A/N:

And it has been a month since I updated. Good news is - I got a good amount of writing done! Bad news, I'm hardly ever free. Good news, I'm free now! And hopefully, hopefully for the rest of the year! Or at least, I hopefully won't be as busy as I usually am. Anyways, the trigger warnings will stop now as it's beginning to delve into the plot of the actual story, and starting from this chapter I'd probably say gather clues, my friends. It's gonna be a wild ride.

Finally, without further due, a new chapter - I do hope you enjoy it! And that you've stuck around to begin with!

"I trashed her apartment." Eva mumbled under her breath, sounding guiltier than she expected herself to be. "I trashed Julia's apartment." Eva breathed out as she looked up, her gaze meeting Morrell's soft brown one. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, "I thought it would make me feel better, and it did, for maybe an hour. Then I realized I got nothing out of it. That I stooped to her level."

"How does trashing her apartment make you stoop to her level, Eva?" Morrell asked as she tilted her head, and Eva rolled her shoulders into a small shrug, "She caused chaos to get what she wanted. She wanted her revenge, which would have somehow made her feel better. That's the exact same thing."

"But you're not like her, Eva. She had all the wrong reasons. All the wrong decisions. She didn't go through half of what you went through. You have a right to some chaos. Your chaos. The one you're going to fix." Morrell spoke slowly, and Eva stared at her before she pulled her legs up to wrap her arms around them and hug her knees to her chest.

"But if you think about it, what happened to her…" Eva started slowly, "I mean she was betrayed by the person she trusted the most. Even killed."

"Does that justify what she did?" Morrell asked, narrowing her eyes a little as she leaned forward onto the desk to rest her arms onto it.

Eva looked up at her and shook her head quickly, "N-no! I mean…I'm not trying to justify her."

"But you are. Because you hope it justifies you." Morrell muttered, "If you become like her."

Eva couldn't blink, she couldn't even breathe. But she nodded slowly, "Is that what really scares you? That you might become like her?"

"There's always the possibility, right?" Eva started hesitantly, "I mean, the oni found nothing dark in me. But that doesn't mean there isn't. What if it's there and it's just waiting for this one…spark…that will cause this disaster?" Eva rambled on nervously, before she let her legs down and scooted to the edge of the seat, waiting for the words of wisdom she'd hoped to hear from her.

"You don't want to use your powers." Morrell deduced, and Eva drew in a slow breath before she nodded.

"I don't want any of it. I just want what I had before all of this." Eva whispered, "I don't want to live in the fear that I might hurt someone I care about because I became too dark. And even when the lake incident made the numbness go away, I can still feel it. It's like a void in my chest. It's like a blindfold over my sense of judgment. It's why I trashed that apartment."

"What you're asking for is impossible, Eva." Morrell sighed, and Eva's face fell, even when she didn't have high hopes to begin with. "How powerful are you now?" She muttered, and her gaze turned from warm to stern. Eva blinked slowly, trying to find the words in her mind to describe. "Why don't you show me?"

"I can't control it…" Eva breathed out hesitantly, but Morrell stood up, pressing her hands against the desk, "Show me, Eva. You can do it."

"I can't, I really can't." Eva tried to sound more defiant, but Morrell's insistence was pushing her, "What do you mean you can't? This power is part of who you are now. Show me so I can help you.

"I can't…" Eva felt her voice to start to shake as her breath hitched.

"Show me." Morrell repeated, and Eva snapped, "I can't!" She yelled, and all the glass in the room, the windows, the light bulbs, even the glass of water on the desk exploded, glass shattering everywhere. Eva had immediately ducked down, holding her arms over her head, but she didn't feel any glass shards on her skin. She frowned as she slowly peered over the desk, and her breath got caught in her chest.

The glass crystals were hanging in the air, just floating there. Eva's eyes flickered across the adorned office before she turned to Morrell again, "Our powers have two sides. A good side and a bad one. However, the powers don't decide which side they land on, we do." Morrell spoke slowly as she eased the glass shards to the ground and on the desk. "The powers are part of who you are Eva. Even if you have a little darkness, it's no match for the goodness in your heart. It doesn't matter where it came from. What matters now is that you control it."

Eva pushed herself up off the ground slowly, the residue of the surge still running through her body. She felt a little light headed but other than that, the surges didn't leave her as weak as they used to do. Her eyes flickered up to Morrell's face, "How can I control it?"

"Learn it."

Eva stared down at the withered pages of the grimoire. That was the first time she opened the book since she left the hospital – and it felt so difference. But when she held it, it gave her balance. She felt somewhat in control as she stared down at the English letters in their odd anagrams. She'd translated so much of the book too that she could read the things she didn't translate and actually understand them. It was different now. Before she was reading only to know. Now she was reading to learn.

She'd texted Derek about fifteen minutes ago so he could pick her up. She insisted on going to Julia's apartment again after that session, and since she didn't want anyone to know about it, she asked Derek to be the one to pick her from Eichen House. The thought of that place made Eva shiver, but part of was still curious about the patient she'd met. Daniel. But she didn't see him today.

Eva looked down at the page again, before her eyes flickered to the scented candle resting against the coffee table. Eva frowned before she held her fist up. Dóiteáin. The word echoed in her head as if it had always been there. Eva knew it meant fire. She just didn't know how she knew that. But she chanted it over and over in her head, imagining the candle being lit. Everything in the book stressed on how much Eva needed to believe what she imagined, and she when finally opened her eyes – so sure that she was going to be able to do this – she opened her palm.

And the small flame caught onto the candle out of thin air.

"Impressive." Eva glanced over her shoulder to see Derek leaning by the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, surprised that she didn't even hear him walk in, and she quickly got up, slamming the grimoire shut.

"About…" Derek started as he looked down at his watch, "Two minutes, exactly." He breathed out before he looked up at her again. "You didn't hear me."

"What?" Eva asked, not looking up at him as she packed the grimoire into her bag.

"You didn't hear me while you were doing your little druid spell there." Derek repeated as Eva finally stood up and heaved out a long breath, then she picked up her bag and slung the straps over one shoulder. "I was focused." She explained as she shrugged a little to step around the couch. Derek didn't fix the damage – the cupboard was still broken, as well as the picture frame. But the place was back in order.

"I thought you were going to destroy the rest of the apartment today." Derek commented, and Eva shot him a glare, only she spied the small smile that curled on his lips, and she rolled her eyes. "I realized violence is not the answer to my problems. Control is."

"You're talking like a werewolf." Derek mumbled as he pressed the elevator's button.

"I might as well be one. I think I'm just as dangerous." Eva shrugged a little as she stepped when Derek held the door open for her, but frowned when she heard him scoff, "What is it?"

"You couldn't be that dangerous." Derek shook his head once as he looked down at her, "You're too good."

Eva turned away from Derek and stared ahead, but a small smile crept onto her lips as well. "Thanks." She mumbled, blinking once.

"Don't feel so grateful. Sometimes being dangerous is what you need to survive in this town." Derek muttered under his breath as he looked down at her, "You need to learn to control what you have, and quickly."

"And you really need to stop spying on my sessions." Eva complained as she crossed her arms over her chest, and Derek shook his head as he chuckled, before he pushed the elevator door open once they were on the ground floor. Derek led Eva out of the elevator just as someone else brushed by her shoulder and walked in, but the small clash left Eva staggering as a sudden coldness ran through her being.

She looked over her shoulder at the figure as it disappeared behind the doors, and frowned. She didn't even know whether that person was male or female, but all she knew is that she had the oddest coldness run through her when she moved past that person.

"Eva?" Derek asked, and Eva turned to him, staring at where he stood by the building's door, before she shook her head once and walked forward towards him, past him. Derek's eyes followed her as she went down the stairs before he closed the door. "What happened back there?" He asked as they approached his car, and Eva shrugged as she looked up at him.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Derek pointed out, and Eva shook her head slowly, "I'm fine." She breathed out, not really sure if she was reassuring him or herself, before she quickly got into the car. Derek glanced sideways at her skeptically as he watched her bring out her phone, and turned to the windshield.

Eva tried to shake off the odd feeling before she distracted herself by texting Stiles, telling him she just left Eichen House. She smiled at the picture reply of him pouting while holding his algebra book, and shook her head slowly. She looked up at street ahead before she turned to Derek, "Thank you." She breathed out, realizing she hadn't actually thanked him.

"For what?" Derek muttered, not turning his eyes from the road.

"For letting me into the apartment, picking me up, not…hating me…" Eva started, her voice trailing off as she got hesitant. Derek glanced sideways at her and smiled a bit, "I never hated you. I thought you were like your aunt."

"But you hated my aunt." Eva started hesitantly, before the realization dawned upon her, "Unless you don't."

Derek sighed heavily as he glanced sideways at her, remaining silent. "That's why you still have the apartment."

"You're smart." Derek pointed out quietly, and Eva pursed her lips before she took a deep breath, "Look, it's none of my business." She started and leaned back into the seat, "I just wanted to say thank you. And if I could…ever help you like you're helping me." Eva started, before she let herself become silent. She glanced sideways at Derek, before she fell silent.

"Actually, there's something you can help me with." Derek started as the car slowed to a stop in front of a red light and he turned to Eva, who blinked as she turned to look at him. Derek's eyes flickered to her bag, before he turned to hold her gaze slowly. Eva frowned before she looked down at her phone when she felt it buzz in her hands again. She looked up at Derek, who gave her his silent consent to her unspoken question, and Eva smiled gratefully before she quickly texted Stiles to meet them by Derek's loft.

Eva got out of the Camaro and glanced around, her eyes barely remembering how the building looked like in the light of day. The two times she'd been here, both intentionally and unintentionally, were at night, and both were nights she didn't want to remember.

She smiled when she saw the powder blue of Stiles' jeep in the parking lot, and headed towards him. "Hey, you." Stiles muttered as he took her hand and leaned down to peck her lips once. Eva lifted both brows, widening her eyes a little as she gestured back to Derek. "I can kiss my girlfriend if I want to." Stiles pointed out, and Eva pursed her lips into a small smile, "Fine." She mumbled, before they turned back to Derek who stood by his car, waiting.

They followed silently to the loft – Eva's eyes registering every detail. But she already knew the place. The more vivid memories were the bitter ones – Eva remembered when her aunt had made her way to Derek's loft with the intention of taking Derek. Eve couldn't exactly recall how she felt, but she knew she felt anxious. Felt anxious because she felt what her aunt felt – she wanted the sacrifices to be done, and wanted the price to be paid. It was a viciousness Eva never knew she could experience, one that she'd numbed out until she'd jumped into that lake. Now it all came back.

Her eyes flickered across the loft as Derek walked in, remembering every aspect of the fight that had gone down here. Stiles had started to walk in but noticed how Eva's gaze had turned into an aimless one, almost like she was deep in thought, and he realized too that she must be remembering what happened. Eva felt the memories play back in her mind like a video tape – every feeling coming back with them. The satisfaction of over powering a werewolf, the pleasure in pouring salt into Derek's wounds, the fearlessness. Eva remembered it clearly – she was dauntless. And right now she was scared of almost everything.

Before Eva had come to the realization of all those emotions rushing back, Stiles' voice broke her out of her epiphany. "Eva, are you okay?"

"Yeah." She breathed out quickly as she turned to look at him, and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…" Eva started as she turned back towards Derek, who stood by the opposite end of the loft, holding her gaze for a minute there. "I remembered what happened here, that's all." Eva mumbled before she looked up at Stiles again and smiled briefly, "I'm fine."

Stiles pulled his brows together, but followed Eva into the loft. They both waited by the poor excuse of a living room while Derek disappeared upstairs, before he came back with a wooden case in his hands. Eva's eyes flickered all over the case – she recognized a lot of Celtic symbols engraved on the case, and immediately realized what it was, "A preservation case." She muttered before she looked up at Derek, who nodded once.

When Derek poured the contents of the case though, Stiles jumped back, one arm stretched in front of Eva as the other put some distance between him and the coffee table, before he brought his fist against his mouth, "Ah…Are those…are those claws?" Stiles muttered, his face twisting in distaste as he looked up at Derek, who rolled his eyes once. "Yes, they're claws. They're my mothers. All that remained of her, actually."

"Dude." Stiles whispered, before he eventually sighed. He could somewhat understand, seeing as he'd lost his mother too. When he looked down at Eva, she seemed unfazed by the sight of them. She did frown and look up at Derek, waiting for him to explain what he needed.

"I need to ask her something." Derek started, "Something important. I've only heard of one way to do this, though." Derek explained as he looked down at the claws, "A werewolf is to embed them into their own hands, and you know the rest."

"But I'm not werewolf. How can I help?" Eva asked, still somewhat standing behind Stiles, who was uneasy about the direction this conversation was taking.

"Druids have the ability to connect…using things like this. Claws. Objects that hold power." Derek started, "It's called Divination." Derek explained, "The risk of asking a werewolf is great, because both can get harmed. But this is fairly safe."

"Fairly safe?" Stiles started now, narrowing his eyes, "The last time Eva did something similar to what you're suggesting, she passed out and her nose started bleeding, and she was perfectly healthy by then. It's not fairly safe."

Before Eva could speak in defense, a voice had interrupted their conversation, "He's right you know. Rituals like these are rarely ever safe."

Eva looked back, her gaze immediately finding Peter's. Just like that, the power exploding from the tips of her fingers, every god forsaken light bulb in the room exploding and shattering into pieces as she laid eyes on the man who'd helped her aunt to begin with. Possibly the one person Eva could truly blame. And she was. She was blaming him for everything.

"Feisty." Peter smirked as he stepped towards them, before he turned to Derek, "He's lying, though. It's not because it's dangerous to werewolves that he sought you out." Peter commented, "It's because only a werewolf who's related by blood can pull it off. And who is the only surviving member of the Hale family aside from Derek & Cora?"

"You're a dick, you know that?" Stiles commented, clicking his tongue once before he looked back at Derek and frowned, almost in apology. Eva, however, had her glare still fixed on Peter. "You know, glaring at me won't give you your revenge." Peter commented as he stepped towards her, "But I see it in your eyes. You want your revenge, don't you? You've got that spark. The same one your aunt had."

"I'm not like her." Eva muttered, still glaring at him, trying to will herself to do something. She was so focused she could feel the sweat break on her forehead, but she didn't have a clear image in her mind of what she wanted to do. All that power was aimlessly pent up inside her.

"Eva…" Stiles whispered as he reached over to take her hand, and Eva started to feel all the tension leave her body. She eventually breathed out and looked down at her hand interlocked with Stiles', then sighed heavily as she looked up at him and nodded gratefully.

"It's a shame to see such potential go to waste." Peter commented, and Eva had to close her eyes to keep herself calm, her hand squeezing Stiles', before Peter started again, "But let's move onto actually more interesting topics, shall we?" Peter quirked a brow as he turned to Derek, "I'm willing to do your ritual…for a price."

Derek narrowed his as he started to gather the claws back into the wooden case, "Of course." He breathed out an amused chuckle, "What do you want?" He asked as he looked up at Peter again.

"I want to keep them." Peter commented, "But I also want you to ask Talia something as well." Peter finished as he turned to Eva, and she blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I need you to ask Talia something for me." Peter repeated, actually slowing down his words. "You owe me a favor, after all, don't you?" Peter tilted his head as he moved to stand beside Derek, "I'll do this for you, Derek, if you let me keep them. And you are going to ask Talia something for me, Eva." Peter explained slowly, sounding as if everything was going according to some plan he had. "It will save us all the time Eva's going to waste trying to figure out how to use her divination. And everyone gets out a winner."

The whole room was silent, until, "I'll do it." Eva started, "If you give Derek what he wants without pulling any tricks, I'll do you your favor." Eva finally decided, and Stiles turned to her, his eyes wide. She shook her head quickly before he started to argue about Eva's decision. Peter flashed his signature crooked smile, and Eva suddenly felt dread agreeing to his terms, "You two teenagers better leave. It's not going to be pretty." Peter mumbled as he looked down at his right hand, flexing his fingers. Eva's eyes lingered curiously on a finger that seemed to be sown together, but didn't speak, her attention drawn towards something else Peter had said, "Leave?"

"Well you don't expect me to use the claws twice in one day. It is dangerous." Peter whispered incredulously, and Eva looked up at Stiles before she nodded once, "Very well then." Peter mumbled as he turned to Derek, "Shall we?"

Derek's gaze met Eva's, and she smiled at him subtly.

"I need you to pretend like you're going to help me." Derek told her, having explained the whole ordeal with his mother's claws. "Peter will not be easily convinced – and he'll want something in return. I don't want to owe him any favors, so I need him to only ask for something I could do for him without actually strangling him." Derek explained as he drove, his eyes occasionally flickering from the road to Eva.

"Peter's probably that much of an idiot." Eva commented, "How do you know he'll be there, though?" Eva asked as she turned to Derek, who chuckled once, "Oh, he'll be there. He has nowhere else to go."

"So he's still living at the loft with you?" Eva commented, and Derek nodded once.

"You really think Peter will be convinced?" Eva asked again as they approached the parking lot, and Derek smiled as he glanced sideways at her, "Peter might be smart, but he's not too smart to be outsmarted. He'll know it's something important that I want to ask my mother and he'll want to be part of it somehow. I guess you could call it his flaw – he wants to think he can control everything."

Eva nodded slowly as Derek parked the car, "Just make sure to act clueless in front of Stiles."

"I was possessed for fairly a long time to know exactly how to act by now. Don't worry." Eva smiled sadly as she turned sideways to look at Derek, and they both nodded once.