Kate was now."

"But dad, you're just going to let it go? Don't you have to arrest her or something?" Stiles asked. He was now looking at Jackson with guilt written all over his face. Jackson still seemed to be in a state of shock.

"What would be the point, son? Vivian…is in the fourth stage of an aggressive cancer. She has maybe a few months left to live. This was her last gift to her daughter." The Sheriff rubbed his eyes while he said this.

Melissa's eyes shone as well. Despite her rivalry with the other woman, Melissa had spent enough time in Oncology wards to never want that fate for anybody. It was a horrible thing to suffer. "She was tired of the Hunter life. She wanted to be a normal mother for just a little while."

Stiles looked down. Looked like he and Allison would have something in common. "Can she…be turned?"

"I offered. She declined." Peter said quietly. "She was kind enough to state that it was not due to her natural dislike for werewolves…but rather the very high chance that she would not survive the bite. She doesn't want to cut short the small amount of time she has left with her family."

The six werewolves were silent for a bit.

"Well Jackson, I'm still mad at you for those pictures. But I'm sorry for trying to kill you." Stiles said stiffly. "C'mon, Derek."

Derek glared at Jackson for almost a full minute before his gaze finally became pitying. He shook his head and followed Stiles into the woods.

"Sorry Jackson." Scott mumbled. He went after Derek and Stiles, waving goodbye to the adults.

"And when I get home, we are going to discuss some ground rules about killing and eating people, young man!" called Melissa after him. "I really just said that, didn't I?" she said to the others, horrified. Peter smirked.

"Now what do we do with this fine fellow here?" wondered the Sheriff aloud.

"As you told me Steven, this is my mess to clean up. I'll be more than happy to take him off your hands and get him safely home."

"Sounds good. I'll call the Whittemores and then try to talk some sense into Danny." Melissa and Peter looked down at Jackson as the Sheriff took off into the woods.

"Should have let them do it. I wanted it to end." Jackson said lifelessly.

"Guess that's why you didn't bother to tell anyone you weren't responsible for the rat poison, hmm? Well, I hate to tell you this, but what you want has little to do with things. A great many people would be upset if you were dead, Jackson. Us, your parents, and your friends…do you know what your friend Danny said to the Sheriff? He told him to tell you he was sorry he freaked out on you, that he was just surprised. He said 'If you find Jacks…tell him I'll always be here for him.' He was crying the whole time."

Jackson looked up at the Alpha. Deep within him, he felt a sudden warmth as the glacial ice that was all that remained of his soul gave a tremendous crack.

"He really said that?"

"You know it's pointless to lie, Jackson." Peter pulled him to his feet. He sighed heavily. "Jackson…I was wrong to treat you the way I did. I was in a worse place than you when I did it, and I'm ashamed. I owe you a debt. If there is anything I can give you or do for you, just let me know."

"I just want…" Jackson couldn't finish. He honestly didn't know. Melissa came over to him and moved to stroke his cheek; Jackson flinched away from her touch.

"Please don't touch me. I made Scott's life miserable. You should hate me." Jackson couldn't look at either of them.

"You were having a rough time. Scott made Stiles miserable for a while too; it's what kids seem to like to do these days. He'll get over it."

"I'm…I'm sorry…about everything. I'm going…to go away. I don't deserve to be here around you guys. I'm leaving, I'm never going to come back…"

"I'm afraid that we have to forbid that Jackson, as your Pack Alphas." Peter said clearly. Jackson turned to stare at him.

"I'm still in the Pack?"

"Of course, until Melissa and I say otherwise. Don't worry about the others, the Alpha is the law in a Pack, and the boys will accept it. You'll probably be treated like an Omega for a few years, but they'll come around. Eventually." A smile tugged at the corners of Peter's lips. "Liss, give me some time alone with Jackson. There are some things I need to discuss with him." Melissa read the look on his face and nodded. "I'll see you later. Jackson…I'm here if you ever need to talk." Melissa squeezed Peter's hand gently before leaving.

"I understand what you're going through better than anyone. Jackson, people have both good and bad qualities in them, but it's the choices we make that show which side is more powerful. When we're hurt and angry…we make bad choices, and want others to hurt just like us. You and I both hurt people that we had no right to. I have to live with the guilt not only of what I did, but of what my actions led you to do. I blame myself for everything that happened. I'm the one that needs you to forgive me. Do you?"

"A question first. That debt. What if I said I wanted to bite you?" Jackson asked.

Peter blinked. "I would have to let you. It wouldn't turn you into an Alpha, that's just for mates. But if you wish to…go ahead."

Peter pulled up his sleeve and offered it to Jackson.

"I know it wouldn't turn me into an Alpha, but it would put me at the top of the Beta totem pole. You'd really do that for me?" Jackson was amazed.

"You kids and the goddamned internet…but yes." Peter closed his eyes and waited.

"No, I don't want to bite you. And don't flatter yourself. I was screwed up before I ever met you. Nothing to forgive."

"Oh, good." said Peter yanking his sleeve down again.

"It means a lot to me that you would let me. But I tell you what…if the others get too carried away, I'll ask again. The looks on their faces would be priceless…"

Peter chuckled. "Fair enough. Son…are you okay?"

"Did you just call me 'son'?" Jackson asked.

"It's a figure of speech, Jackson. Does it offend you?"

"No…I…kind of like it. Mr. Whittemore…my dad…he's always pretty formal. He never called me that. It kind of bothered me."

"I don't know if children are in my future, Jackson. Melissa has been ominously quiet on that front. But I would have been very proud to call you my son. I envy the Whittemores a great deal."

The thawing of Jackson's soul continued, and Jackson hugged the older man while shudders racked his body, Peter's arms wound tightly around him as he stroked Jackson's hair. The ice broke into smaller and smaller pieces until it was all gone…it took all of the anger with it, along with the shame and doubt, but he still felt disconnected and empty.

"I'm going to take you under my wing, Jackson. I'm going to teach you everything I know. Anything you feel you can't go to your parents about…you come and talk to me. Anytime, day or night. Got it?"

Jackson nodded quietly. He was exhausted now, and just wanted to go to sleep.

They went back to Danny's first, so that Jackson could pick up his car and clothing. Danny approached him warily, his eyes searching for the beast that had shown itself before.

"So…werewolf, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jackson shrugged.

"You just had to top me, didn't you? You couldn't stand that I was this cool gay guy, so you had to go and be a werewolf?"

"Yeah, Danny. You figured me out. I just had to be the more interesting person at parties. And don't tell me you wouldn't like it if I topped you."

Danny punched him in the arm. "You're lucky I don't want to mess up that pretty face."

"Stiles has us both beat. He's gay and a werewolf."

"No way!" Danny shouted.

"Jackson…" Peter growled.

"Oops, guess I should have let him be the one to say that. Sorry, Peter."

"Well, I guess he had it coming for the stunt he pulled tonight. See to it that no one gives him a hard time, Jackson. Derek's been in enough trouble lately without wanting to maul other kids at your school."

"I will." Jackson went into the garage to start up his car.

"I'll keep both your secrets under wraps. No worries. And…Peter, is it?"

"Yes?"

Danny gave the surprised older man a hug. "Thanks for helping him. He's my best friend, and I'll always be grateful…it killed me that I wasn't there for him when he needed me. No way I could have kept up with him through those woods though."

"Anytime…" Peter looked down at him with sudden interest before leaving the house.

Jackson let Peter drive the Porsche for the short trip back to the Whittemore home.

"I have GOT to get me one of these!" Peter exclaimed. Jackson snickered. They got out and Peter walked Jackson up to his door. "Good luck." was all he said before disappearing down the dark driveway.

Jackson walked in the door and was promptly engulfed by his mother in a lethal hug.

"Don't you ever do that to us again, you hear me? All this talk of leaving because no one cares…"

An hour later, after both his mother and father had their say, Jackson crawled into his bed and stared at the ceiling. He supposed he should be happy. His Pack had forgiven him, he knew that there were people who cared about him, and he no longer was consumed by the terrible obsessions that dominated his life. Scott could have the Lacrosse team if he wanted it. Jackson just didn't care anymore. He needed to take some personal time to figure things out. He thought of Peter, his new father figure and role model, and hoped the Alpha knew what he had gotten himself into.

{}{}{}{}

Melissa looked up in time to see Peter climb in her window.

"If I told you how much that creeps me out and turns me on at the same time…oh my god, why do you have blood on your mouth? Did you and Jackson fight?"

"No, not at all. Jackson is just fine and home with his family. I just stopped for a bite on the way home…or rather, to give someone the bite."

"What? Who?" Melissa waited impatiently while Peter brushed his teeth and rinsed out with mouth wash in the master bath.

Peter gave her all the details of what occurred after she left. "So I decided to stop back at Danny's after I left Jackson. They're best friends, and this will make sure that Jackson will always have someone in his corner within hands reach. They'll be a match for Scott and Stiles if those two decide to gang up on him."

"But, he…he wanted it?"

"After I gave him the rundown on what to expect, he jumped at the chance. I think they will have some interesting Lacrosse games this year."

"I have this feeling we're going to need a roster soon to keep track."

Peter chuckled. "Liss…when Kate destroyed my family, you have no idea what I lost. There were so many of us, and we were so bonded together…she wiped out an entire Pack in one shot. As an Alpha, one of the drives is to keep a Pack large and strong. I want to give the boys…all of them…some of the same happiness I had with my family."

"But you had them all under one roof…" Melissa stopped as Peter began to grin. "What?"

"I closed the deal on the reconstruction of the house today. It was huge before, but now…once I have all the Pack moved in, you are going to have your hands full, Mrs. Alpha."

"I'm not 'Mrs.' anyone, Mr. Commitment-Phobe Peter Hale. Do you see an engagement ring on this finger?" She held out her hand.

"Now I do." He pulled out a ring with a platinum band bearing a stylized wolf head clutching an enormous diamond in its jaws and deftly slipped it onto Melissa's finger. She looked at it, her breath gone.

"Does this mean you'd say yes if I asked you to marry me?" Peter asked gently.

"Yes? Just try and escape!" She threw her arms around him, her eyes wet with tears. "Well, I know one person who'll be overjoyed. With Scott turning 18 and me getting married, my ex can finally keep his support checks to himself."

Peter got up and wandered back into the bathroom as he got undressed. "You should invite him to the wedding. I'd love to-" The sound of the shower turning on blotted out the rest of his words.

"Did you say 'meet him' or 'eat him'?" she called out.

Peter leaned out of the bathroom. "I'll surprise you…and him. Care to join me?"

"You don't have to ask me twice. And for the record, I'm okay with either option."

Peter chuckled as she let her nightgown drop to the floor, the chuckle turning into a low throaty growl as the male Alpha took in the delicious sight of his mate.

{}{}{}{}

The next few months saw some dramatic changes for many of the residents of Beacon Hills.

Peter and Melissa had a lavish double wedding with Scott and Allison; Melissa and Chris consenting to the early union of their children due to Vivian's declining health. She cried at the wedding, the first time any of the family had ever seen her do it, including her own husband. Both couples decided not go on honeymoons, wanting to rally around Vivian in her final weeks. Robert McCall got drunk at the reception and made some off color comments to Melissa. Peter sent a signal to his Betas (including Scott) who forcibly evicted Robert from the event and giving him the scare of his life in the alley outside.

Vivian Argent lasted three months longer than her most optimistic doctor predicted, and when she passed, she was surrounded by all of her family as well as the re-formed Pack. The Hunters and Lycans glared at each other across the hospital bed, but kept the peace on this one occasion. Chris was devastated, Allison was now all he had left in the world; the rest of the family cut themselves off after the funeral when they found out about her new life. The sense of betrayal he felt led him to ask Peter to let him into the Pack as a way of having a more understanding relationship with his daughter. Peter agreed, and Chris closed down his business, liquidated all of his assets and made them available not only to his daughter but to any in the Pack that needed assistance. This was his way of making up for the wrongs his family had done to the lycans and permanently disinheriting himself from his previous human family.

When the Hale Manor was completed (house seemed to simple a word to describe the incredible structure), the lycans old and new moved into it. Many of them traveled off and on, but there were always enough there to keep the Alphas busy.

Stiles went to college at UCLA for pre-law, and Derek (who seemed to panic anytime he wasn't within ten feet of Stiles) finally became motivated to dust off his own diploma and follow him. Word reached the Hale home that the Residence Life director was in psychiatric counseling after trying to tell Derek he couldn't room with Stiles until next semester. Derek chose 'animal husbandry' as his major, just for an excuse to stay in school.

Scott surprised everyone by getting accepted to medical school, causing Melissa to have the 'happy' equivalent of a nervous breakdown. She screamed and cried and hugged Scott so much she forgot her own Alpha strength and cracked three of his ribs. Scott coughed up some blood and excused himself, hiding in the woods with Allison until his mom calmed down. Allison got into the program with him, and the two worked extremely well at getting each other through the tough examinations.

Danny found his true mate rather quickly after being turned…a Beta from another Pack named Brett Creszki who happened to pass through the area. His resemblance to Jackson was uncanny, though Danny claimed not to see it.

Chris Argent and Steven Stilinsky became close friends as the only two unattached (and uninterested) males in the home. Before too long (since he was at a loss for something to do with his life) he was duly deputized by the Sheriff who valued his tracking skills (new and old) in chasing down criminals.

As for Jackson himself…he became much closer to Lydia after their relationship ended…it was obvious to both that the mating bond was not happening for either of them. Lydia used her formidable powers of persuasion to get Melissa to bring her into the Pack to see if that could spark the bond (and because Lydia thought it was just the right thing to scandalize her parents…and oh boy, was she right) but nothing happened. She wound up bonding instantly with Lukas Ford, another Beta from the same Pack as Brett. The two couples constantly invited Jackson along on their outings, though Jackson felt that he was, both literally and figuratively, a fifth wheel. He started avoiding them after a while, as the empty feeling that never really left him began to grow larger. None of the Pack knew how to help him, as there was no way to force the process of finding a mate. One day, Peter Hale and Zack Ross (Alpha of the other Pack) decided to form an alliance between the two groups, and the new werewolves attended a huge celebration at Hale Manor while Jackson sat up in the high wooded hills to the south…where he once had taken some ill-fated pictures. He was drinking meekulbrau, an alcoholic beverage strong enough to kick a werewolf's ass (and thus lethal to humans) that Brett turned him on to.

The emptiness yawned within him. He rubbed his eyes and leaned his head down as he watched his friends frolic on the giant front lawn. The bottle slipped from his fingers.

He heard a sound then, and looked to see a pretty girl with gorgeous curly brown hair and chocolate eyes taking a long swig from it. Jackson tried to smell her, but the alcohol had dampened his olfactory abilities..

"I hope you aren't human. My Porsche could run on that stuff." he told her.

"Yeah right, Brett, like you own a …oh my god, I'm sorry. You're the other one... Jacks?"

"Jackson. Only Danny calls me Jacks, but you can too if you want."

"I'm Lexie. Lexie Wade. This stuff is the bomb. How much did you drink?"

"Not enough."

"Well, here then." Her fingers touched his as she passed him the bottle. His sense of smell came roaring back while sound became muted. Jackson inhaled, and her scent was like a cooling breeze in the desert. She caught his scent too, and her eyes widened. "No goddamn way." She sat back and turned away from him.

"What's wrong?" He had to fight himself not to sit down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, if you're feeling what I'm feeling…it's pretty hilarious because you look just like my ex…well, he was almost an ex."

"That Creszki guy? I agree with Danny…I don't see it. But...you are feeling something?" he said huskily.

"If I were that type of girl, and if I weren't on the rebound from having my heart broken twice, you would already be screaming my name and bleeding from about half a dozen scratches."

Jackson swallowed noisily. He was filling up inside, too quickly, and it was almost too much to bear. He wanted to stand, but quickly determined that it would be a bad idea.

"Oh my god…" he was hyperventilating as the world seemed to burst into color around him, and he started getting distracted by the green of the trees and grass, the blue of the sky and the incredible brown eyes of the girl next to him. "Too much…oh god it's too much." He rolled on his side, turning away from the vision next to him as if she were the sun on a hot day.

Her cool fingers combed through his hair. "Wow, this is hitting you hard…I'm kind of flattered."

Jackson grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly on top of him, then rolled them until she lay underneath him. She looked into his golden eyes that now matched her own, amused and unafraid. He leaned down and captured her upper lip in both of his own, then did the same to her lower. She leaned into the kisses, one hand reaching around the back of his neck as they sealed their mouths together and kissed savagely, Jackson's mind and body exploding with sensation and feeling. This was it…this was what it felt like to have a living soul…how did he survive without it? How could he survive if he somehow lost it again?

"What do you see when you look at me?" he suddenly asked her.

"The one I've been waiting my whole life for. And you?"

"Ditto." he teased. He felt his fangs starting to protrude along with whatever was going on below the waist. Jackson had never felt the shift come on him while in this kind of mood. It was an entirely different feeling. The wolf in him was ecstatic.

"That's so romantic." she said sarcastically. "You just postponed our 'first time' by at least a week." She yawned, her own fang filled mouth feeding his desire even more. God, she was glorious.

"We'll see who breaks first." Jackson stood and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go down and join the others." Peering down at the lawn, he saw the Betas from Lexie's Pack pointing up at them and high fiving. Jackson rolled his eyes.

Zack, Peter and Melissa were stunned when they noticed the new couple, their hands locked together as they joined their friends.

"It's like an epidemic, Hale! Forget about uniting the Packs, it's like one Pack already!" Zack whispered, awed.

"I'm so happy for them, Peter." breathed Melissa.

"Me too. I'm happy for all of us." he held her close and kissed her, losing himself in the glorious gold of her eyes.