I watched as my imprint looked through his family's supernatural archives, his frustration made the baby twist inside me, I had to rub my belly to calm her down. I
soon scented Erica and Body, Derek looked at them, I smelt doubt on them,
"You decided." Derek said as I stood up,
"When? " I asked as Derek rubbed my back, I felt the baby kick my ribs, I smiled, but looked at the betas.
"Tonight. " Erica said as I looked at her, she is so young, yet so innocent.
"Everyone's gonna be at the game. We figured it was the best time. " Boyd said as I yawned being tired, I then sat on the couch, curling up in a ball, hand on my
belly.
"It's not like we want to. " Erica sneered at Derek, I rubbed where my babygirl had kicked my hand,
"What do you want? " Derek asked the shebeta who stood next to Boyd.
"Since I just turned 16 a month ago, I wouldn't mind getting my license. I can't do that if I'm dead, you know. " She said as I smelt fear on her,
"Well, I told you there was a price. " I said as I cracked my knuckles,
"Yeah, but you didn't say it would be like this. " Boyd said as he pointed out our flaw,
"Yeah, but I told you how to survive. You do it as a pack. And you're not a pack without an Alpha." I said as I looked at Derek then at them.
"We know." Boyd said as I let out a yawn, being sixteen weeks pregnant takes its
toll on you real quick, "You wanna look for another pack? How are you even gonna find one? " Derek asked them, I smelt confidence upon them,
"We think we already did. " Boyd said as I sat up.
"Like all of a sudden we heard all this howling. It was unbelievable. " Erica said smiling yet keeping her stance,
"There must have been a dozen of them. " Boyd said as I began my thoughts,
"Yeah, or maybe only two. You know what the Beau Geste effect is? If they modulate their howls with a rapid shift in tone, 2 wolves can sound like 20." I said with a
slight growl.
"Look that doesn't matter, okay? There's another pack out there. There's got to be. We've made up our minds. " Erica said as I got up off my ass,
"Yeah, we lost, Derek. And it's over. We're leaving. " Boyd said as I cracked my neck,
"No. No, you're running. And once you start, you don't stop. You'll always be running. " I said before leaning on the table, I heard them leave. My breathing hitched
when I rubbed my back, due to the baby moving into a more comfortable position. Derek rubbed my back, I smelt something like rotting leaves, so I picked up a
mirror's shard, and quickly turned around to throw it. Derek and I see by the stairs, holding the thrown glass shard, smirking in all his glory, Peter Hale.
"I expected a slightly warmer welcome. But point taken. " He said smirking, I stayed by Derek as I growled.
"It's quite a situation you've got yourself in here, Derek Lexi. I mean, I'm out of commission for a few weeks and suddenly there's lizard people, geriatric
psychopaths, and you're cooking up werewolves out of every self - esteem - deprived adolescent in town." Peter said walking towards us,Derek pulled me behind him,
and I snarled at the old cunning wolf.
"What do you want? " I said feeling the baby kick,
"Baby kicking up a storm, a new generation of Hales" Peter said before looking at Derek.
"Well, I want to help. You're my nephew and his mate. The only relative that I have left. You know, there's still a lot that I can teach you. Can we just talk?" Peter said
as he placed a hand on Derek's shoulder, which Derek looked at,
"Sure. Let's talk. " Derek said before I saw Peter get thrown at the stairs. I watched as Derek threw punch after punch, kick after kick at his uncle, but Peter wasn't
fighting back.
"You don't actu - actually think that I want to be the Alpha again, do you? That wasn't my finest performance, considering it ended in my death. I mean, I'm usually
more - okay, go ahead! Come on, do it. Hit me, hit me. I can see that it's cathartic for you. You're letting go of all the anger, self - loathing, and hatred that comes
with total and complete failure. I may be the one taking the beating, Derek, but you've already been beaten. So, go ahead. Hit me if it will make you feel better. After
all, I did say that I wanted to help." Peter said after Derek got off of him, I walked carefully, pressing myself upon my imprint's back.
"You can't help us." I said feeling my emotions building. Derek and I sat on the stairs while Peter stood in front of us,
"See? Prime example right here. I'm not healing as fast. Coming back from the dead isn't easy, you know. I'm not as strong as I used to be. I need a pack. An Alpha
like you. I need you as much as you need me." Peter said as I felt the baby kicking my bladder,
"Why would we want help from a total psycho?"Derek said as he wrapped an arm around my waist, hand flat on my belly, the baby leaning towards his touch. "First
of all, I'm not a total psycho. And by the way, you're the one that slashed my throat wide open. But we're all works in progress, right? So, we need each other.
Sometimes when you need help, you turn to people you'd never expect." Peter said as I scoffed at him,
"You tried to build your pack. You tried to prepare for the worst. You weren't ready. Because of it, Gerard is winning. He's taking his time. He's toying with Scott. He's
going after your wolves, one by one. He's relishing in his victory." Peter continued upon his rant.
"How about you tell me something I don't know? " I growled at him, "Oh, I'm going to. And it's gonna prove why you should trust me. Why you need to trust me.
Because I'm going to tell you how to stop Jackson." Peter said making Derek's eyes look at his uncle,
"What do you mean? Know how to kill him? " Derek asked him, but Peter smirked at his nephew,
"Actually, how to save him. " Peter said as I felt the baby move again.
"It's just a myth." Derek said as he growled, I felt the baby move as her father spoke.
"Sometimes myths and legends bear a hint of truth. Our name is a symbol of who we are. The kanima has no identity. That's why it doesn't seek a pack." Peter said
as I rolled my eyes,
"It seeks a master. " I retorted to the old undead wolf,
"And who else grows up with no pack? No identity? " Peter asked us.
"An orphan. " Derek spoke up as I shifted my sitting position, my muscles locking up.
"Like Jackson. And right now, his identity is disappearing beneath a reptilian skin and you need to bring him back. "Peter said as I quirked my eyebrows in confusion,
"How? " I asked the older Hale,
"Through his heart. How else? " Peter sneered at me, I scowled at him.
"You know, in case you hadn't noticed, Jackson doesn't really have too much of a heart to begin with. " Derek said as I watched Peter smirking at us,
"Not true. He'd never admit it, but there is one person. One young lady with whom Jackson shared a real bond. One person who can reach him. Who can save him."
Peter told us, then I remembered,
"Lydia. "I said as I looked at Peter nodding at me.
"Your best ally has always been anger then it became Lexi, Derek, but what you lack most is a heart. That's why you've always known that you need Scott more than
anyone. And even somebody as burned and dead on the inside as me knows better than to underestimate the simple yet undeniable power of human love." Peter said
as I watched Derek look at me, I nuzzled my head into his neck, scenting him. Derek's low growl enveloped my ears, my inner fox purred in comfort.