Chapter Twenty Two: All My Power

Through the shadows, a lone black wolf walked. Its paws did not make a sound as it ghosted over the frozen, leaf strewn path. Its eyes, shifting between amber green and red, tracked its enemy.

The enemy was badly injured and its blood left an obvious trail through the otherwise unmarred white snow. The strong coppery scent filled the predator's nostrils, fulling its hunger, its desire to kill.

The black wolf inhaled deeply again, and growled as it stepped from the shadows into the pearly white rays of the moonlight.

The enemy, a distorted, bleeding mass that was both man and wolf, snarled feebly in an attempt to scare off the predator. Although this beats was itself a predator, tonight it was the prey, and it knew it.

The wolf stood tall, its ears laying back as it bared its large, sharp teeth. The hair along its spine rose menacingly.

And then it stopped. The monster faded away.

Instead, the large wolf faced a man, its intelligent eyes meeting his green eyes.

Derek stared back into its eyes, its familiar, warm eyes. "Mother," he breathed.

"You must choose, my son," the wolf said without opening its mouth. Its gaze bore into his. "This can only end two ways."

"Death," he said, lowering his gaze slightly. "But there's already been so much..."

From the ground burst a dandelion, unfurling its soft white petals.

"Or life," said the wolf. "But only you can choose."

Derek opened his eyes.

Ooo0ooO

The tall Omega was the first to attack, going straight for Scott. Another wolf lunged for Abigail, but it was Peter who faced off from Lyra.

While Scott and Abby battled their respective opponents, Peter and Lyra considered each other.

Lyra's gaze was alight with a red glow, her wolf lingering right below the surface, ready to burst free at the first sign of movement. Her eyes tracked Peter's every movement, every detail. She saw the bead of sweat on his brow, the nervous jump of the vein on his neck, the way his hand twitched towards his pocket, where a concealed weapon laid.

She didn't smirk again. She didn't even blink. It was like she was waiting. And whether it was for him to attack first, or just to drop dead, Peter wasn't sure.

But one thing was clear, one thing that that steady, unwavering gaze said- I'm the predator, and you're the prey.

Peter's lips peeled back at that, eyes flashing ice blue, and as he moved forward, ready to pull the loaded gun from his pocket, a looming shadow suddenly blocked his path.

With glowing golden eyes, Derek stared at his uncle, jaw clenched.

Peter's nostrils flared, taking in the scent of his nephew, fueled with the power Lyra had given him in order to save him. But when he looked into those eyes, he saw within them the reflection of the red eyed female Alpha that Derek looked so much like.

Ooo0ooO

Lyra moved slightly, suddenly at Scott's side, looking at the Omega wolf that had knocked her out, had cuffed her to a bed, had attacked her friends.

Her hands tightened into sharp nailed fists as the memory of that night briefly overcame her.

Rain, blood, flash bombs, pain, so much pain, screaming...

Her eyes squeezed shut against the onslaught, and she grappled for her anchor.

Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Abby, Derek... Herself.

Reaching within, she found her wolf. It stood alert and on trembling legs, ready to go, ready to fight. No longer was it hiding, so neither was she.

When she opened her eyes, her eyes were that perfect balance of violet and red, and together with Scott, they attacked the Omega.

Ooo0ooO

Scott watched as the Omega fell to the forest floor, bleeding from the clawed gash Scott had inflicted moments ago. His fist was still half-open, his elongated nails dripping with blood.

He heard himself roar, commanding the other wolf to stay down without words, his eyes filled with that red haze.

His gaze shifted up briefly.

Derek was engaged with Peter, both men using their claws to rip at each other. Abby was back to back with Isaac, and the others were occupied as well. His eyes scanned his Pack, and saw that they were all holding their own.

A familiar growl had him looking to his side.

Lyra's gaze seemed to pulse, red then purple, and back again. She bared her teeth. When she met his gaze, she nodded at him.

Scott turned back to the Omega, moving forward to knock him unconscious, when he saw a flash of silver. His eyes lifted once more to see Peter whipping out a gleaming gun, aiming it directly at Derek's chest.

"This ends, now!" the deranged Omega screamed.

Everyone in the clearing froze.

"That power is mine!" Peter's eyes shifted to Lyra, who met it coldly. "I'm the rightful Alpha!"

"You are no Alpha," Abby said with disgust.

"You're wrong!" he shrieked, his eyes rolling in their sockets. "I'm the Alpha!"

Lyra stepped forward. Her gaze was suddenly calm, void of any emotion. Her eyes were now a familiar shade of blue violet, without a trace of the wolf. Her skin was covered in dirt and spilled blood, and her hair was falling from the braid she had tied it back in earlier that night.

When she stood no more than five feet from him, she offered him her hand, palm up, as if in offering. The inked words on her forearm stood out against the paleness of her skin.

For those I love, I will sacrifice.

Then on her upper arm was the tattoo that matched Scott's, the rings, circling around her arm three times.

An open wound.

And she smiled softly, almost gently.

"Then take it."

Ooo0ooO

Peter stared at the pale, slender hand reached out towards him suspiciously. He looked at those patient, purple eyes and glared.

A memory came back to him, of another night when she had stood in front of him, so soon after killing Deucalion.

"As for making me angry, well, I am angry. You got your wish. Do you want to know what happens to me when I'm angry, Peter?"

But there was no anger this time. There was no black nightmare standing before him on two legs.

He remembered the lights had had encased her body, swirling in the air, turning the leaves like a hurricane before the light had melted into her skin, infused into her bones. He remembered staring into the face of a red eyed, full wolf that had eerily looked like another.

"That's impossible!" he had shouted. "You shouldn't- you can't!"

But still the wolf did not appear. It was only Lyra, holding out her hand like she was extending a proverbial olive branch.

And he did not run this time. This time, he stepped forward before hesitantly gripping her forearm.

His claws extended then bit into her skin. She didn't flinch, didn't blink. The black veins crept up his arm, and he felt it creeping inside him, like an electrical sort of warmth that crackled through his blood and into his bones.

"Lyra, no!" Someone shouted with disbelief.

The female Alpha's gaze shifted slightly. Instead of that calm, nearly peaceful look, it changed into one of sadness and pity.

"Perhaps if I had been a better friend to you, Peter, I could've saved you from this path," Lyra said softly.

"What-?"

"But I don't think anyone could have saved you," she whispered, shaking her head. "Not when you chose it so very long ago."

"I don't know what you're-,"

"Talia came to me in my dreams, you know," Lyra interrupted again, keeping her voice quiet. "Always in her wolf form. But I always understood her. I thought maybe it was because we were both Alphas. I was wrong," she added curiously, looking at their joined hands. "It's because I was part of this Pack, this family. A Hale." She smiled now, briefly.

But as soon as that smile dropped, coldness overtook her entire expression. Her eyes looked like chipped, lavender ice.

"You're not a part of this family, Peter."

A sharp, piercing pain erupted from the back of his neck, overtaking his senses. Peter felt a howl of pain rip up his throat, but he didn't hear it tear through the night. His gaze remained locked on Lyra, who had disengaged his claws from her arm, but kept her firm grip on him.

"This is for my mother," a voice whispered into his ear.

Peter didn't need to turn to see the burning, amber green gaze of his nephew.

And instead of memories being extracted, Peter felt a familiar numbness spread from the neck down, until he felt nothing.

His eyes widened. The last time he felt like this was when he had burned, and his body had fell into a coma to heal itself. But this, this was different.

"One slip, and you could paralyze someone or kill them," Isaac said from a few yards away, but his figure was a blur to Peter.

"Well, I've never paralyzed someone," Derek said thoughtfully. "Until now."

Peter sank to the dirt, unable to move his arms or legs, suddenly unable to scream or howl or growl... His eyes fixed up towards the moon, wide and unblinking.

Ooo0ooO

Scott turned to the other wolves who had been Peter's followers. His gaze went to the large Omega first, who had scrambled to his feet to watch as Peter fell from his.

"That's not possible," the Omega growled.

"Not probable," Stiles spoke up from his post next to Chris Argent. His finger was lifted, as though to drive his point home.

"He came back from death!" the large wolf snarled, eyes flashing. "Do you think you can subdue him so easily?" He turned to look at Lyra, pointing at her. "She gave him some of her power, he can heal!"

Lyra frowned, her gaze as thoughtful as Derek's had been. She examined the small puncture marks from Peter's claws as they closed. "Maybe," she agreed. Her brows furrowed together, as if working through a complex thought. "But then again," and with this her purple gaze lifted towards the Omega, "has he killed as many Alphas as I have? Did he slay the one who called himself the Demon Wolf, the Alpha of Alphas?"

Her hand opened and closed, as though remembering how it had felt to kill Deucalion.

"I didn't give him any more power than what he deserved," she continued, dropping her hand by her side. "Power comes to those who earn it, not those who steal it. Not true power." She looked at Scott momentarily.

"That makes no sense!" another wolf yelled from behind the Omega. "We saw him take it!"

"I gave him the power to live," Lyra explained, as calmly as Derek would have to a classroom full of students. "You see, Derek could have killed him without the little power he had taken from me. I wanted to give him a choice, and he made the choice to live, even if he did not know it."

"Then you'll have to kill us!"

"Or we will kill you!"

Lyra cocked her head. "Why does anyone have to die?" She spread out her arms. "Why not join us, join a true Alpha? Aren't you tired of being Peter's playthings? Tired of being overlooked, tired of being used as pawns in his games?"

Lyra turned towards the crumpled figure on the ground. Peter's pale eyes stared up at her.

"I told you once you were like Deucalion. Perhaps he did lack finesse," Lyra smiled very slightly. She turned again. "But both Deucalion and Peter forgot what it truly means to be an Alpha, and what it means to be a wolf."

She looked towards her Pack, her family. "To be a wolf... it means more than being a predator. It means you put your Pack before yourself. It means Pack is family." Her gaze was a passionate violet as she looked at the crowd of uncertain, murmuring wolves. "We offer you a family, not a tyranny. And most of all, we offer you the choice."

"So it's join or die?" the Omega spoke up. "That doesn't seem so different from Peter."

This time, it was Scott who spoke. "Join, or don't," he said simply. "Join, or build your own Pack." He shook his head a little. "But no more death. No more."

The Omega and the other wolves hesitated.

Ooo0ooO

A figure sprinted through the woods, their hair flying behind them. They ran through the familiar trails, their footsteps kicking up clouds of dust from the ground that had dried from the last frost.

Their breathing echoed harshly through the quiet trees, making birds scatter as they ran by, and smaller animals moved off the trail and out of their way.

A bright, gleaming pair of violet eyes took in the sight of the figure sitting at the end of the path, leaning against a tree with their eyes closed, obviously sleeping. A smile split across Lyra's face as she dashed towards her mate, her long bounds eating up the distance between them.

Derek's eyes opened, his mind swimming with images of a green eyed wolf, and the blooming flower.

Choose, his mother's voice echoed.

He heard the fast approaching footsteps and turned to see a familiar blonde slid in the dirt as she came to a stop beside him. He drank in the sight of her, her hair loose and wild over her shoulders, her purple eyes shining, her cheeks pink, and her wildflower scent mixed with sweat and the underlying scent of the wolf.

A hushed, rapidly spoken whisper burst from her lips, oddly quiet from her sudden and loud appearance.

Derek's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Lyra burst out laughing when he grabbed her, yanking her against him, the sweet sound bouncing off the trees, scattering more birds.

From far below, standing on the nearest street that looked up towards the peak, another blonde stood watching the hugging couple with an amused expression on her face.

Isaac wrapped an arm around her shoulders, wrinkling his nose when he saw Derek passionately kiss Lyra. "Gross."

"I'm happy for them," Abby sighed, leaning against him. Then she glanced up at him, wrinkling her nose like he did mockingly. "Don't pretend you aren't either."

"Oh, sure, I'm doing cartwheels. But remember, you're leaving tonight. I get to stay with them for the rest of the weekend and I get to... hear them... celebrating. Loudly."

Abby threw back her head and laughed.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf.

Author's Note: But what happened to Peter!? Why is Derek having these dreams now? Find out in the upcoming chapters...

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