The morning seemed to graciously engulf the disheveled little town. The orange glow was soft and inviting, the sun beating down tenderly while Riley's toe dug into the dirt outside of the Church entrance. The chaos had calmed, and with that a new opportunity had risen . . . The chance to leave this place with a clean slate. She hadn't been aware of the brewing destruction within the walls of the Aztec Temple, not since her mind had been so widely focused on the fighting outside of that Church. She hadn't known what had happened, and finding out seemed to be the hardest part. Scott's arm was tightly wrapped around Kira's waist, a deep chest wound idling above the dip of her shirt.
It started to heal now, but she knew by the way the dirt had settled into her skin, that she'd had a tough fight. Kate had been successful in transforming Scott into one of her disciples, and had used Kira as a test of loyalty to see how well the True Alpha had followed commands. He'd been brainwashed. Tricked into thinking that the armor of bone he wore was a part of who he was. But Liam had broken him out of his belief, reminding Scott that he was not a monster. Having Scott transform into a Berzerker had been the least of their problems, and that was all due to the fact that this had been Peter's plan all along. He'd taken it upon himself to target Scott in such a vulnerable situation, thirsting for his accumulative power he'd seemed to collect. Peter wanted what he's always wanted . . . Power.
Riley watched them with soft eyes. Scott, Kira, Stiles, Malia and Liam, they all stood side by side, their heads held high after the brawl they'd just overcome. They wore bruises to aide in their victory. They'd won, but the fight did not seem over. Not yet at least. Derek suddenly appeared through the entrance of the church, a fresh pair of clothing clinging to his frame. Chris Argent was by his side as they both dragged a limp Peter Hale from the Aztec ruins. "Where do you want him?" Argent asked, wiping a bead of sweat away with his hand.
"In here." Braeden called, opening up the back to the Prison Transportation Van. Riley could clearly see a limp in the way Chris carried himself, knowing it was an injury due to the vengeful Peter. They didn't seem to be gentle with him, seeming to not care about his well-being as they all but threw him into the back.
"Let's go, Christopher." A voice demanded. Riley turned her head then, watching as the Calavera's seemed to head for their cars. Araya, the head leader of the family of hunters stood at the front, followed by Severo, the man Riley remembered barging into the Loft in hopes for answers about Kate. Severo nodded to Riley sternly, and act of camaraderie laced within his eyes. She did not nod back, she was too exhausted to make sense of his gesture. Chris brushed off the dirt from his jacket, heading towards the Calavera's as Riley suddenly stopped him. Her hand wound around his wrist, her eyes full of confusion and worry as the pack seemed to come forward as well. "You're really going with them?" She asked, slightly pained at the nod of his head.
"I made a promise to them weeks ago." He hinted, looking over his shoulder at Araya, being impatient by Christopher's weakness for this young girl. "They'll leave you alone from now on." He promised, looking from Riley and then to her friends behind her. "All of you, but only if I help them track down Kate again."
"And what if you can't?" Scott spoke up from behind Riley.
"I'll find her." Chris promised, his eyes sincere and slightly devastated. "Someone has to." He looked to Derek then and back to Scott. "I won't let her hurt anyone else."
"When will you be back?" Riley asked, looking up to him will glazed eyes.
"I'm not so sure I will." He murmured, and just like that, it felt like she'd started to lose another loved one. A father figure that had filled the whole that had been left gaping after her own father had passed. Much like Riley had filled the daughterly role in his life, making it only slightly easier to mourn Allison. She stepped forward then, her arms grasping at his shoulders as she brought him into a hug. His firm hand patted down her hair, tucking it behind her ear once he'd pulled away. It was a comforting gesture, one he wasn't sure he'd be able to do for her again. "Take care of yourself, kid." He said, his smile spreading over his stubbled cheeks. "All of you." He then said, looking past Riley and to the others. "All of you take care of yourselves."
He turned then, heading for the Calavera's without looking back. It was hard for her to watch him walk away. To see the person she'd admired as a mentor and parent since day one just vanish was unbearable. But he needed to do what was best for him, something Riley could do a little more of as well. But this couldn't be goodbye. It couldn't be the last time she'd see him. He'd be back. He had to come back. Stiles bumped her shoulder then once the Calavera's cars had turned out of sight. "Any word from Lydia?" Derek asked, coming to stand beside Riley. Kira nodded somberly, reaching for her phone in her back pocket as she read over the text she'd gotten hours ago.
"Her and Mason are fine." She said, narrowing her eyes at the screen. "Kate ordered a Berzerker to stay behind and it cornered them. The Sheriff got to them before anyone got hurt." They all nodded in relief, slowly breaking apart towards their cars. Braeden hopped into the drivers seat of the Prison van, idling the car as she waited to guide everyone back to Beacon Hills.
She felt a hand cradle hers silently, tugging gently as Derek lead her towards his Toyota. "You ready to go home?" He asked, watching her carefully as her legs seemed to buckle with each step she took. She looked exhausted, and for a good reason too. She'd put up just as much of a fight as any one of them. Stiles, Scott, Kira, Malia and Liam all headed to the SUV Jordan had driven out here. Their steps were sluggish and tired, knowing they'd all pass out the moment they took their seats. Jordan revved the engine just as Riley and Derek seemed to settle within their own car. He blasted the AC, pulling his foot off the break once Braeden had seemed to lead them out of the crumpled town.
There was a few minutes of silence, her eyes scanning the desert landscape from the window once they reached the road. "What's going to happen to Peter?" She asked, looking towards Derek with a questioning gaze. "Now that he's tried to kill most of us."
"He's going to go away for a while." Derek contemplated his answer, nodding his head slightly. "Hopefully longer than a while."
"Where to?" She asked.
"Let's just say," Derek fidgeted within the drivers seat, keeping one hand on the wheel, "that Eichen House happens to treat his kind." Riley rose a brow, narrowing her eyes in confusion before huffing sarcastically.
"What? Psychotic or lycanthropic?" She demanded easily.
"Both." He confirmed, looking to her gently with a small smile. "They have a floor where they keep all of their . . . Special patients."
She bit her lip, nodding her head in agreement. Hopefully keeping him confined would allow them time to think of a Plan B, just in case he were to ever be released. She hated to think of ever seeing his face again, but she knew that was impossible. Either he'd be released or he'd escape, it was just a matter of time. A small window of opportunity to make things go back to how they were before. But things wouldn't be the same, and Riley had to swallow the lodge in her throat as she remembered that. It was a strange thing to comprehend all that they had over come. It was unsettling, yet she felt as if this had given her a new way of approaching things. A different measurement of fear in how she'd handle each situation.
Just like Derek had said, she was brave and strong.
She bit her lip at that memory, trying not to think about how dead his eyes seemed. How they'd glazed over before shutting. Or how his pearly teeth had been stained with blood. She looked at him from the passenger side seat. Derek looked very much alive and well. His thumb drummed slowly against the steering wheel, keeping his eyes ahead. "What are you staring at?" He questioned with a small smile.
"You're all healed." She noted, pursing her lips as he nodded in agreement.
"Part of being a wolf." He stated.
"So are you . . ." She trailed off. "Are you you?"
Derek chuckled slightly, almost a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. "Yes." He replied, reaching his hand over the console to intertwine it with hers. "I'm me."
"Good." Riley sighed, not knowing what else to say. How was she suppose to react, knowing that regaining his ability almost cost him his life? "Human Derek was such a bore." She laughed, her tone sarcastic and thoughtful. He couldn't help it as he chuckled too, both of them skipping around the elephant in the room. Moments passed again, fidgeting in her seat until the tension seemed to rise. It made her claustrophobic, almost suffocating on the topic they hadn't brought up. "Okay." She said, slapping the palms of her hands against her thighs as she turned her back towards the window to face him. "I'm just going to come right out and say this," She murmured urgently, "but you kind of turned into a wolf back there." It came out in a rush. "Like an actual wolf."
It wasn't that she was angry about it, but much more confused and surprised. She hadn't expected to see him shift so fully, and the idea of it made her stomach turn. He did not speak at first, but ultimately absorbed her reaction and studied it. Her unreasonable curiosity is what made him question whether or not this shift was a gift. "I'm quite aware of that, thank you." He said, unsure of what else to tell her. His tone was soft but wielded such a depth of power. He did not want to seem as if he was dodging this question, because he knew it was something now on everyone's minds.
"It didn't freak you out?" She asked, wringing her hands together to keep her fidgeting hands from raising questioningly. "It didn't scare you?"
"Did it scare you?" He asked in return, shifting his eyes from the road to glance at her. Riey squared her jaw, raising her chin to ensure him she was not afraid. But he could hear the frantic beating of her heart now, and sensed the anxiety that clustered within her small frame. And he so easily sympathized with her. "It does scare me." He confessed, looking back at the SUV driving in front of them. "Fully shifting like that was something my mother could do." He reminded her. "It's a powerful gene that gets passed down to the first born in every family."
"Which is why you didn't expect it to happen to you." Riley gathered, knowing his older sister Laura had been endowed with that opportunity. He looked almost disappointed, but that look cleared almost instantly. Maybe it had something to do with the idea of having a power that his mother and sister had once had. Perhaps it was knowing that he was one of the last Hale members to have this gift bestowed upon him, and maybe it reminded him too much of what he'd lost. She wanted to ask him specifically what had caused that look, but knew better than to pry. Derek kept his hands tight against the wheel, his eyes focused and his mind buzzing.
"I'll have to brush up on control." He muttered after a second, knowing that this was not going to be something that came to him easily. "Something you might want to look into."
His statement puzzled her for a second, but then she felt the heat spread across her cheeks as she bowed her head. "You saw that, huh?" She sighed, trying to remember the rubber band feeling as if someone had been pulling a shield out from within her lungs. She remembered how it burned, and how safe she felt for the one fraction of a second.
Riley remembered the Berzerker's being thrown back by whatever power had resided within her. "Did it freak you out?" He asked, repeating her earlier question, as he turned the tables on her. Riley nodded numbly, pursing her lips as she glanced timidly out the window.
"I don't know what triggered it." She mentioned slowly.
"I do." He noted, turning the AC down once he noticed her teeth chatter slightly. "The same thing happened in the warehouse where Deaucalion killed Jennifer." The memory burned rapidly through her mind, remembering how she'd harvested a storm out of nothing but the palm of her hands. How the wind had whipped viciously every time her fingers had curled. It was like she'd beckoned the chaos of a storm to gather without even trying. "Jennifer was antagonizing you." He reminded her, trying to tip toe around the fact that she'd murdered Riley's family. "And last night, Kate was doing the same thing."
"So I do it when I'm provoked?" She questioned warily.
"Or when you feel something intense." He shrugged, side glancing her quietly. "What were you feeling?"
"I-" Riley caught herself as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I remember wanting to kill her." She whispered, her features almost catatonic. "Because of what she'd done."
"And you wanted to kill Jennifer." Derek acknowledged, remembering how Riley had said she'd do so herself. She nodded, feeling almost ashamed of her instinct to kill or be killed. Ashamed that he'd think less of her for feeling those kinds of emotions. To want someone dead so strongly, that her own body emanates a force-field that keeps her protected from the storm she's handling. Derek nodded in understanding, because for so long that was the only thing he'd ever felt towards Kate. He knew the intensity of wishing someone's breath would be their last. He did not judge her for those feelings, for he had sinned the same way she had. "I don't want the others to know about this." Riley said then, hoping he'd know what she meant. "Not until I have this under control."
He nodded simply, locking away this secret with all the others he'd managed to bury. "I can help you with control." He said, a soft smile gracing his lips. "I can teach you how to use this power that you have within limitations, so that you don't have to live with it burried." His offer stood casually between them, an offer she did not wish to lookover. His help could change her tactics in times of need. It could help her protect those who could not protect themselves. "I'd like that." Riley agreed, her hand skimming across Derek's lap as she wrapped her hand around his. Hopefully her control would increase and her battles would always overcome those who threatened to destroy them. She'd use this gift as a weapon of protection, and nothing more. She would not let her instinct to kill allow this gift to corrupt her.
But maybe a little corruption was what she'd need to survive.
AN: Anddddd Season 4 if officially over! Thanks to you guys I've found much happiness in creating this story and will expand it further to accommodate Season 5A and 5B! The next season of Finding Haven is going to be an in between season and it will be called Season 4B! It does not include any material from Season 5 just yet, and it is 100% original and will take place during the five month time jump between Season 4 and Season 5 as the rest of the gang head into Senior year! I am so incredibly excited to share this content with you, and plan to do so sometime in December! It's not that far from now, so hopefully you all stick around to find out what I have planned!
Thank you all so much again for encouraging me to continue this series when I was so ready to throw in the towel on many different occasions! You are all such amazing people and I appreciate that you take the time to read what I write. If you can, please leave a review below and tell em what youre favorite scenes from this season were, and your theories about season 4B! I'll see you all in about a month or so! Stay tuned!
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Please Review and have a good week!
XOXO
Ashley
