So... here we are... the beginning of the end! The first half of the last piece in this insane series/collection. I dearly hope you'll enjoy it. This is, without a doubt, the farthest I've gotten from the original premise of this series. In fact, I came very close to just not writing it, precisely because of how much we stray from that initial idea. However, I couldn't get it out of my head so... in the end I wrote it. I hope you will enjoy it.
I had quite a few people offering ideas, and suggestions for pieces in "Death's Seneschal", for the most part I've tried to dedicate to them the pieces that fit what they suggested. I haven't been able to do everything. Three people have quite interesting ideas, that don't really fit this verse. I might write them someday, but if I end up doing it, it won't be now (If I do it I'll credit them then). I also had someone requesting a fic focused on one of the latter seasons, which I promised myself I wouldn't touch: on one hand because I don't much like them (nor have I actually watched much of them, to be honest) and on the other because a lot of what happens in those latter seasons isn't really feasible with all the ways this verse is different.
Now, focusing on this story specifically. In the end I decided to divide it in two parts, less due to length, and more in order to better separate the times in the story. The first part are events that center on Noah, Claudia and Peter (and a few secondary characters), prior to Stiles's birth. Stiles will show up on the second half, and while the Sterek won't play too big a part, it's in the fic.
Dreamcast: Boguslaw Linda as Mieczyslaw Wójcik, Tomasz Kot as Arek, John Lynch as Ivor Halloran, Nina Dobrev as Sophia, Abigail Breslin as Sabina.
So... hope you enjoy the fic! Second half is coming next week! And we'll talk about future projects (beyond Death's Seneschal) then.
Hand of Death
There are those that say that even the smallest of things (of people, of choices, of… anything) can bring about the biggest changes. But who gets to decide when someone, or something is truly big, or small? A person may make an apparently simple choice, simple for others, but meaning pretty much everything for them. Like for example: trust. Trust may seem like a simple thing, at least for most people. But what about those for whom it isn't simple? Those for whom trusting isn't an easy thing to do. Whom life's taught how delicate trust can be, how hard to create, how easy to shatter. When one such individual trusts… it's everything.
Peter doesn't really remember when it was he decided he wanted to be a lawyer. What he does remember is when he realized how hard it was going to be. Hales didn't go to university. Not ever. Their old alpha hadn't seen the point in any of his betas getting a 'human education' as he called it, and his sister seemed to hold onto that belief. She went to college, the local community college that is. Got a bachelor's in administration, and that was it. Even that much was only to ensure she'd be able to handle the all the businesses.
The people in Beacon Hills say it in jest often enough, that the Hales own half of the town. Truth is the Hales own more than half of it, a lot more actually. Only the oldest families, those who've been around from the foundation of the town own their own land. The rest all belongs to the Hales, in one way or another. The Hales themselves live out of the rents paid by those renting Hale property either to live or for shops. Of course some of that money is invested, allowing for more profit. There's a firm contracted to handle the Hale investments. Including the funds used to keep things like some scholarships at the high-school and community college, special units in the local hospital, and aiding in the protection of the preserve. It's all part of what keeps the Hale name relevant. Ensures that even though Hales are rarely seen in the town proper (other than the teenagers attending the high-school), the town never forgets their 'wealthy benefactors'.
Most of the members of the pack live in the Hale House in the preserve. Where they grow their own food. One of the cousins is a butcher, who buys meat from a neighboring pack, meat that has no chemicals, or any of the other things that makes it taste 'funny' or wrong, the way most of the meats sold in human markets do.
Of course there are some exceptions: There's Carly, a born wolf from another pack, she sought refuge with the Hales after a change of alphas in her old pack made her feel she and her son might be in danger (she was the lover of the old alpha, making her, then unborn, son the heir). Then there are Hank and Phil Rogers, one of them a born wolf, the other a bitten, they traveled to California, asking to join the Hale Pack after abandoning the Berge Pack in Denver (while most wolves did not really care about things like gender, there were some packs who refused to accept it, especially when one of the men involved was the alpha's heir…); they own Rogers Auto-Shop. Mark works at the Sheriff's Station, in the office, while at the same time taking night classes to officially join the department, while his fiancee has two jobs: as a cashier at the bank, and a waitress at the diner (she'll be going to college too, once Mark finished his schooling and became a deputy). All in all, Peter cannot help but noticed that it's all non-Hale members of the pack who have a formal education beyond high-school, and actual jobs.
Peter realized fairly early on that it wouldn't be easy to reach his dream of becoming a lawyer. Even if he managed to convince Talia to let him go out of town for college, to even go to college at all, there was no way she'd allow him to stay away for the seven years it'd take him to get his JD. Which meant that his order of business was finding another way to achieve his objective. He was fortunate as it turned out that California was one of the few states that allowed someone to become a lawyer, if they fulfilled a number of requirements… so Peter got working on those.
In the end, it's not as hard as he thought it might end up being. Peter manages to convince Talia that it's a good idea for him to get a bachelor's degree of his own, one in Behavioral Sciences, claiming it'll help his job as her left-hand. It's not really a lie. Having already done some of the credits while in high-school, and signing up for as many classes as he can every semester, Peter manages to get his bachelor's in two years, then he goes looking the brand new ADA, a man recently moved in from San Francisco: David Whittemore.
"So let me see if I'm understanding this correctly." David states after Peter's done his pitch. "You want to work here, for me, as a lawyer, without being one? How crazy do you think I am kid?"
"I'm not that much younger than you, you know?" Peter cannot help but retort, the slightest bit offended. "And I'm certainly not a kid." Before David can say anything he keeps going. "And I'm not expecting to work as a lawyer, I'd be working as your assistant, maybe a paralegal of sorts. You can see it as on-the-job training. I do it for four years, 18 hour weeks, which you sign up on, pass a bunch of tests and examinations, and then I can become a lawyer, officially. This is perfectly legal in this state."
"Yes, it is." David agrees. "Though most people aren't aware of that."
"I'm not most people." Peter states evenly.
"No, you're not." David agrees, he takes a deep, considerate, breath before adding. "The first thing you need to learn, kid, is to keep your head. People are gonna say things to you, some purposefully insulting, others not; you cannot take offense to everything people might say to you. And you most definitely cannot go around insulting everyone who says anything to you, especially your own clients."
They never really talk about it, explicitly, but Peter knows to take that as the start of his training.
Talia of course doesn't know a thing about Peter's plan. As far as she's concerned Peter's on his third and last year of community college. When summer starts he'll tell her he has an internship at the DA's office, and when that's over that he was offered a job. Talia probably will insist that there's no need, but he doesn't think she'll try too hard to keep stop him. She'll probably give him a few tasks the first year, to test him, see what he'll prioritize, which will probably be more than a little problematic, and give him a headache (or two or more!), but it'll be worth it. He has his plan, it's a good plan.
And then he meets him: his mate…
xXx
Peter meets Claudia Stilinski first. She's the assistant librarian of Beacon Hills Public Library, and he's looking for a book to cross-reference an obscure piece of legislation he believes will allow the DA's office to win their current case without having to actually go to trial. He's pretty sure he's right, but as David's constantly reminding him, his memory's not actually enough, he needs proof… hence him looking for a source in the library. Claudia helps him find it. Turns out that assistant librarians tend to not have much to do most days, and she has a habit of reading pretty much any book she can get her hands onto.
Peter likes her, she's pretty; perhaps not in a traditional way, but her shoulder-length slightly curly chocolate hair makes Peter want to run his fingers through it, and the beauty marks forming constellations across her delicate alabaster skin are so enchanting, he wants to trace them with fingers and lips and… And she's so kind and gentle, her laughter can make him at the very least smile (even when half the time he doesn't even know what she's laughing about!). He wouldn't say he's in love with her, as enchanting as she might be, she's human, while he's a wolf, and he's barely known her for a couple of weeks! Still, the attraction is undeniable, so the day after they wrap the case (just as planned, the DA uses his information to get a very convenient deal and they manage to avoid going to trial entirely) he goes looking for her at the library. He thanks her for her assistance, doing a brief re-enactment of the con's (for over half a dozen counts of scamming, money laundering and fraud) expression when he realized how badly he'd lost, or his lawyer's when he learned that his whole strategy was now useless. Claudia laughs, bright and loud at that (probably more at Peter's dramatics, but who cares?).
"Go out with me." He blurts out suddenly.
It's… not exactly how he planned on going about it, but who cares? And then Claudia's expression changes, she's no longer smiling, she looks… sad. And Peter cannot help but feel like someone's crushing him from the inside out…
"Peter… I'm married." She reveals quietly.
"What…?" He doesn't understand, that's not possible, he'd know…
His eyes goes straight to her left hand, completely bare… and then she raised her right, and there, on her third finger, is a ring, a simple gold band.
"I'm Polish." She explains quietly. "It's… we wear wedding bands on our right hand, not the left." She takes a deep breath. "Peter…"
"That's okay." Peter cuts her off. "I understand completely. You're… such an amazing person Claudia, of course someone would have snatched you up already!" His expression softens minutely. "I hope your husband knows what a lucky guy he is."
She says nothing, just smiles at him kindly.
She's such an amazing person… she doesn't treat him any differently afterwards. He still goes to the library whenever he needs to research something, she greets him with a smile, offers to help him as needed. They talk. They're friends.
And then one night, he's leaving the library later than usual, late enough that Claudia's pretty much locking up the moment he's out. He says his goodbyes and starts walking away, wanting to reach the corner and take a turn in the direction of the preserve before she reaches the sidewalk and notices that he doesn't have a car. The one he had was pretty old and while Hank promised to do whatever he could, Peter seriously doubt there's much that can be done, short from a serious overhaul, and that'd be so expensive he might as well just go and buy himself a new car! And then he hears it, the sharp inhale, followed by a tiny squeak, and Claudia's heartbeat goes from its placid, easy beat, to beating fast and sharp, like a drum. Peter turns automatically, looking for what's wrong exactly, and realizes that some lowlife is right there, standing so close to her, trying to mug her!
Peter controls himself just enough not to tear the bastard's arm right off, but not much more, he still manages to dislocate it. Making the would-be-thief shriek. Which in turn calls the attention of some passerby; the Sheriff's Station isn't too far, so someone arrives quickly. Several people in fact. Turns out that the guy has actually robbed several people over the past couple of weeks. Peter gets chided a bit for excessive use of force, though for the most part it's written off as a rush of adrenaline and shock after seeing his friend getting mugged.
Even after statements have been taken and the thief's in lockup Peter hesitates to just leave, not wanting to leave Claudia alone. He's considering how good or bad of an idea it might be to offer to accompany her to her place, make sure she gets there okay; and how exactly to explain his lack of a vehicle… when Claudia approaches him, and this time she's not alone. There's a man with her: almost six feet tall, tanned, with light-brown hair and blue-gray eyes, he's wearing a deputy's uniform, and holding Claudia's hand in such a manner that it gives away just who he is even before Claudia introduces them:
"Peter! You're still here, good." She smiles brightly at him. "Love, this is my very good friend, Peter. Peter, this is my husband: Noah."
And just like that, Peter finds himself coming face to face with his mate.
xXx
Peter's heard a lot about mates. Most of them things that he's always chalked as being nothing more than fairy-tales. Stories made up for young, naive little wolves who believe that love truly is enough, always… he knows better. At the same time, he's not quite on the same boat as his sister, denying that mates exist at all. He knows what fuels that belief in Talia. After seeing his father, who in the course of his life married three times, and bedded several more women, siring quite a few children. Peter might only have 1 sister (Talia) but he has more than a few half-siblings. Not all of them are Hale Pack, not all of them are even werewolves (though that's a whole other story). But yeah, he understands Talia seeing something like that and seeing it as proof that mates aren't real. The thing is, even with all of that, even though Peter never explicitly disagreed with her, he never fully agreed with her either.
There was Zachery. Her husband. The man might not have been the alpha heir of his own pack, but neither was he a nobody, could have easily become the right-hand of the Quinlan Pack in Massachusetts. And yet he chose to leave all that for Talia, for a woman who, while she might have married him, might have given him his name, and birthed three children with him, only ever cared about one; a woman for whom he'd never be anything more than 'a beta'. Even love, Peter thought, couldn't possibly be enough to make a man, and especially not a wolf, endure such a life. Being someone's mate though… well, it is said that once a wolf has bonded with their mate, nothing short of death will be able to truly part them. And while Talia might hold onto her denial, it's clear that Zach doesn't see things the same way she does.
Peter doesn't really know when, or how it is that he ends up befriending, truly befriending both Stilinskis. Claudia was already mostly a friend, and while he's held her in high regard, ever since finding out that she's married he took a step back, kept a bit of a distance between them. He likes her, most definitely, but he isn't that kind of man, the kind to go after married women (or men) to ruin a marriage just for some fun between the sheets. And as much as he likes Claudia, he didn't imagine having anything serious with her (not back then at least); and it isn't because she's human and he a werewolf, or at least not just that. And then Noah came into the picture.
Noah… Peter knows the man is his potential mate from the moment he lays eyes on him, and after that… Peter doesn't allow himself to imagine anything, tells himself it's not worth it, because as attractive as he might find Noah Stilinski, as much as the mere sight of him might call to him… he won't be that kind of man! And then the last thing he could have ever expected, the thing he could have never, not in his wildest dreams, imagined, happens:
"I see the way you look at him."
Claudia's statement on a random Saturday afternoon, as they're sitting in Peter's preferred table in a half-forgotten corner of the library; table mostly empty as they found what he was looking for over an hour ago, Peter faxed the information straight to David (as the case was being handled over in Sacramento, fax was faster than Peter trying to get there personally) and then got to helping Claudia put all the books back in their shelves. They only just finished and he was focused on putting his own things away when Claudia spoke up. The statement so unexpected, so out-of-nowhere that Peter doesn't actually know what she's talking about at first (or maybe it's more that he doesn't want to know…).
"Noah." Claudia clarifies at Peter's confused look. "I see the way you look at him."
Peter freezes, completely, his eyes go wide even against his will, and he doesn't think he's even breathing, much as he fights to keep as calm as he possibly can. His body betrays him (he's a wolf, what's more, he's the Hale Left Hand, how can he suddenly have no control?!). Especially as Claudia keeps talking. She doesn't sound upset, when by all rights she should be furious, beyond livid at Peter's actions, and he doesn't understand…
"Like he's the brightest star in the sky in your eyes, like he's the very air you breathe… like you cannot imagine living without him…" Claudia murmurs quietly, a gentle smile on her face. "You know how I know? Because it's the same way I've been looking at him, practically from the day we first met, back in Poznan, Poland. And the way he looks at me as well. Because…" she hesitates, just for a fraction of a second, before finishing. "Because it's the way he looks at you, sometimes, when you're not paying attention."
"But you do." Peter murmurs quietly. "You pay attention."
Claudia just shrugs, and really, the answer is obvious enough. She wouldn't be telling him such things otherwise.
Peter thinks briefly about offering to leave. To walk away, and stay away. In the end he doesn't, and it's not just that the mere thought of doing that pains him, makes something at his very core (his heart? Soul?) ache. It's that, if she wanted him to leave she wouldn't have said the last part to him, wouldn't have pointed out that Noah has been looking at Peter as well.
In the end he just looks at Claudia because, what is he supposed to do? He doesn't even know how to ask the pertinent questions. He's at a bit of a loss, frankly.
"I don't love you," Claudia says, quite bluntly. "And I don't think you love me, not right now. I mean, you're hot, not gonna lie. And I wouldn't kick you out of bed…" She ignores Peter's sputtering completely. "But I think we could have something more than that. If we just try."
Peter's at a loss for a moment and then:
"Does Noah know about… any of this?" He asks.
"He knows I know he's attracted to you." Claudia admits simply. "Not about… the rest. He wouldn't believe me that you were looking at him!"
Peter's eyes go wide at the same time he scoffs.
"Noah's the kind of man who just doesn't realize how handsome he is." She shrugs. "It happened all the time back in Poland. People would stare, would follow us with their eyes. He was always completely convinced that it was me they were looking at."
"Well, not saying you aren't gorgeous sweetheart…" Peter begins in a drawl.
"But you're more interested in him." She finishes for him.
"It's hard to explain." He admits. "I… you attract me, physically. I know we could have a lot of fun together. He… it's not that we would have any less fun…"
"You want more from him." She finishes for him. "I want more from all of us, more for all of us."
He understands the importance of her phrasing, of the difference.
"How are we going to tell Noah?" He asks.
That, she has no idea.
xXx
Things with Noah go… not quite as planned. Peter and Claudia do manage to make a plan, eventually. It's a good one too. The two of them go to her house the next day and spend hours preparing dinner, a mix of something traditionally Polish, and something more American. A variation of her mom's Pierogi, more savory than her mom probably ever made them. Also, the sweet ones are totally Peter's idea, and Claudia's quite sure it's no coincidence that he focuses on very specific fillings: like strawberries, chocolate and figs. Clearly he's hoping to get lucky, Claudia doubts it'll be that easy.
In the end they all end up quite surprised, in one way or another: Noah's clearly shocked by the fact that they have a guest over for dinner, Claudia by the way Noah just stares at each of them and the food, like he's trying to solve a puzzle, and Peter… Peter's more than a little surprised when Noah says nothing, just goes to Claudia, kissing her tenderly if briefly on the lips; then turns to Peter, grabs him by back of his neck and pulls him in for a kiss. It's no less brief than the one he shares with Claudia, though it's certainly more than enough to throw the wolf completely off kilter. Enough that he reaches for something, anything, to hold onto in the aftermath (ends up holding onto the closest counter!).
"Noah!" Claudia exclaims, sounding more than a little breathless herself.
"What?" Noah arcs a brow in what looks like defiance. "You gonna tell me you had a different plan for tonight?" He signals to the counter. "I can see all the aphrodisiacs!"
Peter doesn't even bother trying to apologize, really, Noah might be human but the wolf's quite sure he'd still know he's lying. Claudia for her part, she just laughs, like a hyena. Really, the whole day spent planning, and worrying and almost going nuts, trying to think of the best way to bring things up with Noah, to convince him that it was a good idea, that a relationship between all three of them had a chance at working… and Noah just goes and throws it all out the window with a single kiss(or two)!
They do get to their dinner… eventually. They start with dessert though…
xXx
Peter doesn't really bother trying to hide his new relationship(s). They're not obvious about things in front of other people, for evident reasons, but it's not like people don't know already that he and Claudia are best of friends. And after that first dinner he makes a habit of dining with the Stilinskis at least once a week, twice when they can all swing it. If he happens to be at the library during lunchtime he and Claudia eat together, and sometimes either at her request or by his own initiative, he brings lunch or breakfast (after a night-shift) to Noah at the station. Just once someone suggests that one of the Stilinskis might be cheating on the other with him; a man called Rafael McCall, one of the deputies (who, rumor has it, has been looking to join the FBI, though thus far his attempts have failed). Everyone mocks him for the comment. The Stilinskis are well known in Beacon Hills, well known and very well loved; seen as a solid and very lovely couple. It's unthinkable that any of them would cheat on the other.
So, they're not exactly public, but all the same, Peter doesn't really try to hide things. He knows he smells of the two humans. While it takes longer for him to truly fall in love with Claudia than it did with Noah (though it does happen, eventually), the three of them fall into bed pretty quickly, all of them together. It's not like it's a hardship, both Claudia and Peter acknowledged their mutual attraction from the start. And the last thing they wanted was to make Noah feel like they weren't all in it together. Strictly speaking, none of them fully know what they're doing, but it's not like there's a rule-book for polyamory, they're essentially making it up as they go. And thus far they're doing pretty well!
The issue ends up being Talia. Her, and her absolutely refusal of… well, anything that Peter might want. It's not like it's the first time. Truly, if it weren't because Talia treats pretty much everyone the exact same way (just as badly) Peter might think that she just hates him. From the start she tells Peter that his relationship with the Stilinskis has no future.
"They're human!" She says it like she's saying 'they are nothing' which drives him half crazy.
It only gets worse when he tries to explain to her that they're his mates… technically only Noah is his mate. But Noah loves Claudia so dearly, as much as she loves him; Peter's come to understand that there's no Noah without Claudia, not now, not anymore. There might have been, in the past, before the two of them first met; but then Peter doesn't know that man, those people, the people they were before meeting. Would he have loved them as much as he does the people they are now? He doesn't know, nor does he truly care! So, as far as he's concerned at this point, they are both his mates, and that's that.
Only it's not, because Talia continues to refuse to believe in mates. Despite being married herself, to a man so completely devout to her, she keeps denying it.
"They're human!" She snaps yet again. "They do not belong in our world. And you will not bring them in! I Forbid It Peter." Her voice turns hard, sharp, dripping in the Alpha Power. "You will not be reading Noah or Claudia Stilinski in. That's an Order."
And that's that.
xXx
Peter hates lying. Or no, that's not actually it. Peter actually revels in lying, and especially in being able to lie to those who, like werewolves, can tell when someone lies, and get away with it. He knows all the best ways to do it. How to use the truth to lie, to use words as a weapon; making sure people will believe he's said something entirely different from what he actually has… What Peter hates is being made to lie, when he doesn't actually want to.
He's quite sure that Noah and Claudia know he's lying. How can they not? With how ridiculous some of his excuses get some times. But that doesn't erase the fact that he just cannot tell them the truth. And he can see it in their eyes, the shadows that appear every time he lies, every time they say something, or ask a question and they wait, wait to see if he'll tell them the truth, and when yet another lie crosses his lips… they're not surprised, exactly, they just… they look the same as ever, but they smell sad, sadder each time it happens. And Peter just hates that.
He thinks about it sometimes. About what it'd take to not have to lie anymore. What Talia did to him, it was an Alpha Command. Something like that, there's no way to circumvent it, not really (he's tried, if it were possible he'd have found a way by now). The only way to free himself of it, would be to free himself of Talia entirely. If she isn't his alpha anymore, she cannot command him. But that comes with it's own set of difficulties. First of all, he's not going to kill Talia. Not just because she's his sister, and much as he might not really know why sometimes, he does still care about her (deep down). It's… there was a time when Talia was all he had in the world, his only real family. When his mother died shortly after his birth, and his father refused to even look at him, Talia took it upon herself to be there for him. She was more of a mother to him than she was a big sister. And he loved her… dearly. The part of him that still remembers being a child, a lonely child who had her and nothing and no one else, will always remember her like that, like the young woman who tried so hard to cover up for a dead mother and a neglectful father, who was so perfect in that same child's eyes… He doesn't know where it all went wrong. He wishes he did, wishes he could get that version of his sister (of his mom) back…
So he's not going to kill Talia. Getting another alpha would most likely mean joining another pack, which would mean leaving, and he cannot do that either. He supposes he could always go looking for some alpha that doesn't deserve their power, kill them and then return. With the way most Hales keep out of town and to the preserve he's fairly certain he could even keep living there and most of them wouldn't even notice! But still, how would he even go about finding said alpha? And how long would it take him? How would he even explain any of it to Noah and Claudia? It's… he doesn't know what to do.
Time runs out before he can make up his mind. There's so much happening at the same time: his first big case; while he's technically still just a paralegal, David insists on taking him along to a big trial taking place on San Francisco. The trial goes for longer than expected, and Peter stays in the city with his boss. Talia really doesn't like that. Starts muttering about him straightening out his priorities, pressing him to stop 'playing around' with the humans and do his duty. It's not like she needs anything from him those days, nothing is going on (he'd know!); it's all about her need to be in control. Then Claudia, she's been sick for weeks now; Peter tries to help her, brings her teas and foods she thinks might help, but still feels more than a little useless. He doesn't know how to deal with sick humans. There are no humans in the Hale Pack, he's never learned. And the thought of not being able to assist his beloveds in some way… it upsets him. And of course Noah is tense himself, he and his partner were the ones to find and arrest the very man David and Peter were building a case against (for murdering his wife and two children days after she filed for divorce); in between that and Claudia's sickness and moodiness… They're all understandably not at their best.
There's supposed to be a dinner. Claudia planned it well ahead of time. Peter doesn't make it. It's all Talia's fault. By the time he makes it to the Stilinski home the food's gone cold, Claudia's crying, Noah's angry, and Peter… he cannot explain to them why he didn't make it. Why he didn't even call them to tell them he wouldn't be there in time for dinner.
"Just… just tell us the truth for once or… or go."
Peter can almost hear his heart stop. The ultimatum… he always knew that being able to live a good, happy life with Noah and Claudia was a wild dream, one that was unlikely to ever come true. Yet he never expected it to just… end. Not with a bang but with a whimper, with the background of one lover's anger and the other's tears… Peter wants to yell, he wants, to beg, he wants to howl… in the end all he does is flee.
"My sister is such an insufferable bitch." Peter snaps at one point on Monday in the office. "I just… I hate her."
"Please don't kill her." David requests in a perfect deadpan. "I'd hate to have to prosecute my own assistant."
"Please!" Peter snaps. "If I ever decided to do that, no one would find out."
"You do know even this conversation is damning?" David shakes his head. "Is this about the Stilinskis? Did she blow a gasket over them or something?"
Peter's head snaps up so fast he almost gives himself whiplash.
"You… you… how…?" For perhaps the first time ever the young wolf is at a loss for words, he doesn't like it.
"How do I know about you, Noah and Claudia?" David deduces. "It's not exactly a secret. After McCall's very loud accusations of infidelity."
"No one believed them!" Peter blurts out.
"No one believed that either Stilinski would be cheating on the other, yes, but it's not exactly cheating when it's polyamory, is it?" David inquires. "At least, that's how I understand it. Cannot say I understand a lot, mind you. Elizabeth has had to… educate me on some things." He shrugs. "You must remember, we're a fairly small town, all in each other's business. And you're a Hale! The only Hale most of us have ever seen!"
Peter exhales. He supposes he was being a fool, expecting some things to go unnoticed. Still, he has to admit to being more than a little surprised that people know and they just… accept it.
"You should have seen Mrs. Andrews," David adds with a small, almost vindictive smile. "When McCall's wife went all puritanical about your relationship and the example you were giving to others, she said, and quite loudly, that it was the best example possible: of the freedom of love. Then asked her if she was afraid of love, or something like that. I wasn't actually there for that, but Elizabeth was, and she took such delight from the dressing down the other woman got."
Peter knows why. Melissa McCall isn't a bad woman, but just a bit… uppity. One of those people who has a view of the world and expect everything and everyone to conform to that; and those that don't she'll see as troublesome, as wrong. Like a widowed woman happily going out with younger men (like Mrs. Andrews), a couple from the big (corrupted) city settling down in a small town (like the Whittemores), or three people being in a happy, stable, relationship together. She's also the kind of woman who'll express her opinion when she doesn't agree with something, even if no one might care for it. Peter doesn't much care for what she might have said, but the thought that others know, that they're supportive, it's… more than he ever expected.
"So I guess your sister isn't supportive then." David says thoughtfully.
"Not at all." Peter admits gruffly.
"You know, Elisabeth's mother didn't agree with me marrying her daughter." David points out. "She was the widow of some rich old man, one of those old-money types. She wanted all the best for her daughter, which I understood. The thing is, in her mind, the best for her daughter was never working, spending her life in some huge mansion ordering an army of servants and nannies and everything else she might need. What she didn't understand was that that wasn't what her daughter wanted. Her daughter fell in love with me, and granted, I'm not exactly poor myself, but I'm still a civil servant, and happy to be one. I'm a lawyer not because I have to, but because I want to. Much like you, I believe. Elisabeth and I made the decision to leave our old home, to go live on the other coast, to make a life for ourselves. And it was worth it."
"What are you trying to say David?" Peter asks, deadpan.
"You love the Stilinskis, I have no doubt about that. Are you really going to let your sister take them away from you?"
That question is still twisting and turning inside Peter's mind the next time he sees Talia. And that's when everything goes straight to hell. When Talia announces she's sending him to New York, to their uncle Dante; she phrases it like an opportunity, but he knows the truth. It's a punishment. Dante is related to them by being their father's younger brother, he defied his brother once, out of love for a woman, his mate; his older brother defeated him, but didn't marry him, instead he forced the woman to marry him instead and sent Dante to the East Coast. Bound to the pack, unable to fully leave, yet far away from everyone else, tortured in his loneliness… That's what Talia wants. She wants to torture him, to bring him to heel, make him cower, submit…
"No." The word surprises everyone, even him.
"No…?" Talia's clearly beyond shocked. "What do you mean no?"
Peter doesn't give her an answer. He doesn't give her anything at all. He just turns around and leaves the house. He has nothing with him, no clothes but the ones on his back, no possessions, and he really doesn't care. All he can think about is what truly matters, to him… He's not entirely aware of things until he finds himself standing at the Stilinskis' door. It started to rain at some point and he's drenched and dripping, hair plastered to his forehead and the back of his neck and He Just Doesn't Care!
He pays very little attention to who exactly it is that opens he's door. He can tell that both Claudia and Noah are there, staring at him, waiting, and in that moment that's enough. So for perhaps the first time in his whole life he just… he lets go, completely; he takes a deep breath and jumps off the metaphorical cliff:
"I'm a werewolf."
xXx
Mieczyslaw is at the same time nothing and everything he would have expected of Claudia's father, if the wolf ever thought to stop and wonder what such a man might be like. The man is white, 5'10", in his early to mid fifties, with dark hazel eyes and really short chestnut brown hair that seems to have become more salt and pepper in recent years, with wide shoulders; he cuts an imposing figure even in the simple white-button up, light-washed blue jeans, black moccasins and dark jacket.
Peter gets quite a few surprises following his blurted out confession at his lovers' door. Turns out, they're both aware of the existence of the supernatural already (the Shadow World, as they refer to it), though at the same time, they never talk about it, or they didn't until Peter revealed his own supernatural status. Also, the two of them, even if they didn't know exactly what he was, both certainly suspected he was something.
"Everyone in Beacon Hills who so much as knows the Shadow World exists knows the Hales are something." Noah scoffs at one point. "Really, your pack choosing to pretend like the world beyond the borders of your preserve doesn't exist, doesn't mean that the world doesn't see you, doesn't know you're there."
"They just, for the most part, don't really care." Claudia deadpans.
Which, Peter realizes, is not as good a thing as Talia would probably believe it to be. As, if their own neighbors don't care about them, who'll come to their aid, were they ever to need it?
The next surprise comes when Noah reveals he himself is supernatural:
"It's not a big deal." He says with a self-deprecating shrug. "I'm a spark. Which means that I have some magic in me, but it's not really enough to do anything much, to really specialize in any of the disciplines of magic. I can use it to enhance my senses a bit, to get a sense of when there's danger, when and where to move during a crisis." Like while pursuing a criminal… or in the battlefield. "There's also the chance that a child or grandchild of mine will be able to do actual magic. Like, be a witch, or a sorcerer, or a mage… according to Mama magic is fickle like that."
"It can be." Mieczyslaw states, seemingly looking at Noah closely. "There are also those who believe that magic only ever manifests, truly manifests, in those that are willing to embrace it. I've always favored that belief myself."
"What's that supposed to me?" Claudia asks, somewhat defensive of her husband.
"It means Noah has the kind and quantity of magic that he can handle, that he wants to handle." Peter explains. "Were he the kind to be… inclined towards magic, he'd have had it."
"Which would imply that magic isn't fickle at all, but the whole opposite." Noah murmurs thoughtfully. "That it… what? Is sentient? That it knows us?"
"Who knows?" Peter shrugs. "Magic isn't exactly my specialty, and I'm no philosopher either. But it is an interesting idea."
"I suppose it doesn't make a difference in the end." Noah agrees with a shrug. "I am… we all are who are, and that's that."
"Regarding who we are…" Claudia takes a deep breath, and then turns their whole world upside down with her own revelation.
The Servants of Death. Peter always thought they were nothing more than myth. Noah hadn't even heard about them before. An ancient Order, said by some to predate even humanity as it's known nowadays, assassins who claim to serve justice and death. Who go after those with so much power (either political, economical or social) that no one else would dare oppose, in favor of those most would never dare aid, seeing them as the monsters (like werewolves, other shifters, the supernatural in general). Mieczyslaw Wójcik is the current Seneschal of Death, descended from one of the last remaining lineages that can be traced all the way back to when the Order were religious assassins known as the Faceless.
Claudia's meant to be his heiress (as his only child, and having no uncles, aunts, or cousins of any sort). The issue is: Claudia's a pacifist, through and through. She doesn't like violence, and part of being the Seneschal of Death is delivering what the Order calls 'the Gift of Death'; which essentially means killing while doing their duty. Initially Claudia distanced herself from it all, seeing the Order as the thing that took her father away from the family, that meant he was absent so often, he wasn't there when her mom died in a mugging gone wrong… except it wasn't a mugging, and Claudia knew that. She knew that her father lied to her and that… that was the last straw for her.
"I understand now that I judged you unfairly." Claudia admits. "I was so lost in my own grief. In the feeling of losing my mom… I didn't stop to see that you lost her too, you lost your wife, the love of your life… and I know the distance wasn't just on you. Mom never liked your job, I know that. I cannot say I do either. Or perhaps it's more that I don't understand it. I… Noah was a soldier, so I… understand that sometimes killing is necessary, in a war, and when your life is in direct danger. But the way things work in your Order… You hunt people down, you… you take them out without giving them a chance to even defend themselves."
"We give them no chances, just like they give their victims no chances." Mieczyslaw explains evenly. "It's true we sometimes hunt them down and kill them. But when we do that… it's because they have already killed, dozens, perhaps even hundreds of people."
They all inhale sharply in horror at that idea.
"The ones we hunt are no people, they're the real monsters." The man states firmly. "The kind who'll kidnap a child and use them to lay a trap for the family. Who'll lock an entire family inside a house before setting it ablaze. So many of them don't care whether innocent or guilty, adult or elderly or child, all they want to do is kill. They revel in killing, in ending lives…"
"People like that, they don't stop." Noah states, understanding what Mieczyslaw is and isn't saying. "Not on their own."
"No," The older man agrees. "Only death can stop them. And that's why we exist."
"I… understand." Claudia swallows.
She does. And yet that doesn't change the fact that Claudia cannot imagine herself doing it. Wielding a blade, or a gun, or any sort of weapon, and ending a life; no matter how terrible the individual might be. Perhaps in the middle of a fight, with her life or that of her loved ones in the line, she could do it. But not like that. Not like the Order does it. She just doesn't have it in her. Which makes things a tad complicated, considering the oaths one of the ancestors made, on her line and on her blood…
"Isn't there something, anything we can do?" Noah asks when Mieczyslaw explains that part.
"Hmmm…" The man ponders for several seconds, his eyes eventually going to the two men his daughter loves. "There might be a way." He focus on Noah first. "You're a man of the law. So you might not be the best for this job…"
"I'm a deputy sheriff, yes, but I'm Claudia's husband and Peter's mate first." Noah states, with an almost surreal serenity. "I'll do whatever needs to be done."
Mieczyslaw blinks and Peter's almost sure that the man's respect for Noah just grew.
"That is good to know." The older man nods solemnly. "Still, I believe that in this instance, the Lycan might be of more help." He focuses his whole attention on Peter. "Have you decided what it is you will do, now that you've left your pack?"
"No, I…" Peter swallows, not having expected that question. "While I have left the Hale Pack I retain a… shadow of a bond, one could say. Due to having been born a Hale. That should be enough to allow me to keep my sanity, at least until I've made a working plan." He bows his head respectfully. "I swear to you, sir, I'd never do anything that might put either Noah or Claudia at risk, especially not with the danger being me."
"I didn't think you would." Mieczyslaw states before his daughter can speak up in defense of her lover. "My daughter is a very good judge of character. I do believe that if you were the kind of man who'd endanger her for no reason, you wouldn't be the kind of man she could love." He shakes his head. "My question had a different reason. Let me rephrase a bit; do you intend to start a pack of your own?"
"It is something I've contemplated." Peter admits. "The first step to doing so would be becoming an alpha myself. I could never go after my sister's spark. As tense as our current relationship might be, I do not wish her dead. I have considered going on a trip, finding an alpha I wouldn't mind killing for their spark. But have to admit I find myself… reluctant, to leave Noah and Claudia; especially for an unspecific amount of time. Yet I don't know how else I could move forward, other than perhaps look for one of the neighboring alpha and request to join their pack in a surface manner. A bond just strong enough to ensure my sanity, nothing more."
"Would a mating bond not suffice?" Mieczyslaw arcs a brow.
"I… do not know." Peter admits.
"Love?" Claudia asks softly. "Why haven't you mentioned this?"
And Peter really didn't mention it before. He made his whole confession, then started talking about the measures that might be necessary, to ensure he wouldn't be a risk for them… which was when Claudia decided to throw her own bomb and call her father. Her father with whom she hadn't spoken since shortly after the death of her own mother! And then she said nothing else until the man arrived, two days later, in the company of another man, his second: Aron Franciszek Arkadiusz… a Hunter connected to the Kemp Clan in Wales; tall, a bit over six feet tall in fact, with a strong built, rectangular face, lightly tanned skin, light facial hair, green eyes and brown hair; he's wearing a black suit with a white crisp shirt underneath with the top two buttons undone and no tie. He also prefers the name Arek.
"Is this about my not being your mate?" Claudia presses gently. "You know I don't mind that, right? I love you, completely. And I know you love me, as much as you love Noah… the three of us, we love one another equally, no matter what some magical bonds might claim."
"What if I were to tell you that you can be bound to Claudia?" Mieczyslaw chooses that exact moment to intervene. "A bond that would be as tight, as your mating bond to Noah?"
"That…?" Peter finds himself at a loss for words for a moment.
"That'd be marvelous!" Claudia exclaims, delighted.
"What kind of bond would that be?" Noah wants to know before agreeing to anything.
Mieczyslaw tells them a bit of a story then. One of the Seneschals in the past (over a century ago), was in a serious accident as a child, his hip and legs were permanently damaged. He was the only heir of his mother (the Seneschal before him), too young to have father any children at the time his mother passed on the legacy to him. And then his best-friend stepped up. She was the only daughter of another of the oldest lines, had been fostered with the Seneschal after the loss of her own parents. She offered herself to do the things the new Seneschal might not be able to, to carry his will, to be His Hand…
"The Hand of Death," She came to be known. "Even after she married him and gave him three children. She never stopped being his Hand."
"I'll do it." Peter practically blurts out.
"Peter…" Noah begins.
"You don't have to…" Claudia says, practically at the same time.
"I don't have to, I want to." Peter insists. "Don't you see? This… this is everything! It's an opportunity. A blessing. A chance to never have to leave you. To be with you, always. To be able to help you, both of you. To be as bound to one as I might be to the other. To be equals… all of us. Always."
"I want us to be handfasted." Claudia announces unexpectedly.
Some might say that her comment came straight out of nowhere. There had been no mention of marriage until then. Not for the three of them, she and Noah were already married. Then again, the kind of commitment they are planning (a mating bond, the hand of death) are magical bonds, stronger and far more permanent than most marriages… at least for humans. Then again, none of them are entirely human, as has been made obvious.
It's during family dinner that evening that Claudia makes the announcement she's been sitting on (metaphorically) ever since that huge argument the triad had: she's pregnant!
xXx
A lot changes after that day. With Mieczyslaw once again in his daughter's life, he decides to do all he can to ensure her safety. That starts by ensuring the territory is secure. He knows that the Hale Pack is settled there. He also knows (because Peter told him) that the Hales have become so isolated that only their alpha, emissary, and the few bitten wolves that have joined the pack even go into town nowadays; the cubs go to school, but only high-school, being home-schooled beforehand, and not really going to college, instead being assigned tasks to help the pack.
"They do realize we're living in the United States, in the 21st century and not… I don't know, 18th century Scotland, or Romania, or something like that, right?" Claudia scoffed after hearing Peter's description of the pack.
"I don't think they much care." Peter said in a drawl. "Most of them see humans, and everything related to them as… less. Why do you think I've had to go through such an elaborate mess just to become a lawyer?"
He wasn't finished just yet, but had passed the halfway point, which was great. He'd also heard David suggest in a half-joking, half-serious manner that he might be interested in the two of them partnering up in the future…
"Really?" There was a hint of mischievousness in Claudia as she said in a bit of a drawl: "I thought that was just… well, you being you."
Peter blinked, then laughed. It's not like she was wrong… exactly. He supposed that he could have gone to college, having left the Hale Pack… but he liked the life he had, with Claudia and Noah, with David and the job at the DA's office. He was building a life, one he liked. And Mieczyslaw was helping ensure it'd be a good life all around.
Seneschal of Death the man might be, he was man enough to admit when something was out of his wheelhouse. Like magic, Mieczyslaw had barely enough magical talent to be able to lay down a mountain ash barrier and have it be effective; even then, he didn't have the ability to call it back to him afterwards (which meant that his barriers were only good one time unless someone else could collect the ash). All the same, he understood his limitations, and had contacts capable of handling the things he couldn't: like Ivor Halloran.
The man is an Irish immigrant living in Massachussets, 5'9", in his forties, fair skinned, with dark brown eyes and hair of a brown so dark it's almost black (though white is starting to show through), his hair is a bit on the long side, curling at the end; he also has well-groomed mustache and beard. He seems to favor dressing in collarless shirts, jeans, boots and jacket, all in dark colors. He's definitely not the kind of man Peter would have ever expected to be a druid, then again, neither is Alan Deaton (the vet!). Ivor for his part explains he's a botanist, he owns a small shop in the outskirts of Dartmouth, where he sells loose-leaf tea and 'homeopathic remedies'; or at least, that's what the humans know. The supernaturals know better.
That part actually interests Peter. He's very interested in anything that might help keep him and his beloveds safe and healthy… and he's a fan of tea (real tea not those bags that taste of anything but the herbs supposedly in them!).
Ivor's reaction upon first entering the territory… he starts gagging almost immediately, head whipping around, eyes going everywhere, as if searching for something he can feel but not see. Peter would think the man to be skittish, and wonder how a man who acted like that could be considered as important by someone like Mieczyslaw; except that's just it. In the time since first meeting Claudia's father the wolf has gotten to know the man, he's strict, stoic, yet kind and fair. Not one to boast about others, and certainly not the kind to give false praise. So Peter decides to withhold his judgment. Turns out to be a good idea.
"How can any of you, anyone at all live in a place so… so dark?" He finally asks.
"So it's bad." Mieczyslaw nods, somehow having expected as much.
Turns out he did expect it, from the moment Peter told him how isolated his old pack was. The fact that they weren't the guardians of the territory they were purported to be.
"There's a nexus somewhere in the vicinity." Ivor states grimly. "One that's been plunged into shadows, which grow darker with every passing hour. I'll need a full circle of druids to try and save it, and even that might not be enough. Also…"
"What?" Mieczyslaw asks, not liking that things seem to be even worse than he expected.
"You might need to call your people," Ivor turns to face Arek. "There's something… I know not what it is, but it seems to have latched onto the nexus, or be connected to it somehow. I can feel it through the ley lines. It's… not good. Old… so old… and angry."
It takes them months to find enough druids capable of even being in Beacon Hills without the darkness making them flee (or sick) for a full circle. The final member in fact ends up being younger than anyone could have predicted, a girl-child, not even thirteen yet. According to Ivor, her gifts manifested early, while rare it's not unheard of, and her adopted parents were looking for a teacher. While young she's incredibly gifted, he has no doubt that she has the potential to one day surpass even him (Ivor himself is said to be the best of the generation, High-Druid of North America and one of the favorites for one day becoming Arch-druid). No one points out how… convenient the girl, Sophia's, manifesting her gifts right then is, though they're all thinking it.
Claudia's first act as part of the Servants of Death happens some time during the summer. She's just entered her third trimester and while she still isn't quite as big as she might have expected. While not being exactly petite, she was certainly shorter than both her husband and her father, and she had an old black&white picture of her mom when she was pregnant so…
"Alan Deaton?" She asks, wanting to make sure she understands everything she's being told.
"Yes, ma'am." Sophia nods (they tried to make her stop with the titles, but eventually gave up, at least she was no longer calling her 'my lady' all the time!). "He's supposed to be a druid. But his aura…" She shakes her head emphatically. "He cheats, is a deceiver, a… Ananias."
"What does that mean?" Noah inquires, confused.
"It means liar." Peter offers. "Somewhat archaic but…"
"It's the right word." Sophia murmurs. "It encompasses everything. It's not… it's not just the lies he tells, but the lies he wears, that he lives… He… he's whole self is a lie."
"Hence, Ananias." Ivor nods in agreement.
"The man claims to be all about 'balance'." The quotes were quite evident in Arek's voice.
"As if the Mother needs his, or anyone else's help for that!" Someone in the back of the group scoffs, to everyone's agreement.
"And that, right there, is the problem." Ivor states grimly. "Because with them it's never about the Mother's balance, but their own, flawed, interpretation of it."
"How bad is it?" Noah asks, serious.
"The man has been selling wolfsbane, mistletoe, foxglove, vervain, even mountain ash, to known hunters." Arek informs everyone. "According to my sources the most recent purchase was early this year, the biggest yet. All that could be found on the buyer were the initials, AA. Something one of my contacts found incredibly suspicious is that the purchase took place in Conway, Arkansas, just a couple of hours away from where a fire recently decimated the Williams Pack."
A sharp inhale followed that announcement. No one asked how many, nor for any details, even the most basic information was enough to know it was bad.
"Even if that weren't a consideration." Ivor takes charge once again. "We know for a fact that he has a number of binds placed on the Nemeton and the territory as a whole. Whatever he might be planning… well, we have no doubt he's playing a long-game, and it involves the Nemeton. We cannot know anything more specific but even that is already bad enough."
It was, even if they were not to take into consideration the thousand-year-old void kitsune that an envoy of the Kemps managed to track and find, locked inside a jar, tangled in the roots of the half-rotten, once magnificent Nemeton. The creature was taken to Japan, while still inside the jar, hoping those at the kitsune temple in Mt. Fuji might know how to handle the situation.
"It's bad, indeed." Claudia agrees quietly. "What is it that you need me to do?"
"I need you to give the order, my lady, an order for your Hand to carry out." Ivor states solemnly.
"But…" Her eyes go to her father. "But you are…"
"I am what I am, and you are what you are." Mieczyslaw states evenly. "We have a duty, my child. And this… this is your territory."
Claudia swallows. She understands. Not just the matter of territory but… she's a member of the line, who refuses to be Seneschal, to take on the full burden of their duty. She has to show them that she still respects them, that she's one of them, even if she might refuse to be the one to wield the (metaphorical) sword when the time comes.
"I…" Claudia hesitates, swallows, takes a deep breath and chooses her words very carefully. "We are the Servants of Death, we are the ones who deliver Justice, for those who cannot make justice for themselves. The Earth might not have a physical voice with which to call to us, but She deserves justice as much as everyone else. By both his actions and his inaction Druid Deaton has contributed to losses: of life, magic and peace. This cannot be allowed to continue. This will not be allowed to continue. Our gift will be delivered. For Justice and Death."
"For Justice and Death." Everyone else in the room echoes.
And that's that.
xXx
Only once Sophia asks Claudia about her willingness to give birth somewhere other than a hospital. More precisely, in the preserve, as close to the Nemeton as might be safe.
"There's power in sacrifice." The young apprentice-druidess informed Claudia. "And contrary to popular belief, not all sacrifices are about death. Some might be about giving up something else, about making a commitment. There are some things in this world capable of evoking more power than a death, even a willing sacrifice: love, commitment, and the birth of a child."
Claudia's not convinced. She knows her mother had a home-birth, though that was more a matter of necessity than choice. And the birth was traumatic enough to make it impossible for her to have any more children. Considering how hard it was for Claudia to become pregnant this time, after several miscarriages early on the first trimester, and one late in the second (that one happening before they left Poland, actually); she's just too terrified of something going wrong. In the end the choice isn't in her hands.
Alan Deaton was sacrificed to the Nemeton on the blue moon, at the end of August. The druid circle having spent the entire previous month doing rituals and chants around the Nemeton in preparation for it. They're set to continue for the month following the sacrifice as well. Claudia visits the Nemeton a little over a week afterwards. It's something she's made a habit of, wanting to show everyone that she's one of them, as much as she can be. The last thing any of them expect is for her water to break right then and there!
It's early, almost a whole month early, and yet it's happening. It's also happening fast. Enough that Claudia realizes, even before anyone says a thing about it, that there's no way she'll make it to the hospital (she's not even sure she could make it all the way to the jeep!). So she ends up giving birth right then and there, in that clearing, right beside the Nemeton… She gives birth to her first born, her precious boy…
"Mieczyslaw Jan Stilinski…"