No sooner had he closed his bedroom door behind him, Scott emerged unsteadily onto a bridge coated in ice, with no recollection of how he came to be there.

He regained his footing on the slick wooden planks of the bridge and studied his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the darkness. The bridge was illuminated only by the light of the moon filtering through the trees.

Despite his reflexes, he skidded twice as he stepped gingerly across the bridge to peer over the edge but found only rocks and rushing water beneath him. He let out a breath that fogged in the cold air and shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.

It was in that moment that he took stock of his clothes. Tattered Mets hoodie from Stiles, pajama bottoms and bare feet. He shot a rueful glance at the full moon and groaned. Clearly he'd shifted in his sleep.

He prayed silently that he hadn't strayed too far from the road and turned towards the woods, contemplating the inevitability that he'd be spending the rest of the early morning tramping through the woods until he found the path.

Only then did a memory seem to creep into his mind and he squeezed his eyes shut trying to recall the rest. He remembered stalking through the woods, cringing as Theo dropped a single white lily into the rushing water in memory of his sister, or so he had thought at the time. This was the bridge where they had found her, once Theo had ripped out her heart.

Scott's stomach churned.

Suddenly the gush of water seemed too loud. It seemed to thunder in his ears. Above the noise he thought he could hear someone calling his name. Faint at first, but louder and more insistent as he turned around and stepped cautiously back onto the bridge.

"Scott," the voice called weakly, "Scott, help me. Please, Scott."

Scott crept closer to the edge again. He could barely hear her over the rush of water in his head and the pounding of his own heart.

"Allison?"

As he placed his hands on the railing the voice grew to a scream above the roar of the river.

"Scott, please! Don't let me die. Please. Don't let me die again!"

Scott thought he might be sick as he shoved his body half way over the rail and scanned the river with scarlet eyes. He could hear her begging but he couldn't see her. He slid frantically to the other side of the bridge but she wasn't in the frigid water beneath him and her voice was beginning to fade as Scott began to shout her name into the glacial night air.

The cold was seeping into his lungs as he slipped onto the ground and he was vaguely aware that tears had begun to drip down his cheeks into his lap.

"Allison," he whispered quietly as the river faded into a gentle hush. "I'm sorry."

He wasn't sure how long he sat there absorbing ice into his bones but his fingers were almost blue by the time he finally pulled himself to his feet. With his feet frozen to the core he could barely walk and he tripped pathetically across the bridge, heaving shallow breaths into his burning lungs to try and steady himself.

His tears had turned to icicles on his cheeks that glued with eyes closed and he rubbed at them with his sleeve.

"Just open your eyes, Scott. You have to open your eyes. You have to get up. You have to heal," he rasped to himself.

He reached out for the rail again but it slipped from his fingertips, or perhaps he slipped away from the rail, he wasn't sure in the darkness. He reached out again but this time his aching hands met something smooth and solid.

His vision was blurred by melting ice but he could see more clearly now as he edged towards a wall of mirrored glass that stretched higher than he could even see. With a shaking hand he skimmed the surface of the mirror and marvelled as it rippled beneath his fingers like water.

Scott bent closer and pressed his palm to the spot he had just marked and watched as his reflection did the same. He closed his eyes and tried to shift but when he opened them again they only flickered red before fading like a worn out bulb.

"You're not even a real Alpha. How could you have possibly saved her?" he admitted weakly to the Scott staring back at him. He was so tired he didn't notice that his reflections mouth never moved. Not, at least, until it spoke back.

"You'll never be a True Alpha until you set free the monster within," it taunted him.

Scott could only laugh humourlessly. He always thought Stiles would be the first one to go completely mad. Now he knew he was only one panic attack and a complete breakdown away from a stint in Eichen House. He wondered how long they kept patients that thought they're reflections asked them questions. Probably not as long as they kept the ones that answered back.

"I'm a werewolf, not a monster. I'm still human."

The mirror laughed.

"You'll never be human again, Scott," his reflection snarled and lunged forwards with dripping fangs and eyes blazing with fire.

Scott leaped back but he wasn't quick enough. The wolf buried its claws in his chest and dragged him forwards. The mirror's surface broke like a frozen lake and Scott gasped as water flooded his lungs like knives tearing at his insides. He struggle desperately, his numb fingers clutching at the arms pulling him deeper into the water but he wasn't strong enough. He felt sluggish and heavy like his own body was weighing him down. The last thing he saw as the darkness began to close in was his own crimson eyes glaring back at him.

Scott scrambled over the threshold of his bedroom door with river water still expelling itself from his lungs. He fell to his knees on the white tiles and coughed until his throat burned and there was nothing left to choke out.

"Oh my god, Scott!"

Malia fell heavily at his side and untied her shirt from her waist, tucking it securely around his shoulders. Theo did the same with his jacket and pressed a hand to Scott's arm.

"Shit, he's freezing. Malia, hold him; he needs body heat," Theo instructed, pushing Scott onto his back. Malia hauled him up to her chest and wrapped her arms around his waist as Scott gasped into her neck. She shivered as icy water dripped from his hair onto her shoulder and trickled down her arm. Theo grabbed hold of Scott's limp arm and tugged it out of Malia's embrace. "I'm going to take the pain okay, Scott? Come on, you gotta start healing so you can kick my ass, okay?"

Theo grimaced as Scott slackened against Malia's chest and thick spidery black veins crept up his forearm.

"Careful," Malia hissed as Theo's breathing became heavy.

He winced once more before dropping Scott's arm and muttering, "I'm fine."

Malia slipped away from Scott slightly so that she could see his face. Meanwhile Lydia, Stiles and Jackson edged closer until they all sat in a circle around their Alpha and held him up with comforting hands.

"Scott, what happened?" Malia asked gently as Scott's eyes fluttered open and his gaze flicked between each of them. His eyes widened as if he'd only just realised he wasn't drowning any more.

"I didn't save her," Scott whispered to himself before he seemed to come back to his senses. His eyes flashed red for a moment and colour began to rush back into his skin.

"He's healing," Stiles commented with a relieved exhale and Lydia smiled minutely.

Scott pushed himself up until he was fully seated on his own and dragged a hand over his face tiredly.

"I failed. I'm sorry." His features fell into a forlorn frown. "I couldn't pull myself out of it like you did," he admitted, looking at Stiles with something that looked like hopeless admiration.

"Don't worry about it. We'll try again," Stiles shot back, waving a hand like they weren't talking about the difference between life and death. "We'll figure it out," he conclude and lowered his gaze to Lydia as he said, "we always figure it out."