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 48:

"We've got company." Aidan announced as he stepped into the kitchen the morning after the roast beef dinner. He wandered right for the table and sat down, joining the rest of his pack, minus Sydney who was working in the kitchen making breakfast. Ethan held Bruin in his arms and alternated between holding her bottle and taking bites of his food.

"What do you mean?" Charlie questioned and smiled up at Aidan as he nabbed a slice of bacon off the plate full of it resting in the middle of the table.

"You can't hear him? Or smell him for that matter?" Aidan countered and scrunched up his nose in disappointment. He waited and watched as Charlie, and Ethan, both took a deep whiff of the air. She even went as far as to shut her eyes so that she could focus in more on her hearing.

Okay, yes, she got it now, she understand what Aidan was talking about. Isaac was on the front porch and before he had a chance to knock on the door, she rose up from her chair and took off in an attempt to answer it before he could acknowledge his own presence.

"Isaac's here early." Sydney remarked as she scraped the last bits of scrambled eggs from the pan and onto the plate. When she wandered over to the table, she set it down in front of Aidan and then headed back over to the stove to make sure that there were no burners left on. "If I was him I'd sleep in until noon."

"Well nothing's actually stopping you from doing that anyways." Ethan teased and Sydney scowled at him. "I'm just saying."

"She has a kid to look after, and a pack to keep an eye on." Aidan pointed out, trying to argue in Sydney's favour. She shot him a look of amusement before settling in to the vacant chair next to him. Ethan promptly handed Bruin over to her, as well as the bottle, and Sydney let her baby get comfortable in her grasp before offering her the formula once again.

Steve looked around at the table and as soon as Charlie reappeared in the entranceway to the kitchen, he tossed her a smile. Isaac was right behind her and that's precisely where he stayed, clearly a little intimidated by Steve's presence, not to mention the rest of the pack that would do anything to protect Charlie.

"Morning." Sydney chirped and waved Isaac forward, but he stayed exactly where he was. "Hungry? We've got lots of food."

Isaac politely shook his head no but did step out from behind Charlie, settling in to a stance beside her instead. She turned to look at him and flashed him a smile but nothing seemed to sate the worried expression that was on his face. His attention was locked on Sydney by this point and the female alpha cocked her head to the side, wondering if there was a specific reason as to why he was here at her house in the morning.

He had already turned down her offer of breakfast, so that wasn't it, but surely he could have another reason to pop by. Maybe he wanted to walk Charlie to school, maybe he wanted to talk to her about Scott or maybe-

"Chris was in the tunnels last night." Isaac spoke up, cutting into Sydney's train of thought.

"Okay?" Sydney countered, her tone laced with confusion. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, more rattled than anything. Apparently he found a whole bunch of bodies." Isaac explained and Sydney narrowed her eyes in on him. "I think he said around twenty-five, he called the sheriff though."

"Right." Sydney nodded her understanding. "Why was he in the tunnels?"

"Looking for the Dread Doctors." Isaac answered simply. "He plans on heading back down there tonight but he wanted me to see if you'd be interested at all in joining him. He's going to have Gerard with him but he told me that he trusts you more than his own father and it might be nice to have someone else there to watch our backs in case Gerard tries to pull something."

Sydney let a few seconds of silence pass. She considered the offer and thought about what else she'd be doing that night if it weren't for Isaac's offer. Sure she could easily busy herself with things at home, but this had the potential for excitement, for purpose, and if she could help out Chris now, then he'd be more inclined to help her out in the future. She couldn't back out, she had to accept the offer, if only to solidify their truce.

"Am I invited too?" Charlie quipped with a small smirk.

"I think that's a good idea." Sydney tossed out. "I'm in, and I'm bringing Charlie. No offense but I don't want to be by myself if we're going places with the likes of Gerard."

"I'll be there too." Isaac added. "But I'm sure Charlie's welcome to join. The plan was to head down into the tunnels at dusk."

"Sounds good." Sydney nodded her head yet again but immediately set her sights on the twins. "Oh crap, Aidan, Ethan, can you babysit tonight?"

"Just an afterthought." Ethan chuckled with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah, we got this, just don't get into any trouble down there."

"I'll try not to." Sydney smiled in response. "You guy are the best."

Charlie turned her attention towards her father, who had been awkwardly silent since Isaac had arrived at the house. She didn't know if there was something wrong or if he was just trying to stay quiet because he was sad that he planned on leaving for Colorado soon. It wasn't like she wanted him to remind her that he was heading home but she would've liked to have heard him say something.

"Dad?" Charlie mumbled and Steve's head jerked towards her, his lips turning up into a smile as he met his daughter's eyes. "Are you still going to leave tonight?"

"Yeah." Steve bowed his head and sucked in a breath. "But I can wait until you two get back. I still have to try and get ahold of Deaton."

"Oh yeah." Sydney sighed. "I forgot, okay, well, you try to call him and if you haven't heard from him by the time we get back, then I can head over to the clinic with you then."

"Sounds like a plan." Steve continued to smile. He looked from his daughter to the alpha werewolf across the table. Without another word, he pushed his chair back and rose up to his full height. "Have fun at school kiddo."

Without another word, Steve took off for the stairs, taking them quickly and disappearing out of the kitchen. Charlie looked at her alpha with a confused expression on her face but Sydney merely shrugged in response. Her guess was as good as Charlie's as to why Steve seemed to be a little out of it that morning. Charlie brushed it off for the time being and took a step towards the table, nabbing one more piece of bacon before turning her attention to the front door.

"Want to walk me to school?" Charlie asked and Isaac shrugged.

"You want my car?" Sydney called out to her but Charlie shook her head no.

"It's nice out today." Charlie grinned and latched her hand onto Isaac's. He didn't pull away, he barely even flinched, and with one last look in Sydney's direction, he turned towards the front door, giving her arm a gentle tug as he moved.

When the two young werewolves were out of sight, and out of hearing distance, Sydney sucked in a breath and looked towards her two remaining betas. Ethan and Aidan looked right back at her and she tilted her head to the side as Ethan lifted a hand up, signaling that he needed just a second more of her time.

"Everything okay?" Sydney pressed, pulling the bottle away from Bruin and setting it on the table. She then lifted her baby girl up, settled her against her chest so that her head was on her shoulder, and began rubbing her back in soft, soothing circles. "You two need me for something tonight?"

"No, no that's not it at all." Ethan shook his head and dropped his gaze down towards the floor. "I wanted to run something by you though."

"Yeah? What is it?" Sydney leaned in slightly, lowering her voice the tiniest little bit. "Is there something I should be worried about?"

"We aren't sure yet." Aidan stated.

"We? You're in on whatever this is too?" Sydney inquired and Aidan nodded his head with a slight smirk.

"My brother and I were talking last night, see, I was lying in bed, waiting for sleep to take over and I got this shiver that ran down my spine. My whole body tensed for a few seconds and when the chill finally went away, I was left wondering what the hell happened." Aidan carried on talking. "It reminded me of what happens to you when something happens to Stiles, you feel his pain."

"So you felt someone else's pain?" Sydney asked, more so because she wanted to understand what they were talking about but also for clarification. This was confusing, what Aidan had said was already making her edgy. She knew how weird it was for her to feel Stiles' pain every so often and now for Aidan to say that he was experiencing something similar, well that was just unheard of.

"Not exactly." Ethan spoke up, interrupting his brother's explanation. "It was more of a feeling of someone being nearby."

"So you felt another wolf, here, in Beacon Hills?" Sydney shook her head, trying to clear up the confusion. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, except it wasn't just some other wolf Syd." Aidan supplied.

"Peter?" She widened her eyes in shock but both twins immediately shook their heads no. Okay, well, she couldn't say that she was surprised but part of her wanted nothing more than to lay eyes on the man who she loved. If that wasn't who they had felt, then why were the twins so on edge about telling her.

"Syd, I think Deucalion's back." Ethan said and she took in a sharp breath. Her body tensed at the mentioning of the demon wolf himself but surely they'd be okay. The last time she had seen Deucalion was in the distillery, the same night that she had lit Jennifer Blake up like a Christmas tree. They had been on decent terms, she had offered him an alliance of sorts and he hadn't exactly declined. As far as she knew, it wasn't like Deucalion had anything against her, but then again, his former pack now made up her current one.

Did that mean that he'd be territorial over Ethan and Aidan, would he try to take them back? If she refused to let him, and they refused to go, would Deucalion use force?

"I need proof." Aidan murmured. "I want to go out today and see if we can't track him down."

"Okay." She breathed the word out. "I'm not going to stop you."

"We'll be back before supper, at least that's the plan anyways." Ethan added in.

"Jesus, you two have this all rearing to go." Sydney shook her head. "What if I was opposed to the idea? Would you still go?"

"Not sure." Aidan offered with a shrug. "I didn't figure you would've said no. Aren't you just as curious as we are to find out if he's here?"

She gave them one firm nod of her head and leaned her head down, pressing a gentle kiss against Bruin's head. The girl was already yawning and nearly falling asleep and Sydney knew that she agreed wholeheartedly with the twins. She wanted to know if Deucalion was back and if he was, what exactly did he want?

"You have to promise not to do anything to him, not unless he poses a threat to you, got it?" Sydney's voice was soft, her tone was laced with fear. She didn't like having people showing back up, especially people that she didn't know very well, or trust for that matter. If there was anything that would cause Bruin to be put in danger, then she'd have to seriously consider a plan of her own to eliminate that threat. No one was going to hurt her daughter, not Deucalion, not the Dread Doctors, not Gerard Argent and certainly not Bruin's very own father.

It wouldn't matter who they were, if anyone so much as looked at Bruin with a malicious look, Sydney would take them down.

"Simple reconnaissance mission." Ethan agreed. "We'll stay hidden, we'll be silent, he won't even know we're looking for him if all goes according to-"

"Okay." She cut him off. "Okay but you keep your phones on you and call me if you need anything."

"Got it." Aidan nodded. "Thanks Syd."

"Yeah, yeah." She shook her head and looked between the boys.

She didn't know what she'd do if something happened to them and she certainly didn't want to get caught up in thinking the worst. The twins were strong, smart and skilled, they could handle this on their own and they'd show up unharmed before dinner. She was counting on it.

The alternative terrified her.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX

Charlie had ditched Isaac at the front door of the school and meandered inside. She was already in a pretty decent mood before seeing Isaac inside the house that morning and now that he had given her a sweet kiss on the lips as they said their goodbyes, she knew that nothing was going to get her down. Isaac was too sweet, he was too cute and no matter what happened at school, she knew that she was definitely still interested in getting to know him on a way more personal level.

Okay, she was wrong about nothing being able to ruin her mood. She'd only been away from him for a few minutes before one of the kids in the younger grade stopped right in front of her, causing her to stumble slightly before she managed to regain her balance. The kid hadn't even bothered to acknowledge her, but Charlie let her mind wander back to the kiss outside with Isaac and a smile graced her face once more, even with the irritating muffled voice sounding out over the P.A. system.

If there was one thing for sure though that Charlie knew, it was that she was getting tired of hearing the stupid announcements in the hallways as they tried to keep the teenagers of Beacon Hills high school safe. They didn't do any good, people were still getting hurt and there were still bodies being found. It wasn't like they could announce the supernatural presence though and that wasn't what Charlie really wanted, but the idea that it wasn't making a difference to anyone who was clueless still irked her every single time she heard the crackly, barely audible voice, and this time it was no different.

"By order of the Sheriff, a county-wide curfew goes into effect tonight at sundown. All after-school activities are canceled until further notice. Students should go directly home at the end of the school day." The P.A. voice sounded out in the hallway and Charlie rolled her eyes at the words that had been spewed to the students.

As if a sheriff's order would stop a teenager from doing anything, especially not when they really wanted to. Theo wasn't going to abide by the order, neither was his pack and she knew for damn sure that Scott wouldn't be paying much attention, no, he was the only real ally that the sheriff had when it came to dealing with werewolves and the supernatural threats posed to the town.

It was when she rounded the corner, barely getting her focus back from the intense eye roll at the speaker, that she spotted Stiles and Scott. She hadn't seen them the day before in school and Sydney had explained to her where they had gone. She was sort of glad that someone had the intelligence and drive to hunt down Kira, she was still part of Scott's pack after all, and Charlie was starting to believe that he, and Sydney too, were going to need all the help they could get.

"Stiles!" She called out and lifted her hand into the air. She picked up her pace but slowed right back down as she caught sight of one of the deputies wandering down the hall nearby.

He was carrying a giant weapon in his hands, and he certainly needed both to hold it up. That was huge, it was terrifying and, okay, maybe she understood how the sheriff was planning to reinforce his little announcement over the school's P.A. system. She'd be the first to comply if a deputy held a gun like the ones they were holding in her face.

"Charlie, hey!" Stiles hollered back to her and waved her forward. She peeled her eyes off of the blonde deputy and closed the distance between her and Stiles, the blonde deputy she had her eye on moved almost in sync with her.

"The hell?" Charlie hissed as she came to a stop beside Stiles, who was looking at the deputy coming their way. He looked like the same deputy that she and Sydney had met the night that they had followed Theo into the impound lot but she wasn't about to point that out, especially not considering he was holding what she could only assume was a shotgun in his hands.

"You don't think this is a bit much in terms of firepower for a high school?" Stiles questioned and the blonde guy stood in front of him, a perplexed look on his face.

"Seriously?" Charlie added in, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Your dad's the one that issued us these things, and he wouldn't officially say why." Strauss, at least that's what it said on his nametag, answered. She looked him up and down, taking in the sight of the rather attractive, sturdily built deputy standing just in front of her. Hell, if she didn't have Isaac, she might've considered throwing on the charm, or at the very least, pointing him in Sydney's direction.

"Did he say anything unofficially?" Scott countered, running his hands up and down the straps on his backpack. Charlie leaned in closer, trying not to draw too much attention to herself while at the same time being close enough to absorb any information that she could.

"No, but everyone's got a theory." Strauss remarked, focusing on Scott for the duration of his response.

"What's yours?" Stiles threw out, drawing the deputy's attention back to him.

"I shouldn't be talking to you guys. Don't you have class?" Strauss countered and Charlie scoffed. Class? Pfft, class could wait, if being a few minutes late meant that she got to hear this guy's take on what was going on in Beacon Hills, then the possible detention would be worth it.

"Not for a few minutes." Charlie tossed in with a soft smile, hoping that she could come off as innocent instead of just plain interested in what he was going to say. It was true, they had a few minutes, but that didn't mean he wasn't right too. They definitely should've been on their way at least.

"Come on, Strauss, what's your theory?" Stiles prodded, hoping the deputy in front of them would answer. After hesitating for a few seconds, his heart picked up in pace, something that Charlie easily heard and shot a quick glance over to Scott, who was already looking back at her as if to say 'you hear that too'.

"Do you guys believe in the supernatural?" Strauss quipped in a low tone and Charlie cocked her head to the side.

"The supernatural?" Scott was clearly trying to play dumb and if that was his ploy, then she could definitely follow suit.

"You mean like Twilight? Vampires, werewolves, all that stuff?" Charlie commented and Strauss shook his head ever so slightly. "What do you mean then?"

"Look, I've got a job to do-"

He didn't even manage to get his next sentence out before the warning bell sounded out in the hallway. Charlie fought off the urge to growl and waited as Strauss looked upwards, towards the ceiling, and let out a sigh.

"Now we have class." Stiles groaned but when Strauss went to step away from them, Stiles took a step to follow him. Scott was quick to wrap his hand around Stiles' bicep, holding him back from following the armed deputy. Charlie remained standing by and when Stiles finally calmed down, he looked in Charlie's direction and let out a sigh.

"You guys missed all the fun yesterday." She chirped.

"Fun? School's not fun." Stiles shook his head in total disbelief of her claim.

"Okay, I didn't actually mean fun, but Theo and I totally got into it at the end of class." She announced and Scott took a few seconds to look her over, trying to locate any parts of her that were worse for wear. "Werewolf Scott, I'm healed now but he did break my wrist."

"He broke your wrist?" Stiles' eyes widened in shock and she offered them up a shrug.

"Old news." She rolled her eyes. "Theo took off after Malia once he was done snapping my bones. I tried to go after him but Isaac got in the way."

"Isaac? Scarf boy Isaac?" Stiles countered.

"Yes."

"So you didn't actually go after Theo then?" Scott question and Charlie shook her head no.

"Like I said, Isaac intercepted me before I even got to the parking lot." Charlie explained. "I just thought I should let you know though that Theo's up to something and as of last night, it definitely involves Malia."

Scott took her words to heart and let them all sink in. She knew that the pack wasn't exactly on the best terms with the werecoyote but surely they cared that she was off gallivanting around town with the devil himself, right? Stiles let out a groan and Scott lifted his hand up, running it through his hair as he turned down the hallway.

"If Isaac's back in town, how come I haven't seen him at school?" Stiles quipped before Scott could say anything. Charlie snorted at him but threw her one hand up in the air in defeat.

"Honestly, you'd have to ask him that." Charlie answered as best as she could. "Maybe schools in France are more advanced, maybe he used all his spare time over in Europe to get is G.E.D., maybe he just doesn't want to go to Algebra class, who knows?"

"Not fair." Stiles grumbled but Charlie chuckled at him anyways. No, it certainly wasn't fair, but then again, it wasn't like she wanted Isaac's life. He didn't have any real family left and even if he was spending time with Chris Argent, it wasn't the same.

"Moving on." Charlie muttered and looked at Scott instead, anticipating him adding in his two cents. "Maybe we should focus more on Theo instead of why Isaac gets to skip out on school?"

"You're right." Scott nodded. "Who cares why he gets to miss school, we should definitely be more concerned with-"

"If I didn't have to go to class, I could focus way more on Theo." Stiles cut in and Charlie fixed him with a glare. "It's true."

"I'll see you two later." Charlie shook her head with a small smile on her face. "And if I find anything out about what Theo's up to, I'll let you know."

"We'll do the same." Scott agreed and before Stiles had another chance to complain about Isaac and why he didn't have to attend class, she took off for first period.

She knew that she'd be down in the tunnels with Isaac, Sydney and the Argents later that night and she hoped that when she got home from her adventure that she'd actually have something to tell Scott. Until then, she'd try to focus on her school work, after all, supernatural presence or not, she still had to make it through senior year.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX

Well, things are definitely getting a little more interesting huh?