Cora's p.o.v
Sunday
"Mum!" I yell, smelling gasoline. I'm in my chains, the full moon's out and I need to be chained up. I hear the distinct sound of a lighter. It clicks and soon I smell the flames. "Mum! Dad! Peter!" I yell, tugging at my chains. My feet heat up and I know the fire's below me, it's in the basement. I hear cries of pain, I hear Mum howling out. "MUM!" I scream. I pull at the cuffs violently. A frantic and burnt Peter comes stumbling behind me. "Peter? Peter?! What's happening?!"
"F-fire" he says, pulling myself over to me. Then he stops moving.
"Uncle Peter? Peter!" I yell. The cries below me get louder and the putrid smell of burning flesh fills my nose. I roar and literally burst out of my chains, ripping them to pieces. I fall down beside Peter, throwing up violently at the smells.
"C-Cora..get..get out of h-here" Peter says weakly. His face..he's covered in serious burns.
"I have to get you out first" I say. I drag him best I can out the door and onto the grass. I look at our house, it's engulfed in flames. I see hands desperately trying to get out from the basement. "NO!" I scream, running over. I try to find a way in but I can't. I can't go back in the front, the flames are too high. A hand grabs mine.
"Cora! Run! Get away from here!" it's Mum.
"Mum!" I cry out.
"Baby, go!" she orders. I can hear them screaming..burning to death.
"MUM!" i'm crying now.
"GO!" she yells, eyes turning alpha red. I feel myself being forced to submit. "I love you Cora" she says, flames licking up her body. I can't watch.
"I love you Mum" I sob into the grass, holding onto it tightly as my entire world it flipped on it's head and smashed into the concrete over and over. Their screams die down and that smell..it's everywhere and I can't get away from it. "I love you all" I cry heavily into the ground, body too frozen in shock to move. My heart's been shattered into a million pieces and it's like i'm trying to swallow glass when I breath. I hear sirens in the distance. I pull myself up, dizzy and drowning in my own tears. I stumble to where I left Uncle Peter. He's gone. "P-Peter?" I call out, looking around. I can't lose him too. I hear a fire engine pull up out front, people yelling frantically. I have to leave. I have to leave now. With one last glance at the house, I take off in a full sprint. I don't care where i'm going. I just have to get away from the people, the house..the smell. My tears get the best of me and I can't see. I trip on a tree root and tumble through the leaves. I cry and cry, sobbing and hyperventilating. My family..they're gone. They're all gone.
"Cora, wake up" someone's shaking me. "Come on Cora, please wake up" they plead. I open my eyes and my vision is blurred, someone's leaning over me.
"Wh-what?" I ask, voice filled with tears. A hand comes to my face, wiping the tears away. I blink a few times, clearing my eyes of tears. "Scott?"
"I'm here" he says, sitting down. I pull myself up, wiping my eyes properly. "Cora, what's wrong?" he asks.
"Just a stupid..dream" I lie. Not a dream, a memory. An unforgettable memory. The worst night of my entire life.
"Cora" Scott says, frowning at how upset I am.
"The fire..I saw it..re-relived it" I tell him. Scott's face falls. "I swear I tried to help them, I swear to God I tried to help" I tell him.
"I know-"
"She-she was holding my hand and I-I couldn't do anything" i'm starting to cry again.
"Cora-"
"Mum she..she told me to go. I did. I-I should have tried harder, I should have-"
"Cora" Scott says, raising his voice. I stop and look at him with wide eyes, tears streaming down my cheeks. "You did everything you could" he says, grabbing my hands.
"I-I.." I try but I don't even know what I want to say.
"Shhh" Scott hushes me, his eyes watery now too.
"I watched them all die" I whisper. "I just want my family to come home" I whimper, crying again. Scott brings his arms around me and I cry into his chest.
"I'm so sorry" he says, his voice breaking a little with tears.
..
Derek's p.o.v
I wake to something I thought I wouldn't hear. Cora's crying. I get out of bed and take the stairs 2 at a time up to her room.
"Cora?" I ask, walking into her room. Scott turns to me. "What are you doing?" I growl at Scott. He's on her bed with her, holding her againist him.
"Derek, wait" Scott says. I take a threatening step forward but I hear Cora sob into him and I stop.
"Cora?" she turns to me and her eyes are red and puffy from crying, her face stained with tears. I go over to her. "Cora, what's wrong?" I ask her.
"I-I was there. I was in the house when the fire happened" she says through her tears. "I was chained up and I tried to help..I couldn't get to them quick enough" she tells me.
"Cora" I say, bringing a hand to her back.
"I watched Mum burn and I.." she trails off, breaking down. She covers her mouth with her hand and starts to cry even harder. I immediantly move to hug her. Scott let's her go and moves out of my way.
"You need to leave" I say to Scott, showing him glowing blue eyes. Alpha or not, he needs to go right now before I do something i'll regret. He nods.
"Please make sure she's okay" he says, looking at Cora. I nod. He leaves and I turn back to Cora.
"I'm so sorry. I tried..I really did" she says.
"Hey" I say, grabbing her shoulders. "None of that was your fault, I promise" I assure her. She nods and I let her curl up in my lap, mourning. Us going there yesturday must have triggered this. I rub her back as she cries and it breaks my heart to see her this upset.
..
Cora sniffs and leans up again.
"I'm sorry" she says, voice hoarse from crying.
"You have nothing to apologise for" I tell her.
"I miss them so much" she says, voice cracking. If she hadn't just cried alot i'd say she was going to start again.
"So do I" I sigh sadly.
"I should tell you the whole story" she says, turning to me. Whole story? Cora tells me how she was chained up for the full moon, how she only had time to get Peter out. How she held Mum's hand and watched as they all burnt. How Peter disappeared and she ran away. It's only fair that I tell her why all that happened in the first place. I tell her about Kate, about how she used me to get to our family. Cora's eyes are set hard, angry. She knows Kate's still out there, how she's a were-jaguar. I assure her that Chris will find her and deal with her. Cora sighs sadly, nodding. A deadly thick silence falls over us by the time we're done. "Can I be alone?" she asks quietly. I nod. I kiss her temple and leave her in her room, I leave her to her privacy. I try to ignore the sounds of her growling, punching the wall, her angry tears that fall.
..
Scott's p.o.v
"Dude. You're being far too quiet, what's up?" Stiles asks me. I look up at him.
"Don't feel like talking" I shrug, picking at the grass we're sitting on.
"Talk to me" Stiles pushes. I sigh.
"I went to Derek's this morning to see Cora. She was crying in her sleep. I woke her up and she went off about the fire..she was in the house, she watched it all happen" I tell him sadly.
"Holy shit" Stiles breathes out, eyes falling.
"I tried to comfort her but I couldn't do much"
"Is she okay now?" Stiles asks.
"I hope so. Derek came in..he made me leave" I tell him.
"Does Derek know? About you kissing Cora?"
"No" I sigh. "Only you know. He saw me holding her and he wasn't happy"
"Don't worry, i'm sure everything will be fine" Stiles says with a small smile.
"He's busy with her now, i'm sure he'll swing by to see me later" I groan, dreading the thought of having that talk with him.
"You like her alot huh?" Stiles asks.
"I do" I admit.
"The universe has a funny way of balancing things out. Don't worry too much. Cora will be okay. You and Derek will be okay" Stiles assures me.
"I hope so" I say, mind drifting to Cora.
..
..
Derek's gotten a little glance at them together now..and how will he react? Favourite, follow and review!