Chapter Nine: Thunder Sounds

There was a kind of restlessness in the air after the storm began to quiet down. Even Peter could feel it, standing at the edge of Beacon Hills, watching the town from a distance.

He had come back once again to see what was going on, to see if there were any weaknesses that he could use to his advantage. He learned after working with Deucalion that weakness was just as important as strength, because if you know how to manipulate both to your advantage, you could be untouchable.

That was why Peter had been spared all those years ago when Deucalion and his pack had come to Beacon Hills. Deucalion had been drawn in by Talia Hale, the true Alpha, and when things got bad, Peter found himself between a rock and a hard place- literally.

Deucalion had found Peter curious, like a child finds an ant under a microscope interesting. Even though Peter refused to help Deucalion kill anyone, Deucalion had seen through Peter's false sense of bravado. Later, Deucalion had approached Peter, offering him a place in his pack in exchange for the things that Peter knew.

At the time, Peter refused, seeing an opportunity to become the new Alpha, which had led to the fire and him nearly dying from his burns. But Deucalion had been there, healing Peter more quickly than his own body could, so Peter told him what he knew.

In the end, Deucalion had used what Peter had taught him to bring back Lyra's sister and old boyfriend, much like Peter had used that knowledge to bring himself back years later.

But now Deucalion was dead thanks to Lyra, and she had driven Peter out of Beacon Hills. So Peter vowed that he would not fail like Deucalion had, he would find a way to rob Lyra of all her power and he would kill all of her allies.

So he bid his time. He learned that patience was not only a virtue, but a necessity when it came to putting everything together to execute a plan that would devastate the town of Beacon Hills, along with an Alpha that would soon find herself alone again before she died.

Peter shook his head. Deucalion had been foolish and power hungry. Peter couldn't deny his own hunger for power, but he never considered himself a fool. He was too old and had been through too much. He knew that these kinds of things took time.

His lips curved.

Now he had a solid legion of wolves standing behind him, all ready to take down Lyra when he gave the word.

The idea had came to him when he had first been kicked out of town, when he was stumbling his way through the Oregon forests. He had found another Omega, and he quickly discovered that his wolf had beef with Lyra, who had driven him away from her and nearly killed him.

The Omega, a thin, seedy man named Cyrus, had told Peter his story. It seemed that when Lyra had been tracking down the Alpha pack, she had driven away any Beta, Omega, or Alpha that had crossed her path in hopes of building a pack. Being barely in control of her own power, Lyra had nearly torn Cyrus apart when he had approached her, and she left him for dead before running away.

Cyrus was not the only wolf who had encountered Lyra in her journey for revenge. More and more found Peter once he and Cyrus had spread the word that they were looking for those who had crossed her path. Peter was frankly surprised at how many there were. After some time, other wolves came to join him. Some were afraid of the power she held and didn't want to see her abuse it like Deucalion had. Some wanted it for their own.

So Peter allowed them all to join his pack, making grandeur promises that everything they wanted would come true. It was fortunate for him that many of these wolves were even more foolish than Deucalion, because they believed him. Only Cyrus knew of Peter's true agenda, and was willing to follow him if Peter allowed him to become his Beta when the time came, and if Peter allowed him to "soften up" Lyra before Peter delivered the final blow.

Peter had agreed, pleased with the plan.

Now it was time to start putting it into action.

Ooo0ooO

Lyra woke up to the sound of thunder rumbling.

She stretched and yawned, before looking over at Derek. He was still sleeping, his back turned to her.

She smiled. Getting out of bed, she stretched some more before slipping on a pair of yoga pants and tying back her messy hair.

She walked downstairs and paused, another smile tugging at her lips.

The living room was still full of sleeping guests, who had been hesitant to split up during the storm, so they had chosen to stay each night at the Hale house. After about a week, the house seemed full, but Lyra didn't mind.

So she walked quietly into the kitchen and saw Scott standing by himself outside on the back porch. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she joined him.

Scott turned when he heard the door open and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," she said, moving to sit down beside him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep," Scott admitted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

"Nightmares?" Lyra asked, concerned.

The younger Alpha nodded. "Just vague stuff. I don't know. This storm is making me edgy."

"It's making all of us edgy," Lyra agreed, sipping her coffee.

Scott looked at her. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something. It was an idea I had, or really an idea Stiles had."

Lyra lifted a brow. "Okay, shoot."

"With everything going on with Peter… and with the allies he's gathering, Stiles said that maybe it would be best if we, you know, combined forces until this…uh, ends."

Lyra's brow scrunched together. "What does he mean 'combined forces'?"

"Instead of having two separate packs, form into one larger pack," Scott explained. "You know, safety in numbers."

Lyra blinked. "And you want to do that?"

"I think it's out best bet right now," Scott said. "We don't know how many people are actually following Peter. I've kind of talked to Abby about this too."

"What did she say?"

Scott looked at her again, meeting her gaze. "She's moving the Colorado pack down here as soon as possible. She said if you and I were joining our packs, she wanted to do the same with hers."

Lyra took a moment to absorb this. "So we're going to have everyone here, with three Alphas in charge?"

"Yeah, pretty much. What do you think?"

Lyra smiled slowly. "Should be fun. I don't think Peter will expect that." Then her smile faded. "But what about Sam and the kids?"

"They can stay hidden at the cottage," a voice said from behind Lyra and Scott. When they turned, Victoria smiled a little. "Besides, I like it here better for the time being, if you don't mind."

Lyra's smile widened. "I think that's a great idea."

"Has Peter been to the cottage?" Scott asked, glancing at Lyra.

Lyra thought back. "No, I don't think so. When I first got here, I stayed there only for a short time before I started staying with Derek at the loft. And when we stayed there when the Hale house was being rebuilt, he was MIA then he was gone for good…"

She looked at Victoria again. "I think Sam and Ryan and their kids should stay there. Maybe Pierce too, for the extra set of eyes."

Scott stood up, and helped Lyra up as well. "Let's tell the others."

Ooo0ooO

"Hah- I knew you'd like my genius idea!" Stiles crowed when Lyra and Scott told the others of the plan.

Lyra rolled her eyes, smiling wryly. "Yes, Stiles, you're a genius and we should always listen to your ingenious ideas."

Stiles pointed a finger at her, narrowing his eyes. "I sense the sarcasm, and I'm choosing to ignore it."

Lyra looked at Scott. "We should call Lydia and Allison. We're going to need both of them. I'll contact Chris."

Scott nodded. "I'll let my mom and Stiles' dad know too. We don't want another sacrifice disaster happening."

"No kidding," Stiles mumbled.

Cora leaned forward. "Should we spread the word? I mean, there's plenty of wolves who know about Scott and Lyra. Maybe they'll join us."

Scott and Lyra exchanged a look.

"Maybe," Lyra said cautiously. "We wouldn't want anyone from Peter's side sneaking into town to keep watch on us."

Derek nodded. "But we also can use reinforcements."

Cora stood and Lyra noticed she was fiddling with her rose gold bracelet. "I know some people. I can get them here. We can trust them."

Lyra met her gaze, then nodded. "All right. The more the merrier." She looked around. "We're going to need more pillows and blankets," she joked half-heartedly.

The others smiled a little too.

"What else should we do to get ready?" Kira asked.

Lyra looked over at her. The kitsune was always more quiet than the others, but her presence wasn't something you could overlook. If Lyra looked at her with her wolf eyes, she could see the fox spirit encircling over her body in a blanket of golden light.

"Do you have any ideas?" Lyra asked.

Suddenly, a loud crash of lightning rattled the windows, and was followed by thunder that shook the house.

Kira looked around. "There's other ways to fight," she explained. "Like how the Argents fight. It would give us an edge, since not all of us can shift without the full moon. Plus, I doubt they would expect that as well."

"What do you have in mind?" Scott asked her.

"I can show you what I know once the others are here. I think I would like to swap ideas with this Allison girl," Kira said, her eyes gleaming eagerly.

Lyra smirked. "Sounds like a plan. I'll go call Chris now."

Ooo0ooO

Stepping into the other room, Lyra picked up the phone and started dialing.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness consumed her and she stumbled, knocking into the kitchen counter. The world spin and her vision doubled and blurred, and she quickly turned and heaved into the kitchen sink.

A pair of warm hands were on her back, rubbing in soothing circles, and her hair was pulled away from her face.

Lyra gagged and coughed, shuddering. Then she stiffened as the wolf within began to shift. The hands grabbing the counter elongated and grew sharp claws and she felt her fangs sliding into place. A haze filled her mind, which was tinged with red, and she snarled for a moment.

"Lyra?" Derek called.

Lyra blinked. Her hands and body were back to normal, as though she hadn't shifted at all. The sour taste of bile was still in her mouth, so she turned on the faucet and rinsed it out, spitting and wiping her mouth.

She turned to look at Derek, who looked concerned.

"Are you all right?" Derek asked, brushing the hair away from her eyes.

Lyra still felt shaky. She shook her head. "I don't know what happened," she gasped. "I just got dizzy and suddenly I was changing."

Derek frowned. He got a wet paper towel and pressed it to Lyra's forehead, which felt clammy. "Maybe you should go lie down. I can call Chris."

Lyra breathed in, then nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks."

She walked upstairs slowly, leaning on the banister. When she crawled back into bed, she rested on her back and exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. Spots danced behind her lids and she winced, willing the odd wave of sickness to pass.

She focused on her breathing and before she dozed off, she made a note to make a call to their town vet, who she was hoping could give her some answers.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf.

Author's Note: Please review!