Chapter 1

Phoebe lay back on the bed, restraints tight around her wrists and ankles as Eichen House doctors attached nodes to different points on her body. The shock treatment, done with the hope of breaking her, was conducted at least once a day, sometimes twice, and no matter how many times they did it, she would never get used to it. She made a feeble attempt to struggle against her bonds, but she gave up quickly, having learned over the past two weeks that it was futile. No matter how much she struggled, she never got free. No matter how hard she tried, she could not summon her magic, blocked as it was by the drugs they kept forcing into her veins. All she could do was hope that someone would come for her, that Derek would realize that Scott had made a grave error, before it was too late.

…

Phoebe had been in Eichen House for two weeks when Peter learned of it. It was two weeks too many in Peter's mind. He could vividly remember being locked up there by Scott after his disastrous deal with Kate. He hated that place and would happily burn it to the ground if he thought he could get away with it. But not yet. He'd have to be far more subtle than that if he wanted to take Beacon Hills back from Scott McCall.

But first, he had to get Phoebe out of Eichen House. That place would wreak havoc on your mind, your soul, and for Peter's plan to work, he'd need her whole.

…

Phoebe screamed as the torture continued. The electric shocks were nothing to the fire that burned through her veins from this new drug they'd given her. She couldn't even form a coherent thought long enough to try to prevent her screams. In a last ditch effort to save her mind, she threw her consciousness back into her memories, to the reason she'd come to Beacon Hills in the first place, hoping that it wouldn't be too late, hoping that she'd somehow find the strength to survive until someone came. Someone was coming, she was sure of it. The last vestiges of her magic that were still wrapped around her aura told her so.

Phoebe had been deep in meditation when her phone rang. Opening her eyes and taking a deep breath, she'd picked up her phone. Not recognizing the number, she'd answered with a wary "Hello." The voice on the other end wasn't familiar, a teenager she was sure was playing a prank, especially when he'd introduced himself as Stiles. Still, teens sometimes called her for her magical help just as adults did, so she hadn't wanted to hang up on him without listening.

"Is this Phoebe," the voice on the other line had asked.

Somehow more cautious once she knew the other voice knew her name, instead of just referring to her as "the witch," she'd hesitated before answering, which gave the teen time to add "I'm friends with Derek Hale, and he needs your help."

She'd paused as her heart had skipped a beat, before replying in the affirmative. "Yes. I'm Phoebe. What's going on?"

Stiles had spun a tale of werewolves, Mexico's deserts, and what had to be a powerful magic which had turned Derek Hale back into his teenage self. If any of it was true, she'd thought, it was certainly something that Phoebe would be willing to help with.

"Let me speak to Derek," she'd said.

Once Derek had answered the phone, she'd spoken to him at length about what he could remember, concluded that magic was definitely involved, and had agreed to help. She'd packed up her things and driven to Beacon Hills almost immediately, stopping only to check in with her coven and let them know where she was headed.

Another medicine was injected into Phoebe's veins, and her screaming drew her back to the present. Mixing those types of potions could be deadly for humans, but a witch could withstand it. It would be excruciatingly painful, and at the end of it, something which could take hours, she would most likely wish she was dead. Dragging her conscious mind back into her memories, she tried to fight off the worst of the pain.

Once she'd arrived in Beacon Hills, she'd gone straight to the address Stiles had given her. Inside, she'd found Derek pacing the modest living room. He'd moved quickly toward her, but she'd taken a step back, startled to see him as he had been the last time she'd seen him, even though she'd known he would look that way. He'd paused, which had given her time to collect herself, and then she'd introduced herself to Stiles, and discussed some spells she was going to do in order to figure out what was going on.

She'd sat Derek on the couch, and placed her hands on either side of his head. Pulsing her magic in gentle waves, she'd studied the magic that had attached itself to him, the mark of the spell that had changed his appearance and taken his memories. There was a name attached to the spell. Kate.

When she'd questioned them, Stiles had given her a brief overview of who Kate had been, and how they'd figured out she'd been the one to change Derek back into a teenager.

Phoebe had continued to probe for another twenty minutes, but had been unable to glean anymore useful information. Something had been there, but it was unreadable. She'd agreed to keep trying to find information and try to remove the spells.

Phoebe's eyes snapped open, unsure of when she'd passed out. She was back in her room. She stood gingerly from the bed, and paced her little cell. She had no idea what time it was, but her internal clock thought it might be morning of the next day. She'd officially been in Eichen House for two weeks if that was true.

Assessing her body as she waited for whatever they had planned for the day, she determined that she could not survive another day like the day before. If she was going to get out of here, it had to be soon. Sitting on the floor by her cot, she cast out her senses, hoping to fall into meditation to gain some of her magic back before they came for her again. Instead, she fell into another memory.

Kate Argent had turned Derek into a teenager and taken his memories. Peter Hale had been locked in Eichen House by Scott McCall. Meredith had been the Benefactor. Scott McCall had turned Liam into his first bitten beta.

Back in Mexico, the pack that had survived the Benefactor, with one angry witch on their side, had moved to return Derek to his older self. Once there, Phoebe was able to read the magic, and reverse the spell. It was easy. Too easy.

They had been caught unaware by the Berzerkers. As the pack fought, Kate had cut Scott off from his precious pack. She'd almost fooled all of them. They'd almost killed their alpha. But they didn't. Scott had broken free and was able to overcome Kate, sending her scurrying away once again. The pack had returned to Beacon Hills, stronger, smarter, more connected than they had been before.

Everything had been fine. Derek and Braeden had chosen to leave. Peter had gotten out of Eichen House, and the pack had returned to school. Phoebe had set up a place for herself in Beacon Hills, happy to try to offer her services and to help the pack.

Until Theo. Once Theo had arrived on the scene, nothing had been the same. Scott had started acting strangely, although no one else in the pack would acknowledge it. Except Stiles. Phoebe had noticed that Scott had started to make reckless decisions, had started to disregard the ideas of his pack, and had started to spend more time with Theo. And then Stiles noticed too, and the fights began. Scott and Stiles would start in a normal discussion, but anytime Stiles brought up concerns about Theo, Scott would begin to lose his temper, and it often ended in a huge fight. Phoebe had noticed too how much of a toll this was taking on Stiles.

She'd called Derek with her concerns, but he'd brushed them off, saying that Scott had called him, and had it all under control so she shouldn't worry about Theo anymore. She'd argued that Stiles was concerned too, but Derek had brushed that off too as jealousy. She remembered thinking that he didn't know Stiles as well as he'd seemed to think he did.

A couple days after calling Derek, she'd been on her morning walk, at a time when she should have been perfectly safe, but Theo had still managed to find her. He'd drugged her and dragged her to Eichen House, dropping her off. She'd fought him off as well as she could, but the drugs had taken effect quickly. Before she'd passed out, she vaguely recalled seeing Scott, but hadn't been sure if she'd imagined it.

After waking in Eichen House, the torture had begun.

Phoebe's eyes snapped open again. Peter. Peter had been in Eichen House. Peter had broken free of Eichen House. If she could tell Peter where she was, he might be willing to help her. She hadn't known Peter well when she was in high school, since he was older than Derek,but what she knew of him was that he had been protective of his family, and somewhat selfish. If he was still that self-serving, she could negotiate a deal later.

Her meditation had ended with a sliver of magic wrapping itself around her, warm after so long away from it. The drugs were fading from her system. She needed to act fast.