𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 ➢ ʟʏᴅɪᴀ ᴍᴀʀᴛɪɴ ⁽ᴳˣᴳ⁾

Ch. 32 - VISIONARY

While rain continues to run in rivulets down the windows, Sawyer turned a confused look on Peter. "Okay, so if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you? How old are you now?" She questioned and Peter shrugged, "Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think." He said making Stiles squint at him and scoff. 

"Okay, that was frustratingly vague." He said before turning to Cora, "How old are you?" He asked. "I'm seventeen." She said and he nodded. "See! That's an answer. That's how we answer people!" Stiles said and Cora pursed her lips, "Well, "seventeen" how you'd measure in years..." She said, making Sawyer sigh and shake her head slightly. "All right, we're just gonna drop it. What happened to Derek and the cello-girl?" 

"What do you think happened? They were teenagers- one minute, it's 'I hate you, don't talk to me', the next, it's frantic groping in any dark corner they could manage to find themselves alone for five minutes. Their favorite dark corner was an abandoned distillery outside of Beacon Hills." 

"Hold on- how do you even know all this? You just said that they were alone." Sawyer asked and Peter sighed, "Back then, I wasn't just Derek's uncle. I was his best friend, his closest confidante. That's how I know." 

⊚ 

"Our mark for vendetta..." Peter said as he drew a spiral in the condensation on the window, "Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to, like, a whole new level, don't you?" Stiles said and Cora shook her head. 

"It's not just revenge. Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family. It's like you lose a limb." She said and Peter nodded, "They wouldn't even let him see the body." He said and Cora raised her eyebrows. "I don't get it- what does this have to do with Derek?" Cora asked and Peter turned to them, "Everything. It's never just a single moment; it's a confluence of events. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstances, and I saw a profound loss. Derek saw something different. He saw opportunity." 

"Opportunity? To do what?" Sawyer asked and Peter sighed, "To always be with her. I kept telling him not to do it. Every day, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. You know teenagers... I bet he even blames me! He's probably convinced himself the whole thing was my idea-" 

⊚ 

"They keep us connected to humanity. But, they're a secret, even in the pack- sometimes only the Alpha knows who the Emissary is. Derek and I had no idea about Deaton." Cora said as they talked about emissaries and Peter nodded. 

"Or his sister, Morrell." Peter said, making Stiles and Sawyer look at him shocked, "Wait- She's an Emissary, too?" Sawyer asked and Peter nodded. "For the Alpha Pack." He said and the twins still looked at him appalled, "Our guidance counselor??? Why the hell don't you people tell us any of this stuff, huh??? We shared some really intimate details with her!" 

"And did she give you good advice?" Cora asked, making them look at her and nod, "...Actually, yeah." They both said. "That's what they do. That's what Deaton used to do for Talia." Peter said. 

⊚ 

"Ennis? Why would he choose him?" Cora asked and Peter shrugged slightly, "Why not? Ennis needed a new member for his pack. Paige was young and strong. Doing a favor for Derek meant Ennis would be in good with Talia- back then, everybody wanted to be in good with her." He said and Sawyer furrowed her brows. 

"He doesn't remember it was Ennis, does he?" She asked and Peter shrugged, "If he does, he keeps it to himself." He said. "So, then what happened? Did he turn her?" Stiles asked. 

"Almost. He came at Ennis- a fifteen-year-old boy against a giant. There was no reason for him to fight... She'd already been bitten. He knew the answer, though..." Peter trailed off. "So, did she turn?" Stiles asked and Peter slightly shook his head, "She should have. Most of the time, the bite takes. Most of the time..." 

"When you offered it to Stiles, you said, 'If it doesn't kill you..." Sawyer trailed off and Peter nodded, "If. It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't meant for this. But, she fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive... I remember taking her body from his arms, to the woods... to a place where I knew that it would be found...Another in a long line of Beacon Hills animal attacks." 

"And what about Derek?" Cora asked and Peter sighed softly. "Taking an innocent life takes something from you as well... A bit of your soul. Darkening it, dimming the once brilliant golden yellow to a cold, steel blue... Like mine." Peter said before flashing his blue eyes. 

⊚ 

"What? What's this-what's this look on your face?" Cora asked making Stiles and Sawyer look at her, "What look?" Stiles asked and she rolled her eyes. "The kind of look that makes me want to punch you." She said, making both Sawyer and Stiles' eyes widen, "Oh, my God- you are so Derek's sister, I forgot." Sawyer mumbled. 

"Well, what's with the look?" Cora asked and they glanced at her and sighed, "I just don't believe him. All right, in Miss Blake's class, we're reading Heart of Darkness, and it's in first-person, right? Narrated by Marlow. The thing is that he's an unreliable narrator. You know the details of it have changed, you know, just because of his perspective." He explained and the girls nodded slightly. 

"Well, then we heard the story from Peter's perspective..." Cora said and Sawyer nodded, "Right, and I don't think we got the whole story." She said and Cora raised her eyebrows at the two. "So, what...? Are you just gonna ask Derek about the girl he fell in love with and then killed?" She asked and Stiles sighed as he and Sawyer glanced at each other. 

"If we have to? Yeah."