In the biting grip of a winter's Sunday, at the ungodly hour of three am, Lucy McCall found herself standing alone in the unforgiving echo of her bathroom. The inky darkness that filled the room was only pierced by the feeble glow of a single nightlight, flickering with a defiance that mirrored her own. Its dim light barely touched the cold tiles under her bare feet, casting long, distorted shadows that danced along with the silence. It was in this solitude and under the cover of darkness that Lucy found a peculiar comfort—a sanctuary from the world beyond her apartment walls. The absence of light and warmth was a familiar companion to her loneliness, an unspoken testament to her solitary existence. But tonight, even this haven seemed to hold its breath, hinting at an impending change—a shift in the dynamics of her solitary life.

She teetered on the tips of her toes, gazing into the mirror with a mixture of reluctance and curiosity. The option to illuminate the room beckoned, promising a clear view of herself in all her rawness - yet she resisted. In the shadows, she could shield herself from confronting the full extent of the turmoil etched across her visage. Each touch sent an electric jolt through her senses; the tender ache in her swollen lips, the throbbing tenderness beneath her eye, and the tight constriction in her parched throat. It wasn't just about unshed tears but a palpable reminder of the recent trauma that had left its mark on her being mere hours ago.

The thought of her breath being stolen from her caused a chill to run down her spine. This was the reason she had woken up so early, even though she hadn't had a chance to sleep yet. A bag filled with random clothing lay on the ground next to her; that was all she needed to bring. Lucy felt detached from everything in her apartment, so she probably could have left the bag behind too. However, she wanted to take her personal items with her for the journey back to Beacon Hills, California.

Home. It felt just as foreign as the place she was at now. Besides the times she sought out the shelter her mother's house had provided, Lucy hadn't stayed in Beacon Hills since she left for school at eighteen. School and a boy swept her away in a tidal wave that wouldn't allow her to return untill she was helplessly drowning and needed her family to pull her out desperately. That's where she was now. Drowning. Choking. Barely holding on.

There was a stir from the bedroom that made Lucy jump. She couldn't waste any more time thinking about what was and what is- she had to go now.

In careful and quiet movements, she slid the window to her bathroom open and climbed onto the toilet to make up for the height difference she would need to get her legs over the frame. Lucy was about average height standing at 5'6, she was slim and had a naturally athletic build that allowed her to slip through the window after tossing the bag on the ground outside.

Once her feet were on the ground, the cold air stinging her sore face and body, there was a spark of energy that made Lucy take off sprinting. She made a beeline to the parking lot where her car was waiting for her.

The car was still cold but it made her feel much safer than anywhere near her apartment. She started it immediately and reversed out of the parking lot before putting on her seatbelt or even letting the car engine warm up. She had quite a long drive ahead of her and needed to get to Beacon Hills as fast as possible.

The blue suburban house was quiet at this time of night, almost all of the lights were off except one. Scott McCall lay on his bed staring at his ceiling as he day dreamed of his girlfriend, Allison Argent. He had many, many problems at the moment but thinking of Allison and the long black hair that framed her soft, feminine face made him forget about anything involving werewolves, alphas, and lacrosse.

Allison did belong to a werewolf hunting family and Scott himself was a werewolf but that didn't matter- it was like Romeo and Juliet he thought. Wait, Romeo and Juliet didn't have a happy ending, right? Well Scott didn't care- he knew for sure this would be different. He would cure himself from this curse and his life would go back to normal- as long as no more problems appeared.

It was almost as if he had just jinxed himself in his own mind, just as he was imagining being with Allison without having to hide the fact that he was a werewolf- he heard a car pulling up in his home's driveway. He shot up from the position he lied in on his back and looked at his phone. It was a quarter to five in the morning. The car outside couldn't be Stiles, his best friend- Stiles drove a jeep that made a very distinct sound when he stepped on the break.

Scott turned around to look out his window from the second floor. An all white challenger was outside of his house. The car looked brand new, almost. The windows were tinted but he could almost make out a female through the darkness. He liked being able to see so clearly in the night like this, he would definitely miss it when he was free of his super senses.

He watched as the door swung open and a girl came out, shaking looking around like she was scared somseone would jump out and grab her at any second. It was his sister, Lucy.

His heart skipped a beat; it had been too long since he last saw his sister. She practically raised him after their parents' divorce and their mother took on extra shifts at the hospital in town. Lucy had followed in her footsteps and became a nurse at a college in the city, but she never returned home. That is, until now.

Scott raced down the stairs and flung open the door, finding his sister standing on the other side. She immediately lowered her head, but it was too late. Scott saw the cut on her lip, the bruise forming under her left eye, and the handprints around her neck. Even in the dim light, it was clear that her tan complexion was drained of color.

Lucy never came home, unless she was at her wit's end. It seemed like this was one of those moments. Scott's heart raced as he took in Lucy's appearance. He knew it was because of her worthless boyfriend who couldn't keep his hands off her. And he couldn't understand why she always went back to him- she was a smart and successful woman who didn't need him at all.

The thoughts swirling through Scott's head started to cloud his mind. His body temperature started to rise along with his rate of breathing. If he wasn't careful, he would turn into a werewolf right there in his foyer.

Allison. He thought of his girlfriend again, her pretty smile and soft lips. With clenched fists Scott began to calm down letting the thoughts of his girl and the pain from his claws digging into his skin calm him down.

"Scott?" Lucy's soft and inquisitive voice broke him from his trance, bringing his gaze back down to her standing in the doorway. "Can you let me in?"

Scott stepped back and Lucy walked into the living room with haste. She was in a loose pajama top and sweatpants, grabbing at her arms to warm herself up. Scott watched her shuffle through the house with familiarity, making her way to the living room and sitting on the couch. Just looking at the way she was moving so feebly started to make Scott mad all over again.

"Do I even have to ask?" He tried to hide the judgement in his voice, but the way Lucy refused to make eye contact made him understand that he had failed.

"I don't want to do this right now, Scott," she answered quietly. "I'm tired and I know."

"You know? Look at your neck, Lucy. You don't just get those bruises. When are you going to have enough?" Scott's anger made his older sister wince and immediately made him feel bad. He was never mean like this- maybe it was something else.

"Scott," she croaked out, her voice now stuffy and filled with tears. "You think I don't know? That's why I'm here. I'm done."

Scott began to huff and puff the more he thought about someone choking the life out of Lucy. "I'll kill him," he all but growled out his words as he voiced his opinion.

Lucy looked up and locked eyes with her younger brother, her eyebrows drawn in with confusion. She wasn't used to her brother sounding so tough and mean. She didn't want to turn him into some monster bcause she couldn't get her shit together. It was unfair of her to force this onto him- he was only sixteen and he had been seeing her like this for going on three years now. Even though it hurt, she pushed herself to her feet and stood to face her brother, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and holding him tight.

The anger drained out of Scott and he held his sister, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her as best as he could. He had been doing this since he was thirteen and she had just turned nineteen herself. She had gone through this almost all of her college years, constantly blaming it on the school keeping them close but now she was twenty two and had no excuses. He ran a soothing hand over the back of her head as her body started to shake from the tears she was letting go. It never got better.

"I'm telling mom this time," he said in a soft whisper. He couldn't keep this a secret anymore. Scott would go crazy if his sister was killed.

"Just let me, okay? I promise it will be different this time. I'm gonna come back, I'm gonna try to find a job here- I'm gonna completely cut him out, you will never have to see me like this again. I promise," a gutural sob ripped through the air making Scott hold her even tighter, tears coming down his own eyes.

"Lucy.."

"Scott, just please."

Scott was silent now, crying to himself as Lucy wept as quietly as she could. He wouldn't press her right now, but he definitely wasn't letting this one go. He used to get mad at his father for not raising his sister to respect herself more, his mom for not seeing the context clues, himself for not being brave enough to tell her- but he realized this was mostly on Lucy. She would go back until she had enough.

But had she really had enough this time? Scott couldn't be sure. He'd seen his sister with bruised eyes, arms, ripped up clothes soaked and wet from rain, petrified and paranoid that her abuser was going to come after her- he had seen her at her worst time and time again and was powerless against it.

He did have powers this time, though. Just when he thought he might be solving all his problems one step at a time, here was his sister. He had to step in now or he would never forgive himself.

He pulled back from the embrace the siblings were in and peered down at Lucy. She failed to make eye contact but that didn't matter. All he had to do was imagine her gasping for air, her brown eyes wide and frantic- it disturbed him more than anything he had seen in the past months ever could.

"I promise, no more," she said as if she had read his wandering mind. He let her go and nodded. He knew there would be no more- he would make sure of it.

Well, there goes another thing for him to worry about.