Chapter Six: Letting Go

The following morning, Derek woke up to an empty bed and a very quiet house.

His brow furrowed. He was used to Lyra waking up early to go for a run, but usually she was back by now, either doing her yoga to cool down or was sitting on the front porch, waiting for him with a cup of coffee.

Suddenly, a knock sounded from the door. When Derek answered it, he found Isaac and his sister standing at the doorway, each wearing a worried expression.

He blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Peter," Cora said, stepping around Derek so her and Isaac could come inside. "He visited us in Colorado."

Derek felt the blood drain from his face.

Isaac looked around. "Where's Lyra?"

Derek ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the wall. "I... don't know. What do you mean he came to visit?"

Cora looked grim as she sat down on the couch. "It happened a few days after we got back from the last time we saw you. I was out on patrol with Abby and he just showed up. He said something about seeing all of us soon. Before we could grab him, two of his goons showed up and knocked us out. Matt found us and took us back to the main house until we woke up. Isaac and I left as soon as we could."

Isaac moved into the room, leaning against the opposite wall. "We thought you and Lyra should know. Abby and Matt are on standby in case their pack needs to move."

"Do you know when Lyra is going to be back?" Cora asked, looking up at her brother.

Derek frowned. "No."

Isaac stood up. "I'll go look for her," he offered. "Abby wants you to call anyway, Derek."

Derek stood up. "I can look for Lyra-,"

Cora interrupted him. "No, Derek. Let Isaac go."

Isaac and Derek exchanged a brief look. Isaac didn't look away from the look in Derek's eyes. He was no longer his Alpha. He was no longer an Alpha at all. Isaac then turned and walked out of the house.

Ooo0ooO

Lyra was sitting alone in the waist deep grass of the meadow that was close by the cottage she owned. She could hear the rush of the stream nearby, she could smell the sunshine and the flowers.

Her eyes were closed as she breathed in, and out, deeply, rhythmically.

She had barely slept the night before, since she was afraid that if she did, she would hurt Derek.

When she did, she dreamt of something she hadn't for a very long time.

She had been alone, like she was now, in a field of mountain lilacs on the side of a hill. She was younger than she was now, about fourteen years old. Her hair was long, to her waist, and shone gold in the sunlight.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she opened her eyes, her father sat down beside her, smiling. She felt her heart lurch in her chest at the sight of him.

"Dad," she breathed.

Robert Peterson didn't look like an Alpha to a large werewolf pack. With his messy blonde curls and wire-rimmed glasses, he looked more like a librarian. His eyes were bright blue, like Abagail's. He smiled at his daughter. "Hello, my little Lyre."

Lyra felt herself smile, even though tears pricked her eyes. He always called her that, since he was the one who insisted on naming her after the constellation and the story of Orpheus. "You're such a nerd, Dad," she heard herself say.

A soft, warm laugh came from Lyra's left. She was shocked to see her mother, who was still laughing as she sat down next to her daughter. Her violet eyes sparkled humorously. "She has a point, Rob."

Robert pouted. "Glad to see you're on my side, Margaret."

Suddenly, Abby appeared on the grass in front of Lyra, stretched out on her stomach, rolling her eyes at her parents. She looked exactly how Lyra remembered her when she was twelve, all pale blonde curls and scuffed elbows and knees.

Lyra felt herself trembling. Her heart expanded, filled with love and pain at the sight of her family together again. The small voice in the back of her mind whispered that this wasn't real, this was only a dream. But God, she wanted it to be real.

Robert wrapped an arm over Lyra's shoulders. "How's my favorite Beta? Did you train today with David?"

Lyra winced inwardly at the memory of Matt's father, who had also died the night that the Alpha Pack attacked the Colorado pack.

"Yeah," she told him. "We worked on my hand to hand combat."

Then her mother turned to her, her expression somber. "We are so proud of you, Lyra. I hope you know that."

"I... I know, Mom."

"We'll always be watching over you," Margaret said reassuringly, reaching out to brush away the hair from Lyra's eyes.

"We love you, Ly," Robert told her. "We always will."

Lyra looked at them both, not noticing how she was now her regular age, and Abby had vanished again. "I miss you," she choked out. "More than anything."

"We know," Margaret said, sadness tingling her violet eyes. "We miss you too. But you have a family now, Lyra. A pack. You can't keep holding on forever."

"Holding onto the past prevents us from moving forward," Robert said, sounding like he was paraphrasing something he read in a book.

"I don't want to move forward!" Lyra shouted. "Not without you!"

Margaret pulled her daughter against her shoulder, bearing her weight and catching her tears. "You have to. We knows it's hard. But you still have your sister and Matt, plus everyone from Beacon Hills. You have to take this opportunity, Lyra. Not everyone gets a second chance to start fresh."

"And don't forget," her father began, "It's not goodbye. Not forever."

When Lyra opened her eyes, she immediately left, bursting into tears the moment she was outside. She wanted nothing more than to be alone, but now that she was, the quiet seemed to mock her.

Then Isaac was there, sitting down beside her. She recognized his scent right away, and didn't open her eyes just yet.

"We were wondering where you were," he told her. She imagined he was lifting a brow.

"I wanted to be alone."

"You're always alone. Or at least, you sure make sure you stay that way."

Lyra opened her eyes and looked at Isaac.

He wore a disgruntled look. "You're the only person I know who can be surrounded be people, and will still look alone."

Lyra rubbed a hand over her arm, touching the band tattoo she had. "No I don't," she protested weakly.

Isaac gave her another look. "Lyra, you can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to us."

"But-,"

"Lyra. Don't. We know that you're going through a lot. You've gone through a lot. But if you keep isolating yourself, you're going to get yourself killed. We all want to help you, but you also have to help yourself."

Lyra stayed silent for a long time, thinking about that. She twisted her wedding ring again and again. "I never got to say goodbye," she finally said, breaking the silence.

"Do you want to?" Isaac asked softly.

Lyra glanced at him, then nodded. "I think I have to. I can't move forward withouy..."

"Letting go," Isaac finished.

Then he stood up, and offered a hand to help her up.

"Come on. Cora and I have to tell you something first."

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf.

Author's Note: Please review!