The next week passed quickly, between avoiding alone time with Stiles, so he wouldn't ask her about Peter, and handling a canine influenza outbreak in Beacon Hills that had everyone and their mother bringing their dogs to the clinic.
Alice hadn't had much time to prioritize exercise lately, so she woke up Saturday morning and decided to go for a long jog. Once she put on her gear, she ran toward the path across from her house that went into the woods. It was peaceful, and after the typical first mile slugishness, she lost herself in thoughts of work, the alpha pack, and, she hated to say it, Peter. She hadn't heard from him since the pack meeting the week before, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he showed face again. He seemed to be a tenacious one.
Alice honestly didn't know how to feel about him. While she could agree that doing bad things didn't make you a bad person, murder was a veryyy bad thing, and the general consensus among those that knew Peter seemed to be that he hadn't changed. At all.
On the other hand, he seemed very genuine the other night, and who would Alice be to deny him the chance to build a relationship that could lead to him being a better person. She mused that maybe the issue with Peter was ever since he came back from the dead, he'd been labeled as a villain and was never given a second chance. Sometimes all it takes is someone believing in you, she thought sadly.
Alice's GPS watch alerted her that she'd hit mile five of her run, so she decided to turn around and head back. She made it another mile before her foot caught on a hidden root, and she fell face first into the ground, her ankle making a sickening pop.
"Motherfucker," she gasped, scrambling to pull her throbbing ankle from the root. A light purple bruise was already forming around the bone, and she groaned as she unsuccessfully tried to rotate her foot to gauge the injury.
She pulled her phone out to call Stiles, but the no service signal glared up at her.
"This is not happening right now," she cried out, putting her head in her hands and taking a few deep breaths to calm down.
Alice tried to stand, but as soon as she put pressure on the injured ankle, her leg buckled from the pain, and she was right back where she started. Realizing she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, she slid over to a nearby tree and tried to move her phone in the air to catch a signal.
After a while, she wasn't sure how much time has passed, but it was getting dark, and her ankle now looked as bad as it felt. The cold had thoroughly penetrated her light jacket and leggings, and she wasn't very optimistic about her chances once the sun set.
A few tears rolled down her numb face at the thought that she might never see her dad or Stiles again, and they'd have lost another family member because of her stupid actions.
"Alice," her head snapped up to see Peter walking toward her. She could very well be hallucinating, but he looked relieved. "Are you hurt?" he asked, crouching down to get a better look at her face.
"No, I'm just sitting out here for fun," she sniffled, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"Your pretty face is all scratched up," he frowned, ghosting his thumb over her bottom lip and an eyebrow.
"I can't feel anything but my ankle," she admitted, stretching her leg toward him so he could see the damage.
"Ouch," he mumbled, gingerly touching the bruise, causing her to whimper. His eyes darted up to hers, and she hated that she was crying in front of him. He moved to touch it again, but she grabbed his hand.
"Please don't," she begged him, feeling another tear slip down her face.
"It's alright, sweetheart," he squeezed her fingers and used his other hand to wipe away the tear, "I'm going to take care of you, I promise."
Once again, she found sincerity in his eyes, so she relaxed against the tree and breathed, "Okay."
He lightly placed his hands on her ankle, and after several seconds, the pain started to lessen until there was only a dull throb compared to the agony she felt before. It was getting hard to see, but she swore that black was running through Peter's veins. His face contorted in pain before he shook his head and glanced at her.
"You took my pain away?" she whispered.
"For now," he admitted. "Unfortunately, it'll return later, but you'll be at the hospital by then," he scooped her up and stood, cradling her to his chest.
She felt surprisingly safe in his arms, and it wasn't long before the exhaustion of the day hit her.
"Thank you," Alice mumbled before succumbing to sleep.