As soon as I was home, I set to distract myself quickly, dispensing of the dishes Danny washed, and washing the ones leftover from the day. The house was empty for the mid-evening. Mom had to be doing some errands before work, and my brother had work after his classes today, but should be home any minute. That left me to figure out if I was cooking, or if we were going out for dinner. Upon opening the fridge, however, I decided that it was out for dinner, and doing some grocery shopping after.

I grabbed one of the notebooks I kept in my bag at all times, and flipped to the first blank page, scrawling out the label across the top: Shopping List (Danny and Steph). Reopening the fridge, I took stock of what we had, and wrote down what was needed, doing the same in the freezer and cabinets. I was looking to see if there was anything that Momhad put on the bulletin board when Danny came in, a frown on his face. Out of the corner of my eye I could see he looked tired, but also confused at my current state.

"Shouldn't you be curled up in the living room doing homework for next week?" He teased, trying to hide his concern by pulling at my scrub top. "Or did you just get home too?"

"Last minute Hail Mary during Chem." I answered, passing him the list while I took down the various notes on the board that were no longer needed. "Anything else need to go on that?"

"I take it Ma left the fridge empty before work again?"

I nodded, pulling my hair into a messy bun to get it out of my face. "Yeah, though if you ask her it's probably because I woke her this morning. Not that the coffee she had would affect her sleep schedule at all, but that I woke her and she needed rest before pulling another graveyard shift. Do you think we'll be able to swing all of that? I have the bare essentials starred if we can't."

"Don't worry about it, Kiddo, won that commuter scholarship I told you about, and my paycheck cleared." He passed me the list, a lazy smile stretching across his face. "Besides, Mom mentioned needing us to grab a few things, which I'm guessing you just pulled from the board, and gave me money for them."

I nodded, running to my room to change out of my work clothes really quick, and exchange my bulky backpack for a purse. Danny more or less did the same, the two of us meeting in the hallway when we were finished. Looking tired, he tossed me the keys, and went to the kitchen to grab our stash of recycle bags. I grabbed my water bottle from the table and took a swig of it before we were out the door.

We spent the short car ride arguing over music, and figuring out where we wanted to eat. I was all for just a classic burger and fry meal, but Danny said he needed a drink after the day he'd had. I muttered something to the same tune, and got cuffed behind the ear. Smirking, I pulled in to a happy medium: Applebee's.

We sat at the bar so Danny could watch the game, and I pulled out my English Book. The two of us did this often, and had a set pattern of things. We'd split an app, order our food, and sometimes get desert, putting off the chore of groceries as long as we could. Not because we didn't want to do it, we actually prefer having control over what we ate, but rather in hopes that Mom would ask where we were and wire us money. Today was different since she already gave it to us, but why mess with a system that isn't broken?

I let out a sigh, finding Kafka exceedingly dull, and put it back in my bag. Switching it to my journal I moved towards my 'to do' list with curiosity at how late I'll be up tonight. I wasn't hired to run any emergency tutoring sessions this week, but a couple players did ask me to write up a study guide for some of the midterms. Math was all set, and I did Chemistry during lulls at work, so all that I really had to worry about was my history homework and the chapters I struggled to read. I watched as my brother turned, an eyebrow arched open while the other was scrunched down in confusion.

"I'm hitting the part of the semester where I don't have enough work to keep me busy. And what work I do have isn't exactly keeping my attention." I explained, dragging my straw in lazy circles within my soda. "I'm a sophomore, but I feel like I have senioritis."

"That's probably because the pressure Mom puts on you to have the better grades, you're essentially a senior." He huffed, running a hand through his hair. He always felt that I got too much pushed on me after the divorce, but there was nothing either of us could do about it. "Besides, you should be having fun, like I used to...instead you work too many jobs and take online classes to help the inadequate staff do their job. You're seventeen, and she treats you like you're an adult mooching off her house."

Not wanting to get too far into it, I decided to change the subject. "I wouldn't be working at the clinic as much if Scott actually came to work. Instead of him and Stilinski running off doing whatever it is those two do."

Instead, his expression darkened, any mirth from my comment lost in his aggravation. "Don't get me started on them." He frowned, downing his drink quickly. "They're lucky I don't have Jackassmore's parents sue them for emotional distress on your part."

I bit my lip, "Well, I'd want to know where you could afford to keep them on retainer. Besides, not everyone is like us, ya know? I mean yeah, they both have single parents like us, but they don't have siblings to lean on. They have each other and the years upon years they've known each other."

"I fail to see how that is your problem, yet you are the one who gets all the calls to cover for them in class or work." He clearly wasn't going to let this go anytime soon. "Are they even your friends, Steph? Where were they at the winter formal when you had no one to go with? Where were they when Dad left? They only come to you if you need something and even then they don't return the favor."

I found myself nodding slowly, knowing that he was right, but unsure of where to go forward in the conversation. Between whatever was happening with Allison and Lydia, lacrosse, and who knows what it was causing them to miss classes, they have been a bit MIA lately. Stiles I wasn't too surprised by, he was always flighty, it was Scott that confounded me. He was pretty reliable and willing to work on making things equal, but lately he's seemed to have forgotten the real world. Overall, I didn't mind covering as much as I put on, but it was still concerning that Scott was missing so much; Classes, work, tutoring sessions. The last couple of months have been crazy, but it wasn't like I could just cuff him upside the head and ask what was happening. I wish that we were close enough that I could bring something up, but instead, I was just a person you talked to at work or school, but never outside of it. I was an acquaintance of convenience.

The waitress swung by with a twirl of her hips giving Danny a smile as she gave him a refill along with our buffalo wings. I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my face as he waited for me to tell him he was wrong, but couldn't. Instead, I ordered his usual meal and my burger, thanking her before slowly dragging my eyes to meet his. What can I do? What can I say? I waited until the disappointed waitress left, upset she was ignored and only answered by me if she had questions.

"Look, I don't know if you've noticed, Dan, but I'm not the one who makes friends." I started, motioning to the fact I was out with my older brother. "If anything, I feel like I'm a burden on everyone. You, mom, I dunno, being needed by them makes me feel like I have a place here."

"Fucking bitch needs to treat you better." He mumbled around the rim of his glass. "If I knew I could take care of us, I'd cart you off somewhere and leave her far behind."

"I wouldn't let you." I pointed out, a small smile on my face. "You're going to finish school and you're gonna get out of here. Me? I'm stuck her for another two to six years. I can't make you wait for me."

There was no judgment on his face, just sad acceptance. "You can't make me do anything, kiddo. I'm too stubborn to be without you."

"I know, dumby." I smiled, feeling the tension leave my body. "Now can we stop having such a sappy dinner and just eat our beef like a grown man and woman?"

"Too bad we're still waiting on the Beef and only have this chicken, Sport."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

The next couple of days went pretty simply then. Dan helped me to do my own things, and I worked on getting what I could out of my supposed friends. They were tight lipped, as to be expected, but it was good to hear that Lydia was going to be back soon. Maybe then some of the social order will go back to normal. Scott and Stiles were still idiots, but I found myself doing the bare minimum for them.

I unlocked my bike and headed towards the house after school that friday with a shake of my head. I had my own things to worry about. I had tests and midterms coming up, Harris to please, pulling my own weight at the house with my family, and tutoring to do. Not to mention Meg needed my help with one of the kid's she watches birthday. I couldn't be the Nancy Drew to their Hardy Boys even if I wanted to. If they didn't have time for me, I certainly didn't have time for them.

I sighed, paying no particular attention to the route I was taking. I knew all the pathways to the house from the clinic or the school at this point, so it didn't really matter anyway. The night was cool, and the breeze was gentle enough where I didn't really care how long it took me to get home. We never really had a curfew, and Danny would call if Mom asked. Something I'd be surprised about, really. She's so used to my hectic schedule, she's surprised more often when I am home than not.

I altered between walking and actually pedaling on the bike, taking care on busy streets or areas that weren't paved well. One of the few good things about a town where nothing really happens means that bike rides and walks around the county were a safe and totally normal thing to do. I just followed twists and turns, the light growing dimmer in gradients that I didn't notice until I ran out of path to bike. There was no longer pavement, but gravel under my feet. It crunched under my shoes as I stood up, kicking the stand out. I gulped as I looked at the well known wooden sign and chain. The small parking area was empty, and the night sky was darker than I remembered. My backpack fell from my shoulders with a resounding thud, the homework that was piled in there forgotten. I bit my bottom lip as I looked in anticipation.

I don't' know what it was about the preserves lately, but everything, even my dreams, pointed to it. And now, my subconscious decided it was time to figure it out. I shuffled back and forth, wondering if I should go in. They'll be worried at home, sure, but I'll just say I went for a walk somewhere else. What if Scott or Stiles called needing my help, and why did I think about that first?

I sighed, pushing myself out of my comfort zone and stepped into the woods. My eyes had already adjusted to the nighttime light, so I was able to see the shape of the trees around me, and avoid most of the bramble as I struggled to stay on the path for a while. I didn't even know what I was looking for, just that the key was the forested off area. I don't know how long I walked, but soon, I didn't care, my body taking over as I wandered the woods. I looked around and tried to find any clearings that looked familiar in my dream Monday morning, but the details were kind of foggy to me. It didn't help that everything seemed to look the same at the moment.

Leaves scattered on the ground, making the pathway hard to find again to begin with. The trees were all half bare and stretched into the sky, casting dark streaks of darkness through the moonlight. I lost all track of time, and space as I found myself looking for something, anything to help explain my dream from last night and what this place had to do with it. Just as I thought I'd come across it, I felt a hand brush against my shoulder, causing me to jump around and swing. Too bad I was more of a student than a fighter because my hand got caught by a calloused hand.

"Still can't beat me, Kiddo," the voice belonging to the hand rumbled out. "Care to tell me why you weren't answering your phone?"

"Danny," I sighed, falling into him as I tried to calm my nerves. "Thank goodness it's you!"

"Yeah, you're damn right." He snapped, pulling my back by the shoulders before leaning to make eye contact. "What the hell are you doing out here at this hour?"

"What do you mean, at this hour, I only got out of work ten minutes or so ago." I protested dumbly, not wanting to know how he found me or why he thought he needed to. "Besides it's Friday night, shouldn't you be out partying with your college buddies?"

"I was." He stated, straightening up as he went to rub at his face. "Then I came home and thought I'd find you asleep, but your bike was gone and when I called your phone it didn't light up anywhere. Ma still has a few hours at work, so I decided to look for you."

My eyes widened at the confession, squinting to look at his watch. It was eleven thirty: I'd been wandering the woods for over three hours. "Oh shit I'm-"

"You're lucky I worry so much is what you are." He sighed, scratching at the back of his head with an agitated expression. "Who knows what would have happened to you out here? Steph there have been all sorts of animal attacks lately- I mean have you been paying attention to the news?"

"Pshaw" I scoffed, pushing at the air with my arm to play things off. "I'm fine."

"Really?" Our matching eyes faced each other. Mine concealed my panic at what I'd done while his were wide and shifting with worry. I watched as his eyebrows arched upwards, slowly taking inventory of any wounds I might've gotten. "You didn't have your phone and your first instinct was to throw a terribly grounded punch?"

"Well...I didn't know how far away you were." I argued, knowing that he'd taught me better. "I would have put up a proper fight if it wasn't-"

"ME? I'm sorry you were going to say if it wasn't ME?" I jumped back as he raised his voice. "Because there was no way you could have known it was me Stephanie."

I was going to say something, but he wasn't done yet, gesturing behind us with a hastily thrown arm. "A few more minutes and you would have been by the Hale house! You know, where a family burned to death, they found half the body of another, and Derek Hale still lives to tell the story even after a second fire. Damn it Steph, you're smarter than this."

We stood there in silence after that. Every time I opened my mouth to say something, I predicted what he would say in response. I was the one who had been out in the forest, but Danny was the wild animal that you had to tiptoe around in order to approach him. His eyes were still wide, his face red as he took some steadying breaths to calm himself down. In the silence, I got a better look at my brother. His shirt was splattered with wet spots, so he probably had just done the dishes and realized what time it was before he drove out here. His eyes were squinting in the dark as I realized he'd been using his flashlight to see everything, and his hair was spiked up and ruffled. I really scared him this time. He had this look on his face that was similar to when he didn't know which hat to wear; the parent or the big brother.

"I'm sorry Danny, okay? I had this really weird dream the other night, and then with the talk we had about having fun and doing things for me-" I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I was walking home and I just ended up here. I didn't even mean to be out here so long. I should have grabbed my phone, I know, but I wasn't thinking at the time."

My words were useless, simply thrown into the air as he dared me to try again. I was running out of options. I'd done a number on him and there was little to nothing that I could do to fix it. So I would owe him big time, which will help smooth things, but to get us home, and out of this lecture, I needed the big guns. And so I used them.

I pulled out The Look. It wasn't as good as Scott's puppy face, but I knew it would win my brother over. I pleaded against his unrelenting stare for as long as it would take. My lower lip protruding from under the top one while his lay in line with each other. My eyes widened where his were narrowed, brows spread instead of scrunched. I countered his crossed arms with my hands clasped together in front of me. Right when I thought he wouldn't give in, I threw in a couple bats of the eyelashes, which always did the charm. With a shake of the head, he tossed his arm over my shoulders, his squeeze a little harder than usual. It was as if he needed to make sure I was actually there and okay before he could let out a breath.

"Yeah well..." He sighed, starting to pull me forward. "Just be more careful, okay?"

"I promise. No more night walks, and if I feel the need, I'll call you first." I vowed, letting him lead me back towards the entrance. "By the way, was my bike actually still there when you got here? I kind of just tossed it aside. Also... how did you find me?"

"Course it was," He said, pointing his flashlight towards a small indent in the leaves. "I used your phone to track down here you were. Then I just wandered until I found you."

I groaned as we reached the path, throwing my head back in disgust. "You GPSed me?! I thought we agreed that you weren't going to do that because it was a breach of privacy."

"But then you decided you were going to keep covering night shifts at work and then tonight happened." He said pointedly. "So you should be less angry and more thankful that I did it anyway."

"I hate you so much right now." I grumbled.

"No you don't." he responded, pausing when we both heard rustling in the trees behind us. "But you should get behind me."

I did as I was told, my night vision gone due to his light. "Why...What is it?"

"I don't know." He said, holding his finger to shush me. We stood still for a few minutes, crickets chirping in chorus around us. Finally turning back to me, my brother fixed me with a shrug. "Probably just a coyote or something."

I nodded. "Right just a coyote or something."

He laughed at my reiteration, whatever worries he had gone in his amusement. "And this is why you don't go wandering out in the woods alone. Especially this late at night."

"I thought we were past this, and decided I was an idiot." I whined. "No more night walks unless I have my Handy Danny with me. Now get us out of here."

The false bravado in my voice wasn't as convincing as his was, but then again, he was used to these surroundings. He used to go camping out here with Camden all the time while I spent the night at Lahey's or Isaac would stay with us depending on which parents went out. As for me, I barely went out here during the day.

We continued to move forward, hoping that whatever followed us would find its way back where it came from. I felt myself tense up, knowing it was probably something stupid like a rabbit, not even a coyote, but also worried about what it was. As an attempt to cover up my lost night vision, I grew even more aware of our crunching steps and breathing. My ears strained to hear something, anything that would indicate we were alone again. The whole time, I clutched onto Danny's arm nervously. This only earned me additional teasing, and mutterings of how I was 'definitely lucky' that he found me. The path started to look more well trod, and I picked up the pace, hoping to just go home and sleep. I was tired and really needed to rest if I was going to get any homework done tomorrow. We were just about to reach the entrance when the rustling came back, this time closer, and sounding a lot bigger than a mere rabbit.

I turned to look, but something really big rushed by me, pulling me from Danny and causing me to fall to the ground. I heard him yell, but I couldn't get up. It felt like my body was trapped within itself. I couldn't tell if it was the adrenaline and fear stopping me or something else. I couldn't make anything out since the flashlight fell pointing at me, but I could hear the struggle. Fists were making contact and there was a whipping sound.

I squinted in the light, my heart ready to rip itself out of my chest. I wondered fleetingly if this was what it felt like to have a heart attack. However, my mind pushed that thought again, as I continued to hear the grunts and growls as Danny fought off whatever was attacking me. Everything blocked out to three things. My heart pounding, the fight off in the distance, and the flashlight causing me to see spots. My body still not doing anything I willed it to do.

That's when it got quiet. Too Quiet.

Heart still pounding.

Flashlight still burning my retinas even as I tried to blink it away.

Did I go deaf? Where was the wind, where was my brother?

After what felt like an eternity of silence, I was able to roll onto my stomach, swatting the light away.

"D-Dan?" I choked out. "Danny are you okay?"

I could hear my own voice, so that means he had to be there, right? That whatever attacked us was gone? But if that was the case, why didn't he come over to me? Was he hurt? Too many questions filled my head and my neck hurt from the fall. Picking up the flashlight, I carefully moved it around to get my surroundings. Danny was a few yards away, his breathing erratic. I gulped, trying to make sure the close was clear before crawling over to him.

"Danny…" I whispered, noticing that he wasn't moving and that there was a lot of blood. "Danny please say something."

I'd reached his shoulder now, my body still sluggish and heavy. He jumped when I touched him gently, lips pulling into a quick grin of relief before it twisted into a grimace.

"S-Steph-ffff" He gasped, holding onto his stomach with a gasp. "Steph I need you to get in the car. The keys are still in the ignition, or they should be."

"Don't." I begged. "Don't you dare tell me to leave you, it's my fault you're out here, the least I can do is call an ambulance to get you out of here."

"You d-don't ph-phone, remember?" He was struggling to talk now, but he needed to tell me. "Mine got lost in the fight. You get to the car, and if you have to you call 911 on your phone. We're not too far from the entrance, you can make it."

The rustling came back, and I could hear the sounds of more than one person making its way to us. Whatever attacked us came back with company. Danny kept trying to get me to leave, but I was frozen, this time completely due to the fear. I couldn't see the second figure, but the first one was slowly stalking over, not even slightly hindered by my weak toss of the flashlight.

I don't know what happened first, my scream or the shadow with the yellow yes letting out a bone-shaking screech as it approached, and Danny yelling out my name.

Derek was looking after his newest ward when he felt an intense stab at his mind. A hand when to his stomach, fingers slick with blood that wasn't there and a pain that wasn't his. Despite being in the musty station, the earthy smell of the reserve caked in his nostrils, enveloping him in a dirt. Even as he blinked to straighten himself out, he would occasionally see an unfamiliar redhead glancing down at him in concern. A panic rose in his chest along with a surge of protective instinct that was reserved his betta(s) or family. A name sluggishly worked its way through the haze before the connection was lost, making Derek more confused than ever.

Stephanie…

The episode was over before he could decipher its meaning, making the alpha gasp as his body was released back into his own control. It had been years since he felt anything like that, and he only knew of one person within range of him that would be doing it. An easy smile and pale blue eyes danced in the foreground of his mind, an old chuckle from happier days tickling at his throat. It all felt so foriegn now, with bitter pang of regret cutting through the nostalgia. He didn't even get a chance to unpack anything from the last five minutes however, since his phone began to buzz in the pocket of his jacket. Slipping a hand down the worn leather, he didn't even bother looking at the caller ID, bringing the device straight to his face.

"Conall." The forced smile disappeared as he remembered he wasn't being seen. "Been a while."

"Don't get cute with me, Boy. You may be Talia's kid, but if you don't keep your word to me I'll break mine to hers." The answer was brusque and laced with meaning, making Derek wince slightly. "You and yours would protect mine, and I'd hide our goings on from the law."

"I'm aware of this, Con." Derek grit out, bitter at the lack of trust. "As you know, things haven't exactly been a cakewalk here."

"Oh, I am sure, your family was never subtle." The comment wasn't an opinion, but a statement of fact. "But even with all of that, I shouldn't be waking to episodes like this."

"Oh, so you're local." He pinched his forehead between his fingers. "Or he didn't selectively project. It just passed through me too, but don't worry; I'm on my way there now. I'll call you when I figure out what happened."

"I'll hear from Daniel what happened myself, it's my daughter I'm worried about." There was a heavy sigh that came with the burden of protection. "Involving Tess will just make things worse, I don't want her to find out through trauma."

"You know better than anyone that such things are out of our control." The younger man glanced across the station at the teenager that was currently going through the very same thing. "But I'll do what I can."

"Fine. Have Daniel call me as soon as he can."

"Fine."

Both men hung up their phones without further word, the Hale making his way to the forest to save someone who wanted nothing from him. He also realized that he was also shielding another who knew nothing of him and the connection between their families.

I awoke with a start, my muscles protesting against the sudden burst of motion and my voice screaming my brother's name. My heart rate accelerated in panic, quickly looking around to find him. Instead of the cold, dark forest, I found myself sprawled on my bed, the dim rays sunlight flooding my room. My Phone lay charging on my desk across from me, and my backpack sat on the floor. Everything looked so normal until I looked at my side table to find a bottle of water and aspirin next to my clock, the letters too hazy for me to fully make out at the moment.

Just seeing the items made my throat cry out in thirst and my for all sorts of muscle aches to encompass my body and head. Blinking away the fog from just waking up, I took the pills and downed the water. I needed to find Danny, needed to figure out what happened last night and how long I'd been out for. I focused on the clock again, this time reading the bright red display. If it wasn't for the sunlight in my room I would think it was broken. The lights spelled out that it was three in the afternoon.

Before I could process any of that, Danny burst into my room, nearly tumbling over himself as he stopped abruptly to see that I was fine, or at least looked it.

"Jesus, kid, what's with the yelling?" He held his chest to slow panic that I could see in his eyes. As he took a couple of breaths, I noticed that he was freshly showered, and looked totally fine. "You're lucky Mom's working a double, or she'd have killed you."

"I'm more worried about what happened last night." I frowned, trying to remember all of the details, as I moved to sit up. "And why I'm not at school right now."

"You didn't fall asleep until around four this morning, so I turned your alarm off. My classes were canceled, and like I said, mom was working a double, so I figured it'd be fine." He shrugged, his voice shaking slightly. "Nothing to worry about, just Big Bro being a bother again."

"But...But we were in the reserve and-" I stopped myself, trying to think of the last thing I remembered. "We were heading to your car a-and something came out of nowhere. You were bleeding."

Danny sighed, sitting next to me before placing a hand on my knee. "I don't know what you're talking about, Steph, you came home from work and you went straight to your room making those study guides." He searched my face as I surveyed my desk to see the meticulous notes sitting on my printer. "Whatever you think happened, must have been a dream, and a bad one at that, since I'm fine."

"No, I-I wandered off on my way home." I insisted, thinking of how my mind was a blank when I left Deaton yesterday. "Lost track of time, until you found me. I even tried to punch you."

He chuckled at that, amusement stretching across his face. "You, being violent? That's how I know it can't be real."

"I'm serious, Dan!" I exclaimed, looking down at my scrubs, and the dirt that was smudged along the knees. "If I was home all night, then why am I all muddy?"

"You're a klutz by nature, but I didn't think you'd forget things that easily." He shrugged. "You were getting off your bike, and got tilted off balance with the metric Ton of stuff you keep in your bag. I laughed, you pouted, and I made you a sundae for dinner. Typical stuff, Sis."

"It felt so real though…" I trailed off, starting to doubt myself. If my brother was here, perfectly unharmed, and insisting that it wasn't true, I had to believe him, right? "I haven't had a dream that intense in a while."

"Happens when you crash out from sugar and Adderall." He got up then, giving my knee a quick squeeze. "Get up, take a shower, I'll make an early dinner, and I'll help you with your schoolwork. Ma will never find out, and you won't have to worry about missing a day of school this close to midterms."

"Yeah...sure." I mumbled, sluggishly getting up to grab a change of clothes. "But it still doesn't make sense."

I stood under the hot water, struggling to remember the last twelve hours. I was caught between what I thought I saw and the facts that tied into what Danny said. I was pretty tired after work, and I get into an autopilot when I am studying, vague outlines of books from class tugging at the back of my mind. It didn't explain the panic I felt when I woke up though, it was as if I was only just experiencing those things, or at least fresh in my mind. Then again, the night before I had that weird dream about me and Isaac, so there was no telling what happened. I needed to eat something, and figure this out.

I didn't realize how long I'd stayed there until the water suddenly went cold, sending a shock to my system. Jumping slightly, I turned off the water and toweled off quickly, wrapping myself in fuzzy pants and one of my Dad's old hoodies. Soon, I joined Danny in the kitchen, trying to put the dream behind me. I had to believe my brother, right? I mean everything he said was certainly true to my personality, and I have definitely lost time during some of the more mundane homework assignments.

Even as I dismissed it, the doubt still snagged at the back of my mind, forming in a photonegative of eyes with slanted pupils coming toward me.

Daniel McGrath was many things, a liar being the one he was least proud of. When he had dinner with his little sister the other night, he had seriously considered telling her the truth. The secret to why their parents split, to why Tess was a nutcase. Then as a ghost from his past came and saved their asses, leaving him to stew in her ignorance. With this new threat looming over them, he knew that he should ignore his parents' wishes and help her to prepare. But he also knew his sister and how heavy she was keyed into people's emotions.

Granted the very reason for that was what had him in this issue to begin with. Of course there were episodes that he had to cover; Tess said too much one day, Steph stumbled upon something they hadn't properly hidden. This though? This was an entirely different beast.

He felt himself chuckle at the unintended pun, it turning into a groan of shame. How could he be thinking of that right now, when his little sister could have been killed tonight? Even without all of the supernatural reasons, her disappearing into the reserves was unusual. She was a good kid, she didn't go out often, she worked to help with the house, and she did well in school. So when he looked at the clock to see that her shift had been over for hours and he'd heard nothing from her, he panicked. Finding her bike and things tossed aside in the Reserve didn't help things.

He'll admit that for the interaction he held with her upon finding her made him impressed with his restraint. It took a lot out of him to not pull out all of his abilities with the fight. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do without adding that element to it. He did make sure that he could call for help, almost immediately regretting who answered it. Though, upon seeing his sister's hand covered in his blood, he was able to push it down.

Now, he watched as she pretended to accept what he said without a shadow of a doubt. He had made sure to not make their mother aware of what happened, knowing that she couldn't handle it, but he did talk to their father and have a lengthy conversation about going against Tess' wishes and preparing Steph for the world that hid underneath the mundane Beacon County. Though they'd reluctantly came to the conclusion to keep her unaware, the younger man couldn't help but make himself a promise to do whatever it takes to prepare Steph for what was coming. If her friends were any indication; she was going to find out sooner rather than later anyway.