It was the calm before the storm. She could feel it. Storm clouds seemed to gather in her veins, a whirlwind of detachment sympathizing with her already weakened frame. She did not want to be here, yet she knew being brought here was inevitable. Someone was calling her forward. Guiding her. Mentoring her through the parts in life she could not quite understand. And this was one of those moments. She could not gather why bad things happened to good people. Her knees ached as she rested on them, her head hung low as the brightest light entrapped her. It was a clustered spectrum of brilliance that blinded her. It took away every nerve ending in her sore frame. But it did not diminish the depression. The gaping hole in her chest that ate away at her dainty lungs. This darkness bound her to this place. It left her heaving for gulps of air, forcing her to fend for what air she could swallow.

She wanted to cry. To sob and feel something much more deeper than what she felt now. This was unlike any loss she'd ever lived through. It was a torturous divide that seemed to keep her on the edge of life and death. She wanted to mourn and to grieve, but even that was not a proper way to mend herself. The darkness seeped up into her mind, spreading across her thoughts like poison as if it were trying to rip away any last thought surrounding him. He was gone. He was gone. Her hand clawed at her chest then, shaking her head as her eyes became hot. Riley did not wish to spend her time here, to be cornered in by those four stark white walls, but she knew Bardo had called her forward for a reason. She could sense a confrontation brewing. The smell of burnt wood and honey clouding down on her. It smelt like him, but different somehow. It was lighter. Fresher. It carried easily on the stagnant air that filled this hell.

She kept her eyes down, but she heard someone approach. The lightest footsteps pressing against the solid concrete below. She could see the ruffle of a pretty white dress, pinching her eyes together in hopes that the figure would evaporate. She was grieving . . . Why would anyone try an steal that time of mourning from her? Riley felt the presence become heavier. Closer. It hovered over her with calming nature. But she could not be fooled. Beneath that extravagant demeanor, she could feel the amount of power this person carried. How strong they were deeper beneath their skin. It infatuated her, feeling herself gravitate towards them as seconds passed by. "Do not cry." The woman said, her voice stern and insistent. "Tears do not serve a purpose to those we have lost."

The woman seemed to sink to her knees, their skin touching as they sat across from each other. "I know it doesn't." Riley sniffled, her voice cracked and dry. Her hand reached up to wipe at her cheeks. A curtain of her hair covered her features. It shielded her from the woman before her. "But it's painful." She declared, her hands shaking now as she rested them back on her thighs.

"Loss hurts." The woman agreed. "But you need to be strong now."

She felt the woman's hand raise then, her fingers lacing within the twines of Riley's hair as she tucked it back behind her ear. She did the same for the other side, pushing back the locks of hair that divided their eyes from meeting. "I'm-I'm not." Riley argued, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. "I'm not strong." The taste of metal collecting on her tongue. "I can't be."

"That's not true." The woman cooed, her finger hooking underneath Riley's chin as she raised it upward to face her. "You're much stronger than I could have ever imagined." Riley's eyes cracked, squinting against the harsh back light that engulfed the woman's silhouette. She tried to focus her gaze, to find the features of the woman sitting before her. "Much stronger than he made you out to be." The haze subsided, focusing in on the tan skin of the woman's cheeks. It was smooth and radiant, basking in her own glow of self preservation. Her nose was familiar, narrow and straight with a bulbous tip. Her lips were fuller on the bottom, peachy and parted with a small smile. Her hair was dark, almost the same shade of depression that clouded Riley's mind.

But her eyes! The woman's eyes were a brilliant shade of grey . . . A color she'd come to know and trust. "He's told me a lot about you, Riley." Talia confessed, dropping her hand from Riley's cheeks to grip her hand. She squeezed it tenderly, the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes. "But I had to see for myself." It did not make sense to her, her mind drawing a blank, her heart beating rapidly within her chest. This was her. The woman who had shaped Derek into everything he was.

"This isn't real." Riley sniffled, shaking her head.

"No." Talia answered, clearing her throat. "But it can be."

Bardo was a dreamscape, a place for that was perfectly situated on the threshold of what was real and what was not. The place where the dead could summon the living. A place of sadness and regret. She did not want to believe this place could ever feel real, but it somehow did. Talia's hand was warm and inviting, beckoning her to linger longer. But how could she stay in a place that felt so dark? That reminded her of every ounce of loss she'd gathered on her burdened shoulders. How could she look into the eyes of Derek's mother, and explain to herself that Bardo was a purgatory? She could not. Especially with someone so passionate and powerful like her. She could not tear her eyes away.

"He's gone." Riley whispered, another set of fresh tears brewing. "I couldn't save him."

"People are not meant to be saved, Dear." She murmured. "Only loved and you did so irrevocably."

Her eyes were entrapped with brilliant waves. Her eyes were the color of the sea in an early morning sun rise. It was breathtaking and menacing all at the same time. It only reminded her of him more. "I hate her." Riley choked, squaring her jaw and she clenched her teeth. "I hate her so much for what she did." Talia did not have to ask to know who she spoke about. "For what she took from him. What she did to you. What she's done to me-" Riley stopped herself short, trying to not envision Kate's animalistic grin. "I want her dead."

"No, you don't-"

"I do." Riley choked. "I'll do it myself."

"It's best not to play with fire." Talia remarked, a look of tragedy glimmering in her eyes. "Because you only get burned." She tried to leave an impressionable reasoning behind her words, but Riley did not seem to grasp on to them either. "Trust me." Talia begged. "I know."

"I'll kill her." Riley repeated. "I'll kill her." It was the first time someone had held her down and begged her to stay. Most of the time the people who had called her forward would push her back. They would force her back into reality. Not this time. Riley did not wish to stay. She rose from her knees, the weight of Talia grasping at her tying her down. She needed to go back. She would go back. She had to go back.

She had a vision of revenge, and it tasted sweet on her tongue.


She came to with a start, feeling someone tug her away from his body. She heard someone yelling, someone screaming bloody murder. Riley tried to close her ears to it, to block out the sound of all the curious questions that now engulfed her. Who would die next? Who was screaming so loud that it made her entire frame shake and quiver? It took her a moment before realizing that those screams of desperation came from her own throat. But someone continued to tug her backwards, her own hands grasping at loose dirt, hoping it would teather her back to Derek. "We need to go!" They shouted, the voice demanding and insistent. Riley could not focus on the words, but the pitch was high enough to sting her ears. It wasn't until she saw a curved fist reach out to her, the nail beds colored a fine wine that she seemed to gather her surroundings again.

Braeden shoved an extra gun into Riley's hands, "Get up!" She'd screamed over loud gunfire. She'd said something important, but again, Riley could not focus much. Her eyes hazed over, the fight brewing before becoming blurred. Braeden had said something about the Calavera's. About Jordan Parrish and Chris Argent. What had she said? Were they dead too? Riley was lifted to her feet then, her knees shaking against the weight of the burden she seemed to carry on her back. "Aim and fire!" The girl behind her murmured, loading her own weapon again before stepping out from the safety of the crumpled wall they'd hid behind. And soon enough, she'd diassapeared again, leaving Riley alone with her unsettled thoughts.

The weight of the gun wore her down. She strained to keep it held at her thigh before numbly switching off the safety lock. Her vision swaying from the sudden sickness she felt. From her peripheral view, she could see a clustered shadow. It was sprawled across the dirt lot, it's skin cloaked in a murky red liquid. Bile rose into her throat, turning her head away so she would not have to see his body. She stepped forward then, stumbling partially to keep herself upright. She was not wounded, but the darkness that collected within her veins made her uneasy. It was the deepest depression she'd felt. A tear along her lungs that did not aide her breathing. But she continued to walk, to lead herself into the war that had manifested while she'd wandered in Bardo.

Men with guns seemed to run back and forth, shouting tactics in another language. The Calavera's. They'd come to bring down the La Loba. A man with a machine gun took shelter behind a car, he was only a few hundred feet away from her. The streaks of gray in his hair reminded her of the father she'd seen suffer lately. The man who had been left with nothing, and seemed to fight for everything. Chris Argent. Along with him, a lean frame dashed across the dirt lot, his gun aimed at the enemy in the distance. He was fast and lithe . . . He had to have had years of experience in some sort of division. Whether it been the Army or the Police force, Jordan Parrish knew how to win wars against those who challenged to defeat them. He was skilled and willing to defend.

They'd all come. They all had traveled the same path to end up here, and for what? There was no good in the fight that brewed. It would only cause them more tragedies than victories. It was then that Riley spotted her. Shielded by boned warriors, phased into the she-wolf she truly was, was Kate Argent. The feline that was to blame for the gnawing hole that ate away at Riley's chest. It was her who had caused this suffering, and it was Riley who would end it. The gunfire still rang as they continued to fire at the Berzerkers, trying to get an aim on Kate. Riley felt the Pistol in her hand grow lighter, easier to bare as she outstretched it forward. If she squinted her eye enough, she could see the ferocious blonde hissing from her perch behind the Berzerkers. This was why she'd created them. She needed someone that was willing to die to protect her. Someone that would kill before it was killed.

A burning riptide gathered in her bloodstream, making her bones quake with frustration. She had a clear shot from her stance, her finger idling on the trigger. The weight of a fresh loss clouding her judgement. She'd been told not to play with fire, but the fire had already been sparked. The urge to kill had suppressed Talia's plea, and she could not help herself. She wanted Kate dead. She wanted to see her lose everything the same way she had. But even with the amount of reasoning keeping her wired, she could not pull the trigger. It had nothing to do with sympathy clouding her mindset, that was not the case at all. She was too far away, and even with a kill shot in her vision, she could not allow herself to fire the gun. Not when she yearned to be face to face with her when she died. She wanted to see the light leave Kate's eyes, the same way it had with Derek.

Bile rose up her throat again, swallowing down the sourness as she shook the reminder of his still frame from her head. Riley dropped the gun then, the clatter of it hitting the crumbled stone ringing in her ears. She would not do it this way. Not when being so far away wouldn't aide in her revenge tactic. Before she could really register it, Riley felt her legs carry her forward. It lead her into the war, placing her right in the middle of gunfire. She did not flinch, feeling the bullets wheeze past her as the Calavera's continued aiming for the Berzerkers. She could hear yelling from behind her, the sound familiar and desperate. "Stop!" It screamed, the voice rough. "Stop shooting!" Chris Argent watched her head further into the chaos, almost like deja vu to him. It was like watching another child of his walk to their death, and he hoped his sister would have an ounce of proper respect not harm a child.

The popping sounds ceased to continue, her boots clunking against the uneven dirt as she headed for danger. The berzerker's were quick to see her approach, creating a barricade around the were-jaguar. A low growl echoed from Kate's lips. It must have been a demand, because one by one, the boned warriors stepped aside. They created a tunnel, paving the way for Riley to come face to face. Her shoulder shook, her hands bawling into fists as her nails dug into the palms of her hands. Kate righted herself, baring her teeth as Riley stopped a few feet away. Her snarl slackened once she realized Riley was unarmed. "Playing brave, I see." Kate chuckled. Riley felt an aggression surge through her veins, itching to wrap her hands around the La Loba's throat. "Your little damsel in distress act isn't cutting it." She stepped forward, a look of calculation crossing her features. She wanted to toy with her. To push her to her breaking point was a hobby of hers. An angry fluster of power seemed to accumulate in her bones, a stinging sensation tugging at her eyes.

She felt them shift a violent shade of lavender.

"Hmmm." Kate hummed, slightly taken a back by her small shift. "That's a new look for you." Her own eyes seemed to travel up the length of Riley's frame, sizing her up to see how easy it would be for her to win. "I guess I was right," Kate sighed, her lips pulling back into a smile over her elongated fangs. "You and I are more alike than you'd care to admit-"

"I'm nothing like you." Riley spit, speaking for the first time. Her tone was defensive and corrective. It was a strong sentence to form around such a wounded mouth.

"You sure about that?" Kate clicked her tongue. The silence surrounding them was wary. It was stilled and impatient as if they were waiting for the moment to place their fingers on the trigger again. She could feel Chris and Jordan's eyes on her, and maybe they were wondering the same thing she was. 'What the hell is she doing?'

"I'm not a killer." Riley stated firmly, an underlying tone of intimidation rising through.

"I'm sure Allison wouldn't agree." Kate let it slip, her voice cracking lightly at having her niece's name pass her lips. "You are, after all, the one who has blood on their hands." She was gaining the upper hand, manipulating Riley into an even more depressed state of exsistence. "Your recklessness made her suffer." She continued. Riley's breathing became labored, shaking her head as her eyes became hot. "You took her from us! You killed her-"

"No!" Riley's lungs constricted tightly, her palms splayed at her sides as a shattering sound echoed in her ears. The tail lights to the surrounding cars had burst, the power residing within her being fed through the anger she seemed to emanate. Kate stepped back stiffly, calculating just how wrong she'd been about Riley's strength. "I didn't kill her!" She wanted to believe her own words, but they somehow fell short from her own acceptance. A strong wind seemed to circle them then, her hair whipping in each direction as her fingers curled to control the storm.

"You did." Kate acknowledged. "And I needed to even the playing field . . ." She trailed off slowly. "You once told me you and Derek were stronger together, I guess we'll never find out will we?" Her teeth clenched together, still upholding the circulating wind. She needed it for concentration. A source of release for all the pent up anger that thrived within her. Her jaw ground together, her body quivering as she tried not to allow her accusations to settle. Instead, Riley manifested her power back into the storm over-head, a roll of thunder clapping against the night sky. A growl of agitation ruptured through Riley's lips, her eyes still flickering a wild lavender. "You don't honestly think you can hurt me, do you?" She asked, the leopard spots along her jaw creasing with her smile. Her elongated nails drummed against her thigh, twitching in hopes for a brawl. She watched with slight interest as Riley's palms stretched out to her sides, wondering what kind of true power was festering within this fragile girl.

Maybe she should have taken her instead of Scott.

Maybe she'll remember that for next time.

"I-I don't think I can hurt you." Riley answered honestly, shaking her head as her lips quivered. "No," she frowned, her eyes still locked on the were-jaguar. "No-I think I can kill you." And with all the anger and built up fear and devastation, she lunged. Her knees were the first to buckle, her legs stretching further to spring her forward. She could hear the panicked voices of the others behind her, but her mind would not focus. They were set on the kill, Braeden's mantra repeating itself in her mind like clock work. Kate thought she was evening the playing field by killing someone that meant a lot to her, but Riley would be the one to finish it.

She would be the one to tear her throat out in the name of the Hale's.

She'd only gotten a few feet before the Berzerker's stepped forward, blocking Riley's heated view of Kate before they circulated around her. Surrounding her fully at every angle. It should have made her fearful, to feel their weight closing in. It only fed her further, utilizing the fear that bound her down to lift her up. It wasn't until they were inches apart, all she could see was bone, that it sunk in. Maybe she would die, but she would not let them win. She thought about his face, the memory sinking deeper into her crowded chest. About the way his chin would dimple when he'd smile. About his soft grey eyes and how they'd look in the soft morning sun. The way he smelt like wood and honey. How everything seemed to be torn from her all at once again, and it set a fire in her lungs.

It was like she'd been set ablaze with the truth, and only revenge could extinguish the flames. Something bubbled inside of her, she could feel it rising to the surface. It collected in her veins, like hot liquid iron as it singed her from the inside out. The Berzerker's were closed in on her, suffocating her with their armor of war, raising their boned hands up to the sky as they prepared to sink them all into her at once. As they prepared to end her life the same way they had done with Derek's. And the fire within her became to hot, scalding her as it felt like her skin began to sizzle with blisters. A cry escaped her clenched teeth, bracing herself fiercly as all the built up heat seemed to seep from her skin. It cloaked around her like a shield. A place of refuge. A safe harbor. A haven.

It was like her body was a rubber band, and something yanked at her as it spread across her frame like a force-field. She could not open her eyes now, the feeling that emanated from her making her weak. And then suddenly, the force snapped back as if it dived back into her skin, a flash of white burning her eyes as the fire settled into a somber ember. The Berzerkers that had surrounded her seemed to all be violently shoved away, the bones attached to their bodies cracking and splintering as they landed nearly a dozen feet from where they'd been.

Whatever force had gathered within her, it had shielded her from the fate Kate had installed.

A wetness gathered above her lip, smelling the rust and salt as she bent at the waist, her hands on her knees as she tried to hold herself up. Her breathing became labored, her head dizzy as her body settled back down from it's high. "I don't believe it." Kate whispered, disregarding her army of Berzerkers as they lay at her feet. Her eyes were wild and wide, almost as if she could not comprehend what she'd witnessed. The weight seemed to carry on Riley's shoulders, her legs giving out from below her. She sunk down to her knees, trying to muster enough strength to keep her torso supported, looking up to kate from beneath her lashes. She could taste the blood on her lips now, knowing that the amount of energy she'd collected had given her a nose bleed. "You're more talented than I thought," she hummed, stepping closer towards Riley.

Her eyes were hooded, her frame too tired to keep upheld. "I guess that doesn't matter though," Kate chimed, shaking her head as if whatever she was planning to do, would not benefit her. "Strip all this power away from you and what do you have?" Her questions were demanding, they made Riley's head hurt even more. Kate came closer, her claws sprung and rigid as she took sight of her target. "Nothing." She confessed. "You have nothing!"

"Kate!" Chris bellowed from behind. "Don't!"

The she-wolf rose her hand, her claws aching to feel the tearing of skin. She would relish this moment. She would find it more suitable to strip the life away from the one who'd stripped it away from Allison. It was an eye for an eye. It was revenge in the sweetest form, up close and personal. Riley flinched, but her body was too sore to function. Her mind was too hazy to realize what was happening. Kate's frame was a blur, and if she even dared concentrate for a second, her head would throb. A low growl echoed off the crumbled town. A sudden sound of fierce protectiveness rumbling from the chest of someone approaching. Riley could not turn to see, but a sliver of black caught her eye. It stalked slowly, it's eyes a piercing blue, glaring and brutal as it lunged. It lept before Riley, catching Kate off guard as it trampled her to the ground. Snarls rung through the night air, the sound making bile rise into Riley's throat.

Her eyes would focus and un-focus, but through the blur she could make out the curved features of an animal. It's hind legs were strong, firmly planted on the dirt lot as it's muzzle spread over it's pearly teeth. The wolf latched onto Kate's shoulder, tearing at the skin as it overthrew her control. A pained cry escaped her lips, trying to break free from the animal before crawling out from beneath it's body. The wolf backed off, keep a close distance to Riley. If she'd had the strength to reach out a hand, she would have tried to run her hands through it's dark furr. Kate was stunned, her lips parted in defeat as she peared back at the animal over her bloodied shoulder. And the animal that had protected Riley seemed to change then, rising from all fours as it opted for two legs.

It's skin was a blur of white, the muscles deep and defined as it rose to stand over Kate's body. She tried to keep her vision still, trying to remain content as her eyes traveled from the feet, up the back end of it's naked frame, and to it's broad shoulders, where a curved tattoo sat in between his shoulder blades. "You-You're dead." Kate's voice shook, her eyes roaming up and down the mans frame with disbelief.

"No." The man said, his voice distinct and powerful. "I was evolving. . . . Something you'll never do." The sound made her eyes wet, her chest aching in the best way possible. Her body shook violently, trying to distinguish herself between what was real and what she could have so easily dreamed up. She could have imagined an outcome where Derek had saved her, but she'd seen him die. She'd seen the light leave his eyes and she'd known . . . So how was he here? How had he re-birthed himself from the four-legged wolf she'd seen before? Maybe it had been fate, or wishful thinking, or a mix of both. He'd somehow made his way back to her, keeping her alive like he'd always tried to do. He turned then, looking over his bare shoulders as he looked back at her. His eyes were a brilliant blue, the shade of a Beta. The color of lost innocence and dark surroundings.

And Riley couldn't help herself, her legs burning and shaky as she launched herself at him. Nothing else had seemed to matter in that moment, a breath of relief ghosting along her lips once her arms wound around his neck. "You're real." She whispered into his chest, her lungs vibrating from the sob she was trying to control. His frame clung to her more so than hers did his, and that was due to the fact that he knew how close he'd come to never holding her again. Derek's nose buried in her hair, trying not to allow himself to let her go. "I'm real." He reminded her gently, feeling the wetness from her eyes leak onto his collar bone. From his peripheral he could see Kate stagger, her body weakened and hurt as she tried to shuffel away from them. He gave her a defiant look, almost as if to declare his abundant power within the hard gleam of his eyes.

It was more of a challenging glare, cautioning her that she did not win. Not this time.


AN: Hi guys! How did you like the finale? Did I do it justice? There is one chapter left of Season 4 before we head into Season 4b followed by Season 5! Please leave me a review below and let me know what your favorite part of this chapter was! My favorite was the Bardo scene with Riley and Talia! I always imagined a scene of them meeting, and I figured it would be a perfect moment to place it there! So again, review if you can because I appreciate any and all forms of critique!

Follow me on Tumblr for teasers, gif sets, au's and more at HavenBoundInBeaconHills! I'll see you guys next week for the last chapter!

Thanks!

Ashley