The SUV swerved and skid to a stop, sending a spray of water up in the intersection. "Are you two ok?" the man driving asked as he turned around. The rain pelted down and the windshield wipers flicked it away. Ana nodded, turning to see her mom smile with relief, right before the headlights from the on-coming tractor trailer washed out her mom's face.
"I don't remember the accident. The tractor trailer hit the front of our car mostly, but the impact caused it to completely flip."
Josh groaned. He felt all the blood rush to his head and it took him a moment to realize he was upside down, still strapped in. He blinked and looked to his side, saw his door blocked by dirt. The sound of something scratching at glass made his head whip around. Ana's limp form was leaning against the cracked window. He tried to call her name, but it came out as a hoarse croak. The window shattered and before he could react, something was tugging his sister away.
"She broke into the window and dragged me out of the wreck," Ana said, her voice distant, like she was talking about someone else. She rubbed absently at her forearm, and continued. "Bit me and dragged me by my arm. I guess I was easier to get to, the passenger side was against the side of the ditch."
"No! You have to find her! Something dragged her off!" Josh yelled at the paramedic.
"The first responders found me about three hundred feet off into the woods by the side of the road. Said that it was a miracle to survive being thrown from the vehicle like that. Mom was pronounced dead at the scene. Dad died in the ambulance. Josh had a concussion and broken collar bone. The driver of the tractor trailer said he didn't see our SUV in the intersection, and that he had swerved to avoid hitting some kind of huge animal."
"Josh was smart. He figured it out quick enough, said he saw the thing that bit me wasn't a dog. He saw how fast my fractured ribs healed and how the gash on my head didn't even leave a scar."
Tears streamed down gold eyes and Josh took her clawed hands in his. "We'll get through this myshka. I'm right here. She closed her eyes and nodded, because she had to believe he was right.
"Three days before the first full moon, we found the neighbor's dog dead on our front steps. I thought I'd done it, but Josh knew I didn't. Over the next few months, there was a string of 'strange animal related deaths'. I had nightmares and sometimes couldn't remember where I was."
"Myshka, it wasn't you. I watched you the whole night. Remember? We listened to the entire Swan Lake suite. You were fine."
"I should've listened to him. She was just fucking with me. I guess she got bored though."
"You are the worse werewolf ever, Ana. What's wrong with you? Why don't you go nuts on the full moon like a good little pup? Marla huffed, glaring at the girl backing away from her. The woman's eyes narrowed. "It's because of that brother of yours isn't it?" she growled.
"It was true. I've never been one to get angry, not really. I guess that makes for a more temperate wolf? I don't know. Whenever I started to freak out, Josh was there. I didn't know how or why but he kept me in line. It pissed her off."
"Where's Josh?" There were sirens flashing from police cars in front of their house, and Aunt Sonya came rushing up to her.
"Myshka," her aunt pulled her into a bear hug, sobbing. Over her shoulder Ana could see the lifeless, bloody form of her brother on the front steps.
"When she showed up after the funeral, we were ready."
"I'm so terribly sorry for your loss, Ana." Marla leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I offered him the bite, you know. That was gonna be my graduation present for you when you finally made your first kill. But he said no. So it's just you and me, myshka." Ana gritted her teeth and flicked the lighter hidden in her hand open.
"We burned her in the house and then buried the body. I thought that would be enough, but just in case, I made a charm to hide me. We moved around every week for four months, making false trails just in case. I thought it'd be enough."
Ana sighed and looked up at Scott, "I'm sorry I dragged this into your territory. I didn't know there was a pack in Beacon Hills. We just… ended up here. When I picked up the scent of two alphas and a whole pack, I thought that if I just kept low that she wouldn't dare to come near this place." She glanced at Stiles, "the charm works mostly to cover up my existence to alphas. That's why they didn't believe you Stiles when you tried telling them about me. Apparently it's not effective when someone plows right into me though."