A/N: I don't normally put these at the beginning but I wanted to state I am sorry for the long upload. It won't (hopefully) happen again. Thank you everyone for the continued support with follows, favs, and the reviews! I love them and they keep me motivated to write faster. I just had such writers block on this chapter. Please read and enjoy. Till next time!

{017}

The hunter sighed as he poured himself another glass of whiskey, fingering the jade beads in his hand as he stared at the closed door the young girl walked out of. Chris had never expected his younger years to come back and haunt him. It had been just over twenty-one years since that night. The night he had betrayed his family, his father, and his code. All for a woman. Only for it to end in disaster.

A smile ghosted his lips as he thought of her.

Sara.

The sweet smell of lilac still haunted his senses, even after all these years. Moore women were easy to spot in a small community; they all looked alike. Same fiery red hair and wide chocolate brown eyes that pulled you in. Sara had a sweet heart-shaped face and full lips that had drug him under her spell. Katherine had been much the same. Her endearing features and charismatic smile charmed anyone who laid eyes on her.

Alex was different.

Emerald eyes and dark cooper hair weren't considered Moore Traits; neither were her curly locks. Her mother had been soft lines and curves, same as her sister, but Alex was something more. Angular features and sharp lines dominated her body making her look more like a warrior than a Moore Gypsy.

To the naked eye, Alex looked no different than any other hard-working athlete with her coiled muscles and built frame that she hid beneath flowing shirts and dresses, but Chris could see it now. The underlying traits of a child born to a werewolf.

It didn't surprise the hunter that the young red head gravitated towards werewolves. Her brash attitude and protective instincts were a Moore family trait and it was a Gypsy's natural instinct to protect supernatural creatures. An instinct he was afraid would get Alex killed; especially without training.

Chris sighed, glancing down at the bead bracelet in his hand. They had once belonged to Kate. The intricate design of hazy purple that bled through the beads was easily recognizable. Wolfsbane. A gift that his father had bestowed upon his sister when she first took up hunting. He was well aware that Alex had been lying to him. She knew who the Alpha was and despite the fact that it had attacked her in the forest; she was protecting whoever it was. Just like he was protecting Kate.

The hunter was well aware that his sister was being less than honest with him. He had caught her sneaking around on more than one occasion; taking his men with her. Kate knew more about Alex than she was letting on and Chris wanted to know what it was.

Silence.

Peter was under no illusion that Alex was pissed at him. The werewolf couldn't blame her. He had assaulted her and nearly killed her—twice. Peter wanted to apologize, but something held him back. He realized at some point in the ride that she wasn't just quiet because of what he had done. Her brow was furrowed deep in concentration. The hunter had told her something. Something that had her thinking long and hard.

Alex sat slumped down in her seat, head in her hand with her elbow leaning on the door frame. Her eyes were open, focused on the dash in front of her, staring at it as if it held all the answers. It almost looked as if she were pouting, but Peter knew better. The wheels in her head were turning and the young Gypsy was trying her best to hide it from the werewolf, but if there was one thing that Peter was, it was observant.

Masterly so.

"Just spit it out, Peter," Alex sighed, turning her head slightly to look at the werewolf. She had never seen the man look so ashamed or contrite. "I can see the wheels in your head turning, old man. Spit it out." Peter smirked. She had the same fire as her mother. No one had ever given him a run for his money as much as Katherine Moore had. She had constantly kept him on his toes with her overt observations and the uncanny ability to read him like a book.

"What did the hunter say to you?" Alex swallowed hard, drawing her lower lip between her teeth, unsure of how to start the conversation. The pair in the car weren't much different from one another. Neither had much experience with sharing open emotion unless they were angry. Derek had naturally drawn out her emotions, no matter the situation whether they were positive or negative. With him, it felt as if the walls she had carefully erected over the years weren't there. He pushed right though them. Peter had felt the same way about Katherine.

"He knew mom," She whispered after a pregnant pause. Peter shot her a questioning look. "From before she left Louisiana to come here."

"She never mentioned him." Peter thought about starting a book about what Katherine Moore hadn't told him. Part of him wondering if the love she felt for him was as real as the love had and still felt for her. It would be a long while before his love for the rapturous Gypsy faded.

"Just add it to the long list of things she never told anyone." There was a bitter tone to her voice as a silence fell over the pair. Neither of them knowing what else to say.

Both of them feeling betrayed.

"Did you know that James wasn't my father?"

There. She asked it. Ripped the band-aid off of a wound she knew would bleed for a while.

Peter sighed, his knuckles whitening on the steering wheel causing the material to bend under the weight of his grasp. At least she had her answer.

"Yes." It was a terse reply. Alex looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. She knew he didn't want to have this conversation. There weren't many people who could read Peter the way Alex did. Even after six years she could still tell when something was bothering him. In a way, the man next to her had been like a father to her, helping her mother raise her as if she were his own.

"James was a long-time friend of your mothers. She had known him since she was a child," Peter ran a hand through his long unkempt brown hair. Damn he needed a haircut. "He knew everything about her, in fact. When the hunters came calling, James led you and your mother away here. To your old family home. Louisiana was where your family migrated to, but Beacon Hills was where they came to after immigrating from Ireland."

"What happened?" Alex asked, adjusting her body in her seat to face him better. Peter took a long slow breath; this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with her. Katherine had tried to spare her the pain, but there was no hiding it now.

"I saw the memory of the day Mom brought us to live in the Hale house," The young red head continued, pressing him further. "She was bruised and battered. Said she banished someone. Was it him?"

"Yes," Peter told her candidly. "James wasn't the person your mother thought he was. He had been manipulating her for a long time. She confronted him. Banished him from the town so that he wouldn't be able to find his way back to her—or you."

"So, another lie." Alex spat bitterly, her eyes narrowing, wetness gathering at the edges of her vision.

"Your mother never wanted to lie to you, little one," Peter's voice was calm and low, the way it used to be when he soothed her through a nightmare as a child. "James was the only father-figure you had ever known. You were barely six years old, Alex, too young to understand what was going on."

"She could have told me all this when I was older," Alex huffed, stung by amount of secrets that kept piling up. "Tell me what happened." Peter shook his head. "Do you not know, or do you just not want to tell me?"

"I don't know the full story," he sighed. "And what I do know I promised to keep to myself."

Alex was done. Done with the secrets and the lies. Done with everyone else knowing more about her than she knew about herself.

"This is bullshit." Peter scowled at her.

"Language, young lady."

"It's true," Alex huffed, crossing her arms against her chest, sulking like a petulant child. "I'm done with this shit. Everyone else seems to have a say in my life, but me. Everyone knows something, but me. I am tired of being kept in the dark. I am tired of being manhandled. This is my life, Peter. Mine."

The werewolf couldn't be mad at her temper tantrum. Even the Alpha inside him didn't stir at her outrage. The young girl had a right to be angry. Her entire life was full of secrets and lies. Peter had never fully agreed with Katherine about hiding Alex's heritage, but it wasn't his call. The girl had always been like a daughter to him, it was hard to lie to her then, and even harder now. Especially now.

He hated seeing the look of disappointment on her face, the tears in her eyes when a new piece of the puzzle crept into place, and the hurt that stung her when she thought about how her mother had lied to her.

"I thought you were taking me home?" Alex sat up more, watching as the city faded in the rearview mirror.

"I need to stop by and pick up Derek," Peter shrugged nonchalantly as he drove towards the reservation. "We need a strategy."

"At least you aren't against me seeing him now." She mumbled as she sat back in her seat.

"I did that for a reason," The wolf sighed, the edge creeping back into his voice. "No that it did any good." Alex scoffed.

"You shouldn't have done it in the first place, Peter," The Gypsy scolded him. "What goes on between me and Derek is none of your business. You need to stop interfering." Peter growled at her tone.

"I am still the Alpha here, little one." He snapped at her, knuckles white against the steering wheel once again as he tried to calm his inner wolf.

"You are not my Alpha, Peter," Alex bit back furiously. "You want revenge? Fine. Get your revenge. I couldn't stop you even if I tried, but you need to listen closely, because I am not going to repeat myself. I am done being your pawn. I am done with the abuse and the manhandling. Leave me and Scott out of whatever you have planned."

Alex cried out, her body slamming forward into the seatbelt, as Peter stomped hard on the brake in front of the house. There was little time to process what was going on before Alex was tugged from her seat, a loud cry escaping her lips as her body impacted the harsh cold ground. Her feet dug into the ground, pushing herself back towards the darkened house frantically trying to create distance between them.

Blue eyes flashed red as Peter stalked towards her, his normally handsome features marred by fangs and claws.

This wasn't Peter.

This was the Alpha.

"You think this is some kind of mass killing spree?" His voice snarled; words slightly mangled by his canines. "This is revenge, Lex. Revenge that I have been planning for six long years, trapped in my own mind. This is justice. This is…" Peter stopped, his head raised slightly, sniffing the air.

"Get back in the car." She hesitated. It was an order, but Alex noticed the words didn't hold the same threatening tone as before. There was something else hidden beneath the depths of his words.

Concern.

"Get back in the damn car, Alexandra!"

This time the young red head didn't hesitate. She sprang up from the ground and dashed towards the vehicle, heart pounding in her chest, blood rushing through her ears, obscuring the sounds around her. Alex dove into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind her as she surveyed the land around her.

The woods were quiet. Too quiet.

Loud gasping breaths was the only sound that filled the eerie silence around her in the small sedan. Peter's strong form disappeared into the darkness of the surrounding woods; following an unfamiliar scent. Minutes felt like hours. The young Gypsy waited, chest heaving in anticipation as she scanned the woods for Peter's familiar form. A large shadow crept up from behind, unnoticed by the young girl, whose focus was solely on the scenery in front of her.

Glass shattered behind her. Alex let out a strangled scream, the feeling of being yanked backwards through the window by her jacket jarring her. She could feel the leftover shard of glass pierce through her clothes, digging into her skin, causing her to sob in pain.

"Look what we have here." Alex landed unceremoniously on the ground, her hand automatically going to the wound on her left side in an attempt to control the bleeding the glass had caused.

This was not her night.

"Nice night," One of the hunters leered at her. He was a man in his early thirties, with military cut hair and steel grey eyes. "Dontcha think?"

"What do you want?" Alex hissed through her teeth; her jaw clenched tight against the waves of pain that racked her body.

"Oh, we got plans for you." Another hunter smirked. This one was older, with a salt and pepper beard and a receding hairline.

"No, I'm not." She narrowed her eyes at the two men. Alex wouldn't go without a fight. The hunters smirked; their mouths twisting coldly.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." The older hunter stalked towards her.

"It'll be more fun for us if you choose the hard way." The younger hunter let out a short, low laugh. Alex spat at them, muscles coiled, ready for a fight.

"Go to hell." She sneered, feeling her energy build up. Her fingers began to tingle. Warmth spread up her body, her mind trying to focus through the haze of blood loss. If she could make sparks, then she could make flame.

Right?

Nothing came. Offensive magic required training. None of which she had.

A boot collided with her left side causing Alex to scream and roll in on herself. Fiery pain erupted throughout her body as she called out for help, praying Peter would hear her.

"None of that now." The young hunter knelt down beside her. Alex sobbed, tears running down her cheeks, as she struggled to move away from the imminent threat next to her. "Nap time." Alex didn't have time to process what was going to happen before the young hunter blew a fistful of powder in her face.

The red head coughed, her vision swimming, her body heavy as the hunter picked her up in his arms. Where was Peter? Why hadn't he come when she screamed? Had he abandoned her? What about Derek? Where was he? Did they have him?

Thoughts of abandonment raced through her mind, picking at the securities she once held, creating holes. Soon though, all thoughts were abandoned as she was swept into darkness.