"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found!" – The little girl with pink hair and viridian eyes exclaims, showing an old wooden box with the symbol of a serpent devouring its own tail carved on the top.

"Ah, I see you found our ancestor's love letters."

"Ooooohhh! Love letters? How romantic." – She says, impressed, seeing how her father opens it and there are several letters inside.

"Want me to read one?"

She nods her head expectantly.

" Fine. This is from the woman who loved him; her name is not known, as well as that of the warrior, but this is what the letter says:"

~ My dear friend, it's been a while since we've seen each other and my heart is heavy with your absence. It hurts me even more that you are far away suffering dangers to protect our village, together with the other soldiers; I wish there was no war. I think every day of you and everything here reminds me of how happy we used to be. These memories comfort me when I go to sleep wondering if tomorrow will bring an end to this conflict between the villages.

I practice every day the archery under the oak you taught me in my youth. I hope I can show you how much I've improved since then; the same cannot be said for my culinary skills – don't you laugh! You know I am very ashamed of this particular flaw. My grandfather says that the man who accepts me even knowing my talent to burn even water is probably an angel.

I wish that angel was you.

I didn't have the heart to say it while you were with me, because I never thought there would be a time when I could lose you – you were always so powerful, so indestructible... but now that I know there's a chance you won't laugh and teasing me for being clumsy, or for not scolding me for walking through Sakura Valley in winter without wrapping up… I just need you to know that I love you. I really, really, love you.

So please stay alive.

Even if it's to answer me that you don't love me this way, I beg you to come back to me. Breathing.

I miss you.~

It would have been nice, Ayla thinks, to have someone love her that way.

Her marriage has always been more about her giving all of her than a healthy, mutual relationship. In fact, many times, she didn't like the person she became for her husband. Not that he asked her to change; she just did it, without even realizing it.

Oh, he respected her, as a warrior and as a doctor; she even knew that he, in his own way, cared for her.

But he didn't love her.

She had long ago accepted that fact.

Their first day back in Beacon Hills had been pure chaos. She had come home hoping to get her father back because he seemed better from the calls. That hope was quickly being drained away as she watched Isaac speak of his grades to their father. She tries to convince herself it's just a little argument and is even relieved when John says that Isaac's punishment was washing the dishes.

Then things start to escalate quickly as he throws a glass on the floor and the water bottle toward his twin. She's in front of Isaac shielding him from the shards of glass before she even thinks about it.

"Ayla! My God, you're bleeding!" – Isaac exclaims, eyes wide when he sees his sister's shoulder with several shards of glass embedded in it.

"It's your fault! That wasn't for Ayla, she had no business getting in front of her..."

Ayla realizes at that moment that her father will never be the same man again. She wants to be angry, but all she feels is sadness.

"Could have hit an artery. You could have killed her!" – Her twin says, advancing. Then she sees. Unmistakable golden eyes and murderous intent almost buzzing like electricity around his brother.

"When did this happen?" – She thinks, surprised, and quickly intervenes, before Isaac does something he would regret.

"Hey, little brother. Can you help me fix this?"

He doesn't answer her; for a moment all there is prey (their father), until she takes his hand gently, circling a thumb in his hand. He finally stops breathing heavily and looks into her eyes, worried. She then turned to look at the man she had once called her father.

"How did he get to this point?"

He had regret written all over his face, but he was too much of a coward to admit his own mistakes.

"I used to be proud to be your daughter. The man before me, though? Of him, I only feel shame and disappointment."

John Lahey swallows hard, feeling the weight of his two kid's eyes. She still holds Isaac's hand as they both go upstairs to younger Lahey's room.

John walked out of the house, guilt gnawing at him with every step. He takes his car, with one destination in mind.

It was the last time he drank.

And when that reptilian creature sinks its claws into him, and the life slowly drains out of him, all John can think is that his children would be better off without him. His body is found at the back of the pub's alley the next morning.

It is Ayla who recognizes the body; she sees the claws on his chest and wonders what kind of creature killed him. She also wonders why she doesn't feel the need to get revenge for her father. Sad as she was – and she was sad, of that, she had no doubt, she didn't think of getting revenge for him; her father had died before that night, she just hadn't realized it until then. But it still hurts; seeing his body and realizing he's gone forever hurts in such a familiar way that she has to consciously stop her hand from clawing at her heart and try to push away the pain.

The cops question her and Isaac. Her brother is nervous and confused and she knows it's more because he's been through the transformation than anything else; Max said that betas were usually hormone erratic and very angry. Especially being newly turned, which she's pretty sure is the case because a few months ago Isaac was still quite human.

"We were home the whole time. We had an argument yesterday, and our dad went out drinking after that."

"What was the argument about?" – The sheriff asks.

"School grades." – She responds easily.

"That's really what happened, Isaac?" – The man asks the younger teenager, who was nervous, and lets Ayla answer the questions.

"Yes, it's just that I wasn't doing well at school."- He says.

"And that was why your father drank?" – The sheriff frowns, finding it an exaggeration that the deceased had left just because of that.

"An alcoholic doesn't need much to drink." – Isaac says bitterly and the sheriff raises his eyebrow at the venom in his voice.

"Look, Sheriff, we have a funeral to organize in a few hours. One of our neighbors can confirm that we were home and that our father left at 9:40 pm. As far as I know, he had no enemies, nor was he in debt to anyone. Any more questions?" – Ayla says, not liking the policeman's attention to her brother. The policeman watches them closely.

"Yes, one. Is your shoulder hurt?" – He asks and Ayla sighs. If she hadn't had Isaac as a witness to the fight, she would have already healed and now no one would be asking.

"It is. I... displaced it when we were moving the wardrobe. Now, excuse me." – She says, leaving no room for further questions.

"Mn, about the funeral... Do you have any idea what to do?" – Isaac asks, as soon as they leave the police station. Ayla nods.

"I'll take care of it."

"OK. Ayla?" – He calls her.

"Yes?" – For a moment, she thinks he's going to tell her. About being a werewolf, about what else was going on with her father that she didn't know.

"I need to… do things, okay? I don't know if I'll see you until... until the funeral." – He says and looks away. Heavens, but he was conflicted. Ayla could see it all over him, the way he was grieving for their father, but the relief he felt.

"All right, see you later." – He nods, looking quite anxious; she was pretty sure he was going to talk to his alpha and jealousy shot through her at the realization that his alpha would always be the one Isaac would go first.

"Don't be a hypocrite." – She tells herself because she knows that her own will was to call Max and she wasn't even a proper beta werewolf, like her brother. Her newly-turned brother, most likely, and who was about to go and be exposed to who knows what had killed his father.

"Isaac!" – She calls him and he looks back curious expression. – "I love you. Please, just... be careful out there."

His look is surprised and Ayla makes a note to herself to say "I love you" to Isaac more often.

" I love you too. I'll be fine, Ayla." – He says back, a small but genuine smile on his face as he says goodbye.

"Now. How do I handle a funeral in this world?"

Funerals, she learned, weren't much different than they had been in her past life. When they return home after the funeral, she has a familiar feeling of emptiness, helplessness, and loss.

She said she would become strong when she regained her memories after her mother's death, but she couldn't stop her older brother and father from dying.

She is afraid that the next tombstone will be Isaac's.

So, like she did when they were still kids, after taking a long hot shower and changing into her brand new pajamas – pink and strawberry, and if it was childish, who cared? It was comfortable. – She discreetly enters his room. He's in bed, staring at the ceiling when he notices her. His eyes glowed a faint gold, and she knew he was fighting the effects of the full moon.

"Not now, Ayla." – He says, breathing heavily. She knows it's dangerous (well, not really, with her skills), but she doesn't care and she goes to his bed anyway. Before he can complain and try to push her away, she snuggles up next to him. She can feel his heart racing with the bloodlust the full moon stirs. But his breathing calms down and eventually the blonde puts a protective arm around her shoulder and they both comfort each other in silence.

"Our father died. Dad died." – They think and it hurts. A hiccup escapes one or both of them sometimes.

She doesn't know if this is his first full moon, but it goes relatively smoothly. Ayla notices the deep breathing that indicates his sleep and carefully watches him.

In that instant, she wondered if it was real. If all that life as Ayla was real, if Isaac, here, alive and well, was real. She didn't dare move, recording her twin's features, afraid he would fade away if she made any sudden movements.

Ayla was so, so tired of losing the people she loved. She wasn't going to lose Isaac. She couldn't lose him either. This is why, as much as he doesn't tell her about being a werewolf or anything supernatural, it doesn't stop her from digging into anything and everything that has to do with the supernatural in that town the last few years she's been away.

She starts the next day, taking advantage of the fact that she wouldn't start work until another week, and calls Max, informing him of a possible murderous creature on the streets of Beacon Hills.

"You know that my police work doesn't start until the day after tomorrow, right?" - He questions.

"Then at least you'll be aware of what happened." - She answers.

"Looks like there's going to be a lot of services in this town. And the FBI people saying I'd be bored as a small-town cop. So why do you think it has a killer creature around? "

There's a little pause, a hesitation that is so unusual for Ayla that Max finds it odd.

"My father was murdered yesterday morning. The f-funeral was-was… at night." – She, her voice cracking a little and she clears her throat. –"Uh, so I-I saw the body; it was not human work."

"God, Ayla, I'm so sorry for your loss." – He answers. – "Why did not you tell me? I would have helped you with the funeral. I'll be there in an hour, tops..." – Max says softly, worried.

"No... need... And I didn't tell you because you were tired from moving, I wasn't going to disturb you. I can handle myself, Max."

"I know. You are too independent." – The man sighs, exasperated, and then adds:

"And I'll still be there in an hour. You may not need me, but your father just died; what kind of fucking alpha would I be if I left you alone right now? And you're my beta, there's no such thing as 'I don't want to bother you'. You have to disturb me, that's your job, see, impossible brat?"

She smiles, affection spreading with what he says. Jokingly, she replies:

"Oh, Max. You'll regret giving me a free pass to bother you."

And in the future, he would find himself complaining about that decision a lot because Beacon Hills was a magnet for supernatural creatures and disasters. But he didn't regret it; because every time Ayla trusted him, it made all the work and fighting worth it.

The next day, Isaac is arrested. Ayla appreciates her paranoia for installing hidden security cameras throughout the house. When she arrives at the police station, Ayla places the evidence in front of the sheriff.

"Our alibis; if that's not enough, several of our neighbors also have full street cameras. Our house only has one entrance and if one of us went out, it would be visible.

The policeman studies the evidence and says that he would need to prove the integrity of the recordings and that his brother would be detained until the next day. She gives the older man a sweet smile.

"You know, in college, I helped a law student and I learned a thing or two about the rights and duties of a citizen. For example, I know, that if there is anything against my brother, it is circumstantial and certainly nothing strong enough to keep him detained for even a second longer.*Unless, of course, you have some proof that my brother was at the crime scene at the time of his death. Do you have it, Sheriff?"

The sheriff blinks rapidly in surprise at the teenager's passive-aggressive manner and her argument. Although Isaac was a suspect at the time, he really had nothing but information from a witness that Isaac was abused, which gave him motive. He sighs and motions for one of the officers to release Isaac.

And when he gets home and his son pesters him with questions about how Isaac was released, and what had happened, Sheriff Stilinski smiles and, with an impressed air, says:

"Isaac's sister. The girl is not just a genius, she has guts. Well, I suppose she had to after going through all the losses she went through, going to college at her age, going through kidnapping, and still somehow getting away with it."

Stiles opens his mouth in surprise.

"First: kidnapping? Second: what do you mean by 'her age'? She's older than Isaac, right? Even though she totally has a baby face. Uh, the idiot didn't want to talk about his sister, I think he was afraid we'd steal her from him or something stupid like that."

They are still in front of the police station when two people get out of a blue jeep; a teenager and a young man, who Ayla found strangely familiar.

"Isaac!" – The man calls for his brother and soon both are approaching.

"Dude! Have you been released? How? Why? Not that that's a bad thing, it's actually great because right now there's a..."

"Derek, you came." – Isaac sighs in relief when he sees the man, ignoring the youngest. It doesn't take a genius to suspect they are her brother's pack, especially since she can sense the slightly different chakra of the man named Derek. Supernatural creatures almost always had the Atman Core a little strange compared to normal humans.

"And Stiles. Which came too. In fact, Stiles who drove all the way out here to help you, did you know that, you ungrateful creature? Frankly." – The teenager comments, rolling his eyes.

"Are they your friends?" – Ayla asks Isaac, and the others' attention turns to her. The girl smiles politely.

"Yes." – Isaac and Derek say and simultaneously Stilinski replies:

"God forbid!"

Ayla raises her eyebrow curiously, studying the form of the thin boy who seems quite eager to get out of there.

"Um, guys, this is my sister, Ayla. She was the one who managed to get me out of this mess." – Isaac clarifies and then turns to Ayla.

"Ayla, this is Derek and Stiles."

"Pleasure to meet you." – She says, waving to both of them with a smile. The older one looked at her a little suspiciously, but he waved back in response; the boy named Stiles looked between the two with what seemed like a million questions. In fact, he had that glint of curiosity and general agitation that reminded her a little of her teammate and best friend from her past life.

"Isaac, now that you're out, we need to talk about that." – Derek says and looks briefly at the youngest. The blonde fumbled a bit, and Ayla really wondered how she didn't notice when he was lying about his father. It was so obvious that he was bad at lying now.

"Ah, yes, that. Err, Ayla, I know I just left, and we haven't really talked since you got here, but..."

He looks at her guiltily, not finishing his sentence. She felt her heart racing, afraid of losing sight of him and she put her hands behind her back and pressed her nails against her palms so as not to grab Isaac's jacket and take him home with her by force.

"Ah... But... I-I… Could I come along?" – She asks, stuttering a little, with genuine shame for having asked impulsively and acted like a child.

"That's pathetic. I can watch him from afar without him noticing. So why am I so desperate to be by his side?"

She bites her lip, looking pleadingly at Isaac, which she knows is particularly adorable and hard to say no to. When she doesn't see any signs of hesitation, she also glances at Derek and Stiles – they look quite uncomfortable and almost pitying, so she knows that at least she hasn't lost her adorable face yet, but Isaac seems immune.

"I'm sorry, Ayla. It's kind of our thing... I really need to go with them."

She couldn't help the disappointment that enveloped her.

"Oh. Sure, yeah, all right. I understand." – She says and it's not a lie, although werewolves with keen hearing probably don't come to the same conclusion. She understands. But just because she understood didn't mean she could stop her damn heart from pounding with fear and anxiety. She noticed her brother and the strangely familiar man looking at her knowing it wasn't "all right". Even Stiles, who, from what she could sense, was completely human, seemed to know she wasn't okay. She feels blood trickling down her fingernails.

"Well then..." – Stiles gestures with his hands, awkwardly pointing to the Jeep. –" We have things to do, we're kind of already going. But, er, it was nice meeting you, Isaac's sister." – The boy called Stiles says, rushing the other two. If she weren't so worried about her brother slipping out of her sight at this particular moment, she might even think how absolutely adorable that awkward, restless boy look was. When they are no longer in her field of vision, Ayla walks to the car that until a few days ago belonged to her father.

She lays her head back on the car steering wheel, feeling quite lonely and lost, before driving home. Once there, she starts looking for anything incriminating that might put her brother as a murder suspect; she sees the security footage that she didn't take to the station – as they only needed the footage from the night of the murder – and then grows more and more nauseated by what she sees. Her father didn't come back better after being treated, as she had imagined. She couldn't believe how often Isaac was beaten and it gave her a horrible feeling to watch her father take him down to the basement and return alone several times. When Isaac would appear from the basement, he would remind her of the trauma victims she had seen during her past life in the hospital.

She goes down to the basement and looks for any signs of torture; just as she is about to give up, something urges her to open the freezer. It was locked, but with her chakra in her palm, her strength intensifies and she breaks the lock with ease. Then she sees her brother's nail marks in the freezer.

And she throws up, all the while thinking it was her fault.

She can't stand to stay there a second longer. She burns the camera tapes, smashes the freezer to pieces with her bare hands, leaving them raw, and takes off running, the chakra in her legs making her a mere blur, an illusion of shadow to an ordinary passer-by.

[If she hadn't left, if she'd seen the signs, if she'd been a better sister, a better daughter...]

Ayla barely remembers getting to Max's house, or when it started to rain.

She knows the only thing that came out of her mouth was this:

"He locked him in a freezer, Max."

The alpha spreads his arms, holding her in a tight embrace as she cries and screams in pain, betrayal, and rage.

She spends the night in Max's guest room and leaves in the morning feeling as exhausted as she actually was. After preparing a meal that they both ate in silence, he ruffled her hair and promised her that he would investigate the creature that killed her father, at least not to hurt anyone else, like Isaac.

She returns home only to find the door ajar and some furniture overturned. Her heart pounds as she runs to Isaac's room; there are no signs of him. Ayla pulls her cell phone out of her pocket, frantically scratching her chest, growing more anxious with each missed call. When he finally picks up, she's on the verge of having a panic attack.

"Isaac! Are you well? Why didn't you answer the phone, I called so many times! Isaac? Isaac, answer p-please tell me you're okay."– She asks, barely breathing, and some of her panics must have leaked out because Isaac responds worried.

"Hey. Calm down, It's okay, I'm fine, I'm at Derek's house. What is happening? You seem... agitated."

"Someone broke into our house. I wasn't here, I spent the night at Max's house, but when I came back I found the door open, you weren't answering the phone and I thought... I thought I had lost you." – She says, sobbing and putting her hand on her heart.

"I am going home now." - He says and she's pretty sure he's going to hang up.

"Wait! Don't… end the call. Please, just... don't." - She asks in a whisper, scratching her heart. He's silent for a few seconds and she's afraid he hasn't heard her and is about to hang up until he speaks.

"Ok. Ayla?"

"Mmnn?"

"I'm sorry I didn't answer my cell sooner."

There are some voices in the background and he excuses himself a few times during the call, but he doesn't hang up. She asks how school is going, and about his friends; and though she knows there is much they are omitting from each other, it is good to talk to her brother, to hear his voice.

Alive. He is alive.

And she will do anything to keep it that way.

"You didn't tell me you had a sister." – Derek probes the blonde who shrugs.

"She recently returned."

"She is your year, at school?"

"No. She already graduated."

"But doesn't she have…?"

"16 years old, like me? Yes. But Ayla is a prodigy."

There is a pause.

"I could bite her. Bring her into the pack." – Derek says and Isaac shakes his head.

"No. Please just…don't involve her in this. It's dangerous; she doesn't need to know about this world."

"Are you sure? If she does not know about the supernatural, that could be more dangerous." – He says.

"Derek, I love her. But for the first time in my life, I have something... I - I'm not in her shadow. You understand?"

The Hale remembers the memories of a sister he loved but who he knew he would never live up to. That she was supposed to be the alpha and she would have done a lot better than him solving the problems that came her way than he did.

"Yes. I do."

Ayla takes the strange substance she finds on the floor of the house, being careful to collect a sample without touching it, and takes it to her old chemistry teacher. Professor Harris is as delighted as a stern man like himself can be at the return of the "wonder student" and she smiles and answers all the small talk he asks her; college, plans for the future, the job she's starting next week.

He is quite confused when he cannot identify the substance after an analysis, only that it is highly paralyzing.

Max, however, knows what it is after she explains the paralyzing properties of the translucent liquid.

"Kanima. This town has a fucking Kanima. Girl, your city is crazy."

Ayla smiles apologetically.

"Could be worse?"

A few months later she really thinks she should have shut up.

A pack of alphas and a Darach? Inconvenient at best.

Everything else that Scott, Alisson, and Stiles' sacrifice brought?

It was "worse".

Author's Note:

That thing about not keeping someone detained is probably sooo inaccurate, forgive me all people who know about the law and such, just go with the flow, ok?