It's a new week and I'm already exhausted. Last week still has me spinning but I know that things are not going to slow down, not for a while. I'm still getting all the players on the board and hoping to have a plan before the shit show starts. I think I have gotten a good start on things. I'll be meeting with Derek today, I asked him to bring Cora with him. It is her family too; she deserves to be involved. Peter is lying low, thank God. It would be so much harder to deal with all this if he was still intent to off everyone. Somehow he got my number, I don't even know how, and text me that he would be in touch after today's meeting.
Our parents are in the know which I really think will help overall. Isaac is safe. He's still dealing with everything that happened, but I have faith that he will come to terms with it and be the person I knew before. He opted to stay home today, knowing that news of his father's arrest had gotten out and wanting to avoid the initial wave of questions and gossip seekers that was bound to happen. There's a friendship budding between me and Allison, and I made it clear that it would only be friendship. Stiles and Lydia are getting along. I wasn't stupid enough to think all was settled there but it's a start, a better one then before.
I was slowly acclimating to this new reality. But my mind was still whirling with thoughts, ideas, and plans. Even written down and organized to the best of our ability I was starting to feel overwhelmed with the amount of things that still needed to be done and the anticipation of what was going to happen. All of this was making me wish for Malia to be here now. She wasn't as soft and sweet as Allison or even Kira, but she was exactly what I needed. She always knew what I needed when I needed it. She was always there to push me, challenge me, and make me stronger. I was starting to truly feel her absence and I needed her like I need my next breath. I had to find time to get her and bring her home, where she belonged.
I walked onto campus to see Stiles parked next to Lydia's little blue car. I didn't even bother riding my bike anymore, knowing I could run faster than it could go. I wonder if I could find my motorbike this early. The surprise was that Lydia and Stiles were talking, actually talking. With Stiles wildly gesturing as usual and Lydia just smirking at him. I smiled as I joined them.
"Hey guys. What's going on?" I greeted.
"Hey, nothing. We were just talking." Stiles answered.
"I asked how he was doing, and he went off on a tangent about classes and then lacrosse, where he went on about the history of the game and all the aspects." Lydia said, but she sounded amused instead of annoyed. Stiles blushed and shrugged.
"That happens. I don't blame him, he's doing great." I said, landing a mock punch to his arm.
"I have to admit, he is doing really well out there." She admitted and Stiles was practically vibrating as he thanked her. "Anyway, I was also looking for you. My mom came back last night, so I'm going to talk to her after school today. When can we meet to talk?" she asked, turning to me.
"Tomorrow? I work until about 6 but you can come by my house afterwards."
"That works. I'll get the deets later. Right now, I need to go make Jackson grovel." She said with an evil grin on her face. I snorted as she waved to the both of us, actually looking at Stiles as she did, before walking off. Turning to my best friend, I think that grin was permanently glued to his face.
"So, you ready for today?" I asked, snapping him out of his daze. He blinked then looked at me.
"I guess so. Not sure what to expect. Do you think he'll try to attack you again?"
"I don't think so. This is just a talk. I have already started to prove that I'm on his side. He may not fully trust me yet, but he doesn't completely distrust me either."
"Maybe, I guess I'm just nervous about it. I mean do you really think he will let you do that mind meld thing?" he asked.
"Mind meld? This isn't Star Wars." I snorted. Stiles stopped, giving me an offended look.
"Star Trek. Its from Star Trek not Star Wars. Please tell me that you have watched both of those in the previous reality."
"Uh…" I scratched at the back of my head not sure I wanted to answer that question.
"Scott?"
The warning bell rang, and I sent out a quiet thank you to the universe for it.
"We should get to class." I told him, turning him, and directing him towards the building.
"This conversation is so not over." he said pointing at me before jogging off to his locker. I shook my head, sure of that.
Lunch rolled around and though this morning's question was forgotten, for now at least. I wasn't really that hungry, but I was still tired, so I grabbed a couple of Red Bull and two bags of chips. Stiles sat across from me at the table with his tray and looked over my lunch.
"How's Isaac doing?" he asked as he ate. I sighed, opening the first can and draining it before opening the second one, taking a sip and setting it down opening the chips.
"He's… adjusting. He wakes up screaming and then cringes if we check on him. I know it's just a reaction to how his father probably would have ripped into him but it's hard to see. Mom's off today so she's staying with him just in case."
"I get that. He's probably still a bit in shock after everything. Give it time, he'll be okay."
"Do you think I should give him the same offer I gave you?" I asked him, randomly.
"Do ve a woof?" he asked with his mouth full. I snorted.
"Yes. I mean I know why he accepted the first time around and that is no longer the case, but once he got acclimated to it he was a great asset and had my back on more than one occasion. I'm just not really sure if it's the right move here. But then again, I'm in the center of all that is going on and will be going on and him living with me puts him in the same crosshairs, you know."
He nodded, chewing slowly as he thought about it.
"I think that it all goes back to the question of whether you plan to tell him everything, like the future and all that and what role he played. And also, are you thinking that at some point he is going to be involved with Allison the same way he was before?" He asked and I winced.
"Yeah, I might have forgotten about that part, and I might have hinted to Allison that she and Isaac should become friends. If things between them end up how they did before then I am not sure if making him a wolf would be a good idea, not with her family being who they are. It would be easier on him and easier for them in general if he stayed human." I sighed. "It's something to think about I guess."
"I would say to see how things pan out first. Give him time to adjust to his new reality while you adjust to yours and if the opportunity or circumstance presents itself to not only have that conversation but make that offer, than deal with it then. But don't borrow more trouble. Let's at least get through this first event."
"Yeah, your right."
"Of course I am. Now back to the topic from this morning." He said and I sighed. Yeah I knew he hadn't really forgotten.
"Can I sit here?"
I looked up to see Allison, holding her tray over the space right next to me.
"Sure. have a seat." I told her, eagerly.
"Thanks. I usually sit with Lydia and Jackson but it's kind of tense over there." She said, sitting. I searched the room and found Lydia sitting back in her seat, arms crossed and looking straight ahead while Jackson tried to talk to her. I don't think she was listening to whatever he had to say.
"Still fighting about Friday night?" Stiles asked.
"Yeah, she was livid after you guys left. I'm pretty sure she turned red from head to toe." Allison volunteered.
"I can imagine. She has quite the temper when she gets worked up." I told her.
"Yeah, she does." Stiles chuckled, a dopey look on his face. Allison smirked in his direction, probably guessing what everyone else already knew.
"So, did everything turn out okay on Friday? You looked worried when your mom called."
"Oh, uh, yeah it did. Thanks. it was just some family thing. But we worked it out. Did the party end after what happened?" I asked, switching topics before she could ask any in depth questions about what happened.
"Pretty much. Well, it mainly just moved inside after that. Danny took Jackson upstairs and Lydia followed yelling at him. But everyone else just kind of gossiped about it and I am pretty sure that there's a video up online about… that." she said, crinkling her nose in disgust.
"I am so looking for that video later." Stiles laughed.
Another tray slammed down on the table and a pissy Lydia fell into the chair across from Allison, next to Stiles. We all watched her as she mumbled quietly to herself as if continuing an ongoing argument in her head.
"Are you alright?" Allison asked her.
"Yeah." she sighed. "He's just such an idiot sometimes, I swear. It's like he doesn't understand that his actions sometimes has consequences. He relies too much on his money and charm to get out of any little thing. I can't be bought, he knows that. But does that stop him from trying? No. What kind of girl does he think I am?" she huffed. The remark he made at practice last week came back to me, but I bit my tongue.
"Well, I wouldn't try to buy you, mostly because I don't have the money for it. But I do have wit and sarcasm, that should be good for something." Stiles shrugged making her laugh, which was his goal by the way his face lit up when she did.
"I'll keep that in mind." She told him. he nodded happily.
"Anyway, it's going on week two, our town hasn't driven you crazy yet?" I asked Allison. She giggled.
"No, I think I like it. it's a major change from the big city but it's kind of peaceful here. I think it could grow on me. I just hope my parents have no plans to move any time soon."
I laughed inwardly at Beacon Hills being peaceful. I used to think the same once upon a time. "How are your parents settling in?" I asked.
"They're fine I guess. They are both really career oriented, so they've been busy with work. Which is why I am excited that my aunt will be here soon. We are really close."
"Oh yeah you mentioned her. you said she was coming in a few weeks. Did she decide to come sooner?" I asked, trying not to tense up. stiles noticed, watching us closely.
"Yeah, apparently she finished early wherever she was and decided to come this weekend. So, she'll be here on Sunday. I'm excited. I missed her."
"That's cool." I said throwing a glance at Stiles. "are you planning anything for when she comes?"
"I'm not sure. I mean there isn't much to do here, not like in New York. But she's actually been here before so she might have some plans already. She's like that sometimes." She said before Lydia pulled her attention to her, mentioning a few things they could do around town.
Yeah I can imagine just what she has planned. Damn, that was shortening our timeline. And I remember how Kate tried to turn Allison into a killer like her. She introduced her to being a hunter, she revealed my secret to her.
I finished my lunch and stood, grabbing my trash.
"I'm going to call home and make sure everything is okay. I'll see you guys later." I said, shaking my head at Stiles when he made to get up as well. he nodded, staying where he was and joining in on their conversation.
When I left I did call my mom to check on Isaac. She said he was doing as well as can be expected, mostly keeping to himself. She said she would call if something happened. Not that I expected anything to happen, but I was okay with that. Then I made a beeline for the library. If Kate was coming in early then I needed to start the ball rolling on something else but first I had to do some research.
**REWIND**
I spotted Derek's Camero out front of the clinic as soon as we pulled up. he jumped out of the driver's side and met me on the sidewalk, Cora right behind him. Stiles, not knowing what to do, stayed a few feet back, tense, as he looked between the two of us. Derek had his signature glower in place, arms crossed. Cora, not looking quite as severe as her brother still wasn't smiling just nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"Derek. I'm glad to see you and relieved to see you found her." I started things off.
"So am I, thanks to you. But that does make me wonder how you knew where to send me. She's never met you. so, how did you know where she was and where I needed to go?" he asked.
"I can explain all of that. But let's get inside. I doubt you want to have this conversation on a street for anyone to hear." I said when he looked skeptical. He looked at the building.
"What is this place, really?" he asked.
"An animal clinic." I answered. He looked at me, doom, and gloom (his brows) rising.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I really work here, after school." I snorted. He nodded once and followed me to the door. I opened it and we all piled in.
"Dr. Deaton." I called out. a minute later he appeared, a serene smile on his face when he saw us.
"Derek, Cora, I am glad to see you again." He greeted with a nod of his head. Both of them were shocked.
"Have we met?" Derek asked.
"Not for a very long time. I think you were about 6 or 7 the last time I saw you and Cora was 1."
"What? You knew us when we were kids?" Cora asked.
"Yes I did. I worked with your mother, as an emissary." He told them. They were both speechless. "Why don't you all come on back and we can talk further. Scott lock that and turn the sign please."
I nodded and did as he said as Derek grabbed Cora and pulled her behind him. I wanted to laugh at the move. Cora was not a damsel in distress, she was more then capable of taking care of herself and the glare she shot the back of his head said that she would agree with me.
"Wait, why are we locking the door?" Derek asked, defensively, his posture tensing.
"Easy." Deaton said holding up his hands. "It's just so we aren't disturbed. I have no appointments for the rest of the day, but sometimes emergency cases come through. It's just a precaution. You are safe here."
He still looked tense as if he were ready to just grab his sister and run.
"Derek, I understand why you wouldn't want to trust us, but we really are just trying to help. I really am on your side. we really need to talk and we don't have much time before things start happening. I promise no one here is trying to hurt you or Cora."
He studied me, the scowl lightening some.
"The only reason I am doing this is because you were right about Cora. But if this is some kind of trick-."
"For the love of God, it's not a trick, or a prank, or a double cross or anything like that. we are the only three wolves here, Dr. Deaton and Stiles are both human, so really you have the advantage here. And Dr. Deaton worked with your mother, in fact one of the reasons he is even here is because of you. Because he promised your mother that he would look out for you if anything ever happened to her. Do you really think he would go back on his word to her? or that she would trust him with your safety if she didn't think he was honorable?" I raised a brow in his direction.
I could see he wanted to argue but couldn't. He looked back at his sister who huffed, rolling her eyes, and then nodded to him.
"Alright fine. Let's get this over with." He sighed. Deaton opened the gate separating the back from the front and let us pass. We filed back and I led us to the first empty room, Derek, and Cora on one side, me facing them on the other and Stiles behind Deaton who was standing between us.
"Let me start this off asking, have you ever heard of Ad Initium?" Deaton asked, looking at Derek. He shook his head. "It translates to 'Back To The Beginning.' Basically, it is a cross between a spell and a ritual that happens very rarely. From my research it has only happened two other times before, this will be the third time it has happened in history."
"Okay, and what exactly does it mean, back to the beginning of what?"
"Whenever this happens it means something has gone horribly wrong somewhere in history to the point that if that current path had kept going as it was, something catastrophic would have happened. So, time gets reset so to speak. Someone gets sent back to one point in history to where it all began and they get a chance to change things, to correct the path."
"That sounds like time travel. Are you saying that someone went back in time, back to the future style?" Cora asked. Stiles chuckled then coughed to hide it.
"Something like that yes." Deaton agreed with an amused smile.
"Okay and who was sent back?" Derek asked. I raised my hand, giving a wave, like a dork.
"That would be me." I told him, lowering my hand.
"You? Time chose to send you back in time? to now? Why?" he asked, not believing.
"Because a lot of what happened to throw the path off happened when I was changed. I wasn't lying to you when I told you that I had just been bitten two days prior to when I showed up at your house. It was just in another timeline that it happened. I was bitten the day before my first day of my sophomore year at the age of 16, I became an alpha around the beginning of my junior year when I was 17 and I died and came back here the summer before I was to start college when I was 18." I explained.
"You died? How? And what?" Cora asked. I nodded.
"Look, I can explain everything. I can go over every detail of the last three years of my life. I can explain how I knew about you and Derek. I can go into details about what I know you, Derek, went through when you were younger and how you ended up as angry as you were, are. I can tell you all of that. it would take a while to get through, but I can do that…" I stopped there hesitating on what Stiles, Deaton and I decided on.
"Or…" he said, waiting.
"Or I can show you." I told him. he looked at me then laughed.
"You want me to let you push your thoughts into my mind. I don't even know you. Why would I let you do that?"
"Actually, you know me better than you think, or you did. and I understand why you would be hesitant to allow it. you don't trust me, not really. But its why I told you about Cora, granted I probably would have told you anyway because if I had let things happen as they did before then your reunion would have gone totally different. I won't force you. we can just talk about it all."
"How would it have gone before?" Cora asked, willing to believe if only just a little.
"You would have been captured by a pack of alphas that wanted to force Derek to join their pack. They would have used you and another to lore Derek to where they were keeping you. they would have locked you away in a room lined with hecatolite, a mineral that blocks the moonlight, for four months, not letting you shift. Their plan was for Derek to have to kill you, eliminating any ties to his old life so he could join them." I told her.
"Wow, okay. I prefer how we found each other now, so thanks for that." she said. I nodded to her but kept my eyes on Derek.
"What do you know about Kate and…" he said, still not willing to say her name.
"I know that what happened with Paige was not your fault. that was almost all Ennis, and he'll be back. he's part of the alpha pack. I know that what Kate did to you was disgusting and she was the only one at fault for that. She used your grief against you and in the future, if it were to play out how it was in my time, she would have tried to break you again. I know that if left unchecked she will go on to cause more problems and destruction. I know that he and her father are part of the reason I am back here now, and I know that she will be here in less than a week and we don't have much time to plan and strategize to stop her and all the trouble she will cause."
He stood there taking in everything I said. Cora watching him, Deaton watching all of us and Stiles staring at the floor. I didn't break eye contact with him, waiting for him to come to a decision. The ticking of the clock and the pounding of hearts the only sound in the room. Finally, he seemed to relax his posture a little.
"Okay, show me." he said. I blinked at him.
"Really?" I asked. I thought it would take more convincing than that.
"Yes. I think I need to see it to believe all this."
Deaton grabbed a chair and placed between us. Stiles moved to stand next to Cora.
"Hi, I'm Stiles." He said holding out a hand for her to shake.
"Cora." She replied, shaking.
"Yeah, Scott's talked a little bit about you."
"What did he say?" she asked, her head tilted.
"That you were Derek in female form." He shrugged. She snorted shaking her head.
"You've done this before?" Derek asked, taking a seat. I stood behind him and flicked out my claws.
"A few times."
"Well try not to paralyze me." he told me. I rolled my eyes and lined my claws up against the push points.
"Get ready." I told him, my eyes switching and then inserted my claws into the back of his head.