Authors Note:

Did you realise that 75% of the fics on here for Teen Wolf are about OC's (most are terribly summarised and written), 10% is Sterek stuff and the last 5 is just other stuff about canon characters eating cake and what if Isaac fell in love with his freezer or something. Actually I made that last one up, but still! I am going to make this story as interesting as I can, without falling into the terrible Mary Sue category! That rant was pointless, anyways...

Now we're having a flashback. Whoop whoop for history! After this we're going back to the normal plot, but I wanted to flesh out the Venators pasts. I hate being cryptic, so the last chapter with all the talk of the 'bad blood' between the Hales and Ventors I had to write this. We also get to see some more about Sam which I felt was important. Why am I giving you spoilers... just read you fantastic person!

Enjoy :)

Chapter Three: There's History Between Us.

TEN YEARS AGO.

"No. I'm not doing this." Sam refused as his parents stood threateningly in front of him, "I'm not testing to see if Derek's a werewolf!"

Brian and Andrea shared concerned glances and nodded after a moment of silence. They had to tell their son the truth.

"We think he killed the girl, Sam." Brian said outright.

"Why would he kill her? Before we left on a hunting trip, he was head over heels for Paige. I doubt that he brutally murdered the girl he loved." Sam's voice rose.

"That's the most disturbing part of it." Andrea shook her head, beginning to pace back and forth.

"My friend is not a killer."

"Then there should be no problem doing a small test on him. Give him the ring and if he doesn't react to the wolfsbane in it, we'll drop it and apologise until the end of time." Brian held his sons shoulders firmly.

The three hadn't been overly noisy, but just enough, that it woke little Avery. She walked down the flight of stairs to the foyer, where the rest of the family was, rubbing her eyes. Her spare hand was tightly gripping a stuffed teddy creatively named 'Mr. Bear'. As a ten year old she may not have been the most knowledgable in the world of the supernatural, but she knew what they were talking about. Fighting off the big bad evil werewolves. The ones that took the children away from their parents and vise-versa. Her family were a bunch of heroes protecting the innocent. She couldn't wait to be like them.

"We have to fight the wolves Sam." she came from the last step and grasped her brothers hand, smiling. Their mother walked closer and rested her hand on Brian's shoulder. They all stood there silently, connected.

"If you're so sure, then what do you have to worry about?" Andrea smiled sweetly, she hoped too that they were wrong.

"Only if you're right." Sam angrily shook them off and rushed up to his room, slamming his door behind him.

The first thing he would do when he saw his best friend, after their trip, would be sealing a terrible fate he couldn't avoid. Confirming Derek's death. He tried to go to sleep, laying in the darkness of his room. He kept seeing Derek die in different ways over and over again. Cut in half, beheaded, electrocuted, shot, poisoned, stabbed... heartbroken. He hoped that Derek was human with all his might. If he wasn't, and had indeed killed innocent Paige, Sam would personally put a bullet in the back of his skull and mount his head on a pike as a warning for all of his kind to see.

Best friend or not, werewolves were the enemy. Werewolves that had killed? They were demonic.

xxxx

Sam was just about to leave the school hallway, to go to lacrosse try outs, when a hand smashed his locker door closed.

"So, you're back." the person responsible slouched onto the adjacent locker.

"Yep." Sam avoided making eye contact, as he reopened his the door to get his bag out, "Do you think Coach will let me back on the team?"

"Depends if you're staying for long. If your parents drag you across the country again, I doubt it."

"It's been too long, Derek." Sam looked up and stopped giving him the cold shoulder, a huge grin consuming his face. Derek smiled brightly back as they they gave each other a great big friendly hug, patting one another on the back warmly. Sam was trying his hardest not to let his heart falter.

"That it has, Sammy. So what'd you bring me back this time?" Derek pushed his old friend ahead of him as he swung around his lacrosse stick.

"Don't laugh... but a ring." Sam gushed slightly.

"Serious?" Derek stopped in his place and burst out laughing, "Let's go find a chapel and get married then. I'm sure that's legal in Las Vegas."

"I'm not that thoughtful." Sam laughed too and continued, relieved that Derek wasn't thinking much of it. He hadn't noticed the smell of wolfsbane which was a good sign.

"So why a ring?" Derek asked him as they walked down a flight of stairs.

"Because it's insanely cool." Sam reached to zip open his bag and pulled out the silver thing. Admittedly, as soon as Derek laid eyes on it, he too thought it was 'insanely cool'. It had some kind of celtic design in the middle of it, and it looked like it could open up to fit something small inside. If only he had being paying more attention...

"It's yours." Sam chucked it over to him. This was the moment of truth. Derek smiled as the ring flew the air and he caught it in his bare hands. A bit of the wolfsbane inside had come out, as Sam had thrown it, and he'd seen the purple powder be inhaled by his suspect. Initially Derek didn't react, some wolves weren't as sensitive, but after what felt like an eternity he frowned. More of the wolfsbane had spilled from it, like expected, causing Derek to drop the ring and fall back wheezing.

Sam's head dropped. In place of the smile he had been wearing, took hold a harder frown. Derek looked up at him with shock realising that Sam had expected this kind of effect would happen.

"You did kill her." Sam could have started to cry at this revelation. Derek slumped down on a row of lockers as he couldn't control himself shifting back and forth. His eyes were icy blue... more confirmation.

"You were my friend." Sam continued, his voice strained with hurt.

"You don't understand. I didn't kill her because I wanted to." Derek was trying to cough away the wolfsbane in the back of his throat, but it wouldn't budge.

"She was cut up and bitten! She had claw marks through her stomach." Sam protested, picking the ring up and putting it on, "That's not accidental."

"I didn't bite her. She was dying already. Her body was rejecting the bite, she asked me to make it stop."

"Who's the Alpha that bit her then?" Sam pulled his fist back meaning to strike Derek if he didn't respond. Derek used all the strength in his body to push away Sam and make a run for it. His lungs were burning as he ran, the other boy chasing behind him. Derek was almost at the exit as Sam came from behind and tackled him to the ground. Fist raised, he brought the first punch down hard, drawing blood as he did.

"WHO?!" Sam screamed as he continued to punch Derek back and forth. Derek was trying to fight back tears as his supposed friend continued to bash him around. He would push him off only to receive another punch. The face. The stomach. The head. He was getting weaker and weaker. The energy was draining from his system.

"Please." Derek was pleading as Sam threw him across the floor and was preparing the strike him again.

"You were supposed to be normal!" Sam screamed, as his voice cracked through tears, "You were supposed to be my friend!"

"I am." Derek was holding his hands up in surrender, "I am!"

"You're a wolf. I'm a hunter. We're not friends." Sam spat in Derek's face, "I had hoped that I was wrong."

Derek got to his feet trembling, his face was covered in blood and gashes from where Sam's fist had collided. His mouth was swimming with the taste of rust.

"You're a hunter?" Derek's own gaze had hardened and now the two stood alone in the hallway as the sun had begun to set. It was getting darker.

Sam looked down at his own fists to see a mixture of his and Derek's blood covering them. He felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't tell whether it was because he had just beat his best friend to a pulp or the fact that said friend was a murderous werewolf. A deadly mixture of guilt and hatred had begun to boil inside of him.

"Yes." Sam replied coldly. Both boys had wiped away their tears; a line had been drawn in the sand, "You need to go."

"No." Derek replied, his hands shaking in fear.

"My parents are going to be here any minute waiting to hear the verdict."

"What are you going to tell them?" Derek's words echoed in the emptiness. Sam paused and shut his eyes. Derek continued to stare at Sam as he breathed out the last of the wolfsbane in his system. He could hear Sam's heart raging in its place. Sam was trying to decide what to do with Derek, he wanted to kill him. He wanted to make him pay for lying to him. But he also wanted to protect him.

"I'm going to give you a second chance." Sam looked up, throat dry, "You said it was an accident, that you helped her find peace?"

Derek nodded and took a step forward. Sam flinched and flashed Derek a dangerous glare not to come any closer.

"You said that another Alpha did it." Sam continued as Derek stopped moving. The wolf nodded again, "Tell me the Alpha's name and I'll tell my parents you're not a wolf. I'll cover for you."

"Ennis." Derek said without second thought, he was still blaming him for Paige's death. Sam nodded a thank-you at the beaten-up wolf.

"We weren't staying for long anyways. They'll want to track the Alpha down instead." Sam said, realising he should ask more, "Do you have a pack?"

"I'm not an omega, if that's what you're asking." Derek didn't give any identities away.

"Warn them to be cautious. There are more hunters coming here soon. I don't want to see anyone hurt that doesn't need to be." Sam turned away, heading towards the school exit. Derek went to say something, but by the time he opened his mouth, Sam was gone.

xxxx

TWO WEEKS LATER.

Neither of the boys had spoken. They didn't need to. Sam kept up pretenses with his parents that all was swell. He came up with lies about the things that they had gotten up to at school. Teasing girls and being bummed on Sam not making the lacrosse team. Brian had been annoyed, his son was a werewolf hunter for one, much more agile that most boys on the team. He would have had a word to the coach unless Sam had told him he didn't care anyway. They'd be off again in a month or so hunting down killers. He didn't have the guts to tell his parents the truth; he'd missed try-outs while almost killing Derek after finding out he was the very thing they despised.

One afternoon, upon getting home, he found his mother shrieking from upstairs. Grabbing a gun from underneath one of the coffee tables he raced to the source of the noise. Avery's bedroom. Andrea was clutching a small body in her arms, as she cried out in anguish.

"My baby." she kept repeating over and over. Sam put the gun down as he saw the blood stained letter next to her. A bolded spiral was almost a signature at the bottom.

"This is our town. You play by our rules. If you harm one of ours, we'll harm one of yours. Eye for an eye... Leave this town and we won't lay a single finger on your family again."

Sam peered around his mother to see who the little body belonged to. It was Avery. She was as battered and bruised as Derek had been. She even had the slashes in her face that had matched. Sam could remember that face as clear as day, it had plagued him in nightmares since he had beaten Derek. His heart stopped when he thought that she wasn't moving. Had they killed his sister? Had Derek's pack murdered Avery?

He breathed a sigh of relief as she whimpered in her Mothers arms, holding tightly. He got to his knees and held his head in his hands. She was alright, his little sister wasn't dead. Despite the future counseling she may have to endure, she'd live. Andrea was checking the child over to ensure there were no bites on her body, they didn't want to deal with that as a problem.

"Just some small scratches sweetheart. You were very brave." Andrea picked up her daughter and placed her softly on the bed. Avery snuggled against Andrea again.

"Do you know what they looked like?" Andrea asked softly, inspecting the slashes on her daughters cheek. Only one of them was slightly deep.

"They looked like wolves." Avery explained she was being braver than anyone could expect, "They kicked the door down and I ran to hide."

"What colour were their eyes?" Sam asked, Andrea gave him an angry glare. She didn't want to push her daughter too much.

"One had red eyes and the other two had yellow ones." Avery nodded, picturing them inside her head. She was not afraid of big bad wolves, her face just stung, especially when her salty tears had gotten into her cuts.

"But I got in the cupboard," Avery wanted to tell the story of her bravery, "I got the electric stick Dad gave me for my last birthday. I think they heard me breathing. The yellow eyed one opened the closet but I got his leg with the stick." she was smiling. Sam got up to go fetch the first aid kit while she continued.

"One of the ugly yellow eyes snapping it in half and scratched me and pushed me over. He was very strong. Then they roared at me and dropped the note. I didn't cry the whole time!" the more she thought about it, the happier she grew. This was her first proper encounter with a wolf and she had won. She'd fought off the evil people.

"I'm very proud of you." Andrea stroked her hair and felt relieved herself. Brian and herself had raised their child well, never to stand down in the face of danger. When Sam re-entered the room with the first aid kit, she could tell he knew more than he was letting on.

"Derek's a wolf isn't he." she said it outright. Sam looked up, caught in her piercing gaze, as her expression changed to one of disappointment. The look on his face gave it all away. Brian was out there now with the rest of the hunters looking for the werewolf alpha, Ennis. It seemed their cause was lost.

"I used the ring like you told me." Sam explained emotionally, "He reacted. I got so mad... I just kept hitting him over and over again. Beating him and screaming." The scene flashed back on his mind. The more he explained, the more his mother kept nodding over and over. She got to her feet after cleaning Avery's wounds and putting a large plaster over them. She believed what her son had told her, she believed that Derek had been telling the truth. She never thought he was the sort of boy who could attack someone like that, werewolf or otherwise. To an extent his actions were noble. But it relieved her to know that the alpha, Ennis, was still the main priority.

"I need to call your father and discuss this." Andrea said once Sam was done.

Soon the Venators were gone. They had beaten a previous record for 'shortest time spent in a town'. They'd only been back for just four weeks when their bags were packed and they were travelling across the country again.

Heated discussions had determined that the Argents would take over the post in Beacon Hills while the Venators held watch with five other hunting groups in Manhattan. There was a wolf epidemic starting over their too. The Argents already had a lead on three packs trying to make trouble around Beacon Hills. Gerard had even been brought on this one too. They left the secret of Derek Hale's true identity alone, thanks only to the pleas of desperation from Sam.

All the Argents had to know, was that a local wolf pack attacked Avery and they weren't equipped well enough to handle the situation. In reality, their shortcomings were purely psychological rather than physical.

No sorries. No good-byes. Best friends torn apart, before they even had the chance to reconcile.

xxxx

FOUR YEARS LATER.

"Oh my god!" Avery covered her mouth, as she watched the news. There were dozens of television crews staked outside the house that firefighters were still trying to put out. A house that had belonged to the Hale family.

"This is Karol Summers reporting to you live for NBC News. There a several confirmed deaths onsite, but we can confirmed two survivors though. One is in intensive care for third degree burns, but stable, and the other escaped with only small smoke inhalation damage—. "

"Sam. Sam!" she called as her brother had been practicing loading up his bow and arrow for a hunting trip later that night. Ever since he'd turned nineteen and finished school all he had done was partake in the family business. Hunting and killing the dangerous wolves, but his encounter with Derek had always haunted him. It kept him grounded.

"What Avy?" he moped in, halting when he saw what was on the news,"Is he alright?"

Sam didn't have to say who, for Avery to know who Sam was concerned about.

"We have more information of the two surviving members of the fire. We can now identify them as Peter and Derek Hale."

"I remember Derek's sister." Avery had sat down on the edge of the couch listening, hoping to hear more names. She had been to Cora Hale's house many times as when she was younger, they had been friends as children, "They can't all be dead."

But they were. Sam's actions four years ago had lead to this, whether he knew it or not. The Argents taking their place in Beacon Hill, then deciding to raise a family there. Kate finding out who the 'local pack' was. Her plan to manipulate Derek's affections. Learning how to commit arson and get off scott-free. It all came down to Sam's actions, in a twisted way.

None of them would know the truth about the Hale fire though, not until a new alpha began wreaking terror in Beacon Hills years later. Not until their own family was torn apart and thrust dangerously further into the world of the supernatural.